Good evening. Here is what happened today, Wednesday, October 28, 2026.
BREAKING / ÚLTIMA HORA: At least 68 dead in Spain train crash
File photo of a high-speed train in Spain.
Two high-speed trains collided near Urda, in Toledo province, just before 9 a.m. local time on Wednesday. At least 68 people died and nearly 80 were injured, according to Reuters and USA Today. Rail service between Madrid and Andalusia was suspended. Spain’s transport minister, Óscar Puente, said a Renfe train was authorized to keep going despite an active red signal, after a computer communications failure stopped traffic because a train was standing ahead. He called restarting the train an erroneous decision that broke protocol. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez called it a national tragedy and promised a full investigation. Reuters notes this is Spain’s deadliest train crash since 2013, and the second collision on the same line in nine months.
INTERNATIONAL / INTERNACIONAL
Israel’s election ends in a deadlock
The Knesset in Jerusalem (file photo).
With more than 90% of votes counted, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s bloc led with 53 seats, ahead of Gadi Eisenkot’s opposition bloc with 48, according to Reuters and the New York Post. Arab-led parties held 19 seats. Neither side reached the 61 seats needed for a majority in the 120-seat Knesset. The result reversed Tuesday night’s exit polls, which had put the opposition ahead. Final results are expected Thursday or Friday, and President Isaac Herzog will then have seven days to name someone to try to form a government. Until then, Netanyahu stays on in a caretaker role.
About 50,000 people flee Ethiopia into Kenya
File photo of a refugee camp in Kenya.
An estimated 50,000 people have crossed from Ethiopia into Kenya since October 22, fleeing fighting around Moyale, the UN refugee agency UNHCR said Wednesday. Many are women and children. Some are staying with relatives or host families. Others are sheltering in schools and churches. UNHCR is mobilizing supplies for nearly 12,000 people. Food is the most urgent need, followed by safe drinking water, shelter, sanitation and health care. The figure comes from local authorities and is still being verified as people keep arriving, UNHCR said. People Daily, citing the UN humanitarian office OCHA, also put the estimate at about 50,000.
Cyclone Arnab hits India’s east coast
Severe Cyclone Arnab made landfall in Andhra Pradesh early Wednesday, with sustained winds of 125 to 135 kilometers per hour and gusts up to 150, according to the India Meteorological Department, reported by The Hindu BusinessLine. Thousands of people were evacuated ahead of the storm, and trains and flights were cancelled. The storm surge was forecast at 1.5 to 2.5 meters above normal tide in low-lying areas. India’s National Disaster Response Force later reported three deaths in Andhra Pradesh, according to The Watchers. No fitting real photo was found for this story, so it runs without an image.
POLITICS / POLÍTICA
Federal Reserve holds interest rates steady
The Federal Reserve left its policy rate unchanged at 3.75% to 4.00% on Wednesday, after a two-day meeting. Chair Kevin Warsh told reporters politics played no role in the decision. Traders had priced in a nearly 93% chance of no change, according to CME FedWatch, cited by CNBC. Warsh said the committee will have more data before its December meeting. The decision came one week before the November 3 midterm elections.
New poll: Democrats up 4 points, Trump approval at 39%
The October Harvard CAPS / Harris poll puts Democrats ahead 52% to 48% in the midterm horserace among general voters, with 56% of independents leaning Democrat. President Donald Trump’s approval rating stands at 39%, down three points from last month. His approval is highest on immigration and fighting crime in cities, both at 44%, and lowest on inflation at 33%. The poll also found 64% of voters say the economy is on the wrong track, up seven points from September. The results come from Stagwell’s release of the poll, published by Morningstar and HarrisX.
Chart: October Harvard CAPS / Harris poll. Source: Stagwell, October 28, 2026.
IMMIGRATION / INMIGRACIÓN
Supreme Court lets the end of “administrative closure” stand
The U.S. Supreme Court building.
The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday declined to restore immigration judges’ power to temporarily pause deportation cases, a practice known as administrative closure. The one-sentence order gave no explanation, and no justice publicly dissented, Reuters reported. The decision leaves in place a June agreement between Texas and the Justice Department that ended the Biden-era rule. Baltimore, New Haven, Columbus and an immigrant legal group had asked the court to block that agreement while the case continues. They argued ending the practice puts vulnerable people at greater risk of deportation. Reuters notes administrative closure had been used in hundreds of thousands of cases over the years, including by people waiting on visa petitions or other relief.
