Daily News Briefing

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Wednesday, October 21, 2026

Morning edition

AI

Nvidia introduces DSX POD modular data center designNvidia introduced DSX POD, "a modular version of the reference design for Vera Rubin-powered AI data centers," at its GTC Berlin event, Data Center Dynamics reported on Oct. 21. Nvidia said DSX POD can reduce deployment time from "six months to 14 days" and that it plans to "deliver DSX POD facilities worldwide in early 2027," according to the outlet.
Sources: Data Center Dynamics
Anthropic pitches draft federal AI safety billA draft federal AI safety bill would let the Commerce Department ask a Washington, D.C., judge to halt a model's release when independent evaluators find a "foreseeable, imminent risk" in which "over 50 people are at risk of dying," TechCrunch reported on Oct. 20, citing Politico. An Anthropic spokesperson told Politico: "This bill represents the proposals outlined in Anthropic's Advanced AI Framework."
Sources: TechCrunch

Financial

Wednesday in Asia, per the AP: Japan's Nikkei 225 rose 0.9% to 64,621.24, South Korea's Kospi gained 3.3% to 5,735.66, Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 0.7% to 23,707.11 and the Shanghai Composite fell 0.6% to 3,713.36. Brent crude rose 1.5% to $110.40 per barrel and U.S. benchmark crude rose 1.4% to $99.24 per barrel early Wednesday, the AP reported.

Nikkei 225	64,621.24	+0.9%
Kospi	5,735.66	+3.3%
Hang Seng	23,707.11	-0.7%
Shanghai Comp.	3,713.36	-0.6%

Source: AP via KSAT

SpaceX reports third-quarter revenue of $14.6 billionSpaceX reported third-quarter revenues of $14.6 billion, up 161% from $5.6 billion, and net income of $4.4 billion, according to its earnings release. The company said SI revenues were $7.6 billion and Connectivity revenues were $5.2 billion.
Sources: SpaceX investor relations
Intuitive reports third-quarter revenue of $3.05 billionIntuitive said on Oct. 20 that third-quarter revenue of $3.05 billion increased 22% from $2.51 billion a year earlier and that it placed 546 da Vinci surgical systems. The company reported GAAP net income of $523 million, or $1.49 per diluted share.
Sources: Intuitive
Capital One reports third-quarter net income of $3.5 billionCapital One reported third-quarter net income of $3.5 billion, or $5.61 per diluted common share, and provision for credit losses of $2.9 billion, according to its Oct. 20 earnings release.
Sources: Capital One

Real estate

Average 30-year fixed mortgage rate at 7.333%The average rate for a 30-year, fixed-rate conforming mortgage is 7.333%, up from 7.297% in the prior day's report, according to Mortgage Research Center data reviewed by Fortune on Oct. 21. The average 15-year fixed rate is 6.513%, Fortune reported.
Sources: Fortune

Los Angeles

Council committee votes 3-2 against license plate camera streetlight pilotThe Los Angeles City Council's Public Safety Committee voted 3-2 to approve a motion by Councilman Hugo Soto-Martinez opposing an LAPD contract with Axon Enterprise for a three-month pilot placing license plate-reading cameras on streetlights, KFI reported. The full City Council is scheduled to take final action on the item Wednesday, according to KFI.
Sources: KFI AM 640
Magellanic penguins return to the L.A. Zoo after 42 yearsSix Magellanic penguins are now on view in the Los Angeles Zoo's Rainforest of the Americas habitat, NBC Los Angeles reported on Oct. 20. The zoo last displayed the species in 1984, according to the report.
Sources: NBC Los Angeles

Santa Clarita

Metrolink weighs Antelope Valley Line service cuts at Friday hearingMetrolink is scheduled to approve its annual budget and hold a hearing Friday on a draft service plan whose proposed schedule would cut Antelope Valley Line service from 30 to 22 weekday trains and leave only four weekend trains, The Signal reported on Oct. 20; the hearing could move to next month, according to The Signal. Metrolink director of communications Meredith Yeoman told The Signal, "This has been an unusually complex budget cycle."
Sources: The Signal
Early vote centers in the Santa Clarita Valley open as soon as Oct. 24Some vote centers in the Santa Clarita Valley open as early as Oct. 24 and most open Oct. 31 through Nov. 2 from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., KHTS reported. The centers offer early voting, same-day voter registration and ballot drop-off; Election Day is Nov. 3, from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., according to KHTS.
Sources: KHTS

Pullman-Moscow

Pullman Pumpkin Wall returns to Pine Street Plaza FridayThe third annual Pullman Pumpkin Wall runs from Friday, Oct. 23, through Halloween in Pine Street Plaza in downtown Pullman, Pullman Radio reported. The Pullman Civic Trust and Downtown Pullman Association are hosting the event, and residents can bring pumpkins carved at home to the plaza, according to the report.
Sources: Pullman Radio

US politics

Russia releases American Stephen HubbardRussia on Wednesday released Stephen Hubbard, a former teacher from Michigan who was jailed on charges of fighting as a mercenary in Ukraine, the AP reported. President Trump wrote on Truth Social, "Welcome home, Stephen, it's great to have you back."
Sources: AP via KRMG
Trump campaigns for Michael Whatley in Greenville, N.C.President Trump held a rally at the Pitt-Greenville Airport in Greenville, N.C., on Tuesday for U.S. Senate candidate Michael Whatley, NC Newsline reported. "If we lose, you get nothing," Trump said, according to NC Newsline.
Sources: NC Newsline