https://isophoric.com/ Oswego-first news: the City of Oswego, Oswego County, New York State, the nation and the world, with every story linked to its sources. en-us Wed, 11 Nov 2026 12:55:21 GMT https://isophoric.com/news/weather/2026-11-11/ https://isophoric.com/news/weather/2026-11-11/ Wed, 11 Nov 2026 12:00:00 GMT Mostly cloudy today, with a high near 52. Rain moves in tonight, at 80%, and Thursday brings rain at 100%, with a half to three quarters of an inch, before wet snow starts mixing in Thursday night. Weather Shepherd S. https://isophoric.com/news/weather/2026-11-10/ https://isophoric.com/news/weather/2026-11-10/ Tue, 10 Nov 2026 12:00:00 GMT Partly sunny today, with a high near 58 and a southwest wind of 8 to 23 mph. Veterans Day is mostly cloudy and near 51, and rain moves in Wednesday night, at 80% through Thursday. Weather Shepherd S. https://isophoric.com/news/weather/2026-11-09/ https://isophoric.com/news/weather/2026-11-09/ Mon, 09 Nov 2026 12:00:00 GMT Rain showers today, at 80%, mostly this morning, with a high near 52 and a northwest wind of 16 to 24 mph. Tuesday turns partly sunny and near 57, with gusts to 30 mph, before rain is likely again Thursday at 60%. Weather Shepherd S. https://isophoric.com/news/weather/2026-11-08/ https://isophoric.com/news/weather/2026-11-08/ Sun, 08 Nov 2026 12:00:00 GMT Morning showers give way to a mostly cloudy, breezy Sunday near 55, at a 20% chance of rain. Rain showers return tonight at 90%, with a quarter to half an inch and gusts to 33 mph, and showers are likely Monday before 4 p.m. Weather Shepherd S. https://isophoric.com/news/weather/2026-11-07/ https://isophoric.com/news/weather/2026-11-07/ Sat, 07 Nov 2026 12:00:00 GMT Rain showers all day Saturday, at 100%, with a quarter to half an inch and a high near 51. Showers continue tonight at 90%. Sunday turns partly sunny and near 56 after a chance of morning showers, before rain returns Sunday night and Monday. Weather Shepherd S. https://isophoric.com/news/weather/2026-11-06/ https://isophoric.com/news/weather/2026-11-06/ Fri, 06 Nov 2026 12:00:00 GMT Friday stays mostly cloudy, with a high near 62 early and temperatures falling to around 56 in the afternoon behind a cold front. Showers are likely tonight, at 70%, and Saturday brings rain at 100%, with a quarter to half an inch and a high near 53. Weather Shepherd S. https://isophoric.com/news/weather/2026-11-05/ https://isophoric.com/news/weather/2026-11-05/ Thu, 05 Nov 2026 12:00:00 GMT Thursday's showers taper by early afternoon, with a high near 68 early and temperatures falling to around 59 behind a cold front. Friday is mostly cloudy and near 61, and showers return Friday night, at 80%, and Saturday, at 90%, with a high near 54. Weather Shepherd S. https://isophoric.com/news/weather/2026-11-04/ https://isophoric.com/news/weather/2026-11-04/ Wed, 04 Nov 2026 12:00:00 GMT Wednesday is mostly sunny and near 74, which would tie the 4 November record at the Fulton airport. Rain showers arrive after midnight, an 80% chance tonight and 90% Thursday, and the weekend turns cooler, with highs in the low to mid 50s. Weather Shepherd S. https://isophoric.com/news/2026-11-03/2026-11-03-city-oswego-01/ https://isophoric.com/news/2026-11-03/2026-11-03-city-oswego-01/ Tue, 03 Nov 2026 12:00:00 GMT Sixteen years into a federal sewer order, the City of Oswego's own documents give three different answers to when its sewer debt ends, two answers to what it owed in 2022, and a budget that plans to spend $2,086,259 more than its sewer fund takes in. The special report sets the city's bond documents, audited accounts, budgets, Council records and the EPA's record for the West Side plant side by side, table by table, with a link to every document. City of Oswego Isophoric News https://isophoric.com/news/2026-11-03/2026-11-03-city-oswego-02/ https://isophoric.com/news/2026-11-03/2026-11-03-city-oswego-02/ Tue, 03 Nov 2026 12:00:00 GMT A SUNY Oswego professor of practice, Tyler King, 39, was arrested at the Lansdowne border crossing in Ontario and has been charged by Alberta RCMP with three counts of luring a person under 18, sexual exploitation of a young person and making child pornography, all at or near Okotoks, Alberta. The charges have not been proven in court. SUNY Oswego's president told the campus on 2 November that King is banned from campus without pay. City of Oswego D. Marlowe https://isophoric.com/news/2026-11-03/2026-11-03-city-oswego-03/ https://isophoric.com/news/2026-11-03/2026-11-03-city-oswego-03/ Tue, 03 Nov 2026 12:00:00 GMT The Oswego State women's soccer team beat SUNY Oneonta 3-2 on the road Saturday, Oct. 31, in the second round of the SUNYAC playoffs, according to the SUNY Oswego athletics department. Luz De Luna Catano-Matip scored the winning goal at 79:32, and the Lakers will play the semifinal at Cortland on Wednesday, Nov. 4, the department said. Oneonta scored first, and Liliana De Collibus tied the game 1-1 at 28:01 with a header off a corner kick from Kyla Sustad, according to the athletics department. Sustad put Oswego ahead 2-1 at 57:24 before Oneonta tied it again, and goalkeeper Lucy Starzyk played all 90 minutes and made three saves, including one in the 88th minute. The Lakers reached the second round after beating Potsdam 5-1 earlier in the week, the department said. City of Oswego D. Marlowe https://isophoric.com/news/2026-11-03/2026-11-03-city-oswego-04/ https://isophoric.com/news/2026-11-03/2026-11-03-city-oswego-04/ Tue, 03 Nov 2026 12:00:00 GMT Polling hours in Oswego County for the general election on Tuesday, Nov. 3, are 6 a.m. to 9 p.m., according to the Oswego County Board of Elections and SUNY Oswego. SUNY Oswego students registered at their campus address vote at the Newman Center, 36 New St., according to the university's announcement for Vote Oswego, its nonpartisan voter engagement initiative. Vote Oswego volunteers planned to escort voters from the Vote Oswego table in Marano Campus Center to the Newman Center from 1:30 to 6 p.m. Tuesday, and to collect and mail absentee ballots at the same table from 1:30 to 4 p.m., the university said. Voters can find an off-campus polling location and answers to common questions at voteoswego.com, according to the announcement, and the county Board of Elections posts a sample ballot for each district on its website. City of Oswego D. Marlowe https://isophoric.com/news/2026-11-03/2026-11-03-city-oswego-05/ https://isophoric.com/news/2026-11-03/2026-11-03-city-oswego-05/ Tue, 03 Nov 2026 12:00:00 GMT Niagara Mohawk Power Corporation has filed a notice of intent to apply for a new license for the Varick-High Dam #21 Transmission Line Project, FERC Project No. 11617-003, in the City of Oswego, along with a pre-application document, according to a Federal Energy Regulatory Commission notice published in the Federal Register on Oct. 30. The director of FERC's Division of Hydropower Licensing approved the company's request to use the Traditional Licensing Process in a letter dated Oct. 26, the notice says. All license applications for the project must be filed by Oct. 31, 2029. With the notice, FERC said it is opening informal consultation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service under the Endangered Species Act and consultation with the New York State Historic Preservation Officer under the National Historic Preservation Act, and it designated Niagara Mohawk as its non-federal representative for both. Niagara Mohawk filed its request on Sept. 2 after giving public notice on Aug. 27, according to the notice. The notice does not grant a license. City of Oswego D. Marlowe https://isophoric.com/news/2026-11-03/2026-11-03-city-oswego-06/ https://isophoric.com/news/2026-11-03/2026-11-03-city-oswego-06/ Tue, 03 Nov 2026 12:00:00 GMT The City of Oswego