|
Oct 09, 2026
A powerful magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck near Panama's southern tip on Friday morning, shaking buildings more than 100 miles away in the capital and prompting evacuations, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. A second powerful 6.6 magnitude earthquake struck the country later in the day following a series of aftershocks.
The initial quake was centered about 7 miles southwest of the remote community of Pitaloza Arriba and struck at a depth of about 7 miles, the USGS said. The 6.6 magnitude quake came about two and a half hours later, with its epicenter about 8 miles west of Río Grande on Panama's Pacific coast and a depth of about 6 miles.
The U.S. Pacific Tsunami Warning Center had initially warned about the possibility of tsunami waves hitting Panama's coast, but later said the threat had passed.
Tremors were felt in Panama City, where buildings shook and people evacuated into the streets. Visibly shaken residents gathered outside as they waited for news.
"We felt it very strongly. It knocked things over in the kitchen, but we're OK, though we're very scared," Rosendo Domínguez, 60, who is from Herrera province, where the earthquake struck, told The Associated Press by phone. "Everyone is outside, scared."
Multiple aftershocks continued to rattle Panama, including several measuring magnitude 5.8, 5.5 and 5.2. Seismologists at the University of Panama recorded more than 45 aftershocks, though many were too we
|
|
Oct 09, 2026
Hurricane Isaias is expected to bring heavy rain, damaging winds and life-threatening storm surge to the northern Gulf Coast when it makes landfall late Friday or early Saturday.
According to the National Hurricane Center, Isaias is now Category 3 storm with maximum sustained winds of 120 mph, which forecasters consider a "major hurricane."
As of 3 p.m. ET, the storm was located about 125 miles south of Pensacola, Fla., and roughly 140 miles south of Mobile, Ala., moving north at 17 mph. It is expected to approach the northern Gulf Coast this afternoon and make landfall near the Alabama-Florida state line tonight.
The governors of Florida, Alabama and Georgia have declared states of emergency, along with several Mississippi counties, urging residents to take the first hurricane of an unusually quiet season seriously. Thousands of National Guard soldiers are being deployed.
Is the storm headed your way? Follow it in real time on the new Yahoo Weather app.
Mandatory evacuation orders have been issued for parts of Florida's Walton, Escambia, Okaloosa and Franklin counties. Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey also ordered nonresidents to evacuate Gulf Shores, Orange Beach and Dauphin Island.
Heavy rain and flooding could extend as far north as Tennessee and North Carolina through the weekend. There's also a risk of tornadoes across the Florida Panhandle into southern Georgia.
Follow live updates on Hurricane Isaias below.
|
|
Oct 09, 2026
Katie Zacharia attends the Nashville premiere of "David" in Franklin, Tennessee, on December 14, 2025. - Terry Wyatt/Getty Images for 2521 Entertainment and Angel Studios/File
President Donald Trump has selected Katie Zacharia, a conservative commentator who worked briefly at the Department of Homeland Security, as his new press secretary, multiple White House officials told CNN.
Trump in recent days called a number of his close allies and advisers, including former White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt to seek their opinion of Zacharia, a person familiar with the discussions said. And the president sought Leavitt's counsel before making a final decision and offering Zacharia the position, they said.
CNN has reached out to Zacharia, who was in the Oval Office with Trump earlier Friday morning, according to a person familiar.
Zacharia's selection came about quickly. As of last week, she was not being considered for the role, another person familiar said.
Throughout the search to replace Leavitt, the White House struggled with higher-profile names, several of whom had previously criticized Trump. On multiple occasions, senior officials had narrowed down the list, only to find that candidates had said something negative about the president, disqualifying them from the position, according a White House official.
Zacharia's been a frequent guest on Fox, Newsmax and CNN. And according to her LinkedIn profile, she's served as a senior communications adviser at the Trump Media and Technology Group and Truth Social since June, which followed a two
|
|
Oct 09, 2026
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said that he has struck a deal to obtain diesel from Russia, a stunning reversal of years of U.S. pressure on Moscow over its war with Ukraine and an attempt to address high fuel prices ahead of the U.S. midterm elections.
Trump said on social media on Friday that he struck the deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin in a phone call in which he was expected to discuss a suspected case of plague in Russia. Instead, Trump announced that Russia will immediately supply more than 300,000 tons of diesel, followed by an additional 500,000 tons in November and 1 million tons "immediately thereafter." Russia will deliver another 3 million tons "within a short period of time" after that, he wrote.
Trump's shocking announcement comes after he signed a sweeping Russia sanctions law last month that aimed at clamping down on Russia's energy economy, among other areas, that fuel its war against Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reacted sharply in a social media post, saying that the Russian leader was trying to strike "backroom deals" to buy time in the war.
"Gifts to Putin will not bring peace or any benefit to the civilized world," he said.
Trump's move casts doubt on the likelihood of the White House imposing sanc
|
|
Oct 09, 2026
HEBRON, Ky. (AP) — Vance expresses doubts about Pentagon plan to livestream Fort Hood shooter execution (Corrects name of fort).
This article originally appeared on Associated Press at https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/vance-expresses-doubts-pentagon-plan-173307506.html
|
|
Oct 09, 2026
Two Cash App settlements are drawing interest from users: One settlement is currently being paid, and the other has recently issued payments. Claims can no longer be filed for either one.
Cash App and its parent company, Block Inc. (XYZ), are issuing payments in October as part of a settlement of a class action lawsuit over alleged security breaches that occurred between Aug. 23, 2018, and Aug. 20, 2024. The deadline to file a claim has passed.
The $15 million settlement fund pays previously approved claimants up to $2,500 for out-of-pocket losses, transaction losses, and up to $75 for three hours of lost time.
The other settlement, totaling $175 million, involved a consent order in which the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau accused Cash App of failing to protect users from fraud. Details on that June payout are below.
Read more: Is it safe to store money in apps like Venmo, PayPal, and Cash App?
What the Cash App settlement is aboutThe lawsuit alleged that a former Cash App employee and an unauthorized person used recycled phone numbers to gain access to accounts.
|
|
Oct 09, 2026
Hurricane Isaias, the first hurricane of the Atlantic season, is expected to bring damaging winds, heavy rain and potentially life-threatening storm surge to the northern Gulf Coast when it makes landfall late Friday or early Saturday.
The governors of Florida, Alabama and Georgia have declared states of emergency, along with several Mississippi counties. Thousands of National Guard soldiers are being deployed.
According to the National Hurricane Center, Isaias is now Category 3 storm with maximum sustained winds of 120 mph, which forecasters consider a "major hurricane."
As of 12 p.m. ET, the storm was located about 180 miles south of Pensacola, Fla., and roughly 140 miles southeast of the mouth of the Mississippi. It is expected to approach the northern Gulf Coast this afternoon and make landfall near the Alabama-Florida state line tonight.
Mandatory evacuation orders have been issued for parts of Florida's Walton, Escambia, Okaloosa and Franklin counties. Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey also ordered nonresidents to evacuate Gulf Shores, Orange Beach and Dauphin Island.
Heavy rain and flooding could extend as far north as Tennessee and North Carolina through the weekend.
Follow live updates on Hurricane Isaias below.
This article originally appeared on Yahoo News at https://www.yahoo.com/news/weather-news/live/hurricane-isaias-live-tracker-dangerous-category-2
|
|
Oct 09, 2026
The international criminal court (ICC) in The Hague.Photograph: Remko de Waal/ANP/AFP/Getty Images
The United States was accused of launching "an assault" on the world's legal order after imposing more sanctions on the international criminal court (ICC).
Unveiling the Trump administration's latest escalation against the court, which it has accused of politicization and unfairly targeting Americans for war crime charges, Marco Rubio, the US secretary of state, declared: "Either the ICC will end its threats, or we will end the ICC."
The ICC accused Donald Trump's officials of attempting to "obstruct the course of justice" as Rubio, just hours after a former ICC judge was awarded the Nobel peace prize, announced in a video that the US would move to impose financial sanctions.
Related: Alarm at UN over sanctions threatened by US on international criminal court
"We will ban transactions with this rogue court, cutting off their resources and crippling their ability to operate against us. Because our message is clear: the United States and the American people are not subject to the jurisdiction of this fake ICC," Rubio said in a video posted on X. "We don't need that court and we don't want it."
In a statement, the court warned that "history will judge this moment" and urged other members to ensure it can continue the function. "It is an ?
|
|
Oct 09, 2026
"The bill will follow Americans beyond the fighting itself," an opinion piece in the Port St. Joe Star, a tiny Florida weekly newspaper, warned of the Iran war last month.
The article ran under the byline Ervin Hoskins, which has also appeared on articles critical of the war in larger publications including Daily Kos and Middle East Monitor, which together have more than 3 million followers on Facebook.
Subscribe to The Post Most newsletter for the most important and interesting stories from The Washington Post.
But ChatGPT maker OpenAI said Thursday that Hoskins's purported work was generated using its chatbot by users based in Iran as part of an "influence campaign." The campaign placed about 100 fake articles across at least 20 news outlets, the company said.
The author photo on the Hoskins column published by the Star was generated using OpenAI's artificial intelligence tools, according to the company's online verification tool.
As artificial intelligence tools have become more powerful, some news outlets have been forced to delete AI-generated content published under fake bylines that initially went undetected by editors. Business Insider and Wired removed a series of articles last year that appeared under the byline Margaux Blanchard and appeared to be AI-generated.
But while it was unclear who or what was behind the stories written by Blanchard and some other apparently fake personas, OpenAI said in a Thursday report on use of ChatGPT in political influence campaigns that Hoskins was part of an operation focused on seeding content about U.S. military action in Iran. Many of the articles highlighted negative impacts of the war on Americans.
OpenAI said that Hoskins was among seven bylines that appeared on the series of AI-gene
|
|
Oct 09, 2026
The FBI's top official on Oct. 9 announced that the agency had arrested another suspected member of ShinyHunters, the digital hacking group accused of stealing personnel data from the FBI's jobs site in September.
"This is the latest arrest this FBI has made in a matter of days involving this network, as we work non-stop to dismantle the group, pursue new leads and evidence, and act quickly," FBI Director Kash Patel posted on X.
Patel, who did not release the identity of the person arrested, said the breach took place on a platform managed by a third-party vendor. The New York Times is reporting that the suspect is a Canadian citizen and was arrested in Pennsylvania.
Officials have not said how the group - which the FBI is calling "a global cybercrime and threat actor group linked to cyberattacks in the United States, the Netherlands, and around the world" - gained access to FBIjobs.gov. But Reuters previously reported that an internal memo distributed across the FBI said officials were operating under the assumption that all current and former employees had been exposed.
USA TODAY has reached out to the FBI for more information.
|
|
Oct 09, 2026
Hurricane Isaias, the first hurricane of the Atlantic season, is expected to bring damaging winds, heavy rain and potentially life-threatening storm surge to the northern Gulf Coast when it makes landfall late Friday or early Saturday.
The governors of Florida, Alabama and Georgia have declared states of emergency, along with several Mississippi counties. Thousands of National Guard soldiers are being deployed.
According to the National Hurricane Center, Isaias is now Category 3 storm with maximum sustained winds of 120 mph, which forecasters consider a "major hurricane."
The storm was located around 170 miles south-southeast of the mouth of the Mississippi at 8 a.m. ET. It is projected to track north, with the center passing near the Alabama-Florida state line, though its exact path remains uncertain. Heavy rain and flooding could extend as far north as Tennessee and North Carolina through the weekend.
Mandatory evacuation orders have been issued for parts of Florida's Walton, Escambia, Okaloosa and Franklin counties. Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey also ordered nonresidents to evacuate Gulf Shores, Orange Beach and Dauphin Island.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis urged residents to prepare emergency supplies and "execute your hurricane plan."
Follow live updates on Hurricane Isaias below.
This article originally appeared on Yahoo News at https://www.yahoo.com/news/we
|
|
Oct 09, 2026
Businessman Eric Deters said he has "no doubt it was pay to play," claiming Kimberly Guilfoyle, now the U.S. ambassador to Greece and ex-fiancee of Donald Trump Jr., asked him to wire $100,000 to pay her American Express bill in exchange for her help with the Trump administration ahead of Guilfoyle's Senate confirmation hearing.
In an interview with CBS News, Deters said Guilfoyle should "lose her ambassadorship" over her alleged behavior, after texts between the two of them from last July were published in the Wall Street Journal.
"It was quid pro quo," Deters told CBS News White House correspondent Weijia Jiang Thursday.
Deters said he never gave her the money.
"Unfortunately for Kimberly Guilfoyle, at that time, at that moment in time, I didn't have $100,000 to spare to give to Kimberly Guilfoyle, or I actually would have been a dumbass enough to do it."
Deters said he made up an "excuse" that his wife wouldn't go along with it.
White House officials were told that the text messages between Guilfoyle and Deters were authentic, sources familiar with the matter told CBS News. Some Trump aides expressed displeasure about Guilfoyle's actions, they said.
The Wall Street Journal first reported this week that Guilfoyle allegedly reached out to Deters days before her congressional hearing to become a U.S. ambassador, saying she needed $100,000 to pay off her American Express credit debt in a way that wouldn't be publicly visible.
"It won't show up anywhere if you wire money to American Express that's all that will show," Guilfoyle wrote to Deters on July 3, according to screen shots of texts provided to CBS News. "I have been offic
|
|
Oct 09, 2026
NEW YORK (AP) — As most of the political world focuses on next month's midterm elections, the shadow primary for the 2028 presidential contest is quietly playing out in public view.
Democratic and Republican presidential prospects have been crisscrossing the country, raising money and tapping their political connections to help boost their parties' candidates — and their own White House ambitions.
Here's a closer look at some of the leading prospects and how their political futures may be influenced by what happens Nov. 3.
Newsom has a Southern strategy
Gavin Newsom leaves the California governor's office at the end of the year, and he's been among the most active Democrats throughout the midterms.
He's paid particular attention to the South, where he's campaigned with candidates up and down the ballot in states like Alabama, Mississippi, North Carolina and, not surprisingly, South Carolina, which hosts the party's first presidential primary contest in 2028.
The Southern focus aligns with the mission of Newsom's Campaign for Democracy political action committee, which was established in 2023 to help his party compete in red states. But it could also help endear him to African American voters, who make up the heart of the Democratic base.
Newsom's star power — and his extensive email list — has strengthened his relationships with key Democratic officials in states like Nevada and New Hampshire, where he's sent out fundraising emails that have generated a surge of donations in recent months.
