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Amendment 71: New Opportunity: A.16 Cryosphere

A.16 Cryosphere solicits high-impact efforts focused on sea ice, ice sheets, and glaciers. The expectation is that proposed investigations will use the wealth of data from NASA satellites and airborne campaigns to address the most urgent and impactful topics in cryospheric science, as identified in the National Academy of Sciences Decadal Survey, Thriving on Our Changing Planet: A Decadal Strategy for Earth Observation from Space (2018), https://www.nap.edu/catalog/24938.

Sep 1 • 11:46 AM EDT • Science • science.nasa.gov

gamescom 2026’s Steam wishlist winners

gamescom wrapped up last weekend, and it was bloody fantastic. It really felt like the industry had a spring in its step again. The show itself was BUZZING, with 368K attendees (+3% over last year), maxed-out exhibit space, and Opening Night Live pulling over 78M online views (+7.5%). Let’s have a look at the games at the event that brought in the most new Steam wishlists between August 23 and 30. One quick thing before we start, and stop me if you’ve heard this one before, but wishlists are NOT a barometer for launch sales (they’re bookmarks, not baskets is what we always say over here at Alinea). With that aside, wishlists are a nice gauge of hype, so let’s dive in. Witche(r)s and Warlocks take the top two spots The biggest game of the event (by new wishlists, anyways) wasn’t a game at all. It was an expansion. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt’s upcoming expansion, Songs of the Past, nabbed 451K Steam wishlists by the end of the weekend. It’s a big example of something we bang on about constantly: proven IP with built-in fandom is the most powerful force in this market. But said IP can also ripple into other external success stories (more on that later!). Anyway, Songs of the Past debuted at Opening Night Live, and it’s the first Witcher 3 expansion in over a decade, landing next year after a full Witcher 3 remaster (free for existing owners!) arrives next month. The Witcher 3 has sold around 66M copies, and I’ll be one of those owners jumping back in to refresh myself on the core game (like there isn’t enough to play!), then play the expansion next year. This is all part of CDPR’s plan. The studio is clearly whetting everyone’s appetite for The Witcher 4 in 2028 via a classic bridge strategy. Want more free estimates and insights in your inbox twice a week? Subscribe below! Subscribe Releasing a free 4K remaster next month – followed by a proper expansion in 2027 – keeps IP top-of-mind across a huge gap between content (games-wise, anyway). It kind of echoes Capcom’s evergreen catalogue strategy. And outsourcing co-development to Fool’s Theory (a studio led by trusted Witcher 3 veterans) keeps CDPR’s internal headcount focused on The Witcher 4. #2 by wishlists between Aug 23 and 30 went to another giant IP: Warlock: Dungeons & Dragons, published by Wizards of the Coast and developed by Invoke Studios (a team of ex-Far Cry, Watch Dogs, and Splinter Cell devs). It’s due to launch in 2027, and it looks brilliant so far. It’s a dark-fantasy open world with third-person spell-slinging. It’s a very Witcher-ish aesthetic. As you might expect, 48% of Warlock’s Steam wishlisters have played Baldur’s Gate 3, and 46% have played The Witcher 3. One to watch. For sure! Mash-ups: Anime GTA (!?) and a city-builder for kids (and adults) Ananta took #3 with 302K new wishlists. It’s an open-world game that looks like GTA and Persona had a baby. It was published by NetEase, developed by Naked Rain, and got a trailer at Opening Night Live. I got hands-on at the show, and it wears its influences openly; there’s literal web-slinging (very Spider-Man) and a LOAD of mini-games (Like a Dragon). It’s free-to-play and out in January. For Ananta, Naked Rain is taking the free-to-play, cosmetics-only route. That’s certainly a choice for a single-player open-world game. Without gacha mechanics driving high ARPU, Ananta is betting purely on top-of-funnel reach and long-term retention. This puts pressure on skin appeal when there’s no multiplayer lobby to flex in (although, co-op is reportedly coming later). Want more free estimates and insights in your inbox twice a week? Subscribe below! Subscribe Then there’s Lego Skylines (273K wishlists between Aug 23 and 30), which does exactly what it says on the tin. It’s a cosy Lego twist on the city-builder genre, as shallow or as deep as you fancy (five min quick sesh or ten-hour no-lifer session; latter for me). There’s some family-friendly stuff in there like couch co-op, which is only really viable on console. Iceflake Studios, which Paradox acquired back in 2020 is developing this one. So Paradox is probably looking for a family-friendly onramp to its rad Cities: Skylines games. The overlap there is plain, with 33% of Lego Skylines wishlisters having played Cities: Skylines and 16% Skylines II. There’s no doubt plenty of parents here (and uncles, ahem) planning to indoctrinate the next gen of city-builders. I’ll definitely be playing with my youngest nephew. This one could be big and educational. I’m very curious to see more. Want more free estimates and insights in your inbox twice a week? Subscribe below! Subscribe Mature IP, new and old, rounds out the list As for the rest of the list of gamescom games by new wishlists between Aug 23 and 30: Heroes of Might & Magic III Remake got 189K new wishlists. It remakes the iconic 1999 turn-based-strategy classic in full 3D and 4K. It follows this year’s Heroes of Might & Magic: Olden Era (~1.8M copies sold, as per our estimates), and around a quarter of the III Remake wishlisters have played Olden Era, including 7% of them this month. Wardogs – a $40 PvP shooter – added another 146K to an already massive pile (nearly 1.6M total). It’s published by Team17 and made by Bulkhead. It plays somewhere between the tactical squad stuff of … Squad and the all-out-chaos battlefield of … Battlefield. It’s up to 100 players, and it’s out in about 10 days. It’s already pre-sold over 500K copies on Steam ($16.6M), boosted by a pre-order-only beta. It sold another 70K copies during gamescom, too. Afterworld managed 121K new wishlists. It’s a Paradox-made post-apocalyptic grand-strategy game, and it was announced at the show. It’s a departure from Paradox’s usual historical stuff, and the studio’s first new setting in over a decade. The Paradox purists are into it, with over half its wishlisters having played Hearts of Iron IV (19% this month) and 41% Crusader Kings III (17% this month). Metro 2039 got 110K during the show, tunnelling its total past 1.3M. Nearly 40% of wishlisters have played 2020’s Metro Exodus, the previous mainline title in the series. The Metro novels are Russian, dev 4A Games is