The Daily Brief: October 24, 2026

// BLUFOil prices hit a six-month high Friday on fears the US-Iran conflict will flare up again, and the Dow fell more than 650 points.

US crude (WTI) settled up 3.8% at $103.27 a barrel, and global benchmark Brent settled up 3.1% at $116.72, its highest close since April 29. Traders cited Houthi attacks on Saudi energy sites and attacks on tankers near the Strait of Hormuz. The Dow fell 652.82 points (1.23%) to 52,215.16, the S&P 500 fell 0.52% to 7,623.68 and the Nasdaq fell 0.21% to 25,955.34. The Energy Department authorized an emergency loan of up to 400,000 barrels from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to a Louisiana refinery, per Reuters.

// BLUFThe Court paused a lower-court order, so student IDs can't be used as backup voter ID in New Hampshire on Nov. 3.

In an unsigned order Thursday (Oct 22), the justices stayed a federal judge's ruling that had told the state not to stop election officials from considering student IDs under a backup identity process. The Court cited the principle that federal courts should not change election rules close to an election. New Hampshire's secretary of state argued the ruling would force the state to undo months of election preparation. Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson dissented, writing that the lower court's order addressed misinformation and did not change the law.

// BLUFThe White House says Melania Trump secured a ceasefire limited to one Russian-occupied Ukrainian town, to allow aid and evacuations.

The White House said both countries agreed to pause military action in Oleshky, in the Kherson region, so aid can enter and civilians can leave through a safe corridor. The Kremlin confirmed the deal and credited the first lady. Ukraine's negotiator said it followed a long process involving Melania Trump and Pope Leo. The White House says about 1,700 to 2,000 people remain in the town, down from about 24,000 before the war.

// BLUFThe Energy Department added helium to its critical materials list, citing its role in making semiconductors and supply risks.

The designation, announced Friday (Oct 23) under the Energy Act of 2020, makes more federal financing available to helium producers and means closer government monitoring of supply. The department said helium has no viable substitute in many uses, including chipmaking, quantum computing and medical equipment, and that limited refining capacity and permitting times constrain US output. The US is the world's largest helium producer; Qatar and Russia are the other top producers.

// BLUFA Smithsonian-led, NASA-funded study mapped more than 10,000 young faults showing the Moon is still slowly contracting as it cools.

Published Oct. 14 in The Planetary Science Journal by Thomas Watters and colleagues, the study used images from NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter camera. It estimates the Moon's radius has shrunk about 45 meters (148 feet) over the past 400 to 800 million years, roughly 6 to 11 centimeters per million years. Because the faults are spread across the surface, the researchers say moonquakes can happen anywhere on the Moon. This is a Smithsonian study, not a NASA announcement.

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