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Today's Brief: Alberta, Oslo, and Oil

The Homebrew · · Posted · AI-drafted daily brief, synthesized from Left, Center, and Right coverage. Facts may be inaccurate — verify with the cited sources below.

Alberta voters rejected starting a process toward leaving Canada, with 76% backing staying in early unofficial results, the Guardian reported. Ukraine's president was set to meet U.S. envoys in Oslo on Tuesday, a day after President Trump said "it's time for somebody else to negotiate on behalf of Ukraine," CNBC reported. France's prime minister credited targeted curfews for a calm night, and oil traded at its highest since May, with Brent above $110 a barrel, as attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz continued, CNBC reported.

Alberta: a clear no to separation. With more than 1.5 million votes counted, 76% supported remaining in Canada and close to 24% backed beginning a process toward separation, according to unofficial results from Elections Alberta, the Guardian reported. The referendum was not a direct vote on independence; approval would have set Alberta on a path toward a future vote on separation, NPR reported.

"Albertans made a clear choice," Prime Minister Mark Carney said. "They chose unity, to build together, and to take care of each other. Above all, Albertans chose Canada," according to NPR. Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, who opposes independence, posted that "Albertans have voted for a stronger Alberta in a united Canada," NPR reported, and said she would address the province Tuesday evening. Separatist leader Keith Wilson said "at least a quarter of Albertans feel that Alberta needs to be treated better," according to NPR and the Guardian.

The separation question was one of 10 put to Albertans on Monday, and Elections Alberta said the remaining results could take days to count, the Guardian reported. The Washington Examiner noted the result was in line with nearly all polling this year, which showed support for independence hovering from 20% to 30%, and wrote that with such a lopsided vote, Ottawa "now has no incentive to negotiate with the separatists."

Ukraine: Oslo talks after a public rebuke. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was set to meet U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff in Oslo on Tuesday, with Jared Kushner joining by videoconference and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre and Finnish President Alexander Stubb taking part, NBC News reported, citing the Norwegian government. Ukraine asked for Witkoff and Kushner to join, Støre said, according to CNBC.

On Monday Trump told reporters, "Zelenskyy doesn't know what he's talking about," and "I think it's time for somebody else to negotiate on behalf of Ukraine," CNBC reported. He also told reporters, "Russia, frankly, has been fine on Ukraine," adding, "They haven't been doing much," according to NBC. On Friday Trump waived a sweeping package of Russia sanctions passed by both chambers of Congress, telling Congress the pause was in the national interest, the Guardian reported.

A Ukrainian air force spokesperson said Ukraine got no warning before a Russian missile barrage hit Kyiv power plants at about 11 p.m. Sunday, though it did get one before a later strike at 3 a.m., the Guardian reported. Zelenskyy said the barrage hit 28 substations and other energy facilities, leaving more than 500,000 people without electricity, heat and running water, according to the Guardian. A White House official said there were no changes to intelligence sharing between the U.S. and Ukraine, the BBC reported, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Tuesday that claims Ukrainians are dying because the U.S. pulled support were "scandalous, that's outrageous, that's just simply not true," NBC reported. Ukrainian officials said a drone strike near a park in the Kharkiv region on Monday killed at least six people, including a toddler in her pram and an 11-year-old girl, the BBC reported.

From the right, a Washington Examiner op-ed argued that easing sanctions on Russia "risks exchanging long-term strategic capital for short-term tactical gains."

France: curfews and a calm night. "Targeted curfews have contributed to the calm of this night," Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu wrote on X on Tuesday, adding that new curfews would be decided by prefects "where the situation requires it," ABC News reported. Curfews covered parts of Paris, including Place de la République and Les Halles, and parts of central Lyon, CNBC reported, while ABC listed Bordeaux and Nice among the cities under nighttime curfews. Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said Monday that 2,513 people had been taken into custody during the protests, ABC reported.

