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⚾ 1 for the road: Title-less World Series Tampa Bay Rays third baseman Junior Caminero slides into home past Cleveland Guardians catcher Patrick Bailey in Game 6 of the ALCS last night in St. Petersburg, Fla. Photo: David J. Phillip/AP The Tampa Bay Rays will face the Milwaukee Brewers in a World Series guaranteed to crown a first-time champion. The Rays beat the Cleveland Guardians in six games for the AL pennant. It'll be the first World Series between title-less teams since the Philadelphia Phillies defeated the Kansas City Royals in 1980. Milwaukee is MLB's smallest market. 🎲 The Brew Crew is favored to win the Fall Classic, which begins Friday night in Milwaukee. World Series preview (ESPN).

🚀 Martian moon mystery A rendering of Japan's MMX probe reaching Mars' moon Phobos. Image: JAXA Japan has launched a potentially historic mission to scoop up soil samples from Phobos — one of Mars' two lumpy, potato-esque moons — and return them to Earth, Axios' Alex Fitzpatrick writes. Why it matters: The Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) mission could reveal how the red planet's two weird little moons came to exist. 🌔 Some researchers believe they're remnants of a long-ago collision between Mars and some other body. Others think they're former asteroids captured by Mars' gravitational pull. Keep reading.

🏛️ Zelensky turns to Capitol Hill Photo illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios. Photos: Al Drago/Bloomberg, Mert Gokhankoc/ dia image via Getty Images Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky lobbied a bipartisan group of senators yesterday to press the Trump administration to remove what he claimed were restrictions on intelligence sharing and weapons supplies, Axios' Barak Ravid writes. Why it matters: Ukrainian officials say the Trump administration has quietly imposed these limits without admitting it publicly in an attempt to press Zelensky to accept a deal to end the war that includes more concessions to Russia. Behind the scenes: During a virtual meeting with a bipartisan group of senators led by Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Zelensky laid out the various problems Ukraine has been experiencing since the Miami meeting. Elon Musk's Starlink and the U.S. military's Starshield satellite systems remain partially restricted — despite claims by the White House to the contrary. On three occasions in the past week, Ukraine didn't receive early warnings from the U.S. about Russian ballistic missile attacks, Zelensky said, suggesting it was a sign that intelligence sharing has been curbed. ps:A very big waste of his time! Congress will do nothing until trump is out of there!!

💸 Charted: America's expensive deficit Data: Office of Management and Budget via FRED, U.S. Treasury. (2026 GDP estimated using extrapolated Q3 growth.) Chart: Emily Peck/Axios The U.S. budget deficit is ballooning and reached $2 trillion this fiscal year, Axios' Emily Peck writes. Why it matters: That's the largest deficit since 2021, when the U.S. was climbing out of the pandemic recession. The deficit is driven in part by the cost of paying interest on the nation's enormous debt at a time when rates are rising. The federal government paid out $1.052 trillion in net interest on its outstanding debt for the 2026 fiscal year, which ended Sept. 30.

AI is hitting an energy wall Illustration: Lindsey Bailey/Axios Silicon Valley moves fast and breaks things, but the U.S. electrical grid moves slowly and requires permits, Axios AI+ co-author Madison Mills writes. The explosive growth of AI is colliding with the glacial pace of building out new power infrastructure, prompting a new warning from Goldman Sachs that energy bottlenecks are set to stall the AI race. Why it matters: Amid a wave of anxiety from Wall Street about the debt-fueled AI buildout, Goldman points to power as the biggest risk to trillions in spending in a new report shared exclusively with Axios. 🔬 Zoom in: The U.S. has roughly 2,600 gigawatts of proposed power generation and storage projects awaiting grid connections, more than twice the grid's existing installed capacity, though many projects may never materialize. The median time from an application for a grid connection to commercial operation is roughly five years. 💰 Follow the money: The massive AI expansion is being financed with debt, raising the stakes if construction timelines slip. Goldman projects AI tech giants will borrow $420 billion globally in 2027, up more than 60% from its 2026 estimate. Keep reading.

