QCA.news - Quad Cities news and view from both sides of the river

Wednesday, September 16th, 2026
	Amazon increases minimum starting pay, adds new discount for employees The move bumps the company's average hourly wage to almost $24 an hour.
	NEST Cafe harvest meal fundraiser set for Sept. 30 in East Moline The fundraiser helps raise about a tenth of NEST's annual budget at a time when demand for food is only growing. NEST is the QC's only pay-what-you-can restaurant.
	FestivALL Muscatine will take over 2nd Street in Muscatine Downtown Muscatine will transform into a full‑scale festival zone as FestivALL Muscatine takes over Second Street on Saturday, Sept. 19, from 1-7 p.m. Hosted by Crossroads, Inc., this premier outdoor celebration brings live rock‑and‑roll tribute acts, family activities, and local vendors together to raise vital funds for seniors and individuals with disabilities. Major street closures [...]
	Iowa Quad Cities communities work to restore Duck Creek flood monitoring Several Iowa communities are working to install 10 stream sensors along Duck Creek after a river gauge was removed in 2025.
	Rising oil prices also resulting in higher oil change costs A local dealership said customers are seeing a small spike in price when it comes to oil changes.
	Rock Island aldermen pass compromise liquor ordinance for downtown The ordinance restricts single-serving alcohol sales in the downtown liquor control district before 5 p.m., while allowing some packaged alcohol sales, including six-packs, before 5 p.m.
	15 cultural groups form Muscatine Cultural Alliance More than 15 cultural organizations have united as the Muscatine Cultural Alliance. Dedicated to the performing and visual arts, place-making, and our local history, the organizations will join together to hold the Cultural Alliance Celebration: Volunteer Recognition & Fundraiser on Thursday, Oct. 15, a news release says. The celebration will take place at the National [...]
	Flood Watch for Quad Cities early Thursday Another round of heavy rain is looking likely for the Quad Cities late Wednesday night and early Thursday. 1-2" of rain could fall and some flooding is not out of the question. So, the NWS has issued a Flood Watch for most of our area, including Rock Island County in Illinois and Scott County in [...]
	Sand, Lahn offer differing visions in KWQC interviews Democrat Rob Sand and Republican Zach Lahn both say Iowans still aren’t feeling enough relief in their day-to-day lives.
	Two Iowa Republicans break with party on Iran war vote Six months into the war in Iran, two of Iowa’s Republican members of Congress voted for the first time to try to end it.
	Here's why an Arizona medical examiner is working to track heat-related deaths No one across the U.S. is consistently tracking climate-fueled deaths. One medical examiner has a new protocol on heat-deaths.
	Man airlifted after crash in rural Galena Officials believe the 80-year-old victim suffered a medical emergency, causing him to drive into a ditch and strike a tree off Thunder Bay Road.
	Centenarians at Hammond-Henry Long Term Care Living Center are rooted in Geneseo history The history of small towns is usually rich but sometimes forgotten. At Hammond-Henry Hospital in Geneseo, several people in their long-term living center can speak firsthand to how Geneseo became the town it is now. Whether how street names were picked or the origin of a popular park, history lives within the center and their [...]
	Man airlifted with severe injuries after rural Galena crash caused by medical emergency A California man was airlifted out of rural Galena on Wednesday after a crash caused by a suspected medical emergency.
	NextGen 5K Run/Walk for Mental Health Awareness returns to Muscatine on Sept. 19 The 5th annual NextGen 5K Run/Walk for Mental Health Awareness will return to Muscatine on Saturday, Sept. 19.
	Moline-Coal Valley School District families invited to inaugural community meal The Sept. 24 event is free to attend. There will be activities for kids, and families can take home a box of non-perishable food as well.
	House passes Russia sanctions, sending bill named for Lindsey Graham to Trump's desk The legislation was named for the late South Carolina Republican. It gives the president authority to impose tariffs on top importers of oil and natural gas from Russia, such as China and India.
	Quad Cities' only pay-what-you-can restaurant hosting harvest meal fundraiser NEST Cafe is inviting folks to the fundraising event on Wednesday, Sept. 30, featuring food, music and storytelling.
	Earl Hanson Elementary School cafeteria gets a new mural Students helped color in the mural, which will be slowly filled in over the course of two weeks.
	Man with dementia reported missing from Farmington, Illinois According to police, David "Barry" Coulter's wife last saw him in their home's kitchen around 3 a.m. Tuesday.
	McCarty’s Corner Farm to host 7th National Alpaca Farm Days Sept. 26-27 The family-owned farm in Eldridge is hosting their 7th annual National Alpaca Farm Days on Sept. 26-27 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
	Infiltrator Water Technologies plans new Davenport facility Infiltrator Water Technologies, a leading manufacturer of products for the decentralized wastewater industry, plans to develop a new manufacturing facility dedicated to the production of their EZflow product line in Davenport, according to a news release. EZflow products are a green building alternative to traditional septic drain field and drainage systems. On Wednesday, the Davenport [...]
	Smithfield employees exposed to amputation risks, dangerous chemicals: OSHA records Employees at Smithfield Foods in Monmouth have been exposed to amputation risks and dangerous chemicals, according to OSHA violation records.
	Take a tour through history at the Hamburg Historic Home Tour Take a tour through history in Davenport's Hamburg Historic District. Marion Meginnis joined Our Quad Cities News with details on the Hamburg Historic District Home Tour. For more information, click here.
	MercyOne Genesis breaks ground on $2M family medicine expansion MercyOne Genesis held a groundbreaking on Wednesday, Sept. 16, to celebrate expansion and renovation of its Family Medical Center, at 1345 W. Central Park Ave., Davenport.
	MercyOne Genesis breaks ground on Family Medical Center expansion MercyOne Genesis is expanding and renovating it’s Family Medical Center.
	House holds billionaire Leon Black in contempt of Congress Billionaire investor Leon Black refused to appear before the committee investigating convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein for a deposition. Now it's up to the Department of Justice whether to pursue criminal charges.
	5th-grader Kid Captain to lead Iowa State against Bowling Green A 5th grade Cyclone fan will get to go onto the field with his family as Iowa State plays on Saturday.
	2 injured, 1 airlifted after Dubuque County crash on Wednesday morning According to an Iowa State Patrol crash report, a 2013 Ford Edge was traveling south on Cox Springs Road when they failed to yield at the Highway 20 intersection.
	NextGen Motors of Muscatine raises mental health awareness through 5K NextGen Motors of Muscatine is hosting the fifth annual NextGen 5k on Saturday, Sept. 19 to raise awareness for mental health.
	Trump administration plans ideological warning signs for Smithsonian The Interior Secretary says the move is necessary to combat what he calls ideological bias.
	Student Hunger Drive returns with Million Meals Match for second year The 2026 Student Hunger Drive begins Sept. 21.
	Have you seen these suspects? Crime Stoppers wants to know! Crime Stoppers of the Quad Cities wants your help catching two fugitives. It’s an Our Quad Cities News exclusive. You can get an elevated reward for information on this week’s cases: SHERRY GRAY, 50, 5’1”, 130 pounds, brown eyes, black hair. Wanted by Scott County Sheriff’s Office for sex offender registration violations. MICHAEL NELSON, 38, [...]
	Fed rate hike not a reason to panic: NelsonCorp The Federal Reserve announced today that they are raising interest rates for the first time in three years. The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System released a statement about today’s decision. “The Federal Open Market Committee approved the following statement for release by a 12 – 0 vote. The Committee decided to raise [...]
	3 Quad Cities-area men sentenced in drug trafficking case Prosecutors said that between late 2021 and March of last year, the trio distributed drugs across the region.
	‘The potential is there to be able to find people quickly.’: QC Missing Persons Network weighs in on flock camera pause Officials with the Quad Cities Missing Persons Network say Flock cameras have the potential to find people quickly, after Moline announce a pause to the program.
	Former FCI Thomson correctional officer sentenced for sexually abusing 2 inmates A federal jury in Rockford convicted 42-year-old Danny L. Spyker of two counts of knowingly engaging in sexual acts with inmates.
	EU rolls out red carpet to Canada as first 'associate member' The EU's top official backs Carney's push for Canada to become the bloc's first "associate member," as Brussels seeks to deepen ties amid pressure from the US
	EU rolls out red carpet to Canada to become its first 'associate member' The EU's top official backs Carney's push for Canada to become the bloc's first "associate member," as Brussels seeks to deepen ties amid pressure from the US
	Jesse Ray receives Corps of Engineers Planning Excellence Award A Rock Island resident is being honored by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers with its Planning Excellence Award. St. Paul District environmental specialist Jesse Ray has been awarded the 2025 Planning Excellence Award. The Planning Excellence Award, or Planner of the Year Award, recognizes staff who exhibit exceptional job performance. Ray was honored for [...]
	2 injured in 2 vehicle crash in Dubuque County The crash remains under investigation.
	Fitch unveils plan for how Mississippi will spend $189M Meta settlement Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch has unveiled a plan for how Mississippi can spend $189 million of national Meta lawsuit funds, directing over $18 million a year to be split among three state agencies for the next decade. The plan arrived in a consent decree that lawyers for the state filed Monday in Hinds Chancery Court. Fitch drafted the plan as Meta, the corporation that runs Facebook and Instagram, prepares to pay billions of dollars to states after attorneys general accused the company of endangering children across the country with their social media platforms. States argued the company turned its platforms into “addiction machines,” targeting children during vulnerable life stages. Despite the settlement, Meta and other technology giants have denied the allegations against them and that they have any liability to states. The California-based company is represented in Mississippi by the powerful and politically connected law firm Butler Snow. The settlement agreement allows the attorney general to set the parameters for spending the money. Legal experts, mental health advocates and state lawmakers told Mississippi Today that Fitch’s plan could impact the health of children in the state for years to come. Here is what’s in it: How the money will be spent Mississippi will be able to spend its portion of the $17-billion national settlement over 10 years. The state’s share currently stands at $189 million, but it could go up to $270 million if the other tech companies ensnared in litigation — Snap, TikTok and YouTube — also agree to settlements with states’ attorneys general. The plan Fitch’s office filed directs $18.8 million in payments to be made per annual installment from Meta. That works out to just under $189 million over 10 years, which is the whole settlement. Starting in January 2027, Fitch set these parameters for the spending each year over the next decade: $6.8 million to the Mississippi Department of Mental Health for “mental health programs targeting but not limited to youth 12 through 18 years of age, including through cooperative programs with Mississippi K-12 schools.” For the remainder of 2026, Fitch directed all payments to be made directly to this department for the same purpose. $6 million to the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks for “new playgrounds, parks, sporting courts or fields, or other outdoor recreation facilities, or improvements thereof, across the State of Mississippi, including through cooperative programs with Mississippi K-12 schools and local governments, targeting but not limited to youth 12 through 18 years of age.” $6 million to the Mississippi Department of Education for “afterschool and school break learning opportunities and programming across the State of Mississippi, in cooperation with the Mississippi Department of Human Services.” Meta will pay Mississippi an additional $6.1 million from a connected settlement involving Cambridge Analytica, a now-defunct British political consulting firm that allegedly harvested the personal data of tens of millions of American Facebook users without their consent before the 2016 federal election. All the money from that part of the settlement agreement will go to the Mississippi Department of Mental Health for youth mental health programs, Fitch’s office told Mississippi Today. All of the money will be deposited into the Attorney General of Mississippi Contingent Fund, a special state fund that holds money the AG’s office receives from legal judgments. How much control will lawmakers have on the spending? Although the national settlement assigns spending decisions to attorneys general such as Fitch, the Mississippi Constitution gives the Legislature authority to spend most public money. Lawmakers have asserted that authority with both tobacco and opioid settlement funds. In her consent decree, Fitch decided which agencies will get the settlement money, how much money they’re getting and what sort of programs the agencies must use. But her office said the lawmakers have the authority to determine what specific programs will get funded. “The Legislature still directs how the money will be spent, and we will work with them on possible funding ideas in the upcoming session,” MaryAsa Lee, a spokesperson for Fitch, told Mississippi Today. “Ultimately, the Legislature decides how the funds will be appropriated.” Lawmakers could, for example, create new mental health programs targeting children between 12 and 18, or fund new playgrounds to be operated by the Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks, Fitch’s office added. Fitch’s plan also says the “parameters and structure” of the spending decisions made by lawmakers should be established “in consultation with the Governor of Mississippi and the Mississippi Attorney General.” Fitch’s office told Mississippi Today the consultation will involve meetings between lawmakers and the offices of the governor and attorney general about future legislation appropriating the settlement money. The legislation will ultimately not require any sort of specific written approval from either the governor or attorney general, they added. But the provision gives Fitch influence over the specific spending decision lawmakers could make in the future. Fitch, a Republican, is running for governor and has touted her efforts to protect children from large technology companies. In the upcoming legislative session beginning in January, there will be two initial payments the Legislature can spend, Fitch’s office said. State has a youth mental health crisis Under the settlement, Meta also agreed to implement new safety standards on Facebook and Instagram. Those standards include setting daily time limits on platform use by children, restricting children’s access during school hours, requiring age verification and creating a range of content controls. Some experts have said the required platform changes are drawn from research findings, while others have questioned whether the changes will be effective. Mississippi continues to face a youth mental health crisis. Roughly 31,000 children in the state between the ages of 12 and 17 have seriously considered suicide, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness in 2025. The alliance also found that Mississippi only has about one school psychologist for every 10,000 public school students. The consent decree filed by Fitch’s office said Meta violated the Mississippi Consumer Protection Act by designing its social media platforms to “entice, engage, and ultimately ensnare youth and teens.” Meta “misled the public about the dangers of its platforms and ignored the damages these platforms have caused to the mental and physical well-being of Mississippi’s youth,” the lawsuit argued. Courtesy of Mississippi Today
	River Bandits pitcher David Shields named 2026 Midwest League Pitcher of the Year Quad Cities River Bandits pitcher David Shield has been named the 2026 Midwest League Pitcher of the Year.
	Putnam partners with the Smithsonian on major Native American exhibit The Putnam Museum and Science Center is opening a unique collaboration with the Smithsonian Institution, with “Legacy of the Land: Treaties and the Shaping of America,” a new traveling exhibition.
	Spanberger declares state of emergency as drought strains Virginia farmers Dairy cows graze in Stanley, Va. (Photo by Parker Michels-Boyce/Virginia Mercury)Virginia farmers struggling with drought-damaged pastures will be able to receive larger hay deliveries under a state of emergency declared by Gov. Abigail Spanberger Wednesday. Spanberger’s Executive Order 21 temporarily exempts over-width hay deliveries from certain transportation restrictions, allowing hay to reach farmers more quickly to feed their livestock. Persistent drought conditions that began last winter have led to an estimated hay shortfall totaling 500,000 tons. “This waiver will help us move critical hay resources more quickly so farms can prepare for the months ahead, feed livestock, and sustain their operations,” Spanberger said in a statement. Although drought conditions have improved in some parts of the state since earlier this year, some regions have experienced losses of up to 70% losses in hay yields. Southern Virginia along the North Carolina border remains under emergency drought conditions, according to the Department of Environmental Quality. The dry conditions have left pastures without enough grass for cattle, forcing farmers to tap into their hay supplies earlier in the grazing season than usual. That means they must purchase more hay heading into winter. “Extreme drought conditions across the commonwealth have left cattle producers without the forage stocks needed to support many of our herds this winter,” Virginia Cattlemen’s Association Executive Director Brandon Reeves said in a statement. While the order grants exemptions for over-width deliveries, gross and axle weight limits remain in effect. “Farmers are very resilient and innovative, and this transportation waiver will shorten the timeline for hay deliveries and also save significant trucking costs for producers purchasing supplemental hay as part of their overall drought management strategy,” Dan Goerlich and Stephanie Cornnell with the Virginia Cooperative Extension said in a statement. The emergency declaration allows state agencies to coordinate support for farmers, implement emergency plans and grant temporary waivers as drought conditions continue. The executive order took effect immediately and will remain in place for 45 days unless amended or rescinded. The over-width waiver will begin Oct. 1 and last for 30 days. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX. Courtesy of Virginia Mercury
	Davenport man charged after 18-month-old overdoses on THC A Davenport man is facing charges in Scott County District Court for his alleged connection to an 18-month-old child overdosing on THC wax in June.
