Top Stories for the Week of October 18th.

These are the top stories to start your day.

More than half a million protesters took to the streets of France on Saturday, and riots spread to major cities overnight, with government buildings torched and about 1,800 people detained. In Limoges, the 143-year-old town hall was set ablaze and its spire collapsed, and more than 500 police officers were injured nationwide. President Emmanuel Macron, who vowed that rioters will be prosecuted and punished, is set to address the nation Sunday evening. Source

France will deploy military forces to help keep order during a new wave of protests expected this weekend, officials said Tuesday. Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu said curfews would be imposed wherever needed after they helped produce a calm night, while President Emmanuel Macron faces growing criticism for leaving on a three-day Middle East tour amid the country’s worst riots in years. Read More

Federal prosecutors say a Kansas man threatened to shoot President Trump and mapped out rooftops near the site of a planned Trump speech in the Wichita area. The case surfaced as Trump campaigned in Kansas, where Republicans are working to hold an unexpectedly competitive Senate seat. See Details

The State Department ordered non-emergency U.S. government employees and their families to leave Saudi Arabia as deadly Houthi missile and drone attacks on the kingdom intensify. A department spokesman said the order applies only to Saudi Arabia, not the wider Gulf, as President Trump weighs direct military action against the Iran-backed group. See Details

Unvetted AI agents are accessing Americans’ bank accounts, prompting major banks to push back. Morgan Stanley has begun blocking third-party agents; JPMorgan, Bank of America, and Citi are also restricting them, and Chase warned customers not to share usernames and passwords with anyone. Read More

A federal judge ordered President Trump to sit for a deposition in his $10 billion defamation lawsuit against the BBC. The suit centers on the broadcaster’s editing of his Jan. 6, 2021, speech, and the deposition must take place by Dec. 11. Link

A former OpenAI engineer accused of planting a recording device in an executive conference room at the AI company appears to have received considerable support from the Saudi government, U.S. prosecutors said in a new court filing. The engineer, Saudi national Abdulrahman Alfozan, worked at the company’s San Francisco offices. See Details

President Trump is standing by his decision to waive sweeping new Russia sanctions passed by Congress, calling the move a “very good decision” after signing an executive order Friday that cited the national interest. The waiver follows his deal with Vladimir Putin to release Russian diesel onto the global market as fuel prices soar, and it drew swift condemnation from critics in Congress. Find out More

Republicans in Texas went after Democrat James Talarico’s record at a Saturday rally for Attorney General Ken Paxton, who faces Talarico for the state’s open Senate seat. In Minnesota, GOP Senate nominee Michele Tafoya targeted Democratic Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan’s record, with alleged fraud schemes that may have cost taxpayers up to $9 billion at the center of that race. Find out More

A congressional security official is warning that more suspicious letters may be headed to lawmakers after a string of members, many of them House Democrats, reported being targeted in recent days. The warning follows mailings containing suspicious substances sent to senators last week, which the FBI is investigating. Link

Ohio Republican gubernatorial nominee Vivek Ramaswamy took responsibility for an attack ad featuring Democratic opponent Amy Acton’s estranged mother, which drew backlash from Democrats and some Republicans. His campaign said Acton’s mother was not paid for the spot and that it will air online and on television, with roughly $4 million reportedly committed to run it statewide. Link

Control of the Senate may hinge on candidates neither party’s leadership wanted on the ballot. With less than two weeks until Election Day, the fight for the chamber puts Senate Majority Leader John Thune and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer in the position of relying on nominees their parties did not want. Read More

Democrat Abdul El-Sayed and Republican Mike Rogers met in their second and final debate in Michigan’s open Senate race, a contest that could help decide control of the chamber. Rogers again sought to tie El-Sayed to the Muslim Brotherhood, while El-Sayed made President Trump’s support for Rogers a central attack; several polls show El-Sayed with a narrow lead. Link

Ohio’s governor’s race took a bitter turn after Republican Vivek Ramaswamy’s campaign released an ad in which Democrat Amy Acton’s estranged mother calls her a liar. Acton’s campaign and her brother denounced the ad as a new low, as the spot drew criticism from both parties. Find out More

