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A Houthi missile kills 12 at Riyadh's airport as Trump considers expanding U.S. strikes, while a Russian diesel deal raises questions about sanctions on Moscow. Meanwhile, Hurricane Isaias leaves four dead, Paramount completes its $110 billion Warner Bros. takeover, and inflation data loom next week.

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Week In Review

Houthi Missile Strikes Riyadh Airport

A Houthi missile struck a passenger terminal at Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport on Saturday, killing 12 people, including a US citizen, and wounding roughly 300 others. Saturday's strike was the deadliest in a Gulf Arab nation since the Iran war began, and the Iran-backed rebels had targeted the airport every day since Wednesday.

President Trump said he was weighing whether the US should join Saudi strikes against the Houthis, a move that could draw American forces into a new front of the war. Several international airlines suspended Saudi flights, and any US intervention could prompt the Houthis to halt shipping through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, further restricting Persian Gulf oil flows.

Trump Rules Out Iran Strikes Before Midterms

Trump said Thursday that the US would not resume strikes on Iran before the Nov. 3 midterm elections, and said his team was having productive discussions with Tehran. A June interim ceasefire signed by Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian had collapsed within weeks, and talks stalled after Trump rejected an Iranian proposal in late September.

The pledge came from a president who for weeks had threatened a post-election escalation in the seven-month war, despite early promises of a campaign lasting only weeks. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Tehran expected to deliver a formal reply to a US counterproposal within days, keeping diplomacy alive heading into the final stretch before Election Day.

Hurricane Isaias Batters the Southeast

Hurricane Isaias slammed into Florida late Friday with 105 mph winds, leaving four deaths across Florida and Alabama, including people killed when trees crashed through their roofs. An estimated 500,000 people across several states were still without power Saturday evening, after Alabama, Florida and Georgia declared emergencies and two states ordered mandatory evacuations.

Isaias was the first hurricane of an Atlantic season largely delayed by El Niño, and it weakened into a post-tropical cyclone after crossing the Florida coastline Friday night. Forecasters still warned that the Carolinas and Georgia could see up to 10 inches of rain, and Charleston officials urged residents to stay home during Saturday night's high tide.

Trump Strikes a Russian Diesel Deal

Trump announced Friday that Russia would release 300,000 metric tons of diesel immediately, with 500,000 more in November, under a deal that suspended US sanctions on Russian diesel until April. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called the agreement a gift to Putin, and European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said suspending sanctions gave Moscow more revenue to wage war.

The move came as US diesel averaged $6.28 a gallon, just below September's record high of $6.53, after months of soaring fuel prices tied to the war with Iran. Analysts questioned whether Russia could deliver that much fuel, and one investment strategist said the first tranche of roughly 2.25 million barrels would not materially change pump prices.

Paramount Completes Its Warner Bros. Takeover

David Ellison's Paramount Skydance completed its Warner Bros. Discovery acquisition on Tuesday, closing a roughly $110 billion deal that followed repeated rejections, a bidding war and antitrust fights. Renamed Skydance and trading under the ticker SKYD, the combined company brought together two of Hollywood's most storied film studios with nearly one-third of basic cable programming.

Paramount won the contest with a $31-per-share all-cash offer, and Ellison took charge as co-CEO alongside outgoing Mattel chief executive Ynon Kreiz, who oversaw Barbie's leap to the big screen. Leadership picks announced Monday put Bari Weiss in charge of news at CBS and Mark Thompson over CNN, giving one company control of two major American television newsrooms.

What’s Next

Big Banks Open Earnings Season

Stocks rebounded Friday after a volatile week of elevated Treasury yields and oil prices, setting the stage as major banks kick off earnings season next week. JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, Wells Fargo and Citigroup all report Tuesday, followed by the latest consumer price index on Wednesday morning, offering a fresh read on inflation.

Economics Nobel Arrives Monday

After a week of Nobel announcements honoring breakthroughs in medicine, physics and chemistry, the economics prize announcement is scheduled for Monday to close out the season. Sweden's central bank created the award in 1968, which is why its official name is the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel.

Pentagon Sets Firing Squad Date

The Pentagon said this week that Fort Hood shooter Nidal Hasan will face a firing squad on Dec. 3, and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth wants the execution livestreamed online. President Trump said he approved of the plan but a final decision remains pending, while the United Nations called a livestreamed execution abhorrent and legal challenges are expected.

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Your Takeaway

The week ended with the Iran war threatening to widen, even as Washington kept the door open to diplomacy. A deadly Houthi strike on Riyadh's airport left Trump weighing military action in Yemen, while his pledge to avoid new strikes on Iran before the midterms faces a test as Tehran prepares its response to a U.S. proposal.

Energy prices remain one of the clearest ways the conflict is reaching American households. Trump's deal to import Russian diesel could provide some relief, but questions about supply and the suspension of sanctions on Moscow reveal the difficult choices facing Washington as it tries to contain fuel costs without weakening pressure on Russia.

At home, Hurricane Isaias left communities across the Southeast facing deaths, power outages and continued flooding risks. Meanwhile, Paramount's takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery reshaped Hollywood and placed two major television newsrooms under one corporate owner, raising questions about how the combined company will manage its media businesses.

The coming week will bring fresh signals about the economy and several consequential decisions. Bank earnings and Wednesday's inflation report will test expectations for consumers and interest rates, while the economics Nobel announcement and debate over the planned Fort Hood execution keep science, policy and the justice system in focus.

Extra Bits

Hundreds of costumed fans tried to break a Guinness record for the largest Spider-Man gathering at New York Comic Con, though organizers said they fell just short of 685.

More than a dozen orphaned kittens toured the Sea Life Aquarium at Minnesota's Mall of America, a yearly outing that helps the adoptable felines socialize while they await homes.

A North Carolina wildlife rehabilitator climbed up to rescue an opossum dangling from a fishing hook more than 10 feet above the water along Lincolnton's South Fork Trail.

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Today's Trivia

Qatar transformed from one of the poorer Gulf states into one of the richest per capita after developing large reserves of:

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On This Day

The FCC grants CBS the first license to broadcast color television (1950) · Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev open their arms-control summit in Reykjavik, Iceland (1986) · Ohio's Cuyahoga Valley becomes the first national recreation area upgraded to a national park (2000) · The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons wins the Nobel Peace Prize (2013) · Japanese atomic bomb survivors' group Nihon Hidankyo wins the Nobel Peace Prize (2024)

"for demonstrating through witness testimony that nuclear weapons must never be used again" — Norwegian Nobel Committee, citation awarding Nihon Hidankyo the 2024 Nobel Peace Prize

That wraps up your Sunday Five Minute Daily. Share this week's recap with someone who wants to start Monday informed, and we'll be back tomorrow with a fresh look at the stories shaping the week ahead.

—The Five Minute Daily Team