Release: llm-mistral 0.16
Adds support for reasoning models, such as the newly released Mistral Large 4.
Morning Digest
Tuesday, October 6, 2026
35 stories from 7 sources, 89 more held back.
Simon Willison
Comment: EmbeddingGemma 2
I really appreciate that EmbeddingGemma 2 is under the Apache 2.0 license. For embedding models in particular, I don't think it makes sense to use a closed, proprietary, hosted-only model. Most applications of embedding models involve calculating thousands or even millions of embedding vectors and storing them for later comparison.
Introducing Mistral Large 4: Le chonk
Introducing Mistral Large 4: Le chonk (via) Mistral are back in the game. Today they're releasing a preview of Mistral Large 4, a 1 trillion parameter, 49 billion active parameter model trained on their own cluster of 3,800 NVIDIA Grace Blackwell GPUs. The preview is available via their API.
TIL: Using Parseable with Datasette for OpenTelemetry traces
I saw Parseable in a Show HN today - it's a new observability platform with both an open source (AGPL) Rust implementation (a single ~180MB binary), an "Enterprise" version with extra features and a cloud hosted option. Since Datasette 1.0a41 added OpenTelemetry support (thanks, Alex Garcia), I decided to fire up Codex and have it figure out how to run Parseable and feed it traces from Datasette.
Comment: Mistral Large 4
wren6991: The benchmark is saturated. Frontier models are tested with an armadillo in fishnet tights jaywalking on Mars. OK well I couldn't resist this one:.
Release: datasette-atom 0.11a0
A minor fix for compatibility with the latest Datasette alphas. This meant we could upgrade the datasette.io site to Datasette 1.0a41.
Tool: Scrimshaw Jukebox
I wanted to see if Claude Opus 5.5 could compose music, so I tried this:. I want you to write some computer game music for me. First design simple text based format for the music and build an artifact that can play it out loud - include some example tracks in that artifact.
A quote from Felix Rieseberg
The "old" version of Cowork runs model inference in the cloud, executing tool calls in an Anthropic-provided VM we shipped to your computer. We added the VM for capability, safety, and security reasons - mapping in just the data you explicitly added to your session. People loved what they were able to do with Claude but didn't love the disk, battery, and performance cost of running the VM locally.
RT
Ukrainian MP booted by his party after urging peace with Russia
Ukrainian MP put on ‘kill list’ over call for peace with Russia. Ukrainian lawmaker Alexey Goncharenko has been expelled from the European Solidarity parliamentary group and added to the notorious Mirotvorets website, which publishes personal information on people it considers “enemies” of the country.
Russia’s nuclear deterrence: Why the threat must be taken seriously
Karaganov: Russia can win a nuclear war in Europe. The debate on the use of nuclear weapons has moved into the practical realm, so while NATO is discussing the Russian Foreign Ministry’s warning of a full-spectrum response in the event of an attempt to blockade Kaliningrad Region, Russian experts are discussing nuclear deterrence and President Vladimir Putin’s speech at the Valdai Forum last week.
French mayor gassed after acting as “human shield” for masked protesters (VIDEO)
The mayor of Paris’ Saint-Denis suburb has been tear-gassed while attempting to shield masked student street protesters from riot police. Mayor Bally Bagayoko has accused officers of using “totally disproportionate” force.
Objection to conscription triples in Germany – media
The number of Germans seeking conscientious objector status has risen sharply amid Berlin’s military buildup and debate over reinstating conscription, the RedaktionsNetzwerk Deutschland (RND) reported on Tuesday.
Putin clears sale of UniCredit’s Russian business
Russian President Vladimir Putin has cleared Italy’s UniCredit to restructure its Russian operations, paving the way for the banking giant to sell its business in the country. UniCredit has operated in Russia since 1989 and is listed by the central bank as one of the country’s 13 key credit institutions.
EU country bemoans drone strikes on merchant vessels off its Black Sea coast
Two commercial vessels were hit by unidentified drones on Tuesday off the Bulgarian coast in the Black Sea, Prime Minister Rumen Radev has confirmed. The attack marks the first time when merchant vessels were attacked within the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of a NATO member in the waterway.
Ovechkin retires: The hockey legend who never turned his back on Russia
One of the world’s most recognizable and beloved athletes, Washington Capitals captain Alexander Ovechkin, has announced he will retire at the end of the current NHL season, closing out a record-breaking career spanning more than two decades.
