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Russia Frees American Stephen Hubbard, 74, Without a Swap as Putin Meets Trump Envoy Witkoff in St Petersburg: October 21, 2026

ST PETERSBURG, Russia — Russia has released Stephen Hubbard, a 74-year-old American jailed on charges of fighting for Ukraine, as President Vladimir Putin met U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff in St Petersburg on Wednesday, BBC News and The Guardian reported.

Putin said during the meeting that Hubbard had been taken to the city’s Pulkovo Airport. The former teacher from Michigan was captured by Russian forces in Izyum, Ukraine, shortly after Moscow’s full-scale invasion in 2022 and was sentenced in 2024 to almost seven years in a penal colony. The U.S. State Department had classified him as “wrongfully detained.”

President Donald Trump said Hubbard was “on his way back home” and that the release followed a request he “made directly” to Putin last week. “There was no ‘swap’ necessary for this release,” he wrote, according to The Guardian. Some earlier releases of Americans held in Russia came through prisoner exchanges. The White House announced the release on X:

CBS News, the BBC’s U.S. partner, reported that Hubbard had been in poor health and was expected to be flown to Texas for treatment.

Witkoff praised Putin at the start of the talks at the Constantine Palace. “You talk so much about my president, President Trump, being a humanitarian — you are a humanitarian also sir, and I salute that,” he said. Witkoff, who met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Oslo the day before, said he had brought “some ideas, some sort of peace deal between Russia and Ukraine,” The Guardian reported. It was his ninth visit to Russia since Trump tasked him with brokering an end to the war.

Witkoff also thanked Putin for this month’s deal to export Russian diesel to the United States. Putin said the first shipment would leave Russia “in two to three days,” according to the state news agency TASS, BBC News reported.

In Kyiv, Zelenskyy wrote that “much depends on whether the American side can hear something new from Russia today — about peace, and not about continuing the war.”

Sources: BBC News, The Guardian, AP

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More Than 100,000 Ukrainians and Sudanese Keep U.S. Deportation Protections for Now as DHS Holds Off on a Decision: October 20, 2026

MIAMI — More than 100,000 people from Ukraine and Sudan can stay in the United States without immediate risk of deportation, the Department of Homeland Security said, a temporary reprieve after their right to stay in the country was set to expire on Monday, the AP and The Guardian reported.

Temporary Protected Status was set to end Oct. 19 for about 101,000 Ukrainians and 1,800 Sudanese. DHS said an announcement “will be made at the appropriate time” and that until then, those covered “retain protection.” The department did not say how long they could stay or whether they can keep their work permits, though TPS generally allows people to work while protections remain in effect.

Federal rules say TPS is automatically extended for six months if the homeland security secretary does not make a determination at least 60 days before a designation expires, the AP reported.

Yuriy Boyechko, CEO of the nonprofit Hope For Ukraine, called the announcement “last-minute patches” and a “bandage that has been placed on a wound that does not solve the real issue.” Andrew Arthur of the Center for Immigration Studies, which favors lower immigration, said: “It’s simply going to be an extension until it is a termination,” adding that “it’s beyond cavil that both Sudan and Ukraine are experiencing ongoing armed conflict,” The Guardian reported.

The Trump administration has already terminated TPS for more than 1 million people from 13 countries, including Venezuela, Haiti, Honduras, Nicaragua, Afghanistan and Syria. But about a month ago it kept protections in place for nearly 200,000 Salvadorans whose status was set to expire on Sept. 9, also saying a decision would come at the appropriate time.

Ukraine was first designated for TPS in April 2022, two months after Russia’s full-scale invasion; Sudan’s designation dates to 1997. The decision comes two weeks before the midterm elections.

Sources: AP, The Guardian, PBS NewsHour

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China Vows to Protect Its Companies After the U.S. Orders DeepSeek AI Removed From Federal Civilian Agencies: October 20, 2026

BEIJING — China said Tuesday it will “resolutely safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies” after the U.S. Department of Homeland Security ordered federal civilian agencies to stop using artificial intelligence tools from the Chinese startup DeepSeek, the AP, BBC News and The Guardian reported.

“China consistently opposes the overstretching of the concept of national security and the politicizing of science, technology, economic and trade issues,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning told reporters at a regular briefing, the AP reported.

The DHS notice, made public on Monday, orders agencies to remove DeepSeek and its affiliated products, as well as third-party products and services developed using DeepSeek, from their IT systems, and bars them from buying DeepSeek products. The ban took effect at the end of July and applies to civilian agencies including the Treasury, State and Justice departments, but not to agencies within the Department of Defense, the BBC reported.

