Updated at\u00a010.13 EDT<\/p>\n
Key events<\/p>\n
Democratic \u2060senators said today that they expect a \u2060vote before 13 \u2060December \u200bon the Trump administration\u2019s pact \u2060to share nuclear power technology with <\/a>Saudi Arabia<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cThe \u2060Senate will now \u200bhave a \u200cchance \u200cto fulfill its statutory responsibility \u200cto study and weigh in on the impact this agreement could have in driving a \u200cnuclear arms race in the Middle East \u200band potentially undermining nuclear nonproliferation efforts around the world,\u201d senator Jeff \u2060Merkley said in \u200ba \u200brelease reported \u200bfirst by Reuters.<\/p>\n Merkley \u200bworked \u200con getting \u200bthe \u200bvote with four of his fellow Democrats.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n The US will deploy around 500 troops to Texas\u2019 Rio Grande Valley this week, days after Coast Guard personnel came under fire from suspected cartel members near the Mexican border, NewsNation reports<\/a> citing law enforcement sources.<\/p>\n NewsNation reported it had obtained video showing troops being dropped onto islands in the sector from Chinook helicopters.<\/p>\n The Coast Guard said Coast Guard Forces Rio Grande personnel encountered gunfire from the Mexican border near Garceno, Texas, on Saturday while conducting joint interdiction operations with federal partners, according to NewsNation\u2019s report. Personnel returned fire in the incident, which is still under investigation.<\/p>\n No injuries to Coast Guard or other personnel were reported, and no damage to Coast Guard assets was reported.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Will Democrats take Congress from Trump? The key midterm races – mapped<\/p>\n Chris Stein<\/a>, Alex Clark<\/a>, Andrew Witherspoon<\/a> and Ashley Kirk<\/a><\/p>\n A turning point in Donald Trump\u2019s second term will soon arrive. On 3 November, voters across the US will decide whether to keep the president\u2019s Republican allies in control of Congress, or return Democrats to the majority.<\/p>\n Many indicators of voter sentiment suggest the Democrats are favored to take back control of the House of Representatives<\/a>, and potentially the Senate. Winning either would be a significant victory for the party and give it the power to block Trump\u2019s legislative agenda and more aggressively investigate his administration.<\/p>\n This interactive piece charts and maps reveal where the battle for Congress will be fought.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a012.32 EDT<\/p>\n Kennedy Center Honors to be held off site for the first time<\/p>\n This year\u2019s Kennedy Center Honors will be held at Washington\u2019s Capital One Arena, not the arts institution that\u2019s been at the center of a legal battle<\/a> over adding Donald Trump\u2019s name to the building, the Associated Press reports.<\/p>\n The 49th annual awards are set to take place at Washington\u2019s downtown arena, a Kennedy Center spokesperson said. Few other details were immediately available, and an explanation for the change wasn\u2019t given. The event will take place on 7 December.<\/p>\n The center\u2019s Trump-picked board voted last month to close the performing arts venue after a federal judge blocked the institution from returning Trump\u2019s name to the facade.<\/p>\n Trump has threatened in social media posts that safety repairs the center needs would only happen if the board was allowed to move forward with plans to add his name to the building.<\/p>\n A federal judge has twice said that can\u2019t happen without the approval of Congress, which has allocated $257m for repairs.<\/p>\n The president hosted the 2025 awards , whose honorees included Sylvester Stallone and George Strait. He said at the time that he would rename the facility the \u201cTrump Kennedy Center\u201d, and not long after workers began adding his name to the building.<\/p>\n The board of trustees voted unanimously for the change, which has been challenged in court since.<\/p>\n Congress named the performing arts center as a living memorial to John F Kennedy in 1964, the year after he was assassinated.<\/p>\n The law explicitly prohibits the board of trustees from making the center into a memorial to anyone else, and from putting another person\u2019s name on the building\u2019s exterior.