Ukrainian, and it’s set in Moscow, so it’s unsurprising that – after the US (17.3% of wishlisters) – the next two countries are Russia (12.7%) and Ukraine (10.0%). The Blood of the Dawnwalker drew in (the blood of) 108K new wishlisters, now totalling an impressive 1.7M (at a $70 price point, though). It’s an open-world dark-fantasy action-RPG set in 14th-century Europe (with vampires!), made by some former Witcher devs at Rebel Wolves. Again, it shows. Over half of Blood of the Dawnwalker’s wishlisters have played The Witcher 3, and its #2 market is Poland, home of Rebel Wolves. That’s that hometown-hero effect we keep banging on about again! And Blood of the Dawnwalker plays very well, by the way. While it looks like a Witcher clone on the surface, it actually brings a lot to the table mechanics-wise. I love the whole time-as-a-currency spin on RPG gameplay. It gives the game a different, refreshing pace. Essentially, you start Blood of the Dawnwalker with a pool of 480 action points spread across 30 days and 30 nights. As for how the game performs, we’ll be posting some numbers next week, so hit subscribe below to get that in your inbox when it’s ready. Subscribe The Witcher’s legacy ripples Make no mistake: on a high level, this was The Witcher‘s gamescom. The #1 game by wishlisters was a Witcher 3 DLC. Warlock is clearly Witcher-inspired – as is Blood of the Dawnwalker, which was made by ex-Witcher devs. There was a lot of other cool stuff on the floor that we’ll no doubt be covering in subsequent newsletters, though! As always, wishlists went through the roof for sequels, remakes, DLC, and licensed IP. As always, though, these wishlists will likely convert to about 5% to 10% of launch-day buyers, with the probable exception of The Witcher DLC – the exception that proves the rule. Either way, we’ve got a nice, diverse list here – one that is very Witcher-y, Paradox-y, and – if you’re a fan of great games on Steam – a bloody good list. We even got a bunch of new IP to get excited for. Great gamescom! Even if we are still processing that unfathomable number of mini Kölsch beers! One more thing: GTA 6 broke the internet (again) Move aside, Spider-Man and The Odyssey (I love you both, really). But the decade’s defining entertainment zeitgeist is round the corner. Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ll know that Rockstar dropped an extended look at GTA 6 last week. It was INSANE, the most impressed I’ve ever been by a showcase like this. You can see the budget seeping through every second of the extended look, and this level of game is unobtainable for any other publisher. Everyone’s going nuts, and rightly so. GTA 6 is out in holiday 2026, and it’ll be the biggest entertainment release ever, full stop. For those without a PS5 or Xbox Series console, a $500-$900 console is a big ask in this economy, but GTA will pull a lot of last-generation-console fence sitters over the current-gen fence either way: The autumn timing puts GTA 6 on (digital) shelves for the holidays, meaning a PS5 or Xbox (let’s be honest, mostly the former) will be on many a Christmas and Hanukkah list. Demand will outweigh the struggling supply, though, and PS5 Pros are already sold out and being sold at a markup via scalpers. Every console that isn’t on a shelf is a sale deferred or lost, and worse, it hands scalpers the margin. GTA has cultural clout that reaches everyone. It’s been a mainstream fixture since 2001’s GTA III and its clout has only grown exponentially since then. There’s a touchpoint for every generation alive. The FOMO-word-of-mouth double punch does the rest. Loading... It’ll reactivate the lockdown cohort, the millions who picked up gaming in 2020-21 and churned. GTA 6 will bring them back. Remember when College Football 25 brought a bunch of US gamers to current-gen consoles? GTA will do that globally. Once they’re back (or upgraded), and all GTA’d out, the fresh current-gen-console folks will check out the rest of the current-gen catalogue they missed. GTA Online, if not free to play, will also lead to a boost for PS+ and Xbox Game Pass, another boost for the ecosystem players. Want more free estimates and insights in your inbox twice a week? Subscribe below! Subscribe Even some of the smug PCMR 60FPS crew won’t be able to resist their FOMO and will bite the bullet on a console to play this one early (then double dip). The consoles cost the same as a decent stick of RAM these days anyway lmao… Don’t get me wrong, though. GTA 6 is no silver bullet for the mature console market, but it does prime the current gen for a couple of strong swan-song years. And it’ll also give the consoles more users from which to maximise ARPU. ‘’We are in the latter half of the lifetime cycle of [the PS5],’’ said Sony President and CEO Hiroki Totoki in a Wall Street Journal interview. ‘’That means we do not need to aggressively sell the console today; rather than that, we are focusing on the current revenue from the current user base.’’ The biggest, best premium games always arrive late in a console cycle, so getting more players aboard now, ahead of that content storm (the new current-gen-only Call of Duty included), is a clear win for the platforms. On the Netflix thing, though: let’s all chill out a bit, like. Half my LinkedIn feed was going bonkers treating the reveal debuting on Netflix like it’s the future of entertainment. It wasn’t. It was a six-hour head start, and Netflix left that detail out of the “first-of-its-kind partnership” press release. The extended look hit Netflix at 3pm ET on 27 August, then went up on YouTube and Rockstar’s site for everyone six hours later. And it was all over social immediately, anyways. This reveal was going to reach an untold number of people whether it debuted on Netflix, YouTube, a Times Square screen, or a group chat. The last trailer did nearly half a billion views in a day with no gatekeeper at all. Netflix just stood next to that audience for six hours, borrowing it. It’s was a tidy deal for Netflix, sure. But every outlet on earth was breaking the thing down frame by frame by the evening anyway. Anyway. I’m hype. And we’ll be covering some GTA numbers on the newsletter soon. So hit subscribe below to get that in your inbox when it’s ready! Subscribe The last word Reply to this email – or reach out here – if you have any feedback for the newsletter – or want to request a game for us to cover. [Alinea Analytics boasts the most accurate PC and console estimates in the business. Game makers use our platform to understand their audience, keep an eye on the competition, monitor sales trends, and spot new opportunities. We equip game studios and financial institutions with accurate data and the confidence to make smarter, data-driven decisions. Want to talk about all things games market data? We’d love to chat!]

