Edition 75 · Saturday, October 31, 2026
Here's what happened.
Christa Pike said she woke up confused and in pain after surviving a lethal-injection execution attempt in September. It was her first public statement since the failed execution.
The remnants of a typhoon seriously damaged Alaska Native villages in October 2025. A year later, one of the hardest-hit communities is still recovering.
Governor Newsom announced an approach to Bay-Delta protections intended to restore rivers and strengthen California’s water future. The proposal represents a major statewide water-policy development.
Governor Newsom announced the opening of the first behavioral health facility funded through Proposition 1. The announcement was made in the context of reported record reductions in homelessness.
Israel’s election produced no clear winner. Benjamin Netanyahu’s party and allies won 53 parliamentary seats, while the opposition bloc led by Gadi Eisenkot won 48, leaving neither side with the majority needed to form a government.
The Trump administration plans to send dozens of Afghan immigrants from Louisiana to Pakistan. They are expected to be expelled over the border into Afghanistan, despite the risk of persecution.
The G20 cancelled its customary group photograph after protests over the presence of Russia’s foreign minister. UK Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband confronted his Russian counterpart and accused Russia of killing civilians in Ukraine.
A tainted Anthropic Claude extension spread malicious code to thousands of developer systems in a supply-chain attack. Flawed code prevented the attacker from fully compromising some 5,000 machines, limiting the malware’s reach but highlighting risks in AI developer tools.
OpenAI, Google, Microsoft, and Anthropic say they will adopt a shared standard allowing publishers to signal that they do not want their content scraped by AI systems. The policy token is intended to let publishers set preferences across multiple AI companies rather than configuring them individually.
Oyster populations in the Chesapeake have plunged after overharvesting, worsening water quality and reducing habitat for other species. Researchers and local residents are testing creative approaches to restore the reefs.
Astronomers have found that white dwarfs can appear pink, green and other colors rather than simply white. The stars’ density and the material they absorbed from their surroundings can alter the colors of their atmospheres.
Residents are opposing plans for a data center project spanning thousands of acres near West Virginia’s Monongahela National Forest. The development could affect nearby outdoor recreation, ski areas and dark-sky sites.
Cumbria Wildlife Trust has begun repairing damage to the peatland of Skiddaw Forest. The project aims to restore the damaged habitat.
F.O.P. is a rare genetic condition that causes uncontrolled bone growth. New drugs may slow or halt the process, offering hope to patients with the disease.
A biotech startup allowed an AI agent to choose a gene therapy and inject it into a live mouse’s brain. The experiment offers a glimpse of how AI agents could operate in future research laboratories.
STAT examines the latest data on an mRNA cancer vaccine from Merck and Moderna. The discussion draws on cancer research presented at the annual meeting of the European Society for Medical Oncology.
Seasonal affective disorder can make people feel like a “hibernating bear,” according to psychiatrist Norman Rosenthal, who published the first research on the condition. He explains how to identify its symptoms and what people can do to feel better.
A technology sell-off drove US markets lower on Friday as investors questioned whether the billions being spent on artificial intelligence will generate returns quickly enough. The Nasdaq fell more than 3%, while the S&P 500 dropped more than 1%; nearly $1tn was wiped from the Nasdaq in a week and about $2tn in a month.
Oil companies reported another quarter of very high profits as the war in Iran pushed up oil prices and prices at the pump. The report links the energy shock to both corporate earnings and higher costs for consumers.
ExxonMobil and Chevron reported better-than-expected third-quarter results, benefiting from higher prices and record production. Consumers are simultaneously facing higher gasoline costs, which they say will affect how they vote in the midterm elections.
Federal officials delivered a subpoena to the Orange County Registrar of Voters’ office on Thursday. The action came despite a judge’s order directing them to stop threatening California election officials.
Californians are preparing to vote on a one-time 5% tax on billionaire wealth. The proposal has become a major midterm fight, dividing Democrats and drawing hundreds of millions of dollars from wealthy opponents.
The FDA said three more estrogen patches for treating menopause will no longer carry black-box warnings about cardiovascular disease, breast cancer and dementia. The agency did not convene an advisory committee and offered few details about the scientific basis for the decision, prompting concern from some experts.
Opponents say Proposition 45, presented as a housing-development measure, could unintentionally make it easier to build data centers in California. The measure could therefore affect ongoing state battles over data-center development.
Some companies that cut jobs in the name of AI are rehiring workers after finding that the technology needs more human oversight or cannot replicate institutional knowledge. Examples include Klarna recruiting customer-service representatives again and Ford hiring or promoting veteran engineers after AI quality-control tools underperformed; experts say returning workers should seek better pay, training and clarity about future staffing.
Proton is pressuring employees to adopt AI, including by tracking AI-generated code and using hostile language toward workers who raise concerns, according to an investigation cited by Fast Company. The company has reportedly considered replacing future engineering hires with product managers who build with AI, while employees fear that speed could come at the expense of security and a healthy workplace culture.
NPR discusses the WNBA Finals going to game seven, a recent surge in NBA injuries and the Milwaukee Brewers' World Series title. The segment features Scott Simon and sportswriter Howard Bryant.
New Zealand thrashed Fiji 78-0 to reach the Rugby League World Cup semi-finals. The emphatic victory was described as a statement win.
An AI-altered video accused Maine Democrat Troy Jackson of threatening staffers with an axe. The incident highlights how manipulated political footage can be used to spread false claims online.
Instagram is reportedly offering select creators up to $500,000 to post long-form videos through its Features program. The move comes as the platform steps up competition with YouTube.
Gears of War: E-Day reportedly cost $500 million to make and has sold just over 400,000 copies, according to claims cited by IGN. The figures point to the financial risk of large-budget game development, though the report presents them as unverified claims.
The IWGB says a proposed union of UK-based Rockstar Games developers could include more than 1,600 workers and nearly all staff below senior management. A recognition vote is expected around GTA 6’s November 19 console launch.
A Bloomberg-reported postmortem says EA’s decision to prioritize Star Wars Battlefront 3 over Mass Effect 5 was a major factor in BioWare’s demise. The report also identifies other contributing factors to the RPG studio’s shutdown.
Modern Warfare 4’s opening cinematic used footage of rescue efforts after Seoul’s 2022 crowd crush, which killed 160 people. The footage will be removed following complaints from victims’ families.
The American Federation of Teachers sued the Education Department, accusing it of slowing debt cancellation through the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program. Public servants nearing student-debt forgiveness are facing setbacks and extensive delays.
A 398-home development proposal in California includes 97 very-low-income units and sought streamlined approval on commercially zoned land. The project is facing opposition described as local NIMBY tactics.
Nearly 500 men are detained at Texas’s T Don Hutto Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility. Detainees have shared accounts of lengthy detention, sickness, misery and alleged abuse through art, letters and song.
German actress Elke Sommer, who starred in 1960s comedies and spy films, has died at 85. She arrived in Hollywood at 23 and appeared in movies with Peter Sellers, Paul Newman and Bob Hope.
The sixth book in Sarah J. Maas’s blockbuster A Court of Thorns and Roses series brought costumed fans across the country together. The event also highlighted the commercial pull of the series, with fans spending on related merchandise.
The US has approved the sale of 500 Patriot missiles to Ukraine. The interceptors are described as the only effective weapon for downing Russia’s ballistic missiles.
North Korean hackers are the prime suspects in a major Binance hack. If the accusations are true, the record-setting heist would demonstrate the growing power of suspected North Korean cyber operations.