rededicated the Edward A. Maxon East Side Fire Station on Oct. 30 at a morning ceremony that unveiled new signage with the name of Firefighter Edward A. Maxon, Oswego County Today reported. Maxon died in the line of duty on May 2, 1956, after 20 years with the Oswego Fire Department, according to the city's release. City leaders and the fire department dedicated a memorial to Maxon in 1984 and named the station for him, and the city said the new signage makes his name a permanent and visible part of the building. "Today's ceremony is about more than a sign," Mayor Robert A. Corradino said in the release. Fire Chief Paul Conzone spoke about how the station came to carry Maxon's name, and retired Deputy Fire Chief Edward C. Maxon, his grandson, spoke about his grandfather's life, according to the city. City of Oswego D. Marlowe https://isophoric.com/news/2026-11-03/2026-11-03-city-oswego-07/ https://isophoric.com/news/2026-11-03/2026-11-03-city-oswego-07/ Tue, 03 Nov 2026 12:00:00 GMT Noah Melita won the men's 8K at the SUNYAC Cross Country Championships on Saturday, Oct. 31, in 25:51.0, the first individual men's title for Oswego State since 1983, according to the SUNY Oswego athletics department and the university. The Oswego State women finished second as a team, the highest finish in program history, while the men placed ninth, the athletics department said. The women scored 48 points behind SUNY Cortland's 35, ahead of SUNY Oneonta, Plattsburgh State and Buffalo State, The Oswegonian reported. Kyra Pellegrino was fourth in the women's 6K in 22:29.5, Elena Gaffney fifth in 22:44.3, Hannah Reichard 10th in 23:25.2 and Jessica Torrey 14th in 23:44.5, according to the athletics department. Both teams run next at the Niagara Region Championships in Houghton on Saturday, Nov. 14. City of Oswego D. Marlowe https://isophoric.com/news/2026-11-03/2026-11-03-city-oswego-08/ https://isophoric.com/news/2026-11-03/2026-11-03-city-oswego-08/ Tue, 03 Nov 2026 12:00:00 GMT SUNY Oswego's Office of the Provost presented faculty on Oct. 19 with a plan to discontinue the December Commencement ceremony starting in the fall 2027 semester, The Oswegonian reported Oct. 30. The university estimates it would save $57,721 a year, according to a provost's office slideshow obtained by The Oswegonian. The slides say Oswego is one of three SUNY campuses that still hold a December ceremony, with Plattsburgh and Oneonta, and that the event takes a combined 10 days of setup and teardown in the Deborah F. Stanley Convocation Hall, the paper reported. Of 247 December 2025 graduates, 19 asked to walk in May instead because of weather risks, according to The Oswegonian. The paper said the plan follows other cost measures aimed at a $4 million operating deficit for 2025 to 2026, and that the offices of the president and provost did not respond to its request for comment before publication. City of Oswego D. Marlowe https://isophoric.com/news/2026-11-03/2026-11-03-city-oswego-09/ https://isophoric.com/news/2026-11-03/2026-11-03-city-oswego-09/ Tue, 03 Nov 2026 12:00:00 GMT The Oswego Players will close their 88th season with "Nutcracker," adapted by June Walker Rogers and directed by Jennifer Hitchcock, at the Frances Marion Brown Theater in Fort Ontario Park, according to the company. Performances are at 7:30 p.m. Fridays, Dec. 4 and 11, and at 2 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays, Dec. 5, 6, 12 and 13, the Players said. Tickets are $20 for adults and $15 for seniors and students through oswegoplayers.org or the box office at (315) 343-5138, Oswego County Today reported. The story follows Clara, whose Nutcracker comes to life on Christmas Eve as a prince under the spell of the Mouse King. Hitchcock told Oswego County Today the cast mixes children with stage experience and first-timers, which she said made casting harder. City of Oswego D. Marlowe https://isophoric.com/news/2026-11-03/2026-11-03-county-oswego-10/ https://isophoric.com/news/2026-11-03/2026-11-03-county-oswego-10/ Tue, 03 Nov 2026 12:00:00 GMT Polls in Oswego County are open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 3, according to the county Board of Elections. Seats in all 25 districts of the Oswego County Legislature are on the ballot, and county Democrats fielded 17 candidates, more than in any year going back to at least 2009, New York Focus reported Oct. 30. The ballot also carries races for county sheriff and the 120th Assembly District, along with statewide, congressional and State Senate contests, according to the board's sample ballots. Democrats held seven of the 25 seats going into the election after winning five new seats in 2025, and about two-thirds of this year's legislative races have two candidates, New York Focus reported. On the sample ballots posted for the City of Oswego, the 120th Assembly District line lists Timothy C. Allers (Democratic) and Jim Weatherup (Republican, Conservative). Donald R. Hilton is the only candidate for county sheriff; his name is printed twice, on the Republican and Conservative lines. The ballot instructions say voters who make a mistake can call the Board of Elections at (315) 349-8471 for a new ballot. Oswego County D. Marlowe https://isophoric.com/news/2026-11-03/2026-11-03-county-oswego-11/ https://isophoric.com/news/2026-11-03/2026-11-03-county-oswego-11/ Tue, 03 Nov 2026 12:00:00 GMT Demolition of the former Nestle Building 30 at 533 South 4th St. in Fulton is expected to begin Monday, Nov. 9, according to a release from Mayor James Rice's office published by Oswego County Today. The work will use about 3,000 to 5,000 gallons of water a day, Monday through Friday, which may stir up sediment and cause dirty or discolored water across the city, the release said. Residents whose water stays discolored can call the City of Fulton Water Department at 315-592-9341. The city plans a 30,000-square-foot advanced manufacturing incubator on the site under a Restore NY Round IX project, announced by the Central New York Regional Economic Development Council on July 2, 2025, with $1 million in state funding, according to the release. The project was first estimated at $2,314,760, and its cost has since risen to about $5.7 million to $5.8 million, the city said. Demolition was bid in June, with bids returned in July, and the required asbestos abatement is complete, the release said. Oswego County D. Marlowe https://isophoric.com/news/2026-11-03/2026-11-03-county-oswego-12/ https://isophoric.com/news/2026-11-03/2026-11-03-county-oswego-12/ Tue, 03 Nov 2026 12:00:00 GMT Small businesses in Oswego County can seek grants of $5,000 to $35,000 through a micro-enterprise program from Oswego County government, Operation Oswego County, Inc. and New York State Homes and Community Renewal, which funds it, according to an Oct. 26 county news release. Pre-applications are due by 5 p.m. Friday, Nov. 6, by emailing the "Survey of Project Interest" pages to Operation Oswego County Economic Development Manager Nathan Emmons at nemmons@oswegocounty.org, the release said. Grants can cover equipment, machinery, inventory and working capital such as rent or mortgage, insurance, utilities, staff salaries and marketing. Owners must show a 10% cash match and pay project costs up front, then may request reimbursement of 90%, and businesses must have five or fewer full-time employees, including the owner, and be located in the county. The program must either support an owner whose income is below 80% of the area median income as defined by HUD or create a job for someone below that threshold, and selected participants must complete Operation Oswego County's six-week Microenterprise Training Program, according to the release. Oswego County D. Marlowe https://isophoric.com/news/2026-11-03/2026-11-03-county-oswego-13/ https://isophoric.com/news/2026-11-03/2026-11-03-county-oswego-13/ Tue, 03 Nov 2026 12:00:00 GMT Owen T. Ligammari, 19, of Adams died after the pickup truck he was driving left Interstate 81 southbound near mile marker 112 in the town of Hastings and overturned several times at about 4:28 a.m. Friday, Oct. 30, New York State Police said. According to the preliminary investigation, the 2013 Chevrolet Silverado 2500 went into the median, and Ligammari tried to regain control before it overturned. He was ejected and was pronounced dead at Upstate University Hospital in Syracuse, and police said Oct. 30 that the cause was under investigation. Oswego County D. Marlowe https://isophoric.com/news/2026-11-03/2026-11-03-county-oswego-14/ https://isophoric.com/news/2026-11-03/2026-11-03-county-oswego-14/ Tue, 03 Nov 2026 12:00:00 GMT The Fulton Common Council held a special meeting Friday, Oct. 30, on 16 amendments to the proposed 2027 General Fund budget, Oswego County Today reported from the agenda. One resolution, as read on a recording of the meeting posted by Dot Publishing, would decrease the codes department's personal services account by $16,500, from $353,866 to $337,366, and increase the legislative board's personal services account by $16,500, from $46,470 to $62,970. The resolution was moved and seconded; the recording does not name the mover or the seconder. Called by ward, the Second, Third, Fifth and Sixth wards answered no and the Fourth Ward answered yes; the First Ward's answer is not clear on the recording. The chair announced no result before calling the next item. At the same meeting the council directed the city clerk chamberlain to advertise again for sealed gasoline and diesel fuel bids, due by 2 p.m. Nov. 20, 2026, and to be opened publicly at 2:15 p.m. that day; an earlier notice had set an Oct. 27 deadline. As of Tuesday morning, Nov. 3, the city had posted no agenda, minutes or recording of the meeting on its website. Oswego County D. Marlowe https://isophoric.com/news/2026-11-03/2026-11-03-county-oswego-15/ https://isophoric.com/news/2026-11-03/2026-11-03-county-oswego-15/ Tue, 03 Nov 2026 12:00:00 GMT A diesel spill from a passenger vehicle in a traffic accident was reported Oct. 29 at Catfish Creek, at County Route 6 and County Route 1 in New Haven, according to the state Department of Environmental Conservation's spill incidents data. The record names Catfish Creek as the water body affected and shows the spill closed Oct. 30. It gives no amount spilled or recovered, and the dataset uses zero when a quantity is unknown. Mirabito Holdings, Inc. applied Oct. 28 for a grocery store license for Mirabito #142 Hannibal at 461 Fulton St. in Hannibal, according to the State Liquor Authority's current pending licenses data, which listed the application's status as "IntakeComplete" when it was read on Tuesday morning, Nov. 3. Oswego County D. Marlowe https://isophoric.com/news/2026-11-03/2026-11-03-county-oswego-16/ https://isophoric.com/news/2026-11-03/2026-11-03-county-oswego-16/ Tue, 03 Nov 2026 12:00:00 GMT All Oswego County offices, solid waste transfer stations, the Bristol Hill Landfill and the Materials Recovery Facility will be closed Wednesday, Nov. 11, for Veterans Day, the county announced Oct. 29. County government buildings are lit green from Nov. 1 through Nov. 30 for Operation Green Light, according to a release from the Office of the Chairman of the Oswego County Legislature reported by Oswego County Today. The Legislative Office Building, the Fulton Office Building, the Pulaski and Oswego courthouses and the Oswego DMV are lit green through November, and residents are invited to display a visible indoor or outdoor green light in support of veterans, Oswego County Today reported. Oswego County D. Marlowe https://isophoric.com/news/2026-11-03/2026-11-03-economy-companies-55/ https://isophoric.com/news/2026-11-03/2026-11-03-economy-companies-55/ Tue, 03 Nov 2026 12:00:00 GMT The Institute for Supply Management's Manufacturing PMI registered 55.5 percent in October, 1 point above September's 54.5 percent and the 10th consecutive month of expansion, the institute reported on Nov. 2. Its Production Index rose to 59 percent, the highest since November 2021, and its Prices Index fell 2.7 points to 75.2 percent. A reading above 50 percent indicates expansion. The New Orders Index rose 0.2 point to 55.5 percent, the Employment Index slipped 0.3 point to 52.4 percent and the Backlog of Orders Index fell 1.8 points to 54.6 percent, according to the report. On a call Monday, survey committee chair Susan Spence said 66 percent of respondents' comments were negative and 34 percent positive, the third month in a row that sentiment worsened, and she tied the negative turn to inflation, raw material shortages, the Iran war and trade disputes, Manufacturing Dive reported. Economy — Companies D. Marlowe https://isophoric.com/news/2026-11-03/2026-11-03-economy-companies-56/ https://isophoric.com/news/2026-11-03/2026-11-03-economy-companies-56/ Tue, 03 Nov 2026 12:00:00 GMT Walmart plans to build a distribution center estimated at $400 million in Cibolo, Texas, with construction to begin in February and completion expected by August 2029, according to a Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation filing reported by Retail Dive and Texas Public Radio. The two outlets give different sizes: Retail Dive reported 744,433 square feet from a document dated Oct. 28, and Texas Public Radio reported more than 712,000 square feet. Texas Public Radio reported that the filing lists the project under the code name Project Theo at 3641 S. Santa Clara Road, the address of the former San Antonio Raceway. Retail Dive reported that the document did not say whether the center would be automated and that Walmart had not responded to its request for comment. Economy — Companies D. Marlowe https://isophoric.com/news/2026-11-03/2026-11-03-economy-companies-57/ https://isophoric.com/news/2026-11-03/2026-11-03-economy-companies-57/ Tue, 03 Nov 2026 12:00:00 GMT Schneider National will make Norfolk Southern its primary rail provider in the eastern United States, under an agreement the two companies announced on Oct. 29, Trucking Dive and FreightWaves reported. CSX had been Schneider's primary eastern rail provider since 2008, a Schneider spokesperson told Trucking Dive. The companies said the deal would expand domestic intermodal capacity and help win freight now moving by truck. FreightWaves reported that the announcement gave no financial terms, no estimate of added capacity and no transition date. On Schneider's Oct. 29 earnings call, chief executive Jim Filter said the transition would begin in November with Jan. 1, 2027 as the target implementation date, according to Trucking Dive, and he said the benefits of Norfolk Southern's proposed merger with Union Pacific were not assumed in Schneider's expectations, calling the merger "the icing on the cake" for the partnership. Economy — Companies D. Marlowe https://isophoric.com/news/2026-11-03/2026-11-03-economy-companies-58/ https://isophoric.com/news/2026-11-03/2026-11-03-economy-companies-58/ Tue, 03 Nov 2026 12:00:00 GMT Royal Philips reported an adjusted EBITA margin of 13.0 percent for the third quarter, up 0.7 point, on group sales of 4.4 billion euros and 3 percent comparable sales growth, the company said Tuesday. Bloomberg reported that the margin beat the 11.9 percent analysts expected and credited cost cutting, while comparable sales growth, 2.7 percent by Bloomberg's figure, missed estimates. Philips reiterated its 2026 outlook. Philips said productivity measures produced 170 million euros of net savings in the quarter. It said its Respironics unit reached an agreement in principle with the U.S. Department of Justice to resolve