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A survived execution exposes the grim science of lethal injection It took Christa Pike nearly a week to regain consciousness after the Tennessee Department of Corrections failed to kill her with two doses of the barbiturate pentobarbital, a drug used to put animals to death and to execute humans by lethal injection in Arizona and other states. https://floridaphoenix.com/2026/10/10/repub/a-survived-execution-exposes-the-grim-science-of-lethal-injection/?

Election betting is booming as the midterms near. Do states have the power to curb it? On Friday morning, the prediction market platform Kalshi gave the Democratic candidate in Minnesota’s U.S. Senate race an 87% chance of winning. The volume of trading on the outcome exceeded $1.8 million. https://floridaphoenix.com/2026/10/12/repub/election-betting-is-booming-as-the-midterms-near-do-states-have-the-power-to-curb-it/?

Advocates blast Trump campaign against in-state tuition for immigrants WASHINGTON — Leading immigration advocates and experts sounded the alarm Wednesday on the Trump administration’s sweeping efforts to undo state laws allowing some immigrants to pay in-state college tuition in the states where they reside. https://floridaphoenix.com/2026/10/09/repub/advocates-blast-trump-campaign-against-in-state-tuition-for-immigrants/?

Clean-up, power restoration mark the second day post-Hurricane Isaias Some 300,000 utility customer remained without power in the western Florida Panhandle two days after Hurricane Isaias hit — the majority of them customers of Florida Power & Light, Gov. Ron DeSantis said Sunday. https://floridaphoenix.com/2026/10/11/clean-up-power-restoration-mark-the-second-day-post-hurricane-isaias/? University of West Florida orders dorms evacuated on less than a day’s notice PENSACOLA — Evacuation orders for coastal and low-lying areas have been issued for counties across the Florida Panhandle over the past two days as powerful Hurricane Isaias, fueled by warm Gulf waters, intensified. https://floridaphoenix.com/2026/10/09/university-of-west-florida-orders-dorms-evacuated-on-less-than-a-days-notice/?

ICE Shooting in NYC Inflames Mamdani’s Policing Problem New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is facing a firestorm over how his administration handles policing and responds to federal immigration raids after an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer shot 28-year-old father Oscar Belgal in front of his 5-year-old child in Manhattan on Thursday. https://theintercept.com/2026/10/09/ice-shooting-mamdani-nypd/? A C-Section in Shackles: A Palestinian Woman’s Harrowing Birth in Israeli Detention Dana Joudeh was in shackles when she found out she was pregnant. https://theintercept.com/2026/10/10/israel-palestine-prisoner-pregnancy-childbirth/? ICE Agent on Scene of NYC Shooting Was Posing as Construction Worker, Eyewitness Says U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agents shot a person in New York City on Thursday afternoon, according to police. https://theintercept.com/2026/10/08/ice-nyc-shooting-federal-agent/? Pete Hegseth’s Military of the Future: Defined by AI and an Utter Lack of Oversight In his “state of the force” address last week, self-styled War Secretary Pete Hegseth coupled his usual attacks on the press, the Ivy League, and “beardos” and “weirdos” with new initiatives that have the potential to reshape the U.S. military for decades: an Autonomous Warfare Command, and an effort to map out the future of warfare called “Project Meridian.” The former, a combatant command devoted to AI-enabled robotic warfare, will have purchasing powers specifically designed to thwart effective oversight. The latter puts defense contractors, tech titans, and weapons merchants in charge of planning the military’s future — producing innumerable conflicts of interest. https://theintercept.com/2026/10/08/hegseth-military-ai-drones-autonomous-war/? Where Are the Iran War Protests? Despite a wildly unpopular war with Iran, a mass protest movement for peace hasn’t materialized — at least in the ways we’ve been taught to recognize. https://theintercept.com/2026/10/09/anti-war-peace-protest-marches-iran/? Prediction Markets Have a Lock on the Midterms As so-called prediction markets like Kalshi and Polymarket embed themselves in every aspect of our daily lives, from elections to sports and entertainment, concerns have grown about what the explosion of these poorly understood, loosely regulated platforms could mean for regular people and democracy writ large. https://theintercept.com/2026/10/09/kalshi-polymarket-betting-prediction-election/?

Great Wolf Lodge horror as mom accused of killing husband and toddler inside hotel room A Pennsylvania mom is accused of stabbing her husband and toddler to death inside a Great Wolf Lodge hotel room before telling emergency responders she was supposed to have her "happy family." Metallica Rose Harrison, 27, of Towanda, faces two counts of criminal homicide after police discovered her husband, Charles Harrison, and their 3-year-old son dead inside the resort Monday, according to a criminal complaint reviewed by Fox News Digital. "It wasn't supposed to end like this. I was supposed to have my happy family. That's what I envisioned since I was a child," Harrison allegedly said during the ambulance ride to a hospital.

