Morning Brief: U.S. warns Gulf of a 'short, intense' Iran campaign after the midterms; Netanyahu gains in the count; Cuban diplomat expelled
Plus a SOUTHCOM strike in the Pacific, Ebola passing 10,000 cases, Trump's methane rollback, the Hutchinson grand jury and the Court's week ahead.
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I'm Nora Vale with your 6 AM World Brief for Wednesday, October 28. WSJ: Gulf told to prepare for a short, intense Iran campaign after the midterms. Netanyahu's bloc at 54 seats with ~70% counted; still short of 61. Cuban diplomat accused of shoving U.S. diplomat at U.N. is being expelled. Trump unveils methane rollback, says it saves $45 billion. Big Bend border-wall responses due Thursday; November sitting opens Monday. In national weather, from the National Weather Service: There is a Slight Risk (level 2 of 5) of severe thunderstorms over parts of the Upper Mississippi Valley on Wednesday. A few severe thunderstorms are possible over the Upper Mississippi Valley on Wednesday with some tornado potential. Isolated large hail and damaging winds will also be possible, a level 2 of 5 severe storm risk. Our opinion. Iran bargains only when force is real. Cheaper energy starts with sensible rules. Full stories and sources at WorldBriefNow.com. I'm Nora Vale.
The U.S. has told several Gulf Arab countries to be prepared for a short, intense military campaign after the Nov. 3 midterm elections, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing people briefed on the conversations; the Journal said a Patriot system is being brought in from Texas, troops have been moved off vulnerable bases, and President Trump is leaning toward a large post-election attack on Iranian infrastructure and nuclear sites but hasn't decided. The White House declined to comment on "sensitive military plans that may or may not exist," saying Trump "keeps all options on the table to ensure that Iran can never have a nuclear weapon." At a rally in Lubbock, Texas, on Tuesday, Trump told the crowd, "You'll see Iran in a couple of weeks, if you don't mind," the Washington Examiner reported.
With about 70% of votes counted, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing and religious bloc stood at 54 of the Knesset's 120 seats, against 47 for the main opposition and 19 for Arab parties, Fox News reported from partial results; Likud led with 27 seats and Gadi Eisenkot's Yashar had 20. That is up from Tuesday night's exit polls, which had his bloc at 50, but still short of the 61 needed to govern, and the parties outside his bloc together hold 66. Official results are scheduled for Nov. 4, and Netanyahu stays prime minister until a new government takes office; President Trump said his endorsement "helped him a lot," Fox reported.
A Cuban official accused of shoving and trying to assault a U.S. diplomat who was filming Ambassador Mike Waltz's shouting match with Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla in the U.N. General Assembly Hall on Tuesday will be kicked out of the country, the New York Post reported. Waltz told Fox News' "Hannity" that Secretary of State Marco Rubio had "signed the paperwork to eject" him and that "he's going to be on a plane to Havana within the next 24 hours." Cuban media identified the official as Richard Tur de la Concepción, first secretary of Cuba's U.N. mission, the Post said.
Joint Task Force Western Hemisphere carried out a lethal strike Tuesday on a go-fast vessel "operating along established narco-trafficking routes in the Eastern Pacific," killing five people it called narco-terrorists, U.S. Southern Command said, according to Fox News. Fox cited The Associated Press as counting at least 240 deaths from more than 70 strikes in the campaign. SOUTHCOM did not give an exact location, and the military has generally not identified those killed.
Congo has confirmed 10,060 Ebola cases and 4,887 deaths as of Oct. 25, according to its Ministry of Health, the Washington Examiner reported, making the Bundibugyo-strain outbreak the second-largest Ebola outbreak on record, per the CDC. Kenya has reported nine confirmed cases and two deaths, Uganda 20 confirmed cases, and Nigeria its first case on Oct. 20; there is no approved vaccine specific to this strain. No U.S. cases have been reported, the U.S. has temporarily restricted entry for travelers who were in Congo within 21 days, and the CDC calls the risk of spread here very low.
At a rally in Lubbock, Texas, on Tuesday, President Trump announced an EPA proposal to reconsider the Biden administration's 2024 methane rules for oil and gas producers, saying it will "save consumers and energy producers $45 billion in costs, unlock vast quantities of Texas natural gas, and produce 210 million barrels of oil," the Washington Examiner reported. The proposal would reconsider standards for low-producing marginal wells and rescind the Super Emitter Program, the Examiner said, as nationwide diesel stays at a record $6.35 a gallon. At the same rally for Senate nominee Ken Paxton, Trump said, "I would pick Ted Cruz to be the next Supreme Court justice."
A federal grand jury in Washington, D.C., declined Tuesday to indict former Trump White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson after the Justice Department sought charges over her 2022 testimony to the House Jan. 6 committee, two sources told Fox News Digital. The Washington Examiner reported the case was presented by the DOJ's Civil Rights Division under Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon and stems from a criminal referral by Rep. Barry Loudermilk. It is unclear whether prosecutors will try again, and Hutchinson has said she stands by her testimony.
Former Fox News reporter Catherine Herridge's petition asking the justices to review a ruling compelling her to reveal confidential sources (Herridge v. Chen, No. 26-461) is pending, with the response due Nov. 6, the Court's docket shows; Jonathan Turley wrote in Fox News Wednesday that her $800-a-day fines, since rescinded, will be reimposed unless the Court takes the case. Responses to the administration's Oct. 21 request to resume border-wall construction in Texas's Big Bend region are due by 4 p.m. EDT Thursday, SCOTUSblog reported. The Court's orders page lists nothing new since Tuesday's Baltimore order, and the November sitting begins Monday, Nov. 2.
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Analysis labeled. Our point of view appears only in the Our Opinion box under each story, never mixed into the facts.
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