Good morning, it's Wednesday, Sept. 30. Dutch police have arrested an alleged cybercriminal. First time reading? Join millions of insatiably curious readers. Sign up here.
Also in today's Digest: Oura holds off on IPO (Need To Know), an "American Idol" contestant convicted of murder (Sports, Ent., & Cult.), a US government chatbot (Sci. & Tech.), updates in the Lindsay Clancy trial (Pol. & World Affairs), and much more.
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The FBI and Dutch National Police yesterday announced the arrest of an alleged member of the ShinyHunters cyber group, which claimed responsibility last week for hacking the FBI's jobs website.
The 24-year-old suspect was arrested on Sept. 15, a week before ShinyHunters said it stole two to three terabytes of data related to FBI employees and job applicants, including intelligence assignments and medical records. The hack was intended to pressure the bureau into retracting or revising this public advisory detailing alleged extortion tactics. It was posted days after the parent company of online learning platform Canvas paid ShinyHunters an undisclosed ransom following a hack that forced many colleges to postpone final exams. The FBI estimates ShinyHunters has breached more than 140 organizations and extorted $70M since last year.
Dutch authorities say information found on the suspect's laptop also revealed a plot to orchestrate two murders abroad, separate from his alleged ShinyHunters activity. |
Smart-ring maker Oura postponed its planned initial public offering yesterday, citing uncertain market conditions despite an expected valuation of roughly $15B. The move came after the company formally filed IPO paperwork earlier this month.
The delay comes despite strong growth at Oura, which reported $1.21B in revenue and $60.8M in profit for the nine months ending June 30 and expects fiscal 2026 revenue to grow 90%. The company this year reached 5.7 million paying members. Devices like Oura rings and smartwatches now track heart rate, sleep, stress, and other health metrics alongside steps and exercise (see how it works), with US wearable adoption jumping from 13% to 46% over the past decade, though evidence they improve long-term health outcomes remains mixed.
Oura joins several companies delaying IPOs after a strong start to the year, with IPOs raising more than $137B in the first half of 2026 (see a breakdown of activity by industry). |
Scientists have detected radio signals (free w/email) from a planet beyond our solar system for the first time ever. The finding, subject to peer review, does not imply an alien civilization is trying to contact Earth. Rather, it may indicate an unusually strong magnetic field on Beta Pictoris b, a planet more than 63 light-years away.
Several planets in our solar system naturally emit radio signals as charged particles move across their magnetic fields, creating auroras (see 101). The field protects a planet’s atmosphere from solar radiation, and also supports conditions for life. In Beta Pictoris b’s case (how are exoplanets named?), the field may be around 300 times as strong as Jupiter’s. It is not clear why the magnetic field would be so strong, but it could be due to the planet’s young age (25 million years old) or something else, like a moon orbiting it.
Which exoplanets could host life? Scientists this year have identified 45 top candidates. (w/chart) |
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🫶 Humankind: LSU soccer player who beat cancer is surprised with Bruno Mars tickets, donated by a woman who couldn't attend due to her own cancer treatment. |
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Sports, Entertainment, & Culture |
> Former "American Idol" contestant Caleb Flynn is found guilty of murdering his wife, Ashley, after texts to mistress reveal he wrote of desire to kill her (More) | Watch his 2013 promo introduction for the show, in which he mentions his wife (More) |
> New York Giants reportedly releasing Odell Beckham Jr.; the wide receiver played 20 snaps over three games and did not record a catch (More) | Where could he land next? (More) |
> Actor Dennis Haskins, who played Principal Richard Belding on "Saved by the Bell," dies at age 75 (More) | How the teen sitcom became a Saturday morning staple (More) |
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> OpenAI debuts Dots AI agent, a personal digital assistant to rival Meta's new Muse agent (More) | A journalist gave his life to an AI agent; here's what happened (More, free w/email) |
> Trump administration launches AI chatbot to help Americans navigate federal government websites and resources (More) | Explore here (More) |
> Engineers create a paper-thin robot powered by live muscle cells that can swim through water—a step toward more nimble, self-healing robots (More, w/video) |
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> US stock markets close lower (S&P 500 -0.2%, Dow -0.3%, Nasdaq -0.1%) as 30-year Treasury yield reaches 5.6%, its highest level since June 2002 (More) | Why you should care about rising bond yields (More) |
> Consumer confidence in US economy falls to lowest point since 2014, per new Conference Board survey (More) | US ban on roughly $1B worth of Canadian imports, including dairy products, motorcycles, and alcohol, goes into effect (More) |
> Cruise operator Carnival's shares soar 13.4% after the company reported record third-quarter revenue of $8.4B (More) | Why the cruise industry has strong expansion projections (More) |
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> Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth will reportedly cut 20% of generals and admirals across the US military today (More) | ... and freezes new tenure appointments at US military academies (More) |
> Supreme Court allows Trump administration to resume deportations to third countries ahead of December oral arguments; more than 25,000 people have been deported to over 30 countries (More) | See map (More) |
> Lindsay Clancy's lawyer casts doubt on whether she killed her kids in discussions on potential retrial (More) | See poll on Americans' views by gender (More via X) |
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> The Yogurt Shop Killer Who Wasn't
Texas Monthly | Michael Hall. Forrest Welborn was declared innocent 34 years after being accused of killing four teen girls in a yogurt shop. Now, he’s built a second life as a Texas saloon owner. (Read) |
> Tetris' Tangled Tale
The MIT Press Reader | Julien Mailland. How a backroom deal, offshore corporations, and big egos turned a puzzle created in a secret Soviet lab into one of America's most beloved video games. (Read) |
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Historybook: American novelist and screenwriter Truman Capote born (1924); Babe Ruth is first player to hit 60 home runs in a season (1927); Actor James Dean dies in a car crash (1955); President John F. Kennedy authorizes federal troops to integrate University of Mississippi (1962); Oscar-winning actress Simone Signoret dies (1985).
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"Failure is the condiment that gives success its flavor." |
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