“Ethiopia has ordered six Sudanese diplomats to leave the country within 48 hours and closed Sudan’s consulate in the border town of Asosa, according to media reports. The reports on Tuesday came as tensions between the countries continue to rise, with Sudan accusing Ethiopia of supporting the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), while Ethiopia accuses Sudan of backing rebels in its northern Tigray region. The allegations and counter-allegations, which both sides deny, have raised fears that the two wars could bleed into each other, spawning a broader conflict in the Horn of Africa.” (11/04/26)
“The Mississippi Senate race may take days to resolve, as Democrat Scott Colom leads GOP Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith by just 65 votes in the current vote count. And as votes continue to be counted, all eyes are on an unknown number of ballots that could shift the result — and lead to a very murky recount process. … Around 6,000 mail ballots appear to have been distributed but not yet been returned Monday, according to data from the Mississippi secretary of state’s office, which did not reply to a request for comment. Mail ballots postmarked by Election Day can be counted in Mississippi if they are received by 5 p.m. Nov. 10. An unknown number of so-called affidavit ballots, also known as provisional ballots, are also outstanding.” (11/04/26)
“An investigation has found that 320,000 files stolen [sic] from a council’s school network have been published online following a cyber-attack on 88 schools in Bristol. Bristol City Council says a significant number of files have been made available online. It’s urgently working with Avon and Somerset Police, the South West’s regional organised crime unit and cybersecurity experts to review what information has been leaked and who exactly is affected. Schools are being issued with guidance to reduce the risks of scams and fraud that can follow a data theft. Bristol City Council say the cyber-attack happened in September and affected schools that use its Trading with Schools IT platform.” (11/04/26)
“New York Attorney General Letitia James announced Wednesday that a former federal prosecutor who oversaw the criminal case against Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs will lead the investigation into an alleged 2024 sexual assault at a Cornell University fraternity house. Former federal prosecutor Jacqueline Kelly, a Cornell graduate, was also the first chief of the civil rights unit in the criminal division of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York. Kelly is now a partner at Boies Schiller Flexner, a firm that represented women who accused Jeffrey Epstein of sexual abuse. … A former Cornell student filed a lawsuit under the pseudonym Jane Doe in September, accusing seven members of the Chi Phi fraternity of plying her with drugs and sexually assaulting her after what was initially a consensual threesome at the chapter’s house on Oct. 19 and 20, 2024.” [editor’s note: My recollection is that this prosecutor was only able to get Combs convicted on two of five charges – TLK] (11/04/26)
“Israeli President Isaac Herzog on Wednesday accepted as legally binding the certified results from last week’s parliamentary elections and said he would begin consultations with party representatives on the formation of a new government. Herzog’s acceptance of the results as valid dealt a blow to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s effort to discredit the vote in which his religious-nationalist bloc lost its majority in the Israeli parliament, or Knesset, while Arab-led parties made historic gains. Netanyahu and his supporters have repeatedly made unsubstantiated claims that the Arab-led parties had ‘stolen’ the election, possibly with foreign assistance. The Israeli president is required now to sit down with various party leaders to determine who to name as prime minister-designate — a process that could potentially bring Netanyahu’s opponents to power.” (11/04/26)
“House Speaker Mike Johnson privately told staff he is not planning on running for minority leader or any other leadership role in the next Congress, according to people familiar with the comments. His decision will kick off a scramble among House Republican leadership contenders in the aftermath of their sweeping losses Tuesday night. Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, and current Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., are launching leadership bids on Wednesday. … Republicans could see other shakeups further down their leadership chain. Rep. August Pfluger, R-Texas, currently the Republican Study Committee chair, announced in a letter to GOP colleagues Wednesday that he’d run for the second-ranking position.” (11/04/26)
“Government lawyers told Australia’s highest court on Wednesday that a world-first ban on children younger than 16 from holding social media accounts was necessary to protect developing brains. The Australian government is fighting in the High Court two constitutional challenges to the ban that took effect last year on young children holding accounts on Reddit, Facebook, Instagram, Kick, Snapchat, Threads, TikTok, X, YouTube and Twitch. The challenges were brought by Reddit, a U.S. online forum, and Sydney-based rights group Digital Freedom Project.” (11/04/26)
“Texas could soon give alligator hunters significantly more time to pursue the reptiles as wildlife officials grapple with a surprising trend: more alligators, but fewer being hunted. The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) is proposing to more than triple the alligator hunting season in 22 Southeast Texas counties, including Galveston, Brazoria, Chambers, Jefferson and Liberty. The season would expand from 20 to 61 days, running from Sept. 1 through Oct. 31 instead of Sept. 10 through Sept. 30. The changes, which will be discussed during a Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission meeting on Wednesday, Nov. 4, would also allow nighttime alligator hunting on private property, including private waters, and expand the methods hunters can use to capture the reptiles.” (11/04/26)
“A former U.S. government contractor has admitted passing classified intelligence to Ethiopia that officials used in military operations, the U.S. Justice Department said Tuesday. Abraham Teklu Lemma, 54, supplied secrets to senior Ethiopian officials for more than two years urging them to deploy drones against fighters battling the government, according to the U.S. attorney’s office in Washington. Lemma, of Silver Spring, Maryland, pleaded guilty Tuesday to conspiring to transmit national defense information to a foreign government. He worked as an information technology contractor at the State Department, Justice Department and National Reconnaissance Office, prosecutors said.” (11/04/26)
“A Bronx nurse and her federal agent boyfriend were found shot dead in a Riverdale apartment Tuesday night in an apparent murder-suicide, according to police and sources. Andrea Cantarini, 37, and her boyfriend, Juan Cornelio Diaz, 38 — a US Customs and Border Patrol officer stationed at JFK airport — were found with fatal gunshot wounds to their heads inside Cantarini’s apartment on Blackstone Avenue in Riverdale around 9 p.m., the NYPD said. Diaz allegedly shot and killed Cantarini, before apparently turning the gun on himself, according to the sources.” (11/04/26)