Perhaps Newsom's biggest midterm contribution was backing Proposition 50, California's response to the Texas Republican mid-decade gerrymander. The proposition, approved by California voters last year, created a new congressional map that may allow Democrats
|
|
Oct 09, 2026
The execution of Fort Hood shooter Nidal Malik Hasan by firing squad will be livestreamed to the public, the Pentagon said Thursday.
The Army announced this week that the execution would take place at Fort Hood on Dec. 3 after Hasan was convicted of killing 13 people and injuring 32 others in a shooting at the military base in 2009.
On Wednesday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told the conservative TV outlet Real America's Voice, "He's gonna get a firing squad of soldiers, as it should be. We'll make sure that people are able to watch it, that it's public — because people need to understand that there's serious consequences for these types of things."
Pentagon officials clarified Thursday that the execution would be livestreamed, the Associated Press said.
The U.S. military has not carried out an execution since 1961 and has not used a firing squad to execute a service member since World War II.
Hegseth's comments have put further spotlight on how the death penalty is carried out in the U.S., following the failed attempt to execute Christa Pike by lethal injection. The failed execution prompted Tennessee's governor to halt further executions this year and order a third-party review.
Asked whether the failed execution in Tennessee would lead him to seek changes to capital punishment, Trump called it "an interesting situation." He told
|
|
Oct 09, 2026
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton speaks during a campaign event in Houston, on September 21. - Antranik Tavitian/Getty Images
Ken Paxton has publicly said he would "love to have" John Cornyn's support after their bruising Republican primary runoff in the Texas Senate race. But privately, Paxton has grown frustrated with the outgoing senator's distance from his campaign.
"He's clearly not helping. He wants me to lose," the Texas attorney general said at a fundraiser last month, according to an audio recording obtained by CNN from an attendee who opposes Paxton.
While Paxton has minimized his criticism of Cornyn following their runoff, the private remarks demonstrate how their long-running tensions continue to roil the race, coming as national Republicans mount an all-out effort to help Paxton defeat Democratic state Rep. James Talarico. With polls showing a tight race, Republicans have poured well over $100 million into the general election in Texas, a state that has not elected a Democrat to statewide office since 1994 but is now critical to Republican hopes of holding a Senate majority.
Paxton made the comments at a September 24 gathering in Washington after receiving a question about Rep. Jasmine Crockett, the Democratic congresswoman whom Talarico defeated in his primary, according to two sources familiar with the discussion. The recording o
|
|
Oct 09, 2026
Gas prices are near the highest levels on record at this time of year. Diesel, the workhorse fuel powering trucks, tractors and trains, is also near all-time highs. - Mehmet Eser/Anadolu/Getty Images
The Strait of Hormuz is no longer paralyzed and yet fuel prices remain painfully high. It's a vexing problem with profound financial, political and economic consequences.
Gasoline prices, averaging $4.36 a gallon nationally, have never been this high at this time of year, according to AAA data.
Even after a series of emergency steps from US states and Europe, diesel is only about 20 cents away from the all-time high set just last month.
In short, what started as an oil supply crunch caused by the Iran war has morphed into a broader energy crisis being felt by drivers, truckers and farmers around the world.
Unblocking the Strait of Hormuz has been helpful, but it's still incredibly dangerous - and thus expensive. Not only that, but Russian refineries are getting destroyed by Ukrainian drones, and Houthi attacks in the Red Sea have disrupted a vital shipping lane.
"The wars have not been resolved. There is no peace. The energ
|
|
Oct 09, 2026
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani speaks during a press conference at the site where a man was shot by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer during an operation in the Bronx, on Oct. 8, 2026. —Ryan Murphy—Getty ImagesNew York Mayor Zohran Mamdani wants President Donald Trump to put an end to Immigration and Customs Enforcement's operations in the city after an agent-involved shooting injured one person on Thursday.
"This is an unconscionable and incredibly serious situation," Mamdani said in a statement Thursday evening. "I have called the President; when we speak I will demand that he ends all ICE enforcement actions in our city. I will not stand by while ICE agents terrorize our communities."
New York police said that around 4 p.m., federal agents got involved in a shooting and injured a man in the city's Marble Hill residential section. The police's afternoon statement said the shooting victim was conscious and receiving medical attention in a nearby hospital.
But at a press conference Thursday evening before furious protesters, Mamdani said that after his two-hour conversation with Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin
|
|
Oct 09, 2026
As the Trump administration pivoted to economic pressure instead of military force to push Tehran back into talks, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent pledged swift damage to Iran's economy.
All Iranian airlines would be grounded worldwide by the end of September, he said last month. The country would run out of oil to sell by the end of this week.
Subscribe to The Post Most newsletter for the most important and interesting stories from The Washington Post.
Iran's economy is suffering. But those pledges and timelines by the Trump administration have proved difficult to meet as it faces an Iranian government with more impetus to endure pain than to back down.
The U.S. blockade of Iranian ports has forced oil exports to minimal levels, depriving Tehran of billions of dollars in monthly revenue. But Iran continues to sell oil that it exported during the June truce. And Tehran moves some 250,000 barrels of oil a day out of the country by land, according to Kpler, a global intelligence firm.
President Donald Trump has said the economic pressure campaign, now in its second month, is intended to force Iran back to the negotiating table after the U.S. midterm elections in November, but talks remained stalled, with Iranian officials refusing to moderate their demands.
At the same time, Tehran has escalated militarily against shipping traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, hitting more than nine vessels in a single week. The strikes follow expanded U.S. operations in the area that had facilitated higher oil flows, but failed to move global energy prices.
Regardless, the Trump administration thinks time is on its side, according to a senior administration official, who declined to discuss Bessent's remarks, including the specifics of his timelines for
|
|
Oct 09, 2026
The NewsCongressional Democrats aren't eager to impeach Donald Trump. Pete Hegseth is a different story.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and his leadership circle remain reluctant to lean too far into talking about impeaching the president if they regain power next month, a move that would revive the bruising battles of Trump's first term. But as the Iran war squeezes Republicans ahead of the midterms, Democrats are aligning to call for the defense secretary's ouster or resignation.
With impeachment still a dirty word among many House Democrats, targeting Cabinet secretaries could be a pressure release valve for lawmakers itching for action against the Trump administration.
"I 100% believe Pete Hegseth needs to be impeached and removed from office, because not only is he the worst secretary of defense in American history, he is a dangerous war criminal," said Rep. Melanie Stansbury, D-N.M., who said it should be one of the caucus' "top three priorities" next year.
Hegseth was reviled by the left even before the Iran war began, and since then he's faced criticism from Republicans for his handling of the war. An impeachment vote could even be bipartisan: When the House returns after the midterms, it'll be forced to take up a Hegseth ouster resolution filed by iconoclastic Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky.
Prioritizing Hegseth impeachment would solve a big problem for Democrats: If they win the House, their leaders will face intense pressure from the base to show a new level of fight against Trump. Yet they're leery of the internal divisions or appearance of overreach that a third Trump impeachment might create, and still smarting from his return to office after two impeachment votes.
In public, top Democrats are accordingly circumspect on targeting Hegseth. Jeffries says Hegseth should be fired and that Democrats "haven't ruled anything out" in their investigations. Democrats have filed impeachment articles agains
|
|
Oct 09, 2026
By Julia Harte and Kristina Cooke
NEW YORK, Oct 8 (Reuters) - US immigration agents shot and wounded a man on Thursday in his car with a child present in the Marble Hill neighborhood of New York City, ?according to the mayor, city police and eyewitnesses.
Federal immigration agents have shot at least 21 people since Republican President ?Donald Trump returned to office, 7 fatally, sparking protests across the US. Critics contend that Trump's push to ramp up deportations has led to an increasing ?number of violent confrontations, and accuse the administration of resisting accountability for the agents involved.
Trump has said many migrants must be deported, blaming them, often in sweeping terms, for financial fraud and violent crimes.
"Early reports indicate agents surrounded (the man) and a 5-year-old child in his car before firing multiple rounds," New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani said in a statement.
"I have been on the phone with President Trump and (Homeland ?Security) Secretary Mullin, negotiating the release of the ?man ICE agents shot. Those negotiations were unsuccessful," Mamdani said in a press conference late in the evening. He said he demanded from the Trump administration that ICE stop its enforcement actions in ?New York City.
"These actions are making the city less safe," Mamdani said. "This city wants ICE out. We want ICE out of our city, ICE out of our schools, ICE out of our hospitals, ICE out of our streets, ICE away from our kids."
The mayor said the child ?in the ?car is physically unharmed. New York Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said ?NYPD has located the child with a family member ?after a wellness check.
The Department of Homeland Security, ICE's parent agency, said in a statement ICE officers were conducting a "targeted enforcement operation" in the Bronx, New York, to arrest a man from the Dominican Republic with a prior criminal conviction.
The ma
|
|
Oct 09, 2026
The Aldabra giant tortoise is native to the islands of the Aldabra Atoll in the Seychelles. - Philippe Clément/Arterra/Universal Images Group/Getty Images
Giant tortoises once pushed to the brink of extinction now outnumber humans in their home of the Seychelles, according to a new survey on one of the African nation's most remote islands.
The survey, led by the Seychelles Islands Foundation (SIF) and the University of Exeter in the UK, estimated that about 180,000 Aldabra giant tortoises live on Aldabra Atoll, an Indian Ocean island group off the east coast of mainland Africa.
It is the highest figure ever recorded for the species, and far exceeds the human population of around 122,000 living in the tiny archipelago nation.
Aldabra Atoll is one of only two places in the world where giant tortoises are found in the wild. A much smaller population lives on Ecuador's Galápagos Islands.
One of the world's most undisturbed island ecosystems, Aldabra Atoll is home to several unique species that thrive in the remote haven.
The species has rebounded from a dramatic decline. Heavy exploitation during the 19th century reduced its population on the island to fewer than 1,000, pushing the species to the brink of extinction.
A recovery program helped secure strict nature reserve status for the atoll in 1981. It became a UNESCO World Heritage site a year later, giving the population room to rebound.
"More than 180,000 giant tortoises roaming freely on our atoll is proof of what long-term commitmen
|
|
Oct 09, 2026
OSLO, Norway (AP) — The South African-born jurist and former U.N. human rights chief Navi Pillay, who is currently an ad hoc judge at the International Court of Justice, won the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday for her efforts to promote peace and international law.
Pillay's work "is a source of hope and inspiration to all those who seek to bring about a more peaceful world," said Jørgen Watne Frydnes, Chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, in announcing her win in Oslo, Norway.
Her win is sure to be seen as a high-profile rebuke to U.S. President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who have both rejected the findings of a U.N. commission she led that Israel committed genocide in Gaza. Both leaders also have been highly critical of the institutions where Pillay has worked.
While her work has been global in scope, criticism often has been fiercely local, notably in places like Israel and in apartheid-era South Africa as she and peers took on some of the world's most painful and sensitive legal issues and most vulnerable populations.
Pillay, 85, received the news while attending the Nuremberg Forum, a gathering to discuss international law in Nuremberg, Germany, the location of the trials of Nazi war criminals that helped lay the foundations of international law.
"Firstly, at this venue, your applause means a great deal to me," she said to a standing ovation. "You know, you don't want to receive an award, prize or anything unless the public agrees that you deserve this."
And joking, she added: "But being a lawyer and a judge, I still want to verify this information."
She chaired an investigation that determined Israel committed genocide in Gaza
Pillay chaired the Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory and Israel, which was created by the U.N.-backed Human Rights Co
|
|
Oct 08, 2026
For about nine decades, executions in the U.S. have been private affairs, often shrouded in secrecy. The stunning Pentagon announcement Thursday that the first military execution in more than 65 years will be livestreamed could change that.
Allowing the world to watch Fort Hood shooter Nidal Malik Hasan face the firing squad in December would make it the first public execution since two hangings in the 1930s in Kentucky and Missouri drew crowds.
In 1936, a man who reportedly confessed to the rape and murder of a woman was hanged in front of thousands in Owensboro, Kentucky, while the following year, hundreds watched a man in Missouri be hanged.
Proposal harkens back to a bygone era
A livestreamed execution is reminiscent of a bygone period in America's history in which public executions were seen as deterrents to crime as well as popular ceremonies, said Michael L. Radelet, professor emeritus at the University of Colorado Boulder, who has done extensive research on executions.
Parents and teachers would often bring children along to teach them a lesson. The events would sometimes feature a choir, a preacher giving an "execution sermon" and the condemned, who was typically a man being hanged, giving a long speech to the crowd.
In an execution in Leadville, Colorado, in the late 1800s, Radelet said Cyrus Minich, who was being put to death, told the crowd, "Therefore I apologize and I'm ready to go. Goodbye, goodbye."
The crowd reportedly responded: "Goodbye Cy, goodbye Cy."
|
|
Oct 08, 2026
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Arlington County Board in Virginia filed a lawsuit Thursday opposing the construction of the Triumphal Arch, becoming the first governmental body to take legal action against President Donald Trump's planned monument.
The lawsuit, filed in the Eastern District of Virginia, criticized the speed at which the project slated for Memorial Circle has moved without going through the full review process.
"The National Park Service, the agency responsible for projects on national park land such as Memorial Circle, is proceeding full-speed toward ground-disturbing construction," the lawsuit said. "Although the agency has claimed that a final decision to construct the Arch has not yet been made and purports to be engaged in a routine decisional process, that rushed process appears to be a pretext designed to shore up justifications for building the Arch in accordance with the President's repeated marching orders."
The lawsuit asks that "the agency's feverish pace toward construction of the arch" be halted to ensure that the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act be followed and proper analysis and testing be done.
"The Arlington County Board has filed this lawsuit because our community has the most to lose from this egregious and unlawful proposed project," Arlington County Board Chair Matt de Ferranti said in a statement. He added that the county has acted in good faith in the review process, pointing out the "severe, unique, and wide-ranging negative impacts" the project will have on the county and its residents, only to see them ignored.
Memorial Circle sits on federal parkland west of the Potomac River across the Memorial Bridge and immediately adjacent to Arlington County.
The county is bei
|
|
Oct 08, 2026
The projected path of Hurricane Isaias.National Weather Service/NOAAHurricane Isaias, the first hurricane of the Atlantic season, is expected to strengthen as it approaches the northern Gulf Coast on Friday, bringing damaging winds, drenching rain and the possibility of life-threatening storm surge, prompting mandatory evacuation orders in Alabama and Florida.
According to the National Hurricane Center, Isaias, now a Category 2 storm, is forecast to make landfall late Friday or early Saturday as a Category 1, with damaging hurricane-force winds.
Exactly where is unclear. Current models show the center of Isaias coming onshore anywhere from eastern Mississippi to the western tip of the Florida Panhandle.
