“The Pentagon on Friday signaled a major expansion of its military campaign against ‘Transnational Criminal Organizations’ in Latin America, saying it will deploy the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford and its associated warships to the region in coming days. … The carrier will join an armada that has been assembled in the Caribbean in recent weeks. Other vessels there include the destroyers USS Jason Dunham, USS Gravely, USS Stockdale, the guided-missile cruiser Lake Erie, and the littoral combat ship Wichita. The Navy and Marine Corps also have combined to deploy the Iwo Jima amphibious ready group, a three-ship task force that includes more sailors and Marines, off the coast of Venezuela.” (10/24/25)
“An Israeli drone strike has killed two people in southern Lebanon, according to the country’s Ministry of Public Health, a day after Israeli warplanes launched a series of deadly strikes on the country’s eastern mountain range and south. It’s the latest in near-daily Israeli violations of the United States-brokered ceasefire between Israel and the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah that began in November. The attack in the town of Toul in the Nabatieh district on Friday also injured two people, the ministry said. It did not provide details on their condition.” (10/24/25)
“The United States attacked a boat allegedly operated by a Venezuelan drug-smuggling operation, [murdering] six people, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced Friday. He said the attack happened overnight ‘along a known narco-trafficking route’ in the Caribbean Sea under the direction of President Donald Trump. Hegseth added that the vessel was operated by Tren de Aragua, a Venezuela criminal organization considered a terror organization by the U.S. government. … Hegseth posted what appeared to be a night-vision video taken from the air of the attack on the boat. It was the 10th attack the United States has carried on alleged drug boats, bringing the [murder spree body count] in such attacks to 43 since Sept. 2. The eighth and ninth strikes took place Wednesday.” (10/24/25)
“The European Commission on Friday accused Meta and TikTok of breaching the bloc’s landmark social media regulation. The EU executive said Meta’s Facebook and Instagram, and TikTok all failed in their obligations to give researchers access to data from their platforms. The two Meta platforms also failed on three obligations to empower users in flagging illegal content and challenging moderation decisions, it said. The platforms now have the right to reply to the Commission’s allegations under the Digital Services Act (DSA). Should they fail to convince the EU executive, they risk fines of up to 6 percent of annual global revenue.” (10/24/25)
“New York Attorney General Letitia James pleaded not guilty on Friday morning to federal bank fraud charges, multiple outlets reported. President Trump publicly demanded James'[s] prosecution, and went as far as firing a federal prosecutor who refused to pursue charges. James has called the case ‘baseless’ and motivated by political retribution over the civil fraud case she brought against Trump. A tentative trial date was set for Jan. 26, per the New York Times. Prosecutors said they expect the trial to take about a week.” (10/24/25)
“The Senate on Thursday rejected a pair of bills that would have paid military servicemembers, along with some or all federal workers during the shutdown. Republicans and Democrats wouldn’t back each other’s proposals, leaving the Senate still deadlocked on any solution to open the government. A GOP-led proposal that would pay federal employees who are having to work through the shutdown, along with military members and contractors, failed to get the 60 votes needed to break a filibuster [sic]. And Republicans rejected a request for unanimous consent to pass a Democratic alternative, which would pay all federal workers, including those on furlough.” [editor’s note: There is no “deadlock,” and the Republicans have already demonstrated they’re willing to use the 51-vote “nuclear option.” The GOP bill failed because the GOP didn’t want it to pass – TLK] (10/23/25)
“Bitcoin traded above $111,000 on Friday morning in Europe, supported by news of a confirmed meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping. The two leaders will meet on Oct. 30 on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit in South Korea – the first face-to-face encounter since Trump took office. … European stocks traded higher alongside gains in BTC as futures tied to the S&P 500 rose 0.3%. The Euro Stoxx 50 index rose 0.25% and Germany’s DAX gained 0.15%. Gold, meanwhile, dropped nearly 1% to $4,089 as the U.S. inflation data loomed.” (10/24/25)
“US President Donald Trump has announced an immediate end to all trade negotiations with Canada over an advert critical of the tariffs he has imposed on [American buyers of goods from] the nation. The advert, sponsored by the government of Canada’s province of Ontario, quoted Trump’s predecessor, Ronald Reagan, an icon of US conservatism, saying tariffs ‘hurt every American.’ Trump wrote on social media that the advert was ‘FAKE’ and ‘egregious,’ adding that trade talks were ‘HEREBY TERMINATED.’ His administration has imposed a 35% levy on [American buyers of] many Canadian imports, as well as individual tariffs targeting particular industries like car and steel manufacturing.” (10/24/25)
“A Belfast court on Thursday found a British soldier not guilty of murder in the only trial of a member of the British armed forces over the 1972 ‘Bloody Sunday’ killings of 13 unarmed Catholic civil rights marchers in [British-occupied] Ireland. Judge Patrick Lynch ruled at Belfast Crown Court that prosecutors failed to prove that the veteran identified only as ‘Soldier F’ had opened fire on unarmed civilians who were running to safety. Soldier F had pleaded not guilty to two counts of murder for the deaths of James Wray, 22, and William McKinney, 27, and five counts of attempted murder for the shootings of Joseph Friel, Michael Quinn, Joe Mahon, Patrick O’Donnell, and for opening fire at unarmed civilians. The judge in the nonjury trial said that the evidence presented against the veteran fell well short of what was required for conviction.” (10/23/25)
“President Donald Trump said Thursday that he has called off plans to send a ‘surge’ of federal personnel into San Francisco this weekend to target crime, an announcement that came after he had a private conversation with Mayor Daniel Lurie. Trump made his announcement on social media, saying ‘friends’ who live in the city, including Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang and Salesforce chief executive Marc Benioff, asked him not to go forward with the operation. … The resolution appeared, for now, to decrease mounting tensions among San Francisco leaders and the Trump administration, which has targeted Democratic-led cities for increased [ICE gang activity], including Los Angeles, Washington, Boston and Chicago. Trump has sent National Guard troops to several cities, while others, including Chicago and Portland, have won temporary reprieves in court against the president’s Guard deployments.” (10/23/25)
