News of the Week for October 5th, 2025
- Abortion
- Gun Rights
- Hide the Decline
- Socialized Medicine
- War & Terror
- National News
- Economy & Taxes
- International News
- Opinion
Abortion
Court Cases & Legislation
Missouri judge says new ballot language again fails to mention repeal of abortion rights
Missouri Secretary of State Denny Hoskins must try again to write ballot language for a proposed constitutional amendment that would ban most abortions, a Cole County judge ruled Tuesday.
Louisiana issues arrest warrant for California doctor who allegedly sent abortion pills
It’s the latest legal volley between abortion-ban states and states that have enacted protections for abortion providers.
Gun Rights
Five Problems with Blaming the Guns
Gun control as a solution to spectacular public murders doesn’t stand up to scrutiny.
SAF Files Brief on California ‘Switchblade’ Ban Challenge
While we tend to talk about guns in relation to the Second Amendment, that’s not explicitly stated in the text. It’s not “the right to keep and bear guns,” but “the right to keep and bear arms.” At the time of the nation’s founding, the term “arms” included a lot of things, including artillery. It also included bladed weapons. Swords were still used on the battlefield, for example, and many people carried knives and tomahawks into Revolutionary War combat.
Hide the Decline
Environment &“Green Energy”
The Day of the Psyllids: ‘Mother’ Nature Strikes Again
In view of RFK Jr’s recently expressed hope that more of America’s farmers adopt woo-woo “biodynamic agriculture,” it’s worth reading Mike Solana’s article in Pirate Wires on yet another gift that “Mother” Nature has bestowed upon us, the Asian citrus psyllid, “an invasive pest” that over the years has inflicted terrible damage on Florida’s orange growers (the orange itself originated in Asia)
Socialized Medicine
Government in Healthcare
White House Unveils ‘TrumpRx’ Drug-Buying Site and a Pfizer Pricing Deal
The company said it gains a three-year grace period to exempt it from national-security-related tariffs
A Catastrophic Sign That Republicans May Cave and Expand Obamacare
Somewhere, Barack Obama and Joe Biden must be laughing. This morning brings a worrisome report by our own Audrey Fahlberg, from an interview with Senator Ron Johnson, on his efforts to prevent Republicans from caving into Democratic demands to expand Obamacare
Canadian Dementia Patient Euthanized at Family’s Request
Euthanasia/assisted suicide “protective guidelines” don’t really protect against abuse. They mostly serve as window dressings to make people comfortable with killing the sick. And soon after legalization, the vaunted protections are redefined by activists and the media as “barriers” to death, which become the pretext for loosening the already slack guidelines. The speed at which that happens varies, but the pattern rarely fails.
‘I don’t want to die’: Man with Down syndrome ‘starved to death’ in hospital
The family of a disabled man who died after not being given any food for nine days whilst being treated in an NHS hospital has told ITV News “we thought he was having nutrition… but as it turns out, they were starving him”.
Minnesota measles cases nearly double as U.S. outbreaks continue
The country is four months away from possibly losing its measles elimination status.
War & Terror
Fear and Hope in Venezuela as U.S. Warships Lurk
On a visit to Venezuela, The Times found a nation bracing for potential U.S. military action.
‘Could have been an email’: Officials balk at Hegseth’s generals meeting
The last-minute gathering featured hundreds of senior military officials, who swear an oath to the Constitution, attending something more akin to a campaign rally.
Top Trump Aides Push for Ousting Maduro From Power in Venezuela
An opposition movement whose figures have met with U.S. officials says it is communicating with Washington on plans to dismantle Nicolás Maduro’s “criminal structure.”
The Ineluctable Logic of Regime Change
A little less than a month ago, we learned of the first lethal U.S. military operation targeting what Trump administration officials claimed were Venezuelan drug boats bound for ports unknown in the Caribbean. Following that action, I pointed out what I thought was the primary strategic flaw (to say nothing of its legal and tactical shortcomings) in what the administration promised would be a sustained kinetic campaign
Manchester synagogue killings declared terror attack
The killings outside a Manchester synagogue have been declared a terror attack.
