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Harry Kane vince il pallone d’oro 2026: l’attaccante “noioso” e poco appariscente sempre in prima linea contro le discriminazioni

26 October 2026 at 22:54

Bomber e gentiluomo. Il Pallone d’Oro assegnato al centravanti inglese Harry Kane premia non solo uno degli uomini gol più prolifici dell’ultimo decennio, ma anche un campione che sfugge agli stereotipi del football moderno. Nella patria dei tabloid e di una certa informazione scandalistica, Kane non ha mai regalato titoli a effetto. Al contrario: se c’è una critica nei suoi confronti, è quella di essere un po’ noioso, poco appariscente. Non si ubriaca. Non si tatua. Non fa scappatelle. Non coltiva hobby particolari, tranne il golf, che, come scrisse una volta Oscar Wilde “è il sistema migliore per rovinare una passeggiata sui prati”.

Le ragioni del trionfo nel Pallone d’Oro di Kane, quinto giocatore del football inglese a riceverlo – l’ultimo, nel 2001, era stato Michael Owen – sono però di natura calcistica. La stagione 2025-2026 è stata la migliore di questo attaccante nato il 28 luglio 1993 a Walthamstow – area a Est di Londra -, entrato a sei anni nella scuola calcio dei Ridgeway Rovers e a otto trasferito all’accademia dell’Arsenal, dove fu presto rilasciato perché “un po’ paffuto”: Harry ha firmato 61 gol con la maglia del Bayern Monaco e 12 con la nazionale. Kane è ripartito in quella attuale a passo di carica: 10 reti in 12 gare, per un totale di 156 in 159 presenze con i bavaresi. L’uragano Harry è a quota 543 in carriera: 452 con i club (280 con il Tottenham, 16 nei prestiti con Leyton Orient, Millwall, Norwich e Leicester, 156 con il Bayern) e 91 con l’Inghilterra, di cui è il King di tutti i tempi. Ma Kane non è solo uno spietato killer dell’area: ha la visione di un trequartista e la capacità di mandare a segno i suoi compagni. Un attaccante moderno, versatile, abile con i piedi e bravissimo in acrobazia.

Cresciuto con il mito di David Beckham, Kane nel 2009 fu arruolato dal Tottenham. Dopo una serie di prestiti (Leyton Orient, Millwall, Norwich e Leicester), nel 2013 avvenne finalmente il decollo in prima squadra. La data storica del gol numero uno in Premier (il totale è di 213) è il 2 novembre 2014, avversario l’Aston Villa. Kane non consuma alcol, segue una dieta curata da uno chef privato, è il primo ad arrivare al centro tecnico e l’ultimo a uscire. “Desidero chiudere la carriera senza rimpianti. Non vorrei mai guardarmi indietro e pensare che avrei dovuto rispettare le regole per fare meglio”.

La gestione di Kane è un affare di famiglia. Il fratello Charlie è l’agente. Il padre Patrick si occupa della parte finanziaria. Il profilo basso e il senso della misura sono riconducibili alle origini e all’educazione ricevuta. I genitori di Kane sono nati a Galway, città della costa occidentale irlandese. Il fratello maggiore Charlie è stato a lungo il supereroe di Harry e affidare a lui la gestione degli affari è stato un fatto naturale. In un articolo per “Players’ Tribune”, Harry ha ricordato di andare spesso in un parco dietro casa per giocare a calcio con suo padre e il fratello. “Niente porte. Niente campo da gioco vero e proprio – il racconto -. Bastava un po’ d’erba, due alberi ed eravamo felici. Devo ringraziare mio fratello Charlie per avermi sfidato uno contro uno per migliaia di ore e di avermi permesso di essere qualche volta Teddy Sheringham, uno dei miei idoli. Mio padre mi aiutò dopo la bocciatura dell’Arsenal. Era piccolo, avevo solo otto anni e mi disse le parole giuste ‘Non preoccuparti, Harry. Lavoreremo di più e troveremo un’altra squadra, va bene? E così è stato”.

Una famiglia “open mind”, di mentalità aperta. Non c’è quindi da sorprendersi che abbia prodotto un campione attento alle questioni sociali. Kane è da sempre in prima linea nella battaglia contro le discriminazioni e uno dei portavoce nel calcio della comunità LGBTQ+. È un figlio dell’Inghilterra blairiana, di una nazione che, alla fine degli anni Novanta, si aprì al mondo, salvo poi fare marcia indietro con la Brexit. È stato uno dei sostenitori del Black Live Matter (traduzione: le vite nere contano), il gesto dell’inginocchiamento rispettato a lungo in Premier League per ricordare la morte di George Floyd, ucciso dalla polizia americana a Minneapolis il 25 maggio 2020.

“Non esageriamo, non sono un asceta – le parole di Kane al magazine del Times nel 2019 -. In estate qualche mojito me lo concedo. E se stiamo in vacanza, la sera qualche volta si fa tardi. Durante l’annata calcistica però non sgarro mai. Ho una routine che rispetto con scrupolo. Sarò noioso, ma lo sport non è solo divertimento”. Meglio, durante la stagione, una tazza di tè. Una volta, dopo una tripletta, Kane telefonò alla moglie per esprimere la sua felicità e Kate, conosciuta ai tempi della scuola e sposata nel 2018, rispose: “Well done, you can make a cup of tea when you get home”. Una tazza di tè quando torni a casa, dove ti aspettano la compagna della vita e quattro figli (Ivy, Vivienne, Louis e Henry): c’è tutta la sottile ironia britannica in questa frase.

Dal 2023, Kane vive a Monaco di Baviera. I tre anni con il Bayern hanno colmato una lacuna importante della carriera. Nelle stagioni inglesi, nessun titolo. Neppure lo straccio di un trofeo da sollevare, a parte quelli individuali. In Germania, due campionati, due supercoppe e una coppa nazionale: i sogni, legittimi, sono la Champions e l’europeo 2028 con l’Inghilterra. Kane si è inserito senza problemi nello stile di vita tedesco, partecipando anche all’Oktoberfest, vestito alla bavarese. “È diverso da Londra – le sue parole -, ma le persone a Monaco di Baviera sono state davvero accoglienti. C’è molto spazio per vivere all’aria aperta ed è fantastico per la mia famiglia. È stata una scelta positiva. Siamo davvero felici qui”. A casa, ora, c’è un nuovo trofeo da accarezzare con orgoglio: il Pallone d’Oro. Meritatissimo.

