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DOJ Seeks Indictment of Jan. 6 Witness Cassidy Hutchinson
The Justice Department is seeking a federal indictment of former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson for lying to Congress in her Jan. 6 testimony, according to people familiar with plans. The Civil Rights Division, led by Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon, presented evidence to a federal grand jury this week and expects to present more evidence and witnesses later this month. Hutchinson has not been subpoenaed. In June 2022, she testified that Trump, after speaking at the Ellipse, was told he would be driven back to the West Wing and shouted, “I’m the f*cking president! Take me up to the Capitol now!” She said he grabbed the steering wheel and that agent Bobby Engel pulled his hand off. A House oversight review led by Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-GA) found testimony from four employees that contradicted her account. Reports said former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) coached Hutchinson before she testified.
🏛️ News & Politics
Drug Lobby Sues Over Medicare Most-Favored-Nation Pricing
The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America sued the government on Oct. 7 over a Medicare most-favored-nation pricing program. The complaint, filed in federal court in Washington, says the plan illegally imposes foreign price controls. Stephen Ubl, the group’s chief executive, said the program “is unlawful and clearly exceeds CMS’ authority” and would not make medicines more affordable for most beneficiaries. He said the agency cannot rewrite the law and bypass Congress. Health and Human Services did not comment. CMS has said the Social Security Act gives it authority, and officials have pointed to a provision barring judicial review of pricing changes. PhRMA, which represents 34 manufacturers including Pfizer and Sanofi, won a restraining order against an earlier version that was withdrawn. The new rule, set for Jan. 1, 2027, would base prices on sales in 19 countries. The group wants the court to declare it illegal and block enforcement.
Editor’s Note: For all the good BigPharma has done in the past, what they are doing today in profiteering at the expense of the sick and terminally ill is criminal.
Judge Extends Block on White House Ban of Three Outlets
U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly, a Trump appointee, on Thursday extended a temporary block on the White House ban of Politico, CNN and MS NOW. He said the order, set to expire at 11:59 p.m. Thursday, would stay in effect for two more business days while he writes a ruling. Last month, he issued a 14-day restraining order requiring the administration to restore press credentials for the three outlets. President Trump announced the ban Sept. 18, calling the coverage “fake news” and saying it put national security at risk. The outlets sued and sought an emergency order. Their lawyer said the ban came “completely out of the blue.” Kelly said the required predeprivation process “wasn’t followed here.” Trump has said he expects to lose in district court and appeal. The Justice Department has not appealed, because temporary restraining orders are generally not appealable. He expects to rule by Tuesday.
Editor’s Note: Because the White House Press Corps isn't a codified entity, the POTUS could end press conferences altogether and simply issue press releases.
DHS Floats $70,000 Fee for Foreign Students to Work
The Department of Homeland Security proposed a rule, announced Oct. 7, that would make colleges pay $70,000 for each foreign student seeking Optional Practical Training and $30,000 for each renewal. The program lets F-1 students work in jobs tied to their studies, usually for one year after graduation, with two extra years for science degrees. More than 294,000 foreign students used it in 2024-25. The department said the fee is meant to cut cheap labor, curb “pay-to-stay” schemes and protect American workers. A spokesperson said the program was never meant as a back door into the workforce. The proposal follows a Sept. 14 block by Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV, appointed by George W. Bush, of a rule capping F-1 stays at four years. Vice President JD Vance said Microsoft was suspended from an H-1B green-card program over alleged fraud, and that nine universities face a J-1 visa probe.
US Moves $1 Billion in Seized Bitcoin After Coinbase Transfers
The U.S. government moved more than 12,267 bitcoin, worth over $1 billion, from a wallet tied to seized cryptocurrency hours after transferring $770 million in bitcoin to a Coinbase Prime wallet. Analysts linked the sending wallet to funds recovered from the 2016 Bitfinex hack, in which thieves stole 119,756 bitcoin. No one identified the owner of the recipient address. The U.S. Marshals Service and the Justice Department did not comment. Estimates put government holdings at 328,372 bitcoin as of 2026. President Trump signed an executive order in March 2025 creating a strategic bitcoin reserve, and lawmakers are trying to write the order into law. Earlier transfers have prompted talk of a sale. A liquidation would run counter to the order, which said seized bitcoin should not be sold and should go into the reserve. In July, the government moved $297 million in bitcoin and ether to Coinbase Prime.
San Jose Orders Pastor’s Food Line Closed or Fined
San Jose has ordered Pastor Ralph Olmos to shut down a free grocery line that feeds more than 1,000 people a day or face fines of up to $20,000 a day. Olmos, founder of Lighthouse Food Rescue & Distribution, runs the pantry on North 17th Street for families, seniors, and homeless people. The city cited the group on Sept. 25, saying the zoning no longer allows food distribution and that the line blocks a sidewalk. The citation gave 10 days to remove the distribution and canopies and 60 days to stop operating. The pantry runs five days a week and hands out milk, eggs, meat, and produce, plus boxes for people with diabetes and homeless residents who need ready-to-eat meals. “Do I stand with the people? Do I stop?” Olmos asked. “I’m up against the wall.” In March 2022, the city published a tribute calling the ministry heroes.
