Thursday, October 22, 2026Edition No. 30

The Gayzette

A personal daily by Patrick and Travis, written with a little help from AI.

Anthropic's new API version and SDK majors break old code

Front page · AI

Anthropic's new API version and SDK majors break old code

Python SDK 2.0.0 and TypeScript SDK 1.0.0 send the new version by default, per Anthropic's own release notes.

By The Gayzette, with Claude · 1 min read · Wonder ◆◆◇◇◇

Anthropic released API version 2026-10-21 and new SDK majors that send it by default, including Python 2.0.0 and TypeScript 1.0.0 (an SDK is the code library you call the API through). Disclosure: Anthropic makes Claude, the model that helps make this paper. Per its migration guide, the Messages API now returns a 400 error (a "bad request" rejection) for temperature, top_p and top_k, even at default values, and for citations on user text blocks and document blocks in assistant messages.

v2Pin it first!
Illustration · The Gayzette

The SDKs also now send your API key as an Authorization: Bearer header instead of X-Api-Key, so any proxy or gateway reading the old header needs updating. Python raises a ValueError if you pass two or more credential options. The caveat: the migration guide gives no sunset date for the old 2023-06-01 version, and upgrading blindly can break builds.

On your desk: before your next pip or npm update, pin your SDK version. Then search your code for temperature, top_p and top_k. If you need non-default sampling, pin the old API version while you migrate.

Read the original at Anthropic: API release notes →
Receipts (2)

Editor's note

The Managing Editor (Claude Opus, with Sonnet scouts, writer and fact-checker)

Good morning. Today's lead is Anthropic's new API version and SDK majors, with a plain disclosure that Anthropic makes the model that helps write this paper. Three more AI Builder items follow: Google's TorchTPU, OpenAI's 12-hour prompt caching, and an OpenAI report (self-reported) on agents turning off their own monitoring.

An apology: this edition fired late, around 9:30 am PT instead of 4:30 am. Trims, so you know: Sonnet wrote the lead instead of Opus, The Good Ten runs 8 stories instead of 10, Spirit runs 1 item (the only verified one in the window), and The World, Straight runs 4.

Your votes still say more human-scale Good Ten stories, so the Ten stays people-sized, with no clinical studies.

The public site (thegayzette.news) didn't publish this run, so this artifact is the paper today.

Google open-sources TorchTPU, a PyTorch build for its chips

AI

Google open-sources TorchTPU, a PyTorch build for its chips

TechCrunch reports existing PyTorch apps can move to Google's TPUs with a configuration change.

TechCrunch's Julie Bort reports Google released TorchTPU, an open-source build of PyTorch (a popular toolkit for building AI models) that runs on Google's TPUs (its custom AI chips). Per TechCrunch, existing PyTorch apps can move to TPUs and Google Cloud "with a simple configuration change and no rewriting of their apps."

One switch
Illustration · The Gayzette

Google says it worked with Meta, Hugging Face, Inferact (vLLM) and RadixArk (SGLang), and also launched a TPU agent suite to help migrate apps and fix errors. Amazon released a similar project, TorchNeuron for its Trainium chips, on Monday Oct 19.

The caveat: TechCrunch cites "some accounts" for an unsourced 85% PyTorch share, says developers won't automatically leave Nvidia, and states no pricing.

On your desk: nothing to do today. For a solo builder the payoff is indirect, maybe cheaper training and inference options over time, so watch for pricing before you plan around it.

Read the original at TechCrunch: Google has joined Amazon in attacking Nvidia's stronghold with AI app developers →
Iowa church's sealed DEA agreement covers importing ayahuasca

Spirit

Iowa church's sealed DEA agreement covers importing ayahuasca

A regulation-and-law item, reported by Marijuana Moment from Iowa Capital Dispatch last week.

Last week (Oct 17), Marijuana Moment, republishing Iowa Capital Dispatch, reported that the Iowa Board of Pharmacy approved a state registration certificate for the Iowaska Church of Healing in an order dated Oct 5. Federal import and manufacturing certificates depend on it.

Illustration · The Gayzette

The order says a confidential memorandum of agreement with the DEA (the US Drug Enforcement Administration) "effectively grants" authority to import "concentrated paste of ayahuasca" and to make the tea in bulk. The agreement was disclosed in June and filed under seal. The state certificate is on one-year probation, and adverse events needing off-site medical care must be reported.

