Happy Thursday Everyone! Today’s newsletter: 1,182 words…4.5 mins
🗞 Today’s Edition: Ukraine's Blackouts, Kenya Stadium Funeral Turns Deadly, India & Russia Deny Trump's Statement, Boris Johnson Wants ChatGPT to Run Budget, Arc De Trump...& much more!
🚨 Watch For:
President Zelensky to visit the White House: Friday, Oct 17th
President Trump will attend the ASEAN summit. He is expected to meet President Xi Jinping and oversee the Cambodia-Thailand peace deal: Oct. 26th-28th
📜THE HIGHLIGHT
One killer insight to stash in your back pocket
Left: Blackout in Kyiv metro; Right: Blackout in Kyiv. Source: X/@realtoriabrook and X/angelshalagina
🔦 🇺🇦 Winter Is Coming: Ukraine’s Fourth Blackout—And It's the Worst One Yet
Ukraine is bracing for its coldest, darkest winter yet, as waves of Russian missile and drone strikes have shredded its power grid — again.
It’s going to be a difficult winter, and we must develop several scenarios, including the worst one…
We must tell people the truth rather than offer reassurance. A new attack is likely in the coming days.
The attacks: Hundreds of Russian drones and dozens of missiles — torched critical substations, heating plants and transformer hubs across nine regions, including Kyiv, Odessa, and Sumy, claiming retaliation for Ukraine’s strikes on civilian facilities.
National operator Ukrenergo confirmed emergency blackouts across nearly all regions, with rolling outages now the new normal.
The winter schedule? Two hours of light, four hours of blackout.
Officials say this marks the worst grid damage since 2023, forcing the government to ration power to keep the system from total collapse.
Energy Minister Svitlana Hrynchuk bluntly described Moscow’s goal: “to plunge Ukrainian cities into darkness and cold.”
In Kyiv, Mayor Vitali Klitschko in televised remarks, told residents to prepare for the “worst-case scenario”:
Stock water, canned food, winter gear, charge power banks, prepare first-aid kits, and obey air-raid alerts.
Public transport and water supply are flickering, while emergency crews scramble to stabilize what’s left of the grid.
FYI: Mean temperature between December and March falls below 0°C (32°F)
💡Why it matters: Ukraine’s energy war isn’t about power — it’s about resilience. Putin is betting he can freeze Ukraine into submission faster than Western aid can arrive. With the grid this fragile, the coming months are a race against time, cold, and darkness. The world watches to see if Ukraine’s spirit can outlast its power supply.
♟️THE CHESSBOARD
Geopolitics Decoded In 3 Moves
🧨 Kenya's Odinga Funeral Turns Deadly After Police Fire At Mourners
Tens of thousands packed Nairobi's Moi Stadium to mourn Raila Odinga—Kenya's 80-year-old opposition icon who died in India.
When crowds surged past barricades, police deployed tear gas and live rounds, killing at least three people and injuring dozens in stampedes.
Who was Odinga? Five-time presidential candidate, democracy champion, and hero to Kenya's Luo ethnic base in the west.
His death marks the end of a half-century political dynasty that challenged every regime since independence.
The deeper fracture: President William Ruto declared seven days of mourning and called Odinga a "unifier"—but his cops just shot the man's supporters.
💡Why it matters: The violence exposes Kenya's ethnic fault lines and brittle coalition politics heading into 2027 elections.
🛢 Trump Says Modi Promised to Ditch Russian Oil — Delhi Says “What Call?”
Trump told reporters on Wednesday that Modi "assured me today" India would stop buying Russian oil.
Problem: India's Foreign Ministry said "there was no call yesterday" between the leaders and they're "not aware of any such conversation."
Russia's move: Kremlin stayed diplomatic but shaded Trump hard:
[Moscow operates based on] documented agreements and open declarations, not alleged private exchanges.
Ryabkov reaffirmed that the Russia–India energy partnership remains stable and preparations for Putin’s December state visit to India are “proceeding intensively”.
💡 Bottom line: India remains one of Russia’s top crude buyers — and Trump’s tariff threats aren’t stopping that flow anytime soon.
🤖 Boris Johnson Wants ChatGPT to Run Britain's Budget
Former UK PM Boris Johnson says Britain should unleash ChatGPT and other AI tools to slash bureaucracy and cut government costs.
In an interview with Al Arabiya English, he claimed AI could handle “most of the paperwork” behind megaprojects like the HS2 rail project, where billions vanish into legal and planning red tape.
Johnson, who says he “loves ChatGPT” and uses it for writing, argued that automating the civil service could “end the tax doom loop” and fuel growth.
The tell: Boris admitted he uses ChatGPT while writing books because it gives him "encouraging feedback" like calling his questions "clever" and "excellent."
💡 Bottom line: Boris thinks AI can fix Britain’s budget — and maybe his writing career, too.
🗽THE EMPIRE FILES
Political Drama From DC To NYC
President Trump at the White House showcasing the three models for the monument
🏛 Trump’s “Arc de Trump”
President Trump wants to mark America’s 250th anniversary with a monumental arch modeled after Paris’ Arc de Triomphe — dubbed the “Arc de Trump.”
Planned near Arlington National Cemetery, Trump preferred the largest of three models — featuring marble eagle sculptures and a gilded Victory statue facing the Lincoln Memorial.
Trump joked it’s “basically for me,” pitching it during a $250M White House ballroom fundraiser.
Funding will be routed from leftover donations from the ballroom project.
⚡Bottom line: DC might soon get its most Trumpian landmark yet — pending permits, of course.
🪧 “No Kings” Protests Set for Nationwide Rollout
A nationwide protest called “No Kings” is set to take place Saturday, Oct. 18, with over 2,500 events planned across all 50 states.
Organized by groups including the ACLU, MoveOn, and Indivisible, the demonstrations aim to oppose what organizers call abuses of power by the current administration.
Speaker Mike Johnson called the protest a “hate America rally”
⚡The White House has acknowledged the protests, emphasizing that peaceful demonstrations are protected but warning against any unlawful activity.
🤖 CODES & POWER
Tech Wars, Crypto Chaos, and AI’s Black Mirror Moments
🐶 China’s Robo Dogs Hit The Streets
In Hangzhou, sleek AI-powered robot dogs have begun street patrols, joining local law enforcement as part of China’s smart city push.
Outfitted with 360° cameras, sensors, and real-time surveillance tools, they scan for safety risks and feed live data to officers.
⚡Hangzhou—already a national AI pilot zone—is using these robotic patrols to boost urban efficiency, signaling China’s growing reliance on AI-driven public safety tech.
📉 Bitcoin Wobbles
Bitcoin $BTC.X ( ▲ 0.54% ) slipped under $110,000 on Wednesday before stabilizing, as traders pulled back amid macro jitters from a U.S. government shutdown and U.S.-China trade tensions.
Analysts see $107K–$110K as a key support zone—losing it could trigger slides toward $98K or even $82K.
⚡ Crypto-linked stocks also tumbled up to 14%, while gold rallied—fueling the old “digital gold vs real gold” debate once again.
📺 FUN FACTS & TRIVIA
☕ Beethoven Was A Coffee Snob
He meticulously counted exactly 60 beans per cup by hand for his daily brew—a ritual starting his mornings. This anecdote comes from his secretary Anton Schindler’s 1840 biography, describing his "oriental fastidiousness."
Though Schindler’s accuracy is debated, Beethoven’s notebooks confirm heavy coffee use from the 1790s, and visitors corroborated his precise home brewing. It likely fueled his intense creativity.