An Oxford-linked study reported that drinking very hot tea or coffee — typically above about 65°C — is associated with roughly a threefold increase in oesophageal cancer risk, a result that keeps showing up in pooled evidence. That doesn’t mean your morning cuppa at a sensible temperature is doomed, but it does push public-health advice toward letting beverages cool a bit before you sip. Read the paper and reporting here: study summary. For anyone tracking illness risks from everyday habits, this is the sort of concrete, tweakable finding that matters more than broad pro-or-anti-coffee claims.

A new study found both caffeinated and decaf coffee change gut microbes in ways tied to lower stress, depression and impulsivity — suggesting benefits may not be all about caffeine. Details here: read the report.

As part of a turnaround, Starbucks plans to close about 250 North American locations, a move that could reshape local access and company staffing in neighborhoods; the announcement also threaded into continuing labor tensions and boycotts. More on the closures: report.

New sleep research suggests stopping coffee up to nine hours before bedtime improves sleep quality — longer than the old ‘no caffeine six hours before bed’ rule many of us follow. If you rely on evening social cups, this is the sort of tweak that can protect both performance and mood: study write-up.