Background: the church formed in Sept 2018, the IRS denied it tax-exempt status in 2019, and a federal court sided with the IRS in March 2023. DMT, the main active compound in ayahuasca, is Schedule I (the most restricted US drug category).

The caveat: the terms are sealed, federal permits had not been issued as of the article, and the church and DEA claims come from court filings via a secondary report. This item is a week old, outside our usual 48-hour window.

Read the original at Marijuana Moment: Psychedelic church's secret agreement with DEA and approval from Iowa officials →
Witkoff meets Putin in St Petersburg; Russian strikes hit Kyiv overnight

World

Witkoff meets Putin in St Petersburg; Russian strikes hit Kyiv overnight

ConfirmedAl Jazeera, citing AFP, reports overnight strikes on Kyiv killed at least 1 and injured 22, including 4 children, per Ukraine's emergency service, and damaged metro infrastructure at Pivdenny Bridge, per Mayor Vitali Klitschko. Al Jazeera also reports US envoy Steve Witkoff met Putin on Wed Oct 21 and Russia released jailed US citizen Stephen Hubbard. Moscow Mayor Sobyanin said Ukraine launched 630 drones at the region, most intercepted, with 2 people wounded. Al Jazeera reports the US delayed a new round of Russia sanctions.

Claimed by Steve Witkoff, Donald Trump, Andrii Sybiha and the Kremlin (as reported by Al Jazeera)Witkoff called the release a goodwill gesture and praised Putin as a "humanitarian." Trump says the war may be as close to ending as it has been and defended the sanctions delay as needed to free Hubbard. Foreign Minister Sybiha said "Appeasement, servility, and flattery will not stop this war." The Kremlin says it is willing "in principle" to restart US-mediated talks.

  • Ukraine and Europe: Concessions reward Moscow while strikes continue.
  • Washington: Engagement and sanctions timing produce results.
  • Moscow: It is open to talks and calls Ukrainian and European proposals lacking substance.
Read the original at Al Jazeera/AFP: Russian strikes hit Kyiv after Witkoff meets Putin →

More in World

US embassy accuses Canada of interfering in the US midterms

What is known

ConfirmedAl Jazeera reports the US embassy issued a fact sheet on Wed Oct 21 alleging Canadian politicians sought to influence the 3 Nov midterms, citing anti-tariff efforts. It names 11 people charged or sentenced for voting in US elections from 2012 to 2024 but shows no link to a Canadian government effort, and Al Jazeera says the embassy did not explain how the actions amount to interference.

Claimed by The US embassy, Melanie Joly and Mark Carney (as reported by Al Jazeera)The embassy says "Americans decide America's elections" and cites Industry Minister Melanie Joly's tariff comments and meetings with Democrats, Ontario Premier Doug Ford's anti-tariff ads, and MP Anthony Housefather's campaigning in Florida. Joly said "Fundamentally, what I've done in the US is to attract investments." Prime Minister Carney said governments should stay out of each other's elections. Al Jazeera did not publish replies from the Prime Minister's office or Ford.

  • United States: Canadian officials are acting politically in US races.
  • Canada: The meetings were about trade and investment, and Canada does not meddle.

Read the original at Al Jazeera: US accuses Canada of election interference ahead of midterms →

Judge orders Meta to pay $25bn in New Mexico privacy case

What is known

ConfirmedAl Jazeera reports District Judge Francis Mathew of a New Mexico state court ordered Meta to pay $25bn, the largest fine against the company. The state sued in 2021, and a jury found more than 43 million violations of consumer protection law and that 26 of 29 statements were misleading. Attorney General Raul Torrez says the funds go to a state education fund. A separate March case brought a $375m penalty.

Claimed by Meta's chief legal officer CJ Mahoney and Attorney General Raul Torrez (as reported by Al Jazeera)Mahoney says Meta is confident of winning on appeal and that the ruling makes business in the state "all but impossible." Meta's lawyer argued jurors made no findings that any New Mexican saw the statements or was harmed. Torrez says the money goes to education.

  • New Mexico: Meta misled users on data and harmful content.
  • Meta: The penalty is excessive and burdens speech, and the company will appeal.

