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Here Are Wednesday’s Top Wall Street Analyst Research Calls: Abbott Laboratories, AppFolio, Delek US Holdings, Flutter Entertainment, Honeywell Aerospace, Intuitive Surgical, Marvell, NetApp, and More
Pre-Market Stock Futures: Futures are trading lower as today’s oil and interest rates are higher. Baseball legend Babe Ruth was often credited with the saying, “Records are made to be broken,” and Tuesday was one of those days for the stock market. For the second straight day, all major indices ended higher, with only the […]
Federal Employees Face 10.9% Increase in Health Premiums as Open Season Dates Announced
Federal employees will pay higher prices for health insurance in 2027. On average, federal employees enrolled in the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHB) will pay 10.9 percent more toward their premiums in 2027, marking the third straight year of double-digit increases in the employe
This Muskegon exhibit reveals the artistry and science behind observing nature up close
From detailed natural history illustrations to specimens drawn straight from the collection, the exhibit offers something for budding scientists, artists, and curious minds exploring how we document the world around us.
Latest bowl projection has Duke facing SEC power
Duke is hoping to reach its fifth straight bowl game for the first time in program history.
Where Penn State ranks on ESPN’s updated Football Power Index
Penn State’s second straight loss saw the program fall off the US LBM Coaches Poll, and now the team is tumbling down the Football Power Index.
Spain's housing crisis bursts into the spotlight at snap election
Spain's snap election will revolve around an issue which has topped voters' list of concerns for three years straight but, until a fortnight ago, failed to dominate the political debate: housing.
Kylie Jenner Bachelorette Weekend Thriller Getting Hulu Series Order From Kim Kardashian, Lauren Oliver & Kapital Entertainment
EXCLUSIVE: Kylie Jenner is set to headline and executive produce Bachelorette Weekend (working title), a thriller drama, which is finalizing a deal for a straight-to-series order at Hulu, Deadline has...
WBIR Channel 10
WBIR Channel 10 in Knoxville, Tennessee produces award-winning, community-centered content "Straight From The Heart" of East Tennessee. We strive to be good citizens, to do what is right, and to be fair and honest. We care.
Health Influencer Brags About Drinking From a Radioactive Jug for 250 Days Straight
Radium water products were banned in the U.S. roughly a century ago for causing cancer and other harms.
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.
Five Plays: NC State First Quarter
Louisville lost another football game on Saturday. They also lost another game that they should have won. Penalties had been a major issue for this team, but they replaced that issue with turnovers this time around. But the biggest issue remains, and that issue is blown coverages by the secondary. For the second straight week, […]
A Health Influencer Claims He Has Been Drinking Radioactive Water For 250 Days Straight, To A Frightening 13.5 Thousand Likes
If you don't know why this is a bad idea, let us tell you about radiation, Radithor, or the tragic case of Eben Byers.
Woody Marks scores for a second straight game in Week 4
Woody Marks limited to 22 total yards in Week 4 loss to the Cowboys.
‘Our Week 4 Super Bowl,’ ‘No Tougher Job in NY Sports’ — Jets’ ‘4 Straight Plays, 26 Yards’ Post Gets Roasted in 492-157 Loss to Bears
The New York Jets’ official X account celebrated four straight plays that gained 26 yards during Sunday’s 23-12 loss to the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field, a game in which Chicago outgained New York 492-157. The loss dropped the Jets to 1-3 and was their third straight.
Windows 11's File Explorer is finally giving the squiggly ~ key a job, sending it straight to the user folder
There’s a new Windows 11 update that will soon give the squiggly ~ key a job, and that is to quickly open folders like your user profile, Documents, Downloads, and, sometimes very importantly, the AppData folder. Right now, if you use the full path to open AppData, you need to enter `C:UsersusernameAppData` in File Explorer, […]
Dalton Kincaid shut down for second straight week
Dalton Kincaid held to season-low one reception in Week 4 against New England.
Chourio walk-off single lifts Brewers over Padres
Jackson Chourio smacked a walk-off two-run single to give the Milwaukee Brewers a 4-3 victory over the San Diego Padres on Sunday and a commanding 2-0 lead in their Major League Baseball playoff series.For the second straight day the Brewers rallied from 2-0 down to beat the Padres, who are now in survival mode as the best-of-five National League division series shifts to San Diego for game three on Tuesday.
Who do Titans fans want in the 2027 NFL Draft?
Here we are talking about the NFL Draft in October for the third straight year. Mike Borgonzi and the Tennessee Titans have to find a way to buck that trend this offseason. The NFL is set up for teams to reload quickly. The Titans just haven’t been able to do that. It sucks. This week, […]
Should the Laver Cup Finally Bring Women Into the Mix?
Okay, so let’s try to make this Laver Cup hypothetical, civil, shall we? An obvious question hangs over the event called the Laver Cup. Why is it not called the Williams Cup? No, seriously now. Where are the women? For nine editions now, the formula has remained straightforward: six men from Europe, six from the …
TST Best Bets: October 4, 2026
Week 4 of the NFL season has arrived, and this column is due for a bounce-back after back-to-back weeks under .500 followed a strong Week 1 debut.Let’s get straight to it as we pick every game on Sunday’s slate, starting with the Lock of the Week.For all of your NFL betting picks, here are today’s TST Best Bets, brought to you by BetOnline.ag. Click here to join. All new players receive a 50% welcome bonus and up to $250 in free bets.
Blue Jays Receive Intriguing Take on Mets’ Francisco Lindor
The New York Mets and president of baseball operations David Stearns are back at the drawing board after missing the playoffs for the second straight season. Stearns has to find a way to improve the team and get it back to the postseason, and that means making tough decisions. Juan Soto is the face of […] The post Blue Jays Receive Intriguing Take on Mets’ Francisco Lindor appeared first on HEAVY.
Aryna Sabalenka upset at China Open
WTA World No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka exits the China Open early in a straight set loss to Czechia's Nikola Bartunkova.
