Devastating Hurricane Isaias Leaves 4 Dead in Deep South
Hurricane Isaias carved a deadly path through the Deep South over the weekend, leaving four dead and 500,000 without power.
The first hurricane of the Atlantic season made landfall as a Category 2 hurricane late Oct. 9 near Destin, Florida, with 116 mph wind gusts, then pummeled through Alabama, leaving a trail of destruction as it headed into the Appalachians.
Three of the victims were killed due to downed trees, while the fourth died from carbon monoxide poisoning from a generator running in his garage during the power outage.
By Oct. 10, Isaias had weakened to a tropical storm with 35 mph wind gusts.
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NASA SpaceX Crew-12 Returns to Earth
NASA’s SpaceX Crew-12 safely returned to Earth on Oct. 8, after nearly eight months in space aboard the International Space Station.
The astronauts landed in the Pacific Ocean off Los Angeles around 11:30 a.m. ET.
NASA astronauts Jessica Meir and Jack Hathaway, European Space Agency astronaut Sophie Adenot, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev launched on Feb. 13 and spent 237 days in space, traveling 100 million miles and completing more than 3,792 orbits around the Earth.
During their time on the ISS, Crew-12 helped with a number of research projects, including experiments in bone regeneration, microgravity, stem-cell expansion, and cancer research through crystallization.
The SpaceX Crew Dragon Freedom spacecraft lands with NASA astronauts Jessica Meir, Jack Hathaway, ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev aboard in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Los Angeles on Oct. 8, 2026. The crew is returning after more than seven months aboard the International Space Station. Keegan Barber/NASA via Getty Images
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US Releases Report on 2025 Helicopter-Jet Collision
The U.S. Army released its report this week on its internal investigation into the 2025 helicopter-jet collision near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport that killed 67 people, resulting in the deadliest aviation disaster in the United States in over two decades.
The report, released on Oct. 8, identified multiple systemic failures in the Jan. 29, 2025, collision between a Black Hawk helicopter and an American Airlines airliner.
The findings included two broken radio transmitters which stopped the helicopter from receiving communication from air traffic control.
A piece of wreckage is lifted from the water onto a salvage vessel near the site in the Potomac River of a mid-air collision between an American Airlines jet and a Black Hawk helicopter at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Arlington, Va., on Feb. 4, 2025. AP Photo/Ben Curtis
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Paramount SkyDance Warner Brothers Merger Officially Closes
The Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros. Discovery merger officially closed on Oct. 6, with the combined company renamed Skydance.
After a yearlong battle, the $110 billion deal was completed following a last-minute effort by private parties to block it, which the U.S. Supreme Court rejected.
On Sept. 21, Paramount Skydance settled two antitrust lawsuits filed by a coalition of 11 states led by California and by the Hollywood union Writers Guild of America. Both groups had accused the acquisition of creating a monopoly that would harm the industry.
Paramount Skydance’s acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery is one of the largest media mergers in history, combining two of the “big five” studios from Hollywood’s Golden Age.
The Paramount logo is displayed on the water tower at Paramount Studios in Los Angeles on Sept. 21, 2026. Mario Tama/Getty Images
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Former CIA Officer Pleads Guilty in $200 Million Fraud Scheme
A former CIA officer who was found with about $40 million in gold bars at his home has pleaded guilty to wire fraud in a scheme that cost the government roughly $194 million.
David Rush, 49, used his senior position to approve fake classified programs that allowed him to divert the funds, according to prosecutors. He was arrested on May 19 after the FBI raided his residence and recovered 298 gold bars, about $2 million in cash, and numerous luxury watches.
Rush is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 28, 2027, and faces a maximum of 20 years in prison.
The U.S. District Courthouse for the Eastern District of Virginia in Alexandria, Va., on April 29, 2026. Andrew Leyden/Getty Images
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US Announces New Sanctions Against International Criminal Court
The State Department issued new sanctions against the International Criminal Court (ICC) on Oct. 8, the second round of sanctions against the court in less than a year, as the United States accuses the body of bias against it.
President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Feb. 6 that allowed sanctions against the ICC shortly after it issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over Israel’s actions in Gaza following the Hamas terrorist group’s Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio issued a statement calling the ICC a “rogue court.”
“America never joined the court. We don’t need it, and we don’t want it.”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks to the press before boarding a plane en route to Iceland at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, on Oct. 5, 2026. Mark Schiefelbein/POOL/AFP via Getty Images
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New Jersey Issues Voter Registrations Audit Update
New Jersey has issued an update on its voter registrations audit, saying an additional 1,090 improperly handled registrations were found in the Motor Vehicle Commission’s system.
Gov. Mikie Sherrill said on Oct. 7 that the newly identified errors involved age-eligibility and incarceration status declarations, after system errors involving noncitizens were disclosed in July. She said the commission would strengthen its registration process, including daily checks of registration records against customer-supplied information.
The earlier error in the commission’s software resulted in around 6,600 noncitizens being registered to vote, even after they declared they were not U.S. citizens. Fewer than 400 of them voted, the governor said.
New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill in a file photo. Eduardo Munoz Alvarez/Getty Images
