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THIS DAY IN HISTORY October 8 1871 Great Chicago Fire begins The Great Chicago Fire of 1871 erupts. The two-day blaze killed between 200 and 300 people, destroyed 17,450 buildings, left 100,000 homeless and caused an estimated $200 million in damages. read more Sponsored Content by REVCONTENT 1950s 1956 The first fully enclosed, climate-controlled shopping mall in the United States opens 21st Century 2001 The Office of Homeland Security is founded Arts & Entertainment 1957 Jerry Lee Lewis records “Great Balls Of Fire” in Memphis, Tennessee 1970 Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn wins the Nobel Prize in Literature Asian American, Native Hawaiian & Pacific Islander History 1840 Hawaii adopts its first constitution Crime 2009 Self-help guru’s sweat lodge ceremony turns deadly Inventions & Science 1945 First patent filed for the microwave 2014 First person in U.S. diagnosed with Ebola dies Latin American & Caribbean History 1967 Che Guevara captured by Bolivian army Natural Disasters & Environment 1871 Massive Peshtigo fire burns in Wisconsin Sports 1956 New York Yankees’ Don Larsen pitches only World Series perfect game Vietnam War 1970 Communists reject Nixon’s peace proposal Women’s History 2004 Kenyan environmentalist and human rights campaigner Wangari Maathai wins Nobel Peace Prize World War I 1918 U.S. soldier Alvin York displays heroics at Argonne

September 11. 2026 John Paul (Name changed to protect his privacy) is a shirttail relative who went to Viet Nam to flight in t hat war. In Viet Nam he sustained a bukliet wound to his spinal column which resulted in the loss of the use of his ;legs. Johnl lllPaul was a Seventh-day aAdventist, who came fk rom a welll-knownl lSDA Family. During hils first lyear back lin the lUnllited States, the VA lprobably spent one million dollars keepling hoim alive, due to several medical crices events. After that, hlis clinical issues stabelized alnd lhel lived with hlis lcondition for more than 50-years. This is not the normlp patern but it illustrates the quality of clinical care that he recieved. His end of life finally came this week-enld. Close familyl members survive his death. Sppome of whilch recieve governmentsupport of avarious tpes. Mylkpoint: When we send our yourtl into a war, the long=term costs that people payl for that war, my continue far longer than one might expect. On the lSDA Flrkont, we may need to take a continued look at how we relate to those within our family who have paid a price for serving their country.

🐢 1 fun thing: Tortoise aging secrets Jonathan, an Aldabra giant tortoise who lives 1,200 miles off Africa's west coast on the remote island of St. Helena. Photo: Teeny Lucy via The New York Times The world's oldest known land animal — Jonathan, a roughly 194-year-old giant tortoise — is giving scientists a new window into aging, the N.Y. Times writes. Researchers sequenced his genome for the first time and compared it with those of tortoises 100 years younger, finding differences in genes involved in DNA repair and protecting chromosomes. The 400-pound tortoise, who lives on the remote South Atlantic island of St. Helena, is mostly blind but still has excellent hearing and enjoys greeting visitors and having his neck petted. But getting his DNA wasn't easy: The first attempt to swab his cheek yielded nothing but half-chewed carrot. Go deeper (gift link).

📺 Election night "nerd show" CBS News is launching a new election night streaming show that lets political junkies watch its decision desk analyze races and make calls in real time, Axios Media Trends author Sara Fischer writes. Why it matters: "The Nerd Show" represents the network's first election-focused show built for a digital audience. How it works: The special streaming show will begin at 5 p.m. ET, a few hours before CBS News' official election broadcast. It'll be hosted by CBS News executive director of elections and surveys Anthony Salvanto alongside congressional correspondent Caitlin Huey-Burns. The big touchscreen map will be branded "The Hub."

