The Group of 7, which includes Britain, France and Japan, announced the release of 100 million barrels over four months, effective immediately.
The New York Times
By Lisa Friedman and Rebecca F. Elliott
Oct. 2, 2026
The world’s wealthiest industrial nations agreed on Friday to release diesel from their reserve stockpiles to help ease a growing crisis over record-high prices driven mostly by the war in Iran.
Under the plan, the Group of 7 nations — the United States, France, Italy, Germany, Japan, Britain and Canada — will release 100 million barrels of diesel and crude from their strategic stockpiles over the coming four months. That is equivalent to around one day’s worth of global oil demand. The effort will be coordinated by the International Energy Agency.
Calling the plan “decisive, coordinated measures to stabilize immediate energy supplies” and curb price spikes, the Group of 7 nations said in a statement that they also will make a “substantial” release of diesel within 20 days.
Tell me... as war carries on and on and on, and the reserves are all use dup... then what?
Montano’s Restaurant in Truro has been subject to online threats, harassment, and hoax 911 calls
Boston Herald
By Tim Dunn
September 26, 2026
A popular Cape Cod restaurant has been inundated by online threats and harassment, even a hoax 911 call resulting in a massive emergency response, in retaliation for hosting a fundraiser for two Massachusetts Republican political candidates.
Montano’s Restaurant hosted Republican gubernatorial candidate Mike Minogue and a GOP congressional candidate last week for a fundraising event as the November general election draws closer.
“We’ve been getting all kinds of hate mail, and I mean hate. A lot of responses on social media saying, ‘hope your building burns down,’ and other threats directed at me. It’s ridiculous,” Montano’s owner Ed Medeiros told the Herald over the phone.
“I don’t understand it, these people down here, you know? I tolerate a lot of outbursts at the restaurant from different people and everybody who comes in. My restaurant is welcome to everyone. I don’t discriminate. I don’t do any of that. And for this to [happen], it just shows that it’s (society) become if you don’t share my opinion then you need to go,” he said.
The harassment began almost immediately, with a hoax 911 call being placed just two days later reporting a pregnant woman in labor lost in the woods behind the restaurant. The subsequent law enforcement response saw scores of emergency vehicles and even a Massachusetts State Police helicopter respond to search for the supposed victim.
Besides tying up valuable resources it is also illegal!
Another restaurant felt the fallout from supporting Trump...
The owner of a long-time restaurant in Eastham says his reputation is on the line after attending the President's speech in Washington, D.C. last week. "I've done nothing wrong, I'm guilty of stupidity," said Nate Nickerson, owner of Arnold's Lobster and Clam Bar.
He says he attended the rally at the invitation of a friend and was far back in the crowd, barely able to hear the president's words. But now he's the subject of death threats and threats to boycott his Cape Cod restaurant because he says he's been associated with the rioters. "I've been called a domestic terrorist, Hitler, that I went there to promote civil war," he said.
Harassment is never the answer!
The tip of the Cape is changing... big money is coming... private jets are lined up at P'town airport. And with big-money comes conservatives.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth invited Pastor Doug Wilson to give a sermon at the Pentagon in February as part of Hegseth's monthly Christian worship service.
The pastor's appearance was controversial.
Wilson is a self-described Christian nationalist who wants to repeal a woman's right to vote, has defended slavery and believes homosexuality should be a crime.
His beliefs are extreme, and not long ago they were considered fringe. But today, Wilson's teachings are entering the mainstream, according to religion and history scholars, including Kristin Kobes Du Mez, author of Jesus and John Wayne.
Meanwhile, JD has a few choice words about women...
Another quote being spoken about is from a 2021 interview with Spectrum News, where Vance was asked about his stance on abortion and whether a woman should be forced to carry a pregnancy to full term after she had been a victim of rape or incest.
He said: "I think two wrongs don't make a right. At the end of the day, we're talking about an unborn baby. What kind of society do we want to have? Do we want to have a society that sees unborn babies as inconveniences to be discarded?"
Vance went on: "It's not whether a woman should be forced to bring a child to term, it's whether a child should be allowed to live, even though the circumstances of that child's birth are somehow inconvenient or a problem to the society. The question really, to me, is about the baby."
Then, besides opposing abortion, they are also going after divorce!
After decades of no-fault divorce law, some conservatives want to make it harder to end marriages on the basis of irreconcilable differences. NPR's Ayesha Rascoe talks with Joanna Grossman of Southern Methodist University about the push-back.
AYESHA RASCOE, HOST:
Some conservatives, including high-profile commentators and Republican state lawmakers, have set their sights on ending or restricting no-fault divorce laws. These laws are on the books in all 50 states. No-fault divorce allows anyone who wants to end their marriage to do so without blaming their spouse for doing anything wrong, like adultery or domestic abuse. But critics of no-fault divorce say it undermines the sanctity of marriage and hurts men. We're joined now by Joanna Grossman. She's a law professor who specializes in family law at Southern Methodist University's Dedman School of Law. Professor Grossman, welcome to the program.
When Republicans talk about family values, they mean their values that they want to force upon us. By “family values,” they mean marriage, heterosexual parenting, traditional gender roles, and opposition to things like abortion or easy divorce.
When they say Christian, they don’t mean churches like the United Church of Christ, the Episcopal Church, or Unitarian Universalist congregations; they mean fire-and-brimstone churches.
The former special counsel testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee amid the Justice Department’s pursuit of those involved in investigations into Trump.
NBC News
By Ryan J. Reilly and Justin Goldman
Sept. 29, 2026
Former special counsel Jack Smith told senators Tuesday that he would not be silenced “by continued threats of prosecution” over his handling of the investigation into President Donald Trump.
Smith appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee amid the Justice Department’s push to target law enforcement officials involved with his investigation into Trump’s efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss in the lead-up to the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, as well as the probe into his handling of classified documents after he left office in January 2021.
Smith, who brought two since-dismissed federal criminal cases against Trump, said in his opening statement that he stood by his decision to bring charges against Trump, which was the result of a deep investigation that uncovered substantive evidence.