No. 5 SFA Lumberjacks beat UIW Cardinals 28-26
NACOGDOCHES, Texas (KETK) — The fifth-ranked SFA Lumberjacks football team was back at Homer Bryce Stadium for the second-straight week to host the Incarnate Word Cardinals in a Southland Conference matchup. SFA ended up holding off the Cardinals 28-26 to stay unbeaten this season. SFA quarterback Gavin Rutherford passed it to Jaylen Jenkins who ran […]
Iowa Football: Numbers That Stood Out From Ohio State Loss
Ohio State won the time of possession battle by 17 minutes, but the real eye-opening stat was Jeremiah Smith recording 200+ yards for the second straight game.
Georgia no. 1, Tennessee third in business magazine rankings
For the 13th straight year, Area Development magazine has put Georgia atop of its 2026 list of top states for doing business. Tennessee came in at No. 3 on the list, just behind Texas.
Takeaways from Nebraska football's win over Maryland
Maryland (2-3,0-2) trotted into Memorial Stadium off two straight losses and a coach on the hot seat and gave the Huskers a run for their money early on.
Michigan State suffers 31-3 loss at Wisconsin
MADISON, WI. (WLNS) — The Michigan State football team suffered its third straight loss in its first Big Ten road game of the season, falling 31-3 at Wisconsin Saturday. This is the first time since the 2024 season that MSU failed to score a touchdown in a game. The Spartans have scored a combined 26 […]
Arkansas volleyball drops second straight SEC match at Georgia
The Arkansas volleyball team lost its second straight SEC game, falling to Georgia 3-1 on the road Friday.
Kenyon Sadiq listed as questionable for Week 4
Jets TE Kenyon Sadiq questionable after three straight limited practices
5 Patriots to watch in Week 4’s game at Bills
For the second straight week, Buffalo faces off against an opponent desperate for a win
New Macomb-Kettering deal enables business students to transfer straight into bachelor’s program
The Flint-based university will provide a pathway to its Bachelor of Science in management degree.
American Conference Front Runners Make Stand on Tulane Bye Week
The Tulane Green Wave are on their bye week ahead of conference play, which also means that the American Conference teams who headed straight into that slate are already making a splash in those standings.
Shohei Ohtani Injury Concern Gets Major Update Before Dodgers’ NLDS
The Los Angeles Dodgers are the reigning World Series champions, and they have their sights firmly trained on becoming the first team since the New York Yankees over a quarter century ago to win three straight rings.And one of the key pieces of their lineup is star Shohei Ohtani, who had a recent stay on […] The post Shohei Ohtani Injury Concern Gets Major Update Before Dodgers’ NLDS appeared first on HEAVY.
Eagles Delivered Brutal DeVonta Smith Update Before Rams Game
Going into a tough matchup against the Los Angeles Rams this weekend, the Philadelphia Eagles have a loaded injury report. The wide receiver DeVonta Smith is a headliner. For the second straight week, Smith is dealing with a hamstring injury. On Wednesday, the Eagles had a walkthrough, but estimated that Smith would not practice at […] The post Eagles Delivered Brutal DeVonta Smith Update Before Rams Game appeared first on HEAVY.
Caleb Douglas does not practice Thursday
Dolphins WR Caleb Douglas misses second straight practice because of injury
Aaron Donald misses 2nd straight practice with back injury
Aaron Donald is still dealing with a sore back that could put his status for Sunday in jeopardy.
Drake Maye a full participant at practice
Patriots QB Drake Maye fully participates in practice for second straight day
Texas A&M Looks To Extend Arkansas Dominance At Kyle Field
Texas A&M returns home trying to stop a two-game skid and beat Arkansas for a fifth straight time in a rivalry the Aggies have dominated since 2012.
Kenyon Sadiq limited again
Jets TE Kenyon Sadiq listed as limited for second straight practice
Caleb Williams misses another practice
Bears QB Caleb Williams unable to practice for second straight day
Chig Okonkwo listed as limited again
Commanders TE Chig Okonkwo a limited participant for second straight practice
Allen seeks to put sloppy play behind him as Bills host turnover-prone Patriots
Josh Allen has never lost more than two straight starts and holds a 30-8 record following a loss.
Dennis Krause Blog: Padres will come to Milwaukee
The Padres won two straight games over the Cubs to advance out of the wild card round.
As Xbox swings the axe, Gears of War: E-Day developers fear they'll be laid off straight after launch - and right before they'd be due their bonuses
Eurogamer speaks to anonymous sources from The Coalition on the change in morale over the past few months, linked to layoffs and Metacritic bonuses.
Volleyball Stays Perfect at Home after Dominant Weekend
If you aren’t already, you should be paying more attention to Jackets Volleyball, because unlike the other ball-centric sport on the Flats right now, they are, well, good. The squad opened ACC play with a bang, cruising to straight-set victories over both Virginia and Virginia Tech. The performance continues the trend of home dominance on […]
US tennis star Navarro reveals health battle, ends season
American Emma Navarro, a three-time WTA tournament champion, revealed a three-year battle with health issues on Wednesday, battling against her body as she found success on the court."I couldn't think straight a lot of the time," she wrote.
US tennis star Navarro reveals health battle, ends season
American Emma Navarro, a three-time WTA tournament champion, revealed a three-year battle with health issues on Wednesday, battling against her body as she found success on the court."I couldn't think straight a lot of the time," she wrote.
