Does dispute over return of Israeli captives’ remains threaten Gaza truce? | Israel-Palestine conflict
Hamas says it needs heavy machinery to retrieve bodies from under the rubble.
Hamas agreed to return all of the Israeli captives – both the living and the dead – within 72 hours of signing a ceasefire deal with Israel.
It has been more than a week, and 18 bodies have yet to be handed over.
The Palestinian group is calling for heavy machinery to retrieve the remains.
It accuses Israel of purposely hampering the search, while Israel insists that Hamas is dragging its feet.
All the while, the lives of Palestinians in Gaza depend on the return of Israel’s dead.
Will Israel resume the war? And is the US prepared to give it the green light?
Presenter: Tom McRae
Guests:
Ori Goldberg – Israeli political commentator
Xavier Abu Eid – political analyst
Mehmet Celik – editorial co-ordinator at the Daily Sabah
Published On 18 Oct 2025
What ‘The Diplomat’ boss told Kamala Harris about the show
Welcome to Screen Gab, the newsletter for everyone who spent the week belting “You Don’t Own Me” with the same gusto as an empowered ex-wife dressed in white.
Diane Keaton died this week at age 79 at her Los Angeles home. The L.A. native had a career that spanned more than five decades and included a wide-ranging and indelible list of performances in films such as “The Godfather” saga, “Annie,” Baby Boom,” “Father of the Bride” (and its sequel), “The First Wives Club,” “Something’s Gotta Give,” “The Family Stone” — the list goes on and on. Take a moment to read film editor Joshua Rothkop’s illuminating snapshot of Keaton’s life. Of course, her legacy goes far beyond the performance. Times film critic Amy Nicholson wrote how Keaton showed us how to dress up our insecurities and embrace the kooky. And if you want to take a dive into her oeuvre, we have a roundup of 10 Keaton performances worth watching. Pluto TV is featuring an on-demand collection called “Remembering Diane Keaton,” with 15 of her most beloved films available to stream anytime.
And speaking of women who leave a lasting impression — this week saw the return of Keri Russell as Kate Wyler, the highly competent seasoned foreign service officer, with the arrival of “The Diplomat’s” third season. The Netflix series has spent its time tracking the career diplomat’s journey being primed to assume the role of vice president. Its backdrop storyline of an aging president who is expected to pass the torch to a younger female vice president — and the chaos that ensues when the plan is upended — may have real-world parallels, but the show’s creator, Debora Cahn, whose other credits include “The West Wing” and “Homeland,” insists the series is not a commentary. She stopped by Guest Spot to discuss the political thriller.
Also in this week’s Screen Gab, our streaming recommendations are an eclectic pair: a documentary that chronicles the 60-year movement to convert abandoned railroads into public spaces around America and, for those looking to make their viewing of Guillermo Del Toro’s take on “Frankenstein” a double-feature kind of night, we make the case for a ‘90s gory horror-comedy twist on the legend.
ICYMI
Must-read stories you might have missed
Diane Keaton arrives at a news conference at the 40th Cannes Film Festival to introduce her feature directorial debut, “Heaven,” in 1987.
(Michel Lipchitz / Associated Press)
Diane Keaton, film legend, fashion trendsetter and champion of L.A.’s past, dead at 79: The Oscar-winning star was known for films including ‘Annie Hall’ and ‘The Godfather.’
Can the DMV make you laugh instead of cry? With Harriet Dyer, it’s possible: The Australian actor plays a sunny driving examiner in ‘DMV,’ the new CBS workplace comedy premiering Monday that’s set in East Hollywood.
What’s there left to say about the Murdaugh murders and ‘killer clown’ John Wayne Gacy? A lot: Hulu’s ‘Murdaugh: Death in the Family’ and Peacock’s ‘Devil in Disguise: John Wayne Gacy’ are based on notorious slayings that received reams of news coverage in their day, but each tells a captivating story.
‘Grey’s Anatomy’ reaches its 450th episode. Meet the people who’ve been there from the start: The long-running ABC medical drama reached a rare milestone this week. Meet three cast and crew members who have been with the show from the beginning.
Turn on
Recommendations from the film and TV experts at The Times
A view of the Island Line Trail in “From Rails to Trails.”
(PBS)
“From Rails to Trails” (PBS.org)
Trains ran close to where I grew up, and I’m still stupidly excited whenever I see one in action. There are fewer now than there were then, but part of their romance is the alternative routes they carved through the land. “From Rails to Trails” documents the 60-year movement to transform abandoned rail lines — which is to say, most rail lines — into paths for biking and hiking, turning them into linear public parks, making the countryside accessible but also remaking urban spaces. It’s a movement not without its opponents, its reversals and consequences, including the gentrification that can follow them. But this often moving hour-long documentary is a paean to old-fashioned coalition building and community activism — needed now more than ever — and the success of a new idea many now take for granted. Former Vermont governor Howard Dean and former Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg chime in. New voice of the everyman Edward Norton narrates. — Robert Lloyd
“Frankenhooker” (Pluto TV, Tubi)
The lament of “The Bride of Frankenstein” is that the heroine herself is only onscreen for a few minutes. Get your fix by watching Frank Henenlotter’s “Frankenhooker.” This sleazy-brilliant 1990 romp is so clever it ranks (severed) head and shoulders with the black-and-white classics. An inventor, Jeffrey (James Lorinz), is bereft over losing his fiancée Elizabeth (Patty Mullen) to a freak lawnmower accident. He vows to rebuild his future bride — but hotterr. “I can make you the centerfold goddess of the century,” Jeffrey says with a leer. The real vanity is his. He wants a sexy, mindless babe. Henenlotter (also of the schlock hit “Basket Case”) claimed he didn’t think deeply about the subtext of his horror movies, a feint that dates back farther than George A. Romero pretending “Night of the Living Dead’s” martyred Black hero wasn’t a comment on race. They’re both fibbers. “Frankenhooker” is a giddy, popcorn-chomping comment on the disposability of women, especially the sex workers Jeffrey murders for spare parts. But what brings it to life is Mullen’s uproarious resurrected sexpot. Stomping around wearing a purple bra and a ghastly sneer, she belongs to no man — ring on her finger or not. Make it a double feature with Guillermo Del Toro’s terrific new “Frankenstein” in theaters this week. — Amy Nicholson
Guest spot
A weekly chat with actors, writers, directors and more about what they’re working on — and what they’re watching
Allison Janney as Grace, Rufus Sewell as Hal Wyler and Keri Russell as Kate Wyler in Season 3 scene from “The Diplomat.”
(Alex Bailey / Netflix)
Will the U.S. ever be ready for a female president? Time will tell. But “The Diplomat” has provided its contribution to the list of fictional ones. The Netflix drama, a fast-paced look at the art of diplomacy, stars Keri Russell as Kate Wyler, a newly-appointed U.S. ambassador to the United Kingdom who is tapped from the ranks of career diplomats to be quietly prepped to become vice president. The plan, of course, hasn’t gone as expected. In the whirlwind final moments of last season, the president dies and suddenly the person Kate was enlisted to push out, Vice President Grace Penn (Allison Janney), is whisked into duty — just as Kate has discovered the VP is responsible for hatching a terrorist plot. The show returned for its third season earlier this week and explores the aftermath as Penn is sworn in as president. Here, creator Debora Cahn shares what she was interested in unpacking in Season 3’s marriage dynamics, orchestrating a “West Wing” reunion and the time she met former Vice President Kamala Harris. There are some mild spoilers ahead, so bookmark for later if you haven’t begun the season! — Yvonne Villarreal
What did you want out of Kate’s journey this season? Her professional ambitions are once again tested by her marriage. Hal keeps claiming it’s Kate’s time to be in the spotlight and yet he manages to steal it.
We wanted to look at how it happens that someone like Hal winds up in the spotlight even when he’s desperately trying not to; the circumstances that surround decisions like this, which make it such that even the people in the middle of them don’t really have any control over it. You can look at what Grace is doing, and you can understand why she thinks Kate is fantastic, but that the choice, in terms of what’s going to make it easier for her to get through the day, is Hal. And we didn’t want to have a science fiction White House where there are two women happily running the country. That’s just not the world that we’re living in. And it felt like the most honest thing that we could do is tell a story about what it means to be really qualified and really experienced and really ready, and then watch it all slip away at the last second.
