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Citrus Heights restaurant closed twice this year due to 'vermin infestation'
A local restaurant on Greenback Lane has suffered several failed inspections over the last several months, according to Sacramento County Environmental Management Department documentation. The restaurant is currently open for business...
3 Things To Learn From Newcastle 2-2 AFC Bournemouth
Late defensive lapses haunt the Cherries despite Alex Scott’s midfield masterclass and a defensive clinic from Adrien Truffert. Marco Rose must solve the squad's costly inability to close out games when the going gets tough.
Baltimore Orioles Provide Next Step for Closer Ryan Helsley
The Baltimore Orioles are hoping to get back right-hander Ryan Helsley this year.
TENNESSEE LADY VOLS SOCCER: Unbeaten Northwestern is next
The No. 10 Tennessee soccer team closes its six-match nonconference slate on Sunday afternoon against Northwestern at Regal Soccer Stadium. Kickoff between the Lady Vols and the Wildcats is set for 2 p.m. ET.
LifeStance Health Group (LFST) Has Rallied Sharply, Is The Stock Still Undervalued?
LifeStance Health Group (LFST) has drawn fresh investor attention after recent trading data showed the stock up over the past month and past 3 months. This move is prompting closer scrutiny of its mental health services business. At a share price of $12.73, LifeStance Health Group has posted a 30 day share price return of 22.76% and a 90 day share price return of 71.79%. The 1 year total shareholder return of 137.06% points to strong recent momentum building from a lower multi year...
Sage demands Crystal Palace improvement despite first win of season
Crystal Palace boss Pierre Sage admitted he was unhappy with his side’s defensive display despite their 3-2 victory over Fulham.Palace secured all three points in a closely fought contest thanks to ...
New CTE Study Delivers Sobering Reality Check on Long-Term Health Risks for NFL Players
As NFL teams close out the 2026 preseason and turn toward opening weekend, a new medical study is forcing a harder look at what football costs its players long after the final whistle. Dr. Daniel Daneshvar, a Harvard Medical School researcher, has spent years tracing the link between repeated head impacts and brain disease in […] The post New CTE Study Delivers Sobering Reality Check on Long-Term Health Risks for NFL Players appeared first on Gridiron Heroics.
What’s open on Labor Day? Most retailers. Closed? Government, banks and the stock market.
The origins of Labor Day date back to the late 19th century, when activists first sought to establish a day that would pay tribute to workers.
Jayden Bogle: We were brave on the ball
Leeds United came away from the American Express Stadium with a deserved point, as goals either side of the break saw the Whites continue their unbeaten start to the new term.Jayden Bogle’s close ra...
Braves look to take another in Philly behind Martin Perez
This pitching matchup is scary on paper but is perhaps closer than it looks on the surface
CDFW: Scientists keeping an eye on river conditions to protect winter-and-fall-run salmon
From the Department of Fish and Wildlife As California continues to feel the impacts of a heat dome that is bringing higher than normal temperatures to large portions of the state, it’s a good time to remember that fish and wildlife — especially salmon — need cold water, too. River temperature management is critical for salmon’s survival and spawning. Earlier this year, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) announced that commercial ocean salmon fishing was back after being closed for three […]
Michael Hutchinson's Next Chapter Keeps Him Close To Home
Trading his pads for a whistle, the former Jets netminder joins the Selkirk Steelers staff to mentor local prospects while launching a new goaltending school in Winnipeg.
Orange County restaurants shut down by health inspectors (Aug. 27-Sept. 3)
There were eight restaurants and food establishments ordered closed by Orange County inspectors from Aug. 27 to Sept. 3.
Richard Hughes Leaves His Role as Liverpool Sporting Director
Four days after the transfer window closed, the club has announced the departure of the man responsible for this summer's business. But who will come in and replace Richard Hughes at Liverpool?
Farage and Jenrick to speak on final day of Reform conference marred by scandal and protests
Farage, who had earlier suspended two close aides, had his keynote speech interrupted multiple times by protesters on Friday
ChatGPT bans campaigns from using AI to make ads. They’re doing it anyway.
A Washington Post review found 39 campaigns that disclosed payments to AI companies, but consultants say many more do it and don’t disclose it.
Liverpool confirm it: Two new stars to arrive
Liverpool have officially confirmed that two new stars will join the club. Deals have been finalised.Liverpool closed the transfer window without finalising all the business they wanted to get done. T...
Lazio evaluating David Alaba transfer, Diogo Leite nearing move
The transfer window has closed but Serie A side Lazio aren’t done with late business, as they look at possible free transfers.The Roman side roped in Albert Gudmundsson earlier this week, with anoth...
At the center of Pa.’s measles outbreak, those closest to the most vulnerable feel ‘helpless’
LANCASTER, Pa. — Bree Robinson spent her last week of maternity leave trying not to think about the two people who died after contracting measles...
Christian Gonzalez not close to new deal
Christian Gonzalez's contract talks facing hurdles
Tomatoes Contain an Invisible Ingredient With Surprising Effects on Liver Health
A tomato contains a hidden ingredient that the eye cannot see, and it may be just as important to liver health as the red pigment that made the fruit famous.
Court Filings In A.I. Suit Invoke Copyright Law, Culture and Sports
Filings made Friday in The New York Times’s closely watched lawsuit against OpenAI and Microsoft included a range of copyright law and cultural references.
Politics Unusual: NYC Council Education Chair Eric Dinowitz, NY State Courts Officer Bobby Keane
In this episode of Politics Unusual, Eric Dinowitz, Chair of the New York City Council's Education Committee, breaks down the city's new moratorium on AI in elementary and middle schools. Plus, State Court Officer Bobby Kane discusses his fight to close a legal gap preventing some 9/11 recovery worker from receiving enhanced disability benefits.
Mountain View Diner closes after 26 years of business
The Mountain View Diner announced Thursday it has permanently closed after 26 years of business.
Opposition Lowdown: Blackpool Aiming To Bounce Back From Defeat
Riding high off of a 5-0 win in midweek, Reading take on Blackpool this weekend. Join us as we take a closer look at the opposition.
SAC Health lays off 49 workers to close budget gap of $10M
SAC Health’s CEO wrote in a memo to staff that layoffs and executive pay cuts were necessary in order to reduce the operating gap.
Rams stick to their routine as Australia opener against 49ers draws closer
WOODLAND HILLS, Calif.
Scientists watch as two satellites burn
ESA's Samba and Tango closed out the 26-year Cluster mission with two targeted reentries a day apart, giving airborne researchers a rare, up-close look at how satellites really come apart.
