Public Health
U.S. Measles Cases Pass 4,800 in Record Year as Outbreaks Continue
The CDC counted 4,852 cases nationwide as of last Friday, well above 2025’s total, with Pennsylvania the hardest-hit state, NBC News reported.
Year
The newest stories in The Monochrome Chronicles that mention Year, newest first.
Israel
Trump Says U.S. Will Stop Israel Aid at Year’s End, Scope Unclear
The president made the claim on Election Day; Netanyahu’s office declined to comment, and analysts told Al Jazeera that Congress, not the president alone, controls the money.
Tennessee
Hatcher Campaign Says Lee Extended Dyed Diesel Relief to Year-End
The extension for farmers and loggers was announced in a congressional candidate’s release, according to WSMV; no state announcement was found.
Public Health
CDC Report Says Drug-Resistant Germs Cause About 50,800 Deaths a Year
The agency’s updated threat assessment estimates 9.7 million resistant infections annually and lists a fungus that spreads in hospitals among the most urgent dangers.
Paleontology
237-Million-Year-Old Fossils Point to an Amphibian That Lived Entirely at Sea
Two armored skeletons from southern China suggest Gerrothorax maritimus survived in salt water, something no living amphibian is known to do.
Explainer
How Data Centers Became an Issue in This Year’s Midterm Campaigns
The giant computing facilities behind the AI boom have turned into a target for candidates in both parties, as neighbors complain about power bills, water, noise and land.
Public Health
Measles Cases Near Double Last Year’s Total as Vaccine Policy Enters the Race
The country has recorded more than 4,400 cases this year, the most in decades. Two former Republican congressmen who are physicians warn that their party’s mixed signals on vaccines are hurting public health and its candidates.
Inflation
Wholesale Prices Rise 6.3 Percent From a Year Ago, the Fastest Pace Since 2022
The producer price index came in above forecasts for September, led by gasoline and diesel. Economists see it as a warning that more price increases may reach consumers, and as pressure on the Fed ahead of its meeting this month.
Prices
Halloween Candy Costs More This Year Even as Cocoa Prices Retreat
Government data show candy and gum prices up about 8% from a year ago, and chocolate makers’ earlier cocoa purchases mean the relief has not yet reached store shelves.
Public Health
Measles Cases in the United States Top 4,000, Far Past Last Year’s Record
Federal data show 95 percent of patients were unvaccinated or of unknown status. A Pennsylvania outbreak centered in Plain communities has passed 1,000 cases, and New York has declared an emergency.
Medicine
Gene Therapy Built on This Year’s Medicine Nobel Partly Restores Sight
Ten people blinded by retinitis pigmentosa received an eye injection and special goggles. Six gained meaningful light sensitivity, researchers report, though none can yet make out faces.
Panda Diplomacy
Giant Pandas Return to Atlanta on a 10-Year Loan From China
Ping Ping and Fu Shuang landed in Georgia days after a summit between President Trump and Xi Jinping. Visitors will have to wait while the pair settle in.
Spending Fight
Trump Moves to Cancel $810 Million in Approved Spending as Fiscal Year Runs Out
The White House used a late-year “pocket rescission” that lets money expire before Congress can vote. The Senate’s top Republican appropriator called it unlawful.
Music
Madonna Wins Artist of the Year and Taylor Swift Takes Video of the Year at VMAs
The show in Los Angeles opened with Madonna’s first VMAs performance in more than two decades and included a tribute to Dolly Parton.
Trade
U.S. Declines to Renew the USMCA Trade Pact at Its Six-Year Review
Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said the United States did not agree to extend the North American deal in its current form. The pact stays in force until 2036, with annual reviews and continued talks.
Grammys
Bad Bunny Wins Album of the Year, a First for a Spanish-Language Record
Kendrick Lamar also became the most-awarded rapper in Grammy history, and Bad Bunny used his speech to criticize immigration enforcement.
Artificial Intelligence
Apple and Google Announce Multi-Year Deal to Build Siri on Gemini Models
A joint statement says Apple’s next generation of AI models will be based on Google’s technology, with a more personalized Siri due this year.
Switzerland
Swiss Prosecutors Seek Detention of Bar Co-Owner After Fire Kills 40
Switzerland held a national day of mourning for victims of the New Year’s blaze at a ski-resort bar, where most of the dead were teenagers.
Health Care
House Passes Three-Year ACA Subsidy Extension 230-196 Over Speaker’s Objection
Seventeen Republicans joined Democrats to approve the bill after a discharge petition forced the vote, but the Senate is not poised to take it up.
Travel Ban
Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger Bar U.S. Citizens in Reply to Travel Ban
The three West African juntas cited reciprocity as the White House’s wider entry restrictions on their nationals took effect on New Year’s Day.
New York
Zohran Mamdani Takes the Oath as New York City’s 112th Mayor
The 34-year-old democratic socialist was sworn in at a disused subway station just after midnight, with a larger public ceremony set for later on New Year’s Day.
Supreme Court
Roberts’s Year-End Report Turns to 1776 and Avoids Current Court Disputes
The chief justice wrote that judges must do “equal right to the poor and to the rich” but did not address attacks on judges or pending Trump cases.
Climate
NOAA Report Finds Arctic Had Its Hottest Year on Record
The annual Arctic Report Card also found record-low winter sea ice and warns that budget cuts could weaken the measurements behind it.
Words of the Year
Merriam-Webster Picks “Slop” as Its 2025 Word of the Year
The dictionary defines the term as low-quality digital content, mostly AI-made; Oxford chose “rage bait.”
South America
Peru Reported Unwilling to Accept Kellogg’s Plan in the Tacna-Arica Dispute
President Leguia’s New Year message hints the idea of ceding the provinces to Bolivia is unacceptable, and a Chilean paper scoffs at U.S. mediation.
Federal Finance
Treasury Ends First Half of Fiscal Year With a $218 Million Surplus
Income tax and customs receipts rose in the last quarter, and the public debt fell by more than $1.17 billion during 1926.
