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Health department holds community baby shower for Lynchburg
It’s one of a series of showers that’s part of the Virginia Department of Health’s “Beyond the Blues” campaign.
House holds billionaire Leon Black in contempt over Epstein probe subpoena
Billionaire Leon Black held contempt over Epstein investigation subpoena; Black denies any wrongdoing or any knowledge of Epstein's behavior.
House holds billionaire investor Leon Black in contempt over Epstein probe
The House of Representatives held billionaire investor Leon Black in contempt of Congress on Wednesday for refusing to comply with subpoenas as part of the congressional investigation into Jeffrey Epstein.
Florida holds steady in ESPN's latest bracketology update
With less than two months before the start of the college basketball season, the Florida Gators remain a top seed in ESPN's latest bracketology update.
Janesville organization holds rally opposing development referendum
Forward Janesville says it opposes a November referendum that would require a vote for any development at the former GM plant site exceeding $450 million.
Christian County Health Department Offers Personalized Emergency Plans
September is Emergency Preparedness Month, and the Christian County Health Department (CCHD) is helping residents prepare before severe weather or another emergency occurs. CCHD Emergency Preparedness Coordinator, Ellen, is offering to create personalized emergency plans for area households. Residents can call the health department at […]
Hinojosa: Help me put an end to Gov. Abbot’s 30-year political career
Gubernatorial candidate Gina Hinojosa holds a campaign rally at Santa Fe Events Center in her hometown of Brownsville.
Senators question Trump's picks for top health positions, including surgeon general
On Wednesday, the Senate committee on health holds a confirmation hearing for three top health officials, including surgeon general. Dr. Nicole Saphier is President Trump's third attempt to nominate a surgeon general.
Senate Hearing on Department of Health & Human Services Executive Nominations
The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee holds a hearing on three of President Trump's executive nominations for positions at the Department of Health and Human Services.
Health Professionals Testify on Menopause Care
Senate Special Aging Committee holds a first-of-its-kind hearing to address menopause care in the U.S.
DOH holds in-person town hall on Bronx Legionnaires' cases
"Remember, there are 24 total cooling towers in this area that we are concerned about," New York City Health Commissioner Dr. Alister Martin said.
With just weeks until voting begin, Haaland holds millions while Hull struggles to keep up
New Mexico Political Report – With voters casting the first in-person votes just four weeks after the most recent campaign filings, Democrat Deb Haaland reports that she has $3.4 million available to spend. Republican Gregg Hull’s bank account had just 1/7th of that available. This story was originally published at New Mexico Political Report, a […]
New Britain holds business fair geared to help small businesses come to town
Hosted by Mayor Bobby Sanchez, the city says it hopes to “fill more storefronts” and breathe more life into its community.
Unsolved for 90 Years, OpenAI Says AI Cracked Millennium Prize Problem in 88 Hours
OpenAI says one of its AI systems has solved a math problem that has stumped mathematicians for nearly a century. The Navier–Stokes problem is one of seven Millennium Prize Problems, some of the toughest problems in mathematics, with a $1 million prize attached to each one. If OpenAI’s proof holds up, it would be a […]
Immigrant leaders shape Colorado’s political future
Colorado’s political transformation is measured in many ways. A once reliably red state (with asterisks) became purple and is now a rather deep blue. For better or worse, probably the latter, power is ever more consolidated along the Front Range corridor. Counties such as Arapahoe, Jefferson and Larimer that were once Republican strongholds are now […]
20 things about Dagmar Trippen, business owner
Dagmar Trippen was featured in Vogue, holds dual citizenship and her last name is German for something you wear.
Memorial Health holds grand re-opening for Southwest Surgery Center
Memorial Health Systems of Southwest Oklahoma celebrated the grand re-opening of its Southwest Surgery Center with a ceremony on Monday afternoon.
Cincinnati Public Schools holds business meeting before tax levy goes on ballot
The Cincinnati Public School Board held a business meeting on Monday night as the district continues to find solutions for a multi-million-dollar budget deficit.
Memorial Health holds grand re-opening for Southwest Surgery Center
Memorial Health Systems of Southwest Oklahoma celebrated the grand re-opening of its Southwest Surgery Center with a ceremony on Monday afternoon.
Colorado Supreme Court upholds constitutionality of new ‘reasonable doubt’ definition
The Colorado Supreme Court placed its stamp of approval on Monday on a revised definition of “reasonable doubt” that defendants have repeatedly challenged as unconstitutional in the three years since its unveiling. To date, multiple Court of Appeals decisions have endorsed the constitutionality of the current phrasing, which resembles the instruction given in Colorado’s federal […]
Liam Neeson holds hands with Stella Stocker on TIFF red carpet
The duo is set to appear in “The Mongoose” next month.
How Quincy and Hannibal Households Budget for Entertainment
Across West-Central Illinois and Northeast Missouri, the way people spend a free evening rarely follows a script. A Quincy resident might grab tickets to a show at the Oakley-Lindsay Center one weekend, then spend the next weekend keeping things low-key at home. A Hannibal couple might split the difference — dinner downtown on Friday, then...
Swedish election leaves government up for grabs
Andersson failed to seize the momentum but holds a narrow edge over the ruling right-wing coalition
Siding with Ron DeSantis, Byron Donalds bucks Donald Trump on paying voters if GOP holds Congress
Trump's candidate wants to put the brakes on payouts based on political outcomes.
Med Center Health holds 16th annual NICU reunion
Med Center Health held its 16th annual NICU reunion, bringing together families and the medical staff who cared for their premature or medically complex newborns.
PENN Entertainment holds steady with $18 target amid mixed earnings and debt concerns.
PENN Entertainment maintains a Hold rating with an $18 price target due to mixed Q2 earnings and limited valuation upside compared to peers. The retail segment showed solid growth with a 5.6% increase in adjusted EBITDAR, especially strong in the Midwest and West regions. However, the Interactive segment's revenue growth has slowed sharply despite improving profitability, raising concerns about long-term competitiveness. The company remains highly leveraged with net debt around 5.2x–5.5x, making proactive debt reduction and consistent Interactive profitability key factors to watch going forward.
Zverev holds off Shelton to win US Open title
Alexander Zverev beat Ben Shelton 6-3, 7-6 (7/2), 5-7, 6-2 to win the US Open on Sunday, expunging the memory of a bitter Flushing Meadows defeat with his second Grand Slam title.
