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October 8, 2025
Speaker Johnson said he'd swear in new House Democrat 'as soon as she wants.' Now Republicans are backtracking
(CNN) Speaker Mike Johnson is not planning to allow Democrats’ newest congresswoman-elect to be sworn-in until her party agrees to end the government shutdown, despite telling CNN earlier Tuesday that he would swear her in “as soon as she wants.” “We will swear in Rep.-Elect [Adelita] Grijalva as soon as the House returns to session when Chuck Schumer, Mark Kelly and Ruben Gallego decide to open up the government,” a leadership aide said Tuesday. The move amounts to an extraordinary power play to deny a sitting member a seat.
Go to discussionRepublican Ousted By Democrat in Shock Election Defeat
(Newsweek) Alaska's City of Fairbanks Mayor David Pruhs, a Republican, conceded to Mindy O'Neall, a Democrat, in the mayoral election on Tuesday night. According to preliminary election night results, O’Neall received 1,808 votes (54 percent) and Pruhs received 1,528 votes (45.7 percent). Republicans have held the mayoralty for over a decade.
Go to discussionStephen Miller Sparks Suspicion After 'Glitch' on CNN When He Mentioned 'Plenary Authority'
(Time) Miller said: “Under Title 10 of the U.S. Code, the President has plenary authority, has—” before making an abrupt stop. Miller blinked several times, with anchor Boris Sanchez calling out his name, though he still did not respond. … “Stephen, I apologize. It seems like we’re having a technical issue,” Sanchez said, before the show cut to a break, and resumed after with Sanchez saying some “wires got crossed.” The brief moment sparked controversy online over Miller’s use of the phrase “plenary authority,” which Cornell University’s Legal Information Institute defines as “power that is wide-ranging, broadly construed, and often limitless for all practical purposes.”
Go to discussionRepublican senator says back pay for federal workers is 'not up to the president'
(The Hill) Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) said on Tuesday that the president does not get to decide whether furloughed federal workers are entitled to back pay. “It’s not up to the president,” Kennedy told reporters, when asked at the Capitol about the Trump administration “not necessarily committing to back pay” for the federal workers. “I mean, his opinion matters, but Congress has got to appropriate the money,” he continued, according to a video posted online by a CBS News reporter. “Read the Constitution.”
Go to discussionFormer Republican governors air concerns about Trump's National Guard moves
(NBC News) As President Donald Trump clashes with Democratic governors over his push to deploy federalized National Guard troops to their cities, several former Republican governors are raising concerns about strong-arm tactics and constitutional crises — while also noting that the president has wide latitude to deploy the guard. The three former governors, who have long histories of criticizing Trump, also expressed a sense of resignation, saying they believe he will charge ahead unless the courts rein him in.
Go to discussionDemocrats take legal aim at 'the Radical Left' language during shutdown
(NPR) There are brewing legal fights against the Trump administration for language it's posting on federal websites and in government emails blaming the Democrats for the government shutdown. The controversy centers on language posted at the top of federal agency websites and in some automated email responses. They warn the public that responses could be slow due to "the Radical Left Democrat Shutdown." Some Democrats and a union representing federal workers argue that the language violates the 1939 Hatch Act, which bars employees of the executive branch from doing anything partisan while at work.
Go to discussionFBI employees ordered to immediately search for records related to Amelia Earhart, sources say
(CNN) The Trump administration has ordered FBI employees in Washington, DC, and New York to immediately search their workstations and digital media for any records pertaining to the disappearance of Amelia Earhart, two law enforcement sources told CNN. FBI employees were given a priority deadline of Wednesday to respond to the request, which comes on the seventh day of an ongoing federal government shutdown.
Go to discussionCandace Owens releases Charlie Kirk texts showing slain commentator criticizing "Jewish donors"
(News.com.au) Leaked texts have revealed slain conservative commentator Charlie Kirk privately criticised “bullying” by “Jewish donors” while admitting he was considering leaving “the pro-Israel cause” before his death. The texts emerged after commentator Candace Owens released a screenshot of Kirk venting in a group chat about Jewish donors withdrawing funding over his links to Tucker Carlson, a rogue conservative commentator who has been heavily critical of Israel following his breakaway from Fox News to move independent.
Go to discussionApple Quietly Made ICE Agents a Protected Class
(Migrant Insider) Apple has quietly removed DeICER, a civic-reporting app used to log immigration enforcement activity, from its App Store after a law enforcement complaint — invoking a rule normally reserved for protecting marginalized groups from hate speech. According to internal correspondence reviewed by Migrant Insider, Apple told developer Rafael Concepcion that the app violated Guideline 1.1.1, which prohibits “defamatory, discriminatory, or mean-spirited content” directed at “religion, race, sexual orientation, gender, national/ethnic origin, or other targeted groups.”
Go to discussionTexas AG Launches Undercover Operation to Infiltrate 'Leftist Terror Cells'
(Newsweek) Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has announced a new undercover investigation aimed at infiltrating what he called "leftist terror cells" in his state, in the wake of a rise in political violence. “Leftist political terrorism is a clear and present danger. Corrupted ideologies like transgenderism and Antifa are a cancer on our culture and have unleashed their deranged and drugged-up foot soldiers on the American people,” said Paxton in a statement Tuesday.
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