Mario Nawfal

🇺🇸 Most Americans OPPOSE betting on elections, military operations, and government decisions through prediction markets, according to a new nationwide poll. Opposition crosses party lines, with 69% of Democrats and 61% of Republicans against betting on election results. Meanwhile, 65% of Americans oppose wagering on military actions, and 63% oppose bets on government policy decisions. Nearly 90% of Republicans and Democrats also consider it inappropriate for members of Congress or their staff to bet on political events. The findings come as prediction markets grow rapidly, raising concerns about insider trading, market manipulation, and national security. The Trump admin supports federal oversight of the industry, while some state regulators argue these platforms are merely gambling businesses and should be regulated accordingly. Source: Reuters / Writer: Mhedi

🚨🇺🇸 The man convicted of orchestrating Tupac's 1996 murder is facing life in prison without parole, nearly 30 years after the killing in Las Vegas. Former gang leader Duane "Keffe D" Davis was convicted of first-degree murder in August and is scheduled to be sentenced TODAY, bringing one of hip-hop's most notorious cold cases (nearer) to a close. The killing followed a confrontation at the MGM Grand casino on September 7, 1996, when Tupac and members of his entourage beat Davis' nephew. Hours later, Davis and 3 associates tracked down Tupac and record executive Suge Knight in his BMW 750iL. Davis admitted passing a gun to the backseat before someone opened fire, hitting Tupac 4 times. Davis was arrested in 2023 after years of publicly discussing his involvement, including in a memoir that helped prosecutors build their case. Although Davis has been convicted, the identity of the person who actually fired the fatal shots remains unsolved. Source: Reuters / Writer: Mhedi

🇵🇹🇸🇦 Yesterday, Cristiano Ronaldo scored a goal for Al Nassr and kissed the club's crest at the end of the match. He did this in solidarity with the country, in support following the recent attacks by the Houthis. Writer: Samuel t.co/ytYRGegZ9h

🇫🇷🇲🇦🇩🇿 French right-wing leader Bardella says Macron is accomplishing the impossible: “In France, we are in a paradoxical situation, because historically the French left has always been very close to the Algerian regime. The French right has always been benevolent towards the Moroccan regime. Emmanuel Macron has managed to alienate BOTH countries, Algeria and Morocco. That’s quite something!” Subtle, yet pointed! French sarcasm and sassiness is kind of unmatched! 😂 Writer: Jamie t.co/Moik5Cjwox

The guy who made a fake video featuring a Lambo and a private jet using AI is back... Now he’s posting an AI-generated video with a fake girlfriend and a brand-new Rolls-Royce. If this is possible today... just imagine what it’ll be like in 5 years! Writer: Samuel t.co/fBro02MdJq

🚨🇺🇸 Rep. Ilhan Omar after a 5-hour raid on her home: "I will not be silenced." No… but you might be arrested and indicted if you broke the law. You would think a “lawmaker” would understand how that works… but consider who we’re talking about! When a D.C. federal judge signs off on an investigation into a Democrat… you better believe they probably did something wrong. Writer: Jamie t.co/RdlCIm6Nph

🇦🇶🐧 You can get paid up to $2,800 a month to COUNT PENGUINS in Antarctica!!! And yes, there's a catch. Several, actually 😅 A UK charity hires people to spend 5 months on a tiny Antarctic island, counting penguins, running a gift shop, and operating the world's southernmost post office. The pay is roughly $1,900-$2,800 a month, with food, accommodation and travel covered. The downside? No running water, one shower a week, shared sleeping quarters, and just 1 day off every 2 weeks. Oh, and you must live in the UK to apply. Basically, your dream job comes with penguins and medieval plumbing. 😂 Source: Cuatro / Writer: Samuel

🇱🇧 Hezbollah is handing out housing money to displaced Lebanese families, and nobody is asking where it came from! Lebanese MP Fouad Makhzoumi is asking the right question here: When a designated terrorist organization starts moving substantial funds outside official channels, in a country already under scrutiny from the U.S. Treasury, that is a parallel financial state operating in plain sight. Lebanon cannot rebuild sovereignty while allowing a second government to control both the guns and the money. One state. One law. No exceptions. Writer: Michael

🇺🇲 Newport Beach is building MASSIVE SAND WALLS to hold back the ocean. Crews have been piling berms along the peninsula after Tropical Storm Rachel damaged coastal properties and flooded the area. Today’s high tide brought more powerful waves, but the barriers seemed to hold. It’s sand against sea, but the waves usually win. Source: ABC7 / Writer: Marie t.co/IhKpEfA5jP

