Patrick Stewart died at 86, and Russell Brand was convicted of rape and sexual assault. Also inside: Michael Mann’s gun range injury and Newsom’s plans to commute every California death sentence.
7. Michael Mann injured in accidental gun discharge
A weapon accidentally discharged while holstered at a Los Angeles gun range on Saturday, causing a superficial injury to “Heat” director Michael Mann, his representative said. The representative said Sunday that Mann, 83, had been treated at a hospital and was being released.
The Los Angeles Police Department said officers responded to a radio call about shots fired and determined that the shooting was accidental. A department spokesperson said the injured person was taken to a local hospital in stable condition, and officers completed an injury report before leaving.
The representative did not say who owned or was carrying the weapon, or where on Mann’s body he was injured. The statement described his release as underway but did not give a recovery timetable or say whether the injury would affect his work.
The Associated Press and CBS News described the location as a sanctioned gun range. Both outlets noted that Mann’s directing credits included “Collateral” and “Thief,” as well as “Heat.”
The Associated Press and CBS News also reported that Mann most recently directed “Ferrari,” starring Adam Driver, and was developing a sequel to “Heat.” They said filming was expected to begin early next year; the representative did not announce any change to that schedule.
Sources: ABC News, CBS News, NBC News
6. Melania Trump hosted Russian and Ukrainian officials
President Donald Trump said Thursday that he met with Russian President Vladimir Putin’s envoy, Kirill Dmitriev, but declined to disclose their discussion. “I can’t tell you what I discussed,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office, saying he had not met the Ukrainian officials also visiting the White House.
First lady Melania Trump brought officials from both countries together to mark the temporary ceasefire she brokered in Oleshky, Ukraine. The White House said the truce was intended to allow aid deliveries and civilian evacuations in the city in Ukraine’s Kherson region; it ran from October 27 through November 1.
Melania Trump said nearly 800 people had evacuated Oleshky. She said she began talks after learning about conditions there at an event she hosted in September, then worked with Russian and Ukrainian leaders to set the terms.
Dmitriev thanked the first lady and said Putin had personally given instructions for the operation. Ukrainian official Davyd Arakhamia urged her to continue helping Ukrainians and pursue further efforts to reduce the fighting.
Melania Trump said she hoped the ceasefire could last longer and spread. The Associated Press reported that she gave the representatives personal letters to deliver to Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
In a speech in Spain on Oct. 30, Zelenskyy said the operation had saved hundreds of lives and that some days had passed without attacks. Trump suggested Thursday that a larger agreement involving more than Ukraine was in the works and said it might include all of Europe.
Sources: PBS News (Associated Press), ABC News (Associated Press)
5. Patrick Stewart died at 86
Ian McKellen said he once advised Patrick Stewart against taking the Star Trek role because he feared it would keep Stewart away from the British stage. McKellen recalled that advice in a social media tribute after Stewart died Wednesday at 86, a death announced by spokesperson Kelly Bush Novak.
Novak said Stewart died at his Los Angeles home with his wife at his side. She said his death followed a brief period with Alzheimer’s disease and Lewy body dementia, and that family and friends had surrounded him with music, prayer, laughter and tears.
Stewart played Captain Jean-Luc Picard for seven seasons of Star Trek: The Next Generation, beginning in 1987, CBS News and NBC News reported. He carried the character into films and later returned for three seasons of Star Trek: Picard.
Stewart recalled in a 2023 CBS Mornings interview that Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry initially rejected him. “He was talked into employing me by the other producers,” Stewart said.
Both networks reported that Stewart joined the Royal Shakespeare Company in the 1960s and continued a stage career alongside his screen work. McKellen said Stewart used his international fame to return to classical plays in Britain and on Broadway.
Stewart also played Professor Charles Xavier in the X-Men films, a role both networks reported he reprised for Avengers: Doomsday, scheduled for December 2026. Marvel Studios paid tribute to his work, saying he had defined Xavier for generations of fans.
Fellow Star Trek actor William Shatner remembered Stewart as a friend and praised the humanity he brought to his performances. X-Men co-star Hugh Jackman said he had learned much from Stewart and would miss him for the rest of his life.
Sources: CBS News, NBC News
4. Russell Brand convicted of rape and sexual assault
Russell Brand said, “I’m good, I’m good, I’m good” after a judge denied him bail and before he was taken away, CBS News reported. The 51-year-old British comedian, formerly married to pop star Katy Perry, had been found guilty of rape and three counts of sexual assault.
A jury at London’s Southwark Crown Court returned the verdicts on Thursday, November 5, convicting Brand of offenses involving four women. It acquitted him of two other rape counts and one count of attempted indecent assault; the charges concerned allegations dating from 1999 to 2009.