“DeepSeek’s models present multiple threat vectors,” said a document attached to the notice, warning that use of the tools “may result in the transfer of sensitive data to (China) if used by US government employees or vendors,” The Guardian reported. It said DeepSeek’s servers are located in China, where the legal system gives the government “extensive authority” to access private company infrastructure.

DeepSeek did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The U.S. has accused DeepSeek and other Chinese AI startups of large-scale “distillation,” or extraction of capabilities from frontier American AI models, claims Beijing has dismissed, the AP reported. DeepSeek shook up the industry in January 2025 with a low-cost, high-performance chatbot and released its V4 model in April.

Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are set to meet in mid-November on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Shenzhen, China, where AI is expected to be on the agenda.

Sources: AP, BBC News, The Guardian

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Zelenskyy Arrives in Oslo for Talks With Witkoff as Rubio Calls Claims the U.S. Is Withholding Intelligence ‘Scandalous’: October 20, 2026

OSLO, Norway — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrived in Norway on Tuesday for talks with U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff and European leaders, as relations between Kyiv and President Donald Trump continue to slide, BBC News and Al Jazeera reported.

Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre said Zelenskyy had asked Oslo and neighbouring Finland to organise the meeting “at a critical time for Ukraine,” and that the aim was to steer relations towards “a more constructive path.” Jared Kushner was expected to take part by video link, along with Finnish President Alexander Stubb and officials from the U.K., Poland, France, Germany, the EU and NATO, the BBC reported.

Before the talks, Zelenskyy said he had held a “substantive conversation” with Secretary of State Marco Rubio about ballistic missile interceptors, early warning of Russian attacks and SpaceX’s Starlink network:

Rubio, speaking in India, rejected suggestions that Washington was deliberately hindering Ukraine’s defences. “I saw someone associated with the Ukrainian government say that people of Ukraine are dying because the U.S. is denying them information,” he said. “That’s scandalous, that’s outrageous, that’s just simply not true,” CBC News reported. He denied any “deliberate political directive to harm Ukraine,” but acknowledged that Patriot interceptors may not yet have arrived. “I also talked to Saudi Arabia today, they’d like interceptors, Israel would like interceptors, we would like interceptors,” he said.

Rubio was responding after Zelenskyy’s military technical adviser, Serhii “Flash” Beskrestnov, told the BBC that the lack of reliable U.S. warnings meant lives were being lost. “Sometimes we receive this information before the attack, another time we [do] not,” he said.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said he hoped a meeting with Witkoff could be organised in the near future, adding that “we greatly appreciate the mediation efforts of the American negotiators.” It was not yet clear whether Witkoff would travel on to Russia, the BBC reported.

Russian attacks killed at least seven people across Ukraine on Tuesday, including three when two vehicles caught fire on the Kyiv-Odesa highway, CBC News reported. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas told EU lawmakers in Strasbourg that “the only one who doesn’t want peace is Russia.”

Sources: BBC News, CBC News, Al Jazeera

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Russian Ballistic Missiles Cut Power to 550,000 Ukrainian Homes as Zelenskyy Says Partners Again Gave No Warning and Rubio Denies Any Pause: October 19, 2026

KYIV, Ukraine — Russia fired 16 ballistic missiles at Ukraine overnight into Monday, hitting energy facilities in and around Kyiv and cutting power to some 550,000 households, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, adding that Kyiv once again received no early warning from its partners, DW reported.

“Another Russian ballistic missile attack came in several waves overnight, and once again, there was no early warning from our partners,” Zelenskyy wrote on X. He said energy facilities and infrastructure were targeted, but a medical clinic, a school, a metro station and residential buildings were also damaged.

At least one person was killed, Ukrainian authorities said. Ukraine’s air force said 243 of 269 Shahed drones launched in the attack were downed or suppressed, along with four missiles. Russia’s Defense Ministry said it hit a data center, a train depot storing missiles and sites linked to drone production.

Air force spokesman Yuri Ihnat said Ukraine got no warning before a barrage hit Kyiv power plants at around 11 p.m. Sunday, though it did before a later strike at 3 a.m., The Guardian reported. Ukraine says it was not warned on at least three days in the past week.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio, speaking in Uzbekistan, denied any pause in U.S. intelligence sharing. “I don’t know where [Zelenskyy’s] getting these things or why he’s saying these things to the press. You should go back and ask him. There’s been no pause,” he said, as DW reported. Rubio also said that “a few nights ago there was a software problem involving their early warning system.”

