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October 5, 2026 
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Good evening. Here’s the latest at the end of Monday.
- Justices hear a major climate case
- The first 2026 Nobel Prize is awarded
- Plus, 100 big unanswered questions
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| Demonstrators at the Supreme Court today. Alex Kent/The New York Times |
Supreme Court begins term with a major climate case
The Supreme Court spent the opening hours of its new term hearing a complex dispute over whether local governments can hold oil companies responsible for the damages of climate change. It was not clear from the arguments if either side had the upper hand, in part because Justice Samuel Alito — who owns oil company stock — recused himself.
The legal fight began eight years ago, when officials in Boulder, Colo., sued two oil companies, Exxon Mobil and Suncor Energy, claiming that they should be liable for a share of the costs for disasters like droughts, fires and floods. A win for Boulder would likely clear the way for dozens of similar lawsuits, together demanding billions of dollars in damages. A win for the companies could doom those efforts.
During the arguments today, justices across the ideological spectrum posed skeptical questions to the oil companies. The liberal justices seemed likely to side with Boulder; Justice Elena Kagan compared this case to earlier tobacco and opioid lawsuits. The conservatives were more receptive to the companies’ arguments, though Boulder needs only one of their votes to prevail because of Alito’s recusal.
For more:
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| Ships near the Strait of Hormuz on Friday. Agence France-Presse — Getty Images |
Attacks in the Persian Gulf renew energy supply fears
At least 11 tankers have been attacked in and around the Strait of Hormuz over the last week, including four in the last two days. The strikes are a reminder that the recent rebound in oil exports from the Middle East is a result of fragile workarounds and successful U.S. military protection, not a cessation of violence.
In fact, the regional conflict appeared to deepen over the weekend, when the Saudi-backed government of Yemen announced a major military campaign against the Iran-backed Houthi militia.
At a speech today in London, the chief executive of Saudi Arabia’s national oil company said that the world’s oil stockpiles had fallen from 10 billion barrels when the Iran war started to six billion barrels — a number he called “scarily thin.”
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| President Trump in Mobile, Ala. on Friday. Doug Mills/The New York Times |
Republicans are racing to defend their turf
President Trump is beginning this week with a rally in Nebraska, after ending last week with an event in Alabama. Later tonight, Vice President JD Vance is speaking in Alaska. Just two years ago, Trump won all three states by double digits. (Follow here for the latest updates.)
Our latest poll found strength for Democrats in several reliably Republican states, in both Senate and governor’s races.
For more on politics:
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| Pool photo by Angela Weiss |
Nobel Prize week has begun
Karl Deisseroth, Peter Hegemann and Georg Nagel were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine today for developing a tool to switch on specific brain cells with pulses of light. Their pioneering work in optogenetics has led to functional maps of the brain, and may one day lead to a treatment for blindness. Here’s what to know about it.
The other five Nobel Prizes will be announced later this week, for work in physics, chemistry, economic sciences, literature and peace. This year, there were 287 candidates for the peace prize.
More top news
- Congress: Dennis Hastert, the longest-serving Republican speaker of the House, later admitted to sexually abusing teenage wrestlers as a coach. He died Saturday at 84.
- Brazil: Flávio Bolsonaro, the right-wing son of former president Jair Bolsonaro, won more votes than the left-wing incumbent, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, in the first round of presidential voting.
- Ukraine: The remaining residents of Oleshky, a frontline wasteland isolated by mines and drones, now face starvation.
- Texas: Ken Paxton, the attorney general and Republican Senate candidate, is investigating doctors for vaccinating children.
- Media: Karoline Leavitt became the third of Trump’s former press secretaries to join Fox News.
- Russia: Rumors have been swirling for days about whether an employee of a Siberian “anti-plague institute” was sickened or killed by the disease. Here’s what we know.
- Arizona: Some of Mexico’s most powerful and violent cartels are being armed by American high school students and young adults.
- Ohio: Two men face the possibility of time behind bars after an argument about Trump at a dog park led them to shoot at each other.
- India: A food inspector’s surprise raids of Mumbai kitchens have made him a celebrity.
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| Photo illustration by Jane Stockdale for The New York Times |
My colleagues asked 100 scientists about the big, unanswered questions in their fields. Some you’ve probably thought about, like: What preceded the Big Bang? But have you ever wondered why humans are the only species with a chin?
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| Jiwoong Hong/The New York Times |
Do you want to dance with a robot?
People have spent generations talking about a future where humanoid robots do our chores, act as our companions and provide us with entertainment. Now, Galaxy Robot Park in South Korea seems to be arguing that such a future is already arriving.
There, robots dance to K-pop, play soccer, serve drinks and draw portraits of visitors. The technology has clearly improved, but it’s still far from finished.
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| The New York Times |
You don’t need a car to explore the world
Some of Southeast Asia’s most culture-packed cities are connected by affordable rail lines. For just $135, our writer took a 1,200-mile journey from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur to Bangkok, stopping along the way for street food and cave walks. Join him.
Separately, our Frugal Traveler columnist, Elaine Glusac, went to Ireland to see how much she could see without renting a car. The pictures are incredible.
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| George Etheredge for The New York Times |
Dinner table topics
