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Our readers: What would Fulton Sheen make of modern politics?
“Sheen was a rock star who made being Catholic singular. No one lifted me up as much as Fulton during my teens.”
Proposed sales tax would fund new Bossier City entertainment districts
A proposed 2% sales tax would fund new entertainment districts planned for Bossier City.
Measure B supporters say it could help San Diegans on Medi-Cal
The San Diego County Health and Safety Act, also called Measure B, is a half-cent sales tax proposal that voters will decide on this November. Supporters say the measure would supplement cuts to California’s low-income healthcare program: Medi-Cal.
Trump’s $5,000 check promise: What would it cost, could it happen
Legal experts, economists and even Trump’s fellow Republicans say the plan faces a bevy of practical obstacles and long odds in Congress.
USC awarded $5.6 million from the National Science Foundation
The award would go towards AI optimization on campus.
Wisconsin lawmakers highlight green energy in La Crosse press conference
Two Wisconsin Democratic lawmakers are preparing legislation that would transition the state to clean energy by 2050.
‘& Juliet’ to close in January after 4-year Broadway run
NEW YORK — “& Juliet,” the musical exploring the life Shakespeare’s Juliet would have lived if she hadn’t offed herself to join Romeo in death will close in January after
Trump promised $5,000 checks if Republicans win the midterms. How would that work?
President Donald Trump promised on Wednesday to send every American adult a $5,000 check if Republicans keep control of the U.S. House and Senate after the midterm elections. "If the Republicans win, you win with us and you get $5,000," Trump told the crowd at the Republican Midterm Convention in Dallas. "It will be called the Trump dividend." WATCH: Trump promises $5,000 'dividend' for Americans if GOP wins midterms Trump said the rationale behind the
Press Release: Haley Stevens Introduces Bipartisan Data Science and Literacy Act
Haley Stevens and bipartisan lawmakers introduced a bill to expand data science education, teacher training, and student access.Quiver AI SummaryBill introduced: Rep. Haley Stevens and Reps. Jim Baird, Don Beyer and Brian Fitzpatrick said they introduced the bipartisan Data Science and Literacy Act. The proposal would expand access to data science education and help students gain skills for a data-driven economy.What the bill would do: According
GOP secretaries of state ask Supreme Court to block Trump mail-in ballot rule
The proposed change would significantly increase the likelihood of midterm election issues, they warned.
Housing, addiction, politics and the touchy subject of homelessness
Accountability means little if we blame the wrong people for the wrong results. Monique DeSpain has made the case for judging Oregon’s homelessness system by results. But the burden is hers to explain what she would change through Congress — and how voters should decide if it worked.
Physicist does the math on Star Trek’s “Picard Maneuver”
The trick from Next Generation would be even more effective in real life.
Trump to send $500 rebate checks to nearly one million Obamacare enrollees
A day after promising to send $5,000 dividend payments to all Americans, President Donald Trump announced Thursday that he would distribute $500 rebate checks to nearly one million Affordable Care Act enrollees in 30 states.
Jimmy Kimmel says FCC 'threatened our show' over interview with Texas Democratic Senate nominee James Talarico
The late-night host said the sitdown would instead be posted directly to YouTube.
Shorthanded No. 1 Stanford Faces Massive No. 3 Duke Challenge
A win would prove Stanford women's soccer can beat anyone. A loss would underscore how much the Cardinal are missing some of its top players.
Trump’s $5K dividend proposal if Republicans win midterms draws mixed reactions
During the GOP convention, the president said all U.S. adults would receive $5,000 if Republicans maintain House and Senate control
Trump’s $5K dividend proposal if Republicans win midterms draws mixed reactions
During the GOP convention, the president said all U.S. adults would receive $5,000 if Republicans maintain House and Senate control
Trump’s $5K dividend proposal if Republicans win midterms draws mixed reactions
During the GOP convention, the president said all U.S. adults would receive $5,000 if Republicans maintain House and Senate control
What Would Charlie Kirk Do Today?
A year after the killing of the 31-year-old conservative youth leader, the movement he helped create has splintered. Would that be the case if he were still alive?
Jimmy Kimmel says show won’t air James Talarico interview on TV, citing FCC threats
The late-night talk show host said the interview with the Democratic Senate candidate would air instead on YouTube.
Activists push Oregon constitutional ban on dark money campaign contributions
The proposed measure would eliminate independent expenditures from powerful groups, commonly referred to as dark money.
9/11 and Tampa: Two weeks that reshaped Australian politics
In September 2001, then Prime Minister John Howard faced two crises, the Tampa affair and the 9/11 terror attacks in Washington, that would define 20 years of Australian immigration politics.
Nearly All Health Systems and Health Plans Need Better Provider Data. Few Have It, and AI Investment Is at Risk.
/PRNewswire/ -- Health systems and health plans rank network and market expansion as the strategic priority that would benefit most from better provider data....
Trump makes a dubious pledge to give every U.S. adult $5,000 if GOP wins
It would most likely cost more than $1 trillion and require congressional approval
Trump makes a dubious pledge to give every U.S. adult $5,000 if GOP wins
It would most likely cost more than $1 trillion and require congressional approval
Opening up on mental health was best choice I ever made - Luke Humphries
World No.2 Luke Humphries has said his rise to the top of darts would never have been possible had he not opened up about his mental health struggles.
Vance appears to walk back Trump’s offer of $5,000 ‘dividend’ if Republicans win midterms
Vice-president suggests payment would not go to all and would be paid for by tariff revenues despite supreme court rulings against much of Trump’s program
How September 11 Changed American Politics Forever
As the memory of the attacks faded, it was inevitable that counterterrorism measures would draw more scrutiny — and voter priorities would shift.
Messi to buy second Spanish lower league club
Argentina icon Lionel Messi has agreed to take over Spanish club Eldense, the second division side confirmed on Thursday."CD Eldense can confirm that Lionel Messi has reached an agreement in principle with the club's current owners to acquire the shares currently held by Grupo TH Soluciones, which would make him the majority shareholder of CD Eldense," they told AFP. "At this time, the transaction is pending completion of the final legal and contractual procedures, including the due diligence pr
Exclusive: How politics in Miami and Cuba killed secret negotiations, U.S. energy deal
The agreement would have given the United States significant sway over Cuba as its main oil provider.
Pa. Republican lawmakers say proposed Department of Health regulations pose privacy concerns
Pennsylvania’s Department of Health is facing widespread pushback from Republican lawmakers who say the agency’s plan for how it would respond to future infectious disease outbreaks would give health officials
Mac Allister at Centre of Reported Real Madrid Swap Idea
Real Madrid are monitoring Liverpool midfielder Alexis Mac Allister and could explore a swap deal that would send Eduardo Camavinga to Anfield in exchange, according to Fichajes. Separately, Mancheste...
A booming business on Wall Street would love more biotechs to quietly die
Once disparaged, reverse mergers have become so popular that some deal experts question whether there are enough quality shell companies to meet the demand.
Dodgers announce decision on Shohei Ohtani injury
Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani has missed six of the past seven games with discomfort in his right arm. As a result, the Dodgers have decided to put him on the injured list. Following the team’s 14-1 win over the Cincinnati Reds on Wednesday night, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told reporters that Ohtani would…
Should we always blame voters for low civic participation in elections?
This year, like every election cycle, we hear the same complaints — enough citizens don’t vote. Voter turnout is too low. People are disengaged. Citizens are shirking their civic responsibility. If only voters cared more, democracy would work better. Fair enough. But perhaps it is time to ask another question: What about the candidate’s responsibility? […]
Trump promises $5,000 'dividend' if Republicans win midterms
Trump said recipients would have to spend the $5,000 "Trump dividend" in the US.
Goldman says Treasury buybacks won't be enough to tame bond yields
Treasury yields remained elevated after the department said it would repurchase up to $6 billion of 10- to 20-year debt.
Game of the Week Preview: Monterey at Legacy
Legacy has a chance to make some history Friday night. For the third straight week, our Game of the Week takes us to Memorial Stadium, where the Leopards are looking to start the season 3-0. A third straight victory would give Legacy three wins in a season for the first time. And the Leopards could […]
Trump Says Iran War Will End ‘Immediately’ After Midterms
Trump sought to reassure voters by predicting that gasoline prices would fall sharply after the midterm elections.
Willy Street businesses warn recovery far from over after Madison council rejects relief
The proposed Williamson Street Business Stabilization Support Program would have made money available to as many as 30 businesses directly impacted by the encampment near Williamson and Baldwin streets.