L'articolo Harry Kane vince il pallone d’oro 2026: l’attaccante “noioso” e poco appariscente sempre in prima linea contro le discriminazioni proviene da Il Fatto Quotidiano.

Documental argentino sobre guerra en Vietnam a festival internacional

26 October 2026 at 22:36

Buenos Aires, 26 oct (Prensa Latina) La creadora Preve Films anunció hoy que el documental “Un precio que tenemos que pagar”, dirigido por el cineasta argentino Ricardo Preve, participará en la Competencia Internacional del 41mo Festival Internacional de Cine de Mar del Plata.

The post Documental argentino sobre guerra en Vietnam a festival internacional first appeared on Noticias Prensa Latina.

Instagram is clearly jealous of YouTube — and is introducing a bunch of changes

26 October 2026 at 21:10
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - MAY 04: (L-R) Mark Zuckerberg and Adam Mosseri attend the 2026 Met Gala celebrating "Costume Art" at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 04, 2026 in New York City. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/MG26/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue)
Meta's Mark Zuckerberg and Adam Mosseri are betting on long-form.

Kevin Mazur/MG26/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue

  • Instagram is opening its arms to long-form video again.
  • Adam Mosseri, Instagram's top exec, said longer videos will help the app stay "relevant."
  • Instagram is testing tools for creators making episodic content. But will it pay for them?

Instagram's top executive, Adam Mosseri, has a plan to keep the platform "culturally relevant" — by making it more like YouTube.

Meta-owned Instagram unveiled an overhaul of long-form video features on Monday, including a test of horizontal videos called "Features." Taken together, the changes make the app feel a lot more like YouTube.

"We want to be the most culturally relevant platform," Mosseri said in an interview with content creators and founders of Press Publish, Colin Rosenblum and Samir Chaudry. "To do that, we just need to show up where people are."

The context: YouTube has become a major hit on TV screens, and there's a growing appetite for Instagram-native shows with recurring episodes.

"Subway Takes," hosted by Kareem Rahma, is a prime example of Instagram's strengths and limits. The show started in 2023 as a short-form interview series and, as it grew, expanded with longer-form cuts on YouTube and the streaming platform Tubi. Instagram, however, is where Rahma's show still has its largest audience of 2.4 million followers.

Instagram doesn't want people to go to YouTube or Tubi to see longer versions of shows like "Subway Takes." That's leaving ad revenue and user engagement on the table. Its new tools are designed to entice creators and viewers to stay on its platform.

Here are Instagram's latest video tools and how creators can use them:

  • "Features" keep viewers within the Instagram ecosystem. Instead of leaving Instagram to watch the extended version of an interview or episode, it'll be relatively seamless to stay on Instagram and watch that longer-form content. Instagram's "Features" can be as long as 90 minutes, although the new format is, for now, only available to a limited number of creators in the US and Brazil.
  • Instagram is feeding more content to its TV apps. Instagram is also pushing its "Instagram for TV" app further. The app will feature various video content on TV services like Samsung, Amazon Fire TV, Google TV, and now Apple TV. People can now watch a feed of content their friends are also liking or resharing on TV.
  • Instagram-native shows can label their episodes more clearly with "Series." Within the main Instagram feed, Instagram is testing a way for shows on the app to seamlessly connect episodic content. Eligible creators can add videos to a Series, and a label appears over the content indicating that there are additional episodes. People can then watch those episodes in order from the start. This test is expanding to more countries through the end of the year.
  • Clips can directly drive engagement back to the original video. Instead of clipping content and praying that the audience will go the extra mile of clicking on an account and finding the original, longer-form video, Instagram is letting creators link up to 8 clips to one long video.
Instagram is launching more video tools.
Instagram is expanding its offerings for long-form video content.

Meta

This isn't Instagram's first time dabbling in long-form content.

In 2018, it launched IGTV, a long-form video format and stand-alone app. In 2020, Instagram rolled out a program that let creators earn money from those videos on IGTV. Four years after launching, the company sunset the IGTV app and shifted its video efforts to Reels.

There are a few key elements missing from Instagram's big leap (back) into long-form video.

You can't watch the video while continuing to scroll through Instagram, or multitask by opening other apps while keeping the Instagram content in a picture-in-picture pop-up. There also aren't automated transcripts and subtitles yet. A spokesperson for Meta told Business Insider that there are plans for these features.

Will creators get a slice of the ad revenue pie?

For creators, one key question and pain point looms: Will Meta share the honeypot?

Mosseri told Rosenblum and Chaudry that Instagram is thinking about ways to test pre-roll and mid-roll ads that could lead to a revenue split. However, he said previous attempts by Instagram to build a creator monetization system comparable to YouTube's Partner Program didn't prove beneficial for the platform.

"We spend more money than we make back by a long shot," Mosseri said of Instagram's previous efforts at broad revenue-sharing programs.

Mosseri said that in its previous iterations of content monetization, creators typically didn't produce more content than they already did for free, and the content they did create tended to be lower quality.

Still, Instagram will need to "figure it out" as it tries to crack longer-form content, Mosseri said.

"I don't think of platform payments or performance-based incentives or bonuses as a revenue driver," Mosseri added. "I'd be psyched to scale them up for any of these formats — as long as we're breaking even."

Read the original article on Business Insider

Faro | Plano de Drenagem visa garantir o fim das inundações na zona de São Luis

26 October 2026 at 20:49

Projeto foi concebido pela empresa Hidra e prevê investimento aproximado de 15 milhões de euros para solução a 100 anos O Salão Nobre da Câmara Municipal de Faro recebeu na passada sexta-feira, dia 23 de outubro, a apresentação do Projeto de Execução da Rede de Drenagem de Águas Pluviais e Beneficiação de Descargas Pluviais. O […]

Manovra, si punta al via libera in Cdm: Bruxelles risponde ma restano da definire energia e 5 miliardi dalle banche

26 October 2026 at 20:46

Il governo punta ad approvare la manovra mercoledì in Consiglio dei ministri, dopo un nuovo vertice di maggioranza con Giorgia Meloni e Giancarlo Giorgetti. Bruxelles ha risposto sulla flessibilità per l’energia, ma il confronto prosegue. Da definire anche il contributo da 5 miliardi del settore finanziario, mentre i partiti continuano a presentare le proprie richieste.

