Nobel Prize Week, Brazil Elections, and Worldwide Livestreams

Good morning, it's Monday, Oct. 5, and we're ready for five straight days of recognizing breakthrough achievements that contribute to human progress. First time reading? Join millions of insatiably curious readers. Sign up here.

Also in today's Digest: More details on the narrowly averted hijacking of a FlyDubai plane (Need to Know), a possible plague outbreak in Russia (Sci. & Tech.), what grip strength says about your health (Etc.), and much more. 

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 Need To Know 

Nobel Prize Week

The 2026 Nobel Prize announcements began today and will encompass six awards. The first prize, for medical breakthroughs, was announced this morning at 5:30 am ET—see who won here. 

The prizes originated in 1895, when Swedish inventor Alfred Nobel willed a fortune equivalent to over $260M in today’s currency to establish the awards. Six years later, committees in Sweden and Norway recognized the first Nobel laureates for groundbreaking contributions to humanity across physiology or medicine, physics, chemistry, literature, and peace. Sweden’s central bank, Sveriges Riksbank, established a sixth prize for economic sciences in 1968.

Honorees receive approximately $1.2M, a gold medal, and a diploma (how Nobel laureates are chosen, w/video). Previous award-winning achievements include the discoveries of X-rays and differences in brain hemispheres; play games based on those studies here.

Experts say the International Space Station is a front-runner for this year’s Peace Prize, to be announced Friday morning. 

PS—Did you know Alfred Nobel invented dynamite? Tomorrow's Science & Tech newsletter explores the Nobel Prize's rich history—sign up here! 

Runoff in Brazil

Brazil’s tightly contested presidential election will head to an Oct. 25 runoff after no candidate secured more than 50% of the vote in national elections yesterday. The contest to govern Latin America’s largest country is viewed as the latest in a conservative populist surge across the region in recent years.

Leftist incumbent Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, known as “Lula,” is seeking his fourth term as president. Having left office in 2010—Brazil’s constitution bars more than two consecutive, but not total, terms—Lula spent a year and a half in prison on money laundering charges. The conviction was annulled in 2021, and he ran and was reelected the following year.

His opponent, conservative Flávio Bolsonaro, is the son of former president Jair Bolsonaro. The elder Bolsonaro is currently serving a 27-year prison sentence (under house arrest) for plotting a coup after supporters stormed federal buildings following his 2022 loss to Lula. 

As of this writing, Bolsonaro had a 47%-45% lead over Lula (see breakout).

FlyDubai Assailant Identified

The pilot who allegedly attacked the captain of a FlyDubai flight bound for Israel last week was identified as 29-year-old Omani national Hamam al-Hammami, per officials. He was reportedly banned from flying for a separate carrier in 2024 over concerns he held radical ideological views. 

Before joining FlyDubai, al-Hammami worked for Oman Air as a copilot trainee. The airline moved him to an administrative role following a discovery that he possessed unspecified extremist materials. It is unclear if Oman informed other countries or airlines about al-Hammami’s alleged beliefs.

The United Arab Emirates is investigating the incident and confirmed the copilot tried to seize control of the plane after assaulting Captain Smit Machchhar with a crash ax (why the tool is required in cockpits). Watch Machchhar recount the attack here. 

During the altercation, the plane plummeted 17,400 feet while reaching a peak velocity near the speed of sound. See how it survived the fall. 

 In The Know 

Science & Technology

> White House is reportedly monitoring a suspected plague case and connected quarantines in Russia (More) | Dengue cases in Florida exceed 250 reports, likely the continental US' largest such outbreak since at least the 1940s (More) 

> President Donald Trump announces formation of task force focusing on the risks and opportunities of artificial intelligence, led by Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton (More) 

> Scientists discover covering coral with underwater shades reduces light exposure by 60%, providing temporary protection from UV damage and bleaching (More, w/photos) | How coral bleaching works (More, w/video)

Business & Markets

> US stock markets rise Friday (S&P 500 +0.7%, Dow +0.5%, Nasdaq +1.2%) despite a Friday report showing just 29,000 jobs added in September; Nvidia hits all-time high during intraday trading (More) | Nvidia's circular investments, in one graphic (More)

> Merged Paramount-Warner Bros. company to be called Skydance; deal closes tomorrow, company will move trading to the NYSE under the ticker "SKYD" (More) 

> Ford narrowly retains third-place slot in US auto sales, despite sales dropping 6.6% in the third quarter; General Motors, Toyota claim top spots (More) 

Politics & World Affairs

> Tennessee prison chief resigns following failed execution of Christa Pike last week; Pike remains unconscious and on a ventilator (More) | Pentobarbital, the drug used in the execution, explained (More)

> Parts of the US West Coast under severe heat warning through at least Thursday; downtown Los Angeles set daily record Friday, reaching 103 degrees (More)

> German Chancellor Friedrich Merz makes surprise visit to Ukrainian capital of Kyiv amid Russian strikes (More) | Ukrainian operation involving robots dropped by drones behind Russian lines has retaken around 70 square miles of the Donbas region, per reports (More)

Click and watch livestream cameras from around the globe.

What grip strength says about your health.

Hawaii's iconic Hōlei sea arch collapses into the sea. (w/photos)

See finalists for the Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards. (w/photos)

Yachting crew rescued after sperm whale attack. 

A coffee expert explains how to best grind your beans. (w/video)

Fabric softener may be ruining your laundry. 

Hit Halloween candies from the year you were born. 

Tapping on your shinbone may help heal the brain.

Clickbait: There's more than one way to go couch surfing.

Historybook: Harry Truman makes first US presidential television address from the White House (1947); Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson born (1958); Public Broadcasting Service launches (1970); Actress Kate Winslet born (1975); Steve Jobs dies (2011).