Daily Brief · Sunday, October 25, 2026

Daily Brief: Sunday, Oct. 25, 2026

Brazilians vote in a tight presidential runoff between Lula and Flavio Bolsonaro as Serbia holds a snap election seen as a test for Aleksandar Vucic, police say 12 people were hurt in a shooting near Florida A&M's stadium after homecoming, the Justice Department presses California counties to set aside ballots it flags as likely noncitizen votes, Audi picks Georgia for its first U.S. plant, and southwest Colorado begins lifting some flood evacuations.

World

Brazilians vote in a tight presidential runoff between Lula and Flavio Bolsonaro

Reuters reported Brazilians voted Sunday in a runoff pitting leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva against right-wing Sen. Flavio Bolsonaro, son of former President Jair Bolsonaro, who was convicted in 2025 of plotting a coup. Bolsonaro led the first round with 47% to Lula's 45%, polls show the race practically tied, and Reuters noted no candidate has ever won Brazil's presidency after finishing second in the first round. Flavio Bolsonaro has pledged to free his father if elected, while Lula has accused the Trump administration of trying to sway the vote, which Washington denies, Reuters reported. AP also reported the runoff was underway Sunday.

Source: Reuters via WKZO (also AP) (opens in new tab)

Serbia holds a snap parliamentary election as a student protest movement challenges Aleksandar Vucic

Reuters reported long lines formed at polling stations Sunday, with pollster CeSID putting turnout at 12% by 9 a.m., more than double the same point in 2023. The election follows almost two years of student-led protests against alleged corruption that began after a train station canopy collapse in Novi Sad killed 16 people in 2024. Vucic, who resigned as president to run for prime minister, has pledged higher pensions and salaries, while the students' list of 250 candidates is led by cardiologist Ilija Srdanovic, Reuters reported. Polls close at 8 p.m. local time, and AP also reported on the vote.

Source: Reuters via WKZO (also AP) (opens in new tab)

Drilling rig sinks off Gabon with 115 people aboard; one worker reported dead and four missing

Borr Drilling said its Prospector 5 jack-up rig sank Saturday night offshore Gabon after a "punch through event" during preload activities, and that 110 of the 115 people aboard were accounted for. Reuters reported Sunday that one of the five initially unaccounted for, an Indian national, was found dead, according to Gabon's National Organization of Petroleum Employees, leaving four missing. Gabon's petroleum ministry activated a crisis unit, ordered the navy to reinforce search and rescue and ordered a technical investigation; Reuters reported Panoro Energy, a partner in the license, said production was halted and there were no reports of damage or accidental discharges.

Source: Reuters via WKZO (also Borr Drilling, Offshore Energy) (opens in new tab)

U.S.

Police say 12 people were injured, six of them minors, in a shooting near Florida A&M's stadium after homecoming

WCTV reported Tallahassee Police Chief Lawrence Revell said 11 people were shot and one was hurt fleeing the scene on Perry Street shortly before 8 p.m. Saturday, near Bragg Memorial Stadium, where FAMU had hosted its homecoming game. The youngest victim is 11, three were seriously injured and one remained in critical condition Sunday morning, police said. NBC News reported Revell called it "an isolated incident between two or three individuals" that began with an altercation; no arrests had been made.

Source: WCTV (also NBC News, AP, Tallahassee Democrat) (opens in new tab)

Justice Department gives California counties 48 hours to set aside ballots it flags as likely noncitizen votes

The Los Angeles Times reported the Justice Department sent letters Friday to county election offices demanding that, within 48 hours, they set aside ballots from voters the administration believes are noncitizens, and warning of criminal penalties; a spokesperson for the U.S. attorney's office in Los Angeles said 57 of 58 counties were served, with Los Angeles County already notified. "Any election official who knowingly processes the ballot of a noncitizen is opening themselves to legal jeopardy," a top federal prosecutor in Los Angeles said, while the head of Contra Costa County's registrar's office told the Times, "This threat is not helpful." The Times reported the department is also suing the state over about 20,000 ballots it wants set aside, with a federal court hearing set for Tuesday; AP also reported on the letters.

Source: Los Angeles Times (also San Francisco Chronicle, AP) (opens in new tab)

Trump votes early in Florida, saying he backed Republicans, before a Georgia rally

AP reported President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump voted Saturday at the Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections office in West Palm Beach; asked if he voted the party line, Trump said, "Very much so." Trump also defended a criticized campaign ad from Ohio Republican gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy and his instruction to sue to block certification of Alaska's Senate race if Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan loses, AP reported. WPBF reported Saturday was the first day of early voting in Palm Beach County, and that Trump then flew to a rally in Perry, Georgia.

Source: AP via PBS News (also WPBF) (opens in new tab)

Money & Tech

Trump announces Audi will build its first U.S. assembly plant, near Macon, Georgia

Reuters, via CNBC, reported Trump announced at a Saturday rally in Perry, Georgia, that Audi plans a $4 billion plant to build 200,000 SUVs a year; Audi said the project will create about 4,500 jobs, with construction starting next year and production in the early 2030s. "This is a long-term investment because we believe in the American market," Audi CEO Gernot Doellner said at the event. Reuters noted Trump's tariffs cost Audi about 1.2 billion euros last year because it imports all its U.S. vehicles from Europe or Mexico; critics say the tariffs have raised vehicle prices.

