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President Trump published Sen. Tom Cotton's personal cell number on Truth Social, urging Arkansans to call him and demand passage of the Sunshine Protection Act, which cleared the House in July and has stalled in the Senate. Cotton, unmoved, said Arkansans "don't want their kids going to school in the pitch dark." Reporters who dialed the line reached an unidentified voicemail box that quickly filled up.
Gov. Bill Lee announced Saturday that Department of Correction Commissioner Frank Strada is stepping down after Wednesday's failed lethal injection of Christa Gail Pike, who survived two doses of pentobarbital and roughly seven needle attempts before being hospitalized and intubated. Strada said resigning was "in the best interest of Tennesseans." Former U.S. Attorney Ed Stanton has been retained for an independent review.
Election Day is November 3, with Republicans defending a 218-214 House edge and a 53-47 Senate majority. The economy dominates voter concerns at 29 percent, with gasoline up roughly 25 percent year-over-year on Iran War supply disruption, while Democrats have pushed Senate battlegrounds into Texas, Georgia and North Carolina. Trump's super PAC has committed up to $500 million against a DNC carrying debt.
The national average fell to $4.38 a gallon from $4.49 a week earlier as the blockade of Iranian ports steadied supply. G7 nations agreed to release petroleum products from emergency stocks over four months, front-loading a substantial diesel release in the first 20 days after Washington pressed Europe to draw down reserves. The White House says sanctions have driven Iranian inflation toward 90 percent.
Seven months into Operation Epic Fury, the president predicted the conflict will wrap "probably right after the midterms" and that oil prices will "come tumbling down," while confirming 18 American service members have died. Secretary of State Rubio enforced the removal of two Iranian UN delegation members who ignored departure orders. Smoke was also seen rising Saturday from an Aramco refinery in Riyadh after Houthi forces claimed missile and drone strikes on the Saudi capital.
A Russian strike damaged Kyiv's Northern Bridge early Saturday, suspending traffic and snarling the capital for a third straight day, with Mayor Vitali Klitschko reporting wrecked road surface and trolleybus cables but no casualties. Overnight Banderol cruise missiles hit the Odesa region, and Moldovan President Maia Sandu said five Russian weapons violated her airspace and detonated on Moldovan soil. Latvians voted for a new parliament Saturday amid mounting fears of Russian hybrid attacks.
The IDF and Israel Security Agency said an overnight strike Saturday targeted Ali Ahmed Al-Amoudi, deputy chairman of Hamas's political bureau in Gaza, inside an apartment used for the group's operations. Al-Amoudi was Yahya Sinwar's right hand and personal assistant and was involved in decision-making around the October 7, 2023 massacre. Results of the strike remain under review; the military said precise munitions were used to limit civilian harm.
On its 14th test flight, SpaceX's Starship lifted off from Starbase on 33 Raptor engines and reached low Earth orbit in about 26 minutes — the first time the vehicle has achieved stable orbit. Roughly 35 minutes in, it began dispensing 26 Starlink V3 satellites at one per minute. It completed a single orbit before splashing down in the northern Pacific about three hours and eight minutes after launch.
New estimates from healthcare educator Covista project the United States could be short more than two million healthcare workers by 2040, roughly doubling today's shortfall. Analysts warn the widening gap threatens care quality and could choke off patient access to critical services. The crunch spans nursing, allied health and rural primary care.
Researchers at the boat-shaped Durupinar formation near Mount Ararat drilled more than 60 feet down and hit no bedrock, instead pulling up rich black soil. The team collected over 300 samples from inside and outside the formation, now being analyzed for decayed wood or signs of human activity. Skeptics have long called the site a natural rock structure — a 1996 geological paper said exactly that — and nothing conclusive has been proven.
