⚡ TODAY IN HISTORY

On October 15, 1917, Mata Hari, a Dutch dancer convicted by a French military court of spying for Germany, was executed by a firing squad at Vincennes, outside Paris. In 1945, Pierre Laval, the former premier of Vichy France, was executed for treason. Today? The Pentagon says it will livestream the Dec. 3 firing squad execution of Fort Hood shooter Nidal Hasan.

TOP NEWS

School roof collapse kills 34 children in Pakistan 35 DEAD

Peshawar’s police chief blamed an overloaded roof on a weak building for Thursday’s collapse at the Al-Khair Education Centre, a private school in northwestern Pakistan, during morning classes. At least 34 children age 13 or younger and one teacher died, more than 50 people were hurt, and police arrested the school’s owner.

Houthi strike hits Saudi Aramco headquarters 18+ KILLED

After Saudi-led forces bombed fuel sites in Sanaa, Yemen’s rebel-held capital, the Iran-backed Houthis struck the Dhahran headquarters of Saudi Aramco, the kingdom’s state oil company, overnight into Wednesday. Houthi missiles and drones have killed at least 18 people in Saudi Arabia in recent days and closed Riyadh’s main airport, and President Donald Trump has said he is weighing joining strikes on the group.

US inflation jumps to 3.7%, above forecasts

Pushed up by fuel costs, U.S. consumer prices rose 3.7% in the year through September, topping the 3.6% economists expected, the Labor Department reported Wednesday. The reading raised bets that the Federal Reserve could lift interest rates when policymakers next meet on Oct. 28.

Ukraine strikes Russian refinery as Trump’s energy truce ends

Accusing Moscow of hitting Ukraine’s power grid during a three-day pause that President Donald Trump demanded on Sunday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told the Financial Times that attacks on Russian refineries would resume. Early Thursday, Ukrainian drones set fire to a Rosneft refinery in Russia’s Ryazan region, about 180 miles southeast of Moscow, a plant that handles roughly 5% of Russia’s crude refining.

Pentagon plan to livestream an execution draws backlash

Saying people need to understand there are “serious consequences,” Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced Oct. 8 that the Dec. 3 firing squad execution of Nidal Hasan, who killed 13 people at Fort Hood, Texas, in 2009, will stream live. Faith leaders and lawmakers from both parties have condemned the plan, and President Donald Trump has privately voiced doubts about it, according to reports.

WORLD

Russia fires 850 drones at Ukraine in one night 850 DRONES

Between midnight and Thursday morning, Russia launched more than 850 drones at 15 Ukrainian regions, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and Ukraine’s air force said it shot down 536. A drone attack lasting more than 10 hours killed three civilians in the Kirovohrad region of central Ukraine.

Zelenskyy says he feels betrayed by Trump

Citing President Donald Trump’s deal to import Russian diesel and new limits on Ukraine’s use of U.S.-made Starlink terminals, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told British host Piers Morgan late Wednesday that he felt betrayed. Trump has denied that the U.S. stopped sharing intelligence with Ukraine, which Kyiv says left it exposed to Russian ballistic missiles.

Gulf shipping attacks reach a wartime high

Iran has stepped up attacks on tankers and cargo ships in the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow Gulf passage for much of the world’s oil exports, with 23 incidents recorded since Oct. 1. That pace is almost double the monthly average since U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran began the war on Feb. 28.

Saudi Arabia says it stopped a missile aimed at Medina

The Saudi-led coalition fighting Yemen’s Houthi rebels said Thursday it thwarted a missile attack on Medina, Islam’s second-holiest city, and a second attack in the kingdom’s east. The Houthis have vowed to keep targeting Saudi airports and oil sites in response to Saudi strikes on Sanaa.

India’s top court weighs Delhi voter-roll purge

Opposition leaders, including Rahul Gandhi, have challenged a special revision of Delhi’s voter rolls that removed residents’ names, and India’s Supreme Court said this week it would protect affected voters. On Thursday, Delhi police detained several opposition leaders after an overnight protest at India Gate, a war memorial in the capital.

POLITICS

Midterm ad spending heads for a record $11.6 billion $11.6B

With the Nov. 3 midterms 19 days away and both chambers of Congress in play, ad-tracking firm AdImpact projects $11.6 billion in political ad spending this cycle. That would top the $11.2 billion spent in 2024, a presidential year, and the Texas Senate race between Ken Paxton and James Talarico alone could reach $446 million.

Guilfoyle resigns after report she sought $100K from a donor

The Wall Street Journal reported that Kimberly Guilfoyle, the U.S. ambassador to Greece, asked Trump donor Eric Deters last year to wire $100,000 toward her American Express bill, a request Deters declined. Guilfoyle resigned Tuesday after new White House press secretary Katie Zacharia said the administration had asked her to step down.

