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We polled two must-watch House races. There are good signs for Democrats.
Democrat Shannon Taylor is narrowly ahead of Rep. Rob Wittman (R) in Virginia's 1st, while Democrat Tom Perriello is modestly behind Rep. John McGuire (R) in the 5th.
Political climate has so soured for GOP, even Mississippi Democrats are hopeful
A Democrat hasn’t won a Senate race in the state since 1982, but a young district attorney has a message for party officials and donors: “If we try, we win these voters.”
Is it your personality or a psychological disorder? TikTok has answers.
Maladaptive daydreaming, obsessional jealousy and misophonia are now topics of study as social media trends force psychiatrists to rethink their diagnostic “bible.”
These birds can match the earsplitting decibels of a chainsaw
New research measures the loudest birds known to science, with three South American species topping the chart
The government’s new chatbot won’t talk politics, but it will fact-check Trump
The AI “concierge” promises to help users with passports, Medicare and more. We tested what it can actually do.
Trump loses favor with crypto fans who call him out for cashing in
The president’s 2024 campaign leaned into crypto to attract young men, a demographic that is deserting Republicans in the midterms.
Trump’s White House visitor screening center poised for approval
The project, which would revamp how visitors enter the White House grounds, is one Trump construction effort that has drawn wide agreement.
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
Harlem Globetrotters Rivalry Tour heads to Springfield
The Harlem Globetrotters and Washington Generals are set to meet in Springfield this winter.
FCA Wheaton Park Outreach program gives kids free year-round sports
What began as a simple gesture has blossomed into a free sports program through Washington County FCA for children in the Wheaton Park community.
Nevada Business Indicators: October 2026
Key late-2026 economic indicators for Nevada, Clark County and Washoe County, including employment gains, taxable sales growth and gaming revenue trends.
No longer a secret, Nathan Fielder's Elizabeth Holmes doc 'You Can See Everything' lands in New York
No longer a secret, “You Can See Everything,” Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim’s Elizabeth Holmes documentary, has premiered at the New York Film Festival
Presidents rarely visit Indian Country. Trump’s planned Choctaw Nation rally will be the latest
President Donald Trump is holding a campaign rally in the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma
Trump’s campaign against noncitizen voting demonstrates it’s rare and not enough to swing elections
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration's campaign to root out noncitizen voting is demonstrating what critics of President Donald Trump's election conspirac
Senate leaves town until after the midterms as final bills founder
Democrats block several pieces of legislation pushed by Republicans looking for victories ahead of Election Day.
Senate confirms Keith Sonderling, a business ally, as labor secretary
The vote came shortly before senators planned to recess late Wednesday to campaign ahead of the Nov. 3 midterm elections.
Local sports recap for Sept. 30, 2026
PEORIA, Ill. (WMBD/WYZZ) — Defending state champ Nolan Eccles appears ready for another run to state. The Dunlap senior fired a 3-under 69 to lead the Eagles to a class 3A regional championship at Ironwood Golf Course Wednesday. Eccles collected seven birdies on the way to earning medalist honors. Washington, Metamora, and Morton advanced from […]
Rubio orders visiting Iranian UN delegation to leave NYC ahead of schedule
WASHINGTON (AP) — Secretary of State Marco Rubio ordered Iran’s foreign minister and his delegation to the U.N. General Assembly to leave New York earlier than
Washington Post Osprey Story Blurs the Line Between Science and Special Interests
Article Repeats Unproven Claims Without Explaining Where They Exceed the Scientific and Regulatory Record
Washington Post Osprey Story Blurs the Line Between Science and Special Interests
Article Repeats Unproven Claims Without Explaining Where They Exceed the Scientific and Regulatory RecordWASHINGTON, D. / ACCESS Newswire / September 30, 2026 / The Washington Post on September 27 published a story by Mark Robichaux under the headline "Ospreys are disappearing along the East Coast.
AI safety measures widely backed by most Americans, poll finds
WASHINGTON — A vast majority of Americans favor requiring artificial intelligence companies to meet independent safety benchmarks for their models, even if those standards mean slowing development of the technology,
WA state lawmaker to resign 3 days before the election
Washington state Rep. Skyler Rude said the job opportunity came after ballots arrived for the August primary.
