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Lake Country Lutheran defeats Shoreland Lutheran

Journal Sentinel sports reporter Zac Bellman breaks down Lake Country Lutheran's victory over Shoreland Lutheran on Friday, Sept. 4, 2026.

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Sep 4 • 11:00 PM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com
Bishop Arts business owners call for accountability after overnight break-ins

A quick break-in was caught on camera, then another theft followed hours later. Owners say they want whoever did it held accountable.

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Sep 4 • 10:21 PM EDT • Business • nbcdfw.com
Las Vegas defense attorney says Lindsay Clancy mistrial points to mental health defense strength

With the Lindsay Clancy murder trial ending in a mistrial, a prominent attorney breaks down why the 11-1 deadlock in favor of insanity is a win for the defense.

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Sep 4 • 10:11 PM EDT • Health • fox5vegas.com
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Here's what you need to know about breaking mental health stigma

Uncover essential facts about breaking mental health stigma. Learn how understanding can lead to empathy and societal change. Read more today.

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Sep 4 • 10:08 PM EDT • Health • sdvoice.info
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Roundtable Statcast Deep Dive: What Has Changed for Max Clark?

Detroit’s top prospect is finding his rhythm, swapping grounders for high-velocity line drives as refined timing and improved contact quality signal a major breakthrough for the young outfielder.

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Sep 4 • 9:44 PM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com
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Kennedy acknowledges one measles death in Pennsylvania

U.S. Health Secretary Robert ​F. Kennedy Jr acknowledged on Friday that measles caused the recent death of an infant in Pennsylvania, ‌citing information from a county coroner, but suggested the federal government would not yet recognize the fatality in official data amid a fast-growing national outbreak.

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Sep 4 • 8:29 PM EDT • Health • reuters.com
WWLTV

WWL-TV is New Orleans’ source for breaking news, weather, and unforgettable local stories. From live hurricane coverage to major investigations, recipes and local culture, our award-winning team brings you the most trusted journalism in Louisiana — now streaming FREE on WWL+ 24/7. 📲 Subscribe for exclusive digital specials, daily headlines, live press conferences, festival coverage, Saints updates and must-watch moments from across Southeast Louisiana. 🎥 Watch now on WWL+ or visit WWLTV.com for more. WWLTV.com: https://www.wwltv.com/ Local. Trusted. Relentless. Welcome to WWL-TV.

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Sep 4 • 8:01 PM EDT • Business • youtube.com
Alcaraz knows health a big part of his success

NEW YORK — Feeling better than he expected after a four-month absence, Carlos Alcaraz is planning to take more breaks during the tennis season. Alcaraz returned to play at the U.S. Open after being sidelined since April by a right wrist injury. The defending champion advanced to the fourth round Friday with a 6-3, 6-4, […]

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Sep 4 • 8:00 PM EDT • Health • altoonamirror.com
Chamber breakfast salutes business, community leaders

Staff report Four Mahoning Valley business and community leaders were honored for their contributions to the area during the Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber’s annual Salute to Business breakfast Thursday at Eastwood Event Centre in Niles. “Salute to Business gives us an opportunity each year to recognize people who are doing great work in the Mahoning Valley,” […]

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Sep 4 • 8:00 PM EDT • Business • vindy.com
Happening now! Tune in to 28/22 Sports Night

(WBRE/WYOU) — Don’t miss Sports Night hosted by the 28/22’s sports team every night at 8:00 p.m. Join Zach Grady, Connor Coar, and Ricky Turner as the break down sports news of the day. Then, tune back in at 11:00 p.m for insights and coverage of local High School Football games this season. Download the […]

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Sep 4 • 7:58 PM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com
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.

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Sep 4 • 7:47 PM EDT • Politics • fox5ny.com
Another record breaker for business expansions and job growth in Georgia

Gov. Brian Kemp and the state Department of Economic Development announced $35.2 billion in project investments for the fiscal year that ended June 30. That is up from $26.3 billion the prior fiscal year, which had also broken records.

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Sep 4 • 7:40 PM EDT • Business • wabe.org
Three businesses near Bishop Arts were burglarized on the same morning

Mentiiras, Wayward Coffee and Outpost Fine Goods in Dallas' Bishop Arts neighborhood reported break-ins about 15 minutes apart.

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Sep 4 • 6:50 PM EDT • Business • dallasnews.com
Three businesses near Bishop Arts were burglarized on the same morning

Mentiiras, Wayward Coffee and Outpost Fine Goods in Dallas' Bishop Arts neighborhood reported break-ins about 15 minutes apart.

