THE TWIN BRIEF
Why a circle isn’t a corner, Starshield speed limits hit Ukraine’s drones, a mine sinks a ship near Hormuz, hotter inflation knocks stocks, and the Oilers host Utah tonight riding five straight.
Dvar Torah
A circle isn’t a corner
The Ben Ish Chai, in his Year One halachot for Parashat Noach, keeps going on tzitzit — and this one is about the shape of the garment. The corners where you put the strings have to be square (really: rectangular corners), not rounded. A circle, he says, just isn’t called a kanaf — a “corner.”
He zooms in on the tallit katan, the everyday one. Sewing at the edges can make those corners look rounded without anyone noticing. So you have to check. If the corner got soft and circular from the stitching, you’ve lost the thing the mitzvah is hanging on.
Teen takeaway: details aren’t picky — they’re the mitzvah. Yesterday was about not inventing a fifth corner. Today is about protecting the real four. Don’t let the edges of what you’re responsible for get blurry just because it’s more convenient.
Source: Ben Ish Chai, Halachot 1st Year, Parashat Noach (on square vs. rounded corners for tzitzit; Sefaria text). Teen reference, not a personal ruling. Ask your rav for your own practice.
World
Starshield slowdown · Mine sinks ship near Hormuz · Houthis keep firing
- Ukraine / Starshield: Ukraine says speed limits on its Starshield satellite links are throttling drones that fly faster than about 100 mph, which hurts both strike drones and interceptor drones. Elon Musk says Starshield is controlled by the U.S. government, not SpaceX, and that any usage caps come from U.S. authorities. Kyiv is also frustrated after ballistic missiles hit before air-raid sirens sounded.
- Strait of Hormuz: Iran’s IRGC said a container ship carrying more than 2,500 containers struck a naval mine south of the strait, caught fire, and sank. Shipping reports also described vessels hit by projectiles in the area. Attacks and tighter checks keep squeezing oil traffic.
- Saudi Arabia / Yemen: The Houthis say they hit Aramco sites and Riyadh’s airport again and vow more strikes. Riyadh’s airport remains closed through Oct 17.
Tech
Teen Instagram defaults · AI stocks take the CPI hit
- Instagram: Meta’s teen-account rules keep tightening: under-18 accounts are steered to private by default, with stronger parental supervision tools and limits on who can message or find younger users. It’s part of a wider push after years of pressure over kids’ safety online.
- AI / chips: After hotter inflation news, rate-sensitive AI and chip names sold off hard — including names tied to big data-center spending — as traders worried higher-for-longer rates make those bets more expensive.
- Also: Google’s Gemini 4 Argon rollout (announced this week) is still the main new frontier model in the wild for paying subscribers and API users.
Money
CPI 3.7% · Nasdaq −1.9% · Gas did the damage
- Inflation: September CPI rose 0.6% month-over-month and 3.7% year-over-year (forecast was ~3.6%). Core CPI (no food/energy) hit 2.6%. Gasoline jumped about 9% in the month and drove more than half the rise; energy overall was up sharply from a year ago.
- Wednesday’s close: S&P 500 7,718.94 (−1.11%), Nasdaq 26,692.87 (−1.88%), Dow 51,621.48 (−0.09%). Biggest one-day S&P drop since late July.
- Banks: Bank of America and others reported this week; the focus flipped from earnings beats to what hotter inflation means for the Fed’s next move.
Sports
Oilers vs. Utah tonight · TNF in Denver · Brewers up 3–0
- Oilers (5-0-1) vs. Utah Mammoth tonight: Home at Rogers Place after sweeping California. McDavid leads the NHL with 17 points in six games; Podkolzin’s point streak is at six. Edmonton is the only team without a regulation loss and is outscoring opponents 24–12 over the five-game win streak. Utah is 5-2-0 and just beat Toronto 5–4.
- NFL: Thursday Night Football is Seahawks at Broncos (both 3-2), 8:15 PM ET on Prime.
- MLB: Brewers lead the Dodgers 3–0 in the NLCS after a 6–2 win in LA (Bauers and Mitchell starred). ALCS Game 3: Rays at Guardians this afternoon.
- NBA: Still preseason. Regular season tips Tue Oct 20.
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