This Week in Politics

This week was dominated by several large stories around the world. Notably, the Trump administration purchasing nearly four hundred million gallons of diesel from Russia, another pause on military strikes in Iran, the announcement of the first public execution in the United States since 1936, democrats ahead of republicans in polling, multiple Houthi attacks in Saudi Arabia, Gaza entering its second year of ceasefire, and the war in Ukraine enters its third year of stalemate. 

President Trump announced the diesel deal on October ninth. The deal is set to begin around sometime this month with an initial shipment of two hundred and twenty-five million gallons of diesel within the month, followed by another three hundred and seventy-five million gallons of diesel in November. With supposedly 750 million gallons to come in the “future”.This deal was made possible by the easing of Biden-era sanctions on Russia. This deal marks the first time Russian fuel has been exported to the U.S. since 2022 and the start of the Ukraine war. 

In 2013, Army psychiatrist Nidal Hassan killed 13 people and injured 32 in a mass shooting at Fort Hood, Texas, in protest of the armed forces being mobilized to Afghanistan. That same year, he was sentenced to death by a military court-martial. Cut to 2026 on October 6th, head of the Department of Defense Pete Hegseth announces to Real America’s Voice that the execution will be “public” and later clarified that the execution will be livestreamed. The last US military execution was April 13, 1961, when Army private John Bennett was hanged. The last military firing-squad execution was Pvt. Eddie Slovik, shot for desertion on Jan. 31, 1945. This marks the first public execution since the hanging of Rainey Bethea in 1936 for rape. 

Finally, in the U.S. sphere, Trump announces another pause on strikes in Iran until after the Midterms. This marks the fifth ceasefire in the conflict's history since the joint US strikes in February of 2026. This follows “productive” discussions between President Trump and Iranian diplomats on Thursday, October 8th. However, the U.S. Navy blockade of the Strait of Hormuz is set to continue after the USS Abraham Lincoln arrived in San Diego after a grueling 300 days at sea and USS George Washington relieved her a little over three weeks ago. As for the general state of the conflict, the U.S. has made no significant headway since the initial strikes in February and Operation Midnight Hammer in 2025. 

Moving to international news, two deadly strikes hit Saudi Arabia's Riyadh and Abha airports on October seventh and eighth, killing at least six and injuring more. The Houthis have been harassing both Saudi Arabia and Yemen since before the start of the Iranian conflict. Alongside that, the Houthis hit a Saudi oil pipeline and blockaded the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, which, alongside the Strait of Hormuz, accounts for a quarter of global petroleum. These two attacks led to Operation Yemen Dawn, in which the Yemeni government, backed by Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan, launched a large-scale offensive and mobilization across the country in an attempt to purge the Houthis from the country, notably in the capital city of Sanaa.

Meanwhile, in Gaza, the ceasefire there entered its second year on October seventh. Both the IDF and Hamas have been demilitarizing the zone, with the Israelis pulling out of the region and Hamas tying its progress on disarmament to the progress of the Israeli retreat. The current estimate is around another year before the region will be fully disarmed, though the majority of the region is under Israeli control and jurisdiction. This conflict has been bloody, with the U.N. and Gaza health ministry estimating 74,000 killed since conflict began in 2023. 

The final notable news from this week is about the current state of the Russo-Ukrainian conflict. Members of the U.S. government met with a Ukrainian delegation in Miami last Friday and Saturday to discuss a peace proposal. This meeting was followed by two notable Russian attacks. A missile strike on a power station in Kyiv killed 22 and 5 children on October seventh, and a bomb strike hit a passenger bus in Donetsk, killing 33 on October eighth. 

In conclusion, this has been a busy week around the world dominated by conflict and death. Though I do have one good piece of news I would like to share with you. Pandas are set to return to the U.S. for the first time since 2024. Ping Ping, a male, and Fu, a female, debuted at the Atlanta zoo last Tuesday at the Arthur M. Blank Panda Grove. These pandas were born in 2020 with names directly translating to “peace” and “happiness”. The pandas are set to stay there until 2036 at the minimum. These pandas mark a sign of goodwill between Washington and Beijing that will hopefully continue. That's all I have for you this week. See you next time.