2027 Infield Landscape Ever Changing
At one time, Leo De Vries was on such a fast track that it seemed inevitable that he would be a big factor by the 2027 season. One torn labrum later (shoulder surgery scheduled this weekend) and he won’t even be back on a minor league field until mid-May. So the presumptive starters along side […]
Trump tries to energize his base by placing himself front and center: ‘I’m on the ballot’:
Trump spoke on the first night of the convention in Dallas, where he also promised — without specifics — that Americans would receive dividend checks if Republicans keep Congress.
UBS says its China fund distribution unit will cease business
UBS said on Thursday its China fund distribution unit in the tech hub of Shenzhen would cease fund sales business from the end of September.
Rhode Island could see a political wipeout next week
If Governor Dan McKee, Lieutenant Governor Sabina Matos, and Mayor Brett Smiley all were to fall, it would amount to an unprecedented upending of Rhode Island’s political establishment, and a massive rebuke that could signal a significant shift in the state’s political landscape.
Trump’s Census Overhaul Would Exclude Some Immigrants and Remove Questions on Race
The proposals for 2030 are among significant changes that would upend a process for helping allot congressional seats and shape policies that address disparities.
Málaga consider surprise Anthony Martial swoop
The board at La Liga outfit Málaga are giving consideration to what would come as a surprise move for former Manchester United attacker Anthony Martial.This comes amid an ongoing search for reinforce...
Voters could move Congress to revisit H.R. 1 healthcare overhaul, Kaine and McClellan say
It would still be a long shot, he and U.S. Rep. Jennifer McClellan, D-Richmond, noted. But since H.R. 1 passed, every member of Congress has spent time in their districts hearing from their constituents, as voters name healthcare a chief concern.
California, other states warn Supreme Court of 'chaos' if it lets USPS mail ballot rules stand
A federal judge has already halted the plan nationwide, but the Trump administration has asked the Supreme Court to revive it, arguing the federal government would be seriously harmed by voter fraud if it does not.
iPhone 18 Pro Models and iPhone Duo Feature Apple's New C2 Modem
Apple today unveiled new iPhone 18 Pro models and the iPhone Duo – the company's first foldable iPhone – and all three devices feature Apple's new custom-designed C2 modem for 5G connectivity. Prior to today's announcements, there was speculation that Apple's C2 in-house modem would not support mmWave 5G in the U.S., and that the company would once again rely on Qualcomm to fill the gap for American carriers. Apparently, that's not the case.
Giants Trade Pitch Sends Former 1st-Round Pick to 49ers
Bleacher Report proposed a trade that would send New York Giants former 1st-round pick to 49ers. The post Giants Trade Pitch Sends Former 1st-Round Pick to 49ers appeared first on HEAVY.
Trump administration proposes dropping huge swath of immigrants from U.S. census
The proposal would block immigrants in the country legally from being counted in the 2030 census and would drop some questions about race and ethnicity.
Kinsman Road Appearance Deters New Businesses
Newbury Township officials debated how to address the multitude of landscaping businesses along state Route 87 during the Sept. 2 trustees meeting. Newbury Township Trustees agreed they do not plan to force out the more than a dozen landscaping businesses already established along the corridor. However, they said they would like to see some improve
iPhone Duo Supports MagSafe Charging
Rumors about the foldable iPhone were unclear on whether it would have MagSafe charging, but it turns out the iPhone Duo does indeed have a magnetic charging array. Tech specs for the device say it supports MagSafe wireless charging at up to 25W, the same as the iPhone 18 Pro models. It also supports Qi2.2 25W wireless charging when using third-party accessories. Faster wired charging is available, with the iPhone Duo charging to 50 percent in a 20-minute period.
Why Trump’s Republican Midterm ‘Convention’ Isn’t a Real Convention
No nominations or formal party business will be happening, as they would at a traditional presidential convention. But the made-for-TV speeches will look much the same.
'Like Science Fiction': Resident Votes and Virtual Reality Drive NYCHA Campus Transformation
Maria Guzman, 71, said she couldn’t believe that a man who helped her garden for a few minutes one afternoon would, within weeks, donate millions of dollars to redesign 33,000 square feet of outdoor space at her public housing development.
Lancaster County judge dismisses challenge to Nebraska K-12, collegiate sports ballot measure
A district court judge dismissed all objections Tuesday to a last-minute legal effort seeking to disqualify a ballot measure that would cement sex-separate school sports requirements in the Nebraska Constitution.
Hoping customers would return after Operation Metro Surge, immigrant businesses are still waiting
These anecdotal reports match preliminary data from government and other researchers.
Small Business Spotlight: Guitar shop aims to strike a chord
WHAT MADE YOU WANT TO OPEN STRING THEORY GUITARS INC.? ALLISON & LEE WILLIAMS: “We are lifelong musicians with a passion for playing. We love Wilmington and the live music scene here, and we wanted a way to be a part of the music community without having to start work at 9 p.m. We also want to be a destination for residents and musicians performing in and around the downtown area.” WHAT DOES YOUR BUSINESS PROVIDE, AND HOW DO YOU THINK IT HELPS CUSTOMERS? We love Wilmington and the live music scene here, and we wanted a way to be a part of the music community without having to start work at 9 p.m. We also want to be a destination for residents and musicians performing in and around the downtown areaTHE WILLIAMSES: “We’re a true basics-to-boutique destination. If you’re someone who’s just starting out, we can set you up with high-quality, brand-new equipment at a great entry-level price point. When you’re ready for your dream guitar, we can help you design and create a fully custom electric or acoustic guitar to your specifications. We have a broad selection of both guitars and amplifiers for players of every level. We also have a community board in the store to connect bands, students, instructors, repair technicians, and anyone providing a service to the local music community.” WHAT PAST EXPERIENCE DO YOU HAVE THAT LED YOU TO CREATE STRING THEORY GUITARS? THE WILLIAMSES: “Lee has played guitar for almost 40 years, from middle school band to gigging rock bands. Allison has a background in orchestra and musical theater, as well as retail management. We worked together as a husband-and-wife team in manufacturing for many years prior to moving to Wilmington. Having shopped in countless music stores over the years, we set up our shop with the goal of being welcoming and inviting. Our philosophy is ‘if it’s on display, it’s for play.’ No instrument or amplifier is out of reach in our store.” WHAT GOALS DO YOU HAVE FOR GROWTH? THE WILLIAMSES: “We would love to grow the bluegrass and folk instrument segment of our business. We carry banjos, mandolins, resonator guitars, ukuleles and related accessories. We’ve seen and heard plenty of talented bluegrass and folk musicians around Wilmington, and we look forward to expanding our selections to support this growing segment of the local music scene.” WHAT CHALLENGES ARE YOU FACING RIGHT NOW IN YOUR BUSINESS? THE WILLIAMSES: “Getting the word out about our brand and some of the unique brands we represent is a challenge for any new business. Online exposure through the Cargo District, Wilmington Downtown Inc. … and our online following is steadily growing. Our other challenge is the logistics of our streets. Our neighborhood is amazing, and you could spend the entire day walking around the Cargo District. As the District continues to grow, we’re seeing more pedestrian traffic, particularly in crossing 16th and 17th streets. We’ve seen some improvements in traffic calming, but the sooner we can improve safety with crosswalks and pedestrian signals, the more welcoming our neighborhood will be.”
