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McAllen’s Soft-Landing Program Generates Business Interest in Tampico, Mexico

The City of McAllen is expanding its economic diplomacy efforts following a successful business engagement in Tampico, Tamaulipas, Mexico, where approximately 25 prospective business owners expressed interest in expanding into the United States through McAllen’s Soft-Landing Program.

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Oct 5 • 3:55 PM EDT • Business • texasborderbusiness.com
Is This A Healthcare Economy?

This analysis examines recent jobs growth in health care and how it compares to the rest of the economy. Health care employment has grown faster than other sectors of the economy, with jobs in physician offices, hospitals, outpatient care centers, home health, and other settings increasing over the past year even as the rest of the job market plateaued.

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Oct 5 • 3:44 PM EDT • Health • kff.org
Why I Don’t Think Ride Or Die Should Have Been Cancelled (And What Company Should Save It...)

(Welcome to my weekly streaming ratings report, the single best guide to what’s popular in streaming TV and what isn’t. I’m the Entertainment Strategy Guy, a former streaming executive who now analyzes business strategy in the entertainment industry. If you were forwarded this email, please subscribe to get these insights each week.) So…I recently came across a Reddit thread, talking about films on streaming, wondering why there are no reliable sources out there for streaming ratings data. Sigh. Honestly, as annoyed as I am that so many still don’t realize that we have streaming ratings, I somewhat get it. Until now, there was such a long delay between when a show or film came to streaming and when we got its viewership data; I understand why people were confused. (But, as you know, this just changed.) Also, even back in the day, how many people knew how well films did on television? Luckily, as a reader, you’re in the know. Okay, on to this week’s issue. I want to take a look at Prime Video cancelling Ride or Die and whether I agree with that decision. Overall, we didn’t have any breakout hits (no TV shows landed over 20 million hours according to Nielsen) but we have a lot of steady performers on the streaming charts. Plus, we’ll look at where $50 million in missing box office dollars went. (Spoiler: straight-to-streaming.) All that, plus new episodes of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, Supergirl heads to streaming, a new YA show does well on Netflix, the viewership for the Daily Wire’s $50 million fantasy show, what TV show hit-maker can’t make streaming hits, CD sales, all the flops, bombs and misses, and a whole lot more. Let’s dive right in! (Reminder: The streaming ratings report focuses on the U.S. market and compiles data from Nielsen’s weekly top ten viewership ranks, Luminate’s Top Ten Data, JustWatch and Reelgood interest data, Samba TV household viewership, company datecdotes, Netflix hours viewed data, Google Trends, and IMDb to determine the most popular content. While most data points are current, Nielsen’s data covers the weeks of September 7th to September 13th, 2026. You can find a link to my terminology here.) Subscribe Television - Ride or Die Is a Hit…But It Got Cancelled? What The Data “Says” I hate the phrase “here’s what the data says”, even though sometimes I find myself using it. If data just told us everything, we data folks would be out of a job! Data is often messy, complicated and nuanced. When it comes to strategy, many of the best decisions can’t actually use “data”, since it’s vastly too complicated to model. Anyways, I’ve been singing the praises of Prime Video’s Ride Or Die this summer, a show that did very well for them. And yet…it got cancelled. Now, usually when a show gets cancelled, a bunch of websites say “a hit show got cancelled”... Here’s the thing, though: in this case, they’re right! The data “says” that this show was a hit. Specifically, out of 522 first seasons to make a week on the Nielsen charts since 2020, it’s the 75th biggest. On Amazon, Ride or Die is eighth out of 41 first seasons: That’s top 15th percentile all time, almost exactly, which is my definition of a “hit”! I mean, outside of Reacher, Amazon needed a hit this summer! (Admittedly, Off Campus did well for Amazon in the spring, but Ride or Die performed even better.) So what happened? Why did Amazon cancel one of their rare 2026 bright spots? Well, Deadline reported a reason—which I’ll get to—but I’d break it down into three relevant questions: What is a given streamer’s reasoning? Is that reasoning sound? Could the stated reason not be the real reason? According to Deadline, Amazon felt the show “over-indexed” in middle-aged women. (This was based on leaks from within Amazon.) The logic is this: Amazon already reaches this demographic because of unlimited two-day shipping bundled with Prime, so they don’t really need more shows like this. Now, it’s my job to ask if that’s a good reason, and I’ll be honest, in this case, I don’t think it is. Sure, this show may “over-index” in middle-aged women—I’ll just assume that’s the case here—but I think folks often oversell how important over-indexing actually is. When a show is a “hit”, it isn’t a bit bigger than its rivals; it’s usually multiples bigger. For example, Elle only made the charts for two weeks at 8.3 million hours each. So Ride or Die was 80% bigger in its first two weeks, and likely had a much stronger hold, with its terrific 13 million hours in week three. Ride or Die was nearly three times bigger than Sterling Point through three weeks too. And that means that _Elle, Sterling Point a_nd other Amazon YA shows need to not just over-index a little with younger women (assuming that’s who Amazon prefers over middle-aged women), but massively over-index. Otherwise, more people in that demo (and a bunch more besides) likely watched Ride or Die. (I’ll try to explore this concept more in a future article.) And don’t get me started on how Ride or Die did compared to a certain (very, very popular, possibly the world’s most popular) YouTuber’s reality show…which didn’t make the charts after its first week and likely cost much, much more than Ride or Die. All to say, Amazon-MGM Studios/Prime Video can tell reporters that this show didn’t reach the right audience, but that excuse feels weak to me. So this leads to the third question: could other reasons have come into play? Yes! Renewal or cancellation decisions rarely (I’m tempted to say “never”) boil down to one variable. At its simplest, it’s two things: budget versus viewership. But often factors like critical acclaim, ownership and, yes, personal opinion come into play. In this case, Amazon has a new executive running things, and this show isn’t owned by Amazon-MGM Studios (unlike Elle). And yes, it may not have indexed with the right target viewers, too. Likely all of those factors came into play.1 My guess is ownership ended up mattering most. Amazon doesn’t own Ride or Die. It’s actually produced by another major studio. Fortunately/allegedly, this show is being shopped around. I can think of one brand new CEO who should consider it for one of his two major streamers…especially if he wants to rebuild goodwill in Hollywood. His name is on this list of exec producers of Ride or Die… If David Ellison needs some goodwill—and he does—rescue this female-led show tomorrow and grab some good headlines for a day. The data justifies it. Quick Notes on TV 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… How The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives latest season did on Hulu, post-controversy... Whether Supergirl soared on HBO Max... Why the box office is losing money due to the streamers... The viewership for the Daily Wire’s $50 million fantasy show... Updates on The Gentlemen, Lanterns, Outer Banks, King of the Hill and more... What former hit-maker has three streaming flops in a row... Whether The Mandalorian and Grogu popped in week two... All the flops, bombs and misses... And a whole lot more... ...please subscribe! We can only keep doing this great work with your support. If you want an idea of just how much content you’d get in a full issue, check out this older issue. Coming Soon! Oh man, we’re almost caught up! We just have two more issues, then the streaming Ratings Report will be coming out just two weeks after a TV show premieres! Next issue, I’ll be looking at the first two weeks of the NFL Thursday night games on streaming, a huge new spinoff, Reacher’s Neagly on Prime Video, and the latest edition of Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story on Netflix, the return of Slow Horses on Apple and MobLand (quietly one of their biggest shows) on Paramount+, and Dancing with the Stars on both ABC and Disney+. Plus I’ll take a look at animation for adults in 2026. The week after, a ton of movies are coming to streaming: Toy Story 5 on Disney+, Backrooms on HBO Max, Jackass: Best and Last on Paramount+ and The Breadwinner on Netflix, plus a Unabomber film on Netflix and a romcom on Prime Video. Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConaughey have a show on Apple, along with a game show inspired by Willy Wonka that everyone seems to hate. Long term, some crazy (but hopefully crazy like a fox) IP news. FX ordered a new Sons of Anarchy show from Charlie Hunnam, but it’s not about the biker gang. No, it features the show’s cast playing themselves in a new “meta-thriller”. Huh. And a lot of the cast is coming back. Next, Ryan Gosling is producing a Flintstones movie about a “grown-up Bamm-Bamm Rubble”. Also, huh. This one is in “early development” so we’ll see what happens. Both projects are based on IP, but also seem to have crazy takes on the IP, which I like.

