President Donald Trump announced a peace deal to end the war in Gaza earlier this month, to tremendous fanfare and praise — but now his administration is scrambling to prevent it from falling apart, while privately raging at how Israel is putting the whole thing in jeopardy.
This follows recent reporting that the administration was fearful the deal would fall apart altogether.
According to Politico, "the mounting frustrations come as a succession of senior officials are passing through Israel this week looking to keep a fragile ceasefire in place. They see some recent developments — the Israeli Defense Force’s counter-attack in Gaza on Sunday, and the Knesset’s vote in favor of West Bank annexation, which Trump has ruled out — as detrimental to the already fragile agreement between Israel and Hamas."
Vice President JD Vance reportedly relayed a "firm message" to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from the United States this week in response to the uncertainty.
However, the report continued, despite Netanyahu promising that there would be a limited, measured response to the Hamas attack on two IDF soldiers, "The counter-attack on Sunday left more than 40 civilians dead. Senior U.S. officials expressed their frustration about the severity of the attack, telling one Arab ally that Israel was 'out of control,' one of the two people familiar with the conversation said."
Trump has also turned his fury on Hamas, warning them in a recent post online that "There is still hope that Hamas will do what is right. If they do not, an end to Hamas will be FAST, FURIOUS, & BRUTAL!"
Former Trump advisor Steve Bannon made a stunning prediction about President Donald Trump's chances of running again in 2028 during an interview with The Economist on Thursday.
Bannon, who hosts the MAGA podcast "The War Room," said during the interview that Trump is an "instrument of divine will" and that the country needs him to be president for "at least one more term." Trump has made passing remarks about running again in 2028, but some have speculated that he won't run because of his old age.
"Well, he's going to get a third term, so Trump '28. Trump is going to be president in 2028," Bannon said.
"But what about the 22nd Amendment?" Zanny Minton Beddoes, editor-in-chief of The Economist, asked, referring to the amendment that limits presidential terms to two.
'There are many different alternatives for 2028, but people haven't accommodated them yet," Bannon said. "There are many different alternatives. At the appropriate time, we will lay out the plan, but there's a plan, and President Trump will be president in 2028."
"The country needs him to be president of the United States, and we need him to finish what we've started," he continued. "And the way we finish it is through Trump...He's a vehicle of divine providence."
A former California Republican Party official sent his party an ominous message Thursday, sounding the alarm about the findings of a new poll that showed a massive share of voters who plan to vote in favor of California's bid to add five Democratic U.S. House seats to counter GOP efforts to gerrymander ruby red states are doing so because of President Donald Trump.
A CBS News/YouGov poll conducted from Oct. 16-21 found that about 75% of likely voters who support the measure, known as Proposition 50, are motivated by opposition to Trump, or see their vote as a stance against the president. Seven in 10 of those voters say its to oppose national Republicans. Just 41% said it was to support Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA).
"Those voting for it overwhelmingly say one reason is for them to oppose the Trump administration — which they also feel generally treats California worse than other states — and oppose national Republicans," CBS News wrote in recapping the findings.
"Overall, those who see their Prop 50 vote as a national issue are backing it, and that rationale is in turn helping push the "yes" side of the measure into the lead."
Political strategist Mike Madrid, co-founder of the anti-Trump group The Lincoln Project and former political director for the California Republican Party, sounded the alarm for the GOP over the findings.
"Really bad sign for Republicans heading into the midterms," he wrote on X.
Jake Sherman of Punchbowl News wrote on X, "62-38. This ballot initiative is sailing. Republicans arent even really contesting it at this point."
Sherman said the findings "bucked even what Dems were worrying about. That the polling would get worse over time."
"Basic fact is CA propositions have grown support. The crime prop last cycle grew by leaps and bounds. Anyone saying they always fall doesn’t know what they are talking about. And this prop was dependent on Trump behavior. Which has gotten worse so it grew in support," she added.
Jacob Rubashkin, deputy editor at Inside Elections, added on X, "Been saying this for months. Unlike other ballot measures that are harder to put on a partisan spectrum or get lost in the cacophony of the ballot, Prop 50 is very easy to make a Democrats vs. Republicans fight. And in California, that means the Democrat is going to win!
