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Dundalk Florist to close after 115 years in business
Dundalk Florist will close after more than a century of serving Baltimore County residents in need of flowers, plants and other gardening essentials.
Saturday Sports: North Country football, soccer and swimming over the weekend
Here’s a recap of your North Country sports this Saturday.
Bell County Indigent Health director answers questions about hospital district on ballot
As early voting continues in Bell County, a lot of voters headed to the polls are wondering about a proposition on the ballot calling for a new hospital district in
Vinny Guadagnino Says ‘Jersey Shore' 'Triggered' His Mental Health Issues
The reality television star recounted the repetitive drinking and partying on 'Jersey Shore' as being "grueling."
Los Angeles health authorities report 2nd second rabies-positive raccoon
In a follow-up on the report a rabies-positive raccoon found in Los Angeles County, the first in more than 5 decades, the LA County Department of Public Health is investigating a second rabies-positive raccoon found in the Westlake Village area of Los Angeles County. Public Health has confirmed that the first raccoon was positive for a variant of rabies typically found in bats. Strain testing for the second raccoon is currently pending. The second rabid raccoon was found in a backyard in the vicinity of where the first raccoon was reported and appeared sick and aggressive. No residents or pets were exposed to the raccoon. Two people at a worksite may have been exposed to the raccoon and are receiving recommended follow-up for rabies post-exposure prophylaxis. The World’s Deadliest Viruses Prior to these detections, the last confirmed rabid raccoon in Los Angeles County was detected in 1973, when the skunk variant (strain) of rabies was still present in the County. That strain has not been detected in Los Angeles County since 1979. In 2014, a skunk infected with the bat variant of rabies was detected in Long Beach. “The detection of rabies in another raccoon is an important reminder to never touch, handle, or feed any wild animals, even when they appear healthy,” said Muntu Davis, MD, MPH, Los Angeles County Health Officer. “Always keep a safe distance from wildlife and contact your local animal control if you encounter an animal that appears to be sick, injured, or behaving unusually. It is also critical to ensure your pets are up to date on rabies vaccination so they are protected before any potential exposure. Keeping your pets vaccinated is one of the most important steps you can take to protect your entire family.” Outbreak News Today is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Subscribe
Oakland County business accused of making false statements to obtain federal loan agrees to $1M+ settlement
A Wixom, Michigan, business accused of making false statements to obtain a loan it was ineligible for has agreed to pay a settlement of just over $1.5 million after it was sued by the federal government, according to the Department of Justice.
AOC can draw a crowd, but the midterms will test whether her politics can win before 2028
WASHINGTON — Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has had little trouble drawing a crowd. In a final campaign swing with progressive candidates across the country,...
Netflix’s Leadership Shake Up…Explained
(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.) Well, I had a simple article planned for this week. Called “Whoa, I Missed It!”, I’d take a gander at a few important-but-under-the-radar stories I didn’t cover while I wrote about all things “Skydance. (Formerly known as “the saga of Netflix trying to buy Warner Bros., but not Discovery, then Paramount-Skydance bought all of Warner Bros. Discovery”.) Alas, that article will have to wait. Netflix made news. Ironically, my “Whoa, I Missed It!” article would have mostly been about “content” strategy decisions, which is also what today’s article is about. But instead of the entire industry, this article will only cover Netflix’s decision to upend their film and TV content teams. Just that! So that’s the full topic of the day. I’m going to tackle the issue in the opposite direction of the way “stuff” flows: uphill. We’ll start at film, then move onto TV, and then onto the CEOs themselves, and the strategy questions that still remain. But we start with the numbers driving this. Let’s dive in. Subscribe Most Important Story of the Week - Netflix Upends Their Corporate Hierarchy I’ve got a lot of thoughts, but we’ll start with the most common response to yesterday’s article. Let’s Talk Stock Price More than one person, responding to what I published two days ago, pointed out that, well, actually, the thing driving Netflix’s actions is this: In short, stock price! Even if Netflix isn’t obsessed with their own share price—they probably are, but, for the record, my strategic advice to every CEO is to absolutely ignore stock prices, which will, ironically, probably help the stock price long-term—most everyone thinks they are. By the way, I prefer market capitalization to stock prices, because it’s a more apples-to-apples way to compare companies: But there’s an even better way to look at it, and it kinda casts some doubt on the entire push here: price-to-earnings. I have a long list of articles that I wish I had written, and chief among them is an article titled, “Am I Still a Netflix ‘Bear’?” meaning someone who thinks Netflix’s stock is overvalued. As of last summer, Netflix had solved their biggest problem—which for me (circa 2019) was the lack of free cash flow—but their stock was CRAZY overvalued. That’s this chart here: Why did Netflix’s stock price increase to a price-to-earnings ratio of 50 last summer? What financial metric changed so quickly? Nothing. Given that, historically, mature entertainment companies average 10 to 20, with 16 being the average, that increase made little sense. Netflix’s stock swoon