Iran war risks flaring up again

Politico corrects at White House’s request

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Iran said Thursday that its navy hit seven oil tankers traveling through the Strait of Hormuz, threatening to exacerbate regional tensions and global inflation.

The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps’s (IRGC) claimed in a statement to have hit four tankers that were transferring oil. The other three ships hit naval mines and were immobilized as a result, according to The Associated Press .

The IRGC added in its statement that some of the vessels remained ablaze as of Thursday morning.

Big attack: If confirmed, it would mark the largest single-day incident involving vessels in the waterway since the start of the war in February.

The IRGC also warned the U.S. military against continued efforts to traffic tankers through the strait, saying it could create a response at American bases in the region.

Will the U.S. strike Iran again?: The U.S. and Israel have reportedly developed plans to strike Iran after November’s midterms, The New York Times reports .

The outlet cited U.S. officials and “other people brief on the deliberations.” They say that the U.S. and Israeli militaries have been flying planes over Iraq to practice strike maneuvers.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel this week. No details on their discussion yet.

Israel has its own elections next week, and President Trump endorsed Netanyahu on Truth Social on Sunday. (Vice President Vance did not .)

The targets: The U.S. would likely focus on attacking Iran’s energy infrastructure, nuclear facilities and missile and drone arsenal, according to the Times.

Trump has repeatedly threatened to resume major strikes on Iran, but ultimately decided to pursue diplomacy instead.

The biggest hangup in talks has been Iran’s nuclear program, and control of the Hormuz Strait.

Democratic gubernatorial candidate for Ohio, Dr. Amy Acton, responded for the first time Wednesday to a controversial ad that featured her mother calling Acton a liar.

“A sad thing, and I feel like it was an exploitative thing to do. My mother is not well,” she told CBS affiliate WBNS. “So, I think it’s despicable.”

She added in another interview with CNN that “many people are outraged by this because so many people have experienced some sort of trauma or abuse in their lives,” referring to her own experience with childhood sexual abuse at the hands of her stepfather with whom Acton’s mother remained married until his death.

The viral video posted Tuesday was at first unattributed, but GOP nominee Vivek Ramaswamy’s campaign later took ownership.

Sabato’s Crystal Ball shifted the race in Acton’s favor on Thursday, moving the projection from “toss up” to “leans Democratic” in response to the ad, which it called “explosive” and “desperate.”

The content of the ad has stirred bipartisan backlash.

Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) called the political move “shameful” in an interview with CNN’s Jack Tapper. She also criticized Vance’s decision to defend the ad, telling Tapper, “The idea that the vice president would go to the mattresses to defend this ad might have cost JD Vance the presidency.”

Democrat Abdul El-Sayed and Republican Mike Rogers, in their race to take the open Michigan Senate seat, faced off last night in their final debate ahead of the midterm elections.

Rogers restated previous claims that El-Sayed has ties to the Muslim Brotherhood , which he has repeatedly denied and called out as prejudiced.

“He keeps raising this question about this association with an organization I’ve never been a part of. … It doesn’t make any sense, and it’s actually really quite beneath you, Mike. It’s really quite beneath you to call into question my loyalty to the Constitution,” El-Sayed said Wednesday night.

It’s close: Current polling from Decision Desk HQ puts El-Sayed slightly ahead of his GOP challenger, forecasting a 67 percent chance the progressive Democrat will replace outgoing Sen. Gary Peters (D).

Democratic candidate James Talarico is turning the tables on Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) in their Senate race, calling his masculinity into question for refusing to debate.

“Ken Paxton has refused to debate and that’s pretty low-T behavior in my book,” Talarico said on Wednesday.

The comment comes amid repeated attacks from GOP politicians insulting Talarico’s testosterone levels. In one attack ad, Paxton refers to the Democrat as “Low-T Talarico.”

Recent polling shows the highly anticipated race as statistically tied.

The Hill’s Julia Mueller reports , “Republicans have long dominated the Lone Star State, but Paxton’s controversy-laden campaign and Talarico’s grassroots energy have given Democrats hope for their first flip in decades.”

