Early voter turnout is exceeding expectations in California’s Nov. 4 special election over redrawing the state’s congressional districts, a Democratic-led effort to counter Republican attempts to keep Congress under GOP control.

“We’re seeing some pretty extraordinary numbers of early votes that have already been cast, people sending back in their ballots,” Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a livestream with former President Obama on Wednesday.

More than 3.4 million mail ballots have been returned as of Wednesday, with votes from Democrats outpacing ballots from Republicans and Californians registered as not having a party preference, according to a ballot tracker run by Democratic strategist Paul Mitchell. Mitchell is deeply involved in the Democratic effort, and drafted the proposed congressional districts on the Nov. 4 special election ballot.

Voter turnout exceeds expectations in California Prop. 50 special election

Over 3 million mail ballots have been returned in the special election about redrawing congressional districts. Political observers were surprised.

^{Seema Mehta (Los Angeles Times)}

https://edition.cnn.com/2025/10/23/politics/eric-adams-nyc-mayoral-endorsement

Sensitive content Clicca per aprire/chiudere

Independent Senator Bernie Sanders floated Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez as a potential presidential candidate in the 2028 elections, saying that even though it's "her decision to make," she is a "very, very good politician."

Speaking to Axios, Sanders said that he has been "out on the streets with her" and noticed how she responds when people come up to her. "It's so incredibly genuine and open."

Ocasio-Cortez is seemingly positioning herself to run for higher office, whether it is challenging Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer for his seat or to make a run for president.

Bernie Sanders Floats AOC As Potential 2028 Presidential Contender: 'Very Good Politician'

Independent Senator Bernie Sanders floated Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez as a potential presidential candidate in the 2028 elections, saying that even though it's "her decision to make,"...

^{Demian Bio (Latin Times)}

Prosegue su Rai 1 il racconto di Noi del Rione Sanità, la serie di Luca Miniero con Carmine Recano nei panni di Don Giuseppe Santoro. Dopo l’esordio all’insegna del coraggio civile, la seconda puntata alza la posta: il progetto teatrale prende forma tra entusiasmi e fratture, mentre nel quartiere torna a farsi sentire la violenza. Il carisma del boss Mariano diventa una minaccia concreta per i più giovani, a partire da Massimo, che scivola nel suo raggio d’influenza.

LE ANTICIPAZIONI: Noi del Rione Sanità, anticipazioni seconda puntata di giovedì 30 ottobre 2025: la violenza riesplode, Massimo nella rete di Mariano

Noi del Rione Sanità (30 ottobre 2025): anticipazioni seconda puntata, orario e dove vederla

Anticipazioni della seconda puntata di Noi del Rione Sanità (30 ottobre 2025): il progetto teatrale cresce, la violenza riesplode e Massimo finisce nella rete di Mariano.

^{Redazione (Atom Heart Magazine)}

Good evening everyone.
Mobilizon is an interesting alternative to EventBrite developed by the French collective Framasoft.
I recently noticed that NodeBB can't see #Mobilizon events.
Of course, I didn't expect NodeBB to be able to see and manage events (mark them as accepted, rejected, or "unclear"), like Friendica, for example.
Mastodon, however, while it can't "manage" events, can view them and allows you to follow the users who publish them.

I've noticed that NodeBB can't see Friendica events either, nor those produced by the federated platform "Gancio."

Can anyone explain to me what could be causing this incompatibility? Is it a "protection" feature of NodeBB, or a problem with the format in which #ActivityPub events are published?

Have a good evening, and thanks in advance.

After months of investigating, federal prosecutors in Maryland have not produced enough evidence to bring charges, according to four people familiar with the investigation.

The federal mortgage fraud investigation against Democratic Sen. Adam Schiff, one of President Donald Trump’s chief political foes, has stalled, according to four people familiar with the investigation.

After months of investigating, the federal prosecutors in Maryland leading the probe have not produced enough evidence to bring charges, these people said.

One of the sources, a federal law enforcement official, said the investigation “came to a standstill.”

The Adam Schiff criminal probe has stalled, sources say

^{Ryan J. Reilly (NBC News)}

Today, Microsoft introduced Mico, a new and more personal avatar for the AI-powered Copilot digital assistant, which the company describes as human-centered.

https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/microsoft/meet-the-new-clippy-microsoft-unveils-copilots-mico-avatar/

“Your name was brought up.”

VIDEO: FBI Agents Visit Anti-ICE Protester

^{Ken Klippenstein}

0.3.1c Hotfix

• Fixed an issue where items could not be placed in Merchant's Tabs when first entering a Hideout instance.

Early Access Patch Notes - 0.3.1c Hotfix - Forum - Path of Exile

Path of Exile is a free online-only action RPG under development by Grinding Gear Games in New Zealand.

^{Path of Exile}

We're excited to bring you the announcements from GGG Live, where we'll be revealing our new Path of Exile expansion, Keepers of the Flame! In this news post we've put together links to everything that is being announced during the livestream. We'll be updating this news post for your reference as the livestream progresses.

0.3.1c Patch Notes

• Added support for the new Supporter Packs.
• Fixed an issue where some players could not enter their hideout after logging in on a different platform.

Early Access Patch Notes - 0.3.1c Patch Notes - Forum - Path of Exile

Path of Exile is a free online-only action RPG under development by Grinding Gear Games in New Zealand.

