NY-11 Lawsuit Puts Staten Island Seat on the Line

A voter lawsuit aims to toss New York’s current congressional map for NY-11, arguing it dilutes Black and Latino voting power by ignoring demographic shifts and modern communities of interest. The case, filed by Elias Law Group, seeks a redraw under the state constitution, which could imperil Republican Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, freshly endorsed by Donald Trump. Republicans call it a naked partisan grab, which is rich given the national hobby of redraw-and-accuse practiced by both parties. New York cannot easily redo maps before 2028 without a ballot initiative, so a successful suit may be the only route to new lines by 2026. Translation, the battle for the House again comes down to who gets to hold the pencil, and who gets to pretend it is about civic virtue.

The Architecture of Global Debt, Or Why Your Life Feels Like an Interest-Only Loan

The thesis is blunt. Modern money mostly arrives when banks issue loans, credit becomes the bloodstream of the economy, and interest keeps time. Supercharged by central banks and coordinated through technocratic hubs like the BIS, this setup puts outsized power in institutions nobody elected while governments, households, and firms run faster to service yesterday’s promises. The critique notes a public mandate on a private chassis, austerity as the cover charge for international liquidity, and stability that often shifts losses to wage earners while asset owners catch the upside. Proposed fixes are pragmatic, not utopian, including real monetary transparency, directing more of money-creation gains to the public, tougher countercyclical safeguards, audited sovereign financing for real economy projects, and designs that prize resilience over infinite-growth fairy tales. In other words, those closest to the money spigot should not always set the thermostat while everyone else pays the utility bill.

GB News Debate On Multiculturalism Turns Into Class Rumble

What began as a discussion on integration devolved into a pedigree contest. Martin Abrams praised London as proof that coexistence works and cast a Whitehall counter-protest as anti-fascist resistance with East End roots. Tory councillor David Moore declared multiculturalism a failure, cited masked protesters, then jabbed Abrams as middle class. Abrams demanded Moore’s class in return, and the studio promptly swapped policy for status signaling while host Patrick Christys played exasperated referee. Asked about integration, the panel delivered agitation, plus a side of class cosplay for the cameras.

Rockefeller Center Selects Its 94th Holiday Tree

Rockefeller Center selects its 94th holiday tree: a 75-year-old Norway spruce standing 75 feet tall and weighing about 11 tons, now being prepped to anchor New York City’s 2025 Christmas display—because nothing says seasonal cheer like airlifting a small forest onto Fifth Avenue.

FDA Approves Nonhormonal Therapy for Menopause Symptoms

FDA Approves Nonhormonal Therapy for Menopause Symptoms: The FDA has greenlit elinzanetant, a new non-hormonal option to help manage menopause symptoms like hot flashes—actual relief without the hormone rollercoaster. For once, the heat in Washington is cooling something down.

Sir Tom Jones describes a ‘psychological revelation’ in recent interview

Sir Tom Jones describes a “psychological revelation” in a new BBC One and iPlayer film, Tom Jones – In My Own Words, an intimate, archive-rich interview that sees the Welsh icon revisit the first home he ever owned and reflect on the joy and pain of life, loss, and unlikely superstardom. Blending first-person testimony with rare footage, the programme delivers what the BBC calls “real psychological revelation,” proving even a living legend can be startled by his own past. The film sits within the In My Own Words series spotlighting leading cultural figures, alongside Frederick Forsyth, Yinka Shonibare, Val McDermid, and Cornelia Parker. In My Own Words: Tom Jones is available now on BBC iPlayer.

With Joel Embiid out, the 76ers are 6.5-point home underdogs against the Orlando Magic

