World in a Pulse
Briflio distills the day's signals into one calm feed — a personalized mix of the top stories across every topic, with context, not noise.
Privacy group files complaints against Scale AI over alleged worker surveillance
Oct 27 (Reuters) - European digital privacy advocacy group noyb filed five complaints against Scale AI in France, Italy, the Netherlands and Austria on Tuesday, alleging it illegally monitored freelance workers who produce training data for AI models.
Sculpture recreates odd optical effects of famed Lycurgus Cup
Dating back to around 400 CE and made of dichroic glass, the Lycurgus Cup is notable for exhibiting different colors depending on the light. (It gets its name from the scene depicted on its surface, of King Lycurgus of Thrace.) Light it from the front, and the cup looks green; light it from behind, and the color changes to a deep red. University of Sheffield scientists have recreated the original recipe to produce a contemporary glass sculpture with the same optical effect. The cup is considered one of the seven glass wonders of the world, one of just 40 glass cage cups that survived.
5 tips for a safer Halloween
While a few spooky surprises are part of the fun of Halloween, a little preparation can help families avoid real-life scares.
A theory of noisy linear recurrent neural network learning dynamics
Biological neural networks are noisy: their dynamics involve difficult-to-predict fluctuations which are likely due not just to chaos, but also to a variety of low-level biophysical processes. Despite the omnipresence of intrinsic noise, its theoretical consequences are incompletely understood, especially in the context of learning. For example, does noise meaningfully shape representation learning, or is it better viewed as a nuisance factor whose presence or absence changes little about what s
Winners and losers of NBA's first week: Giannis' Heat are ice cold, OKC injuries and new-look wonders
We're seven days into the 2026-27 NBA season, and the first week has been kind to some and harsh to others
President Donald Trump says he'll ban the term artificial intelligence
In a social media post, he questioned why the Wall Street Journal was not calling it his preferred term, super intelligence.
Walmart’s Great Value brand is facing a major food recall. Here’s what shoppers need to know
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced a large-scale recall of a canned fruit product sold by Walmart. The product is being recalled due to fears it may be contaminated with elevated levels of lead. Here’s what you need to know. What’s happened? Last week, the FDA published an enforcement report detailing a recall that was initiated at the beginning of the month. The recall was voluntarily initiated by Pacific Coast Producers of Lodi, California, a food manufactur
Conan Exiles - Official Enhanced Update Console Announcement Trailer
Don't miss the Enhanced Update Console Announcement Trailer for Conan Exiles, the hit action open-world survival game developed by Funcom. Players will soon gain access to the upcoming update that brings Unreal Engine 5 implementation, improved terrain, enhanced water simulation, and more visual upg
The iMac is back with an M6 chip and faster connections
Apple's 24-inch iMac sees a big speed increase, not just from the chip
Data rights group takes aim at AI platform Scale
A prominent data protection group on Oct 27 said it was filing five legal complaints in Europe against San Francisco-based startup Scale AI over the way its training platform Outlier handles data.
US Air Force moves 1,000-mile range hypersonic missile into production
After years of testing setbacks and uncertainty, the US Air Force is advancing production of its long-range hypersonic missile.
Dynamic heart rate variability for classification of arrhythmia burden
Purpose: Heart rate variability (HRV) may provide information beyond heart rate (HR) for identifying arrhythmia burden, but the value of temporal HRV variation remains unclear. This study developed a dynamic HRV measure quantifying the interquartile range of window-level root mean square of successive RR-interval differences (IQRRMSSD) and evaluated its utility in classifying total abnormal-beat and premature ventricular contraction (PVC) burden compared with the conventional RR-based HRV measur
Jerry Jones on a possible role for Troy Aikman with the Cowboys: 'Don't rule it out'
Aikman won three Super Bowls with the Cowboys in the 1990s
Death toll from attack by gunmen in northeastern Nigeria rises to 62
Bandits targeted Binnari village in Taraba state, setting fire to homes, shops, food supplies and motorcycles.
