News of the Week for October 25th, 2026
- 2026 Election
- Abortion
- Gun Rights
- Hide the Decline
- Socialized Medicine
- War & Terror
- National News
- Economy & Taxes
- International News
- Opinion
2026 Election
John James downplays TV spending drop, says people ‘tuned out’ ads
Republican nominee for governor John James told reporters on Oct. 12 that Michigan voters were tuning out negative ads and he planned to use social media, press coverage and “word of mouth” to get his message out in the campaign’s final weeks.
Suburban women souring on Paxton could doom him in tight race
The Texas attorney general’s checkered history is moving even some conservative women to vote Democratic.
The Battle for the Senate Comes Down to These Eight Races
Several pivotal races remain close enough that turnout, late shifts among undecided voters, or a modest polling miss could determine which party holds the majority.
Amy Acton’s Mom Claims Candidate Lied about Childhood in Attack Ad — Despite Extensive Record of Abuse
The mother of Ohio Democratic gubernatorial nominee Amy Acton cut an ad Monday in which she accuses her daughter of lying about her childhood and encourages voters not to make her their next governor, but legal documents obtained by National Review provide evidence that Acton faced sexual abuse as a child while in her mother’s custody.
State legislative elections to watch on Nov. 3
I’ve written before that there’s more to the Nov. 3 midterm elections than Congress. Voters in 46 states will also be deciding on candidates for their respective state legislatures, with a total of 6,139 seats in 88 of the nation’s 99 legislative chambers up for election.
PAC boosting third-party NV governor candidate as ‘AOC of Nevada’ has GOP ties
The mailer may be an attempt to pull voters away from the Democratic candidate in the race with the same last name.
Trump Pays Off Farmers by Decree, Yet Again
The price of diesel is much higher than it was at the beginning of this year, and despite his shamelessly blaming Ukraine, it’s mostly because of President Trump’s war in Iran. Relying heavily on diesel to operate their equipment, farmers have been squeezed especially hard, risking Republican election losses in states like Iowa, Kansas, and Nebraska. Fortunately, the president can always dump taxpayer money on farmers to help them cope with the problem that he created.
Vivek Ramaswamy Reminds Voters Why They Never Liked Him
A staggering act of bad taste
He Didn’t Ask
President Trump cut the public out of the decision to go to war.
Trump administration sues to block possible Democratic win in Alaska Senate race
The Trump administration has filed a lawsuit to block certification of the Senate race in Alaska if Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan loses the contest while another candidate with the same name is on the ballot, kicking off what many have feared could become a lengthy battle between the U.S. government and states over certifying an election where the president’s party is struggling.
‘Hitting Pay Dirt’ vs. ‘Remember You Are Dust’
The president of the United States, Donald Trump, would like you to know that “the Dumocrats” and the “fake news” don’t realize that Vivek Ramaswamy’s despicable ad using his opponent’s mother calling her a liar is an example of “hitting pay dirt” and is so good.
Flippo’s Family Never Cashed $28,800 in Campaign Refunds—Then Gave Again
A Nevada News & Views review of FEC records traces uncashed refund checks to ten family-connected donors, most of whom gave again to Flippo’s next campaign, as a sworn complaint raises new questions about his finances.
Abortion
Court Cases & Legislation
6,000+ pharmacies certified to dispense abortion pills with little oversight: report
A Senate report warns of abortion pill manufacturers’ ‘consistent pattern of a lack of transparency’ and inability to ‘articulate any steps … to address the plethora of online prescribers.’
Gun Rights
Oregon’s Gun-Free Zone Didn’t Stop a Killer. It Almost Stopped a Hero.
I do my best to be a law-abiding person. Beyond speeding, I don’t knowingly break the law, and even speeding is something I’ve tried to avoid everywhere but the interstate, and I don’t travel all that much, so it’s rare. The reason I bring this up is that we have gun laws in this country that many people break, if for no other reason than they’re stupid.
Wi-Fi Gun Detection System Being Developed to ‘Out’ Concealed Gun Carriers
“A group of AI researchers at the Swedish Defense Research Agency (FOI) has developed an AI system that can identify concealed handguns using Wi-Fi signals, offering a non-intrusive alternative to visible cameras and cumbersome metal detectors,” computer technology site Tom’s Hardware reported Sunday. “To ensure the system could specifically distinguish a handgun from everyday items of similar shape or material, the researchers trained it on recordings of a plastic handgun, a metal water bottle, a real metal handgun, and a phone,” the report elaborates.