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Oct 5 • 3:42 PM EDT • Entertainment • entertainment.substack.com
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ACC Coach Takes Shot at Penn State for Preseason Bias

Pat Narduzzi slams the Nittany Lions' unearned ranking, fueling the fiery debate over Big Ten favoritism and the flawed system of awarding prestige before kickoff.

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Oct 5 • 3:27 PM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com
Bladen Community College to host “So You Want to Start a Small Business” class and preview Pitch It Bladen 2027

The Small Business Center at Bladen Community College invites aspiring entrepreneurs to attend “So You Want to Start a Small Business” on Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026, from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. in Building 14, Room 104. This class will help participants explore what it takes to become an entrepreneur and take the first steps toward turning a business idea into reality.Participants will explore the entrepreneurial mindset and consider whether they have the interests, characteristics, motivation and willingness to take on the challenges of business ownership. The class will encourage attendees to examine their personal goals, expectations, strengths and readiness to pursue entrepreneurship.Attendees will also gain insight into the realities of starting and operating a small business, including the commitment, planning, decision-making and perseverance required to build a successful venture. Whether participants are just beginning to consider business ownership or already have an idea they want to pursue, this class will provide a foundation for determining their next steps.In addition to the class instruction, attendees will receive advance information about the upcoming Pitch It Bladen 2027 Business Competition, including the application form and details about the program. Individuals who are ready to move forward may submit their applications early and have the opportunity to receive advance acceptance into the program.Pitch It Bladen helps aspiring and emerging entrepreneurs develop their business ideas through structured instruction in business planning, financial management, cash-flow projections, marketing and operations. Participants work toward completing a business plan and preparing a business pitch, with the opportunity to compete for cash prizes.Last year's Pitch It Bladen program demonstrated the value of investing in local entrepreneurs by helping participants strengthen their business knowledge, develop their business plans and prepare to present their ideas. The competition showcased the creativity and potential of Bladen County's small-business community and provided participants with practical tools to move their business goals forward.Building on that success, Pitch It Bladen 2027 will provide another opportunity for local entrepreneurs to gain knowledge, build confidence and take meaningful steps toward launching or growing a business.“The Small Business Center wants to help individuals make informed decisions about entrepreneurship before they take the leap into business ownership,” said Theresa Dennison, Small Business Center director, in a press release. “This class gives participants an opportunity to evaluate whether entrepreneurship is right for them while also introducing them to Pitch It Bladen 2027 and the resources available to help them succeed.”Registration: Visit www.ncsbc.net and search for the class by name, or contact the Small Business Center at 910-879-5572 for additional information.

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Oct 5 • 3:26 PM EDT • Business • bizfayetteville.com
What big shows are coming up in Utah? Here’s the latest

Here’s a breakdown, by venue, of big shows to watch out for the rest of this year

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Oct 5 • 3:20 PM EDT • Entertainment • deseret.com
Democratic-led states sue Trump administration over childhood vaccine schedule

The lawsuit seeks to restore the recommended childhood vaccine schedule to protect against 18 diseases

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Oct 5 • 3:19 PM EDT • Health • spectrumlocalnews.com
Donovan Jackson to miss extended time

Vikings OG Donovan Jackson set to miss rest of regular season because of injury

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Oct 5 • 2:41 PM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com
Viral Dallas mansion gets political with this year's Halloween display

A Preston Hollow mansion known for viral holiday displays has unveiled a political Halloween display that backs Ken Paxton, targets James Talarico and calls out Dallas Councilwoman Gay Donnell Willis.

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Oct 5 • 2:32 PM EDT • Politics • fox4news.com
Newcastle gets $25M refinancing for West Loop apartments

Refinancing can be a challenge in today’s elevated interest rate environment, but Northmarq said the process was competitive because of strong lender appetite for apartment buildings.

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Oct 5 • 2:20 PM EDT • Business • chicagobusiness.com
Braiden McGregor set to miss rest of season

Jets LB Braiden McGregor unlikely to play again in 2026 after torn pectoral

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Oct 5 • 1:51 PM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com
Banijay Entertainment Consolidates U.S. Operations to 'Banijay America' Under CEO Ben Samek

Banijay Entertainment Oct. 5 announced it is consolidating its U.S. operations under a new moniker, Banijay America, under the direction of CEO Ben Samek, who reports to Jane Turton, deputy CEO of Banijay Entertainment. The company is restructuring its operational footprint to centralize leadership and operational support while keeping its individual production labels creatively independent. … Continue reading "Banijay Entertainment Consolidates U.S. Operations to ‘Banijay America’ Under CEO Ben Samek"

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Oct 5 • 1:33 PM EDT • Entertainment • mediaplaynews.com
Country boys in Kentucky hear knocks in woods at night before one catches glimpse of Bigfoot with spotlight

Clayton's group heard tree knocks and stick breaking before spotting a 7-to-8-foot dark hairy figure at a Kentucky lookout on the back roads.

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Oct 5 • 1:08 PM EDT • Technology • foxnews.com
SI gives Oklahoma an interesting matchup in latest bowl projections

Sports Illustrated gives Sooners an intriguing matchup in new bowl picks.

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Oct 5 • 12:01 PM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com
The Coalition used the SSD on Xbox Series S as makeshift RAM to help Gears of War E-Day run smoothly on it

Other game teams are reportedly already interested in learning the method…

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Oct 5 • 11:51 AM EDT • Technology • videogameschronicle.com
FSU data scientist receives NSF CAREER Award to develop AI model to analyze complex numerical data at scale

A Florida State University artificial intelligence and data scientist has earned one of the most prestigious early career faculty awards to develop a new

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Oct 5 • 11:12 AM EDT • Science • news.fsu.edu
Science Corp. Announces Long-Term (36 Months) Results of PRIMA BCI Clinical Trial Showing Durable Vision Restoration in Blind Patients Suffering from Geographic Atrophy

Science Corporation, the neural engineering and brain-computer interface (BCI) company, today announced long-term (36 months) followup data from its pivotal ...

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Oct 5 • 10:00 AM EDT • Science • businesswire.com
Supreme Court rejects Roy Moore's push to restore $8.2M defamation verdict awarded to him

The U.S. Supreme Court has rejected Roy Moore’s push to restore an $8.2 million defamation verdict awarded to him over a 2017 Senate ad | KNSS Radio

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Oct 5 • 9:59 AM EDT • Politics • audacy.com
Nobel for medicine awarded to 3 scientists for work that helps map the brain

A method that controls nerve signals with light, developed by an American and two Germans, has provided greater understanding of Alzheimer’s and is used in efforts to restore sight.

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Oct 5 • 9:54 AM EDT • Science • washingtonpost.com
Supreme Court passes on 'Let's Go Brandon' student speech case

A middle school said brothers couldn't wear "Let's Go Brandon" sweatshirts to class. They asked the Supreme Court to get involved.

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Oct 5 • 9:32 AM EDT • Politics • usatoday.com
Multiple Teams 'Interested' In New Technique To Enhance Xbox Series S Development

"Could be used as a blueprint for future games on Xbox Series S"

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Oct 5 • 8:30 AM EDT • Technology • purexbox.com
Scientists generate identical photons at the push of a button

Researchers from different universities have teamed to generate photon pairs that are 90 percent identical, helping advance quantum communications.

