“Ukraine received no early warning from its partners about five Russian ballistic missiles that hit civilian infrastructure in the capital of Kyiv, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Tuesday, as tensions rise between the Ukrainian leader and U.S. President Donald Trump. Zelenskyy did not specify which partners he was talking about. He characterized the barrage as ‘particularly vile’ and emphasized that receiving intelligence from partners about such attacks ‘helps save lives’ and is ‘one of the most critical issues’. ‘This is precisely what helps prevent people from being killed — when there is an early warning about ballistic missiles,’ he wrote in a post on X. Trump said the U.S. has not stopped sharing intelligence with Ukraine. ‘We are helping them, and we are sharing intel’, Trump told reporters at the White House. ‘We want the war to end, so we’re working with them and with Russia on getting the war to end.'” (10/13/26)
“NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover just broke the record for the farthest distance traveled by any vehicle on another world, the space agency announced. The six-wheeled, nuclear-powered buggy has now traveled 28.10 miles (45.22 km) as of October 11th, besting NASA’s Opportunity rover that rolled 28.06 miles (45.16 km) across the red planet’s surface. Perseverance managed the feet in just five and a half years, compared to nearly 15 for the plucky Opportunity. … Thanks to a recent software update, Perseverance can now roll more and steer less to save wear on parts, while checking its own position against orbital maps in mid-drive. Next, the team wants to overcome camera glare issues from sunlight that impede its vision, so the rover can work longer days.” (10/13/26)
“A North Carolina man was sentenced to 18 months in prison after prosecutors said he used AI, or super intelligence, to create music and thousands of bots to fraudulently collect more than $8 million in streaming royalties. Michael Smith, 54, of Cornelius, North Carolina, pleaded guilty in March to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and was sentenced Oct. 6, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York. … From 2017 to 2024, Smith created thousands of fake accounts on streaming platforms including Amazon Music, Apple Music, Spotify and YouTube Music, prosecutors said. He then used automated software to continuously stream songs he owned, many of which were generated using AI technology, allowing him to collect royalty payments for streams that did not come from real listeners.” (10/12/26)
“Esmeralda Soria has seen immigration enforcement throughout her life. Born to immigrant farmworkers in the Central Valley, the state assemblymember has spent her entire life in California’s agricultural powerhouse. Yet even for her, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids that shook the valley last week took her by surprise. ‘I have never experienced anything like this,’ Soria said in an SFGATE interview Sunday. ‘Just all of a sudden, now we’re seeing ICE go rogue’. Federal agents have spent the past week sweeping the Central Valley, with local immigrant advocates reporting officers conducting widespread, warrantless detentions, targeting gas stations and Mexican bakeries as farmworkers start their day. People have reportedly been detained without any warrants for their arrest. The chaos turned violent when an off-duty ICE officer allegedly passed out drunk and assaulted a Fresno homeowner only to get shot himself, according to police.” (10/13/26)
“Two ships have been hit in drone attacks off Bulgaria’s Black Sea coast, with one of them sinking, Prime Minister Rumen Radev said. The Ukrainian-owned Chelsea 3, which was sailing under a Maltese flag, was hit by three drones and damaged about 18 nautical miles (33km) off Bulgaria at about 1:30am on Tuesday (22:30 GMT on Monday), Radev said. Radev said its 15-man crew, seven of them Ukrainians and eight Azerbaijanis, was rescued. Five crew members received medical assistance, and no one was seriously injured. He added that one crew member from the ship that sank was also rescued.” (10/12/26)
“A 29-year-old reality television star was shot and killed early Sunday morning in downtown Oakland. Police were called to the 200 block of 14th Street in Oakland at approximately 1:30 a.m. on a report of a shooting, the Oakland Police Department told SFGATE in a statement. When officers arrived, they found Mackayla Paige, a Richmond resident, with a gunshot wound. Paige was transported to the hospital where she later died of her injuries, OPD said. A woman, also from Richmond, was arrested in connection with the shooting, OPD said. … Paige, also known as ‘Kash,’ was featured in several reality series on Now That’s TV, a subscription streaming network.” (10/12/26)
“A sixth measles-related death has been reported in Pennsylvania, where health officials have been battling an outbreak of the highly contagious but vaccine-preventable disease. The death was reported Monday by the Franklin County Coroner’s Office, which identified the deceased as a 39-year-old woman who had several underlying health conditions and had previously been diagnosed with and treated for measles. … There have been a total of 1,136 cases of the disease in the current outbreak as of Friday, with 157 new cases reported over the previous seven days, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Health’s measles dashboard.” (10/12/26)
“Former Congolese President Joseph Kabila on Monday launched a new political and military coalition of groups opposed to the current government, including the M23 rebels who have captured wide swaths of territory in eastern Congo. Kabila’s new Front for the Refoundation of the Nation, or FRN, includes rebel groups formerly united under the Congo River Alliance, whose former leader Corneille Nangaa will serve as one of the new coalition’s four vice presidents. … President Felix Tshisekedi’s government gave no immediate reaction to the announcement, which is seen as a major challenge to Tshisekedi’s administration and a serious complication for the current peace process with rebels, which has had only limited success.” (10/12/26)
Thanks to subscribing contributors CJTS and TM, whose contributions yesterday, totaling $12.50, bring our annual fundraiser total (as of 5am) to $285.50!
We’re past the 10% point toward our goal ($2,751.50, after which supporter GL has pledged to “match funds” for the $5,503 total) … but we’re also past the 14% mark in terms of schedule (92 days). So:
PLEASE SUPPORT THE FREEDOM MOVEMENT’S DAILY NEWSPAPER!
We’re a reader-supported publication. You’re a reader. And we only come to you once a year with the strong-arm fundraising stuff. As soon as we hit our goal, I stop doing that for the rest of the year, and MOST of the following year. Let’s get this over with 🙂
Have a great day.
Yours in liberty,
Tom Knapp
Publisher
Rational Review News Digest / Freedom News Daily
“‘Squad’ Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) defiantly broke her silence after a Homeland Security Investigations raid of her DC residence on Monday, as she and her allies claimed the action was part of President Trump’s repeated attempts to intimidate her as a political foe. ‘I’m ok. Make no mistake: this is an attempt to target political enemies and weaponize federal law enforcement,’ Omar said in a statement on X. ‘For ten years, Trump has targeted me with baseless lies and smear campaigns. This is just the latest escalation in his campaign of political intimidation.’ ‘I will not be silenced,’ the congresswoman added in a personal response to the president. … Sources familiar with the law enforcement action indicated that the congresswoman had been the subject of a multi-year probe related to her immigration history, potentially as a result of her father making a false statement on paperwork.” (10/12/26)