Looking at the Ugly Side of the Paramount-Skydance Merger...And How I’d Fix It
A Message from Our Sponsor Certified Fresh with 100% on Rotten Tomatoes, FX’s Adults is an ensemble comedy series about a group of twenty-somethings in New York leaning on each other to navigate love, work, friendship and family. Don’t sleep on “The Sitcom of the Moment” - Awards Buzz All Episodes now streaming on Hulu on Disney+. Watch The Teaser Trailer... (Welcome to the Entertainment Strategy Guy, a newsletter on the entertainment industr(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.) Before we dive in, I wanted to congratulate Broadcast Now for being the first to report that Netflix’s How to Get to Heaven from Belfast has been cancelled. (I saw this in a write-up by Kasey Moore of Whats-On-Netflix.) More importantly, I wanted to note that, as of yesterday, none of the other trades had reported the news yet. I have half a guess that eventually one of them will report this. Anyways, it’s time to take a break from my deluge of streaming ratings reports to continue my analysis of the Paramount Skydance Warner Bros. Discovery (PSWbD) saga. As I noted last week, a lot of times when folks use the (sometimes cliched) “the good, the bad and the ugly” framing for an article, “the ugly” section is just more bad. Or very, very bad. In this case, yeah, I do think it’s ugly. In more than one way. Unfortunately, we’re only going to have time to tackle one of those ways today: the ugly pile of debt to finance this deal. (In a future article, I may cover the entire process for how it went down, which was very, very ugly.) Last issue, I explained why I liked this deal in a vacuum. Unfortunately, “vacuums” don’t exist outside of space. Let’s dive in. Subscribe Most Important Story of the Week - The Ugliness of the Paramount/Warner Bros. Merger More than one person sent me a note speculating that the big problem with Paramount Skydance buying Warner Bros. Discovery is the “Warner Bros.” portion of the deal. In fact, that’s a take I read a lot about Warner Bros., ever since they caught Netflix’s, and then Paramount-Skydance’s, eye. In short, multiple companies (Time, AOL, AT&T, Discovery) have bought and then regretted buying Warner Bros. Since it’s nearing Halloween, you could almost say it’s like the folks think WB is cursed! It’s a haunted studio—like the town of Derry in movie studio form—and whoever takes possession of it will fall into misery! Yet...I just don’t like that story, because it doesn’t explain the “why” behind why those deals fell through. Especially when Warner Bros. has continued to succeed as a TV and film studio in the intervening two decades. Lord of the Rings? Harry Potter? Game of Thrones? Everything HBO? Considering it never fully owned a broadcast TV channel, this media company has done pretty well. So what went wrong? Well, in recent years, companies bought Warner Bros. instead of the other, smarter option. Explaining POCD (And Applying It to Mergers & Acquisitions) As I explained last issue, one of my favorite frameworks is the POCD tool for evaluating venture capital investments: People Opportunity Context Deal The bar to invest as a VC is high. (Or I might say “was” since cheap interest rates made life easier last decade.) You review a thousand prospectuses, get pitched by a hundred, and invest in the ten best, with the hopes that one of those ten would pay for the rest. That means every element of a deal needed to pay off: you needed the right people running the companies, who could capitalize on the right opportunity, in the context of an industry that was ripe for disruption. If you could then not overpay, you could make some money in a smart deal. The analogy isn’t perfect here, but close enough. For a merger or acquisition to work, you need the combined company (which is the opportunity) to make more than the price you need to pay (which is the deal). Note: the people and context still matter, but with M&A, it’s a little more straightforward: does the opportunity exceed the cost? And usually with Warner Bros., it hasn’t. If you want to find out the single biggest mistake made by the Warner Bros. suitors over the last few years (and my simple fix) become a paid subscriber. I’ll also touch on who I think Paramount-Skydance could (shockingly) consider buying next, TBD, and more. Sign up here.
S&P 500 dips, Nasdaq higher on modest rise in inflation
NEW YORK, Sept 30 (Reuters) - Nasdaq climbed on Wednesday and the S&P 500 dipped, with both indexes notching their second straight quarterly gains, as
Why Lightning Never Strikes Straight: The Surprising Science Behind Each Bolt - Futura-Sciences
The Great Lightning Paradox If you think science has most things figured out, think again. As physicist John Lowke of the University of South Australia observes, we can predict lunar and solar eclipses down to the fractional second, yet large mysteries remain around something as everyday as lightning. Lowke’s research—published...
Dylan Larkin’s Status for Opening Night
Dylan Larkin has participated in six straight Detroit Red Wings practices, but his status remains uncertain for Friday’s season opener against the New York Rangers.
Ronaldo no longer needed by Portugal, says poll of fans
A poll of Portugal fans says captain Cristiano Ronaldo is no longer worth a spot in the starting XI after he was left as an unused substitute in Sunday's 2-1 Nations League win in Norway. Ronaldo marched straight down the tunnel at the final whistle and missed training on Tuesday ahead of Thursday's match in Denmark.
Debt service and the Pentagon. Private equity and the politics of the US housing market. The return of black lung disease & the Franco-Prussian War in color.
Thank you for opening your Chartbook email. RALPH BALSON. 1890—1964. Oil and enamel, signed. Source: Gavekal This going to hurt - the two 7s in the US: diesel and mortgage rates Source: Gavekal In the US housing market, costs are soaring and the role of corporate, private equity-backed buyers is high on the mid-term election agenda. HEY READERS, THANK YOU for opening the Chartbook email. I hope it brightens your day. I enjoy putting out the newsletter, but tbh, what keeps this flow going is the generosity of those readers who clicked the subscription button. If you are persuaded to click, please consider the annual subscription of $60. It is both better value for you and a much better deal for me, as it involves only one credit card charge. Why feed the payments companies if we don’t have to. Subscribe It is striking how, since 2020, big banks have dropped out of the political spotlight in the US. For contributing subscribers only. Subscribe Rates of the lung disease pneumoconiosis among working US coal miners have risen to levels not seen in nearly 40 years Source: Bloomberg Chinese Clean Technology Exports For contributing subscribers only. Subscribe Ralph Balson (1939) Portrait of Grace Crowley Cole, G. O. & Haseman, S. M., (2023) “‘The Substance of Paint’: Class and Materiality in the Work of Ralph Balson”, Open Library of Humanities 9(2). Ralph Balson (1890–1964) was an English plumber and house painter who emigrated to Australia in 1913 and subsequently became a key member of Sydney’s artistic avant-garde. He is credited with having the first solo exhibition of purely abstract painting in Australia in 1941. Despite his role in developing Australian non-objective painting, Balson remained principally a house painter, working on his art practice at weekends. In 1955 he retired on a state pension and became a full-time artist. Balson’s artistic education and methods were critically shaped by his working-class background. He did not travel abroad until 1960 and was an avid auto-didact. His materials, palette, techniques and compositional strategies were likewise informed by his trade. Balson’s profession as a painter-decorator made him conspicuous within the predominantly middle-class Sydney art scene, though his painting partner Grace Crowley considered it an advantage in their pursuit of constructive painting. This paper explores the impact of Balson’s trade on his trajectory towards pure abstraction. While his art was at odds with the predominantly figurative mode of class-conscious art in Australian Modernism, we argue that it is embedded in the experience of class through its creative adaptation of labour into aesthetics. Source: OLH Svetlana Alexievich, The Art of Oral History No. 1 Paris Review Issue 257, Fall 2026 Interviewed by Elena Kostyuchenko INTERVIEWER How were you able to go to Chernobyl? Did you need special papers? ALEXIEVICH It was a time of chaos. They let me right into the zone. … More than anything, there was