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Millions of protesters turned out in cities across the US Saturday, demonstrating against what they described as authoritarian overreach by the Trump administration. Organizers of the “No Kings” rallies estimated the cumulative turnout to exceed 5 million people.
Crowds ranged from more than 250,000 in Chicago and 100,000 across New York City's five boroughs, to around 10,000 to 15,000 in places like Salt Lake City. Many attendees leaned into the current trend of wearing inflatable costumes; no major incidents were reported, though 15 people were detained after clashes with police at an ICE detention center west of Chicago. See photos from various cities here.
The marches come as the ongoing government shutdown entered its 20th day, and is on pace to tie the second-longest in US history (21 days) tomorrow. The impasse centers on the renewal of healthcare subsidies (see explainer), which face a soft deadline of Nov. 1, when insurance exchanges for 2026 open. |
A team of robbers made off with “priceless” jewelry from the Louvre yesterday, France’s interior minister said. Reports suggest nine pieces—including jewels owned by Emperor Napoleon—were taken.
At 9:30 am local time, three or four thieves approached the exterior of the building where renovation work was taking place. They used a lift mechanism on a truck and an angle grinder to get into the first floor. They then broke two display cases in the museum’s Apollon wing, which houses French crown jewels, stealing the loot and fleeing on motor scooters. The raid lasted under seven minutes. Some jewelry was recovered nearby; the rest is lost as of this writing. Authorities have closed the museum to visitors while their investigation continues.
The Louvre is the world’s most-visited museum with up to 30,000 daily visitors. The museum's most famous heist was the "Mona Lisa" theft in 1911. |
The White House announced plans Saturday to repatriate two alleged drug traffickers who survived a US military strike Thursday. The men will be sent to their respective home countries of Colombia and Ecuador.
The strike was the US’ sixth attack on narcotrafficking boats since early September; a seventh strike Friday killed three alleged drug traffickers affiliated with a Colombian left-wing group. At least 30 people have been killed since last month as part of the US' campaign against drug cartels. Thursday’s strike targeted a semi-submersible in the Caribbean Sea near Venezuela, killing two of four people on board. A US helicopter rescued the other two men and detained them—the first such strike with known survivors.
The strikes have strained tensions between the US and Colombia, which the Trump administration accuses of failing to stem the drug trade. President Donald Trump yesterday said he would end foreign aid to Colombia over the issue. |
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Sports, Entertainment, & Culture |
> Seattle Mariners and Toronto Blue Jays face off tonight for a spot in the World Series (More) | Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani secures NL Championship Series MVP Friday after notching 10 strikeouts, three home runs in Game 4 (More) |
> Limp Bizkit cofounder and bassist Sam Rivers dies at age 48 (More) | Former Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Doug Martin dies at age 36 (More) |
> "Black Phone 2" beats expectations with $26.5M domestic box office opening (More) |
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> NASA's Orion spacecraft, which will transport a crew around the moon as part of the Artemis II mission, arrives at Florida's Kennedy Space Center's Vehicle Assembly Building ahead of a scheduled February launch (More) |
> Nobel Prize winner Chen Ning Yang dies at age 103; Yang won the 1957 prize for work studying the weak interaction, one of the four fundamental forces governing the universe (More) |
> Wikipedia reports human pageviews are down 8% year over year, largely attributed to AI summaries appearing at the top of Google search results (More) |
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> US stock markets close up Friday (S&P 500 +0.5%, Dow +0.5%, Nasdaq +0.5%) following signs the Trump administration is looking to avoid another trade standoff with China (More) |
> Paramount Skydance to begin mass layoffs next week; move follows David Ellison taking control and merging the two companies in August, around 2,000 (or 10%) of US employees expected to be affected (More) |
> Fire at Bangladesh airport halts flights, destroys an estimated $1B in exports; facility is a hub for garments and other goods, shipping 600 tons of cargo per day (More) |
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> Afghanistan and Pakistan reach a ceasefire, ending weekslong fighting along the border (More) | See previous write-up (More) | Israel-Hamas ceasefire appears uncertain as sides trade accusations of breaches amid strikes, rocket fire (More) |
> North Korean soldier makes rare defection to South Korea by crossing the heavily mined demilitarized zone separating the two countries (More) |
> Ukrainian drones strike gas processing plant and oil refinery in Russia, causing fire; Orenburg facility is the world's largest, capable of processing 45 billion cubic meters annually (More) |
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Clickbait: The rise of the hub-son.
Historybook: Baseball great Mickey Mantle born (1931); Congress investigates "Reds" in Hollywood (1947); Tom Petty born (1950); Vice President Kamala Harris born (1964); President Herbert Hoover dies (1964); Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi killed (2011).
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