I feel sorry for Mr. Smith. The Republicans on their vendetta against him is must be costing him, both monetarily and psychological.
This has going way beyond gathering fact to political zingers... The Rolling Stone reported,
MAGA firebrand Eric Schmitt came after Jack Smith during a dramatic Senate hearing on Tuesday, attempting to catch the former special counsel in a lie about his conduct during his high-profile investigations of Donald Trump. Schmitt, however, had his facts completely wrong — not that you’d know it by watching the right wing content mill.
Instead of admitting the mistake, some MAGA tastemakers have doubled down on Schmitt’s completely wrong assertion that Smith was lying about attending an Atlanta Hawks game in early 2024.
Schmitt’s original gaffe has to be seen to be believed. The Missouri senator thought that he had text messages that proved that Smith was in Atlanta on Feb. 3, 2024, which he believed would have indicated that Smith was somehow colluding with Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, who was also investigating Trump. Schmitt’s “proof,” was a series of text messages from Smith’s staff that referenced a basketball game, which Schmitt was certain was the Hawks’ game against the Golden State Warriors. The texts referenced a game, yes, but one that Smith soon realized likely referred to the University of Maryland women’s NCAA game against the University of Iowa that he attended the same day. Sen. Amy Klobuchar delightedly pointed out that Schmitt had probably mistaken the Hawkeyes (Iowa’s mascot) for the Atlanta Hawks.
Despite this pretty conclusive proof that Schmitt was up the creek without a paddle, MAGA media has doubled down. Here’s Schmitt just minutes later, on The Charlie Kirk Show, attempting to launder his reputation with a feeble insistence that he was right all along.
CHARLIE KIRK SHOW: Gotta give you some flowers. Dang! So you had text messages from Jack Smith's team confirming he was going to a Hawks game, and he sat there acting dumbfounded?
ERIC SCHMITT: It was the only NBA game going on at that time in Atlanta. He claimed later that he… pic.twitter.com/IqTIG8YP38
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) September 29, 2026
MAGA commentator Benny Johnson also cast Schmitt’s questioning as a win. He posted an out-of-context clip of the exchange, before it was revealed that Schmitt was wrong. “Senator Eric Schmidt Just CAUGHT Jack Smith perjuring himself on the stand in his testimony,” Johnson wrote, adding that Smith was “stunned.”
If you can dazzle them with truth... baffle them with lies.
Bo French, who is running to lead a state agency, has in the past posted controversial and racist statements online
The Guardian
Ariana Baio
Mon 28 Sep 2026
Bo French, a Texas Republican running to lead a powerful state agency, has a history of making controversial social media posts, including calling for the public execution of Democratic leaders, according to a recent investigation from CNN’s KFile team.
French, who is running to lead Texas’s railroad commission, has recently faced criticism from members of his own party after making a racist post on social media. Powerful Republicans, including the Texas senator John Cornyn, said they would not support French in the upcoming election.
But the latest spat over French’s social media has led to a deeper look at his online history. In a review of old posts from social media accounts that seemingly belonged to French, CNN’s KFile team found that the Texas Republican repeatedly called for public executions of opponents.
This is despicable! And the fact that other Republicans are not calling him on on this is even worst!
French is no stranger to posting controversial statements online.
Over the last year, he has used his platform to assert that the entire religion of Islam should be banned; claim childless women were “selfish” and “responsible for the demise of our culture”; and posted a poll to ask whether “Jews” or “Muslims” posed a bigger threat.
According to CNN/KFile’s investigation, in May 2020 French used an account under the name “rwbofrench”, which has since been suspended, to encourage Donald Trump to “hang” Obama-era officials believed to be part of the “Russia hoax”.
And this is the candidate they are putting forward in the election. In another Guardian article they report that,
The outbursts came repeatedly during Ted Cruz’s Thursday night address at the American Airlines center, when he named a Democrat he accused of holding radical views. After the senator mentioned the New York City mayor, Zohran Mamdani, video footage depicts at least one audience member shouting: “He should be shot!” The same cry followed when Cruz named Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, and again after he named Texas Senate candidate James Talarico. Cruz did not pause or respond to the shouting, and it remains unclear whether he heard it from the stage. Cruz did not respond to a request for comment.
[...]
Asked about the moment on CNN’s The Source With Kaitlan Collins, El-Sayed said such rhetoric had become dangerously normalized and that it should unsettle anyone who heard it. He called on Republicans to name the chant for what it was: incitement that both parties ought to reject, and appealed for a return to a politics centered on people’s basic needs and dignity.
No it is not! It might be in the Republican party, but I haven't heard any Democrats call for executions!
But neither took diseases seriously. Reagan: HIV/AIDS. Trump: Ebola. Ebola is not like COVID; it doesn’t spread like wildfire but more like AIDS... slowly. But it is still highly contagious!
The number of confirmed cases of Ebola virus in Congo has surged past 8,000, as the country runs out of health workers to contain the deadly disease, officials said Monday. The outbreak is the country’s 17th and its deadliest.
Congo announced an outbreak on May 15, caused by the rare Bundibugyo virus, which has no known treatment or vaccine, and has struggled to contain it.
The latest data from Congo’s health ministry released Sunday showed that 8,067 cases have been confirmed, with 3,901 deaths as of Sept. 26 across 63 health zones in seven of the country’s 26 provinces, with a fatality rate of more than 48%.
Do you remember that Reagan delayed funding because it was the “Gay” disease? This time, funding has been cut back across all USAID funding. The thing is, Ebola never sleeps.
Some areas have shown signs of improvement, with fewer confirmed cases in the past several weeks, including in Ituri province and Haut-Uele, but officials say the disease is spreading further in other areas, expanding its geographical reach.
Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), the top Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee, was quoted as saying at the time, “This is not efficiency. It is dangerous neglect. The United States spent years building the relationships, supply chains, laboratories, and community health networks that help stop deadly diseases at their source. The Trump administration tore into that capacity and now wants to pretend the consequences were unforeseeable.”
