Halloween is the season for haunted houses, campfire ghost stories, and manufactured frights. In politics, however, one of the scariest stories is told year-round. The perennial bogeyman? The all-powerful corporate behemoth allegedly buying elections and haunting our democracy. We are told that, unless the government takes radical measures, shadowy corporate titans will devour our civic life whole.
Amazon has put a camera in its Echo Studio speaker so that Alexa can see what is in front of it. The Echo Studio with Home Camera is one of five new Alexa devices the company unveiled on Wednesday, alongside a new Echo Dot, an Echo Time alarm clock, an Alexa Photo Frame and the Echo Show 16.
ICE paid almost $500 million to acquire a private prison in Minnesota that was previously offered to the state for just $75 million, according to a report. The immigration agency, which answers to the Department of Homeland Security, paid $495.6 million in August for the vacant Prairie Correctional Facility in small-town Appleton in response to President Donald Trump's crackdown on illegal immigration on the assumption that more holding space for inmates would be needed. However, an investigation by Kare 11, citing newly unsealed emails, has found that the seller, Tennessee-based private prison operator CoreCivic, previously offered to sell the exact same facility to the state of Minnesota for just $75 million in May 2025.
The United States has approved the sale of 500 Patriot missiles to Ukraine, a critically-needed munition for defence against escalating Russian aerial attacks. However Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has warned it could take "several years" for the deliveries to arrive. The US State Department said the advanced PAC-3 interceptor missiles would cost $2.1bn (1.6bn) and would be "funded entirely" by Kyiv's allies in Europe and Canada.
Marco Rubio pulls plug on traditional photo op at meeting of foreign ministers after about one-third of countries threaten boycott Read more
It was a dire warning, delivered on the biggest stage: Some 278,000 noncitizens were improperly registered to vote in federal elections and were poised to tilt the scales of the election in November, President Donald Trump warned in a primetime address to the nation in July. "The real number is actually much higher," he added. The president's bold claim set off a series of events that culminated in recent weeks with an unprecedented bid by the federal government to impose itself on state-run elections.
Financial giant Bank of America is reminding customers to bank safely by kindly not sharing your banking credentials with your AI agent. In an email blast to customers titled "Protecting your finances in the Al World," Bank of America urged customers to never share their username and password with another person or an outside service, "including an Al-enabled tool or agent that offers to act on your behalf." You can practically sense the frustration in the person sending the email.
An Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer who hit and injured a man with a vehicle in Houston, Texas, was indicted by a grand jury in Harris County on Friday. The 33-year-old officer, Mario Alberto Morales, was indicted on a charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon after allegedly driving his vehicle into Miguel Parra Hernandez earlier this month, NBC News reported.
Somewhere in the Eastern Pacific, a snorkel mast skims the ocean's surface, the only visible sign of a vessel lurking below. An encrypted signal arrives, carrying target data. The vessel rises, revealing a distinctive trimaran hull unlike that of any other navy's submarine. This unique configuration provides greater stability on the surface. Moments later, two large hangars built into the central hull slide open, and 16 missile tubes rise into firing position. Nearly 1,500 km (930 miles) away, an enemy carrier battle group lies within range. This is no ordinary submarine; it is a vessel unlike any other in the world. Read more
Scare up some good tunes this weekend, any kind you like.
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Creedence Clearwater Revival - I Put A Spell On You
Pentagon tells NATO allies, including Baltic states, to keep hawkish Russia talk to a minimum, sources say. Pentagon policy chief Elbridge Colby a key messenger, sources say. Some European officials surprised by Pentagon advice, say their tone is already measured.
As Trump's private anger over the elections grows, a political scientist explains why a big GOP loss looks so likely"and how it would deal a welcome blow to MAGA's cultural power. Read more
VATICAN CITY " Pope Leo XIV has become the first pope to vote in a U.S. general election, casting a mail-in ballot in a contest that will decide America's future as the Trump era slowly comes to an end.
In a priceless troll, a man attending a Trump rally in South Carolina stunned Fox News viewers on live TV. Read more
Europe looks past rioters to their parents and the apps in their pockets
Dockworkers in 22 countries will strike on Friday, protesting against war and the use of ports for arms exports in action organisers say could disrupt over 40% of Mediterranean cargo and snarl over $2 billion worth of freight. 'WE WILL NOT WORK FOR WAR' Read more
