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Abortion rights prevail in Missouri and Virginia
Abortion rights supporters rally inside the Missouri Capitol on January 21, 2026, in Jefferson City, Missouri. (AP Photo/David A. Lieb) Photo taken with smartphone.
Voters defeat a proposed amendment to Missouri’s constitution that would have reimposed restrictions on most abortions. The vote essentially reaffirms voters’ decision from two years ago, when they became the first in the nation to undo an existing abortion ban by approving an abortion-rights amendment.
The Republican-led Legislature then referred a new, less restrictive version of an abortion ban to this year’s ballot. The measure would have allowed abortions only for medical emergencies and fetal anomalies, or in cases of rape or incest up to 12 weeks of pregnancy. It also would have amended the constitution to prohibit certain medical procedures for transgender minors.
Abortion-rights advocates, led by national progressive groups, heavily outspent abortion foes in a successful campaign to defeat the Missouri ballot measure.
The Virginia measure creates a “fundamental right to reproductive freedom” in the state constitution, ensuring that abortions can occur during the first two trimesters of pregnancy. The amendment also creates a right to contraception and fertility care, among other things.
Since the US Supreme Court overturned a nationwide right to abortion in 2022, voters in more than one-fifth of the states have passed ballot measures protecting abortion rights.
But voters in Republican-leaning Idaho defeated a ballot measure that would have created abortion rights in state law. Current Idaho law bans abortions unless necessary to save the life of a pregnant woman, or during the first trimester of pregnancy in cases where rape or incest has been reported to law enforcement.
Abortion-rights measures failed two years ago in Florida and South Dakota.
India says citizen died of wounds sustained in Houthi attack on Riyadh airport attack last month
An ambulance is parked outside King Khalid International Airport after several people were killed and wounded in an attack on the airport that forced a suspension of operations, according to Saudi Arabia's civil aviation authority, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, October 10, 2026, in this screengrab obtained from social media video. (Social Media/via Reuters)
The Indian embassy in Saudi Arabia announces the death of another of its nationals who was wounded in the October 10 attack on Riyadh’s international airport.
“With a heavy heart, we share that another Indian national, critically injured in the 10 October attack on Riyadh airport, has passed away in ICU,” the embassy says in a post on X.
The latest death brings the toll from the Houthi missile attack on the Saudi capital’s airport that day to 14 killed, with hundreds more people injured.
Shin Bet tells election panel that suspected foreign funding may involve thousands of people; Ben Gvir urges arrest of Arab party leaders
Shin Bet chief David Zini is seen at Mount Herzl Military Cemetery in Jerusalem during Memorial Day, April 21, 2026. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
The Shin Bet tells the Central Elections Committees that intelligence gathered so far points to widespread foreign funding and influence operations involving “thousands of people and possibly more,” but says it needs to conduct further investigative work before it can establish the scale of the alleged activity with a high degree of certainty.
The agency tells the panel that the money came from foreign countries and from actors with “concealed and even hostile interests,” and was intended to promote foreign influence.
It does not identify the countries or people involved.
However, sources in the law enforcement system and police tell Haaretz that they are not familiar with the claim that the alleged operation involved “huge sums” and “thousands of people.”
“If that’s the case, then how is it possible that [Shin Bet chief] Zini said on election day that the vote was safe?” one of the sources tells the newspaper. “If huge sums were flowing in, it should have been thwarted.”
The Shin Bet’s comments to the Central Elections Committee came after the panel’s presidium voted to approve the results this morning.
Earlier, the committee said it had found no irregularities indicating that the vote was compromised or the results altered.
National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, head of the far-right Otzma Yehudit party, responds to the Shin Bet by calling on agency chief David Zini to arrest all Arab party leaders and question them “in Shin Bet basement cells,” even without the attorney general’s approval. He also demands an immediate freeze on certification of the election results and the formation of a government.
“The election was stolen here in the State of Israel,” Ben Gvir says, adding that “not a single stone” should be left unturned in the effort to uncover the “truth.”
The results are due to be submitted to President Isaac Herzog later today, after which he is expected to begin consultations with party leaders on whom they support for prime minister.
The Shin Bet statement follows reports that the agency is seeking to question four Arab politicians as part of a probe into alleged election interference, but hasn’t provided prosecutors with evidence regarding three of them.
Netanyahu’s Likud party, meanwhile, issued a statement accusing Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara of preventing the interrogations. She in turn responded with a scathing statement, effectively accusing Zini — a controversial Netanyahu appointee — of trying to undermine the rule of law.
