“The former leader of [British-occupied] Ireland’s main pro-British party, Jeffrey Donaldson, received a 15-year prison sentence Thursday for sexually abusing two schoolgirls. Donaldson, 63, kept his hands clasped together but offered no visible reaction as Judge Paul Ramsey said the former Democratic Unionist Party leader must serve an 11-year sentence for raping one girl and a further 4-year term for sexually abusing another. … Donaldson was an MP representing Lagan Valley from 1997 to 2024, first for the moderate Ulster Unionist Party and then — after belatedly breaking with the party over its support for the Good Friday peace accord of 1998 — as a member of the hard-line DUP. Donaldson became DUP leader in 2021, when he oversaw the collapse of [occupied] Ireland’s power-sharing government in a bitter dispute over the region’s peculiar post-Brexit trade rules.” (10/15/26)
“A list obtained by The Washington Post reveals all the major donors to President Donald Trump’s White House ballroom project, including previously undisclosed contributors who have benefited from regulatory decisions, government contracts and, in one case, a pardon for a family member. Tech giants Nvidia and Apple each committed $25 million, the top contribution amount, the list shows. The Adelson family, one of the GOP’s largest donor dynasties, committed that sum as well, as did billionaire Charles Ergen, co-founder and chairman of telecommunications company Dish Network. Absent from the list is Trump himself, who has said that he is helping to pay for the project.” (10/15/26)
“After a 28-minute-long bidding war, a fully functional ‘Hatfield’ Apple-1 computer sold at Bonhams for $1.15 million on Oct. 14, setting a new world auction record for commercially released Apple-1 computers, the institution said in a recent news release. The primitive personal computer, which was created by engineer Steve Wozniak in 1976, includes a signed letter from Steve Jobs, the original operations manual and a typed invitation to the ‘Apple I Owners Club,’ as well as several hardware components. Perhaps most importantly, Wozniak’s signature is on the motherboard, which still operates 50 years later. Born in San Jose in 1950, Wozniak met Steve Jobs when they were still mischievous teenagers hacking into public telephone networks. Together, they collaborated on the Apple-1 and brought it to the Homebrew Computer Club, a group of hobbyists who gathered in Menlo Park to exchange ideas about personal computing, which was still a novel concept in the mid-1970s.” (10/15/26)
“Venezuela’s former leader Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, appeared in court on Thursday to plead not guilty to new charges of conspiracy to commit torture. The US government initially accused Maduro of narco-terrorism, drug trafficking and weapons-related offenses, before adding new charges against him and Flores last week. Maduro and Flores were captured in January during a US military raid, after which they were taken to New York, where they remain in jail. The couple has pleaded not guilty to the allegations and both have argued to have the case thrown out on the grounds that they qualify for sovereign immunity. Their trial is scheduled for June 2027. In a new indictment last week, government prosecutors alleged Maduro and Flores ‘created and maintained a violent system of repression’ that saw ‘thousands of Venezuelans’ killed, harassed, and tortured.” (10/15/26)
“The federal government sued the state of California on Thursday in an escalating battle over how to prevent non-U.S. citizens from voting by mail in federal elections. The lawsuit is the latest action by the Department of Justice targeting state administration of elections, which President Donald Trump has often criticized as susceptible to fraud and voting by noncitizens. The civil complaint, which the DOJ had threatened to file, asks a judge to prevent California officials from tabulating mail-in ballots ‘from likely non-citizens in the upcoming federal election until the voter’s citizenship status can be determined.’ The Department of Justice asks that a judge order the state to set aside mail ballots from voters ‘identified by the Federal Government likely to be noncitizens,’ and to verify their citizenship status before their ballot is counted.” (10/15/26)
“Members of Minnesota’s growing Somali community, including a city council member, tore into President Donald Trump and his administration when speaking with Fox News Digital after Monday’s raid on Rep. Ilhan Omar’s Washington, D.C., residence. ‘Somalis — we all feel attacked by President Trump,’ Jamal Osman, the Somali-born vice president of the Minneapolis City Council, said of the impact of the raid carried out by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents. ‘Our president has broken the law many times. ICE [is] terrorizing our community … and we’re not surprised such action has taken place,’ Osman continued in reference to the search of Omar’s home. ‘We have seen the threats, the horrific language he uses against my community. It’s unacceptable, and we’re hoping this could stop,’ Osman said.” [editor’s note: The investigation began during Biden regime, was approved by an Obama-appointed judge; we are in the “FO” portion now – SAT] [additional editor’s note: No, definitely in the “FA” portion, big-time – TLK] (10/15/26)
“A report released by the US Labor Department on Thursday showed first-time claims for US unemployment benefits edged slightly higher in the week ended October 10th. The Labor Department said initial jobless claims ticked up to 199,000, an increase of 1,000 from the previous week’s revised level of 198,000.” (10/15/26)
“A man who was attacked by a tiger after climbing two fences to enter its enclosure at a wildlife park died of ‘multiple traumatic injuries’, an inquest has heard. William Chapman visited Yorkshire Wildlife Park near Doncaster on Saturday and entered the animal’s pen. The 24-year-old was pronounced dead at the scene and died of ‘multiple traumatic injuries and animal interaction’, the opening of his inquest at Doncaster Coroner’s Court heard. Senior coroner Nicola Mundy said he had a history of mental illness, a diagnosis of schizophrenia and had suffered previous bouts of psychosis. His family had raised concerns about his contact with Rotherham, Doncaster and South Humber NHS Trust, the hearing was told. Chapman was under adult mental health services in Doncaster but was ‘highly functioning and independent with no care requirements’, the inquest heard.” (10/15/26)
“British booksellers are caught up in a battle over terrorism and free speech after Irish novelist Sally Rooney said her books can no longer be sold in the U.K. because she financially supports the banned group Palestine Action. … The [regime’s] ban makes membership in or support for Palestine Action a crime punishable by up to 14 years in prison. … After the U.K. banned Palestine Action in July 2025, Rooney said she would use proceeds from her books and their TV adaptations to support the group. On Wednesday her U.K. publisher, Faber, said that paying her royalties could violate the terror ban and it had ‘taken the decision that we can no longer supply her works in the U.K. in any format.’ It said the decision had been made with Rooney’s agreement.” (10/15/26)
“Microsoft vice chair and president Brad Smith delivered a broadside Wednesday against President Donald Trump’s push to block the path to permanent residency for highly-skilled immigrants, warning the White House that its plan could cripple the U.S. tech sector for over a generation. In an exclusive interview with Decoded by POLITICO, Microsoft’s informal No. 2 suggested it was ironic that the White House chose to target his company’s foreign workers on the same day it gave a medal to Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, a former H-1B skilled visa holder from India. ‘We should consider the fact that when the president honored six Americans with these technology and science medals, five of the six had come to the United States as immigrants,’ Smith told Decoded on the sidelines of the International AI Summit in Dublin, Ireland.” (10/15/26)
