Author: DispatchTimes News Desk

A 14-year-old boy at the centre of a statewide Florida Missing Child Spectrum Alert has been found safe, authorities said. Lucas Maresca was located about four miles from his home in Spring Hill, Hernando County, after deputies appealed to the public for help finding him. The alert was subsequently cancelled. Maresca had last been seen near the 10,500 block of Blythville Road. The Hernando County Sheriff’s Office said he had left the property on foot after forcing open the lock on his bedroom window. Authorities said Maresca is non-verbal and autistic and may run if approached. Residents had been asked…

Four Australians have reached the semi-finals of the Philippines Pro across the men’s and women’s divisions, with Ethan Ewing leading the national charge. The Australian contingent has emerged as a central feature of the competition as the event reaches its last-four stage. Ewing is at the forefront of the country’s challenge, alongside three other Australian semi-finalists.

Maria Montserrat Alvarado has become the first laywoman to lead a Vatican ministry, taking charge of the department responsible for the Holy See’s television, radio, print and press operations. The 39-year-old Mexican American media executive is also the first non-Italian to head the Vatican’s Dicastery for Communication, in an appointment seen as a sign that Pope Leo XIV is taking a different approach to women in senior Church roles. Alvarado, who is known as Montse, previously served as president and chief operating officer of EWTN News, the news division of the Eternal Word Television Network in the United States. She…

Actor John Leeson, best known as the voice of K9 in Doctor Who, has died aged 83 after what his family described as a “summer of illness”. He died on Sunday afternoon, they said. His son, film editor Guy Ducker, announced the death on Facebook, identifying his father as John Ducker, also known by his stage name John Leeson. He said the actor’s death at 3.03pm had been peaceful. “Good night, sweet prince, and flights of angels sing thee to thy rest,” Mr Ducker wrote. Leeson first appeared as K9 in The Invisible Enemy in 1977 and continued to voice…

Haley Stevens has capped what has been described as a bizarre midterm cycle.

OpenAI has cut its funding target by $10 billion amid a rout in technology stocks, the Financial Times has reported. The reported reduction represents a significant change to the artificial intelligence company’s fundraising plans as pressure spreads across the technology sector.

Michigan voters head to the polls on Tuesday, November 3, to choose a new governor, US senator, attorney general and secretary of state, with two statewide proposals and several local tax measures also on the ballot. Polling stations will be open from 7am to 8pm local time. Anyone already in line by 8pm must be allowed to vote, according to the Michigan Department of State. ([michigan.gov](https://www.michigan.gov/sos/elections/voting/vote-on-election-day)) What Michigan voters need to know Registered voters can cast their ballot at their assigned polling place. Voters should check their registration, polling location and sample ballot through the state’s Michigan Voter Information Centre…

A childcare centre in the Northern Territory has been fined $40,000 and a worker $2,000 over the death of 22-month-old Ebony Thompson, who became trapped by her neck on a loop-top fence at the facility in 2023. Ebony was found near a chicken coop at the Humpty Doo Community and Child Care Centre, south-east of Darwin. She was taken to hospital but died two days later. Childcare worker Casandra Lee Harris and the centre pleaded guilty to failing to protect children from harm and hazards, as well as inadequate supervision. Darwin Local Court heard that Ebony had been left completely…

Sudan has lodged complaints against Ethiopia at the United Nations Security Council and the African Union’s Peace and Security Council over a series of alleged drone attacks that Khartoum says have killed or wounded 484 civilians since February. Sudan’s Foreign Affairs Ministry accused the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) of using Ethiopian territory to launch attacks on civilian sites and power stations. It described the incidents as “brazen aggression” and said they had caused casualties and disrupted essential services. The ministry said the alleged attacks placed Ethiopia “before international law”. Ethiopia has not responded in the statement provided. A report by…

Republicans are privately blaming Donald Trump for putting the party on course for losses in Tuesday’s midterm elections, even as few lawmakers are prepared to criticise the president publicly. Interviews with candidates, campaign officials and members of Congress indicate growing concern over the political impact of Trump’s tariffs, his unpopular war with Iran and mass deportation agenda. Republicans are tied or trailing in a number of key battlegrounds and expect to lose some seats that were previously considered secure. One House Republican said the party had believed earlier this year that it could defy the usual midterm pattern, before Trump’s…