Trump Says No U.S. Strike on Iran Today, Weighs Deal Against Further Attacks
On Sunday, Trump ruled out a U.S. strike on Iran that day but left later action open. Reports say U.S. and Israeli planners have drawn up new target lists. CBS cites one unnamed source familiar with Iran saying Tehran is readying retaliation if strikes resume after Israel's October 27 election and the November 3 U.S. midterms.
U.S.
Supreme Court Lets New Hampshire Reject Student IDs at the Polls for Nov. 3 Election; Jackson Dissents
The court's emergency order cited the Purcell principle against late changes to election rules and paused a lower-court order. It did not decide whether New Hampshire's policy is constitutional.
Trump Rallies in Georgia and Michigan Before Nov. 3 Midterms, Announces $4.2 Billion Audi Plant and Calls Democrat El-Sayed a 'Jihadist'
President Trump spoke in Perry, Georgia, on Oct. 24 and in Port Huron, Michigan, on Oct. 25. The two marquee Senate races he campaigned in are for seats Democrats now hold, while national forecasters rate Republicans' House majority at risk.
Justice Department Asks Court to Halt Alaska Senate Certification if Sen. Sullivan Loses but Would Have Won With His Namesake's Votes; Trump Says He Ordered the Suit
The federal suit was filed Oct. 22, less than two weeks before the Nov. 3 election. It says a second Dan Sullivan on the ballot could confuse voters. Democrat Mary Peltola calls it corruption, and Attorney General Todd Blanche says it does not seek to stop certification.
Obama Rallies for Acton in Cleveland, Criticizes Ramaswamy Ad Featuring Her Estranged Mother
The Republican campaign's $4 million ad has Donna Arthur calling her daughter a liar about her childhood; 1978 court records show Acton's stepfather was indicted for sexual conduct with her as a child, and Ramaswamy says the ad is about lying, not abuse.
Trump Denies Report He Wants the Briefing Room Turned Into a Pool, Says He 'May Move' the Press Corps
Trump's Oct. 24 post came four days after a New York Times report, a day after his former press secretary said on TV that he had been "flirting" with the idea, and 11 days after a judge ruled that his ban on three outlets was likely unconstitutional.
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.
N.C.
North Carolina Early Vote Nears 1.5 Million Through Oct. 24, 36% Above 2022 Pace; 17 Counties Offer Any Sunday Voting, Down From 40
Wake and Durham were among the counties open on Sundays. The reported finding that their Sunday turnout beat 2022 comes from the first early-voting Sunday, Oct. 18, and no county figures for the second Sunday, Oct. 25, were found.
Carolina Forward Poll Taken Oct. 1-7 Shows Earls 50%, Stevens 41% in N.C. Supreme Court Race and Cooper 50%, Whatley 40% for Senate
A survey paid for by a progressive advocacy group puts the Democrats ahead in both races and finds most likely voters say tariffs hurt the economy. Two other recent polls show Earls ahead by 2 and 7.6 points in the court race.
UNC System Sent 19 Student Complaints About Excel College Near Black Mountain to N.C. Justice Department in July 20 Letter
The complaints, which Asheville Watchdog obtained through public records requests, allege sexual misconduct, pressure to sign non-disparagement agreements and threats of lawsuits. The college's lawyer says it "utterly and categorically denies the allegations."
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.
Finance
U.S. Stock Futures Rise and Brent Falls About 2% as Trump Says No Iran Strike 'Today' and Mediators Travel to Tehran, Ahead of Wednesday Fed Decision
Early Monday, S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 futures were up roughly 0.3% to 0.6% depending on the source and time, while Brent crude traded near $114.5. Investors were looking ahead to the Fed's Wednesday rate decision, where Bank of America is in the minority calling for a hike, and to earnings from Microsoft, Alphabet and Amazon.
Audi Plans Its First U.S. Factory, a $4 Billion Plant Near Macon, Georgia; Trump Announces It at Campaign Rally
Audi and Georgia say the plant will bring about 4,500 jobs and build up to 200,000 SUVs a year starting in the early 2030s. Trump credited his tariffs. Audi's CEO called it a long-term bet on the American market, while Volkswagen keeps talking with Washington about tariff relief.
Week Ahead: Fed Announces Rate Decision Oct. 28; Alphabet, Microsoft and Amazon Report Earnings; Q3 GDP and September PCE Data Due Oct. 29
On Oct. 23, futures put the odds of a rate hike at about 10%, so most expect the Fed to hold. That turns attention to Big Tech's spending plans and to inflation data, where forecasters expect headline PCE prices to rise 0.5% in September and third-quarter growth to come in at roughly 3.0%–3.2%.
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.
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.
World
Israel Votes Tuesday; Final TV Polls Show Neither Bloc Reaching 61 Seats as West Bank Crossings Close for Election Day
Israel's last three TV polls gave Netanyahu's bloc 50 seats and the Eisenkot-led opposition 52 to 56, both short of a majority. A military operation in Hebron goes on after two Israeli soldiers were killed, and the vote bears on U.S. policy toward Iran and Gaza.
Lula Wins Brazil Runoff With 51.79% of Valid Votes; Flávio Bolsonaro Does Not Concede, Says He Will Seek Annulment
Brazil's electoral court declared President Lula da Silva the winner by about 4.4 million votes. Senator Flávio Bolsonaro is challenging a Supreme Court justice's order that kept polls open two extra hours.
Zelensky Says Ukraine, U.S. and Russia Negotiators Will Meet in First Half of November; Kremlin Says Talks Can Resume After Nov. 10
Zelensky said land questions can only be settled by leaders and ruled out limits on Ukraine's army or a neutral status, after Moscow and Kyiv each told U.S. envoys Witkoff and Kushner they are ready to talk again.
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.
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.