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Renewable Energy Super PAC Targets 7 Republicans With $15 Million War Chest

Most of the Republicans, such as Lauren Boebert of Colorado and Victoria Spartz of Indiana, are incumbents in districts that President Trump won comfortably in 2024.

Oct 1 • 9:36 AM EDT • Politics • nytimes.com

Verana Health Introduces Significant Data and AI Enhancements to Support Ophthalmologic Research and Treatment Optimization

/PRNewswire/ -- Verana Health®, a digital health company dedicated to revolutionizing patient care and clinical research through real-world data (RWD),...

Oct 1 • 9:15 AM EDT • Health • prnewswire.com

100 years ago, Schrödinger’s equation shed light on quantum physics – scientists use it today to fine-tune chemical reactions

A 100-year-old equation helps scientists build solar cells, develop biofuels and even study quantum computers.

Oct 1 • 9:04 AM EDT • Science • yahoo.com

Inside Gears of War: E-Day: How The Coalition and Epic Pushed Console Visuals To New Heights

Unreal Engine 5 MegaLights, Nanite skinning and much more at 60fps on console.

Oct 1 • 9:00 AM EDT • Technology • digitalfoundry.net

Harvest Small Business Finance, LLC Closes Its Seventh Securitization of SBA 7(a) Unguaranteed Portions - $93.1 Million of Offered Notes Rated by Morningstar DBRS

LAGUNA HILLS, Calif., October 01, 2026--Harvest Small Business Finance, LLC ("HSBF") (http://www.harvestsbf.com), one of the top non-bank originators of SBA 7(a) loans, closed its seventh securitization of the unguaranteed portions of owner-occupied primarily first-lien SBA 7(a) CRE loans. Performance Trust Capital Partners, LLC acted as sole structuring agent and initial purchaser, and East West Markets, LLC acted as co-manager for the $93.1 million Harvest SBA Loan Trust 2026-1 transaction ("H

Oct 1 • 9:00 AM EDT • Business • finance.yahoo.com

Gusto Simplifies HR and Compliance for Growing Small Businesses

/PRNewswire/ -- Gusto, the leading partner for small businesses, today announced general availability for Gusto Business Compliance, a solution that...

Oct 1 • 8:15 AM EDT • Business • prnewswire.com

Time lost to political haggling means lost momentum for research

While it’s not up to universities to set deadlines for EU institutions, “lost time” in the run-up to the launch of the next Horizon Europe would translate into “lost momentum” for universities, according to Dag Rune Olsen, president of the Young European Research Universities Network.“I think it's important to have [the EU budget] in place in order to be able to work on the research funding mechanisms, because we cannot afford to lose more momentum than we already have,” Olsen told Science|Business in an interview in September, just after EU research lobbies gathered in Brussels to push for a €200 billion budget for the next Horizon Europe programme.A funding gap would mean ramping down research activities, said Olsen. “You can do that quite swiftly, that’s not a problem, but ramping up again is much more difficult.”The last-minute push for an ambitious budget, and for a timely adoption of the research programme, comes at a time when the richest EU states have teamed up to call for significant cuts to European Commission’s proposal for the next multiannual budget, which allocates €175 billion for Horizon Europe. At the same gathering of research associations in September, the European Parliament’s budget rapporteur warned that the EU will need to raise its own taxes, otherwise political pressure and tighter national budgets will translate into a limited EU budget with a less ambitious envelope for research. The research sector hopes EU institutions will reach timely agreement on the budget and on Horizon Europe, but progress has been slow. Legislative progress has been delayed, partly because the European Parliament’s budget committee is still haggling over how to apply new EU-wide spending rules, known as the Performance Framework Regulation, and partly because EU governments have yet to agree on the size of the next EU budget. EU research Commissioner Ekaterina Zaharieva told Science|Business in July that she was hoping for an agreement on Horizon Europe by the end of 2026, but the timelines have been pushed back significantly, with the Parliament now aiming to announce its official position on Horizon Europe only in November. Avoid the funding gapAccording to Olsen, delayed EU funds could prompt universities and researchers to move on and do something else, potentially jeopardising years of work building consortia and collaborations. “If funding is interrupted, the networks fall apart in just a few months,” he said. Olsen also noted that an interruption would affect junior researchers first. PhD students and postdocs are on shorter term contracts and universities risk losing them if funding for EU projects is interrupted. Related articlesEU own resources ‘essential’ for future research budget, says leading MEPParliament haggle over EU-wide spending rules delays vote on Horizon EuropeZaharieva hopes for a Horizon Europe deal in 2026Universities usually have more employees, permanent and short-term staff, than they can cover with national funding, and external funding is essential to keep them all on the payroll. In case of an EU funding gap, “there will be a huge number of people that might end up without any contracts,” he said. Apart from the money issue, Olsen said EU projects forces universities to collaborate more which, in turn, increases the quality of teaching and research. In case of a funding dip, people will look around for opportunities elsewhere, in the private sector or abroad. “And then then you have to recruit again, and it's a tedious business,” said Olsen. “A gap is not a good idea, it's actually a waste of money.”According to Olsen, the difficult political context should encourage universities to make a stronger case for the EU increasing research funding, as universities can deliver on competitiveness, technological sovereignty, security and defence. “The reason why we ask for substantial investments in research is exactly what the Commission, what Europe, the Parliament have been discussing,” he said. “You really need to invest in order to thrive in the longer run.”Focus on the member statesBut EU and national R&D expenditure hasn't kept up with the times. EU governments have failed to reach a spending target set almost 25 years ago. Only six EU countries spend 3% or more of their GDP on R&D. Asked whether universities should put more effort into convincing the governments to ramp up their own spending, but also to support a strong budget for Horizon Europe in the ongoing budget negotiations, Olsen said “the answer is yes.”“We are very actively encouraging our members to talk to their ministries in order to enlighten them about the joint effort,” he said. The network is made up of 25 universities from across Europe, all established in the past 60 years or so.Who will call the shots?Budget and timing issues aside, the Parliament’s research committee has been locked in behind-the-scenes negotiations over the future structure of Horizon Europe, with MEPs disagreeing on the degree to which its collaborative research should be governed by councils of experts.The European Parliament’s lead rapporteur on Horizon Europe wants councils of independent experts to decide on the funding agenda, but the Commission, the Council, and parts of the Parliament disagree. For Olsen, it is normal for politicians to point at the big challenges, but when they start detailing how those challenges should be solved, the endeavour “fails utterly.” He does not necessarily think that “bureaucrats who don’t know the field” would be “much better at it” either. “There has to be a combination” of broad political directions and bottom-up implementation, Olsen said.

