The CIA Is Resorting to an Open Casting Call for Would-Be Cuban Assets

 

With Marco Rubio’s public plea for Cubans to work with the CIA, the administration is eyeing its next imperial conquest.

Séamus Malekafzali

November 1 2026, 6:00 a.m. ET

Imperial ambitions are ever-shifting under President Donald Trump. Greenland, Venezuela, Iran, and Cuba are oftentimes spoken about as one continuous train of complete victories and soon-to-be-complete-victories. With the midterms fast approaching, and the date for an apparent telegraphed return to the Iran war on its heels, talk of easily overthrowing regimes has returned, if it ever truly left.

Matt Damon and David Letterman, What Are You Doing in The Gilded Age?

It took a lot of emails to make it happen. Photo: HBO

Backstories

By Alex Zalben

10:05 P.M.

Wedged between Jack’s gentleman lessons, a dalliance that could ruin Marian, and a surprise hysterectomy, The Gilded Age season-four premiere’s most shocking moment is a blink-and-you-miss-it cameo. Two, actually: Matt Damon and David Letterman.

No, really! Eight minutes and 33 seconds into the episode, Damon and Letterman play gentlemen silently crossing the street as the camera pans to the home of George Russell, who’s recovering inside after getting shot at the end of season three. The six-second star turn is all you’ll glimpse of the late-night host and Academy Award–winning actor. Even though The Gilded Age is packed with stars, they usually have speaking roles. How did Damon and Letterman end up in the episode?

Wall Street: The October Selloff Was Real, the $2 Trillion Loss "Unreal", and the Future Surreal

By Mars Strangelove Jr.

November 1, 2026

Sources: Reuters

Wall Street had an uncomfortable October. The technology-heavy Nasdaq came under pressure, some of its biggest names suffered extraordinary losses, and investors began asking a question that the artificial intelligence boom had allowed them to postpone: when will all this spending actually pay off?

By October 30, the Nasdaq-100 had fallen more than 5.8% for the month. Reuters estimated that more than $2 trillion in market capitalization was on course to disappear from the index. On the final trading day, the Nasdaq Composite fell 2.9%, the S&P 500 lost 1.8%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 1.1%. Intel plunged almost 29%, recording its worst single-day performance since 1974. 

Dimon Warns: Can't Stay Hooked on Borrowed Money Just to Keep the Good Times Going

November 1, 2026

By Mars Strangelove Jr.

Source: The Wealth Advisor

America's economy is producing profits, supporting businesses and keeping financial markets moving. But Jamie Dimon, the chairman and CEO of JPMorgan Chase, wants investors to consider an uncomfortable possibility: the apparent strength may be concealing a growing dependence on government borrowing.

His concern is not that economic activity has suddenly become an illusion. It is that Washington's spending has become a powerful source of demand, helping sustain the very prosperity that policymakers and investors celebrate. And, as Dimon sees it, an economy increasingly accustomed to that support could face a difficult adjustment if the borrowing becomes unsustainable.

Pompeii's Lost Wardrobe: An Illustrated Glimpse of Life Before Vesuvius Buried the City

ILLUSTRATED

By Mars Strangelove Jr. and Yiannis Damellos

November 1, 2026

A cupboard that remained sealed for almost 2,000 years has given archaeologists an unusually intimate glimpse into everyday life in Pompeii before Mount Vesuvius erupted in A.D. 79.

The discovery was made in a house on Via dell'Abbondanza, one of the busiest streets of the ancient Roman city. Although the building's façade was excavated in 1912, archaeologists have only recently begun investigating some of its interior rooms. By examining traces left behind, they were able to reconstruct the contents of a wooden cupboard that had never been reopened.

Judge tosses Trump's attempt to block Alaska Senate results if GOP incumbent loses`

Hansi Lo Wang

Updated November 1, 2026

2:04 PM ET

A federal judge has thrown out the Trump administration's highly unusual attempt to block the certification of results from a key U.S. Senate race in Alaska if the Republican incumbent loses.

In a ruling released Sunday, U.S. District Judge Sharon Gleason found the federal government does not have the ability to bring this lawsuit, which cited the preamble of the National Voter Registration Act.

Betrayal in Michigan: Haley Stevens Endorses A Republican Against Her Own Party

By Yiannis Damellos and Mars Strangelove Jr.

Illustration: By Gemini

November 1, 2026

There are moments in politics when the word betrayal sounds too strong. This is not one of them.

Two days before Election Day, Democratic Representative Haley Stevens of Michigan endorsed Republican Mike Rogers for the U.S. Senate, against her own party's nominee, Abdul El-Sayed. This is the same El-Sayed who defeated her in the Democratic primary in August, and whom Stevens had subsequently pledged to support. Only days ago, she had again reaffirmed that she would vote for him. Now she is standing beside his Republican opponent.

An Open Letter to Jeff Bezos, John W. Henry, Fenway Sports Group and Liverpool FC's Ownership

By Yiannis Damellos

A Liverpool fan since 1973

November 1st 2026

Dear Mr. Bezos, Mr. Henry, Mr. Werner, Mr. Gordon 

and the Liverpool FC ownership group,

Never thought I would do this, but there comes a point when silence stops being dignified and starts looking like indifference

Liverpool Football Club is not an ordinary football club. It is one of the most successful institutions in the history of English football, a global sporting brand, a commercial powerhouse and, above all, a club whose supporters have invested generations of loyalty, emotion, time and money in its existence. Like I did. Yet, increasingly, watching Liverpool compete in this Premier League has become an exercise in frustration, disbelief and agony.

