President Trump campaigned in Arizona with less than three weeks to the midterms, the Supreme Court again backed his administration in a fight over campaign advertising rates, and rescuers searched for eight missing sailors after two tankers caught fire in Romanian waters. Overnight, Ukraine argued over limits on its Starshield link, Virginia’s attorney general opened a permanent voter protection unit, Nepal and the World Bank agreed to study an earthquake catastrophe bond, Milwaukee moved within one win of the World Series, and Mumbai police told actor Imran Khan to leave India by October 28.
In This Roundup
- Trump Rallies in Arizona, Urging Voters to Turn the State Red
- Supreme Court Again Sides With Trump in Campaign Advertising Dispute
- Two Tankers Ablaze in Romanian Black Sea Waters, Eight Sailors Missing
- Musk Points to Washington Over Starshield Limits That Zelensky Warns Will Cost Lives
- Virginia Attorney General Launches Permanent Voter Protection Unit
- Nepal and World Bank to Explore Earthquake Catastrophe Bond
- Brewers Beat Dodgers 6-2 to Take 3-0 Lead in the NLCS
- Actor Imran Khan Told to Leave India by October 28 After Mumbai Protest
1 Trump Rallies in Arizona, Urging Voters to Turn the State Red
President Trump campaigned in Bullhead City on Wednesday, backing Rep. Andy Biggs for governor and a slate of Republican candidates with Election Day less than three weeks away. He attacked Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs, urged supporters to vote Republican up and down the ballot, and framed the Arizona races as a test of loyalty to his agenda.
Trump also returned to his February State of the Union address, criticising Democrats for staying seated during parts of the speech, and paid tribute to conservative activist Charlie Kirk on what he said would have been Kirk’s 33rd birthday. Biggs, who appeared with him on stage, echoed the call for a clean Republican sweep in the state.
Source: New York Post
2 Supreme Court Again Sides With Trump in Campaign Advertising Dispute
The Supreme Court on Wednesday again sided with the Trump administration in a dispute over the low advertising rates broadcasters must offer in the run-up to an election. At issue is a Federal Communications Commission policy from March that extends the lowest-unit rate — by law reserved for legally qualified candidates — to ads run by political parties in coordination with candidates.
Democrats challenged the policy, and a lower court accused the FCC of delaying its own review so the change could not be tested before November. In an unsigned opinion, the justices blocked that court from ordering the FCC to answer the objections on a set timetable, saying the agency may set its own procedures and schedule. Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson dissented. The ruling is expected to help Republicans, whose party committees have raised more than their Democratic counterparts.
Source: USA Today
3 Two Tankers Ablaze in Romanian Black Sea Waters, Eight Sailors Missing
Rescuers were searching on Thursday for eight missing crew members after two chemical tankers caught fire overnight inside Romanian territorial waters in the Black Sea, Romanian officials said. The ships were anchored near the mouth of the Sulina Canal, the Danube route Ukraine has relied on as Russia attacks its own Black Sea ports.
Romania’s naval authority said it received an alert from the San Marino-flagged Wine Trader, where eight of its 12 crew were missing and four were safe. The Comoros-flagged Yara J also caught fire, and all of its crew were reported safe. Officials did not directly link the fires to Russian drones that had strayed into Romanian airspace, but the fires follow strikes on at least five other cargo ships near Romania and Bulgaria in the past 10 days.
Source: Reuters
4 Musk Points to Washington Over Starshield Limits That Zelensky Warns Will Cost Lives
Elon Musk said on Wednesday that limits placed on Starshield, the military version of Starlink used by Ukraine, were decided by the US government rather than by SpaceX. Ukrainian officials had noticed the connection slowing in drones travelling at 160 km/h or faster, and said the restriction had disrupted active operations.
President Volodymyr Zelensky warned in a television interview that the slowdown would cost lives. By mid-afternoon Eastern time, Defence Minister Mykhailo Fedorov said connectivity at speeds up to 160 km/h was being restored, while pressing for the speed limit to be removed entirely.
It’s a big mistake. People will die.
Source: New York Post
5 Virginia Attorney General Launches Permanent Voter Protection Unit
Virginia Attorney General Jay Jones has launched a new voter protection unit, saying it will respond to voters who are turned away at a polling place and to election monitors who intimidate or harass people. Jones said the unit will work with the Virginia Department of Elections and will be a permanent part of his office, not a one-election project.
Jones presented the unit as a response to what he called the weakening of the federal Voting Rights Act and to actions by President Trump and his administration. The White House dismissed the move as a political stunt, saying the president is working to ensure only citizens vote and to advance measures such as voter ID. Jones said he still expects the midterm election in Virginia to run smoothly.
Source: FOX 5 DC
6 Nepal and World Bank to Explore Earthquake Catastrophe Bond
Nepal and the World Bank have signed a mandate agreement in Bangkok to explore a catastrophe bond that would let the country reach funding quickly after a major earthquake, the World Bank said on Thursday. The work is at an early, exploratory stage, with no amount, date or payout terms announced.
Under the agreement, the World Bank Group Treasury will work with the government in Kathmandu and with market participants to judge whether such a bond is feasible and how it could be structured. Nepal is among the world’s most disaster-prone countries, and the bank presents the bond as one part of a wider plan covering risk reduction, preparedness and financial protection.
Source: Reuters
7 Brewers Beat Dodgers 6-2 to Take 3-0 Lead in the NLCS
Milwaukee beat Los Angeles 6-2 on Wednesday night to take a 3-0 lead in the National League Championship Series, putting the Brewers one win from their second World Series appearance and their first since 1982. Jackson Chourio opened the scoring with a home run on the first pitch of the game.
Los Angeles took a brief 2-1 lead in the sixth on a two-run double by Will Smith, but Milwaukee answered at once in the seventh, when Jake Bauers and Garrett Mitchell hit back-to-back home runs off Blake Snell. The Dodgers, winners of the last two World Series, were held to five hits, and Shohei Ohtani, dropped to sixth in the order during a postseason slump, went 1-for-2 with a walk. Game 4 is Thursday in Los Angeles.
Source: Reuters
8 Actor Imran Khan Told to Leave India by October 28 After Mumbai Protest
Mumbai police have told Bollywood actor Imran Khan, a US citizen, to leave India by October 28, saying his participation in a political protest breached the Immigration and Foreigners Act, officials said on Thursday. Khan, 43, joined a demonstration at August Kranti Maidan on October 10 that called for the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, and police briefly detained him that day.
Police said a formal notice has been served and that further administrative steps are under way. Khan, a nephew of Aamir Khan who starred in a run of Bollywood films from 2008 to 2015, had not responded publicly to the notice in the reports. Former BJP lawmaker Kirit Somaiya, who had complained about Khan’s participation, welcomed the police action.
Source: Filmibeat
Editor’s Note: This roundup was prepared with the assistance of AI tools. Virginia Times gathered the source material from multiple sources and thoroughly reviewed the information before publication.
