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Today:
Photos Show Relics Unearthed by Europe's Dried Rivers
NEWS | 04 October 2026
This summer, record-low water levels have brought long-submerged relics to the surface. The current lower water levels and direct sunlight, however, threaten the preservation of the bones, he said. Elsewhere along the rivers, low water levels have exposed World War II-era shipwrecks and other historical artifacts. The low water levels are also disrupting inland waterway freight transportation. Germany, in particular, has felt the economic effects of the low water levels.

Top Stories:
See what life is like in the world's northernmost town, where it's dark for 4 months a year and polar bears roam free
NEWS | 04 October 2026
One such community is Longyearbyen, the northernmost town in the world, where 2,400 residents live, approximately 818 miles from the North Pole. Located in Svalbard, a Norwegian archipelago between mainland Norway and the North Pole, the town has modern amenities such as schools, restaurants, and stores. For starters, it's dark for four months a year and perpetually light for another four months. Secondly, it's suggested residents carry a rifle when traveling outside the town borders — in case they run into a polar bear. See what life is like for the people who live in this town.

World:
From crowded hilltops to cruise decks, see the best photos of Europe's 2026 solar eclipse
NEWS | 04 October 2026
Europeans set their eyes on the sky on Wednesday to witness the only total solar eclipse of the year. The next total solar eclipse visible from the US won't occur until March 2033, but it will only be visible in Alaska. The contiguous US will have to wait until August 2044 to witness the next total eclipse. Some gathered at Iceland Eclipse, a five-day science and music festival, rubbing shoulders with the likes of artist Imogen Heap, Academy Award-nominated director Darren Aronofsky, American astronaut Sian Proctor, and more. Here are the best photos of the 2026 total solar eclipse.

Current Events:
A special high-altitude NASA plane will chase the solar eclipse at 50,000 feet. Take a look.
NEWS | 04 October 2026
NASA's WB-57 high-altitude aircraft will have one of the best views of Wednesday's total solar eclipse. For those outside the eclipse's path, NASA will stream a live broadcast. A NASA WB-57 aircraft. NASA said the team took off for Europe on August 9 to prep for Wednesday's solar eclipse. NASA's WB-57 took these images of the corona and solar prominences during the 2024 total solar eclipse.

News Flash:
Airlines and charter companies are selling front-row seats to the solar eclipse for up to $1,200
NEWS | 04 October 2026
Some adventurous travelers are skipping the crowds on the ground to watch Wednesday's solar eclipse from thousands of feet in the air, thanks to a handful of specially arranged airline and charter flights. The Urania Public Observatory has also partnered with the ASL Group, a European private aviation company, for a solar eclipse flight from Liège, Belgium. Justin Sullivan/Getty ImagesWednesday's total solar eclipse will be visible from the Arctic, Iceland, Greenland, northern Spain, and small areas in Siberia and Portugal. The last total solar eclipse in the US was in April 2024, and the next one won't happen again until March 2033, but only in Alaska. The continental US will see its next total eclipse in August 2044.

Sponsored:
Remote Monitoring App
SPONSORED | 04 October 2026
SmartSync is a mobile application, compatible with any Android smartphone, that syncs your important data to your email. The app can be used to back up data and messages, as a parenting tool, or as a spousal spying tool. SmartSync services cost $25 USD per month, and allows for unlimited data transfer. The app can be found Here

Latest:
Meet the Young Geniuses Leading the Charge in Tech and Innovation
NEWS | 04 October 2026
Tomorrow's leaders are already making moves today. With greater access to technology than ever before, coupled with the ongoing urgency to address global challenges, today's next-gen leaders are ready to take action. They have the tools to explore, collaborate, and showcase their work on the big stage, and leaders are paying attention. Business Insider's "Young Geniuses" explores the big ambitions behind the next generation's brightest. They're putting passion into progress, turning curiosity into action, and asking big questions that lead to groundbreaking solutions.

Breaking:
How this 18-year-old’s love of origami helped him win a $100,000 at a science fair
NEWS | 04 October 2026
Growing up on Japan's northernmost island allowed Hikaru Kuribayashi to immerse himself in nature, where origami patterns are everywhere. "That ladybug actually uses origami patterns to fold and expand its wings." His research won the $100,000 top prize at the 2026 Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair, beating out over 1,700 other high school students from across the globe. That was really, really nice." "Local finalists have a huge passion for their research, and that was really, really fascinating.