The Cost of Cutting American Science: How Federal Cuts Diminish Public Health Capacity
Among the federal government’s many responsibilities is the work it does to protect public health. Federal agencies monitor our food supply to ensure safety, conduct research to better understand emerging health threats, provide funding for public health programs in communities and work to detect and respond to disease outbreaks. Americans rely on these efforts every day—in a 2024 online survey, 74% of respondents said that “if the federal government issued safety guidance about food you eat regularly,” they would follow it. Changes to Federal Public Health Capacity The Trump administration’s efforts to reshape the federal government have resulted in significant impacts on our nation’s public health capacity over the past 20 months, affecting the response to health concerns such as measles, Ebola and cyclosporiasis. Agencies with core public health, food safety and disease prevention responsibilities experienced large workforce decreases during the first year of the administration. At the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, for instance, the workforce in February 2026 was 26.7% smaller than in September 2024 before the start of the Trump administration. The Food and Drug Administration saw a similarly steep decline of 21.6%. Agencies such as the National Institutes of Health, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration and Food Safety and Inspection Service also experienced large workforce decreases. (function(){function e(){window.addEventListener(`message`,function(e){if(e.data[`datawrapper-height`]!==void 0){var t=document.querySelectorAll(`iframe`);for(var n in e.data[`datawrapper-height`])for(var r=0,i;i=t[r];r++)if(i.contentWindow===e.source){var a=e.data[`datawrapper-height`][n]+`px`;i.style.height=a}}})}e()})(); Changes can also be seen in crucial public health occupations. The number of federal food inspectors, for example, decreased by more than half between September 2024 and February 2026, going from 1,035 to 473. This is the lowest number of food inspectors employed by the federal government since at least 2005. By February 2026, there were also 33.3% fewer federal public health program specialists, whose work includes advising federal funding recipients on public health activities and analyzing the effectiveness of public health programs. Government’s capacity is diminished as employees with specialized knowledge and experience in protecting the public and responding to health risks depart, leaving agencies less prepared to carry out their public health missions. There also have been vacancies in critical high-level leadership positions at public health agencies, most notably at the CDC, which had a permanent Senate-confirmed director for less than a month between January 2025 and early August 2026. Although the CDC has previously been led by acting directors at the start of an administration, the nearly yearlong gap since the departure of the administration’s first permanent director in August 2025 is without precedent. As of August 2026, the FDA is also currently without a Senate-confirmed commissioner following the previous commissioner’s resignation in May 2026. Additionally, public health agencies are experiencing increased politicization of their leadership ranks. In agencies such as the CDC and Food Safety and Inspection Service, the number of individuals in the Senior Executive Service—the most senior career leaders in government—has declined significantly, while at the same time the number of political appointees has reached record levels. (function(){function e(){window.addEventListener(`message`,function(e){if(e.data[`datawrapper-height`]!==void 0){var t=document.querySelectorAll(`iframe`);for(var n in e.data[`datawrapper-height`])for(var r=0,i;i=t[r];r++)if(i.contentWindow===e.source){var a=e.data[`datawrapper-height`][n]+`px`;i.style.height=a}}})}e()})(); (function(){function e(){window.addEventListener(`message`,function(e){if(e.data[`datawrapper-height`]!==void 0){var t=document.querySelectorAll(`iframe`);for(var n in e.data[`datawrapper-height`])for(var r=0,i;i=t[r];r++)if(i.contentWindow===e.source){var a=e.data[`datawrapper-height`][n]+`px`;i.style.height=a}}})}e()})(); At the CDC, for example, the number of career SES decreased 42.9% between December 2024 and February 2026, while the number of non-Senate confirmed political appointees at the agency was six times larger than the agency’s historical average from 2009 and 2024. Knowledgeable career leaders are integral to the ability of public health agencies to carry out their work with scientific integrity and professional judgment, and rapid leadership turnover and increased politicization threaten agencies’ ability to make evidence-based decisions to protect our health. The upheaval and politicization in public health agencies have also negatively affected employee engagement. Strong employee engagement is crucial to the ability of agencies to carry out their mission and successfully provide essential services to the public. In the 2025 Public Service Viewpoint Survey conducted by the Partnership for Public Service, the Department of Health and Human Services—which encompasses major public health agencies such as the CDC and FDA—had an employee engagement and satisfaction score of 20.4 out of 100, one of the lowest among large agencies. Only 2.8% of HHS employees indicated trust in their political leaders and only 8.7% reported confidence that they could report a suspected violation of law or regulation without retaliation. Employees at HHS also reported that the agency’s ability to provide services to the public had suffered. Nearly half of employees at HHS, 47.5%, said their work unit was worse at delivering quality services compared to its performance in 2024. In addition, 57.8% said their work unit was performing worse at fulfilling stakeholder needs. In addition to the work done within federal agencies, the federal government also distributes significant funding for public health and disease prevention work to state and local governments, nonprofits and small businesses—funding which has been significantly disrupted. At the CDC, for example, there was a 71.9% decrease in the amount of project grant funding issued in fiscal year 2025 compared to fiscal year 2024. The FDA also issued far less funding in fiscal year 2025—a 21.3% decrease from its fiscal year 2024 funding. Changes in federal funding include the ending of grants to community organizations that worked on HIV prevention and the cancellation of funding for research into improvements to patient safety and healthcare quality. These changes go beyond federal agencies to impact the broader public health ecosystem, including the state and local health departments responsible for much of the on-the-ground public health work in their communities. About 80% of the CDC’s domestic funding is directed towards state and local partners—meaning that cuts to CDC funding can ultimately result in cuts to state and local public health capacity. Federal agencies also provide expertise and assistance to state and local health agencies as they deal with particular health challenges, but workforce cuts have resulted in fewer federal employees available to help. The Impact of Changes to Public Health Capacity These changes to federal public health capacity are not abstract concerns. Disrupted programs, reduced funding and lost expertise at public health agencies across all levels of government threaten the public’s physical well-being and safety. In some cases, this has already led to harm. The most immediate impacts of federal cuts were seen in interruptions to ongoing public health programs and crisis responses. In one instance, when CDC grants were canceled during the 2025 Texas measles outbreak—the most severe measles outbreak in 25 years—public health officials in Lubbock, Texas were forced to pause parts of their measles response work supported by the frozen funding. Lubbock’s director of public health further said that a lack of available CDC experts to reach out to for advice “definitely” impacted the department’s response to the measles crisis. Cuts to federal funding also forced Dallas County Health and Human Services to cut staff and cancel 50 community vaccination clinics during the outbreak. Public health work outside of major outbreak responses was also disrupted. For example, in April 2025, the Milwaukee Public Health Department was unexpectedly unable to reach experts on lead poisoning due to firings at the CDC when responding to concerns about lead contamination in Milwaukee public schools. Due to federal workforce cuts, several programs at the CDC, including Alzheimer’s and epilepsy programs, have also become trapped in limbo—existing on paper, but without the staff necessary to operate. More recent crises reveal how federal cuts have weakened the public health infrastructure needed to prevent and respond to dangerous new outbreaks. Internationally, cuts at the U.S. Agency for International Development eliminated funding for disease testing and contact tracing abroad, which delayed detection of and responses to the 2026 Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo. While international outbreaks may seem far removed, the unchecked spread of disease in any country can quickly pose a danger to economic well-being, security and health around the world. Within the United States, public health cuts inhibited responses to the summer 2026 outbreak of the food-borne parasite cyclospora. At the federal level, cuts to funding for lab equipment and for CDC staff with expertise in parasitic infections—including 9 out of 11 staff members at the lab responsible for identifying parasitic outbreaks in 2025— contributed to the largest reporting delay in outbreak cases at the CDC in 15 years. Conflicting communications from the FDA about the source of the outbreak, which followed cuts to the agency’s communications department, additionally led to confusion among the public about how to best avoid infection. At the same time, cuts to HHS funding and support for local and state public health slowed some health departments’ responses to the crisis. The exact costs of these delays, constraints and confusion in public health responses are difficult to estimate. However, their message is clear: federal cuts have already made containing threats to public health even more of a challenge. Conclusion Protecting public health—from food safety to disease prevention—is one of the federal government’s most important missions. Dramatic and haphazard cuts to federal agencies and funding have already disrupted the public health system, impacting the response to challenges such as measles, lead poisoning and cyclosporiasis. The U.S. public health system needed improvement before these disruptions. Since 2022, federal leadership and coordination in response to public health outbreaks has been on the Government Accountability Office’s High-Risk List of areas in need of attention to improve government effectiveness and efficiency. Recent cuts only compound these concerns. The chaotic dismantling of government and resulting disruptions to crucial functions like public health and disease prevention highlight the need for meaningful reform and concrete policy proposals to reimagine how government can better serve the public and be more effective, responsive and accountable. To learn more about the impact of federal cuts to public health and science more broadly, visit The Cost of Cutting American Science. Learn more For more information on the Partnership for Public Service’s government reform initiative, visit Government for a New Era. View here In line with The Cost of Cutting American Science, federal workforce data in this brief is as of February 2026
