West Des Moines, Iowa—Iowa voters may disagree on immigration, taxes, and the economy, but government surveillance is drawing opposition from across the political spectrum.
An Emerson College poll of 750 likely Iowa voters, conducted between late August and early September, found that 61 percent opposed police use of automated license plate reader (ALPR) cameras, compared with 26 percent in support.
The backlash comes as police departments across the state increasingly rely on surveillance technology supplied by private companies such as Flock Safety and Motorola Solutions. Their cameras record license plates and vehicle information, feeding searchable databases that allow law enforcement to piece together motorists' movements, including those of people suspected of no crime.
As Iowa's gubernatorial and congressional campaigns enter their final stretch, voters are increasingly pressing candidates on whether they intend to place limits on the technology. Jacqueline Thompson, an ordained elder in the Iowa Conference of the United Methodist Church and a self-described centrist Democrat, said she has been concerned about government surveillance for years.
"It's always been important to me [and] I've always thought that was a problem," she said before a campaign rally at a senior living community in Des Moines earlier this month. "So, when people started jumping on the bandwagon saying it, I was like, 'Hello, I've been here already!'"
Thompson pointed to two Democratic candidates, Nate Willems, who is running for Iowa attorney general, and Taylor Wettach, a candidate for state auditor, as having caught her attention with their emphasis on corporate oversight and access to government records.
For Thompson, the renewed attention to privacy is a welcome development in a political environment where Democrats and Republicans rarely find common ground. "It's kind of nice to hear the people come back to the middle [and discuss this]," she said.
Flock Does Not Have Enough Guardrails
Police surveillance technology has spread across Iowa faster than the rules governing its use.
A recent study identified at least 62 Iowa law enforcement agencies that had accessed other agencies' Flock databases, including departments that did not operate cameras of their own. Police departments can therefore search information collected well beyond their jurisdictions without having to install a single camera themselves. The study (led by Megan Graham, a clinical associate professor and director of the Technology Law Clinic at the University of Iowa College of Law) found significant gaps in transparency surrounding ALPRs.
The constitutional implications are already being tested in court. On October 1, a federal judge in Oklahoma ruled that a sheriff's deputy violated the Fourth Amendment by searching a motorist's location history through automated license plate reader systems operated by Flock Safety and Motorola Solutions without a warrant.
The search turned up more than 50 records of the driver's whereabouts across multiple states over a month. In the 38-page ruling, the judge ordered the resulting evidence suppressed, describing the technology as a form of "indiscriminate mass surveillance." The decision is not binding in Iowa, and legal challenges to ALPR surveillance still face an uphill battle, but it adds to the legal scrutiny of police tracking motorists without warrants.
The University of Iowa study also raised concerns about unauthorized database access, erroneous alerts, and the potential use of locally collected information for federal immigration enforcement.
Flock Safety says it has not provided U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement or Border Patrol with direct access to its systems. But the researchers found that local law enforcement agencies elsewhere in the country had conducted searches on behalf of federal authorities, effectively allowing them to obtain information without direct access.
Taxpayers are also footing the bill. Cedar Rapids reported operating 76 cameras at a combined average cost of more than $20,000 a month, according to the study.
Researchers struggled to determine the full extent of surveillance across Iowa. Some agencies refused to disclose the number or locations of their cameras, while others withheld records concerning unauthorized access or erroneous alerts, citing confidentiality.
The cameras are not limited to Iowa's largest cities. Becca Eastwood, deputy policy director at the American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa, said they have spread across large, midsize, and smaller communities, prompting a surge in opposition over the past year.
The backlash "has just exploded, like no other issue that I have seen in my time at the ACLU," Eastwood told Reason in an interview. Candidates running for state and federal offices are increasingly getting asked if they support police departments using ALPR cameras, she said.
Some local governments are already reconsidering their contracts. Indianola and Waukee suspended their Flock camera arrangements, Iowa Public Radio reported in August. Dallas County paused a planned rollout while awaiting guidance from state lawmakers. Ankeny, which operates 16 Flock cameras, is reportedly expected to reconsider a possible contract extension next year.
The backlash also cuts across the immigration debate. While concerns about federal immigration enforcement have helped draw attention to the cameras, critics argue the same surveillance infrastructure can be used against anyone, regardless of which party controls the government.
"This is a nonpartisan issue because people recognize that surveillance can be weaponized against anyone the government wants to weaponize it against," Eastwood said. "An increase in police surveillance impacts certain populations more, right now [but] nobody is immune."
Politicians Face Pressure To Cut Ties With Flock
The opposition is beginning to force Iowa's candidates to take positions on a technology that, until recently, attracted relatively little attention outside law enforcement and civil liberties circles.
Among the gubernatorial candidates, interviewed by Iowa Radio last month, Republican Zach Lahn has called for state-level regulation, arguing that the widespread collection of information about where people drive is unacceptable. Meanwhile, Democrat Rob Sand has expressed support for safeguards governing the collection and use of license plate data and said he would sign legislation if privacy concerns persisted. But he has also pointed to the cancellation of some Flock contracts as evidence that the market is responding to public concerns.
