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Countries put science and precaution above race to start deep seabed m

More member states of the International Seabed Authority announced support for a precautionary pause or moratorium during its annual meeting, citing a lack of science and concerns for the long-term ef

Aug 4 • 8:00 PM EDT • Science • africa.panda.org

Source: Voluntary federal regulatory framework for advanced AI models finalized

The meeting was described as “staff-level.”

Aug 4 • 7:16 PM EDT • Politics • ny1.com

Resident sues over $57 million Western Hills Sports Mall development

A lawsuit alleges the Cincinnati Planning Commission violated open meeting laws before approving the $57 million Westline Flats project in Westwood.

Aug 4 • 5:15 PM EDT • Business • bizjournals.com

Pirro Took Box of Reflecting Pool Evidence to Trump Meeting

Swaying the president with real evidence is no easy task, but maybe she pulled it off.

Aug 4 • 4:16 PM EDT • Politics • nymag.com

Planned VHC Health facility raises questions for county-owned site on S. Carlin Springs

Plans for a behavioral health facility on S. Carlin Springs Road are raising questions about the future of a nearby county-owned parcel. Forestry and Natural Resources Commission member Alex Sanders took a moment at a July 23 meeting to ask about the county's plan for a 4.5-acre site near VHC Health's proposed behavioral health and rehabilitation center.

Aug 4 • 2:45 PM EDT • Health • arlnow.com

Downtown attacks prompt civic leaders to hold public safety meetings

Leaders in government, business, and law enforcement will gather on Wednesday in the biggest summit to address the issue since last fall.

Aug 4 • 1:20 PM EDT • Business • bostonglobe.com

MrBeast Sales Slow, Angel Stock Falls, MUBI and Neon Look for Hits, and Will an NBA Franchise Set a Sales Record?

(Welcome to the Entertainment Strategy Guy, a newsletter on the entertainment industry and business strategy. I write a weekly Streaming Ratings Report and a bi-weekly strategy column, along with occasional deep dives into other topics, like today’s article. Please subscribe.) You probably remember egg prices spiking a few years ago. This led to a lot of debate between the pro-market/pro-competition/antitrust/Neo-Brandesian crowd and the center/center-right/center-left/abundance/libertarian crowd over the cause, whether it was the avian flu outbreak or whether industry consolidation led to price fixing, using avian flu as a convenient cover. Basel Musharbash wrote a whole investigation at BIG looking at it. Well, two years later, we have our answer: it was price fixing. The Justice Department found proof, via emails, of price fixing. Indeed, just the threat of an investigation brought prices down two years ago: I bring this up because at least half a dozen of my favorite political writers and pundits, who were skeptical about price fixing at the time, haven’t written any mea culpas on this issue. It’s really dispiriting and makes it much, much harder to trust their work on other issues. If you take a hard stand on an issue, then you get it wrong, you need to explain how and why you got it wrong. Or update your priors. This is how epistemological bubbles are formed! All of which is to say, it’s time for another installment of “What I Got Right, What I Got Wrong”. Last issue, I mostly focused on the “wrong” side of the equation, so today’s is a bit more balanced, but with one big mea culpa (though I still stand by my original concerns). Let’s dive right in! Subscribe CORRECTION: UFC Didn’t Release Subscriber Data (But Seems to Have Bragged About It Internally) In my analysis of the viewership of UFC Freedom 250, I wrote... “Paramount has also released datecdotes bragging about their subscriber numbers. Earlier this year, they claimed that the first UFC fight on Paramount+ brought in 1 million subscribers.” Well, that datecdote did not come from a PR rep, but from great reporting from James Faris at Business Insider. The actual quote was this: “Paramount’s flagship streaming service generated about a million new subscribers on the day of its first-ever UFC event, Paramount product chief Dane Glasgow told employees in a town hall on Tuesday morning, three staffers who attended the meeting told Business Insider.“ This wasn’t the biggest goof in the world; even Faris emphasized to me that this is more a “clarification” than a correction. Still, it sounds like, internally, the folks at Paramount were very happy about this result—and I’m guessing they were happy with this news getting out—even though the gains didn’t last through the quarter, dropping to 700K adds. RIGHT: MrBeast’s Struggles Continue... I’m very skeptical about MrBeast’s burgeoning media “empire” and, in particular, its $5 billion valuation, as I wrote earlier this year and last year. Sure enough, according to Business Insider, regarding its “booming” consumer products division_:_ “US sales volume grew 13% year-over-year in 2025, following a 33% leap the previous year, according to a presentation deck dated May 2026....A February 2025 investor deck viewed by Business Insider showed Feastables’ net revenue more than doubled in 2024 from 2023, to $215 million, and was forecast to grow 74% in 2025, to $375 million.” [Emphasis mine.] If you told investors that you projected 74% growth but delivered 13%,1 that’s not ideal. But it’s not just MrBeast. Logan Paul and KSI’s Prime had sales drop in half for their energy drinks. It’s one thing to build a successful entertainment company and an entirely different thing to succeed in the heavily-consolidated-but-also-very-competitive consumer packaged goods space! CPGs are dominated by a few firms with very wide moats compared to YouTube, which has few barriers to entry. These businesses require different skill sets and have completely different business environments. WRONG: Does the NBA Have an $8 Billion Bidder? Almost as soon as I published my article about the NBA’s finances, casting skepticism on NBA expansion, I saw this Front Office Sports headline: One group “claims to have already raised $8 billion” for the Vegas expansion team. I mean, wow. That’s just $2 billion less than what the Los Angeles Lakers were valued at when they were sold just last year. And they’re arguably the most popular team in the NBA. (Side note: the new owner is now under an investigation for fraud in how he went about financing the Lakers and the Dodgers purchases.) So much for the “dried up” language I used in that article. (This is why I usually stick to my “Entertainment Nuance Guy” tone in articles...) I went off old information—from April, when I read/heard about the NBA downplaying expansion efforts—instead of doing a quick double-check for new news. That said...if you read the article, the market for Seattle is “slow”, with just one reported bidder. So I wasn’t entirely off. This goof has annoyed me since I first published it, mainly because it undercut that article’s real point, which I stand by: NBA franchises are really overvalued right now. Now, I get why NBA teams are overvalued. When it comes to owning sports teams, it’s basically never wrong to assume that some rich person somewhere will care more about owning a team (or just being part of a group since they’re so expensive) than the actual financials. There are only so many teams to own, and