With Joel Embiid out, the 76ers are 6.5-point home underdogs against the Orlando Magic at BetMGM, a line that suggests the oddsmakers believe grit, vibes, and Tyrese Maxey’s calf muscles are worth a few points. Philadelphia will also be without Paul George and Jared McCain, leaving Maxey and rookie VJ Edgecombe to shoulder the load while Kelly Oubre Jr. and Quentin Grimes need to flirt with 15 points apiece to keep it respectable. The Andre Drummond/Adem Bona pairing could be hunted by Orlando’s more athletic trio of Paolo Banchero, Franz Wagner, and Desmond Bane, which likely nudges Nick Nurse toward smaller lineups. Prop-wise: Maxey’s at 28.5 points, Edgecombe’s rebounds sit at 5.5 (he’s logged 13 boards in two games and should see 30-plus minutes), Oubre is 13.5 points, Grimes 14.5. Orlando has clamped the three (ninth-best) but is softer inside (20th in opponent two-point percentage), which favors Oubre’s rim attacks. Wagner, who torched Philly three times for 30 last year, remains the primary problem. Suggested parlays floating around pair Wagner 20+ with Oubre 10+ and Edgecombe 5+ boards (+140), or Wagner 25+, Oubre 15+, Edgecombe over 5.5 (+650). And if this is “rest management,” Embiid’s expected to make the Wizards pay Tuesday—loudly.

Airman found dead in Wyoming had been under manslaughter investigation

Airman found dead in Wyoming had been under manslaughter investigation, with officials at F. E. Warren Air Force Base confirming he was suspected in the on-duty July shooting death of another airman on the installation.

Atlas vulnerability allows attackers to inject malicious prompts that persist across ChatGPT sessions

Atlas vulnerability allows attackers to inject malicious prompts that persist across ChatGPT sessions—because what your AI really needed was a long-term relationship with someone else’s instructions. Researchers at LayerX say OpenAI’s Atlas can be hit with a cross-site request forgery that plants commands into ChatGPT’s memory, letting attackers quietly steer future chats. So yes, it can do more than cue up “Eye of the Tiger” every day; it can make your assistant hum along to the attacker’s playlist indefinitely. Consider this your periodic reminder that AI browsers are not just shiny toys—they’re fresh attack surfaces with very writable sticky notes.

Blind Item #14

Blind Item #14: The rumor mill says a former A+ list, Oscar-winning actress’s marriage is wobbling—not just because her husband allegedly found old photos she’d shared with a producer, but because he now appears to be out at the organization he once led. His name has vanished from the staff page after layoffs that cut the workforce in half. Celebrity turbulence meets corporate downsizing—romance and résumés both taking a hit.

Safer lithium ion battery design tackles thermal runaway without killing performance

Researchers unveiled a lithium ion cell architecture that halts thermal runaway, aiming to cut fire and explosion risk while maintaining high voltage and long cycle life. With batteries stuffed into everything from EVs to toothbrushes, a power source that does not audition as a pocket space heater counts as real progress, safety without neutering performance.

New anchoring system aims to steady floating offshore wind, boosting mooring efficiency

A Texas A&M civil engineering professor is leading an anchoring system designed to make moorings more efficient for floating offshore wind turbines. It is the unglamorous hardware that keeps giant machines from doing the backstroke, and it could help the clean energy buildout keep its lines tight as deployment scales up.

Reeves floats Budget mix of tax rises and spending cuts as resilience building headroom

UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves signaled that the Budget could pair tax increases with spending reductions, framing the squeeze as headroom to better absorb future shocks. Translation, pay a bit more and expect a bit less now so there is something left when the next crisis crashes the party.

MPs slam Home Office over asylum hotel spending, say contractors took excessive profits

A parliamentary report found the Home Office squandered billions on migrant hotels due to weak oversight, enabling private firms to reap excessive profits while the public picked up the tab. Chaos for taxpayers, champagne for middlemen, the oldest trick in the procurement playbook and somehow still treated as innovation.

FBI arrests suspect in alleged murder for hire threat against Pam Bondi

Federal agents arrested Tyler Maxon Avalos, 29, in St. Paul after a TikTok post allegedly offered a 45,000 dollar bounty to kill former Florida attorney general Pam Bondi, displaying her image with a targeting reticle. A user in Detroit alerted authorities, prompting a multi state investigation that, according to an affidavit, used records from TikTok, Google, and Comcast to tie the account liminalvoidslip to Avalos. Court filings cite prior convictions, including felony stalking in Minnesota in 2022 and felony domestic battery in Florida in 2016. Prosecutors allege the post was a deliberate interstate communication of a violent threat, a federal crime. The Justice Department has been asked for comment.

