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Revealed: Balerdi turned down Boca Juniors to join Roma
Leonardo Balerdi’s arrival at Roma wasn’t just a transfer decision, but also a personal one for the Argentine defender. The central defender, who had an excellent start to the season with the Gial...
Missing 12-year-old boy who has mental health complications sought, Boston police say
Boston police are searching for a missing 12-year-old boy who suffers from mental health complications, officials said.
Predicting the Brewers 26-man playoff roster
The Brewers have time to sort out their decision, but here's an early look at who we think will be on the playoff roster
Is football too dangerous for kids’ brains? These scientists are racing to find out
A new study found that one in four professional football players who died between 2016 and 2021 had CTE—a degenerative brain disease—but what about children who play these sports?
Tigers and Cubs: Week 3 vs. Ole Miss
Despite a loss, who performed well? Who struggled the most?
Health insurance in Colorado is poised for another big price jump in 2027
Health insurance prices for people who buy coverage on their own are set to increase by 10% statewide on average in Colorado in 2027.
Brave of Lampard to start Thomas-Asante
Former Coventry City goalkeeper Steve Ogrizovic says it was "brave" to play Brandon Thomas-Asante as the number nine on Saturday against Nottingham Forest - but it was a decision that paid off for manager Frank Lampard. Ghana striker Thomas-Asante got the nod ahead of Ellis Simms and summer signing Sidiki Cherif as Lampard opted to shake-up his attacking line-up. Thomas-Asante was supported by wingers Ephron Mason-Clark and Jack Rudoni, with the trio's regular interchanging of positions leaving Forest players wondering who to mark.
Every Louisville player drafted by the Oklahoma City Thunder
Let's take a look at every player who has been drafted by the Thunder out of Louisville.
Health Partners Group Appoints Ruth Handcock as Chief Executive Officer
LONDON, September 23, 2026--Health Partners Group, the UK’s leading provider of high-quality occupational health and treatment services, today announced that Ruth Handcock will join as Chief Executive Officer, effective from 2nd November 2026. Andrew Noble, Co-Founder, who has served as CEO for the past ten years, will become Co-Chairman, working closely with Ruth, the senior leadership team and the Board.
Roberto Mancini returns as Italy head coach but can the Azzurri recover from lowest ebb with a youth-inspired revolution?
Roberto Mancini is back as Italy head coach after a second spell; the former Man City boss won Euro 2020 with the Azzurri, who have not qualified for the last three World Cups; With exclusive insight from Gianluigi Donnarumma, Sky Sports Sam Blitz analyses the road back for Italy...
Your weather app runs on satellites, supercomputers and a retired science teacher who walked to his rain gauge at 7 a.m. every day for 50 years
The forecast on your phone has a secret ingredient: 8,700 volunteers with a thermometer. Meet the Frenches, a family in Gouverneur, N.Y. Ray monitored the stats for 50 years before his son took over. The 11-year-old granddaughter is next.
How Premier League teams have really started
Which Premier League teams have overperformed their xG and who has underperformed?
ESPN’s Direction Could Influence Their Decision On Troy Aikman
"ESPN is changing, and so is the audience it is trying to reach. The network is investing in younger voices, creators and personalities who can live beyond the traditional broadcast window. Aikman represents a different era of sports media." The post ESPN’s Direction Could Influence Their Decision On Troy Aikman appeared first on Barrett Media.
The Immigration Politics of a Felon’s Pardon
How far will New York Gov. Kathy Hochul go to keep immigrant criminals in this country? So far, she’ll even pardon a man convicted of an aggravated felony, if that’s what it takes to prevent the United States Supreme Court from setting a restrictionist precedent. Keisy Guerrero Mariano is a Dominican who spent two years
Coleman Health Services: Helping Ohioans thrive through whole-person care
For 48 years, Coleman Health Services has been helping Ohioans find hope, stability, and a path toward a healthier and more independent life. Founded in 1978 as a nonprofit community behavioral health organization in Portage County, Coleman has grown into a nationally recognized provider offering comprehensive behavioral health, residential, employment, crisis, and supportive services throughout […]
Seahawks Backup Emerges as Potential Trade Option for Commanders
The Seattle Seahawks have a QB3 who might interest teams dealing with injuries at the position. For now, Jalen Milroe is the backup to Drew Lock until Sam Darnold returns. Still, could teams looking for QB help consider Milroe?Seattle took Milroe in the third round and sees plenty of upside in him, but would the […] The post Seahawks Backup Emerges as Potential Trade Option for Commanders appeared first on HEAVY.
Stephen A. Smith Shares Harsh Career Advice for Aaron Rodgers
Aaron Rodgers is a very outspoken individual who doesn’t shy away from controversy. That also makes him a target when his play on the field isn’t up to par.The 42-year-old had a rough game Sunday as the Pittsburgh Steelers fell to the New England Patriots by a 20-3 final score. Rodgers finished 23/39 for 187 […] The post Stephen A. Smith Shares Harsh Career Advice for Aaron Rodgers appeared first on HEAVY.
New Adtech From Microsoft Would Interrupt Your Game at 'Promoted Content Trigger Events'
Fantastic news for everyone who loves ads in their video games.
Entertainers face mental health pressures behind the Las Vegas spotlight
More than one in 10 Nevadans work in the hospitality or entertainment industry, and experts say the pressure of that work can come at a high cost for the people who make it happen.
Entertainers face mental health pressures behind the Las Vegas spotlight
More than one in 10 Nevadans work in the hospitality or entertainment industry, and experts say the pressure of that work can come at a high cost for the people who make it happen.
Column: Dolly Parton transcended politics by putting humanity first
Americans don’t agree on much these days. Dolly Parton was the rare exception. Country bumpkins and city drag queens. God-fearing Christians and queer people. Conservatives and progressives. Younger fans who discovered her decades after her rise to fame and generations who grew up alongside her. Parton’s reach was seemingly boundless, her audience a study in...
Sons, mothers of people killed by ICE agents demand answers: ‘We still have so many questions’
The forum, led by Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Long Beach), included the mothers of Renee Good and Ruben Ray Martinez, and the woman who filmed Alex Pretti's death.
Burbank business owner says fraudulent Zelle transfers cost her $2k
The physical therapist, who has had a business account with Bank of America for 20 years, said the bank’s responses were unsatisfactory. Carolyn Johnson reports for the NBC4 News at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2026.
Every Louisiana Tech player drafted by the Oklahoma City Thunder
Let's take a look at every player who has been drafted by the Thunder out of Louisiana Tech.
Teen Turns Dirty Trash Bins Into a Business - Larchmont Buzz
Meet Ivan S., a Hancock Park resident and Notre Dame High School junior who started The Wash Bros, a trash bin cleaning business.
The science that brought green back to China’s Loess Plateau awarded the 2026 Volvo Environment Prize
Once stripped of vegetation and scarred by some of the world’s most severe soil erosion, China’s Loess Plateau has undergone a remarkable ecological transformation. Professor Bojie Fu, one of the scientists who helped make that recovery possible, is the recipient of the 2026 Volvo Environment Prize.
