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Experts Hail ‘Remarkable’ Success of Electronic Eye Implant in Restoring Sight (Maria)

The author writes, “An electronic eye implant half the thickness of a human hair has helped people with incurable sight loss to see again, opening up a potential new era in tackling blindness. Doctors who implanted the sim-card-shaped prosthetic devices say they have helped many of the 38 elderly patients in the trial regain their ability to read letters, numbers and words.” 

Thanks to Trump’s Shutdown, Food Stamps Funding Is About to Run Out (Dana)

From The New Republic: “President Donald Trump’s administration is moving to suspend all Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits for roughly 42 million Americans amid the ongoing government shutdown — and he may not bring them back. Earlier this month, the US Department of Agriculture sent a letter to states warning that a lapse in appropriations had resulted in ‘insufficient funds’ to pay SNAP benefits through November. Over the weekend, states began to issue warnings to their most vulnerable residents that benefits would be suspended even sooner, Axios reported Monday.”

Marine Colonel Quits After 24 Years Citing Concern for Future of US Under Trump (Reader Jim)

The author writes, “A former US Marine Corps colonel and combat veteran has said that after 24 years of service he ‘resigned from the military because of Trump,’ citing what he described as the US president’s contempt for the constitution. Doug Krugman left his role in the military on September 30, coinciding with the day that Donald Trump and the defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, delivered controversial, partisan addresses to US military leaders brought to a special meeting in Virginia from across the world, about military priorities and the administration’s agenda. ‘I gave up my career out of concern for our country’s future,’ Krugman wrote in an op-ed for the Washington Post on Thursday. He even warned of ‘collapse’ of the conventional US government system.”

Hackers Dox Hundreds of DHS, ICE, FBI, and DOJ Officials (Sean)

From 404 Media: “Scattered LAPSUS$ Hunters — one of the latest amalgamations of typically young, reckless, and English-speaking hackers — posted the apparent phone numbers and addresses of hundreds of government officials, including nearly 700 from DHS.”

An Explosion Left a Black Town Contaminated. Politics Are Stunting the Cleanup (Laura)

From Capital B: “On the banks of the Tangipahoa River in South Louisiana, thick oil slicks and chemical odors ripple across the water. Five weeks after an oil and lubricant facility exploded, sending oily soot as far as 40 miles away, Black residents still complain that the chemical smell is so strong that it wakes them up in the middle of the night. Over the past week, federal cleanup crews and state regulators have scrambled to deploy booms and barriers along the river to contain the oily goop. The hive of urgent activity was partially inspired by Gov. Jeff Landry’s public scolding of the federal Environmental Protection Agency on Sept. 28. The Republican leader called out the EPA for slow progress and demanded faster action. For over a month, residents in Roseland, Louisiana, have made the same calls with little to show for it.”

Military Archbishop: Army’s Cancellation of Religious Support Contracts Unfairly Harms Catholics (Al)

The author writes, “Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio of the U.S. Archdiocese for the Military Services said Oct. 17 the US Army has cancelled all religious support contracts for Army chapels, ‘including those for religious educators, administrators, and musicians.’ He said this has placed on Catholics ‘an insurmountable restriction on the free exercise of religion.’ ‘For those who attend Mass, visit chapel offices, or participate in faith formation on a US Army installation, you likely noticed, that beginning on Sunday, 5 October 2025, contract services and contractor offices were dark and music was absent during Mass,’ the archbishop said in a letter addressed to members of the military archdiocese, which he said will also be sent to all members of Congress. ‘These changes were not due to the government shutdown,’ he said, ‘but rather, due to a memorandum issued in March of this year by US Army Installation Management Command which directed the cancellation of all chapel contracts.’”

Photos Show Polar Bears Chilling at Home in Abandoned Russian Research Station (Reader Steve)

From the AP: “Polar bears that have taken over an abandoned polar research station off Russia’s far eastern coast were intimately captured in drone footage by Vadim Makhorov. The photographer was filming the landscape of Kolyuchin Island during a cruise in the Chukchi Sea in September, when he noticed polar bears using one of the abandoned buildings as a shelter. The small island is about 11 kilometers (nearly 7 miles) off the northern coast of the Chukotka Peninsula, which faces Alaska across the Bering Strait. ‘Bears are no strangers to the feeling of comfort and coziness,” Makhorov said in a social media post. “They perceive homes as shelter.’”