Happy Saturday! The weekend edition is 692 words, a 3 minute read.

What’s on tap: 

• Canadian police’s massive drug bust

• Boston hospital making its food healthier

• The dirtiest cities in the US

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Editor’s note: Our weekend email is shorter than our weekday format to give our staff (just me) a full 1-day weekend. -Adam

Today’s Big Story

Jobs Report

Job growth almost stalled in October as strikes and hurricanes greatly impacted the labor market.

• Employers added about 12,000 jobs in October, compared to economists' estimates of 105,000. Analysts expected the total to be held down by two major hurricanes and multiple worker strikes but not this much.

• The unemployment rate held steady at 4.1% last month, making it the lowest unemployment rate heading into a presidential election since 2000. However, other signs point to a cooling labor market; payroll number revisions removed 113,000 positions from August and September job growth. See full report here.

• Analysts say the Fed won’t be overly concerned about the poor jobs report and will look through the noise created by the two hurricanes. They believe the Fed will cut the interest rate by a quarter-point at its meeting next week.

Quick Stories

• Green Party politicians from Europe asked US Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein to pull out of the White House race and endorse Kamala Harris. “We are clear that Kamala Harris is the only candidate who can block Donald Trump and his anti-democratic, authoritarian policies from the White House,” Green parties said in a statement. (More)

• The IRS announced that in 2025, people can contribute up to $23,500 to their 401(k) plans, up from $23,000 in 2024. The increase also applies to 403(b) and the federal Thrift Savings Plan. However, IRA contributions stay at $7,000, and the catch-up limit for those 50 and older remains $1,000 for 2025. (More)

• The death toll from flash floods in Spain has risen to 205 while rescue workers are still searching for missing people. A year’s worth of rain fell in 8 hours on Tuesday, producing waves that overflowed riverbanks, catching people unaware. Meteorologists say the storm system formed rapidly and then “parked” over the region. (More)

• The ruling party governing Botswana, one of Africa’s wealthiest countries, has lost power for the first time in 60 years. Opposition leader Duma Boko won after members of parliament voted him in. The country has slumped economically under former President Masisi because global demand for diamonds has fallen. Diamonds make up four-fifths of the country’s exports. (More)

• Canadian Police said they busted the “largest and most sophisticated fentanyl and methamphetamine drug superlab” in the country. Officers in British Columbia seized 54 kilos of fentanyl, 390 kilos of meth, and massive amounts of chemicals used to make the drugs. They also found 89 firearms, including semiautomatic rifles. (More)

Weekly Dose of Positive

• African giant pouched rats have been trained to detect things like explosives and tuberculosis. Now, they’ve been recruited to sniff out criminals illegally trading wildlife. They can smell multiple animals at risk of extinction and can fit into tight cargo areas inaccessible by dogs. (More)

• Boston Medical Center is working to make hospital food healthier. They’ve set up two large rooftop gardens to grow fresh food, which supplies their cafeteria and patient meals. The fresh produce also goes to local communities in need. (More)

• After learning that 75% of produce is crawling with pesticides, 14-year-old Sirish Subash is working to solve the problem. He created a hand-held AI app that can detect pesticides on fruits and vegetables in real time at the store. His invention won the 3M Young Scientist Challenge. (More)

• The WHO has declared Egypt malaria-free. The Egyptian government had been trying to rid the country of the disease for almost 100 years. More and more countries are achieving malaria-free status, meaning thousands of lives are saved yearly. (More)

Extra Credit

🗳️ Aren’t excited about the election outcome? Here’s how to move overseas.

🐿️ New York authorities seize Instagram-famous squirrel named Peanut.

🌆 Mapping the 10 dirtiest cities in the US. 

🎨 Explicit frescos found in an ancient Pompei home.