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Today's Brief: Hubbard, Rockets, and Curfews

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

Russia released Stephen Hubbard, a 74-year-old American held since 2022, as President Vladimir Putin met U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff in St. Petersburg, NPR and the BBC reported. France renewed nightly curfews and promised a "massive" police deployment for new protests Saturday, NPR reported, while French 10-year borrowing costs briefly topped 5% for the first time since 2002, CNBC reported. SpaceX shares jumped 8% Wednesday after third-quarter revenue rose 161% and Elon Musk said he is considering merging the company with Tesla, CNBC reported.

Russia frees Hubbard as Witkoff meets Putin. Hubbard, of Michigan, was detained by Russian forces in eastern Ukraine in 2022 and sentenced after a closed trial in 2024 to nearly seven years in prison on a charge of serving as a mercenary in the Ukrainian army, NPR reported. The U.S. had formally designated him wrongfully detained, according to NPR. Putin announced the release as talks with Witkoff began and said Hubbard was already at Pulkovo Airport, NPR reported. CBS News reported that Hubbard, who is in poor health, was expected to be flown to Texas for treatment at a military hospital.

President Trump wrote that the release followed a request he "made directly" to Putin last week and that "there was no 'swap' necessary," the BBC reported. He also appeared to defend his recent suspension of Russia sanctions, writing that "if sanctions would have been placed," talks over Hubbard "would have come to a complete and total halt," according to the BBC. Witkoff called Putin "a humanitarian," according to a Kremlin readout cited by ABC News. Two U.S. officials and another source told ABC that the administration was closing in on a deal that would see multiple Americans released from Russian detention.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Tuesday that U.S. intelligence sharing had resumed after his talks with Witkoff in Oslo, the BBC reported. "Nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine," Zelenskyy said, according to CNBC. In the Oval Office on Tuesday, Trump said, "We've got nothing back other than high diesel," and "We want Zelenskyy to make a deal," ABC reported. Putin said the first diesel shipment under this month's U.S.-Russia deal would leave Russia "in two to three days," the BBC reported, citing the state news agency TASS.

France: curfews stay, bonds wobble. Paris police said curfews around Place de la République and Les Halles had restored "public peace" and would stay "for as long as necessary," NPR reported. Lyon renewed a 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew in its center, and Marseille imposed one for unaccompanied minors, according to NPR. Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu told the National Assembly that the police deployment for Saturday's protests "will be massive," and Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said anti-terrorism soldiers would guard sensitive sites to free up police, NPR reported.

Of the roughly 2,400 people arrested since Saturday, more than 800 have been sent before prosecutors, the Justice Ministry said, and Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin said 149 had been jailed as of Tuesday at noon, according to NPR. Police arrested a suspect in the arson at Limoges' historic city hall, Darmanin said, adding that the person may not have acted alone, NPR reported. In Italy, the government is sending 500 soldiers to Milan after cost-of-living protests turned to clashes and looting, the Guardian reported.

The yield on France's 10-year bond rose above 5% shortly before 11:30 a.m. in Paris before easing to about 4.98%, CNBC reported. Finance Minister Roland Lescure told RTL the government was willing to bypass parliament again, if necessary, to force next year's budget through, according to CNBC. Carrefour shares fell 14% after the supermarket chain cut its full-year profit forecast, citing "an unprecedented situation in France," CNBC reported.

Markets: SpaceX up, Netflix down. SpaceX reported third-quarter revenue of $14.6 billion, up 161% from a year earlier and above the $12.72 billion analysts expected, according to LSEG, and net income of $4.4 billion, CNBC reported. Shares surged 8% Wednesday morning, CNBC reported as of 9:33 a.m. ET. Musk told analysts that special committees at both companies are examining a merger with Tesla, but "there's no guarantee that they will" agree on terms, the BBC reported; Tesla is valued at roughly $1.5 trillion and SpaceX at $2 trillion, according to the BBC. Tesla reports after the close Wednesday, CNBC said. SpaceX acquired xAI and X before going public this year, the BBC noted. (Disclosure: The Homebrew is drafted by xAI's Grok.)

Netflix now expects 2026 revenue of $51.1 billion, below Wall Street's $51.2 billion, and cut its ad revenue forecast to about $2.7 billion from roughly $3 billion, CNBC reported. Its shares tumbled more than 5% Wednesday morning, CNBC reported as of 9:33 a.m. ET. The Dow rose nearly 530 points Tuesday, and Meta and IBM report results Wednesday, CNBC reported.

The FAA approved Boeing's 737 Max 10 for passenger service Tuesday after years of delays, NPR reported. More than 30 customers have ordered 1,555 Max 10s that Boeing has yet to deliver, more than 30% of its 737 Max backlog, according to NPR. "To think that it took us almost 10 years to get here," Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said, NPR reported.

Britain: inflation at 3.5%. U.K. inflation rose to 3.5% in the year to September from 3.1% in August, pushed up by petrol and diesel prices, the BBC reported; economists polled by Reuters had expected 3.4%, CNBC reported. Government borrowing jumped to nearly £25 billion in September, a week before Chancellor John Healey's first Budget, according to the BBC. Markets priced a 98% chance that the Bank of England raises its key rate to 4% next month, CNBC reported, citing LSEG data.

Health and climate. Nigeria confirmed an Ebola case in its capital, Abuja, in a woman who arrived from Uganda, and authorities are tracing 44 contacts, the Guardian reported. Uganda's health ministry said the patient had only transited through the country, according to the Guardian. The outbreak has infected more than 9,500 people and killed more than 4,600, the Guardian reported.

A United Nations report found that the U.S. was the only major economy where planet-warming pollution increased dramatically last year, and that it tied with Russia for the highest per capita emissions among G20 countries, NPR reported.

Elections and the courts. Los Angeles County election officials said in court filings that a Justice Department list of 20,000 "likely" noncitizens registered to vote is "unreliable," and that some people on it indicated they were born in the U.S., NPR reported.

From the right, the Washington Examiner reported that Justice Elena Kagan said the Supreme Court "has kind of blinded itself to the very deleterious effects of their rulings on how the political system works," pointing to recent voting rights and campaign finance decisions she dissented from.

Ohio and sports. A chemical leak at a tank terminal in Toledo, Ohio, prompted evacuation orders within a mile and shelter-in-place orders within three miles; no injuries were reported, CBS News reported.

The Philadelphia 76ers beat the New York Knicks 106-100 on the night the Knicks raised their championship banner, the Guardian reported. Tyrese Maxey scored 28 points, and LeBron James had 14 points and nine rebounds in his Sixers debut, the start of his NBA-record 24th season, according to the Guardian and NPR.

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