Early Edition: October 30, 2026

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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

U.S. Central Command Cdr. Adm. Brad Cooper yesterday briefed President Trump in-person about military options for the Iran war, sources told the Wall Street Journal. U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine, and other cabinet members were also present at the meeting. The sources said the meeting covered other topics including the ongoing U.S. blockade. Michael R. Gordon, Lara Seligman, and Shelby Holliday report.

IRAN WAR – YEMEN

Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis’ military spokesperson Yahya Saree today denied launching any attack towards Saudi Arabia after the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen said it had intercepted a drone launched by the Houthis over the Mecca region. Saree said Houthi operations target Saudi oil facilities and military bases. Hatem Maher and Tala Ramadan report for Reuters.

RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR

Ukrainian Prime Minister Sergiy Koretskyi on social media yesterday said “Russia is deliberately hunting civilians: on trains, at stations, in residential buildings,” after another five people died in daytime strikes which followed a morning strike on a crowded rail platform in the Ukrainian city of Dnipro that killed at least 14 people. Koretskyi said “there is no justification for this terror, and there never can be.” Dan Peleschuk and Max Hunder report for Reuters.

Russia and Ukraine officials today said residents of the Russian-held southern Ukraine town of Oleshky were due to receive food and medical supplies and would be allowed to leave if they wish. The ceasefire in the town was brokered by U.S. First Lady Melania Trump. Dan Peleschuk reports for Reuters.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy yesterday said Ukraine had information that Russia was planning new ballistic missile strikes and needed the means to be able to counter them. Zelenskyy said “we need the means to take out all this Russian evil. We are expecting relevant decisions.” Ron Popeski reports for Reuters.

Ukraine’s military has paused its strikes against Russian oil refineries after weeks of pressure from Trump shook Ukraine’s confidence in U.S. support, sources told the Wall Street Journal. The unofficial pause is expected to last until after the U.S. midterm elections, and potentially deeper into November, and began early last week. Neither Zelenskyy nor Ukraine’s government has announced the pause in refinery strikes. Marcus Walker, Nikita Nikolaienko, Alexander Ward, and Drew Hinshaw report.

OTHER GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTS

Independent Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta today announced it was shutting down on Nov. 9 after what it described as a relentless campaign by the authorities which saw state prosecutors pursue some of its senior journalists and left it without financial support and an office. The newspaper existed for over three decades and has faced serious problems in the past. Six of its journalists have been murdered in varying circumstances. The announcement said that the “Russian authorities and the Russian security services have forced our editorial team to cease its operations.” Reuters reports.

U.S. Defense Department officials have in recent weeks asked several NATO countries to tone down their rhetoric on the threat posed by Russia, arguing that some of their statements have undermined continental security, sources told Reuters. The sources said Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia are among the nations that have received messages urging them to keep public statements in check. Antoni Slodkowski, Gram Slattery, and Andrius Sytas report.

Polish police today said they had detained a 55-year-old Russian man suspected of acting for a foreign intelligence service, and that a court had ordered him held for three months. Officers providing security for a football match in the southern Polish town of Swidnica spotted the man near a railway crossing photographing passing trains and railway infrastructure, and found thousands of photographs of key sites and transport facilities from multiple countries in his possession. Pawel Florkiewicz reports for Reuters.

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Wednesday called for a global maritime truce after a drone attack sank a Greek container ship off Bulgaria. Mitsotakis said “target[ing] civilian commercial shipping is completely unacceptable. It is yet another reminder for the urgent need for a global maritime truce.” Mitsotakis also criticized the Turkey-Libya maritime accord, and said no bilateral arrangement could override international law of the sea. Mitsotakis yesterday doubled down on his criticisms of the deal, and told Reuters the deal was “blatantly illegal, null and void,” and added that it “completely disregards the geography.” Angeliki Koutantou reports for Reuters; Antoni Slodkowski reports.

Newly elected Serbian MPs on the Student List yesterday called for top figures in the police, intelligence, and judiciary to stand down. Standing in Pioneers’ Park opposite parliament, the MPs demanded the immediate dismissal of all police officers who had broken the law. Aleksandar Miladinović reports for BBC News.

Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin today said Ireland will set up a government body that would for the first time undertake research and preparations for the possibility of future unity with Northern Ireland, which is currently part of the United Kingdom. Martin told the Irish Times that the new body would be tasked with scoping out the models and challenges for different potential outcomes, including Northern Ireland remaining part of the United Kingdom or maintaining its devolved entity but as part of a united Ireland. Pat Leahy reports.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is trying to discredit the Israeli election results by claiming there was mass voting fraud in Arab communities. Half of Netanyahu’s social media posts on Election Day cast suspicion on the unprecedented turnout in Arab communities, and on Wednesday Netanyahu’s Likud party issued a statement claiming the “elections were stolen” by the Arab parties through bribes and fraud. Israeli police said there was no evidence to support Likud’s claims of a “stolen election.” Opposition bloc leader Gadi Eisenkot and Arab-led party leaders have denounced Netanyahu’s claims. Barak Ravid reports for Axios; Tom Bennett reports for BBC News.

Japan is pushing the global financial crime watchdog Financial Action Task Force to remove Myanmar from its blacklist to make it easier to do business there, a senior Japanese government official and other sources told Reuters. The FATF will conclude its third and last plenary meeting of the year in Paris today. One source said at least one other major Asian country was pushing for Myanmar’s removal from the list. Tamiyuki Kihara and Poppy McPherson report.

Former Salvadoran president Elias Antonio “Tony” Saca’s lawyer yesterday said Saca was released from prison after serving a reduced 10-year sentence for corruption. Saca pleaded guilty to diverting and laundering more than $300 million from the state budget during his 2004-2009 administration. Gerardo Arbaiza reports for Reuters.

TECH DEVELOPMENTS

Binance yesterday halted trading after hackers allegedly linked to North Korea stole more than $6 billion. The attack is the largest crypto hack in history, and comes after a wave of high-profile cyber intrusions and data breaches during “Black October,” when a series of incidents and AI-discovered bugs triggered fears of a global crisis. Binance co-founder Yi He on social media said that the crypto exchange had suspended deposits and withdrawals but that “User funds are safe,” and “Binance will cover all hacking losses.” Sam Sabin reports for Axios.

West Virginia yesterday sued TikTok and its parent company ByteDance, accusing them of deliberately keeping children hooked on its app while exposing them to sexualized content and potential predators. The suit alleges TikTok violated state consumer protection laws by using addictive features to encourage excessive screen time among children while misleading parents about the effectiveness of its safety measures. Finya Swai reports for The Hill.

AI DEVELOPMENTS

The New York Times has identified hundreds of examples of congressional candidate biographies and position papers which were apparently written with AI tools. To identify campaign sites produced with AI, NYT downloaded text from the websites of 695 candidates running for seats, and the content was analyzed by two AI-text detectors, Pangram and GPTZero. Stuart A. Thompson and James O’Toole report.

Finnish police yesterday opened a criminal investigation into Google’s work on a planned data center in northern Finland after the company cleared approximately 815 acres of forest without completing the required environmental reviews. Authorities are investigating whether Google subsidiary Tuike Finland violated environmental laws while preparing a site near the northern town of Muhos. Google has invested $1.5 billion into AI infrastructure in Finland. Finya Swai reports for The Hill.

A close ally of Brazilian Sen. Flávio Bolsonaro, right-wing influencer Paulo Figueiredo, yesterday said ChatGPT was responsible for language in Bolsonaro’s letter posted on social media, in which Bolsonaro described himself as Brazil’s rightful “president-elect.” The post was changed an hour later to say “leader of Brazil,” and Figueiredo insisted the explanation for the mistake was technological, not political. Fernando Cardoso reports for Reuters.

U.S. FOREIGN AFFAIRS

Bolsonaro is staying in Florida on a temporary status that was given following orders from Trump and will likely be granted permanent residency later, U.S. officials told the New York Times. The officials said the private jet Bolsonaro arrived in had been arranged by a White House official. The Department of Homeland Security said Bolsonaro and his family “were met and inspected by U.S. Customs and Border Protection in accordance with applicable immigration laws and procedures.” A public U.S. government record suggests Bolsonaro presented a canceled Brazilian diplomatic passport on arrival. Edward Wong, Ana Ionova, Hamed Aleaziz, and Tyler Pager report.

Trump is not planning to back Bolsonaro’s claim to be Brazil’s rightful leader, sources told Reuters yesterday. Trump previously said Brazil’s election last Sunday looked “rigged” but also offered no endorsement in the race. Bolsonaro’s claim has also failed to garner support from key figures in his political camp, and the head of the Brazilian senator’s Liberal Party Valdemar Costa Neto told reporters he “did not like” Bolsonaro’s claims. Steve Holland and Gram Slattery report; Isabel Teles reports for Reuters.

Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr yesterday said the United States plans to soon ban Chinese telecom firms from direct access to U.S. phone numbers on national security grounds, a measure designed to prevent scam-related robocalls. Carr said the FCC will vote on Nov. 19 on a proposal to ban China Mobile, China Telecom, China Unicom, and other IP-enabled service providers from direct access. David Shepardson reports for Reuters.

Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parilla told the New York Times that the current Cuban government would survive the Trump administration. Rodríguez Parilla said Cuba’s strategy is to simply endure as “U.S. policy toward Cuba will change. It has to. It’s inevitable,” and added that “for 60 years now, U.S. policy toward Cuba hasn’t worked,” while “Cuba’s policy of resisting and adapting to that aggression has.” Jack Nicas reports.

Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado yesterday thanked Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio for removing Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and said she believed an election would take place in 2027. Machado said Rubio “has outlined a series of events aimed at moving toward a democratic transition making it clear that presidential elections will be held in 2027,” and denounced a Trump administration oil deal with Alejandro Betancourt, saying it lacked the transparency Venezuelan people want. Julie Turkewitz and Isayen Herrera report for the New York Times.

U.S. IMMIGRATION DEVELOPMENTS

The Trump administration agreed to send around $35 million in military aid to Cameroon’s military unit, previously accused of war crimes, as part of a wider arrangement to deport third-world migrants to Cameroon, U.S. officials and congressional aides told the Wall Street Journal. The sources said the military aid and deportation deal were brokered simultaneously by State Department officials as part of the same package. Robbie Gramer reports.

A federal judge yesterday barred ICE agents across Southern California from detaining people solely because they appear Latino and/or Latino and working class. The judge said ICE agents required individualized reasonable suspicion, but the ruling is not a final finding that the Trump administration maintained an unlawful policy. Brittny Mejia reports for the L.A. Times.

The federal investigation into House Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) is focused in part on whether she entered into a sham marriage in 2009 to help a man suspected of being her brother obtain a green card, current and former officials told the New York Times. The sources said the FBI and DHS investigated the marriage in 2016 during the Obama administration and found some evidence that it was fraudulent. The sources added that the case stalled chiefly because prosecutors concluded that the potential felony fell outside a five-year statute of limitations. Ernesto Londoño reports.

U.S. DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS

Republican Ohio gubernatorial nominee Vivek Ramaswamy’s campaign is no longer airing a controversial advertisement featuring Dr. Amy Acton’s estranged mother after it ran its course on the air. Ramaswamy yesterday said the campaign had “put up four other ads.” Addie Bullock, an Acton campaign spokesperson, said Ramaswamy should never have run the ad as it featured Dr. Acton’s mother accusing the candidate of lying about her past. Dr. Acton’s campaign responded to the ad, explaining that she was removed from her mother’s custody at 12 after being sexually abused by her stepfather, who her mother remained with until his death. Ford McCracken reports for The Hill.

Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy (R) yesterday suggested the state could withhold certification of the Senate election results if Democrat nominee Mary Peltola wins. Dunleavy on Wednesday said he was ordering the Department of Public Safety to investigate whether Peltola’s campaign should face charges following accusations it helped recruit Dan J. Sullivan to run for Senate in order to confuse Republican voters as the incumbent Republican senator is named Dan S. Sullivan. Dunleavy said any findings of illegal conduct “may in fact impact whether somebody is seated in the U.S. Senate,” and that the matter would involve discussions with Senate leadership. Vice President JD Vance yesterday did not say whether he agreed with Trump’s call to prosecute Peltola. Rebecca Falconer reports for Axios; Julia Manchester reports for The Hill.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) yesterday announced New York state police will take over future sexual assault investigations at Cornell University. Hochul said the police and the university signed an agreement that sexual offense complaints will be referred to state police for criminal investigation unless otherwise requested by the accuser, and referred to the Jane Doe allegations in the Cornell 7 case as “horrifying.” Hochul added that “survivors should be able to trust the institutions responsible for protecting them.” Daniel Trotta reports for Reuters.

