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Gears of War: E-Day sells 230K copies

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

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Oct 9 • 11:49 AM EDT • Technology • alineaanalytics.substack.com
EPA’s New Science Chief Defends Integrity After Trump’s Shakeup

The director of a new EPA science office says the agency is still committed to upholding scientific integrity, despite concerns from observers that the Trump administration has taken steps to undermine those efforts.

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Oct 9 • 11:39 AM EDT • Science • news.bloomberglaw.com
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Procter & Gamble: A Business To Hold Forever

Procter & Gamble remains a Hold, serving as a stable, conservative portfolio anchor despite recent underperformance. Read more on PG stock here.

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Oct 9 • 10:52 AM EDT • Business • seekingalpha.com
Aaron Sorkin reveals the tough question he’d ask Mark Zuckerberg if he ever got the chance

‘The Social Reckoning’ writer-director Aaron Sorkin has never spoken to Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg despite writing two movies about him. He tells Entertainment Weekly the one question he’d like to ask if he got the chance.

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Oct 9 • 10:00 AM EDT • Entertainment • ew.com
How Texas landowners are fighting back against Trump's border wall

The administration has committed billions of dollars and waived environmental and other protections to plow ahead with the project despite the region’s historically low illegal crossings.

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Oct 9 • 9:27 AM EDT • Politics • spectrumlocalnews.com
How Texas landowners are fighting back against Trump's border wall

The administration has committed billions of dollars and waived environmental and other protections to plow ahead with the project despite the region’s historically low illegal crossings.

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Oct 9 • 9:27 AM EDT • Politics • spectrumlocalnews.com
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Texas Tech's Playoff Dream Faces Tough Road Despite Perfect Start

Texas Tech is undefeated at 5-0, but a challenging Big 12 schedule and questions about its playoff resume could determine whether the Red Raiders reach the CFP.

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Oct 9 • 8:02 AM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com
Trump's moves to boost diesel supplies have not yet lowered prices

US diesel prices remain at near record highs, up 70% since ​the US-Israeli war on Iran began despite two high-profile recent moves by President Donald Trump to boost supplies of the fuel: pressuring allies ‌to release emergency reserves and expanding access to tax-exempt red-dyed diesel.

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Oct 9 • 6:01 AM EDT • Business • reuters.com
A Closer Call, But Kings Fall in Rematch With Lakers

Despite Precious Achiuwa’s efficient scoring and a late surge, Sacramento’s perimeter struggles and a massive free-throw disparity handed the Lakers a narrow preseason victory in Los Angeles.

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Oct 9 • 4:52 AM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com
Video. 'Modern-day Thomas Edison': Trump awards Musk top US science medal

Video. Despite the president's glowing words at the award ceremony, Trump and Musk have navigated a rather volatile relationship in recent years.

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Oct 9 • 2:16 AM EDT • Science • euronews.com
'Modern-day Thomas Edison': Trump awards Elon Musk top US science medal

Despite the president's glowing words at the award ceremony, Trump and Musk have navigated a rather volatile relationship in recent years.

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Oct 9 • 2:16 AM EDT • Science • yahoo.com
'Modern-day Thomas Edison': Trump awards Musk top US science medal

Despite the president's glowing words at the award ceremony, Trump and Musk have navigated a rather volatile relationship in recent years.

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Oct 9 • 2:16 AM EDT • Science • euronews.com
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WA ‘millionaires tax’ debate pits budget needs against fears of taxes for all

Despite some heated exchanges and dire forecasts of budget holes and secret tax plans, neither side in the fight over Washington’s new "millionaires tax" landed a knockout blow Thursday night in a Seattle Times-KING 5 debate on a voter initiative...

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Oct 9 • 2:03 AM EDT • Politics • seattletimes.com
Goldschmidt Plans To Play In 2027 Despite Yankees’ Crowded Roster

Paul Goldschmidt wants to keep playing in 2027. With a new MLB playoff twist and a shorter season proposed, the veteran first baseman has a clear path.

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Oct 8 • 11:06 PM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com
Ohtani Is One of Dodgers’ Biggest Weaknesses in NLCS

Despite a dominant postseason run, the Los Angeles Dodgers face a looming crisis as Shohei Ohtani’s historic slump threatens to derail their hopes to win another World Series.

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Oct 8 • 6:00 PM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com
Jahsiear Rogers Dismissed From Oklahoma Football Roster

The four-star freshman’s sudden exit leaves a void in the Sooners' developmental ranks, highlighting the program's uncompromising culture despite his promising spring performance and explosive athletic potential

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Oct 8 • 2:42 PM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com
Florida still projected for College Football Playoff by CBS Sports

DEspite a brutal loss in Week 5 to Missouri, Florida football is still projected to reach the College Football Playoff by CBS Sports.

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Oct 8 • 1:41 PM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com
Packers' Jordan Love Moves Up NFL List Despite Inconsistent Performance

The Green Bay Packers got a huge win this past weekend.

