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Good morning. It's Wednesday, Oct. 7. The World Health Organization has weighed in on concerns over a possible plague outbreak. First time reading? Join millions of insatiably curious readers. Sign up here.
Also in today's Digest: massive protests in France (Need To Know), Skydance merger cleared (Bus. & Mkts.), President Donald Trump's California comments (Pol. & World Affairs), ghost poops (Etc.), and much more.
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Need To Know
Russian Plague Investigation
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio called on Russia to release more information about the death of a lab technician. The pressure comes as the World Health Organization yesterday said a possible case of pneumonic plague in Russia presents a “very low” risk to other countries.
Russian officials say there is no evidence the 28-year-old technician died of pneumonic plague, a rare and severe respiratory infection spread via airborne droplets. The disease responds to antibiotics, but is otherwise nearly 100% fatal. Russian officials have placed nearly 200 other individuals under medical supervision and imposed quarantine protocols at a local hospital (scroll for map). The research institute reportedly has plague specimens for outbreak prevention research. Pneumonic plague is the deadliest form of plague, the disease behind the Black Death, which killed roughly one-third of Europe's population between 1346 and 1353.
The technician's death has resurfaced concerns about lab safety, including debates over gain-of-function research giving viruses new properties, potentially making them more lethal or contagious. See arguments for and against here.
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French School Protests
France saw its largest day of school protests yet, as demonstrators nationwide demanded more education funding amid deteriorating conditions in the country’s high schools.
The protests began at a school outside Paris last month and spread nationwide, with students blocking hundreds of schools yesterday. Demonstrators cite teacher shortages, overcrowded classrooms, and deteriorating facilities (what do they want?); secondary schools have 250,000 more students but fewer teachers than in 2008. France’s Interior Ministry estimated 250,000 people joined yesterday’s demonstrations, while organizers put the figure at 450,000. More than 6,000 people, mostly minors, have been arrested, with critics accusing police of a heavy-handed response after one student lost a hand and another lost use of an eye. Damage to Paris-area schools is estimated at $7.8M. See photos here.
Separately, Quebec’s separatist Parti Québécois won 59 of 127 seats in Monday’s provincial election, falling short of a majority but returning to power with a promise to hold a referendum on independence from Canada in 2029 or 2030.
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Scientists Identify a Skin Aging Breakthrough
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Spy vs. Spy
Germany's 80-year-old former spy chief, August Hanning, was arrested yesterday on suspicion of espionage, attempted treason, and spying for a foreign country. Officials did not reveal which country Hanning allegedly worked for; the case that first surfaced the allegations involves an Israeli spy firm.
Hanning ran the Federal Intelligence Service from 1998 to 2005. After leaving his post, he allegedly recruited the agency’s chief of staff to hand him 2,000 classified documents beginning in 2010 in exchange for payment. Hanning maintained contact with two foreign countries’ intelligence services, including drafting an analysis for one of the countries, prosecutors say. He is Germany’s sole former intelligence chief known to face espionage charges; another high-ranking intelligence officer was accused of spying for Russia in 2023 in a trial that remains ongoing.
Prosecutors say they found the documents while investigating a German steakhouse heiress accused of faking the kidnapping of two of her children in a custody dispute. Christina Block allegedly employed an Israeli spy firm to help enact the plot; Hanning denies involvement.
