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October 21, 2026 By Sam Sifton Good morning. President Trump’s approval rating has hit a new low just before the midterms, a new Times/Siena University poll found. And Russia released a 74-year-old American after he’d spent four years in jail, according to Russian state media. U.S. officials said the man had been wrongfully detained. The release buys Vladimir Putin good will with Trump, while costing Putin little. There’s more news below. But first, let’s go to Idaho. Ashlie Heywood traveled two hours to deliver her baby. Thea Traff for The New York Times Idaho falls In the four years since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, prompting a near-total ban on Idaho abortions, more than a third of the state’s obstetrician-gynecologists have left, closed their offices, stopped practicing obstetrics or retired. Now half of Idaho’s counties don’t have an OB-GYN. There are just 170 obstetricians in the state today — less than two for every 10,000 women there. (Nationally, it’s about twice that.) Facts from the Gem State: Three rural hospitals have closed their labor and delivery wards because they don’t have enough doctors. The wait time for a hysterectomy, even in more populated areas like Boise, can be six months. For an annual exam, it’s more like nine months. And if women face life-threatening complications during childbirth or a miscarriage, they’re increasingly flown out of state for treatment that OB-GYNs in Idaho could be jailed for administering. The result? It’s now more dangerous to be pregnant in Idaho. My colleague Lisa Lerer spent a year interviewing doctors, public health officials, patients and reproductive rights activists across the state to learn how doctors are coping. “In a way, they are like pioneer doctors, working at the frontier of a new America where abortion laws limit the care they can offer,” Lisa writes. Near downtown Moscow, Idaho. Thea Traff for The New York Times That could change this year. A referendum on the ballot would restore abortion rights until what’s called “fetal viability,” which was the standard that Roe set. But the loss of all those doctors will be felt for years. In danger Lisa provides abundant examples of the peril. One new mother was hemorrhaging after she gave birth. It’s a common cause of severe complications. A patient can bleed to death in less than 10 minutes. Her family-practice doctors rushed to stanch the bleeding. If they failed to do so, the patient would need surgery to remove her uterus — a hysterectomy. It is the second most common surgery for women in the United States. (A cesarean section is first.) Hundreds of thousands of hysterectomies are performed each year. In Idaho today, though, a hysterectomy can be a problem. One of the bleeding patient’s doctors had a specialty in high-risk obstetrics. She could deliver babies, implant IUDs, conduct gynecological exams and even perform minor operations to remove fetal tissue after a miscarriage to prevent infection. But she wasn’t trained for hysterectomies. She wasn’t an OB-GYN. And on this day, there were no OB-GYNs available to help. A hospital in Meridian, Idaho. Thea Traff for The New York Times She thought through her options with her colleagues. If the bleeding didn’t stop, they decided, they’d ask the general surgeon on call for the hospital for assistance. This wasn’t a great safety net. General surgeons don’t perform hysterectomies as regularly as OB-GYNs. It’s not really in their wheelhouse, the family doctor told Lisa. But “your other option is the patient dies,” the doctor said. What happened to the patient? Read the story to find out. DARK NUTRITION Kyoko Hamada for The New York Times I once ate a full lobe of a cow’s brain at a diner in St. Louis. I’ve eaten pounds of strange-adjacent proteins: raccoon, squirrel, ptarmigan. But I’ve got nothing on the “dark nutrition” crowd experimenting with all sorts of unusual diets. The Times spoke with many of them: eaters of raw beef, chicken and roadkill; disavowers of seed oils and vegetables; consumers of colostrum, butter and egg yolks. Some swear by organ meats, others by cane sugar or raw milk. You can choose your own adventure. Because dark nutrition isn’t a specific diet. Instead, it’s a style of thinking about food and health. And its central tenet is: Most of what you think you know about food is wrong. Come meet the true believers. Among other things, you’ll learn about meat cereal. FREE TO READ Harry Houdini Bettmann/Getty Images One last illusion: Harry Houdini died on Halloween 100 years ago. But how did it happen? What happened in Vegas: A shirtless man who grabbed a flamingo by its neck and took it to his hotel room was found guilty of animal cruelty. “Mitch was drunk,” his lawyer said. “Mitch was stupid.” Read about the case. Your pick: The most clicked link in The Morning yesterday was about Barbara Palvin, a model who was back on the Victoria’s Secret runway six weeks after giving birth. 