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PlayStation Plus Game Catalog and Classics Catalog lineup for October 2026 announced

Sony Interactive Entertainment has announced the October 2026 Game Catalog lineup for PlayStation Plus Extra and Premium subscribers, and Classics Catalog titles for Premium subscribers.

Oct 14 • 11:42 AM EDT • Technology • gematsu.com

Ex-Saints QB Suddenly Released by Eagles

In a successful and well-traveled NFL career, Andy Dalton had a stop with the New Orleans Saints. It wasn’t the most memorable or the longest, but it was substantial time on the field for “The Red Rifle” with the Saints. It came to mind again on Friday, when the Philadelphia Eagles surprisingly released Dalton after […] The post Ex-Saints QB Suddenly Released by Eagles appeared first on HEAVY.

Oct 9 • 5:42 PM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com

KREM 2 News

Welcome to the YouTube channel for KREM 2 News. KREM 2 News is the local CBS-affiliate news station covering Spokane, Eastern Washington and North Idaho. Subscribe for the latest news, weather, features and sports in the Inland Northwest. For the latest news, visit www.krem.com.

Oct 14 • 2:42 PM EDT • Health • youtube.com

Trump bucks and the politics of mailing checks

The checks started going out last week, nearly one million of them, and mostly to battleground states. With a return address for the U.S. Treasury and a letter enclosed signed by President Donald Trump, these one-time checks for $500 were ostensibly government rebates for Obamacare enrollees who overpaid. In the accompanying letter, however, Trump attacks his predecessor and talks about his record in office on an important issue he’s not polling well on, which makes it seem more like the most expensive political mailer in U.S. history. The average piece of direct mail costs between 30 cents and $3, according to Mail Processing Associates, a print, mail, and fulfillment company. At $500 a pop plus roughly 50 cents each to issue the paper check, the cost of Trump’s healthcare mailer sent to more than 950,000 enrollees comes in at more than $475 million. Trump’s midterm healthcare message “For years, the Biden Administration overcharged you to fund the operation of HealthCare dot gov,” Trump wrote in the letter. “That money belongs to hard-working Americans, not the Government, and now, I am returning it to you!” In the letter, Trump makes false and misleading claims about his administration’s record on healthcare costs, an issue Democrats have a 20 point advantage on over Republicans, according to a recent poll from KFF, a nonpartisan health policy think tank. Trump touts his administration’s TrumpRX program, which he claims is “delivering massive discounts.” However, new research from KFF found that of a selection of drugs available on the TrumpRX platform, just five were the lowest price, while 13 were the highest price. Trump also falsely claims in the letter that he’s fighting to lower healthcare costs. In reality, average monthly premium payment costs for enrollees rose 58% under Trump while marketplace sign-ups declined 5%, per KFF. Under Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act, it’s estimated 10 million more Americans will be uninsured by 2034. You get a check and you get a check and you get a check Trump’s long promised cash outs to his fans, from his days as a casino operator and gameshow host to his presidency. During the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the first Trump administration made the unprecedented move to put Trump’s name on checks that went out under the CARES Act (notably the $500 refund checks this time around don’t feature Trump’s name). Ever since, Trump’s been chasing that high. In his second term, Trump’s promised more stimulus that never arrived, like refund checks from DOGE cuts and tariffs, while he said at his party’s convention last month that he’d give out $5,000 checks to everyone if Republicans win in November. In reality, DOGE overstated its cost cutting and Trump’s government actually now spends more than former President Joe Biden’s, while Trump’s tariffs actually grew the trade deficit. His proposal for $5,000 checks would add about $1.2 trillion to the national debt. The problem is there’s no money to give. These $500 checks — plus $90 Medicare rebate checks also going out as well as $250 deposited this week in some Trump Accounts for kids courtesy Dell Technologies CEO Michael Dell and his wife Susan — represent the closest Trump’s going to get to making good on his promise to deliver cash fast. And the checks seem especially targeted. Though the $500 checks went out to enrollees in one of 30 states that use the federal HealthCare dot gov marketplace, a Reuters review found 71% of the payments, or $339 million, went to enrollees in 13 states that have the most competitive elections for governor and U.S. Senate. Most Americans don’t buy it Could Trump bucks sway the election? An Economist-YouGov poll found 57% of U.S. adults doubt Trump will deliver on his promise for $5,000 checks, compared to 21% who do. “I’m waiting on my DOGE check and I’m still waiting on my tariff check,” one 2024 Trump voter who’s since turned on him told a recent focus group. “It felt like kind of trying to buy people’s votes, which honestly felt like in elementary when the class president was like, hey we’re going to take you to the water park if you vote for me. It’s like, I don’t think it works like that.” But for voters in swing states who got a check, it could still matter. One survey published in 2022 found receiving a physically personalized check in the mail during the pandemic was associated with a much greater self-reported likelihood of voting for Trump in 2020, and those gains mainly came from out partisans. The issue for Trump comes if these checks are mostly going to Obamacare enrollees whose premiums have gone up by more than just $500 since he took office and who view the money as something like a bribe before the election rather than an actual long-term solution to lowering household costs. Spending $500.50 per mailer would be absurd as a normal campaign expenditure, but since Trump’s checks and letter are a government rebate, his campaign and super PAC didn’t have to spend a dime and he got out his message regardless. If enough voters in key states are swayed by the one-time payment, it could prove to be the best $0 the Trump campaign spent. Subscribe [ ](https://www.yellopolitics.com/p/why-independent-candidates-are-making) [ Why independent candidates are making independence central to their brand ](https://www.yellopolitics.com/p/why-independent-candidates-are-making) Hunter Schwarz · Oct 6 [ Read full story ](https://www.yellopolitics.com/p/why-independent-candidates-are-making) [ ](https://www.yellopolitics.com/p/these-designers-and-grocery-nerds) [ These designers and grocery nerds will brand Mamdani’s NYC grocery stores ](https://www.yellopolitics.com/p/these-designers-and-grocery-nerds) Hunter Schwarz · Oct 2 [ Read full story ](https://www.yellopolitics.com/p/these-designers-and-grocery-nerds) Trump wants to turn his first-ever golf course into a government course for presidents

Oct 8 • 6:01 PM EDT • Politics • yellopolitics.com

R&S Holdings Acquires Residential Addiction Treatment Operator Innovo Detox

R&S Holdings, a behavioral health organization that offers addiction treatment and behavioral health services through its subsidiaries, has added a

Oct 9 • 4:06 PM EDT • Business • bhbusiness.com

Clay Holmes Option Could Decide His Place in the Cubs’ 2027 Rotation

The Clay Holmes option is a $12 million decision the Chicago Cubs cannot make for him. What they can do is settle a different question first: which version of the right-hander they actually got at the trade deadline. Bleed Cubbie Blue’s Al Yellon asked this week whether Chicago should keep Holmes. The more useful angle …

Oct 15 • 5:00 AM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com

Cedar Rapids forum to focus on families navigating mental health, recovery

Families dealing with a loved one’s mental health or substance use concerns will be the focus of a free public forum next weekend in Cedar Rapids.NAMI Linn Coun

Oct 11 • 10:16 PM EDT • Health • cbs2iowa.com

Service providers address mental health in homeless

(COLORADO SPRINGS)–Mental health struggles, substance use, and homelessness often compound one another, creating complex challenges for individuals seeking stability. Service providers in Col…

Oct 11 • 9:54 PM EDT • Health • fox21news.com

Pay for performance, not for politics

The North Carolina General Assembly approved substantial pay increases for public schoolteachers earlier this year. If a bipartisan commission has its way, teacher compensation will soar over the next few

Oct 15 • 2:45 AM EDT • Politics • newsargus.com

Milan regret as Premier League clubs chase Italy midfielder Doumbia

Milan could come to regret missing out on Issa Doumbia, with the Italy midfielder now attracting interest from several Premier League clubs after a flying start at Sporting.According to TuttoMercatoWe...

Oct 15 • 5:35 AM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com

“RuPaul’s Drag Race” personality Lucian Piane dies at 46

The music producer appeared in early seasons of “Drag Race” before publicly battling substance abuse and mental health issues.

Oct 13 • 10:56 AM EDT • Entertainment • yahoo.com

Fatal Motorcycle Collision Followed by Separate Vehicle Crash Into Local Business

Emergency responders were dispatched to two serious motor vehicle crashes Sunday afternoon, October 11, including a fatal motorcycle collision and a subsequent crash involving a vehicle striking a…

Oct 11 • 6:15 PM EDT • Business • ruralradio.com

Casino UK: How Online Gaming Became Part of Britain’s Entertainment Mainstream

The UK has always had a particular relationship with gambling. From the betting shops that became fixtures of every British high street to bingo halls that served as social hubs for working communities, wagering on outcomes has been woven into British leisure culture for generations. What changed in the past decade was not the appetite,

Oct 9 • 5:19 PM EDT • Entertainment • rockawave.com

🥐 Vinicius punishment, Champions League hangover: Thursday’s 5️⃣ stories

Real Madrid experienced a day of mixed fortunes. They staged an epic Champions League comeback against Roma after trailing 3-1 in the 82nd minute, inspired by late substitutions. However, their joy wa...

