The Stateside Beat — Evening Audio Brief · 2026-10-26

Evening audio brief for October 26, 2026 — tap play above to listen with slides and subtitles. Here's what happened on this Monday evening: an AI lab filed for one of the year's biggest IPOs, a federal judge slapped down the Justice Department, and midterm races entered their final week. Those stories, and the rest of the day, below.

Anthropic files for IPO, will list as 'ANT'

Anthropic, the artificial intelligence lab behind the Claude chatbot, has filed its S-1 registration with the SEC, setting up one of the most hotly anticipated public offerings in years. The filing discloses $16.3 billion in revenue for the first half of the year, and the company plans to list under the ticker 'ANT'. The news gave tech stocks a lift Monday to close higher, kicking off a busy week that also brings a wave of corporate earnings and the Federal Reserve's latest rate decision. Investors now get their first hard look at the economics of a frontier AI lab — and they'll be parsing the risk disclosures closely.

Judge rules DOJ illegally fired Maurene Comey

A federal judge has ruled that the Justice Department unlawfully fired Maurene Comey, a career federal prosecutor and the daughter of former FBI director James Comey. Comey had worked on cases connected to Jeffrey Epstein, and her dismissal had drawn scrutiny as part of a broader wave of contested firings at the department. The ruling is a direct judicial rebuke of the DOJ's personnel purge, and it could strengthen the legal position of other employees challenging their terminations. The department has not said whether it will appeal.

House Democrats push for Epstein special counsel

House Democrats are formally calling on the Justice Department to appoint a special counsel to investigate evidence of alleged criminal ties between President Trump and the late financier Jeffrey Epstein. The demand follows the release of a 50-page report by House Judiciary Democrats laying out alleged connections between the president and Epstein. The report also surfaced new details from a Trump accuser. The Justice Department has not indicated it will act on the request, but the move keeps the Epstein files at the center of the political agenda heading into the midterms.

Texas Senate race enters final week with corruption on the ballot

The Texas Senate race between Republican incumbent Ken Paxton and Democrat James Talarico has entered its final week, and the issue driving it is one that cuts across party lines: government corruption. The race has revolved around Paxton's record, including his past securities-fraud-related legal troubles, while Talarico positions himself as the clean-government alternative. Polls disagree on just how close the contest is, but Republicans are taking no chances — Paxton has turned to Governor Greg Abbott and Senator Ted Cruz for reinforcements in the closing days.

Lula wins fourth term as Brazilian markets convulse

In a dramatic comeback, Brazil's left-wing former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva won a fourth term, taking 51.79% of the vote. The result makes Lula the first president since the return to civilian rule in 1985 to win back the office, and it lands with force well beyond Brazil: financial markets reacted sharply to the surprise outcome, with Brazilian stocks and the currency selling off. The losing camp has already refused to recognize the result, raising the prospect of a contested transition in Latin America's largest economy.

Teen arrested in FAMU homecoming shooting

Police in Tallahassee, Florida, have arrested a 15-year-old in connection with the weekend shooting near Florida A&M University that wounded 11 people during homecoming weekend. The teenager, identified as Anthony Rivers III, has been charged as an adult with 11 counts of attempted second-degree murder along with a firearm possession count. Officials announced the arrest Monday, days after the shooting shook the campus community during one of its biggest celebrations of the year. Investigators have not said whether additional arrests are expected.

Sources

The Stateside Beat Audio · 2026-10-26 · evening · Narrated edition, compiled from Yahoo Finance, NPR, NBC News, The Washington Post, BBC and AP News.

The Stateside Beat — Evening Audio Brief · October 26, 2026