the criminal and civil investigations tied to the recall of its sleep and respiratory devices, recorded a provision of 288 million euros and expects to pay in the first quarter of 2027, subject to final documentation. Economy — Companies D. Marlowe https://isophoric.com/news/2026-11-03/2026-11-03-economy-companies-59/ https://isophoric.com/news/2026-11-03/2026-11-03-economy-companies-59/ Tue, 03 Nov 2026 12:00:00 GMT Three companies filed Item 2.05 reports, the section for exit and restructuring costs, with the Securities and Exchange Commission between Oct. 30 and Nov. 2. Kimberly-Clark said it expects about $3.1 billion in pre-tax charges through 2029 to integrate Kenvue, which it finished acquiring on Nov. 2; FTI Consulting said it is cutting about 4 percent of its more than 8,200 employees; and Vistagen Therapeutics said it cut its workforce by about 31 percent. Kimberly-Clark's filing says its board approved the Kenvue Integration Program on Oct. 30, with actions starting Nov. 2 and due to finish by Dec. 31, 2029. Of the $3.1 billion, $2.5 billion is cash, including about $0.8 billion for supply chain network optimization, about $0.4 billion for workforce optimization and about $0.4 billion for advisers, and the company expects about $1.4 billion in related capital spending; the filing gives no number of jobs or sites. FTI Consulting, of Washington, said all affected employees were notified by Oct. 29, recorded a $46.0 million charge in the third quarter, mostly salary and benefits, and expects about $7 million more in the fourth. Vistagen, of South San Francisco, said it made the cut on Oct. 26 to preserve capital for its Phase 3 social anxiety drug candidate, fasedienol, and estimated severance costs of about $1.0 million against about $3.2 million in annual savings. Economy — Companies D. Marlowe https://isophoric.com/news/2026-11-03/2026-11-03-economy-companies-60/ https://isophoric.com/news/2026-11-03/2026-11-03-economy-companies-60/ Tue, 03 Nov 2026 12:00:00 GMT The Labor Department published a final rule in the Federal Register on Nov. 2 requiring pharmacy benefit managers to disclose their direct and indirect compensation, including drugmaker rebates and spread pricing, to fiduciaries of large self-insured employer health plans. The rule takes effect Jan. 4, 2027 and applies to plan years beginning on or after July 1, 2027. Regulators expect it to lower drug costs for employers and workers by $22 billion over a decade, Healthcare Dive reported. Under the rule, disclosures come before a contract is signed, extended or renewed, then every six months, or quarterly at the plan's request, and plans get an audit right. Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling said the rule was "a win for every American worker who has ever paid too much at the pharmacy counter" in a statement. The Pharmaceutical Care Management Association, the largest PBM trade group, said it duplicates disclosure already required by federal law, according to the Dive report. Economy — Companies D. Marlowe https://isophoric.com/news/2026-11-03/2026-11-03-economy-companies-61/ https://isophoric.com/news/2026-11-03/2026-11-03-economy-companies-61/ Tue, 03 Nov 2026 12:00:00 GMT Swiss contract drug manufacturer Lonza said Tuesday it signed an agreement to buy five U.S. contract development and manufacturing sites from Merck KGaA of Darmstadt, Germany, at an enterprise value in the low to mid hundreds of millions of Swiss francs. About 1,100 employees would join Lonza, raising its U.S. sites from four to nine and its U.S. workforce above 6,000, the company said. Lonza expects the deal to close in mid-2027. Lonza said the sites make bioconjugates, including antibody drug conjugates, payload linkers, viral vectors for cell and gene therapies, and lipid nanoparticle and liposome products, and are expected to bring about 250 million Swiss francs in 2028 sales at a margin below Lonza's own. Merck KGaA chief executive Kai Beckmann said in the release that a more concentrated life science portfolio would let the company focus its investment. Seeking Alpha reported the sale as Merck KGaA's exit from U.S. contract manufacturing. Economy — Companies D. Marlowe https://isophoric.com/news/2026-11-03/2026-11-03-economy-market-47/ https://isophoric.com/news/2026-11-03/2026-11-03-economy-market-47/ Tue, 03 Nov 2026 12:00:00 GMT Saudi Aramco reported adjusted net income of $31.2 billion for the third quarter of 2026, up from $28.6 billion in the same quarter of 2025, the company said in its results release on Tuesday. Cash flow from operating activities was $38.7 billion and free cash flow $28.2 billion, Aramco said, and its board declared a third-quarter base dividend of $21.9 billion, up 3.5 percent from a year earlier. Aramco said downstream adjusted earnings before interest and taxes rose 234 percent from a year earlier on stronger refining margins, and that its East-West Pipeline continued to give it export flexibility while it explores more overseas storage and new export routes. Chief executive Amin H. Nasser said "attacks on key energy facilities" had continued to amplify the global energy supply crisis in the quarter. Economy — Markets D. Marlowe https://isophoric.com/news/2026-11-03/2026-11-03-economy-market-48/ https://isophoric.com/news/2026-11-03/2026-11-03-economy-market-48/ Tue, 03 Nov 2026 12:00:00 GMT William D. Nordhaus, Sterling Professor of Economics, Emeritus, at Yale, who shared the 2018 Nobel Prize in Economics for integrating climate change into long-run macroeconomic analysis, died Oct. 30 at age 85, Yale News reported in its announcement on Oct. 31. Yale said he died following a battle with glioblastoma, an aggressive brain cancer. His best-known work was the DICE (Dynamic Integrated Climate-Economy) model, which Yale said he used to show that a carbon tax can reduce emissions efficiently and to estimate its optimal level. He arrived at Yale as an undergraduate in 1959, joined its faculty after graduate school at MIT, and served as provost from 1986 to 1988, according to the announcement. He was also a member of the President's Council of Economic Advisers and president of the American Economic Association, and co-authored the textbook "Economics" with Paul Samuelson from 1985, Yale said. Economy — Markets D. Marlowe https://isophoric.com/news/2026-11-03/2026-11-03-economy-market-49/ https://isophoric.com/news/2026-11-03/2026-11-03-economy-market-49/ Tue, 03 Nov 2026 12:00:00 GMT The Nasdaq Composite closed down 1.07 percent and the S&P 500 down 0.51 percent on Monday, Nov. 2, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose about 214 points, or 0.41 percent, CNBC reported, as investors continued to rotate out of tech stocks. After the close, Apple reported fiscal fourth-quarter revenue of $114.5 billion, up 12 percent, and gross margin of 47.9 percent, which it said included about one percentage point from tariff refunds. Fortune reported that Apple, on its earnings call, forecast gross margin of 45 to 46 percent for the holiday quarter, citing rising memory costs, and that the shares fell as much as 4 percent in after-hours trading before trading down 2.7 percent. Chief executive John Ternus called the memory market "unprecedented" on the analyst call, Fortune reported, and Apple's release showed iPad sales of $6.2 billion against $7.0 billion a year earlier. On Tuesday, South Korea's Kospi closed down 3.59 percent at 5,648.79 and Taiwan's main index also fell 3.59 percent, CNBC reported, and as of 3:31 a.m. ET Tuesday, Dow futures were down 0.46 percent and S&P 500 futures down 0.14 percent; Europe's Stoxx 600 opened 0.62 percent lower. Ryan Detrick of Carson Group told CNBC that markets "tend to do pretty well" once elections are past. Economy — Markets D. Marlowe