U.S. Moves Some Troops From Bases in Jordan, Qatar and Kuwait and Orders Non-Emergency Staff Out of Saudi Embassy; Trump Has Not Approved New Iran Strikes
U.S. officials told NBC News that troops are being moved out of harm's way while President Trump weighs strike options, and the New York Times reported that U.S. and Israeli plans for a short campaign after the Nov. 3 midterms are drawn up; the State Department ties its Saudi departure order to Houthi attacks, and no decision has been announced.
U.S.
Supreme Court Leaves Block on Federal Prison Policy Ending Hormone Therapy for Transgender Inmates in Place; Thomas and Alito Would Have Granted Stay
The unsigned, unexplained order keeps a judge's injunction in effect while a class-action lawsuit continues. It does not decide whether the Bureau of Prisons policy is lawful.
Judge Bars DHS Election-Related Interviews in Nine States When Agents Know or Suspect the Person Is a U.S. Citizen
Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín ruled that DHS's door-knocking likely violates the Voting Rights Act and called its list of targets unreliable. DHS says its agents are rooting out election fraud. The order takes effect Friday afternoon unless an appeals court steps in.
DHS Says About 101,000 Ukrainians and 1,800 Sudanese 'Retain Protection' Past Oct. 19 TPS Expiration Date, Sets No End Date
The department said a decision will come 'at the appropriate time.' Federal law appears to extend the status six months when no decision is published on time, but DHS has not said whether it reads the law that way.
DHS Rule in Effect Since Oct. 14 Cuts Refugees' Time to Answer a Termination Notice From 30 Days to 10
The Department of Homeland Security says the change protects the refugee program from fraud and weak vetting. Refugee advocates say 10 days is too little time to find a lawyer or gather evidence. Public comments are open until Nov. 13.
Trump and Vance Announce $25 Million Fraud Tip Reward Program; Trump Says He Will Decide Who Gets Paid
The Justice Department's written rules offer tipsters $10,000 to $30,000, while Trump told reporters payouts would be a 1% commission with "no limit." YouTuber Nick Shirley received the first award, a $10,000 check, at the Oval Office event on October 20, two weeks before the midterm elections.
Long Beach Mayor Asks for Independent Probe After U.S. Citizen Is Hurt in Oct. 17 ICE Arrest; DHS Says Agents Used 'Minimum Amount of Force'
Ricardo Gonzalez's family and local officials say federal agents blocked his e-bike, used a Taser on him and broke his arm. DHS says he was arrested after damaging a government vehicle while agents were trying to arrest someone else.
N.C.
North Carolina Counts 924,160 Early Ballots Through Tuesday, About 38% More Than at the Same Point in 2022
The total is 11.72% of registered voters, and one outlet reports the count passed 1 million on Wednesday afternoon. By party registration, Democrats cast about 44% of ballots, unaffiliated voters 34% and Republicans 22%.
Gov. Stein Asks N.C. Supreme Court to Review 2-1 Appeals Ruling That Let the State Auditor Appoint Elections Boards
Stein's petition challenges a 2024 law that moved elections board appointments from the Democratic governor to Republican Auditor Dave Boliek; Boliek's picks gave the state board and all 100 county boards 3-2 Republican majorities.
Stein Urges In-Person Voting, Says Mail Ballot Rejections Are 'Twice as High' as 2022; State Board Data Show 3.1% So Far vs. 2.6% at Same Point in 2022
North Carolina's governor blames new State Board of Elections rules on sealing absentee envelopes. The board's own early data show a smaller increase, and critics say his comparison overstates the problem.
Federal Judge Denies Bid to Block North Carolina's Sept. 4 Absentee Ballot Sealing and Signature Rules for the 2026 Midterms
U.S. District Judge Thomas Schroeder cited the Supreme Court's Purcell principle and the 18 days the challengers waited before suing, and called the rules' burden 'modest' because a voter whose ballot is rejected gets a replacement or can vote in person.
Trump Cites $1.5 Billion in Pentagon Chip Funding for North Carolina at Greenville Rally; Figure Matches Oct. 7 Conditional Wolfspeed Loan Offer
At an Oct. 20 rally for Senate candidate Michael Whatley, Trump said the 'Department of War' will spend $1.5 billion on chips in North Carolina, and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said quartz supplier Sibelco will invest 'hundreds of millions of dollars' in the state. Neither man gave a site or a timeline.
Trump Rallies in Greenville for Whatley as Two October Polls Show Cooper Leading N.C. Senate Race by 7 and 14 Points
President Trump is scheduled to speak at about 7 p.m. Tuesday at Pitt-Greenville Airport for Republican Senate nominee Michael Whatley. The main GOP super PAC has canceled its remaining North Carolina ad reservations, and registered Democrats have cast the largest share of early-vote ballots so far.
