What happened
North Korea launched a new, more advanced intercontinental ballistic missile yesterday, with Kim Jong Un calling the missile test an "appropriate military action" against Pyongyang's "rivals." The test flight reached an altitude of more than 4,300 miles, according to Japan's defense ministry.

Who said what
North Korea's first ICBM launch in nearly a year "flew higher and stayed in the air for a longer duration" than any previous weapon, showing the country's "progress in acquiring a nuclear-armed ICBM that can hit the U.S. mainland," The Associated Press said. Analysts said the missile test was "largely meant to grab American attention days before the U.S. presidential election" and also "respond to international condemnation" over North Korea sending troops to fight Russia's war against Ukraine.

Some 8,000 of North Korea's more than 10,000 troops in Russia are likely to join combat operations against Ukrainian forces in the "coming days," U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said yesterday. He condemned the ICBM launch "in the strongest terms" and said "all countries should be demanding" North Korea "cease these destabilizing actions." China in particular "should be asking Russia some hard questions at this point about whether it intends to broaden this conflict," Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin added.

What next?
The United Nations Security Council is expected to meet early next week to discuss North Korea's test launch. The U.S., one of the countries calling for the meeting, said the launch was a "flagrant violation of multiple U.N. Security Council resolutions."

What happened
Open enrollment begins today for 2025 health care coverage through the Affordable Care Act marketplace. Some 21 million people currently get health insurance through the ACA, or Obamacare, though the upcoming presidential election "could threaten eligibility and raise costs for millions of those in the program," The Associated Press said.

Who said what
The "future of 'Obamacare' has emerged as a key issue in the closing days of the presidential campaign," the AP said, after House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said "no Obamacare" at a Pennsylvania campaign stop on Monday. He promised a "massive reform" of the ACA would be "a big part of the agenda" if Donald Trump wins and Republicans keep control of the House.

Kamala Harris pointed to those remarks yesterday, telling a rally in Reno, Nevada, that "Donald Trump still wants to get rid of the Affordable Care Act," and if he wins, "they would throw millions of Americans off the health insurance and take us back" to when "insurance companies have the ability to deny people with pre-existing conditions." Trump said on social media he "never mentioned doing that, never even thought about such a thing."

Trump "repeatedly vowed to repeal Obamacare" in 2016, Reuters said, and his efforts to do so died in the Senate by only one vote. The next president and Congress will once more steer the ACA's fate, most immediately by extending billions in premium subsidies and expanded eligibility that expire next year, or not.

What next?
Open enrollment ends Jan. 15, though people must sign up by Dec. 15 for coverage to start Jan. 1.