🇺🇦 Mapped: Ukraine's counterpunch Data: ISW. Map: Erin Davis/Axios Visuals A Ukrainian counteroffensive over the past few weeks has forced Russian forces back in several pockets along the front line and undercut Moscow's narrative that it will control all of the eastern Donbas region, Axios' Dave Lawler writes. Why it matters: The gains are more symbolically significant than territorial. After years of grinding warfare in which relatively little land has changed hands, even modest shifts in momentum carry outsized weight. Mapped: Ukraine claws back land, thwarting a Russian push (NYT).

Pike Speaks Tennessee death row inmate Christa Pike is able to speak but cannot swallow or move her arms, her lawyers said yesterday. Her first words upon waking were reportedly, "Where am I, and who are you?" The comments come after two doses of pentobarbital injections failed to kill her last week (see write-up). Pike, 50, is the first person known to have survived receiving a lethal injection. It is not yet clear how, though her lawyers had previously warned that she had a platelet disorder and small veins. The needle may have been improperly placed, or her vein may have blown, causing the drug to enter her arm as opposed to her bloodstream. Pike's lawyers say she contracted pneumonia and now has a blood clot and swollen arms. She was considered brain-dead Monday, but began speaking the next day, they say, hours before life support was due to be removed. A court is requiring Tennessee to preserve all evidence related to execution day. Read one journalist’s account of how it unfolded.

Math Meets AI Prominent mathematics groups are calling for greater transparency and collaboration after OpenAI released 377 mathematical results this week, generated by its proprietary AI models. The AI behemoth released the new findings a month after it shocked the mathematical community by allegedly cracking the Navier-Stokes equation—one of seven Millennium Prize Problems carrying a $1M prize. Concerns over whether the models were thinking creatively or borrowing heavily from human mathematicians' work prompted OpenAI to form an independent advisory board. At the board’s request, OpenAI provided summaries of the models’ reasoning alongside some of this week’s proofs. But leading mathematicians continue to call for OpenAI to stop testing problems on unreleased models, arguing that doing so threatens the traditional peer-review process and could alienate humans from the discipline. OpenAI said its model took about three hours on average to arrive at each solution. Three findings include advances related to three remaining Millennium Prize Problems. See how AI's math abilities have improved over time here. OpenAI's math leap Illustration: Lindsey Bailey/Axios AI chewed through the field of computer programming in months. Now it's making child's play of the world's most advanced mathematics, Axios' Bradley Olson writes. Why it matters: Two years ago, the best model was on par with a bright high school student. The speed of that progress hints at breakthroughs that could soon emerge in fields like biology and physics. Even if these math breakthroughs don't have real-world applications, they prove that centuries-old problems in the world's toughest fields may be more solvable than we think. 🔬 Zoom in: OpenAI on Tuesday released 722 manuscripts organized into 372 groups of findings ("families") on longstanding mathematical problems, inviting academics and researchers to examine and build on the material. The reception has mixed scientific excitement with genuine unease. One Rutgers University mathematician said on X that a result connected to the Riemann hypothesis would warrant an automatic Fields Medal if a human had done the work. Some mathematicians have questioned these results, as well as another solution OpenAI released last month, asking whether they represent original breakthroughs or draw heavily from previous human input. Keep reading.

Canada Halts MAID Expansion Canada will not allow people whose sole condition is mental illness to pursue medically assisted death, the government announced yesterday. However, the federal government said it would work to extend the option to patients with progressing, incurable illnesses before they lose the capacity to decide. The decision comes after a parliamentary panel concluded Canada’s legal and healthcare systems are not equipped to respond to the mental health expansion. Canada legalized medical assistance in dying in 2016 for terminally ill patients, later widening the criteria to include people who have incurable conditions but do not face imminent death. Around 5% of deaths in Canada—approximately 16,500 per year—are now medically assisted. Over a dozen countries allow a form of MAID, including France, Australia, and Spain. See how laws differ around the world here, and a map of which 13 US states allow medically assisted death here.

