Good morning. This is Artificially Intelligent News for Saturday, October thirty-first, twenty twenty-six. I’m Mark Ellison.

This is an AI-created briefing that has been researched and fact-checked against authoritative reporting available this morning. It is Halloween weekend and Election Day is Tuesday. We’ll cover the American stories drawing the most attention, the world developments with consequences beyond their borders, Friday’s final market close, the championship sports picture, and a remembrance from entertainment.

We begin with the midterm election. More than forty-three million Americans had already voted in person or returned mail ballots as of the latest Associated Press tally. That is nearly ten million more early votes than at the same point in the twenty twenty-two midterms, though comparisons require some care because voting rules and reporting practices differ by state.

The figures cover forty-seven states and Washington, D.C. They arrive with five days left before the November third election that will decide control of Congress and a large number of state offices.

The increases are especially notable in several competitive Senate states. Early voting was up more than thirty percent from the comparable point four years ago in Maine, Michigan, North Carolina, and Kansas. South Carolina was up eighty-three percent, although that number reflects the state’s own election calendar and early-voting rules as well as voter demand.

In Texas, where Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton faces Democrat James Talarico in a closely watched Senate race, turnout in Harris County had reached more than eight hundred sixty-two thousand voters by Wednesday. That was well above the comparable total in twenty twenty-two. High early participation is not a forecast of who will win. It does mean campaigns, election offices, and voters are already operating under the practical pressures of Election Day.

That brings us to a series of federal court rulings in California. A three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit on Friday rejected the Justice Department’s request to have California set aside ballots connected to a list of roughly twenty thousand people the administration says may be noncitizens.

The department has argued that federal law bars noncitizens from voting and that the ballots should not be counted until citizenship can be verified. California officials say the list is unreliable and could include many eligible citizens. The appeals court said there was no feasible way to identify and segregate particular ballots without potentially severe effects on the election system.

Later Friday, a federal district judge also temporarily barred the department from threatening or coercing election workers into stopping ballot processing. A separate judge ordered the administration to share the disputed list with lawyers for voting-rights groups so they can examine it. The federal government appealed that disclosure order. The cases remain active, but the immediate effect is that California election workers can continue processing ballots as voting continues.

Another Justice Department matter involving a prominent Trump critic also moved in court Friday. A federal judge postponed a decision on whether to dismiss a placeholder criminal case against former FBI Director James Comey. That gives prosecutors time to seek an indictment tied to allegations that he improperly disclosed classified information in connection with a two-thousand-sixteen news report.

Comey denies wrongdoing. His earlier case alleging that he lied to Congress was dismissed after a judge found that the prosecutor had been illegally appointed. A separate case accusing him of threatening President Trump through an Instagram image remains pending, and Comey has asked for it to be dismissed. These are accusations and procedural rulings, not findings of guilt. The new court deadline underscores how much of the dispute will turn on whether prosecutors can secure a valid indictment and defend it in court.

Away from the campaign trail, New York has enacted one of the country’s broadest state laws regulating AI companion chatbots used by minors. Governor Kathy Hochul signed the measure Wednesday. It prohibits a set of defined unsafe features when a chatbot interacts with someone under eighteen.

The law bars features that present the bot as a real person with emotions, opinions, or a personal relationship with the child. It also covers behavior such as flattery, sexually explicit material, encouraging secrecy, and messages that promote unhealthy conduct. The state attorney general could pursue penalties that include monetary damages, shutting down a chatbot, and destroying data. The law takes effect January first.

Supporters say the measure responds to reports of children becoming emotionally dependent on AI companions. Critics and policy specialists note that some of its categories are broad and that enforcement will have to distinguish ordinary helpful conversation from prohibited design. The larger point is that states are moving ahead with child-AI rules while Congress has not set a single national standard.

The administration also expanded its use of trade restrictions against Chinese biotechnology companies. The Department of Homeland Security added BGI Genomics, MGI Tech, and Shenzhen BGI Technology to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act Entity List.

Under that law, goods tied to listed companies face a presumption that they were made with forced labor and are generally blocked from entry unless an importer can overcome that presumption. DHS said it had credible information that the companies supported genetic testing in Xinjiang that facilitated surveillance and repression of ethnic minorities.