Sep 1 • 10:27 AM EDT • Technology • alineaanalytics.substack.com

LZ Sees Surprising Result in Search for Dark Matter

Key Takeaways Dark matter is the mysterious substance that accounts for the vast majority of matter in our universe. LUX-ZEPLIN (LZ) is a world-leading dark matter detector and specializes in searching for WIMPs, or weakly interacting massive particles. A new LZ study found one particle interaction that is difficult to explain with known background processes and could potentially have been caused by a WIMP. LZ continues to run to see if additional data strengthens or weakens the hint of a dark matter interaction. For the better part of a century, people have been trying to understand dark matter. This invisible substance makes up roughly 85% of the mass in the universe but has never been directly detected. Determining exactly what it is remains one of the biggest questions about our world. Now, a new analysis from the LUX-ZEPLIN (LZ) experiment has recorded a single particle interaction that researchers have great difficulty explaining with known background signals from normal matter. The result does not yet meet the statistical threshold required to claim a discovery, but is the most compelling hint of dark matter reported by the experiment to date. LZ is an international collaboration of 250 scientists and engineers from 39 institutions. The detector is managed by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) and operates nearly one mile below ground at the Sanford Underground Research Facility (SURF) in South Dakota. The experiment uses 10 tonnes of ultrapure liquid xenon to search for dark matter and is optimized to look for WIMPs, or weakly interacting massive particles. The results were presented in a scientific talk at the 2026 TeV Particle Astrophysics conference in Japan. The paper will be released on the online repository arXiv and submitted to the journal Physical Review Letters. “We’re very intrigued to see this event in the data, in the region where we expect dark matter to show up and the competing backgrounds are very low,” said Rick Gaitskell, a professor at Brown University and the spokesperson for LZ. “With only one event, we don’t want to get ahead of ourselves. We are not claiming to have seen dark matter. But we have seen something interesting that we want to share with the scientific community for their input.” The LZ collaboration studies experimental data in batches. In the new result, researchers analyzed 220 live days of data collected between March 2023 and April 2024. The collaboration had previously searched this dataset for faint signals from the simplest kinds of WIMP interactions. The new analysis searched for a broader range of possible WIMP interactions that could deposit more energy in the detector. LZ is particularly sensitive to such signals while also minimizing false positives. “This was a detailed study in a region we hadn’t explored within this dataset, and we spent months of additional effort to understand all the possible causes of background events,” said Sam Eriksen, a senior research associate at the University of Bristol in the U.K. and lead author of the study. “We understand our detector and the backgrounds so well that even a single outstanding event, like the one we found, is important. We expect dark matter events to be extremely rare, so only a handful could mark the first detection of WIMP dark matter.” If the anomalous event was caused by dark matter, the WIMP that generated it would likely have a mass of at least 200 GeV/c2 (gigaelectronvolts), or more than 200 times the mass of a proton. It would also suggest a specific type of interaction between WIMPs and ordinary matter beyond the simplest model. The LZ results have not reached “5-sigma” significance, the statistical threshold considered a discovery in physics. The new analysis is 2.6 sigma, meaning there is approximately a 0.5% chance that the event could be explained by known backgrounds. With additional data, researchers can test whether the finding continues to grow in significance or fades away. LZ has already accumulated the world’s largest dark matter dataset and will continue to accrue WIMP search data at SURF, substantially improving their search statistics. LZ searches for dark matter by looking for signature flashes of light from energy deposited in the detector. The collaboration leverages multiple methods to prevent or account for particle interactions caused by normal matter. This includes the mile of rock that shields the detector from cosmic rays from space, a water tank and outer detectors that protect the central detector from background neutrons, and a suite of computational tools that disentangle particle interactions and reject dark matter mimics. “Outlier events in the data are not unexpected, but they usually stand out as a background of some kind when you look at them deeper,” said Aaron Manalaysay, a physicist at Berkeley Lab and the chair of LZ’s Institutional Board. “This is the first example in any experiment I’ve worked on of an outlier that appears valid in every way. Of course, we’re still twisting our brains trying to think if there’s a rare background mechanism we could’ve missed, but it’s thrilling to wonder if this could be the first hint of a dark-matter observation.” LZ is supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, Office of High Energy and Nuclear Physics, and the National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center, a DOE Office of Science user facility. LZ is also supported by the Science & Technology Facilities Council of the United Kingdom; the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology; the Swiss National Science Foundation; the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Dark Matter Particle Physics; and the Institute for Basic Science, Korea. Thirty-nine institutions of higher education and advanced research provided support to LZ. The LZ collaboration acknowledges the assistance of the Sanford Underground Research Facility. ### Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) is committed to groundbreaking research focused on discovery science and solutions for abundant and reliable energy supplies. The lab’s expertise spans materials, chemistry, physics, biology, earth and environmental science, mathematics, and computing. Researchers from around the world rely on the lab’s world-class scientific facilities for their own pioneering research. Founded in 1931 on the belief that the biggest problems are best addressed by teams, Berkeley Lab and its scientists have been recognized with 17 Nobel Prizes. Berkeley Lab is a multiprogram national laboratory managed by the University of California for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science. DOE’s Office of Science is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States, and is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, please visit energy.gov/science.

Sep 1 • 10:00 AM EDT • Science • newscenter.lbl.gov

Could humans ever communicate with whales?

Ever since the earliest known recording of whale song was made in 1949, researchers have been captivated by the wails, rumbles, clicks, grunts and squeals of their communication. As technology improves, scientists are decoding the intricate patterns that make different species’ vocalisations distinctive. Madeleine Finlay hears from Emma Bryce, a journalist who has spent months investigating human efforts to understand whale song. She explains how this knowledge could help us better protect whales from human-made harms.Credits:1. Valeria Vergara/Raincoast Conservation Foundation2. Footage courtesy of Raincoast Conservation Foundation - Obtained for research under SARA permit XMMS 4 20263. Video by Amanda Cotton/Project CETI4. Footage courtesy of Valeria Vergara and GREMM. Obtained for research under SARA permits QUE-MM02-2016 and QUE-LEP-001-20185. Project CETI6. Project CETI

Sep 1 • 9:22 AM EDT • Science • theguardian.com

NASA Roman’s Planet Imager Has Powered On

NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope team has successfully activated the mission’s Coronagraph Instrument, which will block starlight to view planets and

Sep 1 • 9:06 AM EDT • Science • science.nasa.gov

Digital Science's 2026 Catalyst Grant Seeks "Agentic AI Workflows You Can Trust"

Up to £25,000 to be won for early-stage solutions building research agents - with audit, governance and provenanceLondon, United Kingdom--(Newsfile Corp. - September 1, 2026) - Digital Science, a leading technology company serving stakeholders across the research ecosystem, today launches its Catalyst Grant round for 2026 to support innovative technology ideas. This year's theme is: Agentic Workflows You Can Trust.Up to £25,000 will be awarded equity-free to individuals, startups or research...

Sep 1 • 7:44 AM EDT • Science • finance.yahoo.com

Dozens of Nashville businesses appeal property value as state leaders prioritize tax cap

Fox 17 provides local news, weather, sports, traffic and entertainment for Nashville and nearby towns and communities in Middle Tennessee, including Forest Hills, Brentwood, Franklin, Fairview, Dickson, Clarksville, White House, Greenbrier, Springfield, Gallatin, Hartsville, Lebanon, Mt Juliet, Smyrna, College Grove, Thompson’s Station, Centerville, Murfreesboro, Columbia, Lewisburg, Shelbyville, Manchester, McMinnville, Smithville, Sparta, Cookeville, Hohenwald, Waverly, Camden, Paris, Lafayette, Portland, and in Kentucky, Russelville, Bowling Green, Franklin, Alvaton, Scottsville, Hopkinsville, Glasgow.

Sep 1 • 7:07 AM EDT • Business • fox17.com

UA Businesses Encouraged to Take the Water Quality Pledge

TAKE THE WATER QUALITY PLEDGE TODAYSince 2014, the Franklin Soil and Water Conservation District’s Water Quality Partner Program has been helping local businesses understand and implement stormw

Sep 1 • 5:32 AM EDT • Business • upperarlingtonoh.gov

The Department of the Navy’s Science and Technology Board: Building on 250 Years of Naval Innovation

In September of 1776, an enormous British armada lay anchored in New York Harbor. A month earlier, British forces under General William Howe had defeated the Continental Army and gained control of New York City and Long Island. Now this fleet of 400 ships, including 10 ships-of-the-line, 20 frigates, and 170 transports among many others

Sep 1 • 4:24 AM EDT • Science • centerformaritimestrategy.org

Scott's Addition's newest pizza parlor, Pizzeria Delores, opens for business

After leasing the former ice cream shop last fall, Max Sayer and Jacky Welch set out renovate the space to pay tribute to pizzerias of the 1980s with wood-paneled walls and vintage Schlitz Beer chandeliers hanging over booths.

Sep 1 • 2:03 AM EDT • Business • richmondbizsense.com

Cleveland Clinic: Most Men in Florida Are Skeptical of Health Advice from Social Media and AI

MENtion It survey finds social media can motivate men to improve their health while fueling misconceptions, despite growing awareness of misinformation online.

Sep 1 • 12:01 AM EDT • Health • newsroom.clevelandclinic.org

One of Earth’s driest places was just covered in snow

Rare storms covered huge stretches of Chile’s Atacama Desert in snow and dumped extraordinary amounts of rain on one of the driest regions on Earth. The extreme weather shut down observatories, triggered damaging floods and mudflows, and unfolded against the backdrop of a strengthening El Niño.

Aug 31 • 8:00 PM EDT • Science • sciencedaily.com

NSF launches three new Science and Technology Centers with $90M investment in transformative research

The U.S. National Science Foundation is investing $90 million over five years to support three new NSF Science and Technology Centers (NSF STC). These centers will advance American leadership in science and technology, strengthen the nation’s STEM workforce, and accelerate innovation in fields ranging from artificial intelligence and biotechnology to fusion energy and robotics., , , , The three centers will bring together researchers from universities, national laboratories, industry, and oth...

