Leftists Call for Boycott of Jewish Businesses on Anniversary of Nazi Pogrom

A pro-Palestinian group's planned boycott of Jewish-owned restaurants in Philadelphia on Sunday, the eve of the anniversary of Kristallnacht, has sparked outrage among Jewish organizations and condemnation from several Democrat officials, raising fresh concerns about antisemitism within the broader anti-Israel protest movement.

The demonstration, organized by Philly Bike On Your Left, an activist cycling collective, targets six restaurants: Goldie, K'Far Café, Dizengoff, Huda, Mac Mart, and Schlesinger's Deli.

Promotional materials declare, "No business for Zionists!" and demand that the establishments leave the city.

The timing is particularly sensitive.

Nov. 9 marks the 88th anniversary of the start of Kristallnacht, or the "Night of Broken Glass," a Nazi-organized pogrom that unfolded Nov. 9-10, 1938. Jewish businesses, synagogues, and homes were destroyed across Germany, annexed Austria, and the Sudetenland region of Czechoslovakia, foreshadowing the Holocaust.

Historians consider Kristallnacht a critical precursor to the Holocaust because it marked a dramatic escalation from years of government-sponsored discrimination, economic boycotts, and legal persecution to openly organized mass violence against Jews.

Blanche won't rule out prosecuting Democrats over oversight threats

Attorney General Todd Blanche refused Sunday to rule out prosecuting Democratic lawmakers who say they'll investigate Trump officials, a day after President Trump ordered the Justice Department to probe lawmakers.

Why it matters: The confrontation threatens a constitutional crisis over the separation of powers: Trump is ordering prosecutors to go after lawmakers in a potential effort to hamper Congress' power to hold the executive branch accountable.

Driving the news: In a Truth Social post Saturday, Trump accused Democrats of threatening administration officials and Republican donors with investigations and impeachment.

"This is extortion at the highest level, and they should be held accountable for this," Trump wrote.

He singled out Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.), accusing her of threatening young people who hold Republican views.

"The imprisonment should be against these EXTORTIONISTS," Trump wrote.

"By copy of this statement, I am ordering the Department of Justice to look into this criminal act, immediately!" he added.

Read the rest here.

Election Fallout: Democrats May Finally Be Able to End the Electoral College

Democrats’ midterm gains have opened a new front in the fight over how America chooses its president — one that could reshape the 2028 race for the White House.

Democrats now control the governor’s office and both chambers of the state legislature in Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Nevada. The National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, already enacted by 18 states and Washington, D.C., has 222 electoral votes pledged to it — 48 short of the 270 needed to take effect. If the four states join, their combined 50 electoral votes would push the compact to 272 and activate it. Arizona could push the total to 283 if Democrats ultimately gain control of both chambers there.

National Popular Vote (NPV), the nonprofit organization that authored the compact and is campaigning to enact it state by state, says it has identified multiple legislative sponsors in each of the five states whose combined electoral votes could push the compact over the 270-vote threshold. It expects bills to be pre-filed before, or introduced early, in the 2027 legislative sessions.

"I am confident we have multiple paths to secure the 48 electoral votes required to deliver what 63% of Americans want," Patrick Rosenstiel, a senior consultant for NPV, told Fox News Digital.

Read the rest here.

China’s AI bot is rewriting history

Britain’s terror tsar has warned that China is using AI to “rewrite history” and threaten Western democracy.

Jonathan Hall, the outgoing independent reviewer of terrorism and state threats legislation, said national security was at risk from the behaviour of the country’s sinister AI bots.

In a parting shot, he accused the authoritarian regime of using AI to plot “the slow strangulation of freedom”.

Mr Hall, who leaves his post later this month after seven years, tested Qwen3, one of China’s global AI platforms, and discovered it denied that the massacre of protesters in Tiananmen Square in 1989 had ever taken place.

His concern also raises questions about the Ministry of Justice decision – first disclosed by The Telegraph – to use Qwen3 to analyse criminal records. It is the first-known use of Chinese AI systems in Whitehall.

