Good afternoon, everyone. I hope your day has been calm and reflective. Today, I’m tracking several major developments, including reports that the Trump administration is threatening grocery stores offering discounts to SNAP-eligible shoppers, and a growing number of Trump voters expressing regret as the shutdown’s real-world consequences deepen. It’s a stunning and deeply revealing moment in American politics.
Meanwhile, Democrats are calling for an FCC investigation into CBS’s 60 Minutes after the network edited out key portions of last night’s Trump interview. The controversy is a powerful reminder of why independent journalism matters now more than ever, because only a free, fearless press can challenge power and uncover what those in authority would rather keep hidden.
I have several major projects in the works that build on this mission, and you’ll be hearing more very soon. Your support makes it possible to keep digging, questioning, and breaking through the noise. Subscribe today, because truth has never faced a greater test.
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With that, here’s what you missed:
As key state elections unfold, President Donald Trump is already fixated on the 2026 midterms, warning Republicans that losing them could undo his administration’s agenda. With gubernatorial races in Virginia and New Jersey and a California redistricting vote serving as an early referendum on his second term, Trump is rallying support while Democrats aim to use voter backlash to curb his influence ahead of the next congressional elections.
Trump voters are now abandoning him. Betty Szretter, a 63-year-old retiree from the Buffalo area and a longtime Trump supporter, said she now regrets voting for him after watching her family struggle during the ongoing government shutdown. Her daughter, Hannah, 26, has Type 1 diabetes and relies on $300 a month in SNAP food assistance to maintain her health — benefits that have been frozen as the shutdown drags into its sixth week.
Betty said she once believed Trump “deep down wants to help the country with things like food insecurity,” but she’s grown disillusioned seeing him host a lavish “Great Gatsby”-themed party at Mar-a-Lago and boast about White House renovations while millions lose access to essential aid. “It all seems very selfish,” she told NBC News, adding that she would now prefer a Democrat in office “to protect benefits he wants to cut.”
The Trump Administration is now threatening grocery stores that give discounts to SNAP eligible Americans.
Following a federal court order, the Trump administration announced it will use $4.65 billion in contingency funds to provide partial Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits in November during the ongoing government shutdown. The move will cover roughly half of eligible households’ benefits, as officials said an additional $4 billion would be required to fully fund the program. The administration rejected using Agriculture Department “Section 32” child nutrition funds, citing the risk of depleting essential resources for school meal programs.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune rejected Donald Trump’s push to eliminate the filibuster amid the sixth week of the government shutdown, as pressure mounts over lapsed SNAP benefits, threatened federal worker health care, and ongoing bipartisan talks to pair a new funding resolution with an extension of Obamacare subsidies.
Hakeem Jeffries, the House Democratic leader, accused Mike Johnson and the Donald Trump administration of running what he called a “pedophile protection program,” alleging that they sought to shield individuals from scrutiny rather than hold them accountable.
As the government shutdown enters its second month, flight delays and cancellations are surging nationwide due to severe staffing shortages among unpaid air traffic controllers and TSA workers. Transportation officials reported that staffing issues caused over 80% of recent delay minutes, forcing airports like Chicago O’Hare, JFK, and Atlanta to slow operations to maintain safety.
President Donald Trump admitted in a recent 60 Minutes interview that he didn’t know much about his own controversial pardon of Binance founder Changpeng Zhao — even saying, “I don’t know who he is.” The revelation came just days after Republicans accused Joe Biden of being disengaged from his own pardons, drawing sharp criticism for hypocrisy.
When asked about the apparent hypocrisy between his criticism of President Biden’s pardons and Donald Trump’s admission that he didn’t know he had pardoned a crypto billionaire convicted of money laundering, House Speaker Mike Johnson brushed off the question, saying, “I don’t know anything about it.”
MaineHealth, a large nonprofit health system in Maine and New Hampshire, mistakenly mailed condolence letters to 531 living patients after a computer system error generated estate-related notifications. The organization said the patients were never marked as deceased in their medical records, has since fixed the issue, and sent apology letters to those affected.
Democrats are preparing for the possible retirement of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who is expected to announce her decision after Tuesday’s elections. At 85, Pelosi — a towering figure in Democratic politics and the first woman to hold the speaker’s gavel — is widely believed to be stepping down after nearly four decades representing San Francisco.
Two Michigan men, Mohmed Ali and Majed Mahmoud, were charged with plotting a Halloween terror attack after the FBI found firearms, tactical gear, and over 1,600 rounds of ammunition linked to plans allegedly inspired by ISIS. According to a 73-page federal complaint, the suspects and a juvenile used encrypted apps to share extremist content, practiced at gun ranges, and may have been scouting club areas near Detroit for an attack before being arrested in late October.
Democrats are calling for an FCC investigation after CBS’s 60 Minutes appeared to omit a key exchange from President Trump’s interview about alleged corruption tied to his family’s crypto empire, raising concerns about potential “news distortion” following Trump’s prior lawsuit and settlement with the network and threats from his FCC chair toward broadcasters.
Six people have died and 25 have been hospitalized in a nationwide listeria outbreak linked to recalled precooked pasta meals sold at major retailers including Trader Joe’s, Walmart, Kroger, and Safeway. The FDA and CDC traced the contamination to pasta supplied by Nate’s Fine Foods, prompting widespread recalls of ready-to-eat dishes such as chicken fettuccine and meatball linguine, as cases spread across 18 states.
Jon Stewart will continue hosting The Daily Show on Mondays through December 2026, covering the 2026 midterm elections as part of an extended deal with Comedy Central. The renewal, announced by parent company Paramount amid major corporate restructuring and challenges in late-night TV, keeps Stewart at the center of the satirical news show he originally led from 1999 to 2015 before returning in 2024.
Stephen Colbert called the cancellation of The Late Show “so surprising and so shocking,” describing it as “the first number one show to ever get cancelled.” In a new GQ interview, the comedian suggested CBS’s decision may have been tied to parent company Paramount’s controversial $16 million settlement with Donald Trump, though executives blamed economic decline; Colbert added he felt some relief about leaving late-night TV but plans to keep creating new work.
The International Criminal Court said it is preserving evidence of possible war crimes by Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces after their capture of El-Fasher, where hundreds were reportedly killed in house-to-house attacks and hospital massacres. The warning comes as famine takes hold in El-Fasher and Kadugli amid Sudan’s two-year civil war, with over 40,000 people killed, 14 million displaced, and 21 million facing severe hunger across the country.
A federal judge granted Sean “Diddy” Combs’ request for an expedited appeals schedule as he begins serving a 50-month prison sentence for two interstate prostitution convictions under the Mann Act. His legal team aims to shorten his sentence, arguing the law was unfairly applied, with appeal briefs due by March 2026 and potential oral arguments set for April.
Israel’s top military lawyer, Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi, was arrested after admitting she leaked footage showing Israeli soldiers allegedly assaulting a Palestinian detainee, sparking a political firestorm. Her detention on charges including fraud and breach of trust has raised alarm about Israel’s rule of law, as right-wing politicians branded her a traitor and praised the accused soldiers.
