“What always mattered most to Netanyahu was strengthening his political position, preserving his narrow and extremist coalition parliamentary majority, thereby enabling him to continue avoiding trial and potential imprisonment on corruption charges. What matters most to the president is preserving his hold over America’s dwindling but still influential Israel-first constituency. For this, Trump promises that Americans will fight and die on behalf of privileged, corrupt, dissolute, and dictatorial Gulf monarchs.” (10/23/25)
“The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday that the US and Israel are considering a plan for Gaza that would divide the Palestinian territory into two, with one area controlled by Hamas and the other controlled by the Israeli military. Under the plan, reconstruction could only take place in the Israeli-occupied area until Hamas disarms. ‘No reconstruction funds will be going into areas that Hamas still controls,’ Jared Kushner, President Trump’s son-in-law who has been deeply involved in Gaza negotiations, told reporters in Israel on Tuesday.” (10/23/25)
“President Donald Trump has pardoned Binance founder Changpeng Zhao, who created the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange and served prison time after failing to stop criminals from using the platform to move money connected to child sex abuse, drug trafficking and terrorism. Zhao had asked Trump for a pardon previously. He has deep ties to World Liberty Financial, a crypto venture that the Republican president and his sons Eric and Donald Jr. launched in September. … White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement Thursday that the Biden administration prosecuted Zhao out of a ‘desire to punish the cryptocurrency industry.’ She said there were ‘no allegations of fraud or identifiable victims,’ though Zhao had pleaded guilty in November to one count of failing to maintain an anti-money-laundering program.” [editor’s note: In other words, Zhao protected his customers instead of serving the regime’s surveillance apparatus – TLK] (10/23/25)
“While Texas survived another scorching summer, Attorney General Ken Paxton’s double-digit lead in the U.S. Senate primary evaporated into a statistical tie with incumbent Sen. John Cornyn (R). With a torrent of self-inflicted, election-defining scandals about his personal and financial affairs, Paxton’s senatorial bid now resembles an ice sculpture: impressive at first, but melting away until only a puddle remains. That’s why he’s the Democrats’ favorite Republican — the weakened, injured opponent they can use to take back power in the midterms.” (10/23/25)
“The New York attorney general, Letitia James, on Thursday revealed that her legal team plans to ask a federal judge to dismiss the criminal charges against her on the grounds that the US attorney in eastern Virginia who obtained the indictment was unlawfully appointed, according to a court filing. James’s legal team made the move the day before James is scheduled to be arraigned in the US district court in Norfolk, Virginia, where she is expected to plead not guilty to one count of bank fraud and one count of making false statements to a financial institution. Lindsey Halligan was appointed by Donald Trump last month as US attorney for Virginia’s eastern district, after her predecessor was forced out of his job after he expressed concerns with the strength of the evidence against both James and the former FBI director James Comey.” (10/23/25)
“British counterterrorism police arrested three men in London on Thursday on suspicion of spying for Russia. The Metropolitan Police force said that the men, ages 44, 45 and 48, were detained at addresses in the city under the National Security Act ‘on suspicion of assisting a foreign intelligence service.’ Police said that the country in question is Russia. The force said that officers were searching several London properties in connection with the investigation. British authorities allege that Russia is conducting an increasingly bold campaign of espionage, sabotage and cybermeddling against the U.K.” (10/23/25)
