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Chernobyl’s Dogs May Be Evolving, but Scientists Don’t Know Why
A new study found evidence of natural selection in the dogs of Chernobyl, but it’s still unclear what drove these genetic differences and what evolutionary advantages they may provide.
Ex-UK political aide Steve Hilton loses bid for California governor
Hilton, who was endorsed by President Trump, faced an uphill battle as a Republican in the widely liberal state.
U.S. Congressman Tim Moore, a longtime fixture of NC politics, defeated in reelection bid
Before moving to Congress, Moore was the longest-sitting Speaker of the N.C. House of Representatives.
Race results for the 11th Congressional District race
Democrat Nancy Mannion, a registered nurse and political newcomer from Manheim Township, is challenging Smucker’s bid for a sixth term.
‘Challenger Center’ planned for Waterloo to boost space science education
Hawkeye Community College in Waterloo plans to build a space education center for Iowa middle-schoolers. Bids are being taken on a project that will bring Iowa’s only Challenger Center to ca…
First ‘Challenger Center’ planned for Iowa to boost space science education
Hawkeye Community College in Waterloo plans to build a space education center for Iowa middle-schoolers. Bids are being taken on a project that will bring Iowa’s first Challenger Center to c…
First 'Challenger Center' planned for Iowa to boost space science education
Hawkeye Community College in Waterloo plans to build a space education center for Iowa middle-schoolers. Bids are being taken on a project that will bring Iowa’s first Challenger Center to campus, honoring the seven astronauts killed in the 1986 Space Shuttle Challenger disaster. The 32 other centers nationwide are run by a Washington D.C.-based nonprofit […]
14 propositions are on the California ballot. Voters are deciding on taxes, healthcare and more
California's 14 s ballot measures include a billionaire tax, voter ID, changes to recall elections, and a bid to speed up building by limiting environmental reviews.
An anonymous celebrity loses UK court bid to block reports of alleged sexual misconduct
A U.K. court has denied an unidentified celebrity's request to block news outlets from publishing allegations against him | WBBM Newsradio 780 AM & 105.9 FM
An anonymous celebrity loses UK court bid to block reports of alleged sexual misconduct
A U.K. court has denied an unidentified celebrity's request to block news outlets from publishing allegations against him | WWL
OpenAI: ChatGPT Search Is About 20% of Google’s, 250 Million People Speak With ChatGPT, and Chat Is Merging With Work
OpenAI says ChatGPT growth is accelerating. The company added 200 million users over just the past two months, jumping from 1 billion to 1.2 billion weekly active users in 60 days. Its search volume, it says, is approximately 20% of Google’s. Its users create 1.5 billion images with it per week. And its voice mode, between dictation and speaking with ChatGPT, now has 250 million combined weekly active users. ChatGPT consumer product lead Adam Fry told me this during a brief fireside chat at an OpenAI-hosted dinner in New York City on Monday night. “The growth is just going big,” he said. During our conversation, Fry also revealed plans to merge ChatGPT’s Chat and Work modes (so that confusing toggle up top will soon go away), agreed with feedback that ChatGPT-created restaurant signage looks too uniform, and addressed the cost to serve its personal assistant Dots. Here’s a look at our full conversation, lightly edited for clarity and length. We also cover image generation, interactive interfaces, advertising, education, and public unease about AI: Alex Kantrowitz: OpenAI has analyzed ChatGPT’s search volume and compared it with Google’s. What did you find? Adam Fry: ChatGPT has been growing quite quickly. ChatGPT’s volume of search-like queries is now roughly one-fifth the volume of queries of Google. It’s a pretty amazing statistic when you think about it, mainly because we started just about a year and a half ago. It’s hard to remember this, but ChatGPT at a time didn’t have any up-to-date information. You’d ask a question, it would say something like, “It’s past my training date,” and nobody had any idea what that meant. You’re saying ChatGPT’s search volume is one-fifth of Google’s. Bing’s share of the search market is around 5%. Does that make you multiple times larger than Bing? To say that more directly, ChatGPT has gone from one billion to 1.2 in just the last two months. That’s roughly 100 million users in 30 days, and another 100 million in another 30 days. The growth is just going big, and we’re staying very focused on how fast ChatGPT is growing. What counts as a search? I might have 20 prompts back and forth in a ChatGPT conversation. Does each one count as a query? Story continues below… A MESSAGE FROM OUR SPONSOR Move upmarket without a rebuild Moving upmarket means saying yes to what enterprise buyers ask for first: SSO, directory sync, and audit logs. WorkOS gives you all three, so your team keeps building the product instead of the checklist. Get enterprise-ready. Continued from above…. Adam Fry: What people came to ChatGPT for to start, if you go back about two years, is really writing help and coding help. Those wouldn’t be things that you really search for. What we’ve seen over the last year is people have grown into all these other topics. Things like you’re looking up a person or people or a place or a thing, and it requires up-to-date information. That’s a key element. Another big part is finance questions or health questions, where you really want to make sure it’s up-to-date information that’s quite factual, and we’ll do a web search for those questions. It’s basically anything that a user would have traditionally gone to a traditional search engine for, but is now deciding to go to ChatGPT for. Does each conversation with a search embedded count as one search, or does every question that requires a web search count? Every time you ask a question and go search the web, that’s a search. You used to work at Google. How would you say the nature of search is changing? One of the things that people really love about ChatGPT is this personalization and this understanding of the broader journey. If you look in the past, people would go for a Q&A box, and you’d ask a one-off question, like how tall is the Eiffel Tower. But there’s so much context in our lives around, “Maybe I’m taking a trip to Paris.” It’s actually helpful for ChatGPT to respond, “Here’s how tall the Eiffel Tower is, but I know you’re going on a trip to Paris.” It’s that ability for people to actually maintain context over time that