Today's top stories, with context, in just 15 minutes.
On today's podcast:
1) President Trump returned to South Carolina on Wednesday to bolster Darline Graham, whose campaign for a 6-year US Senate term representing the conservative state has become unexpectedly tight ahead of US midterm elections on November 3rd. Elsewhere, final debates were held in two of tighest Senate contests - Michigan and Kansas. Meantime, the Senate contest in the historically Republican state of Mississippi is drawing fresh attention in the final stretch of the election cycle, with Trump planning a rally to boost the GOP candidate and control of the chamber.
2) The US ordered some diplomats and their families to leave Saudi Arabia because of the threat from Houthi militants, as the Iran-backed group carried out more strikes from Yemen. At least four people were killed by attacks on an Aramco oil site and an eastern airport on Wednesday. The moves come as tensions escalate across the Middle East, with the US and Israel drawing up plans for renewed strikes on the Islamic Republic, according to the New York Times, and Tehran saying it struck more tankers going through the Strait of Hormuz.
3) Barclays Plc said it’s cutting 5,000 jobs, or about 5% of total headcount, as part of a “technology-enabled” effort to reduce costs as it adopts artificial intelligence across the bank. The bank reported third-quarter earnings Thursday that missed several key estimates. Barclays’ bond traders suffered the biggest slump on Wall Street during the quarter, taking the shine off a strong performance on the equities desk.

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Today's top stories, with context, in just 15 minutes.
On today's podcast:
1) A recent slowdown of the SpaceX’s Starlink satellite system that enables Ukraine to fend off deadly Russian aerial assaults came from an order by Elon Musk, the company’s chief executive officer, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday. Musk restricted the speed of Ukraine’s access to the satellite system, which hampered the ability of the country’s drones to carry out defensive and offensive missions, the newspaper reported, citing unnamed American officials and others. Russian President Vladimir Putin’s forces have been carrying out relentless attacks on Ukraine, including striking civilian targets.
2) Secretary of State Marco Rubio defended the Trump administration’s support for Ukraine, saying the nation “would not exist” without US backing. “If it were not for the assistance of the United States, including under the Trump administration, there would be no Ukraine right now,” Rubio told reporters on Wednesday during a visit to India. “Ukraine as a sovereign state would not exist.” Rubio made the remarks while responding to questions about a Wall Street Journal report that said Elon Musk, chief executive officer of SpaceX, ordered a recent slowdown of the Starlink satellite system that helps Ukraine to fend off deadly Russian aerial assaults.
3) Elon Musk openly endorsed the prospect of combining SpaceX with Tesla Inc., in what would be the biggest-ever corporate merger uniting assets from electric cars to AI data centers to rocket and satellite capabilities.The world’s richest man said Tuesday the boards of both companies had formed special committees of independent directors to consider the idea of a combination. “There’s a lot of merit to combining the companies,” Musk said on a conference call after SpaceX announced earnings that beat estimates.

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Today's top stories, with context, in just 15 minutes.
On today's podcast:
1) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is traveling to Norway for new peace talks as US pressure mounts for concessions from Kyiv to reach a deal with Russia. US envoy Steve Witkoff is expected to take part in the talks with Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre and Finland’s President Alexander Stubb, while Jared Kushner will participate online. Relations between President Trump and Zelenskyy have soured, with Trump criticizing Zelenskyy and saying he should have settled the war a long time ago.
2) President Trump used an antisemitic term during a rally in Kansas as he defended Republican Senator Roger Marshall, saying Marshall was portrayed as "some kind of a Shylock-type guy." Trump said Marshall had received a "bum rap" and was mandated by law to request money owed from patients, and that if he didn't make these requests, he would be breaking the law. Trump faced criticism for using the term, which has long been considered antisemitic, and has a history of using stereotypes about Jewish people, including telling a gathering of the Republican Jewish Committee that they wanted to "control" politicians.
3) A measure of French bond risk breached a key level on Tuesday, underscoring the challenges facing the government as it struggles to tame the budget deficit and defuse cost-of-living protests. The extra yield investors demand to hold French 10-year bonds over safer German debt rose two basis points to 150 basis points, a closely watched level that was last seen on Oct. 5. The spread hit a peak of 159 basis points earlier this month as political and fiscal pressures intensified, prompting many investors to liquidate their positions in the nation’s debt.

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