	Iowa Republicans in battleground House races vote to halt the Iran war Reps. Zach Nunn and Mariannette Miller-Meeks voted for the resolution with five other Republicans on Tuesday after previously voting against it.
	Junior Theatre moves to St. Ambrose’s Galvin Fine Arts Center The Junior Theater will kick off its 75th season at St. Ambrose with a performance of “Charlotte’s Web.”
	Black Hawk College kicks off 80th anniversary with new mascot Black Hawk College kicked off its 80th anniversary with an ‘80s-themed celebration and introduction of the college’s new mascot.
	Bettendorf marking Healthiest State Walk with Kiwanis Park events Thousands of Iowans will take a 30 minute walk in three weeks to promote a statewide initiative about being active and connecting with the community. Residents can visit Kiwanis Park, 4223 Greenbrier Drive in Bettendorf, on October 7 from 3:30 – 5:30 p.m., where the city’s Parks & Recreation Department is hosting an event for [...]
	Fact Check: ‘terrifying’ sex offender ad in Iowa Attorney General race An attack ad claims a candidate for Iowa Attorney General blocked tracking sex offenders but the full legislative record undermines the ad’s narrative.
	Deceased infant found in trash bag at Iowa child care facility The Perry Police Department is investigating after officers found a dead newborn Tuesday evening.
	5 takeaways from the Latin Grammy nominations The list includes veteran hitmakers, a fresh crop of best new artist nominees and a 19-year-old folk prodigy.
	Officials: Erie, Illinois man charged with taking minor across state lines for illegal sexual activity An Erie, Illinois man is charged with child exploitation offenses, including the transportation of a minor to engage in illegal sexual activity and online enticement of a minor.
	Congress is under pressure to act on AI — here's what that could look like Lawmakers are expressing broader willingness to regulate AI development, but the path forward may not be a quick one.
	DOJ charges Russian agents with plotting attacks, including in US The indictment says the defendants belong to a network that "is one arm of the Russian Federation's apparatus used to carry out external attacks" worldwide.
	Residents can still vote by mail: Henry County Clerk Henry County is making sure residents know that they can still vote by mail. A news release from Henry County Clerk Barb Link said they realize that voters may have questions about voting by mail. “The Supreme Court’s recent decision blocking the U.S. Postal Service’s unlawful rule means voting by mail will continue.” Voters can [...]
	How you can help birds migrating at night find their way through the Quad Cities River Action is turning off the lights on the Centennial Bridge until November so migrating birds don't get lost.
	A tumultuous congressional primary season closes with record departures and defeats Already, close to 100 lawmakers who started this Congress will not be around for the next one, according to an NPR analysis, driven by record-setting retirements and primary defeats.
	Police: Child overdosed on THC, Davenport man charged Officials said the child tested positive for a large amount of THC in his system, which caused him to overdose.
	KWQC and KCRG to partner on Iowa’s 1st Congressional District debate KWQC and KCRG will partner to host a live, one hour debate between Mariannette Miller-Meeks and Christina Bohannan.
	$500,000 in Community Foundation grants awarded to 36 local nonprofits Check out which nonprofits were granted awards here:
	Bettendorf votes to move forward with annexation process Bettendorf voted 5-2 Tuesday to move ahead with the first steps of annexation, though it's not yet clear if enough landowners will support annexation to meet an 80% threshold.
	Iowa school districts receive funding to buy Iowa food Public and private schools across Iowa are receiving funding to purchase Iowa grown and raised food. Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig announced that 125 Iowa public and private schools will receive funding through the Choose Iowa Local Food for Schools Program to purchase Iowa grown and raised food. Each participating school will receive about [...]
	Three men sentenced to federal prison for drug conspiracy in Quad-Cities Three men were sentenced to time in federal prison for moving over 28 grams of a cocaine base and marijuana mixture across the Quad Cities from 2021 to 2023.
	United Way Quad Cities' in-school program part of national case study An initiative by United Way Quad Cities to match neighborhood resources with student needs in local schools has been featured in a new national case study by Communities in Schools (CIS), the country's leading evidence-based dropout-prevention and student-support organization. The case study, Place to Promise: How United Way Quad Cities and Communities In Schools Are [...]
	Infiltrator Water Technologies plans $7M investment, new jobs for Davenport's west end The city has found a tenant for the former Oscar Meyer building in the west end.
	Annie Dillard, Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist, dies at 81 Dillard's work was characterized by spare prose and a deep connection to nature. She is best known for Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, An American Childhood, The Maytrees and The Writing Life.
	United Way Quad Cities' in-school partnership featured national model for student support Since launching the pilot program at Davenport’s Madison Elementary, United for Schools has grown to six schools across four districts.
	Kate Atkinson's latest historical escape is to a festival most Americans haven't heard of The new novel centers on the Festival of Britain, a quirky real-life carnival designed to elevate the British people's spirits after the devastation of World War II.
	Google Local Services ads transition to Performance Max: What to save before your account migrates Google Local Services ads transition to Performance Max: What to save before your account migratesGoogle began the Local Services Ads transition to Performance Max in August 2026, moving campaigns out of the standalone Local Services Ads dashboard and into Google Ads. Your ads still run in the same positions on Google Search and Google Maps, you still pay per valid lead, and your campaign stays keywordless.But Google will not carry your historical performance reports into Google Ads, and it retires manual bidding and vertical-level target cost per action (CPA) on the same day, WebFX reports. You lose your reporting baseline and your bidding levers at once, which makes any cost-per-lead change afterward much harder to explain.Phase one is already live for select U.S. advertisers across nine home and storefront trades, including plumbing, HVAC, electrical, roofing, and pest control. If you run Google Local Services Ads in one of those categories, your migration notice could arrive within days.What changes when Local Services Ads transition to Performance MaxThe Local Services Ads transition to Performance Max changes where you manage campaigns, how you bid, how your budget is structured, and what reporting history you keep. It does not change where your ads appear or how you pay for leads, according to Google’s migration documentation. WebFX Campaign management moves into Google AdsYou will manage budgets, targeting, leads, and customer replies from Google Ads instead of the separate Local Services Ads dashboard. Once your account migrates, logging into the old dashboard redirects you to your campaign overview in Google Ads.You also gain control you did not have before. Google lets you change the phone number your call and message leads route to in real time, directly in the campaign.Your historical performance reports do not migrateGoogle confirms that previous campaign performance metrics, including past impressions, clicks, weekly spend, and ad-level reports, will not move to Google Ads. Your lead history transfers. The performance data you would use to compare before and after does not.Do this before migration day: Save enough historical reporting to preserve your year-over-year comparisons and your cost-per-lead trend. Google plans to add a download page and recommends screenshots if you need the data sooner.Your Google Business Profile becomes the source for core detailsGoogle Ads pre-populates your campaign from your Google Business Profile, and your business name, address, and hours sync from the profile into Google Ads rather than the reverse. To change those core details, you edit the Business Profile.Significant changes to your business name, storefront address, or primary category trigger a verification review. That review typically takes 24 to 48 hours and can pause your campaign while it runs, which is a strong argument against making major profile edits near your migration date.Google retires Better Business Bureau calloutsBetter Business Bureau (BBB) callouts no longer appear after migration. Google directs you to your campaign’s assets tab to select at least six other structured callouts, such as business hours, specialties, or accepted payment methods.Are Local Services Ads going away?Local Services Ads are not going away. Google is moving them into Google Ads infrastructure, but the product itself keeps working the way it does today.Several widely shared LinkedIn and Reddit posts describe Google as killing Local Services Ads or discontinuing them outright, and “What happened to Google local service ads?” now appears in the People Also Ask box for the term.What Google retires for migrated accounts is the separate Google LSA dashboard. Your pay-per-lead billing, your Search and Maps placements, your keywordless targeting, and your Google Verified badge all survive the move.When will your Local Services Ads account migrate?Google is migrating accounts in three phases rather than all at once, starting with U.S. home and storefront service advertisers in August 2026.August 2026: Select U.S. advertisers in nine trades migrate first, covering plumbing, HVAC, electrical, appliance repair, house cleaning, lawn care, roofing, pest control, and moving.Late 2026: The rollout expands to service-area businesses without physical storefronts, plus accounts running custom bidding or booking configurations.2027: Non-U.S. accounts and all remaining business categories transition, including advanced-verification categories such as locksmiths and garage door services.If your category requires advanced verification, or you operate outside supported regions, Google directs you to keep managing campaigns on the legacy Local Services Ads portal at g.co/localservices until your phase arrives.Your account administrator receives an email 14 days before your migration date, along with warning banners in the dashboard, followed by a reminder email seven days later. Google also asks you to allow up to two weeks after migration for performance to stabilize.Those first-wave trades are the ones where a single top placement matters most. Before the migration began, WebFX research on home services SERP features found that Local Services Ads appeared in roughly 28% of home services searches and ranked position 1 in every search where they appeared.Why this is not a standard Performance Max campaignCampaigns with pay-per-lead goals share the Performance Max name but almost none of the behavior advertisers associate with it. Google states clearly that these campaigns do not expand to its other advertising channels. WebFX Managing this campaign like a standard Performance Max campaign will waste your time. Asset expansion, channel exclusions, and the creative testing playbooks built for how Performance Max campaigns work across networks have no application here, because there are no other networks to expand into.What changes in your bidding and budgetGoogle applies three bidding and budget changes automatically on transition day, and two of them remove controls you may rely on now.Google no longer supports manual bidding, including a maximum cost per lead. It also retires vertical-level target CPA, so if you managed separate targets for separate service lines under one campaign, Google calculates a single campaign-level target CPA and applies it to every category. Your weekly budget becomes a daily average, divided by seven, with monthly spend capped at that daily average multiplied by 30.4.Plumbing and HVAC rarely share the same lead economics. A drain call and a system replacement carry very different revenue, so one blended target CPA changes what each service line can afford to pay for a lead.WebFX research on home services search visibility sharpens that point. Across 500 searches run in May 2026, before the migration started, Local Services Ads appeared in 36% of garage door searches, 32% of plumbing searches, 28% of HVAC searches, 25% of electrical searches, and 21% of roofing searches. Four of those five trades sit in Google’s first migration phase, and garage door services waits until 2027, so a unified target CPA now applies one number across service lines whose top-of-page visibility differs by 11 percentage points.If you need separate bidding rules by category after migration, Google’s stated workaround is to build a separate campaign for each vertical. Reviewing your Local Services Ads cost factors by service line before your notice arrives tells you whether that split earns its overhead.The Baseline Lockbox: Five things to save before migration dayYour reporting history and your bidding controls disappear together, so the only way to diagnose a post-migration performance change is to build your own baseline first. Most migration advice stops at exporting your spend reports, which is the right first step and nowhere near enough. Capture all five of these while you still have access to your Google LSA dashboard.Historical spend and lead volume. Export enough months to support a year-over-year comparison. Google flags this step directly, so treat it as your floor rather than your plan.Cost per lead by service category. This becomes your only record of what each service line actually paid before a single target CPA replaced your per-vertical targets, and it matters most when multiple trades share one campaign.Current bidding settings. Screenshot your manual bid ceilings and every vertical-level target CPA, since Google replaces them with one calculated number.Lead quality and downstream conversion benchmarks. Capture your qualified-lead rate, booked rate, or close rate by service, so you can tell cheaper leads apart from worse leads once cost per lead shifts.Full campaign setup and assets. Record service areas, service categories, ad schedule, lead-routing phone number, business photos, and your existing callouts, including the BBB callouts you will need to replace.What to do during your 14-day migration windowGoogle handles the technical transfer, so your work in the two weeks beforehand comes down to preserving what the transfer leaves behind and verifying what it moved.When the 14-day notice arrivesExport your historical reporting and capture the Baseline Lockbox. Confirm who holds access to the destination Google Ads account and that they receive the migration emails. Identify any vertical-level bidding setup that needs restructuring.At the seven-day reminderVerify your saved reports open and read correctly. Hold off on major Google Business Profile edits, since a name, address, or category change can trigger a verification review that pauses your campaign. Confirm your CRM still captures leads correctly.On migration dayWork through your settings against what you saved:Daily budget matches your previous weekly budget divided by sevenService areas and service categories carried overAd schedule carried overBusiness photos carried overLead-routing phone number is correctMessage leads send and receivePast customer leads and message history appear on the Leads pageReplacement structured callouts are activeGoogle Verified badge shows on your profileDuring the first two weeksCompare performance against your saved baseline rather than against an empty dashboard. Google says campaigns need up to two weeks to ramp back to stable levels, so two or three days of volatility tells you nothing. Escalate when a cost-per-lead change persists past that window, or when one service line drops while the others hold.This story was produced by WebFX and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.
