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Greensboro bank makes rival bid for Durham's historic M&F
A rival offer could preserve the historic Black-owned bank's identity ahead of an Oct. 20 vote.
WHO scales up Ebola readiness in 22 countries across three continents
The World Health Organization (WHO) is strengthening Ebola preparedness amid conflict and displacement affecting millions of lives in a region that spans parts of Africa, Asia and Europe.
Chris Murray challenges Palumbo with affordability, health care focus
Democrat Chris Murray has placed affordability, health care and environmental protection at the center of his campaign as he tries to unseat incumbent Republican state Sen. Anthony Palumbo. Mr. Murray — an attorney who was elected chairman of the Suffolk County Community College Board of Trustees in 2019 and has also chaired the Citizens Campaign...
Lisandro Martínez's future at Manchester United uncertain after board criticism
Manchester United currently occupies 13th place in the Premier League with six points from six matches, having won only two of nine games this season.This decline in form, which includes a five-game ...
Registration is open for high school winter sports
Registration is now officially open for high school winter sports for the City School District of Albany! Any student in grades 9-12 who is interested in trying out for boys' basketball, girls' basketball, bowling, cheerleading, boys' indoor track, girls' indoor track, spirit team, boys' swimming and diving, boys' wrestling and girls' wrestling is invited to register via Final Forms. Important: please note that registration for winter sports ends on Friday, Nov. 13. Practices and tryouts for winter sports begin on Monday, Nov. 16. FINAL FORMS Each season, the following must be done prior to the first day of tryouts and practices: A parent or guardian must initiate the registration process for their student-athlete in Final Forms, filling out the required forms such as Interval Sports Health History and the Athletic Consent Form. The student-athlete must sign and complete their required forms. A reminder that all students who would like to play an interscholastic sport need to have a current physical conducted within a year on file. PHYSICALS A physical conducted within the last 12 months is mandatory for any student interested in trying out for an athletic team and must be uploaded into the Final Forms platform. Families are encouraged to get a completed physical from their child's physician. If you are unable to get a physical from your child's physician, you can schedule a free physical with Whitney Young's school-based health center by calling (518) 573-2556. Additionally, the district physician will also be available to facilitate sports physicals at Albany High in room 4253 on the following dates: Thursday, Nov. 12 from 10:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 13 from 10:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Sports physicals on Nov. 12 and 13 are free and no appointment is necessary. ACADEMIC ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS Please note that students must have a good attendance record and be in good standing academically to be eligible to participate in an athletic team. Eligibility is determined based on quarterly grades, and interim progress reports will serve as an important academic checkpoint for all student‑athletes. For additional details about academic eligibility, please see our Athletic Code of Conduct. For our winter teams, academic eligibility to start the season will be based on final first-quarter grades. The first marking period ends Nov. 13. Albany High offers free tutoring facilitated by Albany High teachers Monday-Thursday from 3:30-5 p.m. for students who need extra help with their academics. See this flyer for additional details. IMPORTANT DATES Seniors, please mark your calendars for Senior Media Day for winter sports, which will take place on Monday, Nov. 30. All student-athletes playing winter sports will also participate in our winter sports picture days, which will take place Tuesday, Dec. 15–Thursday, Dec. 18. Specific dates and times for each team will be shared once rosters are finalized. OPEN GYM SESSIONS Student-athletes are encouraged to check out our open gym sessions as they prepare for upcoming sports seasons. We’re looking forward to a rewarding winter sports season this year! If you have any questions, please contact the Athletic Department at (518) 475-6310. Go Falcons!
Can AI solve our mental health access problem?
Last week I asked you what worries you most about AI in health. It was close, but your top answer was “AI giving bad health advice.” Last week’s poll results: You’re in good company. This concern was top of mind at a conference I joined at Stanford last week, where researchers, clinicians, and people who build AI systems spent a day debating trust and safety in health AI. Stepping back, I’m also hearing your emerging concerns about AI’s impact on our well-being generally. I see this as a matter of public health, and we’ll take it in pieces as we learn together. Today we’ll focus on AI chatbots used for therapy for mental health. Early this month, Governor Newsom vetoed Senate Bill 903, California’s most ambitious attempt to regulate AI use for mental health. It’s at the center of active debate, and raises the questions patients, family members, citizens, and voters will face as AI moves deeper into health care. Let’s work through it. What is “AI-based therapy”? It’s really two things: purpose-built mental health apps designed to deliver structured support, and general chatbots like ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini that people increasingly use for emotional support—even if they weren’t built for it. Spoiler alert: I don’t know whether the shift toward AI therapy is good or bad. The evidence isn’t there yet. But I do know it’s already happening, and I have some ideas about how we can roll it out with safety in mind. The therapy dilemma, in a nutshell Mental health challenges are common, and strain health and well-being across populations. Therapy (interactive dialogue with a trained, empathetic practitioner) helps many people heal. The demand for licensed therapists far exceeds the supply in California, and AI-based therapy can narrow that gap. AI-based therapy remains novel, unproven, and not well tested. Right off the bat, we can see we’re dealing with trade-offs here. Since the main driver of demand for therapy from a robot is lack of access to therapy from a human, we’ll start there. It’s too hard to find and afford a human therapist California is short roughly 55,000 licensed, non-prescribing therapists and counselors, about 40% of what we need. Psychiatrists, who rely on talk therapy as a complement to prescribed medications, are even more scarce. Eight counties have none, and density ranges from 1.7 per 100,000 residents in San Benito County, to 68.1 in Marin County. My wife is a psychiatrist in Marin, and even here access is tight. If it’s hard in the best-supplied county, imagine rural Sierra County, or the San Joaquin Valley. In 2024, more than half of Californians who tried to make a mental health appointment struggled to find a provider who took their