Annual Fundraiser: Momentum, If You’ll Help Maintain It

HUGE THANKS to subscribing contributor MB and supporters JM and RW! They weighed in yesterday with a whopping $470, bringing our annual fundraiser total (as of 5am) to $755.50!

Caveat: I’m awaiting final confirmation from the donor on $100 which may require a refund due to error, but either way a REALLY great day for the fundraiser and we’re either just past or quickly approaching the 25% mark toward our goal of $5,503 (once we’ve raised $2,751.50, supporter GL will “match funds” for the other half)!

In other words, we need to raise somewhere around $2,000 more … and once we’ve hit our goal, you won’t hear from me about money at all for the rest of the year, or very much until NEXT October. So …

PLEASE SUPPORT THE FREEDOM MOVEMENT’S DAILY NEWSPAPER!

https://news.rationalreview.com/support-rrnd

… and have a great day!

Yours in liberty,
Tom Knapp
Publisher
Rational Review News Digest / Freedom News Daily

Ukraine: Russian strikes leave 600,000 without power, Zelenskyy says

Source: BBC News [UK state media]

“At least 600,000 people across Ukraine are now without electricity after deadly overnight Russian missile and drone strikes, President Volodymyr Zelensky has said. He said ‘critical’ energy infrastructure had been hit in Kyiv and the capital region and also in the north-eastern city of Kharkiv – despite a claim by US President Donald Trump on Sunday that an ‘energy ceasefire’ was in place between Russia and Ukraine. In Kyiv, at least three people were killed and 21 injured, Ukraine’s state emergencies service DSNS said. Russia’s defence ministry said its ‘massive’ strikes overnight had targeted communications and energy facilities in the Kyiv and Kharkiv regions used by Ukraine’s military.” (10/14/26)

https://archive.is/W8Ivf

Federal judge issues longer-term decision blocking Trump’s White House media ban

Source: NBC News

“A federal judge issued an order late Tuesday blocking the Trump administration from banning CNN, Politico and MS NOW from the White House complex while the organizations’ lawsuit over access proceeds. U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly of Washington, D.C., issued the preliminary injunction in the wake of a hearing Thursday at which the administration contended it imposed the ban in part because of national security concerns; media organizations said it was because of ‘viewpoint discrimination.’ Kelly sided with the news outlets, noting that Trump used national security as a reason for the ban after their press passes had already been revoked and ruling that it also likely violated reporters’ freedom of speech and due process rights.” (10/14/26)

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/trump-administration/prewrite-not-pub-judge-extends-order-blocking-trump-white-house-media-rcna602264

Yemen: Saudi forces struck oil facilities west of capital, Houthi-run broadcaster says

Source: SFGate

“A coalition of forces in Yemen led by Saudi Arabia carried out new airstrikes Tuesday on the Houthi rebel[sic]-held Yemeni capital of Sanaa, the Houthi-run broadcaster Al Masirah and residents said. The strikes marked a fresh escalation in the widening Middle East crisis and came shortly after a coalition spokesman urged residents to evacuate the area for their safety. Witnesses reported hearing strong explosions in Sanaa hours after the coalition struck the al-Suhaba fuel facility west of the city. In a rare statement earlier, the coalition had urged civilians in the Houthi-controlled capital to leave the Yemeni Oil Company site, on a hill overlooking the capital, and nearby storage areas ahead of a possible strike. Houthi officials appeared to have anticipated the attack there. The oil company said its storage facilities were empty and that a Saudi strike would not affect oil reserves or supplies for residents.” (10/13/26)

https://www.sfgate.com/news/world/article/saudis-and-yemen-s-houthi-rebels-exchange-threats-22474763.php

Guilfoyle resigns

Source: Associated Press

“President Donald Trump’s ambassador to Greece, Kimberly Guilfoyle, resigned on Tuesday after allegations of improper conduct but insisted she’ll ‘vigorously defend’ herself. Trump’s administration said earlier Tuesday it had asked Guilfoyle to leave her post after she faced severe criticism over allegations she engaged in improper and possibly illegal conduct before and during her tenure in Athens. … In a series of stories dating to late last month, The Wall Street Journal has reported questionable conduct by Guilfoyle, including an alleged threat to a host country official, accepting improper gifts and services and offering to use her influence inside the Republican administration in return for the payment of a large credit card bill.” (10/13/26)

https://apnews.com/article/trump-ambassador-greece-guilfoyle-9da9d2e50e18bccc38946404c1ca756f