Man Killed in U.K. Synagogue Attack Was Accidentally Shot by Police
Police believe suspect in Manchester terrorist attack didn’t have a gun
Oktoberfest closed for hours after bomb threat linked to building fire in Munich
The Oktoberfest fairgrounds closed for several hours Wednesday as police conducted a security sweep of the famed beer festival due to a bomb threat by a suspect linked to an explosion across town in northern Munich.
This Century’s “Billy Mitchell Moment”
When U.S. Navy, Army, and Marine Corps aircraft attacked and sank the former German battleship Ostfreisland in 1921, it was the first time aircraft put a battleship under the waves. Although it was a test on a stationary target, it revealed a serious vulnerability; large armored ships could succumb to numerous small aircraft. General Billy Mitchell, who devised the test, often pointed out that the money spent on one battleship could purchase a thousand bombers.
France Investigating Russia-Tied Tanker’s Possible Ties to Recent Drone Incursion into Denmark
France authorities have detained the first mate and the captain of the tanker, the Boracay.
European Nations Again Consider Using Frozen Russian State Assets to Fund Ukraine’s War Effort
Over $300 billion in Russian state assets are frozen in the West. It’s long past time they were used to help Ukraine resist Vladimir Putin’s war of aggression..
Trump’s War Notice: The Issue of Equating Narcotics Trafficking with Terrorism
Prior to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s disclosure on Friday afternoon that American armed forces had killed four more people in a fourth missile strike on a boat cruising in international waters off the Venezuelan coast, upping to 21 the death toll since September 2, I noted in a Thursday night column that the Trump administration had issued a statutorily required notice to Congress that the our military is engaged in armed hostilities.
Russia recruits Arab fighters with promises, then sends them to Ukraine frontlines
The ad was straightforward: Sign up for one year to fight on Russia’s side in “the special military operation zone” — i.e. the war in Ukraine — and get citizenship, free healthcare, money and land.
Heating up the Gray Zone: Drones over Germany
The “gray zone” grows ever more treacherous. As a reminder, “gray zone” describes an action or series of actions that are not quite war, and not quite not war either.
Ukraine Destroys Russian Cavalry Unit in First Battlefield Use Since 1950s
Russian forces have reportedly deployed cavalry units in assault operations against Ukrainian positions, reviving a tactic long considered obsolete.
Trump officials discussed sending elite Army division to Portland, text messages show
A high-ranking White House official was indiscreetly texting about the Portland, Ore., planning last weekend, according to messages shared with the Minnesota Star Tribune.
Editor’s Note: How we reported on text messages between senior Trump administration officials
A source approached the Minnesota Star Tribune with photographs of sensitive messages exchanged by a key Trump administration official in a public place. Here are the steps we took to confirm the facts.
National
‘I’m From Here!’: U.S. Citizens Are Ending Up in Trump’s Dragnet
As immigration agents take a more aggressive approach, they have stopped and in some cases detained American citizens.
Marine veteran in custody after 3 killed, at least 8 injured in shooting at a waterfront bar in North Carolina, officials say
A 40-year-old Marine veteran who pulled up to a waterfront North Carolina bar by boat fatally shot three people Saturday night, authorities say, shattering the peaceful atmosphere of a community rarely touched by violent crime.
Southport mass shooting suspect identified as Nigel Edge after ‘targeted’ and ‘highly premeditated’ deadly attack on restaurant
The madman who “targeted” a crowded dockside restaurant in a “highly premeditated” mass shooting in North Carolina is a Purple Heart recipient and heavily decorated Marine who served in Iraq before changing his name and filing a slew of conspiracy-laden lawsuits, according to authorities and records.
Gun rampage in Casino with one dead and ‘bullet holes in the slot machines’
It is understood shooting broke out at around 12:53am last night at the Texas casino, with police now investigating the incident
Marine Identified as Suspect in Michigan Mormon Church Shooting
Five people died in the attack.