these last eight or so months wasn’t irrational; the stock price rise last year was. So if you want a really hot Netflix take, here it is: Netflix’s stock price has been going down because the financial industry recovered its senses, not because of any strategic mistake. Yes, that would imply that cleaning house may have been a mistake. That’s why the charts yesterday are so important, because they show that Netflix did have a strategic problem (a lack of hits) and that’s what they moved to address. (One could also argue the industry drastically overrated Netflix’s growth prospects, but that’s a financial industry problem, not a Netflix strategy problem per se. Some growth estimates are just crazy. *cough* AI *cough*) Now, the last time Netflix’s stock price crashed—circa 2022—it gave them an opening. I’d argue Netflix insiders knew they needed to expand post-COVID-19 crisis, adding advertising, cracking down on password sharing, and dabbling in sports. But if they had done that when their stock price was high, it would give folks a reason to second guess their strategy. (Arguably, last year, when Netflix pursued the Warner Bros. merger, it gave the industry a chance to review their business.) Instead, after the 2022 fall, they had the opening to make strategic changes. We may see Netflix pivot again following this latest slide. For example, the “binge versus weekly” conversation is alive and well again. Same for expanding into theaters even more. And adding both linear channels and streaming bundles. And maybe more either social, user-generated, vertical, or creator content. But the first shift came with who is making the content calls. A Message from Our Sponsor Last winter Pulp Fiction was on Netflix. For those same 90 days, it was also free, with ads, on Pluto TV and the Roku Channel. That is not a glitch, and it is not rare. The title has run on 20 different US streaming services since 2019, across 80 separate windows, and for more than 600 of those days it sat on a paid subscription service and a free ad-supported one at the same time. Almost nobody can see this, because when a title leaves a service, the record that it was ever there tends to leave with it. Reelgood keeps that record, dated to the day rather than the month: 4MM+ movie, show and episode titles across 300+ services globally, with timestamped arrivals, departures and moves across SVOD, AVOD, TVOD and vMVPD. Licensing teams price against every prior window. Rights teams check what a licensee actually delivered, and when. Pick a title you think you know: data.reelgood.com/title-availability Film - Dan Lin Want to know why I don’t opine on individual film or TV executives, especially new hires? Dan Lin. As I always caution, it’s really, really, really tough to predict which executives will succeed in new roles and which won’t. The successful head of co-production/finance partner, Rideback, Lin was considered for the head of DC Studios job before taking the job as the head of Netflix. By all accounts at the time, this was a smart hire. (That’s my read of the news coverage anyways.) But now that Netflix has fired Dan Lin, we got a slew of news stories about how he was doing a terrible job. In sports media, Bryan Curtis, new Substack writer/podcaster from The Ringer, calls this the “now you tell us” story, when you only hear the bad news after a star athlete leaves a sports team. In this case, now they tell us that Dan Lin was bad with talent after he got kicked out the door. So was Dan Lin a flop? It’s actually tough to say. While film moves faster than TV, even two years isn’t really enough time to evaluate a person’s output. The new head hasn’t really taken control. As Emily Horgan noted, it takes much longer than two years to produce animated films, so yeah, it’s definitely too early to judge in that domain. As for live-action films, I just published an article by Brandon Katz called “Netflix’s Summer of Bummer”, but I’d point out Netflix had a bad summer two years ago too. Arguably, their best summer came from KPop Demon Hunters last year and Happy Gilmore 2, the latter of which I saw credited to Lin. Then, the stories came out that Dan Lin clashed with talent, both Ben Affleck and Greta Gerwig, classic “now they tell us” factoids to explain his firing. This may have been true, but also should have been expected given that he was given the mandate to bring budgets back in check, especially after Rebel Moon. So if he made folks upset, well, that’s what he was hired to do! But also, he was described as “well-liked” at his hiring! In that case, I’m a bit sympathetic to Lin, since he may have been undercut by senior leadership, as often happens. Basically, a CEO hires a subordinate to be their “bad cop” and keep budgets in check, but then when talent complains, the CEO ends up undercutting them. That’s how I think you end up with a Narnia movie as expensive as any of the other flops, along with a film executive the town no longer likes. As a result, I think that Netflix is now executing a classic “hire the opposite” move by hiring Peter Rice. This phrase comes from my experience following football and basketball coaching decisions, where teams generally hire the opposite of who they just had. If you have an offense-minded head coach, hire the defensive guy. Or in college football, if you have a strong recruiter, then you pivot to an “X’s and Os” type of guy. Or in pro basketball, if you have a very analytically minded coach, you hire the player-friendly guy. I see that here. After dropping Scott Stuber—arguably a talent-friendly executive with lax budget control—Netflix hired the business guy to keep costs in check. Now Netflix is pivoting back to Peter Rice and presumably a more talent-friendly regime. (Disney, by the way, has done this twice: hiring business guys to succeed talent-friendly Bob Iger. It didn’t work out last time.) When it comes to Peter Rice…we’ll see! Maybe he works out, but maybe he doesn’t. I’d actually say the biggest