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Oct 20, 2026
Washington — President Trump on Tuesday announced the federal government will compensate whistleblowers who report people defrauding the U.S. government and taxpayers, but said he will decide who gets paid.
"I will be the arbitrator of all of these decisions," the president said during his Oval Office announcement with Vice President JD Vance, who heads up the administration's fraud task force, beside him. "In other words, I'll determine whether or not the person is deserving and I'll determine — and I will be very generous, believe me."
Through the Fraud Whistleblower Incentive Program, Mr. Trump said whistleblowers, who can be ordinary citizens, will be eligible to receive 1% of the amount of fraud they report, even if the reported fraud is $100 billion. America.gov/fraud, however, says successful whistleblowers will be paid up to $30,000, dependent upon the report resulting in criminal charges. Asked by CBS News for clarification, Mr. Trump said there is no limit to whistleblower compensation, and criminal charges aren't necessary.
"That's the answer. I quit while I'm ahead," Vance joked.
The president promised to be "fair" in his decisions.
"You'll get your money immediately, but I'll make the determination," he continued. "So if two people are fighting over it, maybe they'll split it or maybe whatever, but I'll make that determination."
The America.gov/fraud website says reports are encrypted and will go directly to the Treasury Department. It's not immediately clear who reviews reports, although the Department of Justice will administer the program.
The first person to benefit from the program is Nick Shirley, a 20-something YouTuber who
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Oct 20, 2026
Elon Musk's rocket and AI company posted net income of $4.4 billion for the July-September period (Kent NISHIMURA)Elon Musk said Tuesday he would back a merger of SpaceX and Tesla, as his rocket and AI company reported its first quarterly profit since going public, driven by deals to rent out computing power to AI firms.
Asked about a possible tie-up on a call with analysts, Musk said he felt he was "tap dancing through a minefield," but that a combination would be "a good idea."
Shares in SpaceX shot up nearly five percent in after-hours trading following the comments.
Musk said special committees of independent directors at both SpaceX and Tesla have been set up to study the idea at the request of shareholders.
He added that he could not take part in their talks because he has a conflict of interest.
The committees have not agreed on the terms of any deal and there is no guarantee they will, Musk said, cautioning that it would be overstating it to treat a merger as a certainty.
Any deal would need the backing of a majority of all Tesla shares, not just those cast in a vote, which Musk called "quite a high hurdle."
He said the two companies could gain from working together on AI software, chip design, robotics and space-based computing.
His remarks came after SpaceX posted net income of $4.4 billion for the July-September period, compared with a loss of $1.1 billion a year earlier.
Revenue jumped 161 percent to $14.6 billion.
The quarterly results follow a bumpy start on Wall Street.
SpaceX began trading on the Nasdaq on June 12 after an IPO priced at $135 a share that raised about $85.7 billion.
Its first earnings report as a listed company showed second-quarter revenue of $7.8 billion and a net loss of $541 million.
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Oct 20, 2026
A series of Trump administration moves over the last two weeks — including decisions to lift sanctions on Russian diesel and delay other measures targeting the Russian economy — have led both Republicans and Democrats to question whether President Trump is changing course and siding with Russian President Vladimir Putin over Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the war between their two countries.
"Russia, frankly, has been fine on Ukraine," Trump told reporters on Monday. "They haven't been doing much."
In contrast, the president continued, "We've given a lot to Ukraine. They've given nothing to us. Remember that."
Russia and Ukraine have been at war for more than 12 years. But in February 2022, the conflict entered a new, deadlier phase when Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine and tried to seize territory. The fighting has since become a grinding war of attrition. The United States has generally supported Ukraine, even as direct military aid has waned during Trump's second term.
The administration's latest steps, however, "amount to a major reversal in U.S. strategy," the New York Times reported on Sunday. "The breach with Ukraine has been sudden and perhaps irreparable."
So what's going on here? Posting Sunday on social media, Trump defended his actions by insisting that he is "in the process of negotiating Peace in the w
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Oct 20, 2026
Watch: Zelensky says US military intelligence sharing "works now"
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky has said US intelligence sharing on deadly Russian missile attacks "works now" after talks with President Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff.
The meeting in Oslo came after accusations by Kyiv that Washington was withholding key intelligence - a claim rejected as "scandalous" by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Finnish President Alexander Stubb, who also took part in the talks, said "genuine progress" was made on proposals to achieve peace but gave no details and warned that patience would be needed.
Zelensky and his European allies said it was now up to Russia to respond to the proposals agreed in Oslo when Witkoff arrives in St Petersburg on Wednesday.
Witkoff was not present at the joint press conference after Tuesday's talks in the Norwegian capital. Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, another key envoy, took part in the meeting via video link.
A US official later described the talks as "very productive and constructive", saying there was a "strong alignment at the working level" among the US, Ukraine and Europe on "the next steps".
The official confirmed that Witkoff is due to meet President Vladimir Putin in Russia tomorrow to discuss the proposals and that Kushner will again participate virtually.
Putin is yet to publicly comment on the latest developments, but Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov earlier said the Kremlin would listen to what Wiktoff would offer, while ruling out "any political concessions".
Relations between Ukraine and the US have soured in recent weeks to the extent that Trump has said it is time for Ukraine to get a new president, and most recently "for somebody else to negotiate on behalf of Ukraine".
Ahead of next
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Oct 20, 2026
The Trump administration is closing in on a deal with Moscow that would see multiple Americans released from detention in Russia, two U.S. officials and another source familiar with the matter tell ABC News.
Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner have been leading the negotiations, which are said to be in the final stages, according to the sources.
With Gilman's release from Russia, families of other detained Americans hope their relatives will be nextThey add that the talks have centered on freeing Stephen Hubbard, a 72-year-old retired teacher who is the only American held in Russia officially designated as wrongfully detained by the State Department, as well as several other U.S. citizens held by Moscow on what the administration said it believes are dubious charges.
Moscow City Court Press Service via AP - PHOTO: In this Oct. 7, 2024, file photo released by the Moscow City Court Press Service, Stephen Hubbard, a U.S. citizen accused of fighting as a mercenary in Ukraine against Russia stands in a glass cage during a court session in Moscow.However, officials caution that while the terms of the arrangement are coming into focus, nothing has been finalized and it's still possible it won't materialize or that its scope will change.
Asked about a potential deal to free Hubbard on Tuesday, Trump said he has spoken with Russian President Vladimir Putin about it "at length" and called for Hubbard's retur
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Oct 20, 2026
Dr. Mehmet Oz, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services administrator, speaks Tuesday in the Oval Office as President Trump and Nick Shirley listen. (Jacquelyn Martin / Associated Press)The Trump administration is deferring an additional $1.2 billion in Medicaid reimbursements to California, citing concerns about potential fraud in a state program that helps older adults and people with disabilities with everyday tasks.
Dr. Mehmet Oz, the administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, said federal officials took action after they grew concerned about the rapid expansion of California's personal care services program in recent years. State officials were notified of the decision Tuesday, he said.
"California has been growing that program 24% in the last three years. That is twice the rate of every other state average in the country," Oz said. "Impossible for us to understand how that could be so we are taking major action in California."
Oz did not provide any evidence of fraud but suggested the state was paying people too much taxpayer money to help with services that could be offered for free, like "paying somebody to carry groceries upstairs for your mom."
"Many of you would carry groceries upstairs for your mom for free, but in California, they will pay you a lot of money for it," he said.
Vance says $1.3 billion in Medicaid payments t
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Oct 20, 2026
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Dr. Amy Acton, the Democratic candidate for Ohio governor, pushed back forcefully Tuesday against an unattributed ad circulating online in which her long-estranged mother calls her "a liar" and insinuates she has mental health issues.
The ad began circulating overnight, just two weeks before Election Day. Acton, Ohio's former public health director, is in a tight race with Republican billionaire Vivek Ramaswamy, a 2024 presidential candidate who has benefited from spending on his behalf that has exceeded $120 million.
The online ad, which first surfaced in a post by an Ohio political blogger, spread quickly across social media platforms. It does not include the "paid for" tag that is legally required to air on TV so viewers can know its source.
It was not immediately clear who produced it or paid for it, or how it was accessed for posting. It also was not clear if Acton's mother was paid for the one-minute spot. Her last known telephone number has been disconnected.
Acton suggested Ramaswamy was behind the ad.
"I won't normalize somebody who has said that my childhood is just something I'm complaining about, who today just released an ad using my birth mother, who I was removed from at the age of 12 for severe abuse and neglect, and sexual abuse," she told Spectrum News, a cable news outlet in Ohio.
She said Ramaswamy was accused of similar pers
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Oct 20, 2026
Police officers were deployed to the area of the airbase in the days after the incident [Getty Images]
Two men have been re-arrested after an incident near RAF Fairford last month, counter-terrorism police have said.
A 24-year-old UK national, and a 25-year-old dual UK-Iranian national, are being held on suspicion of assisting a foreign intelligence service under Section 3 of the National Security Act 2023, with police saying the investigation relates to Iran.
Police had been alerted to three suspicious vehicles near the US airbase in Gloucestershire in the early hours of 27 September - a major incident was subsequently declared and dozens of homes evacuated.
Seven men in total have been arrested as part of the counter-terror police investigation.
Gloucestershire Police said it had received a call about "three suspicious vehicles" travelling towards RAF Fairford at 00:45 BST on 27 September.
A bomb disposal team was deployed to the village to examine a number of vehicles.
Petrol was found in three vans near the airbase and five men were arrested.
They had been initially arrested on suspicion of committing offences under the Explosives Act and then further arrested on suspicion of preparation of a terrorist act.
Police later said they did not find "improvised explosive devices".
The re-arrests announced on Tuesday relate to a 24-year-old man who was initially arrested on 27 September near the base and a 25-year-old who was arrested on suspicion of preparation of terrorist acts days later on 1 October in the borough of Westminster.
The other five men - who also include a 22-year-old British national arrested in Westminster on
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Oct 20, 2026
President Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally in Park City, Kansas, a suburb of Wichita, on October 19. - Kent Nishimura/AFP/Getty Images
President Donald Trump on Monday used an antisemitic term that he has used publicly at least once before as he? defended Kansas Sen. Roger Marshall against criticism over medical billing practices.
Trump invoked the term "Shylock" while defending Marshall's? suing more than 700 patients for outstanding medical bills during his time as an obstetrician-gynecologist, as first reported by The New York Times.
"You're not allowed not to do it. You have to, by law, go after those people, and they made it like, oh, he was some kind of a Shylock-type guy," Trump said at a rally in Kansas. "If he didn't make these requests, he would be breaking the law. He would have been breaking a very strong criminal law, and he would be subject to criminal arrest and liability."
(That underlying claim is not true, according to Lawrence Gostin, faculty director of the O'Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law at Georgetown Law School: "He's entitled to sue for unpaid bills but not required to do so.")
Trump has previously faced criticism for using the term.? In July 2025, he said it during a rally in Iowa. He later claimed he didn't know the word was viewed by s
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Oct 20, 2026
The former Cornell student who alleges she was drugged and raped by seven members of a fraternity on the school's Ithaca, N.Y., campus in October 2024, wrote in a letter to faculty leadership that the university's president expressed doubt in her account months after she reported it to campus police.
In a two-page letter to the Faculty Senate obtained by the New York Times, the former student, identified in a civil lawsuit as "Jane Doe," said that Cornell President Michael Kotlikoff's "initial response" to her allegations "was along the lines of, ‘Why did she wait so long to report it?'"
The alleged assault occurred at the Chi Phi fraternity house on Oct. 19 and 20, 2024. She reported it to campus police on Nov. 8.
Read more from Yahoo:
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Oct 20, 2026
President Donald Trump's proposed Triumphal Arch near Washington DC is moving toward a key review, with new plans offering a more detailed look at the massive monument and the features it could include.
The U.S. Department of the Interior submitted updated plans to the National Capital Planning Commission, which is scheduled to consider the project Nov. 5. The submission includes details about the arch's design, lighting and surrounding traffic changes.
Here's what to know about the proposed monument and the latest plans.
What will Trump's Triumphal Arch look like?
The proposed arch would be a 250-foot-tall concrete structure clad in granite, with an opening 55 feet wide. Its towering size makes it more than twice the height of the 99-foot Lincoln Memorial nearby.
Two gilded eagles would sit above the arch's legs, and a gilded winged figure holding a torch would sit atop the structure.
Plans revealed the monument would measure 166 feet wide and include an observation deck overlooking the surrounding area. Six stairways and five elevators woul
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Oct 20, 2026
More details have emerged about the "hero" bystander who intervened within minutes of a gunman opening fire at an elementary school in Oregon.
Kaylub Giamanco, 36, fatally shot the 16-year-old gunman who killed four people at Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend, Ore., on Oct. 15. His actions "undoubtedly saved people," police said.
Giamanco, a carpenter and father of two girls who attend Silver Rail Elementary, had gone through "military shooting drills" with veterans who fought in Iraq, The Guardian reported.
Seeing the shooting unfold, Giamanco "pursued" gunman Griffin J. John II, his mother, Kenda Freeman, told CBS News.
Freeman said the experience has left her son traumatized. "I told him he was a hero, he did what he had to do, and that he did the right thing, and that I was proud of him and that he was a hero and he saved a lot of lives."
"Kaylub knew something was not right, so he pulled up onto the grass, grabbed his gun and basically stalked the gunman back into the school," Freeman said. "He crawled through a window that the gunman had shot out. He army crawled through the window."
Giamanco, who legally owns and carries his weapon, doesn't wish to speak about the school shooting because he feels "riddled with guilt" for not being able to save more lives, his brother, Kyle Giamanco, told
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Oct 20, 2026
WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Democrats' top campaign spending group is wading into Mississippi's U.S. Senate race for the first time this year, an aggressive move in a deep-red state that signals a party on the offensive as Republicans look to protect a slim majority.
The Senate Majority PAC, aligned with Democratic Senate Leader Chuck Schumer of New York, will spend $1.2 million on a new television advertisement to boost Scott Colom, a district attorney, in his campaign against Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith. The ad, first disclosed to The Associated Press, is set to start Wednesday and run through Election Day.
"Senate Majority PAC has been watching this race closely, and it is clear Colom is running a competitive race that has put Hyde-Smith on her heels," group spokesperson Lauren French said in a statement.
With just two weeks to go in the race, it's unclear what impact the ad will have in a matchup that's been set since Colom won a March primary. Still, it's a substantial investment in a race that's seen only about $8 million in total spending, with Colom outspending Hyde-Smith nearly $4.6 million to $3.2 million, according to AdImpact.
Jake Monssen, campaign manager for Hyde-Smith, noted that the spending was coming late in the race.
"Team Cindy is confident that voters will reject this radical agenda at the ballot box on November 3rd," he said.
Democrats believe Hyde-Smith is vulnerable
Hyde-Smith, first appointed and then
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Oct 20, 2026
Prince Harry has said he "wants it to work out" with his family - but claimed that others "don't want to" pursue the same intention.
