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FCC considers allowing more political robocalls before midterms, including those created with AI
The Federal Communications Commission is considering a request to loosen rules on political robocalls, including those with AI-generated voices.
SUNY Cortland adds environmental science major
The new interdisciplinary program allows students to pursue interests in biology, chemistry, geology and other areas.
Why Halloween is now bigger than Christmas for some attractions
From scare parks to pumpkin patches, Halloween is driving huge crowds and spending.
FDA may allow some toxic chemicals to be added to food without safety review. Experts are alarmed
Regulator looks to expand loophole to allow dangerous compounds in food as long as they’re not carcinogenic
Business Court Weakens Lawsuit Against Boeing for Downplaying Dangers of Aircraft
Only Southwest Airlines Pilots Association’s claims for direct damages are allowed to proceed.
This surprising mammal fossil is giving scientists something to chew on
It's likely you've already chewed and swallowed some tasty morsel today. But when did that ability emerge? New evidence points to at least the middle Jurassic, back when dinosaurs still reigned.
SpaceX deal to expand its Starlink network sends telecom stocks tumbling
Telecom giants saw shares tumble on news that Elon Musk's company reached a deal that would allow it to expand its reach in the US market.
Low-cost Android phones ship with residential proxy malware
A malware campaign dubbed 'Midnight Mimosa' has been discovered on low-cost Android smartphones that ship with malicious software embedded in their firmware, allowing attackers to silently install apps, perform ad fraud, and turn devices into residential proxies.
Hundreds of new pro sports team ETFs lead world of retail investing to the edge of gambling
Sports teams are big businesses, but new exchange-traded funds that allow investors to bet on MLB and NHL team performance look more like gambling, experts say.
Visa wins approval to prepare a bank card clearing business in China
Visa has received approval to prepare for a bank card clearing business in China, allowing it to compete in the country's payments market.
Visa wins approval to prepare a bank card clearing business in China
Visa has received approval to prepare for a bank card clearing business in China, allowing it to compete in the country's payments market. Analysts see this as a positive sign
Photonic circuits become trainable AI hardware
Nature Computational Science - A physics-based in situ learning method is demonstrated that directly measures optical gradients with photonic integrated circuits, allowing diverse circuit...
FCC considers allowing more political robocalls
The Federal Communications Commission is considering a petition that would allow certain political groups to make robocalls without first obtaining the recipient’s consent. NBC10 Responds Reporter Valeria Aponte Feliciano has more.
Who Won August and September: Original Films or Franchises?
(Welcome to the Entertainment Strategy Guy, a newsletter on the entertainment industry and business strategy. I write a weekly Streaming Ratings Report and a bi-weekly strategy column, along with occasional deep dives into other topics, like today’s article. Please subscribe.) I just heard someone say that if you’re reading a pundit or data analyst, and they don’t tell you that they got anything wrong, they’re not a pundit but an “influencer”. I agree with that. You have to tell your audience when you get things wrong, or they won’t (or shouldn’t) trust you as much. Today, we’ve got another edition of “What I Got Right, What I Got Wrong”. In general, I’m patting myself on the back (and patting very hard) about a few things like IP at the box office, LIV golf, horror films, crowdfunding movies, superheroes, and old people going to the theaters. That said, I also made a couple of data mistakes on the streaming bubble popping and HBO’s datecdotes, so I’m not perfect. But first, I need your feedback... Subscribe Follow-Ups: What Should We Call Mid-Budget Movies Which Aren’t Cinematic Enough for Theaters But Are Too Expensive to Make Money on Streaming? After I asked for feedback on what we should call straight-to-streaming films that are too big to pencil out on streaming but not really big enough to resonate in theaters, I got some great suggestions from you all, including... “Moldilocks” from John Aboud “Little Big Indie” from Travis Frick1 “Midflicks” from Jonathan Funke. “Extra-Medium” from Jona Nwuke. (Read the explanation in the footnote.) Between these and Brandon Katz—who suggested “Bermuda Budget Triangle”, “The Platform Gap” and “The Distribution Deadzone”—we’ve got some excellent suggestions. And they’re better than my suggestion, the “Streaming Budget Dead Zone”, so let’s take a poll! The winning entry becomes the new term. Loading... RIGHT: LIV Golf is Fully Bankrupt…Is Anyone Else Next? A few years ago, I was always a bit perplexed at all the articles I’d read praising LIV Golf and their strategy to disrupt the PGA. LIV Golf, a brand new professional golf league, offered PGA stars ten times what they made on the PGA Tour to join their new league. And folks praised this strategy for its initial “success” in that a lot of big names did indeed leave the PGA. Yeah, of course the players came over. LIV Golf paid them so, so, so much more! But LIV Golf hadn’t discovered a way to increase potential revenue. So think about this in basic business terms… They paid much more in costs… …but had no real way to increase revenue. That’s not a strategy! That’s deficit financing. It won’t work unless you bankrupt the competition (and then turn around and pay those same golfers much, much less). It’s not a sustainable strategy and only lasts as long as the company/person/nation backing it decides they’re cool with losing money. For LIV Golf, that meant Middle East oil wealth, in particular Saudi Arabian money. Clearly, the current Iran War has hurt Middle East finances, so they need to trim their more exorbitant spending. And LIV Golf was part of that trimming. This should be a major warning for others. TGL’s parent company, TMRW Sports, just got a $1 billion valuation, despite TGL’s (the indoor golf league) horrible TV viewership of less than half a million viewers per match. Unrivaled, the women’s basketball league, just secured a $650 valuation, despite its horrible TV viewership and a new rival (Project B) entering the scene next year. To relate this to streaming, Hollywood should ask which streamers may have wealthy patrons funding their losses. (Let’s be clear: Google, Amazon and Apple.) Could those patrons lose their appetite? For Amazon, probably not. But Apple has a new boss, so maybe! WRONG: My Analysis of the Streaming Bubble Was Missing a Week I’m going to be congratulating myself a lot today, but I make mistakes too, like this data goof. When I last compiled the data on the decline in TV shows, I was missing