Dow Falls 652.82 Points as Brent Oil Settles at $116.72, Its Highest Close Since April 29
On Friday, Oct. 23, the Dow lost 1.23%, the S&P 500 lost 0.52% and the Nasdaq lost 0.21%. Brent crude rose 3.1% and WTI rose 3.8%, after new Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia and a New York Times report that the U.S. and Israel have plans for new strikes on Iran.
U.S.
Cook Political Report Moves 19 House Races Toward Democrats and Now Rates 220 Seats as Favoring the Party
In its Oct. 23 update, the forecaster projected a Democratic gain of 12 to 22 seats in the Nov. 3 midterms. Republicans say races are won district by district, and House Speaker Mike Johnson has asked President Trump for more campaign money.
Full 5th Circuit Rules 10-7 That the Constitution Does Not Require Bond Hearings for Immigrants Held Under Trump Detention Policy
The ruling covers Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi, while the Supreme Court separately decides whether federal immigration law itself requires the hearings.
Trump Lifts 50% Tariff on Plywood, Seaweed and Other Canadian Goods Sought by Sen. Collins, Adds Carpets, Paints and Freezers, Effective Oct. 30
An Oct. 23 proclamation takes some packaging, equipment and seaweed imports off the 50% Canada tariff list after Maine Sen. Susan Collins asked for relief, and puts dozens of other Canadian products on it.
Trump Says Iran Is Faking Hormuz Tanker Hits; ABC Reports U.S. and Israel Have Plans for Strikes After the Nov. 3 Vote
Iran's Revolutionary Guard says seven tankers were hit overnight and Brent crude rose to about $113. Trump calls the claims fake and says Iran is trying to raise oil prices before the midterms. Two Israeli sources told ABC that joint strikes are planned for after the election, which Trump pledged on Oct. 8 not to precede.
Migration Policy Institute Estimates About 660,000 U.S. Deportations in Fiscal 2026, Below the White House's 1 Million Goal
The think tank's report, based on federal data through July 2026, counts 980,000 deportations since January 2025. Arrests inside the country are growing. About 80% of the people deported had no criminal conviction, and the White House says the count misses its bigger result.
Early Vote Tops 19 Million as of Oct. 23; AP Finds Advance Voting Up From 2022 in Several Senate Battleground States
AP says early voting in Texas is up 74% from the same point in 2022, and up more than 30% in North Carolina, Maine and Ohio. Georgia and Michigan are about even with 2022, and analysts warn that early totals do not show who will win.
N.C.
North Carolina Early Voting Passes 1.1 Million Ballots as of Oct. 22, About 38% Above the Same Point in 2022
Ballots tallied as of Thursday morning, Oct. 22, came 43% from registered Democrats, 22.5% from Republicans and 34% from unaffiliated voters, though outlets give different totals depending on when they counted; in-person early voting runs through Oct. 31.
Carolina Journal Poll: Cooper 49.4%, Whatley 39.1% in N.C. Senate Race, a 10.3-Point Lead After 15.1 in September
The Oct. 18–20 survey of 600 likely voters shows Republican Michael Whatley gaining as undecided voters drop, while Democrat Roy Cooper's share holds near 49%.
US Conec Plans $149.7 Million Hickory Plant With 224 New Jobs; State Pledges $500,000 Performance-Based Grant
The Catawba County maker of fiber-optic connectors expects to finish hiring by the end of 2030, and Hickory and Catawba County will hold hearings on local incentives in mid-November.
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.
Finance
American Express Plans to Cut About 5% of Its Workforce and Records a $336 Million Pretax Restructuring Charge, Citing AI Preparation
Executives disclosed the cuts, about 3,500 jobs by the company's count, on the Oct. 23 third-quarter earnings call, alongside higher profits and a raised full-year forecast; the shares closed down between 3.34% and 3.7% that day, depending on the data source.