Nuñez offered to resign Monday, and President Emmanuel Macron declined, CNBC reported. Macron is facing criticism for a three-day tour of the Gulf; he said the trip to Kuwait, the UAE, Bahrain and Qatar aimed to address high fuel prices and secure energy supplies, CNBC reported. The French presidency said he secured an extra 200,000 tonnes of diesel a month from the UAE and Bahrain, the Guardian reported. France will offer interest-free loans of up to €50,000 to businesses hit by the riots, economy minister Roland Lescure said, according to the Guardian. A 40-year-old man was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of involvement in the arson that ravaged Limoges town hall, French media reported, according to the Guardian.

From the left, Mother Jones, republishing Inside Climate News, traced the student protests that preceded the riots to crumbling schools and heat waves, reporting roughly 8,000 arrests in three weeks, 85% of them minors.

Markets: Brent above $110. West Texas Intermediate futures for November, which expire Tuesday, were up 2% at $105.75 a barrel by 9:02 a.m. ET, pulling back from a session high of $110.48, and Brent was up 1% at $110.70, its highest level since May, CNBC reported. At least 18 vessels have come under fire in the Strait of Hormuz over the past two weeks, according to ship tracker Kpler, CNBC said. The 10-year Treasury yield was down more than 4 basis points at 5.092% after September housing starts missed expectations, and traders priced an 85% chance the Fed holds rates next week, according to the CME FedWatch Tool, CNBC reported.

General Motors beat third-quarter expectations, with adjusted earnings of $3.70 a share against $3.63 expected and revenue of $50.02 billion, narrowed its 2026 adjusted EBIT guidance to $14.5 billion to $15.5 billion, and announced a new $20 billion buyback, CNBC reported. The stock was off roughly 6% in early trading Tuesday as the outlook missed Wall Street's expectations, CNBC said.

India's Jio Platforms plans to raise up to 302 billion rupees ($3.2 billion) in India's largest IPO in rupee terms, CNBC reported. The anchor book drew bids of about $26.3 billion, more than 30 times its size, according to a source cited by CNBC, and the public offer runs Wednesday through Friday. At the top of the price range Jio would be worth 10.3 trillion rupees, far below expectations when it filed its draft prospectus, the Guardian reported.

Yemen and Saudi Arabia. A Houthi ballistic missile attack on al-Alam training camp in Yemen's Shabwa province killed at least 53 people and injured more than 200, mostly young recruits, the Guardian reported, calling it the largest single loss of life since the civil war reignited in September. The Houthis said they targeted "Saudi enemy's mobilisations"; a Yemeni government spokesperson said it was a training centre for new recruits "far from the frontlines," according to the Guardian. Saudi Arabia postponed its Future Investment Initiative conference, set for Oct. 26 to 29 in Riyadh, until 2027, after an Oct. 10 Houthi attack on Riyadh's airport left at least 12 people dead, CNBC reported.

Tech: DeepSeek ban and share giveaways. The Department of Homeland Security made public an order, first issued July 24, barring DeepSeek technology from federal civilian agency systems, including Treasury, State and Justice but not Defense, CNBC reported. A Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said China opposes "the politicization of science, technology and trade issues," Reuters reported, according to CNBC.

Elon Musk said he will give one of his SpaceX shares to every child in America next year: "This will be the first of many," the BBC reported; no details have been disclosed. SpaceX owns xAI, the BBC noted. Anthropic said it would commit 5% of its shares to a fund for the "public good," none of it used for lobbying or political donations, the BBC reported. (Disclosure: The Homebrew is drafted by xAI's Grok.)

Science and sports. A Japanese-led spacecraft, the Mars Moons Exploration mission, launched for Mars' moon Phobos; it is due to arrive in August 2027 and aims to bring just 10 grams of material back to Earth in 2031, which would be the first sample returned from Mars or its moons, the BBC reported. Researchers at Mass General Brigham reported in Lancet Digital Health an AI tool that predicts cancer patients' survival from a single face photo; doctors cautioned that more research is needed before wide use, the Guardian reported.

The Tampa Bay Rays beat the Cleveland Guardians 7-3 in Game 6 of the ALCS and will face the Milwaukee Brewers in the first World Series since 1980 in which both teams are seeking their first title, NPR reported.

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