Good morning. The White House nominee to lead the Commodity Futures Trading Commission was withdrawn after he ran into political resistance, according to people familiar with the decision.

Brian Quintenz confirmed in a statement that he was no longer President Trump’s nominee to lead the CFTC, an agency with a major role in overseeing cryptocurrency markets. Although Quintenz had the support of a broad array of crypto groups, his nomination stalled after bitcoin-billionaire brothers Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss turned against him.

“I look forward to returning to my private sector endeavors during this exciting time for innovation in our country,” Quintenz said.

• New nomination: A second White House official said the president would announce a new CFTC nominee in the near future, and the Trump administration looks forward to working with Quintenz in other capacities. 
   
• The background: Trump nominated Quintenz to lead the CFTC in February. A small agency that oversees derivatives markets, the CFTC is set to gain broader authority to regulate crypto under legislation that passed the House in July and is working its way through the Senate. 
   
• Opposition from the Winklevoss brothers: In July, just before a Senate Agriculture Committee vote on advancing Quintenz’s nomination, the Winklevoss brothers asked Trump to pause the nomination. The committee canceled the vote and Tyler Winklevoss publicly criticized Quintenz as not aligned with Trump’s agenda. In September, Quintenz made a last-ditch bid to salvage his nomination by releasing private messages from Tyler Winklevos, Risk Journal previously reported. 

Also: 

• Former CFTC Enforcement Chief Heads to Jones Day

Five states sue Zillow, Redfin, following FTC lawsuit.

Five states sued Zillow and Redfin, claiming the two companies made an unlawful agreement limiting competition for multifamily rental listings, a day after the FTC filed a similar lawsuit against the companies.

Virginia, Arizona, Connecticut, New York and Washington allege that Zillow paid Redfin $100 million earlier this year to exit the market of multifamily housing listings and transition its customers to Zillow.

The Wall Street firms that kept ties with Jeffrey Epstein until the end.

Jeffrey Epstein never got kicked out of Wall Street’s VIP club. Epstein’s banking and investment activities in the years before his 2019 death were more widespread than previously known, including accounts at several banks as well as large transactions with well-known hedge funds, according to documents reviewed by The Wall Street Journal and people familiar with the matter.

Epstein or Epstein-related entities had accounts with several of those banks in his later years, including Wells Fargo, TD Bank and FirstBank Puerto Rico, according to those people.

JPMorgan Chase has said it closed Epstein’s accounts in 2013, and Deutsche Bank said it cut him off in 2018. To date, JPMorgan and Deutsche Bank are the only banks that have been scrutinized by regulators—and sued by victims—over their ties to Epstein.

• The Supreme Court on Wednesday allowed Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook to keep her job for now and scheduled arguments in January to weigh President Trump’s bid to fire her.
   
• The U.K. Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation has imposed a penalty on pharmaceutical company Colorcon over payments made for salaries to Moscow office employees and bookkeeping, payroll services and other expenses.
   
• A U.S. federal appeals court ruled victims of Iran-backed terrorism can seize nearly $10 million in blocked Iranian funds to collect on court-awarded damages, in what attorneys for the appellants described as “game changing” and a major victory for victims.

Europe’s emerging plan: give Ukraine $200 billion in Russian money.

The European Union struggles to make quick decisions and wield its political weight. But it is a master of legal workarounds and financial wizardry. Now Brussels is putting those skills into action for Ukraine’s war effort against Russia.

On Wednesday, EU leaders agreed to keep working on a plan to put hundreds of billions of dollars in Russian cash to use—without Kyiv ever needing to repay a cent. If approved, the proposal would reverse a policy on seized Russian assets that dates to the war’s early days.

• Ukraine War’s New Front Line Runs Through Denmark
• U.S. to Provide Ukraine With Intelligence for Missile Strikes Deep Inside Russia

Gaza-bound aid flotilla intercepted, boarded by Israeli navy.

Israeli forces have intercepted a flotilla of about 40 boats carrying hundreds of pro-Palestinian activists trying to break through a naval blockade and deliver humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip.

The Israeli navy confronted the Global Sumud Flotilla as it sailed toward them in international waters, roughly 70 nautical miles from the coast of Gaza. Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs had earlier warned the vessels to change course. Just after 11 p.m. local time, the ministry said several boats had already “been safely stopped and their passengers are being transferred to an Israeli port.”

Meanwhile, Hamas has indicated it is open to accepting President Trump’s peace plan for Gaza but is asking for more time to review its conditions, Arab mediators said, as the militant group faces intensifying pressure from Muslim governments to agree to the Israel-backed proposal to end the devastating war.

• The U.S. shed 32,000 private-sector jobs in September, payroll-processing giant ADP said on Wednesday.
   
• U.S. factory activity contracted again, albeit at a slower pace as production moderately improved, according to a survey of manufacturing firms.
   
• Afghanistan is grappling with a nationwide communications blackout after the Taliban ordered a suspension of internet and mobile phone services, according to human rights groups and a top United Nations official for the country, disrupting critical health, financial and humanitarian operations.
   
• Hours into the government shutdown, the White House is issuing new threats, congressional leaders are digging in, and some rank-and-file Democrats and Republicans are searching for a way out.

• General Mills is closing three manufacturing plants in Missouri as part of a multi-year initiative to boost the competitiveness of the packaged-food giant’s supply chain.
   
• Walmart is taking the biggest step yet to overhaul ingredients used in America’s food supply. The country’s largest grocer said Wednesday that it was working to remove synthetic dyes from all its store-brand foods. 
   
• Teenage boys in Indonesia were bowing in prayer when the concrete above them came tumbling down. Since then, rescuers have been funneling oxygen, water and food to the boys holding out under the rubble. 
   
• Four people were injured in a ramming and stabbing attack outside a synagogue in the British city of Manchester, in what officials believe was a targeted incident.

Follow us on X at @WSJRisk. Send tips to our reporters Max Fillion at max.fillion@dowjones.com, Mengqi Sun at mengqi.sun@wsj.com and Richard Vanderford at richard.vanderford@wsj.com.

You can also reach us by replying to any newsletter, or by emailing our editor David Smagalla at david.smagalla@wsj.com.