Here is what happened today, Thursday, October 22, 2026 — the day’s biggest stories from around the world, Washington, and beyond.
BREAKING / ÚLTIMA HORA
Russian missiles strike Kyiv overnight, at least nine dead
Russia fired ballistic missiles and more than 200 drones at Ukrainian cities overnight, including Kyiv. At least nine people were killed and dozens were hurt. The strikes hit Kyiv and 12 other Ukrainian regions.
The attack came just hours after Putin agreed in principle to restart US-brokered negotiations. Moscow, for its part, said it shot down more than 800 Ukrainian drones aimed at Moscow and other Russian cities.
INTERNATIONAL / INTERNACIONAL
France bans “illegitimate” protests after weekend riots
President Emmanuel Macron announced Thursday that “illegitimate” protests will be banned in the coming days. He blamed “seditious” ultra-left groups and vandals for last weekend’s riots and looting, some of the worst urban unrest France has seen in years.
Protests organized by trade unions can still go ahead, though they may be rerouted to protect businesses. All protests planned for Saturday in Lyon have been banned. Paris also banned Thursday protests near the Louvre, the Champs-Élysées and government buildings. Shops in central Paris have started boarding up their windows ahead of another weekend of demonstrations. Unions are threatening a rolling general strike next month.
Seven tankers damaged in Strait of Hormuz; Saudi airport attacked
Iran’s state television reported that seven oil tankers were damaged in the Strait of Hormuz overnight — potentially the largest single-day incident of its kind since the Iran war began in February. The claim has not been independently verified.
Separately, Saudi civil aviation authorities said an attack on King Fahd International Airport in Dammam killed one Saudi resident. The attack followed other reported drone strikes on Saudi infrastructure, including an Aramco-operated oil field.
POLITICS / POLÍTICA
Judge orders Trump to sit for deposition by December 11 in $10B BBC lawsuit
A federal magistrate judge ordered President Donald Trump to give a sworn deposition by December 11 in his $10 billion defamation lawsuit against the BBC — or risk having the case thrown out. The judge also rejected Trump’s request to block the deposition from being videotaped.
Trump sued the BBC in December over a 2024 Panorama documentary that spliced together different parts of his January 6, 2021 speech, making it appear he directly called for violence before the Capitol riot. The BBC admitted the edit was misleading and apologized, but denies it defamed him.
Trump canceled a deposition set for October 16; his lawyers cited “matters of national importance.” The BBC’s lawyer told the court the president was actually campaigning in Georgia that day. The judge also backed a BBC subpoena for membership records at Mar-a-Lago.
Virginia state Sen. Louise Lucas indicted in alleged illegal cannabis scheme
A federal grand jury indicted Virginia state Sen. L. Louise Lucas, 82, the Senate’s president pro tempore, on charges of racketeering conspiracy, conspiracy to distribute marijuana, money laundering conspiracy, honest-services fraud and maintaining a drug-involved premises. Six others were charged, including two of her daughters and a grandson.
Prosecutors allege Lucas ran a “criminal marijuana enterprise” through The Cannabis Outlet, a Portsmouth shop she co-owns, and used her Senate position to shield it and push cannabis laws that benefited her. FBI Director Kash Patel and Attorney General Todd Blanche announced the charges in Norfolk. Blanche said the investigation had been running for years and rejected claims it was politically motivated.
Lucas surrendered Thursday morning and appeared in Norfolk federal court. She said she would fight the case: “I grew up under Jim Crow. I will not be intimidated.” The charges land less than two weeks before the November 3 midterms, though Lucas is not up for reelection this year.
Brief: Vance pauses rally for medical emergency
Vice President JD Vance stopped his midterm rally in North Platte, Nebraska, on Thursday after a woman in the crowd behind him had a medical emergency. He led the crowd in the Lord’s Prayer, asked for his team’s doctor, and walked over to check on her. (Single source: USA Today.)
IMMIGRATION / INMIGRACIÓN
Man tries to firebomb ICE office in Atlanta
On the night of October 20, a man threw an improvised incendiary device at the ICE field office in downtown Atlanta. The bottle got caught on the top of the perimeter fence and never reached the building. The suspect ran off and is still at large.
The FBI is investigating and released images of the suspect, offering a $20,000 reward for information. DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin called it part of “a dangerous and unacceptable escalation” of violence against ICE, saying officers face a more than 1,600% increase in assaults.
Judge blocks DHS and ICE from “voter fraud” probes
A federal judge in California ruled Wednesday that the Department of Homeland Security must halt certain investigations into suspected illegal voting. Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín found that activist groups were likely to succeed in arguing the probes intimidate voters, in violation of the Voting Rights Act.
ICE had sent agents knocking on doors to follow up on data suggesting people at those addresses voted or registered even though they were not U.S. citizens — with early voting already underway. The judge wrote that the public’s interest in elections “free from interference or intimidation” outweighed the government’s interest in pursuing the cases.
