Monday, Oct. 24

· President Joe Biden signed an executive order giving the Treasury Department “the authority to target certain persons that operate or have operated in the gold sector of the Nicaraguan economy” in a move to punish Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega over his threats to democracy and a crackdown on dissent in the South American nation.

· The Republican National Committee filed a lawsuit against Google, accusing the company of suppressing RNC email solicitations ahead of November’s midterm elections. Google denies the allegation.

· The Justice Department charged two alleged Chinese intelligence officers, He Guochun and Wang Zheng, with attempting to interfere in the prosecution of an undisclosed major Chinese telecommunications company in the U.S. Both men remain at large but are accused of paying a U.S. informant tens of thousands of dollars in cryptocurrency in exchange for internal documents related to a federal case against the company.

· The Wall Street Journal reported that Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud denied the rumors that Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman had privately derided Biden and told aides that he favored former President Donald Trump.

Tuesday, Oct. 25

· A collective of left-wing lawmakers withdrew a letter they sent to Biden calling on him to engage in “vigorous” diplomacy to end the war between Russia and Ukraine. Rep. Pramila Jayapal, chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, said the letter had been released by staff “without vetting.” Jayapal explained, “The letter sent yesterday, although restating that basic principle, has been conflated with GOP opposition to support for the Ukrainians’ just defense of their national sovereignty. As such, it is a distraction at this time and we withdraw the letter.”

· In response to the news that a Russian court upheld a nine-year prison sentence against U.S. basketball star Brittney Griner on marijuana possession charges, national security advisor Jake Sullivan said, “We are aware of the news out of Russia that Brittney Griner will continue to be wrongfully detained under intolerable circumstances after having to undergo another sham judicial proceeding today.”

· NASA announced that its Earth Surface Mineral Dust Source Investigation tool, which is installed in the International Space Station and studies how dust affects the climate, identified more than 50 methane-emitting hotspots around the world, which could help reduce methane’s impact on climate change.

Wednesday, Oct. 26

· The White House released a statement that Biden and the United Kingdom’s new Prime Minister Rishi Sunak agreed to reaffirm the “special relationship” between the two countries, work together to support Ukraine, and compete together against China.

· Trump’s ex-chief of staff Mark Meadows was ordered to testify in an investigation into Trump’s alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election results in Georgia.

· Biden met with Israeli President Isaac Herzog at the White House to focus on Iran. The two leaders did not mention Palestine to reporters despite the Israeli military killing six Palestinians in the West Bank earlier in the week.

Thursday, Oct. 27

· Secretary of State Antony Blinken took his first official visit to Canada in a move to “strengthen our vital partnership with Canada to address shared goals” like Ukraine, the crisis in Haiti, and migration and refugee resettlement in the Americas. He met with his counterpart, Melanie Joly, and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau during the two-day trip.

· Blinken said China made decisions that change the standards on exerting pressure on Taiwan, including the possibility of “using force to achieve their goal.” Blinken explained “that [China] wanted to speed up the process by which they would pursue reunification.”

· The Pentagon released its National Defense Strategy, a periodic assessment of U.S. defense needs and priorities, which declared China the U.S.’s most “consequential strategic competitor for the coming decades.” It also named Russia, Iran and North Korea as threats.

Friday, Oct. 28

· House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband Paul Pelosi, 82, was “violently assaulted” with a hammer in the couple’s San Francisco home. San Francisco Police Chief William Scott identified the suspect as 42-year-old David Depape. Scott said the incident was “not a random act.”

· The Treasury Department announced sanctions against the 15 Khordad Foundation, an Iranian foundation accused of putting out a multimillion-dollar bounty on British-American author Salman Rushdie, who was stabbed in New York state in August. The sanctions freeze’s the foundation’s U.S.-based assets and prevents U.S. citizens from doing business with it.

· A federal judge declined to ban Clean Elections USA, a QAnon-linked activist group espousing conspiracies about widespread voter fraud, from gathering near ballot boxes in Arizona, arguing that the members’ actions did not constitute a threat or intimidation and that their right to assemble in public spaces is constitutionally protected.

Saturday, Oct. 29

· The oldest inmate at Guantanamo Bay, Saifullah Paracha, 74 to 75, was released to his home country of Pakistan after nearly 20 years of detention without trial. “The Foreign Ministry completed an extensive inter-agency process to facilitate the repatriation of Mr Paracha,” the Pakistani foreign ministry said in a statement.

Sunday, Oct. 30

· No news to report.