Tuesday, September 30, 2025

September 30, 2025

Good morning,

Welcome to the news for independent thinkers

Leading the News . . .

Centrists give up hope to prevent shutdown as Trump talks fizzle . . . Centrist senators are giving up hope of avoiding a government shutdown this week after a contentious meeting between President Trump and congressional leaders Monday failed to make progress on a short-term funding bill. One Democratic senator who requested anonymity said it's now highly unlikely that Trump and congressional leaders will reach any preliminary agreement to allow a funding bill to pass by Tuesday's deadline. The source said both GOP and Democratic leaders appear to be itching for a shutdown and feeling confident they'll score political points with their parties' bases. The Hill

Republicans Slam Dems for Taking 'Federal Government as a Hostage' as Shutdown Looms

Democrats Who Voted Against Funding Government Are Now Suddenly Hysterical About Shutdown

Politics

Trump unveils 20-point Gaza cease-fire plan, warns Israel will 'finish the job' if Hamas objects . . . President Trump formally unveiled a 20-point peace plan Monday calling for an international peacekeeping force in the Gaza Strip and a post-Hamas transitional government overseen by a "Board of Peace" — that Trump himself would lead as chairman. Trump, 79, announced the plan alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House and said it could bring "eternal peace in the Middle East" — with eight Muslim-majority countries and the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority quickly joining Israel in embracing the blueprint. New York Post

Legal Showdown in Oregon as Dems Try to Block National Guard . . . Oregon sued Monday to stop the Trump administration from using the National Guard in the city of Portland to quell unrest that has targeted facilities run by U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Oregon Democrat Attorney General Dan Rayfield asked the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon for a temporary restraining order to block the implementation of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's Sept. 28 memo that federalizes and deploys 200 members of the Oregon National Guard to Portland. The Hegseth memo said the troops would be deployed for 60 days. Daily Signal

Lisa Murkowski speaks out after Comey indictment . . . . "The Department of Justice has long been insulated from presidential administrations to protect public trust in the rule of law," Murkowski said in a post on the social platform X. "But that independence is called into question when overt political pressure from the White House leads to unusual personnel changes and criminal charges filed just days after the President calls for them." The Hill

Culture

9 Violent Attacks on Churches in 2025 . . . The horrific shooting and arson at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Grand Blanc Township, Michigan, on Sunday marks one in a horrifying list of attacks on churches in 2025. The violence, coming shortly after a church shooting in Minneapolis and the assassination of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk, exposes a trend of violence against Americans of faith, particularly Christians. Daily Signal

Politico Reporter Who Said She Cried Over Trump's Election Now Covers His Presidency . . . As a master's student at Northwestern University's esteemed journalism school in 2020, Cheyanne Daniels revealed that she cried when President Donald Trump was elected four years earlier because she knew "horrible things were to come." She now covers the Trump presidency for Politico. Daniels joined the outlet as a breaking news reporter in May following a three-year stint as a "race and politics reporter" for The Hill, where she covered both the 2024 election and stories like, "John Boyega: 'Star Wars' 'most whitest, elite space,'" Washington Free Beacon

Photos of Bad Bunny in Mini Skirt, High Hills Go Viral After Super Bowl Halftime Show Announcement . . . Photos of the NFL's newly chosen half-time performer, Bad Bunny, have resurfaced featuring the Trump-hating rapper wearing a pink mini skirt and high heels. The Puerto Rican rapper, whose real name is Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, was chosen to headline the Super Bowl show next year despite having said he would never perform in the U.S. again because he disagrees with President Donald Trump's immigration policies. Breitbart

Ladies and gentlemen, your NFL halftime performer . . .

Why didn't they choose Good Bunny?

Don't worry, the Eagles are ready to return and play their little hearts out anyway . . .

Please note, this is a fake photo!

National Security

China's cyberattacks, electronic espionage subverting U.S. and its allies, report says . . . . China's aggressive and technically advanced cyberattacks, electronic espionage and information operations are strategic weapons targeting the United States, according to a major study by an intelligence contractor made public Monday. The United States must urgently confront these operations through modernizing cyber defenses and countering Beijing's targeting of infrastructure and use of deception and diplomacy in information and influence activities, the report by Booz Allen Hamilton, Inc., warns. Washington Times

US to deport hundreds of Iranians after reaching agreement with Tehran . . . Iranian officials told the New York Times that the country's foreign ministry was making necessary and appropriate arrangements for those returning. Government officials assured the safety of the deportees and that they would not suffer any consequences for leaving Iran, according to reports. "One hundred and twenty people should be deported and flown home over the next couple of days," Hossein Noushabadi, director general for parliamentary and consular affairs at the foreign ministry, told Tasnim news agency. Washington Examiner

Man arrested by Secret Service after 'scaling White House fence'

International

'5 Alarm Fire': Charlie Kirk Warned Bibi Of PR Crisis In Letter, Said He Had 'Deep Love' For Israel . . . Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk warned Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of a growing wave of anti-Israel and antisemitic sentiment in the United States, adding that advocating for Israel was one of his "greatest joys" in life. Kirk's final letter to Netanyahu expressed frustration over what Kirk saw as a massive failing by Israel to fight for its own interests in the public square. Kirk urged the prime minister to consider a "communications reset" and build an approach to public relations modeled off the Trump administration's. Daily Wire

Three dead, dozens trapped after Indonesian school collapses on students . . . Rescuers are racing to pull dozens of students and workers from under the rubble of a school building that collapsed in East Java, Indonesia. Three people have been killed and 99 others hospitalised, some of them with critical injuries, officials said Tuesday, adding that the death toll may rise. At least 38 others, many of them teenage boys remain trapped under the Al Khoziny Islamic Boarding School in the East Java town of Sidoarjo. They had gathered for prayers when the building gave way on Monday. BBC

Money

YouTube to Pay $24.5 Million to Settle Lawsuit Brought by Trump . . . YouTube has agreed to pay $24.5 million to settle a 2021 lawsuit that President Trump brought against the company and its chief executive over its suspension of Trump's account after that year's riot at the U.S. Capitol, according to court papers. Trump's share of the settlement—$22 million—will go to the nonprofit Trust for the National Mall, earmarked for the construction of a Mar-a-Lago-style ballroom Trump is building at the White House, according to the court documents. The White House has said the ballroom, expected to cost $200 million, would be funded by donations from Trump and "other patriot donors." Wall Street Journal

Why General Motors Boss Mary Barra Is Slamming the Brakes on Lofty EV Ambitions . . . Her ambitious quest to command new markets and save the Earth has since stalled. GM has gone from one of the industry's loudest EV champions to a leading opponent of government emissions rules and fuel-economy standards that for decades fueled the consumer market for cleaner, more fuel-efficient vehicles. Many car companies, faced with softening EV sales and a Trump administration hostile to green-energy initiatives, have called for looser regulations. None has backtracked as quickly and dramatically as GM. Wall Street Journal

Guilty Pleasures

Man Who Shares Name With Babe Ruth Made Business of Impersonated Baseball Legends . . . A Tennessee man with the same name as New York Yankees legend Babe Ruth is facing charges alleging that he used the names of hundreds of dead or retired pro baseball players to make phony claims for payouts in class action settlements. George Herman Ruth is charged with 91 counts in the indictment handed down in U.S. District Court in Greeneville, Tennessee, late last week. The 69-year-old from Morristown is charged with mail fraud, aggravated identity theft, fraudulent use of Social Security numbers, money laundering, making false statements to his probation officer. Associated Press

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