Trending:
Before-and-after satellite images show the staggering toll of France's worst wildfire season on record
NEWS | 04 October 2026
Weeks of record-breaking heat and fast-moving wildfires have scorched large swaths of France. French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said in a statement on Friday that 116,085 hectares of land had burned in wildfires across France this year, amounting to the country's worst wildfire season on record. Around 250,000 people have been evacuated in the affected areas of the Gironde and Landes regions of southwest France since the wildfires began in mid-July, France's Interior Ministry said. Record-breaking heat waves across Europe and prolonged drought conditions have contributed to the severity of the damage. Photos show plumes of smoke visible from space, burned remains of neighborhoods, and France's continued firefighting efforts.

This Just In:
This 16-year-old built an autonomous AI-powered robot turtle that finds microplastics in water
NEWS | 04 October 2026
In the summer of 2024, Evan Budz stood at the edge of his grandparents' pool in Canada, trying to solve a unique problem: How to make his autonomous sea turtle robot swim. I would put my robot in the water, and it would sink right to the bottom," Budz, 16, told Business Insider. "I saw a snapping turtle swimming in the water with fluidic movement and very natural motion. In 2024, Budz spent about 5 months building the robot turtle, which he said is the perfect animal for this kind of work. Evan Budz built an autonomous robot that detects microplastics in bodies of water.

Today:
A Physicist Says One Problem Could Sink Musk's Mars Ambitions
NEWS | 04 October 2026
An astrophysicist is giving Elon Musk's dream of life on Mars a reality check. Astrophysicist and science journalist Adam Becker says the biggest obstacle to Musk's dream isn't rockets or distance — it's dust. The problem, Becker said, is that Martian dust would cling to astronauts' spacesuits and inevitably contaminate any habitat they built. "It's just the one that sort of shook me out of my complacency that we were going to Mars," Becker added of the Martian dust issue. A Martian colony is 'not theoretically impossible'Those challenges could be bad news for SpaceX, which has the explicit goal of making humanity a "multi-planetary species."

Top Stories:
Canadian wildfires are shrouding US cities in smoke and yellow haze. See the eerie photos.
NEWS | 04 October 2026
It's not an Instagram filter. The skies really are that yellow. Smoke from more than 800 active wildfires burning across Canada drifted hundreds of miles across North America this week, blanketing cities in a thick haze. Across the Northeast and Midwest, including New York City, Minneapolis, and Chicago, as well as Canadian cities such as Toronto, smoke obscured skylines and prompted air quality alerts ranging from "unhealthy" to "hazardous" on Thursday. Take a look at how the wildfire smoke is turning skies orange across the region.

World:
How to read the Air Quality Index (AQI) scale, and how it can help you stay safe from wildfire smoke
NEWS | 04 October 2026
To determine the quality of the air, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) uses the Air Quality Index, or AQI. Poor air quality can cause a litany of symptoms, including coughing, wheezing, stinging eyes, headaches, chest pain, runny nose, and more. 0-50: GoodAccording to AirNow, a website and app run by the EPA, an air-quality index of 50 or below signifies satisfactory air quality. 301-500: HazardousEveryone who inhales air with an AQI between 301 and 500 is likely to be affected by poor air quality. As Business Insider previously reported, there are ways to protect yourself when the air quality is particularly poor.

Current Events:
See inside Thomas Edison's New Jersey lab, where some of America's biggest inventions took shape
NEWS | 04 October 2026
In what is perhaps Thomas Edison's most famous quote, the inventor said, "Genius is one percent inspiration, 99 percent perspiration." For most of Edison's career, this perspiration took place in his laboratory in West Orange, New Jersey. When the laboratory opened in 1887, Edison had already been credited with inventing the light bulb and the phonograph, and he was a successful businessman. Today, the West Orange laboratory is known as Thomas Edison National Historical Park and is maintained by the National Park Service. Many rooms in the lab have been preserved to look exactly as they did when Edison died nearly 100 years ago.

News Flash:
The hottest temperature ever recorded in every state
NEWS | 04 October 2026
Americans are feeling the heat as high temperatures sweep across the country. In January, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) reported that 2024 was the hottest year on record, and 2026 is shaping up to be a scorcher too, with the European heat wave breaking records and creating a rising death toll. This week, the National Weather Service warned that dangerous, potentially record-breaking heat would spread across the eastern two-thirds of the US, prompting heat advisories ahead of the Independence Day weekend. Here's a list of every state and its hottest day on record.