October 10, 2025

NOBEL PRIZES | Activist and former opposition presidential candidate Maria Corina Machado of Venezuela has been named the recipient of the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize. In announcing the award, the Nobel committee cited Machado's role as a "unifying figure in a political opposition that was once deeply divided...that found common ground in the demand for free elections and representative government" and said "it is crucial to recognize courageous defenders of freedom who rise and resist." [detailed info] [more]

MIDDLE EAST | Updates from regional conflicts:

• After Israel's cabinet approved the first phase of the cease-fire agreement with Hamas yesterday, Israeli military officials said that the agreement went into effect at noon local time today and that its troops were withdrawing to the agreed-upon deployment lines. Reports say the exchange of Hamas-held Israeli hostages and Palestinians held by Israel is expected to begin Monday or Tuesday. [more]
• Reports cite U.S. officials as saying about 200 U.S. military troops will be sent to Israel to help support and monitor implementation of the Israel-Hamas cease-fire. [more]

UKRAINE | Today is day 1,324 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Here is your update:

• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says an overnight series of Russian drone and missile strikes targeted civilian and energy infrastructure across Ukraine as residents prepare for falling winter temperatures. [more]

U.S. PROSECUTIONS | The Justice Department announced yesterday that a federal grand jury has indicted New York Attorney General Letitia James on charges related to mortgage fraud. Reports note that James is the second person, after former FBI Director James Comey, to have been named by President Donald Trump in a message to Attorney General Pam Bondi as needing prosecution and subsequently to be charged with a federal crime by the newly appointed top federal prosecutor for the Eastern District of Virginia. [more]

U.S. MILITARIZATION | U.S. District Judge April Perry issued a temporary restraining order yesterday blocking the Trump administration's deployment of National Guard troops from any state to Illinois. In her ruling, Perry said she saw no substantial evidence that a “danger of rebellion” is brewing in Illinois and that the National Guard deployment violated provisions of the 10th and 14th Amendments, which grant certain powers to the states and assure due process and equal protection, respectively. A hearing has been scheduled for October 22 to determine if the restraining order should be extended. [more]

U.S. ELECTIONS | Major voting equipment firm Dominion Voting Systems said yesterday that it has been purchased by newly formed company Liberty Vote, which is owned by former Republican St. Louis elections director Scott Leiendecker. A press release from Liberty Vote says the firm will prioritize transparency and adjust company policies to follow President Donald Trump’s executive order on voting procedures and paper ballots. [more]

U.S. WEATHER | Unusually high tides brought on by a coastal storm and the moon's proximity to Earth are expected to affect the coastal Southeast today, including along North Carolina's Outer Banks and in Charleston, South Carolina, where authorities say about a dozen streets were already flooded this morning. The remnants of Tropical Storm Pricilla are expected to bring heavy rains to the southwestern U.S. over the weekend, prompting flood warnings in regions of Arizona, Utah, New Mexico, and Colorado. [more on southeast] [more on southwest]

U.S. MINING | The Senate voted this week to roll back restrictions on mining, drilling, and other related development in Alaska, Montana, and North Dakota. The legislative actions, which were already approved by the House, repeal measures adopted in the final weeks of the Biden administration. [more]

U.S. AND ARGENTINA | U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said yesterday that the United States has directly purchased Argentine pesos and finalized a $20 billion currency swap as part of efforts to stabilize financial markets in the South American country. [more]

U.S. AND VENEZUELA | An emergency session of the U.N. Security Council was requested by Venezuela's government yesterday to discuss recent U.S. military actions in the waters off the South American country's coast. Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has accused the U.S. of threatening peace, security, and stability in the region and has suggested that U.S. military action against small boats suspected of carrying drugs is a precursor to attacks on Venezuela itself. [more]

GLOBAL NATURE | In its latest annual assessment, the International Union for Conservation of Nature says that while green sea turtle populations have recovered substantially thanks to decades of conservation efforts, arctic seals are being pushed closer to extinction by climate change and more than half of bird species around the world are declining under pressure from deforestation and agricultural expansion. [press release] [more]

PERU | President Dina Boluarte was impeached and removed from office early today by Peru's single-body Congress, which appointed congressional leader José Jerí to serve out the remaining nine months of Boluarte's term. The action came amidst growing concern over what lawmakers said was the inability of Boluarte's government to stem a crime wave in the South American country. [more]

SENEGAL | Health officials in Senegal say at least 17 people have died, and 119 have been infected, in the West African country's ongoing major outbreak of Rift Valley Fever – a viral disease that mainly affects livestock but that can infect humans through mosquito bites or contact with infected animals.  [more]

PHILIPPINES | Two powerful earthquakes of 7.4- and 6.9-magnitude struck the southern Philippines today, setting off landslides and prompting evacuations of some coastal areas due to tsunami warnings. Preliminary reports say at least six people have been killed in damage and landslides caused by the quakes. [more]

INDIA AND AFGHANISTAN | In what analysts say signals deeper ties with Afghanistan's ruling Taliban, the government of India announced today that it is upgrading its technical mission in Kabul to a full embassy. [more]

AUTO INDUSTRY | The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says it has opened an investigation into some 2.9 million Tesla vehicles following reports of 58 incidents in which models equipped with what the company calls its Full Self-Driving mode ran red lights or drove on the wrong side of the road, sometimes crashing into other vehicles and causing injuries. [more]

TODAY IN HISTORY | On this date in 1911, revolutionaries launched an uprising in Wuchang, China, beginning the Xinhai Revolution that successfully overthrew China's last imperial dynasty. [more history]