Port Wentworth holds ribbon cutting ceremony for new entertainment center
Members of the community joined Mayor Tracey Saunders in celebrating the city’s newest addition with live music, free ice skating and watching football on the big screen.
Port Wentworth holds ribbon cutting ceremony for new entertainment center
Members of the community joined Mayor Tracey Saunders in celebrating the city's newest addition with live music, free ice skating and watching football on the big screen.
Kehoe holds signing for new health care licensing law
Gov. Mike Kehoe stopped in Kansas City on Thursday for a ceremonial signing of a new bill that opens doors for out-of-state health care professionals.
Swedes vote in election that could usher far right into government
Sweden’s centre-left opposition holds a narrow lead over the ruling right-wing bloc, but Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson has been catching up in the final weeks of campaigning.
Guardians score vs. Twins. Minnesota holds on to beat Cleveland
Emmanuel Rodriguez hit a home run and the Minnesota Twins held on to beat the Cleveland Guardians on Saturday afternoon, Sept. 12, in Minneapolis.
Baker Mayfield Holds Surprising Record Over Joe Burrow
Joe Burrow will look to change a surprising piece of history when the Bengals take on Baker Mayfield and the Buccaneers in Week 1.
America In Focus: inflation accelerated in August, home sales weaken and diesel prices soar
The economy, inflation and how those forces could impact the lives of Americans were front and center over the past week. Trips to the grocery store and gas station are more painful than they were last year, and rising costs are impacting the decisions of both households and businesses.
Qualcomm Lost Apple’s Modem Business. Amazon Just Offered a $60 Billion Escape Route.
Qualcomm is watching Apple walk out the door with its modem business, but a surprise Amazon partnership promises a $60 billion lifeline built on unproven silicon in a market already owned by rivals. Whether that door holds the weight is the real question.
Germany’s Political Tailspin: Your Weekly SPIEGEL Recap
It might be tempting to dismiss the results of last Sunday’s state election in Saxony-Anhalt, in which the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party raked in 43.8 percent of the vote, as a rather unimportant extremist blip in a state that hardly anyone can find on the map. And you wouldn’t necessarily be wrong to do so. The state’s population – around 2.1 million – is a mere 2.5 percent of the German total. And while the state capital of Magdeburg was once the political heart of the Holy Roman Empire back when Otto the Great used to hang out there (more than a millenium … no … milennium … nope … millennium ago), it is today something of a backwater, albeit one with a ginormous cathedral in its center. We wanted to briefly interrupt this week’s newsletter to extend a heartfelt thank you to all of our subscribers, both new and old. And to remind you all that a free subscription gets you access to this newsletter every Saturday. A paid subscription, by contrast, gets you one DER SPIEGEL article every weekday, delivered to your inbox. We strive to select pieces that both demonstrate what Europe’s leading newsmagazine has to offer and provide an international audience – namely, you – with an insight into how Germany and Europe view the world. If you haven’t already signed up for a paid subscription, please consider doing so if you can. Our Substack channel relies entirely on reader support and we are excited to continue offering you the best of DER SPIEGEL. Subscribe But even beyond the fact that a huge percentage of the voters in the state decided to place an X next to a party with an ideological lineage that runs rather directly back to the right-wing extremist soup out of which the Nazi Party was born, the results are a perfect example of a phenomenon that has been plaguing German elections in recent years: the lack of an obvious path to a majority. Call it the Balkanization of German politics. There are a number of developments driving the phenomenon, but for the purposes of this newsletter, here are two of the most salient: Persistent voter frustration with the country’s two (former) big-tent parties – the Christian Democrats (CDU) on the center-right (17.2 percent in Saxony-Anhalt last Sunday) and the Social Democrats (SPD) on the center-left (9.3 percent). The presence of parties on the far left (Left Party), the populist left (the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance – BSW) and the far right (AfD) with which mainstream parties are reluctant to form coalitions. So what happens now? Stories of the Week A Lack of Leadership The answer for many people in the country, and particularly within the CDU, is clear: pin (some of) the blame on Chancellor Friedrich Merz. According to a survey taken directly after the election in Saxony-Anhalt, 88 percent of respondents agreed with the statement that if the federal government in Berlin were doing a better job, the AfD wouldn’t be as strong. And it is true that the predominant impression of the federal government ever since Merz was sworn in on May 6, 2025, is one of ineffectiveness and bickering. His rather unique combination of bumbling-plus-bravado has also not exactly endeared him to the German public. Indeed, his standing in the country is so shaky that his popularity – according to recent polls – has now dropped even below the historic lows associated with his predecessor Olaf Scholz. The situation is such that the CDU even opted to keep him largely out of the campaign ahead of the Saxony-Anhalt vote. And since then, dissatisfied rumblings within the CDU have grown louder. DER SPIEGEL’s Swantje Karich notes that the problems with the CDU go much deeper than Merz. “The center-right has a trust problem. At a press appearance following the devastating election result in Saxony-Anhalt, Friedrich Merz said that the party wanted to ‘reach people more effectively’ through ‘emotional engagement.’ It sounded as though he were announcing a political program. On the basis of that statement, it is difficult to take his empathy seriously.” “The Chancellor’s chastened appearance did, at least, reveal where he stands: with his back to the wall. Elections will be held in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania next week, and the CDU could fare even worse there. The party is polling at between 8 and 10 percent in the state.” “What is at stake is the political tradition that has lent stability to the Federal Republic since 1945: a democratic conservatism that understands what must be preserved, but also how to embrace progress and openness to the world. If the Union continues along its current path, it risks becoming politically irrelevant after the 2029 federal election – and Germany could soon find itself with a government of the far right.” The Trumpification of Political Debate? It is often said in Germany that to understand the political and social trends that will soon be dominant in Europe, one need only look across the Atlantic to the United States. When it comes to political debate, that has certainly proven true. Donald Trump understood early on that triggering mouth-foaming outrage among Democrats is an ideal way to both generate headlines and to secure loyalty among supporters. And he realized that far more quickly than the left side of the political spectrum understood that simply ignoring the old man might be the best recipe. To be sure, there have been signs recently that the US president may be over-relying on the strategy. Earlier this week, in an apparent grandpa-discovers-AI moment, Trump sent out 60 posts in the space of 10 hours, many of them AI-assisted images portraying him as a hero – or