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Louisiana native Spencer Williams Jr. paved the way for Black filmmakers. Why was he forgotten?
Who is Spencer Williams Jr.? He's probably best known for his final acting role as Andrew "Hogg" Brown, or simply Andy, in CBS's 1950s era television version of "The Amos 'n' Andy Show."
New York Yankees Announce Roster News After Pirates Series
On Wednesday night, the New York Yankees played the finale of their three-games series with the Pittsburgh Pirates (at home).The Yankees won by a score of 2-0.Since they played a double-header, the Yankees were able to add a 27th man to the roster.They brought up Spencer Jones.New York Yankees Announce Roster NewsAfter the game, the […] The post New York Yankees Announce Roster News After Pirates Series appeared first on HEAVY.
Xbox Studio Leaders Reportedly Detest Game Pass, Arguing it Destroyed the Value of Their $40+ Games Now Available for Pennies
Xbox studio heads reportedly detest Game Pass, arguing it devalued their games by making them available for pennies through the subscription.
Skubal deals and Torkelson mashes in easy win over Angels
Spencer Torkelson hit a pair of home runs in a relatively easy win.
Saturday Bantering: Little And Estrada Called Up
We made it to another weekend. There are only ten of these weekends left this season Yesterday’s game was the latest in a series of terrible games this year. I’m wondering if they can continue to go with Spencer Miles one of five starts. But then, I don’t know who the next choice is. And […]
Oscar winner Octavia Spencer receiving George Eastman Award in Rochester
Spencer made sure to praise George Eastman and the impact he had on her during an event on Friday.
Leonard Spencer lands support from West Orange Political Alliance
Spencer touted his support for small businesses and investments in workforce development.
Green MP Hannah Spencer aims to pass law on maximum workplace temperatures
Byelection winner says heatwaves are causing ‘absolute chaos’ and workers need protection from unsafe conditions
MARSP mini-grant brings science to life for third grade students
IRON MOUNTAIN — The Dickinson Country branch of the Michigan Association of Retired School Personnel, or MARSP, awarded a $250 mini-grant to Iron Mountain North Elementary third grade teacher Sommer Spencer. The funds were used to purchase materials for students to participate in Ecosystems in Action: Growing Scientists Through Hands-On Investigation, an science project that […]
Browns roster: OL depth chart and expectations
Cleveland Browns roster sees a remade offensive line under new coach George Warhop. Predicting 2026 for Spencer Fano and co.
Cherington talks offensive improvements, Griffin's health, Trade Deadline and more
The Pirates have been bitten by the injury bug. Oneil Cruz and Spencer Horwitz are rehabbing in Florida. Konnor Griffin will be out until September with a torn sagittal band in his left ring finger. But as general manager Ben Cherington sees it, none of that changes the Pirates’ goals
Yana Rusovski Analyzes Fair Housing Compliance Challenges in Heartland Real Estate Business
Spencer Fane attorney Yana Rusovski authored the article What Housing Providers Need to Know About the IDHR Process, recently published by Heartland Real
A GOP lawmaker who owns a fireworks business urged followers to defy Utah Gov. Cox’s pyro restrictions
As Utah Gov. Spencer Cox orders statewide firework restrictions to prevent new wildfires, a GOP lawmaker — who co-owns a firework business — encouraged Utahns to go ahead with pyrotechnic celebrations anyway.
Sony will cease production of discs for new PlayStation games in 2028
New games sold for PlayStation consoles will only be available digitally and won’t be sold on discs effective January 2028, Sony has announced. The move applies to all PlayStation games released from that point on, including those made by Sony and those released by third parties. The PlayStation group calls the change “a natural direction for Sony Interactive Entertainment to adapt to consumer trends as the general preference for digital media significantly outpaces physical discs,” according to a PlayStation blog post reviewed by Game File in advance of its publication. As movies, TV and music have shifted from physical media to an age of downloads and streaming, Sony’s move could speed the demise of physical media in a gaming. The industry has offered consumers games via cartridges, cassettes, floppy discs, CDs, DVDs and Blu-Rays across a 50-year stretch. Sony has been reporting to investors in recent years that PlayStation games have been increasingly purchased as downloads, not as discs. The most recent figures show nearly four in five purchases of full games for PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 were purchased digitally in the past year. Stats like that may cause today’s news to carry an air of the inevitable. But Sony’s declaration for 2028 is still likely to produce a shock, as the biggest gaming platform on the planet that uses game discs leaves them behind. Discs going away, but the fate of game boxes is unknown Sony is committing to still selling games in physical retailers even after they drop discs in 2028. Just how those games will be sold—in boxes with codes inside, as cards marked with digital redemption codes—is unclear. Digital games will also continue to be sold in the online PlayStation Store. New games released for PlayStation consoles prior to January 2028 will be unaffected by the policy change, Sony says. That means the PS5 games of 2027, be they a new Madden, a new God of War, a new Call of Duty, a new Sly Cooper (one can dream?), would still potentially be offered on disc. PlayStation 6 implications Sony’s timeline for a transition to a no-disc era will also spin up more speculation about the timing and configuration of Sony’s next-generation console, the probable PlayStation 6. “This pretty much guarantees that PS6 won’t arrive until 2028 at the earliest,” Piers Harding-Rolls, senior games research analyst at Ampere Analysis tells Game File. Harding-Rolls also concludes from today’s news that “the base version of a PS6 will not include a physical media drive,” as Sony looks to keep costs down on the device. Sony itself is saying nothing about the PS6 today: not its timing, nor how it might or might not support internal or external disc