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Sep 4 • 6:50 PM EDT • Business • yahoo.com
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.

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Sep 4 • 6:23 PM EDT • Technology • gamefile.news
Maple Leafs’ Chris Tanev Breaks Silence With Important Health Update

The Toronto Maple Leafs were anything but fully healthy last season, as several key players missed weeks of time with various ailments. One such player was defenseman Chris Tanev, who was limited to 11 games.Tanev missed time because of a concussion and later, because of a core-muscle injury that took place shortly after he returned […] The post Maple Leafs’ Chris Tanev Breaks Silence With Important Health Update appeared first on HEAVY.

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Sep 4 • 6:13 PM EDT • Health • sports.yahoo.com
Packers TE Tucker Kraft Predicted to Have Major 2026 Season

The Green Bay Packers could be preparing for another breakout campaign from Tucker Kraft, with a bold projection placing the young tight end among the NFL’s most productive pass catchers in 2026. After emerging as a major part of Green Bay’s offense, Kraft enters the new season with expectations that extend well beyond his position. […] The post Packers TE Tucker Kraft Predicted to Have Major 2026 Season appeared first on Gridiron Heroics.

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Sep 4 • 6:06 PM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com
Measles cases top 3,000, CDC reports, the highest in more than 3 decades

A Pennsylvania coroner confirmed Friday that two infants died in the state’s growing measles outbreak.

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Sep 4 • 6:04 PM EDT • Health • nbcnews.com
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DeWitt breaks ground on detention ponds to support industrial development at Crossroads Business Park

The detention ponds are expected to be completed by the spring of 2027.

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Sep 4 • 5:12 PM EDT • Business • kwqc.com
Heartbreak and politics collide in North Carolina Senate race

Two emotional political ads airing in North Carolina’s U.S. Senate race are using the stories of families who lost loved ones to gun violence to make a case against former Governor Roy Cooper…

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Sep 4 • 4:39 PM EDT • Politics • qcnews.com
DPH Confirms Additional Measles Cases in Georgia

The Georgia Department of Public Health (DPH) has confirmed three additional measles cases associated with the measles case confirmed August 18, for a total of 8 cases associated with the current outbreak.

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Sep 4 • 4:37 PM EDT • Health • coastalhealthdistrict.org
Heartbreak and politics collide in North Carolina Senate race

Two emotional political ads airing in North Carolina’s U.S. Senate race are using the stories of families who lost loved ones to gun violence to make a case against former Gov. Roy Cooper.

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Sep 4 • 4:26 PM EDT • Politics • qcnews.com
Blizzard’s StarCraft Site Breaks Itself Days Before BlizzCon, and Fans Already Decoded a Hidden 2575 Horror ARG

Amid various StarCraft rumors, the official website starts glitching suspiciously just one week ahead of BlizzCon 2026, and fans discover ARG.

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Sep 4 • 4:00 PM EDT • Technology • wccftech.com
New measles cases associated with metro Atlanta day care outbreak confirmed, health officials say

Health officials have confirmed three new measles cases connected with an outbreak of the virus at a metro Atlanta day care.

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Sep 4 • 3:55 PM EDT • Health • cbsnews.com
High-Signal Publisher
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.

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Sep 4 • 3:16 PM EDT • Entertainment • entertainment.substack.com
Watch Mornings with Fox Business Online

Watch Mornings with Fox Business online on Fox News. Follow hosts to follow the most current breaking news and to stay up-to-date on what is happening around you.

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Sep 4 • 3:09 PM EDT • Business • foxbusiness.com
How Fan Headcanon Turned Fern Mayo Trans in the ‘Jawbreaker’ Musical

​A chance DM from a trans actress ended up transforming the character in the stage adaptation of the beloved 1999 comedy.

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Sep 4 • 12:25 PM EDT • Entertainment • them.us
Full Court Magic Episode 34: Full Breakdown

Don Strouble analyzes Orlando’s low-risk gamble on Malaki Branham and how Paolo Banchero’s development shapes a roster navigating tight salary cap constraints ahead of training camp.

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Sep 4 • 12:13 PM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com
The behind-the-scenes effort to contain Pennsylvania’s measles outbreak

Public health workers are relying on word-of-mouth immunization clinics to fight the state’s growing outbreak.

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Sep 4 • 11:55 AM EDT • Health • washingtonpost.com
Oregon small businesses deserve a break from steep credit card fees

Credit card companies charge businesses swipe fees, and businesses often pass them on to consumers.

