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

Thursday, September 24th, 2026
	Henry Dinkins, man who killed Breasia Terrell, demands jury trial in 2003 sexual abuse case The man who murdered Breasia Terrell has waived his right to a speedy trial and demanded a jury trial at a hearing Thursday.
	Ice cream, baked potatoes and hot rods: Here's Dani's Weekend Rundown for Sept. 24-27 If you like beautiful cars, ice cream and baked potatoes, these fundraising events are definitely for you.
	Colona Fire Department awarded $30,000 from FEMA Fire officials said the funding will be used to purchase gear for each firefighter, as well as funding tuition for the Chief Fire Official Program Certification.
	New faster electric vehicle charging stations debut in East Moline Many people gathered Thursday morning, Sept. 24, to celebrate a ribbon-cutting for two new electric vehicle (EV) charging stations at East Moline Public Library, 745 16th Ave., East Moline.
	Illinois announces LIHEAP application for utility bill assistance Applications for the program will open Oct. 1 and will remain open through Aug. 13, 2027, or until funds are exhausted.
	Colona Fire Protection District awarded $30K grant for new rescue gear The Colona Community Fire Protection District was awarded a $30,000 grant that will allow them to get new equipment.
	Ask the eye doctor: Answers to audience questions Dr. William Benevento with Eye Surgeons Associates provides some answers.
	Davenport City Council will fill Ward 2 vacancy by appointment during Oct. 7 meeting Under Iowa Code, Ward 2 residents can petition for a special election.
	Vax & Wags offers free vaccine clinic for dogs The Quad City Animal Welfare Center (QCAWC), the Humane Society of Scott County, St. Anthony Catholic Church and St. John Vianney Catholic Church are hosting Vax & Wags, a free vaccine clinic for dogs on Saturday, October 3, from 10 a.m. – 12 p.m. at St. Anthony Catholic Church, 417 North Main Street in Davenport. [...]
	MetroLINK, East Moline Public Library celebrate new public electric vehicle chargers The idea is to promote electric vehicles and spend time at the library or at downtown businesses while they are charging, according to MetroLINK.
	Mahershala Ali stars as a devout father of three, making ends meet as a hitman It's not easy, killing people and raising a family. The new action-thriller Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother reaffirms the power of faith — and delights in outrageous juxtapositions.
	RFK Jr.'s ethics filing reveals book deals worth millions of dollars Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s annual financial disclosure revealed he has received two lucrative book advances and free flights from a friend while in office.
	Quad Cities group marches to encourage people to vote as early voting opens Dates, times and locations for early and satellite voting can be found on your county clerk’s website.
	Man charged in connection with downtown Davenport apartment building fires A Davenport man is facing charges in Scott County District Court after allegedly starting three fires inside a downtown Davenport apartment on Tuesday afternoon.
	Find healthcare jobs at MercyOne Walk In Wednesday event MercyOne is hosting a ‘Walk-In Wednesday’ in-person hiring event on Wednesday, Sept. 30, from 2 to 4 p.m. at MercyOne Genesis Silvis Medical Center, 801 Illini Drive in Silvis. Click here for more information. The walk-in hiring event makes it easier for job seekers and MercyOne to find the right fit. Applicants may have the [...]
	Undetected A-fib can lead to strokes, expert warns amid growing health concern Atrial fibrillation often goes unnoticed, risking stroke if untreated, but doctors emphasize regular checkups for early detection of this common heart condition.
	One dead in Henry County two-car crash One person is dead after a two-vehicle crash in rural Galva, according to a news release from the Henry County Sheriff’s Office. The Henry County Sheriff’s Office received a 911 call reporting a two-vehicle crash near Illinois Route 34 and 1850 East in rural Galva on Sept. 22 at about 5:48 p.m. Deputies and emergency [...]
	'To me, it's still an honor' \| Group of female veterans reunites on Honor Flight Lisa Olson served in the United States Army from 1979 through 1996 in multiple roles before retiring from active service.
	Illinois Secretary of State fights ‘unlawful use’ of license plate data Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias says his office has been working to hold technology companies, such as Flock Safety, accountable for their unlawful use and sharing of license plate data.
	National conference highlights Illinois’ clean energy accomplishments Illinois clean energy laws were celebrated Tuesday by a large gathering of climate action leaders in New York City.
	$40M project restores disappearing Mississippi River islands, habitats A $40 million project is restoring vanishing islands and backwaters in the Mississippi River, protecting habitats from erosion.
	Political yard signs still play a role in a digital campaign era Political yard signs remain part of local and statewide elections even as campaigns increasingly use social media to spread their messages quickly and cheaply.
	Health experts share car seat safety tips for parents Health experts say a few extra steps can help make sure your child is riding safely.
	Mortgage rates have just surpassed 7% for the first time in well over a year Rates have climbed more than a full percentage point since the U.S. war against Iran started.
	The whistleblowers vs. the shadow prosecutors Illinois special prosecutors faced secret files, dropped charges, and severe misconduct claims after two acquitted citizens exposed state unit abuses.
	Registered sex offender arrested after alleged inappropriate conversations with minor A Galesburg man was arrested on Wednesday after an investigation into inappropriate conversations with a minor.
	9 reasons your prescription may not be filled, and what to do about it Have you ever taken a prescription to the pharmacy only to find out that your pharmacist can’t fill it? The chances of this happening are low. But when it does, it’s usually for a good reason, like protecting you from potentially dangerous health risks.The good news is that there are steps you can take to help prevent issues from coming up in the first place. Below, GoodRx, a platform for medication savings, shares nine reasons why your pharmacy may not have your prescription ready, and what you can do about it.Key takeawaysThere are several reasons why your pharmacist may not be able to fill your prescription.If your prescription is missing key information or is hard to read, a pharmacy can refuse to fill it until they speak with the prescriber. Other reasons include insurance rejections and drug shortages.If your pharmacist can’t fill your prescription, there are steps you can take to get your medication in a reasonable timeframe.Can a pharmacist refuse to fill a prescription?Yes. In general, a pharmacist can refuse to fill a prescription for the following reasons:The prescription isn’t considered standard care or therapy.The prescription is likely to cause harm because its risks clearly outweigh the benefits.The pharmacist is having trouble verifying the prescription’s validity.The pharmacist has moral or religious reasons that prevent them from filling the prescription.Let’s take a closer look at these and other possible reasons a prescription may not be filled.1. The prescription is missing informationPharmacies receive prescriptions in a few different ways. They can be physically dropped off, called in over the phone, faxed, or sent electronically.In order to fill your prescription, the pharmacy must have all of the necessary information. But keep in mind, the exact requirements may vary by state:Your full name, date of birth, and addressThe name and dose of the medicationThe medication form (like a tablet or a capsule)The amount of medication (quantity)Directions for useThe number of refills (or lack thereof)The date the prescription was writtenInformation about the prescriber, like their office address and phone numberYour prescriber’s signature or verbal approvalIf your prescription is for a controlled substance (a potentially habit-forming medication), the pharmacy may need more information. If something is missing, your pharmacist will need to contact your prescriber’s office before filling the medication for you.What you can doIf you get a hard copy of your prescription, give it a quick look before leaving your appointment. If you notice that something may be missing, let your healthcare team know right away. This can help avoid running into issues and delays at your pharmacy.2. The prescription is hard to readSometimes the hard copy of a prescription is difficult to interpret. If the pharmacist is unable to read a prescription, they must contact the prescriber’s office and confirm the information.What you can doBe sure the pharmacy has your updated contact information. Request that your pharmacy call you if there are any problems. This can save you a trip to the pharmacy before your prescription is ready.3. The medication needs to be ordered or is on backorderMost people expect a pharmacy to have their specific medication in stock. But pharmacies don’t keep every medication in stock, especially ones that are rarely used or expensive. If a medication is out of stock, pharmacies can generally order it for the next business day. In some cases, they may give you a few doses if they have it in stock. This way you have some to take while they order the rest.Another possible reason why your pharmacy may not have something in stock is a medication shortage or backorder. In these cases, the pharmacy may not know when the next shipment will arrive. They may still try to order the medication for you, but it could still be weeks or months. With backorders or shortages, your pharmacist may need to ask your prescriber for an alternative.What you can doIf you want to make sure the pharmacy has your medication on hand, call them ahead of time to check. Many pharmacies can order an out-of-stock medication and have it ready for you the following business day. If you can’t wait a full day, check with other pharmacies in your area to see if they have your prescription in stock.You can also keep track of drug shortages by visiting the FDA and the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) websites.4. The prescription appears to be altered or forgedPharmacists must make sure your prescription is valid. They may question prescriptions that seem to be damaged or altered in some way. For example, a prescription may not be valid if it was taped back together, if information was scratched out, or if security features are missing. And if any information on the prescription appears to be altered — especially the date, dose, or quantity — your pharmacist may not fill your medication.What you can doIf you receive a hard copy of your prescription, give it a quick look. If you notice your healthcare professional scratched something out, ask if they can write you a new prescription. Doing this will prevent the pharmacy from questioning the prescription and save you time at the pharmacy.5. The pharmacy computer system is downMaybe you have gone to the pharmacy counter and learned that their computer system is down. This is rare. But when it happens, your prescription can’t be processed.You may think they could just give you a few doses (like with out-of-stock situations), but this isn’t the case here. Pharmacy computer systems check for medication interactions and help make sure the prescribed dosage is appropriate for you. When pharmacy computers are down, pharmacists can’t perform these necessary safety checks. And if your prescription was sent electronically or by fax, the pharmacy may not be able to access the prescription at all.What you can doYou can either wait for the system to come back online or request the pharmacy give you a call or text when your prescription is ready. Sometimes, outages resolve quickly. But it’s possible for the system to be down all day.If you have a paper prescription, you can ask your pharmacy to return the original prescription for you to take to a different pharmacy.If your prescription was called in, faxed, or sent electronically — and already in the computer system before it shut down — then transferring it to another pharmacy might be possible. This could be difficult or not legally allowed if the medication is a controlled substance.Another option is to ask your healthcare team to call or send the prescription again, to another pharmacy of your choice.6. The insurance billing system is downA similar situation would be when insurance companies have outages. Although this also isn’t common, you can’t solve this problem by going to a different pharmacy.When an insurance billing system is down, it doesn’t necessarily mean you can’t get your prescription. But it might mean that you can’t count on your insurance to pay your bill right away.What you can doIf you need your prescription right away, you can pay the pharmacy’s cash price (the cost of medication without insurance). Once the insurance system is working again, talk with your pharmacist about billing your insurance again. The pharmacy might be able to refund you the difference between the cash price and your insurance copay.You can also leave your prescription at the pharmacy and wait for the insurance billing system to work again. Ask the pharmacy to call you when your prescription has been billed and is ready for pickup.7. The insurance company rejected the prescriptionHave you ever been told that your insurance rejected your prescription? This is common, like when a medication needs prior authorization (PA). Because medications can be expensive, you may not be willing to pay out of pocket. As a result, pharmacists can’t fill the medication. PAs need to be completed by your prescriber or their office staff. Pharmacists can’t resolve these types of insurance rejections on their own.What you can doYour pharmacy will alert your prescriber if a PA is needed. But it’s also helpful to reach out to your prescriber’s office directly. This can help speed up PA requests by making your prescriber’s office aware of the situation sooner.Some insurance issues can be resolved by the pharmacy with a phone call to you or your healthcare team. For example, your insurance may prefer a different, usually cheaper, medication to treat the same medical condition. In this case, the pharmacy will need to get a new prescription from your prescriber.When a PA does get approved, call your pharmacy. Often, insurance plans don’t alert the pharmacy when a PA is approved. It’s more common for them to tell you and your prescriber about it first. If the pharmacy doesn’t know about an approval, they won’t know that it’s OK to fill your prescription. Calling your pharmacy as soon as you find out a PA is approved can help reduce delays in filling your prescription.Keep in mind that PA approvals usually only last for a certain amount of time. So, it’s best to ask your healthcare professional to start the PA paperwork early for when you need a refill later on.8. The new medication could cause a dangerous interactionYou can usually rely on your pharmacist or healthcare team to let you know if your medications could have any unsafe interactions. Prescription medications can interact with one another, but they can also interact with:Over-the-counter (OTC) medications, such as acetaminophen (Tylenol)Vitamins and minerals, such as vitamin DDietary supplements, such as St. John’s WortCertain foodsWhat you can doMake sure you keep an up-to-date list of all of your current prescription medications, OTC medications, and supplements. Be sure to share this list with all healthcare professionals you see, including your pharmacist.If you need your medication right away and your pharmacy is waiting on a call from your healthcare team to verify the safety of your medication, you can reach out directly to their office. But keep in mind this might take a while. Your healthcare team may not return calls until the end of the day or later.9. The pharmacist doesn’t feel comfortable filling the prescriptionIn some states, there’s a conscience clause that allows pharmacists to refuse a prescription for moral or religious reasons. For example, there have been reports of pharmacists refusing to fill prescriptions for birth control or medications used to end a pregnancy or for miscarriage.What you can doIn some states, a pharmacist who refuses to fill a prescription for moral or religious reasons must still provide help. For example, they should refer you to another pharmacist who can fill the prescription. If that’s not the case, you can also try transferring your prescription to another pharmacy to be filled, but this can add some inconvenience.What should I do if the pharmacy doesn’t have my prescription?If the pharmacy doesn’t have your new prescription on file, ask the pharmacy staff to check their voicemail, faxes, and new electronic prescriptions (e-scripts). Keep in mind that faxes and e-scripts might take longer to come in. Otherwise, you can ask the pharmacy to reach out to your prescriber.Frequently asked questionsWhat are red flags for pharmacists?Common red flags include a paper prescription that appears altered or forged, someone picking up a controlled substance prescription for another person without verification, or an expired prescriber license or Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) number. Pharmacists are often more careful with controlled substances compared with other medications. They also consider whether your prescriber usually treats the condition being treated. For example, a pharmacist may question a prescription if a dentist prescribes birth control pills or flu medication.Can you sue a pharmacy for refusing to fill a prescription?Whether a pharmacy can refuse to fill a prescription depends on the laws in your state and the circumstances. A pharmacy can refuse to fill a prescription if they have a legal reason to do so — like if a prescription is invalid or would cause harm. According to laws in some states, pharmacists who refuse to fill a prescription because of the conscience clause may be protected from disciplinary action.Can a pharmacist overrule a doctor’s prescription?Yes, a pharmacist can overrule a prescription for the reasons mentioned above. But a pharmacist can’t change the prescription without a prescriber’s OK.The bottom lineIf your prescription isn’t ready for pickup, it can be frustrating. Medication shortages, insurance rejections, and computer system issues are some reasons this can happen. A pharmacist might also refuse to fill a prescription if it interacts with your existing medications. They can also refuse to fill a prescription for moral or religious reasons in states that allow it.Thankfully, simple steps — like checking your prescription, keeping your contact information updated with the pharmacy, and contacting your healthcare team — can help prevent further delays in getting your medication.This story was produced by GoodRx and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.
