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Leah Remini confirms she’s joining ‘The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills’: ‘It’s true’
‘King of Queens’ star Leah Remini confirms she’s joining ‘The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills’ for its 16th season: ‘It’s true.’
FBI's Metro Detroit rehab center searches included raid of CEO's home, lawyer says
Federal agents entered the home of Naveed Syed, Quality Behavioral Health's president and CEO, around 6 a.m. on Aug. 25, his attorney said.
Sales tax revenue falls flat in August reports
Sales tax revenue reported in August for Bentonville, Fayetteville, Rogers and Springdale totaled $10.001 million, down 0.12% from the same month last year. For the first eight reporting months of...
Sales tax revenue falls flat in August reports
Sales tax revenue reported in August for Bentonville, Fayetteville, Rogers and Springdale totaled $10.001 million, down 0.12% from the same month last year. For the first eight reporting months of...
University of Utah scientists develop 3D map of hidden Timpanogos Rock Glacier
WASATCH MOUNTAINS, Utah (ABC4) — University of Utah geoscientists say they have created a 3D map of a hidden ‘rock glacier’ in the Wasatch Mountains, one of more than 800 in Utah. They’re cal…
McKesson makes major $2.25B oncology drug development acquisition
The Texas-based company is buying Precision Medicine Group, a Maryland-based company that supports cancer drug development with a variety of resources, including data and labs.
Colorado moves up in preseason USA TODAY Sports power rankings
Colorado football moved up in USA TODAY Sports' preseason FBS rankings but remains the lowest-ranked team in the Big 12.
Drug mix-up at Ascension impacts at least 4 surgeries, leaves 1 patient paralyzed
The details are still unclear, but an anesthetic used during joint replacement surgeries may have been contaminated with potassium. The number of victims and the full extent of the injuries are still being investigated by the hospital and the state.
Is this double-sided foot massager the key to preventing plantar fasciitis? I tested it for months to find out
I tested the Chirp Sole Vibe foot massager for two months while marathon training. Here’s what I really think about the pain-relief product.
'Bigger, better and impossible to miss.' This business transforms balloons into spectacular pieces.
IDAHO FALLS — A husband-and-wife duo is transforming events with impressive balloon artistry, and they are always willing to take on a creative challenge. Shasti and Ryan Ballard own BLOW IT UP! Parties based in Idaho Falls opened the business in 2018. Shasti makes custom balloon arches and garlands. Ryan twists balloons to create animals […]
Phillies news: Andrew Painter, Jesus Luzardo, Brendan Donovan
Didn’t see the whole thing, only what counted
Imaging not necessary for patients with isolated breast pain
According to a new analysis involving 7,000 patients, mammography for mastalgia turned up cancer in just 0.6% of cases.
Poll: Voters weigh in on 4 ballot proposals
The Arkansas legislature has referred four issues to voters this fall. In the latest Talk Business & Politics-Hendrix College Poll, respondents offered their early positions on all four referrals. “These...
Poll: Voters weigh in on 4 ballot proposals
The Arkansas legislature has referred four issues to voters this fall. In the latest Talk Business & Politics-Hendrix College Poll, respondents offered their early positions on all four referrals. “These...
Buccaneers news: Fans love Jon Gruden's broadcasting booth return
It was the first time in the last eight years that Jon Gruden returned to the broadcasting booth. The former football coach and media personality returned to the NFL booth for the first time since 2018, helping to call the Tampa Bay Buccaneers preseason game vs. the Kansas City Chiefs . Joining Ronde Barber in the booth, Gruden kept the atmosphere […] The post Buccaneers news: Fans love Jon Gruden's broadcasting booth return appeared first on ClutchPoints.
Public health order to ban the sale of kratom in Albany County
The sale of kratom is set to be banned in Albany County. On Friday, Albany County Executive Daniel P. McCoy announced that the Albany County Department of Health will issue a public health order on…
Someone targeted security researchers using a fake crypto conference as a lure
A hacker pretending to work for a leading cryptocurrency news website targeted several cybersecurity professionals using Google Docs as a way to deliver malware.
TAVR is safe for patients with large aortic annuli—heart failure remains a concern
As always, heart team discussions play a vital role when choosing between TAVR and SAVR for patients with large or extra-large aortic annuli.
Donald Trump once called Michael Cohen a ‘rat.’ Now they’re sitting down for a public conversation
First, Michael Cohen was Donald Trump’s personal lawyer and self-described “pit bull.”
High touch, not merely high tech
Commentary: AI is revolutionizing the customer journey in a wide array of dimensions. What must not be lost in this revolution, though, is the human element — including empathy, care, ethical reasoning, as well as effective decision-making and support.
Medicaid Psychotherapy Spending Up 156%
This is an exclusive BHB+ article Medicaid spending on core psychotherapy services has more than doubled from 2018 to 2024, according to Behavioral Health
Braves infielder sets MLB record that no player wants
Not every MLB record is a good MLB record.
Poll: Gov. Sanders holds lead over two opponents
Incumbent Republican Gov. Sarah Sanders is leading her two general election opponents despite the headwinds of President Trump’s political woes in Arkansas. A new statewide survey of 1,217 likely voters...
Poll: Gov. Sanders holds lead over two opponents
Incumbent Republican Gov. Sarah Sanders is leading her two general election opponents despite the headwinds of President Trump’s political woes in Arkansas. A new statewide survey of 1,217 likely voters...
Plans for 54-bed mental health hospital in Exeter approved again
Cygnet Health Care was first granted permission for the project in 2018 but building did not begin.
🚨 Official: Le Mans sign a 2018 World Cup winner!
The last dance?It’s official: Djibril Sidibé is joining Le Mans for two seasons!The 2018 World Cup winner signed with the newly promoted Ligue 1 side this Tuesday morning.After two seasons with Tou...
After A $42.9 Million Sale, The Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupe Is Now The Most Expensive American Car Ever Sold At Auction
This was the only Daytona personally owned by Carroll Shelby, and it shattered the previous mark of $22 million set by a 1935 Duesenberg SSJ in 2018.
Sanford Health master plan shows vast possibilities for central Sioux Falls campus
"We are having conversations about 25, 40, 50 years and what that could look like." There are a lot of possibilities: Take a look at Sanford's long-range plan for its Sioux Falls campus.
Yale Health Center building reopens after fire
NEW HAVEN, Conn. (WTNH) — A Yale Health Center building has reopened after a fire Monday morning, according to Yale University’s alert system. The fire happened at 55 Lock St., the buil…
Webinar to share roadmap for coordinated responses to behavioral health needs
The AHA’s Community Health Improvement network will host a webinar Aug. 26 at noon ET that will feature discussion from leaders at CredibleMind on what a practical roadmap for a coordinated response to behavioral health needs looks like.