15 discouraging hours with Onimusha: Way of the Sword, and 10 brilliant ones with He Who Watches
In the last few weeks, while playing some video games that I might review, I emailed two cries for help. I sent the first to a rep for Capcom, confessing that the company’s samurai game Onimusha Way of the Sword (out today for PC and console) was crushing me. “Feels like I’m playing ‘hard’ mode, not ‘normal,’” I wrote. “And I don’t want to have to knock it down to “story”. I’m exploring, trying to level my gear, but these two-phase boss fights with no mid-fight checkpoints are brutal.” I wagered I was only about halfway through the game, if that. I wasn’t sure I could keep up with the steepening difficulty curve. Was I missing something? Then, on Monday, I took some photos of some puzzles that were baffling me in the mind-bending He Who Watches (out now on PC), wrote out lengthy descriptions of how I’d been trying to solve them and asked Bobby Vanden, the game’s solo developer, for a nudge in the right direction. I told Vanden I’d spent hours on these puzzles. “I’m stuck in triplicate,” I told him. Could he tell me if the solutions I was attempting were even on the right track? I didn’t mention that the puzzles—coupled with major time pressures from other work—were stressing me out so much that playing the game was giving me headaches. This double dose of panic was unusual. I’m used to managing a workload full of reporting and reviewing, used to a crowded schedule and the need to stay calm amid the bustle. But I was stressed about these games. No one was forcing me to review them, nor even play them. I’d simply found them interesting enough to start, hoped they’d be interesting enough to write about and I’d sunk hours into them assuming I’d made the right call. Suddenly, however, I felt trapped. I was emailing for a way out. Above: This guy took me about an hour to beat. The feedback I got from Capcom confirmed my fears. They didn’t say it, but I will: Onimusha Way of the Sword is not for me. It’s a brutally hard game in need of a normal difficulty level. It’s a game that spikes so severely during its abundant boss fights—yet offers such flawed ways to improve when outside of them—that it feels like a bait-and-switch. In the new Onimusha, you play as famed samurai Musashi Miyamoto, aided by a magical soul-absorbing gauntlet that is possessed by a lady who offers advice. (Way of the Sword is a continuation of Capcom’s long-dormant Onimusha series, but that set-up had me wondering if the company was cribbing from their ill-fated Bionic Commando reboot; read about “wife-arm” when you get a chance). Way of the Sword is partially set in 17th century Kyoto, an explorable city where Miyamoto can fight demons, help civilians and eventually rescue ghostly dogs. The city evolves over time, with new mini adventures and obtainable loot on offer, all feeding into systems that promise to upgrade your gear and sword-fighting skills. Upgrades, however, are so incremental as to be imperceptible, causing the exploration of Kyoto to feel like inconsequential busywork. From that hub, players can go on linear missions into forests and old temples, where they will encounter many of the game’s tough bosses. Combat in Way of the Sword is akin to many modern melee games. Players are asked to mix attacks with dodges and parries. They’re encouraged to deplete an enemy’s stamina bar in order to do greater damage to its health bar. The old Onimusha games’ signature move was the issen, a counter-attack so sudden it’s all but pre-emptive. You strike just as they begin to strike toward you, beating them to the cut. By definition, the issen is a high risk move, leaving you wide open to pain. It feels risky in the game, especially against bosses, who can maul you in just a few blows. A game might train you to perform an issen well by offering a variety of lesser enemies who are not as tough as the boss but get close. Or it might offer a toehold against bosses by saving or checkpointing the player’s progress when a boss’ first health bar has been destroyed and before the second health bar appears. It might offer the less skilled player a chance to over-level their character, should the player simply commit to playing through its optional sidequests. Way of the Sword does none of this. Fighting its trivially easy grunt enemies and then its ferociously adept bosses is like playing a game of chess where I’ve got a rook, while the opposing side is all pawns and five queens. Bosses simply don’t checkpoint. You may be able to clear a boss’ first phase without taking much damage. Good for you. Do it again, every time you fail the second phase. As for the the central Kyoto hub, I kept pace with all of its added side activities and never felt like I was overpowered. Bosses could still easily buckle me. The new Onimusha, I concluded, is just too discouraging to keep playing. The advice I got from Capcom had been well-intentioned. They reminded me of the game’s various systems. They alerted me to an optional assist that flashes recommended button inputs (basically: counter this move; dodge that move). It was a little helpful. So was dropping down to “story mode,” which I tried last night. Story mode turns on those button prompts by default. It makes countering and dodging way too easy, nearly automatic. I don’t consider myself a master of action games like these, but I’ve cleared the likes of God of War, Stellar Blade, Star Wars Jedi and others of sub-Sekiro difficulty and had a fun time doing so. Not here. Not yet. Unless they patch Onimusha: Way of the Sword and add a middle difficulty or just checkpoint the damn bosses when they’re between health bars, my streak of loving Capcom games released in 2026 will likely end at two. It’s a shame, because I was having a good time finding those ghostly dogs. And then there’s He Who Watches, a phenomenal first person puzzle game with Portal vibes, except instead of a portal gun you’ve got a magical bow that shoots one arrow that can activate switches or be used to drag blocks. The twist is an actual twist: you can also walk on walls and the ceiling, reorienting gravity as you do, thereby placing blocks onto those other surfaces. Walking on walls and ceilings to solve problems is really the best thing. Would that I could in reality. He Who Watches consists of locked-room challenges, each brief enough to only require about a minute to actually solving, though it will take five, 10, eventually 30 minutes to figure out said solutions. They are not obvious! It’s a game of layered mechanics and shocking solutions. For example, see if you can follow this: You can drag a block to a wall. Then you can walk on the wall, which now feels like the floor, and drag that block across the wall. Later, back on the floor, you might realize you can look up. The block is still on the wall, stuck to it. You can shoot your magic arrow to its underside. Doing so creates a tether, so that you can yank the block off the wall and carry it, as if it were a balloon, into the spot where you need it to be to solve the puzzle. Here, watch Vanden explain some of the game’s basics in this launch trailer: As with any great puzzle game, the solutions to He Who Watches’ puzzles elicit relief and amazement. Oh my god, that worked! I didn’t even think that could be possible! Learning to solve the game’s puzzles feels like learning magic. But, oh, does the game get hard. Its Steam reviews, mostly glowing, are full of players remarking how quickly He Who Watches made them sweat. Wrote one: “loving this one already although my brain is hurting!” Wrote another: “As you get further in the game it feels like you need an IQ level of at least 120+.” Vanden has shown some mercy. Each locked room puzzle includes an optional junior version of the puzzle, meant to teach you. Difficulty nevertheless ramps severely. By the time I was emailing Vanden for help, I was struggling to even clear one of the hint puzzles. When I messaged him, my stress was exacerbated by strange things I’d found in the game’s various hubs: suspicious passageways, odd blocks and some intriguing locked doors. These were hints of secrets, I realized, yet I sensed I needed to play further into the game to understand them. I was stuck, but I wanted to see the rest. Vanden offered to give me the exact solutions, to solve those three puzzles for me, but first he gave four nudges. Three were for the specific puzzles, but his best hint was for all and ultimately proved to be a terrific life lesson: go back a bit, he suggested. Do the puzzles right before those. They were teaching you something. Focus on what their lesson was. Don’t rush, in other words. Recognize what you’ve accomplished. Build off of that. I did so. I absorbed the lessons. I saw those three tough puzzles in a new light. I solved one the night after he wrote back, another the morning after. I left a third for another time. I didn’t need it and I wanted to plunge deeper into the game, closer to the moment when I was sure I could start unlocking those secret doors. My head stopped hurting, too. He Who Watches feels special. It’s got more challenges, and I’m undeterred. It’s also nice that its puzzles don’t have a surprise second health bar. Game File is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Subscribe Item 2: In brief… 🎮 Ilari Kuittinen, co-founder of Helsinki-based Housemarque (Super Stardust HD, Resogun, Returnal) has stepped down from his studio, after a 31-year run, saying he’s “ taking a rare and well-deserved breather.” Sony purchased Housemarque in 2021, and the studio released its newest game, Saros, earlier this year. Trend-watch: Sony-owned Insomniac saw its founder Ted Price retire in early 2025, after a 30-year run. Sony-owned Sucker Punch saw its co-founder Brian Fleming step down in late 2025, after a 28-year run. 