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Viewpoint: The price Americans pay for science denialism

Science denialism is quietly undoing centuries of hard-won progress against disease, and Americans are already paying for it with their lives, argues

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Oct 16 • 12:02 AM EDT • Science • geneticliteracyproject.org
How Candace Cameron Bure pushed herself to her limits on “Special Forces”

“I considered it all a privilege to be there, but it wasn’t easy.”

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Oct 15 • 10:15 PM EDT • Entertainment • yahoo.com
American Home Furniture and Mattress going out of business

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – A longtime New Mexico furniture store said they are going out of business. American Home Furniture and Mattress revealed the news in a Facebook post on Thursday. Earlier …

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Oct 15 • 8:30 PM EDT • Business • krqe.com
Rep. Ritchie Torress Introduces Legislation to Ensure Gamers Own Their Digital Games

Democratic Congressman Ritchie Torres is introducing legislation that aims to ensure you own your digital games, rather than having a license.

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Oct 15 • 7:21 PM EDT • Technology • ign.com
You’re Not Gonna Like the List of Donors Fronting the Bill for Trump’s Big, Ugly Ballroom

A White House spokesperson called them “a wide array of great American companies and generous individuals.” I call them a bunch of influence-buying grifters.

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Oct 15 • 7:15 PM EDT • Politics • esquire.com
People in China are spending nearly as much of their income as Americans on healthcare

Increasing government spending on healthcare could help boost consumption in China, the International Monetary Fund said.

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Oct 15 • 7:00 PM EDT • Health • cnbc.com
Healthy lifestyle choices may help lower breast cancer risk

The American Cancer Society estimates that 85% of women diagnosed with breast cancer have no family history of the disease, underscoring the importance of understanding risk factors beyond genetics.

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Oct 15 • 6:06 PM EDT • Health • local10.com
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) on Public Service & the Midterm Elections

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) discussed the 2026 midterm elections, public service, and the direction of American politics at an event hosted by Georgetown University's Institute of Politics & Public Service. Walz reflected on his unsuccessful 2024 vice presidential campaign, the need for Democrats to deliver policy wins if they hope to win the presidency in 2028, and his contentious relationship with President Trump. He also encourages young people to pursue public service and help shape the country's future.

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Oct 15 • 6:06 PM EDT • Politics • c-span.org
American Home Furniture & Mattress going out of business

American Home Furniture & Mattress will liquidate after 90 years. The New Mexico retailer said it expects to sell its showroom and backstock inventory over the next four to six weeks.

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Oct 15 • 5:53 PM EDT • Business • kob.com
Demetrious Johnson Calls the UFC ‘Hypocrites’ Over Recent Cuts

UFC Hall of Famer Demetrious Johnson called the world’s leading MMA promotion “hypocrites” over their recent roster cuts.In the past month, the UFC has let go of Michael Page, who was 5-1 in the UFC, and Farid Basharat, who was 7-0 inside the Octagon.UFC president Dana White briefly commented on Page’s release at the time, […] The post Demetrious Johnson Calls the UFC ‘Hypocrites’ Over Recent Cuts appeared first on HEAVY.

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Oct 15 • 5:06 PM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com
PAHO Director calls for country ownership and regional solidarity in reshaping global health architecture

Berlin, 15 October 2026 (PAHO) – Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) Director and WHO Regional Director for the Americas Dr. Jarbas Barbosa called for countries and regional institutions to have a stronger role in shaping ongoing reforms of the global health system during the World Health Summit 2026 in Berlin this week, arguing that clearer responsibilities across national, regional and global levels can reduce duplication and help limited health resources deliver greater impact.

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Oct 15 • 4:40 PM EDT • Health • paho.org
Americans want it all when it comes to healthcare, leaders say. That’s tough to deliver.

Health care costs increased a whopping 19.7% year-over-year and 61% over the last four years.

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Oct 15 • 4:34 PM EDT • Health • crainsdetroit.com
How BPC is Building Bipartisan Momentum on Youth Mental Health

America’s youth mental health crisis didn’t begin with COVID-19, but the pandemic dramatically accelerated it. More than 40% of teenagers reported persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness. Youth suicide attempts, self-injury, and drug overdoses climbed to alarming levels. Meanwhile, the behavioral health system meant to catch these young people remains chronically understaffed and poorly designed … Continued

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Oct 15 • 4:18 PM EDT • Health • bipartisanpolicy.org
Top Agencies and Producers Want Laws Forcing Studios to Devote Half Their Budgets to Indie TV and Movies

The American Entertainment Alliance is pushing for regulation that would help return ownership of series and films back to their creators.

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Oct 15 • 4:00 PM EDT • Entertainment • yahoo.com
Fandango Orders 'Bad Girls Club: Unfinished Business' as First Original

Fandango has ordered the two-part special 'Bad Girls Club: Unfinished Business' as the Versant-owned streamer's first original program.

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Oct 15 • 4:00 PM EDT • Business • variety.com
'Buy the Dip' Mixes Politics and Parenting in a Dark Comic Special

I appreciate Nimesh Patel’s willingness to subvert the expected. He plays with his identity as an Indian-American comic, but doesn't rely on the usual

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Oct 15 • 3:42 PM EDT • Politics • bookandfilmglobe.com
IP Saves the Day On Streaming