opportunities to buy in preferred markets don’t come along very often. This explains why the teams sell for such high multiples (usually above a 10 to 12.5 revenue multiple, which is very high). You only need one person to overpay! Beyond the ultra-wealthy luxury good explanation, I worry NBA teams are becoming speculative assets. More and more private equity investors are buying into NBA teams. But the value, in owning a team, comes from selling it later, not any meaningful relationship to revenue or profit growth. In other words, the newer NBA owners are increasingly expecting someone later to buy their inflated asset. That’s not sound economics; that’s the “greater fool” theory at work.2 At some point, actually making money has to matter. Especially since revenue growth is now below the growth of the stock market. (And this matters because the NBA doesn’t have easy levers to pull to drastically lower their costs—half of their revenue has to go to players and then you actually have to run a team, including coaching, training, travel, media expenses, and more—or raise revenues aside from one-off expansions in America and overseas.) I just don’t see how investors make their money back buying NBA teams, except for selling at a higher price later on down the line. But if revenue/profit growth continues to slow, at some point, someone will be left holding the bag. RIGHT: Baseball and Basketball are about equally popular. Related to the above, I wanted to cite two quick pieces of evidence for one of my other theories: that the NBA and MLB are about as popular as each other, but the NBA gets much, much better media coverage. One YouGov survey has that fans prefer basketball to baseball by 52% to 48%, which I’m guessing is within the margin of error for that poll. That’s virtually even, meaning they’re about the same popularity. Over on NBC, a recent Red Sox-Yankees game averaged 4 million viewers, higher than Sunday Night Basketball’s average of 3.4 million on the same network. A Yankees-Dodgers game averaged 3.9 million two weeks ago. Not every game averages this much, but it shows you that baseball isn’t far off from basketball, depending on the matchup. Altogether, the NBA is just slightly more popular than baseball, but NBC is paying MLB a fraction of what they pay the NBA, a point I’ve made before. RIGHT: Angel, MUBI and Neon Updates... I’ve long been skeptical about many of Hollywood’s buzziest startups/smaller indie studios. It’s not that they don’t make great movies—films like Anora and Everything Everywhere All at Once are amazing—or that they’re not (rightfully) pushing the majors to make better films, but...they get a ton of hype, and that hype often doesn’t live up to the reality or difficulty in scaling up. Starting with MUBI, well, The Wall Street Journal wrote a feature on MUBI’s struggles last April, best summarized by the subheader “After Sequoia valued Mubi at $1 billion, a left-wing revolt sent the indie film company into a tailspin”. MUBI lost $7.3 million on $200 million in revenue in Q4 2025, but reportedly hit a record 1.7 million subscribers at the end of Q1. As for Neon, Department M purchased a “significant stake” in the company earlier this year. How much is that “stake” worth? According to Deadline, “No financial figures for the Neon-Department M deal were disclosed.” So...that’s not great! If it was a big valuation, we’d hear about. Also, I found this curious: “Both Neon and Department M already have separate partnerships with Qatar. The Qatar Film Committee has a slate deal in place with the former, and a biopic production pact with the latter.” Color me skeptical about much Middle Eastern investment dollars. See: LIV Golf. Finally, as for Angel (formerly Angel Studios), their stock very, very slightly popped last month after Young Washington ($20 million budget) which made $45 million in the US, but their stock is still way down from its opening. Smaller Updates RIGHT: The WGA should focus on antitrust concerns! I’ve been on this for years. Post-WGA/AMTPT deal in 2023, I wrote an article for the Ankler calling on the WGA to focus and organize against industry consolidation. Sure enough, the WGA filed a lawsuit against the Paramount-WBD merger, and people are organizing around this issue now. I wish this energy had coalesced earlier (specifically to lobby Washington much earlier), but better late than never! WRONG: Actually, the chip shortage might be due to market manipulation. In my last “Long Reads for the Long Summer” article, I shared an article about how LLMs are causing memory chip prices to spike, which will make all electronics more expensive. Well, turns out, three RAM manufacturers control 90% of the market, and now a private lawsuit accuses them of price-fixing. So yeah. WRONG/UPDATE: The Odyssey will hold! Two weeks ago, I wrote, “As of this moment, we haven’t had a super-blockbuster, though The Odyssey, Spider-Man: Brand New Day and Avengers: Doomsday could all cross the $500 million mark. (At this point, The Odyssey would need a very strong hold to get there.)” Well, it’s safe to say it’s going to have that hold! It only dropped 30% in weekend two and IMAX screenings are sold out all month. Spider-Man: Brand New Day is also off to a great start. RIGHT: People are rushing to get shows out yearly. I’ve long been bullish on yearly, weekly-released shows, and Leslie Goldberg at The Ankler wrote about how many people in town are now listening. WRONG: Mark Carney reverses Canada’s stance on homegrown production. After writing about Canada installing domestic production quotas, Canada has backed off. WRONG: I don’t trust Spider-Man: Brand New Day’s online “views”. When I originally wrote about the latest Spider-Man film’s record-breaking trailer, I thought this was just YouTube views, but after watching this Corridor Crew video and doing more research, well, it’s all social views of the trailer globally. Really? That stat includes TikTok, Reels and YouTube Shorts views. Basically, I don’t trust it anymore. (This film will probably set record, but I trust the pre-sales data more.) RIGHT: Celebrity Production companies are still struggling. I’ve written about this for years, but the company that I didn’t track was Kevin Hart’s HartBeat, which was valued at $650 million but is struggling now and might just end soon, especially after Kevin Hart pulled his endorsement deals. And Bad Robot is moving to NYC. CORRECTION: SpongeBob is a “second run” title. In my 2025 recap article, I had _SpongeBob SquarePants_labelled as a “library” title, when it is still a “second run” show, with new episodes still coming out on Nickelodeon. CORRECTION: In my last “What I Got Right, What I Got Wrong” update, I offered a correction from Doug Creutz and misspelled TD Cowen. Thanks, Grammarly! 1 Though he could have increased prices to make up for the gap, he couldn’t have increased them that much. 2 There’s a theory, which I think that Daryl Morey created and Bill Simmons popularized, that, to be successful building your team, you only need a handful of bad GMs in the league to take advantage of. To be clear, Daryl Morey’s theory was also for signing bad contracts, that you could always get out of bad contracts. Basically, there’s always someone who will make a bad trade. It’s not the same exact thing, but similar enough to the Greater Fool Theory that I really like it.