https://isophoric.com/news/2026-11-03/2026-11-03-economy-market-50/ https://isophoric.com/news/2026-11-03/2026-11-03-economy-market-50/ Tue, 03 Nov 2026 12:00:00 GMT Brent crude sold for $112.60 a barrel as of 6:30 a.m. ET on Monday, Nov. 2, Fortune reported, $3.26 lower than the morning before and about $47 higher than a year earlier. The U.S. military carried out strikes on Iran's Qeshm Island on Monday, a U.S. official told MS Now, CNBC reported. Qeshm, the largest island in the Persian Gulf, lies near the Strait of Hormuz, CNBC reported. Economy — Markets D. Marlowe https://isophoric.com/news/2026-11-03/2026-11-03-economy-market-51/ https://isophoric.com/news/2026-11-03/2026-11-03-economy-market-51/ Tue, 03 Nov 2026 12:00:00 GMT The Reserve Bank of Australia's Monetary Policy Board raised its cash rate target by 25 basis points to 4.85 percent on Tuesday, its statement said, with six members voting for the increase and three for holding at 4.60 percent. The board said it now forecasts inflation to stay elevated through much of 2027 and not to reach the top of its 2 to 3 percent target range until late 2027, about three quarters later than previously forecast. The rate is the highest since November 2008 and the increase was the bank's fifth this year, CNBC reported. Governor Michele Bullock said "some pain now will prevent even worse pain down the track," The Guardian reported, and Canstar estimated the rise would add $107 a month to the interest payment on a $700,000 home loan. The board's statement said fuel and other commodity prices tied to the Middle East conflict were part of the reason for the higher inflation outlook, along with domestic capacity pressures. Economy — Markets D. Marlowe https://isophoric.com/news/2026-11-03/2026-11-03-economy-market-52/ https://isophoric.com/news/2026-11-03/2026-11-03-economy-market-52/ Tue, 03 Nov 2026 12:00:00 GMT Ryanair reported first-half profit after tax of 2.15 billion euros on Monday, down 15 percent from 2.54 billion euros a year earlier, as the price of the 20 percent of its jet fuel it had not hedged doubled to about $130 a barrel, the airline said. It estimated its fuel bill for the year to March 2028 would rise by about 2 billion euros at current forward prices, and said higher fares were "unlikely to provide a full offset." Chief executive Michael O'Leary said on CNBC after the results that he expects European airfares to rise by 10 percent, and maybe 20 percent, next year, Fortune reported. Ryanair said it has 80 percent of this year's fuel hedged at about $67 a barrel and 25 percent of next year's at about $95, and that it is reviewing costs, including possible temporary pay freezes in maturing labor agreements. Economy — Markets D. Marlowe https://isophoric.com/news/2026-11-03/2026-11-03-economy-market-53/ https://isophoric.com/news/2026-11-03/2026-11-03-economy-market-53/ Tue, 03 Nov 2026 12:00:00 GMT Switzerland's Consumer Price Index rose 0.2 percent in October from September, to 101.7 points (December 2025 = 100), and inflation was 1.5 percent compared with October 2025, the Federal Statistical Office said in a release on Tuesday, Nov. 3. The office attributed the monthly rise in part to higher prices for heating oil, petrol and diesel, along with footwear and hospital outpatient services; prices for medical services at local surgeries, international package holidays and hotels fell. Economy — Markets D. Marlowe https://isophoric.com/news/2026-11-03/2026-11-03-economy-market-54/ https://isophoric.com/news/2026-11-03/2026-11-03-economy-market-54/ Tue, 03 Nov 2026 12:00:00 GMT The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey was scheduled for 10 a.m. ET on Tuesday, Nov. 3, according to the St. Louis Fed's FRED release calendar, which lists the U.S. international trade report for 8:30 a.m. ET Wednesday and productivity and costs with weekly jobless claims for 8:30 a.m. ET Thursday. The Employment Situation report is listed for 8:30 a.m. ET Friday, Nov. 6, with consumer credit at 3 p.m. ET, and the Consumer Price Index for 8:30 a.m. ET Tuesday, Nov. 10. FRED's Employment Situation page showed the latest data, for September, posted Oct. 2. The calendar notes that its dates are published by the data sources and do not necessarily show when the data appear on FRED. Economy — Markets D. Marlowe https://isophoric.com/news/2026-11-03/2026-11-03-health-80/ https://isophoric.com/news/2026-11-03/2026-11-03-health-80/ Tue, 03 Nov 2026 12:00:00 GMT The Food and Drug Administration granted accelerated approval on Friday, Oct. 30, to Voceryq, an Inovio Pharmaceuticals immunotherapy for adults with recurrent respiratory papillomatosis, a rare disease in which human papillomavirus causes wart-like growths in the airways. The FDA said it is the first plasmid DNA-based immunotherapy approved in the United States. The agency based the decision on trial data showing the therapy reduced how often patients needed surgery to remove the growths, an intermediate endpoint that it said is "reasonably likely to predict clinical benefit." It said the manufacturer must conduct post-approval clinical trials to verify and describe that benefit. Health D. Marlowe https://isophoric.com/news/2026-11-03/2026-11-03-health-81/ https://isophoric.com/news/2026-11-03/2026-11-03-health-81/ Tue, 03 Nov 2026 12:00:00 GMT A Yakima County, Washington, resident who was exposed to bird flu at a dairy with infected cattle died on Sunday, Nov. 1, after being hospitalized with severe illness, the Yakima Health District said in a release that day. The person had underlying health conditions, and the district withheld their name, gender and age. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the person was infected with H5N1, and the AP reported it was the first U.S. bird flu death in a year. The district also reported a third confirmed human case in a Yakima County resident exposed to infected cattle at a county dairy, who had not been severely ill or hospitalized, and said it was working with public health partners to identify and monitor close contacts. County officials have reported 33 dairy herds testing positive since early October, according to the Guardian. A CDC spokesperson said on Monday that the virus from the person who died showed no genetic changes that would make it spread more easily or cause more severe illness, the AP reported. The CDC has said there is no known person-to-person spread and that the risk to the general public is low; county officials said dairy workers and others with close contact with infected animals face greater risk. Health D. Marlowe https://isophoric.com/news/2026-11-03/2026-11-03-health-82/ https://isophoric.com/news/2026-11-03/2026-11-03-health-82/ Tue, 03 Nov 2026 12:00:00 GMT Records the Electronic Frontier Foundation obtained in a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit against the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services show the agency raised problems with at least four of the six vendors in the first months of its WISeR prior authorization model, according to EFF, which published more than 800 new pages. CMS describes WISeR as a voluntary model that uses technologies such as artificial intelligence, along with human clinical review, for a set of Medicare services in New Jersey, Ohio, Oklahoma, Texas, Arizona and Washington from Jan. 1, 2026, to Dec. 31, 2031. EFF, a digital rights group, said the rollout was rushed and called on Congress to limit automated decision-making in Medicare. According to EFF, a March 17 CMS letter to the vendor Virtix cited turnaround times beyond guidelines and "denials that appear inaccurate or inconsistent" with criteria, and MedCity News reported that Virtix rejected 53% of more than 6,000 requests over three months, which the company blamed on an influx of claims. CMS