Aug 31 • 8:00 PM EDT • Science • webwire.com

Digital Science's 2026 Catalyst Grant seeks agentic AI workflows you can trust

Digital Science today launches its Catalyst Grant round for 2026 to support innovative technology ideas. This year's theme is: Agentic Workflows You Can Trust.

Aug 31 • 8:00 PM EDT • Science • eurekalert.org

NASA’s Swift telescope is back, but time is running out

NASA has brought two of Swift’s telescopes back online after technical problems derailed a commercial mission intended to rescue the aging observatory by raising its orbit. With atmospheric drag pulling the spacecraft downward faster than expected, scientists may have only another month or two before Swift falls below a critical operating altitude.

Aug 31 • 8:00 PM EDT • Science • sciencedaily.com

Social Egg Freezing in the Spotlight: Choice, Business, or Burden?

Growing interest in egg preservation raises questions about access, affordability, informed consent, and whether workplace pressures shift reproductive responsibility onto women.

Aug 31 • 8:00 PM EDT • Business • medscape.com

First 'space elevator' — a 66,000-mile cable to the cosmos— closer than ever before as scientists make breakthrough

Aug 31 • 6:15 PM EDT • Technology • nypost.com

Patricia Heaton Reveals Secret Code Hollywood Conservatives Used to Find Each Other

Patricia Heaton says Hollywood conservatives once felt so uncomfortable discussing their political beliefs at work that they created a secret group to find out who was “safe” to talk to on set. The Ev...

Aug 31 • 5:27 PM EDT • Entertainment • yahoo.com

Six Films Preserved from the Father of Forensic Science

Thanks to a National Film Preservation Fund Grant (NFPF), the WashU Libraries’ Film & Media Archive has successfully completed the preservation of six short reels of scientific film made by Dr. Rutherford Birchard Hayes Gradwohl (1877-1959). An 1898 graduate of the WashU School of Medicine, R.B.H. Gradwohl went on to found the modern version of […]

Aug 31 • 5:04 PM EDT • Science • library.washu.edu

NASA's doomed Swift space telescope restarts science work after rescue mission fails

The nearly 22-year-old observatory is once again studying the cosmos, but its time in orbit is running out.

Aug 31 • 5:00 PM EDT • Science • space.com

Los Angeles County Sues State Farm for Unfair Business Practices in Handling 2025 Wildfire Claims

Los Angeles County Supervisors Lindsey P. Horvath and Kathryn Barger announced that LA County has sued State Farm, alleging unfair business practices in the company’s handling of insurance claims filed by policyholders affected by the January 2025 Eaton and Palisades Fires.

Aug 31 • 4:38 PM EDT • Business • lindseyhorvath.lacounty.gov

OOI Participates in Woods Hole Science Stroll

The Woods Hole Science Stroll is an annual event that highlights the major research institutions located in Woods Hole village (WHOI, MBL, NOAA, USGS, USCG), and also includes over 20 organizations representing a breadth of STEM research, education, and environmental groups (Fig 1). The all-day event is open to the…

Aug 31 • 4:25 PM EDT • Science • oceanobservatories.org

Supreme Court allows Trump to continue building White House ballroom

The Supreme Court cleared the way Monday for President Donald Trump to continue construction of a massive new ballroom at the White House, rejecting a challenge from a preservation group that was seeking to indefinitely halt the controversial project.

Aug 31 • 4:03 PM EDT • Politics • cnn.com

Ground breaks on $50 million sports and entertainment complex in Amherst

Located near ice rinks, softball diamonds and a golf course, the privately funded project is seen as the next step in making Maple Avenue a sports hub.

Aug 31 • 3:57 PM EDT • Entertainment • btpm.org

‘Adolescent Salvation’

Enduring the 90 minutes of the Chicago debut of Tim Venable's “Adolescent Salvation” at Theater Wit reminded me how nice it is not to be a teenager, especially in this

Aug 31 • 3:26 PM EDT • Entertainment • hpherald.com

How NJ's Largest Health Network is Fixing an $8B National Crisis in Parkinson's Care

Hackensack Meridian Health has developed an innovative Parkinson’s Disease Care Pathway integrated directly into its electronic health record system.

Aug 31 • 3:17 PM EDT • Health • aha.org

Man hits Atlanta police with bottle containing feces during mental health crisis

The was charged with aggravated assault.

Aug 31 • 2:58 PM EDT • Health • wsbtv.com

Links exposed physician cell numbers and work schedules at health systems in Philly and nationwide

QGenda web links revealed the information for thousands of providers at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Penn Medicine, ChristianaCare, and at least 50 other health systems across the country.

Aug 31 • 2:56 PM EDT • Health • inquirer.com

Experience Bayou Sol: The only full service aerial entertainment company in SWLA

The Lake Charles based company is the only aerial entertainment company in Southwest Louisiana, offering performances, workshops, private lessons and entertainment for a variety of events.

Aug 31 • 1:36 PM EDT • Entertainment • kplctv.com

Mamdani Taps RXR’s Rechler for Business Advisory Council

Mayor Mamdani appointed 15 business leaders, including RXR's Scott Rechler, to a quarterly council advising on private-sector policy.

Aug 31 • 11:56 AM EDT • Business • yahoo.com

Private Equity Wants to Invest in College Sports. Some Schools Are Wary.

As desperate as many athletic programs are for money, they are proceeding cautiously when it comes to deals with private equity.

Aug 31 • 11:22 AM EDT • Sports • nytimes.com

How Miles O’Brien and Arizona PBS created a national science series

"Resolve to Solve With Miles O'Brien" features scientists and innovators working to address some of the planet’s most urgent threats.

Aug 31 • 9:00 AM EDT • Science • current.org

City and URA Announce $600,000 partnership to Renovate Façades

As part of Mayor O’Connor’s Main & Main initiative, he and the Urban Redevelopment Authority of Pittsburgh (URA) have announced a new $600,000 strategic investment in the East Ohio Street business district.

Aug 31 • 8:00 AM EDT • Business • pittsburghpa.gov

Pulsenmore Ltd. Announces Financial Results and Business Highlights for the First Half of 2026

/PRNewswire/ -- Pulsenmore Ltd. (NASDAQ: PLSM) (TASE: PLSM), a leading innovator in remote maternal-fetal healthcare and home ultrasound solutions, presents...

Aug 31 • 7:00 AM EDT • Business • prnewswire.com

Missouri activists want fewer cameras on citizens and more on politicians

Missouri conservatives are pushing back on Flock cameras while demanding more transparency through livestreaming in the state Senate.

Aug 31 • 6:50 AM EDT • Politics • missouriindependent.com

Who is behind Monarch Collective? The 10,000-fan bet that changed women’s soccer investment

Understanding the private-equity fund behind several successful women's sports ventures

Aug 31 • 6:00 AM EDT • Sports • nytimes.com

JD Vance set to address Jewish conservatives, as some Jews in GOP share concerns about his recent Israel remarks

Vice President JD Vance is set to address a gathering of Jewish conservatives on Monday, even as some Jews in the GOP have raised concerns about his remarks on Israel.

Aug 31 • 5:23 AM EDT • Politics • abcnews.com

Together, GLP-1s And GenAI Can Solve Healthcare’s Affordability Crisis

Two innovations offer a new path to healthcare affordability: GLP-1 medications and generative AI. Here's how to two could radically improve medicine and lower costs.

