Early Edition: October 16, 2026

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A curated weekday guide to major news and developments over the last 24 hours. Here’s today’s news:

IRAN WAR

Iran has managed to export some liquefied petroleum gas and jet fuel since July despite a U.S. naval blockade, shipping intelligence showed and sources told Reuters. Analysis by U.S. advocacy group United Against Nuclear Iran shows at least eight gas tankers carrying Iranian LPG have left the Gulf of Oman since mid-July. Feras Dalatey and Jonathan Saul report.

IRAN WAR – YEMEN

Yemeni health officials yesterday said the Iran-aligned Houthis struck Maashiq Palace in the southern city of Aden, the headquarters of Yemen’s internationally recognized government, killing five people and injuring at least 16. Yemeni Information Minister Moammar al-Eryani said Yemeni Prime Minister Shaya al-Zindani was not hurt. Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said its fighters had bombed Saudi military operations headquarters in Aden, as part of the group’s declared policy of targeting “Saudi reinforcements wherever they were located.” Ismaeel Naar and Pranav Baskar report for the New York Times; Enas Alashray, Mohammed Ghobari, and Eman Abouhassira report for Reuters.

LEBANON

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio during a call pressed Lebanese President Joseph Aoun not to return to Hezbollah explosives the group attempted to smuggle into Lebanon’s capital Beirut last week, sources told Axios. Rubio urged Aoun to “hold accountable all those who ordered, financed, and directed the shipment, and underscored that returning explosives to Hezbollah should be out of the question,” according to a U.S. State Department official. Rubio also raised concerns about Lebanon’s 1955 Boycott Law, which bans any contact with Israelis and told Aoun the law is “routinely used for politicized prosecutions that deter steps towards peace with Israel.” Barak Ravid reports. 

WEST BANK VIOLENCE

Some 80 Israeli settlers in face masks today burned olive trees and threw rocks at Palestinians at the West Bank village of Abu Falah’s annual harvest, injuring at least two people including a journalist, witnesses told Reuters. Israeli soldiers arrived at the scene and fired tear gas in the direction of Palestinians, and a Reuters photographer saw at least one armed settler fire a gun. Pesha Magid reports.

RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR

The EU today is hosting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Brussels. Zelenskyy told the summit he does not see “signals from the Russian side that they are ready… to end this war.” Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal told Reuters that the EU would probably have to provide a new loan to Ukraine to help cover its budget gap for next year. Andrew Gray, Philip Blenkinsop, and Max Hunder report.

Russia yesterday publicly acknowledged a Ukrainian drone strike on a major Russian oil refinery in the Ryazan region and broadcast images of the damage on state media, breaking from usual practice to highlight an attack Trump branded a “disgrace.” The aftermath of an attack on a refinery was shown on TV for the first time since the start of the war. Reuters reports.

The order to limit SpaceX Starshield services used by Ukraine for battlefield communications and drone operations came from inside the White House, U.S. officials told Reuters. The officials said leaders in the U.S. Defense Department received a message that the SpaceX Starshield service for the Ukrainian military needed to be slowed, but did not specify who in the White House made the decision or who was responsible for implementing the order. Erin Banco and Gram Slattery report.

Ukraine has run out of missiles for the U.S.-made Patriot air defense system, a source told CNN yesterday. For months, Zelenskyy has repeatedly warned that Ukraine is running out of U.S.-made Patriot interceptor missiles, which are one of the few defensive weapons capable of knocking down a ballistic missile. The source said “almost all the ballistic missiles from the last strike were not intercepted due to the lack of the [interceptor] missiles.” Victoria Butenko and Lauren Kent report.

U.K. Defense Minister West Streeting yesterday said he and U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth welcomed the restoration of the Starlink service in Ukraine during talks. Streeting stressed the need to move forward in supporting Ukraine following renewed discord between the United States and Ukrainian leaders and said it was “not the first time we’ve seen a falling out between President Trump and President Zelenskyy.” Jasper Ward and David Brunnstrom report for Reuters.

OTHER GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTS

Bulgarian Defense Minister Dimitar Stoyanov today said Bulgaria has formally asked NATO to deploy combat aircraft and anti-drone systems to bolster its defenses after recent drone attacks on commercial shipping in the Black Sea. Stoyanov said he planned to meet his Romanian and Turkish counterparts soon to discuss coordinating action and a common approach to the situation in the Black Sea. Stoyan Nenov and Lili Bayer report for Reuters.