Editor’s Note: This is the stupidity that is California government.
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📢 The Fifth Column Watch
Antisemitic Rallies Mark Oct. 7 With Intifada Chants
On the third anniversary of the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack, anti-Israel groups rallied in New York, California, and other states, waving Palestinian flags and chanting “long live the intifada.” NYU Students for Justice in Palestine staged a Washington Square Park walkout billed as an “NYU WEEK OF RAGE.” At Columbia’s gates, demonstrators from a group the university says is not affiliated chanted “globalize the intifada,” then marched to Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s City Hall office. Mamdani said New Yorkers grieve that day’s losses, then accused Israel of an “ongoing genocide” he said killed more than 74,000 Palestinians. At UCLA, Students for Justice in Palestine gathered at Bruin Plaza. At UC Davis, agitators called Oct. 7 the anniversary of the “al-Aqsa Flood,” Hamas’s name for the attack, and cheered “glory to the resistance.” Hamas killed roughly 1,200 people and abducted more than 250. People’s Forum and CodePink were among them.
Arizona Democrat Says She Was Raped Fixing a Campaign Sign
Bernadette Greene-Placentia, the Democrat nominee challenging US Rep. Abraham Hamadeh (R-AZ) in Arizona’s 8th District, says two men attacked her shortly after 2 a.m. on Aug. 14 in a Sun City parking lot as she repaired a campaign sign. She said one man struck her in the head and she blacked out. She said she woke to find him sexually assaulting her and recalled words she took as “Democratic bitch.” A second man pushed at her leg, she said, and left after she kicked him, saying, “Not even worth it.” She does not remember driving home. The Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office confirmed she reported a sexual assault on Aug. 31, two weeks later. The case remains under investigation, and no suspects have been named. She said embarrassment kept her quiet, then said she could not campaign for assault victims without speaking. Staff said she was out of contact for two days.
Editor’s Note: Something about this story just doesn't feel right. Reeks of Jussie Smollett.
Black Voters in Michigan County Balk at El-Sayed Senate Bid
Black voters from Wayne County who backed Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI) in Michigan’s Democrat Senate primary told a televised panel they are not sold on nominee Abdul El-Sayed. One woman said he assumes Black voters will support him because they are Democrats. “I’m like, no sir,” she said, adding she may mark uncommitted unless he talks about her community. Another said voters do not know him, then said she would still vote for him to stay aligned. A man said he did not know enough to decide. El-Sayed won the primary by a single point and lost Detroit by 28 points. A cited poll found 83% of Black voters want Democrats to hold the Senate, but only 67% said they would back him. He leads US Rep. Mike Rogers (R-MI) by about 3.2 points. Former President Barack Obama, whom El-Sayed has criticized in the past, is scheduled to campaign for him in Michigan on Oct. 24.
Haverford Religion Professor Arrested Over Antisemitic Messages
Guangtian Ha, a religion professor at Haverford College in Pennsylvania, was arrested this week and charged with online harassment and intimidation. President Wendy Raymond said he is on administrative leave and barred from campus. An indictment filed Sept. 30 alleges that from Oct. 9, 2025, to May 20, 2026, Ha sent about 50 messages to a victim on at least four X accounts. Court filings quote him writing, “Jew, get the f–k out of my country,” and calling the target a “Jew pig.” Another message said, “If jews are so special then they should also be placed in special camps and receive special treatments.” He also wrote, “The end of American jews is close. Let’s start with the jews in Lower Merion,” and, “Let there be an October 7 all day every day. Make it 6 million. Exterminate the jews.” Ha was on sabbatical. He is in pretrial detention. Separate posts claimed he posed as a MAGA account and belonged to Faculty for Justice in Palestine.
Editor’s Note: This cretin also lionized Hitler. And he teaches religion at a college??
Ellison Begins Ginning-Up Election Denial; Tells Left to Be Ready to Take the Streets Over Midterms
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison told a radio host that Republicans mean to cheat in the 2026 midterms and that people should be ready to protest. “Don’t act like, oh, they couldn’t mean that. They mean it,” he said. “So be ready to get your dukes up.” Asked whether voters should take to the streets if Democrats were kept out of Congress, he said yes. “I’m one who believes in peaceful protest, First Amendment,” he said. “But if they try to take our vote away, we should absolutely be in the street. And I’ll be right out there with everybody else.” He said his office is ready to sue and cited earlier cases over mail ballots and a birth-certificate voting order. He also said street pressure helped end last winter’s Operation Metro Surge, and that the state is still investigating agents after two people were killed and another was shot.
Editor’s Note: If and when violence returns to Minnesota streets after the Midterms, Ellison should immediately be arrested and charged with incitement to riot.
