Politics & World Affairs — October 25, 2026

Gunfire wounds 11 near Florida A&M. Gunfire wounded 11 people, including six juveniles, near Florida A&M's Bragg Memorial Stadium in Tallahassee after the school's homecoming game, police said.

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Leavitt outlines Trump midterm strategy. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said President Trump is defying midterm headwinds, outlining a plan to turn out MAGA voters who typically skip midterm cycles.

The strategy comes as the president contends with negative approval ratings heading into the midterm cycle, according to Fox News. Leavitt's remarks arrive amid competing campaign pushes, with both parties blitzing swing states. The White House approach centers on mobilizing a segment of the electorate — core MAGA supporters — that has historically stayed home when Trump himself is not on the ballot.

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U.S. cuts Mideast embassy staffing. The State Department ordered staffing reductions at four Middle East embassies after new intelligence indicated Iranian plots to kill Americans abroad have reached advanced stages.

The move followed a warning from Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton to Secretary of State Marco Rubio that Iranian plans to target and kill American citizens abroad had progressed to advanced stages, the Washington Examiner reported. The intelligence marks a shift toward direct targeting of U.S. citizens, prompting the department to draw down personnel at the four posts as a precaution.

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Protests spread across Europe. Soldiers guarded central Milan as demonstrations spread Saturday to Rome, Madrid, Lisbon and Tirana; French authorities made nearly 1,000 arrests as unrest continued.

Saturday's demonstrations marked a continuation of unrest that began in France, where authorities have now made nearly 1,000 arrests, rather than a new escalation. The deployment of soldiers in central Milan underscored how governments beyond France are responding as protests reach cities in Italy, Spain, Portugal and Albania. NPR reported thousands marched across the affected cities as the movement widened geographically.

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