Health unit launches new healthcare services
First District announces flu clinics First District Health Unit will be offering three weeks of flu clinics in Minot in October, starting Monday, Oct. 5. During the first week, the first 50 people each day will receive a special gift. In addition, everyone who gets a flu shot during the three weeks will be entered […]
Packers Add Another Potential OL Starter to Injury Report
The Green Bay Packers‘ offensive line has been a constant shuffle this season. So, it should be no surprise that another name on the line has been added to the injury report. Anthony Belton, who was expected to step in for the injured Zach Bako-Bewele, is now injured. Belton popped up on the injury report […] The post Packers Add Another Potential OL Starter to Injury Report appeared first on HEAVY.
Bear Up, Bear Down: Who helped, hurt stock vs. Vikings
Following their Week 2 loss to the Vikings, here are the Bears players whose stock is rising and falling.
Money in San Francisco Politics: Who’s Spending Big on the Election? (Live Event Oct. 8)
Wealthy special interests are ascendant in San Francisco’s political debates, and critics say they are trying to grab more power over elections. How the money-in-politics landscape looks going forward is up to voters. Join the San Francisco Public Press and the League of Women Voters San Francisco for a panel discussion.
Former Mike McCarthy QB Rips Steelers Offense: ‘Prehistoric’
A former quarterback who played for head coach Mike McCarthy does not like what he's seeing from the Pittsburgh Steelers offense.
Longtime Davie mayor gets challenge from political newcomer
The incumbent mayor of Davie has held the seat for more than 15 years but her opponent in November’s election is a newcomer who says she has fresh eyes.
Form, history and schedule: Arthur Elias's Copa call-up criteria
The list of players who will face Argentina in the two matches for the Women’s National Team during the next FIFA window was announced this Tuesday (22). Among the names revealed are experienced pla...
Amtrak passenger with measles traveled on these California trains
An unvaccinated passenger who later developed measles rode Amtrak trains through California. Here’s the itinerary and who should watch for symptoms.
‘A Whole Lotta Politics’ — Rapper Quavo Reads Between the Lines While Backing Shedeur Sanders Over Deshaun Watson for Browns’ QB1
The Cleveland Browns spent an entire offseason putting Deshaun Watson and Shedeur Sanders through a quarterback competition before ultimately handing Watson the job. Quavo does not sound convinced that the decision was based entirely on football.
Pa. approves steep rate hikes for 2027 Pennie health insurance plans
Pennsylvanians who buy health insurance on the state’s Affordable Care Act marketplace — called Pennie — are set to see another year of sharp rate hikes as state regulators approved double-digit increases for 2027. The Pennsylvania Insurance Department, responsible for analyzing and approving rate proposals by insurance companies, announced that
First-ever literary festival planned for Orange County
What happens when you bring together four Orange County writers with a goal to recognize its proud literary heritage and honor the poets, novelists, memoirists and others who have shaped
Astroparticle physicist Matthew Szydagis on UAP science
Ross Coulthart and astroparticle physicist Matthew Szydagis talk about the UAP Science Advisory Council, declassification requests, testing of Art’s Parts samples and who has been harassing S…
NC Supreme Court candidates spar over past rulings, racial equity proposals
North Carolina’s Supreme Court currently has a 5-to-2 Republican majority, and just one of those seats will be on the ballot this November. Justice Anita Earls, a Democrat, faces former N.C. Rep. Sarah Stevens, a Republican who stepped down from the legislature earlier this year.
Yankees’ Jose Caballero Starting At Third Base
Yankees utility player Jose Caballero will get the start today at third base in the first game of a doubleheader at Yankee Stadium against the Tampa Bay Rays.Caballero (age 30) is a former Tampa Bay Ray who was traded to the Yankees at last year’s MLB trade deadline. Caballero is hitting a .236 batting average […] The post Yankees’ Jose Caballero Starting At Third Base appeared first on HEAVY.
Botafogo renew contract with under-17 player
Botafogo has renewed the youth development contract of Miguel Tiburcio, a 16-year-old left-footed center-back who plays for Glorioso’s U-17 team. At the Club since 2021, Tiburcio will continue his d...
From AI Users to AI Leaders: How Businesses Can Navigate Generative AI | Elmhurst University Elmhurst University Blog
Artificial intelligence is rapidly becoming part of how organizations operate, compete and make decisions. Businesses not only need more AI programmers and data scientists; they also need managers, analysts and business leaders who understand what AI can do, where it can create value and how to use AI responsibly in a changing business environment.
Auburn Weekly Roundtable
Week 4 has arrived, and the Auburn Tigers are looking for a bounceback after their 42-39 loss to the Florida Gators. It’s Homecoming on the Plains, and the Vanderbilt Commodores are in town, who have had the Tigers’ number over the past few seasons.
Green policies just good politics, says UK minister
Transitioning to a low-carbon economy isn't just vital for the planet's future -- it's also good politics, according to Britain's climate minister, who argues the country's record-hot summer has galvanized public opinion like never before. Katie White, a member of the ruling Labour government, said the UK's right-wing parties had…
Abdul El-Sayed says Kamala Harris' visit for his Michigan U.S. Senate race is about Democratic unity
El-Sayed said Harris, who will attend a roundtable on Black maternal health with him and separately join an event hosted by the Detroit chapter of the NAACP, is a critical advocate in helping him close ranks as he tries to defeat Republican Mike Rogers.
Abdul El-Sayed says Kamala Harris' visit for his Michigan U.S. Senate race is about Democratic unity
El-Sayed said Harris, who will attend a roundtable on Black maternal health with him and separately join an event hosted by the Detroit chapter of the NAACP, is a critical advocate in helping him close ranks as he tries to defeat Republican Mike Rogers.
Googlebook Reactions: Who Are These $899+ Laptops For?
Google unveiled its first wave of Googlebook laptops this week. The pricing surprised a few people, with the laptops starting at $899 and quickly jumping over $1,000 for some models. We have full Googlebook details here if you missed it, but essentially, they are designed to be perfect pairings with your Android phone. If you’re...
Apple could take on Whoop with a new fitness tracker, report says
Apple may be developing a new fitness tracker as part of its new generation of hardware devices.
Manetti Shrem Institute hosts two speakers
Quiltmaker Anna Von Mertens, who creates research-based work weaving together science, history, and materiality, and Sophie Weston Chien — an assistant professor of environmental design at the University of Colorado,
New Items & Bug Fixes: The Sims 4 Patch Overview (September 2026)
A new Sims 4 Patch has dropped, bringing with it new CAS and Build-Buy items, as well as a whole host of new bug fixes for the game!
STC Spanish Professor Elevates Hispanic Culture in New Publication
What began with a group of students who simply wanted to share their poetry has grown into a more than two-decade tradition of celebrating language, culture and creativity at South Texas College (STC).
Hims & Hers Health, Inc. (HIMS) Investors: November 2, 2026, Filing Deadline in Securities Fraud Class Action - Contact Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, LLP
Did you buy HIMS securities between August 4, 2025 and July 29, 2026? Affected HIMS Investor Summary Who: Hims & Hers Health, Inc. (NYSE: HIMS) What:...