(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.) Before we get started, I wanted to highlight a new idea I saw from Real Good AI, proposing a ratings system for AI use. (H/T to Anthony Kaufman’s article highlighting this.) It would look something like this: In general, I think that this is a solid, middle-ground solution that should appease both the pro-AI camp (who love AI) and the anti-AI camp (who wants to know if what they’re watching didn’t come from humans). Regardless of your feelings on AI/LLMs—I’ll never use it for my writing—transparency is often the best solution to many problems. In general, I think way more media outlets need to be using way more AI disclosures. My quick “Yes and...” to this idea: what about ads? In particular, I hate it when I see or hear ads that are obviously AI-generated, but a person or voice says, “I used this product”. AI doesn’t use products! Just today, I watched a YouTube ad where a “person” said they use some sort of rain wind chime...but that’s not a real person! They didn’t use this product. (Especially since the video of the wind chime itself also appeared to be AI-generated...) I believe most traditional advertising already has standards like this anyway.1 Okay, on to this week’s issue. We’re covering the week of 14-Sep, and then next issue, I’ll be fully caught up with Nielsen’s new release schedule. In the future, I plan to put out Streaming Ratings Reports each Monday after Nielsen’s Thursday releases. Overall, we had some big new shows this week, like Prime Video’s Reacher spinoff_, Neagley_, which is off to a big, big start, and Netflix’s latest in its Monster anthology, which is their largest opening since June and the second-largest since One Piece came out in March. All that, plus Slow Horses returns, the trio of returning shows (Lioness, Reacher and Ted Lasso) continue to dominate the top tens, Paramount+’s latest crime drama, a big whiff for a Netflix original film and a precipitous drop for Netflix film charts, 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 September 14th to September 20th 2026. You can find a link to my terminology here.) Subscribe Television - IP For the TV Win Can I use the dirty word of entertainment journalism right now? IP. Shhh. Don’t tell anyone I said it. But IP works at the box office, and we’ve seen some evidence it works in TV too. Not as well, and not all the time—no absolutes here!—but often enough. And glancing at the Nielsen top ten…it worked this week! Take Prime Video, who has a monster hit in the crime drama Reacher. Would a spinoff work for that show? Yep! They binge-released Neagley, about a detective from the original Reacher series, and its eight episodes debuted to 29.6 million hours. Here’s how it stacks up to Reacher, one of Prime Video’s biggest shows: That’s great. Nearly as strong as Reacher’s opening! (Both shows started with eight, binge-released episodes, so this comparison is apples-to-apples.) Notably, Prime Video scheduled the debut of Neagley to overlap with Reacher’s most recent season, to help drive tune-in. Obviously, I love smart release strategies like that. And even though I wrote “obviously”, it’s not really that obvious, since streamers don’t often take advantage of natural overlaps like this_._2 Other data backs how well Neagley performed. It opened at second place on Samba TV for two weeks and got 51.7 million hours on Luminate. That’s the eleventh biggest opening on Luminate since May of 2024 and tied with Bridgerton’s third season opening. That’s a huge opening! Its IMDb is solid too, a 7.7 on 24K reviews. Netflix’s latest edition in the “Monster” series—which started with Jeffrey Dahmer and comes from Ryan Murphy—did well too, opening to 24.7 million hours. That’s the biggest opening for Netflix since I Will Find You in June, and second biggest since March. Unlike the Reacher series, this franchise is trending downward, though. The first Monster show—Dahmer - Monster—was giant. More than anything, I think this reflects that Netflix running out of extremely popular—if that’s the right word?—serial killers to feature. Still, the data says this is a very good opening. It made it to third place on Samba TV for two weeks. It also opened to 40.0 million hours on Luminate. That’s not quite as elite as Neagley, but still very, very strong. I’ll be honest: my priors coming into any given week are that IP works to help drive buzz for new shows, but TV shows need to stand on their own even more than movies, so they will succeed or fail based on their quality. But these two spinoffs definitely worked. Quick Notes on TV The top show, film or special this week? Football, again. Specifically, Prime Video’s season opener of Thursday Night Football. The games run long (three hours) but mainly a lot of people watch each game. That adds up to a lot of viewership. Paramount released the second season of MobLand on an unusual day for that service, a Friday! Often, they put their new shows out on a Sunday, as they did last year with a run of shows (Lioness, Tulsa King and Landman). MobLand didn’t make Nielsen in its first week, but on Samba TV it got to eighth and seventh place. Luminate had a smaller opening too, only 5.3 million hours. MobLand missed the Nielsen charts for its first eight weeks, so this season is off to a stronger start. (Bonus note: the first season streams on both Prime Video and The Roku Channel, but I only have it as Paramount+ on those charts.) I’ve mentioned a few times that foreign-language originals do lower numbers than English-language originals on Netflix most of the time. But I don’t usually emphasize what country those originals come from, and observationally, they tend to be from Western or Northern European countries, in general. So credit to Not a Stranger, a Turkish Netflix original, for breaking through on Luminate, getting to 7.9 million hours in its first full week on those charts. As I mentioned last issue, Crew Girl ended up making the Nielsen charts in its second week. That’s still a soft performance compared to many shows, but again this, one looks affordable. And if you’re curious, here’s how it stacks up to some other sports romance shows: 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… …about a new data source and how it drives streaming viewership… ...what reality show is struggling in its latest season…. ...what Netflix film bombed…. ...How Reacher, Ted Lasso, and Lioness are doing on the charts… ...what obscure sport put up great viewership numbers… …how far streaming films are falling… …all the flops, bombs and misses for the last week… …and more… ...please subscribe! We can only keep doing this great work with your support. If you want an idea of just how much content you’d get in a full issue, check out this older issue. Coming Soon! Next week, we’ve got a double issue, then we’ll be all caught up with Nielsen’s data. Yes! The goal is to have my report out on the Monday after I get Nielsen’s data. So next issue, I’m looking at East of Eden, The Great British Baking Show, a Willy Wonka game show (that people are upset uses AI, but viewers might not care), and a Cosby show spinoff reboot on Netflix, and Brothers on Apple TV (starring Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConaughey). That’s about it for TV, but who’s going to win the streaming week, The Breadwinner or Backrooms on streaming? Answer: Toy Story 5. Plus Netflix has a Unabomber film and a new Tyler Perry film, Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma tries to repeat The Substance’s run on MUBI, and Paramount+ has Jackass: Best and Last. Long term, Netflix is remaking Lonesome Dove. I love this choice, but man, there are a lot of westerns on TV right now. And they’re making Sega TV shows, including a Crazy Taxi TV show and Sonic show with an “edge”.

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Oct 15 • 3:32 PM EDT • Entertainment • entertainment.substack.com
Data centers dog Donalds, no debates and Flock cameras: IFP Podcast

Data centers give Republican gubernatorial candidate Byron Donalds heartburn, no debates are a new abnormal and Are you in favor of Flock cameras?

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Oct 15 • 3:13 PM EDT • Politics • floridatoday.com
ESPN gambling writer defends network over ‘neutered’ coverage criticism

Former ESPN producer Nicole Noren sent chills through the industry by going public with her resignation after more than two decades at the network, citing its sports betting coverage. Since nationwide sports betting was legalized, gambling companies have taken over the sports world. That has had a stunning impact on American society that we still…

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Oct 15 • 3:00 PM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com
Americans are warming to a healthcare idea that once seemed politically impossible

A new national survey reveals an unexpected divide over Medicare for All, but Americans appear to agree on one thing: Healthcare is getting too expensive.

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Oct 15 • 2:46 PM EDT • Health • fastcompany.com
California students post gains in math, science and English in 2025-26

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California students made gains across key academic and success measures during the 2025-26 school year, with test scores rising in English, math and science while the statewide graduation rate reached a record high of 87.9 percent. For the first time, the state released assessment results and California School Dashboard data together to give families and educators a more complete picture of student performance.English language arts scores increased 0.5 percentage points to 49.3 percent of students scoring proficient or advanced, while math scores rose 1.1 percentage points to 38.4 percent. Science showed the strongest improvement, jumping 3.3 percentage points to 36 percent of students scoring proficient or advanced.The statewide chronic absenteeism rate dropped 1.1 percentage points to 18.3 percent. The suspension rate declined to 2.8 percent, marking the third consecutive year of improvement."At a time when California continues to focus on accelerating learning and closing opportunity gaps, these results provide important evidence that our sustained investments are making a difference," Gov. Gavin Newsom said. "The continued progress we are seeing is a testament to the hard work of students, families and educators across the state—and we will continue working to build on these gains."The percentage of students prepared for college and career increased to 55.2 percent, up 2 percentage points from the previous year. More than 54 percent of graduates completed coursework required for admission to University of California and California State University systems, an increase of 0.9 percentage points."California has made important strides in expanding student supports and opportunities, but the pace of academic improvement reminds us that our work is far from finished," State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond said.Eighth grade students posted the strongest score trends in both English language arts and math. Science performance improved across all tested grades, with the strongest gains at the high school level.African American students demonstrated larger-than-average improvements across English, math and science. Hispanic or Latino students showed larger-than-average improvements in English and math, with positive math score trends across all grades.Students who were socioeconomically disadvantaged made gains across all 3 subjects, including larger-than-average improvements in English and math. Students who were homeless continued to demonstrate gains across grades, with particularly strong improvements in math."We are encouraged to see students making gains across all 3 major assessments and are especially encouraged by the progress of African American students, Hispanic or Latino students, socioeconomically disadvantaged students and homeless youth," said Linda Darling-Hammond, president of the California State Board of Education.The progress comes as California's public school system undergoes significant demographic change. Statewide school enrollment declined to approximately 5.73 million students in 2025-26, nearly 500-thousand fewer students over the past decade.The number of students with disabilities increased approximately 25 percent over the same period, from about 680-thousand to more than 850-thousand students. Graduation rates increased across nearly all student groups, including notable increases for American Indian or Alaskan Native students at 4.3 percentage points and students with disabilities at 3.7 percentage points.In Downey Unified School District, the rate of students demonstrating proficient or advanced grade-level knowledge increased by 2.1 percentage points in English, 2.8 percentage points in math and 4.7 percentage points in science. The district aligned graduation requirements with college admission expectations and invested in inclusive special education practices, expanded career technical education and expanded learning opportunities."The gains Downey Unified is seeing in student assessment results and on the Dashboard are the result of years of focused, consistent work across the district," Superintendent Roger Brossmer said.In Exeter Unified School District, proficiency rates increased by 4.6 percentage points in English, 2.3 percentage points in math and 3.6 percentage points in science. The district placed a strong focus on phonics and the science of reading, particularly in kindergarten through second grade."The gains Exeter Unified is seeing in student assessment results and on the Dashboard are the result of having great people who are focused on the right work, and great students who want to do well," Superintendent Melanie Dorough said.Union Elementary School District saw proficiency rates increase by 1.5 percentage points in English, 2 percentage points in math and 4 percentage points in science. Teachers regularly analyze state and local assessment data to guide instruction, supported by strong core instruction and early literacy strategies."Union Elementary School District's achievement gains reflect a focused, data-driven approach to meeting the needs of every student while fostering a strong sense of belonging, safety and connection," Superintendent Carrie Andrews said.The California Department of Education is examining local results to better understand strategies and conditions associated with stronger student outcomes. The state has made significant investments in recent years, including literacy and math coaching, tutoring, expanded learning opportunities, community schools and universal transitional kindergarten.