For now, neither approach offers much clarity on whether police should be required to obtain warrants before searching motorists' location histories or how far restrictions on data collection should go.
Ryan Johnson, a libertarian-leaning Republican who works as a machinist near Waterloo, said he could accept cameras in certain locations, such as downtown areas or near traffic signals. But he objects to their spread into residential neighborhoods and public spaces.
"Just having Flock cameras everywhere, [in] residential [areas], putting them at parks and pools, we don't need that," Johnson said while attending a Lahn rally earlier this month.
So far, some of the most concrete changes to ALPR practices have come from Flock itself. In August, the company announced that it would reduce its default data-retention period from 30 days to seven and require officers to enter a criminal case number or code for each search. The changes would not, however, require police to obtain a warrant before accessing the records.
Gary and Nancy Guthrie, a Democratic couple attending a Des Moines rally supporting Chris Jones for secretary of agriculture, remain skeptical of the cameras.
"I don't have a good feel for that," Nancy Guthrie said. "Personally, I'm very much against Flock cameras."
For all the attention the issue is receiving on the campaign trail, Iowa voters have yet to hear much about what legal limits candidates would actually impose on police surveillance.
“Sono grasso e cecato” e pure un po’ fetente. Anche in Italia sappiamo fare i biopic musicali. Je so’ pazzo, il film diretto da Nicola Prosatore sulla prima epica manciata di anni di vita musicale di Pino Daniele, è una delle più gustose versioni del genere prodotte a casa nostra o, ancor meglio, tra i bassi napoletani.
Coraggiosa, matura, verace e pure un tantinello sfrontata, l’opera di Prosatore non solo è prima al box office italiano da una settimana, ma dà incredibilmente dei chilometri anche solo a filmetti modesti dell’area bio anglosassone come Bohemian Rhapsody. Non che ci sia nulla di stilisticamente pompato, di idealisticamente fuori dall’ordinario.
Lo srotolamento della vita di Daniele da quando, bambino, nei primi anni Sessanta, è seduto sulla banchina del porto (Otis sì, è per te) a smerciare i “dollars” col padre farabutto (luciferino l’ottimo Giovanni Ludeno), poi ancora tra vicoli, prostitute, gioco d’azzardo e l’epifania del blues dei soldati statunitensi afroamericani spizzicato alla chitarra, fino al live monumentale con oltre 200mila persone (a gratis) in Piazza del Plebiscito appena vent’anni dopo, all’apice del successo, non ha né i tratti marcati della foga né quelli sbrodolosi dell’agiografia.
Je so’ pazzo è vita creativa musicalmente eccezionale che prende forma per microeventi e strappi, è scrittura di pregio, tagli precisi, poderosi e sintetici (Prosatore, Edoardo Puma e Carlo Salsa) che disegnano reiterati conflitti (col padre, con l’industria della musica), enfasi pittorico-umana (con Napoli), catarsi possibile del singolo (il successo e la fama oltre i limiti fisici e la condizione familiare).
Il Daniele di Massimiliano Caiazzo poi è qualcosa di genuinamente sofferto, un corpo ancorato simbolicamente al terreno che riesce a vibrare oltre i tavoli in formica, le tv in bianco e nero con l’antenna e le purpette in frigo, che si eleva spiritualmente mentre si riproduce la “vocina”, che si ricompone etereo nella storia ibrida della musica napoletana ed italiana tra Settanta e Ottanta.
Attenzione però, il Pino Daniele di Prosatore non è un santo e nemmeno un amicone. È una figura contraddittoria, un filino stronza, autoritaria e traditrice, che in quel crogiolo musicale impressionante del Neapolitan Power trova uno spazio deflagrante, irriverente e maleducato, singolarmente pop. In una summa pressoché inappuntabile di scenografie e trovarobe (arredamento e vestiario quasi odorano degli anni Settanta), Je so’ pazzo si mostra in tutta la sua proteiforme bellezza anche come angolazione dello sguardo. Tra una panoramica circolare in studio di registrazione che ricorda Godard con gli Stones e la capacità di dare volume e profondità agli sfondi massa sbirciando rapido attraverso piani ravvicinati, Prosatore lascia contemporaneamente un segno di qualità e uno di intrattenimento tra le pagine di un cinema italiano spesso anemico e semplificatore di fronte ai giganti della storia. Tratto dal libro di Alessandro Daniele, primogenito di Pino, sulla vita del padre.
A new report by the Federal Reserve Board says that from 2022 to 2025, the median net worth in the United States rose for families of all racial and ethnic groups — except Black people, whose median net worth fell a stunning 25%. During 2019-2022, by contrast, the median net worth for Black families increased by 60%. The median wealth of white families last year was nine times that of Black families. That is the largest gap since 2016.