Teen in 2019 Tessa Majors case now charged with new violent offenses in Harlem shooting

Zyairr Davis, who at 13 was adjudicated in family court for robbery linked to the 2019 Morningside Park attack that killed Barnard freshman Tessa Majors and served 18 months in juvenile detention, has been charged in adult court with nearly a dozen counts, including attempted murder, tied to an alleged gang related shooting into a Harlem crowd. He has pleaded not guilty. While jailed on the new case, Davis allegedly fought with other teens and assaulted a youth counselor, drawing additional charges. A former city youth services official criticized New York's Raise the Age law, saying it kept the original case in family court and failed to protect the public. Court appearances are scheduled on November 12 in the jail brawl case and December 4 in the shooting case.

Argentina’s Milei Claims Midterm Mandate, Eyes Austerity as U.S. Floats $40 Billion Lifeline

Javier Milei declared victory in Argentina’s midterms, saying his bloc secured enough seats to protect vetoes and block impeachment. He vows to slash spending and deregulate, a plan that made investors applaud like they just discovered compound interest. Washington is preparing a $40 billion lifeline tied to his staying power, while Donald Trump celebrated his “endorsed” ally. Not everyone is toasting, with Sen. Chuck Grassley asking why America First now means bankrolling a soybean competitor. Markets popped champagne, farm country popped antacids.

Brawl Breaks Out In Stands After Parker vs Wardley

Security at London’s O2 Arena had to step in when a group of spectators turned the end of an 11th-round stoppage into their own discount undercard. Nothing says “appreciation for the sweet science” like trying it without rules, training, or judgment.

UK Conservatives Misplace Their Own Party

CCHQ admitted “massive gaps” in its records, with more than 1,000 local officer roles unfilled and 131 associations lacking a working office email. Headquarters is now begging branches to resend contact details, even duplicates, anything to prove it can still reach itself. Bureaucracy, meet your outbox.

Category 5 Hurricane Melissa Targets Jamaica

Hurricane Melissa, a Category 5 storm with sustained winds around 160 mph, is moving slowly west about 130 miles south-southwest of Kingston. The storm is already triggering flash floods and landslides in Jamaica, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic, with high surf overtopping seawalls in Kingston. At least four people have been killed. Landfall in Jamaica is expected early Tuesday, with 15 to 30 inches of rain, localized totals up to 40, extreme winds, and a 9 to 13 foot storm surge. The National Weather Service warns Melissa could strengthen further. If you are in the path, follow local guidance and seek safe shelter.

Trump Floats Third Term Idea, Constitution Rolls Its Eyes

Donald Trump told reporters he would love to run for a third term, adding he has not really thought about it while boasting record polling. Minor obstacle, the 22nd Amendment still exists, and math remains undefeated.

Shutdown Risks Mount As Deadlines Hit Home

With Trump abroad and Congress stuck, a stack of November 1 funding cliffs threatens nutrition assistance, early childhood education, and rural air service. Once again, Washington gridlock lands on families long before it inconveniences the people causing it.

O’Brien’s Juveniles Surge Into Breeders’ Cup Contention

Aidan O’Brien’s two-year-olds delivered a timely breakout, turning promise into form and painting his barn as the one to chase on Breeders’ Cup weekend. Credit where it is due, excellence is still allowed to be excellent.

Mozilla to Mandate Data Collection Disclosures for All New Firefox Extensions

Mozilla to Mandate Data Collection Disclosures for All New Firefox Extensions — and for once, the label comes before the data grab. Starting November 3, 2025, any new add-on submitted to addons.mozilla.org must include a manifest.json key declaring whether it collects or transmits personal data. Even extensions that gather nothing must explicitly say “none,” because silence, as we’ve learned, often means “surprise.” Users will see this up front on the install prompt, the extension’s listing page, and in Firefox’s about:addons Permissions and Data section. Think of it as nutrition facts for your browser: clear, visible, and ideally low in surveillance calories.

50,000 native oysters released into Welsh waters in major milestone

50,000 native oysters released into Welsh waters in major milestone: West Wales just got a reef makeover as Câr-y-Môr and the Marine Conservation Society deployed 50,000 native oysters into Pembrokeshire’s Daugleddau Estuary—living filters set to clean murky water, lock away carbon, and build shelter for marine life. It’s part of Natur Am Byth!, a collaboration of charities and Natural Resources Wales backed by the National Lottery Heritage Fund and Welsh Government, aiming to revive once-abundant oyster beds and tackle poor water quality. Another 50,000 baby oysters have moved from Bangor University to Tethys Oysters in Angle Bay to grow under close monitoring before returning to the seabed in 2027. FatFace and its foundation are funding this nursery phase—retail therapy that actually helps the sea. The effort kick-starts the Marine Conservation Society’s Atlantic Coast Programme to restore “hero species” like oysters, seagrass, and kelp along the UK’s western shoreline—proof the best cleanup crews sometimes arrive in shells, not suits.