👀 Savvy Games Group chief Brian Ward is stepping down from the Saudi-government-backed games conglomerate, Bloomberg reports. No word on a long-term successor yet, nor if this augurs any closer integration between Savvy and Electronic Arts. EA was purchased by a consortium led by Saudi’s sovereign wealth fund, in early August. 💿 Square Enix has denied a Japanese media report that the company was planning to go private. In very different Square Enix news, the company revealed that the physical version of Final Fantasy VII: Revelation, the April 2027 finale of its radical remakes of FFVII, will include just one disc in its case, requiring a download for the rest. The first two FFVII remakes in the trilogy shipped on two discs apiece. While Square hasn’t commented on the reason why, a feature here in Game File last month broke down the processes and costs for physical games. The expense of a second disc comes out of the game publisher’s cut of each copy. Square could be saving in excess of a dollar a copy with this move. 🟥 Grand Theft Auto IV’s 26-minute ’‘extended look” gameplay showcase that premiered on Netflix last week—and was exclusive to the platform for six hours—drew 31.1 million views in its first four days, the streamer announced. (Netflix calculates views as total viewed hours divided by runtime; excludes replays). Compared to YouTube: The version that later premiered on Rockstar Games’ YouTube channel is sitting at 22.6 million views after seven days (YouTube’s more liberal counting system tallies anyone who viewed even just the first few second.) Compared to other Netflix mega-events: Last year, Stranger Things season 5’s first four episodes, which debuted together, drew a record 59.6 million views in their first few days on Netflix. For more of a live event type of comparison, in 2024, the Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson boxing match drew 65 million concurrent streams as it happened; Netflix didn’t release live numbers for the GTA premiere. ☁️ Microsoft is changing the way it charges for cloud gaming, from an all-you-can-play offer for Xbox Game Pass subscribers, to caps for the subscription’s tiers (15 hours per month at the Ultimate tier), with the option to buy more hours in bulk beyond that. The company also said it will sell batches of cloud gaming time to non-Game Pass subscribers, details TBA. Microsoft does not release figures for cloud game usage, but said its changes would impact 4% of Game Pass subscribers. That implies a small portion of its subscribers exceed the 15-hour monthly mark. Cloud gaming offers the promise of playing games without the need for console or PC hardware, as the graphics, sound and controls are all transmitted via a streaming connection. Microsoft notes that its cloud gaming service can be used for a range of things, including Xbox One players using it to play newer-gen Xbox Series games via streaming; and people playing games via streaming, sans any console, “in markets where consoles are less available or affordable.” (That latter use case could even be relevant in Xbox’s home market soon, as console prices keep rising.) Take Two Interactive chairman Strauss Zelnick recently told investors he expects game-streaming tech, which has been only lightly adopted by gamers for over a decade, to be widely used within three years. 🇺🇸 The Trump administration has published multiple agenda-driven web video games to the White House’s website. One called Build The Wall partially clones Tetris as it asks players to build a wall to stop a “zombie border siege.” While actual Tetris involves clearing lines and basically not building a wall, the Trump-backed game omits the line-clearing aspect (and omits the fun as well). On Instagram, Tetris’ official license holders reacted by stating: “At Tetris we believe in the power of connection and bringing people together, not dividing them. To our fans everywhere: we love you, we see you, and we’re grateful to have you in our community. P.S. The Tetris Company was not involved in the creation of ‘Build the Wall.’ P.P.S.: We take copyright infringement very seriously.” Item 3: The week ahead: Tuesday, September 8 Game releases: Mewgenics (consoles; already out on PC) is an engrossing tactical combat game (with cats). It is getting its console port right after the release of a Star Wars tactics game and ahead of the late September launch of a Fire Emblem–a bumper crop for the genre. Wanderburg (PC) is an auto-shooting game like Vampire Survivors, but you’re a castle on wheels Event: Nintendo airs a 30-minute Nintendo Direct (10am ET) focused on The Legend of Zelda’s 40th Anniversary. A full unveiling of the upcoming remake of The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time is expected. Will they also show footage from next year’s live action movie? Tease the next big 3D Zelda? Add Link to Mario Kart World? Shadow-drop a new Tingle game? Wednesday, September 9 Event: Nintendo again! On this day, they’re planning to air a 45-minute Nintendo Direct (10am ET) focused on games heading to Switch 2 this winter. Followed by about an hour of gameplay demoed by the company’s Treehouse team. The September Nintendo Directs are always some of the year’s biggest. The 2025 edition included announcements of several major 2026 Switch/Switch 2 games: Pokémon Pokopia, Mario Tennis Fever, Yoshi and the Mysterious Book, Fire Emblem Fortune’s Weave. Plus the return of the Virtual Boy. Friday, September 11 Game release: EA Sports NHL 27 (PlayStation, Xbox) is a hockey game. There are so few that an indie studio that had been making wacky sci-fi first-person shooters just announced that, hey, we’re going to fill a void and make a hockey game for PC.
I Wanted To Like Onslaught, But A Couple Of Things Hold The Movie Back For Me
It came so close to being so cool.
Crowds visit Academy of Natural Sciences museum weeks before closure
The Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University museum will close Sept. 30. Officials say the future of its collections remains undecided.
Yankees’ Aaron Judge Announces Personal News Ahead of Injury Return
Aaron Judge’s New York Yankees closed out another series win over the Los Angeles Angels, taking two of three games in Anaheim. The team capped it with a 6-3 win in Wednesday’s finale. The Yankees now turn to the San Diego Padres. New York arrives at Petco Park with an 80-60 record, while the Padres […] The post Yankees’ Aaron Judge Announces Personal News Ahead of Injury Return appeared first on HEAVY.
NorCal business owners fear nicotine ban will devastate shops: ‘We’re taking a massive hit’
A wealthy Northern California town is moving to pull the plug on all tobacco and nicotine sales — with local business owners fearing the move could force them to close...
Yankees close to adding top pitching prospect
The Yankees would get a major boost to the big league club.
The Fierce Battle For Kids’ Eyeballs...Plus Two “Devils” Face Off
(Welcome to my weekly streaming ratings report, the single best guide to what’s popular in streaming TV and what isn’t. I’m the Entertainment Strategy Guy, a former streaming executive who now analyzes business strategy in the entertainment industry. If you were forwarded this email, please subscribe to get these insights each week.) During the week of this report, Spider-Man: Brand New Day hit theaters and went on to become one of the biggest films of all time. So, you know what that means! It’s time for a poll! Recently, Project Hail Mary came to Prime Video and became a top five film for them, but didn’t smash streaming records, a feat I cautiously thought it could accomplish. Can Spider-Man 4 do better? To set the stakes, some of the biggest films of all time do just okay on streaming. Wicked, Top Gun: Maverick, and Barbie come to mind... But unlike those films, Spider-Man: Brand New Day is a Sony film which means it’s headed to Netflix, the world’s largest streamer. Now, per friend of the newsletter and my go-to Netflix expert, Kasey Moore of What’s on Netflix, Sony films usually appear on Netflix 120 days after they premiere, which means Spidey 4 would land on Netflix on, checks notes, 28-November, one of the two biggest streaming weekends of the year! But Sony occasionally delays its biggest hits for a bit longer, to give them more time to make money on PVOD, so Spider-Man: Brand New Day might not swing onto Netflix until late December or even February 2027. Loading... Okay, on to this week’s issue. Since The Super Mario Galaxy Movie made its way to Peacock, I’m looking at the true workhorse of streaming viewership: kids films. And the surprising film that bested most Netflix animated movies. All that, plus Hulu has a new show that might be a hit (for them…?), two “Devils” square off on streaming, Zendaya tries to find some streaming magic, Netflix’s I Will Find You continues to do well, House of the Dragon tries to break into the season three top ten, some big NBC sports and summer programs, what friendly neighborhood Spider-Man character actually generates the most viewership on streaming, all the flops, bombs and misses, and a whole lot more. Let’s dive right in! (Reminder: The streaming ratings report focuses on the U.S. market and compiles data from Nielsen’s weekly top ten viewership ranks, Luminate’s Top Ten Data, JustWatch and Reelgood interest data, Samba TV household viewership, company datecdotes, Netflix hours viewed data, Google Trends, and IMDb to determine the most popular content. While most data points are current, Nielsen’s data covers the weeks of July 27th to August 2nd, 2026. You can find a link to my terminology here.) Subscribe Film - As The Super Mario Galaxy Movie Hits Peacock, How Have Kids Films Fared in 2026? Like Mario hopping on a Koopa, The Super Mario Galaxy Movie landed on Peacock on 30-July. (Yeah, I kinda forced that Mario reference.) How did it do? Great, just like the first film. It got 13.0 million hours on its opening, and that’s good enough to take second place among Peacock films on the Nielsen charts all time: As I mention all the time, Peacock just isn’t the world’s biggest streamer—in fact, nowhere close—so its films struggle to put up numbers like Netflix (or even Prime Video and Disney+). So this is a solid debut for that streamer. And as we saw last time, The Super Mario Bros. Movie had a HUGE second life on Netflix when it moved streamers. This chart doesn’t even show how long the first Mario lasted on Netflix: a whopping, KPop-esque 31 weeks. For NBCUniversal, though, the big win was the second Mario movie grossing $429 million in America and over $1 billion globally. But yeah, to add a very strong streaming performance only makes its success even greater. Illumination pretty clearly has another hit franchise on their hands. This is a good time, though, to check in on kids films so far in 2026. We’ve had a few big, big titles, a rare Netflix success, and some disappointments. Let’s start with the top animated films since November of 2025, over their first four weeks on the charts, along with a few of the “best all time” animated films: (As a reminder, if a film doesn’t make the Nielsen top ten lists, I don’t have data for it, so it gets a “zero” in terms of viewership. Now, it had some viewership, but I don’t know what it is, so it gets a zero.) I added a few titles to get an idea of what the best of the best looks like in terms of animation. And you can see, through four weeks, Zootopia 2 can now claim “one of the biggest streaming films of all time” titles. GOAT too did surprisingly well, besting Netflix’s biggest films (Swapped and In Your Dreams) through four weeks. When I’ve talked about how films can have varying performances on streaming compared to their box office, this is what I mean. Goat just managed to gross even $103 million at the box office—so it’s popular, but just barely—but did very well on streaming. Of course, what set Encanto and KPop Demon Hunters apart from the rest was their absolutely insane longevity. Here are the kids film charts through eight weeks to show that: And really KPop Demon Hunters just kept going, and no 2025 or 2026 kids films have had that sort of longevity. I can’t wait to see the sequel in theaters. Film - Two Devils and a Drama As I wrote last week, in the past, theatrical-first film flops weren’t eligible for “Miss of the Week” or “Miss of the Year” honors/dishonors, but since so many more films go to theaters first these days, I’ve made them eligible now! But it’s complicated. You see, this is a Streaming Ratings Report, emphasis on streaming, which makes analyzing this week’s two biggest streaming misses—The Drama on HBO Max (A24’s dramedy starring Zendaya and Robert Pattinson) and Prime Video’s The Devil Mouth (a killer shark movie starring young attractive people)—somewhat tricky. The Drama isn’t eligible for Luminate, but The Devil’s Mouth only had 1.5 million hours in its first week: The Devil’s Mouth notched 5.2 million hours according to Nielsen. Meanwhile, The Drama missed the charts entirely. Not great! But Prime Video is a much bigger streamer than HBO Max. That said, HBO Max titles are on Prime Video, but I think Prime Video prioritizes their original/exclusive titles, which helps boost their viewership. Complicating this further, The Drama made $48 million in the US—while A24 sells foreign distribution; the $57 million of overseas grosses helps A24 sell overseas rights for money in the future—off of a $28 million budget (which seems low for Zendaya and Pattinson, so they might have backend). The Devil’s Mouth, though, had zero dollars at the box office. The other stats for The Devil’s Mouth are bleak, and by “bleak”, I mean horrendous: a 4.7 on 15K reviews on IMDb (yikes) and a 46 on Metacritic (double yikes). The Drama, though buzzy online, only has a solid (but far from elite) 7.1 IMDb score on 121K reviews and a 59 on Metacritic (which is far, far lower than I’d have guessed). So which film is the “Miss of the Week”? I’m giving it to The Devil’s Mouth for one simple reason: it’s a horror film. And almost all horror films, even poorly reviewed horror films, should get a shot in theaters to at least try to recoup some of their budgets. The Drama made money at the box office and The Devil’s Mouth didn’t. It’s just like the situation last issue with Obsession and Masters of the Universe. Sure, Obsession didn’t pop on the streaming charts, but at least it already made it money at the box office. And as we’ve been seeing for years now and we’ll see all fall, theatrical films just do better on streaming. After all, the big “devil” winner this week was actually The Devil Wears Prada 2 with 14.8 million hours according to Nielsen. That’s right, The Devil Wears Prada 2—one of the box office success stories of May—came to streaming and parlayed its $220 million box office into 14.8 million Nielsen hours. Disney also put out a datecdote that it had 15.2 million “views” globally in five days, but again we don’t have a lot of great context for what that means. Here’s how it stacks up to other Hulu films, since I’m categorizing this mainly as a Hulu title (though it was also on Disney+): Share Quick Notes on Film 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… Whether Hulu has a new hit show on its hands... The top first and third seasons of all time and which shows are climbing those charts… What version of Spidey is the most popular... What sport and TV show are performing better on NBC than the NBA... All the flops, bombs and misses... ...please subscribe! We can only keep doing this great work with your support. Coming Soon! Next week, wow, things stay so busy. One of streaming’s biggest shows of all time, Ted Lasso, returns along with new YA-ish shows from Hulu (The Shards, from Ryan Murphy) and Prime Video (Sterling Point). The Challenge moves to Paramount+, plus My Life with the Walter Boys returns to Netflix and Futurama returns to Hulu. And Netflix has a new horror film, The Last House. Lots to talk about! All month, things stay busy. We’re talking Reacher on Prime Video! Outer Banks and Tires on Netflix! Lanterns on HBO Max! UFC 330 on Paramount+ and the MLB Field of Dreams game on Netflix. And a ton of smaller films come to streaming. Long term, the VMAs are back on 27-Sep! I feel like I haven’t heard much about this show in past years, but I’m seeing more news coverage and buzz for this show than in past years. I’m curious to see how it does.
Trump administration quietly closes criminal probe into Venezuela businessman amid oil deal
For a decade, Venezuelan businessman Alejandro Betancourt has been ensnared in the tentacles of a sprawling Justice Department probe into a sophisticated billion-dollar money laundering scheme that US prosecutors allege embezzled funds from Venezuela’s state-owned oil company known as PDVSA.
San Bernardino County restaurants shut down by health inspectors, Aug. 27-Sept. 3
Two facilities were ordered to close.
Matchday 24: Messi's momentum, Vancouver's test & more!
By Jonathan SigalThe MLS Secondary Transfer Window closed Wednesday night, as teams rushed to complete moves before Matchday 24 this weekend.With summertime signings settling in and the Audi 2026 MLS ...
MLB thrilled with NBC’s first season of ‘Sunday Night Baseball’
NBC closed out its first season of Sunday Night Baseball on Sunday with Reds-Cubs, which drew 2.8 million viewers across NBC and Peacock. Across the full season, NBC and Peacock averaged 2.7 million viewers over 14 primetime broadcasts, the most-watched Sunday Night Baseball season since 2007, and that average holds even when factoring in NBC’s…
For St. Paul’s most vulnerable patients, the distance to healthcare is growing
St. Paul patients finally found accessible healthcare. Then the clinic closed.
20-plus research facilities to close to get ‘costs under control’
Staff will be able to continue their research at other local facilities, the Forest Service confirmed.
General Mills closes sale of Brazil food business
Transaction with Grupo 3corações advances portfolio revamp.