Ebola outbreak in Congo becomes deadliest in country's history
The Ebola outbreak in Congo has killed 2,325 people, government data showed, surpassing the toll from the 2018-2020 outbreak.
Biggest August fall in British house prices since 2018
British house prices expected to fall this year, despite ‘Burnham bounce’, Rightmove reports
Fomer NFL All-Pro Jordan Gross revamping Utah's offensive line
Gross implements dynamic conditioning to transform a fresh unit ahead of 2026 season.
Ebola outbreak in Democratic Republic of Congo now deadliest in country’s history
At least 2,325 people have been killed, according to government data, surpassing the death toll from 2018-20 outbreak
Helaine Cohen
With a background in marketing and technology, Helaine Cohen founded ChicagoCondoFinder.com, a website for people searching for condos in Chicago. Last year, the site had 290,000 visitors who drove more than $40 million in buyer business. In 2018, Cohen announced a partnership to expand the brand and team with real estate veteran Sam Tarara. As a broker, Cohen represents sellers in a wide range of prices, but her expertise is primarily in the luxury condo market.
The Iconic 911 Slantnose Returns as the Insane Porsche Flachbau RS
Porsche Sonderwunsch has cooked up a new version of the famous 911 slantnose from the 1980s, built on the bones of a 2018 911 GT2 RS.
HHS seeks comments on collection of customer feedback for national health information exchange network
The Department of Health and Human Services Aug. 14 released a request for comments through the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT on a proposed three-year generic clearance to collect routine customer feedback on service delivery and performance related to the Trusted Exchange Framework and Common Agreement.
Vic Fangio Reveals Promising Words on Eagles' Jonathan Greenard
Among the many impressive moves the Philadelphia Eagles made throughout the offseason, free agency, NFL draft, and every other avenue, trading for edge rusher Jonathan Greenard was at the top of that list.
Apple adds iPhone X and 2018 MacBook Pro to obsolete products list
Apple today updated its vintage and obsolete product lists, with the iPhone X and 15-inch 2018 MacBook Pro now classified as obsolete.
Trump White House says it's losing $19B-$26 billion a year in revenue as countries dodge tariffs
The report specifically highlights that China responded to new tariffs in 2018 by sending their goods to other nations ranging from Mexico to Malaysia for packaging and limited assembly — a practice known as transshipping.
Three districts that will answer key Colorado political questions
Colorado’s legislature used to be a place where neither party was dominant. Dozens of seats were competitive and House and Senate majorities switched regularly. From 2010 to 2020, the House was predominantly Democratic with one two-year assembly under Republicans. The Senate had two assemblies from 2015 to 2018 under Republicans. John Hickenlooper was governor and […]
The Norfolk Department of Public Health to host Back to School Clinic event
NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) — The Norfolk Department of Public Health will host a Back to School Clinic event next Thursday so families can be prepared for the upcoming school year, according to a pr…
VA Warns of National Postcard Scam as Health Care Notices Go Out to 3.8M Veterans
The department said fraudulent postcards had appeared in multiple states over the past year, claiming to be linked to the VA.
Politics Report: Baños Cerrados
Last week, former San Diego City Councilmember Donna Frye sent one of the staffers for Mayor Todd Gloria a picture of poop. “This Kodak Moment is from Mission Bay Park this morning near one of the closed bathrooms. Please share with the mayor.”
AHA resource: Economic Impact of Disparities in Health Outcomes
The AHA Aug. 11 released a new resource guide designed to address a critical gap by helping leaders understand and quantify the economic burden of disparities of health outcomes. The guide provides practical methods to identify and assess the financial impact of health disparities, along with data-driven approaches to implement interventions that both improve outcomes and reduce costs. READ MORE
Ari Emanuel's Mari Acquires Theater Owner ATG Entertainment For $6B
The deal size has been estimated at $6 billion, as the live events company establishes a bigger foothold in the theater industry.
ATG Entertainment, Owner of 7 Broadway Theatres, Acquired by MARI
The group will control a global fleet of theatres including Broadway's Lyric, Hudson, Al Hirschfeld, and more.
Saber's newest game trailer takes a shot at Gearbox's CEO, if you look closely
The first hint that something might be up with the recent debut trailer for Saber Interactive’s Rideshare Stimulator is an unusual choice of words—aside from that second one in the game’s title. “Don’t take your passengers too seriously,” the trailer’s narrator says, as he describes this upcoming game. It a car game about the gig work of driving eccentric people to their destinations, a riff on Crazy Taxi. And then, he says: “When I think I’ve met the randiest of passengers, someone even stranger gets in.” “Randiest”? That suggests “randy,” which usually means having strong sexual desire. Yet none of the oddball backseat occupants featured in the trailer seem particularly lustful. One is an old man who considers his grandson a failure, another shares the theory that birds might control traffic lights, another says he’s banned from an aquarium. A little later, there’s a license plate, shown 63 seconds into the trailer, on the front of an SUV: USB DRV It’s a Texas plate. The symbol between those letters is a cog wheel. If you know, you know. That’s a reference to Texas-based Borderlands game development studio Gearbox Software (their logo features a cog wheel). More specifically, it’s a reference to Gearbox’s CEO Randy Pitchford, who in 2018 found himself explaining the nature of video he’d saved on a USB drive that was found at a Medieval Times restaurant before being returned to the studio: “It was ‘barely legal’ porn. This girl’s handle was ‘Only 18.’” The “girl” in the video had committed a solo sex act that Pitchford, an avid practitioner of magic, found remarkable. “I realized, this is not a sex worker…This is a fucking magician.” Back then, the USB drive was central to competing lawsuits against Gearbox by the studio’s former lawyer and by Gearbox against him. A settlement in late 2019 “exonerated” Pitchford, per the Hollywood Reporter. The USB story has resurfaced at times, now in a trailer from a company that not long ago was corporate brethren with Gearbox. Saber vs. Gearbox The head of Saber told Game File that the reference is payback. “The dig is because Randy took shots at Embracer in Borderlands 4,” Saber CEO Matt Karch told me when I asked him about the license plate. “Without Embracer, Randy is performing magic tricks at birthday parties for a living.” Having interviewed Karch during a cross-country flight in late 2024, I can confirm that Karch was unimpressed with Pitchford during their time both working in the Embracer group. I’d approached him not out of surprise that there was animosity but that it was manifesting publicly now. Gearbox was founded in 1999, worked on a port of Halo early on, and developed hit series such as the loot-based sci-fi shooter