New York Times columnist Ronald Brownstein wrote on X, "In CA, 66% disapprove of Trump job, 68% oppose his deploying Ntl Guard (including 70% of Hispanics), 60% disapprove of his handling of deportation, 63% of Hispanics say he's deporting more than expected & 62% of all voters r backing Prop 50. Other than that, MAGA is rising in CA."
An immigration commander was accused of violating "multiple paragraphs" of a recent court order prohibiting agents from using certain tactics to suppress protests, according to a new report.
CBS News reported on Thursday that Customs and Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino was accused of violating a court order prohibiting agents from using riot control tactics like using tear gas or firing "less-than-lethal" ammunition rounds.
Bovino was accused in a lawsuit of firing one or two tear gas containers at protesters in Chicago's Little Village neighborhood.
"In the video, Bovino can be seen in uniform, but no headgear, pulling out a canister of tear gas and tossing it into the crowd of protesters over the heads of other agents," CBS reported. "As the camera begins to move away, he can be seen pulling another canister of tear gas off his belt."
Plaintiffs alleged this violates "multiple paragraphs" of the court's previous order.
On Monday, U.S. District Court Judge Sara Ellis ordered Bovino to be deposed, along with Deputy Chief Patrol Agent Daniel Parra and former CE Chicago Field Office Director Russell Holt, concerning the use of force during immigration crackdowns.
One of the reddest states in the country is now urging President Donald Trump to take swift action to end the government shutdown by warning him that severe economic calamity will soon hit many of his voters.
The Atlantic's Toluse Orunnipa reported recently that as the shutdown is about to extend into its fourth week, lawmakers in Arkansas passed a resolution saying the state was "in need of strong leadership from President Donald J. Trump" to prevent the looming closure of thousands of farms in the mostly rural state. Republican state representative DeAnn Vaught, a farmer who authored the resolution, compared farmers' plight to "a tsunami coming."
"This is going to affect the state of Arkansas in a very mighty way," Vaught said.
Between the expiration of the Farm Bill, the Trump administration's tariffs resulting in foreign governments buying fewer agricultural products from the United States and the shutdown, farmers are teetering on insolvency. While the U.S. Department of Agriculture typically has fully staffed offices aimed at helping farmers obtain loans, the shutdown has resulted in those offices being closed for the bulk of the last month.
Trump has promised to divert some of the revenue from his tariffs to help farmers, though the details of those plans have yet to be hashed out given the shutdown. According to the Atlantic, approximately one-third of Arkansas farms could be shuttered before next year's harvest absent a multibillion-dollar bailout from the federal government. But each day the shutdown continues makes their survival less likely.
"The biggest worry of farms that see themselves as eligible for a trade-related bailout is that the delay may make it difficult to get the money," Montana State University professor Vincent Smith told the Atlantic.
Other red state farmers are also feeling pressure from the shutdown. Chris Gibbs — who grows corn and soybeans in Shelby County, Ohio — said he's been hoping for the shutdown to end soon so he can apply for a commodity loan at his local Farm Service Agency office. Agricultural Secretary Brooke Rollins recently announced that those offices will reopen and be staffed by employees working without pay in order to free up roughly $3 billion in assistance. But Gibbs, a former Republican who now chairs his local Democratic Party, said the "extreme pressure" caused by the shutdown and the tariffs means that some farms will still likely close despite the administration's efforts.
"We’re going to lose some farmers," Gibbs said.
Click here to read the Atlantic's full article (subscription required).
A federal appeals court on Thursday left in place a stay on the Federal Trade Commission's controversial investigation into liberal investigative group Media Matters, dealing yet another blow to the Trump administration's crusade to go after critics with the power of government.
In the three-judge panel of the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, Judges Patricia Millett and Robert Wilkins, both appointees of former President Barack Obama, ruled to keep the stay in place, over the dissent of Trump-appointed Judge Justin Walker.
The Federal Trade Commission, under Trump-appointed chair Andrew Ferguson, launched an investigation into Media Matters after they published research showing that tech billionaire Elon Musk's X platform routinely placed ads next to antisemitic and pro-Nazi content, which triggered a widespread advertiser boycott. Ferguson's investigation purports to review whether Media Matters engaged in illegal collusion with advertisers to deprive X of revenue. The investigation has caused severe financial damage to the organization.
Media Matters sued to block the investigation, citing the unprecedented nature of this action and the fact that Ferguson has openly attacked fact-checking efforts, claiming that "disinformation" is just "Orwellian newspeak for ideas that Silicon Valley and progressives don’t like."
