In the face of Republicans losing control of both houses of Congress, Trump insisted all day Tuesday that Republicans would have won in a landslide if he were on the ballot. Not only is this not true, but the midterm election defeat was a direct result of independent voters turning against Trump because of the growing costs of products people buy, including high gas and diesel prices, and above all, his refusal to end the war against Iran. Those voting for president in 2024 represented 3 major voting bocks: about a third of voters were conservatives firmly behind Trump. They were joined by half of another third bloc made up of independent voters, including many Hispanics, who overwhelmingly voted against Kamala Harris. They expected big changes from Trump. Trump’s initial changes were well received by most voters: eliminating government wasteful aid and spending, stopping the open border policies of Biden and suppressing discrimination against whites and meritocracy in the name of diversity and enforced equality. Some of those initiatives have been blocked or limited by the establishment judiciary and others are keeping a low profile, waiting until Trump is out of office. But since Trump’s positive start, he has major some major errors: 1) Attacking Iran and setting off the most serious trade dislocation in this century, 2) Failing to rein in the Federal Reserve’s inflation of the currency, 3) Lavish deficit spending, 4) using tariffs to bully trading allies, and 5) Betraying Ukraine while lavishing praise on our greatest enemies, Xi Jinping, Kim Jong-un and Vladimir Putin. To receive a free, one-time sample of the Brief, along with options on how to subscribe, click on Request a sample on the left.
Ben Freeman of the Quincy Institute said on X in response to Trump’s statement that if the integration moves forward, Israel could “end up getting WAY more than $4B from US taxpayers” and that the funds would “just be buried in the DoD budget.”
Internal emails obtained under New York’s Freedom of Information Law and shared with The Defender reveal how the nation’s largest medical examiner’s office and its peers discussed deaths that followed COVID-19 vaccination, amid emerging evidence linking mRNA vaccines to heart damage. Attorney Jimmy Wagner, who requested the documents, said medical examiners’ private discussions contradicted public assurances that the COVID-19 vaccines were safe.
U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan found that Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche effectively conceded the Justice Department is violating the law governing the release of Jeffrey Epstein records, according to Politico’s account of the order — and after that ruling, Blanche filed heavily redacted Epstein records at the wire Thursday. Sullivan has also warned Blanche he could face contempt proceedings if the Justice Department fails to comply with orders in the case.
Democrat Gina Hinojosa's upset of Gov. Greg Abbott hands the state's border machinery to a lawmaker who spent the campaign attacking it.
Four oil tankers were destroyed after hitting naval mines in an area south of the Strait of Hormuz proscribed by Iran as prohibited for navigation, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said on Wednesday, as attacks on vessels in the region intensify while crude oil flows have dipped from recent highs. The four tankers are still ablaze, while two other vessels have been seized, the Revolutionary Guards said.
Andrews defeated incumbent Republican Sen. Graham, becoming the first Democrat to win the seat in nearly 3 decades.
Democrats have flipped seven Senate races to win a majority. Several Senate races are yet to be called.
Among the options to succeed Johnson will be Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), who told GOP colleagues on Wednesday that he will run for the top Republican post.
Iran Rejects US Draft Proposal: Tehran insists all seven conditions must be met before reopening the Strait of Hormuz. Negotiations Remain Uncertain: Reports of US-Iran concessions raised hopes of a breakthrough, but Iran indicates a deal remains distant. Back to Headline Ping-Pong: Oil prices initially plunged on optimism over negotiations before recovering some losses. Military Tit-for-Tat Escalates: Iran reported three tanker explosions and claimed to have downed two US drones, while the US confirmed strikes on Qeshm Island.
Blamed on a "Technical Glitch" Westchester County Key House Battleground Voting Machines Reject Paper Ballots Across Westchester County
She barred the Trump administration from requiring election officials to remove registered voters from voter rolls. She also prohibited the Department of Justice from telling election officials not to provide ballots to specific registered voters, or to sequester ballots solely based on the administration’s allegations that those people were not eligible to vote.
Trump said he spoke to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about the aid, and they agreed to cut it. “They don’t need it. If they did need it, I would say keep it going. But Bibi Netanyahu, we reached an agreement on that. And can I be honest with you? He brought it up,” Trump said.