Oct 1 • 8:00 AM EDT • Science • sciencebusiness.net

Good science requires much more than evidence

Empiricists believe that scientific theories are true only if they make correct empirical predictions: if we can't verify these predictions, then there is no reason to expect that they tell us anything about reality. However, Professor of Philosophy at King's College David Kyle Johnson argues that this is mistaken. In response to Bas van Fraassen, who has written on this subject for the IAI, he argues that we have many reasons for believing a theory to be true, such as it being parsimonious and having large scope — qualities which have been used throughout the history of science as criteria for judging theories. In 2024, Princeton philosopher Bas van Fraassen wrote a short article for IAI News entitled “Science Does not Describe Reality: The Limits and Benefits of Explanation.” At the time, I was working on two projects (a science book and a Great Course) that, when completed, would (among other things) defend science’s ability to describe reality. I wanted to write a response to van Fraassen, but the projects demanded too much of my attention. But now that those projects are complete, I am in a position to explain the objections to van Fraassen’s thesis. Summarizing van Fraassen’s argumentIn a nutshell, his argument is this: What scientists do is make predictions based on theories and then invite others to test to see whether those predictions are borne out. “If theory T is right, result R should happen in experimental condition C.” Many think that running an experiment that shows that R happens in condition C is proof that theory T is true (and should be believed). But, van Fraassen argues, that R happened in condition C is only a reason to think that R happens in condition C. That’s the only observable, or empirical, result we can actually see, so that is all that we are really justified in believing. (The underlying theory that made that prediction still may or may not be true.) That is why he calls those who accept his position “empiricists.”Before I explain what is wrong with this position, let me explain what it gets right. What van Fraassen Gets RightFirst, a theory correctly predicting the results of an experiment is not, strictly speaking, “proof” that the theory is correct. The basic line of reasoning is this:If the theory T is true, result R should happen. Result R did happen. Thus, theory T is true.In other words:“If T then R. R. Thus, T.”This is a deductively invalid, fallacious mode of reasoning, called “affirming the consequent.” Those premises do not guarantee that the conclusion follows. “If I am in Pennsylvania, then I am in the USA. I am in the USA. Thus, I am in Pennsylvania.” Clearly that argument doesn’t guarantee its conclusion; neither does the above argument.However, science is not a deductive method of reasoning; it is an inductive one. And inductive arguments merely try to raise the probability of their conclusion, not “prove” them for certain. Thus, the fact that an experimental result doesn’t prove a theory is true is irrelevant; it’s not supposed to. That is not what scientific reasoning is about.___If the hypothesis that something exists clearly provides the best explanation for what we can observe, then the belief that it exists is what is rational.___Second, it’s also true that a single experimental result doesn’t provide enough justification to believe that a theory is true. Scientists do not come to a consensus about whether a theory is true by looking at a single experiment; they look at all the evidence to determine where the preponderance of evidence points. The mere fact that I am in the USA raises the probability that I am in Pennsylvania, but not nearly enough to conclude that I am in Pennsylvania. However, if I am also regularly encountering people wearing Eagles and Phillies hats and seeing advertisements for Founding Father tours, I probably am. In the same way, a theory successfully predicting the outcome of one experiment is not enough to conclude that it is true; but if a theory makes a wide variety of predictions that are all vindicated by multiple experiments, performed by many different groups and people, all actively trying to prove the theory false (which is what good scientific experiments are designed to do)—that is a good reason to conclude that the theory is true. In other words, if you repeatedly try to prove something false but can’t, that is a very good indication that it isn’t. The problem of underdeterminationIn reply, those whom van Fraassen calls “empiricists” often point to the “problem of underdetermination.” For any given theory that makes successful predictions about what happens in experimental conditions, there are countless other possible theories that make exactly the same predictions—and since they do, the experimental evidence in question is just as much reason to accept any of those theories as it is to accept our original one. Thus, the argument goes, we have no way of knowing whether our original theory is true, or one of the other “predictively equivalent” theories is true. SUGGESTED VIEWING How Occam's Razor changed the world With Johnjoe McFadden As an example of underdetermination, philosophers often offer this example. The evidence of fossils seems to provide reason to conclude that the universe is quite old; ancient fossils are what the “ancient universe” hypothesis predicts. But it’s also possible that God created an ancient-looking universe 200 years ago, complete with a “fake” fossil record for us to find, to make it look old. The existence of fossils is what that theory predicts too. So, the argument goes, the fossil record can’t be used as evidence that the universe is ancient; the fossil record supports the “200-year-old ancient-looking universe” theory just as much. The problem of underdetermination points out that, for any theory with supporting evidence, we could invent another completely different theory that predicts exactly the same evidence, and thus undermine that evidence’s ability to support the original theory.But this “argument from underdetermination” betrays a fundamental misunderstanding of what scientific reasoning is and how it works. To explain, let me use another rather strange (but very real and commonly discussed) philosophical thought experiment called “The Grue Problem.” The “Grue” ProblemSuppose I want to know what color emeralds are, so I observe a few, see that they all appear green, and form the theory that “all emeralds are green.” I thus predict that the next 100 emeralds I find will also appear to be green. And let’s say that happens, and so I thus conclude that my theory that all emeralds are green is true. Now, one might rightly point out that I don’t know for sure that all emeralds are green—I have not seen them all. Maybe some I haven’t found yet are blue. Fair enough. After all, we used to think that all swans were white, until we found some black ones. But let’s say that I go on a quest and collect every emerald in the universe—and, for the sake of the argument, let’s say I can do this, and can even know that I have every one of them. So, I collect them all, look at them all, and verify that they all appear green. Can’t I now rightly conclude that all emeralds are green?Inspired by the problem of underdetermination, a friend might argue that I cannot.Sure, they all appear green now—but there could be another kind of color called “grue.” Something is grue if it is green up to a certain point in time, but then spontaneously turns blue. And there could be an infinite number of “shades” of grue. Something that is one shade of grue will turn blue at noon today, but something that is another shade of grue will turn blue at noon tomorrow, etc. So yes, the emeralds appear green now; and since they haven’t turned blue yet, they are not some “past” shade of grue. But they might be some “future” shade of grue (e.g., they may turn blue at noon tomorrow). And since all future shades of grue are consistent with “being green up to this point in time,” the evidence you have is completely consistent with the notion that all emeralds are some future shade of grue, rather than green. Indeed, that they would appear green until now is what the “some future shade of grue” hypothesis predicts. So, we have just as much reason to conclude that all emeralds are some shade of grue as we do to conclude that they are green.You’re probably thinking “It’s not equally possible that the emeralds are grue; they are obviously green.” You are right! But explaining why your instinctive reaction to my friend’s argument is correct will help inform why van Fraassen’s “empiricist” is wrong and science actually does describe reality.The main mistake my friend makes is in thinking that the “empirical evidence” (of all the emeralds appearing green) is (or even should be) all I am using to draw the conclusion that all emeralds are green. It is not. I am also considering known facts about how colors typically work; things don’t usually change color, and when they do, they don’t do so suddenly, without cause, and all at once. So, even though the simple evidence of the emeralds all appearing green up to this point is consistent with them being some future shade of grue—that is even what the grue hypothesis “predicts”—it is still exceedingly unlikely that they are. The hypothesis that they are green is much more likely. Understanding science refutes the problem of underdetermination The misunderstanding about science that the “empiricist” pointing to “the problem of underdetermination” makes is similar to the one that my friend made. Science is not just about considering experimental evidence; in fact, it’s not even just about considering empirical evidence. As Ernan McMullin and many other philosophers of science have pointed out, the inference that makes science is “inference to the best explanation” (sometimes called “abduction” or “retroduction” by McMullin). While, depending on the circumstances, scientists use many different kinds of reasoning, science as a whole is, simply put, the process of considering multiple competing explanations and comparing them to certain criteria—explanatory criteria (the kinds of things explanations must be and do, by definition, to be a good explanation)—to see which explanation is the best.And these criteria do not deal only with empirical results. Yes, successful predictions raise the probability of a hypothesis, but it’s also the case that the more new assumptions a theory makes, the less likely it is to be true; every new assumption presents an opportunity for the theory to be false. (The fewer assumptions a theory makes, the simpler or “more parsimonious” it is said to be.) Likewise, the more existing evidence a theory contradicts, the less likely it is, because in order for a theory to be true, every piece of evidence it contradicts has to be somehow faulty. (The fewer established theories a new theory contradicts, the more “conservative” it is said to be.) And, obviously, the more something explains, the better explanation it is. (This is called having “scope.”) If a theory raises unanswerable questions, it’s not expanding our understanding, and thus is not wide-scoping. Scientists consider all these things when deciding which theory to accept, because the theory that adheres best to these explanatory criteria is most likely to be true.___the mere fact that a theory’s predictive success is why it “sticks around” or “becomes accepted” in the scientific community is not a reason to be skeptical about its truth.___The reason the grue hypothesis is no good is because it invents an entirely new kind of color—not just a new shade, but an entirely different category of color (a different way colors work)—and thus is not parsimonious. It raises unanswerable questions about how and why emeralds would just spontaneously change from green to blue (and thus does not have wide scope). And it contradicts what is already well established about how color works (and thus is unconservative).The theories that the problem of underdetermination points to do the same thing. Yes, the theory that God created an “ancient-looking universe” (complete with an ancient-looking fossil record) two hundred years ago is also consistent with the empirical evidence (of a fossil record) that presently exists; but that theory is monumentally unparsimonious (it requires many extra assumptions about infinite entities) and not wide-scoping (it raises unanswerable questions about why God would do such a thing). So, I can rationally conclude that it is false.Indeed, the history of science includes many examples of theories that were rejected because they lacked parsimony and/or scope, even before their falsity (and the truth of their competing theory) was confirmed by observation. As I point out in my book, geocentrism was rejected by the scientific community because it lacked parsimony, almost 200 years before the observation of parallax confirmed that the Earth moves around the sun. And the continuum theory of matter was completely rejected by 1860, because it couldn’t explain chemical reactions or organize matter into a periodic table, even though the experiments that eventually confirmed atomic theory weren’t even proposed until the 1870s. Solving the best of a bad lot problemIn response, the “empiricists” are likely to object, this time pointing to the “best of a bad lot” problem. “We have no reason to conclude that an explanation that has been shown to be better than others is true because we have no guarantee that the true theory was among those that we were considering.” If you have a “lot” (a collection) of poor explanations, even the best one is not true.The responses to this problem, however, are numerous. Peter Lipton argues that the set of hypotheses that scientists consider are not just randomly selected and thus unlikely to contain a theory that is true; they use existing knowledge to home in on what is most likely to be true. A doctor trying to explain abdominal pain is not going to bother wondering whether demons are causing it; they are going to stick with things like appendicitis and kidney stones, because they are most likely. Further, despite its name, inference to the best explanation is not just the process of comparing hypotheses and accepting the best one; we also want one that is a good explanation in its own right. If it’s not, we are going to keep looking until we find an explanation that is. And while that process does not guarantee that we will come across the exact truth, it’s very likely that the theory that emerges as the best will be at least approximately true, and thus we will be justified in believing it. And lastly, as I point out in my book, although many theories not based in scientific evidence (like geocentrism and continuum theory) have been completely overturned, science almost always progresses by the refinement of scientifically established theories—not their replacement. (Although our sun is not the center of the universe, heliocentrism was our first step in understanding the Earth’s true place in the universe.) So even if a theory we accept today may not be completely right, accepting it is a step on the journey toward the complete truth. The example of atomic theoryNow, it’s worth pointing out that most empiricists are not skeptical of all scientific theories; they are only skeptical of the ones that hypothesize the existence of “unobservables.” It’s not like they think that round Earth, heliocentrism, and germ theory are just useful (but untrue) “instruments” for making predictions about how to most efficiently navigate the seas, predict planetary motion, and treat diseases. They admit that the Earth actually is round, that the planets revolve around the sun, and that germs exist and cause disease. These facts and entities can be observed; the theories that suggest they exist are true. It’s only when theories start hypothesizing the existence of unobservables—like electrons, or quantum fields—that can’t be observed directly, that we should start doubting the theories’ truth. And to be fair to van Fraassen, in this published work, he doesn’t really say that we should doubt the truth of such theories. Only that scientific reasoning does not rationally force us to accept them as true. Skepticism, or agnosticism, he argues, is warranted. SUGGESTED READING Science is based in metaphor By Andrew Reynolds But the history of atomic theory throws a monkey wrench into that argument. Atoms used to be unobservable; again, scientists first accepted the theory that they exist because it had such grandiose explanatory power. But then atoms were seen with electron microscopes. They thus moved into the category of the observable. But this didn’t substantially change anything about what scientists were justified in believing; it certainly didn’t change any “atomic skeptics’” minds. It just confirmed what everyone already knew! If the hypothesis that something exists clearly provides the best explanation for what we can observe, then the belief that it exists is what is rational. The fact that the thing itself is not technically observable does not make doubting its existence rational.What’s more, the atoms were seen with an electron microscope. But electrons are themselves unobservable. How can an electron microscope reveal an atom if electrons are not real? This leads us to what is famously known as Hilary Putnam’s “miracle argument.” It’s (not) a miraclePhilosopher Hilary Putnam’s miracle argument is somewhat famous. Basically, he argued that a scientific theory being able to repeatedly make successful predictions—even about unobservables—without being at least approximately true would require a “miracle.” In other words, it would be such an improbable occurrence that it could not rationally be believed—the better explanation for why scientific theories about unobservables make the right predictions is because the unobservable entities and structures they hypothesize exist.Van Fraassen has addressed this argument. Indeed, in his original article, where he references Alison Gopnik’s point about orgasms not being “necessary for procreation” even though the desire for orgasm “drives the creation of progeny,” he is pointing to his own argument about how organisms are not naturally selected by evolution to get true beliefs; to the extent that belief-forming processes are selected for, the ones that are selected are the ones that are useful for survival—not the ones that produce true beliefs. In the same way, van Fraassen argues, scientific theories are accepted, not because they are true, but because they aren’t falsified; they make successful predictions; that’s what makes them “stick around.” So, the fact that they make successful predictions (and thus became accepted) is not a reason to think they are true.This argument is similar to C. S. Lewis’s “argument from reason,” which he used to argue against evolution: “The truth of evolution undercuts our ability to know that it is true.” Lewis’ argument famously failed; Elizabeth Anscombe, by Lewis’s own admission, demolished Lewis in a debate on the topic, and I have explained elsewhere why modified versions of the argument fail as well. In short, it’s because it fails to recognize that a belief-forming process can make an organism more likely to survive because it reliably produces true beliefs. It is therefore not the case that beliefs generated by naturally selected belief-forming processes are automatically false or unjustified.In the same way, the reason a theory “sticks around” could be because it’s not falsified, because it “makes correct predictions.” But the reason it makes correct predictions is most likely because it is true. (In pointing this out, I am echoing the arguments of Musgrave, Lipton, Psillos, and Kitcher, who refuted van Fraassen’s argument and analogy long before his 2024 article.) It would be a huge coincidence that it could do so without being true. And that is the point of Putnam’s miracle argument. Thus, contrary to van Fraassen’s suggestion, the mere fact that a theory’s predictive success is why it “sticks around” or “becomes accepted” in the scientific community is not a reason to be skeptical about its truth. ConclusionLet me close by saying something about the fact that empiricists don’t doubt the truth of all scientific theories, just the ones that hypothesize unobservables. In today’s society, this theory is dangerous to espouse publicly. The nuance between being skeptical about all of science, and just the highly technical theories about unobservables, is guaranteed to be lost to the average reader. And there is so much unjustified skepticism and doubt about the findings of science and experts that a headline like “Science Does Not Describe Reality” could easily fuel the anti-science movement, worsen climate change denial and cause the next pandemic.This is why I believe it was important to still respond to van Fraassen’s article, a full two years after he wrote it. Not only, as I have argued, does it represent a philosophically inaccurate view of how scientific reasoning works and what scientific reasoning can do, but it is a dangerous view to boot. It should thus be rejected.