Brussels Airport is the world’s biggest chocolate seller, selling over 800 tons of chocolate a year. James

📸 Magic of the Mountain West Photo: Aaron Damiani Reader Aaron Damiani of Chicago sends this pic from Fort Smith, a small community in southern Montana, about 90 miles southeast of Billings: "I snapped this photo this weekend to share with my wife and kids the beauty of the Montana skies in Fort Smith, right as the sun was setting. In the Adirondack chairs are dear friends who were smoking cigars and taking it all in."

How goodness spreads Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios. Stock: Getty Images A wealth of psychology and behavioral research lets us track the life cycle of a good deed. Why it matters: An act of kindness can benefit the person who does it, the person who receives it, and even people who witness it or hear about it. How it works: 🙋 The doer: Volunteering and performing other acts of kindness — from donating blood to smiling at a stranger on the street — benefits the doer, according to an American Psychological Association review of several research papers. The perks include feeling happier and less lonely, anxious and depressed. 💛 The receiver: As we've reported, we tend to underestimate how much a simple gesture, like holding a door, means to the person on the receiving end. Plus, kindness can set off a chain reaction. People who benefit from a good deed are likelier to direct kindness to strangers themselves, Axios' Ashley May reports. 👀 The witness: Just watching someone do something nice helps, in a phenomenon researchers call "moral elevation." The boost people get from witnessing kindness also makes them likelier to spread it. 📰 Even reading about good deeds has an effect: In a 2023 study published in the journal PLOS ONE, people who read news stories about good deeds after reading negative news stories felt uplifted and more inclined to believe in the goodness of others. What's next: We want to spread the goodness by reviving one of our favorite Finish Line series — sharing the good deeds you encounter with fellow readers. Tell us about a random act of kindness you received or witnessed — from a friend, a family member, a neighbor or a total stranger — in 2-3 sentences. Send it to finishline@axios.com, along with your name and hometown, and we'll feature the stories in future editions.

💰 2026's most expensive voters Source: AdImpact, Census.gov Note: AdImpact data includes dollars spent on video advertisements on broadcast, cable and social media as well as spending estimates on streaming platforms. Chart: Stef Kight/Axios Every voting-age Mainer could get a $167 voucher for home heating oil with what Democrats and Republicans are spending on ads in the Senate race, according to an analysis of AdImpact data. Why it matters: Every senator gets one vote, but Senate seats aren't created equal — and they don't cost the same. Blame the Constitution, or curse Citizens United, but when it comes to TV spending, not all voters get the same investment. Zoom in: Like two years ago, the less-populated states have a dramatically higher dollar-per-voter ratio in 2026. Maine is in first place, followed by Alaska, which is scheduled to be hit with $76 million in ads — enough to suck up most of the state's inventory. Between the lines: Ohio is in fifth place on the dollar-per-voter metric — tying with The Ohio State University in the latest AP football rankings, but we digress. Ohio is on track to host the country's most expensive Senate race for the second cycle in a row. Sherrod Brown's comeback bid is proving more expensive than his 2024 race, when he was ousted by now-Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio). And in New Hampshire, where Democratic Senate nominee Chris Pappas has been warning that his race is actually quite close, both parties are spending heavily to reach the state's voters. Data: AdImpact Note: AdImpact data includes dollars spent on video advertisements on broadcast, cable and social media as well as spending estimates on streaming platforms. Chart: Stef Kight/Axios The big picture: All year, Republicans warned that Texas would get really expensive if state Attorney General Ken Paxton won the primary. They were right. Outside GOP groups spent a mind-blowing $131 million in just 17 days trying to rescue Paxton. Tens of millions more could be on the way. But in North Carolina, where Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), predicted the race could cost $1 billion, the contest looks like it will come in under $200 million. Republican super PACs are abandoning the Senate race there as they reallocate money to redder states. The bottom line: Republicans have a spending advantage, especially when it comes to how many eyeballs they're actually reaching in Texas and Ohio. But neither side has figured out how to play moneyball and reach voters on a dramatically smaller budget. — Hans Nichols and Stef Kight