The season includes a delightful “West Wing” reunion, a show you wrote for. Allison Janney returns as VP-turned-President Grace Penn and Bradley Whitford portrays her husband, Todd. What was it like to see them back together onscreen? And what did you want their marriage dynamic to say?
It was like first day of school jitters for the first day that each of them was on set. We really wanted to make sure that this was something new and it wasn’t a reference to the work that we’d done together in the past. And the second they started, it was just clear that we were watching a new relationship that these two great actors were building together and informed by the fact that they know each other quite well and that they’ve been good friends for 20 years, but using that to create something new and fresh and really, really satisfying.
This is a marriage that has some very similar structural dynamics to Kate and Hal, but there are some fundamental differences, which is, there was never an assumption that Todd’s career could continue to function alongside Grace’s once she became vice president; and certainly when she becomes president, there’s no question that will become the focus for both of them. And so there are dynamics that Kate and Hal still wrestle with, which we see are kind of absolved with Todd and Grace. And in some ways that helps, and in some ways it doesn’t help.
We’re looking at a couple that’s 10 years farther down the road in their marriage and have made, in some ways, a more pragmatic decision about what it means to have two smart, capable people with careers existing at the same time. Their decision is that one of them isn’t going to exist right now. I think the thing that I enjoy most about both Hal and Todd is that these are people who really, really, really love their wives and really want to be supportive and they still fail or they struggle so, so mightily. We’ve talked about this before: I don’t like writing villains. I don’t want to write politicians that have bad values or selfish goals. I also don’t want to write people in a marriage who don’t give a s— about each other. I would much rather look at the much larger problem, which is, you do really care about each other. You do really want the best for each other, and you still can’t manage to make it happen.
Allison Janney as President Grace Penn and Bradley Whitford as First Gentleman Todd Penn in “The Diplomat.”
(Clifton Prescod / Netflix)
“The Diplomat” premiered in a different political climate from the one it’s in now. The show is not a direct commentary on what’s happening now, but how does the current reality, particularly as it relates to what those in civil service are facing, inform how you think about or build stories moving forward? What sorts of questions are you asking now of people who work in the government?
We write a story two years before the audience watches it, so we we don’t want to be making a direct commentary. Even if we did, the world is moving so fast, we couldn’t try and keep up. But we do want to be in the foreign policy headspace that the world is in, and try to be looking at what are the bigger questions and bigger conflicts that face people who are working in this field. We think a lot about the fact that 300,000 people were fired from the federal government. We think a lot about what it’s like to work for this administration and — I’m trying to figure out what to say without getting into Season 4, which I don’t want to do. It doesn’t inform the specifics of any of the stories that we’re telling, but it does inform the worldview and the bigger questions that face people in this field as the field changes. As the world changes.
You’re writing about people whose job it is to make hard decisions every day. What was the hardest decision you had to make for this third season — either in the writing phase or the production phase?
We moved the base of production from the UK back to New York. The first two seasons we were based in the UK, and then for Season 3, we did half and half. There were a lot of really good reasons for that. It also meant that we had a crew that grew this organism with us — and we were very close to them; they had huge influence on the show — and leaving them behind was really, really terrible. It’s a tough time in the film and television industry right now, and we felt pretty good about bringing jobs back to this community. That was something that was important to us and we really wanted to do. So, we are comfortable with the decision that we made, but, boy, it sure wasn’t fun making it and going through it. It’s people’s livelihood. It’s not a small thing.
Former Vice President Kamala Harris recently released a book chronicling her whirlwind and brief campaign as a 2024 presidential candidate. Have you read it?
I have not read it. But did I tell you about when we met her?
No. Tell me. You were also filming this third season during the election, right?
We were we were shooting it during the election. We were writing it during the election. And we we were worried about how it was going to look. We didn’t want it to look like a commentary on this presidency. But we did have a female vice president that we liked a whole lot, and a male president that we really loved and was of a certain age and didn’t make it through the process — the dynamics kept getting more and more troubling.
Keri and I were at the [White House Correspondents’] Dinner. And there was a receiving line, and we met and shook hands with the president and the first lady and the vice president and the second gentleman. And I said, “Ma’am, I’m writing a story about what it’s like for a woman who’s really experienced and really smart and really capable and really ready to do a job who then gets passed over for someone who is perhaps less qualified.” And she laughed. Then she said, “Call me.”
Have you called?
I have not called. I felt like she had some stuff going on. I didn’t really want to bother her and say, “Heyyyyy … let’s talk about how that went …”
What have you watched recently that you are recommending to everyone you know?
“Dying for Sex” [Hulu, Disney+]. It was brutal and intense and very funny and extremely well-written. And I just thought what they did from a public health service perspective, sharing practical information about what it actually means to go through the process of death, I thought it was just a huge public service.
What’s your go-to “comfort watch,” the movie or TV show you go back to again and again?
“Postcards from the Edge” [VOD] — it is just so smart and so funny and both Shirley MacLaine and Meryl Streep are just absolutely to die for.
Letters: Super Shohei and Dodgers back where they belong
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Wow, what a week in sports. USC defeats Michigan, a Dodger pitches a complete game for the first time in the postseason since 2004 and they sweep the Brewers to go to the World Series for the second consecutive year after being 0-6 against Milwaukee during the regular season. Perhaps Michael Conforto will be added to the roster and win MVP in the World Series.
Jeff Hershow
Woodland Hills
While basically sleepwalking through the first three games of the NLCS, Shohei Ohtani saves his best for last. He goes “Hollywood” and produces the single greatest performance in MLB history as the final curtain comes down on the Milwaukee Brewers and extends the Dodgers’ magical journey to repeat as World Series champions.
Stay tuned for the sequel!
Rick Solomon
Lake Balboa
It’s a bird, it’s a plane … no, it’s superhuman Shohei! He pitches a shutout, strikes out 10, and hits three tape-measure home runs. Wow!
Marty Zweben
Palos Verdes Estates
In the history of Major League Baseball, has there ever been a player like Shohei Ohtani? I don’t think so. Shohei is the best ever. Enough said.
Chris Sorce
Fountain Valley
Now that the Dodgers have effortlessly powered their way back into the World Series, it’s quite obvious that $400 million actually does buy what it used to!
Jack Wolf
Westwood
At last, the second coming of the Dodgers has happened. We’ve been waiting for it and hoping for it, and now it’s here. Great offense, great defense and superb pitching. Our new chant should be “all the way L.A., all the way.”
Cheryl Creek
Anaheim
Statistically speaking, there is a case to be made in comparing the postseason accomplishments of Sandy Koufax and Blake Snell. From a historical perspective, there is no comparison.
Koufax is a legendary lifetime Dodger who pitched until he physically was no longer able to do so. Snell famously refused to take the ball in his last Giants start to save himself for a free agency money windfall.
Bill Waxman
Simi Valley
Stop the presses! The world is still spinning on its axis! Holy Toledo, Dave Roberts finally figured out a starting pitcher’s arm doesn’t fall off after 100 pitches. Too bad he didn’t come to that revelation during Blake Snell’s Game 1 performance, but better late than never as the saying goes.
Ken Blake
Brea
No end in sight for government shutdown as key dates approach
Oct. 18 (UPI) — Senate Democrats and Republicans are not budging on their demands to temporarily fund the federal government and end the shutdown as key dates approach.
The shutdown is the federal government’s third-longest and entered its 18th day on Saturday after the Senate failed to approve a temporary funding measure for the 10th time on Thursday and adjourned for the weekend.
More votes are expected to be held next week, but if the Senate stalemate continues, active federal workers won’t receive their full paychecks on Friday for the first time during the current shutdown, according to The Hill.
Those federal workers who are still on the job also received only partial pay on Oct. 10, which affected an estimated 2 million employees and their families.
Federal workers are guaranteed back pay when the shutdown eventually ends and the government is funded, in accordance with a 2019 federal law.
While active federal workers could miss their first full paychecks on Friday, military personnel are slated to be paid a week later on Oct. 31.
President Donald Trump earlier announced his administration has located $8 billion in unused research-and-development allocations from the 2025 fiscal year that ended on Sept 30.
He used that money to pay 1.2 million military personnel on Wednesday, but several congressional lawmakers question the legality of doing so.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., intends to hold a vote to pay military personnel and other “excepted” federal workers.
“We’re going to give [senators] a chance to pay the military next week,” Thune told media.
Senate staffers also are slated to be paid on Monday and House staffers on Oct. 31, but the funds are not available.