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Oct 15 • 1:54 PM EDT • Science • actionnewsnow.com
Americans who go to church and trust science are also more likely to believe in ghosts and curses, research shows

Americans who trust science and reason more than their churches' teachings, but still believe in God or attend services, are also more likely to believe in magic than those who prioritize religious teachings.

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Oct 15 • 1:40 PM EDT • Science • phys.org
USA TODAY Sports unveils 2026 Midseason All-America Football Team

USA TODAY Sports unveils its 2026 Midseason All-America high school football team, honoring the nation's top offensive and defensive players.

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Oct 15 • 1:07 PM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com
CAA, WME, UTA Lead New Coalition To Push U.S. Independent Production

Talent agencies and producers joined forces to create to the American Entertainment Alliance, a new coalition to promote U.S. independent production

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Oct 15 • 12:26 PM EDT • Entertainment • deadline.com
SK Life Science supports SUDEP awareness via partnership with CURE Epilepsy and The Cameron Boyce Foundation

SK Life Science Inc. announced Oct. 15 its support of SUDEP awareness initiatives led by CURE Epilepsy and The Cameron Boyce Foundation.

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Oct 15 • 11:35 AM EDT • Science • roi-nj.com
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Scouting America honors Delaware business leader as organization builds new momentum

WILMINGTON, Del. — When Delaware business and community leaders gather Thursday evening, Oct. 15, to recognize Rodger Levenson as Scouting America's 2026

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Oct 15 • 11:29 AM EDT • Business • delawarelive.com
Scientists discover an ancient shipwreck dating to when the Great Pyramid was built

The wreck was found with relatively intact cargo on the seabed off the coast of Türkiye and is believed to be between 4,400 and 4,700 years old

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Oct 15 • 11:00 AM EDT • Science • scientificamerican.com
CAA, WME and UTA Lead Coalition Pushing for Law to Force Streamers to Spend Half Their Budgets on Indie Productions

CAA, UTA and WME have joined forces as founding members of the American Entertainment Alliance -- which among other things wants U.S. legislation to force streaming providers like Netflix, Prime Video, HBO Max and Disney+ to spend at least 50% of their budgets on independent productions.

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Oct 15 • 10:55 AM EDT • Entertainment • variety.com
Americans with disabilities worry over cuts to major health survey

NEW YORK • The federal government is planning to dramatically shrink its most influential health survey, and some researchers worry that the changes will underestimate how many Americans are disabled. At least half the survey questions could be axed. The cost-saving change is part of an ongoing effort to slim down the 69-year-old National Health […]

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Oct 15 • 10:22 AM EDT • Health • denvergazette.com
What Chinese viewers are learning from America’s political chaos

What many Chinese viewers see is not a nation falling apart, but a freedom they have never been allowed to have at home.

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Oct 15 • 10:00 AM EDT • Politics • thehill.com
Cincinnati Parks receives $17.5K grant for cardiac emergency preparedness

Each year, more than 350,000 people in the United States experience an EMS-assessed cardiac arrest outside of a hospital, and about 90% do not survive, according to the American Heart Association.

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Oct 15 • 9:56 AM EDT • Health • spectrumnews1.com
Xreal's New Flagship One Pro+ AR Glasses Offer Better Brightness And Increased Comfort

There's still no camera here, so they won't be confused for pervert specs.

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Oct 15 • 9:00 AM EDT • Technology • engadget.com
Kid Rock Talks Eminem Collab 'Heal My Faith' & Killing 'Division'

Kid Rock talks about his Eminem collab "Heal My Faith" on 'Halfway 2 Jesus' and ending "division" in America.

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Oct 15 • 9:00 AM EDT • Politics • billboard.com
Great American Media Invests in Wholesome, Family Streaming Entertainment for Latinos with Launch of Pure Flix Familia

/PRNewswire/ -- Great American Media is expanding its investment in Latino audiences with today's launch of Pure Flix Familia, a new streaming destination...

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Oct 15 • 9:00 AM EDT • Entertainment • prnewswire.com
The Politics of Heat, Homes, and Lobster Boats.

