{
  "slug": "2026-10-29-evening-4",
  "title": "Astronauts Unroll a New Solar Wing, Mistral Gives Away a Giant AI, and Drones Get Cell Service",
  "type": "evening",
  "label": "Evening Edition No. 4",
  "number": 4,
  "date": "2026-10-29T20:00:00-04:00",
  "summary": "Two astronauts unroll the space station's seventh new solar wing on a 7 hour spacewalk, Mistral releases the full Mistral Large 4 for anyone to download, the FCC lets drones use cellphone airwaves, ULA sets Vulcan's comeback for Nov. 13, the FDA proposes new baby formula rules, and dozens of big companies say no to tokens of their stock.",
  "url": "https://singularitynightly.com/editions/2026-10-29-evening-4/",
  "markdown_url": "https://singularitynightly.com/editions/2026-10-29-evening-4.md",
  "json_url": "https://singularitynightly.com/api/v1/editions/2026-10-29-evening-4.json",
  "window_start": "2026-10-28T18:00:00-04:00",
  "window_end": "2026-10-29T18:00:00-04:00",
  "editor": "Dennis W. Davis",
  "byline": "Edited by Dennis W. Davis. AI-assisted; see How We Make This.",
  "hero_image": {
    "url": "https://singularitynightly.com/img/editions/iss-roll-out-arrays-1920.jpg",
    "credit": "NASA/Jessica Meir",
    "alt": "The International Space Station's new roll-out solar arrays seen against Earth"
  },
  "in_60_seconds": [
    "Two astronauts spent about 7 hours outside the space station and unrolled a new solar wing, the seventh of eight that will give the station about a third more power.",
    "French AI company Mistral released Mistral Large 4 so anyone can download it, and an independent test now confirms Google's Gemini 4 Carbon as the top scoring AI.",
    "The FCC voted to let drones use cellphone airwaves for the first time since 1991, and voted to stop labs in China from testing electronics sold in the U.S.",
    "ULA set Nov. 13 for its Vulcan rocket's return to flight with 40 Amazon internet satellites, and the FDA proposed the first big update to baby formula nutrition rules in nearly 30 years."
  ],
  "sections": [
    {
      "heading": "In 60 Seconds",
      "id": "in-60-seconds"
    },
    {
      "heading": "Lead Signal",
      "id": "lead-signal"
    },
    {
      "heading": "The Ticker",
      "id": "the-ticker"
    },
    {
      "heading": "The Desks",
      "id": "the-desks"
    },
    {
      "heading": "Watch",
      "id": "watch"
    },
    {
      "heading": "Voices",
      "id": "voices"
    },
    {
      "heading": "By the Numbers",
      "id": "by-the-numbers"
    },
    {
      "heading": "Tomorrow's Watchlist",
      "id": "tomorrows-watchlist"
    }
  ],
  "lead": {
    "title": "Astronauts unroll a new solar wing on the space station",
    "text": "NASA astronaut Anil Menon and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Joshua Kutryk stepped outside the International Space Station at 7:57 AM ET Thursday to install a new roll-out solar array, the seventh of eight. Menon rode the station's robotic arm, Canadarm2, carrying the rolled-up array, while Kutryk worked at the far side of the station's long metal backbone, called the truss. The array unrolled like a carpet and was fully stretched out by about 12:36 PM ET, and the spacewalk ended at 3:08 PM ET after 7 hours and 11 minutes, Space.com reports. The crew worked ahead of schedule, and Space.com counts it as the 100th U.S. spacewalk from the station. Kutryk is the fifth Canadian to walk in space and the first since 2019. Each new array adds about 8 kilowatts. When the eighth goes up on a second spacewalk planned for Nov. 5, the station's power rises from about 160 to about 215 kilowatts, NASA says.",
    "why_it_matters": "the space station is a science lab the size of a football field, and everything on it runs on sunlight. These new wings are thin sheets that roll out on their own over the old panels, which have worn down after more than 20 years in harsh sunlight. More power means more experiments on medicine, materials and life in space. Two people did this by hand, 250 miles up, floating in spacesuits.",
    "image_url": "https://singularitynightly.com/img/editions/iss-roll-out-arrays-1920.jpg",
    "image_credit": "NASA/Jessica Meir"
  },
  "ticker": [
    {
      "beat": "AI",
      "desk_url": "https://singularitynightly.com/desks/ai/",
      "text": "Artificial Analysis now lists Google's Gemini 4 Carbon first on its Intelligence Index at 59, one point ahead of Claude Opus 5.5, confirming Google's claim.",
      "why_it_matters": "an outside tester has now checked the score, so Google holds the top spot for real.",