Europe This Week: Top Things to Do, Hear, See, and Watch

Europe This Week: Top Things to Do, Hear, See, and Watch—start by letting a London exhibition turn your heartbeat into art, because why not outsource your emotions to a gallery. Then crank up an exhilarating new album from Florence and the Machine, proof that ecstatic melancholy still writes better hooks than most campaigns. And if you like your culture with a side of dread, HBO’s new IT series serves clown-induced spooks—consider it cardio for the nervous system.

Asylum hotel system criticized as chaotic and wasteful, costing billions in taxpayer funds

Asylum hotel system criticized as chaotic and wasteful, costing billions in taxpayer funds: MPs on the Home Affairs Committee say the Home Office has presided over a “failed, chaotic and expensive” setup, turning a crisis into a cash machine for contractors. The expected cost of housing asylum seekers under current contracts from 2019 to 2029 has ballooned from £4.5 billion to £15.3 billion, while providers were allowed to rack up “excessive profits” and tens of millions owed back to the department still haven’t been reclaimed. Officials repeatedly cut corners, failed to plan long term, and didn’t require impact assessments before opening hotels—leaving some local services overwhelmed and community trust frayed amid misinformation. Protests, including in Epping, put the issue in the spotlight, with MPs noting many residents had genuine concerns. Committee chair Dame Karen Bradley urged the government to “get a grip,” and the Home Office replied it is closing hotels, claims to have cut costs by nearly £1 billion, and is exploring military bases and disused sites.

Tributes paid to ITV soap star and Doctor Who actor Tony Adams, who has died aged 84

Tributes are being paid to ITV soap star and Doctor Who actor Tony Adams, who has died aged 84. An original cast member of Crossroads, Adams also starred in General Hospital, leaving a lasting mark on British television across decades.

Barghouti Leads Palestinian Polls, Remains Imprisoned

With President Mahmoud Abbas aging and unpopular, many Palestinians are coalescing around Fatah figure Marwan Barghouti, who is serving multiple life sentences after convictions for orchestrating attacks and five murders. Polling in the West Bank and Gaza puts him ahead of both Abbas and Hamas leader Khaled Mashal. Hamas sought his release in a hostage prisoner swap, Israel refused. His status is opaque as he is moved between prisons, and a recent video showed National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir taunting him. Barghouti's family has asked President Donald Trump to press for his release, and he is reportedly considering it. Advocates say freeing him could bolster a ceasefire and jump start peace talks, a stark sign that the most plausible consensus leader cannot currently leave his cell.

Category 4 Hurricane Melissa Nears Jamaica

Forecasters urge residents to seek shelter immediately as Hurricane Melissa, a powerful Category 4 storm, approaches Jamaica Sunday night. Officials warn of life threatening wind, rain, and storm surge.

Rand Paul Pitches Shutdown Pause With 30-Day Commission

Senator Rand Paul wants President Trump to appoint a six member bipartisan Senate commission to hammer out expiring Affordable Care Act subsidies within a month. In exchange, Democrats would reopen the government for that period and pay federal workers and troops. Washington's reflex remains intact, form a panel and hit snooze on the crisis.

USS Gravely Docks in Trinidad and Tobago Amid Anti-Smuggling Friction

The guided missile destroyer USS Gravely pulled into Port of Spain as tensions rise over U.S. actions against boats accused of smuggling fentanyl to the United States. Nothing says deterrence like parking a warship at the pier, policy theater with a very loud horn.

Milei's Party Wins Argentina Midterms, Strengthening Reform Push

President Javier Milei's party notched midterm gains, giving the libertarian leader more leverage in Congress to advance his aggressive free market overhaul. The victory arrives with praise and a financial lifeline from Donald Trump. Free markets, meet free publicity. Argentina will now test whether ideological purity pays in pesos.

