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Oct 27, 2026 - World

A White House promise aimed squarely at voters in several red states is running into an awkward reality, according to an administration insider.A person close to the Trump administration told Politico in a report published Tuesday that the recent burst of optimism about a looming trade agreement with Canada is meant to send a signal to places like Iowa and Kansas. But "no one expects a deal," the person said.The remarks cut against the message coming from the top. President Donald Trump predicted at a Sunday rally in Michigan that the trade fight would be "settled pretty soon," while National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett told Fox News the same day that the two countries were "very close."Talks between Washington and Ottawa have picked up since Trump spoke by phone with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on Oct. 21. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Canadian Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc have been in frequent contact since then, Politico reported, though a senior Canadian official described the discussions as still informal.Neither country has budged on its core demands. Canada is still pushing for relief on autos, steel and aluminum, while the United States wants a bigger foothold in Canada's dairy and alcohol markets. People familiar with the negotiations told Politico that any final agreement is likely weeks or months away.Carney also has little reason to hand Trump a win ahead of the midterms. The prime minister's poll numbers have climbed since he walked away from negotiations in August, and he is set to host European Union leaders in Montreal for a summit meant to strengthen ties with the bloc."Carney would have to have some reason to want to get a deal before the midterms," the Trump administration insider said. "But I can't imagine why he would at this point."An industry official told Politico that Lutnick's resistance to cutting sector-specific duties remains the biggest obstacle. "Any potential Canada deal is going to have the same issue," the official said.Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-OH), who told Politico he believes the two countries will eventually reach an agreement, couldn't say whether it would happen before Election Day. "I don't know," he said.

Oct 27, 2026 - World

President Donald Trump's administration is quietly weighing a fresh concession to Moscow, one the Kremlin has pushed hard behind closed doors.The New York Times reported Tuesday that the Trump administration is reviewing a request to lift sanctions on the Russian Direct Investment Fund, a multibillion-dollar state fund the Biden administration branded a "slush fund" for Russian President Vladimir Putin when it hit the fund with penalties days after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.A U.S. official confirmed to The Times that the Trump administration is assessing the fund's application through established channels as part of an effort to "improve U.S.-Russia relations and help end the war." The official praised the fund's chief, Kirill Dmitriev, as "a helpful envoy."Russian officials pressed for the relief during talks over the fund's role in shipping Russian diesel to the U.S., people familiar with the negotiations told The Times. Trump suspended sanctions on Russian diesel on Oct. 9, and the fund has since helped line up the first shipments, according to a senior Russian official. Three tankers have set out for the U.S. this month, and the diesel shipped before any American buyer paid for it, The Times reported.Dmitriev, Putin's economic envoy to Washington, said nothing about his push for relief when he spoke at a Moscow conference on Oct. 16. Instead, he bragged that the diesel deal was helping convince Americans that sanctions are "philosophically wrong."He has found a warm reception in Trump's orbit. Special envoy Steve Witkoff told Putin at a negotiating table in St. Petersburg last week, "It's been really, really good dealing with Kirill."Eric Green, who oversaw Russia policy on the Biden White House's National Security Council, told The Times the fund was an early target because its access to Western finance could help Moscow pay for the war. Lifting the penalties now, he said, would send a "real strong message" that Washington is backing away from its position to keep the economic pain on until a settlement in Ukraine.Critics, including some Republican lawmakers, argue Trump is giving away economic perks to Putin while asking nothing in return on the war. Trump has so far kept nearly all Biden-era sanctions on Russia in place.Dmitriev's Kremlin ties run deep. People who know him told The Times his wife is close with one of Putin's daughters, and he has done deals with Gulf power players like Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who also has Trump's ear."The ice has finally broken," Dmitriev declared at an October conference.