      "source_url": "https://artificialanalysis.ai/models/gemini-4-carbon",
      "video_id": null
    },
    {
      "beat": "AI",
      "desk_url": "https://singularitynightly.com/desks/ai/",
      "text": "Mistral released the full Mistral Large 4, about 1 trillion parameters, as open weights anyone can download, and cut its price about in half.",
      "why_it_matters": "one of the biggest AI models ever given away can now run on a company's own computers.",
      "source_url": "https://mistral.ai/news/mistral-large-4-oss/",
      "video_id": null
    },
    {
      "beat": "AI",
      "desk_url": "https://singularitynightly.com/desks/ai/",
      "text": "Voice AI company Deepgram is buying Daily, maker of the free Pipecat toolkit for building talking AI assistants; Pipecat stays free.",
      "why_it_matters": "AI you talk to out loud, like a phone agent, is becoming its own industry.",
      "source_url": "https://techcrunch.com/2026/10/29/deepgram-acquires-pipecat-maker-daily-to-bolster-its-voice-ai-infrastructure/",
      "video_id": null
    },
    {
      "beat": "AI",
      "desk_url": "https://singularitynightly.com/desks/ai/",
      "text": "Wabi, an app where an AI agent builds small personal apps for you, raised $55 million at a $1.25 billion value.",
      "why_it_matters": "people who cannot code may soon describe the app they want and get it.",
      "source_url": "https://techcrunch.com/2026/10/29/wabi-the-ai-agent-that-builds-mini-apps-now-valued-at-1-25b-after-latest-round/",
      "video_id": null
    },
    {
      "beat": "WILD",
      "desk_url": "https://singularitynightly.com/desks/wild/",
      "text": "Amazon said its AWS cloud grew 39% to $46.0 billion for the quarter, its fastest growth in nearly five years. Not investment advice.",
      "why_it_matters": "the rented computers behind AI are selling as fast as Amazon can build them.",
      "source_url": "https://s2.q4cdn.com/299287126/files/doc_earnings/2026/q3/earnings-result/AMZN-Q3-2026-Earnings-Release.pdf",
      "video_id": null
    },
    {
      "beat": "WILD",
      "desk_url": "https://singularitynightly.com/desks/wild/",
      "text": "Samsung reported record quarterly operating profit of 107.4 trillion won, about 9 times a year ago, as sales of AI memory chips soared. Not investment advice.",
      "why_it_matters": "every AI chip needs fast memory beside it, and that memory is now in short supply.",
      "source_url": "https://news.samsung.com/global/samsung-electronics-announces-third-quarter-2026-results",
      "video_id": null
    },
    {
      "beat": "WILD",
      "desk_url": "https://singularitynightly.com/desks/wild/",
      "text": "Intel said after the close that revenue rose 21% to $16.5 billion, with its data center chip sales up 78%, but it expects a smaller fourth quarter. Not investment advice.",
      "why_it_matters": "demand for the ordinary processors that run AI servers is so strong that Intel cannot make enough.",
      "source_url": "https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/0000050863/000005086326000188/q326earningsrelease.htm",
      "video_id": null
    },
    {
      "beat": "WILD",
      "desk_url": "https://singularitynightly.com/desks/wild/",
      "text": "IQM linked all 54 qubits on its cloud quantum computer in one shared state for the first time, the company says.",
      "why_it_matters": "a quantum computer is only as useful as the number of qubits that can work together.",
      "source_url": "https://iqm.tech/press-releases/iqm-demonstrates-entanglement-across-a-complete-54-qubit-processor-bringing-full-chip-performance-to-cloud-users/",
      "video_id": null
    },
    {
      "beat": "WILD",
      "desk_url": "https://singularitynightly.com/desks/wild/",
      "text": "BWXT will supply special bead-shaped TRISO nuclear fuel to Antares for its Mark-1 microreactor, which is due to make power in 2027.",
      "why_it_matters": "small reactors cannot run without this fuel, and there is not much of it yet.",
      "source_url": "https://world-nuclear-news.org/articles/antares-bwxt-in-triso-procurement-deal",
      "video_id": null
    },
    {
      "beat": "LAUNCH",
      "desk_url": "https://singularitynightly.com/desks/launch/",
      "text": "ULA set Fri Nov. 13 for Vulcan's first flight since a booster nozzle problem in February, carrying 40 Amazon Leo internet satellites.",
      "why_it_matters": "America has one more big rocket back in service, and Amazon's satellite internet gets a ride.",