Aug 4 • 11:55 AM EDT • Entertainment • entertainment.substack.com

Holstein reelected state GOP chairman; party disavows Pritt

The West Virginia Republican Executive Committee reelected Delegate Josh Holstein, R-Boone, as chairman of the state Republican Party during a meeting in Charleston, West Virginia on Aug. 1, 2026. Also during the meeting, the GOP diavowed former Delegate Elliott Pritt, R-Fayette, who has been arrested and faces charges related to enticement of a minor.

Aug 4 • 5:15 AM EDT • Politics • wvgazettemail.com

Who has leverage? Sports law expert weighs Blazers, Portland standoff

A public meeting intended to answer questions and establish common ground between Portland the the Blazers highlighted some distance between the two sides.

Aug 3 • 5:16 PM EDT • Sports • katu.com

If Not AOC, Then Who?

What do we do if Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez decides not to run for president in 2028? It makes sense that many leftists are currently focused on calling on her to take the plunge. But the absence of a Plan B, or even much discussion about one, is worrisome. The US Left can’t afford to sit out the 2028 Democratic primary. Doing so in 2024 was a disaster: our abstention self-marginalized anti-billionaire politics from the national conversation and thereby gave space for Harris to pivot to the “center” (i.e. the policy preferences of corporate donors, establishment hacks, and AIPAC). Abstaining again in 2028 would be especially counterproductive since democratic socialists now have so much wind in our sails after our big electoral wins in NYC and across the country. It’s time to deepen our momentum, organization, and profile — not to retreat to the margins during America’s single most important political battle. Even more urgently, keeping Trump’s heir out of the White House may depend on whether leftists and the party’s unprecedentedly disenchanted base can force the Democrats in 2028 to take meaningful steps towards a very angry electorate and away from the corporate-consultant blob that has helped get us into this mess. If AOC (or Abdul El-Sayed) decides to run, we should enthusiastically go all in — DSA, fighting unions, progressive organizations, anybody who wants to see a better country and world. But, as far as I can tell from the outside, there’s a real chance that she doesn’t run. And we can’t just wait and see where she lands before discussing alternatives, since AOC’s decision might not come for quite a while, giving us little time to scramble at the last minute for an alternative. So we should start working now on getting a Plan B into motion, and recruiting a good candidate for the role. Here’s one idea. A Worker Candidate — Healthcare Not Warfare 2028 Run a union worker Leftists don’t need to always run experienced, well-known socialist politicians for high-profile contests. Lula, the current president of Brazil, began his political career as a metalworker militant who ran for governor of São Paulo in 1982. Especially in an era of institutional distrust, it’s possible to lean hard into making a virtue out of a working-class comrade’s distance from traditional politics. Experience abroad shows this clearly. Rachel Kéké — an immigrant hotel housekeeper — ran as the candidate of the leftist La France Insoumise for the National Assembly in 2022, defeating a former minister in the Macron government. The Belgian Workers’ Party in 2024 won its first Flemish seat in the European Parliament by running Rudi Kennes, a three-decade veteran of the Opel Antwerp auto factory. And the South Korean left in 2024 elected auto factory militant Yoon Jong-oh to the National Assembly. If a tiny French Trotskyist organization could make such a big splash in 2002 and 2007 by running a well-spoken postal worker cadre for office — the LCR’s Olivier Besancenot received about 1.5 million first-round votes — it’s not far-fetched to expect that a much larger organization like DSA, together with a broader coalition of the willing, could run this playbook to much greater effect. This is especially the case now that almost everything DSA does immediately becomes a national news story. We don’t need someone famous. We just need a charismatic, well-vetted comrade who works in a relatable working-class occupation — e.g. a nurse, or a worker in auto or construction, or at Amazon. Ideally, they have a compelling personal story or have been part of a significant strike or organizing campaign, but even those criteria don’t necessarily have to be deal-breakers. The main lesson of the Graham Platner fiasco isn’t that we should never run outsiders for office (the momentum he generated proves the exact opposite), but that they need proper vetting and roots in democratic membership organizations like DSA or a union. In any case, there are plenty of ways to signal working-class authenticity without resorting to Platner’s or Fetterman’s performative macho white dude affect. Better to have someone of any gender or race who is actually working class, with firm socialist politics, who can speak from experience about the day-to-day realities of trying to make it in America. There are surely at least a dozen such worker leaders in our movement nationwide; we just need to sit down and convince one that their personal sacrifice for the greater good (i.e. running for president) will be worth it. If we don’t have a frontrunner with a clear path to victory like AOC (or El-Sayed, were he to win Michigan), it’s better to embrace someone whose decision to run in itself tells an important story about US politics: workers have been iced out of our political system and are now fighting hard to break back in. The novelty factor, in itself, would generate press. And it would help democratic socialists signal to the American public that our movement’s defining characteristic is that we represent workers vs. bosses, not that we’re “the furthest left” force in American politics — a framework that suggests we’re extremists and that helps our opponents isolate us from non-college-educated voters by highlighting extremely minoritarian (and misguided) stances included in DSA’s platform like prison abolition. We don’t get many opportunities to speak to tens of millions of Americans; we need to use these opportunities to broaden our appeal beyond those already in our orbit. Run to polarize the 2028 primary and general election around “Medicare for All” and “End All Aid to Israel” Why should democratic socialists use our scarce time and volunteer energy to run in a race we’re unlikely to win? Running in the 2028 primary will not only recruit us scores of members (imagine having a DSA member intervening in eleven nationally televised primary debates!), but — more importantly — it has the potential to be a decisive leap forward towards an America that finally starts meeting the needs of working people instead of HMO and AIPAC billionaire donors. Polarizing litmus tests are good, actually — as long as they’re fought for around popular demands in a thoughtful and strategic way. Democratic socialists have an opportunity and responsibility to make the 2028 primary about two of the most widely and deeply felt issues of our moment: domestically, America’s unaffordable, family-breaking private healthcare system; internationally, America’s bankrolling of the genocidal Israeli government. A candidacy relentlessly demanding Medicare for All and No Aid to Israel would pose a sharp question to the American public, the Democratic Party, and other 2028 contenders: Why can’t working-class Americans afford their healthcare bills at the same time that our government is spending at least $3.8 billion yearly to fund an Israeli regime eager to keep dragging us and the world into more forever wars? Our candidate can agitate around a clear message: I’m running to give voice to all those working-class Americans who are struggling to get by. No matter what state you live in, who you voted for in 2024, or your background, it’s just plain common sense that we should make healthcare more affordable instead of spending billions to enable the Israeli government’s crimes against humanity. Every American who agrees with me when I say ‘Medicare for All — Not a Dime for Israel’ should make their voice heard through our campaign. Racking up a high number of votes for this agenda is a crucial way to show the Democratic Party and the country as a whole that we can’t keep supporting a life-destroying status quo in our healthcare system and in the Middle East. If we want to defeat Trump’s handpicked crony this coming November, we need to speak to ordinary people’s frustrations with the status quo — we can’t keep running the same tired establishment playbook and expecting a different result. For those highly engaged voters (or skeptical media pundits) who raise concerns about wasting votes, the candidate can take the time to explain why this isn’t the case: It's true I'm a long shot. But Zohran showed anything can happen — and voting for me is a pragmatic decision, not a wasted vote. In a heavily divided primary with a large number of candidates and a very discredited establishment, my campaign and the democratic socialist movement I’m part of are positioned to be the balance of power if we can get a large enough number of voters to loudly demand Healthcare Not Warfare. Since there’s a high chance no candidate will get to 50% in the 2028 primaries, the Democrats could very well be heading towards a brokered convention, where a disciplined, principled current committed to breaking from corporate donors can play an outsized role in making sure whoever ends up with the nomination raises the banner of single-payer healthcare and cutting aid to Israel. How exactly could running this sort of primary campaign be translated into actual leverage? The candidate replies: I’m aiming to win the nomination, but if I don’t achieve that goal, my delegates and I will pledge our support in the primary only for a candidate who agrees in the general election to call for ending US aid to Israel and establishing Medicare for All at home. These are both winning planks for November against the Republicans, and the only reason I can see that other candidates haven’t yet raised these is that they’re still more scared of the donor class than they are of the people. That needs to change. If Democratic leaders want young people, workers, and those sick of the status quo to show up in big numbers this November, they need to meet us halfway. In this way, whether or not we win the nomination, democratic socialists could still play a decisive role in 2028. The approach outlined here is similar to what radical left parties periodically do in parliamentary democracies like Denmark or Sweden when they find themselves as a junior partner electorally: they dictate to center-left allies what their terms would be for enabling, from the outside, the formation of a new government. Running a Healthcare Not Warfare candidate will make it significantly more likely that the 2028 Democratic candidate stands with ordinary people instead of donors on these two pivotal planks — a shift that will, in turn, make it easier to achieve the existentially important task of defeating MAGA’s heir in November. Look at how much popular traction the Uncommitted movement got with a similar strategy in 2024 with so little on-the-ground organization — surely we can go much further with a working-class candidate, a much bigger DSA, and a Democratic Party base that has turned against Israel, billionaires, and the hacks in the party who prop them up. Objections and Responses There are quite a few objections to this proposal, many of which are very reasonable. Let me briefly address each here. Socialists shouldn’t waste their scarce time and resources on a candidate unlikely to win. This is a good rule in general, but there are important exceptions, and presidential elections are the main one. There’s no other political contest that gets anything like this level of attention and engagement in the US, so if you want to be a serious force in nationwide politics, you basically can’t afford not to have a candidate. Far from being an overall drain on our resources, running a dynamic 2028 campaign would likely result in a major net increase in members and capacity. In that spirit, the very pragmatic Milwaukee sewer socialists — who mostly ran to win at home in Wisconsin — supported Eugene Debs’s propagandistic presidential campaigns, which they correctly saw as a crucial means of recruiting to the Socialist Party. And now that the (post-1972) Democratic Party gives more weight to voters than party operatives in determining its presidential nomination, it’s become feasible to run as a socialist in primaries without risking a split in the vote against the Republicans in November. We should just support Ro Khanna, who also supports M4A and ending aid to Israel. I like Ro Khanna and would enthusiastically vote and canvass for him for president were he to get the nomination. But there’s a real chance that Khanna’s bid for office doesn’t catch on; he lacks the grassroots organizational apparatus of DSA, and, because he’s not really of the Left or labor (despite his current very good positions), he’s unlikely to generate the type of buy-in and enthusiasm that a DSA candidate would. Moreover, Khanna would be running as an individual, not as someone emerging from and building an organized movement — his campaign would not likely focus on building sustained power from below, nor would it likely polarize the 2028 primary around M4A and Israel aid. Also, and not inconsequentially, the poor electoral results for Tom Steyer and Saikat Chakrabarti this spring suggest that there’s perhaps not much of a popular appetite in the Democrats’ base to support multi-millionaire class traitors. Much better, then, to run a democratic socialist worker. If by Super Tuesday it’s clear that our campaign has captured the main left lane in the primary, Khanna should drop out and endorse us; conversely, if he’s managed to capture this lane, DSA could at that point transform its Healthcare Not Warfare campaign into an independent campaign to elect Ro Khanna focused on winning (and holding him accountable to) those two critical planks. An openness to consolidating an anti-corporate candidate by Super Tuesday is a necessary component of the strategy I’m proposing, because otherwise we risk splitting the primary votes (per DNC rules, you need at least 15% to get any delegates to convention). We should convince Shawn Fain or Sara Nelson to run for president instead. I agree it’d be great if either ran for president, but my impression is that there’s basically no chance that will happen in 2028, because both are firmly focused on their union leadership duties (and, in the case of Fain, beating back a federal witch-hunt). This plan could have DSA end up endorsing a non-socialist, non-DSAer for president. That’s against our principles. It’s a myth, and bad politics, that socialists can’t ever support candidates who aren’t members of their organization and/or who don’t call themselves socialists. Bernie, after all, was not a DSAer. And socialists abroad regularly make tactical decisions about if and when supporting a non-socialist candidate makes sense from the standpoint of promoting working-class interests, defending democracy, and building a socialist current in the process. If your “principles” prevent you and DSA from helping achieve the momentous stride forward of having a Democratic candidate in 2028 run on Medicare for All and ending aid to Israel, those “principles” are not very good. In fact, they actively undermine the causes they’re aiming to support. We shouldn’t confuse principles (working-class independence) with tactics (the best way to advance this in a given context). In my recent article in Catalyst on Milwaukee sewer socialism (I’ve uploaded the full text here), I have a section showing how similarly rigid rules about endorsements had to be eventually discarded in the old Socialist Party nationwide after WWI because they tended to lead socialists towards a sectarian abstention from broader anti-corporate electoral insurgencies beyond their party’s control. For what it’s worth, Lenin’s current under Tsarism frequently backed bourgeois candidates in the second round of elections and Lenin himself advocated that British Communists support Labour Party candidates; for his part, Kautsky in 1912 defended the German Social Democracy’s electoral pact with the Progressives in the runoffs. If our predecessors could be that tactically flexible in an era before the limits of their underlying strategic assumptions about intransigent class politics in capitalist democracies were made clear, then there’s no need to insist on being more tactically rigid today, after a century’s worth of accumulated experience. As long as you maintain your own political profile and organization while engaging in broader coalitional efforts, there’s zero inherent contradiction with the principle of political independence. More specifically: DSA and allied organizations should enthusiastically back Michigan’s Abdul El-Sayed if AOC declines to run and he throws his hat in the presidential ring. (I have no idea whether he’s even considering this path, but there’ll surely be chatter about it if he wins his Senate race this November.) Though he doesn’t call himself a socialist, El-Sayed is a principled Berniecrat, a consistent fighter for Palestine, and would have a clear path to victory. Using the “s” word is far less important than whether a campaign fights for the interests of working people at home and abroad — and whether actively participating in it can grow the organized working class and the Left. And the same holds true if a less anti-corporate candidate were, under pressure, to adopt our two Healthcare Not Warfare planks. Why focus only on M4A and ending US aid to Israel? There are so many other important issues to fight for! Obviously there are many pivotal issues beyond healthcare and Israel, and our candidate — and especially our organizations involved in the campaign — should be prepared to speak on all of these. But one of the crucial lessons of the Zohran campaign is that you have to relentlessly stay on message if you want to cut through the noise. CNN and Fox News will want to talk about DSA’s views on Venezuela and abolishing the police; we need to polarize the debate on the widely and deeply felt issues that are most favorable for growing the Left, isolating our opponents, and winning urgently needed changes. One recent poll found 63% of Americans support M4A, even after respondents were told it would raise taxes and eliminate most private insurance. Another found that 74% of Democrats opposed “providing additional economic and military support to Israel.” And focusing on two demands sets the campaign up to be able to leverage its mandate to make clear demands upon other candidates (which we can’t do if we run with a laundry list of demands). Talking about a Plan B is a distraction from the more urgent work of building a groundswell of calls on AOC to run. It’s good for DSAers, fightback unionists, and progressive organizations to try to convince AOC to run. This proposal is meant as an addendum to pushes to get AOC to run and to line DSA up for that eventuality, not as a substitute for those efforts. But I’m worried that, like in 2024, we might eventually find ourselves with no time to find a viable alternative unless we start now. DSA, with its abundant deliberative processes, moves slowly. The approach you’re suggesting seems risky. If a DSA candidate runs but doesn’t receive a lot of votes, it’ll undercut our current national momentum. This is a reasonable worry. All big initiatives always carry risks, and the path I’m advocating is certainly not free of these. That said, if a Healthcare Not Warfare campaign doesn’t catch on like we envisioned, it’s a pretty simple pivot in March 2028 to explain that in the future we really need our standard-bearers like AOC, or our growing bench of national electeds, to step up in presidential primaries. Moreover, it’s worth noting that the risk of my Plan B proposal is on the whole significantly less than the risk entailed by an AOC run. We should all back her if she runs, since she’d fire up the base, provide huge openings for organizing, have a real shot at defeating a Republican (especially given MAGA’s unpopularity), be a great standard-bearer for our issues, particularly M4A and ending aid to Israel, and be less willing than mainstream candidates to capitulate to any anti-democratic machinations from Trump and co. But it’s also true that AOC could lose, which would be a devastating setback to the country and the Left. Or she could win and find herself unable to pass much, if any, of her (and our) program, a demoralizing prospect. So if we’re willing to take these risks with AOC (and we should), it follows that we should be able to take lower-level risks if she doesn’t throw her hat in the ring. What’s Your Plan B? The US Left is facing its biggest opening for growth and influence since the 1930s. Initiatives that would have been impossible a few months ago are now potentially feasible. A President AOC is now easier to imagine, but if she ultimately assesses that the risks aren’t worth the potential reward in 2028, we can’t be left flat-footed. So even if you’re not convinced by the specifics of my Plan B, I hope you can at least agree that it’d be a disaster for us not to have one — and not to start getting a Plan B into motion. Hopefully other organizers and political currents will put forward their responses and alternative ideas ASAP. The stakes are too high to just wait and see. More As always, please share this article widely. This newsletter depends on all you lovely people to get the word out. Thank you! I uploaded the full text of my Catalyst article on Milwaukee sewer socialism here (it’s updated and 3x as long as the version published earlier on this substack). If you haven’t yet, please make sure to subscribe to Catalyst here; I read every issue front to back, highly recommend. 🌹🎵 Ivan Lins (arranged by Arthur Verocai) — “General da Banda” 🌹🎵