October 12, 2026 Good morning. Saudi Arabia and the Houthis continued to trade strikes. Ukraine rejected President Trump’s suggestion that it get a new president. And Trump floated renaming an ocean “Trump Ocean.” We’ll get to more news. But first, let’s look at some of the candidates running to be governors. Campaign signs in Texas. Tamir Kalifa for The New York Times Executive action By Evan Gorelick I’m a writer for this newsletter. Much of the energy this election season — the most aggressive ad buys, the biggest-name surrogates — has been with the congressional midterms. There’s good logic to that: The House and the Senate are up for grabs, so a well-placed ad or a viral moment could make all the difference. But 36 states will also vote on their next governors, and those races, too, matter — a lot. States experiment with ideas that may eventually inspire federal laws; they are the nation’s policy laboratories. And governors approve congressional maps, influence election procedures and fill Senate vacancies. That makes them key players in the coming presidential contest, too. Here are a few governors’ races that are worth watching. Georgia Rick Jackson and Keisha Lance Bottoms Kenny Holston/The New York Times; Kendrick Brinson for The New York Times The Peach State is a presidential battleground — President Trump lost it by 0.2 percentage points in the 2020 cycle (when it also elected two Democratic senators), then won it by two in 2024. Yet it has not elected a Democratic governor since 1998. The incumbent is term-limited, and this year’s open contest is a nail-biter. The Republican nominee, the billionaire health care executive Rick Jackson, didn’t receive Trump’s endorsement in the primary but triumphed anyway after cramming the airwaves with more than $80 million in self-funded ads. Now Jackson has a huge financial advantage over his Democratic opponent, the former Atlanta mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, and a slight lead in the polls. That’s notable because of the eight- to 10-point lead that Jon Ossoff, a Democrat, appears to have in the Senate race. His party has thrown lots of its resources in the state behind him, to help secure control of the upper chamber. Both governor candidates promise to bring down living costs, specifically by cutting taxes. And the outcome could have implications for 2028: Ossoff and the state’s other senator, his fellow Democrat Raphael Warnock, may run for president. If either won, a Republican governor could appoint a Republican to fill his seat. Ohio Vivek Ramaswamy and Amy Acton Kenny Holston/The New York Times; Jessica Phelps for The New York Times The contest between Vivek Ramaswamy, a Republican billionaire entrepreneur, and Amy Acton, a Democratic former public health official, has become one of the cycle’s ugliest, my colleague Campbell Robertson reports. The candidates portray each other in ads as a con artist and a drunk, even as voters want help with issues closer to their lives, like the cost of living and health care. Ramaswamy has bankrolled much of his own campaign, even as his backers outspend hers on advertising by more than three to one. But he has lost ground among likely voters, and Acton recently took a small lead, according to a Times/Siena poll. Ohio hasn’t elected a Democratic governor in two decades, and Trump won the state in 2024 by the widest presidential margin since Ronald Reagan. Trump recently asked Ohioans at a rally to pretend he was on the ballot and vote accordingly — “even if you hate Vivek Ramaswamy.” But voters have soured on the president, and 11 percent of his 2024 supporters intend to vote for Acton, our pollster found. Texas Greg Abbott and Gina Hinojosa Kenny Holston/The New York Times; Christopher Lee for The New York Times Democrats have not won a statewide election in Texas since 1994. But this year, they feel bullish. They’re cautiously optimistic that their nominee for Senate, James Talarico, could prevail. And Gov. Greg Abbott now narrowly trails his Democratic challenger, the Austin-based lawyer Gina Hinojosa, according to our poll. Hinojosa, like many candidates for governor, has struggled to raise big money. (Talarico, by contrast, has taken in more than $70 million.) But Democrats are now investing in her race, my colleague Reid Epstein reports, and Abbott’s once-vast financial advantage appears to have abated. Hinojosa is viewed more positively than negatively, though about a third of voters don’t have an opinion of her. That might work to her benefit in a year when her opponent will share the ballot with unpopular brands like Ken Paxton, the scandal-plagued Republican nominee for Senate. Abbott has also had to defend his record on polarizing topics like Flock cameras, data centers … and the 47th president. When Trump stopped in San Antonio last week to campaign with Republicans in the state, Abbott didn’t come. He said he had a scheduling conflict. Build your own Senate map The New York Times Do you think Democrats have a shot in Iowa? Will Republicans hold their seat in Maine? Our new interactive tool lets you decide how the Senate battleground races will turn out. Follow the data Our experts were suspicious about efforts to overly analyze early votes. (They explain why those returns can be misleading.) So they built their own way to track early vote data, focusing on what is actually known from the returns in key Senate battleground states, and leaving the speculation behind. Follow it here. We’re also collecting the latest polls for races around the country. Get the latest poll results in your inbox. More political news Senator Susan Collins of Maine has frequently criticized Trump and has frequently voted against his initiatives. That hasn’t stopped them from becoming law. A federal judge ordered the Trump administration to stop airing taxpayer-funded political ads. Democrats are blaming corruption in Washington for rising living costs in an attempt to win over voters. THE LATEST NEWS Weather In Pensacola Beach, Fla. Zack Wittman for The New York Times Hurricane Isaias killed at least four people in Alabama and Florida. It was the first hurricane to hit the mainland United States in two years. See more photos of the damage. Large waves from another storm slammed into Long Beach, Calif. Some houses there look close to collapsing. Around the World The FlyDubai co-pilot accused of attacking a captain on a flight to Israel began a drift into extremism as a student in Australia, investigators said. European governments are working with the Taliban to increase refugee deportations to Afghanistan. At least 139 people died, including 15 children, after a boat carrying hundreds of migrants capsized on its way to Yemen from the Horn of Africa. Animals A wildlife park in Britain said it would not euthanize a tiger that attacked and killed a man who went into its enclosure. The flamingoes at a zoo in Florida, including one named Mr. Sparklepants, took shelter from Hurricane Isaias in a bathroom. See the video. Other Big Stories Pope Leo said he would have surgery to remove a small growth on his lung. Firefighters are installing cameras at high points across California to spot wildfires early. Robert E. Hall and Michael Woodford, two Americans, won the Nobel economics prize for their work to help reduce economic volatility. FREE TO READ Rhenda Strub Chona Kasinger for The New York Times Grieving: After losing her son, a Seattle Mariners fan coped by sharing tickets with strangers. Rescue mission: Elon Musk is spending $276 million to help Republicans in the midterms. See where he’s spending it. Your pick: The most clicked link in The Morning yesterday was about a man who died on a wilderness trek but left videos of the journey that killed him. Metropolitan Diary: Right name, wrong face. Identity quest: In the Canadian Arctic, Inuit writers and artists are expressing their identity in new ways. See photos of their lives. OPINIONS Francesca Colussi Decluttering might seem impossible, but tricks from behavioral science can help. Outraged accusations of A.I. writing have focused on Black and brown writers. That’s not a coincidence. The Anniversary Sale ends soon: Morning readers, enjoy our best offer. Don’t miss this opportunity to expand your interests with expert coverage of news, culture, business and more. Save now: $1/week for your first year. TODAY’S NUMBER $1,330 — That’s how much money participants received each month in a yearlong guaranteed basic income experiment. Read how they spent it. SPORTS M.L.B.: The Milwaukee Brewers beat the defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers, 2-1, in Game 1 of the National League Championship Series. N.F.L.: The New York Giants and the Washington Commanders played to a sloppy tie. Washington inexplicably let the clock run out in overtime rather than attempt a field goal. RECIPE OF THE DAY Armando Rafael for The New York Times South Asian korma is typically a nutty, creamy and comforting curry, mildly spiced and prepared with yogurt and cream. This version of chicken korma uses cashew butter instead of a paste made from crushed cashews, so you can get it on the table in about 30 minutes. Serve with rice or roti. PUPPET SHOW Joey Arias Dina Litovsky for The New York Times The performance artist Joey Arias and the puppeteer Basil Twist have resurrected their 2008 hit “Arias With a Twist.” The show features hovering space aliens, a vine-dripping jungle and some horned red devils along with Arias in a corset. “It would be a category error to inquire too closely into what the show is about,” our journalist writes, but definitely don’t call it drag. More on culture Sacha Baron Cohen is set to star in Quentin Tarantino’s first stage play in London next year. Singers from the Metropolitan Opera came to the 10th floor of The Times last week with six foam pig heads to perform a scene from a new production of George Saunders’s Man Booker Prize-winning novel, “Lincoln in the Bardo.” See what it looked like. (Saunders called it “wild.”) Yoonha Park/The New York Times THE MORNING RECOMMENDS Replace your shower head. It’s one of the simplest, most satisfying upgrades you can make to improve your quality of life. Lift weights to strengthen your heart. Take our news quiz. GAMES Here is today’s Spelling Bee. Yesterday’s pangram was butanol. And here are today’s Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections, Crossplay and Strands. Thanks for spending part of your morning with The Times. See you tomorrow. 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