	Which football cities score highest for renters? Which football cities score highest for renters?What makes a great football city depends more on just the final score. So much can set the mood: crowd noise, tailgating scene, traditions, and weather conditions that only hometown fans seem emotionally prepared to endure. It’s even more complicated for renters. After all, monthly rent, ticket prices and whether getting to the stadium requires a train ride, a parking pass, or the patience of a fourth-quarter quarterback clawing his way out of a losing streak all make a difference.Then there’s the fact that a team’s city and its actual stadium location do not always share a ZIP code. Often, they don’t even share a city limit. That opens up more possibilities for renters who want to live near the stadium, along a useful transit route, or just close enough to join the tailgate without hearing every post-touchdown cheer from their bedroom.With a little help from the official 2025 NFL standings, Apartments.com identified the five best football cities for renters, comparing the renter experience in each market including average one-bedroom rent, ticket costs, transportation, tailgating, stadium features, and nearby places to live. These figures collided to create the Renter Game-Day Scorecard.The Renter Game-Day Scorecard: The Football Cities With the Most Home WinsTo determine the five winning cities, Apartments.com started with data from the latest completed NFL regular season and used the following factors to determine which markets are best for renters:Home-game performance: There’s no place like home. Some teams take this literally. This figure represents the total 2025 regular-season wins at the team’s home stadium. Home winning percentage served as the tiebreaker for teams with the same number of wins.Average one-bedroom rent: The citywide average rent for a one-bedroom apartment, based on Apartments.com data pulled in Sept. 8, 2026. The national average rent was $1,664 per month at the time.Average get-in price: The least expensive season package tickets for the team’s 2026 games. This is not the average price paid for every ticket. Actual prices vary by matchup, seat, and purchase date. Pricing does not include taxes.Game-day access: How renters can reach the stadium, including nearby rail stations, bus routes, special event shuttles, and walkable locations. Lower prices mean that renters get more bang for their buck, which helped determine final rankings.Stadium and tailgating experience: The features, traditions, and pregame atmosphere that give each football city its game-day personality. Apartments.com Teams that claim a region rather than a specific city were not included for the Renter Game Day Scorecard. Sorry, Patriots fans.1. Denver Broncos: Denver, Colorado2025 home record: 8–12026 Season get-in price: $900Average one-bedroom rent: $1,628/monthThe Broncos delivered the strongest home record on this list, winning eight of their nine regular-season games in Denver. Renters also caught a small break with Denver’s average one-bedroom rent being $36 below the national average.Empower Field at Mile High takes its name very literally. The stadium sits exactly 5,280 feet above sea level and holds 76,125 fans. Its undulating upper deck was designed to reflect the Rocky Mountains, giving the stadium some local personality even before the crowd arrives.The tailgating scene is similarly established. Most stadium lots open four and a half hours before kickoff, while Lot C opens six hours early for the especially committed. Renters who would rather skip parking can use the E or W light-rail lines to reach Empower Field at Mile High Station or Decatur-Federal Station.Where renters can live near Empower FieldJefferson Park: $1,934/month. Directly north of the stadium, Jefferson Park offers one of the shortest trips to a Broncos game. Its elevated namesake park also provides views of Downtown Denver, although renters pay more for the location.West Colfax: $1,640/month. West Colfax sits west of the stadium along its namesake commercial corridor. Access to the W Line and Decatur-Federal Station makes it especially practical for renters who want a rail connection to both football games and Downtown Denver.Highlands: $1,535/month. Located north of Empower Field, the Highlands combines older residential streets with clusters of restaurants, shops, and bars.Sloan Lake: $1,756/month. Sloan Lake gives renters access to one of Denver’s largest urban parks while remaining relatively close to the stadium. It costs more than the citywide average, but the lake, trails, and mountain views offer something football cannot provide during the offseason.Villa Park: $1,134/month. Villa Park has the lowest average rent among the Denver neighborhoods on this list. It sits southwest of the stadium near several W Line stations, including Perry and Knox, giving renters a transit option without the prices found immediately around Empower Field.The play: Denver combines the best home record with rent just below the national average, direct stadium rail service, and a well-established tailgating tradition.2. Los Angeles Rams: Inglewood, California2025 home record: 7–12026 Season get-in price: $800Average Los Angeles one-bedroom rent: $2,200/monthThe Rams won seven of eight regular-season home games, giving them the second-highest home winning percentage on this list. Additionally, they have the second-lowest season ticket price of the five teams.The Los Angeles rental market presents the opposite story. At $2,200 per month, Los Angeles had the highest citywide one-bedroom rent among the five markets. However, SoFi Stadium is in Inglewood, where renters can explore several nearby communities with averages below the broader Los Angeles figure.SoFi Stadium’s “cool factor” is difficult to miss. It has a screen suspended from the roof over the field (covering over 70,000 square feet) that weighs over two million pounds. It is essentially the world’s most dramatic reminder that, yes, a receiver’s foot was in bounds. Additionally, this stadium has hosted world-stopping events. Literally: Super Bowl LVI, Super Bowl LXI, WrestleMania 39, and eight matches of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. And because the flexing doesn’t stop, it’s set to host the opening ceremony for the 2028 Summer Olympics.Tailgating is more structured here than in Denver. It is restricted to a limited number of spaces in SoFi’s Pink Zone, which opens five hours before kickoff. Additionally, there are heavy restrictions on what you can bring to the cookout.Fans without a Pink Zone pass can instead explore the surrounding Hollywood Park development or take the free SoFi Stadium Express from the LAX/Metro Transit Center, which connects with the C and K rail lines.Where renters can live near SoFi StadiumInglewood: $1,809/month. Living in Inglewood places renters in the stadium’s actual home city rather than the city printed on the Rams’ jerseys. In addition to SoFi, the Hollywood Park area in Inglewood contains entertainment venues, public spaces, restaurants, and retail.Hawthorne: $1,622/month. South of Inglewood, Hawthorne had an average one-bedroom rent slightly below the national average. The Hawthorne/Lennox Station on the C Line provides a connection to the LAX transit center and the game-day stadium shuttle.Westchester: $2,377/month. Westchester sits west of Inglewood near Los Angeles International Airport and the LAX/Metro Transit Center. It offers useful access to the K Line and SoFi shuttle, although it is the most expensive nearby option.Lennox: $1,484/month. Immediately south of Inglewood, Lennox had the lowest average one-bedroom rent among the communities surrounding SoFi. It is also close to the Hawthorne/Lennox C Line station.El Segundo: $2,234/month. El Segundo trades immediate stadium proximity for coastal access, a traditional downtown district, and proximity to major employers near LAX. Rent is slightly higher than the Los Angeles average, but the C and K lines help connect the area to the SoFi Stadium Express.The play: Los Angeles-area renters face the highest citywide rent on the list, but the Rams balance that disadvantage with a dominant home record and the flashiest stadium experience of the five.3. Buffalo Bills: Orchard Park, New York2025 home record: 7–22026 Season get-in price: $1,065Average Buffalo one-bedroom rent: $1,245/monthBuffalo offers an extreme version of the home-field tradeoff. The average one-bedroom apartment rented for $1,245 per month, about 25% below the national average. On the other hand, the cost of attending a Bills game might be a hefty security deposit in itself.The team earned its 7–2 record at the former Highmark Stadium. Beginning with the 2026 season, the Bills are moving into an entirely new Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park. The $2.1 billion venue has a capacity of 60,108, wider concourses, and updated technology. Its first regular-season game is scheduled for September 17, 2026.Then there is the tailgating. “Bills Mafia” tailgates are events of their own. The new stadium’s official lots open four hours before kickoff, while the RV lot permits entry the day before a home game starting as early as 8:00 a.m. NFTA’s Game Day Express provides special service from several locations around the Buffalo area to the stadium.Where renters can live near Highmark StadiumOrchard Park: $1,286/month. Orchard Park is nonnegotiable for renters who want to live in the same community as the stadium. It has a more suburban layout than Buffalo itself, so proximity does not mean every apartment will offer a practical walk to the gates.West Seneca: $1,153/month. Located north of Orchard Park, West Seneca offers quick driving access to the stadium area through major routes such as U.S. 219. Its average one-bedroom rent was also below both the Buffalo and national averages.Hamburg: $1,288/month. Hamburg borders Orchard Park to the west and south, making it another close suburban option. Renters can choose between areas near major commercial corridors and the smaller-scale shops and restaurants around the Village of Hamburg.Downtown Buffalo: $1,477/month. Downtown places renters farther from the stadium but closer to the waterfront, offices, entertainment venues, and Metro Rail. On game days, the NFTA Game Day Express serves the Metropolitan Transportation Center downtown.Tonawanda: $1,133/month. Tonawanda had the lowest average one-bedroom rent among the Buffalo-area options. It is farther north and requires a longer stadium trip, but renters gain access to the Erie Canal waterfront and can still connect with Game Day Express service elsewhere in the metro.The play: Buffalo renters benefit from one of the lowest citywide rents in this lineup and perhaps its most famous tailgating culture. The tradeoff is a high ticket price and a suburban stadium location.4. Houston Texans: Houston, Texas2025 home record: 7–22026 Season get-in price: $540Average one-bedroom rent: $1,180/monthHouston had the lowest citywide one-bedroom rent among the five football markets, coming in approximately 29% below the national average. Texans' season tickets also carried the lowest get-in price, making Houston a great football city for renters who would like some money left after paying both rent and stadium concessions.The stadium completed a comeback of its own in August 2026, when NRG Stadium officially returned to its original name, Reliant Stadium. The venue contains a retractable roof, 125,000 square feet, and seating configurations ranging from roughly 72,000 to 80,000.Texans parking lots generally open four hours before kickoff, with the Platinum Lot opening five hours early. Fans entering Reliant Park need a game ticket or a tailgate ticket.Houston also offers one of the most useful stadium transit connections on the list. The METRORail Red Line stops at Reliant Park. It connects the stadium with the Texas Medical Center, Museum District, Midtown, and Downtown Houston.Where renters can live near Reliant StadiumMidtown Houston: $1,583/month. Midtown offers restaurants, bars, and a central location between Downtown and the Museum District. Red Line stations throughout the neighborhood provide a direct rail trip to Reliant Park.The Museum District: $1,294/month. The Museum District gives renters access to Hermann Park, cultural institutions, and multiple Red Line stations.Medical Center: $1,695/month. The Medical Center sits just north of Reliant Park and offers one of the shortest rail trips to the stadium. Its concentration of hospitals, research facilities, and apartment communities makes it practical for renters working in the district. The trade-off is higher rent prices.Downtown Houston: $1,999/month. Downtown has the highest rent among these Houston neighborhoods, but it provides a direct Red Line connection to football games. Renters also gain access to office towers, theaters, restaurants, and Houston’s broader light-rail network.Central Southwest: $1,278/month. Central Southwest spreads south and southwest of Reliant Stadium and provides a more residential alternative to the neighborhoods along the central rail corridor. Some renters can access the Red Line through Fannin South Station, but others will find driving more practical.The play: Houston pairs the lowest citywide rent in the group with below-average get-in prices. Add a retractable roof, direct transit lines, and a large-scale Texas tailgate scene, and the city makes a persuasive case for renters who want football without the highest housing or season ticket costs.5. Jacksonville Jaguars: Jacksonville, Florida2025 home record: 7–22026 Season get-in price: $1,150Average one-bedroom rent: $1,312/monthThe Jacksonville Jaguars quietly assembled a 7–2 home record last year. This year is a year of transitions for the team as they prepare for a different playing field, stadium-wise.EverBank Stadium has long been known for its enormous end-zone video boards and poolside seating, but its current “cool factor” is the transformation happening around it. Construction on the Jaguars’ “Stadium of the Future” began in 2025 and is scheduled for completion in August 2028. Plans include a transparent protective shell, wider concourses, new communal spaces, river and skyline overlooks, and flexible seating for more than 63,000 guests.Construction means the stadium is operating at reduced capacity during the 2026 season, with the upper decks, North End Zone Deck, and Sky Patio closed. The Jaguars will play the entire 2027 season away at Orlando’s Camping World Stadium due to construction. Renters attending games should check entry and parking information before leaving home.Official lots open four hours before kickoff. The JTA Gameday Xpress provides service from two downtown locations and additional suburban lots directly to the stadium.Where renters can live near EverBank StadiumDowntown Jacksonville: $1,514/month. Downtown places renters close to the stadium, the St. Johns River, offices, and major cultural venues. JTA operates Gameday Xpress service from the Florida State College at Jacksonville Downtown Campus.Southbank: $1,510/month. Southbank sits across the river from Downtown and offers access to the Southbank Riverwalk and Jacksonville Skyway. The Kings Avenue parking garage also serves as a Gameday Xpress location with continuous service during Jaguars games.San Marco: $1,548/month. Just south of Southbank, San Marco is centered around a compact commercial district filled with restaurants, shops, and historic architecture. Renters can reach the Kings Avenue Gameday Xpress location without traveling into the outer suburbs.East Jacksonville: $853/month. East Jacksonville is the neighborhood that actually contains EverBank Stadium. Its average one-bedroom rent was the lowest of every neighborhood in this article, though renters should expect a smaller rental selection.The play: Jacksonville combines comparatively low rent with the lowest average get-in price in the group. Stadium construction creates short-term complications and higher season ticket prices. But renters near Downtown, Southbank, and East Jacksonville can remain close to the action as the venue enters its next era.This story was produced by Apartments.com and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.
	'Our Big Fat Greek Festival' returns to St. George Greek Orthodox Church, Rock Island St. George Greek Orthodox Church, Rock Island, welcomes the community back to "Our Big Fat Greek Festival" from 4-10 p.m. Friday, Sept. 18, and 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 19, a news release says. Admission is $2 for adults and children; free for those 12 and younger. Greek cuisine, spirits, culture, music, dance, and other [...]
	Quad-Cities invited to ‘Light the Town Green’ and walk I-74 bridge for mentoring The centerpiece of the Big Brothers Big Sisters Month celebration will be the I-74 bridge itself, which will be lit green for the occasion.
	Mice with human brain cells offer a tool to study disease. Ethicists ask: What's next? Neuroscientists have made a major advance in modeling the human brain in mice, offering a new way to study conditions like cerebral palsy. Ethicists ask if it changes how these mice should be treated.
	Mayor: Public outcry played a large role in the decision to shut down Flock in Moline Moline shuts down its network of Flock license plate reader cameras after public pushback over privacy concerns. Mayor Sangeetha Rayapati explains the decision and what the city plans to do next.