The dispute follows President Donald Trump’s waiver on Friday of a sweeping package of Russia sanctions. “Zelenskyy doesn’t care,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Sunday, saying the Ukrainian leader “doesn’t want to end this war, and probably never did.”

Separately, the Kremlin said Monday that Vladimir Putin, Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping could potentially meet at next month’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Shenzhen, China, though spokesman Dmitry Peskov said no concrete proposals or agenda had been discussed, France 24 reported. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said such a meeting “would do only the opposite: encourage Putin to continue this war.”

Sources: DW, The Guardian, France 24

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Typhoon Champi Swerves at the Last Minute and Spares Guam a Direct Hit From 140 mph Winds: October 18, 2026

HAGÅTÑA, Guam — Guam narrowly escaped a direct hit from Category 4 Typhoon Champi early Sunday after the storm made a last-minute turn to the west, keeping its most destructive winds largely offshore, RNZ reported.

Champi passed closest to the U.S. territory at 4:26 a.m. Sunday local time (11:26 a.m. Saturday Pacific), about 16 kilometers (10 miles) south of Merizo in southern Guam, with maximum sustained winds of 225 km/h (140 mph), National Weather Service Guam meteorologist Landon Aydlett said.

“Certainly, we had a near miss of this typhoon in all its intensity,” Aydlett said, as RNZ reported. “We’ve been very fortunate this morning.” He said an eyewall replacement cycle and dry air entering the storm overnight kept Champi from reaching super typhoon strength and limited the flash flooding that had been feared.

Guam International Airport recorded sustained winds of 72 to 88 km/h with gusts approaching 128 km/h, and Andersen Air Force Base saw gusts of 112 km/h. Southern Guam was hardest hit, under an extreme wind warning from about 4 a.m. to 5:30 a.m. “Stay in safe shelter. Don’t let your guard down,” Aydlett told residents.

The Northern Mariana Islands also avoided the worst. Rota remained under a typhoon warning, while Saipan and Tinian stayed under tropical storm warnings and typhoon watches. The governors of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands had requested emergency disaster declarations on Friday, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency said resources were unlikely to reach the islands for three to five days, The Guardian reported.

The islands are still recovering from Super Typhoons Sinlaku and Bavi, which struck in April and July.

Sources: RNZ, The Guardian

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Venezuela Expects Nearly $76 Billion in Oil Investment Over Five Years Under New Deals, Including a U.S. Accord Covering 17 Fields: October 18, 2026

CARACAS — Venezuela expects nearly $76 billion in oil investment over the next five years under recently signed agreements, acting President Delcy Rodríguez said Saturday, adding that a bilateral accord with the United States includes plans to drill 250 rigs, Reuters reported.

“Major investments are coming,” Rodríguez said on national television. “We are talking about investment of almost $76 billion over five years. Those investments will translate into direct benefits for our country in a win-win partnership, because our partner will also benefit,” she said, as Reuters reported.

She said the U.S. accord covers 17 oil fields and is part of a broader package of 61 agreements signed by the parties, El Economista reported.

Rodríguez also highlighted a production recovery in western Zulia state, where she said output had risen from 70,000 barrels per day to 370,000 bpd and was expected to reach 400,000 bpd by the end of 2026. She did not say over what period the increase occurred.

Since the January ouster of President Nicolás Maduro, Venezuela has been reopening its energy sector to foreign investment with the backing of President Donald Trump’s administration. The country has the world’s largest proven crude reserves but produces well below the levels of a decade ago after years of underinvestment, operational problems at state oil company PDVSA and U.S. sanctions on the energy sector.

Sources: Reuters, El Economista

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Mexico Arrests Former Chihuahua Attorney General on Treason Allegations Over CIA Role in a Deadly Drug-Lab Raid: October 18, 2026

MEXICO CITY — Mexican authorities have arrested César Jáuregui, the former attorney general of the northern border state of Chihuahua, on suspicion of treason for allegedly allowing CIA officers to take part in an April raid on a clandestine drug laboratory without the authorization required by Mexican law, Attorney General Ernestina Godoy said Saturday, Reuters and El País reported.