Jon Stewart Negotiates to Stay on The Daily Show

Jon Stewart says he is not ready to leave when his contract expires in December and is in talks to extend with Comedy Central, now under Skydance Media. The maestro of mockery keeps grilling the powerful while the new corporate overlords polish the logo and insist this was their plan all along.

Moderna Shelves CMV Vaccine After Phase 3 Miss

Moderna will discontinue its cytomegalovirus vaccine candidate for preventing congenital infection after a roughly 7,500 person Phase 3 trial in women aged 16 to 40 failed the primary endpoint, showing only 6 to 23 percent efficacy depending on case definition. With about 1 in 200 babies born with CMV and around 20 percent of cases leading to birth defects or long term issues, the company called the result disappointing. The shot was generally well tolerated. Moderna will continue testing it for CMV reactivation in bone marrow transplant patients, with Phase 2 data expected by 2026. Financial guidance for 2025 is unchanged, and the company still targets break even in 2028, the sharpest impact hitting expectations rather than earnings.

Hackaday roundup, balloons, botches, and bathroom science

Remember that United 737 windscreen strike at 36,000 feet that sounded like space junk? Turns out it was a WindBorne Systems high altitude balloon. The laminated glass held, the jet diverted to Salt Lake City, and everyone walked away. The company had filed a NOTAM, and now promises to avoid the 30,000 to 40,000 foot commercial lane and add autonomous plane avoidance using flight tracking. Meanwhile, the breathless rumor that Hytera ham radios were banned in the United States fizzled when Ham Radio Crash Course host KI6NAZ noted there is no ban on handy talkies, even as Hytera remains tangled with the FCC and federal indictments over other issues. In San Francisco, a prankster herd of about 50 Waymo robotaxis got coaxed into a dead end street, an excellent way to manufacture gridlock and a terrible idea if an ambulance needs to get through. On the AI panic beat, analyst Andy Masley estimates U.S. data centers use roughly 0.2 percent of the nation's 132 billion daily gallons, about 50 million if you exclude power generation water, with AI's slice around 0.008 percent. Not nothing, not the Dust Bowl. And yes, the Throne One toilet clip on promises stool classification, urine color checks, and a mic for urinary dynamics, with multi user support presumably via Bluetooth rather than posterior recognition. Teardown volunteers, new in box only.

Chainsaw Man slices up the box office

Chainsaw Man opened at number one in North America with 17.3 million dollars, according to Box Office Mojo. Apparently the secret to dominating multiplexes is an animated guy with power tools. Hollywood, take notes and maybe a safety course.

Eagles get payback in the trenches

Philadelphia flipped the script from two weeks ago, bullying the Giants in a 38 to 20 win and handing out 10 awards that start with Revenge of the Trenches. Nothing adds muscle like public embarrassment and a week of film study.

GOP lawmakers target Mamdani's citizenship, due process optional

New York City mayoral frontrunner Zohran Mamdani is facing calls from two House Republicans for the Justice Department to scrutinize his path to citizenship and, if fraud is found, to denaturalize and deport him. Representative Randy Fine said we need to take a hard look at how these folks became citizens and warned about the enemy within, a phrase that reliably summons dramatic music and very little evidence. To be clear, these are demands for an investigation, not proof of wrongdoing. Campaign season remains undefeated at turning due process into a vibe.

Life in the UK, warmer radiators, fuller bins, flat vibes

Carnegie UK's annual survey of 7,106 adults finds no meaningful improvement in the average person's life from May 2024 to May 2025 under Prime Minister Keir Starmer. The overall wellbeing score is 62, up one point on last year and unchanged from 2023. Some gains, 79 percent say they can afford to heat their homes and 68 percent rate their health good or very good. Some losses, satisfaction with local job opportunities fell to 26 percent from 31 percent, 83 percent report litter problems, and 72 percent feel they cannot influence national decisions. In a twist, trust in Westminster rose to 54 percent, up nine points, even as the charity warns public services are barely working for many and inequalities persist. So yes, the radiators are warmer, the bins are fuller, and Westminster's approval ratings caught a convenient tailwind.