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Sep 4 • 11:02 AM EDT • Business • washingtonpost.com
22 cases now confirmed in growing measles outbreak

The total number of measles cases is nearly double the 12 initially identified cases.

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Sep 4 • 11:00 AM EDT • Health • thegazette.com
Cyclosporiasis outbreak exposes a weakened US public health system

The parasitic disease causes explosive diarrhea, abdominal pain and fatigue but is rarely fatal.

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Sep 4 • 9:35 AM EDT • Health • detroitnews.com
12 actors who got replaced in movie sequels — and what they had to say about it

Not every actor makes it to the sequel. EW breaks down 12 major movie recastings, why they happened, and who stepped into the role.

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Sep 4 • 8:40 AM EDT • Entertainment • ew.com
Germany’s far right AfD eyes election breakthrough in Saxony-Anhalt
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Sep 4 • 8:19 AM EDT • Politics • aljazeera.com
Germany’s far right eyes election breakthrough as AfD surges in Saxony
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Sep 4 • 8:19 AM EDT • Politics • aljazeera.com
Second-year breakout candidates for 2026 fantasy football

Chet Gresham takes a look at 5 players set for a second-year breakout for 2026 fantasy football

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Sep 4 • 8:15 AM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com
Whole Hog Politics: The sprawling political transformation of Texas

[Watch Whole Hog Politics live: Hill Insider members can join us live today at 9 a.m. ET as Chris Stirewalt and host Bill Sammon break down this week’s political news and answer questions from a li…

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Sep 4 • 8:00 AM EDT • Politics • thehill.com
UCF Cruises To Lopsided Win Over Bethune-Cookman

The Knights dismantled the Wildcats in a record-breaking season opener, fueled by Duke Watson’s explosive runs and a relentless offense that matched a program-high 73 points.

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Sep 4 • 7:30 AM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com
Fastbreak AI is quietly becoming the scheduling engine for 50-plus pro leagues

Fastbreak AI says it schedules 50+ pro leagues. The ops implication: scheduling is now a multi-constraint optimization problem tied to travel, venues, and media

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Sep 4 • 7:01 AM EDT • Entertainment • marketscale.com
Folarin Balogun omitted from Monaco’s Europa Conference League squad

AS Monaco have announced the squad for their upcoming UEFA Europa Conference League campaign. Folarin Balogun has been notably omitted from the squad. It comes following the breakdown of his move to E...

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Sep 4 • 6:50 AM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com
Colorado football stuns Georgia Tech late, but questions linger

Colorado survived an uneven night against Georgia Tech thanks to Julian Lewis, Charlie Williams and Boo Carter. Breaking down what it all means

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Sep 4 • 6:31 AM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com
☹️ Negative (-30%)
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100%
Cyclosporiasis outbreak exposes a weakened US public health system

During the height of the summer outbreak of cyclosporiasis, Dea Lancaster set aside her usual duties as nurse coordinator at Michigan's Washtenaw County Health Department to call patients, asking about their symptoms and tracing the contaminated food they ate.

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Sep 4 • 6:05 AM EDT • Health • reuters.com
Ruth Bar breaks silence on her 1993 affair with Netanyahu, his early political rise

Thirty-three years after Netanyahu’s live TV confession, Ruth Bar speaks publicly for the first time about their professional relationship and his early political instincts.

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Sep 4 • 6:02 AM EDT • Politics • jpost.com
😐 Neutral (9%)
Alabama State football vs Lane College predictions, what to watch

Here's our breakdown of Alabama State football's matchup against Lane College in the Labor Day Classic, including a scouting report and a score prediction.

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Sep 4 • 5:02 AM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com
Bologna troubles continue as Orsolini ruled out until international break

Bologna are without a victory after their first two Serie A matches of the 2026-27 season and the troubles for head coach Domenico Tedesco have now increased as Italy international Riccardo Orsolini h...

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Sep 4 • 4:50 AM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com
New Jensen Interceptor GTX breaks cover as a track-focused V8 beast to mark a new era

The Jensen Interceptor is underrated classic, and the Britain's first muscle car as some people call it, and now there's a new one with a V8

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Sep 4 • 4:05 AM EDT • Technology • supercarblondie.com
State's top health official says vaccine waiver trend risks disease outbreaks in schools

The number of parents getting vaccine waivers for their children has jumped once again. Just over 7% of school-age children in Michigan have one of those waivers.

