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Today's Brief: Starlink, Hormuz, and Midterms

The Homebrew · · Posted · AI-drafted daily brief, synthesized from Left, Center, and Right coverage. Facts may be inaccurate — verify with the cited sources below.

Ukraine said Russia launched more than 850 attack drones across Wednesday and into Thursday as Kyiv resumed strikes on Russian oil refineries and Elon Musk said limits on the military Starshield terminals Ukraine uses are decided by the U.S. military and "ultimately POTUS." In the Middle East, a maritime monitor warned that ships in the Strait of Hormuz remain exposed to indiscriminate attacks after three vessel strikes this week, and the Saudi-led coalition said it intercepted a missile over Saudi Arabia's Medina region while the Houthis denied it. At home, polls covered by Fox News and the Guardian showed the cost of living and the economy as top midterm worries, and an Illinois teenager was charged after police said he allegedly plotted a mass shooting that may have targeted a Hindu place of worship near Chicago. In Texas, Democrat James Talarico faced skeptical voters at a CNN town hall in his Senate race against Republican Ken Paxton.

Ukraine: drone swarm, refinery strikes, and who set the Starlink limits. Russia targeted Ukraine with a "massive" aerial attack of drones such that "there was not a single hour when our skies were clear" for most of Wednesday into Thursday morning, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, according to ABC News. Hundreds of attack drones were fired between midnight and 9 a.m. local time Thursday, bringing the total launched since early Wednesday to more than 850, ABC reported. The Guardian's Europe live blog likewise reported that Zelenskyy said more than 850 drones were sent "at a time when the speed of our defence capabilities is being artificially restricted," a reference to limits on Starlink and Starshield terminals. ABC quoted Zelenskyy saying Russia "deliberately chose to escalate its attacks after receiving sanctions relief and seeing attempts to pressure Ukraine."

Ukraine renewed strikes on Russian oil infrastructure after a brief pause tied to an "energy ceasefire" President Donald Trump declared Sunday. The Washington Examiner reported that Ukraine hit Rosneft's Ryazan refinery southeast of Moscow on Thursday morning, the first such strike since Trump's declaration, though Moscow never agreed to the deal. Zelenskyy told the Financial Times "The block [on attacking refineries] is out" and "We're done," the Examiner reported; the BBC also quoted "We're done." The Kremlin said Kyiv "attempted a large-scale attack" on the Ryazan refinery, and Russia's defence ministry said four missiles and dozens of drones were intercepted and falling debris caused a fire, the BBC reported; the Examiner cited the ministry claiming it intercepted four Flamingo cruise missiles and 69 drones. Ryazan Gov. Pavel Malkov said a fire broke out at the refinery and a warehouse and vehicles were damaged at another enterprise, with no reported casualties, according to the Examiner. The Guardian's Europe live blog said the White House's unilateral energy-ceasefire effort had collapsed as Moscow sent a record drone swarm and Kyiv appeared to resume refinery strikes.

On the satellite link Ukraine uses for drones and air defense, Musk pointed to the Trump administration. Fox News reported that Musk wrote on X: "Any limits on speed or usage are decided by the US military and ultimately POTUS," and that while Starshield is built and operated by SpaceX, individual satellites and infrastructure are owned and controlled by the U.S. government. A source familiar with the situation told Fox that Ukraine got no advance warning before overnight restrictions on platforms traveling at 100 mph or higher, under a U.S. government contract running through May 15, 2027. The Guardian's First Thing newsletter said Zelenskyy felt "betrayed" by Trump over the throttling and that Ukraine's military reported the system no longer worked on terminals moving faster than 100 mph, which effectively rendered most of the drones Ukraine uses to strike behind the front lines inoperable and affected its best air-defense system. The Guardian's Europe live blog said Musk suggested the U.S. government could be behind the speed limits and, in further posts reacting to Zelenskyy's comments, appeared to suggest Zelenskyy should leave office, saying it was "time to go." Fox said former Ukrainian Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov wrote Wednesday that Starlink connectivity at speeds up to 160 km/h was being restored while arguing that removing Starshield's speed limit entirely remained critical. On Thursday, a Ukrainian Defense Ministry source told the BBC that Starshield's "operation while on the move" had been restored; an unnamed Ukrainian official told Axios the services were "restored to full capacity," while NBC, citing a ministry source, said service was being "at least partially restored." Serhii Beskrestnov, an adviser to Zelenskyy on defense technology, warned via Fox that the change could hamper interception of jet-powered Shahed drones.

Hormuz stays dangerous as Saudis and Houthis trade claims. Ships in the Strait of Hormuz remain exposed to "indiscriminate attacks" even if they switch off tracking systems, Greek maritime monitor Marisks said Thursday, confirming three merchant vessels were struck by unidentified projectiles on Tuesday, CBS News reported. Marisks said the vessels were navigating with tracking devices off and that successful passages continue but the threat is "critical and highly unpredictable," according to CBS. CBS also reported that at least 10 vessels have been attacked in or near the strait since Sunday, a high since war broke out among the United States, Israel and Iran, citing security data from Wednesday.

