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Good morning, it's Monday, Oct. 19. Violent unrest in France leaves several buildings on fire. First time reading? Join millions of insatiably curious readers. Sign up here.
Also in today's Digest: President Donald Trump waives Russia sanctions (Need To Know), a green star (Sci. & Tech.), fire at a Canadian military base (Pol. & World Affairs), top culinary resorts (Etc.), and much more.
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Need To Know
Riots Rattle France
Protests across France turned violent over the weekend, with more than 600 police officers wounded and one protester dying from cardiac arrest.
High school students launched demonstrations in September to protest teacher shortages, underfunding, and deteriorating facilities. Over half a million people joined 110 marches Saturday, marking the nation’s biggest day of protests yet. The movement expanded to include labor unions and farmers expressing anger over rising fuel prices and agricultural costs, with some marches devolving into looting, arson, and vandalism (see photos). Rioters set fire to a 143-year-old town hall in Limoges (watch video) and a tourist office in Lyon. They also damaged or looted 1,500 shops nationwide; officials estimate hundreds of millions of dollars in repair costs.
Similar riots consumed Milan Saturday. A march against rising costs turned violent, with masked protesters throwing stones and paving blocks at police.
Russia Sanctions Paused
New sanctions against Russia due to take effect yesterday have been paused after President Donald Trump signed an executive order to waive them Friday. Trump’s decision is a reversal of a bill named after deceased Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) that the president signed into law last month.
The move to pause sanctions comes a week after Trump announced a diesel deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin to lower US fuel prices (see a breakdown of the agreement). The law required Trump to raise duties on all Russian imports by up to 500%. It also mandated tariffs of up to 100% on the largest importers of Russian crude oil and gas, including China. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy criticized Trump’s decision, saying it strengthened Russia’s war effort (watch his reaction here).
Also over the weekend, Ukraine struck an oil export terminal and a data center near St. Petersburg. See the latest updates on the war here.
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Fly Me to the Moons
Japan will launch a landmark trip today to collect samples from Mars’ moon Phobos. Launch time for the Martian Moons eXploration mission is scheduled for 3:41 pm ET. Watch the livestream here.
The five-year MMX mission aims to reach Mars in August 2027. It will orbit the planet for three years to observe and photograph Phobos and its sister moon Deimos before collecting samples and returning to Earth. Scientists' aim is to learn how the two small, potato-shaped moons formed; one theory holds they are asteroids, while another suggests they are debris from an ancient collision with Mars. Research could settle what the moons are made of and may even clarify how Mars lost its thick atmosphere and lakes of water.
There have been multiple Soviet and Russian attempts to reach Phobos from the late 1980s to 2011. Japan’s mission involves collaboration with NASA and the European Space Agency, among others.
🫶 Humankind: A 21-year-old raises $146K for an elderly woman who has worked at her local AMC for 45 years. (w/photo)
In The Know
Sports, Entertainment, & Culture
> "You Can See Everything," Nathan Fielder's film focusing on Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes, generates $15M across 855 theaters to record the most successful opening weekend for a nonconcert documentary since 2004 (More)
> Big 12 Conference says referees ended BYU-Notre Dame game with one second remaining on the clock, preventing the Fighting Irish from attempting a final play in 28-24 loss to the Cougars; watch controversial ending (More)
> Tampa Bay defeats Cleveland 3-1 to seize a 3-2 lead in the American League Championship Series; a Game 6 victory tonight would propel Rays to World Series versus the Milwaukee Brewers (More)
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Science & Technology
> Astronomers discover first known green star: a dead white dwarf that turned chartreuse by absorbing a rocky planet's sodium-rich debris, which filters out orange light (More) | White dwarfs 101 (More)
> Wearing headphones during surgery may reduce the risk of postoperative nausea and vomiting, new study finds; clinical trial involving 192 patients under general anesthesia shows a 32% decrease in the recovery complications (More)
> Cat owners who spend more time in close proximity to their pets experience more positive moods, linked to a hormonal connection in which higher feline oxytocin correlates with lower owner stress (More) | See a brief history of house cats (More)
Business & Markets
> US stock markets close lower (S&P 500 -1.1%, Dow -0.3%, Nasdaq -2.1%) amid drop in tech stocks, last week's inflation report (More) | See write-up (More)
> US federal budget deficit clocks in at $1.9T for the 2026 fiscal year, up 12% since the same period in 2025 and representing 6% of US gross domestic product (More) | See 101, with graphs (More)
> Vietnam signs free-trade agreement with four non-EU countries—Norway, Switzerland, Iceland, and Liechtenstein—impacting $5.4B worth of goods (More)
Politics & World Affairs
> Fire at a Canadian military base in Alberta reportedly kills at least four people, injures dozens more; officials have not publicly identified a cause as of this writing, with reports suggesting a gas line was struck during a training exercise (More)
> Crowd surge at Hindu festival in India's eastern city of Kolkata kills at least 19 people, injures dozens more (More)
> Pope Leo XIV is discharged from the hospital, recites Angelus prayer from the Vatican days after lung cancer surgery; surgeon says full recovery expected in 10 days (More)
In partnership with Fresh Meal Plan
Dinner in 3 Minutes, Never Frozen
Most meal services hand you either a box of ingredients to cook yourself or a tray that’s been sitting in the freezer. Fresh Meal Plan takes a different approach: chef-crafted meals made with whole ingredients like grass-fed beef, delivered fresh to your door and never frozen.
Each one is ready in about 3 minutes, so dinner happens without the shopping, chopping, or sink full of dishes. That’s part of why more than 50,000 customers now leave weeknight meals to them. Get 40% off your first order with Fresh Meal Plan here.
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Explore
When you gaze up at the night sky, most stars you see share the same fate—ultimately fizzling out into white dwarfs.
> After trillions of years, they'll actually become black dwarfs.
> The objects are too dense to have normal atoms.
> What would happen if you stood on a white dwarf? (Hint: Nothing good)
This is a preview of tomorrow's 1440 weekly Science & Tech newsletter, which unpacks complex topics in an accessible way. Aren't in the know yet? Sign up here for free.
Etcetera
The US' best culinary resorts.
How to tell if someone is lying.
What did the Liberty Bell sound like?
Nearly four in 10 Americans participate in online communities.
Rare owls settle on a tower near NYC's Central Park.
The secrets behind hummingbirds' backward flight. (w/video)
What is the most popular pro sports team in your state? (w/map)
The origins of the Ouija board.
Where have all the airplane barf bags gone?
Clickbait: Does your local library have the bear necessities?
Historybook: British Gen. Charles Cornwallis surrenders at Yorktown, effectively ending the Revolutionary War (1781); John Jay becomes first US chief justice (1789); Actor and director Jon Favreau born (1966); Black Monday stock market crash; Dow Jones drops 22.6% in one day (1987).
"I like happy endings in movies. I think life has a happy ending. When it's all said and done, it's all something worthwhile, and I want my movies to reflect that."
- Jon Favreau
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