	Where renters have the most negotiating power right now The national vacancy rate for multifamily properties currently sits at 7.9%, while asking rents have increased by 1.3% over the past year. As renters continue to search for affordable apartments across the country, understanding where they have the most negotiating power is more important than ever. After analyzing vacancy rates, absorption rates, rent concessions, and rent growth data, Apartments.com has identified some areas of the country that can offer renters more leverage than others.States With the Highest Vacancy Rates in 2026According to the U.S. Census Bureau, these states had the highest vacancy rates in the second quarter of 2026: Apartments.com Vacancy rates can fluctuate because of several factors, including supply and demand, seasonality, and rising costs. As a renter, being aware of vacancy rates in the city or state where you want to live can help you better prepare for the rental market you’re entering. Although vacancies are usually viewed negatively by landlords and property managers, higher rates can signal increased leverage for renters searching for discounts or more affordable rent.Why higher vacancies can help rentersHigher vacancy rates benefit renters because more units are available, rent concessions are more common, and landlords may lower rents to attract renters to their properties. When vacancies are low, there is more competition for units from the other renters in the market.Periods of high vacancy present an opportunity for renters to negotiate with landlords on the monthly rent payment, move-in specials, or discounts. Because landlords want to fill vacant units, they will be more receptive to negotiation when vacancies are high.How Absorption Rates Can Affect an Apartment SearchAbsorption is the number of units sold compared to units available. Absorption rate is important to consider because the rate signals whether a market is absorbing units faster or slower. For renters, a market with a high absorption rate means you have less negotiation power, so a lower absorption rate is more favorable.Below are the 10 markets with the highest levels of absorption so far in 2026. The absorption rate was calculated by dividing units absorbed by total inventory. This provides a more comprehensive view of which markets are absorbing units more quickly relative to their size. Apartments.com A number of these markets are located in the Sun Belt region of the United States. The Sun Belt experienced a surge in construction after the pandemic, leaving many units vacant and prompting landlords to decrease rent and offer concessions.It’s important to note that all these cities have vacancy rates that are higher than the current national multifamily average. As renter demand catches up to supply in this region, this data suggests that renters are taking advantage of lower prices and moving to these areas, causing supply to tighten.Why lower absorption can benefit rentersA lower absorption rate is better for renters because it means that units are not being absorbed as fast. When units remain available longer, landlords can be more open to negotiating rent or other incentives.Absorption rate can be an important metric to consider when looking at a market, but it shouldn’t be the only factor guiding your negotiation strategy. Because smaller markets have less inventory overall, they can appear to have higher absorption even though more units absorbed can be attributed to seasonality or demand fluctuations. While it’s difficult to determine which markets are primed for renter negotiations solely based on absorption rate, looking at state vacancy rates and rent concessions data can offer a clearer picture.Look for Rent ConcessionsRent concessions are discounts or financial incentives offered by a landlord to attract renters and encourage them to sign a lease. Rent concessions can come in all shapes and sizes, such as one month of free rent, waived fees, or a reduced security deposit. Renters searching for a new apartment often prioritize properties offering rent concessions, as these incentives can make the moving process more affordable.Rent concessions are common in high-vacancy marketsNot only do landlords use rent concessions to attract new renters, but they also use these discounts to lower a property’s vacancy rate. Landlords use these financial incentives when demand is low to reduce vacancies and maintain rental income. In fact, Apartments.com found that in 2026 alone, 41.2% of multifamily properties nationwide are offering a rent concession, suggesting these incentives are popular among landlords and property managers.Rent concessions can be helpful for renters searching for apartments in more expensive areas, as these discounts can reduce upfront costs and allow renters to save money for other expenses.Top 10 markets offering the most rent concessionsBecause some markets have a higher vacancy rate than others, rent concessions can be more common in certain areas of the country. According to CoStar Group, these are the 10 markets with the highest percentages of properties offering rent concessions right now: Apartments.com Several of the markets offering the most rent concessions right now align with those with the highest absorption rate. While a high absorption rate does not usually benefit renters, this correlation suggests that, because these markets are offering a higher percentage of rent concessions, some units are being absorbed because of the rent discounts and move-in incentives.Where Rent Growth Is Rising and FallingRent growth data can give renters insight into whether rents in a certain area have increased or decreased over time. Typically, markets that experience higher year-over-year rent growth have higher monthly rents and stronger renter demand. Renters looking for more rent concessions and lower average rents may want to look in markets with declining year-over-year rent growth.Five states where rent growth is decreasingAccording to Apartments.com, these five states have seen the lowest levels of rent growth over the past year: Apartments.com States with lower year-over-year rent growth can be more favorable for renters to negotiate. As growth decreases, landlords want to fill vacant units, so they are more open to negotiation. These five states have seen a high wave of oversupply coupled with lower demand, causing rents to drop and concessions to increase.Several of these states lie in the Sun Belt, which could be contributing to slower rent growth. Because units have remained available, property managers may have lowered monthly rents to attract tenants.Five states where rent growth is increasingAccording to Apartments.com, these five states have seen the highest rent growth over the past year: Apartments.com The states with the highest year-over-year rent growth are markets that didn’t experience the same construction boom as markets in the Sun Belt and may have a tighter rental supply with high demand. Because renter demand is high in these markets and the national average rent continues to increase, these markets must respond accordingly.Being aware of these trends is important to understand where renters might find the best deals or concessions across the country.Where Do Renters Have the Most Negotiating Power?After analyzing vacancy, absorption, concession, and rent growth data, where do renters have the most negotiating power right now? These five states offer the strongest opportunities for renters to find concessions and negotiate rent with landlords.1. TexasVacancy rate: 13.3%Rent growth: -1.6%Average monthly rent in Texas: $1,245/monthTexas is one of the states where renters may have more negotiation power. With the highest vacancy rate in 2026 so far and a decreased year-over-year rent growth, renter demand is soft, and concessions can be more common. The average monthly rent in Texas is well below the national average, and cities like Austin and San Antonio report high levels of rent concessions, making Texas one of the most affordable states for renters.2. ArizonaVacancy rate: 9.4%Rent growth: -2.1%Average monthly rent in Arizona: $1,326/monthArizona has a high vacancy rate and reports the largest decrease in year-over-year rent growth, suggesting that renters will have an easier time negotiating in this rental market. Phoenix ranked third among markets offering the most rent concessions right now. The average rent in Arizona is lower than the national average, offering an affordable alternative to other sunny areas in the country.3. FloridaVacancy rate: 8.8%Rent growth: -0.8%Average monthly rent in Florida: $1,698/monthFlorida ranks third, with a vacancy rate of 8.8% in 2026, while rent growth has decreased by 0.8% year over year. Even though the average monthly rent is higher in Florida, Sarasota ranks first among the markets offering the most rent concessions, with 10.9% of properties offering a discount. Renters looking for move-in specials and a smooth apartment search should consider Florida.4. ColoradoVacancy rate: 7.4%Rent growth: -2%Average monthly rent in Colorado: $1,577/monthAlthough Colorado doesn’t appear in the top 10 states with the highest vacancy rates in 2026, the state has seen one of the largest declines in rent growth in the past year. In addition to an average monthly rent below the national average, Denver ranks sixth among the markets offering the most rent concessions.5. North CarolinaVacancy rate: 8.2%Rent growth: -0.8%Average monthly rent in North Carolina: $1,363/monthFinally, North Carolina combines a high vacancy rate with low monthly rents to give renters more negotiating flexibility. While rent growth has only slightly decreased in the past year, Charlotte and Durham both appear on the list of markets with the most rent concessions, suggesting that living in North Carolina can be more affordable than other parts of the country.FAQsWhat gives renters more negotiating power in a rental market?High vacancy rates, low or negative rent growth, low absorption rates, and rent concessions can give renters more negotiating power. Landlords want to fill vacancies, so they may offer financial incentives or rent concessions to stay competitive and may be more open to negotiating with renters in these market conditions.What states offer the most negotiating power for renters in 2026?The states that offer renters the most negotiating power in 2026 are Texas, Arizona, Florida, Colorado, and North Carolina, according to Apartments.com research. These states combine factors such as higher vacancy rates, slower or negative rent growth, and rent concessions, which may give renters more leverage when negotiating.Can you negotiate apartment rent when vacancy rates are high?Yes, you can negotiate rent when vacancy rates are high. Landlords want to fill vacant units, so when vacancy rates are high, they may be more open to negotiating monthly rent or offering rent concessions to renters.What can renters negotiate besides monthly rent?Depending on the property and lease terms, renters may also be able to negotiate:Application or administrative feesSecurity depositsParkingLease lengthAmenitiesPet depositsPet rentMethodologyAbsorption rate data was sourced from CoStar Group’s September National Multifamily Market Report and calculated by dividing the number of units absorbed by total inventory. The final five states were chosen based on a combination of vacancy rates, rent growth, and average monthly rents. All rent data was sourced from Apartments.com Rent Trends pages. This story was produced by Apartments.com and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.
	Iowa City woman pleads guilty in animal torture, neglect case An Iowa City woman charged with 30 counts of animal torture and neglect has entered a guilty plea.
