Good afternoon, everyone. This afternoon, I’m turning our focus to Chicago — because while much of the media remains silent, what’s happening there demands our full attention. ICE has effectively militarized the streets of an American city. Agents are reportedly making fake 911 calls to divert local police, deploying chemical agents, and using military-grade equipment against U.S. citizens. And yet, the White House insists that President Trump is not seeking to take control of American cities with the military.
At a time when truth itself is under siege, we need media that refuses to be intimidated, journalism that stands firm, speaks plainly, and does not flinch in the face of power. I will never be afraid to tell the truth. I will not look away. I will not be silent.
If you believe in fearless, independent reporting in telling the truth no matter how inconvenient, then I ask you to subscribe and support this work. Because what’s happening today in Chicago is proof of exactly why it’s needed.
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With that, here’s what you missed:
Illinois has filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration over its plan to deploy National Guard troops to Chicago, escalating a growing legal and political battle as tensions rise over federal militarization and aggressive immigration enforcement in the city.
Karoline Leavitt criticized Trump-appointed Judge Karin Immergut as “untethered in reality” after the judge blocked the Trump administration from sending National Guard troops to Oregon, defending the deployment as necessary to protect law enforcement and federal facilities from violent protests.
Federal immigration agents in Chicago have escalated tactics — using helicopters, chemical agents, and mass detentions that included children and U.S. citizens — prompting outrage from officials and civil rights groups who call the operations “military-style” raids violating constitutional rights.
Karoline Leavitt criticized Politico Playbook for portraying President Trump as trying to “take over American cities with the military,” rejecting that framing of his deployment plans. (That’s exactly what is happening though)
Broadview Police Chief Thomas Mills accused ICE agents of making false 911 calls that waste local resources and said his department is investigating multiple incidents at the Broadview detention center, including agents allegedly assaulting journalists and firing a pepper ball at a CBS News reporter’s vehicle.
A top federal prosecutor in Virginia, Elizabeth Yusi, is resisting pressure from President Trump to charge New York Attorney General Letitia James with mortgage fraud, saying there is no probable cause, as concerns grow over Trump’s politicization of the Justice Department.
The White House warns that if Democrats don’t agree to reopen the government tonight, federal workers will miss their next paychecks.
Sean Duffy warns that if the shutdown persists into next Sunday, U.S. air traffic control safety will begin to be affected.
The U.S. Supreme Court has rejected Ghislaine Maxwell’s appeal of her sex-trafficking conviction, leaving intact her 20-year sentence for recruiting and grooming teenage girls abused by Jeffrey Epstein — a decision that closes one of the final legal avenues in the high-profile case.
Paramount Skydance has acquired Bari Weiss’s The Free Press and named her editor-in-chief of CBS News, marking a major shake-up in the network’s leadership as Weiss vows to bring “fearless, independent journalism” and broaden CBS’s ideological range under the newly merged media giant.
A massive fire destroyed the South Carolina beachfront home of Judge Diane Goodstein, who had recently received death threats; investigators are probing whether the explosion-related blaze was accidental or arson, as fears grow over rising politically motivated violence against U.S. judges.
Chapter 7 individual bankruptcies rose by 15 percent in the first nine months of 2025.
Ten migrants deported from the U.S. arrived in Eswatini under a secretive Trump administration deal sending migrants to African nations — part of a program condemned by rights groups for detaining deportees, including non-Africans, in harsh conditions without due process.
AMD has signed a multi-year AI chip supply deal with OpenAI worth tens of billions annually, giving the ChatGPT maker the option to buy up to 10% of AMD — a landmark partnership set to challenge Nvidia’s dominance and reshape the AI hardware landscape starting in 2026.
Mattel unveiled a one-of-a-kind Barbie modeled after U.S. rugby Olympian Ilona Maher, featuring a new muscular body sculpt to “reflect the build of many strong athletes,” as part of its Team Barbie launch ahead of International Day of the Girl on Oct. 11, 2025.
A 2-year-old Georgia boy was killed by two Rottweilers after being left unattended at an unlicensed daycare in Valdosta, where the owner, Stacy Wheeler Cobb, said she was napping; Cobb has been charged with second-degree murder and child cruelty.
Scholars accused the Christian legal group Alliance Defending Freedom of “profoundly misrepresenting” their research in a U.S. Supreme Court case seeking to overturn Colorado’s ban on conversion therapy, warning the misused citations could endanger LGBTQ+ youth and undermine state protections nationwide.
Former NFL quarterback and Fox Sports analyst Mark Sanchez was charged with felony battery after a violent altercation in Indianapolis with a 69-year-old truck driver who stabbed him during a dispute; prosecutors say the driver suffered severe injuries, and Sanchez could face up to six years in prison if convicted.
Marineland in Niagara Falls threatened to euthanize 30 beluga whales unless Canada provides funding or reverses its block on exporting them to a Chinese theme park, after the fisheries minister halted the transfer to prevent further captivity and Ontario’s premier vowed to intervene to protect the whales.
See you in the morning.
— Aaron