🚨🇸🇦🇾🇪 Riyadh’s airport was struck 4 times in a week, killing 18 people and wounding 300, and Saudi’s warning system was completely silent for ALL of it. The last public alert before the attacks was issued on Sept 29, nearly 2 weeks before the strikes, and Saudi authorities reportedly stopped warnings because citizens were complaining about being woken up. Western embassies issued their own internal missile alerts to staff the entire time, compiled from U.S. and Western intel, while ordinary Saudis received nothing. Even the embassies had no warning before Saturday’s deadliest strike. The last images before Saturday’s explosion were passengers scrolling their phones at the gate, completely unaware. Then the flash... Source: Reuters / Writer: Michael

🚨🇩🇪 BREAKING: Nuremberg Airport in Germany suspended ALL flights today due to an unconfirmed aviation emergency. Police sealed the airport as Eurofighters escorted a Corendon Airlines flight from Corfu that landed safely around 12:16. Operations stayed halted afterward, with other planes diverted to Frankfurt, Munich, and Memmingen. Earlier in the AM, 3 pilots independently reported a possible drone during takeoffs and landings. A police helicopter searched but found nothing confirmed. Writer: Jamie t.co/H93O1V6BUq

🇹🇭 These idiots thought it made sense to risk internet infamy to get away with not paying for a few items from a 7-Eleven in Thailand. Where are these foreigners from, and why do they feel entitled to steal? 🤔 Writers: Mhedi, Michael t.co/Z0s3sIJbd1

🇺🇸🇻🇦 The Catholic archbishop overseeing U.S. military chaplains is urging soldiers assigned to the Fort Hood shooter’s firing squad to request religious exemptions. Archbishop Timothy Broglio questioned whether publicly executing Nidal Hasan would turn the military into a spectacle resembling terrorist groups. The Vatican and several lawmakers have echoed this concern. Hasan, convicted of killing 13 people in 2009, is scheduled to die on December 3. Trump has yet to decide whether the execution will be broadcast. What happens next could say a lot about where America’s death penalty is actually heading... Source: NY Post / Writers: Mhedi, Michael

🇱🇰🇸🇦 A 24-year-old Sri Lankan laborer is on death row in Saudi Arabia over a Facebook comment he’d already deleted, and his mother is begging for his life. Anojan Sivarasa, a Hindu worker from eastern Sri Lanka, got into an online argument in June after someone made insulting remarks about a Hindu god, and he fired back with a comment insulting the Prophet Muhammad. He was first handed 5 years in prison and a fine under Saudi cybercrime law, but on September 17 an appeals court upgraded that to a death sentence for blasphemy. His mother pleaded with Saudi authorities to forgive him and to see him as their own child, saying he spoke by mistake and asking whether a life should be lost over it. Sri Lanka is pushing for clemency, but his family says they haven’t heard from him since late September. Writer: Julie t.co/QJgecw9toZ

🚨🇮🇷🇺🇸 Iran is FORTIFYING its nuclear sites as it prepares for the possibility of renewed war with the U.S. Satellite imagery shows Iran reinforcing sensitive facilities, as officials warn that renewed U.S. strikes could trigger attacks on Saudi oil infrastructure, Gulf data centers, and even American warships. Meanwhile, a third U.S. aircraft carrier strike group is reportedly heading toward the Middle East. Trump has ruled out attacking before the Nov 3 midterms, but the Pentagon is preparing military options. Both sides are preparing for something... Source: WSJ / Writer: Samuel

🇮🇩 It ain’t called a DANGER NOODLE for nothing 🐍 Seriously, tho...what kind of assh*le influencer wrestles a snake for fun? Writer: Marie t.co/34PinPZUBO

🇷🇺🇺🇸 Russia says it could export even MORE diesel than Trump announced in his deal with Putin. And Moscow is already talking about returning to pre-crisis levels. Russian Deputy PM Novak says exports could reach 3-3.5 million metric tons per month by the end of the year. The Trump admin temporarily lifted sanctions on Russian fuel to ease global prices, despite objections from Ukraine and U.S. lawmakers. Russia says diesel prices have already fallen 5-6% following the deal. Source: Reuters / Writer: Samuel

🇺🇸 This is how literally INSANE New York is becoming. With Mamdani as mayor, I'm not sure we can even blame her. 🤣 Writer: Mhedi t.co/FzUW1sjfr1

