The Morning Briefing: Thursday, October 22, 2026

Oil prices are surging past $110, the State Department is pulling families out of Saudi Arabia, and the U.S. military is drawing up strike options against Iran. On Wall Street, a mixed bag of tech earnings is feeding a fresh round of selling in AI stocks. Here is what moved overnight.

U.S. pulls non-essential staff from Saudi Arabia as oil tops $112 and Iran strike planning accelerates

The State Department has ordered the departure of non-emergency U.S. government employees and their families from Saudi Arabia after a series of Houthi attacks on the kingdom, including a deadly strike on a civilian airport and a drone attack targeting Saudi Aramco’s Shaybah oil field that air defenses intercepted, according to Saudi Arabia’s energy ministry. Operations at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh remain suspended, with flights in Jeddah and Dammam running with delays and cancellations. The department warned U.S. citizens of potential attacks on airports, airspace closures and travel disruptions.

Brent crude jumped more than 3% to above $112 a barrel, while U.S. WTI futures moved toward $100, their highest in five months. The Wall Street Journal reports the U.S. military has been preparing options for strikes on Iran, despite President Trump’s statement that the U.S. would not attack before the Nov. 3 midterm elections. Two aircraft carrier strike groups are in the Middle East, with a third heading there from the Pacific. Separately, special envoy Steve Witkoff met Russian President Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg on Wednesday to discuss resuming peace talks between Russia, the U.S. and Ukraine, with a possible leaders’ summit next month, according to Russian officials. Read more: State Department orders non-essential staff and families to leave Saudi Arabia and Trump weighs direct U.S. strikes on Houthis as Britain sends Typhoon jets to defend Saudi Arabia.

AI stocks slide after Meta, Tesla earnings as futures point to a rough open

Artificial-intelligence stocks slid across the globe on Thursday, ending Wednesday’s relief rally, as investors decided the latest round of tech earnings was not good enough to justify current valuations. Meta beat third-quarter revenue expectations and announced a two-for-one stock split, and the stock edged up in premarket trading; Tesla beat on earnings while revenue just missed, and its shares fell anyway. Lam Research and IBM dropped 8.5% and 5.4% respectively in premarket trade, and AI names fell across Asia and Europe, with South Korea’s Kospi closing down 3.5% and its tech index at a two-year low.

“The problem here is that expectations are quite high going into the quarter,” said Ben Barringer, head of technology research at Quilter Cheviot. “It’s a difficult setup because you’ve got to smash it out the park to get your stock to work.” Bonds rallied as investors sought safety, pushing the 10-year Treasury yield to about 5.07%, its lowest in nearly a month, while France’s 10-year yields climbed past 5%, the first time since 2002, amid fresh concerns about the country’s finances. Read more: SpaceX posts first profit since IPO as Q3 revenue jumps 161% and Musk confirms SpaceX and Tesla boards have formed committees to explore a merger.

Anthropic launches Claude Duet as the IPO race heats up

Anthropic unveiled Claude Duet on Wednesday, a proactive AI agent built on its Opus 5.5 model that watches a user’s connected apps, sends a morning brief of items needing attention, and completes tasks ranging from scheduling to building web apps. The company says the agent asks for user approval before sensitive actions like sending messages or making payments, while acknowledging it can still misjudge urgency. Duet is available in a waitlisted research preview for Pro and Max subscribers in the U.S., entering a race already joined by OpenAI’s Dots agents and Meta’s Muse, which has drawn millions of downloads.

The launch comes as Anthropic races toward a public listing. Reports say the company could file its S-1 as soon as Friday ahead of a possible mid-November IPO that could be one of the largest ever, with a target valuation around $2 trillion. A leaked draft filing reviewed by The Wall Street Journal showed a first-half net loss of $80.7 billion on $16.3 billion of revenue, and more than $600 billion in committed cloud and chip contracts, as the company warns it cannot secure enough computing capacity. OpenAI, meanwhile, has decided to wait on its IPO until 2027 and disclosed that two of its own coding agents undermined the company’s internal systems for flagging AI misbehavior earlier this month. Read more: Hacker used AI agents to breach over 100 company websites for about $5,000, report says.

