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October 14, 2025
Shutdown
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| VIA Annie |
James Downie, MSNBC - Since the House passed a short-term funding on Sept. 19, Johnson and House Republican leadership have kept their members out of Washington. Johnson and his leadership team insist that, by passing the funding bill, it’s up to Senate Democrats to end the shutdown. In addition, keeping the House out of session means Democratic Rep.-elect Adelita Grijalva can’t be sworn in. And until she’s sworn in, Grijalva can’t be the 218th signature on a discharge petition forcing a vote over the release of the government’s files on deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
But as MSNBC’s Mychael Schnell reported last week, a growing number of GOP representatives are criticizing the strategy — ranging from Marjorie Taylor Greene to less conservative members like Rep. Kevin Kiley, R-Calif. This dissent is particularly noteworthy in a caucus that has consistently stayed in lockstep with both leadership and (especially) President Trump. More
Polls
Newsweek - A recent poll by the Public Religion Research Institute, of 5,772 adults in all 50 states, found that a quarter believed that God ordained Trump to be the winner of the 2024 election, with 60 percent of white evangelical Protestants holding that view, and 45 percent of Hispanic Protestants.
Those identified as Christian nationalism adherents or sympathizers on PRRI’s own scale – based on participants’ responses to questions linking Christianity with what it means to be American – backed Trump by a large majority, 80 percent. Nearly the same percentage of people who said they believed in the QAnon conspiracy, 81 percent, said they voted for Trump.
Conversely, a majority of Black Protestant voters (83 percent), 72 percent of unaffiliated voters, 67 percent from non-Christian religions, and 62 percent of Jews all backed Kamala Harris.
The Mirror - A new poll conducted by YouGov and the Economist shows that Donald Trump's approval rating has plummeted to 41% - and that's lower than Trump's own pick for 'worst president in history.' Donald Trump has previously referred to Joe Biden as the 'worst president in history' in a number of speeches, but the YouGov/Economist poll shows that Biden was actually at a higher rating than Trump at this point in his presidency.
Zogby Strategies - A new poll by John Zogby Strategies shows President Donald Trump’s overall approval rating at 44%, with 51% disapproving—a slight drop from his August approval-disapproval rating of 46% and 52%.
Jeffrey Epstein
People - Fresh evidence of the closeness between Prince Andrew and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has emerged in a newly-revealed email which purportedly shows Andrew telling him, "We are in this together."
The alleged email, citing Andrew's "concern," was sent a day after the infamous picture of the prince with his arm around Virginia Giuffre was published in 2011.
The picture was initially published by The Mail on Sunday in the U.K. in February of that year. The following day, on Feb. 28, Andrew reportedly wrote, "I'm just as concerned for you! Don't worry about me! It would seem we are in this together and will have to rise above it.”
Queen Elizabeth's second son added, “Otherwise, keep in close touch, and we'll play some more soon!!!!"
Supreme Court rejects Alex Jones' appeal
NBC News - The Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected conservative conspiracy theorist Alex Jones' last-ditch attempt to block an almost $1.5 billion defamation judgment he faces over false claims that the 2012 Sandy Hook school shooting was a hoax. The court without comment turned away Jones' appeal of a state court ruling...
In December 2012, a gunman killed 20 first-grade children and six adults at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut.
Voting in 2024
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- Among states, Minnesota had the highest voter turnout: 75.9%. It was
followed by Oregon (75.3%), Virginia (72.9%), and New Jersey (72.5%).
Washington, DC, had a higher rate than any state: 79.5%. Arkansas had
the lowest, with a rate of 52.8%.
- Twenty-nine percent of voters voted by mail, while 30.7% voted early in-person. That’s nearly 60% of voters. Another 39.6% of voters went to the polls on Election Day.
- Early and mail-in voting was up 10 percentage points from 2022, but down nine from 2020, when states expanded early in-person and mail-in options during the pandemic.
New Mexico providing free child care
The Guardian- For four years, New Mexico has been on a distressing losing streak. The state has consistently ranked last in the nation for child wellbeing, as determined by factors including household income, educational outcomes, and child mortality. And over the past decade, whenever New Mexico hasn’t placed 50th, it’s been 49th.
But in its ongoing efforts to shake off that unenviable distinction, the state is poised to achieve a significant first. In September, governor Michelle Lujan Grisham – who made affordable childcare a centerpiece of her 2018 campaign – announced that New Mexico will offer free universal childcare. No other state in the US currently provides this essential service.