Aug 31 • 4:30 AM EDT • Health • forbes.com

Private property rights challenge rural Colorado communities

If there were ever a topic I believe deeply in, it’s private property rights. If there were ever a topic that leaves me in a moral conundrum more often than not, it’s private property rights. The northern portion of Weld County is where towns like Grover and Hereford are hunkered down against the wind. It’s […]

Aug 31 • 2:45 AM EDT • Politics • coloradopolitics.com

South Korea court finds Unification Church leader Han guilty

A ​South Korean ‌court on Monday ​found ​Unification Church leader ⁠Han Hak-ja ​guilty ​in a case concerning political ​funds ​law violations and ‌bribery ⁠tied to alleged efforts ​to ​cultivate ⁠influence with ​former ​President ⁠Yoon Suk Yeol's ⁠administration.

Aug 31 • 1:53 AM EDT • Politics • reuters.com

Vance to privately address Republican Jewish Coalition during tension over Israel and antisemitism

Vice President JD Vance is scheduled to speak Monday at the annual gathering of the Republican Jewish Coalition.

Aug 31 • 12:07 AM EDT • Politics • news4jax.com

Japan-South Korea business panel launched to address low birth rate

The group aims to enable the two countries to share knowledge and experiences in seeking solutions to their demographic challenges through private-sector cooperation.

Aug 30 • 10:34 PM EDT • Business • japantimes.co.jp

Why Paolo Banchero Needs to Have an Elite Year

With Desmond Bane joining a revamped roster, Orlando’s franchise centerpiece faces a defining crossroads to silence critics, master his shooting, and elevate the Magic into elite contention.

Aug 30 • 9:22 PM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com

Dolly Parton laid to rest in private Nashville funeral

Dolly Parton was laid to rest in a private Nashville service attended by immediate family following her death at age 80, her great-niece shared on Instagram.

Aug 30 • 9:20 PM EDT • Entertainment • latimes.com

Hong Kong Science Park: Asia’s tech powerhouse celebrates 25 years

As Hong Kong’s premier science and technology ecosystem marks its silver jubilee, PostMag revisits the legacy of connection and invention that sustained 25 years of innovation, and meets the leaders driving the vision for the institution’s next chapter.

Aug 30 • 8:00 PM EDT • Science • scmp.com

North Carolina: Rabid baby goats at a mobile petting zoo prompts health warning

On Friday, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services reported confirmed multiple rabies cases in baby goats at a mobile petting zoo located in Iredell County. They were first notified of a potential rabies exposure among four baby goats at Farm Adventures in Harmony, North Carolina on August 27. The goats were most likely exposed to rabies by a skunk that had entered the pen where they were kept in late July. The NC State Laboratory of Public Health confirmed rabies viruses in three of the baby goats on August 28; a fourth goat was not tested but is also assumed to have been infected. Based on information gathered on August 28, it was determined that no other animals on the farm pose a risk of rabies exposure to people. Learn about rabies Anyone who had contact with baby goats from the Farm Adventures mobile petting zoo either at their location in Harmony, North Carolina, or at an off-site event, between July 28 and Aug. 27, 2026, may have been exposed while the animals were infectious. Impacted individuals should contact their local health department to determine whether medications are needed to prevent infection. Individuals are encouraged to call before visiting an emergency department or urgent care clinic to determine if treatment is needed and where it can be accessed. Known potential exposure dates and locations include: July 28: Jurney’s Assisted Living, 1942 Van Haven Drive, Statesville in Iredell County July 30: Private event in Mecklenburg County Aug. 1: Community Connections Back-to-School Bash, Breeden Amphitheater, 333 S. Main St., Lexington in Davidson County Aug. 6: Brookdale Peachtree, 2806 Peachtree Road, Statesville in Iredell County Aug. 8: Private event in Watauga County Aug. 9: Private event in Burke County Aug. 15: Masonic Picnic Grounds, 201 Poplar St., Mocksville in Davie County Aug. 16: Private event in Durham County Aug. 22: Private event in Iredell County Aug. 23: Private event in Durham County Rabies is a deadly disease that can spread from wild animals to pets and people, primarily through a bite, scratch or when infected saliva touches broken skin or mucous membranes. Human rabies infections are extremely rare in the United States. No human cases have been reported in North Carolina since 2011. Rabies is almost always fatal in mammals, including people, unless medications to prevent infections are given before symptoms develop. Symptoms can begin weeks to months after someone is exposed. Early symptoms are flu-like illness including weakness, fever or headache as well as a prickling or itching sensation where someone was bitten or exposed. In 2025, over 4,000 animals were submitted to the NC State Laboratory of Public Health for rabies testing, and of these, approximately 6% tested positive. In North Carolina the disease most often occurs in wild animals especially skunks, raccoons, bats and foxes. Outbreak News Today is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Subscribe

Aug 30 • 2:52 PM EDT • Health • outbreaknewstoday.substack.com

Weekend Break: Bowling, bocce and brunch? Yes, you can do all 3 and more at 810 Entertainment in South Barrington

810 Entertainment opened earlier this year in a newly renovated space in South Barrington, located in Chicago’s northwest suburbs.

Aug 30 • 1:10 PM EDT • Entertainment • wgntv.com

Dolly Parton laid to rest in private Nashville funeral, family confirms

Parton was laid to rest Friday in a private Nashville funeral, her great-niece confirmed. Tennessee also moved to rename Nashville's airport in her honor.

Aug 30 • 12:46 PM EDT • Entertainment • yahoo.com

Dolly Parton ‘laid to rest’ in private Nashville funeral

Dolly Parton’s friends and family gathered for an intimate funeral honoring the Queen of Country, following her death on Aug. 25.

Aug 30 • 11:18 AM EDT • Entertainment • ew.com

NASA's Roman Space Telescope launches with JPL tech aboard

The $4.3-billion observatory will aid the search for "Earth twins" and explore the nature of dark matter and dark energy.

Aug 30 • 10:52 AM EDT • Science • latimes.com

Rest for a priest not a luxury but a necessity for mental health, Nigerian Vatican official says

As part of a formation program, the secretary of the Vatican Dicastery for Evangelization urged priests to take time away from ministry to sustain their physical and mental health.

Aug 30 • 7:00 AM EDT • Health • ewtnnews.com

Dolly Parton’s life was bigger than politics

Dolly Parton had barely died before America started doing what America apparently does now: checking her political credentials. Was she conservative? Liberal? A Trump supporter? An LGBTQ ally? Which side gets to claim her? Which side should cancel her? Good grief! The woman lived 80 years. She can’t be reduced to that. Not with her […]

Aug 30 • 7:00 AM EDT • Politics • gazette.com

NASA’s new ‘discovery machine’ is launching to unravel the invisible universe

NASA’s new observatory, the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, is ready to lift off and solve the universe’s enduring mysteries.

Aug 30 • 1:57 AM EDT • Science • cnn.com

Recap: Sporting falls to defeat vs. Vancouver

Sporting Kansas City (4-15-3, 15 pts.) fell to a 3-2 defeat against the Vancouver Whitecaps (13-4-4, 43 pts.) at Sporting Park on Saturday night. First-place Vancouver got goals either side of halftime from Thomas Muller, Brian White and Rayan Elloumi to seal the victory. Head coach Raphael Wicky made three

Aug 30 • 12:39 AM EDT • Sports • sportingkc.com

Trump administration faces pushback after looking to privatize land on Yosemite National Park

A plan being considered by the Trump administration to allow a developer to use a portion of Yosemite National Park land is facing strong opposition from elected officials and conservationists, reflecting broader concerns about privatizing some of the country’s most cherished landmarks.