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Oct 8 • 1:29 PM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com
New HRC Data: Despite Political Headwinds, LGBTQ+ People Are Choosing…

Ahead of National Coming Out Day on Oct. 11 and less than one month until the midterms, HRC calls on LGBTQ+ community and allies to come out to vote to…

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Oct 8 • 11:26 AM EDT • Politics • hrc.org
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Idaho health insurance premiums see big jump for 2027

The Idaho Department of Insurance (DOI) released its 2027 rates for Individual and Small Group Health Plans on the health insurance exchange, with both going up by an average of 12%. “Despite national pressures and ongoing medical inflation, Idaho’s health insurance market remains highly competitive and stable,” Director Dean Cameron said in a news release. […]

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Oct 8 • 9:42 AM EDT • Health • boisedev.com
Eagles' Jalen Hurts Somehow Rises in NFL QB Rankings Despite 'Ugly' Week 4 Numbers

How is this possible?

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Oct 8 • 9:41 AM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com
Glen Powell on why he doesn't talk about politics: 'My calling is elsewhere'

Glen Powell is opening up about why he refrains from speaking publicly about politics.In a recent interview with Esquire, Powell explained why he doesn't make it a point to talk about politics despite...

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Oct 8 • 6:00 AM EDT • Politics • yahoo.com
What tensions? Uniqlo is back in fashion in China despite Beijing-Tokyo dispute

The Japanese clothing brand saw its China sales recover over the past year despite ongoing political tensions and China’s consumer slowdown.

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Oct 8 • 5:15 AM EDT • Business • scmp.com
A rural Northwest Oklahoma hospital is bringing back maternity care. Can it survive healthcare cuts?

Newman Memorial hopes the model it’s building can sustain access despite looming reductions to federal Medicaid spending signed into law last year alongside the dollars fueling its project.

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Oct 8 • 5:00 AM EDT • Health • kgou.org
Exclusive: ICE agents told to ramp up daily immigration arrests despite GOP unease as midterms near

Immigration and Customs Enforcement leadership told agents nationwide on Tuesday to increase immigration arrests by 1,000 more people daily, returning to a previous goal of 3,000 daily arrests, according to two sources familiar with the verbal directive.

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Oct 8 • 12:01 AM EDT • Politics • cnn.com
Despite Blowback From Ohtani Comments, Travis Hunter was Almost Right

Jacksonville cornerback Travis Hunter was once knocked by comparing himself to the LA superstar

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Oct 7 • 9:46 PM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com
Duke Disrespected as Undefeated College Football Team; Upset Predicted

Despite a dominant ground game and an unblemished record, the Blue Devils remain overlooked by critics. Now, an impending clash with Georgia Tech threatens their bid for national respect.

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Oct 7 • 6:58 PM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com
Who Won August and September: Original Films or Franchises?