Dal confronto con Bruxelles ai 5 miliardi dal settore finanziario: le decisioni ancora da prendere

Giorgia Meloni e Giancarlo Giorgetti provano a chiudere la manovra entro mercoledì 28 ottobre. È questo l’obiettivo fissato dalla maggioranza al termine del terzo vertice in una settimana, dopo una giornata segnata dalle ipotesi di un ulteriore rinvio. Alla riunione, svolta in videocollegamento, hanno partecipato anche i vicepremier Antonio Tajani e Matteo Salvini e il leader di Noi Moderati Maurizio Lupi.

La maggioranza ha confermato la volontà di “concentrare le risorse disponibili sugli interventi considerati prioritari”. In cima alla lista ci sono famiglie, ceto medio, giovani, anziani, sanità e imprese, insieme alle misure fiscali. L’obiettivo dichiarato è “sostenere il potere d’acquisto, rafforzare la crescita e dare impulso all’economia”, mantenendo però “la necessaria attenzione alla tenuta dei conti pubblici”.

Il ministro dell’Economia deve quindi trovare le coperture per le richieste dei partiti, mentre prosegue il confronto con la Commissione europea sulla possibilità di utilizzare la clausola nazionale di salvaguardia per gli interventi legati all’energia.

Manovra, Bruxelles risponde sulla flessibilità: esclusi i sussidi ai combustibili fossili

Dall’Unione europea è arrivata una prima risposta alle richieste italiane. La Commissione si è detta intenzionata ad aiutare Roma a sfruttare i margini consentiti dalla clausola di salvaguardia, ma il governo dovrà ancora chiarire “gli interventi ammissibili” e i “relativi margini di flessibilità”.

Durante il vertice, gli alleati hanno fatto il punto sulle interlocuzioni con Bruxelles, “che proseguono in un modo proficuo”. I colloqui sulle singole misure sarebbero stati approfonditi, anche se spetterà all’Italia comunicare alla Commissione gli interventi precisi una volta adottati.

Bruxelles ha già posto un limite sui combustibili fossili: la flessibilità non potrà essere utilizzata per finanziare sussidi collegati al loro consumo. Restano quindi escluse agevolazioni sui carburanti e forme di sostegno energetico riconducibili all’utilizzo di queste fonti. Il governo dovrà individuare misure compatibili con le condizioni europee e con le regole del Patto di stabilità.

Pensioni, Irpef e affitti: le richieste di Lega, Forza Italia e Noi Moderati

Matteo Salvini continua a chiedere la possibilità di andare in pensione anticipata a 64 anni, l’innalzamento a 100mila euro della soglia di reddito per la flat tax delle partite Iva e un voucher sanitario destinato agli anziani. Tra le priorità della Lega figurano anche “affitti brevi e cedolare secca”.

Forza Italia insiste sull’estensione del taglio dell’Irpef ai redditi fino ad almeno 55mila euro e chiede “risposte” per i giovani, proponendo di alleggerirne il carico fiscale. Gli azzurri puntano anche a interventi sulle retribuzioni e sulla previdenza delle forze dell’ordine.

Noi Moderati concentra invece le proprie proposte su giovani e famiglie. Tra le misure indicate ci sono una cedolare secca al 5% sugli affitti a lungo termine e l’azzeramento delle imposte per tre anni per gli under 30 al primo impiego. Si tratta di richieste politiche che dovranno ancora essere valutate in base alle risorse disponibili.

Dal mondo delle imprese arrivano ulteriori sollecitazioni. Confindustria chiede “una politica industriale per il Paese”, mentre Federchimica punta su maggiori incentivi alla ricerca e su un credito d’imposta strutturale. Confedilizia propone la cedolare secca per i negozi, una riduzione della tassazione sulle locazioni a canone concordato e la conferma dei bonus edilizi. Il ministro dell’Istruzione Giuseppe Valditara ha chiesto a Giorgetti ulteriori stanziamenti per l’edilizia scolastica.

Banche e assicurazioni, il governo cerca 5 miliardi: Tajani chiede un contributo senza nuove tasse sugli extraprofitti

Tra le coperture ancora da definire figura il contributo da 5 miliardi di euro richiesto al settore finanziario. Secondo Antonio Tajani, le risorse dovranno arrivare da “tutti”, comprese “banche, assicurazioni e anche altre realtà”. Il segretario di Forza Italia esclude però una “visione punitiva” nei confronti degli istituti di credito e parla di “una richiesta di collaborazione”. Tra i soggetti che potrebbero essere coinvolti ha indicato anche Cassa depositi e prestiti.

Tajani ritiene possibile escludere le banche di credito cooperativo (Bcc) e invita a valutare con attenzione anche la posizione delle Fondazioni bancarie. Una trattativa da condurre senza irrigidire le posizioni, perché, come ha osservato il vicepremier, “bisogna lavorare di fioretto”. L’entità del contributo è stata indicata, ma le modalità di prelievo e la distribuzione tra i diversi soggetti non sono ancora definite.

Meloni risponde a Manfredi: confronto sulla manovra sì, ma con tutti i sindaci

La presidente del Consiglio ha risposto anche all’appello dei sindaci di centrosinistra che chiedevano un incontro urgente con il governo.

In una lettera inviata al presidente dell’Anci, Gaetano Manfredi, Meloni ha confermato la “disponibilità” al dialogo, indicando però come sede istituzionale la Conferenza Stato-Città.

La premier si è detta pronta a partecipare “personalmente”, insieme al ministro Giorgetti, dal momento che il confronto riguarda anche la legge di bilancio. Ha precisato però che “se si tratta di un confronto istituzionale” devono essere coinvolti “tutti i sindaci”, non soltanto quelli appartenenti a un determinato schieramento politico.

Meloni ha quindi proposto di affrontare le richieste degli amministratori locali nella sede che già riunisce governo e autonomie, con la possibilità di partecipare direttamente alla discussione sulla manovra.

