⚡ TODAY IN HISTORY

On October 16, 1962, President John F. Kennedy was shown spy-plane photos of Soviet nuclear missiles in Cuba, opening the 13-day Cuban Missile Crisis. In 1923, Walt and Roy Disney founded the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio in Los Angeles. Today? The United States is in its eighth month of war with Iran, and Iran-backed Houthi missiles struck the headquarters of Saudi Arabia’s state oil company this week.

TOP NEWS

US inflation climbs to 3.7%, the hottest reading since May GAS +9.1%

With oil prices lifted by the Iran war, gasoline rose 9.1% in September, pushing U.S. consumer prices up 3.7% from a year earlier, the Labor Department reported Wednesday. The reading topped the 3.6% forecast, and traders now see better than 96% odds of another Federal Reserve rate hike before year-end, according to CNBC.

School roof collapse in Pakistan kills 28 children and a teacher 29 DEAD

The roof of the Al-Khair Education Centre, a private school in Peshawar in northwestern Pakistan, gave way Thursday, killing at least 28 children and a female teacher. Every child killed or hurt was 13 or younger, more than 50 people were injured, and police arrested the school’s owner as officials opened an investigation into the cause.

Ukraine ends energy truce with a strike on a Russian refinery

Ukraine paused attacks on Russian energy sites for three days after President Donald Trump announced an “energy ceasefire” on Sunday, but Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia kept hitting Ukraine’s power grid. Early Thursday, Ukrainian drones set fire to an oil refinery in Russia’s Ryazan region, about 180 miles southeast of Moscow.

Houthi missile wrecks top floors of Saudi Aramco headquarters

Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels, retaliating for Saudi support of government forces in Yemen’s renewed civil war, struck the headquarters of state oil giant Saudi Aramco in Dhahran, in eastern Saudi Arabia, on Tuesday night. The top three floors, including the office of CEO Amin Nasser, were severely damaged, Reuters reported, and the Houthis vowed Wednesday to keep targeting Saudi airports and oil sites.

Iran hits tankers beyond the Strait of Hormuz

Iranian forces struck two commercial ships within 24 hours this week, one off Qatar and one off Fujairah in the Gulf of Oman, as outlets tied to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard signaled that operations now reach past the strait, Euronews reported. The Strait of Hormuz, a narrow Gulf passage that normally carries about a fifth of the world’s oil, has been disrupted since the war began in February.

WORLD

Houthi strike on Riyadh airport killed 13 as attacks widen 13 KILLED

The Houthis began firing missiles and drones at Saudi airports and oil sites a week ago, and an attack on Riyadh’s airport on Saturday killed 13 people, according to the Jerusalem Post. Saudi Arabia will now let executives join its “Davos in the Desert” investment summit remotely, while President Trump weighs whether the U.S. should join Saudi strikes on the Houthis.

Zelenskyy says Kyiv lost US intel and Starlink access during truce

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told NPR and the Financial Times this week that, while Ukraine honored the pause, it was denied the usual Western intelligence on Russian ballistic missile launches and faced new limits on U.S.-made Starlink satellite terminals. Zelenskyy said Ukraine would halt energy strikes again only if Washington supplies Patriot air-defense interceptors, Al Jazeera reported.

Iranian hardliners move to impeach foreign minister over US talks

Iranian lawmakers aligned with the hardline Paydari Front filed a motion to impeach Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, accusing him of meeting U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff at the UN General Assembly without permission. Mohsen Rezaei, head of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, said the talks had prior approval, according to Euronews.

India’s wholesale inflation hits a 49-month high 11.4%

Wholesale prices in India rose 11.4% from a year earlier, the fastest pace in 49 months, The Hindu reported Thursday, amid higher global energy costs. Customs data also show India’s trade deficit with China topped $100 billion this year, even as Indian exports to China grew 40% over nine months.

Germany’s former spy chief arrested on suspicion of leaking secrets

German authorities arrested August Hanning, the former head of Germany’s foreign intelligence service, last week on suspicion of sharing state secrets with other governments, NPR reported. The case has also worried Western agencies such as the CIA, which share intelligence with Berlin.

POLITICS

Most expensive midterm ever enters its final 18 days $11.6B

Ad-tracking firm AdImpact projects $11.6 billion in political ad spending this cycle, topping the $11.2 billion spent in the 2024 presidential race. The Ohio Senate race alone had drawn roughly $197 million in ads by late September, and voters decide control of Congress on Nov. 3.

Video shows Paxton at Dubai party with two indicted fugitives $190K

Footage obtained by The Wall Street Journal shows Ken Paxton, Texas attorney general and the Republican Senate nominee, celebrating New Year’s Eve 2024 in Dubai with two businessmen who had left the U.S. after being indicted on federal healthcare fraud charges. One of the men, Anosh Ahmed, gave $190,000 to Paxton’s campaigns, and Texas early voting opens next week in Paxton’s close race against Democrat James Talarico.