Fed’s Lisa Cook calls White House panel biased

President Donald Trump has tried since August 2025 to fire Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook over mortgage fraud claims she calls baseless, and a White House panel formed Oct. 9 will recommend whether he has cause. Cook’s lawyer, Abbe Lowell, wrote Tuesday that the panel is “demonstrably biased” and that Cook cannot attend its Nov. 5 hearing because of Fed meetings in Europe.

Trump, 80, campaigns from Alaska to Arizona

Seeking to hold Republican majorities, President Donald Trump flew to Alaska on Tuesday to back Sen. Dan Sullivan, then rallied Wednesday in Bullhead City, Arizona, near the Nevada line. Democrats, aiming to retake the House, say their first votes would target the Iran war, Trump’s tariffs and Medicaid cuts.

Iran war and fuel bills dominate Maine Senate debate

In a debate this week, Democratic challenger Troy Jackson blamed higher fuel and electricity bills on the Iran war and said Republican Sen. Susan Collins would not push back on President Donald Trump. The Maine contest ranks third among this year’s most expensive midterm races, according to AdImpact data.

MARKETS

AI and chip stocks shed $1 trillion this week −$1T

Rising interest rates and doubts about how AI data centers will be financed have hit tech hardware stocks worldwide, and 20 of the most valuable AI and chip companies have lost more than $1 trillion in market value this week. On Thursday, South Korea’s SK Hynix fell more than 10% and Samsung Electronics dropped 8.7%.

Nasdaq suffers its worst day since July

Hotter-than-expected inflation data sent the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite down 1.9% on Wednesday, its steepest drop since July 23, while the S&P 500 lost 1.1% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.1%. Nasdaq 100 futures fell about 1% early Thursday ahead of September’s producer price report, a gauge of wholesale prices.

TSMC posts record profit but cannot halt the slide

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., the world’s largest contract chipmaker, said Thursday that third-quarter net profit jumped 69% to a record of about $23.6 billion, beating forecasts. TSMC’s U.S.-listed shares still fell in overnight trading after losing 11.5% over the previous seven sessions.

CoreWeave sinks 15.5% as its bonds flash distress

CoreWeave, which rents out AI computing power and borrows heavily to build data centers, fell 15.5% on Wednesday after its bonds dropped to levels that usually signal financial trouble. The cost of insuring against a default by CoreWeave, Oracle and SoftBank has also climbed, in some cases to record highs, Reuters reported.

Brent crude slips toward $104 a barrel

With Washington moving to ease limits on oil shipments, Brent crude, the global benchmark, fell about 2% Thursday to near $104 a barrel, while U.S. crude traded near $94. Brent still costs about 70% more than a year ago after months of attacks on Gulf shipping and Saudi energy sites.

ENTERTAINMENT

Netflix cuts about 1,000 jobs in its largest layoff yet 6% OF STAFF

Netflix, whose co-CEO Ted Sarandos has said the company is not growing as fast as he wants, is eliminating about 1,000 jobs, or 6% of its workforce, in its biggest cutbacks to date, Variety reported. The cuts come days before the streamer reports third-quarter earnings on Oct. 20.

HBO brings back ‘Girls’ for five episodes

HBO announced Tuesday a five-episode revival of Lena Dunham’s comedy ‘Girls,’ which ended in 2017, with Dunham, now 40, returning as Hannah alongside Allison Williams, Jemima Kirke, Zosia Mamet and Andrew Rannells. Production starts next summer, and HBO’s announcement did not name Adam Driver among the returning cast.

Russell Brand’s rape trial opens in London

Russell Brand, the British comedian and actor, faces seven charges at Southwark Crown Court in London, including three counts of rape, involving six women and alleged events between 1999 and 2009. Prosecutors opened their case Wednesday; Brand, 51, has pleaded not guilty, and jurors were told the trial could run until Dec. 11.

Harry and Meghan make first joint UK outing since moving back

Seeking to rebuild their standing in Britain six years after stepping back from royal duties, Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, visited a community recording studio in Nottingham, England, on Thursday. Cheering children greeted the couple at their first joint public appearance since moving back to England.

‘Crystal Lake’ and ‘The Diplomat’ arrive today

Peacock premieres ‘Crystal Lake’ on Thursday, a prequel series to the ‘Friday the 13th’ horror films starring Linda Cardellini as Pamela Voorhees, mother of the slasher Jason. Netflix also releases a new season of ‘The Diplomat,’ and ABC brings back ‘9-1-1’ and ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ tonight.