Oct 1 • 8:00 AM EDT • Science • iai.tv

PS5 emulation is suddenly making big strides on PC

Games like Astro Bot and Demon’s Souls are running ably without a console.

Oct 1 • 7:30 AM EDT • Technology • arstechnica.com

Boots owner ‘closing in on sale to Canada’s Weston family for $9bn’

Deal would mark return of Canadian family to UK after it sold Selfridges department store for £4bn in 2022

Oct 1 • 5:03 AM EDT • Business • theguardian.com

September Monthly Review: Health MCP Guy?

For all the time I spend talking about APIs and data exchange, this newsletter has had embarrassingly little interoperability of its own. It’s old-school SaaS, baby - UI or bust. Not all of that is my fault! Substack, for all its popularity, is (as mentioned before) really frustrating as my system of record. The primary user it optimizes towards is the reader, whose attention feeds the app, the Notes feed, and the recommendation network that Substack is actually selling. Health API Guy is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Subscribe They’re falling into the same trap that Medium once sprinted into, albeit at a much more glacial speed. Younger generations may not remember (or never knew) it, but Medium once lured publications like The Ringer and Signal v. Noise onto its platform, only to lose them as it rebuilt itself around a paywall and an algorithmic feed. Substack’s original pitch circa 2020 was the antidote (you own your list), but every new feed feature chips away at it. I get it: writers are generic supply in the eyes of the Substack product team. Generic supply follows demand, so the consistent pressure on the PMs is to generate demand, which leads to every product cycle going toward discovery (Notes, recommendations, the app, live video). The end result lackluster author tools (laggy and broken analytics are truly crippling) all despite the premium price point. The archive is where it crosses from authorial gripes to actual reader impact, though. Across Substack and LinkedIn, I’ve published 1,218 posts and nearly 900,000 words since 2018. Substack’s native search can see only the 464 posts that live on Substack, and even there it’s woefully inadequate at surfacing relevant content (even for the guy who wrote it)! Readers have the same problem, writ large. Ask the Archive Fixing search (for both my readers and my own use) turned out to be extremely non-trivial, unfortunately: There’s no public API for readers to access content RSS exists for new content notification, but it only carries the 20 most recent posts and cuts paid ones off at the preview The only Substack MCP is an admin tool for analytics The export exists for authors, but it’s painfully awkward and slow. So I built something to work around that: the Health API Guy MCP. It’s a private MCP server holding the full text of everything I’ve written across Substack and LinkedIn. Add it to Claude or ChatGPT as a connector and you can ask things like: It pairs keyword search (for acronyms and case names, of which we have many) with semantic search. Every post is also labeled by topic, form, and court case, so you can pull a lawsuit’s (or multiple cases’) entire docket across Substack and LinkedIn in one query: Hail, Healthapiguyhydra This is also a bit of me eating my own cooking. I’ve spent the year arguing that headless healthcare is arriving and that developers want primitives over abstractions. Last week in Hail, Benihydra, I watched Salesforce plug its platform into Claude and bet that the records underneath outlive whatever interface sits on top: Salesforce must believe that the Hydra’s immortal head is the records, permissions, and business logic (in that they will survive whatever happens to the interface). It felt a bit hypocritical to keep my own archive behind a Substack search bar. The archive is the body. Substack is one head, and now whatever tool you might use is another. Will the EHRs follow my lead? Probably not imminently, but one can hope! Why Founding Members Only The MCP is available to Founding Member subscribers. A few reasons: It costs money and time to run. Hosting, the database, Clerk usage and AI compute for search and labeling are significant operational costs (that increase with usage). Substack gives me no way to automate access. There’s no API to check whether someone is a paid subscriber, so every user is manual operations for now. It’s a beta. We’ll need to improve things and parts will break. I’d rather they break for a small group of dedicated readers who will tell me about it. The Founding tier deserved a real benefit. Until now it was mostly a generous tip. Now it comes with something. If you’re already a Founding Member, reply to this email with the address you’d like provisioned. If you’re not and want in, upgrade here. Larger teams (such as companies) can get access too: group subscriptions at the Founding tier come with the group discount. The admin for the subscription can reply with the list of addresses to provision. Get 20% off a group subscription Pricing Founding membership is now a flat $200 a year, replacing the old suggested $150 that readers could adjust. Existing Founding Members will have access grandfathered in at their previous rate. Month in Review Articles Published Make Networks Dumb Again (Sep 11): AI is making old analog networks cheaper to use and flooding them with machine traffic in the process. A plea for agent-native rails with the intelligence at the endpoints, and for Washington to drag them to ubiquity. Interoperability, Unbuttoned (Sep 29): Interoperability is a series of workflows in a trenchcoat, and this post finally takes the trenchcoat off. A color-coded map shows which provider workflows went digital, which are fragmented, and which still run on fax. Video Content Antitrust’s System of Record Problem (Sep 3): The FTC’s investigation into Epic prompted a ninety-minute webinar, now posted with chapters and a smoothed transcript. We get into why market definition, missing B2B share data, and the SSNIP test leave antitrust poorly suited to systems of record, plus why information blocking may be doing more than any pending lawsuit. The Information Exchange: Cerner Milking Edition (Sep 18): This was so fucking fun. Ryan Tucker, Ryan Brickner, Brad Thorson, and I try an Around the Horn format, complete with points, penalties, and a mute button. We debate whether Oracle Health is dead, who would actually buy Cerner (IBM enters the chat), p(Doom), and why the front desk still hands you a clipboard. Regulatory Ask Not What Your Network Can Do (Sep 23): CDC’s RFI on public health data intermediaries lists use cases already served, unevenly, by eCR, lab reporting, IZ Gateway, and syndromic surveillance. The real opportunity sits in one question about AI: a network that can handle the next emergency without another interface project. Court cases Particle v. Epic: The Naughty Schoolteacher (Sep 4): After a summer-long vigil, the answer on Epic’s early summary judgment bid is two paragraphs and a remedial assignment. Particle advances to the next grade, and market definition gets another year of discovery. The Epic Discovery Files (Sep 8): Texas’s motions to compel arrive with a 251-page appendix of requests, objections, and meet-and-confer letters with Cravath. Inside: Epic using generative AI for document review, denied interoperability requests in scope, and Noerr-Pennington raised against lobbying discovery. Epic v. Health Gorilla: “Working as Designed” (Sep 9): Epic wants nothing to do with the data breach MDL, and explaining why puts fresh discovery on the public docket. The spiciest allegation: Health Gorilla told GuardDog to scrub its law firm business from its website instead of cutting off access. Veeva v. Epic: Legal Bypass Surgery (Sep 15): Veeva asks the Wisconsin Supreme Court to skip the Court of Appeals, while law professors and three policy groups line up as amici. Meanwhile, Epic’s lawyers apologize for another round of citation errors, including a quote that never existed. Texas v. Epic: Behind the Black Bars (Sep 17): The court portal served up Epic’s unredacted filings, revealing a $5 million document review budget and the AI workflow behind it. Also inside: the 200-plus company names Texas wants searched, and one very expensive Zoom invitation. OpenEvidence v. Doximity: Consequences Will Follow (Sep 25): OpenEvidence tells the court it will not comply with a discovery order, and its own lawyers at Quinn Emanuel say they won’t defend the choice. Add years of Slack reported unrecoverable, and Rule 37 sanctions come into view. Health Tech Keeps Choosing Violence (Sep 28): Doximity moves to end OpenEvidence’s case, Epic asks Texas to show its work, and a sleepy Audacious Inquiry patent fight sprouts antitrust and information blocking counterclaims. The main event is a long-sealed Cognizant v. Infosys ruling that hints where system of record antitrust claims can survive. EHRs One Verb for Oracle Health (Sep 14): Oracle’s earnings call quantifies every data center to the decimal point, while Oracle Health gets a single verb: “accelerate.” Panning the few healthcare mentions turns up an agentic care management system, a research-to-care ledger play, and the question of whether healthcare gets Larry’s patience. Epic’s Forretress Under Siege (Sep 30): Judy Faulkner tells a panel Epic paused hundreds of projects to harden its software and calls it a “shame,” while a spokesperson insists the roadmap hasn’t changed. Project Glasswing, a Pokémon-branded QAN sprint, and a trove of Jodel grievances reconcile the two Epics and preview the Jevons paradox coming for all software. Industry Analysis Scanning for a Network (Sep 1): Scan.com raises $220M to build the imaging network labs never got, speedrunning Zocdoc’s consumer-to-B2B pivot. Its wedge to network density may be the most American one available: personal injury litigation. The Front Desk Wants the Damn Whole Building (Sep 16): Hello Patient buys Converse Health, pushing its AI front desk into referrals, chart work, and prior auth. The copilot categories keep blurring, and your distribution partner is still your final boss. Cross-industry Comparisons A Different Patchwork Quilt (Sep 10): Healthcare loves to envy open banking, but the US version has no mandate, a toll booth at Chase, and data quality problems of its own. The grass isn’t greener; it’s another American patchwork quilt, and perhaps a worse one. Hail, Benihydra (Sep 21): Salesforce brings its platform into Claude, Slack, and its own agent, inviting the interfaces that might replace it. Cut off one head and more grow back, so long as the records underneath stay put. Living on A Trade Secret Prayer (Sep 22): Six credit unions are suing Fiserv, the Epic of core banking, by claiming their own member records as trade secrets. Banking has no Cures Act, so its lawyers reach for legal alchemy that healthcare has already tried. Other News None this month External Media Nabla Accelerate NYC: I kicked off fall conference season at Nabla’s Accelerate event in New York, where Delphine Groll opened by asking the room to picture the company it wants to become and the one it doesn’t. I liked her framework of bureaucracy, fear, and ego as the blockers. I also love vendor conferences/events in general - different vibe than industry biggies. Healthcare 101 with Nikhil Krishnan: I briefly guest lectured Out-Of-Pocket’s Healthcare 101 class. Appreciated Nikhil’s takeaways cover whether AI doctors can query HIEs, why healthcare’s data-liberation rules beat most industries’, and the hi-res graphic is in the comments. HCN: Epic Probed by the FTC: I joined the HCN guys to talk through the FTC’s investigation into Epic. Cedric’s new hairdo was an unexpected plot twist. The episode also covers MFN drug pricing, healthcare M&A and Eli Lilly’s acquisition streak. Fall Conferences: At eHealth Exchange’s Annual Meeting in Austin on Oct 27, I’ll moderate a panel on the tensions between AI, HIEs, and timely patient access with Jean Ross (Primary Record), Therasa Bell (Kno2), Byron Crowe (Doctronic), and Michael Marchant (Freenome). Here’s the rest of my schedule if you want to meet up: CommonWell (Redwood Shores, CA): Oct 13-14 Will be participating in a fun Jeopardy event Open@Epic (Madison, WI): Oct 20-23 Will be enjoying Verona, Willy Street, and other local adventures eHealth Exchange and Sequoia Project (Austin, TX): Oct 27-29 Yeehaw HLTH (Vegas): Nov 15-18 Groundhog Day, Venetian Edition RSNA (Chicago): Nov 30-Dec 2 See me at “Governing AI in Breast Imaging: What Health Systems Are Actually Doing” Digital Health Counsel 2026 AI Summit (Seattle): December 2-3 Will likely be speaking to a bunch of lawyers about information blocking Posts I Liked ChatGPT’s Epic integration: game changer or nothing burger?: Joshua Liu, MD offers five thoughts on OpenAI’s Epic launch, starting from the point that it rides the same open APIs available to anyone. He argues read-only access leaves ordering to Art and the ambient startups, and asks why HCA is piloting it alongside Commure. He’s sorta a must-follow at this point - consistently excellent, thought-provoking takes. Epic, Lilly, and the Discovery pass: Seth Chaney reads Epic’s first major Discovery deal (with Eli Lilly), as well as its revised developer terms on commercial displays, as the pipe finally opening between EHRs and pharma. Life sciences and health continue to collide. Scott Rossignol on EHR payer platforms and ePA fees: Scott argues the top ambulatory EHR vendors are turning the prior auth mandate into a per-member-per-year toll on payers, for an API whose operating cost has nothing to do with covered lives. His fix is two lines of regulatory text: put the CRD/DTR/PAS certification criteria in the Base EHR definition, and bring payer-facing ePA connectivity under § 170.404’s cost-based fee rules. It’s a good solution. Health API Guy is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Subscribe