insurance, compared with 14% for physical health care. When Senate staff posed as “secret shopper” patients and called 120 mental health providers in Medicare Advantage networks, they landed an appointment less than once for every five tries. Insurers pay behavioral health clinicians about 22% less than medical and surgical clinicians for comparable office visits. On top of that, billing denials and prior authorizations hit hardest at the solo and small practices common in mental health. Psychiatrists opt out of Medicare at the highest rate of any specialty. In many places, a cash practice for therapy fills quickly with patients paying $250 or more an hour, with no insurance paperwork at all. Families who can pay cash find providers more easily. Those who rely on insurance, including Medi-Cal enrollees, older adults, rural residents, and non-English speakers, compete for what’s left. So we can’t pretend the human system works, and we can’t blame people for turning to AI for support when they’re in distress. AI is filling the gap It’s estimated that roughly a quarter of AI users use it for mental health support. If you have internet, it’s available 24/7, it’s cheap, and it speaks your language. Uninsured adults are about twice as likely as insured adults to do it (30% vs. 14%). It feels anonymous in ways that may enable people to ask things they’re unsure or embarrassed about. The largely hidden, personal use makes it hard to study whether it’s actually helping people with their mental health issues, but researchers are trying. Does AI therapy work? A 2026 analysis of nearly 40 randomized trials found chatbots showed a real but small reduction in depression symptoms. But most of these trials were compared to an alternative of no therapy, not a human therapist. So the benefit of AI therapy is probably real, but modest, and mostly untested against the alternative of human contact. We need more studies. Serious concerns OpenAI’s own estimate is that more than a million ChatGPT users each week show signs of suicidal planning or intent. These are high stakes encounters, and AI doesn’t always get it right. That’s partly because a chatbot can sound like a therapist, but it has no license, no duty of care, and it’s not clear who to hold accountable when it gets things wrong. AI is also designed to help users in whatever task they’re seeking to accomplish. People may feel like they’re getting therapy, but they’re mainly getting a convincing conversation. It’s easy for an AI companion to wander into gray areas, like playing along with “creative writing” that may be about the user’s own suicidal intent. Courts are driving safety conversations A wave of lawsuits have been filed on behalf of families claiming that chatbots pushed people they loved toward self-harm, including teens who died by suicide. The first settlements came this year. OpenAI is headquartered in San Francisco, and dozens of cases alleging that ChatGPT drove users to suicide or self-harm are now before a San Francisco judge. Character.ai has filed for bankruptcy after several states brought lawsuits accusing the chatbot of pushing dangerous content to kids. But the technology seems to be improving. Last month, an independent evaluation found that newer AI models “almost never endorse suicide.” That’s progress, but our societal appetite for even one preventable death is very low. So how do we move forward? Finding a middle ground Earlier this month the governor vetoed Senate Bill 903, a bill designed to place guardrails on the use of AI for therapy. The bill would have prohibited any AI-based platform from being advertised as psychotherapy, and would have required a licensed professional to review and approve each encounter where AI was used to support therapeutic decisions. Newsom called it overly broad, since even routine screening questions would have needed clinician sign-off. Knowing we’re already short on mental health providers, requiring human review of AI encounters may not relieve our access problems. Still, the answer isn’t no oversight. Here’s one feasible short term solution. Rather than reviewing each encounter, a licensed clinician can design the guardrails: what counts as a crisis, what triggers an immediate handoff to a human, and what gets sampled for audit each month. The AI runs inside that structure. Conversations get checked, failures get reported, and a real clinician owns the framework. Medicine already has models to learn from. The FDA process for rolling out newly approved medications is an example. After a product reaches patients, we keep watching for adverse events. Patient-facing AI needs the same “digital pharmacovigilance”: systematic tracking of harms, near misses, and the types of groups that get hurt and why. It’s also critical that users know that they can reach a human if they’re in crisis. Most chatbots now include messages like these: Bottom line The rush to use unproven AI tools for mental health support is mostly a workaround, a sign of a health system people can’t get into. We need better access to proven care from licensed clinicians. That takes reimbursement that makes accepting insurance viable, and a bigger workforce. But, built and tested well, AI could be part of the answer. It could be the 2 a.m. check-in when no one else is awake, or a way for patients to practice skills their therapist taught them. It could be the first step to get someone the right level of care, and take paperwork off clinicians’ plates so they spend more time with patients. None of this is simple. The SB 903 veto doesn’t end the debate, and the legislature will be back. In the meantime, those of us using these tools need to stay informed, ask hard questions, and hold the companies building them accountable. I’ll try to do my part, and we’ll keep learning together. Love,Matt P.S. If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health challenges, emotional distress, substance use problems, or just needs to talk, call or text 988- you’ll reach a real person— or chat at 988lifeline.org 24/7. Dr. Matt Willis is the author of Your Local Epidemiologist in California. A California native, he’s served as a primary care physician, CDC epidemiologist, and public health officer for Marin County, where he guided the pandemic response. He lives in Marin with his family and their dogs, Teddy and Ramona. Thank you Cynthia He, MD, PhD, and Parnika Saxena, MD, for their guidance in preparing this article. Cynthia works in an outpatient mental health clinic, treating patients who have Medi-Cal or, sometimes, no insurance. Parnika works in an inpatient psychiatric unit, treating patients with public or private insurance or self-pay ability. All opinions are their own and do not represent their employers.
Apple Pre-Orders Kick Off With First Discounts on HomeView and Apple TV 4K
Pre-orders are now live on Apple's newest devices, including the HomeView and Apple TV 4K, and Amazon has the first-ever discounts on these devices. We're also tracking great deals on MacBook Pro, Mac mini, and Apple Watch SE 3 in this week's best Apple deals. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Amazon. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.
Sacramento health inspectors found 251 rodent droppings in this facility. Where?
