The 2 O'Clock: Spain Calls Snap Election for November 29

Monday, 2:00 PM PT — What happened since this morning. Spain's prime minister called a snap election for November 29, GTA VI went glossy in LOVE Magazine's new issue, the Supreme Court opened its term with a climate-liability showdown, and Shasta County finally shredded its 2024 ballots.

1. Spain will vote November 29 — Sánchez calls a snap election

Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced the vote in a televised address Monday, Reuters reports, three days after right-wing parties in parliament joined forces to defeat two government decrees aimed at the housing crisis. Hundreds of protesters had camped in Madrid's Puerta del Sol, and tenant organizers claim nearly a million people demonstrated nationwide over the weekend, CNN reports.

Sánchez is betting the housing anger that exposed his weakness in parliament will energize voters instead — but the polls say otherwise. The conservative People's Party has led all year, and a PP-Vox coalition is the only combination currently projected to win a majority in the 350-seat parliament. Sánchez has led Spain since 2018, and a defeat would end one of Europe's last remaining left-leaning governments at a moment when the far right is gaining across the continent.

2. GTA VI goes glossy — LOVE Magazine issue on sale today

LOVE Magazine's Issue 27 hit newsstands today with Jason and Lucia on a brand-new Rockstar cover, four new screenshots, and interviews with co-studio head Rob Nelson, narrative chief Rupert Humphries, and writers Elizabeth Gauvey-Kern and Alexa D'Agostino. The writers frame the game as a Bonnie-and-Clyde love story — a deliberate break from GTA V's three-protagonist formula.

Fans crashed the party before it started: pre-orders on KD Presse sold out within minutes at €25 a copy. With the game itself landing November 19, Rockstar's slow-drip marketing machine is officially in overdrive.

3. SCOTUS opens its term with Big Oil's climate fight

The justices opened the October 2026 term Monday with Suncor Energy v. Boulder County, Reuters reports, as ExxonMobil and Suncor ask the Court to kill a Colorado lawsuit seeking damages for climate harms. The Trump administration is backing the oil companies, arguing federal law preempts state claims — and with nearly 60 similar suits pending nationwide, the ruling could decide whether most of them survive.

Also on this term's docket: fights over Trump's immigration policies, state bans on assault-style rifles, and religious liberty cases. The 6-3 conservative majority has moved American law sharply rightward in recent years, and this term looks like more of the same.

4. Shasta County finally shreds its 2024 ballots

Under Registrar Clint Curtis — who twice refused to do it — workers finished shredding the county's November 2024 ballots just before noon Saturday, the Redding Record Searchlight reports, nearly a month past the September 5 statutory deadline. About 20 protesters stood outside the Redding elections office as a mobile shredding truck did the job.

Curtis halted a September 30 attempt after finding election logs in some ballot boxes, drawing a rebuke from county officials and a direct order from Secretary of State Shirley Weber to comply. The county's news release struck a grateful tone; the saga, in a county long synonymous with election skepticism, is unlikely to be over.

5. PS Plus October: F1 25, Hunt: Showdown, EDF — and today's your last shot at September's games

Sony confirmed the October Monthly Games, NME reports: F1 25 and Hunt: Showdown 1896 on PS5, plus Earth Defense Force: World Brothers 2 on PS4 and PS5 — all claimable from Tuesday, October 6 through November 2. Two of the three are PS5-only, so PS4 owners can only grab the EDF voxel shooter.

Heads up: today is the last day to claim September's games — Sniper Elite: Resistance, MLB The Show 26, Wobbly Life, and Chained Echoes leave the offer tonight. The Extra and Premium catalog additions get announced October 14.

6. Frostpunk hits Switch October 19 — demo out now

11 bit studios announced today that the original Frostpunk comes to Nintendo Switch and Switch 2 on October 19, Gematsu reports, with a free demo and pre-orders live now on the eShop. The bleak-and-brilliant survival city builder — rule the last city on Earth, make impossible choices, live with them — is $29.99 ($20.99 pre-order), or $45 ($29.25) for the Complete Edition with all three expansions.

Eight years after its PC debut, this is Frostpunk's first Nintendo outing, and the demo is the smart play if you've never frozen to death in New London before.

7. Gunna announces Pop It — out Friday

The Grammy-nominated rapper announced his new single "Pop It," arriving Friday, October 9, The Music Universe reports, revealing the official artwork to kick off what he's calling a new era. It caps a year where Gunna's been as visible for wellness and partnerships — Peloton, Under Armour creative director, his Wunna Run 5K — as for music.

Friday will tell whether the new chapter sounds as focused as the rollout looks.

Still developing this afternoon

Tonight: Falcons at Saints, plus two ALDS Game 2s

The Falcons visit the Saints at 8:15 PM ET on ESPN — the 20th anniversary of the post-Katrina Domecoming, with the ManningCast on ESPN2. In baseball, it's a doubleheader of ALDS Game 2s: White Sox at Guardians (5 PM ET, Chicago up 1-0) and Yankees at Rays (8 PM ET, Tampa Bay up 1-0), both on TBS and TruTV.

Still developing: Spain's 54-day sprint begins Tuesday

The decree dissolving parliament is expected Tuesday, starting the 54-day clock to the November 29 vote. Watch the polls: the PP has led the Socialists all year, and a PP-Vox coalition is currently the only combination projected to reach a majority.