Borderlands before it was purchased by The Embracer Group in early 2021 for $363 million (with a possible earn-out of over $1 billion, if certain targets were hit by 2027). Saber was founded in 2001, worked on a remaster of Halo early on, had a big hit with zombie shooter World War Z and was purchased by Embracer in early 2020 for $150 million, with a potential earn-out of up to $375 million. For a few years, the Embracer group was a voracious acquirer of game studios. Then, as investment dried up, it choked. In March 2024, Embracer sold Saber to an investment company controlled by Saber CEO Matt Karch, and it sold Gearbox in an all-stock deal to long-time Borderlands publisher Take Two Interactive. Other studios were shut down. Hundreds of developers were laid off. Gearbox didn’t say much about their Embracer experience, nothing too direct, at least. In the summer 2024, Pitchford told reporter and occasional Game File contributor Nicole Carpenter that Borderlands 4’s story was in some way thematically connected to Gearbox’s experience at Embracer: “There’s this cultural and emotional shift in me, personally, and at the studio. What does it mean to trade some autonomy for organization?” When Borderlands 4 came out, there was something stranger: the matter of “Embracer’s Bluff,” a location in the game featuring an AI-powered toilet and a large trash dump, according to a detailed Kotaku account of the place. Gearbox never commented on it; Take Two never got back to me about it when I asked them last year. By contrast, since Saber exited Embracer, Karch has been one of Embracer’s biggest defenders, casting their management as well-meaning and supportive despite the layoffs and studio closures that resulted from their excessive expansion. Like others, Saber’s Karch saw Embracer’s as a shot. With Rideshare Stimulator’s trailer, he’s returned fire. “It’s amazing to me how fast people forget those who went above and beyond for them,” Karch told Game File. A rep for Gearbox did not comment by press time. Game File is a reader-supported publication. Your backing makes my reporting—including any coverage of trailer-based beefs—possible. Good news! I’m currently running Game File’s first big sale of 2026. You can get a one-year subscription for 23% off. Click here to take advantage of the limited-time offer. And thank you for your support! Item 2: In brief… 🚫 Wal-Mart has laid off the staff of Restart, a games media outlet launched in 2024, Aftermath reports. 🟥 A GTA VI preview is on the way, at last, via an “extended look” that will premiere, unusually, on Netflix at 3pm ET on August 27, then officially go live elsewhere six hours later. Last week, Game File noted that Take Two label Rockstar Games is overdue for showing off GTA VI, based on the timing of the initial hands-off previews of GTA V and Red Dead Redemption 2. During a call with investors, Take Two CEO Strauss Zelnick said pre-orders for GTA VI were “unprecedented and astonishing,” but added the company can’t predict how many of those pre-orders represent bonus sales vs. sales that otherwise would have been made at launch. During the same call, Zelnick was noticeably bullish on the future of playing games over streaming cloud connections (predicting wider adoption in three or so years). He sounded unbothered by Sony’s plans to stop making discs for new games (he said the business is 90% digital already and predicted that there could still be limited edition physical editions of games “in the same way there’s still vinyl in the recorded music business.”) 👀 Take Two wrote off $43 million in their spring quarter after deciding “not to proceed with further development of an unannounced title in its pipeline from a third-party developer.” 🤔 Some rare age-demographics from a big publisher: Capcom recently told investors that “users in their 20s account for approximately half of the users of both Pragamata and Resident Evil Requiem.” Item 3: The week ahead Tuesday, August 11 Game releases: The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered (Switch 2; already out for PC, PS5, Xbox) continues the Bethesda strategy of putting Elder Scrolls games on everything; Royalty Free-For-All is a Smash Bros.-style fighting game featuring public domain characters such as Mother Goose brawling with Oliver Twist in a stage based on the original Little Shop of Horrors movie. Wednesday, August 12 Game release: Pro Jank Footy (PC, console) is an arcade-style Australian Rules Football game with increasingly ridiculous rules, the more you play (I enjoyed the Steam demo) Thursday, August 13 Game release: Super Mario Sunshine (Switch 2, originally released in 2002 on the GameCube) is released for Switch 2’s Nintendo Switch Online service. This game is the black sheep of 3D Mario games. It’s the successor to the breakthrough Super Mario 64 and the rare Mario game built around a single (vacation resort) theme. Mario’s got a water-spraying backpack, a Yoshi pal and a lot of blue coins to collect.
HHS Secretary declares public health emergency for wildfires in Washington
Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Aug. 7 declared a public health emergency for Washington state to address the impacts of ongoing wildfires.
I'll continue playing, rest is selectors' call: Bhuvneshwar Kumar
The 36-year-old, one of Uttar Pradesh’s most experienced cricketers, continues to remain a key figure in Indian domestic cricket. He last played for India in 2022, featuring in both ODI and T20I formats. His last international appearance in Tests came in 2018.
In 2018, scientists found just 39 surviving clams in Florida’s Indian River Lagoon; they bred them and have since outplanted 65 million
After decades of environmental decline, Florida's Indian River Lagoon is beginning to show signs of recovery. With funding from NOAA Fisheries' Office of Habitat Conservation, the Indian River Lagoon Council is leading a system-wide effort to restore the habitats that once sustained the lagoon's fish and wildlife.
Lady Movin’ Mavs name John McPhail as head coach
McPhail succeeds Morgan Wood as head coach and looks to guide UTA to its first national title since 2018.
They’re Battle-Tested Democrats. Do Voters Care?
Haley Stevens and Angie Craig were celebrated by Democrats in 2018. This year, they’ve faced tough primaries.
Bruce Willis’ wife makes rare comment on meeting actor while engaged to someone else
Bruce Willis wife Emma Heming Willis made rare comments about first meeting the actor while she was engaged to someone else: ‘Loved being around him,’ she said.
Former NCCU Director of Athletics Dr. Wicker McCree Named Women Leaders in Sports Nike Lifetime Achievement Honoree
Durham, N.C. - Former North Carolina Central Director of Athletics Dr. Ingrid Wicker McCree, who retired from NC Central after 30 years of service as a coach and administrator in 2021, was announced as a Nike Lifetime Achievement Award honoree by Women Leaders in Sports on Tuesday.
Entertainment briefs | Backstreet to play at Mad River Brewery
Backstreet will perform tonight (Aug. 6) from 6 to 8 p.m. at Paskenta Mad River Brewery, 101 Taylor Way in Blue Lake.
Federal workers file class action lawsuit over transgender health coverage ban
Five federal workers filed a proposed class-action lawsuit Monday against the Trump administration, alleging that a federal health insurance policy excluding gender-affirming care violates federal emp...
