October 15, 2025 at 6:13 PM EDT
Trump ripped for thinly veiled effort to 'intimidate' Supreme Court Justices

President Donald Trump, during a Wednesday afternoon, October 15 press conference, discussed the U.S. Supreme Court's tariffs case with reporters and said he may go to the High Court to watch the case. Trump told reporters, "If we don't have the use of tariffs, we have no national security. This country will have no financial security, will not have national security". But if we are not allowed to use what other people use against us, there's no defense. It'll be a disaster for America. That's why I think I'm going to go to the Supreme Court to watch it. I've not done that". I think it's one of the most important cases every brought, because we will be defenseless against the world."

October 15, 2025 at 5:18 PM EDT
'Conservative Republican' in deep-red Idaho pleads with Trump as 3rd-gen farm flails

A conservative Republican farmer from Idaho is making an unlikely appeal to President Donald Trump: "Do the right thing." His call comes as his family farm struggles to survive amid labor shortages he blames on Trump-era immigration policies. ABC News reported Wednesday that Shay Myers, general manager of Owyhee Produce, a third-generation farm in Parma, Idaho, is speaking out against the aggressive deportation tactics that have intensified under the Trump administration.

October 15, 2025 at 4:37 PM EDT
'What a prosecutor does': Expert blasts CNN analyst's claim Trump prosecutor 'rushed' charges

Although former U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) special counsel Jack Smith kept a low profile during the first eight months of Donald Trump's second presidency, that changed in a big way in October. Smith, during a Wednesday, October 8 panel discussion at University College London in the U.K., argued that it was "absolutely ludicrous" to claim that he prosecuted Trump for political reasons in 2023 and 2024. And he was highly critical of the direction DOJ has been taking under U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi.

October 15, 2025 at 4:09 PM EDT
House speaker waffles after agreeing to debate Jeffries 'anywhere anytime'

Republican Speaker Mike Johnson and Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries have agreed to a joint debate, following Jeffries' proposal nearly two weeks ago to address the federal government shutdown. "I write to challenge you to a debate on the Floor of the House of Representatives any day this week in primetime, broadcast live to the American people," Leader Jeffries wrote in a letter on October 6. "Democrats have been clear and consistent in our position. The country needs immediate, bipartisan negotiations between the White House and congressional leadership in order to reach an enlightened spending agreement that reopens the government, improves the lives of hardworking American taxpayers and addresses the Republican healthcare crisis."

October 15, 2025 at 4:05 PM EDT
Three judge panel rejects red state GOP's push to change voting rules

In a split from earlier rulings, Florida's 1st District Court of Appeals on Wednesday turned down a bid by Republicans to alter how county commissioners are elected in Alachua County -- a move that would have significantly shifted the region's political balance. PBS affiliate WUFT TV reported that the challengers, including former state Senator Keith Perry (R) and three co"'plaintiffs, had asked the court to block the county from electing its five commissioners through a so-called at"'large system, in which every voter in the county votes for all commissioners. The appeal supported maintaining or restoring single"'member districts, where only voters in a given district cast ballots for their respective commissioner.

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.