      "source_url": "https://spaceflightnow.com/2026/10/28/untied-launch-alliance-announces-mid-november-return-to-flight-for-vulcan-rocket/",
      "video_id": null
    },
    {
      "beat": "LAUNCH",
      "desk_url": "https://singularitynightly.com/desks/launch/",
      "text": "Artemis II commander Reid Wiseman will become deputy director of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory on Nov. 30.",
      "why_it_matters": "an astronaut who flew around the Moon will help run the lab that builds NASA's robot explorers.",
      "source_url": "https://www.nasa.gov/centers-and-facilities/jpl/caltech-names-artemis-ii-commander-reid-wiseman-as-nasa-jpl-deputy/",
      "video_id": null
    },
    {
      "beat": "ORBIT",
      "desk_url": "https://singularitynightly.com/desks/orbit/",
      "text": "Menon and Kutryk installed the space station's seventh new roll-out solar array on a 7 hour, 11 minute spacewalk.",
      "why_it_matters": "more power lets the station run more experiments.",
      "source_url": "https://www.nasa.gov/blogs/spacestation/2026/10/29/astronauts-begin-spacewalk-to-install-roll-out-solar-arrays-2/",
      "video_id": null
    },
    {
      "beat": "ORBIT",
      "desk_url": "https://singularitynightly.com/desks/orbit/",
      "text": "Scientists say Teghaza 001, a meteorite from Mars found in the Sahara in 2022, is more than 4.1 billion years old, one of the oldest pieces of Mars known.",
      "why_it_matters": "a rock you can hold tells us what young Mars was like, long before any rover got there.",
      "source_url": "https://www.nasa.gov/solar-system/planets/mars/nasa-funded-study-details-one-of-oldest-mars-meteorites-ever-found/",
      "video_id": null
    },
    {
      "beat": "ORBIT",
      "desk_url": "https://singularitynightly.com/desks/orbit/",
      "text": "NASA invites anyone to send their name to Saturn's moon Titan on the Dragonfly flying robot.",
      "why_it_matters": "your name can fly on a drone exploring another world.",
      "source_url": "https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/send-your-name-to-titan-aboard-nasas-dragonfly-mission/",
      "video_id": null
    },
    {
      "beat": "AIR",
      "desk_url": "https://singularitynightly.com/desks/air/",
      "text": "The FCC voted 3 to 0 to let drones use 50 MHz of cellphone airwaves in the 800 MHz band, ending a ban from 1991.",
      "why_it_matters": "delivery and inspection drones can now stay in touch over ordinary cell networks.",
      "source_url": "https://dronelife.com/2026/10/29/fcc-opens-cellular-spectrum-drones-800-mhz/",
      "video_id": null
    },
    {
      "beat": "AIR",
      "desk_url": "https://singularitynightly.com/desks/air/",
      "text": "The FCC set a Nov. 19 vote on radio links for drones and air taxis and on radar that spots unwanted drones.",
      "why_it_matters": "air taxis need reliable radio links before they can carry passengers.",
      "source_url": "https://dronelife.com/2026/10/29/fcc-drone-communications-counter-drone-radar-rules/",
      "video_id": null
    },
    {
      "beat": "AIR",
      "desk_url": "https://singularitynightly.com/desks/air/",
      "text": "Matternet's hospital delivery drones can now be offered to more than 2,300 North American hospitals through a deal with Swisslog Healthcare.",
      "why_it_matters": "lab samples and medicine could fly between hospital buildings in minutes instead of riding in vans.",
      "source_url": "https://dronelife.com/2026/10/29/matternet-swisslog-hospital-drone-delivery/",
      "video_id": null
    },
    {
      "beat": "MED",
      "desk_url": "https://singularitynightly.com/desks/med/",
      "text": "The FDA proposed new nutrient rules for baby formula, the first big update in nearly 30 years, and opened comments until Feb. 26, 2027.",
      "why_it_matters": "formula is the only food for many babies, so its recipe rules matter to millions of families.",
      "source_url": "https://www.hhs.gov/press-room/fda-updates-infant-formula-standards-first-time-30-years.html",
      "video_id": null
    },
    {
      "beat": "MED",
      "desk_url": "https://singularitynightly.com/desks/med/",
      "text": "Eli Lilly said revenue rose 39% to $24.4 billion, led by its weight loss and diabetes drugs Mounjaro and Zepbound. Not investment advice.",
      "why_it_matters": "more people are getting these drugs, even as prices fall.",
      "source_url": "https://finance.yahoo.com/healthcare/articles/lilly-reports-third-quarter-2026-104500507.html",
      "video_id": null
    },
    {