showing Iceland as part of the US (outrageous!!!). It was also during that slew of schlock that he explicitly backed the AfD with an “MGGA” post. In Germany, though, the outrage cycle remains in full swing, with much of the focus on those who would dare to vote for the AfD. They are alternately portrayed as being dim-witted, ungrateful, backward, racist or all of the above. That, argues DER SPIEGEL columnist Sabine Rennefanz, is not particularly helpful. “Everywhere on election night, people spoke of a watershed moment, a rupture, a turning point. But what is that supposed to mean in concrete terms? A watershed would imply an interruption, a moment of pause – perhaps even a willingness to rethink and learn. At first, there was little sign of that in the main television panels. Instead, the familiar rituals that had already shaped the election campaign continued: outrage, lecturing and abuse.” “That’s just the tone, one might object. They’re only talk shows. Given that the party’s state branch has been classified by domestic intelligence officials as confirmed right-wing extremist, there are more important problems than hurt feelings on television. Yet although the condescending tone is not the cause of the AfD’s success, it is an expression of the broader mood within the so-called political center – a kind of institutional blindness that too often treats material concerns as a communications problem.” “People have a pretty good sense of whether you like them – whether you approach them with curiosity or merely study, lecture and manage them as a problem group. They notice whether you genuinely want to understand their fears and pain, or whether you are simply waiting for the chance to correct them. They can also tell whether someone still has the energy to change things, or whether they have barricaded themselves behind platitudes and empty phrases.” “Anyone who wants an egalitarian democratic society cannot promise equality only to those whose language, tastes and moral convictions they share. They must also acknowledge the wounds, resentments and fears of those whose political conclusions they consider wrong. Acknowledging them does not mean agreeing with them. But a democracy that communicates with almost half its citizens only through warnings and labels gives up on political debate before it has even begun. An atmosphere must be created in which people can express their opinions without fearing that they will be canceled. We are currently a long way from that.” East-West? One of the clear undercurrents in the election last Sunday was, of course, Germany’s ongoing east-west divide, particularly as it pertains to the success of the AfD. Historically, the party has been far stronger in the former East German states than in former West German states. The fact that this generalization no longer reliably holds is certainly one of the primary concerns that many have about the party’s growth. And yet, there is still a distinct flavor of “stupid easterners, they don’t understand democracy” to the coverage. In the weeks before the vote, there was even a rather interesting back-and-forth in Germany’s culture pages about how ungrateful eastern Germans allegedly are for being pulled out of their pre-reunification backwardness and into the light of the West. DER SPIEGEL’s Jochen-Martin Gutsch has had enough. “Ten years ago, in 2016, elections were also held in Saxony-Anhalt. The AfD won more than 20 percent, which at the time rightly provoked outrage and incomprehension in western Germany. Today, in 2026, the AfD is also polling at around 20 percent in western German states, but this no longer provokes outrage and incomprehension. Instead, it is now regarded as proof of democratic conviction and civilizational resistance. After all, in the east, it’s 40 percent!” “This allows people to continue feeling morally superior to the East, but the wiser course would be to admit: if something doesn’t happen soon, the West will turn AfD-blue too. Or bluish.” “But will anything happen? The truly depressing thing about election night was not so much the AfD leaders intoxicated by their own success. It was the representatives of the other parties, who once again said that they were utterly shocked, needed some time to digest the result and would, of course, not simply return to business as usual. The SPD, a former big-tent party, celebrated its ‘stable’ result of 9.3 percent. Congratulations!” “For 10 years, the AfD has gone from one electoral success to the next. And still, the established parties remain ‘shocked’ and scratch their heads in astonishment. How long can they keep being shocked? Friedrich Merz says he may need to communicate his reform ideas in a more ‘emotional’ way. So the CDU’s political professionals sit down together after the election, mull over a strategy, and in the end come up with this: Fritz, try to be a little more relaxed, charismatic and emotional – or something. Beyond that: no political plan, no defiance, no promise of a future. That is frightening.” What was good, what was bad for democracy? Good: Voter turnout in Saxony-Anhalt was 77.8 percent, the highest ever recorded in the state. Whatever one thinks of the result, that figure is encouraging. Democracy needs citizens to take an interest. Bad: Although a strong AfD result had been expected in Saxony-Anhalt, many politicians from the mainstream parties – including in Berlin – appeared confused, helpless and overwhelmed in their initial reactions. That is not how they will win back voters’ trust. Last Week’s Highlights: 🗳️ Meet the Germans Who Voted for the AfD: Why would voters in a country like Germany, with its Nazi past, vote for a right-wing party? It’s a question only an editor in Berlin could come up with. On the ground, the view is different. 🟦 How the AfD Wants to Expand Its Power Across Germany: The far-right AfD is planning to decimate public broadcasting in Saxony-Anhalt, revamp education and install extremists in positions of power. And it is eyeing victory on the national stage as well. 🕯️ The Continuing Reverberations of September 11: It was a generational shock, and the consequences can still be felt today - from massive surveillance and significant increases in presidential power to violent excesses at ICE. 🤝 “For Europe, Canada Is the Preferred Partner in Trans-Atlantic Relations”: In an interview with DER SPIEGEL, Canadian Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne discusses his country’s failed trade deal with the US and why Canada is looking to Europe. 🏛️ The True Historical Roots of the AfD: During the Weimar Republic in the 1920s, there were numerous parties on the extreme right espousing “Germany first” nationalism. The Nazis may not be the best comparison for today’s AfD. 🌊 AfD in a Landslide: Merz Is the Wrong Leader for Germany: The right-wing Alternative for Germany won in a landslide in Saxony-Anhalt state elections on Sunday. What does that mean for the country at large? Thank you for your continued support and have a wonderful week! Subscribe Share Leave a comment Your SPIEGEL Substack Team Compiled and edited by Charles Hawley
The African roots of three Colorado leaders
Colorado’s political transformation is measured in many ways. A once reliably red state (with asterisks) became purple and is now a rather deep blue. For better or worse, probably the latter, power is ever more consolidated along the Front Range corridor. Counties such as Arapahoe, Jefferson, and Larimer, once Republican strongholds, are now at the […]
Pennsylvania health insurance rates poised to rise again as regulators claim limited power to curb increases
Spotlight PA is an independent, nonpartisan, and nonprofit newsroom producing investigative and public-service journalism that holds power to account and...