Finance
Nasdaq 100 Futures Fall About 1.9% After Tesla Cuts 2026 Capital Spending Plan to About $20 Billion and Meta Raises the Low End of Its Range to $135 Billion
Both companies beat third-quarter profit and revenue estimates. Tesla's shares and Meta's shares still fell before the opening bell, as Brent oil rose near $112 a barrel.
FAA Certifies Boeing 737 Max 10, the Largest Max Model, With 1,555 Orders Waiting
The U.S. regulator approved the jet on Oct. 20, 2026, more than five years after its first flight. Boeing says deliveries begin in the coming months, but some reports place the first deliveries in 2027.
Netflix Third-Quarter Profit Tops Estimates; Company Lowers 2026 Ad Revenue Forecast to About $2.7 Billion From $3 Billion, and Shares Fall About 6% Premarket
Netflix earned 87 cents a share against an expected 82 cents on $12.87 billion in revenue, but its fourth-quarter revenue and profit forecasts came in below analyst estimates the same week the company cut about 1,000 jobs and replaced its top content executive.
SpaceX Reports Q3 Revenue of $14.6 Billion, Up 161%, and $4.4 Billion Net Income; Musk Says SpaceX and Tesla Boards Formed Committees to Study a Merger
SpaceX shares rose roughly 9% to 10% in premarket trading. Musk says he is recused from the talks, the committees have not agreed on terms, and a Tesla deal would need votes from a majority of all outstanding Tesla shares.
Netflix and SpaceX Report Third-Quarter Results Tuesday; Meta and Tesla Report Wednesday
Analyst forecasts put Tesla's quarterly revenue near $27.9 billion and SpaceX's between $12.74 billion and $12.9 billion, depending on who compiled the estimate; the Federal Reserve meets the following week.
Kospi Closes Down 3.73% and Nikkei About 1.3% on AI-Spending Doubts as Brent Trades Near $110 and Traders Price a December Fed Hike
SK Hynix fell 4.23% in Seoul on Tuesday, to its lowest close since April. On Monday, the S&P 500 rose 0.41% to 7,690.73, ahead of the Federal Reserve's Oct. 27-28 meeting.
World
Iran's Revolutionary Guard Says It Will Extend the Conflict to U.S. Bases if U.S. Ship Escorts Through Hormuz Continue; Brent Tops $111 as Iran Claims Seven Vessels Hit
On Thursday the Guard issued what it called a "serious warning" and claimed attacks on seven ships. Two days earlier, security chief Mohsen Rezaei said talks will not begin until Washington meets Iran's conditions. The U.S. says it and its partners control the strait, and President Trump denies any talks are taking place.
Israel's Military Chief Orders Highest Alert and Leave Freeze Before Oct. 27 Election as Netanyahu Vows to Topple Iran's Government
Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir canceled soldiers' leave starting Oct. 22. Netanyahu is campaigning on finishing wars with Iran and Hezbollah, and polls show neither bloc near a governing majority.
Iranian Officials Tell Reuters Tehran Is Prolonging U.S. Talks to Deny Trump a Win Before Nov. 3 Midterms and Is Preparing for Renewed Attacks
Three senior Iranian officials and an Iranian insider, all unnamed, say they expect no deal before the election, while the Strait of Hormuz stays largely closed and oil stays above $100 a barrel; the White House and Iran's Foreign Ministry did not answer Reuters' requests for comment.
Nigeria Confirms Ebola Case in Abuja in Woman Who Arrived via Uganda; 44 Contacts Being Traced as Kenya Reports Ninth Case
Uganda says the patient was not infected there, while Nigeria says the source of exposure is still under investigation. The case adds a major West African air hub to an outbreak that began in Congo in May, and it raises questions about U.S. travel screening, which does not currently cover Nigeria.
Saudi Arabia Postpones Oct. 26-29 'Davos in the Desert' Investment Forum to 2027 Amid Houthi Strikes on Riyadh
Organizers did not name security as the reason, but news outlets tied the move to a weeks-long Houthi campaign. That campaign included an Oct. 10 missile strike on Riyadh's main airport that killed at least 12 people.
France Sets Partial Night Curfews in Parts of Paris, Lyon, Bordeaux, Nice and Other Cities After Weekend Looting; 2,513 Detained
Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said police "lost control" in some cities and offered to resign, which President Macron refused. French stocks and bonds fell Monday as Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu's minority government tries to pass a deficit-cutting budget.
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.