Oct 15 • 2:52 AM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com

AMC Entertainment Holdings (AMC) Could Be 24% Undervalued Following Its New Mobile Game

AMC Entertainment Holdings (AMC) just moved into mobile gaming with its AMC Movie Trivia Game Show, a free puzzle app tied into the AMC Stubs loyalty program and developed in partnership with Hoyt Games and David L. Hoyt. For context, AMC Entertainment Holdings has seen strong recent share price momentum, with a 30-day share price return of 24.39%, a 90-day share price return of 47.83%, and a year-to-date share price return of 90.06% at a latest share price of $3.06. That short term strength...

Oct 14 • 12:40 AM EDT • Entertainment • simplywall.st

R&S Holdings Acquires Residential Addiction Treatment Operator Innovo Detox

R&S Holdings, a behavioral health organization that offers addiction treatment and behavioral health services through its subsidiaries, has added a

Oct 9 • 4:06 PM EDT • Health • bhbusiness.com

Montanans shopping for health insurance face rising costs, shrinking subsidies, fewer choices

Open enrollment for the federal Health Insurance Marketplace starts Nov. 1. People with those plans faced higher premiums this year because of declining financial help from the federal government. Many Montanans chose lower levels of coverage or canceled their plans altogether.

Oct 12 • 8:57 PM EDT • Health • mtpr.org

Democratic group substantially increases fundraising to seize state legislatures

The States Project, an organization focused on electing Democrats to state legislatures, has raised more than $100 million this cycle.

Oct 15 • 7:00 AM EDT • Politics • washingtonpost.com

Chicago Cubs TikTok Microdrama Tests The Reach Of Sports Brands

The Chicago Cubs released a 17-episode TikTok rom-com as Skydance Sports makes NFL films for Hallmark. Teams can reach new viewers, but keeping them is a separate test.

Oct 9 • 10:47 AM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com

iCloud+ keeps getting better, here’s what’s new for subscribers

iCloud+ provides more than just extra storage, here’s everything new for iCloud+ subscribers as of the last few weeks.

Oct 12 • 2:56 PM EDT • Technology • 9to5mac.com

PUBLISHER’S NOTE: Busy Fall

We have a busy fall ahead of us—and that’s always good news. We like to stay busy. We’re working on two special annual publications: the CNY Business Guide and the CNY Winter Guide. Both publications are designed to reach specific audiences in the community. We’re excited about these new editions and would like to share a few details about them. Let’s begin with the Winter Guide. Winter can be challenging, but it also offers plenty to celebrate. The new CNY Winter Guide will help readers embrace the season and make it more fun and enjoyable. This year’s annual publication will feature an extensive calendar of events, compelling stories, and curated lists of things to do and see throughout the winter. This will be our 31st annual issue. It is one of the few publications—if not the only one—devoted exclusively to winter in Central New York. For advertisers, it offers a valuable opportunity to reach readers across the region. As we tell prospective advertisers, one ad works for them all season long. Rates start in the low $200s. The guide will be available at hundreds of high-traffic locations, including all Wegmans stores and select Price Chopper and Tops Friendly Markets locations. It will also be available online, with every ad hyperlinked so readers can click directly through to the advertiser’s website or Facebook page. Our network of drivers will also deliver the guide to hundreds of high-traffic locations several times throughout the winter. The publication will be out by Thanksgiving. The CNY Business Guide is a one-of-a-kind publication that many readers use as a reference. Unlike the books of lists published by business journals across the country, it comes in a glossy, full-color magazine format. It also ranks employers in four counties, with a particular emphasis on Oswego and Onondaga and substantial information about Cayuga and Jefferson. It is an ambitious project that requires extensive research, phone calls, careful fact-checking, writing and design. In short, it takes a great deal of work—and we’re glad to take on the challenge. The guide is widely distributed to business and professional readers throughout Central New York. The Business Guide gives companies an excellent opportunity to highlight their growth and expansion, showcase new products, and share other noteworthy developments. For readers, it provides a valuable snapshot of companies across the region, including what they do and who leads them. The guide will be published in early December. We invite companies to advertise in both publications. Advertising costs are relatively low, and each guide offers access to a broad audience across Central New York. Wagner Dotto is the editor and publisher of Oswego County Business Magazine.

Oct 14 • 8:23 AM EDT • Business • oswegocountybusiness.com

Ring of Famer Tom Nalen, former Broncos PR executive Jim Saccomano elected to Colorado Sports Hall of Fame’s Class of 2027

A Broncos Ring of Famer and a longtime team executive have both earned a statewide honor.

Oct 9 • 11:16 AM EDT • Sports • denverbroncos.com

Businesses could be barred from non-essential water use amid supply threat

Golf clubs, private schools and car washes may face tighter rules from water companies as England’s drought continues

Oct 14 • 2:00 AM EDT • Business • theguardian.com

Substitute teacher fired over OnlyFans account says business is booming

A Missouri woman says her free speech was violated. Her adult content site has attracted more subscribers after news spread of her dismissal.

Oct 11 • 6:00 AM EDT • Business • washingtonpost.com

WUSA9

WUSA9 (Washington, D.C.) is your source for breaking news, D.C. area weather, traffic, and live coverage in the nation’s capital and surrounding communities. Get the latest updates from the WUSA9 team — from major local headlines and investigations to severe weather, community stories, and the moments everyone’s talking about. Watch live newscasts, stream breaking coverage, and catch up on the top stories shaping Washington, D.C., Northern Virginia, and suburban Maryland. Subscribe for: • D.C. area breaking news + live updates • Weather forecasts and severe weather alerts • Investigations and accountability reporting • Community stories across the region • Major events, sports, and local explainers WUSA9 — Washington, D.C. news and weather, live and on demand. 🔗 More: https://www.wusa9.com 🔗 Stream on your TV: https://www.tv.wusa9.com

Oct 13 • 2:27 PM EDT • Health • youtube.com

Kansas City Royals news: 2026 “odd” from BWJ?

The Kansas City Royals winter wait continues, alongside 25 other clubs.

Oct 14 • 8:00 AM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com

Does Leeds United have an advantage over Arsenal?

Paul Merson believes Leeds United could have an advantage over Arsenal when the two sides meet tomorrow. The fixture will be both clubs’ first match back after the international break, and the forme...

Oct 9 • 12:00 PM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com

Could Nordsjaelland model solve Scotland's talent crisis?

BBC Sport Scotland looks at how Nordsjaelland have become a powerhouse of youth football development, and what Scottish clubs could copy.

Oct 14 • 6:35 AM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com

Sanibel Island Writers Conference returns this November

During the past decade, as cell phones and tablets made their way into every jacket pocket and onto most bedside tables, you may – fairly – have subscribed to the

Oct 9 • 12:00 AM EDT • Entertainment • floridaweekly.com

Chicago Cubs news— Cabrera, Shaw, King, Detmers, Gray

The Chicago Cubs are wondering what to do with Cabrera — mainly to stop his blister problem. And that might fix him.

Oct 13 • 8:00 AM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com

Microsoft 365 Family subscribers will finally be able to share AI benefits

OneDrive storage limits are changing, though

Oct 9 • 3:14 AM EDT • Technology • theverge.com

KREM 2 News

Welcome to the YouTube channel for KREM 2 News. KREM 2 News is the local CBS-affiliate news station covering Spokane, Eastern Washington and North Idaho. Subscribe for the latest news, weather, features and sports in the Inland Northwest. For the latest news, visit www.krem.com.

Oct 13 • 9:05 AM EDT • Politics • youtube.com

Prince Harry recalls slipping into deep depression after major life change with Meghan Markle

Prince Harry opened up about facing depression after leaving behind a stressful situation in the U.K. and moving to Canada with Meghan Markle.

Oct 8 • 3:38 PM EDT • Entertainment • ew.com

New virtual program expands access to mental health and substance use treatment

Virtual behavioral health outpatient program for behavioral health, substance use and mental health launches to residents statewide.

Oct 12 • 2:00 PM EDT • Health • kauainownews.com

After nearly buying Warner Bros., Netflix is laying off 1,000 workers. What happened?

While Netflix continues to lead subscription streaming services, the company has continued to face growing scrutiny over how it plans to grow the Los Gatos company in the future.

Oct 15 • 6:00 AM EDT • Entertainment • latimes.com

Kraft Sports + Entertainment Unveils New JetBlue Loft at Gillette Stadium

15,000 square feet of premium hospitality space will become the new home of the Patriots Tailgate Party presented by Bud Light and a year-round private event destination.