Saudi airport struck in deadly Houthi attack New CCTV video shows the terrifying moment a Houthi strike hit Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport on Saturday, killing at least 13 people and injuring hundreds more in Saudi Arabia’s deadliest attack in more than a decade. Passengers were waiting to board flights when an explosion sent part of the ceiling crashing down. After 11 years of fighting Yemen’s Iran-allied Houthis, Saudi Arabia’s leaders now face limited options and difficult decisions about how to respond. + Video: Passengers run for safety after airport strike + Analysis: Saudi Arabia will have to respond — but the choices are stark

Will Tennessee try to execute Christa Pike again? Tennessee inmate Christa Pike survived a failed execution. Now, a legal battle is taking shape over whether the state can try again. Pike, who was sentenced to death for a 1995 murder, received two doses of a lethal drug, but a problem with the IV line may have caused the drug to pool in her tissue rather than enter her bloodstream, her attorneys said. Tennessee’s governor has paused executions pending a review, but the novel circumstances of Pike’s case could help her attorneys challenge a second attempt, experts told CNN — such as claiming it would violate her constitutional protections against double jeopardy and cruel and unusual punishment. + Read more: Whether Tennessee tries to execute Christa Pike again is an open question + Meanwhile: Christa Pike has been moved back to prison

One hurricane’s aftermath, and another’s approach An apartment complex in Milton, Florida, after Hurricane Isaias tore off its roof on Saturday. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images) Recovery efforts are underway after Hurricane Isaias ripped through the Southeast over the weekend, leaving widespread damage and hundreds of thousands of people without power. At least four people have died — two in Florida and two in Alabama, according to authorities. In a separate storm threat, Hurricane Simon is skirting Mexico’s Pacific coast, bringing flooding to beachside communities and tourist areas. + Video: Isaias leaves trail of destruction across Gulf Coast + Read more: Hurricane Simon brings flooding to Mexico, including tourist destinations + Stay informed: Download the CNN Weather app

THIS DAY IN HISTORY October 12 1492 Columbus reaches the “New World” After sailing across the Atlantic Ocean, Italian explorer Christopher Columbus touches down in the Bahamas, believing he’s made it to East Asia. read more Sponsored Content by REVCONTENT 21st Century 2002 Terrorists kill 202 in Bali Arts & Entertainment 1940 Silent-film star Tom Mix dies in Arizona car wreck 1997 John Denver dies in an aircraft accident 2007 Al Gore wins Nobel Prize in the wake of ‘An Inconvenient Truth’ Civil War 1870 Robert E. Lee dies Cold War 1986 Soviet-U.S. arms control talks break down over President Reagan’s “Star Wars” initiative 1960 Nikita Khrushchev allegedly brandishes his shoe at the United Nations Crime 2000 USS Cole attacked by terrorists 1998 Matthew Shepard, victim of anti-gay hate crime, dies European History 1810 The origin of Oktoberfest: a Bavarian royal wedding Natural Disasters & Environment 1918 Fire rages in Minnesota Space Exploration 1964 USSR leads the space race U.S. Presidents 1786 Thomas Jefferson composes an extraordinary romantic letter Vietnam War 1972 Racial violence breaks out aboard U.S. Navy ships World War I 1915 British nurse Edith Cavell executed World War II 1945 Conscientious objector awarded Medal of Honor

Antarctica is the only continent on which turtles don’t live. James

Judge orders the Trump administration to cancel taxpayer-funded promotional TV ads President Donald Trump must cancel any remaining television commercials paid for with millions of dollars in taxpayer money to promote his political message, a federal judge ordered Sunday night, even as the administration said the ad campaign was coming to an end. https://apnews.com/article/trump-tv-ads-f845554063cea0b4b41275d32abd3633?

A freed man faces life back in prison after a Supreme Court ruling on the First Step Act Two years after his release from prison, Patrick Dewayne Smith spends Sundays with his family in a modest brick church with a white steeple in rural Tennessee. He works two jobs. He goes to ball games to cheer for nieces and nephews he had never met. After serving 13 years for a nonviolent drug conviction, he is trying to rebuild his life. Read More.

Republicans face midterm backlash from factory workers squeezed out of jobs by Trump's tariffs Nelson Vandermeer voted Republican for decades but balked at supporting President Donald Trump, fearing that the Republican's plan for tariffs on imports would hurt workers more than help. Read More. Six senators call for Trump administration to 'immediately reverse course' on Russian diesel plan A bipartisan group of six senators on Sunday called for President Donald Trump's administration to “immediately reverse course” on a plan to purchase diesel from Russia as part of an effort to lower high fuel prices. Read More. AP source: Trump, Rubio weigh firing U.S. envoy to Greece after mounting reports of improper conduct President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio are considering firing U.S. Ambassador to Greece Kimberly Guilfoyle after a series of reports alleging she has engaged in improper and possibly illegal conduct before and during her tenure in Athens. Read More.