has led them to start using ChatGPT in this way. You’ve also announced 250 million weekly active users of voice input, including dictation and conversations with voice mode. We are at 250 million weekly active users. What’s amazing about this is, if you look at those 250 million, what we’re seeing is it’s actually also incremental to the product. It’s no longer just a novelty. People aren’t just trying out voice. We’re seeing them use voice input day to day in their daily life, and it’s grown so quickly. Those 250 million users are using voice input, and that could just be a quick question or a long conversation. We’re seeing both behaviors. We’re seeing people just not want to type. You just hold it and start talking to it, or it turns into a longer conversation where people just sit with it. The big reason for this is the frontier capabilities of our models that we’ve shipped. We shipped what we call GPT Live 1, and then we shipped GPT Live 1.1. The big change with this is that it’s much more natural to speak with. It’s something we call backchanneling and interruptibility. Mhhhm… What you just did there is what the model does, because it’s really good at having a bidirectional conversation. That push to the frontier—we were the first to really release this at scale—has made it so much more natural for people to chat. That’s still only about 20% of the user base. From the outside, that looks small. Why is it exciting from the inside? It’s very exciting for a few reasons. We see from the data that when people start using voice, they stay around using voice. One of the things, transparently, we can do a better job of is bringing more people into discovering it. We see that the number of people who discover it could be a lot higher. But once they do, it’s a really new way for people to interact with AI. We’ve made a lot of improvements to it too, where we’re just going to see the number go up. You have background mode, so now by default, if you close the app, it’ll show, “Hey, the conversation’s still going.” If you want to walk around the house or you’re putting away the groceries, you can still have a chat. That kind of continuity has also changed how much people use it. Dots launched on September 29 and is about a month old. How’s it doing? It’s doing great. We talk to people about their Dot, and the first thing that everyone says is, “I love my Dot.” One of the reasons we’re seeing this is the proactivity, its ability to reach out to you and figure out things. The biggest use case I see all the time is, “Did I forget something today that I was supposed to do?” You can just say to your Dot, “Remind me of things at the end of the day that I may have forgotten. Somebody emailed me or messaged me,” and it’ll do that. This Dot changes the paradigm of the relationship with AI, where it’s actually helping you and giving you time back. You’re more conservative with permissions than some competitors. I tried to give my Dot my credit card, and it wouldn’t take it. With the creator of OpenClaw in-house, why are Dots’ permissions more limited? This is a space where we want to be very thoughtful and conservative because it’s a new space where you’re entrusting your Dot to take care of things on behalf of you that matter and are meaningful. We’ve just talked about how you go to this 1.2 billion user growth and asking questions. Now we’re asking people, “Can you ask ChatGPT or your Dot to help get things done?” But when you ask it to help get things done, it’s a whole new level of trust. We’ve built up a tremendous amount of trust in giving the right answers to your questions, and we want to make sure that when we build this new product, it has a high degree of trust. It’s a long game. We think this is going to be a new market for a very long time, and we want to make sure that we’re being this trusted player in the market to start. I initially thought Dots would be available on my $20 plan, then realized I had to spend $100 a month to get it. I upgraded, but I’d like to downgrade at some point…. We hope to keep earning your business and make the value good enough. It’s a really good point. ChatGPT’s goal more broadly, which I think is unique for us in the market, is we are focused on bringing intelligence to everyone safely across the entire world. For Dots in particular, there’s no difference. We don’t have anything to share tonight about the date of when Dots will go to a broader set of users. But you can rest assured we’re working very hard, and there are a couple things we have to get right. Over time we’re going to work on more efficient, agentic models that are able and capable of doing things for you. The first one is, right now we wanted to make sure that your Dot is actually really helpful. We started with some of our best models, but over time we’re going to work on more efficient, agentic models that are able and capable of doing things for you. The second thing is around proactivity. We’re still dialing in: How much do I message you to help you get things done? We can always play around with that to understand how much usage should a user use to have a successful Dot. We’re going to work on both, and our goal and ambition is to bring it out to all users. How much background computing does a Dot require? I’ve read estimates that serving a $100 subscriber might cost OpenAI $3,000 in compute, and mine seems to read every email that arrives. How often is it checking connected data sources? Right now, Dots are on the compute-heavier side, and this is one of the things we want to make sure that we can dial back over time. But the goal is to give you the best product. This is our premium, always-on personal assistant. Once we nail that, we’ll figure out how to dial back the compute needs. The thing we’re seeing also from our models, as we train frontier models, is just how—I can’t even keep up with how quickly we have a new model, and each new model is more efficient. If you looked at 6.1 Sol when it came out relative to Astra, much more efficient. I’m very excited about the next set of models we have coming too that’ll be even more efficient that we can use. Elon Musk said the cost of serving Grok Bot was unsustainably high relative to revenue. Is efficiency the key to winning against competitors, or is there more to it? There are a couple of factors that go into it. One is the cost side, but the other is the revenue side. On ChatGPT and on our consumer business, we’ve been extremely proud of our ability to diversify different revenue streams in a way that’s growing really fast. To give you another stat, we announced several months back that we had passed 50 million subscriptions, and the number has grown considerably since then. On ads, within 200 