The governors of Florida, Alabama and Georgia declared states of emergency ahead of the storm. Numerous counties in Mississippi also did.
Is the storm headed your way? Follow it in real time on the new Yahoo Weather app.
"Floridians should take this time to get disaster plans in place and ensure their hurricane supply kit is stocked," Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said, urging residents in the storm's path to "
|
|
Oct 08, 2026
The first debate for Georgia Senate on Thursday evening quickly devolved into a string of personal attacks and campaign talking points as Sen. Jon Ossoff (D) and Rep. Mike Collins (R) wrestle for voters' support in the closely-watched midterm race.
The incumbent Democrat has maintained a lead over his GOP challenger in recent polling, but Republicans are still holding out hope to flip this seat in November.
The candidates faced questions during the Atlanta News First debate in Atlanta about their stance on a range of issues, including artificial intelligence, border security, rural health care and agriculture.
Repeatedly, Collins and Ossoff used their allotted time to criticize each other's family backgrounds and argue that their opponent was not fit to represent Georgia on Capitol Hill.
Here are four takeaways from their first face off:
Ossoff slams ‘bigot' Collins
The Democratic incumbent referred to Collins several times on Thursday evening as "the bigot congressman," an insult he has repeatedly invoked on the campaign trail.
Ossoff pointed to the lawmaker's past controversial social media posts, including a sharing a
|
|
Oct 08, 2026
Republican Mike Rogers and Democrat Abdul El-Sayed in for an hourlong debate Thursday. (USA Today Network; Reuters; Getty Images)GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — The two candidates battling for Michigan's open Senate seat tangled here Thursday over the war in Iran, gas prices and tariffs in a debate that often veered into mean-spirited sniping.
Democrat Abdul El-Sayed sought to portray his Republican rival, former Rep. Mike Rogers, as a weak-willed loyalist to President Donald Trump who has recently changed his positions on certain issues out of political necessity.
Rogers tried to frame El-Sayed as a "con man" who is making promises he cannot pay for without raising taxes or other costs.
Each repeatedly taunted the other over real estate — a home Rogers has in Florida and property El-Sayed's wife owns in the United Arab Emirates. The debate, hosted by NBC affiliate WOOD of Grand Rapids, became so punchy at times that moderator Rick Albin pleaded for the candidates to rein in their attacks.
"I'd like to be a part of the debate, too," Albin interjected at one point.
Michigan's Senate race is one of the most competitive and closely watched in the country, and the results could help determine partisan control of the chamber. Sen. Gary Peters, a Democrat, is not seeking re-election.
Backed by progress
|
|
Oct 08, 2026
By Julia Harte and Kristina Cooke
NEW YORK, Oct 8 (Reuters) - US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents shot and wounded a man on Thursday in his car with a child ?present in the vehicle in the Bronx borough of New York City, according to ?the mayor, city police and eyewitness accounts.
"Early reports indicate agents surrounded (the man) and a 5-year-old-child in his car before firing multiple ?rounds," New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani said in a statement.
The mayor said the child was believed to have been physically unharmed. He referred to the man shot as a "New Yorker."
"This is an unconscionable and incredibly serious situation," Mamdani said, adding he had called President Donald Trump to talk about the incident. "When we speak ?I will demand that he ends ?all ICE enforcement actions in our city. I will not stand by while ICE agents terrorize our communities."
ICE did not immediately respond to a request from ?Reuters for comment on the incident.
The incident was first reported on X by the New York Police Department, which gave few details other than to say: "there was a shooting involving federal law enforcement agents," and that ?the person ?shot was "currently conscious and receiving medical attention."
The shooting ?occurred at around 4 p.m. ET (2000 GMT) ?in the Marble Hill neighborhood of the Bronx, the NYPD said.
An NYPD spokesperson said the agents involved in the shooting were part of DHS, the parent agency for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Customs and Border Protection and Border Patrol agencies, among others, and that federal authorities were investigating.
Pedro Almarez, owner of a nearby eatery, said he was working at the restaurant when he heard shots fired and ?went outside to see several officers wearing ICE attire at ?the scene.
"There were a lot of ICE officers, three or ?four cars," Almarez told Reuters by phone, ?adding the man
|
|
Oct 08, 2026
The U.S. military plans to livestream the execution of Nidal Hasan, the ex-Army major who was convicted of the 2009 killing of 13 people at Fort Hood, when he faces a firing squad on Dec. 3, a Pentagon official said.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said earlier Thursday the Pentagon planned to make the execution public.
"He's gonna get a firing squad of soldiers, as it should be," Hegseth told Jack Posobiec on Real America's Voice. "We'll make sure that people are able to watch it, that it's public — because people need to understand that there's serious consequences for these types of things."
Hegseth said the early December execution will take place at Fort Hood at 1 p.m.
Earlier this week, the Trump administration approved the plan to execute Hasan. Chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said on social media the plan to use an Army firing squad was recommended by Hegseth and approved by President Trump.
While executions are sometimes witnessed by small groups of people, including reporters and victims' family members, it is virtually unheard-of in recent history for an execution in the United States to be viewable by the general public.
The last public execution in the U.S. appeared to take place in 1936, when Rainey Bethea was hanged for rape in Kentucky, reported
|
|
Oct 08, 2026
Bernadette Greene-Placentia, a Democratic candidate for Congress who said she was raped while fixing a campaign sign in August, told ABC News on Thursday that she was motivated to speak up because of the arguments she was making on the campaign trail.
"I was talking to some seniors about fighting for reinstating and funding the [Veterans Administration] and fixing Social Security, actually addressing the issues" amid federal government cuts or healthcare changes that impacted them, Greene-Placentia told ABC News Live anchor Kyra Phillips.
"It just crossed my mind at that point -- like, wow, I'm kind of being a hypocrite because I'm saying I'm going to fight for Arizonans. I'm going to fight for these folks, but I'm not fighting for women who've been victims of sexual assault, and that's just not how I was raised," she said. "So afterwards, I told my husband and my team, I was like, this is really going to suck, but I have to speak up."
ABC News - PHOTO: Arizona congressional candidate Bernadette Greene-Placentia speaks to ABC News Live on Thursday, Oct. 8, 2026.Greene-Placentia, a former truck driver who is running in the state's 8th District to try to unseat Republican Rep. Abe Hamadeh, told Phoenix New Times, a local news outlet, in a story published Wednesday that she was attacked around 2 a.m. as she was walking toward a campaign sign in a parking lot north of Phoenix. She said she had been subdued and then woke up to find that she was being raped by an unknown assailant.
|
|
Oct 08, 2026
Federal prosecutors have been presenting evidence to a grand jury in Washington, D.C., on whether former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson may have lied to Congress in her testimony related to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, two sources familiar with the matter told CBS News.
Hutchinson, a former aide to White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, drew the ire of President Trump's base when she testified in 2022 before the House committee tasked with investigating the 2021 Capitol attack.
In a series of depositions and public committee testimony, she said that Mr. Trump and Meadows had been warned on Jan. 6 that some of his supporters were carrying weapons to the Capitol, but that Mr. Trump said he didn't care and tried to order officials to remove the magnetometers.
She also relayed a story she said was told to her by then-White House deputy chief of staff Tony Ornato, in which Mr. Trump grew incensed after his lead Secret Service agent declined to drive him to the Capitol after the president had delivered a speech to supporters. During that address on the White House Ellipse, he had encouraged them to go to the Capitol, where Congress was confirming the Electoral College results from the 2020 election. He told his supporters that "after this, we're going to walk down, and I'll be there with you."
Hutchinson testified that Ornato had told her that Mr. Trump lunged at the steering wheel.
Her account was later contradicted by Mr
|
|
Oct 08, 2026
WASHINGTON (AP) — The firing squad execution of Fort Hood shooter Nidal Malik Hasan will be livestreamed, the Pentagon said Thursday, a stunning revelation about plans for the first military execution in more than 65 years after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had described it as being "public."
The Army announced this week that the execution would take place at Fort Hood on Dec. 3 after Hasan was convicted of killing 13 people and injuring 32 others in a shooting at the military base in 2009.
Hegseth, speaking to the conservative TV outlet Real America's Voice News on Wednesday, said, "We'll make sure that people are able to watch it, that it's public." Officials in the Pentagon clarified Thursday that the execution would be livestreamed and that more details would follow.
The revelation from Hegseth about the public nature of an execution — let alone one as violent as a firing squad — has raised further questions about how the death penalty is carried out in the United States, especially after the botched lethal injection of Christa Pike in Tennessee.
Experts offer mixed reactions on the plan
Hasan could choose to resist execution and file a habeas petition in civilian court, which is a legal request for a court to review the legality of someone's detention, and could significantly delay the execution, experts on military law said.
"It frankly might outlast the current
|
|
Oct 08, 2026
Former president Barack Obama expressed surprise at Democrats' expanding midterm map at a private fundraiser Wednesday night, but warned donors not to get complacent about the party's chances, according to excerpts provided to The Washington Post.
"There are states right now in play that I would not have imagined being in play," Obama told donors in a fireside chat in Great Falls, Virginia, with Sen. Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Delaware), a vice chair of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. "If you had told me, and - I know I'm the hope guy - but if you had told me that the polling currently shows James Talarico ahead of Ken Paxton ... I would have said, eh, I don't think so."
Subscribe to The Post Most newsletter for the most important and interesting stories from The Washington Post.
Talarico, a Democratic state legislator in Texas, is leading Paxton, the state's Republican attorney general, in most public polls.
Obama also mentioned competitive Senate contests in Kansas and Nebraska, as well as Sen. Jon Ossoff's large polling lead in Georgia, as other data points he wouldn't have previously believed.
But Obama cautioned the crowd that winning those races is far from a sure bet.
"All these races that are showing we've got a two- or three-point lead or it's a toss-up, we could end up losing all of them by two points," he said. "It's within the margin of error."
The former president has been ramping up his involvement in the midterms in recent weeks, announcing an upcoming campaign stop in Michigan for Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed and
|
|
Oct 08, 2026
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission.
The Marius Hills Pit on the lunar surface. | Credit: NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University
Are there secret underground caves on the moon? NASA has a new program that aims to find out.
Though we see it in the sky most nights, the moon still holds an incredible amount of mystery. One such mystery is a large underground cave, or a cavernous tube carved out by ancient lava, that scientists think extends past a particular pit on the moon's surface. And to get to the bottom of it, NASA has selected a project known as GIMLI (the Geophysical Instruments for Marius Lunar pit Investigation, not the character from Lord of the Rings). GIMLI was selected along with two other programs that are all intended to expand our understanding of the moon to better support a future moon base, which NASA aims to build near the south pole.
"NASA Science is building the ultimate interplanetary survival guide to ensure that science goes first to the lunar surface to provide our future astronaut crews with the vital information, resources, and safety precautions needed ahead of time to survive the night on the moon," Nicky Fox, NASA's associate administrator for the Science Mission Directorate, said in a statement.
Lunar mysteriesThe site of this investigation will be the Marius Hill Pit, which was discovered in 2009 by Japan's Kag
|
|
Oct 08, 2026
Texas Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico has been off the campaign trail, sick with the flu. (Bill Clark / CQ-Roll Call via Getty)The bitter fight over a Texas Senate seat that Democrats believe is within reach for the first time in decades should be ramping up right now.
But in the final push, when campaigns believe most voters are finally tuning in, Democratic state Rep. James Talarico has been off the trail for in-person events in the state for 12 days.
His campaign says he has the flu and is expected to be back in action this weekend.
While he has appeared virtually at a forum, Talarico's last in-person event in the state was on Sept. 26. He visited New York on Sept. 29 for a private fundraiser, and, according to the virtual remarks he gave to the Hispanic Business Council the next day, he returned to Dallas and visited urgent care.
It has all prompted a stream of fodder from his opponent, Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, whose campaign is calling on Talarico to produce a photo of himself with a newspaper showing today's date.
"We have a simple request: proof of life," Paxton campaign spokeswoman Madison Cercy said. "James Talarico wants to represent 31 million Texans in the U.S. Senate, but for 12 days, he's hidden from every one of them. There's a reason they call it ‘Texas Tough,' and it's not because Texans hide at the first sign of trouble. If James Talarico is too fragile to face Texans, he has no business asking for their vote."
|
|
Oct 08, 2026
US President Donald Trump presents the National Medal of Science to Elon Musk (Kent NISHIMURA)Donald Trump presented Elon Musk with the top US science medal on Thursday, as the rocket tycoon fully returned to the president's orbit after an explosive bust-up.
Six US tech titans received prestigious awards from the president at a Washington peace institute that was itself recently renamed after Trump.
But all eyes were on trillionaire SpaceX and Tesla boss Musk following his acrimonious departure from Trump's cost-cutting Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) last year.
Trump called Musk a "national treasure" and said that "Elon is our modern-day Thomas Edison," referring to the American inventor of the lightbulb.
"Elon, I want to congratulate you. You're my friend, and all of that, but you are a very, very special guy," Trump added at the summit, dubbed "Science: A New Golden Age.
Along with Musk, Google co-founder Sergei Brin, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and AMD chief Lisa Su all received the National Medal of Science from Trump during the ceremony.
Computer mogul Michael Dell and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella got the National Medal of Technology and Innovation, also the top US award in its field.
Trump and Musk gave an amiable if awkward performance on Thursday, with president patting the tycoon on the back and giving him a wooden case containing his medal. The pair largely avoided eye contact.
It was a far cry from May 2025 when Musk's brief and tempestuous time at DOGE flamed out over his opposition to the White House's "utterly insane" tax and spending bill.
Musk -- the biggest donor to Trump's 2024 presidential campaign -- had spent months working out of a small office in the White House complex as DOGE took a hatchet to the federal w
|
|
Oct 08, 2026
Curtis Flowers, a Black man from Mississippi who was wrongfully convicted multiple times when he was tried six times for the same crime by the same prosecutor, has died. He was 56.
Flowers' family confirmed that he died Wednesday at his home in Winona, Mississippi, attorney Rob McDuff told CBS News on Thursday.
No cause of death was given, said McDuff, who was part of Flowers' legal team. CBS News has reached out to the coroner.
Flowers' struggle with the justice system began in Winona, Mississippi, on a July morning in 1996, when the owner of Tardy Furniture, a bookkeeper, a delivery man and a 16-year-old were shot in the head execution-style.
Flowers briefly worked at the furniture store that summer, but he was let go after he stopped showing up after only three days. Police questioned him after the murders, but didn't arrest him at the time. Flowers later moved to Texas to live with his sister, and he was arrested there in January 1997. He had no prior criminal history.
McDuff previously called Flowers' case "unprecedented in the history of the American legal system."
