Popcorn, Pricey Vegas & a $2,000 Phone That Folds

Hour 3 (9.10) The 8 o'clock hour is about what things cost and who's paying. Record box office numbers, and it's not just the movies driving them. Airfare into Vegas jumping at double the national rate. The Rams' trip to Australia that didn't go according to plan. New COVID shots, a shrinking planet, and Torrance classrooms with no air conditioning. Then Apple's first foldable iPhone, at two grand.

8:05 — The Return of Popcorn

Domestic ticket sales hit $4.76 billion between May 1 and Labor Day, the biggest summer in box office history — but the blockbusters aren't the whole story. Theaters say the real money is at the concession stand, with AMC reporting food sales up 50% from last year and its MegaBag of popcorn leading the way. Then a different kind of sticker shock: airfares into Las Vegas are up more than 20% since March, nearly double the national increase, and the data suggests more people are just driving.

8:20 — Rams Fall Flat Down Under

The NFL's first-ever regular season game in Australia went to San Francisco, 27-7. Brock Purdy threw three touchdown passes at the Melbourne Cricket Ground while the Rams — Super Bowl favorites in a lot of preseason picks — managed one score all night, a 5-yard Kyren Williams run in the second quarter, and got shut out over the final two and a half quarters. The Niners spent nearly a week acclimating. The Rams flew in and out inside 48 hours. Draw your own conclusions.

8:35 — Shots, Shrinkage & Sweltering Classrooms

The updated 2026-2027 COVID vaccines are rolling out nationwide at pharmacies and clinics, reformulated to target the XFG variant. Then look up: a new study out of the German Aerospace Center says Mercury is shrinking about 30% faster than we thought — as much as 14 miles off the diameter of a planet only 3,000 miles across. And closer to home, about 75% of Torrance Unified schools have no air conditioning, and with record heat and humidity this week, parents are pulling kids out early. The district says it won't count against attendance.

8:50 — Apple's $2,000 Fold

Apple unveiled the iPhone Duo, its first foldable, at $1,999 for the base model and up to $3,199 loaded. It's shaped like a passport, opens to a 7.6-inch screen, and it's the biggest change to the iPhone since the home button disappeared in 2017. Preorders start October 16, shipping October 23. Duolingo, whose mascot is an owl named Duo, posted "We infringed upon" — and Samsung replied with a note of solidarity: they copied us, too.

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