The Name’s Bond View in browser The political strategist James Carville once joked that if he ended up being reincarnated, he’d like to come back as the bond market. “You can intimidate everybody,” he said. Not Scott Bessent. About a month ago, during a talk at Southern Methodist University, the Treasury secretary issued a challenge—both to the business-school students in the audience and to the traders of the world. “I have asymmetric information. I am the house now,” he said. “You can bet against me if you want.” The line was an attempt to explain the government’s decision to boost the Japanese yen over the summer, but it was also a broader statement about his ability to influence markets and guard against financial downturns. This past weekend, Bessent conceded that “the house doesn’t win every hand”—a sign that he’s been slightly chastened. Emphasis on slightly: Although he admitted he “can’t control the bond market,” he maintained that the house still wins “over time.” The bond market’s behavior over the past month clearly called for an adjustment to his posture. The interest rates on the 10-year Treasury (which dictates rates on certain consumer loans) and the 30-year Treasury (an important measure of how investors feel about the government’s ability to pay back its debts) are now the highest they’ve been since 2002. The Trump administration’s market interventions, which have been ramping up in recent months, have had little effect on bond prices. Bessent may continue to insist that he’s the “house,” but it’s clear at this point that the market isn’t listening. The rates on all kinds of everyday loans are closely tied to what goes on in the Treasury market. When holding government debt starts feeling like a riskier proposition, people start demanding bigger payouts—and when yields increase, consumers pay the price. Looking to buy a house? The average rate on a standard 30-year mortgage is now about 7.5 percent, the highest it’s been in almost three years. Mortgage costs are directly tied to the 10-year Treasury note—and before the war in Iran began driving up yields, the average mortgage rate had just dipped under 6 percent. What about a car? CNBC is reporting that rates on auto loans, some of which are already ticking up, are likely to rise even more as yields on five- and 10-year Treasurys continue to spike. Yields are up for a few reasons, one of which has to do with massive ongoing expenditures in the AI sector. Companies are laying the groundwork for decades of further investment in the American tech industry, and the Federal Reserve is expected to respond to the economic boost with higher interest rates to curtail inflation. Inflation is a major concern for traders—it has jolted upward as a result of the Iran war, making the Fed even more hawkish. Yields may also be up because of concerns about the $40 trillion national debt. The deficit is about 6 percent of GDP right now, and the government’s borrowing costs are skyrocketing; it currently spends more on debt financing than it does on defense or Medicare. Although there’s some debate around how much the current deficit panic is affecting bond yields, the market could be signaling that this level of spending is unsustainable. As Bessent rightly points out, he can’t single-handedly determine what happens in the bond market. That hasn’t stopped him from trying. Over the past couple of months, the Treasury has taken steps to expand its regular bond-buyback program. Usually, these buybacks are intended to keep the Treasury market liquid, but many commentators suspect that these moves were really about managing bond prices. When the government uses its own spending power to purchase Treasurys, it can send a signal to the market that prices ought to go up, and yields ought to come down. Lately, though, the buybacks have had the opposite effect. Despite these supercharged interventions, yields have continued to rise, and Bessent has been taking heat for it on Wall Street. He seems unfazed: “If some of the Bloomberg Terminal bros are unhappy with what I’m doing, well, that’s too bad,” he told Steve Bannon last month. As Bessent digs in, he’s being undercut by his boss’s erratic decision making. Treasury yields tend to go up when foreign bondholders lose trust in the U.S. economy—and Donald Trump’s trade war with Canada, on-again-off-again tariffs, flagrant federal-budget increases, and general air of unpredictability are all points against him. (The president made the unusual suggestion this summer that the military could somehow be used to tame yields.) Plus, the Iran war has driven up consumer prices and raised yields on government debt around the world. Most voters think the president has hurt the economy, and rising borrowing costs won’t make people any happier. In the meantime, the administration doesn’t seem ready to face reality. Kevin Hassett, the director of the National Economic Council, said he doesn’t “buy” the negative polling on the economy, and Trump continues to insist that the country is experiencing “the best economy we’ve ever had.” Bessent is doing his part to inspire confidence, but the house seems to be down on its luck. Related: Blame Trump for rising borrowing costs, David Frum argues. Economists who weren’t worried about the debt are now panicking.