drives in order to run disc-based PS4 and PS5 games, should the console be backwards compatible. The many signs this was coming Industry support for games being released on physical media has been waning. As has consumer interest in them. PC games effectively went all-digital years ago, thanks to the popularity of playing games through Steam and other digital storefronts. The Covid-19 pandemic and the lockdowns that kept much of the global population home helped shift shopping patterns toward downloads. Sony’s own data shows PlayStation game downloads being an uncommon consumer choice a decade ago and now becoming the norm. On consoles, physical media has been in such decline that Sony and Microsoft both launched their current gen Xbox Series and PS5 consoles in 2020 with cheaper versions that lacked disc drives. In early 2024, Phil Spencer, then head of Xbox, told me that ““[w]e ship games physically and digitally, and we’re really just following what the customers are doing.” He added that the game industry had become an outlier in still supporting disc-based entertainment, even as movies and TV have bailed on discs in favor of downloads and steaming: “Gaming consoles themselves have kind of become the last consumer electronic device that has a drive. And this is a real issue, just in terms of the number of manufacturers that are actually building drives and the cost associated with those. And when you think about cogs that we’re going to go put in a console—and as you have fewer suppliers and fewer buyers—the cost of the drive does have an impact.” Last year, the Nintendo’s Switch 2, which uses cartridges rather than discs, introduced the concept of game-key cards, which are physical media that contain no game, just a prompt for a download. Even disc-based games aren’t what they once were, now frequently containing just stubs of games rather than the whole thing. The website Does It Play has tested over 3000 games and found that, for example, that the disc version of this year’s hit 007: First Light, only contained the game’s first mission, with the rest needing to be downloaded. Beyond all that, last week brought the news that Grand Theft Auto VI, likely the biggest game launch this decade, will debut for PS5 and Xbox Series without a disc-based version. Today’s big news comes to you for free. Game File is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and ensure more of my work is possible, please consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Subscribe Discs helped define PlayStation However the trends in entertainment may be going, it is still remarkable to see PlayStation ditch discs given their importance in PlayStation history: In the late 1990s, the first PlayStation’s support for games on relatively cheap CD-ROMs instead of traditional game cartridges allowed the upstart console to outmaneuver cartridge-based systems from Nintendo and Sega, as it drove down game prices down in the process. (The cheaper disc format even prompted Final Fantasy VII maker Square to taunt Nintendo in a magazine ad, saying that if the game was “available on cartridge, it’d retail for around $1200.”) PlayStation devices often doubled as machines for watching movies and TV on the latest disc-based formats. In the late 2000s, for example, Sony’s pricy PS3 gained traction as a go-to device for playing then-novel Blu-Ray discs. In 2013, Sony effectively roasted the digital game-sharing restrictions proposed by rival Microsoft for its upcoming Xbox One console by showing how games could be shared for the then-upcoming PS4. In a 21-second clip that has over 20 million views on YouTube, one PlayStation executive simply handed a game box—presumably with disc inside—to another, who said “thanks.” Sony’s possible motivations The PlayStation announcement today cites “consumer preferences” and a shift away from discs among “the broader entertainment industry,” but does not delve into the decision-making process that brought Sony to this point. Sony is not discussing the economics of this move (I asked!), but there are a number of potential factors: Abandoning discs will spare Sony the cost of manufacturing and shipping them, which analysts and industry veterans I spoke to said could account for $1 or so of a game’s retail price. For first-party games, that’s direct savings for Sony, though the amount is limited by the winnowing percentage of people who were even buying the disc-based versions. For third-party games, Sony could pass the savings on to partners or just retain the better profit margin for themselves. As the 2024 comments from Phil Spencer alluded to, leaving discs behind could mean leaving disc-drives behind, allowing Sony to produce consoles more cheaply. Switching to digital-only for games could diminish the risks of copies of new games leaking. It would also seemingly make second-hand sales of used games impossible, pushing more people to buy their own copies of games. These economic benefits for Sony could be boons for the games industry overall, Ampere analyst Piers Harding-Rolls tells Game File. Among other things, it could free publishers and retailers from having to worry about securing an inventory of game discs when trying to sell games, he noted. “If there is a way to streamline the business of games retail, I generally think it’s a good thing for the industry as it removes unnecessary costs,” Harding-Rolls said. “This will help offset pressure on margins from other directions – development and staffing costs for example.” Should the industry shift from game boxes that contain discs to smaller, cheaper game cards, Harding-Rolls said, that reduces pressure on publishers and retailers. “The advantage of everything going digital for the industry is that sales can be tracked much more easily and there is less commercial risk for publishers wanting to continue selling via retail,” he said. The shift to no discs will also likely impact game development timelines, as developers will no longer face the same urgency to have a build ready to submit to PlayStation for the production of a disc, as industry experts noted around GTA VI’s no-disc news last week. Instead, projects may gain weeks of development time, in the event delivery deadlines for platform approval move closer to release date. Preservationists’ likely worries While millions of gamers have shifted to digital, there are still people