BGI Group rejected the allegation and said it does not engage in forced labor. China has broadly denied accusations of human-rights abuses in Xinjiang. The decision could affect a major supplier network for genetic sequencing equipment and reagents. It also adds another layer to a wider U.S.-China dispute involving biotechnology, data security, trade, and human rights.

In Arizona, federal and state agriculture officials have confirmed the state’s first detection of New World screwworm. The parasite was found in a dog in Cochise County. The larvae feed on living tissue, so untreated infestations can cause serious wounds in livestock, pets, wildlife, and less commonly people.

The Agriculture Department says laboratory testing confirmed the case and that it is working with Arizona on a response. Officials are establishing a twenty-kilometer control zone, increasing surveillance and trapping, releasing sterile flies, and imposing animal-movement controls in the area.

For animal owners, this is a practical alert rather than a reason for panic. USDA advises people to check animals for expanding wounds, maggots or egg masses, discomfort, and lesions near body openings, then call a veterinarian or agriculture official promptly if they suspect an infestation. The concern is both animal welfare and preventing the pest from becoming established more broadly.

And in Pennsylvania, Lancaster County has become the center of the nation’s largest measles outbreak in thirty-five years, according to reporting based on state health figures. Pennsylvania has recorded more than one thousand three hundred fifty cases this year, with more than a third in Lancaster County. The state has recorded five measles-associated deaths, including three in Lancaster County.

The outbreak has hit Amish and conservative Mennonite communities particularly hard, where vaccination rates have historically been lower. But health officials also point to declining vaccination in parts of the wider population. Measles is highly contagious, and the disease can lead to pneumonia, brain swelling, and death. Local health workers are trying to expand access to vaccination and treatment while working with communities that may have limited contact with conventional medical care. Case totals can change, so listeners should use their state or local health department for the newest guidance.

Now to international news.

Israel is entering coalition negotiations after an election that produced no governing majority. The results set the membership of the next one-hundred-twenty-seat Knesset, but not yet the identity of the next prime minister.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing bloc did not reach the sixty-one seats needed for a majority. His main rival, former military chief Gadi Eisenkot, also fell short. Arab-led parties won a historic nineteen seats and could become decisive, whether by joining a coalition or supporting one from outside.

The arithmetic creates several possible outcomes. Eisenkot could try to assemble a coalition with Arab-led parties, though that would be politically difficult for some of his allies. Netanyahu could seek a unity arrangement with opponents on the right, which would require him to part ways with long-standing far-right and ultra-Orthodox allies. If neither side can form a government, Israel could face another election early next year, with Netanyahu remaining caretaker prime minister in the meantime. Those negotiations will matter for Israel’s domestic policy, its approach to Gaza and regional security, and its relationship with Washington.

In the Russia-Ukraine war, Moscow said Ukraine sent six hundred thirteen drones toward the Moscow region overnight from Tuesday into Wednesday. Russian authorities said most were neutralized on distant approaches, and the number cannot be independently verified.

The reported barrage disrupted flights at Moscow airports and illustrated how drone warfare has extended the conflict far beyond the front line. Ukraine’s armed forces separately said they struck infrastructure connected to Russia’s Shahed drone operations, including a drone depot, a drone port, and fuel facilities. Russia has continued its own large drone and missile attacks on Ukrainian cities and infrastructure. The competing claims are a reminder that both sides use long-range attacks to pressure military capacity and civilian resilience, while reliable casualty and damage assessments often emerge slowly.

Here is the economic roundup.

U.S. equity markets are closed for the weekend. These are final regular-session closes from Friday, October thirtieth, not futures or intraday readings.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell five hundred seventy-two point two five points, or one point zero nine percent, to finish at fifty-one thousand seven hundred seventy point three one.

The S and P five hundred lost one hundred forty point three two points, or one point eight two percent, ending at seven thousand five hundred eighty point zero seven.

The Nasdaq Composite dropped seven hundred forty-seven point seven two points, or two point eight six percent, to close at twenty-five thousand four hundred thirty-seven.

Technology shares were a major source of the selling pressure as investors reassessed the cost and likely payoff period of the enormous spending on artificial-intelligence infrastructure. Intel fell sharply after its results and outlook, while Nvidia, AMD, and other chip-linked stocks also weighed on the major indexes. One volatile session does not settle the longer-term investment case for AI, but it does show investors demanding clearer evidence that capital spending will translate into profits.