The Ebola outbreak spreading across the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and into Uganda is now one of the most rapidly escalating in the virus's recorded history. As of May 25, 2026, the CDC reports that the bulk of the devastation is concentrated in the DRC, with 906 suspected cases and 105 confirmed cases," or restructured as "906 suspected and 105 confirmed cases, with 234 deaths
Once a disease gets a toehold the CDC will be putting out one brush fire after another. Even though Ebola doesn't spread easily if a enough Ebola infected people come here it could overload the system.
Last year the Senate Foreign Relations Committee put this out...
“In less than two months, the Trump Administration has undone six decades of investments that made the United States more respected and influential than any other nation. The resulting chaos has left us weaker and more vulnerable. Like all of my colleagues, I have always supported reforming government and making sure our tax dollars are spent wisely. But this administration has ignored U.S. laws enacted by Congress-cutting foreign assistance programs and USAID staff that are essential for our nation
[...]
Top Line Impact of Global Health Cuts
Our 50-country network for stronger surveillance to deadly diseases from bird flu to swine fever [is] gone.
Our emergency response system that cut response times to global outbreaks from greater than two weeks to less than 48 hours [is] gone.
AIDS programs to prevent new cases of HIV in high-risk populations [is] gone
Programs for preventing child and maternal deaths that reached 93 million women and children under 5 in 2023 and added 6 years of life on average [has been] cut 92%.
Lifesaving tuberculosis programs cut [by] 56%.
Lifesaving water and sanitation programs cut[by] 86%.
Funding for GAVI, the global vaccine alliance, which was set to vaccinate half a billion children [was] terminated and, if not restored, will cost 500,000 lives a year and drive higher exposure to measles in the U.S.
It almost seems like if there isn't a buck to be made the Trump adminstration doesn't care about it.
There are certain points in time that take a radical turn—like the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, or the Robber Barons cornering all the wealth right before the anti-trust acts were passed. Once again, the bubble burst, which led to the Great Depression and the creation of Social Security.
What do they all have in common? The concentration of wealth.
Well, once again, we are at a crux. This November is going to be a major turning point, and like all cruxes, it can go either way.
This November, if Trump wins and maintains control of Congress... god help us. It will shape the world for more than a generation, leading right down the road to 1984.
If the Republicans maintain just one chamber... see the above, unless they manage to grow some backbone.
If the Democrats sweep a Blue wave... battle lines are drawn in Congress over the seating of the new members... impeachment... the Speaker becoming president... civil war? It is yet another crux.
“May you live in interesting times.” This November will prove that old blessing/curse true.
How many times have you heard that from candidates this election cycle, promising to bring down your electric bill? But ask them this: “Why aren’t you speaking out against Trump’s blocking of wind and solar power?”
Power demand seen rising 32% by 2030, driven by AI expansion
Federal delays threaten solar and wind projects on public and private lands
Renewable plants are quicker to bring online, but Trump says less reliable
U.S. President Donald Trump's freeze on approvals for major onshore wind and solar projects is leaving thousands of megawatts of clean power capacity in limbo at a time of soaring demand for electricity, a Reuters review of permitting data and interviews with industry officials shows.
Just one solar project has been approved on federal lands since Trump took office in January, and none have been permitted since July when Interior Secretary Doug Burgum ordered that all new decisions related to renewable energy projects require his personal sign-off.
Why aren’t politicians talking about Trump’s blocking of renewables at the behest of coal companies?
Democratic attorneys general from California and New York sued the Trump administration Tuesday over its plans to buy back offshore wind leases as President Donald Trump seeks to discourage the expansion of wind energy in favor of fossil fuels.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta said he is suing over removal of a project off his state’s coast planned by Chicago-based Invenergy. The Trump administration said in June that it’s buying back the company’s U.S. offshore wind leases for four wind projects on the East and West coasts.
New York Attorney General Letitia James, meanwhile, led seven states in suits seeking to block the Invenergy deal and another proposal with Bluepoint Wind, which agreed in April to end a wind farm under development off the New York and New Jersey coast.
The deals would hand energy companies $1.4 billion in taxpayer dollars in exchange for the cancellation of multiple projects. ln all, the Trump administration has pledged nearly $4 billion to companies to walk away from projects across the country.
Why is he doing it? Why is he pushing coal? Last December, at a rally in coal country, he said in a speech…
So we only call coal, clean, beautiful coal. Is that right, fellas, because coal needs a little public relations help. It's a very powerful -- it's a very powerful fuel. It's used by China. You know, China makes all our windmills but they don't have any wind farms. It's a little interesting, isn't it? Wind is the worst.
It's a big -- it's a big -- that's a scam. They ruin your valleys. They ruin your peaks. They -- and the most expensive energy. The only ones that get rich are the developers who make a fortune. You have to change the windmills. And most of them are made in China, but China has very few wind farms. You know why?
Because they're smart. You know what they do have, a lot of coal. They love coal. So that's OK. But we have clean, beautiful coal and we brought it back into vogue. We have nuclear. We have oil and gas. We have sort of everything. We don't want -- we don't approve windmills. We don't approve it. I'm sorry.
Why is he pushing coal? Because the coal industry is a major backer of Republicans.
But now, with oil prices skyrocketing, buying wind and solar contracts is driving up the cost of electricity and you don’t hear candidates addressing it!
There are those who say, “Yeah, but it is only an ad.” I say, no, it is a lot more than a 30-second ad.
The rapid-fire montage of imagery is akin to subliminal advertising!
The dramatic music and intense personal praise have led critics to describe it as unprecedented and akin to state-run media or psychological conditioning.
It is not the fact that taxpayer dollars paid for this, but the fact that it is government-produced propaganda for “Fearless Leader.” I don’t usually use derogatory nicknames, but this fits what he did to a “T.” It is something that you saw with Hitler, Stalin, and Mao Zedong, and something like North Korea now.
A new White House advert about President Donald Trump, which aired on Fox News and features JMSN's Love Me song playing on repeat, has sparked backlash on social media
Irish Star
Scarlett O'Toole and Chiara Fiorillo
25 Sep 2026
Donald Trump has faced ridicule on social media following the launch of a new White House advert about him.