🎃 1 fun thing: Murphy's DIY Halloween Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy's family has a tradition: making Halloween costumes by hand. He told us that one of his all-time favorite getups was a monarch butterfly costume he wore at age 6. 🦋 "My mother hand-painted these giant cardboard wings, and it was an impossible costume because it was enormous, and it made trick-or-treating very hard," he said. "But I remember being very proud that I had a super-original costume." When Murphy became a dad, he crafted a Voltron costume for his son. Murphy also told us he'll be barnstorming the country this month for Senate candidates, with a travel itinerary that includes North Carolina, Florida, Michigan, Minnesota and New Hampshire. He argues that if progressives such as Michigan's El-Sayed are elected next month, it'll prove that voters are willing to "take chances on candidates that are not just running on poll-tested, middle-of-the-road incremental reform" ahead of 2028. 🤔 Asked whether he's thinking about running for president, he said, "I won't sit down to make that decision until after the midterms."

✨ Nvidia's AI shopping spree Nvidia is in early talks to buy or expand its investment in Reflection AI, an American startup developing open-weight AI models to compete with cheap Chinese systems, the Financial Times reports. Why it matters: Nvidia has been on an investment blitz, pouring billions into the AI industry to boost it and cement its place at the center of it. The intrigue: "[A] deal could take a number of shapes, including a so-called 'acqui-hire' where Nvidia would hire staff and license technology without the drawn-out regulatory review that comes with a full acquisition," FT reports. "Acqui-hires have become increasingly popular among Big Tech companies looking to avoid antitrust scrutiny of AI dealmaking." Read on (gift link).

AI bull run turns four Data: Financial Modeling Prep. Chart: Erica Pandey/Axios This bull market started Oct. 12, 2022 — so it turns 4 tomorrow. The S&P 500 is trading near record highs ahead of the anniversary. The current bull run has gained 117%, the sixth-best-performing bull market since World War II, Reuters reports. 🐃 Zoom in: AI has dominated the latest bull run, with the launch of ChatGPT coming about a month after the bull market began. Oxford Economics estimates about one-third of recent U.S. economic growth stems from AI. Nvidia, whose AI chips made the company the most valuable in the world, has soared in market capitalization over those four years from $286 billion to $5.5 trillion.

🐟 "Dirty secret behind the farmed fish you eat" Photo: The New York Times Magazine Ian Urbina — a former New York Times reporter who now runs a journalism nonprofit, The Outlaw Ocean Project — is unveiling a five-year, 70+-reporter investigation that found the seafood on your plate can be downstream from "forced labor, rancid waste, harmful chemicals." "The inspiration was to delve deeper into the hidden portion of an especially opaque supply chain — seafood — and reveal all the hidden crimes or concerns that precede our food," Urbina, who's based in Washington, told me. Why it matters: Urbina told Axios that he hopes the seafood industry "will begin being more transparent and accountable about their supply chains." He wants diners and shoppers to "think more about how the price of seafood isn't [solely] what we see on the menu." And he wants governments of advanced economies to "reckon with how they are offsetting costs largely onto [developing] countries." 💡 Key findings: Over the past 60 years, the amount of fish we eat has doubled, Urbina reports for The New York Times Magazine in a piece titled, "The Dirty Secret Behind the Farmed Fish You Eat" (gift link). To ease pressure on oceans, humans turned to aquaculture — or fish farming — and today, more than half the seafood we eat comes from these farms rather than the ocean. But there's a catch: Those farmed fish are fed with smaller fish taken from the ocean. That means vast amounts of wild fish are caught to sustain the booming aquaculture industry. A chain of salmon pens in a reservoir at Xinjiang Tianyun Organic Agriculture Company in Xinjiang, China. Photo: Xinjiang Tianyun Organic Agriculture Co. via The Outlaw Ocean Project Stat du jour: "A fifth of all fish pulled from the world's oceans is now put to uses other than human consumption — mostly to make fishmeal and fish oil," Urbina writes. "Some of the most popular types of seafood consumed in the United States — salmon and shrimp — are predominantly imported from farms that use fishmeal. They end up in supermarkets throughout the country ... and appear on the menus of hundreds of thousands of restaurants and cafeterias, including those on Capitol Hill where senators and members of Congress eat lunch." 🚢 Behind the scenes: Urbina took six voyages at sea, including the South China Sea, the Southern Ocean near Antarctica, and the North Atlantic Ocean. "These expeditions involved boarding fishmeal vessels to review logbooks, inspect living conditions, interview workers, and document potentially illegal practices," he told me. "On land, I visited fishmeal factories and aquaculture sites across Senegal, Thailand, Peru, Gambia, Vietnam, Indonesia, Cambodia, Greece and India." 🔮 What's next: Urbina has posted a "Bait to Plate" tool that he hopes other reporters will use to trace seafood from ships and processing plants to downstream brands and consumers, "including what is known about possible crimes or other types of concerns within these supply chains." 👉 Go deeper: Read the larger investigation by an international team of journalists based at the Outlaw Ocean Project, "Food for Feed: The Price Paid Beyond the Plate" (no paywall). What you can do: "How to Buy and Eat Seafood Responsibly" (N.Y. Times gift link).