one week at the end of June. If you look at the first image, you can see that one week was mislabelled as “July”. Mainly, this image got updated to show a 27% decline, not 29%: This change doesn’t really impact the overall analysis, but it is two percent better. By the way, through the third quarter, the decline increased and it’s now a 30% decrease since 2022. (I’ll write/visualize this in an upcoming article.) But I want you to trust me and my data. Especially these days, when many people are using LLMs that I know are inserting faulty data into their charts, I want to keep earning my audience’s faith. So that’s the accurate data. RIGHT: IP Remains Very, Very Popular In July, I wrote a giant (and I mean giant) article on Backrooms, Obsession, and the box office, going over what we know, what we don’t know about what works in theaters, looking at YouTubers, IP, the horror genre, comic book movies, and a whole lot more. The month of August really tested a lot of my theses and, being honest, mostly supported my arguments. Let’s start with IP. Looking at 8-Aug (the weekend after Spider-Man: Brand New Day came out) to 18-Sep (the weekend that Resident Evil came out, which I think provides a nice bookend to this time period), there were seven films based on pre-existing IP: Resident Evil (2026) ($126 million) Practical Magic 2 ($65 million) _Insidious: Out of the Furthe_r ($65 million) Coyote Vs. Acme ($59 million) Paw Patrol: The Dino Movie ($53 million) Tony ($15 million) Super Troopers 3 ($7 million) Compare those to the notable original films from the past month—I actually could have included more movies, but here are just thirteen, bringing us to an even twenty films—including.... The End of Oak Street ($54 million) Buddy ($26 million) Mutiny ($15 million) By Any Means ($15 million) The Dog Stars ($14 million) Runner ($14 million) One Night Only ($11 million) Hope ($8 million) Spa Weekend ($7 million) The Uprising ($6 million) Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma ($6 million) Onslaught ($3 million) Eli Roth’s Ice Cream Man ($2.8 million) Here’s that in chart form: Five of the top six films in this time period were all based on IP. I made a big chart of films that grossed over $200 million at the box office before Spider-Man: Brand New Day and The Odyssey hit theaters. Let’s update that chart! By the way, if you want to see how I categorized each film—so another bar chart—here it is: I know that many of my fellow critics/pundits/analysts dislike films based on IP and how Hollywood is making so many of them. And I’m sympathetic to this point of view. As I’ve written many, many times before, you need a balance between existing franchises, new IP, and original films. And Hollywood clearly needs to make more films like Resident Evil (a well-made film from a visionary director) and fewer Practical Magic 2’s (which didn’t get critical or customer buzz). But at some point, critics and pundits need to contend with what audiences are telling them: Movie-goers aren’t showing up to original films. Audiences are speaking with their dollars, telling you they want more IP and franchises. You can try to convince studio heads to make fewer IP-based films and franchises, but the data and numbers aren’t there. Instead, critics need to work harder to convince audiences to show up for original films. Aim your ire/concern at the average person, not studio heads.2 Because they’re just making the films that audiences are telling them to make. WRONG: Original Horror Films Didn’t Break Out I’ll be honest, even though I wrote an article casting some skepticism on the horror genre in July, if you asked me to make a prediction, I would have predicted that, in August, a new, original horror film would have blown up. No, seriously, I just assumed that Obsession and Backrooms presaged a change in audience behavior. But none of the buzzy new original horror films from August—Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma, Onslaught (not an action film in spite of the ads), The End of Oak Street, Eli Roth’s Ice Cream Man, or _Buddy—_broke out. To be clear, exactly one of those films (Buddy) had good “ROI”, but again—I try to be specific in my language—none were “popular” in any broad sense of the word. None of them will be “saving” movies theaters like Backrooms or _Obsession_helped save the summer. The new Insidious film and Resident Evil, both based on IP, were far and away the biggest horror films since July. (We’ll see if this changes in October/Halloween season.) RIGHT: Stay Skeptical about Crowdfunding... I’ve long been skeptical about crowd-investing platforms as one of Hollywood’s saviors, mainly because there’s so much hype/buzz. People need to stay more skeptical about more things, explaining both the potential upside but also the downsides. In particular, the media often hypes crowdfunding at the start and never checks in on the actual results after they’ve come in later. And August gave us our first update! _Ice Cream Man—_directed by Eli Roth—grossed $6 million off of a $5.5 million budget. This is a production of The Horror Section, which was one of the first “crowd investing” studios with 2,400 investors, which means that 2,400 investors probably lost money. They certainly aren’t getting as great of returns as if they had just invested their dollars in the stock market. Hopefully Stiletto (Tagline: “Someone’s Going to Make it Rain Blood!”) does better next month. WRONG: Another Data Goof Here’s another data error. When the first episode of House of the Dragon came out, HBO put out that it had 21.5 million viewers in the first three days, and I read that to mean in the US…but no, it was global. So my US-only datecdotes charts shouldn’t have included it. We never got US-only numbers for the first episode, but for the final episode, HBO put out that it had 11 million US viewers. (And that global dropped to 21 million viewers.) Here’s the updated chart (which I’ve since used in the Streaming Ratings Report): Still, this show is absolutely huge. RIGHT: Superhero Films Remain Very, Very Popular After Supergirl flopped, I read a few takes that “comic book movies are going the way of the Western”. Post-Spider-Man: Brand New Day, that take didn’t age well. To be fair, I have a very nuanced take on the superhero genre right now; it’s down right now, for a lot of reasons. But it’s not “dead”. Maybe _Spider-_Man is just a really popular character? I saw that take, and it’s a fair counter-argument. (But pundits arguing that superhero movies were dead should have mentioned this $1.5 billion counter-argument…) But is it just Spider-Man? The next Avengers film already has $50 million in pre-sales (and I was skeptical that that film would do well) and the Avengers: End Game re-release topped the box office two weekends ago (over three original films). And I wouldn’t bet against Batman or Superman. So maybe it’s just Spider-Man, Batman, Superman and the Avengers. Oh, and Deadpool, of course. And Black Panther. And Wolverine. And probably the