A helicopter carrying six people, including five pilgrims, crashed near Joshimath in Uttarakhand, India, after taking off from Badrinath on Friday. Rescue teams are searching the mountainous area, but officials have not confirmed the passengers’ condition or the cause of the crash.
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Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said the crash occurred near a village in Chamoli district.
The helicopter reportedly lost contact after departing Badrinath on Friday afternoon.
Rescue teams from the district administration, disaster management department and State Disaster Response Force are involved.
Officials said heavy rain and poor visibility were reported in the region.
India’s weather department had issued an orange alert warning of thunderstorms, hail and strong winds.
Dhami said he ordered that anyone seriously injured be airlifted for treatment.
A helicopter crash near Kedarnath killed seven people in June 2025; another crash on the pilgrimage route killed seven in October 2022.
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Heavy rain and strong winds have prompted flood warnings in central Greece and western Turkey, where another 100–150mm of rain is expected this week. The article also reports severe weather from Cyclone Arnab in India, Super Typhoon In-fa in the western Pacific, and Tropical Storm Vance in Mexico.
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A tornado during a thunderstorm in Antalya, Turkey, killed four construction workers on Tuesday.
Authorities in Greece and Turkey issued severe rainfall and flood warnings.
Forecasters expect 100–150mm of rain in central Greece and western Turkey this week, with locally higher totals possible.
Cyclone Arnab made landfall in the Indian regions of Odisha and Andhra Pradesh, bringing wind gusts above 85mph and more than 200mm of rain in some areas.
More than 180,000 people were evacuated in India as Cyclone Arnab disrupted energy and transport infrastructure.
Typhoon In-fa was upgraded to super typhoon status, with sustained winds of 150mph and gusts above 185mph; it was expected to affect the Mariana Islands.
Tropical Storm Vance weakened to a tropical depression after bringing heavy rain and hazardous coastal conditions to parts of western Mexico.
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Police Scotland said it has received information and is making early-stage inquiries into time Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell spent at Balmoral with Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor. The Daily Express reported that the inquiries concern claims that women were trafficked to the estate; police did not confirm details.
Key Facts
Police Scotland described its inquiries as being at a very early stage.
The inquiries concern time Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor spent at Balmoral with Epstein and Maxwell.
The Daily Express reported claims that women were trafficked to the Scottish estate.
Police said its inquiries are evidence-led and consider the needs of victim survivors.
Police declined to comment further on the ongoing inquiries.
Images released earlier by the U.S. Department of Justice appear to show Mountbatten-Windsor and Epstein on a shooting trip at the estate.
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Spain is seeking answers after a high-speed train collision south of Madrid killed 69 people and injured scores. On Wednesday, a Renfe train struck the rear of a stationary train operated by private company Iryo.
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The collision happened south of Madrid on Wednesday, October 28, 2026.
The death toll rose to 69 by Thursday.
Scores of people were injured.
A train operated by state rail company Renfe struck a stationary Iryo train.
Relatives sought news about loved ones after the crash.
The report described the collision as one of Europe’s deadliest rail disasters this century.
The crash was Spain’s second high-speed train collision this year.
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Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi criticized Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed’s past remarks about Israel, calling them “wrong” during a podcast interview. El-Sayed has said he opposes an ethnostate and has rejected claims that criticism of Israel is antisemitic, while affirming his commitment to fighting antisemitism.
Key Facts
Pelosi made the remarks on the podcast On Brand, hosted by Donny Deutsch.
Deutsch cited El-Sayed’s comments about whether Israel should be a Jewish state and described them as concerning.
Pelosi said El-Sayed’s position did not reflect Democrats in Congress.
El-Sayed told Morning Joe in August that he was committed to Jewish safety and opposing antisemitism.
In an interview with Mehdi Hasan, El-Sayed said he disputed the idea of an ethnostate, not Israel’s right to exist.
El-Sayed has called Israel’s war in Gaza a genocide and has questioned whether Israel is a U.S. ally.
