U.S. and world news for Oct. 29

Trump meets with South Korea’s president

Donald Trump met with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung today on the final leg of his Asia tour. Lee presented Trump with a medal usually reserved for South Korean leaders. He was also gifted a replica of an ancient golden crown. Earlier, Trump addressed business leaders at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, saying he had signed “groundbreaking agreements” with Malaysia, Cambodia and Japan during his trip. He added that the U.S. has “pretty much finalized” a trade deal with South Korea. On Thursday, Trump is set to hold a high-stakes summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping. Trump said he would not meet with North Korea’s Kim Jong Un despite earlier floating the possibility.

Trump leaves open possible try for third term

President Trump said it is “pretty clear” the U.S. Constitution does not permit him to run for a third term in office, but didn’t rule out the possibility of trying to stay in power after his current term expires. Some of Trump’s allies claim there might be a way for him to run again. “Based on what I read, I guess I’m not allowed to run so we’ll see what happens,” he told reporters. House Speaker Mike Johnson said Tuesday that he had spoken with Trump about the possibility of seeking a third term, but he sees no path for it as any change to the Constitution would be well after Trump has left office. Trump has talked about running for a third term, and Trump 2028 hats are on display in a room near the Oval Office.

Concerns growing for air traffic control as government shutdown continues

Erik Hansen, senior vice president and head of government relations for the U.S. Travel Association warns today that the government shutdown risks doing irreparable harm to efforts to hire more air traffic controllers and to modernize air traffic control. Controllers are required to show up for their job during the government shutdown but are not being paid. A zero-dollar paystub was processed for each of the 14,000 air traffic controllers on Tuesday, the first in the nearly 30-day shutdown period, with no clear end in sight. “I’ve been clear to air traffic controllers; they need to show up for work,” Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said in a news conference Tuesday. “They do really important work for our country, and they need to show up. But I’m not going to lie to anybody to not say that they’re not feeling the stress.”

Hurricane Melissa moves into Cuba

Melissa made landfall in Cuba earlier today as an “extremely dangerous” Category 3 hurricane, according to the National Hurricane Center. More than 700,000 people have been evacuated as officials warn of life-threatening flash floods and landslides. This comes after Melissa struck Jamaica on Tuesday, causing extensive damage and prompting the prime minister to declare the country a disaster area. The storm is responsible for at least seven deaths across the Caribbean and is forecast to move through the Bahamas later today as a strong Category 2 hurricane.

At least 104 reported killed in Israeli strikes on Gaza

Less than three weeks after the Gaza ceasefire took effect, Israel unleashed a barrage of strikes on the enclave after accusing Hamas of violating the truce. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu instructed the military to carry out “powerful strikes” on Tuesday, saying Hamas had killed an Israeli soldier and staged the discovery of a deceased hostage. The strikes killed at least 104 people, hospital officials in Gaza said, marking the deadliest day since the beginning of the ceasefire championed by President Trump. Under the deal, Hamas was required to release all Israeli hostages — both living and dead — but has returned only 15 of the 28 bodies that remained in Gaza.

57 killed in U.S. strikes on boats

The death toll from U.S. military strikes on 14 boats in international waters now totals 57 dead with three survivors. The latest U.S. attacks took place in the eastern Pacific Ocean. Defense Secretary Hegseth in announcing the latest three strikes again did not provide evidence to support the U.S. claim that the boats were smuggling drugs. On Monday, the military hit four boats, killing 14 people on board the vessels. It marked the first time multiple strikes were conducted on the same day. The U.S. has not made moves yet to prosecute the survivors of the strikes as criminals for drug smuggling and, in fact, released two of them.