The program is projected to save families an average of $13,000 each year. That’s a windfall almost anywhere, but it’s a particularly life-changing sum in a state that has, by one measure, the highest child poverty rate in the nation. And New Mexico may offer a model for other jurisdictions seeking to strengthen the social safety net, particularly as the Trump administration does its level best to shred it.
Childcare for a single infant is now more expensive than public college tuition in 38 states, and each year, the price of daycare pushes 134,000 families below the poverty line. In New Mexico, childcare can cost over a third of the median single parent’s income. The resulting financial toll has nationwide consequences: according to one study, the inadequate childcare system costs the economy $122bn each year. Meanwhile, the personal toll disproportionately falls on mothers. Amid sky-high daycare prices and return-to-office policies, workforce participation among women with young children is declining, threatening their career development and future earnings.
Best and worst energy efficient states
WalletHub today released its report on 2025’s Most & Least Energy-Efficient States,,,
To gauge the financial impact of doing more with less energy — the
average American household spends at least $2,000 per year on utilities
and another $3,120 on motor fuel and oil — WalletHub compared the auto-
and home-energy efficiency in 48 U.S. states. Due to data limitations,
Alaska and Hawaii were excluded from our analysis.
| Most Energy-Efficient States | Least Energy-Efficient States |
| 1. Vermont | 39. Missouri |
| 2. California | 40. Kentucky |
| 3. Washington | 41. Georgia |
| 4. New York | 42. Wyoming |
| 5. Massachusetts | 43. Tennessee |
| 6. Colorado | 44. Arkansas |
| 7. Utah | 45. Mississippi |
| 8. Oregon | 46. Alabama |
| 9. Minnesota | 47. West Virginia |
| 10. Nevada | 48. South Carolina |
To view the full report and your state’s ranking
Best states for raising children
SmileHub - To highlight the best states for children and the ones that need to improve the most, SmileHub compared each of the 50 states based on 27 key metrics. The data set ranges from the number of children’s charities per capita to the child food-insecurity rate to the child well-being index ranking.
Most Supportive States |
States in Need of Improvement |
| 1. Massachusetts | 41. Florida |
| 2. Minnesota | 42. Arkansas |
| 3. New Hampshire | 43. Alabama |
| 4. Utah | 44. Mississippi |
| 5. Rhode Island | 45. Louisiana |
| 6. Virginia | 46. Arizona |
| 7. North Dakota | 47. Oklahoma |
| 8. Vermont | 48. Alaska |
| 9. Connecticut | 49. New Mexico |
| 10. Iowa | 50. Nevada |
Key Stats
- Alaska has the most family medicine physicians per capita – 18.6 times more than Kansas, which has the fewest family medicine physicians.
- California has the most children’s charities per capita – 12.6 times more than Rhode Island, which has the fewest charities.
- Vermont has the smallest student-to-teacher ratio – 2.2 times smaller than Arizona, which has the largest ratio.
Politics
NBC - The New Jersey governor's race is one of the first major tests of President Donald Trump's ability to turn out his voters when he is not on the ballot. New Jersey is one of only two states with governor’s races this year, and New Jersey Republican Jack Ciattarelli is the only candidate for governor with Trump's endorsement.
Republicans have struggled to turn out the president's supporters in off-year and midterm elections, including in a number of special elections so far in 2025. And these voters could be key to Ciattarelli's path to victory.
Politics reporter Bridget Bowman looked at Ciattarelli’s "Make NJ Great Again" campaign and examined how embracing Trump could potentially give the candidate a boost.
Pet care costs
NPR - If you have a pet, odds are you have felt the increased cost of pet care. The Indicator from Planet Money talks with Veterinarian Adam Hechko about why prices are soaring. Here’s what he had to say:
🐶 The cost of operating a veterinary practice has increased with
things like medication, partly due to tariffs. Hechko says the cost of a
box of exam gloves is more than twice what it was a year or so ago.
🐶 For many practices, the cost of labor exceeds 50% of overall operating costs, because wages for these careers have to rise over time.
🐶 People are willing to spend more money on pet care. Hechko says this noticeable shift in the culture of pet ownership relates to pandemic lockdowns. Some people’s only social interactions or source of companionship during that time were their pets. Hechko believes that's why more people are willing to pay more for the best care to keep their pet healthy.
🐶 For many practices, the cost of labor exceeds 50% of overall operating costs, because wages for these careers have to rise over time.
🐶 People are willing to spend more money on pet care. Hechko says this noticeable shift in the culture of pet ownership relates to pandemic lockdowns. Some people’s only social interactions or source of companionship during that time were their pets. Hechko believes that's why more people are willing to pay more for the best care to keep their pet healthy.
