The article argues that President Donald Trump has reduced Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s role in U.S. diplomacy. It describes Trump’s approach as personalized, transactional, overbearing and opaque.
Key Facts
The article focuses on President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
The article says Trump has undercut the secretary of state’s role.
The article says Trump has reshaped U.S. diplomacy in his own image.
It characterizes Trump’s diplomatic approach as personalized.
It characterizes the approach as transactional.
It characterizes the approach as overbearing and opaque.
Read the Original
Want the full story? Tap a source to open the original
article.
President Donald Trump and former President Barack Obama held campaign rallies in Ohio and Georgia on Wednesday, supporting candidates in closely watched races ahead of the midterms. News reports estimated about 2,500 people attended Trump’s rally and 3,500 to 4,000 attended Obama’s, but neither campaign released an official attendance figure.
Key Facts
Trump spoke at Ohio University's Shoemaker Center in Chillicothe, Ohio.
Trump campaigned for gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy and incumbent Senator Jon Husted.
WBNS 10TV reported an estimated 2,500 attendees at Trump's rally.
Obama spoke at The Arena at Southlake, south of Atlanta, Georgia.
Obama campaigned for Senator Jon Ossoff and former Atlanta mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, who is running for governor.
The Guardian reported an estimated 3,500 to 4,000 attendees at Obama's rally.
The Arena at Southlake has seating for more than 8,000, but includes multiple facilities under one roof.
No official attendance figures were released for either rally.
Read the Original
Want the full story? Tap a source to open the original
article.
Rib-remodelling surgery is gaining attention as a way to create a narrower waist. The procedure fractures the patient’s ribs, followed by about three months in a corset; people who have undergone it described severe pain.
Key Facts
The Guardian reported on the rise of rib-remodelling surgery.
The procedure involves fracturing the ribs and wearing a corset for about three months, almost around the clock.
The surgery aims to create a narrower, wasp-like waist.
Patients interviewed by The Guardian described the recovery as extremely painful.
One patient said pain kept her from sleeping comfortably for more than a week.
More than 2,300 patients underwent the procedure between 2018 and 2024.
The reported overall complication rate was 3.7 percent.
Read the Original
Want the full story? Tap a source to open the original
article.
Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy ordered an investigation into whether Mary Peltola’s Senate campaign violated state law. The order followed a New York Times report that the campaign had recruited candidates in an effort to draw support away from Peltola’s opponent.
Key Facts
Dunleavy ordered the investigation on Wednesday evening.
The investigation will examine whether Peltola’s campaign violated Alaska state law.
The reported conduct involved recruiting candidates to detract support from Peltola’s opponent.
Dunleavy cited reporting by The New York Times.
Dunleavy is a Republican governor.
Peltola is a Democratic candidate.
Read the Original
Want the full story? Tap a source to open the original
article.
Former President Barack Obama criticized President Donald Trump’s response to a joke Obama made about the White House resembling a Saddam Hussein-era building with a Cheesecake Factory. The article does not provide details of Trump’s response or Obama’s remarks beyond that description.
Key Facts
The article was published on October 29, 2026.
Barack Obama is described as a former president.
Donald Trump is identified as the sitting U.S. president.
Obama joked that the White House looked like Saddam Hussein had opened a Cheesecake Factory.
Obama took issue with Trump’s response to the joke.
The article headline says Obama criticized Trump for getting mad about his comment.
Read the Original
Want the full story? Tap a source to open the original
article.
The Senate is unlikely to vote before year-end on a House-passed bill that would make daylight saving time permanent. President Donald Trump has urged senators to pass it, but several Republicans oppose the change, citing very late winter sunrises in some states.
Key Facts
Daylight saving time is scheduled to end early Sunday, when much of the country will turn clocks back one hour.
The House passed a bill that would make daylight saving time the national standard year-round.
Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas is a prominent opponent and says permanent daylight saving time has previously led to late winter sunrises.
Sen. Mike Rounds of South Dakota said the change could mean children go to school in the dark.
Trump has pressed Senate Republicans to pass the bill and said afternoon sunlight is preferable to morning sunlight.
Sen. Todd Young of Indiana said the bill was a non-starter for Senate Republican leaders, and Sen. Bernie Moreno of Ohio said he did not expect it to pass soon.
The Senate is expected to have little time to consider the measure after returning following the Nov. 3 midterm election.
Read the Original
Want the full story? Tap a source to open the original
article.
Protester Robby Roadsteamer heckled President Donald Trump at a rally in Chillicothe, Ohio, on Wednesday, singing that Trump had flown on Jeffrey Epstein’s plane before being escorted out. Trump said the protester had been paid, but the article reports no evidence for that claim. Trump denies wrongdoing related to Epstein and has not been criminally charged in connection with Epstein’s crimes.
