Source: Al Jazeera [Qatari state media]
“Australian independent lawmaker Helen Haines has had both of her legs amputated after being rammed by a car outside her electoral office, her husband said, as the suspected attacker appeared in court. Doctors amputated the MP’s left leg after an attacker hit her twice with his car in Wangaratta, northeast of Melbourne, on Monday, Phil Haines said. They tried to save her right leg but failed to do so, he told a news conference on Wednesday. … The suspect in the attack, revealed to be a 43-year-old man called Brendan Nugent, made a brief court appearance on Wednesday. … The suspect’s lawyer said he has a rare neurological condition called idiopathic transverse myelitis and is also recovering from a concussion, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported.” (10/21/26)
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/10/21/australian-mp-loses-both-legs-in-vehicle-attack-as-suspect-appears-in-court
Source: Yascha Mounk
“James Marriott on the End of Reading.” (10/20/26)
https://writing.yaschamounk.com/p/james-marriott
Source: Reason
by Tosin Akintola
“On Monday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced it would ‘make $8 billion available for one-time payments to American farmers this harvest season to provide relief during temporary market disruptions and increased input costs.’ … The $8 billion program is part of a windfall of taxpayer money the Trump administration has sent to farmers as relief for harms caused by the president’s actions. Last December, the USDA sent $11 billion in one-time bridge payments to more than half a million farmers nationwide. Earlier this month, the USDA announced it would provide a record $13.8 billion in gross payments to agricultural producers to cover revenue losses.” (10/20/26)
https://reason.com/2026/10/20/trumps-8-billion-diesel-bailout-pays-farmers-for-a-problem-he-created/
Source: David Friedman’s Substack
by David Friedman
“My previous post proposed an economics course built around World of Warcraft. I have much less experience teaching statistics than teaching economics and I suspect the game is less suited for the former than the latter purpose but it does provide quite a lot of opportunities for observing data and trying to infer patterns from it so could be used to both explain and apply statistical inference. And I suspect that, as in the case of economics, application to a world with which the student was familiar and to problems of actual interest to him would have a significant positive effect on attention and understanding.” (10/20/26)
https://daviddfriedman.substack.com/p/statistics-with-world-of-warcraft
Source: BBC News [UK state media]
“Russia is ‘ready in principle’ to resume talks with the US and Ukraine on ending the conflict, Vladimir Putin’s top aide has said. Yuri Ushakov was speaking after Putin met US President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff in the Russian city of St Petersburg. Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky and his European allies have been pressing Moscow for an immediate resumption of the talks suspended in February, and Ushakov said a new round could be held next month. Russia has for months refused talks as it believes it is winning on the battlefield with Ukraine facing an acute shortage of interceptors against deadly Russian missile attacks. Witkoff went to St Petersburg after meeting Zelensky as well as the leaders of Norway and Finland in the Norwegian capital, Oslo, on Monday.” (10/21/26)
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cq3djn5nxx12o
Source: The Scott Horton Show
“Scott interviews Robert Wright, author of the book The God Test, about how AI will impact our future. They discuss the threats AI poses to our safety and our economies. And they talk about the right and wrong ways to minimize those risks without sacrificing the genuine benefits offered by the technology.” (10/20/26)
https://scotthorton.org/interviews/10-16-26-robert-wright-on-the-threats-posed-by-ai/
Source: Indepenent Institute
by Stephen P Halbrook
“On October 15, I published a post arguing that true ‘sensitive places’ where guns are banned must have armed protection. The same day, a murderer broke into a ‘gun-free-zone’ school in Oregan and began shooting children and teachers. A dad of two girls at the school just happened to be driving by and grabbed his pistol, rushed into the school, and ‘neutralized’ the killer with several shots. He was a concealed pistol licensee. … the brave community member who entered the school and ended the carnage would have violated the law, but for a ‘choice-of-evils’ justification defense.” (10/20/26)
https://www.independent.org/article/2026/10/20/saving-lives-at-silver-rail-elementary-in-bend-oregon/
Source: The American Prospect
by David Dayen & Maureen Tkacik
“Four months ago, a Kansas-based private equity mogul named Dan Tasset posted on LinkedIn about his admiration for a trusted representative in Congress. ‘I’ve known Senator Roger Marshall for many years and have long appreciated his willingness to engage thoughtfully on healthcare policy issues impacting physicians, patients, and independent care delivery’, Tasset wrote. He mentioned that Sen. Marshall recently met with an administrator from an ambulatory surgical center (ASC) who aimed to improve the Medicare reimbursement system. Tasset’s private equity firm, Nueterra, owns that surgical center, and he and his employee were promoting a bill that would make ASCs more attractive to patients.” (10/21/26)
https://prospect.org/2026/10/21/a-major-roger-marshall-donor-is-a-hospital-bandit/
Source: CBS News
“A decision by Elon Musk led to restrictions on Ukraine’s use of SpaceX’s satellite communications network, people familiar with the matter told CBS News. The satellite service, which is used for drone operations, hitting certain targets and protecting sites in Ukraine, was slowed significantly last week. Musk held multiple conversations with administration officials leading up to the order, the sources said. He wanted clarity on the president’s thinking on the matter. Musk has expressed distaste with his company being seen as profiting from the continued war between Russia and Ukraine. It’s not clear how Musk’s order to curtail service was executed.” (10/20/26)
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/elon-musk-ukraine-spacex-starshield-trump-administration/
Source: Pink Flame of Liberty
“Let’s Watch the LNC Meeting 10/20/26 (Martin SIC Report).” (10/20/26)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iANt3gdmiY0