days, we reached more than a billion in ARR, and that business is growing extremely quickly. We also have credits. Rather than paying for subscriptions, users can buy more credits. Between credits, subscriptions, and ads, I’m confident that the value of a Dot is going to be able to pay for itself. Elon has subscriptions too. This is clearly an expensive product to serve. One thing we continue to bet on at OpenAI and ChatGPT more broadly is that the models will continue to get much better and much cheaper, way faster than any of us think. If you look back at the historicals on it, it continues to be true. From what I’ve seen, I see no slowing down of that. What is Meta doing right with Muse? It has spent a lot of time atop the App Store charts. There are a couple of things they’ve done well. The first is people have been craving simplicity in their products. One of the things we have stated publicly as well is, at times AI products can be too complex. We’ve announced we’re merging ChatGPT’s Chat and Work. We’re making it much more simple in the products. You don’t have as many toggles or sliders between efforts and different model pickers. One of the things they’ve done well is this simplicity. You just go in and you can ask a question. You don’t have to think too much about what you’re doing. That’s one thing that seems to have resonated with users, which we also believe in. Second, there’s something really nice about being able to access your agent across many different channels. We just announced and launched Dots on iMessage. Whether you talk to your Dot on email or iMessage or within the ChatGPT app, the ubiquity in getting your assistant out there is going to be key. Those are two things that, if I had to be nice to our competitors, I would say were two big ones. So Alexandr Wang’s meme-tweeting strategy isn’t something you’re going to emulate? I have a different tweeting style. ChatGPT still asks me to choose between Chat and Work, even though some people call this technology AGI. Will that distinction go away? Couldn’t agree more. We have to solve this. Asking users to choose — we’ve heard repeatedly from all of our users it’s too much to understand. When should you go to Chat? When should you go to Work? It’s solvable. There’s real research to solve to make sure the models can understand what your intent is. Are you asking for a fast, quick reply? Are you asking me to go do a long agentic task? We’re going to solve it, and the plan is to bring Chat and Work together. So one interface will work out whether I’m asking for a conversation or a task. When? Coming soon. You told me the majority of ChatGPT’s 1.2 billion users are using image functionality. What are they doing? Today, 1.5 billion images are created per week. It’s hard to even wrap my head around that number. They’re doing a wide range of things. One of the most interesting things they’ve started to do is really use it for productivity use cases. The first thing it started with—I don’t know if you saw the ’80s trend, but it was quite fun. You could take a photo of yourself and say, “Put me and my family in ’80s outfits.” I did this for my family, and it was a really fun poster. But what we’re also seeing is businesses for their menus, or posters for birthdays. People are using it almost in a productivity-like fashion to create visual diagrams of what they would like to see. We’ve actually brought the latency down on images as well, so it’s gotten a lot faster. It went from a very high number of seconds to getting much faster. As it comes down even further, the number of images people are creating and the number of use cases is going to grow a lot. My feature request: When a restaurant makes a menu or sign, prompt it for more specificity so it doesn’t look like every other AI-generated restaurant sign. Or offer a shuffle button for a different style. I agree with the feedback, and we’ll take it to the team. I’m seeing ChatGPT generate little interactive interfaces within its answers. What’s the direction for Intelligent UI, and how are people using it? I am extremely excited about Intelligent UI. If you go back a couple years, these chat apps were all text, and now that’s changing. They’re going to be visuals. Intelligent UI and our first attempt at this with GPT-6 Intelligent UI is really just the beginning. As you go to the extreme, what you can imagine is, let’s say you’re using voice mode, and you just say, “Show me how offside works.” Immediately it should show you a visual diagram, and you say, “No, I don’t quite understand it.” It should just repopulate. That’s where the future of this technology goes. It’s almost like you’re talking to a canvas that will update and change. People are finding it helpful for a lot of things. My favorite one is—it’s hard to admit that I had no idea how hearts work. The last biology course I took was in high school. I just asked it, “How does the heart work?” and it instantly gave me a beautiful interactive diagram of where blood flows and how it goes through. I’m really, really bullish on this for learning in particular. You’ve described useful applications in finance, health, and learning, and ChatGPT has 1.2 billion users. If people are getting so much value, why is public polling on AI so negative? The reality with AI is it is going to change the nature of how work gets done. For a lot of people, that is something that can feel scary at times, and we’ve all felt that. But I remain confident that when people actually use the product and they use AI, it very quickly changes how they perceive it. We’re at 1.2 billion, but there are still a lot of people who haven’t used it. The more people use it, get familiar with it, how it can actually help you in your life, it’s going to feel a lot less scary. Big Technology is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, please consider becoming a paid subscriber. Thanks!! Subscribe
Veteran politicians Sherrod Brown, Jon Husted compete for Ohio Senate seat once held by Vance
Republican Sen. Jon Husted is defending the Ohio seat formerly held by Vice President JD Vance against a comeback bid by former three-term Sen. Sherrod Brown.
If you are reading this on Election Day, vote
Did you miss me last week? I hope so, but I had a dental emergency over the weekend and when I should have been writing a column, I was in an uncomfortable chair with my mouth open and a very nice dental tech was gluing a crown back in my mouth. Huzzah for modern dentistry! […]
Texas Election Day Updates: Latest on key races in Houston, Texas
Texas voters head to the polls today in a historic election featuring the Talarico-Paxton Senate race and Greg Abbott’s bid for a record fourth term. Follow along for live updates.