The 30-second spot, broadcast as a paid commercial during Fox News breaks with a disclaimer noting it is funded by the US government, showcases multiple images of the president, 80, set to JMSN's song Love Me. In the footage, Trump can be heard saying, "Together, we will defeat communism, socialism and Marxism in America. America will never be a communist country."
The White House on Friday defended its decision to use taxpayer funds to buy airtime on Fox News for a White House-produced, pro-Trump ad that some Democrats said could be illegal government propaganda aimed at influencing voters in the upcoming midterm elections.
Naw… Trump would never do that. Would he?
By contrast, the 30-second version of the pro-Trump ad broadcast on Fox News this week uses audio of Trump telling supporters in Las Vegas last month: “Together we will defeat communism, socialism and Marxism in America,” and a rapid-fire montage of images of Trump beneath the onscreen text: “America will never be a communist country,” as a chorus sings the words “love me”, taken from a song of that name by JMSN. In the original speech, Trump explicitly identified the enemy as “Dumocrat communists in Congress”.
The last 10 seconds of the ad include text at the bottom the screen saying: “Paid for by the US government.”
This is something out of the novel 1984 and Big Brother—glorifying Trump, complete with a repeating chant of "Love me" like some subliminal message. Can you imagine if it was Stalin's picture up there with flags waving in the background what people would have thought? We saw these films in the 1930s. We saw them for the Ayatollah, and now we are seeing them for Trump!
The White House, in response to CBS News' inquiries about the pro-Trump ad, denied it was a political ad and called it a "public service announcement."
"These public service announcements are about reminding Americans to love their country and understand what makes it worth defending, at home, at our borders, and abroad," a White House spokesperson said. "The ad is educational and unapologetically patriotic. We should be proud of our country."
A White House official said the PSAs "are clearly not political," and noted, "The President is not on the ballot and the ads don't have a call to action."
In another letter to Wiles, the top Democratic appropriators in the House and Senate demanded that the ad be immediately pulled from air, saying it was a violation of federal law.
"This is the sort of government propaganda one might expect in North Korea, not the United States of America, and it is an egregious and illegal misuse of Americans' hard-earned tax dollars," Sen. Patty Murray of Washington, Sen. Jack Reed of Rhode Island, Rep. Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut and Rep. Steny Hoyer of Maryland wrote.
The only thing missing in the ad was the apple pie!
Add to this Trump wanting his banners all over D.C., the desire to build the ballroom and the arch, and his name on the Lincoln Center. And now this!
No, it is not the cost I object to, but the ad itself. It should never have been made.
“This is the final battle,” Donald Trump could be heard saying in one of the taxpayer-funded television ads that aired ahead of the November elections and elicited scrutiny across political parties for potential violations of federal law.
The 30-second ad is a black-and-white video of Trump walking down a hall over audio of his warnings against “the deep state,” “warmongers,” “globalists,” “Marxists,” “communists,” and “fascists.” Trump posted the same video on his Truth Social platform in 2023, but with one difference: Then, the monochromatic ad ended with words on screen calling on the viewer to join Trump’s campaign and fine print saying it was “Paid for by Donald J. Trump for President 2024, Inc.” This time, the 2026 ad says at the bottom: “Paid for by the U.S. Government.”
[...]
Some lawmakers, including from his own Republican Party, are raising concerns with Trump and the White House over the advertisements. Asked about the ads by CBS News on Sunday, Senator John Kennedy of Louisiana said: “I don’t think any public official, including President Trump or Kristi Noem or John Kennedy, should spend public money on private ads for themselves.” (Kennedy was referring to former Homeland Security Secretary Noem, who came under fire for spending $220 million on an advertising campaign for border security.)
When asked about the “Love Me” ad, Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina said that the use of taxpayer money was reminiscent of the far-right former Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. “It’s inappropriate,” Tillis told reporters.
Republican former Florida congressman Matt Gaetz summed up a large portion of the GOP’s midterm message this week when he responded to a man who said he was voting Democratic for the first time ever.
“I hate the war too,” Gaetz told the man on X. “But the Democrats want to trans your kids.”
The trans issue seemed to be a potent one in the 2024 election — President Donald Trump’s team cut an effective ad that professed Democratic nominee Kamala Harris was “for they/them. President Trump is for you.” But a new CNN poll this week suggests that playbook won’t be as effective this time.
“Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me.”
And that seems to be the case for several other red-meat GOP issues, as well. Republicans have well-established topics that voters favor them on — and that they’ve sought to focus on. But, right now, polls show those aren’t voters’ top priorities.
And in a Pew Research poll they found... that when .asked what single issue they most wanted congressional candidates to talk about, 29% named the economy, 7% immigration, 5% health care, and 9% government ethics/reform. We didn't even make the list of responses.
“Smoke and mirrors.”
“Pay attention to what they don’t want you looking at.”
The voters are not hearing what they want to hear: how are they going to fix the economy?
Then Trump says, “Vote like I’m on the ballot!”
I'll tell you, that probably turned off a lot of voters, and many Republicans are trying to step away from Trump.
There's a rare thing happening inside President Trump's Republican Party: dissent.
The president has long insisted on loyalty, but in recent weeks, a growing number of Republican candidates and elected officials have distanced themselves from core pieces of his agenda: from calling for an end to the U.S. war with Iran and relief from high prices, to criticizing his handling of key agenda issues like immigration.
It comes at a critical moment for the GOP. With less than 40 days until voting ends, the party is scrambling to hold onto a slim majority in Congress, where control of both the Senate and House of Representatives could come down to just a handful of toss-up races.
Trump's presence in the midterms looms large. He has repeatedly told voters to vote like he is on the ballot, despite facing historically low approval ratings. That could backfire, according to the latest NPR/PBS News/Marist poll, which finds that a plurality of registered voters, 45%, and a majority of independents, view their vote as a vote against Trump.
“When the same distraction keeps appearing, start asking what it’s distracting you from.”
On Tuesday, Utah Republican Sen. John Curtis, who isn't up for reelection until 2030, released a letter urging the Senate Judiciary Committee to investigate the president's son, Donald Trump Jr., after ProPublica reported that a Russian oligarch financed large portions of a lavish party to celebrate his wedding.