PDS Health and United Concordia Launch Saliva Screening Pilot
United Concordia Dental and PDS Health®, leaders in oral health and dental-medical integration, respectively, launched a saliva screening pilot in Southern California earlier this week that aims to improve oral health and overall health by investigating the screening’s impact on periodontal (gum) disease management. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more than 40% of U.S. adults over the age of 30 have some form of gum disease. Left untreated, this condition can lead to tooth loss and infections and is associated with systemic conditions such as heart disease, stroke and diabetes. “Gum disease is not just an oral health issue. It’s closely connected to a person’s well-being,” said Ed Shellard, DMD, president and CEO of United Concordia. “This partnership with PDS Health underscores our shared commitment to dental-medical integration and allows us to empower patients with on-the-spot data about the current status of their gum health.”…
Switchboard Health Acquires Livara Health to Integrate Value-Based Musculoskeletal Care
Acquisition Brings Livara’s Virtual MSK Care Model Onto Switchboard’s Specialty Care Platform; Closes $5M+ Round of Funding Switchboard Health, creators
Arsenal will consider signing Premier League star in January
The summer transfer window for 2026 has just closed, but Arsenal already have their eyes on the next window and have identified Eli Junior Kroupi as one of the players they could sign, Football London...
EU and ASEAN discuss health emergency preparedness and response
The Director-General of the European Commission’s Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority (HERA), Dr Florika Fink-Hooijer, met with the Secretary-General of ASEAN, Dr Kao Kim Hourn, in Jakarta on 4 September 2026 to discuss health emergency preparedness and response to emerging health threats, and to explore deeper cooperation between the EU and ASEAN. Both regions face similar challenges from emerging threats such as infectious diseases, which will further increase with climate change and increased travel, requiring global and regional cooperation. Both sides acknowledged that regional partnerships are essential to prepare for the next health emergency — it's a matter of when, not if. Building close EU-ASEAN cooperation on health emergency preparedness and response is therefore critical to ensuring a collective response, as we look ahead to the Commemorative Summit in 2027 marking the 50th anniversary of EU-ASEAN Dialogue Relations. Among other topics, discussions covered future partnership in the establishment and operations of the ASEAN Centre for Public Health Emergencies and Emerging Diseases (ACPHEED), as well as other key avenues for deeper collaboration.
Healthcare Dealmakers—UHS closes Talkspace acquisition, Sanford's North Memorial deal clears and more
Healthcare mergers and acquisitions are in no short supply as providers, health tech companies, payers and other industry players look to expand their businesses and gain a competitive edge. | Sword Health nears Headspace all-cash acquisition, HCA Healthcare adds dozens of Texas urgent care centers and more healthcare merger and acquisition news from August.
Something strange is happening to the Starcraft website, as BlizzCon inches ever closer
Strange glitches and visual distortion can be seen on the official Starcraft website roughly a week ahead of BlizzCon, prompting speculation among fans.
US Open Influencer Credentials Double, And Tennis Etiquette Cracks
The U.S. Open nearly doubled its creator credentials to close to 100 this year. A halted Osaka match and viral ring-light clips show the cost of reach without onboarding.
PCHC announces layoffs, Bangor office closure amid financial struggles
Penobscot Community Health Care is in the middle of what officials describe as "ongoing financial challenges."
Jamaican sprinter Shericka Jackson opens up on mental health struggle after injury setback: “I still have hope
After sustaining an injury in Switzerland last month, Jackson has brought her season to a close citing struggles with her mental health.
Milwaukee adopting Baltimore's model for reducing infant mortality
In Baltimore, a 2009 initiative has reduced infant deaths by more than one-third and closed gaps between Black and White infant outcomes.
10 Literary Science Fiction and Fantasy Novels That Offer Hope for the Future
During graduate school, I finished the novel that found me an agent—but when my agent submitted it to publishers, all twenty of them turned the manuscript down. Truthfully, it was closer to a colle…
All completed Serie A deals after the summer transfer deadline
The transfer window came to a close for the majority of European nations on September 1, but a few deals have gone through after the passing of the deadline, including returns for two Serie A veterans...
Is Six Flags (FUN) Recalibrating Its Investment Story With an Arlington Move and 2027 Ride Push?
Six Flags Entertainment recently announced that it will continue investing in Carowinds and Carolina Harbor, with new attractions such as Rip Roarin' Falls set to open in 2027, alongside an ambitious slate of rides including Bakunawa and Werewolf Gorge across several flagship parks. The company also plans to move its corporate headquarters in 2027 from Charlotte to Arlington, Texas, consolidating leadership closer to its five Texas properties while maintaining a regional presence and ongoing...
America’s oldest natural history museum will close by the end of the month
Here’s your last day to visit
Elon Musk’s super PAC starts spending to help GOP in midterms, including Texas’ Ken Paxton
Elon Musk's America PAC has disclosed its first spending on Republican candidates — roughly $800,000 across Senate and House races in multiple states. Who do you think this spending will impact most?
Behind Closed Doors, John Fetterman Shows Little Interest in the Work of a Senator
The first-term senator, poised to be a possible swing vote, churns through staff as he alienates fellow Democrats and defends Israel.
Penobscot Community Health Care to lay off 16, close wellness center amid $3M funding gap
Midwife from closed Iowa program joins Regional Health Services
She once cared for patients at a hospital that shut its doors to expecting mothers. Now, she’s continuing that work in a new place.
Garcia Takes Another Step Toward Rangers Return
Robert Garcia moved closer to returning to the Texas Rangers after throwing a live batting-practice session on Wednesday.
Oura S-1 filing: Step towards IPO reveals $1.4 billion revenue
Oura took a step closer to becoming a public company by filing its S-1 on Thursday.
Elon Musk’s political machine begins spending to help Susan Collins
The spending, disclosed in a federal filing this week, marks the first concrete sign of money flowing into Maine from the world’s richest man.
Penobscot Community Health Care to close one of its Bangor offices, cut 16 jobs amid financial shortfall
A Maine health organization that provides mental, dental and behavioral health services to about 50,000 people will close one of its practices and is cutting more than a dozen jobs amid a multimillion-dollar financial shortfall.
US Proposal To Eliminate PAHO Funding Raises Alarm Over Health Security In Western Hemisphere
The oldest multilateral health organization in the world, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), is fighting across dozens of countries against many of
Deciphering black holes, problematic proteins, and ‘intelligent’ bacteria: 75 undergraduates experience Clark’s ‘Summer of Science’
Seventy-five undergraduate science majors at Clark spent the summer working closely with faculty mentors and diving deep into research. Their projects ranged from black holes in outer space to the ubiquitin protein system, whose dysregulation can lead to the development of cancer and other serious diseases.
How Close Are Scientists To Creating "Digital Twins" Of Human Brains? If Technology Can Catch Up, The Uses Could Be Endless
A digital twin would recreate a single brain and retain the ability to learn, adapt, and respond like the original.
This Week in Sports Trivia: Sept. 3, 2026
How closely were you following the sports news this week? Find out and test your knowledge by taking The Athletic's weekly quiz.
Science Says Doing This 1 Thing Together Beats Traditional Date Nights
Skip the flowers and dinner out. If you want to feel closer to your partner, the latest science suggests seeking out awe together.
4 things to watch for ahead of Fiorentina vs Torino
The Viola have plenty to work on ahead of their first game after the window closes.
Chiefs to Host Ex-Broncos Wide Receiver to Workout: Report
The Kansas City Chiefs are going to take a closer look at a former Denver Broncos wide receiver and return man this week. The post Chiefs to Host Ex-Broncos Wide Receiver to Workout: Report appeared first on HEAVY.
Entertainment
Ross Gallabrese Faire May brought the sound of folk music to the lounge area at this month’s Wednesdays in Wintersville. Wednesday’s edition brought the monthly street festival to a close. It carried a fall festival theme and featured a display of pumpkins f all sizes and shapes. several food trucks were part of the evening, […]
Outdoors Retailer Goes Out of Business After 90-Plus Years: Business NH Magazine
Sam’s Outdoor Outfitters, which had locations in Hadley, Mass., and Swanzey, closed its store in Swanzey on Saturday.