Gregg Allman documentary to be screened at Kamin Science Center
Fans of Gregg Allman and the Allman Brothers Band will have a chance to experience his story on the big screen when the documentary “Gregg Allman: The Music of My Soul” comes to the Kamin Science Center starting today. Presented by longtime Pittsburgh concert promoter Rich Engler, the 96-minute documentary explores the life, music, and […]
Keeping Washington's buildings running is big business
A new study from BOMA International finds that commercial building operations support 71,800 jobs and contribute $7.6 billion to the state's GDP.
White House touts big-ticket projects in hope of swaying key races
With few tools to bring down prices in the short run, Trump hopes to focus voters on investments that could pay off in years to come.
Trump says he discussed release of political prisoners with Xi
WASHINGTON >> President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he discussed the release of political prisoners with Chinese President Xi Jinping when the two leaders met last week.
Trump says ‘only Hispanic’ could survive fall at ballroom site
Trump invited attendees of a Hispanic Heritage Month to be among the first to walk on his ballroom floor.
Pennsylvania reports 5th measles-associated death as outbreak continues
Cases in the state, home to the country’s largest ongoing measles outbreak, have climbed to 943 across 39 counties.
Senate GOP campaign chief says ‘cash is king’ as Trump team promises millions to keep majority
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate Republican campaign chairman said Wednesday that President Donald Trump's team has assured senators “money will not be our problem”
PAHO and MSD for Mothers sign agreement to reduce preventable maternal deaths in Guatemala and the Dominican Republic
Two-year initiative will support countries to reduce maternal mortality, prevent unintended repeat adolescent pregnancies, and strengthen efforts to eliminate mother-to-child transmission of HIV, syphilis and other infectionsWashington, D.C., 30 September 2026 (PAHO) — The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and MSD for Mothers have signed an agreement to help reduce preventable maternal deaths in Guatemala and the Dominican Republic by strengthening adolescent health and improving maternal health services.
Trump acknowledges bind he faces on immigration policies
The president spoke at a Hispanic Heritage Month event as Latino voters abandon him.
Venezuelan physician receives PAHO award for advancing Indigenous and intercultural health
Washington, D.C., September 30, 2026 (PAHO) – The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) today presented the 2026 PAHO Award for Health Services Management and Leadership to Dr. Noly Fernández, recognizing her contributions to advancing Indigenous health care and shaping services that respect Indigenous cultures, knowledge and rights.
Congress Set to Leave Washington for the Midterms With No A.I. Progress
Senate Democrats were expected on Wednesday to block a measure that would encourage, but not require, states to protect consumers from power rate hikes as a result of data center growth.
Congress Set to Leave Washington for the Midterms With No A.I. Progress
Senate Democrats blocked a measure that would encourage, but not require, states to protect consumers from power rate hikes tied to data center growth, and had no limits on A.I. use or deployment.
How Neighborhood Nursing can improve health and lower costs
Designed at the Johns Hopkins School of Nursing, the innovative model expands access to care by embedding healthcare teams in communities.
Democrat Troy Jackson apologizes for Holocaust reference
The Senate nominee’s bid to unseat incumbent Susan Collins (R) is critical to Democrats’ hopes for reclaiming control of the chamber.
What health tech leaders are talking about in Washington policy circles
In this edition of AI Prognosis: Dispatches from Health Datapalooza and MAHA Institute Open Data Summit, and other health AI news.
Trump’s nominee to be nation’s top doctor clears key hurdle in Senate committee
Nicole Saphier, a radiologist and former Fox News contributor, is the third person the president has nominated to be surgeon general in his second term.
Harger: Gov. Bob Ferguson is a two-time state chess champion. Washington politics is his board now
Governor Bob Ferguson is smart. You don't make the move from the King County Council to the attorney general's office to the governor's mansion without being smart, savvy, and strategic.
Exclusive: Africa aid cuts provide health ‘opportunity’
Governments across the continent relied heavily on USAID, Washington’s development agency, to fund health programs before it was shuttered last year.
