⚡ TODAY IN HISTORY

On October 2, 1869, Mohandas Gandhi, who later led India’s nonviolent campaign for independence from British rule, was born in Porbandar, India. In 2007, the United Nations made his birthday the International Day of Non-Violence. Today? One day after Russian President Vladimir Putin praised Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ideas for ending the war in Ukraine, Russian strikes forced the partial closure of three bridges in Kyiv.

TOP NEWS

Oil tops $100 as China halts fuel exports BRENT $101.20

To protect supplies at home, Chinese refiners on Thursday suspended gasoline, diesel and jet fuel exports to everywhere except Hong Kong and Macau. The move lifted Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, 3.2% to $101.20 a barrel in a market already short of fuel because of the wars in Iran and Ukraine.

Passengers subdue copilot accused of trying to crash jet FLIGHT FZ1073

On Wednesday, the Omani copilot of a flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv allegedly stabbed the captain and tried to crash the plane, which carried mostly Israeli passengers. Passengers overpowered him and the jet made an emergency landing in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia; President Donald Trump said Thursday the attacker may have ties to Iran, while Israeli officials said it was too soon to know.

Russia’s biggest grid strike in months forces Kyiv blackouts

With winter weeks away, Russia launched its largest attack on Ukraine’s power grid in months, hitting at least 10 regions and killing seven people. The strikes forced emergency power cuts in Kyiv, the capital, for the first time since spring, and new Russian attacks on Friday partially closed three bridges over the city’s Dnipro River.

Last US troops leave Iraq, ending 12-year ISIS mission

Under a 2024 deal between Washington and Baghdad that set a September 30 deadline, the final American forces left Erbil Air Base in northern Iraq’s Kurdish region on Wednesday. President Trump called the war “a very expensive excursion into Hell,” and the US task force that fought ISIS has moved to neighboring Jordan.

Third US carrier group sails for the Middle East

The US-Iran war, which began with US and Israeli strikes in late February, has now passed seven months. A US official said Thursday that the USS Theodore Roosevelt carrier group and the USS Makin Island amphibious group are heading to the region, which could put three carriers and more than 20,000 sailors and Marines there by late October.

WORLD

Putin says Russia accepted US peace terms in Alaska 4 TRUCE OFFERS

Speaking in Moscow on Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Russia agreed to US proposals for ending the war in Ukraine at his August 2025 summit with President Donald Trump in Anchorage, Alaska, and that Washington then asked for more time. Ukraine’s top diplomat said Friday that Kyiv has received separate partial-truce proposals from the United States, India, Turkey and Egypt.

UK arrests dual UK-Iranian citizen over US air base plot

British counterterrorism police are investigating a security incident on Sunday at RAF Fairford, a base in southwest England that American bombers have used to strike Iran. Officers arrested a 27-year-old dual UK-Iranian citizen in London on Thursday on suspicion of plotting a terror attack and say they are examining possible foreign state involvement.

Saudi Arabia accuses Houthis of striking Medina power station

Yemen’s war resumed in July between the Iran-backed Houthi rebels, who control the capital Sanaa, and the Saudi-backed government. The Saudi-led coalition said Thursday that a Houthi drone attack on Tuesday knocked out a transformer at a station in Medina, Saudi Arabia, that powers the Prophet’s Mosque, one of Islam’s holiest sites; the Houthis denied the charge.

Netanyahu’s bloc pulls ahead weeks before Israel votes

With Israel’s national election set for October 27, a Zman Yisrael poll taken September 30 and October 1 gave parties backing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu 53 of the 120 seats in the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, against 49 for four Jewish-led opposition parties. Neither camp reaches the 61 seats needed to form a government.

Hurricane Polo’s moisture floods New Mexico

Hurricane Polo, which grew from a tropical storm into a Category 5 hurricane within 24 hours in late September, crossed Mexico’s Baja California peninsula before its moisture pushed into the US Southwest. On Tuesday, floods in Albuquerque and rural Mora County, New Mexico, stranded drivers and set off a search for a woman reportedly swept away, and officials issued a statewide flood watch.

POLITICS

Time has come for an Iran deal or more strikes, Trump says 90% OF CAR MARKET HIT

With a US blockade choking Iran’s oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, President Donald Trump told reporters Thursday that it was time to either make a deal with Tehran or escalate. The Treasury Department the same day sanctioned Iran’s two biggest automakers, which hold over 90% of its car market, along with its state railway, to cut off the routes Iran uses to move goods around the blockade.