^{Path of Exile}

3.26.0j Patch Notes

• Added support for the upcoming announcement and new Supporter Packs.

Thanks for your support!

Patch Notes - 3.26.0j Patch Notes - Forum - Path of Exile

Path of Exile is a free online-only action RPG under development by Grinding Gear Games in New Zealand.

^{Path of Exile}

Elkhorn and staghorn coral are now functionally extinct around the state, researchers say, meaning they no longer play any significant role in their ecosystem.

The paper is here

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/23/climate/coral-bleaching-florida-staghorn-elkorn.html?unlocked_article_code=1.vk8.e9nX.L0_0H3265ANL

cross-posted from: lemmy.ml/post/37846820

Europe is moving decisively away from U.S. tech giants toward open-source alternatives, driven by concerns over digital sovereignty and reliability of American companies[^1]. At the 2025 OpenInfra Summit Europe, industry leaders emphasized that this shift isn't about isolation but resilience.

"What we're really looking for is resilience. What we want for our countries, for our companies, for ourselves, is resilience in the face of unforeseen events in a fast-changing world. Open source allows us to be sovereign without being isolated," said OpenInfra Foundation general manager Thierry Carrez[^1].

This transition is already happening. The German state Schleswig-Holstein has replaced Microsoft Exchange and Outlook with open-source email solutions. Similar moves have been made by the Austrian military, Danish government organizations, and the French city of Lyon[^1].

European companies are stepping up to fill the gap with open-source alternatives, including:
- Deutsche Telekom's Open Telekom Cloud
- OVHcloud's sovereign cloud services
- STACKIT and VanillaCore's European-based offerings[^1]

The movement gained additional momentum when the European Commission appointed its first executive vice president for tech sovereignty, security, and democracy in 2024[^1].

[^1]: ZDNet - Europe's plan to ditch US tech giants is built on open source - and it's gaining steam

Europe's plan to ditch US tech giants is built on open source - and it's gaining steam

One topic dominated the recent 2025 OpenInfra Summit Europe, and it wasn't AI.

^{Steven Vaughan-Nichols (ZDNET)}

The Interior Department also said it would allow a contentious road to be built through the Izembek National Wildlife Refuge in southwestern Alaska.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/23/climate/trump-arctic-national-wildlife-refuge-oil-drilling.html?unlocked_article_code=1.vk8._wbJ.4-HVlqkk1bnx

In this statement piece, the artist is exploring the significance of objects as they relate to everyday life in the bleak mundanity of current century.

Pffft. No I don't. I just made that up.

Instead, I walked around and took a series of pictures of stereotypical street subjects favored by the types of people who go around spouting that only black and white images are inherently true art, and whose beanies are probably a bit too tight.

An incredible amount of information is lost if you shackle yourself to monochrome. If you insist on doing so for artsy-fartsy purposes, I advise you to think hard about why first rather than just because it's the done thing to do, as if it automatically adds profundity to a fossilized slice of light.

Luckily I didn't take these in black and white at all. I simply smashed them into greyscale using my editing software. The full color renditions are:

• Locks
• Glass (This may just at the outside be a piece of genuine 19th century glass, but then again it probably isn't.)
• Type B Barricade Light (Now you know what those are actually called.)
• Detour
• Lost Kite

If zis were an American film I would have a gun, and perhaps do a little car chase. But it is French. Merde.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-10-23/trump-re-opens-alaska-s-arctic-coastal-plain-to-oil-drilling?accessToken=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJzb3VyY2UiOiJTdWJzY3JpYmVyR2lmdGVkQXJ0aWNsZSIsImlhdCI6MTc2MTI0ODYwNSwiZXhwIjoxNzYxODUzNDA1LCJhcnRpY2xlSWQiOiJUNExKSU9HUDlWRDAwMCIsImJjb25uZWN0SWQiOiJDMkYxNDM5NTYzRjg0QTBFOEIxNzA5MzY0RjMyQ0JFOCJ9.SVLeDRlrxPrPjOneU_yTzq4wAVS6ok_Y-rBsJ9BI_QQ

https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5569935-east-wing-white-house-trump-demolition-photos/

Authors:

• Dr. Andrea Wagner | Associate Professor, Political Science, MacEwan University
• Anna Brigevich | Associate Professor of European Studies, Norwegian University of Science and Technology

Excerpt:

The rise of populist leaders has drawn significant attention over the past two decades. Around the world, they have reshaped politics, from Donald Trump in the United States to Viktor Orbán in Hungary, Marine Le Pen in France, Giorgia Meloni in Italy, Santiago Abascal in Spain and Jair Bolsonaro in Brazil.

These leaders often rise to power by promising to speak for “the people” against the established “corrupt elites.” But our recent research shows that not all populist voters want the same things.

Our study examined public opinion data from nine countries to better understand what drives support for “strongman” populist leaders. The findings reveal that there are two very different kinds of populist attitudes, and the authoritarian variety most strongly predicts whether people will support a leader who is willing to bend the rules.

The article is short, and worth a read if you are curious about the results of the study or which country fell into which category. I started copying in more excerpts into this post and ended up copying 90% of the article.

Why some populist supporters want a strong-arm leader and others just want change

Defending democracy requires more than just countering populism in general. It requires recognizing and addressing the authoritarian currents that run through some forms of populist politics.

^{The Conversation}