(Welcome to the Entertainment Strategy Guy, a newsletter on the entertainment industry and business strategy. I write a weekly Streaming Ratings Report and a bi-weekly strategy column, along with occasional deep dives into other topics, like today’s article. Please subscribe.) I just heard someone say that if you’re reading a pundit or data analyst, and they don’t tell you that they got anything wrong, they’re not a pundit but an “influencer”. I agree with that. You have to tell your audience when you get things wrong, or they won’t (or shouldn’t) trust you as much. Today, we’ve got another edition of “What I Got Right, What I Got Wrong”. In general, I’m patting myself on the back (and patting very hard) about a few things like IP at the box office, LIV golf, horror films, crowdfunding movies, superheroes, and old people going to the theaters. That said, I also made a couple of data mistakes on the streaming bubble popping and HBO’s datecdotes, so I’m not perfect. But first, I need your feedback... Subscribe Follow-Ups: What Should We Call Mid-Budget Movies Which Aren’t Cinematic Enough for Theaters But Are Too Expensive to Make Money on Streaming? After I asked for feedback on what we should call straight-to-streaming films that are too big to pencil out on streaming but not really big enough to resonate in theaters, I got some great suggestions from you all, including... “Moldilocks” from John Aboud “Little Big Indie” from Travis Frick1 “Midflicks” from Jonathan Funke. “Extra-Medium” from Jona Nwuke. (Read the explanation in the footnote.) Between these and Brandon Katz—who suggested “Bermuda Budget Triangle”, “The Platform Gap” and “The Distribution Deadzone”—we’ve got some excellent suggestions. And they’re better than my suggestion, the “Streaming Budget Dead Zone”, so let’s take a poll! The winning entry becomes the new term. Loading... RIGHT: LIV Golf is Fully Bankrupt…Is Anyone Else Next? A few years ago, I was always a bit perplexed at all the articles I’d read praising LIV Golf and their strategy to disrupt the PGA. LIV Golf, a brand new professional golf league, offered PGA stars ten times what they made on the PGA Tour to join their new league. And folks praised this strategy for its initial “success” in that a lot of big names did indeed leave the PGA. Yeah, of course the players came over. LIV Golf paid them so, so, so much more! But LIV Golf hadn’t discovered a way to increase potential revenue. So think about this in basic business terms… They paid much more in costs… …but had no real way to increase revenue. That’s not a strategy! That’s deficit financing. It won’t work unless you bankrupt the competition (and then turn around and pay those same golfers much, much less). It’s not a sustainable strategy and only lasts as long as the company/person/nation backing it decides they’re cool with losing money. For LIV Golf, that meant Middle East oil wealth, in particular Saudi Arabian money. Clearly, the current Iran War has hurt Middle East finances, so they need to trim their more exorbitant spending. And LIV Golf was part of that trimming. This should be a major warning for others. TGL’s parent company, TMRW Sports, just got a $1 billion valuation, despite TGL’s (the indoor golf league) horrible TV viewership of less than half a million viewers per match. Unrivaled, the women’s basketball league, just secured a $650 valuation, despite its horrible TV viewership and a new rival (Project B) entering the scene next year. To relate this to streaming, Hollywood should ask which streamers may have wealthy patrons funding their losses. (Let’s be clear: Google, Amazon and Apple.) Could those patrons lose their appetite? For Amazon, probably not. But Apple has a new boss, so maybe! WRONG: My Analysis of the Streaming Bubble Was Missing a Week I’m going to be congratulating myself a lot today, but I make mistakes too, like this data goof. When I last compiled the data on the decline in TV shows, I was missing one week at the end of June. If you look at the first image, you can see that one week was mislabelled as “July”. Mainly, this image got updated to show a 27% decline, not 29%: This change doesn’t really impact the overall analysis, but it is two percent better. By the way, through the third quarter, the decline increased and it’s now a 30% decrease since 2022. (I’ll write/visualize this in an upcoming article.) But I want you to trust me and my data. Especially these days, when many people are using LLMs that I know are inserting faulty data into their charts, I want to keep earning my audience’s faith. So that’s the accurate data. RIGHT: IP Remains Very, Very Popular In July, I wrote a giant (and I mean giant) article on Backrooms, Obsession, and the box office, going over what we know, what we don’t know about what works in theaters, looking at YouTubers, IP, the horror genre, comic book movies, and a whole lot more. The month of August really tested a lot of my theses and, being honest, mostly supported my arguments. Let’s start with IP. Looking at 8-Aug (the weekend after Spider-Man: Brand New Day came out) to 18-Sep (the weekend that Resident Evil came out, which I think provides a nice bookend to this time period), there were seven films based on pre-existing IP: Resident Evil (2026) ($126 million) Practical Magic 2 ($65 million) _Insidious: Out of the Furthe_r ($65 million) Coyote Vs. Acme ($59 million) Paw Patrol: The Dino Movie ($53 million) Tony ($15 million) Super Troopers 3 ($7 million) Compare those to the notable original films from the past month—I actually could have included more movies, but here are just thirteen, bringing us to an even twenty films—including.... The End of Oak Street ($54 million) Buddy ($26 million) Mutiny ($15 million) By Any Means ($15 million) The Dog Stars ($14 million) Runner ($14 million) One Night Only ($11 million) Hope ($8 million) Spa Weekend ($7 million) The Uprising ($6 million) Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma ($6 million) Onslaught ($3 million) Eli Roth’s Ice Cream Man ($2.8 million) Here’s that in chart form: Five of the top six films in this time period were all based on IP. I made a big chart of films that grossed over $200 million at the box office before Spider-Man: Brand New Day and The Odyssey hit theaters. Let’s update that chart! By the way, if you want to see how I categorized each film—so another bar chart—here it is: I know that many of my fellow critics/pundits/analysts dislike films based on IP and how Hollywood is making so many of them. And I’m sympathetic to this point of view. As I’ve written many, many times before, you need a balance between existing franchises, new IP, and original films. And Hollywood clearly needs to make more films like Resident Evil (a well-made film from a visionary director) and fewer Practical Magic 2’s (which didn’t get critical or customer buzz). But at some point, critics and pundits need to contend with what audiences are telling them: Movie-goers aren’t showing up to original films. Audiences are speaking with their dollars, telling you they want more IP and franchises. You can try to convince studio heads to make fewer IP-based films and franchises, but the data and numbers aren’t there. Instead, critics need to work harder to convince audiences to show up for original films. Aim your ire/concern at the average person, not studio heads.2 Because they’re just making the films that audiences are telling them to make. WRONG: Original Horror Films Didn’t Break Out I’ll be honest, even though I wrote an article casting some skepticism on the horror genre in July, if you asked me to make a prediction, I would have predicted that, in August, a new, original horror film would have blown up. No, seriously, I just assumed that Obsession and Backrooms presaged a change in audience behavior. But none of the buzzy new original horror films from August—Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma, Onslaught (not an action film in spite of the ads), The End of Oak Street, Eli Roth’s Ice