The Duke of Sussex said in a wide-ranging interview that the "scars stick around forever", but that building bridges with his relatives was a future ambition.
In an interview with GQ magazine recorded in late September and shared on Tuesday, Harry said that his move back to the UK with Meghan Markle and his children was partly driven by a desire to be "closer" to his family, with whom his relationships have been strained in recent years.
He said he wished to reconcile with them, but appeared to suggest doubts about whether that feeling would be reciprocated.
Harry said: "People maybe look at us and go, ‘How are you going to work it out?'
"And then, maybe, how I see you're going to work it out, maybe that will help me work my stuff out.
"And some people don't want it to work out. I want it to work out."
A spokesperson for the Sussexes said: "It was absolutely not intended as a swipe at his brother or any other member of his family. The comment was made in a general context and was not directed at his family in any way".
Prince William, Kate Middleton, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry in December 2018 (AFP/Getty) The Duke of Sussex and his older brother Pr
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Oct 20, 2026
JERUSALEM, Oct 20 (Reuters) - US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth discussed Iran with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during an unannounced visit to Israel ?on Monday, three Israeli officials said, as tensions flare between the US ?and Iran.
Doron Spielman, a spokesperson for the prime minister, later confirmed to Reuters that Netanyahu had ?met with Hegseth at the Uvda air force base in Israel's southern Negev desert region.
Netanyahu and Hegseth discussed "the threats in the region" and the US-Israel partnership in dealing both offensively and defensively with those threats, he said in a brief phone call.
Hegseth ?also thanked Israel for hosting ?US forces, which Spielman said numbered in the thousands, and discussed President Donald Trump's support for the prime minister.
"There's a deep ?personal relationship here that was at the core of this discussion," Spielman said.
On Sunday, Trump endorsed Netanyahu in next week's parliamentary election in Israel, the country's first ballot ?since the ?October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on southern ?Israel.
The Pentagon has not publicly ?commented on Hegseth's visit.
Hegseth earlier posted on X that he had visited US service members in the Central Command area of responsibility, which covers the Middle East, northeast Africa and parts of Asia.
He did not specify where he had met with the forces.
Hegseth's visit comes as tensions flare between the US and Iran over the Strait of ?Hormuz and as Yemen's Iran-allied Houthis intensify their ?attacks on Saudi Arabia.
US and Israeli forces launched ?joint strikes against Iran in ?late February, setting off the wider Middle East war. Netanyahu ?told Israeli media this month that he's ?not seeking to ?attack Iran before the October 27 Israeli election. Trump has said he will not attack Iran before US midterm elections in November.
Israel has hosted additional ?US force
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Oct 20, 2026
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance are set Tuesday to announce a $25 million program to encourage the public to blow the whistle on suspected fraud in the federal government as they ramp up an existing effort to end the abuse of federal programs and dollars.
Under the Fraud Whistleblower Incentive Program, or WHIP, anyone who submits a tip to fraud.gov that leads to a fraud conviction or a significant federal enforcement action is eligible to receive up to $30,000, the White House said. The Justice Department will administer the program.
The Republican president has undertaken an aggressive effort to eliminate fraud throughout the government. Trump established a task force on the topic in March and put Vance in charge of it.
They are scheduled to announce the fund during a joint appearance in the Oval Office later Tuesday.
"Every day, President Trump's Task Force to Eliminate Fraud is zeroing in on the rampant abuse of taxpayer dollars and giving Americans the accountability they deserve. This administration has zero tolerance for individuals who steal from Americans," said White House spokesperson Lauren Bis.
During the Oval Office event, Trump will present a $10,000 check to Nick Shirley, a right-wing influencer who posted a video last year that said members of Minnesota's Somali community were running fake childcare centers to collect federal subsidies.
The video caught the attention of the Trump administration and conservative activists, though inspector
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Oct 20, 2026
The Kremlin is counting the Trump administration's latest turn against Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as a major triumph and, coupled with political upheaval in Europe, a sign that Western support for Ukraine is finally crumbling.
In the 10 days since Vladimir Putin last spoke by telephone with the American president, Donald Trump has announced a sanctions waiver for Russian diesel supplies to the global market, throttled Ukraine's access to vital battlefield satellite systems, put sweeping new sanctions against Russian on hold, as well as moved even more firmly to Russia's side by calling for Zelensky's ouster and holding up supplies of critical interceptor missiles.
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On Monday, Trump blasted the Ukrainian president again, saying it was "time for somebody else to negotiate on behalf of Ukraine."
The stakes seem higher than ever. Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff is set to travel to Oslo on Tuesday to meet Zelensky, Finnish President Alexander Stubb and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store. Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, is expected to participate via video link.
"The aim is to put diplomatic efforts on a more constructive path," Store said.
Zelensky said on Sunday that if Washington aligned with Russia, Ukraine would not survive.
"If the United States will support Putin - it's unbelievable, it's a tragedy," he told NBC News' "Meet the Press" on Sunday. "If these two countries will be together, of course we will not prevail. And we will not be able to stand."
While the European leaders and Zelensky might hope to use the Oslo meeting to steer the Trump administration to a tougher stance
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Oct 20, 2026
MEDINA, Ohio - On a cold fall Saturday morning, Kristin Shepard carried a homemade sign with the letters V-O-T-E to the historic Public Square in this Republican-leaning area. She was asking people to get to the ballot box, like she did, with early voting underway. But fewer people were around than she expected.
Shepard, 78, has been surprised by the influx of ads from Republicans during this election, including one she remembered about a bartender who praised not having to pay taxes on the tips she earned, referencing a provision in the Republicans' sweeping tax cut legislation that President Donald Trump signed into law in the summer of 2025.
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Shepard said that the GOP's signature legislative achievement of the last two years has had no material impact on her own life. She is more concerned about Trump's other policies. She voted for Democrats.
"We're in a war that never should have been started. We have tariffs that are hurting farmers, small-business people. I could go on and on," said Shepard, a Medina resident who has been turned off by Trump. "And I will tell you, I voted Republican more in my life than I voted Democrat."
Republicans have bombarded Ohioans with ads with $19 million spent on competitive races through Oct. 12, intended to sell voters on the tax law that had been called the One Big Beautiful Bill. But the message is struggling to connect with voters amid anxiety over tariffs and the war with Iran, which have pushed up prices for everyday products.
The ad blitz, the most spent on the topic in any state with competitive races, is aimed at bolstering vulnerable GOP candidates in a state that was considere
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Oct 20, 2026
A small group of U.S. national security officials has been discreetly advising state governments and congressional lawmakers on how to prepare for the possibility that the Trump administration will attempt to interfere in November's midterm elections, according to people involved in the effort.
The group includes about 10 current and former officials with experience in the Defense Department, some of whom have previously focused on countering authoritarianism abroad.
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Their efforts are motivated not by political bias, they say, but a growing sense of alarm that President Donald Trump will harm American democracy by undermining the integrity of the vote to keep the Republican Party in power.
Over the past several months, the group has consulted with officials from 10 states, including governors, election officials and members of the House and Senate from both political parties who share a fear of federal intervention, two people involved in the effort said.
The effort, which has not been previously reported, focuses on states and jurisdictions where tightly contested races will determine control of Congress for the remainder of Trump's presidency. Members of the group remain in contact with congressional staffs, and at least one state has continued to meet with them as it works to address potential vulnerabilities.
"All of them have said we're concerned but we don't know what to do," one member of the group said of its meetings with lawmakers.
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Oct 20, 2026
President Trump announced an $8 billion aid package on Monday to help US farmers pay for diesel this harvest season.
The relief program, announced at a campaign rally in Kansas and on social media, aims to bring down fuel costs for Americans ahead of next month's midterm elections.
"Tonight, I am also pleased to announce that the Department of Agriculture will be launching a new 'Harvest Fuel Relief Program,' providing our Farmers with 8 BILLION DOLLARS in support to offset Diesel costs during this Harvest Season," Trump's account posted on Truth Social (DJT).
"When Republicans win, we will pass even more funding for our Great Farmers, and Fuel prices will come tumbling down as soon as the Iran War is over, which will happen very quickly!" he added.
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Oct 20, 2026
More details have emerged about the 'hero' bystander who intervened within minutes of a gunman opening fire at an elementary school in Oregon.
Kaylub Giamanco, 36, fatally shot the 16-year-old gunman who killed four people at Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend, Oreg. His actions "undoubtedly saved people," police said.
Giamanco, a carpenter and father of two girls who attend Silver Rail Elementary, had gone through "military shooting drills" with veterans who fought in Iraq, The Guardian reported.
Seeing the shooting unfold, Giamanco "pursued" gunman Griffin J. John II, his mother, Kenda Freeman, told CBS News.
Freeman said the experience has left her son traumatized. "I told him he was a hero, he did what he had to do, and that he did the right thing, and that I was proud of him and that he was a hero and he saved a lot of lives."
"Kaylub knew something was not right, so he pulled up onto the grass, grabbed his gun and basically stalked the gunman back into the school," Freeman said. "He crawled through a window that the gunman had shot out. He army crawled through the window."
Giamanco, who legally owns and carries his weapon, doesn't wish to speak about the school shooting because he feels "riddled with guilt" for not being able to save more lives, his brother, Kyle Giamanco, told
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Oct 20, 2026
Russia's latest strikes on Ukraine on Monday killed six people and knocked out power to more than haf a million (Sergei SUPINSKY)Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky will hold talks with top US envoys in Norway on Tuesday, after accusing the United States of deliberately delaying the delivery of interceptor missiles to his war-torn country.
Norway's Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store said Oslo would host talks between Zelensky and US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner -- the latter taking part remotely -- as well as Finnish President Alexander Stubb, in a bid to put "diplomatic efforts on a more constructive path".
Relations between Kyiv and Washington have soured over military aid and intelligence sharing, with Zelensky saying on Monday that Ukraine received no early warning of powerful Russian missile strikes that targeted energy facilities in the capital region.
US-led diplomatic efforts to end Europe's deadliest conflict since World War II have stalled in recent months, as Washington has shifted focus towards the war with Iran.
"Ukraine has requested that US special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner join the meetings. I am pleased that they are able to participate," Norway's Store said in a statement.
"Diplomatic efforts have previously taken place in several countries, and Norway and Finland are pleased to be able to continue this work," he said.
Ahead of the meeting, Zelensky on Tuesday said he held "substantive" and "constructive" talks with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, in which he insisted that the US military satellite system Ukraine uses, Starshield, "needs to be restored" and that ballistic missile interceptors "are needed to protect lives".
Zelensky told US senators on Monday that "the Pentagon is delaying the delivery of miss
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Oct 20, 2026
Russia's latest strikes on Ukraine on Monday killed six people and knocked out power to more than haf a million (Sergei SUPINSKY)Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky will hold talks with top US envoys in Norway on Tuesday, after accusing the United States of deliberately delaying the delivery of interceptor missiles to his war-torn country.
Norway's Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store said Oslo would host talks between Zelensky and US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner -- the latter taking part remotely -- as well as Finnish President Alexander Stubb, in a bid to put "diplomatic efforts on a more constructive path".
Relations between Kyiv and Washington have soured over military aid and intelligence sharing, with Zelensky saying on Monday that Ukraine received no early warning of powerful Russian missile strikes that targeted energy facilities in the capital region.
US-led diplomatic efforts to end Europe's deadliest conflict since World War II have stalled in recent months, as Washington has shifted focus towards the war with Iran.
"Ukraine has requested that US special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner join the meetings. I am pleased that they are able to participate," Norway's Store said in a statement.
"Diplomatic efforts have previously taken place in several countries, and Norway and Finland are pleased to be able to continue this work," he said.
Ahead of the meeting, Zelensky on Tuesday said he held "substantive" and "constructive" talks with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, in which he insisted that the US military satellite system Ukraine uses, Starshield, "needs to be restored" and that ballistic missile interceptors "are needed to protect lives".
Zelensky told US senators on Monday that "the Pentagon is delaying the delivery of miss
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Oct 20, 2026
United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby gave a wide-ranging, often provocative interview to the New York Times, defending fees for aisle and window seats and countering the rise in airfares by asserting "it's expensive to fly airplanes."
"There are customers that pay more that get more," Kirby, 59, said in the interview that ran Oct. 18.
But he struck a decidedly more populist note on the topic of wealth inequality — which he brought up when the Times asked him about waning trust in CEOs and his responsibility in dispelling it. Here's his full answer:
"Wealth inequality has become a danger to our society, and we need to address that," he said. "We should have a national wealth tax — it won't work by state because people will just move. And I think we should have inheritance taxes that get close to 100% at some level. I would pay them."
United Airlines stock rose 0.3% before the bell on Tuesday.
Kirby is not the first or only business titan to call for bigger taxes on the wealthiest Americans. Luminaries like Warren Buffett, Bill Gates, and George Soros have long advocated for increasing the tax burden at their rarefied wealth levels.
Read more: How much does a millionaire actually owe the IRS on tax day?
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Oct 20, 2026
French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu credited localized overnight curfews in Paris and other major cities for providing a measure of calm after intense nationwide protests that have seen thousands arrested and sustained violent clashes between demonstrators and police.
Nighttime curfews went into effect on Monday night in cities including Paris, Bordeaux, Nice and Lyon as French police sought to combat rioting and looting associated with the recent protests.
The curfews came in response to protests over the weekend which devolved into the worst rioting seen in France for several years, with some demonstrators targeting businesses and government buildings while protesters accused the police of using excessively violent tactics.
Matthieu Rondel/AFP via Getty Images - PHOTO: Wreckage of burned vehicles are seen in a street in Paris, October 18, 2026 a day after nationwide protests against the "high cost of living."The demonstrations initially erupted in September as a student-led movement demanding reforms to the education system. In recent weeks, the demonstrations have evolved into a broader movement demanding action to address rising costs of living.
The protests come ahead of the next French presidential elections in April 2027, which will mark the end of President Emmanuel Macron's two terms in power. Among the most prominent candidates to take over the office are Marine Le Pen, the leader of the far-right National Rally Party, and Jean-Luc Melonchon, who leads the left-wing France Unbowed party.
"Targeted curfews have contributed to the calm of this night," Lecornu wrote in a post to X on Tuesday morning. "I thank the police officers and gendarmes who ensured their enforcement, as well as the prefects for their mobilization."
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Oct 20, 2026
Alberta separatists rallied ahead of the vote in the provincial capital of Edmonton (Megan Albu)Canada's province of Alberta rejected a plan to hold a binding independence referendum, results showed Tuesday, a win for unity as the country faces worsening ties with the United States.
Public broadcaster CBC and leading private network CTV projected a clear win for the federalist side, with official results showing more than 76 percent support for Alberta remaining in Canada with nearly 45 percent of ballots counted.
Prime Minister Mark Carney welcomed the result and said Albertans had made a "clear choice" in favor of unity.
"They chose unity, to build together, and to take care of each other," he said in a statement on X.
Carney, who grew up in Alberta, urged the province to reject separatism and argued that Canada needed stability as it confronted US President Donald Trump's trade war and annexation threats.
