Facebook outage adds to crises, Californians race to avert ‘ecological disaster’ and Capt. Kirk boldly goes to space IRL

To ensure delivery to your inbox add email@mail.nbcnews.com to your contacts Today's Top Stories from NBC News TUESDAY, OCTOBER 5, 2021 Good morning, NBC News readers.     Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp are back online but the social media giant is set to face fresh scrutiny. Californians are bracing for an "environmental catastrophe" as they race to contain the massive oil spill off the southern coast. And William Shatner finally gets his chance to boldly go to space.    Here's the latest on that and everything else we're watching this Tuesday morning.     Facebook blames 'faulty configuration change' for major outages Facebook apologized late Monday for a massive outage that knocked out service to the social media giant's platforms for users around the world, and said the disruption was due to a "faulty configuration change."   The company said no user data had been compromised in the blackout, which left Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp down for more than six hours.   The outage wasn't Facebook's only crisis Monday. It came a day after a whistleblower alleged that the social media giant turned a blind eye to disinformation that led to the deadly Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol.    Facebook data scientist Frances Haugen is set to testify before a Senate subcommittee hearing titled "Protecting Kids Online" this morning at 10 a.m. ET.  Tuesday's Top Stories As California frantically works to clean oil spill, advocates say the damage is already done California's Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency in Orange County Monday night to help support the response to the massive oil spill off Southern California as local officials race to prevent an "ecological disaster."  READ MORE Progressives flex power to push Biden's safety net bill. A bigger fight awaits. Democratic progressives held the line during their weeklong standoff with Speaker Nancy Pelosi, but now comes the hard part: securing a deal on the multitrillion-dollar social policy bill.  READ MORE Doctors treating Covid feel defeated by their patients' relentless skepticism Many doctors and nurses treating Covid-19 were already overworked and nearing their breaking point. Now they are bearing the brunt of patients' rage, too. READ MORE OPINION The bombshell Pandora Papers feature a surprising American cameo The recently revealed Pandora Papers put South Dakota in very unsavory company. Author Suzanne Garment explains why the state previously best known for the Badlands and Mount Rushmore is coming under a microscope.  READ MORE Also in the News Nobel Prize in physics awarded to 3 scientists for climate discoveries Taiwan says it needs to be on alert against China's 'over the top' military activities Bubba Wallace becomes first Black driver to win top NASCAR race since 1963 Actor pleads guilty in $650 million Ponzi scheme that lied about Netflix, HBO deals Missouri inmate scheduled to be executed despite request from pope Winning $700M Powerball jackpot ticket sold in California Editor's Pick Yosemite's old laundry facilities are being converted to shine light on Chinese labor An old laundry building at Yosemite National Park will showcase the history of Chinese immigrants who built roads in the park and worked in Yosemite's hotels as cooks and laundry workers. READ MORE Shopping New and notable releases include a W&P insulated bottle and a SodaStream device. One Fun Thing William Shatner to boldly go to space on Blue Origin rocket William Shatner is boldly going to the edge of space.   Jeff Bezos' space travel company, Blue Origin, announced Monday that the 90-year-old "Star Trek" actor will blast off from West Texas on Oct. 12, making him the oldest person to travel to space.   "I've heard about space for a long time now. I'm taking the opportunity to see it for myself. What a miracle," Shatner said in a statement.   Read more about Capt. James T. Kirk's latest adventure here. Thanks for reading the Morning Rundown.    If you have any comments — likes, dislikes — send me an email at: petra@nbcuni.com   If you're a fan, please forward it to your family and friends. They can sign-up here.    Thanks, Petra Cahill     FOLLOW US     Want to receive NBC Breaking News and Special Alerts in your inbox? SIGN UP HERE Check out all of NBC Newsletters here.     Get the NBC News Mobile App   30 Rockefeller Plaza New York, NY 10112 View in browser | Unsubscribe | Manage Subscription | Contact | Privacy