Iran Says It Agreed Hormuz Route Coordinates With Oman on Oct. 7; IRGC Navy Official Says Nightly Operations Against 'Violating' Ships Continue
Iran's foreign ministry calls the agreed routes a step toward restoring navigation, while a Revolutionary Guards naval official says its forces act every night against ships that break Iran's rules; the U.S. military says the strait is open and Iran does not control it.
U.S.
Judge Kelly Extends Order Keeping White House Passes for Nearly 80 CNN, MS NOW and Politico Staffers Through Tuesday, Says He Will Rule by Then
At a Thursday hearing, U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly asked hard questions about the Justice Department's national-security defense of President Trump's ban on the three outlets. He said he will decide by Tuesday, Oct. 13, whether to block the ban for a longer period.
Pentagon Says Fort Hood Shooter Nidal Hasan's Dec. 3 Firing-Squad Execution Will Be Livestreamed; U.N. Rights Office Says That Would Breach Torture Ban
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the execution of the 2009 Fort Hood gunman should be public. It would be the first U.S. military execution since 1961 and the military's first by firing squad since World War II. Hasan's lawyer says a civilian-court appeal is "a distinct possibility," and legal experts say one could delay the execution for years.
OpenAI Says Iran-Origin Accounts Used ChatGPT to Place About 100 Articles Critical of the U.S. War in Roughly a Dozen Outlets
OpenAI banned the accounts and says seven made-up "journalists" carried the bylines. It says it does not know whether the Iranian government was behind them.
Reuters/Ipsos Poll Puts Trump Approval at 32%, Matching the Series Low; Registered Voters Favor Democrats 44%-37%
The online survey of 4,506 U.S. adults, taken Sept. 30 to Oct. 5, found 24% of Hispanic Americans approve of President Trump, the lowest Reuters/Ipsos reading in either of his terms. The Nov. 3 midterms are less than a month away.
Trump Says 70 Million Children Now Have Trump Accounts After Treasury Auto-Enrolled More Than 60 Million
Accounts the government opened automatically cannot take family contributions or the $1,000 federal seed until a parent claims them, and the seed goes only to children born from 2025 through 2028.
Polling Averages Show Democrats Leading the Generic Congressional Ballot by About 8 to 9.6 Points, Four Weeks Before the Nov. 3 Midterms
Prediction markets put Democrats at about 92% to win the House and about 65% to win the Senate. A Senate map tilted toward Republican-leaning states makes the upper chamber harder for Democrats to win than the national numbers alone suggest.
N.C.
N.C. Lawmakers Vote 111-1 and 41-0 to Suspend 41-Cent Gas Tax Through Nov. 30; Gov. Stein Expected to Act Friday
The 'Relief at the Pump' Act would draw an estimated $362.3 million from a state reserve to keep road funding whole, while lawmakers' own estimates of how much drivers will save range from 25 cents to the full 41 cents a gallon.
More Than 125 N.C. Faith Leaders Ask Stein and Legislators to Repeal Budget Rule That Makes Schools Excuse Students for Off-Campus Religious Classes
The rule became law with the state budget on July 7, 2026, and districts are already following it; an Oct. 6 letter from clergy calls it unconstitutional, while supporters say it protects parents' choices.
Stein Urges North Carolinians to Prepare as Hurricane Isaias Heads Toward Gulf Coast Landfall; Rain Forecast Statewide This Weekend
Gov. Josh Stein says rain could start in the mountains overnight Friday and spread statewide Saturday, with the highest flash-flood risk in western and southeastern North Carolina. Rainfall forecasts for the coast differ widely by source.
Duke Energy Files Data Center Cost Settlement With N.C. Public Staff; Amazon, Google, Meta, Microsoft and Defense Department Sign On
New customers of 50 megawatts or more would pay upfront for grid hookups that serve only them and post deposits or guarantees for shared upgrades; the N.C. Utilities Commission must still rule.
Tillis Memoir 'How to Lose Friends and Antagonize Presidents' Goes On Sale; He Calls His Hegseth Vote His 'Biggest Regret'
The retiring North Carolina Republican's book prints profane texts he says he sent Trump and criticizes several Trump officials. A senior White House official answered the leaked texts with an insult; on 'The View,' Tillis said he hopes Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth gets fired.
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.