“It’s the economy, stupid” was James Carville’s blunt, and effective, slogan during Bill Clinton’s successful 1992 presidential campaign.
Today, it is the economy that’s stupid — especially for Black Americans.
The median wealth of white families last year was nine times that of Black families. That is the largest gap since 2016.
While President Donald Trump’s fatuous war against Iran makes prices soar for everybody, African Americans are being subjected to a unique level of economic pain, providing them another reason to scorn Trump’s Republican Party this Election Day.
Factors in the African American economy’s turnaround are complex and varied. At the macro-level, Trump has convinced much of America, including corporations and colleges, that promoting diversity, equity and inclusion efforts to redress a long legacy of racism is taboo, if not illegal.
Black workers saw his harsh, overzealous firing of federal employees as a community affront because the government, especially in the Post Office decades ago, was a place where Black people could more reliably get jobs, even if at the lower levels, when other employers didn’t hire them.
Other factors include African Americans holding more money in houses and cars, which don’t gain ground like stocks and bonds. Also the Covid-19 financial assistance that was especially helpful for lower-income Black households during the pandemic expired in 2021.
And the bad economic news — especially for Black families — keeps coming.
The Black unemployment rate rose to 7% in September, a full percentage point over August. As usual, the Black unemployment rate is about twice the rate for white people, which is now 3.6%. (The Hispanic unemployment rate is in between, at 4.7%.)
Meanwhile, the social safety net is in tatters as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly food stamps) participation has dropped to it lowest level in 17 years, even while “affordability” campaigns crowd the political landscape.
This administration has defunded and dismantled policies and economic safeguards for Black people to gain and maintain generational wealth in this country. We must fight to restore and expand the pathways that allow Black families to build, protect and pass down that wealth.
NAACP PRESIDENT AND CEO DERRICK JOHNSON
Last month, not long before the Federal Reserve released its consumer survey, the NAACP published its Roadmap to Generational Wealth, an initiative to dismantle “the systemic barriers that fuel the widening racial wealth gap in America.” The document focuses on crucial pillars that could help close the racial gap.
“This administration has defunded and dismantled policies and economic safeguards for Black people to gain and maintain generational wealth in this country,” NAACP President and CEO Derrick Johnson wrote. “We must fight to restore and expand the pathways that allow Black families to build, protect, and pass down that wealth.”
As usual, Trump sees what he wants to see and makes up the rest. This month, he told reporters that “we’re doing great” when asked about the economy.
NEW: Federal Reserve data shows the median net worth of Black households fell 25% from 2022 to 2025, dropping from $49,100 to $36,800. Every other major racial group gained wealth over the same period, so the racial wealth gap grew even wider.
People don’t believe that. If they did, then the economy wouldn’t be the highest ranked issue for voters, including African Americans.
Eighty-seven percent of Black voters, more than any other group surveyed, listed the economy as their top concern in a Pew Research Center poll conducted Sept. 28-Oct. 4. With the alarming data about falling net worth, rising unemployment and sliding SNAP rates, it’s no wonder why. African Americans see more danger ahead.
Politics play a major role in the economy and the “future of democracy” also is a high-rated concern, cited by 72% of Black people. Voting is the fundamental function of democracy, and African Americans know that Republicans from state houses to the Supreme Court have used every tool to diminish the Black vote. Other major issues, including Washington’s unchecked corruption, the vanquishing of DEI and draconian immigration enforcement also drew substantial attention from African Americans in the survey.
None of this bodes well for Trump and his Republican allies if they care about Black votes.
But just as Trump is trying to convince Iran he has defeated it, he is trying to convince Black Americans that they’ve been winning because of him. The White House provided a list of 24 bullet points with “tangible benefits” meant to persuade Black families that he is not the man they know him to be. Lynne Patton, deputy assistant to the president for coalition, policy and engagement, told me in an email, “Even though the media refuses to cover it, I have seen firsthand the incredible impact President Trump has made for Hispanic and Black Americans.” Among other things, Patton cited what she called “the largest middle-class tax cuts in American history,” a drop in violent crime and “an additional $174 million” for historically Black university and colleges.
But with all the bluster, bullet points and whatever impact those points might have, another Pew Poll this month found Black families are not convinced. Only 7% of African American voters back Republicans this election.
