“Forces of the Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen have recaptured several key areas around Bab el-Mandeb Strait from Iran-backed Houthi rebels, Yemeni officials said Monday. The officials said forces allied with the internationally recognized government have retaken the crucial town of Dhubab just north of the strait. They also captured the towns of Bab and Hadeid, said the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to reporters. Witnesses said they saw government tanks and forces entering the towns. The government push came as part of a major offensive launched early Monday under air cover by a Saudi military coalition. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters that it was expected that the Saudi-backed government in Yemen would hit back at the rebels to reclaim territory.” (10/05/26)
“Former U.S. House speaker Dennis Hastert is dead at 84. Hastert died at his home in Illinois over the weekend due to natural causes, Kendall County Coroner Jacquie Purcell told USA TODAY Oct. 5. As the 59th Speaker of the House, the former lawmaker from Illinois’ 14th congressional districtwas the longest serving Republican speaker in history. … Hastert served 13 of a 15 month prison sentence in connection to a bank fraud conviction linked to his effort to buy the silence of a former student he sexually abused during his days as a high school wrestling coach in Illinois, USA TODAY previously reported.” (10/05/26)
“For many Okinawa locals, the arrest of a US soldier [sic] accused of robbing and killing a woman in a hotel room has reignited decades of frustration over crimes involving US military personnel there. ‘Honestly my first reaction was, ‘Not again!” 52-year-old longtime Okinawa resident Ai Sato told the BBC. ‘Nothing has changed since I was a child. How many times are we going to repeat the same thing, create more victims, cause their families to suffer, and ultimately, cause the people of Okinawa to grieve?’ Akemi Oshiro, a 62-year-old Ginowan resident shared similar sentiments. ‘I know we shouldn’t get used to terrible things like this, but because they keep happening, I’ve stopped being surprised’, she told the BBC. Okinawa hosts the largest US military presence in Japan. It is home to several US military bases and tens of thousands of American troops.” (10/05/26)
“Britain’s disgraced former prince, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, has launched a High Court challenge ‘to quash search warrants’ obtained by police ahead of his arrest earlier this year, the judiciary confirmed Monday. The London court is set to hold a private hearing on Thursday, the judiciary said in a statement, as King Charles III’s brother challenges Thames Valley Police over searches of his former and current homes on royal estates. The force arrested the 66-year-old on his birthday on February 19 on suspicion of misconduct in public office related to his links to late US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. He was released later that day while remaining under investigation. The ex-prince has denied all wrongdoing.” (10/05/26)
“A federal appeals court heard opposing arguments Monday over whether a judge had the authority to restore billions of dollars in funding that the Trump administration cut from Harvard University. U.S. District Judge Allison Burroughs ruled last year that the cuts amounted to illegal retaliation for Harvard’s rejection of the administration’s demands for changes to Harvard’s governance and policies. The government had tied the move to Harvard’s delays in dealing with antisemitism, but the judge said the university’s federally backed research had little connection to discrimination against Jews. The ruling restored more than $2.6 billion in research funding for the wealthy Ivy League school. Though the money has resumed flowing, a Justice Department attorney told a three-judge panel of the First U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday that Burroughs lacked the legal power to require the administration to pay it.” (10/05/26)
“The FBI has arrested a ‘Chinese foreign agent’ at Los Angeles International Airport accused of spying on the Taiwanese president’s son. Wanying Zhang, also known as Heather, was arrested on Sunday before her planned departure to China, the first assistant US attorney for the Central District of California, Bill Essayli, said in a post on X. Authorities charged Zhang, 34, of Irvine, California, with acting as an unregistered foreign agent. Zhang surveilled Taiwanese President William Lai Ching-te’s son, the FBI said. The agency did not directly name Zhang’s alleged target, but later shared a news article identifying him as Lai Ting-yu.” (10/05/26)
THANK YOU to supporter JS and subscribing contributors T and SH! Their donations over the weekend, totaling $105, bring our annual fundraiser total (as of 5am on Monday, October 5) to $115!
Our goal is $5,503 — with supporter GL’s “matching funds” pledge, we only have to raise $2,751.50 from our other 5,000 or so readers … which seems like an easy ask, but always seems to take a while.
Remember, once we’ve reached our goal, I stop talking about money ENTIRELY for the rest of the year and MOSTLY for the first nine months of NEXT year. So please, support the freedom movement’s daily newspaper at:
I’ve always called this event our “year-end fundraiser,” because it takes place in the fourth quarter of the year. But “annual fundraiser” seems more appropriate. This is the ONLY time each year when we set a fundraising goal and I start bugging you to help us reach it. That seems worth emphasizing.
We’re $2,636.50 short at the moment. You can change that. Please do.
“The right-wing Flávio Bolsonaro has won the first round of Brazil’s presidential election, beating the incumbent left-wing President Lula da Silva. But he did not obtain more than 50% of the votes required to win outright. There will be a run-off vote between these two candidates on 25 October. Flávio Bolsonaro is the son of the former right-wing president Jair Bolsonaro, who is serving a 27-year prison sentence for masterminding a failed coup attempt after losing the last election. … With 98.81% of the votes counted, Bolsonaro had 47.24% to Lula’s 44.91% of the vote.” (10/05/26)
“At least two tankers were struck in waters near Oman and Iran over the weekend as Tehran warned it would not fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz until its conditions for ending the war with the United States are met. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations, a British maritime security service, said a crude oil tanker was struck by an unknown projectile Saturday about four nautical miles east of Oman. Another tanker was struck Sunday in the Strait of Hormuz, suffering damage to its engine room, according to UKMTO.” (10/04/26)
“The Pentagon pulled all 12 B-1 bombers this weekend from the U.K.’s RAF Fairford air base to their home stations in the U.S. weeks after an alleged terror threat against a U.S.-operated post in England. … The withdrawal comes after British authorities arrested six men linked to a suspected attack on the air base that officials said was foiled. The U.K. police have released the suspects on bail, but the investigation into the incident has continued.” (10/04/26)
