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OpenAI Shuts Down Iranian Effort That Used Fake Journalists to Place Articles
OpenAI banned accounts tied to an Iranian operation called Bogus Bylines that created at least seven fabricated Western journalist identities and used AI to generate and pitch articles. The personas included Ervin B. Hoskins, Noah Lamington, and Sophia Gonzalez. Nearly 100 pieces appeared in small and midsize outlets between July 2025 and October 2026, many addressing the U.S.-Iran conflict. Operators prompted the models in Persian and connected through VPNs. The content reached publications such as Daily Kos and Middle East Monitor. OpenAI assigned the campaign a Category 4 rating on its influence scale. The company also disrupted a separate Russian operation that employed a fake think tank to spread messaging.
🏛️ News & Politics
Senate Judiciary Chairman: Biden DOJ Collected Personal Data on Over 639000 Republican Supporters
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA) released a memo alleging that former special counsel Jack Smith’s Arctic Frost probe and the Biden Justice Department obtained spreadsheets on at least 639000 Republican donors, voters, and supporters. The data included names, dates of birth, addresses in most states and territories, emails, Republican registration, occupations such as retirees and loggers, credit card details, and donation amounts. More than 148000 rows identified donors who generally gave small-dollar amounts, with records dating to 2005. Grassley said the collection exceeded the special counsel’s mandate and aimed to map the Republican Party. Smith confirmed that the office obtained financial information for a criminal investigation.
OCC Report Finds Major Banks Closed Accounts of MAGA and Conservative Groups Citing Reputation Risk
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency released a report finding that nine major banks, including JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and Wells Fargo, closed accounts or refused credit to MAGA merchants, pro-life causes, religious groups and conservative organizations between 2020 and 2025. The review of 100,000 complaints and 50,000 bank records showed actions based on political, social, or religious beliefs under “reputation risk” policies. Examples included JPMorgan’s WePay closing accounts for Trump and MAGA merchandise and using Southern Poverty Law Center designations. Banks also restricted financing for firearms, oil and gas, and private prisons. “Today’s report provides irrefutable evidence that the nation’s largest banks have denied, debanked and discriminated against customers,” Comptroller Jonathan V. Gould said. The CFPB announced an investigation.
Montana Democrat Party Chair Resigns and Endorses Independent Senate Candidate Bodnar
Shannon O’Brien resigned Monday as chair of the Montana Democratic Party, effective immediately, and endorsed independent U.S. Senate candidate Seth Bodnar over Democrat Alani Bankhead. “Bankhead does not have the momentum, resources or will to win this race,” O’Brien wrote. She said the party is more divided than ever because of the Senate race and criticized Bankhead for mudslinging at Bodnar and for conservative PAC support during the primary. Bankhead responded that O’Brien “has been working against the Democratic nominee since the summer” and is campaigning for a man who never ran in the primary. Vice Chair Bruce Knutson immediately became chair. Bodnar said he was “deeply grateful” for the endorsement. Republican Kurt Alme leads in recent polling.
Social Security Beneficiaries Receive 3.6 Percent Increase for 2027
The Social Security Administration announced Wednesday that beneficiaries will receive a 3.6 percent cost-of-living adjustment in 2027. Average monthly retirement benefits will rise by about $75 for nearly 72 million people starting in January 2027. Supplemental Security Income payments for about 7.3 million recipients will increase beginning Dec. 31, 2026. Commissioner Frank Bisignano said the change gives 76 million Americans greater financial stability. Consumer prices rose 3.7 percent in the year ending September, with a 0.6 percent monthly increase driven partly by fuel costs. AARP CEO Myechia Minter-Jordan said one in five older Americans has no retirement savings.
NYC Council and Mayor Mamdani Agree to Phase Out Central Park Carriage Horses
The New York City Council and Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced plans Tuesday to end the Central Park horse-drawn carriage industry. Council Speaker Julie Menin said the chamber will vote Oct. 22 on legislation to phase out the operations, with the ban taking effect by June 2028. The bill, known as Romanch’s Law, follows the June death of 18-year-old tourist Romanch Mahajan after he fell from a runaway carriage. “The horse carriage industry is coming to an end in New York City,” Mamdani said. Menin stated the death “made clear that the status quo is no longer acceptable.” The measure requires a workforce transition plan but does not guarantee compensation. Transport Workers Union President John Samuelsen said the bill offers no real economic relief for drivers.