Patriots training camp notebook: Walkthrough provides look at depth chart
The Patriots held their 10th training practice on Wednesday, August 5.
3 FBI agents fired over Trump investigation get broad backing in lawsuit against administration
The agents were terminated as part of a broader personnel purge by FBI Director Kash Patel that has targeted employees who investigated Trump or are perceived as being against the administration's interest.
UAMS names Nembhard as dean of the Fay W. Boozman College of Public Health
The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences named Wendy N. Nembhard, Ph.D., MPH, as the next dean of the Fay W. Boozman College of Public Health, effective Sept. 1. Nembhard succeeds...
Democrats’ factional battle hits a swing district in Michigan
Michigan’s 7th District swung to the GOP in the 2024 election after Democrats flipped it in 2018. Now, a fractious Democratic primary has drawn national attention and money.
SENATE IN PLAY: Bray’s step back raises stakes on political direction of Indiana’s upper chamber
By Sydney Byerly and Marilyn Odendahl The Indiana Citizen July 31, 2026 Noting Republican lawmakers could put their political careers in jeopardy simply for supporting him, Senate President Pro Tempore Rodric Bray announced Friday he will be stepping down from his leadership position. Bray, R-Martinsville, who has served as Senate president since 2018, will not
Dylan Sprouse’s shady tweet about Jared Leto resurfaces amid sexual assault allegations
Dylan Sprouse’s shady tweet about Jared Leto in 2018 resurfaces amid new sexual assault allegations against the Thirty Seconds to Mars frontman.
Ice Ice Maybe: New Ways to Search for Frozen Water on the Moon
Scientists used a unique vacuum chamber that mimics moon conditions to design an approach for ice prospecting with seismic waves. The work could help future Artemis missions find water.
College Football Playoff Expansion Remains Stalled As Season Approaches
Week 1 games begin Sept. 3 ahead of Labor Day weekend.
CT radiation doses have decreased substantially over the last decade
Dose reductions relative over the last decade were greatest for chest exams with contrast (31%) and without (27%), experts detail in RSNA's Radiology.
LA County health officials issue warning due to flea-borne typhus outbreak in Pico-Union
Los Angeles County Department of Public Health officials on Wednesday issued a warning to the public due to a localized outbreak of flea-borne typhus in Pico-Union, where five people were hospitalized from the infection.
National healthcare groups join HHS effort to improve behavioral health, addiction care
The Health and Human Services Secretary today announced that dozens of insurers, medical societies, healthcare providers and behavioral health experts have pledged to strengthen the nation’s behavioral health system by advancing best practices aimed at improving mental health and addiction treatment.
YES, MSG Networks Will Move Their Streaming Sports to DAZN
YES, MSG Networks Will Move Streaming Sports to DAZN
Schiff proposes federal bill requiring influencers to disclose paid political ads
“California’s primary this year made a clear case that our current guardrails around campaign advertisements are not keeping up with the changing landscape of political speech.”
An honest look inside the "Science: A New Golden Age" report
Scientists are livid over the OSTP director's official report to the President. Will it lead to a new golden age for US science, or end it?
Shein says it's under investigation by the Federal Trade Commission as it prepares for Hong Kong IPO
Shein disclosed the FTC is investigating its U.S. business, but the nature of the probe is unclear.
Twelve South’s stylish charging tray now delivers more wireless power with a smaller footprint
A stylish spot for your phone to charge overnight.
Here are new businesses that are now open in Milwaukee's north suburbs
From a fast-food restaurant, a chicken wing eatery and an auto and towing shop, discover the latest business openings in Milwaukee's northern suburbs.
‘He’s irreplaceable’: How Lindsey Graham made an indelible mark on foreign policy and Trump
Republicans have confronted the reality that there will be no replacing Graham when it comes to foreign policy or as a conduit to Trump.
George E. Norcross III to Donate $100 Million to Cooper University Health Care/MD Anderson Cancer Center at Cooper in Honor of His Parents, George E. Norcross Jr. and Anne Carol Conner Norcross
George E. Norcross III to Donate $100 Million to Cooper University Health Care/MD Anderson Cancer Center at Cooper in Honor of His Parents, George E. Norcross Jr. and Anne Carol Conner Norcross Three Generations of Norcross Family Members Have Dedicated More Than 50 Years to Cooper Gift Is One of the Largest in New Jersey and[...]
UFC Belgrade Loses Debuting Heavyweight Veteran
UFC Belgrade will not see the heavyweight debut of Johnny Walker, as he is now officially off this Saturday’s fight card. Walker, who has been a UFC light heavyweight fighter since 2018, was set to make his heavyweight debut at UFC Belgrade, the promotion’s first-ever trip to Serbia. But after his opponent, Ante Delija, fell […] The post UFC Belgrade Loses Debuting Heavyweight Veteran appeared first on HEAVY.
Eddie Smith transfers Grady-White Boats to nonprofit ownership
Grady-White Boats owner Eddie Smith, 83, has transferred ownership of the company’s voting stock to a trust that will ensure the company remains independent and will operate in concert with his values, he told the New York Times.
Valladares joins bipartisan coalition aiming to protect entertainment industry jobs
News release State Sen. Suzette Martinez Valladares, R-Acton, joined 38 of her legislative colleagues in sending a letter to Gov. Gavin Newsom, Senate President Pro Tempore Monique Limón, and Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas, urging them to protect […]
Democrats select South Carolina for first presidential nominating contest in '28
The decision most likely cements a Democratic primary calendar that moves away from Iowa and New Hampshire in favor of more racially diverse states
Per Mertesacker to become German Football Federation’s new sporting director
Mertesacker won the World Cup with the national team in 2014 and spent eight years as Arsenal's academy manager after retiring in 2018.
AI-based exam queue tool prioritizes CT scans in the ED
A new paper in Radiology: Artificial Intelligence details how an AI-driven CT queue prioritization system can improve patients’ time to diagnosis without requiring additional imaging equipment or staffing.
Oil prices surge as Congress splits on Iran war votes: From the Politics Desk
Plus, South Carolina Republicans are still getting to know their new senator.
Jayapal, Markey Introduce Updated Legislation to Set Strong Guardrails for Private Equity in Healthcare
Washington (July 23, 2026) – Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal (WA-07) and Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) today reintroduced the Health Over Wealth Act, legislation that would require greater transparency into private equity firms and for-profit companies that own healthcare entities, including hospitals, nursing homes, and mental or behavioral health facilities. The legislation would put safeguards in place to […]
Despite Old School Approach, Steelers are far From 'Unserious'
One of the biggest criticisms of the Pittsburgh Steelers over the years has been their old-school way of doing business. What is clear, however, is that the Steelers are committed to winning, even if others disagree with their approach. Vic Tafur of The Athletic discussed the Steelers in his review of every NFL team's betting line.
