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A curated weekday guide to major news and developments over the last 24 hours. Here’s today’s news:
IRAN WAR
The United States has told several Middle East countries to be prepared for a short, intense military campaign after the U.S. midterm elections, sources told the Wall Street Journal. The sources said the communications were sent through diplomatic and military channels, and two officials said the U.S. military is sending an additional Patriot system to Israel from Texas to increase the country’s missile defenses. Summer Said, Shelby Holliday, Benoit Faucon, and Anat Peled report.
IRAN WAR – OTHER DEVELOPMENTS
U.N. International Atomic Energy Director Gen. Rafael Grossi during a U.N. Security Council meeting yesterday said there has been no indication Iran has tried to repair or reconstruct its nuclear facilities which were damaged in U.S. and Israeli military strikes over the past two years. Grossi urged Iran to give IAEA inspectors access to all nuclear sites, as the agency has not been able to verify the status of Iran’s stockpile of near weapons-grade uranium since the United States bombed its sites last year, but assured that “since June 2025, we have not identified any activity to repair or reconstruct.” Edith M. Lederer reports for AP News.
ISRAELI ELECTIONS
Israel yesterday recorded one of the highest election turnouts in its history, as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party today held a seven-seat lead over Gadi Eisenkot’s Yashar party. Eisenkot declared that the numbers pointed to a “complete loss of confidence” in Netanyahu’s government, and that the results “mark a victory,” despite Netanyahu’s party having more seats as of today. The exit polls projected that two Arab parties would win as many as 17 or 18 seats in Parliament, which would be their strongest showing ever. The processing of votes will likely continue until Thursday. After final election numbers are counted, Israeli President Isaac Herzog will choose a potential prime minister to try and form the next government. Aaron Boxerman, David M. Halbfinger, Leo Sands, and Michael Levenson report for the New York Times; Ephrat Livni reports for the New York Times; Steven Scheer, Rami Ayyub, and Lina Obeid report for Reuters.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy yesterday said Ukrainian forces were retaking territory through a series of offensives. Zelenskyy, citing a report by senior commanders, noted for the first time the “Veles” operation using pipelines in Ukraine’s northeast to outflank Russian positions. Ron Popeski and Oleksandr Kozhukar report for Reuters.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen yesterday said she was “very skeptical” about Finland and Norway’s phone call with Russia. The Norwegian government stated the purpose of the call was “to convey messages directly to [Russian] President [Vladimir] Putin regarding future negotiations to help to end the war [in Ukraine].” Frederiksen added that the call was not coordinated with “the rest of us” and that she couldn’t see “any signs that Russia wants peace.” Other European leaders were also critical of the call, such as Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, who said the call risks “dividing a united European voice.” Jeffrey Gettleman, Paul Sonne, and Jeanna Smialek report for the New York Times.
OTHER GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTS
Supporters of Serbia’s student opposition, who won the election on Sunday, yesterday pressured Serbian state media which supported former president Aleksandar Vucic and smeared Vucic’s opponents. The anchor of a state television channel apologized on air for piping out “one-sided information” for years in favor of Vucic, while the office of the editor-in-chief of a tabloid notorious for smearing Vucic’s critics was invaded by protestors, but the editor-in-chief refused to apologize and called the police. The leader of the student slate, cardiologist Ilija Srdanovic, pleaded with supporters to “not resort to any form of violence.” Andrew Higgins and Alisa Dgoramadzieva report for the New York Times.
The whereabouts of Brazilian Sen. Flávio Bolsonaro is unknown as conflicting reports continue to surface. Bolsonaro is yet to concede defeat after he lost Sunday’s presidential election, despite his party conceding on Monday. The Brazilian Supreme Court on Monday ordered that Bolsonaro hand in his passports to federal police within 24 hours in connection to a criminal case concerning money laundering. The Supreme Court yesterday ordered police to examine Bolsonaro’s electoral campaign over alleged foreign funding. It was reported yesterday that Bolsonaro had fled to Florida, and a senior U.S. official confirmed to BBC News that the U.S. State Department would issue visas to Bolsonaro and his family. Argentina’s Migration Department today said Bolsonaro crossed Brazil’s land border with Argentina last night, and later boarded a flight to Ecuador. President Trump today said he approved of Bolsonaro coming to the United States. Vanessa Buschschlüter and Kayla Epstein report; Steve Holland and Chandni Shah report for Reuters.
CLIMATE DEVELOPMENTS
A U.N. World Meteorological Organization report published yesterday said greenhouse gas levels in the atmosphere reached unprecedented highs in 2025, potentially further warming the planet and leading to more extreme climate events. The report said the global average concentration of atmospheric CO2 reached 426.8 parts per million in 2025, about 153% of the 1750 pre-industrial level. The WMO will share the findings with negotiators at the COP31 U.N. climate conference in Antalya, Turkey in November. Olivia Le Poidevin reports for Reuters.
