{
  "slug": "2026-11-13-evening-15",
  "title": "Starship Reaches Orbit but Skips Its Booster Catch, the B-21 Drops Its First Weapon, and a New Bladder Cancer Treatment Wins Approval",
  "type": "evening",
  "label": "Evening Edition No. 15",
  "number": 15,
  "date": "2026-11-13T20:00:00-05:00",
  "summary": "Starship Flight 15 reaches orbit while its booster skips the tower catch and comes down in the Gulf, LangChain raises $300 million for AI agent tools, the Pentagon offers Rocket Lab a $150 million loan for its Neutron rocket, Commerce picks four companies to test a new permit for unusual space missions, Eve's air traffic software runs more than 100 helicopter flights in a day, the FDA approves Imfinzi with Padcev around bladder cancer surgery, the B-21 Raider releases its first weapon, Congress sets December hearings on AI chip sales to China, three central banks link tokenized and ordinary payment systems, and Statkraft switches on its first grid-forming battery.",
  "url": "https://singularitynightly.com/editions/2026-11-13-evening-15/",
  "markdown_url": "https://singularitynightly.com/editions/2026-11-13-evening-15.md",
  "json_url": "https://singularitynightly.com/api/v1/editions/2026-11-13-evening-15.json",
  "window_start": "2026-11-12T18:00:00-05:00",
  "window_end": "2026-11-13T18:00:00-05:00",
  "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/starship-flight15-liftoff-2000.jpg",
    "credit": "SpaceX",
    "alt": "SpaceX's Starship lifting off on its 15th test flight from Starbase, Texas, on Nov. 13, 2026"
  },
  "in_60_seconds": [
    "SpaceX's Starship Flight 15 reached orbit Friday evening, but the giant booster called off its catch by the launch tower and came down in the Gulf of Mexico.",
    "The Air Force's new B-21 Raider stealth bomber released a weapon for the first time in a test flight over California.",
    "The FDA approved a two-drug treatment given before and after bladder cancer surgery that cut the risk of death by 42% in a big trial.",
    "Congress set hearings in December on how Nvidia's AI chips reached China, and the Commerce Secretary agreed to testify."
  ],
  "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": "Starship reaches orbit on Flight 15, but the booster skips its tower catch",
    "text": "SpaceX launched Starship Flight 15 from Starbase, Texas, at about 5:47 PM ET on Friday, Space.com reports, hours after the FAA issued its license for the flight. Starship is the biggest rocket ever built, in two parts: the Super Heavy booster, which does the first push, and the ship on top, which goes to space. This flight paired Booster 22 with Ship 42, carrying 26 Starlink V3 internet satellites, Spaceflight Now reports. The plan was for the booster to fly back about 6.5 minutes after liftoff and be caught by the launch tower's two giant arms, nicknamed chopsticks. Instead, Booster 22 called off the catch and came down in the Gulf of Mexico, CBS News reports. One of its 33 engines may have shut off early, and SpaceX has not said what caused the abort. Ship 42 reached orbit, where it was due to release its 26 satellites. If the ship stays healthy, it will circle Earth up to 14 times and fly home about 4:17 PM ET Saturday to try a tower catch of its own, which no ship has done before. Flight 14 on Sept. 28 was the first Starship to reach orbit. SpaceX's Dan Huot said on the webcast: \"We'll dig in to what caused that abort.\"",
    "why_it_matters": "most rockets are thrown away after one flight, which is a big reason space is so expensive. A rocket that lands and flies again, like an airplane, could make launches far cheaper and far more frequent. Tonight's booster was lost at sea, so catching both halves waits for a later flight, but Saturday's ship catch could still be a first.",
    "image_url": "https://singularitynightly.com/img/editions/starship-flight15-liftoff-2000.jpg",
    "image_credit": "SpaceX"
  },
  "ticker": [
    {
      "beat": "AI",
      "desk_url": "https://singularitynightly.com/desks/ai/",
      "text": "Artificial Analysis still ranks Claude Fable 5.2 first on its Intelligence Index at 65 points, and Google's new Gemini 4 Hydrogen entered at 54.",
      "why_it_matters": "the top spot has held for a week while cheaper models close in.",
      "source_url": "https://artificialanalysis.ai/leaderboards/models",
      "video_id": null
    },
    {
      "beat": "AI",
      "desk_url": "https://singularitynightly.com/desks/ai/",
      "text": "Thinking Machines Lab posted the open weights of its Inkling 2 Small model on Hugging Face, keeping last week's promise.",
      "why_it_matters": "anyone can now download and run the model on their own computers.",
