HUGE THANKS to supporters CF, MJ, DH, and PD! Their $65 in donations over the weekend bring our annual fundraiser total to $990.50!
Our goal is $5,503, but thanks to supporter GL’s “matching funds” pledge, we only have to raise $2,751.50 from everyone else.
Everyone else means you. We’re a reader-supported publication. You’re a reader. So …
… and have a great Monday!
Yours in liberty,
Tom Knapp
Publisher
Rational Review News Digest / Freedom News Daily
Source: Al Jazeera [Qatari state media]
“At least one person has been killed, and five others injured after Ukraine launched more than 1,000 drones at Russia, one of Kyiv’s largest aerial strikes in the war. St Petersburg Governor Alexander Beglov said firefighters were battling fires sparked by Sunday’s attacks on the St Petersburg oil terminal, the Ruchi oil depot and industrial warehouses in the Kolpinsky district south of the city. … The strikes came as tensions between Kyiv and Washington deepened, with US President Donald Trump criticising Ukraine’s attacks on Russian oil infrastructure, and the prospect of further US sanctions against Moscow still uncertain.” (10/19/26)
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/10/19/ukrainian-drone-attack-on-russias-st-petersburg-kills-1-hits-energy-sites
Source: JimBovard.com
by James Bovard
“President Trump’s protectionism gives Ameircans the same ‘protection’ that the wolf gave to the lamb. The Food and Drug Administration and Customs Border Protection will effectively ban almost all personal prescription imports in January. Millions of Americans who rely on Canadian pharmacies will be whipsawed by higher prices. The new policy is spurred by Trump’s hostility to Canada and his devotion to protecting Big Pharma profits.” (10/18/26)
https://jimbovard.com/blog/2026/10/18/new-york-post-bitter-pills-trump-takes-americans-like-me-hostage-for-big-pharma/
Source: Unattended Baggage
“I can’t go for that (no can do).” (10/17/26)
https://unattendedbaggage.substack.com/p/episode-359-i-cant-go-for-that-no
Source: NBC News
“A candidate for lieutenant governor of Massachusetts, Republican Shawn Oliver, was arrested on drunken driving charges after a crash late Saturday that left several parked vehicles damaged and his own overturned, police said. On Sunday, Oliver, a New Bedford City Council member, announced he was suspending his campaign, as his running mate, Mike Minogue, had called for him to do. … He faces charges of operating under the influence of liquor, negligent operation of a motor vehicle, a marked lanes violation and speeding, New Bedford police said Sunday. They said Oliver’s vehicle overturned after it hit five parked vehicles, two of which were extensively damaged, near a shopping plaza on Dartmouth Street about 11:40 p.m.” (10/18/26)
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/massachusetts-shawn-oliver-lt-governor-suspends-campaign-drunk-driving-rcna604183
Source: The UnPopulist
by Jonathan Rauch
“What in the world is going on? Why are Western publics so disillusioned with liberalism? Why gravitate to authoritarian populism, which is invariably corrupt, repressive, and incompetent? Why now, when Western countries are objectively richer and safer than any time before the end of the Cold War—if not ever? … While no one disputes that liberal governments committed mistakes and oversights, none of their failings explains, much less justifies, the movement of an enviably privileged electorate like Germany’s toward a party like AfD.” (10/18/26)
https://www.theunpopulist.net/p/even-perfect-liberal-governance-could
Source: Deutsche Welle [German state media]
“Kenya’s Health Ministry on Sunday confirmed another case of Ebola, bringing the number of confirmed infections in the country to eight. News of another patient in the East African state came as health officials in Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) reported that the outbreak there had spread to an eighth province. … It’s currently the deadliest outbreak in Congo’s history with authorities recording at least 9,400 cases, including over 4,500 deaths, in the outbreak declared in mid-May.” (10/18/26)
https://www.dw.com/en/ebola-kenya-cases-rise-to-8-spreads-to-8th-congo-province/a-79694614
Source: Garrison Center
by Thomas L Knapp
“Several persons within and around the executive branch of Florida’s government conspired to misappropriate $10 million in taxpayer money, funnel that money through a charity founded by the governor’s wife, give it to Political Action Committees operated by the future state attorney general, and spend it to rig an election. … Courts can expunge reports, but once the truth is out, it stays out.” (10/18/26)
https://thegarrisoncenter.org/archives/20949
Source: CBS News
“President Trump on Sunday endorsed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for reelection, saying on social media that he ‘has been a Great Warrior Prime Minister, and an even greater Partner for Peace in combatting the Islamic Republic of Iran.’ This is a coveted boost for Netanyahu because of Mr. Trump’s popularity in Israel but one that the U.S. leader withheld for months as their strategies in the Middle East diverged. … Israelis are set to vote on Oct. 27, which will be the first national elections since the 2023 Hamas attack on Israel.” (10/18/26)
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-endorses-israel-prime-minister-benjamin-netanyahu-reelection/
Source: Reason
by Eric Boehm
“America’s interminable war with Iran has killed thousands, disrupted commerce that flows through the Strait of Hormuz, and raised prices on the home front. But there may be one silver lining. In an attempt to lower gas prices that spiked because of the war, the Trump administration has repeatedly issued waivers of the Jones Act, a century-old law that requires all goods moved between American ports to be carried on American-built, American-crewed ships. With the law (temporarily) not being enforced, commerce has exploded.” (for publication 11/26)
https://reason.com/2026/10/18/a-world-without-the-jones-act/