No, Abdul el Sayed, the Second Amendment doesn’t mean muskets only
Speaking at a recent rally in Michigan, Democratic Senate candidate Abdul el Sayed delivered a snarky and ignorant remark about the Second Amendment: “When they promised the right to bear arms, they had muskets. So yeah, everyone should have equal rights to a musket.”
Federal judge rules that New York’s body armor ban violates Second Amendment
A Buffalo federal judge ruled this week that a law enacted by New York State banning body armor is unconstitutional and violates the Second Amendment.
Second Amendment fight moves beyond guns with Supreme Court poised for big ruling
Federal judges strike down switchblade and body armor restrictions, fueling optimism ahead of Supreme Court AR-15 fight
Hide the Decline
Environment &“Green Energy”
Monarch Butterfly Populations Rebound as U.S. Honeybee Colony Counts Rise
“Two new reports from WWF-Mexico and its partners found that colonies covered 7.24 acres of forest in the 2025-2026 season. That’s an increase of 4.42 acres compared to last season.”
Socialized Medicine
Government in Healthcare
The Affordable Care Act has proven unaffordable
A report from the Peterson-Kaiser Family Foundation indicates that ObamaCare premiums are projected to increase significantly through 2027.
The percentage of people without health insurance is growing
The percentage of working-age adults without health insurance has increased in the past two years, largely because many people can no longer afford Obamacare coverage after Congress allowed federal subsidies to expire at the end of last year.
War & Terror
To Russia With Love, Signed Donald
Trump waives sanctions and tariffs under the Lindsey Graham law.
Witkoff heads to Oslo, plans Russia trip for peace talks
White House envoy Steve Witkoff is traveling to Oslo for talks Tuesday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and European leaders, a U.S. official said.
Why Are American Components Being Found Inside Russian Missiles?
A deep dive into what is inside a Russian Kinzhal hypersonic missile; the surprising number of electronic components that U.S. companies made; the various explanations for how those components ended up inside those missiles; why you should root against the Memphis Grizzlies NBA team; and the question of whether the U.S. government allocates enough resources to prevent sensitive technology from ending up in the hands of our enemies.
Trump Envoy Steve Witkoff Calls Putin a ‘Humanitarian’ During Meeting in Moscow
The president’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, who was never confirmed by the U.S. Senate for any role, is in Moscow for negotiations with Vladimir Putin. The Russian government has released Stephen Hubbard, a 74-year-old American citizen that the Russians accused of fighting on behalf of Ukraine; the U.S. government formally designated Hubbard as a wrongful detainee in January 2025.
Why Is Belgium Taking So Long Repairing Ukraine’s Fighter Jets?
Yes, I’m once again upset about slow-moving jets, but today it’s not about the ones in New York. At any given time, about half of the Ukrainian Air Force’s F-16 fighter jets are sitting in maintenance depots in Belgium instead of flying in the skies over Ukraine and shooting down Russian Shahed drones before they can kill Ukrainian civilians. While maintenance of warfighting jets is indisputably necessary and not a simple task, the Belgian repairs are proceeding at a snail’s pace, and that’s not the only less-than-helpful aspect of the Belgian government’s policies regarding the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Elsewhere, in a televised interview, Minnesota Democratic Representative Ilhan Omar demonstrates that her party really does believe in bringing families closer together.
National
Elizabethtown College restricts North Korean defector’s speech
Elizabethtown College in Pennsylvania reportedly delayed responding to a request to host North Korean defector Yeonmi Park for nearly four months before imposing restrictions on event sponsorship and public attendance. Young America’s Foundation and the College Republicans have criticized the restrictions ahead of the planned Oct. 22 event, whose approval status remains unclear.
Delaware’s DEI Discount Goes to Court
The DOJ says Delaware gave undocumented students tuition benefits while leaving out-of-state Americans paying full price.
Powerful Virginia Lawmaker Indicted Over Marijuana Business
L. Louise Lucas, a Democrat from Portsmouth, was the focus of F.B.I. searches earlier this year.
The Art of the Deal: Jared Kushner’s Hacked Phone Revealed His Secret Negotiations—Including More Than $700 Million in Transfers
An exclusive excerpt from Princes and Thieves: Jared Kushner and Mohamed bin Zayed’s Secret Plot to Remake the Middle East examines how bank accounts linked the president’s son-in-law—and former senior adviser—to Israel, the UAE, and Saudi Arabia.
A Simple Question: What Year Was Ilhan Omar Born?