L’Italia è in piazza. Studenti, autotrasportatori, agricoltori, famiglie: da Nord a Sud il carovita ha acceso un autunno di proteste. Gasolio alle stelle, carrello della spesa sempre più pesante, salari che non bastano più. Chi produce il nostro cibo è schiacciato dai costi, chi lo compra paga sempre di più. Dove si perde la differenza lungo la filiera? E perché le risposte del governo restano misure d’emergenza che inseguono la crisi senza cambiarne le cause? Ne parliamo con Mario Apicella, agronomo, cantautore e attivista, già ospite di Casa del Sole TV. Dalla rabbia delle piazze a una proposta concreta: costruire percorsi etici di vita quotidiana. Un approvvigionamento di cibo sano e vivo, il cibo come prima forma di prevenzione, la filiera corta come scelta di autonomia. E un secondo fronte, non meno importante: l’informazione. Perché senza un’informazione onesta ed etica non c’è consapevolezza, e senza consapevolezza ogni protesta resta rabbia senza direzione. SOSTIENI CASA DEL SOLE TV Casa del Sole TV è un progetto di giornalismo indipendente autofinanziato. IBAN: IT63P0326822300052392596590 Intestato a: La Casa del Sole Edizioni Causale: Donazione Casa del Sole TV Membership YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@CasadelSoleT… Analista Multipolare €5/mese Inviato della Verità €15/mese Architetto del Futuro €25/mese #CasadelSoleTV#MarioApicella#JeffHoffman#Carovita#Proteste#Agricoltori#CaroGasolio#CiboSano#CiboVivo#FilieraCorta#SovranitàAlimentare#InformazioneIndipendente#Consapevolezza
In states like Florida, officers who hand out fishing citations and inspect produce have been deputized by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, expanding the reach of President Trump’s deportation campaign.
A canal in Dania Beach, Fla., in September. The canal was the site of an encounter that led Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officers to contact federal immigration authorities.
“Il domani non muore mai, ma per tutti gli attori tranne uno, il sogno di diventare il prossimo James Bond probabilmente morirà questa settimana”. Non potevamo che ricopiare l’apertura di The Hollywood Reporter che, parafrasando uno dei più iconici capitoli della saga cinematografica 007 (Tomorrow Never Dies, 1997, Bond era Pierce Brosnan), mette sul piatto dell’ufficialità la voce secondo cui nel weekend verrà scelto il nuovo Bond tra due attori, più forse un altro, “bianchi”: l’inglese Callum Turner, lo scozzese Jack Lowden e, come terzo incomodo, l’inglese Jack O’Connell. Secondo quanto scriveva THR non molto tempo fa, il gruppetto dei finalisti comprendeva addirittura Jacob Elordi, star di Frankensteine Cime tempestose.
I provini starebbero iniziando proprio in queste ore a Londra. Prova smoking permettendo, il nuovo agente segreto al servizio di Sua Maestà (per la prima volta sarà re Carlo e non più la regina Elisabetta) dovrà ricoprire un ruolo delicatissimo, sia perché da tempo l’hype della sagoma di 007 si è sgonfiato, volteggiando freneticamente per aria a destra e a sinistra come quei palloncini che vengono svuotati all’improvviso, sia perché il franchise più longevo della storia del cinema ha bisogno di una pompata assoluta e rigenerante di ossigeno commerciale.
In gara in queste ore ci sarebbero dunque Turner e Lowden. Trentasei anni, ex modello, fresco maritino di Dua Lipa, Turner si è già fatto le ossa al cinema sia nel franchise di Animali fantastici, sia con Clooney in The Boys in the Boat,nonché da terzo incomodo in Eternity. Anche Lowden ha 36 anni, ma viene da una tradizione e un’esperienza recitativa più teatrale. In Italia al cinema lo abbiamo visto probabilmente solo in Dunkirk, ma la sua presenza scenica molto potente l’abbiamo imparata a seguire nella serie Slow Horses, mentre il suo cuore, come l’anulare della mano sinistra, è stato conquistato da un paio d’anni dalla celebre attrice Saoirse Ronan.
Così, se O’Connell sembra non invitato alla festa dell’ultimo provino per un pelo, c’è anche la versione/variante del Guardian da tenere sott’occhio. Già, perché il foglio progressista londinese segnala che ai provini dovrebbe partecipare nientemeno che Josh O’Connor. Inglese, 36enne pure lui, celebre per Challengersdi Guadagnino insieme a Zendaya, ma anche per aver fornito prove stralunate per Alice Rohrwacher in La chimera.
Scrive ancora il Guardian che, secondo alcune fonti, il provino verterà su tre elementi principali: acrobazie, presenza scenica e dialoghi. Tutti e tre ugualmente importanti per un Bond moderno. “Eliminate le acrobazie e il film sarà noioso. Eliminate la presenza scenica e rischiate di ritrovarvi con un George Lazenby, che potrebbe rovinare quello che altrimenti sarebbe un capolavoro. Eliminate i dialoghi e vi ritroverete con Quantum of Solace, e Dio solo sa quanto non ne abbiamo bisogno di un altro”.
Difficile andare oltre queste già dense previsioni. Anche perché da Amazon Studios non hanno rilasciato commenti, lasciando tutto sospeso all’ultima loro dichiarazione, dove veniva affermato che “la ricerca del prossimo James Bond è in corso. Pur non avendo intenzione di commentare dettagli specifici durante il processo di casting, non vediamo l’ora di condividere ulteriori notizie con i fan di 007 non appena sarà il momento opportuno”. Ad attendere Turner, Lowden, O’Connor o O’Connell ci sarà comunque il regista pluripremiato Denis Villeneuve (Dune, Blade Runner 2049), che Amazon ha designato a proseguire la saga da quando ha acquisito i diritti creativi del franchise dalla famiglia Broccoli nel febbraio 2025.