Aug 29 • 8:53 PM EDT • Politics • cnn.com

Fernbank Museum to explore the ‘Secret World of Elephants’ this fall

Visitors to Fernbank Museum of Natural History will have the opportunity to explore the intelligence, biology, cultural significance and conservation of elephants when a new exhibition opens this fall.

Aug 29 • 2:03 PM EDT • Entertainment • gwinnettdailypost.com

Player availability report, presented by Orlando Health Jewett Orthopedic Institute: Orlando Pride vs Utah Royals

Here is this week's player availability report, presented by Orlando Health Jewett Orthopedic Institute, for Sunday's home match vs Utah Royals

Aug 29 • 8:00 AM EDT • Health • orlandocitysc.com

Player status report, presented by Orlando Health: Orlando City SC at Minnesota United

Here is the Player Status Report, presented by Orlando Health, for Saturday's away match at Minnesota United

Aug 29 • 8:00 AM EDT • Health • orlandocitysc.com

How the Cold War US Military Modeled Itself on Private Business

The following is an excerpt from Pentagon Capitalism: How the Cold War US Military Modeled Itself on Private Business by A. J. Murphy, now out at Harvard University Press.

Aug 29 • 6:00 AM EDT • Business • promarket.org

Jersey private patients pay more but health misses income targets

New figures show how may patients opt for private care and how much money it raises.

Aug 29 • 2:16 AM EDT • Health • bbc.com

Lindsay Clancy trial: Psychiatrist resigns after testimony

Dr. Avram Mack, a psychiatrist who worked in the behavioral health department with Nemours Children’s Health in Delaware, resigned Monday,

Aug 28 • 11:20 PM EDT • Health • bostonglobe.com

Former county behavioral health director evaluating ‘legal options’ after public dismissal

The county has remained mum on deeper reasons for the termination.

Aug 28 • 10:52 PM EDT • Health • sandiegouniontribune.com

Jelly Roll Clarifies Political Views, Regrets Grammys Comments

The singer-songwriter opened up about his beliefs during his final night guest hosting 'Jimmy Kimmel Live!' after a Trump joke he made earlier in the week sparked backlash from conservatives.

Aug 28 • 8:42 PM EDT • Politics • hollywoodreporter.com

Florence and Aiken healthcare providers HopeHealth and Rural Health Services to merge

Nonprofit healthcare provider HopeHealth and Rural Health Services (RHS) announced plans to merge operations into a single community health center to serve Flor

Aug 28 • 8:02 PM EDT • Health • wpde.com

Takaichi Is No Abe: Japan’s New Conservative Politics

After roughly 10 months in power, the differences between Takaichi and Abe are becoming increasingly difficult to ignore.

Aug 28 • 7:35 PM EDT • Politics • thediplomat.com

Player Availability Report: #SKCvVAN

Player Availability Report is SportingKC.com’s look at the latest status updates around the team ahead of upcoming matches and is presented by Saint Luke’s. All details listed are from the league’s official Player Status Report that is submitted the day prior to the match. Sporting Kansas City returns home this

Aug 28 • 5:42 PM EDT • Sports • sportingkc.com

Sex-based constitutional restriction on Nebraska K-12, collegiate sports qualifies for ballot

Nebraska Secretary of State announced the conservative-leaning group behind the measure collected at least 138,613 valid signatures.

Aug 28 • 5:38 PM EDT • Sports • nebraskaexaminer.com

NASA’s Swift Restarts Science Observations

NASA’s Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory has resumed operating two of its three science instruments, following the scaling back of a commercial mission that

Aug 28 • 3:04 PM EDT • Science • science.nasa.gov

Melissa Hirschenson Exits Innovative, Launches The Hirschenson Group

EXCLUSIVE: We have learned that senior talent agent Melissa Hirschenson is launching The Hirschenson Group, a new management and entertainment consulting company. The Hirschenson Group will work acros...

Aug 28 • 2:59 PM EDT • Entertainment • yahoo.com

Brave's browser one-ups Chrome with its new support for email aliases

Brave's browser begins testing an email alias feature that lets you keep your main email info private.

Aug 28 • 2:50 PM EDT • Technology • techcrunch.com

D.8 Habitable Worlds Observatory Precursor Science Investigations

Habitable Worlds Observatory Precursor Science Investigations (HWO-PSI) program element D.8 of ROSES-25 aims to advance the scientific foundation that would

Aug 28 • 12:57 PM EDT • Science • science.nasa.gov

ASUS Announces Availability of the Chromebook CM32 Detachable for Business and Education

Fremont, CA, Aug. 28, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ASUS, a global technology leader that provides the world's most innovative and intuitive devices,...

Aug 28 • 11:00 AM EDT • Business • markets.businessinsider.com

A sea cucumber venture in Zanzibar seeks to balance business and conservation

PEMBA, Tanzania — Like many coastal communities across East Africa, the residents of Shamiani have grown accustomed to watching the sea yield less and less. Warming waters, degraded marine habitats and decades of fishing pressure have all taken a toll on the resources that once sustained local livelihoods, according to community members. On Tanzania’s Pemba […]

Aug 28 • 10:45 AM EDT • Business • news.mongabay.com

BitGo is buying NYDIG's institutional trading business as crypto rebounds

The deal adds derivatives, structured products, and financing capabilities to BitGo's custody and settlement platform

Aug 28 • 9:30 AM EDT • Business • qz.com

Cyabra Secures Six-Figure Annual Contract with Leading Interactive Entertainment Company to Protect its Player Community

Agreement with a major publisher in the interactive entertainment industry expands Cyabra's private-sector footprint and reflects growing enterprise demand for evidence-based analysis of coordinated online activity. New York, NY, Aug. 28, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Cyabra, Inc. (Nasdaq: CYAB) (“Cyabra” or the “Company”), an artificial intelligence (“AI”)-powered platform that helps governments and enterprises detect coordinated manipulation and protect digital trust, announces a six-figure annual

Aug 28 • 9:00 AM EDT • Entertainment • finance.yahoo.com

Democrats aim to emulate Republicans in building state power

A growing number of progressive groups looking to combat the influence of conservative groups. Experts say the left has years of work ahead if it wants to match the prowess of the organized right. But the second Trump administration has rallied Democrats across the states seeking to oppose federal policies.

Aug 28 • 5:00 AM EDT • Politics • stateline.org

Colorado’s hunting and fishing traditions rest on science, conservation and a proven heritage

By John Howard Eric Washburn’s recent column warns Coloradans the right to hunt and fish amendment is a Trojan horse designed to resurrect “cruel” practices voters have already banned and to elevate killing above every other form of wildlife management. The argument is passionate. It is also wrong on the text, the history, the experience […]

Aug 28 • 3:00 AM EDT • Science • coloradopolitics.com

Imaging wait times rise after hospital system purchases private radiology practice

Intermountain Health in January finalized its acquisition of Steinberg Diagnostic Medical Imaging, a 40-year-old radiology group with a dozen locations around Las Vegas.

Aug 28 • 2:02 AM EDT • Health • radiologybusiness.com

Imaging wait times rise after hospital system purchases private radiology practice

Intermountain Health in January finalized its acquisition of Steinberg Diagnostic Medical Imaging, a 40-year-old radiology group with a dozen locations around Las Vegas.

Aug 28 • 2:02 AM EDT • Business • radiologybusiness.com

New Family Entertainment Center Opening in Rock Springs

ROCK SPRINGS — Stardust Entertainment, formerly Star Stadium 11, is expanding its movie theater into an arcade, bowling, and dining destination set to open Aug. 28. The 29,000-square-foot expansion, called The VOID, adds more than 50 arcade games, six lanes of interactive bowling, a grill and lounge with alcohol service, private party rooms, and an

Aug 28 • 12:10 AM EDT • Entertainment • sweetwaternow.com

U.K. Business Confidence Jumps Despite Lingering Energy Shock

Oil and gas prices remained elevated amid uncertainty over the Middle East conflict, but firms appear increasingly confident that strong consumer demand and a resilient economy can offset the pressure.

