The Virginia Lens — Main — Sunday, October 25, 2026

Morning Edition Sunday October 25, 2026 Oct 25, 2026 51 articles

Associated Press

At least 12 people injured in shooting near a football stadium in Florida

October 25, 2026

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — At least 12 people were injured, including six children, in a shooting Saturday near a football stadium in Tallahassee on homecoming weekend for Florida A&M University, authorities said.

Tallahassee Police Chief Lawrence Revell told reporters that no arrests had been made.

In a statement, police said the preliminary investigation indicates that a fight broke out prior to the shooting. It followed a football game in a crowded area.

Eleven of the victims sustained gunshot wounds, and at least three victims sustained serious injuries, according to police.

The university said on social media that the shooting happened near its campus and that it remained safe.

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Associated Press

California election officials frustrated, rattled by DOJ demand to sequester 'noncitizen' ballots

By Safiyah Riddle · October 24, 2026

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Local election officials across California are confused and frustrated after receiving letters from President Donald Trump’s Justice Department demanding that county registrars sequester ballots that the federal government believes were sent to noncitizen voters ahead of the midterm elections.

The letters, which were sent on Friday, ask for sensitive information, including Social Security numbers, on roughly 20,000 voters. It is illegal for noncitizens to register to vote or cast a ballot. The administration has insisted that immigrants voting is a major problem nationwide, when in fact it is quite rare, as even its own investigations have shown.

Associated Press

Republican billionaire Rick Jackson is walking a Trump tightrope in his quest to lead Georgia

By Bill Barrow · October 24, 2026

ATLANTA (AP) — He’s hardly the first billionaire to promise working-class voters he’ll fight for them in public office. Rick Jackson, the Republican candidate for Georgia governor, has even compared himself to the real estate mogul who reached the Oval Office.

But Jackson’s path differs from Donald Trump’s, and the 72-year-old healthcare magnate and investor brings a vastly different persona to his first campaign. Unlike Trump, who was born to wealth, Jackson spent his early years bouncing through foster homes before launching his first company as a young man.

Associated Press

This US House district was once a political battleground. Now it shows why Congress is dysfunctional

By Nicholas Riccardi · October 24, 2026

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — In 2022, Democrat Wiley Nickel ran as a moderate and narrowly won North Carolina’s 13th Congressional District by about 9,000 votes. Two years later, the current congressman, Republican Brad Knott, ran as a conservative and coasted into the U.S. House by more than 70,000 votes.

Voters didn’t change their minds. Politicians changed their voters.

The Republican-controlled legislature redrew the state’s congressional map to transform what was one of the last remaining swing districts in the South to a safe GOP seat. Lawmakers split the rectangular 13th District into an hourglass shape that carved out Democratic voters in Raleigh and replaced them with a swath of rural counties reaching up to the Virginia border.

Associated Press

Voters in 2 Democratic strongholds could ban transgender girls from girls school sports

By Geoff Mulvihill, Jonathan J. Cooper · October 24, 2026

KALAMA, Wash. (AP) — Colorado and Washington are reliably Democratic states where elected officials have rejected moves to ban transgender women and girls from female sports competitions. Now activists have gone around lawmakers to put proposed bans on both states’ ballots.

At a time when some Democratic leaders nationwide are recalibrating their approach to transgender issues, particularly sports, and polls show Americans generally back the bans, supporters are optimistic they will pass and open the door to similar efforts in other places where lawmakers have blocked bans.

Though the issue has been debated in many legislatures, this is the first time it’s going to voters.

NPR

Soldiers guard center of Milan as thousands of protesters march in cities across Europe

By The Associated Press · October 25, 2026

MILAN — Thousands of young people marched Saturday through the streets of several Italian cities, including Milan, Rome and Turin, as authorities deployed large numbers of police and soldiers in a largely successful bid to stave off a repeat of the violent clashes and looting that marred similar protests last week.

The demonstration in Milan remained peaceful, but there were brief clashes with police in both Rome and Turin.

NPR

Archdiocese of New York agrees to $800 million settlement over sexual abuse claims

By Chandelis Duster · October 24, 2026

The Archdiocese of New York has agreed to pay $800 million to settle the claims brought against the church by some 1,300 people who say they faced sexual abuse from clergy members and lay workers.