      "beat": "MED",
      "desk_url": "https://singularitynightly.com/desks/med/",
      "text": "Precision Neuroscience opened its first brain implant trial site outside the U.S., at Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi.",
      "why_it_matters": "thin brain implants that read signals are spreading to more hospitals and patients.",
      "source_url": "https://globenewswire.com/news-release/2026/10/29/3391322/0/en/precision-neuroscience-expands-clinical-network-beyond-the-u-s-with-first-international-site-in-abu-dhabi.html",
      "video_id": null
    },
    {
      "beat": "MED",
      "desk_url": "https://singularitynightly.com/desks/med/",
      "text": "A Naples, Florida heart team says it did the first U.S. repair of a leaky tricuspid heart valve with Edwards' newly approved PASCAL Precision system, with no open-heart surgery.",
      "why_it_matters": "fixing a heart valve through a vein means a much shorter recovery than opening the chest.",
      "source_url": "https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2026/10/29/3391300/0/en/nch-rooney-heart-institute-performs-nation-s-first-tricuspid-valve-repair-with-pascal-precision-system-following-fda-approval.html",
      "video_id": null
    },
    {
      "beat": "DEF",
      "desk_url": "https://singularitynightly.com/desks/def/",
      "text": "Britain's Ministry of Defence gave Astroscale UK 15 million pounds to build and fly a spacecraft that studies how to respond when other satellites get too close.",
      "why_it_matters": "satellites that sneak up on others are a new kind of risk in orbit.",
      "source_url": "https://europeanspaceflight.com/uk-mod-awards-15-million-orbital-warfare-project-to-astroscale/",
      "video_id": null
    },
    {
      "beat": "DEF",
      "desk_url": "https://singularitynightly.com/desks/def/",
      "text": "CACI won an Army task order worth up to $185 million over 5 years for field power, cargo airdrops that work without GPS, and camouflage.",
      "why_it_matters": "troops far from bases need their own power and supplies.",
      "source_url": "https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/caci-awarded-185-million-us-army-task-order-to-advance-expeditionary-power-and-mission-readiness-302919940.html",
      "video_id": null
    },
    {
      "beat": "DEF",
      "desk_url": "https://singularitynightly.com/desks/def/",
      "text": "Leonardo will use Shield AI's Hivemind autopilot software to help its Proteus helicopter drone fly missions on its own.",
      "why_it_matters": "big helicopters that fly with no one aboard are moving from tests toward real jobs.",
      "source_url": "https://www.aerotime.aero/articles/leonardo-shield-ai-hivemind-royal-navy-proteus",
      "video_id": null
    },
    {
      "beat": "POLICY",
      "desk_url": "https://singularitynightly.com/desks/policy/",
      "text": "The FCC voted to bar labs in China, and in countries that do not treat U.S. labs equally, from testing electronics for sale in the U.S., starting in December 2028.",
      "why_it_matters": "most gadgets sold here were checked in China, so testing will have to move.",
      "source_url": "https://wtvbam.com/2026/10/29/fcc-votes-to-ban-all-chinese-labs-from-testing-us-electronics/",
      "video_id": null
    },
    {
      "beat": "POLICY",
      "desk_url": "https://singularitynightly.com/desks/policy/",
      "text": "The FCC moved ahead on an auction of 25 MHz of airwaves that could carry phone service straight from satellites, and on rewriting its satellite-to-phone rules.",
      "why_it_matters": "one day your ordinary phone may get a signal anywhere, even with no tower nearby.",
      "source_url": "https://www.devdiscourse.com/article/international/3999102-fcc-votes-to-advance-new-spectrum-auction-to-boost-direct-to-device-services",
      "video_id": null
    },
    {
      "beat": "TOKEN",
      "desk_url": "https://singularitynightly.com/desks/token/",
      "text": "38 of the 62 companies on a list for tokenized trading by OKX and ICE, including Walmart and Eli Lilly, have objected to tokens of their stock, CoinDesk counts. Not investment advice.",
      "why_it_matters": "many companies want a say before someone else turns their shares into tokens.",
      "source_url": "https://www.coindesk.com/business/2026/10/29/walmart-eli-lilly-join-growing-pushback-against-okx-ice-tokenized-stock-plans",
      "video_id": null
    },
    {
      "beat": "TOKEN",
      "desk_url": "https://singularitynightly.com/desks/token/",
