Hard Numbers: Americans vote, deadly truck bomb in Syria, Nicaragua muzzles media, Iranian restitution payout

The US election is on November 3. Art by Annie Gugliotta

4 million: More than four million Americans have already voted in the upcoming presidential election. That's more than fifty times the early voting tally at this point in 2016, according to the United States Elections Project, which attributed the shift partly to expanded mail-in voting due to COVID-19.

18: At least 18 people were killed by a truck bomb explosion in Al-Bab, a town in northwestern Syria. No one has claimed responsibility (yet), but the area — now controlled by the Turkish military — was run by the Islamic State until the group was expelled by US-backed Kurdish forces in 2017.

4: A new law being debated by Nicaragua's parliament would throw people in prison for up to four years for the electronic distribution of misinformation "which causes alarm." The bill is widely seen as yet another step by authoritarian President Daniel Ortega to crack down on press freedom after he was threatened by anti-government protests in 2018.

1.4 billion: A US judge has decided that Iran owes $1.4 billion to the family of a former FBI agent who was allegedly kidnapped thirteen years ago while on a covert mission inside the Islamic Republic, and is believed to have died in Iranian custody. The ruling cited the case of Otto Warmbier, a US student who died soon after being released from captivity in North Korea.

More from GZERO Media

Stephen Graham, winner of Best Lead Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie and Best Writing for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie, Owen Cooper, Best Supporting Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie, and Erin Doherty, Best Supporting Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie, for "Adolescence", Best Limited or Anthology Series pose with their awards at the 77th Primetime Emmy Awards in Los Angeles, California, U.S., September 14, 2025.
REUTERS/Daniel Cole

8: Netflix teen murder series "Adolescence" won eight Emmys including for best limited series. Supporting actor Owen Cooper,15, became the youngest male actor to win an Emmy.

Senior U.S. and Chinese led by U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng and Chinese trade negotiator Li Chenggang meet to discuss trade and economic issues and TikTok, in Madrid, Spain, September 14, 2025.
United States Treasury/Handout via Reuters.

In an announcement teeming with viral potential, the White House said the US and China have outlined a deal for TikTok to continue operating in the US.

U.S. President Donald Trump holds a letter from Britain's King Charles as he meets with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., February 27, 2025.
REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo

As US President Donald Trump travels to the United Kingdom this week, there is an unnerving sense in which the ghost of Christmas past will be greeting the potential ghost of Christmas yet to come.

A combination photo shows a person of interest in the fatal shooting of U.S. right-wing activist and commentator Charlie Kirk during an event at Utah Valley University, in Orem, Utah, U.S. shown in security footage released by the Utah Department of Public Safety on September 11, 2025.
Utah Department of Public Safety/Handout via REUTERS