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Versant to rename MSNBC, drop famed peacock logos in Comcast separation

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Versant to rename MSNBC, drop famed peacock logos in Comcast separation


The brand logo for My Source News Opinion World

Courtesy of Versant

MSNBC will change its name later this year and drop the storied peacock image from its branding — the first real public-facing changes in Versant’s upcoming separation from Comcast’s NBCUniversal.

The political news network will be renamed My Source News Opinion World, or MS Now, Versant Chief Executive Officer Mark Lazarus wrote in an internal memo to employees that was seen by CNBC.

In January, Lazarus told a group of MSNBC staffers that the network wouldn’t change its name. But during the past few months of transition planning, NBCUniversal leaders decided MSNBC should take on a new name “to accelerate the distinction between the MSNBC and NBC News organizations,” Lazarus wrote in the memo Monday.

MSNBC President Rebecca Kutler added in her own note to employees that the news group’s focus won’t change.

“While our name will be changing, who we are and what we do will not. Our commitment to our work and our audiences will not waiver from what the brand promise has been for three decades,” she wrote.

MSNBC has been undergoing aggressive hiring for about 100 new positions to stand up its own newsroom independent from NBC News. The network has already hired about 40 journalists from CNN, Bloomberg, Politico and other news organizations to establish its first-ever Washington, D.C., bureau.

“During this time of transition, NBCUniversal decided that our brand requires a new, separate identity,” Kutler wrote. “This decision now allows us to set our own course and assert our independence as we continue to build our own modern newsgathering operation.”

While MSNBC and NBC News will have duplications in coverage, such as covering politics, CNBC’s news organization is already separate enough from NBC News that executives decided it didn’t need a name change, according to people familiar with the matter. Also, technically, the “NBC” in “CNBC” never stemmed from National Broadcasting Co. Rather, CNBC stands for “Consumer News and Business Channel.”

Still, CNBC will likewise be getting a new logo without the famed NBCUniversal peacock. This will be true for all of Versant’s brands that have a peacock in the logo. Sports content on the USA Network and Golf Channel will be branded together under USA Sports. Digital companies GolfNow and SportsEngine will also change their logos.

The MSNBC name change and the new logos will all be introduced before the end of the year, when Versant plans to spin out as a publicly traded company.

MSNBC will soon kick off a national marketing campaign to accompany the launch of the new name, “unlike anything we have done in recent memory,” Kutler noted in her memo Monday.

MSNBC is the second-most watched cable news network, averaging 1.2 million prime-time viewers year to date. The network has 28 on-air anchors, 21 correspondents and reporters, and provides more than 120 hours of live programming each week.

Disclosure: Comcast is the parent company of NBCUniversal, which owns CNBC. Versant would become the new parent company of CNBC under the proposed spinoff.

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Greggs to reveal trading amid pressure from cost of living and weight loss drugs

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Greggs to reveal trading amid pressure from cost of living and weight loss drugs



Greggs is to shed light on demand from customers as the high street bakery chain contends with the rise of weight loss treatments and cost of living pressures on shoppers.

The high street chain is also wrestling with other factors including increases to labour costs and tax changes.

As a result, on Tuesday March 3, Greggs is expected to reveal pre-tax profits of around £173 million for the year to December 27, representing a 9% drop.

In its previous update shortly after Christmas, Greggs pointed to a strong finish to 2025 as sales growth accelerated in the final quarter of the year.

Like-for-like sales growth rose from 1.5% in the third quarter to 2.9% in the final months of 2025.

Totals sales were up 7.4% in the final quarter amid a boost from the group’s continued store opening programme.

The company opened 121 stores last year.

However, analysts at Deutsche Bank said expectations “have already been set low” for 2026 and are “unlikely to change”.

In January, Greggs said it was “cautious but hopeful” about its outlook for 2026, highlighting “subdued” consumer confidence.

Roisin Currie, chief executive of Greggs, also warned alongside its previous update that there was “no doubt” appetite-suppressing medication is having an impact on the bakery chain’s business.

It may provide more detail on how this continues to change customer eating habits.

