Voting Rule Changes, Nobel Prize Wrap-up, & Homes Values

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Adam Rogers
October 13, 2026

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Voters in more than 20 states face new registration and ballot rules for this year’s midterms as early voting gets underway.
A few notable changes affect voter identification and mail-ballot deadlines. New Hampshire no longer accepts student IDs for voting, while some Mississippi voters may need birth certificates or passports to verify their identities. Ohio eliminated its four-day grace period for mailed ballots, so election offices must receive them by Election Day. (See your state’s requirements and deadlines before voting)
The state changes come after Trump’s attempts to impose nationwide voting requirements failed to take effect for these midterms. Republican supporters say tighter rules improve confidence in elections, but voting-rights groups have challenged several laws, arguing they could create barriers for eligible voters.

Russia continued striking Ukrainian energy facilities after President Trump said Moscow and Kyiv had agreed to an immediate ceasefire covering energy infrastructure.
Zelenskyy said Ukraine had stopped striking Russian energy sites since Trump’s announcement and would honor a reciprocal pause. Moscow said discussions about an energy ceasefire were continuing but rejected Ukraine’s separate proposal for a full 60-day truce.
Trump announced the ceasefire after pressing Ukraine to stop strikes on Russian oil refineries and allowing limited Russian diesel sales despite wartime sanctions. The proposed pause would cover energy sites rather than end the broader war that began with Russia’s 2022 invasion.

American economists Robert E. Hall and Michael Woodford won the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics Monday for models that help governments and central banks respond to shocks such as inflation and energy crises.
Their work connected broad economic swings to decisions made by households and businesses. Hall showed how expectations about future income influence whether people spend or save. Woodford explained how businesses set prices based partly on expected interest rates and why clear signals from central banks can shape behavior before policies change.
Central banks and finance ministries now use frameworks influenced by their research when setting interest rates and planning responses to downturns. Hall and Woodford will share the roughly $1.2 million prize. Their award concluded this year’s Nobel announcements.

Federal agents searched Rep. Ilhan Omar’s Washington home Monday under a court-approved warrant tied to a criminal investigation whose subject and scope remain undisclosed. (More)

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani ordered the NYPD’s first use-of-force review in a decade and announced reforms to prevent officers from retiring before disciplinary proceedings conclude. (More)

A federal judge ordered the administration to cancel taxpayer-funded television ads promoting Trump’s political message and barred new agreements for the ads for two weeks. (More)

Kurdish PKK militants withdrew from four camps in northern Iraq as part of peace efforts with Turkey following the group’s pledge to disarm and end decades of conflict. (More)

French investigators recovered two stolen Renoir paintings hidden behind a wall and charged four men after DNA and vehicle-tracking evidence led police to the suspects. (More)

Indonesia is testing earthquake warnings through mosque loudspeakers linked to seismic sensors so remote communities can receive alerts when mobile networks fail. (More)

U.S. stock markets closed mixed on Monday (S&P -0.06%, Nasdaq -0.44%, Dow +0.38%) as investors awaited a busy week of earnings results and inflation data. (More)

Kroger plans to eliminate roughly 3,000 corporate roles over three years as it expands AI use and redirects savings toward lower prices and store employees. (More)

EnergyX signed a 10-year deal worth $2 billion to supply Trafigura with lithium from projects in Chile and Texas using a newer extraction method. (More)

The Milwaukee Brewers took a 2–0 NLCS lead Monday behind three run-scoring hits from William Contreras in a 7–4 win over the Dodgers. (More)

Catherine Debrunner set a women’s wheelchair marathon world record of 1:33:16 in Chicago Sunday while fellow Swiss racer Marcel Hug won the men’s race. (More)

Zizou Bergs upset Carlos Alcaraz in Shanghai Monday to eliminate the seven-time Grand Slam champion and confirm Alexander Zverev as tennis’s year-end world No. 1. (More)

Scientists identified a molecular switch that stops microbes from converting airborne nitrogen into usable nutrients and could inform future efforts to reduce crops’ dependence on fertilizer. (More)

A map of 12.4 million immune cells found a blood-cell ratio that may help distinguish healthy aging from trajectories linked to later disease. (More)

Researchers found AI analysis of heart recordings collected during sleep studies could help predict long-term risks of heart failure and irregular heartbeat before symptoms appear. (More)

Mapping typical home values in 2026 by state.

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