The Bar Harbor Story is generously sponsored by First National Bank. MOUNT DESERT ISLAND REGION—The candidates’ forum focusing on House District 15 and incumbent Holly Eaton and Clifford Noyes last week spent a lot of time on the candidates’ thought of heating, communication with constituents, property taxes, education costs, and other issues. It also was a time for the community to ask their own questions and see two candidates up close and personal at the Southwest Harbor Fire Department firehouse. Jim Vallette organized the hour-long event, which was moderated by Carrie Jones of the Bar Harbor Story. Ken Rozsahegyi provided technical support for the congenial event. House District 15 serves Brooklin, Deer Isle, Eagle Island Township, Frenchboro, Isle au Haut, Marshall Island, Southwest Harbor, Stonington, Swan's Island, Tremont, and Vinalhaven. Jones advised as she began the question and answer part of the event, ”Treat everyone here like they are going to be the ones who might give you a ride in a rainstorm, pull your pet out of a burning building, or be the one grading your kids’ papers at school, okay?” She continued. “That’s it. Tonight isn’t meant to be a gotcha debate. The goal is to give people in the district a chance to get to know both candidates, hear what they care about, and understand what they’d actually try to accomplish in Augusta.” The questions and discussion throughout were kind. Eaton currently serves in the position. She’s a Democrat from Deer Isle, raised in a fishing family and has worked in nonprofits and volunteered for her school board. Noyes is unenrolled (politically) and from Southwest Harbor and currently a school board member, self employed as a mason. He focused on fiscal issues throughout the forum. Eventually, at Jones’ prompting, the candidates played “Rock, Paper, Scissors” for who would go first for their closing statements. Noyes used the opportunity to urge others to head to the ballot. “Whether you vote for me or Holly, it’s important that people vote,” Noyes said. He hoped the voter turnout in the district would be over 35 percent because that would mean people were truly engaged. Eaton stressed that she’s a Democrat, but in Augusta, her role isn’t about party. “I am a Democrat, but when I go to Augusta, I am there to represent the people of District 15. I want people to feel as though I’m accessible, that I’m responsive, and that I show up for the district,” Eaton said. Being there for others was vital, she explained. “When something comes before me in Augusta, I try to look at it through the lens of the people and the communities that I represent. How will this affect the people who live here? Does it make it easier or harder to raise a family here, to operate a small business, to work on the water, to afford a home, to keep our schools open, or provide the essential services our communities depend on?” Eaton said. Noyes spoke about fiscal responsibility and about the state being more responsive to communities and the ideas that come from them. “I feel that we desperately need to restore some fiscal sanity, a little bit. So when the legislature meets again,” Noyes said, “it could be critical for Maine residents that we don’t keep digging this hole that we’re in financially and keep raising our taxes so the struggling families struggle even more.” The two answered a series of questions from Jones, then answered questions from the audience and participants via Zoom. Jones asked what they heard the most from people about what was making their lives hard and what can the legislature in Augusta do it about those issues. Both spoke to concerns about heating oil costs. Noyes spoke to the three H’s: health, home, and heat. Eaton and Noyes spoke to the burdens of families with lower incomes, with Eaton mentioning LIHEAP (Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program). They both were in favor of free community college and trade programs. They both supported the working waterfront. Both said that data centers—such as the one proposed in Eastport, which is out of the district—should be a local decision, but neither were in favor of it. The working waterfront was supported by both. Eaton’s served on the Maine Marine Resource Committee in the legislature. She advocated a diversity of fishing resources and less of a reliance on lobstering. Shrimp, she hoped, would make a comeback. Noyes worried about out-of-state pressure on the lobstering industry, also spoke of shrimp harvesting timings, and said he supported the lobstering industry. QUICK NOTE Carrie Jones is, obviously, the co-founder of the Bar Harbor Story, which made us have a bit of a hard time putting out this story and thinking it through and how to present it. We ended up with this article. The debate in its entirety is below, many thanks to Ken and Jim for making it publicly available. UPCOMING AND PAST EVENTS The following events are or were organized by the League of Women Voters Downeast. DISTRICT 7 DISTRICT ATTORNEY DISTRICT 13 Thursday, Oct 15, 2026 5:30 PM to 6:30 PM Candidate Forum: House District 13 125 State St , Ellsworth Featuring candidates Michael Cunningham (D) and Russell White (R), moderated by Cyndi Wood, managing editor of the Ellsworth American. DEMOCRACY FORUM Friday, Oct 16, 2026 4:00 PM to 5:00 PM Democracy Forum — Election 2026: What’s on Your Ballot RECENT PRESS RELEASES AND BRIEFS To see all the press releases, click here. To see our news, click here. For the full archive, click here. All of these are on our dedicated website. [ ](https://barharborstory.substack.com/p/feeling-stressed-kids-corner-invites) [ Feeling Stressed? Kids’ Corner Invites Parents, Educators, and Caregivers to Rediscover the Joy with National Speaker Raelene Ostberg Oct 14 ](https://barharborstory.substack.com/p/feeling-stressed-kids-corner-invites) [ Read full story ](https://barharborstory.substack.com/p/feeling-stressed-kids-corner-invites) [ ](https://barharborstory.substack.com/p/mainely-meats-pink-party-for-breast) [ Mainely Meat’s Pink Party for Breast Cancer Awareness is October 18! Oct 14 ](https://barharborstory.substack.com/p/mainely-meats-pink-party-for-breast) [ Read full story ](https://barharborstory.substack.com/p/mainely-meats-pink-party-for-breast) [ ](https://barharborstory.substack.com/p/conners-emerson-school-announces) [ Conners Emerson School Announces Public Surplus Property Sale Oct 14 ](https://barharborstory.substack.com/p/conners-emerson-school-announces) [ Read full story ](https://barharborstory.substack.com/p/conners-emerson-school-announces) [ ](https://barharborstory.substack.com/p/planting-the-writers-garden) [ Planting the Writer’s Garden 12:15 AM ](https://barharborstory.substack.com/p/planting-the-writers-garden) [ Read full story ](https://barharborstory.substack.com/p/planting-the-writers-garden) [ ](https://barharborstory.substack.com/p/artist-maria-de-los-angeles-explores) [ Artist Maria de los Angeles explores migration and belonging in COA public lecture 12:19 AM ](https://barharborstory.substack.com/p/artist-maria-de-los-angeles-explores) [ Read full story ](https://barharborstory.substack.com/p/artist-maria-de-los-angeles-explores) HELP SUPPORT THE BAR HARBOR STORY When we started The Bar Harbor Story, we didn’t know if anyone would read it. But you showed up. You shared. You sent tips. Now—over 400,000 views every month later—it’s clear: people here care about their community and each other. We’ve kept everything free because news should never be out of reach, but every one of our stories takes time to write, and your support keeps The Bar Harbor Story going. If you value our work, please consider a paid subscription, a founding membership, or a sponsorship. It truly helps us cover one more meeting, tell one more story, shine one more light. Even $5 a month makes a difference. Click here to become a one-time supporter now. Thank you so much for being here. Founding member information can be found here. Have questions about sponsorships? Just send Shaun an email at sfarrar86@gmail.com, he’d love to hear from you. Subscribe Share Bar Harbor Story Share Leave a comment

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Oct 15 • 8:18 AM EDT • Politics • barharborstory.substack.com
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Americans who go to church and trust science are also more likely to believe in ghosts and curses, new research shows

Belief in science and belief in magic can coexist.

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Oct 15 • 8:15 AM EDT • Science • theconversation.com
Health Factsheet January - August 2026

Situation Report in English on Cameroon about Health and Protection and Human Rights; published on 15 Oct 2026 by UNHCR

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Oct 15 • 8:03 AM EDT • Health • reliefweb.int
The Yankees Roster May Look Completely Different in 2027

The New York Yankees are, once again, out of the MLB postseason much earlier than they (and their fans) would have anticipated. New York not only got swept by the Tampa Bay Rays in the American League Division Series, they were flat-out embarrassed. The Rays outplayed them at the plate, in the field, and even …

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Oct 15 • 8:00 AM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com
By changing America’s ‘death business,’ Newsom can show his morality

'He has shown the courage, many times, to do the right thing rather than the popular thing. I hope he does the same with regard to this “business of death” in America,' writes an L.A. Times reader.

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Oct 15 • 8:00 AM EDT • Business • latimes.com
Drake's Bucksbaum business lecture to feature journalists on AI

Drake University will hold its fourth annual Bucksbaum Lectureship in Business on Oct. 21 featuring journalists Karen Hao and Nicholas Thompson speaking how artificial intelligence has evolved and how it will shape America’s future. The event is at 7 p.m. Knapp Center, 2601 Forest Ave. in Des Moines and is open to the public. The event…

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Oct 15 • 8:00 AM EDT • Business • businessrecord.com
MLB playoffs schedule: ALCS shifts to Cleveland

Thursday brings us two games on the postseason schedule, both of which had their start times altered due to bad weather in Cleveland. Game 3 of the American League Championship Series between the Tampa Bay Rays and Cleveland Guardians was originally slated for a 6 p.m. local start at Progressive Field in Cleveland (3 p.m. […]

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Oct 15 • 7:59 AM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com
573K California jobs supported by entrepreneurs as business creation surges

Shopify Americans are starting businesses at record rates, with business applications at historically high levels, according to the U.S. Census

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Oct 15 • 7:57 AM EDT • Business • keyt.com
Social Security announces 2027 cost of living boost for recipients

The Social Security Administration projects a 3.6% cost-of-living adjustment for older adults and people with disabilities starting in 2027. Some recipients say it won't offset rising prices. This adjustment means $75 extra per month for the nearly 72 million Social Security beneficiaries and about 7.3 million Supplemental Security Income recipients. Inflation continues to pressure household budgets and savings, and some older Americans feel the increase isn't enough. The Social Security Administration faces a looming bankruptcy date if a funding shortfall isn't addressed by Congress. Lawmakers have proposed measures to replenish the trust funds, including lifting the payroll tax cap to generate substantial revenue.