Another pressing issue is the Affordable Care Act’s annual open enrollment period starting on Nov. 1.
A House-approved continuing resolution that would fund the federal government through Nov. 21 does not include an extension of ACA tax credits, which expire at the end of the year.
The 18-day shutdown will last at least into Monday and only has been surpassed by a 21-day shutdown from Dec. 16, 1995, to Jan. 6, 1996, and a 35-day shutdown that started on Dec. 22, 2018, and lasted until Jan. 25, 2019.
Senate Democrats mostly have refused to approve the continuing resolution and instead offered an alternative funding measure that would fund the federal government through Oct. 31 and would include an extension of the ACA tax credits and Medicaid eligibility.
Senate Republicans mostly prefer to negotiate such things in the 2026 fiscal year budget, though.
Another pressing date is Nov. 21, which is the Friday after Thanksgiving and one of the busiest travel weekends in the United States.
If the shutdown extends into the Thanksgiving weekend, a shortage of air traffic controllers and Transportation Security Administration workers would greatly affect air travel.
The president has cited the shutdown when laying off federal workers, but U.S. District of Northern California Judge Susan Illston has temporarily blocked the Trump administration from continuing to lay off federal workers who are represented by two public sector unions.
On Friday, Illston said she might expand the injunction to include members of three more labor unions, Roll Call reported.
Former President Bill Clinton appointed Illston to the federal bench in 1995.
Red Cross receives two bodies that Hamas says are Gaza hostages
ReutersThe Red Cross has received two bodies in Gaza that Hamas says are hostages, the Israeli military has said.
The remains will be returned to Israel and formally identified. Hamas earlier said the bodies had been recovered in the Palestinian territory on Saturday.
The two individuals bring the total number of deceased hostages returned to Israel to 12. The remains of a further 16 people are yet to be repatriated.
The delay has caused outrage in Israel, as the terms of last week’s ceasefire deal stipulated the release from Gaza of all hostages, living and dead. Hamas says it has struggled to find the remaining bodies under rubble.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office has ordered the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt to remain closed until further notice, and said its reopening would be considered based on the return of the final hostage remains and the implementation of the ceasefire agreement.
The IDF has stressed that Hamas must “uphold the agreement and take the necessary steps to return all the hostages”.
But the US has downplayed suggestions that the delay amounts to a breach of the ceasefire deal, which President Donald Trump claimed as a major victory on a visit to Israel and Egypt last week.
The text of the deal has not been published, but a leaked version that was seen in Israeli media appeared to account for the possibility that not all of the bodies would be immediately accessible.
Hamas has blamed Israel for making the task difficult, as air strikes on Gaza have reduced many buildings to rubble, and Israel does not allow heavy machinery and diggers into the territory.
UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher told the BBC News Channel that the Gaza Strip “is now a wasteland”, with people picking through the rubble for bodies and trying to find their homes – many of which have been flattened.
As part of the US-brokered ceasefire deal, Hamas also returned all 20 living hostages to Israel.
Israel’s military confirmed the identity of the tenth deceased hostage returned by Hamas on Friday. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) named him as Eliyahu Margalit, whose body was taken from Nir Oz kibbutz after he was killed on 7 October 2023.
Hostages and Missing Families ForumAlso as part of the deal, Israel freed 250 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails and 1,718 detainees from Gaza.
The bodies of 15 Palestinians were handed over by Israel via the Red Cross to officials in Gaza on Saturday, the Hamas-run health ministry said, bringing the total number of bodies it has received to 135.
Separately on Saturday, 11 members of one Palestinian family were killed by an Israeli tank shell, according to the Hamas-run civil defence ministry, in what was the deadliest single incident involving Israeli soldiers in Gaza since the start of the ceasefire.
The Israeli military said soldiers had fired at a “suspicious vehicle” that had crossed the so-called yellow line demarcating the area still occupied by Israeli forces in Gaza.
There are no physical markers of this line, and it is unclear if the bus did cross it. The BBC has asked the IDF for the coordinates of the incident.
The Israeli military launched a campaign in Gaza in response to the 7 October 2023 attack, in which Hamas-led gunmen killed about 1,200 people in southern Israel and took 251 others hostage.
At least 68,000 people have been killed by Israeli attacks in Gaza since then, according to the Hamas-run health ministry, whose figures are seen by the UN as reliable.
In September, a UN commission of inquiry said Israel had committed genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. Israel categorically rejected the report as “distorted and false”.
Strictly Come Dancing week four leaderboard results in full as star makes show history
It was another eventful week in last night’s Strictly Come Dancing as the celebrities and their professional dance partners took to the dance floor for the fourth time
Tonight, the Strictly Come Dancing dancers and celebrities took to the dancefloor for the fourth time, in hopes they don’t become the third casualty of the ballroom.
Tensions and pressure are rising this week, as last week saw Lorraine star Ross King and his partner Jowita Przystał were the second couple to be eliminated from the show after Thomas Skinner and Amy Dowden were the first to be eliminated from the show.
Ross’ eviction didn’t come as a surprise to most viewers – but what did leave them in shock was EastEnders star Balvinder Sopal and her partner Julian Caillon finding out they were in the bottom two. This week, fans were left in shock when Shirley Ballas gave La Voix and Aljaž a 2 for their Cha Cha Cha to “Hit Me With Your Best Shot”
However, later on in the show, Shirley did a complete 180 as she awarded her first 10 of the series to Alex Kingston, who made show history by being the first to ever receive a 10 for the Rumba in Week 4.
READ MORE: Strictly Come Dancing star slams judges as he calls for major change to BBC showREAD MORE: Strictly Come Dancing star says Stefan Dennis is in ‘big trouble’ ahead of show return
With no one safe, here’s the scores for week four in full.
- Lewis Cope and Katya Jones – 8 9 9 8 = 38
- Alex Kingston and Johannes Radebe – 8 9 10 9 = 36
- Amber Davies and Nikita Kuzmin – 8 9 8 8 = 33
- Ellie Goldstein and Vito Coppola – 7 8 8 8 = 31
- George Clarke and Alexis Warr – 7 8 7 8 = 30
- Vicky Pattison and Kai Widdrington – 7 7 7 8 = 29
- Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink and Lauren Oakley – 6 8 7 8 = 29
- Balvinder Sopal and Julian Caillon – 7 7 7 7 = 28
- Karen Carney and Carlos Gu – 6 7 7 7 = 27
- Harry Aikines-Aryeetey and Karen Hauer – 6 7 6 7 = 26
- Chris Robshaw and Nadiya Bychkova – 4 6 7 7 = 24
- La Voix and Aljaz Skorjanec – 3 4 2 5 = 14
It was an emotional show tonight, with Alex’s Rumba leaving Shirley in tears, as she got up onto the dance floor to give her a kiss – something Tess said has never been done in the show’s history.
It wasn’t the only historical moment, however, as she also became the first ever contestant to receive a 10 for the Rumba in Week 4.
Now, the celebrities will have to wait as the public votes come in, and this week it’s Craig Revel Horwood who has the power of the deciding vote should it be a tie.
But who will exit before Icons Week?
Like this story? For more of the latest showbiz news and gossip, follow Mirror Celebs on TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Threads.
Prediction: Global AI Competition Could Create Trillion-Dollar Winners
These tech companies are benefiting from growing investment in AI chips and software.
Artificial intelligence (AI) represents a major opportunity for businesses across industries to develop products faster and cheaper than ever before. The race to gain a data-driven edge on the competition is fueling massive investment across the entire tech supply chain from data centers to software.
Many of the key players enabling this new industrial revolution are already valued at over $1 trillion market caps. But as governments and businesses continue to invest in this technology, there are two AI enablers that are still valued under $500 billion that could be worth buying today. Here’s why growing competition in AI could propel these companies into the trillion-dollar club.
1. Palantir Technologies
Palantir (PLTR 0.11%) started as a government contractor, providing AI-powered software for intelligence and counterterrorism efforts. But now its software is experiencing insatiable demand in the private sector. Companies are seeing significant cost savings, which means Palantir can benefit from companies scrambling to adopt AI solutions to remain competitive.
If one company in an industry uses Palantir to gain operating efficiencies, it creates a competitive advantage. This pushes more businesses to consider investing in Palantir’s platforms or risk falling behind. This can explain in part why Palantir’s U.S. commercial revenue has exploded this year, nearly doubling year over year in the second quarter.