Cream Man, or _Buddy—_broke out. To be clear, exactly one of those films (Buddy) had good “ROI”, but again—I try to be specific in my language—none were “popular” in any broad sense of the word. None of them will be “saving” movies theaters like Backrooms or _Obsession_helped save the summer. The new Insidious film and Resident Evil, both based on IP, were far and away the biggest horror films since July. (We’ll see if this changes in October/Halloween season.) RIGHT: Stay Skeptical about Crowdfunding... I’ve long been skeptical about crowd-investing platforms as one of Hollywood’s saviors, mainly because there’s so much hype/buzz. People need to stay more skeptical about more things, explaining both the potential upside but also the downsides. In particular, the media often hypes crowdfunding at the start and never checks in on the actual results after they’ve come in later. And August gave us our first update! _Ice Cream Man—_directed by Eli Roth—grossed $6 million off of a $5.5 million budget. This is a production of The Horror Section, which was one of the first “crowd investing” studios with 2,400 investors, which means that 2,400 investors probably lost money. They certainly aren’t getting as great of returns as if they had just invested their dollars in the stock market. Hopefully Stiletto (Tagline: “Someone’s Going to Make it Rain Blood!”) does better next month. WRONG: Another Data Goof Here’s another data error. When the first episode of House of the Dragon came out, HBO put out that it had 21.5 million viewers in the first three days, and I read that to mean in the US…but no, it was global. So my US-only datecdotes charts shouldn’t have included it. We never got US-only numbers for the first episode, but for the final episode, HBO put out that it had 11 million US viewers. (And that global dropped to 21 million viewers.) Here’s the updated chart (which I’ve since used in the Streaming Ratings Report): Still, this show is absolutely huge. RIGHT: Superhero Films Remain Very, Very Popular After Supergirl flopped, I read a few takes that “comic book movies are going the way of the Western”. Post-Spider-Man: Brand New Day, that take didn’t age well. To be fair, I have a very nuanced take on the superhero genre right now; it’s down right now, for a lot of reasons. But it’s not “dead”. Maybe _Spider-_Man is just a really popular character? I saw that take, and it’s a fair counter-argument. (But pundits arguing that superhero movies were dead should have mentioned this $1.5 billion counter-argument…) But is it just Spider-Man? The next Avengers film already has $50 million in pre-sales (and I was skeptical that that film would do well) and the Avengers: End Game re-release topped the box office two weekends ago (over three original films). And I wouldn’t bet against Batman or Superman. So maybe it’s just Spider-Man, Batman, Superman and the Avengers. Oh, and Deadpool, of course. And Black Panther. And Wolverine. And probably the X-Men. Plus a well-made Wonder Woman or the Hulk film could break out. But that’s it! It’s just those ten characters/teams. Oh, what’s that? Lanterns is also doing well on HBO? (See previous section…) To be fair, I’m actually pretty sympathetic to the argument that more popular characters—like Spider-Man and Batman—anchor more popular films. In fact, I made that exact argument three years ago when I first wrote about the “Marvel-cession”. In many ways, you can blame The Guardians of the Galaxy for fooling Marvel Studios (and the rest of us) into believing that any character could pop. It turns out, the list of iconic characters is probably smaller than most people think. But it’s probably too early to say that superhero films and comic book movies are dead unless “death” means a slight decline over a longtime. RIGHT: Who Killed Theaters? Old People I get frustrated whenever I see headlines or analysis about how young people are “returning” to theaters. As I’ve detailed(for years), young people have always powered the US box office, despite narratives about “kids these days” and their “phones”. Really, what’s changed post-2020/pandemic is that old people aren’t going to the movies nearly as much. This summer, I saw a movie (from an older director) in a theater near a retirement community, and multiple older people at the theater were talking about how this was their first time seeing a movie in years. I dislike personal anecdotes, so YouGov can fill in the data, best summarized by this headline: “Who killed movie theaters? Not the youths”. According to them, 64% of people aged 18-29 have seen a movie in the last year, but only 30% of 65-and-older. 20% of 18-29 have seen a movie in theaters in the last week and 42% in the last month. Here’s the polling data: Most concerning? Many Americans (17%) think theaters are a worse or much worse experience than watching films at home. Slight WRONG: Hadestown Opens Big A live theater capture of the Broadway musical, Hadestown, made $20 million at the US box office, which begs the question: was I wrong to be skeptical about musicals a few years ago? Yes and no. On the one hand, $20 million is a far cry from being “popular”, so yeah, the genre isn’t that popular overall and Hadestown is one of the more popular musicals from recent years (i.e. the “Taylor Swift Data Fallacy” in action). On the other, I doubt filming this cost all that much, and I don’t think that they spent much on marketing, so this is a good source of ancillary revenue. Smaller Updates WRONG: As I mentioned in a Streaming Ratings Report, I underestimated the budget for Enola Holmes 3. It probably cost more like $50 million, if not more. But... I’m not sure that it really matters? At sub-10 million hours, prices have to come down to make this work. WRONG: Netflix is giving Ink a 27-day in theaters! To quote the kids/YouTubers these days, let’s go! Now I might actually have a chance to see Danny Boyle’s latest in theaters. I’d complained about this in a “Coming Soon” section, but I was heartened to read that Netflix is giving multiple films longer theatrical windows this year. RIGHT: Netflix is sending 4-5 films per year to theaters. Netflix is slowly but surely sending more and more films to theaters, as I cautiously predicted earlier this year. For now, it’s just three big films and a number of awards contenders, but still, this is great news. And they’ll be releasing box office grosses! Just this week, Ted Sarandos confirmed that KPop Demon Hunters 2 will come to theaters (and my guess is it performs in the box office top ten at a minimum). WRONG: Angel has 3 million subscribers! How do I know this? Well, they told Deadline, who reported it. I marked this as “wrong”, since they’ve doubled their subscribers in one year but, you know, they don’t really have a hit film to speak of and they’re still losing money. WRONG: Furious was only renewed for one more season. I accidentally wrote “two more seasons” in my latest “Renewals, Cancellations, Un-Orders and Removals Update”. RIGHT: House of David is ending with its third season. In July, Prime Video renewed House of David for a third season, as I just wrote in my latest “Renewals and Cancellations” report. Well, now it’s ending after that third season. Why? As I’ve been writing, its viewership wasn’t great. I got feedback that this show didn’t cost very much, but it cost enough that its limited viewership didn’t save it. WRONG: Adults was a Hulu original! So I missed Adults when it first came out last year; I saw that it aired on FX and just assumed that it was a linear-first program. Turns out, it aired three episodes on FX, but binge-released the rest of its episodes the next day on Hulu. Huh. So I should have covered it last year! But I just wrote about it. 1 “When I was a kid in the 90s, if you wore a t-shirt to school that wasn’t too big and also wasn’t too small, but somehow didn’t quite fit, we’d say you were wearing an “extra-medium” shirt.” 2 As always, a huge exception is Disney, which barely makes anything original anymore.