      "text": "Nasdaq-listed Canton Strategic Holdings says its own shares could begin trading as tokens as soon as Nov. 2. Not investment advice.",
      "why_it_matters": "when the company itself makes the token, holders get the same rights as regular shareholders.",
      "source_url": "https://cointelegraph.com/news/canton-strategic-holdings-tokenized-stock-trading-november-2026",
      "video_id": null
    },
    {
      "beat": "TOKEN",
      "desk_url": "https://singularitynightly.com/desks/token/",
      "text": "Polygon's payments service, which turns bank, card or cash money into stablecoins and back, now runs on the Solana blockchain. Not investment advice.",
      "why_it_matters": "digital dollars are getting easier to move between different blockchains.",
      "source_url": "https://polygon.technology/blog/polygon-oms-supports-solana",
      "video_id": null
    },
    {
      "beat": "TOKEN",
      "desk_url": "https://singularitynightly.com/desks/token/",
      "text": "Strategy, the company that holds the most bitcoin, said it owned 848,517 bitcoin as of Oct. 25 and reported $19.5 billion in quarterly profit, nearly all from bitcoin's rise in price. Not investment advice.",
      "why_it_matters": "one company now holds about 4% of all bitcoin that will ever exist, so its choices move the market.",
      "source_url": "https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/0001050446/000105044626000047/mstr-20261029x8kxex9912.htm",
      "video_id": null
    }
  ],
  "desk_items": [
    {
      "beat": "AI",
      "desk": "AI Models",
      "title": "Mistral gives away one of the biggest AI models ever made",
      "text": "French company Mistral released the full Mistral Large 4 as open weights on Thursday, meaning anyone can download it and run it on their own machines. It has about 1 trillion parameters, the settings a model learns in training, but uses only about 52 billion for each word, a design called mixture of experts that saves computing power. It reads text and images in more than 160 languages. Mistral says the final version scores 41% on Terminal-Bench 4.0, a test of whether an AI can finish real computer tasks, up from 28% in its October preview, while using 30% fewer words. Mistral also cut the price to use it through its own service to $0.70 per million words in and $2.10 per million out, about half the old price, Fortune reports. Those scores are Mistral's own. Independent tester Artificial Analysis now scores it 26 on its Intelligence Index, where the top model scores 59. Companies that sell it as a hosted service need a separate license.",
      "why_it_matters": "most of the smartest AI models live on a company's servers, and you rent them. A model like this one can be downloaded, studied and run inside a hospital, a school or a bank, so private data never leaves the building. It still trails the very top closed models, but the gap between free and paid AI keeps getting smaller.",
      "source_url": "https://mistral.ai/news/mistral-large-4-oss/",
      "sources": [
        "https://mistral.ai/news/mistral-large-4-oss/",
        "https://huggingface.co/mistralai/Mistral-Large-4-1T-A52B",
        "https://fortune.com/2026/10/29/mistral-releases-new-model-large-4-and-claims-top-open-model-for-agentic-coding-and-cyber-defense/",
        "https://artificialanalysis.ai/models/mistral-large-4"
      ],
      "url": "https://singularitynightly.com/editions/2026-10-29-evening-4/#story-mistral-gives-away-one-of-the-biggest-ai-models-ever-made",
      "video_id": null,
      "image_url": "https://singularitynightly.com/img/editions/mistral-large-4-1376.jpg",
      "image_credit": "Illustration: Singularity Nightly (AI-generated)"
    },
    {
      "beat": "LAUNCH",
      "desk": "Launch and Orbit",
      "title": "ULA's Vulcan rocket gets a comeback date: Nov. 13",
      "text": "United Launch Alliance set Friday, Nov. 13 for Vulcan's first flight since February, when a nozzle, the bell-shaped exhaust opening, failed on one of its four strap-on solid rocket boosters less than 30 seconds after liftoff. A similar problem happened on an earlier flight, and both missions still reached orbit. A team from ULA, booster maker Northrop Grumman and the Space Force found several possible causes and changed the nozzle's design and how it is made, Spaceflight Now reports. ULA has not released detailed findings. The mission, called Vulcan Leo 1, will be the first Vulcan with six boosters and will carry 40 Amazon Leo internet satellites from Cape Canaveral. The Space Force has not said when its own satellites can fly on Vulcan again. No orbital rockets launched anywhere in the world in the last 24 hours, by the Launch Library 2 count. The next is India's GSLV on Friday.",
