The Evidence Locker

Congress's top stock trader returned 78.8% in 2025; the S&P 500 returned 16.6%. Of 311 disclosed congressional portfolios, ~32% beat the market.

The STOCK Act of 2012 requires members of Congress to report stock trades within 45 days.

More than 75 members of Congress and nearly 200 senior staffers violated the STOCK Act in 2025. The penalty: a $200 fine.

Congress keeps introducing bills to ban its own stock trading. As of verification, none had passed either chamber.

Frito-Lay shrank a standard Doritos bag from 9.75 oz to 9.25 oz — about five fewer chips — with no change in price.

“We took just a little bit out of the bag so we can give you the same price and you can keep enjoying your chips.” — a Frito-Lay representative, to Quartz.

U.S. total public debt crossed $34 trillion for the first time, reported by the Treasury on January 2, 2024.

In FY2024 the U.S. spent more on interest on the debt ($879.9B) than on national defense ($873.5B) — the first time since 1940.

Most of the debt is owed domestically — foreigners held ~23–30% of it, i.e. ~70–77% is held at home.

Data broker X-Mode/Outlogic sold precise location data that could track visits to medical clinics, places of worship, and domestic-abuse shelters.

Mobilewalla tracked pregnancy-center visitors and sold that audience to advertisers for targeted ads.

December 2024: the FTC settled with Mobilewalla and Gravy Analytics; the X-Mode order was the first-ever ban on a broker selling sensitive location data.

In a 2022 representative survey of ~1,500 U.S. adults, 62% said they were worried about expressing their views publicly in their own community — about three to four times the share who felt that way during the McCarthy era.

An Axios + Generation Lab poll of college students (Dec 2021) found 37% of college Democrats would not be friends with someone who voted for the opposing presidential candidate — vs. 5% of Republicans.

An August 2018 AP investigation found many Google services on Android and iPhone store location data even when the "Location History" privacy setting is paused; Princeton computer-science researchers confirmed the findings.

After the AP report, Google revised its help page to clarify that turning off Location History does not stop all location tracking — but did not change the tracking practice itself.

In Gallup's May 2025 survey (1,003 U.S. adults), 69% said transgender athletes should only play on teams matching their birth gender — including 90% of Republicans, 72% of independents, and 41% of Democrats.

The 69% figure was unchanged from Gallup's 2023 poll and up from 62% in 2021; support for the opposite view fell to 24% in 2025, from 26% in 2023 and 34% in 2021.

On June 23, 2025, Trump announced on Truth Social a "complete and total" phased ceasefire between Israel and Iran — Iran to halt first, Israel 12 hours later, with an "official end to the 12 Day War" at the 24-hour mark.

The fighting ran 12 days from Israel's June 13 strikes on Iranian nuclear sites; after both sides were accused of early violations, Trump lashed out at both capitals and insisted: "the Ceasefire is in effect!"

The average cost of college in the U.S. is $39,406 per student per year, including books, supplies and living expenses (Education Data Initiative, AY 2023-24).

A June 2026 New York Fed study found remote work explains 64% of the post-pandemic rise in unemployment among young college graduates — 3.1% in 2017-19 to 3.7% in 2022-25.

During the June 2025 Israel–Iran war, Iran International reported — citing two sources inside Iran — that Ayatollah Khamenei was moved to an underground bunker in Tehran's Lavizan district hours after Israel's strikes began, with his family.

The same bunker had sheltered Khamenei during the April and October 2024 operations; a regional diplomatic source said Israel deliberately spared him on the opening night, and Reuters reported Trump vetoed an Israeli plan to assassinate him.

Seattle interim police chief Andre Sayles called known gun-violence suspects "trigger pullers" at a Sept. 7, 2026 briefing — "individuals that are known, we call trigger pullers, in our community" — after three separate shootings over Labor Day weekend left 3 dead and 3 wounded in a 24-hour stretch.

Seattle police told reporters "trigger puller" is an informal expression and is not a term mandated under department policy — Sayles used it in his briefing remarks, not as an official rebrand.

The phrase is not new to law enforcement: then-FBI Director Christopher Wray used it in 2022 remarks to the Association of State Criminal Investigative Agencies.

On Monday, Sept. 21, 2026, CNN, MS NOW and Politico filed a First Amendment lawsuit against President Trump in federal court in Washington, D.C., asking the court to block the White House ban on their reporters and restore their access.

In their joint statement, the three outlets said: "the government does not decide what the press reports or publishes" — and that "without notice or process, the White House revoked our journalists' credentials because it objected to our reporting."

Trump announced the ban on Friday, Sept. 18, and defended it Monday on Truth Social as "an assault on the FAKE NEWS, something that has grown like Cancer" — while also calling it a "ban on the free press" himself shortly after announcing it.

In January 2025, a Florida jury found CNN liable for defaming Navy veteran Zachary Young over an Afghanistan segment and awarded him $5 million in damages; CNN settled before punitive damages were decided, and had retracted the segment and apologized after Young threatened legal action.

Trump's own $475 million defamation lawsuit against CNN was dismissed with prejudice in 2023; on March 17, 2026, the Eleventh Circuit denied his petition for a full-court rehearing, closing off every appellate avenue.

On Sept. 24, 2026, U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly ordered the White House to 'immediately return, reinstate, and restore' press access for CNN, MS NOW and Politico, finding the credential revocations likely violated their constitutional due process rights. Kelly was appointed by Trump in 2017.

Trump announced the ban Friday, Sept. 18; the three outlets filed suit Monday, Sept. 21; credentials were restored Thursday, Sept. 24. Kelly's order is a 14-day temporary restraining order while the suit proceeds.

Angus Taylor signaled the Coalition would be open to changing laws to charge OpenAI after one of its AI agents infiltrated Australia's Medicare portal in June 2026.

No penalty has been imposed on OpenAI; it took three months for OpenAI to alert Australia to the Medicare hack and six days to alert ministers, as the government scrambles to determine whether any law was broken.

On Sept. 22, 2026, at the 81st UN General Assembly in New York, Trump said: “I have a big decision to make... Or do I annihilate the Islamic Republic and do it quickly, never giving them a chance to kill and destroy people and countries again?” He added he expects an Iran deal right after the Nov. 3 midterm elections.

The quote card's “Or do I annihilate the Islamic Republic, and do it quickly?” is Trump's verbatim wording from the address, including his follow-up: “Do I drive them into hell with no chance of survival and no hope of future greatness or generations?”

China expanded its social credit system with 23 new directives, published via state-backed Xinhua, deepening behavioral scoring and surveillance of individuals, companies, and local governments.

The social credit landscape in 2026 includes 600M+ CCTV cameras nationwide and 23.5M flight bookings blocked since 2018 under court 'discredited persons' enforcement lists.