Oct 1 • 4:36 AM EDT • Health • healthapiguy.substack.com

Casio's new ultra-limited MRG-D5000 fuses titanium and solid sapphire, but costs more than 10 Grand Seikos

Casio has officially launched the MRG-D5000, its first sapphire MR-G, at 11 million yen including tax, which is about $69,520 — that's equivalent to 10.3 Grand Seiko Snowflakes. Only 20 will be made worldwide, sold by lottery in Japan from December, and the bezel is cut entirely from blue sapphire.

Oct 1 • 12:46 AM EDT • Technology • notebookcheck.net

Buzz and business impact: Where AI is delivering value

Artificial intelligence has become a popular tool for a significant number of senior living and care providers, with many leveraging this technology to create value for residents, patients and staff members alike. But sometimes AI can be used like a hammer in search of a nail, offering oversimplified solutions for complex challenges, experts warn.

Oct 1 • 12:06 AM EDT • Business • mcknightshomecare.com

National Forum To Convene on Cutting Edge Science that Drives Solutions In Harmony with Nature - Beyond Pesticides Daily News Blog

The 43rd National Forum Series, Advancing Science on Pesticides, Taking Action in Harmony with Nature, and Sustaining Life —scheduled to begin on October 21, 2026, 1:00-3:30pm (Eastern time, US)—will focus on cutting edge science that both (1) defines the limitations of health and environmental protection standards governing allowed toxic pesticide use and (2) informs the urgent need to advance alternatives not reliant on hazardous inputs. The Forum is free to all participants. ➡️ Register HERE.

Oct 1 • 12:01 AM EDT • Science • beyondpesticides.org

Penguins absolutely beat down Flyers

For the Penguins players, filling the net and more than doubling the shots of their arch rivals, who ended their Cinderella season last May, was the satisfying.

Sep 30 • 10:19 PM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com

Laufer recognizes UVA Health advocacy group with resolution

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (CBS19 NEWS) -- Virginia Del. Amy Laufer recognized UVA Health's Nursing Advocacy Initiative with a bipartisan resolution that praises the initiative's three years of work training nurse ambassadors

Sep 30 • 6:15 PM EDT • Health • cbs19news.com

Employers increasingly tie digital health payments to outcomes, PHTI survey finds

Performance-based contracting is becoming the norm for digital health solutions, with the majority of employers and health plans tying vendor payments to clinical and financial outcomes, according | The report drew insights from 321 digital health professionals responsible for purchasing across health plans, employers and health systems.

Sep 30 • 5:00 PM EDT • Health • fiercehealthcare.com

More Than a Game: How Baseball Became a Classroom

Since 2012, Resolution Copper and the Arizona Diamondbacks have worked together to create opportunities for Arizona youth, educators and communities. What started with Science of Baseball has grown into teacher workshops, hands-on STEM experiences, youth baseball clinics, Tribal youth programming and community recreation.

Sep 30 • 4:47 PM EDT • Science • resolutioncopper.com

GOP senator blocks resolution that criticized Trump’s taxpayer-funded ads

A GOP senator blocked a resolution on Tuesday that criticized the Trump administration’s recent taxpayer-funded ads promoting President Donald Trump.

Sep 30 • 4:07 PM EDT • Politics • cnn.com

Sandhills Community College Small Business Center expands to Moore and Hoke Counties

Small Business Center Director, Laura Kinsman. Photo provided by: SCCSandhills Community College (SCC) is launching a redesigned Small Business Center model that expands no-cost entrepreneurial support across Moore and Hoke Counties. Rooted in the College’s commitment to strengthening small businesses and entrepreneurship as drivers of economic growth, the enhanced model is led by recently appointed Small Business Center Director, Laura Kinsman. The model also includes two new Senior Business Advisors who will provide trusted expertise, stronger community connections, and individualized guidance to entrepreneurs and business owners throughout the region.Kinsman brings a unique perspective to the director’s role as both a local business owner, operating in downtown Southern Pines, and a former Moore County educator. “Her combination of education, business ownership, leadership, and community involvement make her a great fit for the Small Business Center and the work we are continuing to build across Moore and Hoke counties,” said Taylor L. McCaskill, senior director of Workforce Development & Corporate Partnerships in a press release.Kinsman is an active member of the Southern Pines Business Association and has been connected to the Sandhills Small Business Center since the beginning of her entrepreneurial journey. She looks forward to building on that experience by strengthening the Center’s partnerships and expanding its connections throughout the community.She will lead the Center's efforts to support entrepreneurs and business owners throughout Moore and Hoke County and be the connector to the North Carolina Community College System Small Business Center Network operations. The Center offers no-cost, confidential one-on-one counseling, practical workshops, and connections to the resources and partners that help local businesses start, grow, and create jobs.A key part of this new approach, only offered at SCC, is a network of Senior Business Advisors, experienced professionals who will provide individualized guidance in areas such as business planning, finance, marketing, operations, growth strategy, and problem-solving. These advisors will serve as trusted partners to entrepreneurs and business owners, helping them turn ideas into action, overcome barriers, strengthen existing businesses, and pursue new opportunities. This one-on-one counseling is available at no cost, ensuring that high-quality business support is accessible to entrepreneurs at every stage.Senior Business Advisor for Hoke County, Kenna Parks. Photo provided by: SCCKenna Parks has been named the senior business advisor for Hoke County. She is a business professional, entrepreneur, and educator who brings a unique combination of academic training and real-world business experience. She earned her Master of Business Administration (MBA) in 2017 and has built her career around entrepreneurship, marketing, business development, and helping others turn ideas into sustainable opportunities.Senior Business Advisor for Moore County, Katrin Henderson. Photo provided by: SCCAs a military spouse, she has successfully launched and operated businesses across five states, giving her firsthand experience in adapting to diverse markets, building new customer bases and understanding the importance of global reach in today’s business environment. Over the last decade, her areas of focus include business planning, marketing strategy, branding, customer development, financial preparedness, operational planning and connecting entrepreneurs with educational programs and community resources.Parks brings an especially valuable perspective to business advising because she is an entrepreneur herself. She is the owner of Glamo Society Bridal & Formal Wear in Raeford, N.C., giving her firsthand experience with the realities of launching, operating, marketing and growing a small business. She understands that entrepreneurship extends far beyond developing a great idea; it requires strategy, financial awareness, adaptability, strong customer relationships, and consistent execution.Katrin Henderson will serve as the senior business advisor for Moore County. Thriving in hospitality and retail, Henderson has enjoyed positions in Food & Beverage Management and Retail Management in various fine dining and retail establishments in the area, before opening her own children's shop in 2015, in the Village of Pinehurst. She is a native of Moore County.Quickly immersing herself in this new world of small business ownership, Henderson joined various boards and committees, including President Elect of Pinehurst Business Partners and Event Chair for the Holly Arts & Crafts Festival. She also partnered with local organizations such as Moore County Economic Development and Moore County Chamber of Commerce and Sandhills Community College Small Business Center in events and educational opportunities. In 2026, Henderson sold her shop and now offers full-time support to both new and seasoned entrepreneurs through freelance consulting mentorship and the SCC Small Business Center program.The Small Business Center team is passionate about making business resources more accessible, and ensuring entrepreneurs know they do not have to navigate business ownership alone. Through their work with SCC, they are committed to building meaningful relationships with local businesses, community organizations, and industry partners while helping entrepreneurs move from idea to strategy, strategy to action, and action to sustainable growth.“Sandhills Community College believes deeply in the power of small business and entrepreneurship because strong local businesses create jobs, spark innovation, generate investment, and strengthen the communities we serve,” said McCaskill in press release. “Through this new Small Business Center model, Sandhills is building a stronger ecosystem where entrepreneurs can connect, grow, and thrive, while helping drive long-term economic vitality throughout our region.”To learn more about the Center's services or to schedule a consultation, please contact Kinsman directly at kinsmanl@sandhills.edu or 910-695-3938.