	The rise of agent-to-agent commerce: When AI starts shopping for AI The rise of agent-to-agent commerce: When AI starts shopping for AIOnline stores have spent years serving people who browse and buy, but some of the requests arriving at those stores now come from AI agents acting on behalf of human customers.In 2025, Columbia Business School researchers built a simulated marketplace to study what happens when AI agents do the buying, letting the agents choose among products without a person making the final selection. Consulting firm Deloitte has laid out how far this could go, ending with agent-to-agent commerce, where the shopper’s AI talks directly to the store’s AI without requiring the shopper to open a webpage at all.Reaching that point will take time, but Shopware has already noticed a divide among merchants, between stores that have prepared their systems for AI agents and stores that have not. Even so, a person still sits behind the purchase, and the number of steps left to that person keeps shrinking as software handles more of the transaction.From AI-assisted shopping to autonomous commerceIt all starts with a simple change in who finishes the purchase. Software that suggests a product and software that buys one can look alike from the outside, but only one of them has permission to spend.The first generation of AI shoppingShopping tools have been useful for years without ever touching a checkout button. Early on, search filters helped shoppers narrow large catalogs by price or product features.Over time, retailers added tools that used browsing or purchase history to recommend products, leaving shoppers with fewer choices to sort through. And more recently, chat assistants began answering product questions before checkout.Bain describes this progression as shopping AI moving from gathering information to acting more like a copilot, with generative AI changing how people find and compare products. But even then, the shopper still made the final decision and completed the purchase.When software starts actingThe difference now is what the software is allowed to do once it receives instructions. Paul Krauss, Partner AI at Team One, points to tool use as the dividing line, describing it as a model's ability to control outside systems through structured commands. "A model that only generates text does not buy anything," Krauss said.With that ability, agentic commerce extends from researching options to placing orders on behalf of the person who sent the request. And once an agent sends that order, the store still has to be ready to receive it.What agent-to-agent commerce actually looks likeAgent-to-agent commerce starts with a purchase request that has to make sense to software on both sides. For example, a shopper looking for a laptop under $1,500 might add two requirements, giving the buyer's agent a clear set of conditions to carry into the transaction.The consumer's agentWith those conditions set, the agent needs reliable product information from the seller. MIT's Initiative on the Digital Economy notes that agents need access to a retailer's shopping system before they can make a selection and move toward payment.The merchant's systemsOn the seller side, that request has to be answered with current information about what is available and whether the purchase can proceed. PwC calls that requirement being transactable, with checkout and fulfillment paths that an agent completes on its own.The "conversation" between machinesLittle of that exchange resembles two chatbots trading messages, since both sides pass structured data through software connections.Google says its Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP) provides agents a single way to work with commerce systems, reducing the separate connections a store would otherwise need for every agent reaching out. And with that connection established, the shopper submits one request while the systems exchange the information needed to move the purchase forward.Why agent-to-agent commerce could change the rules of e-commerceHuman shoppers are emotional buyers influenced by design and branding, while an AI agent is more likely to judge whether a product meets the requirements it was given.Search rankings could give way to agent recommendationsWith the agent working from specific requirements, Deloitte describes automated buyers evaluating suppliers on factors such as cost and availability. And a product that satisfies those requirements remains competitive without depending as heavily on where it appears on a page.The product page plays a smaller roleProduct pages also play a smaller role in the purchase when an agent gets the information it needs directly from retailer data. Google has already added Merchant Center fields that give AI systems details beyond traditional keywords, including answers to product questions and compatible accessories.Retailers, therefore, have more reason to make product details available outside the page itself, since the agent does not need the same visual path a shopper would follow.Commerce could become more intent-drivenAll of it traces back to the request someone gives at the start, which sets the limits within which the AI agent works. But the seller still needs proof that the agent is allowed to make a purchase under those limits.The biggest challenge is trusting AI to spend moneyTrust is by far the biggest hurdle facing autonomous shopping, especially when it comes to giving a computer program the green light to spend real money. Finding a product requires accuracy, but completing the purchase requires proof that the agent has the authority to use the shopper's money.How much autonomy is too much?Deloitte uses “workflow autonomy” to describe how much of a purchase software handles end-to-end. And as an agent handles more of the purchase, its permission has to be clear.Who is responsible when an AI makes a mistakeHowever, giving the agent more authority also removes some of the human checks that might catch a wrong order before it goes through.Bob Hedges, a fellow at MIT's Initiative on the Digital Economy and former Visa chief data officer, says formal rules already specify who carries liability in a fraud case. And how those rules apply to AI agents remains under negotiation.The importance of identity and paymentStill, any dispute over an AI purchase is easier to sort out when there is a clear record of what the shopper actually authorized. Google's Agent Payments Protocol records a shopper's instructions as signed mandates, giving merchants something to check before payment.What merchants will need to prepare forAI shopping agents are starting to send purchase requests directly to retailers, leaving merchant systems to supply the information needed to complete an order.Clean, structured product dataPwC says agent-ready commerce depends on clean data and processes that agents can reliably act on. And that data only works if the product details are complete, since a missing size or compatibility detail can stop the software from confirming that a product actually fits the request.Open and interoperable commerce systemsEven accurate product data only helps if an outside agent has a workable way to send the order. Team One’s Krauss notes that without shared standards, every connection becomes an individual project that does not scale. Retailers then face the burden of building a separate connection for every agent that wants to place an order.Business rules become more importantOpening merchant systems to outside agents also requires store policies that software can apply. PwC includes policy rules among the areas businesses should update for agentic commerce, including rules around discount eligibility and returns. And existing merchant policies will have to be clear enough for software to apply without guessing.The future of shopping may be less about "clicking" and more about "delegating"Given that technology now lets shoppers hand more of the purchase process over to software, delegation is starting to change how much of an online store a person needs to use directly.Becca Coggins, a McKinsey senior partner leading the firm's global retail practice, calls agentic commerce a fundamental reconfiguration of the customer journey, with a shopper's digital proxy navigating the marketplace on their behalf. And handing more of that navigation to the AI agent reduces how many product pages and checkout screens a shopper has to handle.But even with fewer screens involved, traditional storefronts still serve people who want to browse, while agent-led purchases give others a way to finish an order without the same trip through the store.The new competitive questionRetailers now have to keep a browsable store running while their systems answer purchase requests from agents. But an agent-led purchase only works if the order can move from start to finish without sending the shopper back to correct a problem the software was supposed to handle.Conclusion: The next customer may not be humanPerhaps the most surprising change is that some customer interactions now happen through an AI agent rather than directly with a person.Commerce platforms are the place where transactions happen, and customer relationships form, and AI agents are beginning to operate there, too.Agents taking part in those transactions make software the retailer's direct point of contact, even though a person still authorizes the purchase. Even so, the customer relationship still belongs to the person who authorized it. And given where that relationship sits, merchants now have to recognize that serving the customer also requires responding to the software acting on their behalf.This story was produced by Shopware and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.
	Survey: Gen Z most receptive to political yard signs Survey: Gen Z most receptive to political yard signsAccording to AdImpact, the 2026 election spending will reach a record high of $11.6 billion. The money shows that political advertisers are chasing the long-running assumption that younger voters live online, while older voters are looking through the mailbox.A new survey, however, shows Gen Z’s attention is elsewhere during campaign season. UPrinting’s 2026 study identifies physical materials as carrying the most influence in statewide races for the online generation. Over two in 10 (22%) of Gen Z found repeated signs, mailers, or bumper stickers made them more favorable toward a candidate. To put it in perspective, 43% of Baby Boomers said that the marketing materials had no effect on them, nearly twice the rate of Gen Z. UPrinting This is a giant shift in perspective in where the political industry assumes its audience is.MethodologyUprinting, an online printing site for marketing materials, commissioned a survey of 1,000 U.S. adults via Pollfish in August 2026. Respondents answered questions about yard signs, mailers, and other campaign marketing materials and how they influenced them. Uprinting also notes that results were unweighted and women make up 61% of respondents, and the sample skews younger than the U.S. adult population.The state-level comparisons were gathered by grouping each state’s presidential results across the 2008 through 2024 elections. The respondents were never asked about their political affiliations or how they voted.The Generational Standard Has FlippedTypically, older generations can be counted on to support printed marketing materials. This survey says otherwise.Uprinting asked its respondents what happens when one candidate’s signs take over a neighborhood. 21% of Gen Z said it signals real momentum and they would start paying closer attention.That share falls as the age increases: 15% of Millennials, 12% of Gen X, and 5% of Baby Boomers said the same.The same pattern shows when asked what carries the most influence in a campaign. 23% of Gen Z said physical materials do, versus 15% of Millennials and 8% of Gen X. Baby Boomers did not pick that option at all.So Gen Z is paying attention. Does this mean they will participate in the yard signs declarations?Gen Z Likes Yard Signs, Hates Talking About PoliticsAlthough they are the most receptive to this type of campaign material, Gen Z is the least likely to express their political views where they live. Only 9% of the younger generation said they would be completely comfortable, versus 29% of Gen X and 28% of Baby Boomers (Millennials weren’t reported). UPrinting The reasons for Gen Z’s fears are as follows:27% feared vandalism or property damage21% feared a direct conflict with neighbors15% feared consequences at work or in their social lifeThese are not made-up fears. In Gouldsboro, Maine, the Ellsworth American reported political signs were stolen and vandalized by unknown individuals on a private property along Route 1.The fear is real, and where the pressure is the strongest makes all the difference.The Silence Is Loudest in Swing States UPrinting In swing states (states that flipped between political parties across 2008-2024 presidential results), more than two in 10 (22%) of residents said that opposing candidates dominating their neighborhoods made them more likely to keep quiet about their own political views. In reliably red states, that number is 16%, while in reliably blue states, that number is 14%.This feeling follows them to the voting booth. Only 17% in swing states said seeing the opponent’s signs takeover made them more determined to vote, with 23% in red states and 20% in blue states.Only 18% of respondents say they display their political views openly, even around opposing views. In swing states where the elections get decided, people are feeling unsafe to say and vote what they think.Yard signs were supposed to be a way for people to express their opinions. Yet this survey says the opposite, suggesting they have partly become the reason people stay silent, especially in states where votes matter most.This story was produced by UPrinting and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.
	Quad Cities International Airport awarded $210K in infrastructure funding Airports throughout Illinois, including in the Quad Cities, have been awarded thousands of dollars for infrastructure improvements. U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) made the announcement that a total of $66,345,494 in federal funding for infrastructure improvements has been awarded to various airports across the state. The funding comes [...]
	5 great places to visit for fall leaf-peeping, festivals, and more 5 great places to visit for fall leaf-peeping, festivals, and moreAs nature puts on its big leaf-peeping show across the Northern Hemisphere this fall, a change of scenery just might make the crisp autumnal air feel a little more energizing. Fall is the perfect season to trade your usual routine for something a little more scenic—from going leaf-peeping and lapping up fall flavors in Vermont’s Green Mountains to watching hot-air balloons soar over New Mexico and chasing crimson foliage in Kyoto. Wondering where to travel in the fall? If you’re looking for fall vacation ideas, the experts at EF Go Ahead Tours have picked five of the best fall travel destinations that offer epic autumn travel experiences. Stephen Mccormack // Shutterstock 1. New England: Best for foliage and classic fall flavorsCovered bridges surrounded by foliage. Cool, crisp mornings. Maple everything. There’s a reason why New England is one of the best places to visit in the fall—it’s basically the blueprint for autumn vibes. In Vermont, tour the famed von Trapp Family Lodge (and use your free time to taste one of the state’s autumnal specialties: apple cider doughnuts). Then, drive along the legendary Kancamagus Highway in New Hampshire, where mountainsides explode in red, orange, and gold. This is fall foliage travel at its most breathtaking.The cool, dry weather during fall in New England is ideal for exploring: Layer up for coastal walks in Maine or a stroll along Boston’s Freedom Trail without breaking a sweat. Along the way, dig into seasonal favorites like creamy clam chowder and lobster rolls. (Locals usually opt for a cold lobster roll with mayo, but there’s no judging if you opt for a toasty roll of herbed lobster drenched in warm butter once the temps drop.) When you travel to New England in the fall, you’ll also want to stop in Salem, Massachusetts—site of the Salem witch trials—where Halloween reigns supreme.To kick up your New England experience to a whole other level, stay at the von Trapp Family Lodge in Stowe, Vermont, which is owned and operated by the family that inspired “The Sound of Music.” KnateMyers // Shutterstock 2. U.S. national parks: Best for scenic views and a hot-air balloon festival in New MexicoIf you’re into epic views, crisp air, and fewer crowds, fall is the ultimate time to visit the U.S. national parks. Think: golden aspens in Zion, cool hikes among Bryce Canyon’s hoodoos, and perfect photo ops without the summer stampede. Visiting The Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta and U.S. national parks hits some of the Southwest’s most jaw-dropping sights and kicks things off with one of the most surreal views in the country: hundreds of colorful hot-air balloons rising over New Mexico’s desert at sunrise.The Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta in early October is pure magic—colorful, quirky, and totally unforgettable. Among the many amazing things to know about the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta: It’s the only balloon festival in the world where spectators can walk in between the balloons. Add other experiences—like exploring sandstone canyons and taking a helicopter ride over the Grand Canyon—and you’ve got one of the best fall vacations around. If you’re looking for unique fall getaways or are planning where to go for a little shoulder season travel adventure, this one should be at the top of your list. ItzaVU // Shutterstock 3. Kyoto, Japan: Best for temples surrounded by glowing red and gold leavesEveryone talks about cherry blossom season in Japan, but locals know that fall foliage travel might be even better. In Kyoto, autumn is all about momijigari, the centuries-old tradition of “chasing red leaves.” Come late October into November, the city transforms into a living canvas of fiery maples and golden gingkos, especially around spots like the Temple of the Golden Pavilion and Nijo Castle.Travelers who travel to Kyoto can experience this seasonal ritual like pros—camera in one hand and a warm sweet potato snack in the other. Cooler temps, lighter crowds, and postcard-worthy views around every corner make Kyoto one of the best fall travel destinations for those in the know. For cultural depth, color-drenched scenery, and truly iconic autumn travel, this is one of the most rewarding fall vacation ideas. Sina Ettmer Photography // Shutterstock 4. Bavaria, Germany: Best for Oktoberfest celebrations and castle-dotted forestsIf you’re craving fall travel destinations that feel like diving headfirst into a fairy tale, Bavaria’s fall colors and legendary castles are pure magic. Picture this: You’re wandering through forests ablaze with pumpkin-orange hues, and the towering silhouette of Neuschwanstein Castle pops into view. That’s the kind of fall foliage travel that’ll make you want to pinch yourself on this trip.Now, about Oktoberfest. Sure, the festival itself is a bucket list event, but don’t sweat it if you’re not snagging a ticket. Munich, Bavaria’s vibrant heart, practically hums with Oktoberfest vibes all September long (making it one of the best fall vacations). Pull up a bench at a bustling local beer garden, order a frothy stein, and dig into pretzels the size of your head alongside cheerful locals who’ve perfected the art of a lively celebration. Between hearty Bavarian dishes, crisp autumn breezes, and streets alive with music and laughter, you get all the festive feels without the crush of crowds. Sergey Novikov // Shutterstock 5. Greece: Best for warm fall weather with smaller shoulder season crowdsAn autumn tour of this dreamy destination is less about leaf-peeping and more about avoiding the crowds for a Mediterranean experience that comes with extra elbow room. Fall in Greece hits its stride in September and October—or shoulder season, when the weather is still sunny and warm but the summer crowds have thinned. That balance makes Greece one of the best places to travel in the fall, especially if you’re craving a mix of culture, coastline, and cuisine. Dive into ancient history in Athens, explore the maze-like alleys of Mykonos Town, and relax on the black sand beaches of Santorini. If you still want leaf-peeping, why not give grape leaves a try? Going to Greece in the fall also means experiencing grape harvest season on the Cyclades Islands. During this time, local vineyards buzz with activity, and you can tour wineries, sip just-pressed wines, and learn how volcanic soil gives Santorini’s white wines their crisp, mineral edge. If you’re craving sun, fresh food, and a little wine with your ruins—all without the chaos of summer crowds—Greece is a fall travel destination that delivers.Give fall travel a try for a different take on scenery and local cultureBetween busy summer schedules, back-to-school prep, and the onset of the holiday shopping season, fall travel is often overlooked. But for those in the know, this shoulder season period, full of vibrant colors, is a go-to for lighter crowds in iconic European destinations, a taste of Americana that comes with fresh cider doughnuts, and bucket-list moments in Asia. So, if your preference is lounging on a beach with a little more room to spread out, taking in fall colors and flavors in the mountains of New England, or feasting your eyes on Kyoto’s fiery foliage, give autumn a chance next time you book a getaway. You’ll be happy you did.This story was produced by EF Go Ahead Tours and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.