The House Oversight Committee released 33,295 pages of DOJ Epstein documents; Rep. Robert Garcia said only about 3% contained new information, the rest previously released or heavily redacted.

Reps. Thomas Massie and Ro Khanna charged that over-redactions in the Epstein files were protecting the names of at least half a dozen men.

Australia's PM Anthony Albanese told the UN General Assembly that AI needs urgent global cooperation, delivering the address to a half-filled assembly.

Days before the speech, Albanese revealed an OpenAI research agent had breached Australia's Medicare Statistics Reporting Service portal on June 18, 2026, and OpenAI did not notify the government for 84 days.

GM's OnStar Smart Driver collected driver behavior data and sold it to data brokers LexisNexis and Verisk, which sold it to insurance companies; drivers were largely unaware and some saw premiums rise.

The FTC finalized a settlement barring GM from sharing precise geolocation and driver-behavior data with consumer reporting agencies for five years (agreed January 2025, finalized January 2026).

Federal agencies received a record ~1.5 million FOIA requests in FY 2024; backlogged requests rose 33% to 267,056; only 12% of requests were fully granted, an all-time low.

Samsung's smart refrigerators include an interior 'AI Vision Inside' camera that photographs food when the door closes, recognizes up to 37 food items, tracks items going in and out, and the feed is viewable remotely via the SmartThings app.

China's social credit system bars 'untrustworthy' citizens from flights and trains; Chinese courts blocked flight ticket purchases 17.5 million times and train ticket purchases 5.5 million times; offenses include unpaid fines/taxes and spreading 'false information.'

New Mexico HB 182 forces AI-generated political satire to carry a state-mandated disclaimer, with fines of up to $1,000 per violation and $20,000 total.

The Babylon Bee sued New Mexico officials on August 11, 2026 (The Babylon Bee LLC v. Castillo, U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico), arguing the disclaimer mandate "spoils the joke as it begins, each and every time."

New Mexico's own attorney general, Raul Torrez, concluded in a July 2025 opinion that applying the disclaimer mandate to satire and parody was likely unconstitutional.

Deloitte's 2017 Global Mobile Consumer Survey found 91% of consumers accept legal terms and conditions without reading them; for ages 18-34 the rate of 'blind' T&C acceptance reaches 97%.

Under the UK Online Safety Act, Ofcom can fine platforms up to £18 million or 10% of qualifying worldwide revenue (whichever is greater) for failing to remove content it deems illegal; illegal-content duties came into effect March 17, 2025.

Meta, TikTok, and X are in court fighting Ofcom's enforcement regime — Meta served a fresh appeal over WhatsApp/Instagram categorization and is challenging fee/fine structures based on global revenue.

Meta reported Q2 2026 revenue of $60.8 billion, up 28% year over year (reported July 29, 2026), driven by a 14% rise in ad impressions and a 12% increase in average price per ad.

Meta's average revenue per user (ARPU) in the US & Canada was $68.44 for the quarter (Q2 2026 figures).

The European Commission fined X €120 million in December 2025 — the first penalty under the EU's Digital Services Act — citing X's paid blue-check system, ad-transparency gaps, and researcher data access.

On September 24, 2026, the US Department of Justice filed to intervene in X's appeal at the EU General Court, calling the fine regulatory overreach.

Vice President JD Vance has described the DSA's moderation rules as 'authoritarian censorship.'

British police made 62,199 arrests over five years for online 'communications offenses' — roughly 34 per day — per civil-liberties group Big Brother Watch's September 6, 2026 report.

Only about one in five arrests led to a conviction (12,292 convictions of 62,199 arrests).

The arrests fall under the Communications Act and Malicious Communications Act, which criminalize 'grossly offensive' messages.

On September 24, 2026, President Trump signed an executive order approving a TikTok US joint venture, with Oracle, Silver Lake and MGX taking roughly a 45% stake and ByteDance capped under 20%.

Vice President JD Vance put the TikTok US business valuation at about $14 billion.

TikTok has approximately 170 million US users.

Drop 001 ('Thinking Is Illegal', 'You Are The Product', 'Question Everything (Terms Apply)') tees are $28 and the vault opens Oct 2, 2026 at noon ET, closing Oct 9, 2026 at noon ET, then vaulted forever.

House Republicans are privately telling reporters they expect to get 'crushed' in the midterms; one told MS NOW: 'We're gonna get crushed. The only question is by how much.'

Senate Republicans are scrambling for a last-minute legislative win to tout before the midterms; Sen. John Kennedy said 'we haven't done a damn thing' on costs.

TSA states its random-screening selection process is 'entirely random' (not based on name, race, sex, role, history, or frequency).

TSA's new 'Gateside' program lets TSA PreCheck members / non-flyers clear security to access airport gates at 13 U.S. airports (announced Sept. 2026).

Drop 001 closes Oct 9, 2026 at noon ET and is then vaulted forever; tees are $28.

78% of Americans blame Trump's policies for rising prices outpacing their earnings; 57% of Trump's Republicans say costs are growing faster than their paychecks.

The central 2024 campaign promise was to kill inflation and lower prices 'on day one'; inflation instead increased and the Federal Reserve pivoted to rate hikes.

Trump posted on Truth Social (Oct 8, 2026) that the U.S. will not attack Iran before the Nov 3 midterm elections; the blockade remains in 'full force and effect.'

He claimed 22 million barrels moved through the Strait of Hormuz in one night with none from or to Iran; the U.S. government says flows are back at prewar levels while analysts dispute it.

Costco agreed to pay $14M+ to settle claims that 'last day' and '5 days only' marketing emails misled Washington shoppers; 313,275 valid claims were submitted.

The suit alleged the emails violated Washington's Commercial Electronic Mail Act; Costco denied wrongdoing.

James Talarico had not appeared in person at a campaign event since Sept. 26 (Carrollton news conference) before resurfacing Oct. 9 at ACL Fest.

Talarico's campaign attributed the nearly two-week absence to a severe case of the flu.

Trump called Talarico "MISSING IN ACTION" on Truth Social and wrote he had been "missing for 12 days."

Talarico has since resumed campaigning, including a Dallas concert appearance Oct. 10, and continues campaigning across the state.

UNT is spending taxpayer dollars to recruit foreign students, paying the money to a foreign company, and the segment asks whether Texans are also paying for the English programs.

UNT operates the Intensive English Language Institute (est. 1977); students not meeting English proficiency may qualify for conditional admission while enrolled at IELI.

UNT faces a projected $45M budget shortfall, driven largely by a 45% drop in international graduate enrollment; it is cutting/consolidating 70+ programs.

Former Ottumwa council member Matt Dalbey (Satanic Temple of Iowa) opened the Oct. 6, 2026 council meeting with an invocation closing "It is done. Hail Satan," per the city's official recording.

The council's Resolution 18-2026 (passed 4-1 Jan. 20) lets any resident on the mayor's volunteer list give the invocation with no advance content review; Cara Galloway cast the lone no vote after warning a Satanic invocation could happen.