Jeff Anderson, a lawyer whose firm represents more than 250 of the plaintiffs, said the settlement was finalized, pending signed paperwork, and that all plaintiffs had agreed to the settlement.

Associated Press

Tens of thousands of Israelis living abroad are expected to fly in for pivotal vote

By Sam Mednick, Natalie Melzer · October 25, 2026

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — For two decades since leaving Israel for Canada, Yael Natra said, she didn’t consider returning to vote in her home country’s elections. She felt it wasn’t right to cast a ballot in a place she no longer lived.

But now, after seeing the far right gain power, Natra, 61, said she believed she had no choice.

Associated Press

Sullivan, Peltola seek support from Alaska Native voters ahead of crucial Senate race

By Becky Bohrer, Haven Daley · October 24, 2026

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — A little more than one week before the midterm elections, the leading candidates in Alaska’s U.S. Senate race are trying to rally support from Alaska Native voters, a key constituency.

Both Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan and Democratic former Rep. Mary Peltola spoke at this week’s Alaska Federation of Natives conference in Anchorage.

Christian Science Monitor

Police and protesters clash in Paris as demonstrations break out across Europe

By Thomas Adamson and John Leicester · October 24, 2026

Demonstrations rocked many European cities Saturday, from Milan to Madrid. The protests encompass a broad range of issues, from education to housing.

Clashes erupted as a mass march drew to a close in Paris on Saturday, a week after widespread rioting and looting. More than 400,000 people rallied across France over school funding and soaring living costs, mounting a fresh challenge to President Emmanuel Macron’s government.

NPR

How data centers became a bipartisan political issue in Wisconsin

By Sacha Pfeiffer · October 24, 2026

Data centers are a big issue across the country. As midterms approach, many look to the swing state of Wisconsin for lessons for how that issue could play out nationally.

SACHA PFEIFFER, HOST:

In the center of the world...

PFEIFFER: ...That's where all sorts of Wisconsinites told me we were yesterday as they watched the Brewers win game one of the World Series. One of those people was Kristi Draver (ph).

Associated Press

Bulgaria holds a presidential election dominated by economic hardship and the Ukraine war

October 25, 2026

SOFIA, Bulgaria (AP) — Bulgarians headed to the polls on Sunday to elect their next president in a campaign centered on growing economic hardship and drone attacks on Black Sea shipping.

The vote will also be the first major test for the Moscow-friendly Progressive Bulgaria party of Prime Minister Rumen Radev after its triumph in parliamentary elections in April.

Associated Press

Ukraine says Starlink speed limits lifted after a slowdown that hobbled its drones

By Susie Blann, Elise Morton · October 24, 2026

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine’s military has regained full use of Starlink satellite links for its drones and other fast-moving equipment, the defense minister said Saturday, ending speed restrictions that Ukrainian officials said had disrupted front-line operations for more than a week.

NPR

Ukraine says Starlink is back to normal after disruptions

By Ava Pukatch · October 24, 2026

Ukraine said Saturday that the Starlink satellite system and the military's Starshield were back to high operating speeds after more than a week of disruptions.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on X that the restoration began overnight.

"The most important thing today is that Starlink and Starshield operations have been restored to the speeds we had before the restrictions," Zelenskyy said. "The speeds are now where they need to be."

Associated Press

Some US transit systems weigh whether to run trains without a human at the controls

By Jeff Mcmurray · October 24, 2026

Even as automated vehicles such as robotaxis grow more prevalent in the U.S., almost every mass transit system still requires a driver or operator on board. Two major cities are seeking to change that.

Officials in Washington, D.C., recently advanced a plan that could let computers fully control one of its subways, and Los Angeles is seeking to build a new, completely automated line. Honolulu already has one.

The Washington and LA projects, which would take years to implement and still face financial and technical hurdles, come amid an already fierce debate over the safety risks and benefits of automated trains and whether the substantial upfront expense is worth the long-term savings in labor costs.

Associated Press

Serbia holds a parliamentary election as populist Vucic faces protesting students

By Jovana Gec, Justin Spike · October 25, 2026

BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Serbians are voting Sunday in a parliamentary election that is seen as a showdown between the Balkan country’s populist leader Aleksandar Vucic and a movement of university students who led protests against him for almost two years.

