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Razorback Report Card: Auburn Pregame
Arkansas doesn't need another reminder of what went wrong against Missouri. It needs a performance that makes the corrections visible. The Razorbacks visit Auburn on Saturday, November 7, with kickoff scheduled for 11:45 a.m. CST on SEC Network. Arkansas enters 3-5 overall and 1-4 in SEC play. Auburn is 4-4 and 2-4 in the conference. …
Winter Guide 2026: Find Something New In St. Johnsbury
Have you been to St. Johnsbury lately? What you find might surprise you! The town has seen a renaissance of entrepreneurship in the last handful of years, which—along with new
Dangerous Newborn Bleeding Nearly Double As More Parents Skip Vitamin K Shot
FRIDAY, Nov. 6, 2026 (HealthDay News) — Cases of a dangerous bleeding disorder in newborns nearly doubled last year as more parents turned down a routine vitamin K shot at birth, new research shows. The study, published Thursday in JAMA Pediatrics, looked at health records for more than 11 million ...
Celtic Park Puzzle Solved
Following last night’s thrilling victory over Besiktas in the Europa League, Celtic has one final match to play before heading into the November international break…Celtic team photograph before t...
Barcelona coach Hansi Flick has unfinished business with Diego Simeone ahead of Atletico Madrid clash
The last few weeks have been terrible for Barcelona, starting with defeats to Real Madrid and PSG to the injury to star midfielder Rodri.But the Catalans will not let that hamper their form as they tr...
Wake Forest Learns About Merrimack
While much of the conversation surrounding Wake Forest this week has been about the #16 spot in the first playoff rankings, the Demon Deacons are trying to get ready for a team with which they have zero familiarity. Time to learn about the Merrimack Warriors. Wake Forest Learns About Merrimack Former DII School Now at …
Jay Rockefeller, former West Virginia governor and US senator who was part of a dynasty, dies at 89
Jay Rockefeller, the last member of his family’s political dynasty who served as West Virginia’s governor and later a longtime U.S. senator, has died.
Jay Rockefeller, former West Virginia governor and US senator who was part of a dynasty, dies at 89
Jay Rockefeller, the last member of his family’s political dynasty who served as West Virginia’s governor and later a longtime U.S. senator, has died.
Rocky Turns 50. Its Biggest Business Lesson Has Nothing to Do With Boxing
The 50-year success of Rocky offers founders valuable lessons in building an enduring brand, protecting IP, and creating a lasting business.
Week 10 Analytics Preview: Syracuse Orange
Clemson travels to Syracuse for a road matchup against a team that has found some momentum, winning its last two games. The Orange present an interesting challenge, with an offense built around controlling possession and featuring one of the nation’s most productive receivers in WR Umari Hatcher. However, questions remain about quarterback play and offensive […]
Chiefs’ Travis Kelce Decision Is Good News for Jets Game
The Kansas City Chiefs announced good news about Travis Kelce on Thursday. It came just three days before their Week 9 clash against the New York Jets at Arrowhead Stadium. Kansas City is 5-2 this season. The team is amid a two-game skid, including last Sunday’s 28-24 loss to the Denver Broncos. Patrick Mahomes led […] The post Chiefs’ Travis Kelce Decision Is Good News for Jets Game appeared first on Gridiron Heroics.
Maryland men’s basketball vs. Georgetown preview
The Terps look to get their revenge on the team that handed them their first loss last year.
Big John McCarthy Reveals Why He Does Not Officiate UFC Events Anymore
Big John McCarthy is known as the Godfather of MMA officiating, having called fights as early as UFC 2. The veteran referee is also one of the most knowledgeable about MMA rules, having written the original rulebook for the UFC and later helped create the Unified MMA rules way back in 2000 that are still …
Derry's last chance to turn chaos into cup glory
Derry City boss Mark Connolly talks to BBC Sport NI as he prepares his side for an FAI Cup final meeting with Waterford on Sunday.
High diesel prices dictate enactment of Stafford Act
During the last eight months, we have seen prices on a wide range of essential goods and products rise significantly. A major factor behind these increases is the surge in the price of diesel, which now stands at double what it was earlier in the year. The nexus of diesel fuel cost and consumer prices […]
Food Literacy: An Overlooked Ingredient in Healthy Eating
Food literacy combines nutrition knowledge with the skills needed to plan meals, select foods, and prepare them within everyday constraints. Research on cooking and nutrition education suggests potential benefits, but evidence that improving food literacy produces lasting dietary changes or better health remains limited.
Has Derrick Henry played his last game as a Raven? Making sense of trade rumors around star RB
The Ravens' loss to the Jaguars opens the door for some major decisions ahead of the NFL trade deadline.
Know the Foe: VCU
After beating Iowa State to start the season, Memphis returns to FedExForum for its first home game on Saturday against VCU. The Tigers ended last season losing three-straight at home, and Hardaway will look for his first win inside FedExForum since February 8.
Brookdale Biology Student Takes Research to International Stage in Iceland
Brookdale Biology Student Takes Research to International Stage in Iceland Christina Weber presents microplastics research alongside leading scientists from around the world When Brookdale Community College student Christina Weber applied to present her scientific research
UPS plane crash disrupts Grade Lane businesses with differing outcomes
The UPS plane crash last year disrupted dozens of businesses on Grade Lane, leaving two owners with different experiences but shared emotions in its aftermath.
Marcus Stokes moves up to No. 41 in CBS Sports’ QB Power Rankings
Marcus Stokes continues to move up the CBS Sports’ quarterback rankings again after falling out of the rankings a few weeks ago. Stokes moved up nine spots to No. 41 after returning to the rankings last week at No. 50.
Deep Dive on the Pelicans’ Future Draft Picks
Watching a team blow up and trade away or cut all the fans' favorite players is as hurtful as a bad breakup. The New Orleans Pelicans had to move on from Anthony Davis's time in the Crescent City after he told them that it was not them; it was him. With a small haul of …
Register Now! Webinar on Microplastics: Science, Regulation, and Legal Risk | Retail & Consumer Products Law Observer
Join Crowell & Moring partners Pete Condron and Monty Cooper as they explore the evolving science, regulation, and litigation surrounding
Tripling Climate Adaptation Aid Would Leave Developing Nations 70% Short
The pledge to triple climate adaptation funding hammered out in the closing hours of last year's UN climate summit in Brazil would still leave developing
Ferris State Can Tie Grand Valley’s Streak Record in Detroit
Ferris State's next win in Detroit ties a record held by the rival it beat last month. #FerrisState
Will Lawmakers Heed the Call for More Affordable Health Care by Expanding Medicaid in TX, GA, KS & WI?
Over the last year there hasn’t been much discussion around creating more affordable health coverage in the last ten states that haven’t expanded Medicaid. But yesterday’s election dramatically changed the political status quo in at least four of the non-expansion states: Georgia, Kansas, Texas, and Wisconsin. That makes Medicaid expansion more viable in those states […]
UI Health providers authorize strike amid dispute over pay raises
Two hundred of UI Health's advanced practice nurses, physician assistants and midwives voted to strike last week after they say the university denied the providers a 2% wage increase in August that was given to other hospital staff. UI Health says the strike would be illegal.
Giants HC John Harbaugh Addresses Concerning Cam Skattebo Injury Situation
John Harbaugh and the New York Giants are coming off a bye week. They last played in Week 7, defeating the Houston Texans 27-21 at Reliant Stadium. Cam Skattebo shined in the victory, but the head coach addressed the running back’s injury situation on Wednesday. Skattebo led the backfield with 17 rushes for 124 yards […] The post Giants HC John Harbaugh Addresses Concerning Cam Skattebo Injury Situation appeared first on Gridiron Heroics.