      "why_it_matters": "having more than one company that can launch big satellites keeps the country from depending on just one rocket. Amazon has booked 38 Vulcan flights to build its satellite internet network, which aims to reach homes far from cable lines. A rocket coming back from a problem is always a careful moment, and the date could still move.",
      "source_url": "https://spaceflightnow.com/2026/10/28/untied-launch-alliance-announces-mid-november-return-to-flight-for-vulcan-rocket/",
      "sources": [
        "https://spaceflightnow.com/2026/10/28/untied-launch-alliance-announces-mid-november-return-to-flight-for-vulcan-rocket/",
        "https://ll.thespacedevs.com/2.3.0/launches/previous/?net__gte=2026-10-28T22:00:00Z&net__lte=2026-10-29T22:00:00Z"
      ],
      "url": "https://singularitynightly.com/editions/2026-10-29-evening-4/#story-ulas-vulcan-rocket-gets-a-comeback-date-nov-13",
      "video_id": null,
      "image_url": "https://singularitynightly.com/img/editions/vulcan-liftoff-1728.jpg",
      "image_credit": "NASA/Isaac Watson"
    },
    {
      "beat": "AIR",
      "desk": "Air Mobility",
      "title": "Drones get permission to use cellphone airwaves",
      "text": "The Federal Communications Commission voted 3 to 0 on Thursday to let drones use 50 MHz of the 800 MHz cellular band, radio airwaves that phone companies already use, ending a ban on airborne use from 1991. Drones can now use these licensed airwaves to be steered, to report where they are and to send back video and data, for example a delivery drone flying on a carrier's LTE or 5G network. The FCC's own release calls it a step toward routine drone flights. AT&T, Verizon, Amazon and drone industry groups supported the change, DroneLife reports. The rule takes effect 30 days after it is published in the Federal Register. It does not change who may fly where: routine flights beyond what a pilot can see still wait on the FAA's Part 108 rule, which the law requires by Dec. 7.",
      "why_it_matters": "a drone that flies out of sight needs a dependable link back home, the same way your phone needs bars. Using the cell networks already built across the country is a quick way to give drones that link. It is one of the pieces needed for drones that bring medicine, check power lines or drop off packages, and the FAA's rule is the next piece.",
      "source_url": "https://dronexl.co/2026/10/29/fcc-800-mhz-drones-adopted-part-108-deadline/",
      "sources": [
        "https://dronexl.co/2026/10/29/fcc-800-mhz-drones-adopted-part-108-deadline/",
        "https://www.fcc.gov/document/fcc-opens-more-cellular-spectrum-drones",
        "https://dronelife.com/2026/10/29/fcc-opens-cellular-spectrum-drones-800-mhz/"
      ],
      "url": "https://singularitynightly.com/editions/2026-10-29-evening-4/#story-drones-get-permission-to-use-cellphone-airwaves",
      "video_id": null,
      "image_url": "https://singularitynightly.com/img/editions/nasa-drones-reno-1919.jpg",
      "image_credit": "NASA Ames/Dominic Hart"
    },
    {
      "beat": "MED",
      "desk": "Medicine",
      "title": "The FDA proposes the first big update to baby formula rules in nearly 30 years",
      "text": "The FDA proposed new nutrient requirements for infant formula on Thursday, the first of three planned rules from its review of the 30 nutrients every formula must contain. It would update the amounts required for iodine, manganese, vitamin A and vitamin D, keep the rules for chloride, potassium, selenium and sodium, and asks the public whether it should require DHA, ARA and L-carnitine, nutrients found in breast milk. The FDA also released testing data on chemical contaminants in formula, saying most samples had low or undetectable levels, and opened an online dashboard of those results. This is a proposal, not a final rule; public comments are open until Feb. 26, 2027.",
      "why_it_matters": "for many babies, formula is every meal, every day, so the rules for what goes in it shape their growth. Nutrition science has learned a lot since the 1990s, and these rules are catching up. Nothing changes on store shelves yet; families and doctors can weigh in first.",
      "source_url": "https://www.hhs.gov/press-room/fda-updates-infant-formula-standards-first-time-30-years.html",
      "sources": [