Key Update
Israel critic Donavan McKinney wins Michigan US House race
Michigan state Rep. Donavan McKinney, Democratic candidate for US House of Representatives in Michigan’s 13th District, speaks at a campaign rally for Abdul El-Sayed, a progressive candidate in the Democratic primary for US Senate in Michigan, August 3, 2026, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
Donavan McKinney, who pledged to sever military aid to Israel, wins election to the US House in Michigan’s 13th Congressional District.
McKinney is a democratic socialist who was backed by Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, Michigan Rep. Rashida Tlaib, and other prominent progressives.
The last section of McKinney’s platform on his campaign website is labeled “Palestine.” He vows to “end the military aid and arms that America gives to Israel” and to sign the Block the Bombs Act, a resolution that would prohibit the sale of certain weapons to Israel, which gained record support among Democrats in Congress earlier this year.
Election panel ratifies results; Likud and Shas abstain
Central Elections Committee chairman Noam Sohlberg, visits a printing factory in Kiryat Gat where ballot papers are printed for the general election, October 5, 2026. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
The Central Elections Committee presidium votes to approve last week’s election results, according to a statement.
Yesh Atid and Blue and White representatives vote in favor, while Likud and Shas representatives abstain, with chair Justice Noam Sohlberg casting the final vote in favor of ratifying the results.
The presidium is made up of five members — Sohlberg and four representatives representing the four largest factions. The results will now go to a wider committee with representatives from smaller parties also, but those discussions are largely symbolic after the presidium vote.
The election results will be submitted to President Isaac Herzog later today, following which he will begin consultations with party heads on who they back for prime minister. Herzog is expected to grant a mandate to form the next government to the individual who received the most nods from the party chiefs.
The vote comes after Likud and other outgoing coalition parties sought to delay approval over unsubstantiated allegations of election fraud. Sohlberg rejected their request, writing that the committee has no authority to delay certification of the results based on information about investigations or law enforcement concerns.
Earlier today, the committee reiterated that no irregularities indicating that the vote was compromised or the results altered were found.
Key Update
El-Sayed set to become first Muslim US senator after Michigan win
Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed speaks at an election night event, early November 4, 2026, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
Democrat Abdul El-Sayed wins election to the US Senate representing Michigan, defeating Republican Mike Rogers.
El-Sayed, a former public health official, will succeed Democratic Sen. Gary Peters.
Prior to the results, the man set to be the country’s first Muslim senator gave a victory speech in which he swiped at AIPAC and Israel, and said Palestinian children shouldn’t be “murdered by our tax dollars.”
Likud MK quits election panel, Otzma Yehudit to vote against certifying results
MK Amit Halevi attends a National Security committee meeting at the Knesset, the Israeli parliament on October 15, 2024.(Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
Likud MK Amit Halevi resigns from the Central Elections Committee, alleging election interference, while Otzma Yehudit announces that its representatives will vote against certifying the election results, according to statements carried by Hebrew media.
Halevi alleges without providing evidence that foreign countries interfered in the election and that some lawmakers “bought their seats with bribe money.”
“As members of the Elections Committee, we can and must certify only the free choice of Israeli citizens, and not the choice of the rulers of Qatar, Iran or Turkey,” he says.
“I appeal to the entire Israeli public not to lend a hand to undermining the fundamental principle of free elections and dealing a fatal blow to Israel as a Jewish and democratic state,” he adds.
Meanwhile, Otzma Yehudit says it decided to oppose certification of the October 27 election results after several unnamed parties asked it to consider abstaining.
“We will not deceive ourselves by abstaining. The elections were rigged, the results are fraudulent and foreign countries interfered,” the party says, without presenting evidence for its claims. “We will therefore vote against and refuse to certify the results today.”
The statements come after the Central Elections Committee said an extensive review of 9,069 polling stations found no irregularities or evidence of harm to election integrity or changes to the results.
Lapid: No possibility of unity government under Netanyahu in wake of Zini’s actions, US midterms
B'Yachad party member Yair Lapid speaks at the “Law and Lies” conference on October 12, 2026. (Avshalom Sassoni/FLASH90)
Opposition Leader Yair Lapid says the US midterm election results and the actions of Shin Bet chief David Zini mean that there is no possibility of a unity government with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“Zini last night and the American election results in the morning have led to one unforeseen consequence: they eliminate any possibility of a unity government led by Netanyahu,” Lapid says.
