Early Edition: October 23, 2026

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

RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR

Russian President Vladimir Putin yesterday said that future talks on a settlement of the war in Ukraine should focus on security guarantees for both countries and an overall framework for security throughout Europe. Putin said the peace should be in its “final form, not as a result of a temporary ceasefire for some short period of time.” Vladimir Soldatkin reports for Reuters.

Trump on Wednesday called SpaceX CEO Elon Musk and asked him to lift restrictions on Starlink in Ukraine, U.S. officials told the Wall Street Journal. The sources said the system was working more normally yesterday shortly after their conversation. Trump told Musk he was frustrated the system’s speeds remained capped. Trump yesterday said Musk had restored Ukraine’s Starlink access but declined to comment when asked about if he had spoken to Musk about the matter. Alexander Ward and Lara Seligman report; Jacob Bogage and Kanishka Singh report for Reuters.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov today told reporters that reports that U.S. citizen Stephen James Hubbard was released in exchange for the recent release of Russian war blogger Mikhail Zvinchuk from custody in Montenegro were false. Dmitry Antonov reports for Reuters.

A tanker carrying 40,000 metric tons of Russian diesel is heading towards New York, ship-tracking data viewed by Reuters showed today. The tanker is the first to be transferred to the United States after Trump announced a deal to import Russian diesel.

ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR

Israeli strikes and gunfire in Gaza yesterday killed at least four people, according to local health officials. In Gaza City, a strike on a car killed at least one person, another strike killed a Palestinian man on a bike in the southern city of Khan Younis, and a strike killed a man near Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza. Gunfire killed a woman near the northern Jabalia refugee camp. The Israeli military said it had struck Hamas militants in Gaza City, Khan Younis, and Nuseirat, but that it was not aware of the reported incident in Jabalia. Nidal al-Mughrabi reports for Reuters.

WEST BANK DEVELOPMENTS

The Israeli military today said they prevented a “terror attack against Israeli civilians” in the occupied West Bank city of Hebron when they shot and killed two men. The IDF said the two men were carrying guns. The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu later instructed security forces to cordon off Hebron and prepare to fully close all of the West Bank. Shlomo Mor and Sam Mednick report for AP News.

U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee is questioning whether President Trump’s Board of Peace can deliver on the peace plan for Gaza without more planning and resources from the U.S. government, according to a cable the embassy yesterday sent to U.S. State Department leadership obtained by POLITICO. The cable was signed by Huckabee and expressed concern that neither the Board of Peace nor the U.S. embassy in Jerusalem have the personnel to move forward with plans to disarm and rebuild Gaza. Dianella Cheslow reports.

SUDANESE CIVIL WAR

The Sudanese Rapid Support Forces last year systematically destroyed el-Fasher’s healthcare system during their siege and subsequent takeover of the city, according to an investigation by BBC News. U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk called the findings “deeply disturbing,” and said attacks by the RSF on civilian infrastructure were serious violations of international humanitarian law and may amount to war crimes. The RSF has rejected BBC News’ findings. Barbara Plett Usher and Mohamed Madi report.

CLIMATE DEVELOPMENTS

A pair of studies published today in the Nature Health journal say severe heat killed more than 50,000 people in European cities and towns this summer. Researchers said that the figure is three times as many people as would have died had manmade global warming not occurred. The studies are based on a combination of factors that influence heat-related health risks in particular locations, and the estimates are not based on official death reports. Raymond Zhang reports for the New York Times.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List of Ecosystems yesterday announced that almost all of the world’s shallow-water coral reefs have now been classified as critically endangered. It was the group’s first global assessment of shallow-water reef ecosystems, and it said heat stress because of climate change is the overwhelming reason for the finding. Catrin Einhorn reports for the New York Times.

OTHER GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTS

Advocacy group the Movement for an Open Web yesterday lobbied the EU and United Kingdom to suspend Meta Platforms’ new commercial terms due to come into effect on Oct. 30, alleging it would give the company unlimited right to use their content for its AI services. The group said it complained to the European Commission and the U.K. Competition and Markets Authority, and requested interim measures. Foo Yun Chee reports for Reuters.

Foreign diplomats in Brazil are discussing a rapid recognition of whoever wins Sunday’s presidential runoff, four ambassadors told Reuters. The ambassadors seek to ward off any attempts from outside the country to call the election prematurely for either candidate, but they have yet to formalize a plan. Brendan O’Boyle reports.

South Korea today proposed military talks with North Korea to resolve disagreements about where their border lies and prevent accidental clashes in frontline areas. It is unclear whether North Korea will agree to the talks. Kim Tong-Hyung reports for AP News.

U.S. FOREIGN AFFAIRS

South Korean and U.S. officials see slim chances of a meeting between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un this year, sources told Reuters. The sources said the United States has received no response from North Korea about the potential meeting, and there is little time left before a regional summit in China next month where the meeting might occur. Trevor Hunnicutt, David Brunnstrom, Antoni Slodkowski, and Ju-min Park report.

Global Affairs Canada, which manages the government’s diplomatic relations, on Tuesday issued guidance to Canadian diplomats urging them to avoid engaging with midterm election candidates, a day before the U.S. Embassy in Ottawa called out several Canadian leaders for political interference. The directive instructs officials to avoid being photographed with U.S. lawmakers and is in effect until Nov. 3. A Global Affairs Canada spokesperson said “government officials are always instructed to limit public events and stakeholder engagement during election periods in their host country.” Mickey Djuric, Nick Taylor-Vaisey, and Megan Messerly report for POLITICO.