      "source_url": "https://thinkingmachines.ai/news/inkling-2-small/",
      "video_id": null
    },
    {
      "beat": "WILD",
      "desk_url": "https://singularitynightly.com/desks/wild/",
      "text": "Samsung is in talks to buy Modine, which makes cooling systems for data centers, Bloomberg reports, and Modine's stock rose about 29% on Friday. Not investment advice.",
      "why_it_matters": "AI chips run hot, and keeping them cool is becoming big business.",
      "source_url": "https://www.fool.com/investing/2026/11/13/modine-stock-just-soared-29-on-a-report-that-samsung-wants-to-buy-it-is-it-too-late-to-buy/",
      "video_id": null
    },
    {
      "beat": "WILD",
      "desk_url": "https://singularitynightly.com/desks/wild/",
      "text": "Chip stocks fell Friday on worries about tighter oversight of chip sales to China: AMD dropped 8.8%, Nvidia 2% and the Nasdaq 0.9%. Not investment advice.",
      "why_it_matters": "Washington's chip fight is now moving the stock market.",
      "source_url": "https://www.kiplinger.com/investing/stocks/nasdaq-drops-friday-on-nvidia-fallout-but-ends-the-week-up-stock-market-today",
      "video_id": null
    },
    {
      "beat": "WILD",
      "desk_url": "https://singularitynightly.com/desks/wild/",
      "text": "SK hynix and Intel are working on designs that let AI servers share one pool of memory, DIGITIMES reports.",
      "why_it_matters": "memory is one of the tightest bottlenecks in building AI computers.",
      "source_url": "https://www.digitimes.com/news/a20261113PD229/sk-hynix-intel-data-capacity-cxl.html",
      "video_id": null
    },
    {
      "beat": "WILD",
      "desk_url": "https://singularitynightly.com/desks/wild/",
      "text": "xFusion, Huawei's former server business, won a Shenzhen exchange committee's approval for a $1.2 billion stock listing, Bloomberg reports. Not investment advice.",
      "why_it_matters": "China is raising money to build its own AI computers at home.",
      "source_url": "https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-11-13/server-maker-xfusion-gets-shenzhen-nod-for-1-2-billion-listing",
      "video_id": null
    },
    {
      "beat": "WILD",
      "desk_url": "https://singularitynightly.com/desks/wild/",
      "text": "The IAEA's World Fusion Outlook counts a record $4.5 billion of new money for fusion power in the year to July 2026 and 26 planned fusion power plants.",
      "why_it_matters": "fusion, the power source of the Sun, could one day give clean energy with little waste.",
      "source_url": "https://www.ans.org/news/2026-11-13/article-8577/iaea-publishes-2026-world-fusion-outlook/",
      "video_id": null
    },
    {
      "beat": "LAUNCH",
      "desk_url": "https://singularitynightly.com/desks/launch/",
      "text": "ULA moved Vulcan's return to flight with 40 Amazon Leo satellites to Saturday at 12:32 PM ET after a power cut at the plant that supplies nitrogen gas to its pad.",
      "why_it_matters": "ULA says the rocket and satellites are healthy, so it is a short wait.",
      "source_url": "https://www.space.com/space-exploration/launches-spacecraft/ula-vulcan-centaur-return-to-flight-amazon-leo-internet-satellite-launch",
      "video_id": null
    },
    {
      "beat": "LAUNCH",
      "desk_url": "https://singularitynightly.com/desks/launch/",
      "text": "A Senate spending panel proposed about $24.9 billion for NASA for the 2027 budget year.",
      "why_it_matters": "NASA's budget decides which missions fly and which wait.",
      "source_url": "https://spacepolicyonline.com/news/senate-appropriations-cjs-subcommittee-proposes-24-9-billion-for-nasa-in-fy2027/",
      "video_id": null
    },
    {
      "beat": "ORBIT",
      "desk_url": "https://singularitynightly.com/desks/orbit/",
      "text": "Blue Origin is leaving NASA's contest to build private space stations to focus on the Moon, AIAA reports.",
      "why_it_matters": "the International Space Station retires in 2030, and NASA needs new places in orbit.",
      "source_url": "https://aiaa.org/2026/11/13/blue-origin-exits-nasa-commercial-space-station-competition/",
      "video_id": null
    },
    {
      "beat": "ORBIT",
      "desk_url": "https://singularitynightly.com/desks/orbit/",
      "text": "NASA satellite pictures show mangrove forests growing back around the world after decades of loss.",
      "why_it_matters": "mangroves shield coasts from storms and store a lot of carbon.",
      "source_url": "https://science.nasa.gov/earth/earth-observatory/a-global-rebound-for-mangroves/",
      "video_id": null
    },
    {
      "beat": "ORBIT",