Entertainment
Ross Gallabrese Faire May brought the sound of folk music to the lounge area at this month’s Wednesdays in Wintersville. Wednesday’s edition brought the monthly street festival to a close. It carried a fall festival theme and featured a display of pumpkins f all sizes and shapes. several food trucks were part of the evening, […]
Family-owned Westwood business Sarah Leonard Fine Jewelers closes after nearly 80 years
Sarah Leonard Fine Jewelers, one of the oldest family-owned businesses in Westwood, closed Saturday. Sarah “Sunny” Friedman and Leonard “Lenny” Friedman opened the store, located at 1055 Westwood Blvd., in 1946 under the name Crescent Jewelers.
Opinion | Trump Ended My American Dream
America has closed its doors to too many students and entrepreneurs.
Philadelphia leaders work to preserve Academy of Natural Sciences as museum prepares to close
The effort is focused on preserving the academy's research, education and public engagement missions, according to David Cohen, an attorney and former U.S. ambassador to Canada who has joined the effort.
As Triangle businesses close, Madame B's Bakery expands 4 years after nearly shutting down
A Raleigh bakery that nearly closed four years ago is opening a second location after community support helped turn the business around.
Six Plano restaurants close over serious health violations, rodents and roaches
This inspection database compiled by the Star-Telegram contains results of 113 inspections from Aug. 16-22.
Cyclospora season winds down, even as Texas cases linked to outbreak
The diarrhea-inducing parasite’s summer season is coming to a close, even as health authorities link some Texas cases to outbreak stemming from lettuce.
Olive oil shop in Overland Park to close after 15 years. Owner shares next venture
“Thank you for believing in a dream that started with a simple idea and grew into something none of us could have imagined,” the owner said in a message to customers.
Jonathon Brooks Sidelinded Ahead Of Panthers Season Opener
The Carolina Panthers are keeping a close eye on running back Jonathon Brooks as the regular season approaches. Brooks missed practice Tuesday and was again working off to the side with trainers Wednesday because of general soreness. The Panthers have not indicated that he suffered a new major injury, and the exact location of the…
Discover exceptional live theater close to home
In a time when families can spend hundreds of dollars on a single concert or sporting event, one of the Sacramento region's best entertainment values may be right in its
Yankees' Aaron Boone Drops Major Update On Aaron Judge's Return
The New York Yankees have been without Aaron Judge for most of the season, but he is close to returning
Lacking Visitors, 200-Year-Old Science Landmark to Close
Philadelphia's Academy of Natural Sciences museum will shut its doors Sept. 30
‘Balancing act’ helps keep colorectal cancer in check
Study finds that a balance of two closely related cell surface proteins may be critical to the health of the epithelial lining of the gastrointestinal tract.
Federal Judge Declines to Break Up Google’s Ad Technology Business
In a long awaited ruling, the judge said Google must make some changes to its ad tech business to handle antitrust issues, but did not disclose the measures publicly.
Penn State Dairy Barns made animal science student 'feel at home'
Three years of working in Penn State’s Dairy Barns have been impactful for Hannah Mansfield, a spring 2026 College of Agricultural Sciences graduate who is pursuing a master’s degree in animal science.
Energy technology company to close Tualatin facility, eliminate 87 jobs
The closure of the Schneider Electric facility is the second plant closure announced this week in the Portland area.
Middleton leads Johnson in race for Texas attorney general, but the contest is unusually close
State Sen. Mayes Middleton spent lavishly to capture the Republican nomination and build statewide name recognition. But the most recent polling shows him just five percentage points ahead of Democratic state Sen. Nathan Johnson -- with more than a fifth of voters still undecided.
“Broken heart syndrome” can look just like a heart attack. This test can tell them apart
“Broken heart syndrome” can mimic a heart attack so closely that patients often need invasive testing to tell the difference. Researchers have now developed the BioTAK score, which combines biological sex with blood biomarkers to identify the condition before cardiac catheterization. In a validation study of nearly 1,800 patients, it correctly classified almost 90% of participants.
EA SPORTS FC™ 27 Brings Fans Closer to The World’s Game With New Partners, Leagues, and Stadiums
Powered by the support of global football partners, EA SPORTS FC™ 27 captures The World’s Game with unrivalled authenticity. Today, Electronic Arts announced an expanded roster of leagues, clubs, partners and stadiums coming to EA SPORTS FC 27, bringing players closer to the football they love through one of the most authentic representations of The World’s Game. Additions include new and renewed partnerships with a number of major European clubs, the highly anticipated return of Liga MX, and the continuation of EA SPORTS FC’s long-term relationship with the Bundesliga, the ROSHN Saudi League and the A-League. FC 27 AUTHENTICITY “With EA SPORTS FC 27, we’re building on years of bringing our community closer to football,” said James Salmon, Senior Director Partnership Marketing, EA SPORTS FC . “New and renewed partnerships bring more of the clubs, leagues, players and stadiums fans care about into FC 27, with the authenticity they expect from us. Together, they make The World’s Game
ATLAS publishes first paper on Public Engagement with Science
You can’t exactly take the ATLAS experiment on tour. At 7,000 tonnes and buried 100 metres underground at CERN, it’s not easy to move. So, for more than a decade, the ATLAS Collaboration has found another way to bring the experiment to people around the world: live, interactive virtual visits with the scientists who work on it. In a recent paper published in the European Physical Journal Plus, the ATLAS Collaboration documents the evolution and impact of its flagship Virtual Visits programme. The paper is the Collaboration’s first publication focused specifically on science education, communication and outreach. It traces the programme from its beginnings as an experimental outreach effort in 2010 through its growth into a global programme – connecting classrooms in the Amazon, schools in the Himalayas and even a research station in Antarctica. Drawing on data collected between 2019 and 2025, the paper examines the programme’s reach and impact. Global reach, local connection Figure 1: World map showing the number of virtual visits across participating countries from 2019 to 2025. Cooler colours (purple and blue) are used for countries with fewer visits, and warmer colours (red and orange) for countries with more visits. (Image: ATLAS Collaboration/CERN) The core mission of the ATLAS Virtual Visit programme is to connect audiences worldwide with particle physicists and engage them in accessible discussions about cutting-edge research. While visiting CERN in person is an unforgettable experience, financial and logistical barriers can make such a trip difficult for many students and public groups. Video conferencing has allowed the Collaboration to break down these barriers: between 2019 and 2025, the Collaboration hosted 698 virtual visits, engaging tens of thousands of participants across nearly 70 countries (see Figure 1). Interactivity is central to the programme. Far from simple one-way broadcasts, Virtual Visit audience members are encouraged to engage in conversation with the scientist(s) hosting the visit. Most hosts are volunteers from the ATLAS Collaboration, who bring their diverse scientific expertise, language skills and cultural backgrounds to each visit. Where possible, audiences are paired with volunteer scientists who share their native language and cultural background, making it easier to engage, ask questions and connect with the hosts. Between 2019 and 2025, Virtual Visits were held in 19 different languages. The core mission of the ATLAS Virtual Visit programme is to connect audiences worldwide with particle physicists and engage them in accessible discussions about cutting-edge research. Constant evolution Figure 2: The number of ATLAS Virtual Visits organised annually since 2019. (Image: ATLAS Collaboration/CERN) The ATLAS Virtual Visit programme has continuously evolved to enhance the visitor experience. Early sessions were hosted directly from the ATLAS Control Room before transitioning in 2014 to a dedicated space in the ATLAS Visitor Centre, equipped with modern videoconferencing technology. In 2019, the ATLAS Collaboration expanded the programme’s reach, introducing live Virtual Visits from the experimental cavern during year-end maintenance stops and long LHC shutdowns. These exclusive sessions take participants beyond the ATLAS visitor platform, offering real-time, up-close views of the towering detector. When the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted in-person gatherings worldwide, demand for virtual engagement surged. The ATLAS Collaboration adapted rapidly by introducing Open Virtual Visits streamed via Zoom and YouTube, allowing individual science enthusiasts and families to join live guided tours. Figure 2 shows that the programme reached a peak of 155 visits in 2021 and has since maintained around 100 visits per year, demonstrating sustained engagement beyond the pandemic-driven increase. More than just a tour Beyond participation numbers, the paper highlights the positive impact on participants and educators. Teachers report successfully integrating Virtual Visits into their physics curricula, sparking sustained curiosity and in many cases inspiring students to pursue STEM studies and careers. Feedback received also highlighted how the direct dialogue with ATLAS scientists has given students an authentic and personal perspective on particle physics, helping them connect what they learn in the classroom with the people behind ATLAS research. Looking ahead, the programme will continue to evolve with new technologies and communication platforms. The goal is simple: to give even more audiences the opportunity to engage directly with particle physics and make fundamental science open to all. Learn more Breaking barriers: the impact of ATLAS Virtual Visits in science communication (Eur. Phys. J. Plus 141, 874 (2026), arXiv:2601.22457, see figures) ATLAS Virtual Visit Dashboard Register for an ATLAS Virtual Visit
The Adriatic Sea's Hidden Shark And Ray Hotspot Is Changing What Scientists Know
The Adriatic Sea is one of the Mediterranean's most important regions for sharks and rays, yet many of its species are critically endangered. New research based on decades of monitoring and close partnerships with local fishers is revealing previously unknown habitats, rediscovering rare species, and reshaping what scientists thought they knew about these animals.