LEGGI TUTTE LE NOTIZIE DELLA SEZIONE POLITICA

L'articolo Manovra, si punta al via libera in Cdm: Bruxelles risponde ma restano da definire energia e 5 miliardi dalle banche proviene da Affaritaliani.it.

I ran Anthropic's 335-page IPO filing through an AI-writing detector. Well, well, well…

26 October 2026 at 20:36
A document titled “Anthropic S1.docx” is shown with highlighted passages and a Pangram human-written content score panel.
Anthropic's mostly human SEC filing, according to Pangram.

Pangram/BI

  • I set out to see if Anthropic used Claude to draft its S-1 paperwork.
  • The filing is, according to the AI detector tool Pangram, 92% human-written.
  • Is that a good or bad thing? I'm not even sure!

Anthropic's much-awaited S-1 filing landed today, revealing all sorts of interesting things about the company's plans and current finances.

But the biggest question I had wasn't "does Anthropic think that accidentally destroying humanity is a business risk?" (yes) or "how much money are they losing?" (lots) or "does it feel weird to be part of the 50% of employees who don't do the pledge to donate some of their equity for the greater good?" (still wondering — if this is you, let me know).

My question was: Did they use AI to write this thing?

To find out, I ran the whole 335-page S-1 filing through Pangram, a service that checks for signs of AI-writing. Ok, well technically I tried to run it through myself, but ran into some problems with such a massive file. I reached out to Pangram CEO and cofounder Max Spero, and he ran the full file for me.

(I also reached out to Anthropic for comment about the tool's results. I haven't heard back — I suspect it's a busy day for them.)

And before you ask me why I didn't use Anthropic's official AI watermarking system to check, it's not available to normies yet.

Here's what Pangram's result was for the full 259,031 words on the S-1 filing:

pangram results
92% of Anthropics S-1 filing is human, according to Pangram.

Pangram / Business Insider

Well, well, well!

So there was a tiny bit of AI use, per Pangram. It flagged some sentences and passages it said with a "high" degree of confidence contained AI use, things like: "The pace of AI development is extremely rapid, with successive versions of models emerging in compressed timeframes, often measured in months rather than years."

"My read on a result like this is that it indicates light AI editing or AI usage at the sentence level," Spero told me. "It does not seem like any significant sections of the document are fully AI-generated."

An example of a sentence that Pangram flagged with "high" confidence as AI-generated.
An example of a sentence that Pangram flagged with "high" confidence as AI-generated.

Pangram

This is one of the limitations of something like Pangram, which isn't 100% perfect, and the way that people use AI tools these days for editing and proofreading might affect results.

My colleague Aki Ito ran all her LinkedIn posts and published articles here on Business Insider through Pangram as an experiment, and ended up with a tiny surprise: one sentence in one article was flagged as AI-written. When she looked back at it, she saw that ChatGPT had suggested she rephrase her original, human-written sentence, and she accepted the new wording. (I use Grammarly, an AI-powered grammar tool that mainly helps with my repeated crimes against commas, but occasionally suggests rewording, which I sometimes accept and sometimes reject, though I worry that this may get flagged as AI).

So it would appear Anthropic still had real humans — slow, expensive, fallible meatsacks — write this massive document, with just a little assist from Claude in the editing. That might be par for the course these days for IPO teams and S-1's, or at the very least the S-1's for literal AI companies. (If you're a banker who works on S-1s, shoot me an email!)

I can't tell if I think this is a good sign or a bad sign for Anthropic (and the world)?

On one hand, shouldn't Anthropic be eating its own dog food, so to speak, and proudly use its own AI for something like this? An S-1 filing is full of the kind of boilerplate, charmless, technical-ish writing that you'd assume AI would be perfect to replace a human for. If Anthropic is going to the hassle of having real (presumably highly paid humans) write out each of the 250,000+ words here, well, where is its faith in its own product? I you can't trust Claude to write your S-1, can you trust it to cure cancer?

On the other hand, thank god this isn't 100% AI-written. The stakes are pretty high when the SEC is poring over every word. If you're going to tell people your company is worth hundreds of billions of dollars, at least have a human show up and type it out, eh?

I guess bankers everywhere can breathe a sigh of relief.

Read the original article on Business Insider

Bipartisan pair of former South Carolina governors endorse Andrews for Senate

26 October 2026 at 20:26
A bipartisan pair of former South Carolina governors endorsed Democrat Annie Andrews over Sen. Darline Graham (R) in the state’s Senate election. Former South Carolina Govs. David Beasley (R) and Jim Hodges (D) appeared in a video for Andrews’s campaign on Monday.  “Now, over the years, the two of us haven’t always agreed on everything,”…

California's Wealth Tax Could Cost the State $39 Billion

26 October 2026 at 21:35

This week, editors Peter Suderman, Nick Gillespie, and Matt Welch are joined by Associate Editor Liz Wolfe to discuss California's proposed 5 percent wealth tax on billionaires, which a Hoover Institution study suggests could ultimately cost the state $39 billion in lost revenue. With wealthy residents already leaving California, the panel examines whether the measure will survive next week's vote, why Gov. Gavin Newsom opposes it, and how public sector unions have helped fuel the state's spending problems.

The panelists then look to France, where mounting unrest and economic stagnation raise questions about the long-term consequences of high taxes, expansive welfare programs, and pension obligations that increasingly burden younger generations. Next, they discuss Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado returning home after 10 months in exile. Then, with the midterm elections next week, the editors examine whether Trump's tariffs, war with Iran, and mounting allegations of corruption will deliver Democrats control of Congress. Finally, a listener asks whether today's democratic socialist movement will ultimately be remembered like the libertarian and Tea Party movements of the early 2010s.

 

0:00—California's wealth tax proposal

13:02—Will France protests influence America?

22:50—Corina Machado returns to Venezuela.

