Here are today’s top stories.
Headlines
Israeli Election Produces No Clear Winner
Israel’s election could take weeks or even months to produce a clear winner, as neither Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu nor retired Gen. Gadi Eisenkot is expected to reach a 61-seat majority in the Knesset. President Isaac Herzog will consult party leaders, and the candidate seen as most likely to form a coalition then gets up to six weeks to do it. Israel’s last national election, in November 2022, was its fifth in 3½ years. Source
Three tankers loaded with Russian diesel are crossing the Atlantic toward U.S. ports, with a fourth set to leave soon, setting up a legal fight over a Trump-Putin energy arrangement. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., demanded that the shipping companies recall the tankers, and critics argue a Treasury license does not override the 2022 ban on Russian energy imports. Source
A grand jury declined to indict Cassidy Hutchinson, the former Trump White House aide who became the star witness of the House Jan. 6 committee. Hutchinson’s 2022 public testimony about the events surrounding the Capitol attack made her one of the most prominent witnesses against the former president’s inner circle. See Details
Politics
Republicans fear a "red scream" of alarm within their own ranks could depress GOP voter turnout in the final week of the midterms. The worry centers on the Senate map, where the party is defending a 53-seat majority on Nov. 3. Read More
The 2025-26 election cycle is now the most expensive in U.S. history, with ad spending and reservations reaching $11.21 billion, edging past the $11.20 billion spent in the entire 2023-24 cycle. Thirty-five Senate seats are on the ballot Nov. 3, with Michigan, Texas and Alaska among the most closely watched races. In Texas, more than 20% of registered voters have already cast early ballots in the neck-and-neck Senate race between Republican Ken Paxton and Democrat James Talarico. Find out More
Senate Majority Leader John Thune is crisscrossing the map to save a GOP majority that can afford to lose only three seats, campaigning last week with Rep. Ashley Hinson in Sioux City, Iowa. The Iran war and high gas prices have put Republicans on the defensive, and one election analyst rates the party "50-50 at best" to hold the Senate. Trump’s endorsement of Ken Paxton over Sen. John Cornyn in Texas and pulled-back spending in North Carolina have complicated the effort. Read More
U.S. News
DNA evidence has linked serial killer Ted Bundy to the 1974 murder of 17-year-old Melissa Ann Smith, whose body was found near the Summit County-Salt Lake County line in Utah. Summit County Sheriff Casey Bates announced the finding Tuesday, and investigators are still working to tie Bundy to the October 1974 disappearance of 16-year-old Nancy Wilcox. Source
The drug-resistant fungus Candida auris has infected more than 3,000 people in 27 states this year, and the CDC now lists it among four top-priority drug-resistant threats. Up to 60% of infected people die, and doctors are also tracking other dangerous fungi spreading worldwide, including a brain-attacking mold whose cases jumped fourfold in two years. See Details
The Justice Department sued a Maryland school district over its policies on students’ preferred names and pronouns. The lawsuit is the latest federal challenge to school gender-identity policies under the Trump administration. Source
Business
Stock futures were mixed early Wednesday as traders awaited the Federal Reserve’s interest rate decision and a heavy slate of Big Tech earnings. The Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq all rose Tuesday as tech gains carried into a second day and chip stocks rallied. Find out More
The Federal Reserve, under Chair Kevin Warsh, opens its policy meeting this week with hotter inflation and surging energy prices at the center of the debate over interest rates. A decision is due Wednesday afternoon. Find out More
Oil prices climbed more than 1% Wednesday after Yemen’s Houthis said they hit Saudi Arabia’s largest refinery, a 550,000-barrel-per-day facility, with a missile. Brent crude rose to $115.47 a barrel and U.S. crude to $101.33; Saudi authorities had not confirmed the strike. Source
World News
President Trump approved Flávio Bolsonaro’s entry into the United States after his defeat in Brazil’s presidential election. Bolsonaro, son of former President Jair Bolsonaro, lost to Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and is under investigation in a money-laundering probe at home. Source
Congo’s Ebola outbreak has topped 10,000 confirmed cases, with nearly half of those infected dead, making it the fastest-growing and deadliest outbreak in the country’s history. The outbreak is caused by the Bundibugyo strain, for which there is no approved vaccine or treatment, and it has spread across eight provinces. African health ministers were set to hold a virtual summit Wednesday. See Details
A zookeeper at the Beekse Bergen Safari Park in the southern Netherlands died after being attacked while caring for two Persian leopards in an indoor enclosure. She had worked at the park for nearly 40 years, starting at age 17. With no cameras in the enclosure, the park said an independent investigation will try to determine what happened. See Details
Entertainment
Susan Saint James, the Emmy-winning star of "McMillan & Wife" and "Kate & Allie," has died at 80. Saint James played opposite Rock Hudson on "McMillan & Wife" in the 1970s and later starred with Jane Curtin on the hit CBS sitcom "Kate & Allie" in the 1980s. Read More
Noah Wyle, the 55-year-old star of "The Pitt," has been named People’s 2026 Sexiest Man Alive, about a month after winning the Emmy for lead actor in a drama series. The former "ER" star said his wife, Sara Wells, is "amused by it all." Find out More
Christina Applegate shared an update on her health and vowed to keep fighting for others living with multiple sclerosis. "I will speak out on your behalf forever," the actress told the MS community. Find out More
Sports
The Tampa Bay Rays stayed alive in the World Series with a 4-3, 12-inning win over the Milwaukee Brewers in Game 4 at Tropicana Field. Pinch-hitter Ben Williamson’s bases-loaded bouncer scored Nick Fortes for the walk-off, an inning after Cooper Pratt’s homer had put Milwaukee ahead. Junior Caminero aggravated a left foot injury but said he will play in Game 5. See Details
The 2-5 Indianapolis Colts launched a rebuild Tuesday, trading guard Quenton Nelson to Seattle for a third-round pick and a future fifth and sending defensive tackle DeForest Buckner back to San Francisco for a 2027 fourth-rounder. Buckner was the 49ers’ No. 7 overall pick in 2016, and the moves came about a week after the Colts fired GM Chris Ballard. Source
Monday night’s loss to Dallas dropped the Philadelphia Eagles to 2-5 without quarterback Jalen Hurts, who is dealing with blood clots, raising questions about whether the team should sell before the Nov. 10 trade deadline. Star running back Saquon Barkley, under contract through 2029 and turning 30 in February, tops the list of possible moves. Find out More
Off the Wall
Salem, Massachusetts, is now home to the world’s heaviest jack-o’-lantern, a 3,156-pound pumpkin unveiled on Salem Common by Raising Cane’s founder Todd Graves and certified by Guinness World Records. Ron Wallace grew the giant gourd in Rhode Island over 123 days, smashing the previous record of 2,749 pounds, and the mayor proclaimed Oct. 27 "Great Pumpkin Day." See Details
