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A high-ranking Russian lawmaker claims his government recently sent Venezuela air defense systems and could provide ballistic and cruise missiles in the future. The comments, to an official Russian media outlet, are a response to the ongoing buildup of U.S. forces in the region aimed at narco-traffickers and Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford is now in the Atlantic, heading for the Caribbean, which you can read more about later in this story. You can catch up with our latest coverage of the Caribbean situation in our story here.

“Russian Pantsir-S1 and Buk-M2E systems were just recently delivered to Caracas by Il-76 transport aircraft,” Alexei Zhuravlev, First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Defense Committee, told Gazeta.Ru earlier this week.

“Russia is actually one of Venezuela’s key military-technical partners; we supply the country with virtually the entire range of weapons, from small arms to aircraft,” Zhuravlev added. “Russian Su-30MK2 fighters are the backbone of the Venezuelan Air Force, making it one of the most powerful air powers in the region. The delivery of several S-300VM (Antey-2500) battalions has significantly strengthened the country’s ability to protect important installations from air attacks.”

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A common solution to sleeplessness may have adverse health effects.

Consistently taking melatonin supplements, which are commonly used to promote sleep and address insomnia, was associated with a higher risk of heart failure diagnosis, heart failure hospitalization and death from any cause in chronic insomnia, according to a preliminary study that will be presented at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions in November.

Among more than 100,000 adults diagnosed with insomnia, those with consistent melatonin use had a 90% higher chance of incident heart failure over five years compared with non-users. Melatonin users were nearly 3 1/2 times as likely to be hospitalized for heart failure compared to those not taking the supplement. The study cautions there isn't yet a direct connection between melatonin and heart disease.

But “,elatonin supplements may not be as harmless as commonly assumed. If our study is confirmed, this could affect how doctors counsel patients about sleep aids,” said Ekenedilichukwu Nnadi, lead author of the study and chief resident in internal medicine at SUNY Downstate/Kings County Primary Care in Brooklyn, New York.

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California voters approved Proposition 50, according to the Associated Press.

Prop. 50 asked voters to approve a temporary redistricting plan that would redraw the state’s congressional map to make it more favorable for Democrats. Gov. Gavin Newsom said the proposition, also known as the Election Rigging Response Act, is a way to counter Texas Republicans’ efforts to redraw their congressional map, targeting seats held by Democrats.

In San Diego, Republican Rep. Darrell Issa represents the 48th Congressional District, which covers much of East and North County. Issa has represented parts of the region through multiple redistricting cycles, but the balance of registered voters in his district will change a lot in favor of Democrats since Prop. 50 passed.

Four other Republican-held districts in the state — in Tahoe, the Central Valley, Riverside County and the Bay Area — are targeted by Prop 50.

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Israel handed over the bodies of 45 Palestinians on Monday, the Red Cross said, a day after militants returned the remains of three hostages. Israeli officials identified the three as soldiers who were killed in the Hamas-led attack on Oct. 7, 2023 that triggered the war in Gaza.

The exchange marked another step forward for the tenuous, U.S.-brokered ceasefire intended to end the deadliest and most destructive war ever fought between Israel and Hamas.

Since the truce took effect on Oct. 10, Palestinian militants have released the remains of 20 hostages, with eight now remaining in Gaza.

For each Israeli hostage returned, Israel has been releasing the remains of 15 Palestinians. With Monday’s return, the bodies of 270 Palestinians have been handed back since the start of the ceasefire.

The Red Cross said it had facilitated the transfer of 45 Palestinian bodies to Gaza on Monday morning. Zaher al-Wahidi, a spokesperson at the Gaza Health Ministry, told The Associated Press that Nasser Hospital received the bodies around noon.

Only 78 of the bodies returned so far have been identified, the ministry said. Forensic work is complicated by a lack of DNA testing kits in Gaza, it added. The ministry posts photos of the remains online, in the hope that families will recognize them.

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Ukrainian long-range drones attacked an industrial plant around 1,300 kilometers (800 miles) inside Russia, local officials said Tuesday, while Ukraine’s army remained locked in an intense battle to hold back a Russian push on the key city of Pokrovsk in the eastern Donetsk region.