      "desk_url": "https://singularitynightly.com/desks/orbit/",
      "text": "NASA says it will start judging new ways to bring Perseverance's Mars rock samples home in January.",
      "why_it_matters": "those rocks could hold signs of ancient life on Mars.",
      "source_url": "https://spacepolicyonline.com/news/nasa-looking-for-new-ways-to-return-perseverance-samples-from-mars/",
      "video_id": null
    },
    {
      "beat": "ORBIT",
      "desk_url": "https://singularitynightly.com/desks/orbit/",
      "text": "NASA's Chandra X-ray telescope helped explain why an unstable star about 30 million light-years away keeps flaring up.",
      "why_it_matters": "giant stars like this one make many of the elements we are built from.",
      "source_url": "https://www.nasa.gov/image-article/outbursts-from-a-massive-star/",
      "video_id": null
    },
    {
      "beat": "MED",
      "desk_url": "https://singularitynightly.com/desks/med/",
      "text": "Tandem Diabetes Care said the FDA cleared a tubeless way to wear its Mobi insulin pump, which adjusts insulin on its own from sensor readings.",
      "why_it_matters": "fewer tubes means fewer snags for children and adults with diabetes.",
      "source_url": "https://investor.tandemdiabetes.com/news-releases/news-release-details/tandem-mobi-now-fda-cleared-worlds-first-and-only-tubeless-aid",
      "video_id": null
    },
    {
      "beat": "MED",
      "desk_url": "https://singularitynightly.com/desks/med/",
      "text": "Rezolute said 13 of 16 patients met the goal in a Phase 3 trial of ersodetug, an antibody for tumors that drive blood sugar dangerously low.",
      "why_it_matters": "12 of those patients no longer needed sugar through an IV drip.",
      "source_url": "https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2026/11/13/3402451/0/en/rezolute-announces-positive-results-from-the-phase-3-uplift-study-in-tumor-hyperinsulinism.html",
      "video_id": null
    },
    {
      "beat": "MED",
      "desk_url": "https://singularitynightly.com/desks/med/",
      "text": "Windward Bio priced its Nasdaq stock listing at $17 a share, raising about $225 million. Not investment advice.",
      "why_it_matters": "investors are putting money back into new medicine companies.",
      "source_url": "https://www.rttnews.com/3714687/healthcare-stocks-in-focus-wwb-surges-40-lfmd-gains-30-ssii-rises-20-tndm-advances-14.aspx",
      "video_id": null
    },
    {
      "beat": "DEF",
      "desk_url": "https://singularitynightly.com/desks/def/",
      "text": "The Navy's top submarine official said maintenance delays fell from about 1,400 days a year to about 780 days in 2026.",
      "why_it_matters": "subs stuck in the shipyard cannot go to sea.",
      "source_url": "https://breakingdefense.com/2026/11/submarine-maintenance-delays-saw-significant-improvements-in-fy26-sub-czar-says/",
      "video_id": null
    },
    {
      "beat": "DEF",
      "desk_url": "https://singularitynightly.com/desks/def/",
      "text": "Britain will buy three ships from Norway that carry robot boats to find sea mines, for £90 million, with the first due in 2031.",
      "why_it_matters": "robots can hunt mines so sailors do not have to.",
      "source_url": "https://www.gov.uk/government/news/uk-growth-and-security-boosted-as-royal-navy-agrees-export-deal-for-new-mine-hunting-motherships",
      "video_id": null
    },
    {
      "beat": "DEF",
      "desk_url": "https://singularitynightly.com/desks/def/",
      "text": "The Air Force adopted a new plan for its future forces that puts sensors, networks, AI and robot aircraft first.",
      "why_it_matters": "it shows where the Air Force expects to spend in the coming years.",
      "source_url": "https://www.defensenews.com/air/2026/11/13/us-air-force-adopts-new-force-design-focusing-on-sensors-and-autonomy/",
      "video_id": null
    },
    {
      "beat": "POLICY",
      "desk_url": "https://singularitynightly.com/desks/policy/",
      "text": "President Trump nominated two Republicans and two Democrats to the SEC and the CFTC, the agencies that police stocks and futures, including crypto.",
      "why_it_matters": "the SEC has 2 of its 5 seats filled and the CFTC only 1.",
      "source_url": "https://www.investmentnews.com/regulation-legal-compliance/trump-nominates-johnson-levine-to-fill-secs-empty-commission-seats/269003",
      "video_id": null
    },
    {
      "beat": "POLICY",
      "desk_url": "https://singularitynightly.com/desks/policy/",
      "text": "The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration proposed updating the federal rule for car lights and signals so it fits vehicles driven by automated systems.",
