FIVE MINUTE DAILY

Today's edition covers a difficult stretch of headlines, with urgent public safety concerns and major decisions in Washington taking center stage.

Beyond the breaking news, we're looking at growing financial pressures facing American families, promising developments in science, and a few remarkable stories that offer a change of pace. There's plenty to unpack this weekend.

Home furniture brand Blu Dot blew up on CTV with help from Roku Ads Manager. Here’s how:

After a test campaign reached 211,000 households and achieved 1,010% ROAS, the brand went all in to promote its annual sales event. It removed age and income constraints to expand reach and shifted budget to custom audiences and retargeting, where intent was strongest.

The results speak for themselves. As Blu Dot increased their investment by 10x, ROAS jumped to 2,308% and more page-view conversions surpassed 50,000.

“For CTV campaigns, Roku has been a top performer,” said Claire Folkestad, Paid Media Strategist, Blu Dot. “Comping to our other platforms, we have seen really strong ROAS… and highly efficient CPMs, lower than any other CTV partner we've worked with.”

Using Roku Ads Manager, the campaign moved from a pilot to a permanent performance engine for the brand.

Learn More

A 16-year-old forced his way into Silver Rail Elementary in Bend, Oregon, on Thursday afternoon and killed three children aged five, eight, and 11 along with a teacher, police said. A seven-year-old child and a 54-year-old teacher were taken to the hospital in critical condition. The attacker had once attended the school.

He threw a shotgun over a chain-link fence and climbed after it, firing on a driver who shouted at him before shooting his way inside. A teacher tried to wrestle the shotgun away in the classroom where the four died, and a bystander driving past entered with a pistol and shot him dead.

A fast-moving fire fueled by Santa Ana winds burned at least six coastal homes, as about 16,000 Orange County residents were ordered to evacuate San Clemente and San Juan Capistrano. Two firefighters were hospitalized with heat-related injuries, and San Clemente Mayor Rick Loeffler said slightly stronger winds from a different direction could have made it far worse.

The Norte Fire is one of 13 fires burning statewide, including the Henderson Fire near Camp Pendleton, which grew past 2,000 acres and twice forced Interstate 5 to close. Malibu's Bryson Fire also triggered evacuations across the Santa Monica Mountains, as forecasters warned dangerous winds would linger into Saturday with temperatures near 95 degrees.

Trump blocked a set of sanctions on Russia two days before they were due to take effect, issuing an executive order on Friday night that said suspending some of them was in the American national interest. Congress passed the sanctions and he signed them into law in September.

The order drew a backlash in Congress, which had passed the sanctions in the first place. Zelensky said it was unfortunate that the United States had decided to "completely disregard" them. Relations between Washington and Kyiv have frayed, and Ukraine has accused the administration of withdrawing key military support.

A German steakhouse heiress is on trial accused of ordering her children's abduction from Denmark in a case that led to the arrest of the country's former intelligence chief.

A Mexican judge sentenced three men to 158 years and nine months each for the 2024 killings of Australian brothers Jake and Callum Robinson and their American friend Carter Rhoad.

Britain has deported Stanislav Carpiuc, the man jailed over Starmer-linked arson attacks, which a BBC investigation found were ordered on behalf of Russia through an anonymous handler known as EL.

Ohio's governor is being sued by the NCAA over an executive order letting state universities play athletes who graduated high school in 2022 for a fifth college year.

Trump promised to campaign in 35 places before the midterms but has appeared with fewer than a third of those candidates while touring deep-red Ohio and Oklahoma instead.

Actress Selma Blair's team says she did not intend to harm anyone on a Delta flight to New York, after she pleaded not guilty to assaulting an officer and nurse.

Higher fuel prices are reaching American households more than seven months into the war with Iran, as driving and flying cost more, though stores have held off broad increases.

China plans to curb exports of 40 technologies spanning artificial intelligence, chips and solar power in draft rules its commerce ministry calls necessary for national security.