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Oct 15 • 7:35 AM EDT • Business • springfieldnewssun.com
Surprise health care bills are banned, but Americans still pay

If Congress wants to fix the problem, it should reform the No Surprises Act.

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Oct 15 • 7:15 AM EDT • Health • washingtonpost.com
No Kings coalition plans nationwide early voting events

Millions of Americans are expected to gather across the country and vote early Oct. 17 in the newest iteration of the popular No Kings protests. In some cases, they will

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Oct 15 • 7:10 AM EDT • Politics • centraloregondaily.com
PDW Integrates Ukraine Technology Into Huntsville-made Drones

The collaboration advances PDW's strategy to field battle-tested technology through American engineering and industrial capacity, with planned Kurbas camera

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Oct 15 • 7:00 AM EDT • Business • huntsvillebusinessjournal.com
Ahead of the midterms, most voters cite the economy and cost of living as top issues and favor political change - AP-NORC

Eight in 10 voters want substantial change or total upheaval in how the country is run. Most are pessimistic about the state of U.S. politics, and nearly half express pessimism about the future of democracy in America.

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Oct 15 • 6:00 AM EDT • Politics • apnorc.org
Postseason Awards: 5 Blue Jays Named Finalists for Major Honor

Toronto led the American League in errors in 2026. How did five players wind up in the conversation for a Gold Glove Award?

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Oct 15 • 5:30 AM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com
Va. lawmakers, Spanberger grapple with loss of federal healthcare funds for trans youth

Federal Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program money can no longer be used for certain gender-affirming care to young people in Virginia and other states, after a new U.S. Department of Health and Human Services rule took effect on Oct. 13.

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Oct 15 • 5:28 AM EDT • Health • virginiamercury.com
Adding fuel to the fire: Trump’s diesel deal stokes European concerns

The U.S.-Russia agreement is leading to deepening worries for Europe about the long-term future of its partnership with America.

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Oct 15 • 5:00 AM EDT • Science • csmonitor.com
Hasan Piker isn't worried about being a political boogeyman this midterms season

President Donald Trump recently called Hasan Piker a “terrible liability” and a “communist.”The California-based streamer — who describes himself as a socialist — has become the GOP’s political bogeyman ahead of the midterm elections. Piker argues those attacks will backfire, but also says he has played a role in being portrayed as a 'figurehead of the insurgent left.'“The way that I'm portrayed in the media is an America-hating communist Islamist fundamentalist who wants to secretly do jihad, and then also, at the same time, very woke and gay, so there's this weird inconsistency in their messaging,” Piker says. “Who I am is very simple. I'm a socialist. I'm an anti-imperialist. I want what's best for Americans, and I want what's best for everyone from all around the world.”In this episode from NPR’s Newsmakers, Piker sits down with host Leila Fadel and argues Republicans are using him to distract from policies that made life less affordable. He also addresses his seven Twitch bans, defends his rhetoric against right-wing reactionaries, and reflects on the crisis of loneliness among young men — and the limits of his influence.“At the end of the day, I'm a Twitch streamer,” Piker says. “I hold no political office. I have no real political power. So getting people to be upset at a Twitch streamer and their affiliation as a, if you want to call it a surrogate, in the primary is going to be very difficult.”Newsmakers is where you'll find NPR's biggest interviews. We post new episodes as soon as they're available -- any day of the week. Follow or subscribe on Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you watch or listen to podcasts to get new episodes as soon as possible. You can also find Newsmakers on the NPR app. Newsmakers relies on supporters who value independent journalism and a free press. Join NPR+ today to support our work and get perks from the podcasts you trust. Go to plus.npr.org.

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Oct 15 • 5:00 AM EDT • Politics • npr.org
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Bills and Pills: How Congress and Science Could Make the Future Less Lonely

A Bill for Loneliness? Proposed legislation would fund more research and social support—and create an office to advise the President A decade ago, official Washington wasn’t thinking about America’s loneliness epidemic. “Congress was paying zero attention to this issue, the executive branch was paying zero attention to this issue,” says Andrew MacPherson, chair of the

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Oct 15 • 4:51 AM EDT • Science • washingtonian.com
Hasan Piker isn't worried about being a political boogeyman this midterms season

NPR's Leila Fadel asks Twitch streamer and political commentator Hasan Piker about his incendiary style and whether he's become a liability for Democrats ahead of the midterms.

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Oct 15 • 4:45 AM EDT • Politics • npr.org
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What Dolly Parton’s estate fight reveals about family business succession

Parton, the legendary American singer, actress, entrepreneur, and philanthropist, left an estate estimated at $450 million.

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Oct 15 • 4:30 AM EDT • Business • fastcompany.com
True Crime Producer Association Welcomes US Indies Gennie, Texas Crew

The Association of True Crime Producers has welcomed American Indies Gennie Studios, My Entertainment and Texas Crew along with non-UK producers.

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Oct 15 • 4:00 AM EDT • Entertainment • deadline.com
Commentary: Trump slashed healthcare for Ohio families and spiked premiums. Now he's offering small checks.

Do you celebrate an arsonist who brings a cup of water to a fire they started? Is the president a hero for cutting small, healthcare relief checks to people struggling under his policy, the largest rollback of federal support for health care in American history?

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Oct 15 • 3:35 AM EDT • Health • ohiocapitaljournal.com
How did political campaigns get so expensive?

The 2026 midterm elections are fast approaching, and it’s gearing up to be the most expensive election in American history. So how did we get here, where every election feels more expensive than the last? Today on the show, we’re exploring what’s causing the flood of money into our politics. Fact checking by Sierra Juarez.Your Next Listen –Bad economics, smart politics –Over 2,000 episodes in our archive on the NPR AppConnect with The Indicator from Planet Money–The Indicator newsletter — a weekly roundup of news, ideas and staff picks. –Instagram, TikTok and YouTube –Find the Planet Money book –Find the Planet Money game, Sell Me A Sasquatch, and other merch at the NPR Shop!Support public media by subscribing to NPR+ and enjoy perks for over 25 podcasts like this one. This show’s perks include sponsor-free listening. Learn more at plus.npr.org.

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Oct 15 • 3:00 AM EDT • Politics • npr.org
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Treasury shows off new Trump dollar coin, urges Americans to spend it at liberal coffee shops

U.S. Treasurer Brandon Beach challenged Americans to use the new Trump dollar coins at liberal coffee shops in a Treasury Department TikTok video.

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Oct 14 • 11:58 PM EDT • Business • foxbusiness.com
Sabres’ Russian Prospect Prokhor Poltapov Dominating KHL

The Buffalo Sabres might have a future contributor currently plying his craft in the Kontinental Hockey League in Russia. His name is Prokhor Poltapov. Poltapov probably isn’t a known name to casual Sabres fans, but the diehards will know about him. He’s not yet in North America, but the hope is that he’ll show up […] The post Sabres’ Russian Prospect Prokhor Poltapov Dominating KHL appeared first on HEAVY.

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Oct 14 • 11:39 PM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com
HEALTH MATTERS: Wound Care Specialist keeps man from foot amputation

Jeffrey Broyles thought summer 2026 would look like the sand-and-ice-blue waters featured in his snapshots from summer 2025, not like the decaying flesh and gaping wounds his cell phone camera capt…

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Oct 14 • 10:56 PM EDT • Health • kark.com
Navy All-American Bowl to honor running back Jayshawn Mitchell

The Navy All-American Bowl Road to the Dome tour will visit William J.