Key Facts
Video posted on X shows Roadsteamer singing, “Trump went on the Jeffrey Epstein plane,” as the crowd booed.
The video appears to show rally staff escorting Roadsteamer out while some attendees chanted “USA.”
Trump said the protester had been paid $250 but offered no evidence in the remarks described in the article.
House Judiciary Committee Democrats released a report calling for an independent special counsel to investigate Trump’s relationship with Epstein.
The White House denied the allegations, and Trump has denied wrongdoing related to Epstein.
Trump denied in 2024 that he had ever flown on Epstein’s plane.
A Justice Department record released in December reportedly cited flight records listing Trump as a passenger on Epstein’s plane eight times between 1993 and 1996.
Epstein died in a New York jail in 2019 while awaiting trial; authorities concluded that he died by suicide.
Read the Original
Want the full story? Tap a source to open the original
article.
US media reports say Vice President JD Vance sent Iran security chief Mohsen Rezaei a letter seeking to test whether the two countries can resume talks and avoid possible US strikes. The reported proposal calls for direct negotiations, with Iran’s nuclear program included, as President Donald Trump warns Gulf allies to prepare for a possible brief military campaign after next week’s US midterm elections.
Key Facts
The letter has not been made public, and reports say it focused on a possible framework for negotiations rather than specific peace terms.
The New York Times reported that Vance proposed a meeting between US and Iranian officials and would lead the US delegation.
Qatari mediators reportedly delivered the letter to Rezaei on Sunday.
US and Iranian officials told the Times that talks could begin as soon as next week, with Qatar or Turkiye as possible venues.
Iran has not publicly commented on the letter; the Times reported that Iranian leaders received it well.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Wednesday that Iran continues to give diplomacy a chance.
The Wall Street Journal reported that Trump directed Vance to send the letter, but Trump later disputed that account and said he had approved outreach focused on aid and supplies.
Trump warned Gulf allies to prepare for a possible short, intense campaign after the US midterm elections and referred to a possible new operation as “another little Epic Fury.”
Read the Original
Want the full story? Tap a source to open the original
article.
DEA Special Agent David Howell alleges that the agency allowed fentanyl pills to reach the streets as part of investigations, despite warnings about the risk. He says agents faced criticism after seizing thousands of pills in an Albuquerque case; the Justice Department says an inspector general investigation is ongoing.
Key Facts
Howell said he warned DEA managers for three years that large amounts of fentanyl were reaching the streets.
The tactic known as “walking” allows suspected drug shipments to proceed so investigators can follow them and build cases.
In a 2023 Albuquerque investigation, agents stopped an SUV carrying a child and seized a gun and between 6,000 and 7,000 fentanyl pills, according to Howell.
Howell said officials at the U.S. Attorney’s Office for New Mexico chastised agents for seizing the pills.
New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez sued the federal government over the practice.
Officials in the Albuquerque area declared a state of emergency amid rising fentanyl overdose calls.
The Justice Department said its inspector general is conducting an independent investigation and that it could not comment while it remains ongoing.
Read the Original
Want the full story? Tap a source to open the original
article.
A Russian drone strike hit a busy railway platform in Dnipro on October 29, killing at least 13 people, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Ukrainian officials also reported deaths in separate attacks, while Zelensky urged allies not to ease sanctions on Russia.
Key Facts
The Dnipro strike hit a platform where a commuter train and a passenger train were standing.
Ukraine's air force said it intercepted three jet-powered drones, while a fourth evaded defenses and hit the station.
Ukraine Railways said it had announced an elevated threat level before the strike, but many people remained on the platform.
Two 15-year-old girls were killed in a strike in Chernihiv, and more than a dozen people were wounded, according to the city's military administration chief.
A drone strike on a residential building in Kremenchuk killed two people and wounded several others, including a six-year-old, according to the local governor.
The article reported that a local ceasefire in Russian-occupied Oleshky was holding into its third day, with delegations traveling toward the city.
Zelensky criticized a deal between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin to ease some sanctions on Russia.
Read the Original
Want the full story? Tap a source to open the original
article.
The opinion article argues that Arab citizens’ high participation in Israel’s election and their representation in public institutions conflict with claims that Israel is an apartheid state. It also notes serious challenges facing Arab communities, including crime, gaps in public funding and opportunity, and the 2018 change to Arabic’s official status.
Key Facts
An estimate by Israel’s Channel 12 put Arab voter turnout on October 27 at about 80 percent, compared with 53.2 percent in 2022.
With most votes counted, the Arab-led Ra’am and Joint List parties were projected to win about 19 seats, above the previous record of 15 in 2020.
Israel’s Supreme Court unanimously overturned election bans on both parties on October 2, ruling that the evidence did not meet the legal standard for disqualification.
Ra’am joined Israel’s governing coalition in 2021, becoming the first independent Arab party to do so.