Infant bleeding surged last year as parents refuse vitamin K shot for newborns
Experts say some of the growing skepticism around public health is fueled partly by the Trump administration.
OpenAI says its new cybersecurity model is better at not hacking other companies
GPT-6 Cyber is a big step up from OpenAI’s last cybersecurity model.
After 51 years, Penn State Health physician leaves lasting legacy of compassionate care
For 51 years, Dr. Larien Bieber made caring for people the heart of his work as a physician. When he retired Oct. 30 from his position as an internal medicine physician at Penn State Health Lime…
Joel Klatt blasts CFP committee over Alabama ranking
College football fans got their first look at the College Football Playoff selection committee’s rankings on Tuesday, and let’s just say there was plenty to talk about. Some of the rankings are pretty easy. No. 1 Miami is undefeated and has looked like the best team in college football. No. 3 Utah is also undefeated…
Administrator Zeldin Completes 4-Day Swing Across Florida, Meeting with Ranchers, Scientists, Energy Producers, and Manufacturers
Last weekend, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin traveled across Midwestern and Southeastern Florida where he met with Florida ranchers, manufacturers, storm recovery professionals, and scientists.
Instagram brings Edits to desktop to take on CapCut
The move puts Edits in more direct competition with ByteDance's CapCut, the video-editing app Meta sought to challenge when it launched Edits last year.
Luka Doncic’s 3rd Straight 40-Point Game Sparks Lakers Against Kings to Continue 3-Game Winning Streak
Despite getting off to a slow start by his own standards Wednesday night against the Sacramento Kings, the NBA’s leading scorer this season, Luka Doncic, would come alive and lead his team to victory. Facing the injury-ridden and dysfunctional Kings, Doncic and the Los Angeles Lakers would shake off a lackluster shooting performance in the …
Met Gala exhibit will examine everyday items of clothing, replacing scuttled Galliano show
The new Met Gala exhibit will examine ordinary items and materials like jeans, puffer jackets and plastic and how fashion designers transform them | WWL
Last session tonight to weigh in on Heights Business District plan
Current business district proposal would allow buildings up to six stories and zero parking as incentives for developers The latest proposal for the Heights Business District offers “public benefit incentives,” which are conditional bonuses for developers. Developers can build up to six stories if they offer a public plaza, a public amenity, or first-and-second floor active commercial use. Developers will have no requirement to build parking spaces if they offer 60% ground-floor active commercial use, or if they preserve a historical facade. Those incentives and other parts of the plans will be discussed tonight, Nov. 5, when the Heights Neighborhood
Four Match Points, Another Collapse, and the Frances Tiafoe Problem
Frances Tiafoe was serving for the match at 5-4 in the deciding set against Quentin Halys at the Paris Masters after recovering from a disastrous opening set. He took control of the match and put himself within touching distance of the third round, but then he lost his serve. No matter. He still managed to …
Sotera Health (SHC) Could Be 28% Below Fair Value As Earnings Beat Lands
Sotera Health (SHC) is back in focus after reporting third quarter 2026 results that topped Wall Street forecasts, reaffirming its full year revenue and earnings outlook, and securing a Moody's credit rating upgrade. Recent trading tells a mixed story, with Sotera Health’s share price up 2.25% on the day of the earnings beat yet down about 12% over the past week and 11% over the last month. At the same time, the 1 year total shareholder return of 3.67% and 3 year total shareholder return of...
Unfinished business for Cantero as Pearson chases a Chilean double
Last Sunday in San Pedro de la Paz, five men came off the bike together and only 44 seconds separated them at the line. Seven days later, almost all of them…
Parcel Health’s CEO wanted zero plastic. Growing a sustainable business meant changing course.
Melinda Su-En Lee traces her path from a Malaysian recycling center to building an award-winning startup in Pittsburgh
Pens Points: Bear Down
One last contest at PPG Paints Arena for the Pittsburgh Penguins before hopping on a plane and heading back out west for their annual California swing that begins on Saturday. Tonight the Boston Bruins come to town as leaders of the Atlantic division and owners of the fourth best record in the NHL at the […]
Report: Mets Hire A.J. Ellis To Major-League Coaching Staff
The New York Mets are hiring A.J. Ellis as their major-league strategy coordinator, The Athletic’s Will Sammon reported Wednesday. The club has not yet announced the move. Ellis becomes the latest addition to manager Andy Green’s coaching staff as the Mets continue preparing for the 2027 season. His arrival also reunites Green with a familiar …
When papers become currency: a Chinese debate about trust in science
Last Saturday, 31 October, I went to the University of Hong Kong’s Beijing Centre for its Talent Forum. It was the fourth stop in the series this year, following events in Shanghai’s Zhangjiang, Shenzhen’s Qianhai, and on HKU’s main campus. The programme covered a remarkable distance in one afternoon. HKU’s Xiao-Jing Wang discussed computational neuroscience, intelligence, and the prefrontal cortex—before even delivering his inaugural public lecture to students back in Hong Kong. His colleague Bing Zhang took us from the Big Bang to artificial intelligence. Tsinghua’s Xue Lan asked how AI might reshape the institutional infrastructure underpinning higher education. There were lively panels featuring industry leaders from JD.com, Xiaomi, Haier—and Kaiser Y Kuo on the closing panel discussing innovation and international connections. I cannot pretend to have followed every detail of the brain models or the astrophysics. The talk that stayed with me was closer to something we have covered before: Zhou Zhonghe 周忠和 on papers, evaluation, and scientific trust. Zhou is a palaeontologist, an Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and an international member of the US National Academy of Sciences. He is also editor-in-chief of The Intellectual (知识分子), China’s leading science commentary platform. His subject was uncomfortable enough for a room full of successful academics: what happens when the system for recognising good science starts rewarding something else? Part of my interest came from our sister newsletter, The East is Read, which covered the controversy around “Geng Tongxue” in May. A PhD dropout from Beihang University, Geng has publicly challenged papers by prominent researchers through detailed online allegations of manipulated images and fabricated data. At Tongji University, an investigation into a challenged Nature paper found academic misconduct, and the dean of its life sciences school was removed. The affair brought doubts about academic integrity well beyond laboratories and university committees. How could someone outside the established hierarchy spot problems in papers that had passed through prestigious journals and institutions? And what, exactly, had all that prestige guaranteed? Zhou approached these questions through two essays published in July by The Intellectual: one by Wang Xiaodong, director of the National Institute of Biological Sciences, Beijing, and a response by Wang Liming, of Shanghai’s Shangsi Institute of Natural Sciences. Both began with the controversy over Geng. Their arguments deserve a wider audience, so I want to put parts of them alongside what Zhou said on Saturday. Wang Xiaodong’s starting point is evolution. A research system selects for the behaviour it rewards. Grants, jobs, journals, talent programmes, and prizes collectively determine which scientists prosper and which practices get passed down from advisors to students. “Whatever the system rewards is what it will evolve to produce,” he writes, citing the ancient Chinese saying: The King of Chu loved slender waists, and many in the palace starved to death. That is a more demanding diagnosis than saying there are dishonest people in science. Punishing a fraudster does not change the selective environment that made a particular kind of research profitable. His account also gives scientific success an awkward role in the story. As Zhou put it on Saturday, science became a victim of its own success. Once research became central to industry, national power, and economic growth, universities and laboratories expanded, and public money followed. That created an administrative need for rapid decisions: who should get the next grant, the next laboratory, the next appointment? The difficulty is that the true value of a discovery may take years or decades of testing and building to become clear. Resource allocation cannot wait that long. Publication counts, journal prestige, impact factors, and citations therefore become convenient ways to make an instant judgement. “The real problem is not that these indicators have no value,” Wang Xiaodong writes, “but that they are trying to answer a question that only time can answer.” Telling administrators simply to stop counting papers will never be enough. They still have budgets to distribute and appointments to make. Something has to replace the shortcut. Zhou described the consequences inside publishing. Papers acquire ever more requirements: a complete story, polished presentation, extensive datasets, and accessibility to readers beyond the immediate field. Individually, those demands sound reasonable. Together, he warned, they produce formulaic “eight-legged” papers 八股文 and rigid reviewing, while genuinely original or non-consensus work struggles to get past journal editors—some of whom wield immense gatekeeping power despite having limited laboratory experience themselves. Meanwhile, the demands for sprawling, “complete” narratives have fuelled a wider replication crisis. Wang Xiaodong uses a mahjong