Luke Durant, a 36-year-old former Nvidia programmer, has discovered the world’s largest known prime number, consisting of 41,024,320 digits. The number, called M136279841, is a Mersenne prime, a rare type of number that can be written in the form 2ᵖ-1. The historic finding was announced by The Great Internet Mersenne Prime Search (GIMPS), a community-based project. Durant’s discovery is notable as the first to be uncovered using graphics processing units (GPUs), which are renowned for their high-speed mathematical equation performance and data processing capabilities. Durant is eligible for a $3,000 GIMPS research discovery award for his finding, which he plans to donate to his old school, the Alabama School of Mathematics and Science.
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Thousands of women rallied in the US in support of abortion rights and other feminist causes ahead of Tuesday’s election. Not only the presidential election but also various state-level abortion-rights measures were in focus. As per a survey, abortion rights have supplanted inflation as the top issue for women under 30 in the presidential election. Numerous states will consider constitutional amendments for upholding the right to abortion. Other issues like LGBTQ+ rights, higher wages, paid sick leave, and efforts against gun violence were also advocated for during the rallies.
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The Biden administration has reportedly urged Iran not to launch another attack on Israel, noting that it would not be able to limit Israel’s response. The warning comes after Iran’s attack on October 1, to which Israel responded with military strikes. The US has warned Iran that it may not be able to ensure that Israel’s response remains as limited and precise as it was previously. Recent intelligence indicates that Iran may be planning an attack on Israel from Iraqi territory within days. US and Israeli officials have stated that Israel’s response would depend on the scale and impact of such an attack.
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Jeffrey Epstein, the convicted pedophile, claimed in audio recordings obtained by the Daily Beast that he was close to Donald Trump and knowledgeable about his sexual proclivities. Epstein, who called himself Trump’s “closest friend,” alleged that the first time Trump slept with his now-wife Melania was on Epstein’s plane. The recordings were made by author Michael Wolff in 2017 while he was researching his book Fire and Fury. Epstein also described Trump as a charming, fun individual, but claimed he routinely deceived his friends and their wives. The Trump campaign has dismissed these recordings as “false smears” and “election interference.”
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Ronald Gasser, the man who shot former NFL player Joe McKnight to death during a road-rage incident, has completed his prison sentence less than eight years after the killing. Gasser’s release marks the end of a complicated legal ordeal which included an overturned murder conviction, a subsequent guilty plea to manslaughter, and the Supreme Court ruling that non-unanimous jury verdicts are unconstitutional. The case spotlighted Louisiana’s “stand your ground” law. Gasser initially claimed he shot McKnight in self defense, and was initially given a 30-year sentence for manslaughter in 2018, a conviction later overturned because of a non-unanimous verdict. He pleaded guilty to manslaughter again in 2022 and received a 10-year sentence, a significant portion of which he’d already served.
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According to Ukrainian Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi, Ukrainian soldiers are defending against one of Russia’s strongest offensives since the war began. The Ukrainian military is currently under pressure, as Russia continues to conduct operations in Donetsk Oblast. The General Staff reported 126 clashes between the two forces on November 2. It was also revealed that Russia plans to involve over 7,000 North Korean troops in their offensive, a move that has drawn criticism from President Volodymyr Zelensky. He claims that if Ukraine had permission to use Western long-range weaponry, it could preemptively strike the locations where these troops are assembling.
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Michael Wolff, author of “Fire and Fury,” conducted periodic interviews with financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein from the summer of 2016 through the first year of the Trump administration. Epstein, who died by apparent suicide in jail in 2019, expressed picklement over the quest for presidency by Donald Trump, whom he knew very well as his friend. Wolff said that Epstein was both fascinated and terrified by Trump. These conversations, which took place mainly in Epstein’s large Manhattan mansion, were first discussed in Wolff’s iHeart “Fire and Fury” podcast, in partnership with the Daily Beast. Listeners, keen to learn about the Trump-Epstein relationship, responded immediately and overwhelmingly to the podcast, leading Wolff to eventually disclose some of Epstein’s observations and experiences about his “fellow predator.”
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Twenty-nine minors, aged between 14 and 17, are facing the death penalty in Nigeria after participating in a protest against the country’s cost-of-living crisis. The protesters were charged with multiple felony counts, including treason. Other minors were also charged, but four collapsed in court due to exhaustion. The accused were each granted bail but have yet to meet the strict conditions set. Lawyers and advocates have drawn attention to the fact that the Child Rights Act does not allow children to be subject to criminal proceedings and sentenced to death.
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The newly appointed head of the Chicago school board, the Rev. Mitchell Ikenna Johnson, resigned on the request of Chicago Mayor, Brandon Johnson, over alarming posts on social media. The posts, deemed antisemitic, sexist, and conspiratorial by city leaders, led to an outcry for his resignation. Notably, the board had already been shaken by the simultaneous resignation of every member earlier this month. One of Rev. Johnson’s posts suggested that the 9/11 attacks were an inside job, while another stereotype women in a negative light. He apologized for his comments, as reported by the Chicago Sun-Times.
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During their first date, Leslie Reeves and Chris Smith were shot, with only Smith surviving. Smith was found in his Illinois home with a bullet in his brain and was placed in a medically induced coma after brain surgery. Pieces of the bullet are still in his brain, as removing them could cause further harm. Smith recovered and can now move his left leg from his knee up, although he has no recollections from the night of the shooting. Now he is back singing with his rock band and is engaged to his fiancée, despite his neurosurgeon saying he may never be able to walk again.
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John Q. Hosedrinker