Roxie Nafousi’s 5 Biggest Business Lessons From Closing Her Fragrance Brand
The manifestation expert thought her established following and personal development business would provide the foundations for a successful fragrance line. The reality of building a consumer business was far more complicated.
Bruins Hold Off Golden Knights’ Comeback Bid, Win in Shootout
BOSTON – The Boston Bruins (11-4-1) swept their two-game homestand with a 3-2 shootout win over the Vegas Golden Knights […]
Joe Biden makes surprise appearance at Dornsife’s Center for the Political Future
The former president spoke with students about democracy over ice cream.
Brian Sabean Humbled by Hall Of Fame Bid
Brian Sabean admits he is the "least iconic" on his Hall of Fame ballot. His honest reaction to the 2027 vote is a rare moment of clarity in baseball.
Trump lawyers ask Supreme Court to set aside 20,000 California ballots
The appeal by the Trump administration comes days ahead of the midterm election, and after federal judges have rejected the bid to set aside 20,000 California ballots.
Judge dismisses charges against ex-FBI agents accused of lying about Hunter Biden, citing 'weaponization'
The Justice Department may still have an opportunity to pursue a grand jury indictment against the ex-FBI officials.
Brisbane 2032: the sports being forced to modernise in bid to stay in Olympic race
Microchips, ninja obstacle courses and other ‘modern’ tweaks are being made by sports vying for a coveted spot on the Olympic program in Australia
Research: When Workers Adapt Their Resumes to Fit the Political Moment
Job seekers are rewriting their resumes to match the political moment. A new study, which analyzed 2.9 million U.S. workers, found that employees added ESG and DEI language around Biden’s 2020 election and deleted it after Trump’s 2024 victory, mirroring corporate behavior. The research also found that this strategy can be an effective way to earn a new role; those who added such language were more likely to switch employers or be promoted, even though their qualifications tended to be slightly lower. This is because employers tend to sacrifice candidate quality for political alignment. To hire for the long haul, leaders should limit reliance on resume-screening algorithms, prioritize skills and experience, and discount political signals that may soon fade.
Conversations with Candidates: Bailey emphasizes financial accountability, government transparency in comptroller bid
Democratic challenger for state comptroller Jessica Bailey is seeking to improve public oversight of finances and make spending records more accessible.
DEA Rules for Schedule III Medical Cannabis Registrants Pose Major Disruptions to State Programs
The agency granted federal registration to more than 900 of 7,000 priority applicants, forbidding them from doing business with non-registered entities.
When You Should—and Shouldn’t—Use AI to Search the Web
Chatbots are often quite good at retrieving the information you want from the web. But sometimes you’ll get better results by typing your query into a good old search engine.
How Democrats Are Reclaiming the Politics of Populism
In the midterms’ most competitive races, Democratic candidates are reviving an old party message: that the Republicans are selling out to the highest bidder.
Hundreds of Mundane AI Apps Are Hiding Sexually Abusive Deepfake Features
WIRED uncovered some 400 apps and websites linked to Chinese-language developers that look like regular AI tools but had secret features that let users create violent AI-generated images and video.
Nexroc postpones submission of bid for JYP Entertainment
Nexroc postponed its proposed bid for a 25–50% stake in JYP Entertainment to November 2. Neither company confirmed whether the bid was submitted, while questions remain over Nexroc’s financing.
Rabid Anti-Communism Still Shapes the Politics of California
Donald Trump likes to brand California’s Democratic establishment as a nest of “far-left communists.” This unhinged rhetoric can still find a ready audience because it resonates with a deep-rooted Californian tradition of lurid, authoritarian red-baiting.
The Hollywood Color Nerd Who Shot ‘Knives Out’ Explains His Viral iPhone Camera App
The Chromagraph Camera app costs $13 dollars and processes iPhone photos with the same color math Rian Johnson’s cinematographer, Steve Yedlin, uses for film.
After dueling late 60-yard field goals, No. 4 Indiana escapes Minnesota's upset bid in OT
Just seconds after Minnesota kicked a 60-yard field goal to go ahead, Indiana responded with one of its own.
Has Kyle Smith Built an NCAA Tournament Team at Stanford?
Smith has won 41 games in two seasons at Stanford but has yet to reach the NCAA Tournament. With a revamped roster and a 13th-place preseason ranking in the ACC, his next challenge is turning progress into a March Madness bid.
Meta’s Muse Could Upend All Kinds of Businesses. It Hasn’t Yet
Companies have spent the past several weeks trying to reassure investors that Muse and other AI agents pose more of an opportunity than a threat.
Republicans pour millions into once-safe House seat in bid to save Max Miller
In the closing days of the race, Rep. Max Miller is making the case to voters that divorce is messy and the controversies that surrounded him this summer are behind him.
Are Memories Transferable? Meet the Scientists Replicating an Infamous Study to Find Out
In the 1960’s, an odd experiment showed planarian worms could transfer memories by consuming each other. It was a sensational finding—that is until the worms stopped learning.
White Dwarfs Aren’t Just White. Scientists Discover Dying Stars Turning Pink and Green
Astronomers find that a white dwarf’s density and the kind of material it absorbed from its surroundings can produce a rainbow of shades in the star’s atmosphere.
Wendy’s and IHOP Face Buyout Bids. Going Private Is Easy, Fixing a Business Is Hard.
Private-equity firms are targeting struggling U.S. restaurant chains to revive them away from public-market scrutiny.