My worry is what he will if he feels that he's losing... Will he do something with ICE? The National Guard? What will a caged animal do?
The U.S. Army Reserve is examining whether it can provide the military's Southern Command with police forces, medical personnel and other support units within the next four months, according to an internal Army message reviewed by CBS News.
Though the message makes no reference to Cuba, the request is for continued military planning aimed at Cuba, according to multiple U.S. officials who spoke to CBS News under condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.
There is no indication in the document that any units have received deployment orders. But the planning comes as the Trump administration puts intense economic pressure on Cuba and urges the island nation to make political reforms.
He made the promise even more directly during an August 2024 rally speech in the swing state of Pennsylvania, saying: “Under Trump, we will have no more wars, no more disruptions, and we will have prosperity and peace for all.”
by Andrea Suozzo and Agnel Philip September 9, 2026
Reporting Highlights
Increase in Deaths: ProPublica’s analysis of CDC data found that almost 200 women died after an ectopic pregnancy from 2020 to 2025, compared with about 100 in the previous six years.
Delays in Care: Abortion bans make exceptions for ectopic pregnancies, but getting a definitive diagnosis can mean waiting days or even weeks, while the risk of rupture and death rises.
Federal Inaction: There’s been no public response to the increase in deaths. The Department of Health and Human Services has drastically cut maternal health staffers and grant funding.
The number of women who died after an ectopic pregnancy has spiked in recent years, a ProPublica analysis found. The mounting deaths in Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data have drawn little scrutiny or response.
Of course, there has been no response from the HHS & CDC; that would be admitting to the deaths.
To treat an ectopic pregnancy, which is almost never viable, doctors must terminate it. But lawsuits and federal complaints have alleged that some medical providers are hesitating or flat-out refusing to do that in states where they face criminal penalties for performing an abortion. Patients described their terror.
“I genuinely thought I was going to die,” said Kyleigh Thurman, whose right fallopian tube ruptured after she struggled to get ectopic care in Texas in 2023.
“There were a few times I asked my husband if I was going to die,” Leitaea Lowrimore of Oklahoma said in a lawsuit after being denied treatment for an ectopic pregnancy at multiple hospitals in February. “I kept thinking about our kids.”
At times like those, doctors shouldn't have to consult lawyers! The American Journal of Managed Care (AJMC) wrote:
Mississippi, Texas, Nevada, and Oklahoma are among the poorest-performing states overall for women’s health care access, quality, and outcomes, while Massachusetts, Vermont, and Rhode Island rank at the top, according to a new state-by-state scorecard. The scorecard examining women's health was released today by the Commonwealth Fund and revealed disparities in women’s health and reproductive care across the United States.1
The findings raise concerns over the state of women’s health care in the US and the ripple effects of the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision to overturn Roe v Wade, which has significantly altered access to critical reproductive health care services.
“The US Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v Wade in June 2022 has significantly altered both access to reproductive health care services and how providers are able to treat pregnancy complications in the 21 states that ban or restrict abortion access," the report stated.
[...]
Using the latest available data, the results demonstrate significant disparities between states in reproductive care and women’s health, as well as deepening racial and ethnic gaps in health outcomes, with stark inequities in avoidable deaths and access to essential health services. The findings suggest these gaps could widen further, especially for women of color and those with low incomes in states with restricted access to comprehensive reproductive health care.
Doctors are afraid! When they need to make life-or-death decisions, they don't need the state second-guessing them! When politicians make medical decisions, people die.
The increased number of state-level abortion restrictions in the U.S. was associated with a parallel increase in maternal deaths between 2005 and 2023, according to new research presented today at the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine (SMFM) 2026 Pregnancy Meeting™. Researchers found that states with five or more different abortion restrictions had higher rates of maternal deaths from any cause, cardiovascular disease, and violence than those states with fewer restrictions.
“Abortion is a medically safe procedure, and restricting access to it has real consequences,” said Marie C. Anderson, MD, a resident in the Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians & Surgeons in New York City, who led the study.
“Our research adds to a growing body of literature confirming the profound negative impact these restrictions are having on maternal health in this country,” said co-researcher Lisa M. Nathan, MD, Chief of Obstetrics at Columbia University Irving Medical Center.
But death doesn't mean anything to Republicans as they kowtow to Christian nationalists! A report by the American Journal of Public Health (AJPH) said:
Results. Among the 14 states with abortion bans, there was some evidence of a potential 9.2% (95% credible interval [CI] = −1.6, 20.7) increase in the number of pregnancy-associated deaths above expectation, equivalent to 68 (95% CI = −13, 147) excess deaths; the rate was also higher than expected, with 3.3 (95% CI = −2.6, 9.0) additional deaths per 100 000 live births. Relative changes in pregnancy-related mortality were similar in magnitude but had greater uncertainty. There was no detectable increase in maternal mortality.
Conclusions. Abortion bans may be associated with an increase in pregnancy-associated and pregnancy-related mortality, although data limitations and chance variation in these rare outcomes constrain the certainty of these and other findings. (Am J Public Health. 2026;116(6):819–828. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2026.308465)
And even if these anti-abortion laws are repealed, the damage they have done will take years to repair. Clinician.com writes;
Abortion Bans Lead Physicians, Nurses to Avoid Certain States August 1, 2023
Medical students, residents, and practicing OB/GYNs are saying they do not want to train and practice in states with extreme abortion bans, including Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, Tennessee, Oklahoma, and others. The authors of a recent study found that four in five physicians and trainees preferred to avoid working in states with abortion bans.1
“Our main findings were that among a very large sample of physicians and trainees on social media — over 2,000 — more than 80% preferred to avoid training and practicing in a state with an abortion ban,” says Vineet Arora, MD, MAPP, study co-author and a professor of medicine and dean for medical education in the department of medicine at the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine.
The preference was consistent regardless of specialty. Physicians said they wanted to improve access to care for patients but also cited personal family health reasons for their preference for states with safe and legal abortion care, Arora notes.