Read the rest here.

How big was the Democratic romp? Look at Texas.

Yesterday Texas was a ruby red state. This morning every statewide office on the ballot has been won by Democrats. That includes a US Senate seat, the governor, lieutenant governor and the attorney general (an office previously held by Ken Paxton). As of this post, it looks like the Texas State Senate will remain Republican though with a greatly reduced majority. The Texas House has not been called but Democrats are very close to taking the majority with numerous uncalled races. Most of those are trending Democratic. 

Source.

Trump Repudiated in Democratic Rout

The American people delivered a stunning rebuke to President Donald Trump in national elections, handing power to Democrats in both houses of Congress and flipping multiple governor's mansions. Democrats were elected in many states and districts normally considered safely Republican, including Senate seats in Texas, South Carolina and Kansas, all states that have not elected a Democrat to the Senate in decades. Full results in close races as well as Alaska/Maine may not be known for days due to slow vote counting and time differences. But the results that are now known leave no doubt that the balance of power has shifted and that President Trump is likely to spend the remainder of his time in office on the defense having lost a compliant Republican majority that routinely turned a blind eye to the president's incompetent, serial abuses of power and corruption. 

Russia Silences its Last Independent Newspaper

The Russian independent newspaper Novaya Gazeta has announced it is closing, citing pressure from authorities who recently searched the home of its senior editor and earlier this year detained one of its journalists.

“Novaya Gazeta is ceasing to exist,” the editor-in-chief, Sergei Sokolov, said in a video statement published on YouTube on Friday. “The Russian authorities – the Russian special services – have forced the editorial team to end its work.”

Russia has introduced near-Soviet levels of censorship since sending troops to Ukraine, pushing the vast majority of independent journalists into exile. Novaya Gazeta, a bastion of independent journalism in Russia, is classed by Moscow as a “foreign agent”, a label used to stifle dissent.

Sokolov said: “Novaya Gazeta has been killed … On November 9 we will turn off the lights in our home, where we have lived for 30 years. We will shut down the servers and leave.”

Read the rest here.

Trump's Latest Pardon Scandal

President Trump erupted last week after he learned that one of his former lawyers, Alina Habba Mildon, secured a contract worth more than $50 million to work for a billionaire Venezuelan family.

Angered at the size of Mrs. Mildon’s deal, Mr. Trump has told aides and allies that she should donate a portion of that money to his future presidential library or another Trump-related entity, according to multiple people briefed on the conversations.

His fury came in response to reporting by The New York Times that Mrs. Mildon, while working as an adviser at the Justice Department, had signed on last year to serve as an extraordinarily well compensated general counsel for a company started by the daughter of Julio Herrera Velutini, who at the time was seeking a pardon from Mr. Trump.

Mr. Trump told at least one ally that the Herrera family should not pay out the rest of the contract, a message that got back to them, the people said.

Mrs. Mildon, who had served earlier as a personal lawyer to Mr. Trump and then briefly as U.S. attorney in New Jersey, signed a four-year contract, and it is unclear whether the family could terminate it early. Mr. Trump also called Mrs. Mildon to discuss the contract, but it is not known whether he explicitly asked her to make a donation or only suggested it to others.

Read the rest here.

Alaska: The Secret Story of the Democratic Party's Dirty Ballot Trick

In the summer of 2025, a staffer for Mary Peltola, the Alaska Democrat who was eyeing a run for Senate, received unusual instructions from top campaign aides: Find as many people named Dan Sullivan in Alaska as you can.

The staffer complied, combing through voter records to produce a list of Dan Sullivans from across the state.

This was no random request. Dan S. Sullivan is the name of the state’s Republican senator. And if the Peltola campaign or its allies could track down and persuade another Dan Sullivan to run for Senate, the confusion could cost the senator crucial votes on the state’s unusual, four-person ballot.