A sombre mood took over the restaurant in the provincial capital Edmonton where a leading separatist group watched the returns.
Jeffrey Rath, a top leader of the separatist Alberta Prosperity Project, told reporters his push for independence will "absolutely" continue, despite the result from Monday's vote.
"As far as I'm concerned we've already won. We've created a massive movement in this province," Rath said.
"We've been educating Albertans on the benefits of independence and we're continuing to move forward."
Separatist supporter Roger Hodkinson, an 82-year-old retired doctor, told AFP "this movement is not going to stop."
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, a conservative who opposed independence, praised the "widespread support for remaining in Canada" on Tuesday.
Smith, who called the referendum, said a win for the fede
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Oct 20, 2026
The Trump administration now assesses that Houthi attacks pose a broad, escalating threat to Americans in the Middle East, prompting an unprecedented decision by the State Department to issue urgent warnings about the Iranian-backed rebel group across a dozen countries in the region, U.S. officials told ABC News.
While the department has been notifying U.S. nationals in Saudi Arabia about the risk of Houthi attacks for weeks, U.S. embassies in Bahrain, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar and the UAE issued coordinated security alerts on Sunday, advising Americans that hostilities involving Houthi militants "have the potential to escalate rapidly" beyond areas that have been impacted so far.
Houthis' escalating attacks on Saudi Arabia give Iran leverage in the Middle EastThe U.S. mission to Yemen and its virtual embassy for Iran also issued identical messages.
"We are actively warning U.S. citizens about the very real threat the Houthis pose and urging them to heed official guidance. These alerts are part of a proactive effort by the Trump administration to ensure Americans are aware of potential risks," State Department Deputy Assistant Secretary for Press Edgar Vasquez said in a statement to ABC News.
Social Media via Reuters - PHOTO: Smoke and flames rise from King Khalid Airport, after Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis said they attacked the airport, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, October 8, 2026, in this screengrab obtained from a social media video. The heightened concern comes as Saudi Arabia has struggled to defend against deadly missile and drone strikes on energy and aviation ta
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Oct 20, 2026
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is hoping that $5,000 checks can juice Republican turnout in November's midterm elections — but even some of his devoted fans are doubting that government payouts would arrive.
"I mean, I guess it's good for some people. I really don't care," said Jamie Alvarez, who attended Trump's recent Alaska rally in a red, white and blue outfit. "I don't feel like your vote should be bought. I feel like you should vote for who you feel is going to do the best job."
Joseph Eatherton was attending that same rally and said he was "not sure if it's necessary." When asked whether Trump could deliver on the promised money, he said, "I don't know, and I hate being an armchair quarterback."
The offering of government checks has become a go-to tactic for Trump when he faces a political jam. He's previously endorsed $2,000 in dividends from tariff revenues and large refunds from spending cuts achieved by the Department of Government Efficiency, neither of which materialized. The latest example could reveal how much voters still trust Trump as they decide control of Congress in the midterm elections on Nov. 3.
Staunch supporters such as Lucy Martinez, the president of a Republican women's club who attended a recent Trump rally in Texas, said there's no doubt in their minds.
"I think that I will get the $5,000," she said. Out of all the presidents, Trump is someone "who kept his promises to his people and all the United States."
Trump has dis
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Oct 19, 2026
Nearly $1 million worth of sports and Pokémon trading cards were stolen from a FedEx truck last week, police in California said Monday. (David Paul Morris / Bloomberg via Getty)Thieves made off with nearly $1 million in sports, Pokémon and other trading cards swiped from a FedEx truck in Southern California last week, police said Monday.
Officers responded to a trading card authentication company Tuesday about the theft of an estimated $963,000 worth of cards from a FedEx truck, Santa Ana police spokesperson Natalie Garcia said by email. The theft included two pallets of cards and a third that was "disrupted," she said.
The location of the report was Professional Sports Authenticator in the city of Santa Ana, about 33 miles southeast of Los Angeles.
The company bills itself on its website as "the leading third-party authentication and grading service" and says it can sell customers' cards online for a percentage of the selling price to "turn cards into currency."
Nick Andrews, known on social media as the Boston Card Hunter, said on X that there are multiple victims of the theft, one of whom he said lost $500,000 worth of cards.
When all is said and done, he said, the heist could be one of the biggest in trading card history.
He has compiled
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Oct 19, 2026
Homeland Security Investigations officers leave a home after arresting a suspect accused of illegally registering to vote during a federal operation in Commerce on Monday. (Jae C. Hong / Associated Press)At the federal courthouse in downtown Los Angeles late Monday, several green card holders arrested in a crackdown on alleged California voter fraud expressed confusion over the charges — with some saying they had no recollection of registering to vote, as Trump administration officials accuse them of doing.
Among them was Ana Domínguez, 60, a native of El Salvador living in Long Beach as a lawful permanent resident. Federal authorities accused her Monday of fraudulently registering to vote in July 2006 and then lying about it in her naturalization paperwork in March 2026.
Domínguez said she did not have any memory of registering to vote.
Another man accused of the same crimes as Domínguez said the same: He wasn't aware of ever registering to vote, as federal prosecutors claimed he had.
Both were among the 28 people charged with federal election-related crimes Monday, including fraudulent voter registration and making false statements in a naturalization application. Federal prosecutors and high-ranking Justice Department officials had touted the arrests during a news conference hours before as proof that California elections are corrupted by noncitizen voters — as President Trump has long alleged.
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Oct 19, 2026
Vice President JD Vance and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem last year. (Getty Images)
Vice President JD Vance declined Monday to endorse Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for reelection, while President Donald Trump gave the embattled Israeli leader his "Complete and Total Endorsement" ahead of Israel's Oct. 27 election.
"I endorse American candidates ... so I'm not getting involved in Israeli elections," Vance said in an interview with journalist Mark Halperin, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Vance said he was neither supporting nor opposing Netanyahu, explaining that his focus was on the Nov. 3 U.S. midterm elections.
Trump on Sunday praised Netanyahu as a "Great Warrior Prime Minister" and a partner in confronting Iran, adding that without Netanyahu in office, the United States might have to finish the fight against Tehran on its own.
Netanyahu thanked Trump for the backing, writing on X, "Together we will complete the mission!"
The endorsement came as Netanyahu seeks another term amid polls suggesting his governing coalition could fall short of a parliamentary majority. Israelis will vote in the country's first national election since Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack and the ensuing regional wars.
Vance's stance contrasts with his decision to campaign in Hungary in April for then-Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who lost his reelection bid.
Meanwhile, War Secretary Pete Hegseth made an unannounced visit to Israel on Monday and met with Netanyahu at Ovda Air Base in southern Israel, Axios reported, citing two sources familiar with the trip.
Reuters said it could not independently confir
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Oct 19, 2026
The gun used by a 16-year-old who shot and killed three children and a teacher at Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend, Oregon, last week was a birthday gift from the shooter's mom, sources told CBS News.
The Maverick 88 pump-action 12-gauge shotgun was purchased legally in August 2026 by Shauntai Nickerson, the mother of Griffin J. John II, and given to him for recreational use, the sources said.
In 2020, Nickerson told a local television station that her son, who was 10 years old at the time, had special needs and was struggling with remote learning during the pandemic. She told KTVZ, "It'll be great for my son to get back in there and get the help that he needs with the skilled teachers that he needs to get it from."
The shooter initially fired at a passing pickup truck, whose driver made the initial 911 call, before forcing his way into the school by shooting through the glass panes of a set of double doors, police said last week. He then went into the first classroom to the left of those doors, where he killed all four victims and wounded two others.
The children killed in the shooting were ages 5, 8 and 11, police said. The teacher who was killed was identified as 25-year-old Megan Lambert. The 5-year-old victim was identified by police and his family as Rhoam Summer. The families of the two other children have not made their names public, Bend police said.
Two wounded victims are a 7-year-old girl and a 54-year-old teacher.
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Oct 19, 2026
Golfers play past felled trees at East Potomac Golf Links in Washington D.C., US, on Sunday. - Aaron Schwartz/Bloomberg/Getty Images
One of the tensest showdowns between the Trump administration and the federal bench in Washington, DC, came to a head on Monday in a marathon court hearing over the President Donald Trump's efforts to overhaul a golf course that has been the subject of months of litigation.
Trump early Monday doubled down on his plan to close and renovate a public Washington, DC, golf course, saying construction would begin "IMMEDIATELY" despite a judge's order to provide three days' notice ahead of any construction.
Trump wrote in a Truth Social post that the government does not "need an approval" to proceed with the construction.
"Work is scheduled to begin IMMEDIATELY! The finished product will be World Class, and bring income and great prestige back to D.C.," he wrote.
But his plan to renovate the East Potomac Golf Course is already the subject of a legal fight as preservationists and golfers seek to stop the president from changing the public park.
The case may seem relatively minor compared to some of the other sweeping legal battles of Trump's second term. But the litigation has demanded the attention of several top attorneys from the Justice Department, who have sought to defend the actions government officials who are overseeing the course and have trie
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Oct 19, 2026
By Trevor Hunnicutt and Ryan Patrick Jones
WASHINGTON, Oct 19 (Reuters) - US President Donald Trump said on Monday he is open to three-way arms-control talks with the leaders of China and Russia as soon as next month, raising the prospect of an unprecedented meeting and a major diplomatic gambit for the US president.
"We would have it to ?talk about nuclear weapons and denuclearization," Trump told reporters outside the White House. "If President Xi wants to have it, I'd have it. I'm sure we'd talk about other things ?like trade too."
Trump has tried to thaw frosty relations with Beijing and Moscow as those non-Western powers grow closer. A three-way meeting would also raise alarm from Europe to Asia over private deals that weaken Washington's transatlantic and Indo-Pacific alliances.
But ?a deal struck between the three countries could also lower global tensions. An end to Russia's war in Ukraine could resolve the biggest threat in decades to European security, and a deal on arms would bind the three nations with the biggest stockpiles of nuclear weapons.
In recent days, Trump has moved to warm ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin, announcing a diesel-fuel deal and signing an order on Friday waiving key sanctions on Moscow. Trump has also sought stable relations with Chinese President Xi Jinping, who in turn has nurtured close ties with Putin.
So far, Trump has not delivered on a campaign promise ?to quickly end the war in Ukraine.
The White House has been ?discussing for weeks a possible meeting between the leaders focused on denuclearization on the sidelines of the November 18-19 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in China, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Putin later pitched using such a meeting to negotiate an end to the four-year-old Ukraine conflict in a manner ?that would favor Moscow, the Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday, citing people familia
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Oct 19, 2026
The Mississippi Attorney General's Office said in a statement on Monday that the Senatobia Police Department was justified in its use of force during a police-involved shooting last June that led to the death of a 1-year-old.
Kohen Wiley was shot and killed outside of a Walmart in Senatobia, Mississippi, on June 14 after an officer fired into a vehicle when those in the vehicle were allegedly evading police.
The attorney general's office said in its statement on Monday, "In this incident, the Attorney General's Office found the use of force was justified."
WATN - PHOTO: Attorney Ben Crump, at podium, is joined by members of Kohen Wiley's family during a press event in Senatobia, Mississippi, June 22, 2026.In a statement released in September by Senatobia Interim Chief of Police Angelica Maze, the Mississippi Bureau of Investigations handed its investigative findings into Wiley's death to the Mississippi Attorney General's office, as required by law.
The shooting occurred after law enforcement officers responded to a shoplifting call in Senatobia, according to the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation.
Officers who responded to a shoplifting call encountered two adults allegedly fleeing from the store with a child and going into a vehicle, according to the bureau.
Attorneys for the Wiley family said that the adults were accused of stealing diapers.
WATN - PHOTO: Photos of Kohen Wiley are shown during a press event in Senatobia, Mississippi, June 22, 2026.Officers attempted to stop the vehicle, with one opening fire when the driver alle
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Oct 19, 2026
Abdul El-Sayed speaks at a campaign rally in Flint, Michigan, on October 18. - Katie McTiernan/Anadolu/Getty Images
The Muslim Brotherhood has become a flashpoint in Michigan's Senate race, with Republicans trying to cast Democratic nominee Abdul El-Sayed as sympathetic to interests connected to Islamic terror and El-Sayed arguing that he is being unfairly accused of the same "dual loyalties" that former Presidents John F. Kennedy and Barack Obama once were.
El-Sayed this weekend denounced the Muslim Brotherhood, an Islamist political movement founded in Egypt in 1928 — first in a heated exchange with a voter, and later when speaking with reporters — after Republicans have sought to highlight his family's ties to the group and his past comments about it.
"I do want to talk about why they want to make this their closing argument," El-Sayed told reporters after a rally Sunday in Flint. "They want to speak to a certain implicit dual loyalty. This has a long history in our politics, that notion that people might pray a little bit differently, have a dual loyalty. It was the same thing they did to JFK when he ran for president, the notion that because he was Catholic that he somehow had dual loyalties. They did the same thing to President Obama simply because his father was of Muslim origin, even though his father is an avowed Chri
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Oct 19, 2026
Abdul El-Sayed speaks at a campaign rally in Flint, Michigan, on October 18. - Katie McTiernan/Anadolu/Getty Images
The Muslim Brotherhood has become a flashpoint in Michigan's Senate race, with Republicans trying to cast Democratic nominee Abdul El-Sayed as sympathetic to interests connected to Islamic terror and El-Sayed arguing that he is being unfairly accused of the same "dual loyalties" that former Presidents John F. Kennedy and Barack Obama once were.
El-Sayed this weekend denounced the Muslim Brotherhood, an Islamist political movement founded in Egypt in 1928 — first in a heated exchange with a voter, and later when speaking with reporters — after Republicans have sought to highlight his family's ties to the group and his past comments about it.
"I do want to talk about why they want to make this their closing argument," El-Sayed told reporters after a rally Sunday in Flint. "They want to speak to a certain implicit dual loyalty. This has a long history in our politics, that notion that people might pray a little bit differently, have a dual loyalty. It was the same thing they did to JFK when he ran for president, the notion that because he was Catholic that he somehow had dual loyalties. They did the same thing to President Obama simply because his father was of Muslim origin, even though his father is an avowed Chri
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Oct 19, 2026
The spacecraft will head to Mars's larger moon, Phobos [JAXA]
A spacecraft has launched from Japan headed for Mars' moon Phobos, where it will attempt to grab some moondust and bring it back to Earth.
If it is successful, this will become the first time a sample has been returned from Mars or its moons to be analysed in laboratories here on Earth.
The spacecraft is scheduled to arrive at Phobos in August 2027.
It is hoped that the Mars Moons Exploration (MMX) mission, which is led by the Japanese Space Agency, will solve the mystery of how Mars's moons formed.
Prof Sara Russell, from the Natural History Museum, who is the MMX mission's deputy for sample analysis, said: "There hasn't yet been a successful mission to go to Phobos and bring a bit back to Earth.
"I think this is an incredibly ambitious and fun mission," she said.
[BBC]
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Oct 19, 2026
By Jason Lange
WASHINGTON, Oct 19 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump's approval rating fell to a record low as Americans worried about high gasoline prices and appeared ready to punish ?his Republican Party in the November 3 congressional elections, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll that ?closed on Monday.