How amateur naturalists are helping scientists track what everything eats
An interdisciplinary team of researchers has created an open-source website for learning what different organisms eat and what eats them. The site—called Who Eats Whom—draws on data from a worldwide citizen ...
Why scientists want your photos of wildlife eating lunch
With a new platform called Who Eats Whom, citizen scientists reveal the fascinating, sometimes shocking interactions between species.
Why scientists want your photos of wildlife eating lunch
With a new platform called Who Eats Whom, citizen scientists reveal the fascinating, sometimes shocking interactions between species.
Who will lead Michigan Football in receiving?
Who will lead Michigan in receiving? Vote in this edition of SB Nation Reacts.
New Census Data Contradicts Claims of Declining Children’s Health Coverage
The OBBB will ease severe provider shortages that have plagued the program and denied care to those who require a public safety net.
Clemson welcomes new faculty hires for 2026
Clemson University welcomes faculty members who have recently joined the University. The new faculty join a robust team of educators to help Clemson
Mike Babcock Already Holding Oilers’ Feet to the Fire
The Edmonton Oilers made a controversial decision during the summer upon the terminations of head coach Kris Knoblauch and assistant coach Mark Stuart.In Knoblauch’s place, GM Stan Bowman hired Mike Babcock, who had most recently been with the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2023 but resigned before having ever coached a game with the club due […] The post Mike Babcock Already Holding Oilers’ Feet to the Fire appeared first on HEAVY.
This Week In Happy Valley: Defense Leads The Way
Penn State football’s secondary exits non-conference play as one of the team’s most dominant position groups. Who should be Penn State’s starting running back as Big Ten play begins? The most important stats behind Penn State’s quick 3-0 start. Saturday’s win over Buffalo was the lowest recorded attendance at Beaver Stadium since the start of […]
The ICE Officer in Austin Wasn’t Wearing a Body Cam
The officer who shot a Venezuelan man was hired last year from another federal law-enforcement agency.
Republican senator calls for Don Jr. and Hunter Biden to be subpoenaed over business dealings
Sen. John Curtis (R-UT) called for Donald Trump Jr. and Hunter Biden to be subpoenaed over their business dealings, citing corruption concerns. In an open letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee, Curtis cited growing concerns from the public about corruption by the families of members of Congress and the president, who use their proximity to […]
Situation Report No.11: Earthquakes in Venezuela 2026 (M7.2 and M7.5)
Nearly three months after the 24 June 2026 earthquakes in Venezuela, the response has moved into early recovery while sustaining essential emergency operations. Efforts now center on maintaining continuity of care across mental health, sexual and reproductive health, maternal and neonatal care, NCDs, and rehabilitation, alongside restoring affected facilities, supporting transitional camps, and strengthening Health Cluster coordination as Emergency Medical Teams and international partners withdraw. Health system recovery is advancing, with 16 ASICs and 356 health facilities assessed (61% operational) and rehabilitation progressing under CERF, CFE and US funding, while fluctuating electricity, medication refrigeration and emergency-generator gaps continue to challenge the safe continuity of essential health services. Public health surveillance and prevention remain active, with 47,145 cumulative vaccine doses administered and 556 health professionals trained, while intensified surveillance in La Guaira and Miranda and mounting environmental risks from tropical rains and heatwaves continue to require sustained vector-control and water/sanitation action. Contraception remains the most consistent unmet need across assessed shelters, particularly among adolescents and young women, while mental health needs continue to rise across the transitional camps amid limited supplies and specialized personnel. PAHO/WHO continues to support the response with critically needed medical supplies and medicines, having shipped 46.6 metric tons to Venezuela to date, benefiting 72 actors and reaching 117,714 people with treatment through PAHO and partner donations, while sustained technical and logistical support to the Ministry of Popular Power for Health (MPPS) has strengthened the national supply chain and ensured the continuity of health services through the coordination, reception, and mobilization of international donations of essential medical products.
Grand Theft Auto: players are voting, debating, protesting and making political decisions
It can become a way for gamers who haven’t previously shunned politics to engage.
Minneapolis' mobile medical unit is on the move
In its first year of operation, Minneapolis Mobile Medical Unit staff engaged with over 4,000 community members. Established in response to the opioid crisis, the unit prioritizes outreach to communities with high levels of drug use, including individuals experiencing homelessness and those who are uninsured or underinsured.
2026 Women of Influence Alum of the Year: Kristi Knous
The Business Record has named Community Foundation of Greater Des Moines President Kristi Knous the 2026 Women of Influence Alum of the Year. The annual award was launched in 2024 to celebrate a past Woman of Influence who has continued making an impact since being honored by the Business Record. Knous was honored as a…
NEA Business Notes: Deel named as Arkansas Academy of Family Physicians president of the board
The Arkansas Academy of Family Physicians (ARAFP) has installed Dr. Amanda Deel as its newest president of the board. Deel, who serves as the Associate Dean of Graduate Medical Education...
What CDC's new teen health survey shows, and what it skips
Teen suicide risk hit a 10-year low in 2025. Guns, sexual violence, and self-harm. Where are the 2025 data on transgender teens? Missing data changes public health policy. Teen suicide risk hit a 10-year low in 2025. CDC asked more than 10,000 high school students over 100 questions in spring 2025. Yesterday, it published a report covering a fraction of them. The report focsed on five areas: diet, physical activity, sleep, digital behaviors, and mental health, reflecting the priorities of the Make America Healthy Again movement. There was good news. Fewer teens seriously considered suicide in 2025 than in any survey year since 2015: 14%, down from 20% in 2023. Sadness fell. Underlying Conditions is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Subscribe Sports participation, which dipped to 49% in 2021, is back to its 2015 level of 58%. Daily PE fell from 27% to 20% in two years, while fewer students eat breakfast daily than a decade ago. Guns, sexual violence, and self-harm. The questionnaire is public, and it goes well beyond those five areas. Students answered questions about sexual violence, self-harm, and whether they got help when they felt sad or anxious. They said how quickly they could get a loaded gun. They reported whether food ran out at home and whether they felt close to people at school. There were questions about sexual identity, including whether they were transgender. The report did not publish any of the answers students gave to those questions. CDC posts the raw survey data online, so anyone can see what the report left out. The report doesn’t cover the health of sexual minority students. Among students who identified as gay, lesbian, bisexual, questioning, or another non-straight identity, persistent sadness fell from 66% to 57% between 2023 and 2025. Serious thoughts of suicide fell from 41% to 30%. Those drops were bigger than the ones among straight students, although the gap remains wide: 28% of straight students reported persistent sadness, about half the rate of LGBQ+ students. About 1 in 7 girls reported sexual violence in the past year. One in 6 students hurt themselves on purpose. Among students who needed help for sadness or anxiety, half rarely or never got it. And among students who had seriously considered suicide, 43% said they could get a loaded gun without an adult’s permission. One protective factor rose sharply. In 2023, 55% of students said they felt close to people at their school; in 2025, 63% did. CDC’s earlier research ties that kind of connection to better mental health. Where are the 2025 data on transgender teens? In 2023, CDC's national survey asked high school students, for the first time, whether they were transgender. Their answers are the only nationally representative data on transgender teens, and their mental health is by far the worst of any demographic. That year, 71% of transgender students reported persistent sadness, 54% seriously considered suicide, and 26% attempted it, compared with 38%, 18%, and 8% of cisgender students. But we don’t have 2025 data. The timing matters because students took the survey in spring 2025, as federal policy toward transgender youth shifted. On January 28th, an executive order directed agencies to end federal support for gender-affirming care for people under 19, and several hospitals paused that care within days. In February, the CDC said it would no longer process transgender identity data. Later in 2025, the Supreme Court upheld Tennessee’s ban on gender-affirming care for minors, and HHS ended the 988 Lifeline’s dedicated line for LGBTQ+ youth. Researchers disagree about how much state policy shapes trans teens’ mental health. A 2024 Trevor Project study estimated that anti-trans laws increased suicide attempts among trans and nonbinary youth. Critics dispute its methods and its estimates. The 2025 survey could have added national evidence to that fight. CDC collected the data but hasn’t publicly released it. Missing data changes public health policy. Surveillance works as a feedback loop. It can show officials whether their policies help or hurt. The CDC didn’t provide data on the students most exposed to transgender policy shifts. The report kept measures that frame health as personal choice, like fruit, breakfast, and sports. It left out measures that track policy, like gun access, mental healthcare, food at home, and school climate, all of which respond to what legislators and agencies decide. HHS did not respond to questions that I sent on September 21st.
