The Varni Daily

Bull Fire north of Verdi reaches 92% containment

Fire holds at 1,529 acres; evacuation warnings were lifted Monday.

Crews have brought the 1,529-acre Bull Fire near Verdi to 92% containment, 2 News reported. All evacuation warnings near the fire were lifted on Monday.

FEMA authorized a Fire Management Assistance Grant for the fire, which covers up to 75% of eligible firefighting costs. Officials said smoke may still be visible, and that dust devils may look similar to smoke columns from a distance.

Man sentenced to 45 years in Reno elder phone-scam case

Fraud ring took more than half a million dollars from a senior woman, prosecutors said.

Anil Kumar was sentenced to 45 years in prison, with parole eligibility after 18 years, after a jury convicted him of exploitation of an elderly person and attempting to obtain money under false pretenses, the Washoe County District Attorney’s Office said, News 4 reported.

Prosecutors said the ring used a fake retailer text and calls from people posing as law enforcement to coerce the victim into handing over cash and gold. Kumar and co-defendant Amit Bhanwala-Singh were each ordered to pay about $485,000 in restitution.

Hawk and Bug fire recovery begins with hazardous waste removal

County-funded phase one cleanup expected to wrap up in the next few weeks.

Washoe County has hired Hero Environmental to remove household hazardous waste from properties burned in the Hawk and Bug fires before demolition and rebuilding can begin, KOLO reported. County officials cited groundwater and environmental concerns.

The work covers hazardous waste only, not ordinary ash or debris. Homeowners may opt out and handle it themselves at their own cost, and the county notifies each owner when their lot is cleared for phase two.

K9 deputies recover stolen vehicle, meth and ghost gun

Suspect booked on felony charges.

Washoe County Sheriff’s Office K9 deputies with the Northern Nevada Interdiction Task Force located a stolen vehicle this week and arrested Giles James, 56, after recovering about 28.5 grams of methamphetamine and a ghost gun, KOLO reported. He was booked on felony charges including possession of a stolen vehicle and prohibited person in possession of a firearm.

Original Reno Arch headed for historic-landmark status

City Council expected to vote in a couple of weeks.

The Reno City Council is expected to approve a historic landmark overlay for the original Reno Arch in a couple of weeks, 2 News reported.

Oakland joins San Francisco with a 45-day pause on new data centers

Both councils voted unanimously Tuesday.

Oakland’s City Council approved a 45-day moratorium on new data center projects Tuesday night, the same day San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors passed its own, CBS San Francisco reported. Oakland can extend its pause after 45 days.

Councilmember Carroll Fife, who sponsored the Oakland measure, scheduled a community meeting on data centers for Oct. 24 at Beth Eden Baptist Church in West Oakland, SFist reported.

Golden Gate Bridge night lane closures for $1.8 billion seismic retrofit

Three of six lanes close 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. through Friday morning.

Crews are closing two southbound lanes and one northbound lane on the Golden Gate Bridge from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. through Friday morning, Oct. 9, to build decking for the next phase of the bridge’s $1.8 billion seismic retrofit, USA Today reported.

SF elections office warns of torn ballot envelopes

Two older adults die in a Monte Sereno house fire.

The San Francisco Department of Elections sent a notice Wednesday after several voters reported receiving torn ballot envelopes for the November election, Bay City News reported via SFGate.

Separately, two older adults died in a house fire in Monte Sereno early Wednesday, according to the Santa Clara County Fire Department, and Sonoma County declared an emergency Tuesday to prepare for a potentially wet El Niño winter.

Isaias becomes a hurricane, forecast to strike the northern Gulf Coast

Storm Surge Warning from the mouth of the Mississippi River to Steinhatchee, Fla.

Isaias strengthened into a hurricane overnight with maximum sustained winds near 80 mph, the National Hurricane Center said in its 4 a.m. CDT Thursday advisory. It was moving east-northeast at 9 mph and is expected to make landfall within the warning area late Friday or early Saturday as a strong hurricane.

The NHC forecast 3 to 7 inches of rain, with localized totals up to 10 inches, from far southeastern Louisiana to the Florida Panhandle from Friday through the weekend. Yale Climate Connections noted Isaias is the latest first-forming Atlantic hurricane in reliable records by a wide margin.