NPR

Perspective: The next James Bond

By Scott Simon · October 24, 2026

This weekend, perhaps even as we speak, auditions are being held in London to cast the next Bond.

James Bond. Double-oh—well, you know.

Deadline reports that at least three actors will be screen tested: Jack Lowden, Josh O' Connor, and Callum Turner, who are all fine, experienced British actors and...how do I say this? Hunks.

Associated Press

Halloween candy sales are off to a slow start amid high chocolate prices and affordability concerns

By Dee-Ann Durbin · October 24, 2026

Halloween candy sales are off to a slow start this year as U.S. consumers grapple with high living costs and eye-popping chocolate prices.

Halloween candy sales fell 6.7% in the month ending Oct. 17 compared to the same period last year, according to NielsenIQ, a market research firm. Nielsen also noted an 11.7% decline in candy sales in mid-September, erasing the preseason gains that Halloween candy enjoyed the previous two years.

ProPublica

A Texas Cop Signed on to Help ICE Deport His Neighbors. It Tore the Town Apart.

By Francesca D’AnnunzioMcKenzie FunkKirsten Luce · October 25, 2026

ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. Sign up to receive our biggest stories as soon as they’re published.

This article is a partnership between ProPublica and The New York Times Magazine.

This story is exempt from our Creative Commons license until Nov. 25.

These highlights were written by the reporters and editors who worked on this story.

NPR

Gunmen open fire at a church during a funeral in Jordan, killing 7 and wounding 40

By The Associated Press · October 24, 2026

JERUSALEM — Gunmen opened fire during a funeral at a church in Jordan on Friday, killing seven people and wounding 40 others, authorities said.

The shooting took place at a Greek Orthodox church in Karak, about 90 kilometers (55 miles) south of the capital, Amman.

Nation

Associated Press

New York's archdiocese and survivors of clergy abuse agree to $800 million legal settlement

By John Hanna · October 24, 2026

The Archdiocese of New York and attorneys for about 1,300 parishioners who said they were sexually abused by clergy have agreed to an $800 million settlement of their legal claims, the second-largest involving a Catholic archdiocese in the U.S.

Associated Press

Still more rain, evacuations remain in place from Four Corners region flooding

By Mead Gruver, John Hanna · October 24, 2026

FORT COLLINS, Colo. (AP) — Hundreds of homes remained evacuated and without electricity Saturday after days of heavy rain — over 5 inches (13 centimeters) in places — surged water from the Colorado mountains into the New Mexico and Arizona desert.

Even as the San Juan River and other streams receded from record highs, more storms rumbled through, causing local officials to warn of still more surges.

“This is not over, and we need you to monitor alerts,” police Chief Steve Hebbe of Farmington, New Mexico, said in a news conference.

The flooding affected some 2,000 people in and around the city of 46,000 not far from Four Corners, the meeting point of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Utah.

Associated Press

Six Flags says it will install seat belts on Georgia roller coaster after rider's death

By Russ Bynum · October 24, 2026

The chief executive of Six Flags says the company will install seat belts on the Georgia roller coaster from which a rider fell to his death earlier this month. The company’s rides with similar restraints will also get the safety upgrade.

The theme park operator announced the extra safeguard less than two weeks after 42-year-old Hassan Jihad Ibn Kariem of Atlanta died after being ejected from his seat on the Goliath coaster at Six Flags Over Georgia.

Associated Press

Cracking a smile regularly may be good not just for your mood but for your health

By Terry Tang · October 24, 2026

Reminding yourself to smile often can not only make more friendships but it can also make you feel better.

And rather than wait for a reason to smile, just making the physical change of literally turning that frown upside down could impact emotions, according to experts.

Research backs up the fact that smiling goes a long way.

NPR

U.S. birth rate drops to record low, but older women are having more babies

By Brian Mann · October 24, 2026

Sarah Harris was 37 years old when she gave birth to her daughter Bridget last year. She describes motherhood as equal parts joy and exhaustion. "When you have a baby in your mid-30s, what you gain in wisdom and experience you also lose in terms of energy," Harris says with a laugh.