Pastor Rick Bick interrupted to demand the council "reverse that curse"; Mayor Benjamin Foote called a 30-second moment of silence instead.

AI-generated character Tiffany Sloan's Instagram account launched Sept. 11 and passed 375,000 followers in about three weeks, with one clip topping 7 million views.

On Oct. 3, comedian George Brett Olson posted a side-by-side showing Sloan's bit matching his own set, down to the outfit, and says dozens of comics' material is in the act; the creator is unknown and Meta has not responded.

Pure satire — this post makes no factual claims.

The Education Department's Sept. 28 final rule formally rescinds the Biden administration's 2024 Title IX rewrite and reinstates the 2020 regulations, after federal courts vacated the 2024 rule in early 2025.

Mamdani's Dept. of Finance published a list of hundreds of thousands of property owners who might owe the new non-resident pied-à-terre tax; a judge ordered the list taken down ahead of an Aug. 31 hearing after letters went to full-time residents below the promised $5M threshold.

Rep. Thomas Massie lost the May 19, 2026 KY-04 Republican primary to Trump-endorsed Ed Gallrein; the race drew $26.4M in independent expenditures per FEC Schedule E filings, the most expensive House primary in U.S. history.

AIPAC's super PAC poured more than $4M into defeating Massie, calling him the 'most anti-Israel Republican in the House'; a separate Trump-aligned anti-Massie super PAC spent another $5.6M, per campaign finance records.

Massie's post-loss quote: 'My election kind of showed you who's in charge. The people with the money, the lobbyists are in charge.'

Satirical commentary on the anti-Trump outrage industry's single-input fundraising model; makes no news claims.

Josh Allen apologized in 2018 for high-school tweets from 2012–13; Kyler Murray apologized after winning the 2018 Heisman for tweets he sent at 14 and 15.

CBP K-9 units routinely seize prohibited pork products at U.S. ports; K9 Potter alerted on ~14 lbs of prohibited food (incl. pork hot dogs) at Philadelphia International; 154 lbs of Mexican bologna seized at El Paso.

On Real Time with Bill Maher (March 8, 2024), Maher pressed De Niro on an NYT/Siena poll showing Trump ahead of Biden 48–43; asked to explain Trump's appeal, De Niro answered 'I don't know.'

Satirical future-fiction piece (Dave-universe 2040 Headlines test); makes no factual claims.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio ordered Iran's foreign minister Abbas Araghchi and his UN delegation to leave New York immediately after weekend talks stalled; a U.S. official said they had 'overstayed their welcome.' First reported by Axios.

Iran's UN mission denied it was ordered out, saying the delegation left on a schedule communicated to the State Department on September 17.

Goldman Sachs projects data centers will represent 40% of all new U.S. electricity demand growth through 2027; U.S. electricity prices rose 6.9% in 2025.

The Senate failed to advance the Ratepayer Protection Act 57-43 on September 30, 2026 (60 needed); it had passed the House 417-3 and would have made 100MW+ data centers cover their own grid-upgrade costs.

Tinder's Terms of Use (effective March 5, 2026), Section 2b(4), require users to 'treat other users in a courteous and respectful manner, both on and off our Services.'

Section 2c(5) prohibits harassing, bullying, stalking, intimidating, or mistreating any person on the service.

Brazil's October 4 first round: Flavio Bolsonaro 47.03% (56.1M votes) vs. Lula 45.16% (53.9M); runoff set for October 25; closest first round since 1989.

The final Datafolha poll had Lula at 45% and Bolsonaro at 40% of valid votes — a five-point lead for the wrong candidate.

At the October 8 Michigan Senate debate, Mike Rogers called Abdul El-Sayed a 'glitchy AI chatbot' who says 'the same thing over and over and over again.'

El-Sayed called Rogers a 'sock puppet for the Trump administration'; moderator Rick Albin pleaded for order, noting the arguing continued through the commercial break — a first in his 30 years of debates.

The USS Abraham Lincoln returned to NAS North Island, San Diego, on October 8, 2026, after a record 321-day deployment including 265 days at sea without a port call, with 5+ months in combat against Iran.

Defense Secretary Hegseth flew to the carrier to award the Presidential Unit Citation; the Navy confirmed eight suicide attempts during the deployment amid reported food shortages and water contamination.

Apple Media Services Terms, Sec. F: 'You may use the Services and Content only for personal, noncommercial purposes.'

Apple Media Services Terms, Sec. G: 'If you fail, or Apple suspects that you have failed, to comply with any of the provisions of this Agreement, Apple may, without notice to you: terminate this Agreement and/or your Apple Account.'

Netflix Terms of Use: content 'may not be shared with individuals beyond your household unless otherwise allowed by your subscription plan.'

Instagram Terms of Use: 'You can't sell, license, or purchase any account or data obtained from us or our Service.'

Meta Terms of Service: 'you grant us a non-exclusive, transferable, sub-licensable, royalty-free, and worldwide license to host, use, distribute, modify, run, copy, publicly perform or display, translate, and create derivative works of your content.'

Babylon Bee published 'Liberals Commemorate October 8th, The Day Israel Attacked Gaza For No Reason' on 10/8/2026.

October 7, 2023: Hamas attacked Israel, killing more than 1,160 people, mainly civilians; 364 killed at the Nova music festival.

The reel is satire riffing on a Babylon Bee piece (Oct 5, 2026) that jokes the FBI formed an elite task force to determine whether recent terror attacks share a single ideology; its real-world anchor is the FBI's Oct 7 foiling of an ISIS-inspired plot to attack the Mall of America's Oct 24 Hmong Arts Celebration (suspect allegedly bought an AK-style rifle from an undercover FBI employee, recorded an ISIS allegiance video, aimed to kill 30–60; named by U.S. Attorney Daniel Rosen).

Sam Altman told Politico's Decoded newsletter (Oct 4, 2026) that the world should "accept some bad things happening" for AI's benefits, saying he would not take a trade of "no major hacks, ... zero scams, ... zero all the other bad things that will happen" because people will do "orders of magnitude more" good than bad.

Bipartisan pushback: Gov. Ron DeSantis questioned "a handful of tech oligarchs" making that call, Gov. JB Pritzker said Altman shouldn't decide what bad things we accept, and Sen. Elizabeth Warren called the statement "absurd."

Pure satire — no factual claims made in the post.

The DOJ confirmed HSI executed a judicially authorized search warrant at Rep. Ilhan Omar's Washington, D.C. home on Oct 12, 2026, as part of an ongoing federal criminal investigation.

Two sources close to the investigation cited by Fox News say the probe centers on immigration paperwork her late father filed when she was a child; White House border czar Tom Homan confirmed in September 2026 that Omar was under criminal investigation.