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Sep 4 • 4:00 AM EDT • Health • michiganpublic.org
Here’s how Alix Earle finally addresses her falling out with Alex Cooper on her new reality show

Alix Earle finally breaks her silence on her feud with Alex Cooper on her Netflix reality show ‘Earle Meets World.’

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Sep 4 • 3:01 AM EDT • Entertainment • ew.com
Ospreys and bunker, campaign politics, tax breaks for builders

Reader letters to Newsday.

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Sep 4 • 2:00 AM EDT • Politics • newsday.com
A Science Snippet: What El Niño means for South Texas this fall and winter

What does El Niño actually mean for South Texas this fall and winter? Chief Meteorologist Stefanie Lauber breaks down what the numbers say. 🌧️

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Sep 4 • 1:10 AM EDT • Science • kristv.com
Quick hits

Beat writer Scott Richey breaks down the Illini's season-opening win against the Blazers

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Sep 4 • 12:22 AM EDT • Sports • news-gazette.com
WFAA

WFAA (Dallas–Fort Worth) is your source for breaking news, Texas weather, traffic, and live coverage in Dallas, Fort Worth, and across North Texas. Get the latest updates from the WFAA team — from major local headlines and investigations to severe weather, community stories, and the moments everyone’s talking about. Watch live newscasts, stream breaking coverage, and catch up on the top stories shaping Dallas, Fort Worth, Arlington, Plano, and surrounding communities. Subscribe for: • Dallas–Fort Worth breaking news + live updates • Texas weather forecasts, storms, and severe weather alerts • Investigations and accountability reporting • Community stories across North Texas • Major events, sports, and local explainers WFAA — Dallas–Fort Worth news and weather, live and on demand. 🔗 More: https://www.wfaa.com

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Sep 3 • 11:57 PM EDT • Business • youtube.com
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Some area business owners seeing more break-ins since World Cup left Seattle

“We love Seattle. We’ve seen what it can be. There’s no reason why it cannot grow into what it was during the World Cup, an event that was only a month ago. We’re not giving up," one business owner said.

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Sep 3 • 11:32 PM EDT • Business • kiro7.com
Bundesliga brings the band back together in Premier League's shadow

As the cashed-up Premier League spent billions in another record-breaking transfer window, many Bundesliga clubs were forced to improvise, bringing back former players on cut-price deals. - 'Back home' - As the transfer window slammed shut on Tuesday evening, FIFA figures showed the Premier League had spent more than $3.02 billion (2.6 billion euros), more than three times the Bundesiga's $904 million.

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Sep 3 • 10:58 PM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com
Lincoln Public Schools breaks down mental health resources across schools

As students get back into the swing of things in the classroom, mental health remains one of the top priorities for Lincoln Public Schools.

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Sep 3 • 10:36 PM EDT • Health • 1011now.com
LPS breaks down mental health resources across schools

As students get back into the swing of things in the classroom, mental health remains one of the top priorities for Lincoln Public Schools.

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Sep 3 • 10:32 PM EDT • Health • 1011now.com
Meloni breaks Italy’s post-war political record

Faltering reforms and a growing nationalist right could complicate the prime minister’s path to re-election

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Sep 3 • 10:00 PM EDT • Politics • euractiv.com
Unknown suspect breaks into Sioux Falls business with a rock, steals alcohol

The SFPD is seeking information about a burglary in which an unknown suspect broke into a business with a rock and stole multiple bottles of alcohol on Wednesday.

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Sep 3 • 8:28 PM EDT • Business • dakotanewsnow.com
Cyclospora season ends but health officials still investigate cases

EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — While the official U.S. Cyclospora season concluded on Aug. 31, federal and state health agencies are still actively identifying and investigating cases. This has been the largest Cyclospora outbreak ever recorded in the United States, with over 11,400 confirmed illnesses reported across at least 20 states. Dr. Angela Walla, a […]

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Sep 3 • 8:11 PM EDT • Health • ktsm.com
Chase Daniel Breaks Silence On Mizzou Ring Of Honor Snub

The Missouri Tigers have a storied and deep history in college football, and quite possibly the greatest quarterback to put on the Missouri uniform is Chase Daniel.Daniel was the Tigers’ quarterback for four seasons, from 2005 to 2008. Daniel tossed 101 touchdowns for Missouri, was a Heisman finalist in 2007, and was the Offensive Player […] The post Chase Daniel Breaks Silence On Mizzou Ring Of Honor Snub appeared first on HEAVY.

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Sep 3 • 7:57 PM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com
Lawmakers urge Hochul to act on AI tech bills

The bill would require businesses to report certain information to the state Department of Labor breaking down how artificial intelligence is affecting their hiring and employment practices.