State Of Decay 3 Lives On, And Is Still Coming To Game Pass
Undead Labs has found a new publisher for its survival game but hasn't yet said who it is.
17 Celebrities Whose Health Struggles Stayed Private Until They Died
We truly had no idea. 💔
Gwinnett Stripers 2026 Recap
Recapping the 2026 season of the Gwinnett Stripers, who are the Atlanta Braves highest level minor league affiliate.
The UIndy College of Health Sciences Recognizes Outstanding Alumni with 2026 Awards
The University of Indianapolis’s College of Health Sciences (CHS) proudly recognized outstanding alumni who have achieved exceptional success and leveraged their UIndy education to make a significant impact in their field, within their communities, and in the world. This year’s CHS Alumni Awards recipients were: Ralph Reiff '80 (Physical Education, Biology) A first-generation college student,
The UIndy College of Health Sciences Recognizes Outstanding Alumni with 2026 Awards
The University of Indianapolis’s College of Health Sciences (CHS) proudly recognized outstanding alumni who have achieved exceptional success and leveraged their UIndy education to make a significant impact in their field, within their communities, and in the world. This year’s CHS Alumni Awards recipients were: Ralph Reiff '80 (Physical Education, Biology) A first-generation college student,
Bagel shop prepares to open in south Sioux Falls
Two friends and business partners who have been working on a concept for a new bagel shop are inching closer to opening.
NOAA Selects Superintendent for Lake Ontario National Marine Sanctuary
The city of Oswego is pleased to announce that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has selected Stephanie Gandulla to serve as the first Superintendent of the Lake Ontario National Marine Sanctuary. Gandulla, who currently serves as Research Protection Coordinator at Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary, brings extensive experience in marine resource protection, maritime heritage preservation, research, education, outreach and community engagement. Throughout her career with NOAA’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries, Gandulla has worked closely with communities, Tribal Nations, government agencies, local organizations and other partners to advance marine conservation and connect the public with the Great Lakes’ natural and cultural resources. She holds a master’s degree in Maritime Studies from East Carolina University and has extensive technical experience in scientific diving, marine operations, research and monitoring, interpretation and resource protection. As superintendent, Gandulla will provide leadership for the Lake Ontario National Marine Sanctuary and work with regional partners and stakeholders to advance its mission of protecting and conserving Lake Ontario’s significant marine resources and maritime heritage. “This is another exciting and important step forward in the process of establishing the Lake Ontario National Marine Sanctuary,” said Oswego Mayor Robert A. Corradino. “Stephanie Gandulla brings tremendous experience and a proven commitment to protecting our Great Lakes resources while building strong partnerships with communities. We are excited to welcome her to this role and look forward to working with NOAA, Stephanie and our many partners as we continue moving this initiative forward.” Gandulla’s extensive experience throughout the Great Lakes region positions her to build upon the strong foundation established for the sanctuary and foster continued collaboration among communities, agencies, organizations and stakeholders. Gandulla’s first official day as superintendent is Sept. 21. The city of Oswego looks forward to welcoming Gandulla to her new position and continuing to support the collaborative efforts surrounding the Lake Ontario National Marine Sanctuary.
Adani: ‘Pulisic’s happiness is fundamental for Milan’
Lele Adani believes Ruben Amorim’s system is the key to getting the best out of Christian Pulisic, whose goal at the weekend ended a long wait in Serie A.Speaking on La Domenica Sportiva on Rai 2, t...
Opinion | A first responder’s response: Riverhead officials twisted my words for political gain
A retired FDNY firefighter who lost 12 members of his firehouse on 9/11 shares his perspective on a Riverhead Town Hall clash and calls for ethical local leadership.
San Francisco 49ers schedule, stats through 2 games
A look at the 49ers, whom the Cardinals face in Week 3, and what they have done so far in their 2-0 start.
VITIK CALLED UP BY CZECHIA
Today, Martin Vitik has joined the eleven other Rossoneri players who have already been called up by their national teams. He will join the Czechia squad for the home games against Croatia (26/9) and ...
Health Advocate Marks 25 Years of Improving Employee Health
/PRNewswire/ -- Health Advocate, a leading provider of whole-person health and well-being solutions, celebrates 25 years since introducing a member-first model...
AI is generating a mental health crisis, warns Divine Mercy University president
"Who are we? What does it mean to be human? What understanding of the person should guide technological and social development?"
Borussia Mönchengladbach announce new head coach
Alexander Blessin has been officially confirmed as the new head coach of Borussia Mönchengladbach.The former St. Pauli boss has signed a contract until 2028 and replaces Eugen Polanski, who was relie...
This emerging treatment could help people avoid knee replacement surgery
A minimally invasive procedure called genicular artery embolization could offer a new middle ground between conservative treatments and knee replacement for osteoarthritis. By blocking tiny blood vessels associated with inflammation, GAE can significantly reduce pain, with some patients reporting little or no pain afterward. Studies suggest the benefits may last two to four years in people who respond well.
“Politics Are Desperately Important at the Moment”: Bill McKibben on Midterms, Trump & Climate Crisis
Ahead of the midterm elections, activist and writer Bill McKibben says he has been traveling across the United States with Third Act, the environmental group he founded to harness the power of seniors who care about the climate and democracy. “These elections are also starting to set the groundwork for 2028,” says McKibben, who calls the next U.S. presidential vote “maybe the last election that happens in a timeframe when we still really have an opportunity to affect some of the outcomes of these things.”