metaphor to describe the result: put the complex papers published by the exact same lab over several years side by side, and they often look like “Thirteen Orphans” (十三不靠)—every tile completely unrelated to the next, and none of them reproducible by outsiders. Zhou also spoke frankly as an editor who has trouble finding reviewers. Everyone wants someone else to review their work; qualified senior researchers have little time to return the favour. The labour is anonymous, unpaid, and brings almost no institutional recognition, so it increasingly gets passed down to postdocs and graduate students. And while anonymity protects reviewers from rank and personal favours, hyper-specialisation means an author’s most qualified reviewer is often a direct competitor, shielded from accountability. The protection and the problem coexist. Wang Liming takes the argument a step further. The decisive change, in his essay, is the instant conversion of academic honour into material resources. Once a paper can be cashed in for funding, a job, students, commercial investment, or even a company valuation, scientists are alienated from their work: they must keep minting this “research currency” to keep their teams alive. He is careful not to romanticise the past. The old world of gentleman scientists—financially independent figures like Boyle and Darwin who needed nothing from external funders—was also a closed club that excluded people without inherited wealth, women, and much of humanity outside the West. Professional science allowed ordinary people, himself included, to become researchers. Nobody should want to undo that. The problem, in his account, is an exchange system that becomes too uniform and too difficult to correct. His most pointed Chinese example is the “hat” (帽子): the prestigious talent designation that brings continuing access to money, laboratory space, students, and institutional influence. “If papers are the circulating currency of the research system, then a ‘hat’ is a bond that pays interest over the long term,” he writes. A paper at least requires another round of peer review. A title in the Chinese context can lock in a judgement made years ago and turn it into permanent status rent, regardless of whether its holder is still doing good science. Here, official institutions hire, organise, and evaluate scientists. Unlike honours awarded by autonomous academic communities in the West, a Chinese “hat” blends non-scientist administrative power with state authority. Once granted, it turns a past judgement into permanent status rent that is nearly impossible to revoke—because taking a hat off would imply that official authority erred in putting it on. Both Wangs see China as experiencing, at compressed speed, pressures present across global science. Research expansion, rising investment, publication growth, and elaborate evaluation metrics arrived in China within two or three decades rather than two or three centuries. Zhou agreed with that international framing—noting that recent US White House science policy documents and the new president of the US National Academy of Sciences, a fellow palaeontologist who recently visited Zhou’s institute in Beijing, have raised strikingly similar warnings about consensus-bound peer review, short-term project grants, and the replication crisis. Still, Zhou emphasised that China’s traditional hierarchy, personal networks (guanxi), and the ethos that “a good scholar becomes an official” (学而优则仕) amplify those pressures at home. So what would change things? Here Zhou’s tone differed from the call for a revolution in scientific trust in Wang Xiaodong’s essay. As an evolutionary biologist, Zhou favoured patchwork repair (修修补补). Living systems survive through accumulated adjustments; dramatic mutations are usually fatal. Science cannot return to a small, slow-moving pastoral era, especially after the successive accelerations of professionalisation after the Second World War, the internet, and now artificial intelligence. But it can alter the local environment in which researchers work. He pointed to domestic experiments designed to support unconventional research and diversify funding, including Tencent’s New Cornerstone Investigator Program, the Xplorer Prize, and the Future Science Prize. He also mentioned participating in reviews for “major non-consensus projects” under the National Natural Science Foundation of China. One guiding principle he recalled was wonderfully direct: “Failure is allowed; corruption is not” (允许失败，不允许腐败). That distinction would mean quite a lot if taken seriously. An honest attempt that fails should not have to disguise itself as a success to survive an assessment. Wang Liming’s essay adds a sharp caveat to the optimism about new domestic funders. Multiple organisations do not automatically produce multiple ways of judging science. If the same pool of senior domestic scientists makes the decisions through the same two-round review procedures, it is still “fake diversity.” He argues for three distinct kinds of money: broad baseline funding governed by fair procedures; patient funding for questions that take ten years; and non-consensus funding based on individual taste, deliberately empowering a few genuine experts to make biased, contrarian bets on eccentric ideas that would inevitably be averaged out by a committee. Replacing one monopoly with another achieves little; a healthy ecosystem needs variance. Zhou’s proposals for publishing were similarly concrete: strip papers of their resource-allocation burden and return them to recording discoveries and establishing priority; separate dissemination from evaluation, as eLife and Peer Community In do; adopt more modular “micro-publications” and real-name endorsements; recognize the labour of editors and reviewers; and give replication work proper credit rather than treating it as an unpublishable dead end. AI makes every part of this debate more urgent—and Zhou wove it throughout his talk. In his own preparation, he used AI to survey the declining influence of academic monographs, noting how tools are already changing how scholars gather information. More fundamentally, he placed AI as the latest great acceleration in scientific history: just as the internet sped up the pace of research and tightened external resource pressures, AI is compressing the cycle again. In the essays Zhou cited, AI cuts both ways. Wang Xiaodong expects large language models to erase much of the English-writing disadvantage long faced by Chinese scientists, further swelling the flood of papers coming out of Chinese labs. Wang Liming sees AI accelerating both ends of the trust crisis: it lowers the cost of paper mills and fabricated images just as quickly as it lowers the cost of automated image forensics, data auditing, and code reproduction. “Whoever builds the verification layer wins,” Wang Liming writes. His proposed alternative to the static, packaged “story paper” is a continuously versioned “unit of discovery” containing a falsifiable claim, raw data, analysis code, experimental parameters, and an ongoing log of independent checks—where negative results and failed replications are recorded rather than buried. Zhou ended his keynote by bringing AI back to the question of scientific honour and credit. Citing a recent Intellectual discussion on “What AI Means for Mathematics” featuring Fields Medalist Deng Yu 邓煜—at a moment when AI is already batch-solving mathematical conjectures, as HKU Vice-President Lin Chen noted in his opening remarks—Zhou agreed that human researchers must remain the principal agents: AI is a tool that frees scientists from tedious calculation to think about deeper, messier real-world problems. Yet that partnership creates a thorny new evaluation problem. When a breakthrough is made with AI, what is the human contribution and what is the machine’s? And since AI models distil centuries of accumulated human scholarship, is it right that the credit and value flow so heavily to the private AI companies building the tools? The old struggle over how to assign scientific honour is acquiring a whole new layer. What I took away was a serious discussion of how science can remain trustworthy as its scale, incentives, and tools change. These were scientists with real standing inside China’s system questioning how that standing is produced, and proposing changes that would affect their own institutions and peers. That made the afternoon at HKU’s Beijing Centre worthwhile. At the close, Wang Feng, Director of Communications and Public Affairs at HKU, said the value of the forum series—which heads to Hangzhou in December and cities like Chengdu early next year—would lie in the real cooperation it helped bring about. The university has plenty to celebrate: this week it topped the QS Asia rankings for a second consecutive year, alongside its 11th-place position in the QS World University Rankings 2027. For me, bringing this debate to an audience beyond the people who review papers and allocate grants was a useful contribution. Share [ The East is Read PhD dropout’s exposé forces an academic fraud reckoning in China A former doctoral student turned blogger has shaken China’s academic establishment by publicly accusing prominent university scholars of fabricating data and manipulating papers, triggering investigations at several leading institutions and drawing rare attention from state media… Read more 5 months ago · 43 likes · 8 comments · Yuxuan JIA ](https://www.eastisread.com/p/phd-dropouts-expose-forces-an-academic?utm_source=substack&utm_campaign=post_embed&utm_medium=web&embedding_publication_id=47580)
Apple Launching Five New Products Tomorrow
Apple is releasing five new products this Friday, November 6, following pre-orders that opened last week, including its first touchscreen MacBook Pro models. The following new products will be available from tomorrow: iPad mini with OLED display and A20 Pro chip iMac with M6 chip 14-inch MacBook Pro with M6 chip 14-inch MacBook Pro with OLED touchscreen 16-inch MacBook Pro with OLED touchscreen The iPad mini starts at $699, the iMac starts at $1,499, and the M6 MacBook Pro at $1,999.