Sep 30 • 3:46 PM EDT • Business • bizfayetteville.com

Exploring the solar system through Cornell's image library

This year marks the forty-sixth anniversary of the Spacecraft Planetary Image Facility's technical research and outreach activities.

Sep 30 • 3:24 PM EDT • Science • news.cornell.edu

Why Lightning Never Strikes Straight: The Surprising Science Behind Each Bolt - Futura-Sciences

The Great Lightning Paradox If you think science has most things figured out, think again. As physicist John Lowke of the University of South Australia observes, we can predict lunar and solar eclipses down to the fractional second, yet large mysteries remain around something as everyday as lightning. Lowke’s research—published...

Sep 30 • 3:00 PM EDT • Science • futura-sciences.com

Chris Koza album release concert Oct. 24

Lanesboro Arts is thrilled to celebrate the release of Chris Koza’s latest album, “Millsmoke on the Skyline,” with a concert at the St. Mane Theatre at 7 p.m. on October 24. Chris Koza is a composer and performer based in Denver and Minneapolis. In his writing, Koza both honors and builds on the vast genre of Americana music. For every song that sounds like it could be strummed from a boxcar clacking slowly across a grassy midwestern plain, there’s a tune sailing from a city rooftop, echoing across a valley of streets and traffic, or a melody twisting and shimmering like a dim frequency deep into the starry night.Both as a solo artist and with his band Rogue Valley, Koza has supported and shared the stage with artists such as Brandi Carlile, Gordon Lightfoot, Ingrid Michaelson, The Jayhawks, Neko Case, Kathleen Edwards, Dan Wilson, and many more. His music regularly appears on ABC’s “General Hospital,” “60 Minutes,” and “Good Morning America.” Koza’s song, “Be Wild,” was also featured in a state of Minnesota tourism campaign.#placement_932485_0_i{width:100%;max-width:550px;margin:0 auto;}var rnd = window.rnd || Math.floor(Math.random()*10e6);var pid932485 = window.pid932485 || rnd;var plc932485 = window.plc932485 || 0;var abkw = window.abkw || '';var absrc = 'https://ads.empowerlocal.co/adserve/;ID=181918;size=0x0;setID=932485;type=js;sw='+screen.width+';sh='+screen.height+';spr='+window.devicePixelRatio+';kw='+abkw+';pid='+pid932485+';place='+(plc932485++)+';rnd='+rnd+';click=CLICK_MACRO_PLACEHOLDER';var _absrc = absrc.split("type=js"); absrc = _absrc[0] + 'type=js;referrer=' + encodeURIComponent(document.location.href) + _absrc[1];document.write('');Koza’s latest offering, “Millsmoke on the Skyline,” grants the newfound outsider perspective of the rich life and golden fleeting days throughout the rural Midwest. Weaving melody and lyrics into vignettes and narratives set in places where love is powerful, dreams are vast, and life is beautiful.The St. Mane Theatre box office will open at 6 p.m. on the day of the concert. Tickets will be sold in person at the door or can be purchased online at lanesboroarts.org. Seating at the St. Mane theatre is first come, first served. Tickets are on sale now for $25 for general admission or $22 for Lanesboro Arts members.The 2026 performing arts season at Lanesboro Arts is made possible by our season sponsor, Poet Refinery, as well as our concert level sponsors, High Court Pub, Krage Insurance Agency & Preble Farmers Mutual, Stone Mill Clothing & Gifts, E2 Boutique/Amish Experience, and The Cottage House Inn, and community sponsors, VIS Plumbing, Granny’s Liquor, Kingsley Mercantile, Batstone CPA, Clara’s Eatery, IGA, Niagara Cave, and Huntington Electric. This event is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a Minnesota State Arts Board grant, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund. #placement_932489_0_i{width:100%;max-width:550px;margin:0 auto;}var rnd = window.rnd || Math.floor(Math.random()*10e6);var pid932489 = window.pid932489 || rnd;var plc932489 = window.plc932489 || 0;var abkw = window.abkw || '';var absrc = 'https://ads.empowerlocal.co/adserve/;ID=181918;size=0x0;setID=932489;type=js;sw='+screen.width+';sh='+screen.height+';spr='+window.devicePixelRatio+';kw='+abkw+';pid='+pid932489+';place='+(plc932489++)+';rnd='+rnd+';click=CLICK_MACRO_PLACEHOLDER';var _absrc = absrc.split("type=js"); absrc = _absrc[0] + 'type=js;referrer=' + encodeURIComponent(document.location.href) + _absrc[1];document.write('');

Sep 30 • 1:18 PM EDT • Entertainment • winonapost.com

Analyst Argues Gears of War: E-Day Shouldn't Have Been Cancelled on PS5 After 'Soft' Steam Pre-Orders

"Gears isn't necessarily a console-seller anymore"

Sep 30 • 12:45 PM EDT • Technology • pushsquare.com

You can now play the original Halo in your browser, 128-player multiplayer included

This browser Halo "release" shows how quickly recovered game code can become a working project, even when the original was built for a fixed console platform.

Sep 30 • 12:44 PM EDT • Technology • techspot.com

Chelsea Make Estevao Willian Transfer Decision Amid Barcelona Interest

Barcelona are reportedly monitoring Estevao's situation at Chelsea, amid uncertainty over the winger's role under Alonso.

Sep 30 • 12:11 PM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com

PS5 jailbreaks just got a lot more useful

New exploit works on all but the most recently updated consoles.

Sep 30 • 11:12 AM EDT • Technology • arstechnica.com

'Absolutely Massive' God of War Laufey Pre-Orders as PS5 Exclusive Starts Strong

That's the Faye to do it

Sep 30 • 11:00 AM EDT • Technology • pushsquare.com

Slashing sugar intake before antibiotics may save your microbiome

Antibiotics can reduce the diversity of microbes in your gut microbiome and lead to health problems, but a study in people with cancer has identified a potential solution

Sep 30 • 11:00 AM EDT • Health • newscientist.com

Solo Noi. A Double-winning season

From the Scudetto to the Coppa Italia, the incredible story of the 2025/26 season comes to life in a special film. Solo Noi. A Double-winning season is an Inter Media House production offering an excl...

Sep 30 • 11:00 AM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com

A new PS5 jailbreak works on almost every firmware version, and it already runs the latest games

Code hackers focused on the PlayStation 5 have just released another massive contribution to the homebrew scene for Sony's console. The "Relapse" exploit can be used to...

Sep 30 • 10:53 AM EDT • Technology • techspot.com

Health Break: Non-profit provider brings back free series for Lowcountry caregivers

MiraSol Health is hosting a free caregiver series from September through January.

Sep 30 • 10:43 AM EDT • Health • wtoc.com

De La Cruz Office Helps Edinburg Agriculture Business Resolve H-2A Visa Delay

The office of U.S. Rep. Monica De La Cruz helped an Edinburg agriculture business resolve delayed H-2A visas after the company sought congressional casework assistance, according to De La Cruz’s office and the business owners.

Sep 30 • 9:12 AM EDT • Business • texasborderbusiness.com

Retired early and sold our house; traveling the world in our 50s

My husband and I sold our house and belongings and retired earlier than planned. We've been traveling the world ever since, and have no regrets.

Sep 30 • 9:07 AM EDT • Technology • businessinsider.com

Archaeologists Opened a Tomb Sealed for 600 Years—and Found Gold, Bones, and a Blood-Red Skull

Inside Chan Chan, experts found an elite mausoleum left behind by the Inca’s greatest rivals.

Sep 30 • 9:00 AM EDT • Science • popularmechanics.com

'We will get through this together'

Former Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has posted a message on social media following the news of his former club being found guilty of financial breaches. Guardiola led City to 17 major trophies, including six Premier League titles and a Champions League victory, during his 10-year reign at the club. Among reaction elsewhere, ex-City defender and academy graduate Micah Richards said he felt "absolutely devastated" after reading the Premier League's "damning" guilty verdict on the club's financial charges.

Sep 30 • 8:51 AM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com

Archaeologists Found 11 Silver Coins Buried 2,000 Years Ago—and an Unsolved Riddle

The 11 quinarii are the largest group ever found, but where they were minted remains a mystery.

Sep 30 • 8:30 AM EDT • Science • popularmechanics.com

ROSES-25: D.9 HWO-ICA: Correction Regarding Collaborators

The ROSES-25 program element D. 9 Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO) Instrument Concept Assessments (HWO-ICA) solicits proposals to support maturation of the HWO mission concept.

Sep 30 • 8:22 AM EDT • Science • science.nasa.gov

The Mental Health Association Data Breach Settlement Agreed

The Mental Health Association, a Chicopee, Massachusetts-based human services agency that provides substance use recovery and support services for The Mental Health Association, a Massachusetts-based human services agency, has agreed to a settlement to resolve class action litigation over a November 2024 cyberattack and data breach that affected 12,633 individuals.

Sep 30 • 7:49 AM EDT • Health • hipaajournal.com

Can death be reversed? New science is testing where life really ends

Death sounds absolute. Once the heart stops, blood stops circulating and oxygen no longer reaches the brain, most people assume there is a clear point beyond which nothing can be recovered. Modern res...