Palantir closed its highest quarter yet of total contract-value bookings of $2.3 billion, representing a year-over-year increase of 140%. It is signing bigger deals while also seeing existing customers continue to spend more, leading to a healthy 128% net-dollar retention rate.
Palantir is effectively a tool that improves a company’s profits. Its software is expensive relative to alternative software vendors, but Palantir still expects accelerating growth next quarter. This signals it has a competitive edge. Palantir’s ontology-based system creates a digital twin of a company’s operations, helping managers make sense of unorganized data for better decision making.
Importantly, Palantir is converting revenue into very high margins that are driving robust growth in earnings and free cash flow. This is one reason why the stock has performed so well and may continue to outperform Wall Street’s expectations.
For what it’s worth, widely followed tech analyst Dan Ives at Wedbush Securities sees Palantir stock hitting a market cap of $1 trillion in the next three years. Keep in mind, the stock trades at an expensive valuation, so market sentiment will play a role in how the stock performs in the near term. Given the potential for volatility in the share price, investors should plan on holding it for at least 10 years. Long term, the savings and efficiencies Palantir brings to other companies could make it one of the most valuable companies in the world.
Image source: Advanced Micro Devices.
2. Advanced Micro Devices
The companies providing the chips for AI continue to benefit from increasing competition among the leading model builders. OpenAI just announced a deal to deploy six gigawatts of chips, which amounts to hundreds of thousands, from Advanced Micro Devices (AMD -0.52%) over the next several years.
OpenAI’s ChatGPT is the most popular AI model with over 700 million weekly active users. But to meet growing demand, it has to expand its compute capacity to compete with rivals, including xAI’s Grok and Google Gemini, which also continue to invest in more infrastructure. This growing competition will benefit AMD.
OpenAI’s deal with AMD validates the capabilities of its upcoming pipeline of graphics processing units (GPUs). AMD’s data center business has not been growing as fast as Nvidia‘s, but it is expected to accelerate over the next year, and the deal with OpenAI is a catalyst.
While Nvidia’s GPUs have been widely used by data centers for powering large AI training loads, AMD’s chips have an advantage in handling small-to-medium-sized AI tasks. This is by design. AMD’s Instinct family of GPUs feature a high amount of memory bandwidth that makes them well suited for the AI inference market, which CEO Lisa Su believes is going to be much bigger than AI training.
OpenAI will deploy the first gigawatt of AMD Instinct MI450 GPUs in the second half of 2026. Analysts currently expect AMD’s revenue to grow 28% in 2025 before increasing by 26% in 2026, according to Yahoo! Finance. Earnings should grow even faster due to the high margins of data center GPUs.
The stock currently has a market cap of $350 billion. Assuming the stock continues to trade around the same price-to-earnings (P/E) multiple, AMD has a good chance to reach a $1 trillion market cap by 2030. Wall Street analysts expect earnings to grow at an annualized rate of 34%, which is enough to generate outstanding returns for investors.
John Ballard has positions in Advanced Micro Devices, Nvidia, and Palantir Technologies. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Advanced Micro Devices, Alphabet, Nvidia, and Palantir Technologies. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Sunderland bucking the trend but how bad is it for Wolves?
Given the turbulence at the club over the last decade, Sunderland fans could be forgiven for feeling apprehensive on their return to the Premier League.
Their route back to the top division has been a long one, with the Black Cats experiencing back-to-back relegations and spending four years in League One.
Even last season’s promotion was dramatic.
Having finished 16th the season before, Sunderland upset the odds to beat Sheffield United in the play-off final with a last-gasp winner in injury time at Wembley.
But there has been more than good fortune to Sunderland’s revival.
There were fears after the Black Cats made 14 first-team signings this summer that Le Bris’ side could lose the togetherness that helped them earn promotion.
But the Black Cats have more than maintained the momentum so far this season.
With 14 points from eight matches, Sunderland have matched their best start to a Premier League campaign.
Not that manager Le Bris is taking anything for granted.
“For me it’s just a question of the next game,” he told BBC Sport.
“It’s a long journey and a tough journey. If we can win points early, it’s good for the confidence.”
The Black Cats’ fine start has been built on their home form, with 10 of their 14 points coming at the Stadium of Light – only leaders Arsenal have as many.
Perhaps the most impressive element of Sunderland’s form is that they have bucked the trend of promoted sides in recent times.
Southampton, Leicester and Ipswich – who were all relegated last season having earned promotion the season before – managed just 14 points between them after eight matches last season. Sunderland have already matched that total on their own.
In fact, Sunderland’s points tally is the best from a promoted since since Wolves in the 2018-19 campaign.
If 40 points is the benchmark for survival, then Sunderland are already well on their way to safety.
Arsenal beat Fulham to top Premier League after Man City down Everton | Football News
Arsenal overcame a fierce test at struggling Fulham to squeeze a 1-0 win that maintained their lead at the top of the Premier League, which had been threatened earlier in the day by Manchester City.
Leandro Trossard’s 58th-minute tap-in turned a game that had seen Fulham, now on a three-match losing streak, dominate the first half at Craven Cottage on Saturday.
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Manchester City had climbed to the top of the table with a 2-0 win at home to Everton, prior to the Gunners’ late kickoff in the London derby in the west of the capital.
The result moves Arsenal three points clear at the top, although defending champions Liverpool can cut that to just a point if they beat Manchester United at Anfield on Sunday.
Fulham, who had lost at Aston Villa and Bournemouth, prior to the international break, enjoyed the better of the early chances with Raul Jimenez and Harry Wilson both dragging efforts that should have heavily tested the keeper.
Arsenal, in contrast, enjoyed some nice spells in possession, but failed to test their former keeper Bernd Leno, in Fulham’s goal, in the opening 30 minutes.
Instead, it was the openings Fulham continued to find that nearly upset the odds when Tom Cairney found room from a corner and rifled a drive back across the face, but there were too many bodies in the way, allowing Arsenal to block the goal-bound effort.
The first moment of note came for record-signing Victor Gyokeres, who had endured a painfully slow start due to a lack of service. The Swedish striker found space in the box, but at a tight angle and his low drive was comfortably parried clear.
The best moment was the final kick off the half when Declan Rice struck a trademark drive from range, but the curl from his instep took the ball just wide of the post with Leno cemented to the spot.
Bukayo Saka nearly opened up Fulham immediately at the start of the second period as he shimmied in from the right and stabbed the ball towards goal. Sander Berge stuck out a leg at the ball and nearly deflected it into his own net, but for a Fulham bundle on the line swinging the danger away.
It wasn’t long until the breakthrough came, though, as Gabriel rose highest to flick Saka’s corner to the back post where Trossard turned in with his thigh.
Saka nearly doubled the lead moments later with a low drive, which Leno did well to turn wide, while the England man also had a penalty awarded and overturned after VAR asked Anthony Taylor to review his decision after substitute Kevin clearly played the ball first.
Despite the respite, Fulham were not able to muster the challenge in the second half that they had in the first period.
Another week at the top for @Arsenal 👏 pic.twitter.com/tg5Up9dCgE
— Premier League (@premierleague) October 18, 2025
Man City eye return to the top of the Premier League
Manchester City’s Erling Haaland kept up his torrid scoring pace with two goals in five second-half minutes early on Saturday, which lifted City provisionally top of the table with victory over Everton.
Pep Guardiola’s men moved to 16 points after eight games, dropping Arsenal and Liverpool to second and third, respectively. Everton dropped to 10th on 11 points.
The 25-year-old Haaland – who scored in an 11th consecutive game for club and country for a season total of 23 goals – broke the deadlock in the 58th minute when he leapt to head home Nico O’Reilly’s cross from the left.
The Norwegian doubled City’s lead five minutes later when he latched onto Savinho’s cross and struck a blistering left-foot shot from the middle of the box that was slightly deflected by Everton’s James Tarkowski past goalkeeper Jordan Pickford.
Haaland was hungry to complete a hat-trick, with three brilliant chances in the dying minutes, with Pickford racing out to save two of them with his legs. Haaland took the ball around Pickford on the third, but his looping shot from an impossibly tight angle dropped wide of the net.
Haaland shook his head in frustration, while the crowd chanted “Haaland! Haaland!” for his efforts.
City’s Phil Foden hailed Haaland for breaking the deadlock, calling the moment “very important”.
“We know he’s got that quality to time his runs to perfection and be in the right position. If they mark him out of the game, he is still capable of scoring, and we know he only needs one chance to score.