Two members of South Africa’s largest political party, the African National Congress, yesterday were fatally shot while campaigning. The attack is the second fatal shooting on party members this week, as on Tuesday four other members were killed as they were leaving a memorial service. The victims have not been identified but the ANC said they were not candidates and described them as volunteers. Zimasa Matiwane reports for the New York Times.

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed today named a caretaker government to stabilize the northern Tigray region and prepare for an election within six months. Abiy’s office said the temporary administration will be in office for six months and Abiy justified the measure by saying Tigrayans can “attain the peace that has long eluded them, to secure their right to self-administration, and to finally enjoy the fruits of development.” George Obulutsa reports for Reuters.

Brazil’s Superior Electoral Court yesterday ruled that Meta must adopt measures to immediately secure equal treatment of the country’s two presidential candidates ahead of their Oct. 25 runoff. Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva filed a complaint that accused Meta of using biased algorithms and AI restrictions to favor opposition candidate Sen. Flávio Bolsonaro. The judge said Meta must pay a fine of $98,000 a day if it fails to comply. Mauricio Savarese reports for AP News.

U.S. AI DEVELOPMENTS

The Federal Aviation Administration is working to acquire an ownership stake in Air Space Intelligence, a private company that is key to the FAA’s efforts to modernize the United States’ air traffic control system, according to an internal FAA document reviewed by POLITICO. The FAA in June awarded the company a contract worth $875.9 million for an AI-powered tool to help air traffic controllers, and the AI platform’s initial launch in the Washington area sparked concern among Democrats in Congress who said it should be put on pause until Congress has a better understanding of how the tool is being deployed. Sam Ogozalek reports.

U.S. FOREIGN AFFAIRS

Trump yesterday said the United States is holding talks with Russia and China aimed at denuclearizing the countries. Trump said he expects China to “catch up” with the United States’ nuclear arsenal within the next five years, which he called a “shame, because I’d love to denuclearize if possible.” Jasper Ward reports for Reuters.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney yesterday told a pro-Canada rally in Calgary, Alberta that the United States is trying to break Canada so it can “own us.” Alberta next Monday will vote on whether to remain a province of Canada or instruct the local government to begin the legal process toward a future referendum on separation. Carney said the referendum “comes at the worst possible time” as the world “has become more dangerous and divided.” Rob Giles reports for AP News.

Assistant Secretary of State for Intelligence and Research Michael Vance last week held talks with Myanmar’s government in Tokyo, sources told Reuters. The meeting involved more than a dozen U.S. officials, but Reuters could not establish who represented Myanmar. The State Department did not respond for comment on the latest talks but said it engages with all groups in Myanmar on issues affecting U.S. interests. Simon Lewis, Poppy McPherson, and John Geddie report.

U.S. IMMIGRATION DEVELOPMENTS

Microsoft Vice Chair and President Brad Smith on Wednesday told POLITICO that it was ironic the White House chose to target his company’s foreign workers on the same day it gave a medal to Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, a former H-1B skilled visa holder from India. Smith said five of the six individuals who received medals from the White “had come to the United States as immigrants,” and that the Trump administration risks damaging the standard of living for Americans with restrictions on the visas. Brendan Bordelon reports.

The daughter of Jimenez Mendoza, a man who died in 2017 after falling from a cliff while he fled ICE agents near the southern border, on Wednesday told the New York Times that he was being depicted as living fugitive Jose Mendoza-Cervantes. Mendoza-Cervantes entered the vehicle driven by Miguel Parra Hernandez on Saturday in Houston, Texas, and Hernandez was later struck from behind with an SUV as he ran away from ICE agents on foot. Ms. Jimenez said her father used aliases, including the name ICE released as its target in the Houston operation. Court records showed Mendoza faced the same criminal charges that ICE attributed to Mendoza-Cervantes. Jazmine Ulloa reports.

The Justice Department yesterday sued California and a Los Angeles County official, seeking to temporarily block the state from counting mail ballots submitted by voters it suspects are noncitizens. The suit would apply to some 20,000 people in the state the Trump administration has cast as “likely noncitizens.” The suit wants to prevent the counting of votes “until their citizenship status can be determined.” Attorney General Todd Blanche said California had received ample warning and was given “an opportunity to self-correct its records.” Devlin Barrett and Laurel Rosenhall report for the New York Times.

