Starlink Creates A Disaster For Ukraine & Inflation Won't Stop Rising

Hi readers, happy Thursday! Today we’re covering Starlink pulling the plug on Ukraine, rising inflation in the U.S., the (alleged) Nord Stream saboteur (that’s a nice word), China’s exports, Trump’s new press secretary, the White House press pool case, and some new/oldcomers to the AI race.

“I'm for truth, no matter who tells it. I'm for justice, no matter who it is for or against. I'm a human being, first and foremost, and as such I'm for whoever and whatever benefits humanity as a whole.” ― Malcolm X

Starlink Blinks Out

On Wednesday, Kyiv announced that SpaceX had suddenly restricted Ukraine’s access to its Starlink services, hamstringing its military operations and further damaging the country’s relationship with the U.S. Specifically, the Elon Musk-owned aerospace company restricted access to Starshield, its military-grade version of Starlink, for any systems moving faster than 100mph. That effectively means that all of Ukraine’s fast-moving drones (used for both attack and defense) were shut off from the internet, turning them into expensive bricks and disrupting several ongoing combat operations. You can read more about Ukraine’s Starlink dependence here.

SpaceX declined to comment on the new restrictions, but Musk eventually chimed in on X (which he also owns). “Any limits on speed or usage are decided by the US military and ultimately POTUS,” the trillionaire wrote, effectively placing the blame on the White House, which also declined to comment. 

Russia quickly took advantage of the development, firing an overnight barrage that included 39 ballistic missiles, its largest deployment of the missiles since the war broke out, according to a Ukrainian database. Earlier this week, Trump announced an “energy ceasefire” which was supposed to prevent both countries from targeting the other’s energy infrastructure – Russia quickly took advantage of that opportunity as well, striking multiple energy facilities within hours. Overall, things are looking increasingly concerning for Kyiv as the U.S. has completely turned its back on Ukraine.

Leaves Fall, Prices Rise

Yesterday, the Bureau of Labor Statistics released inflation data for September. The news isn’t great for U.S. consumers: prices rose 0.6% from August, leaving inflation at 3.7% compared to last September. The data comes at a bad time for the Trump administration, which is trying to ease voters’ affordability problems as we head into the midterm elections.

Rising fuel prices fueled most of the inflation: gasoline prices are up 34% compared to last September and rose 9.1% from August, accounting for half of the price increases, and fuel oil (which is used to heat homes) is up 74% from last year and 15.3% from the month prior – as we head into winter, that’s a bad sign for people living in colder regions.

As November approaches, the economy is the first thing on people’s minds. These inflation numbers can be directly linked back to Trump’s war with Iran, which is not great baggage for a Republican party that’s still relying on the MAGA vote to stay competitive. Looking forward, rising inflation will likely push the Federal Reserve to raise its interest rates (its main tool to fight inflation), which will make mortgages, car loans, credit card debt, and other forms of borrowing more expensive across the country.

On The Stand For Sabotage

• A Ukrainian soldier is currently standing trial for blowing up the Nord Stream gas pipelines, which brought natural gas from Russia to Europe. The sabotage took place soon after Russia kicked off its invasion of Ukraine in 2022, leaking 478,000 metric tons of methane into the atmosphere – U.S. officials tried to pin the attack on Russia, while Russia blamed the U.S. for the damage. Since the attacks, multiple European nations have conducted investigations into the sabotage. Sweden and Denmark both mysteriously closed their investigations without assigning blame, while Germany’s effort took years to bear fruit. Eventually, the German government detained one Ukrainian in relation to the sabotage, identifying multiple others involved as well.

• Yesterday, the Ukrainian soldier that allegedly led the team of divers that destroyed the pipeline appeared in court, where prosecutors accused him of attacking civilian infrastructure (a war crime), causing an explosion, damaging property, and disrupting public services. The soldier’s lawyers have argued that the trial shouldn’t even be happening as their client’s role as a Ukrainian army officer prevents him from defending himself properly – apparently, that role forbids him from speaking in court about the alleged plot, and the defendant has exercised his right to remain silent throughout the entire trial so far. Honestly, it’s surprising that the trial is even taking place given Germany’s staunch military support for Ukraine, but it’ll be interesting to watch how things develop.

An Excess Of Exports

• According to new data, China’s exports jumped to $133.53 billion in September, rising 36.3% compared to the same month last year. The data puts China on track to post a record trade surplus this year, with a $938.11 billion surplus over the past nine months alone – Beijing had a trade surplus of $1.189 trillion across the entirety of 2025. 

• The growth was boosted by strong exports of high-tech goods (especially semiconductors) and cars. Unfortunately for Beijing, those high-growth sectors might slow in the future as more countries look to shrink their trade deficits with China. The E.U. has already made some moves in that direction, signing an agreement with Beijing to halve the amount of Chinese hybrid vehicles sold to the bloc – though that agreement likely won’t affect this year’s numbers as it will take effect in December.

• The data is good news for China’s economy in that Beijing should be able to hit its 4.5%-5% annual growth target with a little bit of help from growth-oriented policies. However, it’s not a great sign for China’s long-term economic health, as the country has become too reliant on exporting cheaper goods for growth while domestic consumers struggle.