Sacramento County Health Inspectors gave red placards to six eateries and cited 12 other facilities.
BVCC's Business Leadership Summit Series: AI
The Blackstone Valley Chamber of Commerce (BVCC) is proud to announce a quarterly leadership series exploring the forces reshaping businesses. The inaugural summit will focus on Artificial Intelligence, designed for […]
Plague is stoppable. The next health threat may not be.
The word plague is scary. Centuries ago, the Black Death killed tens of millions of people and changed the course of history. Plague still kills people around the world, and the word still evokes catastrophe. New fears of plague surfaced on October 2, when a lab worker in Irkutsk, Russia, died of pneumonia. Reports suggested that she may have contracted plague through a laboratory exposure. Understandably, people were alarmed. On October 7, the World Health Organization called for the Russian Federation to be transparent about what it knew. WHO issued an update on October 10. Russian authorities told WHO that testing did not identify plague and that investigations found no laboratory release. WHO said confidence in its risk assessment remained limited and that further clinical, epidemiological, and laboratory information was needed. The cause of the woman’s illness remains unknown, and WHO says a laboratory-associated exposure cannot be excluded. As I explained in a recent interview, this incident is very unlikely to lead to a pandemic. Plague is still active, including in the U.S., which sees a handful of cases each year. But it is a disease we can prevent and treat. Plague doesn’t spread readily, and it responds to antibiotics. The standard response—isolate the patient, trace contacts, and administer antibiotics and monitor for symptoms among contacts for seven days—works. We have even planned for antibiotic-resistant plague. At CDC, we developed a playbook for antibiotic-resistant plague and ran exercises on how to find and stop it. CDC guidance anticipates engineered resistance and recommends two different classes of antibiotics if there’s reason to suspect it. There is no evidence that resistance—or even confirmed plague—is involved in this incident. We have thought through how to address plague, but we’re not ready for the next major health threat that emerges from a lab or from animal spillover to humans. What should concern people is how little stands between the world and the next pathogen to get loose. Since peak COVID, epidemic preparedness has fallen off the political agenda, but the risk is greater than ever. More labs handle dangerous pathogens with more ways to make those pathogens deadlier, and more people live and work in close contact with animals. There are actions we can take now: We need better lab safety in every country. The number of labs that work with dangerous pathogens has increased worldwide over two decades, but there’s no enforceable international standard and no inspection regime; the Biological Weapons Convention, fifty years on, still has no verification mechanism. Labs that study dangerous germs need strong safety systems, training, and oversight. We need to reduce spillover events. Three in four emerging human infections start in animals, and there’s a lot we can do to reduce spillover risk, but the world is doing very little of it. Live-animal markets are one place to act. For instance, closing live-bird markets helped control H7N9 influenza in China. Reducing opportunities for people to encounter infected animals can prevent infections before they become outbreaks. In The Formula for Better Health, which is now out in paperback along with the hardcover, Kindle, and audiobook versions, I argue that labs do too many risky experiments with too many dangerous pathogens in too many institutions, and that every experiment should first answer one basic question: Is the likely benefit greater than the risk? Spillover risk can also be reduced: In the book, I discuss how Brazil cut its deforestation rate by 70% from 2004 to 2012 while increasing agricultural production and reducing risky contact between people and forest animals. We need faster detection and response. Delay costs lives. Strong surveillance, good labs, and trained responders can turn a single case into a small cluster of infections instead of an epidemic. Resolve to Save Lives has worked for nearly a decade to help countries find and stop outbreaks faster. The 7-1-7 target, which Resolve to Save Lives developed with partners in Uganda and elsewhere, provides a clear standard: detect within 7 days, notify within 1 day and complete all essential early response actions within 7 days. In Uganda’s Kasese district, for example, a review of a measles outbreak using 7-1-7 identified shortages of accessible funds, fuel, and vehicles that delayed the response. District leaders established funds they could access quickly. When, a few months later, the Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever appeared, the district detected it in three days, notified authorities in one, and mounted an effective response in two. Only one case was confirmed, and the patient survived. Because funds were available before the emergency, authorities were prepared and able to act. This kind of preparation can’t wait until the next crisis begins. Plague is an old disease we that know how to stop. The next threat may be harder to recognize, harder to treat, and easier to spread. Safer labs, less risk of spillover, and faster outbreak detection and response need sustained investment now, while we still have time to prevent the next emergency. Share
The Netflix series Drive to Survive inspired Star Wars: Galactic Racer
Fuse Games head Matt Webster says the studio wanted to capture the off-track intrigue and excitement of the Formula 1 show.
Didn't Pre-Order an iPhone Duo Yet? Wait Times Are Significant Now
iPhone Duo pre-orders began today in the U.S. and many other countries. If you have yet to place a pre-order on Apple's online store, however, wait times are longer now. The first customers who pre-ordered right when pre-orders began at 5 a.m. Pacific Time today will have their devices delivered on Friday, October 23. By just 5:20 a.m. Pacific Time though, select configurations on Apple's online store in the U.S. are now showing delivery estimates into late December for new orders.
Crown Sports Center is the Perfect Place for Proactive Entertainment and Games
We're exploring Crown Sports Center and discover why it's the perfect place for all manner of entertainment, games, and skill development.
Fanatics to Open Flagship Atlanta Sports Retail Experience at Centennial Yards as Part of New Multiyear Partnership with Atlanta Hawks
Deal pairs e-commerce with in-venue retail operations at State Farm Arena New retail destination, as part of mixed-use Centennial Yards real estate development, to offer Hawks and Atlanta team sports merchandise year-round
The uranium cubes that exposed Nazi Germany’s nuclear failure
Scientists investigating Nazi Germany's secret nuclear program have uncovered evidence that its final experimental reactor was nowhere near as close to working as previously claimed. Analysis of surviving uranium cubes and wartime documents reveals that Germany lacked the enormous quantities of uranium and heavy water needed to make its reactor operational.