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Sep 3 • 7:18 PM EDT • Politics • spectrumlocalnews.com
Deep dive
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Trump administration plows ahead with groundbreaking for the president’s ‘triumphal arch’

The Trump administration plans to break ground on the president’s “triumphal arch” in the next two weeks, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum announced on Thursday.

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Sep 3 • 6:45 PM EDT • Politics • cnn.com
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😐 Neutral (6%)
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61%
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39%
Bickley: Cardinals take critical step forward with Michael Wilson extension

Cardinals take care of business by extending the 26-year-old wideout after a breakout season in 2025 and buck past trends of failing to extend blossoming talent.

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Sep 3 • 6:38 PM EDT • Sports • arizonasports.com
War and Peace: Ari on the gender breakthrough that can save politics

Remembering feminist icon Gloria Steinem. (The Beat's YouTube: https://ms.now/ari)

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Sep 3 • 6:19 PM EDT • Politics • ms.now
WUSA9

WUSA9 (Washington, D.C.) is your source for breaking news, D.C. area weather, traffic, and live coverage in the nation’s capital and surrounding communities. Get the latest updates from the WUSA9 team — from major local headlines and investigations to severe weather, community stories, and the moments everyone’s talking about. Watch live newscasts, stream breaking coverage, and catch up on the top stories shaping Washington, D.C., Northern Virginia, and suburban Maryland. Subscribe for: • D.C. area breaking news + live updates • Weather forecasts and severe weather alerts • Investigations and accountability reporting • Community stories across the region • Major events, sports, and local explainers WUSA9 — Washington, D.C. news and weather, live and on demand. 🔗 More: https://www.wusa9.com 🔗 Stream on your TV: https://www.tv.wusa9.com

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Sep 3 • 5:43 PM EDT • Politics • youtube.com
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Astra model launch marks AGI milestone for OpenAI, Greg Brockman says

OpenAI president Greg Brockman suggests its new model Astra could be AGI, pitching it as a research breakthrough and a shift in delegating work to AI.

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Sep 3 • 4:47 PM EDT • Business • businessinsider.com
Travel Trending with Kathy Witt: Cuddle up at The Cove

You could call my brief but blissfully unhurried interlude at The Cove in Islamorada, Florida, a midweek work break or a microcation reset. But I call it pure sensory salt-air

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Sep 3 • 4:45 PM EDT • Entertainment • thederrick.com
Two charged with burglary after allegedly breaking into Roanoke business

Two men in Roanoke have been charged with burglary following an incident early Wednesday morning.

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Sep 3 • 4:30 PM EDT • Business • wset.com
Landspout or Dust Devil in Georgetown? Breaking Down the Science

If you were driving around Round Rock and Georgetown Wednesday, you may have had some crazy sights to see. A large swirling vortex was spotted picking up dust a

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Sep 3 • 3:29 PM EDT • Science • cbsaustin.com
Video: Why the N.B.A. Banned the Richest Owner in U.S. Sports

A yearlong league probe, sparked by Pablo Torre’s Pulitzer Prize-winning investigation, found that the billionaire Los Angeles Clippers owner Steve Ballmer helped to secure endorsement deals for star Kawhi Leonard, breaking salary cap rules.

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Sep 3 • 1:52 PM EDT • Sports • nytimes.com
Ebola Outbreak 'Still Evolving' As Deaths Pass 3,000

More than 3,000 people have now died in the Democratic Republic of Congo's Ebola Bundibugyo outbreak out of 6,250 confirmed cases, the Africa Centres for

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Sep 3 • 11:42 AM EDT • Health • healthpolicy-watch.news
Unknown suspect breaks into Sioux Falls business with a rock, steals alcohol

The SFPD is seeking information about a burglary in which an unknown suspect broke into a business with a rock and stole multiple bottles of alcohol on Wednesday.

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Sep 3 • 11:13 AM EDT • Business • dakotanewsnow.com
Judge rejects Trump administration's plan to break up Google's ad business

Punishing a company for building the best product doesn't serve the businesses or users antitrust enforcers claim to protect.

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Sep 3 • 10:00 AM EDT • Business • reason.com
Outbreaks, Equity, and Public Health Policy

Outbreaks reveal who we protect and who we leave behind.