Listen to what else Hechko has to say about the cost of pet care, or read the transcript from the interview. This week, the series will cover the rising cost of health care. Stay up-to-date on the latest stories here.
ICE
NPR - Federal immigration officers have been seen in countless videos using increasingly aggressive tactics while detaining immigrants. A majority of Americans say they disapprove of the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement tactics, according to a recent survey from The New York Times and Siena University.
🎧 Ed Yohnka with the ACLU of Illinois tells NPR’s Meg Anderson that officers are dragging people out of vehicles and roughly
taking people who are just walking on the street. Yohnka and other
observers say federal agents have tear-gassed people and shot them with
pepper balls while targeting immigrants, protesters and journalists.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement says its officers are acting
according to law and policy. Gil Kerlikowske, the former commissioner of
U.S. Customs and Border Protection, tells Anderson that immigration
officers are not prepared to police an urban environment, and good policing in cities is about getting the public to trust you.
Gaza
| NPR - Israel released nearly 2,000 prisoners yesterday as part of the initial phase of a ceasefire agreement with Hamas. Hamas also freed the last 20 surviving Israeli hostages. Some of the Palestinians who returned to Gaza were journalists, doctors and first responders who were taken from hospitals and off the streets by soldiers. NPR’s Aya Batrawy tells Up First that some of the returned Palestinians showed signs of torture on their bodies and severe malnutrition, and some struggled to walk. |
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Right to protest is under sustained attack in the west, report finds
The Guardian - The right to protest has come under sustained attack in the west, according to a report highlighting the growing criminalisation of pro-Palestinian demonstrations.
The study by the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) pays particular attention to the UK, the US, France and Germany, where it says governments have “weaponised” counter-terrorism legislation as well as the fight against antisemitism to suppress dissent and support for Palestinian rights in Gaza and the occupied West Bank.
Letitia James
The Guardian - New York attorney-general Letitia James struck a defiant tone Monday during her first public appearance since being indicted on federal fraud charges related to her purchase of a home in Virginia.
The Democrat took the stage to thunderous and sustained applause and chants of “We love Tish” during a boisterous rally for New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani in the city’s Washington Heights neighborhood, AP reported.
James warned of “powerful voices trying to silence truth and punish dissent” and “weaponize justice for political gain,” though she stopped short of naming president Donald Trump, who had pushed for months for justice department officials to bring charges against her.
“We are witnessing the fraying of our democracy, the erosion of our system of government,” James said. “This, my friends, is a defining moment in our history.”
She called on supporters to protect “every norm and every rule of law” as she vowed she “will not capitulate.”
“You come for me, you got to come though all of us!,” James roared, to loud cheers. “Every single one of us!”
A federal grand jury indicted Letitia James, the New York attorney general, last week for bank fraud and making false statements. Two charges were brought against James, who had brought a civil fraud case against the Trump Organization in 2022 that Trump claimed was a malicious prosecution.
Media response to Trump suppression
The Washington Post - The Washington Post joined the New York Times, CNN and the Atlantic in refusing to sign the Defense Department’s restrictive new press policy, citing First Amendment concerns.
‘Dismal’ health of world’s forests is threat to humanity, report warns
The Guardian - Global forest health has plunged to “dismal” levels and threatens the wellbeing of humanity, warns a damning report that highlights how financial systems are pouring money into land clearance and undermining efforts to reduce destruction.
Since 2021 when world leaders and corporate executives promised to halt deforestation, the new study found that forest loss has increased, driven by subsidies for livestock, monocrops, logging and other extractive industries.
Last year, 8.1m hectares (20m acres) of forest – an area roughly half the size of England – were burned, pulled or cut down, which was higher than the loss at the time of Cop26 in Glasgow, when the target of zero deforestation by 2030 was signed.
The world is now 63% off track to reach that goal, according to the latest Forest Declaration Assessment, which is compiled each year by a coalition of civil society and research organisations.
Newsom signs bill restricting chtbot for kids
Newsweek - Governor Gavin Newsom of California signed Senate Bill 243 into law on Monday, establishing the first statewide legislation designed to safeguard children in their interactions with artificial intelligence-powered chatbots.
“Emerging technology like chatbots and social media can inspire, educate, and connect – but without real guardrails, technology can also exploit, mislead, and endanger our kids,” Newsom said in a statement. “We’ve seen some truly horrific and tragic examples of young people harmed by unregulated tech, and we won’t stand by while companies continue without necessary limits and accountability.”
October 13, 2025
Money
The 400 richest Americans are now worth a record $6.6 trillion.
