U.S. Treasury Sanctions Iran's Two Largest Automakers, Its State Railway and Foreign Parts and Steel Suppliers
The Oct. 1 designations under 'Operation Economic Outcast' also cover a heavy-equipment maker, metals suppliers and a banking network that Treasury says has ties to Russia. They come during a U.S. naval blockade of Iran, and President Trump has said new U.S. strikes are 'possible' after the November midterms.
U.S.
Miami Federal Judge Dismisses Noncitizen-Voting Charge and Rules 1996 Federal Ban Unconstitutional as Applied; Justice Department Files Appeal
On Oct. 1, Judge David Leibowitz ruled that only states, not Congress, may decide who is qualified to vote, so 18 U.S.C. § 611 cannot be used to prosecute Chelsea Cox, a Jamaican national accused of voting in 2020. The Justice Department filed a notice of appeal to the 11th Circuit on Oct. 2.
Justice Department Asks Judge to Let White House Reinstate Ban on CNN, MS NOW and Politico When 14-Day Order Ends Oct. 8
In an Oct. 2 filing, the Justice Department said President Trump found the three outlets fell short of "minimum requirements of professionalism" and harmed national security. The outlets are asking Judge Timothy Kelly for a longer order blocking the ban.
26 States, Cities and Counties Sue Over NHTSA Rule Lowering the 2031 Fuel Economy Target to 34.9 MPG
The California-led coalition argues in federal appeals court that the Transportation Department broke the law by leaving electric vehicles out when it set the new standard. The administration says the law requires it to leave them out, and that the change will cut new-car prices.
Judge Orders Venezuelan Man Shot by ICE Officer in Austin Held Before Trial on Federal Assault Charge
Wilber Rafael Garcés Pérez, 28, was shot in the upper back after a Sept. 20 traffic stop in North Austin. He faces up to 20 years if convicted. A magistrate judge ruled Sept. 30 that he is a flight risk but not a danger to the community, and his lawyer says the bullet was removed in surgery on Oct. 1.
USS Theodore Roosevelt Group and About 9,000 Sailors and Marines Deploy Toward Middle East; Trump Calls Post-Midterm Iran Bombing 'Possible'
The carrier left San Diego Sept. 27 and an amphibious group with about 2,000 Marines left Sept. 28. Officials differ on whether the Roosevelt adds a third carrier to the region or replaces one already there.
Supreme Court Opens Its Term Oct. 5 With a Climate-Suit Case; AR-15 Bans, a Catholic Preschool Dispute and Arizona's Voter-Citizenship Rule Come Later
The court will hear Suncor v. Boulder County first, without Justice Samuel Alito, who recused. Arguments on AR-15-style rifle bans are set for Dec. 2 and the Colorado preschool case for Nov. 3, and Arizona's proof-of-citizenship rule is also on the docket.
N.C.
GOP Super PAC Drops Its Remaining North Carolina Senate Ads After Spending More Than $30 Million for Whatley, Starts a Kansas Buy
The Senate Leadership Fund pledged $71 million to the race earlier this year. It is stopping the unspent part and moving some money to help Sen. Roger Marshall in Kansas. Polls show Republican Michael Whatley trailing Democrat Roy Cooper for North Carolina's open Senate seat.
Energy Secretary Chris Wright Tours Duke Energy's Roxboro Coal Plant, Touting Up to $28.4 Million in Federal Upgrade Funds
The Defense Production Act grant pays for repairs at two coal units that Duke plans to retire on Jan. 1, 2034, and Duke is adding about $44 million from customers; supporters call it reliability spending, and critics call it propping up a plant that is shutting down.
Stein Signed 'Iryna's Law' One Year Ago, on Oct. 3, 2025; Its Bail Limits Are in Force and North Carolina Has Held No Executions
The crime law named for Charlotte stabbing victim Iryna Zarutska passed with votes from 17 House Democrats and no Senate Democrats. The governor signed it while calling its execution-method language "barbaric."
Judge Denies Bond to NC Highway Patrol Sergeant Indicted on First-Degree Murder Charge in Death of Cumberland Sheriff's Capt. Adam Bean; Order Notes Self-Defense Claim
A grand jury indicted Sgt. Nekime Oxendine on Sept. 8 in the March 27 shooting outside a Hope Mills home; court papers filed since then show he says he fired in self-defense.
NC Highway Patrol, SBI and ALE Sign ICE 287(g) Task Force Agreements Ahead of Oct. 1 Reporting Deadline Under Senate Bill 153
The Highway Patrol, State Bureau of Investigation and Alcohol Law Enforcement signed agreements that let trained officers question people about immigration status and make some immigration arrests, and the prison system signed a narrower deal. The 2025-26 state budget set Oct. 1 as the deadline to report the agreements and policies to lawmakers.
NC's Four Medicaid Managed-Care Plans Start a Joint Fraud Task Force, With Autism Therapy Billing a Top Focus
The plans launched the group in August through their trade association, which calls it the state's first. It lets their fraud investigators share billing data on providers they have in common, as autism-therapy spending faces a state audit and new rules.
