On Tuesday, the state department announced it was systematically identifying visa holders who celebrated the heinous assassination of Charlie Kirk, declaring in a social media statement that the United States has no obligation to host foreigners who wish death on Americans. The visa cancellations represent an escalating government-wide campaign to suppress criticism of Kirk, who was killed last month. The administration cut visas for nationals from Argentina, South Africa, Mexico, Brazil, Germany and Paraguay.
Right now, you just talked about Israelis killing some Palestinians, but Hamas is killing Palestinians within Gaza. And they have not returned the bodies that they promised to return, including two Americans, Itay Chen and Omer Neutra, whose families we have interviewed over these months, observed MacCallum before asking, So what is your response to what Hamas is doing now?
Last week, I caught wind that House Speaker Mike Johnson, along with several top House Republican leaders, had held an exclusive press briefing about the government shutdown that was restricted to "new media." The contents of the meeting were published as a "scoop" by the Washington Reporter - a Congress-focused publication founded by several GOP operatives that'd been established as a Punchbowl for conservatives - which described the call as "set[ting] the record straight" and
Yet federal agents are responding with increased force. Federal police unleashed a volley of weapons and chemical agents on anti-ICE protesters and journalists on Saturday, October 11. It was a notable escalation in the response to protests at the Portland immigration processing facility that led to violent arrests, a photojournalist getting shot with a pepper ball, and a large group being sprayed indiscriminately with tear gas.
The Department of Energy just canceled a billion dollars to the Pacific Northwest Hydrogen Hub. Part of that covers your state of Montana, and your governor actually praised it when it was happening, saying it was going to create good-paying Montana jobs and boost American-made energy. They just yanked a billion from that. So is that taking away good-paying jobs in Montana?
The reporter mentioned Seattle and San Francisco as two cities that have seen demonstrations, and pointed out that both cities are World Cup hosts (though San Francisco is not a host city, but part of the San Francisco Bay Area that will host games at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara). The reporter then asked Trump if the demonstrations could result in the loss of World Cup games from those host venues.
In a letter to Google CEO Sundar Pichai and YouTube CEO Neal Mohan, five Senators - Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), and Jeff Merkley (D-OR) - asked for details about any settlement talks between those companies and the Trump administration. They're interested in whether Google secured favorable treatment as a result of the payout, including leniency in multiple ongoing antitrust lawsuits, something they warn could constitute an illegal bribe.
On Wednesday, October 15, US District Judge Karin Immergut extended the temporary restraining order (TRO) she'd granted on October 5 for another two weeks. The TRO was set to expire October 18. The ruling comes as the state of Oregon is tangled up in a lawsuit against the federal government for President Trump's deployment of National Guard troops, to help guard the Portland ICE facility amid protests there. Oregon attorneys say the deployment is unnecessary and violates the US Constitution.
After June's No Kings' protests brought out millions nationwide, the rabble-rousers are having another go at it this Saturday, with more No Kings demonstrations scheduled for SF, Oakland, Berkeley, and other Bay Area municipalities. If you've been following the current government shutdown talk in Washington DC, you may have noticed that House Speaker Mike Johnson has been referencing what he calls a Hate America Rally coming up this weekend.
Russia is India's top oil supplier. Moscow exported 1.62 million barrels per day to India in September, roughly one-third of the country's oil imports. For months, Modi resisted US pressure, with Indian officials defending the purchases as vital to national energy security. A move by India to stop imports would signal a major shift by one of Moscow's top energy customers and could reshape the calculus for other nations still importing Russian crude.
Bessent disclosed that he's trimmed the initial list of 11 candidates he interviewed to five, while also clarifying that he will not be the next chair. He declined to say whether supporting lower interest rates was a requirement, noting instead that he looks for a candidate with an open mind.
OAKLAND - A high-ranking Oakland city official who said he provided federal investigators key evidence that led to criminal indictments against ex-Mayor Sheng Thao and others is leaving his role to take a leadership job in another East Bay city.
When you are facing a nonmarket economy like China, then you have to exercise industrial policy, Bessent said. The Treasury Secretary explained that China has put rare earth mineral companies out of business by massively dropping their own prices. We're going to set price floors and the forward buying to make sure that this doesn't happen again, and we're going to do it across a range of industries, he said.
"So I was not happy that India was buying oil, and he (Modi) assured me today that they will not be buying oil from Russia. That's a big step. Now we're going to get China to do the same thing," Trump told reporters on October 15 at the White House. India has continued to buy Russian oil, helping to fund Moscow's war effort in Ukraine, all while Western nations ramp up sanctions against such purchases.