Get Real With SOMD Politics: Mike Alderson Discusses Housing, Local Control And His Independent Reelection Bid
ST. MARY’S COUNTY, Md. — St. Mary’s County Commissioner Mike Alderson Jr. says expanding access to homeownership, protecting local control over development and completing infrastructure projects are among his priorities as he seeks another term representing District 3. Alderson discussed his record and campaign during an appearance on The BayNet’s podcast “Get Real With Southern […]
NPR special: 5 takeaways from a year of listening to swing voters
Every election, there is a crucial sliver of voters who help determine which candidates win. Here are five takeaways from a year of listening to voters who backed Biden in 2020 and then Trump in 2024.
NPR special: 5 takeaways from a year of listening to swing voters
Every election, there is a crucial sliver of voters who help determine which candidates win. Here are five takeaways from a year of listening to voters who backed Biden in 2020 and then Trump in 2024.
Male Insecurity Over Penis Size Is a Booming Business
“Manhood,” a new documentary about “girth enhancement,” explores how wellness professionals are encouraging men to undergo increasingly extreme procedures to be sexually desirable.
Frederick Health hosts fashion show to raise scholarship money
Corey Rabideau, the treasurer of Frederick Health Auxiliary, walked around Dutch’s Daughter in navy blue pajamas on Wednesday night holding a giant teddy bear, part of Frederick Health Auxiliary’s fashion
The politics of war
Israel went to the polls last Tuesday and it is the turn of the United States next Tuesday. The differences in the two elections are self-evident. Compared with the US, which has favourable geography and does everything at scale, Israel is tiny and part of an unstable region. For its elections, it has adopted an almost pure form of proportional representation based on lists. This encourages multiple parties and can make it almost impossible to form a government, as we can now see. The US system is complex in its own way but discourages third parties. Yet for all the differences in size, geography, and political systems, the fates of the two countries are closely connected. Israel has come to depend on the US to sustain its military strength, and over the past few tumultuous years that dependence has created resentment in the United States. The Biden administration was punished for appearing to give Netanyahu a blank check after the Hamas attacks of 7 October 2023, and not holding Israel back as it employed ruthless tactics in Gaza. Because of the treatment of Palestinians, American views of Israel have grown progressively more negative over the past few years. Only a third now support the Israeli government. While on the left, this is largely because of how Israeli forces have operated in Gaza and, more recently, how the settler movement has behaved in the West Bank, for the American right the issue has been about how Benjamin Netanyahu persuaded Donald Trump to forget his wariness about more Middle Eastern wars and agree to a joint attack on Iran, which has gone badly wrong. The Palestine question was not a big issue for the two large Jewish blocs in last Tuesday’s election. Both supported a tough response to Hamas after October 2023 and neither accepts a two-state solution. It was, however, the threat posed by the ethno-nationalist policies of Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, the two extreme members of Netanyahu’s coalition, and their tolerance, even encouragement, of settler violence, that brought out the Arab voters. (In principle this should strengthen their position though to turn into real power would require the ‘Change Bloc’ overcoming their opposition to involving Arab parties. The alternatives are a National Unity government, defection from the Change Bloc to Netanyahu, or deadlock and another round of elections in the new year.) There was also broad support for the war against Iran among the Jewish parties. The difficulty here is that the objectives behind the war have yet to be met, and that continuing with military operations depends on the United States. In this way the two elections have come together at a crucial moment. If Netanyahu hoped that a victory over Iran would help him retain his majority, cementing his legacy as an Israeli war leader, it did not work out that way. Trump also expected a great victory about which he could boast. He promised at most the end of a hateful and aggressive regime, with a record of hostility to both the United States and Israel, or at least the elimination of Iran’s military capabilities and the end of its nuclear programme. Eight months on, there is not much to boast about; vital objectives remain elusive: the Iranian regime is even more hardline than before; the international economy is barely coping with the closure of the Strait of Hormuz; and Saudi Arabia is struggling with an unwanted conflict with the Yemeni Houthis. For all these reasons, the Iran War has been a dark cloud hanging over both elections. Yet the issue has been approached in different ways. Netanyahu sought to push the issue before the election while Trump has been more cautious. Trump’s essential claim is that there is nothing to worry about and he’s still working out what final steps need to be taken to provide a definitive conclusion to the conflict. Netanyahu’s final pitch was that there was lots to worry about. He focused on Israel’s dire security situation, with the Iran War unfinished and the prospect of imminent economic isolation because of international sanctions. For him it is imperative to defeat Iran decisively, and without delay. Why this different response to the same war? Part of the answer lies in how public opinion in the two countries responded to the war. In this post, I show how this came about. We await the outcome of the US midterms but know the result, at least in terms of the share of the vote if not yet the shape of the new government, of the Israeli election. With the elections out of the way Netanyahu is pressing for another round in the war. Trump is less sure. I conclude with thoughts on the importance of how he decides.
SEEDA Trying To Move Forward With Hi-Tech Business Park And Full-Time Administrator
Work could start soon in 2 different ways in regards to Phase II of the Sheridan Hi-Tech Business Park. The Sheridan Economic Development and Education Authority (SEEDA) has opened up bidding to add 5-foot gravel shoulders on Yellowtail Drive, from the Weatherby building northward to an area near the Agripark. The bid closes on November […]
Ex-FBI officials accused of false statements about Hunter Biden press for dismissal of charges
Defense lawyers have urged a judge to dismiss a criminal complaint charging two former FBI counterintelligence officials with making false statements to Congress about Hunter Biden, calling the case an overtly political prosecution aimed at placating President Donald Trump
Ex-FBI officials accused of false statements about Hunter Biden press for dismissal of charges
Defense lawyers have urged a judge to dismiss a criminal complaint charging two former FBI counterintelligence officials with making false statements to Congress about Hunter Biden, calling the case an overtly political prosecution aimed at placating President Donald Trump.
