Good evening, everyone. Tonight, I need to speak plainly: we are witnessing the creeping normalization of pro-Hitler, racist, and antisemitic rhetoric on the American right. This is not fringe anymore; it’s happening in full view.
Just today, a Republican congressional staffer was caught with a swastika displayed inside his office, and Vice President JD Vance excused leaked “Hitler chats” as mere jokes. Meanwhile, Donald Trump joked that Stephen Miller shouldn’t share his “truest feelings” because even he knows how extreme they are.
This is a serious, dangerous moment. We cannot allow hatred, fascism, and historical denial to become ordinary.
My reporting and commentary on TikTok and other platforms are being actively censored, which is why I need your help to get this truth out. I’m investing more into building this Substack, expanding the team, and protecting independent journalism, but I can’t do it alone.
If you believe this work matters, subscribe and share. Together, we can fight back against the silence and the normalization of hate.
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With that, here’s what you missed:
Vice President JD Vance defended members of Young Republicans caught sharing racist, antisemitic, and homophobic messages in leaked group chats, calling them “edgy, offensive jokes” and saying “kids do stupid things, especially young boys.” Speaking on The Charlie Kirk Show, Vance argued that such behavior shouldn’t “ruin their lives,” contrasting it with Democratic candidate Jay Jones’s posts about political violence, which he called “a thousand times worse.” The remarks follow POLITICO’s exposé of 2,900 pages of chats containing over 250 slurs and praise for Hitler, which prompted widespread backlash and firings.
The U.S. Supreme Court’s conservative majority signaled readiness to narrow Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act in Louisiana v. Callais, a move that could severely limit minority voters’ ability to challenge racially discriminatory redistricting and potentially cost Democrats several House seats ahead of the 2026 midterms.
A federal judge issued a temporary restraining order blocking the Trump administration from laying off federal workers during the ongoing government shutdown, ruling the move illegal and beyond executive authority after unions sued over the planned “reductions in force.”
U.S. Capitol Police launched an investigation after an American flag altered with a swastika was discovered in the Capitol Hill office of Rep. Dave Taylor (R-Ohio); Taylor condemned the “vile” image, saying it does not reflect his or his staff’s values and suggested it may have been an act of vandalism, as the incident followed reports of extremist rhetoric among Young Republican leaders.
During remarks, Donald Trump thanked adviser Stephen Miller, joking that he’d like Miller to “come up and explain his true feelings,” before quipping that “maybe not his truest feelings” would be appropriate.
The U.S. government shutdown entered its third week after a ninth failed Senate vote, with Democrats and Republicans deadlocked over spending and healthcare; Trump’s administration has sustained military pay using redirected funds while facing court blocks on layoffs, as both parties brace for a prolonged standoff.
Indivisible is organizing massive nationwide “No Kings” protests on Oct. 18, expected to now be the largest in modern U.S. history, with millions marching to oppose Trump’s administration and urge stronger Democratic leadership, as tensions rise amid the government shutdown and National Guard deployments.
NBC News laid off about 150 staffers—roughly 7% of its newsroom—and disbanded its dedicated teams for NBC BLK, NBC Asian America, NBC Latino, and NBC OUT, signaling a broader media industry pullback from diversity-focused coverage as the network restructures amid financial pressures and its split from MSNBC.
The Trump administration’s widening military campaign in the Caribbean has included at least one strike targeting Colombian nationals on a suspected drug boat, raising legal and diplomatic concerns; a classified opinion reportedly allows Trump to authorize lethal action against “narcoterrorists” without judicial review, prompting criticism from Democrats and condemnation from Colombia’s president, while the White House defends the strikes as part of its war on cartels.
The Trump administration has secretly authorized the CIA to conduct covert and potentially lethal operations in Venezuela as part of an expanded campaign to oust President Nicolás Maduro, alongside ongoing U.S. military strikes on alleged drug boats in the Caribbean. The classified “presidential finding,” crafted by CIA Director John Ratcliffe and National Security Adviser Marco Rubio, grants the agency broad powers to act unilaterally, marking one of the most aggressive U.S. intelligence moves in Latin America since the Cold War and raising questions over oversight and legal justification.
Democrats are pressuring House Speaker Mike Johnson to swear in Rep.-elect Adelita Grijalva, who won a special election three weeks ago but remains unseated due to the government shutdown; they’ve held protests, threatened legal action, and accused Johnson of political bias and using Arizona’s representation as leverage.
In an excerpt from her forthcoming memoir Nobody’s Girl, Virginia Giuffre recounts being recruited at 16 by Ghislaine Maxwell from Mar-a-Lago and trafficked by Jeffrey Epstein to powerful men, including Prince Andrew — detailing years of abuse, coercion, and exploitation — while condemning a culture that enabled Epstein’s crimes and protected his elite associates even after his death.
The U.S. passport has fallen out of the world’s top 10 for the first time in 20 years, ranking 12th alongside Malaysia, as stricter U.S. immigration policies and reduced visa reciprocity under the Trump administration have weakened American travel freedom amid a broader global shift toward openness by other nations.
A U.S. military plane carrying Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth made an emergency landing in the U.K. after a windshield crack was discovered mid-flight; the Pentagon confirmed everyone, including Hegseth, was safe following his return trip from Brussels.
Subramanyam “Subu” Vedam, a 64-year-old Pennsylvania man recently exonerated after more than 40 years in prison for a wrongful murder conviction, has been detained by ICE and faces deportation to India under a decades-old order tied to his vacated case — a move his lawyers call unjust given he’s lived in the U.S. since infancy as a lawful permanent resident.
Sean “Diddy” Combs, sentenced to 50 months in prison for interstate prostitution convictions, will face five years of supervised release with strict conditions including drug testing, mental health and domestic violence programs, work requirements, weapon bans, and unannounced probation checks after completing his sentence.
OpenAI has been accused by at least seven nonprofit organizations of using broad, intimidating subpoenas to silence critics amid its legal battle with Elon Musk, allegedly seeking private donor and communication records from groups that opposed its shift to a for-profit model or supported AI regulation — actions critics call harassment aimed at chilling dissent.
Donald Trump said Israeli forces could resume military operations in Gaza “as soon as I say the word” if Hamas fails to uphold the ceasefire deal, emphasizing that the U.S.-brokered truce hinges on Hamas returning all hostages and disarming. He touted the release of 20 living hostages as “paramount,” confirmed ongoing U.S. monitoring of alleged Hamas executions, and warned that Israel “will return to those streets” if the agreement collapses.
