The Trump administration on Thursday suspended Microsoft, Adobe and major IT staffing firms including Cognizant, Infosys and Tata from the Labor Department PERM program that lets employers sponsor skilled workers for permanent residency, citing active fraud investigations. Vice President JD Vance said the move was needed to protect US workers and accused Microsoft of abusing the system, though he presented no evidence that the company laid off Americans to replace them, while Microsoft said it pays among the highest wages for H-1B filings and mostly uses the visas for existing employees. The suspension does not bar the companies from employing H-1B workers but blocks a key green card pathway, and it came hours before President Donald Trump presented Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella with the National Medal of Technology and Innovation.
Signal read, tense. The larches above the mist. Illustration: NOISE.
Source date: Oct 4, 2026. Last attempt: Oct 08, 2026, 17:45 ET. Last successful check: Oct 04, 2026, 17:45 ET. Latest check did not return a usable dated reading.
Source date: Oct 6, 2026. Last attempt: Oct 08, 2026, 17:45 ET. Last successful check: Oct 08, 2026, 17:45 ET.
Source-check times describe acquisition. They don't change a poll's field dates or a publisher's reading date. NOISE doesn't combine publishers' averages or calculate election forecasts.
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U.S., 3 stories
Trump ruled out Iran strikes before the midterms while the Pentagon readies options, as oil prices and tanker attacks weigh politically. At home, a carrier returned from long deployment and the Pentagon detailed a public military execution.
Trump rules out Iran strikes before midterms as Pentagon prepares optionsPresident Trump said Thursday the US will not attack Iran before the Nov. 3 midterm elections, citing productive discussions with Tehran and saying the US naval blockade will remain in full force. The statement follows reports the White House asked the Pentagon to develop strike options, and officials familiar with the planning say the military has prepared a range of options that could be executed before the midterms as a new carrier strike group and Marine expeditionary unit head to the Middle East to join about a dozen US ships including the USS George Washington. The war has become a political liability for Trump and Republicans as Iranian attacks on commercial tankers in the Strait of Hormuz and the Persian Gulf have pushed up oil, gasoline and diesel prices, with election watchers now seeing the House likely flipping to Democratic control.2 sources
USS Abraham Lincoln returns to San Diego after 265 days at seaThe USS Abraham Lincoln returned home to San Diego on Thursday after 265 uninterrupted days at sea supporting the war against Iran. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth flew to the carrier Wednesday to award the crew the Presidential Unit Citation for 3,693 combat missions, 1.37 million pounds of ordnance delivered, 450 Tomahawk missiles launched and 64 Iranian warships sunk. The homecoming follows a stop in Thailand early last month and relief by the USS George Washington in August, ending a more than 10-month deployment marked by crew stress, food and supply shortages and eight reported suicide attempts among the 6,000-sailor strike group.2 sources
Hegseth says public can watch Fort Hood shooter's executionDefense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Thursday the public will be able to watch the Dec. 3 firing squad execution of Nidal Hasan, convicted of killing 13 people in the 2009 Fort Hood shooting. Hegseth said Hasan is "gonna get a firing squad of soldiers" and that the execution will be public so people understand there are serious consequences for these types of things. The Pentagon says the execution will be livestreamed, AP reported, though details on access remain unclear, and it would be the first public U.S. execution in 90 years and the first U.S. military execution since 1961.1 source
Hurricane Isaias strengthened to Category 2 and bore down on the Gulf Coast with evacuations underway, while U.S. envoys prepared new Ukraine proposals in Miami and Washington tightened sanctions on Iran's shadow fleet.
