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Democrat Abdul El-Sayed wins election to U.S. Senate from Michigan
Progressive Democrat Abdul El-Sayed will become first Muslim U.S. senator.
Goldman Sachs’s Asad Hader on health care's post-election boost
Asad Haider, Goldman Sachs head of U.S. Healthcare Equity Research, joins 'Power Lunch' to discuss S&P health care sector gains.
Florida U.S. Senate Special Midterm Election 2026: Live Results
Follow live election results as voters head to the polls for the 2026 Florida Senate Special race. Watch in real-time as midterm outcomes arrive.
Which sports figures won or lost in the midterm elections? Tracking 7 big names
Ex-NFL player Colin Allred returned to the U.S. House, while ex-coach Tommy Tuberville and broadcaster Michele Tafoya were also in races.
Bengs speaks on data centers, money in politics ahead of elections
The war in Ukraine, data centers and the release of the Epstein files. All topics expectant voters wanted Brian Bengs, South Dakota’s independent candidate for U.S. senate, to comment on...
Haaland won election. Now, how will she govern?
By Kevin Hendricks — New Mexico made history Tuesday night with Deb Haaland winning her campaign to be the first Native American woman to win a governor’s seat. Haaland, a Laguna Pueblo member and former U.S. Interior secretary, beat Republican Gregg Hull by 14 points to become New Mexico’s next governor. She takes office Jan. […]
North Carolina attorney general joins lawsuit over business ownership rule
North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson and 20 others are suing to block a Treasury rule that exempts most U.S. companies from ownership reporting.
Democrat J.D. Ford wins election to U.S. House in Indiana's 5th Congressional District
In an upset that many analysts did not see coming, Democratic nominee J.D. Ford defeated three-term Rep. Victoria Spartz in Indiana’s 5th Congressional District in Tuesday's election.
Team USA Seeks Private Investment for New Commercial Venture
Team USA is seeking outside financing for a new commercial rights vehicle it is calling U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Ventures, chief executive Sarah Hirshland said Tuesday, as the sports governing body plans for two domestic Olympics and hopes to better monetize fan engagement. “Sports entities are all focused on building their direct-to-consumer value proposition,” Hirshland …
Democrat Troy Jackson wins election to U.S. Senate from Maine
Jackson wins election to U.S. Senate from Maine.
Mark Gurman: Apple Initially Aimed to Release iPhone Duo in November
Apple initially aimed to "wait until November" to release the iPhone Duo in the U.S. and China only, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, but it ultimately launched the device in more than 70 countries on Friday, October 23. "Apple rushed the Duo to market without enough inventory to meet demand," he said. "Apple rushed the Duo to market without enough inventory to meet demand," he said.
The National STEM Festival is taking its science fair global
After three years of showcasing young innovators from across the U.S., the festival is expanding internationally, with events planned for the U.K. and Mexico.
BBSI Opens Pittsburgh Branch, Expanding Business Services in Pennsylvania
VANCOUVER, Wash., Nov. 02, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Barrett Business Services, Inc. (BBSI) (NASDAQ: BBSI), a leading provider of business management solutions and one of the largest professional employer organizations (PEO) in the U.S., announced the opening of its BBSI Pittsburgh branch in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania. The Pittsburgh branch expands BBSI’s local presence in western Pennsylvania and provides small and mid-sized businesses in the Pittsburgh market with local access to BBSI’s payroll,
Live Results: Texas Senate midterm election
The U.S. Senate race in Texas between Republican Ken Paxton and Democrat James Talarico is widely considered the marquee race of the midterm cycle.
Is America really that polarized? The answer might be a surprise
The U.S. has become more politically polarized, but research shows people overestimate their differences and there is 'messy middle' majority of Americans who share overlapping political views.
AP Voter Poll: The economy and the state of democracy are voters’ top issues
About 4 in 10 U.S. voters nationally say the economy is the most important issue facing the country, as most express concern about gas prices and the cost of groceries. About 3 in 10 say the state of democracy is the top issue.
Lonza bets big on US growth, snaps up Merck KGaA’s CDMO business
In a major reshaping of the pharmaceutical contract manufacturing landscape, Lonza has struck a deal to acquire the CDMO business of Merck KGaA. | Lonza will purchase the German Merck’s U.S.-based CDMO network for mid-triple-digit million euros. Besides five sites, the deal will bolster Lonza’s prowess in rapidly growing sectors such as cell and gene therapy, bioconjugates, viral vectors and advanced drug-delivery technologies.
Texas Secures Top U.S. Business Climate Ranking for 4th Straight Year
Governor Greg Abbott celebrated Texas being named America’s Top Business Climate for the fourth year in a row by Site Selection magazine.
Jessica Alba Battled 'Impostor Syndrome' While Building The Honest Co.
Jessica Alba explained how she built The Honest Company into an early star-led business venture in a conversation with U.S. Bank's Courtney Kelso.
HDI Global US names Duhart, promotes Feige to CUO roles
HDI Global US on Monday named former Axa XL executive Maria Duhart as chief underwriting officer, U.S. Specialty, and promoted Dan Feige to chief underwriting officer, U.S. Short-tail Lines.
Research: When Workers Adapt Their Resumes to Fit the Political Moment
Job seekers are rewriting their resumes to match the political moment. A new study, which analyzed 2.9 million U.S. workers, found that employees added ESG and DEI language around Biden’s 2020 election and deleted it after Trump’s 2024 victory, mirroring corporate behavior. The research also found that this strategy can be an effective way to earn a new role; those who added such language were more likely to switch employers or be promoted, even though their qualifications tended to be slightly lower. This is because employers tend to sacrifice candidate quality for political alignment. To hire for the long haul, leaders should limit reliance on resume-screening algorithms, prioritize skills and experience, and discount political signals that may soon fade.
