Twin sisters and Halloween themed skates 📹rollerskatetwins https://t.co/uQlYnt8hDW
— Science girl (@sciencegirl) October 30, 2026
Why Do People Feel the Presence of ‘Ghosts’? Scientists Are Starting to Understand ZME Science
MIT researchers fine-tune viral particles to develop personalized cancer vaccines Interesting Engineering
237-Million-Year-Old Fossils Reveal an Amphibian That Shouldn’t Have Existed SciTech Daily
After Uber Destroyed Taxi Cabs, Drivers Now Face the Existential Threat of Self-Driving Cars Futurism
COVID-19/Pandemics
Congo Ebola outbreak kills more than 5,000 Reuters
Risk Factors for Smell Disturbance With COVID-19 Infection Docwire News
Climate/Environment
The Climate Cost of a Single Private Jet Flight Is Even Worse Than You Think ZME Science
Massive sinkholes open up across Turkey as it struggles with drought and climate change The Conversation
This October is on track to be the hottest ever recorded Scientific American
South of the Border
Trump touted a record Venezuela oil deal. Now reality is setting in Reuters
Brazil’s economic outlook darkens as debt soars Semafor
Hell will freeze over before Havana gives in to Trump. But regular Cubans don’t have that long CNN
China?
The most thrilling hiking route in China https://t.co/umYG2azFXt
— Massimo (@Rainmaker1973) October 25, 2026
AI could turn China’s social credit system into surveillance tool: government-funded study SCMP
China showcases world’s first catapult-capable drone carrier; stealth UAV completes takeoff, landing Interesting Engineering
Here’s How Much More High-Speed Rail China Has Than Every Other Country Jalopnik
Zhang Ming: China Needs Reform, but Not the IMF’s Prescription The East Is Read
India
India seeks $220 billion clean energy push to meet 2030 target Reuters
Why India has soured on Trump ahead of US midterms Al Jazeera
Inside India’s Cockroach Protests The New Yorker
Africa
In Africa, a new paradigm for economic growth emerges Stanford University
America Is Spending Billions To Fight the War on Terror in Africa. The Terrorists Are Winning. Reason
Africa’s atomic suitors IPS Journal
European Disunion
EU countries push back against Brussels plan to tax gas more than electricity Euronews
Canada and EU announce new alliance open to like-minded countries The Guardian
EU Housing Costs: 34 Million Overburdened as Prices Rise 69% Since 2015 Index Box
The Constitutional Crisis at the Heart of Poland’s Judicial “Coup” Simplicius
Para quienes no hayan comprendido la gravedad de los hechos acaecidos desde ayer en Polonia o ni siquiera se han enterado porque los medios los han encubierto y solo han podido seguirse por las redes, el gobierno de Tusk ordenó ayer denegar permiso de aterrizaje al avión del jefe del estado, del presidente Karol Nawrocki. Los pilotos militares del avión presidencial desobedecieron a la torre de control y aterrizaron sin permiso.
En Bruselas todos callan hasta que salgan defendiendo a Tusk que al fin y al cabo es un títere de von der Leyen que jamás habría perpetrado este intento de golpe de Estado sin el permiso de su jefa.
— Hermann Tertsch (@hermanntertsch) October 31, 2026
Old Blighty
Fears for UK economy as births collapse to lowest level since 1977 Daily Mail
Support for rejoining EU grows after Burnham opens door to UK’s return The Independent
Israel v. Gaza, Yemen, Lebanon, Syria
In researching my new book, Requiem for Gaza, I discovered how Israel systematically targeted and killed the Palestinian professional class (such as doctors and journalists), an obvious genocidal tactic. This goal is symptomatic of Israel’s larger vision for Gaza; to ethnically cleanse its population via genocide.
— Chris Hedges (@ChrisLynnHedges) October 31, 2026
3 Palestinians killed in Israel’s ongoing violations of Gaza ceasefire Andolu Agency
Israel demolishes homes of Palestinians blamed for attack on soldiers Al Jazeera
Netanyahu survives the election, but Eisenkot holds key to replacing him – analysis The Jerusalem Post
Leading Israeli Commentators: ‘Netanyahu Seeking to Annul Election Results’ Conflicts Forum
Iran War
Khamenei said to order military response without ‘geographic limits’ if US, Israel attacks The Times of Israel
What are the Hormuz End-Games? Nick Wade
New Not-So-Cold War
Zelenskyy: Almost 300,000 households without power after Russian strikes on Dnipropetrovsk and Kyiv oblasts Ukrainska Pravda
Will Melania Trump save Ukraine? Vox
Ukraine’s war robots keep soldiers out of danger, but humans still risk their lives to keep them running Business Insider
The Hidden Balance of War in Ukraine: The Soviet Theory of the Correlation of Forces Katuilya
Big Brother Is Watching You Watch
GM to pay $220 million to settle allegations it violated drivers’ privacy Reuters
Judge lets health insurer privacy suit proceed over website tracking tools Business Insurance
Imperial Collapse Watch
Lansing homeless encampment cleared, residents say notice was too short WILX.com
Their surging student-loan payments are pushing them to slash their budgets and delay life milestones Business Insider
Poor Prospects for Peace on Western Terms Olivier Boyd-Barrett
Trump 2.0
Trump promised to slash energy costs — but gasoline, diesel and jet fuel all soared instead CNBC
Trump’s Iran War Brings On Record Oil Company Profits Mother Jones
How Trump and his allies seek to interfere in the US midterm elections The Guardian
Musk Matters
Elon Musk’s Starlink could be your next cellphone carrier Fox News
Musk pouring more than $445 million into 2026 US elections: Report Andolu Agency
‘Elonville’: US residents say Musk’s xAI offered to buy homes if they don’t sue over datacenter noise The Guardian
Democrat Death Watch
Days Before Midterms, Pelosi Attacks Fellow Democrats for Demanding Equality in Israel Scheerpost
Michigan’s messy Senate race spells trouble for Dems in 2028 Politico
Immigration
Many Cubans voted for Trump – now they’re turning on Republican immigration policies BBC
US judge blocks Trump policies fast-tracking children’s asylum cases Reuters
Our No Longer Free Press
WatchDog Opinion: What’s at Stake for Press Freedom in the 2026 Elections? Society of Environmental Journalists
How journalists can stay safe–and how we can protect America’s press–on midterm Election Day and beyond Committee to Protect Journalists
Mr. Market Is Moody
Exxon Raises Its Dividend Yet Again as Oil-Price Rally Boosts Earnings Barron’s
Trump’s tariffs fail to cut US trade deficit, IW report shows Reuters
Stock market today: Nasdaq, Dow, S&P 500 clobbered as October closes with brutal sell-off Yahoo Finance
AI
Azeem Azhar on the Explosion of Hacking and Other AI Issues Paul Krugman Substack
Better Start Hitting the Gym Finally Because AI Robots Already Are Futurism
Dutch professor with terminal cancer creates AI version of himself to give lectures after death Andolu Agency
A golden age of science is coming Noahpinion
The Bezzle
Justice Department Unveils Indictments in Nationwide ‘Ghost Student’ Fraud Scam Linked to Kenyan Network U.S. Department of Justice
Southern California doctor sentenced to prison for $45 million Medicare fraud scheme KTLA 5 News
Guillotine Watch
TOP 10 WORLD’S MOST EXPENSIVE SHOES IN THE WORLD TODAY A THREAD 🧵 https://t.co/eELD2TqPEt
— Ijoba 𓃵 💵💰 (@baddest_cash) April 26, 2022
Antidote du jour (via)
See yesterday’s Links and Antidote du Jour here