31:19—Listener question on the DSA

44:40—2026 Midterm elections preview

58:34—Weekly cultural recommendations

 

Upcoming Reason Events

Reason Versus - Authoritarianism Is a Right-Wing Problem, November 10

 

Mentioned in the Podcast:

"Will the Wealth Tax Fail?" by Liz Wolfe"France Is a Warning to California's Tax-the-Rich Crowd," by Veronique de Rugy"California's 'Wealth Tax' Could Cost the State $39 Billion," by Eric Boehm"Report: California's Proposed 'Billionaire Tax' Is Based on Bad Research," by J.D. Tuccille"A Wealth Tax Built on Billionaires Who Aren't Really Billionaires," by Veronique de Rugy
"New Book Says Jared Kushner Funneled Money to Middle East Mercenaries. Kushner Denies It." by Matthew Petti"Trump's Tariffs Are Politically Toxic," by Eric Boehm
"The Democrats' Socialist Moment," by Matt Welch
"Family Separation Drama Fjord Is a Haunting Depiction of Unchecked State Power," by Peter Suderman

The post California's Wealth Tax Could Cost the State $39 Billion appeared first on Reason Magazine.

💾

© Illustration: Fatima Ruiz

Matt Welch appears on the left. Liz Wolfe appears on the right. Behind them, an image of Governor Gavin Newsom appears looking concerned in the center. Bold text across the top of the screen reads "TAX THE RICH?"

Lula scores an epic victory in Brazil

26 October 2026 at 19:28

Brazilian progressive leader and incumbent president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva made history last night, defeating far-right Flávio Bolsonaro of the Liberal Party in the second round after coming in second in the first round.

The results were awaited with bated breath after a judge ordered polls to be open for two more hours following complaints from voters who claimed they had been unable to reach polling places due to transportation problems. First the Workers’ Party (PT), and then the Liberal Party (PL), requested the extension, which paused the vote count until 7:00 pm in Brasília, the capital.

With 51.79% of the valid votes, the former union leader, metalworker, and head of the Workers’ Party staged a historic comeback against Bolsonaro, who lost the initial momentum he had in the first round and barely reached 48.21%. This is the first time a candidate who finished second in Brazil’s first round has staged a comeback and won the election in the runoff.

Bolsonaro entered the runoff with a relative – though significant – lead following his victory in the first round of voting on October 4, where he received 47.03% (approximately 56,104,503 votes), while Lula, to the surprise of many, came in second with 45.16% (53,879,538 votes).

In other words, there was a gap of nearly 3 million votes between the two candidates that seemed very difficult for Lula to overcome, especially considering that the remaining votes were split among candidates who were mostly from the right and center-right – a fact that led many to believe that Bolsonaro, the son of former president and currently imprisoned Jair Bolsonaro, would win the runoff.

But Lula, a true legend of Brazilian politics (a labor leader during the dictatorship who won the presidency three times), achieved the unthinkable. Between the first and second rounds of voting, he managed to gain more than 10 million votes compared to the first round – an astronomical figure, considering that Bolsonaro barely managed to gain some 3.7 million votes.

Lula’s victory

After it was clear that Lula’s victory was irreversible, the Brazilian streets were filled with people wearing the traditional red of the Workers’ Party. However, the victory was celebrated by a sort of broad coalition that had formed to overturn the result – one that spanned the political spectrum from classical left-wing parties and movements, to progressive liberals, and even some center-right groups that saw Bolsonaro as a threat to democracy.

In his speech marking his fourth presidential victory, Lula said: “I want to thank the Brazilian people – those who have stood by me for so long – and express my gratitude for the generosity of Brazil’s young people … We are going to change the way this country is governed … we are going to involve the people more. Digital communication will play a very significant role in this administration. I will deliver the best presidential term this country has ever seen.”

“Following our victory, we will have to discuss a new way of governing this country. The people’s participation in this campaign – the students, women, and workers who took to the streets – will compel us to find a new way of governing. This country will never be the same again,” said the reelected president.

Lula also stated that the debates against Bolsonaro and the PL campaign were riddled with lies and “denialism”: “I never thought a person could lie so much in this country, with such brazenness, as if there were not a single shred of humanity within him.”

Finally, he also addressed the problems his campaign faced regarding the dissemination of its messages on social media. The PT repeatedly denounced that the major social media platforms hindered or outright prevented the spread of its political messages, while Bolsonaro’s messages faced no such issues.

Is Meta meddling in Brazil's elections? With Sunday's runoff neck and neck, new reporting raises serious questions.

The pattern is hard to ignore: Lula's campaign was blocked from boosting Instagram posts for nearly 24 hours, his ad account was previously restricted, and… pic.twitter.com/DVjDWJa7Xw

— BreakThrough News (@BTnewsroom) October 23, 2026

Hence, he suggested placing limits on the power of the major corporations behind social media platforms – a stance he has taken on other occasions and which has caused friction with tech giants: “We cannot fail to recognize that a crime in the digital world must be treated the same as a crime in real life. We cannot have monstrous companies of this size – which make billions without paying taxes to our country – trying to alter election results,” Lula said in his victory speech.

Bolsonaro’s reaction

For his part, far-right politician Flávio Bolsonaro said he “rejects” the election results and announced that he will seek to have the election annulled: “We are going to consult with our legal team; we are going to request that these elections be annulled. I will not accept that the rules of the game have been changed in the middle of the game – once again – by Lula’s friends on the Federal Supreme Court.”

Bolsonaro, who delivered his speech to his supporters, was referring to the extension of voting hours. According to his team, the extension was ordered after the polling stations had closed, which, they claimed, violates Brazilian electoral rules – even though the PL itself had also requested the extension.

This is not the first time that Bolsonaro’s supporters have rejected Lula’s victory. In 2022, it was Jair Bolsonaro who refused to acknowledge his defeat. Months later, during Lula’s inauguration, hundreds of Bolsonaro supporters violently stormed several government buildings, after which investigations were launched into an alleged attempted coup d’état. One of those found guilty in the case was Jair Bolsonaro himself, who is currently serving a sentence for that crime.

However, it will be difficult for Bolsonaro’s allegations to gain traction in Brazil’s immediate future. With the exception of Argentina’s far-right politician Milei, South American countries – through their heads of state and foreign ministries – have publicly congratulated Lula on his victory, which amounts to a de facto recognition of his win.

However, the Bolsonaros still have the Trump administration as a last resort, as it has publicly supported the PL candidate, just as it did with his father in the past. This is the first time since Trump began his second term that a candidate he supported in a Latin American country has failed to win, which still raises questions about what Washington’s stance will be regarding Lula’s historic victory – a victory in which, against all odds, he managed to defeat Washington’s candidate and thus halted a wave of far-right victories in Latin America.