AFGHS co-signatory countries ask health care users to help fill the financing gap
Hundreds of thousands of Ugandans living with HIV on antiretrovirals could be targeted for user fees or community health insurance schemes requiring modest premium payments, according to the April 2026 version of the country’s America First Global Health Strategy implementation narrative.1 As part of the “sustainable financing for the private not for profit sector” strategy, 491 facilities will be targeted for a phased introduction of user fees and scale up of community health insurance programs.2 In the Ugandan context, PNFP facilities include faith-based hospitals and other health facilities, US missionary organizations and centers of excellence—services that are often co-located at government facilities but run with additional financial and technical resources. 402,000 people—or about 28 percent of the total Ugandan adult PLHIV population on treatment—get ART from the private not for profit sector. The selected facilities provide the majority of ART and prevention of mother to child transmission (PMTCT) services. The plan doesn’t give the total number of clients served by the 491 facilities, so it is not possible to give a precise number. But the majority of 402,000 is a figure in the hundreds of thousands—hence the estimate I’m using.3 The April draft of the Ugandan implementation plan narrative is the only one I’ve been able to review. But the government of Uganda is not alone in turning to health care users to help fill the financing gaps caused by the abrupt withdrawal of US funds. In July 2025, the Government of Liberia introduced user fees for previously free services including “registration, accommodation, patient feeding, hospitalization, and a wide range of surgical and diagnostic procedures.”4 Earlier that year, Liberia rolled out a revolving drug fund designed to stabilize drug supplies by “allowing patients to pay a small fee for standardized, quality medications,” according to a Ministry of Health press release.5 (Both of these approaches had been proposed in the National Health Policy 2022-2031; media coverage explicitly connects the launch with the US foreign aid cuts.) The health financing strategies proposed by Uganda and established in Liberia are qualitatively different from user fees officially adopted by specific health facilities to cover funding shortfalls caused by the new US approach.6 The latter is a stopgap, adhoc change. The former is a national governmental adoption of policies that pass costs on to health care users, despite evidence that such approaches can exacerbate inequities and leave deficits unfilled. Two countries does not make a pattern, but they do point to urgent questions: Have other countries, including Liberia, included user fees or community health insurance schemes in their implementation plans? If so, do any of these narratives have what Uganda’s lacks: a fall-back plan in place in case these strategies for sustainable health systems fail to deliver—as they have before? I wonder if you think about it Subscribe Predictable pitfalls Both community-based health insurance and user fees are as old as the hills. And after decades of people climbing up these hills, duking it out, climbing back down—neither strategy has shown the results the Ugandan implementation plan is counting on. This is, in fact, a hill some folks are willing to die on. (You knew I’d get there, right?) In November 2025, an African-led team of health system experts published a paper directed at low- and middle income country governments trying to figure out how to create self-sustaining health systems. The money wasn’t coming back. It had been more than nine months since the season of freezing, waivering and wood-chippering; two months since AFGHS tumbled into the world touting co-financing requirements and reductions in future US government health aid. Governments were looking for strategies for sustainable, self-financed health systems, the authors wrote. For countries considering user fees and community health insurance to fill the financing gaps, they had a simple message: Don’t. On user fees, the paper states: “Reliance on user fees is ultimately a regressive and inequitable approach. It places a disproportionate burden on the poor and undermines health system goals of equity and financial protection. […] There is overwhelming evidence that user fees mobilise very limited resources for the public health sector, making it an inefficient mechanism for revenue mobilisation.” On community health insurance: “Attempting to shift the burden of funding previously donor-funded services, such as HIV care and management, and TB treatment, onto contributory schemes would exacerbate their fragility and fail to protect the population.”7 The WHO says that community-based health insurance “cannot be expected to provide a major source of funding or coverage,” and noted that most schemes offer only moderate benefit to individuals paying into them, and exclude the poorest segment of the population.8 And yet, the US-Ugandan implementation plan says that community health insurance is “the central pillar of this [PNFP] sustainability strategy” and that this approach that will generate “pre-paid pooled funding at facility and community level [that] improves financial risk protection for households, reduces catastrophic out-of-pocket expenditure, and generates structured, transparent revenue streams that can progressively absorb recurrent costs including health worker salaries.” Unfortunately, Uganda’s own history suggests the pillar might not be able to bear this weight. Ugandans Have Been to this Rodeo Before—and Some Want Their Money Back Uganda introduced its first community health insurance scheme in 1996 with support from international donors.9 Thirty years later, somewhere between 0.2 and 0.3 percent of the population is covered by CHI; just over 1 percent has any kind of health insurance.10 User fees were universally introduced in 1993 as a condition of a World Bank loan.11 They were abandoned in 2001, and in 2004—the year I moved to Uganda to watch the free HIV program get underway—a definitive study found that the fees did not improve health systems and outcomes.12 In 2004, most clinics and hospitals had ‘free’ and ‘fee for service’ options for getting care.13 The fee for service, or “cash and carry” programs had often been established in the years prior to PEPFAR and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. People who could afford to paid for the drugs, often at facilities in the private-not-for-profit (PNFP) sector. When free drugs arrived, some people who’d been paying kept on doing so, perhaps because of shorter wait times, greater confidentiality, convenience or other factors. But in the year that I spent visiting the same clinics around the country week after week—including a “center of excellence” that maintained separate days for cash and carry clients and those accessing free ARVs—lots of people who had been paying tried to switch to the free option. They’d paid because they had no other choice. They’d sold pieces of family land, begged family members for loans, bought pills by the week, and sometimes by the day. Or they were just cash-strapped, like most of us, and wanted the funds for other things. 14 Twenty-two years later, this hasn’t changed. Ugandans pay out of pocket for 30-40 percent of their health care costs, leading one paper to declare that “falling ill is more than a health crisis. It is a financial emergency.”15 One recent study found that up to 48.5 percent of households dealing with tuberculosis sold something, took out a loan or dug into savings to defray the costs of TB care—which is supposed to be universally free.16 The Ugandan implementation plan does anticipate challenges. It proposes a phased approach, with 187 facilities introducing user contribution systems in Year 1, 152 in Year 2, and 153 in Year 3. Willingness to pay and feasibility studies will precede roll out; fees will be tiered by region, and a waiver system is proposed to ensure that no one has to pay who is unable to. Moreover, the plan provides for quarterly reviews of epidemiological data to “ensure that user contributions do not compromise epidemic control gains, ART continuity for the client cohort, TB case management, or PMTCT services.” Alt text: A screenshot of a table included in the implementation plan narrative that is the subject of this stack. It’s got a fetching pink bar at the top. It uses the abbreviation “CHI” which is Community Health Insurance, and FBO which is Faith Based Organizations, and it details the number of facilities that will implement user fees with waivers and community health insurance schemes over the five years of the agreement. As I