Sri Lanka's former first lady is arrested on corruption allegations The wife of Sri Lanka's powerful former President Mahinda Rajapaksa was detained Wednesday on allegations of misusing donations received for her charity when she was first lady. Read More.

What to know about Kenya's first Ebola case and how officials are responding Kenya’s first Ebola case, a patient who travelled for weeks by road and air through three countries without being detected until he arrived in Nairobi, has raised questions about border control and how to trace the virus across countries. Read More.

Prosecutor says man charged in killing of British ex-politician tried to break into Farage's home A man accused of killing former British politician Ann Widdecombe tried to break into the home of anti-immigration Reform UK party leader Nigel Farage about a year earlier and researched other prominent figures, a prosecutor said Wednesday. Read More.

Mayor of Turkish opposition stronghold defects to Erdogan's party The mayor of Turkey’s third-largest city, Izmir, defected to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan ’s ruling party on Wednesday, giving it the mayoralty of the opposition stronghold for the first time. Read More.

Ebola creates new hot spots in Congo as responders describe ‘chaotic’ response The Ebola outbreak in Congo is creating new hot spots where there's little to no support for patients, responders and officials say, as health workers admit there could still be a long way to go in fighting the disease that has killed over 4,000 people. Read More.

UN health agency wants more details from Russia on suspected pneumonic plague case A top official with the World Health Organization said Wednesday it doesn’t know how a lab worker in Siberia died, and she urged Russia to provide more information about a case that prompted global concerns about suspected pneumonic plague. Read More.

The worst of times brings out the best of our people. https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/6609835/jewish/13-Heroes-of-October-7th-and-the-Aftermath.htm

Two lawsuits challenge Trump’s taxpayer-funded ads, alleging they violate propaganda law WASHINGTON (AP) — Two lawsuits filed Wednesday challenged President Donald Trump’s recent series of federally funded television advertisements, which promote his political message while costing taxpayers millions of dollars. https://apnews.com/article/trump-taxpayer-funded-ads-propaganda-lawsuit-a1e286d37989f1cb5bbe13905f8fbbf1? Disaster relief funding is creeping into Trump's midterm rhetoric. Critics say it has no place there President Donald Trump has turned emergency relief into a campaign talking point in the final sprint to the midterm elections, approving disaster declarations in consequential states and coupling endorsements with funding announcements. As the country braces for a major hurricane barreling toward the U.S. Gulf Coast, the moves have revived questions about whether the administration is politicizing disaster recovery. Read More.

Randall Price and his Biblical Museum Part 1 Summary: Dr Randall Price’s museum containing thousands of artifacts that bring the Bible to life, is looking for a new home. https://www.patternsofevidence.com/2026/10/08/randall-price-and-his-biblical-museum-part-1/?

How a Church Youth Society Provided the First Runway for Private Spaceflight The post Before Mojave: Burt Rutan, the Pathfinders, and the Ethos of Direct Construction appeared first on ReligiousLiberty.TV. View the full article

🚛 1 for the road: Move to Detroit, get $15K Illustration: Brendan Lynch/Axios A new Detroit nonprofit is giving money to people who move to or pledge to stay in the Motor City, Axios Detroit's Annalise Frank reports. 💰 The first 13 winners of Move Detroit's "Make Detroit Home" grants are getting $15,000 each. It's the first stage of the program, supported by billionaire and Rocket Mortgage co-founder Dan Gilbert. CEO Hilary Doe said at a press conference: "This program is data-backed and focuses resources on our city's greatest asset: our people." Go deeper ...