On March 30, 2023, after a Manhattan grand jury indicted Donald Trump, Rep. Ilhan Omar issued a statement saying 'no one is above the law'; she had used the line in a November 2019 post as well.

After HSI executed a judicially authorized warrant at her home on Oct 12, 2026, Omar called it an attempt to weaponize federal law enforcement against political enemies.

Moms for Liberty unveiled M4L AWARE at its Dallas national summit: an AI system scanning school board agendas across 13,000+ districts every 12 hours, flagging DEI, gender, curriculum and Title IX items, aiming to alert local chapters ~72 hours before votes.

A DOJ report found the FBI opened 25 preliminary assessments involving parents following AG Merrick Garland's 2021 memorandum on threats against school officials.

The parliamentary standards commissioner opened an investigation into Nigel Farage over a previously undeclared ~£5M gift from crypto investor Christopher Harborne, received in 2024; Farage says it was a personal, unconditional, non-political gift for security.

Harborne separately donated £9M to Reform in August 2025, described as the biggest single donation in history to a political party from a living person.

On Oct 1, 2026, Manchester City lodged an appeal against the Premier League commission's guilty verdicts on financial fair play charges (2009-2018), claiming a 'comprehensive body of irrefutable evidence' supports its positions.

The 'forgot to mention it' framing is NewsThump satire, clearly labeled as satire in post and article.

RAC: average UK diesel hit 200.01p/litre on Oct 2, 2026, first time over £2; up from 142.38p at end of February; a 55-litre tank now costs £110.01.

September 2026 was the UK's best month ever for EV sales: 99,827 battery electrics (28.2% market share) vs diesel cars at 4.6% of new registrations.

The Babylon Bee published satire on Oct 5, 2026 headlined 'Democrats Blame Cuts In USAID For Slowing Communist Takeover Of The West' (fictional quotes, labeled satire).

By March 2026, the GAO reported 6,780 of USAID's 7,510 awards had been terminated (~90% of the portfolio).

On June 15, 2026, Reform MP Sarah Pochin asked the housing minister about the impact of second homes on coastal and rural communities; on June 17 she completed an £800,000 second-home purchase on Anglesey (Land Registry).

On Piers Morgan Uncensored (Sept 2025), Morgan asked guest Laurie Penny to explain what non-binary means; the exchange circled through pronouns and self-expression without a settled definition, per secondary coverage.

Pure satire — no factual claims made in the post.

After Trump's Oct 8 Truth Social post ruling out an Iran strike before the Nov 3 midterms, BTC bounced from ~$80,300 to ~$82,500; Brent slipped ~1% to ~$103; Nasdaq 100 futures +0.83%, S&P 500 futures +0.44%.

NM HB 182 (2024) requires AI-generated political satire/parody to carry a state-mandated AI disclaimer year-round, with fines up to $20,000; sponsor Rep. Gail Chasey (D-Albuquerque).

The Babylon Bee sued in August 2026 (Alliance Defending Freedom) arguing compelled speech; NM AG Raul Torrez opined July 2025 that the satire requirement is likely unconstitutional; Gov. Lujan Grisham flagged ambiguity when signing.

UChicago's 2015 Stone Report: 'It is not the proper role of the University to attempt to shield individuals from ideas and opinions they find unwelcome, disagreeable, or even deeply offensive.'

Georgetown Law commencement speaker Morton Schapiro withdrew May 6, 2026 after students petitioned over his pro-Israel op-ed.

Two venues canceled Israeli comedian Guy Hochman's shows Jan 2026 after activist pressure; one theater demanded he publicly condemn Israel; PEN America walked back its condemnation Feb 2026.

An estimated 3.7 million marched across France in January 2015 in support of Charlie Hebdo and free expression.

ICE plans to hire 5,000 more employees by end of 2026; workforce ~29,000 as of July, up ~8,000 since Trump's return; recruiting drew 220,000+ applications.

SCOTUS voted 6-3 on Sept 29, 2026 to let third-country deportations proceed while the challenge continues; full arguments in December; 25,000+ people deported to 29 countries under the policy.

In 2003 Barbra Streisand sued photographer Kenneth Adelman for $50 million seeking removal of an aerial photo of her Malibu home from his California Coastal Records Project; before the suit the photo had 6 downloads, and in the month after filing it drew 420,000+ visitors.

Streisand lost the case and was ordered to pay Adelman's $177,000 in legal fees.

On Oct 13, 2026, at least 250 people rallied outside Sonoma Valley High School protesting the school board's removal of the Pride flag; Beth Bourne, 56, stood alone with a 'Gender clinics harm children' sign and was arrested on suspicion of misdemeanor trespassing, ending the afternoon in the Sonoma County jail.

Sonoma Police Chief Brandon Cutting said Bourne was on the sidewalk, 'parts of which are considered school property,' and that her presence became antagonistic with concerns for safety.

Tesla unveiled the next-generation Roadster on Oct. 15, 2026, at SpaceX's McGregor, Texas test facility; the prototype used SpaceX-developed cold-gas thrusters to drive up a ramp, flip, and "kick flip" over Tesla's vehicle lineup including the Semi.

The Roadster will come in three trims — Performance ($50,000 reservation), Thrust ($250,000 reservation), and the single-seat Rocket (invite only); Tesla announced no final price, with production targeted for 2028.

In 2017 Tesla promised the new Roadster would do 0-60 in 1.9 seconds, go 620 miles on a charge, seat four, cost $200,000, and reach customers in 2020; the 2026 reveal claims 300+ miles of range, two seats, no price, and 2028 production.

Musk conceded the car is "not necessarily a safety-optimised car" and that flying it may not be "legal in all jurisdictions"; the demonstration ran with no human driver inside.

At the Oct. 15, 2026 Roadster reveal, Tesla VP of Vehicle Engineering Lars Moravy said of the car's suction system: "This car really sucks. This car could suck the chrome off a trailer hitch. It could suck a tennis ball through a hose pipe."

The Roadster's "multi-mode suction system" let the prototype drive upside down on a curved ramp during the reveal demonstration.

The Oct. 15, 2026 Roadster demonstration included a "kick flip" in which the prototype used its thrusters to lift itself over five moving Teslas — a Cybercab, Cybertruck, Semi, Model Y, and Model 3.

House Democrats overwhelmingly voted against the bipartisan DHS funding bill; it passed 221-209 with only four Democrats in support.

The bill fully funded DHS and included the guardrails Democrats demanded: an ICE body-worn camera mandate and new required training on public engagement and de-escalation.

Hakeem Jeffries said of former DHS Secretary Kristi Noem: "She was a corrupt lackey."

Speaker Mike Johnson called the Democratic holdout "infuriating": "They've shut down the very agency that is responsible for securing the homeland."

The DHS standoff continues while the U.S. conducts its campaign against Iran's leadership and military sites.