U.S. District Judge Sparkle L. Sooknanan, an appointee of former President Joe Biden, agreed, calling the FTC's actions a "straightforward First Amendment violation." The majority of the appellate court found no reason to overrule the lower court.
"Media Matters has documented the concrete harms to its speech activities it is currently suffering with the Commission’s Demand hanging over its head," the opinion wrote. "Furthermore, the language of the Demand, on its face, appears to require Media Matters to disclose information that may implicate the First Amendment reporter’s privilege."
Walker, in a lengthy dissent, complained extensively that the FTC has a right to investigate these matters and specifically defended Ferguson's "Orwellian newspeak" line, writing, "Not once in the interview did Ferguson say that 'progressives' should be punished for what they believe. Rather, he chided 'progressives' in the Biden Administration for punishing others for what others believe."
Two Democratic analysts were stunned on Thursday after President Donald Trump announced his latest pardon.
Trump pardoned Changpeng Zhao, the convicted founder of the Binance cryptocurrency exchange who was convicted of failing to create adequate anti-money laundering protections on his exchange. Binance paid a $4.3 billion fine, and Zhao paid an additional $50 million settlement. He had served four months in jail before being pardoned, Reuters reported.
Democratic analysts Brian Tyler Cohen and Tommy Vietor discussed the pardon on a new episode of "Pod Save America" on Thursday.
"I'm going to lose my mind," Vietor said. "Why doesn't anyone care about this staggering corruption right before our eyes?"
The second Trump administration has wholly embraced cryptocurrencies, which is a stark shift from the Biden administration's more heavy-handed stance.
Trump has appointed David Sacks as the White House crypto czar, and Trump's family has launched a few crypto ventures of their own. Earlier this year, Trump hosted a dinner for some of the largest holders of his World Liberty Financial crypto token.
"This is just one small part of a larger hole," Cohen said. "And it wouldn't be so egregious if not for the fact that all of this is happening when Trump came into office, promising to be some populist champion. Like this guy was talking about housing and rent and groceries and the price of a f------ egg, and forget the price of any of those things going down, but he's just heaping more riches and wealth and opulence onto himself. So it's impossible to ignore all of this stuff."
Volkswagen workers in Chattanooga, Tennessee, who unionized with the United Auto Workers last year, announced Thursday that they will vote next week to authorize a strike after over 13 months of fruitless contract negotiations with the auto giant.
The strike authorization vote planned for October 28-29 “comes after months of unfair labor practices committed by the company, including bad faith negotiations, unlawful intimidation, and the unilateral cutting of jobs at Volkswagen’s only US assembly plant,” UAWsaid in a statement. The union also highlighted Volkswagen’s $20.6 billion in profits last year.
Company spokesperson Michael Lowder said Monday that “Volkswagen made it clear to the union that our last, best, and final offer is indeed final. We cannot in good faith prolong negotiations by continuing to bargain when we have already put our best offer on the table. It is time for the UAW to give VW employees a voice and let them decide for themselves by voting on our final offer.”
However, multiple employees said Thursday that they are not happy with the company’s latest offer and plan to vote for a strike.
“I’m voting yes because this is the time to show Volkswagen we are serious about receiving industry-standard treatment. Job security’s essential. They could pay us $100 an hour, but it means nothing if they close the plant two weeks into the agreement,” said James Robinson. “I’m hoping this process shows the company we are serious about getting a fair contract. We will show them their offer wasn’t enough, show them we’re willing to stand up to get what we deserve.”
“I’m hoping this process shows the company we are serious about getting a fair contract.”
Employee Taylor Fugate said that “I’m voting yes to get Volkswagen to come back to the table. The majority of the people I know don’t want VW’s ‘final offer.’ They want to keep negotiating, and we are willing to do what it takes to make that happen.”
“We need affordable healthcare and a strong job security statement that leaves no gray area,” Fugate added. “We also deserve equal standards—Southern autoworkers shouldn’t be treated differently!”
One elected Republican held a press conference on Wednesday in a bid to bully the union into holding a vote on the company’s latest offer. Local 3 Newsreported that Hamilton County Commissioner Jeff Eversole said: “Volkswagen put forward a final union contract offer over a month ago that offers significant gains for Chattanooga workers, including a 20% wage increase, a cost-of-living allowance, a $4,000 ratification bonus, lower healthcare costs, and much more. Many employees have been reaching out to the UAW to vote, and the UAW has refused.”