Business Culture Podcaster Sammi Cohen Is Launching Social Commerce Network (SCN), a Livestreamed News Show Inspired by TBPN and Aimed at Being a Next-Gen CNBC
Sammi Cohen has hundreds of thousands of followers who tune in to her podcast focused on the intersection of business, tech and culture — and she thinks they’re hungry for a live dose of her brand of ...
Updated 2027 NFL Draft order following Week 2
The NFL season is still in its infancy, but it's never too early to look at who is leading the Arch Manning sweeptstakes in the 2027 draft.
14th-century woman in China lost her nose to amputation — likely as punishment for stealing or adultery
A face-down burial of a middle-aged woman who died around 700 years ago in China is the world's first evidence of punitive nasal amputation.
Everything You Know About Political Violence Is Probably Wrong
Public disagreement about whether political violence is rising and who is responsible for it stems not from ideology alone but from competing definitions about what should be counted.
Local clinics brace for federal benefit cuts for refugees
Thousands of refugees who legally came to America face hunger due to changes in federal law approved as part of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
Is 50 the new 60?
Subscribe TL;DR: Younger generations are showing signs of worse health compared to earlier-born cohorts at the same age This backward “drift” is showing up both in mortality risk and chronic disease Worsening trends in obesity and diabetes are the most consistent signals Taking the long view, we’ve made astonishing gains in health and life expectancy in the last century. Global average life expectancy has more than doubled from 32 years in 1900 to 73 years in 2024. (But don’t forget, there were still old people when life expectancy was 32). As people lived longer, they also generally lived healthier along the way. It turns out that avoiding things that can kill you early, like malnutrition and lots of childhood infections, also keeps you healthier later in life. In a classic 2004 paper, Finch and Crimmins proposed that cohorts of children who benefited from fewer early life infections had less lifetime exposure to inflammation and cardiovascular disease later in life, accelerating mortality improvements at older ages. Poor nutrition in the womb has also been linked to a higher risk of later chronic disease. The upshot is that improvements in childhood health can pay dividends many decades later. The combination of better living conditions (nutrition, sanitation) and medical advances (antibiotics, vaccines, blood pressure meds, etc) meant that people’s healthy lifespan generally expanded, even as they lived longer. Aging researchers call this best-case scenario “compression of morbidity”—meaning we delay the onset of disease and disability even faster than the years of life we are adding. During my 20+ year research career, we could generally bank on the idea that younger generations would not only live longer but also keep getting healthier along the way. “60 is the new 50” as they say… Enter “Generational Health Drift” Sadly, this expectation of steady progress may be changing. You’ve probably heard that US life expectancy gains have slowed to a crawl in the past couple of decades. Mortality improvements are also slowing (though less dramatically) in many other high-income countries (you can read more about that in a review paper I wrote here). Mortality is a very blunt health measure, but it is often a good barometer for the broader population health trends happening underneath. And we are now seeing that younger generations may be in worse health at similar ages compared to earlier born cohorts. My collaborator Prof. George Ploubidis at University College London coined this worsening health in more recently born cohorts “generational health drift.” “Generational health drift” is bad news on multiple fronts. Most obviously, we don’t want our health progress to go backward. But the timing is also bad, since our populations are aging. In demographic terms, “population aging” means that the proportion of the population at older ages (i.e >65 years) is increasing. Fun demography fact: Current population aging is not due to the recent declines in the birth rates making the news, but declines in fertility decades ago, after the “baby boom.” As baby boomers reach older ages, the smaller cohorts behind them mean the percentage of older adults will increase. For example, the share of the population age 65 and older in the US increased from 12.4% in 2004 to 18.0% in 2024. This story of population aging was written long ago. Many worry that population aging will put pressure on health care and pension systems. But if people reach older ages in better health than in years past, those fiscal pressures would be less dire than projected. Healthy older people can also continue to contribute to society in many valuable ways, including paid work, caregiving, community service….even high political office 🤷. On the flip side, if younger generations reach retirement age in worse health and with more disabling conditions, this could magnify the societal challenge of population aging. Evidence for worsening generational health A recent paper that I LOVED in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences by Dr. Leah Abrams and colleagues examined which birth cohorts (aka generations) were behind worsening US mortality. Behold the Lexis diagram (cue swooning demographers). Calendar time is on the x-axis, age on the y-axis. Birth cohorts can be followed over time as they age on the diagonal lines moving up and to the right. This figure plots the year-on-year % change in all-cause mortality at a given age. Green shading indicates mortality improvements over time, white is stagnation, and gray shading indicates worsening mortality. Following the diagonal line for those born in 1950, you can see a noticeable shift from green to gray that follows this cohort for most of their lives. This gray shading shows generally worsening mortality for the 1950 to 1959 birth cohorts compared to their predecessors across all ages. Concerningly for my GenX and elder millennial peeps, there was also a deterioration in mortality for birth cohorts born in the 1970s and 1980s, visible as dark gray areas at ages 30 to 45 during the 2010s. While some of these mortality changes reflect specific shocks such as the opioid epidemic, most deaths still occur from major causes of death such as cardiovascular disease and cancer. For cancer, the gray in the top left corner of the figure below reflects the legacies of smoking for older cohorts, followed by a period of green with improvements in cancer mortality as smoking rates declined. But the white/gray shading in the bottom right corner highlights a stagnation and reversal of the cancer trends, with cohorts born around 1970 to 1985 experiencing worsening cancer mortality. This deterioration was most noticeable for colon cancer mortality, possibly linked to obesity or dietary factors. Not just dying more, but less healthy along the way. A recent paper by Dr. Laura Gimeno of University College London (of which I am a co-author), found evidence that more recently born cohorts in Great Britain have stagnating or worsening health. A stylized picture of what“generational health drift” might look like: The review paper found: Rates of childhood overweight and obesity were highest among Gen Z. Rates of diabetes in the 40s almost doubled from 3.1% among the Baby Boomers to 5.9% in Generation X. Gen Z reported higher rates of poor mental health in adolescence compared to earlier-born groups. These UK results are consistent with studies showing worsening health across generations in the US as well. A 2021 US study found that more recently born cohorts had worse biological markers (like blood pressure and blood sugar) than earlier generations at the same age. A separate 2022 study of Americans aged 50 and over found that more recently born generations had a higher number of chronic diseases, with younger age of disease onset. A 2024 Lancet paper found that in the US, women born in 1945 had 33% obesity prevalence at age 50, rising to 48.2% for women born in 1970 turning 50. So what’s going on, and can we turn it around? We don’t have a definitive answer for what’s causing the deteriorating health of younger cohorts, but circumstantial evidence points to worsening trends in obesity and diabetes in both the US and UK. Remember that cohort trends reflect lagged effects of early environments, and younger generations have faced both earlier onset and more severe obesity across their lifetimes. Despite these very concerning trends, the future is not set in stone. We’ve reversed poor generational health trends before: drops in smoking are a major reason cancer and heart disease deaths fell so dramatically in recent decades. GLP-1 drugs may finally turn the tide against rising rates of obesity and diabetes, though it is still early days. But things could also get worse…for example from a return to higher levels of childhood infectious diseases that can have a lasting impact on health. See for example: [ ](https://jenndowd.substack.com/p/dont-you-forget-about-measles-the) [ Don’t You Forget About Me(asles): The Virus That Erases Immune Memory ](https://jenndowd.substack.com/p/dont-you-forget-about-measles-the) Jenn Dowd, PhD · March 24, 2025 [ Read full story ](https://jenndowd.substack.com/p/dont-you-forget-about-measles-the) Even as an optimist, emerging data on the “generational health drift” has my full attention. For most of my research career, we took it for granted that each generation would be healthier than the last. But if present trends continue, **50 could be the new 60….**and Gen Z celebrities will soon look older than Paul Rudd :). Stay well, Jenn Share the Health! If you found this post useful, please share it with a friend. Share