We are not asking referees to favour Liverpool. We are not asking VAR to give us penalties that do not exist, disallow legitimate opposition goals or invent red cards for our opponents. We are asking for something considerably less ambitious: the same standards of competence, consistency and accountability that every Premier League club has the right to expect.

Is that really too much to ask?

How Bolsonaro fled Brazil: Decoys, a private jet and a friend in the White House

Oct. 28, 2026 9:00 pm ET

By Vera Bergengruen, Samantha Pearson, 

Ryan Dubé and Philip Wegmann

Less than 24 hours after losing Brazil’s presidential election, Flávio Bolsonaro appeared to vanish into a convoy of four dark cars.

After pulling away from his home in Brasília on Monday evening, the vehicles split in different directions, leaving journalists and authorities scrambling to determine which one carried Bolsonaro. By the next afternoon, the former presidential candidate’s allies were telling reporters he had already reached Florida.

Sen. Dan Sullivan says he will accept Alaska’s election results even if he doesn’t win

Violet Jira

Reporter covering breaking news

November 1, 2026

The race in Alaska has been the subject of controversy over the presence on the ballot of another man with a similar name, Dan J. Sullivan Jr. The New York Times has reported that the campaign of Democratic nominee Mary Peltola was involved in recruiting Dan J. Sullivan Jr., a retired teacher, to run in a bid to dilute support for the incumbent. Peltola’s campaign denied the allegations.

Germany: Nationwide Demonstrations Followed by Looting and Clashes in Several Cities

By Yiannis Damellos and Mars Strangelove Jr. on Duty

November 1, 2026

Source: Deutsche Welle

Tens of thousands of people took part in demonstrations across Germany on Saturday, October 31, demanding better education, action on the rising cost of living, greater social spending and changes to the country's military recruitment plans.

The demonstrations took place in more than 30 cities and were organized under the slogan GenZ regelt! (roughly, “Gen Z takes charge”). Organizers estimated that approximately 100,000 people participated nationwide. The demonstrations were largely peaceful during the day, but violence, property damage and looting were reported in several cities later in the evening.

Greece Leads Europe’s Housing Crisis: More Than One in Four Spend Over 40% of Their Income on Housing

By Yiannis Damellos and Mars Strangelove Jr.

November 1, 2026

Greece has the highest housing cost burden in Europe, with 26.4% of its population living in households that spend more than 40% of disposable income on housing. Among Greeks at risk of poverty, the figure climbs to 82.6%, according to Eurostat data for 2025.

Europe's housing crisis is putting increasing pressure on household budgets, as property prices, rents and energy bills continue to rise faster than many people's incomes. But nowhere in Europe is the imbalance more pronounced than in Greece, where millions of people are struggling to cover the basic cost of keeping a roof over their heads.

Thousands rally in Israel urging ‘Jewish-Arab’ coalition to oust Netanyahu

AL JAZEERA News

In a counterprotest, Netanyahu supporters demand that Israel should not have a government with ‘terrorists’.
By Al Jazeera Staff and AFP
Published On 1 Nov 2026

Thousands of people have rallied in Tel Aviv to urge the Israeli opposition to make a deal with Arab parties to remove Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Protesters at Saturday’s rally told the AFP news agency this may be the “last chance for real change” and that Netanyahu, Israel’s longest-serving prime minister, is a “great manipulator”.

Iran's supreme leader orders "maximum" response to any U.S. attack

Barak Ravid

October 31 2026

Iran's Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei told the country's top three military commanders that a renewed attack by the U.S. and Israel ״must be met with an immediate and effective response, without geographical limitations״ in order to achieve "maximum deterrence," according to a statement from his office.

Russia responds to US warning of planned Moscow terrorist attack

Topic:World Politics

Posted about 1h ago

Russia has responded to the US's warnings of "a credible threat of a mass casualty event" at the Tsaritsyno Museum Reserve in Moscow. The museum is an imperial palace and park complex that is a popular place to visit on weekends.

Russia's FSB security service says it has carried out "appropriate" measures after the US embassy in Moscow warned of a planned "terrorist" attack in the capital this weekend.

Mamdani Pulls the Plug on New York's $225 Million “Cop City” Project

By Yiannis Damellos and Mars Strangelove Jr.

October 31, 2026

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has cancelled a proposed $225 million public-safety training academy in College Point, Queens, ending a project that had evolved through three mayoral administrations and become a symbol of a wider argument over policing, public spending and the meaning of public safety.

Virginia and D.C. sue to block construction of Trump arch

October 31, 20266:48 PM ET

By  Chandelis Duster

The commonwealth of Virginia and the District of Columbia filed a lawsuit on Saturday to block construction on President Donald Trump's proposed triumphal arch. The 45-page lawsuit in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia called the project "flagrantly unlawful," attorneys general Jay Jones of Virginia and Brian Schwalb of the District of Columbia wrote.

Trump’s $10 Billion Defamation Lawsuit Against Murdoch and The Wall Street Journal Dismissed With Prejudice

The disputed birthday letter to Jeffrey Epstein, published as part of the controversy surrounding Donald Trump's defamation lawsuit against The Wall Street Journal. Trump denies writing it.

By Yiannis Damellos and Mars Strangelove Jr.

October 31st 2026

Donald Trump has lost another major legal battle with the American press. A federal judge in Miami has dismissed, with prejudice, the president’s $10 billion defamation lawsuit against Rupert Murdoch, The Wall Street Journal and other defendants over the newspaper’s reporting on an alleged birthday letter to Jeffrey Epstein. The ruling means Trump cannot simply amend the complaint and bring the same case again in that federal court.