told Zyter it "may lack adequate processes" for provider concerns and issued Innovaccer a notice of noncompliance over its provider portal, EFF said; Innovaccer said it had warned CMS before launch that the portal might not be ready. MedCity News reported that one request to the vendor Genzeon went unanswered for 83 days. CMS says on its WISeR page that denials require review by a human clinician; EFF said the records give limited insight into how that review works. Health D. Marlowe https://isophoric.com/news/2026-11-03/2026-11-03-health-83/ https://isophoric.com/news/2026-11-03/2026-11-03-health-83/ Tue, 03 Nov 2026 12:00:00 GMT Three companies recalled products in notices posted by the Food and Drug Administration between Oct. 29 and Nov. 2: Once Upon a Farm's Tractor Wheels toddler bars for a choking hazard, Vitality Works' 365 Whole Foods Market ashwagandha capsules for possible salmonella, and SLR Food Distribution's Wise Wife ground cinnamon for elevated lead. Vitality Works and SLR said no illnesses had been reported, and Once Upon a Farm said no injuries had been reported. Health D. Marlowe https://isophoric.com/news/2026-11-03/2026-11-03-international-31/ https://isophoric.com/news/2026-11-03/2026-11-03-international-31/ Tue, 03 Nov 2026 12:00:00 GMT Reddit and the Digital Freedom Project argued before Australia's High Court in Canberra on Tuesday, Nov. 3, that the law barring under-16s from holding accounts on ten social media platforms is unconstitutional, in the first legal challenge to the ban, which took effect last December. Reddit's lawyer, Perry Herzfeld, told the court the law was "ill thought out" and "a very profound restriction on political debate in Australia," CNA reported. Government lawyer Joanna Davidson SC began setting out the government's case and was due to continue on Wednesday, the BBC reported. Communications Minister Anika Wells said outside the court that the government was defending "an Australian child's right, to be free from harm," according to the BBC. The Digital Freedom Project, led by New South Wales parliamentarian John Ruddick, argues the ban restricts teenagers' ability to take part in political discussion, Al Jazeera reported, and Reddit said it would keep complying with the law while it challenges it. Platforms face fines of up to A$99 million for serious or repeated breaches, and no company had been fined as of Tuesday, the BBC reported; Al Jazeera said it was unclear how long the court would take to decide. International D. Marlowe https://isophoric.com/news/2026-11-03/2026-11-03-international-32/ https://isophoric.com/news/2026-11-03/2026-11-03-international-32/ Tue, 03 Nov 2026 12:00:00 GMT Russian aerial bombs hit a school used to hand out humanitarian aid in the village of Komyshuvakha, in Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia region, on Monday, Nov. 2, and regional head Mykhailo Semikin said on Tuesday that the death toll had risen to 29, the BBC reported. France 24, The Hindu and Deutsche Welle, reporting Monday's count, gave at least 26 dead, the figure France 24 attributed to Semikin and the BBC to President Volodymyr Zelensky late Monday. The sources describe one attack, not two: every report names the same village, the same school and the same day, and the 26 and the 29 are Ukrainian officials' counts at different times. Zelensky said a first strike hit as people arrived for the weekly aid distribution and a repeat strike then hit the shelter where they had taken cover. Officials said at least nine 3,000-kilogram bombs hit the village, according to the BBC; Semikin said two rescuers and four police officers were among the dead, and the BBC reported 10 injured and 48 missing. The Russian military had not commented publicly, the BBC said. The strikes came hours after a six-day ceasefire around the Russian-occupied city of Oleshky in neighboring Kherson region ended on Sunday, and US envoy Steve Witkoff said US, Russian and Ukrainian officials would meet in Abu Dhabi on Nov. 10 and 11. International D. Marlowe https://isophoric.com/news/2026-11-03/2026-11-03-international-33/ https://isophoric.com/news/2026-11-03/2026-11-03-international-33/ Tue, 03 Nov 2026 12:00:00 GMT A senior Iranian official told Reuters on Tuesday, Nov. 3, that Iran and the United States were far from a deal to end the war and that Tehran would not accept Washington's "excessive demands," according to the Reuters report carried by The Straits Times, Arab News and The Jerusalem Post. The official said Tehran's conditions must be met if the US wanted the Strait of Hormuz reopened and that nuclear talks could start only after that. President Donald Trump raised doubt on Monday about whether he would follow through on a threatened resumption of strikes after the midterm elections and said he believed Tehran wanted a deal as soon as possible, Reuters reported. Iran's parliament speaker, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, said on Tuesday that the ball was in the US court after Tehran gave a "strong and rational response," and the senior official said Iran would respond forcefully to US strikes; Qatari mediators traveled to Tehran on Monday night to discuss a draft deal under negotiation for eight days, according to Reuters. International D. Marlowe https://isophoric.com/news/2026-11-03/2026-11-03-international-34/ https://isophoric.com/news/2026-11-03/2026-11-03-international-34/ Tue, 03 Nov 2026 12:00:00 GMT Two helicopters collided while landing at Pheriche in Nepal's Solukhumbu district, on the route to Mount Everest Base Camp, at about 8:11 a.m. local time on Tuesday, Nov. 3, killing a 47-year-old Indian national, Nepal police said, according to The Hindu. Another passenger on the same helicopter and both pilots were injured and taken to Kathmandu, police said. Al Jazeera described the injured passenger as a New Zealander; The Hindu said he was a 49-year-old New Zealand resident of Indian origin. The helicopters were operated by Fishtail Air and Air Dynasty, and both had taken off from Lukla, the police office in Solukhumbu said, according to The Hindu BusinessLine; the Air Dynasty helicopter was carrying cargo. Police said the number of people aboard the two helicopters had not been confirmed and that they were gathering further details, The Hindu reported. International D. Marlowe https://isophoric.com/news/2026-11-03/2026-11-03-international-35/ https://isophoric.com/news/2026-11-03/2026-11-03-international-35/ Tue, 03 Nov 2026 12:00:00 GMT President Donald Trump has notified Congress and the governments of Rwanda and South Africa that he intends to end their eligibility for the African Growth and Opportunity Act trade preference program as of Jan. 1, 2027, the Office of the US Trade Representative said on Monday, Nov. 2. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said the two governments were "engaging in practices that are inconsistent with AGOA's eligibility criteria," including barriers to US trade and investment and practices that threaten US national security and foreign policy interests. South Africa exported $1.7 billion in goods to the US under AGOA in 2025, more than any other beneficiary, Deutsche Welle reported. The USTR statement listed concerns in Rwanda over trade and investment barriers, rule of law, political pluralism, worker rights, human rights and security, and in South Africa over trade and investment barriers, corruption and security. South Africa's trade ministry said last week that AGOA exports make up about 10% of its exports to the US and 1% of its global exports, according to DW, and the government said on Monday it would support affected sectors. Washington sanctioned Rwanda's defense ministry last week over alleged support for the M23 rebel group in Congo, which Rwanda denies, Africanews reported; the sources carried no Rwandan response to the AGOA decision. International D. Marlowe https://isophoric.com/news/2026-11-03/2026-11-03-international-36/ https://isophoric.com/news/2026-11-03/2026-11-03-international-36/ Tue, 03 Nov 2026 12:00:00 GMT Garment workers in Bangladesh protested for a fourth day on Tuesday, Nov. 3, demanding a minimum monthly wage of 30,000 taka, up from 12,500 taka, and police fired tear gas in Ashulia and Dhaka's Mirpur area, CNA reported. The protests began on Saturday and continued after the government formed a six-member wage board on Nov. 1 to review garment pay, according to CNA and Al Jazeera. Dozens of people, including several police officers, were injured, CNA reported. Nearly 700 factories shut on Monday, CNA said, and the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association said demonstrations disrupted 529 factories on Sunday and affected nearly a million workers, according to Al Jazeera. Labor Minister Ariful Haque Choudhury urged workers to return to work and said the wage board would begin its deliberations shortly, Al Jazeera reported. The minimum wage was last revised in December 2023, and factory owners told CNA they face rising operating costs and softer demand in key export markets. International D. Marlowe https://isophoric.com/news/2026-11-03/2026-11-03-international-37/ https://isophoric.com/news/2026-11-03/2026-11-03-international-37/ Tue, 03 Nov 2026 12:00:00 GMT Supermarket chains in at least seven European countries said fridge and freezer temperatures in some of their shops rose overnight into Monday, Nov. 2, as high as 50 degrees Celsius (122 F), and several confirmed they had been hacked, the Guardian reported. In Belgium, Ahold Delhaize said dozens of its supermarkets in Belgium and Luxembourg were hit, and Belgium's Centre for Cybersecurity confirmed it was aware of an incident targeting supermarket refrigeration systems, Euronews reported. The incidents followed an attack in France last month in which hackers took control of cooling units in as many as 700 supermarkets, according to the Guardian. Carrefour Belgium reported disruption in about 15 of its 700 shops, and Colruyt and Intermarché said technical problems affected fridges in five and 15 shops, the Guardian reported. The chief executive of Sabcobel, which runs Delhaize's refrigeration systems, told the Belga news agency it was a cyberattack that switched the units to defrost mode. The other countries named were Estonia, Finland, Ireland, the Netherlands and Sweden, and EU food commissioner Christophe Hansen called the attacks "a deliberate attempt to disrupt our food supply chain," the Guardian reported. International D. Marlowe https://isophoric.com/news/2026-11-03/2026-11-03-international-38/ https://isophoric.com/news/2026-11-03/2026-11-03-international-38/ Tue, 03 Nov 2026 12:00:00 GMT The US Geological Survey listed six earthquakes of magnitude 5.5 or greater worldwide from Oct. 29 to Nov. 1, the largest a magnitude 6.4 southeast of Easter Island at 07:49 UTC on Oct. 29. USGS assigned all six a green PAGER alert, its lowest level of estimated impact. The other three of magnitude 6.0 or greater struck near Vanuatu, twice, and off Japan. As USGS lists them: M6.2, 43 km ESE of Port-Olry, Vanuatu, at 21:46 UTC on Oct. 29, at a depth of about 143 kilometers; M6.0, 58 km SSE of Shima, Japan, at 22:15 UTC on Oct. 31, about 352 kilometers deep, with 30 felt reports; and M6.0, 165 km NW of Port-Olry, Vanuatu, at 11:47 UTC on Nov. 1. The two smaller events came minutes apart on Oct. 29: M5.8, 110 km ENE of Barcelona, Philippines, at 03:19 UTC, and M5.7, 82 km NE of Kiunga, Papua New Guinea, at 03:26 UTC. International D. Marlowe https://isophoric.com/news/2026-11-03/2026-11-03-national-23/ https://isophoric.com/news/2026-11-03/2026-11-03-national-23/ Tue, 03 Nov 2026 12:00:00 GMT Voters across the country cast the last ballots of the 2026 midterm elections on Tuesday, 3 November, with control of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives at stake, The Guardian reported; Republicans held both chambers going into Election Day. ABC News reported that races for governor are also on ballots around the country. More than 57 million early votes had been cast nationwide as of Monday afternoon, ABC News reported, citing the Election Lab at the University of Florida, while The New York Times put the early vote at about 50 million in its live coverage on Monday night. The campaign closed amid several legal fights. A federal judge dismissed a Justice Department lawsuit over Alaska's Senate race, where two candidates named Dan Sullivan are on the ballot, and the department said it would appeal, Straight Arrow News reported. The Guardian reported that the Justice Department planned to send a record 1,000 election monitors to polling places, a move critics called voter intimidation. Advertising across House, Senate and governor's races cost about $7.1 billion this cycle, according to a Wesleyan Media Project analysis cited by ABC News. National D. Marlowe https://isophoric.com/news/2026-11-03/2026-11-03-national-24/ https://isophoric.com/news/2026-11-03/2026-11-03-national-24/ Tue, 03 Nov 2026 12:00:00 GMT The Supreme Court on Monday denied the Justice Department's application for an injunction pending appeal in United States v. California (No. 26A624), according to the court's order list of 2 November. The application, presented to Justice Elena Kagan and referred by her to the full court, asked the court to order California election officials to set aside mail ballots from about 20,000 people the department says are likely noncitizens, CBS News reported. The order is unsigned and lists no dissents. The court ruled hours after the request was filed and did not ask California to respond, CBS News and NPR reported. A federal district judge, David Carter, and a divided panel of the 9th Circuit had already refused the request; the panel majority cited a "material risk" of disenfranchisement and the principle that election rules should not change on the eve of a vote, NPR reported. State and county officials have said the federal list is unreliable, and NPR reported that an analysis by the UCLA Voting Rights Project found 42 percent of the names were not on California's current voter roll. National D. Marlowe https://isophoric.com/news/2026-11-03/2026-11-03-national-25/ https://isophoric.com/news/2026-11-03/2026-11-03-national-25/ Tue, 03 Nov 2026 12:00:00 GMT U.S. District Judge Myong J. Joun in Boston on Monday dismissed, without prejudice, the federal government's lawsuit to force Harvard University to hand over applicant-level admissions data, ruling that the Justice Department had not shown it took the steps the law requires before going to court. Under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, an agency must tell a recipient of federal funds that it is failing to comply and determine that compliance cannot be secured voluntarily, the judge wrote, and the complaint did not allege that the department told Harvard it would sue. He wrote that the ruling does not decide whether Harvard has discriminated or whether it may ultimately have to provide the data. The Justice Department and the Education Department sought five years of admissions data, including race and ethnicity, grades, test scores and essays, to check whether Harvard still considers race after the Supreme Court's 2023 decision barring race-conscious admissions, according to The Associated Press as published by ABC News. The judge also dismissed a breach of contract claim, again without prejudice, and denied Harvard's alternative request for a stay as moot. Neither Harvard nor the Justice Department responded to the AP's request for comment. National D. Marlowe