Halle Berry loses custody battle but beats restraining order
NEW YORK — Academy Award-winning Halle Berry got mixed results in her bid for custody over her 13-year-old son. A family court judge ruled that the “Monster’s Ball” star’s ex-husband,
Extremely chill bear named Paul wins a Dude-approved award
For his patience around salmon, the USDA Forest Service awards the black bear the 2026 Dude abides Award.
The Politics Hour: What's at stake locally in the 2026 midterms
UVA's Center for Politics Director Larry Sabato on Virginia possibly being the key to a blue wave, WAMU's Jenny Abamu breaks down the redistricting constitutional amendment, and Washington Sun's Martin Austermuhle explains the controversy around at-large D.C. Councilmember Robert White's bid for D.C. Delegate.
The ‘Pain in the Ass’ Math That Could Save Vibe Coding From Itself
A new startup called &Truth is joining the race to automate formal verification, a painstaking process that uses math to prove software works as intended.
Airbnb is spending big to shape LA politics ahead of Olympics
The online rental platform has become one of the largest political donors in Los Angeles in a bid to expand its business before the 2028 Olympics.
Pirates' Brandon Lowe Nearly Certain to Create Bidding-War
This is the price of elite hitters nowadays.
An AI Breakthrough Has Made Decades of Computer Science Research ‘Irrelevant’
Anthropic and OpenAI say they’ve disproved a key tenet of computer science. Researchers are struggling with the fall but also feel like “overexcited bunnies” as they look at new questions to explore.
A Hacker Targeted High-Stakes Poker Players With Malware That Exposed Their Cards
Illicit software on the computers of some of the world’s best online poker players allowed the accused cheater to see what cards were in the victims’ hands—and trounce them at the tables.
Judge Rejects Trump Officials’ Bid to Set Aside California Ballots
The judge ruled that no immediate action was necessary, dealing another setback to the administration as it moves to target voting by noncitizens.
Federal judge warns Trump administration bid to set aside 20,000 California mail ballots would ‘wreak havoc’
A federal judge is refusing to allow the Justice Department to intervene in California’s ongoing mail-in ballot counting, warning that the Trump administration’s request to segregate 20,000 ballots to vet voters’ citizenship would “wreak havoc and disrupt the election that is already underway.”
Judge rejects Trump administration bid to set aside 20,000 California ballots
A federal judge refused to order California to set aside 20,000 ballots, citing a 'pattern of attempted election interference' by the Trump administration
FIFA politics around Infantino re-election bid compels Japanese official to quit
GENEVA (AP) — Two-time World Cup coach Takeshi Okada quit as Japanese soccer federation vice president in protest at the politics around FIFA during Gianni Infantino’s campaign to be re-elected.
Steelers Afternoon Drive: Browns-Steelers Rivalry Rabid Again?
Welcome to the Steelers Afternoon Drive, our new daily podcast featuring all the latest Steelers news and analysis. Alan Saunders […]
SyberJet Bids To Redefine The High-Performance Light Business Jet
Swearingen’s SJ30-2 makes a comeback as SyberJet’s stretched SJ36 and upgraded SJ34.
Judge allows discovery in civil suit appeal of $2B state contract awarded to political heavyweights
A Massachusetts judge is allowing discovery in an appeal in a civil suit over a $2 billion state contract for a new Springfield courthouse awarded, in-part, to politically connected bidders.
Arsenal Lodge Appeal Against Max Dowman's Fleetwood Red Card
Arsenal are appealing the red card shown to Max Dowman during their Carabao Cup defeat at Fleetwood Town, in a bid to overturn the teenager's three-match ban.
New Hampshire political dynasty boosts John E. Sununu in Senate bid
Political dynasty is front and center as Republican John E. Sununu seeks to retake his old Senate seat in a close-fought race against Democratic Representative Chris Pappas.
Are you an organ donor? Here are some rule changes you may want to know
Transplant teams can talk to families about organ donation before they've decided whether to continue life-sustaining medical care for loved ones. Until now, that has been forbidden.
