Evening Brief: Iran claims tankers hit Hormuz mines as U.S. denies drone loss; Homan touts record deportations; DOJ subpoenas in Alaska 'Decoy Dan' probe
Plus Tehran's answer on the Vance letter, the Pentagon leak referral, Israel's final count, a U.S.-Japan missile plant, Lagarde's exit, a Medicaid ruling, the Boulder plea and two Supreme Court religious-liberty and border fights.
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I'm Nora Vale with your 5 PM World Brief for Thursday, October 29. Iran says 3 tankers hit Hormuz mines; claims it seized a U.S. drone. CENTCOM: claim is false. Iran says it received Vance's letter, no reply yet; speaker: 'carrot-and-stick' has no effect. Homan: ICE deported a record number of illegal immigrants in September. DOJ to issue dozens of grand jury subpoenas in Alaska 'Decoy Dan' probe, NY Post reports. Pentagon: war planner's firing followed leak probe; referred to DOJ. Supreme Court: Big Bend challengers respond; Catholic preschools' case argued Nov. 3. In national weather, from the National Weather Service: Tropical Depression Vance, with top winds near 35 mph, may bring impacts to parts of New Mexico. Heavy rainfall likely across parts of the Southern Plains into Friday, and the Southwest on Friday and Saturday. Our opinion. Nuclear limits first with Iran, enforce the border, honest ballots, and religious liberty for faith-based schools. Full stories and sources at WorldBriefNow.com. I'm Nora Vale.
Iran's Revolutionary Guard said three oil tankers "exploded and caught fire" after striking mines on what it calls an unauthorized southern route through the Strait of Hormuz, and Iran's army later reported a fourth tanker on fire east of the strait, AFP reported via Arab News; the tankers were not identified. The Guard also said it took control of a U.S. MQM-170 Outlaw drone and landed it in Iran, but U.S. Central Command said the report was false, with spokesman Tim Hawkins saying the Guard "has repeatedly lied out of desperation, and today is no different," the AP reported.
Iran's semi-official Tasnim news agency reported that Tehran received Vice President JD Vance's letter to security chief Mohsen Rezaei but did not disclose its contents, Bloomberg reported. Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, a past negotiator, wrote on X that "Iran's conditions have been repeatedly and clearly stated to the mediators" and that "the carrot-and-stick approach has no effect on Iran." President Trump said Wednesday he authorized the contact and that it was meant to help with "medical supplies and various things."
Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said the department "took necessary personnel action to protect sensitive information" after an "extensive Air Force OSI investigation," and that "this matter, along with others," was referred to the Justice Department, the Washington Examiner reported. Parnell did not name Lt. Gen. Brett Sylvia, the Joint Staff planner whose firing became public Wednesday, or say what was allegedly leaked.
The Air Force announced the deaths of two service members in the Middle East this month, one still under investigation and one from an illness, the Washington Examiner reported. The Pentagon's Defense Casualty Analysis System lists 23 U.S. service members killed since the war began Feb. 28, 11 hostile and 12 nonhostile, and 865 wounded.
With more than 99% of ballots counted, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's bloc holds 53 of 120 Knesset seats, the opposition bloc led by Gadi Eisenkot 48 and Arab parties 19, short of the 61 needed for a majority, Haaretz reported, according to Al Jazeera. Final results are to be certified by Wednesday, and Eisenkot met former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett on Thursday to discuss forming a government.
Japanese Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said after meeting Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in Cebu, Philippines, that the allies agreed to set up a final assembly and inspection facility in Japan for the AMRAAM air-to-air missile, NPR reported. Koizumi also said the two sides will share technical information to increase production of the SM-3 Block IIA interceptor, but gave no timeline or output figures, Breaking Defense reported.
Christine Lagarde told the ECB's Governing Council and European Council President António Costa that she will leave the bank's presidency on Feb. 7, 2027, the ECB said Thursday. Her successor will be appointed by the European Council under Article 283 of the EU treaty.
Border czar Tom Homan said at the Port of Miami on Thursday that ICE deported more illegal immigrants in September than in any other month in its history, the New York Post reported; he said fiscal 2026 figures are still being validated and will be released "soon." Homan warned New York, which barred local police from working with ICE, that without jail cooperation agents will go "to the neighborhood," and CBP Commissioner Rodney Scott said Border Patrol has released "zero" illegal aliens for almost 18 straight months.
The Justice Department will issue dozens of new grand jury subpoenas Thursday about efforts to recruit a candidate with the same name as Sen. Dan Sullivan, and prosecutors are weighing conspiracy charges, the New York Post reported, citing people familiar with the matter; Mary Peltola's campaign denies involvement. Asked whether Republicans should refuse to seat Peltola if she wins, President Trump said, "Well, you're going to have to see what happens," the Washington Examiner reported.
Before leaving for a South Carolina rally Thursday, President Trump called Democratic talk of impeaching War Secretary Pete Hegseth "terrible" and praised him as "a great warrior," the Washington Examiner reported. House Democrats filed six impeachment articles against Hegseth in April, and Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) says he will force a vote on impeachment articles after the midterms.
U.S. District Judge Richard Stearns in Boston sided with 25 Democrat-led states and blocked a CMS rule requiring Medicaid enrollees to show a condition "significantly impairs" their ability to meet the new work requirement, the Washington Examiner reported. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act requires adults 19 to 64 to log 80 hours a month of work, school or volunteering starting Jan. 1, 2027; Stearns left two other verification rules in place.
Mohamed Soliman, a 47-year-old Egyptian national, pleaded guilty Thursday to nine federal hate-crime counts and three explosives counts in the June 2025 attack on Jewish marchers in Boulder, Colorado, that killed Karen Diamond, 82, and injured 12 others, the Washington Examiner reported. Prosecutors seek life plus 50 years; sentencing is set for Jan. 7, 2027, and he is already serving a life sentence on state charges.
Groups challenging border-wall construction in Texas's Big Bend region filed a 40-page response Thursday urging the justices to leave in place U.S. District Judge Kathleen Cardone's order halting the work, SCOTUSblog reported. Cardone found the challengers likely to win on the major questions doctrine, while Solicitor General D. John Sauer argues Congress clearly authorized the Homeland Security secretary to build barriers and waive laws to speed construction.
The Supreme Court will hear argument Nov. 3 in a case brought by the Archdiocese of Denver, Catholic parishes and parents, who say Colorado discriminates against religion by refusing them an exemption from the universal preschool program's nondiscrimination agreement, SCOTUSblog reported. The 10th Circuit ruled for Colorado, which says the preschools are welcome if they follow the same rules as every publicly funded preschool.
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