Friday, October 24, 2025

October 24, 2025

Good morning,

Welcome to the news for independent thinkers

Leading the News . . .

Mafiosos and NBA stars used rigged card shufflers, X-ray tables and secret contact lenses in poker scam . . . NYC mafiosos and NBA stars used a combination of high-tech contraptions and old-school gambling tricks to swindle hapless high-rollers out of $7 million in a sprawling backroom poker scheme, prosecutors alleged in an explosive indictment Thursday. The years-long con depended on "advanced wireless technologies," the indictment read, along with a network of operators monitoring games remotely and communicating with handlers planted inside the room. New York Post

Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups, Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier and former NBA player Damon Jones are among those indicted.

Kash Patel warns illegal gambling sting is 'just the start' in nationwide takedown

NBA Player Tipped Off Gamblers That He'd Leave Game Early With 'Supposed Injury,' Feds Say . . . NBA point guard Terry Rozier tipped off gamblers that he would take himself out of a game early in March of 2023 so they could place bets on him to underperform the betting lines, according to a DOJ indictment unsealed on Thursday. The feds allege that on March 23, 2023, Rozier informed co-defendant Deniro Laster that he would remove himself from a game against the New Orleans Pelicans in the first quarter over a "supposed injury." Daily Wire

Politics

Trump ally touts new grand jury possibly targeting Obama, Biden officials . . . Top Trump administration officials from multiple agencies are taking steps behind the scenes toward further exposing what they say was a far-reaching scheme to weaponize the government against President Donald Trump, as one of his top allies hints the evidence could soon come together before a grand jury in Florida. Federal prosecutors in South Florida are quietly preparing a new grand jury that could set the stage for criminal charges against former Obama- and Biden-era officials accused of orchestrating an alleged yearslong conspiracy to undermine Trump during his first presidency and after his 2020 election defeat. Washington Examiner

Letitia James to be arraigned in Virginia on federal bank fraud charges tied to 2020 home purchase

New Report Exposes Billions in Funding for the 'Homeless Industrial Complex' . . . Americans spend billions of dollars to combat homelessness, through donations and taxpayer funding, but the "Homeless Industrial Complex" uses this money for political activism that actually demonizes the policies more likely to solve the crisis, according to a new report. "Fringe groups in the Homeless Industrial Complex like to characterize homelessness as a symptom of societal injustices, such as systemic racism, police violence, or capitalism," said Scott Walter, president of the Capital Research Center. The Daily Signal

Shutdown Will Disrupt Air Travel, Transportation Chief Warns . . . Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy delivered a stern message at the Capitol on Thursday: The federal government shutdown is already putting a strain on air traffic controllers, and the problem will only get worse until the government reopens. "Next Tuesday is the first paycheck that [air traffic controllers] will not receive for the work that they did in October," Duffy said at a House Republican leadership news conference. Democrats in the Senate have repeatedly voted against a short-term funding extension to reopen the government. The Daily Signal

The East Wing of the White House is gone . . . Wrecking crews had completely removed the decades-old annex by midday Thursday, just three days after they started, to make way for a pet project of President Donald Trump: a 90,000-square-foot ballroom. The teardown, which The Washington Post first reported Monday, prompted a massive backlash from historic preservationists and Democrats, who accused Trump of destroying a national landmark and doing so under a cloak of secrecy. Washington Post

Steve Bannon says plan will be revealed for Trump to remain president beyond 2028 . . . Steve Bannon revealed that 'there's a plan' in place to allow Donald Trump to stay in the White House past the next presidential election in 2028. When questioned about Constitutional law, Bannon reassured the interviewers that there were ways around it. 'There's many different alternatives. At the appropriate time, we'll lay out what the plan is, but there's a plan.' Bannon is certain that the president will win re-election in 2028 no matter who the Democrats run. 'He's gonna get a third term.' Daily Mail

If it doesn't work, Bannon will run himself.

Culture

A Harvard Dean Defended Death Threats Against Trump. The University Has Said Nothing. . . . Harvard University won't say whether it will sanction a dean who defended "rioting and looting" as legitimate "parts of democracy," described "whiteness" as a "self-destructive ideology," and said it was acceptable to wish death on President Donald Trump. The dean, Gregory Davis, is the resident dean of Harvard's Dunster House, where he serves as "the main liaison for students needing extra help achieving their academic and wellness goals." Washington Free Beacon