Ukraine's air force has discussed the F-16 Block 70/72 with US manufacturer Lockheed Martin, which then gave President Zelenskyy a model of one
The Block 70/72 is smarter and tougher than Ukraine's ex-European F-16 Block 15 Mid Life Updates, but that doesn't mean the newer model is a major priority
The Ukrainian air force needs munitions more than it needs new airframes
When Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met a Lockheed Martin team led by Orlando Sanchez Jr., head of its aeronautics division, in Kyiv on 19 October, the talk was of Patriot interceptors and of repairing the Ukrainian air force's small but growing fleet of ex-European F-16 fighters inside the country. Lockheed designed the F-16 and still builds it.
But the Lockheed officials may have had other things on their minds. They gave Zelenskyy a scale model of a new and improved F-16 variant in Ukrainian livery, according to a photo posted by the MilitaryNewsUA account.
In late September, Ukraine's air force commander, Lt. Gen. Anatolii Kryvonozhko, and Lockheed discussed a possible move to newer F-16s. Now we have a clearer idea what those F-16s might look like—and what they might be capable of. The model Lockheed officials gave to Zelenskyy appears to be based on the Block 70/72 version of the classic supersonic fighter that Lockheed manufactures at its factory in Greenville, South Carolina.
A model of the F-16 Block 70/72 fighter that Lockheed Martin representatives gifted to Volodymyr Zelenskyy during their personal meeting yesterday. pic.twitter.com/tprj5yuj2z
It's a world-class jet. But a pricey batch of factory-fresh Block 70/72s isn't actually at the top of the Ukrainian air force's wish list. Not as long as the air force's existing warplanes lack munitions.
The Block 70/72 boasts a better radar, more fuel capacity, and a tougher airframe compared to older F-16 models, which have been flying since the late 1970s. The F-16 is still one of the most numerous fighter types in US Air Force service. Surplus 1980s-vintage F-16s from Denmark and the Netherlands make up the bulk of the Ukrainian air force's front-line fleet. Norway's six are still being refurbished, and Belgium's are coming.
Whether Ukraine ever gets new F-16s is anyone's guess. Kyiv would need to pay around $100 million per copy, or find an ally to finance the purchase. Either could be a heavy lift. And to be sure, Ukraine has options as it rebuilds its battered air force. Sweden is donating 16 older Saab Gripens, the first due early next year, and Kyiv plans to buy 20 newer ones. Kyiv has negotiated to buy 16 Dassault Rafales from France, which may not arrive until 2028. Belgium has promised as many as 53 older F-16s, the last of them perhaps not until 2029.
Ukrainian F-16s. Ukrainian air force photo.
Welcome jets
But new Block 70/72 F-16s would be welcome. The Block 70/72 builds on what already makes the F-16 great: its agility, flexibility, reliability, excellent electronic warfare systems, and compatibility with a wide array of munitions.
Where the Block 15 Mid Life Update F-16s Ukraine currently flies have the older analog AN/APG-66(V2) radar, the Block 70/72 has a digital APG-83 active electronically scanned array radar. It can also carry overwing conformal fuel tanks for extra range.
Perhaps most exciting for the Ukrainian air force, a newly made Block 70/72 is good for 12,000 hours of flight: enough for about 30 years at 400 flying hours a year. An aging Block 15 has a structural life of about 8,000 hours, and Ukraine's jets fly hard. Zelenskyy has said about half of them spend long stretches abroad for repairs, many at Sabena Aerospace Engineering in Belgium, a process that can take months.
Ukraine F-16 Pilots Rationing Missiles as Russian Attacks Intensify | NEWSMAX2
Ukraine’s American-made F-16 fighter jets are defending the skies against Russian drones and cruise missiles — but a critical shortage of U.S.-made missiles is putting that mission at risk.
Newer F-16s require less maintenance. They can fly and fight more often. In that sense, 50 Block 70/72s are worth more than 50 Block 15s.
But the availability of airframes isn't the biggest problem in the 107th Aviation Wing, the Ukrainian air force's sole F-16 unit. The wing is desperately low on air-to-air missiles. Its pilots often resort to gunning down Russian drones and cruise missiles with the F-16's built-in 20-mm cannon—a risky tactic given how close a fighter must get to its target to make use of its gun.
While a few billion dollars' worth of fresh F-16s could keep the 107th Aviation Wing in fighting shape for decades to come, fresh airframes aren't actually the most urgent priority. Given a choice between getting new F-16s or getting substantial supplies of missiles for its old F-16s, the wing would surely opt for the latter.