Americans are being cyberscammed out of billions and few are getting their money back
The U.S. government isn’t doing enough to fight the surge in cyberscams, and partnerships with the private sector remain fragmented and voluntary, an investigation into the global scam industry led by the Joint Economic Committee of the U.S. Congress has found.The government doesn’t even have a unified accounting of how much money has been seized from overseas scam compounds, nor how much has been returned to victims, according to the report, released Tuesday by ranking Democrats Sen
Trump Defends White House Renovations After Obama Cheesecake Factory Joke
President Trump isn't taking Barack Obama's criticism of his White House makeover lying down ... firing back at his predecessor and claiming the place was a total mess when he moved back in.
Meta AI director Rohit Patel leaves to take on Microsoft Office and Google Workspace
Rohit Patel is departing Meta after eight years working on AI evaluations and reinforcement learning, TechCrunch has exclusively learned. His startup, Ndoc, aims to take on Microsoft Office Suite.
US officials want Section 702 renewed before damaging court ruling goes public
Two Democratic senators who have long overseen US intelligence say the Trump administration is illegally withholding a secret court’s findings from Congress until lawmakers renew a program that lets federal agents read Americans’ communications without a warrant. Seven months ago, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court objected to search filters that let intelligence analysts pull Americans’ messages from intercepted data without the approvals, written justifications, or records the law requires. The court approved another year of surveillance anyway.
Information-theoretic entropy imaging of quantum matter
Phase transitions can generate intricate spatial organization invisible to spatially averaged probes, yet quantitative measures of this organization remain limited. Here we develop "entropy imaging," an information-theoretic technique that harnesses lossless compression to quantify spatial complexity, predictability, and order in quantum materials. Using this approach, emergent spatial textures can be imaged and converted into an experimentally-accessible observable: the computable information d
Congo’s Ebola outbreak tops 10,000 cases as authorities race to slow the spread
Congo’s fast-moving Ebola outbreak has topped 10,000 confirmed cases as authorities race to slow the spread across Africa
College football score predictions for Week 9, 2026: Model backs Oregon (-3.5) against Northwestern
SportsLine's model has revealed its Week 9 college football score predictions for matchups such as Georgia vs. Florida, Texas Tech vs. Arizona and more
Lula’s victory echoes across BRICS after fears of a Bolsonaro win
Lula’s fourth term may have spared BRICS an internal fracture at a time when Trump is trying to reassert US power.
This $2,000-a-month ‘chief small talk officer’ job could be Gen Z’s worst nightmare
Talking to coworkers you don’t know very well, or may have little in common with outside of work, can be uncomfortable. But no generation seems more averse to making office chit-chat than Gen Z. Now, one company is offering a new role for a brave Gen Zer to challenge all that.The job, called a chief small talk officer, was recently posted by the self-improvement app RiseGuide. The company is looking for up to three candidates, ideally based in New York or Los Angeles, but anyone in the U.S
Noah Wyle Crowned PEOPLE's 2026 Sexiest Man Alive
Noah Wyle was "incredulous" when he first heard he was PEOPLE's 2026 Sexiest Man Alive -- but that's only because he never believed for a minute that he'd win the title!
Google’s Genie 4 world model adds audio, more realistic worlds, and real-time steering
Google DeepMind released Genie 4, a world model with real-time audio, more realistic simulations, and mid-simulation text prompts, in research preview for trusted testers.
Apple iPhone Duo review: Two screens, two experiences, two thousand dollars
I understand the appeal of foldable phones—they let manufacturers keep expanding screen sizes while still producing devices that can reasonably fit in a pocket. In practice, though, every foldable Android phone I've seen in public has had a ridiculously visible seam between the two halves of the screen, often with what looks like delamination from the underlying surface, giving the display an ugly, bubbly appearance. Back when Android phones began shipping with bigger and bigger screens and the iPhone was stuck at a miserly four inches, I was jealous.
Halloween fans seek the ‘real’ thing on paranormal tours
From former psychiatric hospitals to funeral homes, US attractions offer ghost hunts and overnight stays for Halloween fans seeking an otherworldly encounter.
FDA offers new details on quicker approval pathway for personalized gene therapies
Rare disease advocates applauded the FDA's move to speed access to treatments.
Alabama's Kirkpatrick charged with allegedly threatening officer
Alabama defensive back Dre Kirkpatrick Jr. is facing misdemeanor charges related to allegedly threatening communications with a police officer involved in his arrest in 2025.
