Today’s Big Story

La Niña’s Coming

Here’s what that means for winter weather

More weather news! But a slowly-developing La Niña is favored to influence conditions for the upcoming winter across most of the country, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's U.S. Winter Outlook released on Thursday. Apparently, there’s a “good chance of a weak La Niña weather event developing this autumn, potentially lasting until March,” said NOAA’s climate scientists.

You might be asking, “what is a La Niña, exactly?” Good question. This natural climate phenomenon can have significant impacts on weather patterns across the United States and beyond. It represents the cool phase of this cycle, characterized by cooler-than-average ocean temperatures in the eastern Pacific. During La Niña, the sea surface temperatures in the central and eastern Pacific Ocean become significantly cooler than average.

When this happens, the southern U.S. typically experiences warmer and drier conditions, particularly along the Mexican border and into Florida. In contrast, the northern U.S. and southern Canada may see wetter than average conditions, especially in the Northeast and Ohio Valley. The central and southern U.S. could face more frequent cold outbreaks due to changes in the jet stream position.

Although there is no guarantee how this La Niña will play out, just recently Earth experienced a “triple-dip” La Niña event from 2020 to 2023. “We had three back to back winters where we had La Niña conditions, which was unusual because the only other case of that happening was back in 1973 to 1976,” Michelle L’Heureux, a climate scientist at NOAA, told the Associated Press. L’Heureux said that they tend to last longer and be more recurrent than El Niño events.

While the fluctuation between El Niño and La Niña events can result in dramatic shifts in the weather, underlying that is the steady rise in global temperatures caused by greenhouse gas emissions. “If you look at a chart of global average surface temperatures over time, you’ll see a steady rise due to increasing greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere, but then you see ups and downs every few years,” said Michael McPhaden, a senior scientist at the NOAA. “The ups are El Niño and the downs are La Niña.”

Hamas Leader Killed

Yahya Sinwar, architect of the Oct. 7 terror attacks on Israel, confirmed dead

Israeli forces in Gaza killed Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, a chief architect of last year’s attack on Israel that sparked the war, the military declared Thursday. Troops appeared to have run across him unknowingly in a battle, only to discover afterwards that a body in the rubble was Israel’s most-wanted man.

According to NBC News, the only sighting of him before his death was in grainy footage taken on Oct. 10, 2023, three days after Hamas' assault, according to the Israeli military. It showed him fleeing with his family into a tunnel, one of a large network built by Hamas under Gaza, which the militant group used to smuggle weapons, hide out from Israeli attacks and keep Israeli hostages captive. “The death of Sinwar for Israel is the equivalent to the death of Osama Bin Laden to the United States,” said Matthew Levitt of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy think tank.

While it’s too soon to say what may happen next or how Hamas may respond, Sinwar’s killing marks the latest blow to the group—which has seen several top leaders picked off one by one during Israel’s campaign to dismantle Hamas entirely. With a ceasefire and hostage release deal to pause the war stubbornly stuck for months, senior U.S. officials had clung to the hope that Sinwar might one day be taken out—opening a pathway to a resolution. With him now gone, officials speculate this could be one of the best chances of bringing the Israel-Hamas war to an end, but are reticent to make any predictions about what this will ultimately mean for the volatile region.

Political Humor

Trump and Harris trade jabs at NYC Catholic charity event, though Harris wasn't there

It’s a presidential election tradition dating back to 1960—the New York Archdiocese's annual Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner at the New York Hilton. The fundraiser brought some laughs on Thursday night, but for the first time in 40 years, only one candidate was there in person. The white-tie dinner raises millions of dollars for Catholic charities and has traditionally offered candidates from both parties the chance to trade lighthearted barbs, poke fun at themselves, and show that they can get along—or at least pretend to—for one night in the election’s final stretch.

Former President Donald Trump spoke, where he was joined by his wife Melania in a rare appearance. Vice President Kamala Harris announced last month that she could not attend due to a conflicting campaign event but appeared at the dinner in a video. She performed a sketch with comedian Molly Shannon, who slipped back into character as “Saturday Night Live’s” Mary Katherine Gallagher, the perpetually overexcited Catholic schoolgirl.

After ridiculing Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Harris’ running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, over support for transgender rights, Trump took a beat to acknowledge that politicians have historically used the event to dispense with some self-deprecating humor. “Nope,” he said after a pause. “I’ve got nothing,” before adding, “Catholics, you’ve got to vote for me. You better remember: I’m here, and she’s not.”

Google’s Helping You Find Cheap Flights

A new dedicated feature on the search platform will show the cheapest flights available for your next trip

I love searching for flights, just to weigh my options. If I were to hop on a plane to Barcelona next week, how much would it be? Of course, while we all have our favorite airlines, most of the time, when we’re booking, we’re simply looking for the most economical option, right? Well, Google Flights has just made scoring the cheapest ticket even easier.

A new tab will put all the most affordable flights in one spot. “When you search with Google Flights, the best options appear at the top of the results, based on a mix of price and convenience,” a Google statement about the new feature reads. “But sometimes, there might be cheaper options available for those of you who are willing to give up some convenience for the best deal.”

The new feature comes as October was found to be the best time to book U.S. flights for Thanksgiving and Christmas, reports Newsweek. Search interest for "layover flight(s)" reached an all-time high in January this year, the spokesperson noted, according to data from Google Trends. The new Google Flights feature allows travelers who don't mind multiple layovers or giving up other conveniences to get the cheapest flight deals.

A Weekend Pairing

‘Woman of the Hour’ + a Moscow Mule

Actor-turned-directors are also so hot right now, right? Anna Kendrick’s directorial debut takes it's source material from a wild true crime story. It’s based on Rodney Alcala, a serial killer who sexually assaulted his victims. He was convicted of murdering six women and one girl in the 1970s, though text at the end of the movie states that some authorities believe he murdered as many as 130 women.

Woman of the Hour, streaming on Netflix today, tells the story partly from the point of view of struggling actress, Cheryl Bradshaw (played by Kendrick). She finally gets a gig, on a glossy dating show, without realizing that her bachelor of choice is a dangerous criminal. Reviews have been stellar, and the film currently has a 92% Fresh score on Rotten Tomatoes. As Empire says, "it’s a story that initially incorporates the scuzzy hamster wheel of television production, but also, and perhaps more importantly, the mind games and dangerous precision with which Alcala toys with perception and trust."

Test yourself.