He told "60 Minutes" in 2021 that the first three convictions against Flowers were overturned "because of the prosecutor's misrepresentation of the evidence to the jury and because of his discrimination in the selection of the jury."
The murder weapon was never found, and there was no DNA or fingerprints linking Flowers to the crime.
In the first trial, an all-White jury convicted him after just an hour of deliberation. Flowers, then 27, was sentenced to death.
His conviction was appealed and overturned. But he was tried five more times for the same crime b
|
|
Oct 08, 2026
Eric Deters, a former Kentucky congressional candidate and longtime ally of President Trump, has emerged in the national spotlight after an explosive report revealed his alleged text exchanges with Kimberly Guilfoyle, U.S. ambassador to Greece, over her credit card debt.
The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday that Guilfoyle, ex-wife of California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) and the former fiancé of Donald Trump Jr., allegedly pressed Deters to pay her $100,000 American Express balance without leaving a paper trail and, in exchange, promised to help him reach senior administration officials.
Deters, 63, is a former attorney, businessman and conservative radio host who has spent years building connections within Trump's inner circle. He declined to make the payment and has since publicly accused Guilfoyle of offering political access in exchange for large sums of money.
Guilfoyle's $100,000 request
Guilfoyle's dealings with Deters began drawing attention after the Journal obtained hundreds of text messages, emails and letters, detailing their relationship in a bombshell report.
According to the outlet, Guilfoyle told Deters she needed the balance to be paid ahead of her July 9, 2025, confirmation hearing before the Senate.
"Honey please I need you to get this done for me today," she wrote in one exchange on the messaging app Signal, which
|
|
Oct 08, 2026
Golden hash browns, gravy-smothered biscuits and crispy waffles with a hearty helping of syrup are among the classic Southern comfort foods. But when hurricanes tear through Southeastern towns, the hot meals and bold yellow signs of the local Waffle House provide another kind of comfort.
If a Waffle House stays open in town, even in a limited capacity, neighbors are reassured that the coming storm is unlikely to cause devastation. A closed location of the dependable diner chain has come to indicate impending disaster. The metric is known as the Waffle House Index.
What might sound like silly logic has become one of the most reliable ways for Southerners — and even federal officials — to gauge a storm's severity and identify communities most in need of immediate aid.
What is the Waffle House Index?
The South's favorite disaster authority provides an informal measure of how significantly a storm will affect or has affected a community.
A map of the chain's over 1,900 locations, concentrated in the Southeast and mid-Atlantic, helps residents of storm-prone states assess whether they're likely to lose power, experience severe flooding or endure other extreme conditions that might cause a resilient restaurant to close its doors. For some, it's a telltale sign of whether they need to evacuate.
Waffle House is known not just for serving breakfast 24/7, 365 days a year, but also for its disaster preparedness. For decades, people across the South have noticed that the local Waffle House seemed to be the only business still open during a storm or the first to reopen af
|
|
Oct 08, 2026
Once loyal to Robert F. Kennedy Jr., advocates of the "Make America Healthy Again" movement have become some of his harshest critics. (Bloomberg via Getty)Some supporters of the "Make America Healthy Again" movement have begun to publicly turn against their leader, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and the Trump administration as a whole as they demand tougher crackdowns on food dyes and pesticides.
A scorecard released Thursday by MAHA activists, including former members of Kennedy's 2024 presidential campaign, claims the Trump administration broke more than 85% of its promises to MAHA on food, agriculture and environmental health. The makers of the scorecard include Dave Murphy, a former fundraiser for Kennedy's campaign, and Charles Eisenstein, Kennedy's former chief speechwriter.
NBC News is first to report on the scorecard, which offers a window into how MAHA views the administration, and Kennedy himself, ahead of the midterm elections. It accuses the Trump administration of doling out favors to the chemical industry, pointing to its decision to approve new pesticides and hire industry lobbyists and executives.
"We're asking the Trump administration to deliver on even the most basic promises they've made to the MAHA movement, and we've seen over and over again not just a lack of interest in doing so, but a blatant slap in the face," said former Kennedy campaign adviser Tiffany Cianci, a MAHA advocate who authored the scorecard.
About 41% of adults in the U.S. say they support MAHA ideals, according to an
|
|
Oct 08, 2026
Delegations from the U.S. and Iran entered negotiations in June aimed at a war-ending deal based on a memorandum of understanding signed by both countries.
Those talks broke down as the U.S. and Iran continued to exchange strikes, with the strategic Strait of Hormuz as the primary flashpoint. Trump then said in August that the U.S. would launch a "crushing economic operation" to force Tehran into submission.
President Donald Trump said the U.S. is having "productive discussions" with Iran on Thursday, saying the U.S. will not be attacking Iran before the midterm elections.
Oct 6, 2:49 PM
A military spokesperson for the Saudi-backed Yemeni Armed Forces claimed it has gained back control of the key area surrounding Red Sea waterway and the Bab Al Mandab.
|
|
Oct 08, 2026
Delegations from the U.S. and Iran entered negotiations in June aimed at a war-ending deal based on a memorandum of understanding signed by both countries.
Those talks broke down as the U.S. and Iran continued to exchange strikes, with the strategic Strait of Hormuz as the primary flashpoint. Trump then said in August that the U.S. would launch a "crushing economic operation" to force Tehran into submission.
President Donald Trump said the U.S. is having "productive discussions" with Iran on Thursday, saying the U.S. will not be attacking Iran before the midterm elections.
Oct 6, 2:49 PM
A military spokesperson for the Saudi-backed Yemeni Armed Forces claimed it has gained back control of the key area surrounding Red Sea waterway and the Bab Al Mandab.
|
|
Oct 08, 2026
(In paragraph 17, corrects quote attribution to defense lawyer Mark Donnelly, not US District Judge Alvin Hellerstein)
By Luc Cohen
NEW YORK, Oct 8 (Reuters) - Ousted Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores both were hit with an additional US criminal charge on Thursday stemming from accusations ?they tortured political opponents and American citizens to retain their grip on power in the South American country.
Separately, US District Judge Alvin Hellerstein, who is overseeing ?the case, denied a request by Flores to be released from jail ahead of trial due to health reasons.
Maduro and Flores were charged with an additional count of conspiracy to commit torture in addition ?to the drug trafficking charges they previously faced, according to a superseding indictment filed in Manhattan federal court. Maduro and Flores would face a mandatory-minimum 50 years in prison if convicted.
Flores, 69, and Maduro, 63, were captured by the US military on January 3 in their Caracas home and brought to New York to face the drug charges. Venezuela has since boosted cooperation with the US under the leadership of Maduro's former Vice President Delcy Rodriguez.
Relations between the United States and oil-rich Venezuela were tense during the socialist Maduro's 13 years in power. US ?officials and human rights groups have long accused Venezuelan officials ?of torturing detainees, but Thursday's indictment marked the first time Maduro faced criminal charges over the allegations.
In one instance, prosecutors said Maduro in 2013 ordered the arrest of a Venezuelan military officer he suspected of planning a coup.
Members of Venezuela's military counterintelligence directorate then ?interrogated the officer while shocking the individual with a live electric wire around 20 times and hung the individual by the hands and feet for several minutes at a time, prosecutors said.
In 20
|
|
Oct 08, 2026
While Christa Pike didn't act alone in the crime that landed her on death row, the two others involved in the 1995 murder of Colleen Slemmer met less severe punishments.
Pike, Tadaryl Shipp and Shadolla Peterson were all students at Jobs Corps, a training program in Knoxville, Tennessee, when they lured Slemmer, a classmate, into the woods on Jan. 12, 1995.
There, Pike and Shipp, a couple at the time, tortured Slemmer and bludgeoned her to death. They were both later convicted of the crime, while Peterson pled guilty and walked away with probation, according to court records.
The grisly crime has garnered renewed interest after Pike's botched execution by lethal injection on Sept. 30. She was transported to a hospital and has since regained consciousness and is speaking, her attorney said on Oct. 7.
Here's what to know about the other assailants in the case that's capturing national attention.
Christa Pike accomplice Tadaryl Shipp serving life sentence
|
|
Oct 08, 2026
The Trump administration has halted the ability of tech giants Microsoft and Adobe to sponsor H-1B visa workers seeking green cards, Vice President JD Vance announced Thursday.
Vance made the comments during a press conference on visa fraud, during which he argued Microsoft is discriminating against Americans by prioritizing foreign workers. Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling announced later at the event that his department is also suspending Adobe from the program.
"Our message to Microsoft is: You're a great American company, but you've got to hire great American workers," Vance, who leads the administration's anti-fraud task force, said at the press conference.
The announcement is the result of an administrationwide effort to crack down on alleged abuse of work visa systems. Vance on Thursday accused tech giant Microsoft of fraud, citing the company's decision to eliminate thousands of workers earlier this year.
U.S. tech companies often rely on H-1B visas to hire foreign-born workers with specialized technical skills.
"For every worker that Microsoft laid off, they replaced that worker with one-and-a-half foreign indentured servants," Vance said.
Spokespeople for Microsoft and Adobe did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
This article originally appeared on Politico at https://www.politico.com/news/2026/10/08/vance-microsoft-adobe-h-1-b-green-cards-01111603
|
|
Oct 08, 2026
Moms have deep feels about their childhood American Girl dolls — like Kirsten, Samantha and Molly. Passing them down means letting a new generation take the lead.Photo illustration: Yahoo News; photo: American GirlOver the summer, I got a text from a cousin whose daughter was almost 7.
"I found a Kirsten American Girl doll on Facebook Marketplace in a town not far from you," she wrote. "I was wondering if you might have a chance to grab it before someone else snags it?"
Her hunt for a vintage Kirsten made by Pleasant Company, before Mattel bought the brand in 1998, had been underway for some time. Her daughter had been saving her lemonade stand profits toward a purchase. Mom had seen a newer version of the doll for sale, but she was holding out.
"I'm finding an OG," she told me.
The retro doll was listed for $90, but she talked the seller down to $75. "This doll exchange is serious business," she told me.
Then came the relay: I picked up Kirsten and drove her home. My husband took the doll on the next leg of its journey, handing her off to one very happy little girl and her mom, who live over an hour away. Three adults and over three hours in the car — all to get one childhood favorite into a new pair of tiny hands.
|
|
Oct 08, 2026
State health authorities are urging people enrolled in Medicaid to check whether they will remain eligible when new rules kick in that could leave millions of Americans without access.
From Jan. 1, Medicaid beneficiaries in dozens of states will have to work, study or volunteer for at least 80 hours a month or meet a minimum income requirement to keep their coverage, among a series of new rules due to take effect.
Many who are still eligible for the program risk losing coverage because of the "added paperwork" and "the hoops you have to jump through," Nate Crippes, a lawyer at the Disability Law Center in Utah, told the Associated Press.
The Congressional Budget Office estimated in October 2025 that the new work requirement alone would leave about 5.3 million more people uninsured by 2034.
|
|
Oct 08, 2026
What Causes Sleep Paralysis? PonyWang - Getty ImagesIt's terrifying to wake up and feel like you can't move, but sleep paralysis is more common than you might think. Up to 30% of people experience this at some point, while people with panic disorder have an even greater risk. But what causes sleep paralysis? The answer isn't always clear.
Meet the experts: James McGuirk, M.D., assistant professor in the Division of Sleep Medicine at Vanderbilt Health; Christopher Winter, M.D., a sleep medicine specialist, neurologist, and author of The Sleep Solution: Why Your Sleep Is Broken and How to Fix It; Thea Gallagher, Psy.D., clinical associate professor at NYU Langone Health and co-host of the Mind in View podcast
Certain factors can up your risk of developing sleep paralysis, but doctors don't always know why someone will experience it in any given moment. Making things even more complicated is that some people may experience sleep paralysis once and then never again, while others may have it repeatedly.
"Sleep paralysis" isn't a term everyone is familiar with, and it can look slightly different from person to person. And l
|
|
Oct 08, 2026
By Simon Johnson and Johan Ahlander
STOCKHOLM, Oct 8 (Reuters) - Canadian poet and writer Anne Carson won the 2026 Nobel Prize in Literature "for her bold and inventive oeuvre that, in playful dialogue with the classical tradition, has created new forms for contemporary literature", the Swedish Academy said on Thursday.
"She was very taken by surprise," said Ingrid ?Carlberg, permanent secretary of the academy, which awards the prize worth 12 million Swedish crowns ($1.2 million).
"We didn't have so much time to speak, and all she had time to tell ?me was that she is for the moment in Iceland, where she's listening to the wind."
Carson's work often blends verse, prose, dialogue and translation in a genre-defying mix. Born in Toronto, the 76-year-old has also held Icelandic citizenship since 2022 and ?has spent considerable time on the Arctic island in recent years.
She is widely known for her translations of classical Greek literature, which heavily influences her work that ranges from opera libretti to literary criticism and verse novels such as "Autobiography of Red" from 1998.
"Almost all her literary production has centred upon the intersection between the philologist's obsession with words and the poet's desire for new meaning," the Academy said.
"She has herself identified the etymology of words as the starting point for all her work. Her translations from Classical Greek may be regarded as independent works in their own right."
Her style is exemplified in "Norma Jeane Baker of Troy" ?from 2019, a performance piece which mixes the stories of Helen ?of Troy in Euripides' play "Helen" and Marilyn Monroe.
The Academy also praised her ability to explore "the possibilities of writing, a process by which the literary sketch has become of particular value to her".
"Bearing witness to this is Float (2016), a work consisting of 22 chapbooks on different subjects, capa
|
|
Oct 08, 2026
The Cornell University campus on the night of October 6, 2026. Student leaders held a town hall to discuss fallout from the Jane Doe sexual assault case. - Surya Vaidy/CNN
One month ago, the woman now known to America as Cornell's Jane Doe was living in New York City among thousands of other aspirational twentysomethings, attempting to break into the hotel industry and build a new life, according to her attorney, Thomas Giuffra.
But that plan has been derailed since she filed a lawsuit against Cornell University and others, alleging she was raped at a frat house in 2024.
Instead, Giuffra said, Doe spent Wednesday taping up paper to obscure the windows of her parents' home out of fear that a gunman could attack her, and reeling from a swatting episode that he said prompted police to swarm their home Tuesday night with weapons drawn.
Doe is increasingly scared for her own safety, Giuffra said in a phone interview with CNN on Wednesday as he detailed his client's deteriorating mental state after an escalating series of violent threats.
Officers pointed weapons at Jane Doe's boyfriend, her brother and her father after receiving a bogus tip that "someone was killing people in the house" on Tuesday evening, he said.
