Nova Newsletter
October 23, 2025
☕ Good morning. 1,677 words for you today - 8 minute read.
The Spotlight
1. Louvre Reopens after €88 Million Jewel Heist
Visitors queued up outside the world's most-visited museum early on Wednesday
The Louvre Museum reopened Wednesday, three days after thieves stole French crown jewels worth €88 million in an eight-minute daylight raid.
Takeaways:
The Apollo Gallery, site of the theft, remains closed for investigation.
Four masked thieves used power tools and ladders to access the gallery.
One in three Louvre rooms reportedly lacked CCTV at the time.
President Emmanuel Macron called the heist an “attack on heritage.”
Museum director Laurence des Cars admitted “we failed to protect these jewels” in remarks to the French Senate. She cited structural security flaws and urged partial closures for upgrades.
Investigators believe the robbers were acting for a criminal organization. Security has been tightened across France’s cultural institutions.
Authorities say they are confident the culprits will be caught soon. Read More
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2. Six Arrested after Violent Protest Outside Dublin Asylum Hotel
Six people were arrested after a crowd of about 500 clashed with police outside a Dublin hotel housing asylum seekers, following reports of a child’s sexual assault nearby.
Takeaways:
Protesters threw bricks, bottles, and fireworks, and set a police van on fire.
Officers used pepper spray; one was injured.
Some rioters tried to breach police lines using horse-drawn carts.
Prime Minister Micheál Martin condemned the “mob violence.”
The unrest erupted Tuesday night outside the CityWest Hotel in Saggart, on Dublin’s outskirts. Videos showed Irish tricolor flags waving amid chaos as riot police held the line.
Police Commissioner Justin Kelly called the rioters “a mob intent on violence.” Similar anti-immigrant protests have flared across Ireland in recent years.
Authorities vowed tighter security around migrant housing sites. Read More
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3. Children Killed in Russian Strikes after Trump-Putin talks Paused
A man was reported killed and children wounded in an attack on a kindergarten in Kharkiv
At least seven people, including two children, were killed as Russian missiles and drones hit Ukrainian cities just hours after U.S. President Donald Trump shelved plans for a summit with Vladimir Putin.
Takeaways:
A kindergarten in Kharkiv and homes near Kyiv were hit, wounding 27.
Russia launched more than 400 drones and 28 missiles overnight.
Kyiv faced its first large-scale bombardment in two weeks.
Trump said the planned Budapest summit with Putin was on hold.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky linked the paused summit to U.S. hesitation over supplying Tomahawk missiles, saying it reduced Russia’s interest in diplomacy.
Zelensky later signed an agreement in Oslo for Sweden to send up to 150 Gripen jets over the next decade.
Moscow insists summit preparations continue despite Washington’s pause. Read More
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Quick Headlines
Flight 6469 parked on the tarmac at Omaha's Eppley Airfield after pilots made an emergency landing on Monday, October 20. - @ShiromaLeialoha/X
The White House has scrapped plans for a Trump-Putin meeting in Budapest after U.S.-Russia peace terms clashed, ending hopes for progress on Ukraine talks despite recent high-level calls. Read More
A woman shot and killed a man who groped and threatened customers inside a Compton store Sunday, authorities said. Investigators say the man became violent and appeared to brandish a knife before being shot; witnesses are urged to contact the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department. Read More
A newly released affidavit reveals that Rene Najera and several others fired more than 200 shots at two cars in a March ambush in Kansas City, Kansas, killing one man and injuring two. Najera, wounded by friendly fire, now faces murder and assault charges. Read More
Estefanía Restrepo Valencia, a 26-year-old Colombian influencer known as “La Traviesa,” died from stab wounds after an alleged robbery attack near Medellín. Police are investigating her partner’s account and reviewing surveillance footage. Read More
Tropical Storm Melissa is slowly tracking west-northwest across record-warm Caribbean waters and could strengthen into a major hurricane early next week. Meteorologists warn of catastrophic rain and flooding across Haiti, Jamaica, Cuba, and the Dominican Republic. Read More
Ukraine and Sweden signed a letter of intent to export up to 150 JAS 39 Gripen E fighter jets, a major step toward modernizing Kyiv’s air force with aircraft built to counter Russian threats. The $85 million jets could begin arriving next year. Read More
Deep Dive
4. Statehouses Flooded with Anti-Science Bills Reshaping Public Health
Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. listens to deputy chief of staff Stefanie Spear speaks to him during a hearing the Senate Finance Committee, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Sept. 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File)
An Associated Press investigation found more than 420 bills attacking vaccines, fluoride, and milk safety introduced in U.S. legislatures this year, marking a sweeping push to dismantle public health protections built over a century.
