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Iran said on October 22 that seven tankers had been struck or damaged by mines around the Gulf and Strait of Hormuz. AP could not independently confirm the incidents. Shipping analysts said oil movements continued under U.S. protection, despite rising danger and costs.

Russian ballistic missiles hit Kyiv overnight into October 22 as Ukraine launched drones toward Russia. Ukrainian officials reported deaths, injuries and damage to civilian and energy infrastructure. Russia said it intercepted hundreds of drones. The attacks followed Vladimir Putin's agreement in principle to resume U.S.-mediated negotiations with Ukraine in November; no firm date or ceasefire was announced.

Website operators faced urgent security work on October 22 after PHP released fixes the previous day for two vulnerabilities that can allow attackers to run code without authentication. The PHP project identified risks across installations serving web requests. The U.S. National Security Agency urged organizations to inventory affected services, install vendor patches and consider taking systems offline if immediate mitigation was impossible. The Guardian reported precautionary website shutdowns internationally.

An October 21 federal court order restricts election-related field operations and interviews involving people authorities know or reasonably suspect are U.S. citizens in nine states. Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín found the challengers likely to succeed on their voter-intimidation claim. The restrictions are intended to last through polling-place closure on November 3, but the judge stayed the order until 5 p.m. October 23. AP reported the ruling on October 22.

Emmanuel Macron announced tighter protest restrictions on October 22 after widespread weekend violence, while allowing union demonstrations subject to official review and possible rerouting. Thousands gathered peacefully in Paris after organizers said an administrative court overturned a police ban. AP reported that the ruling was not immediately public. Authorities elsewhere maintained restrictions as France prepared for further demonstrations over living costs and public services.

Global equities weakened on October 22 amid concerns about artificial-intelligence investment and higher oil prices. Reuters reported that the S&P 500 opened down 0.81% and the Nasdaq Composite down 1.48%. AP reported sharp declines in major Asian markets and Brent crude trading near its highest level since May. Technology earnings and renewed energy-supply risks weighed on sentiment.

A New Mexico judge ordered Meta on October 21 to pay $25 billion after a September jury verdict finding that the company misled consumers about Facebook's handling of personal data. The case arose from the Cambridge Analytica scandal. Meta disputed the decision and said it expected to prevail on appeal. The penalty makes the long-running privacy dispute a major financial and legal issue for the company.

French authorities announced on October 22 that Shamonda virus had been detected in a severely immunocompromised patient treated in Lyon who died earlier in the month. The ministry described it as the first documented human infection and said investigations were continuing. Officials considered an insect bite in eastern France a possible transmission route and said no risk to the general population had been identified on current evidence.

Federal prosecutors charged Virginia state Senator Louise Lucas and six others on October 22 over an alleged marijuana distribution and money-laundering enterprise. Authorities accused her of using political influence to protect it. Lucas surrendered, according to the Justice Department. Her defense representative criticized the prosecution and said a fuller response would follow.

A federal magistrate judge in Miami ordered Donald Trump on October 22 to give a deposition by December 11 in his $10 billion lawsuit against the BBC. Failure to comply could bring sanctions, including dismissal, unless the case schedule changes. The dispute concerns the broadcaster's editing of his January 6, 2021, speech; the BBC denies defamation.