Tens of thousands rally in Belgrade ahead of pivotal parliamentary election
Thousands of opposition supporters gathered in Belgrade for final pre-election campaign rallies ahead of snap parliamentary elections this weekend. An estimated 150,000 supporters of Serbia's student-led opposition movement flooded central Belgrade, staging a massive final show of force seeking to oust the party of veteran leader Aleksandar Vucic, while the government held duelling events across town.
President signs Clergy Act into law as part of bipartisan package
On October 20, 2026, the President signed H.R. 227, the Clergy Act, along with nine other bipartisan bills into law. The Clergy Act establishes a two-year window allowing ministers to revoke their Social Security tax exemption elections under SECA, addressing retirement security for clergy by reopening the revocation window. The measure passed the House 350-5 with bipartisan support and was agreed to by the Senate by unanimous consent.
Apple reclaims market-cap crown from Nvidia ahead of earnings
Apple briefly reclaimed the title of the world's most valuable publicly traded company, with a market capitalization of approximately $4.94 trillion, surpassing Nvidia. This shift reflects investor rotation away from AI-pure-play stocks toward consumer hardware ahead of Apple's upcoming earnings report, which could potentially push the company past the $5 trillion mark.
OpenAI trims valuation target to $1.25 trillion after investor pushback on $1.4 trillion pitch
OpenAI has reduced its latest funding round valuation target from $1.4 trillion to $1.25 trillion after investor resistance to the initially proposed price. The company is in final stages of a roughly $30 billion bridge round that will value the AI firm significantly below its previous marketing price.
Russia sells, China buys: Central banks diverge on gold strategy amid geopolitical tensions
Central bank gold operations in 2026 reveal a split strategy driven by geopolitical considerations, with Russia offloading 56 tons year-to-date through August while China continues aggressive accumulation, underscoring how institutions are adjusting gold holdings based on national economic conditions and perceived geopolitical risk rather than conventional monetary factors.
HHS appoints metabolic psychiatry leader to direct $2.2 billion mental health agency
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. appointed Timothy Westlake, a leader of the metabolic psychiatry movement, to head SAMHSA, overriding NIH opposition and filling an 18-month vacancy. The announcement accompanies broader HHS leadership changes with four MAHA-aligned appointees confirmed and new initiatives in metabolic therapies and psychedelic drug reviews.
Groundbreaking study challenges 70 years of assumptions about human language
A new study analyzing billions of words across 40 languages reveals that human language is organized around concepts of power, danger, and order rather than emotional valence, overturning the dominant meaning hypothesis and introducing the concept of "ousiometrics."
NASA's Perseverance Mars rover breaks interplanetary driving record
NASA's Perseverance rover has set a new record for the farthest distance driven on another world, surpassing the Opportunity rover's mark after traveling 28.10 miles on Mars in just 5.5 years, demonstrating the rover's durability and the mission's success in long-distance scientific operations.