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Select Final Fantasy Games Are 50% Off at Amazon During Its Prime Big Deal Days Sale – Save on Final Fantasy 7 Remake, Rebirth, and More for PS5 and Switch 2
Select Final Fantasy games - including Final Fantasy 7 Remake Intergrade, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, and more - are up to 50% off as part of Amazon's Prime Big Deal Days sale.
Claim Two Major PS4 Games for Free Right Now in Europe, No PS Plus Required
Get Call of Duty: WWII and Mafia 3 for free
GameStop Is Now Selling Used PS5 Pros For $1400
That's about $500 more than a new PlayStation 5 Pro
These Are the Only Nintendo Switch 2 Discounts That Are Actually Worth Your Money in Amazon's 48-Hour Prime Sale — Save on Games, Consoles, Gift Cards, and More
Our resident shopping experts have curated the 10 absolute best Nintendo Switch 2 console bundles, games, and accessory deals for Amazon's latest 48-hour Prime sale.
Former N.J. pickleball hotspot set for major makeover as sports-entertainment destination
Games begin Oct. 31 and a grand opening celebration is set for Nov. 7.
Amazon Prime Big Deal Days 2026 sale live, best Nintendo deals
Here's a roundup of best Nintendo deals, including games for Switch 2 and Switch, for the Amazon Prime Big Deal Days 2026 sale.
Daily Thread: 06 October 2026
The Daily Merengue is a place where you can feel free to d all things football. Do not be alarmed by the overt RMCF bias. It’s in the name! Shoutout to the mods who do a fantastic job, Ezek, Valyrian Steel, Kung_Fu_Zizou, Juninho, NeRObutBlanco and yours truly, Felipejack. The end of the break Today, are the last games of the current […]
Amazon Prime Big Deal Days Offers Major Discounts on AirPods, iPads, and Much More
Amazon's Prime Big Deal Days has officially kicked off, offering shoppers the first chance to save on holiday shopping from a major retailer. Similar to last year's fall Prime Day, it will last for two days, and you can find a large selection of deals across Amazon's storefront, covering savings on tech, clothing, video games, groceries, and much, much more. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Amazon.
The Kids in the Arena: Spectrum Business Keeps Florida Esports Facility Connected
With Spectrum Business Internet Gig, Valhallan Esports Training now has reliable high-speed, low-latency connectivity so young gamers have a safe, supportive environment to play their favorite games.
GTA 5 Made Playable in Browser as AI-Generated Game Chaos Continues
Grand Theft Auto 5 was made playable in a browser before it was pulled offline, amid an explosion of AI-fueled games across the internet.
Buffalo Bills’ Josh Allen-led offense takes a sloppy step back
Buffalo’s offense hasn’t so much dried up in splitting the past two games, it’s shown signs of sputtering and being impeded by ball-security issues.
Banijay Entertainment Introduces New US Gameshow Scrambled Up to Market
Media and entertainment powerhouse, Banijay Entertainment, today announces it has acquired the global format rights and finished tape rights to Scrambled Up, an all-new studio-based word game from Michael Eisner’s The Tornante Company; Keller/Noll, the prolific US format creators Cleve Keller and Dave Noll (Chopped, America Says, Flip Side); Crazy Legs Productions; and Playing Field […]
Supermassive Games suffers layoffs as more than 70 developers seem to have left the company this week
According to a LinkedIn post by Supermassive's IT and facilities director, over 70 developers have been laid off as of this week.
Week 7 schedule for Lubbock-area high school football
Here's the complete schedule for Week 7 games involving Lubbock and the South Plains.
October 2026 PS Plus Essential Games Available to Download Now
You can download until 2nd November
Serie A returns: The biggest games after the international break
Serie A resumes after a three-week international break, and Football Italia looks at the biggest matches coming up in Italy’s top flight.Three teams lead the Serie A table: Inter, Roma and Lazio are...
The GTA VI Rush Is Drying Up New PS5 Pro Stock, and GameStop Now Wants $1,399 for Used Units
Used PS5 Pro units now cost more than new ones at GameStop: $1399 for Digital, twice the console's 2024 launch price, with GTA VI weeks away.
NBA 2K25 servers to shut down on December 31, single-player story mode will become unplayable
Decision to sunset 2K25 follows 2K's trajectory of delisting NBA games over the course of two years
2026’s Biggest Blockbuster Games Just Received Their First Major Discounts in Amazon’s Prime Sale, but These 48-Hour Deals Won’t Last Long
Amazon's latest Prime Day sale features massive discounts on PS5, Switch 2, and Xbox titles, including deals on 2026's biggest games like The Blood of Dawnwalker, Star Wars: Zero Company, Pragmata, LEGO Batman, and more.
NFL suspends official Jeff Seeman for two games for swearing at Arizona Cardinals tight end Trey McBride
The NFL suspended two officials for separate incidents on Sunday, including Jeff Seeman after he was caught swearing at Arizonas Trey McBride; watch the second NFL London game of the season between the Jacksonville Jaguars and Philadelphia Eagles at 2.30pm Sunday, live on Sky Sports
New WVU Bowl Projection Comes With a Fascinating Twist
The West Virginia Mountaineers have lost consecutive Big 12 games, but one new bowl projection gives fans an interesting reason to keep thinking about what could still be waiting at the end of the season. WVU fell to 3-2 following its 45-42 loss to Iowa State on Oct. 3. Rich Rodriguez’s team is now 0-2 in […] The post New WVU Bowl Projection Comes With a Fascinating Twist appeared first on HEAVY.
