Top World News

Oct 24, 2026 - World

The nation's top spy has sent Secretary of State Marco Rubio an urgent warning that danger to Americans overseas is rapidly escalating.Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton told Rubio that Iran has "substantially increased" its efforts to go after U.S. personnel, such as diplomats, and that lethal plotting against American citizens has reached "advanced stages" in the Middle East and other countries, according to an Oct. 23 memo Axios obtained and reported on Friday."The lethal plotting efforts by the Iranians against U.S. citizens have reached advanced stages in both the Middle East and certain other countries," Clayton wrote in the one-page, unclassified memo, which was also copied to CIA Director John Ratcliffe.CNN's Zachary Cohen posted on X that a U.S. official confirmed the memo is genuine and that CNN had obtained its own copy, adding that a source said its substance is broadly in line with the intelligence community's assessment.The memo doesn't name specific targets or identify which countries outside the region are involved, and it offers no details about how the plots would be carried out.Instead, Clayton stressed that the safety of government personnel abroad is "a top priority" for the administration, warning that the intelligence is "relevant to more individuals than are currently cleared to receive this information."The materials have already gone to appropriately cleared senior staff on Rubio's team, according to the memo, and Clayton pledged to downgrade as much of the intelligence as possible so Rubio can share it with State Department personnel at his discretion.U.S. officials told Axios the warning is one of the factors behind a wave of embassy drawdowns across the region. Earlier this week, the State Department directed family members and nonessential staff to depart the embassy in Riyadh along with consulates in Jeddah and Dhahran. On Friday, it ordered further personnel cuts at embassies in the United Arab Emirates, Lebanon, Qatar and Jordan, a U.S. official said."We decided that due to the threat of Houthi attacks and Iranian terror plots we need to reduce our footprint and keep only essential staff," the official told Axios.Officials also worry that Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels could widen their attacks beyond Saudi Arabia, while the possibility of new U.S. and Israeli military action against Iran, potentially after the midterms, has further heightened tensions.President Donald Trump floated that very scenario at a rally in Florida on Friday. "We may do another little Operation Epic Fury, or [the Iranians] will agree [to a deal]," he said, adding, "If they're smart, they will just say, 'Let's get down to business,' but I doubt they will do that because perhaps they're not smart."CNN was the first to report the staffing reduction at the four embassies.

Oct 24, 2026 - World

The Denver archbishop who led a prayer over President Donald Trump in the Oval Office is now scrambling to explain himself.Archbishop James Golka told the Denver Catholic, the archdiocese's own newspaper, on Friday that the White House's video of the Oct. 22 prayer was never meant as an endorsement, even as he defended being there and turned his fire on critics."I understand that many people saw the video, posted by the Administration twelve days before an election, as an endorsement," Golka said. "That was never my intention."The invitation came months ago, according to the archbishop, following a June session in which faith leaders pressed the administration on immigration, religious freedom and visas for religious workers. He said progress made by task forces after that meeting encouraged him to accept, even though he knew the meeting "could be shared and some might use it for political purposes."Golka said he learned only shortly before the visit that he would be the one praying over Trump. The bishops first spent three hours with the White House Faith Office discussing religious worker visas, protection of life, religious freedom and school choice."I've had a lot of people, really good friends, ask me, 'What were you doing?' 'Why did you do that?' I just answer, 'I was being a Catholic priest,'" he said.The archbishop then pointed outward. "I'm heartbroken that people are hurt, and that there are people intentionally using this moment to sow disunity. That's not a fruit of the Spirit," he said, urging Catholics to look past headlines he described as "often crafted to provoke."The fallout has reached Rome. Catholic commentator Christopher Hale reported in his Letters from Leo newsletter that a senior official at the Vatican's Dicastery for Bishops called it "a highly inappropriate meeting and insult to Pope Leo."Hale wrote that Golka's account stops short of an apology and never mentions Paula White-Cain, the televangelist and White House Faith Office adviser who stood behind Trump's chair as the bishops laid hands on him. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has said it neither organized the meeting nor has any affiliation with it.Golka closed with a pledge. "This work helps only if the Church carries the same message to leaders of both parties. We will," he said.

Oct 24, 2026 - World

Super typhoon weakening but large parts of Taiwan, including Taipei, still mostly closed and flights cancelledTyphoon Champi swept past Taiwan on Saturday killing one person, injuring more than 500, and uprooting trees and severing power as it weakened and ⁠headed north toward ⁠the ​Chinese coast.Earlier classified as a super typhoon and one of the strongest storms in the ⁠Pacific this year, Champi was still packing gusts of about 126km per hour (78 miles per hour) near its ⁠centre, according to Taiwan’s Central Weather Administration (CWA). Continue reading...

Oct 24, 2026 - World

This live blog is now closed.Sign up for the Breaking News US emailWith less than two weeks until the midterms, my colleague Jonathan Freedland and Guardian US columnist Moira Donegan are answering your questions in this week’s episode of Politics Weekly America.They break down the final stretch ahead of these hugely consequential elections, that will decide control of Congress in Donald Trump’s final two years of office. Continue reading...

Oct 24, 2026 - World

Letters from federal prosecutors represent latest escalation as Trump continues to make claims of voter fraudFederal prosecutors sent letters to county registrars across California on Friday demanding that local officials set aside and verify ballots that the Department of Justice said may belong to noncitizens, according to the Los Angeles county registrar and a letter obtained by the Associated Press.The letters are the latest escalation in a legal battle between California and Donald Trump’s Department of Justice, which has recently focused on the state in its efforts to root out noncitizen voting ahead of the midterm elections. Continue reading...