Good morning. It's Friday, Oct. 10, and we're covering this year's Nobel Peace Prize winner, a desert bloom in Chile, and much more. First time reading? Join over 4.5 million intellectually curious readers. Sign up here.
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The 2025 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded this morning to Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado for her pro-democracy work. The announcement came after a public bid by the White House on behalf of US President Donald Trump for his role in working to resolve eight conflicts. Multiple nominations in Trump's favor came after the committee's Jan. 31 deadline.
The announcement caps a week of selections. Yesterday, the Nobel Committee announced Hungarian author László Krasznahorkai will receive the literature prize for his work covering dystopian themes. The novelist and screenwriter is known for sprawling prose, with sentences that can run on for pages (his most recent book, "Herscht 07769," is one sentence long, spanning roughly 400 pages).
Earlier this week, scientists were recognized for their work to better understand the immune system (Nobel Prize in medicine), discoveries in quantum mechanics (physics), and for developing new molecular architecture (chemistry).
The Nobel Prize in economics will be announced Monday. |
NY Attorney General Charged |
A federal grand jury indicted New York Attorney General Letitia James (D) yesterday on charges of bank fraud and making false statements to a financial institution.
The charges stem from James’ 2020 purchase of a home in Norfolk, Virginia. James stands accused of violating her mortgage contract by renting out the home instead of treating it as a secondary residence—a decision prosecutors say stands to save her $19K. James dismissed the allegations as baseless. She accuses the Trump administration of retaliation after bringing a civil fraud case against President Donald Trump that led to a since-tossed $500M fine (the ruling was upheld).
Trump appointed the prosecutor in this case—his former aide and defense attorney Lindsey Halligan—to the role last month. Halligan has since brought an indictment against former FBI Director James Comey, another political foe of Trump's. Comey pleaded not guilty this week to charges of lying to Congress and obstruction. |
A brief but brilliant flower bloom is unfolding in Chile's Atacama Desert, a rare event that occurs every five to seven years depending on rainfall patterns. The event is expected to last through the end of the month, amid the Southern Hemisphere's spring.
At elevations ranging from 8,000 to 13,000 feet, the desert is considered the driest region on Earth outside the Arctic and Antarctic. The Atacama averages less than 0.1 inches of rain per year—the town of Calama purportedly went without measurable rain for nearly 400 years, from 1570 to 1971. Meteorologists said this season brought a relatively enormous 2.3 inches of rain to parts of the desert during the winter season, fueling the vast number of dormant seeds. See photos from previous blooms here.
Separately, scientists are studying the genome of the primary flower species in the bloom, the pata de guanaco, for clues to produce more drought-resistant crops (watch overview). |
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Sports, Entertainment, & Culture |
> The Las Vegas Aces look to win WNBA championship tonight (8 pm ET, ESPN) after being up 3-0 in WNBA Finals against the Phoenix Mercury (More) |
> Turning Point USA to host "All-American" Super Bowl halftime show amid NFL's decision to select Bad Bunny to perform at halftime of Super Bowl LX (More) | Judge dismisses Drake's defamation lawsuit against Universal Music Group over Kendrick Lamar's "Not Like Us" diss track (More) |
> NBA to play two preseason games in China this weekend for first time in six years (More) | Erik Spoelstra tapped to succeed Steve Kerr as head coach of Team USA men's basketball (More) |
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In partnership with Death & Co. |
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> Intel unveils new computer processor, Panther Lake, in bid to reestablish reputation as leading chipmaker; Panther Lake to be manufactured at new $20B Arizona facility and debut in laptops next year (More) |
> Astronomers detect lowest-mass dark matter object yet via tiny distortion caused by its gravity; object's mass is a million times that of our sun (More) | What is dark matter? (1440 Topics) |
> Behavioral scientists find some dogs show addictive-like behaviors toward toys, mirroring human addictions to gambling, gaming, and smartphones; research team to publish follow-up study examining how addictive traits differ by breed (More) |
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> US stock markets close lower (S&P 500 -0.3%, Dow -0.5%, Nasdaq -0.1%) as the US government shutdown continues (More) |
> The US directly purchases Argentine pesos and agrees to offer $20B in financing as part of rescue effort to stabilize Argentina's economy (More) | Read a history of Argentina's economy (More) |
> IRS announces new federal tax brackets for 2026 to adjust for inflation (More) | At least 22 states are experiencing a recession or close to it, new analysis finds (More) |
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> Israeli government approves ceasefire deal with Hamas; 200 US troops will monitor the exchange of hostages and prisoners, expected within days (More) | White House denies striking a boat carrying Colombian citizens last week (More) |
> Texas' highest criminal court halts the execution of Robert Roberson, convicted of killing his 2-year-old daughter, who was diagnosed with shaken baby syndrome (More) | See background on the controversial diagnosis (More) |
> French appeals court increases the prison term for a man convicted of raping Gisèle Pelicot (More) | See previous write-up (More) |
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> America's Prosperity Paradox
Plain English | Derek Thompson. America is richer than ever, yet life satisfaction is the lowest on record. Could this be because we're bad at spending money? (Listen) |
> Bears Behind Bars
Earth Island Journal | Ryley Graham. Meet Chinh, one of the last Asiatic black bears rescued from Vietnam's now-illegal bile farms. For roughly two decades, farmers siphoned fluid from his gallbladder for traditional medicines. (Read) |
> Chins Make Us Human
PBS | Staff. Humans are the only creatures with chins, and scientists have spent decades trying to understand why. Was it to take a punch? To better chew? Or does it have no purpose at all? (Watch) |
> Queen of Darts
Victory Journal | Amos Barshad. Follow two women—one Jamaican British amateur and another Japanese professional—as they chase glory at the world's largest darts competition. (Read) |
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Dreams of having a private chef: answered.* |
Clickbait: Hair today, gone tomorrow.
Historybook: United States Naval Academy opens (1845); American actress Helen Hayes born (1900); Filmmaker Orson Welles dies (1985); Hijacking of the Achille Lauro cruise ship ends (1985); "Superman" actor Christopher Reeve dies (2004).
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