STORY 1
U.S. suspends consular services in Brazil before Sunday's electiondeveloping
The United States suspended consular services at its embassy in Brasília and its consulates in Brazil on Friday, citing unspecified security concerns, and did not say when they would resume. Australia closed its embassy in Brasília the same day, citing the U.S. alert. Brazil's Federal Police carried out preventive searches but say they found no evidence of a threat or any suspects. Brazil votes Sunday, Oct. 4, in a presidential race between President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Sen. Flávio Bolsonaro.
The U.S. saysThe U.S. Mission says consular services are suspended due to security concerns and advised Americans not to visit its diplomatic facilities; it gave no further details.
Lula's Workers' Party saysParty president Edinho Silva called the closures unprecedented and said, "It's one of Trump's ways of trying to influence Brazilian public opinion."
Sources (3)
STORY 2
Miami judge rules federal noncitizen voting law unconstitutionalconfirmed
U.S. District Judge David Leibowitz in Miami dismissed federal charges against a woman accused of voting illegally in the 2020 election, ruling in a 31-page order that Congress lacked the power to pass the federal law making it a crime for noncitizens to vote in federal elections. He wrote that the Constitution leaves voter qualifications to the states; Florida's own ban on noncitizen voting is unaffected. The ruling applies to this case and does not bind other judges.
The judge says"Congress does not have the constitutional power to enact this statute"; only states can set voter qualifications, and Florida already bars noncitizens from voting.
The Justice Department and critics sayJustice Department lawyers argued "the United States has the right to exclude non-citizens from voting in federal elections." Hans von Spakovsky of Advancing American Freedom called the decision "patently wrong."
Sources (3)
STORY 3
North Korea fires a ballistic missile into the seaconfirmed
North Korea fired a ballistic missile from the Wonsan area at about 6:30 a.m. Saturday local time; it flew about 700 kilometers before landing in the sea off the east coast, according to South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff. Japan also detected the launch. It comes amid tension over a Sept. 21 mine blast in the DMZ that wounded three South Korean soldiers; Seoul blames the North, which rejects the accusation.
Sources (3)
STORY 4
G7 agrees to release 100 million barrels of diesel and oil reservesconfirmed
G7 leaders agreed to release 100 million barrels of diesel and other petroleum from emergency reserves, coordinated through the International Energy Agency, over four months, with a substantial diesel release in the first 20 days. They also pledged not to restrict energy exports to one another, heading off a threatened U.S. diesel export ban.
Sources (2)
STORY 5
India beats Pakistan for Asian Games cricket goldconfirmed
India beat Pakistan by 19 runs, 211-6 to 192-6, in the men's T20 cricket final at the Asian Games in Nagoya, Japan. Abhishek Sharma scored 61 and Tilak Varma 51 not out for India; Pakistan's Hasan Nawaz hit 96 off 51 balls. The teams again skipped the customary handshakes.
Sources (2)
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