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How lip-syncing to AI let Forced Entertainment ‘play the game of theatre’
Today we have a fascinating piece by long-time Forced Entertainment fan Ben Kulvichit, speaking to Tim Etchells about their latest show Cold Sweat, how they are integrating lip-sync and AI voices into their work, the question of ‘authenticity’ on stage, and how lip-sync has even opened the door for them to make “something a little bit like drama”. This piece is a paid partnership with the Southbank Centre, where you can see Cold Sweat next month – we’re very grateful to the Southbank Centre for their ongoing support for Exeunt. Holly Williams ‘It was immediately interesting and uncanny’ **By Ben Kulvichit** “Is the microphone on?” So goes one of the opening lines of Signal to Noise, delivered by a human performer lip-syncing to an AI-generated voice. The voice is American, cheery but sluggish, slowed down into a gelatinous drawl. It repeats ad infinitum in a farce of stuckness; an answer never materialises. I find myself asking the same question as I hop on a Google Meet call with Tim Etchells, the artistic director of Forced Entertainment. We spend five or ten minutes frowning at each other, muting and unmuting, me gesticulating in semaphore into my webcam, checking if I am coming through now, restarting the laptop. To Etchells, I appear exaggeratedly mouthing words, my voice missing. In this gloopy purgatory of broken communication, life imitates art imitates life imitates art. We try a Zoom instead. Forced Entertainment, the pioneering British theatre company who have been at the avant-garde of performance since the 1980s, turned an interesting artistic corner with Signal to Noise, created on the occasion of their 40th anniversary. The whole performance employed this lip-sync technique to AI voices; on the face of it a left-field move from a company whose identity has long been grounded in the earthy, immediate presences of its performers and its unassuming, low-tech approach to theatricality. The technique, however, turned out to provide the company with a “rich new seam” of artistic enquiry, and has now spawned a trilogy of works. The second instalment, Cold Sweat, plays at Sheffield Theatres, Southbank Centre, and Lancaster Arts in October, while the third part, Everything Must Go, has been touring in Europe and is slated to come to the UK in 2027. As is often the case with Forced Entertainment shows, the main conceit for this work didn’t arrive until quite late. They were “four or five weeks into rehearsals for Signal to Noise,” Etchells recalls, and getting nowhere. Away from rehearsals, he had been playing around with feeding “weird texts” to AI voices to see how they would cope with them – “basically for my own amusement” – and was compelled by the uniformly “serviceable, benign, good-natured” tone they would read in, no matter how poetic, fractured or experimental the writing. On a hunch, he brought some examples into rehearsals and the performers gave lip-syncing a go. “It was immediately interesting and uncanny,” he recalls, with the performers having to deal in the moment with the problem of mapping themselves onto another artificial ‘performer,’ which itself was dealing with the problem of a very human text. “Almost all the writing for these projects would be useless to us unless it was done in this way,” says Etchells. “We wouldn’t know what to do with it. It’s too poetic. It’s too fictional. It’s too tangled.” But exploring lip-syncing along to the text has opened “an enormous reservoir of ways of thinking about writing and performing.” Subscribe to Exeunt, and get two in-depth pieces on theatre a week, direct to your inbox Subscribe Forced Entertainment have long been sifting through the detritus of popular culture, from daytime TV to end-of-the-pier vaudeville, magic acts and clown shows, to find frameworks for their own unusual entertainments. Lip-syncing, then, makes sense for them to experiment with. As a mode of performance, it’s wired into popular consciousness through pop stars trying to convince stadium audiences of their liveness, or those same voices as channeled through the made-up lips of contestants on RuPaul’s Drag Race, or movie dialogue spreading virally through the host bodies of TikTok users. For Etchells, lip-syncing is often about “approaching real voices and trying to take on their aura,” subsuming that original human presence into yours. “There’s a very basic, elemental sort of theatre magic to it, produced in this very easy way.” This broad approach resonates with instances of lip-syncing within contemporary performance, too. In works like Re-Member Me and Showmanism, performance artist Dickie Beau acts as a kind of spirit medium for archival recordings (this process of re-membering – as in, giving corporeal form to voices – relies on his masterfully precise actor’s technique), while Frankie Thompson is similarly possessed by a host of characters ranging from a nine-year-old Jacob Rees-Mogg to Cliff Richards, all of whom she finds compellingly nauseating, in the exorcism ritual that is her latest show, Horrible Things. What’s different about Forced Entertainment’s use of lip-syncing is that here, there is no original presence to be channeled. The performers are instead taking on what Etchells describes as “the voices of nobody,” or rather the “phantasmic, aggregated echoes” of the many many voices on whose data the AI has been trained, and which are now conjuring into existence words they never actually said. There is a sort of mournful, empty quality to these voices, having “washed up” far away from the people they originally belonged to, to find themselves in stranger’s mouths listing objects, wondering if anyone can hear them and glitching in interminable loops. There is a cold, sad anonymity to it all. Etchells remarks that occasionally the software company he used has notified him that particular people are withdrawing their voices from the platform, instructing him to cease use of those voices. Using these technologies in performance certainly brings up ethical questions around digital rights, consent, identity and ownership, although in the grand scheme of things, Etchells is fairly blasé about it: of all the purposes someone’s voice might be put to without their knowledge, “an avant-garde performance is probably the least of their worries.” [ ](https://exeuntmagazine.substack.com/p/frankie-thompson-horrible-things-essay-mental-health-compulsive-behaviours-pleasance-courtyard-soho-theatre) [ Frankie Thompson: How I manage my own ‘horrible things’ at the Edinburgh Fringe ](https://exeuntmagazine.substack.com/p/frankie-thompson-horrible-things-essay-mental-health-compulsive-behaviours-pleasance-courtyard-soho-theatre) Exeunt · Aug 25 [ Read full story ](https://exeuntmagazine.substack.com/p/frankie-thompson-horrible-things-essay-mental-health-compulsive-behaviours-pleasance-courtyard-soho-theatre) For the performers, though, lip-syncing to these strange, artificial voices is an odd task, requiring them to bend their live, human presence into the shapes produced by machines. Politically, it mirrors processes that are already at play in the continued computational automation of human life. Etchells brings up James Bridle’s writings on new technologies as a reference point: one example Bridle gives is of “chaotic storage”, a logistics technique employed by Amazon fulfilment centres whereby items are stored not according to traditional methods of categorisation or alphabetisation, but in a way that an algorithm determines to produce the most efficient routes for ‘picking’ based on customer purchase patterns. This appears completely random and incomprehensible to humans, with paddling pools sitting next