The more consequential economic development this week was the new government reading on growth and inflation. The Bureau of Economic Analysis estimates that real gross domestic product grew at a three point four percent annual rate in the third quarter. That followed a two point two percent rate in the second quarter.

The advance estimate says investment, consumer spending, and government spending helped drive the increase, while exports declined. Private domestic final sales, a measure combining consumer spending and business fixed investment, rose at a four point nine percent annual rate. Investment in equipment was led in part by information-processing equipment, a category that captures the scale of the technology buildout now shaping markets.

The report also carried some better inflation news. The PCE price index rose at a two point one percent annual rate in the quarter, and the measure excluding food and energy rose at a two point five percent rate. Those quarterly annualized figures are not the same as year-over-year inflation, but they indicate a cooler pace than the prior quarter.

The Federal Reserve held its target interest-rate range at three and three-quarters to four percent at its meeting Wednesday. Two officials dissented in favor of a quarter-point increase. The Fed said inflation remains elevated and that it will use incoming information to decide the appropriate policy stance. In other words, robust growth has given the central bank room to wait, but inflation and energy risks mean the next move is not preordained.

In sports, the Milwaukee Brewers are still celebrating their first World Series title. Milwaukee beat the Tampa Bay Rays four to one in Game Five on Wednesday to take the series four games to one.

Jacob Misiorowski threw five and two-thirds scoreless innings before leaving with a right calf cramp. Rookie Cooper Pratt had two hits and two runs batted in. William Contreras hit an RBI double and was named World Series Most Valuable Player.

For a franchise in Major League Baseball’s smallest market, the championship is an especially significant achievement. The Brewers had never won the World Series, despite decades of close calls and a devoted fan base. Their parade and the continuing celebration also carry the memory of longtime broadcaster Bob Uecker, who died in January twenty twenty-five after calling Brewers games for fifty-four seasons.

Tonight, the WNBA will crown a champion in a winner-take-all Game Seven. The Atlanta Dream forced the deciding game by beating the Golden State Valkyries eighty to sixty-nine in Atlanta on Thursday.

Allisha Gray scored twenty-three points and Rhyne Howard added twenty-one as the Dream evened the series at three games apiece. Atlanta built a sixteen-point lead entering the fourth quarter and held off a late Golden State push. The Valkyries will host the finale at Chase Center in San Francisco.

The stakes are historic. It is the first Game Seven in WNBA Finals history, and either franchise would win its first championship. Atlanta is seeking its first title after previous Finals appearances, while Golden State is trying to complete an extraordinary run for an expansion franchise. Tipoff is scheduled for five p.m. Eastern.

A quick look at five notable results from Friday night. The Boston Celtics beat the Chicago Bulls one hundred twenty-five to one hundred eleven. Golden State defeated the Los Angeles Lakers one hundred twelve to ninety-five, with Stephen Curry scoring thirty-one as the Warriors erased an early twenty-five-point deficit. The Denver Nuggets beat the Phoenix Suns one hundred twenty-seven to one hundred twenty.

In the NHL, Calgary handled Seattle six to two, and Florida beat Winnipeg five to two. In college football, Baylor defeated Central Florida forty-one to nine.

Finally, a remembrance from entertainment. Sir Patrick Stewart has died at the age of eighty-six. His spokesperson said Stewart died Wednesday in Los Angeles after what was described as a brief journey with Alzheimer’s disease and Lewy body dementia.

For millions of viewers, Stewart was Captain Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek: The Next Generation and Professor Charles Xavier in the X-Men films. But the roles rested on a career built first in classical theater. He spent decades with the Royal Shakespeare Company, became a major stage actor in Britain and the United States, and brought that training to performances that could be formal, funny, and deeply human.

Star Trek: The Next Generation ran for seven years and produced four feature films. Stewart later returned to the role of Picard in a streaming series. He was knighted in twenty-ten for services to drama and also supported the International Rescue Committee. Tributes from colleagues have emphasized both the range of his work and the generosity that made him a beloved figure off screen.

That is the briefing for this Saturday, October thirty-first.

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I’m Mark Ellison. Stay informed, take care, and have a good day.