      "why_it_matters": "many car safety rules were written for a human driver and need updating for self-driving cars.",
      "source_url": "https://www.federalregister.gov/public-inspection/2026-23239/federal-motor-vehicle-safety-standard-modernization-of-fmvss-no-108-to-accommodate-automated-driving",
      "video_id": null
    },
    {
      "beat": "POLICY",
      "desk_url": "https://singularitynightly.com/desks/policy/",
      "text": "The Justice Department and the CFTC sued Arkansas to stop the state's case against Kalshi, a prediction market.",
      "why_it_matters": "it tests whether states or Washington make the rules for betting on events.",
      "source_url": "https://www.theblock.co/news/regulation/2026-11-13-doj-cftc-sue-arkansas-to-block-state-enforcement-action-against-kalshi-439669",
      "video_id": null
    },
    {
      "beat": "POLICY",
      "desk_url": "https://singularitynightly.com/desks/policy/",
      "text": "The Justice Department won court approval to seize $1.2 billion in crypto tied to North Korea's theft from Binance.",
      "why_it_matters": "stolen crypto is getting harder to hide.",
      "source_url": "https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2026/11/12/north-korea-s-binance-hack-faces-u-s-crackdown-as-doj-targets-usd1-2-billion-in-stolen-crypto",
      "video_id": null
    },
    {
      "beat": "TOKEN",
      "desk_url": "https://singularitynightly.com/desks/token/",
      "text": "Kazakhstan plans to issue government bonds as blockchain tokens, likely in early 2027, officials said in Almaty. Not investment advice.",
      "why_it_matters": "whole countries are starting to borrow money on blockchains.",
      "source_url": "https://qazinform.com/news/kazakhstan-to-issue-tokenized-government-bonds-in-2027-5fc37c",
      "video_id": null
    },
    {
      "beat": "TOKEN",
      "desk_url": "https://singularitynightly.com/desks/token/",
      "text": "Thailand's securities regulator proposed capping stablecoin trades at 5 million baht, about $147,750, a day per customer on each exchange. Not investment advice.",
      "why_it_matters": "regulators want digital dollars without a flood of hidden money flows.",
      "source_url": "https://www.theblock.co/news/regulation/2026-11-13-thailand-seeks-daily-stablecoin-cap-439676",
      "video_id": null
    },
    {
      "beat": "TOKEN",
      "desk_url": "https://singularitynightly.com/desks/token/",
      "text": "Kraken's parent Payward said its xStocks tokenized shares passed $1 billion in October. Not investment advice.",
      "why_it_matters": "more people are buying stocks in token form.",
      "source_url": "https://www.theblock.co/news/business/2026-11-13-kraken-parent-payward-posts-66-drop-in-q3-adjusted-ebitda-plans-us-prediction-markets-and-personal-finance-ai-agent-439721",
      "video_id": null
    },
    {
      "beat": "TOKEN",
      "desk_url": "https://singularitynightly.com/desks/token/",
      "text": "Tokenized real-world assets slipped to $39.77 billion, from $39.84 billion on Thursday, per RWA.xyz. Not investment advice.",
      "why_it_matters": "the total has stayed near $40 billion for two weeks.",
      "source_url": "https://app.rwa.xyz/",
      "video_id": null
    }
  ],
  "desk_items": [
    {
      "beat": "AI",
      "desk": "AI Models",
      "title": "LangChain raises $300 million to sell the tools that keep AI agents in line",
      "text": "LangChain, a company whose software helps businesses build AI agents, raised $300 million in a Series C, a company's third big round of outside money, at a value of $3 billion, the company announced on Friday. An AI agent is an AI helper that carries out tasks on its own, such as answering customer emails or filling out forms. CapitalG, Alphabet's growth fund, led the round. LangChain was valued at $1.25 billion in October 2025 and has now raised $460 million in all, TechCrunch reports. More than 7,000 organizations, including Nvidia, Toyota and Salesforce, use its LangSmith product, which records what agents do so people can find their mistakes and fix them. The company says Workday cut the time to roll out an agent from five months to less than a day. CEO Harrison Chase wrote: \"We believe agents will transform the economy.\" LangChain plans to show new LangSmith features on Nov. 20. Not investment advice.",
      "why_it_matters": "AI agents are only useful if people can trust what they do. Tools that watch agents and catch their errors help companies hand them real work. The money shows investors expect many more businesses to put agents to work, though how fast that happens is still unknown.",