890-mile trek: The first person to swim the length of California endured a hurricane and encountered four great white sharks. See the photos. “One of the most annoying things”: Britain’s prime minister is on a campaign against listening to music on trains without headphones. THE LATEST NEWS Politics Alina Habba Kenny Holston/The New York Times Times exclusive: A Venezuelan billionaire wanted a pardon, and his family made a $50 million deal with one of Trump’s former lawyers. The Supreme Court justice Elena Kagan said that recent decisions on voting rights, gerrymandering and campaign finance had increased polarization in America. Trump proposed turning the White House press briefing room into a swimming pool. It’s the latest indication that he wants to evict reporters from the building. ICE said its agents didn’t hit a cyclist in California with a car before detaining him. Video tells a different story. Midterms Trump’s super PACs have spent a staggering amount on the midterms. Term-limited presidents don’t normally do that. Michael Bloomberg, the former New York City mayor, made his own 11th-hour midterm push, giving Democrats about $80 million. In a new attack ad, the estranged mother of Amy Acton, the Democratic candidate for Ohio governor, called her a liar. They were estranged after Acton’s stepfather was arrested and charged with raping her when she was a child. Acton’s brother called the ad “despicable.” Around the World Off the northeast coast of Scotland. Andy Buchanan/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images Britain approved more gas drilling in the North Sea, potentially undercutting one of its government’s climate change pledges. The Houthis have cut off access to one of Yemen’s largest cities. People there are running out of food and water. The death of a mayor in Haiti who promised to stay in his town after it was overrun by gang violence is a symbol of how the state has effectively collapsed. Trump is downplaying Russian attacks on Ukraine. Volodymyr Zelensky is pushing back. Other Big Stories The woman who said she was raped at Cornell University wrote to faculty leaders that she felt “disbelieved” by the school’s president. Read her letter. Boeing won U.S. regulatory approval for the largest version of the 737 Max after a six-year delay for reasons that included two fatal crashes of a smaller model. Drug companies are developing new ketamine products as the Trump administration embraces psychedelic treatments. BUILT TO FAIL The New York Times Several public housing towers in Venezuela collapsed during an earthquake in June. A New York Times investigation found fundamental flaws in their design and construction. These graphics illustrate weaknesses that made the towers vulnerable. OPINIONS The affordability crisis is not just about expensive gas, a Yale law professor writes. It’s about long-term economic security. Trump is betraying Ukraine and appeasing Russia for his own benefit, the editorial board writes. Subscribe to New York Times Games. Get Super Duolingo for free. For a limited time, annual Games subscribers can enjoy 6 months of language learning with Super Duolingo. Subscribe now TODAY’S NUMBER At Madison Square Garden. Caleb Bowlin/Getty Images $1,894 — That was the average price of a ticket for last night’s Knicks season opener at Madison Square Garden, the highest ever for a regular-season N.B.A. game. Meet the entirely rational fans who are happy to pay. (The Knicks lost to LeBron James and the Philadelphia 76ers.) RECIPE OF THE DAY Rachel Vanni for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Spencer Richards. Here’s some comfort food of the first order: matar tofu, a cousin to matar paneer, the northern Indian masala of peas and cheese in a warmly spiced tomato gravy. The cheese is gone here, replaced by cubed baked tofu, and the result, as one of our readers commented, is “wow wow wow.” CRUZ CONTROL Paul Kooiker for The New York Times Penélope Cruz has spent 30 years masterminding one of the most versatile careers in Hollywood history. Marcela Valdes profiled the actress for The Times and learned a great deal about her craft. About interpreting a role, Cruz said: “It’s like making a soup. I have an empty bowl that needs to be filled with things.” She looks at art, listens to music, talks to people who remind her of the character. She might put on a wig. And one day it clicks, she continued. “That person to whom you’re going to give life is already in you.” Read the whole thing. More on culture In 2021, the actress Christina Applegate was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. She now says she was misdiagnosed. Jeffrey Schmalz was a New York Times editor and reporter who began chronicling the AIDS epidemic for the paper in 1992, even as the disease ravaged his own health. Before he died the following year at 39, Jeff wrote poignantly — yet unsparingly — about why the political and medical cavalry would not arrive in time for him. Read Maureen Dowd’s reflection on his legacy. A late night host supported Trump’s man crush on Senator Jon Husted. Richard Cooke’s book “The Last Best Place on the Internet” retells the history of Wikipedia with an emphasis on the human. In the video below, Jennifer Szalai, a Times critic, gives her review. Click to watch. The New York Times THE MORNING RECOMMENDS “Stephen Tucker and Members of the Arthur Doyle Concert Band” (1981), by Peter Freeth. Peter Freeth Keep those blurry photographs children take with your phone. They might be art! Manage your bunion. You don’t need to walk in pain. Affix a Bluetooth tracker to your key ring, bicycle or luggage. The recovery experts at Wirecutter found the best ones for Apple and Android phones. GAMES Here is today’s Spelling Bee. Yesterday’s pangram was munchkin. And here are today’s Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections, Crossplay and Strands. Thanks for spending part of your morning with The Times and me. See you tomorrow. — Sam Sign up here to get this newsletter in your inbox. Reach our team at themorning@nytimes.com. Host: Sam Sifton Editor: Adam B. Kushner News Editor: Tom Wright-Piersanti News Staff: Evan Gorelick, Brent Lewis, Lara McCoy, Karl Russell Saturday Writer: Melissa Kirsch Editorial Director, Newsletters: Jodi Rudoren Deputy Editorial Director: Lauren Jackson