Finance
Seven OPEC+ Producers Meet Sunday; Sources Say They Have Agreed in Principle to Hold November Output Targets
Reuters and Bloomberg sources say the Saudi- and Russia-led group has agreed in principle to leave November quotas unchanged, while a capacity review that will set 2027 quotas has slipped to mid-November because of the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran.
Stocks Rose Friday After U.S. Added 29,000 Jobs in September; ISM Services, Fed Minutes Lead the Week of Oct. 5
Short-term Treasury yields fell after the weak jobs report, but the 10-year yield closed slightly higher. ISM services data is due Monday, minutes of the Fed's September rate-hike meeting come out Wednesday, and earnings season starts Thursday with PepsiCo.
Federal Judge Approves Paramount's Settlement With 12 States Over Warner Bros. Discovery Takeover; Companies Plan to Close Oct. 6
U.S. District Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín accepted a consent decree that ends the states' antitrust lawsuit. Paramount agreed to production, film-release and worker-fund commitments. Critics, including Sen. Cory Booker and the Block the Merger coalition, call those terms too weak.
Accenture Stock Closes Up 15.6% After Quarterly Earnings of $3.29 a Share Top Analyst Forecasts
The consulting giant's fiscal fourth-quarter profit and revenue beat Wall Street estimates, and it forecast 3% to 6% revenue growth for fiscal 2027. The results came after a year in which investors had marked its shares down on fears that AI would shrink demand for consultants.
Yen Ends Week Near 158 per Dollar as Tokyo and Washington Repeat Warnings and Bank of Japan Weighs Its Next Hike
The dollar bought 157.66 yen on Oct. 2. That is weaker for the yen than in early September, but stronger than the near-164 level that set off this summer's joint U.S.-Japan intervention. Policymakers in Tokyo are split on how fast to keep raising rates.
U.S. Employers Added 29,000 Jobs in September as Unemployment Rate Rose to 4.2%, Labor Department Says
Hiring came in well below forecasts and earlier months were revised down. Traders cut their bets on another Federal Reserve rate hike at its October meeting, while the White House and Democrats drew opposite lessons from the last jobs report before the midterms.
World
Ukraine Says It Downed 131 of 157 Russian Drones Overnight as Strike Hits Kyiv's Northern Bridge
Ukraine's air force reported the overnight count on Oct. 3, after three days of Russian strikes on bridges over Kyiv's Dnipro River. Russia says the bridges carry Ukrainian troops. Ukrainian officials and Western wire services describe the strikes as an effort to disrupt civilian life.
Pakistan Blocks Islamabad Roads With Containers and More Than 20,000 Security Personnel Ahead of Oct. 4 March for Imran Khan's Release
Imran Khan's party moved its march from Sept. 27 to Oct. 4 to gain time to organize. Government and opposition negotiators met Friday and planned to meet again Saturday, a day before the march.
North Korea Fires Ballistic Missile From Wonsan That Flew More Than 700 km, Seoul Says, a Day After Pyongyang Rejected Apology Demand Over DMZ Mine Blast
South Korea's military says the missile flew more than 700 km, and Japan puts it at about 680 km. The launch came a day after Kim Yo Jong called Seoul "despicable" for demanding an apology over a Sept. 21 mine blast that wounded three South Korean soldiers.
Taiwan Receives First Two of 66 F-16V Fighter Jets Ordered From the U.S. in 2019
The two jets landed in Taitung on Oct. 2. They came about a month later than expected, after waiting in Hawaii while President Trump met Chinese leader Xi Jinping. A separate $14 billion U.S. arms package for Taiwan is still under review.
Israeli Army Says It Destroyed Eight Tunnel Routes and More Than 600 Hezbollah Sites in South Lebanon's Mansouri
The Sept. 28 blast was heard in Tyre. It came as U.S.-brokered talks stall over who moves first: Hezbollah giving up its weapons, or Israel pulling back from the roughly 6% of Lebanon it still holds, down from almost a fifth of the country last spring.
Putin Rejects Proposed Truce on Long-Range Energy Strikes a Day After Russian Attack Forced Emergency Power Cuts in Kyiv
Speaking at the Valdai forum in Moscow on Oct. 1, Putin called a Ukrainian offer to trade a halt to refinery strikes for a halt to Russian energy strikes "simply ridiculous"; Zelenskyy then approved new long-range operations for October.
Analysis
Unbiased, evergreen deep-dives on the bigger questions — not breaking news.
What Fauci's Released Diary Documents About the U.S. COVID-19 Response — and What It Leaves Unresolved
A 1,141-page personal diary released by Sen. Rand Paul's committee is roughly one-third routine administrative logging; a minority of entries bear directly on contested questions, and a few conflict with contemporaneous public statements.
Eight Months of Mamdani: What New York's Record Actually Shows, and What It Cannot Yet Show
A claim-by-claim audit of what Zohran Mamdani has delivered, how New Yorkers judge it, and what the evidence does and does not license anyone to conclude about the rest of the country.