Gen Z doesn't want normal politics. It wants results
Young voters on the left and right are drawn to candidates who promise disruption, authenticity and economic change.
Baton Rouge casinos hit a June swoon
Casino revenue declined across Louisiana's four gaming markets in June, including a 7.4% drop in Baton Rouge, according to the latest figures. The Capital Region's three casinos generated a combine… Already an INSIDER? Sign in. Already an INSIDER? Sign in
Jayapal, Dingell, CPC Members Host Universal Healthcare Shadow Hearing
Full video of the hearing can be watched HERE. WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) today hosted a shadow hearing on Medicare for All, led by Chair Emerita Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal (WA-07) and Congresswoman Debbie Dingell (MI-06), the lead sponsors of the Medicare for All Act of 2025. During the hearing, CPC Members and witnesses […]
Tim Hennessy won't be a full-time UND employee anymore, but still might call hockey games
UND is moving its hockey play-by-play position under Fighting Hawks Sports Partnerships.
Why one of the world's largest health databases matters
The NIH's All of Us program could accelerate medical research — but its future depends on continued funding.
In new video, Mamdani acknowledges he doesn’t have authority to arrest Netanyahu
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said in a new video Tuesday that he does not have the legal authority to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if he were to come to New York City.
Novo Nordisk sues GLP-1 rival Eli Lilly over claims of false advertising
Novo Nordisk filed a lawsuit claiming Eli Lilly ran “false and materially misleading” advertisements that ignore recent data. According to Lilly, though, its message is "truthful" and "grounded in the most direct scientific evidence available."
Father Spitzer, the man of science and faith behind the Shroud of Turin
Father Robert Spitzer blazes with a love of the Lord. He marvels at the complexity of creation, celebrates the wonders of science, and how it can augment faith.
Beloved co-founder of Health Brigade dies
Mary Clem, the beloved co-founder of Virginia’s oldest free and charitable clinic, sadly died, officials announced on Monday.
Popular actress defends giving up full custody of her daughter: ‘Most gut-wrenching experience’
Her daughter has lived with her father in Europe since 2018.
UFC Freedom 250 Fails to Knock Out The Ratings
(Welcome to my weekly streaming ratings report, the single best guide to what’s popular in streaming TV and what isn’t. I’m the Entertainment Strategy Guy, a former streaming executive who now analyzes business strategy in the entertainment industry. If you were forwarded this email, please subscribe to get these insights each week.) If UFC fans wanted one image to say, “Hey, Paramount+ is crushing it with their UFC rights deal,” I could provide that image. Here it is: (Reminder: this is my creation of the Nielsen Top 30, since Nielsen doesn’t combine the lists or include sports. I take all three lists and combine them. Some streaming TV shows probably have higher ratings than many of the films on this list.) Look at that! UFC Freedom 250 is number one! It topped the Nielsen “Top 30” list for shows and films that made the top ten the week of 15-June. So if you’re a UFC fan or supporter of Paramount+, that’s the good news for you this week. This program topped the ratings charts for one week. Everything else is bad news, or at least a huge caveat to that story, which I’ll explain today in the first part of this week’s Streaming Ratings Report—for the weeks of 8-June and 15-June—which is a double issue since I’ve been writing on a bunch of topics recently. UFC Freedom 250 is one of the biggest streaming events of the year, and super relevant to Paramount+’s strategy, so it merited its own article. Let’s dive in! (Reminder: The streaming ratings report focuses on the U.S. market and compiles data from Nielsen’s weekly top ten viewership ranks, Luminate’s Top Ten Data, JustWatch and Reelgood interest data, Samba TV household viewership, company datecdotes, Netflix hours viewed data, Google Trends, and IMDb to determine the most popular content. While most data points are current, Nielsen’s data covers the weeks of June 8th to June 21st 2026. You can find a link to my terminology here.) Subscribe Check Out My Interview on UFC 250 at MMA Draw After you read this article, if you want even more thoughts on UFC and Paramount-Skydance/Paramount+, I did a written interview with MMA Draw. They asked me to answer some questions about UFC Freedom 250, and I was happy to chat with them. Find it here: [ The MMA Draw Newsletter Did Paramount really overpay for the UFC? What the data tells us so far If you know the history of American television, you also know that combat sports is often a leading indicator of the future… Read more a day ago · 10 likes · 1 comment · Nate Wilcox and Zach Arnold ](https://www.themmadraw.com/p/did-paramount-really-overpay-for?utm_source=substack&utm_campaign=post_embed&utm_medium=web) I never thought I’d need a combat sports newsletter in my life, but the good folks at MMA Draw publish an excellent one on UFC, MMA, pro wrestling, boxing and more, analyzing both the sports themselves and the politics, economics and antitrust issues that impact them. Check the article and their newsletter out! Paramount+ Has Its Best Sporting Event of All Time…But Was It Worth It? Before we look at the UFC Freedom 250 data in particular, let’s talk about what we can’t say. Namely, let’s start with the lack of comparisons. First off, I’d love to put a chart out comparing this fight to past UFC fights on Paramount+…but we don’t have the data. This is the first time we’ve gotten Nielsen data about a Paramount+ UFC fight. As far as I can tell, Paramount provided data for the first fight, but it was a proprietary datecdote (saying it had “an average minute audience” of 5 million “views”) and then, for two fights, we got the linear viewership numbers when they aired on CBS, but no streaming data. Everything else was crickets. We also can’t compare this fight to other fights/combat sports on streaming, in particular the MMA and boxing, because Netflix also didn’t use Nielsen to track those events, opting for TVision and VideoAmp, respectively. (This isn’t Paramount’s fault, but does still suck.) We also can’t compare to UFC’s fights that used to be on ESPN+, since we don’t