Isaias strengthens to Category 2 on path to Gulf CoastIsaias strengthened into a Category 2 hurricane Thursday with maximum sustained winds of 100 mph, centered about 325 miles south of the mouth of the Mississippi River and moving northeast at 12 mph. It is forecast to make landfall late Friday or early Saturday in the Florida Panhandle, southern Alabama and southern Mississippi, bringing 5 to 7 feet of storm surge, up to 15 inches of rain, tornadoes and possible long duration power outages, prompting tourist evacuations, school closures and states of emergency. It is the first hurricane of an unusually quiet Atlantic season shaped by a strong El Nino, forming one day short of the 1905 record for the latest first hurricane, and producers have shut about 63 percent of Gulf oil production and evacuated 121 platforms.2 sources
Witkoff, Kushner to pitch new proposals to end Ukraine warU.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner will meet Ukrainian negotiators and European officials in Miami on Friday to present new ideas to break the stalemate in the Russia-Ukraine war. The expected two-day talks will include Ukrainian officials Kyrylo Budanov, Rustem Umerov, Sergey Kyslytsia and Davyd Arakhamia plus national security advisers from the UK, France and Germany and officials from NATO and the EU, and will cover a partial ceasefire on energy infrastructure and grain shipments, security guarantees for Ukraine and a post-war prosperity plan. The push comes ahead of winter in Ukraine and the U.S. midterm elections, and Witkoff and Kushner may travel to Moscow later this month after briefing President Trump on Thursday.1 source
French police face scrutiny over student protest injuriesFrench student protests drew scrutiny over policing after injuries that included a 14-year-old whose jaw and many teeth were shattered by a police tear gas grenade. About 71,500 people took to the streets across France on Thursday, the interior ministry said, with 504 people arrested and 48 police and gendarmes injured, and the ministry said police would stop using stun grenades on students after using tear gas and stun grenades to disperse crowds. Saint-Denis Mayor Bally Bagayoko stepped between police and high school protesters this week and called for President Emmanuel Macron to apologize to families of injured students as protests over teacher absences, poor facilities, long school days and university admissions spread nationwide.1 source
US sanctions 17 vessels in crackdown on Iran shadow fleetThe US imposed fresh sanctions on Oct. 8 targeting individuals, networks and 17 vessels transporting Iranian crude, oil products and petrochemicals. The Treasury Department said the action under Operation Economic Outcast aims to cut Iran's funding for the war, missile construction, cyberattacks and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and follows the July 14 reimposition of a US blockade of Iranian ports. Officials said Iran has about 20 million barrels of crude left on vessels outside the blockade, while analyst Brett Erickson said the impact may be muted because Iran has delivered virtually all of its oil at sea.1 source
Britain and Germany brought the Kensington Treaty into force in Berlin with pledges on security and technology, as Chancellor Merz's coalition reported constructive talks to unblock pensions, care and economic reforms.
UK and Germany ratify treaty to face shared threats togetherBritish Prime Minister Andy Burnham met Chancellor Friedrich Merz in Berlin on Thursday and formally brought into force the 2025 Kensington Treaty on friendship and bilateral cooperation. Burnham said both countries face hybrid attacks on a regular basis and will confront them together through work on security, interference in democratic processes, quantum technology and space, and said Britain was open to Germany joining the Global Combat Air Programme with Italy and Japan. Merz called the treaty historic and pledged to bring Britain closer to Europe, with the leaders planning a first joint cabinet meeting next year amid warnings of intensified Russian hybrid activity, including a drone incident at Leipzig/Halle Airport last month.2 sources
UK open to Germany joining GCAP fighter jet programmeBritish Prime Minister Andy Burnham said on Oct. 8 in Berlin that Britain is open to Germany joining the Global Combat Air Programme with Italy and Japan. He spoke after meeting Chancellor Friedrich Merz, as Germany re-evaluates fighter options after its rival Franco-German programme collapsed in June. German participation could help share costs amid strain on Britain's military budget and add a partner with Eurofighter experience and a growing military budget, but Japan is focused on a 2035 target and executives warn new partners could cause delays.1 source
German coalition hails constructive talks amid disputesChancellor Friedrich Merz's CDU/CSU and SPD coalition said Thursday it held positive talks late Wednesday to settle disputes blocking its governing agenda. Senior lawmakers Matthias Miersch, Thorsten Frei and Alexander Hoffmann described a constructive atmosphere and pledged to swiftly finalise stalled reforms on pensions, care, economic growth and job security. The meeting comes as the far-right AfD rises in national polls and Merz's popularity ratings remain at record lows.1 source
AI stocks slid after OpenAI's roughly $50 billion annualized revenue came in below reported expectations, hitting Nvidia and Oracle, while SpaceX's spectrum purchase to build Starlink Mobile pressured AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile.