USS Abraham Lincoln heads home to San Diego after record 265 days at sea

Carrier’s Iran-war deployment drew attention over crew strain and shortages.

The aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln is returning to San Diego after 265 days at sea supporting the Iran war, a record for days between ports of call, the Associated Press reported. Its deployment drew scrutiny after reports of crew stress and supply shortages.

FDA says its review of the abortion pill will run into next year

First substantive update on the mifepristone reevaluation.

The Food and Drug Administration told a court in a filing late Wednesday that its safety review of mifepristone will continue into next year, the AP reported. The drug was first approved in 2000, and the FDA has repeatedly reaffirmed its safety and effectiveness.

Most Americans say AI is moving too fast, AP-NORC poll finds

Large majorities want human control and worker protections.

A new AP-NORC poll found most U.S. adults think artificial intelligence is developing too fast, and the vast majority say it is highly important for the government to keep AI under human control and protect workers. Few said either major party is better equipped to handle AI.

Judge orders Tennessee to preserve evidence after failed execution

Christa Pike survived two attempted pentobarbital doses Sept. 30.

A judge said Wednesday she would order Tennessee to preserve everything in the execution chamber and all communication records after the failed Sept. 30 attempt to execute Christa Pike, the AP reported. One of Pike’s attorneys said she is “angry and confused.”

Russian strike on a Kramatorsk bus kills 30; Pryluky toll rises to 22

Kyiv placed under emergency power outages as attacks intensify before winter.

Thirty people were killed and at least 18 injured in Russian strikes in eastern Ukraine that included an attack on a public bus in Kramatorsk, authorities said Thursday, NPR reported. The death toll from Wednesday’s missile strike on a residential building in Pryluky rose to 22, including five children.

Ukraine’s grid operator ordered emergency power outages in Kyiv, and public transport in Kramatorsk and Sloviansk was halted. ABC News, citing Ukrainian authorities, put the overnight toll across Ukraine at 35 or more. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy appealed to NATO countries for more air-defense support.

Anne Carson wins the Nobel Prize in literature

Swedish Academy cites her inventive engagement with classical traditions.

Canadian poet and essayist Anne Carson, 76, won the Nobel Prize in literature, the Swedish Academy announced in Stockholm, the AP reported. Her works include “Eros the Bittersweet” and “Autobiography of Red.” The peace prize is announced Friday.

Russia denies plague spread after Siberian lab worker’s death

Health watchdog calls reports of a second case fake.

Russia’s public health watchdog Rospotrebnadzor said a worker at a plague research institute in Irkutsk died of pneumonia of unknown origin, that testing found no link to the pathogens she worked with, and that no plague case has been registered in the region, the AP reported. It called reports of a second person falling ill fake.

U.S. and Iran trade warnings as indirect talks continue

IRGC says southern Hormuz shipping routes will soon be “blocked.”

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said Tuesday, through the Fars news agency, that southern maritime transit routes through the Strait of Hormuz will soon be “blocked,” the Soufan Center reported. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Sunday that only negotiations can end the conflict, while President Trump has said Iran must sign a deal.

Wolfspeed jumps on conditional $1.5 billion Pentagon loan

30-year financing commitment would give the Defense Department warrants for up to 7.5%.

Wolfspeed shares rose more than 15% premarket Thursday after the chipmaker secured a conditional $1.5 billion, 30-year loan commitment from the Defense Department to support domestic production, CNBC reported. Under the proposed terms, the Pentagon would receive warrants for up to 7.5% of the company.

Broadcom seeks more than $50 billion tied to OpenAI chip project

Shares down nearly 2% premarket.

Broadcom is working to arrange more than $50 billion in financing tied to custom AI chips it is developing with OpenAI, according to a Wall Street Journal report cited by CNBC. Separately, TSMC reported September revenue up 54.6% from a year earlier, bringing third-quarter revenue to $16.03 billion, above expectations.

Levi Strauss raises profit outlook; revenue edges past $1.6 billion

Tariff refunds helped margins; shares fell premarket.

Levi Strauss reported third-quarter revenue of $1.61 billion, up 4%, and adjusted earnings of 48 cents a share, and raised its full-year adjusted EPS outlook to $1.54 to $1.56, the company said. CNBC reported the stock fell nearly 3% premarket as revenue slightly missed estimates and direct-to-consumer sales weakened in the U.S. and Europe.

