Morning Digest
35 stories from 8 sources, 157 more held back.
US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth has announced plans to livestream the execution of a former US Army psychiatrist convicted of killing 13 people at a military base in Texas, arguing that Americans should witness the consequences of such crimes.
Tehran is striving to find a diplomatic solution to the war imposed on it by the US, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday at a meeting with his Iranian counterpart, Masoud Pezeshkian. The Russian president noted that Tehran had recently put forward a proposal aimed at resolving the conflict peacefully, adding that Moscow is willing to play a constructive role in the process.
Syria could join a Saudi-backed military offensive against the Houthis in Yemen by deploying thousands of troops, Axios has reported, citing US officials. Yemen’s internationally recognized government forces have launched a major counteroffensive to recapture territory seized by the Iranian-backed Houthis, also known as Ansar Allah, including areas around the strategic Bab el-Mandeb Strait.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has effectively become a “Ukrainian chancellor,” showering Kiev with more taxpayer-funded aid despite mounting discontent at home, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has said.
How Bandera’s dirty secrets were buried to build a Ukrainian ‘hero’ and blame the KGB. October 15th marks the anniversary of Ukrainian ultranationalist Stepan Bandera’s alleged 1959 murder by a Soviet KGB agent, in Munich, Germany. As the Kiev regime has idolized Bandera and his fellow ultranationalist killers without shame since NATO’s war with Russia began, mass celebrations could be planned.
If you’re reading this on Substack, please take a second to hit the ❤️ and click the restack icon. That’s how we break through into more newsfeeds and reach the most people. Today, Raw America has an exclusive report from White House correspondent Brian Karem about how Donald Trump’s rhetoric about the midterms has grown decidedly darker, alarming multiple members of his own party.
Before we get to the news, help us reach more people by tapping the ❤️ and hitting restack. That’s the best way to ensure these stories break through the algorithm.
Before the news, do us a favor: take a few seconds to tap the ❤️ and hit the restack icon. That’s the best way to make sure independent journalism reaches the people who truly need it. Colorado Republican gubernatorial nominee Victor Marx recently bragged about physically abusing his wife and said he’d do it again.
Before the news, help us reach more people by tapping the ❤️ and restacking this newsletter. It only takes a couple of seconds and helps more than you know. Here’s what’s on deck: Texas Republican Attorney General and Senate candidate Ken Paxton was caught admitting in a leaked audio recording that Donald Trump’s war with Iran is the single biggest problem for his campaign’s flagging numbers.
Before we get to the news, take a few seconds to tap the ❤️ and hit the circular restack button. Those two clicks make sure these stories reach the people who really need to hear them. The same Republicans who once called for their colleague, Congressman Max Miller of Ohio, to resign from Congress over damning domestic violence allegations are now spending millions of dollars to keep him in…
SafeWorld this week emerged from stealth with $12.2 million in seed funding. The startup aims to make safety testing on AI-powered robots easier with its simulation technology.
While much of the focus on humanoid robots has been on entertaining demonstration videos and massive amounts of funds raised, the work of development and finding a value proposition is quietly continuing. How are humanoids progressing from prototypes to mass production? Jabil Inc., a design, supply chain, and manufacturing services provider, offered its perspective.
Helm.ai today said it has signed $70 million in commercial contracts for its foundation models for physical AI over a 12-month period. These contracts spanned global automotive OEMs, Tier 1 suppliers, and industrial automation companies. The Redwood City, Calif.-based company considers the automotive industry as its flagship deployments, which involve deep partnerships.
The toolchain brings together AWS services and NVIDIA’s Physical AI software stack into a single development workflow. The goal is to address one of the biggest challenges facing companies developing AI-powered robots: connecting the many pieces required to turn a trained model into a system that can reliably operate in the real world.
Global energy company Schneider Electric this week said it will acquire industrial design, engineering, and data management firm PTC Inc. for about $22.6 billion. The Boston-based companies claimed that the combination will bridge the “digital and physical worlds across the lifecycle, from design and build to operate and maintain.”
Computer programming is, fundamentally, about two things:. I have a hard time imagining a future where knowing how to solve problems with computers and how to control the complexity of those solutions is less valuable than it is today, so I think it will continue to be a viable career even with the advent of AI tools.
I've always been kind of into computers since I was young. And then when film started to move from analog film to digital, I became more interested in that aspect of it. And the visual effects workflow for many years has included machine learning.
