The Morning Briefing: October 29, 2026

Good morning. Spain is in mourning after a high-speed train collision killed at least 68 people, Milwaukee has its first World Series title, and the Federal Reserve held interest rates steady with five days left before the midterm elections. Here is what to know on Thursday, October 29, 2026.

Spain train crash kills at least 68 near Toledo

At least 68 people were killed on Wednesday morning when a Renfe high-speed train struck the rear of a stationary Iryo train near Urda, in Toledo province, on the Madrid to Seville line. More than 500 passengers were aboard the two trains, and dozens of people were injured. Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez declared three days of national mourning, from October 29 to 31, and high-speed service on the Madrid to Andalusia corridor was suspended.

Transport Minister Oscar Puente said the control system at Urda failed, six trains were stopped, and one was allowed to restart and traveled about 25 kilometers before hitting the stopped train. He called the order to restart the train inexplicable. Investigators have not yet given a final account of the sequence of events. It is the second deadly high-speed rail collision in Spain this year. Read the full story on the Spain train crash.

Brewers win first World Series title, beating Rays 4-1 in Game 5

The Milwaukee Brewers won the first World Series title in franchise history on Wednesday night, beating the Tampa Bay Rays 4-1 in Game 5 at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida, to take the series 4-1. It was Milwaukee’s first trip to the World Series since 1982. The Brewers finished a 103-win regular season and an 11-2 postseason run that included a sweep of the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League Championship Series.

Jacob Misiorowski threw five and two-thirds shutout innings in the clincher, and catcher William Contreras was named World Series MVP after hitting .381 with four runs batted in across the series. “I know the city has waited a long, long time for this and we’re so happy to bring it back to them,” outfielder Christian Yelich said after the game. Read the full story on the Brewers title.

Federal Reserve holds rates at 3.75% to 4.00% in a 10-2 vote

The Federal Reserve held its benchmark interest rate range at 3.75% to 4.00% on Wednesday. The vote was 10-2. Governor Lisa Cook and Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack dissented in favor of a quarter-point increase. Stocks closed modestly higher: the S&P 500 rose 0.28% to 7,743.98, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.19% to 52,475.10, and the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.27% to 26,549.85. The 10-year Treasury yield rose to 5.05%.

After the close, attention turned to big technology earnings, with Microsoft reporting earnings per share of $4.89 against a $4.73 estimate and Alphabet reporting $2.12 against a $2.99 forecast, according to market reports. Oil also moved higher on Wednesday, with Brent crude settling near $115 a barrel after a claimed strike on a Saudi refinery. Read the full story on the Fed decision. Read the full story on oil prices.

Midterm campaigns enter the final week, and a judge rejects a bid to block California ballots

President Donald Trump campaigned in Chillicothe, Ohio, on Wednesday evening for Senator Jon Husted, who faces former Senator Sherrod Brown, while former President Barack Obama campaigned in Georgia for Senator Jon Ossoff, who faces Representative Mike Collins. The midterm elections are Tuesday, November 3, and will decide control of the House and Senate. Prediction markets on Wednesday gave Democrats about a 92% chance of winning the House and about a 67% chance of winning the Senate, according to Polymarket figures cited by NorthJersey.com. Prediction-market prices are set by traders, not by polls.

In a separate election case, U.S. District Judge David Carter on Wednesday rejected a Justice Department request to temporarily block California from counting mail ballots from more than 20,000 registered voters the department alleged were likely noncitizens. Carter wrote that a ruling for the administration would “wreak havoc” and could cost thousands of registered voters their vote. The Federal Election Commission also restored its electronic filing system on Wednesday night after taking it offline for nearly 41 hours to contain a cyberattack, an outage that temporarily hid late campaign spending reports in the final days before the election. Read the full story on election cases in the final week.

Israel election ends with no bloc holding a majority

Israel’s parliamentary election, held Tuesday, has produced no clear governing majority. With 72% of ballot boxes counted on Wednesday, partial results published by the Central Elections Committee gave Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s bloc of right-wing and religious parties 54 seats and the camp led by former military chief Gadi Eisenkot 48 seats, with Arab-led parties holding 18. Neither side reached the 61 seats needed for a majority in the 120-seat Knesset, and official results are not due until November 4.

Both Netanyahu and Eisenkot claimed a mandate to govern, and Netanyahu will stay on as caretaker prime minister while coalition talks continue. Turnout reached 77.7%, the highest in a Knesset election in 27 years. Read the full story on the Israel election.

Labor leader Dolores Huerta dies at 96

Dolores Huerta, a co-founder of the United Farm Workers and a labor leader whose organizing work spanned decades, died at age 96, according to reports on Wednesday. Huerta worked alongside Cesar Chavez to organize farmworkers in California, and she remained active in labor and civil rights causes in later years. Read the full story on Dolores Huerta.