Good example of religious figures meddling in affairs of the State. Ironic that the papacy, with its bloody history of murder and torture over matters of faith, would now cry about murderers being executed. The Bible demands the execution of murderers [Numbers 35]; nevertheless the papacy opposes it. Scripture mandates abortion in certain cases [Numbers 5], yet the papacy opposes it. No wonder some denounce the papacy as antiChrist

🇺🇦 Trump demands new Ukraine leader President Trump called yesterday for Ukraine to replace President Volodymyr Zelensky with someone willing to make a deal with Russia to end the war. Why it matters: Trump's attack on Zelensky, which came after the Ukrainian president criticized his diesel deal with Russia, signals the most serious crisis between the two leaders since their February 2025 meeting exploded in front of cameras, Axios' Barak Ravid reports. 👀 Trump said Zelensky could have reached a deal with Russia many times "but chooses not to." "I suggest they get a new leader who can make a deal," Trump told reporters yesterday. "… And I think it's time for Ukraine to get a new president." He said he asked Zelensky to stop attacking Russian oil refineries and claimed Zelensky's actions harmed American farmers. "He better damn well stop," Trump said. 🏛️ What we're watching: Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) vowed yesterday to force a House vote to block Russian oil purchases, challenging the diesel deal, Axios' Andrew Solender and Andrew Pantazi report. Fitzpatrick, co-chair of the Congressional Ukraine Caucus, said he would introduce the "Ronald Reagan Peace Through Strength Act" and force a vote through a discharge petition. ps:What a wimp! He can't or wont standup to putin so he needs to get rid of Zelensky!!

