Evening Update: Trump says Iran strike could come 'tomorrow' or a deal; Houthis fire missiles toward Mecca and Medina; 9th Circuit hears ballot case Sunday
Plus the Jordan church attack toll rises to nine, nearly 1,000 arrests in France, Ukraine's Starlink restored, Trump votes early in Florida, DOJ election monitors, and the Supreme Court's AR-15 case.
5 PM CT video brief · 1:25Presenter voice and image generated with AI tools.Read transcript
I'm Nora Vale with your 5 PM World Brief for Saturday, October 24. Trump: U.S. could strike Iran "tomorrow" or make a deal. "Either way, we win." Saudi Arabia intercepts two Houthi missiles fired toward Mecca and Medina. Jordan church attack death toll rises to 9. 9th Circuit hears DOJ's noncitizen-ballot appeal Sunday. President Trump and the first lady vote early in Florida. In national weather, from the National Weather Service: Heavy rain and excessive rainfall threats linger near the east coast of Florida Peninsula. Severe wind/hail and a tornado are possible across portions of New Mexico and far west Texas today, a level 2 of 5 severe storm risk. Our opinion. Pressure on Tehran; protect Christians; only citizens should vote. Full stories and sources at WorldBriefNow.com. I'm Nora Vale. Thanks for watching.
President Trump told reporters Saturday the United States could strike Iran as soon as "tomorrow" or reach "a nice big beautiful agreement," saying he wants a permanent solution so Iran cannot build a nuclear weapon, Iran International reported. "I may have to finish it off. Or maybe they'll make a deal, but I'm not sure. Either way, we win," he said, according to the Associated Press. The Wall Street Journal reported sailors aboard the USS George Washington carrier strike group are loading munitions and readying aircraft, while an IRGC-linked outlet said Tehran has made no new offer on the Strait of Hormuz.
Saudi Arabia's Civil Defense said Saturday it intercepted two ballistic missiles launched by Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis toward the Mecca and Medina regions, with debris falling in several places including Jeddah, Taif and Rabigh, Reuters reported via The Jerusalem Post. The Houthis said they attacked a Saudi Aramco facility in Yanbu, the Rabigh refinery and King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh; Iran International reported the group denied targeting the holy cities and renewed its threat against the Riyadh airport.
The death toll from Friday's attack on a funeral at a Greek Orthodox church in Karak, Jordan, has risen to nine, with more than two dozen injured, Fox News reported. Government spokesperson Mohammad Momani said Saturday the attackers subscribed to "extremist takfiri ideology," the belief ISIS has used to justify killing Muslims, Christians and Jews; no arrests have been announced, and Jordan declared three days of national mourning.
Nearly 1,000 people were arrested Saturday as protests resumed across France, Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said, after police searched marchers and seized suspected weapons including fireworks and ball bearings, Fox News reported citing Reuters. About 70,000 officers were deployed; the Interior Ministry put nationwide turnout at about 410,000, while police used tear gas in several cities and water cannon in Nice. Last weekend more than 2,700 people were arrested as protests turned into riots and looting.
Ukraine's access to Starlink and Starshield satellite links is back to the speeds it had before restrictions disrupted front-line operations for more than a week, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Saturday, the Associated Press reported. The restoration follows Russia's agreement to resume three-way talks with Washington and Kyiv next month and a localized ceasefire around Russian-occupied Oleshky brokered by first lady Melania Trump.
President Trump and first lady Melania Trump cast their midterm ballots in person Saturday at the Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections office in West Palm Beach, the Associated Press reported. Asked if he voted the party line, Trump said, "Very much so," before leaving for a rally in Georgia. Trump has endorsed Rep. Byron Donalds for Florida governor and campaigned for Sen. Ashley Moody.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ordered remote oral argument for Sunday, Oct. 25, at 1 p.m. Pacific in United States v. California, the Justice Department's bid to have ballots tied to more than 20,000 suspected noncitizens set aside until citizenship is verified, before Judges Mark Bennett, Patrick Bumatay and Gabriel Sanchez, the court's order shows. California and Los Angeles County urged the court Saturday to reject the request, and California said it would seek full-court review if the panel rules against it, Democracy Docket reported. U.S. District Judge David Carter still has a hearing set for Tuesday.
The Justice Department aims to send poll monitors to all 50 states for the 2026 midterms, an expansion of a longstanding federal program announced in August, the Washington Examiner reported. Details have been sparse, but both Republican- and Democratic-led states have reported being contacted by federal officials in recent days.
The 5th Circuit ruled Wednesday that a federal law restricting interstate commerce in switchblades violates the Second Amendment, and a federal judge in western New York struck down the state's body armor restrictions, with both courts finding the items are protected "arms," Fox News reported. Gun-rights groups say the rulings preview Viramontes v. Cook County, which asks whether AR-15-style rifles are protected arms; the Supreme Court's argument is set for Wednesday, Dec. 2, SCOTUSblog's calendar shows.
The Supreme Court's orders page lists no orders after Oct. 21, and the docket for City of Baltimore v. Texas (No. 26A500), the bid to revive a Biden-era rule letting immigration judges pause deportation cases, shows the applicants' reply was filed Oct. 23 with no action yet from Justice Alito or the Court. The Court's next arguments are Monday, Nov. 2, followed by the religious-liberty case St. Mary Catholic Parish v. Roy on Nov. 3 and a conference on Nov. 6, SCOTUSblog's calendar shows.
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