Takeaways
At least 30 of the 420 anti-science bills have passed in 12 states, many linked to networks tied to Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Anti-vaccine bills dominate the wave, accounting for over 350 proposals, including labeling mRNA vaccines as “weapons of mass destruction.”
Advocates frame the movement as “health freedom,” but experts say it mainstreams conspiracy theories and weakens disease prevention.
Public health data show vaccine-preventable diseases like measles and whooping cough are resurging in under-immunized regions.
The legislative push has become politically coordinated, with Kennedy allies and national advocacy groups guiding local lawmakers.
Behind the surge is the “Make America Healthy Again” agenda, which blends skepticism of vaccines with calls for “natural living.” AP found the campaign funded and organized by a tight network of Kennedy associates and anti-vaccine groups like Stand for Health Freedom and the National Vaccine Information Center.
Since January, lawmakers have proposed rolling back or banning fluoride in drinking water, expanding raw milk sales, and easing vaccine mandates. Nearly all measures trace back to coordinated national talking points circulated via Zoom calls with Kennedy’s advisors.
Public health experts warn the political normalization of these ideas threatens to reverse decades of progress. Global vaccination efforts have saved 150 million lives since 1974, yet U.S. vaccination rates are slipping as misinformation spreads. “Conspiracy thinking now guides public policy,” said Devin Burghart of the Institute for Research and Education on Human Rights. “People are literally going to die from it.”
The fight now defines the fault line between personal liberty and public responsibility a test of how much science the nation is willing to sacrifice for ideology. Read More
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On Our Radar
5. Nicole Kidman Reconnects with Lenny Kravitz Post-Divorce
Photo by Kevin Mazur/WireImage via Getty
Nicole Kidman is reportedly rekindling her relationship with musician Lenny Kravitz as she moves on from her recent split with Keith Urban.
Takeaways:
Kidman, 58, filed for divorce from Urban, 57, last month after nearly 20 years of marriage.
Sources say she’s rediscovering herself and seeking joy after the breakup.
Kidman and Kravitz, 61, were once engaged in the early 2000s after she rented his Manhattan apartment.
Insiders believe timing may finally be right for the two stars.
Friends say Kidman’s connection with Kravitz never fully faded and that the pair have recently reconnected. Both are reportedly in stronger, more grounded stages of life.
The rekindled relationship signals a fresh chapter for Kidman after years of public scrutiny. Read More
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6. Kenny Loggins Demands Trump Remove AI Video using “Danger Zone”
Singer Kenny Loggins has demanded that Donald Trump take down an AI-generated video using his 1986 hit “Danger Zone” to mock anti-Trump protests.
Takeaways:
The clip showed an AI Trump dumping waste from a jet on “No Kings” protesters.
Loggins said he wasn’t asked permission and called the video divisive.
The video remains on Trump’s Truth Social account as of Tuesday.
The White House replied with a “Top Gun” meme instead of a statement.
In a post Monday, Loggins said he wanted the video removed and urged unity, saying, “Too many people are trying to tear us apart.”
Trump has repeatedly used popular songs in political videos without clearance, prompting objections from multiple artists.
The video controversy adds to growing debate over AI use in campaign media. Read More
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8. 🎉 This day in history
25,000 women march in New York City demanding right to vote
On This Day — October 23
Women’s Suffrage March Fills Fifth Avenue, 1915 – Around 25,000 supporters led by Anna Howard Shaw and Carrie Chapman Catt rally in New York City, demanding voting rights for women in one of the largest suffrage marches in U.S. history.
Dillinger Gang Strikes Indiana Bank, 1933 – Notorious outlaw John Dillinger and his crew rob the Central National Bank in Greencastle, Indiana, escaping with $75,000 amid a string of high-profile Depression-era heists.
The Smurfs Make Their Debut, 1958 – Belgian cartoonist Peyo introduces the blue, mushroom-dwelling characters in Johan and Peewit, marking the first appearance of The Smurfs and the start of a global pop culture phenomenon.
9. Poll
Life Hack of the day
🍚 📱 Dry Rice Phone Saver
Accidentally dropped your phone in water? Don’t panic, grab some dry rice! Turn off your phone, remove the case and battery if possible, then submerge it in a bowl of uncooked rice for at least 24 hours. The rice helps draw out moisture and can save your device from water damage.
That’s your morning brief. Now go show someone how smart you are. 🧠
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