Local 3 News noted that “during the press conference, dozens of members from both the UAW and the Chattanooga Area Central Labor Council, or CLC, began picketing outside of the VW plant.”
The outlet also spoke with some employees. One of them, Dakotah Bailey, explained that “originally, it was going to be a 25% increase in wages. They didn’t want to take that, and now they dropped it down to 20%. I wanted to try and get my money now. Especially right before the holidays. It would be great to have an extra $5,500 sitting in my bank account.”
“I don’t want to strike, but if it comes to it, I will,” Volkswagen worker Mitchell Harris said Thursday. “Because I feel that all my brothers and sisters of UAW Local 42 deserve respect, to provide a better life for their families, and have job security for us and generations to come.”
The White House trolled Democrats on Thursday by adding new events to the "major events timeline" on the White House's website, according to a new report.
Fox Newsreported on Thursday that the White House added events like former President Joe Biden's "Trans Day of Visibility" celebration, an incident where cocaine was discovered at the White House, former President Bill Clinton's sex scandal, and a slide showing former President Barack Obama visiting with the Muslim Brotherhood to its list of major events. Other events include major construction timelines and state visits from foreign leaders.
The additions include a photograph of President Joe Biden smiling next to a transgender activist, and another photograph of Hunter Biden, the president's youngest son, lying half naked in a bathtub with a cigarette hanging from his mouth.
"Speculation has pointed to Hunter Biden, an admitted drug user," the slide featuring Hunter Biden reads. "Additional evidence includes a laptop, seized in 2019, which contains photos of frequent drug use alongside emails about foreign business dealings (Ukraine, China) involving his father, Joe, while he was Vice President."
The new events were added at a time when the Trump administration is pursuing major renovations at the White House. The president has demolished the East Wing to make way for a grand ballroom. Trump has also added gold decorations throughout the Oval Office.
The filing, posted by national security analyst Marcy Wheeler, demands the enforcement of rules prohibiting extrajudicial disclosures and statements.
"In initiating this contact, Ms. Halligan—the lead prosecutor on this case as of the date of this filing—commented on the credibility and general strength of the evidence presented to the grand jury. She also commented, more generally, on the purported strength of the case she was bringing, complained about the New York Times’ coverage of a certain witness’s grand jury testimony, and stated the article did not convey a 'full representation' of what took place before the grand jury," the filing says.
"These extrajudicial statements and prejudicial disclosures by any prosecutor, let alone one purporting to be the U.S. Attorney, run afoul of and violate the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, the Code of Federal Regulations, this Court’s Local Rules, various rules of ethical and professional responsibility, and DOJ’s Justice Manual," it continues.
Wheeler specifically pointed to two footnotes in the filing. One said the government "can and does prosecute" violations about not discussing grand jury information, but they're not filing a formal request for that yet.
"Footnote 5: You know, you could throw Lindsey in jail on contempt charges for this. Footnote 6: But Attorney General James is not yet asking you to do so," Wheeler characterized the footnotes, saying.
James will, however, seek records from Halligan's Signal noting that in her messages the prosecutor confessed "in her exchange with the journalist to a likely violation of the federal records laws and rules around using unapproved electronic messaging accounts," the filings says citing the legal specifics that an officer or employee of an executive agency" is restricted "from sending messages using a non-official electronic messaging account)," Wheeler cited from the filing documents.
"Ms. Halligan acknowledged she was using an unofficial messaging application, Signal, with its 'disappearing messages' feature enabled and set to automatically delete after eight hours," the filing continues.
The filing explains that "trying to delete the paper trail of improper communications does not mean they did not occur."
Wheeler also referred to Lowell dropping some shade in the filing, in which he says, "No prosecutor is exempt from following those rules, but they should be followed to the letter by anyone trying to lead a prosecutor's office."
President Donald Trump's administration has targeted James after she prosecuted him in a New York fraud case. Trump was found guilty of 34 counts.
First, Trump targeted former FBI Director James Comey and, more recently, former National Security Advisor John Bolton. Sen. Adam Schiff (D-CA) is also among those being investigated, but the prosecutor's case has stalled, NBC News reported Thursday.
An analyst warned of a "dangerous rot inside the modern Republican Party under [President Donald] Trump" amid rising "Nazi rhetoric" that Republicans appear unclear on how to address.