to USB sticks sitting next to blowtorches, and so for the warehouse workers, the process of picking items becomes completely reliant on technology which tells them where to go. Our world is increasingly being designed not with humans in mind, but rather machines. As Etchells puts it, “technology malforms the space, and then you end up having to live in it.” Initially, Forced Entertainment tried their best to live in the world of machines: “I was in the it’s-got-to-be-perfect school of lip-sync,” says Etchells. But with their aesthetic being so tied to the failing act, the slipping mask, the shoddy costume, “it’s no surprise really that that didn’t last.” Instead, the performers got to enjoy being late for a line, or playing games with each other, “stealing” each other’s voices. Etchells compares it to the principles of ventriloquism, in which a free-floating voice unattached to a body is fundamentally discomforting and “sort of traumatic”. That discomfort is equally as alluring to Forced Entertainment as the satisfaction of precision, the pretence of authenticity only interesting if shown to be a pretence. Lip-sync has also opened up new avenues for the company. Having been allergic all their lives to Plays-with-a-capital-P, with Cold Sweat Forced Entertainment find themselves approaching something a little bit like drama. Rather than the presentational arena of Signal to Noise’s open white stage, Cold Sweat places us more decisively in a “fictional locale”: what appears to be “the aftermath of some disastrous party or backyard drinking binge” where three figures – family members, or neighbours, perhaps – are the last ones standing. “It’s all quite acrimonious and accusatory, everyone’s talking over each other.” For Etchells, this more fictional mode is “a door that we’ve never been able to open. We’ve just never really gone there.” Perhaps it is the technique of lip-syncing, an extra buffer of mediation, that allows them to venture away from the here-and-now without feeling that they have to commit to the “psychological claptrap” that comes along with acting; to be able to “play the game of theatre, without getting one’s hands too dirty.” As I wonder how else the impulses behind Forced Entertainment’s work have changed over time, it occurs to me that over the last ten years of new creations, with the exception of If All Else Fails, the company’s performers haven’t ever spoken on stage: there were two shows without any language at all, Out of Order and Under Bright Light, and then this trilogy of lip-sync works. Etchells agrees it’s a shift away from earlier productions, that were so often about “the actual voices of the performers and their actual presences. We had a lot of money, in some ways, on an authentic approach to what it might mean to speak on the stage.” But this sense of authentic presence itself had a fakeness to it; these days, Etchells can’t stand that mode of being onstage where performers “are here to be cheeky and witty versions of themselves. I don’t want to be charmed.” Pulling back into a more anonymous space has resulted in works that feel slightly sharper-edged, more brutal in a way. “All of these shows are post-Brexit, post-Trump, post-truth, post-everything,” Etchells notes. Speech, charisma, authenticity – these things feel politically loaded, and perhaps warmth and openness just don’t feel like the right tools to reflect the world we’re living in. “It feels like the space is closing down, and we’re trying to deal with the fact that the system, the structure that you’re in, is more oppressive and more powerful. It probably always was, but I think we’re just more tuned to it now.” Yet even without their voices, the performers’ distinctive presences – ones that many audiences have followed around for years, if not decades – still, inevitably, shine through as they physically navigate whatever unending task the system of the piece has set for them. They’re still trying to keep up with the onslaught of text, still running about, changing costumes, moving stuff around. The human is always stuck in the teeth of the machine, jamming the smooth, frictionless cheeriness of the not-real, gesticulating silently, trying desperately to communicate. Cold Sweat is at Sheffield Theatres, 2 to 3 October; Southbank Centre, London, 9 to 10 October; Lancaster Arts, 14 October [ ](https://exeuntmagazine.substack.com/p/exeunt-recommends-the-best-autumn-theatre-2026-lives-of-others-standard-of-living-our-friends-in-the-north-lanny-) [ Exeunt recommends... the best autumn theatre ](https://exeuntmagazine.substack.com/p/exeunt-recommends-the-best-autumn-theatre-2026-lives-of-others-standard-of-living-our-friends-in-the-north-lanny-) Exeunt · Sep 16 [ Read full story ](https://exeuntmagazine.substack.com/p/exeunt-recommends-the-best-autumn-theatre-2026-lives-of-others-standard-of-living-our-friends-in-the-north-lanny-) This piece was paid for by the Southbank Centre. Such support helps Exeunt to keep publishing the most interesting writing, about the most exciting theatre. Interested in partnering with Exeunt? Visit our Advertise with Exeunt page, where you can get more information, download an advertising pack, and find our contact details.
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Jiang Feng: The Unravelling of German & European Politics
A state election in eastern Germany has become a revealing test of the changing political landscapes of Germany and Europe, writes Jiang Feng, Professor and Chairman of the Council of the Shanghai Academy of Global Governance and Area Studies (SAGGAS) at Shanghai International Studies University. His analysis follows the decisive victory of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) (which has been classified as right-wing extremist by German authorities)in the state of Saxony-Anhalt on 6 September, in which it finished far ahead of its mainstream rivals. Jiang previously served as Minister-Counsellor at the Chinese Embassy in Berlin. The following article was published on 8 September 2026 on huanqiu.com, the online platform of the Global Times. On 6 September, the results of the state election in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany, were announced. The Alternative for Germany (AfD), classified as far-right by German authorities, made history by becoming the largest party in the state parliament, winning 43.8 per cent of the vote — twice its share in the previous election. The Christian Democratic Union (CDU), which had governed the state continuously for 24 years, won just 17.2 per cent, its worst result ever in Saxony-Anhalt. On the night the results were announced, the atmosphere at the CDU gathering was unusually calm. There was neither shock nor argument, as if the defeat had long been expected. Several veteran party members who had spent years working in the state government said: “Defeat is not a bad thing. It is time to make changes.” This state election has not only upended Saxony-Anhalt’s political landscape, but also laid bare the deep tensions between Germany’s traditional party structure and model of governance, on the one hand, and an increasingly polarised society on the other. Its repercussions are already being felt at the federal level, making Saxony-Anhalt a useful case study of the broader trend towards political polarisation and realignment in Europe. Governing Difficulties after Electoral Victory The most immediate consequence of the election is a historic setback for the mainstream party order that took shape in post-war Germany. In Saxony-Anhalt, the AfD has leapt from a peripheral party to the largest political force in the state. Its electoral base has expanded beyond the traditional category of “marginal protest voters” to take on the characteristics of a cross-class coalition. The party has not only consolidated its support in rural areas, but also attracted many middle-class voters and even members of the social elite with stable jobs, their own homes, and substantial incomes. It has thus evolved from a “protest party” into one with the potential to govern. Despite its commanding lead in the vote, however, the AfD faces an institutional obstacle to governing the state: the mainstream parties’ long-standing “firewall” against it. Neither of the two potential routes to forming a government appears likely to break the current political deadlock. The first would be a coalition of establishment parties, led by the CDU and bringing together the Social Democratic Party (SPD), the Greens, the Left Party (Die Linke) and the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW) in a cross-camp government. In terms of parliamentary arithmetic, such a coalition could prevent the AfD from forming a government and preserve the outward stability of the traditional political order. Yet these parties are fundamentally divided over key