⚠️ GOP's redistricting firewall is cracking Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios. Stock: Getty Images House Republicans are quietly scaling back hopes for the 10-seat boost they sought from redistricting nationwide amid a souring political climate and polls showing a collapse in GOP support among Latino voters in Texas and Florida, Axios' Hans Nichols writes. Why it matters: On their down days, Republicans privately worry that the great redistricting war of 2026 will net them only one seat nationwide, according to top GOP strategists. 🔭 Zoom out: At the beginning of the cycle, Republicans viewed redistricting like an umbrella in a storm: It could keep their House majority dry in a light drizzle — but in a political hurricane, it wouldn't be enough. Two weeks before the midterms, Republicans no longer talk seriously about redistricting saving their House majority, as they did before the Iran war helped boost inflation and sink President Trump's approval ratings. They've also spent $133 million on TV ads in 15 redrawn districts that were supposed to be easy pickings, according to AdImpact. 🧮 By the numbers: Early this summer, Republicans believed they had created 16 more GOP-friendly seats: five in Texas, four in Florida, two in Ohio and one each in Alabama, Louisiana, Missouri, North Carolina and Tennessee. But since then, courts have tossed a Missouri map and the political environment has darkened, with Democrats holding an 8-percentage-point lead in new Washington Post-ABC polling. Keep reading. ps:Gerrymandering right out in the open!!!!!

AI governing the AI world Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios. Stock: Getty Images Slowly but surely, the leading AI companies are creating a national self-governing structure to oversee their technology and its societal impact, Jim VandeHei and Mike Allen write in a "Behind the Curtain" column. With the federal government largely hands-off, Anthropic, OpenAI and others are self-regulating their technology and now setting up their own plans to redistribute their wealth. Why it matters: Not since the age of the robber barons have America's industrial titans wielded such sweeping power to shape society — and decide how their private fortunes should serve the public good. In the modern era, Washington has largely exercised those powers through regulation, taxation and public spending. 🖼️ The big picture: President Trump has no interest in new regulations. Instead, he has blessed a basic framework for the AI companies to regulate themselves — and potentially each other — outside of formal government monitoring. Anthropic, OpenAI, Google, Elon Musk's XSI, Meta and Nvidia are working on different versions of this. To be clear, this is all voluntary and rests on the public trusting companies the size of industrialized nations to responsibly police themselves. These companies are in a frantic race to create human-surpassing superintelligence. All are pressing ahead, even as their leaders — particularly at Anthropic — warn of potentially catastrophic risks and profound economic disruption. At the same time, some AI leaders are promising to direct a portion of their vast wealth to benefit those outside their companies. Zoom in: At least three competing visions are emerging for sharing the spoils of the AI boom, each with a different answer to who should control the wealth. Anthropic: The company. On the eve of its blockbuster IPO, Anthropic pledged 5% of its shares to a new public benefit fund that could grow into one of the largest philanthropic institutions in history. At a hypothetical $2 trillion valuation, its stake would be worth $100 billion — more than the Gates Foundation's current endowment. Including earlier founder and employee pledges, roughly 20% of Anthropic's shares are earmarked for the public good. Musk: The people. Musk responded to Anthropic's announcement by urging the company to give shares "directly to the public." Yesterday, Musk pledged to give every American child a share of SpaceX next year — a staggering $10.5 billion giveaway at current prices. Musk called it the "first of many," though he offered no details on how the unprecedented distribution would work. OpenAI: The government. CEO Sam Altman has floated giving the U.S. government a 5% stake in OpenAI through a sovereign wealth fund — potentially handing Washington a multibillion-dollar interest in one of the world's most powerful AI companies. Altman envisions an Alaska-style fund that could distribute the industry's investment returns directly to Americans, though the plan remains preliminary and would likely require congressional approval. 🥊 Reality check: The numbers are staggering. So are the assumptions about future wealth, billionaire follow-through and the public's willingness to trust its benefactors. Bill Gates and Warren Buffett launched the Giving Pledge in 2010, a voluntary promise by billionaires — including Musk — to give away most of their fortunes. Gates built a philanthropic empire, only to become a lightning rod for conspiracy theories. Anthropic's ambitions depend on extraordinary growth projections — its own employees envision 17% GDP growth in 2030 — while Musk has a history of making spectacular promises that fail to materialize. Anthropic's roots in effective altruism, a philosophy deeply distrusted by the Trump administration and its allies, also raise a more fundamental question: Who gets to define the public good? Between the lines: No industry requirements or consensus exist on how best to redistribute their expected wealth. But Trump Accounts — which allow families, businesses and individuals to invest in tax-advantaged funds for children — are emerging as a favorite vehicle for free-market AI leaders. Billionaire investor Brad Gerstner, a driving force behind the program, is championing a vision of broad-based ownership in which ordinary Americans share directly in the economic upside of the AI revolution. SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell and her husband have already pledged roughly $320 million in company shares to 2 million children through Trump Accounts — a potential blueprint for distributing an even larger slice of Musk's fortune. 👀 What to watch: The Trump administration hasn't fully relinquished its regulatory authority, potentially complicating the emerging experiment in AI self-governance. After Anthropic disclosed that its AI had submitted a false homicide tip to Philadelphia police and improperly interacted with government websites, the White House declared that AI companies must report security incidents and remedy any harm. "This notification and remediation process is not optional," Trump's Super Intelligence Force warned — a striking assertion of federal authority just weeks after the president blessed a voluntary system of industry oversight.