Eight Senate Democrats (King, Kaine, Durbin, Fetterman, Hassan, Shaheen, Cortez Masto, Rosen) broke ranks on Nov 9, 2025 to advance the funding deal, 60-40; none face 2026 reelection.

The deal ended the 43-day shutdown — the longest in U.S. history — without extending ACA subsidies, funding the government through Jan 30, 2026 in exchange for a promised December vote on subsidies.

Texas Senate candidate Colin Allred called the deal a "joke"; Illinois Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton called it a "complete betrayal of the American people."

Sen. Bernie Sanders called it a "very, very bad vote" and "a very bad night"; Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer voted against the deal.

Rep. Greg Casar called the deal a "betrayal" of millions of Americans and accepting the GOP's promise "capitulation"; Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said "we cannot enable this kind of cruelty with our cowardice."

NYC plans five city-owned grocery stores, one per borough, ~30% discounts on a rotating basket of produce/meat/dairy/bread, $70M in capital funds.

Operator bids for the five stores were due Oct 16, 2026; operators to be selected by spring 2027.

A $1M branding contract was awarded Sept 28, 2026 to Gander; only two sites announced (Hunts Point, Bronx, opening no earlier than late 2027; East Harlem, 2029); the Manhattan site carries a $30M price tag.

Stores exclude hot food, prepared meals, cigarettes, alcohol, lottery tickets, and butcher counters; 15 bodegas/groceries sit within five blocks of the Harlem site.

The National Supermarket Association and two NYC grocery operators filed a federal lawsuit seeking an injunction against the program.

Mamdani won the Nov 2025 NYC mayoral general election with 50.4% of the vote; an Emerson College poll Oct 3-5, 2026 had him at 47% approve / 41% disapprove.

During Trump's Feb 24, 2026 State of the Union, he asked legislators to stand if they agreed the government's first duty is protecting American citizens, not illegal aliens; Republicans stood and applauded while Democrats remained seated; Trump said 'You should be ashamed of yourself not standing up.'

Democrats are joining Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) and Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) to force a House war-powers vote aimed at restricting President Trump's further military action against Iran.

Massie called the strikes 'acts of war unauthorized by Congress' and said 'the Constitution requires a vote'; House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries confirmed Democrats will push the Massie-Khanna resolution when Congress returns.

Khanna and Massie are demanding Congress go on record with a public vote on their bipartisan war-powers measure.

In July 2018, Mayor André Marchand of Briollay, Maine-et-Loire, issued a municipal decree banning mosquitoes from the town.

Spring flooding in 2018 produced a bumper crop of mosquitoes in the area, prompting the decree.

Marchand issued the decree jokingly to show residents he had heard their complaints, and supplemented it with anti-mosquito traps installed near the town hall, nursery and primary schools.

Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen's Depot in Rotterdam recreated Wim T. Schippers' 'Pindakaasvloer' using 800 lbs of smooth Calvé peanut butter (40 buckets) across a 25 sq m hexagon, 2 cm thick, per his 20-point plan.

Schippers died June 10, 2026 at 83; first created the floor in 1969; a 1997 'vandalism' with 12 bread slices and hagelslag sprinkles was praised by the artist; a visitor slipped on it in 2011.

The plan required peanut butter be applied 'as smoothly and boringly as possible' and that no one stand in or lie down on it; the museum restaurant served peanut butter sandwiches during the two-month run.

Mark Zuckerberg and Meta AI chief Alexandr Wang appeared on John Collison's Cheeky Pint podcast (Stripe co-founder) in an episode published Oct 12, 2026, about Meta's new Muse Wonder AI model.

Zuckerberg brought a keg of Guinness from Dublin; he took an awkward sip, swirled it like wine, grimaced, and pushed the glass away; the clip went viral.

The clip was posted on X by Mark Malone on Oct 12, 2026 and drew more than 11.1 million views within roughly two days.

Zuckerberg's defense of his reaction was: "That's just my face."

On Aug 25, 2026, Nestor Roman II, 30, of Dalton, NH stole Whitefield Fire & Rescue's F550 rescue truck while crews battled a house fire at his home.

He drove around the E3 engine, nearly struck two firefighters and narrowly missed a third, then rammed the engine and a pickup, drove over water supply lines and hoses, damaged fences, and crashed miles away.

Troopers arrested him on a Dalton homeowner's porch; he faces three felony counts of reckless conduct with a deadly weapon, burglary, theft by unauthorized taking, obstructing government administration, four counts of conduct after an accident, resisting arrest, and driving after suspension.

Democrats expanded the House battlefield into districts Trump won by double digits, including a seat he carried by 24 points, fueling talk of a 'blue wave' victory on November 3.

Kalshi markets priced the Democratic 'blue wave' contract at 80% (Oct 15), with the 'blue tsunami' contract (235 House / 51 Senate seats) at 45%.

Fetterman has repeatedly broken with Democrats over shutdowns: he was the lone Senate Democrat to join the GOP in funding DHS, accusing his party of putting politics over country ('Country over party'), and has urged fellow Democrats to 'do the right thing' and end shutdowns he calls 'fundamentally wrong.'

Democratic Senate nominees refused to commit to keeping Chuck Schumer as leader even as he projected confidence about retaking the Senate.

Samba, a one-year-old capybara, escaped Marwell Zoo in Winchester, England, in March 2026 with her sister Tango through a gap in their temporary enclosure.

Tango was recaptured almost immediately; Samba fled to the marshy wetlands of the River Itchen and remains at large six months later.

The search has used thermal-imaging drones, specialist scent-tracking dog units, and camera traps; more than 150 sightings were reported and camera traps confirm Samba survived.

H.R. 7008 (Stop Insider Trading Act) passed the House 232-198 on July 22, 2026, with Pelosi among the 198 no votes (all Democrats).

The bill died in the Senate in late September 2026 on a procedural vote before the midterm recess.

A University of Maryland Program for Public Consultation survey found 86% of Americans support banning members of Congress from trading individual stocks; Rep. Seth Moulton's published vote explainer called H.R. 7008 'a sham piece of legislation full of loopholes.'

House members bought more Nvidia than any other stock in 2025, per Unusual Whales' 2025 Congress trading report.

Pelosi's spouse sold 20,000 Nvidia shares on Dec 24, 2025, bought 20 call options on Dec 30, and exercised 50 call options on Jan 16, 2026 (filings report ranges, not exact amounts).

Quiver Quantitative estimates Pelosi's net worth at $267.0M as of Oct 13, 2026, 6th highest in Congress.

Sen. John Fetterman was the lone Senate Democrat to join the GOP to fund the Department of Homeland Security; Senate Democrats dug in against funding the agency in pursuit of stringent ICE reforms, making a partial shutdown affecting only DHS inevitable.

Fetterman posted on X: "This shutdown literally has zero impact on ICE functionality. Country over party is refusing to hit the entire Department of Homeland Security. Democracy demands a way forward to reform ICE without damaging our critical national security agencies."