	Back to School Is a Season of Learning. For Adults, Too By Lacoadia Burkes, Acting Bureau Chief, Tobacco Free Florida (NAPSI)—For kids across Florida, back-to-school is a time of change—new teachers, new schedules, new friends. For the adults in these students’ lives, this can be a season of learning and growth, too. Parents and caregivers, teachers and staff, coaches and school nurses—you all play a huge role in their health and wellness. This back-to-school season, you can get smart on how to help the next generation grow up free from tobacco and nicotine’s harmful effects. The first lesson is that if you use tobacco or nicotine products, make back-to-school season when you commit to quit. Whether it’s after the stress of getting classroom supplies or the moments after carline drop-off, there’s probably one cue in your life that’s become connected with nicotine. Plan for those moments. If you have a slip-up, learn from it and be even smarter for your next try! Free support is available when you’re ready. You have heard quitting is smart. You may even have tried several times. Quitting isn’t just for you, though. Secondhand smoke causes tens of thousands of deaths each year, and parents who smoke are up to four times more likely to have children who smoke. If you are committed to quitting for your health and theirs, Tobacco Free Florida’s How to Quit initiative can help. TobaccoFreeFlorida.com/HTQ covers setting a quit date, using free quit aids, talking to a doctor, and building a support system. A second lesson is to learn how kids will encounter tobacco and nicotine today. It’s different from a generation ago. Did you know fewer than 1 in 100 Florida youth currently smoke cigarettes? That’s because of dedicated adults like you. But there are concerning numbers, too: Last year, e-cigarette use among Florida youth ticked up again after several years of decline. This may be because kids are less likely to say the adults in their lives are talking to them about tobacco and nicotine’s harmful effects. At Tobacco Free Florida, we urge you to find opportunities to have those conversations in a caring, constructive, and open way. To get ready for that chat, learn about the new nicotine devices they may encounter in their new friend group, around campus, or on social media. These include things like: Oral nicotine products—marketed as an alternative to smokeless tobacco. Goes between gums and lip. “Smart” vapes—feature digital screens, built-in games. Kid-friendly flavors like “merry berry” and “cherry pop.” Digital prizes and Bluetooth connectivity strengthen addiction. Disposable e-cigarettes—designed for one use only. Addictive, harmful to the environment, easier to conceal than regular cigarettes. Flavored e-cigarettes—the most common type of e-cigarettes used by youth across Florida and nationwide. Kid-friendly packaging, flavors. “Heat-not-burn” devices—electronically heat a tobacco stick or capsule. Popular overseas, on the horizon here. TobaccoFreeFlorida.com/NewNicotineGeneration has more information including sample images of each type of product. School nurses, who often serve as a first line of student health support, can find resources at TobaccoFreeFlorida.com/ChampionsAgainstNicotine. Once you’ve “done your homework” about what Florida students will see, the last lesson can be on how to have the conversation that can save a life. The ride to and from school can be a chance to start the conversation. A billboard you pass or a convenience store ad is a moment to ask what they already know and what they are hearing. A chat after practice can be a time to discuss how tobacco and nicotine harm the heart and lungs. Be patient and remember listening matters as much as talking. Honest information lands harder than scare tactics. One conversation is rarely enough; ongoing is how a message takes hold. Back to school season is filled with memories, changes, and decisions that can shape a child’s future. Caring adults can use this as a time to save lives. Visit TobaccoFreeFlorida.com or call 1-877-U-CAN-NOW to get started. Word Count: 630
	The 10 US cities where timing a trip saves the most on hotels Boston is heading into its most expensive month. October hotel rates there hit $458 a night, up from $166 in January, the widest swing of any major U.S. market. New York is doing the same thing, $458 in September and $541 by December.In cities like these, the month on the calendar changes the hotel bill more than the choice of hotel does. In other cities, it barely matters. The first thing to figure out is which kind of city you are booking.Engine, a platform companies use to book work travel, analyzed 128.5 million hotel searches across 50 U.S. markets over two years, from May 2024 to April 2026, to find where timing matters most, and where it does not matter at all.The 10 biggest swings Engine Boston and New York: The two widest swingsBoth cities spread 64% between their cheapest and most expensive months. Boston has two peaks. May hits $390 when commencement weekends stack up across dozens of colleges, and October reaches $458 when leaf season and conference season overlap. January is $166.New York never gets cheap. Its cheapest month, January at $196, is higher than the most expensive month in 30 of the other 49 markets. December is $541, nearly double November's $352 and the single priciest city-month in the data. The peaks track the corporate and holiday calendars more than the weather.“In Boston and New York, the event calendar stacks on top of the weather," said Jack Swiatoschik, a data analyst at Engine. "Boston peaks in October when the Head of the Charles falls in the same weeks as conference season, and New York's December is holiday tourism, with September already crowded by UN General Assembly week and Fashion Week." Engine Phoenix and Chicago swing the same amount in opposite directionsPhoenix peaks at $246 in February and March, when Cactus League spring training fills ten area ballparks, and the weather is at its best. By August, it is 110 degrees, and the rate is $96, a 61% drop: the cheapest big-market month in the data.Chicago runs the other way. January is $127. June is $319, when good weather and convention season at McCormick Place, the largest convention center in North America, overlap. Anyone booking a trip that has to happen in one of these two cities should first check which half of the year it is in.Weather cities and event citiesMost of the rest of the top 10 track the weather. Palm Springs spreads 57%, from $369 in March to $158 in August, and prices follow the weather almost exactly, since there is little year-round business demand to flatten it out. Seattle spreads 53%, from $139 in January to $297 in July, with no specific event behind any of it. Norfolk, Virginia's summer doubles its winter, $96 to $216. Miami runs the opposite way, peaking with the snowbirds in February at $267 and bottoming out in September at $128.Omaha, Nebraska, and Milwaukee are the event cities. Omaha sits between $95 and $126 for eleven months, then June jumps to $182 for the College World Series, which has been played there every June since 1950. Milwaukee's June and July, $163 and $194, line up with Summerfest. Both are flat and affordable the rest of the year, so a trip that can move two weeks clears the spike.Where the month does not matterEl Paso moves 10% across the whole year. Los Angeles moves 13%, Dallas 19%. Steady business demand keeps those markets level.Unlike in Boston and New York, where there are big weather swings and concentrated demand in a small core, Los Angeles has steady weather and demand spread across the whole county, so the curve stays flat.Honolulu swings only 23%, but its cheapest month is $169, the third-highest low in the data. With no drive-in market and no fast way to add rooms, rates hold a narrow, high band, and timing buys less there than anywhere else.How to use timing to your advantageForty of the 50 markets are cheapest between November and February. The other ten, almost all in the Sun Belt, are cheapest in summer. If the city is on the top-10 list, the month is worth negotiating over. If it is one of the flat ones, it is not.In the seasonal cities, choosing the right month can save 40% to 64% compared to the wrong one, with no promo code or negotiation involved.Methodology: Figures are the median nightly rate for searches made 10 to 180 days before check-in, on business accounts, from May 2024 through April 2026. Rates are public shelf prices shown in a live search, not negotiated company rates, which typically run lower. Event explanations describe what is on the calendar in a given month and are Engine's reading of why a rate moves, not a separate measurement.This story was produced by Engine and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.
	A 1-percentage-point mortgage rate rise can outrun 4 years of rent growth The Federal Reserve raised interest rates on Sept. 16 for the first time since 2023. For rental property investors, the bigger issue is how long borrowing costs stay elevated while rents grow slowly.A Griffin Funding scenario analysis shows how small changes in mortgage pricing can outpace years of rent growth. On a $300,000 loan, increasing the mortgage rate from 6.75% to 7.75% raises the rent needed to maintain the same debt coverage by 8.3%. That is equivalent to about 4.5 years of growth at July's 1.8% annual single-family rent pace, holding other assumptions constant.Key findingsIn the modeled purchase, raising the mortgage rate from 6.75% to 7% requires about 2% more rent to maintain the same debt coverage, equal to roughly 14 months of growth at a constant 1.8% annual pace.Raising the rate from 6.75% to 7.75% requires 8.3% more rent, equal to about 4.5 years of growth at that pace.The Federal Reserve raised rates on Sept. 16, and now projects rates will stay higher through 2027 than it expected in June.For debt-service coverage ratio (DSCR) borrowers, a lower coverage ratio can change the available loan amount, down payment or financing terms.The Fed's outlook may matter more than the hikeThe Fed's policy committee voted 12-0 to lift the federal funds target range to 3.75% to 4%, citing elevated inflation. Nobody dissented.For investors, the committee's new projections matter more than the hike. The median official now sees the federal funds rate at 4.1% at the end of both 2026 and 2027, up from 3.8% and 3.6% in the June projections. The same projections don't show inflation returning to the Fed's 2% goal until 2029. Policymakers now expect higher rates for longer than they did three months ago. Investors hoping to wait out today's borrowing costs may be waiting a while.The Fed doesn't set mortgage rates, but the bond market listensA Fed hike doesn't change anyone's mortgage rate overnight. Mortgage rates track the bond market, and traders had priced in better than a 90% chance of this increase before it happened.That anticipation has been lifting borrowing costs for weeks. The 10-year Treasury yield hit its highest level since 2007 the day before the decision. Mortgage News Daily's 30-year fixed rate climbed to 7.19%, more than a percentage point above a year earlier. Freddie Mac's weekly survey, which tracks owner-occupied buyers with 20% down and strong credit, reached 6.95% on Sept. 17, up from 6.76% a week earlier and 6.26% a year ago. Investment property loans generally price above that benchmark.Rents are moving far more slowlySingle-family rents, the main income for small landlords, rose 1.8% over the year through July, below the 2.3% pace a year earlier, according to Cotality. Growth has now picked up for five straight months, though it remains below historical averages, and it is uneven: Chicago led major metros at 5%, while Houston managed 0.2%. Across all rental types, Apartment List found the national median rent was still 0.8% below its level a year before in August, although it has now risen seven months in a row.A mortgage quote can change in a day. Rent growth takes time.How DSCR math turns rates into rentResidential DSCR financing evaluates qualifying rental income relative to principal, interest, property taxes, insurance and association dues, alongside other borrower and property requirements. A ratio of 1.0 means rent equals that payment. This analysis uses 1.25, meaning rent is 25% higher, as an illustrative target rather than a universal lending requirement. Because the ratio compares rent with the payment, keeping it steady means rent has to rise by the same percentage the payment does.Griffin Funding modeled a $300,000, 30-year fixed loan, roughly a $400,000 purchase with 25% down, plus $500 a month for property taxes, insurance and association dues. Griffin Funding Going from 6.75% to 7% raises the payment by about 2%. At 1.8% annual rent growth, rents need about 14 months to close that gap. Going from 6.75% to 7.75% raises the payment by about 8.3%. Closing that gap takes about 4.5 years.The dollar amounts scale with loan size. A quarter point adds roughly $43 per month to principal and interest on a $250,000 loan and about $172 on a $1 million loan.How it plays out on one purchaseConsider a hypothetical purchase. An investor is under contract on a $400,000 single-family rental expected to lease for $3,000 a month, with 25% down. At 6.75%, her coverage ratio is about 1.23. At 7%, it slips to 1.20. At 7.25%, it's 1.18. At 7.75%, it falls to about 1.13. The house and the rent never change. At 7.25%, reaching the illustrative 1.25 target would require about $3,183 in qualifying monthly rent, $183 above her expected $3,000. Alternatively, keeping rent unchanged, she could reduce the loan to roughly $278,500 by adding about $21,500 to her down payment.That additional cash becomes equity in the property, not a fee. But it is cash she can no longer keep on hand for repairs, vacancies or another purchase. Rent growth might narrow the gap over time. The additional down payment would have to be available at closing.This is an illustrative example, not an actual borrower.The same rent can support a smaller loanThe Fed's projections are individual participants' views, not a set policy path. The property-level math is more immediate. In this model, higher mortgage pricing reduces the loan amount that $3,000 in monthly rent can support at the selected coverage target. The buyer can contribute more equity or negotiate a lower purchase price, and different financing terms may also change the calculation.That is the gap between rent growth and borrowing costs. Rent may rise over years, while the buyer has to meet the financing terms at closing. The house doesn't have to get more expensive for the cash needed to buy it to go up. Griffin Funding MethodologyPayment figures are Griffin Funding calculations for a $300,000, 30-year, fully amortizing loan at each rate shown, plus a flat $500 per month for taxes, insurance and association dues. Rent needed equals the monthly payment multiplied by 1.25, an illustrative assumption rather than a lending standard. Because required rent rises in proportion to the payment, years of rent growth were calculated by comparing the percentage payment increase with Cotality's 1.8% annual single-family rent growth (July 2026), compounded annually. The rent-growth comparison is not a forecast and does not measure the recovery of cumulative cash flow or investment returns. Loan-size figures compare principal and interest at 7.50% and 7.75% for each loan amount shown. All figures are illustrative and don't represent any lender's rates, pricing or qualification terms, which vary by credit, leverage, property type and loan structure. Changes in the federal funds rate don't translate one-for-one into mortgage or DSCR loan rates.This story was produced by Griffin Funding and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.
	The economic squeeze is pushing up poverty rates for older adults Despite lower poverty overall, the rate for seniors has been steadily rising in recent years. A new AARP survey sheds light on how those over 50 are struggling in the crucial time before retirement.
	Davenport man charged after allegedly filming child in the bathroom A Davenport man was arrested on Wednesday after a video was found of a child in the bathroom.