Scientists Making Plans to Nuke Asteroid Targeting Moon, Slated for 2032 Impact
A lunar impact could generate debris that damages key satellites, the ISS…and potentially any lunar installations that had been constructed as part of the new space race.
Judge rules ‘MyPillow Guy’ Mike Lindell defamed Smartmatic with false claims on voting machines
MyPillow founder Mike Lindell defamed the election technology company Smartmatic with false statements that its voting machines helped rig the 2020 presidential election, a federal judge in Minnesota ruled Friday.
With More Scrutiny, the Trump DOJ Indictment of Comey Gets Worse
There is no provable false-statements case against the former FBI director.
Mitt Romney reveals he personally urged Biden administration to preemptively pardon Donald Trump
Former Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney revealed Monday night that he called the White House during the Biden administration when Special Counsel Jack Smith was investigating Donald Trump to urge President Joe Biden to preemptively pardon him.
Federal Court Rules Speech-Based Deportations of Non-Citizen Students and Academics Violate the First Amendment
The decision is the most thorough in a line of recent court decisions reaching similar results.
Reversing The Burger Court
The Supreme Court has largely left Warren Court precedents in place, but is consistently undoing precedents from the Burger Court.
Caleb Nelson’s Originalist Critique of Unitary Executive Theory
The prominent originalist legal scholar argues the Constitution does not require that the president have the power to fire executive branch officials.
Two Delta planes collide — ripping off wing — while taxiing at LaGuardia Airport as passenger describes moment flights ‘absolutely smashed’
Two packed Delta jets “absolutely smashed” into each other on the runway at LaGuardia Airport Wednesday night, according to authorities and terrified passengers — destroying a plane’s nose and ripping off a large part of a wing.
Descendents of Former Slaves Given College Admissions Preferences Under California Legislation
In its continuing mission to be the wokest state in the union, my home state has now taken performative, virtue-signaling politics to a whole new low.
Federal Court Rules Speech-Based Deportations of Non-Citizen Students and Academics Violate the First Amendment
The decision is the most thorough in a line of recent court decisions reaching similar results.
Amid Shutdown, Two Groups Launch ‘Make Government Work’ Campaign Urging Government Accountability Reforms
Amid the shutdown, some conservative groups are finding opportunities to push advocacy campaigns aimed at reining in dysfunctional government.
Massive fire breaks out at California oil refinery as residents feel explosion rock area: ‘Thought we got nuked’
A massive fire erupted at a Chevron oil refinery outside Los Angeles on Thursday night, forcing residents to shelter in place following multiple reports of an explosion.
Rogue planet has a record growth rate of 6.6 billion tons per second
Astronomers have observed a planet that in some ways behaves more like a star — including a massive growth spurt unlike anything witnessed before in a free-floating planet.
White House Senses Political Risk on Healthcare Despite Shutdown Bravado
Trump aides are discussing proposals to extend Obamacare subsidies on which millions of Americans rely
A Conversation with Justice Barrett
In an extensive interview with NR, the justice explains why the Court doesn’t say more in emergency docket cases, why she doesn’t like ‘common good constitutionalism,’ and what’s conservative about her new book.
Noem: NFL ‘won’t be able to sleep at night’ over Bad Bunny Super Bowl performance
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said the NFL will not be “able to sleep at night” over its decision to pick Puerto Rican superstar Bad Bunny as the 2026 halftime performer.
MAGA’s Top “Voter Fraud” Watchdog Votes in a Swing State. He Doesn’t Live There.
A long paper trail shows that Jack Posobiec votes in one state and lives in another.
Tycoon who is cousin of former President George W. Bush expected to launch run for Maine governor
A member of the Bush family has all but officially announced his intention to run for governor in Maine.
Jay Jones’s Text Messages Reveal a Disqualifying Worldview
The most alarming of all the words in the Jay Jones text-messages scandal is “Yes.”