Just in the last few weeks, an alarming number of Neo-Nazi-related scandals — including the leaked Young Republicans racist, homophobic and antisemitic messages and Paul Ingrassia's messages saying he has a "Nazi streak" — are tied to the GOP and its followers, Bulwark Managing Editor Sam Stein and journalist and political commentator John Avlon discussed Thursday in a Substack interview.
Avlon has covered Neo-Nazism and written his book "Wing Nuts" about it. Stein asked him about "what Republicans should do about this — and the divide that's emerged on the right over whether to condemn it, or to do the JD Vance thing, which is there are no enemies to my right."
Stein and Avlon pointed to how Vice President JD Vance appears unable to respond to the problem, and this "strand of Neo-Nazism that we've seen that has become more problematic."
Vance this month said the following on late MAGA influencer Charlie Kirk's podcast:
"By focusing on what kids are saying in a group chat, grow up, I'm sorry. Focus on the real issues. Don't focus on what kids say in group chats," Vance said.
But the problem is that these are not kids — they're actually people over 18, in their 20s and 30s, Stein and Avlon explain.
"These are people who are old enough to know better," Avlon said.
Vance appears to be stumped on how to respond to the rhetoric.
"But the fact that JD Vance, Yale Law graduate, smart guy, embraced that no enemies to the right attitude, with regard to that Hitler loving group chat, is the problem," Avlon adds.
It's also a sign of a larger problem for Republicans.
"This is about people expressing love for, admiration with, or self-association with Hitler," Avlon said. "Much of the time... when opponents accuse their political opponents of being Nazis or being like Hitler, that means you've lost the argument. But what happens when your opponents compare themselves to Hitler? This is not a tough call. This is not within the universe of what should be a tough call."
Avlon cited the rise of Christian nationalism and militia adjacent-belief systems following the election of former President Barack Obama as playing a role in white extremism.
"You've got this percolating beneath the surface, revealed in group chats or texts that are released, shows that there is a dangerous rot inside the modern Republican Party under [President Donald] Trump," Avlon said. "It does not mean that all Trump supporters are Nazi adjacent, at all. I want to triple underline that. But one is too much. This number of stories should be alarming and should cause people to question — deeply — what animal spirits we've been tapping into. And it's part of a larger trend."
Why Did the GOP Stop Caring About Nazis? by The Bulwark
The cost of President Donald Trump's ballroom addition to the White House has gone up, from its original stated price of $200 million to nearly double that, the president admitted while speaking to reporters on Thursday.
"Have you raised the full $300 million needed to fund your ballroom, and how much specifically are you donating to this construction?" asked a reporter.
"Actually, we raised, I think, $350 million, all donor money, and money that we put up, uh, we've raised, it's going to be, it's going to cost right in the neighborhood of $300 million," said Trump. "It's been expanded and made, absolutely, it'll be the most beautiful ballroom anywhere in the world, I think."
"And how much specifically are you donating to it personally?" reporters followed up.
"How much am I donating? I won't be able to tell you until I finish, but I'll donate whatever is needed. I'll tell you that," said Trump.
The ballroom project, which has already resulted in demolition work on parts of the East Wing despite previous promises it would not alter any existing structure, has triggered outrage from observers who fear Trump is reshaping the White House too aggressively in his own image, as well as those angry he is focusing on a vanity project for his own residence at a moment when the federal government is shut down over a standoff about extending health care funding for millions of people.
A former staffer for the First Lady bashed President Donald Trump on Thursday for demolishing the East Wing of the White House to make way for a grandiose ballroom.
Stephanie Grisham, a former chief of staff to first lady Melania Trump during the first Trump administration, told The New York Times that seeing the East Wing in rubble was like seeing "history literally being demolished in front of our eyes." Grisham is the latest in a series of former White House staffers who have denounced the project.
“It was such a breath of fresh air from the West Wing,” Grisham told the New York Times. “I hate to see that kind of history literally being demolished in front of our eyes.”
Several people have criticised Trump for pursuing the project at a time when the government is shut down and the economy seems to be unsteady.
Other staffers who spoke to the Times said the project was destroying the "living history" of the building.
“There was never a day I didn’t catch my breath walking into the East Wing,” Laura Schwartz, the White House director of events in the Clinton administration, told the outlet. “That’s what makes the loss to me so painful. It’s not just a building. It’s the living history.”