	Survey: 64% of US adults are sitting on a business idea they never launched Nearly two-thirds of American adults have had an idea for a business they never launched. More than 60% have seen someone else succeed with the idea they had first, and for nearly 1 in 4, that experience hurt.Those are some of the eye-opening results from Founder Reports’ survey of 1,014 U.S. adults about the business ideas they've had throughout their lives. The September 2026 study shed new light on Americans’ entrepreneurial aspirations, including feelings of regret and missed opportunities. Based on the data, most business ideas die early, but the real sting comes when people are left to wonder “What if?”Almost everyone has a business idea, but most don’t act on itIn the Founder Reports business ideas survey, 92.8% of respondents said they’ve had at least one business idea, but only 28.8% have actually launched a business. Almost two-thirds (64%) are carrying at least one business idea that never came to fruition. Nearly three-quarters (73.3%) of respondents said they’ve had more than one business idea, including 21.3% with five or more. Founder Reports A 2026 LendingTree survey of 2,000 U.S. adults found that 27% have seriously considered starting a business within the past year, confirming that entrepreneurial aspirations are alive and well among today’s Americans.Despite the abundance of ideas and interest in starting a business, most ideas never turn into an enterprise. The LendingTree study found that among those with an idea, just 21% have registered a business name, echoing the Founder Reports conclusion that most ideas die before launching a business.Why most business ideas dieStarting a business requires many steps after the initial idea, and several reasons prevent ideas from culminating in a business launch. The Founder Reports survey asked those who hadn’t launched to identify the primary reason their idea died. Money was the most common answer, as 39.3% identified business funding as their number one obstacle. The second leading answer was that they didn’t know what to do next (18%).A 2024 Justworks survey of 2,000+ U.S. adults reached the same conclusion. Among those interested in starting a business, money (39%) and knowledge of where to start (29%) were the two biggest barriers.Although money is the barrier most commonly blamed for killing a business idea, internal challenges also prevent many people from pushing forward with their ideas. Starting a business involves publicly putting yourself out there. And with roughly 50% of businesses failing in the first five years, fear of failure is an obstacle that must be overcome.Will Mitchell, founder of StartupBros, a community for entrepreneurs, has observed that many would-be entrepreneurs stop short before their idea becomes known to others. “Once the idea is public, quitting starts to look like failing,” he said. “So it stays an idea, where it’s safe and where it cannot embarrass anyone.” Founder Reports Watching someone else build the business (the part that hurts)While many would-be entrepreneurs hesitate or decide not to act, others may be actively building businesses rooted in similar ideas.In the Founder Reports survey, 60.8% of respondents said they’ve seen someone else succeed with a business similar to an idea they didn’t pursue. Nearly 1 in 4 (22.9%) American adults said it bothered them to watch someone else build a business on an idea they had first.The study also found that watching someone else succeed with a similar idea drastically increased regret. Among respondents who had an idea but never launched, only 8.8% of those who haven’t seen someone else succeed with a similar idea expressed regret. Among those who witnessed someone else succeed with their idea, 24% admitted to having regrets.It’s easier to be at peace with a missed opportunity when everything is hypothetical, but regret is more likely once someone else proves the idea could have worked.The science of the “what if”Psychology plays a part here. Research from Cornell University psychologist Tom Gilovich revealed that in the long term, people are more likely to regret inaction than action. Gilovich concluded that waiting for inspiration is a common excuse.Research from Daniel Pink, New York Times bestselling author of “The Power of Regret,” found that regrets from not doing something outnumber those from taking action by roughly 3-to-1.According to the Founder Reports survey, regret was more common among respondents who didn’t pursue their idea because they didn’t know what to do or just never took action (23.5%) compared to those who never launched for other reasons (15.7%). This indicates that regret is also more likely when it feels like action could have been taken.Michael Nadhir, founder of KindMind Behavioral Health, emphasized that “what if” regrets aren’t really about the idea or missed opportunity. He said the regret is “about what the inaction says to them about themselves.”What to do with the idea you’re holding ontoFor some people, watching someone else build the business they had envisioned is what finally pushes them to step out and take their own leap of faith.In 2017, Andrew Gazdecki had an idea to create a marketplace for small acquisitions of online businesses. Other marketplaces and brokers existed, but all focused on larger transactions, and most ignored small businesses and startups. Despite his interest, Gazdecki hesitated. “I convinced myself the market was too small,” he said.But after seeing others bring the same concept to fruition, Gazdecki took action and launched MicroAquire, which later became Acquire. “Watching others do it, it sort of hurts, but it taught me not to hesitate too much on things that feel like good opportunities,” he commented. Since launching in 2020, Acquire has facilitated the sale of more than 5,000 businesses totaling more than $1 billion, showing that success is still possible even after initial hesitation.For those still holding onto an idea and hesitant to move forward, the data suggests lasting regret doesn’t usually come from trying and failing, but rather from never trying and wondering “what if?”Survey methodologyFounder Reports surveyed 1,014 U.S. adults in September 2026. Respondents answered five questions about how many business ideas they've had, how far the furthest one traveled, whether they've seen someone else succeed with a similar idea, why they stopped, and how they feel about that idea today. The data is based on self-reported responses.This story was produced by Founder Reports and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.
	Airlines bet big on sports travel boom On Oct. 10, the reigning national champion Indiana University Hoosiers head to Lincoln, Nebraska, for a college football showdown against the University of Nebraska Cornhuskers, and United Airlines is planning to help with the fan frenzy.United plans to offer a rare flight between Indianapolis and Lincoln on the game weekend. Normally, it wouldn't connect those two cities with nonstop service.There are more flights like that one, too.That same week, United will also offer unusual nonstop service between Eugene, Oregon, and Columbus, Ohio, catering to a high-stakes University of Oregon-Ohio State University matchup.Meanwhile, Southwest Airlines has added a full slate of flights this fall, specifically to carry fans to away games.Plus, American Airlines will go bigger and farther when the Dallas Cowboys head to Brazil for an NFL game. American will offer a special flight from Dallas to Rio de Janeiro on one of its large Boeing 787 Dreamliners.As The Points Guy examines here, airlines are leaning into sports, and for good reason, too."The local market in sports is so popular right now, and so much money is being spent," Joe Esposito, chief commercial officer at Delta Air Lines, said when speaking on a panel in Texas in August."No matter where you look in this country — whether it's college, pro, WNBA — everything is packed," he added. "It's an insatiable business."Sports travel is boomingIn 2025, fans spent $51.1 billion traveling to spectator sporting events, according to the Sports Events and Tourism Association.Keep in mind that was before fans flooded major U.S. cities this summer for the FIFA World Cup.In Austin, one out of every six hotel room nights is now owed to sports-related travel, tourism leaders say."It drives summer. It drives weekend[s]," Tom Noonan, CEO of Visit Austin, said at a panel in August. "It's a big part of Austin's future."It's about how fans are travelingOf course, fans following their teams around the country is nothing new.Rose Gray, a Wisconsin-based travel adviser, has helped Green Bay Packers fans book trips to away games for more than 40 years.What has changed, she said, is how fans are choosing to travel.Gone are the days of scoring cheap tickets, staying in budget motels and tailgating to beat traffic.Now, fans are asking Gray to send them to Formula One races in Monaco with prime seats and meet and greets with their favorite drivers."They may say, 'I don't want to just stay in some Motel Six an hour away from the Masters," Gray, of Fox World Travel, told TPG. "They're looking for an experience. It's not just a game. It's talking to the locals. Learning about the local cuisine. Being as close as possible."It's a cultural phenomenon cut from the same cloth as the all-in approach Taylor Swift fans took while booking trips to the Eras tour in 2023 and 2024: expensive hotels, luxe dinners and high-end experiences.In the face of stubborn inflation and higher borrowing costs, it might be the latest sign that consumers are refusing to sacrifice travel even as they face difficult spending decisions."I don't think the splurge is necessarily people that are all really wealthy," Wendy Zajack, adjunct professor who studies consumer behavior at Georgetown University's McDonough School of Business, explained to TPG."I think people are willing to save for a big trip or a big moment," Zajack added. "And when they do it, they're going to do it all in."Airlines bet big on the big gameSouthwest is planning unique nonstop service between Oklahoma City and Jacksonville when Oklahoma plays the University of Florida in November.The weekend before Thanksgiving, there's a flight between Columbus and Omaha when Ohio State plays Nebraska.To be fair, these football-focused flights aren't actually new.United has been strategically adding unique routes to college football games for nearly a decade.In recent years, the Chicago-based carrier has doubled down on finding opportunities to add one-off routes, even ones that don't touch its major hubs.A prime example is the flight between Birmingham, Alabama, and Baton Rouge, Louisiana, which it added for the Nov. 7 Alabama versus LSU matchup."We've developed a much deeper understanding of where fans want to go and how they prefer to travel," Michael Weeks, United's managing director of domestic schedule development, told TPG."That experience," he said, "has helped us become more strategic in identifying the right games, matching capacity to demand, and creating schedules that work well for customers."More than a gameThe deep link between sports and travel goes well beyond Saturday college football games, too — especially as leagues launch games to more alluring destinations.The NFL is planning its biggest international tour in 2026, following the first-ever game in Australia.Next summer, the MLB plans to host another game on the Iowa farm that was once the set of the film "Field of Dreams."Meanwhile, ticket sales are already underway for one of the biggest draws of all: the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.At a time when so much in life now happens on a screen, traveling to these "in-real-life" games increasingly feels like a splurge worth planning a larger trip around, according to Zajack."I think in our world right now we are really craving unique time-bound events," she said. "I don't see an end to it right now."Tips for bookingIf you're planning to book a trip to see your favorite team, it helps to be an eagle-eyed schedule-watcher.Begin searching flights and hotels as soon as your team's schedule drops. If you're hoping to use points, the best award deals are sometimes available 11 months or more in advance.Just be sure to book reservations you can change if the price later drops or if your plans change.Consider protecting your trip with a travel insurance plan that covers major events like sports games or concerts. When possible, add another layer of protection by purchasing your travel with a credit card that has built-in travel insurance.Flight prices typically surge around major events, so plan to land a few days early and leave a couple of days after the final whistle. This can add peace of mind if you get delayed and help you avoid high-demand ticket prices.Finally, be strategic when using points and miles. While award bookings can reduce your out-of-pocket expenses on flights and hotels, research current valuations to ensure you're not handing too many hard-earned points over at once.This story was produced by The Points Guy and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.
	Cat dies in Clinton fire A cat is dead after a fire in Clinton yesterday morning, according to a news release from the Clinton Fire Department. Firefighters were dispatched to the 500 block of 1st Avenue on Sept. 23 at about 9 a.m. for a report of a structure fire. They responded with a ladder truck, two engines, two ambulances [...]
	Police: Man set fires in Davenport apartment building Police say the fire happened Tuesday afternoon.
	Apple retired the 8GB Mac because of AI. 16 months later, AI brought it back In late October 2024, Apple made 16GB the standard memory configuration across every Mac it sold. The move was widely read as preparation for Apple Intelligence, which needed more memory than the old 8GB baseline could spare. Apple did it without raising prices. For the first time in the company's history, the entry-level Mac and the expensive one had the same amount of memory.On March 11, 2026, Apple launched the MacBook Neo at $599. It has 8GB of memory, a 256GB drive, and an A18 Pro chip, the processor from the iPhone 16 Pro. Apple markets it as built for artificial intelligence.Sixteen months separate those two decisions. In between, data center demand for memory chips repriced the entire supply chain. Manufacturers redirected production toward the high-bandwidth memory used in artificial intelligence servers, and according to TrendForce, contract prices for conventional memory rose 90% to 95% in the first quarter of 2026 alone, with the memory used in desktops and laptops expected to at least double in that single quarter.To measure what that did to the shelf, SmartScout analyzed Amazon U.S. marketplace data retrieved on Sept. 17, 2026: estimated revenue and year-over-year growth across 19 computing and consumer electronics categories, 300 Apple laptop listings, brand-level revenue share in laptops, buy box price histories for individual products, and Amazon search volume. Full methodology appears at the end of this article.Almost Half of Apple’s Amazon Laptop Volume Is Now 8GBSmartScout tracked 300 Apple laptop listings in the Amazon U.S. traditional laptops subcategory, accounting for $114,945,776 in monthly revenue and 105,142 units.Sorted by the memory configuration stated in each listing, 45.6% of units now ship with 8GB. Another 39.4% ship with 16GB. Configurations of 32GB and above account for 2.4% of units between them.The MacBook Neo is doing that on its own. It generates $27,742,797 a month, 24.1% of Apple's Amazon laptop revenue and 36.1% of its units, from eight listings. The MacBook Air needs 155 listings to produce 47.6% of units. The best-selling single MacBook Neo configuration moves 8,169 units per month compared to 6,348 for the best-selling MacBook Air.A machine that did not exist in February is now a third of Apple's laptop volume on the largest retail channel in the United States. SmartScout Two Ways To Send a Shopper the BillEvery device maker facing higher memory costs has two levers. Raise the price, or reduce what goes in the box. Which lever a company pulls depends on whether it has a configuration to cut and a margin to protect.Laptop makers have both. A laptop has a memory tier, a storage tier and a processor tier, and the maker can move any of them without changing the name on the lid. So on Amazon U.S., laptop revenue grew 19% year over year, a modest figure against the 162% increase in prices in the computer memory aisle. The adjustment happened inside the specification instead.Console makers have neither. A PlayStation 5 is a PlayStation 5. There is no 8GB version to sell instead, and consoles carry thin hardware margins by design because the money is made on software. Microsoft said as much when it raised Xbox prices by as much as $150, stating that storage and memory costs had more than doubled since the previous autumn and that consoles are not sold with enough margin to absorb that increase.The result is visible in the price history. A PlayStation 5 Digital Edition held a “buy box” price of $448.50 in June 2025 and $499 from September through March. In April 2026, it rose to $598. By August, it averaged $623. The machine did not change. PlayStation 5 console revenue on Amazon is up 56% year over year, and Xbox Series X and S revenue is up the same 56%.A console buyer pays more for the same machine. A laptop buyer pays a little more for a smaller machine. Both are paying the memory bill. SmartScout The Further a Category Sits From a Memory Chip, the Less It MovesRanking Amazon U.S. categories by year-over-year revenue growth produces an unusually clean gradient.Where the memory chip is the product, prices rose the most steeply: computer memory up 162%, external solid state drives up 90%, memory cards up 64%, internal solid state drives up 63%, flash drives up 35%. The data storage department as a whole is up 91%.Where memory is a large share of the bill of materials, the increase is real but smaller: consoles up 56%, graphics cards up 41%, laptops up 19%, tablets up 17%, processors up 11%.Where a product contains little or no memory, nothing happened, or the category shrank: computer monitors up 14%, networking products up 9%, tablet accessories up 8%, power supplies flat, cooling down 10%, motherboards down 13%, optical drives down 24%.Motherboards and power supplies are the tell. Those are the parts you buy at the same time as memory. Both categories are flat or falling while memory climbs, which is what happens when people stop building computers.Shoppers Are Walking Down the Memory LadderSearch behavior on Amazon confirms that buyers are adjusting their own expectations rather than paying up.Grouping laptop memory searches by capacity, the bottom rungs are growing, and the top rung is shrinking. Searches for 8GB laptops are up roughly 6,000 over 12 months and gained about 3,500 in the last month alone. Searches for 16GB laptops are up roughly 12,800. Searches for 32GB laptops are up about 2,000 and fell last month. Searches for 64GB laptops are down about 3,700 over the year.The secondhand market is inflecting at the same time. Searches for refurbished laptops stand at 44,532 per month, up 9,109 in the last three months after being flat the year before. "Refurbished laptops clearance sale" has gone from almost nothing to 15,558 searches a month. "Certified refurbished laptops" and "refurbished laptop clearance" both appeared from a standing start in the last twelve months.People are not canceling the purchase. They are buying “less” computer, or buying somebody else's. SmartScout The Squeeze Is Consolidating the MarketApple now holds 54.19% of Amazon U.S. laptop revenue, up 4.27 points month over month, and accounts for 50.6% of all advertising spend in the category. It gained that share in the same period it raised prices on Macs and iPads by as much as 25%, citing memory costs.The brands that lost ground are the ones that buy memory and storage on the open market and sell into the enthusiast segment. Acer fell 1.49 points and lost 3,460 units. ASUS fell 1.40 points. Hewlett-Packard fell 0.80. MSI, whose average selling price of $2,520 is the highest of any volume brand in the category, fell 0.45 points and lost 594 units. Samsung fell 0.43 points and lost 3,211 units.Component scarcity rewards whoever has the longest contracts and the most leverage with three suppliers. On Amazon, that is currently Apple. SmartScout MethodologyThis analysis is based on Amazon U.S. marketplace data from SmartScout, retrieved on Sept. 17, 2026. SmartScout estimates revenue and unit volume from sales rank, offer and pricing data across the Amazon catalog.Category figures are the year-over-year change in estimated monthly revenue for named Amazon subcategories, comparing the most recent month of data with the same month a year earlier. The categories referenced are computer memory, internal solid state drives, external solid state drives, memory cards, graphics cards, processors, motherboards, internal power supplies, network cards, internal optical drives, computer monitors, tablets, traditional laptops, PlayStation 5 consoles, and Xbox Series X and S consoles.The Apple configuration analysis covers 300 Apple listings in the traditional laptops subcategory, together accounting for $109,984,689 in estimated monthly revenue and 99,707 units. The memory tier was parsed from the unified memory figure stated in each listing title. The tier breakdown is reported across the $98,582,014 in monthly revenue and 79,327 units for which a figure is stated.Brand figures are each brand’s share of estimated revenue within the traditional laptops subcategory. Unit changes are measured month over month.Price histories are monthly buy box prices for single named listings, not category averages.Search figures are SmartScout estimates of monthly Amazon search volume in the United States, grouped across spelling variants, so that “16GB ram laptop” and “16 GB ram laptop” are counted together. Growth windows are trailing periods ending September 2026.Marketplace figures are modeled estimates rather than numbers reported by Amazon, and they move as new data arrives. All figures describe the marketplace as of the retrieval date above. Industry pricing context is drawn from company announcements and analyst research, cited inline.This story was produced by SmartScout and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.