🇧🇬🇷🇺🇹🇷 11 sailors are MISSING after a drone attack sank the Turkish-owned cargo ship Azov Concord, off Bulgaria's Black Sea coast. 5 other crew members were rescued from the vessel, which became the second cargo ship to be sunk by drones in the area in just one week. Bulgarian PM Radev condemned the attacks as "absolutely unacceptable" and summoned Russia's ambassador, though Moscow has NOT been formally blamed. The incidents have intensified calls within Bulgaria for stronger NATO involvement, including consultations with allies and increased protection of commercial shipping in the Black Sea. Source: Reuters, @FaytuksNetwork / Writer: Mhedi

Oil has had one wild ride since 2000, and it's not exactly calming down now. In 2008, booming demand from China and a flood of speculators sent Brent to a record $144 a barrel. Months later, the global financial crisis hit and prices crashed below $40. By 2016, Brent had sunk to $26 after the U.S. shale boom flooded the world with oil and Saudi Arabia refused to cut production to prop prices up. Then came 2020. COVID lockdowns killed demand overnight, storage tanks filled to the brim, and U.S. crude briefly went NEGATIVE, meaning sellers were literally paying people to take it off their hands. In 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine, the West slapped sanctions on Moscow, and Brent rocketed back up to $133. Now it's climbing again, with Brent settling at $106.65 yesterday and WTI at $93.74, as the Iran war drags on, the Strait of Hormuz stays under blockade and Houthi missiles rain down on Saudi Arabia. Every few years, the world finds a new way to break the oil market, and this year it's going for the full combo. Writer: Julie t.co/WI4I4llkyw

🇸🇪🇫🇷 Greta Thunberg is at a secondary school in Saint-Denis, supporting the French school protests... Of course a woman who’s never worked a day in her life is joining a demonstration aimed at destroying France. 🙄🙄🙄 Writer: Samuel t.co/RAGHJeqGYD

🇺🇸 The plan to publicly livestream the execution of Nidal Hasan, the former U.S. Army major convicted of killing 13 people at Fort Hood in 2009, could mark a turning point in America's relationship with the death penalty. The December firing-squad execution comes as Washington struggles with the war against Iran and its consequences in the Strait of Hormuz. Executing a convicted Islamist terrorist could provide a morale boost and a political distraction from those difficulties. But the larger significance goes far beyond the war. America has spent decades maintaining capital punishment in law while increasingly avoiding its implementation. California is perhaps the clearest example. Despite retaining the death penalty and voters repeatedly rejecting abolition, the state has not executed anyone since 2006. This arrangement allows politicians to avoid the political consequences of either abolishing capital punishment or actually enforcing it. Across the country, lengthy appeals, execution moratoriums and disputes over supposedly cruel and unusual punishment have created an enormous divide between what the law permits and what the government is willing to do. Even lethal injection reflects America's discomfort with capital punishment, presenting an inherently violent act as something resembling a medical procedure. A publicly broadcast firing-squad execution would reject that sanitization entirely. There is a serious argument that laws, once democratically established and upheld by the courts, should be enforced rather than quietly abandoned through political avoidance. That does not eliminate the need for due process or constitutional protections. But retaining the death penalty while making its implementation practically impossible raises questions about the credibility of the law itself. And that is why Hasan's execution could become a defining test. If capital punishment is to survive as a meaningful part of American law, its supporters may have to defend its actual implementation openly rather than hiding behind increasingly sanitized procedures. The reaction to a livestreamed firing squad could reveal whether America still has the political and institutional willingness to enforce the ultimate punishment. Writer: Mhedi t.co/SYrSckXD6P

🇩🇪🇪🇺 Germany's Chancellor Merz: "The studies we are seeing show that Germany is considered the most attractive investment destination in Europe." He may be right about that, but it's a bit surprising when you look around Germany and find countries that are safer with lower labor costs and lower energy costs. What makes Germany still the "most attractive investment destination" over, say, Poland? Writer: Michael t.co/tbCA8pAJFR