An empty airport, shuttered storefronts and abandoned hotels: The tourism decline in Tulum is worsening

26 October 2026 at 19:27
A worker inside Tulum National Park, Quintana Roo, on October 19, 2026.

On Tulum airport’s runway there is only one plane: a Viva Aerobus Airbus A320. For several hours that is the only aircraft that will remain at the air terminal inaugurated in 2023. The aerodrome is nearly empty after Aeroméxico, Volaris, and American Airlines announced the cancellation of most of their routes to this destination on the Mexican Caribbean. The loneliness in the terminal is unsettling and, in the distance, all that can be heard is the echo of children playing. The crisis caused by the collapse in tourism, in what was once the jewel of the Riviera Maya, has deepened over the past year and has begun to touch various sectors that had set their sights on the booming future of this municipality in the state of Quintana Roo.

Felipe Carillo Puerto Airport, in Tulum, Quintana Roo, on October 18, 2026.

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A storefront for rent, in Tulum, Quintana Roo.

© Nayeli Cruz

Tourists relax on the beaches of Tulum, Quintana Roo.

© Nayeli Cruz

A worker removes the sargassum that has accumulated on the beach in Tulum National Park.

© Nayeli Cruz

An abandoned tourist business in the municipality of Tulum.

© Nayeli Cruz

Empty beaches in the municipality of Tulum.

© Nayeli Cruz

A closed restaurant in Tulum, Quintana Roo.

© Nayeli Cruz

Tourists stroll along the beaches of Tulum, Quintana Roo.

© Nayeli Cruz

A permanently closed store, still decorated for Christmas, in Tulum.

© Nayeli Cruz

Pueblo Beach in Tulum, Quintana Roo, on October 19.

Estágio na Bahia paga até R$ 2,8 mil e oferece benefícios; veja como se inscrever

26 October 2026 at 19:12
As inscrições para as vagas remanescentes do Fundo de Financiamento Estudantil (Fies) do segundo semestre de 2026 começaram nesta segunda-feira, 26, e seguem até 3 de novembro. Ao todo, são oferecidas 50 mil vagas em instituições privadas de ensino superior para estudantes que desejam financiar a graduação.Os interessados devem realizar a inscrição gratuitamente pelo Portal Único de Acesso ao Ensino Superior, utilizando uma conta Gov.br. Para participar, é necessário ter feito o Exame Nacional do Ensino Médio (Enem) a partir de 2010, obtido média mínima de 450 pontos nas provas e nota superior a zero na redação. A renda familiar bruta mensal por pessoa deve ser de até três salários mínimos.Fies pode financiar até 100% dos encargosMetade das vagas é reservada a candidatos com renda familiar mensal por pessoa de até meio salário mínimo e inscrição ativa e atualizada no Cadastro Único para Programas Sociais do Governo Federal (CadÚnico). Nessa modalidade, o financiamento pode cobrir até 100% dos encargos educacionais, conforme as regras do programa.Quando sai o resultado do Fies 2026?O resultado da chamada única está previsto para 16 de novembro. O financiamento concedido nessa seleção será válido exclusivamente para o segundo semestre letivo de 2026.

“Muito prazer”. Regina lança nova imagem

By: ECO IA
26 October 2026 at 19:09

A Regina está a renovar a sua oferta de chocolates com o lançamento de nove novas tabletes, uma identidade visual atualizada e a campanha “Muito prazer”, que terá presença em televisão, outdoor e digital. A operação pretende reposicionar a marca com uma linguagem mais contemporânea e sofisticada, colocando o prazer de consumo no centro da comunicação. A Nossa é responsável pela parte criativa e a Iniciative é a agência de meios.

A renovação abrange a identidade visual, com o azul Regina a ganhar protagonismo, numa tentativa de reforçar o reconhecimento da marca e a identificação dos produtos no linear.

“Esta gama representa muito mais do que o lançamento de nove tabletes. É a expressão de uma nova etapa para Regina”, afirma Francisco Pinho da Costa, head of marketing & product, citado em comunicado. O responsável destaca a ambição de apresentar propostas mais diferenciadoras e sofisticadas, mantendo a qualidade do chocolate como eixo da oferta.

A campanha “Muito prazer” dá expressão à nova fase da marca através de uma assinatura que joga com a apresentação de uma Regina renovada e com o prazer associado ao consumo dos chocolates. O plano de meios prevê presença nos principais canais generalistas de televisão e uma campanha nacional de outdoor, complementadas por ações nas redes sociais e em meios digitais.

A estratégia inclui ainda uma componente de influenciadores, com perfis como Joana Marques, Rebeca Caldeira e Catarina Gouveia, e comunicação nos pontos de venda, já com a nova identidade visual.

A marca não detalha o investimento associado ao lançamento nem a distribuição prevista para a nova gama.

As students we never sought power – here’s how we reclaimed Serbia | Novak Simin

26 October 2026 at 19:04

After freedom, we want to give our people something radical: a normal, functioning state

Two years ago, I harboured no political ambition whatsoever. I was a student at the faculty of technical sciences in Novi Sad, my home town, pursuing a PhD in human resources and simply living my life. That was until the canopy collapse at the newly renovated train station in Novi Sad in November 2024, which killed 16 people. I took part in street protests and rallies in response to this shocking event, and like many others, realised that it needed to be a turning point.

This was not an unavoidable tragedy. Systemic corruption and a culture of entrenched impunity were obvious factors in the collapse. But instead of ordering a full and impartial investigation and coming clean on official failings, the authorities began pushing back against us for demanding justice. We were vilified and attacked in the streets but law enforcement did nothing. So we took refuge in our lecture halls and schools, barricading ourselves inside faculty buildings, ready for a long haul.

Novak Simin is a member of Serbia’s Student List movement

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© Photograph: Marko Drobnjaković/AP

© Photograph: Marko Drobnjaković/AP

© Photograph: Marko Drobnjaković/AP

Ukraine’s Zelenskyy welcomes Student List’s win in Serbia and says Kyiv is “ready to keep increasing cooperation”

26 October 2026 at 19:01

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, 20 October 2026. Photo: Zelenskyy / Telegram

For 14 years, Serbia’s government kept the country close to Moscow. Now, the opposition “Student List” has won the country’s snap parliamentary election, and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says Ukraine is ready to deepen its cooperation with Serbia, welcoming the result as “a new page” in a post on X.