	The migrant farmworkers risking their lives for illegal wages A few weeks ago, after a grueling day of harvesting tobacco in eastern North Carolina, Zapata returned to the house he shared with other farmworkers and began to vomit uncontrollably. He recalls how his chest hurt, how his muscles ached and how he began sweating profusely — all established signs of severe heat illness that can progress to death. By morning, his symptoms didn’t ease up, but he was reluctant to miss a day’s worth of pay. At just $11.15 per hour, every day counts. “That night I stayed awake until five in the morning, when we were already heading to work. When we got up at 5 am, I was the same, vomiting, vomiting,” he tells Sentient, in Spanish. He tied a girdle around his waist because he felt like his “stomach was open.” Still dehydrated from a night of vomiting, he forced himself to go to work, moving quickly between rows of yellow tobacco under a punishing sun.Based on his symptoms and the extreme heat that day, he believed that he was most likely experiencing heat illness. He also knew he couldn’t afford to take a day off without cutting into his paycheck, the lowest he’s earned since 2017. (To protect his privacy, he asked to be identified by only his last name.)Zapata is among the hundreds of thousands of migrant farmworkers who legally travel to the United States — the vast majority coming from Mexico — to temporarily work on farms under an agricultural visa program known as H-2A.The seasonal H-2A program is the only U.S. guest worker program with no upper limit on the number of visas issued, and is rife with documented cases of labor and human rights violations, including human trafficking. Many farmworker advocates view the program’s structure — tying a worker’s visa, paycheck and housing to a single employer — as exploitative by design.The Trump administration has made expanding the H-2A visa program a high priority. The Department of Labor projected that the program could expand from 383,000 workers in 2025 to over 500,000 by 2034. In June the Department of Homeland Security also issued a memo effectively encouraging the non-seasonal dairy industry to tap into the seasonal H-2A workforce, which it has largely not been permitted to do before.Though the H-2A program was designed to fill temporary farm labor shortages, Zapata is hardly temporary. He first traveled to North Carolina to harvest sweet potatoes and tobacco nearly 30 years ago, with over a decade spent on the same farm. This is the season that nearly broke him, a sentiment shared by other H-2A farmworkers. “We all feel that this year has been one of the worst,” he says.Last October, the Department of Labor dramatically cut the pay of both H-2A farmworkers and domestic farmworkers by abruptly changing the methodology used to determine the baseline wages of H-2A farmworkers. The UFW Foundation, the nonprofit sister branch of the United Farm Workers labor union, has described this as “one of the largest wealth transfers from workers to employers in U.S. agricultural history,” projected to deprive workers of $2.46 billion annually.This wage methodology also violates federal law. On Aug. 26, a federal judge sided with the United Farm Workers in a lawsuit, determining this historic wage cut to be unlawful in a rare legal win for farmworkers during the Trump era. The judge ordered the Department of Labor to come up with a new methodology for calculating farmworkers’ wages. Until then, the illegal wages remain in effect.“It is a half victory, but there’s still a long way to go with the fight,” says Eli Porras Carmona, a farmworker and organizer with El Futuro Es Nuestro, a farmworker rights organization led by H-2A farmworkers in North Carolina. “They still haven’t raised the salary like it was in previous years to $15 or $16, depending on the qualifications of the worker.”In Zapata’s case, he’ll continue to be paid $11.15, more than 30% less than the $16.16 he was paid in 2025 on the same tobacco farm. This has forced him to make incredibly difficult financial choices between paying for his groceries or sending money back home to his wife and two children, who live in central Mexico.“We just barely get by,” says Zapata. At the time of the interview, he was preparing to travel into town to send money to his family, but after that, he will be “left with nothing.”A Heightened Risk of Illness and InjuryUntil a new wage is in place, farmworkers across the United States will continue to work for the dangerously low wages, pushing an already precarious workforce into deeper financial strain. This has disastrous consequences that extend to all aspects of their lives, from their physical health to affording the basic necessities of survival.“This has caused them to be able to afford less groceries and have to stretch meals for themselves and their families,” says Diego Iñiguez-López, the director of government affairs at UFW Foundation, which represented farmworker plaintiffs in the lawsuit challenging the Trump administration’s rule.This level of financial strain can heighten the risk of injuries among farmworkers like Zapata who fear missing a day’s wages even for serious health issues. “There is a risk of dying or getting serious conditions because you’re trying to work as hard and as much as your body can take,” says Leticia Zavala, a former farmworker and a staff organizer at El Futuro es Nuestro.Beyond that, she has observed “mental anguish” among farmworkers from not only financial hardship, but the feeling of being abandoned by the many long-term employers who quickly slashed wages at the first opportunity. People thought “that their grower recognized them as human beings and gave them credit for the success of the business that has grown over years and years of harvesting together,” says Zavala, and then felt “discredited” when those employers handed them a severe wage cut.In North Carolina, the nation’s fifth largest employer of H-2A farmworkers, the tobacco harvest season is nearing its end. As the leaves ripen from green to yellow, farmworkers typically work six days a week in a rush to harvest the last of the cash crop. It’s always strenuous, but now there is the added pressure of earning the lowest wages in about a decade.Zapata compares this period to his early years as an H-2A farmworker. “In those years, we were working about 60 hours per week at $7.25,” he says, for a total of about $435 per week. Yet this money stretched further then. Accounting for inflation, $435 in 1997 had the same purchasing power as about $915 today. Back then, his groceries rang up to around $40 or $50 per week.Now, due to inflation and the rising cost of food in the United States, his effective wages are much lower. “We’re working practically 50 hours a week,” he says. If we multiply that by the $11.15, he earns about $560 a week, but then spends around $130 on groceries and necessities, leaving him with around $430 per week. “So there’s very little left over to be able to send to Mexico,” he says.This work takes a physical toll for little pay. Tobacco is a particularly noxious crop, doused with agricultural chemicals sprayed by a tractor that leaves the ground and leaves wet and smelling of poison, he says. Then there’s the risk of contracting acute nicotine poisoning from the nicotine on the tobacco leaves, especially after it rains or dew lingers on the leaves, seeping into workers’ skin and bloodstream. Overlapping with many heat illness and pesticide poisoning symptoms, this can also trigger dizziness, nausea, vomiting and insomnia.“It’s a lot of work, heavy and tiring and dirty,” he says. “All the [agricultural chemical] products are very harsh. Exposing ourselves to the sun, and the [rain] water, and then we get hives on our bodies and get dizzy and we vomit.” (Zapata never received a medical diagnosis, so it’s possible his symptoms were caused by nicotine or pesticide poisoning instead of or in addition to heat illness.)Like many H-2A farmworkers, Zapata doesn’t have a car in the United States and only leaves his farm and employer-owned housing once a week to go into town with his coworkers. There, they send paychecks to their loved ones and pick up groceries. The wage cuts have limited H-2A farmworkers to buying just bare necessities on their weekly trips into town. As farmworkers spend as little as possible, it’s affected local economies.“Even here, at the Mexican stores, the lunch ladies are saying that, you know, it’s affected their economy because there’s less people spending and eating out, less H-2A workers,” says Zavala. “An employee at Walmart asked me, like, ‘Well, why aren’t people spending money like they were last year?”’A Long Road Ahead to Reverse Wage CutsWhile far from set in stone, the new rule offers farmworkers a way forward and rare hope in what has been one of the hardest seasons in the H-2A program’s history.“This is a great victory for farmworkers and now it’s important to get the word out to them about potential back pay and make sure we understand that this is going to be a long-term legal battle,” says Iñiguez-López of UFW Foundation.“There’s much more work to be done to actually get new wages,” adds Iñiguez-López. “We have to continue going to court, and getting the Department of Labor and the Trump administration to actually comply with the order under the court, and then we have to still get an order from the judge for the back pay, so that that process can begin.”On Sept. 2, the Department of Labor issued the first of the updates mandated by the court order, which requires it to give notice on back pay and periodic status reports on the steps toward “producing the required new methodology” to determine H-2A farmworker wages.The update repeatedly pointed to the possibility of appealing the decision.“The Department’s compliance with the Order shall not be construed to waive its rights to seek further review of and relief from the Order,” states the update. “Nor shall the Department’s compliance be construed as an admission that a Court has the authority under law to compel DOL or employers to cause back wage adjustments for the reasons set forth in the Court’s Order.”The update also notes that “certain employers may be required to make back wage adjustment payments” for the period from Sept. 2 until the Department of Labor issues a new wage methodology. But at the same time, the agency appears poised to fight this prospect, announcing its plans to “advance its position against the future imposition of any back wage-adjustment obligations” and stating: “To be clear, no employer is under an obligation at this time to pay any back wages.”As the dust settles, Porras Carmona advises that farmworkers hold onto their pay stubs in case they need documentation to receive back pay to compensate for the illegal wages. Beyond that, he encourages farmworkers to continue to organize — whether by sending letters to the Department of Labor or holding vigils to honor the lives of farmworkers who died — and to “not give up halfway through the fight.”This story was produced by Sentient and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.
