Politics & World Affairs — November 2, 2026

Court dismisses Trump’s WSJ suit. A federal court dismissed President Trump’s defamation suit against the Wall Street Journal, finding he had not adequately alleged the paper knew its Epstein birthday-letter story was likely false.

The lawsuit stemmed from a Wall Street Journal report describing alleged birthday wishes from Trump to Jeffrey Epstein. According to Reason, the court’s ruling turned on the president’s failure to plausibly allege that the paper published the story knowing it was probably false, the threshold public figures must meet in defamation cases. The dismissal ends this round of the dispute at the trial-court level.

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Stevens endorses Republican Mike Rogers. Rep. Haley Stevens endorsed Michigan’s GOP Senate nominee Sunday, two days before the election, and now faces expulsion from the House Democratic caucus.

The endorsement came amid a feud within Michigan’s Democratic Party and immediately set off efforts by House Democratic leaders to contain the fallout, Axios reported. The timing, just two days before a closely watched Senate contest, raised the stakes of the intraparty rupture. Stevens now faces a push to expel her from the House Democratic caucus as a consequence of backing the Republican nominee.

Axios · Read more ↗

Trump, Netanyahu discuss Iran war. The two leaders held a candid call about whether and when to resume combat with Iran after the midterms, an Israeli official said. Qatar has led 72 hours of intensive mediation.

The call touched on the status of U.S. negotiations with Iran as well as the pace of any return to military action, according to an Israeli official cited by Axios. The discussion of resuming combat was framed around the period after the midterms, while Qatari mediators have spent three days of intensive diplomacy working to keep talks alive.

Axios · Read more ↗

Sen. Chris Murphy suffers stroke. The Connecticut Democrat’s office said Sunday he suffered a stroke Saturday and is hospitalized at Johns Hopkins, awake and alert and expected to fully recover.

The senator was attending his son’s hockey game when the stroke occurred, his chief of staff said, and he was rushed to Johns Hopkins for treatment, according to Fox News. His office waited until Sunday to disclose the Saturday hospitalization. Aides emphasized that Murphy remains awake and alert, and physicians expect a full recovery for the Connecticut Democrat.

Fox News Politics · Read more ↗