Thursday’s issue of The Cross Check Daily puts six lead stories side by side across The National, ThePrint, PBS NewsHour and other outlets. Each story shows what everyone agrees on and where the framing differs, followed by a markets snapshot, a research-backed health tip and a trivia question.
The US orders non-emergency diplomats and their families out of Saudi Arabia as Houthi attacks escalate
Agree: The State Department ordered non-emergency US government employees and their family members to leave Saudi Arabia as Houthi attacks escalate, after a late-Wednesday strike on King Fahd International Airport in Dammam killed one person and injured eight, according to Saudi Arabia’s civil aviation authority. (The National)
Spin check: ThePrint, carrying Reuters, quotes State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott saying the order covers Saudi Arabia “only,” yet reports that four US officials told Reuters other Gulf missions would also order families out. It adds that two people died earlier Wednesday when Saudi air defenses intercepted a drone aimed at Aramco’s Shaybah oilfield. The National says Pigott called reports of a Gulf-wide order “inaccurate,” while a diplomatic source told AFP that families in the UAE, Jordan, Qatar and Bahrain had been told to leave. Arab News (Reuters) ties the attacks to a rise in oil prices Thursday morning. Factual disagreement: Whether the departure order is limited to Saudi Arabia is disputed: the spokesman says yes, while unnamed US officials and an AFP source say other Gulf missions are affected. We report only the Saudi order as confirmed and treat the wider order as unconfirmed.
A missile attack on a government training camp in southern Yemen kills dozens
Agree: A missile attack on a government security forces training camp in Shabwa province, southern Yemen, killed 58 people and injured more than 200, with 14 missing, according to Governor Awad al-Wazir. Local authority sources blamed the Iran-aligned Houthis, who said the camp was run by Saudi forces. (Al-Monitor)
Spin check: The South China Morning Post reports 53 killed and about 200 injured, citing the local authority. ThePrint, carrying an earlier Reuters report, said at least 18 were killed, citing four government and medical sources. Democracy Now puts the toll at 73 and adds that the Houthis have nearly surrounded Taiz and that the UN refugee agency counts over 250,000 people displaced since fighting resumed in July. Factual disagreement: The death toll differs by outlet: 18, 53, 58 and 73. We use 58 because it is the governor’s figure as reported by Al-Monitor, and we treat every count as unverified while the toll is still being compiled.
Israeli forces detain Brad Lander and dozens of activists during a West Bank olive harvest
Agree: Israeli forces detained Brad Lander, the Democratic nominee for New York’s 10th District, along with dozens of rabbis and activists, as they accompanied Palestinian farmers harvesting olives near Nehalim in the occupied West Bank on Wednesday; Lander was released with a warning. (ABC News)
Spin check: Israel Hayom (Reuters) counts Lander and 90 others, while Democracy Now says at least 80. The Forward quotes organizers saying 42 Israelis and 28 foreign citizens were held at a police station in Beitar Illit, and that the group was told it was in a closed military zone. ABC reports the IDF called the arrival of dozens of activists “an act intended solely to provoke,” and Israel’s Foreign Ministry called it a “stunt.” NY1 says the IDF described the harvest as “uncoordinated” and a “security risk.” Factual disagreement: The headcount and the reason differ: Reuters says 90 others, Democracy Now at least 80, organizers about 70 held at one station, and no official total has been given. Organizers cite a closed military zone, while the IDF cites a lack of coordination and provocation. We say “dozens” and attribute each reason to the side that gave it.
Russia frees American Stephen Hubbard during a visit by US envoy Steve Witkoff
Agree: Russia freed Stephen Hubbard, a 74-year-old former Michigan teacher and US citizen held since 2022, during a visit to St. Petersburg by US envoy Steve Witkoff. Hubbard was sentenced in 2024 to nearly seven years in prison for mercenary activity after a closed trial. (PBS NewsHour)
Spin check: PBS reports Trump said on Truth Social that he asked Putin for the release in a call last week and that the US gave up no one in return, and that Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Putin acted on “humanitarian considerations.” It adds that Hostage Aid Worldwide calls the charges bogus and that Global Reach says five Americans remain held in Russia. Democracy Now places the release right after Trump’s deal to import Russian diesel and his waiver of a sanctions law, and notes Witkoff thanked Putin. Framing difference: The release itself is not in dispute. PBS frames it as a humanitarian gesture after a direct request from Trump, while Democracy Now frames it as part of a run of US concessions to Moscow.
