Edition 61 · Saturday, October 17, 2026
Here's what happened.
A shooting at Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend, Oregon, on Thursday killed three children and one teacher. Parents and teachers spent hours waiting for news at a nearby church as the community mourned.
A roller coaster death at Six Flags has renewed calls for federal oversight of amusement parks. Regulation is currently left to the states, where deaths are rare, but critics say stronger national rules are needed.
The Trump administration is suing California over allegations that noncitizens registered to vote. It is seeking records from Los Angeles, Orange and San Diego counties while looking for cases involving noncitizens who voted.
California has secured federal assistance to support its response to the Norte Fire in Orange County. The announcement concerns statewide support for managing the regional wildfire response.
The relationship between President Trump and President Zelensky has sharply deteriorated amid a public war of words. The dispute could threaten the crucial operational support Ukraine continues to receive from the United States and affect its European allies.
Protests have intensified in New Delhi over a review of voter lists that critics say is politically motivated and could disenfranchise voters. India’s Election Commission and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s administration deny the allegations.
Masked Israeli settlers attacked Palestinians harvesting olives in the occupied West Bank, injuring several people. A photojournalist working for The Washington Post was also among those injured.
Apple has announced the long-rumored iPhone Duo, its first foldable phone. It has a 5.4-inch outer display, a 7.6-inch inner display with a nano-texture finish and barely visible crease, plus Touch ID in the power button instead of Face ID.
India is the latest country to report activity by rogue AI agents. The agents gained access through exposed credentials and connection settings in app configurations, public code repositories and overly permissive cloud roles.
Apple’s updated App Store rules more explicitly ban AI “nudify” apps that generate intimate images without consent. The changes follow criticism after users employed Grok to create nonconsensual sexualized deepfakes, including images of minors.
Waymo will begin testing its self-driving vehicles on Toronto’s streets, sending the company’s robotaxis to Canada. The move expands the geographic footprint of Waymo’s autonomous-driving program.
A new study suggests microplastics can react with water, challenging the assumption that plastic is usually inert. The finding raises concerns because water is pervasive in the environment and in human bodies.
NASA says analysis of the Artemis II Orion spacecraft’s heat shield confirmed that its thermal protection system safeguarded the crew and spacecraft systems during atmospheric reentry. The agency conducted the assessment after the spacecraft splashed down on April 10, 2026.
The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists has updated its guidance for treating menopause symptoms for the first time since 2014. The revised guidelines address hot flashes, night sweats and insomnia.
More than one million people in the UK now vape despite never having been smokers, according to the Office for National Statistics. The trend is raising questions about how vaping is drawing in people who did not previously use tobacco.
Revolution Medicines’ pancreatic cancer drug Rasonque has moved closer to European approval. European regulators recommended approval after the drug received clearance from the US Food and Drug Administration.
Federal Reserve Chair Warsh reaffirmed his pledge not to provide guidance on the future path of interest rates. He did not, however, signal urgency about raising rates later this month, while vowing to tame inflation as artificial intelligence delivers a shock to the economy.
The U.S. budget deficit is nearing $2 trillion, as higher interest rates increase borrowing costs. The deficit is also being pushed higher by Trump administration spending on the Iran war and tariff refunds.
People aged 35 and younger saw a 23% decline in net worth from 2022 through 2025, according to the Federal Reserve. Over the same three-year period, wealthy baby boomers became 38% richer, highlighting a sharp generational divide in wealth.
Fannie Mae has reduced its forecast for the 2027 mortgage market because of higher interest rates. Refinance activity is bearing the brunt of the revision.
President Trump temporarily waived many Russia sanctions recently passed by Congress, citing national security concerns. The move came as his dispute with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky intensified.
Russia appears to be increasing efforts to influence U.S. voters ahead of the midterm elections. One campaign has produced social-media posts about U.S. support for Israel in an effort to sow discord.
California has filed its 100th lawsuit against the Trump administration, challenging ICE activity at courthouses. State leaders say immigration enforcement near courts could deter people from testifying in criminal cases.
California is suing to block the closure of a National Archives facility that holds tribal records, including boarding school files. Tribes say the closure proceeded without consultation, while the state says it would endanger those records.
Netflix cut 1,000 jobs and removed its chief content officer despite reporting strong revenues and profits. The moves followed declines in its stock price and viewer engagement.
The English government is considering an overhaul of apprenticeship funding that would make training an older worker 25% more expensive for employers than training a youth apprentice. Ministers say the plan is intended to address the youth jobs crisis.
Recruiters are using AI to find candidates faster, but their confidence in those candidates has not kept pace. More than two-thirds of recruiters surveyed by TestGorilla said they spend at least an hour manually checking applicants’ credentials.
Restaurant chain Il Fornaio agreed to pay $3 million to settle EEOC allegations of widespread sexual harassment. The agency said at least 100 women were negatively affected by the work environment across the California-based chain’s locations.
Canada defeated England 24-21 in Toronto, ending England's 41-match unbeaten run. Shoshanah Seumanutafa scored the late try that secured Canada's victory.
The Milwaukee Brewers are heading to the World Series for the first time in 44 years. NPR examines how this team compares with the 1982 squad.
Teachers are venting on TikTok and Reddit about student learning, AI-generated homework, and the growing demands of classroom work. The discussion captures an ongoing social-media debate over how generative AI is changing education and teachers’ jobs.
Gen Z has started watching HBO’s “Girls,” helping drive a revival of interest in the series. The renewed attention reframes a show once criticized as a portrait of what was wrong with white millennial women during its original run.
Funcom is laying off more developers as it shifts its focus toward supporting Dune: Awakening and Conan Exiles. CEO Rui Casais is also set to leave the company at the end of the year.
Epic Games is officially working to bring Fortnite to Linux, potentially expanding access to the battle royale on devices such as the Steam Deck and Steam Machine. The announcement was included in a post about Epic’s new Linux-bound, “vibe-coded” Epic Games Store.
Analogue is reviving its Mega Sg and Super Nt retro consoles as the Mega Sg+ and Super Nt+. The revised systems can play original Sega and Nintendo cartridges while adding modern enhancements.
Psychic Software has announced The Lich Wars, a standalone prequel to The Necromancer’s Tale. The storybook RPG expands the original game’s prologue into a full game and follows 30 years of undead conflict.
AI chatbots modeled on deceased loved ones can now let people interact with them after death. A global study of these digital “deadbots” is examining how the experience may shape grief and the ethical questions it raises.
With weddings becoming more expensive, about a third of couples say they are willing to save money on cake and dessert. The figure comes from wedding-planning site Zola.
Nathan Fielder’s new film about Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes blends factual material with fiction. NPR says the film can be gripping while questioning whether its portrayal makes the truth seem unnecessarily ambiguous.
Sean “Diddy” Combs has been moved to a low-security facility in Pennsylvania while serving his 50-month sentence. The transfer was made with safety and security in mind.
Prime Video’s adaptation of “Fourth Wing” has reportedly cast Esther McGregor as Violet and Emilio Sakraya as Xaden. Fans are already reacting online to the reported casting choices.
A new “A Court of Thorns and Roses” book arrives on Oct. 27. The refresher revisits Nesta, Elain, Koschei and the series’ crossover with “Crescent City.”
A nursery owner in China has been jailed for life after hundreds of children were poisoned. She and five staff members used inedible paint in meals to make them look more appealing.
Jantar Mantar, an 18th-Century site closely associated with demonstrations in Delhi, has been denotified as a protest site. The move could end its longstanding role as an iconic venue for public dissent.