Judge rules Trump’s firing of Seattle prosecutor was illegal

Federal judges in western Washington unanimously chose former state judge Roger Rogoff as the region’s US attorney on July 15, and President Trump fired him less than an hour after he was sworn in. A judge ruled the firing illegal, The Washington Post reported Thursday, in a case that tests whether presidents can remove prosecutors appointed by courts.

Nearly 1 million Americans get $500 ACA checks with a Trump letter

President Trump says nearly 1 million people were overcharged under the Affordable Care Act, the 2010 health law known as Obamacare. Those people are now receiving $500 rebate checks that arrive with a letter promoting his record, one month before the November 3 midterm elections.

Forecaster moves two races away from GOP as Trump hits the trail

With the midterms 32 days away, President Trump held a rally Thursday in Durant, Oklahoma, and is scheduled to headline another tonight in Mobile, Alabama. The Cook Political Report, a nonpartisan election forecaster, moved two races from “Likely Republican” to “Lean Republican,” a shift The Washington Post tied in part to Trump’s low approval ratings.

Trump regrets naming all three of his Supreme Court justices

In his first term, President Trump appointed Justices Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett, building the court’s 6-3 conservative majority. Trump said on Thursday that he regrets nominating all three.

MARKETS

10-year Treasury yield hits highest level since 2002 5.34%

Strong economic data fed bets that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates again, pushing the 10-year Treasury yield, which guides mortgage rates, to about 5.34% on Thursday. Stocks recovered after Fed Vice Chair Philip Jefferson signaled officials could take more time, and the S&P 500 closed up 0.2% at 7,666.45, ending a three-day losing streak.

European stocks slide as bond selloff spreads

Swings in the bond market hit stock markets worldwide on Thursday, with major indexes falling 1.7% in London, 1.6% in Paris and 1% in Frankfurt. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index then dropped 2.6% on Friday as trading resumed after China’s National Day holiday.

Accenture jumps 22%, its biggest one-day gain ever

Investors have worried that artificial intelligence would shrink demand for traditional tech consulting. Accenture, the Dublin-based consulting firm, eased those fears Thursday by reporting $22.17 billion in new bookings, including a record 141 deals worth $100 million or more, which also lifted rivals such as EPAM Systems.

Micron lines up $32 billion in chip supply deals

Data centers built for AI need huge amounts of memory, and Micron Technology, the largest US maker of memory chips, disclosed about $32 billion in customer commitments under supply agreements. The shares rose Thursday after a weak start.

September jobs report lands at 8:30 a.m. ET

With the Fed weighing whether to raise rates again, the Bureau of Labor Statistics releases September hiring data this morning. Economists expect about 90,000 new jobs, down from 162,000 in August, with unemployment holding at 4.1%.

ENTERTAINMENT

Verity and Tom Cruise’s Digger open head to head $30M–$40M

Amazon MGM’s Verity, a thriller based on Colleen Hoover’s best-selling novel, and Warner Bros.’ Digger, a dark comedy starring Tom Cruise as an oil tycoon, both open in US theaters today. Box Office Pro projects a $30 million to $40 million debut for Verity, which stars Anne Hathaway and Dakota Johnson, and $20 million to $30 million for Digger, which drew divided early reviews.

Netflix’s East of Eden arrives with Florence Pugh as Cathy

Netflix released its limited series based on John Steinbeck’s 1952 novel East of Eden on Thursday. The Hollywood Reporter’s critic gave it a positive review, saving much of the praise for Florence Pugh’s turn as Cathy Ames.

Eddie Murphy to star in Mad Men creator’s Peacock drama

Matthew Weiner, who created the AMC series Mad Men, is making a drama called The Chairman for Peacock, NBCUniversal’s streaming service. Eddie Murphy will lead the cast, Deadline reported Thursday.

Bradley Cooper joins Paramount’s G.I. Joe as Duke

Paramount is developing a new G.I. Joe film, based on the Hasbro action-figure line, with actor and writer Danny McBride. Bradley Cooper will play Duke, the team’s field leader, according to the entertainment news site Deadline.

Ben Affleck defends AI use on his new film Animals

Ben Affleck premiered his Netflix film Animals in Los Angeles on Thursday and explained how the production used artificial intelligence. Affleck told The Hollywood Reporter the goal was never to make fake people or replace anyone.