have any data for that, plus Disney+ didn’t have marquee fights. The comparisons would not be apples-to-apples. Can we compare to past Pay-Per-View fights? Absolutely not. The comparisons would absolutely NOT be apples-to-apples. That didn’t stop Paramount+, though, who bragged that their UFC events have reached drastically more people than past PPV fights. Duh. Sorry, but I gotta make this point again. A basic tenet of economics is that the cheaper something becomes, the more people consume or buy it. That’s Econ 101. (Sometimes pundits call things “Econ 101” that are actually like Econ 210 or even PhD-level economics, but no, this is really like first or second class basic economics.) Yet I still see one analytics firm consistently say that more people watch films on streaming than PVOD proves streaming which means that the streaming window is more valuable than the PVOD window. No, it’s not! Same thing here. Pay-Per-View events back in the day could be really, really, really expensive! So whole groups of people pitched in to buy them. That increased the perceived value of, say, the Mike Tyson fight. Or a UFC numbered event. So yes, the fact that Paramount+ makes numbered UFC fights essentially “free” if you’re already a Paramount+ member means consumption will go up. Obviously. Same for Netflix and their boxing matches. They’re talking about fights that used to cost consumers, in some cases, $50 in 1996…which is over $100 in today’s dollars. Over 1.6 million people paid that to watch the Tyson-Holyfield fight! Again, streaming is essentially “free”. Or $10 to $20, depending on what streamer we’re talking about and what tier you’re on. No wonder more people are “watching”. (Plus, Nielsen’s out-of-home viewing also helps these numbers.) UFC Freedom 250 Did Well…But I Have A Lot of Worries So what can we compare the fights to? Well, the good news is Nielsen put out that the fight averaged 7.0 million viewers for UFC Freedom 250, which is a solid number for a fight. We also know the length, at roughly 4 and a half hours. (I saw different run times, but this seems to be the consensus considering it started at 8 pm, had a delay and then finished after midnight on the East Coast. If you assume a shorter run time, then yes, the total hours viewed would go down.) That means I have the two numbers needed to add this to my Nielsen database. And then…I can compare this viewership to the NFL: And, uh, not great. But also within striking distance, mainly because the runtime for this event was so long. I’d also add that this event had viewership equal to a regular season NFL game on streaming, but if anything, it was more comparable to an NFL playoff or Super Bowl-esque event. And you can compare viewership to the top football games on broadcast, cable and streaming, and it’s not impressive at all: We can also compare it to other sports that week, including the NBA Finals and start of the World Cup: Again, not great. The NBA generated roughly four times as many average viewers each game for its NBA Finals. The World Cup has similarly big numbers. Also, that’s just a tiny fraction of the 25 most watched sporting events each week. The NBA, NHL and FIFA World Cup had many, many more games racking up hours. We could also compare this to other streaming programs to get an idea of “is this a good investment?” and here is how it ranks compared to other top Paramount+ programs: The worry here? Well, unlike scripted programming, which has rewatchability, older fights/sporting events have very little library value. Very, very few people are rewatching these fights, especially years from now. Paramount has also released datecdotes bragging about their subscriber numbers. Earlier this year, they claimed that the first UFC fight on Paramount+ brought in 1 million subscribers. Then, in their quarterly earnings report, they only ended up with 700K subs. Not great! They claimed they dropped lower-value international subscribers, but that’s why I tend to discount subscriber additions when they’re leaked to the press.1 I expect we may see a bump again for UFC Freedom 250, but I’d caution using subscriber growth so soon after these events to judge the success, since new subs with high churn (see Peacock) aren’t great either. Also, analysts often want to attribute all subscriber growth to their favorite/pet show, and that just doesn’t make sense. The biggest caveat for UFC Freedom 250 and Paramount’s very first UFC marquee event is that these could be high watermarks for the sport. UFC Freedom 250 had an incredible amount of earned media coverage compared to most UFC fights. I mean, it had wall-to-wall national news coverage in the lead up to the event. (The first fight also had a lot of promotion from Paramount since it was first.) Other fights could reach this bar—say the Conor McGregor return to the Octagon—but they’ll be fewer and far between. Was This Deal Worth It? All to ask: is this Paramount deal worth it? In this case, I think the UFC Freedom 250 numbers are more distracting than helpful. This fight did well and compares well to other top sporting events. But we know that the first marquee event was at least a third smaller, if Paramount’s own data is to be believed. And it’s likely the other fights are much, much, much smaller. And then you get to the paycheck that Paramount-Skydance paid. FIFA’s World Cup cost about the same for Fox, but clearly generated multiples more total viewership. (Though it’s only every four years.) The NBA is much more expensive, but until the playoffs, they likely didn’t pay for itself. Even still, Disney, NBCUniversal and Amazon Prime Video likely overpaid. So, in that context, the NBA may be an overpay that makes the UFC look not so bad. But two overpays don’t make an underpay, to paraphrase the old cliché about wrongs and rights. And looking at UFC Freedom 250 as the likely ceiling of MMA on Paramount+, Paramount-Skydance likely paid too much. Share 1 I would love regular reports on subscriber additions by programs, but as is, it’s mostly leaked or rumored in haphazard ways.
EPA Requests Comments on Draft Science NOx Science Assessment
What: On July 17, 2026, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released a document titled “Integrated Science Assessment for Oxides of Nitrogen—Health Criteria, External Review Draft” (“draft ISA”) for public comment.Why: Under the Clean Air
Power Rankings: Where Do Vikings Come In At?
That's higher than most power rankings for Minnesota.