Art is good for your health? Allow me a quick eyeroll
Some now suggest a monthly dose of art can boost wellbeing. But the last thing we need is another item on our to-do lists, says Guardian columnist Emma Brockes
Sacramento sign collection drive aims to turn politics into art
(FOX40.COM) — Sacramento Municipal Utility District board member Gregg Fishman is once again organizing a collection drive to turn corrugated plastic political yard signs into art. Fishman, who was…
Former Formula 1 world champion Alan Jones dies aged 80
Alan Jones remains the last Australian to win the F1 drivers championship; he triumphed in 1980 while racing for Williams; Jones won 12 grands prix across his F1 career
Baylor looks to take care of business in 100th homecoming game
Baylor is looking to rally its fanbase on homecoming with a win over Iowa State, who is coming off an upset over then-No. 24 Oklahoma State last week.
Lucky Daye stands on business as ‘ALOUD!’ album hits #1
Two-time Grammy Award-winning R&B singer Lucky Daye released his fourth album, “ALOUD!,” last month.
LSU LB Whit Weeks doubtful for marquee Alabama clash
LSU could be without senior linebacker Whit Weeks when it hosts Alabama on Saturday, as he was listed as doubtful on the Southeastern Conference’s Wednesday availability report. The 21-year-old has missed the Tigers’ last four games after suffering a fractured right fibula during the team’s Sept. 26 win over Texas A&M. Weeks underwent surgery […] The post LSU LB Whit Weeks doubtful for marquee Alabama clash appeared first on ClutchPoints.
Warriors’ Al Horford Shares Personal Kristaps Porzingis Update
It’s the third week of the NBA season, and Kristaps Porzingis continues to be away with the Golden State Warriors.According to ESPN’s Shams Charania and Anthony Slater, the Warriors are reportedly withholding payments to Porzingis for not rendering his services.Porzingis initially signed a two-year, $40 million contract to stay with the Warriors last summer. However, […] The post Warriors’ Al Horford Shares Personal Kristaps Porzingis Update appeared first on HEAVY.
Making history, breaking barriers: growth of women’s sports at Texas
For years, collegiate sports have focused on male student athletes. Within the last few years, however, women’s college sports have begun to emerge into a pool of record-breaking and head-turning statistical headlines. With the exposure of the WNBA and the rivalries between collegiate regions, women’s sports have seen one of the most drastic expansions in...
UConn football needs strong finish to reach bowl game
STORRS, Conn. (WTNH) — The UConn football program hasn’t been to a bowl game in three consecutive seasons since 2007-09. If the Huskies reach a bowl game this season, it would be a great momentum builder for coach Jason Candle. But after last Saturday’s loss to Air Force, the Huskies may have an uphill climb. […]
Cat Wu joins OpenAI from Anthropic in huge product-lead coup
Cat Wu left Anthropic last week after becoming one of the company's highest-profile product managers and is now joining rival OpenAI.
‘Real Family Business’: Jaffrey Subway Closes, Owner Retires After 32 Years: Business NH Magazine
After three decades, the Jaffrey location was her last restaurant; it closed Oct. 20 after 13 years of operation. Now, Monette, who just turned 65, plans to enjoy retirement at her home in Royalston, Mass.
A NASA space telescope plunged back to Earth after a mission that lasted 11 times longer than planned
The Swift Observatory's demise came less than three months after a long-shot rescue mission failed.
Dolphins' Chop Robinson Gets Honest About Defensive Failure vs. Patriots
Miami Dolphins defensive end Chop Robinson spoke out with brutal honesty about a failure the defense had last week.
Bicycles and frozen yogurt: See the business licenses issued in Hamilton County last week
Business licenses issued Oct. 26-30, as provided by the Hamilton County Clerk’s Office.
Jake Dickert’s Stand at Wake Forest
Jake Dickert’s name probably comes up more than he would prefer these days. He will tell you that he gets too much credit for his Wake Forest team being 7-1 and in contention for the ACC Championship game. His name also gets mentioned with every college football head coach job opening. And then there is …
In Chatsworth, N.J., Rutgers Scientists Farm for the Berry Best Varieties
During a mostly sunny Friday morning in early October, 11 students squatted in a basin, picking cranberries from low-creeping vines and placing them into clear plastic bags. “Do not eat them,” said Peter Oudemans, a professor of plant biology and pathology with the Rutgers School of Environmental and Biological Sciences. He was sort of kidding – and sort of not.
John Deere plans to close Ottumwa, Clarion factories
John Deere announced today it plans to close its production facility in Ottumwa next year and its Clarion factory by the end of fiscal year 2029. According to a news release, the company is working to, among other things, streamline operations and advance automation and modern manufacturing technologies. This follows an announcement last week from…
United Wholesale Mortgage rebounds to third-quarter profit
United Wholesale Mortgage reported net income of $212.6 million in the third quarter of 2026, compared with net income of $12.1 million in the same quarter last year, the Pontiac,
Pennsylvania health officials confirm a sixth measles-related death
Pennsylvania health officials are still investigating a seventh death reported by Franklin County’s coroner last month.
College football ratings are down; should networks be concerned?
A thoughtful college football viewership analysis by The Athletic’s Stewart Mandel, published Tuesday, has been circulating in sports media circles. The top-line figures don’t look great for the sport through the first eight weeks. Average viewership is down by 6% for games airing on ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox, and ESPN. Last season, games on those…
Accused puppy thief tried selling stolen goods back to business: Redlands police
An Inland Empire man already in trouble with the law for allegedly stealing an American Bully puppy was arrested again last week after police say he broke into an electronics store and then tried to sell the merchandise back to the business to pay for repairs to his cellphone. Redlands police responded to a burglary […]
Trump’s political career crashed last night. So did his crypto.
Enriching the president no longer seems like a solid investment.
Did Cher not deserve her Oscar, as Michael Douglas said last week?
Michael Douglas has reignited an online debate over the 1988 Oscars race by joining those who say Glenn Close, not Cher, deserved the best actress trophy.
Work halts on conversion of shuttered Dearborn hotel after investigation into whether people were living there illegally
Perhaps 100 people had been living in the building over the last year, police were told.
Harvard Street Neighborhood Health Center breaks ground on new building on Old Road
A ceremony was held last Thursday (Oct. 29) to break ground at the future site of a 49,000-square-foot, three-story building on Old Road that will house operations of the existing Harvard Street Neighborhood Health Center on Blue Hill Avenue.
