The Gazette
The world's checked news, in five minutes
☀ Morning Edition · Saturday, 24 October 2026 · US morning
MC3 George J. Penney III, U.S. Navy / Wikimedia Commons, public domain- 2Starlink back for Ukraine; Oleshky ceasefire
- 3Medicare: check your plan by 7 December
- 4Big week: the Fed, Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon
- 5'Medicare' calling? Hang up and call back
- 6Meta pauses sharing in its Muse AI assistant
- 7Brazil's last debate; Israel votes Tuesday
- 8World Series Game 2 tonight in Milwaukee
- 9Fire at Hitler's Eagle's Nest; man held
- 10Ebola vaccine trial begins in DR Congo
1 of 10Top story · Gulf
Iran warns US warships off the Gulf
- Iran's military chief Ali Abdollahi: US warships barred 'under any circumstances'
- US envoy to Turkey Tom Barrack: a US strike could come as soon as this weekend
- Ministers from 8 countries met in Istanbul and warned against escalation
Why it mattersThreats lift oil: Brent passed $117 a barrel on Friday, which feeds into gas and airfares.
Escort a warship that sails alongside cargo ships to protect them.
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President Trump has said strikes would wait until after the 3 November midterms, but also that he could act at any time. Iran's Revolutionary Guard says it would answer any limited US action 'several times greater'. A memo from US intelligence chief Jay Clayton says Iran has 'substantially increased efforts to target U.S. personnel'. The Istanbul meeting brought together Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Egypt; France's Jean-Noël Barrot said more escalation would leave no winners. On Saturday, Saudi-led forces said they stopped two Houthi missiles aimed at Taif and Yanbu.
Source: CBS News, Al Jazeera
2 of 10Second story · Ukraine
Starlink is back to full speed for Ukraine; a local ceasefire is set for Oleshky
- Starlink and military Starshield links restored after more than a week of slowdowns, says Ukraine's defence minister
- Connections are stable on drones moving faster than 250 mph
- Melania Trump's office: fighting in Russian-held Oleshky to pause from Thursday, 29 October, for aid and evacuation
Why it mattersSmall steps, as Russia, Ukraine and the US prepare to restart three-way talks next month.
Starshield is the military version of SpaceX's Starlink satellite internet.
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Ukrainian commanders had reported lost drones and disrupted missions during the slowdown. President Trump says he did not order it; CBS News reported this week that Elon Musk was behind it. On Oleshky, a town in the Kherson region, the first lady's office says residents, mostly elderly, will get food, medicine and clean water, and those who want to leave can go to Russia or Ukraine. Neither government had commented publicly; Ukrainian officials indicated a tentative agreement.
Source: CBS News (AP)
3 of 10What changes for you
Medicare drug costs change on 1 January. Check your plan before open enrollment ends on 7 December
- Part D yearly out-of-pocket cap rises from $2,100 to $2,400
- The standard drug deductible rises from $615 to $700
- Medicare's negotiated prices for 15 drugs, including Ozempic and Wegovy, take effect
Why it mattersPlans change every year, even if you don't. Compare yours on Medicare.gov or at 1-800-MEDICARE before 7 December; new choices start on 1 January.
Deductible the amount you pay yourself each year before your insurance starts to pay.
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A temporary subsidy that held down Part D premiums since 2024 ends at the end of this year, earlier than planned. The 15 also include Trelegy Ellipta, Xtandi and Ibrance. Social Security payments rise 3.6% in 2027, about $75 a month on average. AARP's Nancy LeaMond advises people to 'shop around, compare your options, and choose the coverage that's best for you.'
Source: AP (ABC News)
4 of 10Your money
A big week for your money: the Fed decides on rates, and Alphabet, Microsoft and Amazon report
- The Fed announces its decision on Wednesday, 28 October; futures put the chance of a rise at under 10%
- Alphabet and Microsoft report on Wednesday; Amazon on Thursday
- Markets see about an 80% chance of a rate rise in December
Why it mattersInvestors want proof that the giants' huge AI spending is paying off. Their answers could move the funds in many 401(k)s.
About one in three S&P 500 companies reports its results this week.
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The Fed raised rates in September, its first increase since 2023; Chair Kevin Warsh speaks after Wednesday's decision. The S&P 500 is up 11% this year, but the Nasdaq had its biggest one-day drop since June on Thursday after disappointing results from Meta and Lam Research. The biggest cloud companies are expected to spend about $800 billion on data centres this year. Exxon, Chevron, Eli Lilly and Caterpillar also report.
Source: Reuters
5 of 10Scam alert
'Medicare' on your caller ID? It may be a scammer. Open enrollment is busy season for fraud
- Callers offer a 'new Medicare card', cheaper cover or free medical equipment
- Caller ID can be faked to show 'Medicare'
- Some ask you to 'verify' your Social Security number or lose benefits
Why it mattersMedicare doesn't call or text out of the blue asking for your personal details. Hang up, and call 1-800-MEDICARE yourself.
Real Medicare cards are free and arrive by mail. You never need to ask for one over the phone.
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Scammers also buy search ads with web addresses and logos that look like Medicare.gov or HealthCare.gov, so type the address yourself. The Better Business Bureau advises checking any offer directly with Medicare. You do not have to change plans just because enrollment is open. Report scams at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.