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Oct 5 • 8:21 AM EDT • Science • interestingengineering.com
Why plugged-in pickle glows: Engineer burns 100-plus pickles to find answer

An engineer says glowing pickles owe their orange light to sparks igniting hydrogen near an electrode, with sodium ions supplying the color.

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Oct 5 • 8:15 AM EDT • Science • yahoo.com
NBA executive: 'There's definitely interest' in Bronny James

If the Lakers are willing to listen to offers, they could get back some value in a trade for Bronny James.

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Oct 5 • 8:02 AM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com
Scientists reveal what seven days of fasting does to the human body

Scientists found that prolonged fasting triggers major changes throughout the body, but many of the most interesting effects only appeared after about three days without food. The results suggest fasting may influence health in ways that go beyond weight loss and could eventually inspire treatments that mimic its effects.

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Oct 5 • 8:00 AM EDT • Science • sciencedaily.com
The Economics of Delta Healthcare

How well is the system? Experts weigh in on status While agriculture rightfully gains most of the headlines when it comes to the Delta’s economy, the role of healthcare in the region cannot be underestimated. Many challenges face healthcare providers in the region and the state recently stepped in to assist. Nonetheless, healthcare leaders in […]

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Oct 5 • 7:54 AM EDT • Business • deltabusinessjournal.com
Are aliens real? Here’s what science can and can’t prove

Some scientists believe the sheer number of stars, planets and potentially habitable environments in space makes extraterrestrial life plausible. But plausibility is not proof. Despite decades of sear...

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Oct 5 • 7:17 AM EDT • Science • yahoo.com
25 Years of Business Income Insurance Coverage Claims Since the Attacks of Sept. 11, 2001

The 9/11 attacks reshaped business income insurance, spurring decades of litigation over loss calculations, restoration periods, expert evidence, and terrorism coverage. These disputes continue to influence claims and policyholder protections after major catastrophes.

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Oct 5 • 7:00 AM EDT • Business • law.com
The Optimist: A statement win and a much needed rest

The Panthers head into a much needed bye week with head held high

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Oct 5 • 6:58 AM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com
Yale School of Medicine On the Science of Childhood Anxiety, Say, Anxiety Disorders Are the Most Common Mental Health Challenges In Youth

