Attacks on Saudi airports threaten the kingdom’s ambitions 1. FROM MY DESK A deadly attack on Saudi Arabia’s main airport over the weekend exposed a deepening crisis for Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

The strikes by Iran-backed Houthi militants killed at least 12 people and injured hundreds more. With threats mounting, the crown prince is shuttling between heavily guarded palaces equipped with bunkers. The violence threatens his ambitions to turn Saudi Arabia into a global tourism and investment hub.

Summer Said and Georgi Kantchev examine how Mohammed’s own decisions have contributed to his predicament, with rising defense and infrastructure costs threatening to siphon away funds needed for the economic diversification push.

The attacks are also wreaking havoc on global air travel. Airlines canceled more than 1,000 flights, as threats to Saudi airspace jeopardize one of the last two major air corridors connecting Europe and Asia.

2. TODAY’S HEADLINES President Trump pushed Russia and Ukraine to agree to halt strikes on each other’s energy infrastructure, despite Moscow’s rejection of such a deal so far and no sign that there was an agreement in place.A federal judge ordered the Trump administration to halt any further airing of taxpayer-funded ads touting the president, ruling they are likely illegal. Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar, heavily favored to be Minnesota’s next governor, is pushing moderation and promising to clean up a pandemic-era fraud mess. Prediction-market wagers on the outcome of jury cases are raising ethical concerns. Two U.S. economists, Robert E. Hall and Michael Woodford, were awarded the Nobel prize in economics.

3. LIVE FROM THE MARKETS Instrument Last Change Change% E-Mini S&P 500 Future Continuous Contract (ES00) $7,867.00 +7.25 +0.09% E-Mini Dow Continuous Contract (YM00) $51,943 +17 +0.03% E-Mini Nasdaq 100 Index Continuous Contract (NQ00) $31,079.75 -29.00 -0.09% Follow our live financial coverage all day.

Stocks Spencer Jakab is watching: Not great, not terrible? There could be a bright future for small, modular nuclear reactors that can be mass-produced. Developers of power-thirsty AI data centers crave them, but the once-hot U.S. companies trying to commercialize the technology are burning lots of cash. On Friday NuScale Power, the one thought to be farthest along in the approval process, hit a fresh 52-week low.

Its stock is down 82% over the past year. (.)Amazon is in talks to acquire AI startup Decart in a deal that could be valued at around $7 billion.A bitcoin-mining business that appeared left for dead after the collapse of Sam Bankman-Fried’s crypto empire is being resuscitated to serve the AI build-out.

4. READ IT HERE FIRST The welfare state is crushing Britain. A soaring number of people on sickness or disability benefits is blowing up the U.K.’s welfare bill and imperiling its financial stability. Some seven million people—more than 10% of the population—now claim at least one of the benefits, driven by a fourfold surge in psychiatric claims. With spending on track to hit £130 billion, or $172 billion, Max Colchester and David Luhnow report on how Britain faces a looming financial reckoning as leaders struggle to make politically painful cuts. A new type of mortgage is reviving long abandoned neighborhoods.

Known as a debt-service coverage ratio loan, this specialized mortgage is approved based on potential rental income rather than a borrower’s wealth. The model is helping real-estate investors buy, renovate and rent out vacant and dilapidated homes. These private mortgages are injecting capital into long-disinvested communities across cities like Baltimore, Detroit and Cleveland. Nicholas G. Miller lays out how the flexible loans are fueling a neighborhood renaissance while drawing scrutiny over fraud risks.

6. SEE THE STORY The strategies to building a dream home for less. While reporting on custom, architect-designed homes built for under $1 million, our real-estate reporter Nancy Keates noticed something surprising: Though each home was different, the homeowners shared a few strategies for keeping costs down. From ditching garages to choosing less expensive materials, she breaks down the trade-offs that helped them save without sacrificing style.

7. HAPPENING TODAY Trump holds a rally in Ohio ahead of the midterm elections. The IMF and World Bank kick off their annual meetings in Bangkok. Today’s paper

8. THE NUMBER That’s China’s 2025 gross national income per capita, just below the high-income threshold of $14,375. The country is likely to reach the high-income category for 2026 when the World Bank’s calculations come out next July. However, Beijing prefers its “developing” status, which allows it to present itself as a champion of Global South nations and avoid contributing to some global funds to fight climate change.

9. AND FINALLY…Even if dairy bothers you, don’t give up on ice cream just yet. Roughly two-thirds of the global population has trouble digesting lactose, but only a fraction actually develops symptomatic lactose intolerance. What some mistake for permanent dairy intolerance can be temporary post-virus sensitivity or gut bacterial overgrowth. Our health columnist Sumathi Reddy offers practical strategies to help you enjoy some dairy while minimizing stomach trouble.

10. BEYOND THE NEWSROOM Opinion: Single-payer healthcare has proved itself a failure, so Abdul El-Sayed wants to rerun the experiment on America.WSJ | Buy Side: Here are 10 situations that can help you determine when you need life insurance—and when you don’t.