“He remained very patient; there wasn’t a lot of space for him today. And as you can see, he is always there for us at the right times; that is the sign of a world-class striker.”
There was no emotional homecoming for Everton winger Jack Grealish, who was ineligible to face his parent club. A TV camera showed Grealish at the game, but the absence of the league’s joint assist leader was a gaping hole for David Moyes’s team.
City, who thoroughly dominated in the second half, had 19 shots to Everton’s five, and seven on target to the visitors’ one.
Everton squandered a handful of chances. Early in the game, Iliman Ndiaye raced down the right side before sending a cross to Beto, who slid to just get his foot on the ball but poked it wide.
City keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma tipped a long shot from Ndiaye over the bar later in the first half.
Chris Smalls: Linking workers rights and Palestinian liberation | Israel-Palestine conflict
Labour organiser Chris Smalls tells Marc Lamont Hill why he believes workers worldwide should stand with Palestine.
Does grassroots organising have the power to hold governments and corporations accountable for genocide? And where does the US labour movement stand today?
This week on Upfront Marc Lamont Hill speaks to labour organiser and activist Chris Smalls, who cofounded Amazon’s first US labour union.
Smalls has also been a vocal critic of the United States’s complicity in the genocide in Gaza and argues that labour unions in the country have a role to play to stop Israel:
“If our dock workers did the same as our brothers and sisters overseas, we wouldn’t see a genocide,” he says.
Published On 18 Oct 2025
Paris Fury says Tyson will ‘burst into tears’ when he walks Venezuala down the aisle
PARIS Fury has predicted her hubby Tyson will burst into tears when he walks their daughter Venezuela down the aisle.
The wife of ex-world heavyweight champion Tyson, 37, has opened up about the surprise family engagement, and revealed that 16-year-old Venezuela’s fiance boxer boyfriend Noah Price asked Gypsy King Tyson’s permission before popping the question.
Paris said: “I think Tyson will get teary and emotional giving Venezuela away. He might be strong, but underneath he is softer than I am.
“If he is feeling the love that day, he will be balling. She’s our daughter.”
She added: “Hopefully it’s not too close in the future though, we hope Venezuela has time to embrace her engagement.
Recalling the proposal, which saw Noah get down on one knee in front of Venezuela’s family and friends last month, she said: “Noah asked for Tyson’s permission to propose to her at her 16th birthday shortly before he proposed.
“I didn’t get involved, but I had an inkling it might happen.
“It’s an old fashioned tradition, Tyson asked my dad for his permission to propose to me, we believe in that.”
She added: “But when it happened I was so nervous and my hands were shaking.”
Speaking at the launch of her new Eternal Collagen, held at the Grosvenor House Suites in London on Thursday (MUST REF) mum-of-seven Paris hopes her business venture inspires Venezuela to continue working as an influencer once she is married.
She said: “I want to inspire my kids, you can be a mum, and a wife and have it all.
“I know Venezuela is only 16, but she’s happy, we support her. I know in my heart this is the right thing for her.
“In the traveller, gypsy community, traditionally we get married young, I was 17, but 50 years ago everyone in England got married young.
“I’ve given Venezuela every option in life and this is what she has chosen, she has an independent woman and makes decisions for herself.”
Speaking about the secret to her long-lasting relationship with Tyson Paris said: “You can’t delude yourself that relationships are hard, there will always be ups and downs.
“But Tyson and I have just renewed our wedding vows and we are cringingly still in love, even after all these years.
“We’re still madly in love.
“As long as the good times outweigh the bad times. Don’t get me wrong, sometimes I look at Tyson and think, ‘you’re a pain in my the arse’ but most of the time I love him.
“You have to put the time in, especially when you’re juggling family and work. We’re being negligent at the minute, as we love to do date night, and we have had it enough.
How Venezuela Fury ‘could be a millionaire by age 16’ with her own modelling career
WITH a heavyweight boxing champ for a dad and a bestselling author mum, it’s likely that Venezuela Fury has a bright future ahead of her.
And the 15-year-old is already shaping up to be one of the most popular teenagers on the internet, racking up 70,000 followers on Instagram and more than 200,000 followers on TikTok.
The star has already caught the attention of modelling agencies, who have claimed that her unique style could make her a “millionaire by the time she’s 16.”
Gemma Howorth, Founder of Body London Model Management is convinced that Venezuela’s “gorgeous” looks and “strong social presence”, could make her a lot of money from modelling – before she even turns 16.
“Venezuela is very young but if correctly managed could really do well with a strong fashion-focused brand like Boohoo and then go on to develop an exciting modelling career,” she said.
According to Carol Needham, who runs Needham’s Models, Venezuela could even follow in the footsteps of Katie Price’s daughter, 17-year-old Princess Andre, and sign a deal with PrettyLittleThing.
“Seeing someone like Venezuela Fury is truly unique,” Carol said.
“She’s almost 6ft tall at 15 years old and has her own signature style in modelling, especially with her teapot pose.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if PrettyLittleThing wanted to snap her up!”
Princess signed a four-figure deal with the fast-fashion brand back in January, and some experts predict the move could see her become a millionaire by the time she’s 18.
by Olivia Stringer, Fabulous Digital Writer
“We love to have a date night at the movies with popcorn or go 10 pin bowling, just as long as we are together and having fun.
“It’s about getting glammed up and flirting, you’ve got to flirt and date each other. It helps keep the love alive, I love it when Tyson has had a shave.”
Paris has partnered with Eternal Collagen, which she calls the perfect solution for busy women looking to take care of themselves.
Unlike other products on the market, Eternal Collagen delivers a strong 15,000 milligrams per shot of super strength hydrolysed marine collagen and is packed with essential vitamins, including vitamin D, vitamin C, and vitamin B12.
Speaking about her collaboration with Eternal Collagen, Paris said: “It’s got all the vitamins that you need to make you healthy and glow.
“Since I’ve started taking it I’ve noticed so many changes, I never used to be able to grow my nails, but now I can.
“My skin is glowing and clear, my hair is growing fast and I keep having to go to the hairdressers. I also feel really great, all my kids got ill recently, but I didn’t get it, that’s because it’s so good for your immune system.”
She added: “I would only endorse a product I believe in.”
The No. 1 Habit Destroying Retirement Dreams
Credit card debt can bury you in interest. However, there are tools to help you take control.
U.S. credit card balances have surged in the past several years, from $787 billion in Q2 2021 to $1.2 trillion in Q2 2025. Though the pace of increases has slowed in 2025, average credit card interest rates still hover around 25%, leading to balances that swell faster than many can pay them down.
Image source: Getty Images.
Debt can happen at any age
There’s never a good time to get caught up in high-interest debt, but the situation is particularly critical when that debt prevents you from investing for retirement. Regardless of your current age, the last thing you want to do is give up aspects of your retirement because you can’t afford them.
Due to soaring inflation, retirees outspend their annual incomes by more than $4,000, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. With limited options to bridge that financial gap, more are turning to credit cards to cover everyday expenses. In fact, 41% of households headed by someone between the ages of 65 and 74 carry credit card debt. Few of these households likely expected to depend on credit cards as they planned for retirement.
But it’s not just those who’ve reached retirement age who depend on credit cards. Experian offers this overview of average credit card debt by age:
|
Age |
Average credit card balance |
|---|---|
|
Generation Z (born 1997-2012) |
$3,493 |
|
Millennials (born 1980-1996) |
$6,961 |
|
Generation X (born 1965-1979) |
$9,600 |
|
Baby Boomer (born 1946-1964) |
$6,795 |
|
Silent Generation (born 1928-1945) |
$3,445 |
What credit card debt means to retirement
Let’s say you’re 55, part of Generation X, and owe $9,600 in credit card debt. If your cards carry an average annual percentage rate (APR) of 25% and you make monthly credit card payments totaling $300, it will take you 54 months to pay the cards off. Worse, you’ll spend $6,384 on interest.
Now, imagine that your credit card debt didn’t exist, and you invested that $6,384 instead. Assuming an average annual return of 7%, it would be worth $12,558 in 10 years, $17,614 in 15 years, and $24,704 in 20 years. That’s assuming you never contribute another penny to the investment. It may not be a fortune, but any money invested can be combined with Social Security and other sources of income to help you in retirement.
Whether you’re an experienced or beginner investor, freeing up the money currently spent on monthly credit card payments is one of the surest ways to bolster your retirement savings.