Deat
|
|
Oct 08, 2026
Police said the buses were hit with a glide bomb (Handout)Ukraine on Thursday accused Russia of deliberately targeting civilians after 30 people were killed when two buses were blown up in the frontline city of Kramatorsk, in one of the deadliest single attacks for weeks.
Photos posted by local authorities showed the burnt-out metal shell of the vehicles, with the blurred-out images of bodies and debris strewn across the road.
Police said the buses were hit with a glide bomb.
The strikes come just a day after five children were among 22 killed when a Russian missile struck a five-storey apartment block in Pryluky, in the northern Chernigiv region.
"The Russians are deliberately targeting civilians," Donetsk Governor Vadym Filashkin said, accusing Moscow of flouting "every conceivable rule of warfare and norm of international humanitarian law".
Kramatorsk City Council called it "yet another horrific crime committed by the Russian army against the civilian population".
"Once again, the Russians have struck a location where there are absolutely no military targets," it added.
There has been mounting concern about the increase in civilian casualties in the conflict, as both sides step up long-range attacks beyond their borders.
Since Russia first invaded in 2022, Ukraine has accused its forces of deliberately attacking and killing civilians.
The United Nations has verified more than 17,000 civilian deaths throughout the war, but says the real number is considerably higher.
Last week, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky said his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin had sanctioned massive attacks on civilian areas.
The Kremlin has denied the claim.
- Security worsened -
Ukraine's capital, Kyiv, has come under increasin
|
|
Oct 08, 2026
Christa Pike is "up and walking" in the hospital after surviving last week's failed attempt to execute her in Tennessee, a member of her legal team said Thursday.
Lawyer Stephen Ferrell told the BBC that he had learned she was moving around her hospital room, although he had not spoken to her.
"What's been described to me is that physically there's quite a bit going on, that her arms are very injured and she's not able to use them very much," he said. "She is up and walking for the first time today, but just around the room, not very far."
Ferrell described her mental state as "kind of good and bad," adding, "Good that she is fairly with it, but she's also somewhat foggy. She can lose her train of thought really easily and forgets where she's going."
He said he assumed Pike's situation would "keep improving," but added that "there could be some permanent damage. We don't know that yet."
Pike's attorneys said Wednesday that she was feeling "angry and confused" after waking up in the hospital, and that the failed execution attempt left her with severe physical health challenges that put her on a "long road to recovery."
Pike had been unconscious and in critical condition in the days after two doses of pentobarbital failed to end her life on Sept. 30, they sa
|
|
Oct 08, 2026
The USS Abraham Lincoln near the city of Pattaya in Thailand on 6 September 2026. Photograph: Chanakarn Laosarakham/AFP/Getty Images
The USS Abraham Lincoln, the US aircraft carrier that has been deployed for nearly a year and has spent months supporting US military operations against Iran, is scheduled to dock in San Diego on Thursday afternoon.
It marks the end of a deployment that has been described as "one of the most operationally intense and consequential of the modern era" and that became marked by a record-stretch at sea, repeated deployment extensions, and reports of supply shortages, and deteriorating morale and mental health among some crew members.
The Lincoln left San Diego last November, initially bound for the Pacific. But it was redirected to the Middle East after the US and Israel launched their war with Iran in late February. The carrier remained there until late August, when it was relieved by the USS George Washington and began its journey home.
Earlier in August, the Lincoln's deployment made headlines and faced scrutiny as reports began surfacing about poor living conditions aboard the ship, including
|
|
Oct 08, 2026
Students walk through the University of Texas campus on Aug. 24, 2026. —Jay Janner—The Austin American-Statesman/Getty ImagesThe Department of Homeland Security on Wednesday proposed a rule that would charge schools $70,000 per international student seeking to work in the U.S. through a program known as Optional Practical Training. It marks the Trump Administration's latest attempt to curb foreign enrollment.
The proposal, published Thursday in the Federal Register and open for comment until Nov. 9, aims to crack down on OPT—a temporary employment authorization that lets students work in jobs related to their field of study and that DHS has claimed has "ballooned into an uncontrolled guest worker pipeline" and become a "magnet for fraud."
Under the current system, students pay about $500 to apply and are generally permitted to work in the U.S. for up to a year during or after their study, while those in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields may get work period extensions.
Under the proposal, schools would have to pay $70,000 for a student's initial participation—and another $30,000 for each additional program participation—though DHS said it recognizes schools "may pass the financial obligation of this proposed fee" to students or employers. Collected fees would be
|
|
Oct 08, 2026
Republican efforts to reduce national gas prices in the weeks before Election Day were derailed in the Senate by infighting among GOP lawmakers and members of the administration who could not agree on how to ease consumers' pain at the pump.
The divisions within the Senate Republican conference over how to lower gas and diesel prices — even if temporarily — were driven primarily by geographic differences.
Senators from oil-refining states shot down proposals from farm-state senators to ban the export of diesel or to loosen restrictions on the sale of E15 gasoline with higher ethanol content.
"You're talking about regional politics, and it gets bogged down in the politics of energy, and the fiefdoms around it," said Ron Bonjean, a GOP strategist and former Senate leadership aide.
There were divisions that went beyond geography, too.
Fiscal hawks torpedoed proposals to suspend the gas tax, even though their colleagues argued that doing so for a short period of time to bolster Republican candidates would have little real impact on the highway trust fund.
And lawmakers had less flexibility on some possible actions because of the depletion of the nation's strategic petroleum reserve by big drawdowns to stabilize market prices during the Iran war.
The biggest problem, however, was that Republican senators didn't see any proposal as likely to have a significant impact on prices before Nov. 3, when voters will decide which party controls Congress next year.
"It is almost impossible to federally reduce gasoline prices for consumers because the levers of power that can be used have very lit
|
|
Oct 08, 2026
WASHINGTON - In November, does the blue wave become a tsunami?
Watch these spaces.
Five keys are shaping monster midterms that are poised to revive Democrats' political power in Washington and reinforce it across the country. But the advantage of Republican money and the weakness of the Democratic Party brand could also mean an Election Night with more modest gains, a GOP catastrophe averted.
In a wave election, Democrats regain control of the House of Representatives. In a tsunami, they take the Senate, too.
The Texas Senate race between Republican Ken Paxton and Democrat James Talarico and a handful of tight Texas House races will show how many Hispanic voters are abandoning their brief alliance with the GOP. The Senate race in Michigan between Democrat Abdul El-Sayed and Republican Mike Rogers will test whether swing-state voters are willing to support the Democrats' rising voices on the left.
And President Donald Trump's cross-country tour of some of the nation's most reliably Republican states, from Alabama to Oklahoma, will demonstrate whether he can still deliver. His voters have reshaped the GOP and twice elected him to the White House, but he's no longer on the ballot - not to mention that his approval ratings have sunk to the lowest level of any modern president as midterms approach.
Even Kansas, which hasn't elected a Democratic senator since 1932,
|
|
Oct 08, 2026
CORONADO, Calif. (AP) — The USS Abraham Lincoln returned home to San Diego Bay Thursday with sailors jumping up and down and waving excitedly to loved ones as the ship ended a deployment that included a record uninterrupted 265 days at sea in support of the Iran war.
Families described crying and losing sleep amid reports of the ship's deteriorating conditions and meals being rationed. Many said the sailors had sent lists of the food they were craving.
Dozens stood atop the carrier as it glided past the cityscape of downtown San Diego toward cheering families who were carrying flowers and balloons and ringing cowbells.
Cassity Garduque, 14, waved as her mom in her sailor uniform frantically waved back from the top deck. "It feels really overwhelming," she said about being reunited, adding she's glad her mom won't need to eat ramen almost every day.
The carrier drew national attention following reports of stress among the crew and poor mental health, as well as supply shortages, including food and hygiene products, during its Iran war mission.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth flew out to the Lincoln on Wednesday to give the crew the Presidential Unit Citation, the highest honor a unit can receive.
Hegseth pushed back against what he said were efforts to turn the "Lincoln into some sort of a symbol, a symbol of dysfun
|
|
Oct 08, 2026
When you go for a fill-up, and your eyes drift over to the diesel pump, you might shake your head and thank your lucky stars that your car doesn't run on diesel.
But much of the American economy runs on diesel, from tractor trailers to delivery trucks to farm combines. And sky-high diesel costs eventually trickle down to the nation's supermarkets and warehouse stores, pushing up prices on a wide range of goods and services.
Here's how the high price of diesel impacts the American consumer
.oembed-frame {width:100%;height:100%;margin:0;border:0;}
Who uses diesel?
Only about 3% of passenger vehicles use diesel (mostly pickups, SUVs and used import sedans), but 76% of commercial vehicles use diesel.
"Diesel is the workhorse fuel of the economy," said David Ortega, a food economist at Michigan State University. "Semi-trucks, freight trains, barges, and farm machinery run on it. Most consumers never buy a gallon of diesel, but almost everything they do buy moved on diesel at some point, often several times, between production and the store shelf."
How much does diesel cost?
A gallon of diesel on aver
|
|
Oct 08, 2026
As the weather turns colder, it also means respiratory virus season is upon the United States.
In its annual outlook report, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said it expects the 2026-27 respiratory virus season to have a similar number of peak hospitalizations from influenza, COVID-19 and RSV compared to last season.
Public health specialists told ABC News the best way for people to protect themselves against these viruses is to get vaccinated.
Expert tips for parents to prepare as flu season beginsFlu vaccine
The CDC currently recommends that people aged 6 months and older receive an annual flu vaccine.
The seasonal flu vaccine protects against three viruses predicted to circulate during flu season: Type A (H1N1) virus, Type A(H3N2) virus, and Type B/Victoria virus
There are several flu vaccines available this season, with recommendations varying by age and medical history.
Mary Conlon/AP Photo - PHOTO: A box of flu vaccines is displayed at a pharmacy in New York, Sept. 15, 2026. "Obviously, we target high-risk groups, so those would be older adults, so over the age of 50, people with chronic medical conditions, individuals who are immuno
|
|
Oct 08, 2026
The U.S. Senate candidates in Texas could hardly be more different: James Talarico, a former seminarian turned Democratic state lawmaker who speaks in calm cadences about love and empathy, and Ken Paxton, the pugnacious Republican state attorney general who speaks about a refusal to compromise.
They share an enemy, though. They dislike social media's effects on children's mental health. Talarico, who did not respond to a request for comment, has endorsed a social media ban for kids under 16, while denouncing "predatory algorithms that divide us on an hourly, daily basis." As a legislator, he co-authored a bill targeting explicit deepfakes — digital imitations of individuals that are often made or manipulated by artificial intelligence and used for harassment on social media.
Paxton has been suing Big Tech, alleging the companies hook youth on their apps or don't restrict sensitive videos from being viewed by kids. "When elected to the U.S. Senate, he will continue his proven record of advancing policies that protect children online, strengthen parental rights, and hold Big Tech acco
|
|
Oct 08, 2026
Democrats' eyes may be bigger than their wallets.
Democrats across a slate of deep-red states are clamoring for more cash to fight for Senate seats that suddenly seem within reach, with polling showing them competitive across a swath of normally impregnable territory from Kansas to Florida and South Carolina to Mississippi prompting a sudden bump in late-stage spending from outside groups. The party's main campaign groups have already begun spending in Texas, another state they once downplayed that's come seriously into play.
But those same groups say they don't have enough cash to protect the core battleground and also make significant investments beyond it — setting up Democrats for a series of difficult choices in the closing weeks of the midterms.
"It's very clear in the polling: If we get our message out, we're going to win. We're also not an expensive state to advertise in," said Scott Colom, the Mississippi Democratic Senate nominee. "When it comes to Mississippi, we've been ignored for far too long."
Some Democrats see a generational opportunity to win seats in red states, driven by voters' frustration with the economy that has hit rural and poorer red states particularly hard. And they're starting to play around the edges.
American Bridge PAC has pumped $2.1 million into Mississippi, where it is running ads targeting GOP Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith. The state's population is poor and mostly rural — two groups that have bee
|
|
Oct 08, 2026
Isaias became the first hurricane of the Atlantic season on Thursday, as it headed towards the U.S. Gulf Coast, bringing evacuation warnings and the possibility of a life-threatening storm surge along the coast.
Isaias is expected to strengthen and make landfall late Friday or early Saturday, according to the National Weather Service, which warned of damaging hurricane-force winds and a life-threatening storm surge.
The National Hurricane Center (NHC) said Isaias was expected to remain a strong hurricane.
It is unclear exactly where Isaias might make landfall. Current models show the center of the storm coming onshore anywhere from eastern Mississippi to the western tip of the Florida Panhandle.
The NWS said residents in portions of the Florida Panhandle, southern Alabama, southern Mississippi and parts of Mississippi should "prepare for the possibility of long-duration power outages."
The governors of Florida and Alabama declared a state of emergency for dozens of counties. Okaloosa County in Florida announced mandatory evacuations for some coastal areas. "Residents should take this storm seriously and evacuate," county government said in a news release.
"Floridians should take this time to get disaster plans in place and ensure their hurricane supply kit is stocked," Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said. He urged communities in a post on X to "make sure to execute your hurricane plan."
Emergency ma
|
|
Oct 08, 2026
ATHENS, Greece (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Thursday flatly refused to comment on a new report alleging that U.S. Ambassador to Greece Kimberly Guilfoyle engaged in improper and possibly illegal conduct before taking up her post.
Rubio told reporters that he would not discuss the allegations contained in a Wall Street Journal story that said Guilfoyle had asked a donor and supporter of U.S. President Donald Trump to pay a $100,000 credit card bill just before her confirmation hearing, promising him access to administration officials if he did.
He spoke before leaving Greece, where he delivered a speech calling for European countries to return to what he described as their civilizational roots.
Rubio said he was aware of The Wall Street Journal's report, which was published late Wednesday, but had no idea if it was true and he would not address it.
"You guys walk around thinking that because some source told you something and you reported it, it's the gospel. It's not the gospel. It's not the gospel for me. That's not the way we do things," he said at the foot of his plane as Guilfoyle, who was there to see him depart Greece, looked on.
At a joint news conference with the Greek foreign minister on Wednesday, Rubio said he would not address the allegations while visiting a foreign country, but added, "Suffice it to say our embassy here is doing a great job. Our ambassador has been a strong ambassador here."
The top two Democrats on the House Foreign Affairs and Senate Foreign Relations committees have called for an investigation into Guilfoyle, but Rubio would not say if he wa
|
|
Oct 08, 2026
Roger Clemens is not in the National Baseball Hall of Fame but he will receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom, President Donald Trump announced Wednesday.