Credit: Matt Bradbury October 5, 2026 - By Isabella Backman - Anxiety disorders are the most common mental health challenges in youth. Left untreated, they can disrupt the lives of both children and their families. The good news is that with intervention, most children will overcome these conditions. Across Yale School of Medicine, scientists are working to understand anxiety at every level, from common anxious behaviors to molecular biomarkers in the brain. They are using their findings to develop and disseminate new evidence-based treatments for childhood anxiety. Today, the go-to treatment for childhood anxiety disorders is cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). This is a form of psychotherapy that teaches children skills for confronting anxious thoughts and helps them practice managing situations that cause anxiety. While it is the gold-standard treatment backed by considerable scientific evidence, up to 50% of children will not see sufficient benefit from CBT alone. Wendy Silverman, PhD, Alfred A. Messer Professor in the Child Study Center, co-directs the Anxiety and Mood Disorders Program alongside Eli Lebowitz, PhD, associate professor in the Child Study Center. One of their main interests is learning how to improve outcomes beyond CBT. “We’re developing cutting-edge, research-based knowledge that can reduce the suffering that anxiety causes children and their families,” says Silverman. Changing parent behavior YSM experts are investigating how to improve CBT outcomes for children by involving the parents. Silverman’s research has uncovered two main components of parent intervention that improve childhood anxiety: not enabling children to completely avoid the things that make them anxious and taking steps to enhance their autonomy. Parents may unintentionally reinforce their child’s anxiety by allowing them to avoid what makes them anxious. They also may unintentionally limit the children’s sense of autonomy by being overly intrusive. “One of the things that we take pride in is that we’ve focused on trying to understand what parents need to do, and to test our ideas and see if changing the parents’ behaviors is enhancing the effects of CBT,” Silverman says. “Our findings thus far suggest that they do." As much as CBT can be helpful, it can also be challenging to get one’s child to do the necessary steps for CBT to work. This is one important reason why Lebowitz created a novel intervention program for parents named Supportive Parenting for Anxious Childhood Emotions (SPACE). Existing intervention programs often teach parents to act as therapists for their child, such as training them on how to practice breathing exercises. “It makes sense, but this doesn’t work very well in practice,” says Lebowitz. “And part of the reason, I think, is that it’s not easy to get your kid to do things, especially if they’re not excited about doing it.” SPACE is unique because it focuses entirely on parent involvement and changing parental behavior—children are not involved in the sessions. For example, parents learn how to use supportive messages that convey confidence that their child can tolerate and manage distress. “It might sound like a parent saying to a child, ‘I get that this is really hard for you, but I know that you can handle it,’” Lebowitz says. The program also works with parents to identify the ways in which they are accommodating anxious behaviors. “We’ll pick one thing that parents are doing that is an accommodation and help them make a detailed plan for how they’re going to change that,” Lebowitz explains. Treating Anxiety in Children and Adolescents Much of the existing research on SPACE has focused on parents of children under age 14. Ongoing studies are now exploring its use with parents of older teens. “Both anxiety and accommodation can interfere with normative developmental shifts during the teen years, including increased autonomy and individuation from parents,” says Rebecca Etkin, PhD, associate research scientist in the Child Study Center. “In this sense, SPACE may be particularly well-suited for anxious teens and their parents. We want to see whether it is effective during this distinct developmental window.” Unfortunately, many families in need of CBT face barriers, including limited availability of services and geographic constraints. One way to improve access is digital interventions. Silverman and her team are developing an evidence-based digitized intervention program for parents that they can access directly from their computer or smart phone. “The work we’re doing will be one of the very few parent interventions that is digitized and importantly tested for effectiveness,” she says. Creating interventions for anxiety-related challenges Silverman and Lebowitz recently received a generous gift to develop and test other interventions that help parents reduce other child anxiety-related behavioral and emotional difficulties, such as restrictive eating and unexplained somatic symptoms. One of these projects in particular focuses on understanding the risks of social media and its potential benefits, including offering a sense of connection. “A lot of research has focused on the idea that social media is harmful and the less of it the better,” says Lebowitz. “But we actually see is that this is not quite right—there are negatives, but there are also positives. So, we’re trying to get a little bit more nuanced of a picture.” The team is working with teens with social anxiety and their parents over an extended period to better understand their social media habits and how their anxiety levels affect engagement with different platforms. The teens will answer questions sent to an app on their phones about mood and social media usage in an effort to capture emotional responses as they unfold. “We hope to develop interventions that can help make the best of social media while protecting against the more problematic effects,” Lebowitz says. The brain’s role in anxiety Researchers are also testing therapies to address anxiety at the neurological and molecular levels. In collaboration with Dylan Gee, PhD, professor of psychology in Yale's Faculty of Arts and Sciences, and Hilary Blumberg, MD, John and Hope Furth Professor of Psychiatric Neuroscience at Yale School of Medicine, Lebowitz and Silverman are using brain imaging to identify changes in a child’s brain before and after parents enroll in SPACE. In one study, children viewed anxiety-inducing images while undergoing magnetic resonance imaging (MRI); the researchers conducted scans with and without the children’s parents nearby. Before SPACE, children’s brains were better able to activate the regulatory circuitry needed to turn off an anxious response when their parents were nearby. But after SPACE, children could activate this circuitry even without the parent around. “As parents work on gradually reducing some of their accommodations, you can see a child get better at regulating their own fear system in the brain,” Lebowitz says. “It’s remarkable.” Research into the molecular underpinnings of anxiety can also inform new childhood anxiety treatments. In a recent study, Lebowitz, Silverman, and Flora Vaccarino, MD, Harris Professor in the Child Study Center, discovered that a protein known as fibroblast growth factor 2 (FGF2) could be protective from the toxic effects of stress. FGF2 levels in children and their parents were linked to the children’s risk of developing anxiety and depression, the study showed. The findings could help explain why some children who are exposed to early life trauma such as poverty or abuse are more prone to developing mental health disorders. And FGF2 could be a target for treatment. “This is very novel because it starts to give a clue to what is the molecular chain that connects those lived experiences to the actual psychological outcomes,” Lebowitz says. New ways to study and treat childhood anxiety Michael Crowley, PhD, associate professor in the Child Study Center, collaborates with Silverman and Lebowitz to study the role that attention plays in development and maintenance of childhood anxiety. There is a large body of research that shows that anxious children, like anxious adults, are prone to focus on threatening stimuli such as angry faces compared with neutral faces. This has led to innovative interventions that involve attention retraining. The idea is that if experts train children to look away from threatening stimuli, it may reduce their anxiety—especially children with social anxiety who are most prone to attend to threats. The researchers have just completed a clinical trial for attention retraining with 10- to 14-year-olds with social anxiety disorders and are currently analyzing the findings. Besides this innovative attention retraining research, as Crowly notes, “I like to design tasks that are engaging to kids,” Crowley says. “My goal is to assess something without the kids knowing what we are assessing.” With this goal in mind, Crowley has created a virtual game, named Boom, to study threat processing in children with anxiety disorders. The game is similar to that of hot potato—the child and three digital players take turns virtually passing a ball to each other’s gloves. At some point, the ball turns into a bomb, and as the bomb lands in each player’s glove, the outline of the glove turns yellow. The goal is to avoid having the bomb go off in your glove. What isn’t obvious is that the game is designed to measure different types of threatening stimuli, both ambiguous and direct. In the game, the direct threat occurs as the bomb is traveling towards your glove. The ambiguous threat is the yellow outlined glove as it is unknown where the bomb will travel next. While children play the game, Crowley’s team measures their brain activity using electroencephalography (EEG). The researchers have discovered that in kids with anxiety, the brain reacts more strongly to ambiguous threats than it does in their peers, but less strongly to direct threats. They believe that the initial abnormally large brain response to not knowing where the bomb is going impairs the brain's ability to properly respond when the threat is actually traveling the child’s way. “The brains of children with anxiety are unable to differentiate between threats you need to do something about and those that are not your problem.” Michael Crowley, PhD, develops innovative games for studying anxiety in children and adolescents.Credit: Matt Bradbury Based on these insights, Crowley hopes to study whether interventions like attention training could restore appropriate threat processing. Crowley’s team is also working on a test called the Balloon Risk Avoidance Task, which evaluates risk-taking and avoidance behaviors. It features a digital balloon that is full of air and about to burst. Kids have six seconds to let air out of the balloon. The more air they let out, the less risk they face that the balloon will pop. But at the same time, the balloon becomes less valuable as it deflates. “The more air you keep in the balloon, the more points you get,” Crowley explains. So far, the researchers have found that when the balloons pop unexpectedly, teens with social anxiety show distinct brain responses. Studying these responses can help psychologists understand the underlying pathways driving the various manifestations of anxiety. The genetics of anxiety When Thomas Fernandez, MD, associate professor in the Child Study Center and of psychiatry, was still in training, there was a lot of excitement about understanding the genetics associated with autism spectrum disorder. Since then, scientists have identified around 250 genes associated with autism. The genetic contribution to anxiety disorders, on the other hand, has historically received less attention. Anxiety is less heritable than autism, but the genetic contribution for anxiety disorders that emerge in childhood may be higher than for anxiety disorders overall. While scientists estimate the heritability of anxiety disorders in general to be around 30% to 50%, some studies suggest higher heritability for certain childhood-onset anxiety presentations. “I saw firsthand how researchers in the field went about finding vulnerability genes for autism,” Fernandez says. “So, we’re using a very similar playbook for childhood anxiety.” “I saw firsthand how researchers in the field went about finding vulnerability genes for autism. So, we’re using a very similar playbook for childhood anxiety.” Thomas Fernandez, MD Associate Professor In the Child Study Center and in Psychiatry Now, Fernandez and Emily Olfson, MD, PhD, assistant professor in the Child Study Center, are studying children and their parents to identify genetic changes that are present in the child but not the parents, known as “de novo mutations.” “All of us have some de novo mutations—maybe about 50 to 100 sprinkled throughout the genome,” Olfson says. “But when they occur within the coding regions of genes, they can be really disruptive.” Previous research shows that people with autism have higher rates of damaging de novo mutations than the general population. In 2022, Olfson, Lebowitz, Silverman, and Fernandez published a study on 68 children and their families that found that children with anxiety had similarly high levels of these mutations. Studying de novo mutations can help point the researchers to where they should be looking for genes associated with anxiety. “The end game is using the genes to steer us toward the right part of biology that we can then target to come up with better treatments,” Fernandez says. Building on those findings, the team is now studying more families to better understand how these de novo mutations, along with other genetic and environmental factors, shape pediatric anxiety disorders. They recently received a National Institutes of Health grant to enroll 750 new families over the next five years. Olfson is the principal investigator, with co-investigators Lebowitz, Fernandez, Silverman, and Shuangge Steven Ma, PhD, department chair and professor of biostatistics at Yale School of Public Health. Neurodevelopment, Risk Genes, and Mental Health Conditions - The Olfson Lab Joel Gelernter, MD, Foundations Fund Professor of Psychiatry, is interested in how different anxiety disorders differ genomically. “We are studying social phobia, panic disorder, and generalized anxiety disorder, working to understand why people differ in their risk to these specific anxiety disorders and evaluating various risk factors,” he says. Gelernter was recently involved in one of the largest studies to date of the genomics underlying anxiety disorder. The study included around 122,000 people with anxiety disorders and around 730,000 without. It found that some genetic differences associated with anxiety were linked to signaling that helps reduce overactivity in the nervous system. Many anxiety medications available today work by targeting this process. “It’s nice when the biology that you get out of a large genome-wide study ratifies things that we already know because that can help increase confidence in further findings from the study,” Gelernter says. Uncovering the neurobiology of psychiatric disorders John Krystal, MD, Robert L. McNeil, Jr. Professor of Translational Research and chair of the Department of Psychiatry, is interested in the neurobiology of psychiatric disorders, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), of which anxiety is a major symptom. In the late 1980s, Krystal’s team discovered that the drug yohimbine activated symptoms in patients with PTSD. “This was the first time we could link a specific biological mechanism to the symptoms of PTSD,” Krystal says. At the time, he adds, this finding was highly controversial. “A lot of people felt that PTSD was a purely psychological syndrome that didn’t have an underlying biology.” Since then, Krystal has dived deep into understanding the neurobiology of PTSD to learn how to better treat it. His team is evaluating the use of ketamine and psychedelics. These would be among the first treatments to be developed specifically for PTSD. They may also be applicable for other disorders including anxiety disorders, Krystal adds. An important gap in PTSD treatment is the absence of biological tests that inform how to best help patients manage their PTSD symptoms. A doctor doesn’t diagnose cancer based on how they feel. Rather, they use tests of the biology of the cancer to determine the best course of treatment. “And we can’t do that in any psychiatric disorder other than Alzheimer’s disease,” Krystal says. “But now we are building a foundation for this approach to the treatment of anxiety disorders for the first time.” Source: Yale School of Medicine

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Oct 5 • 6:44 AM EDT • Science • goldrushcam.com
15 Wallingford restaurants, two stores cited for serious violations during August health inspections

USDA food code violations fall into three categories, including the most serious, which must be fixed within 72 hours.

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Oct 5 • 6:00 AM EDT • Health • yahoo.com
Here’s what Gen Z actually means by “socialism”

They’re interested. But don’t sign them up for the revolution just yet.