X-Men. Plus a well-made Wonder Woman or the Hulk film could break out. But that’s it! It’s just those ten characters/teams. Oh, what’s that? Lanterns is also doing well on HBO? (See previous section…) To be fair, I’m actually pretty sympathetic to the argument that more popular characters—like Spider-Man and Batman—anchor more popular films. In fact, I made that exact argument three years ago when I first wrote about the “Marvel-cession”. In many ways, you can blame The Guardians of the Galaxy for fooling Marvel Studios (and the rest of us) into believing that any character could pop. It turns out, the list of iconic characters is probably smaller than most people think. But it’s probably too early to say that superhero films and comic book movies are dead unless “death” means a slight decline over a longtime. RIGHT: Who Killed Theaters? Old People I get frustrated whenever I see headlines or analysis about how young people are “returning” to theaters. As I’ve detailed(for years), young people have always powered the US box office, despite narratives about “kids these days” and their “phones”. Really, what’s changed post-2020/pandemic is that old people aren’t going to the movies nearly as much. This summer, I saw a movie (from an older director) in a theater near a retirement community, and multiple older people at the theater were talking about how this was their first time seeing a movie in years. I dislike personal anecdotes, so YouGov can fill in the data, best summarized by this headline: “Who killed movie theaters? Not the youths”. According to them, 64% of people aged 18-29 have seen a movie in the last year, but only 30% of 65-and-older. 20% of 18-29 have seen a movie in theaters in the last week and 42% in the last month. Here’s the polling data: Most concerning? Many Americans (17%) think theaters are a worse or much worse experience than watching films at home. Slight WRONG: Hadestown Opens Big A live theater capture of the Broadway musical, Hadestown, made $20 million at the US box office, which begs the question: was I wrong to be skeptical about musicals a few years ago? Yes and no. On the one hand, $20 million is a far cry from being “popular”, so yeah, the genre isn’t that popular overall and Hadestown is one of the more popular musicals from recent years (i.e. the “Taylor Swift Data Fallacy” in action). On the other, I doubt filming this cost all that much, and I don’t think that they spent much on marketing, so this is a good source of ancillary revenue. Smaller Updates WRONG: As I mentioned in a Streaming Ratings Report, I underestimated the budget for Enola Holmes 3. It probably cost more like $50 million, if not more. But... I’m not sure that it really matters? At sub-10 million hours, prices have to come down to make this work. WRONG: Netflix is giving Ink a 27-day in theaters! To quote the kids/YouTubers these days, let’s go! Now I might actually have a chance to see Danny Boyle’s latest in theaters. I’d complained about this in a “Coming Soon” section, but I was heartened to read that Netflix is giving multiple films longer theatrical windows this year. RIGHT: Netflix is sending 4-5 films per year to theaters. Netflix is slowly but surely sending more and more films to theaters, as I cautiously predicted earlier this year. For now, it’s just three big films and a number of awards contenders, but still, this is great news. And they’ll be releasing box office grosses! Just this week, Ted Sarandos confirmed that KPop Demon Hunters 2 will come to theaters (and my guess is it performs in the box office top ten at a minimum). WRONG: Angel has 3 million subscribers! How do I know this? Well, they told Deadline, who reported it. I marked this as “wrong”, since they’ve doubled their subscribers in one year but, you know, they don’t really have a hit film to speak of and they’re still losing money. WRONG: Furious was only renewed for one more season. I accidentally wrote “two more seasons” in my latest “Renewals, Cancellations, Un-Orders and Removals Update”. RIGHT: House of David is ending with its third season. In July, Prime Video renewed House of David for a third season, as I just wrote in my latest “Renewals and Cancellations” report. Well, now it’s ending after that third season. Why? As I’ve been writing, its viewership wasn’t great. I got feedback that this show didn’t cost very much, but it cost enough that its limited viewership didn’t save it. WRONG: Adults was a Hulu original! So I missed Adults when it first came out last year; I saw that it aired on FX and just assumed that it was a linear-first program. Turns out, it aired three episodes on FX, but binge-released the rest of its episodes the next day on Hulu. Huh. So I should have covered it last year! But I just wrote about it. 1 “When I was a kid in the 90s, if you wore a t-shirt to school that wasn’t too big and also wasn’t too small, but somehow didn’t quite fit, we’d say you were wearing an “extra-medium” shirt.” 2 As always, a huge exception is Disney, which barely makes anything original anymore.
Winnipeg Jets’ Blowout Loss Comes With Bizarre Statistical Twist
The Winnipeg Jets suffered a blowout loss on Friday night to the Anaheim Ducks in a game that, on paper, looked like it would be closer.When a team loses 5-1, the assumption is that they allowed a lot of shots on goal and didn’t generate many themselves. In Friday night’s loss to Anaheim, the Jets […] The post Winnipeg Jets’ Blowout Loss Comes With Bizarre Statistical Twist appeared first on HEAVY.
Nevada City Rotary's Pumpkins Palooza Family Celebration returns Oct. 15
Halloween spirit is officially back in the air as Nevada City Rotary announces the return of the Pumpkins Palooza Family Celebration, a live family celebration, scrumptious raffle drawings, and auctions
You Can Now Set Up Your iPhone Duo Pre-Order
Apple has opened its "Get Ready" service for iPhone Duo pre-orders, allowing customers to pre-select a variety of options to streamline the process of ordering and have a better chance of grabbing one on launch day. The iPhone Duo launches on October 23, while pre-orders go live on October 16 at 5 a.m. Pacific Time or 8 a.m. Eastern Time.
FCC considers allowing more political robocalls before midterms, including those created with AI
The Federal Communications Commission is considering a request to loosen rules on political robocalls, including those with AI-generated voices.
Spirit Halloween fundraiser supports Carle Health program
Spirit Halloween and Carle Health Proctor Hospital are holding a fundraiser where 10% of purchases made with a special coupon will be donated to the hospital's Child Life Program at six participating ...
Epic used AI to find potential security flaws that could expose patient health records
Epic Systems revealed last month that it used an advanced artificial intelligence tool to find security weaknesses that could have allowed undetectable access to patient health data. Epic maintains health records for more than 325 million patients around the world.