Source: FTC, Better Business Bureau, AARP
6 of 10Tech & AI
Meta pauses chat sharing in its Muse AI assistant after strangers could find shared conversations
- Security firm Claroc found more than 6,800 share addresses in public internet records
- Pages it saw included a loan application, business notes and a staff holiday calendar
- Meta paused the sharing feature on 20 October
Why it mattersWhen you share an AI chat as a link, treat it like posting it online. Leave out account numbers, health details and other people's names.
Muse, launched in the US in September, can connect to apps you choose, such as your email and calendar.
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Each shared Muse chat became a web page that anyone with the link could open without logging in, and its address included the conversation's title. Those addresses ended up in searchable records of web look-ups. Claroc reported the flaw to Meta on 8 October, says it has no evidence the information was misused, and warns copies may still exist in archives. Shared chats from other chatbots, including ChatGPT and Grok, have turned up in search results before.
Source: MediaNama (Claroc research), Ars Technica
7 of 10Elections
Brazil's tied rivals clash one last time; Israel votes next
- Brazil votes Sunday: Lula and Flávio Bolsonaro tied at 50%
- Bolsonaro apologised for a 'Nine Fingers' jibe
- Israel votes 27 October; US midterms 3 November
Why it mattersThree big votes in ten days: Brazil, Israel and Congress.
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The final Datafolha poll has them level. In the first round on 4 October, Bolsonaro won 47% and Lula 45%. In Friday's debate, Lula compared Bolsonaro's plan to take a 'chainsaw' to public spending with Argentina's Javier Milei; Bolsonaro said Lula was 'leaving the country bankrupt'. The 'Nine Fingers' jibe refers to the finger Lula lost in a factory accident as a young metalworker. In Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, the country's longest-serving prime minister, seeks another term.
Source: Al Jazeera (Datafolha), Reuters
8 of 10Sport
World Series Game 2 tonight: the Rays try to stop the Brewers going 2–0 up
- The Brewers lead 1–0 after Friday's 3–2 win
- First pitch 8 pm ET / 5 pm PT in Milwaukee, on Fox
- Rays starter Drew Rasmussen is 11–0 since the All-Star break; the Brewers start rookie Logan Henderson
Why it mattersNeither team has ever won the World Series, so one of them makes history this autumn.
The Rays have won 14 of Rasmussen's 15 starts since the All-Star break.
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Rasmussen has a 1.73 ERA over that run, with 99 strikeouts. Henderson went 11–3 with a 2.47 ERA in the regular season, and the Brewers are 21–4 in his career starts. Sunday is a rest day.
Source: MLB.com, Yahoo Sports
9 of 10The buzz
Fire engulfs Hitler's former Eagle's Nest in the Alps; police hold a man
- The fire broke out on Friday night; nobody was hurt
- Police hold a German man, 33; prosecutors are checking for a political motive
- Bavaria's interior minister says the building will be restored
Why it mattersToday it is a restaurant and beer garden, popular with tourists in the Alps.
Built in 1938, it sits about 6,000 feet up and was spared by Allied bombing.
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The building, also called the Kehlsteinhaus, was completely engulfed in flames when firefighters arrived, and the mountain made it hard to reach. Police say the suspect showed signs of mental illness and was taken to a psychiatric hospital. They see no sign anyone else was involved.
Source: CBS News (AP), Al Jazeera
Your Body TodaySleep & body clock
Morning light tells your body clock it's daytime, and helps you sleep at night
- Your brain has a master clock that runs on a roughly 24-hour cycle
- Special light-sensing cells in your eyes reset it each day, and morning light works best
- Light in the morning moves sleepiness earlier in the evening; bright screens late at night push it later
Do todaySpend 10 to 15 minutes outside this morning, even on a cloudy day. A walk or a coffee by an open window counts.
Never look straight at the sun. If you sleep badly for weeks, see a doctor.
The evidence
In a 2013 study in Current Biology, eight adults went camping for a week with only natural light, no electric lights or screens. Their bodies began releasing the sleep hormone melatonin about two hours earlier, closer to sunset, and they woke closer to sunrise. Indoor light is usually far dimmer than daylight outside, even on an overcast day.
Source: Wright et al., Current Biology (2013)
10 of 10Good news
A trial of Ebola vaccines begins in DR Congo, aimed at the strain behind its worst outbreak
- The first volunteers were vaccinated in Bunia, at the centre of the outbreak
- It tests whether Ervebo, made for another Ebola strain, also protects against Bundibugyo
- Vaccines from Oxford and Moderna, made for this strain, are to join 'shortly'
Why it mattersThere is no approved vaccine for this strain. A working one would let health workers protect the people around each new case.
Ring vaccination vaccinating the contacts of each sick person, and their contacts, to build a ring of protection around the virus.
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WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus announced the trial on Friday. Congo declared its 17th and worst Ebola outbreak in May; it has since recorded more than 9,700 cases and 4,600 deaths, and the virus has reached four countries. The trial is called Tumaini, Swahili for 'hope', and will include pregnant women and children aged 12 and over.
Source: Al Jazeera, WHO
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10 points · 1 word · 1 health note
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The Gazette · The world's checked news, in five minutes. Every story is summarised from published reports; sources are under "Read more".