Short Circuit: An Inexhaustive Weekly Compendium of Rulings from the Federal Courts of Appeal
Qualified privileges, unequal conspiracies, and a file in hand.
Lawsuit Challenges Trump’s $100,000 H-1B Visa Fee
The case was filed yesterday by a broad coalition of different groups, including a health care provider, education groups, religious organizations, and labor unions.
The Supreme Court Will Hear Another Home Equity Theft Takings Case
This one addresses the issue of whether the owner of a home foreclosed for nonpayment of debt is entitled to “fair market value” compensation, or only whatever the government gets from auctioning off the property, minus the debt owed.
Meet the Lawmakers Trying to Bring Civility Back to Politics
State legislators in Minnesota, Arkansas, Kansas and beyond are taking on America’s political rage. Opponents are ‘not the devil.’
Top judge’s $1.5M beachfront home is burned to the ground as her ex-senator husband is rushed to hospital
A South Carolina judge’s beautiful beachfront home was burned to the ground on Saturday morning, sending three of her family members to hospital. Police have launched an investigation after the home of Circuit Court Judge Diane Goodstein, 69, roared in flames on Edisto Beach as her family, including her ex-senator husband Arnold Goodstein, was rushed to hospital.
Suspect Arrested With Molotov Cocktail Outside of Red Mass for Supreme Court’s New Term.
Metropolitan Police Department officers assigned to security for the Red Mass at St. Matthew’s Cathedral on Sunday morning arrested a man who had set up a tent on the cathedral steps and was found with materials described by authorities as potentially hazardous.
Continuing the Conversation with Justice Barrett
The justice offers her take on writing, advocacy, experience, judicial independence, security threats, amicus briefs, and what she’d ask Justice Scalia.
C-SPAN named official media partner for “America 250” celebrations
C-SPAN will play a central role in broadcasting events tied to the nation’s 250th birthday after being named an official media partner of the U.S. Semi-quincentennial Commission, the bipartisan body tasked by Congress to oversee the “America 250” commemoration.
Economy & Taxes
Trump says U.S. to impose 100% tariff on all foreign-made movies
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday he would impose a 100 per cent tariff on all foreign-made movies, an unprecedented move that threatens to upend Hollywood’s global business model.
Trump’s ‘no tax on tips’ promise falls flat with Las Vegas workers — and experts have branded it misleading
They say that what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. Yet, when it comes to Donald Trump’s “no tax on tips” law, what began as a Royal Flush of a campaign promise is turning out to be a bust, with ripple effects extending far beyond Sin City.
U.S. Lost 32,000 Jobs in September, Says Payroll Processor
ADP report shows a labor force that continues to deteriorate
Gold Warns Again
Economist Robin Brooks spots an interesting twist in the recent rise in the gold price, which is up around 9 percent over the past month to $3,900 or so. The usual explanations for the rise of gold in this year (+46 percent) against the dollar rest on the diminishing appeal of the greenback as a safe haven. The reasons for this: longer-term concerns over U.S. debt (the big move in the gold price began in early 2024 well before Trump’s election) as well as unsettling moves by this administration from tariffs to its attempts to bully the Fed.
Trump making plans to send billions in cash bailouts to farmers with taxpayer money
The president has also said he wants to use direct tariff revenue for the payments, but that could trigger a major fight in Congress.
This is Stupid
American soybean farmers cannot sell their crops. China is the number one buyer and has chosen not to buy. Other countries have also looked elsewhere.
Treasury Department considers minting a $1 Trump coin
The draft design of the coin, which was overseen by the Office of the U.S. Treasurer Brandon Beach, features Trump’s profile on one side of the coin.
Trump plan would limit disability benefits for older Americans
The Trump administration is preparing a plan that will make it harder for older Americans to qualify for Social Security disability payments, part of an overhaul of the federal safety net for poor, older and disabled people that could result in hundreds of thousands of people losing benefits, according to people familiar with the plans.
International
UK rape charges against Andrew Tate are DROPPED as influencer claims he’s ‘most mistreated man in history’
Tate is still facing civil charges of rape, assault and coercive control
Is the Left Finally Waking Up to the Anti-Christian Genocide in Nigeria?
