Iran-backed Houthi rebels struck Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport on Saturday, killing at least 12 people — one of them a U.S. citizen — and wounding more than 300. Asked whether America would join Saudi retaliation, Trump said, "We may. We're going to look at it... We move very quickly," and separately threatened "major military punishment" for Iran over any future attacks. Secretary of State Marco Rubio condemned what he called an attack by "the terrorist Houthis."
Trump announced on Truth Social Sunday that Moscow and Kyiv have agreed to stop hitting each other's energy infrastructure: "Effective immediately, there is an ENERGY CEASEFIRE... Both parties have agreed. Do not break it!" Kyiv signaled it would go along, though Zelenskyy said the announcement was news to him, and Russia has not publicly confirmed it. The move is aimed squarely at cooling global oil and diesel prices.
A bipartisan group of six senators signed a statement urging the White House to "immediately reverse course" on the Oct. 9 arrangement for Russia to ship millions of tons of diesel to the U.S. market, which required temporarily lifting sanctions. Sen. Thom Tillis went further, calling the deal likely illegal. The administration frames it as pump-price relief weeks before the midterms.
DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin clashed with CBS's Margaret Brennan over Thursday's shooting of Oscar Belgal, a 28-year-old Dominican national with multiple felony robbery and assault charges who allegedly accelerated an SUV toward officers with his 5-year-old son in the back seat. Mullin said body camera footage "won't tell the whole story" and accused Belgal of endangering his own child. Mayor Zohran Mamdani compared the plainclothes ICE officer to a "mass shooter" and reportedly lobbied unsuccessfully for Belgal's release.
A projectile struck King Khalid International Airport again on Sunday, injuring more people just a day after the mass-casualty strike. Coalition spokesman Turki al-Maliki blamed the Houthis and promised a firm military answer, the fourth such attack on the airport in a week. The escalation follows a major Saudi-backed counteroffensive inside Yemen.
UAE Attorney General Hamad Saif Al Shamsi revealed the co-pilot behind the Sept. 30 attempted hijacking of Flight 1073 had premeditated a suicide attack on Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion Airport, using two earlier flights to familiarize himself with the route and airfield. The Boeing 737 MAX 8 dropped roughly 16,000 feet before a passenger and crew member stormed the cockpit and overpowered him. Netanyahu said the captain "prevented another 9/11."
Beijing has moved to lock in a new trade arrangement with Caracas, extending a lifeline to the post-Maduro power structure after roughly $60 billion in loans over two decades, much of it repaid in oil. Analysts warn Venezuela remains a forward base for Iranian, Russian, and Cuban activity in the hemisphere. China's foreign ministry continues to blast the U.S. operation as a violation of international law.
The Department of War announced $350 million in quantum initiatives on Oct. 8, advancing four companies to the final stage of its Quantum Benchmarking Initiative with roughly $200 million in new funding. The goal is to determine whether any quantum approach can deliver more value than it costs by 2033. The push lands against warnings that China is seriously pursuing quantum capability to break American encryption.
NASA is targeting 2028 for boots back on the lunar surface, but a permanent outpost built for extended stays isn't expected to begin construction until 2032 or later. The hard part is power through the two-week lunar night, which is why NASA and the Department of Energy have signed an agreement to develop surface nuclear technology, aiming to launch a lunar reactor by 2030.
Mary Beth Granbery of Mount Shasta left for a solo camping trip Sept. 28 and never came back on schedule, then fell down a steep embankment near Cabin Creek and lay badly injured in rough Northern California terrain. Siskiyou and Shasta County search teams found her disoriented and nonverbal with a severe knee injury and signs of exposure. A CHP helicopter crew hoisted her out, and she's in stable condition at Mercy Medical Center in Redding.