said in the footnote, this is a super interesting document with a lot of other rich material. Tell me what you see—and what you would have focused on. And if you’ve seen something like this, or anything else that strikes you, in another implementation plan, tell me that too. You can use the Substack message platform or try me on Signal at @endaplague_again.25 (because @mercoonfan was, weirdly, taken). But the plan doesn’t fully explain what will happen if this approach doesn’t work out. Yes, progress will be monitored, and corrective action triggered. However, there is no specified funding replacement if premium and fee revenue prove inadequate. Instead, the authors write, “Currently, COEs serve a total client cohort of over 180,000 across 28 facilities. In the initial years, the U.S. Government (USG) will provide financial support for clients; over time, user fees generated by COEs will become the primary source of funding for sustaining their services.” Failure does not really seem to be an option. Health insurance schemes are more acceptable to the Ugandan population than user fees. Members of Parliament and civil society traveled to Ethiopia to see how that country’s scheme worked. In a follow up report, a veteran civil society group recommended allowing the “health insurance ecosystem to grow organically and [to] keep reviewing the law and regulations as this growth takes root.”17 One study found that more than three-quarters of Ugandans were willing to join a health insurance program.18 However, coverage of community-based health insurance is minimal, as is coverage of any kind of insurance—including private plans.19 A national health insurance scheme bill has been stalled for several years and presently sits with President Yoweri Museveni.20 Community-based health insurance scheme that do exist are expanding in number, but losing enrollees. Between 2022 and 2026, the number of community-based health financing schemes across the country increased by 42 percent, while the number of people enrolled decreased by nearly 11 percent.21 None of this means that community-based health insurance should not happen in Uganda—or that people do not want insurance. It doesn’t even mean that user fees and waivers won’t ever work. But there is highly relevant evidence from Uganda and the surrounding region that it is quite optimistic to describe community health insurance and user fees as central supports for sustainable financing in any sector of the health system. And now for the best-case scenario In the best-case scenario22, the Ugandan approach does exactly what it sets out to do, and so does the Liberian fee structure and revolving pharmacy fund—though I’ve not confirmed that these are in the MoU. In one best-case scenario, Uganda is an outlier, and user fees and community health insurance are not recurrent pillars of self-sustaining financing in other countries’ implementation plans. In another best-case scenario, all countries that include these strategies enjoy success beyond anyone’s evidence-informed wildest dreams: reliable funding generated by health care users fees, great health care outcomes for everyone, no exacerbation of inequities, no crippling household debt. No sold land, repurposed school tuition or high-interest loans. In the best-case scenario, not one of the hundreds of thousands of Ugandans living with HIV receiving antiretrovirals from 491 PNFP facilities misses a refill or leaves care because of user fees or community health insurance premiums. This is the best-case scenario for these people for their own health, and for their families. It is also the best-case scenario if Uganda wants to stay on the path to eliminating HIV as a public health threat. According to the country’s most recent data, 96.5 percent of people living with HIV on antiretrovirals are virologically suppressed. Epidemic control depends ensuring that 95% of people living with HIV know their status, 95 percent of those individuals are on ART, and 95% of those individuals are virologically suppressed. Uganda is still struggling with the first “95"—a frankly abysmal 85.3 percent. If HIV epidemic control and the attendant prevention of new infections, avoidable suffering and premature death matter, the country cannot afford to lose any clients who are currently in care.23 As I write this a couple hours before the polls close for the US elections in the city I live in, I say with soul-deep sincerity: I am rooting for the best-case scenario. I think it’s safe to say that we all are.24 I think it’s also safe to say that if the US and co-signatory governments have inked plans that lead to successful expansion of community health insurance and strategic use of user fees, we all would like to know, now, so that we don’t miss the opportunity to celebrate when success happens. The implementation plan narratives have to enter the public domain. They are the fullest expression of a strategy co-created by two governments. There are assumptions and details that people living in the US and co-signatory countries need to understand that are not available in the MoUs or, to date, in the Congressional Notifications. Some of these details can help other countries that are, as I write this, still working on implementation plans. Others, like a solid count of how many other countries have plans for expanding user fees or health insurance, are important for regional and global health architecture reform initiatives. No matter how this election night turns out, there will be a slew of new Congressional member orientations, briefings and talking points papers in the next few months. Release of implementation narratives should be a bullet point in every context that AFGHS is discussed. These documents can be redacted so that procurement sensitive information isn’t disclosed. There is much more historical precedent for sharing such documents than there is for relying on user fees to fill health financing gaps. Let’s look at the information together so we can hope for the best and prepare for, you know, the other thing. Alt text: A substack first: a bicep selfie! It’s my arm - peachy-white skin, black shirt (flannel, notch neck, too hot for this appallingly balmy November weather, if you’re wondering) and a sticker that says I VOTED 2026. Beige letters on red for I voted. Beige on blue for 2026. You bet I did.25 In your wildest dreams. Subscribe 1 This is a really, really rich 95 page document. There are fascinating ideas and detailed plans in it. It is all worth reading AND I have, in this post, highlighted an instance of content that could pose challenges and certainly posits success of strategies that haven’t worked before. I would love to hear what readers’ see that’s interesting and should be lifted up as something to check for in other implementation plans. I will also shortly be adding a static page to the substack site where implementation plan documents will live. I will put the url into this footnote and it will also be there on emilybass.substack.com by the end of the week. Uganda Implementation Narrative Section 4 April 22 2026 Draft 1.51MB ∙ PDF file Download Download 2 User fees are costs charged for visits, labs, medicines or other health services, usually at the time they are provided. Community health insurance, or community-based health insurance, is what the World Health Organization calls “micro insurance,” which is health insurance targeted at low-income people. 3 As usual (by which I mean always), please prove me wrong. 4 https://smartnewsliberia.com/liberias-ministry-of-health-announces-2025-hospital-service-fees-for-public-facilities/?utm 5 https://moh.gov.lr/news/2025/grand-cape-mount-leaders-residents-embrace-new-community-pharmacy-program/?utm 6 https://www.christianitytoday.com/2026/09/hiv-usaid-pepfar-africa-foreign-aid-cuts-mission-hospitals/?utm 7 https://gh.bmj.com/content/10/11/e021270 8 https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/community-based-health-insurance-CBHI 9 https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2827475/ 10 https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10861328/#b3-jpmph-23-110 11 https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC527704/ 12 Same citation as the footnote 2 - the article is called “Learning from failed health care reform in Uganda.” To which I say: If only. If. Only. 13 There is a whole taxonomy of user fees to be aware of, if not commit to memory. Out of pocket costs are everything that someone pays for themselves. In this Stack, user fees are planned and policy-supported out of pocket costs. There are also out of pocket costs that people pay to buy drugs or receive tests or health care assessments that would be free if the drugs were on the shelves, or the machines or kits were available, or the staff were on site. A user fee is usually designed to be modest, pegged to willingness to pay, and may be waiveable at the point of care for anyone who is unable to do so. The costs for things that would otherwise be free are whatever the market will bear and people either have to pay them or go without. Out of pocket costs for services and stuff that aren’t available in public facilities are different again from bribes or unofficial fees that some health workers may impose, even though most are indefatigable, tireless and tired, and devoted to their clients. 