Good morning. In this edition:

• 🚗 America’s EV U-turn spreads
• 🏀 College hoops “All-Name Team”
• 🎃 Finding the Great Pumpkin

…and much more.

Ready, Set, Go: Today’s news should be a ~3.74-minute read (994 words).

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“The greatest work that kindness does to others is that it makes them kind themselves.”

–Amelia Earhart (1897-1939)

American companies and elected officials have hit the brakes on EV adoption in recent months. And the rest of the world is starting to downshift, too.

General Motors this week announced it will take a $1.6 billion charge due to its EV plans not working out as intended, with the automaker blaming the financial hit on regulators’ mandates for EV production, as well as recent moves by the US government to end EV subsidies.

• GM is one of several major automakers who have lobbied heavily this year to loosen gov’t laws that require companies to manufacture a certain number of EVs.
• Automakers say US consumers aren’t adopting EVs as quickly as expected, and government efforts to boost the tech are hurting their bottom lines.

America’s U-turn is spreading globally

In recent months, government officials around the world have become far less gung-ho on EV adoption than just a few years ago.

• Canadian PM Mark Carney last month delayed an EV sales mandate that was set to take effect next year.
• UK PM Keir Starmer temporarily relaxed his country’s EV targets due to recent US tariffs, and is considering whether to rethink the UK’s ban on the sale of new gas-powered vehicles by 2030.
• The EU last month agreed to reconsider its 2035 target for eliminating CO2 emissions from cars, following pressure from automakers who say consumers aren’t ready for such a move.

Even China is showing signs of distress. The world’s most dominant EV market has seen sales continue to grow, but increasingly at the expense of profitability for automakers due to an oversaturated market.

Looking ahead…Of the 129 brands that currently sell EVs and plug-in hybrids in China, just 15 are projected to be financially viable in 2030, according to consulting firm AlixPartners.

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Five decades ago, engineers stumbled upon a potential clean power storage breakthrough. But the world soon forgot about it.

Now, with renewable electricity production overtaking coal for the first time, that old idea is back and looking stronger than ever: using liquid air to efficiently store excess renewable energy.

The problem: While fossil-fuel power plants can essentially switch on-and-off at will, renewable energy sources like solar and wind are intermittent.

• This means that sometimes there isn't enough electricity being generated, increasing the risks of power outages.
• On the flip side, sometimes there’s too much electricity created, which could damage the power grid.

A potential solution lies in liquid air energy storage. This process takes excess energy from the grid and uses it to cool air from the atmosphere until it liquefies (at -196°C), after which the liquid air is stored in insulated tanks.

• In times of high energy demand, this liquid air can be reheated so that it rapidly expands back into a gas, driving a turbine that generates electricity.

Cooler heads prevail

Liquid air is considered a more reliable option than the two main ways that power companies currently store excess renewable energy:

1. In lithium-ion batteries, which require rare metals
2. Via hydropower, which needs specific geographies for dam construction

Looking ahead…The world’s first liquid air energy storage facility, under construction by UK company Highview Power, will power up in 2026. It could provide enough backup electricity for ~200,000 homes once it comes fully online the following year.

BUSINESS & MARKETS

• 📦 Walmart to deploy millions of ambient Internet of Things battery-free sensors across its US supply chain; tech vendor Wiliot says it’s the largest deployment of its kind in retail sector history, covering ~90 million pallets of inventory at full scale.
• 🌐 Nvidia, Microsoft, xAI, and BlackRock are part of an investing group that agreed to $40 billion deal to acquire Aligned Data Centers, one of the world's biggest data center operators.
• 🏛️ Trump admin to set price floors across a range of strategic industries to combat China, and could take gov’t equity stakes in companies from those industries, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC.

SPORTS, MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT

• ⚾ MLB Playoffs: The Mariners currently hold a _-_ series lead against the Blue Jays in the ALCS, while the Dodgers are up 2-0 over the Brewers in the NLCS; both series have games scheduled for tonight.
• 🍿 Netflix’s KPop Demon Hunters is returning to movie theaters for Halloween-themed sing-along screenings from October 31 to November 2.
• 🏀 College basketball “All-Name Team” for 2025 includes All Wright, Chandler Bing, Phat Phat Brooks, George Washington III, and more. See the full list.

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SCIENCE, SPACE & EMERGING TECH

• ✋ First-known hand fossils from ancient human relative called Paranthropus boisei unearthed in Kenya; they reveal surprising features, including the likely ability to use stone tools.
• 💥 Viral rat-shaped indent in Chicago sidewalk (aka “Splatatouille”) was actually made by a falling squirrel, according to a newly published study.
• 🥑 Researchers unveil AI software that can accurately assess an avocado’s quality and ripeness based on an iPhone-quality photo.

US, WORLD & POLITICS

• 📰 Nearly every Pentagon reporter from most-every major US media outlet turned in their press badges Thursday; development comes after they refused to endorse new Defense Department restrictions on newsgathering activity.
• 🧑‍⚖️ Federal judge temporarily blocks the Trump admin’s plan for mass firings of gov’t workers during the ongoing shutdown; it comes as White House budget director Russ Vought says there will likely be “north of 10,000” federal job cuts.
• 🏛️ Trump admin has secretly authorized the CIA to conduct covert action in Venezuela, which could include lethal force against drug cartels, per a NY Times report (gift link); Trump later confirmed the report.

☝️A 2,346-lb pumpkin took home the top prize yesterday at the World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-Off in California’s Half Moon Bay. Local engineer and gardening enthusiast Brandon Dawson snagged first place after missing out on last year’s prize by just 6 lbs.

🤔 Did you know? If your entire circulatory system—aka all of your veins, arteries and capillaries—were laid out flat, it would stretch for more than 60,000 miles. That’s long enough to travel around the Earth nearly two-and-a-half times😳.

📰 Worth a read: You have no idea how hard it is to be a Revolutionary War reenactor

🖱️ Clickbait: TikTok says these are the spookiest US towns

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Yesterday we covered how California became the first to require companies to enact safety protocols for AI companion bots, with a series of new bills that establish safeguard requirements for major chatbot operators like OpenAI, Meta, Anthropic, etc.

❓ Our question to you: In general, which of the following best describes your opinion regarding California’s new landmark law regulating AI companion chatbots?

• It’s overly restrictive: 7%
• It’s about right: 41%
• It’s not enough regulation: 42%
• Unsure/other: 10%

Click here to read some of the most thoughtful longform responses.

+Note on sample size: We received 712 votes and 65 longform responses.

Petra, the ancient city carved into rock, is located in which country?

🦋 A monarch butterfly with a torn wing received a miraculous transplant from a scientist at Long Island’s Sweetbriar Nature Center, just in time for its long migration to Mexico. 

Jordan

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*Disclaimer: Based on a sample of 4,272 Noomers