Stories from wire-adjacent, public-media newsrooms — NPR, PBS, BBC, CBS News, and Al Jazeera — presented with sources and a one-line TL;DR on each. Refreshed four times daily.
Shootings Friday night at Spirit Halloween stores in California and Michigan killed two people, authorities said, according to CBS News.
Earlier CBS reporting on the California shooting said one person died and six others were injured, all with gunshot wounds.
Shootings at Spirit Halloween stores in California and Michigan killed two people.
Alaska's top federal prosecutor says a criminal probe is under way over a would-be spoiler candidate in the state's Senate race. He did not specify what crimes are being investigated and said he is "not making any assumptions on whether a crime has been committed or not."
Republican incumbent Dan Sullivan and allies have accused Democrats of recruiting a second Dan Sullivan to confuse voters. The Justice Department has asked a federal judge to separate all ballots showing votes for Dan J. Sullivan until it can be determined whether voters were fooled; PBS reports attorneys for Alaska called the demand "meritless" and "not even possible." The Democratic candidate Sullivan is challenging denies knowing of any such plot, per BBC.
PBS reports an Anchorage-based FBI agent visited a boat dealership in Petersburg, the small fishing community where Dan J. Sullivan lives, as the inquiry widened.
A federal criminal probe is under way over a second "Dan Sullivan" on Alaska's Senate ballot.
The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals rejected a Justice Department request for California to set aside disputed ballots. PBS reports the administration alleged the state sent ballots to some 20,000 people who may not be U.S. citizens and wanted them uncounted until citizenship could be verified.
Separately, a federal judge ordered the federal government to stop demanding that state and local election officials separate out ballots and threatening criminal prosecution for noncompliance, CBS News reports. A PBS analysis found more than 40% of names on the DOJ's list of alleged noncitizens are not on California's voter rolls, and that thousands of U.S. citizens appear to be flagged as ineligible; Al Jazeera reports a legal filing by data scientists reached similar conclusions about erroneous flagging.
An appeals court and a federal judge blocked DOJ efforts to segregate California ballots.
With three days until the midterms, early balloting totals were approaching 50 million heading into the weekend, PBS reports, compared with about 112 million votes cast in total in the 2022 midterms. Al Jazeera reports Democrats lead in opinion polls.
PBS reports Trump added back rallies in Iowa and Kansas after earlier canceling them in favor of telerallies. CBS News reports Trump is supporting Republicans with telerallies, and that in Michigan's Senate race Democrat Abdul El-Sayed has asked fellow Democrat Haley Stevens not to attend his final campaign events.
Early voting is nearing 50 million ballots as candidates and Trump make final midterm appearances.
U.S. District Judge Darrin Gayles in Miami dismissed President Trump's suit against the Wall Street Journal over its reporting on an Epstein birthday letter. PBS reports the dismissal was with prejudice, with the judge ruling Trump did not prove the defendants made defamatory statements with actual malice as required by law.
Al Jazeera reports the suit sought $10 billion.
A federal judge dismissed Trump's defamation suit against the Wall Street Journal with prejudice.
Virginia and the District of Columbia have filed suit over President Trump's planned arch, bringing the number of lawsuits seeking to halt potential work on the monument to three, CBS News and PBS report. The structure would rise 250 feet on a patch of grass off the bridge connecting the city with Arlington National Cemetery.
PBS reports the government wants work to begin. Al Jazeera reports the monument has sparked opposition from local governments fearing disruption to traffic and historic views. CBS reported Friday that a judge was skeptical of the administration's defense of the arch at a hearing in a separate challenge brought by a group of veterans.
Virginia and D.C. sued over Trump's planned 250-foot arch, the third lawsuit seeking to halt it.
The United States has approved a sale of 500 Patriot missiles to Ukraine, valued at $2.1 billion according to Al Jazeera. BBC describes the interceptors as the only effective weapon for downing Russia's ballistic missiles.
Al Jazeera characterizes the deal as one of the most significant steps to supply defensive weapons to Kyiv since Trump took office in 2025. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged allies to speed up deliveries of the munition.
The US approved a $2.1 billion sale of 500 Patriot missiles to Ukraine.
Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, is attempting to recover roughly $6.3 billion taken in a cyberattack that it describes as complex. BBC says it is believed to be the largest hack of its kind. PBS reports the company halted withdrawals, and BBC reports Binance is covering 90% of losses.
BBC reports the FBI says North Korea was responsible. Earlier reporting from BBC, NPR and CBS News cited blockchain intelligence firms and experts linking the attack to North Korea, and CBS reports that recovering all of the funds will not be easy.
Binance is covering 90% of losses from a $6.3 billion hack that the FBI says North Korea carried out.
Iran's Revolutionary Guard says four tankers caught fire in the Strait of Hormuz after striking mines. CBS News reported earlier that a tanker was also struck by a projectile in the strait on Thursday night.
Iran's supreme leader warned the U.S. and Israel against new attacks, saying any Iranian response would not be restricted by geography, per Al Jazeera. CBS reports Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Saturday that no decision has been made on whether to renew hostilities with Iran.
Al Jazeera reports Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi called U.S. outreach a "positive step" as a delegation is in Qatar for talks, while saying Tehran is "prepared for all scenarios."
Iran says four tankers caught fire after hitting mines in Hormuz, as its leader warns against renewed attacks and talks continue in Qatar.
The death toll from the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has passed 5,000, Al Jazeera reports. PBS, citing Congolese Ministry of Health data, reports 5,026 deaths among 10,351 people infected, a lethality rate of nearly 50%.
BBC describes it as the country's deadliest outbreak. Authorities are struggling to find a way to control it, with no approved treatments or vaccines, per Al Jazeera. Al Jazeera also reports health authorities in northeast Nigeria are investigating two suspected Ebola cases; the two people have been isolated while contact tracing and laboratory testing are carried out.
Ebola has killed 5,026 of 10,351 people infected in DR Congo, per Ministry of Health data.
France's interior ministry said about 320,000 people rallied nationwide on a third consecutive weekend of demonstrations over the cost of living and the state of public services and schools. CBS News reports police said about 70,000 demonstrated in Paris alone, and clashes between police and some protesters were reported.
PBS reports about 70,000 police and gendarmes were deployed and Paris marches were rerouted to the capital's edge. NPR reports Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez warned of a "very high risk" of disorder, especially after dark on Halloween. Al Jazeera reports youth-led protests in Germany, where protesters clashed with police as thousands took to the streets in 34 cities.
About 320,000 people protested across France on a third weekend of demonstrations, with some clashes in Paris.
Poland's president has held crisis talks as a dispute over the politicisation of the constitutional court deepens, with no side appearing to back down, Al Jazeera reports. Police were deployed during the standoff, BBC reports, after the government suspended two senior justices and moved to bring criminal charges against them.
Al Jazeera also reports protests outside the court. Poland's centrist government says it is restoring judicial independence after years of far-right political interference.
Poland's president held crisis talks as the standoff over control of the constitutional court deepened.