🫶 Humankind: Father dresses up to take his terminally ill 3-year-old daughter to their first—and possibly only—daddy-daughter dance. (w/video)
In The Know
Sports, Entertainment, & Culture
> Televangelist J****im Bakker, who built an evangelical Christian empire with his first wife, Tammy Faye, before a sexual assault allegation and financial crimes upended his career, dies at age 86 (More) | What happened to him after the scandals? (More)
> Emmys telecast moving to Prime Video next year after Amazon secures six-year deal; award show will stream globally without any fees or subscriptions (More) | See record holders for most Emmy wins and nominations (More)
> Fred Claire, the former Los Angeles Dodgers general manager who led the team to its 1988 World Series win, dies on his 91st birthday (More) | Former college football coach Dennis Franchione, known for stops at TCU and Texas A&M, dies at age 75 (More)
Science & Technology
> Belgian-born scientist Francis Halzen wins Nobel Prize in physics for the detection of ghostly particles that may offer clues into how the universe evolved (More) | Why his team buried a massive telescope deep beneath Antarctic ice (More)
> Rosalind Franklin identified DNA's helical structure before Nobel Prize winners Francis Crick and James Watson, according to a new archival study of her notes and photos (More) | Why has Franklin's work been overlooked? (More, w/video)
> New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) declares state of emergency as state records 100 measles cases and neighboring Pennsylvania logs 1,000 cases (More) | Scroll for heat map (More) | Kenya confirms first Ebola case, begins contact tracing (More)
Business & Markets
> US stock markets close higher (S&P 500 +0.6%, Dow +0.5%, Nasdaq +0.5%) as S&P 500 climbs to record intraday high above 7,840 (More) | Why the equity index may be a misleading benchmark for the broader market (More)
> US trade deficit hits 17-month high at roughly $106B in August, per new Commerce Department data; increase marks 13.7% growth over July (More, w/graph) | How does the deficit affect the economy? (More)
> Paramount completes $110B deal to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery; media giant will rebrand as Skydance (More) | What the merger means for your Paramount+ and HBO Max subscriptions (More)
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Politics & World Affairs
> President Donald Trump faces criticism, including from California officials, after suggesting Iran could "take out" an American city, adding "let them" take out Los Angeles, San Diego (More) | Watch the clip (More via YouTube)
> Cornell University says Obama-era Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates will review how the university handles sexual misconduct cases amid scrutiny over Chi Phi fraternity case (More) | See previous write-up (More)
> Tennessee inmate Christa Pike is alive and speaking after two failed execution attempts last week, lawyers say (More) | Pike was convicted of murdering teen classmate in 1995; see previous write-up (More)
In-Depth
> Lights, Camera, Wrestle
The Believer | Katherine Cusumano. Welcome to the Pacific Northwest's independent professional wrestling circuit, where the match outcomes are scripted, but the injuries and devotion are real. (Read)
> The Disease Nobody Was Studying
The Atavist | Mark Johnson. When his daughter is diagnosed with a rare and potentially fatal kidney condition, a father devotes his career to finding a cure. (Read)
In partnership with Timeline
Rejuvenated Skin Starts at the Cellular Level
Your skin's ability to renew and repair itself depends on healthy mitochondria—but as you age, their function declines, causing wrinkles and fine lines to show.
Timeline's topicals are powered by Mitopure® and clinically proven to rejuvenate mitochondria, which supports collagen assembly and visibly reduces the look of wrinkles in as little as two weeks.* Today on Amazon Prime, 1440 readers get 30% off Mitopure® to boost your skin’s longevity.
*Based on an 8-week randomized clinical trial of 48 healthy women aged 50 to 75 years.
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Etcetera
The bestselling book the year you were born.
There's a new contender for America's national park roster.
Gatorade has been recalled in 37 states. (w/list)
What sends Warren Buffett down a YouTube rabbit hole?
See iconic props from "The Shining" that are up for auction.
One of hip-hop’s biggest record labels started in a dorm room.
Gen Z is turning to magic to improve their love lives.
The recipe behind Nickelodeon's slime.
How much money would Jane Austen's characters earn today?
In partnership: Russia uses nuclear reactors to power underwater drones. America has a different way.*
Clickbait: Your bathroom isn't haunted; ghost poops are real.
Historybook: Edgar Allan Poe dies (1849); World’s oldest airline still operating under its original name, KLM, is founded (1919); American cellist Yo-Yo Ma born (1955); US invasion of Afghanistan begins (2001); Hamas launches attack into Israel, killing over 1,200 people and taking 250 hostages (2023).
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