Aug 3 • 12:50 PM EDT • Politics • laborpolitics.com

CBB members shared ideas about building beef demand

Cattlemen’s Beef Board & industry leaders gather for 2026 Cattle Industry Summer Business Meeting.

Aug 3 • 8:20 AM EDT • Business • beefmagazine.com

Good Communication Is Good Business by Geoffrey Losee

The following column was contributed by J.D. Fisher. Mixed-use communities are increasingly common. Restaurants, breweries, retail stores, entertainment venues, and professional offices often operate within walking distance of established neighborhoods. That proximity creates tremendous opportunity, but it also means that a business's decisions may affect more than just its customers. Many business owners understandably focus on obtaining the permits necessary to open their doors. However, municipal approval is rarely the end of the conversation. As a business evolves, whether by adding outdoor seating, live entertainment, extended operating hours, or other new amenities, the applicable zoning ordinance may require additional approvals or impose operational standards designed to balance commercial activity with nearby residential uses. From a business perspective, the question should not simply be, "Can we do this?" It should also be, "Have we communicated with everyone who may be affected?" Recent local news coverage highlighted how differing interpretations of a municipal ordinance can quickly become the subject of public hearings, legal arguments, and significant uncertainty for a business. While every situation turns on its own facts, one common theme emerged: practical solutions are more difficult to achieve if communication breaks down. Businesses can often reduce that risk by engaging early with the relevant stakeholders. That begins with municipal staff. Planning departments are oftentimes willing to discuss how an ordinance applies before substantial investments are made. Seeking clarification in advance may identify permitting requirements or operational limitations that can be addressed proactively rather than after enforcement action. Communication should not stop with local government. Nearby property owners and neighborhood representatives frequently appreciate being informed about proposed changes before they occur. A brief meeting, an informational email, or an invitation to discuss concerns can foster goodwill and reveal potential issues while there is still flexibility to adjust operations. That’s why such meetings often required for substantial projects and may be a good idea even if not required. Perhaps most importantly, businesses should view compliance as an ongoing process rather than a one-time event. Operational changes that seem minor from a business standpoint may have regulatory implications under local development ordinances. Periodically reviewing proposed changes with experienced land-use counsel or planning professionals can help identify issues before they become disputes. No ordinance can eliminate every conflict between commercial activity and residential expectations. Nor should every disagreement become a legal controversy. But businesses that invest in transparent, proactive communication place themselves in the strongest position to protect both their operations and their relationships within the community. In today's regulatory environment, good communication is more than good public relations, it is good risk management. If your business is planning to expand its operations, introduce a new use, or simply wants to better understand how local land development regulations apply, the attorneys at Rountree Losee LLP are available to help. Our land use and local government practice works with businesses throughout southeastern North Carolina to navigate municipal approval processes, identify potential issues before they become disputes, and keep projects moving forward with confidence. Read more at rountreelosee.com.

Aug 3 • 8:00 AM EDT • Business • wilmingtonbiz.com

Countries put science and precaution above race to start deep seabed m

More member states of the International Seabed Authority announced support for a precautionary pause or moratorium during its annual meeting, citing a lack of science and concerns for the long-term ef

Aug 3 • 8:00 AM EDT • Science • wwf.panda.org

Colorado Politics Calendar Aug. 3-9

CoPo’s weekly political calendar will help you find political and public-policy events throughout Colorado. It includes candidate and issue campaign events, public policy meetings, court hearings, state and local party conventions, assemblies, debates, rallies, parades, speaking engagements, traveling dignitary appearances, water meetings, book signings, county commission hearings, city council meetings and more. As a subscriber, […]

Aug 1 • 10:00 AM EDT • Politics • coloradopolitics.com

CMS Administrator Oz Joins Governors and NGA to Advance Rural Health Transformation and Address Medicaid Program Integrity

OKLAHOMA CITY – The National Governors Association (NGA) today welcomed Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz for discussion to advance the Rural Health Transformation Program (RHTP) and address Medicaid program integrity in states across the country. Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee facilitated the wide-ranging conversation during NGA’s annual Summer Meeting in Oklahoma City. “With […]

Jul 31 • 6:02 PM EDT • Health • nga.org

At typically tranquil Camp David, Trump publicly lashes out at political enemies

The president criticized a GOP senator, Democratic governor and Iranian leaders at what he said was the first televised Cabinet meeting from the retreat.

Jul 31 • 5:17 PM EDT • Politics • washingtonpost.com

WATCH LIVE: Trump hosts Cabinet meeting at Camp David

President Donald Trump is taking Friday's Cabinet meeting on the road — to the Camp David presidential retreat in Maryland, a rustic backdrop for sessions that have come to be known for being overly long and consumed by administration officials' endless praise for their boss.

Jul 31 • 11:01 AM EDT • Politics • pbs.org

🚨 BREAKING: European nations agree to boycott World Cup

UEFA nations have reached an agreement to boycott FIFA competitions, notably including the World Cup, as a result of plans to sell stakes in the tournament to private investors.A virtual meeting betwe...

Jul 30 • 11:23 AM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com

Downtown Business Association combats homelessness in quarterly meeting

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — With vandalism, arson and homeless-related crimes as prevalent as ever, members of the Downtown Business Association are putting their heads together to find mutu…

Jul 30 • 11:18 AM EDT • Business • kget.com

Business advisory committee takes root in Orange Cove

Orange Cove residents, business owners come together for inaugural meeting of Downtown Business and Tourism Advisory Committee

Jul 30 • 10:00 AM EDT • Business • midvalleytimes.com

Elizabeth Hurley talks meeting Miley Cyrus amid dating Billy Ray Cyrus

Elizabeth Hurley and Billy Ray Cyrus are two peas in a country pod.

Jul 29 • 6:32 PM EDT • Entertainment • centraloregondaily.com

Fed policymakers leave rates unchanged amid elevated uncertainty

Fed policymakers left interest rates unchanged at their July meeting as stubborn inflation remains well above the central bank's 2% target.

Jul 29 • 2:01 PM EDT • Business • foxbusiness.com

Knox Community Hospital looks at joining Kettering Health

KCH said the decision followed months of evaluation, including more than 800 hours of onsite and virtual meetings.

Jul 29 • 7:50 AM EDT • Health • spectrumnews1.com

Costco midtown store nears business center switch amid concerns, may keep pharmacy

Councilman Crispin Rea said keeping the pharmacy would be “a big win” for the neighborhood’s most vulnerable residents.

Jul 28 • 6:40 PM EDT • Business • kansascity.com

Satellite meeting hosted by Texas A&M Health Science Center

Satellite meeting hosted by Texas A&M Health Science Center

Jul 28 • 4:34 PM EDT • Science • atlanticcouncil.org

This eating habit could help boost brain health, study finds

The study was a six month clinical trial and its findings were presented at NUTRITION 2026, the annual meeting of the American Society for Nutrition.

Jul 28 • 2:29 PM EDT • Health • usatoday.com

Elizabeth Hurley talks relationship with Billy Ray Cyrus and meeting Miley

Elizabeth Hurley and Billy Ray Cyrus are two peas in a country pod.

Jul 28 • 11:39 AM EDT • Entertainment • centraloregondaily.com

2026 MCAP: Howard tops state in science; sees slight gains in English, math

The Howard County Public School System was top in the state for science proficiency on the 2026 MCAP exams but saw only small gains in other subjects.

Jul 28 • 11:01 AM EDT • Science • baltimoresun.com

How Sutter Health aligns leaders on physician well-being

Monthly leadership meetings and in-person retreats help to turn well-being data into action, build trust across teams and strengthen peer support.

Jul 28 • 3:00 AM EDT • Health • ama-assn.org

Chandler Economic Development launches "Let's Talk Business" to give companies direct access to economic development leadership

Monthly one-on-one meetings offer businesses, developers and investors dedicated time with Chandler's Economic Development Director

Jul 27 • 12:30 PM EDT • Business • chandleraz.gov

Onondaga Co. meeting to discuss term-limits law

Lawmakers will weigh taking proposed legal action to get the law County Executive Ryan McMahon mistakenly approved on the November ballot.