More than 12.6 million Americans have already cast ballots in the midterm elections, according to the University of Florida Election Lab’s tracker. Georgia, with more than 1 million ballots, and Virginia lead reporting states in early turnout as a share of 2022 totals, and North Carolina’s early vote was running 37% ahead of the same point four years ago. Source

The Justice Department has charged 28 people in California with unlawful voting and other election-related offenses. The charges come as the Trump administration ramps up pressure on the state’s election process, including threats to prosecute local election workers, ahead of the Nov. 3 midterms. Read More

The Air Force identified the airman who died after falling during a pregame rappelling demonstration at the Alamodome in San Antonio as Tech. Sgt. Ian Patterson, a 15-year service member from Georgia. Patterson, a tactical air control party instructor, plunged to the field before Saturday’s Navy-UTSA game, which was billed as a salute to the armed forces and veterans. See Details

Kyle Kennedy, a granddaughter of Robert F. Kennedy, has died at 42. She died Sept. 21 at her home in Westwood, Massachusetts, with the cause still pending, after a 2020 spinal cord injury left her with long-term paralysis. She is survived by two sons. See Details

Diesel prices averaged $6.31 a gallon Thursday, up more than 70% from a year ago, squeezing truckers heading into the holiday shipping season. At least 16 trucking companies sought bankruptcy protection between Sept. 18 and Oct. 21, while the industry also contends with a shortage of qualified drivers. See Details

A retired NYPD detective, 62-year-old Victor Romero, has been charged with murder in the fatal shooting of motorist Koran Irvine on the George Washington Bridge during what police believe was a road-rage confrontation Tuesday night. Romero joined the department in 1994 and retired about 25 years ago. Read More

Thieves stole nearly $1 million in rare trading cards, including highly valued Pokémon cards, from a FedEx truck parked near a Southern California business that authenticates and grades collectibles. The heist is the latest in a string of thefts targeting Pokémon cards as their value has climbed sharply. Link

Meta beat third-quarter revenue expectations and announced a new non-voting Class C stock, giving holders one new share for each share they own in what works like a 2-for-1 split. The structure lets Meta keep financing its AI buildout while Mark Zuckerberg retains control; reported earnings were weighed down by legal costs tied to a teen mental health settlement. Link

Elon Musk said SpaceX and Tesla have each formed special committees of independent directors to explore a potential merger, though he cautioned that no terms have been reached. SpaceX shares climbed about 8% in extended trading after the company reported 161% third-quarter revenue growth, with its AI business growing ninefold. Source

U.S. spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds pulled in $526.6 million in net inflows Monday, their biggest single day since Sept. 22. The surge erased most of the funds’ October outflows, cutting the month’s net loss from about $617 million to roughly $91 million, while ether funds saw money leave. Find out More

Netflix reports third-quarter results after the closing bell Tuesday, Oct. 20, with Wall Street expecting earnings of $0.82 per share, nearly 39% higher than a year ago. Options traders are leaning bullish heading into the report, and the average analyst price target implies a roughly 30% gain over the next year. Read More

U.K. inflation rose to 3.5% in the 12 months to September from 3.1% in August, topping the 3.4% economists expected, driven by surging motor-fuel costs. Fuel prices jumped nearly 30% from a year earlier, strengthening the case for a Bank of England rate hike. Read More

Meta’s Muse AI assistant has reached 10 million U.S. downloads in 40 days, and it has drawn the oldest user base of any AI chatbot, with an estimated 46% of users aged 46 or older. Some seniors use it for tasks like comparing Medicare Part D plans, but privacy experts warn about how much personal data older users are sharing. Read More

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard warned that the conflict “will extend” to American military bases across the Middle East if U.S. forces keep escorting ships through the Strait of Hormuz, and claimed attacks on four vessels. Separately, an attack on King Fahd International Airport in Dammam, Saudi Arabia, claimed by Houthi rebels, killed two people and injured eight. President Trump invoked Defense Production Act emergency powers to boost domestic oil production. Read More

France is bracing for more weekend protests after its most destructive rioting in years, with demonstrations banned in Lyon and parts of Paris and military forces set to help police on Saturday. Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu accused far-left groups of insurrectionary plans, and President Trump said the U.S. would not tolerate similar unrest. Read More