Tate Modern Attack Victim Now Able to Run, Jump and Swim

Tate Modern Attack Victim Now Able to Run, Jump and Swim: The boy, who was six when he was attacked in 2019, has achieved his goal of regaining the ability to run, jump and swim again—a significant milestone in his long recovery.

Review of "Do It Yourself: Making Political Theatre"

Review of "Do It Yourself: Making Political Theatre": Manchester University Press drops a hybrid retrospective-manual-manifesto from Eevie Manning and Rhiannon White, tracing the rise of their company Common/Wealth—from a Bristol squat in 2008 with no funding to Bradford and Cardiff, staging shows in houses, boxing gyms and steelworks instead of velvet-seated temples to exclusivity. With a foreword by Michael Sheen, the book blends lived experience, a “beg, borrow, steal” ethos, and a step-by-step toolkit (including the gloriously practical “use a rolling pin for a hammer”) to demystify making political, site-specific theatre. It revisits productions like 2017’s We’re Still Here, inspired by Port Talbot’s Save Our Steel campaign, and corrals advice from 24 collaborators across three sections: origin story (In Common), how-to (Making), and a works retrospective (Works). The tone is part love letter, part defibrillator—galvanizing communities while giving the side-eye to elitist gatekeeping. In an age of fake-news fog, it’s an energizing, no-nonsense guide that treats theatre as an amplifier for voices long told to keep it down.

Why Arsenal’s dominant form makes them the team to beat

Why Arsenal’s dominant form makes them the team to beat: they’ve marched four points clear at the top, and their performances have opponents less “confident contenders” and more “polite spectators.” In a league where bravado is cheap, rivals are suddenly ‘afraid’—and the table, for once, backs the talk.

Teenage victim feared encountering Epping sex attacker after mistaken release from custody

Teenage victim feared encountering Epping sex attacker after mistaken release from custody, after Hadush Kebatu was wrongly freed from HMP Chelmsford, triggering a South East and London manhunt before police re-arrested him in Finsbury Park at about 8:30 a.m. Sunday, tipped off by a member of the public. The girl’s father called the blunder “unbelievably irresponsible,” saying he learned of the release from a reporter, was “greeted with hostility” when he went to the prison for answers, and fears the impact on his daughter’s mental health; he also urged immediate deportation. An eyewitness said Kebatu appeared calm as officers led him away. Chelmsford’s MP Marie Goldman demanded a rapid national inquiry, while Conservative front-bencher Chris Philp blamed the Labour government and Reform UK’s Zia Yusuf questioned public confidence; one prison officer has been removed from discharge duties pending investigation.

Hadush Kebatu’s release caused severe stress and anxiety for his 14-year-old victim

Hadush Kebatu’s release caused severe stress and anxiety for his 14-year-old victim, and the family says they feel “massively let down and infuriated” by the prison, police, justice system, and Government.

Police say woman raped in racially aggravated attack

Police say a woman was raped in a racially aggravated attack in Walsall on Saturday night. An investigation is under way, and officers have appealed for information and witnesses.

Millionaire castle owner flees UK over non-dom tax reforms

Ann Kaplan Mulholland, the 64-year-old ex-reality TV star with a 13th century Kent castle and roughly £500 million to her name, is decamping to Italy to enjoy a flat €200,000 tax on foreign income. She says she will return if non-dom status returns. Fresh off a self-styled micronation pageant at the castle, complete with drag queens, stilted jesters, and beefeaters, she blasted Chancellor Rachel Reeves as reckless and warned of a millionaire exodus. She and her husband claimed non-dom status for three years, moved to the UK for it, and say they have invested £25 million turning the castle into a luxury wedding venue that supports about 100 jobs. The Treasury counters that if you make your home in Britain, you pay taxes in Britain, and it touts a simpler residence based regime, lower capital gains taxes than other G7 European countries, and funding for public services. Henley and Partners projects a 2025 net outflow of 16,500 millionaires. Translation, the coronation carriage just became a one way airport shuttle.

Volatility leads, conspiracies lag, and the dollar quietly defaults by inflation

This week almost everything was up until it was down, which left volatility as the only reliable winner. Fringe chatter claims Treasury might engineer a technical default, but the realistic default is the slow burn of inflation, while an outright failure remains unlikely as long as big banks and the Fed keep the lights on. The obvious headache is a debt to GDP ratio around 124 percent, tolerable only if it trends lower. Fantasy fixes like a dual dollar system, gold at home and paper abroad, would be chewed up by arbitrage and hidden by Gresham’s Law. Measured against gold, the dollar has been hollowed out since the 1970s, yet it is still strong versus peers and scarce enough to hint at a global liquidity squeeze. You do not need a conspiracy board to see the problem, it is blinking hazard lights while everyone argues about the rearview mirror.