Oct 8 • 4:00 PM EDT • Entertainment • patriots.com

Is Salesforce Still The Business You Bought?

If you hold Salesforce (CRM), you likely bought into a subscription software provider known for steady growth and reliable cash generation. During its fiscal Q2 2027 earnings call in August, management noted that a $25 billion accelerated share repurchase was still under way.

Oct 12 • 5:29 PM EDT • Business • trefis.com

With Only Three 'No' Votes, UN Adopts Political Declaration On Pandemic Preparedness

The United Nations General Assembly adopted the Political Declaration on Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness, and Response (PPPR) by a substantial majority at a

Oct 13 • 5:17 AM EDT • Health • healthpolicy-watch.news

Concept Life Sciences appoints Dr Adrijana Vinter as Chief Executive Officer

We are pleased to announce the appointment of Dr Adrijana Vinter as Chief Executive Officer. Dr Vinter brings more than 20 years of experience spanning medicinal chemistry research, commercial development and executive leadership in the pharmaceutical and contract research industry sectors.

Oct 13 • 3:02 AM EDT • Science • news-medical.net

Andre Tippett, Julian Edelman Set for Induction into International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame

Two Patriots Hall of Famers will add another honor to their distinguished careers as Andre Tippett and Julian Edelman join the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame's Class of 2026.

Oct 13 • 2:01 PM EDT • Sports • patriots.com

Health information sources show links to RSV vaccination among older adults in Japan

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) causes substantial morbidity among older adults; however, RSV vaccination remains limited in Japan. Identifying effective information channels to promote RSV vaccination ...

Oct 15 • 7:40 AM EDT • Health • medicalxpress.com

Virtual behavioral health outpatient program launches to residents statewide

A new virtual program expands access to mental health and substance use treatment and is backed by more than a decade of behavioral health experience.

Oct 12 • 7:00 AM EDT • Health • bigislandnow.com

‘Drag Race’ personality Lucian Piane dies at 46

‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ music producer and on-air personality Lucian Piane has died at 46, years after he publicly battled substance abuse and mental health issues.

Oct 13 • 10:56 AM EDT • Entertainment • ew.com

Health Without Compromise

At IFT FIRST, experts share how food and ingredient companies are meeting demand for healthier products without compromising taste, texture, or value.

Oct 11 • 11:14 PM EDT • Health • ift.org

This Cubs Pitcher Surprisingly Led The Team In WAR

Oct 12 • 5:30 PM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com

Gears of War: E-Day sells 230K copies

Gears of War: E-Day has sold 230K copies since its advance-access launch on October 1 and full release on October 6. Steam accounts for 168K of those, with Xbox (console and PC) selling 62K. But there’s more to this story, as Xbox makes up the bulk of revenue. E-Day is the best-reviewed Gears game in nearly two decades (and the best one ever made, in my opinion). The Coalition has made a banger here (it’s currently in my top 10 of the year). Despite E-Day’s undeniable quality, this is a soft result. And it’s down to the business model, really. E-Day has made $37M so far, thanks to the Premium upgrade On Xbox, Game Pass is cannibalising much of the premium revenue. Our estimates show that 1.7M folks accessed E-Day via their subscription rather than a copy. But Xbox is having it both ways – or having it halfway, at least – via its Premium Edition Game Pass upgrade. Game Pass subscribers could pay $30 (or their local equivalent) for up to five days of early access starting October 1. Our estimates show that of the 1.7M who accessed E-Day through Game Pass, 722K paid for the upgrade. Between the review embargo lifting on October 1 and the full release, E-Day managed to shift another 250K early-access upgrades – no doubt helped by the campaign’s rave reviews. So despite selling far fewer copies on Steam, Xbox accounts for almost three-quarters of the revenue (roughly $26M of the $37M, versus about $11M on Steam). So “230K copies” undersells the paying audience. Including the 722K upgrades, nearly 950K people actually paid something for E-Day. The $30 upgrade is a halfstep from cannibalisation, but will Xbox go all the way? While E-Day is a sublime game, these are soft numbers for a flagship when Xbox badly needs revenue wins. E-Day sold 62K copies on Xbox against 722K Premium upgrades, so for every one copy sold on Xbox, nearly 12 Game Pass upgrades were sold. The $70 premium SKU is – functionally – dead on Xbox. Normally you can’t see what a Game Pass player would have paid, because the game’s just there in the subscription. But the $30 early-access upgrade estimate shows that 722K people demonstrated they’ll spend real money on this game. In a world without day-one Game Pass, many of these folks would have bought E-Day at $70. They paid $30 for five days early access to something they don’t own. Xbox is, in effect, charging its most valuable customers the least, based on a hangover from a tried-and-exhausted strategy from a previous administration. Those 722K willing-to-pay players generated about $21.7M via the upgrade. If three quarters of this group – mostly US and European audiences – bought E-Day outright, that’s nearly $40M. Of course, Game Pass does bring in meaningful recurring revenue, and E-Day is adding value for hundreds of thousands of subscribers. However, Game Pass is no longer growing, so Xbox is at a crossroads. Xbox is reportedly looking to do a Netflix and bolt on an ad-supported tier to pad it further. But that will just set a new floor, and leadership keeps telling us the priority now is revenue growth, which is subscriber-speak for ARPU. Xbox has already pulled Call of Duty from day-one Game Pass after day-one inclusion hammered its sales, with new CoD titles now arriving on the service around a year late. We know that some Microsoft executives believe the service devalues games outright, and rumours (which Microsoft has dismissed so far, to be fair) suggest that day-one releases could be taken off Game Pass. Want more free estimates and insights in your inbox twice a week? Subscribe below! Subscribe When a game this well-reviewed does this softly on its home platform, the model – not the game – gets brought into question. What else E-Day’s early adopters have played (including this month so far) Looking at E-Day‘s players on Xbox, most have played the franchise before (86% have played Gears 5, 76% Gears 4), and every game on the crossover list is either a shooter or a title from an Xbox-owned studio (though Game Pass is inflating those numbers, of course, more on that later): As for what else Xbox’s E-Day players have played this month, the top three are Fortnite (16%), Roblox (7%), and Call of Duty (6%). Another 5% played Minecraft Dungeons II, which is also on Game Pass and launched a couple of days before Gears‘ advance-access date. Many Game Pass players are happy to check out most big new additions. Want more free estimates and insights in your inbox twice a week? Subscribe below! Subscribe Over on Steam, the top crossover games are also mostly shooters (slightly more PC-coded ones), including Space Marine 2, which was itself heavily inspired by Gears: Looking at what E-Day‘s Steam players are into this month shows who they are – as subscriptions don’t skew the data. The top three are Wardogs (13%), Deadlock (12%), and CS2 (10%), so you’ve got the restless shooter crowd checking out the new hotness. A little further down are Helldivers 2 and Space Marine 2, your co-op PVE shooter players who’ll feel right at home in Horde mode. Game Pass is skewing the playtime distribution on Xbox Looking at the playtime distribution in our platform, E-Day players on Steam are – relatively speaking – playing for longer: 54% of E-Day players on Xbox have played for five hours or less (versus 32% on Steam) 19% of Xbox players played for over 15 hours (versus 33% on Steam) 14% of Xbox players played for over 20 hours (22% on Steam) The absolute number of people playing for over 15, 20, and 50 hours is, of course, bigger on Xbox, thanks to the sheer volume of folks who came in through Game Pass (upgraders included). None of that is cause for alarm. Game Pass is the reason Xbox playtime skews lower, as when a game is free to try, people try it and bounce without putting in even an hour (17% under an hour on Xbox versus 6% on Steam). Want more free estimates and insights in your inbox twice a week? Subscribe below! Subscribe The subscription brings in tourists alongside the committed, dragging down the average even when the game is excellent (but also perhaps winning over the uninitiated). It’s standard across every subscription-included title, on PS Plus too. Forza Horizon 6, for instance, had 11% of its Xbox players bounce under an hour, versus just 2% on Steam. So, Xbox’s crossroads So there we have it. Gears of War: E-Day is an incredible game whose revenues have been stifled by subscription inclusion and exclusivity. It’s the best-reviewed entry in the series in fifteen-odd years, but it still turned into one of the year’s softer flagship launches, not because players didn’t want it, but because Xbox’s own storefront gave its most willing buyers a reason not to pay. Which leaves Xbox at a crossroads. Will it keep making Gears games when the financial returns are this thin and the margins this low? And if it does, does the next one arrive off Game Pass at day one – the way CoD now does, or even on PlayStation? I think it should. Alright, back to E-Day for me! The last word Reply to this email – or reach out here – if you have any feedback for the newsletter – or want to request a game for us to cover. [Alinea Analytics boasts the most accurate PC and console estimates in the business. Game makers use our platform to understand their audience, keep an eye on the competition, monitor sales trends, and spot new opportunities. We equip game studios and financial institutions with accurate data and the confidence to make smarter, data-driven decisions. Want to talk about all things games market data? We’d love to chat!]