President Trump arrives in Dublin to meet Ireland’s leaders before attending golf tournament
President Donald Trump touched down in Ireland Saturday morning where he holds a courtesy call with Irish President Catherine Connelly Connolly.
Election 2016 Transgender Politics
FILE - A woman holds a sign supporting trans people during a rally before a WNBA basketball game between the Portland Fire and the Indiana Fever in Portland, Ore., July 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Craig Mitchelldyer, File)
Health insurance rates poised to rise again as Pa. regulators claim limited power to control increases
Spotlight PA is an independent, nonpartisan, and nonprofit newsroom producing investigative and public-service journalism that holds power to account and drives positive change in Pennsylvania. Sig…
Experts examine ethical risks of using AI in public health
Artificial intelligence (AI) holds profound potential to reshape public health. Although its application accelerates threat detection and targeted interventions, the rapid deployment has outpaced the regulatory, validation, and equity safeguards standard to traditional health interventions.
Community Health Center of Lubbock holds 34th annual needs assessment
The Community Health Center of Lubbock gather for the Annual Needs Assessment.
Ascension economic development pipeline holds $22B in potential investment
The Ascension Parish Economic Development Corporation has recorded $347 million in announced capital investment and 46 new jobs so far this year, according to its president and CEO, Kate MacArthur. … Already an INSIDER? Sign in. Already an INSIDER? Sign in
New Apple CEO to face first test with foldable iPhone launch
Apple is expected to unveil a slew of new and updated devices, including a long-rumored foldable iPhone, when it holds its annual late-summer hardware event on Wednesday in Cupertino, California.The tech giant is expected to finally reveal a long-awaited foldable iPhone, currently rumored to be called the iPhone Ultra, which will start at $2,000, according to reports.
Dolphin Entertainment (DLPN) CEO now holds 547,190 shares after latest buy
CEO William O'Dowd IV bought 4,100 shares at a $1.19 average on Sept. 8, 2026 under a Rule 10b5-1 plan, lifting direct holdings to 547,190 shares.
Mackenzie, Bresnahan, McCormick To Speak at "Trumpapalooza" in Dallas
Pennsylvania will be well represented at the podium as the Republican Party holds a midterm national convention in Dallas on Wednesday and Thursday. A pair of GOP congressmen - Reps. Ryan Mackenzie (R-07) and Rob Bresnahan (R-08) - and Sen. Dave McCormick will be among the 109 officials, candidates and…
WATCH LIVE: Mayor Mamdani holds 9/11-related press conference
The New York City mayor announces the release of more than 170,000 pages of documents related to the air quality around the World Trade Center site in the months after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.
The new tax changes every small business needs to know
Principal Tax Research Analyst at the Tax Institute at H&R Block, Carl Breedlove, breaks down what's new for 2026 filers, from higher reporting thresholds to new forms for crypto and digital asset transactions. If you run a small business, freelance, or trade digital assets, here's what you need to know.
A whiplash election year enters its final stretch as Trump holds wild cards
As the final midterm of Donald Trump's presidency rapidly approaches, the landscape is proving especially volatile, with Trump often stirring the tumult.
A data center in Denmark gives away heat that data centers often waste. It runs water from the city's heating network through its cooling units and into heat pumps that raise it enough to fill the radiators of 11,000 homes
As data centers consume ever more power, one facility in Denmark shows how to turn a costly cooling problem into a heating solution for thousands of households.
Atlanta Braves Announce Ha-Seong Kim Decision During Phillies Series
The Atlanta Braves have already, at the very least, split this four-game series with the Philadelphia Phillies. However, they can clinch the series victory Monday and take three of four games, which would extend their division lead over the Phillies to six games. Atlanta currently holds a five-game lead after Sunday’s comeback victory. Ahead of […] The post Atlanta Braves Announce Ha-Seong Kim Decision During Phillies Series appeared first on HEAVY.
Orlando Magic's Biggest X-Factor Next Season
Jalen Suggs holds the key to Orlando's championship aspirations. Success hinges on his ability to anchor a physical defense while recapturing the elite shooting stroke that vanished.
The science behind the beauty business
Some of Europe’s industrial champions may be in retreat, but its cosmetics sector remains a global leader, buoyed by healthy demand, recognised brands and a reputation for innovation."The fact is, the science in cosmetics is better here in Europe than anywhere else in the world,” says Pierre Morvan, CEO of Technature, a private label cosmetics manufacturer located near Brest in France’s northwestern Brittany region. “You have to have good science in order to make the difference, and that is why we invest so much in research and innovation.”Across Europe, the beauty and skincare products sector supports an estimated 3.6 million jobs, including 265,000 employed directly in the industry, according to the Cosmetics Europe trade group.. Cosmetics production contributes an estimated €11 billion to the EU economy, and generated €30 billion in export revenue last year, a €400 million rise from 2024.Technature itself has a global footprint, supplying products for 1,500 brands in 65 countries. Its range of skin gels, facial masks, nail treatments and other products include natural ingredients and extracts derived from plants, such as seaweed, that are developed and refined through science-based analysis and testing.While industry projections point to sustained growth for the foreseeable future, driven by emerging economies and wider availability of exclusive brands that were once chiefly sold by high street retailers, the sector is not immune to the impact of geopolitics and trade wars. The Trump Administration’s tariff threats have dented cosmetics exports to the EU industry's largest overseas market. After the European Parliament approved the EU-US Turnberry Agreement in June, setting a 15% levy on many EU goods, the French Federation of Beauty Companies warned that “exports are falling sharply” and urged the EU to negotiate an opt-out for cosmetics.Technature’s CEO flags South Korea as an emerging competitor, partly due to its assertive marketing efforts. “I would have to say I am a little bit scared,” Morvan says, regarding the growth potential of the South Korean cosmetics industry. “This is why science and innovation are so important if Europe is to remain the leader.”With a workforce of 200, including biologists, chemists and other scientists, around 15% of Technature’s staff work in three research and development (R&D) labs. A similar number work in four quality control and assurance facilities, where science plays a crucial in ensuring product safety in a sector that is subject to the European Cosmetics Regulation.Educational exchange between industry and academiaIn recognition of Technature’s research and innovation, Morvan