Some 31% of Americans approve of Trump's performance in office, down a percentage point from two weeks earlier ?and the lowest level in either of his presidential terms, the four-day poll showed.
Asked which party they would vote for if the congressional elections were held today in what is known as a "generic ballot" question, some 47% of registered voters in the nationwide poll picked Democrats and 35% chose Republicans. The 12-point Democratic ?advantage was the widest over the ?current election cycle and could bolster Democratic hopes of seizing control of the US House of Representatives and the US Senate.
For Republicans, losing control of either ?chamber could complicate Trump's agenda in the last two years of his term.
Generic ballot polls are national polls that provide an overall view of which party poll respondents want to see in charge in Congress. While ?these polls ?provide a view of national public sentiment, they ?do not capture all the nuances of ?the state-by-state and district-by-district contests that determine control of the Senate and House, contests in which Republicans hold some structural advantages.
A Reuters/Ipsos poll two weeks earlier showed Democrats leading Republicans by 7 points, 44% to 37%.
Much of the drop in support for Republican congressional candidates was due to a larger share of women saying they would pick Democrats. Some 50% of female voters said they would vote Democratic, ?compared to 32% eyeing Republican candidates. Men also favored ?Democrats, but by a smaller margin.
Trump's popularity has suffered since ?he ordered military strikes on
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Oct 19, 2026
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with a bipartisan group of lawmakers on Monday and raised concerns about President Donald Trump's decision to waive key sanctions on Russia, as members of Congress push back against the president's moves to ease economic pressure on Moscow.
During the video call, Zelenskyy reported concerns over disruptions to U.S. intelligence sharing and the administration's decision to waive Russia sanctions. He also told lawmakers that critical Starlink services remained degraded, hindering Ukraine's ability to intercept drones from Moscow, according to a readout from Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Thom Tillis (R-N.C.).
Blumenthal and Tillis led the meeting, which included members of both the House and the Senate.
"Funding Russia's war machine, disabling Ukraine's satellite communications, and crippling its air defense are all impediments to peace," the senators wrote in a joint statement. "Trying to appease a murderous thug like Vladimir Putin will only prolong this war and bring greater casualties."
According to the readout, Zelenskyy also raised concerns about delays in the delivery of critical air-defense interceptors. "As a result of these disruptions, civilians — children — are dying," Blumenthal and Tillis said.
In his own social media post, Zelenskyy reiterated what he told lawmakers and said he has received "no explanation" from America on intelligence sharing and Starlink degradation.
"Without America, things would be much harder for us," Zelenskyy told lawmakers in the video.
The call comes days after Trump signed an executive order on Friday waiving key sanctions on Russia that were outlined in the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning
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Oct 19, 2026
It seems that almost daily, a big tech company releases a new AI-driven digital assistant. Muse by Meta, Gemini by Google, dots by OpenAI. By the time this article is published, a new one from [insert tech company here] will probably have a press release touting its ability to manage your work and life — to take things off your plate, automate your processes, speed up your tedious tasks. It sounds helpful and, to lower the bar, harmless.
But some researchers say this is the beginning of a treacherous path for humankind, one where bots take more and more off our plate until all that's left is an empty vessel, and we human users become nothing more than thoughtless "approvers."
It's not just a threat to jobs. They warn that allowing our skills and knowledge to deteriorate, and surrendering our critical thinking to AI, poses an existential danger to humanity.
One term for this path is "gradual disempowerment" — a scenario where AI displaces human labor in the economy, replaces human decision-making in all key societal concerns, erodes human creativity, and degrades human cognition along the way.
And though the word "gradual" i
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Oct 19, 2026
LAS VEGAS (AP) — A Canadian man was convicted of animal cruelty charges Monday for snatching a flamingo named Peachy from its enclosure at an iconic Las Vegas hotel. Prosecutors said it was a malicious prank while a lawyer for the tourist insisted it was drunken foolishness not meant to harm the bird.
Prosecutors said tourist Mitchell Fairbarn hurt and frightened the 27-year-old Chilean flamingo when he took it from its habitat at the Flamingo Las Vegas Hotel and Casino and carried the squawking bird to his room March 3. Defense attorney Josh Tomsheck told jurors at trial in a Nevada court that the man deeply regretted the "bad decisions" he made while intoxicated.
After about five hours of deliberations, jurors returned convictions on felony and misdemeanor animal cruelty counts against the Ontario, Canada, man.
Man remains under house arrest awaiting sentencing
Fairbarn remains under house arrest pending a sentencing hearing set for Dec. 1. He faces up to four years in prison for the felony and possibly six more months for the misdemeanor conviction. Following the verdict, he declined to comment as he left the courtroom with his wife. He showed no visible emotion.
His lawyer also had no comment.
Since the incident, the flamingo has been doing all right physically but is more anxious and nervous when being evaluated, said Peachy's veterinarian, Tiffany Moore, medical director of Lone Mountain Animal Hospital.
Prosecutors told jurors earlier that Fairbarn willfully caused the bird physical pain, noting feathers were found on the hotel floor. Video showed the bird squawking while Fairbarn handled it and prosecutors said Peachy felt pain when it was pulled by its feet.
Video played at the trial showed Fairbarn holding the flamingo in an elevator and carrying it down a hotel hallway at the famou
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Oct 19, 2026
A Russian satellite came dangerously close to a Finnish-American satellite this weekend in a provocative maneuver that could foreshadow the new norm for space warfare.
According to public orbital tracking data, KOSMOS-2612, a Russian satellite launched in April with very few details disclosed, approached too close for comfort to ICEYE-X36, an imaging satellite from the Finnish company ICEYE that is owned by its U.S. subsidiary and has been used by the Ukrainian military. Nobody knows quite what KOSMOS-2612 did or what its intentions were, but the two satellites were, at most, a few hundred meters apart, with some estimates putting the distance at within 30 meters. Though the exact distance is unclear, the encounter still appears to be the closest known deliberate and uninvited interaction between two active spacecraft in low-Earth orbit.
No explanatory or corroborating statements have emerged from Russian or U.S. defense officials or from ICEYE, leaving outside experts to speculate about the apparent orbital game of cat and mouse that unfolded overhead.
Such a maneuver is not inherently aggressive or ill-intentioned, says Victoria Samson, head of space policy at the Secure World Foundation. But when taken in the context, the close approach is concerning.
"You're looking at what Russia is doing here, not in terms, specifically, of what's happening in space but as part of a larger examination of what's happening on Earth," Samson says. "Russia and Ukraine are literally at war with each other. And
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Oct 19, 2026
By Sudip Kar-Gupta and Elizabeth Pineau
PARIS, Oct 19 (Reuters) - French authorities set curfews in parts of several cities on Monday, including Paris, Lille and Nice, as they faced pressure over security failings after a weekend of riots and looting stemming from nationwide anti-government protests.
Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu had ruled out a blanket curfew in Paris but not a state of emergency, and had said ?it was more appropriate for now to apply partial and localised curfews.
"My determination to restore order is absolute," he told reporters.
Paris police said they had issued orders barring protests in certain areas of ?the French capital from 8 p.m. (1800 GMT) and had issued a curfew around the Place de la Republique and Les Halles from 11:00 p.m. Both would remain in effect until 6 a.m. on Tuesday morning.
"A police deployment is in place to ensure strict compliance with these measures," ?the police said in a statement.
A source in Lecornu's office said a curfew for minors had been set between 8 p.m. and 6 a.m. for the next two days in Lille, Douai, Wattignies and Denain with the agreement of the local mayors.
In Nice, mayor Eric Ciotti said in a video posted online that he had signed an order installing a curfew for minors in central Nice overnight.
Marseille banned gatherings and demonstrations. French unions meanwhile called for a new round of strikes and rallies on November 5.
The weekend of looting and violence between some protesters and police followed weeks of student demonstrations, rocking France six months ahead of its next presidential election and highlighting pressures from a weak economy and surging debt.
MINISTER ?BLAMES FAR LEFT
Lecornu blamed far-left groups for some of France's worst unrest in ?years. "There is, after all, a far-left movement that wants to cause — we can't put it any more strongly — profound unrest in the co
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Oct 19, 2026
Homeland Security Investigations task force officers escort a suspect accused of illegally registering to vote during a federal operation Monday in Commerce. (Jae C. Hong / Associated Press)Federal authorities have charged 28 people from across California with illegally registering to vote or casting ballots in federal elections despite not being U.S. citizens — again escalating an election battle between the state and the Trump administration just weeks before the Nov. 3 midterms.
Authorities said 11 of the 28 were arrested as of Monday morning and that the 17 others "will be in custody in the near future." Some of the 28, all of whom are lawful permanent residents of the U.S., are charged with lying about registering or voting on their naturalization paperwork, officials said; 21 of them are suspected of casting votes, some in multiple elections. None are undocumented immigrants, a favorite target of President Trump and a group he has accused of infiltrating U.S. elections in the past.
Those charged represent a tiny fraction of the 20,000 "likely noncitizens" that the Justice Department alleged are on California rolls just last week, and an even tinier fraction of the more than 190,000 noncitizens the Trump administration alleged were on state rolls as recently as July.
State officials have previously warned — along with independent elections experts — that the Trump administration has badly overstated voter fraud claims in other states — including in Nevada, where officials recently found that all 185 people the Justice Department flagged as potential noncitizens were in fact citizens —
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Oct 19, 2026
The 2026 midterm elections are just two weeks away. So where do things stand — nationwide — in the race to control Congress? Which party has a better chance of, you know, winning? To get a sense of that, it helps to geek out over some cold, hard data.
The usual caveats apply, of course. Polls aren't predictions; they're momentary snapshots of public opinion. Big events can, and often do, change the course of elections.
Yet the stakes in November couldn't be higher, especially for President Trump, who has enjoyed complete Republican control of Congress for the first half of his second term. Flipping the House would give Democrats the power to block the president's agenda, investigate his administration and even impeach him (again); flipping the Senate would allow them to stymie his Supreme Court nominees too.
The state-by-state midterm landscape is finally taking shape — and a few clear polling trends are emerging. Here are the numbers to watch as Election Day nears.
The generic congressional ballot Every pollster asks a version of the same question: If an election for U.S. Congress were held today, which party's candidate would you vote for in your district? In fact, this particular polling prompt is so pervasive, it's known as the "generic ballot" (at least among politics nerds).
You obviously can't divine the outcome of an entire midterm election from a single question that flattens 435 House contests into a binary choice between "the Democrat" and "the Republican." But the generic ballot can suggest which direction voters are heading.
History is helpful here,
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Oct 19, 2026
The 2026 midterm elections are just two weeks away. So where do things stand — nationwide — in the race to control Congress? Which party has a better chance of, you know, winning? To get a sense of that, it helps to geek out over some cold, hard data.
The usual caveats apply, of course. Polls aren't predictions; they're momentary snapshots of public opinion. Big events can, and often do, change the course of elections.
Yet the stakes in November couldn't be higher, especially for President Trump, who has enjoyed complete Republican control of Congress for the first half of his second term. Flipping the House would give Democrats the power to block the president's agenda, investigate his administration and even impeach him (again); flipping the Senate would allow them to stymie his Supreme Court nominees too.
The state-by-state midterm landscape is finally taking shape — and a few clear polling trends are emerging. Here are the numbers to watch as Election Day nears.
The generic congressional ballot Every pollster asks a version of the same question: If an election for U.S. Congress were held today, which party's candidate would you vote for in your district? In fact, this particular polling prompt is so pervasive, it's known as the "generic ballot" (at least among politics nerds).
You obviously can't divine the outcome of an entire midterm election from a single question that flattens 435 House contests into a binary choice between "the Democrat" and "the Republican." But the generic ballot can suggest which direction voters are heading.
History is helpful here,
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Oct 19, 2026
Satellite images taken a decade ago captured a plane-like shape on a remote island, fueling theories that it could be the wreckage of the aircraft flown by pioneering aviator Amelia Earhart when she disappeared in 1937 during her ambitious round-the-world flight.
The photographs led to a highly anticipated October expedition that Purdue University described as the best chance yet at locating the vanished aircraft. Enthusiasts around the globe watched with bated breath, hoping the nearly 90-year mystery would be solved.
But on Oct. 19, the expedition team announced that the object was not Earhart's Electra 10E plane, but rather likely a "collection of large trees."
"We accomplished our goal to determine what the Taraia Object was, and we're deeply grateful to the private donors who shared our vision and made this journey possible," lead archaeologist Rick Pettigrew said in a statement. "Our team remains in great spirits and proud of what was accomplished."
The latest expedition follows the same pattern as every other that came before it - great anticipation followed by dashed hopes and disappointment. Two years ago, an exploration company announced that what it thought was Earhart's plane on the ocean floor was just a rock formation.
But despite the many
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Oct 19, 2026
Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said Sunday that he warned the White House of "unintended consequences" that could stem from waiving sanctions on Russia.
President Trump signed an executive order last week waiving sanctions on Russia that were slated to take effect under a legislative package championed by former Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and passed by Congress with overwhelming bipartisan support. The move quickly sparked bipartisan backlash.
Asked whether he wants to waive the tariffs or forgo the move, Johnson told Fox News host Larry Kudlow, "Congress voted on this decisively just several weeks ago, and we understand that Putin cannot be trusted."
"He demonstrates that over and over and over," Johnson said. "So I did talk to several of my colleagues yesterday who had concerns about that. They're on committees of jurisdiction, like intelligence and foreign affairs, and I didn't talk to the president yesterday because he and I are both traveling nonstop and we're on different schedules. But I told the White House team that we need to talk about it, and I think carefully consider the unintended consequences that may ensue from that."
Johnson added that he knows the "president's evaluating this as he does everything else."
"Look, he has two major objectives, as you know, Larry. Every day he wants to keep America safe, and he wants to bring down the cost of living for every American. He thinks outside the box with creative ideas all the time, and he carefully evaluates those. So I think th
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Oct 19, 2026
HARPERS FERRY, W.Va. - The jagged limestone rocks of Old Standard Quarry have weathered many eras of history. The property was the site of a Civil War battle, then a quarry and is now a popular destination for bungee jumping, its dark green water fed by a natural spring.
Recently, the state proposed yet another use for the land: as storage for radioactive nuclear waste from around the country.
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"I thought it was a joke," said Pasha Majdi, president of the Jefferson County Commission. "It doesn't make any sense."
It wasn't a joke. Without consulting residents or local officials, Gov. Patrick Morrisey's energy office submitted a detailed pitch to the Trump administration offering the Jefferson County quarry and three other sites for a potential "Nuclear Lifecycle Innovation Campus."
The Trump administration has said such campuses would need to agree to store spent nuclear fuel - one of the nation's most vexing environmental problems - in exchange for federal support for research, development and production facilities that aim to modernize and grow the country's nuclear power infrastructure.
The administration claims the campuses could create 25,000 jobs and generate tens of billions of dollars in private investment and tax revenue. Those economics are alluring to states eager for development.