issues including immigration, the energy transition, economic management, and cultural and education policy. Coalition negotiations would therefore be extremely difficult, and even if a government could be formed, it would most likely prove short-lived. More importantly, an alliance of establishment parties aimed at keeping the largest party out of government would play directly into the AfD’s narrative that “political elites are suppressing public opinion”. It could deepen perceptions of political unfairness, further strengthening the AfD’s political capital, and creating a dynamic in which “the more it is suppressed, the more people vote for it”. Ulrich Siegmund, the AfD’s candidate for state premier, has said that if efforts to form a government fail because other parties refuse to cooperate, the AfD will push for a fresh election, which he believes could deliver the party an absolute majority of seats. This points to more intense political battles ahead. The second option would be a coalition between the AfD and the BSW. Together, the two parties would command a simple majority in parliament, making this, on paper, the quickest route to forming a government. The BSW is the only elected party that has not ruled out cooperation with the AfD, and the two parties share some common ground, including on policy towards Russia. There is therefore a degree of political basis for cooperation. Were such a coalition to materialise, Germany would see its first state government jointly formed by a party defined as far-right and one with a far-left background, creating what might be called a “bipolar anti-establishment alliance”. Such an outcome would fundamentally break with the ideological boundaries of post-war German party politics. It is worth noting that even if the AfD ultimately fails to enter the state government, its roughly 47 per cent share of parliamentary seats would give it a powerful blocking minority. Without its consent, major decisions requiring a two-thirds majority — including constitutional amendments, significant budgetary adjustments, and state-level institutional reforms — would be extremely difficult to pass. Therefore, whoever ultimately forms the government, the AfD will be an unavoidable force in Saxony-Anhalt politics, with a direct influence on the state’s legislative process. Systemic Failures in Germany’s Governance Model The Saxony-Anhalt election result reflects a systemic failure of Germany’s post-war mainstream-party model of governance to adapt to rapidly changing socioeconomic conditions. It stems from multiple, mutually reinforcing structural tensions and highlights the existing political system’s difficulty in adapting to “an increasingly polarised society First, collective anxiety has replaced individual material hardship as a central driver of political mobilisation. The rise of the AfD can no longer be explained simply by poverty or social marginalisation. Its increasingly cross-class electoral base suggests that what is driving voters towards the party is, above all, concern about the broader direction of society. This anxiety about the future of the political community goes beyond individual gains and losses. In political discourse, economic anxiety has become closely intertwined with immigration, while immigration and refugee issues are, in essence, questions of social fairness. This perception turns conflicts over the distribution of social resources into negative assessments of governing parties, providing a broad social basis for far-right political narratives. Second, regional disparities and East German identity have undermined the strategy of addressing eastern Germany’s structural challenges at the regional level. More than three decades after German reunification, eastern states such as Saxony-Anhalt have experienced periods of economic growth, but their underlying economic structures remain weak, and household incomes and wealth remain significantly below those in western Germany. At the same time, they continue to face population outflow, an ageing population, labour shortages, and other structural challenges. At a deeper level, historical experiences — including the collapse of the former East German economic system, mass unemployment during the transition, and the westward shift of decision-making power over major issues — have left some residents with a sense of being “second-class citizens” and of being excluded. For years, the German government treated the “syndrome” of reunification as a regional problem to be gradually addressed at the local level. That approach is becoming increasingly unsustainable, as regional development disparities emerge as a core structural factor shaping national politics. Third, the erosion of institutional trust is perhaps the most decisive factor. AfD supporters tend to distrust establishment institutions, including parliament, government, and the mainstream media. Their concerns about economic security, pensions, and social fairness are significantly greater than the social average. Increasingly, their support for the AfD reflects not an expectation that the existing system can be improved, but a search for an alternative to the current political order. Such a systemic deficit of trust will be extremely difficult for the traditional parties to repair in the short term. Fourth, a generational shift in political mobilisation has amplified political polarisation. Unlike traditional parties, which rely heavily on offline rallies and mainstream media coverage, the AfD has developed a social-media mobilisation strategy built around “raising an issue — identifying who is responsible — offering a simplified solution — building a shared identity”. It turns complex social tensions into concise political narratives, rapidly channelling public sentiment into political support. The contrast on the eve of the election was particularly telling. The establishment parties, together with trade unions and churches, organised an offline march attended by more than 10,000 people, but its reach was largely confined to those present and to traditional media coverage. The AfD held a much smaller indoor event, yet livestreaming on TikTok, YouTube, and other platforms, combined with the involvement of online influencers, gave it a reach and mobilising capacity far beyond that of the march. The contrast illustrates how the traditional parties’ methods of political mobilisation are increasingly struggling to keep pace with a political environment transformed by changes in media technology. A Microcosm of Structural Political Change in Europe The shockwaves from the Saxony-Anhalt election quickly travelled beyond the state to the federal level. Calls for political accountability followed immediately after the results were announced. The governing CDU and SPD are now under enormous pressure, while Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Vice Chancellor Lars Klingbeil face an unprecedented test. Political polarisation in Germany is no longer simply a regional phenomenon. The post-war model of multiparty government by establishment parties is breaking down and being reshaped. Viewed in a broader European context, the Saxony-Anhalt election is part of a continent-wide wave of party polarisation, mainstream-party decline, and rising right-wing forces. Far from an isolated phenomenon, it is a microcosm of the structural political changes unfolding across Europe. Weak economic growth, cultural tensions over immigration, and declining trust in institutions are fuelling the rise of right-wing forces in several countries, challenging the liberal internationalist order established in post-war Europe. As a core member state of the European Union, Germany’s ability to adapt its political system and the direction of its politics will have profound implications for both European integration and the evolution of the international order. Subscribe [ Pekingnology China’s Germany watchers take stock of Berlin’s uneasy turn On 7 December 2025, nearly 50 Chinese scholars and policy researchers gathered in Beijing for the 2025年德国形势年终研讨会 “2025 Year-End Seminar on the Situation in Germany… Read more 9 months ago · 31 likes · 1 comment · YIRUI LI and Yuxuan JIA ](https://www.pekingnology.com/p/chinas-germany-watchers-take-stock?utm_source=substack&utm_campaign=post_embed&utm_medium=web&embedding_publication_id=1151841) [ Jiang Feng on Germany's 2025 and beyond: no easy exit ](https://www.eastisread.com/p/jiang-feng-on-germanys-2025-and-beyond) Yirui LI and Yuxuan JIA · Jan 24 The following is an op-ed by Jiang Feng, published on 29 December 2025 at Shanghai Observer 上观新闻, the digital platform of Jiefang Daily, the official newspaper of the Shanghai Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC). [ Read full story ](https://www.eastisread.com/p/jiang-feng-on-germanys-2025-and-beyond)