Politics & World Affairs — October 6, 2026

Trump pressures senator on clocks. President Trump shared Sen. Tom Cotton's phone number to push the stalled Sunshine Protection Act, escalating an intra-Republican dispute over year-round daylight saving time.

The Sunshine Protection Act, which would make daylight saving time permanent and end twice-yearly clock changes, has hit a wall in the Senate, according to Fox News. The president's decision to publicize a sitting senator's phone number marks an unusual tactic in a policy fight unfolding within the Republican Party, with Cotton emerging as a point of resistance to the measure.

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Yemeni forces reclaim Mokha. Saudi-backed Yemeni forces reclaimed the Red Sea port city of Mokha and said they secured the nearby waterway, a territorial swing in the counteroffensive launched Sunday.

The recapture of Mokha carries implications beyond the battlefield, with oil markets on edge and Brent crude trading near $100 a barrel, CNBC reported. The city sits on the Red Sea, a critical shipping corridor, and forces said they also secured the adjacent waterway after taking it from the Iran-backed Houthis. The gains came within days of the counteroffensive's launch.

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Russia quarantines plague lab contacts. Russian authorities confirmed a Siberian plague institute worker died of unexplained pneumonia and quarantined roughly 200 contacts; President Trump offered U.S. assistance.

The cause of the worker's pneumonia remains unidentified, and the death occurred last week at a research institute that studies plague, according to the AP. The quarantine of about 200 contacts suggests authorities are treating the case as potentially infectious. Trump said Washington is watching the situation "very strongly" in offering American assistance, though it is unclear whether Moscow has accepted the offer.

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