who associate game discs—and only game discs—with actual ownership of PlayStation games. That portion of the gaming community spoke up last week about wanting to buy a version of GTA VI that they could hold in their hands, could lend to a friend and could potentially pop into a well-preserved PS5 console three decades from now and still see it run. Such gamers didn’t want to worry that they’d merely purchased a digital copy that could lose access to the game if, say, the company behind the game someday turns of the servers that transmit downloadable copies. Digital copies of games are inherently less long-lasting, because consumers aren’t actually buying a game (on a disc), just buying access to the game. The fine print in online gaming shops notes this, as does a recent law that went on the books in California in 2025. That lasw requires game publishers doing business in the state to refrain from words like “sell” when offering digital copies of games, unless they explicitly tell consumers that what’s being sold isn’t the game itself but a potentially revocable license to access it. A Sony spokesperson noted to Game File that “[w]ith all digital content, including games, movies, and music, players are purchasing a personal license for non-commercial use.” Regarding the fears of PlayStation games being lost to time in an all-digital era, the rep also noted that Sony remains “committed to delivering experiences from past generations to the new platforms our players are using.” They noted that PlayStation has used emulation and remasters to keep offering its classic games to modern gamers. It’s true that many consumers have become accustomed to not having physical copies of new music albums or movies, but the relative precariousness of digital copies of games is in fact being highlighted today by…. Sony’s other big announcement: the upcoming closure of the PS3 and PS Vita online stores Sony said today that it will be closing the online marketplaces for its PlayStation 3 console and PS Vita handheld in most countries in July 2027 (sooner elsewhere: August 2026 for the PS3 store Mexico, Honduras and Nicaragua; late 2026 for PS3 in other Latin American countries and the Middle East). “We know this news may be disappointing to PS3 and PS Vita players who hold a special place in their hearts for this generation of gaming,” Sony said in its announcement, saying the move “was not an easy decision for us to make.” Sony said that PS3 and Vita marketplaces “are no longer able” to support modern commerce systems, prompting a “need” to close the shops and focus on more modern PlayStation platform stores. The news may spark some deja vu. Sony announced back in March 2021 that it planned to take the PS3, Vita and PlayStation Portable marketplaces offline that summer. The move would have caused some 2,000 digital-only games to become unavailable for new purchasers, according to a VGC analysis at the time. Fans complained loudly. By April 2021, Sony walked back the PS3 and Vita shop closures, with then PlayStation boss Jim Ryan saying “it’s clear that we made the wrong decision here.” This time around, Sony is giving a longer notice period in most regions. The closure of those stores is still likely to cut off access to new purchases of digital-only PS3 and Vita games. The current PlayStation 5 marketplace sells PS5 and PS4 games, as well as a selection of PS1 and PS2 games. It does not sell PS3 games, because games for that platform can’t run on the system (some are offered via a PlayStation Plus streaming option). Vita games also aren’t sold via PS5. Sony says digitally purchased PS3 and Vita games will be downloadable after the stores’ shutdowns “for the foreseeable future.” Sony’s move contrasts with Microsoft’s Xbox platform, which continues to sell and support games from all four Xbox console generations. But it puts it in line with Nintendo, which disabled purchases in the marketplace for its Wii console (a contemporary of the PS3) in 2019. Nintendo discontinued purchases in the online shop for its 3DS portable (a contemporary of the Vita) in 2023. The big questions about Sony’s 2028 post-disc era Will Microsoft follow suit, ending support for new disc-based games on Xbox platforms and therefore all game consoles, too? Whether Microsoft does or not, will third-parties that can no longer release games on discs for PlayStation, simply ditch the disc options across the board? Given the GTA VI no-disc experiment launching this November, will more game publishers decide to forgo disc-based offerings even in 2027? How will no-disc PS5/6 games be packaged and sold in brick-and-mortar retail stores? What becomes of game sharing in an all-digital era? Will Sony modify its current set-up, which currently allows some sharing of digital games across a pair of consoles, to allow more casual lending? (See for example, Nintendo’s year-old system of letting players lend a digital game to another player in a “family group” for up to 14 days.) Will there be a version of a PS6 with a disc drive? Or will a drive be offered as an add-on? And how will gamers who want to retain access to PS4/PS5 disc-based games react to whichever configurations Sony chooses to offer? What will the final disc-based PlayStation game be?
Octavia Spencer's Orit Entertainment Names New Heads Of Film & TV
Octavia Spencer's Orit Entertainment has made two key executive hires, naming Kathryn Tyus-Adair as Head of Film and Adam Wagner as Head of Television
Octavia Spencer’s Orit Entertainment Names Kathryn Tyus-Adair Head Of Film & Adam Wagner Head Of Television
EXCLUSIVE: Octavia Spencer’s Orit Entertainment has made two key executive hires, naming Kathryn Tyus-Adair as Head of Film and Adam Wagner as Head of Television. “Kathryn and Adam are exceptional exe...
Kojima Says Only Xbox And Phil Spencer Understood OD, His New Horror Game
Apparently, former Xbox boss Phil Spencer got OD while other video game CEOs didn't
Yankees bludgeoned as Warren melts down following fifth inning error
Warren’s implosion was punished by Sal Stewart and Spencer Steer,
HHS’ Office for Civil Rights Settles Ransomware Investigation with Health Plan
HHS, Office for Civil Rights (OCR) today announced a settlement with Spencer Gifts LLC Flexible Benefits and Welfare Benefit Plans.
Spencer Strider gets moved to 60-day IL
See ya later, Strider. Hopefully things will be better in 60 days.