Sep 30 • 7:21 AM EDT • Science • yahoo.com

Virginia Democrats warn more healthcare strains loom after November election

Christina Rivera kept her health insurance this year because she needed major back surgery. But maintaining coverage meant absorbing a monthly premium that rose from $235 in 2025 to $1,336 in 2026 — with a higher deductible. “That’s just not reasonable for anybody who is relying on the ACA for healthcare,” said Riviera, a Charlottesville-area resident and founder of the nonprofit Called to Justice. “I don’t have that sitting around. It’s not in the cushions of the couch.” Small nonprofits often depend on the Affordable Care Act marketplace because reasonably priced group coverage is out of reach, Rivera said. After enhanced federal premium tax credits expired last December, her insurance bill became another financial burden alongside groceries, gasoline and utilities.

Sep 30 • 5:28 AM EDT • Health • virginiamercury.com

When “DEI” research is cut, what happens to community health?

“I’m just going to run to the grocery store!” How many times have we said this without thinking about it? For most of us, it's usually an easy walk or a short drive to get the cheese we forgot. In reality, though, 13% of the U.S. population (about 39 million people) live in “food deserts,” which means living more than a mile from a grocery store in urban areas and more than 10 miles in rural areas. This was the case for people in Pittsburgh’s Hill District, where a quick run to buy food wasn’t an option. In the 1930s, federal maps marked the Hill as "hazardous" for lending, a practice known as redlining that steered investment away from Black neighborhoods. Decades of disinvestment followed, and residents went about 30 years without a nearby grocery store. This made it hard to keep healthy eating habits and contributed to chronic disease. When a grocery store finally opened in the area in 2013, researchers saw the opportunity and launched the PHRESH study, which initially compared the health of participants from the Hill district to those in the Homewood district. Over time, the study expanded to other factors such as brain health and Alzheimer's risk. Residents like Roderick Blair overcame initial hesitation to share their health data, trusting it would benefit their neighborhood. Then, in August 2026, the NIH abruptly canceled the study’s grant, citing that it was “subjective” and fell outside their scientific scope—an effect of the administration’s interpretation of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI). Research like PHRESH can help determine what changes in a neighborhood actually improve health, so cutting it has left that question unanswered. Other canceled studies have examined health issues like maternal health, preterm birth rates, or sickle cell disease. Courts have reversed some of these grant cancellations, but not all of them. If we really want America to be healthier, research into why some communities get sicker than others is absolutely critical. The law that created the federal minority health research institute passed with bipartisan support in 2000. But these days, as evidenced by grant cancellations, the political shift in attitudes toward DEI means we often lose access to the health information we need to help all communities thrive. DEI vs. health equity vs. equality and the overlap (or lack thereof) The letters “DEI” evoke very different reactions depending on who you are in the U.S. DEI programs can address gender, disability, age, and other factors, but the fiercest debate centers on race. For some people, hearing DEI brings to mind policies that may have cost them a job or a college seat because they are white. Others see DEI as a matter of justice: a way to expand representation and opportunity for groups that have been historically marginalized. Both perspectives are rooted in lived experience, and both center on the same question: whether hiring and admissions practices are fair. Hiring and admission practices, though related, are not the same as health equity. Health equity is “the attainment of the highest level of health for all people.” It’s the recognition that some groups of people consistently experience worse health outcomes than others. For instance, black mothers die from pregnancy-related complications at three times the rate of white mothers, and rural Americans are more likely to die from issues such as heart disease and cancer. Equity is also often conflated with “equality,” which leads to misunderstanding of how to actually best support communities. Equality ignores the fact that we aren’t all starting life with the same resources or circumstances, whereas equity is about helping people get what they specifically need based on their situation so they have the chance to achieve the same outcome as anyone else. For example, if every household in Pittsburgh got a $30 grocery gift card, that would be equal. But during the decades the Hill District went without a grocery store, that card wouldn’t have helped much. Equity means making sure everyone can actually access a store in the first place. DEI policies can overlap with health equity in many ways. For example, they may help expand access to quality education and stable, well-paying jobs, which in turn can provide health insurance, safer housing, and improved finances—all of which can reduce health disparities. But to make that happen, we first need data to identify disparities in communities and to develop solutions that effectively address them. What we lose when the research stops Community data is important to health equity because: You can’t fix what you don’t see: Data show which communities are most affected by health factors such as infection, heart disease, and cancer. If we don’t know what is happening and where, then we can’t develop interventions to help. Poor health costs everyone: Chronic disease is expensive—both to the individual person and to the overall economy. Understanding what groups of people are most at risk allows us to develop interventions that can save everyone money. Disparities exist for many communities: Health equity includes disparities that exist due to a whole host of factors, such as family background, race and ethnicity, rural vs. suburban residence, gender and sexual orientation, veteran status, disability, and lower income. This means many Americans can benefit from research into differences in health outcomes and how to improve them. Trust is easy to lose: Some participants in the PHRESH study were initially vocal about their concerns about participating. But that trust was earned because the researchers kept their promises and centered their work on the community. When projects are canceled mid-cycle, researchers have no choice but to leave behind communities they had promised to help. This hurts trust in the long run. It’s also a very inefficient use of resources, and it will take significant time and effort to redo the work when the government realizes this work is important again. How should we talk about health equity? This is hard because the words “equity” and “DEI” are currently very politically charged. So whether you’re a public health professional, teacher, or friend, how we talk about this topic matters. The right framing can help people who might otherwise be skeptical see why health equity research is important and deserves funding. Here are some suggestions to help your conversations: Choose your words strategically: Who are you trying to reach with your message? Are they likely to be resistant to terms like “diversity” and “equity”? If so, find alternative words to use to still get the message across. It is frustrating to be in that position, but the goal of improving health is too important not to try to make inroads. Sometimes simply reframing can help the message reach those who need to hear it. Focus on the problem: The terms “health equity” and “DEI” are abstract. Make it more specific. For example, discuss differences in maternal death or ways to improve health outcomes in rural communities. These still have equity at their core but will likely be better understood by those you’re talking with. Focus on systems: Disparities exist, but if they are communicated poorly, people can mistakenly think the issue is the individual’s fault. Disparities are largely driven by failures of the system—such as lack of access to health care and a long legacy of racism. When discussing the disparities, frame them around these systemic issues to ensure blame isn’t placed on the individuals impacted. Tell stories: Personalize these policies by using stories from those impacted that connect to the data you’re trying to convey. This helps make the policies and outcomes more concrete and meaningful. Bottom line Some communities end up sicker than others. That’s just the facts. We can argue about the best way to do that research, but canceling it simply because it may be linked to DEI doesn’t make anyone healthier. It just leaves communities like the Hill district behind. And in the end, it causes us all to move backward in our efforts to improve health in this country. Love, EM Big thanks to MacKenzie Isaac & Legairre Radden, who reviewed this piece and generously shared their expertise and lived experience to help improve it. Dr. Liz Marnik, PhD, is Executive Director of The Evidence Collective and a science communicator and immunologist working at the intersection of public trust, science, and public health. To discuss communication training on topics like health equity and storytelling, email Liz at liz@yle.health or learn more on our website. Your Local Epidemiologist (YLE) comprises a team of experts, ranging from physicians to immunologists to epidemiologists to nutritionists, working together with one goal: to “translate” ever-evolving public health science so that people are well-equipped to make evidence-based decisions. The YLE suite of newsletters reaches over 475,000 people across more than 132 countries. This newsletter is free to everyone, thanks to the generous support of fellow YLE community members. To support the effort, subscribe or upgrade below: Your Local Epidemiologist is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Subscribe

Sep 30 • 5:05 AM EDT • Health • yourlocalepidemiologist.substack.com

Ex-City star Richards 'absolutely devastated' amid calls for demotion

Former Manchester City defender Micah Richards says the Premier League’s damning verdict on the club has left him devastated and heartbroken. City were found to have engaged in an almost £1 billion ($1.

Sep 30 • 4:33 AM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com

Ace Combat Zero: The Belkan War’s modern port can’t be sold separately due to fighter jet licenses expiring, devs explain

The 20-year-old game will be distributed exclusively as a pre-order bonus for AC8.

Sep 30 • 3:50 AM EDT • Technology • automaton-media.com

🚨 Bordeaux sold to investment fund Park Bench (L'Équipe)

A brighter future for the Girondins?It’s a big day for French football: in addition to the sale agreement signed by Waldemar Kita for FC Nantes, Girondins de Bordeaux have finally found a buyer, acc...

Sep 30 • 3:23 AM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com

Naval Station Norfolk leader charts course for problem solving

Naval Station Norfolk commanding officer Capt. Ray Glenn discusses a $450 million sailor housing project and critical infrastructure funding shortfalls.

Sep 29 • 11:55 PM EDT • Business • virginiabusiness.com

PS5 Pro Shortage Hits Japan As Sony Limits Console Purchases To Active Playstation Users Ahead Of GTA 6

A lottery system has been introduced in an effort to counter shortages while alleviating scalper concerns ahead of GTA 6

Sep 29 • 10:32 PM EDT • Technology • kotaku.com

Karl-Anthony Towns’ Knicks Contract Stance Gets Revealing Update

Karl-Anthony Towns is willing to compromise, but a new ESPN report reveals why his Knicks extension remains unresolved. The post Karl-Anthony Towns’ Knicks Contract Stance Gets Revealing Update appeared first on HEAVY.

Sep 29 • 9:46 PM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com

Messmer, Shorewood, Dominican football co-op set to dissolve

Messmer, Shorewood and Dominican will end their shared football program after the 2026 season.

Sep 29 • 8:50 PM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com

Michael Soroka: 'I would absolutely love to return' to Diamondbacks

The Diamondbacks signing Michael Soroka last offseason was a win, and he expressed interest in coming back.

Sep 29 • 8:22 PM EDT • Sports • arizonasports.com

The 12 most exciting video game releases of October 2026

GameCentral highlights October’s most noteworthy video game releases, which includes the return of Castlevania, a new Star Wars racer, and the first Xbox console exclusive in years.

Sep 29 • 8:00 PM EDT • Technology • metro.co.uk

Xbox Disc-To-Digital Officially Exits Testing

The Xbox Disc-to-Digital licensing program recently launched to insiders, effectively paving the way to a discless future for Xbox, while still allowing the brand to market its console as backwards compatible. Following just over a month of public testing, Microsoft has just announced that the...