El-Sayed is running against Republican Mike Rogers in Michigan’s Senate race.
Donald Trump won Michigan by 1.4 percentage points in the 2024 presidential election, according to the article.
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Dockworkers’ unions in 22 countries are holding an international day of action at more than 110 ports, with strikes ranging from brief work stoppages to 24-hour actions. Organisers say they oppose arms shipments and wars, call for an end to the war in Gaza, and seek broader support from workers in other industries.
Key Facts
More than 25 trade unions representing over 110 ports in 22 countries and regions across five continents are taking part.
The action is called the International Day of Action of Dockworkers and Port Workers, also known as “Dockworkers do not work for war.”
Unions in France, Italy, India, Greece and Türkiye have called 24-hour strikes.
Some ports in Morocco, Cyprus and elsewhere have announced strikes of up to two hours.
The unions’ main demand is an immediate end to the war in Gaza and other wars they describe as imperialist.
The Istanbul Declaration, issued in May, set October 30 as the day of action.
The declaration calls for an independent Palestinian state within the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital.
Organisers have invited workers from other sectors to join the action; Italy’s USB union has called for a general strike.
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A Harris poll for the Guardian found that voters see government corruption as a major concern ahead of the U.S. midterm elections, second only to the cost of living. The poll also found that more voters blame Republicans than Democrats for corruption, while many say both parties share the problem.
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Nearly nine in 10 respondents said government corruption is a problem, defined in the poll as elected officials putting their own or donors’ financial interests ahead of the public’s.
Seventy-six percent said elected officials care more about enriching themselves than improving the economy for ordinary people.
Thirty-six percent named the cost of living as their top voting issue; 12% named government corruption, 9% immigration, 7% health care, and 5% taxes.
Sixty-five percent said government corruption concerns them more than corporate power, compared with 29% who chose corporate power.
Forty percent said Republicans have a bigger corruption problem than Democrats; 21% said Democrats have the bigger problem, and 32% said both parties have it equally.
Among independent voters, 34% said Republicans have a bigger corruption problem, 13% said Democrats, and 42% said both parties share it.
The article reports that the midterm election cycle has spent $11.2 billion on advertising, citing NBC News.
The Brennan Center for Justice said 40 donors had contributed $2.5 billion to races this year.
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Alex Rondos and Mark Medish argue that the United Nations needs renewed support from major powers to help manage wars, emerging technologies, and other global threats. They say the UN should serve as a place for adversaries to negotiate and that the United States, China, Russia, India, and a more integrated European Union should share responsibility for keeping the world stable.
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The authors say the next UN secretary-general will need coordinated backing from powerful members of the Security Council.
They argue that the UN was created to provide a meeting place for states that distrust or oppose one another.
They identify conflicts involving Ukraine, the Horn of Africa, the Gulf and Red Sea, and Taiwan as examples of current tensions.
The article says drones and other new technologies have made violence more accessible and intensified competition over minerals and supply routes.
The authors warn that artificial intelligence in military planning and command systems can shorten decision time and enable deception.
They name the United States, China, and Russia as states with especially strong capacity to contain or intensify global threats.
They say India and a more integrated European Union could also have a role in managing international risks.
The authors argue that middle powers cannot by themselves end major wars or govern technologies largely developed elsewhere.
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Democratic leaders and prominent figures are increasingly campaigning with Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed after President Donald Trump and Republican allies made attacks targeting his Muslim faith and name. The race is close, and the party’s support remains qualified despite growing public backing.
Key Facts
Trump called El-Sayed a “jihadist” and falsely linked him to the Muslim Brotherhood.
El-Sayed narrowly won the Democratic nomination in August over a moderate candidate backed by many party leaders.
Polls have generally shown El-Sayed slightly ahead of Republican opponent Mike Rogers.
A Marist poll reported El-Sayed at 50% and Rogers at 48% among likely voters.
Bernie Sanders, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and Barack Obama have appeared with El-Sayed; Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez each transferred $1 million to his campaign.