‘Halloweenmas’: how the spooky one-nighter turned into a month-long spectacular
Welcome to Halloweenmas, weeks of themed fun and gifts – from costume parties to decorating trees – without the stress, rules or cost of Christmas
UW-River Falls to Offer Halloween Carnival and “Haunted Lab” Science Demonstrations ⋆ 715Newsroom.com
Two special Halloween-themed events are planned at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls on Tuesday, Oct. 20, including a Halloween carnival and “Haunted Labs” science demonstrations. Children in 4K through fifth grade are invited to attend the annual “Halloween in the Halls” event from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m., hosted by UWRF Residence Life. Instead of trick-or-treating through residence halls, Residence Life will host carnival activities, such as cornhole, apple bobbing, an egg walk, a bouncy house, crafts and sticker activities. The carnival will be held behind Grimm and Parker Halls, in front of Hathorn Hall and between Johnson and May Halls.
Battenfeld: Maura Healey’s Trump tactic is why Americans hate politics
The incumbent Massachusetts governor was allowed by a weak moderator to dodge every question. The late, legendary Tim Russert would never have tolerated that.
Community Science Takes Centre Stage on World Migratory Bird Day
World Migratory Bird Day marks its second peak day of the year by celebrating the people whose observations help understand bird migration,
Mad Science owner brings spooky Halloween science experiments to life
Rob Diaz from Mad Science of NYC & Westchester joins 'Fox & Friends Weekend' to demonstrate spooky Halloween science experiments, including bubbling dry ice potions and a giant fog explosion.
Mamdani offers New Yorkers a break on unpaid city fines under new 90-day amnesty program
Mayor Zohran Mamdani launches Debt Demolisher, a 90-day NYC amnesty program allowing eligible New Yorkers and businesses to settle unpaid city fines at a discount.
CSU researchers test AR ‘X-ray vision’ technology for judging distance in blocked-visibility situations
Research being conducted at Colorado State University is bringing technology once thought to be science fiction one step closer to reality. Augmented reality technology allows three-dimensional objects to be placed in real-world surroundings as if they were physically present. It is most commonly found in mixed reality headsets such as the Apple Vision Pro or...
Spooky Science Event at the Florence Farmers Market
(Mass Appeal) – Are your kiddos looking for a fun, interactive STEM activity that incorporates Halloween? Then we have Spooky Science at the Florence Farmers Market on Wednesday, October 14th from 2:00pm-6:00pm.Here to tell us more is Dr. Megan Allen, Founder & Owner of The Community Classroom Tutoring and Cora Rose Allen-Flynn, Megan’s daughter & […]
Was Delay Of Universal Health Plan Report Unlawful? Does It Matter?
A Republican state representative has been on a crusade alleging lawmakers allowed a major report to be delayed without statutory authority. He may have a point, but Democrats say he’s harping on a technicality.
FCC considers allowing more political robocalls before midterms, including those created with AI
The Federal Communications Commission is considering a request to loosen rules on political robocalls, including those with AI-generated voices. Current federal law bans most robocalls to cellphones without prior consent.
US Supreme Court Won't Speed up Democratic Challenge to FCC Political Ad Policy, for Now
By John Kruzel WASHINGTON, Oct 8 (Reuters) - Siding with Republicans, the US Supreme Court on Thursday allowed the Federal Communications Commission to avoid for now a judicially imposed deadline in a Democratic challenge to the agency's new political advertising policy. With November midterm ...
Lakers Insider Suggests Shocking Jaden Hardy Trade Scenario
The Los Angeles Lakers remain in a tough spot of having to cut or trade someone before the NBA season starts. League rules see the Lakers currently one player over the maximum allowed players. Dalton Knecht continues to be the top rumored name to get cut, but Jaden Hardy remains a realistic option as well. […] The post Lakers Insider Suggests Shocking Jaden Hardy Trade Scenario appeared first on HEAVY.
Bay Area Halloween family events: Trick-or-treats and spooky time fun
A region-by-region guide to Bay Area Halloween events for kids and families, from trick-or-treat trails and costume parades to spooky train rides, pumpkin drops and glowing gardens.
Santa Barbara pumpkin patch sees slower business ahead of Halloween
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. — Halloween is approaching, but business at Lane Farms has been slower than usual as recent heat and changing weather affect visits
Ranking Wisconsin football's remaining opponents from best to worst
While it looks unlikely, if they can get through Halloween unblemished, then Wisconsin hold chance of being able to progress as far as they allow
CA voters to decide on Prop 4 to see if political campaigns can use taxpayer money
Proposition 4 would overturn current law, allowing state and local governments to be able to create public financing programs for campaigns.
MLB proposes 154-game seasons, adding postseason games
MLB team owners also proposed to allow higher-seeded teams in the first two rounds of the postseason to pick their opponents.
Visa wins approval to prepare a bank card clearing business in China
BEIJING (AP) — U.S. payments giant Visa said Tuesday that it received approval to prepare to set up a bank card clearing business in China, a move that could allow
AG Blanche, other high-level DOJ appointees can take part in political campaigns, memo says
The Justice Department has loosened the guidelines for the attorney general and other senior political appointees, allowing them to participate in political activities.
FCC considers allowing more political robocalls before midterms, including those created with AI
The Federal Communications Commission is considering a request to loosen rules on political robocalls, including those with AI-generated voices.
Trump says he won't let Iran strike L.A. or San Diego: 'Not going to let that happen'
Trump told a Texas rally that the U.S. would not allow Iran to strike Los Angeles or San Diego, two days after his remarks on the subject stirred outrage among California leaders.
Small businesses face tough choices as health insurance costs rise
Some businesses are exploring choice arrangements, which allow employers to set a defined benefit amount rather than selecting one carrier and set of plans for all employees.
How worried should Catholics be about the pope’s health?