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Oct 7 • 6:41 PM EDT • Entertainment • entertainment.substack.com
International robot/human fight promoter ordered to cease in California

A company that stages human-versus-robot fights is still advertising a San Francisco event this week despite receiving a cease-and-desist order from California regulators over a recent match between a humanoid robot and a social media influencer.

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Oct 7 • 6:38 PM EDT • Entertainment • bradenton.com
Eagles Get Discouraging Saquon Barkley Update Despite ‘Not Major’ Injury

Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley is dealing with a hamstring injury he suffered in Sunday’s 24-20 loss to the Los Angeles Rams. ESPN lists his status as questionable ahead of Week 5. Head coach Nick Sirianni gave no update on Monday and said more answers would come Wednesday. Despite the lack of official details, […] The post Eagles Get Discouraging Saquon Barkley Update Despite ‘Not Major’ Injury appeared first on Gridiron Heroics.

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Oct 7 • 6:29 PM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com
Business - French PM vows to address debt despite student protests
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Oct 7 • 5:13 PM EDT • Business • france24.com
National political trends may outweigh Ohio Republicans' redistricting advantage

Despite a new congressional map that favors Republicans in 12 out of Ohio’s 15 districts, national trends may have more impact on individual races than the GOP’s map advantage.

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Oct 7 • 5:00 PM EDT • Politics • spectrumnews1.com
Opinion: The politics of gambling

Despite the restrictions, gambling is often an issue in Utah politics

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Oct 7 • 4:50 PM EDT • Politics • deseret.com
Leipzig Rule Out Nagelsmann Return Despite Demichelis Pressure

Internal unrest grows as Martín Demichelis faces a season-defining gauntlet, but the Red Bulls are dismissing rumors of a sentimental reunion with their former Champions League mastermind.

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Oct 7 • 3:18 PM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com
Trump makes third trip to Texas in less than a month despite Paxton audio leaks

President Donald Trump is making his third trip to Texas in less than a month to stump for a Senate candidate who’s privately questioned his political capital and whom the president has publicly insulted in personal terms.

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Oct 7 • 2:59 PM EDT • Politics • cnn.com
‘DWTS’ pro Val Chmerkovskiy defends his cornrows after taking them out amid backlash

‘DWTS’ pro dancer Val Chmerkovskiy admitted he ‘loved’ his cornrows, despite taking them out amid backlash ahead of ‘Mariah Carey Night.’

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Oct 7 • 12:04 PM EDT • Entertainment • ew.com
Amazon US Prime Deals: the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra is 30% off

Despite the recent price hike that put the base model at $1,400 MSRP, you can still get an S26 Ultra under $1,000. The Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra launched at...

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Oct 7 • 12:01 PM EDT • Technology • gsmarena.com
Chris Olave continues to shine despite Saints’ ugly loss

Olave delivered another standout performance Monday night, continuing his impressive start to the season.

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Oct 7 • 12:00 PM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com
Beaten-Down Flutter Entertainment Stock Upgraded

Flutter Entertainment (FLUT) stock struggles near six-year lows despite a Citigroup upgrade

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Oct 7 • 10:31 AM EDT • Entertainment • schaeffersresearch.com
😐 Neutral (14%)
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47%
wow
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Lower US Treasury yield view persists despite biggest quarterly surge since 1994

US Treasury yields are forecast to fall over coming months, according to fixed income strategists in a Reuters poll who clung to their long-held view despite the benchmark 10-year yield recording its biggest quarterly jump since 1994.

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Oct 7 • 8:11 AM EDT • Business • reuters.com
Webb finds a surprising atmosphere on a scorching lava world

The James Webb Space Telescope has found strong evidence that the rocky lava world HD 3167 b has an atmosphere, despite circling its star every 24 hours under extreme heat. The surprising discovery could help scientists understand how rocky planets retain atmospheres and what the young, molten Earth may once have looked like.

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Oct 7 • 8:00 AM EDT • Science • sciencedaily.com
Kansas City Royals news: All (stadium) business in KC

Despite the Kansas City Royals leaving Truman Sports complex, could the area find new life?

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Oct 7 • 8:00 AM EDT • Business • royalsreview.com
Kansas City Royals news: All (stadium) business in KC

Despite the Kansas City Royals leaving Truman Sports complex, could the area find new life?

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Oct 7 • 8:00 AM EDT • Business • sports.yahoo.com
Seahawks Sign Another New RB; 'Effective' Run Game Despite Injuries?

The Seahawks were a little light at running back against L.A., but the group powered through.

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Oct 7 • 7:47 AM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com
Yankees news: Boone considering changes to the lineup

Boone eyeing lineup changes ahead of Game 3; Fried will start despite impending paternity; reasons to believe in a reverse sweep; McDowell passes at 84.