Twenty-six expressed some manner of interest before the federal government chose Utah, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Idaho and West Virginia as finalists.
"West Virginia is intentionally beginning with nuclear initiatives that are actionable and high-value, particularly those tied to the spent and p
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Oct 19, 2026
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court agreed on Monday to consider whether Congress had the constitutional authority to impose a ban on distilling spirits in private homes more than 150 years ago.
Plaintiffs challenging the prohibition on home distilling claim the 1868 law is an antiquated relic of Reconstruction-era politics. They argue that Congress overstepped its taxation powers when it enacted the home distilling ban as part of a tax reform measure designed to curb fraud by commercial distillers.
Government attorneys counter that Congress properly restricted where spirits can be distilled to prevent producers from evading federal excise taxes. They warn that lifting the ban would violate Supreme Court precedent and erode congressional powers.
Federal law makes home distilling a crime punishable by a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a $10,000 fine.
Separate challenges to the law divided two federal circuit courts, which issued conflicting decisions in April, only 11 days apart.
A three-judge panel from the Sixth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the federal ban in a case brought by John Ream, a brewpub owner from Newark, Ohio, who wants to distill whisky at home for his personal consumption.
A Fifth Circuit panel ruled in favor of different plaintiffs — members of the Texas-based Hobby Distillers Association — and concluded that statutory prohibitions on in-home distilling are outside the scope of Congress' taxing power under the Constitution.
The Supreme Court agreed to review the Fifth Cir
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Oct 19, 2026
Ukraine's 92nd Separate Assault Brigade shared a video on Monday showing an injured soldier evacuated by drone. (Ukraine's 92nd Assault Brigade)Ukraine has shared a video showing what it says is the world's first evacuation of an injured soldier from the frontlines by drone.
The "historic" mission comes just as Kyiv faces a dire turn in its relationship with Washington over the withdrawal of support in its fight against Russia.
Shared by the 92nd Separate Assault Brigade on Monday, the video shows the soldier strapping himself into a large drone and being flown at what appears to be relatively low altitude over blurred-out territory. The drone carefully lowers him down and the drone operator greets him with "Welcome back to the ground!" The video also showed blurred faces of drone operators who carried out the mission.
The post said the unidentified infantryman was wounded while at his position. "Due to intense enemy drone activity and the presence of landmines, evacuation using conventional unmanned ground vehicles was impossible," the brigade said.
"At that point, the specialists in our unit took i
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Oct 19, 2026
Kids will soon have a financial interest in the future of space.
"Next year, I will give one of my SpaceX (SPCX) shares to every kid in America. This will be the first of many," SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk said in an X post on Monday.
Musk didn't specify an age range for the proposed gift.
SpaceX stock rose 1% in premarket trading on Monday.
There are currently about 73 million children under the age of 18 living in America, according to the latest data from the Census Bureau. That number goes down to about 18.5 million for newborns up to 4 years old.
SpaceX COO Gwynne Shotwell has already pledged a personal donation of over $320 million in SpaceX stock to fund Trump Accounts for more than two million children.
Brian Sozzi is Yahoo Finance's Executive Editor, host of the
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Oct 19, 2026
A federal judge refused the Department of Justice's (DOJ) demand to step aside from a key hearing on Monday over the future of East Potomac Park, which President Trump wants to renovate into a championship-style golf course.
The Trump administration has accused U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes of bias after she yelled at a government attorney last week to express disappointment that hundreds of trees were cut down at the park without additional notice.
The DOJ accused her of "violating the basic norms" that a judge be fair and impartial.
"It is easy to weaponize selective quotations to bring a baseless recusal motion. But it is much harder to meet the demanding legal standard against a full record," Reyes wrote in a 13-page opinion denying the effort late Sunday.
"By any objective measure, the Government fails to meet the standard for recusal," she continued.
Reyes, an appointee of former President Biden who serves on the federal bench in the nation's capital, oversees a lawsuit brought by a preservationist group and individual golfers.
They challenge Trump's desire for a massive renovation at East Potomac Park that would shift it into a championship-style golf course, saying the project is unlawful. The president
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Oct 19, 2026
A federal judge refused the Department of Justice's (DOJ) demand to step aside from a key hearing on Monday over the future of East Potomac Park, which President Trump wants to renovate into a championship-style golf course.
The Trump administration has accused U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes of bias after she yelled at a government attorney last week to express disappointment that hundreds of trees were cut down at the park without additional notice.
The DOJ accused her of "violating the basic norms" that a judge be fair and impartial.
"It is easy to weaponize selective quotations to bring a baseless recusal motion. But it is much harder to meet the demanding legal standard against a full record," Reyes wrote in a 13-page opinion denying the effort late Sunday.
"By any objective measure, the Government fails to meet the standard for recusal," she continued.
Reyes, an appointee of former President Biden who serves on the federal bench in the nation's capital, oversees a lawsuit brought by a preservationist group and individual golfers.
They challenge Trump's desire for a massive renovation at East Potomac Park that would shift it into a championship-style golf course, saying the project is unlawful. The president
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Oct 19, 2026
A search is ongoing to find the 11 people missing after a boat carrying 27 people capsized early Friday in the Pacific Ocean.
Several of the 16 survivors pulled from the water were treated for injuries consistent with shark bites, the U.S. Coast Guard said.
Aircraft and vessels are continuing the search for the missing passengers in waters about 140 miles west of Ensenada, Mexico, after the U.S. Coast Guard received a distress call at 1 a.m. Friday, reporting a vessel taking on water.
Helicopter crews arrived about an hour later and found passengers floating amid debris. It took around 90 minutes to pull 16 people from the water.
"People were holding onto each other, to debris, just treading and trying to stay above water before being rescued," Lt. Santiago Tamburini told CBC.
All 16 survivors are Mexican nationals, the Mexican consulate in San Diego told the Associated Press. The survivors were taken to a Coast Guard base in San Diego and then to local hospitals, where two are in critical condition, CBC reported.
"Several of the individuals rescued were suffering from severe injuries consistent with shark bites, and the Coast Guard provided life-saving first aid while en route (to) San Diego," the U.S. Coast Guard said in a statement on Saturday.
Petty Officer C
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Oct 19, 2026
The balance of power in state governments is on the ballot in many states this November.
Both parties could win "trifectas" -- control of the governor's mansion and both chambers of the state legislature -- in some states, which would give them more power to advance their agendas.
Jim West/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images - PHOTO: The Arizona State Capitol complex in Phoenix, Feb. 2, 2026.Where Democrats are eyeing trifectas
"It's a great environment for Democrats this year and the opportunity in state legislatures is huge," Will Rusche, an official with the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee, told ABC News.
One opportunity is in Pennsylvania, where Democrats control the state House (103 Democrats to 100 Republicans) but the GOP holds the state Senate (23 Democrats to 27 Republicans).
Democrats are hoping to net three seats to flip the Senate and hold onto the governorship if Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro wins reelection. Only half of Pennsylvania's state Senate seats are up for reelection.
Democrats have said they'll raise the minimum wage, codify abortion rights and work on transportation funding if they have a trifecta. The Pennsylvania Democratic Party, in partnership with Shapiro, is running the "Rise Up Pennsylvania Initiative" for getting out the vote for congressional, gubernatorial and statehouse elections.
"You've got the power to help us get more stuff done here in Pennsylvania," Shapiro
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Oct 19, 2026
The balance of power in state governments is on the ballot in many states this November.
Both parties could win "trifectas" -- control of the governor's mansion and both chambers of the state legislature -- in some states, which would give them more power to advance their agendas.
Jim West/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images - PHOTO: The Arizona State Capitol complex in Phoenix, Feb. 2, 2026.Where Democrats are eyeing trifectas
"It's a great environment for Democrats this year and the opportunity in state legislatures is huge," Will Rusche, an official with the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee, told ABC News.
One opportunity is in Pennsylvania, where Democrats control the state House (103 Democrats to 100 Republicans) but the GOP holds the state Senate (23 Democrats to 27 Republicans).
Democrats are hoping to net three seats to flip the Senate and hold onto the governorship if Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro wins reelection. Only half of Pennsylvania's state Senate seats are up for reelection.
Democrats have said they'll raise the minimum wage, codify abortion rights and work on transportation funding if they have a trifecta. The Pennsylvania Democratic Party, in partnership with Shapiro, is running the "Rise Up Pennsylvania Initiative" for getting out the vote for congressional, gubernatorial and statehouse elections.
"You've got the power to help us get more stuff done here in Pennsylvania," Shapiro
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Oct 19, 2026
Protests such as this one in Lyon rocked France over the weekend (Jeff PACHOUD)Protesters blocked the entrance to the Louvre in Paris on Monday, as French authorities scrambled to stem public discontent fuelling mass cost-of-living demonstrations that over the weekend spilled over into some of the worst street violence in recent years.
President Emmanuel Macron ordered a security review as the country's interior minister admitted that the police "had lost control" during the weekend's unrest.
Undeterred, the Yellow Vests movement which organised the weekend's rallies called for a new round of protests Saturday.
Italy, Spain and Portugal, where anger over rising prices has also led to protests, were keeping a nervous eye on the developments after smaller clashes broke out in Milan over the weekend and protests about housing costs persisted in Spanish cities.
Some half a million people turned out across France to protest the surging cost of living, a culmination of four weeks of protests that began with high school students demanding better conditions at their schools.
What started as peaceful demonstrations morphed into violence in some places, as masked groups on the sidelines of the protests attacked law enforcement, broke into town halls and other public buildings, setting many of them ablaze, looted shops, and set fire to cars, bicycles and scooters on the streets.
Interior Minister Laurent Nunez offered to resign on Monday after more than 2,500 people were arrested and nearly 1,000 members of the security forces injured. Protesters were also hurt, with one demonstrator's hand blown off by a police crowd-control grenade.
"On Saturday, in some major cities, you couldn't look shopkeepers in the eye after hundreds of shops had been looted and tell t
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Oct 19, 2026
Homebuyers are backing out of contracts at near-record rates, a potential sign of how higher mortgage rates are prompting buyers to rethink their plans.
Nationwide, 14.5% of homes fell out of contract in September, according to Redfin data, the highest share on record apart from the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Read more: Why the housing market is in for 'a challenging couple months'
Homes can fall out of contract for a number of reasons, such as inspection findings or financing pitfalls, or when a buyer just has a change of heart. But pending sales tend to fall through at higher rates when buyers have more options and more negotiating power, as they currently do in much of the country.
Indeed, metro areas that are notably buyer's markets, like Jacksonville and Tampa, Fla., and Las Vegas, all had contract cancellation rates approaching 20%, higher than anywhere else in the country. But they're relatively rare in strong seller's markets like San Francisco, where just 2.8% of deals fell apart.
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Oct 19, 2026
Senate Democrats are quietly floating the ouster of Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth after the Nov. 3 election as the political price for cooperation on key defense-related issues in the postelection lame-duck session, and they may have some GOP support to shake up the Pentagon's leadership, according to Senate sources.
The Defense Department has set recruiting records under Hegseth's leadership, and the Pentagon chief appears to have strong support from President Trump, who likes to brag that Hegseth looks like a military leader from "central casting."
But some Republican senators haven't been happy with Hegseth's leadership, especially his ouster of well-respected military leaders such as Army Secretary Dan Driscoll, Army chief of staff Randy George, Navy Secretary John Phelan and four-star Gen. Chris Donahue, the top U.S. military officer in Europe.
Democrats view Hegseth's leadership as a disaster and are looking for leverage to push him out after the midterm elections, according to Senate sources, just as they attempted to push former Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem out of her job during the prolonged stalemate over funding for her department earlier this year.
Trump eventually fired Noem after key Republican senators, such as Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.), turned against her publicly.
Now Democrats have significant leverage over Hegseth's future at the Pentagon as they're threatening to hold up emergency defense funding the White House requested in June as well as regular funding for the Defense Department, which expires on Dec. 11.
Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.), a member of the Senate A
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Oct 19, 2026
(Credit: Getty Images)The immortal jellyfish is capable of winding back its lifecycle to become young again. Scientists are unlocking its cellular secrets to find ways human cells could rejuvenate too.
The tiny translucent jellyfish Turritopsis dohrnii is surprisingly hard to kill. The marine biologist Maria Miglietta of Texas A&M University at Galveston has cut them, boiled them, starved them, overloaded their tanks with salt or plopped them in fresh water - but the nifty creatures seem to cheat death every time.
Under duress, they stop in their tracks and fall to the bottom of their tank. Then something astonishing happens: the animals transform into balls of cells that bear no resemblance to the tentacled umbrella shape of adult jellyfish, known as the medusa. Within one to three days, a structure called a polyp - an early jellyfish life stage - buds off from this ball of cells and then grows into a colony, which will eventually sprout new medusae.
"From one jellyfish that doesn't die, then you get this colony that can form hundreds more," Miglietta says. And each one of these new jellyfish can, in principle, rejuvenate the same way - exhibiting a seemingly endless capacity to wind back to the clock to youth.
Miglietta and other scientists are now studying the genetic and molecular processes that make Turritopsis dohrnii's death-defying feat possible. By unlocking these secrets, scientists eventually hope to explore whether they can trigger similar kinds of processes in humans. The goal is not to turn elderly people back into babies, Benjamin Button-style - an idea that's firmly in the real
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Oct 19, 2026
By Alasdair Pal
SYDNEY, Oct 19 (Reuters) - Australian lawmaker Helen Haines was in a critical condition on Monday after being deliberately struck by a car outside her office, with ?Prime Minister Anthony Albanese saying a terrorism taskforce would be investigating the suspect arrested.
Albanese said ?it was too early to determine the motive for the attack but pointed to the changing face of social media ?having raised the temperature around politics in a country where such violence is extremely rare.
Victoria Police said a 43-year-old man had been arrested after the attack on independent MP Haines in Wangaratta, around three hours' drive northeast of Melbourne.
Haines, 65, was airlifted to hospital, Albanese said.
When asked by public broadcaster ABC whether the increased ?anger around politics had led to ?worries about attacks on politicians, the prime minister pointed to the anonymity of online content.
"The concern, if you look at anyone's social media feeds and look ?at the comments, people will say things that they would never say face to face. But the temperature has undoubtedly been increased. Not just here in Australia, of course. We've seen incidents internationally as well," he ?said.
"Here ?in Australia, it is a good thing that politicians ?are able to go about their community ?and engage with people. I don't want to see a political system in which you can't have conversations with people at the supermarket, in the street, at street meetings, public forums. That's an important part of our democracy."
NO THREAT TO PUBLIC
Victoria Police Acting Superintendent Ashley Mason told a press conference there was no further threat to the public from the incident.
"All of our thoughts are with Helen, ?her family, her friends, her team, and her community ?at this extremely difficult time. We are praying for her ?full recovery," Albanese earlier told a press ?confere
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Oct 19, 2026
Republicans are already starting to blame each other as the midterm election spirals further out of their control.