Who Owns What: The Watermania Waterpark Richmond May Expropriate
[There is often a lack of transparency around land ownership in BC. Who Owns What is an ongoing series by The Realist focused on interesting land ownership stories. Have a suggestion for a future story? Email: howardchai@substack.com.] Earlier this month, CBC and Richmond News reported that the City of Richmond is planning to expropriate Watermania, the waterpark located at 14300 Entertainment Boulevard near the Richmond Ice Centre. The City of Richmond currently leases the property from a private owner — 14300 Entertainment Blvd. Investments Ltd. — and the lease is set to expire in March 2027. According to the reports, the two sides have been unable to agree on terms of the lease renewal and the City has since served a Notice of Expropriation, saying it wants to secure “essential community services,” according to CBC, with outgoing Mayor Malcolm Brodie telling CBC that “Watermania is an important recreation facility for our community, and the city’s goal is to secure its long-term future.” Richmond News added that because the expropriation is not for a linear easement like a sewage line or rapid transit, an inquiry can be requested, and one has been scheduled for November 30 to December 4, according to CBC. What was left out of both stories, however, is who the City would be expropriating Watermania from. According to the Land Owner Transparency Registry, 14300 Entertainment Boulevard is legally owned by 14300 Entertainment Blvd. Investments Ltd. and that numbered company is controlled by a Chinese individual named Hai Feng Zhu, who primarily resides in the Jilin province. The registered address of 14300 Entertainment Blvd. Investments Ltd. is 3899 Cartier Street in Vancouver, a mansion in Shaughnessy that BC Assessment values at $10,423,000. The home at 3899 Cartier Street has previously been tied to Kevin Sun of Sun Commercial by reporter Sam Cooper when he was with the Vancouver Sun in a report noting that Sun had an associate named Hai Feng Zhu who is a director of SunOil Ltd., as confirmed by the company’s filings. Another person mentioned in both the report and filing is Denise She. A search of Hai Feng Zhu in the Land Owner Transparency Registry reveals that Zhu also owns four other properties in British Columbia. The Realist then used the PIDs1 to identify the addresses, finding that the two parcels with PIDs beginning 014 are two parcels that form 1155 Bidwell Street in Vancouver and that the two parcels with PIDs beginning 015 are two parcels that form 1755 Davie Street. 1755 Davie Street is the Best Western Plus Sands, 1155 Bidwell Street is a surface parking lot, and both are held under 0993956 B.C. LTD., which is controlled by Hai Feng Zhu alongside the aforementioned Kevin Sun and Denise She, among others. The Best Western Plus Sands is listed under Sun Commercial’s portfolio and Sun Commercial also previously sold the Richmond Ice Centre to the City of Richmond for $32 million in 2019. Denise She, Peter Cheng De She, and Julia MiMi Yang also control 1078635 B.C. Ltd., which owns 1707 Davie Street, the small retail building that sits between 1755 Davie Street and 1155 Bidwell Street. Governments in British Columbia have a tendency to overpay for real estate, so it’ll be interesting to see how much the City of Richmond pays for Watermania if they do end up expropriating the property. BC Assessment values 14300 Entertainment Boulevard at $49,397,000. The assessed value is dated to July 1, 2025 and is a small decline from the previous assessment of $52,584,000. The rest of this story dives into Sun Commercial and $159 million in sales it made last year to KingSett Capital. Become a paid subscriber for all the details. Subscribe Sun Commercial Sun Commercial is based out of the City Square Shopping Centre at 555 W 12th Avenue in Vancouver, which it acquired in 2019 for $225 million, and also has an office located at 415 Yonge Street in Toronto.
Election poses questions big and small for NY legislature
The possibilities in Albany range from subtle and symbolic— to seismic should favored Gov. Kathy Hochul not win her reelection bid.
FBI agent says he feared case against ex-FBI officials tied to Hunter Biden probes would look political
WASHINGTON, Oct 27 (Reuters) - An FBI agent who helped lead the case against two former senior bureau officials accused of lying to Congress about Hunter Biden investigations testified on Tuesday that...
Trump plans to loosen restrictions on methane emissions from oil drilling
President Donald Trump is expected to announce plans to loosen a Biden-era rule that aimed to reduce planet-warming emissions of methane from oil and gas drilling. The move aims to
O’Hare’s massive restaurant and retail shake-up nears decision time
The retail and food and beverage contracts add up to the largest domestic concession opportunity ever put out for bid by a U.S. airport.
175 Democrats demand Trump admin stop Ilhan Omar investigation, warn it could hurt her re-election bid
Rep. Pramila Jayapal led 175 House Democrats in accusing DHS and DOJ of weaponizing the federal investigation into Ilhan Omar's immigration history.
7 Health Benefits of Basil, From Antioxidants to Stress Relief
The health benefits of basil go far beyond flavor. From antioxidants to potential stress relief, here's why this fragrant herb deserves a place in your diet.
Connie Chan Inherits a Chinese American Political Dream. Can She Take It to Congress?
Connie Chan's bid to become San Francisco’s first Asian American U.S. House representative is built on generations of Chinese American political organizing.
Republicans Boost Independent's State Senate Bid
With no candidate of their own in the race, the GOP is making a late intervention on behalf of former member Nicole Kalloch.
UK Politician Jess Asato Got Deepfaked. Now She’s Taking xAI to Court
Jess Asato’s public campaigning for victims of online abuse put her in the crosshairs of Grok’s deepfake scandal. Then the UK member of parliament became a victim of the abuse herself.
I Tested Every Major AI Agent for a Day. Here’s the Best One
I ranked six AI agents—from Meta’s Muse to Anthropic’s Claude Duet—on how well they completed basic tasks.
US midterm elections: Trump's biggest economic problem looks familiar
Donald Trump heads into the US midterm elections with an issue similar to his political foe Joe Biden.
Ex-Poway councilman Tony Blain denied mental health diversion by judge
Former Poway City Councilman Tony Blain, who faces criminal charges alleging he committed perjury and solicited bribes, was denied a bid Monday to enter a mental health diversion program.
Mamdani takes on role as cheerleader role for Gov. Hochul
The mayor has taken center stage in several ads and campaign events boosting the governor’s reelection bid.
Court declines to rule on bid to set aside ballots of alleged noncitizens
The decision sets the federal government and state officials up for another legal showdown on the matter on Tuesday
Amid her reelection bid, Hochul aims at retaking Congress
Hochul spoke exclusively with NY1.