Arab citizens have served in Israel’s parliament since 1949, and Arab judges have held permanent seats on its Supreme Court.
A 2023 study reported that Arabs made up about a quarter of Israel’s working doctors and nurses and nearly half of its pharmacists.
About 250 Arab citizens were killed in crime and violence in 2025, which the article describes as a record.
The 2018 Nation-State Law changed Arabic from an official language to one with “special status.”
Read the Original
Want the full story? Tap a source to open the original
article.
China’s ruling Communist Party expelled 33 members as its four-day fifth plenum ended, a record number of removals announced at a plenum. Attendance fell to 279 Central Committee members, the first time under Xi Jinping that it has been below 300, while party discipline and anti-corruption measures dominated the gathering.
Key Facts
Sixteen of the 33 expelled members were from the military, according to the party’s communique.
The party cited “serious disciplinary and legal violations” but did not specify the alleged offenses.
The expulsions brought the number of members removed during Xi’s third term to 51, compared with 34 in his first term and five in his second.
China’s anti-corruption watchdog said 680,000 people across the party apparatus were disciplined in the first nine months of the year.
Former Xinjiang party chief Ma Xingrui and former generals Zhang Youxia and Liu Zhenli were among the officials expelled.
The Central Military Commission, which controls China’s armed forces, has been reduced to two members: Xi Jinping and vice-chairman Zhang Shengmin.
Zhang Shengmin was promoted to the Politburo at the fifth plenum, bringing its membership to 22.
Read the Original
Want the full story? Tap a source to open the original
article.
A France 24 episode of French Connections explores lesser-known parts of Paris’s 18th arrondissement. Hosts Genie Godula and Florence Villeminot visit the multicultural Goutte d’Or, a major fabric store, and places linked to notable former residents.
Key Facts
The episode focuses on the 18th arrondissement of Paris.
The hosts are Genie Godula and Florence Villeminot.
The program looks beyond well-known landmarks such as Sacré-Cœur Basilica and the Moulin Rouge.
The hosts visit the Goutte d’Or, described as a vibrant, multicultural neighbourhood.
The episode features what the article calls the world’s largest fabric store.
The program introduces some of the arrondissement’s famous former residents.
The episode runs for about 12 minutes.
Read the Original
Want the full story? Tap a source to open the original
article.
The article argues that the data industry poses a threat to U.S. national security. It says adversaries can exploit information they purchase instead of developing new intelligence capabilities.
Key Facts
The article’s title describes the data industry as a threat to U.S. national security.
The article says adversaries can buy information.
It says adversaries do not need to invent a new intelligence capability to exploit that information.
The article focuses on the security risks of commercially available data.
The provided text does not identify specific data brokers, adversaries, or types of information.
Read the Original
Want the full story? Tap a source to open the original
article.
Technology companies are developing tools to connect information used by agencies, businesses and residents during disasters. The market has established providers, while newer firms face lengthy public-sector purchasing processes and requirements for system integration, cybersecurity and training.
Key Facts
Climate Central counted 23 U.S. weather and climate disasters in 2025 that each caused at least $1 billion in damage, with estimated losses of $118.4 billion.
Climate Central’s database records 447 such disasters since 1980, with inflation-adjusted costs above $3.3 trillion.
Emergency management organizations often use separate systems, which can limit information sharing and make it harder to build a shared picture of an incident, according to Mary Jo Flynn-Nevins of the International Association of Emergency Managers.
Everbridge and Juvare are among companies that already provide emergency communications, incident management and coordination software.
A FEMA procurement document estimated that rebuilding parts of its crisis management system would cost $16 million to $25 million and take 24 to 36 months; FEMA chose to move the system to Juvare’s cloud service instead.
Ready2Go is developing a platform for agencies, private organizations and residents to share incident information.
Ready2Go says its platform would let residents register medical and mobility needs before a disaster and use AI tools to help match assistance requests with available resources.
Read the Original
Want the full story? Tap a source to open the original
article.
A hand-drawn survey of the Mason-Dixon Line is scheduled to go up for auction in a livestreamed sale on Thursday. Brunk Auctions estimates the map will sell for $800,000 to $1.2 million; it was originally made to settle a border dispute between Maryland and Pennsylvania and later became associated with the division between free and slave states.
Key Facts
Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon drew the survey between 1767 and 1768.
The map is a linen-backed strip of paper measuring 76 inches long and 6.5 inches tall.
The survey was originally intended to settle a border dispute between Maryland and Pennsylvania.
The Mason-Dixon Line later became associated with the boundary between free and slave states.
The map remained with the family of attorney Benjamin Chew until 1982.
Malcolm S. Forbes bought the map in 1982 for $360,000, outbidding the Library of Congress.
The map changed hands again in 2002.