Harris, who lives in Vermont, was laid off from a job four months after Bridget was born. She says she's still figuring out what her career and her life will look like with a child. Harris thinks a lot of women are like her. They're wrestling with financial uncertainty and waiting much later to choose pregnancy.

NPR

Is your Medicare Advantage plan ending next year? Here's what to know

By Emily Pisacreta · October 24, 2026

A slew of Medicare Advantage plans are disappearing for next year, leaving seniors in many areas with fewer options. In 193 counties across the country, no plans are offered at all.

Medicare's annual open enrollment period kicked off October 15 and runs until December 7, and seniors enrolled in those privatized Medicare plans that are closing in certain markets should carefully review their options.

Associated Press

Inflation, earnings reports and the mood of consumers and the Federal Reserve fill out a busy week

By Damian J. Troise · October 24, 2026

NEW YORK (AP) — A key update on inflation and its impact on consumer confidence, economic growth and interest rate policy will fill a busy calendar this week along with more big earnings reports.

Associated Press

Top 20 Global Concert Tours from Pollstar

October 23, 2026

The Top 20 Global Concert Tours ranks artists by average box office gross per city and includes the average ticket price for shows Worldwide. The list is based on data provided to the trade publication Pollstar by concert promoters and venue managers.

TOP 20 GLOBAL CONCERT TOURS

For free upcoming tour information, go to www.pollstar.com

TOP 20 GLOBAL CONCERT TOURS

NPR

This decade has been missing its big-impact midterm

By Ron Elving · October 24, 2026

Given all that's happened in American politics since 2019, it may be hard to believe there's been anything missing.

But the decade of the 2020s has yet to see a midterm that mattered much — or that ranked among the impact midterms of past decades.

That sets the 2020s apart, as every other decade over the past hundred years has produced at least one midterm that made a big difference in Congress and in national politics more broadly.

NPR

Russia steps up election influence efforts in final stretch of midterms

By Shannon Bond · October 23, 2026

Russian operatives are pumping out fabricated claims about Democratic candidates, AI-manipulated videos of celebrities and fake posts impersonating real news outlets in an effort to influence American voters in the final run-up to Election Day.

Researchers who track online influence operations and lawmakers who've been briefed by the intelligence community say Kremlin-backed groups are renewing familiar tactics they've used to sow distrust and discord in previous elections in the U.S. and around the world.

"It's a carnival out there," Rep. Jim Himes of Connecticut, the ranking member on the House intelligence committee, told reporters this week. "They're throwing everything out there to generate a sense of chaos and anarchy."

Associated Press

Illinois regulators move to bring video gambling under self-exclusion program

By Maggie Dougherty/capitol News Illinois · October 23, 2026

Problem gamblers seeking to avoid the temptation to gamble can ban themselves from most of the state’s gambling offerings, from casinos to online sportsbooks to the Lottery.

But the state’s voluntary self-exclusion program does not extend to Illinois’ extensive network of video gambling terminals — the largest in the world — that can be found in gas stations, bars, hair salons and hotel lobbies across the state.

Regulators are looking to change that.

Associated Press

Beta Technologies takes electric planes to new territories

By Emma White/vtdigger · October 23, 2026

Vermont-based aircraft manufacturer Beta Technologies has received federal certification to fly potential customers aboard its ALIA eVTOL, an all-electric aircraft capable of taking off and landing vertically.

The approval marks a new step toward commercial operations.

NPR

Israeli PM pledges massive military operation after West Bank checkpoint attack

By Ruth Sherlock · October 23, 2026

The Israeli military is demolishing homes and forcibly removing hundreds of Palestinians from a neighborhood in the city of Hebron in the occupied West Bank following an attack by Palestinian gunmen on an Israeli checkpoint that killed two soldiers and wounded three others.

In response to that attack yesterday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who faces a tough election on Tuesday, vowed to launch a military operation in the West Bank "on a scale not seen since the Six Day War," when Israel first occupied the West Bank almost 60 years ago.

"We will act to demolish this place, to change it completely," Netanyahu said in a televised speech from the location of the attack, close to the Palestinian city of Hebron.

Associated Press

Chicago Is Getting A Life-Size Siskel And Ebert Sculpture Giving ‘Two Thumbs Up’

By Leen Yassine/block Club Chicago · October 23, 2026

A life-size bronze sculpture of Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert is coming to Chicago, and a local producer is a driving force behind the effort.