It’s a simple question with far-reaching consequences and a surprisingly murky answer, but when was Minnesota Representative Ilhan Omar born?
The Woolly Mammoth Billionaire’s New Startup Is Genetically Engineering War Dogs For The Military
Ben Lamm of de-extinction startup Colossal Biosciences has teamed up with Palmer Luckey’s team at Anduril to create a dog that’s optimized for military use. The new “warhounds” will be cloned and gene edited.
Economy & Taxes
If Only Tariffs Made Industries More Dynamic
Tariffs impose a disadvantage on importers, raising a product’s domestic price above what is offered internationally. The added cost to businesses and consumers functions, effectively, as a subsidy for less efficient economic arrangements.
The NLRB’s problem is bigger than who can fire its members
Unelected bureaucrats at the agency exercise too much power over the economic choices of workers and employers.
A ‘One-Off’ Tax?
Franco-American economist Gabriel Zucman is one of the principal architects of California’s proposed billionaire wealth tax, a morally reprehensible, economically destructive, and supposedly “one-off” 5 percent levy that, as Proposition 40, will be voted on by Californians in November.
Nebraska farmers react to Trump administration’s $1.3B fertilizer plan
Two of 11 planned domestic fertilizer plants will be located in Nebraska
U.S. designates helium a critical material following 60 Minutes report on supply chain crisis
The Energy Department designated helium as a critical material Friday, days after a 60 Minutes report that examined the impact of the Iran war on the world’s helium supply.
US executives quit $25bn gas venture over claims of secret Russian control
Former CEO of Polar Train LNG tells FT that energy giant Novatek financed and held reins of strategic Alaska project without Washington’s approval
International
England and Wales to Ban Porn with Choking, Incest, and Role-Playing as a Minor
England and Wales is set to ban certain types of porn, according to reporting from last week. Beginning in early November, it will be illegal to possess or publish pornography that includes strangulation, suffocation, role-playing as a minor, and sexual activity between related persons or actors pretending to be related. The justice minister, Alex Davies-Jones said, “This isn’t about criminalising harmless sexual preferences. But porn can shape what people think a healthy relationship looks like, especially young people. Content that normalises, or even glorifies, violence against women is dangerous and can blur the line with what is acceptable in real life.” The new policy comes after a review from 2025, which concluded in part that choking in porn can have “devastating” real-life consequences.
France: Debt and Disorder
Writing about the growing market jitters over the state of France’s finances in the Wall Street Journal earlier this month, Stacy Meichtry and Chelsey Dulaney pointed to, among other factors, “concerns that France has become so ungovernable that its political system can no longer take corrective action.”
Kenyan doomsday cult leader and followers convicted of murdering 190 children in mass starvation
A Kenyan court on Monday found starvation cult leader Paul Mackenzie and about 30 others guilty of murder over the deaths of 190 children and one adult in one of the world’s worst cult-related ?disasters in recent history.
Albertans Vote to Stay in Canada in Historic Referendum
Monthslong debate on oil-rich province’s future exposes divisions that might not be easily mended
The Secret Terms of Trump’s Venezuelan Oil Deal
In late August, President Donald Trump announced what he called the “biggest oil deal in world history.” Since then, the full text of the accord — which grants the U.S. sweeping access to Venezuela’s oil reserves — has been one of the most sought-after secrets in Washington, D.C.
England and Wales to Ban Porn with Choking, Incest, and Role-Playing as a Minor
England and Wales is set to ban certain types of porn, according to reporting from last week. Beginning in early November, it will be illegal to possess or publish pornography that includes strangulation, suffocation, role-playing as a minor, and sexual activity between related persons or actors pretending to be related. The justice minister, Alex Davies-Jones said, “This isn’t about criminalising harmless sexual preferences. But porn can shape what people think a healthy relationship looks like, especially young people. Content that normalises, or even glorifies, violence against women is dangerous and can blur the line with what is acceptable in real life.” The new policy comes after a review from 2025, which concluded in part that choking in porn can have “devastating” real-life consequences.
France: Government plans to send soldiers on the streets after admitting failures
“Saturday’s mobilization of forces will be massive,” said Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu.
The French Are on Their Own, and They Know It
Last weekend’s horrifying riots — only the most violent expression of the unrest that has plagued France for over a month — seem to have chastened the country’s notoriously permissive political class.
Macron’s ‘Turning Point’
There was a series of shootings on Friday in Trappes, France. One person was murdered and five others injured, including a twelve-year-old girl, who was hit eight times and is in a serious but reportedly stable condition.