As previously promised, here’s Anthropic’s new fast, low cost model: Introducing Claude Haiku 5.5. The previous Haiku, 4.5, was very much showing its age. It came out almost a year ago, and was priced at $1/million input and $5/million output—relatively expensive even back then, and a full 10x the price of OpenAI’s GPT-6 Luna, released last month.
Anti-Patterns in Software Blogging (via) Some excellent writing advice from Michael Lynch. Michael warns against "meandering intros", misjudging your reader's existing knowledge, assuming they'll read your previous posts, and excessive formality. He also warns against overreliance on links as an excuse not to explain terminology.
I was a graph theory junkie long ago and even moved to Budapest for awhile to study among the greats. While I was there I started working on Barnette's Conjecture which came to occupy my thoughts over the next 24 years of my life, on and off as I worked in many different fields. Last summer I even thought for a few days that I had actually solved it.
METAIRIE, La. - New Orleans Saints defensive coordinator Brandon Staley took issue Thursday with comments made by ESPN analyst Troy Aikman during the Saints' 45-24 loss to the Atlanta Falcons. Aikman weighed in on the Saints' struggles on defense with 2:43 left in the third quarter of the "Monday Night Football" broadcast, saying that Staley didn't have any answers for the Falcons.
Las Vegas Aces center A'ja Wilson has won a record fifth WNBA Most Valuable Player award, becoming the first player in league history to win three straight MVPs. Wilson became the first WNBA player to average 25 points, 50% shooting and 40% on 3-pointers.
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- In nine words Thursday, Denver Broncos coach Sean Payton made the biggest move he could to try to kickstart the team's struggling offense. "We'll make a change offensively, I'll call the plays,'' Payton said after practice.
LAKE FOREST, Ill. -- Bears running back D'Andre Swift delivered a succinct response Thursday to questions surrounding his early season fumbles. The 27-year-old running back has fumbled twice in four games with his most recent happening in the third quarter of the Bears' 23-12 win over the Jets.
Like death and taxes, A'ja Wilson winning the WNBA's Most Valuable Player award is quickly becoming one of life's certainties. The Las Vegas Aces center claimed her third consecutive nod (and fifth in her career) on Thursday, after leading her Aces to their eighth straight playoff appearance with averages of 26.0 points and 9.4 rebounds.
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- One of the most gifted young hitters in the Cubs system, Juan Cabada was ready for the challenges that awaited him when he made his U.S. debut this year. Signed for $1.5 million out of the Dominican Republic in 2025, he batted .283/.387/.434 in his first 14 games in the Rookie-level Arizona Complex League this May.
Last week, MLB Pipeline revealed its selections for Minor League Hitting Prospect of the Year and Minor League Pitching Prospect of the Year during the 2026 MiLB Awards Show on MLB Network. Brewers corner infielder Andrew Fischer won hitting honors after swatting 48 homers, the most in the Minors since 1982.
This story was excerpted from Jordan Bastian’s Cubs Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
The proposed loan will build on Wolfspeed’s silicon-carbide technology, intellectual property and manufacturing footprint at its facilities in North Carolina, New York and Arkansas, according to the release.
The survey comes as manufacturers are increasingly turning to artificial intelligence and automation to improve various parts of their operations, including predictive maintenance. According to the survey, more than half of maintenance teams said they were using or piloting AI tools to help them do their jobs, and 92% agreed that AI needs “good, complete maintenance data” to work properly.
Anduril intends to gradually scale production once Arsenal-2 begins operations as the defense systems maker builds its workforce, supplier base, infrastructure and production rate required for submarine output. Arsenal-2 will be built on a 187-acre site for “high-volume, high-precision production of undersea naval capabilities.
AI and automation are among the biggest trends in manufacturing. Manufacturers are leveraging newer technologies as a way to bridge the persistent skill gap in the industry, with AI boosting engineering productivity and automation in manufacturing is set to more than double by 2030.
Boston Dynamics, a humanoid and industrial robot maker owned by Hyundai, said it has appointed Rohit Prasad as CEO, effective today. The company hired Prasad for his experience turning physical artificial intelligence breakthroughs into commercial successes.
A hand attached to the end of an arm is a given for most humans, but what if robots didn’t have to play by the same rules as we do? Researchers from ETH Zurich have turned an off-the-shelf robotic hand into a completely self-contained robot that walks on its fingertips while using those same fingers to manipulate its environment.
Download this complimentary White Paper today! This White Paper gives robotics researchers and engineers an overview of a new large-scale motion capture dataset built to close the data gap limiting humanoid robot learning. It also shows how policies trained on the dataset transfer to a real humanoid robot.