Dig into the data yourself with every public poll, early-voting trends and live predictions, all in one place. Get full access to Decision Desk HQ with Insider Premium.

The White House sent Politico a letter demanding it correct the record on chief of staff Susie Wiles’s role in former press secretary Katie Zacharia’s fateful appearance on Fox News shortly before she was dismissed.

Axios reported that the West Wing told the outlet it could face unspecified consequences over the inaccurate report.

What changed: Politico initially reported that Wiles helped set up interviews for Zacharia on Fox News in a series of media hits that reportedly helped convince Trump she needed to go.

“An earlier version of this report, including its headline, mischaracterized the role White House chief of staff Susie Wiles played in then-press secretary Katie Zacharia’s interview with Sean Hannity on Fox News,” the outlet wrote in its correction . “POLITICO’s follow-up reporting indicates she did not play a direct role in setting up the interview.”

Andrew Feinberg , a correspondent for The Independent, was scheduled to serve as the print pool reporter on Thursday, but the White House pulled him from his duty .

Feinberg on Tuesday asked Trump a question about the new fraud “tip line” in the Oval Office, and the president responded by calling the reporter a “sick person.”

Feinberg shortly after tried to ask Trump a question about the golf courses he owned, but Trump cut him off.

“Quiet. Quiet. What’s wrong with you? Are you a sick person?” the president replied.

“No, I think there’s actually something wrong with you,” he added later.

Vance jumps in: The VP on Tuesday posted the interaction on social media and captioned the clip, “President Donald J. Trump eviscerates imbecile ‘journalist’ Andrew Feinberg for misbehaving in the Oval Office.”

“Mr. Vice President, if you’re going to insult me at least have the guts to tag my account,” Feinberg replied in a post.

The WHCA responds: “The White House Correspondents’ Association strongly objects to the decision to restrict a journalist’s coverage simply because the president didn’t care for their questioning,” the group’s president Jacqui Heinrich said in a statement .

The Trump administration on Wednesday dropped its attempts to reform the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program by excluding individuals working for left-leaning organizations. A judge blocked the endeavor over the summer, which the DOJ appealed before its most recent decision to abandon the effort.

Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.) called Ukraine the “No. 1” problem impacting higher fuel prices, a central issue for voters ahead of the midterm elections. He made the comment while debating his Democratic opponent Adam Hamilton and also questioned why the U.S. was dependent on diesel exports, pointing blame at “Green New Deal policy that my opponent supports.”

U.S. District Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín blocked the majority of DHS’s attempts to conduct election-related field operations in nine states. The decision follows repeated efforts from the Trump administration to investigate alleged voter fraud and monitor polling locations less than two weeks away from the midterms.

Associated Press : Coral reefs face collapse by 2075 due to warming oceans, study warns

NBC News : France’s Emmanuel Macron says ‘illegitimate’ protests will be banned as cities block demonstrations

Politico : Ukraine’s foreign fighters battle Russians — and red tape

New York Times : Higher, Faster, Gnarlier: Have Roller Coasters Become Too Extreme?

The House and Senate out. President Trump is in Washington, D.C. and Iowa. (All times EDT)

12:30 p.m. Law enforcement officials announce arrests and criminal charges in California health care fraud takedown

2:30 p.m. Initial court appearance for L. Louise Lucas , the Virginia state senator charged in a public corruption case

3 p.m. Trump participates in signing time

7:00 p.m. Connecticut gubernatorial debate

7:30 p.m. Trump delivers remarks in Sioux City, Iowa

🌈 Celebrate : Today is National Color Day. Celebrate accordingly — Eat a rainbow bagel? Wear tie-dye? Avoid black and white movies? Your call.

🏀 The Washington Wizards beat the Milwaukee Bucks last night 128-116, starting the season on a high.

Because you made it this far, here’s two sea otters rafting — the practice of holding hands while they sleep so they don’t drift apart.

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