      "source_url": "https://www.langchain.com/blog/series-c",
      "sources": [
        "https://www.langchain.com/blog/series-c",
        "https://techcrunch.com/2026/11/13/ai-agent-startup-langchain-hits-3b-valuation/"
      ],
      "url": "https://singularitynightly.com/editions/2026-11-13-evening-15/#story-langchain-raises-300-million-to-sell-the-tools-that-keep-a",
      "video_id": null,
      "image_url": "https://singularitynightly.com/img/editions/langchain-agent-workbench-1376.jpg",
      "image_credit": "Illustration: Singularity Nightly (AI-generated)"
    },
    {
      "beat": "LAUNCH",
      "desk": "Launches",
      "title": "The Pentagon offers Rocket Lab a $150 million loan to launch its Neutron rocket more often",
      "text": "The Pentagon's Office of Strategic Capital, which lends money to companies whose technology matters for defense, offered Rocket Lab a $150 million conditional loan, Air & Space Forces Magazine reports. Conditional means Rocket Lab gets the money only after meeting financial, legal and technical terms. The loan is meant to help Rocket Lab launch Neutron, its new medium-sized rocket, more often once it starts flying, and the Pentagon said it \"would reduce turnaround time between launches.\" Neutron's first flight slipped to 2027. It is built to carry 25 times as much as Rocket Lab's small Electron rocket, which has flown 18 times in 2026, and its first 16 missions are already booked. This is the office's third $150 million space loan in about three weeks.",
      "why_it_matters": "more rockets that can fly often means satellites for weather, internet and defense get to space sooner. A second reusable rocket company beside SpaceX would also give customers more choice. Neutron still has to make its first flight.",
      "source_url": "https://www.airandspaceforces.com/pentagon-150m-loan-rocket-lab-new-launch-vehicle-cadence/",
      "sources": [
        "https://www.airandspaceforces.com/pentagon-150m-loan-rocket-lab-new-launch-vehicle-cadence/"
      ],
      "url": "https://singularitynightly.com/editions/2026-11-13-evening-15/#story-the-pentagon-offers-rocket-lab-a-150-million-loan-to-launc",
      "video_id": null,
      "image_url": "https://singularitynightly.com/img/editions/neutron-hungry-hippo-fairing-2000.jpg",
      "image_credit": "Rocket Lab"
    },
    {
      "beat": "ORBIT",
      "desk": "Satellites and Orbit",
      "title": "Commerce picks four companies to test a new permit for unusual space missions",
      "text": "The Commerce Department's Office of Space Commerce chose four companies to be the first to try its new Space Commerce Certification, the office announced. The certification is meant to give a clear legal path to approval for space missions that no existing rule covers, under Executive Order 14335. The four are Cowboy Space Corp. of San Carlos, California; Portal Space Systems of Bothell, Washington; SpaceMD, part of Redwire, of Chantilly, Virginia; and Starcloud of Redmond, Washington. They were picked from nearly 40 applicants with missions from low Earth orbit to the surface of the Moon and beyond, Via Satellite reports. The office plans to widen the program to repairing satellites in orbit, data centers in space and work on the Moon, with a public comment period to follow. Assistant Secretary of Commerce Taylor Jordan said: \"We are ready to get their innovative capabilities to 'yes.'\"",
      "why_it_matters": "companies with new ideas, like fixing satellites or running computers in orbit, often have no clear office to ask for permission. A simple permit path could let new kinds of space businesses start sooner. This is a pilot, and the rules may change as the four companies test it.",
      "source_url": "https://space.commerce.gov/osc-announces-the-space-commerce-certification-pilot-phase-cohort/",
      "sources": [
        "https://space.commerce.gov/osc-announces-the-space-commerce-certification-pilot-phase-cohort/",
        "https://www.satellitetoday.com/government-military/2026/11/13/office-of-space-commerce-picks-4-companies-for-regulatory-pilot/"
      ],
      "url": "https://singularitynightly.com/editions/2026-11-13-evening-15/#story-commerce-picks-four-companies-to-test-a-new-permit-for-unu",
      "video_id": null,
      "image_url": "https://singularitynightly.com/img/editions/space-permit-pilot-1376.jpg",
      "image_credit": "Illustration: Singularity Nightly (AI-generated)"
    },
    {
      "beat": "AIR",
      "desk": "Air Mobility",
      "title": "Eve's air traffic software runs more than 100 helicopter flights in a day at the São Paulo Grand Prix",
