The Federal Reserve kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 3.75% to 4% amid persistent inflation. The Federal Open Market Committee voted 10-2, with Lisa Cook and Beth Hammack dissenting.
Key Facts
The Federal Reserve held interest rates steady on Wednesday.
The federal funds rate target range remains 3.75% to 4%.
The Federal Open Market Committee made the decision.
The committee voted 10-2 to keep rates unchanged.
Lisa Cook dissented.
Beth Hammack, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, dissented.
The article describes inflation as persistent.
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Amazon released the Echo Studio With Home Camera, a $250 smart speaker that adds a 13-megapixel camera to the standard Echo Studio’s audio and Alexa features. Amazon says the camera can help adjust sound as someone moves around, let users check a room remotely, and support visual interactions with Alexa+; the company has not said when the device will support video calls with Fire TV.
Key Facts
The new speaker costs $250, $30 more than the camera-free Echo Studio.
Both models have one 3.75-inch woofer, three full-range drivers, Dolby Atmos support, four microphones, and Amazon’s AZ3 Pro processor.
The 13-megapixel camera can track a person’s location to adjust audio volume as they move around.
Users can view the camera feed remotely and ask Alexa+ to identify objects and provide related help.
Amazon says a dedicated button disables microphones and included cameras, and a built-in LED indicates when the camera streams images or video to the cloud.
Users can disable the camera in the Alexa app and continue using Alexa.
Amazon said the speaker may eventually pair with Fire TV for video calls but gave no release date.
Amazon previously settled an FTC lawsuit over alleged privacy violations involving Ring cameras for $5.8 million without admitting wrongdoing.
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Qatar and other regional mediators are trying to broker a U.S.-Iran agreement before a possible resumption of U.S. and Israeli strikes after the U.S. midterm elections. The proposal under discussion would pair Iranian access for UN nuclear inspectors with limited U.S. sanctions relief, but Iran has not yet accepted it.
Key Facts
Mediators include Qatar, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Turkey, according to sources cited in the article.
The proposal seeks to restart inspections of Iran's nuclear sites, which were damaged in U.S. and Israeli strikes.
The article says Iran wants the U.S. to lift its naval blockade and release frozen Iranian funds, while the U.S. has demanded that Iran give up its enriched uranium stockpile.
One proposal would allow Iran to sell oil under waivers and receive some frozen funds for humanitarian purchases if it permits inspections.
Iranian officials said they would seek Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei's approval for the ideas, according to a regional source.
President Donald Trump said negotiations were taking place through mediators but that their success was uncertain.
U.S. and Israeli officials said a potential operation could involve a week of strikes on Iranian leadership, energy, nuclear and infrastructure targets.
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Allison Pearson is reportedly negotiating her departure from the Daily Telegraph and preparing a statement about her future. The talks come as the paper’s new owner, Axel Springer, plans newsroom cuts of up to 100 roles and reorganizes the business.
Key Facts
Axel Springer completed its £575 million takeover of the Telegraph in June.
The company warned that up to 100 journalism jobs could be at risk of redundancy.
Pearson has worked as a Telegraph columnist and chief interviewer since 2010.
A source said Pearson was discussing an exit with management, but the Telegraph had not announced her departure.
Pearson’s September column praised the crowd at a march organized under the name Unite the Kingdom and described activist Tommy Robinson as charismatic.
Pearson was investigated by police in Essex in 2024 over a social media post; the investigation was later dropped.
Axel Springer says it wants to expand the Telegraph’s international audience, especially in foreign affairs, defence and business.
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The Cadillac Escalade IQ is a large electric SUV with a battery pack exceeding 200 kWh and a displayed range of 440 miles when it arrived for testing. The review says its air suspension and rear-wheel steering make it easier to drive than its size suggests, though its weight and floaty ride remain noticeable.
Key Facts
The Escalade IQ shares its battery pack and other components with several full-size GM electric trucks and SUVs.
Cadillac says the Escalade IQ reaches 460 miles on the EPA test cycle, but it has no formal EPA range rating because it falls into the Class 3 truck category.
The test vehicle showed 440 miles of range when it arrived.
The SUV has a battery pack of more than 200 kWh.
Its curb weight is 9,046 pounds, or 4,103 kilograms.
The air suspension provides a floaty ride, and road impacts can be felt in the cabin.