Pope Leo XIV announced on Sunday that he will undergo surgery this week to remove a “nodule” from his lung. The pope made the announcement at the end of his Sunday Angelus address, asking for prayers. “Dear all, recently, during some checkups, the doctors discovered a nodule in my lung. It was detected at a very early stage and was well-localized,” Leo said. “The doctors felt it was necessary to intervene, and so, following their advice, I decided to have surgery to remove it. The procedure is already scheduled for the next few days. I thank you for your spiritual support and I entrust myself to your prayers.” The Vatican press office subsequently added that Leo is scheduled to undergo surgery at the Gamelli hospital on Tuesday, Oct. 13. The pope is expected to spend up to a week in the Gamelli recovering, after which, for the moment, he is still expected to undertake his largest and longest to-date Apostolic journey, heading to Argentina, Uruguay, and Peru, beginning Nov. 6. Prayers have, understandably, poured in from dioceses around the world, accompanied by the best wishes of heads of state and international institutions. So how worried should Catholics be for the health of the pope? The Vatican’s messaging around Leo’s pending surgery is, in many ways, a new approach to papal health issues. But, despite the pope’s personal candour, the Holy See’s messaging perhaps raises as many questions as it answers. Subscribe — Leo’s decision to announce his own medical status and pending hospital stay during the Sunday Angelus is, it should be said, already something of a big deal. Traditionally, the health of popes simply hasn’t been discussed publicly or officially, until circumstances made it absolutely necessary. Memorably, in 2023 Pope Francis was rushed to the Gemelli in an ambulance, exhibiting signs of cardiac arrest according to many close to him, only for the Sala Stampa to put out a statement insisting he was merely going in for “pre-scheduled” tests. That Pope Leo has decided to announce his condition himself, with remarkable frankness, is a significant comms policy shift around the Apostolic Palace. This might reflect a deliberately more open posture, as opposed to the traditional, otiose evasiveness, and the first fruits of an American pope and American prefect of the Dicastery for Communications favoring honesty as a baseline. Equally, it must be allowed, it could be that the pope’s situation is serious enough that there would be no keeping it under wraps or playing it off, and the decision was made to be as open as possible to head off speculation about the papal health. Certainly, Leo appeared to make every effort to sound reassuring — stressing that, whatever the diagnosis is, exactly, it is “well-localized” and “early stage.” Of course, for everyone listening, talk of a “nodule” in a lung will immediately send thoughts — and prayers — running to concerns about words not used, like “cancer,” “tumor,” “begnin” or “malignant.” To be clear, none of those words may yet be medically appropriate. And there is every reason to believe and assume that Leo is giving almost as much information as he may have himself at this stage. But the context of the pope’s announcement and the timing of his surgery do reasonably raise reasonably serious concerns for Leo. We don’t know, and this isn’t to say anyone has the right to expect to know, when the routine medical checks made this discovery. It could have been last week, last month, or even earlier. As such, it isn’t really possible to say with what kind of urgency Leo is being brought in for surgery. However, there is clearly some serious urgency to the matter. Leo making the announcement and going into hospital this week, of all weeks, means he is having to miss the balance and conclusion of his global meeting of the heads of the world’s bishops conferences, which he convened in Rome this week. That, as the Vatican has announced, has meant some serious changes to the schedule, with the newly minted dean of the College of Cardinals, Cardinal Tagle, subbing in for the closing Mass on Wednesday, and the meeting’s organizers announcing that the final working document/summary of the meeting being delayed until Leo can read and feed into it. Those changes suggest that the timing of Leo’s surgery isn’t of his own choosing, and he is acting on the best medical advice he can get by moving urgently. Had this issue been discovered weeks ago, it seems reasonable to assume the pope would have seen it dealt with before the meeting began. And were it possible to delay it, even by a few days to allow the meeting to conclude as scheduled, the expectation would surely be he’d have opted for that. It cannot be excluded that Leo is simply having to fit in with the schedules of his medical team, but a man who occupies arguably the most important and prominent role in Italy, if not Western Europe, could generally be assumed to be the one whose calendar others work around. All this points to a very recent medical discovery leading to a “days matter” diagnosis, or at least suspected possible diagnosis. Of course, another factor weighing in the balance is Leo’s upcoming apostolic visit to three South American countries, including a return to Peru, where he spent many years as a priest and bishop. It is entirely possible that the doctors, and the pope himself, are more concerned about the potential knock-on effects of surgery, and the time needed for recovery, for a 71-year-old — even one as physically sound and actively sporty as Leo. The pope is due to depart Rome November 6 for his 10-day three-country trip, returning on Nov. 17. It may be that Leo has simply made the decision to allow maximum time for his own post-op recovery, and even allow for potentially unforeseen circumstances, so that he is at full strength for the landmark trip. While it might be an inconvenience, and clearly a last-minute wrench in the works for the Amoris meeting, it is possible that Leo simply weighs the importance of that conference more lightly in the balance than even the possibility of missing his homecoming trip to Peru, or even having to scale back his itinerary for the trip. If that is the case, it would suggest a real abundance of caution by the pope approaching his Latin American tour, and a sobering indication of where Leo ranks the non-synodal meeting currently underway in Rome. In any event, what can be said for certain is that the pope having to take this, of all weeks, out of his schedule for surgery and an extended hospital stay is extremely unfortunate timing. It is clear that this is a decision Leo has made on the advice of his doctors. Together, they clearly consider that the risks of delaying, even by a little as a few days, represents an unacceptable risk for the pope. Even expecting and allowing for Leo’s full and speedy recovery, that should be a very sobering thought for Catholics everywhere. Subscribe
ENTERTAINMENT: Magic Screams at Magic Springs; MacArthur Museum hosts 13th Vintage Vehicle Military Show
Magic Springs Theme and Water Park brings back its annual Magic Screams, billed as Arkansas’ largest Halloween festival.
