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Astronomers discover the most ‘pristine’ star in the known universe Phys.org
Brains of Stranded Dolphins Showed Signs of Alzheimer’s Disease Science Alert
Gold nanoparticle nasal spray delivers lithium safely to brain without harming kidneys Interesting Engineering
Gold takes a breather after safe-haven demand fuels record run Channel News Asia
Climate/Environment
New Zealand oceans warming 34% faster than global average, putting homes and industry at risk, report finds The Guardian. “Sea levels that reach that height mean that a coastal storm that used to happen every 100 years could start happening every year.”
Uber driver charged in connection with starting the Palisades Fire LAist
When the next fire hits, you may be on your own. These are the issues that plague LA County’s emergency response LAist
Pandemics
More measles cases confirmed in South Carolina, Michigan as US total climbs to 1,563 CIDRAP
China?
China tightens rare earth export curbs, taking aim at military and chip applications CNN
China Accelerates Oil Reserve Site Build Amid Stockpiling Drive Reuters
10 pct of GDP defense spending demand from US disregards livelihoods of Taiwan residents Global Times
India
Exclusive: Traders seek yuan payment from Indian state buyers of Russian oil, sources say Reuters
South of the Border
Report: Trump Administration Working on Strategy To ‘Eliminate’ Venezuela’s Maduro Antiwar
Colombian president says US military struck Colombian boat, killed his citizens ABC News
Colombia: President Petro Denounces ‘Political Coup’ Following Suspension of Electoral Consultation (+Cepeda) Orinoco Tribune
GOP senators sink measure to halt Trump’s strikes on alleged drug boats The Hill
Delay in US financial support for Argentina rattles markets El Pais
Syraqistan
Hamas and Palestinian Factions Agree to Gaza Ceasefire; Trump Confirms Deal Was Reached Drop Site
Netanyahu Government Set to Approve Israel-Hamas Deal in Gaza: Here’s What Happens Next Haaretz
Israel’s Ben-Gvir storms Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, calls for ‘Gaza victory’ Al Arabiya
Marco Rubio to join Paris conference on Gaza ‘post-war’ plans The Cradle
Israel military intercepts another Gaza-bound aid flotilla New Arab
Genocide two years on: It is the West, not Gaza, that must be deradicalised Jonathan Cook
Palestinians are merely a canary in a coal mine; the early warning of the latent ugliness, psychopathy & pure evil of your political/media class & what they’ll do to you
When you see them relishing in the mass murder of our children, do you think they’re gonna care about yours?
— Muhammad Shehada (@muhammadshehad2) October 7, 2025
A Philadelphia company’s obscured support for killing Palestinians with autonomous flying bombs All-Source Intelligence
Over 50,000 children under five suffering acute malnutrition in Gaza Middle East Eye
UN says 83% of Gaza City structures damaged amid Israeli attacks Anadolu Agency
European Disunion
German industrial output falls to 2005 levels as auto sector craters FT
Von der Leyen hopes her caring, sharing side will win round critics Politico
France’s Le Pen vows to block any government AFP
Europe’s Walls Tremble as Political Crises Multiply Simplicius
And the urgent request comes on top of a $1 billion extra cost to Spanish customers as the grid operator is running the system in what it calls a “strengthened mode” since April 29 (effectively, running gas-fired power stations harder and curtailing solar and wind)
— Javier Blas (@JavierBlas) October 8, 2025
New Not-So-Cold War
Russia, Speaking With One Voice, Warns Trump and NATO Larry Johnson
Ukraine war briefing: Analysts flag Kremlin scare campaign against use of Tomahawks The Guardian. Problematic framing.