was selected as one of Brest’s ambassadors to Science Comes to Town (SCTT), a European initiative to strengthen communications and understanding between science and society. Brest is one of three coastal cities in the EU-funded programme, alongside Split (in Croatia) and Kiel (in Germany). From 7-11 September, Brest will host the EU TalentOn contest featuring 100 early-career researchers from across Europe.Morvan appreciates the value of engagement with educational and scientific institutions as well as the home community. For instance, Technature collaborates closely with university partners to enhance its in-house R&D. In addition, it invites students to its labs and sends its own researchers to local institutions. "We absolutely want the students to know what the industry is all about,” Morvan says, noting that seeing science in action can help young people “understand that they can do something real with science, to create something with what they are learning.” He says another important benefit: encouraging new generations of young people to consider a career in cosmetics.Community involvement also raises awareness about Technature and the skincare industry as a whole. “The public gains recognition of the innovative company that we are, and this is important for getting new customers,” Morvan says. One of its recent innovations — tiny, colourful cosmetic pearls that release skin moisturisers on application — was showcased at this year’s VivaTech event in Paris.Morvan holds a master's degree from the Brest Business School and studied animal production and biology in Brest at the University of Western Brittany (UBO), an SCTT partner, and at the University of Tours. He got his start in business in 2002, initially working on using seaweed as a raw material in the food industry before transitioning to cosmetics. Morvan has always been interested in connecting science and business, reflecting one the goals of SCTT to enhance public-private collaboration.The invitation to participate in SCTT was unexpected. “It was a surprise to get a call from the city of Brest saying that they wanted me on this programme,” Morvan recalls, adding that officials were drawn by his company’s R&D. “It's not only theory and science fundamentals. Our science is something that is applicable to the global market — and important for the community.”Science|Business, which connects policymakers, academics and industry through its news reporting, analysis and events, is an SCTT partner.
The core anti-Pangram constituency is phony writers
Welcome to The Closing Argument, our verdict on the news, plus everything The Argument published and appeared in this week. The Verdict, by Kelsey Piper A lot of people hate AI for drowning the internet in slop and displacing human creatives. You might think that these people would be thrilled by a program that can identify and flag AI-generated work. But many people who hate AI also hate Pangram, an impressively accurate AI detector that produces very few false positives, according to high-quality independent research. This loathing found its most recent expression in a bizarre Wired article that amplifies a wide range of false arguments from Pangram skeptics: that AI detectors are racist (they’re not) or ableist (they’re not)1 or don’t work (this one does)2. Rather than starting from the premise that it would be really valuable to have a working AI detector and scrutinizing Pangram to make sure it lives up to that promise, the article starts from the premise that Pangram obviously has bad vibes and sets out to discover why. (One answer: The CEO microwaved lunch during an interview!) Why aren’t writers who resent Pangram more eager to distinguish themselves from posters who are having ChatGPT ghostwrite all their work? There are a few different things at play, but I think one key dynamic is this: These are often the same people. A core constituency for arguments like Wired’s is “writers” who are using AI to write their posts but resent this fact being made public. They stand to lose from AI detectors because AI detectors call them out. Share When Substack announced a partnership with Pangram, a sizable fraction of the platform’s authors rose up in outrage. Some people had experience with other AI detectors that didn’t work, and some felt that AI writing ought to be encouraged — both of which are fair enough. But the fury was fueled by authors passionately insisting that Pangram kept wrongly accusing them on almost every post they published. Pangram can be wrong, especially on short passages. But in the overwhelming majority of cases where Pangram looked at a whole blog post rather than a single paragraph, the program correctly detected work as AI. Even if we can’t be 100% sure in any individual case, we can notice the trend in the aggregate. Wired quotes Sam Illingworth, a professor of critical AI literacy at Edinburgh Napier University, who said, “I don’t think [AI detectors] work. … I think that detectors are prejudiced against certain people.” This spring, he said that he used AI for research and editing; this summer he acknowledged that in addition to research and editing, he also uses it “now and then for a turn of phrase I keep.” Pangram informs us that most of his posts are 100% AI-written (some are mixed AI-and-human) and that 100% AI-written posts started appearing last year. The favorable interpretation is that, as someone whose recent work Pangram consistently mistakes for AI, Illingworth sees Pangram’s flaws firsthand. The unfavorable interpretation is that the tool’s credibility trades off against his own, because its account of who writes his posts is not consistent with his. Illingworth is not alone in insisting the detector does not work. “It’s a Monday night in late July, and I’m pasting my own Substack draft into an AI detector for the first time. Not because I’m worried. Because I’m curious. I wrote every word of it myself, the way I write everything, out loud in my head first, in a rhythm that still carries the accent of a language I learned to think in before I learned to write in this one,” begins one Substack post by an author indignant that Pangram flags her writing as AI. “That’s the part I had to sit with before I could write this.” If you, like me, have worked with AIs a lot, you won’t even need Pangram there. The author of that piece is AI. It is obviously AI! I checked 10 other posts on the blog, and they were also obviously AI! “I have spent 22 years as an award-winning author and essayist. And now this bullshit tool that learned from MY writing is going to accuse me of plagiarism,” popular Substack writer Carlyn Beccia wrote in an anti-Pangram post. “For the last and final time, AI DETECTORS DO NOT WORK.” Here’s what her writing sounded like in 2020: “Most success stories revolve around one person who believed enough in you to say — give it a try. We call these people muses, but they are so much more than that. They are the strong man giants whose shoulders we stand on so we can see the horizon. Throughout the editing process, I am sure my editor felt less like a giant of greatness and more like Atlas with the world on her shoulders.” Pangram says it was 100% human-written. (So were other articles of hers in 2020.) And here’s what it sounds like now: “And then there is the reshuffling, which sounds like paperwork until