SCROLL NEWS / DISCOVERY
Search headlines
Find the stories shaping the conversation.
Results for " coming " 7,385 found 🔀 AI-powered Shuffle
🚑 Valencia release Sadiq Umar’s medical update
Sadiq Umar will miss Valencia’s upcoming matches due to an issue in his right hamstring area. The injury occurred in last Sunday’s match against RC Deportivo de La Coruña, as the club confirmed i...
‘Adults’ S2 Review: The Coming-of-Age Comedy Gen Z Deserves
In its second outing, the FX show has become one of the best sitcoms of the 2020s.
gamescom 2026’s Steam wishlist winners
gamescom wrapped up last weekend, and it was bloody fantastic. It really felt like the industry had a spring in its step again. The show itself was BUZZING, with 368K attendees (+3% over last year), maxed-out exhibit space, and Opening Night Live pulling over 78M online views (+7.5%). Let’s have a look at the games at the event that brought in the most new Steam wishlists between August 23 and 30. One quick thing before we start, and stop me if you’ve heard this one before, but wishlists are NOT a barometer for launch sales (they’re bookmarks, not baskets is what we always say over here at Alinea). With that aside, wishlists are a nice gauge of hype, so let’s dive in. Witche(r)s and Warlocks take the top two spots The biggest game of the event (by new wishlists, anyways) wasn’t a game at all. It was an expansion. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt’s upcoming expansion, Songs of the Past, nabbed 451K Steam wishlists by the end of the weekend. It’s a big example of something we bang on about constantly: proven IP with built-in fandom is the most powerful force in this market. But said IP can also ripple into other external success stories (more on that later!). Anyway, Songs of the Past debuted at Opening Night Live, and it’s the first Witcher 3 expansion in over a decade, landing next year after a full Witcher 3 remaster (free for existing owners!) arrives next month. The Witcher 3 has sold around 66M copies, and I’ll be one of those owners jumping back in to refresh myself on the core game (like there isn’t enough to play!), then play the expansion next year. This is all part of CDPR’s plan. The studio is clearly whetting everyone’s appetite for The Witcher 4 in 2028 via a classic bridge strategy. Want more free estimates and insights in your inbox twice a week? Subscribe below! Subscribe Releasing a free 4K remaster next month – followed by a proper expansion in 2027 – keeps IP top-of-mind across a huge gap between content (games-wise, anyway). It kind of echoes Capcom’s evergreen catalogue strategy. And outsourcing co-development to Fool’s Theory (a studio led by trusted Witcher 3 veterans) keeps CDPR’s internal headcount focused on The Witcher 4. #2 by wishlists between Aug 23 and 30 went to another giant IP: Warlock: Dungeons & Dragons, published by Wizards of the Coast and developed by Invoke Studios (a team of ex-Far Cry, Watch Dogs, and Splinter Cell devs). It’s due to launch in 2027, and it looks brilliant so far. It’s a dark-fantasy open world with third-person spell-slinging. It’s a very Witcher-ish aesthetic. As you might expect, 48% of Warlock’s Steam wishlisters have played Baldur’s Gate 3, and 46% have played The Witcher 3. One to watch. For sure! Mash-ups: Anime GTA (!?) and a city-builder for kids (and adults) Ananta took #3 with 302K new wishlists. It’s an open-world game that looks like GTA and Persona had a baby. It was published by NetEase, developed by Naked Rain, and got a trailer at Opening Night Live. I got hands-on at the show, and it wears its influences openly; there’s literal web-slinging (very Spider-Man) and a LOAD of mini-games (Like a Dragon). It’s free-to-play and out in January. For Ananta, Naked Rain is taking the free-to-play, cosmetics-only route. That’s certainly a choice for a single-player open-world game. Without gacha mechanics driving high ARPU, Ananta is betting purely on top-of-funnel reach and long-term retention. This puts pressure on skin appeal when there’s no multiplayer lobby to flex in (although, co-op is reportedly coming later). Want more free estimates and insights in your inbox twice a week? Subscribe below! Subscribe Then there’s Lego Skylines (273K wishlists between Aug 23 and 30), which does exactly what it says on the tin. It’s a cosy Lego twist on the city-builder genre, as shallow or as deep as you fancy (five min quick sesh or ten-hour no-lifer session; latter for me). There’s some family-friendly stuff in there like couch co-op, which is only really viable on console. Iceflake Studios, which Paradox acquired back in 2020 is developing this one. So Paradox is probably looking for a family-friendly onramp to its rad Cities: Skylines games. The overlap there is plain, with 33% of Lego Skylines wishlisters having played Cities: Skylines and 16% Skylines II. There’s no doubt plenty of parents here (and uncles, ahem) planning to indoctrinate the next gen of city-builders. I’ll definitely be playing with my youngest nephew. This one could be big and educational. I’m very curious to see more. Want more free estimates and insights in your inbox twice a week? Subscribe below! Subscribe Mature IP, new and old, rounds out the list As for the rest of the list of gamescom games by new wishlists between Aug 23 and 30: Heroes of Might & Magic III Remake got 189K new wishlists. It remakes the iconic 1999 turn-based-strategy classic in full 3D and 4K. It follows this year’s Heroes of Might & Magic: Olden Era (~1.8M copies sold, as per our estimates), and around a quarter of the III Remake wishlisters have played Olden Era, including 7% of them this month. Wardogs – a $40 PvP shooter – added another 146K to an already massive pile (nearly 1.6M total). It’s published by Team17 and made by Bulkhead. It plays somewhere between the tactical squad stuff of … Squad and the all-out-chaos battlefield of … Battlefield. It’s up to 100 players, and it’s out in about 10 days. It’s already pre-sold over 500K copies on Steam ($16.6M), boosted by a pre-order-only beta. It sold another 70K copies during gamescom, too. Afterworld managed 121K new wishlists. It’s a Paradox-made post-apocalyptic grand-strategy game, and it was announced at the show. It’s a departure from Paradox’s usual historical stuff, and the studio’s first new setting in over a decade. The Paradox purists are into it, with over half its wishlisters having played Hearts of Iron IV (19% this month) and 41% Crusader Kings III (17% this month). Metro 2039 got 110K during the show, tunnelling its total past 1.3M. Nearly 40% of wishlisters have played 2020’s Metro Exodus, the previous mainline title in the series. The Metro novels are Russian, dev 4A Games is Ukrainian, and it’s set in Moscow, so it’s unsurprising that – after the US (17.3% of wishlisters) – the next two countries are Russia (12.7%) and Ukraine (10.0%). The Blood of the Dawnwalker drew in (the blood of) 108K new wishlisters, now totalling an impressive 1.7M (at a $70 price point, though). It’s an open-world dark-fantasy action-RPG set in 14th-century Europe (with vampires!), made by some former Witcher devs at Rebel Wolves. Again, it shows. Over half of Blood of the Dawnwalker’s wishlisters have played The Witcher 3, and its #2 market is Poland, home of Rebel Wolves. That’s that hometown-hero effect we keep banging on about again! And Blood of the Dawnwalker plays very well, by the way. While it looks like a Witcher clone on the surface, it actually brings a lot to the table mechanics-wise. I love the whole time-as-a-currency spin on RPG gameplay. It gives the game a different, refreshing pace. Essentially, you start Blood of the Dawnwalker with a pool of 480 action points spread across 30 days and 30 nights. As for how the game performs, we’ll be posting some numbers next week, so hit subscribe below to get that in your inbox when it’s ready. Subscribe The Witcher’s legacy ripples Make no mistake: on a high level, this was The Witcher‘s gamescom. The #1 game by wishlisters was a Witcher 3 DLC. Warlock is clearly Witcher-inspired – as is Blood of the Dawnwalker, which was made by ex-Witcher devs. There was a lot of other cool stuff on the floor that we’ll no doubt be covering in subsequent newsletters, though! As always, wishlists went through the roof for sequels, remakes, DLC, and licensed IP. As always, though, these wishlists will likely convert to about 5% to 10% of launch-day buyers, with the probable exception of The Witcher DLC – the exception that proves the rule. Either way, we’ve got a nice, diverse list here – one that is very Witcher-y, Paradox-y, and – if you’re a fan of great games on Steam – a bloody good list. We even got a bunch of new IP to get excited for. Great gamescom! Even if we are still processing that unfathomable number of mini Kölsch beers! One more thing: GTA 6 broke the internet (again) Move aside, Spider-Man and The Odyssey (I love you both, really). But the decade’s defining entertainment zeitgeist is round the corner. Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ll know that Rockstar dropped an extended look at GTA 6 last week. It was INSANE, the most impressed I’ve ever been by a showcase like this. You can see the budget seeping through every second of the extended look, and this level of game is unobtainable for any other publisher. Everyone’s going nuts, and rightly so. GTA 6 is out in holiday 2026, and it’ll be the biggest entertainment release ever, full stop. For those without a PS5 or Xbox Series console, a $500-$900 console is a big ask in this economy, but GTA will pull a lot of last-generation-console fence sitters over the current-gen fence either way: The autumn timing puts GTA 6 on (digital) shelves for the holidays, meaning a PS5 or Xbox (let’s be honest, mostly the former) will be on many a Christmas and Hanukkah list. Demand will outweigh the struggling supply, though, and PS5 Pros are already sold out and being sold at a markup via scalpers. Every console that isn’t on a shelf is a sale deferred or lost, and worse, it hands scalpers the margin. GTA has cultural clout that reaches everyone. It’s been a mainstream fixture since 2001’s GTA III and its clout has only grown exponentially since then. There’s a touchpoint for every generation alive. The FOMO-word-of-mouth double punch does the rest. Loading... It’ll reactivate the lockdown cohort, the millions who picked up gaming in 2020-21 and churned. GTA 6 will bring them back. Remember when College Football 25 brought a bunch of US gamers to current-gen consoles? GTA will do that globally. Once they’re back (or upgraded), and all GTA’d out, the fresh current-gen-console folks will check out the rest of the current-gen catalogue they missed. GTA Online, if not free to play, will also lead to a boost for PS+ and Xbox Game Pass, another boost for the ecosystem players. Want more free estimates and insights in your inbox twice a week? Subscribe below! Subscribe Even some of the smug PCMR 60FPS crew won’t be able to resist their FOMO and will bite the bullet on a console to play this one early (then double dip). The consoles cost the same as a decent stick of RAM these days anyway lmao… Don’t get me wrong, though. GTA 6 is no silver bullet for the mature console market, but it does prime the current gen for a couple of strong swan-song years. And it’ll also give the consoles more users from which to maximise ARPU. ‘’We are in the latter half of the lifetime cycle of [the PS5],’’ said Sony President and CEO Hiroki Totoki in a Wall Street Journal interview. ‘’That means we do not need to aggressively sell the console today; rather than that, we are focusing on the current revenue from the current user base.’’ The biggest, best premium games always arrive late in a console cycle, so getting more players aboard now, ahead of that content storm (the new current-gen-only Call of Duty included), is a clear win for the platforms. On the Netflix thing, though: let’s all chill out a bit, like. Half my LinkedIn feed was going bonkers treating the reveal debuting on Netflix like it’s the future of entertainment. It wasn’t. It was a six-hour head start, and Netflix left that detail out of the “first-of-its-kind partnership” press release. The extended look hit Netflix at 3pm ET on 27 August, then went up on YouTube and Rockstar’s site for everyone six hours later. And it was all over social immediately, anyways. This reveal was going to reach an untold number of people whether it debuted on Netflix, YouTube, a Times Square screen, or a group chat. The last trailer did nearly half a billion views in a day with no gatekeeper at all. Netflix just stood next to that audience for six hours, borrowing it. It’s was a tidy deal for Netflix, sure. But every outlet on earth was breaking the thing down frame by frame by the evening anyway. Anyway. I’m hype. And we’ll be covering some GTA numbers on the newsletter soon. So hit subscribe below to get that in your inbox when it’s ready! Subscribe The last word Reply to this email – or reach out here – if you have any feedback for the newsletter – or want to request a game for us to cover. [Alinea Analytics boasts the most accurate PC and console estimates in the business. Game makers use our platform to understand their audience, keep an eye on the competition, monitor sales trends, and spot new opportunities. We equip game studios and financial institutions with accurate data and the confidence to make smarter, data-driven decisions. Want to talk about all things games market data? We’d love to chat!]
Comedy Shows and More at Hershey Entertainment Venues Sept. 2026
Summer concert season at Hersheypark Stadium presented by Penn State Health wraps up with one final show this month! Popular comedians also take the stage at Hershey Theatre in downtown Hershey, Pa., while hockey action returns to GIANT Center. Learn more about the events coming to our sweet destination in September down below!
HHMI Announces Five Competitions for Scientists Across Career Stages
This year’s Gilliam Fellows competition, opening today, is the first of five upcoming HHMI competitions supporting scientists across career stages – from undergraduates to senior faculty. The competitions aim to expand the institutional and geographical reach of the Institute’s programs.
11 movies coming to Netflix in September 2026, including Jacob Tremblay’s “Unabomber”
The streamer’s September lineup also includes a documentary about viral Olympic breaker Raygun.
TV channel, commentators set for Georgia football's season opener
The Georgia Bulldogs return to Sanford Stadium for their home opener against Tennessee State, who is coming off a Week 0 loss
Dark matter detector picks up a mysterious signal
Unexplained event has just a 0.5% change of coming from an ordinary, known source
Inexpensive new cars are becoming tougher and tougher to find
Automakers in recent years have decided that the lower end of the market is no longer worth the investment.
Grace Meat + Three closing September 13 in the Grove
Grace Meat + Three (4270 Manchester), the nine-year-old restaurant inspired by the Southern tradition of pairing a choice of meat with three side dishes, will close after service on September 13, owners Rick and Elisa Lewis announced. With its lease in The Grove coming up for renewal, the husband-and-wife team chose to consolidate operations at […]
Pajaro Valley Unified hires new chief business officer after years of CBO turnover
Pajaro Valley Unified School District's governing board hired Victoria Knutson, currently Newark Unified's chief business officer, to fill the CBO role at a $248,418 salary — the district's fourth person in that position in roughly three years, as trustees hope her experience will help guide upcoming school closures.
Samsung Confirms Free Feature Upgrade For Millions Of Galaxy Phones
Samsung has confirmed several Galaxy Z Fold 8 exclusive features are coming to millions of Galaxy phones in a new update.
