Keeping up with the news is hard, and that’s why we’ve gathered the 10 mind blowing moments that defined this week. From explosive political threats to daring space launches, we’ve distilled the most remarkable, bizarre, and outright shocking stories so you can stay informed without the overwhelm.
10 Mind blowing Stories This Week
10 Pipe Bombs Were Mailed to Prominent Democrats (Plus CNN)
With the midterms looming, the rhetoric surrounding U.S. politics has turned so poisonous that watching the news feels like wading through an open sewer. This week the inevitable climax arrived: several pipe bombs were intercepted in the mail, aimed squarely at high‑profile Democrats and left‑leaning media outlets.
The devices bore the names of former President Barack Obama, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Representative Maxine Waters, former Attorney General Eric Holder, and ex‑CIA Director John Brennan. Intriguingly, the return address was listed as DNC Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, resulting in one bomb being routed back to her own office.
A second package addressed to Brennan was sent via CNN, prompting an evacuation of the network’s headquarters. This followed a similar bomb left at billionaire philanthropist George Soros’ address earlier in the week. Authorities suspect a bomb intended for Joe Biden was lost in transit, while another was later discovered addressed to actor and outspoken Democrat Robert De Niro.
Fortunately none of the devices detonated, but investigators confirmed they were fully functional explosive devices packed with shrapnel designed to inflict maximum harm.
This unsettling episode underscores how we’ve descended into a climate where some would rather kill a political opponent—or, more realistically, the staffer who would open the package—than engage in civil discourse.
As we noted back in June 2017, when GOP House Majority Whip Steve Scalise and four other Republicans were injured in a partisan shooting at a baseball game, incendiary rhetoric breeds violent action. Unless leaders in the media, Congress, and everyday social‑media users on both sides learn to mature and stop demonizing their opponents, incidents like this will keep surfacing.
And it’s only a matter of time before a misguided bomber or gunman gets lucky. When that happens, good luck trying to seal Pandora’s box of retaliation and death.
Update: A 56‑year‑old male suspect, identified as Cesar Sayoc, has been arrested in South Florida in connection with this domestic terrorism campaign. Though he lists a Florida address, early reports suggest ties to New York City and prior arrests for making terroristic threats. Some of the mail‑bomb packages were deemed too unstable for transport and were detonated by law‑enforcement authorities.
9 North And South Korea Began Removing Weapons From The DMZ
The demilitarized zone (DMZ) separating North and South Korea is, paradoxically, a heavily fortified strip of land bristling with mines, guard towers, snipers, and the like—hardly the picture most people conjure when they hear “demilitarized.”
However, that may change soon. On Monday, Seoul and Pyongyang jointly announced a plan to strip all firearms and dramatically cut guard posts at the border village of Panmunjom. This follows a de‑mining operation that began earlier this month, marking a significant stride toward normalizing relations between the two Koreas.
Only a year old, this thaw is still in its infancy, yet the positive signs keep piling up. The DMZ has been a heavily fortified corridor of death since the 1950s. That Pyongyang and Seoul are now reconnecting roads and rail lines across the border would have been unimaginable just 365 days ago. We can only hope the good news continues to roll in.
8 Poland’s Local Elections Were A Disappointment For Everyone
Just last week we covered how local elections in Germany’s Bavaria left establishment parties reeling while also delivering a slap to right‑wing populists. On Sunday, voters across Poland headed to the polls for their local elections, and—unsurprisingly—the outcome was a disappointment for every side.
The key distinction between Poland and Germany is that populists already sit in power in Poland. The Law and Justice party (PiS) has ruled since 2015, during which time it has reshaped the judiciary, curbed media freedom, and—fairly enough—raised living standards for many citizens. With such total control, expectations were high for a sweeping victory.
PiS indeed dominated in rural areas but fell dramatically short in the cities. In Warsaw, their candidate failed to force a runoff, and centrist Rafal Trzaskowski won handily in the first round—a major upset.
Meanwhile, the anti‑populist Civic Platform coalition performed better than anticipated, yet not enough to pose a serious threat to PiS in the upcoming 2020 elections. In short, a disappointment all around.
7 Bosnia Confirmed The Indictment Of A Bosniak General For War Crimes
Until April this year, former General Atif Dudaković was primarily known for leading the Bosnian army after the civil war. At the end of that month, he was unexpectedly arrested by Bosnian authorities and charged with war crimes against Serbs during the 1992‑95 conflict. This week, a Sarajevo court finally confirmed the indictment against him, setting his trial for October 31.
The case is significant because Dudaković is celebrated as a hero in many parts of Bosnia. He commanded the Fifth Corps against Serbian separatists during the darkest days of the war, which claimed over 100,000 lives. Yet he has long been accused of murdering Serbian civilians and ordering the demolition of Orthodox Serbian churches. Prosecutors now believe they can attribute up to 300 unlawful deaths to him.
There is a perception in some Bosnian and Serbian circles that only Serb commanders have faced prosecution for wartime atrocities. By bringing Dudaković to trial, the Special Department for War Crimes aims to demonstrate that justice truly is blind. We shall see whether he is ultimately convicted.
6 France’s Former President Moved Closer To Finally Being Put On Trial
Oh, how the mighty have fallen. On Thursday, France’s one‑time president Nicolas Sarkozy lost an appeal to dismiss an illegal campaign‑financing case against him. The court ruled that he must stand trial. While France still has one final appellate court left for Sarkozy, the odds are growing that the flamboyant centre‑right politician will soon find himself behind the dock.
In his heyday, Sarkozy seemed capable of weathering any scandal. Before losing re‑election in 2012, he survived revelations that could have toppled a lesser leader.