Applied Digital revenue more than quadruples on AI data centers

Fiscal first-quarter revenue of $341.9 million, up 322%.

Applied Digital reported fiscal first-quarter revenue of $341.9 million, up 322% from a year earlier, with a net loss of $221 million, and announced $1.59 billion in debt financing, the company said.

Weston family agrees to buy U.K. pharmacy chain Boots for $8.9 billion

Deal through Wittington Investments.

The Weston family’s Wittington Investments reached an $8.9 billion deal to buy British pharmacy chain Boots, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Highest / most active volume

Dow lagged as Caterpillar weighed; AI megacaps held up.

Only 12 of 30 Dow members advanced Wednesday, and Caterpillar was the biggest drag, 22V said. Nvidia and AMD slipped less than 1% from all-time highs, while memory and server names such as Micron, HPE and Supermicro rose against a lower tech tape.

Biggest percentage gainers and losers

Wolfspeed and Haemonetics up, Levi Strauss down premarket.

Premarket Thursday, Wolfspeed rose more than 15% on its Pentagon loan and Haemonetics popped 8% on CSL’s plan to complete a U.S. rollout of its plasmapheresis platform by the end of 2027, while Levi Strauss fell nearly 3% and Broadcom nearly 2%, CNBC reported. On Wednesday the Russell 2000 fell 1.31%.

Biggest changes in volatility

10-year yield touched its highest since April 2002 before a strong auction.

The 10-year Treasury yield reached about 5.365% before settling near 5.28% after Wednesday’s $39 billion auction, and the 30-year hit 5.73%, The Core Quant and 22V reported. The auction stopped at 5.300%, with indirect bidders taking 80.3% and dealers just 2.5%.

Unusual activity

Oil back above $101; homebuilders slid.

Brent rose back above $101 after Houthi strikes on Saudi airports, 22V said. Housing and homebuilder stocks fell 2.3% and 2.9% as mortgage rates climbed, the Economic Times reported, citing Reuters.

Technical confirmation and relative strength

S&P 500 and Dow snap four-day win streaks.

The S&P 500 fell 0.22% to 7,801.77, the Dow 0.66% to 51,179.87 and the Nasdaq 0.22% to 27,538.69, one day after record closes for the S&P and Nasdaq, Invested Alpha reported. Health care was the only sector with a meaningful gain; industrials, materials and real estate fell most.

Earnings reports

PepsiCo Thursday morning; Delta Friday; banks next week.

PepsiCo reports fiscal third-quarter results around 6 a.m. ET (3 a.m. PT) Thursday, with consensus near $2.30 a share on about $24.98 billion in revenue, and Delta reports Friday before the open, 22V said. Levi Strauss and Applied Digital reported Wednesday after the close.

Economic data releases

Jobless claims and a 30-year bond auction Thursday; CPI next Wednesday.

Weekly initial jobless claims are due at 8:30 a.m. ET (5:30 a.m. PT), with consensus near 200,000 versus 197,000 prior, and a 30-year bond auction at 1 p.m. ET (10 a.m. PT), 22V said. September CPI is due Oct. 14.

Fed and central bank events

Minutes show most officials expect another hike by year-end, with no timing.

Minutes of the Sept. 15–16 meeting said most participants judged another increase “would likely be appropriate by year end,” but did not signal urgency for October, the Wall Street Journal reported. CME FedWatch put October hike odds below 20%, Invested Alpha said. 22V lists Gov. Waller speaking Thursday; the FOMC meets Oct. 27–28.

Industry and company-specific catalysts

AI financing and chip demand lead company news.

Broadcom is arranging more than $50 billion tied to its OpenAI chips, and TSMC’s September revenue rose 54.6% year over year, CNBC reported. Lululemon named former Athleta CEO Maggie Gauger chief product officer and Joseph Godsey chief operating officer.

Ex-dividend dates, splits, and corporate actions

Limited verifiable details from checked sources.

No major new megacap ex-dividend or split announcements appeared in the Wednesday-close or Thursday-morning coverage checked. Wolfspeed’s proposed Pentagon terms include warrants for up to 7.5% of the company.