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November 4, 2025
Dick Cheney, influential Republican vice president to George W. Bush, dies
(CNN) Dick Cheney, America’s most powerful modern vice president and chief architect of the “war on terror,” who helped lead the country into the ill-fated Iraq war on faulty assumptions, has died, according to a statement from his family. He was 84. “His beloved wife of 61 years, Lynne, his daughters, Liz and Mary, and other family members were with him as he passed,” the family said, adding that he died due to complications of pneumonia and cardiac and vascular disease.
Go to discussionAs Trump awaits an early verdict with Tuesday's elections, next year's midterms are already on his mind
(CNN) Even as Tuesday’s elections hang in the balance, President Donald Trump has bluntly suggested that he is already looking ahead to the 2026 midterm races with a sense of dread. “We’ve had success like nobody, but for some reason, you lose the midterms,” Trump said late last month at the White House, waxing aloud about the political backlash that most presidents face during midterm elections. “I don’t know why. It doesn’t make sense.”
Go to discussionTexas Gov. Abbott threatens to impose 'tariff' on people fleeing NYC in unhinged post
(The Mirror) Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott threatened to impose a 100% tariff on New Yorkers moving to Texas after Election Day. The governor, who is a staunch Trump supporter, made the threat on Monday, a day before the mayoral race in New York City, via his X account. His rhetoric mirrors that of the president, who has repeatedly warned the city that he would not give out federal funds if Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani wins the high-profile race. “After the polls close tomorrow night, I will impose a 100% tariff on anyone moving to Texas from NYC,” Abbott posted on social media.
Go to discussionReport: Donors to Trump's White House ballroom have $279B in federal contracts
(Washington Post) $300 million combined is a drop in the bucket for these companies which have billion-dollar contracts with the government or are looking for a favorable outcome into their federal investigations for wrongdoing. Most of the publicly identified donors to President Donald Trump’s White House ballroom have high-stakes business before the administration, ranging from billions in government contracts to federal investigations into their companies, according to a report released Monday by a government watchdog group. More than half of the companies that donated are facing or have recently faced federal enforcement actions tied to alleged wrongdoing that includes engaging in unfair labor practices, deceiving consumers and harming the environment, according to the report from Public Citizen.
Go to discussionHakeem Jeffries Accuses Trump And the GOP of Running a 'Pedophile Protection Program'
(Mediaite) House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) accused President Donald Trump and the GOP of running a “pedophile protection program” instead of fighting to make life better for the American people. During a Capitol Hill press conference on Monday, Jeffries accused the Republicans of caring “less” about the pain the government shutdown is causing. “All Republicans care about is the opinion of one man, the puppet master of the Republican Party, Donald J. Trump,” Jeffries said. “They don’t care about anything else. How else can you explain the fact that they are weaponizing hunger? How else can one explain the fact that they refuse to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits, and they’re hurting their own constituents?”
Go to discussionAn Altercation With ICE Prompts a Police Chief to Push Back
(New York Times) Brice Current, the police chief in Durango, Colorado, knew there was a problem the moment he saw the video of an immigration agent putting a protester into what the chief saw as a chokehold and throwing her down an embankment. Immigration agents had arrested a Colombian man and his two children on their way to school last week, provoking a furious response from this liberal college town. What set the protest apart from similar clashes between residents and immigration agents in Chicago, Los Angeles and other cities was Current’s determination that the masked federal agent involved in the scuffle had crossed a line and his request for an investigation. He said he even considered filing criminal charges against the agent.
Go to discussion'Liars': Mayor accuses Kristi Noem's DHS of 'literally beating up innocent bystanders'
(Raw Story) A Border Patrol agent was filmed punching a U.S. citizen in the head during a stop in a suburb outside of Chicago on Friday, and tried to justify it by saying the car was tail-gating them. Now the mayor is announcing an investigation into the agents. Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss announced an investigation of the Board of Public Safety Patrol agents seen kneeling on a man and striking him repeatedly while he was handcuffed, reported The Daily Beast.
Go to discussionFaith leaders blocked by ICE from delivering Communion to immigrants speak out
(ABC News) Faith leaders denounced Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security for rejecting access to give Communion to immigrants being held at an Illinois facility over the weekend. The Coalition for Spiritual and Public Leadership (CSPL), a Catholic and Christian-rooted nonprofit, organized a Mass by the immigration processing center on All Saints Day and Día de los Muertos, or the Day of the Dead. Organizers estimate some 2,000 people attended on Saturday, as many prayed, sang and held signs protesting ICE.
Go to discussionHead of NASA Threatens to Ground Every Single Commercial Flight Before Thanksgiving
(Futurism) Transportation secretary Sean Duffy, who’s also serving as NASA’s interim administrator, threatened to ground all commercial flights in the United States ahead of American Thanksgiving — some of the busiest air travel days of the year. An ongoing federal government shutdown has put a massive strain on flight operations since it kicked off on October 1, with air traffic controllers missing paychecks and even being forced to take on second jobs to make ends meet.
Go to discussionMike Johnson Wants You to Believe He Lives Under a Rock
(Rolling Stone) Mike Johnson has a reflex. When asked about a major breaking news event that is dominating headlines and conversations around Capitol Hill’s proverbial water coolers — usually the president’s latest authoritarian endeavor or national humiliation — Johnson defaults to pretending he has no access to the internet, newspapers, or staff who are quite literally paid to keep him informed.
Go to discussion