Former Lions Veteran Edge Rusher Released By Ben Johnson’s Bears
Things aren’t going swimmingly right now for the Detroit Lions, who recently dropped their Sunday evening contest against the Carolina Panthers to drop to 2-2 through the first four games of the campaign.While their offense is clicking, their defense has been woeful, and more closely resembles the defensive issues experienced by the 0-16 2008 edition […] The post Former Lions Veteran Edge Rusher Released By Ben Johnson’s Bears appeared first on HEAVY.
Zac Robinson’s Offense Fails Tampa Bay Once Again
It was the same story on a different day for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Bucs fell to the Green Bay Packers 17-14 on Sunday, marking. the 10th consecutive one-score game the Bucs have played in, and they’ve lost eight of those games. Tampa Bay is now 0-4 for the first time since 2013, when …
Apple invites developers to submit iPhone Duo-ready apps to the App Store
With the iPhone Duo launch fast approaching, Apple is now accepting submissions of iPhone Duo-optimized apps and games built with Xcode 27.1.
'Somebody messed up, right?' Texas Senate ads appeared during NFL games nationwide. Here's why.
Padres’ Potential Game 4 Starter Comes Back from Paternity List
Walker Buehler has spent the season being one of the San Diego Padres' most valuable starting pitchers. That might not be immediately apparent from the overlying statistics, but the metrics under the surface show a different picture. San Diego will be all hands on deck after dropping both games to the Milwaukee Brewers at American …
The ‘War Games’ problem: Computer science has long understood what it takes to keep AI under control
AI agents don’t go rogue. That’s something only humans do. Nevertheless, a New York Times article – representative of much news coverage of AI – described an OpenAI hacking as “A.I. bots going rogue and independently spearheading a cyberattack.” Name-brand artificial intelligence agents have been on a hacking spree in…
Why I Don’t Think Ride Or Die Should Have Been Cancelled (And What Company Should Save It...)
(Welcome to my weekly streaming ratings report, the single best guide to what’s popular in streaming TV and what isn’t. I’m the Entertainment Strategy Guy, a former streaming executive who now analyzes business strategy in the entertainment industry. If you were forwarded this email, please subscribe to get these insights each week.) So…I recently came across a Reddit thread, talking about films on streaming, wondering why there are no reliable sources out there for streaming ratings data. Sigh. Honestly, as annoyed as I am that so many still don’t realize that we have streaming ratings, I somewhat get it. Until now, there was such a long delay between when a show or film came to streaming and when we got its viewership data; I understand why people were confused. (But, as you know, this just changed.) Also, even back in the day, how many people knew how well films did on television? Luckily, as a reader, you’re in the know. Okay, on to this week’s issue. I want to take a look at Prime Video cancelling Ride or Die and whether I agree with that decision. Overall, we didn’t have any breakout hits (no TV shows landed over 20 million hours according to Nielsen) but we have a lot of steady performers on the streaming charts. Plus, we’ll look at where $50 million in missing box office dollars went. (Spoiler: straight-to-streaming.) All that, plus new episodes of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, Supergirl heads to streaming, a new YA show does well on Netflix, the viewership for the Daily Wire’s $50 million fantasy show, what TV show hit-maker can’t make streaming hits, CD sales, all the flops, bombs and misses, and a whole lot more. Let’s dive right in! (Reminder: The streaming ratings report focuses on the U.S. market and compiles data from Nielsen’s weekly top ten viewership ranks, Luminate’s Top Ten Data, JustWatch and Reelgood interest data, Samba TV household viewership, company datecdotes, Netflix hours viewed data, Google Trends, and IMDb to determine the most popular content. While most data points are current, Nielsen’s data covers the weeks of September 7th to September 13th, 2026. You can find a link to my terminology here.) Subscribe Television - Ride or Die Is a Hit…But It Got Cancelled? What The Data “Says” I hate the phrase “here’s what the data says”, even though sometimes I find myself using it. If data just told us everything, we data folks would be out of a job! Data is often messy, complicated and nuanced. When it comes to strategy, many of the best decisions can’t actually use “data”, since it’s vastly too complicated to model. Anyways, I’ve been singing the praises of Prime Video’s Ride Or Die this summer, a show that did very well for them. And yet…it got cancelled. Now, usually when a show gets cancelled, a bunch of websites say “a hit show got cancelled”... Here’s the thing, though: in this case, they’re right! The data “says” that this show was a hit. Specifically, out of 522 first seasons to make a week on the Nielsen charts since 2020, it’s the 75th biggest. On Amazon, Ride or Die is eighth out of 41 first seasons: That’s top 15th percentile all time, almost exactly, which is my definition of a “hit”! I mean, outside of Reacher, Amazon needed a hit this summer! (Admittedly, Off Campus did well for Amazon in the spring, but Ride or Die performed even better.) So what happened? Why did Amazon cancel one of their rare 2026 bright spots? Well, Deadline reported a reason—which I’ll get to—but I’d break it down into three relevant questions: What is a given streamer’s reasoning? Is that reasoning sound? Could the stated reason not be the real reason? According to Deadline, Amazon felt the show “over-indexed” in middle-aged women. (This was based on leaks from within Amazon.) The logic is this: Amazon already reaches this demographic because of unlimited two-day shipping bundled with Prime, so they don’t really need more shows like this. Now, it’s my job to ask if that’s a good reason, and I’ll be honest, in this case, I don’t think it is. Sure, this show may “over-index” in middle-aged women—I’ll just assume that’s the case here—but I think folks often oversell how important over-indexing actually is. When a show is a “hit”, it isn’t a bit bigger than its rivals; it’s usually multiples bigger. For example, Elle only made the charts for two weeks at 8.3 million hours each. So Ride or Die was 80% bigger in its first two weeks, and likely had a much stronger hold, with its terrific 13 million hours in week three. Ride or Die was nearly three times bigger than Sterling Point through three weeks too. And that means that _Elle, Sterling Point a_nd other Amazon YA shows need to not just over-index a little with younger women (assuming that’s who Amazon prefers over middle-aged women), but massively over-index. Otherwise, more people in that demo (and a bunch more besides) likely watched Ride or Die. (I’ll try to explore this concept more in a future article.) And don’t get me started on how Ride or Die did compared to a certain (very, very popular, possibly the world’s most popular) YouTuber’s reality show…which didn’t make the charts after its first week and likely cost much, much more than Ride or Die. All to say, Amazon-MGM Studios/Prime Video can tell reporters that this show didn’t reach the right audience, but that excuse feels weak to me. So this leads to the third question: could other reasons have come into play? Yes! Renewal or cancellation decisions rarely (I’m tempted to say “never”) boil down to one variable. At its simplest, it’s two things: budget versus viewership. But often factors like critical acclaim, ownership and, yes, personal opinion come into play. In this case, Amazon has a new executive running things, and this show isn’t owned by Amazon-MGM Studios (unlike Elle). And yes, it may not have indexed with the right target viewers, too. Likely all of those factors came into play.1 My guess is ownership ended up mattering most. Amazon doesn’t own Ride or Die. It’s actually produced by another major studio. Fortunately/allegedly, this show is being shopped around. I can think of one brand new CEO who should consider it for one of his two major streamers…especially if he wants to rebuild goodwill in Hollywood. His name is on this list of exec producers of Ride or Die… If David Ellison needs some goodwill—and he does—rescue this female-led show tomorrow and grab some good headlines for a day. The data justifies it. Quick Notes on TV We’re just getting started with this issue, but the rest is for paid subscribers of the Entertainment Strategy Guy, so if you’d like to find out… How The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives latest season did on Hulu, post-controversy... Whether Supergirl soared on HBO Max... Why the box office is losing money due to the streamers... The viewership for the Daily Wire’s $50 million fantasy show... Updates on The Gentlemen, Lanterns, Outer Banks, King of the Hill and more... What former hit-maker has three streaming flops in a row... Whether The Mandalorian and Grogu popped in week two... All the flops, bombs and misses... And a whole lot more... ...please subscribe! We can only keep doing this great work with your support. If you want an idea of just how much content you’d get in a full issue, check out this older issue. Coming Soon! Oh man, we’re almost caught up! We just have two more issues, then the streaming Ratings Report will be coming out just two weeks after a TV show premieres! Next issue, I’ll be looking at the first two weeks of the NFL Thursday night games on streaming, a huge new spinoff, Reacher’s Neagly on Prime Video, and the latest edition of Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story on Netflix, the return of Slow Horses on Apple and MobLand (quietly one of their biggest shows) on Paramount+, and Dancing with the Stars on both ABC and Disney+. Plus I’ll take a look at animation for adults in 2026. The week after, a ton of movies are coming to streaming: Toy Story 5 on Disney+, Backrooms on HBO Max, Jackass: Best and Last on Paramount+ and The Breadwinner on Netflix, plus a Unabomber film on Netflix and a romcom on Prime Video. Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConaughey have a show on Apple, along with a game show inspired by Willy Wonka that everyone seems to hate. Long term, some crazy (but hopefully crazy like a fox) IP news. FX ordered a new Sons of Anarchy show from Charlie Hunnam, but it’s not about the biker gang. No, it features the show’s cast playing themselves in a new “meta-thriller”. Huh. And a lot of the cast is coming back. Next, Ryan Gosling is producing a Flintstones movie about a “grown-up Bamm-Bamm Rubble”. Also, huh. This one is in “early development” so we’ll see what happens. Both projects are based on IP, but also seem to have crazy takes on the IP, which I like.
College volleyball rankings after Week 6: Updated AVCA Coaches Poll
Here's the latest AVCA Coaches Poll after the last week's worth of games during the 2026 women's college volleyball season.
Police urge Pennsylvania businesses to remove skill games as legal deadline approaches
Months after a justice ruled that skill games are legally slot machines, a deadline is fast approaching for the machines to be removed.
What to stream and play: ‘Carrie,’ ‘Disclosure Day,’ ‘Gears of War: E-Day’
“Disclosure Day” and a new album from Pitbull are some of the new television, films, music and games headed to a device near you.
'ARC Raiders,' 'The Finals' TV Series and Movies in the Works
Hit video games "ARC Raiders" and "The Finals" are both getting adapted for TV and film in new projects set up with Chernin Entertainment.