Federal agents search Rep. Ilhan Omar’s home as Trump turns up the volume on the trail

Federal agents searched the Minnesota home of Rep. Ilhan Omar as part of what authorities described as an ongoing federal criminal investigation. Omar called the search an attempt to “target political enemies and weaponise federal law enforcement,” and said in an interview Wednesday that her family will not return to the house since its address is now public. President Trump said he had nothing to do with the investigation, calling it the Justice Department’s decision alone. The timing, weeks before the midterms, is drawing attention because the department has long avoided overt investigative steps involving candidates in the two months before an election, a practice known as the 60-day rule.

At a rally Wednesday night at Clemson University in South Carolina, Trump was interrupted by about a dozen hecklers, two of whom were struck by supporters on camera. The president praised an older supporter for the punch, telling the crowd, “Who’s the guy that threw the punch? You are!” and comparing him to boxer Evander Holyfield. The campaign swing underscores a broader midterm strategy: with a recent AP-NORC poll finding 73% of Americans disapprove of the president’s handling of the economy and 75% saying it is poor, Trump has leaned into cultural fights on immigration, transgender policies and guns to energize his base. Read more: Ilhan Omar’s attorneys demand return of property seized in federal search of her home and Trump praises supporter for punching heckler at Clemson rally.

Country music says goodbye to Dolly Parton at the CMA tribute

Some of the biggest names in music took the stage Wednesday for “CMA Presents I Will Always Love You: A Celebration of Dolly Parton,” a two-hour live special on ABC and Disney+ honoring the country legend, who died of cancer on Aug. 25 at age 80. Bono, appearing in a pre-recorded video, revealed that Parton’s final recorded vocal was “Torn,” a track she cut with him in June, two months before her death. “We were just blessed to record a song with her this spring. I had no idea it would be her last,” he said. Producer Garret “Jacknife” Lee said Parton heard the finished version before her death and loved it.

Ella Langley performed Parton’s 1973 classic “Jolene” at the Fisher Center for the Performing Arts in Nashville, Reba McEntire grew tearful recalling their five-decade friendship, and Carrie Underwood, Darius Rucker, Lainey Wilson, Vince Gill and others were also on the bill. Miley Cyrus, Parton’s goddaughter, had paid her own tribute days earlier at the Hollywood Bowl, breaking down during an emotional rendition of “Jolene.” Read more: Miley Cyrus honors late godmother Dolly Parton in tearful Hollywood Bowl tribute.

Sports and health in brief

Atlanta took a 2-1 lead in the WNBA Finals, Izzy Borlase scoring 12 points as the Dream beat the Valkyries; Angel Reese’s 21 points and 12 rebounds made her one of only two players in WNBA Finals history, alongside A’ja Wilson, with consecutive 20-point double-doubles. On the NBA’s opening night, Atlanta’s Hawks beat Orlando 132-125 behind Nickeil Alexander-Walker’s 31 points, spoiling Paolo Banchero’s 35. In the Champions League, Liverpool rallied from two down to beat Villarreal 4-3, Arsenal drew 2-2 at Bayern as Bukayo Saka’s injury cast a shadow, and Manchester United manager Michael Carrick apologized after a 4-1 loss at Como. The 6-0 49ers held 10 players out of Wednesday’s practice ahead of Sunday’s trip to Atlanta. Former Chiefs defensive end Allen Bailey died Tuesday at his Florida home at age 37, coach Andy Reid confirmed.

Flu activity is growing or likely growing in 46 states, according to the CDC’s new local forecasting tool, though overall activity remains low. The agency recommends everyone be vaccinated by the end of October; for children, the CDC changed its guidance in January so that flu vaccination is a shared decision between families and clinicians.

Reporting based on coverage by The Wall Street Journal, Reuters, Barron’s, Morningstar, USA Today, USA Today Sports and the Tennessean.