Martha Stewart says controversial Halloween costume was last-minute idea after Craig Melvin ruined her OG outfit
“I looked at myself and I said, ‘You really look hungry and homeless,’” the lifestyle guru recalled.
Let’s figure out Alex Vesia’s contract in free agency
Alex Vesia was a fixture in the Dodgers bullpen for the last six seasons, after getting acquired from the Miami Marlins ahead of the 2021 season. So much so that his 367 games pitched are 13th-most in Dodgers history, and seventh-most among relievers in franchise history. Now, Vesia is one of nine Dodgers free agents, […]
Katseye's 'last-minute' concert cancellation draws criticism, fan concern
The show must go on, but even Katseye needs a break. The Grammy-nominated girl group shocked fans after abruptly canceling their concert at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit on Tuesday,
Colman Domingo recalls being ‘the nerd’ to Will Smith’s ‘cool kid’ in high school
“The last interaction I had with him was when I was working at El Torito restaurant,” the Emmy winner revealed.
'Energy Switch' continues the discussion on the health of our oceans
In part 2 of this discussion, we talk about plastic pollution, fertilizer runoff and oil spills along with potential solutions.
The Big Ten College Football Playoff Picture: Week 10
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The Miami Heat Are Losing What Made Them Dangerous
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Scientists call on Ecuador to stop the rising trafficking of Galápagos iguanas
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Why Nintendo is betting on a nearly 30-year-old game remake to win the holiday
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2 Central Florida restaurants shut down after health inspections last week
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Three Trade Partners for the Detroit Tigers This Winter
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Star Health's Arogya Seva Kendra clinics cross 1.8+ lakh beneficiary visits within a year of their inception, bringing free primary healthcare to communities across 9 states
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AFGHS co-signatory countries ask health care users to help fill the financing gap
Hundreds of thousands of Ugandans living with HIV on antiretrovirals could be targeted for user fees or community health insurance schemes requiring modest premium payments, according to the April 2026 version of the country’s America First Global Health Strategy implementation narrative.1 As part of the “sustainable financing for the private not for profit sector” strategy, 491 facilities will be targeted for a phased introduction of user fees and scale up of community health insurance programs.2 In the Ugandan context, PNFP facilities include faith-based hospitals and other health facilities, US missionary organizations and centers of excellence—services that are often co-located at government facilities but run with additional financial and technical resources. 402,000 people—or about 28 percent of the total Ugandan adult PLHIV population on treatment—get ART from the private not for profit sector. The selected facilities provide the majority of ART and prevention of mother to child transmission (PMTCT) services. The plan doesn’t give the total number of clients served by the 491 facilities, so it is not possible to give a precise number. But the majority of 402,000 is a figure in the hundreds of thousands—hence the estimate I’m using.3 The April draft of the Ugandan implementation plan narrative is the only one I’ve been able to review. But the government of Uganda is not alone in turning to health care users to help fill the financing gaps caused by the abrupt withdrawal of US funds. In July 2025, the Government of Liberia introduced user fees for previously free services including “registration, accommodation, patient feeding, hospitalization, and a wide range of surgical and diagnostic procedures.”4 Earlier that year, Liberia rolled out a revolving drug fund designed to stabilize drug supplies by “allowing patients to pay a small fee for standardized, quality medications,” according to a Ministry of Health press release.5 (Both of these approaches had been proposed in the National Health Policy 2022-2031; media coverage explicitly connects the launch with the US foreign aid cuts.) The health financing strategies proposed by Uganda and established in Liberia are qualitatively different from user fees officially adopted by specific health facilities to cover funding shortfalls caused by the new US approach.6 The latter is a stopgap, adhoc change. The former is a national governmental adoption of policies that pass costs on to health care users, despite evidence that such approaches can exacerbate inequities and leave deficits unfilled. Two countries does not make a pattern, but they do point to urgent questions: Have other countries, including Liberia, included user fees or community health insurance schemes in their implementation plans? If so, do any of these narratives have what Uganda’s lacks: a fall-back plan in place in case these strategies for sustainable health systems fail to deliver—as they have before? I wonder if you think about it Subscribe Predictable pitfalls Both community-based health insurance and user fees are as old as the hills. And after decades of people climbing up these hills, duking it out, climbing back down—neither strategy has shown the results the Ugandan implementation plan is counting on. This is, in fact, a hill some folks are willing to die on. (You knew I’d get there, right?) In November 2025, an African-led team of health system experts published a paper directed at low- and middle income country governments trying to figure out how to create self-sustaining health systems. The money wasn’t coming back. It had been more than nine months since the season of freezing, waivering and wood-chippering; two months since AFGHS tumbled into the world touting co-financing requirements and reductions in future US government health aid. Governments were looking for strategies for sustainable, self-financed health systems, the authors wrote. For countries considering user fees and community health insurance to fill the financing gaps, they had a simple message: Don’t. On user fees, the paper states: “Reliance on user fees is ultimately a regressive and inequitable approach. It places a disproportionate burden on the poor and undermines health system goals of equity and financial protection. […] There is overwhelming evidence that user fees mobilise very limited resources for the public health sector, making it an inefficient mechanism for revenue mobilisation.” On community health insurance: “Attempting to shift the burden of funding previously donor-funded services, such as HIV care and management, and TB treatment, onto contributory schemes would exacerbate their fragility and fail to protect the population.”7 The WHO says that community-based health insurance “cannot be expected to provide a major source of funding or coverage,” and noted that most schemes offer only moderate benefit to individuals paying into them, and exclude the poorest segment of the population.8 And yet, the US-Ugandan implementation plan says that community health insurance is “the central pillar of this [PNFP] sustainability strategy” and that this approach that will generate “pre-paid pooled funding at facility and community level [that] improves financial risk protection for households, reduces catastrophic out-of-pocket expenditure, and generates structured, transparent revenue streams that can progressively absorb recurrent costs including health worker salaries.” Unfortunately, Uganda’s own history suggests the pillar might not be able to bear this weight. Ugandans Have Been to this Rodeo Before—and Some Want Their Money Back Uganda introduced its first community health insurance scheme in 1996 with support from international donors.9 Thirty years later, somewhere between 0.2 and 0.3 percent of the population is covered by CHI; just over 1 percent has any kind of health insurance.10 User fees were universally introduced in 1993 as a condition of a World Bank loan.11 They were abandoned in 2001, and in 2004—the year I moved to Uganda to watch the free HIV program get underway—a definitive study found that the fees did not improve health systems and outcomes.12 In 2004, most clinics and hospitals had ‘free’ and ‘fee for service’ options for getting care.13 The fee for service, or “cash and carry” programs had often been established in the years prior to PEPFAR and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. People who could afford to paid for the drugs, often at facilities in the private-not-for-profit (PNFP) sector. When free drugs arrived, some people who’d been paying kept on doing so, perhaps because of shorter wait times, greater confidentiality, convenience or other factors. But in the year that I spent visiting the same clinics around the country week after week—including a “center of excellence” that maintained separate days for cash and carry clients and those accessing free ARVs—lots of people who had been paying tried to switch to the free option. They’d paid because they had no other choice. They’d sold pieces of family land, begged family members for loans, bought pills by the week, and sometimes by the day. Or they were just cash-strapped, like most of us, and wanted the funds for other things. 