Good morning. Thanks largely in part to looksmaxxing influencer Clavicular, everyone seems to be trying to maximize something these days. So much so, in fact, that Dictionary.com just crowned “maxxing” its 2026 Word of the Year. In the spirit of self-improvement, we're doing a little newsmaxxing today.

In today’s edition, we’ll cover the largest Ebola outbreak in history, an amphibian that broke the rules of evolution, huge voter turnout for the midterms, and much more.

P.S. Need to get into the Halloween spirit before the big day? Catch up with our special edition... if you dare.

— Chase Goepfert, Founder of NextGen News

Ever get the thought that a little too much of your information is online? Well, you should, because the government is trying to see if companies are using it to get you to pay more.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is taking a closer look at a practice called surveillance pricing, where businesses use customers' personal data to charge different people different prices for the same product.

So, instead of everyone seeing the same price for a plane ticket or grocery delivery:

Everything is on the table: Companies can use virtually any personal data they have access to (or buy from data brokers), including your location, credit score, psychological profile, browsing history, purchase habits, search activity, device information, and much, much more. In fact, the FTC found that even your mouse movements could help determine the prices or promotions you're shown.

The government agency isn't limiting its investigation to obscure websites, as household names like Walmart, Target, Delta, Uber, and DoorDash are being put under the microscope.

In the investigation, they’ll be asked to explain how their pricing algorithms work, what information they collect, and if that information changes what customers pay:

But here's the interesting part: Surveillance pricing isn't technically illegal, as businesses have been adjusting prices based on demand, location, and customer discounts for decades. However, regulators are now questioning whether secretly using someone's personal information to charge them more crosses a legal line.

While Election Day won’t come until the weekend is over, tens of millions of Americans have already made their voices heard in early voting polls.

With control of Congress and many state offices on the line, voters seem pretty eager to get their ballots in early. More than 40 million ballots have been cast ahead of the midterms, according to the University of Florida's Election Lab (see data).

Some states in particular are seeing strong participation. As of writing:

Interestingly, both states prefer in-person voting. Roughly 96% of Texas's early ballots have been cast at polling places, with North Carolina seeing a similar trend. Georgia isn't far behind at 95%, as requests for mail ballots in the state have dropped more than 45% since 2022.

That’s not the case everywhere: Nearly half of all early votes nationwide have been cast by mail, with Michigan leading the way at roughly 81%. California, meanwhile, has accepted more than 4 million mail ballots, over twice as many as any other state.

Part of the shift could come down to trust, as Americans in general (across party lines, gender, and income level) are more confident in ballots that are cast in person.

According to a recent Pew Research Center survey:

Will that have a big impact on the elections? Not really. Lower mail voting doesn't automatically mean lower turnout, and it certainly doesn't tell us which party will win.

Washington shut this gold mine in 1942. Gold now trades above $4,000, and a company valued under $20 million owns it and is drilling again. Get the free report.

🕷 Spiders experience sleep exactly like humans do. Scientists studying jumping spiders found that the tiny creatures experience REM-like sleep, complete with twitching legs, trembling mouthparts, and rapidly moving eyes, just like humans do when dreaming. When researchers kept the spiders awake by introducing fruit flies into their enclosures, they spent nearly 80% more time in REM-like sleep the next night, apparently making up for lost rest. It's the first evidence of “sleep rebound” in an invertebrate, which suggests complex sleep patterns may have evolved much earlier than we thought. While scientists can't prove that spiders actually dream, the findings raise the fascinating possibility that the eight-legged hunters might replay their adventures while they snooze.

🩸 Researchers make implant that removes sugar from blood. Scientists in Switzerland have developed a tiny electronic implant that could one day help people manage type 2 diabetes without insulin or other drugs. Instead of telling the body how to handle sugar, the device uses electricity to convert excess glucose into a substance that can be flushed out through urine. It even connects to a smartphone or smartwatch, automatically switching on when blood sugar gets too high and shutting off once levels return to normal. When tested with diabetic mice, the implant successfully worked for over six weeks, controlling their blood sugar and helping the animals lose weight. While it hasn't been tested in humans yet, researchers believe it could offer an entirely new way to treat diabetes.

🦎 Scientists found an amphibian that broke the rules of evolution. Two nearly complete fossils found in China revealed the first known amphibian that lived entirely in the ocean roughly 237 million years ago. Named Gerrothorax maritimus, the bizarre creature was nearly three feet long, covered in bony armor, and likely spent its days lurking on the seafloor, sucking unsuspecting prey into its enormous mouth. Unlike modern amphibians, which generally can't survive in saltwater, researchers believe its armor helped keep seawater out while its gills filtered excess salt. The discovery completely changes what we thought we knew about amphibian evolution, and reveals that these animals once conquered the open ocean.

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A deadly Ebola outbreak has spread in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and health officials are saying there are troubling signs that the situation could get even worse.

More than 10,000 people have been infected since the outbreak was declared in May, with almost half of those cases proving fatal. Since then, it has kept proliferating:

Although infections aren’t rising as rapidly as they were earlier this year, they're not exactly falling, either.

International spread is a major concern: Over 400 new cases of the virus are being reported each week, and around 30 cases have already been reported in Uganda, Kenya, Nigeria, and France.

Stopping the virus has proved difficult… as health workers in Congo are struggling with armed conflict, damaged infrastructure, misinformation, and widespread distrust of medical authorities. To add to that, the outbreak was caused by the rare Bundibugyo virus, which currently has no approved vaccine or treatment options.

A new study found climbing the corporate ladder might have less to do with maximizing shareholder value and more to do with knowing when to shut up.

The study, published in Management Science, examined a whopping 78,500 earnings call transcripts featuring 10,864 executives speaking with analysts and investors over a decade. They found that:

But… those who invited others to speak only when facing criticism or uncomfortable questions were actually less likely to advance.

Why is opening the discussion such an important factor? Researchers say bringing colleagues into conversations about both wins and losses shows investors that a leader knows how to communicate with the people running the business, not just talk over them.

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→ A new AI-powered mosquito trap can identify species with over 98% accuracy using less energy than it takes to create an Instagram post, potentially revolutionizing how officials detect and contain disease outbreaks.

→ MIT researchers created one of the most detailed simulations of the early universe ever made, allowing scientists to watch the first stars and galaxies form over nearly 2 billion years.

→ A mysterious dinosaur fossil sitting in a British museum for 25 years has finally been identified as a new species, complete with thumb spikes and a body the size of a rhinoceros.

→ Scientists discovered a psychedelic compound found in toad venom could help relieve severe depression symptoms for weeks after just one dose.

→ A new study suggests mother bats can recognize and respond to their own babies' high-pitched cries, much like human mothers recognize their infants' calls.

→ Looking for a new hobby? Take this quiz.

→ Why are some sunsets unusually pretty?

→ Which words do Americans mispronounce the most?

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