Thursday, October 22, 2026

The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court on Wednesday to lift a lower court's block on building border wall sections in the Big Bend region of Texas. A judge had halted the construction. Solicitor General D. John Sauer called the lower court's order "baseless," saying it disrupts the government's ability to secure a quarter of the southern border.

A New Mexico judge ordered Meta to pay a $25 billion civil penalty on Wednesday after the company was found to have committed 43 million privacy violations, each carrying a maximum $5,000 fine, for misleading Facebook users about its data practices. The case relates to a data privacy scandal from more than eight years ago. Meta said it plans to appeal, and legal experts told Reuters the penalty has a strong chance of being reduced.

Rep. Ilhan Omar said federal agents seized 17 items, including her phones and her husband's notebooks, during an Oct. 12 raid on her Washington, D.C. home tied to an investigation into her citizenship status. In her first interview since the search, Omar said agents arrived around 6 a.m. while her husband and son were home, and that she must move because of threats following her address becoming public.

Virginia Democratic state Sen. L. Louise Lucas, 82, was arrested Thursday after a federal indictment charged her with racketeering conspiracy, conspiracy to distribute marijuana, money laundering, honest services fraud and maintaining a drug-involved premises, tied to a family-run cannabis business. Six others, including her daughters and grandson, were also charged. Attorney General Todd Blanche said the DOJ intends to prove Lucas violated the trust of Virginia constituents and colleagues.

A Houthi missile strike on an airport in Dammam, near Saudi Aramco's headquarters, killed two people on Wednesday, as the U.S. continued evacuating non-essential embassy staff and families from Saudi Arabia. The Iran-backed Houthi militia has been attacking Saudi aviation and energy sites for weeks. The U.S. military has also been reducing its Middle East footprint due to Houthi and Iranian threats. Egypt has called for talks on Yemen, and its parliament is weighing military support to Saudi Arabia.

Calley Means, a senior adviser to Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and a leading Make America Healthy Again advocate, resigned Thursday. In a statement on X, he cited "entrenched, dark forces in DC" but voiced "tremendous respect" for Trump and Kennedy. He had been involved in revising dietary guidelines and pushing food companies to drop artificial dyes, but reportedly grew frustrated over delays defining ultra-processed foods.

Meta's board agreed to a deal with CEO Mark Zuckerberg after he raised concerns that a proposed California billionaire wealth tax could force him to sell shares, weakening his voting control of the company. He had told the board he planned to list his Silicon Valley home for sale. The company restructured its stock to help him pay the tax if voters approve it, allowing him to remain in California.

A federal judge ordered the Trump administration to halt investigations in nine states into whether noncitizens are registered to vote. The ruling blocks the probe from continuing in those states while the case proceeds.

Democratic leaders and election groups filed a 44-page lawsuit on Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia against President Trump and the Justice Department. The suit seeks to block federal officials from pressuring states to remove voters from their rolls ahead of November's midterm elections, accusing the administration of overreach into states' authority to administer elections.

A federal judge, U.S. Magistrate Judge Enjoliqué Lett, ordered President Trump to appear for a deposition by Dec. 11 in his $10 billion defamation lawsuit against the BBC over its editing of a speech in a Jan. 6 documentary. Trump's lawyers had sought to delay until January 2027, citing presidential duties; the judge ruled the case could be dismissed if he fails to appear.

Russian missiles and drones struck Kyiv overnight into Thursday, killing one person and wounding 22, Ukrainian authorities said. Ukraine also launched drones at Russian targets, officials said, with the strikes occurring amid discussion of resuming peace negotiations between Russia, Ukraine and the United States.

An attack struck King Fahd International Airport in Dammam, eastern Saudi Arabia, on Wednesday evening, Saudi aviation authorities said. Reuters and the BBC reported two deaths, while the AP, Wall Street Journal and The Hill reported one death; multiple sources said eight people were injured. Saudi officials attributed the attack to the Houthi movement, which has targeted Saudi airports before. The U.S. has ordered departure of some personnel amid increased Houthi attacks.

Iran's Revolutionary Guard navy said it hit seven oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday, claiming four were hit while transferring oil and three others involving naval vessels. Iran's foreign minister said the strait would reopen on day six of a seven-day plan, with talks starting the next day. President Trump called Iran's claims false, accusing Tehran of inventing incidents to raise oil prices.

Barclays announced it will cut about 5,000 jobs, roughly 5% of its global workforce, this year as it expands use of artificial intelligence and other technology to reduce costs. The announcement came alongside higher quarterly profits. Barclays' CEO described AI as the "icing on the cake" of the restructuring.

A magnitude 7 earthquake struck China's Tibet region on October 22, 2026. The quake's effects, including any casualties or damage, have not yet been established.

Kim Yo Jong, sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, said Thursday that Pyongyang would have propaganda loudspeakers ready along the border with South Korea within days, reviving a psychological warfare campaign of anti-Seoul broadcasts. North Korea separately told border troops to take "resolute action" if South Korea threatens their safety.

President Emmanuel Macron said France will only allow protests organized by authorized unions, following a weekend of violent demonstrations. Macron said the restriction was necessary "so that calm prevails," and blamed the hard left for the unrest.

Researchers, using an OpenAI model in one case, discovered two critical vulnerabilities in PHP, a programming language researchers say powers up to 70% of websites. Governments worldwide urged patching, and some government websites in Europe, including the Dutch parliament's lower house homepage, went offline as a precaution while fixes were applied. India's eMudhra exited its website security business amid the global alarm over the flaws.

Hundreds of thousands gathered Thursday in Belgrade at the final campaign rally of Serbia's student protest movement, which emerged from two years of demonstrations challenging President Aleksandar Vucic's 12-year rule. Serbians vote Sunday in a parliamentary election that could unseat the ruling party. Vucic separately held a rally in southern Serbia ahead of the vote.

The European Union awarded its 2026 Sakharov Prize, its highest human rights honor, to the International Criminal Court in The Hague. The announcement came days after the Trump administration imposed sanctions on the court as part of efforts opposing its work.