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Oct 7 • 5:00 AM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com
Braves’ Ronald Acuna Jr. Under Fire During NLDS vs. Dodgers

The Atlanta Braves entered Tuesday night in a tied best-of-five series in the NLDS against the back-to-back World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers. And they’ve been able to hang around despite a continued struggle for superstar Ronald Acuna Jr., whose lack of production at the plate continued into Game 3. Acuna Jr. Struggles in Game […] The post Braves’ Ronald Acuna Jr. Under Fire During NLDS vs. Dodgers appeared first on HEAVY.

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Oct 6 • 11:51 PM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com
Elizabeth Berkley says “DWTS” created ‘drama’ where it ‘didn’t exist’ when she was on show

The “Saved by the Bell” alum competed on the 17th season and was eliminated despite earning a perfect score.

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Oct 6 • 10:28 PM EDT • Entertainment • yahoo.com
AMC Entertainment Holdings (AMC) Shares Just Moved, So What Is Driving Attention Now?

AMC Entertainment Holdings (AMC) has just refinanced about $3.97b of existing borrowings, rolling them into new first and second lien facilities and notes that run out to 2031 and beyond. The refinancing arrives after a volatile stretch for AMC Entertainment Holdings, with the share price at $2.95 and a 90-day share price return of 54.45%, alongside an 83.23% year-to-date gain that points to building short-term momentum, despite a weaker 3-year total shareholder return of 70.26% and a 5-year...

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Oct 6 • 10:22 PM EDT • Entertainment • simplywall.st
Giants Embracing Underdog Role Despite 3-1 Start
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Oct 6 • 4:04 PM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com
Pacers Given Interesting Win Total Despite Tyrese Haliburton Return

The Indiana Pacers have been given an interesting win total prediction entering the new NBA season.

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Oct 6 • 12:15 PM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com
Jadan Baugh still in USA TODAY Sports' Heisman Trophy race, but barely

Despite a disappointing performance against Missouri in Week 5, Florida football's star running back Jadan Baugh remains in the Heisman Trophy hunt.

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Oct 6 • 11:48 AM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com
I Put Netflix’s #7 Show on as Background Noise; Within Minutes, I Was Hooked

I put Netflix’s #7 show on as background noise and somehow ended up completely invested. Despite its rough reviews, there may be more to this new series than meets the eye.

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Oct 6 • 11:35 AM EDT • Entertainment • purewow.com
😐 Neutral (14%)
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53%
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StoneX maintains Buy rating on Sphere Entertainment, $125 price target

StoneX maintained their Buy rating on Sphere Entertainment's stock with a price target of $125.00.The price target implies an upside of 12.8% from the Oct 5 close of $110.80.Key takeaways from the analyst noteLong-Term Growth Potential: Despite recent challenges, Sphere Entertainment is expected to…

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Oct 6 • 8:36 AM EDT • Entertainment • tradingview.com
New Report: 400+ Global Life Science Leaders Bullish Despite Market Uncertainty

As AI usage takes shape and market pressures persist, CRB's Horizons: Life Sciences 2026 report explores how manufacturers are investing in facilities,...

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Oct 6 • 8:05 AM EDT • Science • globenewswire.com
How do Rockford-area businesses feel about the economy? Here’s what surveys say

By Kevin Haas Rock River Current Get our free e-newsletter ROCKFORD — Businesses in the greater Rockford region say their companies are in good health, despite waning confidence in the local economy. That's according to the latest results of the Greater Rockford Chamber of Commerce's quarterly business sentiment survey, which drew responses from 125 companies

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Oct 6 • 7:00 AM EDT • Business • rockrivercurrent.com
Exclusive: Altro Health raises $7M for peptides

Investors continue to show a willingness to back peptide plays despite regulatory uncertainty.

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Oct 6 • 7:00 AM EDT • Health • axios.com
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Why Costco and Walmart stocks are falling despite strong sales, earnings

Costco and Walmart are gaining shoppers, but their premium valuations leave little room for anything short of near-perfect growth.

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Oct 6 • 5:50 AM EDT • Business • businessinsider.com
In Race With U.S., China Struggles to Recruit Foreign A.I. Researchers

China’s booming artificial intelligence sector has given local researchers good reason to remain in the country, but it has yet to lure overseas scientists despite a government push.

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Oct 6 • 5:03 AM EDT • Science • nytimes.com
Yankees' Errors Prove Costly in Game 2 Loss to Rays

The New York Yankees fell to the Tampa Bay Rays in Game 2 of the ALDS despite Cam Schlittler taking the mound.

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Oct 6 • 12:54 AM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com
CeeDee Lamb takes part in practice

Cowboys WR CeeDee Lamb fully practices Monday despite injury

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Oct 5 • 6:25 PM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com
Cargill’s earnings slump 52% with high cattle costs, cocoa loss

Cargill Inc.’s fiscal first-quarter earnings fell by more than half as the largest private company in the U.S. was pressured by higher costs for cattle and cocoa despite also benefiting

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Oct 5 • 5:57 PM EDT • Entertainment • thederrick.com
How Close Jeffery Simmons Thinks Titans Are to Winning Football

Despite an 0-4 start, the star defensive tackle insists Tennessee is on the brink of a breakthrough if they can finally master the art of forcing turnovers.