14 For the record—which really is these footnotes—I would give a whole stack of fridge magnets for a systematic analysis of the economic and social impact of the Mass Unemployment Event in AFGHS countries among the very people who used to be able to afford and cover user fees, both for themselves and vast family networks. Locally employed USAID technical staff, house cleaners, caregivers, drivers and technicians were financial anchors for cousins, friends, friends’ children, friends’ childrens’ cousins, teachers, pastors, neighbors and so many other kinds of kin. Aid recipients lost direct funding; many other people who had not been aid recipients, but parts of the elaborate care webs that function as safety nets for so many people, lost crucial support too. And that’s even before we get to the people who worked at the hotels and restaurants and bars where people employed by the US and its implementing partners used to spend disposable income. Those businesses have lost revenue; those folks have lost jobs. It will be some time coming—and someone will have to fund this work—but I do hope it happens. And I hope, as usual, to be proven wrong. 15 https://eprcug.org/blog/how-out-of-pocket-healthcare-costs-keep-driving-ugandans-into-poverty/ 16 Another straight-to-the-point journal article title. Households experiencing catastrophic costs due to tuberculosis in Uganda: magnitude and cost drivers. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32938411 17 https://www.cehurd.org/download/technical-policy-brief-on-community-health-insurance-scheme/?wpdmdl=13661&refresh=6ae9122f5d4ed1793659439 18 https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10125197/ 19 https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10861328/#b3-jpmph-23-110 20 https://ugandapost.news/uganda-to-make-health-insurance-mandatory-by-2026/ 21 https://shu.org.ug/download/235 22 With a nod, tip of the stack hat, and wag of the Mercoon tail to a deeply valued reader who told me that I have a tendency to speculate about the worst-case scenarios a little too much of the time. 23 https://news.mak.ac.ug/2026/10/uphia-2025-shows-ugandas-hiv-status-awareness-gap-despite-strong-treatment-outcomes/ As you’ll see in the next footnote, I’ve already written a subSubstack on another topic, so I will be brief with regard to the study referenced in this article. The Uganda Population-Based HIV Impact Assessment, or UPHIA, will never happen in this way again. For more than a decade, PHIAs have been supported by the US government as a way to generate accurate estimates of country progress on key HIV indicators. They are a holdover from the PEPFAR program that was laser focused on ensuring US taxpayer dollars subsidized progress in pandemic control. There may be other population-level surveys and the data may even be publicly released, as the entire set of FY2026 MER data have not. But PHIAs will never happen again. If you’re wondering whether the estimates of HIV progress at country level might get less reliable….you’re not alone. 24 Ooh baby, I hate “we” in almost all forms. But sometimes I go there, when I am looking for company, which I am. Because this Stack moves into the somewhat-uncharted territory of assessing what the implementation plan narratives may suggest about co-signatory countries’ roles and responsibilities to the people living within their borders. The MoUs, specimen and data sharing agreements were templates. Countries’ answers fit into pre-specified questions that did not include, “how are you going to fill financing gaps and stabilize your health system as this plan unfolds?” In contrast, the implementation narratives are open form—the product of co-creation between the two governments. Co-creation can mean lots of things, but nothing leads me to believe that implementation plans are ghost-written by the US government, or that contents were imposed by the US counterparts. Instead, I think the parts of the plans that read like country government initiatives are endorsed, if not initiated by, those governments. For instance, the Ugandan implementation plan narrative describes plans for revenue-generation through fees charged for equipment calibration, repair and maintenance provided through Uganda’s National Equipment Calibration Laboratory, and laboratory accreditation through the Uganda National Accreditation Service (UGANAS), targeting private sector, PNFP, research and academic clients. That’s super specific and also quite ambitious. It doesn’t read like an American idea. There’s also a provision for solar panels, and other stuff that feels country owned and driven. This is where it gets interesting. If co-creation is the case, then both the US and co-signatory governments are accountable for the contents and the outcomes. Most discourse about AFGHS to date has focused on the decisions that America has made, or demanded that other countries make. The AFGHS architects have monopolized the hot seat. As they should, in so many ways. America absolutely created the conditions under which countries needed to come up with health financing strategies to fill unanticipated, catastrophic funding gaps. And with not-too-long a lens, we can look back and see that America is also on the hook for its role in the Bretton Woods institutions that made user fees and health system fiscal austerity conditions of loans during the era of structural adjustment. But in the here and now, it is not at all clear to me that the US is requiring Uganda or any other country to implement specific approaches to sustainable financing. Instead, it is as the authors of that paper up in footnote 6 suggest: African governments have agency. As implementation plans roll out—whether or not the narratives are shared—it will be important to understand what this agency looks like and what it means for people, including the poorest of the poor. And it will be important to figure out how to talk about it safely, respectfully and critically in places other than the literal and metaphorical footnotes. 25 This week’s song is “Once upon a time” by the Moody Blues. (I know, this is gonna be a weird, largely banger-free end of 2026 playlist. HMU with requests.) AND please do watch the video and appreciate the truly amazing opening sequence—a drum kit wasteland, a coupla plastic bags, a bit of sand. Sort of like the hill where fiscal austerity policies that put costs on health care users might go to perish. But then there’s a lady with amazing hair. It’s worth it.
Democrat Denise Powell wins election to U.S. House in Nebraska's 2nd Congressional District
Powell flipped a district that Democrats have been targeting for several election cycles.
First U.S. bird flu death of the year after cattle exposure
A person in Washington state has died from complications of the bird flu, the AP reported yesterday. It’s the first such death this year in the U.S., and the third overall since bird flu became a major public health concern in 2024.
Trump says U.S. will stop $4B in military aid to Israel at end of 2026
The issue of U.S. aid to Israel and Israel’s war in Gaza has been one of the most contentious issues leading up to the midterm elections.
A new HIV-prevention drug is showing promising signs, but it's difficult to find in Africa and beyond
Demand for lenacapavir is far outstripping supply in Uganda, other parts of Africa and all over the world. U.S. regulators on Monday approved a generic version for sale in low-income countries.
Flu season began weeks earlier than usual, health officials say
Flu season began weeks earlier than usual across the U.S. health officials are urging people to get the vaccine as they monitor a new strain.
U.S. science academy and IIT Kanpur sign climate research accord
The partnership will bring U.S.-based researchers to India for collaborative projects development and knowledge exchange.
U.S. economy could lose $1B as gamers plan to rob liquor stores, steal cars
Two of the biggest game franchises of all time — "World of Warcraft" and "Grand Theft Auto" — are getting new releases this month.
Democratic doctors and scientists ride the blue wave
The clinicians and researchers who will take office are ready to tackle the U.S. health care system.
