Let's Do The News! (June 30, 2025)

        

Your daily round-up of today's news...

- About 6,000 farmers are expected to benefit from the opening of the Rice Processing System (RPS) II Facility in the Science City of Muñoz in Nueva Ecija. The inauguration of the new facility was led by Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., along with the distribution of farm machinery to farmers. The new rice facility features a multi-stage rice mill that can process two to three tons of rice per hour.

- PH Department of Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla confirmed his application to become the next Ombudsman.

- Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief P/Gen. Nicolas Torre III invited Vice President Sara Duterte to visit Camp Crame to see their use of modern technology in police operations.

- Alice Guo's mayorship in Bamban, Tarlac, was nullified by the Manila Regional Trial Court Branch 34.

- A ₱50 daily minimum wage increase for workers in the National Capital Region (NCR) has been approved by the NCR Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RTWPB). With this, the daily wage for non-agriculture workers will be ₱695 while it will be ₱658 for the agriculture, retail, and service sectors, effective July 18.

- Glastonbury Festival organizers said they were "appalled" by punk duo Bob Vylan's chants about the Israeli military.

- The Xiaomi SU7 Ultra broke its own Nurburgring Nordschleife record in 6'22"091, making it the third fastest overall.

- Nissan has confirmed job losses at its Sunderland factory.

- Proton teases its upcoming eMas7 EV vehicle.

- The Austrian Grand Prix will remain on the F1 calendar until 2041 under a new deal.

- HYBE announces plans to establish its Indian subsidiary.

- Angel Reese scored a season-high 24 points and became the first WNBA player with 15 or more rebounds in four straight games.

TTFN.

F1 2025: MSC Cruises Austrian Grand Prix

The 75th Anniversary celebrations of Formula 1 continue at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg for the MSC Cruises Austrian Grand Prix. While the world is still buzzing from the recent release of "F1: The Movie," the drivers are ready to get back to work in Styria, bringing their energy to the racetrack.

Carlos Sainz's "did not start" situation, the crash that sent Andrea Kimi Antonelli and Max Verstappen packing, and Alex Albon's mechanical failures are just some of the worst moments that occurred in Spielberg. However, behind their heartbreaks, there have been some exciting moments with the two McLaren drivers clashing for the lead while the others have pulled a lot of drama, as demonstrated by the penalization of Yuki Tsunoda for sending Franco Colapinto spinning on Lap 31.

Image: F1

Business as usual for McLaren with their 1-2 finish with Lando Norris the winner and Oscar Piastri the second-placer. More than enough to further tighten McLaren's constructor championship grip. Charles Leclerc, meanwhile, completes the Austrian podium with a third-place finish. Other finishers include Lewis Hamilton, George Russell, Liam Lawson, Fernando Alonso, Gabriel Bortoleto, Nico Hulkenberg, and Esteban Ocon.

F1's 75th Anniversary celebrations will continue at the track that started it all, Silverstone, for the Qatar Airways British Grand Prix this July 6, 2025.

WRC 2025: EKO Acropolis Rally Greece

The 2025 World Rally Championship continues with the EKO Acropolis Rally in Greece, as the drivers feel the heat while conquering what is known as the Rally of the Gods.

Screengrab from WRC

Hyundai driver Ott Tanak is unstoppable during the EKO Acropolis Rally. Despite late mechanical issues, he managed to beat Sebastien Ogier to win the EKO Acropolis Rally. Adrien Fourmaux completes the podium by finishing in third place.

Post-Greece, the gap between Tanak and Elfyn Evans is now 12 points.

The next event is the Delfi Rally Estonia this July 17-20, 2025.

2025 NASCAR Cup Series - Quaker State 400 Available at Walmart

New to the 2025 season is the NASCAR In-Season Challenge, where drivers clash through five rounds to win the $1 million cash prize. The first of the In-Season Challenge rounds is set at Atlanta's EchoPark Speedway for the Quaker State 400 Available at Walmart.

As the green flag waved, the first round of the NASCAR In-Season Challenge was on. The first stage saw a weather stoppage on Lap 43, but as the race resumed, Ryan Blaney and Austin Dillon got caught in a messy situation as the #20 got spun. As Austin Cindric wins Stage 1, Stage 2 witnessed the big one with a multi-car disaster involving multiple drivers, with Ryan Blaney the hardest to be hit. As Tyler Reddick barely won Stage 2 with a microscopic margin of 0.001 seconds, the final stage saw trouble for Shane Van Gisbergen and Bubba Wallace, as well as Justin Haley's spin changing the course of the first round.

Screengrab from NASCAR

Having survived the chaos in Georgia, Chase Elliott wins the Quaker State 400 of the NASCAR Cup Series!

And now, the bracket update. As Chase Elliott wins the race, T. Dillon, Keselowski, Bowman, Wallace, Nemechek, Jones, Stenhouse Jr., Gragson, Preece, Hocevar, Reddick, Allmendinger, Gibbs, Smith, and Buescher are advancing to Round 2.

