Hollywood had a terrible October. The North American box office plunged to just $425 million, which is the lowest grossing month since 1997. Even major releases like Tron: Ares and The Smashing Machine couldn’t save it. For November, the industry is pinning its hopes on Wicked. Will it revive theaters or is this decline part of a cultural shift? Photo credit: Leah Gallo
In Case You Missed It
💊 A new study shows that long-term use of melatonin supplements is associated with a higher risk of heart failure.
⚖️ A federal court blocked a Trump Executive Order that would have required military and overseas U.S. citizens to provide documentary proof of citizenship to register to vote from overseas.
🐶 The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) announced that in the past five days it has terminated or reduced 103 wasteful federal contracts worth $4.4 billion, saving $103 million, including consulting and training projects at the VA and the State Department.
🇮🇱 Newly leaked video shows Israeli “settlers” torturing lambs in the West Bank on Monday. See the story below about Israel’s worsening PR crisis.
💥 A magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck northern Afghanistan’s Hindu Kush region on Sunday, killing at least 20 people and injuring hundreds as rescue efforts begin across multiple provinces.
*Stock data as of market close, cryptocurrency data as of 5:00 AM.
Lead: When the Dog Dies Too
Photo credit: RIA Novosti
President Trump said that he is not considering sending Tomahawk cruise missiles to Ukraine, contradicting reports from last week that he would.
“Could happen,” he said. “I could change, but at this moment, I’m not.”
Is it because Ukraine is inept and corrupt? No. According to CNN, it’s because the U.S. doesn’t have enough in its stockpiles to share.
On Monday, new video surfaced of Ukraine using drones to kill two civilians. It’s hard to watch.
A man is holding a white flag while walking with his dog. A drone stalks him for a while before blowing him up. The dog also appears to be hit.
Another man approaches, an elderly gentleman who makes the sign of the cross before he is killed too. These are not combatants. They are clearly civilians.
Who would do this? And more importantly, why would any moral nation keep supplying weapons to people who do?
SNAP is Half-Way Saved
Photo credit: AP
Food stamp programs will stay alive through November, but only halfway. The Trump administration told a federal judge it will use emergency funds to pay 50% of normal SNAP benefits, after warning that the government shutdown would otherwise halt the program completely.
That stopgap means roughly 20 million households relying on SNAP will get only half their usual amount, if they get anything at all. The administration says it’s a “bridge” payment until Congress approves full funding, but there’s no timeline for when that might happen.
Democrats tried to push through a single-issue bill to restore full SNAP funding, but Republicans refused to pass it, insisting on a broader budget resolution that includes border security and spending cuts.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the partial payments could go out as soon as Wednesday though state agencies still don’t know how the funds will be distributed or who will be prioritized.
The Department of Agriculture has not issued formal guidance to states, which handle the actual EBT disbursements, leaving food banks bracing for a surge in demand. Many states report they can’t even process benefit renewals until federal systems come back online.
Through all of this, there is absolutely no effort at reforming the program which is used legitimately by some and abused by many.
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Israel’s Sexual Abuse is a PR Crisis
Photo credit: Getty Images
Israel is in panic mode over a leaked video showing IDF soldiers sexually abusing a Palestinian prisoner. Instead of addressing the horror of the act, Prime Minister Netanyahu is worried that it represents“perhaps the most serious public relations attack Israel has experienced since its founding.”
On Friday, the IDF’s top military lawyer, Maj. Gen. Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi, admitted to authorizing the video’s release and resigned. She has now been arrested.
The footage, from a 2024 incident, shows a Palestinian detainee who was blindfolded, beaten, and sexually assaulted. After the leak last summer, five soldiers were charged with rape and later indicted for “aggravated abuse.” They remain on trial and in a recent video, vowed to “fight for justice.”
The victim was hospitalized with a ruptured bowel, lung injuries, broken ribs, and severe anal trauma.
Rather than outrage, the case sparked riots from right-wing Israelis angry that soldiers were being prosecuted at all.
And this is hardly an isolated event. For decades, Israel has held thousands of Palestinians at a time without charge or trial under its Administrative Detention policy. Many have reported sexual assault, starvation, and beatings while in Israeli custody.
It is telling that, for Netanyahu, this isn’t a human rights crisis. It’s a public relations crisis. For decades, the world has looked away from this, but now that Israel’s atrocities are playing out in full view, this practice can no longer be ignored.
News By The Numbers
Photo credit: Fox Sports
25,984,000. That is how many people tuned in to watch the World Series Game 7 on Saturday, according to Fox Sports.
89%. That is the odds that betting site Kalshi gives Zohran Mamdani of winning the New York City mayor’s race on Tuesday. President Trump threatened that if Mamdani wins, he could withhold federal funding from the city but added, “other than the very minimum as required.”
$4.19 million. That is the asking price for New York City’s skinniest townhouse. It is not even 10 feet across. Maybe it’s bigger if you’re a wizard. You know, like Number 12 Grimmauld Place.
What’s Trending?
Photo credit: Getty Images
Beaver Moon is trending because that happens on Monday. It will be a supermoon, one of the brightest of the year. It got its name for the time of year when beavers take shelter in their lodges for the winter.
Diane Ladd is trending because the actress died at the age of 89.
Krispy Kreme is trending because the donut store has partnered with Nestlé to launch Quality Street donuts and drinks in the U.K. for the holiday season only.
This trend is for men to tell trans-identified men that they’ll be safe in the men’s room where they belong. Meaning they don’t have to pretend they need to invade the women’s room “for safety.”
This is the opposite of Protect the Dolls, a term men use to justify letting males who dress like women into women’s spaces. (Thanks, Pedro Pascal, for explaining to women who belongs in our bathrooms.)
A better approach is this: tell feminine men that they are safe where they belong: in the men’s room. Because they are. Men don’t get assaulted in men’s rooms for wearing eyeliner. They pretend that happens, but it doesn’t.
In fact, there are thousands of recorded cases of men committing assaults in women’s restrooms, yet no documented cases of trans-identified males being attacked in men’s rooms. The danger is clear for women but society is choosing not to protect them.
Most men online say that they don’t feel comfortable posting YouCanPeeWithMeBro. That’s not really the point. The point is to show feminine men that we don’t buy the “not safe” line about men’s rooms, so stop peddling it to get access where you don’t belong.
On Monday, a musician in Los Angeles was trending after she was kicked out of a Gold’s Gym for complaining about a man in the women’s locker room. The man confronted her and then walked back into the women’s room, which California law allows him to do. Her reaction is worth watching.
That man probably wouldn’t have used the men’s room even if he did see a hashtag like this because he thinks that wearing earrings qualifies him as a woman.
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This newsletter is written and researched by Natali Morris. Please feel free to reach Natali at [email protected] for any editorial feedback.
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