	September is Tobacco Free Parks and Beaches Education Month By Lacoadia Burkes, Acting Bureau Chief, Tobacco Free Florida (NAPSI)—As summer temperatures start to break, it’s a good time to focus on how important it is to keep our Florida beaches and parks clean. You may not be surprised to hear that cigarette butts are, by far, the most littered item in public places. When discarded, they can leak toxic chemicals and threaten the health of wildlife. They are also an eyesore and harm tourists’ perceptions of our otherwise beautiful and welcoming public lands. This September, in recognition of Tobacco Free Florida Parks and Beaches Education Month, there will be opportunities around the state to help clean local parks and beaches while sharing information about how toxic tobacco can be to people and the environment. There are many great reasons to work together to make our shared spaces tobacco free. Cigarettes are not biodegradable, as some think. Each discarded butt introduces plastic, arsenic, tar, lead, ammonia, and more into the environment. Cigarette butts can also be harmful for children or small animals who come in contact with them. Cities and counties spend millions cleaning them up, and in addition to endangering people and animals they also threaten the tourism activity we all depend on. Other things associated with tobacco—including lighters and e-cigarettes—are also among the most harmful and common items found in park and beach cleanups. There may be cleanup events happening in your area, offering opportunities to come together as a community and care for the beaches and parks we all enjoy. Visit TobaccoFreeFlorida.com/Get-Involved to see if your county is hosting any events. Remember, it will take all of us to help keep Florida tobacco free. Word Count: 272
	Does the Pumpkin Spice Latte craze pay off for Starbucks investors? When the smell of pumpkin spice fills the air at your local Starbucks, you know autumn has arrived. Since the Pumpkin Spice Latte (PSL) debuted in 2003, it’s gained a cult-like following, boosting Starbucks’s foot traffic by 25% upon its seasonal launch on August 25, reportedly the coffee chain’s biggest Tuesday of the year.Watching a product go viral is the stuff of dreams for business owners. But does the PSL hype translate into stock gains for investors? Finder dove into the last 10 years of Starbucks stock price data to find out.A 10-year look at the PSL and Starbucks stockAs amusing as it would be to find a correlation between the annual Pumpkin Spice Latte launch and the price of Starbucks stock (SBUX), there doesn’t seem to be a relationship—at least not directly. Finder Over the past 10 years, SBUX stock bumped up (slightly) every year the PSL was released and every year the release date was announced.However, while Starbucks shareholders would’ve been pleased to see their stock rise a little upon the PSL’s yearly launch, they would’ve been disappointed to see the uptick quickly fizzle out by the end of the trading day.Seven of the past 10 launches saw SBUX stock experience negative daily returns compared to the previous day. The same can be said for eight of the past 10 years’ worth of launch date announcements.(In 2017, there were tiny positive day-over-day returns when the PSL launched early in select locations, but the stock still dipped on the full nationwide release date).The story flips when looking at Starbucks stock price movements after PSL releases. In eight of the past 10 years, SBUX went up the day after the PSL was released.Granted, the price movements were small, but the pattern of positive movement following PSL release dates noticeably contrasts with the negative movement seen on most of the actual release dates over the past decade.Is there a short-term “Pumpkin Spice Latte effect” on SBUX stock? It doesn’t look like it. But shareholders may still benefit from the value the PSL brings to Starbucks’s brand.The value of the PSL beyond Starbucks stockIt’s hard to put an exact dollar value on Starbucks’s Pumpkin Spice Latte movement. But NBC News reports that hundreds of millions of PSLs have been sold since the product was introduced in 2003. Food & Beverage Magazine cites third-party estimates that the beverage brings in $500 million in annual revenue.Beyond sales figures, the Pumpkin Spice Latte has taken on a life of its own, growing into a subculture with a loyal following.In 2018, Starbucks started the “Leaf Rakers Society,” a Facebook group that now has over 41,000 members dedicated to celebrating fall year-round, and the company’s official Instagram post announcing the return of the PSL in 2026 received over 329,000 likes.While shareholders may not see SBUX spike meaningfully from annual PSL launches, long-term investors can benefit from the value that much-loved products like the Pumpkin Spice Latte bring to Starbucks’s customer base and its bottom line.Starbucks stock and the Bearista Cold CupDo other trendy Starbucks launches have a similarly negligible impact on its stock, or is this effect limited to PSLs alone? To find out, it makes sense to take a look at another product that made waves when it was first introduced—the glass Bearista Cold Cup.Announced in October 2025 as the star player of Starbucks’ holiday lineup, the reusable teddy-bear-shaped cup triggered a frenzy of social media interest, and, some might say, hysteria.The product’s launch in November was met with more interest than stores were prepared to handle, with the limited supply of Bearista cups quickly selling out (in some cases, before stores opened, due to employee purchases).In light of the public backlash over the lack of supply, the company issued an apology, claiming the excitement had “exceeded even our biggest expectations.”Was Starbucks secretly playing into scarcity marketing? It’s hard to know for sure. But you might wonder if the tidal wave of public interest nudged up SBUX stock. Finder As with the Pumpkin Spice Latte, SBUX stock bumped up a little the day the Bearista was announced and the day it was released. The day following the announcement saw that small gain disappear, while the day after the launch saw the stock go up by over 4%.The amount of data is too small to yield any decisive conclusions. But it may be reasonable to speculate that product hype alone isn’t a reliable force on the price of SBUX stock, notwithstanding the occasional modest boost seen amidst some product events.At one point, the Bearista, which originally retailed for $29.95, was listed by resellers for hundreds of dollars—multiple times the value of a single SBUX share—demonstrating (perhaps against public sentiment) the potential profitability of collectibles compared to trend-fueled spikes in stock prices.In the end, investors may want to stick to other paths for growing their money, like ETFs, index funds, consumer staples stocks or starting a side hustle, instead of waiting for Starbucks to drop its next seasonal product line.This guide has been edited by Matt Miczulski.This story was produced by Finder and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.
	Trading cards may outperform the S&P 500 at times, but are Pokémon cards a good investment? In mid-2025, Pokémon cards reached values they hadn’t seen in over 20 years, but is investing in them a good idea? Pokémon cards may have made some people wildly rich, but many people who invest in them still lose money. There are a lot of people who collected Pokémon cards as kids, but lately, things have exploded. It’s no longer just kids swapping cards at recess. People are spending real money here: thousands, even tens of thousands of dollars or more, on sealed products, graded slabs, and vintage singles.So, the question isn’t just, is this a fun hobby? The real question is, is this a smart financial move? And as CreditNinja explains, the answer is a lot more complicated than many experts want you to believe.Why “Limited Edition” Is a MythLet’s start with the uncomfortable truth. Scarcity is largely a myth when it comes to new products. The Pokémon Company printed roughly 10 billion cards in the 2024-2025 fiscal year. That’s not exactly a drop in the bucket, and new sets are dropping constantly. Plus, reprints happen regularly, and the term “limited edition” is more of a marketing phrase than reality. And layered on top of all of that are the scalpers.How The Scalper Trap WorksA hot new set just drops, and bots are buying them in bulk. Pretty much everything sells out within minutes. And now, the only place that you can buy it is from a reseller who’s charging about two or three times the MSRP. If you’re a collector, you feel the FOMO, so you pay for it. The scalper profits, Pokémon profits, and you’re left with all the risk.Here’s what’s actually happening. So much product has now been reprinted that someone’s hot item is already sitting in someone else’s garage. The supply is quite literally out of control.If you paid a premium for a sealed product six months ago, it may be worth less now than what you paid for it. The system is designed this way on purpose. It also depends on whether you’re a collector or an investor, because they are entirely two different games here, and the answer changes how this information actually applies to you.The PSA Grading CaseFederal law enforcement has taken an interest now in the high-value collectibles market. In January of 2026, a jury in New York convicted a man named Anthony Curcio for selling Pokémon and sports cards with forged PSA grades. PSA grades are the official seal of approval on a playing card. Common cards were being passed off as PSA 9s and 10s, inflating their prices. The case was handled by the Southern District of New York’s Illicit Finance and Money Laundering Unit. The FBI had run an investigation, and the total victim losses came to over $2 million.Grading fraud is a documented problem in the trading card market, and it matters to you as a buyer because a PSA grade is basically the entire basis of the card’s value. If the grade can be faked, then the system has a massive hole in it.Pokémon Cards and Money LaunderingThere’s also an organized crime element. In April 2026, Spanish authorities broke up a Swedish criminal network operating out of Marbella that was using rare Pokémon cards to launder drug money. They would convert cash into cards and then present that as a legitimate investment portfolio to sell through secondary markets.Similarly, a former Japanese crime syndicate leader confirmed that his organization was using a similar playbook, according to Automaton. The cards are extremely small, portable, and can be worth a lot of money, so it’s easy to move money through them quickly and quietly.This doesn’t mean that your collection is implicated, but if you’re treating your card collection as a financial investment, it’s worth knowing.The Cards Actually Going Up In ValueBut, one of the more important pieces of all of this, and probably most interesting to you, is that certain cards are still appreciating and making money: vintage cards, first edition base sets, shadowless prints, basically cards that were produced when print runs actually still meant limited before the market became what it is today. As Fortune reported, in mid-2025, Pokémon and sports trading cards were “outperforming the S&P 500 with upwards of 46% annual returns.” However, these cards have documented scarcity and a growing base of adult collectors with real purchasing power.And it’s not just Pokémon. The broader collectibles market has been rising across the board: sports cards, comics, vintage toys. If you’re collecting for the love of the hobby and buying what you can actually afford, plus you’re targeting vintage cards with real scarcity, well, you’re doing all the right things. If you’re buying a new sealed product expecting it to outperform the S&P 500 because an influencer told you it would, that scenario probably doesn’t have a happy ending.People are treating cards like an asset class, and the market is responding. Buyers have changed. They used to be kids with hobbies, and now they’re adults with real disposable income. Even kids who are collecting nowadays are watching the prices. The whole culture has shifted from fun to finance.Where to Buy: WhatNot vs. eBayWhatnot is a popular live auction platform where sellers are moving cards in real time. Pricing is set by live demand. It’s community-driven, which makes it transparent and hard to fake. eBay is still the most liquid individual marketplace for cards, and the price history is publicly visible, so you can do your research before you buy.There are still red flags, such as unverified private sellers promising grading results that they can’t guarantee. And don’t believe an influencer telling you that opening packs is a strategy. The only people making consistent money in this market are almost always running it like a part-time business. They understand platform fees, shipping costs, tax implications, and how to source in bulk.Often, markets like this attract people who are feeling financial pressure, and FOMO is a major motivator. When you’re feeling financially stretched thin, the idea that a collection of any kind could help pay your bills sounds very motivating, but situations like this are very risky.The Verdict: Are Pokémon Cards a Good Investment?So, are Pokémon cards a good investment? Some can be, others probably not. But with this knowledge under your belt, you can walk into the market better informed, with a clearer picture, before you make any moves.This story was produced by CreditNinja and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.
	'Empire' asks: When a child dies, who pays the price? Set in the same universe as Tahir's Ember in Ashes series, Empire picks up right where the last book, 'Heir' left off — with S'rsha attached to the very monster she sought to destroy.
	Davenport to appoint 2nd Ward alderman after Dunn resigns Davenport is taking applications from 2nd Ward residents to fill the vacancy after Tim Dunn's abrupt resignation. The city council will then vote to appoint one of the applicants.