Rear-wheel steering helps the SUV maneuver at low speeds and improves stability at highway speeds.
The vehicle produces 680 horsepower and 615 lb-ft of torque in its standard setting; Velocity Max mode raises output to 750 horsepower and 785 lb-ft.
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Balad leader Sami Abu Shehadeh accused Israeli political leaders of racism for ruling out coalitions with Arab parties, which were projected to win a record 19 seats. With neither main bloc near the 61 seats needed to govern, Arab parties could influence coalition talks, but opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot and his allies have signaled they want a Zionist government without them.
Key Facts
Palestinian citizens of Israel make up about one-fifth of the country’s population.
With 85 percent of the vote counted, the Central Elections Committee put Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s bloc at least at 53 seats and Gadi Eisenkot’s opposition bloc at 48.
A party or bloc needs 61 seats to form a government.
Arab parties were projected to win a record 19 seats.
Abu Shehadeh leads Balad, one of the three parties in the Joint List, and was not a candidate in the election.
The elections committee voted to disqualify Abu Shehadeh after far-right Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir accused him of supporting the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack.
Abu Shehadeh withdrew in October after Supreme Court justices appeared likely to uphold his disqualification.
Former Israeli ambassador Danny Ayalon said Arab parties could have significant influence, while noting that an opposition alliance with them would require difficult political negotiations.
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Chancellor John Healey has asked every UK government department to cut its capital budget by 1% to help cover a £4.7bn shortfall in the Defence Investment Plan. He said the government would explain next year how it plans to meet its NATO defence-spending targets, including spending 3% of national income by 2030 and 3.5% of GDP by 2035.
Key Facts
The 1% reductions are in addition to cuts requested earlier this year to fund the first £10.3bn of the plan's £15bn cost.
Departments have not yet decided which capital projects to cut.
Capital budgets fund long-term investment rather than day-to-day spending.
Healey said the government would set out its plan for meeting the defence-spending targets at next year's spending review.
Healey said the government would consider public-spending changes, private-sector partnerships and cooperation with international allies.
The proposed measures include treaty negotiations with Finland, Poland and the Netherlands on sharing defence resources.
Healey said the National Wealth Fund and British Business Bank would be directed to invest £5bn in defence, dual-use technology and sovereign capability.
The Office for Budget Responsibility estimates that the 3.5% of GDP target for 2035 will cost £35bn.
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A new Economist/YouGov poll found that half of respondents said they would vote for a democratic socialist. Forty-one percent said they would not, and 9 percent were unsure.
Key Facts
The poll was conducted by The Economist and YouGov.
Fifty percent of respondents said they would vote for a democratic socialist.
Forty-one percent said they would not vote for such a candidate.
Nine percent said they were unsure.
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Dolores Huerta, a co-founder of the United Farm Workers union and a longtime labor and civil rights activist, died of cancer in Bakersfield, California, on Wednesday at age 96, a family spokesperson said. She helped organize farmworkers and negotiate contracts that secured workplace protections and benefits, and she continued advocating on social and political issues into her 90s.
Key Facts
Huerta co-founded the United Farm Workers with Cesar Chavez.
She served as a chief negotiator, strike organizer and lobbyist for the union, particularly during the 1960s and 1970s.
Union contracts secured farmworkers benefits including healthcare, retirement plans, rest periods, clean drinking water and pesticide protections.
Huerta was credited with giving the union its slogan, “Si, se puede,” later adapted as “Yes, we can” by Barack Obama during his 2008 presidential campaign.
She was arrested more than 20 times and suffered broken ribs and a damaged spleen after police beat her at a 1988 protest in San Francisco.
In 2026, Huerta said Chavez had pressured her into sex and raped her; she said both encounters resulted in pregnancies.
Huerta continued speaking and registering voters into her 90s, including speaking out against President Donald Trump’s immigration policies.
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The Weather Channel forecasts an elevated risk of weather-related travel delays in November across the Southeast, Florida, the Gulf Coast, Texas and parts of California. Forecasters say a strong El Niño may contribute to wetter conditions and more storms in the South, but the outlook describes broad trends, not day-by-day conditions.
Key Facts
Elevated travel-disruption risks are forecast around Atlanta, Charlotte, Orlando, Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Tampa, Houston, New Orleans and Dallas-Fort Worth.
California hubs including Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego and San Jose may face elevated risks later in the month.