The word “genocide” is predictably used a lot in political discourse these days – especially in the context of the war between Israel and Hamas – an accusation against Israel we have debunked. But now one of the loudest voices on the Left is changing the conversation regarding a feared genocide in Nigeria.
Attacker who killed 2 people and injured 3 at British synagogue is dead, police say
Two people were killed and three others were seriously wounded Thursday in a synagogue attack in northern England on the holiest day of the Jewish year, police said. The suspect was also killed.
Inspired by Thatcher, Japan’s PM-in-waiting Takaichi smashes glass ceiling
Sanae Takaichi came out top in a male-dominated race to lead Japan’s ruling party on Saturday, putting her on course to emulate her hero, former British leader Margaret Thatcher, and become her country’s first female prime minister.
Violent teens are unleashing carnage with deadly ‘Gen Z’ riots from burning down parliament to mob attacks – is UK next?
Experts say ‘anger has been brewing for a long time’ in the younger generations – and warn ‘this is not a wave that will fade’
UK mosque set ablaze with two people inside, police investigating suspected hate crime
A UK mosque was set ablaze with two people still inside in a suspected arson attack that police are treating as a hate crime.
Claudia Sheinbaum’s party proposed an ‘Anti-Meme Law’ to censor people.
The left-wing president seeks to shield her government from people’s humor and criticism on social media
Opinion
Can the Trump Justice Department Fix the Comey Indictment?
After writing about the Jim Comey false statement indictment (here and here), I spent much of the weekend perusing charges and the commentary about them. On the right, the latter dwells more on Russiagate, over which people are deservedly angry at Comey’s tenure as FBI director, than on the charges themselves, which are substantively unrelated to Russiagate.
My Dear Friends
The voices on both sides do not want to tone it down, but rev it up. The left, confronted with the data that violence is rising on their side, have doubled down on violent rhetoric that could lead the mentally frail to act out.
The Nazi Experiment, Vol. 7: The Nazi Rejection of Paperwork Germans
Characterizing what happened in Germany between the end of World War I and the end of World War II as the “Nazi Experiment” allows us to take a close look at what the Nazis did in the apparent attempt to solve some serious societal problems. Of course, the Nazi State had its conception of citizenship, as would any state, but rather than breaking down its population into “citizens” and “aliens,” Hitler wanted there to be three statuses: German citizens, subjects of the state, and foreigners (or aliens). In the shortest chapter of Mein Kampf, he makes the case that birthright citizenship and naturalization “by paperwork” are “insane” policies that “poison” the nation. Curiously, this strange characterization has appeared on the “New Right” (Woke Right) recently as well. In a recent piece on The Blaze, “Auron MacIntyre” explains that “Paperwork Americans Are Not Your Countrymen.” In this episode of the Nazi Experiment series of the New Discourses Podcast, host James Lindsay reads both of these documents to shed further light on the ominous parallels between then and now. Join him to learn more and unmask yet another likely operation against our republic.
China Is Benefitting from Prolonged War in Europe
Earlier this summer, a Chinese diplomat basically let the cat out of the bag in a meeting with Kaja Kallas.
Digital ID Restricts Liberty, Not Migration
The government has failed, so the citizenry must pay. The British government has so completely lost control of the national frontiers—an amazing achievement given that they consist of many miles of deep salt water—that it plans to issue breathing licences to everyone living here, as a substitute for secure borders. The unstated argument is that, as we can no longer decide who is allowed to live here, we can at least find out who our inhabitants are and monitor what they do.
The Tricky Politics of Government Shutdowns
I read Audrey Fahlberg’s report on how the White House and congressional Republicans are “confident that Democrats will be blamed for a shutdown” with interest — and with a skeptical eyebrow raised at the politicians’ confidence.
Alabama Fights for Freedom
Defending higher education means defending SB 129.