The Cost of Cutting American Science: How Federal Cuts Diminish Public Health Capacity
Among the federal government’s many responsibilities is the work it does to protect public health. Federal agencies monitor our food supply to ensure safety, conduct research to better understand emerging health threats, provide funding for public health programs in communities and work to detect and respond to disease outbreaks. Americans rely on these efforts every day—in a 2024 online survey, 74% of respondents said that “if the federal government issued safety guidance about food you eat regularly,” they would follow it. Changes to Federal Public Health Capacity The Trump administration’s efforts to reshape the federal government have resulted in significant impacts on our nation’s public health capacity over the past 20 months, affecting the response to health concerns such as measles, Ebola and cyclosporiasis. Agencies with core public health, food safety and disease prevention responsibilities experienced large workforce decreases during the first year of the administration. At the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, for instance, the workforce in February 2026 was 26.7% smaller than in September 2024 before the start of the Trump administration. The Food and Drug Administration saw a similarly steep decline of 21.6%. Agencies such as the National Institutes of Health, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration and Food Safety and Inspection Service also experienced large workforce decreases. (function(){function e(){window.addEventListener(`message`,function(e){if(e.data[`datawrapper-height`]!==void 0){var t=document.querySelectorAll(`iframe`);for(var n in e.data[`datawrapper-height`])for(var r=0,i;i=t[r];r++)if(i.contentWindow===e.source){var a=e.data[`datawrapper-height`][n]+`px`;i.style.height=a}}})}e()})(); Changes can also be seen in crucial public health occupations. The number of federal food inspectors, for example, decreased by more than half between September 2024 and February 2026, going from 1,035 to 473. This is the lowest number of food inspectors employed by the federal government since at least 2005. By February 2026, there were also 33.3% fewer federal public health program specialists, whose work includes advising federal funding recipients on public health activities and analyzing the effectiveness of public health programs. Government’s capacity is diminished as employees with specialized knowledge and experience in protecting the public and responding to health risks depart, leaving agencies less prepared to carry out their public health missions. There also have been vacancies in critical high-level leadership positions at public health agencies, most notably at the CDC, which had a permanent Senate-confirmed director for less than a month between January 2025 and early August 2026. Although the CDC has previously been led by acting directors at the start of an administration, the nearly yearlong gap since the departure of the administration’s first permanent director in August 2025 is without precedent. As of August 2026, the FDA is also currently without a Senate-confirmed commissioner following the previous commissioner’s resignation in May 2026. Additionally, public health agencies are experiencing increased politicization of their leadership ranks. In agencies such as the CDC and Food Safety and Inspection Service, the number of individuals in the Senior Executive Service—the most senior career leaders in government—has declined significantly, while at the same time the number of political appointees has reached record levels. (function(){function e(){window.addEventListener(`message`,function(e){if(e.data[`datawrapper-height`]!==void 0){var t=document.querySelectorAll(`iframe`);for(var n in e.data[`datawrapper-height`])for(var r=0,i;i=t[r];r++)if(i.contentWindow===e.source){var a=e.data[`datawrapper-height`][n]+`px`;i.style.height=a}}})}e()})(); (function(){function e(){window.addEventListener(`message`,function(e){if(e.data[`datawrapper-height`]!==void 0){var t=document.querySelectorAll(`iframe`);for(var n in e.data[`datawrapper-height`])for(var r=0,i;i=t[r];r++)if(i.contentWindow===e.source){var a=e.data[`datawrapper-height`][n]+`px`;i.style.height=a}}})}e()})(); At the CDC, for example, the number of career SES decreased 42.9% between December 2024 and February 2026, while the number of non-Senate confirmed political appointees at the agency was six times larger than the agency’s historical average from 2009 and 2024. Knowledgeable career leaders are integral to the ability of public health agencies to carry out their work with scientific integrity and professional judgment, and rapid leadership turnover and increased politicization threaten agencies’ ability to make evidence-based decisions to protect our health. The upheaval and politicization in public health agencies have also negatively affected employee engagement. Strong employee engagement is crucial to the ability of agencies to carry out their mission and successfully provide essential services to the public. In the 2025 Public Service Viewpoint Survey conducted by the Partnership for Public Service, the Department of Health and Human Services—which encompasses major public health agencies such as the CDC and FDA—had an employee engagement and satisfaction score of 20.4 out of 100, one of the lowest among large agencies. Only 2.8% of HHS employees indicated trust in their political leaders and only 8.7% reported confidence that they could report a suspected violation of law or regulation without retaliation. Employees at HHS also reported that the agency’s ability to provide services to the public had suffered. Nearly half of employees at HHS, 47.5%, said their work unit was worse at delivering quality services compared to its performance in 2024. In addition, 57.8% said their work unit was performing worse at fulfilling stakeholder needs. In addition to the work done within federal agencies, the federal government also distributes significant funding for public health and disease prevention work to state and local governments, nonprofits and small businesses—funding which has been significantly disrupted. At the CDC, for example, there was a 71.9% decrease in the amount of project grant funding issued in fiscal year 2025 compared to fiscal year 2024. The FDA also issued far less funding in fiscal year 2025—a 21.3% decrease from its fiscal year 2024 funding. Changes in federal funding include the ending of grants to community organizations that worked on HIV prevention and the cancellation of funding for research into improvements to patient safety and healthcare quality. These changes go beyond federal agencies to impact the broader public health ecosystem, including the state and local health departments responsible for much of the on-the-ground public health work in their communities. About 80% of the CDC’s domestic funding is directed towards state and local partners—meaning that cuts to CDC funding can ultimately result in cuts to state and local public health capacity. Federal agencies also provide expertise and assistance to state and local health agencies as they deal with particular health challenges, but workforce cuts have resulted in fewer federal employees available to help. The Impact of Changes to Public Health Capacity These changes to federal public health capacity are not abstract concerns. Disrupted programs, reduced funding and lost expertise at public health agencies across all levels of government threaten the public’s physical well-being and safety. In some cases, this has already led to harm. The most immediate impacts of federal cuts were seen in interruptions to ongoing public health programs and crisis responses. In one instance, when CDC grants were canceled during the 2025 Texas measles outbreak—the most severe measles outbreak in 25 years—public health officials in Lubbock, Texas were forced to pause parts of their measles response work supported by the frozen funding. Lubbock’s director of public health further said that a lack of available CDC experts to reach out to for advice “definitely” impacted the department’s response to the measles crisis. Cuts to federal funding also forced Dallas County Health and Human Services to cut staff and cancel 50 community vaccination clinics during the outbreak. Public health work outside of major outbreak responses was also disrupted. For example, in April 2025, the Milwaukee Public Health Department was unexpectedly unable to reach experts on lead poisoning due to firings at the CDC when responding to concerns about lead contamination in Milwaukee public schools. Due to federal workforce cuts, several programs at the CDC, including Alzheimer’s and epilepsy programs, have also become trapped in limbo—existing on paper, but without the staff necessary to operate. More recent crises reveal how federal cuts have weakened the public health infrastructure needed to prevent and respond to dangerous new outbreaks. Internationally, cuts at the U.S. Agency for International Development eliminated funding for disease testing and contact tracing abroad, which delayed detection of and responses to the 2026 Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo. While international outbreaks may seem far removed, the unchecked spread of disease in any country can quickly pose a danger to economic well-being, security and health around the world. Within the United States, public health cuts inhibited responses to the summer 2026 outbreak of the food-borne parasite cyclospora. At the federal level, cuts to funding for lab equipment and for CDC staff with expertise in parasitic infections—including 9 out of 11 staff members at the lab responsible for identifying parasitic outbreaks in 2025— contributed to the largest reporting delay in outbreak cases at the CDC in 15 years. Conflicting communications from the FDA about the source of the outbreak, which followed cuts to the agency’s communications department, additionally led to confusion among the public about how to best avoid infection. At the same time, cuts to HHS funding and support for local and state public health slowed some health departments’ responses to the crisis. The exact costs of these delays, constraints and confusion in public health responses are difficult to estimate. However, their message is clear: federal cuts have already made containing threats to public health even more of a challenge. Conclusion Protecting public health—from food safety to disease prevention—is one of the federal government’s most important missions. Dramatic and haphazard cuts to federal agencies and funding have already disrupted the public health system, impacting the response to challenges such as measles, lead poisoning and cyclosporiasis. The U.S. public health system needed improvement before these disruptions. Since 2022, federal leadership and coordination in response to public health outbreaks has been on the Government Accountability Office’s High-Risk List of areas in need of attention to improve government effectiveness and efficiency. Recent cuts only compound these concerns. The chaotic dismantling of government and resulting disruptions to crucial functions like public health and disease prevention highlight the need for meaningful reform and concrete policy proposals to reimagine how government can better serve the public and be more effective, responsive and accountable. To learn more about the impact of federal cuts to public health and science more broadly, visit The Cost of Cutting American Science. Learn more For more information on the Partnership for Public Service’s government reform initiative, visit Government for a New Era. View here In line with The Cost of Cutting American Science, federal workforce data in this brief is as of February 2026
Is Senesi a long-term starter for Spurs?