Merchants of Doubt and the attacks on Extreme Event Attribution science
Last week, I attended a meeting at Columbia University on attribution science and climate law, hosted by the Sabin Center. It was a fantastic event, bringing together scientists and legal experts working at the intersection of extreme event attribution and climate law. Subscribe For those unfamiliar with it, extreme event attribution attempts to quantify the contribution of climate change to an extreme event. For example, several groups analyzed the impact of climate change on Hurricane Harvey’s enormous rainfall totals over Houston, Texas and they found that climate change increased rainfall by 15 to 38%. One thing that came up again and again was how terrified fossil-fuel interests are of extreme event attribution science. They are acutely aware that this research could land them in court. And losing those cases would leave them legally liable for billions of dollars in climate damages. Because the legal stakes are so high, the blowback has turned ugly. I spoke with several scientists at the meeting who are facing ongoing harassment over their work. This blowback is a coordinated campaign to make the entire field look suspect. The goal is to create the impression that attribution science is too uncertain, too political, or too conflicted to be useful in court or in public policy. The strategy is not based on actual science or evidence of misconduct, but on the generation of doubt. The new Merchants of Doubt We’ve seen this before. In fact, not that long ago: We only have to go back a year to the Department of Energy (DOE) Climate Working Group (CWG) report to see an example of using doubt as the tool to push back against well-established science. This strategy is laid out in an email from a member of the CWG, Dr. Roy Spencer, that was released during litigation over the Climate Working Group process. The key quote is: About all I can hope is that what we write will provide sufficient “reasonable scientific doubt” regarding the science claims in the 2009 TSD [technical support document], based upon almost 2 decades of new science, to call into question the original reasoning for the EPA Administrator’s decision that CO2 presents a threat to human health and welfare. This statement is strong evidence that at least some members of the committee were working to support a particular policy outcome: revoking the Endangerment Finding. The email also explains how they planned to do it: by attempting to generate “reasonable doubt”. This is going to be hard, Spencer implies. Despite falsely claiming that “2 decades of new science” weakens the case, Spencer explicitly acknowledges that the actual peer-reviewed science of climate change overwhelmingly rejects his position: But if the science argument is decided upon by a vote, or by the number of published citations, we lose the science argument. We can go back even further: This CWG email shares unmistakable DNA with the infamous 1969 tobacco memo that declared: “Doubt is our product, since it is the best means of competing with the ‘body of fact’ that exists in the mind of the general public. It is also the means of establishing a controversy.” The tobacco memo also acknowledges the limit of this strategy: Like the CWG, they knew the science was not on their side. Share The new new Merchants of Doubt The people attacking the IPCC chapter on extreme event attribution are the newest iteration of the Merchants of Doubt. Their goal, like all Merchants before them, is to introduce doubt into the process. Because the report is not even out yet, they cannot attack its conclusions. So they are attacking the authors instead. Here is a press release from the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee: In the letter, the Chairmen express concerns about potential conflicts of interest involving members of the Attribution Committee, stating that “publicly available information suggests a troubling pattern” in which committee members are affiliated with nonprofits that support climate accountability lawsuits, “raising the appearance of impropriety and member bias.” To be clear, this is just innuendo. There is no actual evidence of bias. And given the robust process that these reports go through, including multiple lines of peer review, it seems very unlikely that significant bias can survive into the report. When the report comes out, critics will have the opportunity to make legitimate criticisms of the report — if any exist. If none do, however, they’ll still make criticisms, but they’ll be bogus, simply designed to generate doubt. We’ll see. A note to the press: Fix your frame To any journalists reading this: The public debate over extreme event attribution science is not going away. The science is simply too dangerous to fossil-fuel interests for them to stop fighting it. You very well might be assigned to write an article about this area of research in the future. When you do, do not automatically adopt the framing that climate misinformers want you to use. They want you to frame the story around questions like: Are climate scientists trying to put their thumb on the scale to achieve a predetermined, politically motivated result? Are climate scientists improperly letting their politics invade the science of the IPCC? That frame is a trap. Instead, you need to view this through the historical lens of the Merchants of Doubt. How does the ecosystem of doubt operate? Who funds it? What methods do they use to misrepresent science and slime researchers? What scientific results are they trying to keep people from understanding are legitimate? Ultimately, you instead need to focus your article on the generation of doubt as a way to maintain the fossil fuel industry’s social and legal license to keep burning oil, gas, and coal. If you treat the misinformers’ frame as a legitimate, good-faith scientific critique, you are helping them produce doubt. Don’t do it. Don’t be a Merchant of Doubt. Thanks for reading The Climate Brink! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support our work. Subscribe other stuff The Staying Curious Substack has an interesting post about the different flavors of climate sensitivity. This is crucial information if you want to understand how scientists think about how much warming the Earth will experience. I’d be grateful if you could hit the like button ❤️ below! It helps more people discover these ideas and lets me know what’s connecting with readers.
Analyst says Xbox CEO Asha Sharma’s Next 100 Days will be about “the job she was Actually Hired to do,” with Mass Layoffs Looming
Xbox chief executive officer Asha Sharma went from being the new face of Team Green, leading the platform into a new era, to being no different from the last in the eyes of players in the blink of an eye. After making Game Pass cheaper, re-centering console hardware and bringing exclusives back, Xbox fans praised her quick action and transparency. Now, however, with multiple studios reportedly being closed and more mass layoffs looming, she and her regime are no different from Spencer's. Industry veteran and analyst Joost van Dreunen calls it "the job she was actually hired to do." Van […]
Braves reporter sounds alarm on worst-case scenario for Spencer Strider's elbow injury
The Atlanta Braves are now likely going to be without Spencer Strider for quite some time, maybe even the season. His doctor he will be seeing suggest elbow surgery is on the way.
Cleveland Browns news (6/13): Spencer Fano flexing his muscles
The latest Cleveland Browns news and notes from around the NFL in the Saturday Dawg Chow.
Braves Make Spencer Strider Announcement After Leaving Mets Game
Atlanta Braves right-hander Spencer Strider left Friday's game against the New York Mets.
Spencer Strider exits game following alarming drop in velocity
This doesn’t look good!
Spencer Pratt Concedes Defeat in Los Angeles Mayoral Race
Spencer Pratt conceded that he will not be L.A.'s next mayor in a video taunting the winning candidates.
KU museums highlight global art, science during World Cup
Two KU museums are highlighting global connections this summer with exhibitions tied to the World Cup games in the Kansas City area.
Commentary: Spencer Pratt could have been a real contender. His greatest enemy was himself
Spencer Pratt had a few things going for him when he launched an insurgent campaign to become Los Angeles' next mayor.