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Oct 14 • 10:52 PM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com
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EGOT winner John Legend to meet fans at Mall of America album signing

BLOOMINGTON, Minn. (WQOW) — John Legend is coming to Mall of America for an exclusive album signing and photo opportunity celebrating his new album, Muse.

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Oct 14 • 10:30 PM EDT • Entertainment • wqow.com
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Tyler Cameron argues “DWTS” isn’t about being the ‘best’ dancer after shocking season 35 eliminations

The “Bachelorette” alum cited this week’s departure of Guillermo Rodriguez.

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Oct 14 • 9:28 PM EDT • Entertainment • yahoo.com
The danger of nostalgia in politics

However, this raises concerns as to how susceptible Americans are to political nostalgia. While our country’s past may seem better in hindsight, defaulting to nostalgia is not helpful for enacting change; in times of crisis, it leaves us without a vision of where to go. Instead, we need to work on recreating a faulty vision of the past, one that’s never as good as we remember it being.

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Oct 14 • 8:56 PM EDT • Politics • michigandaily.com
Travis Kelce reveals terrifying Steelers Combine meeting detail

Mike Tomlin explained how the Pittsburgh Steelers used Hall of Famer Mean Joe Greene during draft combine meetings to test incoming prospects.

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Oct 14 • 8:25 PM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com
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Campus Creamery’s new owners are learning business in real time

Campus Creamery is a South 40 favorite, a classic midnight snack for WashU’s underclassmen. Three sophomores took over the well-loved ice cream shop last January as first-years.

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Oct 14 • 8:25 PM EDT • Business • studlife.com
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You Can’t Build Golden Science Without Global Talent

Trump has announced millions in funding for new science and tech initiatives, but the anti-immigrant America First agenda could undermine his ambitions.

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Oct 14 • 8:00 PM EDT • Science • insidehighered.com
As White House shifts focus toward AI and tech, U.S. science leaders defend role of the American university

White House planned shift of research funding from universities to industry risks creating a drought in basic research, science leaders say

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Oct 14 • 6:13 PM EDT • Science • statnews.com
After Guilfoyle dismissal, Rubio reminds diplomats to ‘avoid conflicts of interest’

The former U.S. ambassador to Greece was accused of a variety of ethical violations, including asking a political donor for $100,000 to pay her personal American Express bill.

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Oct 14 • 6:00 PM EDT • Politics • washingtonpost.com
Technology, immigration, inflation, health care key topics in Third District debate

Immigration, inflation, health care, AI, data centers, and flock cameras were topics of discussion Wednesday (Oct. 14) during the debate between Arkansas’ Third Congressional District candidates. The debate ahead of...

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Oct 14 • 5:53 PM EDT • Health • talkbusiness.net
Hui Kapili Accelerator Welcomes 11 Local Businesses to Third Cohort

aio and American Savings Bank support local construction companies with business training, industry expertise and opportunities for growth.

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Oct 14 • 5:51 PM EDT • Business • hawaiibusiness.com
‘Good versus evil’: How La Derecha Diario portrays politics in the United States and Latin America

By Samedi AguirreWhat do former Colombian senator Iván Cepeda and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum have in common? According…

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Oct 14 • 5:08 PM EDT • Politics • factchequeado.com
At WSU in Pullman, Murray Launches Public Health for America Working Group, Delivers Address to Chart What Comes Next After Trump & RFK Jr., and Discusses Key Public Health Challenges with Local Leaders and Experts

READ MORE: Senator Murray announces members of new public health initiative NYT: A Public Health-Minded Senator Asks: What Comes After Trump and Kennedy? ***LIVESTREAM OF DISCUSSION FROM KHQ HERE*** Pullman, WA — Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee and a senior member and former Chair of the Senate […]

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Oct 14 • 5:07 PM EDT • Health • murray.senate.gov
Former LA business owner speaks out on leaving the city after years of disorder

Former Los Angeles business owner Paul Scrivano discusses the city's decline and continued disorder on 'America Reports.'

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Oct 14 • 4:53 PM EDT • Business • foxnews.com
Ubisoft plans cuts at German studios, adding to wave of workforce reductions