        "https://www.hhs.gov/press-room/fda-updates-infant-formula-standards-first-time-30-years.html",
        "https://www.federalregister.gov/public-inspection/2026-22273/infant-formula-nutrient-requirements"
      ],
      "url": "https://singularitynightly.com/editions/2026-10-29-evening-4/#story-the-fda-proposes-the-first-big-update-to-baby-formula-rule",
      "video_id": null,
      "image_url": "https://singularitynightly.com/img/editions/infant-formula-lab-1376.jpg",
      "image_credit": "Illustration: Singularity Nightly (AI-generated)"
    },
    {
      "beat": "DEF",
      "desk": "Defense",
      "title": "Britain pays for a spacecraft to study satellites that get too close",
      "text": "The UK Ministry of Defence awarded Astroscale UK 15 million pounds, about $19 million, for Project LEDA, a multi-year mission in which the company will build, launch and operate a spacecraft that practices rendezvous and proximity operations, meaning one spacecraft moving in close to another. The goal is to learn how to watch for and respond to other countries' satellites that approach British ones, European Spaceflight reports. Astroscale is best known for spacecraft that inspect and clean up space junk.",
      "why_it_matters": "satellites run GPS, weather forecasts and bank payments, and some countries now fly satellites that sidle up to others. Knowing how to spot and handle that is becoming part of defense. The same close-flying skills are what will one day let spacecraft refuel, repair or tow away old satellites.",
      "source_url": "https://europeanspaceflight.com/uk-mod-awards-15-million-orbital-warfare-project-to-astroscale/",
      "sources": [
        "https://europeanspaceflight.com/uk-mod-awards-15-million-orbital-warfare-project-to-astroscale/"
      ],
      "url": "https://singularitynightly.com/editions/2026-10-29-evening-4/#story-britain-pays-for-a-spacecraft-to-study-satellites-that-get",
      "video_id": null,
      "image_url": "https://singularitynightly.com/img/editions/satellite-inspector-1376.jpg",
      "image_credit": "Illustration: Singularity Nightly (AI-generated)"
    },
    {
      "beat": "POLICY",
      "desk": "Law and Policy",
      "title": "The FCC moves gadget testing out of China",
      "text": "The FCC voted Thursday to bar all labs in China, and in other countries that do not give U.S. labs equal treatment, from testing electronics for sale in the U.S., starting in December 2028, Reuters reports. Every phone, router and smart speaker needs FCC approval, based on lab tests, before it can be sold here. FCC Chairman Brendan Carr said 82% of U.S. electronics were tested in China in 2025 and about 4% in the U.S. At the same meeting, the commission moved ahead on a plan to auction 25 MHz of airwaves that could carry phone service on the ground, straight from satellites, or both, using 1675 to 1695 MHz and 2020 to 2025 MHz, Via Satellite reports. It also proposed raising the number of bands satellites may use to reach ordinary phones from 5 to 13. Both are proposals open for public comment.",
      "why_it_matters": "the labs that check your gadgets make sure they are safe and do not jam other signals. Moving that testing out of China is a security choice, and it could mean more testing jobs in the U.S. and elsewhere. Companies have about two years to switch, and you may not notice any change in the store.",
      "source_url": "https://wtvbam.com/2026/10/29/fcc-votes-to-ban-all-chinese-labs-from-testing-us-electronics/",
      "sources": [
        "https://wtvbam.com/2026/10/29/fcc-votes-to-ban-all-chinese-labs-from-testing-us-electronics/",
        "https://www.devdiscourse.com/article/international/3999102-fcc-votes-to-advance-new-spectrum-auction-to-boost-direct-to-device-services",
        "https://www.satellitetoday.com/government-military/2026/10/29/fcc-looks-to-update-direct-to-device-rules-and-auction-more-spectrum/"
      ],
      "url": "https://singularitynightly.com/editions/2026-10-29-evening-4/#story-the-fcc-moves-gadget-testing-out-of-china",
      "video_id": null,
      "image_url": "https://singularitynightly.com/img/editions/electronics-test-lab-1376.jpg",
      "image_credit": "Illustration: Singularity Nightly (AI-generated)"
    },
    {
      "beat": "TOKEN",
      "desk": "Tokenized Assets",
      "title": "Dozens of big companies say no to tokens of their stock, while one says yes",