Source: Reuters via CNBC (also Audi, AP) (opens in new tab)

China says it firmly opposes a proposed U.S. expansion of limits on American investment in Chinese tech

Reuters reported China's commerce ministry on Saturday urged the U.S. to stop expanding restrictions on American investment in China, after the Treasury Department on Thursday proposed adding biotechnology to restricted sectors and widening coverage of high-performance computing and hypersonic systems. The ministry said the proposal "discriminatorily" widened China-related restrictions, would damage economic ties and ran counter to consensus reached by the two countries' presidents, and it reserved the right to take countermeasures, according to Reuters and Xinhua. The Treasury has said the measures, which are not limited to China, aim to keep U.S. capital from supporting foreign adversaries' development of dual-use technologies.

Source: Reuters via CNA (also Xinhua, China Ministry of Commerce) (opens in new tab)

Johnson & Johnson reports tumor shrinkage in an early trial of an experimental oral prostate cancer drug

Reuters reported J&J said its once-daily drug JNJ-6143, tested in patients with advanced prostate cancer who had received multiple prior treatments, caused tumors to disappear or shrink in an early-stage trial presented at the European Society for Medical Oncology Congress. Among 31 evaluable patients on the 50-milligram dose, 77% saw PSA levels fall by at least 50% and 48% by at least 90%, and 69% of patients with tumors measurable by imaging had a confirmed complete or partial response, Reuters reported. Common side effects were nausea and elevated cholesterol and triglycerides; J&J gained the drug through its $3.05 billion deal for Halda Therapeutics.

Source: Reuters via WKZO (also Johnson & Johnson) (opens in new tab)

Washington State

State regulators suspend enforcement of late large-donation limits days before the Nov. 3 election

The Washington State Public Disclosure Commission said it will immediately stop enforcing a law barring campaigns from accepting more than $75,000 from one person for statewide races, or $7,500 for local races, in the 21 days before a general election, citing concerns raised by U.S. Supreme Court and federal court rulings. The commission said the move does not declare the law unconstitutional and does not affect regular per-election contribution limits. The Seattle Times reported the move, announced Friday, drew criticism Saturday from both a progressive political consultant and Brian Heywood of the conservative group Let's Go Washington.

Source: Washington State Public Disclosure Commission (also The Seattle Times) (opens in new tab)

Sunday rain is expected to keep Seattle from setting a record for its driest October

KIRO 7 reported showers were moving across the I-5 corridor Sunday morning, with heavy rain at times in some areas, ending an October that had been on pace to be Seattle's driest on record. Emerald City Weather reported Seattle had recorded just 0.08 inches of rain through Oct. 23, compared with the record-low 0.31 inches in October 1987, and that models projected about a third to three-quarters of an inch by Sunday afternoon. KIRO 7 said showers continue Monday and snow levels drop to about 4,000 feet by Wednesday.

Source: KIRO 7 (also Emerald City Weather, National Weather Service) (opens in new tab)

Justice Department says it will send election monitors to King County for the Nov. 3 election

Washington State Standard reported the Justice Department told King County Elections Director Julie Wise it will send monitors who "only observe" and will check compliance with federal voting rights and disability access laws; the number and locations were not disclosed. A King County Elections spokesperson said the county had "never been sent a monitor" from the department in her seven-plus years there, while the Secretary of State's office said the department has sent observers to Washington before and it is "unaware of any issues" from their presence. The department called it routine monitoring. KUOW also reported the plan.

Source: Washington State Standard (also KUOW) (opens in new tab)

Colorado

Some Pagosa Springs flood evacuations are lifted and U.S. 160 reopens to Durango with one-way traffic

Denver7 reported evacuation orders were lifted Saturday for Hermosa and San Juan streets in Pagosa Springs, and U.S. 160 reopened between Pagosa Springs and Durango with alternating one-way traffic through a damaged section in Aspen Springs, while a flood watch remained in effect into Sunday morning. CBS Colorado reported nearly 100 Colorado National Guard members were assisting and residents described the flooding as worse than last year's. AP also reported on flooding across the Four Corners region.

Source: Denver7 (also CBS Colorado, AP) (opens in new tab)

Polis says Colorado will bid to host the proposed U.S. Space Academy in Colorado Springs

The Colorado Sun reported Gov. Jared Polis announced Friday that Colorado will propose a Colorado Springs site for the NASA-led academy, which President Trump announced in August. "Colorado has the talent, innovation, and aerospace expertise to train the next generation of American space leaders," Polis said. According to the Sun and UCCS, the plan calls for the University of Colorado Colorado Springs to serve as an interim campus, with the administration seeking a permanent home ready for 1,200 undergraduates by fall 2031; NASA is taking one proposal per state through Nov. 16.

Source: The Colorado Sun (also UCCS) (opens in new tab)

Broncos

Broncos activate Jonathon Cooper and Jonah Coleman and put Jonah Elliss and Tyler Badie on injured reserve before Arizona

The Broncos announced Saturday that outside linebacker Jonathon Cooper, removed from the commissioner's exempt list, and running back Jonah Coleman, back from injured reserve, were activated, while Elliss and Badie must miss at least four games. Safety Taylor Rapp and defensive back Sean Fresch Jr. were elevated from the practice squad, the team said. Sports Illustrated and Mile High Report reported safety Talanoa Hufanga is out and cornerback Pat Surtain II is questionable with an ankle injury.

Source: Denver Broncos (also Sports Illustrated, Mile High Report) (opens in new tab)

Game day: 4-2 Broncos visit 2-4 Cardinals as Arizona retires Larry Fitzgerald's No. 11 at halftime

Denver plays at State Farm Stadium in Glendale at 2:05 p.m. MT (1:05 p.m. PT) on CBS, with ESPN's odds listing the Broncos as 4 1/2-point favorites. The Cardinals said Fitzgerald will receive his Hall of Fame ring, enter the team's Ring of Honor as its 20th member and have his No. 11 retired at halftime. AP also previewed the game.

Source: Arizona Cardinals (also ESPN, AP) (opens in new tab)

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