you remember that empires have always loved paperwork. The Trump regime recently moved special education oversight from the Education Department to HHS. That is not a minor bureaucratic transfer. It changes the frame.”3 Pangram says this is mostly AI. I am not convinced that Pangram is wrong. In my own experience, Pangram is very effective on long texts — if it marks a long essay as AI, the essay was either written by AI or deliberately written to sound like AI. On tweet-length or paragraph-length texts, it’s not perfectly reliable. It seems to work just as well for non-native English speakers as for native speakers. While I have seen dozens of claims of pre-2022 text returning a positive result on Pangram, I have tried repeatedly to corroborate those and have never once succeeded. To be clear, I’m absolutely not saying that complaining about Pangram suggests a writer is a cheat. There are plenty of other concerns. Most are mistakenly premised, such as the false claim that Pangram trains on work you put into it, but others are reasonable: It’s unreliable on sufficiently short text segments; it creates an internet witch-hunt mentality when there are defensible uses of AI; people who are open about their AI use are sometimes blamed, when the only people really doing something wrong are the ones who hide it; and it isn’t perfect, so a single positive result shouldn’t be taken as decisive proof of misconduct. I’m happy to concede that Pangram is imperfect and possible to over-rely on. If an author’s posts are mostly non-AI and one scans as partially AI, this could be a mistake. It’s also possible to defeat Pangram with intentional effort. If you think we need something more robust and more reliable, fine! But if you don’t like AI and don’t like Pangram, your attitude really ought to be that it’s a shame that our existing tools for AI detection are imperfect, and it’s important to invent better ones. If your stance is instead that AI is evil and so is looking for AI, then ultimately you’re contributing to the sloppification of the internet. You’re making it harder for people who write their own text to distinguish themselves, and providing cover for authors who are definitely not writing their own text. Subscribe Top stories this week, by Kobe Yank-Jacobs Commentators often worry that the decline of reading could mean the decline of liberal democracy — but deliberative governance actually predated widespread literacy. This week, Maibritt Henkel pointed out that many liberal cultures thrive on a culture of raucous, interactive debate, which can happen in-person as easily, if not more so, than in text. Read on, dear reader, to learn more. It may actually cheer you up: [ ](https://www.theargumentmag.com/p/reading-wont-save-liberalism) [ Reading won’t save liberalism ](https://www.theargumentmag.com/p/reading-wont-save-liberalism) Maibritt Henkel · Sep 1 [ Read full story ](https://www.theargumentmag.com/p/reading-wont-save-liberalism) It used to be bad to downplay climate change (if we mean denying its reality). Today, it’s actually good to downplay climate change (if we mean keeping the issue out of political fights so we can make real progress). This counterintuitive view is called “climate hushing,” and contributor Alex Trembath argued that it’s the key to enacting good policy going forward. Get up to speed on the latest in climate politics: [ ](https://www.theargumentmag.com/p/we-wont-stop-climate-change-by-talking) [ We won’t stop climate change by talking about it ](https://www.theargumentmag.com/p/we-wont-stop-climate-change-by-talking) Alex Trembath · Sep 2 [ Read full story ](https://www.theargumentmag.com/p/we-wont-stop-climate-change-by-talking) Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney is standing up for the forces of liberalism against Donald Trump’s assault on our closest ally. So, why is one prominent left-wing commenter attacking Carney? Columnist Matthew Yglesias explains: [ ](https://www.theargumentmag.com/p/when-economic-liberty-means-central) [ When "economic liberty" means central planning ](https://www.theargumentmag.com/p/when-economic-liberty-means-central) Matthew Yglesias · Aug 31 [ Read full story ](https://www.theargumentmag.com/p/when-economic-liberty-means-central) 🌟Abundance Wins of the Week🌟 Shout out to my home state of California, whose legislature passed two housing bills this week. One requires a housing density minimum in transit-oriented areas of the state’s most transit-rich cities (Los Angeles, Sacramento, San Francisco, Oakland, San Jose, San Diego, and Long Beach). Another bill closes two common loopholes used by third parties to delay housing projects, including an opportunity to challenge maps of a given lot created by the developer after a project has been approved. Shout out to our big-state rival, Texas, where pro-housing SB 785 took effect this week. The new state law requires municipalities to have at least one district permitted for manufactured housing without a special permit. This will promote zoning changes in 44% of municipalities. The company Fervo Energy signed a deal with Google for what is set to be the world’s largest enhanced geothermal facility, proving a technology can work at a scale that could be crucial to a decarbonized, energy-abundant economy. Share Worth watching… This week, forecasting legend Nate Silver joined Jerusalem, Matt, and Jeremiah on a crowded episode of the pod. It was a party. And speaking of parties, our round table debated the factional lines within the Democratic Party: Is it possible to be center-left and also anti-establishment? Watch or listen to find out: The Rio Grande Valley in Texas is one of the areas that swung hardest toward Trump in 2024, but musician Bobby Pulido is running to flip it back. Right now, The Argument/Split Ticket’s model has him running 1.1 points behind his Republican opponent in a district Trump won by 18 points. Tune in to find out how he differs from national Democrats and what he thinks he can to do win this seat. On Thursday, Bernie Sanders was among the first politicians to call for a ban on superintelligence. My guest this week, Andrea Miotti, has been lobbying to ban superintelligence for several years, most recently in the U.K., U.S., and Canada. I asked him how he gets legislators to take speculative risks seriously, and we dug into what plans might look like to actually pass a ban. Listen to learn more: What’s News with The Argument The Argument recommends, by Kobe Yank-Jacobs If we ever lose track of Justin Zuckerman, I’ll have the team split up and check all the movie theaters in the city. I’m shocked (and a little jealous) at how often he gets out to see good cinema. This week, he brings us It Ends, a “horror-ish movie,” which he described as a “Gen Z Waiting for Godot.” I was intrigued before he added that it was “funny, dark and existential” — at which point I was fully locked in. I guess I also had existential themes on the mind this week. One morning, a single line from a poem I read long ago just came to me: “Is death a stretch of time in which a life is just a flash?” The poem is called “From 20,000 Feet” by Heather McHugh. I suggest the version in The Vintage Book of Contemporary American Poetry, which, by tradition, my best friend and I always bring backpacking, extra weight be damned. We’ll stay thematically dark for