TODAY’S INTERNATIONAL story

Bolivia elects centrist president over far-right rival

What happened
Bolivians yesterday elected Rodrigo Paz, a centrist senator, as president, ending two decades of rule by the leftist Movement Toward Socialism (MAS) party of former President Evo Morales. Paz (pictured above) defeated right-wing former President Jorge “Tuto” Quiroga 54% to 45% in the runoff election, according to early results from the electoral tribunal. Quiroga conceded and congratulated Paz.

Who said what
Paz is the son of former President Jaime Paz Zamora and “has spent more than two decades in politics,” The Associated Press said. But he “appeared in this race as a political unknown,” rising “unexpectedly from the bottom of the polls to a first-place finish in the August vote.”

Bolivia’s “faltering economy” dominated the campaign, and both Paz and Quiroga pledged to depart from MAS’s state-centered policies, The New York Times said. Analysts said Paz “attracted support from left-leaning voters disappointed with the MAS but hesitant to embrace the right” and wary of Quiroga’s “deep economic overhauls” and IMF-imposed austerity measures. Paz’s campaign was also “boosted by his running mate Edman Lara, a former police officer known for viral TikTok videos exposing corruption,” Reuters said.

What next?
Paz, 58, is scheduled to take office Nov. 8, but his Christian Democratic Party “does not hold a majority in the country’s legislature, which will force him to forge alliances to govern effectively,” Reuters said.

TODAY’S CRIME Story

Thieves nab French crown jewels from Louvre

What happened
A gang of thieves broke into the Louvre yesterday morning and stole 19th century royal jewels from the Paris museum’s Galerie d’Apollon. The entire heist took less than seven minutes, officials said, and was carried out in broad daylight, shortly after the world’s most-visited museum opened. The eight objects stolen included an emerald necklace and earring that belonged to Empress Marie-Louise, Napoleon’s second wife, plus jewelry from Empress Eugénie and queens Marie-Amélie and Hortense.

Who said what
The thieves used a truck-mounted basket lift to access the second floor of the Louvre’s riverside facade, then broke in through the windows and smashed targeted display cases, officials said. “It was the most brazen — and possibly the most costly — theft ever staged at the Louvre,” The New York Times said. But “the crime, for all its speed, wasn’t without errors,” The Wall Street Journal said. The thieves “attempted but failed to set fire to their truck” and “dropped the crown of Empress Eugénie, with nearly 1,400 diamonds, before they sped away” on motorcycles. The crown was reportedly damaged.

Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said the stolen items were of “inestimable value.” The recovered crown alone is “worth several tens of millions of euros,” Drouot auction house president Alexandre Giquello told Reuters. “And it’s not, in my opinion, the most important item.”

What next?
“We will recover the works, and the perpetrators will be brought to justice,” President Emmanuel Macron vowed on social media. Nuñez, who was Paris police chief until earlier this month, said investigators had a “good hope” of catching the thieves by studying surveillance footage and other evidence from the crime.

It’s not all bad

Tired of seeing discarded plastic fishing nets at a local harbor, Ian Falconer of Cornwall, England, came up with a way to give them new life outside of the landfill. He launched the company OrCA, which cleans and shreds the nets, melts them down and turns the plastic into a filament used for 3D printing. The material can be used “for just about anything,” said The Guardian, including sunglasses, razor blade handles and lampshades.

Under the radar

The Earth is getting darker

Climate change is darkening the Earth, according to a study published in the journal PNAS. Data from NASA’s Clouds and the Earth’s Radiant Energy System (CERES) satellites found that the planet is reflecting less light into space than it did two decades ago. And while both sides of the planet should be receiving and reflecting equal amounts of sunlight, Earth’s northern hemisphere is reflecting less than the southern hemisphere, thus retaining more heat and appearing dimmer.

Imbalance between the two hemispheres is typically “offset by the oceanic currents that transport energy from the southern hemisphere to the northern hemisphere,” said Popular Mechanics. But the research suggests that “surface changes have tipped the balance so much that ocean currents haven’t been making up the difference.” In addition, the northern “tropics are getting wetter, which suggests changes in large-scale atmospheric circulation are occurring,” said the study.

The culprit is climate change. The northern hemisphere “used to be so snowy that all that white was bouncing tons of light back into space,” said Vice. But temperatures have increased, and melting Arctic ice and reduced snow cover are “exposing these darker surfaces that absorb more sunlight instead of reflecting it,” said the BBC. In a self-reinforcing feedback loop, the Earth’s darkening is “accelerating the effects of climate change,” said 404 Media.

Changes in cloud formation have contributed too. Low-lying clouds “decreased in recent decades,” said Popular Mechanics. Ironically, this may be due to lower pollution levels. In the northern hemisphere, “stricter environmental regulations have reduced aerosol pollution, which previously reflected sunlight,” said the BBC.

On this day

October 20, 1973

President Richard Nixon ordered the firing of Watergate Special Prosecutor Archibald Cox, setting into motion what would become known as the “Saturday Night Massacre.” Attorney General Elliot Richardson and Deputy Attorney General William Ruckelshaus both resigned after refusing to fire Cox. Ten days later, the House initiated the impeachment process against Nixon.

TODAY’S newspaperS

‘Americans divvy out blame’

“Americans divvy out blame for shutdown,” USA Today says on Monday’s front page. “GOP forced to confront health care” as “Democrats press tricky issue via shutdown,” The New York Times says. “Congress running out of time to decide on health subsidies,” The Wall Street Journal says. “When Obamacare tax credits expire, don’t expect Medicaid to fill in the gaps,” says the Miami Herald. “Israeli strikes hit Gaza days into truce,” The Washington Post says. “Israel halts aid after fighting in Gaza,” says the Chicago Tribune. “Trump cuts off aid to Colombia, calling leader a drug dealer,” says The Kansas City Star.

► See the newspaper front pages

Tall tale

Cat on a hot van roof

Ray Ray the cat joined his family’s vacation, hunkering down on top of their van without them realizing until they stopped for gas 100 miles from their Pennsylvania home. He was “completely unfazed and unharmed,” owner Mara Denardo told the Leader Times. Rather than take him home, the family decided to let Ray Ray stay, and bought a leash and backpack so he could participate in their adventures in New York City and New Hampshire.

Morning Report was written and edited by Nadia Croes, Catherine Garcia, Scott Hocker, Anya Jaremko-Greenwold, Justin Klawans, Rafi Schwartz, Peter Weber and Kari Wilkin, with illustrations by Stephen Kelly and Julia Wytrazek.