World
Iran said three more tankers were damaged in the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday, keeping commercial shipping at risk after US voters punished President Donald Trump over the war. The Revolutionary Guard said two oil tankers and a tugboat caught fire, and Iranian authorities have pointed to sea mines for earlier hits. Qatar says Washington and Tehran remain committed to mediation and are reviewing proposals. Oil fell 8% on Wednesday as traders bet on a deal, then steadied near $88 a barrel. Democrats, who won both chambers of Congress, are pressing Trump to end the war before the new Congress is seated in January.
Reuters
Politics
Two US Senate races remain uncalled two days after the midterm elections, with Democrats ahead narrowly in both Alaska and Mississippi. In Alaska, Mary Peltola leads Republican Senator Dan Sullivan by 637 votes with about 78% counted, and ranked-choice tabulation will not start before 18 November. In Mississippi, Scott Colom leads Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith by a handful of votes with roughly 15,000 provisional ballots still to verify. Democrats have already flipped seven Senate seats and at least 32 House seats. Party leaders say their first priorities are affordability and ending the war in Iran.
The New York Times
Business
Wall Street's AI trade broke on Thursday, one day after a post-election rally. The Nasdaq Composite fell about 3.9% and closed more than 10% below its October record, a correction. Micron and AMD each lost roughly 15%, Nvidia fell about 8%, and the semiconductor ETF SOXX dropped as much as 11%, its worst day since March 2020. The trigger was political: Democrats won both chambers and data centers were on ballots across the country. UBS estimates nearly a third of new US data-center capacity due in 2028 could be delayed. OpenAI responded with a pledge to pay full power costs at its own sites.
CNBC
Technology
AMD is paying about US$2.9 billion for Taalas, a three-year-old Toronto startup that builds silicon tuned for a single AI model, according to a filing analysis published this week. Up to US$1.4 billion of the price is contingent on milestones. Taalas raised more than US$225 million from investors including Fidelity, and its chief executive previously founded Tenstorrent. The deal, first announced in August, is one of the largest takeovers of a Canadian private tech company and shows where the chip race has moved: away from training and toward cheaper, faster inference.
The Globe and Mail
Science
NASA's Voyager 1 will reach a distance of one light-day from Earth on 18 November at 5:16 a.m. Eastern time, about 16 billion miles or 26 billion kilometres out. No other human-made object has gone that far. A radio signal will need a full 24 hours to arrive, and a reply another 24. The probe, launched in 1977, crossed into interstellar space in 2012 and still returns data at 160 bits per second. Its team expects to switch off more instruments before the mission's 50th anniversary in 2027.
NASA
Sports
Formula 1 holds its 21st round of the season at Interlagos this weekend, the first race since Kimi Antonelli sealed the drivers' championship in Mexico at 20 years and 68 days old. The title is settled, but the constructors' championship and the race wins are not. Max Verstappen arrives after winning in Mexico City ahead of Lewis Hamilton. Interlagos runs a conventional weekend this year, with practice on Friday, qualifying on Saturday and the race on Sunday, before the sprint format returns in 2027.
Sky Sports
Health
The American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions open on Friday at McCormick Place in Chicago and run through Monday. The programme lists 23 late-breaking science presentations across six sessions, covering prevention, stroke, hypertension, arrhythmia, obesity, lipid management and artificial intelligence. Five trials are drawing the most attention: Lp(a)HORIZON on Lp(a) lowering, ZEUS on inflammation, PROGRESS on moderate aortic stenosis, SYNCHRONIZE-CVOT on obesity-related cardiovascular outcomes and OPTIMAL-DIABETES on blood-pressure control in type 2 diabetes.
American Heart Association
Environment
The El Niño that began in June is the strongest ever measured for its time of year, and forecasters expect it to peak in November or December before fading in early 2027. The World Meteorological Organization puts the chance of it lasting through February at close to 100%. Ocean temperatures hit a record 21.11C between 60 degrees north and south in August. Scientists expect 2026 to be the hottest year on record, with heat, floods and wildfire risk spread across the Pacific basin.
World Meteorological Organization