Oct 9 • 11:49 AM EDT • Technology • alineaanalytics.substack.com

BUSINESS UPDATE: Port Perseveres Despite Tariffs’ Negative Impact

‘We are hanging tough ... in an environment that is incredibly difficult to do business in right now,” the port’s director says By Stefan Yablonski Tariffs imposed by the Trump administration have hurt the Port of Oswego by slashing Canadian aluminum cargo volumes and reducing revenue. “We’re doing good. We are hanging tough. It is a tough time for our line of business in general, you know with these tariffs and the amount of Canadian aluminum that we see through our docks,” said the new executive director, Tom Drumm. “Compared to 2025, we are doing exceedingly well in traffic coming in; not necessarily the volumes we were seeing, but yeah we are hanging tough in an environment that is incredibly difficult to do business in right now.” “I don’t know where people get these numbers to be honest. We have never publicly stated how much our revenue is down or up or left to right. We don’t have a strong sense of those revenue numbers until the shipping season really closes up. We won’t have an accurate picture of the revenue standpoint until after the shipping season, typically in late November,” he added. “What I can tell you is several of our Canadian vessels that carry the aluminum cells — the volume of aluminum on those vessels we have seen decreasing. That is attributed to a few factors. One is where Novelis is in in their restart process. Novelis is rocking and rolling right now. They are starting to pull a lot of aluminum from the port of Oswego, the aluminum that they roll down into coils. “Another factor plainly is the tariffs. Canadian aluminum is tariffed at 50%. So, on those vessels we are seeing lower numbers than we would like. We’d like to see vessels carrying roughly 10,000 metric tons of aluminum. Over the course of this year, we have seen more in the range of 4,000 to 6,000. “Every piece of that aluminum that we receive here by vessel at the port is from Canada and is subsequently hit with the 50% tariff. It directly affects us because we’ve received less volume than we would traditionally see pre-tariff times.” When the port receives less aluminum from those vessels it means less hours for the ILA (International Longshoremen Association) as far as folks that work on the dock, he said. When cargo declines, it affects everyone, fewer hours for longshoremen, fewer loads for truck drivers, fewer rail shipments and less business for local suppliers. “Outside of the aluminum that comes in by vessel, the port topped out at having roughly 4,600 aluminum ingots stored on site at the port. That project had never been done before. The port of Oswego had never had that many of those size ingots in our yard,” he said. “It has been a busy summer for the ILA. Would we like to see more work for them? Sure. They are working all those barges when they come in, but as opposed to working 15 hours they might be working seven or eight hours. It hasn’t been a distinct decline in ILA hours. There has been plenty of work to keep our guys busy throughout the summer.” More salt “We just brought salt back to the port in several, several years. Around Harborfest time at one point we had a salt barge here with about 24,000 metric tons of rock salt and we had an aluminum barge here the same week. We had close to 40 men working,” he said. “Yeah, the other products definitely keep us busy. The salt project was a massive project, one that we are proud of. I’ve got 24,000 metric tons of salt on site that has to go somewhere — that’s going to be another project.” It is important for the port to continue to look at different products, different commodities to try to diversify some of its revenue, he said, adding, “We have done a pretty good job of that in my first five months here … particularly with the rock salt we have on site right now. It is important to continue to try to stand out and work through some projects outside our usual business. I enjoy it. It is a challenge every single day we put our head down and we try our best.”

Oct 14 • 8:23 AM EDT • Business • oswegocountybusiness.com

Sports Entertainment Group Completes Deferred Placement Allotment of 16,964,290 Shares Raising $4.75 Million

Sports Entertainment Group Limited (ASX:SEG) has completed the deferred allotment and oversubscription components of its placement, issuing 16,964,290 fully paid ordinary shares at A$0.28 per share to sophisticated and professional investors on 12 October 2026, raising a total of A$4,750,001.20 before costs.

Oct 11 • 7:47 PM EDT • Entertainment • kalkine.com.au

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

Oct 12 • 6:38 PM EDT • Health • pillarcatholic.com

European majors' strong earnings growth expected to have continued in Q3

Major European companies are expected to report substantially higher third-quarter earnings, the latest LSEG I/B/E/S data showed on Thursday, although the ​year-on-year growth should slightly temper from the previous quarter.

Oct 9 • 3:44 AM EDT • Business • reuters.com

Politics Chat, October 13, 2026

A newsletter about the history behind today's politics.

Oct 13 • 9:46 PM EDT • Politics • heathercoxrichardson.substack.com

Gemini AI Plus subscribers will lose access to Pro models next month

Google has begun emailing Gemini AI Plus members to inform them when their Gemini subscription will no longer include access...

Oct 14 • 5:34 PM EDT • Technology • 9to5google.com

Skydance raises Discovery+ prices, a week after Skydance merger

Discovery+ is getting more expensive just a week after Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery became Skydance. Here’s what subscribers will pay, and when.

Oct 13 • 3:15 PM EDT • Entertainment • latimes.com

Social Security announces 2027 cost of living boost for recipients

The Social Security Administration projects a 3.6% cost-of-living adjustment for older adults and people with disabilities starting in 2027. Some recipients say it won't offset rising prices. This adjustment means $75 extra per month for the nearly 72 million Social Security beneficiaries and about 7.3 million Supplemental Security Income recipients. Inflation continues to pressure household budgets and savings, and some older Americans feel the increase isn't enough. The Social Security Administration faces a looming bankruptcy date if a funding shortfall isn't addressed by Congress. Lawmakers have proposed measures to replenish the trust funds, including lifting the payroll tax cap to generate substantial revenue.