	The sucker’s dilemma: The psychology of getting conned The sucker’s dilemma: The psychology of getting connedWhich would make you feel worse — losing $100 to a pickpocket on a busy street or donating $100 to charity, only to find out it was a scam? For many people, it’s the latter. Being cheated by someone you decided to trust is distinctly infuriating.Getting suckered triggers strong emotions — and not only fury. Researchers studying cybercrimes have documented an array of effects on the mental and physical health of victims of scams. But while it clearly pays to be skeptical, especially as online scams proliferate and grow increasingly sophisticated, research also suggests there’s a price to pay for being too wary. When the fear of getting suckered looms too large, it changes people’s decision-making and behavior in potentially harmful ways, with underappreciated implications for the law, public policy and society as a whole.“It’s a very basic dilemma that people continuously confront,” says Carsten De Dreu, a behavioral scientist at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands. When you extend trust to someone and they reciprocate, you both stand to gain, De Dreu tells Knowable Magazine for this article. But when people are overly afraid of being suckered, “they may not come forward, they may not start to cooperate, and hence this whole positive cycle of reciprocation and mutual benefit cannot evolve.”The sucker in the mirrorFeeling suckered doesn’t just result from losing money on scams. Everyday experiences can evoke the same emotions. You might feel it on your daily commute after tapping the brakes to let some jerk cut in front of you, or after you do the hardest part of a work project, and your slacker colleagues get an equal share of the credit.There’s a reason for that extra bit of irritation. “The difference between being duped and other forms of exploitation is that, when people feel duped, they see an element of themselves in what occurred,” says Kathleen Vohs, a social psychologist at the University of Minnesota. “They view their own behaviors as being somewhat complicit in what happened to them.”Even in the relatively low-stakes context of a psychology experiment, getting suckered really sets people off. For many decades, social psychologists and behavioral economists have been investigating the mechanics of human cooperation with games of trust. In a typical setup, people have a choice between cooperating with a group of other participants to share a monetary payoff equally, or defecting. Defectors receive more money for themselves, but reduce the payout for the group — effectively making suckers out of them. In one early study from 1977, the researchers were taken aback by how strongly some subjects reacted. It was not unusual “for people to wish to leave the experimental building by the back door,” or to claim that “they did not wish to see the ‘sons of bitches’ who double-crossed them,” they wrote.Such studies also suggest that the prospect of getting suckered reduces people’s willingness to cooperate. In one of the first studies to probe this “sucker effect,” researchers asked participants to rapidly squeeze two rubber balls, like the ones used to inflate blood pressure cuffs, rigged up to a mysterious box labeled FLOWMETER. Participants were told they could earn money based on how much air they and an unseen partner pumped in a 30-second period. Subjects who’d been led to believe their partner was less able to perform this task pumped vigorously, apparently willing to compensate. But those who believed they had a capable but lazy partner slacked off themselves, thereby giving up a financial gain to avoid feeling suckered.In a 2007 paper, Vohs and two colleagues coined a term to describe this anticipatory fear of getting suckered: sugrophobia (from the Latin sugro, to suck). It’s a good thing to have, at least in proper measure. “Sugrophobia is adaptive for sure,” says Vohs. “Though, like most psychological traits, it’s adaptive in some doses — not too much and not too little.”Too much sugrophobia can interfere with people’s ability to make rational financial decisions, for example. In one study, researchers looked at whether people were willing to invest money in a hypothetical company. Participants invested less money in a company when told the only risk was a small chance of loss due to fraud, than in another company with an identical risk of loss, but in this case due to market forces.A 2017 study found evidence of similar dynamics in the real world in the wake of the Bernie Madoff scandal. In the 1990s and early 2000s, investment advisor Madoff bilked wealthy clients out of billions of dollars in the largest Ponzi scheme in history. Using court documents and federal filings by financial institutions, the researchers found that people living in areas with a high concentration of Madoff’s clients (where, the researchers reasoned, more people would be aware of the fraud and perhaps have a connection to victims) withdrew more money than people with similar economic circumstances in other areas. The people in Madoff’s area pulled a whopping $363 billion from accounts with investment advisors after the scam became public in 2008, moving a significant chunk of that money to the relative safety of banks. In doing so, many likely missed out on big returns as the stock market bounced back from the 2008 housing crisis.Effects on healthMore recently, researchers working directly with scam victims have begun to piece together a picture of the varied health impacts — physical, emotional and psychological — of being suckered. U.S. consumers lost nearly $200 billion to fraud in 2024, the Federal Trade Commission estimates. Many scams now begin online, and scammers are getting increasingly sophisticated at targeting particular groups, says Marti DeLiema, a gerontologist who studies financial fraud at the University of Minnesota.Scammers offering bogus employment opportunities target younger job-seeking people on LinkedIn, for example, while those offering tech support or help investing in cryptocurrencies tend to target tech-challenged older adults. “It’s easy to be specialized now, thanks to generative AI,” DeLiema says.People’s reaction to falling prey to a scam varies widely, says Mark Button, a criminologist specializing in cybercrime and economic crime at the University of Portsmouth in the United Kingdom. Feelings of worry and stress are commonplace, Button and colleagues found in a recent survey of more than 300 UK scam victims. In more extreme cases, victims experienced loss of sleep, digestive issues and other physical ailments. Some scam victims withdraw socially, as work by Button’s group has shown. That can lead to a vicious cycle, he says: “If you’re kind of on your own, you’re more likely to become a victim.”This psychological impact on victims generally tracks with how much of their wealth they’ve lost, research by Button and others suggests, but that’s not the only factor influencing the extent of the effects. The emotional pain can be especially acute for those who fall prey to romance scams or elaborate investment scams in which the scammer works to establish a rapport and develop the victim’s trust over months or even years.“You lose the thing that you’ve been looking forward to and fantasizing about for months,” DeLiema says. In addition, the financial loss can be especially devastating for older people who have less time and opportunity to rebuild their savings. “That’s going to dictate how they live the rest of their lives,” she says.Shame also comes into play, and that means many fraud crimes are never reported, says Tess Wilkinson-Ryan, a law professor who studies the psychology of legal decision-making at the University of Pennsylvania. “People feel so bad about the interaction, they basically feel ashamed about it and therefore won’t talk about it or report it,” she says. “It’s stigmatized, because not only did something bad happen to you, but you let it happen. There’s a sort of a weakness associated with it.”Placing the blameSucker psychology has implications for contract negotiations, divorce settlements and other areas of law where one party sees the other as trying to take unfair advantage of them, Wilkinson-Ryan argues in the 2025 Annual Review of Law and Social Science. She and others study legal decision-making by recruiting people from the general public and asking them to evaluate realistic legal scenarios.Perhaps unsurprisingly, one common finding is a willingness to punish the offender. In one study, Wilkinson-Ryan and a colleague asked subjects to assess the fairness of proposals for dividing property after a divorce. They were instructed that whichever party was at fault in the breakup was irrelevant, as is typical under state laws. Even so, subjects rated proposals made by a cheating spouse as less reasonable than the same proposal coming from a non-cheating partner.At the same time, researchers have uncovered a tendency to blame the victim. In a 2014 study, Wilkinson-Ryan asked people to determine who was at fault in a hypothetical scenario in which someone had purchased a credit card with an agreement that had unfair terms buried in the fine print. Most people said the customer was to blame because they should have read the contract more thoroughly, despite many of them saying it was unreasonable to expect someone to find an unfair term buried in a long contract. The result, Wilkinson-Ryan says, is that consumers rarely challenge contracts with bad terms, even when those terms probably wouldn’t hold up in court.On a larger scale, sucker psychology can influence public policy — and not always for the better. For example, the purported goal of checking to ensure that welfare recipients do in fact meet income requirements is to prevent people from taking unfair advantage of social programs. Such fraud prevention is good policy, says Wilkinson-Ryan. But when the cheat-detection measures end up costing more than the cheating itself, she says, they go against the public good.The fear of being suckered can also be weaponized by politicians, Wilkinson-Ryan writes in her 2023 book, “Fool Proof.” Politicians have long used sucker rhetoric to stir emotions and sway public opinion. President Donald Trump has used it again and again to rile up his base, arguing that Americans are being taken advantage of by immigrants, wasteful government programs and an ever-shifting list of foreign countries. This rhetoric “gets at a very basic, fundamental human motivation not to fall behind, not to be suckered,” says De Dreu. “And that makes it very, very motivating to act.”It’s also very effective at overriding empathy and compassion that people might otherwise act on, Wilkinson-Ryan says. “I think you see this a lot in the immigration debates,” she says, where people who come to the U.S. seeking humanitarian asylum or better economic opportunities are recast as criminals coming to take American jobs. “It undermines impulses that I think we otherwise value in ourselves.”So how should people navigate the complex swirl of emotions around suckerdom in a world where scams seem to be in the air we breathe? It’s reasonable to be wary, says DeLiema, whose work now focuses on interventions that might prevent people from falling for scams. “There’s a scammer for everyone,” she says. “You think you’re immune from scams? You haven’t met the scam for you.”At the same time, Wilkinson-Ryan urges people to consider the cost of being too guarded. Healthy skepticism is absolutely sensible, she says. “It’s just a lesson that gets over-learned and transported into these areas where it eats up what would otherwise be totally reasonable, thoughtful social and moral commitments.”If people took the time to reflect, they might decide that the experience they’re missing out on is more important than the small chance they’re being taken advantage of, Wilkinson-Ryan says. “What kinds of important human experiences are we missing because people are afraid of being duped?”This story was produced by Knowable Magazine and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.
	'Light the Town Green' to support Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Mississippi Valley Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Mississippi Valley (BBBSMV) invites businesses, homes and community members in the Quads Cities to “Light the Town Green” on Saturday, September 26 and Sunday, September 27, to celebrate Big Brothers Big Sisters Month. Businesses and homeowners throughout the Quad Cities are asked to turn on green lights or display [...]
	Why the AI token economy is the next economic frontier Why the AI token economy is the next economic frontierWhen Stripe announced its planned acquisition of AI platform OpenRouter in August, CEO Patrick Collison called tokens the new "central currency" of AI. OpenRouter, which helps companies route AI queries across hundreds of models, was processing more than 10 trillion tokens per day when Stripe agreed to buy it, Reuters reported.The deal is the latest high-profile sign of an emerging "token economy," which essentially means tokens are moving from a technical measure of AI usage to a resource that companies increasingly need to manage, allocate and finance.In this article, Accels explores the rise of the AI token economy and what it means for the infrastructure companies that will need to manage AI consumption at scale.AI agents are turning tokens into a much bigger billTokens, for the uninitiated, are the chunks of text that AI models process and generate when completing a task. While many consumers still pay for AI through monthly subscriptions, most enterprise and API-based AI services are priced by the number of tokens consumed.The growing use of AI agents is dramatically increasing the number of tokens enterprises use. Agentic traffic grew 7,850% in 2025, according to cybersecurity firm Human Security.AI agents devour tokens more quickly than their chatbot counterparts simply because they can be given an objective and left to get on with it. Cisco found that an AI agent carrying out a research task generated 450% more network traffic than a person performing the same task manually. All of that is billable in tokens.Cheaper tokens do not mean cheaper AIThankfully for enterprises, the cost of tokens has been falling.The LLM Token Expenditure Index, a measure of daily token prices compiled by intelligence firm Silicon Data, fell to 97 cents per million tokens at the start of September, its lowest level since the index was launched late last year, CNBC reported. The index has more than halved from its peak earlier this summer. The decline is due to improving model efficiency and intensifying competition among AI model providers.However, while this is welcome news for enterprises — 93% of whom have reported AI cost overruns in the past year, according to McKinsey — a falling price per token does not necessarily mean a falling AI bill.First, AI is handling more complex tasks, offsetting lower token prices with higher consumption. That same McKinsey study found enterprise LLM spending tripled in 12 months, despite sharply lower inference costs, as companies expanded AI across more workflows. Goldman Sachs projects token consumption will increase 24-fold from current levels by 2030.Second, token use is difficult to predict, meaning businesses still often set budgets well below what they need. A 2026 study by researchers, including Stanford's Erik Brynjolfsson, tested eight frontier models on software engineering tasks and found that the models systematically underestimated their own token consumption. The same study found that runs of the same task consumed tokens differently, and by as much as 30 times.Together, these factors are still driving AI bills sharply higher. OpenAI recently said its heaviest users of AI coding agents were consuming more than $7,000 worth of tokens a day. Most businesses could not tolerate this level of usage, so AI infrastructure providers like Google Cloud have begun introducing spending caps that allow customers to automatically halt eligible API traffic when limits are reached.The next challenge is knowing where the tokens goYet, while controlling token consumption is an obvious first step, it is also a rather blunt instrument when used in isolation. For instance, a $50,000 monthly cap can stop a company from overspending, but it cannot tell a CEO whether the money is being spent wisely.That is still a blind spot for many companies: KPMG found last year that just 15% of business leaders had established formal metrics for measuring returns on AI investments. As token consumption grows, closing that gap will require more sophisticated infrastructure to track, manage and measure AI spending.If tokens are becoming a kind of commodity or raw input for AI, as some analysts argue, then the financial and operational infrastructure supporting them is still in its infancy. Take oil or gold, for example: Entire markets have grown around them, including futures, credit, pricing benchmarks, exchanges and risk-management tools. Tokens do not yet have anything close to that level of infrastructure.McKinsey describes the emerging discipline as "AI FinOps," which encompasses AI spend, usage, performance and business outcomes. Only 20% to 25% of companies in its May 2026 Enterprise AI FinOps survey had mature AI FinOps capabilities, indicating a disconnect between AI adoption and the infrastructure needed to manage it.However, that discrepancy could disappear sooner than many firms expect. The Linux Foundation launched the Tokenomics Foundation in August to develop standards for measuring, managing and monetizing AI investments."Every CEO is being asked to show returns on all of that without a shared way to count it," said J.R. Storment, executive director of the Tokenomics Foundation, regarding the “real total cost of AI.” Storment added, "That is why this foundation exists and is working together on pre-competitive frameworks, benchmarks and specifications."Accenture, meanwhile, launched its own tokenomics offering in July, combining usage monitoring with model routing, budget controls and tools for measuring the cost of AI against business outcomes. Stripe's planned acquisition of OpenRouter is another example.The ambition behind all these efforts is to make AI spending a more predictable technology expense, in other words, something closer to an economic input that can be planned, financed and optimized.For now, the token economy is far closer to an emerging market than a mature one. But as tokens become a fundamental input into how businesses operate, the companies that can price, route, finance and measure them will become as important as the infrastructure that surrounds other major commodities.This story was produced by Accels and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.