The plan worked. This spring, a retired teacher from a tiny fishing village along the Alaska Panhandle, reachable only by air and sea, announced his candidacy for Senate. His name was Dan J. Sullivan.

The Peltola campaign has repeatedly denied any involvement in his candidacy. But The Times has found, based on interviews and text messages, along with documents prepared for a potential lawsuit against the campaign, that not only did Ms. Peltola’s team work with people trying to recruit Mr. Sullivan to run for Senate, but the effort was much broader. The group worked to coax other would-be spoilers into the race, to dilute the incumbent’s support and help catapult the Democrat to victory.

Read the rest here.

Crime Victims Lost ~$119 Million to Trump's Pardons

It was the summer of 2017 when Thomas Franco met Carlos Watson, a journalist and political commentator who seemed to be building a media empire. Over the next five years, Franco — a partner at the New York private equity firm Clayton, Dubilier & Rice — put almost $4 million into Watson's startup Ozy Media and urged friends to invest too.

But the company was largely an illusion. A federal jury in Brooklyn convicted Watson of fraud in July 2024. A judge later ordered him to repay investors almost $37 million, millions of it to Franco.

Hours before Watson was due to report to prison in March of last year, President Trump commuted his nearly 10-year sentence. The clemency grant wiped away the restitution.

In an interview, Franco said he felt victimized all over again. "Clearly the president has constitutional authority to grant clemency, and I certainly don't question that authority," Franco told CBS News. "But authority and accountability are two very different things."

Franco is just one of the many crime victims who may never recover money a court ordered they be repaid. All told, Mr. Trump's clemency orders have erased at least $119 million in unpaid restitution since January 2025, a CBS News investigation has found.

Read the rest here.

Horror films (Yes, it's that time of the year)

The Times recently did an article noting a resurgence of interest in 1970s era horror flicks. Some were really epic and have become classics, i.e. The Exorcist and Jaws. But there were a bunch of other films in the horror or shock genre that ranged from meh to fairly decent. I will add three that I think are worth a watch for those into that sort of thing, plus an honorable mention.

Horror Express (1972) - A solid film starring the great duo Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing with a respectable supporting performance from Telly Savalas. 

Count Dracula (1977) - An older adaptation of the novel from the BBC starring the late Louis Jourdan in the title role. The special effects have not aged well, but of all the various adaptations this is widely credited as the most faithful to the original book. 

Salem's Lot (1978) - The original made for TV adaptation of Stephen King's novel of the same name starring the late David Soul and Lew Ayres. Originally a two part mini-series, be sure to watch the unedited version. There is a cut down version that omits so much that it is almost unwatchable. A couple of scenes involving windows and a rocking chair still give me the creeps.

And an honorable mention...

The Car (1977) - Like every decade, the 1970s produced its share of low budget B grade films that served their purpose (making money) but were otherwise unimpressive and usually pretty forgettable. The Car starring James Brolin is a pretty good representative example of that sort. The film is listed in John Wilson's book The Official Razzie Movie Guide as one of the 100 Most Enjoyably Bad Movies Ever Made. Oddly though, this one which was also once described as "so bad it might actually be good," has gained something of a cult film status among horror movie junkies. 

Who is really footing the bill for the AI data-centers?

Trump Administration Sues to Block Alaska Senate Certification if Republican Loses

The Justice Department has filed suit against Alaska election officials, seeking to block the results of November’s U.S. Senate election from being certified unless incumbent Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan wins.

In papers filed in federal court, attorneys for the DOJ argued the presence of Daniel J. Sullivan, Jr. on the ballot could mislead supporters of the sitting senator, Daniel S. Sullivan.

“For example, some supporters of Senator Sullivan likely will inadvertently vote for Daniel J. Sullivan,” the filing says.

“To guard against this danger, it is vital that Defendants not certify any election result that may be impacted by voter confusion,” the suit says.

