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U.S. and Japanese defense leaders reached an agreement, announced October 28 and reported more widely October 29, to establish a final assembly and inspection facility in Japan for AMRAAM air-to-air missiles used by F-35 aircraft.
The Bureau of Economic Analysis reported Thursday that U.S. real GDP grew at a 3.4% annualized rate in July–September 2026, while its September personal consumption expenditures price index rose 3.6% from a year earlier.
On Wednesday, October 28, two high-speed passenger trains collided near Urda in Toledo province, south of Madrid. Spain’s rail infrastructure operator Adif reported the collision and suspended high-speed service on the Madrid–Andalusia route. The Castilla-La Mancha regional government activated its emergency response plan, later escalating the response and seeking military emergency assistance. A later October 28 Associated Press report, carried by ITV News, cited the Castilla-La Mancha government reporting at least 68 people dead. AP separately reported 58 people requiring hospital treatment; this measures hospital care, not every injury. The casualty figures remained provisional as rescue work continued. The trains were a Renfe AVE service and an Iryo service. AP reported that a Renfe train struck a stopped Iryo train traveling in the same direction. Transport Minister Óscar Puente described a safety-system disruption followed by an operating instruction that allowed the Renfe train to proceed. That account is attributed to the minister; the completed investigation had not established individual responsibility or every part of the sequence. The immediate priorities are rescue, medical care, and accurate accounting for passengers. The longer-term question is whether the investigation reveals a specific equipment, signaling, operational or procedural failure—and what changes could prevent a repeat.
The Federal Reserve held its federal funds target range at 3.75%–4.00% on October 28. The decision was approved 10–2, according to the official statement released at 2 p.m. EDT. It is a completed policy action, replacing the expectations that preceded the meeting. Lisa D. Cook and Beth M. Hammack dissented because they preferred a quarter-percentage-point increase. The majority kept the range established in September. A hold leaves the benchmark unchanged; it is not a rate cut. The statement described strong economic activity and continuing price pressures, while indicating that further evidence would guide policy. The committee continues to pursue maximum employment and its 2% inflation goal. The decision does not promise a particular action at the next meeting. An unchanged policy rate does not guarantee immediate relief on household loans or determine every savings yield. Borrowing costs also reflect lenders, credit risk and financial markets. The Fed’s implementation note maintains the operating rates used to carry out the decision.
Israel’s October 27 parliamentary election has not produced a clear governing majority in the returns available October 28. Central Elections Committee data reported by The Times of Israel at 3:07 p.m. Israeli time projected 53 seats for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s bloc, 48 for the grouping led by Gadi Eisenkot, and 19 for the two Arab-led parties. The report said 85.6% of all ballots had been counted. These allocations remained preliminary in the outlet’s 7:54 p.m. report. The Knesset has 120 seats, and a governing majority requires at least 61. The central political question is therefore not only which party finishes first but whether any candidate can assemble a workable coalition. Ballots counted later, including special-envelope votes cast by military personnel and others, could change the seat projections. Arab-led parties, which have often been excluded from governing arrangements, appeared positioned to hold potentially pivotal seats. Some opposition leaders have resisted depending on these parties even when doing so could permit a majority. Support for, opposition to, or outside backing of a government are politically distinct arrangements. President Isaac Herzog is expected to consult parliamentary parties and task the person most likely to form a government. Until a new governing coalition is established, the election result does not establish that Netanyahu has been removed or that Eisenkot will become prime minister.
The U.S. military’s cost estimate for operations in the war with Iran has reached approximately $47.1 billion as of mid-October 2026, according to figures from U.S. Central Command provided to lawmakers and obtained by CBS News. Reuters independently reported a Pentagon estimate exceeding $47 billion, up from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s July estimate of $37.5 billion. The largest element is roughly $29 billion attributed to replacement of expended munitions. Another approximately $6.1 billion represents replacement of lost or damaged military equipment, and about $11.9 billion covers incremental costs such as supporting U.S. personnel. Because portions are replacement estimates, the total should not be described as money already paid out in cash or as a completed accounting of every cost. The United States and Israel launched military operations against Iran in February. An April ceasefire did not eliminate tensions, and the conflict has involved additional U.S. military posture and maritime restrictions. The figures come as policymakers consider whether more funding is needed and how escalation might alter future costs. The central question is both how much the conflict has cost so far and which expenditures will eventually fall on future defense budgets, including replacement and repair of hardware.