AI in Health Care: The Governance Gap
Artificial intelligence is no longer a future concept in health care; it is already shaping documentation, triage, utilization review, patient
The rise and fall of 'The Hills' star Spencer Pratt's improbable campaign for Los Angeles mayor
Pratt, a reality television personality, was not able to pull off his latest venture — an improbable bid to become mayor of Los Angeles.
Nithya Raman ‘incredibly honoured’ to advance to LA mayor runoff after seeing off Republican
Left-wing candidate vows ‘fight for a healthier, safer and more joyful Los Angeles’ after edging out Spencer Pratt
Nithya Raman, not Spencer Pratt, will advance in the LA mayor race and face off against incumbent Karen Bass in November
Liberal council member advances to runoff with Bass in Los Angeles mayor’s race
Nithya Raman will head to a runoff with Mayor Karen Bass (D), edging out Republican reality TV star Spencer Pratt.
Nithya Raman will advance over Spencer Pratt to face Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass in November, CNN projects
Nithya Raman will advance to the November election in the Los Angeles mayoral race, CNN’s Decision Desk projects, after overtaking Spencer Pratt for second place as more votes were counted in the days after the June 2 primary.
Nithya Raman advances over Spencer Pratt to face L.A. Mayor Karen Bass in a runoff
NBC News projects Bass, the Democratic incumbent, and Raman, a City Council member, will face off in November after receiving the most votes in the all-party first-round election.
Nithya Raman, Spencer Pratt locked in tight race for LA mayor runoff
The race was still too early to call on Sunday as the vote tally showed Raman moving into second place behind the incumbent Bass
Spencer Pratt, former reality TV star, loses ground in LA mayor's race
Former reality TV star Spencer Pratt has lost significant ground in his bid to become mayor of Los Angeles.
Nithya Raman narrowly leads Spencer Pratt in race for second spot in Los Angeles mayoral race
Nithya Raman pulled ahead of former reality TV star Spencer Pratt in the race for the second spot in the November election for Los Angeles mayor after a vote update Sunday evening.
Raman overtakes Spencer Pratt in razor-thin race, AP count shows, but race remains uncalled
Los Angeles City Council member Nithya Raman has overtaken Spencer Pratt in the latest AP vote count, leading by more than 3,000 votes in the race.
Nithya Raman and Spencer Pratt locked in tight race to make runoff for Los Angeles mayor
Days after California’s primary, Nithya Raman and Spencer Pratt are still waiting to see who makes the November runoff for Los Angeles mayor against incumbent Karen Bass | News-Talk 1380 WAOK
Nithya Raman and Spencer Pratt locked in tight race to make runoff for Los Angeles mayor
Days after California’s primary, Nithya Raman and Spencer Pratt are still waiting to see who makes the November runoff for Los Angeles mayor against incumbent Karen Bass.
Nithya Raman leaps past Spencer Pratt in tight, unresolved race to make L.A. mayoral runoff
NBC News has not yet projected who will join incumbent Mayor Karen Bass in the November runoff election.
L.A. Mayor's Race: Nithya Raman Closes in on Spencer Pratt
Nithya Raman has overtaken Spencer Pratt in the race for L.A.’s next mayor.
Spencer Pratt's runner-up edge over Democrat Raman down to 1%, few thousand ballots
Spencer Pratt's lead over Nithya Raman in the L.A. mayoral race has slimmed to just 1% as late ballot counting continues days after election day.
Can Spencer Pratt, Tom Steyer clear primary hurdles? California election updates
Reality TV's Spencer Pratt is losing ground in the LA mayoral race as Democrat Tom Steyer and Republican Steve Hilton compete in the gubernatorial primary.
Yankees news: Benny Backstop? Don’t count on it
Ben Rice won’t catch anytime soon; Brendan Beck hurls a no-no; Spencer Jones is back; Schlittler named for a Boston legend
Spencer Pratt in Los Angeles spearheads wave of reality stars running for office
Celebrities like Spencer Pratt are making waves from California to New Jersey by running for office to chattering about it, raising questions about the power of fame in politics.
Spencer Pratt's Race for Mayor Shows How Climate Disasters Can Fuel Anti-Establishment Politics
Research has long shown that poorly managed disasters foment distrust in institutions.
How a simple mix-up fueled false conspiracies about L.A. vote count
An update of votes for Los Angeles mayor, reported by media outlets, led some observers to believe there was a large batch of votes counted that included zero votes for candidate Spencer Pratt. There was no such batch, but there was a misleading update.
A Brit, a billionaire and Spencer Pratt: California’s primary upsets
Jonathan Freedland speaks to the Guardian’s Sam Levin about the big takeaways from the single busiest primary day of the year so far
Pirates' Spencer Horwitz: Racks up three hits
Pirates' Spencer Horwitz: Racks up three hits
Astros' Spencer Arrighetti: First rough start of season
Astros' Spencer Arrighetti: First rough start of season
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass advances to November runoff as she seeks second term
Spencer Pratt, a Republican and former star of the reality television show “The Hills,” was second in early returns. Pratt accuses Bass of letting wildfires get out of control and failing to make enough progress on the homeless crisis.
A rare Trump setback, a missing congressman and Spencer Pratt: 6 takeaways from the latest midterm primaries
The contours of a premier Senate race took shape in Iowa, while President Donald Trump’s endorsement streak ran into a roadblock there.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass punched her ticket for November’s election. Spencer Pratt is still hoping for his
Bass secured a spot on the November ballot and Pratt was running in second place as of early Wednesday morning,
RRH marks one year of free genetic screening program that identifies health risks
13WHAM ABC Rochester provides local news, weather forecasts, traffic updates, health reports, notices of events and items of interest in the community, local sports and entertainment programming for Rochester and nearby towns and communities including Greece, Victor, Pittsford, Penfield, Henrietta, Webster, Irondequoit, Fairport, Chili, Gates, Rush, Wheatland, Canandaigua, Farmington, Spencerport and Hilton.