Brief: lawmakers demand probe of ICE force in Long Beach
Four Southern California lawmakers asked the DHS inspector general for an independent investigation into the October 17 detention of Ricardo Gonzalez, a U.S. citizen, in North Long Beach. They say he was struck by an unmarked federal vehicle, tased repeatedly and left with a broken arm. Federal officials dispute that, saying Gonzalez damaged a government vehicle. (Single source: MyNewsLA.)
CORPORATE WATCH / EMPRESAS BAJO LA LUPA
Instacart pays $5 million over discrimination against U.S. workers
The Justice Department and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission announced a $5 million settlement with Maplebear Inc., the company behind Instacart. The agencies said the company discriminated against U.S. and American workers in the PERM labor-certification process between December 2023 and February 2026.
According to the DOJ, Instacart made U.S. applicants submit job applications by traditional mail instead of the electronic system everyone else used — a hurdle designed to favor foreign workers seeking permanent residency. The deal creates a $4 million fund for affected applicants plus $1 million in civil penalties.
Coupang fined $1.5 million for 206 labor violations in South Korea
South Korea’s labor ministry is fining e-commerce giant Coupang about 1.96 billion won (roughly $1.5 million) after finding 206 labor and workplace-safety violations across some 105 logistics centers and delivery facilities. The ministry is taking legal action on 61 cases — including missing conveyor-belt safety measures, delayed accident reports and skipped health checkups for night-shift workers.
The inspection followed the 2020 death of logistics worker Jang Deok-jun, who died of a heart attack after an overnight shift, and allegations the company covered it up — including deleting CCTV footage. Founder Kim Bom-suk was not indicted because the statute of limitations had expired.
Brief: Texas settles with Lululemon over “forever chemicals”
The Texas Attorney General’s office announced a settlement with Lululemon over the potential presence of PFAS “forever chemicals” in its products. The company will enforce chemical-safety standards across its supply chain, including independent lab testing, for three years. Lululemon says the state found no PFAS in its products and that it phased the chemicals out in 2023. (Single source: Fox 7 Austin.)
MARKETS / LA BOLSA
Tech selloff sinks Nasdaq 2.6%; Dow holds flat
Wall Street split Thursday. The Nasdaq fell 2.6% to 26,008.86 — its worst day since June — as chip and AI stocks sold off. The S&P 500 dropped 1.2% to 7,663. The Dow managed to finish flat, up 11 points at 52,867.98.
Meta sank nearly 7% to $648.85 after reporting it now carries about $825 billion in future lease and contract commitments — mostly AI computing and infrastructure — up from about $700 billion in July. Chip stocks were hit across the board: the Philadelphia semiconductor index fell 6.7%, with all 30 components down. Tesla lost 3%, and SpaceX dropped 9% on profit-taking after its earnings pop.
Investors ran for safety: the 10-year Treasury yield fell 19 basis points to 4.95%, its biggest one-day drop this year. Oil jumped more than 2% to about $99 a barrel on reports of planned U.S.-Israel strikes on Iran after the November 3 midterms. Bitcoin fell about 4% to around $81,300.
OTHER STATES / OTROS ESTADOS
New York City votes to end horse-drawn carriages
The New York City Council voted 40-7 Thursday to ban horse-drawn carriages, ending a Central Park tradition more than 150 years old. The ban takes effect June 1, 2028, and covers all five boroughs. About 200 carriage drivers will lose their livelihoods, and the industry is pledging to sue.
The bill is named “Romanch’s Law” for Romanch Mahajan, an 18-year-old Indian tourist killed in June after being thrown from a runaway carriage. A 16-year-old carriage horse named Deniz also collapsed and died in Central Park in June. Mayor Zohran Mamdani supports the bill and is expected to sign it. President Trump criticized the vote, calling the carriages a “great tradition” that “will be missed.”
Texas Senate race deadlocked two weeks out
The Texas U.S. Senate race is a dead heat. A Fox News poll released Wednesday has Republican Ken Paxton and Democrat James Talarico tied at 49% each among likely voters — a shift from Talarico’s 2-point lead in September. A separate Emerson College/The Hill poll has Talarico up 48-46, within the margin of error.
Paxton has consolidated support among conservatives, rural voters, suburban women and voters who backed John Cornyn in the primary (Cornyn lost the GOP primary to Paxton). Talarico leads among younger, Black and Hispanic voters — 64% to 34% among Hispanics. Money is pouring in: Talarico raised $64 million in the third quarter to Paxton’s $18 million, but Elon Musk put $158 million into a super PAC backing Paxton. Texans still favor Republican control of the Senate overall, 51-47.
Sources / Fuentes: Associated Press, Reuters, CNN, The Wall Street Journal, The Times (UK), The New York Post, USA Today, Fox News, Fox 7 Austin, Investor’s Business Daily, Investopedia, The Motley Fool, TradingKey, Barron’s, U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Aju Press, MyNewsLA, Scripps News, WSB-TV reporting via USA Today, The Hill / Emerson College Polling.
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