THIS DAY IN HISTORY October 21 1959 Guggenheim Museum opens in New York City The contemporary art museum, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, drew thousands to its opening day. read more Sponsored Content by REVCONTENT Civil War 1861 Battle of Ball’s Bluff Crime 2021 Cinematographer Halyna Hutchins killed on set for the Western movie ‘Rust’ Early U.S. 1797 USS Constitution launched European History 1805 Battle of Trafalgar Natural Disasters & Environment 1966 Aberfan disaster kills 144 people and levels a Welsh mining village Vietnam War 1967 Thousands protest the war in Vietnam World War II 1941 Germans massacre men, women and children in Yugoslavia

⚾ 1 for the road: Baseball's looming lockout Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Aaron Ashby and catcher William Contreras celebrate after advancing to the World Series on Thursday. Photo: Mark J. Terrill/AP Beginning Friday, the Tampa Bay Rays will face the Milwaukee Brewers in a World Series featuring two of baseball's smallest spenders, just weeks before a labor standoff threatens to halt the sport, Axios' David Adkins writes. Why it matters: MLB owners argue that baseball needs a salary cap to give smaller teams a fighting chance. But a championship matchup between two budget teams gives players fresh ammunition to argue that the current system works. 🏟️ State of play: Owners proposed a salary cap and salary floor in May — the league currently has neither — which the MLB players' union is expected to reject outright. A work stoppage threatens to derail baseball's momentum after a season marked by rising TV viewership and the successful introduction of a system for challenging umpires' ball-and-strike calls. Keep reading.

🎤 Trump targets briefing room The White House swimming pool, shown here in 1940, was later covered over to make room for the press briefing room. Photo: Bettmann Archive via Getty Images President Trump is pushing aides to evict the press from the White House and has talked about replacing the briefing room with an indoor swimming pool, The New York Times' Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan write. Trump pitched the idea to former Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt in one of her final meetings with him in the Oval Office, telling her it'd be her "last legacy." Via Truth Social Trump has "told aides he would prefer to bring back the indoor pool President Franklin D. Roosevelt added in 1933 as therapy for his polio-afflicted legs; President Richard Nixon later covered it over to make room for the news media." Keep reading (gift link). ✈️ CNN is threatening further legal action against the Trump administration for denying its journalists access to Air Force One. The White House continues to bar the network from the pool that travels with the president. Keep reading.