US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth has announced plans to livestream the execution of a former US Army psychiatrist convicted of killing 13 people at a military base in Texas, arguing that Americans should witness the consequences of such crimes.
Tehran is striving to find a diplomatic solution to the war imposed on it by the US, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday at a meeting with his Iranian counterpart, Masoud Pezeshkian. The Russian president noted that Tehran had recently put forward a proposal aimed at resolving the conflict peacefully, adding that Moscow is willing to play a constructive role in the process.
Syria could join a Saudi-backed military offensive against the Houthis in Yemen by deploying thousands of troops, Axios has reported, citing US officials. Yemen’s internationally recognized government forces have launched a major counteroffensive to recapture territory seized by the Iranian-backed Houthis, also known as Ansar Allah, including areas around the strategic Bab el-Mandeb Strait.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has effectively become a “Ukrainian chancellor,” showering Kiev with more taxpayer-funded aid despite mounting discontent at home, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has said.
How Bandera’s dirty secrets were buried to build a Ukrainian ‘hero’ and blame the KGB. October 15th marks the anniversary of Ukrainian ultranationalist Stepan Bandera’s alleged 1959 murder by a Soviet KGB agent, in Munich, Germany. As the Kiev regime has idolized Bandera and his fellow ultranationalist killers without shame since NATO’s war with Russia began, mass celebrations could be planned.
METAIRIE, La. - New Orleans Saints defensive coordinator Brandon Staley took issue Thursday with comments made by ESPN analyst Troy Aikman during the Saints' 45-24 loss to the Atlanta Falcons. Aikman weighed in on the Saints' struggles on defense with 2:43 left in the third quarter of the "Monday Night Football" broadcast, saying that Staley didn't have any answers for the Falcons.
Las Vegas Aces center A'ja Wilson has won a record fifth WNBA Most Valuable Player award, becoming the first player in league history to win three straight MVPs. Wilson became the first WNBA player to average 25 points, 50% shooting and 40% on 3-pointers.
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- In nine words Thursday, Denver Broncos coach Sean Payton made the biggest move he could to try to kickstart the team's struggling offense. "We'll make a change offensively, I'll call the plays,'' Payton said after practice.
LAKE FOREST, Ill. -- Bears running back D'Andre Swift delivered a succinct response Thursday to questions surrounding his early season fumbles. The 27-year-old running back has fumbled twice in four games with his most recent happening in the third quarter of the Bears' 23-12 win over the Jets.
Like death and taxes, A'ja Wilson winning the WNBA's Most Valuable Player award is quickly becoming one of life's certainties. The Las Vegas Aces center claimed her third consecutive nod (and fifth in her career) on Thursday, after leading her Aces to their eighth straight playoff appearance with averages of 26.0 points and 9.4 rebounds.
If you’re reading this on Substack, please take a second to hit the ❤️ and click the restack icon. That’s how we break through into more newsfeeds and reach the most people. Today, Raw America has an exclusive report from White House correspondent Brian Karem about how Donald Trump’s rhetoric about the midterms has grown decidedly darker, alarming multiple members of his own party.
Before we get to the news, help us reach more people by tapping the ❤️ and hitting restack. That’s the best way to ensure these stories break through the algorithm.
Before the news, do us a favor: take a few seconds to tap the ❤️ and hit the restack icon. That’s the best way to make sure independent journalism reaches the people who truly need it. Colorado Republican gubernatorial nominee Victor Marx recently bragged about physically abusing his wife and said he’d do it again.
Before the news, help us reach more people by tapping the ❤️ and restacking this newsletter. It only takes a couple of seconds and helps more than you know. Here’s what’s on deck: Texas Republican Attorney General and Senate candidate Ken Paxton was caught admitting in a leaked audio recording that Donald Trump’s war with Iran is the single biggest problem for his campaign’s flagging numbers.
Before we get to the news, take a few seconds to tap the ❤️ and hit the circular restack button. Those two clicks make sure these stories reach the people who really need to hear them. The same Republicans who once called for their colleague, Congressman Max Miller of Ohio, to resign from Congress over damning domestic violence allegations are now spending millions of dollars to keep him in…
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- One of the most gifted young hitters in the Cubs system, Juan Cabada was ready for the challenges that awaited him when he made his U.S. debut this year. Signed for $1.5 million out of the Dominican Republic in 2025, he batted .283/.387/.434 in his first 14 games in the Rookie-level Arizona Complex League this May.