Ubisoft is planning to reduce its workforce in Germany, where it operates a trio of studios, by about 100 workers, Game File has learned. The company wants to offer employees buyouts to, should enough people accept, avoid having to lay anyone off. “In Germany, we initiated discussions with the Works Council last week regarding a proposed voluntary departure plan across Ubisoft Dusseldorf, Ubisoft Berlin & Ubisoft Mainz,” a company rep told Game File. A “works council” is a union-like group representing employees. “The voluntary plan is the primary measure being proposed to support the intended organizational changes,” the Ubisoft rep added. The company declined to confirm the scale of the potential headcount cut. Of the impacted studios, Mainz might be the best known to the public. It leads development of the Anno series and shipped the well-reviewed strategy game Anno 117: Pax Romana in November 2025. Berlin and Dusseldorf operate as support studios within Ubisoft’s creative network. Berlin recently supported the development of Rainbow Six Siege and the Rayman Legends Retold remake. Dusseldorf also contributed to those projects, as well as The Settlers and Ubisoft-branded escape rooms. Dusseldorf is the biggest of the three studios, with some 400+ workers, compared to just over 100 at the other two, a source familiar with the reductions and the teams told Game File. More than half of these new reductions of about 100 people are expected to happen at Dusseldorf. The planned cuts were announced at a town hall for the German studios on Tuesday of last week. In an email follow-up, the studio group’s managing director, Benedikt Grindel, said the cuts were intended to “best position our German studios for the future... with a clearer focus on their role, capabilities and organizational setup needed for the work ahead.” The email was an echo of the past. In January 2025, Grindel had emailed the Ubisoft developers in his region (or studio “zone”) to explain that a round of 185 cuts at the time, including about 65 at Dusseldorf, were “essential to improve our operational efficiency and ensure the long-term sustainability of our studios, the zone and the company.” A half-decade of continued job cuts Ubisoft has been aggressively cutting its headcount for years. At the end of September 2022, it had 20,729 workers. By the end of March 2026, that total was down to 16,590. Studio management is trying to trim costs as it grapples with a changing industry and a drought of releases, let alone hits. The company announced earlier this year that it had reduced its costs since 2022 by “nearly €325 million” ($362m) and planned to lower them through 2028 by another €180 million ($200m). In June the company said it was closing down its Winnipeg and Belgrade studios and cutting roles in its Barcelona team. Even commercial and creative success hasn’t spared studios from this ongoing company-wide contraction. As Game File was nailing down details around the proposed cuts in Germany, Ubisoft management was informing workers of cuts in its Singapore studio, which shipped a hit remake of Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag this past July. Some 70 positions in Singapore are being eliminated “to align the studio with upcoming production needs,” per a company rep’s statement to Game File. In early 2024, a large team in the Singapore studio launched the multiplayer pirate game Skull & Bones. It performed poorly but has been supported with regular content updates since. Many of Ubisoft’s studios around the world are heavily subsidized via regional grants and tax breaks. Singapore had been among them for years, but received no such local assistance in the 12 months ending this past March. News of the Singapore cuts broke today alongside word that Ubisoft is also proposing the closure of RedLynx, pending negotiations with officials. The Finnish studio behind the motorbike series Trials was founded in 2000 and sold to Ubisoft in 2011. As reported by VGC (and corroborated by Game File), Ubisoft management told employees it could not come up with a new, sustainable assignment for RedLynx. The 2025 workforce at Ubisoft Dusseldorf were straight-up cuts. This time, Ubisoft is hoping the reductions at its trio of German studios will largely come from workers taking a payout to leave. The company offered such voluntary dismissals at its Massive Entertainment studio (The Division) a year ago. For the German studios’ buyouts this time around, Ubisoft and the Works Council had discussed a formula that’d pay a worker’s monthly salary multiplied by 1.5 and by the number of years they’ve worked at the company, according to Game File sources. The formula is still subject to negotiations with the Works Council and has not yet been part of an official offer to workers. It could be adjusted up or down, and it could be supplemented with additional bonuses. Asked about the floated payout formula, a Ubisoft rep told Game File, “The terms of a potential voluntary departure program remain subject to negotiation with employee representatives. No final agreement has been reached, and we won’t comment on specific proposals while discussions are ongoing.” 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: Epic’s AI adventures Epic Games (Fortnite, the Unreal engine) is all-in on using AI to try to transform the way it makes video games and game-making tools. It’s leaders appear to be undeterred by any resistance among gamers and some game developers around generative AI—and instead emboldened by advances, particularly in AI-assisted programming. A recap of the last three days: On Monday, Bloomberg reported that Epic management told workers last week that development of an upcoming game combining Star Wars and Marvel characters would be “AI first.” Employees would be expected to use AI models such as Claude to code the game. A manager told Epic’s developers there would be “[n]o more hand-written code” and that art for the game would be “generated with full AI workflows,” per the outlet. Just ahead of that story running, Epic founder Tim Sweeney tweeted: “We have a huge pivot underway here at Epic, moving developers around to retool for maximum AI acceleration. The aim isn’t to do the same stuff with fewer people, but to enable everyone here to build MORE and BETTER stuff, and to bring the benefits to all teams using Unreal.” In a follow-up, Sweeney predicted that most game development processes would be at least three times faster a year from now than they were in January 2026, thanks to AI. To a person on X who told him he was failing to read the room, Sweeney said: “Much of the room wants it to be 2016 again, but it’s not. Our job, as the provider of tools and technology to much of the industry, is to design for the present that is and the future that will soon be.” On Wednesday, Epic announced it was releasing a faster launcher for its Epic Games Store marketplace. It did so by stating in a blog post as clear as could be that the launcher is an AI-enabled, vibe-coded project: Programming is hard. So, instead of doing that, we vibe coded a new Epic Games Launcher that’s way faster and more responsive than the current one, and has a new look. Programming is hard? That was unexpected phrasing from a company founded by a legendarily great programmer. Back in 2011, Sweeney told me that he’d picked up programming quickly as a kid and rejoiced at the power it gave him. “I could look at any program that anybody else had written and, with enough effort, build something cooler.” Item 3: The Xbox Labs experiment (and one of the people behind it) Microsoft’s Xbox division, which is flooding the zone with announcements lately, yesterday revealed a new internal tech-tinkering team called Xbox Labs. In the words of Xbox boss Asha Sharma Labs is “a small group of game makers, engineers and scientists whose job is to turn emerging ideas into things our players and developers can experience.” Conventional wisdom coming out of the announcement is that Labs is a team that’ll focus on ideas driven by generative AI. In her announcement, Sharma cited some of the dizzying achievements in tech and gaming over the past month as AI agents and other AI tools have been deployed to swiftly figure out how popular games work, then rebuild them and mix them up. She mentioned seeing ”games rapidly decompiled and rebuilt to run on hardware they were never originally designed to support” and said “[p]erhaps more surprisingly, we’ve seen many of the biggest games in the world have been remixed into the source code of another.” (Minecraft plus Elden Ring, for example, or Fortnite + Super Monkey Ball + Overwatch + Diablo + others.) Sharma also cited the work of Windows PC games being ported to run in browsers, a seeming reference to a recent AI-assisted fan port of Halo. Or perhaps Call of Duty or GTA. Sharma didn’t use the specific term “AI” in her memo, but she came close, citing AI “agents” and their potential for game-making tools that Labs could help craft: I think XBOX has an important role to play here. Coding became the first major workload for agents because they can write, run, and test software. Games share many of those same properties, and people spend more than 72 billion hours a year playing XBOX games, roughly five times the estimated time spent writing code worldwide. We’ve spent 25 years learning how to make great games, and I want our game makers to help shape what these new technologies make possible. As we learn, we’ll share the tools we build with developers across the industry, just as we always have. When I asked an Xbox rep if Labs was an AI-centric team, they said genAI was not the focus, describing it as having a broader mandate for using new tech in new ways in gaming. As an example, they pointed to Xbox’s recently launched disc-to-digital gaming usage rights program. Microsoft didn’t specifically name anyone involved full-time in Xbox Labs yesterday, but on social media and LinkedIn, I spotted Adrian Mato IDing himself as leading the creatio of tools at Labs and talking up the launch. Mato first caught my attention in late September, when he said on X that he was “starting to build a new team at Xbox focused on products and tools for how games get built and distributed as agentic tools become more capable.” At the time, he framed AI-based tools as a supplement to traditional game dev tools. “I don’t think we need to replace them,” he said. Since then, he’s publicly shown interest in AI and in games. He’s recently spent some of his X feed marveling at the power of AI agents and praising the lighting in the latest Gears of War. Following the Labs announcement yesterday, he enthused about the Xbox Labs’ stylish landing page. He wrote: “We built some fun tools to art-direct shaders in real time, experimented with interactive ASCII art, and sprinkled in lots of tiny details. “Move your mouse to leave a colorful trail that reveals the original footage, or interact with the video to trigger bursts of particles. “A lot of love went into making it all feel just right. “More to come”

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Oct 14 • 4:31 PM EDT • Technology • gamefile.news
LMH Health receives Level IV Trauma Center designation

LMH Health has been designated a Level IV Trauma Center by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE), recognizing the organization’s trauma program and strengthening access to emergency care for patients across the region. The achievement follows a comprehensive review process conducted every three years to ensure hospitals meet standards established by the American […]

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Oct 14 • 4:30 PM EDT • Health • lmh.org
MIT-TASC seeks future tribal leaders with advanced science camp

Applications for the 2027 Tulsa Advanced Sciences Camp, ran by Massachusetts Institute of Technology, opens Oct. 14 for Native American high school students.

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Oct 14 • 4:00 PM EDT • Science • cherokeephoenix.org
How proposed cuts to this major national health survey could disadvantage Americans with disabilities

As many as a quarter of wheelchair users and more than a third of people who are blind or deaf could be miscategorized as not disabled because of the shorter survey, according to some advocates and researchers.

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Oct 14 • 3:55 PM EDT • Health • pbs.org
Cam Heyward reveals legendary Vince Williams trash-talk vs Bengals

Pittsburgh Steelers DT Cameron Heyward recalled former linebacker Vince Williams' legendary trash talk before facing the Cincinnati Bengals.

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Oct 14 • 2:54 PM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com
White House economic chief reveals why Americans aren't feeling optimistic about economy

White House advisor Kevin Hassett says rising energy costs contributed to disappointing inflation data, while bank executives report that consumers continue to spend.

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Oct 14 • 2:48 PM EDT • Business • foxbusiness.com
DFW Business Datebook: AT&T, Texas Instruments and airlines report

Fort Worth-based American Airlines and Dallas-based Southwest Airlines will report third-quarter earnings this week in key moments for each carrier.

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Oct 14 • 2:43 PM EDT • Business • dallasnews.com
NIH appears to shut down public comments on science peer-review rule change ahead of schedule

The proposed change to how the National Institutes of Health handles grant applications has been criticized by scientists as reducing transparency

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Oct 14 • 2:00 PM EDT • Science • scientificamerican.com
Welcome, World Travelers! Dreamfinder and Figment Return to EPCOT — Entertainment & Lifestyle

Welcome, World Travelers! Dreamfinder and Figment Return to EPCOTby James Coulter "One little spark of inspiration is at the heart of all creation." For decades, that spark has been kept alive by a certain purple dragon, and now, after nearly thirty years, the dreamer who created him is finally returning to EPCOT. Earlier this year at the — Local reporting from Polk County, Florida.

