World
Israel said on Sunday that all land crossings with the West Bank will be closed on Tuesday, when Israelis vote in a general election, and that Palestinian workers are barred from entering Israeli communities from now until then. The announcement followed the killing of two soldiers at a checkpoint near Hebron on Friday. Israeli forces pushed into Hebron a day earlier and displaced about 2,000 residents, and Defense Minister Israel Katz said they would not return until what he called the Hamas issues in the city are settled. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised a heavy price and an operation on a scale not seen since 1967.
Agence France-Presse / Taipei Times
Politics
The US Justice Department has sued to stop Alaska from certifying its Senate election unless Republican Senator Dan S. Sullivan wins, arguing that votes cast for a little-known candidate with the same name could change the outcome. The suit was filed on Thursday, and Attorney General Todd Blanche defended it on Sunday. Alaska's Supreme Court ruled earlier that both Dan Sullivans could appear on the ballot. President Donald Trump said on Friday that he ordered the lawsuit. The state uses ranked-choice voting, and the election is on 3 November. Legal experts questioned how the department could determine voter intent. The department is asking a federal judge to act before the state certifies its results.
CBS News / NBC News
Business
Audi plans to invest about $4 billion in its first US assembly plant, at the Middle Georgia Mega Site near Macon, with roughly 4,500 jobs and capacity for up to 200,000 vehicles a year. President Donald Trump announced the project at a rally in Perry, Georgia, 10 days before the midterm elections, and put the figure at $4.2 billion. Audi said construction begins in 2027 with production in the early 2030s; Trump said work could start next month. The plant will build the Q7, Q8 and Q9 SUVs. Audi imports every vehicle it sells in the US and faces 25% tariffs on them.
Reuters / Audi
Technology
Anthropic has opened a research preview of Claude Duet, an AI agent that runs on its own cloud computer and contacts the user when it finds something worth acting on. The preview is limited to Claude Pro and Max subscribers in the US, who join a waitlist, and costs nothing extra for now. The agent sends a morning brief, works inside connected apps and asks for approval before sending messages, making payments, signing documents or deleting files. It shares usage limits with the rest of the user's plan. Meta, OpenAI and xAI have released similar products. Anthropic says it will use the preview to learn which notifications users keep.
Anthropic / TechCrunch
Science
A study of 485,934 adults in China, followed for a median of about nine years, found that people who drank tea regularly had an 11% lower risk of heart and blood vessel disease than those who did not. During follow-up, 14,863 participants developed cardiovascular, cerebrovascular, pulmonary heart or peripheral artery disease. The benefit appeared strongest among weekly drinkers who had about six to eight cups a day. Black tea showed more consistent links than green tea. The authors and outside experts stress the study is observational and cannot prove that tea protects the heart. Tea of moderate strength was linked to the lowest risk in the analysis.
Journal of Internal Medicine / Sci.News
Sports
Milwaukee leads the World Series 2-0 after beating Tampa Bay 3-2 in the opener and 5-4 in Game 2, when the Brewers erased a four-run first inning. Sal Frelick tied Game 2 with his first home run in three months and Cooper Pratt hit a go-ahead single in the seventh. The series moves to Tropicana Field for Game 3 on Monday night, with left-hander Robert Gasser starting for Milwaukee against Freddy Peralta, the former Brewers ace now with the Rays. Milwaukee finished 103-59, the best record in baseball, and is in the World Series for the first time since 1982.
ESPN / Sportsnet
Health
The Democratic Republic of the Congo has reported 9,704 confirmed cases and 4,687 deaths in its Ebola outbreak, with eight provinces affected, according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. The outbreak is caused by Bundibugyo virus, for which no vaccine or specific treatment is licensed. Nigeria reported a case on 20 October in a person with travel history to Uganda, and 44 contacts are being followed. Kenya confirmed one imported case and one death on 6 October. ECDC says the risk to the general population in Europe remains very low. Responders are tracing contacts across several borders in the region.
ECDC / WHO Africa
Environment
Record heat across Europe this summer caused 50,391 deaths in 854 cities, and 32,619 of those are attributed to the extra heat produced by burning coal, oil and gas, according to a study in the journal Nature Health. That is 71% higher than the previous deadliest summer, 2022, when the same researchers counted 29,480 deaths. More than half of those who died were 85 or older, but more than 800 were between 20 and 44. Italy, France, Spain and Germany recorded the highest tolls. The authors say their figures are underestimates. The authors say the real toll is higher because the count leaves out May.
Thomson Reuters / CBC News