Why Iran is weighing an NPT exit as sanctions and strikes erode trust
Iran’s next move could leave the Middle East looking for the bomb. In Tehran, discussions about Iran’s potential withdrawal from the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) are growing increasingly urgent. Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Esmail Baghaei has recently acknowledged that the issue is being seriously considered by Iranian officials.
The Robot Report
Boston Dynamics appoints former Amazon exec Rohit Prasad as new CEO - The Robot Report
It’s been nearly nine months since Robert Playter, the former CEO of Boston Dynamics, stepped down. The company today named Rohit Prasad as its new CEO, effective tomorrow. Prasad will take over from Chief Financial Officer Amanda McMaster, who served as interim CEO after Playter left in February.
Pegasus 1.6 brings video understanding to physical AI, says TwelveLabs - The Robot Report
As the physical world rapidly digitalizes, AI teams are gathering vast amounts of complex video, but transforming raw footage into actionable models remains a critical challenge, according to TwelveLabs Inc. The company today released its Pegasus 1.6 model with added capabilities for understanding and navigating complex real-world environments.
Sovereign AI, same landlord - thoughts on the physical AI race - The Robot Report
The physical AI developers determined not to rely on NVIDIA have had some wins lately. Anthropic stood up an in-house silicon team with salaries that make FAANG recruiters wince. Also, Advanced Micro Devices acquired World Labs for $8.2 billion, Qualcomm has collaborated with Liquid AI on embedded agents, and Skild AI launched the S1 foundation model.
FireDome builds autonomous 'artillery' for wildfire defense - The Robot Report
In wildfire country, minutes matter, but current fire technology still stops at detection.
Overview AI launches OV Spark line of AI inspection cameras - The Robot Report
Spark ships with 10 inspection tools that can be mixed and matched in a single recipe. Seven are deep learning AI models: AI Trigger, Alignment, AI Classification, AI Segmentation, AI Count, AI OCR, and Anomaly Detection. The other three are ready to inspect out of the box, with the option to add images when an inspection needs training.
Teradyne invests in Bright Machines to bring robotics to AI infrastructure manufacturing - The Robot Report
Teradyne Inc. today announced a strategic investment in Bright Machines Inc., a builder of AI and data center infrastructure. The companies are also launching a strategic collaboration focused on integrating Teradyne robotics and test technologies with Bright Machines’ manufacturing platform. The move comes as Teradyne has been increasingly investing in AI across its ecosystem.
ESPN
Roberts moves struggling Ohtani to No. 5 spot for NLDS Game 3
Roberts said the move was a one-game adjustment to give the Dodgers a different look against Braves left-hander Chris Sale. When Sale shut out Yoshinobu Yamamoto and the Dodgers 1-0 on Aug. 26, Ohtani was 0 for 4 with two strikeouts. For his career, Ohtani is 3 for 15 with no homers and 1 RBI against Sale.
Dream rule out top scorer Allisha Gray (finger) for Game 2
ATLANTA -- Atlanta Dream guard Allisha Gray was ruled out of Wednesday's Game 2 of their semifinal series against the New York Liberty because of a finger injury and is considered day-to-day, coach Karl Smesko told reporters on Tuesday. Gray had an X-ray on her finger, though Smesko did not share any additional info on the nature or severity of her injury.
Eagles All-Pro RT Lane Johnson retires, ending 14-season NFL career
PHILADELPHIA -- Eagles standout right tackle Lane Johnson announced his retirement from the NFL on Tuesday. Johnson, who pondered retirement this offseason, was a surprise inactive for Sunday's game against the Los Angeles Rams. The team did not know until that morning that Johnson would not play.
Michigan's Zack Marshall apologizes for criticizing OC Jason Beck
"Last weekend, in the hours after we lost, I made some inappropriate comments that I regret," Marshall posted Tuesday to X. "The game is won and lost as a team, and I pointed fingers instead of taking accountability. I let my frustrations speak for me in an emotional moment.
Missouri OL Jones in need of heart transplant, Drinkwitz says
Drinkwitz said Missouri's medical staff detected an issue with Jones' heart during freshman testing this summer. After monitoring Jones for a couple of weeks, Missouri's staff didn't find the resolution they were seeking, so they sent him to the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida, for further testing.
Ronaldo says Jesus broke his word, apologizes to Portugal teammates
Cristiano Ronaldo said on Tuesday he will remain available to represent Portugal should they call him up again in a five-page letter seen by ESPN, while explaining his fallout with coach Jorge Jesus last week. The statement was later shared on Ronaldo's social media channels.