Pam Kasper, who has been working on a Siskel and Ebert documentary with director Michael Bonfiglio for the past two years, wanted to come up with a way to honor the two famed film critics in Chicago. She said she was inspired after seeing a statue of Ebert outside the Virginia Theatre in Champaign.

Associated Press

What are ya — yellow? The rubber duck carries filaments of American history in its 'feathers'

By Clare Solly · October 23, 2026

NEW YORK (AP) — It’s not just a squishy noisemaker. The rubber duck is an American invention with a deep and rich past.

The cute, often yellow toys have seen a resurgence in recent years, especially in tourist shops from the U.S. Open to Buckingham Palace, and are beloved across the world.

Washington

Associated Press

Trump casts his midterm ballot early in Florida

By Josh Boak, Jill Colvin · October 24, 2026

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — President Donald Trump cast his ballot in the midterm elections Saturday, saying he voted for all Republicans in Florida before speaking at a Georgia rally.

Associated Press

AOC can draw a crowd. The midterms will test whether her politics can win before 2028

By Joey Cappelletti · October 24, 2026

WASHINGTON (AP) — Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has had little trouble drawing a crowd.

In a final campaign swing with progressive candidates across the country, the Democratic congresswoman from New York packed rooms in Michigan’s deeply Republican Upper Peninsula, where chants of “AOC” broke out.

Associated Press

Sexual harassment rules for Congress are under review after a flurry of ethics cases

By Kevin Freking · October 24, 2026

WASHINGTON (AP) — When Rep. Kat Cammack began work on a task force this spring to combat sexual misconduct on Capitol Hill, the Florida Republican soon heard from former staffers who wanted to share their stories.

They “came out of the woodwork” she said, and had stayed silent because it was well established that coming forward would be the end of a career they had worked so hard to achieve.

World

Associated Press

Ukraine and Russia eye new peace talks — and Melania Trump's mission — but steep obstacles remain

By Derek Gatopoulos, Susie Blann · October 24, 2026

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine and Russia have signaled their willingness to resume U.S.-brokered peace talks and are backing a humanitarian mission led by U.S. first lady Melania Trump. But deep disagreements over territory and security guarantees that re-emerged this week underscore obstacles to ending the war.

Associated Press

What to know about the Melania Trump-brokered ceasefire in Russian-occupied Oleshky

By Elise Morton · October 24, 2026

A small city in southern Ukraine, cut off for months by fighting, is set to get a brief pause in the 4 1/2-year-old war so that aid can get in and residents can get out.

U.S. first lady Melania Trump brokered the localized ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine around Oleshky, a Russian-occupied city she said is “on the brink of disaster.”

Ukrainian, Russian and U.S. negotiators reached the deal Friday. Officials on all sides have confirmed it, but many details have not been released.

Associated Press

El Salvador’s Bukele says bodies found in Haiti are not those of missing Salvadorans

By Yolanda Magaña, Dánica Coto · October 24, 2026

SAN SALVADOR (AP) — El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele on Saturday denied that human remains handed over to his military teams at Haiti ’s airport were the bodies of the four Salvadorans reported missing after coming under attack by gangs on Oct. 18.

An official with El Salvador ’s government, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak on the matter, confirmed that the bodies found were not those of the missing aviation technicians.

Associated Press

UK police says letter with claims against Meghan's father was not shared with other law enforcement

By Sylvia Hui · October 24, 2026

LONDON (AP) — British police confirmed Saturday that they passed a letter about alleged offending by the father of Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, to her in 2019, but said it did not share details with other law enforcement agencies.

Christian Science Monitor

For centuries, one family has been safeguarding an ancient library in Mauritania

By Kang-Chun Cheng · October 24, 2026

Mohammed Abdullah Ould Gholam Habott is responsible for taking care of more than 1,400 manuscripts at the Habott Library, one of only a few family-run libraries still active in Chinguetti.

Standing in the cool, dry air of the stone library that he has safeguarded for almost half his life, Mohammed Abdullah Ould Gholam Habott recounts how male ancestors in his family cobbled together their collection over three centuries. To purchase Moorish texts, for example, his great-grandfather traveled all the way from the isolated Mauritanian desert city of Chinguetti to Andalusia, an autonomous community in southern Spain.