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a012.51 EDT<\/p>\n As we bring you the news of the deal that European leaders have struck to release millions of barrels of diesel reserves, a White House official tells the Guardian that Donald Trump spoke with French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday night, and with G7 leaders on Friday morning, to successfully negotiate the release of the stockpiles.<\/p>\n This detail comes after the administration publicly urged the leaders to tap into the reserves, and Trump has floated a possible diesel export ban, which Europe has warned would be economically crippling.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a012.21 EDT<\/p>\n White House touts tepid jobs report as proof that Trump’s ‘reindustrialization agenda is working’<\/p>\n The White House has welcomed the latest jobs report \u2013\u00a0which shows fewer new jobs added than economists projected. Taylor Rogers, a spokesperson, highlighted the addition of \u201c9,000 manufacturing jobs and 12,300 factory construction jobs over the month\u201d as proof that Donald Trump\u2019s \u201creindustrialization agenda is working\u201d.<\/p>\n She noted that \u201cwages are up over last year\u201d \u2013 despite the fact they have not kept up<\/a> with inflation.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Hegseth announces ‘one-day stand-down’ for service members to vote in midterm elections<\/p>\n Pete Hegseth, the US defense secretary, announced today that there will be a \u201cone-day stand-down\u201d this month, for service members to vote in the upcoming midterm elections. He added that many members of the military \u201cface unnecessary, difficult ways of obtaining, completing, and returning absentee ballots while serving far from home\u201d and said the directive would take place this year and every election year to come.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re not telling you who to vote for, but we will give you every opportunity to do so,\u201d Hegseth said<\/a> in a straight-to-camera video. \u201cTake that day to fill out your absentee ballot. Help your family members do the same, or go to the polling place yourself and exercise your right to vote.\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a011.33 EDT<\/p>\n My colleagues are covering the move from G7 leaders to release up to 100m barrels of diesel reserves within four months, to mitigate the ongoing energy crisis as a result of the US-Israel war on Iran.<\/p>\n Earlier, as I reported, Trump welcomed the news after urging European countries this week to tap into reserves while he weighed an export ban. However, the president offered few details about which countries had signed on to the deal.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n On today\u2019s episode of Politics Weekly America, Jonathan Freedland is digging into the Texas Senate race.<\/p>\n The Democratic Senate nominee, James Talarico, is surprising everyone, as polls have him leading his Republican opponent, Ken Paxton.<\/p>\n Jonathan speaks to James Henson, founder and executive director of the Texas Politics Project, about why a blue wave in the Lone Star state \u2013\u00a0which hasn\u2019t seen a Democrat win a Senate seat in almost 40 years \u2013 would be seismic.<\/p>\n Updated at\u00a011.02 EDT<\/p>\n Trump claims Europe has agreed to release diesel oil reserves as he weighs export ban<\/p>\n On Truth Social, Donald Trump has claimed that Europe has \u201cjust agreed to release a massive amount of their heavily stocked Diesel Oil\u201d. This comes after the administration <\/a>urged <\/a>European allies to release their diesel reserves as fuel prices continue to rise due to the ongoing Iran war and the president continues to weigh an export ban. The president added that \u201cthe process will begin immediately\u201d.<\/p>\n In the US the average price for a gallon of diesel sits at $6.3, up from $3.7 a year ago \u2013\u00a0a 70% hike.<\/p>\n Trump said on Wednesday that he was still \u201cthinking about\u201d a ban on diesel exports to curb the soaring cost of energy domestically. However, he noted that an embargo \u201cmight raise the price of other things.\u201d Europe has warned of a further economic tailspin in the event of a ban.<\/p>\n A reminder that major sectors of US agriculture, manufacturing and commercial fishing depend heavily on diesel.<\/p>\n Europe has also becoming increasingly reliant on US diesel exports after Ukrainian strikes destroyed Russian oil refineries and Moscow implemented its own export ban earlier this year to preserve its supply.<\/p>\n![\"Is](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1920.jpg\")
Is James Talarico about to flip Texas for the Democrats? | Politics Weekly AmericaShare<\/a><\/p>\n