Argentina: Regime asks international tribunal to halt Falklands oil project

Source: United Press International

“Argentina asked the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea on Tuesday to order Britain to halt the Sea Lion oil project near the Falkland Islands, two weeks after President Javier Milei’s government gave London a deadline to stop the activities. The project, led by Britain’s Rockhopper Exploration and Israel’s Navitas Petroleum, is located in the North Falkland Basin. Argentina claims rights to the area’s natural resources as part of its longstanding sovereignty dispute with Britain over the islands, which are administered by Britain and known in Argentina as the Malvinas.” (10/13/26)

https://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2026/10/13/latam-argentina-falklands-oil/1621791906387/

French pirates board ship in Indian Ocean

Source: Le Monde [France]

“The French navy boarded a vessel suspected of illegally smuggling oil in an operation off the Indian Ocean island of La Réunion, President Emmanuel Macron said Monday, October 12. Macron vowed no let-up in the struggle against the ‘shadow fleet’ – a term used for the clandestine network of ships used by Russia to circumvent Western embargoes since its 2022 invasion of Ukraine. … The DF Peak flies a Benin flag and is among the 700 ships on the EU’s sanctions list. Prior to 2024, it was called Kaliningrad. New measures permit European Union members to sell the oil or any other cargo seized from the ships. Moscow has bristled at the moves, with Russian President Vladimir Putin [noticing that it is] ‘piracy and banditry.'” (10/13/26)

https://www.lemonde.fr/en/international/article/2026/10/13/french-navy-boards-russian-shadow-fleet-ship-in-indian-ocean_6758542_4.html

SCOTUS to decide whether DOGE records can remain secret

Source: Politico

“The Supreme Court has agreed to decide whether a watchdog group seeking information about President Donald Trump’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency is entitled to records showing how much control the budget-slashing endeavor wielded over federal agencies. The justices on Tuesday granted the Trump administration’s request to review lower-court rulings concluding that Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington can force DOGE to turn over records shedding light on its interactions with agencies across the government. The Trump administration maintains that DOGE made no decisions about cuts to programs or firing personnel at federal agencies and simply offered recommendations to agency leaders. But critics have alleged that DOGE personnel were, at least in some instances, dictating agency actions.” (10/13/26)

https://www.politico.com/news/2026/10/13/DOGE-supreme-court-case

Sweden: Centre-left leader fails in second bid to form regime

Source: Al Jazeera [Qatari state media]

“The leader of Sweden’s left-wing Social Democratic Party, Magdalena Andersson, has said her efforts to form a government have failed, prolonging a political deadlock a month after parliamentary elections. Speaking at a news conference Tuesday, Andersson said talks with the three other parties in the country’s left-wing bloc had hit an impasse. Despite progress, she said she did not believe conditions were in place to ‘form a government that can be tolerated by parliament’. It is her second time failing to form a government after Sweden’s parliamentary vote on September 13. … The speaker of parliament has four attempts at proposing a prime minister for parliament to vote on. If the fourth attempt fails, a snap election must be called.” (10/13/26)

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/10/13/swedens-centre-left-leader-fails-in-second-bid-to-form-government

China: Court sentences three people to death for running brutal scam centers in Myanmar

Source: CBS News

“A Chinese court sentenced three members of a criminal gang to death on Tuesday for operating a network of brutal scam centers in Myanmar’s Kokang region on the border with China, while jailing dozens more. … Quanzhou Intermediate People’s Court said in a statement on Tuesday that it had sentenced Wei Huairen, Chen Dawei, and Liao Jingfang to death for their involvement in the ‘Wei family criminal gang.’ The gang was involved in crimes including drug trafficking, organizing prostitution, operating illegal casinos, telecommunications fraud, and the murder of at least two Chinese citizens, the court said. … Another three gang members were handed life sentences, while 55 more were given prison terms ranging from 24 years to three years and three months, the court said.” (10/13/260

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/death-sentences-scam-centers-myanmar/