Clemens introduced Trump at a rally in San Antonio on Wednesday, with Trump dropping the announcement as the former pitcher stood nearby. During the announcement, Trump said he had played golf with Clemens earlier this year, which prompted him to call MLB commissioner Rob Manfred about his Hall of Fame case:
It's worth noting the MLB commissioner has no power over who gets into the Hall of Fame. That is determined first by voters from the Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA), then a committee of voters determined by the Hall of Fame itself.
Trump did successfully intervene on the part of the late Pete Rose last year, pushing Manfred to remove the league's all-time hits leader from the ineligible list. Clemens is not on that list, nor will Rose reach the Hall of Fame without a successful vote.
Trump is correct that Clemens won seven Cy Young Awards, two more than any other pitcher in history. He also won two World Series championships, 11 All-Star selections, an AL MVP award, two 20-strikeout games and two triple crowns. It
|
|
Oct 08, 2026
Airmen from the Texas Air National Guard conduct preflight and postflight inspections on an MQ-9 Reaper aircraft at Keflavík Air Base, Iceland, in August. - Senior Airman Edgar Grimaldo/US Air Force/File
The United States military has had 81 aircraft destroyed or damaged in the war with Iran, a Congressional Research Service report released this week says.
The number includes both airplanes and helicopters as well as drones, with the MQ-9 Reaper drone - used for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, close air support and combat search and rescue - accounting for more than half of the losses.
But also on the list are some of the Pentagon's most-prized assets, including an F-35A fighter jet and an E-3 Sentry, the four-engine jet with a large radar dome atop the fuselage used for target tracking and airspace management.
The total cost of the aircraft lost is between $1.9 billion and $3.3 billion, depending on the Defense Department's plans for replacements, the report said, citing figures from the Congressional Budget Office.
The total cost of the war is much higher - at least $45 billion, sources have told CNN. That figure doesn't
|
|
Oct 08, 2026
Hurricane Isaias strengthened from a tropical storm late Wednesday night and is expected to make landfall along the U.S. Gulf Coast this weekend, threatening parts of Mississippi, Alabama and the western part of the Florida Panhandle. It is the first hurricane of the 2026 Atlantic season.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency for more than two dozen counties in his state, which directed resources to prepare for potential severe impacts from the storm, while Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey issued a similar state of emergency for 40 counties.
A hurricane warning was issued Wednesday for the northern Gulf Coast, from Ocean Springs, Mississippi, across Alabama to Florida's Bay/Gulf County line.
Isaias had maximum sustained winds of 75 mph and was located about 460 miles southwest of the mouth of the Mississippi River, according to the National Hurricane Center.
Maps show hurricane's pathForecasters said they expected Hurricane Isaias, pronounced "ees-ah-EE-ahs," to pass to the north of Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula on Thursday before proceeding toward the Gulf Coast on Friday. It is forecast to make landfall along the northern Gulf Coast of the U.S. late Friday or early Saturday, the hurricane center said.
Maps show it is expected to impact parts of Florida, Alabama and Georgia, bringing moderate or substantial rainfall to stretches of the coast, as well as inland portions of the southeastern U.S., over the weekend and into next week.
|
|
Oct 07, 2026
THE TAKEAWAY
Hurricane Isaias has formed in the Gulf, becoming the first Atlantic hurricane of the season and is forecast to make landfall along the northern Gulf Coast later this week.Isaias rapidly intensified from a tropical storm into a Category 1 hurricane, with winds increasing by 40 mph in just 6 hours between Wednesday afternoon and late Wednesday night.Heavy rain is expected to begin on Friday, with flash flooding, damaging wind gusts, storm surge and even tornadoes possible as the storm comes ashore.Landfall is currently expected sometime between late Friday and early Saturday, but uncertainty remains regarding exactly where and how strong Isaias will be at that time.Hurricane Isaias is continuing to strengthen in the Gulf after becoming the first Atlantic hurricane of the season and is forecast to make landfall along the northern Gulf Coast later this week as a dangerous Category 2 hurricane.
Isaias is expected to approach the coast by Friday, with landfall currently estimated to be sometime late Friday or early Saturday between Gulf Shores, Alabama, and Pensacola, Florida.
Hurricane Isaias statsFlorida Governor Ron DeSantis and Alabama Governor Kay Ivey have declared states of emergency ahead of the storm.
How Are Hurricanes Rated?
Meanwhile, evacuation orders have
|
|
Oct 07, 2026
Washington — New videos obtained exclusively by CBS News show Iranian attacks on a major U.S. military base in Kuwait as the war with Iran kicked off seven months ago. American forces faced ballistic missiles, drones and what witnesses described as Iranian F-5 fighter jets.
The footage obtained by CBS News was recorded by a person stationed on the ground at Camp Buehring, and captures the moments of impact and their explosive aftermath. Damage to buildings and military equipment can also be seen in the videos.
The attacks on Camp Buehring offer a window into the strain Iranian attacks placed on American forces during the opening days of the war. CBS News has learned that soldiers defending the base ran critically low on .50-caliber ammunition as some soldiers were repositioned into the Udari Desert in Kuwait. Two soldiers were injured by lightning there in late April, according to U.S. officials with knowledge of the matter.
Contacted by CBS News, U.S. Central Command, the primary unit which oversees American military operations across the Middle East, declined to comment.
The Pentagon did not comment, but pointed back to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's comments on March 4 regarding the removal of U.S. troops from bases and the employment of defensive measures.
"As we built up offensive combat power, we moved the vast majority of American troops — over 90% of Americans that were on our bases — what we say off the X, out of the range of Iranian fire," Hegseth told reporters in March.
Camp Buehring, or CBKU, sits about 25 miles from the Iraqi border and has for more than two decades served as
|
|
Oct 07, 2026
A Democratic congressional candidate in Arizona says she was raped over the summer while trying to repair a campaign sign.
Bernadette Greene-Placentia, who is running in the state's 8th district to try to unseat GOP Rep. Abe Hamadeh, told the Phoenix New Times, a local news outlet, that she was attacked at around 2 a.m. as she was walking toward a campaign sign in a parking lot in Sun City, north of Phoenix.
Greene-Placentia said she was attacked, subdued and then woke up to find that she was being raped by an unknown assailant.
Courtesy Bernadette Greene-Placentia campaign - PHOTO: Bernadette Greene-Placentia is seen in this undated photo provided by her campaign. What Jane Doe told Cornell hearing panel about alleged 2024 gang rapeGreene-Placentia told the news outlet she reported the assault to the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office, and that she chose to tell her story because she had been talking about fighting for Arizona residents while campaigning "and I didn't feel like I could keep saying that if I weren't also fighting for women that are victims of sexual assault."
The Maricopa County Sheriff's Office confirmed to ABC News that a report was filed on Aug. 31 and that there is an ongoing investigation, but said the office could not comment further on the investigation.
In a statement to ABC News, a campaign spokesperson said the attack happened around 2 a.m. on Aug. 14.
"Bernadette made the difficult decision to speak publicly about the assault because she wants other survivors to know they are not alone," the spokesperson said. "She is grateful for the support she has received from the com
|
|
Oct 07, 2026
SAN ANTONIO (AP) — President Donald Trump, facing protesters and a poor political climate, fought to rally Texas voters behind Senate candidate Ken Paxton on Wednesday night in a bid to stave off sweeping Democratic victories in the nation's most populous red state.
But Trump's remarks were not focused solely on Paxton.
Speaking to a packed Freeman Coliseum, Trump also pledged to award retired baseball star Roger Clemens the Presidential Medal of Freedom, restated his support for the death penalty for drug dealers and clarified recent comments in which he talked about the possibility of Iran bombing American cities as part of a recurring riff about how high fuel costs are "a small price to pay" for the war.
"You want to see problems? Let them hit San Diego, let them hit Los Angeles," Trump said. "We're not going to let that happen. We protect our cities. We protect our country."
The president's message was interrupted repeatedly by protesters, including by one who appeared to be close to the stage. In all, at least a dozen demonstrators interrupted the president. Some were led away by police.
Trump stepped away from the microphone briefly after one interruption.
"He's going back home to mom," Trump said. "But what he doesn't know is his mom voted for Trump."
Texas has become an unexpected battleground for Republicans
The Republican Party did not plan to devote so much money and manpower to Texas this midterm season.
Texas is the nation's most populous reliably Republican state, where Trump won in 2024 by almost 14 percentage points. But with Election Day less than a month away,
|
|
Oct 07, 2026
The USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group will return to its homeport of San Diego on Thursday, concluding a 10-month deployment to the Middle East where it played a key role in the war with Iran and set a new record of 265 days in between ports of call.
In all, the ship will have spent 321 days on deployment, the second-longest since the end of the Cold War. The longest deployment was set earlier this year when the carrier USS Gerald R. Ford returned from a 326-day deployment to Europe, the Caribbean and the Middle East.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth visited the Lincoln on Wednesday ahead of its return home and praised the ship's crew for its resilience and dedication during the lengthy deployment.
POOL via ABC News - PHOTO: Secretary of War Pete Hegseth speaks while aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln, Oct. 7, 2026. Hegseth told sailors gathered on the carrier's flight deck that he had extended their deployment twice -- in recent years typical carrier strike deployments have lasted seven months.
8 sailors attached to USS Lincoln have attempted suicide, acting Navy secretary says"I plead guilty, A., because of the incredible effectiveness that you showcased on the battlefield and the necessity. But also B., the mission required it, and C., because President Trump had full faith that you would deliver on behalf of the American people, and you did" he, added.
"What the USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group did, no other carrier strike group has ever
|
|
Oct 07, 2026
Texas has taken center stage ahead of next month's midterm elections as Democrats grow more optimistic about their chances in the state up and down the ballot.
For months, the state's highly contested Senate race has dominated midterm elections headlines, but Democrats say they are seeing opportunity in other Texas contests as well. The Democratic Governors Association and Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker (D) announced this week they each plan to give $1 million to support Democrat Gina Hinojosa in the state's gubernatorial race.
Meanwhile, leaked audio of Republican Senate candidate Ken Paxton blaming the national GOP as Democrat James Talarico leads in the polls has rocked the Senate race.
Still, President Trump and Vice President Vance have traveled multiple times to the state to bolster Lone Star State Republicans in competitive contests. Trump is set to rally alongside Paxton and Republican House candidate Carlos De La Cruz in San Antonio Wednesday evening.
"Texas is clearly in play," said Brendan Steinhauser, a Texas-based GOP
|
|
Oct 07, 2026
Michael Dell, philanthropist and founder of Dell Technologies, pushed back against critics who argue that allowing wealthy investors to donate individual company stocks to Trump Accounts could have a nefarious impact.
Under new rules that took effect last week, charities can put individual stocks into kids' accounts as a donation. Trump Accounts are tax-advantaged investment vehicles that can be used for education expenses, starting a business, or saving for retirement. They were authorized in last year's One Big Beautiful Tax bill. Previously, the money was required to be invested in low-cost index funds.
Read more: Trump Accounts expand to stock donations. What are the benefits and risks?
So far, SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell is the only donor to announce a major stock contribution, pledging more than 2 million shares to benefit lower-income children ages 11 to 17 living in lower-income areas.
"It's kind of hard for me to believe that's a bad thing, right?" Dell said Wednesday in an interview with Yahoo Finance. "That these children are going to somehow be negatively influenced because they now have one share of SpaceX, but they didn't have before, right? The alternative is they didn't have it, right?"
|
|
Oct 07, 2026
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro at the Miraflores Presidential Palace in Caracas, on October 15, 2021. - Federico Parra/AFP/Getty Images
Prosecutors in New York are expected to bring new charges against former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores over the alleged torture of Americans who were held in Venezuelan government custody in recent years, according to multiple people familiar with the investigation.
An announcement could come as soon as Thursday, the people said.
The new charges relate to what the US government has said was the wrongful detention of more than a dozen US citizens in Venezuelan prisons during the time Maduro led a repressive regime in Venezuela, the people briefed on the investigation said.
Investigators have also discussed charging several additional people for their alleged role in the torture of Americans, according to a source familiar with the matter.
CNN has reached out to lawyers for Maduro and Flores.
Maduro and his wife were captured in a US military raid in January from the presidential palace in Caracas. They have pleaded not guilty to narcoterrorism conspiracy and other charges and are held without bail in New York.
Flores is expected to appear at a hearing Thursday where her lawyer will ask that she be moved to house arrest ahead of trial.
Maduro's lawyer is challenging the legality of the arrest and argues the former president should have immunity since the alleged c
|
|
Oct 07, 2026
By Jan Wolfe
WASHINGTON, Oct 7 (Reuters) - Democratic Party officials sued US President Donald Trump on Wednesday, seeking a court order blocking his administration from ?using taxpayer money to pay for election-related TV ads.
The lawsuit, filed by ?the Democratic National Committee in federal court in Washington, accused Trump of a "blatant violation of the statutory ?ban on the use of appropriations for 'publicity or propaganda purposes.'"
Taxpayer-funded television ads glorifying Trump began airing in late September, sparking a bipartisan backlash.
In a post on his Truth Social site on Monday, Trump said he considered the ads to be "a positive promotion for ?our Great U.S.A." but that ?they would no longer be funded by taxpayers. The White House said this week his MAGA PAC would fund the ads.
The ?DNC, the main governing organization of the Democratic Party, said in its lawsuit that the ads continued to air after Trump's comments.
"With less than 30 days remaining before the midterm ?election ?and millions of public dollars apportioned to pay ?for propaganda ads still unspent, ?the DNC has no choice but to take action in defense of free and fair elections," the lawsuit stated.
The ads ran during football games as recently as Sunday and during other programming. The New York Times reported that Trump personally directed the White House budget director to use taxpayer money for the TV spots, citing sources.
One ?ad features Trump declaring that "America will never be ?a communist country" while a chorus repeats the ?words "love me." Another combines images of ?Mount Rushmore with footage of Trump praising a "golden age of ?America."
Another new ad recently has featured ousted ?Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. ?A source briefed on the matter told Reuters the government-funded ads will end this week.
The White House said Trump's political action committee will
|
|
Oct 07, 2026
ITHACA, N.Y. (AP) — The woman accusing several men of raping her at a Cornell University fraternity party was "misled" about the status of the criminal investigation in the weeks after she went to police, her lawyer said Wednesday.
Even as she took her allegations about a 2024 gang rape at the Chi Phi fraternity house through Cornell's internal disciplinary process, the university's police department gave her the impression that a criminal investigation was continuing, lawyer Thomas Giuffra told The Associated Press.
In fact, the criminal inquiry ended almost as soon as it began.
Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten, the local prosecutor, made the decision not to go forward with a criminal case within days of the woman giving her first substantial interviews to police.
