‘Like a drill going into my eye’: why the mystery over Havana syndrome refuses to die
Published . Updated .
Dozens of CIA officers have been afflicted by debilitating symptoms over the past decade. Are they the result of ‘mass hysteria’? Or are they from attacks with an energy weapon and, if so, who is responsible? And has there been a cover-up? Shortly after 1am one night in April 2019, a CIA officer on a work trip to London was jolted awake in his hotel room by the most intense head pain he had ever experienced. His body was soaked with sweat and he felt like his eyes were spinning in their sockets. He manoeuvred his way out of bed, hoping to make it to the bathroom to vomit, but found his sense of balance had deserted him. Eventually, he fell back into a fitful, shallow sleep. The next day, arriving at the work meeting he had travelled for, the officer found he could not remember the names of colleagues in the room, people he knew well. As the meeting got under way, he could barely follow the discussion. Initially, he chalked it up to a terrible – if rather odd – case of food poisoning. But over subsequent weeks, worrying symptoms persisted: brain fog, loss of balance and increasingly harsh tinnitus. Continue reading...
Directly affected
- PPLI People
Named in this report.
Indirectly affected
- LMT Lockheed Martin
Defense contractors get more work when conflict spending rises
- RTX RTX
Defense contractors get more work when conflict spending rises
- NOC Northrop Grumman
Defense contractors get more work when conflict spending rises
- GD General Dynamics
Defense contractors get more work when conflict spending rises
- XOM Exxon Mobil
Oil producers earn more when crude prices rise
- CVX Chevron
Oil producers earn more when crude prices rise
- ITA iShares U.S. Aerospace & Defense
A fund of aerospace and defense companies
- BA Boeing
Defense and aerospace orders move with conflict spending
- LHX L3Harris
Defense contractors get more work when conflict spending rises
- HII Huntington Ingalls
Shipyards benefit when naval spending rises
Price reaction, T-5 to T+3
Dozens of CIA officers have been afflicted by debilitating symptoms over the past decade. Are they the result of ‘mass hysteria’? Or are they from attacks with an energy weapon and, if so, who is responsible? And has there been a cover-up?…
Source: The Guardian
IShares U.S. Aerospace & Defense ETF (ITA) since this story, compared with the market
Since the first closing price after “‘Like a drill going into my eye’: why the mystery over Havana syndrome refuses to die,” IShares U.S. Aerospace & Defense ETF (ITA) is +0.73%. The S&P 500 fund (SPY) is -1.47% over the same days, a +2.20% difference versus the market. industrial stocks (XLI) is -1.43%, a +2.15% difference versus that group of stocks.
| Company | When | Move | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| BA | that day | -0.50% | final price |
| BA | the next day | -2.05% | final price |
| BA | two days later | -3.08% | final price |
| BA | three days later | -0.90% | final price |
| BA | three days earlier | -1.13% | final price |
| BA | five days earlier | +1.20% | final price |
| CVX | that day | +1.43% | final price |
| CVX | the next day | +2.75% | final price |
| CVX | two days later | +4.76% | final price |
| CVX | three days later | +3.48% | final price |
| CVX | three days earlier | -3.22% | final price |
| CVX | five days earlier | -2.61% | final price |
| GD | that day | +1.14% | final price |
| GD | the next day | +0.35% | final price |
| GD | two days later | +0.99% | final price |
| GD | three days later | +1.70% | final price |
| GD | three days earlier | -1.46% | final price |
| GD | five days earlier | +0.12% | final price |
| HII | that day | -0.20% | final price |
| HII | the next day | -2.61% | final price |
| HII | two days later | -0.05% | final price |
| HII | three days later | +1.02% | final price |
| HII | three days earlier | -1.48% | final price |
| HII | five days earlier | +0.73% | final price |
| IShares U.S. Aerospace & Defense ETF (ITA) | that day | -0.28% | final price |
| IShares U.S. Aerospace & Defense ETF (ITA) | the next day | -1.26% | final price |
| IShares U.S. Aerospace & Defense ETF (ITA) | two days later | -1.17% | final price |
| IShares U.S. Aerospace & Defense ETF (ITA) | three days later | +0.09% | final price |
| IShares U.S. Aerospace & Defense ETF (ITA) | three days earlier | -1.47% | final price |
| IShares U.S. Aerospace & Defense ETF (ITA) | five days earlier | +0.06% | final price |
IShares U.S. Aerospace & Defense ETF (ITA) on one side of this defense story
Companies carried with this story
- ITA IShares U.S. Aerospace & Defense ETF
IShares U.S. Aerospace & Defense ETF (ITA) is linked, with no stored direction, medium confidence in the 11 Oct 2026 story “‘Like a drill going into my eye’: why the mystery over Havana syndrome refuses to die.” Reason on file: GA selected ITA as a RELATED security because its canonical security name directly matches this event's themes: defense. This is an explainable DERIVED market relationship, not a claim that the security was named in the source article
- PPA Invesco Aerospace & Defense Etf
In “‘Like a drill going into my eye’: why the mystery over Havana syndrome refuses to die,” Invesco Aerospace & Defense Etf (PPA) is linked, with no stored direction, medium confidence. Reason on file: GA selected PPA as a RELATED security because its canonical security name directly matches this event's themes: defense. This is an explainable DERIVED market relationship, not a claim that the security was named in the source article
- WAR U.S. Global Technology And Aerospace & Defense Etf
U.S. Global Technology And Aerospace & Defense Etf (WAR) is linked, with no stored direction, medium confidence in the 11 Oct 2026 story “‘Like a drill going into my eye’: why the mystery over Havana syndrome refuses to die.” Reason on file: GA selected WAR as a RELATED security because its canonical security name directly matches this event's themes: defense. This is an explainable DERIVED market relationship, not a claim that the security was named in the source article
IShares U.S. Aerospace & Defense ETF (ITA) and the defense link
The 11 Oct 2026 story “‘Like a drill going into my eye’: why the mystery over Havana syndrome refuses to die” names IShares U.S. Aerospace & Defense ETF (ITA) because of Defense.
What ties IShares U.S. Aerospace & Defense ETF (ITA) to the headline is this: GA selected ITA as a RELATED security because its canonical security name directly matches this event's themes: defense. This is an explainable DERIVED market relationship, not a claim that the security was named in the source article
A second company, Invesco Aerospace & Defense Etf (PPA), is listed for a different reason: GA selected PPA as a RELATED security because its canonical security name directly matches this event's themes: defense. This is an explainable DERIVED market relationship, not a claim that the security was named in the source article
Dates in the story, and the IShares U.S. Aerospace & Defense ETF (ITA) price range
ITA traded between 201.08 and 217.79 across 20 sessions. The latest close on file is 207.60. PPA traded between 151.56 and 162.12 across 20 sessions. The latest close on file is 156.07. WAR traded between 27.98 and 32.67 across 18 sessions. The latest close on file is 28.45.
The defense score for IShares U.S. Aerospace & Defense ETF (ITA)
27 out of 100
“‘Like a drill going into my eye’: why the mystery over Havana syndrome refuses to die” scores 27 out of 100. The score uses 1 sources, and 3 linked companies.