Reality TV star Spencer Pratt tests LA voters' appetite for political outsider
Voters across Los Angeles share their thoughts on reality TV star Spencer Pratt entering the mayoral race and reveal the issues and leadership traits driving their decisions at the ballot box.
The Biggest Threat to JD Vance Is Spencer Pratt
Washington loves Rubio. A brash bully from outside conventional politics is the bigger potential challenge.
Tuesday’s wild races for California governor and Los Angeles mayor, and other elections to watch
Six states will hold primaries on Tuesday: California, Iowa, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico and South Dakota. Will a Democrat advance in California’s governor’s race? Can Spencer Pratt advance in the contest for Los Angeles mayor? And who will Iowa Democrats nominate in their push to flip a Senate seat being vacated by Republican Sen. Joni Ernst?
Reality star Spencer Pratt is upending Los Angeles’ mayoral race
He is challenging Mayor Karen Bass
Spencer Leak Jr., leader of family funeral business, dies at 56
Leak spent more than four decades helping run the family funeral home business founded by his grandfather, the Rev. Andrew Leak, in 1933.
Karen Bass appears to liken Spencer Pratt to Trump amid tightening LA mayoral race
The Los Angeles mayoral race heads toward a likely runoff as Karen Bass, Spencer Pratt and Nithya Raman make final pitches before Election Day on Tuesday.
Spencer Pratt 'catching fire' among frustrated LA Democrats, House lawmaker says
Rep. Darrell Issa tells Fox News Digital that insurgent LA mayoral candidate Spencer Pratt is catching fire among frustrated Democratic voters.
Spencer Pratt revealed what he has learned since entering politics
Fox News host Greg Gutfeld and the ‘Gutfeld!’ panel discuss former first lady Jill Biden revealing her reaction to former President Joe Biden’s 2024 debate performance.
Spencer Pratt says he doesn’t care about national politics after Trump backed his bid for L.A. mayor
The former reality TV star said he doesn’t need anyone’s endorsement after President Donald Trump said he’d like to see him do well in the mayoral election.
Ebola, chemical plants and health, hantavirus, common colds, heat and more
As they say, bugs have ears. Public health has had a relentless May. Chemical plant (near) explosions, Ebola, hantavirus, and that's before you even get to the usual suspects: common colds, heat, and ticks. Here’s an attempt to keep you up to speed and, more importantly, what it means for you and your community. But first, an announcement: World Cup The World Cup starts in 15 days (not like anyone is counting down), and we are hanging TVs in the Health Security Operations Center. It’s going to be a gorgeous, chaotic celebration of basically every culture on earth. And it’s going to take a team effort—from communities to individuals, from public health to health care—to keep people healthy. That’s where you come in. If you’re going to the games or live within 30 miles of a stadium, we would love to hear from you. Sign up for a weekly survey here. Thanks to the more than 1,280 people who have already signed up…you will be hearing from us soon!! Global disease “weather report” Hantavirus: Two more cases The global count of cruise ship passengers with hantavirus has now increased to 13 cases (11 confirmed), with three deaths. The two new cases are overseas and among people who were already quarantining: A crew member in the Netherlands. A Spanish national passenger who was quarantining at home tested positive through daily monitoring. They are now in a biocontainment unit. In the U.S., everyone remains negative. There may be more cases, given that the incubation period of hantavirus (the time from exposure to infection) is 45 days. But this week, we will reach a major milestone: the median incubation window is 18 days, and that will pass on May 29. What this means for you: Your risk from this cruise ship outbreak remains essentially nil at this point. Ebola rages on in Central Africa Big thanks to Dr. Craig Spencer, a humanitarian physician who has treated and survived Ebola, for jumping in to provide the YLE community with an update. Craig, take it from here… The combined confirmed and suspected Ebola cases in DRC are now more than 1,000. All signs are pointing to a very long and catastrophic outbreak in Central Africa: This is a vast undercount. We know this because the test positivity rate is hovering around 50%, only 20% of contacts are being traced (and in some areas, no contacts at all), and more cases keep popping up with no known connection. This all points to widespread and undetected community transmission. This is in only a week of detection. Compared to previous outbreaks, the growth is very fast, as the huge West Africa outbreak in 2016 was first detected at 49 cases and rose to 208 cases a month later. It took four months for that outbreak to reach the size of the current one in the DR Congo. The cases are spread out across 16 health zones. There are now multiple epicenters, making containment very difficult. Next door in Uganda, the case count is seven. While this number is low compared to DRC, a concerning development is that two health care workers recently tested positive with uncertain exposure histories. If they weren’t treating known Ebola cases, this means it’s spreading undetected in Uganda as well. On the ground, backlash, including the burning of health centers, has emerged, a pattern seen in nearly every outbreak and rooted in deep community distrust. It often stems from outside actors working in communities without fully understanding or addressing local priorities. Affected populations may recognize the severity of Ebola while still holding other concerns as more pressing, such as where their loved ones are buried. Community trust is essential to an effective response, but difficult to build during an active emergency. It is best established long before a crisis begins. U.S. priorities are made clear, and may backfire. The U.S. Administration has shown that its first priority is keeping Ebola out, with helping end the outbreak in the DRC a secondary concern. That's meant travel restrictions broader than anything we've imposed before — covering travelers from across the region, and reportedly some green card holders and permanent residents as well. For example, just these past two days, news broke that high-risk American travelers will be subject to a mandatory quarantine in Kenya before they are allowed to return. If an American is infected, the U.S. government plans to send them to a hospital it is standing up from scratch in Kenya. (Currently, Americans who were in the area are allowed to return but are diverted to three airports—Houston, Atlanta, and DC—for further