Hits, blocks and consistency: The high floor fantasy hockey players available
That makes the task less about identifying the best fantasy players and more about spotting the ones flashing something useful before the sample gets big enough for everyone else to notice. Hits and blocked shots are especially good for this kind of early-season fishing. A player piling up peripheral fantasy points can establish a surprisingly useful floor.
Raw America
Revealed: GOP Senator Caught Using Unauthorized Image of Children
A quick ask: if you’re reading this on Substack, take a second to tap the ❤️ and click restack. That’s how we make sure these important stories break through the algorithm and reach the most people.
Breaking: Family of Epstein Victim Appears in Ad Attacking GOP Congressman
Before we dive into the news, help independent journalism reach the most people by clicking the ❤️ and restacking this newsletter. It only takes a few seconds and it helps immensely.
Manufacturing Dive
Boeing nabs $14.7B PAC-3 MSE component contract from Lockheed Martin
Some terms in the contract have yet to be finalized, which allows Boeing to continue scaling seeker production, a company spokesperson said in an email. The deal falls under a undefinitized contract action, which grants a company to begin a service despite the terms, specifications or price not being formalized, according to the federal government’s Acquisition website.
Bayer to invest $2.2B in Ohio pharmaceutical facility
The manufacturing site coming to New Albany is part of Bayer’s U.S. growth strategy. The biotechnology giant has spent more than $7 billion over the past five years expanding its U.S. pharmaceutical manufacturing and research and development operations.
2027 manufacturing conferences and trade shows
U.S. manufacturing activity has been increasing over the past year, with the rapid adoption of artificial intelligence and automation technologies driving new manufacturing projects. To help stay abreast of the latest trends, products and insights, Manufacturing Dive rounded up some of the leading industry conferences happening in 2027.
Cubs — MLB.com
Road less traveled takes Cubs' pitcher-turned-outfielder Kade Snell to Fall League
MESA, Ariz. -- If someone told Cubs prospect Kade Snell he’d be playing professional baseball when he first embarked on his college career at Auburn, he’d have believed it. But if he knew it would be as an outfielder, he might have done a double take.
RT
Ukrainian MP booted by his party after urging peace with Russia
Ukrainian MP put on ‘kill list’ over call for peace with Russia. Ukrainian lawmaker Alexey Goncharenko has been expelled from the European Solidarity parliamentary group and added to the notorious Mirotvorets website, which publishes personal information on people it considers “enemies” of the country.
Russia’s nuclear deterrence: Why the threat must be taken seriously
Karaganov: Russia can win a nuclear war in Europe. The debate on the use of nuclear weapons has moved into the practical realm, so while NATO is discussing the Russian Foreign Ministry’s warning of a full-spectrum response in the event of an attempt to blockade Kaliningrad Region, Russian experts are discussing nuclear deterrence and President Vladimir Putin’s speech at the Valdai Forum last week.
French mayor gassed after acting as “human shield” for masked protesters (VIDEO)
The mayor of Paris’ Saint-Denis suburb has been tear-gassed while attempting to shield masked student street protesters from riot police. Mayor Bally Bagayoko has accused officers of using “totally disproportionate” force.
Objection to conscription triples in Germany – media
The number of Germans seeking conscientious objector status has risen sharply amid Berlin’s military buildup and debate over reinstating conscription, the RedaktionsNetzwerk Deutschland (RND) reported on Tuesday.
Putin clears sale of UniCredit’s Russian business
Russian President Vladimir Putin has cleared Italy’s UniCredit to restructure its Russian operations, paving the way for the banking giant to sell its business in the country. UniCredit has operated in Russia since 1989 and is listed by the central bank as one of the country’s 13 key credit institutions.
EU country bemoans drone strikes on merchant vessels off its Black Sea coast
Two commercial vessels were hit by unidentified drones on Tuesday off the Bulgarian coast in the Black Sea, Prime Minister Rumen Radev has confirmed. The attack marks the first time when merchant vessels were attacked within the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of a NATO member in the waterway.
Ovechkin retires: The hockey legend who never turned his back on Russia
One of the world’s most recognizable and beloved athletes, Washington Capitals captain Alexander Ovechkin, has announced he will retire at the end of the current NHL season, closing out a record-breaking career spanning more than two decades.