After Orbán, Hungary Is Falling Out of Love with Russia
In the leadup to this year’s elections in Hungary, then–Prime Minister Viktor Orbán castigated Ukrainian leaders for calling on the country to give up its importation of cheap Russian energy.
Opinion
Great News, America! The President Is Redeveloping East Potomac Golf Links!
With 15 days until the midterm elections, and more than 9.5 million ballots already cast, the president of the United States used the social media platform he owns to announce that the U.S. Department of the Interior had “developed a plan to build a World Class Championship Golf Course on the site of the current East Potomac Golf Links, located in Washington, D.C. When completed, it will be open to the Public while, at the same time, designed to the Highest Level of Golf and able to hold World Class Tournaments such as the U.S. Open, the PGA Championship, the Ryder Cup, and the Presidents Cup.”
The Flag That Flies Over Every Cause and Jimmy Carter’s Second Term
Meet the “Omnicause”
Even Jimmy Carter Knew the Russians Were the Bad Guys
For forty-five years, Republicans have used Jimmy Carter as shorthand for high gas prices, weakness on the world stage, and economic malpractice. I never expected to apply the comparison to a Republican. Unfortunately, as it stands right now, I have a hard time seeing how a second Carter term would actually be worse than what we are getting from President Trump at the present moment as we head, within a few weeks, into the midterm election.
Trump’s Policy Is Coherent for a President Who Likes Putin and Loathes Zelensky
He is prone to zig and zag, but there are unfortunate consistencies when it comes to Russia and Ukraine.
Macron’s Anti-Speech Plan to Protect Public Order and The Inconvenient Riots
French President Emmanuel Macron thinks he has discovered the secret to maintaining public order … less free speech. Now if someone will just tell the French.
Evangelicalism’s rancid rot is inside. It demands repentance.
If anything unites earnest Evangelicals of all stripes, it’s that they share an eminently honorable, two-fold desire: to see people come to know Jesus as Lord and to be an active part of the advance of God’s Kingdom.
Reflections on the Revolution in France
“Students” in France are “protesting” for more “school funding,” the mainstream media explain to us. But if you’ve been exposed to footage on social media platforms, you’ll notice that many of the “students” are minority men who are not school-age. You’ll see that the “protests” involve torching historic buildings, throwing stones at cars, smashing windows, burning vehicles, looting designer stores, and ransacking grocery stores (but rather mysteriously, leaving refrigerators with ham untouched). You’ll see that entire streets have been destroyed, except the kebab shop. You’ll wonder, was the school funding being kept in the produce section of a corner shop? Were the extra books being hoarded in a Swarovski store? Were the better teachers locked away in a synagogue, just waiting to be recruited into a public school? Why did the demands for more money from the French government involve attacking an American embassy, a McDonalds?
Not Buying the Trump Administration’s Gambit to Blame Musk for Starshield Restrictions
If you believe Elon Musk unilaterally gave the order to impose speed restrictions in Ukraine on the Starshield system — the military application of the Starlink satellite communications system made by Musk’s SpaceX — then I have a bridge in Kyiv to sell you . . . if Putin hasn’t blown it to smithereens already.
It’s the Corruption, Stupid
JD Vance previewed a possible 2028 argument, one he will no doubt have to make a few hundred times, on the question of corruption and self-dealing inside the Trump administration.
I’m Tired of Eating Sh— Sandwiches and Being Told They’re Delicious
And a profanity warning.
Pot Denounces Kettle
It’s come to this: Nick Fuentes attacks fellow Democrat Tucker Carlson as an anti-Semite.
No, the Constitution is not a suicide pact — but it’s also not a blank check for panic
We don’t get to infringe upon civil liberties right now because someone invokes existential angst and the possibility of crisis as though it’s a magic spell.
Let markets, not government, decide whether there’s an AI bubble
Let private capital determine how many data centers America needs.
Should Ilhan Omar Be Denaturalized?
The long-standing accusations against Ilhan Omar — if that is her real name — have resurfaced in light of the recent raid on her home. In brief, they are that 1) she, her father, and her sister entered the United States under false identities, 2) she lied about her birth year to obtain naturalization via said father and 3) she subsequently married her brother to facilitate further immigration fraud. The feds are also apparently interested in whether Omar’s father, a Soviet-trained regimental commander in the Somali army, concealed information about his military service when entering the U.S. It certainly appears that, in the very least, he served as a field commander in the Somali army during its commission of the Isaaq genocide that left 200,000 civilians dead.