Explore further
Belgium’s 10 F-16s bring Ukraine’s promised fleet to about 100 jets. Fewer than 40 are flying, as Russia’s jet drones run them ragged
YEREVAN, Armenia — A Mozambican safari operator credited with helping restore wildlife populations in Mozambique’s Zambezi Delta, has won the 2026 Markhor Award, which recognizes contributions to conservation through sustainable wildlife management. Zambeze Delta Safaris, led by professional hunter Mark Haldane, received the award on Oct. 22, 2026, at the ongoing U.N. Biodiversity Conference, COP17, in Yerevan, Armenia. The company combines regulated trophy hunting with wildlife restoration, anti-poaching efforts and community development in an area of Mozambique that was devastated by the country’s civil war. “There is no other way to describe it than it’s a truly humbling feeling,” Haldane told Mongabay in a WhatsApp interview. “In my wildest dreams I never imagined this or anything close to this.” The award comes as governments at COP17 review progress toward global biodiversity targets adopted in 2022. One of them, Target 9, calls for sustainable wildlife management that also benefits communities. A new U.N. assessment warns that the world remains off track to meet its biodiversity commitments by the 2030 deadline. Astrid Schomaker, executive secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), welcomed the recognition. “Here is something we can celebrate,” she said during a press conference announcing the winner. Haldane began working in Coutada 11, a hunting concession in central Mozambique, in 1994, after years of conflict had severely depleted wildlife populations. He later established Zambeze Delta Safaris with Mozambican businessperson Carlos Pacheco Faria. According to the company’s award nomination, since the safari outfit began working in the region, the African…This article was originally published on Mongabay
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American politics is saturated with cash, and each election cycle seems to set new spending records—and yet, with the midterms in the home stretch, neither party thinks it has enough money. The irony is nearly as rich as the biggest donors.
Filings released this week show that $1 billion was spent on the campaign in the first two weeks of October alone. This year’s elections are expected to be the most expensive midterms in U.S. history, beating 2022—which beat 2018, which beat 2014, and so on. This will not surprise anyone who lives in a state or district with a competitive race this fall. (I’m sure I can still recite the Senate Leadership Fund’s ad attacking the North Carolina Democrat Roy Cooper, weeks after it stopped running.) Democratic and Republican voters don’t agree on a ton these days, but they’re united on one position: There’s too much money in politics.
Ask officials and candidates in both parties, though, and you’ll hear that they don’t have nearly enough. Democrats are feeling fairly confident about capturing the House and are getting more hopeful about their chances at winning the Senate, yet officials worry they don’t have enough cash. The party got a big boost on Monday, when Michael Bloomberg, the billionaire former New York mayor and presidential candidate, announced that he would pour $80 million into helping Democrats before Election Day.
Republicans came into this election with a huge money advantage, and they continue to have millions available to spend. Even so, major GOP organizations are finding themselves having to make unpleasant choices to stop spending in races that seem to be slipping away from them. Senate Leadership Fund, which is the top Republican PAC supporting Senate races, didn’t spend any money on TV ads last week to support the Georgia candidate Mike Collins, who is expected to lose to Senator Jon Ossoff. SLF had already pulled back from helping the Republican Senate candidate Michael Whatley in North Carolina. (To make matters worse, President Trump hosted a rally with Whatley on Tuesday in Greenville, where he said that Cooper is “going to become your senator, and it’s crazy.”)
One reason both parties are scrambling for money is that the map has shifted. As Trump’s political position deteriorates and he drags GOP candidates along with him, races that once seemed like foregone conclusions are now real battles. Democrats worry that they don’t have enough funding to match their potential. Republicans, by contrast, are having to play defense in what they thought were safe seats. SLF has moved money from North Carolina to Kansas, a state where a Democrat hasn’t won a Senate race since 1932 but where Adam Hamilton is posing a real threat to Senator Roger Marshall. Republicans are also finding that their decision to squeeze new gerrymanders out of some states before this election has been costly: Districts that they expected to be easy Republican pickups are now close combat. Punchbowl News recently reported that although the GOP has a lock on five of 14 new districts, “Republican candidates and super PACs have spent nearly $100 million on ads trying to flip the other nine districts” since September 1.
Another reason is that not all money is created equal. Some Democratic candidates are very well funded. The Texas Senate candidate James Talarico, for example, raised $64 million in the third quarter of the year alone—the highest total for any candidate in that period ever. (Because Texas has so many voters and so many media markets, it’s an expensive place to campaign.) But Democratic committees, including top PACs, are much more strapped. This is partly because the sitting president’s party always has a leg up in fundraising, but it’s also because many donors have grown disillusioned with the Democratic Party, upset with strategic decisions in the 2024 presidential loss, chaotic management of the Democratic National Committee since, and uninspiring leadership by elected officials.
Republican candidates (such as Talarico’s opponent, Ken Paxton) have relatively little money on hand, but committees and PACs are still flush. Much of that money comes from independent-expenditure groups, such as super PACs. An analysis by the Brennan Center for Justice finds that these groups spent $2 billion through the end of September, leaning heavily toward Republicans. The single largest donor is Elon Musk, who has spent $366 million this cycle alone. But one disadvantage of independent-expenditure groups is that they have to pay higher rates for advertisements than candidates.