Political campaign & advertising signs not allowed on public highway rights of way, MnDOT says
With election season in full swing, the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) is reminding campaigners that state law prohibits the placement of political signs, or any advertising on highway right-of-way.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Recommends Science-Based Thresholds to Target Dangerous Enhanced Kratom Products
Kratom products credit: CDPH DEA takes action based on updated recommendation from HHS October 11, 2026 - WASHINGTON - On Friday, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services relesed the following: The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) provided a new recommendation to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) that establishes science-based thresholds for 7-hydroxymitragynine (7-OH) and mitragynine pseudoindoxyl (MGPI), potent opioid compounds associated with products marketed as kratom. The Department of Justice today announced that DEA issued new Notices of Intent reflecting HHS’ updated scientific analysis and recommendations, including a new Notice of Intent for 7-OH and MGPI incorporating HHS’ recommended concentration and ratio thresholds. Following a review of available scientific data and comments, HHS Assistant Secretary for Health Admiral Brian Christine, M.D., recommended that DEA use concentration or ratio-based thresholds to determine which products containing 7-OH and MGPI are subject to Schedule I control for purposes of temporary scheduling of these substances under the Controlled Substances Act. The recommendation is designed to target concentrated or chemically altered products while distinguishing them from natural botanical kratom products, which may contain trace amounts of 7-OH and MGPI. “We are drawing a clear line between natural kratom and dangerous, enhanced opioid products,” said HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. “We listened to the public, followed the science, and developed a clear recommended threshold for temporary scheduling that targets concentrated 7-OH and MGPI without sweeping natural botanical kratom into Schedule I. The Trump Administration will continue taking decisive action against dangerous products that fuel addiction while making sure our policies are grounded in rigorous science.” Under the recommendation, 7-OH and MGPI would be controlled in Schedule I for purposes of temporary scheduling when either substance alone, or their combined amount when both are present: Exceeds 1 milligram per gram in solid powders, encapsulated material, or other solid forms, or exceeds 1 milligram per milliliter in liquid preparations; or When the mass of mitragynine present divided by the mass of 7-OH, or MGPI, or the combined amount of 7-OH and MGPI if both present, is less than 100. The ratio-based approach reflects the alkaloid composition of natural kratom products and provides a way to identify products intentionally enhanced or concentrated with 7-OH or MGPI. Available scientific data indicate that 7-OH occurs naturally in botanical kratom at relatively low or trace levels, while some evidence reviewed by FDA suggests MGPI may also occur at trace levels in some natural or kratom-derived products. FDA's scientific review found that 7-OH is substantially more potent than morphine in preclinical studies, with available data indicating approximately two to nine times greater potency depending on the study. FDA also identified evidence supporting a meaningful risk of opioid-like physical dependence and withdrawal from MGPI. “Our recommendation gives DEA a scientifically supportable framework to distinguish natural botanical kratom from products that have been concentrated or manipulated to deliver dangerous levels of potent opioid compounds,” said Assistant Secretary for Health Admiral Brian Christine, M.D. “This approach allows us to focus on the products that pose the greatest threat to public health.” In July 2025, following an FDA scientific and medical evaluation, HHS recommended that 7-OH above a specified threshold be placed in Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act. In July 2026, DEA announced its intent to temporarily schedule 7-OH above a specified threshold, and HHS simultaneously sought public comment on the proposed threshold. DEA subsequently temporarily placed MGPI and two synthetic 7-OH derivatives, MGM-15 and MGM-16, in Schedule I. Since then, questions have emerged about how scheduling could affect natural botanical kratom products potentially containing trace amounts of MGPI. The new HHS recommendation responds to those concerns by providing DEA with a more precise threshold based on both the concentration of 7-OH and MGPI and their relationship to mitragynine, the predominant alkaloid in kratom. HHS and FDA will continue working with DEA to protect Americans from dangerous concentrated and synthetic opioid products while ensuring federal policy is grounded in the best available science. Source: HHS
Netflix’s Summer of Bummer
(Welcome to the Entertainment Strategy Guy, a newsletter on the entertainment industry and business strategy. I write a weekly Streaming Ratings Report and a bi-weekly strategy column, along with occasional deep dives into other topics, like today’s article. Please subscribe.) Today, I’ve got a guest post from longtime friend of the newsletter, Brandon Katz. I’ve been trying to find time all summer to look at Netflix’s straight-to-streaming film slate, but between a pre-planned trip and Nielsen moving up their streaming data timeline, I’ve been swamped. So I reached out to Brandon, one of my favorite fellow analysts, to write about it. And I feel like he captured the tone and data focus of the newsletter perfectly. You can connect with Brandon on LinkedIn and Twitter. Enjoy! Don’t worry, folks. You’re in safe hands with me. To ease any anxieties about an interloper in ESG’s domain, I’ll start by stealing one of his best framing devices: headlines. Box office flops are covered in the same way the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles eye pizza: with cartoonish insatiability. I would know. I’m a former reporter who wrote nearly identical headlines: Yet, intentionally or not, streaming misses get treated with kids gloves, filtered through a rosy lens: In the last six years, U.S. streaming viewership has become nearly as transparent as the box office, but the data often arrives weeks later, in a number of less intuitive metrics, and with nary an official budget to be found. This plays into the Wall Street-whispering narratives major streamers have been cultivating for years. They get a pass in a way that theatrical studios simply don’t. Subscribe Netflix’s Summer Slate Not a single Netflix original film released between May and August this year opened above 20 million U.S. TV hours, per Nielsen. That benchmark usually serves as the EntStrategyGuy’s floor for a streaming hit on Netflix. None of these films enjoyed a hit-cementing single week of 20-plus million hours during their runs. Netflix’s two best films were true crime docs, Maternal Instinct (16.5 million hours) and The Crash (19.7 million), the best overall week for a film this summer. Great for most other streamers, but not necessarily what we’re used to seeing from Netflix. For an overly-dramatic comparison, Happy Gilmore 2 opened last summer to around 47 million hours (celebrity cameos, baby!). Zooming out, the picture looks even worse. In 2026, Netflix’s five biggest scripted summer films posted the lowest average (28.6 million hours) and median (28.8 million hours) eight-week viewership totals of the past four years. Now, it’s unrealistic and unfair to expect Netflix to deliver a _KPop Demon Hunters-_sized hit every year. But it’s also not ideal to see the size of their hits shrinking over the last few summers. Let’s quickly run through some of the notable summer