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Sep 3 • 8:00 AM EDT • Health • docwirenews.com
Everything Announced At The September 2026 PlayStation State Of

Here's a quick play-by-play breakdown of PlayStation's latest broadcast. - Game Informer

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Sep 3 • 8:00 AM EDT • Technology • gameinformer.com
Health officials turn to mobile-phone data to track Ebola spread in Congo

Health officials battling the Ebola outbreak in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo are using anonymised mobile-phone data to map population movements and identify areas where the virus could ​spread next, according to the World Health Organisation and researchers working with it.

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Sep 3 • 7:24 AM EDT • Health • reuters.com
Health Officials Turn to Mobile-Phone Data to Track Ebola Spread in Congo

By Clement Bonnerot DAKAR, Sept 3 (Reuters) - Health officials battling the Ebola outbreak in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo are ⁠using ⁠anonymised mobile-phone data to map population movements and identify areas ⁠where the virus could spread next, according to the World Health Organisation ...

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Sep 3 • 7:24 AM EDT • Health • usnews.com
Fall events planned to support businesses through Blatnik Bridge closure

Marketing fairs, weekly construction updates and customer-tracking data are among efforts aimed at helping businesses weather the five-year rebuild of the Blatnik Bridge.

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Sep 3 • 6:00 AM EDT • Business • wpr.org
Swiping MAGA right or liberal left dealbreakers in today's dating world

Smoking? Kids? Finances? Political alignment is now at the forefront for those looking for romance in today's world of dating and finding a partner.

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Sep 3 • 5:03 AM EDT • Politics • floridatoday.com
NYC health commissioner grilled over city's response to Legionnaires' disease outbreak

Local residents and local leaders came to City Council chambers to push for answers about the source of the outbreak and how well cooling towers were inspected.

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Sep 2 • 10:29 PM EDT • Health • nbcnewyork.com
Police make arrest in attempted break-in at Saquon Barkley's home

In July, someone attempted to break in to Eagles running back Saquon Barkley's Philadelphia-area home.

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Sep 2 • 9:02 PM EDT • Sports • nbcsports.com
Sony and Microsoft say they’re not obligated to pass U.S. tariff refunds to consumers, echoing Nintendo

