October 15, 2025 at 11:55 AM EDT
'Political fault lines': 'Soaring' utility bills 'haunt candidates' in competitive races

Inflation in general has been a sore spot with voters, possibly helping Donald Trump get past the finish line in the United States' 2024 presidential election. Trump hammered then-President Joe Biden and then-Vice President Kamala Harris nonstop on inflation, and according to polls, anxiety over rising prices was a key factor in many voters' decisions to vote for Trump -- who didn't win by a "landslide," as he claims, but defeated Harris by roughly 1.5 percent in the national popular vote.

October 15, 2025 at 11:47 AM EDT
'Moral bankruptcy': House Speaker dismisses claim GOP rep beat girlfriend as not 'serious'

When asked for comment on the news that Florida Republican Congressman Cory Mills was ordered by a judge to stay away from his ex-girlfriend who accused Mills of assaulting her, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson's (R-LA) reply set off a firestorm on social media. Meidas Touch senior digital editor Acyn Torabi posted clip on his X account of a press conference at which a reporter asked Johnson, "It's been reported that Cory Mills was accused of beating a girlfriend" accused of stolen valor. Are you concerned?"

October 15, 2025 at 11:03 AM EDT
'Aggressive and unaccountable': Conservative warns Trump's assault on America is 'getting worse'

Conservative writer Bill Kristol writes in his latest piece for The Bulwark that it's "less than a quarter of the way through the second [Donald] Trump administration" and "it's getting worse." "I mean this neither as an expression of hyperbole nor a cry of alarm," Kristol writes, adding that "Trump's authoritarian apparatchiks are tightening their control over the key power ministries of the federal government."

October 15, 2025 at 10:33 AM EDT
'Trouble': Experts warn Pentagon chief's move will backfire

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth's controversial new media policy -- and the claims behind it -- may backfire, experts are warning. Hegseth's new policy was rejected by nearly every major credentialed news organization -- including his former employer, Fox News -- some of which said it infringes on their First Amendment rights.

October 15, 2025 at 10:01 AM EDT
How 'narcissist' Trump makes 'God's plan' all about himself

During his second presidency, Donald Trump has been making a lot of humorous comments about the afterlife -- often with a favorable response from his far-right white evangelical base. Many evangelicals love it when Trump makes comments like "I think I'm not maybe heaven-bound" and "I'm not sure I'm going to be able to make heaven" -- which, they say, really shows his humanity. Although Trump is a billionaire, quite a few white evangelicals contend, he isn't afraid to admit that he's a sinner just like them.

October 15, 2025 at 6:09 AM EDT
The troubling relevance of Woody Guthrie's new album in the Trump era

A new album by Woody Guthrie (1912-1967), perhaps the most influential US folk artist, was released late last summer. Woody at Home, Vol. 1 & 2 contains songs - some already known, others previously unreleased - the artist recorded from 1951 to 1952 on a tape recorder he received from his publisher. A version of the famous "This Land Is Your Land" (1940), with new verses, is among the tracks. The release reflects the continuing vitality of Woody Guthrie in the United States. There is an ongoing process of updating and redefining his figure and artistic legacy - one that does not always take into account the singer's radicalism but sometimes accentuates his patriotism.

October 15, 2025 at 5:53 AM EDT
Wall Street giant's report exposes the truth about the Trump economy

New research from investment bank Goldman Sachs affirms, as progressive advocates and economists warned, that US consumers are bearing the brunt of President Donald Trump's trade wars. As reported by Bloomberg on Monday, economists at Goldman released an analysis this week estimating that US consumers are shouldering up to 55% of the costs stemming from Trump's tariffs, even though the president has repeatedly made false claims that the tariffs on imports exclusively tax foreigners.

October 15, 2025 at 5:47 AM EDT
Republicans are pushing a pair of Supreme Court cases that would further legalize bribery

Fifteen years after the Citizens United ruling opened the gates for corporate money to flow into US elections, the Supreme Court will soon hear another pair of cases that journalist David Sirota says are aimed at "eliminating the last restrictions on campaign donations and obstructing law enforcement's efforts to halt bribery." One of the cases, National Republican Senatorial Committee v. Federal Elections Commission (FEC), was launched in 2022 by then-Ohio Senate candidate JD Vance (R-Ohio), now the vice president of the United States, and several other Republicans, who argued that limits on coordinated spending violated the First Amendment.

October 15, 2025 at 5:40 AM EDT
Why should Democrats fund their own Trump-fueled demise?

