St. Louis – October 15, 2026 -- St. Louis residents eligible for Medicare can choose Essence Healthcare Medicare Advantage plans for 2027 with premiums starting at $0 and Flex Card benefits of up to $2,900 on select plans. Annual enrollment runs from Oct. 15 through Dec. 7, 2026, for coverage beginning Jan. 1, 2027.

All major St. Louis health systems stay in-network

Essence, founded by doctors, has served Medicare members in St. Louis for more than two decades. The 2027 lineup keeps all major St. Louis health systems in-network. Dental, vision, hearing and fitness benefits are included, with offerings varying by plan. Flex Card amounts also vary by plan and apply to eligible expenses.

Approximately 98% of covered medications will remain on the formulary for 2027. Essence president Jordan Reigel said the plans reflect what members say matters most: trusted local doctors, strong benefits and affordable options.

Charlotte, N.C. – October 15, 2026 -- Guests at more than 650 participating Extended Stay America hotels can now find voter registration information on-site ahead of the November 3 midterm elections.

STAY Counted offers information in person and online

The program is called STAY Counted. Extended Stay America describes it as a nonpartisan initiative that helps eligible guests and team members access voter registration resources.

Information is available on esa.com, on the @ExtendedStay social media channels and in email newsletters. It is also available on-site at the participating locations. All of these channels direct people to official state and federal elections resources.

Rules differ from state to state

Registration eligibility, requirements and deadlines vary by state, according to the company. Guests should check the official resources the program links to for the rules where they live.

Washington State – October 12, 2026 -- Washington drivers will be able to order a new LeMay – America's Car Museum specialty license plate, after the Washington State Department of Transportation approved its design. The museum has not yet announced when ordering opens.

The original black-and-white design went to the State

The museum first proposed a black-and-white "throwback" look. The State adopted that design for its own retro plate series, so it is no longer associated with the museum and is owned by the State.

The museum then had to create a fully new concept that met the State's specifications, including color palette, layout, and mandatory design elements. The new plate went through the State's approval and compliance process.

Seattle – October 15, 2026 -- Holland America Line is offering up to 50% off cruise fares on select 2026 holiday sailings, which include Thanksgiving dinner, Brunch with Santa and a Christmas Eve Feast of the Seven Fishes at sea. The celebrations run across Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Christmas and New Year's voyages.

Ships get decorated, and New Year's Eve ends with a champagne toast

Whether a ship is in the Caribbean, Antarctica or Australia, the line promises seasonal décor, ceremonial tree lightings and special programming. Entertainment includes carol singing, holiday movies, crew performances and family activities. A New Year's Eve celebration welcomes 2027 with parties across the ships and a champagne toast.

Shipboard culinary teams also build gingerbread villages. Each ship gets its own design, and the teams spend hours planning, baking and assembling the pieces.

Los Angeles – October 15, 2026 -- Reolink's Home Hub 2 is now on sale in the U.S. for $199.99, letting owners of Reolink cameras search their recordings by keyword, store everything locally and skip monthly fees. The hub, unveiled at IFA 2026, manages up to eight cameras from one place.

Describe the footage, and the hub finds it

The headline feature is Local AI Video Search, powered by Reolink's ReoNeura on-device AI engine. Users type simple keywords to search recordings from all connected cameras instead of manually scrubbing through playback. Every search runs on the hub itself, so no cloud subscription is needed.

Cross-Camera Tracking follows a detected object from camera to camera and merges the clips into a single video. A time-lapse feature condenses long events, such as sunrises or construction projects, into seconds.

Las Vegas – October 15, 2026 -- Players in every regulated U.S. iGaming state and Canadian province can now play Spooky Link Go Ghost, the first online real-money version of Aristocrat's land-based slot franchise, on participating online casino platforms and mobile casino apps.

Aristocrat Interactive brings the franchise online for the first time

Aristocrat Interactive, the online Real Money Gaming (RMG) division of Aristocrat, is behind the network-wide launch. The rollout is timed to coincide with the Halloween season and is supported by what the company calls the industry's leading operators.

Go Ghost is the first release in a character family that will later include Mo' Mummy and Yo Yeti. Additional Spooky Link titles are planned throughout 2027.

Austin, Texas – October 15, 2026 -- Electric motorbike brand Monday Motorbikes has relaunched with a new cruiser, the Shavano, which is available now through authorized dealers and the brand's website for an MSRP of $2,299.

A 90-day teardown produced a tougher identity

The relaunch is the first major milestone under Monday Mobility Group, a portfolio company of Volara Holdings. Over 90 days, the company rebuilt its logo, visual identity, product story, website, dealer program and retail experience. Monday is now headquartered in Eugene, Oregon.

The new pitch drops lightweight and eco messaging. Monday's bikes are larger, heavier and sturdier than much of what fills the e-bike aisle, and the brand now leads with that. Its tagline is "Built Tough. Every Day." Four pillars support it: ruggedness, reliability, an unpretentious attitude and the freedom of the open road.

United States – October 15, 2026 -- The Brady Protocol, a 30-minute robotic massage session co-designed with Tom Brady, is available starting today at every Aescape location for $39 and up. Pricing varies by location.

Brady helped design the sequence down to the stroke

Over the past year, licensed therapists and trainers built the Protocol with Brady involved from initial concept through design and testing. He helped shape the sequence, intensity and intent of the session, down to the individual stroke.

The approach draws on principles from Brady's more than two decades of work with his longtime body coach, Alex Guerrero. Those principles center on muscle pliability, consistent bodywork and recovery, and they have been adapted for Aescape's platform.

Brady says he kept refining the pressure, speed, sequence and stroke placement until it felt like the work he has relied on for years.

[SOURCE_CITY] – October 15, 2026 -- Ocean Spray has released the Bog Core Collection, a seven-piece, limited-edition line of cranberry-harvest apparel and accessories priced from $10 to $200, available today exclusively at OceanSprayBogCore.com while supplies last.

Jellied Bog Boots anchor the collection at $200

The centerpiece is a pair of one-of-a-kind, custom-made waterproof boots modeled on Ocean Spray Jellied Cranberry Sauce, complete with the sauce's signature ridges. They cost $200.

The collection draws on the look of cranberry farmers in waders standing among floating cranberries, one of the company's best-known images.

Six more pieces range from $10 to $90

The rest of the lineup:

Los Angeles – October 15, 2026 -- Homeowners hit by a house fire do not need a full inventory of losses or a repair estimate before calling their insurer, according to Mercury Insurance, which has published a six-step guide for the first 24 hours after a fire.

Bonnie Lee, Vice President of Property Claims at Mercury Insurance, says the goal is to protect the family, preserve information and get recovery moving, and that homeowners do not need every answer right away.

Stay out until officials say the home is safe

Homeowners should not enter a fire-damaged structure until emergency officials confirm it is safe. Fire can weaken floors, walls, ceilings and electrical systems even when damage is not visible, and smoke, soot and contaminated water can remain hazards after the flames are out. If the home is unsafe, families should find a secure place for people and pets to stay and should not try to retrieve belongings from an unstable building.