	Cancer leads AI physician queries across 9 countries While cancer continues to be a major global health challenge, it is also a rapidly changing area of medicine. Targeted therapies, immunotherapy, genomic testing, biomarker-driven treatments, and artificial intelligence tools are contributing to the medical community’s ability to diagnose and treat cancer.The American Cancer Society estimated a total of 2,041,910 new cancer cases in the United States in 2025. Cancer accounts for 619,876 deaths per year in the U.S. overall, second only to heart disease, which accounts for 683,491 deaths annually. However, cancer is the leading cause of death among people younger than 85 years old.The cancer death rate has declined in recent decades thanks to smoking cessation, early detection, and advances in treatment options. Yet progress in cancer prevention is lagging, as the occurrence rate for six of the top 10 cancers – breast, pancreas, prostate, uterine corpus, melanoma, and colorectal – continues to increase.Based on an analysis of a representative sample of millions of Medscape AI queries across nine countries, cancer is the most-searched disease area in every market studied, suggesting many clinicians are turning to AI-powered tools to help navigate the growing complexity of oncology.In recognition of World Cancer Research Day on Sept. 24, Medscape explored why cancer generates so many physician questions, how oncology has changed in recent years, and where AI may help clinicians manage an increasingly information-rich field.Why cancer dominates AI queriesWhile oncology is one of the most information-intensive areas of medicine, cancer remains a difficult condition to diagnose and treat. This is due to the variety of possible causes, symptoms, cell types, and progression among patients, known as disease heterogeneity. Major progress has been made in cancer screening, diagnosis, and treatment; however, identifying specific cancer types can be challenging.Cancer treatment decisions often carry significant consequences related to survival, recurrence risk, and treatment toxicity. The viability of traditional cancer treatments, such as surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and hormonal therapy has been improved by research and technology developments. However, limitations still exist.Surgery can be successful for tumor removal, but the size, location, and metastasis may mean this is not a good option. Radiotherapy is a highly effective option, although some cancer cells are unaffected by this treatment, or result in relapses. Resistance to chemo or hormone therapy may occur, due to genetic mutations or tumor heterogeneity.“As one of the most information-intensive specialties, cancer is one of the few areas of medicine where stakes are consistently high,” said Dr. Maurie Markman, Medscape contributor and professor of medical oncology & therapeutic research at City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center. “Physicians recognize that every patient’s cancer may be biologically unique. Determining which treatment is best takes factors like biomarkers, tumor genetics, emerging research, and evolving treatment guidelines into consideration.”The prominence of cancer-related AI queries by physicians is driven by more than the disease’s impact on patients. It also reflects a dramatic evolution in cancer care over the past two decades.Precision medicine advances; cancer data overwhelm skyrocketsAdvances in cancer research have not only expanded treatment opportunities for clinicians, but information overload as well.An increase in the number of cancer medicines that received regular approval jumped from 26 between 2006-2010 to 115 between 2021-2025, representing a 340% increase, according to a JAMA article.Personalized cancer care is increasingly available due to the shift toward precision medicine. Tissue-agnostic therapies approved by the Food and Drug Administration now target specific biomarkers regardless of where cancer originated. According to the National Cancer Institute, the FDA has approved multiple tissue-agnostic therapies targeting biomarkers such as NTRK gene fusions, BRAF mutations, RET fusions, HER2 expression, and tumor mutational burden.Tumor biopsies are often reviewed by oncologists for specific mutations, as those results can lead to the most likely treatment option. Testing patients for mutations meant running individual molecular tests, until next-generation sequencing became an option. Now, next-generation sequencing (NGS) allows clinicians to test multiple genes of a cancer at once and can identify new markers that may lead to additional treatment options, according to JAMA Oncology.While NGS has created the opportunity for more personalized treatment and targeted therapies, interpreting complex data can make it difficult for oncologists to recommend the correct treatment options.Promising developments of future innovations like single-cell sequencing and liquid biopsies hope to make precision oncology more accessible and effective.“Modern-day optimization of care delivery for cancer patients has become complex due to the rapidly evolving data tsunami in precision care therapeutics,” Markman said. “Twenty years ago, treatment decisions were based primarily on cancer type and stage. Today, physicians must now consider genetic and molecular information alongside traditional factors.”As cancer care becomes more personalized and information intensive, many clinicians are exploring technologies that can help synthesize growing volumes of evidence.Why AI may fit oncology particularly wellAI models can be an excellent tool for oncologists, if they keep the models’ current risks and limitations in mind.Developed by researchers at Harvard Medical School, the Clinical Histopathology Imaging Evaluation Foundation (CHIEF) is an AI model which reads digital slides of tumor tissue to detect cancer cells and molecular profiles. It achieved nearly 94% accuracy in cancer detection across 15 different databases containing 11 cancer types.Trained on 60,000 whole-slide pathology images, CHIEF’s accuracy rate is impressive. While the AI model’s results are promising, clinical trials would need to be run to test its efficacy in the real world.Another AI model combines stimulated Raman histology, optical imaging, and deep learning. It diagnoses intraoperative brain tumors with 94.6% accuracy in 150 seconds, compared to 93.9% accuracy in 20-30 minutes by standard pathology.The benefits of applying AI to detect and diagnose cancer span from its ability to quickly review large volumes of literature, uncover relevant research findings, compare treatment approaches, and assist with guideline navigation. AI models excel when identifying patterns across large datasets, supporting precision medicine approaches, and helping physicians manage growing information complexity.The use of AI models does not come without risk. A study of endoscopy centers, called the Artificial Intelligence in Colonoscopy for Cancer Prevention trial, compared the quality of colonoscopies conducted three months before and after AI was applied. Researchers tracked endoscopists using an AI tool that flagged adenomas, or precancerous polyps, during colonoscopies.The study found that AI use boosted the adenoma detection rate (ADR) significantly. Though, once AI assistance was taken away, the ADR dropped from 28% before AI was applied to 22%. Researchers concluded that overreliance on AI may have reduced the endoscopists’ independent diagnostic skills, as their ADR dropped below its original baseline.AI use in cancer care is not without limitations. Human bias input during the development and deployment of algorithms raises concern about AI models’ safety and performance and can lead to inaccurate predictions, according to a 2024 review paper. The research cites that many AI algorithms were trained on biased publicly available image datasets. Skin lesion datasets of more than 100,000 pictures showed that lesions on darker skin were underrepresented. Skin color was recorded in 2,436 of those images, and only 11 represented those with brown or Black skin.Furthermore, the review paper found that approximately one-third of cancer treatment recommendations generated by ChatGPT did not fully align with the current National Comprehensive Cancer Network guidelines. The review also cites evidence that showed cancer detection improved by an additional 8% when AI was combined with a human reader, highlighting the continued importance of clinician oversight.Oncologists must measure ever-evolving advancements in AI by the impacts it has on their patients.What it means for patientsPatients’ strongest outcomes may occur when technology and physician expertise work together.Early multicancer noninvasive detection tests genetic signals within blood samples to assess if various cancers are present, combining next-generation sequencing with AI. This emerging technology may help clinicians identify patterns earlier, process increasingly complex clinical data, and support more personalized treatment recommendations and care planning."For patients, the promise of AI isn't simply faster technology,” Markman said. “It's the possibility of earlier detection, more personalized treatment planning, and giving care teams additional tools to make informed decisions throughout the cancer journey."AI has the potential to help process clinical data more efficiently and enhance clinical decision support.The future of oncologyGrowing volumes of complex cancer data from accelerated research and treatment options make it increasingly difficult for clinicians to stay current with the demands of modern cancer care. A need to bridge information gaps may be the driving factor in the popularity of AI searches among physicians. AI’s greatest potential for clinicians may not lie in their replacement but rather aid them in making more informed diagnosis, treatment, and management decisions for their cancer patients.MethodologyThese findings are based on an analysis of a representative sample of millions of organic Medscape AI search queries collected over the first half of 2026. Advanced AI models were used to identify key intents and usage behaviors among healthcare professionals across nine countries: the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Brazil, and Mexico. Queries were categorized into distinct clinical intents and topic areas to identify the primary drivers of platform use. This story was produced by Medscape and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.
	How to manage the rising costs of being a pet parent Financial planner Rich Arzaga never expected to spend so much money on his 11-year-old, Leo. Especially since Leo isn't his son, but a flat-coated retriever.A recent medical battle for Leo led to two different hospitalizations, adding up to a total of $20,000. That's a lot of money for a furry friend well into his lifespan. But the investment paid off. Leo received treatment for various conditions, and is recovering well."The decision wasn't an easy one," says Arzaga, of Monument, Colo., about covering the big price tag. "But we felt he deserved the chance."How much does it really cost to own a pet?Caring for a dog over 15 years can now cost anywhere from $22,125 to $60,602, according to Synchrony's Pet Lifetime of Care Study, up 11.65% from the same study three years prior. Cat owners can expect a range of $20,073 to $47,106, up 19.4%.First-time pet parents might expect a few bills beyond daily bowls of kibble. But the reality is far more extensive: training, boarding, grooming, high-end food, insurance, out-of-pocket medical expenses, and much more.Arzaga is experiencing first-hand what many pet owners do. It's all part of a society-wide trend: our pet companions feel like real family members, for whom we would do anything. But at the same time, our deep love for our pets shouldn't drive us into debt.Here's what the experts recommend for handling pet costs the right way, reports Current, a consumer fintech banking platform.How do you start a pet emergency fund?Start by setting aside a small, automatic amount every month, even $50, in an account dedicated to your pet. That way, when surprise expenses come along, you will already have prepared for them.Every financial planner drives home the importance of establishing an emergency fund for yourself and your family, typically in the range of three to six months' worth of expenses. A pet emergency fund works the same way, just on a smaller scale."A pet emergency fund, even $50 a month on autopay, buys the ability to say yes on the worst day without touching a credit card," says financial planner Matt Chancey of Winter Park, Fla. "Fund these first, and without guilt."As far as where to keep those funds, it's always smart to consider higher-yielding accounts that earn you interest in the meantime.Which pet expenses are worth cutting?Cut the splurges your pet will never notice, and put that money toward preventative vet care instead. A lot of pet spending goes to the wrong things, says Chancey."The $80 leash, the boutique treats, the decor-grade bed your dog will drag into the yard," he says. "Your dog doesn't know what the leash cost. Cut this category to zero and your pet will never notice."Instead, you want to maximize what's truly priceless: the number of years you have with your pet. That means regular, preventative vet care, which will spot and address any health issues early on.There's a reason vet care is the biggest budget category for dog owners, at 31% of spending, according to the American Pet Products Association. Nationwide, that makes for a projected $42.4 billion this year on vet care and product sales.Is pet insurance worth it?Pet insurance protects you from the heart-wrenching scenario of having to make a life-or-death decision based on cost. No one wants to be put in that impossible position, and coverage means you won't have to be.Given how attached we are to our pets, it's surprising how few owners have insurance. Only 4.27% of pets are covered, according to the North American Pet Health Insurance Association, meaning more than 95% of pets are going without.It's true that the costs of such insurance are higher than ever. The average annual premium for dogs is now $836, according to NAPHIA's State of the Industry report. And premiums typically get hiked every year, since older pets obviously encounter more health problems.To find and compare what's available in your area, check out NAPHIA's pet insurance finder.Does your credit score affect pet insurance costs?It can. Depending on your location, since each state has its own regulations, insurers may take credit scoring into account when offering coverage or setting pricing, according to credit agency Experian.You might not think your credit score has anything to do with getting insurance for little Fido or Fifi. But it could be costing you, which means improving your score can only help in your pet insurance search.If your score could use some improving, consider a secured card, which could help minimize risks of debt because you can only spend the amount of money available in your account. Make sure the card you choose reports your monthly payments to the three major credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian and TransUnion).The payoff of planning aheadAs for the adorable retriever Leo, he's on the mend and loving life. Arzaga was happy to pay any bill to keep Leo around."For us, it feels like a good investment in our family—and in our soul," says Arzaga. "I don't know if I would ever be able to forget not giving Leo and our family this chance."This story was produced by Current and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.
	Why AI models hallucinate and which models get it wrong most Nowhere have AI hallucinations been more publicly visible than in our courts.
	Early voting for general election begins today in Rock Island County Early voting for the Nov. 3 general election begins Thursday, Oct. 24, in Rock Island County at the County Clerk's Office located in the County Building at 1504 3rd Ave.
	Trump rolls out red carpet for Xi as high-stakes summit begins On Thursday, the two leaders will hold meetings where Trump and Xi are expected to talk about artificial intelligence, rare earths, trade and geopolitics such as Iran and Taiwan.
	Trump rolls out the red carpet for Xi as high-stakes summit begins On Thursday, the two leaders will hold meetings where Trump and Xi are expected to talk about artificial intelligence, rare earths, trade and geopolitics such as Iran and Taiwan.
	Cooler weather for late September After a hot start to the month of September, we've cooled off considerably and that'll continue through the end of the month. More showers are on the way through the weekend. Here's your full 7-day forecast.
	Halpin announces additional funding to boost food security The grants will fund construction, renovation and operation costs for new stores’ first two years, including wages, utility costs and initial food inventory.
	Needy couples got cash and a spending plan. Results were good -- and bad In Liberia, joint financial planning boosted cash aid's benefits. It also had an unexpected consequence for some families.
	Senate passes Iowa-backed bill to identify products that could be made in the U.S. A bill requiring a study to identify opportunities to manufacture critically needed products in the U.S. backed by Iowa lawmakers is expected to become law after passing the U.S. Senate Wednesday.
	The Education Dept. hasn't been dismantled. It's become more inefficient, staff say Education staff are being scattered across several other federal agencies. Despite the Trump administration's claims, employees say it's adding bureaucracy and making it harder to serve students.
	Under Trump, NIH funding disruptions have evolved. Here's what the numbers show Stories of science funding being cut, labs shutting down and scientists losing jobs have flooded the media under Trump's administration. These six graphics show how those changes have affected U.S. biomedical research.
	eBay bans airbag sales as concerns about faulty or counterfeit parts rise eBay became the latest online retailer to ban the sale of airbags and many of their components. Aftermarket parts can be risky if they turn out to be fake or defective.
	States threaten action against company earning millions off disabled vets The investigations by attorneys general follow a recent bankruptcy filing in the face of civil lawsuits, falling revenues, and impending debt payments.
	Warren demands Trump officials explain removing a ban on interference in census data Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren asked Trump officials to explain why the Census Bureau's parent agency cut a ban on political interference from its scientific integrity policy, as NPR first reported.
	Judge orders Trump administration to restore journalists' access to White House A federal judge ordered the Trump administration on Thursday to temporarily restore access to the three media organizations banned from covering White House events last week by President Trump.
	Venezuela's acting leader promises elections at the 'right moment' Venezuela's acting president, delivering her first address to the U.N. General Assembly since coming to power, promised elections and said the nation's people will determine the "right moment."
	OpenAI's breach of Australian health department website prompts rebuke Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he was extremely concerned about OpenAI 's breach of an Australian health department website that the artificial intelligence company took too long to reveal.
Wednesday, September 23rd, 2026
	Fears of return to war grow in Ethiopia's Tigray region Fears are growing of a return to war in Ethiopia's Tigray region, just four years after a devastating conflict ended in a fragile peace deal.