Back in July, Sony executives told investors that the company expected to receive $508 million in refunds from the U.S. government, after tariffs that the PlayStation-maker paid were ruled mostly in 2025 were found to be illegal. “Most” of the refund would by recouped by Sony’s gaming division, its chief financial officer said. This week, Sony’s lawyers are arguing that the company is not legally obligated to pass those proceeds on to consumers who paid for recently price-hiked PlayStation consoles. That’s in the face of a lawsuit from gamers calling on them to do exactly that. “Paying fair market price for voluntarily purchased consumer goods is not a legally cognizable injury in fact,” the lawyers wrote in a legal motion filed on Monday, as they asked a judge in California’s Northern District to dismiss a potential class action lawsuit over the tariff refunds. Microsoft made a similar argument two weeks ahead of Sony’s lawyers, in a similar lawsuit brought by a gamer in federal court in Washington State. As Microsoft’s legal team put it on August 21, in their request for a dismissal of that lawsuit: “There is nothing unjust about Plaintiff purchasing an Xbox at an advertised price and getting exactly what he paid for—regardless of whatever theory he devised months later about Microsoft’s cost structure.” Both legal fights are set to go on for some time. How things got to this point U.S. tariffs impacting a wide range of imported goods, including game consoles, had kicked off in early 2025. In May 2025, Microsoft raised the price of its Xbox consoles, citing “market conditions and the rising cost of development.” They raised them again that September. In August of that year, Sony raised the price of PlayStation 5 consoles, citing “a challenging economic environment.” Sony later told investors that its tariff fees for the fall quarter were nearly $200 million. in February of this year, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled the 2025 tariffs illegal, prompting impacted companies to begin to request refunds. In turn, consumers began suing the likes of Sony and Microsoft to get what they said was their share. The gamers in the Microsoft and Sony lawsuits argue that the 2025 price hikes of PlayStation and Xbox consoles, which added $50 or more to their sticker price, were due to illegal tariffs and should now be returned to consumers. The Sony suit started in May, when a group of gamers sued in federal court in California, saying Sony Interactive Entertainment (PlayStation) would be unjustly enriching itself if it did not pass tariff refunds to its PS5 buyers. “Sony is poised to be paid twice for the same unlawful tariff burden: once by its customers (through elevated prices) and once by the U.S. government (through tariff refunds),” the gamers’ lawyers wrote at the time. They called for Sony to partially reimburse anyone who bought a PlayStation in the U.S. since August 1, 2025. The Microsoft suit, filed by gamer Trevor Hastings against the Xbox giant in July, made similar claims. The console makers push back In late July, Nintendo’s lawyers, facing a similar suit accusing them of double-dipping on tariffs and refunds, replied with arguments that previewed Microsoft’s and Sony’s: “Nintendo or one of its retailers set a price for each product, and consumers decided whether that price was worth paying,” they wrote. Sony has buttressed that Nintendo-style argument this week by saying that the gamers have failed to prove that tariffs were the reason for its August 2025 PS5 price hike. They call thatclaim “speculative and illogical.” Other factors, including “inflation, currency fluctuations, component costs, logistics, competitive dynamics, or demand,” could have played a role. (No, the Sony lawyers do not break down the costs and factors that officially triggered the price increases). Microsoft has also argued that there’s no proof in these lawsuits that tariffs drove all or some of the price increase, as it seeks to dismiss the tariff refund suit it’s facing: “Plaintiff provides no specific allegations that would establish any pricing differential attributable to tariffs or suggest any possibility that Microsoft applied then or could recreate now any dollar-for-dollar calculation of tariff-related pricing—any more than it could any other market factor that affects pricing.” To further skewer the gamer side’s argument in its case, Sony’s lawyers have pointed to what might be a surprising defense: yet another PlayStation 5 price hike from this past spring, after the tariffs were ruled illegal. “If the original price increase were attributable to tariffs, SIE [Sony Interactive Entertainment, aka PlayStation] would have had no reason to raise prices again after the Supreme Court invalidated the IEEPA tariffs.” … “If tariffs were the cause of the price increases, one would expect SIE to lower prices once the tariffs were eliminated—not raise them again. Instead, the timeline confirms that the pricing of PlayStation consoles includes a diverse and dynamic set of input costs.” Judges have not yet ruled on the arguments made by Sony, Microsoft or Nintendo. Last week, Panic, the company behind the small, yellow Playdate handheld said it would be passing its tariff refunds on to consumers. It is the only gaming hardware maker to have made such a pledge. Game File is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my reporting, please consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Subscribe Item 2: A reporter’s second Second Life Wagner James Au, who from 2003-2006 was paid by San Francisco-based tech company Linden Lab to be a full-time journalist embedded in their virtual world Second Life, is returning to the company. This time, he’ll be an editorial advisor and business development specialist, he tells Game File. The new role will involve trying to share the stories of people inhabiting Second Life’s ongoing online world with reporters and by extension the public. Au plans to continue to also chronicle some of that through his long-running blog New World Notes. I’ve known Au since the mid-2000s and featured him in a 2007 article for the Columbia Journalism Review about reporters like him opening up virtual news outlets within Second Life. As I wrote at the time: On April 22, 2003, writing as Hamlet Linden for the New World Notes blog on Second Life’s Web site, Au introduced himself. “For the next few months, Linden Lab has invited me to set aside my journalist cap, and instead, don the digital beanie of their in-house virtual correspondent.” He wasn’t paid to keep it positive. He wrote about builders and eccentrics, but then in August of that year, he reported on a tax revolt against Linden Lab (a complaint about the fees it charges users who build stuff) led by a resident whose avatar was a big cat. Second Life has always been less of a video game and more of a virtual world where people can live, hang out, make art, sell virtual items and flirt. Back in 2007, Au described touring it as “sort of like underwater lucid dreaming.” For the past two decades, Au has maintained New World Notes as an independent publication. But he said he’s been drawn back to Second Life and Linden Lab as a place to directly work. The virtual world has around 650,000 monthly active users, he said, “which is actually about what it was during the hype wave.” Au says he’s still finding rich stories in Second Life, the kind that keep him interested 20 years into the beat: “Over the last few months for instance, I wrote about an SL creator in Venezuela whose apartment was destroyed by the earthquakes, so the global SL community rallied to get him back on his feet,” he told me. “Then there’s the woman from a Middle Eastern country who explored her lesbian sexuality in SL, then earned enough from her virtual jewelry to escape her abusive family situation and country.” Au wants to beckon more reporters to give Second Life another look. He argues that it is often ahead of internet trends, noting, for example, an early backlash in the community against AI-made art. Now the platform is drawing curiosity from more of the user-generated content community who’ve grown up with the likes of Roblox, according to Au. “Second Life was too early during its hype wave in 2005-2010, but it now feels right for a new wave of interest,” he told me.

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Sep 2 • 8:21 PM EDT • Technology • gamefile.news
The Case for Factions

A broad range of views on democracy to help break the stalemate caused by partisan conflict.

