Macron Addresses France After a Second Night of Looting in Paris, Trump's Approval Hits a Record Low: Sunday's Top News

Nightly Wrap · News

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2026

Paris had a second night of looting, President Macron addressed France, and two new polls put President Trump at record lows a fortnight before the midterms. In Las Vegas, a jet carrying Donnie Wahlberg skidded off the runway at Harry Reid — and everyone walked away. Here are the nine stories that mattered.

1. Macron addresses France after looters return to Paris for a second night

Looters returned to central Paris on Sunday night, hours before the French government met for emergency talks on some of the worst disorder the country has seen in decades. Paris police said they made 108 arrests in the capital on October 18, 66 of them in the evening, as scattered groups tried to break into shops; at least five shops were looted, including a clothing store and two supermarkets, and the door of the BHV Marais department store was forced open, according to Brussels Signal’s account of the police prefecture. The second night followed Saturday’s nationwide demonstrations over high prices and public services, in which roughly 550,000 people marched and violent groups looted about 1,500 businesses. In a televised address Sunday evening, President Emmanuel Macron spoke of anger and shame, said those who looted would pay for the damage, and announced neither a state of emergency nor a curfew — a decision the opposition criticized.

2. Trump's approval hits a record low two weeks before the midterms

Two major polls released Sunday put President Donald Trump at new lows with the November 3 midterms just over two weeks away. A Washington Post–ABC News–Ipsos survey found 33 percent of U.S. adults approve of Trump’s job performance and 66 percent disapprove — his lowest mark in that polling — with about three in four disapproving of his handling of the cost of living and inflation. An NBC News Decision Desk poll found 71 percent of adults say the country is on the wrong track, the highest share of his second term, and 55 percent of registered voters said they would choose Democrats to control Congress. Republicans are defending competitive Senate seats in states including Alaska, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Michigan, Ohio and Texas, according to the Cook Political Report.

3. Trump waives new Russia sanctions, drawing bipartisan pushback

President Trump signed an order waiving the newly enacted Graham Bill sanctions on Russia, drawing bipartisan condemnation in Congress, according to reporting summarized by The Morning Brief and the Associated Press. Lawmakers in both parties who had backed the sanctions criticized the reversal so soon after the measure was enacted. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned the move would encourage Russia’s assault and issued a public plea over the decision. The waiver sets up a potential confrontation between Congress and the White House over Russia policy in the final stretch before the midterms.

4. A jet skids off the runway at Harry Reid — and Donnie Wahlberg was aboard

A Dassault Falcon 50 business jet aborted its takeoff at Las Vegas’s Harry Reid International Airport around 11 a.m. Sunday, skidded off Runway 1L and hit the airport’s perimeter fence. The airport closed runways 1L and 1R for inspection, the FAA imposed a ground stop, and FlightAware counted more than 350 delayed flights; no injuries were reported, and the runways later reopened. The jet, identified in flight-tracking reports as N200SG and bound for Toronto Pearson with eight people aboard, was carrying New Kids on the Block’s Donnie Wahlberg home after the group’s final Las Vegas concert — Wahlberg posted afterward that “these pilots saved our lives.” Our coverage of the runway excursion

5. Austrian Airlines flight from Tel Aviv diverted after a threat

An Austrian Airlines flight from Tel Aviv to Vienna made an emergency landing in Sofia, Bulgaria, on Sunday after a threat was made against the aircraft, the airline told USA TODAY. Flight OS82, an Airbus A320 with 51 passengers and six crew members, landed safely in Sofia at 8:42 p.m. CEST and was searched after passengers disembarked. Bulgaria’s transport ministry described a bomb-threat signal, and a Bulgarian Air Force fighter jet escorted the aircraft to Sofia, according to Sky News reporting cited by USA TODAY. Passengers were to be rebooked on an alternative flight after the search.

6. Dozens of cattle killed, others roam Kansas City after a truck overturns

A truck hauling 120 cattle overturned shortly before 3 a.m. Sunday on the westbound curve of Interstate 70 over Interstate 35 in downtown Kansas City, Missouri, killing 45 to 60 of the animals and sending others roaming city streets, police told USA TODAY. Escaped cattle were reported as far west as Kansas City, Kansas, and as far south as Crown Center, about three miles from the crash; authorities used drones to track them and workers on horseback to corral them. Both drivers were taken to hospitals in stable condition, and police said all of the cattle have been accounted for.

7. GTA VI enters its final 30 days

The countdown is on in everything but a Rockstar press release: Sunday marked 30 days until Grand Theft Auto VI launches on November 19 for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S, a milestone fans marked across social media as the game’s Hollywood Boulevard mural was finished in Los Angeles. The date also landed GTA VI inside The Game Awards’ eligibility conversation, with its late-November launch raising questions about how voters will judge a game released so close to awards season. After more than eight years of development and two delays, the final month is here — and fans should be wary of any site promising an early build. Tonight’s NBA night wrap is also live

8. Netflix changes content chiefs as Peter Rice replaces Bela Bajaria

Netflix’s leadership shakeup remained the entertainment industry’s talking point through the weekend: former Disney executive Peter Rice will take over as chief content officer on October 26, succeeding Bela Bajaria, who is leaving after nearly a decade, Reuters reported. Bajaria, content chief since January 2023, oversaw hits including “Bridgerton” and “Squid Game” and expanded live programming through deals with WWE and the NFL. The announcement came a day after Netflix told staff it was laying off about 6 percent of its workforce — roughly 1,000 employees, its biggest cuts since 2022 — as investors question whether engagement can keep pace with free platforms like YouTube and TikTok.

9. The midterm sprint: Vance makes the pitch, Texas early voting opens Monday

With 16 days until the November 3 midterms, Vice President JD Vance defended the administration’s record on gas prices, Iran and H-1B visas at a CBS town hall and criticized Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, in an appearance Fox News framed as a midterm-season pitch on the issues voters rank highest. The sprint becomes real on the ground Monday, when early voting opens in Texas — one of the states where Republicans are defending a competitive Senate seat. Election offices nationally are also in the final operational stretch, with Medicare open enrollment underway for households weighing pocketbook issues alongside their ballots.