The Library of Congress said it is not currently in a position to buy the map.
Read the Original
Want the full story? Tap a source to open the original
article.
With nearly 90 percent of ballots counted, Israel’s election produced no clear winner: neither major bloc appears likely to reach the 61 seats needed for a governing majority. Arab-majority parties won a record 19 seats, making them central to coalition negotiations, though several leaders have ruled out governing with them.
Key Facts
Benjamin Netanyahu’s bloc is projected to win 53 seats, while Gadi Eisenkot’s opposition bloc is projected to win 48.
Likud is projected to take 26 seats, the most of any party, but Netanyahu’s bloc remains eight seats short of a majority.
Eisenkot’s Yashar Party is projected to win 21 seats, while his bloc would need Arab-led parties to reach a majority.
Arab-majority parties won 19 seats, a record high, amid turnout of about 80 percent among Palestinian citizens of Israel.
Netanyahu said a government relying on Arab-led parties would be “a shame and a disgrace.”
Netanyahu’s Likud claimed the election was stolen by Arab parties; police and the Central Elections Committee dismissed the claims, according to the article.
Naftali Bennett’s Together Party is projected to win 12 seats. Bennett said he would seek a government without repeating his 2021 decision to govern with Ra’am.
Read the Original
Want the full story? Tap a source to open the original
article.
Students at the University of The Gambia protested over unreliable transportation, campus services and learning facilities. Lectures resumed after the government announced steps including 20 additional buses, but students continue to seek the resignation of two university leaders, and some measures remain unconfirmed or incomplete.
Key Facts
The Students’ Union says the concerns affect more than 12,000 students.
Some students rely on university buses for long commutes, and bus seats can be difficult to secure.
The government said the Gambia Transport Service Company deployed 20 buses to support student travel.
Students have reported limited access to safe drinking water, affordable food and reliable internet.
The ministry said campus water needed additional filtration and that water dispensers had been installed at designated points.
The ministry said cafeterias were ready to serve, but did not provide details about meal prices or availability at individual facilities.
The ministry said internet work at the newly built Schools of Agriculture and Law was expected to finish within a week; it did not confirm completion.
Students are calling for Vice Chancellor Herbert Robinson and the director of student affairs to resign.
Read the Original
Want the full story? Tap a source to open the original
article.
The United States sanctioned Rwanda’s defence ministry and Zigama Credit and Savings Society over alleged support for the M23 rebel group in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. The measures come despite a U.S.-brokered peace agreement signed in December 2025, as fighting continues and Rwanda denies backing M23.
Key Facts
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent called on Rwanda to stop supporting M23 and withdraw its troops from eastern DR Congo.
The U.S. Treasury alleges Rwanda’s defence ministry sent thousands of troops to fight alongside M23 and provided weapons, equipment, logistics and training.
The sanctions freeze designated entities’ assets under U.S. jurisdiction and generally bar U.S. people and businesses from conducting transactions with them without authorization or an exemption.
The U.S. alleges Zigama Credit and Savings Society facilitated transactions for M23, helped pay for military equipment for Rwandan forces and enabled gold shipments from rebel-held areas to Kigali.
M23 has seized Goma and Bukavu and taken control of mineral-rich areas, including gold-mining sites in South Kivu and the coltan-producing area of Rubaya in North Kivu.
The Washington Accords, signed by the Congolese and Rwandan presidents in December 2025 under U.S. mediation, aimed to end the conflict and expand regional trade and investment.
DR Congo welcomed the sanctions and urged Rwanda to meet its commitments and withdraw its troops; Rwanda said it was ready to implement the accords if the other parties also met their obligations.
The U.S. previously sanctioned Rwanda’s army and four senior military commanders in March 2026, and a gold refinery and three mining companies in June 2026.
Read the Original
Want the full story? Tap a source to open the original
article.
Scientists at the Vera C. Rubin Observatory identified a possible dwarf planet, provisionally named 2026 ED138, beyond Pluto’s orbit. Its estimated size may be large enough for it to qualify, but more observations are needed to determine its true size and whether it meets the definition of a dwarf planet.
Key Facts
Matthew Holman of the Center for Astrophysics found the object while reviewing Rubin Observatory observations.
Holman used software to search the observations on October 13, 2026.
Scientists later found 2026 ED138 in more than 20 Rubin images taken between March and July.
The object is about 46 times farther from the Sun than Earth is, beyond Pluto’s average distance of roughly 40 times Earth’s distance.
Early estimates put its diameter at about 600 to 1,500 kilometers.
The Vera C. Rubin Observatory began its 10-year southern-sky survey on June 30, 2026.
Before the main survey began, Rubin data had yielded more than 11,000 previously unknown asteroids, including 33 near-Earth objects that posed no threat to Earth.
Read the Original
Want the full story? Tap a source to open the original
article.