El-Sayed supports Medicare for All, higher taxes on billionaires and corporations, and ending U.S. military aid to Israel.
El-Sayed has called for abolishing ICE and described Israel’s war in Gaza as genocide.
Obama said he and El-Sayed do not agree on every issue but defended his policy proposals.
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Angela Rayner said shoppers should see improvements on Britain’s struggling high streets before the next general election as government funding and business-rate relief begin to reach local areas. The government announced a £1bn business-rate relief plan and described wider regeneration funds, while business groups called for more fundamental changes to the rates system.
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Rayner said the government had made high-street recovery a priority before the next general election.
The budget set out £1bn over two years in business-rate relief for retail, hospitality and leisure businesses.
The relief will be partly funded by higher taxes on gambling and vape shops.
Rayner said £5.8bn had been allocated to the Pride in Place programme and that other funding would start reaching areas from April next year.
Labour launched a revised Hope on the High Street strategy to coordinate investment and transfer power to local leaders.
The government also has a £210m fund to help transform derelict buildings.
Business leaders said Labour should make more fundamental changes to the business-rates system.
Poundland’s owners filed a notice of intention to appoint administrators, putting up to 12,000 jobs at risk.
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The article argues that Alaska Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan’s campaign and President Donald Trump’s support have drawn attention to a close Senate race and a dispute over two candidates named Sullivan on the ballot. It reports allegations of Democratic efforts to place a spoiler candidate, which a former Peltola aide later retracted, and a Justice Department lawsuit seeking to delay a possible Mary Peltola victory while it investigates votes for Daniel J. Sullivan.
Key Facts
Trump traveled to Alaska on Oct. 13 to appear at a rally with Sen. Dan Sullivan, who is seeking a third term.
Sullivan faces Democratic challenger Mary Peltola in a race that could affect control of the U.S. Senate.
The Alaska Supreme Court approved both Dan Sullivan and Daniel J. Sullivan, a retired teacher from Petersburg, for the ballot.
Alaska’s Division of Elections lists Daniel J. Sullivan without a party affiliation and identifies Dan S. Sullivan as the incumbent Republican.
A New York Times report cited allegations that Democratic operatives explored placing a spoiler candidate on the ballot; former Peltola aide Elisa Rios later retracted her statements and said she would not serve as a source.
The Justice Department sued Alaska, seeking to block a Peltola victory pending an investigation into whether votes for Daniel J. Sullivan were intended for the senator.
The article says the Justice Department has issued subpoenas related to the matter.
At the rally, Sullivan thanked Trump for what he was doing for Alaska; the author criticized Sullivan for not addressing job cuts, high prices in remote villages, and residents’ loss of health coverage.
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The article describes backlash to a campaign ad from Ohio Republican gubernatorial nominee Vivek Ramaswamy that featured Democratic nominee Amy Acton’s estranged mother criticizing her. Ramaswamy said on Thursday that his campaign had stopped running the ad after criticism from both parties and polling that the article says found it was backfiring.
Key Facts
The ad featured Acton’s mother urging Ohio voters not to vote for her daughter.
Acton says she has not spoken to her mother since she was 12, after she and her brother were removed from their mother’s custody.
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, who endorsed Ramaswamy, condemned the ad.
Ramaswamy said his campaign had discontinued the ad amid growing pressure.
The article says Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan faced ads attacking his Muslim faith and making unsupported claims about terrorist ties.
The article says ads by Texas Republican Senate nominee Ken Paxton and his allies attacked James Talarico and misrepresented his position on transgender rights.
President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance defended Ramaswamy’s ad.
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The UK government has cut more than £3 billion from the energy department’s budget to help fund higher defence spending. The cuts include reduced support for heat pumps and other clean-energy projects, prompting experts to warn that Britain may miss its clean-heating targets.
Key Facts
The government will cut £741 million from the Boiler Upgrade Scheme, which helps households replace gas boilers with heat pumps.
Households can currently receive up to £7,500 toward a heat pump through the scheme.