Senate blocks measure requiring report on Israeli violence in West Bank
Nearly all Senate Democrats voted to require the State Department to report on Israeli settler violence in the West Bank.
HHS announces new process for agency’s PPE purchases
A newly introduced quarterly forecast is aimed at “better emergency preparedness,” an agency official says.
Business Roundup: Club Car Wash, Johnson Paws, Express Ice and Water
Club Car Wash, Johnson Paws Grooming and Express Ice and Water are three new businesses in Ashland.
Coach says Ireland will fulfil second Israel fixture
Republic of Ireland manager Heimir Hallgrimsson has confirmed his side will fulfil their second Nations League fixture against Israel on Sunday, insisting he must “focus on football” amid ongoing protests. The Stop the Game campaign group in Ireland has called on fans to meet at the Aviva Stadium ahead of the home game against Austria on Thursday to voice opposition to fixtures which it says help to “sportswash genocide.
Debt service and the Pentagon. Private equity and the politics of the US housing market. The return of black lung disease & the Franco-Prussian War in color.
Thank you for opening your Chartbook email. RALPH BALSON. 1890—1964. Oil and enamel, signed. Source: Gavekal This going to hurt - the two 7s in the US: diesel and mortgage rates Source: Gavekal In the US housing market, costs are soaring and the role of corporate, private equity-backed buyers is high on the mid-term election agenda. HEY READERS, THANK YOU for opening the Chartbook email. I hope it brightens your day. I enjoy putting out the newsletter, but tbh, what keeps this flow going is the generosity of those readers who clicked the subscription button. If you are persuaded to click, please consider the annual subscription of $60. It is both better value for you and a much better deal for me, as it involves only one credit card charge. Why feed the payments companies if we don’t have to. Subscribe It is striking how, since 2020, big banks have dropped out of the political spotlight in the US. For contributing subscribers only. Subscribe Rates of the lung disease pneumoconiosis among working US coal miners have risen to levels not seen in nearly 40 years Source: Bloomberg Chinese Clean Technology Exports For contributing subscribers only. Subscribe Ralph Balson (1939) Portrait of Grace Crowley Cole, G. O. & Haseman, S. M., (2023) “‘The Substance of Paint’: Class and Materiality in the Work of Ralph Balson”, Open Library of Humanities 9(2). Ralph Balson (1890–1964) was an English plumber and house painter who emigrated to Australia in 1913 and subsequently became a key member of Sydney’s artistic avant-garde. He is credited with having the first solo exhibition of purely abstract painting in Australia in 1941. Despite his role in developing Australian non-objective painting, Balson remained principally a house painter, working on his art practice at weekends. In 1955 he retired on a state pension and became a full-time artist. Balson’s artistic education and methods were critically shaped by his working-class background. He did not travel abroad until 1960 and was an avid auto-didact. His materials, palette, techniques and compositional strategies were likewise informed by his trade. Balson’s profession as a painter-decorator made him conspicuous within the predominantly middle-class Sydney art scene, though his painting partner Grace Crowley considered it an advantage in their pursuit of constructive painting. This paper explores the impact of Balson’s trade on his trajectory towards pure abstraction. While his art was at odds with the predominantly figurative mode of class-conscious art in Australian Modernism, we argue that it is embedded in the experience of class through its creative adaptation of labour into aesthetics. Source: OLH Svetlana Alexievich, The Art of Oral History No. 1 Paris Review Issue 257, Fall 2026 Interviewed by Elena Kostyuchenko INTERVIEWER How were you able to go to Chernobyl? Did you need special papers? ALEXIEVICH It was a time of chaos. They let me right into the zone. … More than anything, there was confusion. Adamovich [Ales Adamovich, the Soviet Belarusian writer], I remember, persuaded Gorbachev to send in the scientists, who showed up without even bringing their shaving kits. They were told that there had been an explosion at a nuclear power plant, but for some reason they thought that they’d be there for only a day or two. The first time I went was several months later, and people kept telling me about things they didn’t understand—how the fishermen couldn’t find worms, because they’d burrowed deep into