14 Twenty-two years later, this hasn’t changed. Ugandans pay out of pocket for 30-40 percent of their health care costs, leading one paper to declare that “falling ill is more than a health crisis. It is a financial emergency.”15 One recent study found that up to 48.5 percent of households dealing with tuberculosis sold something, took out a loan or dug into savings to defray the costs of TB care—which is supposed to be universally free.16 The Ugandan implementation plan does anticipate challenges. It proposes a phased approach, with 187 facilities introducing user contribution systems in Year 1, 152 in Year 2, and 153 in Year 3. Willingness to pay and feasibility studies will precede roll out; fees will be tiered by region, and a waiver system is proposed to ensure that no one has to pay who is unable to. Moreover, the plan provides for quarterly reviews of epidemiological data to “ensure that user contributions do not compromise epidemic control gains, ART continuity for the client cohort, TB case management, or PMTCT services.” Alt text: A screenshot of a table included in the implementation plan narrative that is the subject of this stack. It’s got a fetching pink bar at the top. It uses the abbreviation “CHI” which is Community Health Insurance, and FBO which is Faith Based Organizations, and it details the number of facilities that will implement user fees with waivers and community health insurance schemes over the five years of the agreement. As I said in the footnote, this is a super interesting document with a lot of other rich material. Tell me what you see—and what you would have focused on. And if you’ve seen something like this, or anything else that strikes you, in another implementation plan, tell me that too. You can use the Substack message platform or try me on Signal at @endaplague_again.25 (because @mercoonfan was, weirdly, taken). But the plan doesn’t fully explain what will happen if this approach doesn’t work out. Yes, progress will be monitored, and corrective action triggered. However, there is no specified funding replacement if premium and fee revenue prove inadequate. Instead, the authors write, “Currently, COEs serve a total client cohort of over 180,000 across 28 facilities. In the initial years, the U.S. Government (USG) will provide financial support for clients; over time, user fees generated by COEs will become the primary source of funding for sustaining their services.” Failure does not really seem to be an option. Health insurance schemes are more acceptable to the Ugandan population than user fees. Members of Parliament and civil society traveled to Ethiopia to see how that country’s scheme worked. In a follow up report, a veteran civil society group recommended allowing the “health insurance ecosystem to grow organically and [to] keep reviewing the law and regulations as this growth takes root.”17 One study found that more than three-quarters of Ugandans were willing to join a health insurance program.18 However, coverage of community-based health insurance is minimal, as is coverage of any kind of insurance—including private plans.19 A national health insurance scheme bill has been stalled for several years and presently sits with President Yoweri Museveni.20 Community-based health insurance scheme that do exist are expanding in number, but losing enrollees. Between 2022 and 2026, the number of community-based health financing schemes across the country increased by 42 percent, while the number of people enrolled decreased by nearly 11 percent.21 None of this means that community-based health insurance should not happen in Uganda—or that people do not want insurance. It doesn’t even mean that user fees and waivers won’t ever work. But there is highly relevant evidence from Uganda and the surrounding region that it is quite optimistic to describe community health insurance and user fees as central supports for sustainable financing in any sector of the health system. And now for the best-case scenario In the best-case scenario22, the Ugandan approach does exactly what it sets out to do, and so does the Liberian fee structure and revolving pharmacy fund—though I’ve not confirmed that these are in the MoU. In one best-case scenario, Uganda is an outlier, and user fees and community health insurance are not recurrent pillars of self-sustaining financing in other countries’ implementation plans. In another best-case scenario, all countries that include these strategies enjoy success beyond anyone’s evidence-informed wildest dreams: reliable funding generated by health care users fees, great health care outcomes for everyone, no exacerbation of inequities, no crippling household debt. No sold land, repurposed school tuition or high-interest loans. In the best-case scenario, not one of the hundreds of thousands of Ugandans living with HIV receiving antiretrovirals from 491 PNFP facilities misses a refill or leaves care because of user fees or community health insurance premiums. This is the best-case scenario for these people for their own health, and for their families. It is also the best-case scenario if Uganda wants to stay on the path to eliminating HIV as a public health threat. According to the country’s most recent data, 96.5 percent of people living with HIV on antiretrovirals are virologically suppressed. Epidemic control depends ensuring that 95% of people living with HIV know their status, 95 percent of those individuals are on ART, and 95% of those individuals are virologically suppressed. Uganda is still struggling with the first “95"—a frankly abysmal 85.3 percent. If HIV epidemic control and the attendant prevention of new infections, avoidable suffering and premature death matter, the country cannot afford to lose any clients who are currently in care.23 As I write this a couple hours before the polls close for the US elections in the city I live in, I say with soul-deep sincerity: I am rooting for the best-case scenario. I think it’s safe to say that we all are.24 I think it’s also safe to say that if the US and co-signatory governments have inked plans that lead to successful expansion of community health insurance and strategic use of user fees, we all would like to know, now, so that we don’t miss the opportunity to celebrate when success happens. The implementation plan narratives have to enter the public domain. They are the fullest expression of a strategy co-created by two governments. There are assumptions and details that people living in the US and co-signatory countries need to understand that are not available in the MoUs or, to date, in the Congressional Notifications. Some of these details can help other countries that are, as I write this, still working on implementation plans. Others, like a solid count of how many other countries have plans for expanding user fees or health insurance, are important for regional and global health architecture reform initiatives. No matter how this election night turns out, there will be a slew of new Congressional member orientations, briefings and talking points papers in the next few months. Release of implementation narratives should be a bullet point in every context that AFGHS is discussed. These documents can be redacted so that procurement sensitive information isn’t disclosed. There is much more historical precedent for sharing such documents than there is for relying on user fees to fill health financing gaps. Let’s look at the information together so we can hope for the best and prepare for, you know, the other thing. Alt text: A substack first: a bicep selfie! It’s my arm - peachy-white skin, black shirt (flannel, notch neck, too hot for this appallingly balmy November weather, if you’re wondering) and a sticker that says I VOTED 2026. Beige letters on red for I voted. Beige on blue for 2026. You bet I did.25 In your wildest dreams. Subscribe 1 This is a really, really rich 95 page document. There are fascinating ideas and detailed plans in it. It is all worth reading AND I have, in this post, highlighted an instance of content that could pose challenges and certainly posits success of strategies that haven’t worked before. I would love to hear what readers’ see that’s interesting and should be lifted up as something to check for in other implementation plans. I will also shortly be adding a static page to the substack site where implementation plan documents will live. I will put the url into this footnote and it will also be there on emilybass.substack.com by the end of the week. Uganda Implementation Narrative Section 4 April 22 2026 Draft 1.51MB ∙ PDF file Download Download 2 User fees are costs charged for visits, labs, medicines or other health services, usually at the time they are provided. Community health insurance, or community-based health insurance, is what the World Health Organization calls “micro insurance,” which is health insurance targeted at low-income people. 