Saturday, October 3, 2026 · Evening Edition

Today

By StaffNews Desk

Good morning. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth signaled Saturday that some US troops could be pulled from Europe and redeployed to the Western Hemisphere as the administration ramps up its deadly campaign against drug cartels in South America. The empire is turning its guns south, the buildup sold as a war on cartels.

At home, the administration is buying time with cash. Trump pledged Friday to send $90 rebate checks to millions of seniors on Medicare; more than 20 million will be eligible, the latest free money timed to the midterms. He then rallied outside Dayton for Jon Husted against Sherrod Brown in a tight Ohio Senate race.

Jared Kushner, Trump's Gaza "Board of Peace" leader, runs an investment fund that holds the largest stake in an Israeli financial institution that backs arms, a CNN investigation found. The war that enriches him grinds on: this week Israeli settlers carried out more pogroms and Israel killed another Gaza journalist.

The state's own security apparatus is leaking. A massive hack tore through the FBI, hitting most employees and reaching local officials — the intruders themselves disbelieving how easily the data sat there, an agent told MS NOW — even as the bureau crowed over the arrest of Anibal Canelon Aguirre, the first cyber fugitive ever placed on its Top 10 Most Wanted list.

The same machinery turns on the people here. In Austin, a man shot by ICE appeared in court in a wheelchair, the bullet still lodged in his spine, now facing criminal charges; the administration still won't decide the fate of Temporary Protected Status for Salvadorans. Democratic candidate Ben Braver was jailed after heckling JD Vance — "Thank you so much, Vice President Vance, for the gas prices!" he shouted. Mariann Budde, the bishop who told Trump to "have mercy" on immigrants and LGBTQ+ people, is resigning her Washington post, while Trump posts Senator Tom Cotton's phone number and urges supporters to call his personal cellphone over daylight saving time.