The trick is to get your credit card debt under control. Here are three ideas to get you started.
1. Look into a consolidation loan
Consider a personal loan with a lower interest rate than you’re paying on your credit cards (ideally, much lower). Use that loan to pay off your credit cards and then make regular monthly payments until the loan is paid off in full.
Again, let’s say you owe $9,600 in credit card debt. The personal loan you land has an APR of 11%. By making the same monthly payment of $300, the loan will be paid off in 39 months rather than the 54 months it would have taken to pay down the credit cards. Better yet, you’ll spend $1,815 in interest, saving you $4,569.
2. Take advantage of a pay-down option
Snowball and avalanche methods are two of the most popular ways to pay off existing debt. Here’s how they work:
- Snowball method: Prioritize paying off your smallest debt first while continuing to make minimum payments on your other debts. Once the smallest debt is paid off, move to the next smallest balance, adding the money you were putting toward the first debt to pay down the second debt at a faster clip. Once the second smallest debt is paid off, move on to the third smallest, and so on. With each debt you pay off, you have more money available to pay toward the next one, creating a snowball effect.
- Avalanche method: Prioritize paying off the debt with the highest interest rate (regardless of balance). Once the debt with the highest rate is paid off, move to the debt with the next highest interest rate, and so on. Like the snowball method, each debt you pay off gives you more money for the next debt.
3. Consider a debt management plan
Debt management plans (DMPs) consolidate your credit card debt into a single monthly payment. Typically offered through certified credit counseling agencies, DMP counselors work on your behalf to:
- Help you determine how much you can afford to pay each month.
- Negotiate with your creditors to adjust your repayment terms.
- Accept your monthly payment and distribute it to your creditors.
While DMPs may be an effective way to climb out of debt, they can initially hurt your credit score, so be sure you understand the pros and cons before entering a DMP agreement.
Credit card debt is not insurmountable, but it does take effort to conquer. The sooner you do that, the sooner you can make progress toward your ideal retirement. Whether that’s fishing every day, visiting your grandkids, or retiring to a beach in a foreign country, it’s your dream to build.
High school girls volleyball Southern Section playoff schedule
Oct. 18, 2025 12:16 PM PT
HIGH SCHOOL GIRLS VOLLEYBALL
SOUTHERN SECTION PLAYOFFS
(All matches at 6 p.m. unless noted)
TUESDAY’S SCHEDULE
First Round
DIVISION 2
Rosary Academy at Rancho Christian
Murrieta Valley at San Marcos
Yorba Linda at Long Beach Poly
Beaumont at Corona Centennial
Louisville at San Clemente
Etiwanda at Redlands
Chaminade at Sherman Oaks Notre Dame
Los Osos at Santa Margarita
Sage Hill at Thousand Oaks
Windward at JSerra
El Segundo at Murrieta Mesa
Xavier Prep at Bishop Montgomery
Tesoro at West Ranch
Bishop Amat at Eastvale Roosevelt
Sunny Hills at Orange Lutheran
Marina at Cerritos Valley Christian
DIVISION 4
Marlborough, bye
Heritage Christian at Diamond Bar
Western Christian at Portola
La Canada at San Dimas
Arcadia at Dana Hills
Fullerton at Quartz Hill
Crossroads at Southlands Christian
Peninsula at Corona Santiago
Palm Desert at San Jacinto
Hesperia Christian at Linfield Christian
Sultana at Oak Park
Northview at Ridgecrest Burroughs
Rancho Cucamonga at Ventura
Yucaipa at Santa Rosa Academy
Cerritos at West Torrance
La Serna at Paloma Valley
DIVISION 6
Desert Christian Academy at Oakwood
Western at Garden Grove Pacifica
Norwalk at Trinity Classical Academy
Pasadena Marshall at Charter Oak
Gabrielino at Arrowhead Christian
South Hills at Coachella Valley
Rialto at St. Paul
Cantwell-Sacred Heart at Academy of Academic Excellence
Oxnard at Wiseburn Da Vinci
Indio at Bishop Diego
Lakewood at Woodcrest Christian
Rim of the World at Burbank Providence
Norte Vista at Ocean View
Capistrano Valley Christian at Webb
Segerstrom at Valley View
Oxford Academy at Barstow
DIVISION 8
University Prep at Foothill Tech
Holy Martyrs at Rancho Alamitos
Santa Maria Valley Christian at Wildwood
Malibu at Firebaugh
St. Pius-St. Matthias Academy at Arroyo Valley
Big Bear at Victor Valley
Rancho Verde at Whittier
Eastside at Schurr
Pilibos at Paramount
Canoga Park AGBU at Downey Calvary Chapel
Garden Grove at Loma Linda Academy
St. Monica Academy at Katella
Lighthouse Christian at St. Mary’s Academy
Patriot at Vistamar
Santa Ana Calvary Chapel at Artesia
DIVISION 10
Noli Indian at River Springs Magnolia
Packinghouse Christian at Colton
Edgewood at Newbury Park Academy
Lucerne Valley at Thacher
Joshua Springs at Anaheim
New Covenant at Hueneme
Compton Early College at Rosemead
Santa Barbara Providence at Indian Springs
Desert Chapel at San Luis Obispo Classical
Gorman at Desert Hot Springs
Waverly at Lakeside
San Bernardino at Mesa Grande
Animo Leadership at Bassett
Mesrobian at Moreno Valley
Highland Hall at Pacific Lutheran
Oak Grove at Glendale Adventist
WEDNESDAY’S SCHEDULE
First Round
DIVISION 1
Sierra Canyon, bye
Oaks Christian at Temecula Valley
Newport Harbor at Mira Costa
Marymount, bye
Mater Dei, bye
Crean Lutheran at Harvard- Westlake
Los Alamitos at San Juan Hills
Redondo Union, bye
DIVISION 3
Lakewood St. Joseph at South Torrance
Crescenta Valley at Glendora
Agoura at North Torrance
Newbury Park at Flintridge Prep
Mayfield at Corona del Mar
Claremont at Burbank Burroughs
Campbell Hall at South Pasadena
Aliso Niguel at Foothill
Santa Monica Pacifica Christian at Saugus
Santa Monica at Pasadena Poly
Hesperia at St. Margaret’s
La Salle at El Dorado
Trabuco Hills at Long Beach Wilson
Riverside Poly at Cypress
Village Christian at Hemet
Summit at Millikan
DIVISION 5
Granite Hills at Downey
Warren at Ontario Christian
Villa Park at Culver City
San Marino at Camarillo
Canyon Country Canyon at Gahr
Highland at Orange County Pacifica Christian
Paraclete at Santa Barbara
Grand Terrace at Sacred Heart LA
Lancaster Desert Christian at Alta Loma
Jurupa Valley at Placentia Valencia
St. Bonaventure at Valencia
Irvine University at Royal
Whitney at San Gabriel
Palm Springs at El Toro
Chadwick at La Palma Kennedy
Buckley at Corona
DIVISION 7
Pomona Catholic at Ontario
Santa Clarita Christian at Elsinore
Beverly Hills at San Jacinto Leadership Academy
Century at Esperanza
San Jacinto Valley at Faith Baptist
Calvary Baptist at West Valley
Rowland at Eisenhower
Bell Gardens at Wildomar Cornerstone Christian
Laguna Blanca at Cate
San Gabriel Academy at Santa Fe
Tustin at Temecula Prep
Chino at Coastal Christian
San Gorgonio at Pasadena
Geffen Academy at Lancaster
Azusa at CAMS
DIVISION 9
Cathedral City at Beacon Hill
Redlands Adventist at Westminster La Quinta
Tarbut V’ Torah at Crossroads Christian
Avalon at Los Amigos
Santa Ana Valley at Anza Hamilton
Ganesha at United Christian Academy
California School for the Deaf Riverside at Lawndale
Acaciawood Academy at Nogales
Cobalt at Nordhoff
Santa Paula at Estancia
Legacy Prep at Fairmont Prep
Montclair at Buena Park
Cal Lutheran at Riverside North
Miller at Victor Valley Christian
Sierra Vista at South El Monte
Ambassador Christian at Loara
Note: Divisions 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 second round Oct. 23; Divisions 3, 5, 7, 9 second round Oct. 25; Division 1 quarterfinals Oct. 28; Divisions 2-10 quarterfinals Oct. 29; semifinals Nov. 1; finals Nov. 8.
