October 29, 2025

MIDDLE EAST | Updates from regional conflicts:

• Israeli officials say the cease-fire in Gaza is back in effect today following airstrikes across the Palestinian enclave yesterday in which at least 81 people were killed. Israel says it carried out yesterday's strikes due to Hamas cease-fire violations and delays in the return of the remains of deceased Israeli hostages. [more]
• Rights group Amnesty International called today for an April U.S. airstrike on a prison run by Yemen's Houthi rebels to be investigated as a possible war crime. Reports note that more than 60 people, all African migrants, were killed in the April 28 airstrike in Yemen’s Saada province. [more]

U.S. MILITARIZATION | A federal trial over whether President Donald Trump can deploy federalized National Guard troops to Portland, Oregon, is scheduled to begin today. The trial comes a day after the 9th U.S. Court of Appeals vacated a three-judge panel decision issued last week that paused an order preventing the troop deployments and said an 11-judge panel would re-hear the case. [more]

U.S. IMMIGRATION | Reports cite the ACLU of Louisiana as saying Chanthila Souvannarath, 44, who has lived in the U.S. since infancy, was deported to Laos by U.S. immigration officials this week despite a federal district judge's order specifically blocking his removal from the U.S. on the grounds he has a claim to U.S. citizenship. [more]

U.S. CREDIT REPORTING | In a newly issued interpretive rule, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau says the Fair Credit Reporting Act should preempt any state laws or regulations when it comes to how debt should be reported to credit bureaus. Reports say the interpretation repeals Biden-era rules that allowed states to implement their own credit reporting bans prohibiting the reporting of medical debt on consumers' credit reports. [more]

U.S. TARIFFS | The Senate voted 52-48 yesterday, with five Republicans joining all Democrats, to approve a resolution that would nullify President Donald Trump’s emergency declaration that imposed 50% tariffs on goods from Brazil, including on oil, coffee, and orange juice. Analysts say the measure is not expected to pass in the House but note that backers say the resolution forces increased discussion about eh economic impact of tariffs. [more]

U.S. DRUG WAR | Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said yesterday that U.S. military forces carried out strikes on four boats suspected of carrying drugs in the eastern Pacific Ocean, killing 14 people and leaving one survivor. Hegseth noted that Mexico has assumed search and rescue responsibility for the sole survivor of the attacks, but did not specify any outcome of the efforts. [more]

U.S. MILITARY | Reuters cites unnamed sources as saying that, amidst ongoing tensions between the U.S. and the South American countries of Colombia and Venezuela, the U.S. Defense Department has required military officials involved in the buildup of U.S. forces and operations in Latin America to sign non-disclosure agreements. [more]

U.S. GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN | Day 29. San Francisco-based U.S. District Judge Susan Illston indefinitely barred the Trump administration yesterday from firing federal employees during the ongoing government shutdown while related court proceedings play out, saying that labor unions representing federal workers were likely to prevail on claims that such reductions-in-force are arbitrary and politically motivated. [more]

U.S. AND CHINA | The Chinese Foreign Ministry confirmed today that President Xi Jinping will meet with U.S. President Donald Trump tomorrow in Busan, South Korea, on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit to "exchange views on bilateral relations and issues of mutual interest." [more]

U.S. AND SOUTH KOREA | Following a meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, reports cite South Korean government sources as saying the two countries have reached a trade agreement under which the U.S. will lower tariffs on South Korean automobiles to 15% and South Korea will fulfill $350 billion in U.S. investments through $200 billion in cash payments and $150 billion in cooperative shipbuilding operations. [more]

HURRICANE MELISSA | Damage assessments following yesterday's landfall of Hurricane Melissa are underway today in Jamaica, where preliminary reports say hundreds of thousands of people are without power and officials warn that recovery from flooding and landslides is likely to be slow. Melissa, now weakened to a Category 3 storm, made landfall in eastern Cuba early today with top sustained winds of 120 mph (193 kph). [more]

PAKISTAN AND AFGHANISTAN | Following the collapse of Turkey-sponsored peace talks between Pakistan and Afghanistan, Pakistani Defense Minister Khawaja Asif said in a social media post that his country would "not require to employ even a fraction of its full arsenal to completely obliterate [Afghanistan's] Taliban regime and push them back to the caves for hiding." [more]

BRAZIL | Authorities in Rio de Janeiro say at least 64 people, including four police officers, were killed yesterday in police raids targeting a major gang in the city. [more]

GERMANY | The Claims Conference – the German organization that handles claims on behalf of Jews who suffered under the Nazi regime – says Germany has agreed to increase funding for Holocaust survivors' home care around the globe to $1.076 billion (923.9 million euros) for 2026. [more]

TECH INDUSTRY | Artificial intelligence giant OpenAI announced yesterday that its business and ownership structure has been converted to a public benefit corporation. The company will remain, technically, under the control of a non-profit in the new structure but will be allowed for-profit operations that CEO Sam Altman says will likely lead to the company eventually being publicly traded on the stock market. [more]

PHILANTHROPY | The U.S.-based nonprofit Center for Disaster Philanthropy has announced a $60 million donation from billionaire philanthropist MacKenzie Scott and her Yield Giving organization. The donation, says the group, will further work to "move philanthropic systems, resources and structures in support of improving disaster preparedness, addressing the root causes of vulnerabilities to hazards and providing vital resources for the long-term recovery of disaster-affected communities." [more]

BASEBALL | The best-of-seven World Series is tied at two games apiece following last night's 6-2 Toronto Blue Jays' Game 4 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers. Game 5 is scheduled for tonight in Los Angeles. [more]

TODAY IN HISTORY | On this date in 1929, ‘Black Tuesday’ descended on the New York Stock Exchange as prices collapsed amidst panicked selling and thousands of investors were wiped out as America’s Great Depression began. [more history]