Week in Review: Courts Rebuff DOJ, Fed Holds, Lula Wins, Ebola Spreads

The week of Oct. 25 was dominated by the final push toward the Nov. 3 midterms, an inflation-and-rates standoff and a record-setting listing filing, according to the paper’s reporting. Here is how the week’s main stories stack up by section.

Nation. Federal courts repeatedly rebuffed the Justice Department’s effort to set aside about 20,000 California mail ballots; a divided Ninth Circuit panel dismissed its appeal on Monday. In Alaska, Gov. Mike Dunleavy and federal prosecutors opened probes of a second “Dan Sullivan” candidacy, which challenger Mary Peltola’s campaign denies having any role in. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth fired the Pentagon’s top planner over alleged leaks and referred the case to the Justice Department. The Central Command estimate put the Iran war’s cost at $47.1 billion. Dolores Huerta, the farmworker leader behind “Sí Se Puede,” died at 96.

World. Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva won a fourth term in Brazil’s runoff by more than four million votes, while Flávio Bolsonaro said he would challenge a late extension of voting hours. Israeli exit polls showed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s bloc short of a majority. Ebola in Congo passed 10,000 confirmed cases.

Business. The Federal Reserve held rates at 3.75% to 4% with two officials voting to raise them, as Chairman Kevin Warsh said inflation is too high. Consumer confidence rebounded from a decade low as gas prices eased. Anthropic filed for what could be the largest stock offering ever, showing revenue up roughly fourteenfold in a year.

Technology. Apple put its M6 chip in a new MacBook Pro and iMac, and DeepMind unveiled Genie 4. Hackers leaked data on more than 40,000 Homeland Security employees, a group calling itself the Department of Peace said it took the records.

Science and health. The UN weather agency said greenhouse gases hit new records in 2025, with carbon dioxide at 426.8 parts per million. The EPA proposed easing methane rules for oil and gas operators. The CDC’s updated threats report estimated 9.7 million resistant infections and about 50,800 deaths a year.

Culture. Taylor Swift and Lyle Lovett joined the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, and the dinosaur skeleton that sold for $47 million set off a debate over whether fossils now fetch masterpiece prices.

Looking ahead, Saturday’s late additions, a federal order limiting Justice Department threats to California election officials and a $2.1 billion Patriot sale to Ukraine, will carry into a week that ends with Election Day on Tuesday.