Newsom hints at 2028, promises to think about thinking after 2026

California Governor Gavin Newsom told CBS’s Robert Costa he would be lying if 2028 were not on his mind, and he will weigh a White House bid after the 2026 midterms. He is not announcing, he is calendar managing, which in politics passes for radical transparency.

Japan launches new cargo spacecraft on its inaugural mission to the International Space Station

Japan launches new cargo spacecraft on its inaugural mission to the International Space Station, sending the robotic HTV-X aloft atop an H3 rocket from Tanegashima at 8 p.m. EDT (0000 GMT; 9 a.m. JST Oct. 26). It’s slated for capture and berthing on Wednesday, Oct. 29, around 11:50 a.m. EDT (1550 GMT). JAXA envisions HTV-X working beyond the ISS too—supporting post-ISS activity in low Earth orbit and potentially hauling cargo to NASA’s planned lunar Gateway under Artemis. Its debut boosts the ISS cargo lineup by a third, joining Russia’s Progress and U.S.-built Cygnus and Dragon; only Dragon is reusable, while HTV-X, like the others, signs off with a controlled reentry—because in orbit, even the delivery trucks leave no clutter.

Three Welsh pubs rank among the UK’s most viral roast dinner destinations

Three Welsh pubs rank among the UK’s most viral roast dinner destinations, with staycation sleuths at holidaylodges.co.uk totting up TikTok views and likes amid a 90% October surge in “best roast dinner” searches. Blaenavon’s Butterflies Bar and Kitchen places fifth with 360,000 views and nearly 30,000 likes, its £26 two-course Sunday roast selling out months ahead while serving dry-aged Welsh beef, mint–rosemary lamb, rare-breed pork, and free-range chicken by a 19th-century fireplace. The Pavilion in Caldicot racks up 263,000 views despite only doing Sunday lunches from late September, offering classic roasts plus modern small plates (including a cheeseburger scotch egg) and a £20-per-person sharing roast. Cardiff’s North Star nets 60,000 views and the bargain title with its £17.50 Feast—pork, beef, and chicken with all the trimmings in a proper pub setting. London may still charge extra for oxygen, but Wales is clearly winning hearts, phones, and stomachs—proof that if TikTok is going to run the country, it might as well start with gravy.

Mills Overtakes Platner in Maine Primary

Mills Overtakes Platner in Maine Primary: Gov. Janet Mills now leads Democratic primary challenger Graham Platner 41% to 36% in the 2026 U.S. Senate race, according to a SoCal Strategies Maine Poll—because nothing says “Maine” like a survey with a SoCal accent.

Air ambulance lands near Tower of London as Uber Boat services skip Tower Pier amid incident

An air ambulance has landed near the Tower of London amid an incident, and Uber Boat by Thames Clippers says services are skipping Tower Pier, advising passengers to use alternative piers along the Thames while the situation is addressed.

Lessons from the Caerphilly by-election and how to prevent a repeat in next May’s Senedd election

Lessons from the Caerphilly by-election and how to prevent a repeat in next May’s Senedd election: a torrent of hate-filled, misleading leaflets went unchecked, complaints bounced between the Electoral Commission, Returning Officer, and police, and a small Ukrainian community was left to counter lies about Wales’s Nation of Sanctuary. The truth—largely unknown on the doorstep—is that around 85% of that programme funds integration support for Ukrainian refugees, families fleeing bombs and children coping with trauma, not some shadowy resource grab. The remedies are practical and urgent: a fast, visible system to report and investigate disinformation; education in schools and on TV about how it spreads and who profits; transparent facts on what programmes cost and deliver; treating refugee-baiting lies as a safeguarding issue; real accountability from government and councils; and social platforms that curb organised bot-driven hate. As Caerphilly resident and Ukrainian refugee Yuliia Bond argues, Wales isn’t ready yet—but with leadership and facts, it can be by May 2026.