October 11, 2026 Good morning. A Philadelphia police officer was killed and another was wounded early yesterday in what officials called an ambush. And the Houthis attacked an airport in Saudi Arabia’s capital, Riyadh, killing at least 12 people. We have more news below, but we start today in China. Andrew Higgins in Beijing in January. Gilles Sabrié for The New York Times The watchtower By Andrew Higgins I studied in China and reported there for nearly five years. China has always been on guard against espionage and other forms of foreign menace. But, I could see during a recent stint there, its vigilance — often tinged with paranoia — has grown ever more intense and intrusive thanks to new technology. I first went to Beijing as a reporter in the 1980s, when communism was crumbling next door in the Soviet Union. Government minders tailed journalists whenever they left the capital. The intensity of scrutiny depended on a secret ranking system that classified foreigners in categories ranging from “friendly” to “hostile.” But the surveillance was never particularly menacing until the military moved in, guns blazing, to clear protesters from Tiananmen Square on the night of June 3, 1989. After that, I and the many other journalists who were in the square that night became enemies in the eyes of the state, accused of stoking “counterrevolutionary turmoil.” Two years later, I was expelled after obtaining internal party documents about the government’s crackdown on “splittist” sentiment — party code for cultural self-awareness — among ethnic Mongolians in the Chinese region of Inner Mongolia bordering the Soviet Union. Returning to China in September last year after decades away, I marveled, the way first-time visitors do, at the high-speed trains, its dazzling modern cities, its gung-ho embrace of the future. It was astonishing how much the country had changed, at least physically, in a few decades. The surveillance had changed, too. The government watches online activity and blocks many foreign websites. Given the omnipresent cameras and closely monitored messaging apps, there are seemingly no limits on what the state can see and hear. The bulk of the surveillance these days is done by A.I.-powered systems that alert security agencies to communication involving people considered potential troublemakers. Those systems draw on cameras that blanket the country. On the 150-yard walk from my Shanghai apartment in a gleaming new tower to the nearest subway, I counted more than 30 cameras trained on pedestrians. Life under the eye Driving past Tiananmen Square. Gilles Sabrié for The New York Times Nearly everyone has learned to adjust. One woman, aware of nearby cameras, hushed her elderly father when he grumbled about rough treatment from police officers at a museum that celebrates early revolutionaries. An old friend whom I had arranged to meet messaged to call off our appointment: State security officers had turned up at his door and ordered him to cancel. “Every bush and tree seems like an enemy soldier,” he warned, using a Chinese idiom to describe the jittery watchfulness of the security apparatus. Many Chinese accept this as the trade-off for an explosive economy that has lifted hundreds of millions of people out of poverty. I ran into a man I’d known from my studies in Shandong province in the early 1980s. He now sells private planes. He lamented a bygone era of more open discussion. But having to constantly bite one’s tongue, he said, was a modest, if regrettable, price to pay for China’s many improvements. Throughout my six-month stay, I struggled to reconcile the reality of a country that has never been richer and so seemingly full of promise with a parallel reality of brittle insecurity, in which every bush and tree hides a potential enemy. Toward the end of my stay, my wife and I decided to visit Tiananmen Square, which I had last visited on the night when soldiers attacked in June 1989. Today, the vast square in front of the Forbidden City, repaved since my previous visit, has become a by-appointment-only dead zone, full of Chinese tourists monitored by security guards and cameras. All visitors are carefully screened before entry. We had to apply for permission via WeChat, a Chinese messaging app. Once approved, we waited in line for two hours, showing our passports and computer-generated permission notification at three separate checkpoints with airport-style security. At the final check, a guard fretted that a pen carried by my wife might contain red ink, which is prohibited. The guard didn’t say why, but during the 1989 student protests several people hurled red paint at a famous portrait of Mao that faces the square. A supervisor finally let us through after an underling tested the pen and saw its ink was brown. Now out of China, I often wonder: How can it be that a proud, nuclear-armed world power is scared of red ink? In an essay today, I explain. THE LATEST NEWS Gun Violence In Erie, Pa., eight people, including a pregnant woman and two small children, were killed in a shooting. Five people in Georgia died in a murder-suicide related to domestic violence, the authorities said. Politics The Justice Department is investigating whether major television networks violated federal antitrust laws when they briefly suspended their pooled coverage of President Trump. At a Trump rally in Tennessee, some people expressed support for the Pentagon’s decision to livestream the execution of the man who carried out the shooting at Fort Hood in 2009. Trump, on social media, criticized the Nobel laureate Navi Pillay and said that he should have won eight Nobel Peace Prizes. Senator Roger Marshall, a Kansas Republican in a difficult race, paid an old campaign debt for cookies, muffins and brownies after a baker’s story went viral. Russia Russia said there would be no immediate resumption of peace talks to end the war in Ukraine after Trump announced a deal to buy Russian diesel. More