📌 Nobel Peace Prize, Cybercab, More

The 2024 Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to the Japanese atomic bomb survivor movement Nihon Hidankyo (logo above).

The committee chair, Jørgen Watne Frydnes, described Nihon Hidankyo as “a grassroots movement of atomic bomb survivors from Hiroshima and Nagasaki, also known as Hibakusha.”

It received the peace prize “for its efforts to achieve a world free of nuclear weapons and for demonstrating through witness testimony that nuclear weapons must never be used again,” Frydnes said.

The committee honored all survivors for retelling their experiences to inspire hope. It recognized Nihon Hidankyo’s efforts in providing thousands of witness accounts and sending delegations to numerous conferences to remind the world about the need for nuclear disarmament.

“New generations in Japan are carrying forward the movement's messages,” Frydnes said. “Our message to world leaders is that Nihon Hidankyo’s stories of testimony are an essential reminder of how unacceptable nuclear weapons are.”

Tesla CEO Elon Musk showcased on Thursday a robotaxi with two gull-wing doors and no steering wheel or pedals.

Musk reached the stage in a "Cybercab" to be produced from 2026, priced at under $30,000. He then introduced a robovan, which can transport 20 people, but few details were announced.

Musk said running the Cybercab will cost 20 cents a mile over time, and charging will be inductive, requiring no plugs. Operating the robot vans will be even cheaper—at five cents a mile, and the vehicles will rely on AI and cameras rather than hardware, he said.

Musk did not say how quickly Tesla could ramp up robotaxi production, clear inevitable regulatory hurdles, or implement a business plan to leapfrog robotaxi rivals such as Alphabet's Waymo.

Analysts and industry experts said establishing a robot taxi could take years to ensure safety and reliability. They pointed to accidents and the difficulty the technology has in responding to inclement weather, complex intersections and pedestrian behavior.

Over 200 demonstrated outside a courthouse in New Orleans to support the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) policy.

The 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals is hearing arguments on the Biden administration's policy that protects around 535,000 individuals from deportation.

The case could potentially reach the Supreme Court, impacting the lives of many who have established themselves in the US without legal residency or citizenship.

A central issue is whether Texas has legal standing to challenge DACA and if a lower court judge had the authority to issue a nationwide ruling. DACA supporters argue that Texas has yet to prove the costs are directly linked to the policy, and 22 states claim they benefit from DACA recipients' contributions.

DACA was established by President Obama in 2012 due to Congressional inaction on immigration reform and was renewed by President Biden. A previous ruling barred new DACA applications but allowed existing ones to remain during appeals.

The states challenging DACA include Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Nebraska, South Carolina, West Virginia, Kansas, and Mississippi, supported by the Immigration Reform Law Institute.

Florida theme parks Walt Disney World, Universal Orlando and SeaWorld plan to reopen today after Hurricane Milton.

The parks said in statements that some Halloween special events won’t be offered and that they won’t necessarily be fully functioning on Friday, but the public is welcome back.

As Milton came ashore as a major storm Wednesday, all three Orlando-based parks shut down, dampening the vacations of tens of thousands of tourists, many of whom hunkered down in hotels. Disney World, Universal and SeaWorld were all closed for at least part of Wednesday and all of Thursday.

In Tampa, the animals at popular tourist attractions ZooTampa and The Florida Aquarium were reportedly safe and unharmed. Both aim to reopen on Saturday.

Disney World, Universal and other attractions make Orlando the United States' most visited destination, drawing 74 million tourists last year alone.

An analysis of 1.2 billion observations of online reviews and two lab studies reveals a consistent gender rating gap.

Academics writing in a peer-reviewed journal found that women’s mean online review ratings across platforms such as Amazon, Google, IMDb, TripAdvisor, and Yelp were significantly more favorable than men’s despite little difference in their “real” attitudes.

Women's average ratings were higher than men's by approximately 0.1 stars on a 5-point scale. The authors said the gap is impactful for online reviews, as slight differences lead to meaningful changes in ranking and have financial implications.

Lab experiments found that when dissatisfied, women were less likely than men to post a review, while satisfied women and men submitted reviews at similar rates.

“The authors write: “This research is a call to action for platforms, businesses, and society as a whole to ensure fair representation of opinions. We need to address the factors that prevent individuals, particularly women, from sharing their true experiences, especially when they are dissatisfied.”

The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) reports that monitored wildlife numbers shrunk by nearly 75% on average over the past 50 years.

In the latest edition of its Living Planet Report, which monitors population trends across nearly 5,500 species in 1970–2020, the WWF found vertebrate wildlife populations fell by 73% on average, freshwater wildlife populations 85%, land-based populations 69%, and sea life 56%.

The WWF said the percentages measure the average change across monitored populations and are not a worldwide drop. Habitat loss and degradation were primarily driven by food production, accounting for 70% of water use and over 25% of greenhouse gas emissions.

The WWF criticized the European Union’s decision to delay implementing anti-deforestation regulations, noting Amazon rainforest fire outbreaks had a 14-year high in August. It said coral reefs faced a fourth mass global bleaching event this year.

A woman left her home after 50–100 raccoons surrounded it and demanded food 24/7.

She told officials in Poulsbo, Wash., that she started feeding a family of raccoons years ago. That seemed harmless until dozens showed up at her property, with some scratching at her front door and car.

Kevin McCarty, a spokesperson for the Kitsap County Sheriff's Office, said some of those who turned up were aggressive. “When she pulled up in her car, they would surround it, scratch at it, and surround her. They saw her as a food source, so they kept coming back expecting food.”

It is illegal in Wash. to feed large carnivores, such as bears or cougars. Local laws might forbid feeding other wildlife, but it is not against state law, said Bridget Mire at the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife.

“The raccoons appear to have started dispersing now that they are no longer being fed, and we are glad for a positive outcome to this case.”