Democrats win control of the U.S. House
Democrats win the U.S. House and take unified control of Congress as voters deliver resounding rebuke to Trump.
Commentary: A disquiet follows West Virginia's supermajority
On a night where shocking results dominated election-watching media, U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., having her re-election race insta-called was a reassuring respite of routine for a Republican Party having a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad night.
Anti-Transgender Political Rhetoric Played an Outsized Role in the 2026 U.S. Midterm Elections
Your Support Saves LGBTQ+Youth's Lives Every DayDonate94% of transgender and nonbinary youth said recent anti-LGBTQ+ politics caused stress or anxiety, […]
Opinion: 5 midterm signals that will shape future U.S. politics
This election is less about hot-button issues and more about the style of politics that will shape American politics in the years ahead
City of Edinburg Veterans Day Festivities, Nov. 7th
In honor of past and present members of the U.S. Armed Forces, the City of Edinburg will host the Veterans Day Parade and the 7th Annual Stars and Stripes Concert on Saturday, November 7, 2026
Juliana Stratton makes history with Black women in the Senate
Democrat Juliana Stratton won election Tuesday to the U.S. Senate representing Illinois, defeating Republican Don Tracy. Currently lieutenant governor, Stratton will succeed Sen. Dick Durbin, a Democrat who is retiring after five terms. Stand with free and independent journalism. Join Press Pass from PBS News Stratton will be the second Black woman to serve Illinois in the Senate. She was twice elected lieutenant governor as Gov. JB Pritzker’s running mate and had Pritzker’s endorsement in
Paxton and Talarico make final election pitches of U.S. Senate campaign to Houston voters
Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton and Democratic state Rep. James Talarico spoke as more than 1.8 million voters cast ballots early across Greater Houston -- close to a quarter of the early voting total for Texas.
How Science and the Environment Fared in the 2026 U.S. Midterms
Science was on the ballot across the United States in Tuesday’s midterm elections. On federal, state, and municipal levels, hundreds of people with backgrounds in science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and medicine ran for office. Americans also voted on measures related to conservation projects, pollutant abatement, healthcare access, and environmental reviews.
Who Is Jason Turkish, Haley Stevens’s Fiancé?
Mr. Turkish, 39, is a longtime Democratic donor and disability rights lawyer. He endorsed Republican Mike Rogers for U.S. Senate on Wednesday.
Small Business, Big Impact: Independent Sellers Drive $184 Billion in U.S. GDP
Online shopping now accounts for roughly one in six retail dollars spent. Census Bureau data shows e-commerce spending hit $326.7 billion in the first quarter of 2026. Small and medium […]
Democrat Jamie Ager flips U.S. House seat in North Carolina
Democrat Jamie Ager flips U.S. House seat in North Carolina.
What history shows about language and behavior in U.S. politics
Vulgarities in public by some politicians no longer seems especially unusual or politically destructive compared to cycles years ago.
Kentucky US Senate election results
Andy Barr and Charles Booker are facing off in the race for U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell's open seat. See live results.
Netflix U.K. Layoffs Hit Up to 3% of London HQ, Production VP Anna Mallett Exits
The seismic changes at Netflix have rippled across the pond, with up to 3% of the streamer’s London HQ laid off, it has now been confirmed. The aftershocks from last month’s U.S. re-org have also clai...
Viewpoint: Activist attacks on corporations increasingly depend on "attribution" science to target oil companies for global climate change
n October 5, 2026, the Supreme Court heard a threshold question in Suncor Energy (U.S.A.) Inc. v. County Commissioners of Boulder County: whether cities
The Waiting Begins
Millions of Americans headed to the polls Tuesday for a midterm election that could shape the future of health care and artificial intelligence in the U.S. and will determine how much Democrats can try to constrain President Donald Trump during his last two years in office. The political contest has ...
OPED-SCI-RESEARCH-POLITICS-COMMENTARY-FILEPIC-GET
Karolinska Institute neuroscience professor Abdel El Manira, right, speaks in front of a screen displaying portraits of, from left, U.S. scientist Karl Deisseroth and German scientists Peter Hegemann and Georg
Democrat Janelle Stelson wins election to U.S. House in Pennsylvania's 10th Congressional District
Democrat Janelle Stelson won election Tuesday to the U.S. House of Representatives representing Pennsylvania's 10th Congressional District, defeating Republican incumbent Scott Perry.
CVS Health to split into two publicly traded companies by 2028, FT reports
Investing.com-- CVS Health Corp (NYSE:CVS) is planning to split its retail pharmacy business from its insurance operations, potentially unwinding one of the U.S. healthcare industry's largest vertical integration deals, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter.
Washington state resident dies from bird flu following exposure to infected cattle
A person in Washington state has died from complications of the bird flu, the first such U.S. death in a year.
U.S. Small Business Administration offers disaster loans for drought-impacted Alabama small businesses
Low-interest federal disaster loans are now available to eligible small businesses and private nonprofit organizations impacted by a drought that began April 21
Trade, politics and security examined in latest Mexico Country Outlook by Rice’s Baker Institute
This year’s edition of the Mexico Country Outlook from the Claudio X. González Center for the U.S. and Mexico at Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy presents data and analysis across key domains such as trade, energy and environmental policy. The report will be unveiled Nov. 12 at the Baker Institute and by livestream where the discussion will offer critical context on emerging domestic trends and their broader implications for the U.S.-Mexico relationship.
Popular Sherlock Holmes TV Show With Harry Potter Star Update Is a Great Sign for Season 2
A Sherlock Holmes show starring a Harry Potter actor has secured multiple international distribution deals after a strong U.S. performance. The development expands the show’s reach across several Euro...
U.S. Congressman Tim Moore, a longtime fixture of NC politics, defeated in reelection bid
Before moving to Congress, Moore was the longest-sitting Speaker of the N.C. House of Representatives.
Commentary: When leaders disagree, ceremony plays an important role
When Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived at the White House on Sept. 24, the U.S. welcomed him with an elaborate display of ceremony. The Army Herald Trumpets sounded a fanfare,
Before the Gender Gap Had a Name, Ms. Saw Women’s Political Power Coming: Six Stories From the Archives on the Power of Women Voters
A record 590 women filed to run for the U.S. House during the 2026 election cycle. Women candidates are also poised to make history in gubernatorial races across the country: Deb Haaland could become the nation's first Native American woman governor in New Mexico, while Keisha Lance Bottoms could become the first Black woman governor in U.S. history if elected in Georgia. Yet women still hold only about 28 percent of seats in Congress. And the stakes of this election—from reproductive freedom and immigration enforcement, to voting rights and the future of constitutional equality—extend far beyond the number of women elected. For more than five decades, Ms. has documented the growing power of women voters, candidates and elected officials. We've tracked the gender gap, challenged the barriers facing women in politics and explored what it would mean to build a democracy that represents all of us. These six selections from the Ms. Archive trace that history—from the earliest predictions of women's political power, to today's calls to fundamentally remake American democracy. (Full access to these selections and the entirety of 50+ years of issues of Ms. is available via the Ms. Magazine Archive on ProQuest, from Clarivate.)