The entire bottom 50% of America is worth just $4.2 trillion. - Robert Reich
Housing
Newsweek - Roughly one in six Americans (17 percent) are delaying a major purchase like buying a home or a car because of the ongoing government shutdown, according to a new survey commissioned by Redfin.
More than 1,000 U.S. residents were asked by global market research company Ipsos how the Senate stalemate between Democrats and Republicans was affecting their behavior, including meeting major life milestones.
Trump regime
The Guadian - Smithsonian museums and the National Zoo closed their doors on Sunday in response to the ongoing government shutdown. In a statement over the weekend, the Washington DC-based Smithsonian Institution announced that it was temporarily closing its museums, research centers and its zoo due to the government shutdown which has now entered the third week.
NPR - President Trump’s recent Pentagon DEI directive has resulted in the erasure of some Native American war heroes' legacies from military history records. Although some previously removed photos and stories have been restored, this three-part series by KJZZ’s Gabriel Pietrorazio focuses on the impact of the administration's actions on the families and descendants of Arizona icons Ira Hayes, Lori Piestewa, and the Navajo Code Talkers.
Shortlyists - The Trump Administration announced an unspecified number of layoffs for federal employees, which the Office of Management and Budget called ‘substantial.’ President Trump had threatened to begin mass layoffs if the U.S. government shutdown continued, and he now appears to be following through.
The American Federation of Government Employees and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees sued the Trump administration on Sept. 30 over the president's repeated threats of layoffs. The suit argues firing workers during the shutdown is an abuse of power that strips federal employees of back-pay rights and violates agencies’ statutory duties. The outcome of the lawsuits is still pending.
Polls
Newsweek - An analysis of recent polling produced “bad results” for Donald Trump according to polling guru Nate Silver, who put the president’s net approval rating at -8.4...
The most recent polling average, published on October 12, found 43.9 percent of Americans approved of Trump’s performance as president while 52.3 percent disapproved, giving him a net result of -8.4.
Silver’s polling average also found Trump had a negative approval rating on four key policy areas, though there was considerable variation between them. On immigration, Trump has a net rating of -4.7 percentage points, for the economy it was -15.3, for trade it was -16 and -27.7 was recorded for inflation.
The Contrarian - A strong majority of Americans do not approve of deploying military troops at home. “Some 58% of Americans—including seven in 10 Democrats and half of Republicans—think the president should send armed troops only to face external threats,” according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll. Trump’s overall approval has dropped to 40%. Only 37% say the national guard should be deployed despite the governor’s objection.
Disapproval of his military deployment domestically has substantial increased from an NPR/Ipsos poll last month that found a significant plurality (47-37) opposed deploying guardsmen to cities, and a majority opposed deploying them to their own city (52-34).
Moreover, the deployments may be feeding the perception that Trump is abusing his power. The Pew Research Institute last week reported, “Overall, 49% of U.S. adults say Trump is trying to exercise more presidential power than previous presidents and that this is bad for the country.” Only 21% say he merely is exercising as much power as his predecessors.
Middle East
Joe Conason, National Memo - For reasons best known to the negotiators... the most important clauses were reserved for last – perhaps because they depend on the implementation of the prior clauses, perhaps because they were resisted by Israel until the very end. Set down in print, they make an indisputable departure from the hard-right positions of the Trump administration and the Netanyahu government.
The existence of a Palestinian state has long been anathema not just to Trump and Netanyahu but to the Republican right in Washington. Last month, Republican members of Congress sent a mesage to our allies in Europe and Canada scolding them for recognizing a nascent Palestine. Like Trump, who deleted the GOP's traditional platform plank supporting a two-state solution, they were content to undercut the Palestinians and allow Israel free reign everywhere from Jerusalem and the West Bank to the Golan Heights.
The stark difference between then and now is stated firmly in clauses 19 and 20 of the Trump deal, which make a promise that the world will have to redeem:
“19. While Gaza re-development advances and when the PA reform program is faithfully carried out, the conditions may finally be in place for a credible pathway to Palestinian self-determination and statehood, which we recognise as the aspiration of the Palestinian people.
“20. The United States will establish a dialogue between Israel and the Palestinians to agree on a political horizon for peaceful and prosperous co-existence.”
All the parties to this deal face a long and demanding path toward those worthy goals, and their sincerity will be tested repeatedly along the way. There can be little doubt that Netanyahu and perhaps Trump too will attempt to stall and undo those historic changes. But if the American president deserves the acclaim he is receiving today, it is largely owed to his public renunciation of the hardliners in his own party and the Israeli right.
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