Tuesday, October 6, 2026 · Morning Edition

Today

By StaffNews Desk

Good morning. More than 500 U.S. citizens have been detained in Trump's immigration crackdown, some handcuffed or held at gunpoint. The violence reaches ordinary people doing ordinary work: Norma Bowe, a nurse and grandmother, was attacked by ICE agents on camera while working at her mobile medical clinic outside the Delaney Hall immigration center during protests. Hers is [one of more than 50 legal claims the ACLU filed across 17 states on behalf of people harmed by federal immigration agents](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/video/2026/oct/06/nurse-attack-ice-agents-stateside-podcast) — a scale that names this as policy, not excess.

The repression runs through the state itself. A former FBI analyst, now a whistleblower, says the White House pushed an unconstitutional probe of protesters, with supervisors told not to put things in writing so directives came in face-to-face meetings. The same administration is in court against Disney's ABC through its FCC after Trump repeatedly demanded the network fire Jimmy Kimmel for mocking him. And top lawyers at the White House and OMB reportedly signed off on spending DHS funding on ads celebrating President Trump — public money bent into propaganda for the man in charge.

Abroad, the administration swings between threat and expansion. At a rally in Nebraska, Trump suggested Iran could “take out” Los Angeles and San Diego, comments that drew condemnation. He also said the United States will consider a permanent military base in Lithuania, the Baltic state offering to cover the costs.

In New York, Mayor Zohran Mamdani's first-of-its-kind municipal strategy to combat antisemitism drew criticism from Jewish leaders who say its omission of Israel and anti-Zionism overlooks a factor behind the rise in hate crimes. And in Maine, Republican Collins is staking her future on quiet pushback, facing her toughest reelection fight yet.