The Mid-Atlantic is forecast to have near-normal to elevated risk, while the Northeast, Mountain West and Southwest are forecast to have near-normal risk.
The Great Lakes, Upper Midwest and Pacific Northwest are forecast to have below-normal travel-disruption risk.
The Weather Channel expects much of the country, especially areas near the Great Lakes, to be warmer than usual in November, reducing the chance of early-season snowstorms there.
The outlet forecasts wetter-than-usual conditions from California through Texas and across the Southeast, raising the possibility of rain and thunderstorm disruptions.
The article says the National Weather Service’s Climate Prediction Center sees high chances that El Niño will become the strongest on record since 1950.
The Weather Channel cautions that its outlook describes seasonal trends and does not predict specific daily weather.
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Meta and Snap are due in Los Angeles Superior Court for a trial in a lawsuit alleging that their platforms were designed to be addictive to young users. Jury selection is set to begin Wednesday in a case brought by two teenage plaintiffs.
Key Facts
Meta and Snap are the companies named in the lawsuit.
The case is being heard in Los Angeles Superior Court.
The lawsuit alleges that the platforms were intentionally designed to be addictive for young users.
Jury selection is scheduled to begin Wednesday.
Two teenage plaintiffs brought the case.
The article describes this as the latest trial in the lawsuit.
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Google’s AI Mode sometimes avoided directly naming the winners of recent U.S. elections and instead directed users to outside sources. The responses varied by user and location, while Google’s Gemini and other chatbots gave direct answers; when asked about its caution, AI Mode cited strict safety filters for recent, sensitive election topics.
Key Facts
In one test, Google AI Mode directed the user to the Federal Election Commission when asked who won the 2020 presidential election.
The same test received indirect responses about the 2024 presidential election and the 2012 election.
AI Mode gave direct answers about some other presidential election results dating back to 2000.
Other Ars staffers saw different patterns, with the elections that prompted direct answers varying by user.
In one test, AI Mode directed the user to Senate records for the party that controlled the Senate after the 2020 elections, but answered directly about the 1992 Senate result.
The article reports that Google Gemini, ChatGPT, Claude, and the America.gov AI model answered questions about recent presidential election winners directly.
Spot checks using VPN connections in Taiwan, Russia, France, and Canada produced direct, accurate answers about recent U.S. election results.
After users repeated questions, AI Mode gave direct answers and said strict safety filters apply to recent and highly sensitive election topics.
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Vice President JD Vance is visiting North Carolina on Wednesday to rally voters ahead of next week’s midterm elections. The visit comes as Republicans try to keep their congressional majority and as Michael Whatley faces former North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper in a race for office.
Key Facts
Vance is scheduled to visit North Carolina on Wednesday.
Republicans are making a final push to energize voters before next week’s midterm elections.
The GOP is seeking to retain its majority in Congress.
Former Republican National Committee Chair Michael Whatley is facing former North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, a Democrat.
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A debt sent to collections can lead to contact from a collection agency, but it does not automatically trigger a lawsuit or wage garnishment. Federal rules generally require collectors to provide information about the debt, and consumers usually have 30 days after receiving validation information to dispute it in writing.
Key Facts
People may receive calls, letters, emails or text messages from a collection agency or debt buyer after an account enters collections.
Collectors generally must provide a validation notice during their first communication or within five days afterward.
The validation notice includes the amount owed, the creditor’s name and information about how to dispute the debt.
Consumers generally have 30 days after receiving validation information to dispute the debt in writing.
A timely written dispute generally requires the collector to pause collection activity on the disputed debt until it provides verification.
For most ordinary consumer debts, collectors must sue and obtain a court judgment before they can pursue wage garnishment.
Some federal student loans and government debts can follow different rules for collection.
In a Freedom Debt Relief survey of consumers with more than $10,000 in unsecured debt, 36% of Gen Z respondents and 34% of millennial respondents said they could consistently make only minimum monthly payments.
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Barack Obama joked at an Ohio campaign rally that Donald Trump’s White House renovations looked like “Saddam Hussein opened a Cheesecake Factory,” referring to the gold-heavy decor. Trump defended the renovations, while some conservative figures and media outlets accused Obama of looking down on an affordable restaurant chain; the article notes that the joke’s main target was Trump’s style, not the restaurant.