      "text": "Eve Air Mobility, the Embraer company building an electric air taxi, said its Vector software managed helicopter traffic at a temporary helipad during the Formula 1 race weekend in São Paulo, Brazil, in a release published by Vertical. Vector handles slot management, which means handing out takeoff and landing times so aircraft do not crowd the same pad. On Sunday, Nov. 8, it handled more than 100 flights, its busiest day at the event. Eve says it has orders for more than 2,700 aircraft from 28 customers in 10 countries, and its prototype has made more than 73 test flights. It plans to build six more aircraft for certification flying in 2027, and its factory in Taubaté can start at 120 aircraft a year. CEO Johann Bordais said it \"demonstrates the full maturity of our solutions.\"",
      "why_it_matters": "air taxis will need a traffic system in the sky, just as cars need traffic lights. Trying that software with today's helicopters on a busy race day is a real-world test before the air taxis arrive. Eve's own aircraft is still being tested and is not carrying passengers.",
      "source_url": "https://verticalmag.com/press-releases/eve-air-mobility-technology-supports-helicopter-operations-in-interlagos/",
      "sources": [
        "https://verticalmag.com/press-releases/eve-air-mobility-technology-supports-helicopter-operations-in-interlagos/"
      ],
      "url": "https://singularitynightly.com/editions/2026-11-13-evening-15/#story-eves-air-traffic-software-runs-more-than-100-helicopter-fl",
      "video_id": null,
      "image_url": "https://singularitynightly.com/img/editions/eve-prototype-transition-flight-2000.jpg",
      "image_credit": "Eve Air Mobility"
    },
    {
      "beat": "MED",
      "desk": "Medicine",
      "title": "The FDA approves Imfinzi with Padcev around bladder cancer surgery for patients who cannot take a common chemo",
      "text": "The FDA approved AstraZeneca's Imfinzi, also called durvalumab, together with Padcev, also called enfortumab vedotin, for adults with muscle-invasive bladder cancer, cancer that has grown into the bladder's muscle wall, AstraZeneca announced on Friday. The approval is for patients who cannot take, or do not want, cisplatin, a strong chemotherapy that is hard on the kidneys. Patients get both drugs for three rounds before surgery to remove the bladder, then Imfinzi alone for up to nine rounds after. In the Phase 3 VOLGA trial of 695 patients at 182 hospitals in 25 countries, the risk of the cancer returning or getting worse fell 49%, and the risk of death fell 42%, CancerNetwork reports. After two years, 78% of patients on the new treatment were alive, against 69% on the comparison treatment. Serious side effects were more common, 64% against 44%. Another drug pair, Padcev with Keytruda, was already approved for these patients, so this adds a second choice. Dr. Jonathan Rosenberg of Memorial Sloan Kettering called it potentially \"a new standard of care.\"",
      "why_it_matters": "bladder cancer that reaches the muscle is dangerous, and many patients are too frail for cisplatin. A treatment that helps more of them stay alive after surgery gives families real hope. The side effects are heavier, so doctors and patients will weigh the choice together.",
      "source_url": "https://www.astrazeneca.com/media-centre/press-releases/2026/imfinzi-ev-approve-in-us-in-bladder-cancer.html",
      "sources": [
        "https://www.astrazeneca.com/media-centre/press-releases/2026/imfinzi-ev-approve-in-us-in-bladder-cancer.html",
        "https://www.cancernetwork.com/view/fda-approves-perioperative-durvalumab-enfortumab-vedotin-in-mibc"
      ],
      "url": "https://singularitynightly.com/editions/2026-11-13-evening-15/#story-the-fda-approves-imfinzi-with-padcev-around-bladder-cancer",
      "video_id": null,
      "image_url": "https://singularitynightly.com/img/editions/bladder-surgery-two-drugs-1376.jpg",
      "image_credit": "Illustration: Singularity Nightly (AI-generated)"
    },
    {
      "beat": "DEF",
      "desk": "Defense",
      "title": "The B-21 Raider stealth bomber releases its first weapon in a test flight",
      "text": "A B-21 Raider test aircraft flying from Edwards Air Force Base, California, released a conventional, meaning non-nuclear, weapon in flight last week, Northrop Grumman announced on Friday. The B-21 is the Air Force's newest stealth bomber, a plane built to be very hard for radar to see. The Air Force did not say what weapon was dropped or the exact date, DefenseScoop reports. It said the test followed thousands of hours of practice on a digital twin, a detailed computer copy of the aircraft. The first bombers are due at Ellsworth Air Force Base, South Dakota, in 2027, and Northrop says it finished fatigue testing, which checks how the airframe holds up over years of flying, months early. Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Ken Wilsbach said the test \"proves the B-21 program is excelling.\"",
