Voting Rights, Sleep Apnea Drug, & Cat Infestation

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Adam Rogers
October 16, 2025

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The conservative-majority Supreme Court appeared open Wednesday to limiting a core part of the Voting Rights Act in a Louisiana redistricting case. Justices heard arguments on whether states can ever consider race when drawing districts to ensure minority representation.
Louisiana originally defended its redrawn map, creating two majority-Black districts, but switched sides to argue the map violates the Constitution. The Trump administration backs this position, arguing the 14th and 15th Amendments require a 'colorblind' approach to redistricting, echoing the Court's 2023 decision ending race-based college admissions.
The Court could rule race can never be considered in redistricting, or take a narrower approach limiting how the law is enforced. Liberal Justice Sonia Sotomayor warned both would 'swallow' the Voting Rights Act's protections. Black voters make up a third of Louisiana's population, but only one of the state's six congressional districts was majority-Black before the redraw.

A drug reduced breathing pauses by up to 47% in sleep apnea patients, offering the first potential pharmaceutical treatment for a condition with no drug options. A study published in The Lancet tested sulthiame on 298 patients with moderate to severe sleep apnea. Higher doses improved breathing and oxygenation compared to placebo.
Sleep apnea causes repeated breathing pauses during sleep when airways collapse. The standard treatment is a CPAP breathing mask, but up to half of patients stop using it within a year because it feels uncomfortable. Untreated sleep apnea increases the risk of high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, and diabetes.
Sulthiame stabilizes breathing control and increases respiratory drive to prevent airway collapse, and most side effects were mild and temporary. Researchers said larger, longer studies are needed to confirm the treatment is safe and effective for broader patient groups long-term.

The US finalized a $20 billion currency swap with Argentina to stabilize its economy. The deal comes as American farmers face bankruptcy after China stopped buying U.S. soybeans during Trump's trade war and turned to Argentina instead.
The deal stabilizes Argentina's peso weeks before its October 26 election, where conservative President Javier Milei seeks reelection. Trump said the aid depends on Milei winning: 'If he loses, we are not going to be generous with Argentina.' The Treasury Department has not published the terms of the agreement.
American farmers and lawmakers from both parties say the move conflicts with Trump's 'America First' pledge, as Argentina and Brazil now supply the Chinese market that once bought over 50% of US soybean exports.

A federal judge blocked Trump from firing federal workers during the government shutdown, saying the administration broke the law by using the budget crisis to lay off employees. (More)

Democratic governors from 15 states formed a public health alliance to share data and coordinate responses, saying Trump's administration abandoned its federal health role under Robert Kennedy Jr. (More)

The US passport fell to 12th globally for the first time in 20 years, as stricter immigration policies and limited visa reciprocity weakened America's travel access advantage. (More)

Hamas returned two more dead hostages on Wednesday, but said recovering the remaining 19 bodies is difficult due to Gaza's destruction. The terrorist group also appeared to tighten control inside Gaza as masked gunmen executed several men in Gaza City streets. (More)

Syria's new leader met Putin in Moscow and agreed to honor past deals, likely letting Russia keep military bases despite leading the rebellion that toppled Moscow's ally Assad. (More)

Pakistan and Afghanistan agreed to stop fighting for 48 hours on Wednesday after border battles killed dozens, but each country says the other asked for the pause. (More)

US stock markets closed higher on Wednesday (S&P +0.40%, Nasdaq +0.66%, Dow +0.05%). Strong earnings from Bank of America and Morgan Stanley outweighed concerns about US-China trade talks and the government shutdown. (More)

Bunge Global jumped 11% Wednesday after Trump threatened to stop US purchases of Chinese cooking oil, potentially reducing competition for the American soybean processor and oil producer. (More)

Smart ring maker Oura raised $900 million at an $11 billion valuation after selling 5.5 million rings and now expects to hit $1 billion in sales this year. (More)

Toronto crushed Seattle 13-4 in Game 3 of the ALCS as Vladimir Guerrero Jr. went four-for-four and Shane Bieber struck out eight, cutting the Mariners' series lead to 2-1. (More)

Diane Keaton's family said the Oscar-winning actress died of pneumonia on October 11 in California, days after announcing her death at age 79. (More)

Sacramento Kings forward Keegan Murray agreed to a five-year, $140 million extension despite missing the season's start with a torn thumb ligament after surgery last month. (More)

Ancient hominid teeth show humans developed a gene protecting against lead toxicity that Neanderthals lacked, possibly giving our ancestors an advantage in language and speech development. (More)

Anthropic released Claude Haiku 4.5, a small AI model that rivals OpenAI's GPT-5 at coding while being faster and cheaper, now free for all users. (More)

Experts say walking backward can strengthen different muscles, improve balance, and prevent overuse injuries by changing how your body moves compared to normal forward walking. (More)

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