Today’s Big Story

Char-Spookerie

When candy doesn't cut it, look to the meat and cheese board

What’s gnarly and anatomical and yet strangely appetizing? The growing trend of creepy charcuterie boards taking over TikTok and Pinterest, just in time for Halloween get-togethers.

Just take a look at the Petal & Platter Instagram for some inspo. There you’ll find some truly alarming, but clever ways to dress a cheese and meat platter for a scary night in. (Brie cheese Pennywise, the clown from Stephen King’s It, is just waiting for you to dig into his head.)

If you're hosting guests during the spooky season, there's no more stylish way to put out some snacks. Better Homes & Gardens has an impressive round-up of boards to choose from—be it an all black variety of sweets or simply some ominous looking skewers. Of course, those are child’s play compared to the prosciutto play that’s downright ghoulish.

Just look at that hand up there! Like all the skin’s been peeled back! It’s all thanks to a viral video, shared by @besstrealtygroup on TikTok, who uses mozzarella cheese rolls for fingers and suggests molding goats cheese wrapped in prosciutto for the palm. Then, you sit back and watch your friends go all Grey’s Anatomy on the thing—peeling back layers of pink skin-like ham and slicing off a finger to gnaw on while discussing the election.

Of course, if you want to take it up a notch, why not make a prosciutto skull the centerpiece of your board? After all, this is a holiday about harmless pranks, the tingling feeling of fear and indulgence, so why not embrace it and have some fun?

Israeli Strikes Pound Lebanon and Gaza

Israel says more strikes are coming against a Hezbollah-run financial institution

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken just arrived in Tel Aviv for meetings with Israeli officials today as the United States seeks to advance efforts to find a diplomatic solution to the escalating conflict in the Middle East. According to CNN, this is Blinken’s 11th visit to the region since the outbreak of war last year. And he arrives at a critical time as Israel plans its anticipated retaliation to an Iranian missile attack and as ceasefire talks over the wars in Lebanon and Gaza appear stalled.

Late Monday, the Israeli military said it planned to carry out more strikes in Lebanon against a Hezbollah-run financial institution that it targeted the night before and which it says uses customers’ deposits to finance attacks against Israel. At least 15 branches of Al-Qard Al-Hasan were hit late Sunday in the southern neighborhoods of Beirut, across southern Lebanon and in the eastern Bekaa Valley, where Hezbollah has a strong presence. One strike flattened a nine-story building in Beirut with a branch inside it.

Meanwhile, the head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (Unrwa) says Israel is continuing to prevent humanitarian missions from reaching northern Gaza with critical supplies, including food and medicine. “Hospitals have been hit and are left without power while injured people are left without care,” Philippe Lazzarini posted on X. He also said Unrwa’s remaining shelters were so overcrowded that displaced people were “forced to live in the toilets”, and cited reports that people trying to flee were being killed.

Colleges Are Implementing ‘Athletics Fees’

Starting next year, students will pay $150 a semester to support student-athlete services

Starting in the fall of 2025, Clemson University students will face a new $150 per semester athletics fee, marking the first time in the school’s history that such a fee will be implemented. Sports Illustrated reports that the decision aims to support rising operational costs associated with student-athlete services and overall student experiences within the athletics department. The fee, amounting to $300 annually over both semesters, is expected to generate between $7 and $8 million in new revenue for the Clemson Tigers.

Athletic director Graham Neff said that every Division I public university in the state of South Carolina currently charges an athletics fee (that includes Clemson’s top rival, South Carolina, and Coastal Carolina, the state’s only other D1 FBS school). He added that across college sports, the majority of Power 4 schools either have an athletics fee or require students to purchase student tickets. At Clemson, Neff said, students have “free access” to all sporting events, including up to four home football games each season (half the home schedule) via a lottery system.

We all know that college sports is expensive. But, at least, some athletes are getting paid these days. It’s now been three years since the NCAA started allowing college athletes to make money from their personal brands—their “name, image and likeness,” or NIL. But how much are they getting paid? Is it consistent? A Washington Post analysis of $125 million in payments reveals the patterns and disparities of a murky NIL market.

Notre-Dame Is Finally Reopening

After a devastating fire in 2019, the Paris landmark will start welcoming visitors in December

It’s been more than five years since a fire ripped through Notre-Dame cathedral in Paris on April 15, 2019. Reconstruction efforts on the 12th-century monument were painstaking, and Notre-Dame finally has an opening date: December 8, 2024.

Experts familiar with medieval restoration work told Afar that it could take 15 to 20 years to rebuild the roof, spire, and parts of the stone vaulting, but Notre-Dame is opening on schedule in December—although renovations will continue. Last year, about 1,000 people worked on Notre-Dame’s restoration in Paris and throughout France. In order to rebuild with similar materials and techniques used when the rest of Notre-Dame was built in the 12th century, skilled artisans including quarry workers, carpenters, mortar makers, and master stonecutters were hired.

Beyond restoring the cathedral’s iconic spire and medieval charm, the city announced plans this month to revamp Notre Dame’s surroundings—to a tune of 50 million euros ($55 million)—into a serene, green oasis. According to the Associated Press, the project echoes a broader, post-Olympics eco-facelift that’s reshaping Paris from its historic monuments to its bustling avenues.

The Long Read

Elon Musk has long dreamed of redesigning the world in his own extreme image. Trump may be his Trojan horse.

Confidence is key.