Oct 15 • 7:35 AM EDT • Business • springfieldnewssun.com

Mom-and-Pop Business Owners Grapple with Harsh Times

Report shows small business owners in NYS less optimistic about the economy. Taxes, inflation, labor costs and competition from larger businesses are major concerns right now, they say By Aaron Gifford [caption id=attachment_11067 align=alignright width=300] Ashley Ranslow is director for New York state at The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB).[/caption] Owners of mom-and-pop businesses in New York state have been less optimistic lately than their peers in other parts of the country, a recent report indicates. The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), based on a survey of 11,000 of its members in the Empire State, reported that taxes, inflation, labor costs and competition from larger businesses are major concerns right now. “Indeed, while taxes are a major problem in New York and the United States overall, New York small businesses notably are struggling more with the state’s onerous, multi-level tax burden,” Ashley Ranslow, NFIB’s director for New York state, said in the July report. Compared with surveys of business owners in other states, far fewer New York respondents rated their businesses as in excellent or good health. The report also said labor costs here are about 25% higher than the national average and are the “single most important problem” facing businesses. One respondent to the New York-specific survey complained that too much red tape, taxes and laws that restrict high-yielding companies have stifled their operation’s growth. Others said high disability and workers’ compensation insurance costs, alarming increases in utility rates and excessive building regulations are discouraging. Statewide, New York has a gross domestic product of $2.53 trillion (third in the nation, followed by Texas, $2.90 trillion; and California, $4.25 trillion), a per capita income of $90,500 (sixth) and an unemployment rate of 4.6% (34th). There are 2.4 million small businesses that employ 3.9 million people. [caption id=attachment_11112 align=alignright width=451] Member of the Greater Liverpool Chamber of Commerce gather at one of the several functions the chamber organizes monthly. “Everyone in this business community encourages each other to shop local. Everyone just wants to see each other succeed,” says Megan Wilmot, the chamber director[/caption] “New York state boasts one of the largest, wealthiest and most diverse cities in the world — and that’s still only about half the state’s population,” the report said. “In other words, the state is both its iconic city and so much more — geographically, demographically, economically. But New York is not without its challenges, challenges that include notably high taxes and other weaknesses that impact the small business environment,” it said. The report includes an optimism index that compares responses from New York (NFIB) members with those of their peers in other states across several categories. This ranges from plans to increase employment to expectations for higher sales, to plans to increase inventory or expand. The scores for Empire State business owners were lower in most categories, but they did score higher than the national average in noting that they have current employment openings, and that they are hopeful that the economy will improve. “The metrics so far paint a picture of a state with a series of challenges for small businesses, from a slightly below national average Optimism Index to a more seriously below national business health to very substantially below national Employment Index. What is going on with businesses that are creating these differences?” the report stated. In Central New York, the regional labor force comprises nearly 398,000 workers. The median household income here is $71,463, and the gross domestic product for the region last year totaled $61.3 billion, according to the CenterState CEO economic development and research organization. About half of the region’s labor force works for small and mid-sized businesses, although the number of people employed in that sector has decreased by 7% since 2010, according to CenterState’s 2026 economic forecast report. “While record-high employment in large-scale enterprises provides a strong foundation for Central New York,” the report says, “the long-term health of communities depends on a thriving small business sector to serve as a stabilizer.” Area employers identify several barriers to Central New York’s anticipated growth, including lack of specialized or skilled workers, government regulations, unaffordable housing options and long-term construction disruptions. In the city of Syracuse, the number of jobs in retail trade decreased by 1,500 or 4.7% between July 2025 and this past July. By contrast, the number of jobs in the leisure and hospitality sector increased by 2.5% or 700 jobs, in the same annual period, according to the New York State Department of Labor. Still, there’s plenty of interest for new businesses across Central New York. U.S. Census figures show that the number of applications for new businesses in all four counties increased significantly in the past 20 years. In Cayuga County, there were 324 applications in 2005 compared to 470 last year. In Madison County, the number increased from 385 to 480; Onondaga County, from 2411 to 4132; and Oswego County, from 553 to 836. Downtown Cazenovia is exemplary of Madison County’s trend: In the past year, the village welcomed a bait shop, a thrift store, a vitamin infusion center, a pizzeria, a Pilates studio and an Italian restaurant. A candy store is scheduled to open on the main drag in the months ahead. Oswego’s list of interesting new businesses in the past year includes a bubble tea shop, a hot dog eatery in Fulton, a specialty grocery store that features New York state products in Mexico, a beauty and esthetics studio in Hannibal and a hardware and farm supply store in Sandy Creek. In Onondaga County, the Liverpool area has also enjoyed a steady stream of new shops and eateries in recent years. That suburban community is unique in that, unlike neighboring communities, most of the restaurants are family-owned and not part of a national chain. [caption id=attachment_11116 align=alignright width=300] Megan Wilmot is the executive director of the Greater Liverpool’s Chamber of Commerce.[/caption] Megan Wilmot, executive director of the Greater Liverpool Chamber of Commerce, said independent business owners in her community maintain a strong sense of pride in holding their own against national companies. The chamber helps boost morale with red carpet events, ribbon cuttings, coffee hours and five-year anniversary celebrations for participating businesses. “We have built such a strong community,” Wilmot said. “Everyone in this business community encourages each other to shop local. Everyone just wants to see each other succeed.” In Syracuse, the downtown retail occupancy rate last year was about 82%, a slight improvement from 2024, according to the Downtown Syracuse Committee’s most recent annual report. Buildings with the largest amount of vacant space included The Galleries, One Park Place, and Equitable Towers, though not all of those spaces are designated for retail use. New businesses that opened in downtown Syracuse last year: Better with Time Clothing, Dakshin Curry & Biriyani, Havana Tattoo Society, Milano Bean Café, Miss Daisy, Pausa Coffee, Sweets for Babe, The Society CNY and Yafah Beauty Studio. The Destiny USA mall’s occupancy rate decreased from 80% in 2023 to 72% by the end of 2024, according to Integra Realty Resources. That leaves more than a quarter of the mall’s retail space vacant. “Looking ahead, the retail market is expected to see minimal rent growth, with vacancy rates likely remaining stable in community and neighborhood centers but continuing to rise in enclosed malls,” Integra’s report said. “New construction activity is low and redevelopment plans for former malls like Shoppingtown and Great Northern are still in the planning stages. The proposed Micron chip plant may spur development, but challenges remain in finding co-developers for large-scale projects.” Nationally, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce expects that small businesses will remain resilient and see their sales and revenues eventually improve. That organization, in a recent national survey, found that 25% of small business owners expect the economy to improve in 2027, while 45% indicated that they plan to increase employment in the next 12 months. And 69% said they believe their small business is in good shape and 70% said they are comfortable with their current cash flow. Thirty-one percent of small businesses reported raising their prices in July and 28% are planning to raise their prices within the next three to four months, the report said. Twelve percent indicated that this is a good time to expand their business. “Small business owners voice optimism for future revenues and hiring,” the report said. “High costs continue to be a wet blanket on reinvestment.” The NFIB reported in July that Main Street, despite gas price hikes, “is OK … for now.” Its small business economics trend report said sales across the country have been strong compared to last year, but continued inflation and higher prices from mom-and-pop establishments are causing some “cracks” to show. “If costs stay this high for much longer, reduced investment will have a tangible economic impact,” the report said. “The status quo is OK, but the outlook? The outlook is uncertain.”

Oct 14 • 8:23 AM EDT • Business • oswegocountybusiness.com

How do Spanish clubs become 'Real' or 'royal'?

The title of 'Real' is bestowed upon Spanish clubs by the country's monarchy but it has little to do with achievements on the field.

Oct 9 • 4:41 AM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com

CVS agrees to pay $315 million to settle Justice Department case over opioid prescriptions

The settlement resolves a lawsuit brought in 2024 that accused the healthcare giant of providing massive amounts of opioids and other controlled substances “to fuel its own profits at the expense of public health and safety.”

Oct 13 • 5:02 PM EDT • Health • pbs.org

Photos: Champions Square | Saints vs. Vikings

New Orleans Saints fans enjoyed the Week 5 entertainment in Champions Square ahead of the game against the Minnesota Vikings during the 2026 NFL season on Oct. 11, 2026.

Oct 11 • 8:00 AM EDT • Entertainment • neworleanssaints.com

Fatal Motorcycle Collision Followed by Separate Vehicle Crash Into Local Business

Emergency responders were dispatched to two serious motor vehicle crashes Sunday afternoon, October 11, including a fatal motorcycle collision and a subsequent crash involving a vehicle striking a…

Oct 11 • 6:15 PM EDT • Business • ruralradio.com

Ahead of the midterms, most voters cite the economy and cost of living as top issues and favor political change - AP-NORC

Eight in 10 voters want substantial change or total upheaval in how the country is run. Most are pessimistic about the state of U.S. politics, and nearly half express pessimism about the future of democracy in America.

Oct 15 • 6:00 AM EDT • Politics • apnorc.org

OpenAI in Early Talks to Buy Security Startup Trail of Bits

OpenAI, which is trying to develop a substantial cybersecurity business, is in early talks to buy Trail of Bits, a startup that finds and fixes vulnerabilities in open-source software, according to people familiar with the matter. The size of the potential deal couldn’t be learned. OpenAI has ...

Oct 13 • 6:07 PM EDT • Business • theinformation.com

Getting health advice online? A study suggests you may be getting a sales pitch

Pew Research Center found 38% of health influencer posts promoted products, services or subscriptions, with promotions appearing in about two-thirds of posts about supplements and over-the-counter medications.