problem is that Netflix still hasn’t solved its “IP Problem”, in that they don’t own much IP, so they just have a lower hit rate. The new executive won’t solve that. (Though buying Lionsgate would help.) Share “Content” - Bela Bajaria I almost published yesterday’s article after this column, but ended up flipping the order, because it told the story so well. So if you want the data for why Netflix is looking at TV to fix their problems, it’s in that article, this graph in particular: I know I just wrote that it’s often hard to judge executives, but Bajaria ran TV for six years and film for three and a half more. That’s more than enough to judge hit rates, and Netflix needs more hits. That’s the story. Since 2023, Netflix hasn’t had as many hit shows as it used to, and many of its previous power house TV shows have ended their runs (Stranger Things most of all). Also, many shows from 2020 to 2022 probably pre-dated Bajaria’s tenure. (That said, one thing may have been outside of Bajaria’s control, which I explain below.) Let’s lump some content strategy thoughts about Netflix and TV into one place: 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… Why I partially blame Squid Game for Netflix’s latest troubles… What is “the football trap”... Why it might not be the TV shows or films’ fault at all… What change I don’t think Netflix will make... How Bela Bajaria evolved Netflix’s TV strategy in smart ways… Whose departure likely submarined Bajaria’s final few years… One sneaky explanation for Netflix’s content struggles... And a whole lot more... ...please subscribe! We can only keep doing this great work with your support.
Unleashed Potential: Lantana sisters build growing dog treat business - Cross Timbers Gazette | Southern Denton County | Flower Mound
Alexis and Aubrey Gray are pretty proud of themselves. Over the past five years, the entrepreneurial-minded sisters, who are 15 and 12, respectively, have built a successful business selling homemade dog treats and snuffle mats to neighbors and even a handful of retailers. They’ve been invited to markets and trade shows, caught the attention of […]
France’s latest debt warning describes a country where governance is breaking down — and even doing too little, too late is barely possible
"The negative outlook reflects the increased risk that the fragmentation of France's political landscape will continue to impair the functioning of the country's legislative institutions."
Brewers, Rays Announce World Series Game 3 Starters
Freddy Peralta faces his former club in Game 3 of the World Series while the Milwaukee Brewers counter with southpaw Robert Gasser.
Health Department releases food inspection reports for week of Oct. 11
Find out how your favorite restaurant, convenience store and other food establishments in Jefferson County are performing on Health Department inspections.
John Mina throws political support to Darren Soto in critical CD 9 race
The Orange County Sheriff won re-election in 2024 without opposition.
Sebastian County early voting up 21% from 2022 midterm election
Early voting in Sebastian County is more than 21% ahead of the same point in the 2022 midterm election, while Crawford County shows a smaller increase in voter participation. Sebastian...
Orange County restaurants shut down by health inspectors (Oct. 15-22)
There were 17 restaurants and food establishments ordered closed by Orange County inspectors from Oct. 15 to Oct. 22.
DOJ orders some California counties to set aside ballots from suspected noncitizens
The letters are the latest escalation in a legal battle between California and President Donald Trump's Department of Justice, which has recently focused on the state in its efforts to root out noncitizen voting ahead of the midterm elections.
Champaign County Board members can no longer sign NDAs regarding county business
The Champaign County Board passed an ordinance banning board members from signing non-disclosure agreements. The Board also passed a resolution banning property tax breaks for data center developers.
AOC can draw a crowd. The midterms will test whether her politics can win before 2028
WASHINGTON (AP) — Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has had little trouble drawing a crowd. In a final campaign swing with progressive candidates across the country, the
Whitehaven Fall Festival brings family fun, free health resources
The Shelby County Health Department is hosting the Whitehaven Fall Festival on Saturday to bring the community together and connect residents with helpful resources.
High School Football Scores: USA TODAY Sports Super 15 regional teams, Week 10
See Week 10 high school football scores for the USA TODAY Sports Super 15 regional rankings from across the country.
Tampa General Hospital and Health Care District of Palm Beach County to Open Lakeside Cancer Center in September 2027, Expanding Access to Academic-Based Cancer Care in Florida’s Rural Communities - Florida Hospital News and Healthcare Report
Lakeside Cancer Center will connect cancer patients in the Glades with world-class treatment, complex care coordination and access to oncology specialists. October Tampa General Hospital and Health Care District of […]
Additional 178 cases of measles reported by US health authorities amid outbreak
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 4,588 cases across the country, more than double the tally in 2025
Country music star accused of satanism rips ‘parasites’ for claims
He is not happy with the claims about the imagery in his show.
Scientists propose a way to detect dangerous “mirror life” before it exists
Scientists have proposed a way to detect “mirror life,” a hypothetical form of life that could pose serious risks to humans, animals, and ecosystems if artificially created. Using special fluorescent molecules and a type of polarized light also used in 3D movie technology, researchers believe they could distinguish ordinary organisms from their mirror-image counterparts.
