Fox News Ratings Drop Could Spell Midterms Trouble For GOP: Status
October 2026 is Fox News’ lowest-rated month since December 2023, according to a report from Status, which also noted the month’s ratings represent a 27% drop from the same time last year.
Fox is still the most-watched cable news outlet, however, with both MSNOW and CNN trailing by a significant margin. Fox averages 1.1 million total day viewers, Status reported, while MSNOW averages 588,000 and CNN averages 402,000. MSNOW’s figure represents a 16% spike from October 2025.
The subscription-based outlet took the news as a grim indication of the Republican Party’s midterms prospects, as conservative voters are apparently tuning out.
Read more at Status.
Breaking Update
Dolores Huerta, Pioneering Labor Leader And Civil Rights Activist, Dies At 96
Dolores Huerta, a major civil rights leader who with Cesar Chávez helped lead the farmworker and labor movement in California, died Wednesday at 96, according to her family.
“We are deeply saddened to announce that our beloved mother, Dolores Huerta, has passed away today at the age of 96,” the Huerta family posted on Facebook.
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Shock Poll Shows S.C. Senate Race A Dead Heat
A surprising New York Times/Siena poll in South Carolina found the race for the U.S. Senate seat formerly held by Lindsey Graham is essentially tied.
Lindsey’s sister, Darline Graham, was appointed to finish the rest of her brother’s term and is now running against Democratic nominee Dr. Annie Andrews for a full term. The poll shows each have the support of roughly 48% of likely voters, with a margin of error of 4.3%.
Darline Graham has been dogged by concerns about her competence for the position.
She famously flubbed a question about international relations between the U.S., Taiwan and China at a debate in August. “I’m just gonna be honest here,” Graham replied, declining to answer the question entirely. “I’m not that informed on national security, so…”
The dead heat explains President Donald Trump’s numerous campaign tripsto the state, where he won 58% of the vote in 2024.
South Carolina hasn’t elected a Democratic U.S. Senator since 1998.
The poll yielded slightly less surprising results in deep-red Florida and bright-blue Minnesota. In Florida, Republican incumbent Sen. Ashley Moody is ahead of Democratic State Rep. Angie Nixon by six points. And in Minnesota, Democratic nominee Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan leads Republican candidate Michele Tafoya by 14 points.
U.S. Cruise Ship Strands 200 Passengers In Asia Over Rising Fuel Costs
A U.S. cruise ship on an around-the-world voyage that touted its cabins as floating homes suspended its three-year voyage in Cambodia due to fuel costs, forcing hundreds of passengers to disembark.
The MV Odyssey set sail two years ago on a voyage to the seven continents marketed as combining long-term living at sea with global travel. Its operator had offered to “make the Odyssey your permanent home,” with the purchase price of a suite for the lifetime of the vessel starting around $230,000.
For now, it is docked at the Cambodian port of Sihanoukville on the Gulf of Thailand, with no certain departure date.
The ship has been carrying 203 passengers, mostly Americans, along with 156 crew members, according to Cambodian officials. It has a 650-passenger capacity.
Read more from The Associated Press:
Brazil’s Flávio Bolsonaro Lands In Miami After Presidential Election Loss
Brazilian Senator Flávio Bolsonaro has landed in Miami after losing his presidential bid in Brazil and the U.S. offering him and his family visas, The Associated Press reported.
Bolsonaro and his family were photographed disembarking a private plane Wednesday morning. His arrival follows him refusing to concede to Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva following Sunday’s election loss and refusing a Supreme Court order to hand over his passports.
Lula has accused the U.S. of colluding with Bolsonaro to help his family return to power. Bolsonaro’s father, former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, also fled to Florida after losing to Lula in 2022.
Trump Administration Weighs Lifting Sanctions On Russia’s Multibillion-Dollar Government Investment Fund
The Trump administration is considering lifting sanctions on Russia’s main state government investment fund, a move that would give the Kremlin a major concession as talks to end the war in Ukraine continue, The New York Times reported Wednesday.
The multibillion-dollar fund in question, called the Russian Direct Investment Fund, has long been seen by U.S. officials as one of the country’s most powerful tools for building influence abroad.
The Biden administration had placed the sanctions on the fund days after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, calling it a “slush fund” for President Vladimir Putin that was “emblematic of Russia’s broader kleptocracy.”
According the Times, Russian officials have been pressing for the sanctions relief as part of wider discussions about the fund’s role in shipping Russian diesel fuel to the U.S
DOJ Asks Judge To Keep Ilhan Omar Search Warrant Sealed
The U.S. attorney’s office in Washington has asked a federal judge to deny requests to unseal the warrant used by federal agents to search the home of Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) earlier this month following requests by more than a dozen news organizations, The New York Times reported.
In a 47-page court filing Tuesday, U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro said the U.S. “does not necessarily oppose unsealing some of these materials later (with proper redactions)” but that doing so now would be “rash” before the investigation is complete and any charges are decided and made public.
Should the court believe unsealing the warrant is appropriate, Pirro asked that the U.S. be given enough time to file an emergency motion to potentially block its release.
Pirro has said her office is investigating Omar’s financial disclosures while President Donald Trump has also accused the lawmaker of committing immigration fraud. Omar, who is seeking reelection, has denied wrongdoing and has dismissed the investigation as political intimidation.
Netanyahu Bloc At 54 Seats With Over 84% Of Ballots Counted
With 84.5% of the results in, Israel’s Central Elections Committee on Wednesday said Benjamin Netanyahu’s bloc will get 54 seats, while Gadi Eisenkot’s coalition will get 49, according to The Times of Israel.
The committee also slightly reduced the number of seats for the two Palestinian-led parties, from 19 to 17.
The results could change further as officials continue to count ballots.