Oct 27, 2026 - World

A heated confrontation erupted at the United Nations on Tuesday when President Donald Trump’s ambassador repeatedly ordered a Cuban official to back away from the stage during a tense exchange over the communist nation’s leadership.U.S. Ambassador Mike Waltz was delivering remarks criticizing Cuba’s government when Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez Parilla approached the podium, prompting an angry response.“Back up! Back up, ambassador. Back away!” Waltz shouted.“You’re not going to intimidate me. You understand who you’re dealing with?” he continued as Rodriguez stood just feet away, refusing to budge.“This is America, back up!”The confrontation unfolded Tuesday as Cuban delegates protested Waltz’s remarks, pounding on their table and attempting to interrupt his speech.Waltz had accused Cuba’s leadership of enjoying extravagant luxuries while ordinary citizens struggled financially. “Let’s start with Castro’s two Rolexes that he proudly wore,” Waltz said while holding up an image of former Cuban leader Fidel Castro.“Two Rolexes worth $40,000 in today’s money,” he continued.Waltz then displayed an image of current Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel wearing what he described as another Rolex.As tensions escalated, the presiding official attempted to restore order, repeatedly instructing delegates to sit down.“This individual needs to back away from this podium,” Waltz declared. “He’s not going to intimidate me in the United States of America.”Global affairs analyst Olga Nesterova, who shared video of the confrontation on Bluesky, reported that the exchange erupted after the U.S. accused Cuba’s leadership of corruption, prompting a Cuban official to shout, “Liar!”US and Cuba got into a shouting match at the UN.[image or embed]— Olga Nesterova (@onestpress.onestnetwork.com) October 27, 2026 at 1:51 PM

Oct 27, 2026 - World

Early exit polls from Israel's high-stakes election set off a wave of stunned reactions online, with observers zeroing in on one unexpected kingmaker.Israel's Channel 12 exit poll put the opposition bloc at 52 seats, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's bloc at 50 and Arab parties at 18, CNN reported Tuesday."This is a DRAMATIC result," Omri Marian, an internationally recognized tax law professor at the University of California, Irvine, and an Israeli expat, wrote on Bluesky. "Palestinians with Israeli citizenship hold all the leverage."Marian then laid out four possible outcomes, including Jewish opposition parties breaking their campaign vow not to partner with Arab parties, another election, a unity government with Netanyahu's Likud party or a short-lived minority coalition. He feared the unity option, under which "Bibi goes free even though he is not PM." "I worry this is where we might end up," he wrote.UC Irvine political scientist Sara Wallace Goodman asked whether a caretaker government and another election were next. Marian agreed that a minority coalition would send Israel back to the polls "within a few months."William Adler, a professor of political science at Northeastern Illinois University, was skeptical the math would translate into power. "Seems like the only way to majority government is Arab parties and it won't happen," he wrote. Marian replied, "That's what I worry, but everyone saw it coming."George Pearkes, a markets strategist, noted that two networks showed Netanyahu's bloc trailing while a third, Channel 14, showed it ahead, adding that turnout two hours before polls closed was the highest since 1988. "Man this is going to be CHAOS," he wrote. Justin Joque, a University of Michigan media scholar, cast doubt on the outlier, noting that Channel 14's pre-election polls had Netanyahu winning even as other surveys moved the opposite way.Others urged caution. Eric Columbus, a Lawfare senior editor and former Justice Department official, shared a reminder from New York Times correspondent Yair Rosenberg that Israeli exit polls miss the final hours of voting, when the right has sometimes surged. "Too soon to pop any corks?" Columbus asked.

Oct 27, 2026 - World

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's party alliance is narrowly trailing his top rival's coalition, exit polls of voters in the country's elections showed Tuesday.A poll from Israeli TV network Channel 12 projected Netanyahu's side winning 50 of the 120 seats in Israel's parliament, known as the Knesset, NBC News reported. Parties aligned with Netanyahu's rival, Gadi Eisenkot, a former head of Israel's military, would take 52. Neither side would reach the 61 seats needed to form a government.Turnout hit 74.3% by 8 p.m. local time, the highest for that hour since 1988, in Israel's first national election since Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack sparked the war in Gaza.The polls closed at 10 p.m. local time, which is 4 p.m. ET.