Supreme Court denies immigration judges the power to shelve deportation cases
The US Supreme Court declined on Tuesday to reinstate the authority of immigration judges to temporarily postpone deportation cases.
U.S. Officials Tour NABEP's Venezuelan Oil Fields: "Both of our countries are winning"
/PRNewswire/ -- U.S. State Department officials, including Chargé d'Affaires John M. Barrett, visited the oil fields of North American Blue Energy Partners...
Unnamed celebrity accused of 'inappropriate sexual activities', court hears
The man is asking the High Court to prevent two news organisations from publishing the allegations.
Anduril and Qualcomm to build laptops in the US for government use
Anduril and Qualcomm have unveiled BlueChip, a US-made laptop line for government and defence, with orders opening in 2027 and a Snapdragon X chip inside.
The Super Mouse puts a touchscreen macro pad under your hand
It’s a bird, it’s a plane — no, it’s a mouse with a touchscreen.
Jay-Z and NFL seal deal for rapper to headline 2027 Super Bowl show
After days of speculation, Jay-Z, the rapper who became hip-hop's first billionaire by building a career as an executive and entrepreneur, is returning to his roots as an entertainer to perform at the Super Bowl halftime show.
A possible treatment for brain-eating amoebas, found in the sea
Brain-eating amoebas are hard to treat and nearly always fatal. But researchers have isolated a compound that could help stop the disease.
Fantasy football Week 8 QB preview: If Kyler Murray is going to get going it has to be now
A clear top tier of five elite options leads the way, but tough matchups and injury questions create plenty of risk among the rest of the starting options
JD Vance in Howell to campaign with Michigan Republicans
Michigan Republican candidates are gathering Tuesday in Howell to campaign with Vice President JD Vance.
The politicians still making the case for data centers this election season
Data centers might be the boogeyman of the 2026 election. As anxiety about the impact of AI on the economy—and of hyperscaler facilities on local communities—ramps up, politicians on both sides of the aisle have distanced themselves from the industry. But not everyone. Even as Americans express growing discomfort with data centers, some politicians are still making the case for these massive AI projects, arguing that they represent a promising economic opportunity or are necessary to ensure A
Aloft - Official PlayStation 5 (PS5) Announcement Trailer
Explore the floating islands of Aloft and learn more about its world in this trailer for the co-op sandbox survival game. Soar the skies in Aloft, set in a world of floating islands. Build any island into a skyship, your home in the clouds. Find lost knowledge, cure the fungal corruption, and brave
Big Tech earnings a test of the AI boom amid market turmoil
Oct 27 (Reuters) - Wall Street expects Amazon, Microsoft and Alphabet to report this week faster growth in their cloud businesses, but a turbulent market selloff and concerns over rising costs of AI financing are tempering optimism.
US Army backs WWII-era mine’s tungsten exploration after 11-year gap
The US Army is committing up to $40 million to explore Idaho tungsten deposits as Perpetua Resources works to develop a domestic supply.
US method identifies radioactivity from 100-feet above in seconds
The aircraft with an aerial detector traced the radionuclide's identity, activity, and location nearly 100 feet above the source.
RFK Jr. goes for broke in Iowa
Kennedy on the campaign trail for MAHA, and new rules loom for U.S. investments in Chinese biotech.
Phillies name Rays' Peter Fatse as hitting coach, replacing Kevin Long
Peter Fatse, most recently with the Rays, was named the Phillies' new hitting coach Tuesday, along with Joe Cronin as an assistant.
Israel election turnout highest in 50 years as voting continues
Almost 45 percent of Israeli voters had cast their ballots by mid-afternoon.
Why the government wants self-driving cars to glow cyan
Robotaxis and other self-driving cars could soon get their own distinct cyan-colored lights to show when they’re being driven by a robot. The bright blue-green color would be standardized for automated driving system marker lamps under a new proposal for federal AV requirements. These and other standards were announced Oct. 23 by the Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Cyan lights would let motorists and law enforcement know wh
Anime Licensing Platform AniBiz Gets $6 Million Investment From Japan’s TBS Group, Toei Animation and TV Tokyo Holdings
Nakama, the start-up behind anime licensing platform AniBiz.com, raised $6 million in funding from TBS Group, Toei Animation and TV Tokyo Holdings.
