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Matt Phillips

Saudis reportedly trim plans for futuristic desert city

Sources tell Bloomberg just 300,000 people will now be living in “The Line,” a 170-kilometer city composed of mirror-clad skyscrapers, by 2030. At one point, officials said 1.5 million people would live there by then.

That would put the city on a scale of, say, Greensboro, North Carolina, or perhaps Lincoln, Nebraska on a particularly busy day.

Needless to say? Not exactly the hemispheric metropolis the Prince had long yearned to construct.

The Line is the centerpiece of Neom, the city Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman sought to build as a showcase of the Kingdom’s effort to diversify its economy away from oil. Foreign investments to fund the $500 billion projects have been slow to materialize, Bloomberg says.

Saudis Scale Back Ambition for $1.5 Trillion Desert Project Neom

Saudis Scale Back Ambition for $1.5 Trillion Desert Project Neom

Needless to say? Not exactly the hemispheric metropolis the Prince had long yearned to construct.

The Line is the centerpiece of Neom, the city Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman sought to build as a showcase of the Kingdom’s effort to diversify its economy away from oil. Foreign investments to fund the $500 billion projects have been slow to materialize, Bloomberg says.

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Tom Jones

The most watched soccer match in US history got less than a third of the views the Super Bowl did

Between a top-spot finish in the group stage, a sweeping performance against Bosnia and Herzegovina in the round of 32, and the president’s controversial intervention, Monday evening’s USMNT game against Belgium had, to put it lightly, shaped up into a box-office clash.

And though the US players’ performance on the pitch might not have lived up to the high drama off it, American soccer fans certainly showed up. According to early estimates, the 4-1 defeat against Belgium was the most watched soccer telecast in US history, hauling some 40 million viewers on average across the coverage on Fox and Telemundo.

That may be a record tally in the US for the sport that much of the world calls some variant of “football” — besting the 36.2 million who tuned in to watch the team’s previous knock-out match — but it’s still peanuts in comparison to the sport that shares the same name in the States.

World cup viewers chart
Sherwood News
Tom Jones
burning question
6/24/26
Over 50% of Americans say climate change is a serious threat; only 10% think their compatriots feel the same

That perception gap on the issue is among the highest in the world, per a new Gallup poll.

Youth Climate Strikes Break Out Across The U.S.
Reddit alien stock exchange

Reddit’s advertising business is getting bigger. It’s already booming.

The platform will plow more money into its ad offerings as it cements itself as a “trove of human intelligence.”

Tom Jones6/22/26
Tom Jones
plane pain
6/22/26
45% of Americans say they’re not taking a summer vacation this year, mostly due to costs

Flight comparison site Skyscanner is recommending some cheaper alternatives closer to home.

Bored annoyed man looking funny and angry during his summer staycations
Tom Jones
6/17/26
Despite slight declines, Japanese tourism figures are still hovering around record highs

Tourism: Still big in Japan.

Aerial view of Tokyo cityscape with Fuji mountain in Japan.

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