🤖 Execs trust AI over themselves Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios. Stock: Getty Images Executives are twice as likely as rank-and-file workers to trust AI over their own judgment, Axios' Emily Peck writes from a new survey by Charter, a workplace research company. 32.8% of execs said that they trust AI more. That number was just 16.3% for individual contributors.

✈️ Witkoff takes peace plan to Putin White House envoy Steve Witkoff will meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg today and present him with an updated proposal to end the war in Ukraine, Axios' Barak Ravid reports. President Trump's son-in-law and adviser Jared Kushner will join the meeting virtually. Why it matters: The White House hopes Putin will show more willingness to compromise after Trump agreed to lift sanctions on Russian diesel sales and took other steps welcomed by Moscow. Zelensky said yesterday that the next step should be a trilateral meeting between him, Putin and Trump — something Russia has refused to do so far.

🗳️ Where early voting is surging Data: UF Election Lab tracker. Map: David Adkins/Axios More than 12.6 million Americans have already cast ballots in the midterm elections, according to the University of Florida Election Lab's tracker. Georgia and Virginia lead reporting states in early turnout as a share of all ballots cast in the 2022 midterms, Axios' David Adkins and Herb Scribner write. Signs of strong early turnout are also emerging in other states. In Texas, Dallas County reported a record 76,079 in-person votes on Monday, the first day of early voting. In North Carolina, early voting was running 37% ahead of the same point in the 2022 midterms as of Oct. 18, with registered Democrats casting more than twice as many ballots as Republicans.

💰 Anthropic's unavoidable IPO Photo illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios. Photo: Jason Henry/Bloomberg via Getty Images Anthropic's impending IPO will test a jittery Wall Street, but investors say the timing isn't optional, Axios AI+ co-author Madison Mills writes. The reason is simple math: The AI giant has grown too big for private fundraising. Why it matters: Top AI companies like Anthropic and OpenAI are racking up 12-figure spending commitments, straining the financial system's ability to keep up with a buildout that rivals America's railroads or interstate highways. Anthropic's computing commitments could reach $750 billion in the coming years, according to a draft IPO prospectus seen by The Wall Street Journal. 🔭 Zoom in: Investors say only public markets can raise money at that scale. OpenAI's most recent round, the biggest in history, took months to secure more than $120 billion — a feat unlikely to be repeated in this market. 🔮 What's next: Anthropic is expected to go public before Thanksgiving. A strong debut could help reset investor angst about the AI boom.

📺 "To Catch a Predator" midterm ad wars Screenshot: People Over Politics Action Fund Republicans and Democrats are flooding the midterm airwaves with explosive TV ads accusing their opponents of protecting pedophiles and child sexual abusers, Axios' Alex Isenstadt writes. Why it matters: The advertising blitz underscores the lingering power of the Jeffrey Epstein scandal, which has fueled distrust of powerful figures and pushed allegations of child sexual abuse to the forefront of national politics. The controversy over the Trump administration's handling of the Epstein files — including allegations that officials sought to protect powerful figures by not releasing all of the files — has kept the issue in the headlines. The midterm ads that have followed have been bipartisan and are playing out in state and federal races. 🧮 By the numbers: Since Sept. 1, candidates and outside groups have aired at least $70 million in TV ads mentioning pedophilia, Epstein and allegations related to child sexual abuse, according to AdImpact. Of the 118 ads identified, 63 were sponsored by Democrats, 52 by Republicans and three by independents. Keep reading. Ohio Republican gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy speaks at a campaign event in Greenville, Ohio, on Sunday. Photo: Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images Vivek Ramaswamy's campaign for Ohio governor is pouring $4 million into a bombshell ad in which his opponent's estranged mother attacks her daughter — doubling down on the message despite fierce bipartisan backlash. Amy Acton has said her mom sided with her stepfather after he sexually assaulted Acton when she was 12. After the ad began appearing yesterday on social media, many fellow Republicans urged Ramaswamy to distance his campaign from it. Go deeper.