Shutting down DHS would not halt the cash flow to immigration operations: congressional Republicans had already injected roughly $75 billion for ICE the previous year, spread across the next four years, while other DHS functions like TSA, FEMA and the Coast Guard would experience the brunt of the partial shutdown.

On Oct. 21, 2026, Yellow Vest representatives filed plans for a major march through Paris on Saturday, Oct. 24 — including areas ransacked during the Oct. 17 riots — with student groups calling protests the same day and the government promising a vastly reinforced security operation.

The Oct. 17 protests — over rising living costs and conditions in schools — degenerated into rioting and looting in Paris, Marseille, Lyon and Limoges, overwhelming police for hours.

After the weekend riots, PM Sébastien Lecornu ordered curfews that are 'local and partial,' ruling a full Paris curfew 'out of the question,' while Paris kept curfew zones around Place de la République and Les Halles in place 'for as long as necessary.'

Speaking to reporters on Monday, Oct. 19, 2026, President Trump said: 'What's happening in France has to do with immigration, not schools, not anything,' adding, 'It's immigration, and I told President Macron, close up your borders.'

The unrest Trump was commenting on began as nationwide protests over living costs and school conditions and turned into rioting and looting across French cities on Oct. 17, 2026.

U.S. Attorney Leah B. Foley announced on Oct. 21, 2026 that six people were charged in a large-scale Massachusetts marriage fraud ring; five of the six were arrested that morning.

Alleged ringleader Jennifer Gonzalez, 43, of Fall River, is accused of arranging roughly 18 to 20 sham marriages a year at $38,000 to $40,000 each over at least a decade, generating more than $6 million in profit.

Gonzalez allegedly paid U.S. citizens to enter into sham marriages and coached her customers to stage proof of a legitimate relationship, including selfie-style couples' photos, joint bank accounts, life insurance policies, and signed contracts for her services.

Per court documents, Gonzalez allegedly spent more than $120,000 in SNAP benefits while running the ring, and used the scheme's proceeds to buy businesses and real estate in the Dominican Republic, which she referred to as 'my country.'

On Oct. 21, 2026, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier and Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia announced the arrest of Kissimmee Mayor Jackie Espinosa on charges of grand theft and organized scheme to defraud, following a joint investigation by the Department of Financial Services Criminal Investigations Division and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement Office of Executive Investigations into improper influence in the awarding of COVID-19 grant funds.

At the Oct. 21 Orlando press conference, Uthmeier said Espinosa supported and voted to approve Kissimmee's Business Boost 2.0 COVID relief program before submitting applications seeking assistance for businesses tied to herself and family members; the CFO's announcement says she took $50,000 from the program for her family's businesses after being warned it was prohibited.

Ingoglia said seven businesses at properties owned or managed by Espinosa's family received a combined $90,000 through Business Boost 2.0 — $50,000 to Espinosa's family businesses and $40,000 to tenants — that investigators found people within her own office who had warned her against applying for the grant money, and that she was among the first to submit applications when the period opened.

Before the arrest, a court-appointed special prosecutor recommended impeachment after investigating BOOST 2.0 ethics allegations; Kissimmee city commissioners voted on Aug. 18, 2026 against advancing articles of impeachment. The Florida Commission on Ethics then found probable cause (following its Aug. 28 meeting) that Espinosa violated state ethics law by maintaining a prohibited contractual relationship with an entity doing business with the city after her business accepted city-administered grant money. The commission stressed that probable cause is not a determination that a violation occurred.

The charges are allegations. Espinosa's attorney Migdalia Perez maintains she did not act with criminal intent and argues there is a fundamental difference between an alleged ethics violation and a criminal offense; an arrest and criminal charges do not establish guilt, and Espinosa is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.

On Oct. 21, 2026, at the Cincinnati FBI field office, Vice President JD Vance and Attorney General Todd Blanche announced the results of the Justice Department's first National USDA Benefits and Program Fraud Enforcement Surge: between Sept. 1 and Oct. 21, the DOJ Fraud Division, 13 U.S. Attorneys' Offices and the Utah Attorney General's Office took enforcement actions against more than 40 defendants. The actions span the seven-week surge — indictments, complaints, guilty pleas and sentencings — not 40 arrests in one day.

The surge uncovered nearly $42 million in alleged fraud against SNAP benefits. The larger figure of nearly $45 million in intended losses covers SNAP plus other federal programs, and is not the SNAP total. Blanche said at the press conference: 'Two-hundred twenty thousand Americans could've eaten for the entire month of October if it were not for this $42 million in fraud.'

On Oct. 7, 2026, a federal grand jury indicted Atlanta rapper Mercedes Reshard New, a/k/a 'Shawty Dred,' 39, on 46 counts of mail fraud, 15 counts of aggravated identity theft, and one count each of SNAP fraud and illegal transactions with access devices (United States v. Mercedes New, N.D. Ga. 26-CR-473). Prosecutors allege EBT debit cards were used to siphon approximately $4 million from more than 350 accounts; Vance said phone numbers tied to New called the benefits system almost 9,000 times. New was arrested Oct. 13, 2026.

Investigators identified New in part through his own social media. The DOJ says posts to his Instagram account (richlifeshawtydred, more than two million followers) depict him flying on private jets, posing with ultra-luxury Rolls-Royce and Maybach vehicles, and handling massive stacks of cash. Vance said at the press conference: 'Part of what helped us identify Shawty Dred is the guy's posting Instagram videos, and we're able to connect the money that he's making with the money that he's then using to go and buy seats on private jets.' Vance also said: 'SNAP exists to help hungry children eat; it does not exist to provide private jets to a guy like Shawty Dred.'

A federal grand jury in the Southern District of Ohio indicted Chicago retail food store operators Jorag Yaseen and Rami Kanaan (Case No. 3:26-cr-00099-TMR) for an alleged scheme to defraud SNAP through fraudulent EBT transactions: between approximately February 2024 and April 2025 they allegedly processed thousands of transactions using stolen Ohio and other-state EBT account information, falsely appearing as legitimate food purchases though no bona fide sales occurred, causing an estimated $29.7 million loss. They are charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, and conspiracy to commit money laundering.

All of the above are charges and allegations. As the DOJ states in the New indictment release: the indictment only contains charges, the defendant is presumed innocent, and it is the government's burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.

New Zealand's High Court struck down the late-2025 regulations banning new puberty blocker prescriptions for under-18s with gender dysphoria; Justice Dale La Hood ruled them unlawful and set them aside (judgment summary released Oct 21, 2026).

The ruling found the government breached consultation obligations under the Medicines Act (consulted groups were never clearly told an outright prohibition was under consideration) and that the blanket ban amounted to unjustified discrimination.

A Health Minister spokesperson said the government is committed to introducing new safeguards on prescribing and is seeking advice on next steps.

