Morning Digest
25 stories from 4 sources, 45 more held back.
Castro at 100: WATCH the story of Cuba’s revolutionary leader. Fidel Castro, the revolutionary leader who ruled Cuba for nearly five decades, was one of the defining figures of the Cold War, defying successive US administrations and surviving hundreds of reported assassination attempts.
Vladimir Zelensky has made an unusually specific claim about what Ukraine needs to defend itself against Russian ballistic missiles.
The defense team of Tyler Robinson, the man accused of killing conservative activist Charlie Kirk last September, has argued that the defendant should be spared the death penalty, as he only “hit the intended target. The defense attorneys insist that the prosecution has been unable to prove the alleged shooter put other people’s lives at risk, thus committing aggravated murder.
Iran can fight on for years to defeat US – senior IRGC commander. Iran can stay in the fight in a prolonged armed conflict with the US, even if it lasts the rest of Donald Trump’s term in office, a senior Iranian general has said.
The US State Department reportedly ordered Israel to stick to its word and pull its troops out of Lebanon after Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said his forces were “here to stay” in the south of the country.
Spain will not discuss the sovereignty of Ceuta and Melilla with Morocco, Spanish Defense Minister Margarita Robles has said after Rabat publicly renewed its claim to the North African enclaves. The exchange comes nearly two weeks after tens of thousands of people crossed the border of Ceuta in an unprecedented influx that overwhelmed the city.
German opposition slams spy agency ‘revolution’. A sweeping overhaul of Germany’s intelligence services proposed by the government could infringe on police powers in violation of constitutional safeguards, opposition politicians have warned.
India is planning to send its first cargo ship on the Arctic route running along Russia’s northern coast next year, as it seeks to deepen trade with Moscow outside of Western sanctions and without disruptions via the Suez Canal. The 5,600 km Arctic route, or Northern Sea Route (NSR), runs off Russia’s Arctic coastline and is the shortest shipping route between East Asia and Europe.
The Kuril Islands will forever remain Russian land, with Japan looking for trouble by continuing to stick to its claim over the archipelago, former Russian President Dmitry Medvdev has said. The Kuril archipelago came under Soviet control at the end of World War II following Japan’s defeat and was subsequently incorporated into the USSR.
Two adolescent lions who were rescued from the illegal wildlife trade in Israel have been relocated to the Animal Defenders International (ADI) Wildlife Sanctuary in South Africa’s Free State province. The lions, BenTzur and Ori, had been stranded for months due to the conflict in the Middle East, with most flights grounded.
Zambians are voting in presidential, parliamentary, and local elections on Thursday, with incumbent President Hakainde Hichilema seeking a second five-year term as a bitter dispute over the burial of his predecessor and longtime rival, Edgar Lungu, continues to overshadow the campaign.
Senate Republicans are loudly warning Trump that voters are exhausted with his endless war in Iran as gas prices become a real problem for the GOP heading into the midterms. CNN employees are pushing back on MAGA billionaire David Ellison’s plan for an “independent” editorial board, calling it a toothless PR move.
Trump’s company is selling paying customers early access to his official posts. Now, a new lawsuit claims that’s unconstitutional. Sailors on the U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln have reportedly tried to jump overboard as Trump’s Iran war drags on with no end in sight.
The dust-up started during team drills Thursday when Ojomo took exception to a late shove by Johnson and squared up, looking ready to fight. The coaches decided to keep both players in for the next play. Tempers flared as Johnson blocked Ojomo to the ground and then landed on him with his full weight.
Hours after the procedure to repair the posterior cruciate ligament in his right knee, Pearsall took to Instagram to post a series of photos of him surrounded by family and Bible verses along with a message about what's to come. "Now it's time," Pearsall wrote. "Time to completely shift my mind.
FIVE GAMES INTO last season, ownership of the Los Angeles Lakers franchise changed hands for the first time in nearly five decades. On Oct. 30, 2025, the NBA's board of governors approved the sale of the Buss family's controlling stake in the team at a record $10 billion valuation to businessman and Los Angeles Dodgers owner Mark Walter.