Aug 27 • 8:03 PM EDT • Business • wsj.com

Scientists tracked 4,500 animals and found a surprising human effect

Scientists tracking thousands of animals found that our physical presence can reshape where wildlife moves and lives, sometimes as strongly as roads, cities, and other human development. Because different species reacted in very different ways, conservation efforts may need to become much more targeted.

Aug 27 • 8:00 PM EDT • Science • sciencedaily.com

1 in 6 VPNs Track Your Location, According to New Report From Proton

A significant number of VPNs on Apple's App Store and Google Play collect your private data, which is the exact opposite of what a VPN should do.

Aug 27 • 7:45 PM EDT • Technology • cnet.com

The Literacy Crisis Reaches Dog-Bear Science

“New analysis of more than 300 bear encounters suggests our canine companions often increase odds of conflict and rarely serve as early warning systems many recreationists assume,” reads a subhead in Mountain Journal. The thing is, that study reaches no such conclusion. But you have to read beyond the abstract to understand that. Mountain Journal is not alone. Let’s look at a brief list of takeaways published elsewhere just to establish that none of them seem to know how to read science. Wes Siler’s Newsletter is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Subscribe Here’s CBC: “A new peer-reviewed study, The Canine Conundrum: Is a Dog a Help or Hindrance in Bear Country?, dug into conflicts similar to what the video depicts, by analyzing 326 reported human-bear conflicts from 1901 to 2023 involving dogs.” “The study found 54 per cent of conflicts were started by dogs. In the encounters researchers included in the study, five people and 56 dogs were killed, and 170 people were injured.” “Lana Ciarniello, an independent researcher who co-authored the study, said researchers found when a person goes hiking with at least one other person, the odds of a negative bear encounter decrease by 50 per cent.” “However, when a dog is involved, the chances of a negative bear encounter increase because ‘a dog really adds a chaotic factor into the mix of recreation,’ said Ciarniello.” Again, the study finds no data supporting that conclusion. “Hiking with your pet dog may make you feel safer in bear country—but a hiker’s recent encounter and a new study prove that the numbers don’t add up,” writes Backpacker, which is now part of Outside. The numbers don’t add up to support this take. There’s plenty more examples, but all are equally dumb, so I’ll stop there. How did so many people get this so wrong? Three reasons: 1) the study is published behind a paywall, with only the abstract freely available. 2) the methodology sets out to create work relevant to a hyper-specific audience, not the public. And 3) the dataset studied is almost absurdly limited and doesn’t bear (get it?!) comparison to wider information. Let’s work through all three. The Problem is Money I understand the irony, since I’m writing about this on a subscription-model newsletter, but information wants to be free. The study is published by The Wildlife Society and costs $16 to access. Reprinting it is specifically prohibited by the terms of use, so I can only share snippets and my conclusions with you here. Having worked as a journalist for 24 years, I can report with some authority that journalists are both lazy and cheap. I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that much of the material you’re seeing written about this study is drawn from the freely-available abstract (above) only, and not a deep dive into its methodology or data. And that’s a problem, because abstracts are where researchers are able to break from their numbers and editorialize their opinions about conclusions. So what’s getting reported isn’t based on numbers, it’s based on an opinion designed for a specific audience, not the general public. Hell yeah ladies, kick that bear’s ass. The Methodology is Designed to Support a Predetermined Conclusion One of the biggest issues with the science that everyone likes to cite about bear spray’s efficacy is that no one understands that study was designed for a specific audience, looking for a specific answer. And since that audience is not the public, and our safety was not the question being asked, its conclusion is rendered irrelevant to our needs. Yes, I’m talking about Efficacy of Bear Deterrent Spray in Alaska, which was created by Tom Smith and Stephen Herrero, two of the same scientists who put together this dog-bear conflict analysis. In the spray study, the purpose was to present relevant agencies with the information they needed to issue their field workers with bear spray. As such, incidents where people were unable to access the spray or similarly failed to get it deployed in time were excluded from the results, and only incidents they deemed successful were included. Could a ranger roll down their vehicle’s window and scare a bear away from a dumpster by spraying it? Turns out the answer was yes, and that was good enough for the purposes of that study. The sample size of actual bear attacks—the thing you and I would want bear spray to provide a solution to, was too small to draw conclusions from, and didn’t indicate success in that role. Is a Dog a Help or Hindrance in Bear Country? has similar limitations. “Insights provided here are intended to help wildlife managers create effective guidelines regarding the presence of domestic dogs in bear habitat,” is explained clearly by the study’s text. To conduct the study, Smith and Herrero went looking for publicly available reports of dog-bear conflicts: “All incidents included in our analysis involved at least one bear, one dog, and one person who was at immediate risk of injury (e.g., not in a protective structure such as a cabin or vehicle), injured, or killed,” explains the report’s methodology. Why is that a problem? “We recognize that data used in this study are biased in that people generally only report adverse interactions with bears, not benign ones. Consequently, we assume that for the most part, people and their dogs pass through bear country without incident.” As was the problem with the bear spray study, people are drawing conclusions here from a study that was never intended to be relevant to the general public. The Smith-Herrero database famously excludes Alaska’s Defense of Life and Property records, which are elsewhere considered the largest and most authoritative source on human-bear conflict. The Dataset is Absurdly Limited A 2009 study conducted by the Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife estimates that each year there are at least 43,000 documented complaints of human-bear conflict across North America. Is a Dog a Help or Hindrance in Bear Country? Examined those reports for years ranging from 1901 to 2023, and only managed to find 326 such incidents that met the criteria explained above. Let’s do some quick math, poorly. 43,000 incidents x 122 years = 5,246,000 total incidents of documented human-bear conflict. Smith and Herrero were only able to find 326 incidents that met their criteria for dog+human+bear+risk or occurrence of injury. That means there’s a 0.006 percent chance that the study’s conclusion—that dogs make bear encounters more dangerous—even gets a chance of occurring. And remember, that’s only in documented conflicts. There’s no way to know how many people across North America run into a bear in any given year without any conflict, but it’s probably safe to assume that the total number is well in excess of 43,000. And, dig deeper into the study and you can find further restrictions that skew its conclusions even more. “While the people involved in these incidents did not report the level of training their dogs had received, it is our assumption that most were untrained companion dogs as opposed to well-trained bear dogs, such as Karelians and livestock guardian breeds that have proven to be significant aids in bear country,” the study’s methodology explains. And that’s a problem, because an ongoing study here in Montana is finding that the simple presence of a Kangal like our youngest dog Teddy can reduce visits to private property from grizzly bears by 87.8 percent. In addition to being a badass, Teddy is also a companion animal. And in my admittedly limited sample size of the three dogs currently present in our living room, she’s no more effective than her mutt brothers. Plenty of people own a dog capable of deterring bears, even if they didn’t set out to own a bear dog. The real purpose of this study appears to be a recommendation that leashes are mandated and recreationists pursue training in their deterrent of choice. But that doesn’t make for sensational headlines. Are There Any Real Takeaways Here? Let’s throw some numbers around, just to try and get our hands around what the larger picture might look like for bears and dogs here. The American Veterinary Medical Association estimates that 42.6 percent of American households own a dog. The Canadian Animal Health Institute says roughly 35 percent of households in Canuckistan own a dog. In an attempt to create the worst possible result for dogs, let’s run with that 35 percent number. And given that outdoorsy and rural people are more likely to both own a dog, and have bear encounters, let’s just make a giant assumption and apply that number to those 43,000 conflicts documented annually. If 35 percent of 43,000 human-bear encounters involve a dog, then we can assume that at least 15,050 dog-bear conflicts are occurring annually in North America. 15,050 x 122 = 1,836,100. Smith and Herrero were only able to find 326 incidents that met their human, dog, chance or occurrence of injury criteria across 122 years. And only 170 documented human injuries. So, with all the obvious caveats about these numbers in no way describing reality beyond narrow study parameters, what they actually found is that your risk of injury if your dog tangles with a bear is only 0.009 percent. I’ll take those odds next time I’m hiking my dogs in bear country. Top photo: “Superintendent Horace Albright, eating pancakes with bears, at Lake Lodge, Yellowstone National Park.” NPS. A journalist with more than two decades of experience working around the world, Wes Siler is here to cut through the outrage and disinformation to bring you the factual, insightful, actionable reporting you need to understand what’s going on. Upgrading to a paid subscription supports this reporting, and buys personal access to Wes, who will help you save money on gear, plan outdoor adventures, and prepare for real life, and who promises he’s less salty in real life than he sometimes comes across as on the Internet. Wes Siler’s Newsletter is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Subscribe