Jul 27 • 8:17 AM EDT • Politics • spectrumlocalnews.com

Pleasanton council to discuss Arroyo Lago development, other business postponed due to wildfire

The Pleasanton City Council is set to hold its second regular meeting of the month this Monday after the city postponed the session last week due to a 1,007-acre wildfire that began spreading rapidly south of town hours before the meeting was supposed to start.

Jul 26 • 1:23 PM EDT • Business • pleasantonweekly.com

Colorado Politics Calendar July 27-Aug. 2

CoPo’s weekly political calendar will help you find political and public-policy events throughout Colorado. It includes candidate and issue campaign events, public policy meetings, court hearings, state and local party conventions, assemblies, debates, rallies, parades, speaking engagements, traveling dignitary appearances, water meetings, book signings, county commission hearings, city council meetings and more. As a subscriber, […]

Jul 26 • 7:00 AM EDT • Politics • coloradopolitics.com

Vance, Caine raised munitions stockpile concern, source says, as US pauses consecutive nights of strikes in Iran

Vice President JD Vance and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine both raised concerns about the US munitions stockpile to President Donald Trump as he weighed potentially escalating the war with Iran during a White House meeting on Friday, a US official told CNN.

Jul 25 • 9:36 PM EDT • Politics • cnn.com

Beyond Self-Care: Workplace Approaches to Mental Health

Across law, medicine, construction, aviation, and other fields, mental health efforts are shifting from self-care toward healthier systems.

Jul 25 • 8:00 AM EDT • Health • psychologytoday.com

Governance committee proposal advances after lengthy debate at North Shore Health

The North Shore Health Hospital board debated forming a governance committee during its July 23 meeting. After a half-hour of debate, the board voted to form a pilot committee to evaluate the appropriate nature of a governance committee made up of two board members and appropriate members of the public. The motion comes after a...

Jul 25 • 6:40 AM EDT • Health • wtip.org

Hospital, local officials support WVU Health System takeover of Independence Health

Danielle Yackovich had a simple message for state regulators who will have the final say over the proposed takeover of Independence Health System by West Virginia University Health System. “When we talk about an investment of this magnitude, we need to ask the simple question: What will it mean for

Jul 24 • 6:01 PM EDT • Health • triblive.com

Plan for Costco business center in midtown Kansas City heads to City Council

City staff and the City Plan Commission have recommended approval of the zoning changes to allow for a truck storage area.

Jul 24 • 5:29 PM EDT • Business • kansascity.com

Trump warns China and Russia not to ‘give or sell’ weapons to Iran

President Donald Trump says it would be “very bad” for Chinese President Xi Jinping or Russian President Vladimir Putin if Washington discovers they are supplying weapons to Tehran as the war between the United States and Iran escalates. “President Xi, at our recent meeting in Beijing, China, told me that he would not, under any […]

Jul 24 • 1:51 PM EDT • Politics • coloradopolitics.com

In greater Minnesota, the data center boom is reshaping local politics

The potential for tech warehouses to land in rural towns has triggered newly minted politicians, moratoriums and raucous meetings.

Jul 24 • 7:00 AM EDT • Politics • startribune.com

Anthropic updates Claude voice mode with more capable models

Claude's new voice model will let you reschedule your meeting or draft an email

Jul 23 • 3:00 PM EDT • Technology • techcrunch.com

FDA reviews peptide injections favored by RFK Jr. and wellness influencers

Federal health advisers are meeting to review a group of controversial chemicals called peptides

Jul 23 • 12:06 AM EDT • Health • washingtonpost.com

Horvath, Entertainment Union Coalition look for more ways to boost production in L.A. - Beverly Press & Park Labrea News

Los Angeles County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath, 3rd District, met with leaders of the Entertainment Union Coalition on...

Jul 22 • 9:46 PM EDT • Entertainment • beverlypress.com

Teen Plaintiff Suing Meta Over Mental Health Harms Drops His Claims Against Company Days Before Trial

By Diana Novak ⁠Jones July ⁠22 (Reuters) - A ⁠Florida teen whose lawsuit claimed Meta’s platforms were to blame ‌for his depression ‌and anxiety dropped ⁠his ⁠case against the company just days before the trial in Los Angeles was set to start, his attorneys said on Wednesday. The lawsuit, brought ...

Jul 22 • 2:32 PM EDT • Health • usnews.com

DIII Management Council approves amendment to guidelines on reinstating student-athletes who commit sports-betting violations

At its meeting this week, the Division III Management Council approved an amendment to the Division III Committee on Student-Athlete Reinstatement sports-betting guidelines. The council’s action would allow for penalty reductions for a student-athlete who commits a sports-betting violation, provided it is the student-athlete’s first violation, the violation does not involve integrity concerns and the student-athlete engages in appropriate clinical evaluation or support.

Jul 22 • 2:30 PM EDT • Sports • ncaa.org

IAM Texas State Council Charts Course for Organizing and Political Action

Nearly 100 participants, including delegates, guests, speakers, and IAM leaders from industries across the Lone Star State, gathered in Austin for the 2026 IAM Texas State Council Meeting to discuss the issues facing working families, strengthen the union’s legislative and organizing efforts, and hear from labor and political leaders committed to advancing workers’ rights. Texas

Jul 22 • 2:05 PM EDT • Politics • goiam.org

Business Beat: Monthly Chamber Ambassadors meeting scheduled for August 6

COLDWATER, MI (WTVB) - The Coldwater Area Chamber of Commerce will host its monthl;y Ambassadors Meeting on Th...

Jul 22 • 8:25 AM EDT • Business • wtvbam.com

‘Business as usual is a business of death’: UN adopts road safety pledge over US objection

The UN General Assembly closed its first ever High-level Meeting on road safety on Tuesday by adopting a sweeping new declaration aimed at halving road deaths by 2030 – over the sole objection of the United States.

Jul 21 • 4:10 PM EDT • Business • news.un.org

Freedom, trust and the future of science: Nobel laureates reflect on the ideas shaping tomorrow

Behind every scientific discovery are years, sometimes decades, of fundamental research, failed experiments, uncertain funding, international collaboration and the freedom to pursue questions without knowing where they might lead. The Nobel laureates recently gathered at the 75th Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting in Germany argued that scientific breakthroughs depend on far more than brilliant ideas alone. Those conversations unfolded against the backdrop of Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine, ongoing conflicts in the Middle East and growing geopolitical competition. The question running through the discussions was therefore broader than science itself: what conditions make discovery possible? ‘Europe is a space of freedom’

Jul 21 • 3:07 AM EDT • Science • euneighbourseast.eu

Gainesville group discusses local politics, upcoming primary at brewery meeting

‘Gainesville Is for People’ reviewed a recent candidate forum and talked issues affecting the city

Jul 21 • 1:51 AM EDT • Politics • wcjb.com

Gainesville group discusses local politics, upcoming primary at brewery meeting

‘Gainesville Is for People’ reviewed a recent candidate forum and talked issues affecting the city

Jul 20 • 10:09 PM EDT • Politics • wcjb.com

Wings star Bueckers out against Liberty but not in concussion protocol

The Dallas-New York meeting was rescheduled from Thursday night after the Liberty's charter flight had mechanical issues.

Jul 20 • 3:56 PM EDT • Sports • spectrumlocalnews.com

VHC Health’s plans for S. Carlin Springs facility face questions from local residents

Future neighbors of a planned behavioral-health and rehabilitation compound on S. Carlin Springs Road are pressing for more details about management and oversight. Representatives of VHC Health and Lifepoint Behavioral Health met with local residents during a July 16 meeting convened by the Glencarlyn Civic Association to discuss the proposed 146-bed facility. Under the plan moving

Jul 20 • 2:45 PM EDT • Health • arlnow.com

California seeks feedback on psychiatric hospital staffing regulations

The California Department of Public Health will hold a stakeholder meeting July 23 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. to gather feedback on emergency regulations establishing nurse-to-patient staffing standards for acute psychiatric hospitals. Here are three things to know: Read more about the questions for stakeholders here.