Frontier AI labs say their models refuted the Exponential Time Hypothesis. What does that mean?
TechCrunch spoke to the MIT computer scientist charged with explaining OpenAI's latest mind-bending discovery
Center-of-Mass Interpretation of Evolution Strategies
Evolution strategies (ES) update a model by sampling a population of perturbed copies, scoring each one, and moving in the reward-weighted direction of the perturbations. This update is usually presented as an estimate of a smoothed gradient. We present a geometrical interpretation of this update instead. Treat each perturbed model as a particle and its reward as the particle's mass. Before scoring, every particle has the same mass and the population balances at its centroid. Once rewards are as
Third harmonic generation in the transition metal trichalcogenides
The transition metal trichalcogenides (TMTs) are an interesting class of layered 2D materials that have strong anisotropic electrical and optical properties. We report on the polarization-dependent nonlinear optical response of exfoliated crystals at the third harmonic using non-resonant excitation with a 1560 nm femtosecond laser. All members of the TMT crystal family explored (ZrS3, HfS3, TiS3, and NbS3) display large anisotropy in their polarized third harmonic generation signal, with anisotr
On the stability of learning
Learning algorithms are usually analyzed under the assumption that informative gradients are continuously available. But this is not always true---learning signals in biological neural networks, for example, may be sparse, local, and only intermittently available at any given synapse. In this work, we show that if gradient information is noisy and only intermittently available, learning may be unstable. In particular, even if average learning dynamics converge to the correct optimum, variance in
Kawhi Leonard sidelined with knee injury, which means he'll miss his return to Clippers' Intuit Dome
Leonard will not be on the floor as the Raptors make their only trip to L.A. next week
Cyclone Arnab batters India’s east coast
Heavy rains and coastal floodings hit India’s east coast on Tuesday as cyclone Arnab is making landfall.
Filevine Launches LOIS Voice Agents to Scale Front Desk and Intake Operations
/PRNewswire/ -- Filevine today introduced LOIS Voice Agents, AI agents that answer a law firm's inbound calls, conduct triage and intake by using the firm's...
Russell Brand told police he never had non-consensual sex, court hears
His trial hears statements he gave to police between 2023 and 2025, denying allegations against him.
The New iMac Doesn't Have an OLED Display—but It's Much More Powerful
Still no OLED in this generation, but the iMac gets a two-generation upgrade to Apple's M6 chip.
Auto-Research Arena: Benchmarking and Advancing Auto-Research in Language Modeling
As autonomous research systems become more capable, benchmarks must both evaluate their performance and support meaningful research progress. We introduce Auto-Research Arena, a multi-target benchmark for evaluating autonomous research systems and discovering ideas in language modeling. Arena supports diverse research objectives within a shared experimental environment by separating admissibility from improvement: model quality and resource constraints determine whether a result qualifies, while
China Zorrilla: World’s largest electric ferry starts commercial runs
The world’s largest battery-electric ship begins service on the Argentina–Uruguay route with a 40 MWh-plus battery system.
Ebola cases top 10,000 in Democratic Republic of Congo, as countries race to stop spread
The fast-moving Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo has reached 10,000 confirmed cases, government data showed Tuesday, as health authorities race to slow the spread of the disease in multiple African countries.
FSU president Richard McCullough to fans: 'I understand your frustration'
Florida State president Richard McCullough said he understands fan frustration over the direction of the football program and the athletic department.
Iranian and Qatari leaders meet at Russian energy forum
Iranian and Qatari leaders meet at Russian energy forum
ACELA TRUCK COMPANY EXPANDS SEVERE-SERVICE TRUCK CHASSIS LINE WITH NEW FORD AND RAM 4X4 TRUCK PLATFORMS
/PRNewswire/ -- Acela Truck Company is expanding its severe-service chassis portfolio with new Class 3-5 Ford F-Series and Ram 4x4 platforms equipped with its...
Trump Accused of Brutally Raping Former Miss Switzerland at Plaza Hotel in 1993, He Denies
President Trump brutally raped a former Miss Switzerland beauty pageant contestant at New York's Plaza Hotel in 1993 ... at least according to the accuser's account to Congress ... but Trump says it's all BS.