Sunday, October 4, 2026

Devin Jacob Ballard, a U.S. Marine, was arrested Sunday on suspicion of killing and robbing Anna Yagi, police told Japan's public broadcaster. Ballard denied the allegations, a spokesman said. Japan's government lodged a formal protest, demanding that military officials take action. The U.S. ambassador said his office was "providing full cooperation with the investigation." The case has revived tensions over the American military presence on Okinawa.

Christa Pike remains unconscious and on a ventilator in a Nashville hospital days after surviving two doses of pentobarbital during her Wednesday execution attempt, her attorney Stephen Ferrell said Sunday. Doctors are still working to clear the lethal drug from her body, and her prognosis may not be known for several days, Ferrell said. Tennessee's Correction Commissioner Frank Strada resigned following the incident, and the governor ordered an independent review.

A 12-year-old girl was killed and three adults were wounded Saturday when two men opened fire on each other near a youth football homecoming event at Leon Day Park in Baltimore, police said. Baltimore Police Commissioner Richard Worley said the gunfire stemmed from an argument between two men over a parking space, and the girl was apparently caught in the crossfire. Police were searching for at least two adult male suspects; no arrests had been announced.

Crews searched Sunday off Nantucket for six people aboard a Gulfstream G100 medical evacuation jet that crashed early Saturday while flying from Bermuda to Boston. The Coast Guard found a debris field Saturday; authorities planned to search the seabed floor. Flight data showed the jet dropped at least 9,000 feet in two minutes, leveled off, then disappeared. Officials have not said what caused the crash.

A shooting broke out early Sunday at a neighborhood block party in Vienna, Georgia, killing two people and wounding 35 others, authorities said. A motive for the shooting was not immediately known.

President Trump said Friday he would send $90 checks in October to offset Medicare Part B premiums for seniors, a figure he put at 20 million, though other reporting described it only as millions of recipients. The announcement came ahead of the midterm elections, with two outlets tying the pledge to that timing.

President Trump announced on Sunday the creation of a "Super Intelligence Force," a White House task force to coordinate federal government engagement with artificial intelligence. He named Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton to lead it as AI czar. The group will include leaders from the intelligence community, Pentagon, Federal Trade Commission and Office of Personnel Management, and will examine the technology's risks and opportunities.

A federal judge in Oklahoma ruled Friday that warrantless searches of data from Flock Safety's AI-powered surveillance cameras may violate the Fourth Amendment when conducted without adequate probable cause. The judge said "freedom from persistent, dragnet-style surveillance while in public is not a foreign concept in our society," calling the practice "a type of indiscriminate mass surveillance."

The UAE shared a list of passengers and crew, including pilots' names and nationalities, with Israeli authorities before Wednesday's Flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv, officials told the Associated Press. Israel did not flag concerns about co-pilot Hamam al Hammami, who allegedly attacked pilot Smit Machchhar with an axe and tried to seize control before being overpowered. Israeli investigators believe the attack was likely a lone-wolf act.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz announced a new aid package for Ukraine worth more than $1.5 billion during a visit to Kyiv on Sunday, as Russia escalated attacks on Ukrainian cities. A Russian drone struck the Northern Bridge in Kyiv during his visit, causing a large fireball. Merz reiterated Germany's support for Ukraine and warned that Russia could attack the Western alliance if it is not stopped.

Government-allied forces entered Mekelle, the capital of Ethiopia's Tigray region, on Sunday after the Tigray People's Liberation Front announced its withdrawal following renewed fighting. Residents in the city told the BBC that pro-government forces had taken control. The takeover follows the earlier seizure of Mekelle's airport, which had prompted a suspension of commercial flights last month.

Yemen's Saudi-backed government launched a full-scale military operation on Sunday to reclaim all territory held by the Iran-backed Houthi militia, presidential council head Rashad al-Alimi said, declaring "we have exhausted all opportunities for deescalation." Tens of thousands of government ground troops are involved. The move follows the Houthis' claimed missile and drone attack on Aramco oil facilities near Riyadh and renewed airstrikes on Sanaa, amid fears of a widening war.

North Korean state media KCNA reported that leader Kim Jong Un personally oversaw the launch of an intermediate-range strategic missile using a hypersonic weapons system. The report described the test as part of efforts to strengthen the country's nuclear deterrent. The launch follows earlier reports from South Korea's military and Japan detecting a missile fired toward the east coast, and comes amid heightened tensions between the two Koreas.