That’s perhaps the dominant theme of the late campaign: Republicans have lots of money, but they’re not necessarily getting much bang for their buck. At this stage in the campaign, the time to build serious infrastructure, such as canvassing operations, is past. Money can buy a lot of advertising, but TV time is either booked up or more expensive. Besides, Republicans have already spent lavishly to fill airwaves, websites, and mailboxes with ads. So far, they don’t seem to be seeing much impact: Races either remain close or appear to be shifting even further toward Democrats.
Understanding why the GOP candidates are stalled is not difficult. Voters are upset about high prices, especially for fuel, and they are turned off by a president who is dismissive of their affordability concerns, distracted by vanity projects, and bogged down in an unpopular and inflationary war in Iran. Trump’s super PAC has $164 million left to spend, but as any orthodox Lennonist knows, money can’t buy you love.
Russia and Ukraine agreed to a temporary cease-fire beginning October 29 in the Russian-occupied Ukrainian city of Oleshky, the White House announced today. The agreement, brokered with help from First Lady Melania Trump and Pope Leo XIV, will allow humanitarian aid to enter the city and civilians to evacuate amid a worsening food crisis.
Israel ordered a full lockdown of the occupied West Bank after, according to the Israel Defense Forces, a shooting attack killed two Israeli soldiers and left three soldiers injured; the two Palestinian attackers were also killed, the IDF says. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that troops would conduct house-to-house operations and destroy suspected militant infrastructure in the men’s neighborhood, just days before Israel’s national election.
The Justice Department filed a lawsuit seeking to block certification of Alaska’s Senate election results if the Republican incumbent, Dan Sullivan, loses to Democrat Mary Peltola. The administration argues that a different candidate on the ballot named Daniel J. Sullivan could confuse voters, but legal experts question its case.
Evening Read
Illustration by The Atlantic. Sources: CSA-Archive / Getty; PHP.
‘If Anything Happens to This Guy … Everyone Is Screwed’
By Charlie Warzel
On Tuesday, the world found out about two massive security vulnerabilities in PHP, a programming language that is used by roughly 70 percent of websites. The flaw was discovered by cybersecurity researchers using a frontier model from OpenAI. If they exploited it, attackers could gain full control of servers, stealing or copying anything inside or simply taking sites offline.
The PHP Foundation, the organization that maintains the programming language, had recently learned about the security flaws, but the disclosure was leaked on a forum before a patch could be released. What happened next was a frantic race with numerous participants: the foundation, which needed to create and release a patch; developers around the world, who would need to deploy it; and attackers looking to exploit these vulnerabilities in the interim. Matthew Prince, the CEO of the hosting company Cloudflare, wrote that in the 10 hours before the flaws were publicly announced, “we saw thousands of attempts to exploit it. That jumped to tens of thousands in the 45 minutes post announcement, hundreds of thousands within 2 hours, and millions now.”
Lunedì il reato, mercoledì i soldi, giovedì Londra dice alle famiglie di fare provviste per tre giorni: in Europa l’emergenza non è più uno stato da superare, è una forma di governo. A Levante, venerdì 23 ottobre 2026, Jeff Hoffman conduce il confronto con Moni Ovadia, Paolo Borgognone e Margherita Furlan. Al Sud i blocchi dei tir si sciolgono dopo il decreto da circa 175 milioni, ma il Garante degli scioperi scrive che per giorni sono mancati farmaci, carburante per le ambulanze e raccolta dei rifiuti, e chiede ordinanze contro i singoli autotrasportatori: da 500 a 1.000 euro al giorno «Questa non è protesta, è intimidazione»: dopo «teppismo» e «reato», la premier toglie dal vocabolario l’ultima parola che restava Crediti d’imposta spendibili nel 2027 per un gasolio che si paga oggi a 2,25 euro al litro, fino a 2,70 in alcuni distributori: che cosa hanno ottenuto davvero i blocchi Il ministro britannico Dan Jarvis chiede a ogni famiglia tre giorni di acqua, cibo, torcia, radio e contanti: i motivi dichiarati sono le tempeste, ma anche «Russia, Iran e attori ostili», a pochi giorni da un bilancio che deve pagare il 3,5% del Pil in difesa Roma, sabato: quattro piazze, 1.500 fra agenti e militari, e al Circo Massimo, dove vorrebbe radunarsi il «Movimento 17 ottobre», stanno montando il Villaggio della Difesa. L’esercito arriva prima degli studenti Francia, Albania, Portogallo, Spagna, Belgio: un continente che chiede ai cittadini di fare scorte e ai governi di fare arsenali ha già deciso chi protegge Le domande dure: chi ha pagato i blocchi, se non i malati e i quartieri; se la piazza ha ragione anche a Belgrado e a Tirana; se le 72 ore di autosufficienza non siano semplice protezione civile I LIBRI DEGLI OSPITI Moni Ovadia, «Un ebreo contro», Gruppo Abele, 2021 Paolo Borgognone, «Populismo e “democrazia illiberale”. Goodbye globalism 2», Il Cerchio, 2023 Paolo Borgognone, «La dottrina Stranamore», La Vela, 2022 Paolo Borgognone, «Goodbye globalism!», Il Cerchio, 2022 Paolo Borgognone, «Capire la Russia», Zambon, 2015 Margherita Furlan, «BRICS Scacco Matto», La Casa del Sole Edizioni, 2025 (in italiano, inglese e russo) CASA DEL SOLE TV | Informazione libera e indipendente Casa del Sole TV non ha editori privati né finanziamenti pubblici: siamo sostenuti da voi, il nostro pubblico. 