“A recall affecting more than one dozen cinnamon brands has been expanded by safety chiefs. Batches of the spice have been recalled due to fears they have been contaminated with lead. Shoppers have been told to stop using the cinnamon products as matter of urgency. Lead contamination can have adverse effects on young children, in particular, including brain and developmental damage. It can also cause slowed growth, hearing and speech problems. The recall was first issued in the summer and 16 products have been impacted.” (10/16/25)
“In an embarrassing error, PayPal blockchain partner Paxos accidentally minted 300 trillion of the PYUSD token today. PayPal’s stablecoin, which it debuted in 2023, is supposed to be redeemable at a 1:1 rate for US dollars. $300 trillion is more than double the entire world’s current GDP of $117 trillion. … Paxos acknowledged the issue in a post on X, assuring clients that their funds are secure and stating that it burned the excess reserves of stablecoins. The company claimed that ‘this was an internal technical error.'” (10/15/25)
“A federal judge has permanently blocked the Trump administration from withholding nearly $34 million in funding earmarked to protect New York’s transit system from terrorist attacks. Judge Lewis A. Kaplan said in a ruling Thursday that the Republican administration’s decision, based on the Big Apple’s ‘sanctuary city’ protections for immigrants in the United States illegally, was ‘arbitrary, capricious, and a blatant violation of the law.’ The post-9/11 Transit Security Grant Program, Kaplan noted in granting a permanent injunction, was created with instructions that money be allocated solely on the basis of terrorism risk. The judge had previously issued an order temporarily freezing the move. The state sued Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency after they said last month that they were eliminating funding for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which runs the city’s transit system.” (10/16/25)
“Four oil facility guards were killed in an attack on a bus on a highway east of Syria’s Deir al-Zor, state news agency reported on Thursday. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack. The military personnel, part of an army contingent securing the Teim oilfield, were returning home after their shift at the major site west of Deir al-Zor province, when their vehicle was hit near the town of Salo on the highway east of Deir al-Zor, a security source told Reuters.” (10/16/25)
“Regulators in the U.S. have moved to block one of Hong Kong’s largest telecommunications companies from accessing domestic networks, citing national security concerns. The U.S. Federal Communications Commission announced on Wednesday that it had initiated proceedings to potentially bar HKT Trust and HKT Ltd and its subsidiaries from interconnecting with American networks, escalating concerns over its ties to China.” (10/16/25)
“Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., lost her cool with a reporter [sic] on Capitol Hill on Wednesday, telling her to ‘shut up’ when she repeatedly asked about whether she was worried about the new January 6 committee. The lawmaker snapped at a reporter [sic] after she asked her why she didn’t call in the U.S. National Guard to defend the Capitol Building during the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021. ‘Shut up! I did not refuse the National Guard! The president didn’t send it,’ Pelosi said, referring to President Donald Trump. The reporter [sic], Alison Steinberg of LindellTV, asked Pelosi if she had concerns that the committee would find fault with her actions that day. ‘Congresswoman Pelosi, are you at all concerned that the new January 6 committee will find you liable for that day?’ she asked, referring to the recent announcement of a new GOP-led investigation into the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.” (10/16/25)
“Madagascar‘s new military leader, who came to power on the back of a popular rebellion, has announced that he will be sworn in as the country’s president, defying the decision of the African Union (AU) to suspend the island nation’s membership. The military seized power, forcing President Andry Rajoelina to flee the country last week. Colonel Michael Randrianirina announced late on Wednesday that he will take his oath as the country’s new leader on Friday, saying the High Constitutional Court will perform the ceremony.” (10/16/25)
“The U.S. passport dropped from the world’s top 10 most powerful list for the first time in the 20-year history of a key rankings index. The declining strength of the U.S. passport since its No. 1 spot in 2014 ‘signals a fundamental shift in global mobility and soft power dynamics,’ per a statement from Christian Kaelin, chairman of Henley & Partners and creator of the Henley Passport Index that was released this week. … Singapore tops the Henley ranking list, which uses data from the International Air Transport Association to examine passports’ visa-free travel. Singaporeans don’t need a visa for 193 of the 227 destinations worldwide. … The U.S., which dropped to 10th in July after sinking to seventh last year, tied with Malaysia at No. 12, with visa-free access to 180 destinations.” (10/15/25)
“An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 3.1 shook the East Bay on Thursday morning, according to the United States Geological Survey. The quake, which struck at 9:23 a.m., had an epicenter just below UC Berkeley’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and above California Memorial Stadium. The depth was approximately 5.8 miles, according to USGS. Weak to light shaking was felt in Berkeley, San Francisco, Oakland, Concord, Hayward, Fremont, Santa Rosa and San Rafael, according to USGS’ Did You Feel It? report. The earthquake comes on the same day as the Great California ShakeOut, the state’s annual earthquake drill, and just several weeks after a series of moderate earthquakes jolted the Bay Area, also with an epicenter near UC Berkeley.” (10/16/25)
“French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu survived two votes of no-confidence Thursday that could have toppled his fragile new government and plunged France deeper into political chaos. The National Assembly votes clear the way for the embattled Lecornu to pursue what could be an even greater challenge: getting a 2026 budget for the European Union’s second-largest economy through Parliament’s powerful but bitterly divided lower house before the end of the year. Lecornu’s survival also spares any immediate need for President Emmanuel Macron to again dissolve the National Assembly and call snap legislative elections, a hazardous option that the French leader had signaled that he might take if Lecornu fell.” (0/16/25)