      "why_it_matters": "the B-21 is meant to replace older bombers that are expensive to keep flying. Testing weapons on schedule is a sign the program is moving toward real service. Many more tests come before the planes are ready for duty.",
      "source_url": "https://news.northropgrumman.com/b-21/b-21-raider-advances-into-weapons-testing",
      "sources": [
        "https://news.northropgrumman.com/b-21/b-21-raider-advances-into-weapons-testing",
        "https://defensescoop.com/2026/11/13/air-force-b-21-raider-weapons-release-test/"
      ],
      "url": "https://singularitynightly.com/editions/2026-11-13-evening-15/#story-the-b-21-raider-stealth-bomber-releases-its-first-weapon-i",
      "video_id": null,
      "image_url": "https://singularitynightly.com/img/editions/b21-weapons-testing-feature-2000.jpg",
      "image_credit": "U.S. Air Force"
    },
    {
      "beat": "POLICY",
      "desk": "Law and Policy",
      "title": "Congress sets December hearings on how AI chips reached China, and the Commerce Secretary agrees to testify",
      "text": "Senate Banking Committee chair Tim Scott asked former Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang to appear at a public hearing on Dec. 3 and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on Dec. 10, and said the committee could use subpoenas, legal orders to appear, Decrypt reports. Lutnick agreed on Thursday night to appear voluntarily, NBC News reported. In the House, three committee chairs sent a second letter asking Huang for a closed-door interview on Dec. 1 and Nvidia's top lawyer for Dec. 2, and gave them until 8:00 PM ET Friday to agree in writing or face a subpoena. The Commerce Department official in charge of export controls, the rules that limit which technology can be sold abroad, was invited to a hearing on Dec. 3. Separately, Reuters found more than $3.2 billion of Chinese data center projects whose paperwork names Nvidia chips that cannot legally be sold to China, AI Weekly reports, though paperwork does not prove the chips were installed. And a former OpenAI researcher found traces in public Chinese AI models suggesting they were trained on banned Nvidia Blackwell chips, possibly in data centers outside China, TechCrunch reports. Scott wrote: \"The American people deserve answers.\"",
      "why_it_matters": "the most powerful AI chips are treated like strategic goods, and Congress wants to know how some ended up in China. The hearings could lead to tighter rules on who can buy or rent these chips. Nobody has been charged with anything, and the hearings are weeks away.",
      "source_url": "https://decrypt.co/383211/congress-summons-ex-nvidia-ceo-jensen-huang-lutnick-over-chip-exports-to-china",
      "sources": [
        "https://decrypt.co/383211/congress-summons-ex-nvidia-ceo-jensen-huang-lutnick-over-chip-exports-to-china",
        "https://www.yahoo.com/news/politics/articles/howard-lutnick-agrees-testify-bipartisan-024527970.html",
        "https://foreignaffairs.house.gov/news/press-releases/chairmen-mast-moolenaar-and-crawford-send-second-request-to-jensen-huang-and-nvidia-to-brief-congress-on-the-chinese-intelligence-asset",
        "https://aiweekly.co/alerts/reuters-32b-china-ai-pipeline-built-on-restricted-nvidia-gpus",
        "https://techcrunch.com/2026/11/13/export-banned-nvidia-chips-are-behind-chinas-most-powerful-ai-models-uh-oh-jensen/"
      ],
      "url": "https://singularitynightly.com/editions/2026-11-13-evening-15/#story-congress-sets-december-hearings-on-how-ai-chips-reached-ch",
      "video_id": null,
      "image_url": "https://singularitynightly.com/img/editions/dirksen-committee-room-700.jpg",
      "image_credit": "Architect of the Capitol"
    },
    {
      "beat": "TOKEN",
      "desk": "Tokenized Assets",
      "title": "Three central banks show tokenized and ordinary payment systems can settle currency trades together",
