“President Donald Trump on Monday directed the government to bolster federal research into women’s health, a move pushed by his wife, first lady Melania Trump. The order creates a new women’s health division at the National Institutes of Health and a White House task force to focus on the issue. That panel was set to hold its first meeting Monday after the Trumps held a Rose Garden signing ceremony. Meanwhile, Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islander adults have become more disillusioned with Trump and Republicans as the Nov. 3 midterm elections approach, according to a new AP-NORC/AAPI Data poll, giving Democrats a substantial edge on major issues like the economy and health care.” (10/19/26)
“China’s economic growth accelerated to 4.5% in the third quarter from a year earlier, as robust foreign demand for the country’s technological goods largely offset drags from a deepening property slump and sluggish consumer demand. Third-quarter growth beat Reuters-polled economists’ expectation of a 4.4% expansion, and was also higher than the three-year low of 4.3% in the second quarter.” (10/19/26)
“Barack Obama has said congresswoman Ilhan Omar is under federal criminal investigation simply because she’s an outspoken critic of the President Donald Trump. ‘The full weight of the federal government is being brought down on a law-abiding elected official because she has dared to criticize the president,’ the former US president wrote on X, calling the probe ‘so appalling’. The White House defended the inquiry, saying the justice department was ‘focused on restoring law and order’. Last week, homeland security agents searched the Minnesota Democrat’s Washington DC home as part of an investigation into her immigration status. Born in Somalia, Omar moved to the US with her family as a child. US media outlets have reported that the probe is tied to her American citizenship and whether she lied about her age when she arrived in the US in 1995.” (10/19/26)
“Elon Musk said Monday he’d give one of his shares in SpaceX to every ‘kid’ in America next year. … Per the Census Bureau, there are just over 72 million people under 18 in the U.S. If each got one SpaceX share, at Friday’s closing price of $146.03, that’d be a market value of a little over $10.5 billion. …Musk’s announcement comes one day after Anthropic said it was setting up a new public benefit fund with 5% of the company’s equity, an entity potentially worth $100 billion or more. Musk responded to Anthropic’s news by saying ‘I recommend giving the shares directly to the public,’ later adding ‘This is what I will be doing.'” (10/19/26)
“A visitor from Canada maliciously harmed a flamingo at an iconic Las Vegas hotel by removing the bird from its enclosure and taking it to his room earlier this year, prosecutors said Monday at the man’s trial. His attorney said it was a drunken act and no harm was intended. Mitchell Fairbarn of Ontario is charged with two counts of felony animal cruelty in Nevada district court. Authorities allege that on March 3, he entered the flamingo habitat at the Flamingo Las Vegas Hotel and Casino and took a bird named Peachy. Video played at the trial showed Fairbarn holding the flamingo in an elevator and carrying it down a hotel hallway. Fairbarn faces up to five years in prison on each count if convicted of felony animal cruelty.” (10/19/26)
“French President Emmanuel Macron has declined Interior Minister Laurent Nunez’s offer to resign after nationwide demonstrations by students protesting educational conditions and groups angry over the high cost of living turned into widespread riots and looting, the Elysee presidential office says. Macron said Nunez should stay in his position to ensure the chain of command is maintained within the police and security forces and asked the interior minister to establish new methods to deal with looters, the Elysee said in a statement on Monday. … The Ministry of the Interior said more than 2,300 people were arrested and almost 1,000 police and gendarmes injured in protests on Saturday. Injuries were also reported among protesters, with one demonstrator’s hand blown off by a police crowd-control grenade.” (10/19/260
“At least one person has been killed, and five others injured after Ukraine launched more than 1,000 drones at Russia, one of Kyiv’s largest aerial strikes in the war. St Petersburg Governor Alexander Beglov said firefighters were battling fires sparked by Sunday’s attacks on the St Petersburg oil terminal, the Ruchi oil depot and industrial warehouses in the Kolpinsky district south of the city. … The strikes came as tensions between Kyiv and Washington deepened, with US President Donald Trump criticising Ukraine’s attacks on Russian oil infrastructure, and the prospect of further US sanctions against Moscow still uncertain.” (10/19/26)
“A candidate for lieutenant governor of Massachusetts, Republican Shawn Oliver, was arrested on drunken driving charges after a crash late Saturday that left several parked vehicles damaged and his own overturned, police said. On Sunday, Oliver, a New Bedford City Council member, announced he was suspending his campaign, as his running mate, Mike Minogue, had called for him to do. … He faces charges of operating under the influence of liquor, negligent operation of a motor vehicle, a marked lanes violation and speeding, New Bedford police said Sunday. They said Oliver’s vehicle overturned after it hit five parked vehicles, two of which were extensively damaged, near a shopping plaza on Dartmouth Street about 11:40 p.m.” (10/18/26)
“Kenya’s Health Ministry on Sunday confirmed another case of Ebola, bringing the number of confirmed infections in the country to eight. News of another patient in the East African state came as health officials in Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) reported that the outbreak there had spread to an eighth province. … It’s currently the deadliest outbreak in Congo’s history with authorities recording at least 9,400 cases, including over 4,500 deaths, in the outbreak declared in mid-May.” (10/18/26)