"He's comfortable playing in a possession-based team, reads the game very well and has the personality to thrive in a demanding environment," Roberto de Zerbi said on Marco Senesi after Tottenham signed the defender in June. Senesi was a big get for Spurs. It was expected Senesi would slot straight into De Zerbi's starting XI - and he did for the Premier League opener away at Brentford.
Editorial: Stars and Stripes paper the latest casualty of ‘friendly’ fire
Dwight D. Eisenhower and Pete Hegseth, it appears, would not have gotten along well. They almost certainly would have disagreed on one particular military matter — the editorial independence of
Foldable iPhone Duo to Come With Apple Pencil Support
Apple's foldable iPhone Duo will come with Apple Pencil support, reports Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Gurman previously claimed that Apple had prototyped a dedicated Apple Pencil for its foldable iPhone that was "stubbier than the versions for iPads" and "designed to magnetically attach and charge on the side of the device," but he said it was unlikely that the accessory would be released.
Commissioners consider multi-million-dollar contract for inmate health care
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Shelby County commissioners are considering a massive multi-million-dollar contract for inmate health care. The contract would bring in a new medical provider for the county&…
Colts Going With Veterans As Starting Linebackers, For Now
The Indianapolis Colts' linebacker group may not look the way you thought it would start the season.
California voters can fix a flaw in the state's recall system
Proposition 5 on the November ballot would prevent a governor's replacement from taking office by winning just marginal support. It's the first step toward a badly needed overhaul.
Epic v. Health Gorilla: “Working as Designed”
We’ve been on a bit of a legal bender since just before Labor Day, so let’s keep a good thing going! As predicted, Epic does not want its case against Health Gorilla consolidated with the data breach cases, so it filed a motion to vacate the conditional transfer. And because they had to explain to the Panel why this case is different, they put a good chunk of previously unseen Epic v. Health Gorilla discovery record on the public docket! Roll the tape! The Case Against Consolidation Before we get to the fun stuff, let’s do the housekeeping. Epic's motion boils down to three arguments (sorted in ascending order of how well they land): A judge has already decided this. Judge Olguin declined to relate the fraud action to another ELU case (Patterson v. UVA Health), holding that the two do not call for determination of substantially similar questions of law or fact. Epic asks the Panel to treat that (a Rule 42 ruling) as law of the case. The overlap is thin. The three common questions Health Gorilla and the Panel identified are neither numerous nor complex (the qualities the Panel looks for before centralizing). Moreover, they are outnumbered by the questions unique to each side: The breach cases turn on security architecture, notification timing, and patient-level access. The fraud action turns on false treatment attestations and breaches of the framework agreements. Consolidation costs more than it saves. 17 of 21 parties in the fraud action do not appear in a breach case. The cases are also at very different stages: Olguin has a scheduling order running through a January 2028 trial while the breach actions are much more nascent. I like the last two more than the first because they attack the basic economics of an MDL: there just may not be enough shared discovery here to justify dragging all the defendants and a relatively mature fraud case all the way to Florida. On the other hand (while I know exceedingly little about MDL and Rule 42), I have a hard time seeing why a district judge's decision about his own docket would control what the Panel does with the separate § 1407 question. I might be reading between the lines too much, but I sorta think Epic's own brief half-concedes this, framing the two provisions as "two sides of the same coin" but then adding "respectfully submit" (which is often lawyer speak for “we know this is a reach”). The Ladder Gets More Rungs Anyway, the arguments are not why you're here (aside from the lawyers, maybe). Back in June, we discussed how Epic was using the smaller defendants to build an evidentiary ladder toward Health Gorilla and Unit 387. Turns out discovery has been adding a few rungs of its own.
Madison Common Council rejects business stabilization program for Williamson Street businesses
MADISON (WKOW) — The Madison Common Council rejected a business stabilization program that would have provided money to customer-facing businesses in the Williamson Street area.
The five deep-sea arrays of the Ocean Observatories Initiative had been streaming continuous readings from the Atlantic and Pacific since 2016, and in May 2026 the National Science Foundation said four would be pulled out of the water before reversing course on June 18
The five deep-sea arrays of the Ocean Observatories Initiative streamed continuous readings from the Atlantic and Pacific for a decade. In May 2026 the National Science Foundation moved to pull four of them out. A bipartisan Senate revolt reversed the plan — but the data gap and the deeper funding cliff remain.
DeWitt takes down Mason 3-1 on the pitch
DEWITT, Mich. (WLNS) – DeWitt soccer uses a big 2nd half to help the Panthers take down Mason 3-1. DeWitt senior Colter Rees led the Panthers with two goals, coming off a free kick and a penalty shot. Junior Will Broderick would round out the scoring for DeWitt, as he delivered the dagger with two minutes […]
Allegheny County Council proposes bill that could regulate AI use in political campaign materials
Members of Allegheny County Council on Tuesday introduced a bill that would require political candidates to disclose their use of artificial intelligence in campaign materials, an effort aimed at preventing voters from being misled by AI-generative content. If passed, the ordinance would establish disclosure requirements for AI-generated campaign content used
Five Plays: Ole Miss First Quarter
Louisville went down to Nashville and battled Ole Miss to the final second on the clock. There were a lot of questions that the Cards needed to answer quickly, with the main one being how Lincoln Kienholz would play in his first career start. But UofL came out with a great plan, and they took […]
A (temporary) win for science and sanity
Congress rejects rule that would give Trump control over all research and academic grants—for now
Reaction: “Fabio looked dangerous from his first touch”
(in the mixed zone): “He had circulation problems (regarding the substitution of Konstantinos Karetsas, ed.). There had been no sign of it. He went to the hospital for further examinations. It would...
LeBron James is partnering with prediction platform Polymarket
PHILADELPHIA — Where LeBron James would choose to play the final years of his storied career was a fixture on prediction markets this summer. Now, James could benefit from the
Mets Officially Learn MLB Playoff Fate
The New York Mets have one of the most expensive rosters in the history of sports. It hasn’t worked out even close to how they planned. And while there wasn’t really any suspense about this, it only became official this week how the Mets would fare in the NL East Division. Tuesday night will be […] The post Mets Officially Learn MLB Playoff Fate appeared first on HEAVY.
