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Swiss 'probably a league apart' from Scotland
Switzerland have "a ridiculously talented squad" who are "probably a league apart" from Scotland at present as the sides prepare to meet in the Nations League on Tuesday, according to football analyst John Walker. Following their 3-0 win in North Macedonia, Switzerland are the second test of Sebastien Pocognoli's reign as head coach after their 0-0 draw in Slovenia. "If Switzerland had faced the Scotland side in the first half, we wouldn't have had a second half we could have come back from," Walker said on the BBC's Scottish Football Podcast.
Lesbian Bar Project Co-Founder: Purity Politics Could Destroy Our Remaining Spaces
Subscribe As a professional lesbian and Massachusetts native, I’ve recently been asked by a lot of folks what I think about the saga unfolding at Last Ditch. The now-viral story, first reported by The Boston Globe, centers on a Western Massachusetts lesbian bar that lifted its mask requirement for one night a week to help drum up business. The decision ignited an intra-queer controversy that has been feasted on by media outlets across the political spectrum—from the New York Post to LGBTQ Nation—and is even reportedly being eyed for a Hollywood adaptation. Apparently nothing is more entertaining than a bunch of lesbians and queers fighting with each other over KN-95s. What has been lost in all of the chatter and media coverage is the very real possibility that Last Ditch, which just opened in April 2025, will have to close its doors. The venue’s one remaining founder, Jackie Matellian, revealed in a community Zoom meeting that she’s working four jobs, is now solely responsible for the bar’s $50,000 business loan and is struggling to keep up with the bills. So as we laugh about the controversy’s similarity to a “Portlandia” skit and how one of the bar’s founders left to enroll in clown school, we forget that yet another lesbian bar is facing an existential crisis—and this time the call is coming from inside the house. In 2020, my friend Elina Street and I created The Lesbian Bar Project, an Emmy-, Webby- and GLAAD Media Award-winning docuseries and initiative that tells the stories of lesbian queer bars around the world. We were moved to act because at the time there were only an estimated 16 lesbian bars in the United States, and the pandemic threatened to bring that number down even further. There are now more sapphic bars than there were just before the pandemic—about 36 of them in total—but this is down from approximately 200 in 1980. Maybe that doesn’t mean much to you, but for the millions of sapphics living in the U.S., this number is calamitous. As the world laughs at lesbians and sapphics, I want to take a second and tell you what I feel when I walk into one of these bars, which are all unique and irreplaceable in their own way: I feel seen. Sometimes I think Cubbyhole in New York City’s West Village neighborhood knew I was gay before I did. When I walked in there for the first time, before I was even out, I was transfixed by the colorful array of tchotchkes hanging from the ceiling and how the women standing next to me were completely unafraid to express their desire for one another. I knew the minute I was ready to come out, I had a home. I also felt the joy of a new couple falling in love at Seattle’s Wildrose, the quiet confidence of a short king lining up her shot at the pool table at Ginger’s in Brooklyn and the kick of cayenne pepper in Julie Mabry’s crawfish at Houston’s Pearl Bar. Subscribe Lesbian bars don’t just serve lesbians; they serve queer folks across the spectrum, including bisexual, pansexual and trans people. As Elina and I traveled across the U.S. and Europe and to parts of Latin America to document the bar owners, staff and patrons that make up the ecosystems of these spaces, we also became uniquely acquainted with the factors that threaten their existence: gentrification, wage gaps, sexism, environmental disasters, gun violence, rising insurance premiums and political administrations working to annihilate queer people and their families. Lesbian bar owners, like all leaders and entrepreneurs, are imperfect. There have been significant issues over the years at lesbian bars: employee harassment, racism, lack of accessibility, sexual assault and transphobia. All bar owners should be held accountable and should listen to their