Everyone is bracing for President Donald Trump's ire if the party loses big in November. House Republicans are planning to accuse the Senate side. Trump political aides have taken to directly calling campaigns they feel aren't performing well enough. National GOP operatives are quietly furious at lackluster candidates who didn't do enough to prepare for a tough year despite early warnings. And some GOP candidates are pointing the finger back at their own party committees.
It's a vicious cycle, according to more than a dozen top GOP operatives and lawmakers who spoke to POLITICO, some of whom were granted anonymity to candidly discuss private conversations.
"If it happens, there will be plenty of blame to go around," said Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R-N.J.), who is in his own tighter-than-comfortable race.
That Republicans have already spent significant time gaming out the aftermath and how to insulate themselves from the fallout of what they fear will be significant GOP losses illustrates how precarious the current landscape is for the party. That's even as top Republicans publicly insist they are bullish on keeping control of both chambers in Congress.
Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio), who is widely expected to be the next National Republican Senatorial Committee chair, told reporters Thursday that "if the Democrats do win the House and the Senate, it won't be because of their left-wing lunatic candidates, it'll be because people are pissed off about gas prices, and I get that."
House Republicans are annoyed with Senate Republicans for fumbling a once-safe GOP map as well as creating top-of-the-ticket drag for them with bad candidates in some key states — but senators privately put the onus on T
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Oct 19, 2026
Illustration: Shoshana Gordon/AxiosAI is producing reality-bending midterm ads about defaced Bibles, upscale dinners and a board game with a "Death to America" playing card.
Why it matters: The warnings about deepfakes are coming true. Election laws haven't kept pace with a world where campaigns can put words in opponents' mouths and create realistic-looking scenes that didn't happen.
The Wesleyan Media Project found $137 million had been spent on 220 AI-generated ads through Oct. 11, mostly from Republicans.Four states have laws prohibiting certain uses of AI-generated deepfakes in political ads, while 27 more require some form of disclosure about their use. No federal law specifically regulates AI-generated political ads.The big picture: An Axios analysis found numerous political ads partly or fully made by generative AI, sometimes undisclosed.
Georgia Senate: Senate Leadership Fund, a super PAC aligned with Senate Republicans, has run a series of AI-generated
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Oct 19, 2026
First lady Melania Trump pressed her husband's administration to give women's health greater priority in medical research, USA TODAY has learned — a push expected to culminate Oct. 19 in an executive order creating a new division at the National Institutes of Health.
President Donald Trump is expected to establish the Women's Health Division and a White House Women's Health Task Force aimed at overhauling the federal government's approach to women's health, according to a White House document obtained by USA TODAY.
The initiative comes amid a flurry of meetings set up by the first lady herself inside the East Wing including working sessions with physicians and other experts in the public and private sectors. She met with officials from Health and Human Services. She wanted to understand gaps in care.
"I acted quickly and organized working sessions between the doctors who I originally consulted, East Wing policy makers, the President, Secretary Kennedy, and other key stakeholders to shape this Executive Order, establish the task force, and create a new department within the NIH, dedicated to women's health exclusively," the first lady said in a statement exclusively provided to USA TODAY by her senior advisor, Marc Beckman.
The first lady is set to lead the event in the Rose Garden, giving a speech highlighting the need for women's health research, using artificial intelligence to speed up health discoveries, ensuring care is accessible and affordable, and approaching to
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Oct 19, 2026
WASHINGTON - Lawmakers on the Senate Armed Services Committee called on the Pentagon to publicly reveal the total cost of the war in Iran, demanding non-classified answers about the damage to U.S. bases and other military facilities in the Middle East.
Five Democratic senators wrote in a letter to Adm. Brad Cooper, the head of U.S. Central Command, that the Trump administration's "ongoing efforts to hide the true cost of this war are outrageous and unacceptable."
The letter, first reported by USA TODAY, asks the Pentagon to reveal an estimated cost of the damage, a timeline for beginning repairs, and how much it has spent adapting new facilities to account for the damage done to military bases in the region.
The U.S. military estimated that the Iran war has cost $43.6 billion as of Sept. 3, according to an update provided by Central Command to the congressional national security committees. The cost update, however, does not account for damage to U.S. bases and other military facilities in the region that were damaged or destroyed by Iranian strikes.
"During a recent classified briefing, you provided information to the Senate Armed Services Committee on the estimated cost of the damage to U.S. bases and facilities," the senators wrote. "However, tha
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Oct 19, 2026
CYPRESS, Texas - There's something missing in this conservative Houston suburb on the eve of early voting next Monday: Visible support for Republicans, particularly the embattled Senate candidate.
In the sprawling Bridgeland subdivision, yard signs appear to favor Democratic state Rep. James Talarico over his rival, GOP Attorney General Ken Paxton. The signage gap matches recent polling, which shows Talarico, a four-term state representative, either tied or several points ahead of Paxton, who has never lost an election in 25 years.
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Nowhere is that more clear than on Bridgeland's Inspiration Drive, where voters on both sides of the political aisle say that Paxton, dogged by corruption scandals and accusations of infidelity, has lost support from a crucial segment of the electorate: suburban women. Interviews with these female voters, who tend to outvote men and therefore carry extra sway in growing communities, reveal a combination of apathy toward Paxton's candidacy and an active shift by some conservatives toward his Democratic opponent.
Republican Tess Eugenio, who works in human resources, said there is a split on her street between the vocal supporters for Talarico and those whom she suspects will vote for Paxton, even if they're not advertising it.
"People don't want to talk about whether they're going to vote for him, but they will," Eugenio, 57, said of Paxton. "The question is, will it be enough?"
Across the street, Maria Kostecka, a retired preschool teacher, said female friends and neighbors have approached her expressing enthusiasm for Talarico, especially after she posted his campaign yard sign.
"I start to fee
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Oct 19, 2026
The spacecraft will head to Mars's larger moon, Phobos [JAXA]
A space mission is set to launch on Monday that will attempt to grab a piece of Mars' moon Phobos and bring it back to Earth.
If it is successful, this will become the first time a sample has been returned from Mars or its moons to be analysed in laboratories here on Earth.
The spacecraft will blast off from Japan and arrive at Phobos in August 2027.
It is hoped that the Mars Moons Exploration (MMX) mission, which is led by the Japanese Space Agency, will solve the mystery of how Mars's moons formed.
Prof Sara Russell, from the Natural History Museum, who is the MMX mission's deputy for sample analysis, said: "There hasn't yet been a successful mission to go to Phobos and bring a bit back to Earth.
"I think this is an incredibly ambitious and fun mission," she said.
[BBC]
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Oct 19, 2026
Oct. 19 (UPI) -- The U.S. Air Force late Sunday identified Tech. Sgt. Ian Patterson as the U.S. airman who died a day earlier after falling during a military demonstration ahead of a University of Texas at San Antonio football game.
Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada made the identification public in a statement, saying Patterson was a 15-year veteran from Fort Stewart, Ga.
"This tragedy is felt deeply across the 57th Wing," said U.S. Air Force Brig. Gen. Scott Mills, 57th Wing commander.
"Tech. Sgt. Patterson and his service mattered immensely to our wing, and to the family, friends and teammates who had the privilege of knowing and serving alongside him. Our team is now focused on standing beside Ian's family, loved ones and fellow Airmen as we navigate this profound loss together."
The incident occurred Saturday at the Alamodome in San Antonio during UTSA's annual Salute to Armed Forces and Veterans game. Video of the incident shows Patterson rappelling rapidly from the stadium's ceiling and then crashing into the football field.
Patterson was transported to a hospital where he later died.
An investigation into the incident has been launched.
The football game was delayed 10 minutes because of the fall, and the American Conference issued a statement saying officials decided to continue with the game, in accordance with its bylaws and with both institutions' support, before Nellis Air Force Base had publicly confirmed Patterson's condition.
The base confirmed Patterson's death at 11:40 p.m. EDT, according to the American Conference, around the same time the game concluded.
UTSA said its M
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Oct 19, 2026
By Gram Slattery
SAMARKAND, Oct 19 (Reuters) - Secretary of State Marco Rubio denied on Monday that the United States had paused some ?intelligence sharing with Ukraine, contradicting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy who said ?Washington had briefly done just that.
Speaking to NBC's Meet the Press on Sunday, Zelenskiy had said intelligence ?sharing had been interrupted, but later "de-blocked."
"We are very thankful for this," he said. "Now it works."
But Rubio, speaking to reporters during a visit to Uzbekistan on Monday morning, said intelligence was in fact never interrupted in the first place.
"I ?don't know where he's getting ?these things or why he's saying these things to the press. You should go back and ask him. There's ?been no pause," Rubio told reporters after touring Registan Square, a historic complex of madrassas in Samarkand.
"What he should be focused on, and what we want to ?be ?focused on, is bringing an end to ?this war. That's what he ?should be focused on," Rubio said of Zelenskiy.
It was the latest twist in a confusing several days during which Washington and Kyiv have contradicted each other on more than one occasion and relations between the countries have deteriorated sharply.
Zelenskiy has also said he believes the US government was behind recent ?limits on Ukraine's ability to use the ?Starshield system, designed by SpaceX, which is ?crucial to defending against Russian ?drones and missiles. US officials have denied those assertions as ?well.
Ukraine has relied on US intelligence ?to spot the fast-moving ?ballistic missiles that Russia has fired in waves at its cities.
President Donald Trump had said earlier this week that Washington was still ?sharing intelligence, although Ukrainian ?officials said some Russian strikes had occurred without warning, raising questions ?about whether the intelligence was in fact flowing as normal.
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Oct 19, 2026
Carney: 'Canada must now serve' service members killed in fire
Four members of the Canadian military have died and dozens were injured at a base in the province of Alberta after a fire broke out in a grassy training area and spread rapidly due to strong winds.
Addressing the nation on Sunday from Ottawa, Prime Minister Mark Carney described it as "one of the worst tragedies for the forces on Canadian soil in peacetime".
The fire broke out at about 16:00 local time (22:00 GMT) on Saturday at Canadian Forces Base Wainwright, one of the country's busiest military training bases, and is now contained.
"The nation is in mourning for those brave members of our armed forces who we have lost," said Carney.
The BBC has confirmed that Sgt Morgan Wong, Pte Shaun Farrell, Pte Aidan Goulding and Pte Hayden Lykkemark have died.
Of the 39 injured people being cared for in hospital, at least 19 are in a critical condition, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said at a press briefing on Sunday evening.
Fire and rescue teams are remaining at the scene to contain any potential flare-ups, Wainwright Mayor Bruce Pugh told the BBC.
Members of the infantry had been conducting "high-intensity combat training with live munitions" at a grenade range and attack range, where 10 soldiers practise attacking a simulated enemy, Maj-Gen Wade Rutland told reporters at the briefing.
"There was a multitude of ordnance moving through the Wainwright training area," he said, including a grenade launcher, grenades, small arms and ammunition.
A grass fire ignited about 1km (0.6 miles) away, with the cause currently under investigation, and moved toward the attack range.
"What I would say is there was multiple training activities happening throughout the training area at the time," he
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Oct 19, 2026
A Catholic priest was killed after a crucifix fell on him during a livestreamed mass in Ecuador, church officials said.
Patricio Alfredo Sánchez Molinari died on Saturday at the Church of Perpetual Relief in Guayaquil, a coastal city about 265km southwest of the capital, Quito, the Archdiocese of Guayaquil said. He was the parish priest at the church.
Graphic footage of the mass, which circulated widely on social media before it was taken down, showed a heavy crucifix hanging on the wall behind the altar suddenly detaching and falling onto the back of the priest's head.
(Getty) The priest was facing the congregation and did not see it fall.
The video showed that he did not stand up again.
Parishioners were heard shrieking and crying, and some rushed to tend to him, while the livestream continued.
"Father, Father! Call an ambulance!" people could be heard shouting just before the broadcast cut out.
The video of the livestream was later taken down, NBC News reported.
Emergency services were immediately called to the scene, but first responders were unable to revive the priest.
The archdiocese said in a statement that he "has left to the House of the Father to enjoy his presence and glory".
Sánchez belonged to the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer, a Roman Catholic religious order founded in 1732 with a presence in 80 countries, according to the Associated Press.
A Eucharist in his memory was scheduled for Sunday evening, the archdiocese said.
Local authorities were yet to comment on the incident, and it was not
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Oct 19, 2026
Witnesses of Saturday's deadly collision in which a pickup truck barreled through a youth soccer game in Kansas, killing two people and injuring nearly a dozen others, said they are haunted by what they saw and heard.
Cole Adrian, 6, and Nicholas Schafer, 35, were killed in the incident, which unfolded shortly before 3:30 p.m. at the city-owned Stryker Sports Complex in Wichita, police said.
The deceased were both from McPherson, Kansas, but were not related to each other, a Wichita police spokesperson said. Ten other people, ages 5 to 68, were also hit and hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries, Police Capt. Aaron Moses said.
Police said a dark Chevrolet pickup drove onto a field during a youth soccer game and struck children and adults.
Erica Case said it was halftime during her 9-year-old son's soccer game on an adjacent field when she first heard an engine revving, followed by several "boom" sounds.
"I saw the truck hitting things. I saw debris flying in the air," she recalled. "I don't know if it was a cone, a chair or a person, but you could see matter flying as the truck was barreling through the soccer field at a decent rate of speed."
She said the sound will haunt her.
"The moment that I recognized that that wasn't gunshots, that that was bodies, I lost it," Case said. "I lost it because it wasn't just adults. It was also children."
Police were investigating what caused the pickup truck to barrel through a soccer field, killing a man and a child. (David Griekspoor)Case recalled the m
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Oct 19, 2026
Iranian Revolutionary Guards spokesperson Hossein Mohebbi speaks during a press conference in Tehran, Iran, on September 29. - Majid Asgaripour/Wana News Agency/Reuters
Iran has signaled that it is preparing for another round of war with the United States and has issued public threats against Washington and its allies in an apparent bid to deter President Donald Trump from restarting the current conflict.
Over the past month, Iranian military commanders have intensified a series of public messages claiming that Iran has built large stockpiles of new weapons ready to be unleashed on targets beyond the region should the US resume hostilities that began in February.
Iranian officials have threatened to broaden their targets if the conflict resumes, floating options that include cutting undersea internet cables, striking AI data centers, and attacking regional oil and gas facilities.
"The world will be amazed," Iran's Revolutionary Guards spokesperson Hossein Mohebbi said late last month. "We have new targets that have not yet been attacked," he added.
Nearly nine months after the US and Israel launched their war on Iran, the conflict has stagnated into a stalemate that has left everyone uncertain about Trump's endgame and the world grappling with economic unrest. Both sides have claimed victory - Tehran pointing to its survival
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Oct 18, 2026
Oct 18 (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin has proposed a summit next month with US President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping ?to negotiate an end to the four-year-old Ukraine conflict that would ?favour Moscow, the Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday, citing people familiar with the discussions.
The proposed summit ?comes amid warming ties between Trump and Putin especially after the US President announced a deal to buy Russian diesel and signed an order on Friday waiving key sanctions on Moscow.