Read the original at Al Jazeera: Judge orders Meta to pay $25bn in fines →

Nigeria's first Ebola case matches the Bundibugyo strain in DR Congo

What is known

ConfirmedAl Jazeera reports Nigeria confirmed its first case on Tue Oct 20 (tested Oct 19) as the Bundibugyo strain, and the WHO also confirmed it. The woman travelled from Uganda to Abuja on 3 Oct. Nigeria is the fifth country to detect the virus in this outbreak, and 44 contacts have been identified. DR Congo has reported over 9,000 cases and over 4,000 deaths since mid-May, and Kenya 9 cases since 6 Oct. Al Jazeera says there is no vaccine or specific treatment for this strain.

Claimed by Olajumoke Babatunde, Muhammad Ali Pate, Ayoade Alakija and Jean Kaseya (as reported by Al Jazeera)Babatunde, NCDC lab director, said "The strain was Bundibugyo." Health Minister Pate told NTA the patient is isolated and treated. Physician Alakija noted 12 days between illness and testing. Africa CDC's Kaseya said health ministers will meet next week.


Read the original at Al Jazeera: Nigeria's first Ebola case matches DR Congo strain →

Feel-Good

The Good Ten

Small, true, and from this week.

  1. 01

    Perseverance passes Opportunity as the farthest-driving rover

    Wed Oct 21

    Perseverance's odometer reached 28.10 miles (45.22 km), passing Opportunity's 28.06 miles, per NASA/JPL via ScienceDaily. It took about five and a half years, against nearly 15 for Opportunity, and AutoNav (self-driving software) handled over 90% of the distance. The original mission called for "no more than 12.4 miles," said Steven Lee.

    Read the original at ScienceDaily (NASA/JPL) →
  2. 02

    Fingerprints in Terracotta Army clay suggest women and children helped build it

    Mon Oct 19

    Researchers studied 79 fingerprints in clay figures from one unit of Pit 1 and estimate adult men left 45% of the prints, adult women about 33% and children under 15 about 22%. The study is in the Journal of Cultural Heritage. The typical adult maker was around 20 (men) and 18 (women).

    Read the original at Archaeology Magazine →
  3. 03

    A Roman frontier man's face, revealed after nearly 2,000 years

    Wed Oct 21

    National Museums Scotland and partner researchers reconstructed the face of a man who died at the Roman fort at Inveresk between CE 140 and 165, likely in his early 50s. Four of six adult men buried there lost their heads after death. The exhibition "Roman Scotland: Life on the Edge of Empire" runs 14 Nov 2026 to 18 April 2027.

    Read the original at Archaeology Magazine →
  4. 04

    Amsterdam zoo vets give a hornbill a 3D-printed beak, a world first

    Mon Oct 19

    ARTIS Zoo vets, working with Utrecht University, fitted a southern ground hornbill with prosthetics for both its upper and lower beak, which they call a first. The pieces are plastic, attached with titanium components and screws, and the bird was using them within hours. "[H]e actually looked comfortable right away."

    Read the original at Good Good Good →
  5. 05

    Three Michigan tribes try to restore a fish gone a century

    Thu Oct 22

    Three Michigan tribes are working with the state to reintroduce Arctic grayling, absent for about 100 years, with about 8,000 young fish released into one river and 391,000 eggs stocked on another. No wild survival is confirmed yet, and success will be judged in 6 to 8 years. "This is an experiment," said Dan Mays.

    Read the original at Good Good Good (reporting by Vivian La for Grist) →
  6. 06

    Student stages a fake fight to surprise his principal

    Tue Oct 20

    De'Zayviun Watkins, 17, staged a cafeteria fight for the birthday of Bobby Davis, 51, principal of a Georgia high school. Davis rushed in, then the crowd shouted "Happy Birthday!" Watkins says Davis helped turn his anger around, and he now writes poetry and composes music.

    Read the original at Good News Network →
  7. 07

    Lightning victim proposes to the partner who restarted his heart

    Tue Oct 20

    Nick and Eva Broderick were hit by lightning on a Wisconsin hike in Aug 2025, about 2 miles from their car. Eva did CPR, restarting his heart twice, while rescuers took about 50 minutes to reach them, and Nick spent three days in hospital. They married less than a year later. "I brought him back from death, so he's kind of stuck," she said.

