Spain train crash toll passes 60, California ballot ruling, Brewers win first World Series
The death toll in Spain's high-speed train crash rises past 60, a federal judge refuses to make California set aside about 20,000 ballots, Alphabet shares drop despite cloud growth, a 30-year sentence in Minnesota's Feeding Our Future case, and the Milwaukee Brewers win their first World Series.
At least 64 people were killed, according to authorities cited by AP, and regional officials put the toll at 68 and say it is likely to rise, after a Renfe high-speed train struck the rear of a stopped Iryo train near Urda in Toledo province on Wednesday morning. Both trains were traveling from Madrid toward Seville, carrying more than 540 passengers combined. Regional spokesperson Esther Padilla said the cause is not yet known; Spain's Transport Ministry and an independent rail accident commission are investigating. It is Spain's deadliest rail crash since 2013, and rail service between Madrid and Andalusia is suspended.
U.S. District Judge David O. Carter on Wednesday denied a Justice Department request to make California set aside, or stop counting, mail ballots from about 20,000 people the department alleges are likely noncitizens, until their status could be verified. Carter wrote that the request "would wreak havoc and disrupt the election that is already underway." The Justice Department appealed to the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals the same evening. The midterm elections are Tuesday, November 3.
The Justice Department saysCalifornia officials missed its 48-hour deadline to review a list of people it alleges are likely noncitizens, and setting those ballots aside would not stop them from being counted later; a federal prosecutor said the aim is to "prevent the infection of our election with illegal ballots."
California saysIts safeguards against noncitizen voting are robust, the department's list relies on "suspect data," and complying could wrongly keep eligible voters from being counted.
Alphabet shares fell sharply in after-hours trading Wednesday after Google's parent reported third-quarter earnings of $2.12 a share, well below analysts' estimates of about $3, partly because of an $8.7 billion loss on equity investments. Revenue rose 25% to about $127.6 billion. Google Cloud revenue more than doubled to $30.7 billion, while capital spending more than doubled to $51.4 billion from $24 billion a year earlier.
U.S. District Judge Nancy Brasel sentenced Salim Said, 37, former co-owner of Safari Restaurant in Minneapolis, to 30 years in federal prison on Wednesday. A jury convicted him in 2025 on all 21 counts, including wire fraud, bribery and money laundering, in the Feeding Our Future scheme that exploited a federal child meal program during the COVID-19 pandemic. Prosecutors say Said and other defendants tied to Safari stole $44 million. He was ordered to forfeit $7.8 million, two vehicles and real estate. His attorney argued that Feeding Our Future leader Aimee Bock controlled the money; Said told the court he was "deeply sorry."
The Milwaukee Brewers beat the Tampa Bay Rays 4-1 in Game 5 on Wednesday night at Tropicana Field to win the World Series four games to one, the first title in the franchise's 57-year history. William Contreras was named World Series MVP. The Brewers' only previous World Series appearance was in 1982, and it is Milwaukee's first World Series title since 1957.
