“Saying the president was ‘grasping at straws,’ a U.S. federal judge on Saturday threw out Donald Trump’s $10-billion lawsuit against the Wall Street Journal and media mogul Rupert Murdoch over a story reporting on his ties to wealthy financier Jeffrey Epstein. U.S. District Judge Darrin Gayles in Miami dismissed the suit with prejudice, ruling that the president did not prove the defendants made defamatory statements with actual malice as required by law. … When a case is thrown out ‘with prejudice,’ it cannot be refiled again and the dismissal is permanent and incontrovertible.” (10/31/26)
“India’s opposition parties on Sunday renewed calls for the resignation of the country’s election chief, staging fresh protests in the latest display of public dissent against Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government. The protest, called by opposition bloc INDIA, drew tens of thousands of demonstrators, some carrying musical instruments and waving various flags, as they chanted slogans against the policies of the central government. Several opposition parties of the alliance, formed in 2023 to unseat Modi, mobilized their cadres from different states for the protest, which comes weeks after a police crackdown on protesters in New Delhi.” (11/01/26)
“President Donald Trump said on Saturday it was ‘unacceptable’ for one of his former lawyers, Alina Habba Mildon, to secure a $50 million contract for herself while working at the US Department of Justice. … the family of Julio Herrera Velutini, a Venezuelan banker facing US felony bribery charges before striking a plea deal in August 2025, guaranteed Habba Mildon more than $50 million over four years. The deal, according to the newspaper, would pay $10 million a year plus bonuses. … Habba Mildon was serving as the acting US attorney in New Jersey when she signed the contract with Herrera’s family company, Concord Partners, days after it was registered in late October 2025, the New York Times reported.” (10/31/26)
“Turkey has moved the country’s Kurdish militant leader to a newly built part of an island prison where he has been incarcerated since 1999 as part of efforts to end decades of conflict, a senior Kurdish official said. Improving prison conditions for Abdullah Ocalan, who heads the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, has been a key Kurdish demand in the push to end the 42-year-long conflict between the militant group and Turkish authorities. Ocalan has been imprisoned in a penitentiary on the island of Imrali in the Marmara Sea – which links the Black Sea to the Aegean Sea – since he was captured in 1999.” (11/01/26)
“A federal judge on Friday ordered the Justice Department to stop threatening state and local election officials with criminal prosecution over their handling of disputes about voter qualifications. U.S. District Judge Trina Thompson also ordered the Trump administration to cease demanding that election workers remove voters from statewide rolls, refuse to issue ballots to specific voters or segregate ballots cast in the midterms based on the administration’s claims that some voters are ineligible.” (10/31/26)
“Rioters looted shops in central Frankfurt late on Saturday as clashes erupted in German cities over the cost of living. Besides Frankfurt – Germany’s financial hub – there were incidents of violence in Berlin, Cologne and Hamburg, with police saying they used water cannon to disperse protesters who were targeting emergency workers with fireworks, stones and bottles. … Overnight, a large section of Frankfurt’s main shopping street was closed off by police. A police spokesperson said many arrests were made in the city.” (11/01/26)
“Binance said Sunday that it had resumed withdrawals after a major hack that affected more than $6 billion in funds. Binance, which is the world’s largest crypto exchange by daily trading volumes, had suspended user withdrawals after the attack. … The FBI accused North Korea of being behind the attack on Saturday, confirming earlier suspicions from private investigators and analysts that a Pyongyang-affiliated group called TraderTraitor was behind the hack.” (11/01/26)
“Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy has been hospitalized after suffering a stroke at his son’s hockey game, his office said Sunday. The Democrat, 53, felt numbness in his arm during the game Saturday and was rushed to a local hospital. He was later moved to Johns Hopkins in Maryland, where he is ‘awake and alert,’ according to chief of staff Allison Herwitt. … Murphy — a rumored 2028 presidential contender — isn’t up for reelection until 2030, but had been crisscrossing the country stumping for midterm candidates, with visits to Michigan, Minnesota and Florida in recent weeks.” (11/01/26)
“Late-forming super PAC spending has surged in 2026. Twenty-two groups created in the final 10 weeks before Election Day have each spent at least $1 million on congressional races, totaling about $637 million, according to a CNBC analysis of FEC filings. That accounts for about one-sixth of independent expenditures in 2026 congressional races, CNBC found. Federal disclosure rules can leave voters in the dark about who is paying for the ads. Super PACs must rapidly report their spending, but donor disclosures can come weeks later — and, for the latest-forming groups, after Election Day.” (10/31/26)
“A rare humanitarian ceasefire in Ukraine’s front-line Kherson region that allowed civilians to evacuate the Russian-occupied city of Oleshky has ended. The localised ceasefire was due to end at 22:59 Ukrainian time (21:00 GMT) on Sunday. While the truce had held since it was implemented last week, fighting had continued elsewhere. On Sunday evening, Ukraine’s air alert system was apparently hacked, the country’s air force said, warning of radiation over Kyiv – a reference to a possible nuclear attack. … Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia had struck energy infrastructure in four regions overnight on Saturday, leaving hundreds of thousands of homes without power. Some connections were restored on Sunday.” (11/01/26)