Citing a former Russian intelligence officer briefed on the matter, the ?paper said that Putin's suggestion ?came in an October 9 telephone call with Trump that also yielded the diesel deal between the two countries.
The White House ?did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment, while the Kremlin could not be immediately reached outside regular business hours. The Russian and Chinese embassies in ?Washington did ?not immediately reply to requests for comment.
The ?Kremlin has suggested holding the ?trilateral dialogue on the sidelines of the upcoming Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, the WSJ report said, citing people familiar with the discussions. That summit is set to take place on November 18 to 19 in Shenzhen.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed to the Journal that discussions were taking place over a potential meeting.
"There is no clear ?understanding yet regarding the meeting itself or ?its potential agenda, although all three parties acknowledge ?the hypothetical possibility of such a ?meeting taking place," he told the Wall Street Journal.
A senior ?US official told the Journal that ?Trump had not agreed ?to such a summit, but he could be receptive to the idea.
Trump's diesel deal with Putin and the executive order waiving sanctions on Moscow ?have drawn criticism from ?Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who has warned it wo
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Oct 18, 2026
A mysterious object discovered near a remote Pacific island is not the wreckage of Amelia Earhart's missing plane, researchers said after an expedition to the site, dealing another setback to efforts to solve one of aviation's greatest mysteries nearly 90 years after the pilot disappeared.
"Evidence gathered at the Taraia Peninsula on Nikumaroro confirmed that the visual anomaly first seen in satellite imagery in 2020 was likely a collection of large trees deposited along the peninsula's sandspit," the researchers said. "By the time the team arrived at the site, a good portion of the debris had fragmented and washed away, leaving only a single Y-shaped segment," which they said is what they had initially hoped was the plane.
The researchers said the reflective surface of the anomaly, which had led them to believe it could be metal, was the result of a carbonate veneer, noting other items found nearby were "similarly coated with a shiny concretized amalgam of coral sand."
On Oct. 14, a 17-member expedition team led by Purdue University's Steve Schultz and the Archaeological Legacy Institute's Richard Pettigrew launched an expedition to investigate a mysterious object that in aerial photos appeared to resemble possible wreckage of Earhart's Lockheed Electra 10-E plane.
Severe weather kept the research team aboard their ship for three of the five days allotted for the search, while limited fuel and supplies prevented them from extending the expedition. The search area was so remote, it took the team five days a
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Oct 18, 2026
Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi warned against the U.S. renewing attacks, saying on Sunday that Tehran has "unfinished jobs" too.
"Last time you wanted to ‘finish the job', Iran emerged even stronger. Want to try your luck again? Be our guest. But be careful; we have unfinished jobs too," Araghchi wrote on social platform X.
"Netanyahu is driving America into another war to stay out of jail, whatever the consequences for Israel—let alone POTUS," he concluded.
Araghchi has previously criticized Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, referring to him in the past as a "degenerate gambler" who is "desperately seeking to save himself with more U.S. blood and treasure."
The Iran war - which is nearing its eight-month mark in around two weeks - has been broadly unpopular with the American public and contributed heavily to driving up energy costs in the U.S. as the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway for oil exports from the Persian Gulf, has been closed amid the conflict.
The conflict started with U.S.-Israeli strikes against Iran with Netanyahu
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Oct 18, 2026
US President Donald Trump (L) backed Republican candidate Ken Paxton (R) over sitting Texas senator John Cornyn (Mandel NGAN)After more than three decades of Republican dominance, Democrats in Texas see a rare chance to break through in November's midterm elections, as voter anger over immigration raids and the cost of living tests US President Donald Trump's support.
No Democrat has won statewide office in the conservative southern state since 1994, and Trump carried Texas by nearly 14 percentage points in the 2024 presidential election.
But with a US Senate seat and the governorship at stake on November 3, recent polls suggest Republicans face an unusually competitive challenge.
At the forefront is James Talarico, a 37-year-old former teacher and state lawmaker whose blend of Christian faith, economic populism and appeals for political unity has helped make the Senate race one of the country's most closely watched.
A University of Texas poll released this week put Talarico ahead of Republican Ken Paxton, the state's attorney general and a staunch Trump ally, by 50 percent to 47 percent -- a lead within the survey's margin of error.
A separate UMass Lowell poll found the two candidates tied.
A Presbyterian seminarian, Talarico has sought to attract independents and Republicans disillusioned with Trump, arguing that Texans have more in common than the country's increasingly bitter political divisions suggest.
"I'll always put Texas before any political party," he has said.
Trump, however, has campaigned aggressively for Paxton, warning at a recent rally in San Antonio that losing the seat could jeopardize the Republicans' narrow Senate majority.
"It's a killer in Congress because we have a very close majority. We can't let that happen," T
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Oct 18, 2026
With midterm elections just two weeks away, there are concerns that the federal government's pressure on election officials is breeding distrust in the system.
Federal agents have seized ballots, and voting machines have been examined. The Justice Department is locked in legal battles with states across the country over information about individual voters and this past week threatened to prosecute California election officials if they knowingly count mail-in ballots from 20,000 people the Trump administration says are "likely noncitizens."
It's a kind of interference Utah Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson, a Republican in a deeply red state, said she's never seen before.
"In the past two elections that I oversaw as lieutenant governor, the threats were all external: non-state actors, cyber security threats and other things," she said. "But now we also have threats coming from within our own government."
Federal government actions on elections In the U.S., elections are local. They're run by towns and counties and states. It's stated in Article I of the Constitution. Congress makes laws regulating elections, but the president doesn't have a role in running them.
Still, during his second term Mr. Trump has signed two executive orders around voting: one requiring documentary proof of citizenship to register to vote and another on mail-in ballots.
The administration's latest move came Thur
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Oct 18, 2026
Homeland security officers carry boxes from the Washington DC residence of Ilhan Omar, on 12 October.Photograph: J Scott Applewhite/AP
Former US president Barack Obama condemned comments by Donald Trump's "border czar" that the Republican presidential administration could "of course" strip Democratic congresswoman Ilhan Omar of her citizenship and deport her.
Obama wrote Sunday morning, on X, that "the full weight of the federal government is being brought down on a law-abiding elected official because she has dared to criticize the president."
He urged all Americans to defend Omar, regardless of their political beliefs, adding: "if this becomes the new normal, there's no reason to believe it will stop with her - or that future presidents, in either party, won't do the same." Obama, too, has had his citizenship scrutinized by Trump, who more than a decade ago fueled false conspiracy theories that Obama was born in Kenya and therefore not eligible to be president.
Related: Ilhan Omar's attorneys say federal search of her home was ‘neither justified nor lawful'
Tom Homan, Trump's "border czar", was asked on Saturday by a Fox News host whether the investigation into Omar could involve "denaturalizing and then deporting her", Homan answered: "Of course".
"If you lie during the naturalization process, there is a process to d
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Oct 18, 2026
Ukraine launched one of its biggest drone attacks this year on Russia overnight on Saturday, hitting a key oil terminal in defiance of US President Donald Trump's demand it stop hitting Russian energy infrastructure.
There have been growing tensions between Ukraine and the US in recent days, prompting fears in Kyiv it could lose essential support as it approaches another winter under relentless Russian attack. President Volodymyr Zelensky told NBC News' "Meet the Press" the US siding with Russia would be a "historic mistake."
Smoke rises above the city following an air attack on the oil terminal in Saint Petersburg, Russia, on October 18, 2026 - AFP/Getty Images
Trump said in a Truth Social post on Sunday that he doesn't want to do anything that will drive Russia away from negotiations to end the war in Ukraine, adding that he believes "great progress is being made."
At the same time, he excoriated Zelensky, saying that he "doesn't want to end this war, and probably never did."
"I am in the process of negotiating Peace in the war between Russia and Ukraine, and don't want to do anything that will drive, foolishly, Russia away from the bargaining table," Trump wrote.
Despite this, the Ukrainian president said he spoke to US envoy, Steve Witkoff and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner on Sunday as part of "nonstop communication" t
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Oct 18, 2026
Shawn Oliver, the running mate of Massachusetts Republican gubernatorial candidate Mike Minogue, suspended his campaign Sunday after he was arrested following a car crash. He is now facing one count of operating under the influence (OUI), among other charges.
"After careful reflection, I have made the decision to suspend my campaign for Lieutenant Governor," Oliver said in a statement posted to social media Sunday. "This election is too important to be overshadowed by personal matters. I want to sincerely thank everyone who has supported me throughout this journey and ask that my family's privacy be respected during this difficult time."
A New Bedford Police Department spokesperson told The Hill that Oliver flipped his car after he struck five parked vehicles — two of which sustained "extensive damage" — late Saturday night. Officers learned of the crash at around 11:40 p.m. After first responders arrived, Oliver was taken to St. Luke's Hospital in New Bedford to be treated for injuries.
The city council member was alone at the time of the crash and did not appear to be hurt, according to a report from local news outlet The New Bedford Light.
Oliver faces charges of operating under the influence of liquor, negligent operation of a motor vehicle, a marked lanes violation and speeding, the Boston Globe reported.
He was released at around 9:30 a.m. Sunday, less than three hours after he was booked, according to
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Oct 18, 2026
Clipped From Video
What began as a soccer game on a sunny Saturday in Wichita, Kansas, for children whose loved ones watched on the sidelines ended in tragedy when a pickup truck sped onto the field, killing a 6-year-old boy and a man and injuring 10 others.
The truck had been parked in a space near the soccer fields at Stryker Sports Complex before it went onto one of the fields around 3:25 p.m. local time, police said.
The driver, a 34-year-old woman, was released "pending the results of toxicology testing and a mechanical examination of her vehicle" after investigators conducted interviews with witnesses and consulted with the district attorney's office, according to a news release from the Wichita Police Department.
Two of the woman's children were with her in the truck and another was playing soccer on a different field at the complex, according to police.
Officials are still working to determine more about what happened and why. Police said Saturday evening that the woman had been cooperative in the investigation. Charges have not been filed at this time, officials said.
The 10 people injured ranged in age from 5 to 68, including five children, police said. They had injuries ranging from bruises to extremely severe injuries, though none appeared to be life-threatening. The victims who died were identified as 6-year-old Cole Adrian and 35-year-old Nicholas Schafer, police said. Police originally misidentified the 6-year-old in a release, reversing his first and last name.
An 11th person was also taken to a local hospital after experiencing medical complications unrelated to traumatic injuries, police said.
"This is a tragedy," Aaron Moses with the Wichita Police Department told re
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Oct 18, 2026
Oct 18 (Reuters) - The United States has resumed providing Ukraine critical intelligence to help it defend against Russian missile strikes, after a brief pause, Ukrainian President ?Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in comments published on Sunday.
Ukraine has relied on US intelligence ?to spot the fast-moving ballistic missiles that Russia has fired in waves at its cities. US President Donald Trump ?had said earlier this week that Washington was still sharing intelligence, although Ukrainian officials said some Russian strikes had occurred without warning.
Speaking to NBC's Meet the Press, Zelenskiy said intelligence-sharing had been interrupted but later "de-blocked."
"We are very thankful for this," he said. "Now it works."
But Zelenskiy said other US actions, ?such as signing a deal ?to import Russian diesel and waiving sanctions on Russia that had been slated to take effect this week, will hurt Ukraine.
"If the United States ?will officially take the side of Russia, of course if these two countries will be together, of course we will not prevail and we will not be able to stand," he said.
Over ?the past ?week, a widening rift between Trump and Zelenskiy has sparked ?concerns that their tumultuous relationship could lead ?to even worse outcomes for Kyiv. Zelenskiy told NBC that he hopes Trump will remain an ally of Ukraine.
"We want to trust him, and I hope that he will change his decisions," Zelenskiy said. "Because I think that it's all mistakes and it will not help us. And it will not help United States."
In a Truth Social post on Sunday afternoon, Trump wrote ?that his decision-making was aimed at avoiding anything "that ?will drive, foolishly, Russia away from the bargaining table."
Ukraine ?gets US help that Russia does not ?receive, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told NBC, citing intelligence-sharing and the ?provision of US munitions to other countries ?for resale to
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Oct 18, 2026
By Nandita Bose and Gram Slattery
Oct 17 (Reuters) - The day after waiving sanctions and tariffs related to Russian exports, US President Donald Trump said on Saturday he has yet to announce a final decision on the matter, ?while Secretary of State Marco Rubio said officials want more time to evaluate the situation.
Rubio said on Saturday that ?the president will use up to 60 days to assess the economic impact of Russia-related sanctions and tariffs that he waived a day earlier.
"A lot of you don't ?know what my decision is yet, but we'll figure it out, and you'll figure it out," Trump told reporters at his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida.
In a Truth Social post on Sunday, Trump wrote that his decision-making was aimed at avoiding anything "that will drive, foolishly, Russia away from the bargaining table."
Trump signed an executive order on Friday waiving key sanctions and tariffs under the law known as the Graham ?Act, which he signed last month at ?the urging of lawmakers who want to pressure Moscow over its war in Ukraine.
The measures, including tariffs on Russian goods and penalties on countries buying Russian oil and gas, were due to take effect next ?week. Friday's order did not specify how long the waiver would last, but Rubio said Trump opted for a 60-day review.
"I think the president wants to take the 60-day period of time to sort of analyze what imposing both sanctions and tariffs will mean to the global economy and ?even to ?the US economy," Rubio told reporters before boarding a plane for a trip ?to Uzbekistan.
Friday's executive order drew criticism from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, ?who warned it would embolden Russian President Vladimir Putin and prolong the war.
DIESEL SUPPLIES
Rubio on Saturday also defended a separate US agreement with Russia to increase diesel supplies to global markets, aimed at easing fuel prices that have
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Oct 18, 2026
The relationship between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin and US President Donald Trump, shown in April, 2025, has soured ahead of crucial elections. - Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images/FILE
With just over a week to go until Israel's election day, President Donald Trump finally gave the full-throated endorsement that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had long sought.
The president called Netanyahu a "Great Warrior Prime Minister" in a post on social media, which he said serves as his "Complete and Total Endorsement of Bibi Netanyahu."
Trump also hinted at a possible resumption of hostilities in the unpopular war with Iran — a war the US launched alongside Israel eight months ago — saying that if the Iranians do not "change their ways, rapidly, we will soon finish the job."
Netanyahu was quick to respond, thanking Trump for the "tremendous support and the joint work."
Trump told Axios journalist and CNN Global Affairs analyst Barak Ravid in a brief phone interview that he had always intended to endorse Netanyahu. "I was always going to do that. I just didn't want to do it too soon," he said.
Trump added that they have a "good relationship" and would "continue to do well" together if Netanyahu is reelected, according to Ravid.
"It is important that Israel has a person they can count on," Trump said.
It was an endorsement that seemed uncertain until it finally arrived and cannot mask what has become at times a rocky relationship between the two.
For years, Israelis driving the country's highways
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Oct 18, 2026
A slow-moving coastal storm is expected to bring high winds, flooding and dangerous surf to parts of the East Coast this week, with forecasters also monitoring the system for possible subtropical development.