Lamont and CT business leaders warn Trump’s tariffs will drive up prices
Gov. Ned Lamont strove Monday to ensure that the White House gets all due credit for the dollar-for-dollar retaliatory tariffs coming next month from Connecticut’s largest trade partner, Canada.
5 things to do this week in Greenville
See our curated list of upcoming and ongoing arts, culture and entertainment events in the Greenville area. Send us your events at greenville@postandcourier.com.
Burnham to say he wants to unlock ‘positivity’ in first statement to MPs since becoming PM
Prime minister will bring upbeat message to adversarial Commons after a summer of policy announcements and improved poll ratings
49ers news: Brock Purdy finally addressed Drew Brees comparisons
The San Francisco 49ers quarterback, Brock Purdy, will be one of the key players in the offense when the team starts NFL regular-season action. He’s coming off an efficient but shortened last season and will be looking to bounce back. Entering his fifth career season, Purdy has been compared to Hall of Fame quarterback Drew Brees, who played for […] The post 49ers news: Brock Purdy finally addressed Drew Brees comparisons appeared first on ClutchPoints.
New OnePlus 16 leak once again points to major camera upgrade
Digital Chat Station, a reliable Weibo leaker, has once again reported on the camera setup of the OnePlus 16. In the latest leak, the tipster once again hints that the upcoming flagship phone will see a major upgrade over its predecessor.
Caio Borralho Calls for Fight at UFC 334
UFC middleweight contender Caio Borralho called for a fight at the upcoming UFC 334 card in his return to the Octagon.Borralho, the No. 6-ranked middleweight in the Meta UFC Rankings, was supposed to fight Joe Pyfer at UFC 330 but was forced to pull out due to injury.He is now getting back to full health […] The post Caio Borralho Calls for Fight at UFC 334 appeared first on HEAVY.
3 burning Oilers questions entering 2026-27 NHL season
The Edmonton Oilers have one goal in mind this coming season. Connor McDavid and his teammates are looking to bring the Stanley Cup back north of the border to Edmonton. They have come oh-so-close in the past, but have fallen short each time. Last season’s defeat was the worst of them all, in some respects. The Oilers were eliminated in the first […] The post 3 burning Oilers questions entering 2026-27 NHL season appeared first on ClutchPoints.
Ex-Northwestern Football Captain Gains Prestigious Role With Wildcats Program
A former Northwestern football captain is coming home to work for coach David Braun's program.
PS5 Officially Has 5 GOTY Contenders Coming in September
Too many new games, too little time
Clymer principal discusses art, science courses
CLYMER – With the upcoming school year approaching, Brianne Fadale, Clymer Central School’s building principal, gave an update to the school board during their most recent meeting on some plans for some specific courses for the year with the current changes in staffing. As far as course scheduling goes, Fadale said that things are being […]
810 Entertainment to bring bowling, dining and entertainment to former Punch Bowl Social home
A new food-focused entertainment venue is coming to Sacramento's Downtown Commons, bringing bowling, interactive games and a full-service restaurant to the space that previously housed Punch Bowl Social near the Golden 1 Center.
Hochul announces $36M in additional funding for victim services statewide
The announcement follows advocates speaking up for weeks about not receiving enough funding to operate their programs for their upcoming year.
ESPN Reveals Huge Record Within Reach for Vikings Star
ESPN ranked the Minnesota Vikings 22nd in their post-draft power rankings released on Monday morning. This was compiled by various ESPN analysts.In addition to just where they stood in the preseason rankings, each team also had a milestone to watch for this upcoming season. For the Vikings, the player and potentially even the milestone aren’t […] The post ESPN Reveals Huge Record Within Reach for Vikings Star appeared first on HEAVY.
Meet the Newest Members of Poole’s Graduate Business Community
This fall, 291 students joined Poole College of Management’s graduate business programs, bringing experience from fields including technology, education, accounting, marketing, financial services and the military. Meet six incoming students and learn about the paths that led them to NC State, what they hope to gain and where they plan to go next.
Apple Releases macOS Golden Gate Beta 8
Apple today provided developers with the eighth beta of macOS Golden Gate, with the update coming a week after Apple seeded the seventh beta. Developers can download macOS Golden Gate by going to System Settings > General > Software Update. Beta Updates will need to be enabled, and a free developer account is required. macOS Golden Gate includes multiple design improvements.
Apple Seeds Eighth iOS 27 and iPadOS 27 Betas to Developers
Apple today seeded the eighth betas of iOS 27 and iPadOS 27 to developers for testing purposes, with the update coming one week after Apple released the seventh betas. Registered developers can download the betas from the Settings app on the iPhone or iPad by going to the General section and selecting Software Update. iOS 27 introduces Apple's smarter version of Siri, Siri AI.
Fable Leans Hard on "Limitless" Life Sim and RPG Gameplay
The upcoming release of the Fable reboot has generated quite a bit of hype, with the studio behind the game recently revealing some impressively forgiving minimum hardware requirements for PC gamers. Following that reveal, Polygon published an interview with Xbox about Fable and its content,...
We need more mega-science projects, says CERN Director-General
CERN's Director-General Mark Thomson advocates for more mega-science projects, highlighting the transformative Future Circular Collider during a Mumbai visit.
Trump Says Communities That Oppose Data Centers Risk Becoming ‘Backwards and Poor’
The president has backed the construction of data centers, but most Americans oppose building them near where they live.
Streaming, Studio Entertainment Stock Prices Surged in August
It was a good month for entertainment stocks in August, led by Paramount, which saw its share price surge nearly 39% as Wall Street processed the long-term potential of its upcoming merger integration with Warner Bros. Discovery, despite some grinding regulatory reviews. At the same time, WBD saw its once-morbid (pre-asset sale) stock price increase … Continue reading "Streaming, Studio Entertainment Stock Prices Surged in August"
Samsung Confirms Free Feature Upgrade For Millions Of Galaxy Phones
Samsung has confirmed several Galaxy Z Fold 8 exclusive features are coming to millions of Galaxy phones in a new update.
Boom Ball bringing baseball entertainment tour, 2027 tryouts to NWA
A touring baseball entertainment show is coming to Northwest Arkansas, and local players have a chance to audition for the 2027 roster.
iPhone 18 Pro is coming: Here’s what’s new with each model
iPhone 18 Pro will be unveiled next week, with new Pro and Pro Max models debuting. Here’s what rumors say is new with each model.
UFC power rankings following Fight Night 286 in Shanghai, China
Fight Night 286 was a great card and could lead to a huge upcoming fight.
Welcome to the New Pittsburgh Baseball Now Community!
Welcome to the Pittsburgh Baseball Now Community! Thank you for becoming a member. We’re excited to have you join us […]
Sony's next PlayStation State of Play coming this Thursday, followed by a Japan and Asia-dedicated showcase
We're due for another summer PlayStation State of Play, and we're getting two of them in one day.
Puck Drop Preview: 2026-27 Chicago Blackhawks
Last Word On Hockey‘s Puck Drop Previews are back for the 2026-27 season! As the regular season approaches, Last Word will preview each team’s current outlook and stories to watch for the upcoming year. We’ll also do our best to project how things will go for each team throughout the campaign. Today, we’re previewing the 2026-27 …
New Mexico Health Care Authority hosts news conference for Medicaid changes
Federal changes are coming to programs like Medicaid and SNAP in 2026 and 2027. The New Mexico Health Care Authority is hosting a virtual conference to help explain the changes
Business has lost the trust of a generation. I hear about it at my dinner table
A colleague told me, half-terrified, that her son's becoming a full-blown socialist. Our kids have been taking notes on the new (broken) social contract.
