Gallup reported that only 44% of Americans ages 18 to 29 are “thriving” so far in 2026, down from 64% in 2010…in contrast, 53% of adults 65 and older are thriving, matching their record high, as Gallup points to worsening mental health and relationships among younger adults and improved financial well-being among older adults

The world’s roughly 100 tech billionaires gained a record $845 billion through September, driven by the AI boom and surging U.S. technology stocks…their combined wealth reached $4.6 trillion, while billionaires outside tech lost $62 billion

Trump’s top national security officials met for hours at Camp David on Friday to discuss next steps in the Iran war and the Saudi-Houthi conflict in Yemen, Vice President Vance chaired the meeting as Trump weighed renewed combat operations in Iran and a Saudi request for U.S. airstrikes against the Houthis

The longest-serving Republican speaker of the House, Dennis Hastert, has died of natural causes at age 84…his political legacy was overshadowed by a 2016 prison sentence for banking-law violations tied to payments concealing his sexual abuse of boys when he was a high school wrestling coach

Texas AG Ken Paxton is investigating UnitedHealth Group over allegations that it denied medically necessary care and used deceptive insurance practices

Karoline Leavitt, President Trump’s former White House press secretary, is set to join Fox News as a contributor on November 1st

President Trump announced a new federal AI task force called the Super Intelligence Force, led by Jay Clayton, Andrew Ferguson, Emil Michael and Scott Kupor…he said it will coordinate government AI efforts and engagement with the public and industry, reporting to him and White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles

PEN America counted 11,982 school book bans over the past year, a record since it began tracking removals five years ago, with many occurring in Florida and Texas…books addressing race, sexuality and gender identity were frequent targets

Mark Thompson will remain CNN’s chairman and editor-in-chief after Skydance takes ownership of Warner Bros. Discovery

Elon Musk said he plans to rename SpaceXAI to SpaceXSI, adopting President Trump’s preferred term “super intelligence” in place of “artificial intelligence”

A new McKinsey report estimates that AI could push roughly 11 million U.S. workers, which is about 7% of the workforce, to switch occupations by 2035

PepsiCo has recalled about 122,000 cases of 28-ounce Gatorade bottles sold in 37 states because they contain Yellow No. 5 and/or Yellow No. 6 dyes that were not listed on the label

S&P up .66% / Nasdaq up 1.05% / DOW up .18%