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Oct 14 • 1:14 PM EDT • Entertainment • dailyridge.com
100+ Manufacturing, Business Groups Urge Congress to Pass Bipartisan Permitting Deal

Washington, D.C. – The National Association of Manufacturers, joined by members of its Council of Manufacturing Associations, Conference of State Manufacturers Associations and other leading manufacturing and business organizations, sent a coalition letter urging Congress to swiftly pass the Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act. Representing businesses across the country and industries throughout the manufacturing …

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Oct 14 • 12:22 PM EDT • Business • nam.org
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Cam Heyward singles out Gabe Rubio after key Steelers performance

Pittsburgh Steelers captain Cameron Heyward praised rookie defensive lineman Gabe Rubio for stepping up during a thin rotation against Indianapolis.

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Oct 14 • 12:10 PM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com
Former ARPA-H director Renee Wegrzyn wants to solve science’s ‘magic hands’ problem

With her new startup, Transfyr, Wegrzyn is using AI to help medical breakthroughs make it out of the lab. She explains why that matters, and why she fears America is losing its scientific edge.

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Oct 14 • 12:10 PM EDT • Science • fastcompany.com
iPhone Duo Compromises: Everything You Have to Give Up

Apple's $1,999 iPhone Duo asks buyers to pay more for a folding screen while accepting almost 40 compromises compared with the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max, spanning camera capabilities, everyday usability, and ownership costs. At equivalent storage capacities, the iPhone Duo costs $800 more than the iPhone 18 Pro and $700 more than the Pro Max.

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Oct 14 • 12:08 PM EDT • Technology • macrumors.com
SK Life Science Supports SUDEP Awareness Efforts Through Partnership with CURE Epilepsy and The Cameron Boyce Foundation

/PRNewswire/ -- SK Life Science, Inc., a U.S. pharmaceutical company and part of SK Biopharmaceuticals, today announced its support of SUDEP awareness...

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Oct 14 • 11:48 AM EDT • Science • prnewswire.com
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Matchbox Twenty announces 30th anniversary tour

ANAHEIM, Calif. — Matchbox Twenty is celebrating 30 years of music with a North American tour that will bring the rock band to the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles next

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Oct 14 • 11:37 AM EDT • Entertainment • recorderonline.com
Banijay And Grupo Podpah Partner On Digital Entertainment

Banijay has partnered with Grupo Podpah, one of Latin America’s biggest creator and digital content outfits.

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Oct 14 • 11:36 AM EDT • Entertainment • deadline.com
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How the Zelda Ocarina of Time remake changes the classic game’s script

At the start of the iconic 1998 Nintendo 64 game The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time, our playable hero Link wakes up in his tree cabin, heads outside and is greeted by his friend Saria. “Yahoo! Hi, Stotil!" she says. In other people’s copies of the games, she might say “Hi, Link!” or “Hi, Brick!” or use whatever other name the player was allowed to input when first launching the game. The more important point is that she starts with a “Yahoo!” In Nintendo’s 2011 remake of Ocarina of Time for the 3DS handheld, Saria greets Link with that same word. But for the 2026 Switch 2 re-remake of Ocarina of Time, out November 5, Saria’s salutation has changed: “Hello, Link!” she exclaims. There’s no “Yahoo” to be heard. Last month, in an official Nintendo video preview, Zelda series producer Eiji Aonuma described the remake as a “faithful interpretation using modern technologies.” Faithful means the gameplay hasn’t changed much. Dungeons, quests, and just generally what you do in the game doesn’t seem to have changed, not based on what Nintendo has shown nor the hour of the game I played in New York City a couple of weeks ago. The graphics have been overhauled. The controls have been tweaked. Players can now manually control the camera and make Link jump with the press of a button, both notable differences from the original 1998 design. But Link’s journey appears to take the same path, with the same obstacles in its way. The remake’s biggest alteration to Ocarina of Time that I’ve spotted so far just might be the script. About the game’s story, Aonuma said in September, “We’ve added quite a lot of new dialogue for the characters, so that their personalities shine even more.” Earlier this month, I played a chunk of the Ocarina of Time remake at a Nintendo showcase. In the game’s earliest moments, I made a point of talking to characters and recording what they said. I found the script to be more colorful, more natural in its phrasing, more careful to establish its characters, and certainly more wordy even with the removal of that one “Yahoo!”. I’ve got some very early-game examples, so you can judge the new writing for yourself.

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Oct 14 • 11:32 AM EDT • Technology • gamefile.news
K-POP SENSATION LE SSERAFIM HEADLINES NEW BRAND CAMPAIGN FOR ASIAN ENTERTAINMENT STREAMER, RAKUTEN VIKI

/PRNewswire/ -- Rakuten Viki, the leading destination for Asian entertainment, has launched a new brand campaign starring global K-pop group LE SSERAFIM. "Viki...

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Oct 14 • 11:30 AM EDT • Entertainment • prnewswire.com
Calvin Harris announces first North American headlining tour

ANAHEIM, Calif. — Calvin Harris is bringing his first headlining tour to Southern California next spring, with a stop at Inglewood’s Kia Forum. The Scottish DJ and producer will perform

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Oct 14 • 11:22 AM EDT • Entertainment • recorderonline.com
Water and cancer, once taboo in Iowa politics, are now front and center in campaigns

Back-to-back years of water restrictions in the Des Moines area and a growing "Make America Healthy Again" movement have pushed a once-avoided issue into debates, ads and roundtables for candidates in both parties.

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Oct 14 • 11:21 AM EDT • Politics • cbsnews.com
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How the study of Latinx politics in America has evolved

A Good Chat with Roberto Carlos on why studying America’s Latino population reveals surprises about how families develop political views, and how communities engage in politics beyond the ballot box.

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Oct 14 • 11:02 AM EDT • Politics • goodauthority.org
Radial Entertainment, Content Partners Announce 20 New Episodes of Legacy True Crime Series 'Forensic Files'

Content Partners and Radial Entertainment Oct. 14 announced 20 new episodes of the landmark true crime series “Forensic Files.” Building on their existing distribution relationship, the companies will jointly finance the new season and share oversight of production, with Radial handling worldwide distribution. ITV America, part of ITV Studios, will produce the episodes. ITV America … Continue reading "Radial Entertainment, Content Partners Announce 20 New Episodes of Legacy True Crime Series ‘Forensic Files’"

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Oct 14 • 10:27 AM EDT • Entertainment • mediaplaynews.com
Americans with disabilities worry about proposed changes to major national health survey

The federal government plans to dramatically shrink the size of its National Health Interview Survey, sparking concerns about underestimating disability rates.

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Oct 14 • 10:14 AM EDT • Health • seattletimes.com
Americans with disabilities worry about proposed changes to major national health survey

NEW YORK (AP) — The federal government is planning to dramatically shrink its most influential health survey, and some researchers worry that the changes will

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Oct 14 • 10:13 AM EDT • Health • ktar.com
Leaders in faith, tech, business discuss AI at Catholic U

Taylor Black is a builder. Black, founding executive director of The Catholic University of America’s Leonum Institute for AI and Emerging Technologies in Washington, is a self-described venture architect at Microsoft — leading cross-company initiatives for the next generation of groundbreaking technologies.

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Oct 14 • 10:00 AM EDT • Business • catholicherald.com
Climate scientists issue a sobering diagnosis about Earth's 'vital signs'

“The climate emergency is already here”

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Oct 14 • 10:00 AM EDT • Science • scientificamerican.com