Sep 29 • 7:45 PM EDT • Technology • techpowerup.com

Republican blocks Senate resolution criticizing Trump’s taxpayer-funded ads

Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyoming) argued that past presidents in both parties have aired similar announcements.

Sep 29 • 5:50 PM EDT • Politics • washingtonpost.com

3 tips to slow unsolicited political texts to your cell phone ahead of the Nov. 3 election

Voters in Missouri and Kansas say they're being bombarded by unsolicited political text messages. Here's what you can do to slow them down.

Sep 29 • 5:37 PM EDT • Politics • kshb.com

Amid PlayStation 5 Pro Shortages, Sony Implements Lottery System Based on Playtime

No one is exempt from the global DRAM shortage, and today Sony confirmed there might be a way for enthusiastic gamers to purchase the PlayStation 5 Pro console at MSRP. In Japan, Sony is running a lottery system that explicitly allows gamers with 60 hours of playtime to purchase the console....

Sep 29 • 5:02 PM EDT • Technology • techpowerup.com

Manager of Omaha business that sold stolen goods sentenced to probation

The manager of the store accused a reselling goods from other shops in the area was sentenced to probation.

Sep 29 • 4:08 PM EDT • Business • wowt.com

OSIRIS-REx Full Mission Gallery

OSIRIS-REx is the first U.S. mission to collect a sample from an asteroid. It returned to Earth on Sept. 24, 2023, to drop off a capsule with material from asteroid Bennu. After dropping off the sample capsule through Earth's atmosphere, the spacecraft was renamed OSIRIS-APEX and sent on a new mission to explore asteroid Apophis in 2029. This is a sampling of images and videos from the entire mission.

Sep 29 • 3:17 PM EDT • Science • science.nasa.gov

Opinion | Trump Has Become Just Another Disappointing Politician

His winning brand — outsider businessman — has withered.

Sep 29 • 3:00 PM EDT • Politics • nytimes.com

Domino Data Lab and EPAM Partner to Accelerate AI Adoption in Life Sciences

Combines Domino’s enterprise platform with EPAM’s global engineering to scale compliant AI applications and advanced analytics across global biopharma SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 29, 2026 — Domino Data Lab, provider of the unified platform to build, scale, and govern enterprise AI solutions for the most consequential industries, today announced a strategic partnership with EPAM, a leading […]

Sep 29 • 2:16 PM EDT • Science • hpcwire.com

Valley West Mall sold; site plan to be finalized

Brian Martin likes to do “impactful” developments that will help transform the communities where he works. That’s why the president and CEO of Threshold Capital and Threshold Development decided to invest in the redevelopment of Valley West Mall. The $11 million deal closed on Monday, and as the new owner, he is ready to begin…

Sep 29 • 2:07 PM EDT • Business • businessrecord.com

9 Best Fruits to Help Reduce Blood Pressure, Cholesterol and Heart Disease Risk

The soluble fiber in fruit can improve cholesterol, a cardiologist says. Certain fruits show “potent cardiovascular protective action” thanks to their beneficial plant compounds.

Sep 29 • 1:36 PM EDT • Health • today.com

Tiny Grains From Asteroid Bennu Reveal How Jupiter Shaped the Early Solar System

The asteroid’s dust may preserve a record of how planets assembled 4.5 billion years ago.

Sep 29 • 1:22 PM EDT • Science • zmescience.com

The Nintendo 64 turns 30 today, and we're feeling old

Nintendo's new cartridge-based machine had landed in Japan three months earlier, and now it was time for North America to experience 64-bit console gaming. The hype machine...

Sep 29 • 12:38 PM EDT • Technology • techspot.com

Scientists Unveil Underwater Solar Panels

Researchers working off China's southwestern coast successfully generated solar energy from a depth of nearly 33 feet.

Sep 29 • 12:13 PM EDT • Science • futurism.com

Months After LA County Cut Clinical Services at Seven Public Health Sites, It Has Not Shown Whether Patients Found Replacement Care

Measure ER starts on October 1, and a county-affiliated nonprofit is soliciting pledges. However, the county still hasn’t publicly shown which services have been replaced or whether referred patients received them.

Sep 29 • 12:00 PM EDT • Health • knock-la.com

SOLIS MAMMOGRAPHY AND HCA HEALTHCARE CHARLESTON PARTNER TO EXPAND BREAST HEALTH SERVICES IN SOUTH CAROLINA

/PRNewswire/ -- Solis Mammography, the nation's largest independent provider of specialized breast health services, and HCA Healthcare Trident Hospital have...

Sep 29 • 11:36 AM EDT • Health • prnewswire.com

PS5 Jailbreak Exploit For Systems Running July 2026 Firmware

According to those who have installed the new Relapse exploit, it works with everything from Marvel's Wolverine to The Witcher 3: Remastered

Sep 29 • 11:30 AM EDT • Technology • kotaku.com

In Scotland, NASA Scientists Search for Clues About Mars’ Past

NASA's Goddard Instrument Field Team hauled equipment up and down the cliffs of Scotland's Clachtoll region on a quest to better understand Earth – and Mars.

Sep 29 • 11:04 AM EDT • Science • science.nasa.gov

Thyme Companies Names Carolyn Starrett, Former Flatiron Health CEO, as Executive Vice President, New Ventures

/PRNewswire/ -- Thyme Companies, the family of businesses purpose-built to solve problems across the cancer care landscape, today announced that Carolyn...

Sep 29 • 11:00 AM EDT • Health • prnewswire.com

Play USA TODAY's College Football Shuffle

Solve the shuffled words, match each one to the right headline and see how well you know the week in college football.

Sep 29 • 10:17 AM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com

PSE&G, Jersey City small business highlight utility’s energy efficiency investment

PSE&G joined Jewel Electric Supply and Jersey City Mayor James Solomon on Sept. 28 for an event highlighting energy efficiency investments.

Sep 29 • 10:00 AM EDT • Business • roi-nj.com

Sylvester Stallone sets the record straight on the real inspiration for “Rocky”

The actor’s memoir “The Steps” is available for purchase wherever books are sold.

Sep 29 • 10:00 AM EDT • Entertainment • yahoo.com

Sting adds two new shows to sold-out Brooklyn Paramount residency: How to secure tickets today

Sep 29 • 9:33 AM EDT • Entertainment • syracuse.com

Controversy erupts around Ace Combat 8 on PC as bundled Belkan War re-release remains problematically attached to the new game, whereas it's standalone on console

Early adopters of Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve were not happy to find one of the game's most exciting pre-order bonuses isn't quite what was advertised.

Sep 29 • 9:15 AM EDT • Technology • eurogamer.net

George Michael honored at VMAs by Raye, Sombr, Teddy Swims

George Michael and MTV were synonymous in the ‘80s with both his solo work (those “Faith” jeans!) and Wham! (that “Wake Me Before You Go-Go” neon!).

Sep 29 • 9:06 AM EDT • Entertainment • centraloregondaily.com

New PlayStation 5 Console Jailbreak Released for PS5 & PS5 Pro

A new PS5 jailbreak has dropped, which applies to both PS5 and PS5 Pro consoles and unlocks new (illegal) capabilities.

Sep 29 • 9:06 AM EDT • Technology • insider-gaming.com

Meta Bets Its New VR Glasses Will Change Your Entertainment Experience

Meta wants your next movie screen to fit on your face — and weigh about as much as a deck of cards. “We don’t want to disrupt anything...

Sep 29 • 9:00 AM EDT • Entertainment • movieguide.org

Syra Health Awarded Three-Year Public Health Analytics Contract with Mississippi State Department of Health

/PRNewswire/ -- Syra Health Corp. (OTCQB: SYRA) ("Syra Health" or the "Company"), an integrated healthcare solutions company powering better health outcomes...

Sep 29 • 8:55 AM EDT • Health • prnewswire.com

How ocean chemistry helped life keep breathing

Scientists have helped solve a longstanding mystery about how Earth remained habitable after oxygen first accumulated in its atmosphere more than 2 billion years ago.

Sep 29 • 8:52 AM EDT • Science • news.ucr.edu

Family businesses power the US economy, but succession poses a major challenge

Goldman Sachs discusses why conflict resolution and capital structure decisions are vital for family business succession planning long-term.

Sep 29 • 8:00 AM EDT • Business • foxbusiness.com

Ukraine’s Academy of Sciences warns against Russian cooperation after attack

The National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine has urged the international scientific community not to “restore or legitimise institutional cooperation with Russian state scientific and educational structures,” after a Russian drone hit its Presidium building in central Kyiv, killing at least two people and injuring several others. The drone strike took place in the early afternoon on September 28 while staff were working.The academy called the strike, one of several Russian attacks on Ukraine’s capital using jet-powered drones in recent days, an act of terrorism. “It is a strike [. . .] on the very idea that knowledge, research, and the search for truth should serve life, not its destruction,” it said in a statement.The academy thanked the global scientific community for its solidarity following the attack and warned against any temptation to normalise scientific relations with Russia.“Science cannot exist outside of moral responsibility. There can be no ‘ordinary scientific cooperation’ with a state that kills people and destroys scientific institutions of another country,” it said.“We urge not to create opportunities for Russian state institutions to return to the international scientific community as if nothing happened. There can be no ‘science beyond politics’ when science is attacked with weapons.”After the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Europe almost entirely cut institutional ties and joint programmes with Russian science, although personal academic contacts are still ongoing.Related articlesRussia widens targeting of European research centresHow geopolitical rifts cut scientific collaborationThe European Federation of Academies of Sciences and Humanities (ALLEA), for instance, continues to exclude the Russian Academy of Sciences from its network.ALLEA condemned the latest attack as a “barbaric act” and part of a broader “systematic targeting of Ukraine’s scientific and cultural infrastructure.” This is a “deliberate attempt to erase the conditions under which free inquiry, knowledge, and democratic life are possible,” it said in a statement.Since Russia’s full-scale invasion, more than 4,650 educational institutions across Ukraine have been damaged, and a further 423 have been destroyed, according to ALLEA.National academies across Europe joined ALLEA in condemning the attack. “Science is about the pursuit of knowledge for the benefit of humanity, so this is an attack on civilisation itself,” said Paul Nurse, president of the UK’s Royal Society.Attacks on scientific, university and cultural institutions “are attacks on the foundations of society and constitute a clear violation of international law,” wrote the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina.The presidents of the US National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine also released a joint statement condemning the attack and pledging to continue to support the Ukrainian research community.The targeting of the Ukrainian academy prompted outcry from European leaders. “Today, science became a target for Russia,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen wrote on social media.“These strikes are the latest illustration of the Russian regime’s hostile contempt for science and truth,” said French President Emmanuel Macron.