Van Houten has said that he asked Cornell's police department to convey the decision to the woman, who is referred to in court documents as Jane Doe, but never spoke personally to her or her lawyer.
Giuffra said the woman was told that the criminal investigation was ongoing.
"I think she was misled. She was told it was still — they weren't going to prosecute, but they were still investigating," Giuffra said. "I was involved with this case early on. I thought they were still investigating. It was news to me that they weren't doing anything."
Giuffra added that at the time, he assumed investigators just needed more time to speak with witnesses and build a case.
"But nothing was being done, and we didn't know that," Giuffra said.
A message seeking comment was left for Van Houten. Cornell's media relations office, citing pending litigation, declined to comment on behalf of the university's police department.
The district attorney said in a statement last week that he was confiden
|
|
Oct 07, 2026
WASHINGTON (AP) — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has given the crew of the USS Abraham Lincoln a high-level award during a visit to the aircraft carrier Wednesday, a day before the ship returns home to San Diego after a record-long deployment in support of the Iran war.
The Presidential Unit Citation, the highest honor a unit can receive that is typically reserved for significant achievement in combat, was bestowed upon the Lincoln and accompanying ships for "40 days of combat operations and an ironclad maritime blockade against Iran in support of Operation Epic Fury," Hegseth said, referring to the Trump administration's code name for the Iran war.
The carrier endured a record 265 uninterrupted days at sea, and its extended deployment drew national attention following reports of crew stress and poor mental health, as well as supply shortages, including food and hygiene products. After more than 10 months deployed, the Lincoln's crew got a stop in Thailand early last month on the way back from the Middle East.
Pentagon chief visits the crew and acknowledges long time at sea
Hegseth, who flew out to the ship before its arrival Thursday in San Diego, acknowledged to the crew that "I'm the only thing standing between you and home" and that his intention was "once they pull up to the dock, we're getting out of the way."
Long deployments can tax
|
|
Oct 07, 2026
Students at Cornell University began what was billed as a seven-hour sit-in on Wednesday in solidarity with "Jane Doe," the former student who alleges she was drugged and raped by multiple members of a fraternity on its Ithaca, N.Y., campus in October 2024.
"Seven hours for the seven hours she endured," a coalition of Cornell student groups said in an Instagram post announcing the demonstration. "Seven hours of solidarity. Seven hours demanding change."
About 80 students gathered in a campus dining hall named for Pulitzer Prize-winning author Toni Morrison on Wednesday afternoon, according to NBC News. The protest was part of "Zero Day," which organizers described as an "economic blackout calling on students to disrupt business as usual by not attending class or spending on campus."
A Cornell University student sits with a sign during a campus-wide sit-in on Oct. 7.Ryan M
|
|
Oct 07, 2026
Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., speaks during the Senate Republicans' news conference in the U.S. Capitol on June 23, 2026. Cotton is the most vocal opponent of the Sunshine Protection Act in the Senate. —Bill Clark—CQ-Roll Call, Inc/Getty ImagesIn less than a month, most of the U.S. will fall back an hour, continuing the cycle of biannual clock changes. Some lawmakers are trying to end that practice—but are facing pushback from others.
In July, the House passed a bill with bipartisan support that would instate Daylight Saving Time year-round across the U.S.—the latest step forward in a yearslong effort to eliminate the clock change. President Donald Trump has repeatedly urged Congress to pass the bill. But the legislation now faces an uncertain future in the upper chamber. Earlier this week, Senate Majority Leader John Thune told POLITICO that there is no "consensus" among his colleagues on whether to advance the measure.
"The President feels strongly on it like he does a lot of issues," Thune said. "It's something we're having conversations about, but there's no clear path forward or consensus on it yet."
|
|
Oct 07, 2026
WASHINGTON (AP) — The union representing thousands of flight attendants said Wednesday it has safety concerns about President Donald Trump's proposed triumphal arch that will be on final approach to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.
Association of Flight Attendants-CWA President Sara Nelson said the 250-foot (76 meter) arch compounds multiple safety concerns that she said have gone unaddressed from a deadly January 2025 crash over the Potomac River that killed 67 people. Nelson also criticized Trump's plan to turn the arch into "a top grade military complex" able to host drones and snipers while storing ammunition.
"DCA is already stretched to its limit, we do not need an obstacle taking up space in our flight path," said Nelson. "Nor should commercial aviation have to dodge military drones, missiles or snipers while attempting to take off or land at Washington National Airport. Safety first always."
Nelson's statement on behalf of the union, which represents 55,000 flight attendants across 20 airlines, joins the voices of an assemblage of veterans' groups, Congress members and others with safety concerns and complaints about the memorial's threat to historic and symbolic sightlines between different landmarks in Washington, D.C.
Though the arch has received early approval from the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts, whose members were all tapped by Trump, a group of three veterans and an architectural historian sued, saying the project needs to be approved by Congress.
Last month, the
|
|
Oct 07, 2026
Christa Pike is feeling "angry and confused" after waking up in the hospital in the wake of a failed execution attempt that left her with severe physical health challenges that put her on a "long road to recovery," her attorneys said on Wednesday.
Pike had been unconscious and in critical condition in the days after two doses of pentobarbital failed to end her life on Sept. 30, they said.
"On Monday night, it was our understanding that Christa was brain-dead and that life support would be removed the next day," Randy Spivey, a member of her legal team, said during a press conference Wednesday afternoon. "But on Tuesday, to the shock of everyone … Christa woke up and began talking."
Spivey said the effects of the pentobarbital have caused her to develop a blood clot, pneumonia and left her arms and hands "tremendously swollen," to the point where she's not currently able to use them. He added that Pike is still dealing with significant "cognitive confusion," but is "very aware" that the state had tried and failed to end her life.
The press conference came shortly after a hearing in which a judge granted Pike's attorneys' request to order the state to preserve all evidence connected to the execution, including medical equipment, communications related to the decision to call off the procedure or related to her emergency care and "anything that was in the actual room." The judge also ordered that any "barriers" that may prevent Pike from communicating with her attorneys while she's in the hospital be removed.
Pike's lawyers have repeatedly asked for Pike's death sentence to b
|
|
Oct 07, 2026
Minutes from the Federal Reserve's September policy meeting reflect unanimous agreement among officials that interest rates needed to be higher to combat persistent inflation.
"Participants generally emphasized that inflation remained elevated while the labor market appeared to be near full employment, with some signs of strengthening, and that economic activity was expanding at a solid pace. Furthermore, almost all participants assessed that, while inflation risks were tilted to the upside, risks to the labor market had diminished and were now broadly balanced," minutes from the Sept. 16 meeting released Wednesday stated.
"Based on the outlook and the changing balance of risks, all participants viewed a higher target range for the federal funds rate as appropriate."
The Fed voted unanimously on Sept. 16 to raise rates, the first hike in three years. And at the time, most Federal Open Market Committee members saw a need for at least one more 25 basis point rate hike this year.
Markets were banking on a hike and expecting more to come.
But economic data released in the past few weeks has changed the picture considerably. "Core" PCE, the Fed's preferred inflation measure,
|
|
Oct 07, 2026
Federal authorities have arrested a man accused of planning to carry out an ISIS-inspired mass shooting at the Mall of America in Minnesota, according to newly unsealed court records.
Sheikhdoon Mohamud was taken into custody Tuesday after allegedly purchasing an AK-47 and 200 rounds of ammunition from a confidential source for the FBI that prosecutors say he planned to use to attack a festival taking place at the Mall of America.
Mohamud has been under investigation by the FBI since December 2024 when a confidential source with the FBI began exchanging messages with him about either traveling to Somalia to fight on behalf of al-Shabaab or carrying out a mass casualty attack on U.S. soil, court documents show.
Prosecutors detail scores of communications between Mohamud and the FBI source where he allegedly detailed his hopes of martyrdom, including one where he discussed just getting a "gun here and just start killing a bunch of white ppl."
Aaronp/bauer-griffin/GC Images/Getty Images - PHOTO: A general view of the Mall of America on January 04, 2024 in Bloomington, Minnesota.By December 2025, Mohamud expressed interest in providing support to ISIS and the two regularly continued communicating as Mohamud shifted away from plans to travel overseas and instead indicated he was more intent on carrying out an attack in the U.S, the court documents allege. Throughout their communications, Mohamud allegedly suggested he had inspiration in his planned attacks from both the New Orleans New Years Eve attacker and Omar Mateen,
|
|
Oct 07, 2026
TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — The University of Arizona has suspended activities at its fraternities following persistent reports of misconduct, including assault, hazing, and drug and alcohol-related behavior, a university official said.
Just seven weeks into the fall semester, the university's Dean of Students Office was investigating multiple misconduct reports involving nearly half the school's Interfraternity Council chapters, Dean Chrissy Lieberman said Monday in a letter to the school's fraternities and sororities announcing the suspension.
The reports follow misconduct findings against some interfraternity chapters in the spring and multiple criminal investigations, according to the letter.
"The number of cases under investigation and the severity of the concerns is egregious," Lieberman wrote.
University spokesman Nick Prevenas did not immediately respond to a request for more information about the criminal investigations on Wednesday.
The Associated Press left messages with the university's police agency. Officer Frank Magos, a spokesperson for the Tucson Police Department, said he was unaware of recent cases involving fraternities that were investigated by the city's police agency.
Prevenas also did not say whether the suspension was triggered by recent public outcry over how Cornell University handled allegations that multiple fraternity brothers sexually assaulted a woman in 2024. Lieberman's letter noted that "the value of the Greek experience is under scrutiny nationwide."
The suspension prohibits fraternities from hosting, attending, participating in and sponsoring any organizational activities at least until th
|
|
Oct 07, 2026
The badges of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents are seen as they patrol the halls of an immigration court in New York in May. - Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images/File
The Department of Homeland Security's sweeping election-fraud operation has drawn on tens of millions of records, scrutinized dozens of nonprofit voter-registration groups and considered deploying undercover agents to investigate organizations suspected of helping noncitizens register to vote, according to newly obtained internal documents.
The 166 pages of records, released on Wednesday by the advocacy group Democracy Forward, offer a detailed look inside one arm of the Trump administration's escalating election-integrity campaign, which has marshaled federal investigators, immigration databases and voter records in an effort to identify noncitizens suspected of illegally registering or voting. They show the extensive infrastructure the administration has built within its immigration enforcement agency to pursue probes aligned with Trump's election fraud beliefs, with multiple layers of data reviews, dozens of organizations investigated, primary elections tracked and weekly reports summarizing the progress of the various projects.
Homeland Security Investigations, the investigative division of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, described the undertaking as a phased national initiative involving voter-roll acquisition, data ana
|
|
Oct 07, 2026
Tropical Storm Isaias formed in the Gulf on Wednesday and is expected to become the first Atlantic hurricane of the season, forecasters say.
According to the National Hurricane Center in Miami, the storm will strengthen as it moves toward the U.S. Gulf Coast later this week, becoming a hurricane by Thursday. It could peak as a Category 2 storm with maximum sustained winds of 110 mph by Thursday night before weakening as it approaches the coast.
It's unclear exactly where Isaias might make landfall. Current models show the center of Isaias coming onshore anywhere from eastern Louisiana to the western Florida Panhandle. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency for 25 counties ahead of the storm.
Is the storm headed your way? Follow it in real time on the new Yahoo Weather app.
The NHC said there was "an increasing risk of dangerous wind and storm surge impacts along portions of the northern Gulf Coast," adding that floods will be possible due to heavy rainfall. Isaias is expected to produce rainfall amounts of 3 to 6 inches from far southeastern Louisiana to the Florida Panhandle. Some areas could see up to 10 inches of rain.
The Atlantic hurricane season, which runs from June to November, has not gone this late in the year without a hurricane since 1905, according to the Associated Press. A typical Atlantic hurricane season produces 14 named storms, of which seven become hurricanes. This year, there have been nine named storms, and no hurricanes.
Where is Isaias now and what is its path?
|
|
Oct 07, 2026
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Communications Commission is considering a request by a conservative group to loosen rules on political robocalls, including those with artificial intelligence-generated voices, before November's midterm elections.
Federal law currently bans most robocalls to cellphones unless the caller gets consent beforehand. The petition calls for a waiver that would allow political groups to use artificial or prerecorded voices in unsolicited wireless calls.
The Republican-led FCC advanced the request for public comment and could rule on it as soon as late October.
Consumer advocacy groups warn the proposed change could trigger a surge of unwanted, partisan and potentially misleading automated calls in the critical final days of the election, which will determine which party controls Congress for the final two years of President Donald Trump's term.
The potential perils became evident two years ago during the presidential primary season when thousands of voters in New Hampshire received a robocall with an AI-generated voice of then-President Joe Biden. The call suggested voters should forgo casting a ballot in the primary and "save" their votes for the general election.
Under the waiver request before the FCC, some state and federal laws protecting against deception and voter intimidation would continue to prohibit certain misleading election-related messages. But granting it could weaken a major deterrent for bad
|
|
Oct 07, 2026
WASHINGTON — Republican U.S. Senate candidate Mike Rogers appears to be breaking with President Donald Trump on another key issue less than a month before Election Day.
"Drinking a Labatt and watching the Red Wings, man, it just doesn't get any more Michigan than that," Rogers said in a new video ad released on Oct. 7. "Here in Michigan, we know that Canada is not our enemy. We need to end this tariff war now."
The statement marks the second time in recent weeks that Rogers spoke out — albeit without criticizing Trump by name — against one of the president's unpopular initiatives. This time, Rogers is calling for an end to Trump's widespread trade war against Canada, America's biggest trading partner.
The Republican Senate nominee also split with Trump on the Iran war in late September, saying it "needs to end and end quickly."
Rogers' public shift on tariffs comes amid mounting opposition in Michigan to Trump's tariffs and GOP concerns that voters will reject their candidates up and down the ballot for failing to address cost-of-living concerns. Election Da
|
|
Oct 07, 2026
National Republicans have spent months trying to rescue Ken Paxton. He's complicating that effort.
Tensions are brewing with some Republicans after POLITICO published Paxton's closed-door comments that "D.C." Republicans were largely controlling his race.
"He is welcome to raise his own money and say whatever he wants," said one Republican involved in the Paxton rescue effort, who like others in this article was granted anonymity to speak candidly. "In fact, if he did that, he'd probably be winning right now and we wouldn't need to spend all this money."
Senate Republicans and top operatives didn't want to be in this position in the first place. Many had warned that the Trump effort to unseat Sen. John Cornyn and back Paxton in the primary would cost Republicans hundreds of millions to drag Paxton across the finish line in the general election. Cornyn and Senate GOP groups spent millions of dollars on ads during the primary attacking Paxton over his series of scandals and warning he was a flawed candidate.