just one more rec from senior editor John Robert Thomason, whose upcoming trip to Baltimore reminded him to suggest Michael Clune’s memoir White Out (about being addicted to heroin in Baltimore in the 1990s). Ben Lerner’s blurb called it _“_Disturbing, brilliant, hilarious—it’s as if Proust had written Jesus’ Son.” John told me this “seems accurate, with the caveat that I’ve never read Proust.” I, personally, have also shelved Proust until retirement. At this point, I was a little concerned for the team since all of us tossed out such psychologically grim material — maybe we’re all down about the end of summer — but thankfully, at least a few of us were into more upbeat selections. Milan Singh recommended Made In’s 5-quart stainless clad saucier, suggesting he had some fun in the kitchen. Jeremiah Johnson asked if he could recommend yet more Carly Rae Jepsen. Once denied, he offered up Game Changer instead_,_ calling it “the most wildly creative game show, maybe in the entire history of the genre.” Eli Richman mentioned _Lucky, “_a B-tier show with an A-tier cast and an S-tier theme song.” I suppose he was recommending the song, Horns of a Bull. Still, despite these cheerier recs, I couldn’t help but be concerned that we were subconsciously worried about racing toward summer’s end — the end of swim trunks and splashing around. Then a message landed reminding me of the three-day weekend to come. A whole extra day for sunshine. One more swim in the lake. I was grateful this called to mind yet another line from a poem, one by Mary Oliver, the patron saint of every gorgeous summer day (and about whom a documentary is now out). Speaking to God in the poem “Thirst,” she wrote: grant me, in your mercy,a little more time. Love for the earthand love for you are having such a longconversation in my heart. We have merch! We have quarter-zips, keychains, hats, and stickers. Each one is a great conversation starter in its own way. Buy them here. Subscribe More to read: [ The Opening Argument ](https://www.theargumentmag.com/p/seeing-like-an-elite)[ Seeing like an elite ](https://www.theargumentmag.com/p/seeing-like-an-elite) Kobe Yank-Jacobs · Sep 4 What do Americans hear when they watch Sen. Bernie Sanders or Vice President JD Vance rail against the elite? Are they thinking of right-wing tech billionaires? Imperious college professors? Liberal magazine writers? [ Read full story ](https://www.theargumentmag.com/p/seeing-like-an-elite) [ The Weekly Scroll ](https://www.theargumentmag.com/p/god-is-back-on-the-timeline)[ God is back on the timeline ](https://www.theargumentmag.com/p/god-is-back-on-the-timeline) Jeremiah Johnson · Sep 5 This week, we’re talking about Substack’s new religious debates, the continuing MAGA influencer scandal, how to retire from YouTube, and aura battles. [ Read full story ](https://www.theargumentmag.com/p/god-is-back-on-the-timeline) 1 This was a legitimate thing to worry about, but doesn’t seem to be a problem given the actual technology: Marijke Van Vlasselaer, Filip Van Droogenbroeck, and Bram Spruyt’s 2026 paper looks at whether Pangram is less accurate when evaluating the work of non-native speakers of English. It isn’t. That’s because Pangram isn’t really looking at how “unusual” a piece of writing is but whether it has the characteristic patterns of LLMs. The Wired article makes an odd gesture at a different Pangram-is-racist argument. There were several controversies this summer during which upcoming books were canceled after being discovered to be AI-written: “The three novels mentioned earlier — Shy Girl, Daggermouth, and Call Me, easily publishing’s biggest AI-detection scandals — were all written by writers of color.” But come on! As Zvi Mowshowitz put it: “They were not primarily written by people of color. They were primarily written by AIs.” That’s the whole problem! And as my colleague Jeremiah Johnson recently observed with respect to Cambridge’s Arday scandal, a community being unwilling to call out fraud if it’s perpetuated by people of color is not an anti-racist tendency; it is ultimately quite racist. 2 Many non-Pangram detectors don’t work, but many possible airplane designs also don’t work, and no one considers this a general argument against aviation; the thing that matters is whether any detection works. 3 The phrase “empires have always loved” mysteriously became all the rage in the last few years. See here, here, here, here and here. Before 2025, the only use of that phrase I have been able to find is a single Tweet. The logic of the sentence, too, is incoherent in an AI-characteristic way. “...sounds like paperwork, until you remember that empires have always loved paperwork”? Does remembering that make it sound less like paperwork? It’s a craft-ful sentence, but what is it actually saying??
Syracuse football: Orange open up as slight underdogs against California
We’ll see if this holds throughout the week
A whiplash election year enters its final stretch as Trump holds wild cards
Democrats are confident they can win the handful of seats they need to regain control of the House.
A whiplash election year enters its final stretch as Donald Trump holds wild cards
Both parties are stepping up efforts for their candidates in contentious swing states as many consider the vote a referendum on Trump.
A whiplash election year enters its final stretch as Trump holds wild cards
WASHINGTON (AP) — In the earliest days of this election cycle, the U.S. wasn't at war with Iran . The East Wing of the White House was still standing and the Ke
A whiplash election year enters its final stretch as Trump holds wild cards
The political landscape in the U.S. is volatile as the final midterm of President Donald Trump's presidency approaches
A whiplash election year enters its final stretch as Trump holds wild cards
The political landscape in the U.S. is volatile as the final midterm of President Donald Trump's presidency approaches. Trump often stirs the tumult, with issues such as redrawn congressional...
A whiplash election year enters its final stretch as Trump holds wild cards
The political landscape in the U.S. is volatile as the final midterm of President Donald Trump's presidency approaches.
A whiplash election year enters its final stretch as Trump holds wild cards
The political landscape in the U.S. is volatile as the final midterm of President Donald Trump's presidency approaches.
A whiplash election year enters its final stretch as Trump holds wild cards
The political landscape in the U.S. is volatile as the final midterm of President Donald Trump's presidency approaches. Trump often stirs the tumult, with issues such as redrawn congressional districts
A Whiplash Election Year Enters Its Final Stretch as Trump Holds Wild Cards
WASHINGTON (AP) — In the earliest days of this election cycle, the U.S. wasn't at war with Iran. The East Wing of the White House was still standing and the Kennedy Center wasn't threatened with demolition. Artificial intelligence data centers weren't bipartisan shorthand for the tech sector's ...
Bubba holds forth on health, headlines and Hogs
Bubba McCoy reports for Labor Day that his blood pressure is down thanks to medicine, beet juice that's tastier than you think, an elimination of salt, a steep reduction in booze and coffee, and to the fact that he doesn't pay a bit of attention to politics anymore.