misses. Jennifer Lopez and Brett Goldstein’s perfectly fine romcom, Office Romance, fell off the charts after 20 million hours in its first two weeks. Top films usually last for four-plus weeks. Starry titles ideally don’t decay that fast either. Homegrown star Millie Bobby Brown couldn’t prevent the snappy Enola Holmes franchise from diminishing returns. At 14.3 million U.S. hours, the third film posted roughly half of what the first two films did in their first two weeks. What’s on Netflix calculated that per-day global views were down nearly 60% from the second movie. The Whisper Man did okay with more than 36 million hours over its first four weeks. But I expected a little more juice from a film featuring Robert De Niro, Michelle Monaghan, and Adam Scott. Kevin Hart’s Ladies First collected just 11.2 million hours total across two weeks. That’s a big miss for one of Netflix’s go-to stars. Plopping into the same bucket are Sunny Sandler’s Don’t Say Good Luck (10.3 million in two weeks) and John Cena’s Little Brother (17.5 million). Meanwhile, English-language originals Color Book (June 19), In the Hand of Dante (June 24) and Heartstopper Forever (July 17) never sniffed Nielsen’s Top 10 at all, despite needing only 2 to 5 million hours to land in the top ten most weeks. (By my count, eleven English-language scripted original films released between May and August did chart). It’s only fair to mention that Swapped (1-May) posted nearly 42 million U.S. hours over five weeks (the longest Netflix original run this summer) and is currently their eighth most-watched English-language film ever worldwide. Remarkably Bright Creatures (37 million, 4 weeks) and Voicemails for Isabelle (27 million, 4 weeks) weren’t bombs either. Still, overall, I think it’s fair to say this was a quieter summer season than we’re used to seeing from the market-leader. You might not realize that given the language commonly used in public analysis. The Twist Despite the starkly black-and-white tone of the coverage, here’s the twist: when many box office bombs arrive on streaming, their viewership looks a whole lot like many of Netflix’s supposedly successful summer releases. Hmm, where have we heard that one before? Masters of the Universe topped out at $65 million stateside against a $170 million budget_._ I’ll admit, Skeletor ripping sleeveless curls as a gym bro and bodyslamming Adam’s co-workers was funny. But, much to the chagrin of my bank account, my laughter doesn’t launch franchises. Yet the He-Man reboot opened to 19.6 million hours (from a Wednesday five-day opening instead of just one weekend), on par with Hoppers on Disney+ (19.4 million). It put up nearly 47 million hours over its first six weeks, bigger than all of Netflix’s summer releases. Pretty darn healthy and likely to land among the 25 most-watched movies on streaming this year. Sticking with Amazon, The Sheep Detectives just barely broke even at the box office with $133 million worldwide (and only $66 million domestic). I never expected cloven-hooved, cud-chewing mammals to be able to bring me to tears. Yet that’s exactly how I found myself at the end of this surprisingly affecting movie (#NoShame). It was likely the unexpected quality in a family-friendly film that powered its streaming over-performance. Sheep Detectives delivered a solid run for Prime video netting 26.2 million hours! How about franchise IP? Star Wars: The Mandalorian & Grogu had the lowest opening ($81 million) and lowest-grossing Disney-era live-action Star Wars film ($178 million domestic). One day before release, its Heat score (19.8%)—audiences who list their interest as a 7/7—fell behind blockbusters Wicked (21%), Superman (23%), Fantastic Four: First Steps (23%), Michael (23%), Toy Story 5 (26%) and Avatar: Fire and Ash (27%), according to Greenlight Analytics. The urgent enthusiasm just wasn’t there. On streaming, Mando opened to weeks of 12.1 million, 6.1 million and 2.7 million hours (21 million total) over its first three frames. Not the numbers Lucasfilm was hoping for nor the numbers of a streaming hit. But they’re in the same vicinity as some Netflix summer releases with $345 million at the global box office to offset a smidgen of the pain. Final Thoughts So why oh why does this nuance gap exist? Four key reasons: Data Literacy: A “$100 million opening” just makes sense. After decades of box office reporting, even casual movie fans are well-versed in the benchmarks of hits and home runs. There’s an immediate shorthand. But “16.5 million” hours doesn’t land nearly as cleanly. Despite leaps of progress, the streaming ratings era is still in its infancy compared to theatrical. The EntStrategyGuy and I met thanks to a late 2010s group chat of data nerds hungry to find a shred of certainty in nebulous streaming performance. I’m not surprised to see “No. 1 on Netflix” still getting misconstrued out in the wild. Timing: By Friday morning, we have the box office’s Thursday night previews totaled, allowing us to better project the weekend’s expectations. From there, ticket sales are reported daily. By Sunday, the film’s fate is usually finalized, at least in terms of public perception. In streaming, Nielsen recently improved its delay to…two weeks. The medium isn’t forced to contend with instant gratification as harshly. Financials: Theatrical film budgets are a mere Google away. Profit and loss is calculated in the cold and unforgiving naked light of day for all to see. But finding the vast majority of streaming exclusive movie budgets requires the forensic investigation skills of a Criminal Minds detective. Also, it’s very difficult to calculate how much revenue/value a straight-to-streaming films provides a streamer. This is why there are so few stories about streaming original movies “losing X amount of money”. On top of that, marketing budgets are far greater for theatrical movies than streaming exclusive movies, which leads to earlier and better awareness. This then translates to a wider pool of potential interest. Narrative Control: Netflix is the only major streaming service to publish weekly first-hand viewership data and annual engagement reports. Naturally, some headlines borrow their first-hand framing**.** Other streamers benefit from their comparative lack of transparency. They may occasionally announce vague performance platitudes such as Apple TV’s Mayday becoming its “biggest film debut on the platform to date over its first 18 days,” and that it ranked No. 1 with left-handed viewers in its first weekend. (Fine, I made up that second one). But, for the most part, they keep first-hand viewership shrouded in mystery to avoid bad press. Especially for outlets that demand multiple articles per day from their writers, it’s an easy (and understandable) way for some reporters to hit their daily article quota by just repeating what the streamers have told them. TL:DR version: Streaming-exclusive movies are asked to do different things than theatrical movies, but that doesn’t mean they should escape judgment. Both still need to draw enough eyeballs to justify their cost within the proper performance contexts. The more cleanly we can inject a little nuance into streaming analysis, the better we’ll understand the audience and content trends that drive this industry. And that’s what all of this is really about: knowing what audiences actually want! Brandon Katz is the Director of Insights & Content Strategy at Greenlight Analytics where he focuses on evaluating the ever-fluid media landscape to unearth understanding, opportunity and value. Greenlight Analytics is the entertainment intelligence consulting company redefining how Hollywood finds, understands, and activates audiences. Prior to joining Greenlight Analytics, he served as the senior entertainment industry strategist at Parrot Analytics, and as a full-time entertainment industry reporter covering the Xs and Os of Hollywood, most notably with TheWrap and the Observer.