The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday, October 27, declined an emergency request by Baltimore, Columbus, New Haven and the legal organization Centro Legal de la Raza to intervene in litigation over a Biden-era immigration regulation. The result leaves a lower-court order blocking the rule in place while the dispute continues. The rule addressed “administrative closure,” a procedure that permits immigration judges to pause certain removal cases without dismissing them. It can allow time for related applications or proceedings to be resolved, including cases involving crime victims or neglected young people. A closed case can later be reopened; administrative closure is not an automatic grant of lawful immigration status. Texas challenged the regulation, arguing that the expanded practice exceeded lawful authority and effectively allowed some people to remain indefinitely. The Trump administration supported a court order blocking the regulation. The cities and legal advocates wanted to enter the case to defend it, criticizing what they considered an agreement that bypassed ordinary public rulemaking protections. The Justice Department disputed their standing and immediate legal harm. The Supreme Court’s short, unexplained order did not decide whether administrative closure is sound immigration policy or conclusively resolve every underlying legal issue. It rejected emergency relief, leaving the existing block in place.
Anthropic, developer of the Claude artificial-intelligence system, filed a public Form S-1 registration statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday, October 26, for a proposed initial public offering. It intends to seek a Nasdaq listing under ANT, but the number of shares, price range, final date and potential proceeds remain unspecified. The filing reported $16.3 billion in revenue during the first six months of 2026, compared with about $1.2 billion in the comparable 2025 period, and a $693 million operating loss. Its $80.7 billion reported net loss was heavily affected by approximately $72.4 billion in noncash changes to the fair value of financing obligations; it is inaccurate to portray the full net loss as cash consumed by operations. The prospectus also raises questions about power and computing costs, customer concentration, governance and AI safety.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo's public-health institute reported 10,060 confirmed cases and 4,887 deaths in its October 27 update on an Ebola outbreak caused by Bundibugyo virus. This is Congo's largest recorded Ebola outbreak and the second-largest globally after the 2014–2016 West African epidemic, according to Reuters. The World Health Organization's earlier October 23 bulletin, using data through October 20, recorded 9,704 cases and 4,687 deaths across eight Congolese provinces; the figures should not be presented as simultaneous reports. Imported infections have been reported elsewhere, including Kenya and Nigeria. No vaccine or antiviral treatment is currently approved specifically for Bundibugyo Ebola disease, although supportive care and investigational work continue. Limited treatment access, insecurity and delayed case detection complicate the response.
Authorities in India's Andhra Pradesh state had evacuated at least 89,000 people from vulnerable coastal districts by Tuesday, October 27, as very severe Cyclonic Storm Arnab approached from the west-central Bay of Bengal. The India Meteorological Department's 8:30 a.m. Indian Standard Time position placed the storm near 16.0°N, 84.3°E. The same advisory forecast that Arnab would cross the Andhra Pradesh and Yanam coast near Yanam by the morning of Wednesday, October 28, with sustained winds of 125–135 km/h and gusts to 150 km/h. Officials prepared thousands of shelters, medical teams and emergency notifications. These are preparations and forecasts, not a verified account of landfall or damage. Heavy rain, coastal inundation and strong gusts could endanger communities beyond the precise point where the center reaches shore.
Israelis began voting Tuesday, October 27, for the country's 120-member Knesset in the first national election since Hamas's October 7, 2023 attacks and the ensuing war. The Central Elections Committee prepared approximately 12,018 polling stations for more than 7.3 million eligible voters, with regular voting scheduled to continue until 10 p.m. local time. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition faces a divided opposition that includes former army chief Gadi Eisenkot. Issues include defense policy, accountability, ultra-Orthodox military-service exemptions, judicial independence and the future of relations with Palestinians. An individual party is unlikely to secure a majority; a government generally needs coalition support from at least 61 lawmakers. No result is known at this article's Tuesday daytime reporting cutoff.
A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit dismissed the Justice Department's emergency California ballot appeal on Monday, October 26, saying the government had not given a federal trial court adequate opportunity to decide its request. The department wanted California officials to set aside vote-by-mail ballots from people on a federal list of more than 20,000 registrations labeled potentially noncitizen until their citizenship could be verified. California officials dispute the accuracy of that list and say the order could disrupt an election already underway. The dismissal concerns appellate jurisdiction; it is not a finding that the flagged individuals are noncitizens, that ballots were illegally cast, or that the underlying federal lawsuit has ended. A trial-court hearing was scheduled for October 27.
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