communities to evolve into safer and more equitable spaces. I also acknowledge my privilege: I am able-bodied, white, cis and from a family system that loves me for who I am. Not everyone has that. Queer people, especially trans and bisexual people, are suffering from disproportionately high levels of depression, and our mental health system isn’t equipped to support them. Immunocompromised people and long COVID are real, and many of my friends are suffering to this day. The people with the least safety net are often the ones for whom a bar closing costs the most. And yet, as we’re seeing with Last Ditch, the queer community often lashes out at each other. It’s also the mainstream media taking the internal conflict and making a mockery out of it, distracting from the real possibility that this bar could close due to financial pressures. A bar that many people loved and needed is facing extinction. Perhaps it’s safer to dissent with one another than with the larger forces trying to eradicate us, but in doing so, we risk destroying the few spaces we have left. Due to the constraints of purity politics—some in good faith, some not so much—lesbian bar owners, almost all of whom are queer women themselves, are forced to be everything for everyone, similarly to how women are forced to be everything for everyone. By asking these bars to uphold impossible standards—standards very few other third spaces are asked to consider—we all end up losing. I want to move as a community toward dialogue, compassionate dissent and collaboration to make our spaces better with the goal of keeping them OPEN and thriving, rather than destroying them from the inside with expectations that are arguably unattainable. Subscribe While I have your attention—for this fleeting second of the news cycle—may I urge us to spearhead a way to keep these small businesses afloat without attacking our own community along the way? Bar owners are left with an impasse: They want to be community-centered, but they also have to make money to keep their doors open. Sometimes they might make business decisions that don’t work for everyone—and that’s partly because different patrons have different priorities and want different things—but these owners deserve the opportunity for productive dialogue**.** We have to work with them and with each other to keep our spaces open, to keep them growing. Lesbian bars raised me into the queer woman I am today. One thing I think about as I reflect on the six years of work we’ve done to document these spaces is that shared, unspoken language I have with a stranger the moment we both walk into one of these bars: the nod, the ease, the not having to explain ourselves. I don’t want to lose that, and neither should you. If objective, nonpartisan, rigorous, LGBTQ-focused journalism is important to you, please consider making a tax-deductible donation through our 501(c)(3) fiscal sponsor, Resource Impact, by clicking this button: Donate
Bobby Harrison: Politicians’ superpower might allow them to avoid blame for rising healthcare costs
The secret superpower of politicians is that we, the voting public, often do not understand how their actions or inactions impact us, thus allowing elected officials to escape consequences.
Who Leads Fort Bend County? Not Even Fort Bend County’s Leaders Know.
After the swing county’s top executive became mired in scandal, Republicans—with some unwitting help from a Democratic activist—installed one of their own.
Data center pushback creates political path for Caledonia resident
A Caledonia data center proposal pushed Prescott Balch into local politics, as Wisconsin voters show growing opposition to similar projects.
He Picked Up Trash For $4 An Hour. Now He Runs A $1 Billion Construction Business
How a 12-year-old’s door knock connected him with now billionaire mentor —and launched a fast-growing construction empire powering tech giants like Google, Apple and Microsoft.
List of DVD release dates for Sept. 29 and beyond
Following is a partial schedule of coming movies on DVD. Release dates are subject to change: SEPTEMBER 29: Affection 29: Happy's Place: Season Two 29: Law & Order: Special Victims
List of DVD release dates for Sept. 29 and beyond
Following is a partial schedule of coming movies on DVD. Release dates are subject to change: SEPTEMBER 29: Affection 29: Happy's Place: Season Two 29: Law & Order: Special Victims
Primetime Review: That’s Entertainment?