SAASTEPS Secures Key Patent Allowance and Launches CODEN.com
DENVER--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct 13, 2026--
Shirley Chisholm Recreation Center to Host Halloween Gala
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FCC considers allowing more political robocalls before midterms, including those created with AI
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Bayern's goalkeeper dilemma after Neuer howler for the record books
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From hidden gems to horror classics: What to watch this Halloween
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Cool chemistry trick allows new tattoos to 'turn on and off'
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FCC considers allowing more political robocalls before midterms, including those created with AI
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A guide to fall festivals and Halloween happenings around Tallahassee
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Nets Allowed 3rd-Fewest Points in Paint Last Season
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Scientists stop quantum particle using magnetic field it never crossed
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Suspect steals car, leads police on chase before crashing into Sunnyside area business, HPD says
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Halloween at The State
Show at Union Cemetery highlights seven KC Halloween entertainment offerings
“Electric Poe” has become an annual outdoor production since Coterie created it in 2020 during the pandemic.
Valley businesses make superhero capes for sick kids
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Upcoming activities announced at Jervis Library in Rome
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NLCS notes: Tarik Skubal, Shohei Ohtani, Max Muncy
After a three-day hiatus, the Dodgers are back in business on Sunday as they begin the 2026 National League Championship Series against the Milwaukee Brewers. Tarik Skubal was handed the ball for Game 1 of the NLDS against the Atlanta Braves, and he managed to allow just one run while striking out seven across six […]
Braves Minor League Recap: Isaiah Drake Records a Hit
(1-4) Glendale Desert Dogs 2, (2-3) Peoria Javelinas 10 box score It was another bad day for the Glendale team all around. They have been struggling to get any sort of good play from the team. and after allowing six runs in the second inning of this game it was a quick decline to a […]
Growth for Montana Global Health is an easy pill to swallow
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US Supreme Court won't speed up Democratic challenge to FCC political ad policy, for now
Siding with Republicans, the US Supreme Court on Thursday allowed the Federal Communications Commission to avoid for now a judicially imposed deadline in a Democratic challenge to the agency's new political advertising policy.
17 new science fiction and fantasy books to read in October 2026
Whether you're looking for scary or cozy reads to put you in the Halloween mood, these new books will do the trick.
Halloween, Día de los Muertos a treat for Santa Fe business owners as sales climb
According to the National Retail Federation’s annual consumer survey, consumer spending on Halloween this year is projected to reach a record $13.5 billion, and local retailers are noticing.
The politics of city rats: What urban rodents tell us about housing and sanitation
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Ohio State alumnus David Jacobs’ interest in investing yields high return for students
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Halloween-themed science exhibit in Pocatello seeking volunteers
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New Plugin Allows Us To Turn Our Steam Deck Into a PSP, PS5, or Xbox 360
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Judge appears skeptical of Trump’s White House press ban and other hearing takeaways
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Old Town Trick-or-Treat returns, business sought
Halloween fun returns to Old Town Lompoc on Saturday, Oct. 24, from 12–3 p.m., featuring for treats, games, music, costumes, and "plenty of spooky fun for the whole family," the
October brings trunk or treats, games, carnivals, Boo at the Zoo
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New Britain Public Library to Host "Health to Treat Spooktacular" for Halloween
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UChicago scientists discover semi-aquatic Jurassic-era otter that could chew and swallow
Family friendly spooky science event set for Oct. 17
SHERIDAN — A family-friendly Halloween event is scheduled for Oct. 17.
PS5 Jailbreak App 'Overdrive' Seemingly Makes Games and DLC Free
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Pumpkin disclaimer: personality not included
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Visa wins approval to prepare a bank card clearing business in China
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Can AI help healthcare move from treatment to prevention?
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Alaska found a way to elect more moderates. Now voters might end it.
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Third annual Halloween Health Fair coming to El Eden
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The Black British Business Awards 2026: Meet the winning leaders, innovators and changemakers shaping UK industry
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Physicists discover “astonishing” property of light that defies expectations
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Small businesses face tough choices as health insurance costs rise
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Amazing Halloween party inspiration!
Dive into the world of a nurse turned creative genius as she transforms her small Louisiana home into a 1930s haunted hotel for a legendary Halloween party every year. Get inspired by this immersive experience and creative vision! 🎃👻 #HalloweenPartyIdeas #ImmersiveExperience
Scare up some fun: Dirty Birds host free Halloween double feature at GoMart Ballpark
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Theatre Cedar Rapids offers Halloween scares with ‘Exorcist’
Directed by UNI's Matthew Weedman, this isn't just a horror show — it's a powerful story about faith, doubt, and saving a child in crisis. See it now in the intimate Grandon Studio Theatre — if you dare.
Arizona Diamondbacks News 10/13
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Texas Launches Expedited Online Business Filing System via SOSPortal
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HOMETOWN ENTERTAINMENT: Weekend lineup includes Halloween fun, Latin dance party and flea market
Over 200 vendors set for Berglund Center Saturday
When is trick-or-treat night 2026 in Lancaster County?
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MORNING BUSINESS REPORT: Halloween candy costs up, Starbucks explores Chipotle takeover
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Buffalo Bills fans beginning to doubt team’s chances in 2026
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Zeldin announces EPA proposal to support cleaner air and business growth in Arizona
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Visited Massachusetts town that's better than Salem: Beverly
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Visa wins approval to prepare a bank card clearing business in China
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Visa wins approval to prepare a bank card clearing business in China
Visa has received approval to prepare for a bank card clearing business in China, allowing it to compete in the country's payments market.