The Trump administration is seeking a court order blocking the results from being certified “if: (1) Senator Sullivan does not win the election; and (2) had all votes cast for Daniel J. Sullivan been cast instead for Senator Sullivan and Alaska’s rank-choice process played out accordingly, Senator Sullivan would have won the election.”

The filing by Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward said the action was brought “to protect the integrity of the 2026 Senate election in Alaska.”

Read the rest here. 

FWIW, there is not a shadow of doubt that the second Daniel Sullivan on the ballot is the product of some Democratic Party dirty tricks op. But as far as I am aware, it's no more illegal than the GOPs attempted election rigging via mid decade gerrymandering and redistricting. 

Liechtenstein prince vetoes abortion bill

Liechtenstein's Hereditary Prince Alois vetoed a bill on Tuesday that would have legalized abortion during the first 12 weeks of a woman's pregnancy, blocking a citizens' initiative co-signed by a quarter of voters and passed in the micro-state's parliament.

Performing an abortion is currently illegal in the principality, unless the pregnancy presents a severe risk to the pregnant woman's health or if it is the result of a sexual assault. Women seeking an abortion usually travel to clinics in neighboring Austria or Switzerland, which campaigners say adds uncertainty and an unnecessary financial hurdle to the process.

Read the rest here.

AXIOS!

A Seasoned GOP Pollster Isn't Buying the Blue Wave

Democrats are salivating over, and Republicans are bracing for, a potentially massive blue wave. One GOP pollster is urging everyone to calm down.

Patrick Ruffini, a founding partner at Echelon Insights, has been loudly throwing cold water on Democrats’ hopes of sweeping the red state Senate seats that have become battlegrounds in a worsening national environment for Republicans.

“The polls are, I think, intentionally inflating the size of the battleground,” Ruffini told POLITICO.

Democrats are pushing to flip Senate seats in Iowa, Texas, Ohio and Alaska — all states that President Donald Trump won by at least 11 points in 2024 — with dreams of going even deeper into the map Kansas, South Carolina and even Mississippi. Sensing a potential disaster, Republicans have significantly curtailed their investments in North Carolina and Georgia to direct resources elsewhere.

Ruffini, who isn’t polling for candidates or party committees in any federal races, said he’s skeptical of Democrats flipping some of those seats, particularly in the Midwest, and gives the GOP a coin flip’s chance at keeping control of the Senate.

If a blue wave were to come, he said it would defy the ingrained partisanship in deep-red states that has mirrored growing political polarization around the country.

“I think it would be somewhat of a historic shift if that were to happen,” he said.

Read the rest here.

Report: Musk approached Trump to slow down Starlink in Ukraine

Elon Musk approached Donald Trump with the idea of slowing down Starlink in Ukraine, The Telegraph can reveal.

The billionaire tech entrepreneur approached the US president with the proposal to introduce speed limits on the system, which hampered Ukraine’s drone defences, according to four sources familiar with the discussions.

One of the sources said Mr Trump “agreed” with Mr Musk’s suggestion, paving the way for the Pentagon to execute the slowdown on Starshield, the military-grade version of the satellite communications system.

Mr Musk had previously blamed Mr Trump for the chaos, claiming any changes would have been decided by the US military and ultimately the president.

At the time, Mr Trump was embroiled in a row with Volodymyr Zelensky over Ukraine’s strikes on Russian oil refineries.

US officials had warned Kyiv’s team of peace negotiators that Washington could shut off intelligence-sharing and other kinds of support if the long-range attacks were not halted.

Earlier this week, one of Mr Zelensky’s advisers said Mr Musk’s SpaceX had restricted access to the Starshield system, used by Kyiv to intercept jet-powered drones and strike behind enemy lines.

Speaking on the fringes of an EU summit in Brussels on Friday, the Ukrainian president called the slowdown a “very dangerous and unpleasant surprise”.

On Wednesday, Mr Musk denied he was responsible for limiting Starlink access, blaming the White House. He claimed that “any limits on speed or usage” were “decided by the US military and ultimately POTUS”, referring to Mr Trump.