3 As usual (by which I mean always), please prove me wrong. 4 https://smartnewsliberia.com/liberias-ministry-of-health-announces-2025-hospital-service-fees-for-public-facilities/?utm 5 https://moh.gov.lr/news/2025/grand-cape-mount-leaders-residents-embrace-new-community-pharmacy-program/?utm 6 https://www.christianitytoday.com/2026/09/hiv-usaid-pepfar-africa-foreign-aid-cuts-mission-hospitals/?utm 7 https://gh.bmj.com/content/10/11/e021270 8 https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/community-based-health-insurance-CBHI 9 https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2827475/ 10 https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10861328/#b3-jpmph-23-110 11 https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC527704/ 12 Same citation as the footnote 2 - the article is called “Learning from failed health care reform in Uganda.” To which I say: If only. If. Only. 13 There is a whole taxonomy of user fees to be aware of, if not commit to memory. Out of pocket costs are everything that someone pays for themselves. In this Stack, user fees are planned and policy-supported out of pocket costs. There are also out of pocket costs that people pay to buy drugs or receive tests or health care assessments that would be free if the drugs were on the shelves, or the machines or kits were available, or the staff were on site. A user fee is usually designed to be modest, pegged to willingness to pay, and may be waiveable at the point of care for anyone who is unable to do so. The costs for things that would otherwise be free are whatever the market will bear and people either have to pay them or go without. Out of pocket costs for services and stuff that aren’t available in public facilities are different again from bribes or unofficial fees that some health workers may impose, even though most are indefatigable, tireless and tired, and devoted to their clients. 14 For the record—which really is these footnotes—I would give a whole stack of fridge magnets for a systematic analysis of the economic and social impact of the Mass Unemployment Event in AFGHS countries among the very people who used to be able to afford and cover user fees, both for themselves and vast family networks. Locally employed USAID technical staff, house cleaners, caregivers, drivers and technicians were financial anchors for cousins, friends, friends’ children, friends’ childrens’ cousins, teachers, pastors, neighbors and so many other kinds of kin. Aid recipients lost direct funding; many other people who had not been aid recipients, but parts of the elaborate care webs that function as safety nets for so many people, lost crucial support too. And that’s even before we get to the people who worked at the hotels and restaurants and bars where people employed by the US and its implementing partners used to spend disposable income. Those businesses have lost revenue; those folks have lost jobs. It will be some time coming—and someone will have to fund this work—but I do hope it happens. And I hope, as usual, to be proven wrong. 15 https://eprcug.org/blog/how-out-of-pocket-healthcare-costs-keep-driving-ugandans-into-poverty/ 16 Another straight-to-the-point journal article title. Households experiencing catastrophic costs due to tuberculosis in Uganda: magnitude and cost drivers. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32938411 17 https://www.cehurd.org/download/technical-policy-brief-on-community-health-insurance-scheme/?wpdmdl=13661&refresh=6ae9122f5d4ed1793659439 18 https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10125197/ 19 https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10861328/#b3-jpmph-23-110 20 https://ugandapost.news/uganda-to-make-health-insurance-mandatory-by-2026/ 21 https://shu.org.ug/download/235 22 With a nod, tip of the stack hat, and wag of the Mercoon tail to a deeply valued reader who told me that I have a tendency to speculate about the worst-case scenarios a little too much of the time. 23 https://news.mak.ac.ug/2026/10/uphia-2025-shows-ugandas-hiv-status-awareness-gap-despite-strong-treatment-outcomes/ As you’ll see in the next footnote, I’ve already written a subSubstack on another topic, so I will be brief with regard to the study referenced in this article. The Uganda Population-Based HIV Impact Assessment, or UPHIA, will never happen in this way again. For more than a decade, PHIAs have been supported by the US government as a way to generate accurate estimates of country progress on key HIV indicators. They are a holdover from the PEPFAR program that was laser focused on ensuring US taxpayer dollars subsidized progress in pandemic control. There may be other population-level surveys and the data may even be publicly released, as the entire set of FY2026 MER data have not. But PHIAs will never happen again. If you’re wondering whether the estimates of HIV progress at country level might get less reliable….you’re not alone. 24 Ooh baby, I hate “we” in almost all forms. But sometimes I go there, when I am looking for company, which I am. Because this Stack moves into the somewhat-uncharted territory of assessing what the implementation plan narratives may suggest about co-signatory countries’ roles and responsibilities to the people living within their borders. The MoUs, specimen and data sharing agreements were templates. Countries’ answers fit into pre-specified questions that did not include, “how are you going to fill financing gaps and stabilize your health system as this plan unfolds?” In contrast, the implementation narratives are open form—the product of co-creation between the two governments. Co-creation can mean lots of things, but nothing leads me to believe that implementation plans are ghost-written by the US government, or that contents were imposed by the US counterparts. Instead, I think the parts of the plans that read like country government initiatives are endorsed, if not initiated by, those governments. For instance, the Ugandan implementation plan narrative describes plans for revenue-generation through fees charged for equipment calibration, repair and maintenance provided through Uganda’s National Equipment Calibration Laboratory, and laboratory accreditation through the Uganda National Accreditation Service (UGANAS), targeting private sector, PNFP, research and academic clients. That’s super specific and also quite ambitious. It doesn’t read like an American idea. There’s also a provision for solar panels, and other stuff that feels country owned and driven. This is where it gets interesting. If co-creation is the case, then both the US and co-signatory governments are accountable for the contents and the outcomes. Most discourse about AFGHS to date has focused on the decisions that America has made, or demanded that other countries make. The AFGHS architects have monopolized the hot seat. As they should, in so many ways. America absolutely created the conditions under which countries needed to come up with health financing strategies to fill unanticipated, catastrophic funding gaps. And with not-too-long a lens, we can look back and see that America is also on the hook for its role in the Bretton Woods institutions that made user fees and health system fiscal austerity conditions of loans during the era of structural adjustment. But in the here and now, it is not at all clear to me that the US is requiring Uganda or any other country to implement specific approaches to sustainable financing. Instead, it is as the authors of that paper up in footnote 6 suggest: African governments have agency. As implementation plans roll out—whether or not the narratives are shared—it will be important to understand what this agency looks like and what it means for people, including the poorest of the poor. And it will be important to figure out how to talk about it safely, respectfully and critically in places other than the literal and metaphorical footnotes. 25 This week’s song is “Once upon a time” by the Moody Blues. (I know, this is gonna be a weird, largely banger-free end of 2026 playlist. HMU with requests.) AND please do watch the video and appreciate the truly amazing opening sequence—a drum kit wasteland, a coupla plastic bags, a bit of sand. Sort of like the hill where fiscal austerity policies that put costs on health care users might go to perish. But then there’s a lady with amazing hair. It’s worth it.
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The Last Disney+ Original?
