Monday, October 12, 2026

The Justice Department's antitrust investigation into ABC, CBS, CNN, NBC and Fox News over their brief suspension of White House press pool coverage continues following a federal judge's order halting the administration's removal of CNN, Politico and MS NOW credentials. Legal experts cited by the Washington Post said characterizing the networks' coordinated pause as an illegal boycott has little legal basis.

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin defended plans to livestream the December firing-squad execution of Nidal Hasan, convicted of killing 13 people at Fort Hood in 2009. On CBS's Face the Nation, Mullin said "no one has to watch it" and rejected concerns the broadcast could generate sympathy for Hasan, who is in a wheelchair, calling the plan part of "restoring American values." The plan has drawn bipartisan criticism, including from Republicans and faith leaders.

President Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio are considering removing Kimberly Guilfoyle as U.S. Ambassador to Greece, a senior U.S. official told the Associated Press, with a decision possible this week. Scrutiny intensified after the Wall Street Journal reported Guilfoyle asked Trump donor Eric Deters to pay off a $100,000 American Express bill before her Senate confirmation hearing, allegedly urging him to wire funds directly to avoid a paper trail while offering access to officials. No departure has been confirmed.

U.S. District Judge Jennifer L. Rochon in New York ordered the Trump administration on Sunday to immediately stop airing taxpayer-funded TV ads featuring President Trump, finding them likely illegal. The Department of Homeland Security had used $20 million in taxpayer money for the campaign. The ruling follows a lawsuit by Common Cause, Democracy Forward and others alleging the administration exceeded congressional authorization. The administration calls the ads public service announcements; Trump had pledged to shift future funding to his PAC.

Alvaro Pulido Vargas, a 62-year-old Colombian national wanted for years over allegations he bribed Venezuelan officials for state contracts and laundered profits through US banks, is in US custody after an investigation by the DEA, FBI and Homeland Security Investigations. The Justice Department says he faces two Miami federal cases tied to his business partner Alex Saab, a former ally of ousted President Nicolás Maduro, and will appear in court Tuesday. How or when he was arrested has not been disclosed.

Tennessee death row inmate Christa Pike, who survived a lethal injection attempt and was discharged from a Nashville hospital back to prison, faces an uncertain future as some officials in Gov. Bill Lee's office do not want a second execution attempt, NewsNation's Chris Cuomo reported. Pike's attorneys previously said she is grateful for the care of first responders and her medical team.

A shooting at a home in Erie, Pennsylvania on Friday killed eight people: a 5-year-old boy, a 22-month-old girl, a 24-year-old pregnant woman whose unborn baby also died, and five other adults aged 19, 21, 37, 44 and 51. The father of a toddler killed said the shooter was the family's patriarch. Authorities have not publicly explained a motive.

Six U.S. senators—Republicans Susan Collins, Thom Tillis, Lisa Murkowski and John Curtis and Democrats Jeanne Shaheen and Richard Blumenthal—issued a statement demanding President Trump "immediately reverse course" on a deal with Russia allowing Moscow to supply 800,000 tons of diesel to the U.S. over two months to help lower gas prices. The senators said the U.S. should not give Russian President Vladimir Putin "a financial lifeline" while Russia continues attacking Ukraine.

A drone struck a vessel in the Strait of Hormuz, among several Middle East developments that also included airstrikes on Yemen's capital, Sanaa. Separately, Iran said it would reply to the United States' response on a proposal concerning the strait once its review was complete.

A week of Houthi strikes on Saudi airports, including repeated attacks on Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport, has killed 20 people, CBS News reported, including an American citizen. Earlier tolls from the Riyadh airport attack alone ranged from 12 to 13 dead. Saudi Arabia's foreign minister vowed a

The International Organization for Migration said at least 139 people, including 15 children, died when a boat carrying 305 people from Djibouti to Yemen capsized near Guhere, north of Obock, on Thursday night. At least 84 people remain missing and more than 80 survived, all Ethiopian nationals, the agency said. The confirmed toll reflects only victims buried by Djiboutian authorities and could rise.

President Trump wrote on Truth Social Sunday that Russia and Ukraine had agreed to an immediate energy ceasefire. A White House official said the proposal involves each side halting strikes on oil refineries, with power-plant attacks possibly addressed later; Russia has not accepted a ceasefire, officials said. Zelensky said Kyiv would support a truce if Russia also stops. Ukrainian officials said a thermal power plant was struck at least twice afterward. Moscow has not commented.

Pope Leo XIV said Sunday that a medical examination found a nodule on his lung, detected at what he called a very early stage and well localized. He said doctors will remove it surgically this week, with about a week of recovery expected. New York neurologist Dr. Tom Pitts, who is not involved in his care, said the finding is "a finding, not a diagnosis."

Polish police arrested a man suspected of planning to assassinate Prime Minister Donald Tusk, the interior minister said Sunday. The arrest followed an earlier announcement that police had received credible information about possible attacks against Tusk and Defense Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz. Authorities have not detailed the suspect's specific plans.

Poland deployed more than 20,000 police officers to schools after a series of stabbing attacks this week left one person dead and others injured. Prime Minister Donald Tusk said the attacks were driven by online glorification of violence.

Rescue helicopters and ground troops are reaching villages along the Budhi Gandaki River in Nepal after a flash flood swept away homes, bridges and damaged a hydropower station, officials said. Five people are reported missing. The flooding comes less than two months after catastrophic floods left thousands dead and missing across Nepal, from which the country is still recovering.

North Korea launched several ballistic missiles from an area near Pyongyang toward the East Sea on Monday, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said. The launches appeared to respond to South Korea's recent hypersonic weapon test, according to Seoul's military. The missile firings add to a continuing series of North Korean weapons tests.

Opposition leaders marched to India's Supreme Court demanding the resignation of the election commission chief, following a weekend in which thousands of protesters were detained in New Delhi over a contested voter roll revision. Delhi authorities shut metro stations and restricted traffic ahead of the march. The protests follow earlier demonstrations by the youth-led Cockroach Janta Party, whose leaders were briefly detained and then released.