Why Iran is weighing an NPT exit as sanctions and strikes erode trust
Iran’s next move could leave the Middle East looking for the bomb. In Tehran, discussions about Iran’s potential withdrawal from the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) are growing increasingly urgent. Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Esmail Baghaei has recently acknowledged that the issue is being seriously considered by Iranian officials.
ESPN
Roberts moves struggling Ohtani to No. 5 spot for NLDS Game 3
Roberts said the move was a one-game adjustment to give the Dodgers a different look against Braves left-hander Chris Sale. When Sale shut out Yoshinobu Yamamoto and the Dodgers 1-0 on Aug. 26, Ohtani was 0 for 4 with two strikeouts. For his career, Ohtani is 3 for 15 with no homers and 1 RBI against Sale.
Dream rule out top scorer Allisha Gray (finger) for Game 2
ATLANTA -- Atlanta Dream guard Allisha Gray was ruled out of Wednesday's Game 2 of their semifinal series against the New York Liberty because of a finger injury and is considered day-to-day, coach Karl Smesko told reporters on Tuesday. Gray had an X-ray on her finger, though Smesko did not share any additional info on the nature or severity of her injury.
Eagles All-Pro RT Lane Johnson retires, ending 14-season NFL career
PHILADELPHIA -- Eagles standout right tackle Lane Johnson announced his retirement from the NFL on Tuesday. Johnson, who pondered retirement this offseason, was a surprise inactive for Sunday's game against the Los Angeles Rams. The team did not know until that morning that Johnson would not play.
Michigan's Zack Marshall apologizes for criticizing OC Jason Beck
"Last weekend, in the hours after we lost, I made some inappropriate comments that I regret," Marshall posted Tuesday to X. "The game is won and lost as a team, and I pointed fingers instead of taking accountability. I let my frustrations speak for me in an emotional moment.
Missouri OL Jones in need of heart transplant, Drinkwitz says
Drinkwitz said Missouri's medical staff detected an issue with Jones' heart during freshman testing this summer. After monitoring Jones for a couple of weeks, Missouri's staff didn't find the resolution they were seeking, so they sent him to the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida, for further testing.
Ronaldo says Jesus broke his word, apologizes to Portugal teammates
Cristiano Ronaldo said on Tuesday he will remain available to represent Portugal should they call him up again in a five-page letter seen by ESPN, while explaining his fallout with coach Jorge Jesus last week. The statement was later shared on Ronaldo's social media channels.
Hits, blocks and consistency: The high floor fantasy hockey players available
That makes the task less about identifying the best fantasy players and more about spotting the ones flashing something useful before the sample gets big enough for everyone else to notice. Hits and blocked shots are especially good for this kind of early-season fishing. A player piling up peripheral fantasy points can establish a surprisingly useful floor.
Raw America
Revealed: GOP Senator Caught Using Unauthorized Image of Children
A quick ask: if you’re reading this on Substack, take a second to tap the ❤️ and click restack. That’s how we make sure these important stories break through the algorithm and reach the most people.
Breaking: Family of Epstein Victim Appears in Ad Attacking GOP Congressman
Before we dive into the news, help independent journalism reach the most people by clicking the ❤️ and restacking this newsletter. It only takes a few seconds and it helps immensely.
Cubs — MLB.com
Road less traveled takes Cubs' pitcher-turned-outfielder Kade Snell to Fall League
MESA, Ariz. -- If someone told Cubs prospect Kade Snell he’d be playing professional baseball when he first embarked on his college career at Auburn, he’d have believed it. But if he knew it would be as an outfielder, he might have done a double take.
The Robot Report
Boston Dynamics appoints former Amazon exec Rohit Prasad as new CEO - The Robot Report
It’s been nearly nine months since Robert Playter, the former CEO of Boston Dynamics, stepped down. The company today named Rohit Prasad as its new CEO, effective tomorrow. Prasad will take over from Chief Financial Officer Amanda McMaster, who served as interim CEO after Playter left in February.
Pegasus 1.6 brings video understanding to physical AI, says TwelveLabs - The Robot Report
As the physical world rapidly digitalizes, AI teams are gathering vast amounts of complex video, but transforming raw footage into actionable models remains a critical challenge, according to TwelveLabs Inc. The company today released its Pegasus 1.6 model with added capabilities for understanding and navigating complex real-world environments.