Judge Joel Bennathan ordered Brand held in custody and said the convictions meant he faced a significant prison term. Sentencing was scheduled for Monday, November 9; the judge had not yet set the length of the sentence.
Brand had pleaded not guilty and testified that he had never forced anyone to do anything against their will, CBS News reported. In his testimony, he said he believed that “consent is absolutely non-negotiable.”
Detective Superintendent Andy Furphy of London’s Metropolitan Police credited the women who reported the offenses with courage and determination. He said Brand had used his fame, influence and status to sexually offend against women.
Sources: CBS News, Radar Online
3. Pinkins denied spoiling Mississippi Senate race
Independent Ty Pinkins said he drew votes from Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, not simply from Democrat Scott Colom. Speaking to CNN on Wednesday, the third-place candidate said most of his support came from traditionally Republican counties and rejected the idea that he spoiled the race for Colom.
Pinkins had about 20,000 votes and said he hoped Colom would win. He said his campaign had believed throughout the summer that many supporters were Republicans, and argued that voters could not be assumed to have otherwise supported Colom.
The result remained unresolved Thursday night, when CBS News reported that Colom led Hyde-Smith by just over 1,800 votes. About 96% of the expected vote had been counted, and both candidates expressed confidence in winning.
Mississippi Secretary of State Michael Watson said Wednesday that approximately 3,600 mail ballots remained outstanding, along with an unknown number of affidavit ballots. Those affidavit ballots required checks on voters’ eligibility; mail ballots had five business days to arrive, while counties had until November 13 to process affidavit ballots and certify results.
The secretary of state’s office told ABC News that Mississippi had no formal recount process: candidates could not request one, and the count could not automatically trigger one. The office said candidates could examine ballot materials after certification and file a legal challenge if they found problems.
Sources: ABC News, CBS News
2. Judge blocked stricter Medicaid medical exemption rule
A diagnosis older than one year still cannot qualify as evidence for a Medicaid medical-frailty exemption under a restriction U.S. District Judge Richard Stearns upheld Thursday. The Boston judge blocked a separate rule requiring people in qualifying medical categories to demonstrate that their conditions substantially limited their ability to fulfill work requirements.
Stearns also left in place a limit on patients declaring their own medical frailty: states may accept that declaration only once while enrollment remains uninterrupted. His ruling did not overturn the work requirements themselves.
The decision partly favored the 25 states and District of Columbia that challenged guidance from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services in June. The states argued that the agency imposed a condition Congress had not authorized and risked denying care to eligible people.
The 2025 law listed several qualifying categories, including blindness, substance use disorders, disabling mental disorders, and serious or complex medical conditions. Stearns said changing eligibility verification systems would impose substantial costs on states, but found that the government had explained its reasons for the two verification limits he upheld.
According to the Associated Press, the work requirements begin Jan. 1 for Medicaid expansion enrollees ages 19 through 64. They must document 80 hours each month of employment or community service, or enrollment in school at least half time; exemptions include medical frailty and participation in addiction treatment programs.
Neither agency’s response to the decision was known.
Source: Associated Press via ABC News
1. Newsom announced plans to commute every death sentence
California Gov. Gavin Newsom said he would commute every current death sentence because he believed state-sanctioned killing conflicted with the state’s values. In an open letter Thursday, he wrote: “I take this action because I firmly believe that state-sanctioned killing is incompatible with California’s values, undermines the foundations of our legal system, and diminishes each of us.”
Newsom said the replacement sentence for all 548 people would be life without parole. His office counted 529 men and 19 women among those covered by the announcement.
According to Newsom’s office, 382 of the planned commutations require approval from the California Supreme Court. Under the state constitution, a governor needs that approval to grant clemency to someone with more than one felony conviction.
CBS News reported that the commutations would leave California’s death penalty law in place and would not block prosecutors from pursuing new death sentences. Newsom said prosecutors, juries and courts would retain authority over those decisions.
Newsom said the prospect of reviving painful memories for victims’ families made this one of his hardest career decisions. He had halted executions through a moratorium in 2019, but hundreds of people still had death sentences.
Ricardo García, the public defender for Los Angeles County, welcomed the decision and said his office had sought clemency for everyone facing execution because of inequities in the system. Todd Spitzer, Orange County’s district attorney, objected that the decision displaced jury verdicts and disregarded victims’ families’ wishes. Spitzer said his prosecutors would still pursue capital punishment when they considered it warranted.
Sources: ABC News, CBS News
For more political headlines, catch up on Democrats’ Texas House wins and Haaland’s New Mexico victory. For a change of pace, see what happens with the onion-in-socks home remedy and the buzz around Savannah Chrisley’s pregnancy.