Since then, the usual crowd of never-Paxton types has expanded into a wider circle of frustrated Republicans who are irked by the effort it's taking to boost the scandal-plagued Senate candidate. And Paxton saying he doesn't control his campaign messaging — alongside his remarks that President Donald Trump's midterm convention hurt him politically — isn't helping.
Paxton also complained about the drag of the Iran war and high prices on his campaign in another c
|
|
Oct 07, 2026
Christa Pike is conscious and speaking in the hospital after surviving Tennessee's attempt to execute her last week, an outcome her legal team described as "unprecedented," and one that has raised questions about what happens next in her case.
Pike, 50, was sentenced to death in 1996 for the murder of her classmate, Colleen Slemmer, and spent 30 years on death row. Her execution was scheduled for Wednesday, Sept. 30, but two doses of the lethal injection drug pentobarbital failed to kill her. She was taken to the hospital, where she received lifesaving care.
Pike's survival has brought intense scrutiny to Tennessee's execution procedures. Gov. Bill Lee suspended the one remaining execution scheduled for this year, and the state's top prison official, Correction Commissioner Frank Strada, is stepping down at the end of October.
Pike's lawyers said the resignation was "justified, but it does nothing to help Christa now. What happened to her Wednesday reflects a systemic failure that goes far beyond any one person," they said in a statement issued Sunday, according to ABC News.
Slemmer's mother, May Martinez, described the situation as a "mess" and said she was left without justice
|
|
Oct 07, 2026
The 2026 House map continues to move further onto GOP terrain. But while Democrats are dreaming big, the GOP insists they can hold the majority.
Score talked to the DCCC's Deputy Executive Director Will Van Nuys and the NRCC's Communications Director Will Kiley.
The two operatives chose four under-the-radar races where they're feeling good about their underdog candidates pulling off an upset. If these races flip, they know they're having a good night.
"We're not saying that this won't be a tough fight to the end, but we know we feel very good about where we stand," Kiley said.
"Our job is to make sure that we raise as much as we can to expand this battlefield as far as we can," Van Nuys said.
Rep. Jeff Crank won this seat by 14 points in 2024 in his third bid for Congress. But Colorado Springs is "trending Democrats' way" with fast growth of younger and Hispanic populations. That shift, along with Trump's unpopularity, has Democrats hoping for a flip, Van Nuys says.
Republican Rep. Ashley Hinson's run for Senate has left this Northeastern Iowa seat open for the taking, Van Nuys argues. Frustrations with beef imports, rising gas prices and the popularity of Democratic gubernatorial candidate Rob Sand have Democrats hoping state Rep. Lindsay James can turn this seat blue.
Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear is making it his personal mission to elect his former adviser and federal prosecutor Zach Dembo and flip Senate nominee Rep. Andy Barr's Lexington-based seat. Dembo released an internal poll in late September showing him with a five-point lead.
Van Nuys says emergency
|
|
Oct 07, 2026
By Olena Harmash and Vladyslav Smilianets
KYIV, Oct 7 (Reuters) - Russia pounded Ukraine with waves of missiles and drones in one of its most "vile strikes" on Wednesday, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said, killing at least 20 people, including children, and damaging industrial facilities and energy infrastructure.
Zelenskiy said the strike coincided with Russian ?President Vladimir Putin's birthday.
The heaviest death toll was in Pryluky in the northern Chernihiv region, where a Russian missile obliterated a five-storey residential building. At least ?14 people, including four children, were killed there, local officials said.
"Today, as a birthday 'gift' to Putin, the Russian army destroyed a residential building in Pryluky...," Zelenskiy said.
"The Russians wanted to strike painfully and demonstratively. This was one ?of the most vile strikes: 70 missiles in total, many of them ballistic."
An excavator and dozens of rescuers with shovels sifted through rubble at the site where several sections of the five-storey building collapsed.
Emergency workers used ladders to get to the upper floors of what remained of the building. Around 50 people were wounded, including seven children, regional officials said.
BIG JUMP IN REPORTED DRONE INTERCEPTIONS
Zelenskiy said six other people were killed in Kyiv, Oleksandria and Kremenchuk during the heavy overnight attack.
Russia's defence ministry said its forces had carried out a "massive strike" on military-industrial facilities ?in Kyiv and other Ukrainian regions, using high-precision land-, sea- and ?air-launched weapons, as well as drones.
Ukraine's air force said it had downed just over 80% of the 46 jet-powered drones launched by Russia — a sharp increase from recent weeks when, on average, air defences took down 50% to 60%.
Since the summer, Russia has used increasing numbers ?of the new high-velocit
|
|
Oct 07, 2026
Two investigations are underway into a former Cornell University student's allegations that she was raped at a fraternity house in 2024 -- one to determine whether criminal charges should be brought and another to examine how the university handled her case.
Newly obtained videos reviewed by ABC News show members of Cornell's Chi Phi fraternity being questioned by university police in the weeks after the alleged assault.
One of the video shows Chi Phi members who were allegedly in the house that night, but not involved in the group sex, telling Cornell University police they heard it was all consensual.
One fraternity member told police in the video that "what people were saying was that there was like multiple consenting adults in this room."
Another told investigators that "the general rumor that was going around was that it was a ... consensual thing."
The investigator subsequently appeared to question how the fraternity members could possibly know the encounters were consensual.
"Dude. I was a college kid," the officer said. "I get it. I'm like, in college, I wouldn't have been like, 'Oh, that was a sick consensual act last night.'"
"I guess where -- how do they know it was consensual?" the officer questioned.
The fraternity member said he could not recall exactly what had been said but that he believed the men had told others they had sex with the woman.
"I can't recall exactly what was said, but yeah, I mean, they … they said that they had sex with her, I guess," the fraternity member said.
The officer pressed him on his inability to identify the fraternity members who were there.
"I just get worried because you know how it looks," the officer said. "You're a brother."
Angelina Katsanis/Reuters - PHOTO: Cornell U
|
|
Oct 07, 2026
President Donald Trump announced a $6.6 billion investment with AI defense company Anduril Industries on Tuesday -- the most recent government funding agreement into a company with investment ties to the president's sons.
The Trump administration announced the Navy will support $2.9 billion of the total cost to help create a new facility in Baltimore County, Maryland, that will manufacture critical parts for the Virginia-class nuclear-powered fast-attack submarine.
"In a tremendous victory for our country and for the city of Baltimore, Anduril is investing $3.7 billion in a state-of-the-art shipyard that will be known forever as Arsenal-2," Trump said at an event announcing the investment.
Damien Eagers/PA Wire IRISH Press Association via AP Images - PHOTO: Donald Trump visit to Ireland"Right here in Sparrows Point, you'll build the next generation of American submarines, including autonomous subs, torpedo tubes, and critical components for our cutting edge Virginia-class attack submarines," Trump said.
Republican senator calls for Judiciary Committee to subpoena Donald Trump Jr. and Hunter Biden1789 Capital -- a venture capital firm that lists Donald Trump Jr. as one of six partners along with three founders -- claimed a major stake in Anduril in June 2025 from a $2.5 billion investment into the company.
Since that investment, Anduril has been awarded 135 other contracts with the U.S. government and to date has received around $1.8 billion from those agreements, according to active defense contracts posted to
|
|
Oct 07, 2026
TOKYO - Mounting anger over a U.S. Marine arrested on suspicion of killing a Japanese woman in Okinawa has once again inflamed long-simmering tensions over the U.S. military presence in the prefecture, as Tokyo seeks to enact the most sweeping change in its security strategy in Okinawa in decades.
Lance Cpl. Devin Jacob Ballard, 20, was taken into custody on suspicion of killing Anna Yagi, 39, who died of suffocation in a hotel Saturday, local police said. Ballard is also suspected of stealing Yagi's wallet and other belongings.
Subscribe to The Post Most newsletter for the most important and interesting stories from The Washington Post.
Ballard has denied the allegations, police said.
The case was referred to the local prosecutor's office, though it remains unclear whether authorities will prosecute Ballard. Under a long-standing agreement governing U.S. troops in Japan, Ballard is subject to Japanese jurisdiction because the alleged crime occurred while he was off-duty.
The incident drew immediate backlash from Okinawan and national authorities. Both the U.S. ambassador to Japan and the commander of U.S. Forces Japan were summoned to Tokyo, and Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi called the case "extremely brutal and heinous" in a statement on X.
About 180 people held a protest outside the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo on Tuesday evening, and a demonstration outside the Foreign Ministry is scheduled for Thursday evening.
U.S. Forces Japan said Tuesday that all personnel stationed in Okinawa would suspend all activities for 48 hours starting Wednesday and
|
|
Oct 07, 2026
Tropical Storm Isaias formed in the Gulf on Wednesday and is expected to strengthen into the first Atlantic hurricane of the season.
Forecasters said Isaias will get rapidly more powerful as it moves toward the U.S. Gulf Coast later this week and is expected to become a hurricane by Thursday.
It was not immediately known where the storm might make landfall on the Gulf Coast. The National Hurricane Center's (NHC) initial projections said the center of Isaias could come onshore somewhere between eastern Louisiana and the western Florida Panhandle.
The NHC said there was "an increasing risk of dangerous wind and storm surge impacts along portions of the northern Gulf Coast," adding that floods will be possible due to heavy rainfall.
The Atlantic season has not gone this late without its first hurricane forming since 1905, according to the Associated Press.
An unusually strong El Niño has contributed to the relatively quiet Atlantic hurricane season by increasing wind shear — rapid changes in wind speed or direction with height — which can disrupt tropical storms and make it harder for them to strengthen into hurricanes.
Where is Isaias, and what is its path?According to the
|
|
Oct 07, 2026
Tropical Storm Isaias has formed in the Gulf and is expected to approach the U.S. northern Gulf Coast on Friday after becoming a hurricane, according to the National Hurricane Center.
Isaias would be the Atlantic Basin's first hurricane of the season and is its ninth named storm. El Niño continues to bring a more active season in the Pacific. The storm formed with less than two months remaining in the 2026 hurricane season, which ends Nov. 30.
Maps show possible pathTropical Storm Isaias, which grew from Tropical Depression Nine on Wednesday and is pronounced "ees-ah-EE-ahs," is expected to pass to the north of Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula on Thursday before approaching the U.S. Gulf Coast the following day, according to forecasters. It is expected to rapidly strengthen.
"Hurricane watches will likely be required for a portion of the U.S. northern Gulf coast later today," the hurricane center said Wednesday. Tropical storm-force winds were extending outward up to 45 miles from the storm's center.
Isaias is forecast to bring moderate to heavy rainfall to the Gulf Coast and into the rest of the Southeast this weekend into early next week. The hurricane center forecasts 3 to 6 inches of rain and as much as 10 inches in some places on the central Gulf Coast from southeastern Louisiana to the Florida Panhandle.
Some longer-range forecast models also see this mois
|
|
Oct 07, 2026
Millions of Medicare beneficiaries will receive a $90 payment from the Social Security Administration this week as part of an effort to lower health care costs for older Americans.
President Trump announced on Oct. 2 that the administration would send a one-time payment to around one-third of people enrolled in Medicare Part B, which covers doctors' visits, outpatient care and preventive screenings.
In a White House statement, the Trump administration said the "premium rebates" were intended to help "enrollees pay for their Medicare Part B premiums." The payments will be issued automatically to 20.8 million qualified Medicare beneficiaries starting this week.
Most enrollees will receive a direct deposit for $90 on or around Oct. 8. Paper checks will be sent to some beneficiaries later this month.
The rebate comes from the Medicare Improvement Fund, which was set up by Congress in 2008 to make improvements to Medicare Parts A and B. The $90 payment will cover less than half of the standard monthly Part B premium, which is $202.90 for 2026, up from $185 in 2025.
Some have warned that the payments do not go far enough to cover increasing Medicare expenses. Juliette Cubanski, director of Medicare policy at KFF, a nonprofit health policy organization, said Part B annual premiums are expected to rise by $79 in 2027, which would consume "most of the $90 payment." The KFF
|
|
Oct 07, 2026
In July, Reps. Mike Lawler, a New York Republican, and Josh Gottheimer, a New Jersey Democrat, had a request for the Federal Election Commission: help make sure artificial intelligence chatbots do not feed voters false information about the 2026 midterm elections.
The lawmakers, writing to the FEC as well as the Justice and Homeland Security departments, urged the agencies to coordinate on "AI-driven threats to election integrity" and to press AI companies on their safeguards. Their concerns come as a quarter of likely voters use AI tools daily and at least 38% have gotten information about candidates or voting from AI search summaries, according to a September survey released by the American Association of Political Consultants Foundation.
But later that month, FEC Commissioner Shana Broussard, a Democrat, wrote back with a blunt answer: the agency couldn't help. With only two of its six commissioner seats filled, the FEC "cannot proceed," she wrote, according to documents obtained through the Freedom of Information Act.
Broussard signed the letter as an individual commissioner. Without a quorum — the four members needed out of a total of six — she could not under federal law even speak for the agency.
With Election Day just four weeks away, the exchange offers a window into how little the FEC can do as campaigns enter their final stretch. Without a quorum, agency staffers are limited to collecting and publishing campaign finance reports, answering questions from candidates about the law and fielding new complaints.
But the agency charged with policing how campaigns raise and spend money can't open investigations, iss
|
|
Oct 07, 2026
London — The involvement of a small American firm linked to associates of President Trump in an energy project in Bosnia and Herzegovina worth more than $1.5 billion has raised questions about how the White House could be using its leverage in the fragile Balkan state.
U.S. lawmakers accuse the Trump administration of lifting sanctions on Bosnian Serb separatist leader Milorad Dodik in an effort to enrich and empower allies of Mr. Trump, and of undermining longstanding U.S. foreign policy interests in the region in the process.
On Sunday, Mr. Trump was hailed by Dodik after his Serb nationalist party won one of Bosnia and Herzegovina's three presidency seats, which are split between Bosnia's Muslim minority, known as Bosniaks, as well as Serb and Croat ethnic groups under the country's complex power-sharing electoral system.
"If it had not been for Donald Trump's magnificent victory … we would probably be political corpses today," Dodik told supporters in a speech, in which he also thanked Russian President Vladimir Putin for his support.
Company with links to Trump poised to build gas pipelineAAFS Infrastructure & Energy, a company incorporated in the U.S. last year and headed by President Trump's former personal attorney Jesse Binnall and Joseph Flynn, the brother of Trump ally General Michael Flynn, is close to securing a contract to develop the Southern Interconnection Gas Pipeline.
The pipeline project has been discussed by Bosni
|
|