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Oct 5 • 6:00 AM EDT • Politics • vox.com
Downtown Urbana entertainment venue/restaurant seeks extension on opening date

While an official opening date for Fernie’s High Horse has yet to be announced, at least two concerts are already booked for late 2026: Emo brand TRSH on Dec. 4

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Oct 5 • 5:30 AM EDT • Entertainment • news-gazette.com
Entertainment complex with restaurants, bar, arcade coming to Nine Mile

A new complex with Southern Creole dining, an arcade, pub and a liquor store is coming to the Nine Mile area.

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Oct 5 • 5:04 AM EDT • Entertainment • pnj.com
Entertainment complex with restaurants, bar, arcade coming to Nine Mile

A new entertainment complex is coming soon to the growing Nine Mile area at 1420 W. Nine Mile Road offering upscale Southern Creole dining, immersive virtual reality gaming, draft beer and bourbon walls and more.

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Oct 5 • 5:04 AM EDT • Entertainment • miamiherald.com
Uncovered raw shrimp a tic against wings restaurant

The following is a list of restaurants in Richmond and Columbia counties that were inspected Sept. 25 through Oct. 2, accompanied by their scores and, in some cases, the health infractions that lowered those scores. Scores below 70 are considered failing.

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Oct 5 • 4:02 AM EDT • Health • thestate.com
How the pursuit of science also serves modernity

Much of science is in the service of modernity, producing remarkable short-term advantages for humans generally at the expense of the rest of the community of life.

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Oct 5 • 4:00 AM EDT • Science • resilience.org
Arsenal remain keen on Juventus forward Kenan Yildiz

Arsenal are interested in Juventus forward Kenan Yildiz, but face competition from Real Madrid and Bayern Munich for the highly rated Turkey international.The 21-year-old has been valued at around €...

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Oct 5 • 3:25 AM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com
Trump takes extraordinary steps to target midterms, alarming critics

Trump's election moves include a redistricting push, seeking to restrict voting and floating a $5,000 payment to every American adult if the GOP wins.

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Oct 5 • 3:00 AM EDT • Politics • usatoday.com
Wahine Mālama ʻĀina

Mālama ‘āina is the Hawaiian values-based practice of caring for, protecting and honoring the natural world. For this year’s Wahine issue, Hawaii Business Magazine recognizes five women doing vital work to steward Hawai‘i’s land and ocean — from conserving culturally and ecologically significant sites and mitigating invasive pests to restoring coral reefs and revitalizing the traditional ahupua‘a system.

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Oct 5 • 3:00 AM EDT • Business • hawaiibusiness.com
The genetic secret helping bats survive a deadly epidemic

We’re easing you into Halloween season with an episode about bats. There’s a silent serial killer decimating little brown bats as they hibernate. White nose syndrome has driven populations across the U.S. to almost the brink of extinction over the last decade. But recently, conservation biologist Giorgia Auteri and her team noticed several genetic mutations in the survivors. These mutations could explain how natural selection has shifted the existing population – and inform conservation efforts in the future.Interested in more animal science? Email us your question at shortwave@npr.org.Support public media with NPR+ and enjoy perks for over 25 podcasts like this one. This show’s perks include sponsor-free listening. Learn more at plus.npr.org.

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Oct 5 • 3:00 AM EDT • Science • npr.org
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'All INdiana Politics': Albright and Forrestal battle for closely divided seat in Senate District 31

INDIANAPOLIS — One of Indiana’s most competitive Senate districts is the site of a high-stakes showdown as a family physician and a former sheriff vie for the seat vacated by Republican Sen. Kyle Walker. Senate District 31 covers Delaware and Fall Creek townships in Hamilton County, including most of Fishers, along with Lawrence and parts […]

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Oct 4 • 11:16 PM EDT • Politics • wrtv.com
‘New Mexicans helping New Mexicans’: Local businesses band together after Tomasita’s fire

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – After a tragic fire closed down a popular restaurant in the metro, local businesses are banding together to lend a helping hand. It was a heartbreaking sight as the fire …

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Oct 4 • 11:00 PM EDT • Business • krqe.com
Former UFC champion closes Cape Coral restaurant

Tito's Cantina is closing its doors after three years in business.

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Oct 4 • 10:12 PM EDT • Business • winknews.com
Korean Directors Rally Behind 'The Assassin(s)' in Political Firestorm

Korea's Directors Guild defends the makers of Hur Jin-ho's 'The Assassin(s),' as a history row turns personal.

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Oct 4 • 9:13 PM EDT • Politics • variety.com
Trump faces midterm verdict as Democrats close in on US Congress

A month before the US midterms, Democrats are eyeing control of Congress -- and the power to put President Donald Trump on the defensive for the rest of his term by investigating his administration an...

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Oct 4 • 9:00 PM EDT • Politics • yahoo.com
OnMed, Jackson Health System and The Salvation Army Deploy OnMed CareStation™ to Extend Care Beyond Hospital Walls in Miami

Health system-sponsored CareStation creates a new front door to comprehensive, everyday care while strengthening connections to Jackson’s broader network of services SEPTEMBER 30, 2026 – OnMed, the leader in hybrid healthcare expanding access to care through the CareStation, today announced a new partnership with Jackson Health System, Miami’s only public health system, and The Salvation […]

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Oct 4 • 6:54 PM EDT • Health • southfloridahospitalnews.com
Man injured, businesses damaged following shooting in Arlington

Officers found shell casings and damaged windows at a shopping center lot. A man was shot in the leg and taken to a hospital. No arrests yet.

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Oct 4 • 6:04 PM EDT • Business • nbcdfw.com
Health department hears concerns over access to medical psilocybin

Advocates warn rules could restrict access to veterans, rural residents and end-of-life care patients who seek medical psilocybin for a range of health problems.

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Oct 4 • 5:30 PM EDT • Health • koat.com
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US removes all Air Force bombers from Fairford base amid terrorism concerns

The United States has moved long-range bombers back to their American home stations days after the British government arrested a number of individuals in connection with an alleged Iranian plot to target the UK airbase where the planes had been stationed.

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Oct 4 • 5:24 PM EDT • Politics • cnn.com
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Despair over future fuels political anxiety for college students on the cusp of adulthood

Their anxiety is fueling a restlessness with a national political system that they worry is no longer capable of improving their lives or no longer interested in helping.

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Oct 4 • 4:30 PM EDT • Politics • pbs.org
Managing Your Mental Health During Football Season

Dr. Lee Long with Restoration Counseling joined Ryan Schmelz on LiveNOW from FOX to share strategies for protecting your well-being as a sports fan. The author of 'Wait, Where Am I in This?' shared ways you can maintain your composure and not overthink whether or not your team wins on Saturday and Sunday.

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Oct 4 • 3:31 PM EDT • Health • livenowfox.com
KelpFest brings kelp science, art and food to Mendocino Coast • The Mendocino Voice

The five-day festival runs Oct. 8-12 in Fort Bragg and Mendocino. It celebrates the coast's bull kelp forests, most of them lost since 2014, and the people trying to bring them back.

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Oct 4 • 3:00 PM EDT • Science • mendovoice.com
Ja'Marr Chase out with concussion

Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase left the Week 4 game, and he has been ruled out for the rest of the game due to concussion

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Oct 4 • 2:55 PM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com
Dark Sheik Walked Out On GCW Over Drake Wuertz - Fightful | WWE News, AEW News, Pro Wrestling Backstage News

At GCW Homecoming in August, Drake Wuertz made a surprise appearance, helping Joseph Sawyer win the GCW Title.