If you decide to see Lance Oppenheim’s Primetime, it’s important to remember the title as you watch. Yes, this is a biopic of sorts about Chris Hansen and his work on To Catch a Predator, but it is more accurately about the quest for fame and using people’s trauma to attract ratings. True crime entertainment continues to have a prominent place in many people’s television habits, and this film asks us to examine what that means both for those whose stories have become our viewing pleasure and those of us watching. Primetime starts as Chris Hansen (Robert Pattinson) is told that his show, To Catch a Predator, is moving to a 9 PM spot opposite LOST. Chris and his producer, Andie (Merritt Wever), see this as an opportunity to make the program even more sensational, looking for bigger, more horrific predators. As part of their plan, they hire a young actor, Dan Plum (Skyler Gisondo), to play “Decoy Dan,” the person who greets the would-be predators who were catfished by Xavier Von Erck (Matthew Maher). Oppenheim, along with writers Ajon Singh and Luke Dittrich, is less concerned with an accurate retelling of the show as much as they are interested in interrogating the why of it all. That decision sometimes leaves Primetime feeling less like a biopic and more like a satirical look at the nature of programming like this. Visually, the movie is impressive. Oppenheim uses light and color effectively to cast Hansen as both villain and savior. Pattinson plays Hansen in an almost comical manner, as we see him wake his two young sons to watch a clip of the show, just to brag that he was moving into a prime spot on television. Even Andie struggles to accept a “nice” job when there is so much more fame to be found producing salacious true-crime content. Wever does an excellent job showing how the hunger for fame is not just in front of the camera, but in every aspect of the production. The heart of the movie, and the standout performance, belongs to Gisondo as Dan Plum. He is someone who just wants to get enough hours to be admitted into the Screen Actors Guild, and stumbles into this job without really knowing what it is. Throughout the film, we watch him suffer one trauma after another, ending with him witnessing the suicide of a District Attorney who is about to become the next unwitting star of Hansen’s show. If there is a sympathetic character in Primetime, it is Decoy Dan, and Gisondo plays him brilliantly. If you’re a fan of programming like To Catch a Predator, then Primetime will probably make you feel uncomfortable, and I think it’s worth sitting with that feeling and examining why we turn on shows that display the worst of humanity while we judge from our couches. Yes, it is correct to want to see people who would hurt children brought to justice, but perhaps it shouldn’t be something that we watch as entertainment. Rating: 3.5/5 This review originally appeared in The Dominion Post on September 25, 2026. MacGuffin or Meaning: Film & TV Reviews and Reflections is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Subscribe
Kevin Schade 'Open' To Man Utd Transfer Despite Arsenal Interest
The German winger’s prolific form has sparked a heavyweight recruiting battle, leaving the Red Devils poised to hijack Arsenal’s pursuit as Old Trafford accelerates a massive squad overhaul.
Meta launches Muse for Small Business as Zuckerberg pushes beyond consumer AI market
Following the success of its Muse personal AI agent, Meta is introducing a specialized version for small businesses.
Dengue fever surge in Florida shows the virus’ growing threat in the U.S.
The outbreak, centered on Tampa Bay, is the state’s largest on record. Experts offered several possible explanations for the high case count.
Pochettino regrets lack of 'sporting justice' for his ex-Tottenham team amid Man City charges saga
U.S. coach Mauricio Pochettino expressed sadness at an apparent failure of “sporting justice” in his response to reports that Manchester City has been found guilty of almost all of the 115 charges leveled against the club for alleged financial breaches. The alleged rule-breaking by City took place between 2009-18, during which period Pochettino was manager of Tottenham and turned the London team into a challenger for titles in English soccer despite operating on a relatively small budget. The Premier League has yet to officially confirm the verdict that, according to several media outlets, has been passed down by an independent commission following a long-running case.
Top Democrats Start to Fund James Talarico in Texas Senate Race
The main super PAC for Senate Democrats will begin to run digital ads in the state’s Senate race, in a sign of the party’s growing confidence.
AMLO Son Poses Political Problems for Mexico’s President Sheinbaum
Andrés Manuel López Beltrán has joined the list of figures who, critics say, may end up harming the left-wing movement his father founded, as well as the president who succeeded him.
Confusion and Angst Follow State's Early Rollout of Medicaid Work Rules
In most states, people with Medicaid coverage will have to prove they’re working, volunteering, or studying starting Jan. 1. But Montana put the rules into effect early, and they’re sowing uncertainty and anxiety.
Four Red Bulls injured
Veratschnig, Redzic, Aguilar and Omoregie all outSome bad news during the international break: following the injury to Damir Redzic announced yesterday, our Red Bulls face three further absences.Nikol...
Trump government ads draw scrutiny weeks before midterm elections
Taxpayer-funded ads featuring Trump, including spots celebrating a "golden age of America" and one with a chorus singing "love me" on repeat, are drawing bipartisan criticism and legal questions.
Senate passes college sports bill to rein in athlete payments and transfers
A 2025 lawsuit settlement uprooted the college sports landscape by allowing colleges to pay their players.