Ukraine: Weapons makers can never consider a product done vs Russia
Ukrainian weapons makers race to stay ahead of Russian countermeasures, constantly updating their products with feedback from front-line soldiers.
Atlantic Health hosts inaugural symposium on advances in neurological emergency and critical care
MORRISTOWN, N.J. (Morris County) — Neuroscience experts from across the region gathered in Morristown earlier this month for Atlantic Health’s inaugural Neurological and Neurosurgical Emergency and Critical Care Symposium, highlighting …
Opinion | Attempted Coups. Aging Left-Wing Incumbents. Which Country Are We Talking About?
The Brazilian echoes of American politics have become too eerie to deny.
Black voters driving record early voting numbers in Harris County
Voter turnout has nearly doubled in key voting areas in the Black community since last midterm election cycle.
Volunteers help out with the Pumpkin House display; still time to get involved
The Kenova Pumpkin House, in Wayne County, West Virginia, invites volunteers to carve, sculpt and scoop any of the 3,000 pumpkins for the display, which is expected to be ready by Oct. 28, 2026.
Johnson County business of 66 years is closing. A dying, yet ‘human’ industry
As a business as old as Overland Park itself closes, a cobbler tells his story.
Southwest Bridge Health focusing on insurance coverage gap in Berrien County
BENTON HARBOR — Low-income people without health insurance have a new place to seek health care in Benton Harbor – and it’s called Southwest Bridge Health.
Charles County Moves Forward With Employee Health Center
LA PLATA, Md. — Charles County commissioners took another step toward establishing a primary care center for county employees and their families Tuesday, Oct. 20, approving a contract with Marathon Health. The approval allows the county to move forward with planning and setting up the center. The proposed center would serve employees, retirees and family […]
FBI investigating Delaware politician’s alleged ‘bribe’ to primary foe, after WHYY News exposed secretly recorded job offer
New Castle County Recorder of Deeds Mike Kozikowski lost the race to David Tackett, who filed a complaint with prosecutors about the gambit.
Champaign County Chamber of Commerce names Michelle's Bridal as Small Business of the Year
Chamber President and CEO Laura Weis: "They've managed to remain relevant and successful for more than 40 years while never losing sight of the personal service and community connections that
The most important things to do to stay healthy while traveling
An infectious-diseases doctor shares essential tips to prepare for any health issues while traveling in another country.
Justice Department orders California counties to set aside ballots from suspected noncitizens
The Justice Department on Friday ordered California election officials to identify suspected noncitizens on voter rolls and set aside their mail-in ballot – warning that officials who knowingly count ballots cast by noncitizens could face criminal liability.
Yountville launches entertainment zone
Yountville in Napa County launched its first open container district.
Green Bay-area high school sports results for Friday, Oct. 23
High school football, volleyball, cross-country and tennis teams were in action.
Grocery prices across Europe: Where is food most expensive and why?
Grocery prices vary widely across Europe. Bread can cost more than three times as much in one country as in another. Euronews Business takes a closer look at the differences and what drives them.
As a divided Israel prepares to go to the polls, can Netanyahu pull off his greatest political trick yet?
The prime minister has defined and dominated his country’s politics for three decades and is putting his rivals on the defensive before Tuesday’s general election
Bexar County opens facility combining public health, community resources
WOAI NBC News Channel 4 San Antonio provides local news, weather forecasts, traffic updates, investigations, and items of interest in the community, sports and entertainment programming for San Antonio and nearby towns and communities in South Central Texas, including Windcrest, Uvalde, Universal City, Somerset, Seguin, Schertz, San Marcos, Sabinal, Poth, Poteet, Pleasanton, Pearsall, New Braunfels, Live Oak, Kerrville, Hondo, Helotes, Goliad, Fredericksburg, Floresville, Eagle Pass, Devine, Del Rio, Cuero, Crystal City, Converse, Cibolo, Castroville, Carrizo Springs, Boerne, Bandera.
NC state auditor steps into political spotlight with new election oversight
A state auditor is often seen as a behind-the-scenes role, but North Carolina state auditor Dave Boliek has bursted onto the political scene in the past year with newfound control over how elections are run in the state. Boliek, whose job usually oversees monitoring taxpayer dollars and the elimination of waste and fraud throughout the state, was granted the power to appoint members to the state board of elections and the county-level election board chairs.
Politics Unplugged Podcast: Election countdown with Laura Gersony
With Election Day nearing, Arizona’s congressional races are drawing national attention. Arizona Republic reporter Laura Gersony joins Politics Unplugged to break down the high-stakes fights in AZ-01 and AZ-06, where the House majority could be on the line. The conversation examines whether Republican candidates can separate themselves from President Donald Trump as affordability concerns and negative ads dominate the closing days. The episode also looks at outside spending, Elon Musk-backed turnout efforts and the unexpectedly competitive race involving Rep. Eli Crane in northern Arizona. Plus, Dennis Welch and Colin Stanton discuss Arizona’s statewide races, polling, campaign cash and the Valley’s rough sports week.