Nvidia's global power play Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios. Stock: Getty Images Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang is crisscrossing Europe with a multibillion-dollar checkbook and a grand ambition: Make his company the indispensable backbone of the global AI economy, Axios' Zachary Basu writes. Why it matters: As fears of an AI bubble rattle Wall Street, Huang is working to spread the boom beyond the U.S. and China — courting governments, bankrolling startups and cultivating massive new markets for Nvidia's chips. 🖼️ The big picture: The godfather of AI is trying to single-handedly build a new market for Nvidia chips, betting that governments and institutions around the world will want their own, highly customized data centers running open models. If it works, it could shore up demand for Nvidia chips just as another big customer group — neoclouds — appears financially shaky. Part showman, part salesman, Huang has spent the past week preaching the gospel of AI across Europe ahead of a keynote this morning at Nvidia's flagship conference in Berlin. In France, Huang announced investments in four startups and joked, whisky glass in hand, that he's "the biggest VC in Europe." President Emmanuel Macron welcomed him to Paris, while France's economy minister compared the AI revolution to the Gold Rush. In Britain, Huang channeled Oprah Winfrey while announcing stakes in five startups. "I am giving you money! And I am giving you money! And I am giving you money!" he shouted from the stage of a converted London church. In Sweden, Huang unveiled a supercomputer backed by the country's industrial elite, likening Nvidia's technology to a "time machine" capable of compressing years of scientific research into days. In Germany, Huang challenged Chancellor Friedrich Merz to loosen Europe's regulatory instincts. "There's nothing to regulate if the industry doesn't thrive," he warned Monday. "Give Germany a chance. Give this industry a chance." 🔬 Zoom in: At the heart of Huang's global strategy is "sovereign AI" — the idea that every nation should build and control its own AI infrastructure, data and models, rather than depend on U.S. or Chinese tech giants. For Huang, the prize is a vast new class of customers, including entire countries that see AI infrastructure as an economic and national security imperative. 👀 What to watch: Huang has emerged as the AI industry's chief cheerleader during periods of market turmoil, countering predictions of a bubble with assurances that demand is still accelerating. His Berlin keynote offers another chance to calm investors by arguing that the next wave of AI spending will come from governments treating the technology as a national necessity, not a speculative bet.

> Italy deploys 500 troops to Milan amid unrest and looting over rising fuel prices, cost of living (More) | See footage, including clashes with police (More via YouTube) | ... and France expands curfew to more cities, parts of Paris and Lyon (More) > The UK will deploy fighter jets to Saudi Arabia to help protect cities and critical infrastructure from attacks by Houthi rebels (More) | Elon Musk personally ordered last week's Starlink slowdown in Ukraine, new report finds (More) > President Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff flies to Russia after meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Norway in revamped effort to pursue Russia-Ukraine ceasefire (More)

> US stock markets close mixed (S&P 500 +0.3%, Dow +1.0%, Nasdaq -0.0%) on strong earnings reports for Hasbro, Equifax, and 3M (More) | Brent crude futures decline 0.7% after earlier gains pushed prices over $111 per barrel (More) > Pending-home sales drop to lowest level since 2001 due to 7.3% decline in September, per new monthly data; sales fell 11.3% on a year-over-year basis as 30-year mortgage rate climbed to 7.5% this month (More) > Braze shares soar 51.7% following Salesforce's announcement that it agreed to acquire the marketing software company in an all-cash deal valued at nearly $5.7B (More)

> Doctors develop AI tool that predicts cancer patients' survival odds from a single selfie; those who looked five or more years older than their actual age had a 21% higher risk of death over a four-year follow-up period (More) > Scientists revive pig kidneys after up to one year in ultracold storage and successfully transplant them into test pigs, according to new research; breakthrough could enable long-term organ banking and expand transplant access (More) > Marsquake—the Martian equivalent of an earthquake—originated beneath the largest canyon system in our solar system in 2021, suggesting ancient faults may still be shaping Mars' landscape (More) | See photo of Mars' Grand Canyon (More)