The Coalition used the SSD on Xbox Series S as makeshift RAM to help Gears of War E-Day run smoothly on it
Other game teams are reportedly already interested in learning the method…
Dark Pictures Dev's Layoffs Have Begun, Over 70 Staff Reportedly Let Go
Supermassive Games shrinks to survive
Angels Offer A Blueprint For Bad Spending Decisions
The Los Angeles Angels make bad deals and throw away cash, which is how they lost 100 games this season.
Claims that genAI speeds up PC ports of classic games are either "false" or missing the point, says Banjo Kazooie: Recompiled developer
A Banjo Kazooie: Recompiled developer has spoken out against the idea that generative AI allows for faster PC ports and, therefore, better preservation.
Supermassive Games Layoffs Arrive With Over 70 People Let Go
More than 70 people have seemingly lost their jobs at Supermassive Games, as another batch of layoffs hits the gaming industry.
The AFC road to L.A. may go through Duval
As the stadium in Jacksonville undergoes renovations, the Jaguars will play only six games there in 2026.
Sony introduces AI upscaling to base PS5; Marvel's Wolverine and Ghost of Yōtei are first games to implement new tech
PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution (PSSR) remains exclusive to the PS5 Pro, which SIE says is the "gold standard"
Puka Nacua has a "pre-hernia"
With Rams receiver Puka Nacua having "core muscle" issues during training camp and then a hip/groin problem that caused him to miss two games, it began to seem as if Nacua might have a hernia.
Hellblade studio Ninja Theory has started laying off staff, following Xbox’s announcement that it faces closure
Two separate agreements with the studio “fell through”…
Multiple Teams 'Interested' In New Technique To Enhance Xbox Series S Development
"Could be used as a blueprint for future games on Xbox Series S"
MLB playoff schedule: It’s American League Monday
The National League had the MLB playoff stage to itself on Sunday, but while those four teams switch cities, Monday belongs to the American League Division Series, with a pair of Games 2 in Cleveland and St. Petersburg. Major League Baseball in recent years has started the Division Series round with all four series playing […]
'There's not a better time to turn pro'
Commonwealth Games silver medallist Connor Williams feels there is no better time to fulfil his lifelong ambition to be a professional boxer.
Capcom Plans to Use AI Technology with RE Engine to Make Games More Efficiently
REX initiative detailed
AI game mashup videos on social media spark debate and backlash among players and modders
The Claude-created videos overlay one game on top of another to make a rudimentary ‘mashup’…
Best Buy’s Techtober Sale Is Live with Big Discounts on PS5, Switch 2, and Xbox Games—and Unlike Prime Day, Deals Aren't Locked Behind a Membership
Best Buy's Techtober sale is now live, rivalling Amazon Prime Day with savings on new PS5 game releases, Xbox hardware bundles, and plenty more.
Kingdom Hearts I-III for Switch 2 should've been a slam dunk, but some games need more work
The inconsistent port quality and issues hold some of these KH games back on Switch 2. Square Enix should've done more.
Two More Games Revealed For Xbox Game Pass In 2026, Including A Surprise Shadow Drop
It's coming home
Game Preview: Winnipeg Jets @ Pittsburgh Penguins 10/5/2026
Who: Winnipeg Jets (1-0-1, 4th place Central Division) @ Pittsburgh Penguins (2-0-0, 1st place Metropolitan Division) When: 7:30 p.m. eastern How to Watch: Locally televised game on Sportsnet Pittsburgh, Sportsnet+ up in Canada, out-of-market streaming on ESPN+ Pens’ Path Ahead: Up next for the Penguins will be two road games against division opponent, Washington on Wednesday […]
Yale School of Medicine On the Science of Childhood Anxiety, Say, Anxiety Disorders Are the Most Common Mental Health Challenges In Youth
Credit: Matt Bradbury October 5, 2026 - By Isabella Backman - Anxiety disorders are the most common mental health challenges in youth. Left untreated, they can disrupt the lives of both children and their families. The good news is that with intervention, most children will overcome these conditions. Across Yale School of Medicine, scientists are working to understand anxiety at every level, from common anxious behaviors to molecular biomarkers in the brain. They are using their findings to develop and disseminate new evidence-based treatments for childhood anxiety. Today, the go-to treatment for childhood anxiety disorders is cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). This is a form of psychotherapy that teaches children skills for confronting anxious thoughts and helps them practice managing situations that cause anxiety. While it is the gold-standard treatment backed by considerable scientific evidence, up to 50% of children will not see sufficient benefit from CBT alone. Wendy Silverman, PhD, Alfred A. Messer Professor in the Child Study Center, co-directs the Anxiety and Mood Disorders Program alongside Eli Lebowitz, PhD, associate professor in the Child Study Center. One of their main interests is learning how to improve outcomes beyond CBT. “We’re developing cutting-edge, research-based knowledge that can reduce the suffering that anxiety causes children and their families,” says Silverman. Changing parent behavior YSM experts are investigating how to improve CBT outcomes for children by involving the parents. Silverman’s research has uncovered two main components of parent intervention that improve childhood anxiety: not enabling children to completely avoid the things that make them anxious and taking steps to enhance their autonomy. Parents may unintentionally reinforce their child’s anxiety by allowing them to avoid what makes them anxious. They also may unintentionally limit the children’s sense of autonomy by being overly intrusive. “One of the things that we take pride in is that we’ve focused on trying to understand what parents need to do, and to test our ideas and see if changing the parents’ behaviors is enhancing the effects of CBT,” Silverman says. “Our findings thus far suggest that they do." As much as CBT can be helpful, it can also be challenging to get one’s child to do the necessary steps for CBT to work. This is one important reason why Lebowitz created a novel intervention program for parents named Supportive Parenting for Anxious Childhood Emotions (SPACE). Existing intervention programs often teach parents to act as therapists for their child, such as training them on how to practice breathing exercises. “It makes sense, but this doesn’t work very well in practice,” says Lebowitz. “And part of the reason, I think, is that it’s not easy to get your kid to do things, especially if they’re not excited about doing it.” SPACE is unique because it focuses entirely on parent involvement and changing parental behavior—children are not involved in the sessions. For example, parents learn