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Oct 4 • 2:00 PM EDT • Technology • fightful.com
Science Education Takes the Main Stage at the Fairgrounds Event

The October 10th Celebrate Science event will feature hands-on STEM activities and exhibits. Rick Crosslin, a lifelong STEM educator and scientist in residence for the Wayne Township School System, says he became especially involved in science education in central Indiana after seeing how much interest there was among both students and teachers throughout his career. […]

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Oct 4 • 12:53 PM EDT • Science • wishtv.com
All INdiana Politics: Albright and Forrestal battle for closely divided seat in Senate District 31

INDIANAPOLIS — One of Indiana’s most competitive Senate districts is the site of a high-stakes showdown as a family physician and a former sheriff vie for the seat vacated by Republican Sen. Kyle Walker. Senate District 31 covers Delaware and Fall Creek townships in Hamilton County, including most of Fishers, along with Lawrence and parts […]

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Oct 4 • 12:15 PM EDT • Politics • wishtv.com
Scientists find a simple size rule that predicts magnetic ground states

Researchers found three distinct magnetic behaviors that appear at specific crystal sizes across several unusual materials.

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Oct 4 • 12:13 PM EDT • Science • interestingengineering.com
San Diego Foundation Grants Nearly $1M in Binational Water Health Grants

The San Diego Foundation Wednesday granted nearly $1 million in the Binational Resilience Initiative for 10 projects ranging from addressing Tijuana River pollution to restoring coastal habitats in the California-Baja region.

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Oct 4 • 12:02 PM EDT • Health • 10news.com
Jadon Sancho Attracting Premier League Interest After Man Utd Exit

Fresh off a Europa League triumph with Aston Villa, the former £73 million winger searches for a new home as top-flight suitors weigh his talent against looming wage concerns.

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Oct 4 • 12:00 PM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com
Brewers vs. Padres NLDS Game 2 Preview: Henderson vs. King

Fresh off a narrow Game 1 victory, the Milwaukee Brewers hand the ball to a well-rested Logan Henderson in Game 2.

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Oct 4 • 11:00 AM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com
How do e-ink displays work? The science behind digital paper

How do e-ink displays work? Here’s how charged pigment particles, electric fields and bistability turn electronic screens into digital paper.

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Oct 4 • 11:00 AM EDT • Science • interestingengineering.com
Natrona County health and food inspections (9/25/26–10/1/26)

CASPER, Wyo. — The Casper-Natrona County Health Department inspects restaurants, grocery stores, convenience stores, mobile food units, commissaries and

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Oct 4 • 11:00 AM EDT • Health • oilcity.news
Laramie County health and food inspections (9/25/26–10/1/26)

CHEYENNE, Wyo. — The Cheyenne-Laramie County Health Department inspects restaurants, bars, convenience stores, delis, grocery stores, bed and breakfasts

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Oct 4 • 11:00 AM EDT • Health • capcity.news
Liverpool Show Transfer Interest In Sunderland Youngster Amid EFL Loan

Sunderland goalkeeping product Matty Young has reportedly become the subject of transfer interest from Premier League giants Liverpool.

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Oct 4 • 10:31 AM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com
Despair over future fuels political anxiety for college students

Their anxiety is fueling a restlessness with a national political system that they worry is no longer capable of improving their lives or no longer interested in helping.

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Oct 4 • 10:09 AM EDT • Politics • boston.com
Seahawks TE AJ Barner carries interesting fantasy football flex value

AJ Barner may be a strong candidate to consider as a fantasy football flex option following his strong performance in Week 3.

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Oct 4 • 10:01 AM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com
Women and underrepresented minorities have higher tenure-track placement rates in the political science job market

What actually lands a PhD student a tenure-track professorship? A new study suggests a candidate's publication record, research field, and demographic identity are much stronger predictors of hiring success than the prestige of their university.

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Oct 4 • 10:00 AM EDT • Science • psypost.org
Week 4 Early Game Open Thread

Welcome to Week 4! We experimented with some SB Nation feed posts for gameday discussion and while that is interesting on prime time games, I think for the early game thread before the Denver Broncos play should just be a regular post. So we’re bringing that back! The games start early with one in London […]

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Oct 4 • 9:15 AM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com
How Americans’ Financial Health Is Faring In The “K-Shaped” Economy

