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Senate Democrats Sink House Stock-Trading Limits in Party-Line Vote
The Senate on Wednesday blocked the Stop Insider Trading Act on a 53-47 party-line vote, short of the 60 votes needed to advance. All Republicans supported the measure, and all Democrats opposed it. The House-passed bill, sponsored by Rep. Bryan Steil (R-WI) and carried in the Senate by Sen. Pete Ricketts (R-NE), would bar members of Congress, their spouses and dependent children from buying publicly traded stocks and require public notice before sales. Democrats objected that members could keep existing holdings and that a nationwide voter ID requirement attached to the bill was a poison pill. The House approved the measure 232-198 in July, with 13 Democrats voting yes. Senators then left Washington for the midterm campaign, ending the billâs path this Congress.
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Pentagon Taps Musk to Map Future Battlefields for Pentagon
War Secretary Pete Hegseth named Elon Musk a co-leader of Project Meridian, a 120-day Pentagon study of future warfare. Anduril founder Palmer Luckey and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich will co-lead under Chief Technology Officer Emil Michael. Hegseth said the best forecasts of future conflict do not live only inside the Pentagon. The group is to map wars, domains and technologies from under the Earth to beyond the moon and issue a public report plus a classified annex. Muskâs SpaceX and Luckeyâs Anduril already sell systems to the military, which raises conflict-of-interest questions. Hegseth also announced Autonomous Warfare Command, a four-star command to scale robots and drones, and new career tracks for âautonomous warfighters.â He spoke at Quantico to junior officers and enlisted leaders.
GOP Midterm Playbook Centers on Raising Democratsâ Unfavorable Ratings
Republicans are spending heavily this fall to drive up Democratsâ negative ratings rather than to lift their own. A Texas Southern University poll put James Talaricoâs unfavorables at 50 percent against Ken Paxton. MAGA Inc. is airing ads calling Talarico âweirdâ and âtoo loco for Texas.â The Senate Leadership Fund is hitting Mary Peltola in Alaska, Sherrod Brown in Ohio over sex-change policies for minors, Troy Jackson in Maine on taxes, and Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan on crime. GOP insiders say Brownâs favorables are underwater. Strategist Chris LaCivita said higher negatives produce a larger anti-vote. Pollster Robert Cahaly said the party waited too long after Democrats defined themselves in August. President Trumpâs approval is 37 percent in a Wall Street Journal poll. AdImpact shows Republicans leading in ad reservations in most Senate races, except in North Carolina.
Editorâs Note: And while the Democrats have nothing to run on besides Trump hate, Republicans shouldnât be given a pass in their failure to achieve things like passage of the SAVE Act.
The Washington Times, First Post
House Democrats Pledge Federal Abortion Mandate and Broader Medicaid If They Win
House Democrats say they would pass the Womenâs Health Protection Act within the first 100 hours if they regain control of the House. The bill would block state waiting periods, ultrasound rules and abortion bans before viability. After viability, abortions would still be allowed if a provider cites the womanâs health. Their health agenda also calls for expanding Medicaid and Medicare, reversing Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.âs vaccine policies and âreclaiming MAHA.â Other items include hospital price rules and the removal of Trump administration protections for the herbicide glyphosate. Rep. Judy Chu sponsors the abortion bill and said no one should have more rights in California than in Texas.
Michigan House Hopeful Called America a Shithole and Flew Flag Upside Down
William Lawrence, the Democrat challenging Rep. Tom Barrett (R-MI) in Michiganâs 7th District, called the United States a âshithole countryâ in a January 2021 tweet he later deleted. In May 2021, he posted an upside-down American flag and wrote that âdemocracy in the USA is on the brink.â House Democrats put him in their Red-to-Blue program. He let his membership in the Democratic Socialists of America lapse last month. On a 2024 podcast, he called for âdestroying the American way of lifeâ and redistributing land and money for Americaâs âevil deeds.â He also called the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse a âclimate activistâs dream.â Deleted posts attacked the nuclear family and police. He launched his campaign with a convicted sex offender he employed at a tenants union. His campaign did not comment.