Gary Vee’s VeeFriends finds its place in the comic industry at New York Comic Con
In 2021, entrepreneur and internet personality Gary Vaynerchuk, also known as Gary Vee, introduced his new project, VeeFriends, a media and entertainment
Microsoft president pushes back against Trump's immigration crackdown
Brad Smith also defended Microsoft against JD Vance's claim that the company replaced laid-off Americans with foreign workers.
A St. Louis plant scientist discovers a trail first blazed by his grandma’s cooking
Antonio Brazelton used to think of himself as a trailblazer in the plant science field, following in the footsteps of George Washington Carver. But years ago, the St. Louisan realized he was overlooking his own lineage of Black plant scientists.
‘Far too close for comfort’: An under-the-radar Senate race embodies Democrats’ midterm worries
An open Senate seat in Minnesota.
Executive Profile: Cactus Sam Harris
Cactus Sam Harris House Organist, Board Member Warnors Theatre What we do: Warnors Theatre is a nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving one of Fresno's great historic landmarks while providing a place for entertainment, the
KFC replacing Pepsi with Coca-Cola at 3,700 US restaurants after nearly four decades
KFC will replace Pepsi with Coca-Cola at all U.S. restaurants by spring 2027, ending a beverage partnership that lasted nearly four decades.
Jackson Chamber JAXPO Business Showcase, 10-15-26
Volleyball Lumen Christi Tri-Meet 'Dig Pink Night', 10-12-2026. Photos by Henry Black, JTV Sports. Volleyball Lumen Christi Tri-Meet 'Dig Pink Night', 10-12-2026. Photos by Henry Black, JTV Sports. Latest GalleriesJackson Chamber JAXPO Business Showcase, 10-15-26 | Photo GalleryBoys Soccer D2 Districts Northwest vs Tecumseh, 10-15-26 | Photo GalleryBoys Soccer D3 Districts Michigan Center vs Columbia…
Wildfires, heat, food insecurity, lack of medical care affect Californians’ health: UCLA survey
Nearly 30% of LA County adults said they or members of their households experienced wildfires during the previous two years, up from 6.6% in the previous survey.
A day after Netflix's major layoffs, Chief Content Officer Bela Bajaria leaves
Netflix on Thursday said its Chief Content Officer Bela Bajaria is leaving the company and named former Disney executive Peter Rice as her replacement.
Gov. Spencer Cox & Martin Luther King III Discuss Bridging Political Divides
Utah Gov. Spencer Cox (R), South Carolina former Gov. David Beasley (R), and Martin Luther King III discussed how faith leaders and political leaders can bridge political divides. They each shared a call to action, which included breaking bread with someone of a different background, working to make the world a better place, and preaching hope. The Salt Lake Tabernacle hosted the discussion.
Clean Politics, Clean Water NC defends anti-Lee signs, as campaign weighs legal action
NEW HANOVER COUNTY — Advocacy group Clean Politics, Clean Water NC is standing behind the guerilla-style signs, cutouts and flyers placed around New Hanover County against Sen. Michael Lee and his…
Black Hills Energy rates rise 8% for Arkansas customers
Rapid City, S.D.-based utility Black Hills Energy said Thursday (Oct. 15) new natural gas base rates will increase the average residential customer’s monthly bill by $6 or 8% for Arkansas...
Independent candidate for governor accuses Sen. Marsha Blackburn of favoring political self-interest over the people
Independent candidate for governor Lauren Pinkston made claims against frontrunner Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tennessee. Pinkston claims that Blackburn’s office is more worried about political gain that the people.
Amazon devices chief Panos Panay sees a future where AI devices replace the need to use apps
Speaking at TechCrunch Disrupt, Amazon devices chief Panos Panay described a future where ambient AI devices work in the background, anticipating users' needs instead of waiting for commands.
NVIDIA’s RTX 5090 Disappears From Its Marketplace, Adding Fuel To Discontinuation Rumors
NVIDIA's RTX 5090 has disappeared from its Marketplace amid production halts, as reports suggest it may be replaced by the upcoming RTX 5080 24 GB.
