• Celebrity lifestyle maven Martha Stewart posted and then quickly deleted a photo of her Halloween costume – a homeless person. As you can imagine, the sight of a woman worth $400 million dressing up in tattered clothes and holding a hand-scribbled sign that read, “I am hungry. Help me!!” didn’t play well on social media.
• Who is more ruthless – actress Reese Witherspoon or the private-equity firm Blackstone? I would have guessed Blackstone, but when Witherspoon reacquired the production company Hello Sunshine, which she founded and then sold to a Blackstone-backed company, she immediately laid off 50% of the staff.
• Actor Russell Brand faces a lengthy prison sentence after a London jury found him guilty of raping a young fan and sexually assaulting three women.
• Michael Mann, the famed director of such movies as “Heat,” “The Insider,” and “Ferrari,” was hospitalized after he accidentally shot himself in the leg at a Los Angeles gun range.
• Almost no one predicted the extent of the losses Republicans experienced in the 2026 midterm elections. The confluence of high gas prices, the unpopular war with Iran, and President Donald Trump’s historically low approval rating created a Democratic wave not seen in decades.
• In Colorado, it appears that seven of our eight U.S. House seats will be taken by Democrats. Colorado‘s 4th Congressional District is considered the safest Republican seat in the state (Ken Buck previously won it by 23 points), but Rep. Lauren Boebert is trailing her Democratic opponent as the final votes are counted and appears unlikely to win. If you thought Boebert would go quietly, think again. Her attorney said her team is “investigating some very unusual voting patterns.“
• The Metropolitan Museum of Art has replaced its exhibit focusing on antisemitic designer John Galliano with the least offensive subject possible: “extraOrdinary: Fashion and the Poetics of the Everyday.” The New York Times describes the exhibit this way: “Think bluejeans, puffer jackets and white T-shirts – even paper, plastic and Bubble Wrap – reimagined through the lens of high fashion.”
• The New York Times reported on a purported list of Jewish supporters of Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed that included someone claiming to be a Michigan State University student named “Jack Mehoff.” MSU confirmed that there is no student with that name.
• Michael Giles Jr., the superintendent of Aurora Public Schools, looked at the dysfunction of Denver Public Schools and thought, “I want in on this.” He was arrested on Halloween on suspicion of DUI after sheriff’s deputies said he failed to maintain a single lane and drove through a red light.
• The online publication Salon ended its 31-year run.
• A week after laying off more than 400 employees, including nearly 30 at Denver7, E.W. Scripps Company reported its third-quarter revenue rose 3.6%.
• McDonald’s McRib and Subway‘s 11-inch “foot-long” sandwich are among the most litigious fast-food meals in the world. This week, a judge allowed a class-action lawsuit against McDonald’s to proceed that accuses the McRib of deceiving consumers because it is not actually made from rib meat.
• A 97-year-old California man died at his own birthday party moments after dancing to the Bee Gees’ song “Stayin’ Alive.” Friends described his death as a “dramatic exit” that the senior would have wanted.
• Three customers and two employees at a Chili’s Grill & Bar in North Carolina suffered chemical burns when they drank margaritas accidentally rimmed with a white granulated degreaser that a bartender mistook for salt.

Who won the week?

• Former PR practitioner turned politico Lisa Cutter was elected to the Jefferson County Board of County Commissioners.
• Former Denver7 investigative reporter Tony Kovaleski has been appointed to the Board of Trustees of the University of Northern Colorado.
• History Colorado will open a “South Park” exhibit in December that will chronicle the origins of the Colorado-themed TV show and how it took creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone “from Colorado to Hollywood to Broadway and back home to Red Rocks and Casa Bonita.”
• Seven Denver restaurants were named to OpenTable’s list of the 100 best restaurants in the U.S. – Alma Fonda Fina, Alteño, Florence Supper Club, Guard & Grace, Mezcaleria Alma, Milpero and The Wolf’s Tailor.
• The New York Times added 420,000 digital subscriptions in the third quarter, keeping the media company on track to reach its goal of 15 million subscribers by the end of 2027.