Meanwhile, the group also announced that inflation was likely to be shallower than last year.

The group increased the price on a number of products and deals last year, so shareholders will also be keen to see how these changes have continued to impact trading.

Aarin Chiekrie, equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: “Investors are keen to hear how 2026 is shaping up in the early months.

“While the picture on the cost front is beginning to look more favourable, Greggs has plenty of other challenges still to wrestle with.

“Unhelpful changes to tax rules and minimum wages, slowing UK economic growth, and cost-conscious consumers are all weighing on the outlook.”



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Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Confirmed Martyred in US, Israeli Strikes – SUCH TV

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Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Confirmed Martyred in US, Israeli Strikes – SUCH TV



Major General Seyed Abdolrahim Mousavi, the Chief of Staff of Iran’s Armed Forces, attained martyrdom in a cowardly Israeli-American aggression on Saturday.

Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, was also martyred in the Saturday aggression, alongside many top-ranking military commanders and defense officials.

Major General Mousavi succeeded Major General Mohammad Bagheri following the 12-day war in June last year and carried forward the remarkable legacy of his predecessor.

He played a particularly vital role in the June 2025 war, leading the Iranian armed forces in their retaliatory operations that forced the Israeli regime to beg for surrender.

Mousavi previously served as the commander-in-chief of the Islamic Republic of Iran Army and played an instrumental role in bolstering the might of the army.

On August 21, 2017, he was promoted from Brigadier General to Major General and appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Islamic Republic of Iran Army by the Leader, replacing Seyed Ataollah Salehi.

Later, on May 28, 2019, Ayatollah Khamenei appointed him as the commander of the Khatam al-Anbia Air Defense Base, while he continued to serve as the army’s top commander.

Mousavi was born in 1960 in the holy city of Qom in central Iran. He was a graduate of the Army’s Ground Forces Officers’ University and held a doctorate in defense studies from the Supreme National Defense University. He joined the Iranian army in 1979.

During the years of the Imposed War in the 1980s, Major General Mousavi served in the Army’s artillery unit on various fronts, including the western battlefields in Kurdistan (28th Kurdistan Division) and the southwestern fronts (33rd Artillery Group of the Ground Forces) in Khuzestan province.

He participated in many operations such as Valfajr 4, Valfajr 9, Beit al-Moqaddas 5, Qader, Nasr, and several others. He is recognized as a veteran of the war.

After the Imposed War ended in 1997, he completed the Advanced Command and Staff Course (DAFOS) and later earned a doctoral degree in defense management at the Supreme National Defense University.

From 1999 to 2005, he served as the Chief of Joint Staff of the Army, and from 2008 to 2016, he was Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Army. Following that, from 2016 to 2017, he held the position of Deputy Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces.

Mousavi held several significant leadership positions within Iran’s military. From 1999 to 2005, he served as the Chief of Joint Staff of the Army, later assuming the role of Deputy Commander-in-Chief from 2008 to 2016.

In 2016, he was appointed Deputy Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces, a position he held until 2017, when he was named Commander-in-Chief of the Islamic Republic of Iran Army, a role he held until today.

Additionally, since May 2019, served as the Commander of the Khatam al-Anbia Air Defense Base, further solidifying his central role in the country’s military strategy and operations.

Major General Mousavi also served as the Commander of Imam Ali (PBUH) Officers’ University, where he contributed to the training and development of military personnel.

He also led the Army’s Northeast Operational Base, overseeing strategic operations in the region.

In addition, he was the Deputy for Training and the Deputy for Planning and Programs within the Army Ground Forces, playing a key role in shaping military preparedness and strategy.

Mousavi’s expertise in operations led to his appointment as the Head of Operations for the Army, and later, he became the Director of the Army Strategic Studies Center, where he engaged in high-level research and policy development.



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Yorkshire Cat Rescue sees rise in abandoned cats as costs increase

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Yorkshire Cat Rescue sees rise in abandoned cats as costs increase



Yorkshire Cat Rescue in Haworth says it paid £282,000 in vet bills in 2025 and rescued 925 animals.



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