Sudanese Strikes Spill Over Drones struck an outdoor market in the disputed region between Sudan and South Sudan Monday, killing at least 153 people, local officials say. See footage of the aftermath (via YouTube, warning—sensitive). Local officials have blamed the Sudanese army and are raising concerns of spillover from Sudan’s more than three-year-long civil war. Drones reportedly hit a fuel depot in the market that was used by the Rapid Support Forces paramilitary in its conflict with the Sudanese army. The market is located in Abyei, an oil-rich region jointly administered by Sudan and South Sudan since 2011 (what is it like there?). Sudan's civil war stems from fallout between two generals. The conflict has killed an estimated 150,000 people and displaced more than 13 million others—over one-fifth of the country’s population. See the countries reportedly backing each general here. … and curious about the world’s most neglected displacement crises? See one organization’s annual ranking (w/map).

Spoken as a fabulous Muslim. Sahih al-Bukhari 1462 - Obligatory Charity Tax (Zakat) - كتاب الزكاة - Sunnah.com - Sayings and Teachings of Prophet Muhammad (صلى الله عليه و سلم)

The Wright Brothers only flew together once. They promised their father that they would never do it again in order to avoid a double tragedy if they crashed. The 1910 Exception: With their father's permission, they broke the rule just once on May 25, 1910; later that same day, Orville also took their 82-year-old father up for his first and only flight. James