Bubba holds forth on health, headlines and Hogs
Bubba McCoy reports for Labor Day that his blood pressure is down thanks to medicine, beet juice that's tastier than you think, an elimination of salt, a steep reduction in booze and coffee, and to the fact that he doesn't pay a bit of attention to politics anymore.
Jones defense holds off late Evans surge in Soul Bowl
Jones football coaches have pretty much come to the expectation that the defense is going to win games for the Tigers, at least in the early part of the season. That was quite evident at Evans on Saturday afternoon in this year’s edition of the Soul Bowl. The Jones defense came up with a third-quarter goal-line stand, had seven sacks and added an interception, wreaking havoc on the Trojans’ ...
Reitz holds off Jasper in third straight win
EVANSVILLE, Ind. (WEHT) — Reitz high school football team is undefeated through the first three weeks of the season beating Jasper Friday night 56-21. Next up the Panthers will head on the road to face North on Friday, September 11th. While the Wildcats will look to bounce back against Bosse.
RFK Jr. acknowledges one measles death in Pennsylvania
Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr acknowledged the infant's death but suggested the federal government would not yet recognize the fatality in official data.
Erie organizations, businesses rally together to help those impacted by storm
Throughout the devastating damage, one positive thing remains true: the people of Erie will always be there for each other. With hundreds of households left without power, organizations across the …
Texas House Select Committee on Health Care Affordability Holds Hearing on Bringing Down Costs
The committee heard testimony from billionaire Mark Cuban, among others.
MLB thrilled with NBC’s first season of ‘Sunday Night Baseball’
NBC closed out its first season of Sunday Night Baseball on Sunday with Reds-Cubs, which drew 2.8 million viewers across NBC and Peacock. Across the full season, NBC and Peacock averaged 2.7 million viewers over 14 primetime broadcasts, the most-watched Sunday Night Baseball season since 2007, and that average holds even when factoring in NBC’s…
16th Annual Men’s Health Event
The Michigan Men’s Health Foundation is hosting the 16th annual Men’s Health Event on Saturday, September 26, 2025, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., at the Wayne State Fieldhouse in Detroit.Men 18 years and older, with or without health insurance, are encouraged to take advantage of this free event focused on preventative healthcare. | WWJ Newsradio 950
Israel's water crisis eases, but algae bloom still threatens desalination
Israel's Water Authority said supplies to households and agriculture have stabilized through controlled desalination, increased flows from the Sea of Galilee and hundreds of groundwater wells, but it gave no estimate for when the algae bloom will subside
Israel's water crisis eases, but algae bloom still threatens desalination
The Water Authority said supplies to households and agriculture have stabilized through controlled desalination, increased flows from the Sea of Galilee and hundreds of groundwater wells, but it gave no estimate for when the algae bloom will subside
'There is no conflict between quantum physics and gravity': Physicists prove Einstein's 'happiest thought' holds true at quantum scales
Physicists have proven a 100-year-old prediction of relativity by showing that Einstein's equivalence principle holds at quantum scales.
Fort Wayne business holds dedication ceremony for beautification project along Pufferbelly Trail
Overhead Door of Fort Wayne unveiled a creative display of 8-ft-high banner sections that decorate 200 feet of fence bordering its Keystone Drive location and the pathway.
Paychex: Small-business job growth holds steady in August
Paychex reports stable small-business job growth in august with employers relying on existing workers amid steady demand and restrained wage increases.
Video: Digital Foundry Delivers Its Tech Review For Onimusha: Way Of The Sword
"it holds up pretty darn well"
Not Prime. Not Delivery. This Business Holds the Key to Amazon's Future.
Amazon Web Services is providing the growth Amazon needs to be a market-crushing investment.
MM 9.2: Maryland athletics holds fall sports media day
This is the Maryland Minute, a short story followed by a roundup of Terps-related news.
Are sex-specific thresholds needed for coronary CT?
The question is further complicated by possibly needing different thresholds for pregnant, premenopausal, and postmenopausal woman.
VA Nebraska-Western Iowa Health Care System holds flag-raising ceremony to honor people lost to suicide
In honor of National Suicide Prevention Month, Nebraska and western Iowa's health care systems held a flag-raising ceremony to honor those lost to suicide.
Q&A: building a radiology team for small-town Tennessee
Behind every scan at a Regional Hospital is a radiologist who also holds a professorship at Main Campus. Eric Wallace, MD, explains why that matters.
“Coyote vs. Acme” surges past expectations, snagging No. 2 at domestic box office after cancellation controversy
Elsewhere, “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” continues to dominate in week 5, Ridley Scott’s “The Dog Stars” brutally bombs, and A24’s “Tony” holds strong.
Late payments threaten business license of Chicago body removal contractor
The small funeral home company that holds the lucrative contract for the city’s body removal services may soon be dissolved due to its failure to pay business license fees to the state.
3 states battling new measles outbreaks. What to know
Measles outbreaks are growing across the US during the nation's worst year for cases in decades. Here's what health officials want you to know.
Bessent says disorderly yen moves can destabilize global markets
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said disorderly moves in the yen could trigger "forced unwinds" of positions that risk destabilizing global markets and ultimately raising borrowing costs for U.S. households and businesses.
NASA Holds Science Briefing Ahead of Roman Space Telescope Launch
NASA holds a pre-launch science briefing ahead of its Roman Space Telescope launch at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
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
Scientists Analyzed Earth's Hidden Seed Vaults And Made a Disturbing Realization
You reap what you sow.
Berrien County Health Department holds back-to-school event in Niles
The Berrien County Health Department will be helping kids in the southern part of the county get ready for the first day of school on Monday.As it did in Benton
SBA seeks to redefine small business, with some revenue caps reaching $1 billion
Critics warn that dramatically higher thresholds could leave the smallest firms competing against far larger rivals for federal contracts and loans
New Texas poll shows tight Senate race, GOP pulling ahead for governor
Talarico leads Paxton 42-39 in the new UT/Texas Politics Project poll. Abbott leads Hinojosa in the governor's race, and data center opposition holds.
U.S. consumer confidence slipped to a seven-month low as job and business fears grew
The Conference Board's index dropped to 89.4 as households grew more pessimistic about the labor market and business conditions over the next six months