US court bars Israeli spyware firm from targeting WhatsApp users | Cybersecurity News
The judge ruled NSO caused ‘irreparable harm’ to Meta, but said an earlier award of $168m in damages was ‘excessive’.
Published On 18 Oct 2025
A United States judge has granted an injunction barring Israeli spyware maker the NSO Group from targeting WhatsApp users, saying the firm’s software causes “direct harm” but slashed an earlier damages award of $168m to just $4m.
In a ruling on Friday granting WhatsApp owner Meta an injunction to stop NSO’s spyware from being used in the messaging service, district judge Phyllis Hamilton said the Israeli firm’s “conduct causes irreparable harm”, adding that there was “no dispute that the conduct is ongoing”.
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Hamilton said NSO’s conduct “serves to defeat” one of the key purposes of the service offered by WhatsApp: privacy.
“Part of what companies such as WhatsApp are ‘selling’ is informational privacy, and any unauthorised access is an interference with that sale,” she said.
In her ruling, Hamilton said that evidence at trial showed that NSO reverse-engineered WhatsApp code to stealthily install its spyware Pegasus on users’ phones, and repeatedly redesigned it to escape detection and bypass security fixes.
NSO was founded in 2010 and is based in the Israeli seaside tech hub of Herzliya, near Tel Aviv.
Pegasus – a highly invasive software marketed as a tool for law enforcement to fight crime and terrorism – allows operators to remotely embed spyware in devices.
NSO says it only sells the spyware to vetted and legitimate government law enforcement and intelligence agencies. But Meta, which owns WhatsApp, filed a lawsuit in California federal court in late 2019, accusing NSO of exploiting its encrypted messaging service to target journalists, lawyers and human rights activists with its spyware.
Independent experts have also said NSO’s software has been used by nation states, some with poor human rights records, to target critics.
Judge Hamilton said her broad injunction was appropriate given NSO’s “multiple design-arounds” to infect WhatsApp users – including missed phone calls and “zero-click” attacks – as well as the “covert nature” of the firm’s work more generally.
Will Cathcart, the head of WhatsApp, said in a statement that the “ruling bans spyware maker NSO from ever targeting WhatsApp and our global users again”.
“We applaud this decision that comes after six years of litigation to hold NSO accountable for targeting members of civil society. It sets an important precedent that there are serious consequences to attacking an American company,” he said.
Meta had asked Hamilton to extend the injunction to its other products – including Facebook, Instagram and Threads – but the judge ruled there was no way for her to determine if similar harms were being done on the other platforms without more evidence.
Hamilton also ruled that an initial award of $168m against NSO for damages to Meta in May this year was excessive, determining that the court did not have “sufficient basis” to support the jury’s initial calculation.
“There have simply not yet been enough cases involving unlawful electronic surveillance in the smartphone era for the court to be able to conclude that defendants’ conduct was ‘particularly egregious’,” Hamilton wrote.
The judge ruled that the punitive damages ratio should therefore be “capped at 9/1”, reducing the initial sum by about $164m to just $4m.
Israel, Hamas exchange remains of the deceased under new ceasefire | Gaza
Hamas has handed over the remains of a tenth deceased Israeli captive, while Palestinians are struggling to identify loved ones among the 135 bodies Israel has released under the fragile new ceasefire.
Published On 18 Oct 2025
‘Good Fortune’ review: Keanu Reeves plays an angel gifting economic justice
It’s easy to miss the confidence of Billy Wilder or Frank Capra whenever some brave soul tries to make a comedy that takes America’s temperature by straddling cynicism and optimism. Those Hollywood masters could handily juggle the sweet, sour and satirical and, in Wilder’s case, even leave you believing in a happy ending.
With his writing-directing feature debut, “Good Fortune,” however, Aziz Ansari, who stars alongside Seth Rogen and Keanu Reeves (as an angel named Gabriel), swings big, hoping to capture that jokey truth-telling vibe about the State of Things. His subject is a fertile one too: the gig economy fostering our crushing inequity, but also the desperation of the have-nots and how oblivious the wealthy are about those who made them rich. So let’s stick it to the billionaires! Let Keanu help the downtrodden!
Ansari’s high-low morality tale, set in our fair (and unfair) Los Angeles, is a friendly melding of celestially tinged stories (“Heaven Can Wait,” “Wings of Desire”) and body-swap comedies (“Trading Places”). But as agreeable as it is, it can’t square its jabs with its sentimentality. It’s got heart, kind eyes, a wry smile and some funny lines, but no teeth when you really need things bitten into, chewed up and spit out.
Ansari plays Arj, living a serious disconnection between his professional identity — wannabe Hollywood film editor — and how he actually exists: task-gigging for scraps and living in his car. When a garage-reorganizing job for Jeff (Rogen), a Bel-Air venture capitalist, turns into an assistant position, Arj feels secure enough to use the company card for a fancy dinner with occasional colleague and romantic interest Elena (an underused Keke Palmer). Jeff clocks the charge the next day, though (a realistic detail about the rich watching every penny), and immediately fires Arj.
All along, Arj’s sad situation has touched Reeves’ long-haired, khaki-suited angel, whose life-saving purview (he specializes in jostling distracted drivers) is low in the hierarchy overseen by boss guardian Martha (Sandra Oh). Gabriel wants a big healing job to show Arj, with a little role-reversal magic, that being Jeff isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Except, of course, it is. (David Mamet’s line “Everybody needs money — that’s why they call it money” comes to mind.) The newly luxe-and-loving-it Arj shows no signs of wanting to switch back (which is apparently his call to make in the rules of this scenario), leaving out-of-his-depth Gabriel in the position of convincing a sudden billionaire why he should go back to being poor.
Which is where “Good Fortune,” for all its grasp of how Depression-era screwball comedies made the filthy rich mockable, struggles to match its issue-driven humor with its fix-it heart. While it’s funny to watch Rogen’s freshly desperate character suffer food-delivery humiliation, buying the script’s changes of heart — and the film’s naïve idea of where everyone should be at the end — is another matter. That’s why screwball comedies didn’t try to upend capitalism, just have some clever fun with it and let a simple love story stick the landing. Ansari’s ambition is admirable but he’s better at diagnoses than solutions.
His gold-touch move is giving the hilariously deadpan Reeves one of his best roles in years: a goofy meme brought to disarming life and the movie’s beating heart. Doing good can be hard work; understanding humans is harder. Plus, Reeves makes eating a burger for the first time a sublimely funny reaffirmation that sometimes, indeed, it is a wonderful life.
‘Good Fortune’
Rated: R, for language and some drug use
Running time: 1 hour, 38 minutes
Playing: In wide release Friday, Oct. 17
1 Unstoppable Vanguard ETF to Buy With $630 During the S&P 500 Sell-Off
This broad-market index gives investors a taste of everything — even more than the S&P 500.
Even Warren Buffett, the greatest stock picker of all time, endorses low-cost, broad-market index funds and exchange-traded funds for most retail investors. This is because most investors don’t have the time to deeply research individual stocks, while broader-market indexes tend to win over time, with 8% to 10% long-term returns on average.
While large banks were the first to create index funds for their institutional clients, Vanguard was the first to offer diversified index funds to the public in 1976. Today, Vanguard is one of just a few major asset managers offering accessible, extremely low-cost index funds, costing investors just a handful of basis points in fees.
After the market’s strong recovery from April’s “Liberation Day” tariff fiasco, here’s the Vanguard fund I’d recommend today.
Buy the total market
Today, technology stocks, particularly around the AI buildout, have soared to very high valuations. Interestingly, some of the largest stocks in the world that have gone up the most, defying the law of large numbers, leaving large indexes like the Nasdaq-100 or even S&P 500 (^GSPC 0.53%) the most concentrated they’ve ever been in recent history.
Of course, there is a good reason why growth-oriented, large-cap technology stocks have soared over the past six months and even the last few years: artificial intelligence. The prospect of generative AI could very well lead to the next industrial revolution; meanwhile, only the largest, best-funded, most technically advanced companies likely have a chance to compete. Therefore, it’s no surprise the “Magnificent Seven” stocks only seem to be getting stronger.
That being said, valuation matters, and the widening gulf between the largest tech stocks and smaller stocks in other sectors is huge. Furthermore, once AI technology is honed and widely distributed, every business in every sector of the economy should be able to benefit from GenAI.