Driver accused of intentionally driving into Australian lawmaker was not a known threat, police say MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — A driver accused of intentionally causing serious injury to Australian federal lawmaker Helen Haines by hitting her with his car appeared in court for the first time on Wednesday as police said they were still investigating his apparent motivations. Meanwhile, Haines remained in critical condition after an apparent escalation in political violence that has shocked a nation where such crimes are rare. https://apnews.com/article/australia-lawmaker-critical-driver-arrested-d25a79269b7b6fd0349f3102c151dbdf?

> Ukraine says it has carried out the world's first drone evacuation of a wounded soldier (More) | See video (More) > Independent Australian politician Helen Haines is critically wounded after being struck by a car near her office; officials arrested the driver but have not disclosed a motive as of this writing (More) > France imposes curfew for minors in several northern cities, including Lille, as well as parts of Paris (More) | See previous write-up (More)

> US stock markets close mixed (S&P 500 +0.4%, Dow -0.1%, Nasdaq +1.1%) as tech stocks climb ahead of Tesla and Meta earnings later this week (More) | China's economy outpaces forecasts, growing 4.5% year-over-year on strong exports (More) > Elon Musk pledges SpaceX shares to every US child after Anthropic announces it will commit 5% of its shares to a public benefit fund, partly to address labor market impacts (More) | 64% of Americans say AI is developing too fast (More) > US homebuilder sentiment hits nearly 14.5-year low amid higher mortgage rates, rising costs of building materials, and labor shortages (More) | Homebuyers cancel roughly one in seven sales last month, the highest share since the pandemic (More)

> Trump administration creates White House task force and National Institutes of Health division to advance women's health research (More) | Women globally spend 25% more of their lives in poor health or with disabilities than men (More) > Apple announces Oct. 28 product launch event, where analysts expect the company to unveil its first touch-screen MacBook Pro (More) | iPhone Duo—Apple's first foldable phone—is back-ordered until late January (More) > Fingerprint analysis suggests women and children helped make China's Terracotta Army sculptures, challenging the long-held assumption the work was done entirely by men (More) | Scroll for aerial view of the more than 8,000-soldier army (More)