AB Science provides an update on its development plan and financial calendar following a sponsor Good Clinical Practice inspection
PRESS RELEASE AB SCIENCE PROVIDES AN UPDATE ON ITS DEVELOPMENT PLAN AND FINANCIAL CALENDAR FOLLOWING A SPONSOR GOOD CLINICAL PRACTICE INSPECTION ...
AB Science provides an update on its development plan and financial calendar following a sponsor Good Clinical Practice inspection
PRESS RELEASE AB SCIENCE PROVIDES AN UPDATE ON ITS DEVELOPMENT PLAN AND FINANCIAL CALENDAR FOLLOWING A SPONSOR GOOD CLINICAL PRACTICE INSPECTION Confirmation of the relevance of having, among the first decisions of the new management, given priority to the development of a new quality management system Expected resumption of the AB8939 phase 1 (acute myeloid leukemia) in the first quarter of 2027, followed by the masitinib phase 3 (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) in the last quarter of 2027, subj
Brazil XI vs Australia – Predicted lineup and team news
Brazil will face Australia again on Tuesday as part of this international window, continuing their squad overhaul under Carlo Ancelotti.Brazil are in a clear rebuilding spell following a poor World Cu...
Euro's dollar resilience faces energy price, political risk tests
The fortunes of the euro, trading not far off its lowest levels of the year against the dollar, are in the grip of a global energy shock and growing political risk in Europe.
Analysis-Euro’s dollar resilience faces energy price, political risk tests
By Sophie Kiderlin and Dhara Ranasinghe LONDON, Sept 29 (Reuters) - The fortunes of the euro, trading not far off its lowest levels of the year against the dollar, are in the grip of a global energy shock and growing political risk in Europe. The euro...
Andi Jackson and Harper Murray lead Husker volleyball on and off the court
Nebraska volleyball has a special duo in their roster. Seniors Andi Jackson and Harper Murray have grown together through college and are showing their best volleyball.
BRAHM celebrating 15th anniversary with Community Day on Oct. 1
BRAHM, the Blowing Rock Art & History Museum, celebrates its 15th anniversary on October 1 with free public events including tours, art projects, live music, and a special anniversary beer brewed with Blowing Rock Brewing Company to honor the museum’s community and artistic growth.
Global Meat Supply Faces Growing Pressure as Cattle Herds Shrink
The EU produced 42.7 million tonnes of meat in 2025. Overall meat production is projected to decline by about 3 percent between 2025 and 2035
East Colfax businesses in Denver hope to capitalize on improvements following Bus Rapid Transit project
It's been two long years of Bus Rapid Transit construction for many businesses along East Colfax.
Bucs vs. Packers odds: Opening lines for Week 4 matchup
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are home once again Sunday as they welcome the Green Bay Packers to Raymond James Stadium. Both teams enter the matchup looking to get things turned around following rough starts to the season. So what are the oddsmakers thinking of the Week 4 matchup between the Bucs and Packers? Per FanDuel, […]
Nancy Guthrie investigators reviewing possible new ransom note
Nearly eight months into Nancy Guthrie's alleged kidnapping case, law enforcement is assessing the credibility of an alleged new ransom note.
Beyond 'normal' and 'abnormal': Health checkup values show nonlinear links to future health care costs
As populations age and health care expenditures continue to rise worldwide, there is growing interest in understanding how routinely collected health data may help characterize future health care needs ...
John Harbaugh: Giants Could Still Add Another QB Following Trade
New York Giants head coach John Harbaugh says his team could still add another QB after JJ McCarthy trade. The post John Harbaugh: Giants Could Still Add Another QB Following Trade appeared first on HEAVY.
New York, Polymarket clash over who gets to regulate prediction markets
A legal fight between New York and prediction market Polymarket is raising a larger question over the rapidly growing industry.
NFL Insider Raises Major Dan Campbell Question After Lions Win
The Lions moved to 2-1 with a win over the Jets, but NFL insider Jason La Canfora raised a major question about Dan Campbell following the departures of Ben Johnson and Aaron Glenn. The post NFL Insider Raises Major Dan Campbell Question After Lions Win appeared first on HEAVY.
Florida’s health emergency is drawing attention to a growing mosquito threat
Florida has declared a health emergency after reporting 190 locally acquired dengue fever cases and one death, with experts warning the mosquito-borne illness may grow more common as climate conditions change.