Oct 8 • 12:33 PM EDT • Health • scrippsnews.com

Ubisoft plans cuts at German studios, adding to wave of workforce reductions

Ubisoft is planning to reduce its workforce in Germany, where it operates a trio of studios, by about 100 workers, Game File has learned. The company wants to offer employees buyouts to, should enough people accept, avoid having to lay anyone off. “In Germany, we initiated discussions with the Works Council last week regarding a proposed voluntary departure plan across Ubisoft Dusseldorf, Ubisoft Berlin & Ubisoft Mainz,” a company rep told Game File. A “works council” is a union-like group representing employees. “The voluntary plan is the primary measure being proposed to support the intended organizational changes,” the Ubisoft rep added. The company declined to confirm the scale of the potential headcount cut. Of the impacted studios, Mainz might be the best known to the public. It leads development of the Anno series and shipped the well-reviewed strategy game Anno 117: Pax Romana in November 2025. Berlin and Dusseldorf operate as support studios within Ubisoft’s creative network. Berlin recently supported the development of Rainbow Six Siege and the Rayman Legends Retold remake. Dusseldorf also contributed to those projects, as well as The Settlers and Ubisoft-branded escape rooms. Dusseldorf is the biggest of the three studios, with some 400+ workers, compared to just over 100 at the other two, a source familiar with the reductions and the teams told Game File. More than half of these new reductions of about 100 people are expected to happen at Dusseldorf. The planned cuts were announced at a town hall for the German studios on Tuesday of last week. In an email follow-up, the studio group’s managing director, Benedikt Grindel, said the cuts were intended to “best position our German studios for the future... with a clearer focus on their role, capabilities and organizational setup needed for the work ahead.” The email was an echo of the past. In January 2025, Grindel had emailed the Ubisoft developers in his region (or studio “zone”) to explain that a round of 185 cuts at the time, including about 65 at Dusseldorf, were “essential to improve our operational efficiency and ensure the long-term sustainability of our studios, the zone and the company.” A half-decade of continued job cuts Ubisoft has been aggressively cutting its headcount for years. At the end of September 2022, it had 20,729 workers. By the end of March 2026, that total was down to 16,590. Studio management is trying to trim costs as it grapples with a changing industry and a drought of releases, let alone hits. The company announced earlier this year that it had reduced its costs since 2022 by “nearly €325 million” ($362m) and planned to lower them through 2028 by another €180 million ($200m). In June the company said it was closing down its Winnipeg and Belgrade studios and cutting roles in its Barcelona team. Even commercial and creative success hasn’t spared studios from this ongoing company-wide contraction. As Game File was nailing down details around the proposed cuts in Germany, Ubisoft management was informing workers of cuts in its Singapore studio, which shipped a hit remake of Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag this past July. Some 70 positions in Singapore are being eliminated “to align the studio with upcoming production needs,” per a company rep’s statement to Game File. In early 2024, a large team in the Singapore studio launched the multiplayer pirate game Skull & Bones. It performed poorly but has been supported with regular content updates since. Many of Ubisoft’s studios around the world are heavily subsidized via regional grants and tax breaks. Singapore had been among them for years, but received no such local assistance in the 12 months ending this past March. News of the Singapore cuts broke today alongside word that Ubisoft is also proposing the closure of RedLynx, pending negotiations with officials. The Finnish studio behind the motorbike series Trials was founded in 2000 and sold to Ubisoft in 2011. As reported by VGC (and corroborated by Game File), Ubisoft management told employees it could not come up with a new, sustainable assignment for RedLynx. The 2025 workforce at Ubisoft Dusseldorf were straight-up cuts. This time, Ubisoft is hoping the reductions at its trio of German studios will largely come from workers taking a payout to leave. The company offered such voluntary dismissals at its Massive Entertainment studio (The Division) a year ago. For the German studios’ buyouts this time around, Ubisoft and the Works Council had discussed a formula that’d pay a worker’s monthly salary multiplied by 1.5 and by the number of years they’ve worked at the company, according to Game File sources. The formula is still subject to negotiations with the Works Council and has not yet been part of an official offer to workers. It could be adjusted up or down, and it could be supplemented with additional bonuses. Asked about the floated payout formula, a Ubisoft rep told Game File, “The terms of a potential voluntary departure program remain subject to negotiation with employee representatives. No final agreement has been reached, and we won’t comment on specific proposals while discussions are ongoing.” Game File is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Subscribe Item 2: Epic’s AI adventures Epic Games (Fortnite, the Unreal engine) is all-in on using AI to try to transform the way it makes video games and game-making tools. It’s leaders appear to be undeterred by any resistance among gamers and some game developers around generative AI—and instead emboldened by advances, particularly in AI-assisted programming. A recap of the last three days: On Monday, Bloomberg reported that Epic management told workers last week that development of an upcoming game combining Star Wars and Marvel characters would be “AI first.” Employees would be expected to use AI models such as Claude to code the game. A manager told Epic’s developers there would be “[n]o more hand-written code” and that art for the game would be “generated with full AI workflows,” per the outlet. Just ahead of that story running, Epic founder Tim Sweeney tweeted: “We have a huge pivot underway here at Epic, moving developers around to retool for maximum AI acceleration. The aim isn’t to do the same stuff with fewer people, but to enable everyone here to build MORE and BETTER stuff, and to bring the benefits to all teams using Unreal.” In a follow-up, Sweeney predicted that most game development processes would be at least three times faster a year from now than they were in January 2026, thanks to AI. To a person on X who told him he was failing to read the room, Sweeney said: “Much of the room wants it to be 2016 again, but it’s not. Our job, as the provider of tools and technology to much of the industry, is to design for the present that is and the future that will soon be.” On Wednesday, Epic announced it was releasing a faster launcher for its Epic Games Store marketplace. It did so by stating in a blog post as clear as could be that the launcher is an AI-enabled, vibe-coded project: Programming is hard. So, instead of doing that, we vibe coded a new Epic Games Launcher that’s way faster and more responsive than the current one, and has a new look. Programming is hard? That was unexpected phrasing from a company founded by a legendarily great programmer. Back in 2011, Sweeney told me that he’d picked up programming quickly as a kid and rejoiced at the power it gave him. “I could look at any program that anybody else had written and, with enough effort, build something cooler.” Item 3: The Xbox Labs experiment (and one of the people behind it) Microsoft’s Xbox division, which is flooding the zone with announcements lately, yesterday revealed a new internal tech-tinkering team called Xbox Labs. In the words of Xbox boss Asha Sharma Labs is “a small group of game makers, engineers and scientists whose job is to turn emerging ideas into things our players and developers can experience.” Conventional wisdom coming out of the announcement is that Labs is a team that’ll focus on ideas driven by generative AI. In her announcement, Sharma cited some of the dizzying achievements in tech and gaming over the past month as AI agents and other AI tools have been deployed to swiftly figure out how popular games work, then rebuild them and mix them up. She mentioned seeing ”games rapidly decompiled and rebuilt to run on hardware they were never originally designed to support” and said “[p]erhaps more surprisingly, we’ve seen many of the biggest games in the world have been remixed into the source code of another.” (Minecraft plus Elden Ring, for example, or Fortnite + Super Monkey Ball + Overwatch + Diablo + others.) Sharma also cited the work of Windows PC games being ported to run in browsers, a seeming reference to a recent AI-assisted fan port of Halo. Or perhaps Call of Duty or GTA. Sharma didn’t use the specific term “AI” in her memo, but she came close, citing AI “agents” and their potential for game-making tools that Labs could help craft: I think XBOX has an important role to play here. Coding became the first major workload for agents because they can write, run, and test software. Games share many of those same properties, and people spend more than 72 billion hours a year playing XBOX games, roughly five times the estimated time spent writing code worldwide. We’ve spent 25 years learning how to make great games, and I want our game makers to help shape what these new technologies make possible. As we learn, we’ll share the tools we build with developers across the industry, just as we always have. When I asked an Xbox rep if Labs was an AI-centric team, they said genAI was not the focus, describing it as having a broader mandate for using new tech in new ways in gaming. As an example, they pointed to Xbox’s recently launched disc-to-digital gaming usage rights program. Microsoft didn’t specifically name anyone involved full-time in Xbox Labs yesterday, but on social media and LinkedIn, I spotted Adrian Mato IDing himself as leading the creatio of tools at Labs and talking up the launch. Mato first caught my attention in late September, when he said on X that he was “starting to build a new team at Xbox focused on products and tools for how games get built and distributed as agentic tools become more capable.” At the time, he framed AI-based tools as a supplement to traditional game dev tools. “I don’t think we need to replace them,” he said. Since then, he’s publicly shown interest in AI and in games. He’s recently spent some of his X feed marveling at the power of AI agents and praising the lighting in the latest Gears of War. Following the Labs announcement yesterday, he enthused about the Xbox Labs’ stylish landing page. He wrote: “We built some fun tools to art-direct shaders in real time, experimented with interactive ASCII art, and sprinkled in lots of tiny details. “Move your mouse to leave a colorful trail that reveals the original footage, or interact with the video to trigger bursts of particles. “A lot of love went into making it all feel just right. “More to come”

Oct 14 • 4:31 PM EDT • Technology • gamefile.news

Eagles abroad: London matchup fuels big business for fan travel companies

The Eagles' trip to London means big business for travel companies, pubs and local businesses.

Oct 8 • 5:08 PM EDT • Business • 6abc.com

Lens set Andrija Bulatovic price tag amid Bundesliga interest

RC Lens have set their price tag for Montenegro midfielder Andrija Bulatovic (19) amid interest from Bundesliga clubs, as per a report from Sky Sports Germany. Bulatovic made his breakthrough into the...

Oct 9 • 4:40 AM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com

Getting Open: Retired Bear Kyle Long Advocates for Mental Health

Minnesota Vikings Latest News

Oct 9 • 12:10 PM EDT • Health • vikings.com

A few thoughts about the Cubs and Ian Happ

The Cubs soon to be free agent left fielder is a controversial figure with many fans.

Oct 13 • 10:00 AM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com

Rural MAHA followers say health of communities hasn't improved

A poll finds that the Make America Healthy Again movement has a substantial following among rural voters, but most don't think it has benefited them.

Oct 11 • 1:22 AM EDT • Health • myjournalcourier.com

Chicago Cubs history unpacked

Happy Birthday, Carlos Marmol!

Oct 14 • 7:00 AM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com

Did an Affordable Audiophile Brand Just Revive the Classic iPod?

Best of all, it's substantially more affordable than you'd probably guess.