Jul 20 • 10:00 AM EDT • Health • beckersbehavioralhealth.com

City Council Business Meeting on Tuesday, July 21, 2026, at 9:00 a.m.

The Palm Coast City Council meets regularly to discuss and vote on official City business. These meetings are open to the public, and Palm Coast residents are strongly encouraged to attend. An increase in public engagement helps to build a stronger sense of community, increase valuable discussions, and decrease division.

Jul 20 • 8:00 AM EDT • Business • palmcoast.gov

Kansas Health Science University Granted Accreditation by the WASC Senior College and University Commission, Meeting Rigorous Quality Assurance Standards

Wichita, Kan., July 20, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Kansas Health Science University (KHSU) has been granted accreditation by the WASC Senior College and University Commission (WSCUC), a significant milestone in the school’s mission to produce forward-thinking, empathetic healthcare leaders. WSCUC is an institutional accreditor recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. The agency’s outcomes-focused accreditation supports institutions in building and sustaining innovative educational programs

Jul 20 • 7:32 AM EDT • Science • finance.yahoo.com

Northwestern Mutual annual meeting comes as economic anxiety continues

Some 11,000 people are in Milwaukee for the Northwestern Mutual annual meeting amid economic uncertainty.

Jul 20 • 6:01 AM EDT • Business • jsonline.com

Alliance influx ‘reflects growing relevance of science diplomacy’

EU Science Diplomacy Alliance adds 26 members and partners, aiming for “sustainable, inclusive community”

Jul 20 • 2:00 AM EDT • Science • researchprofessionalnews.com

Kenton County Mayors: Rick Wurth of One Quest Health talks about expanded vision and need to 'transform health'

By Patricia A. Scheyer NKyTribune reporter Rick Wurth is the chief executive officer for One Quest Health, formerly the Children’s Home of Northern Kentucky, and he visited the July monthly meeting of the Kenton County Mayors, held in Ludlow, to give an update on the new vision for the organization. He said the new identity...

Jul 20 • 12:42 AM EDT • Health • nkytribune.com

Boeing on track for 2028 Air Force One delivery, costs rise

Boeing said on Sunday it remains on track to deliver two new Air Force One ​jets in 2028, but meeting that target will ‌require additional spending on a program already years behind schedule and billions of dollars over budget.

Jul 19 • 12:28 PM EDT • Business • reuters.com

Andy Burnham will be bolder but stick to Labour manifesto, Lucy Powell says

Burnham will replace Sir Keir Starmer as prime minister on Monday, following a meeting with King Charles III.

Jul 19 • 6:29 AM EDT • Politics • bbc.com

Kansas City health and faith leaders team up to help minimize Medicaid coverage loss

New work requirements and twice-yearly eligibility checks are expected to cause millions of adults to lose Medicaid coverage. But community religious leaders and health advocates have been meeting every other week to plan and strategize about how to mitigate the damage.

Jul 19 • 5:00 AM EDT • Health • kcur.org

Kelly Clarkson celebrates ‘no more HR meetings’ after ending talk show

Here’s what Kelly Clarkson says she won’t miss after leaving ‘The Kelly Clarkson Show’ in the fall.

Jul 18 • 4:30 PM EDT • Entertainment • ew.com

ARKANSAS A-Z: Black men’s business league embraced economic advances

The Arkansas Negro Business Men's League was created by prominent Black business and professional leaders at a meeting in Little Rock on Dec. 31, 1902-Jan 1, 1903. The state organization grew out of the National Negro Business League, created in 1900 and headed by Booker T. Washington, principal of Alabama's Tuskegee Institute and one of the most prominent spokesmen for Black communities at the time.

Jul 18 • 9:00 AM EDT • Business • arkansasonline.com

The Zoom hack that says, 'Don't record me'

If every meeting, watercooler conversation, and date gets transcribed and summarized, who's actually reading any of it?

Jul 17 • 5:20 PM EDT • Technology • techcrunch.com

Fed rate-hike voices swell before July decision, rates still seen on hold

Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack on Friday added her voice to ​a small but growing chorus of policymakers arguing the Fed may need to raise short-term borrowing costs to deal ‌with persistently high inflation, setting up a charged debate at the central bank's July 28-29 meeting.

Jul 17 • 1:32 PM EDT • Business • reuters.com

Blanche’s Meeting With Epstein Survivors Did Not Go Well

Several survivors said they were let down by the encounter, but Blanche will still probably be confirmed as attorney general.

Jul 17 • 12:24 PM EDT • Politics • nymag.com

Full Committee Business Meeting - United States House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform

United States House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform

Jul 17 • 11:51 AM EDT • Business • oversight.house.gov

Margaritaville at Sea to host historic meeting, Zac Brown Band

Want to hang with the Zach Brown Band on your next cruise vacation? Here's your chance!

Jul 17 • 10:11 AM EDT • Entertainment • wsbtv.com

Valley Health System Presents Expansion Plan for The Valley Hospital to Meet Growing Community Demand for Care

On Thursday, July 16, executive leaders from Valley Health System attended the Paramus Planning Board meeting where they presented conceptual plans for expansion of The Valley Hospital in Paramus, New Jersey.

Jul 17 • 8:00 AM EDT • Health • valleyhealth.com

Epstein survivor: Meeting with Attorney General Nominee Todd Blanche was ‘compulsive…he was forced to meet with us today’

Jul 16 • 11:50 PM EDT • Politics • cnn.com

Michigan board did not discuss AD Warde Manuel's future at meeting

The University of Michigan Board of Regents did not discuss the future of athletic director Warde Manuel during a Thursday meeting.

Jul 16 • 4:22 PM EDT • Sports • espn.com

‘Enemies of civilization’: top Trump officials disparage leftism at event

Marco Rubio and Stephen Miller took aim at only leftwing activism at meeting of 66 nations against political violence

Jul 16 • 3:53 PM EDT • Politics • theguardian.com

Business owners ask city of Richmond to address drainage after flooding

Bethany and Jason Freeman, owners of Prosigns on Big Hill Avenue, said the flooding caused them to lose tens of thousands of dollars in inventory and left nearly $20,000 in damage to their building during a city commission meeting on Tuesday.

Jul 15 • 9:42 PM EDT • Business • wkyt.com

Chico City Council approves entertainment zones for downtown and Meriam Park

CHICO, Calif. - Chico City Council voted 6 to 0 to approve an ordinance creating entertainment zones in downtown Chico and Meriam Park.The ordinance, taking effect September 18, 2026, will allow customers to carry approved alcoholic beverages and walk around outside within those designated areas."I feel like the downtown could use all the help it could get right now," said Celeste Cramer, general manager of Downtown Chico Business Association. "In the other areas where they have been doing the entertainment zones and throughout California, it has increased their sales. They haven't seen an increase in violence, or tickets, or anything like that. It's a good thing to try out."Numerous other cities around California such as Redding, Sacramento and San Francisco have put their own entertainment zones into effect and have had success.Action News Now stopped by both designated locations and spoke with organizers and bar owners."I'm super excited, I think this is an opportunity for us," said Scott Baldwin, owner of Argus. "We can get a booth at the farmers market. You can order a cocktail from that booth and then we'll have it ready for you at the door as you walk through. Think of it as a picnic situation. You can grab some tacos, you can get a Kentucky Buck. You can sit down anywhere in the entertainment zone and enjoy Argus outside of Argus."Chico's Chamber of Commerce hosted community stakeholder meetings and community engagement sessions to tailor the ordinance to the city's needs as a university town and rural area.The ordinance will allow people 21 and older to walk around with open containers of alcohol within the entertainment zones as long as they have a wristband, stamp or another visible marker showing they're allowed to do so."To us it's more than an ordinance," said Jen Rothenwander, marketing manager at Meriam Park. "It's an opportunity to invest back into the community, and to continue to do what Chico does well – which is to create the spaces for people to stick around and gather, and shop and spend."The Meriam Park entertainment zone will be enclosed by Springfield Drive, Alcott Avenue, Notre Dame Boulevard and E. 20th Street.The Downtown Chico entertainment zone will span mostly from Highway 32 to Lost Park.Chico Chief of Police Billy Aldridge spoke with Redding Police and was informed they had zero problems with their entertainment zone.Chief Aldridge endorses the ordinance in Chico. freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: "actionnewsnow-com_blox_yup-rectangle-one", slotId: "actionnewsnow-com_blox_yup-rectangle-one", targeting: { "pos": "yup-rectangle-one" } });