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Oct 5 • 4:00 PM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com
Judge allows student IDs as fallback for NH voters

A federal judge ruled New Hampshire election officials may consider student IDs as voter identity evidence when no other ID is available, despite a law barring ...

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Oct 5 • 3:30 PM EDT • Politics • unionleader.com
Carnell Tate Not Letting First-Half Blunder Ruin Historic Day

The rookie receiver overcame a costly turnover to deliver a dominant 145-yard performance, signaling a new era of offensive consistency for Tennessee despite a narrow loss.

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Oct 5 • 1:00 PM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com
Eminem and Kid Rock Preach Political Unity After Years on Opposite Sides

Eminem and Kid Rock found common ground despite their political differences. The longtime friends reunited for “7 Sins,” a new track that Kid Rock said could offer a lesson about staying connected des...

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Oct 5 • 9:26 AM EDT • Politics • yahoo.com
Eyes on Growth: TD Survey Finds Small Businesses Confident About Growth Despite Economic Headwinds and Delayed Investments

TD Bank U.S. survey finds 85% of small business owners expect stronger revenue through year-end, despite economic uncertainty and preparedness gaps.

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Oct 5 • 9:00 AM EDT • Business • businesswire.com
Bill's Prescription Center remains family business in Brandon

Bill's Prescription Center continues operating as a multi-generational family pharmacy in Brandon, maintaining its commitment to personalized care despite rapid regional growth.

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Oct 5 • 7:51 AM EDT • Business • fox13news.com
Are aliens real? Here’s what science can and can’t prove

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

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Oct 5 • 7:17 AM EDT • Science • yahoo.com
Ace Combat 8 is far and away the series' biggest launch on Steam

Despite releasing in a busy period, Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve has already set new records for the flight action series.

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Oct 5 • 7:02 AM EDT • Technology • eurogamer.net
Renée Slegers has full backing from Arsenal despite slow start

Arsenal are not looking to dismiss manager Renée Slegers despite a slow start to the 2026/27 season.The Gunners have won just one of their opening five matches in the WSL which sees them ninth in the...

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Oct 5 • 6:25 AM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com
Anthropic expected to IPO despite market uncertainty, AI slowdown calls

Wall Street is gearing up for Anthropic’s expected mega initial public offering, a major test of investors’ appetite for one of the AI industry’s leading firms. Just weeks ago, its CEO called for an industry-wide slowdown over growing safety concerns.

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Oct 5 • 5:00 AM EDT • Business • cnn.com
Euro zone business growth hits over 3-1/2-year high despite inflation worries, PMI shows

BENGALURU, Oct 5 (Reuters) - Euro zone business activity expanded at its fastest pace in nearly 3-1/2 years in September as demand remained strong despite inflation worries stemming from the Middle East war, according to a private survey which also showed resurgent price pressures.

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Oct 5 • 4:02 AM EDT • Business • miamiherald.com
Euro zone business growth hits over 3-1/2-year high despite inflation worries, PMI shows

By Indradip Ghosh BENGALURU, Oct 5 (Reuters) - Euro zone business activity expanded at its fastest pace in nearly 3-1/2 years in September as demand remained strong despite inflation worries stemming from the Middle East war, according to a private ​su...

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Oct 5 • 4:02 AM EDT • Business • wtvbam.com
Spain services growth accelerates despite cost surge, PMI shows

Oct 5 (Reuters) - The expansion in Spain's service sector picked up pace in September as increased demand lifted activity despite a surge in operating expenses, a business survey showed

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Oct 5 • 3:18 AM EDT • Business • lufkindailynews.com
Taking back the night: National Night Out brings police, neighbors together

Despite being rescheduled due to inclement weather from Aug. 4 to Sept. 29, National Night Out in Union Point Park in New Bern still drew in hundreds of visitors to

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Oct 5 • 2:30 AM EDT • Entertainment • newbernsj.com
‘Gossip Girl’ 25th anniversary musings

The CW’s “Gossip Girl” recently turned 19 years old, making it the age of this year’s college freshmen. Despite being over a decade old, the show remains impressively relevant among

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Oct 5 • 1:00 AM EDT • Entertainment • valpotorch.com
Jalon Daniels Shows Promise in First NFL Start Despite Loss

Jalon Daniels Shows Promise in First NFL Start Despite Loss

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Oct 4 • 7:58 PM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com
Portugal reach quarters with comeback win over Norway

Portugal maintained their perfect start to the Nations League with a 2-1 comeback victory over Norway at the Estádio do Dragão.Jorge Jesus’ side fell behind despite controlling much of the early p...

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Oct 4 • 6:30 PM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com
Three Takeaways from Packers 17-14 Win vs. Buccaneers

Evan Williams’ late-game heroics saved Green Bay from costly turnovers, securing a gritty victory despite a revamped offense and a devastating wave of defensive injuries.

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Oct 4 • 4:12 PM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com
Tom Cruise-led 'Digger' craters at the box office

Warner Bros.' climate change satire "Digger" collapsed at the box office with a domestic haul of $8 million, despite the star power of Tom Cruise.