The Saudi-led coalition said Thursday it intercepted a missile over Saudi Arabia's western Medina region; the Houthis called the claim "a shameless and brazen lie," CBS reported. Coalition spokesman Turki al-Maliki announced the interception on X without naming a source for the missile, CBS said. An EU–Gulf Cooperation Council summit planned for Oct. 24 in Riyadh has been postponed, the European Council said, as Saudi Arabia faces Houthi attacks, CBS reported. Separately, CBS reported that Reuters, citing an unnamed U.S. official, said the Trump administration is considering easing sanctions on Iran's shadow-fleet tankers to cut record shipping costs—a move market analysis firm Energy Aspects told clients was unlikely to significantly lower freight rates while insurers remain bound by EU and U.K. restrictions. Iranian Army Coordination Deputy Rear Adm. Habibollah Sayyari told reporters the strait "is closed," arguing U.S. gas prices would not be so high otherwise, IRNA reported via CBS. President Trump has said he is considering joining Saudi-led strikes on the Houthis; the Houthis have threatened to target U.S. personnel and interests if he does, CBS reported.

Illinois teen charged in alleged Hindu temple shooting plot. A 19-year-old Illinois man was charged after an investigation into an alleged plan for a mass shooting that may have targeted a Hindu place of worship in the Aurora area, police said, according to the Guardian, BBC News and ABC News. Alexandros Paporakis of Palatine was arrested Sunday after someone reported receiving concerning electronic communications from him, Palatine police said, according to the Guardian and ABC. Detectives recovered a rifle, multiple loaded magazines, hundreds of rounds of ammunition, and a tactical vest with body armor and a patch displaying imagery associated with white supremacist extremism, the Guardian and ABC reported.

Police said they examined a document attributed to Paporakis titled "Why I Fought: A.K.A.: (Aurora Shooter's Manifesto)" that expressed white supremacist views and referenced violence toward people of South Asian heritage, particularly those of Indian descent, according to the Guardian and ABC. Detectives believe he may have been planning an attack on Oct. 11 potentially targeting a Hindu place of worship in Aurora, though the specific intended location has not been confirmed and remains under investigation, the Guardian and ABC reported. The BBC, citing its U.S. partner CBS, said he was charged with one count of making a terrorist threat and one count of unlawful possession of a weapon for possessing a rifle with a barrel less than 16 inches long; prosecutors said he told a Taco Bell coworker that his gun jammed and sent messages showing an AR-style rifle. India's foreign ministry said it was "deeply concerned" and called the "anti-Hindu and racist nature" of the incident "particularly disturbing," the Guardian reported. Palatine Police Chief William Nord said "The seriousness of this alleged threat cannot be overstated," according to ABC.

Midterms: cost of living dominates Left and Right polling. Voters' top midterm worry remains the economy and the cost of living, according to polling covered on both the Left and the Right. In a Fox News survey, six in 10 voters named the cost of living as their top economic worry, ahead of government spending (15%), jobs and income inequality (7% each), tariffs (6%) and taxes (5%). Majorities rated the economy negatively (74%) and expected it to worsen next year (53%); 55% said inflation is "not at all" under control, including 30% of Republicans, Fox reported. Trump's job approval on inflation was 22%, a new low in Fox's surveys; overall approval was 36%, also a Fox low for either term. If the election were held today, 54% would back the Democratic House candidate and 45% the Republican, outside the margin of error, Fox said.

A Harris poll for the Guardian found key midterm groups—including independents, rural voters and some Republicans—increasingly disenchanted with the economy, with three in four Americans concerned about a potential recession. Nearly two-thirds (65%) of independents said the economy is worse, up from 48% in September 2024, the Guardian's live politics blog reported. An Associated Press–NORC poll cited in that live blog found about 8 in 10 voters naming the economy or cost of living among their top issues, with about two-thirds citing health care and the war in Iran. The Guardian's economy analysis noted that the September CPI spike to 3.7% annual inflation had not yet been published when Harris polled earlier in October, and that 38% of Republicans in that poll still said the economy was worsening. Trump returned to Washington from the campaign trail Thursday amid those weak readings, the Guardian live blog said; he claimed the Iran war "will end very soon" as voters weigh fuel prices and the wider conflict.

Talarico faces voters in a tight Texas Senate race. Texas Democratic Senate nominee James Talarico sat for a CNN town hall co-hosted with Jubilee Media in Fort Worth on Wednesday and took questions from skeptical Republican and independent voters on Gaza, abortion and foreign aid, the Guardian reported. Confronted over a past remark describing God as nonbinary, Talarico said he had been "provocative" and that the theological point—that God cannot be defined with human categories—was also made by the late Charlie Kirk and the late Pope Benedict, according to the Guardian and Fox News. Fox reported that voter Sarah Gardner pressed him on whether the Bible is "the absolute source of truth"; Talarico answered "Yes" and discussed early-church debate. On abortion, the Guardian said Talarico framed unplanned pregnancies as a public-health problem and argued the Bible is silent on the issue; a Catholic voter quoted "Thou shalt not kill."

Talarico cast himself as a moderate who would put Texans' needs over party loyalty, the Guardian said. Most recent polls show him with a narrow lead over Republican Ken Paxton, who declined the CNN invitation, host Erin Burnett said, according to the Guardian. Over the weekend, after Talarico was off the trail with what his campaign called a bad flu, conservative influencers falsely claimed he was in a mental-health facility in Ohio—a rumor Paxton and Trump amplified—and Talarico denied it, the Guardian reported.

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