The Rocket News

U.S. Edition · LATEST HEADLINES · Thursday, October 22, 2026

President Trump, in a navy suit and red tie, holds Senator Darline Graham's hand as they come off a stage. She wears a white suit. A Make America Great Again sign fills the foreground.

The midterms

Clashes broke up Trump's rally for Darline Graham.

More than half a dozen clashes between rallygoers and protesters interrupted him Wednesday night at a livestock arena in Clemson, where he had gone to boost the senator. He is in the middle of a six-day barnstorm. Republicans are pessimistic about holding Congress.

The Rocket News · Clemson, S.C. · October 22, 2026

Desks

Politics More

President Trump speaks in the Oval Office, mouth open, a red striped tie, Vice President Vance standing behind him.

The midterms

Trump said he will arbitrate the fraud tips.

On Tuesday in the Oval Office he said the new Justice Department whistleblower program, $25 million, would pay up to $30,000 or a 1 percent commission, and that he would be the arbitrator. The Associated Press led Wednesday's file with it.

The midterms

Trump said somebody else should negotiate for Ukraine.

Video · The White House

President Trump speaks to reporters on the South Lawn, one hand raised, Marine One behind him.

The midterms

Texas opened early voting. The Senate seat can decide the chamber.

Video · CBS19

James Talarico speaks into a microphone, one hand open, as people in the crowd raise their hands.

The midterms

Trump told Kentucky he can do stuff that is unbelievable.

Video · Right Side Broadcasting Network

President Trump speaks from the Highland Heights podium, one hand on the lectern, the crowd behind him.

States More

Texas

The administration asked the court to let the Big Bend wall proceed.

On Wednesday the Justice Department asked the Supreme Court to lift an order that halted barriers along hundreds of miles in southwest Texas, including Big Bend National Park. Solicitor General D. John Sauer called the block baseless.

Ohio

Ramaswamy will spend $4 million on the ad with Acton's mother.

California

The Justice Department charged 28 voters in California.

Two Homeland Security officers walk a handcuffed man in red plaid pants toward a vehicle at night.

The states

No Kings told the country to vote early.

A man shouts into the crowd at a No Kings rally, a megaphone in one hand and a sign calling postal workers election heroes.

World More

Steve Witkoff and Vladimir Putin shake hands at Constantine Palace, both men in dark suits, curtains behind them.

Diplomacy

Witkoff shook Putin's hand, and Hubbard is free.

At Constantine Palace in St. Petersburg, the ninth meeting, Putin said the American held since 2022 was at the airport to fly home with the envoy. No peace deal was announced.

Canada

Alberta voted to stay in Canada.

A voter walks toward the doors of a polling place behind a yellow Elections Alberta sign.

Diplomacy

Rubio told Samarkand the war should end.

Marco Rubio speaks with both hands raised, the tiled towers of the Registan and Uzbek flags behind him.

The Gulf

A Houthi strike killed 13 at the Riyadh airport.

Video · BBC News

Fire and smoke rise at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh after a Houthi strike.

World War More

Two firefighters in helmets pour a hose onto a fire in a collapsed building at night. A third firefighter stands in the smoke.

Ukraine

Missiles struck Kyiv before dawn.

A Reuters witness reported the strikes in the early hours of Thursday. Wednesday evening’s ballistic attack injured six. In Lipetsk, drones wounded one man. The wire used here does not give a Thursday death toll.

Ukraine

Four people were killed overnight, two of them in Kyiv.

A firefighter in a red helmet walks through crushed cars and torn metal. A second firefighter stands farther back, near an ambulance.

Ukraine

A drone killed three on the road out of Kyiv.

Firefighters hose a burning car on a highway outside Kyiv, smoke across the lanes and a fire truck at the right.

Ukraine

Russia hit Kyiv overnight. Zelensky said there was no warning.

A shop window is shot through. Behind the glass, a person stands among the shelves.