As Republicans break with Trump, one gets a brushback: From the Politics Desk
Plus, how Europe’s right-wing parties are dealing with Russia.
Michigan health leaders address substance use crisis at Lansing conference
The Community Mental Health Association of Michigan opened its 27th annual Substance Use Conference on Monday, drawing more than 1,200 providers participating both in person and online. Attendees range from clinical directors to recovery coaches.
Michigan health leaders address substance use crisis at Lansing conference
The Community Mental Health Association of Michigan opened its 27th annual Substance Use Conference on Monday, drawing more than 1,200 providers participating both in person and online. Attendees range from clinical directors to recovery coaches.
Dave & Buster's Entertainment (NASDAQ:PLAY) CFO Acquires 4,000 Shares of Company Stock
Dave & Buster's Entertainment, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLAY - Get Free Report) CFO Cory Hatton purchased 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 28th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $6.50 per share, for a total transaction of $26,000.00. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer owned 104,475 shares of the company's stock, valued at $679,087.50. This trade represents a 3.98% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.
Dyersburg gunfire investigation leads to drug arrest at South Main Avenue business
Dyersburg police arrested a local businessman on felony reckless endangerment and drug charges following an investigation into a Sept. 24 shooting involving two vehicles.
Titan Business EDGE: Building career readiness from the first year to the first job
By Daniel Coats Career prep is most effective when it begins long before graduation. For Cal State Fullerton College of Business and Economics(opens in a new tab) students, knowing how to build professional skills, gain meaningful experience and ultimately launch a career requires intentional development over time. The new Titan Business EDGE program provides that pathway […]
AI is everywhere. Should you use it for health advice?
The following expert commentary can be used by journalists and media organizations in their own publications and news coverage. Please attribute all quotes to Xiaoqian Jiang, PhD, chair of the Department of Health Data Science and Artificial Intelligence at McWilliams School of Biomedical Informatics at UTHealth Houston.
CSU Bakersfield announces new permanent athletics director following yearlong vacancy
BAKERFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — CSU Bakersfield’s Athletic Program — which has been at the center of numerous lawsuits, departures and allegations that drew national attention in recent years — is getting a full-time director after a vacancy that lasted for over a year. On Monday, the school announced in a press release that Andy Fiske […]
Ranking Member Markey: SBA Administrator Loeffler, Trump Administration are Refusing to Answer to America’s 36+ Million Small Businesses and Workers, Leaving Main Street Behind
Loeffler canceled her scheduled Sept. 30 appearance before the Senate Small Business Committee, has not appeared before SBC in more than a year (Washington, September 28) – Ranking Member Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) today released the following statement after Small Business Administration (SBA) Administrator Kelly Loeffler canceled her scheduled Wednesday appearance before the Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee. Administrator Loeffler has not appeared before the committee in more than a year and has consistently refused to provide substantial answers to committee members in person, in writing, or via requested briefings. In June, Ranking Member Markey led every Democratic member of the committee in calling on Administrator Loeffler to appear before the committee to answer for the Trump administration’s cruel attacks on American small businesses, entrepreneurs, and workers. The Democratic lawmakers still have not received a response from Administrator Loeffler. “It is unacceptable that Administrator Loeffler chose to cancel her appearance before the Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee. The Trump administration is once again ignoring the more than 36 million American small businesses, entrepreneurs, and workers who drive our economy and enrich our communities by refusing to answer questions about this administration’s reckless economic policies. It has been more than a year since Administrator Loeffler has appeared before our committee and answered questions from both Democrats and Republicans. Since then, the Trump administration’s attacks on Main Street have only worsened. “Small businesses are facing record high gas and diesel prices, skyrocketing healthcare costs, and never-ending uncertainty from Trump’s trade war with the world. Trump has terrorized Main Streets across the country with violent ICE raids, destroying families, communities, and local economies. Meanwhile, Administrator Loeffler and the Trump SBA have been in a Witness Protection Program, ignoring the Pain on Main Street that they have created. They have chosen to make drastic cuts to SBA funding and essential, bipartisan programs, including the closure of the SBA office in Springfield and removal of the SBA office from Boston; directly attacked immigrant small business owners and destroyed the promise of the American Dream; and proposed shortsighted small business size rules that would benefit billion-dollar businesses over actual small businesses. “It’s clear that Administrator Loeffler, President Trump, and their CEO billionaire buddies want to turn the Small Business Administration into the Big Business Administration, tear down our economy, and abandon Main Street. If that is indeed this administration’s goal, Administrator Loeffler must answer to the millions of small businesses, workers, and families in Massachusetts and across the country that this administration is leaving behind.” ###
Something Took Wing in Paleocene Sunsets
More than 56 million years ago, something took wing. Now, combining ancient fossils with genomes from living species, researchers are rewriting the bat family tree, and tracing these creatures toward their mysterious beginnings in Paleocene Europe.
