Brazil Election, Starlink Returns, and the Science of Smiling

Good morning, it's Monday, Oct. 26. Brazilians turned out for runoff elections. First time reading? Join millions of insatiably curious readers. Sign up here.

Also in today's Digest: more information on the Starlink slowdown in Ukraine (Need To Know), a Florida university shooting (Pol. & World Affairs), ancient Roman glass (Etc.), and much more. 

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 Need To Know 

Lula Wins in Brazil

Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva won Brazil’s presidential runoff yesterday, edging out conservative populist Flávio Bolsonaro. Known by shorthand as “Lula,” the leftist incumbent overcame a two-point deficit to Bolsonaro after the first round of voting earlier this month. 

The victory secures the 80-year-old Lula’s fourth presidential term. First elected in 2002, he left office at the end of 2010 due to constitutional limits on consecutive terms. He was jailed in 2018 on corruption charges linked to “Operation Car Wash”—a multibillion-dollar probe that began with a single small business. His convictions were nullified in 2021, allowing him to run against (and beat) Bolsonaro’s father, Jair, in 2022. Lula will have to contend with surging federal debt (about $1.8T) and frustration over public services and rising cost of living.   

The race kicks off a string of major elections, including Benjamin Netanyahu seeking to maintain control in Israel (tomorrow, see polls) and US midterms next Tuesday.

Church Abuse Settlement

The Archdiocese of New York has agreed to pay more than $800M to settle decades of sexual abuse claims against clergy and staff, Catholic Church officials announced Friday. The agreement avoids a potential bankruptcy filing by the archdiocese and offers a minimum $250K lump-sum payout to roughly 1,300 plaintiffs (specific cases may seek higher compensation based on the extent of abuse). 

While allegations persisted for years, a flood of legal filings followed the 2019 New York Child Victims Act. Along with a “lookback” window for expired claims, the law raised the age limit for victims to bring civil suits from 23 to 55—effectively reviving decades of cases. Similar settlements have been reached or finalized in Buffalo ($326M), Albany ($148M), Rochester ($246M), Syracuse ($176M), and Rockville Centre ($323M). 

Since a pivotal 2002 Boston Globe investigation that brought church abuse into the spotlight (see overview), major settlements have tallied more than $5B and surfaced at least 16,000 abuse allegations.

Starlink Slowdown Standoff

Elon Musk accused Ukraine on Saturday of violating Starlink rules by using the technology for offensive drones. The remarks are Musk’s first acknowledgment of an active role in restricting Kyiv’s satellite communications system this month. 

Starlink is a civilian communications service, while its counterpart, Starshield, is a Pentagon-funded program. Ukraine relies on both systems in its war with Russia but denies the ability to use Starlink for offensive capabilities. When Ukraine first reported communications disruptions, Musk suggested the US government directed the slowdown. A Reuters report indicated the decision came from the White House amid tensions over Ukraine’s targeting of Russian oil infrastructure (see previous write-up). US officials denied the allegations. President Donald Trump reportedly called Musk last week requesting SpaceX restore Ukraine’s full access to Starlink and Starshield; Ukraine has confirmed both systems are functioning normally.

Trilateral negotiations between the US, Russia, and Ukraine are due to resume next month. See war updates here.

 In The Know 

Science & Technology

> Block unveils Dessa, an AI-powered conversation model trained on nothing but human conversations; company says it mimics the way humans learn language (More) | Listen to clips (More) 

> Study suggests mother bats respond to the high-pitched isolation calls of their own individual pups, similar to humans (More) | How bat echolocation works (More, w/video)

> OpenAI resumes frontier model training but disconnects from live internet, citing risks given past agents' rogue behavior (More) | What AI agents do when humans aren't looking (More, w/video)

Business & Markets

> US stock markets close down (S&P 500 -0.5%, Dow -1.2%, Nasdaq -0.2%) as oil prices stay near five-month high (More) | See gas prices in your state (More)

> Audi will build first US factory in Georgia, President Donald Trump announces; $4.2B plant to produce 200,000 SUVs per year beginning in early 2030s (More) 

> Federal Reserve is expected to hold interest rates steady this week, analysts say, in final meeting before next week's midterm elections (More) | The Fed 101 (More, w/video)

Politics & World Affairs

> Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado returns from exile; President Donald Trump does not indicate foreknowledge while US Secretary of State Marco Rubio credits US reconciliation talks (More)

> Shooting near Florida A&M University's football stadium wounds at least 12 people, including six children; fight reportedly broke out prior to the shooting, police say (More)

> France arrests more than 1,000 people amid confrontations between demonstrators and authorities in several cities over the weekend (More) | See photos (More)

 Explore 

Breakthroughs in modern physics during the 20th century both capture the imagination and underpin new technologies: 

> Empty space is actually full of quantum foam.

> Every GPS satellite would be useless without relativity.

> Is Schrödinger's cat really both dead and alive?

This is a preview of a special 1440 Science & Tech issue focused on special relativity and quantum science. It hits inboxes tomorrow at 8:30 am ET—sign up here for free!

Scientists discover how to make ancient Rome's color-changing glass.

Ranking the US' and Canada's most walkable cities. (w/map)

This optical illusion causes motion-induced blindness.

See where you fall in household net worth. 

Sketch fictional suspects from witness clues (interactive).

This year's trending Halloween costumes.

What makes tiny "water bears" indestructible? (w/video)

Four Greek comedies with modern lessons. 

Why dead bodies move and make noises.

Clickbait: Let's put a smile on that face.

Historybook: Erie Canal opens (1825); Women’s rights leader Elizabeth Cady Stanton dies (1902); Hillary Clinton born (1947); Hattie McDaniel, first Black Academy Award winner, dies (1952); Last known natural case of smallpox detected (1977).