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Sep 2 • 8:00 PM EDT • Politics • democracyproject.org
Google Won't Have To Break Up Its Advertising Business, Federal Judge Rules

Google will not have to break up its advertising operations, a federal judge has ruled, though it will have to alter its business practices.

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Sep 2 • 7:53 PM EDT • Business • deadline.com
City health chief defends agency, mayor over Legionnaires'

The outbreak sickened 94 people and 11 people died.

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Sep 2 • 7:47 PM EDT • Politics • ny1.com
City health chief defends agency, mayor over Legionnaires'

The outbreak sickened 94 people and 11 people died.

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Sep 2 • 7:47 PM EDT • Health • ny1.com
Oregon Sports Talk: GAME WEEK for Ducks and Beavers

Sports Director Erin Slinde and sports anchor De'Aundre Sanders break down everything you need to know heading into game week for for both Oregon and Oregon Sta

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Sep 2 • 6:57 PM EDT • Sports • kval.com
In landmark ruling, court declines to break up Google’s advertising business

In landmark ruling, court declines to break up Google’s advertising business - SiliconANGLE

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Sep 2 • 6:13 PM EDT • Business • siliconangle.com
Doctors at Banner Health make history, vote to unionize

The physicians voted to unionize, with 149 voting in favor and 66 voting against, in a groundbreaking development for the state.

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Sep 2 • 5:53 PM EDT • Health • phoenixnewtimes.com
Fort Henry Mall experiencing growth, shifting from retail to entertainment

KINGSPORT, Tenn. (WJHL) – With the announcement of a Tiebreakers location at Fort Henry Mall, just weeks after the opening of the IMAX theater, the mall appears to be experiencing continued g…

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Sep 2 • 5:50 PM EDT • Entertainment • wjhl.com
Josh Giddey Breaks Down Caleb Wilson's Addition to Chicago Bulls

Can the No. 4 overall draft pick provide a spark to the Bulls in his rookie year?

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Sep 2 • 5:47 PM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com
Google spared from ad-business breakup, but judge orders changes to how it operates

Google has dodged an effort to break up its ad business, but a judge said Wednesday that the company will need to adjust its business to benefit competitors.

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Sep 2 • 5:38 PM EDT • Business • techcrunch.com
Judge Rejects DOJ Request to Break Up Google’s Ad Business | What’s News for Sept. 2

Plus, the Trump administration backs OpenAI in a copyright suit and our inside look at an uber rich divorce

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Sep 2 • 5:35 PM EDT • Business • wsj.com
World's Largest Indoor, Multi-Level Karting Track & Premier Entertainment Venue Celebrates Groundbreaking in Columbus, Ohio

/PRNewswire/ -- Supercharged Entertainment, the world's largest indoor, multi-level karting track and premier entertainment venue, broke ground today on the...

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Sep 2 • 4:41 PM EDT • Entertainment • prnewswire.com
World's Largest Indoor, Multi-Level Karting Track & Premier Entertainment Venue Celebrates Groundbreaking in Columbus, Ohio

Supercharged Entertainment, the world's largest indoor, multi-level karting track and premier entertainment venue, broke ground today on the fourth U.S. location in Polaris, Ohio, with a groundbreaking ceremony held on-site. The venue is slated to open in Summer 2027.

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Sep 2 • 4:41 PM EDT • Entertainment • finance.yahoo.com
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.

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Sep 2 • 4:29 PM EDT • Health • dallasnews.com
☹️ Negative (-11%)
wow
100%
US judge rejects bid to break up Google’s ad business

Justice Department had argued Google could not be trusted to run the online advertising exchange.

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Sep 2 • 4:06 PM EDT • Business • aljazeera.com
3 hospitalized in Kentucky measles outbreak, officials confirm

Kentucky has seen 38 total measles cases as of Sept. 2, with four confirmed in early 2026.

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Sep 2 • 4:03 PM EDT • Health • courier-journal.com
Forget Newton’s apple, scientists atoms to test gravity theory

Scientists have tested how Einstein’s theory of gravity affects tiny particles, in a breakthrough that could help bridge the two pillars of modern physics

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Sep 2 • 3:18 PM EDT • Science • thetimes.com
Judge orders changes to Google’s digital ads business but spares it from a breakup

A federal judge on Wednesday ordered Google to retool the system powering its monopoly in digital advertising, sparing the company from a wrenching breakup soug

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Sep 2 • 3:18 PM EDT • Business • wtop.com