Singing the (Midterm) Blues

New Finance Minister Abandons Trussonomics, PM Hanging by Thread

They say the first 100 days are vital for any leader — but U.K. Prime Minister Liz Truss might not even make it to 50. Her new finance minister Jeremy Hunt systematically dismantled almost every element of “Trussonomics,” the disastrous policy announced by Kwasi Kwarteng on Sept. 23. The threat of impending financial catastrophe left Hunt with little choice but to abandon Truss’s tax cuts and drastically cut back her plan to freeze energy prices, but it’s left the PM on seriously shaky ground. “If she doesn’t go right now,” said veteran politician Charles Walker, “It will not be her decision.” (Source: The Guardian)

Have Dems Peaked Too Soon?

A New York Times/Siena College poll released just four weeks ahead of the midterm elections has Republicans winning the generic ballot 49-45. Quite the U-turn from a summer surge that saw Dems winning or tying in most polls as recently as late September. What’s changed? Simple: anger at the Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade has dissipated; Republicans have upped their ad spend; and inflation and gas prices have risen. “Gas prices plus groceries spells big trouble for Democrats,” said political scientist Susan MacManus. “It would have to be a dramatic drop for it to change the narrative.” (Sources: The Hill, NYT)

As Winter Looms, Russia Targets Water and Power Infrastructure

The Kremlin is ramping up its attempts to destroy Ukrainian power and water supplies ahead of the long, cold winter. A flurry of missile attacks Tuesday morning hit infrastructure targets in the cities of Zhytomyr, Dnipro, Kharkiv and Mykolaiv among others. This as the death toll from Monday’s kamikaze drone attacks on Kyiv rose to four. “Ukraine is under fire by the occupiers,” wrote Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. “They continue to do what they do best — terrorise and kill civilians.” Across the border in Yeysk, Russia, 13 people were killed when a Russian military plane crashed into an apartment block. (Sources: Reuters, BBC)

Kanye West To Buy Right-Leaning Social Media Platform Parler

Shortly after being blocked from Twitter and Instagram for antisemitic posts, the rapper legally known as Ye has agreed terms to buy the conservative social platform Parler. On the face of things, it’s a perfect fit: Parler has loose rules regarding free speech and virtually no moderation. But it’s also got only 725,000 monthly users — a number that may shrink even further if Elon Musk’s plans to make Twitter a free-speech haven materialize. “In a world where conservative opinions are considered to be controversial we have to make sure we have the right to freely express ourselves,” said Ye. (Source: AP)

Here are some things you should know about today:

Worthy winner. Sri Lankan novelist Shehan Karunatilaka has won the Booker Prize for The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida, “a searing, mordantly funny satire set amid the murderous mayhem of a Sri Lanka beset by civil war.” (Source: NPR) Missing. Fears are growing for Elnaz Rekabi, a female Iranian rock climber who competed without a hijab at a contest in South Korea. The Iranian embassy dismissed the “fake news, lies and false information” and said she’d returned home. (Source: BBC) Charged. A woman has been charged with the rape and murder of a 12-year-old girl whose body was found in a trunk in Paris on Friday. (Source: France 24)

A Distracted World Has Barely Noticed Somalia’s Devastating Famine

On his second day in hospital, it seemed like two-year-old Abdiwali Abdi might be turning a corner. He still weighed just 10 pounds, but could now muster the energy to whimper. His family had once been relatively well-off but two months ago the last of their 40 cows died. On the third morning, Abdiwali’s temperature plummeted and doctors wrapped him in a reflective thermal blanket. At 10:13 a.m. they gave up on trying to resuscitate him. “It’s so sad and painful when you witness something that can be prevented and can be corrected very easily,” said head doctor, Ali Shueb. (Source: BBC)

Zelenskyy To Publish Collection of War Speeches

“Supporting Ukraine is not a trend, a meme or a viral challenge,” said President Zelenskyy. “If you want to understand where we are from, what we want and where we are going, you need to learn more about who we are. This book will help you do just that.” The 16 speeches in A Message from Ukraine were personally chosen by Zelenskyy. He also penned an introduction detailing “Ukraine’s journey since 2019.” The collection will be published Dec. 6 by Penguin Random House. All royalties will go to United24, the fund Zelenskyy established to coordinate donations to Ukraine. (Sources: ABC, The Guardian)

As Ice Disappears, Mountain Goats and Bighorns Face Off

Already 300 glaciers have disappeared from the Rocky Mountains, and scientists say it’s “inevitable” that Glacier National Park will soon be nothing more than a name. Less ice means less food for bighorn sheep and mountain goats — and a dramatic increase in interspecies skirmishes. Joel Berger, author of a new study, says mountain goats win 98% of the time: “They are the badasses of the mountains. They have these saber-like horns; they are bolder, more aggressive … Direct conflict isn’t something any of these species want, but this is what’s happening.” Human or not, “climate change is reshaping all of our futures,” he added. (Source: The Guardian)

Another Day, Another Tale of Bill Murray’s Inappropriate Behavior

Third-graders will be third-graders. But one of them was in his 30s … When Seth Green was 9, he did a Saturday Night Live spot. While waiting backstage, he made the mistake of sitting on the arm of Murray’s favorite sofa. After the kid refused to move, Murray picked him up by the ankles, and dangled him over a trash can. “I swung my arms,” recalled Green. “Flailed wildly, full contact with his balls. He dropped me in the trash can, the trash can falls over ... I ran away, hid under the table in my dressing room and just cried.” (Source: Variety)

Neymar Trial Reveals Ugly Side of Global Soccer Market

Back in 2009, 17-year-old Neymar hadn’t even played a match for Brazilian club Santos. But his name was already well known in elite soccer circles and Santos was desperate to hang on to the future star a bit longer so it could sell him to a European megaclub at a massive profit. The club didn’t have the cash to keep him sweet, so supermarket magnate Delcir Sonda stepped in — paying $2 million for 40% of Neymar’s economic rights. 13 years later, he’s still fighting for his pound of flesh from the 2013 deal that saw Neymar join Barcelona for $114 million. (Source: NYT)

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