the earth, how the milk wouldn’t curdle at the cheese factories. The honeybees wouldn’t come out of their hives. The evacuations started, I think, in the first month. The old women hid, they wouldn’t leave. I mentioned radiation to one of them and she said, “I’ve seen that radiation, all right! It’s yellow with green in it. I saw puddles of it in my garden, and I told the other women, and we ran and looked, and she had it in her garden, and the other one, too!” God, it was wild, the way the mind made sense of it. There was a story going around about Gorbachev telling the scientists to show him the radiation. “We can’t, it’s invisible.” “But I want to see it!” I also ran into the soldiers who’d been flown in on helicopters from Afghanistan. I asked them, “What are you doing here with your machine guns?” They said, “We’re collecting the radiation, that’s what.” So you had some of them running around with their guns, others out in the village washing off firewood or burying soil in the soil. These were the kinds of things that exploded our worldview. They made you realize that culture was just a chest filled with old manuscripts. There were no books in there that could help me. Our philosophers turned out to be useless when faced with the unprecedented. Derrida, Baudrillard—philosophy fell silent. What was happening? How would we live with it? That’s when I decided it simply needed to be witnessed. Which is what I did. INTERVIEWER I wanted to ask about how you talk to people. … ALEXIEVICH Yes, we sit and we talk—about what interests me and about life in general. About love, about everything in the world. That way, what comes out is three-dimensional. If you cut straight to the part you need, which is what journalists do, it won’t be interesting, and it won’t be the truth, either. Not the whole truth. INTERVIEWER Do people always open up when you ask questions, or can questions get in the way? ALEXIEVICH You have to ask questions, of course. Your job is to scour away the banality and return people to their true selves, to make them face what they rarely tap into. With every new person, you have to find a new way to do it. When you ask an interesting question or you share what happened to you, you help people really think about what they’re saying and not just repeat whatever they’ve picked up from the newspaper. But not everybody is capable of it, not everyone wants to put themselves through that. Either the chemistry starts to kick in or it doesn’t. A person might be wonderful, but you can tell that the conversation just isn’t going to happen. You can try to push it, but it will be a product of your own intellect, rather than of that mysterious connection. Life doesn’t come from the mind. Some people I can call two years after our last conversation, and they’ll say, “Oh, Svetochka! I think of you all the time,” and we’ll start talking again. With others, that won’t happen. That doesn’t mean they’re not extraordinary people, just that you can’t connect with them. They might have some insight, but you don’t have the right antenna to pick up their signal. Source: The Paris Review Colorized Franco-Prussian war … the ruins of Strasbourg with a French photographer and his mobile dark room. Ralph Balson (1961) Matter Painting If you’ve scrolled this far, you know you want to click: Subscribe
Manzambi's rapid rise a surprise to former coaches
Johan Manzambi is already in the discussion with fellow nominees Lamine Yamal of Barcelona, Real Madrid's Yan Diomande and new Manchester City midfielder Ayyoub Bouaddi for the best young player in the world award. It is a rapid rise for a player who used to return to Freiburg's academy to do his washing.
Why Washington Wizards Trade for Jalen Duren Makes Little Sense
The Washington Wizards found themselves tied to a trade rumor, but we explain why Jalen Duran in DC makes no sense
U.S. ends health aid to Zimbabwe after ‘America First’ deal is spurned
The African nation refused to make an agreement with the Trump administration, which has sought to slash foreign assistance and impose new terms on recipients.
Immigrants with legal status at risk of being dropped from Medicaid
The One Big Beautiful Bill ends eligibility for refugees, asylees, trafficking victims and others, and its impact could be larger than initially predicted.
Maine Democrat who rejects special interests previously ran PAC that courted them
Troy Jackson is challenging Republican Sen. Susan Collins in a pivotal contest that has been dominated by campaign finance issues.
Axel: 3 healthcare questions for candidates
As voters, we can demand a commitment from everyone we send to Washington.