US bombs Qeshm Island on Monday: confirmation comes after a series of explosions were heard in the region. Trump Delays Iran Decision: Trump says he is in no rush to resume strikes, favoring more time for diplomacy despite Netanyahu's reported push for renewed military action. Ayatollah Signals Openness to Talks: Supreme Leader authorizes dialogue with Washington as Qatari mediation reportedly makes progress toward a draft agreement. Faster Hormuz Reopening on the Table: Iran says it could reopen the Strait within two days if Washington accepts its demands, including lifting the US blockade. Oil Prices Tumble: Hopes of a diplomatic breakthrough send Brent toward $106 and WTI below $100, triggering a broader risk-on market rally. Supply Risks Persist: Nearly 1 billion barrels have reportedly been drained from global inventories, leaving oil and diesel markets vulnerable to renewed escalation.
The justices opted not to ask California to file a response, as normally happens when they think an issue might be a close call.
Democrats appear poised to win control of the House and possibly the Senate on Nov. 3 as Republicans labor to overcome a decades-long pattern of midterm losses by any party controlling the White House. Voter dissatisfaction with fuel prices and the war with Iran bodes well for Democrats.
A source familiar with the investigation told the Post that Omar is not her real name and that her birth surname is Elmi, the same as the man she married.
The United States, during the South Korea-U.S.-Japan foreign ministers’ meeting, mentioned China’s ‘coercive behavior in the West Sea’ and strengthened its message of deterrence against Beijing. However, it was confirmed on the 31st that the South Korean government, which is directly affected by China’s activities in the West Sea, did not include such content in its related press release.
The Chinese spaceplane design is unsurprisingly very similar to the U.S. Space Force's history-making X-37B.
The Chinese Communist Party leadership's latest conclave ended Thursday with an unusually lengthy list of personnel changes.
Elmi, a doctoral researcher at the University of Bristol, wrote that his study of violence against gay people in Africa was "not just an academic undertaking" because of "the complexities of [his] identity" as a "gay man of the East African diaspora."
A top Washington state official said on Oct. 29 that the state has no way to confirm whether people are U.S. citizens when registering them to vote. “We don’t have a system that can identify whether someone is an actual noncitizen,” Washington Secretary of State Steve Hobbs said during a press conference in King County.
Nearly 50,000 migrants rushed the border back in July, with a dozen of these having previously been deported for suspected ties to jihadist terrorism
the Gulf’s energy system will take far longer and cost far more to rebuild than anyone in Washington is admitting, and Saudi Arabia can no longer be counted on to cover the gap. Here are his key findings.
Relief is real, the financing is not free, and the schedule is political. Diesel near $6 is a genuine emergency for row-crop farmers, and CCC exists precisely for fast action. But a program announced at a campaign rally, funded off-budget, and paying out after Election Day invites skepticism. The number to track is the per-commodity rate in November, which will tell you whether this is targeted loss relief or a broad pre-election transfer.
Ben-Gvir’s far-right Otzma Yehudit party has been a key member of Netanyahu’s coalition. Recent polling has projected Otzma Yehudit to win approximately eight seats in the next Knesset.
With more than 76 percent of votes counted, Netanyahu’s bloc holds a slight lead over the opposition but shy of a majority.
The Camp Fire and Woolsey Fire together killed 103 people and wrecked or damaged more than 24,000 structures. The Camp Fire alone wiped out about 14,000 homes in Paradise. The federal allocation of $1,017,399,000 was supposed to cover costs insurance and other aid did not. California’s Department of Housing and Community Development split the money between homeowner rebuilding and “affordable” rentals. Homeowners got the short end. Of the $222.4 million set aside for them, just $38 million had been spent by the end of 2023, rebuilding a total of 110 homes. Meanwhile developers collected $368.7 million.
Now, she was at a Chinese airport, the triplets in her arms. Two strangers appeared, a man and a woman. They offered to hold her newborns. Tursun was only too grateful. But as soon as she handed her babies to them, their faces changed. Follow us, they instructed. They were the Chinese police. Thus began an ordeal that cost Tursun one of her babies and stole years of her youth.
The Swiss foreign ministry says MSF breached its contractual obligation to report, and NZZ am Sonntag writes that mistrust of the charity is "now immense within the Confederation." MSF has acknowledged its mistakes. NZZ says MSF's internal investigation turned up 59 reports of sexual violence and exploitation, mostly involving women and girls who fled the war in Sudan, and that 18 staff were dismissed, six of them from MSF's Swiss branch.
"They revealed how easy it is to commit fraud in your system - without actually defrauding anyone - and you are prosecuting them for embarrassing you?...