Media Outlet close to Dearborn Preacher Calls on Muslims to Celebrate and Repeat Charlie Kirk Assassination . . . A media shop affiliated with a radical preacher in Dearborn, Mich., recently published a 39-minute video celebrating Charlie Kirk's assassination as a "praiseworthy action" that Muslims across the United States should celebrate and repeat. "The Fate of Charlie Kirk: The Insulter of the Messenger [Prophet Muhammad] and His Ruling According to Islam" was published on Oct. 10 by the English-language media outlet Project Guiding Light, a radical content mill affiliated with "pro-Islamic State" preacher Ahmad Musa Jibril. Washington Free Beacon

National Security

China's New Strategy for Trump: Punch Hard, Concede Little . . . Xi Jinping has thrown out China's traditional diplomatic playbook and tailored a new one specifically for Trump, said people close to Chinese policymakers, who describe Xi as appearing confident and emboldened. The new strategy, these people said, embraces Trump's self-image as a master dealmaker, offering concessions on high-visibility issues he personally cares about, such as the fate of popular video-sharing app TikTok. But when the Trump administration hits China, Xi has decided to hit back even harder, in a bid to gain leverage over Trump while projecting strength and unpredictability. Wall Street Journal

Trump and Xi will meet Thursday in South Korea. Trump leaves today for a trip to Asia.

B-1 Bombers Buzz Venezuela As Trump Floats 'Land' Strikes Against Drug Cartels . . . The U.S. flew Air Force B-1 bombers near Venezuela on Thursday, stepping up pressure on President Nicolás Maduro only days after other American warplanes carried out an "attack demonstration" near the South American country. Two B-1 Lancers took off from Dyess Air Force Base in Texas on Thursday and flew near Venezuela, though they remained in international airspace, according to a U.S. official and flight tracking data. Wall Street Journal

International

Islamic State Rises Again in Syria, Filling a Void Left by the US . . . a decentralized mobile insurgency, is exploiting a reduced American presence and the collapse of Bashar al-Assad's regime in Syria to enlist new recruits and widen its reach, said U.S. and Kurdish military commanders. The group is freshly equipped after raiding arms depots late last year after rebels took Damascus and the regime's army and its Iranian allies fled. It isn't able to hold territory, but it is contributing to a sense of lawlessness that's adding to the stress on the new state. Wall Street Journal

Cuba's Growing Private Sector Exposes the Failure of Socialism . . . Many outside observers still don't realize Cuba even has a private sector. The regime downplays it, terrified of what it represents: economic independence, self-reliance, and dignity. Yet since 2021, more than 10,000 small and medium-sized enterprises (MIPYMES) have been officially registered, according to the Cuba Study Group. These are not "oligarchs" or "elites." They are everyday Cubans who have decided to hacer de tripas corazones—to turn scarcity into strength and survival into freedom. Daily Signal

Money

US inflation stays elevated but prices rose less than feared last month . . . U.S. inflation remained elevated last month as gas prices jumped while the cost of rents and some services cooled, painting a mixed picture of the expenses consumers are facing in a murky economy where growth appears steady but hiring slow. Consumer prices increased 3% in September from a year earlier, the Labor Department said Friday, the highest since January and up from 2.9% in August. Excluding the volatile food and energy categories, core prices also rose 3%, down from 3.1% in the previous month. Associated Press

Trump Says He Is Terminating Trade Negotiations With Canada . . . President Trump said late Thursday he was terminating trade negotiations with Canada, pointing to a television advertisement sponsored by the Ontario government that features the voice of Ronald Reagan as he speaks negatively about tariffs."Based on their egregious behavior, ALL TRADE NEGOTIATIONS WITH CANADA ARE HEREBY TERMINATED," Trump wrote on social media shortly before 11 p.m. The president claimed that Canada "fraudulently used an advertisement, which is FAKE, featuring Ronald Reagan speaking negatively about Tariffs." Wall Street Journal

Gosh, it's like Canada is a separate country or something.

Coca-Cola to Sell Cane Sugar Coke After Trump Said 'It's Just Better' . . . Coca-Cola will be selling soda pop made with cane sugar in the United States as the food industry moves to take part in President Donald Trump's efforts to Make America Healthy Again. A company spokesperson told the New York Post that starting this fall, the brand will be selling "a new 12-oz single-serve glass bottle in select U.S. markets, offering consumers a classic and timeless way to enjoy their Coca-Cola Original Taste made with U.S. cane sugar," the outlet said Wednesday. Breitbart

Guilty Pleasures

'What The Heck Is Making Them All Jump?': Wild Monkeys Fly Into Water At Florida State Park In Crazy Scene . . . A woman's TikTok video is going viral after she posted footage that's leaving many people like, "Wait, there's monkeys in Florida?" During a recent trip to the Sunshine State, while visiting Silver Springs State Park in Ocala, she was paddling in a kayak when all of a sudden wild monkeys started jumping all over the place into the water. During the scene, one monkey even landed close to her kayak. Daily Caller