Still Against TikTok
I don’t care who owns TikTok if TikTok remains spyware in how it functions. Bibi Netanyahu described TikTok as a weapon and praised the purchase of it by Larry Ellison and a group of others. Vice President JD Vance assured us that Americans would have control of the algos that operate TikTok.
You Actually Don’t Want to Drive Your Opponents Crazy
Republicans are imitating Obama’s approach by needling Democratic voters to the point that they take leave of their senses. And it could backfire.
Caleb Nelson’s Originalist Critique of Unitary Executive Theory
The prominent originalist legal scholar argues the Constitution does not require that the president have the power to fire executive branch officials.
Reversing The Burger Court
The Supreme Court has largely left Warren Court precedents in place, but is consistently undoing precedents from the Burger Court.
Why Cult Beliefs Don’t Stop When Proved Wrong
In the 1950s, there was a UFO cult called the Seekers, and it was infiltrated by a psychologist named Leon Festinger who wanted to understand why they believed what they believed and how their beliefs worked. In particular, he wanted to see what happened when their very specific central prediction, around which the cult orbited, did not come true.
Achieving Equity through Mediocrity: Why Elimination of Gifted Programs Should Worry Us all
Below is my column in the Hill on the elimination of the gifted programs, proficiency requirements, and other performance-based elements in our public school system. This was highlighted recently by the elimination of the gifted and talented programs in New York City under Mayor Bill de Blasio, which were denounced as racist. I have long been critical of this trend which focuses on reducing disparities in performance by trimming the top rather than raising the bottom of a student body.
From Havana to Yale: Carlos Eire on Cuba, Becoming an American — and Miracles
Yale historian and memoirist Carlos Eire recounts his extraordinary journey from being an eleven-year-old Cuban boy in Operation Peter Pan — sent to the United States to escape Fidel Castro’s regime — to becoming a National Book Award–winning author and chaired professor at Yale. Eire discusses the painful separation from his family, the challenges of assimilation, and the lifelong tension between his Cuban and American identities, themes he explores in his acclaimed memoirs Waiting for Snow in Havana and Learning to Die in Miami.
I Saw the Constitution
Just before the government shutdown, I went to the National Archives Museum for the Charters of Freedom exhibit in the Rotunda, where the Declaration of Independence, the Bill of Rights, and the Constitution are on display. I’ve only just recently moved to Washington, and I thought visiting the exhibit would be a patriotic, inspiring event to commemorate my return (or, in light of its current state, my escape) from England.
Trump’s War Notice: The ‘Nonstate Actor’ Issue
Last night, we posted my piece about President Trump’s formal notification to Congress that the United States has engaged in armed hostilities, without congressional authorization, against drug cartels. This follows lethal attacks carried out by the large contingent of armed forces that the president has deployed in the Caribbean, near the coast of Venezuela. Between September 2 and 19, our forces destroyed three boats, killing a combined 17 people. The president alleges that the boats were in the process of importing illegal narcotics to the United States. (Last night’s column has links to prior posts regarding the three attacks.)
The Theory, Born at Harvard, That Could Remake Right-Wing Jurisprudence
Over the past five years, common good constitutionalism has taken tenuous root in elite legal academia. It’s now beginning to find its way into courtrooms. But scholars remain divided on its potential to reshape the legal landscape — and whose “common good” it seeks to advance.
The Embarrassing Pete Hegseth
The Pentagon needs sober, judicious leadership, not a drama queen who makes things jarring and fevered.
The enemy of your enemy is not your friend
Candace Owens has always courted controversy, but her behavior in recent years has repeatedly crossed the line. The media personality parted ways with Ben Shapiro’s Daily Wire in March 2024 after her commentary grew increasingly antisemitic following the October 7, 2023, attacks in Israel. She embraced the leftist talking point that there is a genocide in Gaza, and not long before she left the Daily Wire, she claimed “that ‘secret Jewish gangs’ terrorize Hollywood — and … favorited a tweet repeating a lie about Jews drinking Christians’ blood,” according to the Washington Post.