IP Saves the Day On Streaming
(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.) Before we get started, I wanted to highlight a new idea I saw from Real Good AI, proposing a ratings system for AI use. (H/T to Anthony Kaufman’s article highlighting this.) It would look something like this: In general, I think that this is a solid, middle-ground solution that should appease both the pro-AI camp (who love AI) and the anti-AI camp (who wants to know if what they’re watching didn’t come from humans). Regardless of your feelings on AI/LLMs—I’ll never use it for my writing—transparency is often the best solution to many problems. In general, I think way more media outlets need to be using way more AI disclosures. My quick “Yes and...” to this idea: what about ads? In particular, I hate it when I see or hear ads that are obviously AI-generated, but a person or voice says, “I used this product”. AI doesn’t use products! Just today, I watched a YouTube ad where a “person” said they use some sort of rain wind chime...but that’s not a real person! They didn’t use this product. (Especially since the video of the wind chime itself also appeared to be AI-generated...) I believe most traditional advertising already has standards like this anyway.1 Okay, on to this week’s issue. We’re covering the week of 14-Sep, and then next issue, I’ll be fully caught up with Nielsen’s new release schedule. In the future, I plan to put out Streaming Ratings Reports each Monday after Nielsen’s Thursday releases. Overall, we had some big new shows this week, like Prime Video’s Reacher spinoff_, Neagley_, which is off to a big, big start, and Netflix’s latest in its Monster anthology, which is their largest opening since June and the second-largest since One Piece came out in March. All that, plus Slow Horses returns, the trio of returning shows (Lioness, Reacher and Ted Lasso) continue to dominate the top tens, Paramount+’s latest crime drama, a big whiff for a Netflix original film and a precipitous drop for Netflix film charts, all the flops, bombs and misses, and a whole lot more. Let’s dive right in! (Reminder: The streaming ratings report focuses on the U.S. market and compiles data from Nielsen’s weekly top ten viewership ranks, Luminate’s Top Ten Data, JustWatch and Reelgood interest data, Samba TV household viewership, company datecdotes, Netflix hours viewed data, Google Trends, and IMDb to determine the most popular content. While most data points are current, Nielsen’s data covers the weeks of September 14th to September 20th 2026. You can find a link to my terminology here.) Subscribe Television - IP For the TV Win Can I use the dirty word of entertainment journalism right now? IP. Shhh. Don’t tell anyone I said it. But IP works at the box office, and we’ve seen some evidence it works in TV too. Not as well, and not all the time—no absolutes here!—but often enough. And glancing at the Nielsen top ten…it worked this week! Take Prime Video, who has a monster hit in the crime drama Reacher. Would a spinoff work for that show? Yep! They binge-released Neagley, about a detective from the original Reacher series, and its eight episodes debuted to 29.6 million hours. Here’s how it stacks up to Reacher, one of Prime Video’s biggest shows: That’s great. Nearly as strong as Reacher’s opening! (Both shows started with eight, binge-released episodes, so this comparison is apples-to-apples.) Notably, Prime Video scheduled the debut of Neagley to overlap with Reacher’s most recent season, to help drive tune-in. Obviously, I love smart release strategies like that. And even though I wrote “obviously”, it’s not really that obvious, since streamers don’t often take advantage of natural overlaps like this_._2 Other data backs how well Neagley performed. It opened at second place on Samba TV for two weeks and got 51.7 million hours on Luminate. That’s the eleventh biggest opening on Luminate since May of 2024 and tied with Bridgerton’s third season opening. That’s a huge opening! Its IMDb is solid too, a 7.7 on 24K reviews. Netflix’s latest edition in the “Monster” series—which started with Jeffrey Dahmer and comes from Ryan Murphy—did well too, opening to 24.7 million hours. That’s the biggest opening for Netflix since I Will Find You in June, and second biggest since March. Unlike the Reacher series, this franchise is trending downward, though. The first Monster show—Dahmer - Monster—was giant. More than anything, I think this reflects that Netflix running out of extremely popular—if that’s the right word?—serial killers to feature. Still, the data says this is a very good opening. It made it to third place on Samba TV for two weeks. It also opened to 40.0 million hours on Luminate. That’s not quite as elite as Neagley, but still very, very strong. I’ll be honest: my priors coming into any given week are that IP works to help drive buzz for new shows, but TV shows need to stand on their own even more than movies, so they will succeed or fail based on their quality. But these two spinoffs definitely worked. Quick Notes on TV The top show, film or special this week? Football, again. Specifically, Prime Video’s season opener of Thursday Night Football. The games run long (three hours) but mainly a lot of people watch each game. That adds up to a lot of viewership. Paramount released the second season of MobLand on an unusual day for that service, a Friday! Often, they put their new shows out on a Sunday, as they did last year with a run of shows (Lioness, Tulsa King and Landman). MobLand didn’t make Nielsen in its first week, but on Samba TV it got to eighth and seventh place. Luminate had a smaller opening too, only 5.3 million hours. MobLand missed the Nielsen charts for its first eight weeks, so this season is off to a stronger start. (Bonus note: the first season streams on both Prime Video and The Roku Channel, but I only have it as Paramount+ on those charts.) I’ve mentioned a few times that foreign-language originals do lower numbers than English-language originals on Netflix most of the time. But I don’t usually emphasize what country those originals come from, and observationally, they tend to be from Western or Northern European countries, in general. So credit to Not a Stranger, a Turkish Netflix original, for breaking through on Luminate, getting to 7.9 million hours in its first full week on those charts. As I mentioned last issue, Crew Girl ended up making the Nielsen charts in its second week. That’s still a soft performance compared to many shows, but again this, one looks affordable. And if you’re curious, here’s how it stacks up to some other sports romance shows: We’re just getting started with this issue, but the rest is for paid subscribers of the Entertainment Strategy Guy, so if you’d like to find out… …about a new data source and how it drives streaming viewership… ...what reality show is struggling in its latest season…. ...what Netflix film bombed…. ...How Reacher, Ted Lasso, and Lioness are doing on the charts… ...what obscure sport put up great viewership numbers… …how far streaming films are falling… …all the flops, bombs and misses for the last week… …and more… ...please subscribe! We can only keep doing this great work with your support. If you want an idea of just how much content you’d get in a full issue, check out this older issue. Coming Soon! Next week, we’ve got a double issue, then we’ll be all caught up with Nielsen’s data. Yes! The goal is to have my report out on the Monday after I get Nielsen’s data. So next issue, I’m looking at East of Eden, The Great British Baking Show, a Willy Wonka game show (that people are upset uses AI, but viewers might not care), and a Cosby show spinoff reboot on Netflix, and Brothers on Apple TV (starring Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConaughey). That’s about it for TV, but who’s going to win the streaming week, The Breadwinner or Backrooms on streaming? Answer: Toy Story 5. Plus Netflix has a Unabomber film and a new Tyler Perry film, Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma tries to repeat The Substance’s run on MUBI, and Paramount+ has Jackass: Best and Last. Long term, Netflix is remaking Lonesome Dove. I love this choice, but man, there are a lot of westerns on TV right now. And they’re making Sega TV shows, including a Crazy Taxi TV show and Sonic show with an “edge”.