confusion. Adamovich [Ales Adamovich, the Soviet Belarusian writer], I remember, persuaded Gorbachev to send in the scientists, who showed up without even bringing their shaving kits. They were told that there had been an explosion at a nuclear power plant, but for some reason they thought that they’d be there for only a day or two. The first time I went was several months later, and people kept telling me about things they didn’t understand—how the fishermen couldn’t find worms, because they’d burrowed deep into the earth, how the milk wouldn’t curdle at the cheese factories. The honeybees wouldn’t come out of their hives. The evacuations started, I think, in the first month. The old women hid, they wouldn’t leave. I mentioned radiation to one of them and she said, “I’ve seen that radiation, all right! It’s yellow with green in it. I saw puddles of it in my garden, and I told the other women, and we ran and looked, and she had it in her garden, and the other one, too!” God, it was wild, the way the mind made sense of it. There was a story going around about Gorbachev telling the scientists to show him the radiation. “We can’t, it’s invisible.” “But I want to see it!” I also ran into the soldiers who’d been flown in on helicopters from Afghanistan. I asked them, “What are you doing here with your machine guns?” They said, “We’re collecting the radiation, that’s what.” So you had some of them running around with their guns, others out in the village washing off firewood or burying soil in the soil. These were the kinds of things that exploded our worldview. They made you realize that culture was just a chest filled with old manuscripts. There were no books in there that could help me. Our philosophers turned out to be useless when faced with the unprecedented. Derrida, Baudrillard—philosophy fell silent. What was happening? How would we live with it? That’s when I decided it simply needed to be witnessed. Which is what I did. INTERVIEWER I wanted to ask about how you talk to people. … ALEXIEVICH Yes, we sit and we talk—about what interests me and about life in general. About love, about everything in the world. That way, what comes out is three-dimensional. If you cut straight to the part you need, which is what journalists do, it won’t be interesting, and it won’t be the truth, either. Not the whole truth. INTERVIEWER Do people always open up when you ask questions, or can questions get in the way? ALEXIEVICH You have to ask questions, of course. Your job is to scour away the banality and return people to their true selves, to make them face what they rarely tap into. With every new person, you have to find a new way to do it. When you ask an interesting question or you share what happened to you, you help people really think about what they’re saying and not just repeat whatever they’ve picked up from the newspaper. But not everybody is capable of it, not everyone wants to put themselves through that. Either the chemistry starts to kick in or it doesn’t. A person might be wonderful, but you can tell that the conversation just isn’t going to happen. You can try to push it, but it will be a product of your own intellect, rather than of that mysterious connection. Life doesn’t come from the mind. Some people I can call two years after our last conversation, and they’ll say, “Oh, Svetochka! I think of you all the time,” and we’ll start talking again. With others, that won’t happen. That doesn’t mean they’re not extraordinary people, just that you can’t connect with them. They might have some insight, but you don’t have the right antenna to pick up their signal. Source: The Paris Review Colorized Franco-Prussian war … the ruins of Strasbourg with a French photographer and his mobile dark room. Ralph Balson (1961) Matter Painting If you’ve scrolled this far, you know you want to click: Subscribe
Bills Announce Historic Josh Allen News Before Key Rivalry Game
Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen is one of just four players in NFL history to record six or more rushing touchdowns in nine straight seasons. The post Bills Announce Historic Josh Allen News Before Key Rivalry Game appeared first on HEAVY.
The Streamers Tried To Conquer Labor Day…and Whiffed
(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.) What? Another Streaming Ratings Report already? You betcha. Nielsen has moved up the release of their Streaming Ratings data by two weeks, which means I’ve got two extra issues to get out. But I love this change because it will make this report more timely and easier to publish regularly. This week—with the viewership data for the week of 31-Aug—we’ve got some huge, huge topics to discuss. On the film side, two theatrical films (The Mandalorian and Grogu on Disney+ and Scary Movie on Paramount+) contend with two non-Netflix straight-to-streaming films (Mayday on Apple TV and The Runner on Prime Video). The streamers went all in to win Labor Day weekend in America. And we have a bunch of TV shows to analyze, both new shows (Netflix’s The Gentleman, Hulu’s Chad Powers, and an Alix Earle reality show) and weekly shows like Reacher, Ted Lasso, House of the Dragon and Lioness. All that, plus nepotism in Hollywood, some eye-popping fantasy football stats, 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 August 31st to September 6th, 2026. You can find a link to my terminology here.) Subscribe Film - A Slew of Labor Day Disappointments? A lot of streamers released big new films this week, why? My theory is that the streamers know that four-day weekends can propel streaming films to glory. But if you’ve been reading more over the last two years, you know that big holiday weekends aren’t driving big viewership numbers the way they did post-Covid. And interestingly enough, Netflix didn’t put out a big new film this week. But four other streamers did, trying to take advantage of the holiday with some (not cheap) swings, including… The Mandalorian and Grogu on Disney+ (a Star Wars film that cost $165 million and made $177 million at the US domestic box office) Mayday on Apple TV (rumored $100 million budget, no theatrical release) The Runner on Prime Video (at least a $40 million budget, but likely $50 to $80 million, no theatrical release). Scary Movie on Paramount+ ($30 million budget, made $108 million domestically). (Paramount+ also released a made-for-streaming film based on the Thundermans IP, and I’ll discuss that later.) So…how’d they do? The Mandalorian and Grogu Leads The Way (But That Isn’t Enough) Let’s start with The Mandalorian and Grogu (which I’ll abbreviate to Mando for most of this article). 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 Mando, Mayday, The Runner and Scary Movie performed on streaming... How the powerhouse weekly released shows (Reacher, Ted Lasso and Lioness) have accumulate a LOT of viewership… How House of the Dragon finished its run… The latest Netflix show to have a sophomore slump… Whether top creators can drive viewers to their shows… Nepotism in Hollywood and the music business... All the flops, bombs and misses for the week… And more… ...please subscribe! We can only keep doing this great work with your support. Coming Soon! Since Nielsen has accelerated their streaming data release schedule, I’ve got a lot of Streaming Ratings Reports coming your way! Next issue, I’ll be looking at the second season of Peacock’s The Paper, the latest season of Hulu’s The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, and a very, very expensive Daily Wire fantasy series that’s now on Prime Video. Plus Crew Girl and Dang! on Netflix, a new Tyler Perry film, and one of the biggest bombs of the summer, Supergirl. In the next two issues, I’ll take a look at the return of the NFL to streaming, Toy Story 5 on Disney+, Backrooms on HBO Max, and The Breadwinner on Netflix. On the TV side, we’ve got Netflix’s Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story, Dancing with the Stars on Disney+, Apple TV’s Slow Horses, a Reacher spinoff on Prime Video, and Paramount+’s MobLand, a Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConaughey comedy on Apple TV, a sequel to a Cosby Show spinoff on Netflix, The Great British Baking Show, and the Unabomber film. And while doing all that, I want to take a look at adult animated shows, Ride or Die’s cancellation, and Netflix’s summer films. So much great stuff! Long term, two bits of comic book news. The X-Men cast has been announced, and go ahead and color me bull-ish, if not very, very bull-ish on this bit of comic book IP. In weirder news, HBO Max ordered a “true crime” show by Jimmy Olsen about Gorilla Grodd being falsely convicted of murder. I mean, what? I don’t know, let’s see what happens.