President Trump during a campaign rally in Texas yesterday announced his administration is “terminating” a Biden-era rule that aimed to cut planet-warming emissions from methane and gas drilling. Trump said the change would save companies and consumers billions of dollars and unlock 210 million barrels of oil. Cuts in methane emissions have emerged in recent years as a global priority to slow the rate of climate change, as it is currently responsible for about one-third of planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions. Matthew Brown and Mead Gruver report for AP News.
U.S. FOREIGN AFFAIRS
A Delaware Superior Court judge yesterday ruled that French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte Macron could continue their defamation lawsuit against the companies of far-right podcaster Candace Owens, but not against Owens herself. The Macrons sued Owens and her two Delaware-registered businesses in Jul. 2026 over what they called her lie-filled “campaign of global humiliation,” including the claim that Brigitte was born a male. The judge agreed that Delaware did not have jurisdiction over Owens, who lives in Tennessee. Jonathan Allen reports for Reuters.
Trump yesterday applauded Canadian province Quebec’s new separatist Premier Paul St-Pierre Plamondon for his election win three weeks ago. St-Pierre Plamondon has vowed to hold Quebec’s third independence referendum, though confirmed it would not happen until after Trump leaves office. A senior Canadian government official told POLITICO that Canada and the United States have continued to engage in informal talks over tariffs as of yesterday, while other sources said Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has been in regular contact with Canadian Internal Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc. Avery Lotz reports for Axios; Daniel Desrochers, Ari Hawkins, and Oliver Ward.
Trump yesterday renewed calls for Venezuela to become the 51st U.S. state. Trump said “it will become a prosperous country, and who knows? Maybe someday soon, it will become a prosperous 51st state,” and “instead of a president, we’ll have an election for a governor.” Trump earlier said Venezuela sent one million barrels of oil to the United States as a “gift.” Mallory Wilson reports for The Hill.
The Pentagon is funding a naval training facility in Ecuador’s port city Guayaquil, two officials told The Hill. The officials said Virginia-based contractor Culmen International secured a contract to help design and construct the center in Guayaquil that will ultimately be operated by Ecuadorian security forces. Filip Timotija reports.
The Pentagon yesterday announced it picked Poland to host the maintenance center for Lockheed Martin’s Patriot interceptor missiles. The Pentagon said the new center will provide maintenance, repair, and overhaul for PAC-3 missiles, enhancing “operational readiness” across allied air and missile defense forces. Filip Timotija reports for The Hill.
U.S. and Cuban officials yesterday engaged in a shouting match on the floor of the U.N. General Assembly before the annual resolution this week condemning the U.S. economic embargo against Cuba. As U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Mike Waltz detailed years of alleged corruption by the Cuban government, members of the Cuban delegation, including Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez, began to slam on their designated table and yell for a point of order. Rodríguez then walked down the aisle to the head of the General Assembly and yelled to Waltz “you are a liar!” Waltz said “you understand who you’re dealing with? This is America. Back up.” Farnoush Amiri reports for AP News.
The U.N. will vote on a resolution condemning the U.S. economic embargo on Cuba today. The annual exercise aimed at calling out the United States’ “maximum pressure policy” has been put before the U.N. General Assembly for the past 34 years, and each time the resolution has received overwhelming support. Farnoush Amiri reports for AP News.
U.S. CARIBBEAN AND PACIFIC OPERATIONS
Southern Command yesterday said it attacked a boat accused of smuggling drugs in the eastern Pacific Ocean, killing five people. Southern Command said “intelligence revealed the vessel’s active involvement in narcotrafficking.” Ben Finley reports for AP News.
U.S. IMMIGRATION DEVELOPMENTS
The family of Alex Pretti, the Minneapolis nurse fatally shot by ICE in Jan. 2026, yesterday accused the federal government of keeping them in the dark about the investigation into their son’s killing. Pretti’s father said “they have ignored us, misled us, and shielded Alex’s killers,” and that U.S. Attorney for Minnesota Daniel N. Rosen had refused to share any information about Pretti’s killing or the federal civil rights investigation into his death. Pretti’s father also said the Justice Department failed to answer a letter from the family seeking answers. Ernesto Londoño and Jack Healy report for the New York Times.
A federal judge yesterday temporarily blocked a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services rule that gives refugees just 10 days to challenge the termination of their legal status. The judge ordered the Trump administration to halt the enforcement of the rule through Nov. 6, giving another judge time to consider whether to block the policy for a longer period. USCIS spokesperson Zach Kahler called the lawsuit a “frivolous attempt to disrupt the Trump administration’s commitment to enforce our country’s immigration laws as intended by Congress.” Finya Swai reports for The Hill.
The Supreme Court yesterday declined to reinstate the authority of immigration judges to temporarily postpone deportation cases after an emergency request by three cities and an immigrant legal advocacy group. The decision did not offer any explanation, and none of the justices publicly dissented from the decision. Andrew Chung reports for Reuters.