> Tampa Bay advances to World Series with win over Cleveland, will face Milwaukee (More) | Philadelphia Eagles QB Jalen Hurts will reportedly miss the rest of the NFL season due to blood clots in his lungs (More) > Netflix reportedly fires film chief Dan Lin five days after laying off roughly 1,000 employees (More) | Jon Stewart extends contract with Paramount to continue hosting “The Daily Show” through December 2028 (More) > Christiane Amanpour, CNN's chief international anchor, is leaving the network in June 2027 after 43 years; she did not give a reason for departing but revealed last October that she had resumed treatment for ovarian cancer (More)

Saudi Bugging Suspect Federal prosecutors yesterday asked a judge to detain a Saudi national accused of bugging OpenAI's headquarters until his trial, citing his alleged ties to Saudi royals and plans to flee the country. The FBI arrested Abdulrahman Alfozan earlier this month on suspicion of planting an audio recording device in an executive conference room to capture proprietary information. Prosecutors say an undisclosed member of the Saudi royal family repeatedly sought to recruit the 35-year-old engineer, who joined OpenAI in 2025, to an AI venture in the kingdom. Alfozan reportedly bought one-way tickets to Saudi Arabia for his family weeks before the devices were installed. His defense says he planned to spend his roughly two-month paternity leave there. After his arrest, Saudi officials purchased new tickets for his wife and son. Separately, Saudi Arabia postponed its flagship investment conference until 2027 following airport attacks by Iran-backed Houthis. AI was expected to feature prominently as the kingdom's AI company, HUMAIN, seeks $2.5B for data center development.

California Voting Crackdown Federal officials arrested more than two dozen people in California accused of voting illegally in US elections. The crackdown comes two weeks before the US midterm elections on Nov. 3. All of the people arrested are lawful permanent residents but not US citizens, the Justice Department says. They are on a list of more than 20,000 names the DOJ tagged as “likely” noncitizens to whom California mailed ballots this year. The DOJ last week sued the state to prevent election officials from counting those ballots until immigration status is confirmed; California says the DOJ did not provide any evidence to support the allegations. Since 1996, 73 noncitizens have been convicted of voting illegally. The Census Bureau this year suggested upward of 24,000 voters in the 2020 election were noncitizens; see criticisms of that finding. ps:Of course not!! How many times did the trump people take this to court? 60+ I believe and lost each time!! Even SCOTUS rejected to look at this!!!!

Gen. 15:1 (KJV) After these things the word of the LORD came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I [am] thy shield, [and] thy exceeding great reward. Ps 28:7 (KJV) The LORD [is] my strength and my shield my heart trusted in him, and I am helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my song will I praise him. Ps 28:7 (LXXE) (27:7) The Lord is my helper and my defender; my heart has hoped in him, and I am helped: my flesh has revived, and willingly will I give praise to him. Ps 28:7 (YLT) Jehovah [is] my strength, and my shield, In Him my heart trusted, and I have been helped. And my heart exulteth, And with my song I thank Him.

Alberta voters overwhelmingly reject separation process in a victory for Carney EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) — Voters in Canada’s oil-rich Alberta province overwhelmingly backed remaining in the country, referendum results showed Tuesday, delivering a boost to Prime Minister Mark Carney’s push for national unity as U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade war and annexation threats rally Canadians around their country. https://apnews.com/article/alberta-canada-referendum-independence-carney-ed0d58ef051859ce12052e75d2d6e8a0?

German Chocolate Cake is named after an American baker by the name of Samuel German. It has no affiliation with the country of Germany. James

Why don’t people vote? Eighteen million registered voters didn't cast a ballot in 2024. What was their reason? https://usafacts.org/articles/why-dont-people-vote/? How many voters have a party affiliation? As of September 2026, 42% of registered voters have declared a party affiliation—39.1 million Republicans and 45.3 million Democrats. https://usafacts.org/articles/how-many-voters-have-a-party-affiliation/? One last fact All states require some form of identification when registering to vote. But what about voting in person on Election Day? Twenty-four states require photo ID to vote in person, and 12 accept alternative forms of ID. Fourteen states and Washington, DC, do not require voters to show ID at the polls if they have voted before.