Protests over the cost of living and school conditions spiraled into rioting and looting across France over the weekend, with damage stretching from Paris to Marseille. The unrest followed weeks of student demonstrations that broadened into nationwide protests on Oct. 17. The turmoil sets up a potentially fraught six months for France heading into its next presidential election. See Details

Congo’s Ebola outbreak has spread to an eighth province, with two cases, including one death, confirmed in Nord-Ubangi near the Central African Republic border. Authorities have recorded more than 9,400 cases and over 4,500 deaths since mid-May, the deadliest outbreak in Congo’s history, and the Bundibugyo strain driving it has no approved vaccine or treatment. Find out More

“Street Fighter” is leading the weekend box office with an estimated $31 million debut from 3,575 North American theaters, despite a B-minus CinemaScore and lukewarm reviews. The Elizabeth Holmes documentary “You Can See Everything” is drawing lines and roughly 750 sellout screenings on a limited release, while “Whalefall” is struggling to find an audience. Link

The Elizabeth Holmes documentary “You Can See Everything” stunned Hollywood with a $15 million opening, roughly double expectations for a nearly three-hour film that was on almost no one’s radar two months ago. “Street Fighter” led the weekend with $31 million, and overall ticket sales of $101.6 million ran 45% ahead of the same weekend last year. Read More

Reba McEntire, Carrie Underwood, Vince Gill, Lainey Wilson and more than 20 other performers took the stage in Nashville for the Country Music Association’s live tribute to the late Dolly Parton. Julia Roberts, Oprah and Sabrina Carpenter also honored the country icon during the ABC and Disney+ special. Source

Country Music Hall of Famer John Anderson, known for hits including “Swingin’,” “Seminole Wind” and “Straight Tequila Night,” has died at 71. The Orlando-born singer, a leader of the New Traditionalist movement, died Wednesday, and no cause of death was announced. See Details

The search for the next James Bond has reached final screen tests, with Callum Turner and Jack Lowden among the actors in contention. The casting decision is one of the most closely watched in Hollywood. Find out More

“Dancing with the Stars” pro Val Chmerkovskiy has been suspended from the show for one week after an online post invoking the Will Smith Oscars slap in response to judge Carrie Ann Inaba’s critique of his wife, Jenna Johnson. The post has since been deleted. Read More

Richard Riehle, the veteran character actor best remembered as Tom Smykowski in “Office Space,” has died at 78. Friends said he died of natural causes last Thursday in Los Angeles after a career spanning more than 400 film and television projects. Source

A performance of “That’s Why We Fight” by Koe Wetzel and Ella Langley at the RedWest Festival has gone viral online. Langley is also among the country stars set to perform tonight in ABC’s live CMA tribute to the late Dolly Parton. Find out More

Miami climbed to No. 1 in the Associated Press Top 25 for the first time since 2002 after a chaotic Saturday in which five of the top seven teams lost. BYU jumped to No. 2, its highest ranking since its 1984 national championship season, while Notre Dame and Georgia both stayed in the top five despite close losses. Read More

Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin is out indefinitely with an injury to his throwing arm, coach Ryan Day said Tuesday, and the No. 3 Buckeyes are planning to be without him through the postseason. Sayin, last season’s Heisman finalist, was hurt late in Saturday’s 19-15 win at Indiana, and true freshman Luke Fahey is expected to take over. Source

Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts is expected to miss the rest of the season after blood clots were detected in his lungs. Philadelphia, already without him, fell 25-14 to Carolina on Sunday. Read More

A Milwaukee Brewers fan who paid $1,000 for a “Timeless Ticket” back in 2015 is cashing it in for a seat at the 2026 World Series. The team sold just 1,000 of the tickets, which can be redeemed for any future home game with no expiration date, and the Brewers have confirmed they will honor them for the Fall Classic. Link

A man eating an ear of corn at a crowded riverfront got some unexpected company when hungry cattle closed in for a taste. Video of the encounter drew attention online. Find out More

A 27-year-old St. Paul man is credited with saving nearly 20 children after he saw a school bus rolling past with its door open and the driver suffering a medical emergency. Ebro Ahmed sprinted to the bus, jumped aboard and pulled the emergency brake, later crediting “Grey’s Anatomy” with helping him keep calm. Read More