(Welcome to my weekly streaming ratings report, the single best guide to what’s popular in streaming TV and what isn’t. I’m the Entertainment Strategy Guy, a former streaming executive who now analyzes business strategy in the entertainment industry. If you were forwarded this email, please subscribe to get these insights each week.) Before we get going, I wanted to remind readers about how I plan to keep your trust while I add advertising to this newsletter. As you’ve no doubt noticed, I’m running ads now, but the danger is that it could impact my analysis and writing. I have a list of sponsors on my About Page, so if you think I’m biased, you can check out who’s sponsored this newsletter! This is something that I’m not sure anyone else in digital media does (if you’re a writer or media outlet and you do this, let me know and I’ll shout you out!) but it’s something I’d love to see embraced by the entire industry. Sunlight, i.e. transparency, is often the best disinfectant. Okay, on to this week’s issue. We (finally) have another major Disney+ TV show to talk about, so that’s my main focus for today. Plus, we had a lot of new shows come out, including the fourth seasons of The Diplomat and Tulsa King! And Love is Blind! The Lowdown! Also, four (four!) straight-to-streaming films came out this week, featuring a lot of big names and celebrities, so I’m going to look at those. All that, mixed news for the WNBA, Reacher ends its run on the charts, Skydance does well in September viewership, NYU’s Sundance dominance, all the flops, bombs and misses, and a whole lot more. Let’s dive right in! (Reminder: The streaming ratings report focuses on the U.S. market and compiles data from Nielsen’s weekly top ten viewership ranks, Luminate’s Top Ten Data, JustWatch and Reelgood interest data, Samba TV household viewership, company datecdotes, Netflix hours viewed data, Google Trends, and IMDb to determine the most popular content. While most data points are current, Nielsen’s data covers the weeks of October 12th to October 18th, 2026. You can find a link to my terminology here.) Subscribe Television - Disney+’s Porridge Problem Listen, per my headline, VisionQuest isn’t the last Disney+ Original. At least, I’m pretty sure it’s not. They have other MCU shows in development. Well, maybe one: But it sure feels like the end of an era. I’d call it their “porridge too hot” era, to quote myself from The Ringer. I told Ben Lindbergh that Disney+ seemingly couldn’t figure out the right amount of content. In the heights of the Streaming Bubble Era (circa 2019 to 2022), they started releasing an insane amount of TV shows. After their growth slowed, they’re down to two or three shows a year, and that might be down to 1 by 2027. Here’s my TV shows by year chart: Even at the time, I thought Disney was making too many shows (that cost too much). Today? They’re definitely making too few shows (though the budgets are more in check, at least according to the reporting). Porridge too hot, porridge too cold; too many shows, now not enough. Which makes evaluating VisionQuest so interesting. This show didn’t have a great lead-in, whether it be a Marvel Cinematic Universe film (the last non-Sony-produced-Spider-Man flick came out The Fantastic Four from July of 2025) or Marvel Cinematic Universe TV show (the two this year were Wonder Man back in January and _Daredevil: Born Again_in May, both of which underwhelmed). And so far, VisionQuest hasn’t quite recaptured the MCU Originals glory, but it has some signs of sparks. First, it made Samba TV, though at a lowly ninth place. At least it made it, a feat some other Marvel shows didn’t accomplish. (Ironheart landed on the Samba TV charts one week at tenth place, but Wonder Man and Daredevil: Born Again both missed.) VisionQuest also made Luminate, though with only 3.0 and 7.6 million hours. But it missed Nielsen in its first week. The best news might be its 7.8 on IMDb, on 12K reviews so far, great numbers, even for a superhero show. Looking at those numbers, this show will really need to pick up in future weeks—and it may since it’s coming out weekly—or Disney will have another disappointment on its hands. Disney+ binge-released their last few shows to try to boost numbers, but that meant shows like Iron Heart and Wonder Man didn’t last long on the charts. _Daredevil: Born Again’s_last season missed entirely (though it came out weekly). Here’s the Disney+ Originals by totals: And for a fun new look, here are those same shows, rearranged by the years they came out: That really shows that, in addition to Disney+ releasing fewer shows, those shows just don’t hit like they once did. If I had to offer one main explanation, it’s that Marvel Studios moved away from characters who starred in the Avengersmovies (The Scarlett Witch, Vision, Hawkeye, Loki, Falcon, Winter Soldier) to characters who didn’t (Moon Knight, She-Hulk, Iron Heart, Wonder Man, Daredevil). It sounds trite, but more popular IP tends to do better than less popular IP. In Marvel’s case, beloved, decades-old characters trump newer ones. And yes, I think this is a problem for Disney. The failure of Marvel TV shows to linger for weeks on the charts, unlike in 2021 and 2022, explains why Disney’s share of the charts has plummeted: That’s a strategic issue. Yes, these shows are really expensive, but without them, Disney+ will struggle, especially if Disney+ keeps raising prices AND licenses out its shows non-exclusively. My recommendation? Return to the core value proposition, which is Disney+ as “genre HBO”. The goal is six shows a year, coming out weekly, spaced out throughout the year. When a show hits, keep it coming back. Make three to four of those shows Marvel or Star Wars, and fill out the rest with IP swings like Percy Jackson, Goosebumps or something like National Treasure. And make YA-skewing shows like Coven Academy to fill out the schedule. Disney, you can get this porridge just right, er, make the right number of shows. Quick Notes on TV Netflix’s sophomore, er, junior, er, senior season slump abated very, very slightly this week. I speak of The Diplomat, which returned for its fourth season on 15-Oct. Credit where credit is due, this show debuted in April of 2023, and has put out new seasons every year since. Has that helped the viewership? Not really. This season opened to 16.4 million hours, which is down significantly from the first season (21.7 million hours) and down somewhat from the second season (18.0 million hours), but it is up from last year’s 14.2 million hours opening. On Samba TV, it opened to third place; that’s also very good. On Luminate, it opened to 25.0 million hours, which is good, but over thirty million hours is a hit on that platform. Netflix wisely renewed it, since it’s steady and, frankly, Netflix needs hits.1 Paramount+ put out Tulsa King’s fourth season on a Friday. After putting out most of their big, usually-Taylor Sheridan-scripted shows out on Sundays last year, they’ve clearly moved to Fridays going forward. Was this a thought-out strategic change, Netflix mimicry, or a data-inspired move? Tough to say. Fridays are crowded with new movies, but so are Sundays with new shows. Anyways, this one is coming out weekly, and we haven’t seen it hit the Nielsen or Luminate charts yet. But it did make Samba TV at fifth place, which is a good opening. Still, if this doesn’t make Luminate or Nielsen next week, I’d call it a disappointment. Netflix had two unscripted shows hit the charts this week, one a docu-series and one a reality competition show. Tyson is a four-episode docu-series about one of boxing’s most popular fighters, and it made both the Samba TV and Luminate charts, but not Nielsen. That’s a solid run for only four episodes (assuming it didn’t cost an arm and a leg to produce). Netflix’s latest season of Love Is Blind also returned for its eleventh season, which opened to 10.0 million hours, down from previous seasons. It also had 11.0 million hours according to Luminate, roughly in line with the Nielsen numbers. Last issue, I analyzed the triple successes of Below, Carrie and Crystal Lake, noting that all three have done well. I mostly used Nielsen, but all three shows also made Samba TV (see above). Crystal Lake in particular did very well on Luminate, getting 35.0 million hours, top for Peacock among first seasons: The top “show” of the week would have been Thursday Night Football again, at 41.7 million hours. This is still above last year’s game, but it continues the season’s overall downward trend, which happens every year. (Though a big week is coming, based on the news stories I’ve seen.) As I said before, I’ll do a deeper dive on all the October games later this month, with comparisons to previous years. One company is quietly on a roll, when you consider the shows it makes and streams. I speak of Skydance—a point Variety made—noting that it produces Neagley and Reacher for Amazon, along with Paramount+’s Lioness, which means it produced three of the top four shows of September according to Nielsen. By the way, Neagley fell off the Nielsen charts after four weeks, which is a pinch short for how well it started, but it’s still a huge success. (Interestingly, it finished just 7.3 million hours ahead of the cancelled Ride or Die.) The point, though, which I’ve made before, is that Prime Video still has a problem with how many co-productions it buys, most notably _The Boys_from Sony and Reacher/Jack Ryan from Skydance. It’s not a critical flaw—everyone licenses shows—but Amazon still struggles to make its own hits. Reacher finally fell off the Nielsen charts, so here’s its final rank for season four: We’re just getting started with this issue, but the rest is for paid subscribers of the Entertainment Strategy Guy, so if you’d like to find out… ...An example of the algorithm NOT picking a film… …whether or not Netflix buys shows simply for the movie poster… ...if East of Eden is above the Obliterated Line... ...what four star-studded straight-to-streaming films didn’t chart... ...and a whole lot more... ...please subscribe! We can only keep doing this great work with your support. If you want an idea of just how much content you’d get in a full issue, check out this older issue.
Rashan Gary’s inexcusable penalty opened the door to final collapse
Rashan Gary had one of the worst moments from last week’s loss.
Last week’s Springfield restaurant health code violations, Oct. 23-27
Springfield and Willard restaurants received various priority and nonpriority health code violations during routine inspections conducted between October 23 and November 2, 2026.
The Waiting Begins
Millions of Americans headed to the polls Tuesday for a midterm election that could shape the future of health care and artificial intelligence in the U.S. and will determine how much Democrats can try to constrain President Donald Trump during his last two years in office. The political contest has ...