Sep 29 • 8:00 AM EDT • Science • sciencebusiness.net

Lesbian Bar Project Co-Founder: Purity Politics Could Destroy Our Remaining Spaces

Subscribe As a professional lesbian and Massachusetts native, I’ve recently been asked by a lot of folks what I think about the saga unfolding at Last Ditch. The now-viral story, first reported by The Boston Globe, centers on a Western Massachusetts lesbian bar that lifted its mask requirement for one night a week to help drum up business. The decision ignited an intra-queer controversy that has been feasted on by media outlets across the political spectrum—from the New York Post to LGBTQ Nation—and is even reportedly being eyed for a Hollywood adaptation. Apparently nothing is more entertaining than a bunch of lesbians and queers fighting with each other over KN-95s. What has been lost in all of the chatter and media coverage is the very real possibility that Last Ditch, which just opened in April 2025, will have to close its doors. The venue’s one remaining founder, Jackie Matellian, revealed in a community Zoom meeting that she’s working four jobs, is now solely responsible for the bar’s $50,000 business loan and is struggling to keep up with the bills. So as we laugh about the controversy’s similarity to a “Portlandia” skit and how one of the bar’s founders left to enroll in clown school, we forget that yet another lesbian bar is facing an existential crisis—and this time the call is coming from inside the house. In 2020, my friend Elina Street and I created The Lesbian Bar Project, an Emmy-, Webby- and GLAAD Media Award-winning docuseries and initiative that tells the stories of lesbian queer bars around the world. We were moved to act because at the time there were only an estimated 16 lesbian bars in the United States, and the pandemic threatened to bring that number down even further. There are now more sapphic bars than there were just before the pandemic—about 36 of them in total—but this is down from approximately 200 in 1980. Maybe that doesn’t mean much to you, but for the millions of sapphics living in the U.S., this number is calamitous. As the world laughs at lesbians and sapphics, I want to take a second and tell you what I feel when I walk into one of these bars, which are all unique and irreplaceable in their own way: I feel seen. Sometimes I think Cubbyhole in New York City’s West Village neighborhood knew I was gay before I did. When I walked in there for the first time, before I was even out, I was transfixed by the colorful array of tchotchkes hanging from the ceiling and how the women standing next to me were completely unafraid to express their desire for one another. I knew the minute I was ready to come out, I had a home. I also felt the joy of a new couple falling in love at Seattle’s Wildrose, the quiet confidence of a short king lining up her shot at the pool table at Ginger’s in Brooklyn and the kick of cayenne pepper in Julie Mabry’s crawfish at Houston’s Pearl Bar. Subscribe Lesbian bars don’t just serve lesbians; they serve queer folks across the spectrum, including bisexual, pansexual and trans people. As Elina and I traveled across the U.S. and Europe and to parts of Latin America to document the bar owners, staff and patrons that make up the ecosystems of these spaces, we also became uniquely acquainted with the factors that threaten their existence: gentrification, wage gaps, sexism, environmental disasters, gun violence, rising insurance premiums and political administrations working to annihilate queer people and their families. Lesbian bar owners, like all leaders and entrepreneurs, are imperfect. There have been significant issues over the years at lesbian bars: employee harassment, racism, lack of accessibility, sexual assault and transphobia. All bar owners should be held accountable and should listen to their communities to evolve into safer and more equitable spaces. I also acknowledge my privilege: I am able-bodied, white, cis and from a family system that loves me for who I am. Not everyone has that. Queer people, especially trans and bisexual people, are suffering from disproportionately high levels of depression, and our mental health system isn’t equipped to support them. Immunocompromised people and long COVID are real, and many of my friends are suffering to this day. The people with the least safety net are often the ones for whom a bar closing costs the most. And yet, as we’re seeing with Last Ditch, the queer community often lashes out at each other. It’s also the mainstream media taking the internal conflict and making a mockery out of it, distracting from the real possibility that this bar could close due to financial pressures. A bar that many people loved and needed is facing extinction. Perhaps it’s safer to dissent with one another than with the larger forces trying to eradicate us, but in doing so, we risk destroying the few spaces we have left. Due to the constraints of purity politics—some in good faith, some not so much—lesbian bar owners, almost all of whom are queer women themselves, are forced to be everything for everyone, similarly to how women are forced to be everything for everyone. By asking these bars to uphold impossible standards—standards very few other third spaces are asked to consider—we all end up losing. I want to move as a community toward dialogue, compassionate dissent and collaboration to make our spaces better with the goal of keeping them OPEN and thriving, rather than destroying them from the inside with expectations that are arguably unattainable. Subscribe While I have your attention—for this fleeting second of the news cycle—may I urge us to spearhead a way to keep these small businesses afloat without attacking our own community along the way? Bar owners are left with an impasse: They want to be community-centered, but they also have to make money to keep their doors open. Sometimes they might make business decisions that don’t work for everyone—and that’s partly because different patrons have different priorities and want different things—but these owners deserve the opportunity for productive dialogue**.** We have to work with them and with each other to keep our spaces open, to keep them growing. Lesbian bars raised me into the queer woman I am today. One thing I think about as I reflect on the six years of work we’ve done to document these spaces is that shared, unspoken language I have with a stranger the moment we both walk into one of these bars: the nod, the ease, the not having to explain ourselves. I don’t want to lose that, and neither should you. If objective, nonpartisan, rigorous, LGBTQ-focused journalism is important to you, please consider making a tax-deductible donation through our 501(c)(3) fiscal sponsor, Resource Impact, by clicking this button: Donate

Sep 29 • 7:01 AM EDT • Politics • unclosetedmedia.com

THORNE SETS A HIGHER STANDARD FOR SCIENCE-BACKED WELLNESS WITH NEW CREATINE + ALPHA-GPC CONSUMER RESEARCH SUPPORTING MENTAL AND PHYSICAL PERFORMANCE

/PRNewswire/ -- Thorne, the leader in science-backed health and wellness solutions, today announced results from a new consumer study evaluating its Creatine +...

Sep 29 • 7:00 AM EDT • Science • prnewswire.com

Radio Waves Coming From an Alien Planet May Be a Cosmic First

Beta Pictoris b appears to have an aurora caused by a powerful magnetic field. If confirmed, it would be the first such field known outside our solar system.

Sep 29 • 5:01 AM EDT • Science • nytimes.com

U.S. ban on Canadian alcohol imports set to begin Tuesday

A coalition representing American bourbon distilleries, wineries and restaurant workers is urging the Trump administration to resolve the trade dispute ahead of the holidays

Sep 29 • 5:00 AM EDT • Politics • spectrumnews1.com

Liverpool star Jeremy Jacquet delivers honest verdict on France debut

Liverpool centre-back Jeremy Jacquet was not satisfied with his performance in France’s 1-0 victory at Belgium in the UEFA Nations League on Monday.The 21-year-old enjoyed a solid debut performance ...

Sep 29 • 4:20 AM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com

Metal Gear Solid Moves From PlayStation To ESP32

If you haven’t heard of Metal Gear, you probably haven’t played video games these last few decades. The original Metal Gear dates back to 1987 and launched on the MSX, but the real rise…

Sep 29 • 4:00 AM EDT • Technology • hackaday.com

Lautaro

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Sep 29 • 2:39 AM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com

Galaxy S27 Ultra camera could solve two major issues seen on Samsung phones

The launch of the Galaxy S27 series is still four months away, but most details about the lineup's phones have already leaked. While the Galaxy S27 Ultra's basi

Sep 29 • 1:24 AM EDT • Technology • sammobile.com

Case Keenum Shines as Bears Dominate Eagles in Statement Win!

The Chicago Bears delivered one of their biggest performances of the young season Monday night, taking down the Philadelphia Eagles 27-7 at Soldier Field. With starting quarterback Caleb Williams sidelined by a hamstring injury, Chicago turned to veteran Case Keenum, and the longtime NFL quarterback delivered when his team needed him most. Keenum threw for…

Sep 28 • 11:28 PM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com

SPH researchers publish new tracker to map private equity involvement in healthcare nationwide

The interactive tracker shows private equity consolidation of hospitals and specialty practices across the U.S.

Sep 28 • 11:25 PM EDT • Health • browndailyherald.com

Two Former Nets Still Without Training Camp Invites

Cam Thomas and Dariq Whitehead remain in free agency limbo as rosters solidify.

Sep 28 • 7:00 PM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com

[NAC] FNCS Solos Qualifiers in NA Central: Qualifier 1 Day 1 Round 1

Drop into the FNCS Solos! The competition kicks off with Round 1, featuring two three-hour sessions—Day 1 and Day 2—with up to 11 matches per session. Eligible players must rank within the top 200,000 on the overall Power Rankings Leaderboard. Players ranked in the top 2,000 may skip Round 1 and automatically qualify for Round 2; however, choosing to compete in Round 1 forfeits that automatic qualification. After both Round 1 sessions conclude, scores from Day 1 and Day 2 will be combined. The top players on the cumulative leaderboard will advance to Round 2: Top 8,000 EU; Top 4,000 NAC; and Top 2,000 OCE, ASIA, ME, BR, and NAW. Round 2 consists of one three-hour session with up to 11 matches. At the end of the session, the top 1,000 players in each region will advance to Round 3. Round 3 also features one three-hour session with up to 11 matches. In Qualifier 1, the top 100 players on the Round 3 leaderboard will advance to Fast Track. In Qualifier 2, the top 108 players will advance to Heats. Good luck and have fun!

Sep 28 • 7:00 PM EDT • Technology • fortnitetracker.com

Assembly pathway reveals how bacteria build protein coils that extend in acid

The assembly pathway behind refractile-body proteins may have finally been resolved, researchers from Science Tokyo report. Using genetic engineering and several techniques for analyzing protein structure, ...

Sep 28 • 6:40 PM EDT • Science • phys.org

Paul Finebaum slams 'absolute fraud' Lincoln Riley after Oregon loss

The ESPN analyst goes off on the Trojans coach.

Sep 28 • 5:38 PM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com

The Latest: Trump administration loosens fuel economy standards

The Trump administration has released new fuel economy standards that relax regulatory requirements for automakers to control pollution from gasoline-powered cars and light trucks. The new rules were released Monday

Sep 28 • 5:13 PM EDT • Politics • kdhnews.com