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Today's Brief: Ballots, Charges, and a Truce

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

Israelis are voting Tuesday in an election widely seen as a referendum on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, with turnout so far at its highest in more than four decades, the BBC reported. In Washington, federal prosecutors moved to charge former FBI Director James Comey with leaking national defense information, the third time the Justice Department has sought charges against him, according to the BBC. And a ceasefire brokered by first lady Melania Trump went into effect early Tuesday in the Russian-occupied Ukrainian town of Oleshky, NBC News reported.

Israel votes. Polling published Friday suggested Netanyahu is almost neck and neck with former military chief Gadi Eisenkot, and neither bloc is projected to win the 61 seats needed for a majority, the BBC reported. Eisenkot leads the newly formed Yashar Party, the main figure in a "change bloc" of parties that share the goal of ousting Netanyahu, according to the BBC. Israeli broadcasters will publish exit polls at 10 p.m. local time (4 p.m. ET), and those can vary significantly, the BBC said; many soldiers' and reservists' votes won't begin being counted until Wednesday.

Israel's Channel 12 reported Sunday that Netanyahu pushed for last-minute military action that could trigger a confrontation with Iran before the elections and was opposed by military chief Eyal Zamir, and CNN reported Monday that he tried to persuade President Trump to carry out new strikes, which Trump refused, the BBC reported. Netanyahu denied both reports, according to the BBC. "The higher the Arab turnout, the less likely that Mr. Netanyahu, within the current coalition, can form another government," said Yohanan Plesner, president of the Israel Democracy Institute, CBS News reported. Between 2019 and 2022, Israel held five elections due to deadlock, CBS reported.

From the right, the Washington Examiner reported that turnout reached 31.5% by noon and that Netanyahu, in a post on X, warned of "higher-than-usual turnout rates in the left's strongholds," adding, "Right-wing voters, this is an emergency hour >> Go out and vote right now!"

Comey, and Comey. The new case was filed in Washington through a criminal information, a charging document filed directly by a prosecutor rather than approved by a grand jury, and Comey's lawyers said it stems from an alleged disclosure to the New York Times in October 2016, the BBC reported. "Nothing's changed with me — I'm still innocent, I'm still not afraid of these people and I still believe in the independent federal judiciary," Comey said in a video, calling the charges an "appalling abuse," according to the BBC. His lawyer, Patrick Fitzgerald, said two earlier teams of prosecutors had looked at the alleged disclosure and "both times the Government determined that no charges should be brought against anyone"; his team has filed a motion to dismiss, the BBC reported. The filing contains two counts, according to the BBC. From the right, Breitbart reported that the charges were filed in federal district court in the District of Columbia.

The same day, Judge Jesse Furman ruled that the Justice Department unlawfully fired Comey's daughter, Maurene Comey, from the Manhattan U.S. attorney's office, saying the termination violated civil service rules, ABC News reported. Furman ordered her reinstated with back pay, according to ABC; a Justice Department spokesperson said it disagreed and "will appeal in due course," the BBC reported.

Ukraine. The local pause began at 3 a.m. to let an aid mission into Oleshky later this week, and it is due to last through Saturday, or longer, the Associated Press reported in a story published by NPR. NBC News reported that David Arakhamia, head of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's ruling faction in parliament, said the ceasefire will stay in place until late Sunday. Up to 2,000 people are stranded in the town with dwindling food and medicine, according to the U.N., the AP reported. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said there had been no reports of violations so far, NBC News reported. Minutes after 3 a.m., multiple ballistic missile explosions shook Kyiv, and late Monday a strike on a Kyiv university's grounds killed one person and injured 10, city officials said, according to the AP.

Markets and money. The Dow rose 146.42 points, or 0.28%, to 52,361.58 on Monday, the S&P 500 gained 0.7% to 7,676.77 and the Nasdaq rose 0.82% to 26,169.38, CNBC reported. UPS earned an adjusted $1.69 a share on $22.9 billion in revenue, beating analysts' expectations of $1.63 and $22.29 billion, and raised its full-year revenue guidance, CNBC reported. The Federal Reserve begins a two-day meeting Tuesday and is expected to keep rates unchanged, according to CNBC. Brent crude futures were down 77 cents at $115.04 a barrel as of 8:55 a.m. ET, after Monday's talks in Tehran among Saudi, Turkish, Pakistani and Iranian officials, CNBC reported.

The Federal Trade Commission and 20 states sued Dollar General on Monday, alleging the chain charged customers more at the register than its advertised prices, CBS News reported. Dollar General said "occasional price discrepancies can occur" and that it "will defend this litigation vigorously," according to CBS.

Midterms. Just 38% of registered voters approve of the job Trump is doing and 61% disapprove, and likely voters rate him 40% to 59%, according to an NPR/PBS News/Marist poll of 1,289 registered voters conducted Oct. 19–20, NPR reported. Democrats lead the generic congressional ballot by 10 points among registered voters and 8 among likely voters, NPR reported; the margin of error is 3.7 points for registered voters.

World. Jordan struck what its military called "terrorist organisations" in Syria in retaliation for Friday's attack on a church funeral in Karak that killed nine people, the BBC reported. Syrian health officials told state media five people, including women and children, were killed in a village in Daraa province; Jordan said it coordinated with Damascus, and Syria said it was not notified and closed the Nassib border crossing, according to the BBC.

In Serbia, the student movement won 52.7% of the vote to 39.2% for Aleksandar Vučić's Serbian Progressive Party with 97% of polling stations counted, according to the election commission's preliminary figures, the BBC reported. From the right, Breitbart reported Vučić vowed a comeback: "From tonight, we start preparing. We are going to defeat them."

In Brazil, Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes banned defeated presidential candidate Flávio Bolsonaro from leaving the country and ordered him to surrender his passports, the Guardian reported. The ruling refers to a federal police investigation into his possible involvement in a money-laundering scheme, according to the Guardian.

A drone strike on a market in Nyala, in Sudan's Darfur region, killed at least 21 people and injured 40 on Monday night, AFP reported, citing a medical source and witnesses, in a story published by Al Jazeera. In India, "very severe" Cyclone Arnab is expected to cross the coast by 11:30 a.m. local time Wednesday with sustained winds of 115–125 km/h, the India Meteorological Department said, and more than 12 million people live along its projected path, Al Jazeera, AFP and Reuters reported in a story published by Al Jazeera.

Sports and culture. The Milwaukee Brewers routed the Tampa Bay Rays 10-1 on Monday to take a 3-0 World Series lead, scoring eight runs in the fifth inning, the Associated Press reported in a story published by NPR. Rookie Robert Gasser threw one-hit ball through six innings, and Jackson Chourio went 4 for 5, according to the AP. Game 4 is Tuesday night at Tropicana Field.

Jay-Z will headline the Super Bowl halftime show Feb. 14 at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, the NFL, Apple Music and Roc Nation announced Monday night, the Associated Press reported in a story published by CBS News. Harry Kane became the first Englishman in 25 years to win the Ballon d'Or after scoring 73 goals for club and country last season, the Associated Press reported in a story published by NPR.

Walter Koenig, who played Pavel Chekov in Star Trek, has died at 90, his representative confirmed to the Hollywood Reporter, the Guardian reported.

Sources used

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