Last week, MLB Pipeline revealed its selections for Minor League Hitting Prospect of the Year and Minor League Pitching Prospect of the Year during the 2026 MiLB Awards Show on MLB Network. Brewers corner infielder Andrew Fischer won hitting honors after swatting 48 homers, the most in the Minors since 1982.
This story was excerpted from Jordan Bastian’s Cubs Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
SafeWorld this week emerged from stealth with $12.2 million in seed funding. The startup aims to make safety testing on AI-powered robots easier with its simulation technology.
While much of the focus on humanoid robots has been on entertaining demonstration videos and massive amounts of funds raised, the work of development and finding a value proposition is quietly continuing. How are humanoids progressing from prototypes to mass production? Jabil Inc., a design, supply chain, and manufacturing services provider, offered its perspective.
Helm.ai today said it has signed $70 million in commercial contracts for its foundation models for physical AI over a 12-month period. These contracts spanned global automotive OEMs, Tier 1 suppliers, and industrial automation companies. The Redwood City, Calif.-based company considers the automotive industry as its flagship deployments, which involve deep partnerships.
The toolchain brings together AWS services and NVIDIA’s Physical AI software stack into a single development workflow. The goal is to address one of the biggest challenges facing companies developing AI-powered robots: connecting the many pieces required to turn a trained model into a system that can reliably operate in the real world.
Global energy company Schneider Electric this week said it will acquire industrial design, engineering, and data management firm PTC Inc. for about $22.6 billion. The Boston-based companies claimed that the combination will bridge the “digital and physical worlds across the lifecycle, from design and build to operate and maintain.”
A hand attached to the end of an arm is a given for most humans, but what if robots didn’t have to play by the same rules as we do? Researchers from ETH Zurich have turned an off-the-shelf robotic hand into a completely self-contained robot that walks on its fingertips while using those same fingers to manipulate its environment.
Download this complimentary White Paper today! This White Paper gives robotics researchers and engineers an overview of a new large-scale motion capture dataset built to close the data gap limiting humanoid robot learning. It also shows how policies trained on the dataset transfer to a real humanoid robot.
Computer programming is, fundamentally, about two things:. I have a hard time imagining a future where knowing how to solve problems with computers and how to control the complexity of those solutions is less valuable than it is today, so I think it will continue to be a viable career even with the advent of AI tools.
I've always been kind of into computers since I was young. And then when film started to move from analog film to digital, I became more interested in that aspect of it. And the visual effects workflow for many years has included machine learning.
As previously promised, here’s Anthropic’s new fast, low cost model: Introducing Claude Haiku 5.5. The previous Haiku, 4.5, was very much showing its age. It came out almost a year ago, and was priced at $1/million input and $5/million output—relatively expensive even back then, and a full 10x the price of OpenAI’s GPT-6 Luna, released last month.
Anti-Patterns in Software Blogging (via) Some excellent writing advice from Michael Lynch. Michael warns against "meandering intros", misjudging your reader's existing knowledge, assuming they'll read your previous posts, and excessive formality. He also warns against overreliance on links as an excuse not to explain terminology.
I was a graph theory junkie long ago and even moved to Budapest for awhile to study among the greats. While I was there I started working on Barnette's Conjecture which came to occupy my thoughts over the next 24 years of my life, on and off as I worked in many different fields. Last summer I even thought for a few days that I had actually solved it.
The proposed loan will build on Wolfspeed’s silicon-carbide technology, intellectual property and manufacturing footprint at its facilities in North Carolina, New York and Arkansas, according to the release.
The survey comes as manufacturers are increasingly turning to artificial intelligence and automation to improve various parts of their operations, including predictive maintenance. According to the survey, more than half of maintenance teams said they were using or piloting AI tools to help them do their jobs, and 92% agreed that AI needs “good, complete maintenance data” to work properly.
Anduril intends to gradually scale production once Arsenal-2 begins operations as the defense systems maker builds its workforce, supplier base, infrastructure and production rate required for submarine output. Arsenal-2 will be built on a 187-acre site for “high-volume, high-precision production of undersea naval capabilities.
AI and automation are among the biggest trends in manufacturing. Manufacturers are leveraging newer technologies as a way to bridge the persistent skill gap in the industry, with AI boosting engineering productivity and automation in manufacturing is set to more than double by 2030.
Boston Dynamics, a humanoid and industrial robot maker owned by Hyundai, said it has appointed Rohit Prasad as CEO, effective today. The company hired Prasad for his experience turning physical artificial intelligence breakthroughs into commercial successes.