McIlroy, Rahm Head To Abu Dhabi Despite Security Concerns
Rory McIlroy and Jon Rahm headline the Abu Dhabi Championship as regional security concerns, a U.S. travel warning and emergency protocols loom over the event.
Democrat Bob Brooks wins election to U.S. House in Pennsylvania's 7th Congressional District
2026 ELECTION COVERAGE: Watch Live | Poll Closing Times | All Live Results | Live Updates | Live Fact Check Democrat Bob Brooks won election Tuesday to the U.S. House of Representatives representing Pennsylvania's 7th Congressional District, defeating Republican incumbent Ryan Mackenzie. Brooks, who worked as a firefighter and union leader, concentrated on his blue-collar background, saying he understood the affordability issues facing voters in the Lehigh Valley battleground district. Mackenzie's ties to President Donald
On the advantages of health system-owned health plan, what Medicaid cuts might mean and the future of U.S. health insurance: A conversation with Geisinger's Jeremy Gaskill
Jeremy Gaskill took the reins at the Geisinger Health Plan earlier this year after a long career at Humana. He discusses the similarities and differences between Geisinger and Humana and the advantages of a health plan that is part of a health system.
Professor receives Department of Education grant to support teaching and research in computer science
Dr. Dennis Brylow has received a grant from the U.S. Department of Education to promote high-quality teaching and research in computer science.
DOL Final Rule Expands PBM Transparency for Self-Insured Health Plans
The U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) has issued a final rule imposing new disclosure requirements on
North Carolina attorney general joins lawsuit over business ownership rule
North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson and 20 other attorneys general are asking a federal court to block a rule that exempts nearly all U.S. companies
Marsh plans captive management operations in Bahrain
U.S.-headquartered Marsh McLennan Companies Inc. plans to launch captive insurance management services in Bahrain, which would make it the first international broker to provide such capabilities in…
Before the Dawn in America’s Heartland
With hardly a cloud in sight, astronauts had a sweeping view of nighttime lights in the U.S. Midwest.
WATCH: Democrat Chris Pappas speaks after winning New Hampshire Senate seat
Pappas, a four-term House member, said his U.S. Senate victory is proof that Washington needs a "new generation at the table to fix things."
How the Stock Market Is Reacting to the Midterm Elections
U.S. stock futures fell as the first results came in, but later traded higher as investors assessed the outlook for artificial intelligence and other key sectors as the balance of power shifts in Washington.
Missouri live election results: Amendment 3, St. Louis, St. Charles and Jefferson counties
In the Nov. 3 midterm election, Missourians voted on an abortion ban and a measure that would make it harder for lawmakers to override voter-approved statutes and constitutional amendments. U.S. Rep. Ann Wagner faced Democrat Fred Wellman to represent Missouri’s 2nd Congressional District.
Democrat Christina Bohannan wins election to U.S. House in Iowa's 1st Congressional District
The third time was the charm for Bohannan, who lost by just 799 votes in her second race against Miller-Meeks two years ago.
Trump Says U.S. to End $4 Billion in Aid to Israel at End of Year
The president’s announcement on Election Day, which he said was part of an agreement reached months ago, was a sign of how quickly the politics surrounding Israel have shifted.
Democratic doctors and scientists ride the blue wave
The clinicians and researchers who will take office are ready to tackle the U.S. health care system.
Looser Health IT Certification Requirements Shift Oversight to Health Systems
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is rolling back several health IT certification requirements that could reduce certification costs for technology developers. But they may leave hospitals and health systems holding more responsibility for evaluating the safety and performance of the AI tools they purchase.
Whole fruit or juice: What a massive new study reveals about heart health
Is whole fruit or fruit juice healthier? A new study of 371,000 U.S. adults finds whole fruit, and not fruit juice, may support better heart health. Two experts weigh in on the findings.
Democrat Mark Warner wins reelection to U.S. Senate from Virginia
Democratic incumbent Mark Warner won election Tuesday to the U.S. Senate representing Virginia, defeating Republican Bert Mizusawa.
Democrat Vasquez wins third term after $21.8 million race
By Kevin Hendricks — After months of TV ads, mailers and text messages across southern New Mexico, voters in the 2nd Congressional District gave U.S. Rep. Gabe Vasquez a third term, and it wasn’t close. Vasquez, a Las Cruces Democrat, beat Republican Greg Cunningham 59% to 41% on Tuesday, according to unofficial results from the […]
JB Pritzker and Juliana Stratton declared winners
Juliana Stratton becomes only the second Black woman to represent Illinois in the U.S. Senate. Meanwhile, Pritzker returns for a third term.
James Talarico, Ken Paxton Texas Senate race heads to voters
James Talarico and Ken Paxton face off in the Texas Senate race as voters decide who will win the state's U.S. Senate seat.
Supreme Court declines to hear Trump’s California 20,000 ballot case. Here’s what to know
The U.S. Supreme Court rejects an emergency ruling for the Trump Administration over 20,000 California ballots as noncitizens are charged.
WATCH: Democrat Troy Jackson speaks after Maine Sen. Susan Collins concedes
Jackson won election Wednesday to the U.S. Senate representing Maine, defeating Republican incumbent Sen. Susan Collins.
Democratic candidates Acton, Brown win on historic night in Ohio politics
Voters selected in the first woman to be elected governor in Ohio and returned former U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown to Washington.
Haley Stevens backs Mike Rogers. And, Gulf states brace for potential attack on Iran
Democrats in Michigan are considering their options after Haley Stevens endorsed GOP candidate Mike Rogers for Senate. And the Gulf states are bracing for a possible U.S. attack on Iran after the midterms.
Troy defense company lands Army contract
A Troy-based defense systems and logistics company announced Monday it received a four-year contract with the U.S. Army worth up to $49.9 million.
Democrat Zach Dembo wins election to U.S. House in Kentucky's 6th Congressional District
Democrat Zach Dembo won election Tuesday to the U.S. House of Representatives representing Kentucky's 6th Congressional District, defeating Republican Ralph Alvarado.