Santikos Far West expansion clears major hurdle
Santikos Entertainment closes on 22-acre acquisition in Far West San Antonio to build mixed-use development with entertainment center and retail.
August Monthly Review: ChatGPT In Epic
Death, taxes, another frontier lab healthcare launch inspiring truly insane LinkedIn takes. As much as I want to stay away, I repeatedly am the crewman unplugging his ears whenever we pass these sirens. So it’s not the first and probably not the last time we dial up the typewriter rather than tie ourselves to the mast. The full blow-by-blow timeline: Health API Guy is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Subscribe The End of the Standalone PHR (Jan 8): ChatGPT Health arrives for consumers, at the time powered by b.well. I was bullish on the approach in that the best way for the PHR to finally solve distribution was to meet consumers were they already are (i.e. When Horizontal Meets Healthcare (Jan 9): OpenAI for Healthcare puts out the shingle for enterprises, with SharePoint ingestion standing in for the EHR integration the product actually needed. Another One: Anthropic’s Healthcare Debut (Jan 16): Claude's version, on HealthEx rails instead of b.well, with Agent Skills for FHIR development as the one true vertical-specific investment. ChatGPT for Clinicians: The Trap Sprung (Apr 24): OpenAI filled in the missing GTM middle with a free product for verified clinicians, effectively peeling the enterprise wrapper off ChatGPT for Healthcare and taking the PLG fight directly to OpenEvidence. OpenAI’s Second Attempt at Health (Jul 31): a relaunch of their patient specific app, now branded Health in ChatGPT, where the privacy partition came out, the connectors thinned, and b.well disappeared in favor of first-party FHIR work against a smaller network Beyond a Shingle So what was announced now? Today, we’re introducing a new electronic health record integration that brings authorized patient context from Epic into ChatGPT for Healthcare, along with the Healthcare Public Data plugin for direct, structured access to official healthcare datasets like PubMed, DailyMed, and CMS Coverage. Together, these capabilities bring ChatGPT closer to the systems and sources healthcare teams trust, while supporting the controls and compliance healthcare work requires. The core portfolio is unchanged from prior announcements we delineated and discussed (aside from the relaunch of patient-facing). Since trade publications still seem to be confusing them by using the wrong names: Enterprise sales motion: ChatGPT for Healthcare Protecting their core product / PLG: ChatGPT for Clinicians Consumer/patient-facing product: Health in ChatGPT So really, this is a feature release (specifically for ChatGPT for Healthcare when it comes to EHR integration). What’s cool about it, though, is that we are moving beyond just putting out a shingle. Everything in the January enterprise launch was horizontalizable: Horizontal tech companies thus generally start verticalization with their “putting out a shingle phase”. Telling the world you’re open for business as a horizontal tech company reliably attracts early inbound interest from buyers who are already trying to force-fit horizontal tools into domain-specific workflows and are eager for any signal that the vendor intends to support their use case more directly. Nothing was really vertical specific, which is exactly what you'd expect from the ultimate hypergrowth horizontal company dipping their toes into specific industries. But eventually you have to stop changing the sign on the door and start changing the product. Can you guess where the horizontal product was going to run out of road? This is the core dilemma writ large: verticalization requires differentiation, while scale economics of consumer and horizontal push toward unification. I’ve buried the lede so deep here it will be painful to some readers, but what should be shocking to no one is that my perspective is that EHR integration is the only path that meaningfully resolves this tension for ChatGPT for Healthcare. Integration with Microsoft Sharepoint is fine, but it is categorically insufficient for any product that hopes to influence clinical decision-making. SMART Money Well here we are, eight months later! Real vertical investment has begun, which surprised a few people. One friend in the industry messaged me: “Absolutely no way Epic gave ChatGPT API access.” Looking forensically at the announcements, the integration is notably read-only across appointment notes, laboratory results, medications, and specialist documentation. So while I’m not a betting man, I'd wager the house this is a SMART on FHIR launch: That sounds a lot like USCDI! The recommended path for the workflow they outline would be SMART on FHIR Their Health AI lead’s post is evocative of both standalone and EHR launch SMART, which another termed “ChartGPT” and “EHR Plugin” The implementation burden for SMART on FHIR is the lowest of the available integrative paths This is the team who literally did patient-facing SMART on FHIR with Epic last month Most importantly, if you’re a horizontal company, you generally still haven’t taken the full plunge and thus (overly) value reusability. SMART on FHIR is the logical compromise: healthcare-specific enough to matter, but standardized enough to reuse. Nobody Asked Judy Another friend asked “I thought they had to go to each health system, or did they go direct to Epic and now health systems opt in?” Given the trust paradigms in healthcare, this functionally cannot be Epic hoovering up all the data for OpenAI and shoving ChatGPT in their customers’ faces (or they would revolt). However, I do believe the aforementioned terrible coverage by TechCrunch and other outlets is probably responsible for that question, given the 325 million reference. When using FHIR as a business associate to an Epic customer, there is no EHR gatekeeping to speak of, as that isn’t how fhir.epic.com works: You register an app You pick your APIs You test against the sandbox APIs You list as “Ready for Production” Hospitals pick your app You test and go live with them Bluntly, nobody had to say yes or no in Verona (nor were they given the chance). Vendor Services (their next developer tier up that I doubt OpenAI is using quite yet in this initial release) certainly has contractual paperwork that some resent, but even there, the twin pressures of mounting antitrust and information blocking make outright gatekeeping increasingly fraught. My friend’s sentiment is, to me, representative of a broader industry neurosis, perhaps a sort of scar tissue of prior eras: people assume the gate is still there and never actually try the door. There are certainly other ways Epic (and any EHR) can put its thumb on the scale, but they are not so dumb as to stand in front of a federally mandated API and play bouncer at this exact moment in time. So I think they can and probably should go deeper, as this release is at best parity and at worst behind vertical-specific competition. OpenEvidence did a basic SMART launch with Sutter Health in February, allowing for more convenient evidence search by providers. They then add patient-context (the equivalent SMART on FHIR flow to what we see here) when Cedars-Sinai went enterprise-wide in May. UpToDate has four distinct applications across deeper workflows like patient engagement listed in Epic Showroom and announced a partnership with Epic to power Art at UGM Abridge and other ambient scribes have invested deeply into the deepest bidirectional clinical copilot workflow with integrations well beyond SMART on FHIR. In that light, the “Who is OpenAI primarily targeting here?” is clear. This release brings them into striking distance of OpenEvidence, but not the others quite yet. They are the only one of the three you can reach without building something truly Epic-specific. When will they go further? Competition is a great motivator to overcome the horizontal demons and start building things that can’t