	Mediapolis, Wilton meet in week 6 spotlight game Mediapolis enters its week six matchup against Wilton with a 3-1 record, Wilton with a 2-2 record.
	Civil War Comes to Rock Island This is Roald Tweet on Rock Island.The first few minutes of a war are exciting. Some madness seems to make men eager to leave home and family to hunt each…
	Captain’s Table name set to return as new owners take over Moline riverfront restaurant Moline's former Catfish Charlie's is set to become Captain's Table again, with new owners planning to reopen the riverfront restaurant as early as November.
	Johnson County Sheriff's Office investigating fatal water emergency at Lake MacBride Fifth graders from Borlaug Elementary were at the park on a field trip. The specifics of how the teacher and student ended up in the water have not been disclosed.
	Clinton, Jackson County residents asked to fill out public survey on transportation Regional Planning Affiliation 8, with ECIA Transportation and Planning, is working to update its long-range plan and wants community input.
	Hurricane Polo fuels fears of landslides in Mexico as Nolo closes in on Hawaii Southwestern Mexico braced for heavy rain and mudslides after Polo became a major hurricane. Forecasters warned another system headed for Hawaii could cause catastrophic flooding later in the week.
	Cook review: 'Wisdom of Happiness' documentary will bring you joy "The Wisdom of Happiness" is like healing balm for the soul: Comforting, uplifting, and calm. The idea of the film is simple. His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama gives a talk, which is shown along with archival and scenic footage, about the path he has walked, and how happiness can and does connect us all. [...]
	Online college for working adults: What to look for (BPT) - Sponsored by University of PhoenixKey takeaways:Key factors to consider when comparing online colleges include: recognized institutional accreditation, schedule flexibility, transparent tuition information, transfer-credit policies, career-relevant curriculum and student support.These factors can help prospective working adult students evaluate whether an online university, like University of Phoenix, fits their educational goals and real-life responsibilities.The World Economic Forum reports that technological change remains one of the biggest forces reshaping jobs through 2030. At the same time, higher education itself is confronting the post-2025 enrollment cliff, as the number of traditional-age students begins to decline. These two realities mean that working adults are now the future of education and must choose a college that helps them keep pacing with rapidly changing technology.For adults balancing jobs, family responsibilities and financial pressure, the question is not only whether higher education still matters. It is whether a degree program will fit their busy life without overwhelming it, whether their education connects to skills that matter in today's workplace and whether their school provides support that can help them make progress toward their educational and career goals.Experts at University of Phoenix share what working adults should look for when evaluating an online university, including how to assess legitimacy, flexibility, career relevance and support. How can you tell if an online college is legitimate? A legitimate online university should have recognized institutional accreditation. It might also offer visible student support, transparent tuition, transfer-credit policies, and evidence that its programs are aligned to real occupations and skills.University of Phoenix, for example, has been continuously accredited by the Higher Learning Commission, hlcommission.org, since 1978.Adult learners should also look beyond accreditation and ask how the school is designed for completion. Does it offer schedules that work for adults with jobs and families? Does it help students transfer eligible prior credit? Does it connect learning to career-relevant skills? And does it provide support that continues beyond enrollment?Useful questions to evaluate an online college include:How is the program structured for working adults?What kinds of academic, advising and career support are available?How does the curriculum connect to job-relevant skills?Can my prior eligible credits or experience reduce time and cost?Are there alumni using the degree in fields similar to mine?When evaluating an online university, working adults should look for recognized accreditation, transparent information, student support and a learning model built for real life.John Woods, Ph.D., Provost, University of PhoenixWhat should working adults look for in an online college?Many adults worry that their age, life circumstances or family obligations could keep them from succeeding in a degree program. In reality, adult learners are already a major part of higher education and that population is only expected to grow. Let's look at University of Phoenix again: The average age of UOPX students is 38, with 75% of them working while attending school and 52% with dependents.That is why fit matters so much. A school built for working adults should reduce friction, not add to it. University of Phoenix emphasizes a model built for working adults, including one five- to six-week course at a time, multiple opportunities to start throughout the year and support designed for adults balancing work, family and school.Do employers respect online degrees?While an online college degree has become more widely accepted, some students still question whether employers respect degrees earned online. A 2026 University of Phoenix survey found that the answer is "yes." According to the survey, 98% of hiring leaders at large U.S. employers in four industries said that online education credentials are more credible than they were 10 years ago.The survey was conducted online within the United States by The Harris Poll on behalf of University of Phoenix from Jan. 14-30, 2026, among 502 U.S. adults ages 21 and older who are employed full-time, have a job level of manager/supervisor or higher, work in the human resources or learning and development function, are employed at a company with at least 1,000 employees, and operate in the manufacturing, financial services, information technology or health care industry.The survey also found that 78% of those hiring leaders said workers with these credentials stand out because they bring new and emerging skill sets. Surveyed hiring leaders reported increased productivity (63%), employees picking up skills more quickly to respond to changes in the job market (62%), and more qualified candidates (60%) as a result of employees having online education credentials.At University of Phoenix, program curriculum maps are informed by labor-market data, faculty expertise, external standards such as accreditation and industry advisory council feedback. That skills-first design supports digital badging, helping learners turn completed coursework into shareable, verified signals of skill development while they are still progressing through a degree. More recent research offers a University-specific perspective. In a separate 2026 survey conducted by The Harris Poll on behalf of the University, 98% of 204 managers who directly supervise at least one University of Phoenix graduate reported being satisfied overall with the graduate at their organization, and 97% said they are likely to hire someone with a University of Phoenix degree in the future. The findings reflect the reported experiences of managers who have direct supervisory experience with University graduates.How to find an online degree program aligned with your career goalsToday's working adults need higher education that does more than putting classes online. They need learning designed around evolving workplace skills, supported by clear student services and recognition of prior learning, and responsive to how AI is changing both jobs and education.University of Phoenix offers degree programs aligned to more than 300 occupations, reflecting the institution's broader, skills-mapped, career-focused model. To help learners show progress before graduation, University of Phoenix issues digital badges that translate assessed learning into verified skill signals that can be added to their digital profiles as demonstrated skills, even before graduation. Since 2021, the University has awarded over one million digital badges as part of the University's skills-aligned, career-focused learning model.Adult learners returning to higher education often bring valuable prior learning with them. University of Phoenix demonstrates the scale of an institutional model designed to help students preserve eligible academic credit and avoid unnecessary repetition, with more than 7 million transfer credits applied toward degree requirements over the past eight years and up to 87 transfer credits accepted for many bachelor's programs.AI literacy is another factor working adults may consider when evaluating an online degree program. University of Phoenix established a framework of academic AI pillars that integrates AI tools and applications into its learning model, including a newly established Center for AI Resources. The University embeds AI literacy and skill-building into its curriculum, expanding AI-enabled learning supports and strengthening policies and workflows that guide responsible, effective use across the academic experience.Schools serving working adults should also provide career support services. University of Phoenix provides Career Services for Life® resources for active students and graduates beginning on day one, through degree completion and beyond, offering lifetime access to personalized career coaching, webinars, resume guidance, interview preparation and other resources."Working adults are looking for education that fits the realities of their lives and builds skills they can use in a rapidly changing economy," said University of Phoenix Provost and Chief Academic Officer John Woods, Ph.D. "For 50 years, University of Phoenix has designed flexible education for adults balancing work, family and change. When evaluating an online university, working adults should look for recognized accreditation, transparent information, student support and a learning model built for real life."Learn more about University of Phoenix degree programs, transfer-credit opportunities and student support resources at Phoenix.edu.
	Knox County Coroner’s Office to move into Mary Davis Home The county board approved the plan to move the coroner’s office during a meeting Wednesday evening.
	Davenport approves process to fill vacant council seat. What does that mean for residents? Residents of Ward 2 have the right to petition for a special election. Here's how.
	Cook review: 'Paper Flowers' is a true story of love - and what makes life worth living Some of the finest films are true stories about the human condition, and "Paper Flowers" is one of them. This one requires a box of tissues to get through - or at least that was the case for me. Here's the set-up: Shalin (Kapil Talwalkar) is a college graduate who is determined to serve in [...]
	Wet fields raise injury risks for high school football players Wilton football coach Ryan Hetzler explains injury risks of wet, muddy fields and how the team adjusts practice and plays to keep players safe.
	Sterling nonprofit ends recycling services after fire damages building, equipment The business made the announcement in a Facebook post on Tuesday.
	Quad Cities veteran reunites with her fellow service women nearly 30 years later on Honor Flight Lisa Olsen was so excited to bring "The Fab Four" together ahead of the 67th Honor Flight of the Quad Cities.
	These factors could influence Iowa Republicans to call for action to lower fuel costs Several factors may be influencing Iowa Republicans' decisions to push for changes with about six weeks left until the November mid-term elections.
	WQAD photojournalist and veteran reflects on emotional Honor Flight to Washington Art Mireles served in the Army, following in his service member father's and grandfather's footsteps. Here's what impacted him the most during his trip to D.C.
	Humane Society of Scott County waives adult dog and cat adoption fees The Humane Society of Scott County is waiving adoptions fees for some animals through September 30. According to a Facebook post, adult dogs over 30 lbs. and adult cats can be adopted for free. The Humane Society is open for adoptions Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 12:00-5:30 p.m., Thursday 2:30-5:00 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday [...]
	Federal investigation breaks up alleged meth trafficking ring in central Iowa An 11-month federal and state investigation has broken up an alleged drug trafficking ring accused of bringing methamphetamine into central Iowa.
	Permanent daylight saving time? Schools and students would suffer, experts say A major hurdle stands in the way of permanent daylight saving time: schools.
	Downtown Moline braces for busy weekend With Ella Langley performing Saturday at the Vibrant Arena and the Quad Cities marathon kicking off Sunday morning, Moline has a busy weekend to prepare for.
	U.S. Democratic Rep. Eric Sorensen, Rock Island officials speak on election intergrity “One of the greatest threats to democracy is not simply voter suppression; it is voter resignation, meaning the belief that nothing will change, that one vote does not matter, or that participating is pointless."
	Klingner Cares raises over $13,000 for Children's Therapy Center of the Quad Cities The annual fundraiser unites employees from the firm’s nine locations across Illinois, Iowa, and Missouri to raise money for a local nonprofit.
	2 Sisters Restaurant in Milan is now Flip's Pancake House 2 Sisters Pancake House has re-branded to Flip's Pancake House.
	Burlington man sentenced for pulling gun during police stop, fleeing A Burlington man has been sentenced to more than six years in federal prison for pulling a gun during a traffic stop before the vehicle he was in fled.
	Rock Island Police launch gunshot detection pilot program to speed up response times The department is testing the Raven Gunshot Detection System, an artificial intelligence-driven platform designed to alert officers to gunfire in real time.
	WQAD photojournalist and veteran joins 67th Honor Flight of the Quad Cities Art Mireles joined News 8's Joe Habersham on Tuesday's trip to the nation's capital. He reflects on the journey as a veteran himself.
	Crews recover body of 10-year-old who went missing at Lake McBride Crews have recovered the body of 10-year-old who went missing at Lake McBride during school trip.
	U.S. Rep. Sorenson and others encourage Illinois residents to vote early Thursday, Sept. 24 is the first day that Illinois registered voters can cast a ballot in the 2026 elections, and U.S. Rep. Eric Sorensen (D-Moline) wants as many people as possible to vote early.
	‘We are deeply saddened by his passing’: Smithfield Foods leaders address employee death Smithfield Foods leaders addressed the Monmouth City Council Monday evening following the death of an employee a little over a week ago.
	Burlington DoorDasher says she was scammed out of $1,400 A Burlington DoorDash driver is warning others after she says she was scammed out of $1,400 by someone claiming to be with DoorDash support.
	Thyroid medication recall classified under FDA's most urgent level A nationwide recall on thyroid tablets has now been classified as one the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's most serious and urgent recalls.
	Judge considers restoring journalists' access to White House after Trump's ban Lawyers representing the White House and the three media outlets banned from the property sparred over the constitutional rights of journalists at a hearing in federal court Wednesday.
	Whiteside County Sheriff's Office investigating deputy's alleged misuse of Flock system Sheriff John Booker said he has suspended the sheriff's office's use of the Flock camera system while the internal investigation takes place.
	One killed in two-vehicle crash in Galva One person was killed Tuesday in a two-vehicle crash in Galva in Henry County.
	After a week of rain, where are now for the month? After a fairly dry start to the month of September, things have really picked back up for the Quad Cities over the past week. Over the past week, we received rain for 8 days straight! While that is not the record of 9 straight days back in 1965 for the month of September, it shows [...]
	Rock Island Milan School District sets timeline for town halls regarding its cellphone and technology policy District staff presented a timeline for drafting a final policy before the state law takes effect in the 2027-28 academic year. The law requires school districts to comply with restrictions on cell phone and other wireless technology use. Town halls will be held virtually and in-person from October through January.

Thursday, September 24th, 2026

Wednesday, September 23rd, 2026