NH is destination for space sector
The two-day Space, Technology, Trade and Research expo on Oct. 28-29 in Durham convened innovators, producers, scientists, engineers, investors, bankers, students and representatives of the U.S. Space Force and Department of War. The goal: Increase networking, collaboration and awareness of what’s happening here, including on the campus of UNH, which provides tools, expertise and facilities for product development and testing.
U.S. Rep. Lloyd Smucker reelected to 6th term
U.S. Rep. Lloyd Smucker was reelected Tuesday to the Republican-friendly 11th District seat, even as Democrats picked up at least three other Pennsylvania seats held by Republicans.
Democrats take control of the Senate after winning key midterm races
Democrats have won the U.S. Senate, ending Republican dominance in Washington by harnessing voters' frustration with President Donald Trump.
Will ranked choice voting affect timing of Maine and Alaska’s Senate race results? Here’s what we know
Most U.S. voters who are deciding Senate races Tuesday will pick one candidate. For voters in Alaska and Maine, their ballots instead will offer the chance to rank candidates in what is known as ranked choice voting.
Democrat Debbie Wasserman Schultz wins reelection to U.S. House in Florida’s 20th District
Democrat Debbie Wasserman Schultz won election to the U.S. House of Representatives representing Florida’s 20th Congressional District, defeating Republican Brent Andersen.
Kansas U.S. House Midterm Election 2026: Live Results
Get live results from the Kansas House 2026 midterm election race as the GOP looks to maintain its congressional majority.
Democrat James Talarico wins election to U.S. Senate from Texas
Democrat James Talarico wins election to U.S. Senate from Texas.
How Troy Jackson’s campaign has been reaching voters beyond traditional political ads
Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Troy Jackson is turning to Maine social media creators to reach voters beyond traditional political advertisements. His campaign has been partnering with influencers whose audiences were built around everything from motherhood and mental health to gardening and everyday life. The campaign has cultivated relationships with creators who aren't primarily known for
CVS Health Stock Leads Defensive U.S. Dividend Value Picks
Washington has just handed investors a plot twist. A Democratic sweep of Congress, fresh worries over debt ceiling fights and pressure on Treasury yields are shaking sentiment, yet pockets of dividend-paying value stocks may quietly benefit from the reset in expectations. This article walks through three U.S. dividend payers from our value-focused screener that appear closely tied to these political crosswinds and explains why each could deserve a second look now. The three stocks below are...
Trump says $4 billion in Israel military aid will end this year, citing political reasons
President Donald Trump on Tuesday said he made a deal with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that will see the U.S. "cut off" military aid to Israel this year.
SBA Disaster Assistance available for Oregon businesses, private nonprofits
The U.S. Small Business Administration announced the availability of low-interest federal disaster loans for eligible small businesses and private nonprofit organizations in Oregon impacted by drought occurring Aug. 4 and
Democrat Paige Cognetti wins election to U.S. House in Pennsylvania's 8th Congressional District
She campaigned as an independent-minded Democrat and corruption-fighting city leader.
Most AI health equity guidance is general and U.S.-based, Georgetown review finds
Only 22 of the articles in a Georgetown scoping review defined health equity, a gap the lead author said could steer resources toward the most advantaged groups.
How Trump and Republicans lost the 2026 midterm elections, according to AP Voter Poll
After more than a decade with Donald Trump at the epicenter of U.S. politics, most voters appear exhausted and exasperated by him, according to The AP Voter Poll, a survey of midterm voters in all 50 states.
The Last Disney+ Original?
(Welcome to my weekly streaming ratings report, the single best guide to what’s popular in streaming TV and what isn’t. I’m the Entertainment Strategy Guy, a former streaming executive who now analyzes business strategy in the entertainment industry. If you were forwarded this email, please subscribe to get these insights each week.) Before we get going, I wanted to remind readers about how I plan to keep your trust while I add advertising to this newsletter. As you’ve no doubt noticed, I’m running ads now, but the danger is that it could impact my analysis and writing. I have a list of sponsors on my About Page, so if you think I’m biased, you can check out who’s sponsored this newsletter! This is something that I’m not sure anyone else in digital media does (if you’re a writer or media outlet and you do this, let me know and I’ll shout you out!) but it’s something I’d love to see embraced by the entire industry. Sunlight, i.e. transparency, is often the best disinfectant. Okay, on to this week’s issue. We (finally) have another major Disney+ TV show to talk about, so that’s my main focus for today. Plus, we had a lot of new shows come out, including the fourth seasons of The Diplomat and Tulsa King! And Love is Blind! The Lowdown! Also, four (four!) straight-to-streaming films came out this week, featuring a lot of big names and celebrities, so I’m going to look at those. All that, mixed news for the WNBA, Reacher ends its run on the charts, Skydance does well in September viewership, NYU’s Sundance dominance, all the flops, bombs and misses, and a whole lot more. Let’s dive right in! (Reminder: The streaming ratings report focuses on the U.S. market and compiles data from Nielsen’s weekly top ten viewership ranks, Luminate’s Top Ten Data, JustWatch and Reelgood interest data, Samba TV household viewership, company datecdotes, Netflix hours viewed data, Google Trends, and IMDb to determine the most popular content. While most data points are current, Nielsen’s data covers the weeks of October 12th to October 18th, 2026. You can find a link to my terminology here.) Subscribe Television - Disney+’s Porridge Problem Listen, per my headline, VisionQuest isn’t the last Disney+ Original. At least, I’m pretty sure it’s not. They have other MCU shows in development. Well, maybe one: But it sure feels like the end of an era. I’d call it their “porridge too hot” era, to quote myself from The Ringer. I told Ben Lindbergh that Disney+ seemingly couldn’t figure out the right amount of content. In the heights of the Streaming Bubble Era (circa 2019 to 2022), they started releasing an insane amount of TV shows. After their growth slowed, they’re down to two or three shows a year, and that might be down to 1 by 2027. Here’s my TV shows by year chart: Even at the time, I thought Disney was making too many shows (that cost too much). Today? They’re definitely making too few shows (though the budgets are more in check, at least according to the reporting). Porridge too hot, porridge too cold; too many shows, now not enough. Which makes evaluating VisionQuest so interesting. This show didn’t have a great lead-in, whether it be a Marvel Cinematic Universe film (the last non-Sony-produced-Spider-Man flick came out The Fantastic Four from July of 2025) or Marvel Cinematic Universe TV show (the two this year were Wonder Man back in January and _Daredevil: Born Again_in May, both of which underwhelmed). And so far, VisionQuest hasn’t quite recaptured