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📢 The Fifth Column Watch
Accused Minnesota High School Homecoming Shooter Released on Bond Two Days After Arrest
Adam Abdihakeem Adam, 18, was released from Hennepin County jail Saturday evening after posting $100,000 bond without conditions, two days after his Thursday arrest. He faces two counts of second-degree assault with a deadly weapon and one count of second-degree riot for allegedly shooting two teenage victims outside Eden Prairie High School’s Oct. 2 homecoming football game. Police said the gunfire followed a fight near the stadium and linked it to rival Somali gang activity. Authorities tracked Adam using cellphone data before, during, and after the shooting. He abandoned his phone and changed his number. A search of his St. Louis Park home turned up clothing matching the shooter in surveillance video. His next court appearance was set for Monday afternoon.
Omar Staff Changed Birth Year in Records After Election, Raising Citizenship Questions
Staff for Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) requested a change to her birth year in public records in May 2019, shortly after she entered Congress, according to emails. The Minnesota Legislative Reference Library updated the listing from Oct. 4, 1981, to 1982 after staff informed officials the year was incorrect. The prior date had appeared throughout her Minnesota House service and first congressional campaign. Omar has said she derived citizenship at age 17 in 2000 through her father’s naturalization. A 1981 birth year would have made her 18 or 19 that year. “On May 17, 2019, Library staff were informed by Rep. Omar’s congressional staff that her birth year was incorrect and requested that we change it to 1982,” the library director wrote. Federal agents recently searched her home for immigration records.
Former Aide to Massachusetts’ Governor Charged With SNAP Fraud While Awaiting Cocaine Trafficking Trial
Lamar Cook, 46, a former deputy director for Western Massachusetts in Gov. Maura Healey’s office, was arrested Wednesday on one count each of SNAP fraud and wire fraud. Cook, already facing state charges including trafficking more than 200 grams of cocaine after police intercepted nearly 18 pounds shipped to his office in 2025, allegedly applied for benefits while on pretrial release. He claimed zero income, less than $100 in his bank account, and a two-person household, yet records showed balances exceeding $8,800, lottery payments from his mother, and an undisclosed fiancée earning over $80,000 annually. He received about $546 monthly, which he used in Massachusetts and on a July trip to Florida. “The alleged conduct is simply egregious,” U.S. Attorney Leah Foley said.
Massachusetts Recovers Only 2.69 Dollars for Every 100 Lost to Public Benefits Fraud
Massachusetts has recovered just $2.69 for every $100 identified as stolen through public benefits fraud, a 2.7 percent rate, according to LexisNexis analysis. State Auditor Diana DiZoglio’s Bureau of Special Investigations found $10.6 million in fraud during the third and fourth quarters of fiscal 2026, with MassHealth accounting for $6.05 million and SNAP for $3.85 million. The state has recovered only $285,339 of that total. “Massachusetts is no different than any state in the country, except that they’re still in denial about the scale and scope of the problem,” said Haywood Talcove, CEO of LexisNexis Risk Solutions Government Group. He noted the state has fewer than 10 frontline investigators and relies on outdated technology. Fraudsters keep 97 cents of every stolen dollar.
Florida Democrat Senate Candidate Defends Honoring Cop Killer and Calls History Messy
Angie Nixon, the Florida Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate and a member of Democratic Socialists of America, defended displaying portraits of Assata Shakur and others at her Cafe Resistance bookstore. Shakur was convicted in 1977 of murdering a New Jersey state trooper, escaped prison in 1979, and died in Cuba. Nixon said the figures were “civil rights leaders that wind up like getting convicted or like tried for like, you know, robbery or killing police officers.” She added that history is “messy” and “some history is good, it’s bad, it’s messy, it’s ugly, but it needs to be learned,” not the “whitewashed, sanitized version.” Nixon is running against Sen. Ashley Moody (R-FL) in the special election to fill the remainder of Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s term.