The National Hurricane Center (NHC) said Sunday that a storm-force non-tropical low was expected to form off the Southeast coast on Sunday or Sunday night and move "slowly and erratically" through the middle of the week. The agency gave the system a near-zero chance of development within 48 hours and a 30 percent chance within seven days.
"Regardless of development, this system will cause high winds, coastal flooding, and dangerous surf along portions of the U.S. East Coast," the NHC said.
If it develops into a named subtropical or tropical storm, it would be called Josephine, according to the list of next named storms.
The possibility comes during an unusually quiet Atlantic hurricane season. Through October 18, the basin had produced nine named storms but only one hurricane, Isaias, which is currently the year's only major Atlantic hurricane.
Forecasters say the storm does not need to become Josephine to produce significant coastal impacts.
"AccuWeather hurricane experts continue to monitor a medium risk for tropical or subtropical development off the East Coast between October 19th and October 23rd," Alexander Duffus, a meteorologist for forecasting operations with AccuWeather, told Newsweek in an email Sunday.
Duffus added: "Regardless of if this will eventually be designated as a subtropical or tropical storm by the National Hurricane Center in the coming days,
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Oct 18, 2026
Vice President JD Vance (Daniel Heuer-Pool/Getty Images)
Despite leading early polls of potential 2028 Republican presidential candidates, Vice President JD Vance says "there's a chance" he won't enter the race.
Speaking during a CBS News town hall Saturday in Flat Rock, Michigan, Vance acknowledged that family considerations could influence whether he seeks to succeed President Donald Trump.
"Of course there's a chance," Vance said when asked whether he might sit out the 2028 presidential election.
"We've got four little kids, my wife has never loved politics. She loves public service."
The vice president's comments came despite his substantial lead in early Republican presidential primary polls.
According to the RealClearPolling average, Vance leads the potential 2028 Republican presidential field with 39% support, 15 percentage points ahead of Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Donald Trump Jr., the president's eldest son, ranks third with 11%.
Trump previously described Vance as his "most likely" successor, although the vice president says he has not decided whether to seek the nomination.
Vance told CBS News anchor Tony Dokoupil that he tends to put off major personal decisions.
"The way that I think about life, big life decisions — my wife will tell you this: I'm a procrastinator. I hate thinking about it," Vance said.
He indicated that he and second lady Usha Vance would discuss their political future more seriously after the Nov. 3 midterm elections.
"Whenever
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Oct 18, 2026
WASHINGTON (AP) — Maine Democrat Troy Jackson says he does not regret telling Sen. Susan Collins that she should "shut up" after the Republican suggested a protester who interrupted their recent debate was one of his campaign's backers.
"She said that it was a Troy supporter. She accused me of setting that up. I had no idea who it was," said Jackson, a former president of the state Senate who is trying to deny Collins, the longest-serving Republican woman in Senate history, a sixth-term. He spoke in an interview with CNN's "State of the Union" that aired Sunday.
During their final debate Thursday night in the closely contested race, as the Nov. 3 election nears a protester opposing data centers began yelling as Collins spoke. While moderators asked for that person to be removed, the senator said the demonstrator was "obviously one of Troy's supporters."
Jackson responded: "Oh, shut up. I don't even know that kid."
The Sunrise Movement group posted on its Instagram page that the outburst came from one of its members. In a caption of an Instagram post, the group's page said: "We're proud of this Sunrise volunteer who took action yesterday."
The New York Times said the protester, Henry Elgie, a 19-year-old student at Bowdoin College in Maine, told the newspaper in an interview Saturday that he had "zero coordination" with Jackson's campaign. "I do not know Troy Jackson personally or at all," he was quoted as saying.
The Sunrise Movement is a left-wing political advocacy organization that champions the Green New Deal, aimed at transitioning the U.S. eco
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Oct 18, 2026
By Sybille de La Hamaide
PARIS, Oct 18 (Reuters) - Fresh clashes broke out in Paris on Sunday a day after France suffered one of its worst days of unrest in years, with protests over high prices leaving one demonstrator dead, thousands arrested and shops across the country looted or damaged.
Nationwide demonstrations ?erupted into riots on Saturday, with a town hall torched, shops ransacked, and buildings covered in graffiti as violent groups clashed with police in cities across the ?country.
One protester died after suffering a cardiac arrest during demonstrations in Paris. Police made more than 2,000 arrests across France, while more than 600 officers were injured, the interior minister said.
"It's like a war zone here," said ?Dutch entrepreneur Tije De Boer, who had come to Paris with his children to visit a friend and said the protests forced him to evacuate his hotel at Place de la Republique, a trouble hotspot on Saturday.
Police again clashed with protesters and fired tear gas at Place de la Republique on Sunday afternoon, and packs of bikes were set on fire. A Reuters witness estimated several hundred protesters were in the area.
In Marseille, France's second largest city, the local prefecture also reported some incidents in the afternoon, with attempts made by groups to break into shops.
More ?than half a million people joined marches in scores of ?cities on Saturday, marking the convergence of a month-long student movement with broader social discontent against rising living costs and declining public services.
President Emmanuel Macron will address the nation at 8 p.m. local time (1800 GMT) on Sunday, his office said.
Saturday's unrest laid bare the deep anger at ?Macron, who leaves office in 2027 after a decade in power that has increasingly become defined by social discontent, a weak economy and ballooning debt.
The government has blamed the violence o
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Oct 18, 2026
The investigation into an alleged "gang rape" at Cornell University in October 2024 has drawn nationwide attention after a former student identified as "Jane Doe" filed a civil lawsuit last month, accusing seven fraternity members of drugging and assaulting her for hours.
Last week, Cornell announced that it is suspending "all parties and social events" at fraternity houses for the rest of the academic year while an independent review is underway.
"These measures will provide time for a thorough review of fraternity life at Cornell to determine whether and how it can safely continue," Cornell President Michael Kotlikoff wrote in a letter to the Cornell community.
Kotlikoff also announced that the university would enlist "experienced, trauma-informed criminal investigators" to investigate allegations of sexual assault on its Ithaca, N.Y., campus.
Earlier this month, Cornell's board of trustees announced it had retained former U.S. Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates, a partner at law firm King & Spalding, to lead an outsi
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Oct 18, 2026
ToplineEast Potomac Golf Links, a highly popular municipal golf course in Washington, D.C., and the target of one of President Donald Trump's contentious renovation projects, will close for 15 months starting in November, the president said on Sunday.
An aerial view of the East Potomac Golf Links in Washington, D.C. taken in May 2026.
Getty ImagesKey FactsIn a post on Truth Social on Sunday, Trump shared a map of the redesigned course, which he said would be "open to the Public while, at the same time, designed to the Highest Level of Golf and able to hold World Class Tournaments."
The "current Course" will close when renovations begin on Nov. 15, Trump said, and will reopen in "approximately 15 months."
The announcement comes shortly after the National Park Service cut down hundreds of trees at the course, a move that prompted a federal judge to block further tree removal and chastise lawyers for the Trump administration.
Big Number430. That's how many healthy, non-invasive trees were removed from the East Potomac Golf Links in a few hours last week, the Trump administration acknowledged. "Breakneck speed to cl
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Oct 18, 2026
Two weeks from Election Day, Republicans face a bleak political landscape. President Donald Trump's approval rating has fallen to a new low, and support for Democrats in the race for control of Congress is rising as inflationary pressures contribute to an acrid mood among voters, according to a Washington Post-ABC News-Ipsos poll.
Trump's approval among U.S. adults now stands at 33 percent, with 66 percent disapproving; 52 percent said they disapprove strongly. That approval rating is four percentage points lower than in July and eight points lower than at this point last year. It's lower than at any point in his first term. Among likely voters, Trump's approval is 38 percent, with 62 percent disapproving.
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The poll also finds that, for the first time in more than a decade, Democrats are seen as more trusted to deal with the economy.
In the competition for control of the House, Democrats hold an eight-point lead among registered and likely voters, an improvement for the party since The Post's July poll, when the Democratic lead was three points with registered voters.
Trump is central to Republicans' struggles. In a separate question, the poll asked voters whether they would rather have a Democratic-led Congress acting as a check on Trump or a Republican one to support his agenda. By 58 percent to 39 percent, registered voters said they prefer the Democrats. That margin is roughly double what it was a year ago.
The collective results of the new survey reveal an elec
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Oct 18, 2026
‘Whatever claims the labs are making, they are not warning us enough. We need to understand that nobody can stop the AI storm.'Photograph: Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters
Warnings about what artificial intelligence might do in the future - together with alarming reports of what it has gotten up to already - are being issued so quickly that even security experts have difficulty triaging what to worry about.
Yet a report this week from Anthropic's offensive research team grabbed attention by describing a new, practical threat, one devoid of human characteristics or apocalyptic musings. The red team, as such internal testers are called, said it created a malicious AI program that spread autonomously through internet-connected "smart" televisions and could do the same inside other ordinary devices. While machines running AI usually need a fair amount of computing power, the researchers said that their program split parts of itself among 15 televisions and was still able to function by using a bit of power from each.
Related: AI in your oven? Anthropic warns models ‘months away' from self-replication on smart devices
In addition to evoking the horcruxes that kept pieces of Lord Voldemort's soul alive within objects in the Harry Potter series, the report alarmed some professionals because the generally weak security of smart televisions and many other "internet of things" devices would be very hard to correct, even with a concerted effort.
"It's something to worr
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Oct 18, 2026
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has warned that the U.S. formally siding with Russia's Vladimir Putin would be a "historic mistake," but said he still sees President Donald Trump as an ally despite a series of moves that have unsettled his country and its friends on Capitol Hill.
"We want to trust him," Zelenskyy told NBC News' "Meet the Press" on Sunday, referring to Trump. "I hope that he will change his decisions, because I think that it's all mistakes, and it will not help us, and it will not help United States."
Trump on Friday waived sweeping new sanctions against Russia passed by Congress, saying in an executive order that the move "is in the national interests of the United States." Passed with bipartisan support and signed by Trump last month, the sanctions were intended to target Russia's revenue streams by punishing global buyers of Russian oil and gas.
The waiver came days after a deal with Putin to release hundreds of thousands of tons of Russian diesel fuel onto the global market as fuel prices soar.
At the same time, Zelenskyy said, U.S. intelligence sharing was briefly "blocked," blinding Ukraine to incoming ballistic missiles, while limits have been placed on Starlink technology critical
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Oct 18, 2026
One of El Niño's most dramatic effects is waiting in the wings and could soon cause chaos along the West Coast, especially in California, forecasters warned.
A historic El Niño is expected to up the intensity of atmospheric rivers - long corridors of water vapor in the atmosphere that can transport tremendous amounts of moisture and produce heavy rain or snow when they reach land.
"A stronger El Niño brings stronger atmospheric rivers," Daniel Swain, a climate scientist with the University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources, told USA TODAY. "There aren't necessarily more of them, but atmospheric rivers are more intense during a strong El Niño like this one."
In addition, strong El Niños also increase the frequency of non-atmospheric river storms in California, he said.
"Amid an El Niño that will become the strongest, and also easternmost-centered, event on record (if it isn't already), this year's tilt in the odds toward wet and stormy conditions in California will be profoundly unsubtle," Swain wrote this week on his blog Weather West.
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What are atmospheric rivers?
Often in the winter, you'll hear that "atmospheric rivers" are causing big weather problems along the West Coast. But what are they?
Made visible by clouds, these ribbons of water vapor extend thousands of miles from the tropics to the western U.S. At 250 to 375 miles wide, they provide the fuel for massive rain and snowstorms that can cause flooding along the West Coast.
In general, atmospheric rivers pick up water vapor fr
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Oct 18, 2026
When White House officials wanted to know if President Donald Trump could send the U.S. military to help capture President Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela, a special unit in the Justice Department assured them it was legal.
When the administration was preparing to strike suspected drug traffickers' boats on the open sea without congressional approval, the same small unit declared the action permissible.
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When the White House asked if the Presidential Records Act was constitutional, the office ruled it was not, giving Trump the apparent green light to save fewer records from his second term.
As the Trump administration pushes the bounds of executive power, the Justice Department unit known as the Office of Legal Counsel, or OLC, has affirmed some of its most high-profile and controversial actions - even as many experts question their legitimacy and some are later struck down by the courts.
Tucked away on the Justice Department's fifth floor, the two dozen or so lawyers at the OLC are charged with assessing the legality of actions the executive branch wants to take, especially those that are novel or likely to be contentious. Much of its work, particularly on national security matters, remains shielded from public view, but some of the office's conclusions have emerged in often dense legal opinions.
The OLC during Trump's second term is not the first to be accused of adopting shaky reasoning to justify a president's policies. Under President Barack Obama, the OLC wrote a controversial rationale for launching a deadly drone attack on a U.S. citizen overseas. Under President George W. Bush, the office justified the used of "enhanced interrogation"
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Oct 18, 2026
The BBC's Quentin Sommerville joins officers at Cook County as they carry out an early morning raid
Warning: This story contains descriptions of drug-taking from the start and discusses suicide
The few grains of fentanyl sit in the silver foil as a straw, held between Mike's lips, hovers above, with a cigarette lighter below. The 48-year-old army veteran is crouched low in an alleyway in Columbus, Ohio's Linden neighbourhood.
"This drug will damn near make you do anything, unfortunately," he says.
The hit he's smoking cost three or four dollars.
"You can snort too much and you can't take it back. Kind of like a gunshot. Can't call the bullet back," he says.
He burns the foil and inhales. As the opioid takes hold, he grips the fence behind him. He sways as a low moan comes from deep in his throat - he could be humming a tune.
We've spent a few days with Mike - he's been our guide through the neighbourhood's back streets. Everyone seems to know him and he's regarded fondly. He helps out at a local pawn shop and gas station, and that's how he feeds his 20-year-old opioid addiction.
Synthetic opioids are more powerful and in plentiful supply, and they have transformed the drugs landscape.
Fentanyl, which is entirely man-made, is 50 to 100 times more powerful than heroin, which is cultivated from poppies. It is now often cut with synthetic tranquillisers, which make reviving overdose victims more difficult. These are homemade threats, where cocktails of synthetics can be made in American basements and bathtubs.
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Oct 18, 2026
In an hour-long town hall hosted by CBS News, Vice President JD Vance argued the Trump administration's handling of the economy and Iran strategy will pay dividends in the future.
He was also pressed on the Trump administration's controversial immigration tactics, widespread discontent about the cost of living and his own political future during "Things That Matter: A Town Hall With Vice President JD Vance," which aired Saturday evening and was hosted by "CBS Evening News" anchor Tony Dokoupil.
Vance took questions from voters in Michigan, a swing state that helped propel Vance and President Trump to victory in 2024 — and is the host of a tight Senate race that could help determine which party wins control of the upper chamber in next month's midterm elections.
Vance says he hasn't decided if he'll run for presidentIf he decides to run for president in 2028, the vice president is widely viewed as an early frontrunner in the Republican primaries and a possible heir to Mr. Trump's political movement. Mr. Trump has called Vance his "most likely" GOP successor and has joked about a potential contest between Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
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