Finance
Initial Jobless Claims Dip 2,000 to 197,000; 10-Year Treasury Yield at 5.23% Ahead of Oct. 14 CPI Report
Layoffs stayed near their lowest level since the late 1960s in the week ending Oct. 3. Hiring stayed slow. Treasury yields sit near their highest since 2002 and Brent crude is above $100, and that is the backdrop for next week's September inflation data.
Nasdaq Falls 1.25% to 27,193.34, Its Worst Day Since Mid-August, After Report Puts OpenAI's Annualized Revenue Near $50 Billion; Futures Rise Friday
Chip and AI-infrastructure stocks led Thursday's drop. A widely reported $70 billion figure turned out to count partner sales that OpenAI's own figure leaves out. On Friday, a Bloomberg report that OpenAI expects $70 billion or more by December lifted futures.
Treasury Sells $39 Billion of 10-Year Notes at 5.30%, Highest Auction Yield Since 2000; Market Yield Slips From 2002 High
After the Oct. 7 auction drew more bids than usual, the 10-year yield fell back to about 5.29% from an intraday 24-year high. By Thursday morning yields were climbing again after a Fed governor said more rate hikes are needed.
S&P 500 Falls 0.22% to 7,801.77 and Dow Drops 0.66% on Oct. 7, a Day After S&P 500 and Nasdaq Closing Records
The Nasdaq also fell 0.22% and the small-cap Russell 2000 dropped 1.31%. The 10-year Treasury yield touched its highest level since 2002 during the day, then eased after a $39 billion auction.
Fed Minutes: All 19 Officials Backed September Hike to 3.75%-4.00%; Most Said Another Increase Is Likely by Year-End
Minutes released Oct. 7 show officials agreed on the quarter-point hike but gave different reasons for it. Weak jobs data released since the meeting has cut market odds of an October move.
Brent Falls 38 Cents to $100.20 After IEA Members Agree to Put Diesel First in Emergency Stock Release
Oil was higher earlier Wednesday amid Gulf and Yemen attacks, then turned lower after the IEA backed a faster, diesel-first release of the 100 million barrels the G7 announced Oct. 2. U.S. diesel stays near $6.32 a gallon.
World
Two Attacks on Riyadh Airport Kill Three Saudi Citizens, Including a Saudia Pilot; Saudi-Led Coalition Says It Hit 82 Houthi Targets
Thursday's attacks on King Khalid International Airport killed three Saudi citizens and were the deadliest in the kingdom since a Saudi-backed offensive in Yemen began, the Associated Press reported. The Houthis claimed them, and the coalition tied its 82-target strikes to earlier airport attacks.
Israel Shells Southern Lebanon Oct. 8; Next U.S.-Mediated Talks Reported for Tampa on Oct. 20, Not Rome
The "productive" Rome talks that ended early took place Aug. 4–6, not this week. A planned October Rome round has reportedly moved to Florida and will cover only military issues. Israel and Lebanon still disagree over Hezbollah's weapons and Israeli troops in the south.
Israel Marks Three Years Since Oct. 7 Attack as Gaza Truce Stalls Over Hamas Disarmament and Israeli Withdrawal
Israel says its troops will stay in Gaza until Hamas's disarmament is verified. Hamas says it is committed to the Trump-brokered ceasefire and accuses Israel of breaking it. Israel votes on Oct. 27.
Russian Missile Kills 22 in Pryluky Apartment Block During Overnight Barrage of About 70 Missiles and 130 Drones, Ukraine Says
The Oct. 7 attack came hours after Zelensky warned of a mass strike. Moscow says it hit military-industrial plants. A U.S. proposal for technical-level three-way talks by the end of October is still on the table.
U.S. Flies All 12 B-1 Bombers Out of Britain's RAF Fairford After Reported Iranian Drone Threat; Iran Denies Role
Trump cited "some threats" and Vance cited "an abundance of caution" while saying the U.S. feels "with some confidence" Iran is behind it. Rubio said he would not "directly tie" the move to the arrests of suspects near the base, none of whom has been charged.
Israel Scrambled Jets and Was Ready to Shoot Down Flydubai Flight 1073 Before It Turned Toward Saudi Arabia, Israeli Sources Tell CBS News
Two Israeli sources told CBS News that only the prime minister could have ordered a shootdown. The jets were recalled when the plane, about 400 miles out, turned toward Saudi Arabia. President Trump says he personally believes Iran was behind the attack, but Vice President Vance says he has seen no conclusive evidence, and Iran calls the claim a "false flag."
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.