DOJ Charges 17 in $1.3 Million Social Security Fraud Sweep
The Justice Department charged 17 people in 11 districts with stealing more than $1.3 million in Social Security benefits. Prosecutors say several defendants collected payments after relatives died or were disabled. Eva Bratcher of Chicago is accused of hiding her motherâs body in a garage freezer for two years and taking $21,402 in Social Security and SNAP benefits. She was sentenced in 2023 for concealing a death and now faces up to 10 years if convicted of the new charges. David Darling of New York is accused of withdrawing more than $109,000 after his brother died. Laura Whisenant of Michigan is accused of misusing nearly $121,000 of her disabled uncleâs benefits over seven years. Assistant Attorney General Colin McDonald said the money was taken from retireesâ medicine, meals, and housing.
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The View Host Illegally Urges Florida Voters to Oust GOP Incumbent On Air
Ana Navarro of ABCâs The View told viewers in Floridaâs 27th District to vote and âknock this woman out,â naming Democrat Eliott Rodriguez as âa great guyâ running against US Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar (R-FL). Navarro said she lives in the district and that polls show the race is even after Salazar won by 20 points two years ago. Critics called the remarks electioneering on a show that uses public airwaves and questioned whether they violate broadcast licensing rules. Rodriguez later thanked Navarro. The comments came amid existing FCC scrutiny of whether The View qualifies as a bona fide news program.
Washington Records Allege Daycare Kickbacks to Afghan Parents
State investigative records obtained from the Washington Department of Children, Youth and Families allege some childcare providers coordinated with parents to collect taxpayer subsidies for children who were not in care. One report said parents signed children in anyway and that an unnamed provider gave 30 percent of DSHS payments to parents, âmostly from Afghanistan,â while her husband ran a second home with the same practice. The records contain allegations and do not by themselves prove criminal guilt. Officials said a conviction for subsidy fraud can result in a lifetime ban from Working Connections Child Care. Auditors previously could not verify more than $1.3 billion in federal childcare spending and flagged about $37 million in questionable payments for 2025. A union accused a reporter of harassing immigrant providers after similar site visits.
Watchdog Says Rockefeller Fund Sent $32 Million to China Nonprofits
Americans for Public Trust says tax filings show the Rockefeller Brothers Fund sent nearly $32 million to China-based nonprofits. The watchdogâs report calls it a partnership that advances Chinese Communist Party aims, including Belt and Road work packaged as environmental research. Cited grants include $400,000 to a unit of Chinaâs Environment Ministry, nearly $1.5 million to the China Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development, and nearly $200,000 to Tsinghua University after it merged its presidentâs office with a Party committee. The $1.4 billion fund still holds fossil-fuel investments more than a decade after a divestment pledge. It also receives gifts from Open Society, Ford, and Hewlett, as well as from donors in China. The fund did not immediately comment. Executive Director Caitlin Sutherland said the Rockefeller name now bankrolls far-left climate activism.
Detroit Imam Tied to El-Sayed Called Zionists Historyâs Cockroaches
Imam Imran Salha of the Islamic Center of Detroit, a mosque Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed has attended and spoken at, said in a 2024 sermon that Zionists are the âcockroaches of history.â He said American Muslims have two roles: teach about Allah and âfrustrate the Zionistsâ by every legal means. He added that protests that make Zionists uncomfortable and shouting at them on Fox News earn reward from Allah. MEMRI translated the sermon. Salha has also said Zionism is terrorism, prayed to âeradicateâ the âsick, disgusting Zionist regime,â and hosted speakers who have called for targeting a pro-Israel professor. El-Sayed separately faces questions over an Ann Arbor mosque whose imam eulogized Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh as a martyr. Some Michigan Jewish voters in a Sentinel Action Fund focus group said they may vote Republican for the first time.