Additional World News

• North Korea and China open new bridge after 12-year delay (BBC)

• Container ship sinks in Strait of Hormuz as Iran steps up attacks (CNBC)

• Indonesia fights fire with dry ice as toxic haze spreads across region (Guardian) 

• Brazil's Senate approves a shorter workweek in major win for Lula ahead of runoff (AP)  

• Pope Leo Is in ‘Good Mood’ After Cancer Surgery, Vatican Says: What to Know (NYT, $)

• Yemen's Houthis vow more attacks on Saudi airports, oil facilities after Aramco HQ hit (Reuters)

The Secretary Of Bad Press

• Katie Zacharia, the new White House Press Secretary, had her first big day at the office on Tuesday. Her debut left much to be desired, which is saying a lot when all the press secretary did was read off a script and answer three questions from reporters before fleeing the room. After stuttering through her introductory script, Zacharia mixed up her husband with Trump when asked about work-life balance, dropped the news that the White House would be asking U.S. Ambassador to Greece Kimberly Guilfoyle to resign, and abruptly fled the room.

• The headlines continued to follow Zacharia even after she left the briefing. Later on Tuesday, Trump was asked which state the press secretary had passed her bar exam in, given the fact that she’s described herself as a lawyer multiple times. The president then turned to the supposed lawyer (who was standing behind him), and asked, “Which state?” She replied that she’d passed the licensing exam “when I moved to China,” an interesting answer given the fact that you can only sit for the bar at testing locations in the U.S., and because she supposedly worked as general counsel to a conservative group in California before taking the White House job. 

• According to the Guardian, records show that she hasn’t passed the bar in the 38 states where attorney lists are publicly available. The California bar association also stated that nobody with her name had passed the exam in the state, adding, “Due to confidentiality laws, the State Bar can only confirm whether someone passed the bar exam, not whether they took the bar exam.” In California, it’s a crime to call yourself a lawyer without being licensed, though Zacharia hasn’t been charged with any related offenses.

The Pool Party Is Back

• Good news for the news: on Tuesday, a federal judge ruled that the president can’t block media organizations from covering his White House activities just because he disagrees with their coverage. The ruling follows up on Trump’s attempt to ban CNN, Politico, and MS NOW from the White House press pool last month as punishment for their less-than-favorable coverage, which the news organizations sued to block.

• “The ban threatens to cut off all Plaintiffs’ access to the White House press area — a space open to many of their competitors — thereby restricting their ability to observe happenings there firsthand, immediately report on those activities, and try to engage with government officials,” wrote the judge (a Trump appointee) in his decision, noting that “President Trump’s own comments suggest that he intended the revocation of Plaintiffs’ hard passes to alter their reporting on him.”

• The decision isn’t the final word in this face-off between the president and the press – instead, it’s a stopgap extension of the restraining order that Kelly put in place late last month, which blocks the Trump administration from banning the media organizations from the White House press pool. A final decision on the ban will come when the news organizations’ case against the White House makes its way through the court system.

Additional USA News

• Dolan Is Using the Knicks Against Hochul (NYMag) 

• Administration delays release of IRS data showing impact of GOP tax cuts (Politico)

• The Trump Administration and the Shrinking Number of Women in Top Roles (NYT, $)

• Social Security recipients to get 3.6% cost of living boost, an average of $75 per month (AP)

• Ilhan Omar’s phone seized and relatives subpoenaed in criminal inquiry, source says (Guardian) 

• Trump defends gifted Air Force One from Qatar and makes 2nd Amendment pitch as he campaigns for GOP (AP)

A New Leg Of The AI Race

• It’s been quite a week for AI. On Monday, Meta announced its newest frontier model, Muse Wonder Full, which the company says can compete with the best offerings from Anthropic and OpenAI. The model marks (get it?) the company’s first big foray into frontier models, and its release signals the arrival of another big tech firm in the AI race. While it lacks the user base of Anthropic and OpenAI at the moment, Meta was able to quickly attract users for its lighter-weight Muse agent thanks to the company’s massive reach via its social media platforms. Expect to see some more AI-related buttons on Instagram soon!

• The next day, Google — which has been largely quiet on the AI front since releasing its groundbreaking Gemini 3 model last year — suddenly announced the release of Gemini 4 Argon, its own new frontier model. Besides bringing the tech giant back into the AI conversation, the announcement was notable for its pricing. Tokens for the model (which are spent when an AI processes information) cost up 80% less than other leading AI models’, signaling that Google is willing to throw its considerable financial weight around in the growing industry. Both of the week’s releases could signal danger for the usual AI firms, as the tech giants could eat away at their user bases from different angles.

Additional Reads

• How to handle jealous feelings (Psyche)

• I tried out Apple’s HomeView smart display (Verge) 

• The first new sunscreen type in 25 years has arrived on US store shelves (AP) 

• A perfect storm: how the super El Niño is devastating the fishing industry (Guardian)

• Brooklyn novelty shop reeling from 'surreal' row with Kelly Clarkson over mechanical bird (BBC)

• Toilet paper and secret recorders: What we know about the arrest of the Saudi OpenAI engineer (BBC) 

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Peanut For Your Thoughts

Sorry I’m just really obsessed by this whole Nord Stream story for some reason

Editor + Writer: Marcus Gee-Lim

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