35.000 euro entro il 29/11/26 DONA ORA Dona tramite bonifico bancario: IBAN IT63P0326822300052392596590, intestato a LA CASA DEL SOLE EDIZIONI, causale Erogazione liberale Casa del Sole TV Dona tramite PayPal: paypal.me/casadelsoletv Sostegno ricorrente: casadelsole.tv/sostienici Anche un piccolo contributo fa la differenza. Grazie di cuore! MEMBERSHIP YOUTUBE https://www.youtube.com/@CasadelSoleT… Analista Multipolare €5/mese Inviato della Verità €15/mese Architetto del Futuro €25/mese SEGUI CASA DEL SOLE TV YouTube: @CasadelSoleTVChannel Sito: casadelsole.tv #Levante#CasadelSoleTV#MargheritaFurlan#MoniOvadia#PaoloBorgognone#JeffHoffman#Geopolitica#Multipolarismo#CaroGasolio#Autotrasportatori#DecretoSicurezza#RegnoUnito#Scorte#Roma24Ottobre#Europa
Nearly every shallow-water coral reef ecosystem on Earth is at high risk of ecological collapse by 2075, according to the first coral reef assessment of the IUCN Red List of Ecosystems (RLE). The RLE is a scientific framework for assessing the risk of ecosystem collapse. More than 250 experts assessed shallow water coral reef ecosystems across 127 tropical and subtropical ecoregions worldwide including the Great Barrier Reef in Australia and the Coral Triangle of Southeast Asia. The Oct. 22 report concluded that 24% of coral reefs are already critically endangered. When scientist include projected heat stress from climate change, they found 96% will be critically endangered in the next 50 years. One coral reef ecosystem, the Western Galapagos Islands, has collapsed already, the assessment found. The assessment identified heat stress from climate change as the single most consistent threat driving coral reef decline worldwide. Heat stress causes coral bleaching, a process in which corals expel the symbiotic algae living in their tissue. Algae provide most of the coral’s food via photosynthesis and prolonged bleaching events leave coral weakened, vulnerable to disease and lead to death. Coral reefs are crucial for marine biodiversity; they “cover less than 1% of the ocean floor,” but support approximately 25% of marine life. In an email to Mongabay Marcos Valderrábano, programme manager for the RLE at IUCN, said that if climate projections are accurate, most corals will suffer repeated severe bleaching, resulting in a less biodiverse ecosystem as corals are replaced by algae and turf.…This article was originally published on Mongabay
YEREVAN, Armenia — More than 80 conservation, Indigenous and civil society organizations have called on governments meeting at the COP17 U.N. biodiversity summit in Armenia to keep mining, oil and gas operations out of protected areas. “Meeting a numerical target will mean little”, if areas designated for conservation remain exposed to industrial activities, the organizations warn in a joint letter released in advance of COP17 on Oct. 2. An Oct. 8 report by Earth Insight and partners says that nearly 62 million hectares (153 million acres) of protected and conserved areas across the tropics overlap with oil and gas blocks, while mining concessions overlap with 43 million hectares (106 million acres). World leaders agreed in 2022 to protect 30% of the planet’s land and waters by 2030, a commitment known as “30×30” or Target 3 of the Global Biodiversity Framework. The signatories argue that this commitment must be achieved “not just on paper, but in reality.” Conservation officials argue that mining has no place in protected and conserved areas. “Protected areas are protected areas,” Nadège Nzoyem, WWF’s Congo Basin regional director, said in a recent interview with Mongabay. Madhu Rao, chair of the IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas, has echoed that concern, arguing that “some places are so critical that they have to be secured against extractive industries.” The head of Nigeria’s National Park Service also acknowledged in a recent interview with Mongabay the challenges posed by illegal mining and insecurity in the country’s national parks. Signatories to the…This article was originally published on Mongabay
Après trois ans de guerre, le nombre de soldats israéliens atteints de troubles de stress post-traumatique explose. Débordés, les psychologues et psychiatres s’inquiètent pour la santé mentale du pays. Reportage avec les gueules cassées des guerres d’Israël.
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