Contract approved to move forward on Van Buren slackwater harbor
The Western Arkansas Intermodal Authority (WAIA) Board of Directors on Wednesday (Oct. 14) approved a step toward building a slackwater harbor in Van Buren, but not before a board member...
European giant ready to take Liverpool's biggest problem
It is still early days in Andoni Iraola’s reign as Liverpool manager, but the first few months have lacked consistency. The Reds have only lost once under the Spaniard, but the team have struggled ...
California students post gains in math, science and English in 2025-26
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California students made gains across key academic and success measures during the 2025-26 school year, with test scores rising in English, math and science while the statewide graduation rate reached a record high of 87.9 percent. For the first time, the state released assessment results and California School Dashboard data together to give families and educators a more complete picture of student performance.English language arts scores increased 0.5 percentage points to 49.3 percent of students scoring proficient or advanced, while math scores rose 1.1 percentage points to 38.4 percent. Science showed the strongest improvement, jumping 3.3 percentage points to 36 percent of students scoring proficient or advanced.The statewide chronic absenteeism rate dropped 1.1 percentage points to 18.3 percent. The suspension rate declined to 2.8 percent, marking the third consecutive year of improvement."At a time when California continues to focus on accelerating learning and closing opportunity gaps, these results provide important evidence that our sustained investments are making a difference," Gov. Gavin Newsom said. "The continued progress we are seeing is a testament to the hard work of students, families and educators across the state—and we will continue working to build on these gains."The percentage of students prepared for college and career increased to 55.2 percent, up 2 percentage points from the previous year. More than 54 percent of graduates completed coursework required for admission to University of California and California State University systems, an increase of 0.9 percentage points."California has made important strides in expanding student supports and opportunities, but the pace of academic improvement reminds us that our work is far from finished," State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond said.Eighth grade students posted the strongest score trends in both English language arts and math. Science performance improved across all tested grades, with the strongest gains at the high school level.African American students demonstrated larger-than-average improvements across English, math and science. Hispanic or Latino students showed larger-than-average improvements in English and math, with positive math score trends across all grades.Students who were socioeconomically disadvantaged made gains across all 3 subjects, including larger-than-average improvements in English and math. Students who were homeless continued to demonstrate gains across grades, with particularly strong improvements in math."We are encouraged to see students making gains across all 3 major assessments and are especially encouraged by the progress of African American students, Hispanic or Latino students, socioeconomically disadvantaged students and homeless youth," said Linda Darling-Hammond, president of the California State Board of Education.The progress comes as California's public school system undergoes significant demographic change. Statewide school enrollment declined to approximately 5.73 million students in 2025-26, nearly 500-thousand fewer students over the past decade.The number of students with disabilities increased approximately 25 percent over the same period, from about 680-thousand to more than 850-thousand students. Graduation rates increased across nearly all student groups, including notable increases for American Indian or Alaskan Native students at 4.3 percentage points and students with disabilities at 3.7 percentage points.In Downey Unified School District, the rate of students demonstrating proficient or advanced grade-level knowledge increased by 2.1 percentage points in English, 2.8 percentage points in math and 4.7 percentage points in science. The district aligned graduation requirements with college admission expectations and invested in inclusive special education practices, expanded career technical education and expanded learning opportunities."The gains Downey Unified is seeing in student assessment results and on the Dashboard are the result of years of focused, consistent work across the district," Superintendent Roger Brossmer said.In Exeter Unified School District, proficiency rates increased by 4.6 percentage points in English, 2.3 percentage points in math and 3.6 percentage points in science. The district placed a strong focus on phonics and the science of reading, particularly in kindergarten through second grade."The gains Exeter Unified is seeing in student assessment results and on the Dashboard are the result of having great people who are focused on the right work, and great students who want to do well," Superintendent Melanie Dorough said.Union Elementary School District saw proficiency rates increase by 1.5 percentage points in English, 2 percentage points in math and 4 percentage points in science. Teachers regularly analyze state and local assessment data to guide instruction, supported by strong core instruction and early literacy strategies."Union Elementary School District's achievement gains reflect a focused, data-driven approach to meeting the needs of every student while fostering a strong sense of belonging, safety and connection," Superintendent Carrie Andrews said.The California Department of Education is examining local results to better understand strategies and conditions associated with stronger student outcomes. The state has made significant investments in recent years, including literacy and math coaching, tutoring, expanded learning opportunities, community schools and universal transitional kindergarten.
