November 1, 2026 - Pope Neutral, But Prevost is For Villanova

European governments are asking their citizens to prepare for something most people would rather not contemplate: several days without the services that make modern life work.

The advice is straightforward: keep emergency food, drinking water, medications, flashlights and other essentials available in case electricity, communications or supply chains are disrupted. The European Union’s preparedness strategy calls for guidance to help households remain self-sufficient for at least 72 hours. Some countries recommend longer.

But the headlines raise a question: Is this prudence, or a response to a specific threat?

On Saturday, I put that question to Richard Clarke on CNN. The nation’s first cyber czar spent 30 years in national security roles, including a decade in the White House serving three American presidents.

His message: Be prepared, but don’t panic. He identified no specific, immediate threat that should send Americans rushing out to become preppers overnight.

That does not mean there is nothing to worry about. Clarke warned that a renewed conflict with Iran could bring cyberattacks against civilian infrastructure, including water systems and the food supply. He also argued that artificial intelligence is increasing the danger by making it easier to penetrate and disrupt computer networks.

“We have a very fragile supply system,” he told me. Our dependence on internet-connected systems means a digital disruption can have consequences far beyond a computer screen.

Clarke said he keeps roughly a month’s worth of food himself—not because he anticipates an imminent catastrophe, but because severe weather, a power-grid failure or a cyberattack could interrupt ordinary life.

His advice was practical: Think about what you regularly need and what would happen if you could not replenish it. That includes medications as well as food and water. Make a list. Build a cushion. Don’t panic.

Here in the United States, FEMA already recommends keeping enough food, water and supplies to last several days. The challenge is turning familiar advice into actual preparation. It is easy to assume that stores will remain open, the tap will keep running and a charged phone will connect us to help.

As Clarke put it, preparing “doesn’t mean you are paranoid, it means you are prudent.”

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Pope Leo XIV welcomed Villanova and Notre Dame basketball teams to the Vatican, joking about his Villanova allegiance while emphasizing that his role as pope requires neutrality ahead of their exhibition matchup in Rome.

USA Today

With daylight saving time ending, health experts outline how the shift disrupts sleep, mood and well-being, and offer tips to help the body adjust.

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Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed disinvited Rep. Haley Stevens from a Sunday Detroit church appearance with Rep. Jim Clyburn, as the former primary rivals continue to feud over an outside ad blaming Israel for high grocery prices in the final days before Election Day.

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A federal judge dismissed President Trump’s defamation lawsuit against the publisher of The Wall Street Journal for a second time, ruling that his claims over a 2025 article about a birthday letter to Jeffrey Epstein failed to establish a viable case.

The Wall Street Journal

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Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei ordered Iran's military to prepare for an "immediate and effective response, without geographical restriction" if attacked, as Qatari mediators shuttle between Tehran and Washington to head off a renewed war with the US and Israel.

Al Jazeera

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A University of Cambridge-led study in Scientific Reports finds that comets' atmospheric entry is too violent for prebiotic molecules like hydrogen cyanide to survive, undercutting the long-held theory that comets delivered the building blocks of life to Earth.

Futurism

A24's Elizabeth Holmes documentary 'You Can See Everything' narrowly beat Warner Bros.' DC villain movie 'Clayface' on Friday, pulling in $3.56 million from 3,243 theaters on its third weekend to push its domestic total past $56 million.

Variety

Trina Parks, who played Thumper in 'Diamonds Are Forever', says Sydney Sweeney would make an excellent Bond girl, praising her acting, style and confidence while noting that modern audiences want a more independent female counterpart to 007.

The Telegraph

A Florida human trafficking and child predator sting resulted in 281 arrests, including 17 Disney World and Universal Studios employees, according to the Polk County Sheriff’s Office.

CBS News