Reuters Poll: 94 of 100 Economists Expect Fed to Hold Rates on Oct. 28; All 100 Expect a December Hike
Fed funds futures put October hike odds at about 7% to 8% on Oct. 23, down from about 17% a week earlier, and December hike odds at roughly 71% to 83%, depending on the source and the day, as Brent crude settled at $116.72.
Nasdaq Falls 2.6%, Its Worst Day Since June, as Meta Drops About 7% After Raising Its AI Spending Outlook
The S&P 500 fell 1.2% and the Dow was flat on Thursday, Oct. 22. Meta reported its first negative free cash flow in at least a decade and plans a new non-voting share class. Tesla also fell after beating forecasts, closing down about 3%.
U.S. Initial Jobless Claims Fall 6,000 to 194,000, Lowest Since July; Continuing Claims Rise to 1.728 Million
Layoffs stayed near historic lows in the week ending Oct. 17, while the number of people still collecting benefits hit a six-week high. Economists disagree on whether that points to a tight labor market or a frozen one.
Philadelphia Chip Index Falls 6.72% Thursday; Kospi Erases 4% Drop to Close Up 0.3% as SK Hynix Halts Solidigm Listing Review
SK Hynix's filing cited market conditions and its share price. Four days earlier, South Korean regulators had said a U.S. listing of its Solidigm unit would fall under the country's double-listing rules.
10-Year Treasury Yield Falls Below 5% for First Time Since September as AI Stocks Slide; Brent Oil Settles at $113.17
Bond prices jumped on Thursday, Oct. 22, after Meta's earnings set off a tech selloff. Reuters put market pricing for a December Fed rate hike at about 85%, though other trackers showed lower odds, even as a Middle East flare-up sent oil to its highest close since May.
World
Aramco Orders Dhahran Headquarters Evacuated After Houthis Claim Four Strikes on Saudi Arabia in 48 Hours
Separately, oil from a tanker hit near the UAE on Oct. 9 reached Umm Al Quwain beaches, and Brent crude posted its highest settlement since April.
Gunman Kills One and Wounds Five in Drive-By Shooting Near Paris; Antiterror Prosecutors Investigate a Racist Motive
A 39-year-old man is in custody after a 15-minute shooting in Trappes and La Verrière, which President Macron called a "racist terrorist attack"; the 70,000 police France is deploying this weekend were ordered for nationwide protests, not because of the shooting.
Gunmen Kill at Least Eight and Wound Dozens at a Funeral in a Greek Orthodox Church in Jordan's Karak
King Abdullah II called the Friday shooting a terrorist attack and vowed the "harshest retaliation." No group has formally claimed it. Officials say they know the suspects' names but have not released them.
Kim Jong Un Enters China at Dandong via New Yalu River Bridge, Seoul Says; South Korean Official Reports Meeting With Premier Li Qiang
South Korean officials and Yonhap say North Korea's leader crossed into China on Saturday, October 24, 2026. Neither Beijing nor Pyongyang had confirmed the trip in early reports. It comes ahead of China's Korean War anniversary on October 25 and the November APEC summit in Shenzhen.
Brent Tops $113, a Five-Month High, After Iran's Revolutionary Guard Claims Seven Ships Hit Near Hormuz; Trump Calls the Claims 'Fake'
No independent monitor has confirmed the seven incidents Iran described. Shipping data partly backs Trump's claim that oil flows are above prewar levels and partly cuts against it, depending on whether oil leaving by bypass routes is counted.
Russia Fires 21 Ballistic Missiles at Kyiv, Three With Cluster Warheads, Zelensky Says, Hours After Putin Agrees to Resume Talks After Nov. 10
Zelensky says two people died and 34 were hurt in Russian attacks across 12 regions overnight; Kyiv officials reported 1 dead and 24 hurt in the capital. Russia says it hit defense plants. The strike followed a Putin–Witkoff meeting at which Russia freed American Stephen Hubbard.
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.