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Ubisoft is planning to reduce its workforce in Germany, where it operates a trio of studios, by about 100 workers, Game File has learned. The company wants to offer employees buyouts to, should enough people accept, avoid having to lay anyone off. “In Germany, we initiated discussions with the Works Council last week regarding a proposed voluntary departure plan across Ubisoft Dusseldorf, Ubisoft Berlin & Ubisoft Mainz,” a company rep told Game File. A “works council” is a union-like group representing employees. “The voluntary plan is the primary measure being proposed to support the intended organizational changes,” the Ubisoft rep added. The company declined to confirm the scale of the potential headcount cut. Of the impacted studios, Mainz might be the best known to the public. It leads development of the Anno series and shipped the well-reviewed strategy game Anno 117: Pax Romana in November 2025. Berlin and Dusseldorf operate as support studios within Ubisoft’s creative network. Berlin recently supported the development of Rainbow Six Siege and the Rayman Legends Retold remake. Dusseldorf also contributed to those projects, as well as The Settlers and Ubisoft-branded escape rooms. Dusseldorf is the biggest of the three studios, with some 400+ workers, compared to just over 100 at the other two, a source familiar with the reductions and the teams told Game File. More than half of these new reductions of about 100 people are expected to happen at Dusseldorf. The planned cuts were announced at a town hall for the German studios on Tuesday of last week. In an email follow-up, the studio group’s managing director, Benedikt Grindel, said the cuts were intended to “best position our German studios for the future... with a clearer focus on their role, capabilities and organizational setup needed for the work ahead.” The email was an echo of the past. In January 2025, Grindel had emailed the Ubisoft developers in his region (or studio “zone”) to explain that a round of 185 cuts at the time, including about 65 at Dusseldorf, were “essential to improve our operational efficiency and ensure the long-term sustainability of our studios, the zone and the company.” A half-decade of continued job cuts Ubisoft has been aggressively cutting its headcount for years. At the end of September 2022, it had 20,729 workers. By the end of March 2026, that total was down to 16,590. Studio management is trying to trim costs as it grapples with a changing industry and a drought of releases, let alone hits. The company announced earlier this year that it had reduced its costs since 2022 by “nearly €325 million” ($362m) and planned to lower them through 2028 by another €180 million ($200m). In June the company said it was closing down its Winnipeg and Belgrade studios and cutting roles in its Barcelona team. Even commercial and creative success hasn’t spared studios from this ongoing company-wide contraction. As Game File was nailing down details around the proposed cuts in Germany, Ubisoft management was informing workers of cuts in its Singapore studio, which shipped a hit remake of Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag this past July. Some 70 positions in Singapore are being eliminated “to align the studio with upcoming production needs,” per a company rep’s statement to Game File. In early 2024, a large team in the Singapore studio launched the multiplayer pirate game Skull & Bones. It performed poorly but has been supported with regular content updates since. Many of Ubisoft’s studios around the world are heavily subsidized via regional grants and tax breaks. Singapore had been among them for years, but received no such local assistance in the 12 months ending this past March. News of the Singapore cuts broke today alongside word that Ubisoft is also proposing the closure of RedLynx, pending negotiations with officials. The Finnish studio behind the motorbike series Trials was founded in 2000 and sold to Ubisoft in 2011. As reported by VGC (and corroborated by Game File), Ubisoft management told employees it could not come up with a new, sustainable assignment for RedLynx. The 2025 workforce at Ubisoft Dusseldorf were straight-up cuts. This time, Ubisoft is hoping the reductions at its trio of German studios will largely come from workers taking a payout to leave. The company offered such voluntary dismissals at its Massive Entertainment studio (The Division) a year ago. For the German studios’ buyouts this time around, Ubisoft and the Works Council had discussed a formula that’d pay a worker’s monthly salary multiplied by 1.5 and by the number of years they’ve worked at the company, according to Game File sources. The formula is still subject to negotiations with the Works Council and has not yet been part of an official offer to workers. It could be adjusted up or down, and it could be supplemented with additional bonuses. Asked about the floated payout formula, a Ubisoft rep told Game File, “The terms of a potential voluntary departure program remain subject to negotiation with employee representatives. No final agreement has been reached, and we won’t comment on specific proposals while discussions are ongoing.” Game File is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Subscribe Item 2: Epic’s AI adventures Epic Games (Fortnite, the Unreal engine) is all-in on using AI to try to transform the way it makes video games and game-making tools. It’s leaders appear to be undeterred by any resistance among gamers and some game developers around generative AI—and instead emboldened by advances, particularly in AI-assisted programming. A recap of the last three days: On Monday, Bloomberg reported that Epic management told workers last week that development of an upcoming game combining Star Wars and Marvel characters would be “AI first.” Employees would be expected to use AI models such as Claude to code the game. A manager told Epic’s developers there would be “[n]o more hand-written code” and that art for the game would be “generated with full AI workflows,” per the outlet. Just ahead of that story running, Epic founder Tim Sweeney tweeted: “We have a huge pivot underway here at Epic, moving developers around to retool for maximum AI acceleration. The aim isn’t to do the same stuff with fewer people, but to enable everyone here to build MORE and BETTER stuff, and to bring the benefits to all teams using Unreal.” In a follow-up, Sweeney predicted that most game development processes would be at least three times faster a year from now than they were in January 2026, thanks to AI. To a person on X who told him he was failing to read the room, Sweeney said: “Much of the room wants it to be 2016 again, but it’s not. Our job, as the provider of tools and technology to much of the industry, is to design for the present that is and the future that will soon be.” On Wednesday, Epic announced it was releasing a faster launcher for its Epic Games Store marketplace. It did so by stating in a blog post as clear as could be that the launcher is an AI-enabled, vibe-coded project: Programming is hard. So, instead of doing that, we vibe coded a new Epic Games Launcher that’s way faster and more responsive than the current one, and has a new look. Programming is hard? That was unexpected phrasing from a company founded by a legendarily great programmer. Back in 2011, Sweeney told me that he’d picked up programming quickly as a kid and rejoiced at the power it gave him. “I could look at any program that anybody else had written and, with enough effort, build something cooler.” Item 3: The Xbox Labs experiment (and one of the people behind it) Microsoft’s Xbox division, which is flooding the zone with