Bolsonaro forces Brazil runoff with Lula; U.S. pulls bombers from UK base; Supreme Court opens new term today
Overnight: Iran’s oil minister quits as Hormuz stays shut; 205 Russian drones hit Ukraine; FBI arrests alleged China spy at LAX; Marine held in Okinawa killing; Trump to Nebraska; gunfire on the Rio Grande.
Sen. Flávio Bolsonaro, an ally of President Trump and son of former President Jair Bolsonaro, finished ahead of incumbent President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in Sunday’s first round, and the two will meet in an Oct. 25 runoff after neither won a majority, the Associated Press reported; Brazil’s electoral court had Bolsonaro with just over 56 million votes to Lula’s 53.7 million with 99.8% of the vote reported. Fox News reported Bolsonaro led 47.2% to 44.9% with 99% in, although most polls had shown Lula with a single-digit lead. “Brazil wants change,” Bolsonaro said, while Lula called the result “unexpected” and said, “Tomorrow we start a new campaign,” AP reported.
All U.S. bombers deployed to RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire, England, have returned to their home stations in the United States, a Pentagon official said, after a suspected plot near the base that U.S. officials have suggested may be linked to Iran, Fox News reported; a U.S. official said about a dozen B-1 bombers were among the aircraft. U.K. officials said three suspicious vehicles containing fuel accelerants were found near the base a week ago and no explosive devices were found; six people were arrested, including a British-Iranian dual national, and police said all of the suspects have been released on bail while the investigation continues. The Pentagon said America’s bomber force remains ready to strike “anywhere, anytime,” including on missions launched from the continental United States.
Update since the evening brief: Iran’s Oil Minister Mohsen Paknejad has resigned for personal reasons and Hamid Bovard, chief executive of the state-owned National Iranian Oil Company, was named acting minister, state media reported Sunday, Iran International said; Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said the U.S. reply to Iran’s seven-day plan is still under review. Parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said the Strait of Hormuz will stay closed until the U.S. meets Iran’s seven conditions, and on Monday the U.K. Maritime Trade Operations center said a tanker inbound through the strait was ordered by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards to turn back or face being targeted, and complied, Gulf News reported. Brent crude was quoted at $102.60 a barrel in early Monday trading in Tokyo, Gulf News said, citing OilPrice.com.
Russia launched 205 strike and decoy drones at Ukraine from 6 p.m. Sunday, including 49 jet-powered Shahed-type drones, and Ukrainian air defenses shot down or suppressed 172 of them by 8 a.m. Monday, with impacts recorded at 13 locations, Ukraine’s Air Force said, the Kyiv Post reported. Three jet-powered drones struck near residential buildings in Kharkiv’s Industrialnyi district late Sunday, killing one person and injuring eight, one critically, Mayor Ihor Terekhov said. Ukrainian officials cited by the Financial Times said Moscow is trying to force Kyiv to accept its demands, including ceding territory in the Donbas, by early 2027, the Kyiv Post reported.
FBI agents arrested Wanying “Heather” Zhang, 34, of Irvine, California, at Los Angeles International Airport on Sunday as she tried to board a flight to Shanghai, on a federal charge of acting as an unregistered agent of the People’s Republic of China, Fox News reported. A criminal complaint alleges she traveled to the Seattle area in 2025 at the direction of Chinese officials and sent them photos, video and license-plate information on a family outside its home; First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli said the target was a relative of Taiwan’s president. Zhang, a naturalized U.S. citizen, was scheduled to appear Monday in federal court in Los Angeles, and Essayli noted that defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
Japanese police arrested Lance Cpl. Devin Jacob Ballard, 20, a Marine based at Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, on suspicion of robbing and killing 39-year-old Anna Yagi at a hotel in Naha early Saturday, and Ballard has denied the allegations, police said, according to a Fox News report published by the New York Post. Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said her government lodged a “strong protest” with the United States, and Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi summoned U.S. Ambassador George Glass, who expressed regret and pledged cooperation. The Marine Corps said it is cooperating with Japanese authorities and that Ballard remains in Japanese custody.
Update since the evening brief: the Coast Guard suspended its search Sunday evening for the Gulfstream G100 medical transfer jet that vanished off Nantucket early Saturday, more than 40 hours after it lost contact with the FAA, the New York Post reported. Six people were aboard: four Canadians, including two medics and two pilots, plus a Bermudian patient and a relative, the Coast Guard and owner Latitude Air Ambulance said. “Suspending a search is not an easy decision,” said Rear Adm. Matthew Lake, commander of the Coast Guard’s Northeast District, and officials said an investigation into what happened will follow.
President Trump travels Monday to Grand Island, Nebraska, to campaign for Republican Sen. Pete Ricketts, who faces independent Dan Osborn, part of what Trump calls a 32-day blitz of rallies before the Nov. 3 midterms, with a San Antonio rally set for Wednesday, the Associated Press reported. Ricketts told AP that the administration’s plan to import more foreign beef “is not helping Nebraska ranchers” and advised the White House to change it. Reuters reported Trump will promote new investment and manufacturing in a state where farmers and truckers face sharply higher diesel prices, and that public polling shows a competitive Ricketts-Osborn race even though Trump carried Nebraska by more than 20 points in 2024.
Coast Guard personnel intercepting migrants on the Rio Grande near Garceno in Starr County, Texas, exchanged gunfire on Sept. 26 with people on the Mexican side after shots came from Mexico, officials said, with no injuries or damage reported, Fox News reported, citing Stars and Stripes; the Coast Guard said it is investigating, and it is unclear who fired first. The U.S. military said it has moved hundreds of troops and their equipment to the Rio Grande Valley ahead of “historically observed seasonal increases in attempted illegal activity,” and 500 Mexican Army and National Guard personnel deployed to Mexico’s side. U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Ronald Johnson said Mexican commanders will communicate directly with U.S. forces and that “any threat from criminal or terrorist elements on either side of the border will be addressed swiftly.”
The Supreme Court convenes at 10 a.m. Eastern (9 a.m. CT) today to open October Term 2026, first hearing Suncor Energy (U.S.A.) Inc. v. County Commissioners of Boulder County (No. 25-170), Boulder’s climate suit against energy companies, then Johnson v. United States Congress (No. 25-735), the Court’s day call and argument calendar show. In Johnson, a veteran in prison challenges a federal law that caps disability benefits for veterans incarcerated for a felony, and the question is whether the Veterans’ Judicial Review Act bars federal district courts from hearing such constitutional challenges, according to the question presented and Cornell’s Legal Information Institute. The Court’s orders page says regular order lists are issued each Monday the Court sits, and this week’s calendar lists Anderson v. Intel Corp. Investment Policy Committee on Tuesday and Department of the Air Force v. Prutehi Guahan on Wednesday.
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