Jul 15 • 7:37 PM EDT • Entertainment • actionnewsnow.com

Trump weighing options for expanding military operations in Iran

President Donald Trump has been receiving options for expanding the military operation in Iran, according to people familiar with the matter, including during a Situation Room meeting on Tuesday.

Jul 15 • 5:24 PM EDT • Politics • cnn.com

New York politicians defend thwarted meeting with Iran

The State Department quashed the engagement, with an official telling Spectrum News it was “unconscionable.”

Jul 14 • 8:59 PM EDT • Politics • ny1.com

Mayor, council address 50 Cent's Shreveport comments

Mayor Tom Arceneaux addressed Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson's social media post at Tuesday's Shreveport City Council meeting.

Jul 14 • 6:20 PM EDT • Business • shreveporttimes.com

‘We Love Iraq,’ Trump Tells New Prime Minister in Oval Office Meeting

The meeting comes as President Trump’s administration has been ratcheting up pressure on Baghdad to diminish Iran’s influence in Iraq.

Jul 14 • 2:53 PM EDT • Politics • nytimes.com

Grading the progress of all 32 five-star prospects from the 2024 college football recruiting class

A complete evaluation of every five‑star prospect from the Class of 2024 -- who's exceeding expectations, who's meeting them, and who faces a pivotal 2026 season

Jul 14 • 9:31 AM EDT • Sports • cbssports.com

Yazoo City board meeting turns contentious over city business

Several items were discussed during the meeting, including street renaming, permit issues, and the purchase of county vehicles. Some attendees directed blame at the previous administration during the proceedings.

Jul 14 • 8:11 AM EDT • Business • wlbt.com

Mahmood offers Farage security meeting after Ann Widdecombe’s death

Home secretary insists all MPs treated equally but that security of former MPs and non-Westminster politicians is a concern

Jul 13 • 2:08 PM EDT • Politics • theguardian.com

Zelenskyy seeks more European air defense support for Ukraine at Paris meeting

Zelenskyy is keen to accelerate plans for jointly developing with European countries anti-ballistic air defenses ahead of the winter

Jul 13 • 9:01 AM EDT • Politics • spectrumlocalnews.com

HHS presses ahead with effort to curb antidepressant use

In a private meeting, HHS officials met with mental health professionals to work on guidance for stopping SSRIs.

Jul 13 • 4:30 AM EDT • Health • statnews.com

Why Life Science Tech Pilots Fail After The Demo — And How To Avoid It

A working demo might look promising, but it doesnt tell you whether the tech can be shipped, integrated, validated, and accepted by regulator. Tech consultant Lukasz Lazewski explains how to look past the allure and evaluate its true functionality.

Jul 12 • 8:00 PM EDT • Science • clinicalleader.com

SDSU Dairy Quiz Bowl Team Places First at American Dairy Science Association Annual Conference

BROOKINGS, S.D. — The South Dakota State University Dairy Quiz Bowl Team claimed the top spot at the American Dairy Science Association's Annual Meeting in...

Jul 12 • 3:07 PM EDT • Science • morningagclips.com

At Family Science Night, Wonder Comes Before Answers.

BAR HARBOR—Family Science Night isn’t really about science. It’s about wonder. It’s about watching a five-year-old realize that the tiny creature under a microscope is a real living thing. It’s about a teenager discovering that the scientist explaining genetics or regeneration isn’t much older than they are. It’s about parents seeing curiosity spread across a child’s face the way excitement spreads across a crowd at a Fourth of July parade. For one evening, families realize that the laboratory isn’t some secretive place where knowledge is hidden behind white coats and closed doors. They learn that the lab is a place their neighbors work, their friends’ parents work, and it becomes a place where questions matter more than answers. It’s a place where wonder is the origin for knowledge. At the lab, children learn that it’s okay not to know. Adults remember that they once asked “Why?” about everything. Scientists are reminded why they fell in love with discovery in the first place. There are experiments, games, obstacle courses, and demonstrations, of course. But those are really just invitations—to touch, to explore, to laugh, to make mistakes, and to ask one more question. In a world that often rewards certainty, Family Science Night celebrates curiosity. And perhaps that’s its greatest gift. Long after the microscopes are packed away and the experiments are over, what families take home isn’t just a few new facts about biology. They take home the feeling that discovery belongs to everyone—that science isn’t something happening somewhere else by someone else. It’s simply what happens when people are given permission to wonder. A Family Science Night at the Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory is one of those rare community events where children and adults can experience science as something they do, not just something they read about. Hands on discovery allows hands-on learning and joy. Real scientists, some local, some scientist-interns (but still scientists) just in college make science real, approachable, and exciting. And there, complex ideas like forever chemical-filtration, DNA and so much more become not complex. Instead, they become fun. Summer fellows are challenged to explain cutting-edge biomedical research in ways a first-grader—and their grandparent—can understand. Past activities have explored gene expression, kidney function, axolotl regeneration, worms, microplastics, and phytoplankton through games and creative demonstrations. Though it’s called family night, you can also see adults going from station to station, exploring, learning together across ages. Family Science Night reflects the laboratory’s broader mission of breaking down barriers between researchers and the public, helping people understand how scientific discoveries relate to everyday life and the health of Maine’s environment. Family Science Night transforms a world-class research laboratory into a giant interactive classroom, where curiosity is encouraged, questions are celebrated, and families discover that science isn’t just something that happens in a lab—it’s an adventure anyone can join. About MDI Biological Laboratory For more than 125 years, MDI Bio Lab has been a center for training and research in comparative biology. In the last two decades its biomedical research has focused on aging, regeneration, and environmental toxins. The Laboratory houses 11 research groups staffed by an international team of world-class scientists and graduate students. It also leads a statewide network of colleges, universities and research institutions that collaborate to provide training, research experiences and financial support to help young Mainers play a bigger role in today’s biomedical revolution. Located on Maine’s rugged coast, the Laboratory’s 100+ acre campus houses research facilities, cottages and dorms that house visiting scientists and students. It is also home to MDI Bioscience, a subsidiary working to design innovative techniques to speed the drug discovery process. LINKS TO LEARN MORE NIH INBRE MDI BIOLOGICAL LABORATORY Photos: Carrie Jones and Shaun Farrar/Bar Harbor Story 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

Jul 12 • 8:18 AM EDT • Science • barharborstory.substack.com

Stewart Iron Works earns Erlanger Business Spotlight for generations of craftsmanship

For more than 160 years, Stewart Iron Works has left its mark across the country. Erlanger honored the company at a recent meeting.

Jul 12 • 6:00 AM EDT • Business • linknky.com