Mideast Military Buildup, School Choice Tax Break & Music Meets Politics - Friday, October 02, 2026

Erica Mandy (0:00)

Today is Friday, October 2nd. We'll tell you how many more troops are now on their way to the Middle East, and what new details are emerging in the Cornell rape case. Also, the new rules changing how ICE agents can chase and stop drivers. Plus, where millions of Americans could face flooding this weekend, why nearly every child in America now has a new investment account, and how Caitlin Clark just made Nike history. Those stories and even more news to know coming up.

Welcome to The NewsWorthy. All the day's news in less than 15 minutes. I'm Erica Mandy. Thanks so much for being here. Let's do this.

The US is now sending thousands more troops and a third aircraft carrier to the Middle East, as President Trump weighs what to do next with Iran. Specifically, the Pentagon is sending about 9,000 more sailors and Marines onboard an aircraft carrier and a group of Marine warships. That could put three US aircraft carriers in the region for only the second time in the last two decades, along with hundreds of aircraft and dozens of warships. And it would bring the number of American sailors and Marines in the region to more than 20,000. The move comes as Trump says he could ramp up bombing in Iran after the November midterms. Just days ago, he rejected Iran's latest ceasefire proposal, calling it not good enough, though he didn't give a specific reason for rejecting it. As the Wall Street Journal reports, the new ships, jets and troops are expected to arrive by the end of November.

Federal immigration agents are now being told to change a couple of their more controversial tactics for targeting people who may be in the country illegally. New internal guidance says ICE officers are no longer allowed to chase a vehicle that doesn't pull over under any circumstances. Instead, they're supposed to get the vehicle's information and follow up later. The new rules also require officers making traffic stops to have specific training and for all officers at the scene to wear and activate body cameras. The timing is significant since just yesterday, new courtroom testimony shed light on a recent shooting involving ICE agents in Austin. It showed that before the shooting, an ICE officer chased a delivery driver from Venezuela at high speeds through residential Austin streets. The officer was not wearing a body camera and another officer who did have a camera turned it off during the pursuit. Since last year, ICE officers have fired their guns during more than a dozen vehicle stops, killing at least four people and injuring several others. But as we've told you, those aren't the only recent shootings involving immigration agents. One of the more contentious incidents involved American citizen Renee Good, who was shot and killed by an ICE officer in January. And now Good's family is taking the federal government to court over her death. Her family filed two lawsuits yesterday, one against the US government and another against the officer who shot her, as well as several top Trump administration officials. The lawsuits say Good's death was the result of a wrongful and excessive use of force. The family also argues her death was the result of the Trump administration targeting immigrant communities in Minnesota and people who spoke out against the crackdown.

The government, though, has always said the ICE officer who shot Good was acting in self-defense and that Good was trying to hit him with her car. Other witnesses say she was just trying to get away.

Now her family is seeking damages for her death and says it wants accountability for what happened, to be continued.

Newly released court records are giving us a closer look at how a Cornell student processed what she says was a rape at the hands of several fraternity members in 2024 The records include text messages between the woman and one of the men she would later accuse. They show that two days after the party, he apologized, saying he and another man had been too intoxicated to end things when they got out of hand. At that point, the woman specifically said she didn't think any of the sexual activity had been illegal. But the text show her view of that night changed over the following weeks. Two weeks after the party, she was telling the man that, quote, 90% of what happened that night was not consensual. And she reported the allegations to Cornell police five days later. Her lawyer explains how her understanding of the night evolved, saying she at first struggled to believe that someone she thought was her friend would violate her, and later came to accept the reality. Of course, the woman more recently sued over how it was all handled, and that lawsuit has reignited a national conversation about sexual assault, intoxication and consent. As we've told you, that conversation prompted the district attorney to reopen the criminal investigation. But yesterday, New York's Governor Kathy Hochul removed the DA from the case, and appointed the state's Attorney General, Letitia James, to take over as a special prosecutor.