Memphis offense’s top performers from the non-conference slate
Memphis didn’t play last weekend after four straight games to start the season, and it will start conference play on Saturday with a road game against Charlotte. With the non-conference slate behind them, it’s time to look at the top performers from Charles Huff’s offense through the first four games of the season.
Gusto Small Business Jobs and Pay Report: Small Businesses Add 28,000 Jobs in September, Marking Eighth Straight Month of Growth
/PRNewswire/ -- America's small businesses added an estimated 28,000 net new jobs in September on a seasonally adjusted basis, according to the latest Gusto...
Sylvester Stallone sets the record straight on the real inspiration for “Rocky”
The actor’s memoir “The Steps” is available for purchase wherever books are sold.
U.S. Bank Launches Cards to Meet Small Business Rewards Demand
U.S. Bank has launched two new small business credit cards that are designed to deliver “straight-forward rewards” on everyday business purchases, the
WBIR Channel 10
WBIR Channel 10 in Knoxville, Tennessee produces award-winning, community-centered content "Straight From The Heart" of East Tennessee. We strive to be good citizens, to do what is right, and to be fair and honest. We care.
For the Third Straight Week, Former Buckeyes Dominate the NFL
For the third straight week, one of the main storylines from the NFL is the former Buckeyes dominating at the next level.
Takeaways: Nationals finish 2026 with series win vs. Mets
The Washington Nationals beat the New York Mets to complete three straight series wins and close out the 2026 MLB season.
How will Chivas Femenil beat FC Juárez?
Chivas Femenil will resume training this week after securing their second straight win against Cruz Azul, a result that allowed them to add three more points to their Apertura 2026 campaign and streng...
John Cusack sets the record straight on longtime rumor he turned down starring in ‘Breaking Bad’ as Walter White
A rumor has long persisted that John Cusack passed on playing Walter White on ‘Breaking Bad,’ and the ‘Say Anything’ actor admits he had to double-check if that was the case.
U.S. Bank Launches New Credit Cards for Small Business Owners with Jessica Alba as Spokesperson
MINNEAPOLIS, September 28, 2026--U.S. Bank doubles down on its commitment to support small business owners with the launch of its U.S. Bank Business EssentialsTM Visa® Card and U.S. Bank Business EssentialsTM Plus Visa Signature® Card. The cards are designed for small business owners looking for straight-forward rewards on their everyday business purchases. Both offer unlimited 2% cash back on eligible purchases, plus the ability to earn higher cash back when paired with qualifying balances in a
Browns vs. Steelers odds: Opening lines for Week 4 matchup
After winning two straight games, are the Browns favorites to beat the Steelers?
Our bodies react to microplastics in a way scientists never expected - Futura-Sciences
When Microplastics Go Straight to the Lungs Microplastics: the word alone might send your mind racing through images of floating trash islands or bottles bobbing in rivers. It’s now a scientific fact that microplastics are omnipresent in our environment. But while their presence is undeniable, much remains to be understood—especially...
Nyland error gifts Portugal the win in Norway
Orjan Nyland made a costly mistake in the Norway goal and Gonçalo Ramos made no mistake. In Jorge Jesus’ second match in charge of Portugal, the coach claimed a second straight win and beat the Vik...
Nor'easter update: Shore battered by wind, floods for second day
A powerful nor'easter is pounding the Jersey Shore with high winds and floods for a second straight day.
Phillies lose 4th straight, Diamondbacks control their own destiny
The Phillies dropped a second straight game to the Rays on Saturday, and now the Diamondbacks control their own destiny.
Three instant takeaways from Nebraska football’s win at Michigan State
Nebraska football (4-0) started conference play with a dominating win at Michigan State (2-2), 31-14, on Saturday, Sept. 26. After sweeping the non-conference slate for the third straight year, NU improved to 4-0 for the first time in 10 seasons. The Huskers earned their first win in East Lansing since 2012.
Maryland football destroyed by UCLA, 54-3, in 9th straight Big Ten loss
COLLEGE PARK, Md. — Maryland was outclassed from the start. In a game that was scoreless after one quarter but quickly devolved into another lopsided loss, nothing went the Terps’ way. Maryland couldn’t establish a running game despite a questionable insistence on doing so; quarterback Malik Washington never got going in the one-dimensional offense and threw four interceptions; and the Terps’ ...
