Elections offer early Trump test

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Daily Briefing

By Kate Turton

Hello. Elections in New York, New Jersey and Virginia offer an early test of Trump's agenda. Elsewhere, former US Vice President Dick Cheney has died, and Norway wealth fund to vote no on Musk's $1 trillion Tesla pay package.

Plus, US manufacturing is mired in weakness as tariff gloom spreads.

Today's Top News

Democratic candidate for New York City mayor, Zohran Mamdani in Manhattan's Lower East Side. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo

United States

Voters in New Jersey and Virginia will choose their next governors in a pair of races that will serve as an early gauge of the American electorate's response to President Donald Trump's norm-shattering nine months in office. Meanwhile, in New York City's mayoral race, Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani faces former Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo.
Trump endorsed Cuomo for mayor of New York City and threatened to hold back federal funds to the city if Democratic candidate Mamdani wins the mayoral election.
The US government shutdown entered its 35th day, matching a record set during Trump's first term for the longest in history, as Republicans and Democrats in Congress continue to blame each other for the standoff.
Following Trump's threats to carry out strikes in Nigeria, several Pentagon officials who spoke to Reuters describe feeling whiplash from Trump's orders as they try to understand the priorities of an administration that in the past several months has elevated once backburner issues like nuclear testing, democracy in Venezuela and cocaine trafficking.

In other news

A meeting with Xi Jinping saw Trump agree to slash his fentanyl-related tariffs on China in half. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said this would be hashed out via a new bilateral working group. Such tactics have been derided by Republican lawmakers, who argue that Beijing floats such working groups as concessions in high-level talks and then mires the US in protracted negotiations.
Russia said that its forces were tightening their encirclement of Ukrainian troops in the city of Pokrovsk, a transport and logistics hub they have been trying to capture for over a year. This is why Russia pushing hard to take the city.
Syrians no longer have grounds for asylum in Germany now the civil war in their country is over, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said, as his conservatives seek to fend off a surging far-right ahead of a slew of state elections next year.
EU climate ministers will make a last-ditch attempt to pass a new climate change target, in an effort to avoid going to the U.N. COP30 summit in Brazil empty-handed.

Business & Markets

US manufacturing contracted for an eighth straight month in October as new orders remained subdued, and suppliers were taking longer to deliver materials to factories against the backdrop of tariffs on imported goods.
Chinese online fashion platform Shein is ramping up its fight in France, gambling that its first permanent shop will help fend off fierce pushback from lawmakers against its low-cost model. Helen Reid tells the Reuters World News podcast that one issue French politicians are united over is tightening controls on Shein.
Starbucks said it would sell control of its operations in China to Boyu Capital in a deal that values the business at $4 billion - one of the largest divestments of a China unit by a global consumer company in recent years.
Norway's sovereign wealth fund, the world's largest, said it would vote against ratifying Tesla CEO Elon Musk's proposed compensation package, containing shares worth up to $1 trillion, at an annual general meeting this week.
The global stock surge lost steam as US bank chiefs sounded the alarm over overheated valuations. Meanwhile, the dollar stayed near its highest level since August, as the Fed's latest comments left traders guessing on the rate path ahead. Watch our daily rundown for more.
Bankrupt First Brands sued its former chief executive and founder Patrick James, accusing him of orchestrating frauds that left the auto parts maker insolvent. James enriched himself and his family by "misappropriating hundreds of millions (if not billions) of dollars from First Brands," the company said in a lawsuit.
British finance minister Rachel Reeves paved the way for broad tax rises to avoid a return to "austerity", framing her second annual budget as one of "hard choices" to protect public spending while reducing Britain's debt.
The White House is negotiating with trading partners while US-China commerce seizes up. In this episode of The Big View podcast, Professor Simon Evenett of IMD Business School explains how the tense discussions might play out, and where they will leave the global trade system.

From pickaxes to AI, COP30 host state holds past and future of Amazon mining

Garimpeiro Domingos Jose de Souza sits outside his bar in Serra Pelada in the Amazonian state of Para, in Brazil, October 11, 2025. REUTERS/Jorge Silva

Set to host the COP30 United Nations climate talks , the Amazonian state of Para has seen a widening divide between mining by major firms and by artisanal miners, hunting for gold, often illegally.

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Doja Cat. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni

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