how to use supportive messages that convey confidence that their child can tolerate and manage distress. “It might sound like a parent saying to a child, ‘I get that this is really hard for you, but I know that you can handle it,’” Lebowitz says. The program also works with parents to identify the ways in which they are accommodating anxious behaviors. “We’ll pick one thing that parents are doing that is an accommodation and help them make a detailed plan for how they’re going to change that,” Lebowitz explains. Treating Anxiety in Children and Adolescents Much of the existing research on SPACE has focused on parents of children under age 14. Ongoing studies are now exploring its use with parents of older teens. “Both anxiety and accommodation can interfere with normative developmental shifts during the teen years, including increased autonomy and individuation from parents,” says Rebecca Etkin, PhD, associate research scientist in the Child Study Center. “In this sense, SPACE may be particularly well-suited for anxious teens and their parents. We want to see whether it is effective during this distinct developmental window.” Unfortunately, many families in need of CBT face barriers, including limited availability of services and geographic constraints. One way to improve access is digital interventions. Silverman and her team are developing an evidence-based digitized intervention program for parents that they can access directly from their computer or smart phone. “The work we’re doing will be one of the very few parent interventions that is digitized and importantly tested for effectiveness,” she says. Creating interventions for anxiety-related challenges Silverman and Lebowitz recently received a generous gift to develop and test other interventions that help parents reduce other child anxiety-related behavioral and emotional difficulties, such as restrictive eating and unexplained somatic symptoms. One of these projects in particular focuses on understanding the risks of social media and its potential benefits, including offering a sense of connection. “A lot of research has focused on the idea that social media is harmful and the less of it the better,” says Lebowitz. “But we actually see is that this is not quite right—there are negatives, but there are also positives. So, we’re trying to get a little bit more nuanced of a picture.” The team is working with teens with social anxiety and their parents over an extended period to better understand their social media habits and how their anxiety levels affect engagement with different platforms. The teens will answer questions sent to an app on their phones about mood and social media usage in an effort to capture emotional responses as they unfold. “We hope to develop interventions that can help make the best of social media while protecting against the more problematic effects,” Lebowitz says. The brain’s role in anxiety Researchers are also testing therapies to address anxiety at the neurological and molecular levels. In collaboration with Dylan Gee, PhD, professor of psychology in Yale's Faculty of Arts and Sciences, and Hilary Blumberg, MD, John and Hope Furth Professor of Psychiatric Neuroscience at Yale School of Medicine, Lebowitz and Silverman are using brain imaging to identify changes in a child’s brain before and after parents enroll in SPACE. In one study, children viewed anxiety-inducing images while undergoing magnetic resonance imaging (MRI); the researchers conducted scans with and without the children’s parents nearby. Before SPACE, children’s brains were better able to activate the regulatory circuitry needed to turn off an anxious response when their parents were nearby. But after SPACE, children could activate this circuitry even without the parent around. “As parents work on gradually reducing some of their accommodations, you can see a child get better at regulating their own fear system in the brain,” Lebowitz says. “It’s remarkable.” Research into the molecular underpinnings of anxiety can also inform new childhood anxiety treatments. In a recent study, Lebowitz, Silverman, and Flora Vaccarino, MD, Harris Professor in the Child Study Center, discovered that a protein known as fibroblast growth factor 2 (FGF2) could be protective from the toxic effects of stress. FGF2 levels in children and their parents were linked to the children’s risk of developing anxiety and depression, the study showed. The findings could help explain why some children who are exposed to early life trauma such as poverty or abuse are more prone to developing mental health disorders. And FGF2 could be a target for treatment. “This is very novel because it starts to give a clue to what is the molecular chain that connects those lived experiences to the actual psychological outcomes,” Lebowitz says. New ways to study and treat childhood anxiety Michael Crowley, PhD, associate professor in the Child Study Center, collaborates with Silverman and Lebowitz to study the role that attention plays in development and maintenance of childhood anxiety. There is a large body of research that shows that anxious children, like anxious adults, are prone to focus on threatening stimuli such as angry faces compared with neutral faces. This has led to innovative interventions that involve attention retraining. The idea is that if experts train children to look away from threatening stimuli, it may reduce their anxiety—especially children with social anxiety who are most prone to attend to threats. The researchers have just completed a clinical trial for attention retraining with 10- to 14-year-olds with social anxiety disorders and are currently analyzing the findings. Besides this innovative attention retraining research, as Crowly notes, “I like to design tasks that are engaging to kids,” Crowley says. “My goal is to assess something without the kids knowing what we are assessing.” With this goal in mind, Crowley has created a virtual game, named Boom, to study threat processing in children with anxiety disorders. The game is similar to that of hot potato—the child and three digital players take turns virtually passing a ball to each other’s gloves. At some point, the ball turns into a bomb, and as the bomb lands in each player’s glove, the outline of the glove turns yellow. The goal is to avoid having the bomb go off in your glove. What isn’t obvious is that the game is designed to measure different types of threatening stimuli, both ambiguous and direct. In the game, the direct threat occurs as the bomb is traveling towards your glove. The ambiguous threat is the yellow outlined glove as it is unknown where the bomb will travel next. While children play the game, Crowley’s team measures their brain activity using electroencephalography (EEG). The researchers have discovered that in kids with anxiety, the brain reacts more strongly to ambiguous threats than it does in their peers, but less strongly to direct threats. They