      "text": "Walmart, Eli Lilly, Carnival and Cigna are among the newest of 38 companies, out of 62 on the original list, that have objected to having their stock turned into tokens for around-the-clock trading on a new venue from OKX and Intercontinental Exchange, CoinDesk reports. JPMorgan objected earlier in the week. Under the SEC's Innovation Exemption, companies get 30 days to object when someone else wants to make tokens of their shares. Going the other way, Nasdaq-listed Canton Strategic Holdings says its own shares could start trading as tokens as early as Nov. 2, with a registered transfer agent, the firm that keeps the official list of shareholders, recording ownership on the Canton Network. Tokenized real-world assets now total $39.54 billion, per RWA.xyz.",
      "why_it_matters": "a stock token is a digital stand-in for a share that can trade at any hour. Many companies do not want strangers making copies of their shares without them, which is a reasonable worry about who protects the buyer. When the company makes the token itself, owners keep the same rights as regular shareholders. Not investment advice.",
      "source_url": "https://www.coindesk.com/business/2026/10/29/walmart-eli-lilly-join-growing-pushback-against-okx-ice-tokenized-stock-plans",
      "sources": [
        "https://www.coindesk.com/business/2026/10/29/walmart-eli-lilly-join-growing-pushback-against-okx-ice-tokenized-stock-plans",
        "https://cointelegraph.com/news/canton-strategic-holdings-tokenized-stock-trading-november-2026",
        "https://app.rwa.xyz/"
      ],
      "url": "https://singularitynightly.com/editions/2026-10-29-evening-4/#story-dozens-of-big-companies-say-no-to-tokens-of-their-stock-wh",
      "video_id": null,
      "image_url": "https://singularitynightly.com/img/editions/stock-tokens-objection-1376.jpg",
      "image_credit": "Illustration: Singularity Nightly (AI-generated)"
    },
    {
      "beat": "WILD",
      "desk": "Wildcard",
      "title": "A quantum computer gets all 54 of its qubits working together",
      "text": "Finnish company IQM says it entangled all 54 qubits on its IQM Emerald processor, which people can use over the internet, in a single linked state called a GHZ state. Qubits are the basic units of a quantum computer, and entangled qubits act as one connected system. IQM measured a fidelity, a score for how close the result was to perfect, of 0.516, just above the 0.5 line that counts as real entanglement, after correcting for readout errors. Until now, users could rely on about 30 of the chip's qubits in a single program. These are IQM's own results.",
      "why_it_matters": "a quantum computer is like a choir, and it only sounds right when every voice stays in tune together. Getting all 54 to hold one note is a test of how well the whole chip works. Quantum computers may one day design new medicines and materials, but useful machines are still years away, and this is one careful step.",
      "source_url": "https://iqm.tech/press-releases/iqm-demonstrates-entanglement-across-a-complete-54-qubit-processor-bringing-full-chip-performance-to-cloud-users/",
      "sources": [
        "https://iqm.tech/press-releases/iqm-demonstrates-entanglement-across-a-complete-54-qubit-processor-bringing-full-chip-performance-to-cloud-users/"
      ],
      "url": "https://singularitynightly.com/editions/2026-10-29-evening-4/#story-a-quantum-computer-gets-all-54-of-its-qubits-working-toget",
      "video_id": null,
      "image_url": "https://singularitynightly.com/img/editions/iqm-emerald-1600.jpg",
      "image_credit": "IQM Quantum Computers"
    }
  ],
  "videos": [
    {
      "video_id": "WXELsIk4o0g",
      "caption": "Moonshots with Peter Diamandis, episode 306: Peter Diamandis, Salim Ismail, Dave Blundin and Alex Wissner-Gross on Anthropic's IPO filing, the AI chip cloud shakeout and China's Kimi catching up (Oct. 28).",
      "section": "Watch"
    },
    {
      "video_id": "LeSIe50WfLI",
      "caption": "Moonshots with Peter Diamandis, episode 305: SpaceX's AI business, AI agents that lie, and a startup that turns mercury into gold (Oct. 23).",
      "section": "Watch"
    },
    {
      "video_id": "6czo-C3FU7I",
      "caption": "All-In: Ken Griffin's AI bubble warning and Palo Alto Networks CEO Nikesh Arora on AI and cyberattacks (Oct. 23).",
      "section": "Watch"
    }
  ],
  "license": {
    "name": "CC BY 4.0",
    "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"
  },
  "cite": "Singularity Nightly, \"Astronauts Unroll a New Solar Wing, Mistral Gives Away a Giant AI, and Drones Get Cell Service\", Thursday, October 29, 2026, https://singularitynightly.com/editions/2026-10-29-evening-4/. CC BY 4.0."
}