The first leg of the 2026 FedEx Cup playoffs is here. Players will tee off at TPC Southwind in Memphis, Tennessee, for the FedEx St. Jude Championship. Both world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler and No. 2 Rory McIlroy will be competing -- and they'll be the featured pairing Thursday and Friday.
It's impossible to say for certain, but Ian Machado Garry could be the only active welterweight to unseat champion Islam Makhachev. And for some MMA fans, that's a hard truth to admit.
LOS ANGELES -- Freddie Freeman apparently avoided serious injury Wednesday night when the Los Angeles Dodgers' first baseman took a frightening tumble down the stairs and into the visitors dugout while trying to catch a foul popup in the eighth inning.
On Thursday, the high-end alternative asset and collectibles venture Treasure Trove announced it had acquired a game-worn Joe Montana Super Bowl XXIV jersey for $1,515,000 -- a record price in the NFL's most important collectibles space. The jersey worn by Tom Brady in his final game had held the previous record since it was sold in November 2023 with a $1.39 million price tag.
Congratulations in advance to Oregon. If the Big Ten is to continue its recent streak of a different national champion for each season -- Michigan in 2023, Ohio State in 2024, Indiana in 2025 -- Dan Lanning's Ducks are the most likely beneficiary. This is certainly a heck of a streak, perpetrated by three different coaches and capping three very different cycles.
Set aside, if you can, the endless stream of court cases, rule changes and legislative bills that defined the first nine months of 2026. Because in a few weeks' time, college football will be back. Indeed, the 2026 season is nearly here.
You're here for the sweet, sweet computer rankings, and I understand, but we're going to start with a quick aside: I first need to defend the concept of preseason numbers. SMU Mustangs coach Rhett Lashlee is one of the brightest in the business.
It was a quiet offseason for the New Orleans Pelicans following a 26-56 record in 2025-26. The team did make a coaching change, hiring former Orlando Magic head coach Jamahl Mosley in May, but made little difference-making transactions to a squad that has won fewer than 30 games for two consecutive seasons.
Calling Grok a frontier model might have sounded ridiculous a year ago, but SpaceXAI’s latest model is paving a trajectory that likely doesn’t have rivals laughing anymore.
Castro at 100: WATCH the story of Cuba’s revolutionary leader. Fidel Castro, the revolutionary leader who ruled Cuba for nearly five decades, was one of the defining figures of the Cold War, defying successive US administrations and surviving hundreds of reported assassination attempts.
Vladimir Zelensky has made an unusually specific claim about what Ukraine needs to defend itself against Russian ballistic missiles.
The defense team of Tyler Robinson, the man accused of killing conservative activist Charlie Kirk last September, has argued that the defendant should be spared the death penalty, as he only “hit the intended target. The defense attorneys insist that the prosecution has been unable to prove the alleged shooter put other people’s lives at risk, thus committing aggravated murder.
Iran can fight on for years to defeat US – senior IRGC commander. Iran can stay in the fight in a prolonged armed conflict with the US, even if it lasts the rest of Donald Trump’s term in office, a senior Iranian general has said.
The US State Department reportedly ordered Israel to stick to its word and pull its troops out of Lebanon after Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said his forces were “here to stay” in the south of the country.
Spain will not discuss the sovereignty of Ceuta and Melilla with Morocco, Spanish Defense Minister Margarita Robles has said after Rabat publicly renewed its claim to the North African enclaves. The exchange comes nearly two weeks after tens of thousands of people crossed the border of Ceuta in an unprecedented influx that overwhelmed the city.
German opposition slams spy agency ‘revolution’. A sweeping overhaul of Germany’s intelligence services proposed by the government could infringe on police powers in violation of constitutional safeguards, opposition politicians have warned.
India is planning to send its first cargo ship on the Arctic route running along Russia’s northern coast next year, as it seeks to deepen trade with Moscow outside of Western sanctions and without disruptions via the Suez Canal. The 5,600 km Arctic route, or Northern Sea Route (NSR), runs off Russia’s Arctic coastline and is the shortest shipping route between East Asia and Europe.
The Kuril Islands will forever remain Russian land, with Japan looking for trouble by continuing to stick to its claim over the archipelago, former Russian President Dmitry Medvdev has said. The Kuril archipelago came under Soviet control at the end of World War II following Japan’s defeat and was subsequently incorporated into the USSR.