NASCAR's In-Season Challenge continues with the Chicago Street Race on July 6, 2025.

Autobacs Super GT 2025 Series Round 3

For the first time in nearly two decades, Super GT returned to Malaysia's Sepang Circuit for the third round of the 2025 season. This marked Super GT's first overseas race weekend since COVID restrictions were lifted.

Screengrab from Super GT

After intense racing action around Sepang, the #37 Deloitte TOM'S GR Supra is the winner, beating the likes of the #8 ARTA MUGEN CIVIC TYPE R-GT and the #12 TRS IMPUL with SDG Z. In the GT300 class, meanwhile, the #18 UPGARAGE AMG GT3 is the winner, while the #52 Green Brave GR Supra GT finished 2nd, and the #4 GOODSMILE HATSUNE MIKU AMG finished 3rd.

The next race will take place at Fuji Speedway on August 3, 2025.

F1: The Movie

To celebrate F1's 75th anniversary, the world of F1 comes to life on the big screen, thanks to the mastermind behind Top Gun Maverick, who made it possible to bring "the king of motorsports" to Hollywood.

F1: The Movie

Starring Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, and Javier Bardem, "F1: The Movie" brings the thrilling action of Formula 1 racing to the big screen. The film imagines what the F1 grid will look like with the addition of an 11th team, set to debut in the 2026 F1 season. The story revolves around APXGP, a fictional team that plays a central role in the plot.

In this movie, Brad Pitt plays the role of Sonny Hayes, a former F1 driver who got pulled out of retirement by his former teammate Ruben Cervantes, played by Javier Bardem, who owns the struggling APXGP. He made a fateful encounter with the team's rookie driver, Joshua Pearce, played by Damson Idris, who becomes Sonny's teammate and arch-nemesis. The stakes are higher, and as Sonny's past demons haunt him, he will soon learn that returning to F1 racing is an all-or-nothing gamble. Whatever it takes.

A masterpiece two years in the making, the racing sequences were created during the 2023 and 2024 F1 seasons, so yes, there's a hint of Zhou Guanyu, Alfa Romeo Sauber, Alpha Tauri, and whatnots instead of the latest F1 season. Still, with cameos of this generation's F1 greats like Lewis Hamilton, Max Verstappen, and Lando Norris, the movie's racing scenes never felt so exciting. 

Moviegoers are drawn to the dramatic performances of Brad Pitt and Damson Idris, but it's the hero car that steals the spotlight. This film features the APXGP APX23 as its iconic vehicle, which showcases the movie's 11th team scenario. Powered by Mercedes-AMG, the choice to partner with Mercedes-AMG as a sponsor is clear. Additionally, Apple developed custom technology specifically for the APX23, which enhanced the film's racing sequences and contributed to the actors' on-screen reactions while driving.

If you enjoyed this movie, you'll soon have the chance to play moments from F1: The Movie as downloadable content (DLC) in the EA SPORTS F1 25 video game, available next week. However, to access these challenges in the game, you'll need to provide proof that you've watched the film, even though it may reveal some spoilers.

This film offers a story-based action thriller experience that chronicles the adventures of the struggling APXGP team. It features a dramatic performance by Brad Pitt and includes cameos from your favorite F1 drivers, delivering classic F1 thrills. This movie stands as the pinnacle of the 75th anniversary celebration of Formula 1. From beginning to end, it proves to be one of the best films of the summer season.

It's lights out and away it goes!

M3GAN 2.0

Touted as the "Child's Play" of today's generation, the horror movie "M3GAN" shocked the world with the story of an AI doll that showcased the true horrors between man and machine, which kinda reminds us of other movies pitting humans against robots. After two years, the killer doll returns, deadlier than before.

M3GAN 2.0

The killer doll, M3GAN, has now been updated to Version 2.0. In this sequel to the hit 2023 horror movie, Gemma and her niece Cady, having escaped the horrors associated with M3GAN from the previous story, now face a deadly new threat: a weapons-grade robot codenamed Amelia. As Amelia wreaks havoc, Gemma is left with no choice but to revive her greatest nightmare, M3GAN, to stop Amelia's menace.

This situation feels reminiscent of The Terminator because, in the previous story, M3GAN posed a threat to Gemma and Cady. However, in this sequel, her greatest nightmare becomes humanity's last hope. Long story short, thanks to her new abilities, M3GAN is deadlier than ever, all while delivering the classic “Come with me if you want to live” line from the Terminator playbook. Like the previous movie, it still packs the innocent frankness of a family movie, but with the cold cruelty of a horror movie. A terrifying recipe that made M3GAN zero-shifted to the list of iconic horror movie monsters, bumping the likes of Chucky from Child's Play.

Seeing either M3GAN or Amelia zero-shifted through your face is the last thing you'll ever want to see. This sequel is everything you would expect from a juiced-up robot doll, which is still as innocent but cruel as last time, only deadlier. This is the upgrade that horror movie fans can't get enough of.