Romanian lawmakers set to vote on new center-right Cabinet as political crisis drags on
Romanian lawmakers are set to vote on a new center-right Cabinet proposed by Prime Minister-designate Siegfried Muresan
Catcher Elects Free Agency, Ends Tenure with Washington Nationals
The Washington Nationals will have one less catcher in the mix in a potential 2027 season after a vet declared for free agency
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.
Officials cast doubt on Trump’s plan for drones, snipers at proposed arch
The arch is still envisioned to be a tourist site, despite the president’s announcement that it would be a “military complex,” administration officials told advocacy groups.
Fox News agrees to host Texas Senate debate; no word from Paxton yet
The last Senate race in Texas not to have a debate was in 2000.
Another majority that could be in Democrats’ reach: From the Politics Desk
Plus, AI takes center stage in Washington.
WATCH: Trump announces accord signed by top AI companies to 'self-police' development
Many of the executives gathered in Washington have called for a slowdown in the development of the technology after several hgh-profile incidents where AI agents have gone rogue.
Scientists identify new species of penguin, first in more than a century
Researchers were able to show that over hundreds of thousands of years, the gentoo penguin has diverged into four distinct evolutionary lineages.
Cities keep shelling out taxpayer money for sports stadiums, yet the economics almost never makes sense
Communities almost never see a boost in job or income growth after taxpayers subsidize a new sports facility.
10 Washingtonians weigh in on initiative to ban trans girls from girls' sports
KUOW asks 10 Washingtonians what they think about the initiative to ban trans girls from girls' sports
Innovative country experiences show how primary health care can accelerate health system transformation in the Americas
Barbados, Bolivia, the Dominican Republic and Guyana shared experiences on strengthening Primary Health Care through targeted actions in health workforce, services organization and system’s planning during the 63rd PAHO Directing Council.Washington, D.C., 29 September, 2026 (PAHO) – Innovative approaches to transform health systems based on primary health care (PHC) were highlighted today during a briefing session at the 63rd Directing Council of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO).
Homeland Security taps $20M in taxpayer funds for pro-Trump ads
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Department of Homeland Security has tapped $20 million to pay for the campaign-style ads glorifying President Donald Trump that have drawn
Explainer-Five Things to Know About the College Sports Bill That Passed the US Senate
By Nolan D. McCaskill WASHINGTON, Sept 29 (Reuters) - The US Senate passed legislation this week to regulate college sports, a multibillion-dollar industry that has been upended in recent years by increased earning opportunities for student athletes. Here are five things to know about the bill's ...
Washington’s 2026 Season Is Built on Poor Decisions
What makes Washington’s mediocre start to the 2026 campaign so frustrating is the core issue: poor decision-making. But that was bound to be the story of the season, wasn’t it? Between quarterback Demond Williams’ offseason drama and head coach Jedd Fisch’s overall approach, the Huskies were doomed from the beginning. Days removed from Washington’s loss […]
Fetterman announces $1.44M for Williamsport water tank replacement project
Washington, D.C. — Today, Senator John Fetterman (D-PA) announced $1,440,000 from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to the Williamsport Municipal Water Authority (WMWA) for a tank replacement.
How Ted Cruz, once a Republican gadfly, became a bipartisan dealmaker
The Texas senator was the driving force behind a bill to overhaul regulation of college athletics that passed the chamber Monday night.
Jasmine Crockett’s PAC released new endorsements. Talarico is still not on the list.
Rep. Jasmine Crockett has stepped back from Texas’s high-profile Senate race since losing the Democratic primary in March.
Andy Burnham pledges a big shakeup for Britain in a high-risk political speech
Prime Minister Andy Burnham has vowed to give Britain “a new social contract for the 21st century.”
PAHO and Sint Maarten sign Country Cooperation Strategy to strengthen health system and improve health outcomes
Washington, D.C., 29 September 2026 (PAHO) – The Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO) and the Government of Sint Maarten today signed the 2026–2031 Country Cooperation Strategy (CCS), establishing a six-year framework to guide cooperation to strengthen the country’s health system and improve the health and well-being of its population.
CDC updates measles toll, now counts 2 deaths
The updated tally comes after Pennsylvania reported four measles-associated deaths in 2026 in a growing outbreak.