OpenClaw that Sam Altman spent billions on and claims to have beaten GTA 6 gets 'largest update in its history'
OpenClaw has rolled out OpenClaw 2.0, marking the most extensive software upgrade in the open-source artificial intelligence (AI) agent platform’s history since its debut last year. Announcing the release, the development team playfully referenced Rockstar Games’ upcoming November title launch with the social post, “HA!
UToledo College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences Welcomes Largest Pharm.D. Class in 5 Years
White Coat Ceremony marks the start of the professional journey for 135 incoming pharmacy and pharmaceutical sciences students.
The Lexus IS Refuses To Die: Special Edition Arrives For 2027
The venerable sports sedan gets a limited-run version, but the V8 ain't coming back.
Community Bulletin Board #11
Unlock Coen’s full potential. Becoming a Dawnwalker doesn’t come without its share of burdens… but it also grants access to powerful abilities. Coen doesn’t have to rely on his sword alone.
MeToo part deux is coming to U.S. politics
Activists are driving a renewed MeToo‑style reckoning in U.S. politics, pushing parties and lawmakers toward stronger accountability for sexual misconduct.
Health taxes: Overcoming technical and political challenges, including illicit trade concerns, and lessons from country experience
A virtual side event ahead of the seventy-seventh session of the WHO Regional Committee for the Western Pacific will explore how health taxes on tobacco, alcohol and sugar-sweetened beverages can reduce unhealthy consumption, generate revenue and support health priorities. Aligned with WHO’s 3 by 35 Initiative, the session will share country experiences in tax modelling, revenue allocation and addressing illicit trade, while highlighting practical strategies for advancing health tax policies. The event will be livestreamed on X, Facebook, YouTube and the RCM77 web page.
GTA VI Extended Gameplay Preview Attracted Over 4 Million Live Viewers
It's been known since Rockstar released the first trailer for GTA VI that the upcoming action game would have a massive impact on the gaming industry, and analysts have predicted week-one sales of $4.5 billion when the game launches in November. Following Rockstar's GTA VI showcase at Gamescom,...
North Carolina: Rabid baby goats at a mobile petting zoo prompts health warning
On Friday, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services reported confirmed multiple rabies cases in baby goats at a mobile petting zoo located in Iredell County. They were first notified of a potential rabies exposure among four baby goats at Farm Adventures in Harmony, North Carolina on August 27. The goats were most likely exposed to rabies by a skunk that had entered the pen where they were kept in late July. The NC State Laboratory of Public Health confirmed rabies viruses in three of the baby goats on August 28; a fourth goat was not tested but is also assumed to have been infected. Based on information gathered on August 28, it was determined that no other animals on the farm pose a risk of rabies exposure to people. Learn about rabies Anyone who had contact with baby goats from the Farm Adventures mobile petting zoo either at their location in Harmony, North Carolina, or at an off-site event, between July 28 and Aug. 27, 2026, may have been exposed while the animals were infectious. Impacted individuals should contact their local health department to determine whether medications are needed to prevent infection. Individuals are encouraged to call before visiting an emergency department or urgent care clinic to determine if treatment is needed and where it can be accessed. Known potential exposure dates and locations include: July 28: Jurney’s Assisted Living, 1942 Van Haven Drive, Statesville in Iredell County July 30: Private event in Mecklenburg County Aug. 1: Community Connections Back-to-School Bash, Breeden Amphitheater, 333 S. Main St., Lexington in Davidson County Aug. 6: Brookdale Peachtree, 2806 Peachtree Road, Statesville in Iredell County Aug. 8: Private event in Watauga County Aug. 9: Private event in Burke County Aug. 15: Masonic Picnic Grounds, 201 Poplar St., Mocksville in Davie County Aug. 16: Private event in Durham County Aug. 22: Private event in Iredell County Aug. 23: Private event in Durham County Rabies is a deadly disease that can spread from wild animals to pets and people, primarily through a bite, scratch or when infected saliva touches broken skin or mucous membranes. Human rabies infections are extremely rare in the United States. No human cases have been reported in North Carolina since 2011. Rabies is almost always fatal in mammals, including people, unless medications to prevent infections are given before symptoms develop. Symptoms can begin weeks to months after someone is exposed. Early symptoms are flu-like illness including weakness, fever or headache as well as a prickling or itching sensation where someone was bitten or exposed. In 2025, over 4,000 animals were submitted to the NC State Laboratory of Public Health for rabies testing, and of these, approximately 6% tested positive. In North Carolina the disease most often occurs in wild animals especially skunks, raccoons, bats and foxes. Outbreak News Today is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Subscribe
New Apple Watch Series 12 and Apple Watch Ultra 4 Features Revealed
Bloomberg's Mark Gurman today further outlined what to expect from the Apple Watch Series 12 and Apple Watch Ultra 4 set to be unveiled on September 9. While it was initially rumored that Touch ID may be coming to the Apple Watch this year, Gurman reiterated that he does not expect the Series 12 or Ultra 4 to have any major design changes compared to the current Series 11 and Ultra 3 models. Gurman does expect a ceramic case option to return for the Apple Watch Series 12.
Apple Pencil for iPhone Ultra Was Tested
Apple has internally prototyped, tested, and considered launching an Apple Pencil for the upcoming foldable iPhone, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. However, he said it is unlikely that the accessory will be released. In his Power On newsletter today, Gurman said the Apple Pencil tested for the foldable iPhone is stubbier than the versions for iPads. He said the Apple Pencil for the foldable iPhone was designed to magnetically attach and charge on the side of the device.