TST Best Bets: September 26, 2026
Two ranked Big Ten battles highlight Saturday’s slate, led by No. 12 USC hosting No. 20 Oregon at the Coliseum. The Ducks have won four straight in the series, but the Trojans have a chance to end that skid while strengthening their place in the College Football Playoff race.No. 17 Iowa and No. 18 Michigan also put their undefeated records on the line in Ann Arbor. With both teams leaning on physical rushing attacks and two of the nation’s better defenses, points could be difficult to come by at
Yankees Handed Rotation Prediction for Red Sox Wild Card Series
For the second straight year, the New York Yankees will face the Boston Red Sox in the Wild Card Series. The question will be who the Yankees will go with to open the series, and WFAN’s Chris McMonigle already sees how New York will line up its rotation for this series. Rather than having Cam […] The post Yankees Handed Rotation Prediction for Red Sox Wild Card Series appeared first on HEAVY.
Diamondbacks’ postseason push takes a turn with Gabriel Moreno update
SAN DIEGO — The Arizona Diamondbacks might be on a roll after their sixth straight win Friday, but eyes are now on catcher Gabriel Moreno after manager Torey Lovullo’s latest update. Sep 25, 2026; San Diego, California, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks catcher Gabriel Moreno (14) is congratulated by right fielder Corbin Carroll (7) after scoring during the first inning against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park.
Where Dodgers' Pitching Staff Ranks Among Rival Contenders
The Los Angeles Dodgers' arms are among the best, and they need to be the best for this team to win a third-straight World Series title.
Jaylen Warren listed as questionable for Week 3
Steelers RB Jaylen Warren questionable after three straight limited practices
Caleb Williams misses another practice
Bears QB Caleb Williams misses second straight practice of week
Political debates were once considered essential. Has that changed?
For most of the television era, the political debate had a pretty straightforward purpose: Put candidates next to each other, take away the script, and let voters watch. But with no top-of-ticket debates scheduled to happen in Florida this year, where does the debate stand?
Guardians clinch a playoff spot again, edging the Red Sox 1-0 on Martínez homer
The Cleveland Guardians clinched a playoff spot for the third straight year with a 1-0 win over the Boston Red Sox.
Falcons Shock Packers In Primetime!
The Atlanta Falcons stunned the Green Bay Packers on Thursday night, rolling to a 35-14 victory at Lambeau Field and handing Green Bay its second straight loss. The Packers came out quickly, with Jordan Love connecting with Christian Watson for an early touchdown. Atlanta answered through Bijan Robinson, who broke loose for a huge 55-yard…
Hurricanes 6, Predators 5 – Felix Unger Sorum with Game Winner
The Carolina Hurricanes fell behind 5-1 but then scored five straight goals to defeat the Nashville Predators, 6-5 on Thursday night in Greensboro. The win gives the Canes a 2-1 record this preseason with one game to play. Felix Unger Sorum scored the game winner off a nice snap shot with just 3 seconds left […]
3 Reasons to Watch the Cardinals’ Final Series
For the fourth straight season, the St. Louis Cardinals will not make the playoffs. For the third time in those four seasons, they will have a losing record. While the team has made major progress this season, it is still disappointing given the organization's rich tradition of winning. As a result, it's easy for members …
Jalen McMillan a full participant Thursday
Buccaneers WR Jalen McMillan on track to play after second straight full practice
Jaylen Warren limited Thursday
Steelers RB Jaylen Warren listed as limited for second straight day
Rico Dowdle misses another practice
Steelers RB Rico Dowdle misses his second straight practice because of injury
Caleb Douglas misses practice on Thursday
Caleb Douglas misses practice a second straight day ahead of Week 3.
When Chivas Femenil arrive in Cuernavaca, where they'll stay
Matchday 9 of the 2026 Apertura is already waiting for Chivas Femenil, with an important date in Cuernavaca. Against Cruz Azul, the Rebaño has the chance to earn its second straight win, backed by th...
Is metascience being co-opted?
In July, the White House released a report that argued academia is deeply dysfunctional and in need of radical reform.Science: A New Golden Age sets out a litany of problems many academics will recognise: interminable waits for grants; short-term funding rather than support for longer, more ambitious projects; ballooning administrative requirements; pressure to publish, and many more. “The scientific machine is getting bogged down,” it says. At least on the face of it, Science: A New Golden Age is a triumph for the metascience movement, a loose-knit, global group of academics, philanthropists and think tankers that want far more testing and experimentation in how we fund public research and innovation. The report tells US research funders to set up internal metascience units to do just this. But it has also set alarm bells ringing that metascience is being conveniently deployed to help justify the defunding of US universities, which US vice president JD Vance has openly labelled “the enemy.” “Just because you have an issue with your plumbing in your house doesn't mean you light the entire house on fire and burn it to the ground,” said Colette Delawalla, chief executive of Stand Up for Science, a group campaigning against what it says are attacks on scientists by the Trump administration. No one is arguing that academia doesn’t need reform, but there’s debate over how far and how fast the system should be shaken up. Does public R&D need slow and steady evidence-based adjustment, or radical new experiments?One of the key arguments in Science: A New Golden Age is that there’s not enough funding for what it calls “mid-level” science: engineering-heavy projects that require tens of millions of dollars, involve ten to a hundred people, and last around five years. Such a project might develop a brain-computer interface for people with Alzheimer's disease, for example. As such, the US National Science Foundation (NSF) has already announced $1.5 billion to set up so-called X-Labs, effectively new research organisations to pursue breakthroughs in areas such as quantum sensing and new scientific instruments. Funding divertedBut there’s a catch: this money has squeezed NSF budgets for more traditional, fundamental research grants, Science reported in June, likely meaning less cash for university-based scientists. Science: A New Golden Age also makes various swipes at universities, accusing them of extracting overheads from scientists to fund administrative bloat. “We have become dependent on a narrow set of legacy institutions,” it says. The report doesn’t mention it, but the US government is simultaneously seeking greater powers over federal funding, which would allow political appointees at funding agencies to screen or cancel research grants mid-project. The White House is also seeking to slash the NSF’s budget by more than half in 2027, although similar cuts proposed for 2026 were blocked by Congress. Convenient hookThis has worried some that the metascience agenda could be misused as a kind of smokescreen to further weaken universities. James Wilsdon, executive director of the Research on Research Institute at University College London, said that the report contains lots of “interesting ideas” and agrees that in places, academia is a “pretty broken system.” But the risk is that metascience is being deployed as a “convenient hook” to support cuts and a “political land grab” to transfer grant power from scientists to political appointees in US funding agencies.So far, the metascience agenda hasn’t been seized on by radical right parties in Europe. But Wilsdon worries it will cross the Atlantic, politicising research reform efforts and making them more difficult to carry out. The report is already making some in Europe sceptical of the entire idea. “The system is not without flaws, but the metascience discussion is not likely to improve the system but rather to generate