Edition 88 · Friday, November 13, 2026
Here's what happened.
The CDC reported six measles-related deaths in the United States in 2026 as the country faces its most severe resurgence of the disease in decades. Measles was declared eliminated in the US in 2000, and the newly reported total is twice the number recorded in 2025.
A global Microsoft outage disrupted businesses and public services for more than 12 hours across Thursday and Friday. Microsoft said it was seeing early signs of stabilization, and reported no indications that the failure was caused by a cyberattack.
California officials are warning cities to follow the state’s new housing laws. The notices are intended to create a paper trail if local officials deny or reduce projects that comply with state rules.
San Diego County houses half of California’s sexually violent offenders, and a judge is considering whether to move two of them to a rural neighborhood. A county supervisor has proposed a new plan for housing these offenders.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says European leaders should take part in Russia-Ukraine peace talks. He said European involvement makes sense as Ukraine hopes eventually to join the European Union.
China’s military leadership remains embroiled in investigations following President Xi Jinping’s purge of generals. The rise of Zhang Shengmin could complicate preparations for a potential war over Taiwan.
Nvidia has lost its founding chief executive, Jensen Huang, raising questions about whether the company can maintain its momentum. The New York Times notes that technology companies have had mixed results after losing visionary founders, while successors with technical expertise can help.
Nebius plans a $40 billion expansion of its AI infrastructure. The company intends to fund the spending through customer prepayments and loans, while delays at a Microsoft data center are raising questions about its financing model.
Google is upgrading Search’s AI Mode with Gemini 4 Hydrogen. The company says the update improves its handling of complex queries, link discovery, and visual responses.
Leaders at COP31 are confronting a new reality as global warming enters the “unsafe zone.” The New York Times says a key Paris Agreement goal is now considered dead, raising questions about what comes next for climate policy.
WIRED reports that human-caused warming has pushed the world’s ice beyond its safe zone. The loss of a stable cryosphere raises the risk of accelerating and partly irreversible harm to the planet’s cold regions.
NASA expects the Hubble Space Telescope to reenter the atmosphere by 2034, while several malfunctions are affecting the observatory. The agency is asking commercial space companies for proposals to extend Hubble’s lifespan.
NASA reports that mangroves, an ecologically significant type of forest, are making a comeback after decades of decline. The development points to a broad rebound for these important coastal ecosystems.
Only 28% of eligible 18- and 19-year-olds have received their first meningitis B vaccine dose in a one-off UK campaign, according to the UKHSA. The campaign follows an outbreak in Kent and clusters in Dorset and Berkshire that caused three deaths and lifelong health consequences for some survivors.
A regulator says trainee doctors delivering babies are more likely than those in other specialties to experience overwork and burnout. The evidence has raised concerns about risks to maternity patients.
Scientists have produced the most detailed map yet of the basal ganglia, a brain region involved in numerous psychiatric and neurological disorders. The collaboration could provide clues for future treatments for conditions including Parkinson’s disease and schizophrenia.
US existing-home sales fell to a 16-year low in October as buyers faced record-high mortgage rates and rising inflation. Sales of already built homes dropped 8.8% from the previous year to 3.75 million, while the median price rose slightly to $416,700.
Global oil supplies exceeded demand by almost 2 million barrels a day in October, marking the first surplus since the start of the US-Israeli war against Iran. The IEA said Gulf exports recovered faster than global demand and described the market as showing tentative signs of rebalancing.
California voters approved Proposition 5, changing the recall process after a tight race. Under the new system, voters will first decide whether an official should be recalled and then choose who should replace the official.
Democrat Scott Colom’s Senate victory in Mississippi punctuated a poor midterm showing for Republicans in a region they have long dominated. The upset adds to uncertainty over the political map and the durability of Republican strength in the South.
President Trump is redirecting Vice President Vance away from Iran-related work toward a campaign focused on fraud in Democratic-led states. Trump said there is no need for an Iran deal and wants Vance to focus instead on battling corruption.
Gov. Gavin Newsom’s commutations of death sentences have highlighted how California’s approach to criminal justice has changed over three decades. The death penalty nevertheless remains part of the state’s contradictory legal and political status quo.
A new State of the Game Industry report from the Game Developers Conference says 40% of game developers are using generative AI in their work. The figure highlights the technology's growing role in game development.
Bournemouth has become a major financial-services hub, with more than 5,300 workers at a JPMorgan campus processing over $1tn in global transactions each day. The growth of new technology now threatens entry-level finance roles and could hurt the wider Dorset economy.
Research from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York found that employees are increasingly working remotely from office buildings. Diffuse teams and widespread reliance on digital platforms are undermining employers’ stated reasons for requiring workers to return to the office.
The number of CEOs leaving their roles because of misconduct has doubled compared with 2024, according to HR Dive. One expert said the issue is no longer only about romance or morality but also about executive judgment.
Mauricio Pochettino has left his role as head coach of the U.S. men's national team to become Manchester United manager. He led the United States to the round of 16 at last year's World Cup.
England won the Wheelchair Rugby League World Cup for a record third time, defeating France 50-38 in the final in Wollongong, Australia. The victory makes England back-to-back world champions.
Whoop has launched Whoop Humans, a social network for its wearable users. Members can share metrics, activities and achievements, post photo-and-caption “Moments,” and comment on or react to other users’ posts. Whoop says the platform is “entirely human.”
The New York Times’ Connections word game is trending on November 13, 2026. Mashable explains the meanings behind that day’s clues for puzzle number 1251.
Grand Theft Auto 6 is setting pre-order records on PlayStation and Xbox stores ahead of its launch next week. A UK broadband operator is preparing for a potential surge in network traffic as players begin downloading and playing the game.
Xbox has officially announced Wolfenstein 3, with MachineGames returning nearly a decade after Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus. The announcement follows confirmation that the next Elder Scrolls game is titled The Elder Scrolls VI: Sentinel.
Several independent developers have postponed game launches because of delays in Steam's game submission and approval process. The backlog is affecting release schedules on the major PC storefront.
Xbox Game Studios and Halo Studios have announced a free update for Halo: Campaign Evolved. The update will add the four-player cooperative PvE Firefight mode this winter.
The implicit meritocratic bargain that linked education and career success to social advancement is weakening. The trend is visible across countries including India and France, raising broader questions about how stable societies provide opportunities to new generations.
As the Trump administration narrows pathways for international students to work in the United States, Philadelphia-area leaders are exploring ways to retain them. More than 100 higher-education, nonprofit and business leaders met to discuss keeping international students in the city.
Many Americans have become frustrated with higher education because it can be difficult to determine what attending a particular college will actually cost. Some schools are trying to make those costs clearer.
More women have made allegations against Russell Brand in reports by the Times and a Netflix documentary. The claims follow Brand’s recent conviction for rape.
Actress Irma P. Hall, known for Soul Food and The Ladykillers, has died at 91. She had her breakout role in A Family Thing in her 60s and later appeared opposite Tom Hanks and Vivica A. Fox.
Microsoft says a global outage affecting its services was not caused by a cybersecurity incident. Efforts to resolve the issues have so far been largely unsuccessful.
A Russian warship was hit by a Ukrainian drone in the Gulf of Finland. The attack is thought to be the first time Ukrainian drones have struck a Russian ship in an open stretch of the Baltic Sea.