The win could end the 14-year rule of President Aleksandar Vučić’s political force and weaken Moscow’s position in the Balkans. Serbia has remained an important Kremlin partner in Europe since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and Belgrade never joined the EU's sanctions against Moscow.

“A new page”

In his post, written in Ukrainian, Zelenskyy said that "changes have taken place in Serbia, the victory of the Student List, and this is clearly a new page in the history of the country and its people."

“We wish Serbia success, real development, and warm relations with the European community,” he wrote.

He said Ukraine was grateful to Serbia “for the respect shown to our people and our state, our independence,” and added: “We are ready to keep increasing our cooperation, and may all the good hopes of the people of Serbia come true.”

But the winners rule out sanctions on Russia

Vučić had earlier predicted that a new government could impose restrictions on Moscow by March or April, according to Novosti. The Student List says otherwise: it has no plans to align with the EU or to sanction Russia over the war in Ukraine, according to Reuters.

Its candidates frame Serbia’s reliance on Russian gas, with Gazprom as the largest supplier at around 2.2 billion cubic meters a year at below-market prices, as an acute economic dependency rather than a geopolitical alignment.

The movement’s top candidates have also said a future government would end all arms exports to war zones, including sales to Western intermediaries who pass weapons to Ukraine. Around €800 million worth of Serbian ammunition has reached Ukraine through that route since 2022.

ANAM entrega ao Presidente da República livro que reúne contributos para o futuro do Poder Local

26 October 2026 at 18:51

Obra reúne cerca de 100 intervenções do ciclo nacional de conferências “A Arquitetura do Poder Local” e constitui um contributo para a reflexão sobre as reformas do Poder Local, no ano em que se assinalam os 50 anos da democracia autárquica. O Presidente da Associação Nacional de Assembleias Municipais (ANAM), Fernando Santos Pereira, entregou hoje […]

ECOWAS and AES open talks to rebuild relations

26 October 2026 at 18:46

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the Alliance of Sahel States (AES) have opened talks to establish a framework for cooperation, marking a new attempt to rebuild relations following years of political tensions over sovereignty, military coups, and regional sanctions.

The two blocs held their inaugural ministerial dialogue in Dakar, Senegal, on October 17, 2026, where they agreed to establish joint thematic working groups to develop a Cooperation Framework Agreement. The meeting brought together representatives of ECOWAS and the AES Confederation, comprising Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger.

In a joint communiqué issued after the meeting, both sides welcomed the “spirit of fraternity, mutual respect, and openness” that characterized their discussions, recalling the historical, sociocultural and economic ties that unite the peoples of West Africa.

The parties also agreed that their future relations should be guided by “good neighborliness, respect for sovereignty, dignity, and the well-being of West African populations.”

The dialogue marks a significant diplomatic development following the deterioration of relations between ECOWAS and the three Sahelian countries, whose military-led governments have pursued a political course centered on national sovereignty and a rejection of established Western influence.

Political tensions to dialogue

Relations between the two blocs deteriorated following military coups in Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger between 2020 and 2023. ECOWAS imposed sanctions and threatened further measures in response to the military takeovers, while the governments of the three countries increasingly challenged the regional organization’s authority.

In January 2024, the three countries announced their intention to withdraw from ECOWAS, their withdrawal formally took effect on January 29, 2025, opening a new chapter in regional relations.

The AES had been established in September 2023, initially creating a mutual defense framework among Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger. The three countries subsequently deepened their cooperation, formally establishing the Confederation of Sahel States in July 2024.

Throughout the confrontation, the Sahelian governments maintained that their decisions reflected the right of their peoples to determine their own political and economic futures. ECOWAS sanctions, particularly those imposed on Niger following the July 2023 coup, generated considerable opposition within the country and wider debate over the consequences of regional punitive measures for ordinary people.

For many supporters of the AES, ECOWAS’s response to the coups reinforced the perception that the organization was protecting Western, particularly French, strategic interests rather than defending the sovereignty of West African peoples. 

A framework for cooperation

According to the joint communiqué, the Dakar meeting followed earlier consultations held on May 22, 2025, in Bamako, Mali. The latest session allowed the parties to exchange views on areas of common interest and discuss how future negotiations could be structured.

Both sides expressed their willingness to pursue a cooperation framework that is “balanced, realistic and preserves the interests of their peoples.”

The communiqué further states that joint thematic working groups will undertake technical consultations towards developing a formal Cooperation Framework Agreement. Their findings will be submitted to the ministers for consideration before the next session.

The agreement to establish these working groups is an initial step towards institutionalizing dialogue between the two organizations. However, the communiqué does not specify a final agreement, a timetable for completing negotiations or detailed commitments in individual policy areas.

The discussions nevertheless provide an opening for the two blocs to address practical questions arising from their separation, including the maintenance of cross-border relations and the interests of communities whose economic and social lives extend across national boundaries.

Despite their institutional differences, the populations of the two blocs remain connected through trade, migration, family ties and shared cultural histories. The three AES countries are landlocked, and their economic relationships with neighboring West African states remain important to regional commerce and livelihoods as it defends its sovereignty.

A victory for the Brazilian people once more through Lula

26 October 2026 at 18:43

The week before October 25 in Brazil was frenetic. It appeared that every one of the over 200 million Brazilians had a political opinion about the presidential election. The country was fundamentally polarized. Polls showed that the vote was going to be tight, with most polls favoring the challenger Flávio Bolsonaro, son of the former president Jair Bolsonaro, and the standard bearer of the far right of a special type. But the incumbent Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, known as Lula and president of Brazil from 2003 to 2011 and then since 2023, would not allow the polls to stop him. He traveled the length and breadth of the country, holding massive and energetic rallies to mobilize people to vote. In the first round, 21% of the voters did not turn out in a process that is otherwise compulsory (and a large section who did vote left the presidential section either unmarked or spoiled). Only 2.2 million ballots separated Bolsonaro (who won 47% in the first round) from Lula of the 158.7 million registered voters. To win between October 4 (first round) and October 25 (second round), Lula had to either attract people who had voted for Bolsonaro or those who had not voted or spoiled their ballots. No other candidate had turned around such a deficit in Brazil’s modern history. But Lula did it.