OpenAI revenue shortfall sinks Nvidia, Oracle and other AI stocksAI stocks fell sharply Thursday after OpenAI told investors it reached about $50 billion in annualized revenue at the end of September, below the $68 billion to $70 billion figure reported late last month, the Financial Times first reported and CNBC confirmed. Nvidia fell about 3 percent, Oracle fell nearly 6 percent and CoreWeave slipped nearly 8 percent, while Advanced Micro Devices, Broadcom, Intel and Super Micro Computer also declined and the Nasdaq 100 closed down 1.4 percent. The gap stemmed from investor efforts to gross up OpenAI's revenue with partner sales for comparison with Anthropic, and it renewed scrutiny of AI demand as OpenAI pursues further funding and plans for a potential IPO.2 sources
SpaceX spectrum deal sends AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile shares downSpaceX agreed Thursday to buy a nationwide portfolio of up to 14 megahertz of paired spectrum in the 800 MHz band from Grain Management, subject to Federal Communications Commission approval. SpaceX said the low-band spectrum would help Starlink Mobile become a major US mobile carrier, and CEO Elon Musk called the agreement a very big deal. Shares of AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile fell in extended trading, while SpaceX shares rose about 2 percent after falling 4 percent during regular hours.1 source
Apple is reportedly finally bringing touchscreens to the MacBook Pro later this month, while Anthropic is pitching frontier models and engineers to defend power grids and water systems from faster AI-driven attacks.
Apple reportedly plans first touchscreen MacBook for late OctoberBloomberg reported that Apple plans to introduce its first touchscreen MacBook Pro alongside an updated iPad Mini on or around Oct. 27. The lighter MacBook Pros would have touchscreen OLED displays with an iPhone-like Dynamic Island interface, while other Pros would keep the current design with the M6 chip, and the iPad Mini would move its front camera to the landscape side and add a revamped speaker system. The debut would mark Apple’s shift to touchscreen Macs and follow an Oct. 13 event rumored to focus on smart home products.1 source
Anthropic launches program to defend critical infrastructureAnthropic is launching a Critical Infrastructure Defense Program to provide its frontier AI models, on-site engineers and threat research to companies that secure power grids, water utilities and other critical infrastructure. Founding partners include Accenture, Booz Allen Hamilton, CrowdStrike, Deloitte, Dragos, Hitachi, Palo Alto Networks, PwC, Rockwell Automation and others, which will use the resources to find and fix vulnerabilities in customer systems. Anthropic is also launching a free OSS Scanner that will send open-source projects automated reports from Claude on vulnerabilities, exploitation and suggested fixes without human review. The effort aims to give defenders advanced AI tools as AI makes cyberattacks faster and cheaper, building on Anthropic's Project Glasswing pilot.1 source
A'ja Wilson locked up a record fifth WNBA MVP after a monster scoring season, while the NFL asked the Supreme Court to settle the prediction market fight and Sean Payton grabbed more of Denver's play sheet.
A'ja Wilson wins record fifth WNBA MVP awardLas Vegas Aces center A'ja Wilson won the 2026 WNBA Most Valuable Player award, her record fifth and third in a row. She received 65 of 74 first-place votes after leading the league with 26.2 points per game, 1.9 blocks, a 32.4 efficiency rating and 9.4 win shares while shooting 52.7 percent from the field. She became the first WNBA player to average 25 points on 50 percent shooting and 40 percent from three. The award adds to three championships with the Aces in 2022, 2023 and 2025 as Las Vegas entered the playoffs as the No. 3 seed at 31-13.1 source
Payton to expand role in Broncos playcalling processCoach Sean Payton will take a larger role in the Denver Broncos playcalling operation Sunday against the Los Angeles Chargers. First-year offensive coordinator Davis Webb will remain on the headset as the voice quarterback Bo Nix hears, with Payton more active before and during possessions. The change follows a 2-2 start with Denver ranked 27th in scoring and total yards ahead of the game at SoFi Stadium.1 source
NFL urges Supreme Court to decide prediction market fightUpdateThe NFL filed a brief Thursday urging the U.S. Supreme Court to review whether sports-event contracts offered by prediction markets such as Kalshi fall under state gambling regulators. The filing backs New Jersey's September request for review after the 3rd Circuit blocked the state from enforcing gambling laws against Kalshi while the 9th Circuit ruled the contracts are subject to state law in Nevada, with attorneys general for 39 states and the District of Columbia also supporting New Jersey and Kalshi due to respond by Nov. 9. The league said more than half of prediction market trading volume on the first Sunday of the 2026 season, $1.8 billion of $3.3 billion, involved the NFL and argued the Commodity Futures Trading Commission lacks the staff and integrity safeguards of state regulators, seeking clarity before another season. The court is not expected to decide whether to take the case until December at the earliest.1 source
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