	Debt can impact kids’ futures more than you’d think: Here’s how Debt can impact kids’ futures more than you’d think: Here’s howSome school expenses get delayed. Some get financed. And some get canceled — a season, a club, a trip a kid was counting on.That last group is bigger than most parents realize. Accredited Debt Relief’s back-to-school survey of more than 1,000 parents of K-12 students found that 19% kept a child out of an activity because of the cost. It’s the one cut that never shows up on a credit card statement, and research going back decades suggests cutting activities does more than save money — it could potentially narrow your child’s opportunities in the long-term.Key Takeaways19% of parents kept a child out of an activity because of school-related costs, and 76% made at least one financial trade-off.60% of parents are carrying school-related debt, and 54% are still paying it down when holiday shopping begins.86% of parents who already owe $1,000 or more still plan to spend at least $1,000 per child this fall.Cutting an Activity Is the Trade-Off Parents Make LastThree-quarters of parents surveyed, 76%, said school costs forced at least one financial trade-off. Most start with the changes that are easiest to make: 29% made minimum-only credit card payments, 28% postponed savings or debt payoff and 26% delayed a bill. Those are the same moves people reach for first when they’re paying down debt on a tight budget.But some parents had to find even more room in their budgets to cover costs. A quarter of parents cut back on groceries or utilities, and 19% kept a child out of an activity.Cutting an extracurricular can free up a significant amount of money. The Aspen Institute’s Project Play found that the average U.S. sports family spent $1,016 on one child’s primary sport in 2024, a 46% increase since 2019. All in, parents pay about $1,500 to cover a year’s worth of sports-related costs.By the time parents are weighing taking their kid out of a sport or band trip for financial reasons, they have usually already tried everything easier. And the long-term impact of those hard choices on children is something researchers have spent decades tracking.You Can Play if You Can PayAn analysis published in the ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science examined four national longitudinal surveys of American high school students and documented a sharp increase in the class gap in extracurricular involvement. Since the 1970s, upper-middle-class students have grown more active in school clubs and sports teams. Participation among working-class students moved the opposite direction.The authors tie that split to three forces arriving together: rising income inequality, the spread of pay-to-play programs and the growing investment of time and money upper-middle-class parents can afford to their children’s development. And there’s a reason wealthier families choose to make that investment: There’s evidence that it betters a child’s outcomes as they grow. Accredited Debt Relief Participation Is Linked to Better Grades and Stronger Social SkillsThe University of New Hampshire’s Carsey School of Public Policy found that higher-income youth are roughly one and a half times as likely to participate in extracurricular activities as their lower-income peers. Consistent participation, the report notes, is linked to improved academic achievement and prosocial behaviors, and the activities keep adolescents engaged during high-risk hours.It’s a system that creates a feedback loop, too. Many schools set a minimum GPA before a student can join a school-sponsored activity. When lower-income students have lower academic achievement, their opportunity to participate shrinks — and because participation is linked to better grades, sitting out can pull achievement down further.Parents can’t easily make up a season their child missed — but there are ways to keep kids in the activities that matter to them.Keeping Kids Involved on a BudgetPer the survey, 60% of parents carry school-related debt now, and 54% are still paying off back-to-school expenses once holiday shopping begins. Among parents who already owe $1,000 or more, 86% still plan to spend at least $1,000 per child this fall.But some programs might be more flexible about costs than others. Talk to your school, coaches and local community groups about ways to reduce extracurricular costs. A few things worth doing before the next registration deadline:Ask about fee waivers. Many districts and nonprofit leagues keep hardship funds or sliding-scale rates, but families usually have to ask for them.Ask about a payment plan. Splitting a fee across the season costs nothing and keeps the charge off a credit card.Buy equipment used. League swap nights, secondhand sporting goods stores and team hand-me-downs cover most of what a beginner needs.Choose the school or rec version first. A child can find out whether they love a sport without a club roster fee.Skip the optional travel. Tournament weekends, hotel blocks and out-of-state showcases are the fastest way to double a season’s cost.Those choices can bring a $1,000 sport down to a couple hundred dollars.Frequently Asked QuestionsIs it worth borrowing to keep my child in an activity?Consistent participation is linked to stronger academic outcomes, so the instinct to protect it is well founded. What’s harder to see is what that fee costs you if you carry it for years. Before the next one comes due, review the free debt help resources available to you and find out what your options are.Why doesn’t my balance move even though I pay every month?It’s a known pattern, sometimes called the minimum payment trap. Minimum payments are calculated to cover accrued interest first, so at 22.15% only a small share of what you send each month reduces what you actually owe. Changing the structure of the debt tends to do more than raising your payment by a few dollars.This story was produced by Accredited Debt Relief and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.
	Elementary principals are getting a crash course in how young kids learn best Elementary principals are getting a crash course in how young kids learn bestWhen Joel Francik became principal of Central Elementary School in 2019, all of his prior education experience had been in middle school — first as a teacher, then as an assistant principal.He wanted the job, he said, because he thought he could make a bigger difference in students’ lives if he met them earlier in their schooling. But he didn’t know much about how kids in elementary school — particularly those in the early grades — learned best or what they really needed.A few years later, when Kristi Dominguez became superintendent of Francik’s district, the Ferndale School District in northwest Washington state, she noticed that in his kindergarten classrooms, students sat at desks, often doing worksheets.“We had desks in rows,” Francik confirmed.That, plus the way the four-year-old classrooms in Washington’s Transition to Kindergarten program were sequestered in different school buildings in the district, set off “red flags” for Dominguez, who has a background in early childhood education.Dominguez moved quickly to make changes to the way the district approached the early grades, The 74 reports. One of the decisions she made was to have principals at all six of the district’s elementary schools participate in a nearly yearlong leadership training program focused on child development and early learning.Like Francik, many elementary school principals come into the role without any prior knowledge of — or experience in — early childhood. But not all districts have an early learning champion like Dominguez at the helm. As a result, some elementary school leaders never learn how to tailor their leadership style and school culture to meet the needs of their youngest students.The issue has only become more urgent in recent years, as increasing numbers of elementary schools now have co-located pre-K classrooms as well, creating an even younger population for school leaders to oversee.Francik and his principal colleagues participated in the P-3 Leadership Program, which seeks to help elementary school administrators develop and then deepen their knowledge and understanding of the early grades, with a focus on children in pre-K to third grade.The program is facilitated by the National P-3 Center, a think tank originally housed at the University of Washington in Seattle and now based at the University of Colorado Denver. The center launched an in-person version of the program in 2013 for Washington administrators before shifting to a virtual environment in 2021, making it more easily accessible to school and district leaders all across the country.The program seeks to help elementary school administrators develop and deepen their knowledge and understanding of the early grades, with a focus on children from pre-K to third grade.Most school leaders “go through certain preparation programs that don’t talk about child development,” said Kristie Kauerz, founding executive director of the National P-3 Center. The result, she added, is school leaders who take the same approach to kindergarten as they do fourth grade.Dominguez didn’t want that to be the reality in her district.As Francik went through the 10-month training program (it has recently changed to run for seven months at a time), he began to realize how important the early grades are to future outcomes. He talked to and heard from school leaders in other states about how they were integrating early learning into their buildings, how they were funding pre-K, what was working, and where they were struggling.“The biggest lightbulb for me,” Francik said, “was play-based learning. Play-based learning is the work of kids.”He began to realize that, as children play, they use math concepts; practice communication; hone social-emotional skills by sharing, compromising and working through conflict; and sharpen their fine-motor skills by coloring and painting.Today, individual desks are nowhere to be found in Francik’s kindergarten classrooms. Kids sit in groups at tables, allowing for more collaboration and communication throughout the day. Students aren’t asked to sit still for more than 10 minutes at a time, since that isn’t developmentally appropriate for them.“We are not desks in rows anymore,” he said. “We are a classroom where students are able to move and flow based on needs. We have academics being taught still, just not in rows. There’s lots of movement, lots of choice.” Courtesy of Joel Francik And in all pre-K through second-grade classrooms in his school, students get one hour every single day to pursue their own interests in the classroom. At the end of the hour, they come back together to reflect, sharing celebrations and struggles.Next year, Central Elementary will bring that same model to its third graders, too. Rather than the practices of the older grades being “pushed down” to the early grades, the early grades are now influencing the whole school building.A similar approach is being used at Chicago Academy Elementary in Chicago Public Schools.Principal Joyce Pae, a former high school teacher and administrator, had three pre-K classrooms in her school but little to no guidance about how to integrate them into the rest of the building. She joined the Building Early Learning Leaders program — offered by VOCEL, a Chicago-based early learning nonprofit — for elementary school leaders at CPS in hopes of learning more about how to serve children in the early grades.The BELL program was launched in response to the city’s universal pre-K rollout, after VOCEL staff heard elementary school leaders repeatedly expressing, “I don’t feel equipped for pre-K,” said Jesse Ilhardt, executive director of VOCEL. “We started talking to some principals, and they were pretty frank with us: ‘We don’t know anything about early childhood education,’ ” Ilhardt said. “Some even told us they avoid pre-K classrooms, steer clear to leave them on their own island.”She added: “What we experienced was that leaders were hungry for preparedness earlier than the district was able to provide it.”During the BELL program, principals, assistant principals and instructional coaches from across the city come together over the course of a year to build knowledge and skills about early learning. The most valuable piece for Pae, she said, was the one-on-one coaching. Someone from VOCEL walked with Pae through her school’s pre-K classrooms, pointing out what was happening that she might have missed.“To the untrained eye, what looks like kids playing in the classroom is actually lots of social-emotional development,” Pae said, reflecting on what she learned from that walkthrough experience. She also saw how math and literacy concepts were woven into play.Pae did those walkthroughs with a coach about once a quarter, she said, typically following some reading and discussion about developmentally appropriate practices in early childhood. During one of those walkthroughs, Pae asked her coach about something that had been bothering her. She’d noticed that preschool teachers had started using the interactive whiteboards in their classrooms for read-alouds.“I was like, ‘I don’t like that, but I don’t know if that’s because I’m stuck in a certain way of thinking,’ ” Pae recalled telling her coach.The coach confirmed Pae’s suspicions. By switching storytime to a smartboard, students were missing out on critical learning opportunities, such as holding a book, turning the pages and realizing that stories are read from left to right.“Those were all things kids need to acquire that they’ll lose if they’re watching a story be read aloud and it just flips magically to the next page,” Pae said. “I had a hunch. She was able to name it, then take us back to standards.”The BELL experience, and the new knowledge and understanding it left her with, has had a lasting impact on Pae. She is more aware of the needs of the youngest students in her building, she said. She sees the way pre-K teachers help students name their emotions and cooperate with classmates — and how that can “provide the building blocks for a child to be successful, not only in school but in society.”“It’s totally changed the lens through which I viewed every grade level and also the adults in the building,” Pae said.During professional development meetings with staff, Pae now builds in “moments of play” and socialization. She’s seen how those practices — plus encouraging natural curiosity and providing real-world context — help young children thrive, and she believes it will have the same effect on adults, too.“It turns out what works best for our youngest learners and what’s effective for them is actually good for everyone,” Pae said.Even though many school principals are inexperienced with the early grades, an idea that came up repeatedly in interviews is that no school leader intends to leave out certain groups of learners.“Every principal wants to do right by children,” said Dominguez, the superintendent in Washington.But how a principal defines what is “right” is often based on their own experiences in school. And because school principals are already stretched thin, managing facilities and staff and an ever-expanding list of responsibilities, they can be genuinely interested in better serving their youngest learners but unable to make early childhood development a priority.“There’s an understandable desire in school leaders that [they] want to know more and do better but have so little time to devote,” said Ilhardt.Pae, who has actually devoted the time, said she understands why the focus just never makes it to the top of the list for some school administrators. In Chicago, because the pre-K program is state-funded, those classrooms can feel very separate from the rest of the elementary school, even when they are in the same building. “It can easily be the last thing you think about,” Pae said.Since Kauerz launched the National P-3 Leadership program, others like it — mostly local spinoffs, she said — have cropped up around the country. The programs aren’t intended to be a heavy lift for leaders; they are designed to offer a time and space for elementary school administrators to learn about and discuss early learning practices, free of judgment.In the early days of the National P-3 program, Kauerz said, it was full of leaders who either already prioritized their youngest students or were being urged to do so by superiors who did, Kauerz said. As the years have passed, that’s shifted.“We’re starting to penetrate into the ranks of non-believers who are changing their minds,” she said, noting that the program has served about 500 principals across the U.S. “But there’s a lot of principals to go.”The BELL program has so far worked with leaders in 53 of Chicago’s 473 elementary schools. It has a long way to go too, but the work is meaningful, worthwhile and full of “aha moments,” Ilhardt said.“There is so much focus and responsibility put on parents, caregivers and families to prepare young children for school,” Ilhardt said. “We have a responsibility, also, to ensure that schools are ready for young children, and that schools are really designed for children to be their best selves in those school buildings. That looks different than the design for children at older grade levels.”This story was produced by The 74 and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.
	How are rising prices affecting you? NPR wants to know Inflation, gasoline prices and the cost of living are top of mind in the election season. How are higher costs shaping the way you live? NPR wants to hear.
	Russia seizes Ukrainian POWs, then it demands favors from their relatives Russia is believed to be holding thousands of Ukrainian POWs. Russia is also tormenting the families of these prisoners by contacting their relatives on social media and demanding they help Russia.
	11 great US tailgating destinations for football fans 11 great US tailgating destinations for football fansTailgating is more than just a pre-game ritual—it's an event in its own right.The smell of sizzling grills, the camaraderie of fellow fans, and the electrifying anticipation of the game create an atmosphere unlike any other. Whether you’re a seasoned tailgater or a newbie looking to join the fun, RealTruck.com rounded up eight professional and three college stadium tailgating destinations that will make your game day experience unforgettable.NFL StadiumsLincoln Financial Field (Philadelphia Eagles)Location: Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaLincoln Financial Field is home to some of the most passionate and dedicated fans in the NFL. The Eagles' tailgating scene is vibrant and full of energy, with fans coming together to celebrate their team with true Philly spirit.Tailgating Tips: Indulge in some classic Philadelphia cheesesteaks and soft pretzels. Eagles fans are known for their spirited pre-game celebrations, so join in the fun and soak up the lively atmosphere.Lambeau Field (Green Bay Packers)Location: Green Bay, WisconsinLambeau Field is synonymous with football history and tradition. Home to the Green Bay Packers, this stadium offers one of the most iconic tailgating experiences in the NFL. Packers fans are known for their loyalty and hospitality, making everyone feel like part of the cheesehead family.Tailgating Tips: Arrive early to snag a prime spot and soak in the atmosphere. Don't miss out on local favorites like brats and cheese curds—essential fuel for any Packers fan.Arrowhead Stadium (Kansas City Chiefs)Location: Kansas City, MissouriIf you want to experience the loudest crowd in the NFL, Arrowhead Stadium is the place to be. Known for its passionate fans and electric atmosphere, this is a tailgating hotspot where the excitement builds long before kickoff.Tailgating Tips: Kansas City is famous for its barbecue, so be sure to indulge in some smoked ribs or burnt ends. Join in the pre-game chants and soak up the vibrant energy of Chiefs Kingdom.AT&T Stadium (Dallas Cowboys)Location: Arlington, TexasAT&T Stadium, home of the Dallas Cowboys, is a marvel of modern architecture and a hub for die-hard fans. The tailgating scene here is as big as Texas itself, with plenty of space and amenities for the ultimate pre-game party.Tailgating Tips: Explore the various tailgating zones and savor some Texas-style chili and steaks. With so much space, there’s plenty of room to play cornhole or toss around a football.Gillette Stadium (New England Patriots)Location: Foxborough, MassachusettsNestled in the heart of Patriots country, Gillette Stadium offers an enthusiastic tailgating environment with a New England twist. Patriots fans are known for their fierce loyalty and love for their team, making this a memorable spot for tailgating.Tailgating Tips: Enjoy some New England seafood and chowder while mingling with fellow fans. With the stadium located in picturesque New England, it's a perfect setting for a fall football day.Heinz Field (Pittsburgh Steelers)Location: Pittsburgh, PennsylvaniaWith its scenic waterfront location, Heinz Field provides a stunning backdrop for tailgating. Steelers fans are some of the most passionate in the league, and the tailgating scene reflects that intensity and camaraderie.Tailgating Tips: Dive into Pittsburgh classics like pierogies and Primanti Bros. sandwiches. Join in the "Terrible Towel" waving to feel the energy of Steelers Nation.Levi's Stadium (San Francisco 49ers)Location: Santa Clara, CaliforniaLocated in the heart of Silicon Valley, Levi's Stadium offers a tailgating experience that combines tech-savvy amenities with classic football traditions. 49ers fans bring a unique mix of innovation and passion to their pre-game celebrations.Tailgating Tips: Embrace the California vibe with local wines and farm-fresh produce. Take advantage of the stadium's cutting-edge technology to enhance your tailgating experience.Nissan Stadium (Tennessee Titans)Location: Nashville, TennesseeNissan Stadium is known for its lively atmosphere and Southern hospitality. Tailgating here is all about good food, good music, and great company, making it a must-visit destination for any football fan.Tailgating Tips: Enjoy some hot chicken and live country music as you take in the Nashville vibe. Titans fans know how to throw a party, so be ready to join in the fun.College StadiumsUniversity of Michigan Stadium (Michigan Wolverines)Location: Ann Arbor, MichiganThe "Big House" is a legendary destination for college football tailgating. With one of the largest crowds in college football, the atmosphere is electric, and the sense of tradition is palpable.Tailgating Tips: Join the vibrant student and alumni crowd, and savor Michigan's famous cider and doughnuts. The sea of maize and blue creates an unforgettable scene that captures the spirit of college football.Tiger Stadium (LSU Tigers)Location: Baton Rouge, LouisianaKnown for its passionate fans and Cajun cuisine, Tiger Stadium offers an unforgettable tailgating atmosphere. LSU fans are known for their lively spirit and love for their team, making this a premier destination for college football.Tailgating Tips: Sample local delicacies like gumbo and jambalaya while enjoying the festive spirit. Night games add an extra layer of excitement as the stadium comes alive under the lights.Ohio Stadium (Ohio State Buckeyes)Location: Columbus, OhioOhio Stadium, home of the Buckeyes, is steeped in tradition and pride. The tailgating scene here is filled with passionate fans who know how to celebrate game day in style.Tailgating Tips: Join in the Buckeye traditions and try the famous Ohio-style chili. With a dedicated fan base and rich history, the atmosphere around Ohio Stadium is second to none.Join The PartyTailgating at these stadiums offers more than just a pre-game meal—it's a chance to experience the heart and soul of sports fandom.Each destination offers unique flavors, traditions, and excitement, creating memories that last long after the final whistle blows. So gather your friends, fire up the grill, and hit the road to explore these ultimate tailgating destinations.This story was produced by RealTruck.com and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.
