Friday, October 23, 2026 · Morning Edition

Today

By StaffNews Desk

Good morning. Trump's U.N. ambassador says the war with Iran could last another year, even as he says he hopes Tehran will "come to the table" sooner. Behind the war, the president has [gutted his own Russia sanctions law, cut a diesel deal with Putin, and is talking about carving up the world with Putin and Xi](https://www.rawstory.com/the-greatest-betrayal-in-us-history-is-happening-right-now-and-the-gop-is-on-vacation) — and Congress, which has the power to stop him, has Thune and Johnson still on vacation.

In the occupied West Bank, Israeli soldiers [shot and killed two men the military said had launched an attack near Hebron on Friday morning, wounding at least five people, some critically](https://www.npr.org/2026/10/23/nx-s1-6013333/netanyahu-closure-west-bank). Netanyahu ordered a "full lockdown" of the territory — four days before an October 27 election that polls show him trailing his rival Gadi Eisenkot. Collective punishment doubling as campaign theater from a prime minister fighting for his job.

Africa's CDC chief warns the continent risks a continent-wide Ebola crisis, with the virus spreading across three regions as governments scramble to mount a broader response.

Two weeks out, Trump's approval has flipped with rural voters in Iowa, Kansas and Alaska; in Texas, the Hispanic voters who helped bring him to power may be turning. His Justice Department has asked an appeals court to block California from counting more than 20,000 mail-in ballots it claims came from non-citizens — rigging the count, not just the ads. Pete Buttigieg has endorsed independent Seth Bodnar over the Democrat in Montana, while Florida's governor's race may come down to a sliver of undecided Black voters weighing Byron Donalds against David Jolly. Robert Reich argues the country must reverse Trump's moral squalor, as Democrats bet on affordability.