Wednesday morning news: October 28, 2026

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Trump in Texas » President Trump traveled to Corpus Christi, Texas on Tuesday where he rallied Republican voters. But he told backers there was another reason he trekked to the Texas coast:

TRUMP:  And one of the many reasons we did it here, we have a little breaking news. You have a little ship. See that little ship out there? It's got one million barrels of oil on it from Venezuela (cheers)

The shipment follows an oil deal Washington struck with Venezuela, after ousting former dictator Nicolás Maduro. Trump says refineries in Texas will process the oil.

He also urged Texans to send Republican Ken Paxton to the U.S. Senate and defeat Democrat James Talarico.

TRUMP:  He's never gonna love oil and gas, and he's never gonna love your Second Amendment, and he's never gonna love, uh, your children the way you do. It's a different kind of love. You can't put this guy... You can't have a vote like that. It's too close

An average of the latest polls in Texas give Talarico a slight edge of less than 2 points over Paxton.

Venezuela » Secretary of State Marco Rubio joined Trump in Texas to welcome the arrival of that tanker, an oil deal he helped broker.

And Rubio this week said he intends to see Venezuela transition to democracy before he leaves office. But he also cautioned that—his words … "You're not going to street-protest your way into a democracy.”

SOUND: (Machado welcome)

That came just hours after opposition leader María Corina Machado returned home to Venezuela after months abroad, as cheering supporters flooded the streets.

SOUND: (Machado welcome)

Machado promptly called for new elections. But Rubio says Venezuela first needs a new Supreme Court and election council to replace a system designed to allow rigged votes.

Rubio also says Washington told Venezuela’s interim authorities weeks ago to let Machado return without harassing her and they agreed.

Interim leader Delcy Rodríguez, though, criticized Machado, but she added that she hopes:

RODRIGUEZ (translated): … the program for democratic coexistence and peace can provide a space where all voices can be heard.

Critics of the current regime question her sincerity, and say … whether coexistence is now truly possible remains to be seen.

Israel election update » Voters in Israel have cast their ballots and the unofficial exit polls are in. WORLD’s Travis Kircher was on the ground in Tel Aviv, and has the latest on who could be Israel’s next prime minister:

TRAVIS KIRCHER: Analysts were still sorting through the exit poll numbers last night. Some exit polls give Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party a narrow lead over Eisenkot's Yashar Party, though it’s still too close to call.

That means Netanyahu may remain prime minister if he can bring enough parties together to form a 61-seat coalition. But if he fails, there's another outcome.

Strategic consultant and political commentator Udi Tenne:

TENNE: The second way is—it's not very, very good for everybody—but it will be a second election. And if we have a second election in Israel, who will be the prime minister in this month, it will be Benjamin Netanyahu.

If neither Netanyahu nor another candidate can form a government, Israel could face another election about three months after parliament is dissolved.

And building a government may be a challenge for Netanyahu if exit polling proves accurate. Major polls project 70 seats for opposition and Arab parties combined against 50 for Netanyahu's current coalition.

Reporting for WORLD, I'm Travis Kircher in Jerusalem.

Ukraine limited ceasefire » Russia and Ukraine paused fighting Tuesday around one southern Ukrainian city to let food and medicine in, and let civilians out.

First lady Melania Trump helped broker the truce around Russian-occupied Oleshky, where supplies are running dangerously low.

Ukraine’s human rights chief reported no violations by Tuesday evening. The ceasefire is due to last until Sunday night.

But Russia continued missile attacks elsewhere in Ukraine.

This comes as negotiators from Ukraine, Russia and the United States are expected to meet for preliminary peace talks next month either in Abu Dhabi or Switzerland though no exact date has been announced.

Consumer confidence » Americans feel a little better about the economy according to new numbers. WORLD’s Benjamin Eicher has more:

BENJAMIN EICHER: The Conference Board's “confidence index” climbed to 91.7 in October. That was up from just over 84 in September.

The improvement comes as gas prices fall. According to AAA, regular gas now averages $4.27 a gallon nationwide, down more than 20 cents from a month ago.

But several factors continue to weigh on the economy. The Labor Department says consumer prices rose 3.7 percent in September compared to the same month last year.

Employers did not hire as much as expected. And average hourly pay rose just 3% in September compared with a year earlier.

For WORLD, I’m Benjamin Eicher

I'm Kent Covington.

Straight ahead: Hunter Baker joins us for our final pre-election Washington Wednesday. And later, a new English Bible, translated entirely by word of mouth.

This is The World and Everything in It.

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