About 60,000 heat pumps are installed each year in existing homes; the government aims to increase that number to 250,000 annually by 2030.
The scheme’s budget will rise only with inflation, rather than reaching the previously planned level of just over £700 million by 2029–30.
The cuts also include about £250 million from the Warm Homes Plan, £500 million from hydrogen schemes, and £200 million from carbon capture and storage funding.
The government said future renewable projects must show they will lower costs and be ready to connect to the electricity grid.
Experts cited in the article said the cuts could make it difficult for Britain to meet its clean-heating targets.
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The article argues that President Donald Trump’s tariffs, Iran conflict and energy policies have increased costs rather than delivered his campaign promises to lower prices. It cites higher fuel costs, estimates of household expenses and wages that have not kept pace with prices; a White House spokesman defended the administration’s economic record and blamed prior inflation on the Biden administration.
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Trump campaigned on lowering prices, including energy costs, gasoline, airfares and housing, according to the article.
The article says Trump imposed new tariffs after the Supreme Court overturned earlier tariffs, and reports that a lower court also found the replacement tariffs unlawful.
The article cites a Yale Budget Lab estimate that tariffs will cost the average household $1,100 this year.
AAA reports the national average gasoline price is $4.28 per gallon, according to the article.
The article says U.S. gasoline prices have risen more than 40% and diesel prices nearly 70% since the Iran conflict began eight months ago.
The article says average hourly pay and prices have each risen 5.4% since January 2025, leaving no average real wage growth.
A White House spokesman said Trump’s economic agenda has driven growth, increased wages and created private-sector jobs.
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A federal judge is set to hear arguments on whether to temporarily block President Donald Trump’s proposed 250-foot arch near Arlington National Cemetery and the Lincoln Memorial. Veterans and a historian say the project lacks proper congressional approval and could harm a historic sightline; the Justice Department says they lack legal standing and that the arch could serve a defense role.
Key Facts
U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan will hear arguments over a preliminary injunction on Friday.
Three Vietnam War veterans and a historian sued to stop construction, citing a lack of proper congressional approval and concerns about the project’s effects.
The Justice Department said construction could begin as soon as Nov. 5 if the National Capital Planning Commission gives final approval that day.
The plaintiffs argue that the arch could disrupt the sightline connecting the Lincoln Memorial and the Robert E. Lee Memorial.
The Justice Department says the project’s initial six months would involve underground and foundation work, without blocking that sightline.
The government argues that the plaintiffs lack legal standing and cites a recent Supreme Court ruling in a separate White House ballroom case.
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth submitted declarations saying the arch could help defend the capital from drone attacks and other threats.
Arlington County has filed a separate federal lawsuit to block the project; the article also says the FAA found the arch would not pose a flight hazard, though the final sentence is cut off.
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James Comey’s lawyers are set to ask a federal judge to dismiss the Justice Department’s latest effort to charge him, alleging he unlawfully disclosed national defense information in 2016. Prosecutors filed a criminal information rather than seeking a grand-jury indictment, saying the filing preserves the case under a 10-year statute of limitations; Comey’s lawyers argue the filing does not meet the legal requirements to extend that deadline.
Key Facts
Prosecutors allege Comey transmitted national defense information to an unauthorized person in connection with a 2016 New York Times article.
The alleged disclosure took place on Oct. 5, 2016.
The Justice Department filed a criminal information earlier this month; Comey has not been indicted or formally charged by criminal complaint in this case.
Comey’s lawyers argue the case is time-barred and say two U.S. attorneys’ offices previously investigated the disclosure and declined to bring charges.
The Justice Department argues that the 10-year statute of limitations applies and that a criminal information can substitute for an indictment in a felony case.
After an emergency hearing earlier this month, prosecutors agreed not to seek an indictment for 30 days, according to Comey’s court filings.
In September 2025, a judge dismissed a separate indictment accusing Comey of lying to Congress, ruling that the prosecutor who oversaw it was unlawfully appointed.