munition to undermine it,” said Claes de Vreese, a professor of AI and society at the University of Amsterdam. Peter Thiel protégéOfficially, Science: A New Golden Age has just one named author: Michael Kratsios, the director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy and a former chief of staff to Silicon Valley mogul Peter Thiel. He also served as chief financial officer of Thiel’s Clarium Capital Management. Since the 1990s, Thiel has criticised US universities for moving away from teaching what he views as the classic works of western civilisation, and drifting towards “anti-Western zealotry.” And since 2011, he has offered two-year fellowships of $250,000 to young people to skip or drop out of university, and instead start companies or pursue scientific research. “College can be good for learning about what’s been done before, but it can also discourage you from doing something new,” according to the Thiel Fellowships website. In other areas, the Trump administration has promoted academics with a longstanding interest in metascience. For example, the head of the National Institutes of Health, Jay Bhattacharya, in 2020 co-authored a study arguing the funder backs overly conservative proposals, although he achieved wider prominence as a critic of pandemic lockdowns. Careless talk costs fundingEven before the Trump administration embraced the metascience agenda, some metascientists privately wondered whether they should be careful not to overstate dysfunctions in academia, in case this gets used as ammunition against universities. But others think being cautious with criticism is pointless. After all, last year, the Trump administration sought to cut funding from US universities on an entirely different premise: supposed antisemitism on campus. “I don't think these governments need a technical metascientific excuse to attack the universities, they will want to do so anyway,” said Will Stone, a researcher at Science Works, a new think tank advocating for a “metascience revolution” in the UK. “I think researchers should report what they find, even when the findings may be used to advance policies they disagree with,” echoed Russell Funk, a researcher at the University of Minnesota, who in 2023 co-authored a highly influential paper that argued scientific papers were becoming less disruptive over time. No justificationThat said, Funk thinks that metascientific research certainly doesn’t justify a weakening of universities. Instead, scientists need “time, resources and stability to pursue unfamiliar ideas,” he said. “Taking away those conditions works against the very goal the reforms are supposed to achieve.”The Institute for Progress, a Washington DC-based innovation policy think tank that has championed X-Labs and metascience units, also says that reforms should complement, not supplant, universities. “Unpredictable, unreliable, and reduced federal funding to researchers is destabilising to the very foundations of research and development and is bad,” said Jenn Gustetic, the institute’s director of metascience and R&D policy.Evolution or revolution?This points to a much bigger divide in the metascience community: how far and how fast should public R&D be shaken up? Does it need evolution or revolution? For example, Science: A New Golden Age says the science system relies too heavily on traditional “workhorse” project grants, the type that pay out around $250,000 a year to fund “hypothesis-driven science by small teams on tractable questions.” However, in criticising project grants, the report “decisively picks one side of a debate that is far from settled,” David Hilmer Rex, a metascientist based in Denmark, has written. In June, Pierre Azoulay, a metascientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, defended project grants, saying that the alternative of X-Labs “merits scepticism.”A-B testingOne challenge in metascience is that it’s easier to generate evidence for some types of change than others. Most straightforwardly, research funders can run A-B tests on different ways of awarding money. For example, Germany’s Volkswagen Foundation recently trialled distributed peer review, where applicants rate each other’s proposals, and measured its results against traditional review panels. Distributed peer review made quicker decisions, although awarded money to largely different ideas. However, much of the focus of the metascience movement has been on founding fast-moving and free-acting new research organisations and funders, in contrast to the alleged stodginess of mainstream academia or public innovation grants. A culture of speed and freedom are the animating principles behind Germany’s Sprind or the UK’s Advanced Research and Invention Agency (Aria).Related articlesViewpoint: it's time to experiment with how Europe funds science European researchers sound the alarm that Trump rule changes will hit cooperationHowever, while it’s possible to closely study previously successful bodies, such as the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (Darpa), for historical clues to their secret sauce, it’s impossible to guarantee in advance that the likes of Sprind or Aria will actually work as hoped. But advocates of new organisations say this inherent uncertainly shouldn’t stop us trying. “If we wait for definitive proof that something will work before we try it, I don't know where your proof is coming from,” said Stone. Trade-offsUp until now, experiments in metascience haven’t generally come with hard trade-offs over money. In the US, new ideas such as focused research organisations have often been funded by billionaire philanthropists. In Europe, new innovation agencies such as Sprind and Aria, or the Netherland’s new National Agency for Disruptive Innovation, haven’t needed explicit cuts elsewhere in the research system. But with the $1.5 billion establishment of X-Labs by the NSF, the trade-offs are becoming clearer. Some metascientists privately wonder whether a smaller pilot would have been more appropriate, given that the idea is untested. The Institute for Progress counters that the $1.5 billion X-Labs budget is spread out over a decade, so will account for less than 2% of the NSF’s annual budget. “It’s important to remember that [Darpa] was once an institutional experiment as well. Now it’s one of the most cited innovative funding models in the world,” said Gustetic.As for Europe?The US isn’t the only country placing metascience at the heart of its research strategy. Science: A New Golden Age looks admiringly at the UK, which in 2024 set up a Metascience Unit to scrutinise how it funds research. In Brussels, it’s more of a mixed picture. In 2018, the EU set up the European Innovation Council to funnel grants and equity to start-ups, although it’s sometimes criticised for awarding money too slowly. Recently, the council has started experimenting with challenges, where teams of inventors compete to overcome a technological challenge. The European Commission also wants to experiment with partially randomising grant winners, to cut down on bureaucracy. However, the Commission’s own advisers have said the EU’s own research schemes are too conventional. They want the Commission to establish a new dedicated unit to scrutinise and experiment with funding. But there’s no sign of a such unit emerging in Brussels’ plans for the next Horizon Europe programme, which from 2028 is set to distribute more than €160 billion over seven years. Sam Bogerd, director of breakthrough innovation at the Brussels-based Arq Foundation, an AI-focused think tank that also looks at metascience, says that Europe might have the opposite problem to the US: universities and basic research funding are still reasonably well supported, but there’s not enough experimentation. “We're not taking a close enough look at where this money can achieve the most, and I am worried that the good ideas around metascience will be tainted politically by their association with the Trump administration,” he said. He’s still lobbying for the Commission to set up an experimental unit. But in the meantime, the Arq Foundation plans to do its own research, and is currently hiring two metascience researchers to run the rule over how Brussels spends research funding.