In 2012, however, the wheels came off. During his campaign, his PR firm Bygmalion allegedly breached campaign‑spending limits by nearly double the legal amount, using a fabricated invoicing system. Since those allegations surfaced, Sarkozy has been on a collision course with justice.
Beyond that, the former president also faces separate charges of illegal influence and accusations of accepting a massive bribe from Muammar Gaddafi in 2007. Sarkozy denies all allegations.
5 A Train Accident Led To Tragedy In India
It was one of those horrific accidents that feels almost unreal. Last Friday night, a massive crowd gathered outside Amritsar, India, to watch the annual burning of an effigy for the Hindu festival of Dussehra.
Organizers claimed they had secured permission from the local railway to use a train line as a temporary seating area, under the assumption that any incoming trains would crawl by at a snail’s pace while honking repeatedly.
Instead, a train barreled through at full speed just as a fireworks display roared, drowning out any warning sounds. The locomotive plowed into the crowd, killing at least 59 people and injuring hundreds more, including many children.
The tragedy sparked an outcry across India, with calls for answers. Police opened a murder investigation, though it remains unclear who bears responsibility. Some suspect the festival organizers never actually obtained railway permission as they claimed.
4 We Launched Our Most Ambitious Mission To Mercury Yet
Good news, fans of interplanetary probes! We’re about to learn more about Mercury than ever before. Early Saturday morning, a joint EU‑Japanese mission blasted off from French Guiana, setting course for the solar system’s innermost planet. Named BepiColombo, the mission carries two probes that will eventually orbit Mercury, delivering fresh insights into how our solar system formed.
BepiColombo follows NASA’s MESSENGER probe, which orbited Mercury from 2011 to 2015. Building on MESSENGER’s discoveries, BepiColombo is expected to resolve lingering mysteries about the little‑known planet, including the hypothesis that it originally formed farther out in the solar system before being drawn inward. It represents the most ambitious EU space project to date.
But first, it must reach its destination. While a direct flight could get a spacecraft to Mercury in a few months, it would then whizz past the Sun and likely crash into the scorching star. BepiColombo plans a long, circuitous, time‑consuming route to achieve a stable orbit, meaning it won’t arrive until 2025.
3 Massive Stock Market Falls Spooked The World
The chaos began with a Wall Street sell‑off on Wednesday, which accelerated into a full‑blown rout by market close. By the time Asian markets opened, panic had spread worldwide. Most stock exchanges saw declines not witnessed in years. At the time of writing, it appeared that all 2018 gains had been erased for the Dow and the S&P 500, while other markets teetered on the brink.
In the United States, the Nasdaq suffered its biggest single‑day drop in over seven years. Across Asia, South Korea’s Kospi opened at its lowest point since January 2017, and Japan’s Topix fell to its lowest since September 2017.
China continued its deep dive into bear‑market territory, while Hong Kong entered its longest streak of consecutive monthly declines since 1982. Europe wasn’t immune either; London’s FTSE 100 slumped to a seven‑month low.
What’s driving this turmoil? Nobody knows for sure. J.P. Morgan released a statement that essentially read: “Ehh, could be China, could be the Fed, could be the strong dollar, could be worries we’ve hit peak earnings, could be something else. Who knows?”
Still, fear not. A new financial crisis is unlikely. October is traditionally a volatile month for markets, and history shows that after sharp drops often come rapid, short‑term rebounds. Experts remain divided on the path ahead, but most agree markets will likely settle by year‑end.
2 Afghans Finally Voted Beneath A Shadow Of Violence
The elections on Saturday arrived a staggering three years late after persistent violence and a renewed Taliban insurgency forced the Afghan government to postpone them repeatedly. Spanning two days, they marked the beginning of a new electoral cycle, even as participants faced a wave of brutal violence.
As polls opened, the Taliban launched a series of deadly attacks on polling stations, killing at least 78 people. Simultaneously, they carried out indiscriminate rocket assaults on towns and orchestrated the kidnapping and execution of four election officials. In the surrounding chaos, smaller‑scale election violence wounded 470 individuals. It was one of the bleakest days Afghanistan had endured in months.
Nevertheless, citizens still turned out to vote, even as technical glitches forced the election to extend into Sunday. While results won’t be known until mid‑November, the vote marked the first fully Kabul‑run election since 2001—a modest step forward.
1 The Murder Of Journalist Jamal Khashoggi Continued To Cause Chaos
It’s been headline news for three weeks now. Ever since Washington Post journalist and Saudi‑born Jamal Khashoggi vanished inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, his apparent murder has gripped the world.
Part of the shock stems from the gruesome nature of the crime: Khashoggi was reportedly beaten, dismembered, and his body parts dumped in the woods surrounding Turkey’s largest city.
Equally disturbing is Saudi Arabia’s alleged cover‑up, which involved employing a body double of Khashoggi and coercing the journalist’s son into a photo‑op with the presumed killer, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS).
But the biggest impact is political. This botched hit has the power to reshape Middle Eastern geopolitics.
This week, Turkey’s president, Recep Erdogan, delivered a speech outlining Saudi involvement in the assassination. While he treaded carefully, it was clear he was trying to drive a wedge between King Salman and MBS. So far, that hasn’t materialized. Yet if the United States tightens pressure, it’s conceivable this murder could strip MBS of his future role as king.
If that occurs… well, the entire region could shift. MBS’s reforms have placed Saudi Arabia at the helm of Middle Eastern Muslim nations—a position Turkey desperately covets. How this high‑stakes drama will unfold remains to be seen, and we’ll likely be revisiting it in the months ahead.