A federal judge yesterday considered accusations of potential bias against New York Attorney General Letitia James raised by one of the potential defendants in the Cornell 7 case. The concern cites comments James made expressing solidarity with Jane Doe. James’ office has spoken to several law firms about serving as outside counsel to conduct the criminal investigation, which could give James some distance from the probe while allowing her to stay connected to the case, sources told the Wall Street Journal. Corinne Ramey reports.

The lawyers for former FBI officials Nikki Floris and Bradley Benavides yesterday urged a federal judge to dismiss the criminal complaint charging the pair with making false statements to Congress about Hunter Biden’s laptop, calling the case an overtly political prosecution aimed at placating Trump. The hearing included testimony that the investigation was ordered by FBI Director Kash Patel and that it was opened on the heels of an election security speech by Trump in which he rehashed grievances about his 2020 election loss to former president Joe Biden. Eric Tucker reports for AP News.

Trump erupted last week after he learned that one of his former lawyers, Alina Habba Mildon, last year secured a contract worth $50 million to work for a billionaire Venezuelan family, and told his aides and allies that Mildon should donate a portion of that money to his future presidential library or another Trump-related entity, sources told the New York Times. Mildon was working as an adviser to the Justice Department when she signed on to serve as a general counsel for a company started by the daughter of Julio Herrera Velutini, who at the time was seeking a pardon from Trump. Tyler Pager reports.

Washington Secretary of State Steve Hobbs (D) on Wednesday responded to the DOJ’s request for Hobbs to order his election officials to set aside ballots from 400 people the Trump administration identified as alleged non-U.S. citizens. Hobbs said “without individualized proof of ineligibility, it would be both irresponsible and illegal for election officials to decline to process a registered voter’s ballot.” Hobbs added that the list contained “many” people who are U.S. citizens. Tara Suter reports for The Hill; Melissa Quinn reports for CBS News.

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION ACTION

The DOJ in a court declaration filed Wednesday confirmed that agents and employees from the FBI and ICE will not serve as poll monitors in the midterm elections. The department said employees from the Federal Bureau of Prisons, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Drug Enforcement Administration will serve as poll monitors. According to the declaration, election monitors have been trained to not interfere in voting and to follow all rules of the assigned state or jurisdiction, and will not act as law enforcement personnel while monitoring. Suryatapa Chakraborty reports for The Hill.

The DOJ yesterday directed top federal prosecutors in California to pursue criminal subpoenas of state and local officials regarding their roles administering allegedly illegal voting, sources told Bloomberg. Federal prosecutors in Los Angeles and at least one other California district began carrying out the directive yesterday. Ben Penn reports.

Former director for strategy plans and policy, J-5 on the Joint Chiefs of Staff Army Lt. Gen. Brett Sylvia admitted to leaking classified information about Ukraine and Iran to two reporters from separate outlets over a one-year period, according to an internal report of the investigation shared with Axios. Hegseth fired Sylvia this week for the alleged misconduct, which Sylvia acknowledged on video after he failed four polygraph tests, a U.S. official said. The report and U.S. officials said that Sylvia’s leaking began as early as Jun. 2025 and continued thereafter via secure Signal app and once at a Silver Diner in Arlington, Virginia. Marc Caputo and Thomas Novelly report.

The Pentagon is quietly preparing for a $400 billion cut to Trump’s military budget, as officials realize Trump’s record-breaking $1.5 trillion investment request is effectively dead, sources told POLITICO. The Pentagon and congressional spending committees are drafting a smaller $1.1 trillion defense budget, something one source said The Pentagon “can’t admit.” Mark Satter, Paul McLeary, and Audrey Decker report.

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION LITIGATION

A federal judge yesterday gave the DOJ until noon tomorrow to provide a list of states it targeted with demands that state and local officials change how they will administer the midterm election. The order came in a lawsuit brought by a coalition of Democratic politicians and party organizations that is seeking a court order prohibiting the Trump administration from interfering in election administration. Zach Montague reports for the New York Times.

A federal judge yesterday ruled that the One Big Beautiful Bill Act’s definition of “medically frail” used for Medicaid is unlawful, and issued a temporary injunction on states having to determine medical frailty. The judge found the definition to be “contrary to law.” In order to be considered medically frail under the Act, a beneficiary had to establish they had a “physical, mental, or other behavioral health condition” that “significantly” impaired their “ability to comply with the community engagement requirement.” Prior to this a person was considered medically frail if they met the Social Security definition of having a disability. Joseph Choi reports for The Hill.

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