Former CIA official accused of stealing $40M in gold bars pleads guilty

October 7, 2026

WASHINGTON (AP) — A former senior CIA official pleaded guilty on Tuesday in Virginia to a charge that he abused his position and government funds to enrich himself by acquiring Florida real estate and hundreds of gold bars worth tens of millions of dollars, according to court records. David J. Rush fabricated a “highly classified” government program to justify the acquisition of luxury property in south Florida that he intended to resell for personal profit, according to a court filing. Rush separately concocted a bogus “sensitive government activity” to obtain the gold bars, ...

Trump highlights a big new defense project in Maryland

October 7, 2026

BALTIMORE (AP) — President Donald Trump on Tuesday plans to highlight a $3.7 billion investment by the military technology company Anduril to build components for nuclear-powered submarines at a Baltimore-area shipyard. It’s one of a series of events Trump is holding across the country to showcase investments in factories, as high gasoline prices from the Iran war and persistently elevated inflation have damaged the president’s approval ratings on the economy. The president is trying to rally Republican voters with less than a month before the midterm elections on Nov. 3. This ...

Arkansas campaign ad sparks conservative backlash for portraying lazy welfare recipient as white

October 7, 2026

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — A new video from Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders was standard issue Republican messaging for promoting her state’s stricter rules for people on Medicaid. No more could able-bodied people lounge around while receiving taxpayer-funded healthcare, she said — ...

How Russia and the world are responding to a possible case of pneumonic plague after lab worker dies

October 7, 2026

GENEVA (AP) — The World Health Organization says a possible case of pneumonic plague in Russia presents a “very low” risk outside the country as investigators look into what caused the death of a lab employee there last week. The U.N. health agency said Tuesday that it has been in ...

US military restricts troops from leaving the base in Okinawa after Marine is arrested in a killing

October 7, 2026

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. military in Okinawa, Japan, is pausing all operations for two days, restricting the ability of troops to leave their base and ordering training after a Marine was arrested on suspicion of killing a local woman. Lt. Gen. Benjamin Watson, commander of III Marine Expeditionary Force, said in a letter posted on social media Tuesday that episodes like these “demand we pause for reflection” and that serving on the Japanese island “comes with responsibility.” The arrest of the Marine has renewed protests against the heavy American military presence on ...

Saudi Arabia says 2 airports were hit in renewed fighting with Houthis and other Mideast news

October 7, 2026

Saudi Arabia said three people were injured in the latest attacks on its airports since fighting with Yemen’s Houthi rebels reignited. Meanwhile, Palestinian officials said Israeli airstrikes in Gaza City killed two people, while condemning home demolitions in east Jerusalem and violence in the occupied West Bank. Israelis are readying to mark the third anniversary of the Palestinian militant Hamas group’s Oct. 7, 2023 attack as conflict in the Middle East has spread to include Iran, Lebanon, Syria and Yemen. Here is the latest news from the Middle East on Tuesday. Full coverage ...