than a week after the death of a researcher at an anti-plague lab, the Russian authorities still have not said publicly what killed her. This Russian spy has one regret: He got caught. More International News Abhijeet Dipke, the founder of the Cockroach Janta Party. Anindito Mukherjee for The New York Times The authorities in India released three leaders of the Cockroach Janta Party, a youth movement behind the protests rocking the country, on the condition that they commit “no breach of peace for one year.” Hurricane Simon, a Category 4 storm, has intensified off the west coast of Mexico. Other Big Stories Christa Pike was discharged from the hospital and returned to prison yesterday, her lawyers said, 10 days after she survived an execution attempt. Parts of the Southeast are still at risk of flash flooding from the remnants of Isaias. The storm killed at least four people and knocked out power for hundreds of thousands. People angry about A.I. are taking out their frustration on food delivery robots. FREE TO READ Steffen Skjottelvik Into the wild: Steffen Skjottelvik went out on a wilderness adventure. Only his dogs came back. A new generation’s campus rape story: The Cornell students hit adolescence right around peak #MeToo. Is that surprising? Forbidden class: M.I.T. is paying a professor not to teach a controversial class. Why? Living in fear: A Times investigation has found that violent threats have become a new normal for public officials. Our reporter Nick Corasaniti spoke with politicians about what it’s like to live and work with threats of violence. Click to watch. The New York Times FROM OPINION Andrew Moisey Frats cannot be reformed, only abolished. Millennials are doing fine. They’ll weather generational problems just like boomers did. The Anniversary Sale ends soon: Morning readers, enjoy our best offer. Don’t miss this opportunity to expand your interests with expert coverage of news, culture, business and more. Save now: $1/week for your first year. THE INTERVIEW Philip Montgomery for The New York Times “I see children without parents. I see children without arms and legs. How senseless does the world feel to you when you’re confronting these things?” — Mirjana Spoljaric, the president of the International Committee of the Red Cross, spoke to Lulu Garcia-Navarro about the nature of war. Click to watch, listen or read a transcript. SPORTS M.L.B.: The Cleveland Guardians defeated the Chicago White Sox, 2-0, in Game 5 of the American League division series. They will face the Tampa Bay Rays for the American League pennant. W.N.B.A.: The Golden State Valkyries advanced to the finals for the first time after beating the Las Vegas Aces, 87-77. College football: Texas, the No. 1 team in the country, lost, 24-27, to Oklahoma. BOOK OF THE WEEK By Elisabeth Egan “American Hagwon,” by Min Jin Lee “The new novel is accessible but complex; noble without being highfalutin; and, at almost 650 pages, tremendous bang for the buck,” writes our critic Alexandra Jacobs of the third volume in Lee’s planned quartet about the Korean diaspora, which includes “Free Food for Millionaires” and “Pachinko.” The book follows a lively cast of characters — one family in particular — as they jockey for their children’s success via hagwons, or tutoring centers, from Seoul to Southern California. But upward mobility is just a kernel of Lee’s sweeping, multifaceted tale (almost a decade in the making), which includes romance, deception, greed and a refreshing dose of pragmatism. “Some books are very worthy but held at arm’s length,” she writes. “This one demands to be pressed into friends’ hands.” For the full review, go here. To learn more about Min Jin Lee, go here. THE NEW YORK TIMES MAGAZINE Illustration by Tim O’Brien Read this week’s magazine. THE MORNING RECOMMENDS … Get cozy and watch a movie on the couch. Here’s the best gear for a home theater system. Eradicate dust bunnies with a hand-held vacuum that can go where big vacuums can’t. Pass on a blow-dry hair brush — unless it’s the Shark Glossi. Cut wood, the right way. We tested chain saws in rural New Hampshire and picked five we love. MEAL PLAN Linda Xiao for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Monica Pierini. Fall has arrived, and that means it’s time for soup. Try this spicy peanut and pumpkin variant from Yewande Komolafe. Take a 14-ounce can of pumpkin purée, add peanut butter, chile and ginger, and you get a warm, bright meal that’s just right for a chilly gray evening. (Explore more dinner recipes here.) NOW TIME TO PLAY Here is today’s Spelling Bee. Yesterday’s pangram was aromatic. Can you put eight historical events — including Ben Franklin’s electricity experiments, the completion of St. Peter’s Basilica and the premiere of “Star Trek”— in chronological order? Take this week’s Flashback quiz. And here are today’s Mini Crossword, Wordle, Crossplay, Connections and Strands. Thanks for spending part of your weekend with The Times. 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 11 2002 Jimmy Carter wins Nobel Peace Prize Former President Jimmy Carter wins the Nobel Peace Prize for his work advocating for human rights, world peace and economic and social development. read more Sponsored Content by REVCONTENT 19th Century 1809 Meriwether Lewis dies along the Natchez Trace, Tennessee African History 1899 Boer War begins in South Africa American Revolution 1776 Benedict Arnold fights valiantly at Valcour Island 1775 William Howe named commander in chief of British army Arts & Entertainment 1971 John Lennon’s “Imagine” is released 1975 “Saturday Night Live” debuts 1975 Bruce Springsteen scores his first pop hit with “Born to Run” LGBTQ+ History 1987 AIDS Quilt displayed for the first time on the National Mall Religion 1962 Pope John XXIII opens Vatican II Space Exploration 1968 Apollo 7 launched U.S. Presidents 1975 Bill Clinton and Hillary Rodham marry World War I 1915 Bulgaria enters World War I