So while investors shouldn’t abandon AI tech stocks en masse, now would also be a good time to look at other types of stock in left-behind sectors. That makes this Vanguard ETF an excellent choice today.
Image source: Getty Images.
Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund
The Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund (VTI 0.51%) is my recommendation for index investors looking to put money to work today. As the name implies, this index tracks the entire stock market, including large-, mid-, small-, and even micro-cap stocks — the entire investing universe in the U.S.
Of course, a broad-market index will also have high weightings of the large-cap tech stocks discussed. Yet while investing in the total market index fund will still give investors some exposure to the AI revolution, those stocks will have a smaller weight than other index funds, such as the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO 0.60%). For instance, in the VTI, the largest stock in the market, Nvidia, has a 6.5% weighting, whereas Nvidia sports a 7.8% weighting in the VOO, which tracks the S&P 500, and a 9.9% weighting in the Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ 0.73%), which tracks the Nasdaq-100.
Meanwhile, the total market fund will give a larger weight to smaller stocks in other cheaper sectors of the economy, which may outperform if there is a rebalancing and reversion to the mean. This is what happened in the early 2000s, when technology stocks crashed over the course of three years, but cheaper value stocks in other sectors of the market went on to outperform.
Currently, the VTI trades at a weighted average 27.2 times earnings, with a 1.14% dividend yield. It has risen 13.9% year to date, which is a strong performance, albeit behind that of the VOO and QQQ. Its expense ratio is 0.03%, which is so minuscule the fund is practically free.
Torn between momentum and value? Buy everything
The VTI is therefore a nice middle ground between those who are enthusiastic about the general prospects for AI technology, but are squeamish about tech stocks’ sky-high valuations relative to lower-priced sectors today. Therefore, it’s a great choice for investors looking to allocate money to stocks in October as part of their investment plan.
Billy Duberstein and/or his clients have no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Nvidia, Vanguard S&P 500 ETF, and Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Biden reverses Trump travel ban on Muslim-majority countries
President Biden, in one of his first moves in office, reversed the immigration restriction put in place by the Trump administration covering five Muslim-majority nations — Iran, Libya, Somalia, Syria and Yemen — as well as North Korea and some government officials from Venezuela.
The Trump administration was forced to revise its original order twice to resolve legal problems over due process, implementation and exclusive targeting of Muslim nations.
Jake Sullivan, who will be Biden’s national security advisor, said the ban “was nothing less than a stain on our nation. It was rooted in xenophobia and religious animus.”
Biden also extended to June 2022 temporary legal status for Liberians who fled civil war and the Ebola outbreak.
Biden sent a broader immigration plan to Congress on Wednesday that includes a pathway to U.S. citizenship for an estimated 11 million people.
The bill also proposes an expansion of refugee admissions and increases in per-country visa caps.
US Grand Prix sprint: Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri collide as Max Verstappen wins in Austin
The crash was a gift for Verstappen, who McLaren have always insisted remained a threat in the championship despite his significant deficit, especially as Red Bull have returned to form in recent races.
The crash brought out the safety car for five laps and after the restart Verstappen was tracked by Russell, who made a bold move into Turn 12 on lap seven, a late dive that ended up with both going off the track.
Verstappen retained the position and soon began to edge away and took control of the race.
Sainz was no threat to Russell, but he had to watch his mirrors for Hamilton.
The seven-time champion passed team-mate Charles Leclerc on lap eight down the back straight after the Monegasque lost control of his car through the high-speed Esses earlier in the lap.
Leclerc had a snap through the Esses, cut one of the corners, and that allowed Hamilton to close up. He then passed down the straight as Leclerc edged him right to the edge of the track on the inside.
Leclerc tried to fight back through the series of slower corners through the stadium section but Hamilton held on.
Leclerc took fifth place, with Williams’ Alex Albon sixth and Red Bull’s Yuki Tsunoda seventh.
Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli took the final point after a 10-second penalty for Haas driver Oliver Bearman, who was adjudged to have gained an advantage by leaving the track after the Italian tried a passing move into Turn 12 late in the race.
Bearman could not believe the penalty when told about it by his team during the race, obviously feeling Antonelli had forced him off track with his late move.
The race ended under another safety car after Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll T-boned Esteban Ocon’s Haas into the first corner, leaving his team with a massive repair job on both cars in the gap before grand prix qualifying at 22:00 BST.
Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff apologizes after saying he wanted National Guard in San Francisco
Oct. 18 (UPI) — Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff has apologized for backing President Donald Trump possibly sending the National Guard to San Francisco, where the tech company is based.
Benioff had complained about crime problems outside the company’s annual Dreamforce conference in downtown San Francisco from Tuesday through Thursday, which drew about 45,000 attendees.
“We don’t have enough cops, so if they can be cops, I’m all for it,” Benioff told The New York Times on Tuesday, noting he had the pay for several hundred off-duty law enforcement to help patrol the Moscone Center.
On Friday, he changed his stance.
“Having listened closely to my fellow San Franciscans and our local officials, and after the largest and safest Dreamforce in our history, I do not believe the National Guard is needed to address safety in San Francisco,” Benioff wrote in a post on X in a post on X.
“My earlier comment came from an abundance of caution around the event, and I sincerely apologize for the concern it caused. It’s my firm belief that our city makes the most progress when we all work together in a spirit of partnership. I remain deeply grateful to Mayor [Daniel] Lurie, SFPD, and all our partners, and am fully committed to a safer, stronger San Francisco.”
The Trump administration already has deployed the National Guard to Portland, Ore.; Memphis, Tenn., and Chicago in a crackdown on illegal immigration and crime. Lower courts blocked the deployments of the troops.
On Tuesday, Trump told in the Oval Office that “we have great support in San Francisco” for sending troops to the city, apparently a reference to Benioff. He urged FBI Director Kash Patel to make San Francisco “next” for deployment.
Benioff’s suggestion was condemned by politicians, including California Gov. Gavin Newsom, investors and those associated with the company.
Newsom, who was mayor of San Francisco, is a friend of Benioff and appeared at last year’s company convention.
More than 180 Salesforce workers, alumni and community members wrote an open letter on Friday that was published online. They said his comments have “revealed a troubling hypocrisy.”
“Salesforce was built on empowering communities — not deploying the National Guard into them,” they wrote. “Last week, that’s exactly what you endorsed.’
The letter added: “Walking back your words doesn’t undo the damage.”
Startup investor Ron Conway resigned from the board of the Salesforce Foundation on Thursday. Conway told Benioff in an email that their “values were no longer aligned,” according to the New York Times.
Conway donated around $500,000 to at least two funds tied to Kamala Harris’ unsuccessful 2024 presidential election campaign.
Benioff has donated to both political parties but has supported Harris, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton for president. He attended a state dinner by King Charles for Trump at Windsor Castle in England on Sept. 15.
His family and Salesforce have given more than $1 billion to Bay Area causes, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.
Benioff, who acquired Time magazine in 2018, has a net worth of $8.8 billion, ranking 381st in the world, according to Forbes.
Laurene Powell Jobs, a pre-eminent philanthropist, criticized Benioff for his remarks.
“When wealth becomes a substitute for participation, giving is reduced to performance art — proof of virtue, a way to appear magnanimous while still demanding ownership,” she wrote in the Wall Street Journal. “That’s the quiet corruption corroding modern philanthropy: the ability to give as a license to impose one’s will. It’s a kind of moral laundering, where so-called benevolence masks self-interest.”
Conservatives have rallied behind the Salesforce CEO.
Venture capitalist David Sacks, who is now Trump’s artificial intelligence and crypto czar, wrote on X : “Dear Marc @Benioff, if the Democrats don’t want you, we would be happy for you to join our team. “Cancel culture is over, and we are the inclusive party.”
Benioff has previously complained about crime in the city. In 2023, he threatened to relocate Dreamforce to Las Vegas over concerns about drug use, crime and homelessness.
Salesforce has attempted to get on the good side of the Trump administration as the company seeks regulatory approval for its proposed $8 billion acquisition of Informatica, an AI-powered cloud data management company.
Salesforce a few weeks ago announced a new line of business, Missionforce, for more revenue from defense, intelligence and aerospace agencies.
The New York Times also reported that Salesforce has offered its services to increase Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s capabilities.
Salesforce is a cloud-based software company founded in 1999 by Benioff, a former Oracle executive.
The company has a market capitalization of $238 billion with $38 billion in revenue in 2025 and 76,453 employees. The public company is a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average.