The Treasury Department yesterday proposed a rule to crack down on U.S. high-tech investments such as supercomputing and AI in China, Russia, North Korea, and other “countries of concern.” The rule would expand current restrictions on investments that could help boost adversary military power to include investments in hypersonic systems capable of traveling at five times the speed of sound, supercomputing, biotechnology, and AI. Paul Wiseman and Didi Tang report for AP News.

U.S. IMMIGRATION DEVELOPMENTS

Minnesota state officials in October submitted court filings that said the federal government has stopped sharing evidence for investigations into the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti by ICE agents. State prosecutors announced in July that the federal government had begun turning over evidence in the cases, and Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said at the time the state expected to receive “all the evidence.” However the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Minnesota on Sep. 10 told Moriarty that evidence sharing would be on pause indefinitely “in light of challenges with D.C.,” according to the documents. Hannah Schoenbaum reports for AP News.

U.S. DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS

A report published on Monday by a cybersecurity forensic firm hired by Bard College to investigate whether their former president Dr. Leon Botstein sent an email to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein suggested the alleged email could be fake. Dr. Botstein retired from his presidency over the summer and stepped away from all Bard positions this month amid allegations that he sent an email to Epstein in 2014 asking if a young foreign model was “for me, or are you keeping her for yourself.” Dr. Botstein welcomed the report and said “as I previously said, I did not author or send that email,” and that he appreciates “the effort to find the truth.” Vimal Patel reports for the New York Times.

Calley Means yesterday resigned from his role as a senior adviser for MAHA. Means expressed “tremendous respect” for Trump and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and praised their efforts to take on “entrenched, dark forces in DC.” Adriel Bettelheim reports for Axios.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s team dropped and damaged a historic World War II-era globe, a source told The Hill yesterday. The globe, previously used by Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower, was damaged while it was being moved to the secretary’s office. Filip Timotjia and Suryatapa Chakraborty report.

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION ACTION

Hegseth on Tuesday issued a new directive telling troops they cannot use “nonpublic information” to make bets on prediction markets, in a memo reviewed by AP News. Hegseth wrote that our “enemies watch movements in these markets,” and added that when a U.S. official “engages in a financial transaction on a military outcome, they create a signal.” Konstantin Toropin reports.

Trump yesterday encouraged Republican nominee for Ohio governor, Vivek Ramaswamy to continue running a controversial advertisement that includes the estranged mother of his opponent Dr. Amy Acton calling the Democrat candidate a liar. Trump said “Vivek should keep it up, and let everyone listen to the mother of a defective, dishonest, and incapable Candidate, explain how the daughter is a DISASTER who, uncontrollably, lies, cheats, and steals!” Trump criticized Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine (R) for urging Ramawamy to take down the ad and called him “disloyal to the Republican Party.” The ad involved Dr. Acton’s mother claiming Dr. Acton lied about her childhood, and while it does not explicitly reference Dr. Acton’s sexual assault, Dr. Acton’s stepfather was charged with raping the candidate when she was 12, and her mother fled from the state alongside him. Ashley Ahn reports for POLITICO.

Trump yesterday invoked the Defense Production Act and announced that the government would be spending $150 million toward boosting domestic gas and diesel production. The Cold War-era law gives the president broad powers to increase production of resources within the country for national defense purposes. The Energy Department in a press release noted that the incoming cash was “expected to increase U.S. refining output by millions of gallons per day.” Caroline Vakil reports for The Hill.

The Justice Department opened a criminal investigation into Corey Lewandowski over accusations that he profited from his role as a top adviser to the Department of Homeland Security, officials told the New York Times. The sources said the inquiry was initiated in response to a referral from the DHS’s inspector general. Trump yesterday said he had heard about the investigation but did not know the details. Glenn Thrush, Tyler Pager, and Nicholas Nehamas report.

The DOJ yesterday announced charges against Virginia state Sen. L Louise Lucas (D) for allegedly running a criminal enterprise that illegally bought and sold large amounts of marijuana and laundered the proceeds. Lucas was described as the ringleader of the group, which included her two daughters and grandson. Marijuana isn’t yet legal in Virginia. Sadie Gurman reports for the Wall Street Journal.

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION LITIGATION

The DOJ yesterday asked a federal appeals court to step in and accelerate a lawsuit against California which attempts to compel the state to not count as many as 20,000 mail-in ballots sent to voters the Trump administration claims are “likely noncitizens.” The request jumped ahead of a lower court that was still considering last week’s emergency request. Zach Montague reports for the New York Times.

The Supreme Court yesterday agreed that New Hampshire can direct election officials not to consider student IDs when verifying voters’ identities. The ruling did not include a vote count and explained that “lower federal courts should ordinarily not alter the election rules on the eve of an election.” Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson dissented, and wrote that she viewed the federal judge’s action as merely a “targeted order” to correct public statements and guidance by the states’ secretary of state that the lower court had concluded were “at best, misleading.” Abbie VanSickle reports for the New York Times.

A federal judge has ordered Trump to answer questions under oath in his defamation lawsuit against the BBC by Dec. 11. Trump is suing the BBC over an episode of Panorama that edited together two different sections of a speech he gave before the Jan. 6, 2021 riots. Trump previously canceled a deposition on Oct. 16 citing “matters of national importance,” but a lawyer representing the BBC said in court that Trump was campaigning in Georgia that day and had “prioritized that” over answering their questions. Bernd Debusmann Jr. reports.

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