Ebola Cases Cross 10,000 as Israel Vote Counting Continues

The Democratic Republic of Congo's latest figures show more than 10,000 people infected in the Ebola outbreak declared in May, with nearly 5,000 deaths recorded. About one-third of the dead were children. The geographic span reaches from Nigeria to Kenya, the widest for any outbreak on record, while the infection rate exceeds any previous Ebola event.

In Israel, vote counting is proceeding after a record turnout. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was running against Gadi Eisenkot, a center-right former military chief of staff. Overnight tallies shifted the lead between the two candidates, leaving no winner. Election officials told NPR they expect counting to finish tomorrow afternoon.

Neither candidate holds a clear route to a majority coalition. A party leader securing a majority in parliament would need six weeks to assemble a governing bloc. Eisenkot could draw support from Arab-led parties, whose strong showing would help him reach a majority of lawmakers. His camp has resisted partnering with Arab parties, citing mistrust and the demonization of Arab political leaders after the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks. Both candidates remain short of a coalition majority.

Consumer prices rose 3.7% in September compared with a year earlier, according to the Labor Department's latest cost-of-living report, a larger annual increase than the prior month. Prices are rising faster than average wages. Federal Reserve policymakers raised rates in September, and investors do not expect a hike at today's meeting.

Midterm ad spending has passed $11 billion, according to Ad Impact. An NPR analysis found that candidates in four major Senate races spent over $15 million on fundraising ads during the 2025-26 cycle. President Trump has campaigned in Texas, Mississippi, and Kansas. Danielle Kurtzleben, an NPR reporter, said Trump's rally jokes about Ohio Sen. Jon Husted's physique entertain crowds but shift attention away from the economy and gas prices, issues she identified as priorities for median voters. Kurtzleben also noted that Trump's need to rally votes in deeply Republican states signals a problem for the party.

The Trump administration has revoked Temporary Protected Status for Haitians and has run an aggressive deportation campaign in Springfield, Ohio, where Michel Martin of Morning Edition reported that some voters said they are casting early ballots out of anger over the treatment of Haitians. In Michigan, Abdul El-Sayed narrowly won the Democratic Senate nomination. Tariffs are hitting Michigan households harder than those in any other state because of the state's reliance on cross-border trade.

In the United States, a federal judge has temporarily blocked the Trump administration's plans to alter East Potomac Park, the District of Columbia golf course the president wants converted into a championship-level venue. Harvard astrophysicists have identified what they believe is a previously undiscovered dwarf planet in the solar system.