Two drones targeted an industrial facility in Sterlitamak, a city in Russia’s Bashkortostan region, regional Gov. Radiy Habirov said in an online statement. He didn’t specify what facility was targeted but he said that both drones were shot down. There were no casualties, and the facility was operating normally, he said.

Meanwhile, the city administration reported an explosion at the Sterlitamak Petrochemical Plant caused the plant’s water treatment facility to partially collapse, adding that the cause of the explosion was not known. The plant, which makes rubber and aviation fuel, is not known to have been attacked before.

Ukraine’s daring strikes deep inside Russia using domestically produced drones have embarrassed Moscow, with officials being unforthcoming about any damage, and unnerved Russians. Ukraine has taken aim at manufacturing plants, oil refineries and military logistics hubs in a bid to disrupt Russia’s war effort almost four years after Moscow launched an all-out invasion.

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A UPS cargo plane crashed shortly after take off, erupting into a massive fireball near the Louisville Muhammad Ali international airport in Kentucky, leaving at least seven dead and 11 injured, the state’s governor, Andy Beshear, said. Beshear said he expects those numbers to grow.

Flames from the crash ignited a string of fires on the ground in an industrial corridor adjacent to the international airport, apparently accounting for one of the confirmed fatalities and the injuries of 11 people, who according to airport officials were taken to hospital.

The plane, a McDonnell Douglas MD-11, had three crew members on board and crashed around 5.15pm local time, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. It was bound for Honolulu.

Beshear said early on that he believes there were at least three fatalities, but that number would increase as emergency crews parse through the debris. He added that the crash took place near two businesses: a recycling center, which took a direct hit, and an auto parts shop where all but two employees were accounted for. Their identities will be released soon, Beshear added.

The governor said there was no hazardous cargo onboard the aircraft.

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Zohran Mamdani has won the race for New York City mayor, according to Decision Desk HQ, ushering in a new era of progressive politics in the city and reigniting the debate over the Democratic Party’s future.

Mamdani, a 34-year-old democratic socialist, is poised to become the first millennial and first Muslim to lead New York City, after a campaign that pulled off one of the most stunning political upsets in recent memory. He defeated former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who mounted a long-shot independent bid after losing to Mamdani in the Democratic primary, and Republican Curtis Sliwa in his bid to succeed Mayor Eric Adams.

Mamdani focused heavily on affordability, pledging to freeze rent, establish city-owned grocery stores and make buses free for riders. He quickly became a progressive icon as well as a polarizing figure within the party over his positions, so much so that it divided prominent New York Democratic leadership over whether to endorse him.

One of the biggest flash points in the race, however, centered on his views on the Israel-Hamas conflict.

Mamdani was heavily criticized for not initially condemning the phrase “globalize the intifada.” Though the New York State Assembly member has not used the term, pro-Israel activists say it risks inciting violence against Zionists and Jews, while pro-Palestinian activists equate it largely with Palestinian liberation.

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Former Virginia Del. Jay Jones (D) was projected to oust incumbent Attorney General Jason Miyares (R) in the race for the state’s top law enforcement spot on Tuesday, staving off a texting controversy that dogged his candidacy in the campaign’s final month. 

While the race was always considered one of the more competitive statewide contests in Virginia this cycle, it was roiled in its final stretch by resurfaced violent texts sent by Jones in 2022 about then-state House Speaker Todd Gilbert (R).

“Three people, two bullets,” Jones wrote in a text to Del. Carrie Coyner (R) about Gilbert. 

“Gilbert, hitler, and pol pot,” Jones wrote. “Gilbert gets two bullets to the head.”

“Spoiler: put Gilbert in the crew with the two worst people you know and he receives both bullets every time,” Jones told Coyner.

Coyner, in response, told Jones, who at the time did not hold an elected office, to stop.

Jones apologized for the texts, but Republicans from Miyares to President Trump used the scandal to attack the Democrat throughout the final month of the campaign.

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