Los Angeles County says many names on the Justice Department’s “likely noncitizen” voter list appear to be US-born
Agree: Los Angeles County officials told a federal court that a sample from the Justice Department’s roughly 20,000-name list of “likely” noncitizens on California voter rolls includes many people who appear to be US-born. The department wants a court order to segregate ballots tied to the list. (OPB, from NPR)
Spin check: The San Fernando Valley Sun reports the county’s 41-page filing says about 7,000 names have LA County addresses and that nearly 40% of a random sample of 200 indicated a US birthplace; the case is before Judge John Holcomb and no hearing is set. OPB adds that, per the county, 112 of the 200 records were tied to canceled or inactive registrations, and that the DOJ’s Trent McCotter conceded “there may be some names on there who it turns out ultimately are citizens.” RedState, a partisan outlet, relays the department’s account that DHS removed anyone with evidence of citizenship and manually verified the rest, and that 28 people on the list, all green-card holders, have been charged. Factual disagreement: The department says the list was screened against federal records and is a basis to act, while the county calls it unreliable. OPB says the 38.9% US-born figure covers only sampled voters whose birthplace was clearly reported, and neither side’s analysis has been independently verified.
Italy sends 500 more troops to Milan after cost-of-living protests turn violent
Agree: Italy will send 500 more troops to Milan after weekend cost-of-living protests turned violent, with stores looted and 271 young people detained in Milan on Sunday, while in France nearly 2,400 people have been arrested after similar protests. (Cyprus Mail, from Reuters)
Spin check: ITV News reports more than 2,400 arrests in France, 855 of them in the Paris region, says Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez offered to resign and President Emmanuel Macron refused, and puts Saturday’s marches at about 550,000 people per authorities and 800,000 per organizers. i24NEWS reports tens of thousands marching and 1,200 arrests. Fox News says Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni blamed “thugs” who exploit demonstrations, while Milan’s center-left mayor Giuseppe Sala said the reasons for the protests were understandable. Democracy Now adds that a lawyer says some French arrests appear designed to intimidate protesters from returning. Factual disagreement: The French arrest count and crowd size differ: i24NEWS says about 1,200 arrests and tens of thousands marching, while ITV and Democracy Now report about 2,400 arrests. We use 2,400 because two outlets report it, and we give the crowd size as a range from 550,000 (authorities) to 800,000 (organizers).
Markets snapshot: Stocks rise as the Nasdaq leads on SpaceX earnings, while Brent holds near $109
- S&P 500: 7,757.17 (+0.6%)
- Dow Jones Industrial Average: 52,856.09 (+0.7%)
- Nasdaq Composite: 26,702.86 (+1.1%)
- Brent crude: $108.82 (flat)
Index figures are Wednesday, October 21 closes from an AP market report (AP via KRMG). The S&P 500 rose 0.6%, the Dow gained 0.7%, the Nasdaq climbed 1.1% and the Russell 2000 added 0.3%. AP credits strong profit reports from SpaceX, Capital One and other big companies, saying SpaceX’s results were much better than analysts expected and lifted AI-related stocks and Tesla, while Netflix and others fell on growth concerns. Brent’s $108.82 is our calculation, not a quoted settle: Arab News (Reuters) put Brent at $110.75 Thursday morning, up $1.93, and said Brent settled roughly unchanged Wednesday. That is about flat against Tuesday’s $108.79 settle, which we reported yesterday. We could not find an exchange settle figure to confirm it.
Health & Longevity: A sense of purpose and lower mortality risk
The finding: Among 6,985 US adults over 50, those who scored lowest on a purpose-in-life scale were about 2.4 times as likely to die over a four-year follow-up as those who scored highest (hazard ratio 2.43 after adjusting for demographics, health and psychological factors). Low purpose was also linked to higher risk of death from heart, circulatory and blood conditions (hazard ratio 2.66), but not to cancer or respiratory deaths.
The source: JAMA Network Open, May 2019 (Alimujiang et al.): a prospective cohort drawn from the Health and Retirement Study, with 776 deaths between 2006 and 2010, funded by the National Cancer Institute and the Department of Defense, which had no role in the study.
Do this today: Write down one thing that gives your week direction, such as a person you are helping, a project or a skill you are building, and block 20 minutes on your calendar to work on it.
Worth knowing: This is observational, so it shows association, not cause. The authors say reverse causation (sicker people may report less purpose) cannot be ruled out: when they excluded early deaths and people with chronic disease at the start, the associations were weaker and no longer statistically significant. People who did not complete the questionnaire were excluded and tended to be older, more often female and less able to function, so selection bias is possible. Follow-up was only four years. This newsletter isn’t written by a medical professional and isn’t a substitute for advice from your doctor.
World Trivia
Clashes in Milan this weekend broke out near the Duomo, the city’s cathedral, and Italy is now sending 500 troops to the city. Construction of the Duomo began in 1386. About how long did it take to finish: roughly 200 years, 400 years, or nearly 600 years?
Reveal the answer
Nearly 600 years. According to Wikipedia, the cathedral “took nearly six centuries to complete,” with its last portal inaugurated on January 6, 1965, though some statues remained uncarved.
Edited and published by Randy Wardle. Get The Cross Check Daily free every morning, or follow @GetCrossCheck on X. See the full archive of past issues and our corrections policy.