Oct 12 • 2:49 PM EDT • Technology • gearpatrol.com

Australia: NSW Health warns against handling bats due to lyssavirus

NSW Health is advising the public not to handle, or otherwise handle bats, following a recent increase in people being bitten or scratched across the state. In the two weeks from 28 September to 10 October, 43 people were assessed by NSW Health after being bitten or scratched by bats. This includes in coastal areas in Hunter New England, the Mid North Coast, Northern NSW, and the Central Coast. This is a significant increase when compared with 10 reported cases of bat bites or scratches for the same two-week period in 2025. Keira Glasgow, Director in Health Protection at NSW Health, said, “We want people to assume that any bat could carry Australian bat lyssavirus, which is a close relative to the rabies virus and very dangerous to humans.” “If you see a bat that is injured or in distress, call your local wildlife rescue service and do not touch it. Only trained, protected and vaccinated wildlife handlers should interact with bats. “It is incredibly rare for Australian bat lyssavirus to transmit to humans, but once symptoms of lyssavirus start in people who are scratched or bitten by an infected bat, sadly there is no effective treatment. “If you are bitten or scratched by a bat, urgent medical assessment is crucial.” Rabies virus and Australian bat lyssavirus (ABLV) belong to a group of viruses called lyssaviruses. These viruses transmit via a bite from an infected ("rabid") animal. They all cause a similar illness known as rabies, which affects the central nervous system and is usually fatal. Rabies and ABLV infection cause similar symptoms. The early symptoms are flu-like, including headache, fever and fatigue. The illness progresses rapidly to paralysis, delirium, convulsions and death, usually within a week or two. Rabies cases and the three known human cases of ABLV infection have shown a wide variability in the time it takes for symptoms to appear following exposure to an infected animal (from several days to several years). The best way to protect yourself from infection is to not touch bats. If you see a bat in distress, injured or trapped on the ground, do not try to rescue it. Instead, contact trained experts. Outbreak News Today is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Subscribe

Oct 13 • 9:25 AM EDT • Health • outbreaknewstoday.substack.com

Women’s golf is booming and Cleveland-area clubs are taking advantage

Cleveland-area golf clubs are adding women’s leagues, clinics and memberships as more women and girls take up the sport.

Oct 9 • 5:45 AM EDT • Business • crainscleveland.com

🚨XIs confirmed: United and Tottenham meet in crisis clash

Old Trafford hosts the clash between Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur this Saturday, October 10 (16:30 GMT), on Matchday 6 of the Premier League. Both clubs desperately need to turn things arou...

Oct 10 • 11:26 AM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com

Tepper Sports & Entertainment Selects Longhorn Lockers for Carolina Panthers Locker Room Project

Custom locker installation is part of the ongoing Bank of America Stadium transformation

Oct 8 • 2:27 PM EDT • Entertainment • panthers.com

Colorado Politics Calendar Oct. 12-18

CoPo’s weekly political calendar will help you find political and public-policy events throughout Colorado. It includes candidate and issue campaign events, public policy meetings, court hearings, state and local party conventions, assemblies, debates, rallies, parades, speaking engagements, traveling dignitary appearances, water meetings, book signings, county commission hearings, city council meetings and more. As a subscriber, […]

Oct 10 • 7:00 AM EDT • Politics • coloradopolitics.com

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

Oct 11 • 6:20 AM EDT • Science • goldrushcam.com

Everett eyes small business tax relief in concert with new downtown stadium plan

EVERETT – For the first time in 24 years, the city’s Business & Occupation tax could be substantially revamped in […]

Oct 13 • 5:16 PM EDT • Business • everettpost.com

190K subscribers gone: YouTuber loses channel over new horror game

Ten years of work, around 3,000 videos and 190,000 subscribers – all gone because a YouTuber showed footage from the new horror game Hellraiser: Revival. What makes the case particularly controversial is that he claims to have censored the explicit scenes.

Oct 10 • 5:40 AM EDT • Technology • notebookcheck.net

Liverpool legend urges the club to do January business

John Aldridge warning puts squad depth in focusJanuary recruitment poses a familiar question for Premier League clubs: does a squad need more players, or does it need a better balance? John Aldridge��...

Oct 12 • 8:21 AM EDT • Business • sports.yahoo.com

Skill games become illegal in PA, small business workers lose their jobs: ‘It’s awful’

The last day of legality arrived Tuesday for an estimated 70,000 so-called “skill games” that were pulling in money at clubs and small businesses across Pennsylvania.

Oct 14 • 10:09 AM EDT • Business • centredaily.com

Substack welcomes its influencer marketing era

Rothy's is going all-in on Substack with IRL events and sponsoring personal essays. Other brands are following suit.

Oct 9 • 7:45 AM EDT • Business • businessinsider.com

Cubs Lead National League With 5 Gold Gold Finalists

From Seiya Suzuki’s remarkable defensive turnaround to Pete Crow-Armstrong’s bid for back-to-back honors, Chicago’s elite glovework dominates the National League as Rawlings reveals its top 2026 finalists.

Oct 14 • 1:19 PM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com

Inside Gavin Newsom's taxpayer-funded team that never stops posting

Gavin Newsom has been a Twitch stream guest, a Substacker, a Tiktoker and a podcast bro. Here’s how he’s used the media to boost himself as governor.

Oct 15 • 8:00 AM EDT • Politics • calmatters.org

The science, instinct and hard work behind Roosters’ success

Enter your email address to get each Tribune edition sent to your inbox Subscribe There’s a fair bit of unseen work that goes into winning an NRL premiership, dating back many months - just ask Simon Jones. The Sydney Roosters Head of Performance, who hails from Southland, has been in the thick of it. He played a lead role in guiding the 2026 champions through a marathon campaign that ended with a grand final win over the Newcastle Knights. The Roosters had to navigate the lengthy round-robin competition, including the pre-season, before playing through all four weeks of the finals series. It was a demanding stretch that tested the players and the staff responsible for keeping them on the field. “It is a hell of a beast, mate, to be honest,” Jones told The Roar Podcast. “There’s such a great group of staff there that know what they’re doing, and the boys are pretty professional.” Jones believed the Roosters managed the physical demands well, pointing to the health of the squad throughout the campaign and the decision to rest a significant portion of the playing group in the final round of the regular season. That call, made by head coach Trent Robinson and his coaching staff, proved valuable as the Roosters entered the finals with some energy in reserve. “We did finish the season physically where we needed to be, and we’d sort of had a pretty healthy squad all year,” Jones said. “To the team that do that, mate, mission accomplished, really.” It is the sort of work that often goes unnoticed when the spotlight falls on the players scoring tries and making match-winning plays, but Jones knows the cumulative effect of those decisions can be significant over a long season. After a win over Penrith had helped establish them as premiership favourites, losses to the Wests Tigers and Dolphins were followed by a defeat to the Panthers in the opening week of the finals. Rather than panic, the club refocused to position itself to challenge for the title. “The Tigers’ performance was probably the only one where you’re really quite disappointed because it’s hard to get to the top of the competition,” Jones told The Roar Podcast. “We had proof that we could; we knew what we needed to do. We just had to get back to that.” For Jones, the answer was not necessarily a radical change to the programme. It was about executing the basics consistently, both on the field and in preparation. “We just do the basics better than anybody else,” he said. “Whether that is actually the way you play the game or how you’re preparing, it’s just be really consistent, do the basics really, really well.” Like many professional sports teams, the Roosters are entrenched in sports science and performance data. The club has access to a range of information, including players’ sleep, GPS metrics and neuromuscular scores, helping staff assess how individuals are coping with training and competition. “We are very science-backed, and some people would say data-driven, but it’s people first,” he said. “The reason you collect all this data is to try and be the best for that person.” Jones said the club was also prepared to reconsider testing methods if they were not generating useful discussions or helping staff make better decisions. In an environment where technology is continually evolving, he believes experience and gut instinct remain important. “The data is no good unless you have conversations,” he said. “When you strip it right back, mate, trust the gut still and obviously, you know, just doing the basics really, really well.” The return of halfback Sam Walker provided a further example of the importance of individual determination and the work of the club’s medical team. Walker underwent ankle surgery late in the regular season, with his premiership campaign appearing in doubt. However, he was determined to return for the preliminary final. Jones said Walker was back at the training ground three days after surgery, walking freely enough to surprise those around him. While the surgeon’s work was crucial, Jones credited the halfback’s mindset as a major factor in the remarkable turnaround. “He was quite clear with Robbo after he got the surgery that he was going to make it back for the prelim finals,” Jones said. The Roosters’ performance programme also sits within a wider club culture that Jones believes is central to their success. Each season, players develop their own team mantra through a lengthy process facilitated by Robinson. It provides principles that the squad can connect to its actions on the field. Rather than simply carrying over the previous year’s wording after a successful campaign, the club repeats the process because the players’ ownership of it is what gives it meaning. “When it’s led, player-owned and player-led, mate, it’s really powerful,” Jones said. Get more from Logan Savory in the Substack app Available for iOS and Android Get the app Jones joined the Roosters in 2024 and said the environment had evolved as experienced players departed and younger members of the squad took on greater responsibility. Maintaining continuity in the club’s culture and preparation had helped the group navigate those changes. The premiership was a significant achievement for Jones, who acknowledged how difficult it was to win the NRL’s ultimate prize. However, he is already looking at how the performance programme can improve. “There’s still things within my role and things that I’d like to help improve at the club,” he said. For Jones and his team, the challenge now is to review the season, refine their systems and prepare for another campaign. The celebrations may have followed a memorable title win, but the work behind the scenes never really stops. The Southland Tribune is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Subscribe

Oct 11 • 9:14 PM EDT • Science • southlandtribune.substack.com

The official line-ups for Inter vs. Parma

INTER VS. PARMA | OFFICIAL LINE-UPSINTER (3-5-2): 1 Martinez; 28 Pavard, 31 Bisseck, 30 Carlos Augusto; 17 Diouf, 8 Sucic, 20 Calhanoglu, 22 Mkhitaryan, 32 Dimarco; 94 Esposito, 9 Thuram. Substitutes:...