believe that the initial abnormally large brain response to not knowing where the bomb is going impairs the brain's ability to properly respond when the threat is actually traveling the child’s way. “The brains of children with anxiety are unable to differentiate between threats you need to do something about and those that are not your problem.” Michael Crowley, PhD, develops innovative games for studying anxiety in children and adolescents.Credit: Matt Bradbury Based on these insights, Crowley hopes to study whether interventions like attention training could restore appropriate threat processing. Crowley’s team is also working on a test called the Balloon Risk Avoidance Task, which evaluates risk-taking and avoidance behaviors. It features a digital balloon that is full of air and about to burst. Kids have six seconds to let air out of the balloon. The more air they let out, the less risk they face that the balloon will pop. But at the same time, the balloon becomes less valuable as it deflates. “The more air you keep in the balloon, the more points you get,” Crowley explains. So far, the researchers have found that when the balloons pop unexpectedly, teens with social anxiety show distinct brain responses. Studying these responses can help psychologists understand the underlying pathways driving the various manifestations of anxiety. The genetics of anxiety When Thomas Fernandez, MD, associate professor in the Child Study Center and of psychiatry, was still in training, there was a lot of excitement about understanding the genetics associated with autism spectrum disorder. Since then, scientists have identified around 250 genes associated with autism. The genetic contribution to anxiety disorders, on the other hand, has historically received less attention. Anxiety is less heritable than autism, but the genetic contribution for anxiety disorders that emerge in childhood may be higher than for anxiety disorders overall. While scientists estimate the heritability of anxiety disorders in general to be around 30% to 50%, some studies suggest higher heritability for certain childhood-onset anxiety presentations. “I saw firsthand how researchers in the field went about finding vulnerability genes for autism,” Fernandez says. “So, we’re using a very similar playbook for childhood anxiety.” “I saw firsthand how researchers in the field went about finding vulnerability genes for autism. So, we’re using a very similar playbook for childhood anxiety.” Thomas Fernandez, MD Associate Professor In the Child Study Center and in Psychiatry Now, Fernandez and Emily Olfson, MD, PhD, assistant professor in the Child Study Center, are studying children and their parents to identify genetic changes that are present in the child but not the parents, known as “de novo mutations.” “All of us have some de novo mutations—maybe about 50 to 100 sprinkled throughout the genome,” Olfson says. “But when they occur within the coding regions of genes, they can be really disruptive.” Previous research shows that people with autism have higher rates of damaging de novo mutations than the general population. In 2022, Olfson, Lebowitz, Silverman, and Fernandez published a study on 68 children and their families that found that children with anxiety had similarly high levels of these mutations. Studying de novo mutations can help point the researchers to where they should be looking for genes associated with anxiety. “The end game is using the genes to steer us toward the right part of biology that we can then target to come up with better treatments,” Fernandez says. Building on those findings, the team is now studying more families to better understand how these de novo mutations, along with other genetic and environmental factors, shape pediatric anxiety disorders. They recently received a National Institutes of Health grant to enroll 750 new families over the next five years. Olfson is the principal investigator, with co-investigators Lebowitz, Fernandez, Silverman, and Shuangge Steven Ma, PhD, department chair and professor of biostatistics at Yale School of Public Health. Neurodevelopment, Risk Genes, and Mental Health Conditions - The Olfson Lab Joel Gelernter, MD, Foundations Fund Professor of Psychiatry, is interested in how different anxiety disorders differ genomically. “We are studying social phobia, panic disorder, and generalized anxiety disorder, working to understand why people differ in their risk to these specific anxiety disorders and evaluating various risk factors,” he says. Gelernter was recently involved in one of the largest studies to date of the genomics underlying anxiety disorder. The study included around 122,000 people with anxiety disorders and around 730,000 without. It found that some genetic differences associated with anxiety were linked to signaling that helps reduce overactivity in the nervous system. Many anxiety medications available today work by targeting this process. “It’s nice when the biology that you get out of a large genome-wide study ratifies things that we already know because that can help increase confidence in further findings from the study,” Gelernter says. Uncovering the neurobiology of psychiatric disorders John Krystal, MD, Robert L. McNeil, Jr. Professor of Translational Research and chair of the Department of Psychiatry, is interested in the neurobiology of psychiatric disorders, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), of which anxiety is a major symptom. In the late 1980s, Krystal’s team discovered that the drug yohimbine activated symptoms in patients with PTSD. “This was the first time we could link a specific biological mechanism to the symptoms of PTSD,” Krystal says. At the time, he adds, this finding was highly controversial. “A lot of people felt that PTSD was a purely psychological syndrome that didn’t have an underlying biology.” Since then, Krystal has dived deep into understanding the neurobiology of PTSD to learn how to better treat it. His team is evaluating the use of ketamine and psychedelics. These would be among the first treatments to be developed specifically for PTSD. They may also be applicable for other disorders including anxiety disorders, Krystal adds. An important gap in PTSD treatment is the absence of biological tests that inform how to best help patients manage their PTSD symptoms. A doctor doesn’t diagnose cancer based on how they feel. Rather, they use tests of the biology of the cancer to determine the best course of treatment. “And we can’t do that in any psychiatric disorder other than Alzheimer’s disease,” Krystal says. “But now we are building a foundation for this approach to the treatment of anxiety disorders for the first time.” Source: Yale School of Medicine
Mr Bean Brand Expands with New Global Licensing Partnerships
Banijay Kids & Family announces expanded Mr Bean licensing deals including Royal Stacks burgers, apparel, watches, toys, and arcade games worldwide.