Politics Unplugged Podcast: Election countdown with Laura Gersony
With Election Day nearing, Arizona’s congressional races are drawing national attention. Arizona Republic reporter Laura Gersony joins Politics Unplugged to break down the high-stakes fights in AZ-01 and AZ-06, where the House majority could be on the line. The conversation examines whether Republican candidates can separate themselves from President Donald Trump as affordability concerns and negative ads dominate the closing days. The episode also looks at outside spending, Elon Musk-backed turnout efforts and the unexpectedly competitive race involving Rep. Eli Crane in northern Arizona. Plus, Dennis Welch and Colin Stanton discuss Arizona’s statewide races, polling, campaign cash and the Valley’s rough sports week.
Second raccoon tests positive for rabies in Los Angeles County, health officials say
Weeks after a raccoon tested positive for rabies in Los Angeles County for the first time since 1979, a second raccoon has tested positive for the deadly viral disease. The Los Angeles County Depar…
Daytona Beach businesses say $20 parking fee is driving customers away
A county spokesperson said staff have been directed to explore potential options.
CSUB business enrollment jumps nearly 25% as college builds pathways to Kern County careers
CSUB's College of Business and Public Administration says enrollment has grown nearly 25% in three years as the college expands community outreach, regional programs and connections with local employers.
Changes in the health and longevity of the elderly in the US
Spending on public pensions through Social Security and on elderly healthcare through Medicare accounted for over one-third of federal expenditures in the US by 2024. This column explores how improvements in elderly health and life expectancy affected the relative finances of Social Security and Medicare. The elderly are not only living longer but also are in better health, so expected lifetime Medicare spending per elderly individual has grown much slower than expected lifetime Social Security spending. The authors analyse the forces that affect the optimal allocation of a given public budget across these two social insurance programmes.
Mississippi health officials urge flu vaccinations as season approaches
With flu cases being diagnosed earlier than usual in some parts of the country, the Mississippi State Department of Health is urging families to prepare before flu season picks up.
Sonoma County health center leaders say Prop. 44 would cripple their operation and lead to service cuts
The state initiative would require at least 90% of a health center’s total revenue be spent on healthcare services, leaving only 10% of revenues for other costs, including administrative operations — and that strict threshold is where…
Alabama’s first ‘Mom and Baby Mobile Health Center’ coming to Lowndes County
The “Mom and Baby Mobile Health Center” will start serving Lowndes County in November.
France’s Avoids a Debt Downgrade From Moody’s, but Is Given a Warning
Moody’s held the country’s credit rating steady amid political uncertainty and a rise in borrowing costs that have worsened France’s debt situation.
5 things to know about The Promenade at Sunset Walk's Trunk-or-Treat
For the 7th year, an Osceola County entertainment destination rocks out its trunk-or-treat festivities, free of charge.
HSA users can pay for prescriptions, copays and more while building long-term savings
As open enrollment season approaches, consumers reviewing their health insurance options may want to consider a health savings account, or HSA, as a way to save money on health care expenses.
Google Messages rolling out Enhanced Protection mode against spam and scams
Following the announcement, Google Messages for Android is rolling out an Enhanced Protection mode to counter spam and scams.
The impact of 'AI' on political ads
Host and the Panel discuss a myriad of topics leading up to the midterms. Topics included Pennsylvania as the quintessential 'purple state'; how the races in the collar counties are leaning, fostering voter engagement and how 'AI' is changing the game in the political advertising.
California seeks to set boundaries around deepfake political ads
From California to Maine, deepfake political ads are influencing midterm elections across the country
Apple Store Pickup for iPhone Duo Starting to Resume But Very Limited
The option to reserve an iPhone Duo for Apple Store pickup is starting to return on Apple's online store, with the system live again in countries such as Australia, China, Japan, and South Korea. Unfortunately, our spot check revealed extremely limited availability right now, with few to no time slots available for all configurations.
Netflix reportedly offered Microsoft $500 million to license Xbox games for adaptations.
Xbox CEO Asha Sharma and team countered by asking for $800 million, and Netflix has pulled its offer, Puck reports in an article discussing the new leadership at Netflix. Xbox launched an “XP” division this month that will work on adaptations of its games, and Xbox is already working with Netflix on a Diablo animated series. [Link: The Peter Rice Playbook & Elon's Skydance Motive | https://puck.news/newsletter_content/what-im-hearing-the-peter-rice-playbook-elons-skydance-motive/ | Puck]
Montgomery County Precinct 4 to open new park
Montgomery County Commissioner Precinct 4 will open Granger Park in Conroe on Oct. 29 with a walking trail, children's play features and a ribbon cutting.