Colorado Sues EarnIn For “Immoral, Unethical, Oppressive and Unscrupulous” Business Practices
Hey all, Jason here. When this hits your inbox, I should be en route to the airport — not to go anywhere myself, just to pick up my better half. I must admit, it’s been strange to be home alone (well, with two dogs) for two weeks! Really lets me “optimize” to spending more time on reading/writing/working, whether that’s healthy or not! Looking forward to getting back into a (somewhat) more balance routine. Subscribe or Support by Upgrading Compare Notes With the People Who Built Modern Fintech Partner content: Remitly CEO Sebastian Gunningham. Increase founder Darragh Buckley. Linda Du, Co-founder & President at Valon. They’ll unpack the decisions behind building and scaling major financial products: what they got right, what broke, what they would do differently, and how AI and new infrastructure are changing the operator playbook. Most events tell you where fintech is going. NerdCon puts the people who built the present in the room and asks them what comes next. Expect an operator-led conversation grounded in real products, real trade-offs and lessons earned the hard way. Fintech Business Weekly readers save 20% on Regular tickets with code FBW20 before standard pricing ends September 11. Meet the Builders Things To Know & Other Good Reads Advent and Stripe Abandon $50 Billion Pursuit of PayPal (Bloomberg) Trump Family’s New Crypto Bank Is Backed by Abu Dhabi Sheikh (Wall Street Journal) The multiplying risks of financing data centres (FT) Let the Bond Market Speak (Wall Street Journal) Did we waste a crisis? Modest proposals to reform deposit insurance. (Fintech Takes Banking) Untangling Guggenheim: How Private Credit Built Its Own Universe (Net Interest) The Hater’s Guide To Circular Financing — Part One (Ed Zitron) Fiat Ventures Rebrands to FGV Capital, Announces $35M Oversubscribed Fund II (BusinessWire) Socure Announces Strategic Growth Investment at $5.2B Valuation and Acquires Agentic Operations Platform Fravity (Socure) Listen: When Consumer Protection Disclosures Work Too Well (Consumer Finance Monitor Podcast) Colorado Sues EarnIn For “Immoral, Unethical, Oppressive and Unscrupulous” Business Practices When Andreessen Horowitz led EarnIn’s $39 million Series B in 2017, Alex Rampell, a partner at the storied venture capital firm, described EarnIn’s small-dollar advance product as “free,” relying on “entirely on voluntary contributions instead of fees.” Rampell favorably compared EarnIn’s approach to typical payday loans, writing, “Payday loans historically have had the potential to be a slippery slope for consumers into financial distress: opaque systems and steep fees that are hard to repay and set individuals back further than where they started. For many Americans living paycheck to paycheck, that kind of slide into debt can be extremely difficult to recover from.” But EarnIn’s product — which, the company says, isn’t a “loan,” legally speaking — ends up being anything but free for most users. While it is technically possible to take a no-fee advance from the company, most users incur “Lightning Speed” (instant funding) fees and/or ostensibly optional tips that combined can equate to annualized percent rates that can reach over 1,000%. With an average term of 9.77 days, even fees and tips that are small on an absolute dollar basis are equivalent to high APRs on an annualized basis. A lawsuit filed last week by Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser against EarnIn describes the company and its product and business practices quite differently than Andreessen’s Rampell; “EarnIn’s business practices are unfair because they are immoral, unethical, oppressive and unscrupulous,” the complaint, filed in District Court in Denver, Colorado, says. EarnIn’s marquee product, Cash Out, isn’t a loan, the company says, as Cash Out is not “[f]orward [l]ooking” because “[t]he money is transferred based on earnings to date,” does not carry a mandatory fee to access funds, and is “non-recourse,” meaning EarnIn cannot pursue recovery from users who don’t repay advanced funds. EarnIn is sometimes referred to as an “Earned Wage Advance” service. Though, unlike some others in the broader category, EarnIn does not integrate with employers’ payroll or time and attendance systems. Rather, EarnIn attempts to verify a user’s income and employment, by examining direct deposit transaction data in their linked external bank account, by using GPS location and Bluetooth data to estimate a user’s time spent at work, if they work in a fixed location, and/or by having a user provided a work email address. While repayment is theoretically optional, as EarnIn would have no recourse, such as reporting non-payment to the credit bureaus or a collections agency, this is anything but clear to users of the EarnIn app, Colorado’s complaint argues. During the process of taking a Cash Out, users must agree to a preauthorized debit of the amount advanced, plus any expedited funding fee and/or tips. Though users technically can revoke this ACH authorization, the fact that they have this right isn’t presented to users during the Cash Out process, but rather is included in linked terms and conditions few users are likely to actually read. And users who do wish to revoke their ACH authorization must do so three or more days before the scheduled transaction date by emailing EarnIn’s customer support. Similarly, EarnIn’s marketing claims that it carries “no interest” and “no mandatory fees” is technically true, but is not the reality for many of the app’s users, the Colorado complaint argues. Further, EarnIn has extensively marketed to users the ability to “access your pay today,” to get “instant” funds, and to get funds “the same day you work” — when, in reality, this speed of access was only possible by paying the additional, undisclosed Lightning Speed fee. The Colorado complaint highlights this contradiction specifically, noting: EarnIn tells consumers that they can ‘Make any day payday with EarnIn’ and that there no ‘hidden’ or ‘mandatory fees.’ For a consumer to access their pay on the same day requested, they would have to pay the Lightning Speed fee. In the fine print of the advertisement EarnIn discloses that ‘[f]ees apply to use Lightning Speed,’ a direct contradiction to the larger text of the advertisement, and a fact that would not be immediately understood by a consumer as ‘Lightning Speed’ is not defined nor explained. Like other small-dollar lending services, rather than explicitly charge interest, EarnIn collects a markup on the optional Lighting Speed fee, which, given the nature of the transactions, many users opt for, as well as offering users the option to leave “tips.” EarnIn leverages either Real-Time Payments (RTP) rails or push-to-card via debit rails if a user opts for the optional Lightning Speed. But while these capabilities cost EarnIn, on average, $0.075 or $0.20 per transaction, respectively, EarnIn charges users significantly more. Initially, EarnIn charged as little as $1.99 for Cash Outs up to $24. But EarnIn has hiked these fees multiple times, and now charges $4.99 for Cash Outs up to $75 and $6.99 for those over $75. According to the Colorado complaint, EarnIn leverages “dark patterns” to manipulate users and to make it more difficult to avoid tipping. Examples of these “road blocks” highlighted in the complaint include: As of 2023, in the EarnIn app, a consumer attempting to get a loan under the default settings had to make at least eighteen separate taps to complete the transaction and reduce the tip to $0. There is an alternative method to leave a $0 tip, via the “Custom tip” feature, but EarnIn made this option difficult to access by visually deemphasizing it and positioning it near devices’ “home” button. Using language and imagery such as “Tip to pay it forward,” “Your generosity supports the service + helps,” “Your tips make a difference,” and “[t]he APR for this cash out is 0%. Your tips help support us.” While Lightning Speed and tipping are, in theory, both optional, in practice, users nearly always ended up paying something. According to the Colorado suit, users were charged either a tip or an expedite fee for more than 92% of transactions, with an average APR of nearly 388%. And, although the advances are “non-recourse,” EarnIn successfully collects on nearly all transactions — 99.18%, according to the complaint, which, Colorado argues, “demonstrat[es] that EarnIn’s advances function as high cost loans, not voluntary payments.” The share of EarnIn users incurring fees — despite the product being marketed as 0% APR — is hard to reconcile with Andreessen investor Rampell’s favorable description of EarnIn vs. “opaque systems and steep fees” associated with payday loans, which, Rampell says, can be “extremely difficult” for borrowers to extricate themselves from. According to Colorado’s suit, EarnIn’s Cash Out product “trapped many consumers in extreme cycles of high-cost reborrowing.” The suit gives an example of one consumer in the state, who took out a whopping 1,151 loans, paying a total of $4,038.50 in Lightning Speed expedited funding fees on loans