NBA 2K25 is being delisted later this month, servers (including single-player story mode) shut down at the end of the year
MyCareer, MyTeam and all other online game modes will end in December…
GameStop CEO Ryan Cohen shared his best and worst investments with Business Insider. Neither of them involves money.
GameStop's Ryan Cohen shares best and worst investments of his life
Ryan Cohen said he's still "collecting dividends" from his best investment, and his worst investment involved misplaced trust.
Penn State students win award for connecting health and environment through play
A series of games developed by a team of interdisciplinary Penn State students to help children in Iquitos, Peru, learn about the connections between human, animal and environmental health was recognized with a national American Society of Landscape Architects award.
Asian Games reaction, build-up to India vs Uruguay and more: Indian Sports LIVE, October 5
Here are all the updates from Indian sports on October 5, 2026.
DJ Moore leaves Week 4 with another shoulder injury
DJ Moore unable to make it through the first half for the second time in three games in Week 4.
Local business plans Halloween event at Buckhannon’s Jawbone Park
Majestic Mountains Studio is planning a Halloween event at Jawbone Park in Buckhannon on Oct. 31 from noon to 5:30 p.m. The free event will feature vendors, games, crafts and costume contests.
2TB MicroSD Express card leaks, providing Switch 2 storage for 100+ games
With some Switch 2 games creating a storage dilemma, help is on the way. Suneast is marketing a 2TB MicroSD Express card without a release date or price. Amid the memory shortage, 1TB cards already cost Nintendo supporters over $300.
Kings Have One of NBA’s 10 Craziest Games in History
Relive the historic night Sacramento erased a massive 35-point deficit against Chicago, cementing a legendary comeback that remains one of the most improbable statistical anomalies in basketball history.
White Sox offseason business during the postseason: Arbitration figures, play-by-play future
The last two times the White Sox were in a real postseason — 2008 against the Rays, 2021 against the Astros — they fell behind 2-0 in the the ALDS, and had to scratch out Game 3 victories each time in order to ensure that they wouldn’t participate in the bare minimum of games. Three…
Late Sunday and SNF Open Thread!
Talk about all the late Sunday games with us right here!
Grand Theft Auto VI developers literally forced Sony to develop QSSR technology
According to insider PainkillerQ8, the Rockstar Games team literally forced Sony developers to dig up the technology...
Ubisoft's 'Motherbrain' Gen-AI Now Serves as a 'Global Entity' Across Ubisoft
Ubisoft GenAI 'Motherbrain' will serve as a global entity for Ubisoft's games, being implemented into as many games as possible.
Jets end 20-game interception drought, trail Bears 7-3
The Jets went the entire 2025 season without intercepting a pass and the streak ran to 20 games last weekend, but it is finally over.
PlatinumGames boss hints he wants to expand Bayonetta as Stellar Blade director calls the series "indispensable"
PlatinumGames president Atsushi Inaba says he "strongly wants" to expand Bayonetta, three years after series creator Hideki Kamiya left the studio.
NFL Week 4 TV coverage maps
There are 15 games remaining on the Week 4 NFL schedule. Here is when and where you can watch them.
Week 4 Early Game Open Thread
Welcome to Week 4! We experimented with some SB Nation feed posts for gameday discussion and while that is interesting on prime time games, I think for the early game thread before the Denver Broncos play should just be a regular post. So we’re bringing that back! The games start early with one in London […]
Where to live stream Buccaneers vs Packers for free: NFL, TV channel
The Green Bay Packers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers meet in Week 4 with both teams needing a victory after difficult starts to the season. Green Bay has dropped two of its first three games, while Tampa Bay is trying to…
New SCSKiller Tool Targets PC Shader Compilation Stutter; Our FINAL FANTASY VII REBIRTH Test Shows Impressive Results
SCSKiller reduces shader compilation stutters in games like FINAL FANTASY VII Rebirth, improving performance from 19 stalls to 0. Available on GitHub.
MLB playoff schedule: NLDS gets the Sunday stage
LOS ANGELES — After a four-game Saturday, the National League has Sunday to itself with a pair of Games 2 of the NLDS first in Milwaukee and then in Los Angeles. After winning Game 1 in 100-degree heat on Saturday afternoon behind Tarik Skubal, the Dodgers turn to Blake Snell for Game 2 in trying […]
Where to watch NFL games: Commanders vs Colts in London
Clear your couch — NFL Week 4 is here! Here's how to watch every game this Sunday.