The League of Women Voters, the Electronic Privacy Information Center, and the League of United Latin American Citizens yesterday sued the Department of Homeland Security, alleging the government has obtained voter files from at least 47 states and handled the data in a way that violates federal law. The lawsuit alleges the DHS’s secretive probe of the voter data disregards federal safeguards and flouts the privacy rights of millions of Americans. Ali Swenson reports for AP News.

A federal judge yesterday threw out a Trump administration lawsuit that sought to block New York City ‘sanctuary’ laws that limit cooperation with federal immigration enforcement. The judge said the administration could not challenge a city law barring police from detaining immigrants at the request of federal authorities because that practice is already prohibited by state law. Jack Queen reports for Reuters.

U.S. DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS

The FBI and U.S. Postal Service’s enforcement arm yesterday said they were investigating suspicious mailings, including some sent to state election officials and lawmakers’ offices. The FBI said some of the letters contained an unknown substance. Spokespeople for Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (NY), Sen. Alex Padilla (D-CA), and Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) all said the USPS intercepted letters containing a suspicious substance mailed to their offices. David Shepardson reports for Reuters.

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk and his America PAC political action committee yesterday said they agreed to settle two proposed class actions alleging Musk defrauded residents in closely contested states before the 2024 presidential election by promising voters a lottery-style daily $1 million giveaway. The filings did not include settlement terms. Mike Scarcella reports for Reuters.

White House Press Secretary Katie Zacharia yesterday said her California Bar exam results are “somewhat inconsequential” because she knew she wouldn’t need the bar in China. Zacharia said “I had enough credentials, which was my law degree, to be able to be in this practice,” and added that she was “not hired as White House counsel” when asked if she would weigh in on legal matters as press secretary. Julia Manchester reports for The Hill.

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION ACTION

Trump on social media yesterday said the execution of convicted Fort Hood shooter Nidal Hasan by firing squad will not be live-streamed. Trump said he thinks streaming the execution “might have been a strong deterrent for the World to witness how America deals with Terrorists and SCUM like Hasan but, many very good and well meaning people would rather not watch him die,” and added that the “execution may be viewed in person by the immediate families of the victims, if they so choose.” Avery Lotz reports for Axios.

Nvidia and Apple each committed $25 million for Trump’s planned White House ballroom, according to a list obtained by the Washington Post. Trump himself is not on the list. Jonathan O’Connell, Sarah Blaskey, and Aarton Schaffer report; Nandita Bose and Doina Chiacu report for Reuters.

Paolo Zampolli yesterday said he left his post as presidential special envoy in the State Department. Zampolli on social media suggested the exit was routine, but a U.S. official told POLITICO that Zampolli was fired. POLITICO earlier yesterday reported that Zampolli and the Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau had been embroiled in a monthslong email fight that included accusations of leaks to the media and threats of defamation. Chris Cameron reports for the New York Times; Daniel Lippman reports; Daniel Lippman reports.

State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott yesterday said that former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem is no longer serving as the Trump administration’s special envoy to the “Shield of the Americas” coalition. Pigott said Noem will continue “to be at the State Department as a senior adviser.” Ford McCracken reports for The Hill.

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION LITIGATION

A federal judge yesterday denied a request by crypto firm Gemini and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to undo a court-approved settlement reached before Trump returned to office in Jan. 2025 which requires Gemini to pay $5 million for misleading federal regulators about its Bitcoin business. The judge said the facts of the case had not changed since Gemini, without admitting guilt, agreed to the fine. Sharon LaFraniere reports for the New York Times.

Nine former FBI agents and intelligence personnel yesterday sued FBI Director Kash Patel, Blanche, and their agencies, alleging they were unlawfully fired for working on the investigation into Trump’s handling of classified documents. The lawsuit alleges that the former employees were “unlawfully terminated not for any cause or any legitimate reason, but only to satisfy the President’s personal vendetta.” Josephine Walker reports for Axios.

A federal judge yesterday rejected a lawsuit from former C.I.A. Director John Brennan that sought to force the DOJ to preserve investigative records so that Brennan could challenge any eventual criminal case against him as a selective and malicious prosecution. The judge said Brennan’s concerns were too speculative at the moment and he had not proven that the DOJ was failing to preserve records relevant to a future malicious prosecution argument. Eric Tucker reports for AP News.

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