Two adolescent lions who were rescued from the illegal wildlife trade in Israel have been relocated to the Animal Defenders International (ADI) Wildlife Sanctuary in South Africa’s Free State province. The lions, BenTzur and Ori, had been stranded for months due to the conflict in the Middle East, with most flights grounded.
Zambians are voting in presidential, parliamentary, and local elections on Thursday, with incumbent President Hakainde Hichilema seeking a second five-year term as a bitter dispute over the burial of his predecessor and longtime rival, Edgar Lungu, continues to overshadow the campaign.
The dust-up started during team drills Thursday when Ojomo took exception to a late shove by Johnson and squared up, looking ready to fight. The coaches decided to keep both players in for the next play. Tempers flared as Johnson blocked Ojomo to the ground and then landed on him with his full weight.
Hours after the procedure to repair the posterior cruciate ligament in his right knee, Pearsall took to Instagram to post a series of photos of him surrounded by family and Bible verses along with a message about what's to come. "Now it's time," Pearsall wrote. "Time to completely shift my mind.
FIVE GAMES INTO last season, ownership of the Los Angeles Lakers franchise changed hands for the first time in nearly five decades. On Oct. 30, 2025, the NBA's board of governors approved the sale of the Buss family's controlling stake in the team at a record $10 billion valuation to businessman and Los Angeles Dodgers owner Mark Walter.
The first leg of the 2026 FedEx Cup playoffs is here. Players will tee off at TPC Southwind in Memphis, Tennessee, for the FedEx St. Jude Championship. Both world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler and No. 2 Rory McIlroy will be competing -- and they'll be the featured pairing Thursday and Friday.
It's impossible to say for certain, but Ian Machado Garry could be the only active welterweight to unseat champion Islam Makhachev. And for some MMA fans, that's a hard truth to admit.
LOS ANGELES -- Freddie Freeman apparently avoided serious injury Wednesday night when the Los Angeles Dodgers' first baseman took a frightening tumble down the stairs and into the visitors dugout while trying to catch a foul popup in the eighth inning.
On Thursday, the high-end alternative asset and collectibles venture Treasure Trove announced it had acquired a game-worn Joe Montana Super Bowl XXIV jersey for $1,515,000 -- a record price in the NFL's most important collectibles space. The jersey worn by Tom Brady in his final game had held the previous record since it was sold in November 2023 with a $1.39 million price tag.
Congratulations in advance to Oregon. If the Big Ten is to continue its recent streak of a different national champion for each season -- Michigan in 2023, Ohio State in 2024, Indiana in 2025 -- Dan Lanning's Ducks are the most likely beneficiary. This is certainly a heck of a streak, perpetrated by three different coaches and capping three very different cycles.
Set aside, if you can, the endless stream of court cases, rule changes and legislative bills that defined the first nine months of 2026. Because in a few weeks' time, college football will be back. Indeed, the 2026 season is nearly here.
You're here for the sweet, sweet computer rankings, and I understand, but we're going to start with a quick aside: I first need to defend the concept of preseason numbers. SMU Mustangs coach Rhett Lashlee is one of the brightest in the business.
It was a quiet offseason for the New Orleans Pelicans following a 26-56 record in 2025-26. The team did make a coaching change, hiring former Orlando Magic head coach Jamahl Mosley in May, but made little difference-making transactions to a squad that has won fewer than 30 games for two consecutive seasons.
Senate Republicans are loudly warning Trump that voters are exhausted with his endless war in Iran as gas prices become a real problem for the GOP heading into the midterms. CNN employees are pushing back on MAGA billionaire David Ellison’s plan for an “independent” editorial board, calling it a toothless PR move.
Trump’s company is selling paying customers early access to his official posts. Now, a new lawsuit claims that’s unconstitutional. Sailors on the U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln have reportedly tried to jump overboard as Trump’s Iran war drags on with no end in sight.
Calling Grok a frontier model might have sounded ridiculous a year ago, but SpaceXAI’s latest model is paving a trajectory that likely doesn’t have rivals laughing anymore.