President Donald Trump's administration, for now, must stop firing workers during the government shutdown, a federal judge in San Francisco ordered on Wednesday. U.S. District Judge Susan Illston issued the emergency order after federal agencies on Friday started issuing layoff notices aimed at reducing the size of the federal government. The layoff notices are part of an effort by Trump's Republican administration to exert more pressure on Democratic lawmakers as the government shutdown continues. Illston said the administration was acting without thinking through its decisions.
Thousands of private messages reveal young GOP leaders joking about gas chambers, slavery and rape. read more
ICE used to arrest the "worst first." Under the new Trump administration, the agency is following a different playbook, says a former ICE chief. read more
For many Americans, the gap between Christian teachings and MAGA politics is baffling. How can people profess faith in Jesus who preached love, mercy and care for the oppressed -- while supporting policies that punish immigrants, demonize LGBTQ people and glorify cruelty? read more
OpEd: "The Shipping Forecast," presented twice on weekdays on the BBC and thrice on weekends, is 100-years-old this week. It broadcasts weather forecasts for the seas that surround the British Isles. You may wonder: why don't sailors and citizens on the North and Irish Seas, and along the English Channel, just look at their iPhones for the weather? They probably do.
@#3 ... an allegation the White House called "baseless". ...
Then, provide evidence to the contrary.
Another view ...
Colombia's president says boat struck by US was carrying Colombians
www.bbc.com
... Colombian President Gustavo Petro has said that a boat recently bombed by the US was "Colombian with Colombian citizens inside", an allegation the White House called "baseless".
The US has struck at least four vessels in the Caribbean in recent weeks, killing 21 people. The US government has said the strikes in international waters were targeting "narco-traffickers".
But it has not provided evidence or details about who or what is aboard, and the strikes have attracted condemnation in countries in the region amid concerns they breach international law.
The US Senate rejected a measure on Wednesday that would have barred President Donald Trump from using military force against the boats.
Petro replied to a post on X by US Senator Adam Schiff, a Democrat, who said he would vote to block strikes against vessels in the Caribbean as some lawmakers sought to challenge the use of the armed forces in Congress.
The Colombian president said that a "new war scenario has opened up: the Caribbean".
Petro added that "indications show that the last boat bombed was Colombian with Colombian citizens inside it.
"I hope their families come forward and report it. There is no war against smuggling; there is a war for oil and it must be stopped by the world. The aggression is against all of Latin America and the Caribbean." ...
Related ...
Soybean bailout? Hard-hit farmers want China trade more than Trump aid.
www.csmonitor.com
... The trade war between China and the United States has devolved into a shoot-out, with one commodity now positioned to help stop the crossfire: soybeans.
China isn't buying them from the U.S. anymore, at least for now, and although President Donald Trump has talked about bailing out American soybean farmers, he hasn't followed through yet.
New U.S. tariffs on lumber and furniture, as well as wider Chinese controls on rare-earth minerals, have heated up the political rhetoric and roiled markets.
But there are reasons the two countries could come together, and agriculture may provide the first step.
The U.S. is eager to sell, and China, presumably, is eager to buy the pea-sized yellow bean that produces vegetable oil for humans and feed for livestock. If Beijing and Washington can reach a soybean agreement in the near future, it may prove a stepping stone to a larger trade agreement. If they can't, it may further sour relations between the two economic powers.
"It's a game of chicken, in one sense," says Joseph Glauber, an emeritus research fellow at the International Food Policy Research Institute and former chief economist of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. "Agriculture is the collateral damage in this trade fight with China." ...
I posted this on the wrong thread a few minutes ago...
JD Vance Blasted For Response to Young Republicans Group Chat
www.newsweek.com
... Vice President JD Vance waded into the uproar over racist, antisemitic and misogynistic chat messages from Young Republicans, drawing criticism by saying a Democratic politician's text messages suggesting the former Virginia House speaker should be shot were "far worse."