      "text": "The Bank of England, the Monetary Authority of Singapore and the Bank of Thailand published the results of Project Meridian FX, a test of settling foreign currency trades across different kinds of payment systems, the Bank of England announced on Friday. In a currency trade, one bank sends pounds and the other sends baht, and the danger is that one side pays and the other does not. The test used payment versus payment, a method where both sides settle at the same moment or neither does, across central bank systems and tokenized ones built on blockchain-style ledgers, The Block reports. Partior, a bank-owned payments company, built the piece that keeps both systems in step. The central banks of Australia and the Philippines watched. The policy report lists open questions on legal finality, who is liable when something breaks, and sharing data across borders, and the Bank of England plans a live link in 2028. Tom Mutton of the Bank of England said \"innovation has the greatest impact when it addresses real world challenges.\" Not investment advice.",
      "why_it_matters": "money sent between countries can take days and pass through many banks. Settling both sides at once could make it faster, cheaper and safer for businesses and, in time, for families sending money home. This was a test in practice systems, and a live service is years away.",
      "source_url": "https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/news/2026/november/the-boe-monetary-authority-of-singapore-and-bank-of-thailand-media-release",
      "sources": [
        "https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/news/2026/november/the-boe-monetary-authority-of-singapore-and-bank-of-thailand-media-release",
        "https://www.theblock.co/news/regulation/2026-11-13-uk-singapore-and-thailand-central-banks-complete-foreign-exchange-settlement-trial-linking-traditional-and-tokenized-systems-439692",
        "https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/payments/payments-innovation/wholesale-experiments-programme/project-meridian-fx-apac-policy-report"
      ],
      "url": "https://singularitynightly.com/editions/2026-11-13-evening-15/#story-three-central-banks-show-tokenized-and-ordinary-payment-sy",
      "video_id": null,
      "image_url": "https://singularitynightly.com/img/editions/fx-ledgers-sync-1376.jpg",
      "image_credit": "Illustration: Singularity Nightly (AI-generated)"
    },
    {
      "beat": "WILD",
      "desk": "Wildcard",
      "title": "Statkraft switches on its first grid-forming battery in Scotland",
      "text": "Statkraft, Norway's state-owned power company, said its first grid-forming battery is now running at Neilston Greener Grid Park near Glasgow, Scotland, in a release on Friday. Most batteries follow the rhythm of the power grid. A grid-forming battery can help set that rhythm, the steady 50 beats a second of Britain's electricity, a job that used to need big spinning machines in coal and gas plants. That matters as wind and solar replace those plants. Statkraft says it has more than 2 gigawatts of battery and grid-steadying projects in Britain and Ireland, and renewables recently reached a record 55.8% of Britain's electricity. The release did not give the battery's size. Barbara Flesche, who leads Statkraft in Europe, said it shows \"what the next phase of the energy transition looks like.\"",
      "why_it_matters": "a grid that runs mostly on wind and sun needs new ways to stay steady, or the lights can flicker and fail. Batteries that keep the beat let more clean power onto the grid safely. This is one site, and many more will be needed.",
      "source_url": "https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2026/11/13/3402415/0/en/statkraft-first-grid-forming-battery-is-operational.html",
      "sources": [
        "https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2026/11/13/3402415/0/en/statkraft-first-grid-forming-battery-is-operational.html"
      ],
      "url": "https://singularitynightly.com/editions/2026-11-13-evening-15/#story-statkraft-switches-on-its-first-grid-forming-battery-in-sc",
      "video_id": null,
      "image_url": "https://singularitynightly.com/img/editions/statkraft-neilston-grid-battery-2000.jpg",
      "image_credit": "Statkraft"
    }
  ],
  "videos": [
    {
      "video_id": "0vNyVMDFdkg",
      "caption": "Matthew Berman (Nov. 9), in case you missed it: a hands-on look at Anthropic's Claude Fable 5.2 and how it does on hard tasks (opinion).",
      "section": "Watch"
    },
    {
      "video_id": "xDsjsYhBtMg",
      "caption": "Moonshots with Peter Diamandis, live episode: the hosts talk about Jensen Huang leaving Nvidia (opinion).",
      "section": "Watch"
    }
  ],
  "license": {
    "name": "CC BY 4.0",
    "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"
  },
  "cite": "Singularity Nightly, \"Starship Reaches Orbit but Skips Its Booster Catch, the B-21 Drops Its First Weapon, and a New Bladder Cancer Treatment Wins Approval\", Friday, November 13, 2026, https://singularitynightly.com/editions/2026-11-13-evening-15/. CC BY 4.0."
}