Hey all, Jason here. Money20/20 is still two weeks away, but I’ve already started packing (not procrastinating for once!). My calendar is already filling up with various sessions I want to catch, meetings, and of course happy hours, dinners, and other side events. If you’ll be in Vegas and want to catch up, let me know by replying to this email, and we can try to find a time amidst the chaos of the Venetian. A big if not totally unexpected piece of news dropped on Friday: the Independent Community Bankers of America, a trade group that represents smaller U.S. banks, filed a lawsuit against the OCC and Comptroller Jonathan Gould, arguing that the regulator’s move to grant trust bank charters to firms seeking to use them to conduct substantial non-fiduciary activities exceeds the authorities granted to the OCC by Congress. I haven’t had time to fully digest the legal filing or speak to folks in my network about it, but you can expect to see coverage and analysis on it in next week’s newsletter. Subscribe or Support by Upgrading The NerdCon agenda just dropped. It’s stacked. Partner content: Nubank built an AI-first bank. Chime built its own banking core. Figure and Valon are rebuilding the mortgage stack. At NerdCon, you’ll hear from the people behind those bets: what they chose, what they learned, and what they’re still figuring out. The agenda is live, with leaders from Nubank, Chime, OpenAI, Remitly, Mercury, Figure, Valon and more. Follow the mainstage conversations, bring the problem your team is wrestling with to a hands-on workshop, or pull up a chair at a roundtable. Pick your quests. Meet us in San Diego, November 18–20. Fintech Business Weekly readers save 20% with code FBW20. Explore the Agenda Things To Know & Other Good Reads Federal Reserve Board finalizes changes to enhance the transparency and public accountability of its stress test and reduce volatility in its stress test-related capital requirements (Federal Reserve Board of Governors) FDIC Announces Conclusion of Independent Monitorship (FDIC) Modernizing Financial Regulation: Initial Observations from eSLR (Fed Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman) The Data Version of Godzilla versus Kong: FRED Takes on AI (Fed Governor Christopher Waller) Financing the AI buildout (Brookings) Q3’26: Rules for Banks but Not for Crypto (Fintech Takes Banking) The Inevitability of Local Stablecoins (Lombard Notes) Delusions of AI Governance: The Human-in-the-Loop Comfort Blanket (Fintech Snark Tank) Stripe agrees to acquire Parafin to expand revenue opportunities for platforms and help small businesses grow (Stripe) Listen: Fighting Fraud in the Age of AI, with SEON’s Tamas Kadar (Fintech Business Weekly) How Americans’ Financial Health Is Faring In The “K-Shaped” Economy If there is one overarching theme across the economy and politics in the U.S. at the moment, it’s “affordability.” The term is vague enough to encompass a panoply of factors shaping Americans’ day-to-day lives: rising costs for the hallmarks of being “middle class,” including healthcare, housing, childcare, and education, inflation and rising interest rates, and a job market with the specter of AI hovering over it. At the same time, policy shifts under the Trump administration have resulted in reduced subsidies to those who get health insurance under the Affordable Care Act and new restrictions on qualifying for Medicaid and SNAP, the impacts of which have yet to be fully felt. These factors are contributing to declining consumer confidence and general dissatisfaction with the economy, despite continuing GDP growth and stock market records. This divergence is encapsulated in the idea of the “K-shaped” economy, in which a small proportion of Americans have seen their wealth balloon, while the majority of American households struggle to preserve the lifestyle they have. Perhaps the greatest determinant of which branch of the “K” a household is on is whether their wealth and income are primarily derived from employment vs. from assets. Nearly two decades of low interest rates and, more recently, elevated rates of inflation have benefited asset owners, while those whose income is primarily or solely derived from labor have largely seen real purchasing power stagnate or decline. This is reflected in recent Bureau of Labor Statistics data showing that labor share of U.S. GDP — the fraction of economic output that accrues to workers as compensation in exchange for their labor — dropped to just 52.8% in Q2 2026, the lowest since the BLS began keeping records. In 1947, approximately 2/3rds of economic output accrued to workers; even as recently as 2001, labor’s share of GDP was 64.1%. Against this backdrop, we’ve seen the rise of more credit and credit-like products: cash advance apps, “no-fee” overdraft, earned wage access, and buy now pay later, which are often used as small-dollar short-term borrowing mechanisms to meet immediate consumption needs or pay other bills (eg utilities, cell phone, other debt payments). With the markers of a middle class existence and, increasingly, basic financial stability seemingly out of reach for many, it should be no surprise there’s been an increase in “financial nihilism,” something industry peers like Alex Johnson and Frank Rotman have discussed and analyzed the roots of. The explosion of gambling and gambling-adjacent products and services — often marketed under the guise of being an “investment” — is inextricably intertwined with the rise of financial nihilism. Crypto, sports betting, and, more recently, prediction markets offer an escape or even hope of sorts, like a contemporary, digital version of a scratch-off lottery ticket, while leaving the overwhelming number of people who use such products worse off. Share of Households That Are Financially “Vulnerable” Ticks Up The Financial Health Network’s 2026 Financial Health Pulse® report adds context on how American households are faring. (I linked to this report in last week’s newsletter, but wanted to take time to further unpack the data in the report this week.) The Financial Health Network publishes the report annually, providing insight into how Americans’ financial circumstances are changing over time. The 2026 report is derived from a survey fielded in April and May 2026. The report leverages survey responses to assess indicators of financial health across spending, saving, borrowing, and planning/protecting and to determine a zero to 100 “FinHealth” score. Those with scores between 0 and 39 are considered “Financially Vulnerable,” consumers with scores ranging between 40 and 79 are defined as “Financially Coping,” and those with scores of 80 to 100 are “Financially Healthy.” The report found that moderate improvements in 2025 were reversed, with the share of respondents considered financially “vulnerable” rebounding to 17%. The longitudinal data reflect the impact of pandemic-era programs, like expanded unemployment, cash stimulus payments, and pauses of federal student loan payments. The positive impacts of those programs, as reflected in the Financial Health Pulse reports, had largely disappeared by 2023. While pandemic-era inflation — to be fair, in part caused by the various support and stimulus measures — had come down from as high as 9% in 2022, it has rebounded since the start of Trump’s second term, with tariffs and energy market disruptions owing to the war in Iran pushing prices back up. Specific indicators in the survey that deteriorated from 2025 to 2026 include the share of respondents spending less than their income over the past 12 months, the share paying all bills on time over the past 12 months, the share that have a manageable amount or no debt, the share that are “moderately” or “very” confident their insurance is adequate to cover them in an emergency, and the share that “somewhat” or “strongly” agree that their household plans ahead financially. Unsurprisingly, lower- and moderate-income households are more likely to struggle to pay their bills on time and have any funds leftover to save. The share of low-income households whose income exceeded their spending dropped from 35% in 2025 to 31% in 2026, while the share of upper-income households whose income exceeded expenses remained unchanged at 63%. Households with student loans or revolving credit card debt reported having “a bit more” or “far more” debt than was manageable at rates far higher than those not carrying these types of debts. The share of those with student loan debt indicating their debt load was too high to manage increased from 50% in 2025 to 55% in 2026, while the share of those with revolving credit card debt saying the same ticked up from 51% in 2025 to 54% in 2026. Households that had student loans were markedly more likely to be financially “coping” or “vulnerable” vs. those without student loans. In 2026, 27% of households with student loans were considered financially vulnerable, a jump of 6% points vs. 2025. Households without student loans saw just a 1% point increase (not statistically significant) in those considered financially vulnerable. Households’ perception of the affordability of categories of goods and services paints a stark picture, with less than one-fourth considering higher education affordable, about a third deeming childcare affordable, and less than half viewing healthcare as affordable. Fintech Business Weekly is made possible by the generous support of paying subscribers — bringing you independent analysis of banking, fintech, and crypto without fear or favor. You can support my work by becoming a paying subscriber if you aren’t already. Paying subscribers enjoy: access to the entire archive of nearly six years of newsletters extended versions of the weekly newsletter, with additional content and analysis and (for founding member tier) quarterly personal 1:1 fintech Q&A / strategy calls with me, tapping into my unparalleled knowledge of the intersection of banking and fintech and experience working in the sector, including helping to launch Goldman Sachs’ retail bank Marcus Support Fintech Business Weekly You can also support Fintech Business Weekly by sponsoring a newsletter or podcast, putting you in front of 93,000+ of the most influential decision makers in banking, fintech, and crypto. Learn more about sponsor opportunities or request a media kit by dropping me an email. Democratic Senate Report Highlights How Iran Uses Tether to Evade U.S. Sanctions Iran uses stablecoins, specifically Tether, to evade sanctions, fund regional proxies, and to purchase military drones, a report released last week by the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations says. The report was authored by committee ranking member Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and the minority staff. Crypto and stablecoin proponents will often push back on criticism that criminals make use of these assets by arguing that, on an absolute dollar basis, far more illicit funds flow through traditional banking systems and payment rails than via crypto and stablecoins. And while that is likely true, it elides the reality presented in news story after news story: whether state actors — Russia, Iran, North Korea — or criminal groups, those looking to engage in illicit transactions increasingly favor stablecoins and, specifically, Tether (USDT). The report from the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations released last week adds context to how Iran uses Tether has a lynchpin in its shadow banking system. The report analyzed 846 wallets that have been sanctioned or targeted for seizure, finding that 84% of them transacted exclusively or primarily in Tether. The ability to create near limitless, anonymous wallets and to move funds effectively instantaneously and irreversibly have made crypto a favored financial mechanism for bad actors. Stablecoins solved key drawbacks of bitcoin, namely, the original cryptocurrency’s highly volatile value in dollars. And while Tether (the company) has the technical ability to “freeze” or destroy funds, the company is often limited and reactive in its approach to doing so, the Senate report argues. Tether, which is nominally based in crypto-friendly El Salvador, “has stated that its compliance with OFAC sanctions is ‘voluntary’ and that it follows ‘OFAC guidelines,’” the Senate report says. Owing to these favorable attributes, Tether “became a primary cryptocurrency for Iran, Hamas, Hizballah, and the Houthis beginning in 2023 and has expanded in scale since,” according to the report. Tether’s role in Iran’s shadow banking system, the report says, is enhanced by crypto exchanges like Bybit, Kyrrex, OKX, Gate, and Binance, and through “over the counter” exchanges and hawala networks. The consequences of these financial flows aren’t hypothetical. The Senate report links Tether as a funds transfer mechanism to Iranian proxies in the region, including Hizballah, the Houthis, and Hamas. Tether has also been used to make payments to secure components necessary to manufacture drones, the report says. The report concludes by arguing that “[s]tablecoin issuers with a significant nexus to the United States, particularly those that offer dollar-denominated stablecoins, should be subject to American sanctions law rather than being allowed to hide behind foreign jurisdictions.” Stablecoin issuers like Tether must be held accountable for repeated failures to prevent illicit finance and sanctions violations by law enforcement, the Department of Justice, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and OFAC, the report argues. [Paying Subscriber Exclusive] OUSD Goes Live, Make Your Own Neobank, U.S. Sanctions Russia’s A7 Network As “Transnational Criminal Organization” OpenUSD, the stablecoin issued by the Open Standard consortium that includes Stripe, Visa, Mastercard, core providers, crypto firms, and numerous banks, went live last week. Social commerce platform Whop raised eyebrows in fintech by offering creators on its platform the ability to launch their own neobanks, which the company describes as “great businesses that are easy to run,” in just 15 minutes. And OFAC and FinCEN target Russia’s “shadow banking” A7 Network — more on these stories after the paywall.

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Oct 4 • 8:59 AM EDT • Health • fintechbusinessweekly.substack.com
Learning the language of trees with the Orlando Science Center

The science of it: We're heading to the rainforest to dive deep into the communication of trees.