Aug 27 • 6:47 PM EDT • Science • wessiler.substack.com

Former MassGOP Chair, political pundit sues Shortsleeve campaign on eve of primary

The former Chair of the MassGOP and current conservative political pundit is suing GOP gubernatorial candidate Brian Shortsleeve’s campaign for allegedly secretly recording her without consent.

Aug 27 • 6:34 PM EDT • Politics • bostonherald.com

Florence Harding Photographed Taught Me About Women Partaking in Politics

What would Florence Kling Harding think now? A week or so ago when I cast my ballot at my designated polling place this thought crossed my mind. I imagine the former first lady would be pleased about how routine voting has become for women in the United States. But perhaps she would not be satisfied. Today, a published essay I wrote for In Pursuit spotlights a lesson in leadership demonstrated by First Lady Florence Harding. In my research, I discovered there’s a lot to be said about this strong female historic figure. But it was the blurry photograph capturing Mrs. Harding voting for her husband Warren G. Harding, one of two presidential candidates from Ohio, on Nov. 2, 1920—Election Day—that drew my attention. It was the first presidential election held in the United States after the ratification and certification of the 19th Amendment, granting women the right to vote. Its 106th anniversary was marked on Wednesday. I remember thinking what a shame it was that her presence in the image was imperfect while the mostly men surrounding her were in sharp focus. Perhaps cynically I thought, “No surprise!” On further examination, though, the clear reaction of the people surrounding Mrs. Harding was equally important. In that snapshot of time, many of their expressions were serious. One man stood elevated above the rest with a slight smile as he caught a glimpse of history. Mr. Harding hovered over his wife’s shoulder closely observing the last seconds of her vote being cast. Their gazes were locked in on who would hours later become first lady. Subscribe The attention she drew is worth noting, mostly because, as I learned, Mrs. Harding understood the power her image could have on women across the country. She and I share in common a career in newspapers—hers the business side and mine on the editorial side. Nevertheless, it became clear to me as I write in the essay that she understood if she was seen voting, other women would follow suit. That wouldn’t necessarily be the case in that 1920 election, though, Karen Kedrowski, the director of the Carrie Chapman Catt Center for Women and Politics at Iowa State University, explained to me. Florence Harding was a suffrage advocate. But, suffrage was a contentious issue and women were far from united at the time of the election. In fact, a substantial number of women and active anti-suffrage organizations thought women participating in elections was a “bad idea and antithetical to their roles in the private sphere as mothers and homemakers,” Kedrowski said, adding that women were also viewed as the moral compass for their husbands and sons. If women got involved in politics they would become contaminated by it. Suffragists, on the other hand, wanted to bring that moral presence into politics to help clean things up. Only about 30% of women voted in that 1920 presidential election. That was a start. More than 100 years later in the 2024 presidential election, 66.9% of eligible women voted (91.3 million), compared to 63.7% of men who voted (82.6 million), according to the League of Women Voters. Yes, Florence Harding would be pleased. Subscribe That imperfect Election Day image was important symbolism about women’s potential during what was known as the “Modern Woman” era and the growing public role women were taking in the 1920s. I imagine Florence Harding might agree with other succeeding first ladies when it comes to gender equality and the importance of the vote. Like Michelle Obama when she said in her memoir Becoming, “We all play a role in this democracy. We need to remember the power of every vote.” Or Hillary Clinton during her unsuccessful run for president in 2016 when she remarked on International Women’s Day: “We celebrate the progress we’ve made to advance the full participation of women in economies and societies. And most importantly, we recommit to finishing the unfinished work that remains …” I hope if you are reading this, you will also read my essay on Florence Harding’s leadership lesson for In Pursuit. And perhaps that will move you to dig deeper and read more about Florence Harding’s life circumstances in biographies like First Lady Florence Harding: Behind the Tragedy and Controversy by Katherine A. S. Sibley. No, I do not think Florence Harding would be satisfied despite how far women have come from that day she first entered her polling place. She once wrote to the Camp Fire Girls, “The part that women play in the world has been greatly changed … It has been broadened and enlarged …” It has. And as women continue to engage in civics it continues to be. I imagine Florence Harding would want women to keep meeting the moment. Read the In Pursuit essay Watch on C-SPAN Share East Wing Magazine is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Subscribe

Aug 27 • 5:01 PM EDT • Politics • eastwingmagazine.com

‘Rock of Starvation’ reappears in Budapest during historic drought

Seeing this hunger stone in the Danube River is not a good sign.

Aug 27 • 4:00 PM EDT • Science • popsci.com

Senators call on ICE to cancel plan to buy electric shock gloves

The devices are normal patrol gloves until an officer presses a button to activate the electrical mode

Aug 27 • 3:13 PM EDT • Politics • spectrumlocalnews.com

Sanders Announces Nearly $150 Million Awarded in Rural Health Transformation Funds - Arkansas Governor

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders today announced $149.3 million in awards to recipients of the first round of Rural Health Transformation Program (RHTP) grants, established through President Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill. The initial funding round will award $55.7 million through the Telehealth, Health-Monitoring, and Response Innovation for Vital Expansion (THRIVE) initiative and […]

Aug 27 • 3:03 PM EDT • Health • governor.arkansas.gov

Dolly Parton Was a Music Legend, But She Helped Science in Ways Most Fans Never Knew About

The country icon backed vaccine research, child literacy, public health and even bald eagle conservation.

Aug 27 • 3:00 PM EDT • Science • zmescience.com

From New Locations to Million-Dollar Grants, Polsky Small Business Growth Program Alumni Continue to Grow - Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation

Alumni of the Polsky Small Business Growth Program are marking a series of major milestones, from opening additional locations to securing grants and contracts worth more than $1M.

Aug 27 • 2:28 PM EDT • Business • polsky.uchicago.edu

Dem's metldown over ‘terrorist sympathizer’ Hasan Piker triggers instant conservative mockery: ‘Yikes’

Democratic Rep. Debbie Dingell's demand that reporters stop asking about Hasan Piker backfired as conservatives seized on her comments as a weak point.

Aug 27 • 1:47 PM EDT • Politics • foxnews.com