Rumor: Nintendo Switch Online app datamine points to potential event gifts system for Switch 2 and Switch
Fans are discussing the possibility of a new event gifts feature for Nintendo Switch 2 and Switch following the latest datamine. X user @idocode01 shared the latest findings from a Nintendo Switch Online app update, pointing to the functionality. What we know so far is that there can be multiple gift events on at the same time. Additionally, each event...
watchOS 27.0.1 is now available for all compatible Apple Watch models
Apple today expanded the availability of watchOS 27.0.1 to more Apple Watch models, following last week’s initial release for Apple Watch Series 12 and Ultra 4
UI computer science professors discuss growing AI safety concerns
Artificial intelligence industry experts are expressing increasing concern in recent weeks about the growth of AI, calling on governments to slow down development and increase safety measures. Gov. JB Pritzker announced Tuesday the creation of an Illinois AI Cabinet to assess possible risks. The main concerns are rogue AI agents, such as the Hugging Face...
CDC vaccine policy recommendations grind to a halt under Health Secretary Kennedy
Federal vaccine recommendations have stalled following Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s dismissal of the advisory committee and subsequent legal challenges to his attempts to overhaul immunization policy.
AI is fueling a new battle over health care costs
The growing adoption of artificial intelligence in the health care system is creating another source of pressure on costs that are already climbing.
AI is fueling a new battle over health care costs
The growing adoption of artificial intelligence in the health care system is creating another source of pressure on costs that are already climbing.
Lions Announce Pair of Roster Moves Following Win Over Jets
The Detroit Lions released DB Natrone Brooks from the practice squad and brought back TE Miles Kitselman ahead of Week 4.
Bobby Kotick’s lawyers sent me a bad email (and later apologized)
The message I had received was unsettling—for a moment. Then it was just really confusing. Back on January 20 of this year, at 5:15pm ET, I received an email with the subject line “Legal Correspondence re Bobby Kotick.” It was from the law firm Clare Locke, a firm I’d heard had been emailing reporters in recent years about their coverage of Kotick, the former, longtime CEO of Activision Blizzard. The letter was threatening. A lawyer from the firm introduced themselves as “defamation counsel to Bobby Kotick.” They issued a “demand” that I “correct” a Game File article I’d published a week prior. The article that had irked them had been a scoop of sorts. I’d written about a a 2022 lawsuit brought by a Swedish pension fund, AP7, over Microsoft’s purchase of Activision Blizzard. The suit wasn’t news, but I was first to review and report about Kotick’s extensive pushback to the fund’s claims. The pension fund’s core contention was that the sale had been rushed by Kotick to avoid the consequences of sexual misconduct scandals swirling around the company in 2021. (He’d not been accused of misconduct himself in those suits, to be clear.) As I wrote at the time, Kotick had denied the allegations of the rushed sale. Beyond that, Kotick used a December 2025 reply to the Swedish fund’s lawsuit to assign blame for those workplace scandals, the bad press and even for the AP7 lawsuit. I’d found Kotick’s arguments novel and newsworthy. Across nearly 3,000 words, I explained Kotick’s take: that a Swedish gaming company was behind the Swedish fund’s lawsuit (the Embracer group; they denied it); that the Microsoft-Activision deal was not rushed and was secured at what Kotick felt history had proven to be an optimal price for shareholders; that he believed a conspiracy of people at unions government agencies, PR firms and the media had spun up claims of widespread workplace misconduct at Activision Blizzard in 2021. The article gave context for all of this, letting readers assess the claims and weigh their credibility. As I’d later write to Kotick’s lawyers: I would be surprised if you could point to any news article about Bobby Kotick in the last five years that has spent more of its wordcount articulating his point of view. He is welcome to do an interview with Game File any time. Nonetheless, there they were in my inbox that Tuesday evening: Clare Locke, the law firm that secured a $787.5 million settlement from Fox News over false statements about voting machines. They were emailing me, threatening that failure to comply with their demand could support a claim of “actual malice,” a legal standard for libel. Unless… Unless, they said, I added a key paragraph to my article. This was a paragraph that I already knew Kotick’s lawyers had been emailing reporters about for at least a year, and