🇸🇦🇾🇪 Houthi missiles are hitting Riyadh, and the bill could end up (once again) at your gas pump. Brent crude jumped from around $97 to over $107 a barrel in less than a week as attacks on Saudi Arabia intensified. It's still hovering around $105, with traders nervous about what happens if the Houthis start going after oil facilities. Saudi Arabia is one of the world's biggest oil exporters, so even the threat of disrupted pipelines and refineries can send prices climbing elsewhere. Saudi stocks dipped after the latest airport attack before recovering most of their losses, while other Gulf markets remain on edge. Even Ali Shihabi, a Saudi analyst close to the government, acknowledges the kingdom has too many airports, pipelines and oil facilities to defend them all. And the damage to business is already showing. Riyadh's main airport had to suspend operations, the capital's financial district has gone remote, U.S. aviation authorities are warning about flying over parts of the country, and some major players skipped this week's oil conference. That hits MBS right where it hurts. His Vision 2030 plan depends on attracting $100 billion a year in foreign investment to move the economy beyond oil. Not exactly an easy sell when missiles are flying over the capital. So the country spending billions to build a future beyond oil is now stuck watching its oil drive prices up for everyone else. Sources: Reuters, Bloomberg, AFP / Writer: Julie

🇩🇪 Chancellor Merz, on the fight to make Germany more competitive: "If I weren't involved in this conflict, my personal approval ratings would be better. But I have no intention of becoming the nation's darling. My intention is to get this country back on track so that we can once again offer a reasonable future, especially for the younger generation." This is how every unpopular politician sleeps at night: convincing themselves that 'the right thing' is always the exact opposite of what the people actually want. Writer: Michael t.co/LOFL8Q9QAd

🇮🇩 This is how catastrophic fuel shortages have become in Bali. With the Iran war having no end in sight, we can only expect the situation to become truly HORRIFIC before it gets any better! Writer: Mhedi t.co/sk8bxsCKjA

🇩🇪 Germany's Chancellor Merz: "The German labor market is still too rigid and too inflexible. It neither allows companies to grow quickly and easily nor allows jobseekers to find new work quickly and easily." I wonder WHICH chancellor could do something to change that. Dude, your party's been in power for the last 17/25 years! Writer: Samuel t.co/7aSGevD3UR

🇸🇪 Are screens and AI making our kids dumber? Sweden seems to think so, and it's not the only country having second thoughts. Not long ago, Sweden was the poster child for digital schooling. Now it's spending hundreds of millions of kronor on printed textbooks, bringing back handwriting, restricting phones and cutting screen time for younger kids, after reading and concentration levels started heading south. The latest science is starting to explain why. A huge review published in JAMA Pediatrics last month pulled together data on more than 2.8 million children across 64 countries and linked higher screen time to lower grades, weaker language development and more emotional and behavioral problems. The effects were in the same ballpark as other well-known risks to child development. Brain scans are telling a similar story. A Northwestern University study found toddlers' brains were more active in the areas tied to attention, learning and social skills during reading, playing and chatting with their parents than while watching a screen, even when they seemed totally absorbed in the movie. And then there's AI. UC Berkeley researchers found that just 10 minutes of relying on an AI tool made people worse at sticking with hard problems once the tool was gone, with many giving up faster than people who never used it. Another study, in the journal Cerebral Cortex, found that 6- and 7-year-olds using ChatGPT showed less activity in the brain networks that handle focus and self-control than adults doing the same task. Some researchers now call it "cognitive stunting," the risk that kids who hand their thinking over to AI miss out on the struggle that actually builds the skills. None of this means screens or AI have no place in school. The worry is about making them the default for the basics, while young brains are still learning how to focus and push through. Sweden isn't turning its back on tech, it's just figuring out that some things a pencil and a bit of boredom still do better. Sources: JAMA Pediatrics, The Guardian, Northwestern University, UC Berkeley, Cerebral Cortex, LA Times, BBC / Writer: Julie

🇳🇴🇺🇦🇷🇺 Norwegian FM Espen Barth Eide: "It doesn't really make sense that people who are not paying much for supporting Ukraine are those who have the key role in negotiations. We need a strong European voice." A successful negotiation requires a superpower that can exert massive pressure on BOTH sides... Europe lacks the unified military leverage to force compliance from Russia, and by Eide's own admission, cannot be neutral. Writer: Michael t.co/TljP55hY4h

🇵🇱🇷🇺🇺🇦 Polish Foreign Minister Sikorski: "We listened to [Russian FM] Lavrov's speech at the Security Council, which was mostly a rant against Europe. Which told me that they've just realized that actually they can't fix this just with the United States. Europe is paying for this war. Europe is consistent in supporting Ukraine, and we will continue to do so irrespective of what anybody else does." It feels like even if Trump has an opportunity to end the war in Ukraine, Europe will not let him... why is that? Writer: Michael t.co/qMztCOYGWa