“Vice President JD Vance and Labor Department officials announced Thursday that the Trump administration is suspending Microsoft, Adobe and others from a key employment-based, green-card program, accusing major tech firms and outsourcing companies of abusing the visa system at the expense of American workers. … Vance said Microsoft laid off 6,000 American workers last year while benefiting from 6,300 H-1B visas and nearly 3,000 green cards, calling it a ‘scandalous system.'” (10/08/26)
“Indian opposition leader Rahul Gandhi has been detained for the third time in two days during a protest demanding the resignation of the election chief over a controversial revision of voter lists. Gandhi and other opposition lawmakers were apprehended by police on Wednesday as they marched towards Jantar Mantar, a designated protest site in India’s capital, New Delhi. … Opposition parties, their student units and the “Cockroach” youth movement have been demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, accusing the poll body he heads of benefiting Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party.” (10/08/26)
“U.S. authorities charged former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro with conspiring to torture his fellow citizens in order to maintain his hold on power. The new indictment, unsealed Thursday, adds pressure on the ousted authoritarian leader already fighting drug trafficking offenses. Maduro, who was previously charged with participating in a conspiracy to send cocaine into the U.S., is now also facing allegations of human rights abuses during his reign as president of the oil-rich South American nation.” [editor’s note: Unless Venezuela is a US state or territory, there’s no US jurisdiction to try those allegations – TLK] (10/08/26)
“The Democratic National Committee on Wednesday sued President Donald Trump’s administration for recent television advertisements that promoted his political message while costing taxpayers millions of dollars. The complaint, filed in the US District Court for the District of Columbia, alleges that the ads are illegal government-sponsored propaganda and accuses Trump of personally directing them. It asks the court to declare the ads illegal and stop the use of federal funds to pay for them. … The spots, which began airing in September, already have cost more than $12 million to run, according to the media tracking firm AdImpact, and a total of $20 million in Homeland Security Department funding has been tapped to pay for them.” (10/07/26)
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“An oil tanker off Russia’s Black Sea coast was struck by a naval drone, triggering a huge fire and black smoke cloud that blanketed parts of the resort city of Sochi, Russia’s transport ministry has said. The transport ministry said a Liberian-flagged tanker had been attacked and that ‘crude oil is burning openly in the waters of the Black Sea’. … A crew of 23 – all Indian citizens – had been rescued, it added. Russia and Ukraine have targeted commercial shipping around the Black Sea since the conflict began, and Russia has recently attacked grain vessels carrying Ukrainian goods near the coast of Romania. There was no comment from Kyiv on the attack.” (10/07/26)
“Immigration and Customs Enforcement leadership told [gang members] nationwide on Tuesday to increase immigration [abductions] by 1,000 more people daily, returning to a previous goal of 3,000 daily [abductions], according to two sources familiar with the verbal directive. It’s the latest sign of ongoing pressure on [gang members] as the Trump administration doubles down on its immigration crackdown despite some Republican unease over who the agency is targeting. ICE also recently released a contract solicitation to expand holding space at agency offices, citing ‘exceptionally high operational tempo with increased [abductions].'” (10/08/26)
“An updated report from the Congressional Research Service, or CRS, now lists 81 U.S. military aircraft as lost or damaged since the United States launched Operation Epic Fury against Iran on Feb. 28. That is nearly double the 42 aircraft the research service counted in May, as Defense News reported at the time. The Oct. 5 revision adds jets damaged in a September Iranian strike on a base in Jordan, helicopter losses drawn from a Pentagon inspector general report and a sharply higher count of lost Reaper drones. CRS cautions that the total is not a count of destroyed aircraft, noting, ‘Some damaged aircraft may have been returned to active service.'” (10/07/26)
“Tariff inflation has a long tail. Higher import costs can ripple through U.S. supply chains, with effects on domestically produced goods emerging as much as a year later, according to Federal Reserve Bank of New York researchers. The inflation hit from 2025 tariffs is fading, but newer levies are still feeding through to prices as inflation is already too high for policymakers’ comfort. … The authors previously found that U.S. companies and consumers bore most tariff costs earlier this year — research that Trump economic officials sharply criticized. … The researchers estimate that President Trump’s tariffs added 2.9 percentage points to consumer goods inflation by February 2026 (excluding services and oil).” (10/07/26)
“A former Kentucky Congressional candidate and well-known donor of Donald Trump’s MAGA has come under scrutiny after a report on his alleged text exchanges with Kimberly Guilfoyle, the US Envoy to Greece and former fiancé of Trump’s son, Donald Trump Jr. On Wednesday, the Wall Street Journal published an explosive report alleging that Kimberly Guilfoyle allegedly texted Kentucky MAGA donor Eric Deters to pay her $100,000 credit card bill, offering multiple favors in return. The favors included using her connection in the Trump administration to help Deters with his issues with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Department of Justice.” (10/07/26)