it was a paragraph that was already in my article. The paragraph they wanted is from a 2023 settlement that California’s Civil Rights Department struck with Activision Blizzard. The settlement had closed a two-year-old lawsuit over alleged sexual discrimination at the game maker. The paragraph basically said that claims of systemic or widespread sexual harassment—or of execs like Kotick tolerating such behavior—had never been proven. I’d already seen proof that Kotick’s lawyers had pushed for the settlement’s language to be added to reports about 2021 sexual discrimination and misconduct lawsuits brought against Activision Blizzard by California and, separately, by the U.S. federal government (both suits were since settled). I knew that Kotick and his lawyers felt that the California settlement language should be mentioned in the same breath as references to an article he hated and denied, a November 2021 Wall Street Journal article claiming Kotick knew “for years” of sexual misconduct at Activision Blizzard. So, in the Game File article that Clare Locke emailed me about, in the interest of ensuring I was being fair and balanced regarding the person I was covering, I had already included the following excerpt from the California settlement [emphasis added in bold]: (Kotick has repeatedly pushed back against that November article in the Wall Street Journal, citing among other things, language from a court-approved consent decree as part of Activision’s 2023 $54 million settlement over the California suit. It states: “no court or any independent investigation has substantiated any allegations that: there has been systemic or widespread sexual harassment at Activision Blizzard [or] that Activision Blizzard senior executives ignored, condoned, or tolerated a culture of systemic harassment, retaliation, or discrimination.”) On the evening of January 20, I was incredulous. How do you write a four page legal threat about a week-old article and miss this? While scrambling to also make my kids dinner, I wrote a lengthy reply to Clare Locke’s lawyers, basically asking them to cool it with the threats and to start making sense. In part, I wrote: I hope you can understand why I am having trouble understanding what you’re asking for, when the statement you’re demanding to see in Game File’s article already appears in Game File’s article. Actual malice, as you know, refers to a reckless disregard for the truth. I’m not sure what your argument is when my article already states your client’s position. Here is where I should remind you, the reader, that I am an independent journalist. I publish on Substack, and have availed myself of the Substack Defender program that provides writers on the platform with legal support. But I’m no Wall Street Journal or New York Times, nor even IGN or GameSpot when it comes to such things as, well, having a legal department. There are more fun things for me to do as an independent journalist than writing back to a powerful law firm representing a very rich person. On the evening of January 20th, I was just trying to cook some pasta, broccoli and chicken nuggets for hungry twins. Nevertheless, I wrote back to them. Two hours later, I got a reply. Summarizing: A lawyer for Clare Locke said they’d “reviewed an incomplete version” of my article and they “apologize for the confusion.” (My guess: Someone didn’t read past the piece’s paywall, even though they’d had a full week to scrounge up the funds to do so. What I’d published above the paywall was balanced, as was what came after.)1 That was almost that, but something about the situation bothered me. The letter had been marked “confidential.” I hadn’t agreed to that, and I disliked the idea that powerful people on the beat that I cover would act like they could unilaterally control what I might tell my readers about. On the morning of the 21st, having already gotten the powerful law firm to back off, I oh-so-wisely re-approached them with just one more thing. I thanked them for clearing things up the night before but noted that I’d never agreed to keep their letter confidential. I’m all for agreeing with a source to keep things off the record, but that’s the thing. We have to agree. You can’t just declare it. I’m not bound by that. I wrote to Clare Locke’s lawyer and said, in part: I trust the matter is resolved. It was disappointing to have to spend less time with my kids last night in order to address your legal letter. Family time’s precious. I will add, for clarity’s sake, that, while your letter stipulated that it was confidential, I did not agree to those terms. In the future, should you wish to communicate with me confidentially, I am happy to agree to classifying our communication as “off the record” prior to the actual communication—as is standard with any professional journalist. The firm’s lawyer replied, not directly addressing