    Read the original at Good News Network →
  8. 08

    Pip Adam wins the $25,000 Ursula K. Le Guin Prize for Fiction

    Wed Oct 21

    Pip Adam won the $25,000 prize for Audition (Coffee House Press), per Literary Hub. The book follows three people society has deemed worthless who find their way back to themselves, each other and hope. The judges called it "an astonishing and ultimately joyful work."

    Read the original at Literary Hub →

TV and the sky

Tonight, and overhead

Storm watch

Weather

Storm Watch

Los Angeles: Showers and possibly a thunderstorm (80%), high 69, low 56, LA

  • Tropical Storm Vance (Eastern Pacific) — Tropical storm · 60 mph peak · 997 mb. 9.7N 101.0W, about 505 mi south of Acapulco and 680 mi south-southeast of Manzanillo, Mexico; moving northwest at 3 mph No watches or warnings. Swells may bring dangerous surf and rip currents to southern and southwestern Mexico this weekend into next week. (as of 2026-10-22) NHC Public Advisory #5, 9:00 AM CST Oct 22
  • Subtropical Storm Josephine (Atlantic) — Subtropical storm · 65 mph peak · 988 mb. 39.2N 67.3W, about 200 mi southeast of Nantucket, Massachusetts and 420 mi south-southwest of Halifax, Nova Scotia; moving northeast at 12 mph, speeding up, turning east Friday No watches or warnings. (as of 2026-10-22) NHC Public Advisory #4, 11:00 AM AST Oct 22

Winter outlook: No active Central Pacific storms. Climate Prediction Center line (8 Oct 2026 discussion, still the latest posted): El Nino continues to strengthen, with a strong-to-very-strong El Nino likely through January-March 2027 (remaining greater than an 83% chance).

Outlook from the CPC discussion dated 2026-10-08.

CPC ENSO Diagnostic Discussion (8 Oct 2026) · National Hurricane Center

The sky tonight

Overhead

Sky

Moon: Waxing Gibbous (86% illuminated)

Tonight's sky: The Orionid meteor shower peaked overnight Oct 21-22, with about 10 to 20 meteors an hour at the maximum and moonlight interfering, per Griffith Observatory. Saturn, in Cetus, is visible all night; Jupiter, in Leo, and Mars, in Cancer, rise in the early morning. Full Moon is Oct 25. Griffith Observatory Sky Report, Oct 2026 · Moongiant: Moon phase Oct 22 2026

Human Design transits
  • Patrick: Today's transits (Oct 22, noon UT): Saturn is in gate 21 (The Hunter, Heart centre), one of his own gates, completing his channel 21-45; Uranus is in gate 20 (The Now, Throat), also his own, completing 20-34. Neptune in gate 25 (The Spirit of the Self) and Pluto in gate 41 (Contraction) would complete his 25-51 and 30-41 channels. The North Node sits in his own gate 30 (Recognition of Feelings).
  • Travis: Today's transits (Oct 22, noon UT): Neptune is in gate 25 (The Spirit of the Self, G centre), one of his own gates; it completes no channel.
Crop circle watch

Notebook

Crop Circle Watch

Latest formation — Tue Jul 21 · Wanborough Plain, near Liddington, Wiltshire, England. The last formation on the Crop Circle Connector's July 2026 page, which lists 10 formations. The Connector's August page lists none, and its 2026 index totals 16, so we found nothing newer.

  • Nothing newer than 21 July turned up on the Connector page we checked; page stamps through 11 Aug are edits to existing entries, not new formations.
  • The Connector's pages give location and report date only, with no descriptions.

From the history: Near Stonehenge, 7 July 1996: the Julia Set formation was found in a field a little over 100 m from the A303 road. Patrick Gross's research site, which is author-run and skeptical, gives corrected sizes of about 182 m for the unrolled spiral, about 152 m in length and about 85 m in width, and counts 149 circles (other sources say 151 or 212). The timing is disputed: Colin Andrews says a pilot flew over at about 17:15 and saw nothing, then saw it at about 18:00; other accounts put the gap anywhere from 15 to 45 minutes, and one claims about 20 seconds. Gross says no witness statements were made available.

Crop Circle Connector: July 2026 · Crop Circle Connector: August 2026 · Crop Circle Connector: 2026 index · Patrick Gross: Stonehenge Julia Set, 1996