Cheerleading earns multiple bids to UCA Nationals
The North Allegheny cheerleading program turned in an impressive performance this past weekend at the UCA Ohio Regional, with multiple teams earning bids to the UCA National High School Cheerleading Championship in Orlando, Florida. The Tigers’ JV Traditional, Varsity Traditional and Varsity Game Day teams all secured bids to the national championship, highlighting a successful… More »
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who rose from sportscaster to Texas political powerhouse, seeks 4th term
Long before he became one of the state's most powerful Republican leaders, Dan Patrick was a broadcaster with a flair for showmanship. Now, the three-term lieutenant governor is facing an unusually competitive reelection bid.
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who rose from sportscaster to Texas political powerhouse, seeks 4th term
Long before he became one of the state’s most powerful Republican leaders, Dan Patrick was a broadcaster with a flair for showmanship. Now, the three-term lieutenant governor is facing an unusually competitive reelection bid.
Canadian retail giant targets Issa brothers' petrol stations business
Quebec-based Alimentation Couche-Tard tables $8 billion bid for Cumberland Farms
Some iPhone Duo Models Are Breaking. iFixit’s Teardown Might Explain Why
The repair company iFixit released its repairability rating for Apple’s very first foldable iPhone. It comes as users report a wave of cracked-screen issues.
Knox County Candidates File Final Campaign Reports Before Election
Maine Republican Party Contributes to Nicole Kalloch's state Senate bid.
Dana White Outlines How Movsar Evloev Gets Another Title Shot
UFC president Dana White outlined how featherweight fighter Movsar Evloev could get another title shot at 145 lbs.Evloev was 20-0 in MMA and 10-0 in the UFC heading into UFC 333, but he suffered a brutal second-round knockout loss against UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski in a failed bid to become the promotion’s new 145 […] The post Dana White Outlines How Movsar Evloev Gets Another Title Shot appeared first on HEAVY.
Is the Big 12 a two-bid CFP league? + 2-loss SEC playoff hopes + Lincoln Riley’s future at USC
Olympiacos May Attempt to Sign Genoa Midfield Maestro This Winter
Olympiacos are poised to reignite their pursuit of Morten Frendrup, testing Genoa's resolve after a rejected summer bid for the consistent Danish engine room specialist.
‘Wicker’ star Alexander Skarsgård says he’s ‘not very good with being earnest’
‘Wicker’ star Alexander Skarsgård says he’s ‘not very good with being earnest,’ which his latest role, as a sexy basket, required.
Scientists Trapped an Antimatter Particle for Months to Study Its Secrets
These elusive and reactive particles have been challenging to hold on to and even more challenging to study, but a new method paves the way for tests on the differences between matter and antimatter.
Apple CarPlay and Android Auto Make Your Phone Hot. Here’s How to Keep It Cool
Powering a car dashboard is more demanding on your handset than you might think. These tips will save battery life and help your phone chill out.
The Political Upstarts That May Decide Israel’s Election
The upcoming Israeli election may be decided by two small parties that didn’t even exist a few months ago.
Madison Mayor Drops Reelection Bid, Cites ‘Toxic Political Culture’
The 'price of serving has become too high,' says Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway.
We Linked 150 of Ikea’s $10 Speakers to Make a Wall of Sound
WIRED attempts what even the Swedish brand hasn’t: making a sonic monolith using scores of the cheapest Bluetooth speakers on the market. Can you have too much of a small thing?
Renee Minogue is helping shape her husband's gubernatorial bid
The 52-year-old mother and wife of GOP gubernatorial candidate Michael Minogue is a full-blown political influencer.
Argentina should host World Cup
SPAIN are a coming force in world rugby and I welcome their bid to host the World Cup. However I think Argentina should win the vote as they have been a true force on the world stage for a long time. It would be ground breaking to take the event to South America. Either bid […] The post Argentina should host World Cup appeared first on The Rugby Paper .
Los Angeles health authorities report 2nd second rabies-positive raccoon
In a follow-up on the report a rabies-positive raccoon found in Los Angeles County, the first in more than 5 decades, the LA County Department of Public Health is investigating a second rabies-positive raccoon found in the Westlake Village area of Los Angeles County. Public Health has confirmed that the first raccoon was positive for a variant of rabies typically found in bats. Strain testing for the second raccoon is currently pending. The second rabid raccoon was found in a backyard in the vicinity of where the first raccoon was reported and appeared sick and aggressive. No residents or pets were exposed to the raccoon. Two people at a worksite may have been exposed to the raccoon and are receiving recommended follow-up for rabies post-exposure prophylaxis. The World’s Deadliest Viruses Prior to these detections, the last confirmed rabid raccoon in Los Angeles County was detected in 1973, when the skunk variant (strain) of rabies was still present in the County. That strain has not been detected in Los Angeles County since 1979. In 2014, a skunk infected with the bat variant of rabies was detected in Long Beach. “The detection of rabies in another raccoon is an important reminder to never touch, handle, or feed any wild animals, even when they appear healthy,” said Muntu Davis, MD, MPH, Los Angeles County Health Officer. “Always keep a safe distance from wildlife and contact your local animal control if you encounter an animal that appears to be sick, injured, or behaving unusually. It is also critical to ensure your pets are up to date on rabies vaccination so they are protected before any potential exposure. Keeping your pets vaccinated is one of the most important steps you can take to protect your entire family.” Outbreak News Today is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Subscribe
Albany BID’s Hounds of Halloween 2026
The event included a costume contest, dog trick-or-treating and a puppy parade.