Mexican Couple Extradited in Child-Smuggling Case Using THC Gummies
Two Mexican nationals from Juarez were arraigned in the Western District of Texas after extradition on charges of smuggling unaccompanied children ages 5 to 13 into the United States. Prosecutors say Susana Guadian and Daniel Guadian took part in a scheme from May to October 2024 that paid drivers $900 per child. Conspirators allegedly used false U.S. documents and posed as parents at a port of entry. In at least one crossing, children were given THC-laced gummies to keep them quiet. One child was hospitalized with marijuana poisoning. Co-defendants have already pleaded guilty or been sentenced. Officials said the pair risked childrenâs safety to evade Border Patrol questions.
ON THIS DAY IN 1954:
The U.S. Navy places the USS Nautilus into service, launching the world's first nuclear-powered submarine and ushering in a new era of naval technology.
đ International
Burnham Links Iran to Suspected Plot Near US-Used RAF Base
Prime Minister Andy Burnham said Wednesday there are âstrong indicationsâ Iran played a part in a suspected terror incident near RAF Fairford, a Gloucestershire air base used by U.S. bombers. Five British men from London, ages 23 to 25, were arrested early Sunday after reports of three vans approaching the base and later released on strict bail. Police found petrol in the vehicles but no explosive devices. Burnham called the inquiry ongoing, complex and coordinated with the United States. He declined to detail the evidence and said he would not make the claim lightly. President Donald Trump criticized the bail decision. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said a foreign actor was clearly involved. Tehran has denied any role.
Pentagon Completes Iraq Exit After 12-Year Anti-ISIS Mission
The United States said Wednesday that all remaining U.S. troops and equipment have left Erbil Air Base in Iraqâs Kurdish region, ending the Iraq portion of Operation Inherent Resolve. Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell called the departure orderly and said the 12-year campaign defeated ISIS as an organized military threat. Primary responsibility for ISIS remnants and Iran-aligned militias now rests with Baghdad, he said. The pullout follows a 2024 deal with Iraq. Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi marked the handover as a milestone in sovereignty and thanked the coalition forces. The broader counter-ISIS task force is relocating to Jordan and will continue operations in Syria. Militia disarmament remains unfinished.
Israel Treats Flydubai Cockpit Stabbing as Attempted Terror Crash
Israeli officials said a Flydubai co-pilot stabbed the captain on Wednesdayâs Dubai-to-Tel Aviv flight and tried to crash the jet with more than 170 mostly Israeli passengers aboard. The co-pilot is an Omani national who had worked for the airline for less than a year. Oman has no diplomatic relations with Israel. The Boeing 737 plunged thousands of feet, transmitted a hijacking code, and diverted to Tabuk, Saudi Arabia. Passengers and extra crew forced the attacker from the controls. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the suspect was arrested and that the intent appeared to be to down the aircraft. Transportation Minister Miri Regev moved to halt Flydubai flights and review how a pilot from a country without ties to Israel was cleared for the route.
Pakistan Vows Physical Defense of Saudi Arabia After Houthi Strikes
Pakistanâs military spokesman said Islamabad will âgo to any extentâ to defend Saudi Arabia as Houthi missile and drone attacks test a new Mecca joint defense pact with Turkey. Lt. Gen. Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said Pakistan stands with the kingdom âdiplomatically and physicallyâ and is already deployed to protect the two holy mosques. He called the commitment unconditional. The August pact treats an attack on one member as an attack on all. Pakistan has about 8,000 troops, fighter jets and air defenses in the kingdom. The Houthis have seized Red Sea positions and struck inside Saudi territory. The Foreign Office had said days earlier that no military response was then under discussion.
Burnhamâs Conference Speech Tantamount to Socialist Left Manifesto Push
Prime Minister Andy Burnham used his first Labour conference speech to champion socialist economic direction, promising a break with 40 years of privatization. He said common wealth created âfor the manyâ had been turned into an opportunity âfor the few.â He pledged to repeal Margaret Thatcherâs ban on public ownership of water companies, create a publicly owned Great British Grid and take failing firms into public control. The Socialist Campaign Group hailed the address. Rebecca Long-Bailey said it contained âa lot of socialismâ and that the left would now fill in the manifesto gaps. Richard Burgon said the Labour left was âalive and kicking.â From 2030 pensions would rise by inflation or 2.5 percent, ending the earnings link in the triple lock. Angela Rayner called the speech fantastic.