Streets

In the three weeks between the first and second rounds, Lula and his team motivated millions of people onto the streets in the large cities of Brazil, but also in several smaller, but significant towns. These enormous mobilizations created a sense that Lula would overcome the mathematical disadvantage presented by the voting numbers after the first round. All psephological analyses showed that Bolsonaro would cruise through in the second round, which would have indicated the impossibility for Lula. But the left did not rest on this handicap but went on the offensive.

In the first round, Bolsonaro finished 2.22 million votes ahead, but in the runoff, Lula finished with 4.43 million votes ahead. The margin moved by 6.66 million votes. These votes came from the large cities: the 319 cities with more than 100,000 inhabitants, home to 57% of Brazil’s population, delivered 3.89 of the 6.66 million of the turnaround. Lula’s vote grew more in municipalities that are more evangelical, richer, whiter, more schooled, and more urban. This meant that he ate substantially into Bolsonaro’s base, which was something that surprised even the Lula team. The key to the turnaround was the mass mobilizations driven by the social movements, with the Landless Rural Workers’ Movement (MST) in the lead.

Advances

Across his three terms, Lula has presided over an extraordinary advance in the social conditions of the Brazilian people. Bolsa Família, increases in the minimum wage, the expansion of public universities, and support for family farming brought food, income, and opportunity into households that the ruling class had long treated as disposable. These achievements changed millions of lives and established that poverty could be confronted through public action. Yet the political formula that made these advances possible has reached its limits. Lula sought to improve the lives of the poor while accommodating the power of finance, agribusiness, and the dominant sections of Brazilian capital. During his first two terms, favorable international conditions created room for this accommodation. But redistribution without a corresponding transformation of economic power left the foundations of inequality intact, allowing the beneficiaries of the old order to retain the means to obstruct change and reverse its gains.

In his third term, fiscal restrictions, expensive credit, and dependence on conservative parliamentary forces have narrowed the space for reform. Social programs remain indispensable, but they cannot by themselves overcome insecure employment, household indebtedness, inadequate public services, or the concentration of land and wealth. The exhaustion lies in a governing strategy whose compromises increasingly obstruct the fulfilment of its promises. Lula’s personal authority cannot indefinitely bridge the distance between popular expectations and the concessions demanded by the powerful. A renewed project will require the organized strength of workers, peasants, and residents of the urban peripheries, the very people who form Lula’s base, with an agenda of agrarian reform, public investment, industrial development, and democratic control over finance. The movements that filled the streets must acquire greater power to shape the government’s direction. Defeating the far right opens that possibility, but securing the social gains of the Lula years will require confronting the structures that continually threaten them.

Defeat of Trump

US President Donald Trump, his vice president JD Vance, and members of the Brazilian diaspora in Miami put an immense amount of effort into defeating Lula. Brazil, which makes up half the landmass of South America, and is the largest economy in Latin America, stands out against the wave of far-right governments that now dominate the Americas. Interference in the Brazilian elections is now an acknowledged fact, with Meta cutting off Lula’s accounts at a crucial stage of the contest and other reports of funding and social media intervention.

Trump had hoped that Bolsonaro would win in Brazil so that he can then strengthen his Shield of the Americas process that began in Miami in March 2026. This process was presented by Trump as an institutional form to coordinate security but also for the suffocation of the popular movements and the left. Lula’s victory has blocked Trump’s path to exercise the Monroe Doctrine. It has also meant that Trump will not be able to so easily access the critical minerals in Brazil or to dominate the new oil find in the basin of the Amazon delta.

Despite the obstacles faced by Lula, his victory has been able to show that the far right is not invincible.

Vijay Prashad is an Indian historian and journalist. He is the author of forty books, including Washington Bullets, Red Star Over the Third World, The Darker Nations: A People’s History of the Third World, The Poorer Nations: A Possible History of the Global South, and How the International Monetary Fund Suffocates Africa, written with Grieve Chelwa. He is the executive director of Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research, the chief correspondent for Globetrotter, and the chief editor of LeftWord Books (New Delhi). He also appeared in the films Shadow World (2016) and Two Meetings (2017).

This article was produced by Globetrotter.

The Lucrative World of Literary Scams

26 October 2026 at 18:32

When Snigdha Poonam received a strange email from an organization seemingly interested in discussing a book she published seven years ago, she was intrigued, but apprehensive. As it turns out, her suspicions were well-founded. Poonam, after investigating, discovered she’d been the target of an author scam. Little did the grifter know, that Poonam has spent the last 10 years reporting on fraud. Game on!

This was undoubtedly a scam. Genuine book clubs don’t ask for money from authors. But who was behind it?

Had these individuals actually read my work, they would have wanted to stay away from me. I have spent the last 10 years reporting on transnational fraud. My first book, Dreamers, closed with a chapter on fake call centers in India; my second, Scamlands, traveled to other low-income countries in Asia to portray an invisible empire that thrives on inequality, technological change and the erosion of trust.

Along the way, I met and interviewed the scammers whose labor keeps this empire running. For some, fraud was a route to upward mobility; for others, an act of revenge against the privileged. Though I have formally emerged from this underworld, I can never delete a scam email without wanting to know more.

Latin America’s left celebrates Lula’s victory: ‘The Pelé of progressivism’

26 October 2026 at 18:30

The weakened Latin American left is celebrating Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s epic comeback in grand style — the “Pelé of progressivism” who is preparing to become president of Brazil for a fourth time. From Mexico’s Claudia Sheinbaum to Colombia’s Gustavo Petro, and including Argentina’s Cristina Fernández de Kirchner and Chile’s Gabriel Boric, the bloc was quick to hail Lula’s victory as soon as it became irreversible, despite the defeated Flávio Bolsonaro’s promise to seek to annul the election. The right, split between acknowledging the result and remaining silent, has left Bolsonaro alone in his challenge.

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© Presidencia de Brasil (REUTERS)

Lula da Silva greets Claudia Sheinbaum in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 2024.
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