Jack Smith clashes with senators over Trump probes, says ‘I will not be silenced’
Jack Smith returned to Capitol Hill on Tuesday to defend his derailed efforts to prosecute President Donald Trump, telling lawmakers he would not “be silenced by continued threats of prosecution” from the president.
Top U.S. Health Officials to Address Rare Disease Leaders at 2026 NORD Breakthrough Summit in Washington, D.C.
/PRNewswire/ -- Three of the nation's leading federal health officials will join more than 900 rare disease leaders across patient advocacy, industry, policy,...
Ask your 2026 candidates where they stand on public health
Public health is now part of modern-day politics.
Jack Smith appears for Senate Judiciary Committee hearing in Washington
Jack Smith, former special counsel at the Justice Department, looks on ahead of his testimony before a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing at Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., US, September 29,
Poll: Voting to repeal WA 'millionaires tax' hinges on ballot details
A new poll suggests an initiative to repeal Washington's new high-earners tax is trailing badly, influenced by ballot language that discloses its budget impact.
Watch live: RFK Jr., Vance outline MAHA agenda at health summit
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Vice President Vance will headline the annual Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) summit in Washington on Tuesday. The daylong gathering …
Brisket is missing from Texas menus. A Democrat blames Republicans.
Vicente Gonzalez releases a new ad connecting high beef costs to the loss of an important South Texas tradition.
GOP senator blocks bill to stop Trump from demolishing Kennedy Center
The bipartisan effort to ban the demolition of presidential memorials was thwarted in the Senate by an objection from Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah).
Ex-Trump prosecutor Smith will tell senators he won't 'be silenced' by threats of prosecution
The former Justice Department special counsel who brought two federal indictments against President Donald Trump will tell lawmakers he “will not be silenced by continued threats of prosecution” from the Trump administration and believes the rule of law is being threatened like never before
Wizards Notes: AJ Dybantsa & Middleton Roles, Season Expectations
Notes from Washington Wizards media day on AJ Dybantsa, Khrist Middleton, 2026-27 season expectations, Anthony Davis minimizing the noise and more
Commanders' Win vs. Seahawks Delivered Early-Season Statement Win
After an 0-2 start, the Washington Commanders needed a spark. They found it against the defending Super Bowl champions, forcing turnovers, capitalizing on Seattle's mistakes and pulling off a 33-31 statement win in their home opener.
Analysis | Democrats coalesce around a message about the cost of corruption
Their message accuses Republicans of flagrant corruption, tying the attack to the billions President Donald Trump has made during his second term.
Is Neoliberalism to Blame for America’s Health Care Woes?
Horror stories about private equity-owned hospitals are part of a deeper history of neoliberalism, a new book argues.
$10 for a gallon of gas has red Alaska thinking about a Democratic senator
Mary Peltola hopes to unseat Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan in a race all about prices, federal aid and Donald Trump.
Senate passes college sports bill to rein in athlete payments and transfers
A 2025 lawsuit settlement uprooted the college sports landscape by allowing colleges to pay their players.
VP Vance & HHS Secy. Kennedy Join Admin. Officials and Health & Tech Industry Leaders at MAHA Summit
Vice President Vance and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. join administration officials and health care and tech industry leaders at the 2026 MAHA Summit in Washington, DC.
Former BET host and media personality Angela Stribling dies at 58
Angela Stribling, radio personality and former host of several BET shows, has died. She was 58. Stribling’s husband, Ken Washington, announced the news in an Instagram post shared on her account and in a statement to her longtime Washington, D.C., radio station, WHUR 96.3, on Sept. 27. “It is with a broken heart that I […]
Senate approves sweeping college sports bill on athlete pay, transfers and NCAA rules
WASHINGTON – The Senate approved a bipartisan college sports overhaul that would codify athlete revenue sharing, regulate NIL and transfers, and give the NCAA limited antitrust protection. Critics say it undercuts athletes’ leverage.