The 98 Biggest TV Show Flops, Bombs and Misses in the First Half of 2026
(Welcome to the Entertainment Strategy Guy, a newsletter on the entertainment industry and business strategy. I write a weekly Streaming Ratings Report and a bi-weekly strategy column, along with occasional deep dives into other topics, like today’s article. Please subscribe.) In July, I updated my look at how the “streaming bubble” popped since 2023, showing the decline in streaming TV shows over time. But after compiling and analyzing and writing about over one hundred TV show flops in the first half of 2026—I counted 99 “nominees” and there are even more honorable mentions—I couldn’t have told you that the number of shows is going down. When it comes to scripted, English-language TV shows, it feels like we have as many bombs as ever. I don’t keep a specific count, but some streamers probably had as many flops as they’ve ever had.1 That’s right, it’s time for part two of my analysis of the biggest flops, bombs and misses on streaming in the first half of 2026. Two weeks ago, I took a look at films. Today, TV shows. If you want to read the full methodology for how I assemble this list, you can find it at the bottom of this article. In short, this list is… ...scripted and unscripted TV shows,...from the nine major streamers,...in the US (using US-only ratings),...excluding true crime, kids and foreign-language shows,...that got no/poor ratings,...from Jan-2026 to the end of June-2026. Reminder: this article does not represent my personal opinion—many of these shows are great!—but I follow the data, and a miss is a miss and a bomb is a bomb. Also, price matters. If a TV show costs north of $100 million, it needs to get lots and lots of streaming viewership to justify that budget. As with past editions, I ordered this list by streamer, going from best (fewest flops) to worst (the most misses)—taking the size of the flops into consideration—and like the last edition, three or four streamers vied to take the win/loss of having the most flops. (But the actual winner is no surprise.) I try to avoid tooting my own horn too much, but seriously, in just under 5,000 words (including the methodology section) I provide a mostly comprehensive overview of the eight major streamers (Netflix, Disney+, Prime Video, Hulu, HBO Max, Peacock, Paramount+, and Apple TV) for the first half of the year, mentioning most of their hits and all their misses. It summarizes the entire first half of 2026! If you want to support this work, please subscribe. Subscribe Tubi Big Mood Boarders The Freak Brothers Twenty Twenty Six Honorable Mentions: Busted on Bodycam, Deestroying the Pitch, Destination World Cup 2026 I don’t think that Tubi spends all that much making or (mostly) licensing these original TV shows—Big Mood, Boarders and Twenty Twenty Six all come from the UK—but they’re not free and they didn’t chart anywhere. Winner: The Freak Brothers Have you even heard of this show? It’s an animated comedy...that’s on its third season! And Pete Davidson, Woody Harrelson, John Goodman and Tiffany Haddish all provide voice talent for it. Yes, animated shows don’t cost as much as live action shows, but cheap isn’t free! So a show with this level of talent needs to perform better. Disney+ Daredevil: Born Again Star Wars: Maul – Shadow Lord Honorable Mentions: Behind the Attraction, Donna Hay Coastal Celebrations, We Call It Imagineering Disney+ doesn’t make all that many original shows anymore. They had two flops, and one was animated. Their one not-a-miss show, Wonder Man, got just good enough viewership to not be considered a “miss”...but it’s since been cancelled. At this point, Disney has pivoted entirely away from making big budget TV shows for Disney+ to making...almost nothing for Disney+? Sure, Disney’s spending circa 2019-2022 was unsustainable, but now they’re pivoting too far in the other direction. At some point, Disney needs to stop shifting strategies so wildly. Really, Disney should have made fewer shows for Disney+ at launch and the shows they did make at that time needed to be made at more reasonable budgets. And they should adopt that strategy now. Winner: Daredevil: Born Again Daredevil, the Marvel Comics character, is on my personal Mount Rushmore of favorite superheroes, so it pains me to give him the win/loss today, but this show deserves it. I’ll repeat my hot take from last spring: “Based on his popularity, Daredevil should be in movies, and probably ones that cost a lot less than the MCU’s usual price tag. Disney/Bob Iger/Ike Perlmutter (who, based on reporting, made the decision) made a huge mistake selling TV shows to Netflix in the 2010s, thus limiting this character to the small screen. Daredevil could have anchored Marvel’s post-Infinity War plans, and if he did, the MCU would probably be in a better place than it is now.” HBO Max We’re just getting started with this issue, but the rest is for paid subscribers of the Entertainment Strategy Guy, so if you’d like to find out… What four streamers had the most misses... HBO’s strong start to 2026… The caveat to Peacock’s turnaround this year... Paramount+’s key man problem… What country isn’t delivering hits for Netflix or Hulu... The cavalcade of stars on a streamer where no one is watching their shows... Across nearly 5,000 words of analysis… And a lot more... ...please subscribe! We can only keep doing this great work with your support. If you’d like to read more about why you should subscribe, please read this article about the Streaming Ratings Report, why it matters, why you need it, and why we cover streaming ratings best.
Supreme Court rejects Missouri’s request to use congressional map with extra GOP seat
The Supreme Court on Tuesday denied Missouri’s request to use a congressional map for the November midterm election that would have given Republicans a chance to flip a seat, a rare setback for the GOP’s effort to keep control of the House next year by eking out an advantage from its political boundaries.
Sonoma County delays opening of El Verano behavioral health facility for second time this year
The facility in El Verano — which would bring services closer and expand homelessness services to Sonoma Valley residents and which county officials had called “a big win for the Valley” — was originally expected to open in June.
US House bill requires criminal background checks on Hollywood sets
A House bill would require criminal background checks for Hollywood set workers who supervise or regularly interact with minors.
The Villages Health’s $541 million settlement highlights the cost of ‘upcoding’
The settlement describes how The Villages Health would go back into patients' medical files months later and add diagnoses -- sometimes adding in monitoring, evaluations or treatments.
Exclusive: Two of gaming’s biggest names are making a big investment in gaming’s future
The first thing to know about the Nova Games Foundation is that it isn’t about The Game Awards. And it’s not about PlayStation. The ambitious new grant program is the brainchild of Geoff Keighley and Mark Cerny. Keighley is the host of The Game Awards, Summer Game Fest and Opening Night Live. Cerny is a game designer of some 45 years and the lead architect for the PlayStation 4 and 5. But this new thing, which they’re revealing through Game File, isn’t about their day jobs. It’s an unaffiliated, standalone philanthropic project. It’s a bet on the artistic future of video games and a way, they tell me, to give back. “I’m nearing the end of my career,” Cerny recently told me over email. “I’m not done yet, but paying it forward—in the best way possible—is very much on my mind these days,” The Nova Games Foundation is a university-affiliated fellowship program, intended to offer six-figure grants to 20 young game designers each year, potentially for decades to come. It will offer no-strings-attached funding along with mentorship from games industry leaders, a combination intended to aid the development of groundbreaking new games, Cerny and Keighley told me. Nova will begin accepting applications in December, from class of 2026 and 2027 students from 13 affiliated gaming programs at universities in eight countries. The schools working with Nova include the New York University and the University of Southern California in the U.S., along with Abertay University in Scotland, Cnam-Enjmin in France, TH Köln in Germany, and the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology in Australia, Cerny and Keighley said. The plan: $100,000 per recipient, with about a quarter of Nova fellows eligible for up to $500,000 more for projects that are shaping up particularly well. Payments will be delivered based on development milestones, and recipients will own their games. Nova will help promote the work, and developers will be free to pursue the publishers and platforms of their choice. Nova can help introduce fellows to publishers, but won’t take a cut. “I’ve always wanted to give back, but given my role in the industry, I’ve never felt it appropriate to commercially invest in games,” Keighley told Game File. “I’ve never owned stock in a game company or taken a financial stake in a game. Nova is philanthropy: we aren’t taking equity or looking to recoup the grants. The return we’re hoping for is creative—helping new voices make games and find their footing. “Mark and I have each made multi-million-dollar donations to establish the foundation, and we intend to keep contributing. We hope others will join us.” Cerny and Keighley have already hired an executive director, John Maconga, and a head of grants, recent Game Developers Conference director Ashley Corrigan, to help launch the effort. They’re working to recruit game industry leaders to join the effort. Keighley says “dozens of leading game directors have already expressed interest in contributing their time.” To name one, they’ve already gotten Josef Fares, lead designer from It Takes Two and Spit Fiction studio Hazelight on board with a donation and pledge to help out. “I’m proud to support Nova because it gives the next generation of creators the freedom to explore their creativity and hopefully bring their unique visions to life,” Fares told Game File. A plan forged from a friendship Keighley and Cerny have known each other a long time. It’s been so long, Cerny isn’t even sure exactly when they met. “We travel in much the same circles and I’m sure first intersected in the 90s or early 2000s,“ Cerny said. Keighley thinks it might have been during his stint writing a column about the mid-’90s console 3DO for a gaming magazine while Cerny was working on games with Crystal Dynamics or on Way of the Warrior with Naughty Dog. They became genuine friends about a 10 years ago, Keighley said, as they bonded over a shared love of games and a hope to improve the industry. “About a decade ago, we started having dinner a few times a year in LA,” Keighley said. “Just to catch up on life and the industry. Those conversations continued over Zoom during COVID. Nova grew out of that friendship and a question we kept coming back to: ‘What could we do to help the next generation of game directors get started?’” Keighley credits Cerny with the idea to figure out a way to put their money and time back into the industry. At one of those dinners, Keighley proposed the idea of a fellowship program. He’d recalled applying for a Rhodes Scholarship when he was younger. “Spoiler: I didn’t get it,” he said. He’d admired the MacArthur Foundation’s so-called “genius grants.” He liked these kinds of programs that recognized people’s talents and gave them the financial boost and the freedom to realize their potential. With Cerny, he had pondered what a game industry version of that could be. Keighley liked the idea of centering the fellowship on students, drawing inspiration from the accomplishments of Jenova Chen, the USC game design graduate who went on to lead the creation of gently moving, ambitious games such as Flower and Journey. Keighley also thought it could be useful to help promising graduates bridge the transition from student to professional. “Joining an established studio isn’t always possible—especially in today’s market—and even then, it isn’t the right path for everyone,” Keighley said. A fellowship, he realized, could give “graduates the time, resources and guidance to pursue a game of their own and not worry about the commercial viability.” As the idea took shape, Cerny also saw an opportunity to enable more games of a certain type: “The target with the grants is games as an artistic medium,” Cerny told me. “We like to say games with ‘artistic, literary and societal value.’” He added: “I’m a pretty big gamer myself, though I tend to gravitate towards the smaller and more unique or artistic titles, games like Neva, Abzu, Gorogoa, Stray or Outer Wilds. I was just playing and Roger on a flight to Japan, and was getting misty eyed to a degree that I was concerned that a flight attendant would ask me if I was OK. “So one fun benefit here is the games that will come out of the Nova Games Foundation – I can’t wait to play them myself.” Cerny believes it will also be useful for Nova fellows to hone their craft and team leadership skills. “We are looking for the next generation of visionaries,” he said. “The trick is that they will also need to have the executive function necessary to drive a small project to completion.” Game File is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my reporting, please consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Subscribe Going big with this Keighley and Cerny may have started Nova and may be the ones primarily backing it right now, but they’re dreaming of something that goes beyond them. “Mark and I may have helped get it started, but one of our measures of success is that Nova grows into something the entire games industry feels a sense of ownership in,” Keighley said. “Our ambition is to build a lasting endowment supported by people and companies across the industry, and an equally broad community of creators willing to give their time and experience to the next generation.” The industry has a lot of knowledge that it can pass to the next generation, Keighley said: “Nova can hopefully become a way to connect that generosity with talented young creators at the moment when it can make the biggest difference.” Cerny, who told me he believes Nova can mature “over the next 10 or 20 years,” sees an opportunity to give generations of game makers momentum. “The industry has changed immeasurably since I started in games in 1982,” he said. “These graduates have talent, training and tools that outclass what we had back in the day by an astonishing amount. But they face a tough road ahead getting traction in the industry, and many could benefit from our support. We want to be there to give it to them.” “There’s a personal side to this, too,” Keighley said. “I don’t have children, and I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about what I can do for future generations. Games have been my entire career. I’ve been incredibly fortunate, and helping someone else build a life in this industry feels like a meaningful way to give back.” Cerny’s oeuvre dates back to Marble Madness and Sonic the Hedgehog 2. He has stood on stage multiple times to reveal the future of PlayStation hardware. He’s been an executive producer for a string of modern PlayStation classics such as The Last Guardian and Marvel’s Spider-Man. Nevertheless, of Nova, he said, “It’s certainly not like anything I’ve done before.” Nova Foundation applications will be due in December and the first wave of fellows will be announced in March 2027. A full list of participating universities and steps students and recent graduates can take to apply to become a Nova Fellow is forthcoming.