announcements lately, yesterday revealed a new internal tech-tinkering team called Xbox Labs. In the words of Xbox boss Asha Sharma Labs is “a small group of game makers, engineers and scientists whose job is to turn emerging ideas into things our players and developers can experience.” Conventional wisdom coming out of the announcement is that Labs is a team that’ll focus on ideas driven by generative AI. In her announcement, Sharma cited some of the dizzying achievements in tech and gaming over the past month as AI agents and other AI tools have been deployed to swiftly figure out how popular games work, then rebuild them and mix them up. She mentioned seeing ”games rapidly decompiled and rebuilt to run on hardware they were never originally designed to support” and said “[p]erhaps more surprisingly, we’ve seen many of the biggest games in the world have been remixed into the source code of another.” (Minecraft plus Elden Ring, for example, or Fortnite + Super Monkey Ball + Overwatch + Diablo + others.) Sharma also cited the work of Windows PC games being ported to run in browsers, a seeming reference to a recent AI-assisted fan port of Halo. Or perhaps Call of Duty or GTA. Sharma didn’t use the specific term “AI” in her memo, but she came close, citing AI “agents” and their potential for game-making tools that Labs could help craft: I think XBOX has an important role to play here. Coding became the first major workload for agents because they can write, run, and test software. Games share many of those same properties, and people spend more than 72 billion hours a year playing XBOX games, roughly five times the estimated time spent writing code worldwide. We’ve spent 25 years learning how to make great games, and I want our game makers to help shape what these new technologies make possible. As we learn, we’ll share the tools we build with developers across the industry, just as we always have. When I asked an Xbox rep if Labs was an AI-centric team, they said genAI was not the focus, describing it as having a broader mandate for using new tech in new ways in gaming. As an example, they pointed to Xbox’s recently launched disc-to-digital gaming usage rights program. Microsoft didn’t specifically name anyone involved full-time in Xbox Labs yesterday, but on social media and LinkedIn, I spotted Adrian Mato IDing himself as leading the creatio of tools at Labs and talking up the launch. Mato first caught my attention in late September, when he said on X that he was “starting to build a new team at Xbox focused on products and tools for how games get built and distributed as agentic tools become more capable.” At the time, he framed AI-based tools as a supplement to traditional game dev tools. “I don’t think we need to replace them,” he said. Since then, he’s publicly shown interest in AI and in games. He’s recently spent some of his X feed marveling at the power of AI agents and praising the lighting in the latest Gears of War. Following the Labs announcement yesterday, he enthused about the Xbox Labs’ stylish landing page. He wrote: “We built some fun tools to art-direct shaders in real time, experimented with interactive ASCII art, and sprinkled in lots of tiny details. “Move your mouse to leave a colorful trail that reveals the original footage, or interact with the video to trigger bursts of particles. “A lot of love went into making it all feel just right. “More to come”
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Amazon (AMZN) Has a $25B Chip Business. Is the Cash Burn Worth It?
Most people think of Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) as the place their packages come from. The part of the company drawing the most attention right now sells something far less visible: custom AI chips. In the second quarter of 2026, Amazon Web Services (AWS) said its chips business and its AI business had each passed a $25 […]
Bleached Coral Rebounded After Touching Healthy Coral, Study Finds
After sick corals were placed in direct contact with healthy ones of the same genetic make-up, they recovered at “incredible” speed, scientists found.
SEG releases plans for Downtown entertainment district, Salt Palace overhaul
The Smith Entertainment Group released new details and plans for its Downtown district with updates to the Salt Palace and Delta Center.
Tulane Beach Volleyball Receives Bid to AVCA Pairs National Championship
The Green Wave pair of Tawny Ensign and Kaydence Stormes finished in third place in the bid division to clinch the team's spot.
NYC Health + Hospitals Arts in Medicine Department Completes Conservation of Major Works by Black Artists at Harlem Hospital
NYC Health + Hospitals’ Arts in Medicine department today announced the completion of conservation work on several of the most significant works by Black
Meghan Markle enjoys London lunch date close to her and Prince Harry's former royal home
Meghan Markle was spotted out in London on a lunch date the day before her and Prince Harry's joint visit to Nottingham, a place that holds special significance for the couple.
Celebrate Ukrainian culture at annual festival this weekend
UTICA — With preparations in full swing, the public is invited to celebrate Ukrainian culture as the annual Ukrainian Festival will take place from noon to 9 p.m. Friday, Oct.
Federal watchdog says 9 large US banks denied service to customers over political or religious views
A federal banking watchdog determined that nine banks' sweeping internal guidelines lacked objective, risk-based criteria, effectively shutting out legitimate customers.
Leading Life Science Organisations Collaborate for Second London Bio-Innovation Week
One Nucleus, SLAS, and ELRIG will connect their communities through cross-event networking and partnering opportunities during London Bio-Innovation Week, taking place 7th - 11th December 2026
Michigan State Basketball Ranked Among College Basketball’s Elite
Advanced analytics place the Spartans on the doorstep of championship contention, fueling high expectations as Tom Izzo’s squad prepares to navigate a grueling schedule and chase national glory.
Rome launches Halloween decorating contest
Judging will take place between Thursday, Oct. 15 and Wednesday, Oct. 21.
🚨 Iraola makes four changes to Liverpool's XI against LASK
Liverpool return to the demands of European football away at LASK after losing to Manchester City in the Premier League. A guaranteed win?Today's match takes place at the Raiffeisen Arena in Linz, wit...
iPhone Duo: Apple Charging $49 for New Cover Layer, $229 for Battery
We just published Apple's list of iPhone Duo repair fees for customers without AppleCare+ coverage, and we want to bring extra attention to two of the fees in particular: a new cover layer costs $49, and a replacement battery is $229. Apple's vice president of hardware engineering Kate Bergeron revealed that the iPhone Duo's nano-texture cover layer above the inner display can be removed and replaced.
iPhone Duo: Skipping AppleCare+ Could Be $1,499 Mistake
Apple today listed its estimated repair fees for the iPhone Duo without AppleCare+ coverage, with the maximum fee in the U.S. for "other damage" set at $1,499. If you only damage certain parts of the iPhone Duo, the fees are more manageable. For example, the repair fee for damaged back glass is set at $199. If you eventually want to replace the battery in your iPhone Duo, that will cost you $229.
Nebraska vs Indiana: The Numbers Behind a 20-17 Loss
Nebraska vs Indiana ended 20-17, and Nebraska had a two-score lead in the fourth quarter before it got away. That one hurt. I’ll say this up front: I think this team is playing better football than Nebraska has played in a very long time. For those of you who see the world in black and […]