Good morning. It's Friday, Oct. 23. Jobless claims are indicating a "low-hire, low-fire" market. First time reading? Join millions of insatiably curious readers. Sign up here.
Also in today's Digest: the MLB World Series begins (Sports, Ent., & Cult.), how to tame your antimatter particle (Sci. & Tech.), Moderna's cancer vaccine data (Bus. & Mkts.), why we feel anxious at night (Etc.), and much more.
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US jobless claims fell to 194,000 last week, their lowest since July, according to Labor Department data released yesterday, indicating a stable labor market less than two weeks before the midterm elections.
Claims, a proxy for layoffs, have remained historically low this year, reaching a 57-year low in July. However, hiring has slowed—employers added just 29,000 jobs in September, and unemployment rose to 4.2%. The result is a “low-hire, low-fire” job market in which most workers keep their jobs while job seekers struggle to find work. The economy grew at a 2.2% annualized rate in the second quarter, while consumer spending, which drives roughly two-thirds of economic activity, rose 0.9% in August, outpacing income growth. Annual inflation reached 3.7% in September, up from 3.4% in August and above the Federal Reserve’s 2% goal.
A recent poll found 85% of voters consider the economy a top election issue, while 84% cited the cost of living. Explore five charts showing the US economy ahead of the midterms. |
The World Series begins tonight (FOX, 8 pm ET) as the Milwaukee Brewers host the Tampa Bay Rays for Game 1 of a Fall Classic that guarantees a first-time champion. It also marks the first championship series between teams in the bottom half of MLB payrolls since 1991.
Out of 30 teams, Milwaukee and Tampa Bay ranked 19th and 28th, respectively, in player salaries. The Los Angeles Dodgers’ and New York Yankees’ individual rosters cost more than the Brewers’ and Rays’ combined. But the small-market squads entered the postseason as top-ranked seeds. Milwaukee amassed a franchise-record 103 wins and derailed the Dodgers’ quest for a World Series three-peat en route to its first championship appearance since 1982. Tampa Bay won 98 games before defeating the Cleveland Guardians to reach the World Series for the third time in franchise history.
Revisit key postseason plays, including Jake Bauers’ 11-pitch home run for Milwaukee and the out that sealed Tampa Bay’s World Series ticket. |
Africa’s top health organization will hold an “extraordinary virtual meeting” next week after officials confirmed an Ebola case in Nigeria this week. The virus has now spread to three African regions, making it the most geographically widespread Ebola outbreak in history.
The infected woman reportedly returned to Nigeria from a trip to Uganda earlier this month. Uganda, however, rejects the claim. It had 20 confirmed Ebola cases during a summer outbreak that the World Health Organization declared over on Aug. 27. The wider outbreak has been concentrated in the neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo, where more than 9,500 people have been infected, and nearly half have died since May. Additional cases have been confirmed in Kenya, France, and now Nigeria. Scroll here for a heat map.
The current outbreak is particularly dangerous because it involves the rare Bundibugyo strain, for which there are no approved treatments. A vaccine trial called Tumaini—Swahili for “hope”—is expected to begin as early as this week. |
Editor's note: If you tried to take yesterday’s Etcetera quiz on whether you're cut out for sloth life, you may have hit a broken link—our fault! Check it out here. |
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🫶 Humankind: Bride is brought to tears after her husband secretly includes footage of himself asking her late father for his blessing in their wedding video. (w/video) |
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Sports, Entertainment, & Culture |
> Former NHL star Ron Duguay, best known for his stints with the New York Rangers and his relationship with 2008 Republican US vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin, dies at age 69 due to colon cancer (More) |
> Rapper Eminem's former employee pleads guilty to copyright infringement charge for stealing and selling unreleased music (More) | "Looksmaxxing" influencer Clavicular pleads not guilty to rape-related charges filed last month (More) |
> Actor Tom Skerritt, whose notable roles included Jimmy Brock in "Picket Fences" and Commander Mike “Viper” Metcalf in "Top Gun," dies at age 93 (More) | John Anderson, who joined the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2024, dies at age 71 (More) |
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> Physicists trap single antimatter particle for months, potentially allowing for more precise measurements of this rare form of matter, which may hold clues to the origins of our universe (More) | Antimatter 101 (More) |
> France confirms first-ever human case of Shamonda livestock virus in severely immunocompromised individual who died earlier this month; officials say there is no risk to the public (More) | Where did the virus come from? (More) |
> Expert panel recommends shortlist of lunar destinations NASA should prioritize for astronaut missions to maximize scientific return; list includes volcanically diverse region and area near Apollo 15 landing (More, w/interactive) |
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> US stock markets close mixed (S&P 500 -1.2%, Dow +0.0%, Nasdaq -2.6%) as Brent crude oil prices exceed $113 per barrel, the highest price point since May (More) |
> Moderna shares sink 17.6% following a premature leak of trial data for its personalized cancer vaccine; while data shows the shot reduced melanoma recurrence or death by 42%, the results fell short of heightened market expectations (More) |
> Elon Musk reportedly invests roughly $1B in Skydance, the entertainment company that resulted from Paramount acquiring Warner Bros. Discovery (More) | How rich is Musk? (More, w/graphics) |
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> Federal officials charge 82-year-old Virginia state Sen. L. Louise Lucas (D) and family members over alleged corruption scheme relating to marijuana business (More) |
> President Donald Trump must sit for deposition in his $10B lawsuit against the BBC by Dec. 11, federal judge says (More) | Watch the clip at the heart of the defamation case (More via YouTube) |
> France bans some protests across multiple cities after days of riots, looting (More) | See photos of unrest from across Europe (More) | ... and a map of protests across the continent (More) |
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> The Hunt for Aliens
HUGE* Conversations | Cleo Abram. Scientists are developing new ways to search for extraterrestrial life. An astrophysicist shares where scientists are looking and just how close we might be to finding something. (Watch) |
> The Plastic Paradox
1440 Explores | Sony Kassam. Plastic was once hailed as a miracle invention. Now it's found everywhere, from the oceans to the human body. How did it become so widespread, and why hasn't recycling solved the problem? (Listen) |
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Historybook: First National Women’s Rights Convention begins (1850); Comedian and "Tonight Show" host Johnny Carson born (1925); Soccer legend Pelé born (1940); Suicide bombings at US Marine barracks in Beirut, Lebanon, kill 241 US military personnel (1983); Moscow theater hostage crisis begins (2002).
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"Adults ask questions as a child does. When you stop wondering, you might as well put your rocker on the front porch and call it a day." |
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