Activists report an ICE surge in Southwest Detroit
Activists in Southwest Detroit told the Detroit Free Press on Wednesday they saw a surge of ICE activity along Vernor Highway, near Clark Park, Western International High School, and Maybury and Earhart elementary schools. They said agents stopped even U.S. citizens. ICE did not immediately return the Free Press’s request for comment. Some advocates said they see the timing, less than a week before the midterms, as voter intimidation. That is their view, not an established fact. Note: this item is single-sourced to the Detroit Free Press, based on activists’ reports. No fitting real photo was found for this story, so it runs without an image.
CORPORATE WATCH / EMPRESAS BAJO LA LUPA
Scale AI rejects surveillance complaints from privacy group
Scale AI on Wednesday rejected complaints filed Tuesday by privacy group noyb in France, Italy, the Netherlands and Austria, Reuters reported. Noyb alleges Scale’s Outlier platform illegally monitors more than 900,000 freelancers who train AI models, using up to 19 trackers, and asked regulators to fine the company. Scale told Reuters the claims are unfounded and inaccurate. The company said its practices were disclosed to workers and required their consent, that contributors know their pay rates before accepting tasks, and that it does not sell workers’ personal data or use it to train customers’ AI models. The complaints are allegations, not findings by a regulator. No fitting real photo was found for this story, so it runs without an image.
MARKETS / LA BOLSA
The New York Stock Exchange (file photo).
Stocks closed higher Wednesday after the Fed held rates steady. The S&P 500 gained 0.28% to 7,743.98. The Nasdaq rose 0.27% to 26,549.85. The Dow added 0.19%, or 97.53 points, to 52,475.10. It was the third straight winning day for all three indexes, according to CNBC, and The Motley Fool reported the same closes. Oracle jumped 10.73% to $144.54 after telling investors it expects at least $225 billion in revenue in fiscal 2030. Vertiv rose almost 17% on AI infrastructure demand. F5 fell more than 20% on its guidance and an analyst downgrade. Gold rose 0.10% to $4,068.14, and the 10-year Treasury yield rose to 5.02%.
Chart: daily index changes, October 28, 2026. Sources: The Motley Fool / CNBC.
OTHER STATES / OTROS ESTADOS
California: Dolores Huerta dies at 96
Dolores Huerta (SFO Museum photo).
Dolores Huerta, who co-founded the organization that became the United Farm Workers with Cesar Chavez, died Wednesday at her home in Bakersfield, California. She was 96. Her family said the cause was cancer. Huerta organized farmworkers in California’s San Joaquin and Coachella valleys, helped lead the grape boycotts, and helped win the California Agricultural Labor Relations Act of 1975, which gave farmworkers collective bargaining rights. She coined the slogan “Sí, se puede” — “Yes, we can.” President Barack Obama awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2012.
California: support flips on the billionaire tax
California’s Proposition 40, a one-time 5% tax on residents worth more than $1 billion, is now opposed by 52% of likely voters and supported by 46%, according to a Public Policy Institute of California poll released October 28. A month earlier, the same pollster found 52% support and 46% opposition. The measure would mainly fund health care. The poll surveyed 1,086 likely voters from October 16 to 22.
Chart: PPIC polls, September and October 2026. Source: Public Policy Institute of California, reported October 28, 2026.
Texas: Abbott outraises Hinojosa in the governor’s race
The Texas State Capitol in Austin (file photo).
Governor Greg Abbott raised more than $26 million from late September through late October, his biggest haul of the cycle, and spent more than $35 million, mostly on TV ads, according to reports filed Monday, reported by The Texan and summarized by Lubbock Lights. Democrat Gina Hinojosa raised $17.5 million and spent $19.1 million, also her highest totals. Abbott ended the period with about $8.6 million on hand. Hinojosa had just under $1 million. Election Day is November 3.
Chart: money raised, late September to late October 2026. Sources: The Texan / Texas Tribune via Lubbock Lights.
Sources / Fuentes
Reuters (Spain train crash live; Israel election; Scale AI response; Dolores Huerta); USA Today (Spain train crash; Federal Reserve; Dolores Huerta); The Hindu BusinessLine and The Watchers (Cyclone Arnab); Le Monde and New York Post (Israel election); UN News and People Daily / OCHA (Ethiopia to Kenya); Morningstar and HarrisX / Stagwell (Harvard CAPS / Harris poll); Reuters via 98.5 The River and Law Commentary (Supreme Court administrative closure); Detroit Free Press — single source (ICE Detroit reports); The Motley Fool and CNBC via BytesEU (markets); Smithsonian Magazine (Dolores Huerta); Public Policy Institute of California via The Desert Sun (Proposition 40); The Texan / Texas Tribune via Lubbock Lights (Texas governor’s race).
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