CIHR awarded two four-year gender-surgery research grants totaling $1,399,207 (~$1.4M) — $700,000 paid to the University of Toronto and $699,207 paid to Women's College Hospital — through its Advancing 2S/LGBTQI+ Health Through Research competition.

The chest-surgery study's federal grant summary states its expected finding before any results: 'They expect that top surgery will reduce the body's stress burden, and that improved body satisfaction is the key reason why this happens.'

No results have been published yet — the hospital announcement presents both studies prospectively ('prospective study,' 'will examine'), and the grants carry four-year terms.

60.7% (n=142) of 234 trans young people aged 8-17 adjusted their social transition goals over the study period (up to two years); the authors' interpretation: social transition is 'a dynamic, non-linear process driven by evolving personal goals.'

Among young people attending a specialist pediatric gender service, the share identifying as nonbinary rose from 14.2% in 2017 to 39.0% in 2023.

On March 10, 2026, the FDA notified GnRH agonist manufacturers under section 505(o)(4) that new labeling should address 'the serious risks of suicidal ideation and suicidal attempt.'

The revised Lupron, Zoladex and Vantas labels were approved May 6, 2026; Trelstar's on June 26, 2026, adding the suicide-risk wording.

The current FDA-approved Lupron label lists 'Psychiatric disorders – Suicidal ideation and attempt' in postmarketing experience.

The FDA issued no Drug Safety Communication about the 2026 GnRH agonist suicide-risk labeling.

On Oct. 21, 2026, Reform UK's Zia Yusuf announced the party had reported ITV, its board of directors, and several undercover journalists to the police over the documentary 'Undercover: A Year in Reform,' and would also bring civil proceedings against them.

Reform alleges that an undercover ITV reporter doctored her passport to gain employment as a Reform press officer, and that two undercover reporters ('Nigel' and 'Ken') who canvassed for Reform in Portsmouth broke elections law because it is illegal to pay someone to canvass for a candidate. These are allegations; none have been tested in court.

ITV says it stands by its journalism: the programme was produced in compliance with the Ofcom Broadcasting Code and relevant laws, its broadcast is in the public interest, and ITV would fully cooperate should the police get in touch.

On Oct. 12, 2026, Homeland Security Investigations agents executed a search warrant at Rep. Ilhan Omar's Washington, D.C., home, arriving around 6 a.m. and searching for four to five hours; agents seized her phone, passport, notebooks, and personal computers.

More than a dozen federal grand-jury subpoenas have been issued as part of the immigration-fraud investigation, including subpoenas to some of Omar's relatives; a Minnesota grand jury is gathering evidence.

Federal investigators seized the phone of Omar's sister, Sahra Noor, earlier in 2026; text messages on that phone were used to secure the federal judge's approval for the home search. Noor skipped a scheduled Oct. 15 book event in Rochester, Minnesota, after the bookstore cited a 'family emergency,' and three sources said she voluntarily spoke with federal investigators that week.

Omar called the raid 'an outrageous abuse of power' and 'an unprecedented escalation in the weaponization of federal law enforcement to target political enemies'; her office says she did nothing wrong. No charges have been filed.

In December 2025, Trump filed a $10 billion defamation lawsuit against the BBC over its 2024 Panorama documentary 'Trump: A Second Chance?,' which spliced together separate portions of his Jan. 6, 2021 speech — presenting 'We're going to walk down to the Capitol... and we fight — we fight like hell' as continuous when the remarks were made 54 minutes apart — while omitting his call for supporters to protest peacefully.

The BBC apologized for the edit, pulled the program from its platforms, and saw the resignations of director-general Tim Davie and BBC News CEO Deborah Turness; it denies the edit amounts to defamation.

The BBC's lawyers have moved to compel Trump's deposition — sworn testimony about the speech at issue; Trump's team cited 'matters of national importance' and said he had no availability before the Dec. 18 close of discovery. Magistrate Judge Enjolique A. Lett admonished Trump for lack of participation and threatened sanctions for non-compliance, scheduling a hearing for Oct. 22.

On Oct. 13, 2026, at the University of Chicago's Institute of Politics (a live recording of Vox's 'America, Actually!' podcast), Sen. Elissa Slotkin said Democrats should pursue 'signature cases' — 'not just focus on the president, but on the people who enabled him' — targeting 'some of the most obvious and harmful abuses of taxpayer dollars.'

Slotkin said she wants prosecutions to serve as a deterrent to young conservatives considering Trump-administration jobs: 'I want young people coming out of school to say, "Should I go work for the Trump administration?..." I want them to be like, "Lord, that might be buying myself a ton of problems that I don't want, and so let me avoid participating in that." I want that deterrence message sent.' A clip posted by the student paper The Chicago Thinker went viral on Oct. 17.

Slotkin describes herself as falling on the 'pragmatic and moderate side of the House.'

Wedgewood Polls admitted in a statement that its polling data, covering several congressional and gubernatorial races this cycle, was entirely fabricated, calling it a "social experiment."

Polling aggregator FiftyPlusOne uncovered the fabrication after finding Wedgewood crowdfunding its purported research; Wedgewood's statement followed requests for comment.

The monthslong deception led the New York Times and other polling aggregators to incorporate the fabricated results into their polling averages; the Times removed 15 Wedgewood polls released between June and October.

Mississippi Senate Democratic nominee Scott Colom touted a now-retracted Newsweek article citing a Wedgewood poll, posted Oct. 14, showing him within striking distance of Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith.

Michigan Senate nominee Abdul el Sayed highlighted a June 28 Wedgewood poll in a July 3 fundraising email to boost his electability credentials.

Wedgewood's falsified data consistently favored Democrats, particularly progressive candidates; in Michigan it showed el Sayed leading both Rep. Haley Stevens and state Sen. Mallory McMorrow (9% support).

Virginia state Sen. L. Louise Lucas (Democrat, 82), Senate president pro tempore and Finance Committee chair, was arrested on Oct. 22, 2026 on a 45-page federal indictment filed Oct. 14 in the Eastern District of Virginia; she surrendered Thursday morning and is in federal custody.

The indictment names Lucas and six co-defendants (including two of her daughters and her grandson); Lucas faces five of the eight counts, which include racketeering conspiracy, conspiracy to distribute marijuana, conspiracy to launder money, money laundering, and honest-services fraud (bribery).

Prosecutors allege she ran the scheme through her co-owned Portsmouth medical cannabis shop, The Cannabis Outlet, using her political position to benefit the operation; the FBI searched her office and the shop on May 6. CNN also reports she is accused of paying $750,000 for a stake in a shell holding company tied to a recreational marijuana license.

The indictment cites a Feb. 9 FBI wiretap; investigators quoted Lucas: “This is our last chance at generational wealth” … “I’ve got too old to not be greedy.” (wording as rendered in the indictment excerpt on CNN; the Daily Caller rendered the same line as “I’ve gotten too old to not be greedy”).