Shaky political "science": breakdown of the peer review process
[This article is the latest in our “Shaky Political Science” series. In our 38 page report, “Shaky political ‘science’ misses mark on ranked choice voting,” released in December 2025, we examined over 40 studies focused on ranked choice voting (RCV). Many of these studies suffered from puzzling research methodologies, poorly constructed surveys, unrealistic simulated elections, cherry picked data and faulty analyses that often were contradicted by results from real-world elections (a link to our full paper is here). Here are links to the first four articles in our series: the first one summarizing the overall results of our report; the second one analyzed a study co-authored by University of Minnesota academic Larry Jacobs, which was one of the most error-prone of all the research we reviewed in our report; a third article showing an admirable example of two political scientists holding two other political scientists accountable for their flawed, sloppy research; and a fourth article that analyzed seven studies sponsored by New America’s political reform program that deployed flawed methodology based on “simulated” elections instead of real-world elections, which when combined with some basic misunderstandings of RCV, produced odd and misleading results]. In this fifth article in our “Shaky Political Science” series, we examine two flawed studies on the impact of RCV on voter turnout authored by San Francisco State University professor Jason McDaniel. McDaniel’s research in these two papers stands out for its puzzling methodology, inadequate and cherry-picked data, and faulty analyses that not only misunderstands ranked choice voting but reflects a basic misunderstanding of politics in general. The first of the McDaniel studies actually passed through a peer review process and then was subsequently published by the Journal of Urban Affairs, despite its obvious errors. It is perplexing that a jury of peer political scientists did not catch the errors and send it back to McDaniel for a rewrite or outright rejection. This calls into question the credibility of the peer review process itself. The peer review process is supposed to represent the intellectual pinnacle of the profession – a way for academics to certify the quality of each other’s work, and to act as a check against sloppy research. In the case of the McDaniel study, the peer review process failed. Yet his flawed study has been cited dozens of times by other political scientists in their own flawed works — an unvirtuous circle of academic research. Here is the first Jason McDaniel study that we analyzed: “Writing the Rules to Rank the Candidates: Examining the Impact of Instant-Runoff Voting on Racial Group Turnout in San Francisco Mayoral Elections,” by Jason McDaniel, 2016, Journal of Urban Affairs. This study covered San Francisco’s use of ranked choice voting (RCV) in mayoral elections, purporting to show that RCV reduces voter turnout overall, increases voter errors, and has a negative impact on “marginal populations,” i.e. racial minorities, mainly as the result of the alleged complexity of RCV asking voters to rank candidates and having to be familiar with multiple candidates and related dynamics. McDaniel reached these conclusions by examining five San Francisco mayoral elections taking place in odd years (i.e. where there are no federal or state races on the ballot) from 1995 to 2011, comparing three earlier non-RCV races (in 1995, 1999 and 2003) with the later two RCV races (in 2007 and 2011). Only two RCV races were studied, and as McDaniel acknowledged, only the contest in 2011 was “competitive” (that contest in 2007 was the first mayoral election using RCV, and incumbent mayor Gavin Newsom won easily in the first round of counting, earning 74% of first choices and far ahead of the second place candidate who had just 6.3% of first choices). Yet even the allegedly competitive contest in 2011was won by an incumbent with a landslide margin of nearly 20 points. No other elections were studied by McDaniel, even though San Francisco elects 17 other offices besides mayor with RCV, including the 11 seats on the Board of Supervisors (the name for the city council) in even years, and six other citywide offices in odd years. Previous academic research has found that competitive elections can stimulate greater voter involvement and higher turnout. For unexplained reasons, this study ignored at least 34 other RCV races between the years 2004 to 2011, many of which were very competitive and had high voter turnout. Instead, McDaniel’s analysis based its conclusions on data from only a single, marginally-competitive mayor’s race using RCV. These 2007 and 2011 mayoral elections were the only two RCV elections that McDaniel used as the sole basis for his small data set to determine the impact of RCV on voter turnout. Despite having no meaningful data to inform his study, McDaniel nonetheless concluded that RCV lowered turnout when compared to the previous three mayoral non-RCV elections using two-round runoffs. Then, using the same inadequate database of San Francisco elections, McDaniel also found that “Instant-runoff voting is associated with a significant decline in Black voter turnout and White voter turnout…On average, Black voter turnout decreases by 18 points and White voter turnout decreases by 16 points …” But how could he credibly arrive at that conclusion when his study was based on voter turnout in two RCV contests that were not even remotely competitive? Beyond that, McDaniel tacitly admits that the key determining factor driving Black voter turnout was not RCV vs non-RCV elections, but the presence of a viable Black candidate. McDaniel wrote, “Black voter turnout was about 17 percentage points higher for the two elections that featured an African American candidate compared to the three elections that did not” — but one of those three elections did not use RCV. The same dynamic was present for White voter turnout, in which higher turnout was not correlated with RCV vs non-RCV elections, but the presence of a viable White candidate. Beyond that, McDaniel’s voter turnout results, whether correlated with the race of the candidates or RCV vs non-RCV elections, showed no clear patterns. In his Figure 1, he shows low Asian voter turnout in the non-RCV elections in 1999 and 2003 when there was no viable Asian candidate running, but in the 2007 mayoral election using RCV, there is still no viable Asian candidate, yet Asian turnout increases dramatically. For Latinos, voter turnout is virtually the same in 1999 (no viable Latino candidate, non-RCV elections), 2003 (leading Latino candidate, non-RCV elections), 2007 (no viable Latino candidate, RCV elections) and 2011 (leading Latino candidate, RCV elections). Meanwhile White voter turnout increased dramatically from a low in the 2007 mayoral election, in which the leading candidate was a white incumbent, to the 2011 election in which there were no leading white candidates that finished any higher than sixth place with 5.6% of the vote. Clearly other factors were determining voter turnout than either the race of the candidates or RCV vs non-RCV elections. Despite these inconsistent findings, McDaniel boldly marches forth to render conclusions about the impact of RCV on different groups of racial voters, even though his conclusions are not remotely supported by his data. This looks like the worst kind of “data cherry picking” to cover up a puzzling conclusion based on a poor data set involving only two RCV elections, neither of which were remotely competitive. McDaniel’s cherry picking didn’t stop there. In calculating voter turnout for the three non-RCV mayoral elections in 1995, 1999 and 2003, he failed to mention that in each of these years there was a two-round runoff election, with a first round election in November in which no candidate garnered a winning majority of the vote, followed by the decisive runoff in December. So there were two non-RCV elections in each election year. But McDaniel only decided to include one of the two elections in his data set, apparently the December runoff in each year (which had higher turnout in two out of the three mayor’s races, and lower turnout in the third). So he ignored the November 1995 election, the November 1999 election when turnout was only 45 percent, and the November 2003 election when turnout was only 45.7 percent. This is flawed methodology based on blatant cherry picking, since McDaniel simply omitted three elections worth of data that did not fit within his frame. His study should never have made it through a peer review process, and it is an embarrassment to political science that not only was it approved for publication, but it has been uncritically cited by dozens of other political scientists. Share A “study” without wider context or credible data Lacking a data set that included even a single competitive RCV mayoral race, McDaniel declared that RCV lowered voter turnout in 2011, when turnout was 42.5 percent. But he also ignored -- or did not realize -- that voter turnout in mayoral elections during 2011 had sharply declined in all big cities, including far more steeply in nearby Los Angeles and other cities. In fact, San Francisco’s election in 2011 had the second highest turnout of any mayoral election in the nation’s 22 largest cities from 