Sony Retires Its Last 4K Blu-ray Player in Japan, PS5 Is All That's Left
Sony has stopped shipping the UBP-X700/K in Japan, its last standalone 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray player in the country. Shipments ended on October 22, and according to Sony retailer Kunkoku, the remaining stock on Sony's Japanese store sold out almost immediately. There's no word on a successor. That...
WATCH: Smucker, Mannion to debate in Manor Township
Republican Congressman Lloyd Smucker and Democratic challenger Nancy Mannion are set to debate this afternoon at a forum hosted by the Lancaster Chamber and York County Economic Alliance.
First 2 flu-related deaths of season confirmed in LA County
Los Angeles County health officials Thursday announced the first two flu-related deaths of the season.
Effingham Health Department hosting ‘Boo to the Flu’ vaccination event
Get a walk-in flu shot at the Effingham County Health Department on Oct. 29. No appointment is needed, and Halloween costumes are encouraged.
Cowboys' Christian Parker is All Business and No Feelings for Homecoming vs. Eagles
Here's what Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator Christian Parker said about going back to his old stomping grounds in Week 7.
Pulaski County deputies seek suspect after business's stolen trailer found destroyed
The Pulaski County Sheriff's Office is looking for a suspect or suspects in connection with the theft and destruction of an Insulation Solutions trailer.
Home health aide accused of stealing Geauga County patient’s prescription
Geauga County prosecutors said a home health aide was indicted earlier this month for stealing his patient’s prescription.
Barbara Haggerty and Mike Petersen run for Utah House District 2
Utah House of Representatives District 2 covers north Cache County.
Multiplatinum artist Joe Nichols brings ‘Sunny and 75’ to Hard Rock Tulsa Jan. 29
Ranked by Billboard among its Top Country Artists of the 21st Century, Joe Nichols is heading to the Hard Rock Live stage inside Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tulsa at
Chesterfield apartments sell for $107.7M, a per-unit record
Bainbridge Midlothian, a 310-unit apartment complex in Chesterfield County, sold for $107.7 million, likely setting a Richmond price record.
Dinwiddie board rezones Central State acreage for business use
Dinwiddie County supervisors unanimously rezoned 374 acres of the Central State Hospital campus for industrial and commercial development.
E. coli cases possibly linked to Bengtson's Pumpkin Farm, Will County health officials say
Five cases of E. coli are possibly linked to visits to Bengtson's Pumpkin Farm in Homer Glen, the Will County Health Department said.
Mark Walter borrowed from Chicago firm with investigators circling
Amistad Financial Group, a holding company that counts Magic Johnson as a minority owner, loaned about $1.26 billion to Walter’s companies between March and June of this year.
Thermo Fisher Scientific (TMO) Benefits on Broad-Based Recovery Across Life-Science Markets
Broyhill Asset Management, a Charlotte-based firm, issued its third-quarter 2026 investor letter. The letter can be downloaded here. The Broyhill Equity Composite decreased by 0.3% in Q3, underperforming the MSCI All Country World Index, which gained 1.7%. For the first nine months of the year, the Composite returned 1.9%, compared to 13.4% for the Index. The […]
$44.8B deal with MD-based McCormick and Unilever clears antitrust hurdle
Baltimore County-based McCormick & Co.’s proposed $44.8 billion combination with Unilever’s food business has cleared a key U.S. antitrust hurdle.
Nearly 12 Million Capcom ID Accounts Affected in Huge Data Breach
"Capcom sincerely apologizes"
Today in Blue Jays History: Jays Win Second World Series
33 Years Ago Today I vividly remember that moment. Whether the Blue Jays won or lost, I felt confident we’d be okay. With Pat Hentgen lined up to start game 7 after his impressive outing in game 3, there was reassurance. Still, I’m grateful for how it all turned out. Even after countless viewings, Joe […]
Netflix reportedly wanted a $500 million film and TV deal with Xbox – but the counter offer was $800 million
Netflix reportedly looked to make a deal with Microsoft
‘People are busy trying to survive’: Wood County residents share concerns ahead of the midterms
Ahead of the midterms, Wood County residents discuss job losses, education, political apathy and what they want from elected leaders.
Five Science Fiction Movies to Stream Now
In this month’s picks, alien encounters, sinister deepfakes, fantastical time loops and postapocalyptic woe.
I built 'stable' life and career, then quit; moved to Hungary
I spent years building a stable life in Scotland, then decided to quit my job and move to a new country. I'm struggling to find work, but I'm happier.
Off-Balance: How US Courts Privilege Conservative Policy Outcomes -
Off-Balance: How US Courts Privilege Conservative Policy Outcomes By Brian Highsmith, Maya Sen and Kathleen Thelen A growing literature has challenged some of the more influential accounts regarding the role of courts in the development [...]
(US)AI becomes GSA's first direct OneGov contract with a small business
The Maryland firm known for its Intelligent Computing Platform will offer significant discounts to government customers on software licenses and pilots through September 30, 2028.