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Oct 4 • 12:59 PM EDT • Entertainment • latimes.com
Penn State Opens as Underdog Against USC

Penn State has opened as an underdog for the first time in the 2026 season. Following back-to-back loses to begin Big Ten play, the Nittany Lions will be a 1.5-point home underdog when they face USC on Saturday. Despite the game being the annual White Out, the oddsmakers are still not confident in Penn State’s […]

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Oct 4 • 11:42 AM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com
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100%
Ladd McConkey expected to play

Ladd McConkey likely to face Seattle despite foot ailment

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Oct 4 • 11:16 AM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com
Jets fan confidence rises despite loss to Lions

The Jets might have lost in Week 3 to the Detroit Lions, but fans took real positives from the game. That statement is true if you believe our latest SB Nation Reacts poll. Fan confidence in the team fell to 48 percent a week ago in the aftermath of the Jets’ crushing Week 2 overtime […]

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Oct 4 • 11:15 AM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com
Hassett defends Trump economy despite voter concerns on inflation
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Oct 4 • 11:07 AM EDT • Business • cnn.com
How Americans’ Financial Health Is Faring In The “K-Shaped” Economy

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

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Oct 4 • 8:59 AM EDT • Health • fintechbusinessweekly.substack.com
Sheldon Creed Leaving Haas Despite Leading Championship Standings

Sheldon Creed is leaving Haas for Sam Hunt Racing in 2027. Even as the O'Reilly Series points leader, business realities are forcing him out of his current seat.

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Oct 4 • 8:10 AM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com
In defence of big business

Despite the lionisation of small companies, prosperity hinges on a handful of large firms

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Oct 4 • 7:00 AM EDT • Business • ft.com
Is Hims & Hers Health (HIMS) A Bargain After The Fraud Lawsuit Claims?

Hims & Hers Health (HIMS) is back in focus after a proposed securities fraud class action accused the telehealth provider of misleading investors about data sharing practices and prescription billing workflows. Recent price action for Hims & Hers Health has been choppy, with the share price slipping about 1% over the past day and week, climbing 4.7% over the past month, yet falling 24.2% across 90 days. The 1-year total shareholder return is down 44.8%, despite a very large 3-year gain that...

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Oct 4 • 2:18 AM EDT • Health • simplywall.st
Trump advocates for mail and early voting despite historically opposing both

President Donald Trump said Americans should cast their ballot using “every appropriate tool,” in a pre-recorded video imploring Republicans to vote in the midterm elections, including using methods that he has historically opposed like early and mail voting.

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Oct 3 • 6:58 PM EDT • Politics • cnn.com
Is AMC Entertainment Holdings (AMC) Fairly Valued As It Reshapes Debt And Governance?

AMC Entertainment Holdings (AMC) just pushed through a cluster of corporate moves, including board declassification, new debt financing and an equity shelf registration tied to employee stock plans, giving investors fresh governance and capital-structure information to assess. Recent price action suggests traders are reassessing AMC Entertainment Holdings after these capital moves. The 90-day share price return of 46.56% and year-to-date share price return of 72.05% came despite a 1-year...

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Oct 3 • 5:09 PM EDT • Entertainment • finance.yahoo.com
Report Reveals ‘Fractures’ Between Jalen Duren and Pistons

Shams Charania reports fractures developed between Jalen Duren and the Pistons during contract talks despite Duren signing a $200 million deal.

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Oct 3 • 1:10 PM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com
😐 Neutral (0%)
Jordan Hall Out, Brady Pretzlaff In: Michigan State Availability Report

Reinforcements arrive in Madison as the Spartans regain key defensive depth, leaning on freshman standout Brady Pretzlaff to anchor the linebacking corps despite devastating injuries to two stars.

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Oct 3 • 11:13 AM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com
Mike Evans hopes to play in Week 4

Mike Evans could face Denver despite injury to ribs

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Oct 3 • 9:20 AM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com
😐 Neutral (0%)
Democrats dream of putting Florida back in play. Are they squandering their chance?

Democrats have struggled to compete in the state for years, but a surprisingly tight race for governor has their hopes up — despite a huge financial deficit.

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Oct 3 • 6:00 AM EDT • Politics • cnn.com
Deep dive
😐 Neutral (10%)
love
57%
wow
43%
Wolff: “It’s difficult to cope” for Russell seeing Antonelli pace

The Bahrain GP in Malaysia represents a crucial moment in the Championship for Mercedes, who introduce a series of long-awaited upgrades to the W17. These updates are the first major aerodynamic changes for Mercedes in several months, who are finally responding to the developments from other teams - most notably McLaren. Despite the relative delay …

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Oct 3 • 12:08 AM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com
Red Wings Waste Anton Johansson’s Debut in Shutout Loss

Detroit was shut out 2-0 on opening night despite outshooting the Rangers. #RedWings

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Oct 2 • 10:20 PM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com
☹️ Negative (-10%)
sad
100%
Ohtani Cleared Physically for Dodgers Postseason Opener

Despite late-season injury scares, Shohei Ohtani returns to the lineup fully healthy, providing a massive offensive boost as the Los Angeles Dodgers begin the postseason.

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Oct 2 • 7:28 PM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com
Friday Night Blitz: High school football heats up

Despite the chill in the air, Rhode Island's high school football season is heating up.

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Oct 2 • 7:00 PM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com
Ashton Jeanty set to play in Week 4

Raiders RB Ashton Jeanty on track for regular workload despite injury

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Oct 2 • 3:42 PM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com
Rashee Rice not on Week 4 injury report

Chiefs WR Rashee Rice should be available despite knee issue

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Oct 2 • 3:15 PM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com