the confidentiality issue but asserting that the matter was resolved. Why I didn’t write about this until now In May, I told this story on an episode of Simon Parkin’s podcast My Perfect Console, but I held off on sharing it directly with Game File readers. I held off to avoid stepping on the toes of another reporter, the journalist Mikhail Klimentov. He’d interviewed me in the spring of 2025 about an investigation he was working on regarding Bobby Kotick lawyers pressing the media to add the California settlement language to stories referencing the 2021 lawsuits. And about how some outlets had changed their stories and how some simply deleted them. Initially, I was a third-party source for Klimentov’s reporting, providing on-the-record context about the state of the games media. I’d heard about the letters but hadn’t put the time into pursuing the story. I thought it was interesting, and I was glad he was covering it. When the outlet that Klimentov was going to run his reporting in dropped the story, I began talking to him about potentially publishing his reporting on Game File. This was tentative. Then, in January, when I got my own Clare Locke letter, I told Klimentov that I didn’t think it would make sense for me to publish him, not with me now being part of the story. I had my own version of this situation to tell. But I wished him well and said I’d refrain from telling my tale until he could get his reporting out there. Last Friday, Klimentov finally ran his investigation, in a nearly 48-minute video report for People Make Games. It covers various Clare Locke letters, how media outlets reacted to them and what to make of all this. His video weighs the merits of Kotick’s request and looks at some of the articles that were changed (one of which had a glaring error). I highly recommend watching it: (Note, I did some editorial consulting for a People Make Games video last year but nothing to do with this report.) While many outlets haven’t left any public evidence that they updated their Kotick coverage at Kotick’s counsel’s request, at least one has. Back in October 2025, the mainstream outlet Reuters applied the most transparent article update I’ve seen. On the 3rd of the month, they published an article about the state of the Swedish pension fund’s lawsuit. Days later, they added this: In an October 7 letter sent after publication of this article, Kotick’s defamation counsel disputed claims of widespread harassment at Activision. “Not a single investigation, court finding, verdict, or ruling ever concluded that there was any merit” to the allegations of widespread harassment at Activision, Tom Clare and Nick Brechbill of Clare Locke wrote. I’ve never added a statement to my article on Game File, because none was needed. Not for fairness’ sake, nor to meet any demands of Kotick’s lawyers. I’ve nevertheless wanted to be transparent with Game File readers. If someone powerful is questioning my reporting, is threatening a lawsuit over it… if that threat is part of a pattern involving other games media outlets and if, in my case, the whole thing ran into a ridiculous ditch, I want you to know about it. I also share this as a real example of how I handle threats to Game File. I stand up for my own reporting, even when it’s not comfortable to do so. (In that same category of standing up for the work I do, I’ll point to an incident in late August. Asocial media post I published to X/Twitter regarding reporting I did about Take Two and GTA VI was hit by bogus copyright claim by a firm working for the publisher. I pushed back and got it reversed; even while a bigger games media outlet let themselves be censored. This is the other reason I’m sharing this story: To emphasize that dealing with threats from powerful people is one of the costs of covering the video game industry independently and as fearlessly as possible. This is where you come in. Your support, through free and paid subscriptions (sign up here!), can help me keep doing that. It can ensure that I’ve got the back-up I need. And it can help make fiascoes like this even less of a worry, so I can spend my evenings dealing with more important things, such as making sure I steam the kids’ broccoli just right. 1 That pension fund lawsuit I wrote about in January has all but gone away. In May, the fund and Activision Blizzard owner Microsoft agreed to settle. Lawyers for the fund brokered a $250 million settlement for former Activision Blizzard shareholders. In the settlement, the fund’s lawyers changed their rhetoric. Where once they’d questioned the meaning of the California settlement language, they adopted a version of it for themselves. Several weeks ago, while seeking to get a court to sign off on the terms of the settlement, they proposed their fee for their work in the case: $60 million.
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