Editor’s Note: But Nixon would lead any effort to topple a Civil War statue… evidently, only her preferred history gets to be messy.
ON THIS DAY IN 1962:
A U.S. U-2 reconnaissance aircraft flew over Cuba and snapped photos showing intermediate-range nuclear missile sites being constructed by the Soviet Union. These photographs provided the definitive proof that officially triggered the Cuban Missile Crisis, bringing the U.S. and USSR to the brink of nuclear war.
🌐 International
US Treasury Fines Bank of America 1.2 Billion for Money Laundering and Sanctions Violations
The U.S. Treasury Department fined Bank of America $1.2 billion for violating anti-money laundering and sanctions laws, the department's third-largest penalty. FinCEN assessed the penalty for the bank’s failure to mitigate and report priority risks, including Chinese money-laundering networks and illicit finance along the southwest border. The bank also reached an $11.6 million settlement with the Office of Foreign Assets Control over apparent violations involving Iran, Russia, narcotics and terrorism. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency imposed a $750 million penalty, its largest ever. “Today’s actions send a clear message that even the biggest financial institutions are not above the law,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said. Bank of America admitted willful violations of the Bank Secrecy Act and said it has invested billions in compliance.
Russian Strikes Kill Three and Cut Power to 600000 Ukrainians in Overnight Attack
Russian missile and drone strikes killed three people in Kyiv overnight and left at least 600,000 Ukrainians without power, authorities said Wednesday. The attack primarily targeted Kyiv and Kharkiv and damaged 30 energy facilities, President Volodymyr Zelensky said. He called the strikes deliberate and demonstrative in scale, writing that Russia has never before shown such ostentatious disrespect toward the United States. Ukraine reported intercepting only four of 39 missiles. Russia’s defense ministry said it struck four power plants in and around Kyiv and two in Kharkiv, among other targets. The attacks also hit state railway facilities in five regions, Prime Minister Sergii Koretskyi said. Outages may spread further as crews work to restore power.
Two Ships Sink Near Strait of Hormuz as Iran Steps Up Attacks on Shipping
Two Emirati cargo ships, the GFS Pride and the Cape Dao, sank near the Strait of Hormuz in the past 24 hours after being struck amid a surge in Iranian attacks, maritime officials said. The Singapore-flagged GFS Pride container ship sank after a projectile strike and fire; all 21 crew members were safely evacuated with no injuries reported. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps claimed a container ship carrying 2,500 containers hit a naval mine on an unauthorized route and sank. IRGC official Mohsen Rezaei said, “We target five or six of these every night. Hormuz is under the control of the Islamic Republic.” At least 18 vessels have been hit in October so far as Iran intensifies strikes.
Global Alliance for Palestine Leaders Have Documented Ties to Designated Terrorist Groups
A London-based group behind global pro-Palestinian protests has leaders with histories of connections to designated extremists, an investigation found. The Global Alliance for Palestine’s interim executive committee includes Anas Altikriti, formerly president of the Muslim Association of Britain, linked to the Muslim Brotherhood, and founder of the UAE-sanctioned Cordoba Foundation. Ben Jamal previously directed the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, which defended a member of the Hamas-linked Popular Conference for Palestinians Abroad, later sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury. Mustafa Barghouthi has associated with the U.S.-designated PFLP and was photographed with Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar. Shamiul Joarder of Friends of al Aqsa expressed solidarity with Palestine Action after the U.K. designated it a terrorist group. The alliance claimed more than 250,000 people gathered during its Oct. 10 day of action.
Nearly Half of French Muslims Would Consider Leaving if Marine Le Pen Wins Presidency
An IFOP survey for the French weekly Marianne found that 46 percent of Muslim respondents would consider emigrating if Marine Le Pen wins the 2027 presidential election. France is estimated to have about seven million Muslims. The same poll showed 53 percent of respondents opposed allowing the Islamic veil on public streets, 75 percent supported the existing ban on abayas in state secondary schools, and 72 percent backed banning conspicuous religious symbols in sporting competitions. Le Pen has advocated reducing immigration and strengthening secularism laws, including possible restrictions on the hijab subject to a referendum. Recent surveys place her at about 35 percent in the first round and ahead in hypothetical second-round contests.