Lost at Sea UNESCO estimates that over 3 million undiscovered shipwrecks are spread around the world's oceans. From the small fraction of shipwrecks we have found, under 10% have been explored. While an estimated $60B in treasures is supposedly awaiting us at the bottom of the sea, cost- and labor-intensive efforts stand in the way of extensive exploration. > Exploring shipwrecks is difficult because diving and conducting surveys are expensive and labor-intensive. (More) > Explore a database of more than 220,000 shipwrecks, the largest compilation to date. (More) Colder, darker, low-oxygen waters can preserve materials for centuries, allowing wrecks to serve as time capsules and offer a look into the engineering, economies, and personalities of the period in which they crashed. Famous losses include the Titanic in 1912, the Mary Rose in 1545, and Endurance in 1915—with each ship's artifacts leaving behind lessons about the technology and ambition of their eras. > One in five 16th-century Spanish ships sank while crossing the Pacific, and the reasons that happened remain a mystery. (More, w/audio) > The Dokos shipwreck, the oldest discovered to date, is more than 4,000 years old. (More, w/video) > The 1975 sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald remains in popular memory, in part thanks to a folk song written about the tragedy. (More) Advances in technology, including sonar, satellite imaging, autonomous underwater vehicles, and more, have helped increase the frequency of new shipwreck discoveries. Once a shipwreck is discovered, debates arise about who gets to claim a wreck's contents, how to respect those who passed, and how to consider the environment surrounding the vessel. > Since the 2010s, shipwrecks have increasingly been discovered thanks to digitized records and advances in underwater remote-sensing technology. (More) > Explore fascinating artifacts found in different shipwrecks, including centuries-old alcohol, love letters, and a Titanic musician's violin. (More, w/photos) Discover more: > Read an eyewitness account of the sinking of the Titanic. (More) > Explore an interactive map of WWII shipwrecks. (More) > In the 1980s, a shipping container carrying plastic Garfield telephones fell into the sea off France's coast, inspiring a tradition of locals hunting for parts. (More, w/video)