Tomahawk for Ukraine: Never-ending Saga of the Wunderwaffe to Turn the Tide Black Mountain Analysis
Ukrainian Media About Gaps In The Frontline And Other Failures Moon of Alabama
ELECTRIC WAR ON THE UKRAINE BATTLEFIELD IS TURNING THE LIGHTS ON IN THE KREMLIN John Helmer
Russia named top security threat in Moldova’s military strategy TASS
Trump 2.0
Stephen Miller says Trump has ‘plenary authority’ over military. What does that mean? USA Today
Urgent: ICE is Lying to the American Public Aaron Parnas
The Chicago Rubicon and What Comes Next The Bulwark
Trump administration officials seriously discussing invoking Insurrection Act, sources say NBC News
My gosh. After the US bombed multiple boats in the middle of the ocean, murdering people on grounds that they were allegedly “carrying drugs,” the US Attorney General says “Just like we did with cartels, we’re going to take the same approach…with Antifa.”pic.twitter.com/IS0rSjBhrx
— Prem Thakker (@prem_thakker) October 8, 2025
Pete Hegseth’s Crypto History The Nation
Weimar Republic
Gov. Pritzker responds to Trump threat to jail him, mayor over ICE: ‘Come and get me’ Chicago Sun-Times
Police State Watch
Secretive Watchlisting Center Executing NSPM-7 Ken Klippenstein
ICE closes detention oversight group in shutdown despite surge in detainees WaPo
ICE just coldly shot an unarmed PRIEST in the head w a pepper ball when he (and everyone around him) clearly posed no threat. Source: John Pfaff pic.twitter.com/isy1Flgl6F
— TheSidewalkSchool (@SidewalkSchool) October 8, 2025
Anatomy of a Beating – The UCLA Palestine Solidarity Encampment TRT World (Video). In-depth breakdown of seminal moment when police declared Zionist allegiances. In retrospect, a harbinger of what was to come.
Abortion
‘Full of Sh*t’ Texas Cops Lied About Why They Used AI Surveillance to Track Woman Who Had Abortion Common Dreams
Immigration
“Why Sergio?”: Deportation ends 36-year dream for celebrated Waco chef Texas Tribune. Guy even visited W’s ranch.
Why the Decline in the Foreign-Born in the Monthly Household Survey in 2025 Is Very Likely Real Center for Immigration Studies. Source background.
Groves of Academe
These Activists Want to Dismantle Public Schools. Now They Run the Education Department. ProPublica
Our Famously Free Press
Legacy Journalists from NYT, CNN Are Mentors in a Fellowship Founded for Pro-Israel “Information War” Drop Site
In 2 Years of Gaza Genocide, Sunday Shows on NBC, ABC and CNN Have Not Featured a Single Palestinian Guest In These Times
The Friendly Skies
Air Traffic Controllers Were Already Stretched Thin. Then Came the Shutdown. NOTUS
Big Brother Is Watching You Watch
Thanks for the question. The Israeli government is “geofencing” the physical boundaries of more than 500 churches during worship times in order to deliver “targeted pro-Israel content” on devices.
If you are concerned about this, here is what you can do:
1) See if your church… https://t.co/Cfxgzucsqq
— Nick Cleveland-Stout (@nick_clevelands) October 8, 2025
Healthcare?
Medicaid Expansion Linked to Better Cancer Survival at 5 Years MedPage Today
Imperial Collapse Watch
I was studying other times in history when gold prices more than doubled in the reserve currency of the time, as they did in the past year: it’s rare and almost always a sign of a profound loss of confidence in the existing monetary and political order, going all the way back to… https://t.co/M3reToeQ1d
— Arnaud Bertrand (@RnaudBertrand) October 7, 2025
Gold as ‘debasement trade’ doesn’t add up FT
UN to cut 25% of global peacekeeping force amid US funding shortfall Euronews
Nothing Left Inside Novum Newsletter
In a Private Park in North Carolina, Confederate Statues Are Rising Again New York Times (resilc)
Political Symbols and Social Order: Confederate Monuments and Performative Violence in the Post-Reconstruction U.S. South American Political Science Review. Commentary:
This new @apsrjournal article is sure to cause a stir.
It provides evidence that historical confederate monuments in the south actually reduced violence against black people.
Why?
The author argues that confederate monuments “act[ed] as a substitute for performative violence… pic.twitter.com/0NeHLYKJ6Q
— John B. Holbein (@JohnHolbein1) October 8, 2025
AI
Uber Driver Who Allegedly Caused the Palisades Fire Used ChatGPT to Imagine a Forest Burning Gizmodo
Generative AI’s Impending Death By A Thousand Rake-Smacks What We Lost
Economy
OpenAI, Nvidia Fuel $1 Trillion AI Market With Web of Circular Deals Bloomberg. This is what now accounts for 40 percent of GDP growth:
With each passing day, the AI space looks more and more like home mortgage securitization at the peak of the housing bubble with its overlapping series of capital conveyor belts. pic.twitter.com/ar9NiVUaXp
— Peter Atwater (@Peter_Atwater) October 8, 2025
Mr. Market
AI Is the Market, and the Market Is the Government Kyla Scanlon
Class Warfare
For older Americans, the cost of poverty is 9 years of life, study finds CBS News
This Ain’t Your Grandad’s Rural America Hickman’s Hinterlands
Antidote du jour (via):
See yesterday’s Links and Antidote du Jour here.