Oct 10 • 11:00 AM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com

Inter 0-0 Parma

INTER 0-0 PARMAINTER (3-5-2): 1 Martinez; 28 Pavard, 31 Bisseck, 30 Carlos Augusto; 17 Diouf, 8 Sucic, 20 Calhanoglu, 22 Mkhitaryan, 32 Dimarco; 94 Esposito, 9 Thuram. Substitutes: 12 Di Gennaro, 49 P...

Oct 10 • 12:00 PM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com

When 1 + 1 = 1: The Miserable Math Behind Many Media Mergers

(Welcome to the “Most Important Story of the Week”, my bi-weekly strategy column analyzing the most important (but often not buzziest) news story of the last two weeks. I’m the Entertainment Strategy Guy, a former streaming executive who now analyzes business strategy in the entertainment industry. Please subscribe.) The last few issues of this newsletter have circled two topics: September’s streaming viewership and all the Paramount/Skydance/Warner Bros./Discovery merger news. I’m happy to say on the Streaming Ratings Report front, we’ll be all caught up by early next week, then the SRR will come out on a tight weekly schedule. Then, after today, I’ll have slayed my PSWbD dragon. It’s such a big story, it demanded multiple issues. With the announcement of a name (just Skydance) and executive team, though, I think we can almost close the book on this story. In terms of topics, it becomes just another studio to cover. So today, I have one last set of takes on that merger. As I’ve sat with it, reading about who was staying and who was going, a big worry crystallized in my brain, and I gotta get that take out. Plus, I still owe you a host of “ugliness” that didn’t fit in my previous “The Good, The Bad and The Ugly” takes. Let’s dive in! Subscribe Most Important Story of the Week - As Paramount Shuffles Deck Chairs, Will They Build or Consolidate? On social media—I try to avoid most social media platforms, but sometimes I end up checking in—the best joke I saw about the announcement of the new name of Skydance was from fellow reporter Claire Atkinson who pointed out… Yeah, I laughed out loud at that one. Later, though, I saw another Twitter response (that later got deleted, so I can’t shout the person out) that did give me pause. The person noted that the Titanic film made the better analogy: a super expensive project everyone in the town doubted that went on to conquer the globe. So yeah: on one hand, the image of the Titanic recalls the actual ship and its infamous end, but that clip is from a movie which proved the doubters wrong. So for all the skepticism of the latest massive media merger, one could wonder which way this one goes. Does it crash like the Titanic or rise to glory like Titanic, the movie? Either way, this deal is “Titanic”, looking at the massive debt required to close the deal, which is not going well when it comes to borrowing costs for Paramount… …or borrowing costs for Oracle. But I’ve started to get worried about another outcome: the sum of this merger will be smaller and weaker and less profitable than its former parts. In other words, one plus one won’t equal three or two, but an even smaller number. Skydance paid to take a traditional studio off the board, but they won’t really capture the upside. Let me explain what I mean, but first, let’s look at the series of news that inspired this thought. Skydance Sets Its Leadership Team As soon as the Paramount-Skydance-Warner Bros.-Discovery merger closed, the new leadership team announced a new name—Skydance, which I’ll use going forward—and a new executive leadership team. You’ve probably read through all the executive shuffling, but if you haven’t, here’s a quick, incomplete summary, in rough order of importance: Mattel’s CEO Ynon Kreiz—who previously ran Maker Studios—joined as co-CEO with David Ellison. HBO/HBO Max’s Casey Bloys will stay and run streaming. Former head of streaming for Paramount-Skydance Cindy Holland—who was also at Netflix—will depart. The former heads of Warner Bros.—Pam Abdy and Mike De Luca—are out. The film studios will be run by Dana Goldstein and Josh Greenstein. George Cheeks of Paramount will run Skydance TV, controlling all the TV production units. In comic book news, the DC films will still be run by Peter Gunn and Peter Safran. Lastly, the head of CNN, Mark Thompson, will stay in place. Let’s quickly opine on the particulars before diving into the broad ramifications. 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… Who I like and dislike in their next gigs… Why I think this consolidation will likely leave Skydance worse off… The math behind which mergers succeed and which don’t… A lot more ugliness in this merger… And a whole lot more... ...please subscribe! We can only keep doing this great work with your support.

Oct 13 • 3:20 PM EDT • Entertainment • entertainment.substack.com

With Only Three 'No' Votes, UN Adopts Political Declaration On Pandemic Preparedness

The United Nations General Assembly adopted the Political Declaration on Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness, and Response (PPPR) by a substantial majority at a

Oct 13 • 5:17 AM EDT • Politics • healthpolicy-watch.news

How the Zelda Ocarina of Time remake changes the classic game’s script

At the start of the iconic 1998 Nintendo 64 game The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time, our playable hero Link wakes up in his tree cabin, heads outside and is greeted by his friend Saria. “Yahoo! Hi, Stotil!" she says. In other people’s copies of the games, she might say “Hi, Link!” or “Hi, Brick!” or use whatever other name the player was allowed to input when first launching the game. The more important point is that she starts with a “Yahoo!” In Nintendo’s 2011 remake of Ocarina of Time for the 3DS handheld, Saria greets Link with that same word. But for the 2026 Switch 2 re-remake of Ocarina of Time, out November 5, Saria’s salutation has changed: “Hello, Link!” she exclaims. There’s no “Yahoo” to be heard. Last month, in an official Nintendo video preview, Zelda series producer Eiji Aonuma described the remake as a “faithful interpretation using modern technologies.” Faithful means the gameplay hasn’t changed much. Dungeons, quests, and just generally what you do in the game doesn’t seem to have changed, not based on what Nintendo has shown nor the hour of the game I played in New York City a couple of weeks ago. The graphics have been overhauled. The controls have been tweaked. Players can now manually control the camera and make Link jump with the press of a button, both notable differences from the original 1998 design. But Link’s journey appears to take the same path, with the same obstacles in its way. The remake’s biggest alteration to Ocarina of Time that I’ve spotted so far just might be the script. About the game’s story, Aonuma said in September, “We’ve added quite a lot of new dialogue for the characters, so that their personalities shine even more.” Earlier this month, I played a chunk of the Ocarina of Time remake at a Nintendo showcase. In the game’s earliest moments, I made a point of talking to characters and recording what they said. I found the script to be more colorful, more natural in its phrasing, more careful to establish its characters, and certainly more wordy even with the removal of that one “Yahoo!”. I’ve got some very early-game examples, so you can judge the new writing for yourself.

Oct 14 • 11:32 AM EDT • Technology • gamefile.news

Kraft Sports + Entertainment Unveils New JetBlue Loft at Gillette Stadium

15,000 square feet of premium hospitality space will become the new home of the Patriots Tailgate Party presented by Bud Light and a year-round private event destination.

Oct 8 • 4:00 PM EDT • Sports • patriots.com

Sad to see clubs can’t run multiple sides

HAVING just read the first round results of local league action it pains me to see that some teams are unable to fulfil their fixtures for whatever reasons. Is this the sign of modern times? People do not want to play or clubs cannot afford to run multiple sides. Back in my days before Leagues, […] The post Sad to see clubs can’t run multiple sides appeared first on The Rugby Paper .

Oct 10 • 9:59 PM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com

Vuskovic a target for Bayern

Bayern Munich are among a number of clubs keen on Brighton defender Luka Vuskovic, AC Milan looking at Bournemouth's Alex Scott, Liverpool interested in Barcelona defender Jules Kounde, plus more.

Oct 10 • 4:45 PM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com

Netflix plans substantial layoffs, sources say

Netflix plans a substantial round of layoffs as the streaming giant faces rising competition and pressure to retain its subscribers, according to people familiar with the job cuts. The cuts

Oct 9 • 10:20 PM EDT • Entertainment • thederrick.com

Tepper Sports & Entertainment Selects Longhorn Lockers for Carolina Panthers Locker Room Project

Custom locker installation is part of the ongoing Bank of America Stadium transformation

Oct 8 • 2:27 PM EDT • Sports • panthers.com