Netflix, General Motors and Hasbro all report Tuesday, kicking off a heavy week of corporate earnings, with FactSet-polled analysts expecting S&P 500 profit growth of just under 30% this quarter.

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A brain enzyme called Pla2g2f may protect aging minds, as mice with extra enzyme scored higher on memory tests and showed less inflammation, according to research in Nature Neuroscience.

The Energy Department is lending up to $4.4 billion to restart three shuttered nuclear plants in Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Iowa that could power roughly two million homes and businesses.

North Korea says it tested an AI-guided torpedo named Zam-2.0 whose propulsion systems it says were developed through more than 180 tests in five years.

LeBron James electrified a sellout crowd in his first home preseason game in Philadelphia, throwing down a two-handed dunk off a half-court Tyrese Maxey lob before 19,746 fans.

Tulane forced six turnovers against Memphis in a 31-17 win, highlighted by TJ Smith's 76-yard pick-six on the final play of the first half Friday night.

Colorado beat Pittsburgh 5-2 by scoring three times in the second period after trailing, with Nathan MacKinnon finishing the night on a goal and three assists.

New Orleans edged Washington 107-106 after building an eleven-point lead through three quarters that the Wizards nearly erased with a 36-point fourth quarter in New Orleans.

Miley Cyrus opened her Hollywood Bowl shows Friday, her first headlining performance in years, admitting to fans that walking through the stands left her a little overwhelmed and drained.

Artist James Cook drew 50 famous authors using only a typewriter, hiding facts inside each portrait, like Stephen King's 2,000-words-a-day habit, for a free show at England's Colchester Library.

A DC villain is getting a horror movie after Mike Flanagan pitched James Gunn and Peter Safran on a Clayface film that would fuse the two genres.

What it is: The No Kings coalition, known for three rounds of nationwide anti-Trump protests since the start of his second term, is running more than 3,000 "Vote Early" marches and events across the country on Saturday. Organizers describe the day as a nonpartisan push to get people to check their registration, make a plan to cast a ballot, and understand their voting rights. The coalition takes in hundreds of partner groups, among them the American Civil Liberties Union and Black Voters Matter.

The detail: "The first three No Kings were designed to send a message," said Ezra Levin, co-founder of Indivisible. "We're done sending a message." Every event bars political endorsements and will not host current candidates. The formats vary: a dog march in Golden, Colorado, a concert in Everett, Washington, and a superhero-themed gathering in Frisco, Texas, where volunteers assembled 500 goodie bags holding QR codes that link to voting information.

Why it matters: The second goal is recruiting and training poll watchers, which Levin ties to the failed SAVE America Act that would have required documentary proof of citizenship to register, to the prospect of federal immigration officers at polling places, and to attempted restrictions on mail voting. Trump has rejected the idea that he governs like a monarch.

What to watch: Whether the turnout push shows up in early-voting numbers. Organizers also want volunteers signed up as poll monitors, who are trained by the watchdog group Common Cause and wear shirts identifying them so voters can ask questions. Texas does not open early voting until October 19, and the election is November 3.

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A 99-year-old British woman became the world's oldest wing walker on record, and the previous holder, who set it at 97, vowed to beat her again at 100.

A Spanish skateboarder rolled downhill at 94.34 mph, a Guinness World Records record in Quebec, then confessed he never admitted, even to himself, that 93 mph was his secret goal.

A specialty wedding cake can run past $1,000 so couples trimming a bill that now averages about $36,000 are ordering half sheets from Costco for $30 each.

British forces surrender to the Americans at Saratoga (1777) · Albert Einstein arrives in the United States as a refugee (1933) · Arab oil producers begin the embargo that triggers the energy crisis (1973) · Mother Teresa is named the Nobel Peace laureate (1979) · The Loma Prieta earthquake halts the World Series in the Bay Area (1989)

"The fortune of war, General Gates, has made me your prisoner." — John Burgoyne, surrendering at Saratoga, 1777

That's your five-minute catch-up. Stay curious, share what matters, and enjoy the rest of your weekend.

—The Five Minute Daily Team