BAirlines are quietly making flying more expensive and less convenient, and Axios just put a number on it.
BHigher fares, fewer flights — that's the new normal they're describing?
BThat's the headline. Airfares up nearly twenty-three percent year-over-year through September.
BTwenty-three percent. That's not a small bump, that's a real squeeze on anyone who flies.
BAnd it's not just one airline. Delta, Southwest, American — all cutting capacity or lowering forecasts.
BBecause fuel costs are outpacing what they can charge. So they fly less and charge more.
BExactly. And the frustrating part is, they're not even hiding it. It's just... the new normal.
BGreat. So the golden age of cheap flights is officially over, and nobody sent a memo.
BThe memo was the price at checkout. Speaking of oil money, here's a deal that could reshape Libya's energy.
BADNOC's investment arm, XRG, is in early talks to buy a stake in Eni's oil and gas business in Libya.
BReuters is reporting this. Abu Dhabi's national oil company moving into Libya, where Eni has been for decades.
BThis is a big deal. Libya's oil sector has been unstable for years, and now a Gulf giant wants in.
BIt's a bet that Libya can stabilize, or at least that the oil will keep flowing. And ADNOC has the cash.
BBut early-stage talks, sources say. Nothing signed. Still, the direction is clear.
BGulf money is moving into North African energy. That's a story worth watching.
BNow, something that's been building all week — and it's not about oil or airlines.
BRolling Stone just reported that a medical trial the WHO called 'unethical' will not move forward.
BThis is after months of their reporting. The trial is being stopped.
BThe WHO's word — unethical — is about as strong as it gets in medical research.
BAnd Rolling Stone says their investigation is what brought it to light. That's journalism doing its job.
BThe details are in their piece, but the headline is: a trial that shouldn't have happened won't.
BThat's a win for patients and for accountability. But it raises a bigger question.
BHow many other trials are out there that haven't been caught yet?
BThat's the uncomfortable part. This one got stopped because someone kept digging.
BAnd now, a different kind of story — one that's been simmering on Bluesky all day.
BJosh Marshall, the founder of Talking Points Memo, posted a link to a Washington Post story with just... 'ummm.'
BThat's the whole post, and it's got people talking.
BThe article is about politics, and Marshall's reaction is basically: you have to see this.
BIt's the kind of post that works because he's built trust. When he says 'ummm,' people click.
BAnd the replies are full of people trying to guess what he's reacting to. It's a whole thing.
BBut here's the one that's actually starting a real argument. Ryan Enos, a political scientist at Harvard.
BHe says the idea that Trump made right-wing politics cool among young people was a 'mass delusion.'
BAnd he's not stopping there. He says it rivals the myth that Trump built a multi-racial coalition.
BOkay, I have thoughts. Because for years we heard that Trump was winning over young men in droves.
BAnd the data did show a shift. Young men, especially, moved right. That wasn't nothing.
BBut Enos is saying the 'cool' part was the delusion. The shift was real, but it wasn't about coolness.
BIt was about grievance, about feeling left behind. That's different from thinking Trump is cool.
BBut come on — there was a whole aesthetic. The memes, the flags, the trucks. That looked like a cultural movement.
BIt looked like one. But Enos is saying the numbers never backed up the 'cool' narrative. It was a media story.
BSo you're saying the media invented the idea that young people thought Trump was cool?
BI'm saying the data was always more complicated. And Enos is right to call out the oversimplification.
BBut you can't deny that something changed. Young men did move right, and it wasn't just policy.
BIt was identity. But identity isn't the same as cool. That's his point, and it's a good one.
BFine. I'll give him this: the 'cool' framing was lazy. But the shift was real.
BAnd that's the argument. The explanation is what's in dispute, and that's worth debating.
BWe'll keep an eye on that one. For now, that's the show — we're just getting started.
BComing up, we've got more on the stories driving the day.