that averaged the equivalent of 1,421% APR. Another Colorado user, the suit says, took out 1,033 loans, paying $8,561.22 in tips and fees at an average APR of 1,539% . These types of usage patterns demonstrate “the severe and repeated financial harm caused by EarnIn’s illegal lending model,” the Colorado complaint argues. In aggregate, from January 2023 through July 2025, EarnIn extended 3.1 million loans to 56,778 users in Colorado — an average of nearly 55 transactions per person during the time period. EarnIn lent more than $300 million and collected more than $16 million from Colorado users in Lightning Speed fees and in tips. Ultimately, the Colorado complaint argues that “EarnIn’s Cash Outs are loans under Colorado law, and EarnIn’s contention that its product is not a loan based on its disclaimer of any legal repayment obligation lacks any real-world significance given how the Cash Out transactions actually operate in practice.” Colorado further argues that “EarnIn was not working with companies here in providing consumers with funds but acted as a third-party lender and charged illegally high rates, used deceptive design strategies to extract some charges, and trapped consumers in repeat borrowing. Colorado will continue to stand up for consumers and hold companies accountable when they violate our credit laws or attempt to evade them through misleading practices.” Colorado’s suit alleges EarnIn assesses finance charge in excess of that permitted by Colorado law, that EarnIn failed to make legally required disclosures to Colorado borrowers, that EarnIn made supervised loans to consumers without obtaining the requisite license, that EarnIn violated the state’s Deferred Deposit Loan Act, that EarnIn engage in unfair and deceptive trade practices, and that EarnIn made false or misleading statements concerning price. The suit seeks a court order enjoining EarnIn from violating relevant Colorado laws, for EarnIn to refund amounts charged in excess of state law, fees, costs, and penalties, and other relief the court deems to be just. 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. Q2 Quarterly Banking Profile: Five Quick Takeaways The FDIC released its quarterly banking profile, which is always worth a read, for the second quarter. The profile provides an aggregate snapshot about the overall health of the 4,238 institutions whose deposits are insured by the FDIC, who, collectively, hold more than $26 trillion in assets and saw a total net income of more than $90 billion in the second quarter. Net income was up 12% vs. Q1 2026, with lower provisions and realized gains on securities helping to drive the improvement, somewhat offset by increases in non-interest expense and applicable income taxes. Overall net interest margin was basically flat quarter over quarter (up 1 basis point vs. Q1 2026), though community banks saw NIM grow by 10 basis points, to 3.81%. Unsurprisingly, given that interest rates haven’t changed, unrealized losses on securities changed little, edging up slightly to $326.7 billion vs. $325.1 billion in Q1 2026. Aggregate credit quality has remained benign, with asset quality actually improving slightly in Q2. Overall, institutions reported a 9 basis point decline in their past-due and non-accrual rate, to 1.44%. Net charge off rate also declined by 2 basis points, to 0.57%. And finally, the FDIC’s deposit insurance fund stands at $161.1 billion, making the DIF reserve ratio 1.48% — above the statutory minimum of 1.35%, but still below the designated target reserve ratio of 2%. [Paid Subscriber Exclusive] Nissan Withdraws ILC App, State Associations Plan BankChain Alliance, FDIC Defines “Unsafe or Unsound Practice” For First Time Automaker Nissan withdrew its application to charter a Utah industrial loan company and its corresponding application to the FDIC for deposit insurance last week, on August 19th. Nissan’s application had been outstanding for more than a year, as it originally applied in June 2025. Recent applications to the OCC to form national banks have been decisioned, one way or the other, substantially more quickly than has historically been the case.
New poll: Data centers becoming a major political issue in Texas elections
Last-minute doomsday scenarios for the 2026 election
Imaginations run wild at what President Donald Trump and his allies might yet do to interfere in the coming midterm election. He’s already done quite a bit.
California's new attempt to help struggling newsrooms faces key test
A new plan by California lawmakers to help fund the state's struggling journalism organizations could advance in the coming days but faces an uncertain future. Assembly Bill 2222 would create
Loyola hires new top lawyer; ex-Saints staffer picked to tourism post; homecoming for new CFO
Take a look at some of the recent promotions and new hires announced at south Louisiana businesses.
Rural health centers in Lesotho increasingly rely on male midwifes
The southern African kingdom is seeing more men becoming midwives. Lesotho has a high rate of women’s deaths around childbirth, and the government emphasizes that gender shouldn’t matter in childbirth care.
‘Brewbeque’ to debut at RiverPark Center with drinks, barbecue, live entertainment
A new fall event combining craft beer, bourbon, barbecue, food trucks, and live entertainment is coming to downtown Owensboro this October, with a portion of the proceeds supporting arts opportunities for area students.
Little League World Series brings big business boost
WILLIAMSPORT, LYCOMING COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) — The Little League World Series is bringing more than baseball to the Williamsport area. With more than 70,000 players, coaches, family members and fans trav...
Upcoming Iron Man Game Footage Leaks, EA Remains Cool: "That Didn't Go As Planned"
Unfinished gameplay footage from EA Motive's long-quiet Iron Man game leaked online on Friday, and EA just came forward and confirmed it's real. The roughly two and a half minute clip, watermarked "AUG26 TEST", spread first on ResetEra and then across Reddit and social media. The footage shows...
Sonic Team head talks possibility of Sonic Mania 2
There’s no sign of Sonic Mania 2 happening anytime soon, but Sonic Team head Takazhi Iizuka has left the door open to the possibility. Believe it or not, Sonic Mania is coming close to its tenth anniversary. The title launched in 2017 and many fans had hoped that we’d get a sequel. Sonic Mania was definitely a success for SEGA,...
Analysis: Encouraging signs for new boss Jaissle
Newcastle fans may well have found themselves in the opposite position to Spurs supporters before the campaign had started - fearful of what was coming. Tonali was one of three key departures from St James' Park, along with captain Bruno Guimaraes, who went to Arsenal for £85m this month, and England winger Anthony Gordon after his £69m move to Barcelona. Manager Eddie Howe left on 31 July after nearly five successful years, which included guiding the Magpies to their first domestic trophy in 70 years with victory in the 2025 Carabao Cup.
Yankees news: Cody Bellinger's 'tennis' admission will catch fans' attention
New York Yankees outfielder Cody Bellinger is a World Series champion, National League Championship Series MVP, regular season MVP, three-time All-Star and Gold Glove winner. One does not collect all that hardware without becoming a master of preparation. Yes, his career took a nosedive for a couple of years due to prolonged injury problems and […] The post Yankees news: Cody Bellinger's 'tennis' admission will catch fans' attention appeared first on ClutchPoints.
September At SALA Brings Movies, Community Events, Science, Music And More To Los Alamos
SALA NEWS RELEASE SALA Los Alamos Event Center is welcoming the fall season with a full September lineup featuring family programming, classic films, new releases, special screenings, live performa…
Apple will be launching its first pair of smart glasses next year: Here's what's coming
As soon as next year, Apple will be debuting its first pair of AI-powered smart glasses. They’ll integrate Visual Intelligence...
Top Stories: Apple's 'Surprise and Shine' Event, Plus New Mac mini and Mac Studio
It turned out to be a big week for Apple news this week, as we not only got an official announcement about the upcoming iPhone event but also several hardware announcements including updated Mac mini and Mac Studio models. Anticipation continues to build for Apple's first foldable iPhone coming at next month's event, while subscribers to the Apple TV streaming service are getting hit with another price increase, so read on below for all of the details.
The coming election and mischief in the making
America’s tribalism is such these days that we struggle to even agree on the basic rules. Elections have always been hotly contested. As the saying goes, “Politics ain’t beanbag.” The process has long involved elements of nastiness and underhanded conduct. Still, we used to be able to take some things for granted. We had a […]
Arts and entertainment calendar
Events coming up in the Greenville area offer music, arts, theater and family fun. Here is a sampling.