More Lakeshore employers report rising sales and expansion plans
A Lakeshore Advantage survey finds rising sales and expansion plans among Ottawa and Allegan county employers, despite various challenges.
Pope hope, that’s entertainment, and getting ahead in the CIA
Happy Friday friends, I want to start by just breathing for all of us a big long collective sigh of relief at the news this week that the pope’s doctors have basically blown the all clear for Leo’s health. Going from knowing nothing to him declaring to the world he needed surgery, to a cancer diagnosis, to bouncing out of the hospital in barely even days, to ringing the bell in less than two weeks is whiplash inducing. But in the best possible way. We are living in a world in which the Roman pontiff, by dint of history, biography and circumstance, is once more at the epicenter of global affairs. Not just conversations about religion, or Christian and post-Christian values, but the bleeding edge of the most pressing issues of human affairs. Think I am exaggerating a touch? Consider the images of the crowds who greeted Leo in Paris just weeks ago, and juxtapose them with the absolute photo negative scenes unfolding there recently. Ask yourself how many world leaders are talking about AI right now and directly citing the pope as they do so. Try to name a country who has had as many top-ranked diplomats in and out of both Russia and Ukraine in the last three years as the Vatican has in the last three months. It has been fascinating to watch Leo XIV emerge as not just a kind of pop culture reference point or totem to be cited (Francis was often name-checked this way) but as a kinetic force in global conversation. Given the state of things, we need global figures of gravitas and values, even better if they have real wisdom behind what they are saying. So news of Leo’s illness was, it seemed to me, a tremor with potentially Richter Scale implications. That not only has the worst not come to pass but instead we’ve had the best of outcomes announced is something to really be grateful for. Humanity, it seems to me, is entering one of its irregular but cyclical phases where the pace of change — technological, social, and geopolitical — outstrips the ability of previously settled norms and received wisdom to cope. Such periods – and I think the first decades of the last century were a similar such time – throw into question the viability of all kinds of institutions. And many of ours have been straining to breaking point for a few years now. The papacy has the power and the potential to be a steadying pole in all of this. That’s my hope, anyway. It’s a lot to freight the office with, though it is arguably its ultimate purpose from its founding, to be a steadying rock on which all that matters can be anchored. It’s also, of course, an intolerable weight of responsibility to place on a single man. But I am encouraged to have hope in – and for – Leo. The apostle whom he succeeds, after all, was famously unequal to some moments, failed some tests of faith, and resiled from taking the road which led ultimately to the circus on Vatican hill. Human frailty and limitations, of health, of character, of temper, can open us to Christ, whose strength is greatest in our weakness, so St. Paul learned. That gives me hope, and I am sure it consoles Leo, too. And so I will continue to pray for him. Because we need apostles of rock right now. Here’s the news. Subscribe The News The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith issued yesterday a new document “Venite ad me: Considerations on the Transmission of the Faith in an Epochal Change.” It’s not a short document, and it is at pains to stress this isn’t a doctrinal note from the dicastery, either. Rather, it brings together reflections on an important issue from the Church around the world. Some of it I actually found really rather powerful. It is, however, 25,000, which is a lot for a busy reader to get through on a weekday. So, you can read our busy reader’s summary right here. — News broke yesterday of an Oct. 22 meeting of U.S. bishops with President Donald Trump. The meeting was organized by an official at the Heritage Foundation, according to several sources close to the meeting. Video of several U.S. bishops praying in the Oval Office over President Trump was posted on social media Thursday afternoon, first by White House Communications Advisor Margo Martin, and then by the official twitter.com account of the Archdiocese of Denver. The meeting has drawn sharp criticism because of its proximity to the upcoming midterm Congressional elections, in which Democrats are widely expected to win control of the House of Representatives, while control of the Senate remains closely contested. Sources close to the bishops’ conference told The Pillar that some USCCB senior officials were surprised by the existence of the meeting when video of it first emerged online. And a source close to conference president Archbishop Paul Coakley of Oklahoma City told The Pillar that the archbishop was “deeply frustrated” by the occasion of the meeting. An official conference spokesperson told The Pillar that the meeting was “not organized with or by the USCCB” and was “not affiliated with the conference.” You can read the whole story here. — The next National Eucharistic Congress will be held in Indianapolis in 2029, a return to the city that hosted the last gathering in 2024. You read it here first. By here, I don’t mean this newsletter, I mean at The Pillar. We broke the story this week. It’s a big deal, in as much as the last congress was a roaring success and the next installment has the potential to be a real focal point for evangelizing efforts in the coming years. Read all about it here. — As Pope Leo prepares for the longest trip of his pontificate, Church leaders in Uruguay say the pontiff will encounter a highly secularized culture, in a country with a very different Catholic history than many of its South American neighbors. The nation has not had a papal visit since 1988, and leaders who spoke with The Pillar say it has a dire need for evangelization, even amid the prospect of a small