Economy More

A Southwest jet, blue with a red and gold tail, flies with the landing gear down against a clear sky.

Airlines

Southwest cut its forecast as fuel stays high.

Adjusted third-quarter profit was 66 cents a share, above the 58 cents analysts expected. The carrier cut its full-year range to $2.60 to $2.85, from $3.25 to $4.25, and sees fourth-quarter fuel at $4.55 a gallon.

Prices

Wholesale prices rose 6.3 percent.

Prices

September prices rose 3.7 percent.

Markets

Stocks were mixed at midday, and diesel was $6.27.

A diesel truck sits at the pump as the national diesel average held above six dollars.

Science More

Crew Dragon Freedom hits the Pacific under its parachutes, bringing four astronauts home.

Space

Four astronauts splashed down off California.

SpaceX brought Jessica Meir, Jack Hathaway, Sophie Adenot, and Andrey Fedyaev home on Thursday after eight months. They had gone up in February to replace a crew sent home when a NASA astronaut fell ill.

Video · Associated Press

Maryland

Maryland now flags a heart warning on a mammogram.

The Court

The Supreme Court heard Boulder’s climate suit and did not decide it.

The Supreme Court on Monday heard Boulder’s suit to make Exxon and Suncor help pay for climate damage. It did not rule.

Science

Wildfire smoke is lifting ground-level ozone, researchers say.

Wildfire smoke over Lower Manhattan. Researchers say that haze is also lifting ground-level ozone.

Technology More

A Ukrainian soldier kneels in a field and works on a small drone.

The arsenal

Ukraine’s drones still run on Chinese parts.

Magnets, motors, chips, sensors and battery cells still come from China, a dozen makers told the Associated Press. Switching to Western parts could raise the cost by 60 percent and cut production by as much.

Visas

Vance suspended Microsoft from a green-card program.

Video · The White House

Vice President JD Vance, hands raised at the lectern, said Microsoft abused the visa system.

Technology

Google wants Hollywood to stop being afraid of its tools.

Google is funding films and shorts, through a venture called 100 Zeros, to make Hollywood less afraid of its tools.

Technology

OpenAI paused the next model.

OpenAI said it would pause training of its latest model after reports of agents going rogue.

Mexico More

Mexico

Trudy is a tropical storm, and the warnings are down.

At 8 a.m. Mountain time the center was about 190 miles west-southwest of Cabo Corrientes, with winds near 60 mph. No coastal watches or warnings were in effect. The National Hurricane Center said it should become post-tropical by early Tuesday.

Mexico

Hurricane Trudy is 150 miles west of Manzanillo.

Hurricane Trudy’s eye sits offshore on a Sunday morning satellite, the Mexican coast to the right of the storm.

Pacific

Hurricane Trudy is 170 miles south of Manzanillo.

Hurricane Trudy, seen from a satellite, still offshore south of Manzanillo on Saturday morning.

The Pacific

Hurricane Simon is crawling off Jalisco.

A wave from Hurricane Simon breaks over a Pacific seawall as two people watch from the walk.

Sports More

Jacob Misiorowski, number 32, delivers a pitch in a white Brewers uniform, right arm forward, left leg stretched toward the plate.

Baseball

Misiorowski's fastball leads Milwaukee into Friday.

The Associated Press says the Brewers right-hander, whose fastball is over 100 miles an hour, heads the staff for a Series that starts Friday night in Milwaukee. Neither club has won a title.

Baseball

Game 1 is Friday in Milwaukee.

A Rays player in a gray road uniform shouts, mouth open, bright green gloves at his sides.

Baseball

The Rays are in the World Series.

Video · ESPN MLB

Junior Caminero kneels on the base path in a white Rays uniform, both arms up, the crowd on its feet behind him.

Baseball

The Rays are one win from the World Series.

Drew Rasmussen, in a gray Rays uniform, shouts with his glove in his hand and the crowd behind him.