screening.) Past administrations have used travel notices and stepped-up screening; this goes much further. At first blush, these strict precautions may sound prudent. But this approach could backfire in three ways: Restrictions this blunt give people every reason to hide where they’ve been and whom they’ve been near — making the people we most need to find harder to track, not easier. They also breed a false sense that this is someone else’s problem. But diseases are humbling. They find the small cracks in even the most impenetrable-seeming defenses. Lives lost. There is no treatment for this Ebola strain, which means survival depends heavily on the quality of the health system. We have that system in the States, but we are choosing not to use it for infected Americans. This is unbelievable and infuriating. (See a deeper dive from me here.) The only real way to lower the risk to Americans — and everyone else — is to end the outbreak in the DRC and across the region. What this means for you: If you have travel plans to this region, it’s time to cancel them. This is a high-risk situation in Central Africa, and CDC released a Level 4 Travel Advisory. There is also great uncertainty if and when the Administration will let you back in. To the general public in the U.S., your risk remains very, very low right now. U.S. disease “weather report” Ticks: past peak season? Good news, especially for people in the Northeast and Midwest: tick numbers continue to decline. Though we are at the peak of the season, this unusually early year is trending favorably. Heat-related illnesses in the North Heat risk is certainly not blanketing the entire country yet, but this week it will be moderate in the Midwest and the Southeast. What this means for you: Be sure to check the CDC HeatRisk tool. A red day isn’t the best day for that soccer game for a kid with asthma, and a stretch of orange days is a great time to check on your elderly neighbor. Common colds surging As far as respiratory viruses go, the only thing really going around right now is the common cold. It is higher this year than last year, but should peak very soon before returning this fall. Spotlight: Chemical plants Over the weekend, YLE California covered the serious situation that unfolded around a chemical plant in Orange County, California. Thankfully, the worst-case scenario (a chemical explosion) was mitigated, but only through luck. The health implications in a densely populated area could have been catastrophic. As the situation was winding down, another chemical explosion struck Washington State. This one was fatal. Health officials say the risk to surrounding residents from chemicals in the air and ground remains low, though the community deserves far greater clarity. Clean air and clean water consistently rank as Americans’ top public health concerns — yet when chemical disasters strike, communities are too often met with reassurances rather than transparency and accountability. Residents near the 2023 East Palestine, Ohio train derailment, for example, are still waiting to understand the long-term impact on their health, with few clear answers. What this means for you: Many are wondering if facilities processing potentially dangerous materials are in their neighborhoods. This interactive map allows you to enter your ZIP code and see all facilities monitored by the EPA, including any violations. Good news Ebola vaccines and treatment for the Bundibugyo species are in development. Two vaccine platforms are being explored, at least one of which may be deployable in as little as 2 months. One vaccine is being developed by Oxford, and the other uses the same biotechnology as the FDA-approved Zaire species of Ebola. (It may provide cross-protection, but it’s unclear at this point.) On the treatment side, two promising monoclonal antibody cocktails are likely to be deployed, though doses are limited and logistical hurdles remain significant challenges. Anni over at The Biotech Tea had a great explainer about the Ebola vaccine gap, if you want to read more. [ The Biotech Tea The Ebola vaccine gap, reading vessel damage, & the Makary exit 🗝️ Paid subscribers get the Biotech Term of the Week at $30/year (~$2.50/month). I try to keep it intentionally accessible, but if cost is ever a barrier, send me a message. A few people asked about expensing your subscription, so I put together a short email template… Read more 6 days ago · 10 likes · Annicka Evans, PhD ](https://www.thebiotechtea.com/p/the-ebola-vaccine-gap-reading-vessel?utm_source=substack&utm_campaign=post_embed&utm_medium=web) Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) has been officially renamed polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome (PMOS), following more than a decade of debate and input from roughly 22,000 clinicians, researchers, and patients worldwide. This is good because the old name was medically misleading, leading to patients without visible cysts being dismissed or overlooked entirely. The WHO estimates that 70% of people with the condition remain undiagnosed. A more accurate name should improve recognition, reduce stigma, and ultimately help the millions of people living with this condition get diagnosed and treated sooner. Poll Loading... Bottom line Public health situations are everywhere right now. Staying healthy takes public health professionals and systems working tirelessly behind the scenes and each of us showing up for our neighbors and communities. Love, YLE Big thanks to Ed Nirenberg for staying on top of the Ebola vaccines, Hannah Totte for all the figures, Dr. Craig Spencer for the Ebola insight, and Dr. Matt Willis for covering the chemical situation in CA. Your Local Epidemiologist (YLE) comprises a team of experts, ranging from physicians to immunologists to epidemiologists to nutritionists, working together with one goal: to “Translate” ever-evolving public health science so that people are well-equipped to make evidence-based decisions. YLE suite of newsletters reaches over 475,000 people across more than 132 countries. This newsletter is free to everyone, thanks to the generous support of fellow YLE community members. To support the effort, subscribe or upgrade below: Subscribe
Spencer Pratt torches ‘Karen Basura’ and puts a twist on how Los Angeles would handle ICE if he were mayor
Spencer Pratt opposes ICE in LA but says Mayor Karen Bass' political grandstanding is guaranteeing continued federal immigration enforcement raids.
UCF Alumnus Makes Epic Mark in the World of Themed Entertainment
As a performance coordinator at Universal Orlando Resort, Christian Spencer ’23 ’26MS is applying the unique insight he’s developed through UCF’s hospitality management and themed experience programs to elevate guest experiences.
