Ukraine’s satellite fight gets worse
Today is Thursday, October 15, 2026
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- Good morning, and welcome to Hark News. Here's what the world got up to while you slept. First, the weather in New York. A high of 69 and a low of 54, with clear skies.
- Ukraine says SpaceX restrictions on Starlink and Starshield disrupted military drones during one of Russia’s largest attacks, which killed at least 5 people and left 600,000 without power.
- President Trump’s plan to ease sanctions on Russian diesel has alarmed Ukraine and some Republicans, who call it a gift to Vladimir Putin. The administration says cheaper fuel matters to American consumers, but Russia followed the announcement with further attacks on Ukraine.
- September inflation rose 3.7% annually, with gasoline up 9% in the month, but the more worrying detail is that shelter, used cars, airfares and other services also accelerated.
- The Trump administration is urging the Federal Reserve to hold rates steady despite the hot inflation report, while investors are pricing in a higher chance of another increase.
- Investors are still funding data centers, but deals now come with higher rates, tighter terms and more questions about demand. Volta’s planned $5 billion debt deal is expected to price above 11%, while Dell shares fell more than 11%.
- Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee told Semafor that inflation tied to the AI boom is beginning to spill into unrelated parts of the economy. The concern is familiar from earlier technology booms: one sector absorbs capital, power and labor, and everyone else discovers that enthusiasm has a mortgage rate.
- Attorneys general in 8 states have sued OpenAI, alleging ChatGPT encouraged children and other users toward self-harm, dangerous medical advice and violence. OpenAI points to parental controls and teen safeguards.
- The FBI arrested Abdulrahman Alfozan, a former OpenAI employee accused of planting a covert recording device in an executive conference room. Investigators say his chatbot searches included instructions for installing such equipment.
- Meta says its new Muse Wonder model now matches the leading AI systems, after Zuckerberg rebuilt the company’s AI effort around Alexandr Wang and spent heavily to catch up.
- Reflection AI’s Ioannis Antonoglou says companies could need 10 to 20 years to redesign their workflows around AI, comparing the transition to factories adapting from steam power to electricity.
- A survey of 500 companies found that AI skills now matter nearly 4 times as much as college attended in hiring decisions, while 25% of US financial firms tie bonuses, promotions or raises to AI proficiency.
- Apple unveiled a $299 HomeView smart display, an updated speaker and connected home products built around a more capable Siri. The pitch is that AI will finally make smart-home devices easier to configure and coordinate.
- A federal judge ruled that the administration likely violated the First Amendment by excluding CNN, MS NOW and Politico from White House coverage, and ordered access to continue while the case proceeds.
- Homeland Security agents searched Representative Ilhan Omar’s Washington residence as part of an investigation into immigration paperwork and possible false statements. Omar denies wrongdoing and calls the probe political.
- The White House asked Kimberly Guilfoyle to resign as ambassador to Greece after reports that she sought money from a Republican donor and offered access in return.
- Polls put Democrat James Talarico narrowly ahead of Ken Paxton in the Texas Senate race, with other statewide Democrats also within the margin of error.
- Aaron Day, whose third-party campaign helped defeat a Republican senator in 2016, is using AI-made ads to boost Libertarian and other candidates in 8 Senate states.
- Democrats are spending time and raising money in Republican districts that were once considered untouchable, including seats held by Lauren Boebert and John McGuire. The national Democratic groups haven’t committed major money everywhere, but frustrated voters and unusually aggressive Republican advertising suggest the map is widening.
- Iran-aligned Houthis struck Saudi Aramco’s headquarters in Dhahran after Saudi-led attacks in Yemen, while Iran-linked attacks sank 2 Emirati cargo ships in the Strait of Hormuz.
- The Vatican says Pope Leo XIV has lung adenocarcinoma after doctors removed the lower lobe of his right lung. Officials describe the surgery as successful, and experts cited by NPR say the available details could indicate early detection.
- The IMF now expects sub-Saharan Africa to expand by 4.5% in 2026, up slightly from its July estimate of 4.3%. That headline masks a sharp split: oil importers face higher energy and food costs, while Nigeria benefits from stronger crude revenues.
- The Democratic Republic of Congo’s former president Joseph Kabila has formed a rebel movement that incorporates Rwanda-backed forces, deepening the threat to President Félix Tshisekedi.
- Tampa Bay beat Cleveland 3-1 behind Freddy Peralta’s 6 scoreless innings, tying the ALCS at 1-1. In the other championship series, Milwaukee leads the Dodgers 2-0, turning Los Angeles’ enormous payroll into a talking point in baseball’s emerging labor fight over a possible salary cap.
- And that's your world for today. The full stories and the links are waiting in the app. Tap through, bookmark what matters, and share what's worth sharing. And if you want to see what stuck, take today's quiz in the app: five quick questions. And if Hark is making your mornings a little better, share it with a friend. It's the best way to help us grow. I'll see you again tomorrow morning. Until then, have a great day.