Florida State's Mike Norvell getting booed is nasty business
Things aren’t going well right now for Florida State football head coach Mike Norvell . Not only did his team lose a game on Monday to SMU, but Norvell is also getting booed by fans . “They just played a video of Mike Norvell announcing that the Marching Chiefs would be in the Macy’s Thanksgiving parade. The crowd booed Norvell. (It did cheer for […] The post Florida State's Mike Norvell getting booed is nasty business appeared first on ClutchPoints.
Florida State's Mike Norvell getting booed is nasty business
Things aren’t going well right now for Florida State football head coach Mike Norvell . Not only did his team lose a game on Monday to SMU, but Norvell is also getting booed by fans . “They just played a video of Mike Norvell announcing that the Marching Chiefs would be in the Macy’s Thanksgiving parade. The crowd booed Norvell. (It did cheer for […] The post Florida State's Mike Norvell getting booed is nasty business appeared first on ClutchPoints.
Stand Up for Science Demands Congress Stop Transfer of National Institutes of Health Research Funds to
New petition urges Congress to stop an interagency agreement that would allow health research money to fund War Department’s unspecified priorities.
Stand Up for Science Demands Congress Stop Transfer of National Institutes of Health Research Funds to
New petition urges Congress to stop an interagency agreement that would allow health research money to fund War Department’s unspecified priorities.
Next Apple TV's Chip Revealed in Latest Leak
The next Apple TV 4K will be equipped with an A19 or A19 Pro chip, according to evidence in Apple's code uncovered by MacRumors contributor Aaron Perris. In particular, the device's model identifier points towards the A19 generation of chips. Accordingly, the next Apple TV would have 8GB or 12GB of RAM, up from 4GB in the current 2022 model with the A15 Bionic chip.
Trade war shock: Tariffs push Canadian small businesses to the brink
The economic pain that Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney warned would come from a trade war is now a harsh reality for some small businesses that export to the US.
Health: The Fight For The Health Of 9/11 First Responders
A quarter century after 9/11, the health of those who responded to the attacks continues to be affected.Some 3,000 people died across three locations that day. An estimated 400,000 people were exposed to toxic contaminants and risked physical injury in the hours and days that followed. That’s according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Since the dust and debris have settled, more than 96,000 have been diagnosed with physical and mental health conditions related to 9/11.In 2010, President Barack Obama signed the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act, establishing the World Trade Center Health Program and reopening the 9/11 Victims Compensation Fund. Today, more than 150,000 people are enrolled in the program.But that program wouldn’t exist without the advocacy of survivors and first responders who put their bodies and lives on the line following the attacks. How did that fight for care unfold?For more information about the Rutgers WTC Health Program, click here. And to learn more about applying, click here.Find more of our programs online. Listen to 1A sponsor-free by signing up for 1A+ at plus.npr.org/the1a.
Growth in every postcode: good politics, dubious economics
The UK government would be better off backing clusters and widening access to opportunity
Richfield estate built for entertainment lists at nearly $4M
This Richfield estate has details that would cost millions to replicate, its agent said.
How Orioles' Gunnar Henderson could land with Mets
Landing Henderson would be a very significant move for the Mets.
If You Invested $1000 In Sphere Entertainment Stock 5 Years Ago, You Would Have This Much Today
Sphere Entertainment (NYSE:SPHR) has outperformed the market over the past 5 years by 18.95% on an annualized basis producing an average annual return of 30.39%. Currently, Sphere Entertainment has a market
The US wants a stronger battery supply chain. China has a decades-long head start
The Trump administration is attempting to strengthen the U.S. battery supply chain and reduce the country’s dependence on China, but analysts and industry executives say current funding is small compared with what would be needed to substantially challenge China’s dominance, CNBC reports. In August 2026, the Department of Energy awarded $500 million to seven companies […]
AZ's R&D chief Barr touts internal 'science success story' after IL-33 antibody's stellar showing in COPD
With a detailed data drop that AstraZeneca’s R&D chief described as an internal “science success story,” the British Big Pharma has secured an FDA priority review for what it believes could become a flagship biologic in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). In detailed results from the late-stage Oberon and Titania trials—first teased in March and detailed in full at the European Respiratory Society Congress in Barcelona this week—the drugmaker laid out the extent of its IL-33 inhibitor’s potential to reduce moderate and severe exacerbations in a wide range of COPD patients still struggling with those “lung attacks,” as AstraZeneca’s Sharon Barr, Ph.D., called them, despite using standard-care inhaled therapy. In the headline results, a 300 mg dose of tozorakimab given once every four weeks curbed those moderate and severe exacerbations in the studies’ primary population of former smokers by 29% in the Oberon study and 34% in Titania. In the overall population of both current and former smokers, these reductions were 30% and 29%, respectively, versus placebo and inhaled standard of care. The benefits also extended to clinically meaningful exacerbation reductions in all prespecified patient subgroups and specifically turned up promising signals in patients across a range of blood eosinophil counts, with Barr telling Fierce that “it’s the details that make this even more exciting than the high-level results that we’ve already shared.” In fact, during AZ’s tozorakimab poster presentation at the ERS 2026 Congress this past weekend, attendees were so enamored by the data that event organizers had to encourage people to clear the room and look at the other presentations on offer, Barr said in an interview. “I think it really speaks to the fact that there is a lot of buzz around these data because the entire respiratory community has been so desperate for new therapies for these patients,” she explained. The respiratory disease continues to represent a “staggering unmet medical need,” Barr said, highlighting the COPD exacerbations that the Oberon and Titania studies homed in on, which she added carry a greater mortality risk than a heart attack. “When a patient has a severe exacerbation, only about half of them are still alive within three and a half years,” she pointed out. As for tozorakimab specifically, Barr christened the molecule “an AstraZeneca science success story,” harkening several years back to the point at which researchers began to explore IL-33 as a driver of respiratory disease, and COPD in particular. At the same time, “there was still so much that wasn’t understood,” she admitted, highlighting the insight that IL-33 signals through both ST2 and EGFR through the RAGE pathway, a discovery Barr attributed to AstraZeneca's own scientists. Understanding the need to tackle both pathways in COPD—and aware of competitor candidates in the hopper, including one that bound ST2—the company ultimately had to make some “courageous decisions,” Barr said. These included taking a prior COPD molecule offline and going back to the drawing board to reinvent its potential IL-33 label “to make sure that we had a molecule that could block signaling through both arms of the pathway, through both the reduced form and the oxidized form, knowing that we wouldn’t be first, but striving to be best.” “When we put [tozorakimab] into the clinic, we firmly believed that we had a differentiated molecule, and we saw the other molecules blocking just ST2 or partially blocking IL-33, unable to deliver two positive pivotal studies in COPD,” Barr explained. “We kept marching forward because we believed our molecule was differentiated, and now I think we have the clinical validation that supports that.” Ultimately, AstraZeneca finds itself on much better footing these days when it comes to potential biologic rivals to tozorakimab in COPD. Sanofi and Regeneron’s Dupixent, for instance, is approved to treat COPD exacerbations in patients with high eosinophil counts, but not low ones. Meanwhile, the future has become cloudier for other next-gen IL-33 candidates from Sanofi and Regeneron, as well as Roche, which have suffered trial flops in recent years. One other potential ingredient for AstraZeneca’s success in its duo of studies was that the company was “ambitious in the trial design, willing to look at an all-comers population,” Barr said, “and willing to enroll the most severe patients.” Prior