https://isophoric.com/news/2026-11-03/2026-11-03-national-26/ https://isophoric.com/news/2026-11-03/2026-11-03-national-26/ Tue, 03 Nov 2026 12:00:00 GMT The U.S. military carried out what U.S. officials described as limited defensive strikes on Iranian targets near the Strait of Hormuz on Monday, three U.S. officials told CBS News. A senior U.S. official told CBS News the strikes targeted Iran's Qeshm Island after Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps fired at an American aircraft, and a U.S. official who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity said the targets were Iranians using surface-to-air missiles against U.S. assets. Iranian state television reported explosions on Qeshm Island, the AP reported. Earlier Monday, in a speech in Washington, President Trump said, "I don't know if you even call it a war, because we haven't been doing any fighting for months," the AP reported. In a Truth Social post that day he said a deal "could happen" and that "Iran wants a settlement, as soon as possible," CBS News reported. Vice President JD Vance told reporters he and the president "feel pretty good about the prospects" for a negotiated settlement, according to the AP. Asked whether he was considering striking Iran after the midterms, Trump answered "no," Newsweek reported, and the White House said in a statement that he has a "wide range of options available." National D. Marlowe https://isophoric.com/news/2026-11-03/2026-11-03-national-27/ https://isophoric.com/news/2026-11-03/2026-11-03-national-27/ Tue, 03 Nov 2026 12:00:00 GMT A Learjet 60 flying from Austin, Texas, to North Eleuthera in the Bahamas crashed in a Palm Beach County, Florida, neighborhood on Sunday, killing all nine people aboard, two crew members and seven passengers, The Center Square reported. National Transportation Safety Board member Tom Chapman said Monday there is some indication the jet "was breaking up before impact" and that weather, including icing, is a focus of the investigation, PBS NewsHour and The Center Square reported. The cause has not been determined. The crew reported "light, clear ice" and moderate turbulence at about 12:47 p.m., asked to climb and was cleared, then announced a descent and a mayday, Chapman said, according to The Center Square; at about 12:48 p.m. the crew radioed that the plane was "in an overspeed condition." Investigator in charge Timothy Monville said the wreckage is spread over about half a mile of ballfields, businesses and homes, and that one man in a nearby vehicle suffered a leg injury. About 600 residents were displaced and receiving temporary shelter, the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office said, according to The Center Square. Officials had not released the names of the dead as of Monday, PBS reported; relatives identified several of them to news outlets. National D. Marlowe https://isophoric.com/news/2026-11-03/2026-11-03-national-28/ https://isophoric.com/news/2026-11-03/2026-11-03-national-28/ Tue, 03 Nov 2026 12:00:00 GMT Douglas DePodesta, who led the FBI's Chicago field office from 2024 until his resignation in 2026, sued the Justice Department, the FBI, FBI Director Kash Patel, Attorney General Todd Blanche and U.S. Attorney Andrew Boutros in federal court in Chicago on Monday. His complaint alleges that Boutros blamed him for the collapse of the "Broadview Six" prosecution of protesters at an immigration facility, and that FBI superiors then told him the "political pressure" was "irresistible" and ordered him to resign. These are allegations in a complaint; no court has ruled on them. The complaint, which alleges defamation and violations of DePodesta's First and Fifth Amendment rights among nine counts, asks for reinstatement, back pay and damages. It alleges Boutros sent DePodesta emails demanding FBI investigations of people opposed to the Trump administration. Spokespeople for the Justice Department, Boutros and the FBI did not respond to the Guardian's inquiries. Separately on Monday, U.S. District Judge April Perry ordered Boutros and three assistant U.S. attorneys to testify on Nov. 16 in the Broadview Six case about whether false statements were made to the court, Fox News reported. National D. Marlowe https://isophoric.com/news/2026-11-03/2026-11-03-national-29/ https://isophoric.com/news/2026-11-03/2026-11-03-national-29/ Tue, 03 Nov 2026 12:00:00 GMT The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Central District of California said Monday that six lawful permanent residents of the Antelope and San Fernando valleys in Los Angeles County have been charged by federal criminal complaint with making false statements on their naturalization applications. The complaints allege that each registered to vote and voted in California while not a citizen, then denied on the naturalization form having claimed citizenship or registered to vote, according to the release. A criminal complaint contains allegations only; the release says all defendants are presumed innocent, and each would face a maximum of five years in federal prison if convicted. The six residents, ages 31 to 52, of Palmdale, West Hills, Agua Dulce and Canoga Park, are each charged by criminal complaint with one count of making false statements on a naturalization application. Five of them were arrested Monday, the release says. The department described the cases as part of "Operation Protect the Vote," which it called an effort to root out fraud in U.S. elections, and First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli said in the release that 34 defendants have now been charged in it, all of them on the list his office gave California officials. The defendants have not been indicted, and it was not clear whether any had lawyers, The Guardian reported; the federal public defender's office in Los Angeles did not respond to its inquiry. National D. Marlowe https://isophoric.com/news/2026-11-03/2026-11-03-national-30/ https://isophoric.com/news/2026-11-03/2026-11-03-national-30/ Tue, 03 Nov 2026 12:00:00 GMT The Nuclear Regulatory Commission published a final rule in the Federal Register on Tuesday that revises its hearing procedures so contested licensing cases can generally be completed in 11 to 13.5 months, or faster on an expedited track. The rule, which takes effect Dec. 3, 2026, requires evidentiary hearings to begin as soon as practicable after contentions are admitted, sets strict deadlines for finishing hearings and narrows discovery, the commission said. It responds to the ADVANCE Act of 2024 and Executive Order 14300, according to the rule, and the commission projects net savings of $67.4 million over 2026 to 2030. National D. Marlowe https://isophoric.com/news/2026-11-03/2026-11-03-science-74/ https://isophoric.com/news/2026-11-03/2026-11-03-science-74/ Tue, 03 Nov 2026 12:00:00 GMT A team led by Megan Schwamb of Queen's University Belfast reported two new long-term stable Trojan asteroids in Neptune's trailing (L5) cloud, plus one candidate, using early data from the Vera C. Rubin Observatory, in a paper published 15 October 2026 in The Astrophysical Journal Letters. The two objects double the known trailing sample on long-lived orbits, according to the paper. The paper lists them as 2025 MH348 and 2025 NN80, with 2025 MD138 as the candidate. Neptune's trailing cloud had sat in front of the dense center of the Milky Way for the past ten years, which made faint objects hard to spot, Universe Today reported, quoting Schwamb as saying the cloud has now begun to move out of that region. Imaging through different filters showed the leading and trailing Trojans have similar surfaces, and Rubin's Legacy Survey of Space and Time is expected to find tens to hundreds more over the next nine years, according to Universe Today. Science D. Marlowe