October 25, 2023 - Wednesday

[WORLD] The UN Secretary-General has condemned the violation of international law in Gaza amidst the Israel-Hamas conflict.

The UN Secretary-General denounces the disregard for international law in Gaza following the Israel-Hamas war. He highlights the need for justice and accountability while emphasizing the importance of upholding humanitarian values. As tensions persist, individuals like New Yorker Guy Tsadik are taking action to support Israel, countering anti-Israel protests by displaying posters of the hostages held by Hamas and garnering support from local businesses. Tsadik's activism aims to raise awareness and advocate for the victims affected by the conflict.

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[NATION] House Republicans have chosen Mike Johnson as their fourth nominee for Speaker of the House, after Donald Trump's opposition led to Tom Emmer dropping out.

Mike Johnson, currently the conference's vice chair, will see if he can overcome the hurdle that previous nominees faced in garnering enough votes to become speaker. The lack of a speaker has prevented the House from conducting legislative business, causing concerns about the political and electoral consequences for Republicans. Former Speaker Kevin McCarthy also gained traction as several of his allies voted for him during the election.

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[BUSINESS] Microsoft exceeds expectations in Q1 with strong sales as customers prepare for the rollout of AI offerings.

Microsoft exceeded Wall Street's expectations in its fiscal first quarter, with its cloud computing and PC businesses growing as customers anticipate the rollout of its artificial intelligence offerings. The company's revenue rose 13% to $56.5 billion, driven by enthusiasm among corporate technology buyers for AI products. Revenue from its Intelligent Cloud unit, which includes its Azure platform, grew to $24.3 billion. Microsoft's strong performance indicates that AI products are stimulating sales and contributing to top and bottom-line growth.

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[TECHNOLOGY] Qualcomm has announced its new Snapdragon X Elite platform, claiming it will outperform Apple, Intel, and AMD processors.

Qualcomm has unveiled its Snapdragon X Elite platform, featuring its most powerful computing processor to date. The chips are built on a 4nm process and include 136GB/s of memory bandwidth. Qualcomm aims to surpass the performance of Intel, Apple, and AMD processors with this new platform. PCs equipped with the Snapdragon X Elite chipset are expected to be available in mid-2024.

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[SPORTS] The Arizona Diamondbacks rallied from a losing streak to win the NL pennant and advance to the World Series.

The Arizona Diamondbacks staged a remarkable comeback after a rough start to the season, winning enough games to secure the sixth and final seed in the playoffs. Despite being an 84-win team with a run differential suggesting they should be worse, they persevered and earned their first World Series berth since 2001. Rookie outfielder Corbin Carroll and fellow rookie Gabriel Moreno played crucial roles in the team's victory, along with rookie starter Brandon Pfaadt and reliever Kevin Ginkel. The Philadelphia Phillies, who had won the first two games of the series, were unable to capitalize on their opportunities.

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[SCIENCE] The West Antarctic Ice Sheet is projected to continue melting at an increasing rate, regardless of fossil fuel cutbacks.

A study conducted by the British Antarctic Survey found that the West Antarctic Ice Sheet will experience a significant acceleration in melting over the next century, regardless of efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This implies that Antarctica's contribution to sea level rise will increase rapidly in the coming decades. The study emphasizes the importance of reducing fossil fuel reliance for adaptation and mitigation of the impacts of melting ice sheets.

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[HEALTH] Health workers in the US are experiencing a mental health crisis, characterized by burnout and increased harassment, according to a report by the CDC.

Health workers in the US are facing a mental health crisis, as indicated by a report from the CDC. The report reveals that nearly half of health workers reported feeling burned out in 2022, compared to less than a third in 2018. Instances of harassment at work also doubled during this period. The report highlights that health workers have worse mental health outcomes compared to employees in other industries. These findings follow a recent strike by 75,000 unionized health care workers who cited burnout and staffing shortages as concerns.

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[ENTERTAINMENT] Richard Roundtree, star of "Shaft," has passed away at the age of 81 after a battle with pancreatic cancer.

Richard Roundtree, known for his iconic role as detective John Shaft in the 1971 film "Shaft," has passed away at the age of 81 after a short battle with pancreatic cancer. As one of the first African American leading men in film, Roundtree's impact on the industry is significant. His role in "Shaft" helped save the MGM studio from bankruptcy and set the stage for a decade of Blaxploitation films.

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