Comey also faces a separate case over a social media post that prosecutors say threatened President Donald Trump; the judge has not ruled on his motions to dismiss that case.
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Tennessee’s lethal injection protocol has become shorter and less detailed over successive revisions, according to a CBS News review. The change has drawn scrutiny after two executions failed this year, with execution teams struggling to establish IV lines in both cases.
Key Facts
Christa Pike’s execution attempt in September was Tennessee’s second botched execution this year.
Pike was sentenced to death for her role in the 1995 torture and murder of classmate Colleen Slemmer.
Tennessee’s protocol contained more than 100 pages before 2025; the version released early last year had 44 pages.
The 2025 protocol describes the IV team’s primary role in one line, while earlier versions gave more detail about IV procedures and equipment.
Earlier protocols required monthly team training that included practicing IV placement on a volunteer acting as an inmate; the 2025 version removed that practice requirement.
In May, execution team members spent more than an hour trying to establish an IV line for Tony Carruthers before Gov. Bill Lee granted him a one-year reprieve.
Pike’s lawyer said team members tried for about an hour to establish an IV line, and Pike reported arm pain after the drugs were administered.
The Tennessee Department of Corrections said it followed the state’s lawful execution protocol in Pike’s case.
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Political campaigns are testing AI chatbots to hold text conversations with voters at a scale that staff and volunteers cannot match. The tools may help campaigns learn voters’ concerns, but research and experts cited in the article raise concerns about accuracy, privacy and the lack of rules requiring campaigns to disclose that a voter is speaking with AI.
Key Facts
Democrat Ace Parsi, who is challenging Republican Rep. Riley Moore in West Virginia, is using AI chatbots to text voters.
Campaigns give vendors approved material, such as speeches, press releases and website content, to guide chatbot conversations.
Vector Political says it has sent more than 3 million texts this election cycle, leading to more than 35,000 individual voter conversations.
A study in Nature found that short conversations with AI chatbots shifted views in controlled experiments more than political ads typically did.
A study in Science found that chatbots made less accurate claims when they pushed harder to persuade people.
Campaigns can receive full transcripts of voters’ conversations, creating privacy concerns.
The article says most states do not require campaigns to tell voters they are texting with AI.
Campaign technology experts describe AI voter outreach as still experimental.
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Several seasonal products have been recalled ahead of Halloween because of choking hazards, possible lead or glass contamination, or undeclared milk. The recalls affect candy, canned fruit cocktail and chocolates sold through retailers and online; consumers are advised to check product details and follow recall instructions.
Key Facts
About 2.3 million Ricky Joy Sour Crush Rolling Liquid Candy bottles were recalled because rollerball tops can detach and pose a choking hazard; no injuries had been reported.
The candy recall covers 1.85-ounce bottles sold individually or in packs of three or 12, in four listed flavors.
Consumers should stop using the recalled Ricky Joy bottles, keep them away from children and contact the company for a refund.
More than 44,000 cans of Walmart Great Value Fruit Cocktail in Fruit Juice from Concentrate were recalled over possible elevated lead levels.
The fruit cocktail recall affects 15-ounce cans with lot code 6FCB 04 C2263 and a best-if-used-by date of September 1, 2027.
Gearharts Fine Chocolates recalled 4,703 pieces after broken glass was found in a finished product during an internal quality check.
Certain Little Temptations Chocolatey Eyeballs sold at TJ Maxx, Marshalls, HomeGoods and Sierra were recalled because milk was not declared on the packaging.
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Democrats are approaching the start of the next presidential primary after a major loss in the 2024 election. Divisions within the party are already visible and may shape the 2028 contest, while Democrats also seek gains in the House.
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The article says the next Democratic presidential primary is weeks away from starting.
Many Democrats have anticipated the primary since the party’s loss in the 2024 presidential race.
Divisions within the Democratic Party are already on display.
Those divisions could influence the 2028 presidential contest.
Democrats are also looking to make gains in the House.
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