They are creating OB/GYN deserts that will take years to heal, and they know it. They read the same reports, they know what is happening, but they just don't care... period. They want the votes from their evangelical Christian base.
Stop and think for a moment. Now you are a medical student who is looking for a place of residency—are you going to go to a hospital in a state that bans abortions and fail to get a complete education?
The same is true after graduation... would you want to practice in a state where you can get arrested because of treatment for an ectopic pregnancy?
Don't you think that Republicans know all this? They put votes above women's lives.
If they were really "pro-life," they wouldn't reduce spending for WIC, SNAP, school meals, and Head Start. If they were really "pro-life," they would support programs like those instead of reducing their funding!
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on Wednesday cited a U.S. Supreme Court opinion, written last year by conservative Justice Brett Kavanaugh, to defend immigration agents who stopped and questioned an American citizen in Illinois because he looked like their target.
In its reasoning, the department said it had been "vindicated" for its practices through the Supreme Court opinion, which said U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents could stop an individual based on reasonable suspicion. Critics have argued that this allows agents to racially profile individuals as potential undocumented immigrants, leading to conflicts between federal agents and U.S. citizens.
[...]
"To be clear, apparent ethnicity alone cannot furnish reasonable suspicion; under this Court's case law regarding immigration stops, however, it can be a 'relevant factor' when considered along with other salient factors," Kavanaugh wrote.
Welcome to Trump's world... a mixture of The Handmaid's Tale, 1984, and Brave New World! We are moving toward a society where citizens are eyed with automatic suspicion and forced to justify their presence evokes the exact kind of dystopian surveillance and erosion of rights as in those novels. "Your papers please!"
Plan to save families $2,000-plus hinges on fiscal good fortune, healthcare cuts
CT Mirror
by Keith M. Phaneuf
September 22, 2026
Republican gubernatorial candidate Ryan Fazio swung big Tuesday, unveiling an plan to cut income taxes that he insists would return $2,000 to $2,500 annually to middle-class families by 2031.
But Fazio’s plan is based partly on outdated spending and revenue trends, leaving it unprepared to maintain hundreds of millions of dollars in new investments in municipal aid, affordable childcare and social services.
The relief plan, which he pitched during a midday stop in downtown Stratford, also would end state-sponsored healthcare for undocumented adults and children, impose a controversial “managed care” system to cap Medicaid assistance, and levy fees on private universities with major endowments. It also hinges on Connecticut winning a tax battle in court with neighboring states.
I don't know about you, but I don't like cutting healthcare for the undocumented. So where are they going to get their healthcare? The Emergency Room, the most expensive treatment. And how are they going to pay? They're not, so that will drive up the price for all of us.
“All of this is just based on a house of cards,” Afriyie said, adding the childcare investment is “something that’s going to pay big dividends in the future and shouldn’t be imperiled.”
So he wants to shift the burden onto lower-income people and off of the rich... a typical Republican... "Me" first. No thanks.
The White House on Monday launched Trump TV, a 24/7 stream on YouTube, days after President Trump banned reporters from CNN, Politico and MS NOW over their coverage of him and his administration.
The inaugural video was a stream of Trump speaking at Mount Rushmore on July 3 as part of a livestream titled “Trump TV: The Essentials Station.” The stream started at 7 p.m.
“Watch the Trump Administration’s biggest moments all in one place,” read the stream’s description on YouTube. “Top videos, major remarks, and must-see highlights streaming 24/7 and updated in real time. Stay informed and stay up to date!”
What a narcissist dream!
California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) slammed Trump TV’s rollout in the wake of his ban on White House reporters from CNN, Politico and MS NOW.
“First, Trump banned independent news from the White House,” Newsom wrote on X. “Now, he’s launching what is quite literally state-run TV to try drowning out the fact that he and his corrupt administration are failing the American people. This is truly autocratic behavior from a failed President.”
Trump banned reporters from the three outlets on Friday as a result of what he claimed was “their constant ‘reporting’ FAKE NEWS!” He told reporters in the Oval Office that there was no particular reason for the timing of the ban, rather that it was “really just cumulative stories over the last two years.”
“You get sick of it,” he added.
24/7 propaganda!
How many of you read "1984"?
Do you remember the constant presence and voice of Big Brother—while simultaneously watching and listening to everything the citizens do? This is also where the famous two-minute hate sessions take place. Everywhere you looked there was the image of Trump... oops, I meant "Big Brother."
The Hill article ends with...
“An America cannot have state TV,” Jiang said. “That’s what makes America America … because you need independent actors to be able to be the observers. And if the government is only showing you what it wants, then you have to question: What are we missing?”
Here we go again! Outrageous accusations to grab headlines and rally their base... see we are doing something but it is the "liberal" courts that strike us down!
The Trump administration announced Thursday that it is investigating allegations that Northborough-Southborough school officials facilitated a student’s “social” gender transition without the consent or knowledge of the teen’s parents.
The student’s parents, Joseph and Arlene Kutzko, claim their child, a former Algonquin Regional High School student, attended after-school counseling sessions supporting a gender transition, according to the Department of Education (DOE). The Kutzkos were not informed of the sessions and were under the impression the student, who is a minor, was receiving extra schooling for a math class.
The Kutzkos also claim that school staff began using a male name and pronouns to refer to the student without the parents’ knowledge, federal officials said.
The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education advises schools to refer to students by their chosen gender identity, and to make a plan with the student regarding when and how to inform their parents of the student’s gender identity. This policy has also been supported by federal courts.
But not by Trump & Company.
One question is when is a child old enough to make decisions on their own? Another is when is a child old enough to reject their parent's religion?
The US Department of Education is investigating a school district in Massachusetts after the district allegedly enabled a child’s gender transition without notifying her parents.
“Today, the US Department of Education’s (the Department’s) Student Privacy Policy Office (SPPO) launched an investigation into The Public Schools of Northborough and Southborough in Massachusetts to determine whether the school district violated the Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment (PPRA) and the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) after reports that school officials allegedly facilitated the ‘gender transition’ of a minor student without parents’ knowledge or consent,” said a September 17 press release from the Department of Education.