U.S. AI DEVELOPMENTS
Anthropic told California Gov. Gavin Newsom that courts should have the authority to block AI programs that pose serious risks, and AI companies should develop kill switches for their technology and have outside safety auditors embedded alongside employees, in a letter sent earlier this month obtained by POLITICO. The letter states that it is “important that any laws that follow create real, empowered oversight, since California’s approach could become the model for other states and the starting point for future policy debates.” Chase Difeliciantonio reports.
Trump yesterday said he was banning the term artificial intelligence “in all relevant documents and everything else.” Trump hit on the Wall Street Journal for using the term AI, asking when the WSJ would stop using “a very bad and inaccurate name” and use “SI, the name which virtually everyone else is using or soon will be.” Mallory Wilson reports for The Hill.
U.S. DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS
Classified material is missing from the Epstein files, according to documents reviewed by CBS News. One of the documents showed Attorney General Todd Blanche’s former Deputy Attorney General office in Mar. 2025 received classified material related to convicted sex-offender Jeffrey Epstein. Under the Epstein Files Transparency Act, material can only be classified for national security purposes, and while Blanche was Deputy AG, he said that “we’re actually not withholding anything based upon [national defense information].” Daniel Reutenik reports.
A federal judge yesterday ruled that Republican Bill Essayli is not legally serving as the top U.S. prosecutor in Los Angeles. The judge said Essayli is “unlawfully serving as a ‘de facto’ United States Attorney.” AP News reports.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) yesterday told MS NOW reporter Mychael Schnell that there will be a “peaceful transfer of power” should the Democrats win a majority in the lower chamber. Johnson however said the House “will not be transferring because we are going to keep the majority.” Tara Suter reports for The Hill.
Former White House press secretary Katie Zacharia in an op-ed published by The New York Post on Monday accused reporters of fueling “Trump Derangement Syndrome” in their coverage of Trump. Zacharia said the “president deserves a press corps that reports his results straight – instead of feeding the incurable Trump Derangement Syndrome that fake news keeps alive.” Finya Swai reports for The Hill.
State Department Policy Chf. and former DOGE staffer Jeremy Lewin yesterday said he was leaving his role to return to the private sector. Lewin on social media said “Trump has put decades of post-Cold War malaise behind us – permanently transforming US foreign policy to put Americans first.” Lewin played a leading role in closing the U.S. Agency for International Development during his time as a part of DOGE. Simon Lewis reports for Reuters.
The Federal Election Commission’s website yesterday was targeted by a hacker or hackers, according to an email seen by Reuters. The FEC said “the FEC’s electronic filing system is currently offline and our IT staff are actively working to restore service.” Dawn Kopecki reports.
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. speaking at a campaign event in Grand Rapids, Michigan on Monday falsely claimed that Arabs did not win major global awards and “don’t produce literature.” Kennedy said that historically the “Muslim religion produced a golden age” in which “Islamic lands were the center, the foundation for art and literature and science and engineering,” but that the rise of the Muslim Brotherhood had “created stagnant societies.” Bayliss Wagner reports for the New York Times.
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION ACTION
The DOJ yesterday failed to indict former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson over her testimony about Trump’s role in the Jan. 6, 2021 U.S. Capitol riot, sources told CNN. Hutchinson’s 2022 testimony implicated Trump, and said he was aware of the potential for violence that day, but still chose to move ahead with a speech urging his supporters to march to the Capitol. Hannah Rabinowitz and Holmes Lybrand report.
The DOJ yesterday asked Washington state not to count any mail ballots from more than 400 residents who it says may not be U.S. citizens. The letter dated Oct. 26 resembled the earlier request to California to not count any ballots received from around 20,000 alleged noncitizens. Luc Cohen reports for Reuters.
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION LITIGATION
A federal magistrate judge yesterday criticized DOJ prosecutors over their handling of a criminal case against former FBI officials Nikki Floris and Bradley Benavides accused of lying to Congress about their involvement in investigations into Hunter Biden’s laptop. The judge said it was improper for the DOJ to attempt to add a new charge to the case by simply filing a new complaint without having it approved in advance by a judge. Josh Gerstein reports for POLITICO.
Alaska on Monday asked a federal court to dismiss a DOJ lawsuit that seeks to block certification of its Senate race if the incumbent Sen. Dan S. Sullivan (R) loses by a narrow margin. The state detailed its moves to ensure that voters know the difference between Sen. Sullivan and Daniel J. Sullivan, a retired teacher and political novice who Republicans have argued was planted on the ballot by Democrats to siphon votes from the incumbent. Billy Witz reports for the New York Times.
Rock veteran Neil Young yesterday filed a $10 million lawsuit against the Trump 47 Committee, citing “unauthorized” use of his 1989 song Rockin’ in the Free World. Young alleged that the fundraising committee infringed on his copyright when it played the song before Trump took the stage at an Oct. 12 rally in Ohio. Nardine Saad reports for BBC News.
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