Two Paths Diverged (Illustration by The Atlantic. Sources: Chip Somodevilla / Getty; Alex Brandon / AP.)   View in browser Many people are understandably focused on the question of how AI will transform our civilization. Will it cure cancer? Will it end world hunger? Will it hack everyone’s bank accounts and incubate the next pandemic? But those who are already profiting from this technological revolution also have a more immediate concern. Their problem is—to paraphrase one of my favorite lines from Scarface—what to do with all the cash. Over the past few days, two of America’s most prominent AI leaders have offered proposals for returning some of the spoils of the AI boom to the public. On Sunday, Anthropic announced that it would set aside 5 percent of the company’s stock in a new LLC—the Anthropic Public Benefit Fund—to be spent on causes it deems to be in the public’s interest. More stock may be added as the company becomes more valuable. If the company goes public at its current projected valuation of $1.5 trillion, the fund could hold $75 billion, making it one of the largest charities on the planet. (For context, the Gates Foundation Trust had about $89 billion in it at the end of last year.) Elon Musk, a centibillionaire and a longtime skeptic of traditional philanthropy, criticized the move and tried to one-up it, writing on X that he’d be giving one share of SpaceX to “every kid in America.” According to The New York Times’ back-of-the-napkin math, this could end up being a donation of more than $10 billion. What AI’s biggest winners decide to do with their money could have profound consequences for how Americans live their lives. The birth of modern AI may turn out to be the biggest wealth-creation event in human history, yet most Americans are feeling those effects indirectly. AI is making some people’s jobs easier and driving innovation, but it isn’t hitting everyone’s personal finances equally, and almost half of U.S. adults think the technology will widen the gap between the rich and the poor. Musk and Anthropic are now laying out two different visions for AI-driven philanthropy—raising thorny questions about the level of control that the investor class will exert over our shared future. The first and most obvious question for Anthropic: What if the company’s understanding of the “public good” doesn’t line up with the public’s wants or needs? Anthropic’s leaders, Dario and Daniela Amodei, have already committed to giving away most of their own personal wealth, and Dario has written on his blog about the kinds of philanthropy he admires. The Gates Foundation and PEPFAR, President George W. Bush’s public initiative for global AIDS relief, are both on his list. But how the firm’s leaders will actually decide to apportion these gifts remains somewhat nebulous. A press release for Anthropic’s fund lists “large donations to traditional nonprofits” and “direct distributions to specific populations” as examples of possible projects. Another stated goal is to remediate the effects of a massive, AI-driven labor-market transformation—an ironic instance of a company trying to solve a problem it helped create. As many politicians and even AI corporations themselves have argued, this tech is powerful enough, and potentially such an important part of the global economy, that the wealth it creates may merit some degree of public control. Last October, as one possible plan for reckoning with the economic consequences of AI, Anthropic floated the idea of using “sovereign wealth funds to give citizens stakes in AI revenues.” (OpenAI’s leaders have also reportedly considered giving 5 percent of the company to the government.) At least for now, though, the Anthropic Public Benefit Fund isn’t giving anyone outside of the company a stake. And the fact that it won’t be a 501(c)(3), like the Gates Foundation, means that it won’t have to deal with the kinds of mandatory financial disclosures that are meant to keep charitable organizations maximally transparent. A democratic way to approach this project would be for the government to aggressively tax the company and decide for itself how to spend the money. Not every American agrees with their government representatives’ approach to resource allocation, but at least in the public sector, the people have a voice. Although Musk’s path is also billionaire-led, it gives Americans a much more direct stake. Donald Trump clarified yesterday that Musk’s donation, if it happens, would use the country’s new child-savings accounts (known as “Trump Accounts”) as a vehicle. Rather than earmarking shares for a self-sustaining charitable foundation, Musk would be effectively cutting out the middleman, giving American children a piece of the company that houses his biggest AI bets. It would likely be a smaller total donation than Anthropic’s; one share per child may not turn out to be all that much money in the long run. And Trump Accounts aren’t a perfect dispersal mechanism; parents can’t reject donated shares, and they can’t immediately sell them. Once account holders turn 18, though, they can spend Musk’s gift on whatever they want. Musk, like other tech billionaires, has questioned traditional modes of philanthropy. He knows that the public knows that giving can be an expression of power and control—a way to rehabilitate a donor’s image or provide political insulation for the donor and his enterprises. Musk may be getting something out of this too. If more people own a little chunk of the AI economy, will they start to become more receptive to data centers and other Big Tech interventions? The donation could also give recipients a reason to be less critical of Musk and his businesses; people with a stake in the company might be more inclined to tolerate unscrupulous behavior. Still, if he can follow through on his approach (and especially if he continues to donate AI stock, as he hinted in his post yesterday), his gift could have a real impact. When SpaceX was about to go public earlier this year, my colleague Matteo Wong observed that “by weaving itself into the finances of most businesses and households in America, the AI industry is quickly making itself too big to fail.” AI is already deeply embedded in our life: in the businesses we interact with, in the pension funds and 401(k)s around which we plan our future. These massive donations, which represent a deviation from tech-industry norms, could reshape society for the better. But if the public comes to rely on Anthropic’s investments or on direct payouts from SpaceX, it’ll need to start caring even more about how well these companies perform. Public welfare needn’t be contingent on the whims of a few powerful firms; so much else already is. Related: Choose your overload—Musk vs. Bezos. Elon Musk is dropping a boulder in a kiddie pool.

🌾 Parting shot: Windswept wonder Photo: Marcia Kneisel Reader Marcia Kneisel of Littleton, N.C., captured this morning scene along North Carolina's Outer Banks — in the town of Kill Devil Hills during a brief fall getaway.