Associated Press

Brazil's Lula, Bolsonaro close arguments to voters ahead of nail-biting election runoff

By Mauricio Savarese · October 24, 2026

SAO PAULO (AP) — Final arguments to voters in Brazil’s presidential election were made Saturday, the eve of the runoff between incumbent President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Sen. Flávio Bolsonaro. Tens of thousands of supporters took to the streets hoping to lure the few undecided voters left.

Polls published on Saturday suggest it will be a nail-biting election that could be decided on details.

Associated Press

Nigerian president launches reelection bid during a cost-of-living crisis and a fractured opposition

By Dyepkazah Shibayan · October 24, 2026

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — Nigerian President Bola Tinubu launched his reelection bid Saturday, campaigning at a rally for a second presidential term during a cost-of-living crisis and a fractured opposition.

The presidential election will be held in January against the backdrop of a worsening economy that has caused anger among voters against Tinubu’s government, but which Tinubu blamed on opposition parties.

“I hear my opponents talking about hunger and poverty. Who created it? They did,” he said at a rally in the northwestern state of Kaduna. “They created the hunger, they created the poverty. We are trying to eradicate it.”

Associated Press

Pakistan urges Afghanistan to act against militants and denies recruiting Afghan fighters

By Munir Ahmed · October 24, 2026

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan urged Afghanistan’s Taliban government on Saturday to take verifiable action against militants it says operate from Afghan territory, dismissing Kabul’s assertion that Islamabad was shifting blame for its own security failures.

In a separate statement on X, Pakistan’s Information Ministry rejected allegations that it was arming Afghans to fight the Taliban or recruiting them to fight anti-Pakistan insurgents. Former U.S. envoy to Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad had cited reports of both activities a day earlier.

Associated Press

Israel presses ahead with West Bank army operation days before election

By Sam Metz · October 24, 2026

HEBRON, West Bank (AP) — Israel pressed ahead with a major military operation in the occupied West Bank on Saturday, carrying out arrests and demolitions a day after two Palestinian gunmen killed two Israeli soldiers and wounded three others in Hebron, the territory’s largest city.

The operation took place in cities across the West Bank just days before Israelis vote on whether to keep Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government in power. It was particularly sweeping in the Hebron area, where it displaced hundreds of fleeing families. Israeli troops took positions throughout the city and sealed it off from the rest of the territory for a second day, closing gates and checkpoints to Palestinian drivers.

Associated Press

Survivor of deadly attack on Jordan church describes people crawling for their lives

By The Associated Press · October 24, 2026

JERUSALEM (AP) — A survivor of a deadly attack on a church in Jordan described people crawling for their lives and watching the gunmen return to fire more bullets into the dying — as well as at the church facade. The death toll rose to nine on Saturday, a day after the attack, with nearly 40 others wounded.

Associated Press

1 person rescued from collapsed building in Kenya as others remain missing

By Evelyne Musambi · October 24, 2026

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — One person was rescued from the rubble of a building that collapsed in the capital, Nairobi, more than 24 hours after its floors pancaked, police said Saturday.

The building was under construction on a busy commercial street in the Eastleigh area, which is often crowded with thousands of traders and residents. Police said more than 10 stories were under construction.

Associated Press

Iran remains open to talks with US under Pakistan-brokered deal, envoy says

By Munir Ahmed · October 24, 2026

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Iran remains open to talks with the U.S. under a Pakistan-brokered interim deal reached in June to end the conflict, Tehran’s ambassador to Islamabad said Saturday, accusing Washington of undermining diplomacy and prolonging the standoff over the Strait of Hormuz.

Associated Press

Israel imposes closures across a West Bank city after attacks, and other Mideast news

By The Associated Press · October 24, 2026

Israel imposed widespread closures and displaced residents in the occupied West Bank city of Hebron a day after attacks by Palestinian gunmen that killed two soldiers.

Meanwhile, the death toll rose from Friday’s attack on a church in Jordan. And an Iranian military commander said his country will not allow U.S. warships to enter the Persian Gulf. The comment followed increased attacks on commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz, raising fears of a return to all-out war.

Here is the latest news from the Middle East on Saturday. Read our full coverage here.