“Parents have a right to know what is happening with their children at school, particularly when it concerns deeply personal matters involving their health and wellbeing,” said Frank Miller, Director of the Student Privacy Policy Office, in the press release.
Open and shut case according to them... right? Well lets jump back to the MassLive article.
At the beginning of last year, DCF removed the student from their parents’ home, WBUR reported. On Tuesday, Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey told reporters at an unrelated event that DCF removed the child from their parents’ home after criminal charges were filed against the Kutzkos. Healey declined to comment on whether DCF was helping the child transition genders.
Federal officials said the school district’s actions may violate FERPA, a federal law that requires parent access and limited control over their children’s school records. Federal investigators are also investigating whether the district violated a federal law known as PPRA, which requires schools to obtain written consent from parents before looking into the student or their family regarding sensitive subjects, including mental health and sex behaviors and attitudes.
So to throw a monkey wrench into the mix... the parents are not the guardians of the child.
In January 2025, Joseph Kutzko was charged after prosecutors say he punched his then-15-year-old child in the shoulder, pulled his child’s hair and threatened to kill his child “for not singing in tune during a birthday celebration,” according to court records. He was arrested and pleaded not guilty in Westborough District Court.
Arlene Kutzko was charged with witness intimidation after prosecutors say she pressured her child to “tell the school that she was exaggerating and being stupid” the same month, according to court records.
In December 2025, a judge dismissed the charges against Joseph Kutzko under conditions, including that he attend an anger management class, stay away from his child and abide by a restraining order, court records indicate. Arlene Kutzko’s case was also dismissed after she agreed to stay away from her child and abide by a restraining order. The conditions for both parents expire in December.
We don't know if it was "Beat the gay" out of the child or not, but whatever the reason the fed seem to have a very weak case.
At a campaign rally in Olathe, Kansas, on Monday, what did the Vice President speak about?
The war? No...
The soaring price of home heating oil? No...
The skyrocketing national debt? No...
The cost of food? No...
So what did he speak about? Well, Roll Call said he said at the campaign rally;
Adam Hamilton sent his church's donations to sessions with titles, and I'm quoting here, "kink, consent and communication," whatever the hell that means. To sessions whose titles, those are some of the good ones. There are, there are titles that I could not even repeat on this stage or my lovely wife back home would kill me. [Laughter]But maybe worst of all, by sponsoring this festival, Adam Hamilton proudly supported a drag group called Our Ladies of Perpetual Indulgence, which you may remember was the devil worshiping group that was saying special blessings before LA Dodgers games and insulting Christian and every Christian in this room in the process.
JD Vance 00:28:00-00:28:33 (33 sec)
No Signal (0.988)
We gotta be clear about what this group is. This is an anti-Christian hate group. Its whole purpose is to mock the Christian religion. It mocks nuns. It insults the crops. It desecrates the Eucharist and thinks every person of faith in the United States of America is a joke. So let's review. Democrat Pastor Adam Hamilton thinks it's a sin to be white and a sin to raise cattle and eat meat, but he's okay with supporting groups that spit on God-fearing Americans and mock everything that we hold dear.
JD Vance 00:28:33-00:29:11 (38 sec)
Medium (1.641)
Ladies and gentlemen, that is not Christianity. That is left-wing radicalism dressed in the skin suit of our religion. Let's send it packing in November. But more than that, it is the kind of hatred that we rejected in 2024, hatred that asks to split our country up by race, by gender, that tries to separate neighbor against neighbor based on their skin color, based on their background, based on their ethnicity.
The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence. (That is their real name.) Who?
How many of you have heard of them? They are part of our history! During the time when Reagan was demonizing us over HIV/AIDS as a "gay disease." And, as usual, the Republicans lie! They lie to stir up anger! The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence is a nonprofit, 501(c)(3) registered organization that raises funds and provides support for people and communities affected by HIV/AIDS, among other causes.
But the VP doesn't say that. Instead, he calls them a "drag" group.
Since our first appearance in San Francisco on Easter Sunday, 1979, the Sisters have devoted ourselves to community service, ministry and outreach to those on the edges, and to promoting human rights, respect for diversity and spiritual enlightenment. We use humor and irreverent wit to expose the forces of bigotry, complacency, and guilt that chain the human spirit.
Instead of talking about the topics the voters want to hear about, he talks about something no one knows about so he can lie, stir up anger against the LGBTQ+ community, and avoid talking about how he is going to end the war.
The vice president misnamed the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, distorted the group’s work, and twisted Democratic Senate candidate Adam Hamilton’s sermons at a campaign rally.
Christopher Wiggins
Sep 16, 2026
Vice President JD Vance reached for satanic panic Monday while campaigning in Kansas, falsely describing the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence as devil worshipers and mangling the group’s name in the process.
Vance appeared at a MAGA Inc.-organized rally at Webco Manufacturing in Olathe to support Republican U.S. Sen. Roger Marshall, who faces the Rev. Adam Hamilton, a prominent United Methodist pastor and Democrat, in November. State Senate President Ty Masterson, the Republican nominee for governor, also attended, according to the Kansas Reflector.
Vance attacked Hamilton because Resurrection, the church Hamilton founded, was among dozens of sponsors of Kansas City PrideFest.
These people know what the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence really are; a fundraiser for those living with AIDS. But instead, they lie.
"If he was talking about the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, our name isn’t the only thing the vice president got wrong," Roma said. "I do not recognize or accept his inflammatory misrepresentation of who we are and what we do. The Sisters are a global human rights fundraising organization. We do not mock nuns, we are nuns. You will find Sisters around the world serving meals to the hungry, providing warmth and comfort to the unhoused, or counseling the most marginalized and often ostracized members of society. From our early work as pioneers in HIV/AIDS education and prevention, to our continued ministry of service and compassion, the Sisters are committed to upholding our vows to expiate stigmatic guilt and promulgate universal joy."
They lie for votes. They lie to rally anger in their base to vote. They don't care about anyone who gets hurt in the process. It is all about power.