Camden County native to compete in upcoming season of 'Survivor'
Gloucester City native Aalyiah Puglia competes in the upcoming season of "Survivor."
Apple iOS 27 and Siri AI are coming soon: Everything we know
Bonus: Learn about the best iOS 27 features you need to try out ASAP.
iPhone 18 Pro Max vs iPhone 17 Pro Max: 5 biggest rumored upgrades
Here are the biggest changes coming to this year's biggest iPhone
ASU Football Schedule 2026: Dates, Opponents & Key Games
Here’s the complete 2026 ASU football schedule, with dates, opponents and key matchups for the Sun Devils throughout the upcoming season. The post ASU Football Schedule 2026: Dates, Opponents & Key Games appeared first on HEAVY.
China's CXMT to supply memory chip for Xiaomi's upcoming folding phone
China's top memory chipmaker, CXMT , will supply its latest LPDDR6 DRAM chips for Xiaomi's upcoming flagship folding phone, the companies said on Saturday.
The Seattle Seahawks 2026 roster cuts tracker
Before taking to the field to defend their Lombardi Trophy, the Seahawks will make dozens of roster decisions in the coming days.
Takaichi Is No Abe: Japan’s New Conservative Politics
After roughly 10 months in power, the differences between Takaichi and Abe are becoming increasingly difficult to ignore.
10 must-watch Netflix movies coming in fall 2026
Netflix’s fall film slate features Ben Affleck, Anya Taylor-Joy, Charli XCX, and... Jacob Tremblay as the Unabomber. Here are 10 movies to put on your radar.
Watch
Watch all the latest NBC Sports clips, highlights, shows, live & upcoming schedule, replays and more.
Indie Dev Posts Video Reporting Stolen Laptops at gamescom as CD Projekt Red and More Step in to Help
Ryan Laley, the solo indie developer behind upcoming asymmetrical horror game Mimic, has shared a video confirming his gamescom was "cut short" after he and other developers had their laptops stolen.
Player Availability Report: #SKCvVAN
Player Availability Report is SportingKC.com’s look at the latest status updates around the team ahead of upcoming matches and is presented by Saint Luke’s. All details listed are from the league’s official Player Status Report that is submitted the day prior to the match. Sporting Kansas City returns home this
Yankees Mailbag: Bullpen fatigue and salary cap concerns
The Yankees have help coming for the ‘pen, but is it too far away to save the current arms?
Annapolis parking changes planned; business owners push reform
Parking reform is coming to Annapolis. A group of downtown businesses and residents united to push for the improvements.
Turn-Based-Tactics Fans Are Suddenly Eating Very Well
Enjoying Star Wars Zero Company? There are some other impressive-looking turn-based games coming soon.
The Guardian view on political donations: Labour should curb the power of big money
Editorial: Before becoming prime minister, Andy Burnham favoured a £500,000 donations cap. In office, he’s backing away. That is a mistake
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Remastered Bumps PC Minimum Hardware Requirements
CD Projekt Red announced The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Remastered at Gamescom 2026, revealing a visual, performance, and gameplay upgrades coming as a free update to The Witcher 3 for existing owners. Owners of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Complete Edition will see their game update to the Remaster on...
Indie Dev Posts Tearful Message After Laptops Stolen At Gamescom
The creator of the forthcoming Mimic and others had equipment taken from booths overnight
What Not to Expect at Apple's 'Surprise and Shine' September 9 Event
Apple's annual fall event takes place on Wednesday, September 9, when it is expected to unveil new iPhone 18 Pro models, the first foldable iPhone, an Apple Watch Series 12, a fourth-generation Apple Watch Ultra, and potentially AirPods 5. Apple may also make some additional new products available at its "Surprise and shine" event, but there are a handful of rumored upcoming devices that we don't expect to make an appearance this month.
Getting Started in STEM
Dartmouth Adventures in STEM introduces 27 incoming first-year students to the frontiers of science.
Why Whitworth expexts Donald back with the Rams
Everyone wants to know whether Aaron Donald will be coming back to the Los Angeles Rams or not, and Andrew Whitworth feels that it’s only a matter of time. Whitworth explained to Ryan Fitzpatrick on their podcast that Donald has been putting on a football helmet and doing drills, and as far as Whitworth is […]
Fitchburg bookseller tries to revitalize downtown
The old mill city has long battled a shaky economy and business closures. Now, it is undergoing its largest makeover yet in the hopes of becoming a destination.
All hail Week 0, plus an apology for the poll
The Pulse Newsletter 📣 | This is The Athletic’s daily sports newsletter. Sign up here to receive The Pulse directly in your inbox. Good morning! Make amends with Cleveland today. Coming up: 👋 Hey, actual college football 👨⚖️ The judges are back 🏈 A new NFL mock draft Tomorrow at noon ET, across the planet, an American tradition officially begins. The college football season will be underway, with North Carolina coach Bill Belichick — still a strange concept to me — welcoming us with what will surely be a big smile. Welcome to Week 0, the part of the...
Another federally qualified health center is coming to Coatesville in 2027 — this time inside of a high school
Union Community Care’s school-based community health center would be the first of its kind in Chester County.
Rochester to inspect 14,500 homes and business properties
Rochester is launching a five-year property review program. Here is what owners need to know about upcoming inspections.
The hollowing out of Tennis.com is a warning for American sports journalism
Tennis.com once paired news and scores with distinctive voices. Its overhaul is the latest sign that serious tennis writing in the US is becoming endangered
The first phone with three 200MP cameras (!) is coming soon, and we have high hopes
The first phone with three 200MP cameras is apparently in the works, and this includes a 200MP ultrawide camera.
Six months on, Iran is still standing, but survival is becoming more costly
Economic pressure is testing Iran where it is weakest and sharpening divisions within its leadership.
Around the World Festival marks 10 years of food and entertainment
The world is coming to Alexandria. On Saturday, the 10th annual Around the World Cultural Food Festival will take place at Oronoco Bay Park in Alexandria. Visitors can expect to
Andrew Whitworth still confident Aaron Donald is coming back
Aaron Donald still hasn't made a decision, but Andrew Whitworth is confident he's coming out of retirement.
Exclusive | Corporate America Cut Big Checks to Trump. Now CEOs Fear Subpoenas Are Coming.
Tech firms are courting Democrats and hiring advisers to prepare for potential investigations if Republicans lose control of the House.