Darin Brooks Is Returning to ‘The Bold and the Beautiful’ — With a Special Guest
His character, Wyatt Spencer, is making a big return after a two-and-a-half-year absence.
Darin Brooks Is Returning to ‘The Bold and the Beautiful’ — With a Special Guest
His character, Wyatt Spencer, is making a big return after a two-and-a-half-year absence.
Darin Brooks Is Returning to ‘The Bold and the Beautiful’ — With a Special Guest
His character, Wyatt Spencer, is making a big return after a two-and-a-half-year absence.
Soap vet Darin Brooks returning to 'The Bold and the Beautiful,' teases 'surprise special guest'
Darin Brooks is officially returning to 'The Bold and the Beautiful' after a two-and-a-half year hiatus. The soap vet tells EW what fans can expect from Wyatt Spencer, and teases a 'special guest' he's bringing along.
Reality check: Will online attention translate to real-life votes for Spencer Pratt in Los Angeles?
Ahead of the June 2 primary, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass has high disapproval ratings and has drawn broad criticism for her handling of the Palisades fires.
Spencer Pratt isn't running on MAGA. He's running on frustration.
Pratt is gaining ground because he hasn't presented himself as a traditional establishment Republican. Instead, he's targeting a very specific voter.
Visiting Voices: Spencer Cox and Jake Auchincloss, Cherelle Parker, Ken Burns, and more
Throughout the academic year, dozens of public figures from the worlds of politics, civil society, and academia speak at the John F. Kennedy Jr. Forum, part of Harvard Kennedy School’s Institute of Politics. Read what some of them had to say.
Yankees news: New York sends down Spencer Jones, Yovanny Cruz
Yanks clear space for Cole, Cabby. Grisham’s knee intact; Lombard Jr. climbs up prospect list; Rice’s path to majors; the emergence of Rice and Schlittler
Spencer Pratt calls Jesus Christ his political role model
Spencer Pratt named Jesus Christ as his top political role model in an interview as he campaigns for Los Angeles mayor against incumbent Karen Bass.
LA mayor's race: AI videos supporting Spencer Pratt shake up political playbook
AI-generated videos depicting L.A. mayoral candidate Spencer Pratt as a superhero and his rival Karen Bass as a villain are gaining traction online.
Pratt ‘going to forever change how political ads are done’: Chaffetz
Fox News host and former Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) on Sunday praised Spencer Pratt, the Republican candidate in the Los Angeles mayoral race, saying he is “going to forever change how poli…
Spencer Arrighetti Dominates Again as Astros Shut Out Rangers
Another win for Spencer Arrighetti on Friday night at Daikin Park as the Astros continue their homestand. Arrighetti has been the bright spot in the Astros' ever-so-struggling pitching staff and challenging 2026 season, and Friday night was no different. He had another outstanding performance for the Houston Astros, earning another win.
Spencer Torkelson walks off Blue Jays for epic Tigers win
Spencer Torkelson played the role of hero for the Detroit Tigers on Friday evening in Detroit with a walk-off, two-run RBI single.
AI-generated pro-Spencer Pratt mayoral campaign videos point to a new political reality
The reality TV alum’s bid for higher office gained viral traction after videos, which Pratt said were “fan-made,” circulated across social media.
Dan Loeb, Bobby Kotick and Other Business Leaders Backing Spencer Pratt
The former reality-TV star has shaken up the Los Angeles mayoral race, gaining support from deep-pocketed donors like the financier Daniel S. Loeb.
Robbinsville's Kynadee Spencer tops girls spring sports playoff top performers
Robbinsville's Kynadee Spencer powered the Black Knights to a regional final, leading Week 12 WNC high school spring sports girls top performers.
Opinion | Unfortunately, We Have to Take Spencer Pratt Seriously as a Politician
Reality stars and influencers in government are here to stay.
Reality TV politics takes center stage in LA mayor’s race
Media analyst Kaivan Shroff joins The Final 5 with Jim Lokay o weigh in on Spencer Pratt’s run for Los Angeles mayor, saying his celebrity profile and wildfire frustration reflect a broader anti-establishment mood in politics. The conversation also touched on how media figures like Don Lemon, Stephen A. Smith and Tucker Carlson are using attention and personal platforms to fuel political speculation.
Spencer Pratt's 'Pratt Factor' upends California politics
'Hot Mics' host Billy Bush discusses how California's political landscape has been shaken by newcomer Spencer Pratt as he mounts an unexpected rise against Democrats on 'Jesse Watters Primetime.'
Union-funded anti-Spencer Pratt ad sparks backlash as critics say it could help him
LA unions spent $221,000 on a political ad attacking Republican Spencer Pratt's mayoral campaign, but critics say the messaging could backfire.
Spencer Strider superb as Braves take down Dodgers, 7-2
Behind a stellar performance from Spencer Strider and an opportunistic offensive attack early, the Braves shook off their Dodger Stadium demons for at least one night to even up the series with a 7-2 win. Strider became the story on Saturday night, working six nearly perfect shutout innings. His slider was virtually un-hittable with a […]
Astros vs. Reds Game Thread: Game 40, 5/9/2026
TODAY’S GAME: The Houston Astros (16-23) and Cincinnati Reds (20-19) play their second game of a three-game series this afternoon at Great American Ball Park with first pitch scheduled for 3:10 p.m. CT. RHP Spencer Arrighetti (4-0, 1.96 ERA) is on the mound for the Astros looking for his fifth consecutive winning decision, while the […]
Yankees news: Spencer Jones’ debut
A top prospect gets the call; another setback for Gil; Max Fried’s dominance