revival in faith. This is real reporting on the Church in the country, and frankly a story you simply are not going to be able to read anywhere else. Read the whole thing. — The Archdiocese of Detroit announced this week a plan that would see the vast majority of its parish priests reassigned next summer, amid a restructuring process expected to dramatically shrink the number of parishes in the archdiocese. Archbishop Edward Weisenburger said this week that the plan “asks much of our priests,” but is a “sacrifice they are making as brothers of one, unified presbyterate.” The thing is, as JD pointed out in an analysis yesterday, pastors of parishes have a legal right to stability in office, so the only way this kind of wholesale reassignment goes ahead is if all of the archdiocesan clergy agree to resign. That creates its own kind of legal issues, though, and re-raises longstanding questions about the effectiveness of canonical due process protections for priests when dealing with coercive exercises in authority. Read the whole thing here. — More than three months after the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith issued its decree declaring the excommunication of the leadership of the Society of St. Pius X, questions remain about the full effects of the society’s schism. Specifically, the DDF’s July claim that marriages witnessed and confessions heard by SSPX priests are now invalid remains contested — and it emerged this week it appears that the Vatican’s own legal experts don’t agree. You can read my whole analysis of the situation and what it means here. All I would add is that the DDF’s undeveloped, some would say unsubstantiated, claim about the invalidity of some SSPX sacraments came in their July Explanatory Note on the schismatic consecrations by the society that month. It touches directly on both papal acts of governance — indeed it purports to nullify them — and the most intimate pastoral encounters possible in a parish setting. If there is one aspect of the Francis-era style of governance I would like the curia to finally cut out, root and branch, it would be these attempts to try to effect extraordinarily sensitive legislative acts via a note. — At least a dozen French bishops have spoken out following an eruption of violence on the country’s streets Oct. 17. Not surprisingly, they unanimously condemned the violence, but the length and content of their interventions varied significantly. Several sought to distinguish between the actions of rioters and what they suggested were the legitimate concerns of peaceful young protesters. Many also evoked Pope Leo XIV’s Sept. 25-28 visit to France, suggesting it offered a powerful counter-image to the scenes of looting and destruction. A number of bishops also stressed their solidarity with law enforcement officials who struggled to contain the disorder, as well as the owners of the roughly 3,000 damaged or looted businesses. What’s the background to the nationwide unrest that the French media calls “les violences du 17 octobre”? And what exactly are the bishops saying? Read all about it here. — A Polish bishop called for the firm defense of unborn children as well as compassion for their mothers this week, as the lower house of Poland’s parliament passed two bills seeking to liberalize the country’s abortion laws. The bill on decriminalizing assistance in an abortion passed by 217 votes to 213, while the abortion in cases of fetal abnormality bill passed by 233 to 203, thanks to the government’s majority in the lower house. Both bills will now move to the Polish Senate, the upper house of parliament, where the ruling coalition has a larger majority. The fetal abnormality bill is symbolically significant because if it became law, it would effectively overturn a 2020 ruling by Poland’s Constitutional Tribunal that a 1993 law permitting abortion for a severe and irreversible disability or a life-threatening incurable disease was unconstitutional. Read the whole story here. Subscribe **[The St. Paul Center App | Bible Study On-The-Go Read and understand the Bible with St. Paul Center’s new app! With today’s leading Catholic Scripture scholars as your guides, the St. Paul Center app empowers you to read the Bible](https://stpaulcenter.com/app?utm_source=pillar&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=applaunch)** from the heart of the Church. Download the app for free at either the Apple or the Google app stores. https://stpaulcenter.com/app That’s entertainment I have written before about my deep and sincere reservations about the celebrity exorcist subculture which has taken root in American Catholicism. And, because I am very ill at ease with the entire thing, I try to keep a weather eye on the phenomenon without being drawn into the kind of online back-and-forth which these figures sometimes generate. Earlier this week, JD noted that one such celebrity exorcist type, Fr. Chad Ripperger, has undertaken, on the request of his bishop, a year’s fast from interviews and public speaking. I’m sure that will be salutary for him, if for no other reason than that receiving with docility requests from one’s rightful ecclesiastical superiors always comes with graces. Then a second thing happened this week which caught my eye. Apparently, another fixture in the celebrity exorcist world, Fr. Carlos Martins, has initiated a lawsuit against two lay men — apparently associates of Rippenger, though I am unclear in what way, exactly — for allegedly defaming him and his ministry on a podcast. It seems the suit was initiated nearly a year ago and is now pending. At issue, I read, is that the two men described Martins on a podcast as “not who he says he is” with regard to his exorcism ministry and that he “doesn’t know what he’s talking about.” These statements Martins considers to be false and defamatory and, his suit claims, “directly affected the sale and reception of [his] The Exorcist Files book that was newly released at the time these episodes aired.” I don’t want to get too into the weeds of the details here, but a couple of things struck me about all this.
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