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Oct 4 • 8:42 AM EDT • Science • wesh.com
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Georgia woman business owner arrested on fraud charges

Other Mad Marketing clients have also come forward with allegations of fraud.

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Oct 4 • 8:22 AM EDT • Business • wsbtv.com
Science Snapshots: October 4, 2026

Three new science finds: forest fragmentation alters temperatures, black-hole jets illuminate pre-existing gas, and butterfly wing patterns confuse predators.

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Oct 4 • 7:54 AM EDT • Science • thehindu.com
Despair over future fuels political anxiety for college students on the cusp of adulthood

(AP) — Frankie Llerandi, 21, has been unable to land a single internship in his three years at Michigan State University. He will graduate in the spring with an economics degree and an interest in dat...

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Oct 4 • 7:35 AM EDT • Politics • yahoo.com
Despair Over Future Fuels Political Anxiety for College Students on the Cusp of Adulthood

EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Frankie Llerandi, 21, has been unable to land a single internship in his three years at Michigan State University. He will graduate in the spring with an economics degree and an interest in data analytics, but true adulthood seems maddeningly far away. Most of his cousins ...

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Oct 4 • 7:35 AM EDT • Politics • usnews.com
Local nonprofit is gifted a coffee business. They hope it will support human trafficking survivors.

Bloom for Women received Grounds for Restoration, a faith-based coffee business, as a gift to fund programs and create jobs for human trafficking survivors in the Lehigh Valley.

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Oct 4 • 7:00 AM EDT • Business • lehighvalleylive.com
Business Roundup: Olde Tymer’s space gets new life, Higher Purpose Homes honored

In this week’s business roundup: The former Olde Tymer’s Cafe building gets a makeover in preparation for a new restaurant, while Durango-based Higher Purpose

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Oct 4 • 7:00 AM EDT • Business • durangoherald.com
A place for moms: It’s a match

The 27-question survey focused on current experiences with making friends, community connections and loneliness. It also gauged interest and willingness to meet for one-on-one mom matching based on things like logistics, availability,…

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Oct 4 • 6:20 AM EDT • Business • paradisepost.com
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Ajax Interested In Colombian Defender Likened To Davinson Sanchez

Ajax are said to be interested in a Colombian defender who has been compared to Davinson Sanchez.

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Oct 4 • 6:00 AM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com
5 best Florida Halloween and fall events on the Treasure Coast

Looking for something fun to do this October? Here are 5 Halloween or fall-themed events to visit on the Treasure Coast!

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Oct 4 • 5:00 AM EDT • Entertainment • tcpalm.com
Quaint Florida waterfront downtown has grown with endless activities

This town is full of history, memories, small businesses and family fun, making it the perfect place to take visitors any time of year.

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Oct 4 • 5:00 AM EDT • Entertainment • tcpalm.com
New Orleans' Eiffel Tower building on St. Charles is on the market. Could it be demolished?

The quirky steel structure was built a restaurant that was removed from the Eiffel Tower in Paris and shipped to New Orleans in the 1980s.

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Oct 4 • 5:00 AM EDT • Business • nola.com
Huijsen and Cucurella rested for Spain in Czechia win

Both played the full 90 minutes against Croatia

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Oct 4 • 4:58 AM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com
Roma interested in Endrick loan deal -report

Real Madrid striker Endrick might be forced to consider yet another loan deal out of the club this upcoming winter and Roma appear to have serious interest in that kind of move, according to a report published today on MARCA. Endrick has only played four minutes for Real Madrid this season and appears to be […]

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Oct 4 • 3:38 AM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com
French clubs interested in former Marseille prospect Enzo Sternal

Enzo Sternal (19) was backed to make the step up to Olympique de Marseille’s first team, having come through their academy. Prior to his move to RSC Anderlecht last summer, Get French Football News ...

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Oct 4 • 3:25 AM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com
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LSU completes nonconference play with a rout of McNeese. The rest of SEC play awaits.

LSU took care of business in its final nonconference game against McNeese State. Here’s how the Tigers managed a meaningless game.

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Oct 3 • 11:14 PM EDT • Business • nola.com
Suspect at large after man stabbed outside Northeast Side restaurant, police say

San Antonio police say a disturbance outside a business escalated into a stabbing Friday night. The victim was hospitalized as the suspect fled, briefly reentered the building, and remains at large.

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Oct 3 • 9:59 PM EDT • Business • news4sanantonio.com
A forgotten 30-year forest experiment just delivered a huge surprise

A 30-year forestry experiment in Australia found that heavily thinned mountain ash forests grew unusually large trees while recovering enough carbon to match or exceed untouched areas. The results suggest carefully managed thinning could support timber production, wildlife habitat, and carbon storage at the same time.

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Oct 3 • 8:00 PM EDT • Science • sciencedaily.com
Stars react to Ryan Seacrest posting shirtless thirst trap: ‘Ryan relax!’

“Ok Seacrest, save some for the rest of us.”

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Oct 3 • 6:25 PM EDT • Entertainment • yahoo.com
Science fair at UCCS sparks kids’ interest in science, tech

Kids learned about different sciences, technology, engineering, art and math at the Cool Science Carnival Day, now in its 17th year.

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Oct 3 • 6:22 PM EDT • Science • gazette.com
Maryland businesses can apply for SBA disaster loans after E...

Maryland businesses and private nonprofits affected by the Empire Towers incident can now apply for low-interest disaster loans through the U.S. Small Business ...

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Oct 3 • 5:30 PM EDT • Business • afro.com
Free Narcan training at Bismarck-Burleigh Public Health

Narcan is a medication that temporarily restores breathing during an overdose caused by fentanyl or other opioids.

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Oct 3 • 4:16 PM EDT • Health • kfyrtv.com
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Schumer And AOC Introduce Legislation To Restore Health Coverage For 450,000 New Yorkers

Because Of Republicans’ One Big Beautiful Bill Act, Over 450,000 New Yorkers Lost Essential Plan Coverage. Today, Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14) led the entire New York Democratic delegation in the introduction of the Restoring Essential Plan Coverage Act. The Restoring Essential Plan Coverage Act would restore health coverage […]

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Oct 3 • 4:12 PM EDT • Health • yonkerstimes.com
Scientists spot hidden magnetic state emerging inside a superconductor

YbSb₂ is the first known type-I superconductor to spontaneously break time-reversal symmetry, creating a tiny magnetic field inside itself as it enters the superconducting state.

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Oct 3 • 4:07 PM EDT • Science • interestingengineering.com
How Rangers Are Planning to Attack Offseason

The Texas Rangers will have an interesting offseason ahead after failing to qualify for the postseason for the third consecutive season since winning the title.

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Oct 3 • 4:02 PM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com
Mormon leader decries explosion in sports gambling, prediction markets

A leader of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints says an explosion in online prediction markets and sports betting is fostering greed among young people

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Oct 3 • 3:39 PM EDT • Sports • abcnews.com
Kramers bookstore marks 50 years of books, bites and DC history

Kramers — a bookstore, restaurant and D.C. icon — is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, largely due to their commitment to authenticity.

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Oct 3 • 3:28 PM EDT • Business • wtop.com
Olympiacos Eye Contract Renewal for Midfielder Amid Juventus Interest

Olympiacos are moving swiftly to secure Santiago Hezze's future, fighting off European heavyweights Juventus and Villarreal following his pivotal role in their historic continental and domestic success.

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Oct 3 • 1:28 PM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com
Austin Police arrest man who made threats against UT amid mental health crisis

The man - an Austin resident who has not been publicly named - is not affiliated with the university.

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Oct 3 • 1:26 PM EDT • Health • yahoo.com
Arsenal reignites interest in Spanish full back

Arsenal are one of the clubs that have held a long-standing interest in Ivan Fresneda, having followed the Spanish right-back since his time at Real Valladolid.Fresneda was tipped for greatness when h...

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Oct 3 • 1:00 PM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com