Why It Matters
The outcry over the messages from Young Republicans and the earlier texts from Virginia attorney general hopeful Jay Jones comes at a time of political polarization and alarm about increasingly inflammatory political discourse, particularly since the assassination of conservative activist and Turning Point USA co-founder Charlie Kirk at a university in Utah on September 10. ...
What To Know
Some of the Young Republicans taking part in group chats leaked to Politico referred to Black people as monkeys and "the watermelon people," voiced support for Hitler, and spoke of putting opponents in gas chambers and raping enemies.
Jones, a Democrat, faces intensifying pressure to drop out of the Virginia election for attorney general next month after texts sent in 2022 were made public that called for violence against former State House Speaker Todd Gilbert and his family, including one saying he should receive "two bullets to the head."
Vance posted on X an excerpt from one of messages attributed to Jones which read: "only when people feel pain personally do they move on policy."
"This is far worse than anything said in a college group chat, and the guy who said it could become the AG of Virginia. I refuse to join the pearl clutching when powerful people call for political violence," Vance said.
The texts written by Jones were first reported by National Review and viewed by The Washington Post. Newsweek has not independently verified the messages, but Jones has not questioned their veracity and has apologized for them. ...
Politico said it obtained 2,900 pages of exchanges over seven months among a dozen Young Republican leaders in New York, Kansas, Arizona and Vermont, offering "an unfiltered look at how a new generation of GOP activists talk when they think no one is listening."
Both Democrats and Republicans have denounced the Republicans' messages and called for those responsible to step down from party positions, but Vance drew objections for singling out the offending Democrat for his ire.
"Why can't we denounce both?" Democratic U.S. Representative Ro Khanna of California said on X in response to Vance's post.
Retired U.S. Navy intelligence officer Travis Akers responded to Vance in a similar vein.
"Both are bad. Incredibly bad. We should all be able to say that, Mr. Vice President, and in your position of power and influence, you should be among the first to do so," Akers wrote. ...
JD Vance Blasted For Response to Young Republicans Group Chat
www.newsweek.com
... Vice President JD Vance waded into the uproar over racist, antisemitic and misogynistic chat messages from Young Republicans, drawing criticism by saying a Democratic politician's text messages suggesting the former Virginia House speaker should be shot were "far worse."
Why It Matters
The outcry over the messages from Young Republicans and the earlier texts from Virginia attorney general hopeful Jay Jones comes at a time of political polarization and alarm about increasingly inflammatory political discourse, particularly since the assassination of conservative activist and Turning Point USA co-founder Charlie Kirk at a university in Utah on September 10. ...
What To Know
Some of the Young Republicans taking part in group chats leaked to Politico referred to Black people as monkeys and "the watermelon people," voiced support for Hitler, and spoke of putting opponents in gas chambers and raping enemies.
Jones, a Democrat, faces intensifying pressure to drop out of the Virginia election for attorney general next month after texts sent in 2022 were made public that called for violence against former State House Speaker Todd Gilbert and his family, including one saying he should receive "two bullets to the head."
Vance posted on X an excerpt from one of messages attributed to Jones which read: "only when people feel pain personally do they move on policy."
"This is far worse than anything said in a college group chat, and the guy who said it could become the AG of Virginia. I refuse to join the pearl clutching when powerful people call for political violence," Vance said.
The texts written by Jones were first reported by National Review and viewed by The Washington Post. Newsweek has not independently verified the messages, but Jones has not questioned their veracity and has apologized for them. ...
Politico said it obtained 2,900 pages of exchanges over seven months among a dozen Young Republican leaders in New York, Kansas, Arizona and Vermont, offering "an unfiltered look at how a new generation of GOP activists talk when they think no one is listening."
Both Democrats and Republicans have denounced the Republicans' messages and called for those responsible to step down from party positions, but Vance drew objections for singling out the offending Democrat for his ire.
"Why can't we denounce both?" Democratic U.S. Representative Ro Khanna of California said on X in response to Vance's post.
Retired U.S. Navy intelligence officer Travis Akers responded to Vance in a similar vein.