Ethics Watchdogs To Investigate Whether Troubled Multnomah County Health Board Got Dubious Legal Advice
A Washington state attorney has been advising a Portland-area governance board on Oregon Public Meetings Law.
Party leaders widening Washington's political chasm
Most of the polarization currently roiling Congress comes from political parties rather than individual politicians, a study co-authored by University of Miami Business School associate professor Chad ...
Health Brief: The fight over ultra-processed foods
The Trump administration is weighing a federal definition of ultra-processed foods as RFK Jr. pushes a broader crackdown on ingredients tied to chronic disease
FEMA can’t condition security grants on election changes, judge says
The Trump administration had sought to limit anti-terrorism funding for local governments that didn’t check the citizenship status of voters.
PAHO marks 50 years of strengthening health emergency preparedness and response in the Americas
Washington, D.C., 28 September 2026 (PAHO) – When two powerful earthquakes struck Venezuela in June 2026, health authorities and emergency responders faced an enormous test. Within hours, regional emergency coordination mechanisms were activated to support the national and international response. Almost immediately after, health facilities were being assessed, medical supplies were mobilized, and highly trained and self-sufficient Emergency Medical Teams from across the Region were ready to deploy.
Ranking Member Markey: SBA Administrator Loeffler, Trump Administration are Refusing to Answer to America’s 36+ Million Small Businesses and Workers, Leaving Main Street Behind
Loeffler canceled her scheduled Sept. 30 appearance before the Senate Small Business Committee, has not appeared before SBC in more than a year (Washington, September 28) – Ranking Member Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) today released the following statement after Small Business Administration (SBA) Administrator Kelly Loeffler canceled her scheduled Wednesday appearance before the Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee. Administrator Loeffler has not appeared before the committee in more than a year and has consistently refused to provide substantial answers to committee members in person, in writing, or via requested briefings. In June, Ranking Member Markey led every Democratic member of the committee in calling on Administrator Loeffler to appear before the committee to answer for the Trump administration’s cruel attacks on American small businesses, entrepreneurs, and workers. The Democratic lawmakers still have not received a response from Administrator Loeffler. “It is unacceptable that Administrator Loeffler chose to cancel her appearance before the Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee. The Trump administration is once again ignoring the more than 36 million American small businesses, entrepreneurs, and workers who drive our economy and enrich our communities by refusing to answer questions about this administration’s reckless economic policies. It has been more than a year since Administrator Loeffler has appeared before our committee and answered questions from both Democrats and Republicans. Since then, the Trump administration’s attacks on Main Street have only worsened. “Small businesses are facing record high gas and diesel prices, skyrocketing healthcare costs, and never-ending uncertainty from Trump’s trade war with the world. Trump has terrorized Main Streets across the country with violent ICE raids, destroying families, communities, and local economies. Meanwhile, Administrator Loeffler and the Trump SBA have been in a Witness Protection Program, ignoring the Pain on Main Street that they have created. They have chosen to make drastic cuts to SBA funding and essential, bipartisan programs, including the closure of the SBA office in Springfield and removal of the SBA office from Boston; directly attacked immigrant small business owners and destroyed the promise of the American Dream; and proposed shortsighted small business size rules that would benefit billion-dollar businesses over actual small businesses. “It’s clear that Administrator Loeffler, President Trump, and their CEO billionaire buddies want to turn the Small Business Administration into the Big Business Administration, tear down our economy, and abandon Main Street. If that is indeed this administration’s goal, Administrator Loeffler must answer to the millions of small businesses, workers, and families in Massachusetts and across the country that this administration is leaving behind.” ###
The WPI Conversation: Why global health still needs external funding
Arnhold Institute of Global Health Director Rachel Vreeman on the continued need for global health funding in the wake of wide cuts
Takeaways: Nationals finish 2026 with series win vs. Mets
The Washington Nationals beat the New York Mets to complete three straight series wins and close out the 2026 MLB season.
White House to reopen part of Lafayette Square after eight months
Administration officials are still pursuing plans to build a permanent fence around the park.
Analysis | The 9 Senate seats most likely to flip party control in November
Democrats need to flip several in red states to win back the Senate majority. Here are their best chances.