Key Facts
Obama made the joke while campaigning in Ohio for Democratic Senate candidate Sherrod Brown.
Obama compared Trump’s White House decor to the gold-filled palaces of Saddam Hussein and a Cheesecake Factory.
Trump said the renovations were carried out by skilled artisans and defended the time he spends addressing the White House’s condition.
Some conservative commentators described Obama’s joke as elitist or as an insult to Cheesecake Factory customers.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said he regularly eats at the chain and named his usual order as a French Dip Cheeseburger.
The Cheesecake Factory began in Beverly Hills in 1978 and now has hundreds of locations in the United States and Canada.
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With 85 percent of votes counted, no Israeli bloc had the 61 seats needed to control the Knesset, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu remained in office while coalition talks loomed. The article outlines possible outcomes, including another election, a coalition led by Netanyahu or challenger Gadi Eisenkot, and a unity government.
Key Facts
The pro-Netanyahu camp had won 53 seats, while parties aligned with Gadi Eisenkot had won 48, according to Israeli election officials.
Israeli Arab parties won 19 seats and could play a decisive role in coalition negotiations.
A majority in the 120-seat Knesset requires at least 61 seats.
President Isaac Herzog oversees coalition formation and can nominate a candidate, who has up to 42 days to form a government.
Netanyahu’s bloc was eight seats short of a majority at the time described in the article.
Both Netanyahu and Eisenkot said they would try to form a government.
If coalition talks fail, Israel could hold another parliamentary election.
Netanyahu would remain caretaker prime minister until a new government takes office.
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Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt said China is about six months behind the United States in AI development. In an interview with Fast Company, he said China has a major energy advantage and that the gap between the countries has narrowed sharply.
Key Facts
Eric Schmidt is a former Google CEO.
Schmidt said China is about six months behind the United States in AI development.
He made the remarks in an interview with Fast Company.
The interview was released Wednesday, according to the article.
Schmidt said China has a major advantage in energy.
He said the AI development gap between China and the United States has narrowed dramatically.
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St. Lucie County removed 12 unpermitted Flock cameras from county roads but says it will not investigate who owned the seven cameras that were not claimed by police departments. Flock says the cameras belonged to several customers but will not identify them, leaving residents without answers about who operated them or how the collected data was used.
Key Facts
The county found 12 cameras that lacked required individual permits.
Five cameras were claimed by city law enforcement, according to The Washington Post.
County spokesperson Erick Gill said the county’s goal was to remove the cameras, not identify their owners.
Gill said the county lacked resources to investigate ownership of the seven other cameras.
Flock said the cameras belonged to several customers but declined to identify them or provide contract and deployment details.
Port St. Lucie Police Department’s Flock contract rose from $22,000 to $470,000 in 2025.
The county gave camera owners 30 days to remove them without facing questions.
Flock CEO Garrett Langley said at a private police conference that anti-Flock protests were “not real,” according to leaked audio reported by 404 Media.
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UK Chancellor John Healey’s budget sets out support for some households and small businesses while raising taxes for banks, betting shops, savers and landlords. Measures include energy payments, pension changes and higher taxes on some income and gambling, while student loan repayment thresholds will be frozen.
Key Facts
Households in council tax bands A to D in England are set to receive a £100 payment toward winter energy costs from January; other UK nations have received funding for similar support.
The state pension is set to rise to £13,036 next April, alongside a new personal allowance for pensioners at the same level.
The budget provides £100 million in subsidies for on-street electric vehicle charging and introduces a home-buying scheme for some first-time buyers in England.
Small alcohol producers will receive more generous tax relief, and tied pubs in England and Wales will have to offer a guest beer.
The bank corporation tax surcharge will rise from 3% to 6% for 15 months, with banks expected to pay an additional £1.5 billion over that period.
Tax on slot machines with stakes of £1 or more will rise from 20% to 25% from April 2027.
Tax rates on savings interest and property income will rise beyond previously announced levels; student loan repayment thresholds will be frozen from next April.
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James O'Keefe and Cam Higby face election-related charges in Minnesota after posting an undercover video. The article says the stunt aimed to expose weaknesses in election security but provides no further details about the charges or the video.
Key Facts
James O'Keefe and Cam Higby are facing charges in Minnesota.
The charges are related to elections.
The men posted a video of an undercover stunt.
The stunt was intended to expose deficiencies in election security.
The article describes the story as developing.
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