“Israel cannot afford to let him remain prime minister. It endangers security, it endangers democracy, it will ruin our standing in the world,” he says.
Democrats chairman Yair Golan similarly warns that the US midterm results show “just how toxic Netanyahu has become among both Democrats and Republicans.”
He cautions that the continued tenure of Netanyahu and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir could put Israel on a path toward “international sanctions, international isolation and confrontation with the United States, our friend and most important ally.”
The statements come after the Republicans suffered a wave of defeats in the US midterms, widely seen as a rebuke of US President Donald Trump’s policies.
Zini is seeking to question four Arab politicians in a case of alleged foreign election interference, but hasn’t provided prosecutors with evidence regarding three of them, reports say.
Netanyahu’s Likud party, meanwhile, issued a statement accusing Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara of preventing the interrogations. She in turn responded with a scathing statement, effectively accusing Zini — a controversial Netanyahu appointee — of trying to undermine the rule of law.
Key Update
El-Sayed claims victory in Michigan: ‘We don’t want our money sent to do apartheid, or genocide, or war’
Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed speaks at an election night event, early November 4, 2026, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
Democrat Abdul El-Sayed claims victory in Michigan over former Republican lawmaker Mike Rogers, in a speech in which he swiped at Israel and said Palestinian children shouldn’t be “murdered by our tax dollars.”
His win would make him the first Muslim elected to the US Senate.
“Michigan, we did it,” he says.
“My name is Abdulrahman Mohamed El-Sayed,” he says, to cheers. “And I am so proud and honored to stand here as your senator-elect for the great state of Michigan.”
“You might have noticed that up until now I say ‘Inshallah,’ or ‘God willing’… but tonight we can change that Inshallah to ‘Alhamdulillah,'” or thank God, he says.
“We want our taxes spent here, for schools here, and healthcare here, and infrastructure here. We don’t want our money sent to do apartheid, or genocide, or war,” he says.
“It shouldn’t be hard to pay your taxes and know that money is going to be spent on you and your kids, rather than dropping bombs on somebody else and their kids,” he says in an apparent swipe at Israel.
“To AIPAC who spent $42 million against us. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to beat you twice,” he says.
“They try to call you hateful if you believe Palestinian kids should grow up in the land of their forefathers without being murdered by our tax dollars. If you believe in equal rights to dignity and self-determination, that’s not hate, that’s love,” he says.
The Michigan doctor rallied voters on leftist campaign promises, including universal health care.
However, many saw the Michigan race as a litmus test for US Jews’ longstanding support for the Democratic Party. El-Sayed has repeatedly alarmed many with his rhetoric about Israel and Jewish issues, particularly his response to an attempted terrorist mass killing at a Michigan synagogue and preschool: “Hurt people hurt people.” He later apologized for the comment.
Abdul El-Sayed:
We want our taxes spent here, for schools here, and healthcare here, and infrastructure here.
We don't want our money sent to do apartheid, or genocide, or war. pic.twitter.com/k5sbdCyzOb
— Clash Report (@clashreport) November 4, 2026
Abdul El-Sayed:
They try to call you hateful if you believe that Palestinian kids should get to grow up in the land of their forefathers without being murdered by our tax dollars.
If you believe in equal rights to peace, dignity, and self-determination, that's not hate. It's… pic.twitter.com/Sq9GcbOLLm
— Clash Report (@clashreport) November 4, 2026
Agencies contributed to this report.
Key Update
Jeffries poised to become first Black speaker of US House of Representatives
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, speaks during a watch party at a hotel on Capitol Hill in Washington, November 3, 2026. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
The Democrats’ midterm election win puts Hakeem Jeffries in line to become the first Black speaker of the US House of Representatives, with the dual challenge of opposing US President Donald Trump while bridging the gap between his party’s moderates and its more vocal progressives.
As speaker, Jeffries, representing a New York City congressional district, would preside over a majority that will be sworn in the first week of January, taking the reins from Republicans who controlled the House for the past four years.
“Today begins the great American comeback,” Jeffries proclaims in a victory speech after media outlets projected the likelihood of Democratic majorities in the House and Senate.
He attacks the Trump-led Republican agenda in Congress over the past two years, pledging to pass legislation reversing steep spending cuts — enacted into law on July 4, 2025 — to the Medicaid healthcare program for the poor and people with disabilities.
“The American people have spoken and made clear that they’ve had enough of the extremism, enough of the corruption. They want a Congress that’s going to deliver for the American people,” Jeffries says.
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