TV maps for Week 4 of 2026 NFL games
There's a full slate of NFL action Sunday on CBS and FOX. Here's a look at the Week 4 TV coverage maps.
Capcom Is Looking To Evolve Its RE Engine Into An 'AI-Era Game Engine'
It wants to "create games together with AI"
What channel is the Commanders vs Colts London game today? Start time, schedule, streaming
The Colts and Commanders battle in London today. Marking the third of nine NFL International games this year. Here's how you can watch the Week 4 action.
GOTY 2026’s Final Nomination Is a Battleground of 8/10 Games
The year of 'good, not great' rages on
Rockstar Games Confirms Next Official GTA 6 Update for October 5
Grand Theft Auto fans looking forward to the long-awaited GTA 6 should circle their calendars for Monday, October 5.
India report card for Asian Games 2026: Archery, Boxing A+, B for Shooting while Tennis gets an F
Here's the complete list of 499 athletes who will represent India at the 2026 Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya.
Wales vs Denmark – Predicted lineup and team news
Wales will take on Denmark in their fourth UEFA Nations League fixture this Sunday at Cardiff City Stadium, with both sides currently level on three points from three games in the group standings.Wale...
A tale of two AAA games: Control Resonant shows what gaming can be, Marvel’s Wolverine shows what it is becoming
News, Reviews and other Informations about Laptops
ETSU reclaims rail with 14-3 rivalry win over Chattanooga.
JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (WJHL)— ETSU football reclaimed the Rail for the first time since 2018 on Saturday, defeating SoCon rival Chattanooga 14-3. The Buccaneers improved to 4-2 overall and 2-0 in SoCon play while snapping a six-game losing streak to the Mocs. ETSU has now won six consecutive conference games dating back to last season. […]
High school flag football: Friday and Saturday scores
CIF City Section and Southern Section high school girls' flag football scores for games played on Friday and Saturday.
High school football: Saturday's scores
Results from CIF City and Southern Section high school football games on Saturday, Oct. 3.
The Reality of OKC Thunder’s Preseason Games
Mark Daigneault must prioritize development over results, forcing depth pieces into high-pressure scenarios to identify who can anchor the rotation when the Western Conference title is looming.
Food and entertainment combine for Octoberfest fun
Food, face painting, live music, inflatables and yard games combined for a family-friendly atmosphere Saturday during Octoberfest at Meineke Park in Schaumburg. The Mackenzie O'Brien kicked off the li...
PlatinumGames talks Nintendo Switch 2, offers brief comment on Bayonetta's future
PlatinumGames has offered a few words about Nintendo Switch 2 as well as the future of Bayonetta. PlatinumGames CEO Atsushi Inaba was recently taking part in a joint discussion with Shift Up’s Kim Hyung Tae. For those who missed the news, the companies recently announced a collaboration which will bring special Bayonetta costumes to Stellar Blade in time for the...
Nebraska vs Maryland – Game Thread of Winning Fun!
Time: 3:00pm CST Location: Memorial Stadium, Lincoln, NE Surface: Hellas Turf (Blessed by the Bobfather himself in Husker Valhalla) Wagering Info: Huskers -14 1⁄2 . O/U – 52 1⁄2. Moneyline: Nebraska +116, Maryland +666 ($100 wager) (FanDuel) Series Record: Nebraska is 3-1 vs. Maryland all-time with all 4 games being played after the Huskers joined the Big 10. The last two games […]
Capcom Plans To Use AI To Speed Up The Game Development Process
The company previously said it won’t use AI-generated content in its games.
Vikings close in on record for consecutive four-sack games
SnakePit Post-season GDT, #4
Whoops, didn’t expect today’s games to get under way quite as early as they did. The White Sox vs. Guardians game is already under way in Cleveland, but there’s currently no score at the end of the third inning. So it’s not as if we missed much. A full slate of four Division Series games […]
Open Thread For Saturday’s Division Series Games
I’m putting this together the night before, because I’m out tomorrow morning. We have four games today. Game One: 1:00 Eastern: White Sox @ Guardians: Smith vs. Messick. Game Two: 4:00 Eastern: Braves @ Dodgers. Game Three: 6:30 Eastern: Yankees @ Rays. Cole vs. Rasmussen. Game Four: 8:50 Eastern: Padres @ Brewers. Ray vs. Misiorowski. […]
5 Classic Nintendo 64 Games That Still Hold Up Today
The Nintendo 64 was a literal gamechanger, and even though some of these games are around 30 years old now, they still hold up today.
Game Pass Is About To Lose Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 And Some Other Incredible Games
The RPG sensation and more gems are leaving in October
Full Saturday slate of baseball as Division Series begin
Four playoff games stacked back to back as the MLB playoffs continue in earnest!
49ers’ Kyle Shanahan Set to Make History Against Broncos
Kyle Shanahan is about to etch his name into San Francisco 49ers history. It’s arriving faster than it might seem.Shanahan Set to Pass Bill Walsh on the 49ers’ All-Time ListHeading into Week 4 against the Denver Broncos, Shanahan will surpass legendary coach Bill Walsh for the most games as San Francisco’s head coach. He’ll reach […] The post 49ers’ Kyle Shanahan Set to Make History Against Broncos appeared first on HEAVY.