Last weekend at the Naval Station in Norfolk, Virginia, at a uniform-mandatory commemoration of the Navy's 250th anniversary, Donald Trump addressed the troops as if it were a MAGA rally. He told hundreds of sailors , SEALS and Marines that the nation had to "take care" of this "little gnat on our shoulder called the Democrats," then proceeded to disparage Democrats to cheers and applause from the assembled troops. His comments drew criticism because the US military is a non-political fighting force, kept that way to protect the nation . But his Norfolk appearance followed a similar speech in Quantico, Virginia, where he informed 800 ranked officers from all fighting units that they'd soon be let loose on "the enemy within," meaning, again, Democrats.

October 14, 2025 at 10:06 PM EDT
'They just yanked $1 billion': Reporter stumps GOP sen with rundown of how Trump hurts his state

CNN host Kaitlan Collins on Tuesday cornered Sen. Tim Sheehy (R-MT) with specific examples of how President Donald Trump's policies are hurting his home state -- and appeared to stump the Republican senator on several occasions. Asked about the ongoing partial government shutdown, Sheehy gave a lengthy reply about the appropriations process before tearing into the "stupid [Senate Minority Leader Chuck] Schumer shutdown." Collins told Sheehy that Trump's approach to this shutdown -- chiefly, "cutting programs and laying off federal workers -- "[has] literally never happened before in the last 14" government shutdowns, and pressed the senator on the president's "unprecedented step." The CNN host specifically called out Trump's cut to the U.S. Treasury Department's Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund, a fund Sheehy himself had "signed a letter in support of earlier this year." "The president says they're only cutting programs and Democrat stuff," Collins said. "Is that a Democrat fund that you supported?" Sheehy insisted Trump will use "every tool in his toolbox" and argued "there have to be consequences for bad behavior" before launching into another monologue about the "Schumer shutdown." Later in the segment, Collins pushed back on Sheehy's claim that the Democrats want to fund "healthcare for non citizens, illegal immigrants"-- and called out the Republican senator for "getting off [the] topic" of Trump's cancelled programs. "[Healthcare] is not for people who are here illegally," Collins said. "It's people who have different legal status, people who are seeking asylum, refugees " But I ask on the program's part because"" "Yeah, but saying non citizens is accurate, though," Sheehy insisted. "You said people who are here illegally," Collins explained. "But those are different things. I mean, maybe you don't like Temporary Protected Status, but you're an immigrant with legal status." Sheehy tried to stop Collins from moving on, arguing "you can't just pave over that because a lot of people come under asylum, claim asylum, which are not actually asylum seekers." "That's a legal process," Collins replied. "You can change the law if you don't like it." As Sheehy continued to complain that people falsely claim asylum status, Collins told him he's "getting off topic." "I think it's very much the topic," Sheehy shot back. Collins then got to her main point: The Department of Energy's decision to cancel a $1 billion project that Montana's own governor said would have created good paying Montana jobs and boost American-made energy. "They just yanked $1 billion from that," Collins noted. "So is that taking away good paying jobs in Montana?" "Of course it is, we want the government to be open," Sheehy said. Collins asked Sheehy to clarify if he thought the Trump administration's decision to pull funding "is hurting [his] state." As Sheehy argued the shutdown as a whole is hurting his state, Collins noted "the Trump administration didn't have to make" the decision to pull "billion dollars from your state." "Well, I think the reality is we wouldn't be here if the government was still open," Sheehy said. "And now we're going on week three of a pretty unnecessary shutdown." Collins noted the U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright "actually" told her "they would have [shut down the project] even if the government wasn't shut down." "That was months in the making, even before the government shut down," Collins said Wright told her. "Well, that's unfortunate we're still shut down," Sheehy replied. "We shouldn't be."

October 14, 2025 at 9:08 PM EDT
'It's terrible': CNN data analyst delivers flashing red warning sign about US dollar

As silver prices hit all-time high, an expert has said it is even "outlasting gold." During an appearance on CNN Tuesday, the network's chief data analyst Harry Enten said that in addition to doing better than gold, silver is also "doing so much better than the. U.S. dollar is doing. And I think that's what's so important to keep in mind here."

October 14, 2025 at 8:32 PM EDT
'What about the US?' CNN's Burnett brings receipts as Trump dismisses cost of Argentina bailout

President Donald Trump's $20 billion "rescue package" to Argentinian President Javier Milei has sparked backlash. Earlier this month, the president approved a $20 billion U.S. financial rescue for Argentina, primarily a currency swap and peso purchase to stabilize its economy. It was initiated by Trump to support Milei's reforms amid a currency crisis.