Barely Briefed

What would Florida's Amendment 3 change for property taxes? What's actually on the ballot, 3/9. It needs 60% yes to pass. Yes: the homestead exemption on non-school taxes goes to $150,000 in 2027 and $250,000 in 2028, then adjusts for inflation. The yearly assessment cap on non-homestead property drops from 10% to 5%. Counties and cities could spend property taxes only on listed purposes. It takes effect Jan 1, 2027. No: today's $25,000 exemption, the second exemption of up to $26,411 on non-school taxes, and the 10% cap stay.

Friday, 4/9: what changes if the Senate flips.

The Dune popcorn bucket is back for Part Three, and this time there are two. Regal has a Spacing Guild Navigator, only at Regal, this December. Cinemark has a copper sandworm, coming soon, with free same-day refills. Both at select theaters while supplies last. No price yet from either chain. Dune: Part Three opens December 18.

Can California's Prop 40 pass and still not become law? What's actually on the ballot, 2/9. Prop 40 is a one-time 5% tax on the wealth of billionaires who lived in California on Jan 1, 2026. Props 41 and 42 are on the same ballot. If measures conflict, the one with the most yes votes wins, and courts decide whether they conflict. So 40 could pass and still be stopped. Or it could beat both. If 40 fails, there's no wealth tax.

On this day, October 28: President Cleveland dedicates the Statue of Liberty, Fallout 3 comes out in North America, and Gulliver's Travels is published 300 years ago today. #OnThisDay

What actually changes if the House changes hands? What's actually on the ballot, 1 of 9. Nobody in the new House is sworn in until a Speaker wins. If the majority changes, the new one writes the rules and chairs every committee. If it stays, the rules still get adopted again. Either way, no House majority makes law alone. Next: the Senate, Friday.

150,000 people rode New York's first subway on day one, for a nickel. On this day, October 27, plus Taylor Swift's 1989 and Super Mario Odyssey. #OnThisDay

What actually changed in the new iPad mini? An 8.5-inch OLED screen, the A20 Pro chip, IP67 water and dust resistance, and a 5.4 mm body. The display is reportedly still 60Hz. It starts at $699 for 128GB Wi-Fi, $200 more than the 2024 launch price and $100 more than the $599 model it replaces. Pre-orders open Wednesday. In stores Nov 6. #iPadMini

On this day, October 25: the A380 carried its first passengers, Dirk Hartog left a pewter plate in Australia, Cassini found Saturn's moon Iapetus, and the George Washington Bridge opened. Six moments from 1616 to 2007. #OnThisDay

Did Ukraine break Starlink's rules? Elon Musk says yes. Ukraine says it can't have. Ukraine says speeds were restored overnight after a cap on moving terminals that began Oct 14. Musk: Ukraine's military "violated Starlink terms of service" with offensive drone strikes, and SpaceX "simply enforced our terms of service." Ukraine's Beskrestnov, per Reuters: Ukraine is "physically unable" to do that with long and medium range drones. Still not public: how the "loophole" worked, or the contract. #Starlink #Ukraine

Update: it's 86 on Metacritic (PC) tonight. Still the best Call of Duty score since 2011. Also no Game Pass until Holiday 2027 and no PS4 or Xbox One.

Buying Modern Warfare 4 tonight? Three things to know first. 1. It's not on Game Pass. Microsoft says it joins in Holiday 2027. Black Ops 6 and 7 were day one. 2. No PS4 or Xbox One version. Every Call of Duty since 2013 was on them. This one isn't. 3. Critics like it: 86 on Metacritic (PC) right now, the best Call of Duty score since 2011. Out now on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PC and Switch 2. $69.99, or $99.99 for the Vault Edition. #ModernWarfare4 #CallofDuty #MW4

The US-Canada tariff tweak, explained simply Here's what actually happened: 1. The US still has a 50% tariff list on many Canadian goods. 2. On Oct 23 the White House signed a Section 338 proclamation that moves some items off that list and puts a few others on. 3. Coming off: plywood sheets, some paper products, certain machinery and refrigeration equipment, and certain packing crates and boxes. 4. Going on: certain valves, carpets, and waste products. 5. The change starts at 12:01 a.m. ET on Oct 30. Sen. Collins had already called out Maine blueberry, potato, apple, and seaweed producers for relief. 6. This is a product-by-product rewrite of the list, not a full rollback of the 50% tariffs. What a normal person should do: if you buy or sell those goods, check the Oct 30 list, not headlines that say "tariffs dropped."

Twenty years to the day. Deluxe adds six bonuses, including the live "Stay" cut never officially recorded before.

The Black Parade turns 20 today. What's actually new? My Chemical Romance released it Oct 23, 2006 (NME that day; Discogs lists the Reprise CD the same date). Today the 20th Anniversary Deluxe hits shops. Newbury Comics already has the CD and vinyl. The Deluxe adds six bonuses to the original 14 tracks: Heaven Help Us, Kill All Your Friends, My Way Home Is Through You, plus three 2007 tour live cuts, including Someone Out There Loves You (fans called it Stay), never officially recorded before. Baby Pink 2LP and a limited One Step cut from the original analog master are among the formats. James Jean did new art. The band says this is the first time everything they finished in those sessions is in one collection. #MyChemicalRomance #TheBlackParade #MCR

Irish music just lost one of its architects. Who was Dónal Lunny? He died at 79. News broke Friday on RTE and the Irish Independent. Planxty, The Bothy Band, Moving Hearts. The Irish bouzouki. Mulligan Records. Production for Kate Bush, Elvis Costello and Clannad. Taoiseach Micheál Martin called him a colossus of Irish music. #DonalLunny

Arkane Lyon has until Nov 13. Union: Blade "nearing the end," shelving would be a "monumental waste." Microsoft: seeking a partner to finish and commercialize it.