Regulator’s adviser pulled insider-trading referral on oil bets $500M+

Traders placed more than $500 million in oil futures bets about 15 minutes before President Trump’s March 23 post backing off strikes on Iranian power plants, a post that sent oil prices sharply lower. Bloomberg reported Tuesday that a senior adviser to Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chairman Michael Selig told staff to withdraw an insider-trading referral on those trades; the agency says it does not confirm or deny investigations.

Only 14 of 26 key Senate campaigns vow to accept results 14 OF 26

Reuters asked Republican and Democratic campaigns in 13 competitive Senate races whether their candidates would accept the outcome of the Nov. 3 election. Nine Democrats, one independent and four Republicans said yes without conditions, while Senate Democrats separately said they had trained more than 100 staffers as election observers.

Trump weighs whether to livestream Fort Hood shooter’s execution

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced last week that the Dec. 3 firing-squad execution of Nidal Hasan, who killed 13 people at Fort Hood, Texas, in 2009, would be shown publicly. After criticism from both parties, President Trump said he would make the final call on the broadcast; the execution would be the U.S. military’s first by firing squad since World War II.

MARKETS

Kospi plunges 7.6% as chip selloff spreads to Asia KOSPI −7.6%

Rate-hike fears from Wednesday’s U.S. inflation report hit chipmakers worldwide, and South Korea’s Kospi index fell as much as 9.3% Thursday, triggering a 20-minute trading halt. The Kospi closed down 7.6% at a six-month low, led by an 11.1% drop in memory maker SK Hynix, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 slid 5%.

Nasdaq posts its worst day since July −1.9%

A 4.3% slide in semiconductor stocks dragged the Nasdaq Composite down 1.9% Wednesday to 26,692.87. The S&P 500 lost 1.1% to 7,718.94, its fifth loss in six sessions, and the small-company Russell 2000 entered a correction, a drop of 10% or more from its recent high.

TSMC books record profit in the middle of the chip rout +69%

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., the world’s largest contract chipmaker and a main supplier to Nvidia, said Thursday that third-quarter net profit jumped 69% to a record T$763.1 billion, about $23.6 billion. The results beat forecasts as investors weighed how much to pay for AI growth while interest rates stay high.

Oil slips as Washington weighs easing tanker sanctions BRENT $104

Shipping costs have hit records during the Iran war, so the U.S. is considering easing sanctions on “shadow fleet” tankers that have carried oil from Russia, Iran and Venezuela, according to Reuters. Brent crude, the global benchmark, fell 1.6% to $104.42 a barrel Thursday, while U.S. crude (WTI) dropped 1% to $94.11.

Bitcoin falls below $81,000 on Fed hike bets −$261M ETFs

Hotter inflation data cut demand for riskier assets, and bitcoin slipped below $81,000 on Thursday, according to FXStreet. Spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds, which let investors own the coin through a brokerage account, recorded more than $261 million in outflows.

ENTERTAINMENT

Netflix to cut about 1,000 jobs, its biggest layoff since 2022 ~6% OF STAFF

After losing the bidding for Warner Bros. Discovery’s studio and streaming assets to Paramount Skydance, Netflix is cutting about 1,000 jobs, or roughly 6% of its workforce, according to reports Thursday. Netflix shares have fallen more than 40% over the past year, and the company reports third-quarter earnings on Oct. 20.

Skydance stock sinks 22% after a 471 million-warrant handout

Skydance Corp., the Ellison-controlled parent of Paramount, issued 471 million stock warrants to Paramount investors, which would expand its share count by more than 40% if all were exercised. The stock fell 22% Wednesday to close at $7.06, the steepest one-day drop in the S&P 500.

HBO brings back ‘Girls’ for five episodes

Nine years after the comedy ended in 2017, HBO announced Tuesday that Lena Dunham, Allison Williams, Jemima Kirke and Zosia Mamet will return as Hannah, Marnie, Jessa and Shoshanna. Production on the limited series is set to begin in summer 2027, with episodes streaming on HBO Max.

Russell Brand’s rape trial opens in London

Russell Brand, the British comedian and actor, went on trial Wednesday at Southwark Crown Court in London on charges including rape, indecent assault and sexual assault involving six women. Prosecutors described Brand in opening statements as calculated in seeking sexual contact; Brand has denied the allegations.

Brewers move one win from the World Series 3–0

The Milwaukee Brewers hit back-to-back home runs in the seventh inning to beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-2 in Game 3 of the National League Championship Series. That win gave Milwaukee a 3-0 series lead and left the Dodgers, two-time defending World Series champions, one loss from elimination.