Sovereign AI, same landlord - thoughts on the physical AI race - The Robot Report
The physical AI developers determined not to rely on NVIDIA have had some wins lately. Anthropic stood up an in-house silicon team with salaries that make FAANG recruiters wince. Also, Advanced Micro Devices acquired World Labs for $8.2 billion, Qualcomm has collaborated with Liquid AI on embedded agents, and Skild AI launched the S1 foundation model.
FireDome builds autonomous 'artillery' for wildfire defense - The Robot Report
In wildfire country, minutes matter, but current fire technology still stops at detection.
Overview AI launches OV Spark line of AI inspection cameras - The Robot Report
Spark ships with 10 inspection tools that can be mixed and matched in a single recipe. Seven are deep learning AI models: AI Trigger, Alignment, AI Classification, AI Segmentation, AI Count, AI OCR, and Anomaly Detection. The other three are ready to inspect out of the box, with the option to add images when an inspection needs training.
Teradyne invests in Bright Machines to bring robotics to AI infrastructure manufacturing - The Robot Report
Teradyne Inc. today announced a strategic investment in Bright Machines Inc., a builder of AI and data center infrastructure. The companies are also launching a strategic collaboration focused on integrating Teradyne robotics and test technologies with Bright Machines’ manufacturing platform. The move comes as Teradyne has been increasingly investing in AI across its ecosystem.
Simon Willison
Release: llm-mistral 0.16
Adds support for reasoning models, such as the newly released Mistral Large 4.
Comment: EmbeddingGemma 2
I really appreciate that EmbeddingGemma 2 is under the Apache 2.0 license. For embedding models in particular, I don't think it makes sense to use a closed, proprietary, hosted-only model. Most applications of embedding models involve calculating thousands or even millions of embedding vectors and storing them for later comparison.
Introducing Mistral Large 4: Le chonk
Introducing Mistral Large 4: Le chonk (via) Mistral are back in the game. Today they're releasing a preview of Mistral Large 4, a 1 trillion parameter, 49 billion active parameter model trained on their own cluster of 3,800 NVIDIA Grace Blackwell GPUs. The preview is available via their API.
TIL: Using Parseable with Datasette for OpenTelemetry traces
I saw Parseable in a Show HN today - it's a new observability platform with both an open source (AGPL) Rust implementation (a single ~180MB binary), an "Enterprise" version with extra features and a cloud hosted option. Since Datasette 1.0a41 added OpenTelemetry support (thanks, Alex Garcia), I decided to fire up Codex and have it figure out how to run Parseable and feed it traces from Datasette.
Comment: Mistral Large 4
wren6991: The benchmark is saturated. Frontier models are tested with an armadillo in fishnet tights jaywalking on Mars. OK well I couldn't resist this one:.
Release: datasette-atom 0.11a0
A minor fix for compatibility with the latest Datasette alphas. This meant we could upgrade the datasette.io site to Datasette 1.0a41.
Tool: Scrimshaw Jukebox
I wanted to see if Claude Opus 5.5 could compose music, so I tried this:. I want you to write some computer game music for me. First design simple text based format for the music and build an artifact that can play it out loud - include some example tracks in that artifact.
A quote from Felix Rieseberg
The "old" version of Cowork runs model inference in the cloud, executing tool calls in an Anthropic-provided VM we shipped to your computer. We added the VM for capability, safety, and security reasons - mapping in just the data you explicitly added to your session. People loved what they were able to do with Claude but didn't love the disk, battery, and performance cost of running the VM locally.
Manufacturing Dive
Boeing nabs $14.7B PAC-3 MSE component contract from Lockheed Martin
Some terms in the contract have yet to be finalized, which allows Boeing to continue scaling seeker production, a company spokesperson said in an email. The deal falls under a undefinitized contract action, which grants a company to begin a service despite the terms, specifications or price not being formalized, according to the federal government’s Acquisition website.
Bayer to invest $2.2B in Ohio pharmaceutical facility
The manufacturing site coming to New Albany is part of Bayer’s U.S. growth strategy. The biotechnology giant has spent more than $7 billion over the past five years expanding its U.S. pharmaceutical manufacturing and research and development operations.
2027 manufacturing conferences and trade shows
U.S. manufacturing activity has been increasing over the past year, with the rapid adoption of artificial intelligence and automation technologies driving new manufacturing projects. To help stay abreast of the latest trends, products and insights, Manufacturing Dive rounded up some of the leading industry conferences happening in 2027.