the MCU Originals glory, but it has some signs of sparks. First, it made Samba TV, though at a lowly ninth place. At least it made it, a feat some other Marvel shows didn’t accomplish. (Ironheart landed on the Samba TV charts one week at tenth place, but Wonder Man and Daredevil: Born Again both missed.) VisionQuest also made Luminate, though with only 3.0 and 7.6 million hours. But it missed Nielsen in its first week. The best news might be its 7.8 on IMDb, on 12K reviews so far, great numbers, even for a superhero show. Looking at those numbers, this show will really need to pick up in future weeks—and it may since it’s coming out weekly—or Disney will have another disappointment on its hands. Disney+ binge-released their last few shows to try to boost numbers, but that meant shows like Iron Heart and Wonder Man didn’t last long on the charts. _Daredevil: Born Again’s_last season missed entirely (though it came out weekly). Here’s the Disney+ Originals by totals: And for a fun new look, here are those same shows, rearranged by the years they came out: That really shows that, in addition to Disney+ releasing fewer shows, those shows just don’t hit like they once did. If I had to offer one main explanation, it’s that Marvel Studios moved away from characters who starred in the Avengersmovies (The Scarlett Witch, Vision, Hawkeye, Loki, Falcon, Winter Soldier) to characters who didn’t (Moon Knight, She-Hulk, Iron Heart, Wonder Man, Daredevil). It sounds trite, but more popular IP tends to do better than less popular IP. In Marvel’s case, beloved, decades-old characters trump newer ones. And yes, I think this is a problem for Disney. The failure of Marvel TV shows to linger for weeks on the charts, unlike in 2021 and 2022, explains why Disney’s share of the charts has plummeted: That’s a strategic issue. Yes, these shows are really expensive, but without them, Disney+ will struggle, especially if Disney+ keeps raising prices AND licenses out its shows non-exclusively. My recommendation? Return to the core value proposition, which is Disney+ as “genre HBO”. The goal is six shows a year, coming out weekly, spaced out throughout the year. When a show hits, keep it coming back. Make three to four of those shows Marvel or Star Wars, and fill out the rest with IP swings like Percy Jackson, Goosebumps or something like National Treasure. And make YA-skewing shows like Coven Academy to fill out the schedule. Disney, you can get this porridge just right, er, make the right number of shows. Quick Notes on TV Netflix’s sophomore, er, junior, er, senior season slump abated very, very slightly this week. I speak of The Diplomat, which returned for its fourth season on 15-Oct. Credit where credit is due, this show debuted in April of 2023, and has put out new seasons every year since. Has that helped the viewership? Not really. This season opened to 16.4 million hours, which is down significantly from the first season (21.7 million hours) and down somewhat from the second season (18.0 million hours), but it is up from last year’s 14.2 million hours opening. On Samba TV, it opened to third place; that’s also very good. On Luminate, it opened to 25.0 million hours, which is good, but over thirty million hours is a hit on that platform. Netflix wisely renewed it, since it’s steady and, frankly, Netflix needs hits.1 Paramount+ put out Tulsa King’s fourth season on a Friday. After putting out most of their big, usually-Taylor Sheridan-scripted shows out on Sundays last year, they’ve clearly moved to Fridays going forward. Was this a thought-out strategic change, Netflix mimicry, or a data-inspired move? Tough to say. Fridays are crowded with new movies, but so are Sundays with new shows. Anyways, this one is coming out weekly, and we haven’t seen it hit the Nielsen or Luminate charts yet. But it did make Samba TV at fifth place, which is a good opening. Still, if this doesn’t make Luminate or Nielsen next week, I’d call it a disappointment. Netflix had two unscripted shows hit the charts this week, one a docu-series and one a reality competition show. Tyson is a four-episode docu-series about one of boxing’s most popular fighters, and it made both the Samba TV and Luminate charts, but not Nielsen. That’s a solid run for only four episodes (assuming it didn’t cost an arm and a leg to produce). Netflix’s latest season of Love Is Blind also returned for its eleventh season, which opened to 10.0 million hours, down from previous seasons. It also had 11.0 million hours according to Luminate, roughly in line with the Nielsen numbers. Last issue, I analyzed the triple successes of Below, Carrie and Crystal Lake, noting that all three have done well. I mostly used Nielsen, but all three shows also made Samba TV (see above). Crystal Lake in particular did very well on Luminate, getting 35.0 million hours, top for Peacock among first seasons: The top “show” of the week would have been Thursday Night Football again, at 41.7 million hours. This is still above last year’s game, but it continues the season’s overall downward trend, which happens every year. (Though a big week is coming, based on the news stories I’ve seen.) As I said before, I’ll do a deeper dive on all the October games later this month, with comparisons to previous years. One company is quietly on a roll, when you consider the shows it makes and streams. I speak of Skydance—a point Variety made—noting that it produces Neagley and Reacher for Amazon, along with Paramount+’s Lioness, which means it produced three of the top four shows of September according to Nielsen. By the way, Neagley fell off the Nielsen charts after four weeks, which is a pinch short for how well it started, but it’s still a huge success. (Interestingly, it finished just 7.3 million hours ahead of the cancelled Ride or Die.) The point, though, which I’ve made before, is that Prime Video still has a problem with how many co-productions it buys, most notably _The Boys_from Sony and Reacher/Jack Ryan from Skydance. It’s not a critical flaw—everyone licenses shows—but Amazon still struggles to make its own hits. Reacher finally fell off the Nielsen charts, so here’s its final rank for season four: We’re just getting started with this issue, but the rest is for paid subscribers of the Entertainment Strategy Guy, so if you’d like to find out… ...An example of the algorithm NOT picking a film… …whether or not Netflix buys shows simply for the movie poster… ...if East of Eden is above the Obliterated Line... ...what four star-studded straight-to-streaming films didn’t chart... ...and a whole lot more... ...please subscribe! We can only keep doing this great work with your support. If you want an idea of just how much content you’d get in a full issue, check out this older issue.
Nearly half of US adults under 65 had little to no health insurance in 2026: Report
Nearly half of U.S. adults had inadequate health insurance in 2026, as ACA marketplace enrollment declined and millions lost Medicaid coverage.
At 1.7 percent unemployment, local metro regains No. 1 spot
In September, the Sioux Falls metro area regained its spot as one of the areas with the lowest jobless rate in the U.S.
In the Heart of National Politics, GU Students Face Barriers to Mail-In Voting
As polling for the tightly contested 2026 midterm election closes Nov. 3, Georgetown University students remain motivated to vote amid federal attacks on mail-in voting across the country. Tuesday’s elections will determine control of both the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate as Democrats fight to break a Republican trifecta in the federal...