To prove someone’s biological sex, law enforcement official sees DNA tests as unpractical, and inspecting people’s naked bodies as unlikely
Idaho Capital Sun
By Kyle Pfannenstiel
July 13, 2026
As parts of Idaho’s criminal transgender bathroom ban are now in effect, how far will law enforcement officers have to go to enforce the new law?
What if officers don’t believe a person’s gender markers on IDs?
Will they inspect people’s naked bodies to prove their biological sex? Do they need a warrant for that?
Will they use DNA testing to prove someone’s sex? At what point in an investigation under the law will that testing take place?
These questions echo concerns that high-ranking law enforcement officials shared with state lawmakers on the bill, which some said would be difficult to enforce and might require invasive methods. Now, more than a week into the law taking effect, some are confronting the realities of how they’d handle reports of the law being broken.
So this Pink News popped up on Facebook yesterday...
Idaho officials have told a federal judge that they can use DNA testing to enforce strict trans bathroom laws in the state.
In Idaho, transgender people are required by law to use public bathrooms and changing facilities of the sex they were assigned at birth.
[...]
According to the Idaho Capital Sun, US District Judge Amanda Brailsford asked officials how they could expect to enforce the bathroom law when many trans people now carry ID that corresponds with their correct gender.
Idaho Solicitor General Michael Zarian then told the judge that it shouldn’t be too difficult “because there is DNA testing.”
Okay, let that sink in... do they mean that each and every person going to the bathroom will be tested? Or just the women who do not look feminine enough for the gender police?
Olson [Lambda Legal attorney] expanded on the pitfalls of the new law while speaking to reporters after the hearing. “If I just go to a restaurant with my family and want to wash my hands before dinner, this law comes into play. Now I have to stop and decide, do I – if this law is in effect – do I go into the restroom that is illegal now, the men’s room?” he asked.
“Or do I walk into the women’s room and take all of the risk that that now comes with, whether that’s assault or harassment, or someone calling the police, because now it looks like I’m violating the law?”
These Republicans have their anger focus so tightly on trans that they don't even think of trans men! Back in August in Kansas a bunch of trans men show how absurd these laws are.
The group of trans men use women’s bathrooms in publicly owned facilities, which is required by Kansas law, to highlight what they say are flaws in the bathroom bill.
Kansas Public Radio
By Zach Boblitt
August 20, 2026
A group of transgender men are highlighting the confusion caused by a new Kansas law that requires them to use the women’s restroom in publicly owned facilities.
The transgender men have gathered at locations across Kansas to do a sort of protest by complying with the law. They use the women's bathroom — the restroom of their assigned biological sex at birth.
The SB244 Compliance Crew — named after the bathroom ban bill that became law earlier this year — went to a library in Emporia, a swimming pool in Garden City and water parks in Dodge City and Great Bend.
The gender police is out there enforcing the "Gender Norms" beware!
We know the position of the governor but the Republican candidate is an unknown… so lets look at his voting record and statement.
He has a problem with using your electric bill to fund assistance for low-income households and wants to remove that charge, but he hasn’t said what he would replace that funding with.
Abortions… mainly, he follows the national Republican position. According to CT Mirror, in 2022 Fazio voted no on Connecticut’s Reproductive Freedom Defense Act. That law expanded protections for abortion access and protected patients and providers from certain legal actions originating in states with restrictive abortion laws. Fazio has said he supports keeping abortion legal under Connecticut law, while also supporting the ability of states to set their own abortion laws, but he voted against expanding. CT protections.
Immigration… mainly, he follows the national Republican position. Fazio supports greater cooperation between Connecticut law enforcement and ICE and has opposed Connecticut laws that limit that cooperation. However, in this year’s session he voted against legislation that established schools, hospitals, courthouses, and places of worship as protected areas where ICE generally could not make an arrest without a judicial warrant.
Now for us… trans rights and healthcare.
First the good news he has publicly opposed homophobic/transphobic harassment and he vote for the bill consolidated the discrimination statutes. But that is where the “good news” ends. He mainly followed National on our rights. He opposes trans athletes. He playing our healthcare for young adults close to his vest, but why? Why does he not want to go on record, what is he afraid of?
And it is funny he is all for parent’s rights until it comes to our healthcare and then he thinks it is okay for government to step between us and our doctors.
So for Connecticut if you like Trump… you will probably like Fazio.
Police in Turkey have detained 47 people in a series of raids on gay bars and the homes of LGBTQ+ activists, officials say.
Raids took place in 12 provinces over the weekend as part of a campaign dubbed "My Family is Safe" that the Turkish government says has been designed to protect family values.
One of the targets of the operation was LGBTQ+ association Kaos GL.
[...]
Officers detained 26 people and seized drugs, digital equipment, smuggled alcohol and a firearm during the raids, according to the Istanbul chief prosecutor's office.
In a separate statement, the Ankara chief prosecutor's office said another 21 people had been detained as part of an investigation into Kaos GL.
The organisation said 50 activists had been detained, more than 10 taken after police raids on their homes.
It said that authorities had blocked several websites and social media accounts linked to LGBTQ+ organisations.
Justice Minister Akin Gurlek said in a social media post on Sunday that prosecutors had launched an investigation into 162 suspects, nine associations and 13 businesses to “protect children, the institution of the family, and public order”.
Turkish authorities targeted current and former members of multiple LGBTQ rights and HIV awareness groups. The organisations’ websites were blocked days before the police raids.
Gurlek said the “My Family is Safe” operations on Sunday aligned with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s 10-year “Decade of Family and Population” executive order, which aims to combat Turkiye’s falling birthrate.
The scary part is I can foresee Trump doing something like because of Executive Orders.
“The real name of this operation is not ‘My Family is Safe’; it is state-led discrimination, politics of fear and the dismantling of civil society,” the Turkish Human Rights Association said on X.
The European Parliament’s rapporteur on Turkiye, Nacho Sanchez Amor, condemned the detentions as “a shocking escalation in the repression” in the country.
Last September in a National Security Memorandums and Executive Orders it directed federal law enforcement to target political violence, explicitly framing "extremism on gender" and support for progressive social causes alongside phrases branding opponents as "domestic terrorists" So it makes you wonder if Trump would do something like this?