	The next wave of Yosemite overcrowding The next wave of Yosemite overcrowdingBehind recent news stories about a controversial land swap are plans for a major new gateway resort on the western border of America’s most traffic-stressed national parkOn August 28, the online site NOTUS broke the news that officials at Yosemite National Park and the U.S. Department of the Interior had been quietly conferring for months with a private developer—Jeff Pori, the owner of Las Vegas, Nevada-based Kingsbarn Realty Capital—on a proposed land exchange with a controversial goal.According to the initial story and others that followed, Pori has been trying to obtain a small parcel of Yosemite land— between one and two acres—in exchange for a piece of comparably valued turf somewhere else in California. He would then give this parcel to the federal government as part of what, for him, would be a very appealing deal.With the new acreage in hand, Pori could build a 700-foot road connecting an 83-acre rectangle of park-adjacent land he owns—an old property called Hazel Green Ranch that he bought in 2024 for $9 million—to Big Oak Flat Road, one of the main feeder routes into Yosemite Valley.Pori’s goal is to build new lodging, and anybody staying in it would enjoy a sweet shortcut: Straight-shot access to Big Oak Flat Road, roughly three miles south of the park’s Big Oak Flat Entrance, a main gateway that’s often backed up with cars trying to get into the park from California State Route 120. The value of such a boon is difficult to estimate, but it has to be high. For all practical purposes, Pori’s development would be inside the park.In the early going, several details about Pori’s vision were unclear, including what he intended to build. He has still not released them, but all signs point to an upscale operation that’s similar in style and scope to one of the most successful of the existing gateway resorts: the Rush Creek Lodge and Spa, a 143-room, 20-acre spread positioned less than a mile from the Big Oak Flat Entrance on 120.In the early phase of this fast-mutating story, Pori’s attorney, Lanny J. Davis—a prominent Washington, D.C., fixture who served as special counsel to President Bill Clinton during his second term—mistakenly said Pori intended to build private homes, not temporary lodging. In a fact sheet put out by Kingsbarn after that, Pori corrected the record, saying he wants to create a development done in the spirit of plans drawn up many years ago by a different owner.“[Kingsbarn] believes the highest and best use will be a development similar to plans created by the property’s former owner which included a lodge and cabins built in a sustainable and environmentally friendly fashion,” the fact sheet said. In an interview with The Washington Post published on September 1, Pori promised that he didn’t intend to build “a private compound for rich guys.”That may be, but the new plans can’t be mistaken for Appalachian Trail huts. The fact sheet contains an attachment labeled “Former Plan to Develop a Lodge and Cabins.” Called Hazel Green Meadows and stamped with the logo of Hansji Corporation—an investment company with a major presence in the hospitality and development industries—the site plan envisioned a 150-room hotel, parking for at least 800 vehicles, and dozens of cabins placed and spaced on winding roads.Listed amenities included a small “Whole Foods Style” market, a gourmet restaurant, a 5,000-square-foot spa, and housing for employees, firefighters, and rangers. The target audience was described as “Higher End ‘Ahwahnee’ Traveler” and “Average Park Traveler.” If something in this same spirit were built, it would probably be the biggest development immediately west of Yosemite.Viewed in the larger context of lodging construction in the various gateway communities outside the park, Pori’s plans—whatever they are—are bound to revive debate about whether more lodging is even needed in the area. Groups like the National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA) and the Central Sierra Environmental Resource Center (CSERC) have argued for a long time that the lodging market, which has expanded dramatically over the past decade, is saturated—at least in terms of what Yosemite can absorb.“The park has been at capacity for a number of years now,” says Mark Rose, the Sierra Nevada and clean air senior program manager for the NPCA. “The scary part is the possibility that there could be hundreds, if not thousands, of new lodging units built outside a park that is already past what it can handle. Meanwhile, the more you build, the more these folks—who’ve put millions of dollars into lodging—will have the expectation that the park will accommodate their visitors, no matter what.”Davis sees it differently: He says his client is simply trying to complete a business deal, and he rejects the notion that the road access Pori is asking for is unusual, unfair, or in any way connected to favors granted by President Donald Trump.“One thing I have not been doing is lobbying the Trump White House or doing any politics there,” Davis says, though he does acknowledge that, over the past nine months or so, “we had about a dozen Zoom calls with a lot of people from Yosemite. Yosemite, not Washington. This was all done through Yosemite officials, who aren’t exactly anti-Yosemite park or anti-environment.”The primary goal of these discussions, Davis says, has been to figure out the legal details of the proposed swap, which he has repeatedly said will be good for the environment. Reasoning: People staying on the property wouldn’t have to drive as far to reach Yosemite. Currently, gaining access to the property at all—which is surrounded on three sides by Stanislaus National Forest—would require driving over approximately 11 miles of unpaved forestry roads.Meanwhile, it’s still an open question whether the Park Service will be able to give Pori what he wants. As the agency acknowledged in a three-page budgetary document sent to Congress earlier this year, NPS doesn’t have legal authority to sell the land. But it could legally execute a land exchange under a provision in the U.S. Code that allows the NPS to do so if the landowner agrees to purchase property inside the park—or from another NPS unit in California—that’s of comparable value. According to the NPS budget document, such an exchange would need to “provide a demonstrable benefit to the United States.”That phrase raises a question that still remains unanswered: How would an exchange benefiting a developer benefit the general public? Re:Public posed this to both the Interior Department and Pori—neither answered. As for when this all began, a source with knowledge of Kingsbarn’s effort says the company first approached Yosemite about obtaining an easement in 2024—during the Biden administration, which informed the company that it didn’t have the authority to grant one.This source says that interest ramped up in Washington once Trump took office, and that most of the energy behind this idea originated with Kevin Lilly, the assistant secretary for fish, wildlife, and parks at Interior. When Yosemite’s current superintendent, Ray McPadden, started working at the park in May of this year, it was quickly conveyed to him that working with Kingsbarn should be prioritized.Interior’s communications office declined to address questions about the land exchange, issuing a boilerplate response saying that no such change could occur without a significant amount of administrative process. “Any land exchange or access proposal involving National Park Service lands would be subject to all applicable federal laws, regulations and Departmental policies, including required environmental review and public notification processes,” the reply said. “No final decisions have been made.”Attempts to develop the Hazel Green parcel date back more than 25 years, and they tie in with an ambitious plan to cure Yosemite’s famous traffic woes by, among other measures, developing a system of shuttle-served parking lots that would have taken most visitors to and from the park rather than letting them drive in.This was part of the Yosemite Valley Plan, which was unveiled in 2000 by Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt at a high-profile event in Los Angeles. “If the plan is adopted by park service management this year,” said a report in The Los Angeles Times, “the vast majority of visitors will leave their cars on the periphery of the park, potentially cutting traffic on the valley floor by 60%.”Support for this idea seemed strong—that day, representatives of The Wilderness Society, the Natural Resources Defense Council, and the NPCA were on hand alongside Babbitt to endorse it.The Yosemite Valley Plan was never put in place, of course—it died under the weight of lengthy litigation that centered on environmental protections for the Merced River—but during those early, heady days, an investor from Solvang, California, named Lewis Geyser used the moment to try and push through a lodging development that sounds similar to what Pori is now proposing.According to a July 28, 2000, report in The Sacramento Bee, Geyser wanted to build a $25-million, 300-unit “rustic but posh resort … where visitors will enjoy a nostalgic night in a log cottage for $300 or rough it in a tent cabin for $150.” (To adjust those numbers for 2026, double them.)Geyser needed the same road access Pori does—though he wanted an easement rather than a swapped acre—and he tried to bargain for it with National Park Service officials. In exchange for what the Bee described as “[a] 600-foot-wide swath of Yosemite National Park,” Geyser offered to provide, at no charge, eight acres that the park service could use to build an 800-space public parking lot, key to the shuttle operation. He wanted these ideas to be incorporated into the final draft of the Yosemite Valley Plan.Federal officials sounded interested at the time—Chip Jenkins, then the chief planner for Yosemite National Park, said the government was aiming to put a parking lot near Hazel Green anyway, at a cost of $4 million, and he described Geyser’s idea as “exactly the sort of thing our general management plan calls for: reducing lodging inside the park and building it on private land.”The NPS never got fully on board, though, and Geyser sued in 2007, arguing that he had the right to use and develop old dirt roads from the 1800s that connected his property to the park. Geyser’s lawsuit, which was opposed by the Interior Department and conservation groups that included the Sierra Club and The Wilderness Society, lasted for five years; in 2012, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that he did not have the right to access the park through roads from his property.Though Geyser’s lodge fizzled, development has by no means stopped. For several years, the NPCA has monitored resort lodging in the main gateway counties and communities northwest, west, and southwest of the park. In the relevant counties (Tuolumne, Mariposa, and Madera) and towns (primarily Groveland, Mariposa, and Oakhurst), Rose and others have used public-facing sources like websites and press releases to track the growth of Yosemite-centric lodging since 2016, a year when, he says, the current growth boom began.Since then, lodging stock has increased by 875 units, contributing to a projected total in the three counties—existing and proposed—of between 2,136 and 2,436. (The total varies because this number includes estimates of what Pori has proposed to build.) And that’s a conservative estimate of total occupancy because, as Rose explains, the NPCA is only able to count rooms, not beds. “Some of these places are cabins, villas, or suites with multiple rooms,” he says. “So, for those 875 new units, it’s easy to say that well over a thousand vehicles would be brought into the park from them alone.”Parking remains a Forever Problem at Yosemite, and it was all over the news this summer. Park officials introduced a reservation system in 2020 that appeared to be helping, but the Trump administration halted it in February of this year. New traffic jams ensued. Meanwhile, growth continues pretty much unchecked by local government authorities. The NPCA spreadsheet lists somewhere between 1,311 and 1,561 units that have been proposed but are in the pre-permitting or permitting phase. Whatever the total ends up being, it corresponds to a lot more cars.One project that’s been under county review for years—and that has inspired organized local opposition—is called KOA RV Resort and Terramor Outdoor Resort. It involves two distinct developments that would exist on nearly a thousand acres of land on both sides of Highway 140, near the town of Midpines. A new 90-acre Kampgrounds of America resort would include 400 RV stalls, 25 to 40 tent sites, and assorted amenities like a swimming pool, bathhouse, and playground. The other project, Terramor, would feature an 8,000-square-foot main lodge with a restaurant, spa, and pool; 80 or more glamping sites; and a 2,000-square-foot open-air pavilion.Citing a host of potential problems—including traffic, pollution, and damage to local habitat—locals have been fighting these plans. One additional concern they have involves wildfire. As The Guardian reported in 2024, the development would add vehicular congestion to a route that’s essential to evacuation efforts during major blazes like that year’s French Fire. “Kampgrounds of America is eyeing a plot … for a new camping and glamping development,” the report said. “Should the project move forward, up to a thousand visitors could end up spending the night on land that straddles the narrow escape route.”A better comparison for the development Pori wants—and an obvious competitor—are the three properties owned by a company called First Light Resorts: the Rush Creek Lodge and Spa, Evergreen Lodge, and Firefall Ranch. The Rush Creek Lodge, which represents the state-of-the-art for upscale Yosemite lodging, opened in 2016 and offers 143 rooms, suites, and villas on 20 acres. It features a “Yosemite-inspired spa,” a general store, a pool, an indoor game room, and a restaurant. Rates vary, but in a busy Yosemite month like July, you can expect to pay around $540 a night.Presumably, Pori’s planned development is on the radar at First Light, since it would represent direct competition that has a clear advantage on the access front. (First Light’s CEO, Lee Zimmenman, did not respond to an interview request from Re:Public to discuss the local lodging market.)For now, Pori’s dream only exists on paper, and the road to it becoming reality looks bumpy. Public disapproval has been loud and nearly universal, and California politicians seem eager to see the idea go away. The Union Democrat, a newspaper based in the Sierra Nevada foothills town of Sonora, reported last week that 61 of 118 members of the California state legislature oppose the land exchange.More significantly, U.S. Rep. Tom McClintock—a pro-development, pro-Trump Republican who represents the vast district that contains Mariposa County—reportedly said last week that he doesn’t expect the land exchange to go through. “Rep. McClintock on the proposed swap,” the paper reported, citing a congressional staffer, “Ain’t. Gonna. Happen.”But that’s just a second-hand remark, and it doesn’t count until McClintock makes it official. “Despite a reported comment by Congressman McClintock that this controversial land exchange won’t happen, I have seen nothing in the media about McClintock actually taking a position on the matter,” says John Buckley, executive director of the CSERC. “In the past he has repeatedly aligned closely with commercial interests, and he has vilified past Park Service officials who stressed the importance of protecting Park resources instead of just maximizing profits for tourist businesses.”This story was produced by RE:PUBLIC and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.