However, after what was described as a “night of carnage” in Kyiv because of the blackout, a senior source said Mr Musk had been alarmed about the possibility of adverse consumer reaction in Europe.

Read the rest here.

U.S. may have withheld warnings to Ukraine of Russian strikes that killed 6, cut power to 600,000

The U.S. may have intentionally withheld early warnings this week of Russian strikes on Ukraine, multiple sources familiar with the matter told CBS News.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine "received no advance warning from our partners" when Russia launched a ballistic missile barrage at Kyiv and other locations early Tuesday. 

The sources said American officials told their Ukrainian counterparts the system used to detect Russian missile launches had failed due to "bad weather." Ukrainian officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity given the sensitivity of the topic, told CBS News they did not believe the excuse, and they accused the U.S. instead of "playing" with the system. 

When Russia launched another wave of ballistic missiles around 3 a.m. local time on Wednesday, the sources said the U.S. early warning system appeared to be working again. 

Read the rest here.

Leo XIV Has Cancer

ROME (AP) — Pope Leo XIV underwent surgery Tuesday that confirmed that he has lung cancer, and doctors removed the lower lobe of his right lung, the Vatican said.

Tests confirmed a diagnosis of lung adenocarcinoma, the Vatican said in a medical bulletin after the surgery. It said the diagnosis had been suspected by preoperative tests and was confirmed during surgery.

The statement made no mention of treatment going forward, and the Vatican said doctors were not currently speaking of chemotherapy or other therapies pending the results of other tests. The Vatican press office noted the medical statement spoke of the “radical” removal of the lobe as an indication that doctors removed all suspect tissue in hopes of removing any lingering traces of the cancer.

Leo’s lymph nodes also would have been removed and tested, to determine if the cancer had spread, and there was no word yet on those test results.

“Adenocarcinoma is the most common (type of lung cancer), also with the most favorable prognosis,” said Dr. Stephen Liu, a lung cancer expert at Georgetown’s Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center. “While we know the diagnosis we now need to know the stage.”

“We now need to know how big it is, how many spots in the lung are involved. Is it just one nodule, or more than one, and the lymph nodes, are they cancerous?” Liu said.

Read the rest here.

Poll Suggests Sharp Decline in Support for Trump Among Republicans

One in four Trump voters say GOP candidates should break with the president to win in November, according to the latest POLITICO Poll, conducted by independent firm PF Global.

The findings underscore the degree to which even loyal Republicans understand President Donald Trump is a drag on the ticket. Persistent inflation, $4 gas prices, 7% mortgage rates, a quagmire in the Middle East and a trade war with Canada have given Republican candidates no shortage of opportunities to take the president to task.

Read the rest here.

Trump to Strikes Deal to Buy Diesel From Putin

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said that he has struck a deal to obtain diesel from Russia, a stunning reversal of years of U.S. pressure on Moscow over its war with Ukraine and an attempt to address high fuel prices ahead of the U.S. midterm elections.

Trump said on social media on Friday that he struck the deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin in a phone call in which he was expected to discuss a suspected case of plague in Russia. Instead, Trump announced that Russia will immediately supply more than 300,000 tons of diesel, followed by an additional 500,000 tons in November and 1 million tons “immediately thereafter.” Russia will deliver another 3 million tons “within a short period of time” after that, he wrote.

Trump’s shocking announcement comes after he signed a sweeping Russia sanctions law last month that aimed at clamping down on Russia’s energy economy, among other areas, that fuel its war against Ukraine.

His move casts doubt on the likelihood of the White House imposing sanctions on Russia this month, given that a bipartisan law passed by Congress directs the administration to target the top importers of Russian oil and gas.

Trump, in his announcement, did not address the sanctions or Russia’s war but said, “Lower prices for Americans, especially our Great Farmers, Ranchers, and Truckers, is my Greatest Priority.”

Read the rest here.

The sheer incompetence and immorality of this president beggars the imagination.