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Today's edition explores a major cybersecurity breach, a historic moment in baseball, and eight runaway pigs with an unexpected story. We're also following a Pentagon leadership shake-up, a consequential court decision ahead of the midterms, and new predictions for the coming winter. From national security developments to surprising stories closer to home, there's plenty worth exploring.

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Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has fired Army Lt. Gen. Brett Sylvia as head of strategy, plans, and policy on the Joint Chiefs of Staff. A defense official said there is no immediate replacement and no reason has been given for the firing. Sylvia is the second general ousted from the post known as the J5 under Hegseth.

The J5 director and staff typically generate and coordinate military plans with the Joint Chiefs chairman and the president. The firing comes as US officials have told Middle East allies to prepare for possible renewed strikes on Iran after Tuesday's midterm elections. Trump has not made a final decision.

A hacking group calling itself the Department of Peace has exposed the names, phone numbers, and work addresses of more than 40,000 DHS staff, including people involved in undercover operations. The hackers say they got in by subverting the department's single sign-on system. More than 21,000 of the records identify Customs and Border Protection employees.

The department said it is aware of a potential breach and is working to address it. The records cover about a fifth of a workforce of more than 220,000 and were posted in an online database called Icepick. A journalist who helped create a searchable version rejected suggestions that those involved are doxing government employees.

A federal judge on Wednesday denied an emergency Justice Department request to make California stop processing ballots tied to 20,000 people federal officials say are likely noncitizens. State and local officials have called the list unreliable. More than 3.7 million people have already voted in the state.

Judge David Carter wrote that the government can instead keep indicting people who vote illegally as noncitizens. "This Court declines to be a party to such process," he wrote. Justice Department prosecutors said they would immediately appeal the ruling after making a similar request in Washington state this week.

North Korea fired about 10 short-range ballistic missiles toward the sea on Thursday, South Korea's military said, days after Pyongyang threatened new weapons deployments and propaganda broadcasts along the border.

El Salvador has deployed more than 2,000 soldiers to Haiti to retrieve four missing air force technicians ambushed while serving with a UN-backed anti-gang force nearly two weeks ago.

Ethiopia has received 12 Russian Su-35 fighter jets as fighting intensifies in its northern Tigray region, with Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed also planning to acquire four S-400 air defense systems.

A fire at a South Carolina nuclear laboratory triggered an emergency response before it was extinguished, and radiological surveys found no detectable contamination at the Savannah River Site.

California pumpkin patch Brookshire Farms has closed as health officials probe a possible link to five E. coli cases, including three hospitalized children in serious condition.

Two Colorado college students remain missing after a planned climb of Ice Mountain ran into a heavy snowstorm, and searchers found their collapsed tent but no sign of the pair.

The Federal Reserve held its benchmark rate steady at 3.75% to 4% on Wednesday, though two policymakers wanted a hike and most economists expect one in December.

Wendy's shares jumped more than 14% after investor Nelson Peltz and partners offered $7.35 a share for the burger chain in a $1.4 billion bid to take it private.

Volkswagen posted a $6.5 billion quarterly loss as a Porsche writedown and weak China demand hit results during a restructuring that could eliminate up to 100,000 jobs.

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Arizona confirmed its first New World screwworm case in a dog, becoming the third U.S. state to detect the flesh-eating parasite as officials release sterile flies around the site.

The Air Force flew its experimental XQ-67A drone over a Nevada range to test whether an uncrewed aircraft can scout ahead of crewed fighters and keep them connected.

Comets probably did not seed life on Earth because they travel too fast and at too sharp an angle for fragile molecules to survive in a new modeling study.

The Milwaukee Brewers won their first World Series title in franchise history, beating the Rays 4-1 in Game 5 after winning an MLB-best 103 regular-season games this year.

No. 1 pick AJ Dybantsa scored 19 points in his NBA debut, driving past James Harden on his first possession, though the Wizards fell 121-111 in Cleveland.

Brandon Montour scored with 34 seconds left as the Kraken beat the Maple Leafs 5-4, spoiling No. 1 pick Gavin McKenna's first two-goal, three-point night in the NHL.

Vancouver's Brian White scored his 100th MLS goal in a 4-1 win over San Diego, becoming the 17th player to reach the milestone as the Whitecaps widened their Western lead.

DC Studios co-head James Gunn called Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman the DCU's "diamond characters," adding on Threads that Krypto, John Stewart and Peacemaker could "turn into diamonds" too.

Amsterdam's Rembrandt House Museum is again offering visitors Rembrandt-inspired tattoos, featuring celebrated tattooer Henk Schiffmacher, whose past clients include Lady Gaga, for a second run by popular demand.

On Wednesday night's "The Tonight Show," Jimmy Fallon spoofed A24's buzzy documentary "You Can See Everything," playing Nathan Fielder while Jamie Lee Curtis donned a blonde wig as Elizabeth Holmes.

What it is: Forecasters expect a warmer and wetter winter as a strong El Niño shifts weather patterns around the globe. The latest outlook from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration calls for warmer-than-average temperatures across much of the continental US with above-average precipitation in several regions. Meteorologists say this year's event could be the strongest on record.

The detail: El Niño is a natural climate pattern in which a vast area of the eastern tropical Pacific warms near the equator and releases heat into the atmosphere. This one sits on top of warming driven by fossil fuel emissions. Forecasters expect above-average precipitation across California and particularly in Southern California. The Pacific Northwest is expected to be warmer, with parts of it drier than average and a likely smaller snowpack.

Why it matters: El Niño years are associated with coastal flooding on the Eastern Seaboard and the West Coast. During a strong event in 2015-16, catastrophic flooding hit South Carolina, and a blizzard struck the East Coast. A NOAA meteorologist expects dry conditions in western Oregon and Washington to improve.

What to watch: Forecasters stress that El Niño shifts the odds toward certain conditions but does not guarantee them. More Kelvin waves that raise sea levels along the West Coast are expected through fall and early winter. A climate scientist cautions that a wet winter would not end the water crisis in the Colorado River basin where Lake Powell and Lake Mead sit at record lows.

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Eight runaway pigs that caused mayhem on a busy Essex highway were due for slaughter until an online fundraiser raised almost £6,000 for their upkeep, literally saving their bacon.

A box of 12 unopened, roughly 100-year-old Christmas crackers found in a wardrobe heads to auction Thursday, with the sellers pleading that the buyer actually open them.

The Addams Family creator's New Jersey hometown has embraced its ghoulish legacy with a monthlong festival called AddamsFest, where downtown storefront windows feature Gomez and Morticia.

The Republic of Turkey is proclaimed (1923) · Stock prices collapse on Black Tuesday as 16.4 million shares trade (1929) · Israel invades Egypt's Sinai Peninsula during the Suez crisis (1956) · John Glenn returns to space at 77 aboard the shuttle Discovery (1998) · Hurricane Sandy makes landfall on the US East Coast (2012)

"Zero-g and I feel fine!" — John Glenn from orbit (1998)

That's all for today. Thanks for reading Five Minute Daily. Share it with a friend, and we'll see you tomorrow.

—The Five Minute Daily Team