	America’s safest big cities: 2026 study America’s safest big cities: 2026 studyChoosing where to live can involve balancing opportunity and security. Big cities offer diverse job markets, extensive amenities and greater access to public services. But they also sometimes come with more acute safety concerns. While no major population center is entirely free from danger, some are more successful than others at creating environments where people can live, work and travel with confidence.In this follow-up to their America’s Safest Midsize Cities study, SmartAsset examined 83 U.S. cities with populations of 250,000 or greater — more than 90% of America’s big cities — to identify the nation’s safest. Cities were ranked using composite scores based on violent crime, property crime, traffic fatality rates and disaster risk.Key FindingsVirginia Beach is America’s safest big city. Virginia Beach, Virginia, has below-average violent and property crime rates — 0.9 and 16.4 per 1,000 residents, respectively — and a modest motor vehicle fatality rate of about 7 per 100,000 residents. Its “relatively low” Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) disaster risk rating, a metric measuring expected disaster losses, social vulnerability and community resilience, helps support its top-tier rank.Memphis ranks last. High crime and motor vehicle fatality rates, along with a “relatively high” FEMA disaster risk rating, combined to place Bluff City at the bottom of the rankings.Texas is home to some of America’s safest and least safe cities. Twelve Texas cities were included in the rankings, and the Lone Star State is the only one with cities among both the 10 safest (Plano and Laredo) and the 10 least safe (Houston).Disaster risk can affect otherwise safe cities. Despite moderate violent and property crime rates, Irvine, California (No. 12), and Santa Ana, California (No. 20), both landed outside the top 10 safest cities. The two cities share the highest possible disaster risk ratings, driven in part by exposure to earthquakes and wildfires. SmartAsset SmartAsset 10 Safest Big Cities1. Virginia Beach, VirginiaViolent crimes per 1K: 0.9Property crimes per 1K: 16.4Auto fatalities per 100K: 6.8Disaster risk: Relatively Low2. Plano, TexasViolent crimes per 1K: 1.5Property crimes per 1K: 14.7Auto fatalities per 100K: 6.9Disaster risk: Relatively High3. Madison, WisconsinViolent crimes per 1K: 2.6Property crimes per 1K: 18.6Auto fatalities per 100K: 6.9Disaster risk: Relatively Moderate4. Honolulu, HawaiiViolent crimes per 1K: 1.9Property crimes per 1K: 17.9Auto fatalities per 100K: 5.9Disaster risk: Relatively High5. Chesapeake, VirginiaViolent crimes per 1K: 3.4Property crimes per 1K: 17.4Auto fatalities per 100K: 7.6Disaster risk: Relatively Low6. Laredo, TexasViolent crimes per 1K: 3.7Property crimes per 1K: 14.6Auto fatalities per 100K: 9.1Disaster risk: Relatively Moderate7. Lexington, KentuckyViolent crimes per 1K: 2.6Property crimes per 1K: 22.7Auto fatalities per 100K: 9.2Disaster risk: Relatively Moderate8. Boston, MassachusettsViolent crimes per 1K: 6.3Property crimes per 1K: 20.2Auto fatalities per 100K: 4.4Disaster risk: Relatively Moderate9. Lincoln, NebraskaViolent crimes per 1K: 3.5Property crimes per 1K: 24.5Auto fatalities per 100K: 7.7Disaster risk: Relatively Moderate10. Pittsburgh, PennsylvaniaViolent crimes per 1K: 4.3Property crimes per 1K: 22.8Auto fatalities per 100K: 6.3Disaster risk: Relatively High10 Least Safe Big Cities1. Memphis, TennesseeViolent crimes per 1K: 25.0Property crimes per 1K: 69.0Auto fatalities per 100K: 21.5Disaster risk: Relatively High2. Houston, TexasViolent crimes per 1K: 11.5Property crimes per 1K: 42.9Auto fatalities per 100K: 11.6Disaster risk: Very High3. St. Louis, MissouriViolent crimes per 1K: 13.7Property crimes per 1K: 57.1Auto fatalities per 100K: 17.8Disaster risk: Relatively High4. San Francisco, CaliforniaViolent crimes per 1K: 6.0Property crimes per 1K: 39.3Auto fatalities per 100K: 18.5Disaster risk: Very High5. Kansas City, MissouriViolent crimes per 1K: 15.5Property crimes per 1K: 46.8Auto fatalities per 100K: 14.6Disaster risk: Relatively High6. Albuquerque, New MexicoViolent crimes per 1K: 11.8Property crimes per 1K: 46.3Auto fatalities per 100K: 17.0Disaster risk: Relatively High7. Oakland, CaliforniaViolent crimes per 1K: 19.3Property crimes per 1K: 72.3Auto fatalities per 100K: 6.8Disaster risk: Very High8. Nashville, TennesseeViolent crimes per 1K: 11.2Property crimes per 1K: 45.1Auto fatalities per 100K: 13.6Disaster risk: Relatively High9. Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaViolent crimes per 1K: 9.1Property crimes per 1K: 45.5Auto fatalities per 100K: 8.6Disaster risk: Very High10. Detroit, MichiganViolent crimes per 1K: 17.8Property crimes per 1K: 43.1Auto fatalities per 100K: 11.1Disaster risk: Relatively HighMethodologyNatural disaster risk was calculated by converting the county risk rating in FEMA’s National Risk Index, as of April 2026, for the county in which a particular city is located to a five-point numeric scale. Traffic fatality rates were sourced from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Property and violent crime rates were sourced from the FBI’s 2024 issue of Crime in the United States (CIUS), the most recent year available; where city data was not available via CIUS, alternate sources, such as state or agency reports were used. Each metric was weighted and combined into a composite score used to rank the cities. Crime data reflects offenses reported by law enforcement agencies serving each city and may not perfectly align with municipal boundaries. County-level traffic fatality and natural disaster risk data were used as proxies for city-level conditions. Big cities were defined as those with populations of 250,000 or greater. More than 90% of such cities were included, while the remainder were excluded due to inconsistent or unavailable data. Source data providers are not affiliated with, and do not endorse or sponsor, this study or its findings.This story was produced by SmartAsset and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.
	Have you or a loved one been diagnosed with non-small cell lung cancer? Learn more about a clinical trial happening now (BPT) - Sponsored by MerckLung cancer (both small cell and non-small cell) is the second most common cancer in the U.S.1 In 2026 alone, it's estimated that nearly 230,000 new cases of lung cancer will be diagnosed.1 Nearly half of all lung cancers are diagnosed at a later stage, after the cancer has spread from the lungs to more distant areas of the body.2What is non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC)?The main types of lung cancer are non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and small cell lung cancer (SCLC). NSCLC is the most common type of lung cancer, making up more than 8 out of 10 lung cancers in the U.S.3 What causes NSCLC?Many cancers are caused by gene changes, also called mutations. Genes are pieces of DNA that tell your cells how to work, and when gene mutations occur, they can change how the cells work.For example, some gene mutations change how cells grow or multiply, causing them to grow or multiply too much, leading to cancer.Gene mutations in NSCLCMultiple gene mutations are associated with NSCLC. Specific mutations can influence how someone's cancer grows or spreads and how well available treatments may work in their case.One specific gene mutation commonly found in NSCLC is the G12C mutation of the KRAS gene.4,5 The KRAS G12C mutation causes cells to grow in an uncontrolled way, which can form tumors.6 About 13% of people (13 in 100) with advanced NSCLC have this specific mutation.4 Most KRAS G12C mutations are found in current or former smokers.5,6Biomarker testing can help determine if you have certain gene mutations. Doctors often recommend that people with NSCLC get biomarker testing to see what mutations their cancer has.7What are clinical trials?A clinical trial, also called a clinical study, is a type of research designed to learn more about how the human body responds to investigational medicines, vaccines or other treatments. Clinical trials are the only way treatments can be approved for public use.Learn about an investigational medicine targeting KRAS G12CThe goal of one particular trial is to learn if an investigational medicine may help stop or slow down the growth of NSCLC with KRAS G12C mutations. It will compare:The investigational medicine combined with an immunotherapy, toAn immunotherapy and a placebo.8 A placebo looks like the trial drug but has no medicine in it. Using a placebo helps researchers understand if the investigational medicine works.This trial is for adults age 18 and older who8:Have been newly diagnosed with locally advanced or metastatic NSCLC. Locally advanced or metastatic means the cancer has spread to other parts of the body or cannot be removed with surgery.Have the KRAS G12C mutation.Have the PD-L1 protein on their cancer cells. PD-L1 is found on some cancer cells and can help the cancer hide from the body's immune system. To learn if you have PD-L1, doctors test a tissue sample from a tumor.More about this trialThere are more eligibility criteria for this trial. There may be risks related to participating in clinical trials. The trial doctor can discuss these with you.Participation in clinical trials is voluntary, and participants are free to leave at any time, for any reason. Participants may help contribute to data that may advance research and potentially help future generations learn more about the investigational medicine and NSCLC.Advancing research through representationRepresentation in clinical trials helps researchers gain a more complete picture of how investigational medicines work across populations. This helps support the development of safe and effective medicines for those who are most affected by the disease or condition being studied."Diseases can impact people differently based on their age, gender, race, and ethnicity, as well as other factors," said Michelle Chawla, clinical trial representation program lead at Merck. "That's why it's important for clinical trials to include people from a wide variety of backgrounds. By participating in a clinical trial, you can help researchers understand how investigational treatments may work across different populations and contribute to data that may advance research."See if you or a loved one may be eligible for a clinical trialYou can learn more about this clinical trial at Merck's clinical trial page.ReferencesAmerican Cancer Society. Key statistics for lung cancer. Updated January 13, 2026. Accessed April 23, 2026. https://www.cancer.org/cancer/types/lung-cancer/about/key-statistics.htmlCenters for Disease Control and Prevention. U.S. cancer statistics lung cancer stat bite. Updated June 2, 2025. Accessed May 5, 2026. https://www.cdc.gov/united-states-cancer-statistics/publications/lung-cancer-stat-bite.htmlAmerican Cancer Society. What is lung cancer? Updated January 29, 2024. Accessed May 6, 2026. https://www.cancer.org/cancer/types/lung-cancer/about/what-is.htmlLim TKH, Skoulidis F, Kerr KM, et al. KRAS G12C in advanced NSCLC: prevalence, co-mutations, and testing. Lung Cancer. 2023;184:107293. doi:10.1016/j.lungcan.2023.107293Cascetta P, Marinello A, Lazzari C, et al. KRAS in NSCLC: state of the art and future perspectives. Cancers (Basel). 2022;14(21):5430. doi:10.3390/cancers14215430American Lung Association. KRAS and lung cancer. Updated December 2, 2025. Accessed May 6, 2026. https://www.lung.org/lung-health-diseases/lung-disease-lookup/lung-cancer/symptoms-diagnosis/biomarker-testing/krasAmerican Lung Association. Lung cancer biomarker testing. Updated January 20, 2026. Accessed June 4, 2026. https://www.lung.org/lung-health-diseases/lung-disease-lookup/lung-cancer/symptoms-diagnosis/biomarker-testingMerck & Co, Inc. MK-1084-004: learn about a clinical trial for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with KRAS G12C mutations. Merck Clinical Trials. Published 2025. Accessed May 6, 2026. https://www.merckclinicaltrials.com/trial/nct06345729/
	Love classical music? Explore these top 5 Italian towns (BPT) - If you love classical music and opera, Italy is more than a great place to hear it — because along with Germany, Italy is where Western music was born. When you hear "do-re-mi" or read musical notation, you're experiencing innovations born in Italy 1,000 years ago. Opera began in Florence some 400 years ago, and the piano was invented there a century later. Even today, the language of music remains Italian: allegro, adagio, crescendo and forte. Experiencing that musical heritage in the places where it was created adds an entirely new dimension to an Italy trip.For more than 80 years, Perillo Tours has been introducing American travelers to the country's art, history and culture. And for third-generation owner Steve Perillo, that culture has a special personal connection: He is a classically trained pianist and composer who studied at Boston University's School of Music."Whether you've studied music as I have, or simply loved music all your life, traveling to Italy is a must," said Perillo. "Hearing a soprano delivering an aria in the same opera house where it premiered, or listening to an orchestra playing music just miles from the birthplace of its composer — these are experiences you'll never forget."Here, Perillo shares five Italian destinations where travelers can experience the places, theaters and traditions that helped make Italy one of the world's great musical capitals.1. One fine day …… you'll make a pilgrimage to the birthplace of renowned composer Giacomo Puccini. If you thrill to arias like "Un Bel Di" from Madama Butterfly, "Quando M'en Vo" from La Boheme and "Nessun Dorma" from Turandot, you know how much Puccini means to opera. In Lucca, you can visit Puccini's birthplace museum and attend concerts celebrating his works. The Puccini Festival is held each summer at nearby Torre del Lago, through Sept. 5 this year.Lucca's storied history is evident from its architecture, like its striking 16th-century tree-lined city walls — and you'll probably do a doubletake the first time you spot large oak trees growing atop the 148-foot-high, 14th-century Torre Guinigi.Relish in the beauty of Lucca as part of Perillo's Vesuvius Tour, including visits to Rome, Sorrento, Florence, Capri, Venice and Pompeii.2. "In fair Verona, where we lay our scene" Best known for inspiring Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, Verona is home to the spectacular 2,000-year-old Arena di Verona, one of the world's most famous open-air opera venues. You can attend performances of classics there, like Aida, Carmen and La Traviata. While enjoying the city's sounds of opera and Shakespearean romance, be sure to savor the local cuisine, including risotto all'Amarone, a creamy rice dish cooked in Verona's best-known red wine.Verona is a highlight from Perillo's new Lakes, Wine & Romance tour debuting in 2027, where you can discover the timeless elegance of Northern Italy on a breathtaking journey through the sparkling Italian Lakes.3. Music on every street cornerFrom street food to street performances, the lively coastal city of Naples brings to life popular favorites like "O Sole Mio," plus signature foods including wood-fired Neapolitan pizza and tri-colored Neapolitan ice cream.The rich heritage of Naples blends opera, folk and classical music, transforming the city into a living stage where you'll hear music everywhere you go. Naples is also home to the oldest continuously operating opera house in the world, the magnificent Teatro di San Carlo.Two of Perillo's tours include Naples: the 15-day North Classic and 12-day North Continental.4. If you can make it there …Legendary conductor Arturo Toscanini once said, "La Scala is the lover who made me despair the most." The world's most celebrated opera house, Milan's Teatro alla Scala, is a must-visit for opera, ballet and classical music enthusiasts. The La Scala Museum features a fascinating array of costumes, rare instruments, set designs and memorabilia showcasing the history of European music.Also boasting historic art and architecture like Leonardo da Vinci's "The Last Supper" and the medieval Sforzesco Castle, Milan is a vibrant fashion hub. The gorgeous shopping gallery Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II tops Milan's list of must-see venues.Perillo's North Classic tour includes cultural sites in and around Milan.5. Bel Canto and beyondFans of the coloratura stylings of famous works like The Barber of Seville need to visit the birthplace of composer Giachino Rossini. UNESCO City of Music Pesaro hosts the internationally acclaimed Rossini Opera Festival every August. You can explore the composer's life, manuscripts and personal belongings at the beautifully restored Casa Rossini. The entire city of Pesaro celebrates Rossini's legacy, from monuments and museums to piazzas and cafes inspired by the composer.While in Pesaro, take time to admire the stunning Sfera Grande sculpture and hike the beautiful clifftop trails of Parco Naturale Monte San Bartolo.Include Pesaro and any other destination in a Perillo Custom Vacation by creating a customized travel experience from a library of suggested itineraries for Italy and Greece to fit your personal preferences — or collaborate with a Perillo Custom Vacations expert to develop a unique trip based on your interests, timing and budget.Since 1945, three generations of the Perillo family have perfected the art of traveling to Italy, making Perillo Tours America's leading tour operator to the country. Crafting itineraries that perfectly balance sightseeing, free time and activities, Perillo offers glimpses into each Italian city and region's rich traditions. A growing company, Perillo has expanded to new destinations offering fully escorted tours to Greece, Ireland, Portugal, Spain and Hawaii. For parties of 10 or more, Perillo's Custom Groups creates bespoke itineraries to various European destinations.Andiamo! Visit PerilloTours.com to plan your trip today.
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	Daily rain chances into the weekend Heavy rain fell in the Quad Cities yesterday morning and across our southern hometowns overnight and this morning. Temperatures will warm up a little more starting tomorrow. Here's your full 7-day forecast.
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	Casey Newton and Kevin Roose partner with NPR to launch 'Machine Gods' The video-first, twice weekly show from the creators of 'Hard Fork' will unpack the most consequential technology stories of our time for broadcast and digital audiences.

Wednesday, September 16th, 2026