Georgia named No. 1 state for business for 13th straight year
Georgia has once again been named the nation’s top state for business by the magazine Area Development.
Klopp ready to 'get straight down to business' in Germany debut
Jürgen Klopp said he will get "straight down to business" in his debut as Germany coach in the Nations League opener against the Netherlands on Thursday. "I haven't heard of many friendly matches in Amsterdam so it's straight down to business," the new national team told journalists after the final training session on Wednesday.
Science Hill volleyball wins sixth-straight Big East title with win over D-B
JOHNSON CITY — The Big East Conference in the 2020s has belonged to Science Hill volleyball to this point in the decade. They showed no signs of slowing down on Tuesday night.
Science Hill volleyball wins sixth-straight Big East title with win over D-B
JOHNSON CITY — The Big East Conference in the 2020s has belonged to Science Hill volleyball to this point in the decade. They showed no signs of slowing down on Tuesday night.
Game Discussion: Milwaukee Brewers (98-58) @ Philadelphia Phillies (86-70)
Brewers eye four straight wins to close in on 100
Knicks’ path to a repeat runs straight through Cleveland
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Astros Must Rediscover Championship DNA to Keep Playoff Hopes Alive
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Spurs legend Hughton 'very confident things will improve'
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What CDC's new teen health survey shows, and what it skips
Teen suicide risk hit a 10-year low in 2025. Guns, sexual violence, and self-harm. Where are the 2025 data on transgender teens? Missing data changes public health policy. Teen suicide risk hit a 10-year low in 2025. CDC asked more than 10,000 high school students over 100 questions in spring 2025. Yesterday, it published a report covering a fraction of them. The report focsed on five areas: diet, physical activity, sleep, digital behaviors, and mental health, reflecting the priorities of the Make America Healthy Again movement. There was good news. Fewer teens seriously considered suicide in 2025 than in any survey year since 2015: 14%, down from 20% in 2023. Sadness fell. Underlying Conditions is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Subscribe Sports participation, which dipped to 49% in 2021, is back to its 2015 level of 58%. Daily PE fell from 27% to 20% in two years, while fewer students eat breakfast daily than a decade ago. Guns, sexual violence, and self-harm. The questionnaire is public, and it goes well beyond those five areas. Students answered questions about sexual violence, self-harm, and whether they got help when they felt sad or anxious. They said how quickly they could get a loaded gun. They reported whether food ran out at home and whether they felt close to people at school. There were questions about sexual identity, including whether they were transgender. The report did not publish any of the answers students gave to those questions. CDC posts the raw survey data online, so anyone can see what the report left out. The report doesn’t cover the health of sexual minority students. Among students who identified as gay, lesbian, bisexual, questioning, or another non-straight identity, persistent sadness fell from 66% to 57% between 2023 and 2025. Serious thoughts of suicide fell from 41% to 30%. Those drops were bigger than the ones among straight students, although the gap remains wide: 28% of straight students reported persistent sadness, about half the rate of LGBQ+ students. About 1 in 7 girls reported sexual violence in the past year. One in 6 students hurt themselves on purpose. Among students who needed help for sadness or anxiety, half rarely or never got it. And among students who had seriously considered suicide, 43% said they could get a loaded gun without an adult’s permission. One protective factor rose sharply. In 2023, 55% of students said they felt close to people at their school; in 2025, 63% did. CDC’s earlier research ties that kind of connection to better mental health. Where are the 2025 data on transgender teens? In 2023, CDC's national survey asked high school students, for the first time, whether they were transgender. Their answers are the only nationally representative data on transgender teens, and their mental health is by far the worst of any demographic. That year, 71% of transgender students reported persistent sadness, 54% seriously considered suicide, and 26% attempted it, compared with 38%, 18%, and 8% of cisgender students. But we don’t have 2025 data. The timing matters because students took the survey in spring 2025, as federal policy toward transgender youth shifted. On January 28th, an executive order directed agencies to end federal support for gender-affirming care for people under 19, and several hospitals paused that care within days. In February, the CDC said it would no longer process transgender identity data. Later in 2025, the Supreme Court upheld Tennessee’s ban on gender-affirming care for minors, and HHS ended the 988 Lifeline’s dedicated line for LGBTQ+ youth. Researchers disagree about how much state policy shapes trans teens’ mental health. A 2024 Trevor Project study estimated that anti-trans laws increased suicide attempts among trans and nonbinary youth. Critics dispute its methods and its estimates. The 2025 survey could have added national evidence to that fight. CDC collected the data but hasn’t publicly released it. Missing data changes public health policy. Surveillance works as a feedback loop. It can show officials whether their policies help or hurt. The CDC didn’t provide data on the students most exposed to transgender policy shifts. The report kept measures that frame health as personal choice, like fruit, breakfast, and sports. It left out measures that track policy, like gun access, mental healthcare, food at home, and school climate, all of which respond to what legislators and agencies decide. HHS did not respond to questions that I sent on September 21st.
Samsung's One UI 9 rollout may have hit a speed bump for the Galaxy S26
Samsung has pushed back the Galaxy S26 series' One UI 9 rollout date in Thailand, raising questions about the wider release.