ON THIS DAY IN 1871:
The infamous blaze that would come to be known as the Great Chicago Fire erupted on Chicago's Southwest Side (traditionally associated with Patrick and Catherine O'Leary's barn), destroying over 3 square miles, killing roughly 300 people, and leaving more than 100,000 residents homeless.
🌐 International
Iran Pushes Tanker Strikes Past Hormuz as Trump Pauses Attacks
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has pushed tanker attacks beyond the Strait of Hormuz into the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. In the past 24 hours, two ships may have been hit outside the chokepoints. The first, 51 nautical miles north of Madinat ash Shamal, Qatar, was struck by multiple projectiles. British maritime monitors reported casualties. Security firms identified the Antigua and Barbuda-flagged chemical tanker Acers and reported crew injuries. A second fire, about 30 nautical miles east of Fujairah, is less confirmed. The shift follows a week in which at least 12 oil, LNG and LPG tankers were attacked, the highest weekly total since the Iran war began. India’s foreign ministry said 12 crew were injured Tuesday on a Panama-flagged tanker in the strait. President Trump posted Thursday that the United States will not attack Iran before the November midterms. Oil fell on the post.
Editor’s Note: Now that Iran is attacking other countries’ tankers and its proxies are attacking other countries outright, maybe the countries being attacked should take care of these Islamist barbarians.
Parliament Backs EU Strategy Against Islamist Entryism
The European Parliament on Thursday adopted a nonbinding resolution calling for an EU strategy against “Islamist entryism” and Muslim Brotherhood networks. The vote was 381 in favor, 167 against and 15 abstentions. Les Républicains MEP Céline Imart, of the center-right EPP, led the text, with backing from Renew, the ECR and the Patriots. She said Socialists and the far left boycotted it. Entryism means using charities, student groups and democratic language to gain influence. The resolution asks the EU to identify the networks, tighten funding checks, and publish payments already made to people or groups suspected of Brotherhood ties. It asks the Council to weigh listing linked entities and front groups, and to keep FEMYSO out of EU events. MEPs backed an EU list of hate preachers, tighter visa controls and closer work with Europol and Eurojust. They also backed national bans on full-face coverings. Imart called the vote historic.
Russian Glide Bomb Kills at Least 30 on Buses in Kramatorsk
At least 30 people were killed and 18 wounded Thursday when a Russian glide bomb struck two passenger buses in Kramatorsk, a Donetsk logistics hub. Officials called the strike a war crime. Images showed bus wreckage and charred bodies. Separatists held the city briefly in 2014 before Ukrainian forces retook it. The attack followed a Wednesday strike on a residential building in Pryluky that killed 22 people, including five children, and wounded 54, on Russian President Vladimir Putin’s birthday. Kyiv was hit Thursday again, killing three and wounding 13. Police defused two unexploded ballistic-missile warheads, each about half a ton. President Volodymyr Zelensky has warned Moscow is preparing a large attack. Russian officials have framed further strikes as payback for Ukrainian drone raids on oil sites in Russia. Kyiv assesses Moscow wants to wreck power infrastructure before winter. Companies have posted outages, and families are being told to store water.
Houthis Claim Riyadh Airport Missile as Saudi Reports Three Dead
Yemen’s Houthis said Thursday they fired a ballistic missile at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh as witnesses reported explosions across the Saudi capital. Diplomats were told to shelter. Saudi officials had not immediately confirmed that strike. A day earlier, authorities said attacks on King Khalid and Abha airports killed three people. One account named a Sudanese national killed in Riyadh and Moroccan and Algerian residents killed in Abha. Another listed an Egyptian and an Algerian in Abha and a Sudanese national in Riyadh, with 36 wounded. The Saudi-led coalition blamed the Houthis and said the strikes would not go unpunished. Maj. Gen. Turki al-Malki said forces intercepted a missile north of Riyadh and destroyed a launch platform. The coalition said it hit 82 military targets. The Houthis warned airlines to avoid Saudi airspace. Saudi-backed forces are pressing a counteroffensive in the Red Sea. The U.N. says 200,000 people have been displaced.
European Parliament Hosts Nude Gold Trump Statue
The European Parliament in Strasbourg has installed an 8.5-foot, gold-leaf statue of a naked President Trump, titled “The Orange Plague.” Danish sculptor Jens Galschiøt shows Trump sitting on a frail bronze figure, holding a golf club and the scales of justice. Far-left Danish MEP Per Clausen sponsored the display. He said anyone “so thin-skinned that they cannot handle this sculpture” has “no business on the world stage.” He called the building “absolutely perfect” because MEPs and commissioners would have to walk past it. A Parliament spokesperson said approval is not an endorsement and that rules are supposed to bar events that are “offensive or of an inflammatory nature.” Galschiøt said he handed out 20,000 miniature replicas. He has shown the piece at COP30 in Brazil, the Munich Security Conference and Copenhagen “Hands off Greenland” protests. He said, “Trump likes gold,” and “Trump is destroying all the things I believe in.”
Editor’s Note: Clausen can have any opinion he wants, but a government body gratuitously insulting the whole of the American people is unacceptable.