⛽️ The inescapable question Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios. Stock: Getty Images One issue is breaking through even among the most loyal Republican supporters: gas prices. Why it matters: Republicans promised to slash gas prices. The Iran war sent them soaring, up 37% since President Trump took office. Republicans call it temporary. There are limits to what voters will accept. On recent campaign trips where we joined Scalise and House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.), gas prices were the most frequent concern raised at events. These events drew GOP donors, activists and supporters who turned out to help Republicans win in November — not undecided voters. Zoom in: The first question Scalise fielded at a Nevada campaign event for O'Donnell was about high gas prices. "Everyone's always worried about gas prices," the attendee said, asking whether Republicans could do more to promote Trump's efforts to expand domestic energy production. Another attendee pointed to the gas-price difference between California and Oregon on a recent trip, and asked whether Congress could intervene to ease state restrictions. Scalise acknowledged the impact of the Iran war on gas prices — saying they'd fall once it's resolved — but blamed Democratic energy policies for making the U.S. more vulnerable to rising costs. Zoom out: Emmer faced similar concerns during a recent campaign trip through North Carolina and Virginia. "Four-dollar gas, five-dollar diesel, six-dollar diesel, totally unacceptable," Emmer told supporters at a North Carolina fundraiser. "But it ain't enough to make me vote for communists." Democrats "are talking about affordability. That's the problem. We need to be sensitive to the fact that gas and diesel are way up. Just sensitive to it because people are struggling," he told us in an interview. The big picture: Republican candidates are feeling the pressure too. Texas Republican Senate nominee Ken Paxton privately blamed the Iran war and gas prices for his campaign struggles, according to audio we scooped earlier in October. "It's the war, it's gas prices, it's diesel," Paxton told donors at a closed-door fundraiser last month, calling affordability "by far our biggest problem." The bottom line: "I don't think gaslighting works," House GOP conference Chair Lisa McClain (R-Mich.) told us in an interview last month. "I think if you meet voters where they're at and you have an honest conversation with them ... that's pretty refreshing to them."

Singapore expands crackdown on Indonesian companies linked to haze Singapore will issue preventive notices to three more Indonesian companies to tackle and prevent forest fires in Kalimantan province that may have sent smoke across the border, the National Environment Agency said Monday. Read More.

Nvidia CEO urges German manufacturers to adopt AI, saying digital tech won't replace heavy industry Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang urged Germany's makers of cars and industrial machines to quickly adopt artificial intelligence to “re-engineer” the country's struggling business model by tapping its wealth of manufacturing data and expertise. Read More.

Musk pledges to give a share of his SpaceX company to 'every kid in America' Elon Musk on Monday pledged to give one share of his company SpaceX to “every kid in America” next year. Read More. ps:What a pathetic man! Instead of just paying off the national debt he'd rather buy an election!! Judge grills Trump administration over plans to overhaul Washington golf course A federal judge on Monday questioned the Trump administration’s claims surrounding its efforts to redevelop a historic Washington golf course, challenging its contention that a recent tree-cutting spree did not indicate work was moving forward on the project, which is temporarily blocked by a court order. Read More.

🏀 1 sports thing: Gators top preseason poll Data: AP. Chart: Axios Florida will start the men's college basketball season where the team ended two seasons ago: No. 1. The Gators were the overwhelming pick to top this year's preseason AP Top 25, nabbing 47 of the 59 first-place votes. 🐊 Florida started last season at No. 3, but crashed out of the poll entirely by early January. The Gators rallied to win the Southeastern Conference regular-season championship — only to get stunned by Iowa in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Go deeper.

✈️ A new search for wreckage tied to famed aviator Amelia Earhart turned up "no conclusive evidence" to support a theory that her aircraft sits in a lagoon in the South Pacific. Go deeper.

🇫🇷 French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu is pushing for curfews to prevent more rioting and looting amid the cost-of-living and education protests rocking the country. Go deeper ...