"Both are bad. Incredibly bad. We should all be able to say that, Mr. Vice President, and in your position of power and influence, you should be among the first to do so," Akers wrote. ...
Related?
U.S. Imports Slide 8.4% as China Trade Volumes Plunge Before Tariff Deadline
www.globaltrademag.com
... U.S. container imports fell sharply in September 2025, with total inbound volumes dropping 8.4% from August to 2,307,933 TEUs, according to Descartes Systems Group's latest Global Shipping Report. The decline -- the steepest monthly drop in recent years -- reflects importers' growing caution ahead of looming tariff changes and the expiration of the U.S.-China tariff truce.
China was the primary driver of the downturn, with import volumes plunging 12.3% month-over-month to 762,772 TEUs, a 22.9% year-over-year decrease.
Nearly all major product categories saw declines, led by aluminum and related articles (-43.8%), footwear (-33.9%), and electric machinery (-31.5%). Both knit and non-knit apparel categories fell more than 29%.
Furniture and bedding -- China's largest export category to the U.S. -- dropped 22.3% from a year earlier but continued to represent 14.5% of all China-origin shipments.
Descartes noted that global supply chains continue to face elevated uncertainty as tariff volatility intersects with broader geopolitical and logistical disruptions. ...
NFIB Small-Business Optimism Index Drops in September
finance.yahoo.com
... The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) released its Small-Business Optimism Index for September this morning, with the headline coming in negative for the first time in three months: -2.0 month over month to 98.8.
This is still above the survey average of 98, although the Uncertainty Index shot up +7 points to an even 100 -- the fourth-highest reading in the 52-year average of the index.
Supply Chain concerns, up +10 points month over month, topped the list, followed by Inflation.
A seasonally adjusted +31% of small businesses plan to raise prices in the next three months.
And +32% of jobs have gone unfilled in September, unchanged from the August figure.
This is not considered a major economic print, but it does provide more points on the graph adding up to a more-insecure economy at present. ...
NFIB survey: www.nfib.com
@#6 ... Whatever is in those Epstein files Trump and his minions like Mike Johnson are in such a flop-sweat to keep buried ...
Michael Wolff Says Epstein Showed Him Photos of Trump With Topless Girls at His House (July 2025)
www.thenorthstar.com
... Two topless girls on Trump's lap. One photo with a stain on his pants. Epstein kept these in his safe -- and showed them off. This wasn't just perversion. This was blackmail. ...
Mission - Deliverance (1990)
www.youtube.com
Back in the day, the group was known as Mission UK on college radio. My guess is that there may have been a name conflict with a US group. Similar to Charlatans UK.
In any case...
Lyrics excerpt ...
...
[Verse 1]
Believe in magic believe in lore legend and myth
And the hand that guides in the cunning of hope in the weaving of dreams
And the lady of the lake takes my hand and leads me
To the holy isle and the fairy rings and the circles of stone
Forever and again
[Chorus]
Give me, give me, give me, deliverance
Brother, sister, give me, give me
Deliverance, deliver me
[Verse 2]
Surrender to the wisdom of age and the spirits of time
Remember our souls entwined for eternity
And the healing hand of the fairy queen will come to all who have faith in her
And the apple tree will bear it's fruit in the gardens of Avalon
Forever and again
...
Yeah, imo, they don't write lyrics like that anymore ...
Speaking of before the Internet was available, there was this fun video ...
Faith No More - We Care a Lot (1987)
www.youtube.com
Lyrics excerpt ...
...
[Refrain]
We care a lot
We care a lot
[Verse 1]
(We care a lot) About disasters, fires, floods and killer bees
About the NASA shuttle falling in the sea
(We care a lot) About starvation and the food that Live Aid bought
(We care a lot) About disease, baby, Rock Hudson, rock, yeah
(Whoo)
[Chorus]
(Whoa, whoa)
Oh, it's a dirty job, but someone's gotta do it
Oh, it's a dirty job, but someone's gotta do it
[Refrain]
We care a lot
We care a lot
...
Yeah, they seemed to have fun putting together that video.
More from the article ...