2008-2011. Was 2011 just a particularly low turnout year all across the country, perhaps because the country was still reeling from the aftermath of the housing market collapse in 2008-2010? McDaniel ignored this factor and did not search for alternative explanations beyond his flawed thesis. Furthermore, while McDaniel suggested that RCV leads to more “overvotes” – which is an invalidated ballot in which a voter, in either a non-RCV or RCV race, makes a mistake and selects two candidates for a single choice – he failed to address that in the June 2012 US Senate primary contest, which used the typical “one-choice” plurality method and did not use RCV, there was more than five times as many overvotes in San Francisco and Oakland than in the RCV mayoral elections in those cities. Additionally, turnout had been significantly higher and more representative in RCV elections for the San Francisco Board of Supervisors races -- that McDaniel didn’t even bother to study -- as compared to previous “delayed two-round runoffs” for those offices, often higher by as much as 40% in the RCV races. Perhaps the most surprising irony was that an earlier study co-authored by McDaniel (Overvoting and the Equality of Voice under Instant-Runoff Voting in San Francisco by Francis Neely and Jason McDaniel, 2015, California Journal of Politics and Policy) found that overvotes are often more common in lower-income precincts, but that the pattern of overvoting is similar in both RCV and non-RCV contests. Wrote Neely and McDaniel: “[Overvote] errors appear to be a function of complexity in general and not IRV per se…. the pattern of overvoting is similar in both IRV and non-IRV contests…Even among votes cast in a top-of-the-ticket race like U.S. Senate, overvoting occurs in an uneven fashion” (IRV, or ‘instant runoff voting,’ is another name for ranked choice voting in single-winner contests). So McDaniel not only contradicted his own conclusion in his earlier study with Neely, but the earlier study had been an important corrective for one of the most frequently made mistakes made by anti-RCV political scientists – a continual failure to provide crucial context by pairing a comparative analysis of real world RCV elections with an analysis of real world plurality or other electoral methods. Unfortunately McDaniel’s earlier study does not get cited much by other researchers, and McDaniel did not even cite it in his own flawed study analyzed above. Incredibly, McDaniel cherrypicked McDaniel, even as his flawed study has been cited dozens of times. Despite being a textbook example of poor political “science,” featuring both inadequate as well as cherrypicked data, the shelf life of McDaniel’s study has been extended endlessly by other political scientists and media outlets who have cited it uncritically. Equally troubling, the Journal of Urban Affairs put this paper through its peer review process and published it despite its numerous flaws. McDaniel gets it wrong, Part II Not content with producing one shoddy, confused paper, McDaniel produced another one a few years later, here is the link: Electoral Rules and Voter Turnout in Mayoral Elections: An Analysis of Ranked-Choice Voting by Jason McDaniel. San Francisco State Univ. (McDaniel, 2019). In this paper, McDaniel extended his previous flawed research focused on San Francisco, about voter turnout and voter impact, to multiple RCV cities through the 2018 elections. In his data set he included San Francisco, Minneapolis, St Paul, Oakland, Berkeley, San Leandro and Santa Fe. He then compared their turnout in mayoral elections to non-RCV cities, and to mayoral elections in those cities held before first RCV usage, and concluded “a significant decrease in voter turnout of approximately 3–5 percentage points in RCV cities after the implementation of RCV.” But he replicated many of the same mistakes as his first study presented above. While in this study McDaniel attempted to distinguish between various factors, such as odd year vs. even year elections, competitive races vs. noncompetitive, contests with open seats and other factors, the analysis is superficial and inadequate. He attempts to incorporate so many often-conflicting variables that his conclusions are once again unsupported by the actual data, and ultimately unconvincing (this second study never underwent a peer review process). For example, McDaniel declared that for RCV cities “in elections that are more competitive than average (margin of victory less than 20%), there is no significant RCV effect on voter turnout.” Yet McDaniel is a professor in a city, San Francisco, in which the 2018 special election using RCV to fill a mayoral vacancy was exceedingly close, decided by a margin of only one percentage point, and resulted in the second highest turnout in San Francisco history for a mayoral election. Illustrating the complexity involved in assessing the critical factors in turnout, that special election was held on the same election day as federal and state offices, which tends to boost turnout. Yet more voters participated in that RCV mayoral election than voted on the same day in the non-RCV primary for governor in which former San Francisco mayor Gavin Newsom was running. Even more puzzling, in this study McDaniel inaccurately cited his own previous study from 2015 with Neely. McDaniel wrote, “Neely and McDaniel (2015) examine individual ballot image files within a natural experiment, and find higher rates of ballot errors in RCV elections compared to non-RCV elections” (emphasis added). However, we quoted from that 2015 study several paragraphs above, and in actual fact Neely and McDaniel actually concluded the opposite -- that the pattern of overvoting – which is the most common form of ballot error – is similar in both RCV and non-RCV contests. McDaniel also ignored the fact that in Bay Area RCV elections held in even years – at the same time as federal and state elections, when turnout is highest -- the “undervote” (that is, the dropoff in ballots cast for governor or mayor) has declined, which contradicts his thesis that the act of ranking ballots in RCV elections is too complex and presents a barrier for certain demographics of voters. To his credit, McDaniel actually acknowledged another contradiction in his own paper, which found a negative RCV turnout effect in some odd-year elections but not others, admitting that “may present a challenge to the theory that increased complexity [from RCV] will have a marginal negative effect on voter turnout.” But he tried to wallpaper over that contradiction by blaming it on an unlikely source -- bad election administration. McDaniels wrote, “This would suggest that the negative impact of RCV on voter participation may be alleviated by high quality election administration,” without presenting any data or even anecdotes to support such an unfounded theory. While competent election administration of any election, whether RCV or non-RCV, is crucially important, there is no credible research that supports the far-fetched notion that the quality of election administration has much of an impact on voter turnout in US elections, whether using RCV or otherwise. Upgrade to a $5 subscription The unvirtuous circle of academic research It is puzzling how McDaniel’s first study could have survived the peer review process for the Journal of Urban Affairs. The mistakes in McDaniel’s first study above should have been obvious to anyone with a basic understanding of ranked choice voting as well as elections in general, and elections in San Francisco specifically. It undermines faith in the credibility of the peer review process to think that a jury of peer political scientists did not catch the egregious errors and reject McDaniel’s sloppy research and paper. And it remains a black mark on political science that this thoroughly discredited study has been cited dozens of times by other researchers. Indeed, in our research paper it became apparent that many political scientists cite each other’s flawed research to pad their list of citations and to legitimize their own flawed research, creating an unvirtuous circle of political science. More broadly, McDaniel’s voter turnout studies, like other studies evaluating RCV’s impact on turnout, lacked a recognition that no credible opinion or research can claim that RCV increases voter turnout merely because so many voters are excited to vote for their favorite candidates instead of “lesser evil” candidates without worrying about spoilers. Instead, with respect to turnout, the advantage of RCV has always been that, in most places where it has been used, it has eliminated a pre-November primary or post-November runoff, which usually saw about half the turnout of the November general election. This is especially true during even years when there are state and federal elections on the ballot which substantially drive turnout more than local contests. Any study that does not adequately account for this non-November primary/runoff vs November general election dynamic, or odd year vs even year election factors, is simply not credible. Both of McDaniel’s studies largely failed on those grounds. Steven Hill and Paul Haughey Share Upgrade to a $5 subscription Thanks for reading DemocracySOS…your digital portal for the pro-democracy movement. Subscribe for only $5 per month to receive full benefits and to support our work. Subscribe