be reused: not across industries, not across EHRs, maybe not past the customer you built them for. That’s the price of actually verticalizing. The question is if and when OpenAI will be willing to pay it. Month in Review Here is the monthly review. As a reminder, this is a regular round-up of the month’s posts and other content to surface things you may have missed across regulation, litigation, interoperability, and beyond. AI assistance is used in these bullet summaries so I can focus on articles. Articles Published: None this month Video Content: The Information Exchange: Standards-based Thruple Edition (Aug 14): Back to school for us too, with Brad reporting in from the CMS Health Tech Ecosystem’s one year anniversary in DC. We get into the January CMS-0057 deadline, the fall rulemaking reading list, and why enrollment still keeps most apps off FHIR. The Information Exchange: Epic Dúnadan Edition (Aug 25): A UGM roundup with Ryan Brickner joining for the first time to check our takes against what the building actually thinks. Rangers, Ergo sitting on top of EHI, and a down-market lineup that needs some cuts. Regulatory: Stacked Deck, Bad Hand (Aug 05): ONC’s website refresh took the entire HIT Policy Committee record with it, so I rebuilt the archive and went looking for the regulatory capture story everyone assumes is buried in there. Stacking the deck and winning the hand turn out to be very different things. The Sixth Generation of Patient Access (Aug 19): A quick catalog of the five generations of patient access we’ve layered on since HIPAA, and the two candidates now competing to be the sixth. One is planned. The other is the market routing around the plan entirely. Court cases: Three Cases Walk Into a Docket (Aug 06): Two surprise settlements cleared the board in a single week, and then Judge Maddox dropped ninety-four pages on Vyne v. Henry Schein. The sleeper is a DMCA holding that makes direct-to-database a considerably riskier business model. Epic v. Health Gorilla: Into the MDL (Aug 10): Nine class actions are headed to Miami, and the Panel signaled it wants to bring the case that spawned them along too. That would leave Epic arguing the requests were obviously fraudulent in one courtroom and unknowable in the other. Amazon v. Perplexity: Agents Are Legalized! (Aug 11): The Ninth Circuit vacated the injunction against Comet, holding that the user is the one accessing the servers rather than the company that built the agent. A real win for agentic access, and a much narrower one than the headline suggests. Veeva v. Epic: Come At Me, Bro (Aug 26): Epic’s response brief wants the dismissal affirmed and, unusually, wants the opinion published as precedent. Buried in it is Epic’s own description of what its non-competes actually prohibit, which current and former employees should read closely. EHRs: The Contract Epic Would Never Sign Today (Aug 04): A 1999 SEC exhibit catches Epic licensing nearly its entire product line, Tapestry included, to the company that became TriZetto. The marketing services menu attached to it is the part that will make you blink. Forecast from Verona (Aug 07): The Epic Almanac makes one argument six different ways: the AI is only as good as the networks behind it. Emmie headlines, Art’s context stack is the most ambitious part, and Penny finally gets an autonomous coding date on the calendar. Works With Epic MyChart (Aug 17): Epic’s first new Showroom category since the death of Workshop certifies hardware instead of software, badge on the box and all. Made for iPhone, but for blood pressure cuffs, and rough news for anyone selling the RPM stack sitting in between. UGM Hot Takes 2026 (Aug 20): Everyone else covered the AI announcements, so I went after Savvy deleting the payment gateway, Rangers as Boost with the timer removed, and a down-market lineup with too many entries. Plus the Health Grid tidbits I cannot help myself on. MyChart Central Grows Up (Aug 24): Device data and Emmie turn Epic’s identity hub into a full consumer platform, which is both a logical answer to ChatGPT and a bit of a mistake. It also happens to be the best scraping target Epic has ever shipped. Industry Analysis: The Wrong Yardstick (Aug 12): Vertical software keeps getting judged against Superhuman and Notion, which is the wrong bar entirely. Your user is comparing your product to a whiteboard and forty phone calls before lunch. Primitives vs. Abstractions (Aug 27): Developers want building blocks, systems of record prefer to hand out business logic, and both sides have a real case. There’s no test from the outside that separates the engineering reason from the competitive one, which is why this keeps ending up in court. Cross-industry Comparisons: The Two Kinds of Platform Power (Aug 18): Attention power and record power are different problems that keep getting handed the same regulatory toolkit. Congress’s latest swing at Big Tech shows both what’s possible and where it falls apart. The Dogs of (Platform) War (Aug 21): A CourtListener alert turned up a property management fight with healthcare’s exact shape and none of the Cures Act. Shell prospects, ghost accounts, a notetaker bot that came back to haunt someone, and a lawyer arguing both sides of the same theory in two states. Fractals All the Way Down (Aug 31): Yardi dominates property management right up until you zoom into one segment, where AppFolio owns it outright and Yardi doesn’t appear at all. Where you draw the line around a B2B software market is about to decide an awful lot of cases. Other News: If Judy Had the Courage (Aug 13): A short eulogy for the era when software was allowed to look insane: WinAMP, bold colors, and everything the grey chatbot era has taken from us. External Media: Portland Monthly Health Tech Meetup: Erin O’Brien channeled my own feelings - maybe it’s just because it’s August and beautiful, but the monthly edition of the PDX Health community meetup was a ripper. Make sure to reach out if interested to join for the next one. STAT’s Coverage of Epic This Month: Brittany Trang of STAT did a fantastic job of breaking the FTC investigation that’s been lurking, as well as UGM related coverage, so I had to give her her wish of a meme. Fall Conferences: I’m pumped to be kicking off my fall conference season in NYC at Nabla Accelerate next month, which Chrissy provided the link to apply for. Here’s the rest of my schedule in case you want to meet up: Commonwell (Redwood Shores, CA): Oct 13-14 Open@Epic (Madison, WI): Oct 21-22 eHealthExchange (Austin, TX): Oct 27 Sequoia Project (Austin, TX): Oct 28-29 HLTH (Vegas): Nov 15-18 RSNA (Chicago): Nov 29-Dec 3 Posts I Liked: HTI-6 Should Unbundle API Certification: Josh Mandel makes the case that HTI-6 should split (g)(10) into separate authorization and data certifications, so a PACS or a genomics platform can certify only the role it actually performs. Imaging is the urgent example, but the structure solves a much bigger problem. On implementing ePrior Auth with Epic: Scott Rossignol’s field notes from a live ePrior Auth build on Epic, including the two app registrations nobody warns you about and the CPT mapping problem waiting at the end. CMS-0057 implementations are going to be such a beast. Healthcare point solutions are starting to look a lot like streaming services: Spencer Dorn runs the cable-to-streaming arc against health IT and lands squarely on the bundling half of the cycle. Bundling can be good! It can also be bad! Life is nuanced. Health API Guy is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Subscribe
Opposition Lowdown: Mansfield Town Starting Season Strong
Reading return home this Wednesday with an evening game under the lights of the SCL, facing Mansfield. Join us as we take a closer look at the opposition.
Senate races: Collins victorious, Brownsberger race too close to call
The contests drew attention for their potential to upset the status quo on Beacon Hill, and demonstrate just how far Mayor Michelle Wu’s influence extends in Boston politics.