‼️ Tough choices time Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios House Democrats' main super PAC is scaling back in three Republican-leaning races it once hoped national tailwinds could put in play, according to AdImpact and a source familiar with the matter. Why it matters: Democrats' huge ambitions are running into the reality of finite resources. The big picture: The DCCC and its corresponding super PAC, House Majority PAC, have struggled to keep pace with their GOP counterparts' monster fundraising this cycle. Republicans have the bonus advantage of a network of cash-rich outside groups, namely President Trump's MAGA Inc. and Elon Musk's America PAC. Driving the news: House Majority PAC is pulling back in ... TN-05: Democrats were bullish about their star recruit, Columbia Mayor Chaz Molder, until redistricting made the district redder and embattled Rep. Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.) lost his primary to former state Agriculture Commissioner Charlie Hatcher. CO-03: A top target for Democrats when Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) represented it, the seat has become a heavier lift for the party since she abandoned it and Rep. Jeff Hurd (R-Colo.) took office last year. FL-07: Facing a situation similar to Tennessee, Democrats had liked their odds of unseating scandal-tarred Rep. Cory Mills (R-Fla.), who lost his primary to former local news anchor Ryan Elijah. Democratic candidate Bale Dalton, a former NASA chief of staff, was a top DCCC recruit and is part of the committee's coveted "Red to Blue" program. What they're saying: Phil Gardner, a senior adviser for Blue Dog Action — a centrist group backing Dalton — told us of the cuts in Florida: "I'm not sure what HMP was thinking here." "The rest of the party is not triaging this seat," he said, citing the DCCC's poll and House Minority Whip Katherine Clark's (D-Mass.) plans to campaign there tomorrow. Gardner called it "bonkers" that HMP is spending in districts like Maine's 2nd District. The other side: "We're focused on taking back the House," CJ Warnke, a spokesperson for HMP, told us in response to Gardner's criticism. Between the lines: HMP has also made partial cuts — what it calls "shaves" — in Arizona's 2nd District and Texas' 23rd District, where Democrats have struggled to gain traction but still see a glimmer of hope. Yes, but: Some HMP triages are in districts where they feel confident the Democratic candidate will prevail. That includes Reps. Greg Landsman (D-Ohio) and Kristen McDonald Rivet (D-Mich.), both of whose races are rated "likely Democratic" by Cook. The PAC has pulled back in the districts of retiring Reps. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) and Don Bacon (R-Neb.), which Democrats are increasingly bullish about flipping. — Andrew Solender

💰 Exclusive... GOP's tiny lead House Republicans are entering the final two weeks of the midterms with a rare but razor-thin fundraising advantage over House Democrats. 💰 Why it matters: Democrats outraised Republicans by $84 million in 2024 and $74 million in 2022. The GOP has eliminated that gap. The National Republican Congressional Committee out-raised the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee by $1 million ($250 million to $249 million) so far this cycle, we have learned. "The NRCC spent this cycle building a war chest to amplify Republican wins and make Democrats answer for their failures," NRCC Chair Richard Hudson (R-N.C.) told us in a statement. By the numbers: The NRCC raised $28.5 million in September, including a $14 million transfer from the Republican National Committee, compared to $26.3 million raised by the DCCC. The NRCC raised $50 million in Q3 and entered October with $61 million cash on hand. The DCCC raised $50.5 million in Q3, and entered October with $55.7 million cash on hand. Between the lines: Hudson's fundraising success comes as Speaker Mike Johnson has also built a formidable fundraising operation of his own. Johnson has raised more than $220 million for House Republicans since becoming speaker in October 2023, a turnaround from early concerns about whether he could fill the void left by former Speaker Kevin McCarthy. — Kate Santaliz

Pompeii's grandest house gets a $1.6 million restoration funded by private sponsor An ancient residence believed to be the grandest in the Pompeii archaeological site is being restored with the entire 1.4 million euros ($1.6 million) cost being covered by a private sponsor, officials announced Tuesday. Read More.

Libya approves contentious Turkey deal over Mediterranean waters Libya’s parliament unanimously approved a contested maritime agreement with Turkey on Tuesday, reversing years of opposition and reviving a dispute with Egypt, Greece and Cyprus over rights in the eastern Mediterranean. Read More.

A new Beatles attraction is coming to Liverpool as interest in the Fab Four surges The birthplace of The Beatles is about to get even more of the Fab Four. Read More.

Romanian lawmakers back a minority government to end monthslong stalemate Romanian lawmakers sought Tuesday to end a monthslong political impasse by voting for a minority government led by an independent diplomat, who now faces the challenge of securing support in a fragmented Parliament while tackling a large budget deficit. Read More.

France announces nightly curfews 'for as long as necessary' in Paris and other big cities Fresh curfews were being imposed across the city centers of Paris and Lyon on Tuesday after the first quiet night since France’s most destructive rioting in years, as Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu said a “massive” security operation was planned for new protests Saturday. Read More.