studies for would-be biologics rivals in COPD “avoided enrolling” those patients, she pointed out. She also highlighted the Big Pharma’s painstaking design of exacerbations in its trial, which “gave us a very rigorous readout,” and pointed to “the extra effort and investment” the company put in to understand the effect of mucus plugs in patients. Barr described mucus production as a “key feature in disease diversity,” noting that mucus plugs—obstructing clumps of mucus that block patients’ airways—are associated with worse outcomes in COPD. In its data announcement, AstraZeneca noted that an integrated analysis of Oberon and Titania found tozorakimab “demonstrated a reduction in patients’ mucus plug score,” with the pharma claiming its biologic is the first to deliver such results in a broad COPD population. “So being able to reduce those mucus plugs, we expect, is an important part of driving benefit for patients who are living with COPD,” Barr said. Again touching on the breadth of the study populations, Barr added that tozorakimab “worked across all eosinophil levels in both current and former smokers across all levels of lung function,” which she suggested “really simplifies decision-making for clinicians, and it allows them to offer therapy to the broadest possible patient population.” In the highest patient eosinophil count group, tozorakimab helped chart a 43% reduction in exacerbation risk, which Barr stressed were “unprecedented data.” In the mid-level group, AZ’s drug delivered a 23% reduction and, in the lowest group, a 34% reduction in eosinophils, which Barr said suggests efficacy “in all patient subgroups.” As for AZ’s recent guidance upgrade on the medicine’s sales opportunity, the lift from a $3 billion to $5 billion range to $5 billion plus was informed by multiple factors, Barr said, including the fact that “in 2024, there were multiple competitors, and there aren’t anymore.” Additionally, “we know that this is a massive unmet medical need, and this is a really incredible set of data that we think will be very convincing to the clinical community,” Barr said. Looking ahead to a potential evolution of the COPD treatment landscape, Barr noted that most patients start treatment in the community with an option like a triple therapy, and for them, having an option like AstraZeneca’s inhaler Breztri will remain a “really important part” of that journey. But of the patients uncontrolled on triple therapy, which Barr described as “about half of them today,” just a “small fraction” are currently eligible for biologic therapy, which she emphasized AstraZeneca is working to change. Understanding that COPD is not a “one-size-fits-all” disease, AstraZeneca is also looking at its antibody drug Tezspire for patients with T2-driven disease, and the company continues to think about new mechanisms for tackling COPD through both systemic and inhaled drugs, Barr said.
Commentary: Who would want the US to be run like a business?
When pushing for the United States to be run more like a business, please keep in mind that framework naturally conflates the populace with labor and public servants with bosses. […]
Six decades of politics (but little government)
The first aired episode of “Star Trek,” entitled “The Man Trap,” premiered on September 8, 1966 — 60 years ago today. I’m actually editing a political science fiction issue of The Forum right now, and it’s prompted to me think a lot about the ways that Trek deals with politics and government and what it’s offered us as commentary. The @smotus report is a reader-supported publication. To support this work, please become a paid subscriber. Subscribe The original TV series ran from 1966 to 1969. It had a loyal but modest following, but the audience grew substantially with the series in syndication for years after that. The franchise developed its first motion picture in 1979, followed by five sequels, and then a whole other series of films built around the “Next Generation” series that first aired in 1987. In recent decades, several more TV series have built up around it, including the current “Strange New Worlds,” now in its fourth season. Throughout the past six decades, the franchise has offered us a good many insights into US politics and international relations, although often disguised as science fiction yarns. The original series was largely a Cold War fable, with the United Federation of Planets (a stand-in for the US) perpetually at odds with the Klingon Empire (a stand-in for the USSR). The “Let That Be Your Last Battlefield” episode (1969) posited a planet divided into two races, largely indistinguishable to outsiders, but nonetheless constituting a brutal racial hierarchy. “Patterns of Force” (1968) showed a struggling planet where the leader had attempted to construct a benevolent dictatorship — literally Nazism without bigotry — and found that authoritarianism could not exist apart from hierarchy and oppression. (Relatedly, I’d put “Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country,” high on a list of dad films about the end of the Cold War, near “The Hunt for Red October.”) Get 20% off for 1 year Indeed, the original series itself was something of a political statement, with a multi-racial crew running the Enterprise, a diverse and largely peaceful Federation mostly free from want and oppression, and protected by Starfleet, an armed force whose scientific mission was at least as important as its military one. Famously, when Nichelle Nichols wanted to walk away from the role of Uhura on the original series, none other than Martin Luther King, Jr. met with her and urged her to remain on the show, discussing the importance of viewers seeing an intelligent Black woman as part of the command team three centuries hence. Later series in the Trek franchise offered a good deal of political commentary on their own, but probably none as explicitly and incisively as “Deep Space Nine,” which ran from 1993 to 1999. The episodes surrounding the Dominion War, especially the “In The Pale Moonlight” (1998), showed the compromises, sacrifices, and moral rot associated with winning even a just war — probably better than any series would until “Andor” (2022-25). In “Far Beyond The Stars” (1998), Captain Benjamin Sisko is somehow transplanted to the role of a science fiction writer in 1950s New York. The writer is frequently sidelined and his ideas stolen because publishers don’t want to credit a Black writer. Several series have depicted the secretive Section 31 — an unacknowledged black ops security force operating within Starfleet. These episodes often end up using Section 31 as a foil to show the dangers of a lawless group within a lawful society, even (especially) when that group posits itself as essential for everyone else’s freedom to continue. The current “Strange New Worlds” has played with a few political themes. I found the first two seasons of this show among the best that the Trek franchise has produced in decades, but this season and the last have really been struggling for ideas. Yet one interesting thread is the idea that the diplomatic and enlightened leadership style of Captain Christopher Pike will not work in all situations. “A Quality of Mercy” (2022), which I wrote about here, puts Pike in the middle of a battle with a Romulan vessel in an alternate timeline, and finds that Pike’s conciliatory style would actually make a lengthy and deadly war more likely, while a quick and more violent approach might have prevented the war. This season’s opener, “Valles Marineris,” shows a pre-lightspeed civilization locked in a war to the death with a neighboring planet. The idea of an alliance or a federation hasn’t even occurred to them — their ship’s commander is curious but doesn’t see it as an option. For a franchise as political as “Star Trek,” one thing we almost never see is the government. We get occasional glimpses of Starfleet’s council — mostly uniformed people at a rectangular table — but almost no sense of how the Federation is governed. Are there elections? Who is in the legislature? How much power does the president have? What kind of factional divisions do they wrestle with and how? The shows and films are pretty silent on this. We’ve seen a few military tribunals within Starfleet, but little about how civilians deal with crime and injustice. With recent years seeing some of the franchise’s more interesting plot lines and casts, it seems clear that Star Trek is still full of energy and ideas. Given the erosion of American democracy and the reshuffling of the international order, there’s no shortage of material for future shows to comment on. I’m not sure we should toast to 60 more years, but cheers to a show that continues to teach us about ourselves. Share
Students gain experience and confidence through an industry-focused summer research program
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‘Don’t Let Me Disappear’: The 100-Day Scramble to Free Lue Yang
Lue Yang, who was convicted in a home invasion as a teenager, was facing deportation to Laos. With a plane on the tarmac, he wondered whether an appeal would be heard.