The Literacy Crisis Reaches Dog-Bear Science
“New analysis of more than 300 bear encounters suggests our canine companions often increase odds of conflict and rarely serve as early warning systems many recreationists assume,” reads a subhead in Mountain Journal. The thing is, that study reaches no such conclusion. But you have to read beyond the abstract to understand that. Mountain Journal is not alone. Let’s look at a brief list of takeaways published elsewhere just to establish that none of them seem to know how to read science. Wes Siler’s Newsletter is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Subscribe Here’s CBC: “A new peer-reviewed study, The Canine Conundrum: Is a Dog a Help or Hindrance in Bear Country?, dug into conflicts similar to what the video depicts, by analyzing 326 reported human-bear conflicts from 1901 to 2023 involving dogs.” “The study found 54 per cent of conflicts were started by dogs. In the encounters researchers included in the study, five people and 56 dogs were killed, and 170 people were injured.” “Lana Ciarniello, an independent researcher who co-authored the study, said researchers found when a person goes hiking with at least one other person, the odds of a negative bear encounter decrease by 50 per cent.” “However, when a dog is involved, the chances of a negative bear encounter increase because ‘a dog really adds a chaotic factor into the mix of recreation,’ said Ciarniello.” Again, the study finds no data supporting that conclusion. “Hiking with your pet dog may make you feel safer in bear country—but a hiker’s recent encounter and a new study prove that the numbers don’t add up,” writes Backpacker, which is now part of Outside. The numbers don’t add up to support this take. There’s plenty more examples, but all are equally dumb, so I’ll stop there. How did so many people get this so wrong? Three reasons: 1) the study is published behind a paywall, with only the abstract freely available. 2) the methodology sets out to create work relevant to a hyper-specific audience, not the public. And 3) the dataset studied is almost absurdly limited and doesn’t bear (get it?!) comparison to wider information. Let’s work through all three. The Problem is Money I understand the irony, since I’m writing about this on a subscription-model newsletter, but information wants to be free. The study is published by The Wildlife Society and costs $16 to access. Reprinting it is specifically prohibited by the terms of use, so I can only share snippets and my conclusions with you here. Having worked as a journalist for 24 years, I can report with some authority that journalists are both lazy and cheap. I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that much of the material you’re seeing written about this study is drawn from the freely-available abstract (above) only, and not a deep dive into its methodology or data. And that’s a problem, because abstracts are where researchers are able to break from their numbers and editorialize their opinions about conclusions. So what’s getting reported isn’t based on numbers, it’s based on an opinion designed for a specific audience, not the general public. Hell yeah ladies, kick that bear’s ass. The Methodology is Designed to Support a Predetermined Conclusion One of the biggest issues with the science that everyone likes to cite about bear spray’s efficacy is that no one understands that study was designed for a specific audience, looking for a specific answer. And since that audience is not the public, and our safety was not the question being asked, its conclusion is rendered irrelevant to our needs. Yes, I’m talking about Efficacy of Bear Deterrent Spray in Alaska, which was created by Tom Smith and Stephen Herrero, two of the same scientists who put together this dog-bear conflict analysis. In the spray study, the purpose was to present relevant agencies with the information they needed to issue their field workers with bear spray. As such, incidents where people were unable to access the spray or similarly failed to get it deployed in time were excluded from the results, and only incidents they deemed successful were included. Could a ranger roll down their vehicle’s window and scare a bear away from a dumpster by spraying it? Turns out the answer was yes, and that was good enough for the purposes of that study. The sample size of actual bear attacks—the thing you and I would want bear spray to provide a solution to, was too small to draw conclusions from, and didn’t indicate success in that role. Is a Dog a Help or Hindrance in Bear Country? has similar limitations. “Insights provided here are intended to help wildlife managers create effective guidelines regarding the presence of domestic dogs in bear habitat,” is explained clearly by the study’s text. To conduct the study, Smith and Herrero went looking for publicly available reports of dog-bear conflicts: “All incidents included in our analysis involved at least one bear, one dog, and one person who was at immediate risk of injury (e.g., not in a protective structure such as a cabin or vehicle), injured, or killed,” explains the report’s methodology. Why is that a problem? “We recognize that data used in this study are biased in that people generally only report adverse interactions with bears, not benign ones. Consequently, we assume that for the most part, people and their dogs pass through bear country without incident.” As was the problem with the bear spray study, people are drawing conclusions here from a study that was never intended to be relevant to the general public. The Smith-Herrero database famously excludes Alaska’s Defense of Life and Property records, which are elsewhere considered the largest and most authoritative source on human-bear conflict. The Dataset is Absurdly Limited A 2009 study conducted by the Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife estimates that each year there are at least 43,000 documented complaints of human-bear conflict across North America. Is a Dog a Help or Hindrance in Bear Country? Examined those reports for years ranging from 1901 to 2023, and only managed to find 326 such incidents that met the criteria explained above. Let’s do some quick math, poorly. 43,000 incidents x 122 years = 5,246,000 total incidents of documented human-bear conflict. Smith and Herrero were only able to find 326 incidents that met their criteria for dog+human+bear+risk or occurrence of injury. That means there’s a 0.006 percent chance that the study’s conclusion—that dogs make bear encounters more dangerous—even gets a chance of occurring. And remember, that’s only in documented conflicts. There’s no way to know how many people across North America run into a bear in any given year without any conflict, but it’s probably safe to assume that the total number is well in excess of 43,000. And, dig deeper into the study and you can find further restrictions that skew its conclusions even more. “While the people involved in these incidents did not report the level of training their dogs had received, it is our assumption that most were untrained companion dogs as opposed to well-trained bear dogs, such as Karelians and livestock guardian breeds that have proven to be significant aids in bear country,” the study’s methodology explains. And that’s a problem, because an ongoing study here in Montana is finding that the simple presence of a Kangal like our youngest dog Teddy can reduce visits to private property from grizzly bears by 87.8 percent. In addition to being a badass, Teddy is also a companion animal. And in my admittedly limited sample size of the three dogs currently present in our living room, she’s no more effective than her mutt brothers. Plenty of people own a dog capable of deterring bears, even if they didn’t set out to own a bear dog. The real purpose of this study appears to be a recommendation that leashes are mandated and recreationists pursue training in their deterrent of choice. But that doesn’t make for sensational headlines. Are There Any Real Takeaways Here? Let’s throw some numbers around, just to try and get our hands around what the larger picture might look like for bears and dogs here. The American Veterinary Medical Association estimates that 42.6 percent of American households own a dog. The Canadian Animal Health Institute says roughly 35 percent of households in Canuckistan own a dog. In an attempt to create the worst possible result for dogs, let’s run with that 35 percent number. And given that outdoorsy and rural people are more likely to both own a dog, and have bear encounters, let’s just make a giant assumption and apply that number to those 43,000 conflicts documented annually. If 35 percent of 43,000 human-bear encounters involve a dog, then we can assume that at least 15,050 dog-bear conflicts are occurring annually in North America. 15,050 x 122 = 1,836,100. Smith and Herrero were only able to find 326 incidents that met their human, dog, chance or occurrence of injury criteria across 122 years. And only 170 documented human injuries. So, with all the obvious caveats about these numbers in no way describing reality beyond narrow study parameters, what they actually found is that your risk of injury if your dog tangles with a bear is only 0.009 percent. I’ll take those odds next time I’m hiking my dogs in bear country. Top photo: “Superintendent Horace Albright, eating pancakes with bears, at Lake Lodge, Yellowstone National Park.” NPS. A journalist with more than two decades of experience working around the world, Wes Siler is here to cut through the outrage and disinformation to bring you the factual, insightful, actionable reporting you need to understand what’s going on. Upgrading to a paid subscription supports this reporting, and buys personal access to Wes, who will help you save money on gear, plan outdoor adventures, and prepare for real life, and who promises he’s less salty in real life than he sometimes comes across as on the Internet. Wes Siler’s Newsletter is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Subscribe
Lunar Eclipse Thursday Night: The Science Behind the Blood Moon and How to See It
Tonight, a little after 11 PM, our moon will look a little different. A partial lunar eclipse is coming on Thursday night, August 27, 2026. The moon will begin