“The investigation determined that Cesar N may have engaged in conduct that could possibly constitute the crime of treason in matters of national security because he allegedly allowed foreign individuals to intervene without authorization on Mexican territory and take part in actions that correspond exclusively to national security forces,” Godoy said in a video message, as Reuters reported. She said the arrest warrant was signed by a federal judge after months of investigation.

The case stems from an April operation in El Pinal, in the Sierra Tarahumara, in which state agents dismantled a drug lab. On the way back, a road crash killed two officials of the Chihuahua prosecutor’s office and two Americans whom Jáuregui, then still attorney general, described as U.S. Embassy instructors. CNN and other outlets later reported that the two Americans were CIA officers.

Godoy said investigators found evidence that the CIA officers had visited the offices of Chihuahua’s state criminal investigation agency several times “without any justification,” and that the raid — a federal responsibility — was carried out without the state prosecutor’s office having opened a case file, El País reported. She also accused Jáuregui of informing foreigners while alerting federal forces only after the operation.

Chihuahua’s acting attorney general, Gilberto Loya Chávez, said Jáuregui also faces state charges of unlawful exercise of public service and conspiracy, according to CNN. What is being investigated is how the operation was conducted, not the dismantling of the lab, he said: “A good result does not justify breaking the law.”

The deaths rekindled sensitivities over U.S. involvement in Mexican security operations. President Claudia Sheinbaum has said her government welcomes intelligence sharing but does not permit U.S. agents or forces to take part directly in operations on Mexican soil, Reuters reported.

Sources: Reuters (via Investing.com), CNN en Español, El País

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CENTCOM Insists the U.S. Controls Hormuz as Ship Attacks Hit a Wartime Record and Brent Crude Touches $110: October 17, 2026

TEHRAN — The United States and Iran are offering sharply conflicting accounts of who controls the Strait of Hormuz as attacks on merchant shipping reach their highest level since the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran began on February 28, Al Jazeera and BBC News reported.

At least 12 ships were attacked in the week ending October 16, the UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) center said, while warning it is “struggling to accurately report true number of attacks with majority of vessels attacked refusing to report.” Of the confirmed 12, one sank and two were disabled, according to Al Jazeera.

In a video message on Friday, U.S. Central Command chief Adm. Brad Cooper said 400 ships and 100 million barrels of oil moved through the strait over the past week. “Let me be clear: The Strait of Hormuz is controlled by the United States and our regional partners, not Iran,” he said, blaming the attacks on “desperation” by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard.

Iran’s IRGC said Saturday that a supertanker carrying more than two million barrels of crude caught fire after hitting a mine on an “unauthorised” route; CENTCOM says it has cleared the strait of mines and that vessels are being struck by projectiles. UKMTO also reported a tanker hit by a rocket-propelled grenade fired from a small boat northeast of Jubail, Saudi Arabia.

Oil flows through Hormuz averaged 11.6 million barrels a day in the week to October 13, about 68% of the pre-war baseline, according to Kpler data cited by Al Jazeera, and Brent crude touched $110 a barrel on Friday for the first time since May. BBC Verify found the weekly tally of reported attacks had already set a record in early October.

Sources: Al Jazeera, BBC News

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Santa Ana Winds Drive the Norte Fire Into Coastal Orange County Homes as 16,000 Are Ordered to Evacuate: October 17, 2026

SAN CLEMENTE, Calif. — A fast-moving wildfire fueled by hot Santa Ana winds burned into coastal neighborhoods of Southern California’s Orange County on Friday, damaging or destroying at least six homes and forcing about 16,000 residents to evacuate, CBC News and BBC News reported.

The Norte Fire started in San Clemente and was driven by wind into San Juan Capistrano, growing to about 465 acres by Friday evening. Black smoke billowed over tennis courts and swimming pools as firefighters doused burning homes. Two firefighters were taken to hospital with heat-related injuries, and the cause has not been announced.

“Had these winds been a little bit stronger, a little bit different direction, this could have been a whole lot worse,” San Clemente Mayor Rick Loeffler said, according to CBC News.

The Norte Fire is one of 13 burning across California, the BBC said. The Bryson Fire in Malibu forced evacuations in the Santa Monica Mountains, while the Henderson Fire near Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton grew past 2,000 acres and twice forced the closure of Interstate 5.

Utilities cut power to reduce the risk of sparks, leaving more than 200,000 customers without electricity on Friday, CBC News reported. The National Weather Service kept red flag warnings and a heat advisory in place into Saturday, with temperatures forecast to reach 95F (35C), the BBC said.

Sources: CBC News, BBC News, DW

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