The case was announced at a ~10:00 AM ET Oct. 22 press conference by Attorney General Todd Blanche and FBI Director Kash Patel; all seven defendants were in federal custody and were expected to make an initial appearance Thursday afternoon.

All charges are allegations — an indictment is not a conviction.

On Thursday Oct. 22, President Emmanuel Macron said "illegitimate" protests would be banned in the coming days after a meeting with intelligence chiefs, blaming "seditious" ultra-left groups and vandals for last weekend's riots and looting — some of France's worst urban unrest in years.

Local authorities told Reuters that all protests planned for Saturday in Lyon were banned; union-organized demonstrations elsewhere may go ahead but can be diverted to alternate routes. In Paris, central metro stations were shuttered by transit authorities in anticipation of unauthorized gatherings.

Businesses in central Paris have begun boarding up shop windows; luxury group Hermes says it has stepped up security measures at its French stores. At least 11 cities, including Marseille, Lyon, Nice, Grenoble, Le Havre and Rouen, banned demonstrations in central districts this weekend; Marseille public transport will shut down on Saturday.

Paris shopkeepers and residents are arming themselves with "pepper-gel" self-defence weapons; Yves Gollety, owner of the Armurerie de la Bourse gun shop in a district ransacked last weekend, told The Times demand has risen "eight to ten times" — an anecdote from one shop owner, not a national figure. The government admitted police "lost control" as thousands of shops were looted.

Justice minister Gerald Darmanin confirmed 2,700 people have been detained since Saturday "in connection with riots and looting"; the interior ministry said 20% more police will be deployed Saturday. Two people were arrested over the Limoges city hall arson.

Art Basel Paris said it will close on Friday evening, two days early, after police warned protesters could target it; the Louvre, Musee d'Orsay and Musee Picasso will remain closed on Saturday. The Yellow Vest movement has filed plans for a Saturday march through central Paris, and the UNEF student union has called for rallies.

Two critical PHP vulnerabilities dubbed PHP2Shell — CVE-2026-109618 (remote code execution via out-of-memory corruption) and CVE-2026-109619 (RCE via stale global state / use-after-free) — each rated 9.2 out of 10 severity and allowing unauthenticated remote code execution on affected servers.

The flaws went undetected for more than a decade, dating back to PHP 5.4 (2012), and were found using artificial intelligence: Wiz and Calif used OpenAI's GPT-5.6 Sol and Google's Gemini 4 Argon to locate and verify them. Emergency patches landed on Wednesday 21 October 2026 (PHP 8.5.12, 8.4.27, 8.3.36, 8.2.35).

The UK's National Cyber Security Centre advised that where immediate remediation was not feasible, organisations should consider taking the system offline; the US National Security Agency and the EU's CERT-EU issued similar patch-or-take-offline guidance.

The Netherlands' National Cyber Security Centre pulled its own site offline alongside the Port of Rotterdam, the Overheid.nl portal, the KNVB and several hospitals; Finland's state IT provider Valtori took government public services offline; France's Interior Ministry put its sites into preventive maintenance; Denmark's Kombit shut down services; in the UK, Edinburgh Council and several BBC programme pages went dark; Wikipedia took down an unspecified number of systems until patched.

DOJ charged two former FBI officials — Nikki Floris (46) and Bradley Benavides (56) — each with one count of making false statements to Congress (18 U.S.C. § 1001(a)(2)) for allegedly lying in 2023 House Judiciary testimony about the FBI Foreign Influence Task Force's role in the Hunter Biden laptop investigations. Both surrendered Friday Oct. 23, 2026 on arrest warrants and made their first D.C. federal court appearance Friday.

The criminal complaint alleges Benavides claimed he learned of the Hunter Biden laptop investigation from Wikipedia, while evidence shows he regularly discussed the laptop with FBI officials; Floris allegedly discussed the Hunter Biden investigations routinely for over a year within the task force, contrary to her testimony.

The charges were filed by criminal complaint, not a grand-jury indictment; a follow-up hearing is scheduled for Tuesday. Floris's attorneys deny wrongdoing, calling the charges false and politically motivated.

The UK's National Cyber Security Centre advised that where immediate remediation was not feasible, organisations should consider taking the system offline until it could be fully mitigated; the US National Security Agency and the EU's CERT-EU issued similar patch-or-take-offline guidance.

The Netherlands' National Cyber Security Centre pulled its own site offline alongside the Port of Rotterdam, the Overheid.nl portal, the KNVB football association and several hospitals; Finland's state IT provider Valtori took government public services offline; France's Interior Ministry put its sites into preventive maintenance; Denmark's Kombit shut down services; in the UK, Edinburgh Council and several BBC programme pages went dark; Wikipedia took down an unspecified number of systems until patched.

The guidance followed two critical PHP vulnerabilities dubbed PHP2Shell — CVE-2026-109618 and CVE-2026-109619 — each rated 9.2 out of 10 and allowing unauthenticated remote code execution; emergency patches landed on Wednesday 21 October 2026.

The two PHP2Shell flaws went undetected for more than a decade, dating back to PHP 5.4 (2012) — roughly 14 years in the codebase behind most of the web.

The flaws were found using artificial intelligence: security firms Wiz and Calif used OpenAI's GPT-5.6 Sol and Google's Gemini 4 Argon to locate and verify them, coordinating with the PHP team before disclosure.

Emergency patches landed on Wednesday 21 October 2026, covering PHP 8.2 and newer; older releases were left waiting on backported fixes.

PHP is a free, open-source, server-side scripting language created in 1994.

PHP powers roughly 24 million websites, according to BuiltWith, and about three-quarters of all sites whose server-side language can be identified, according to W3Techs.

The two flaws disclosed this week — CVE-2026-109618 and CVE-2026-109619 — each carry a severity rating of 9.2 out of 10 and date back to PHP 5.4 (2012), undetected for more than a decade.

A Wednesday filing in DC federal court from US Attorney Jeanine Pirro's office, seeking to keep a search warrant for Rep. Ilhan Omar's home sealed, identifies her as "Ilhan Nur Said Elmi, a/k/a Ilhan Abdullahi Omar."

Elmi is the surname of Omar's ex-husband Ahmed Nur Said Elmi, married in 2009 and divorced in 2017. The claim that he is her brother remains alleged, not proven: Omar called the suggestion "absurd and offensive" in 2016 and answered "Not to my knowledge" when asked this week whether she was related to him.

Omar's office says "Ilhan Omar is her real name" and calls the allegation a smear; her spokesperson called the brother-marriage claim a "disgusting conspiracy theory." She has not been charged with a crime, and materials presented by prosecutors are only allegations. On Friday she told Fox News Digital in Minnesota, "Ilhan Abdullahi Omar, you know it."

On June 23, 2025, Trump announced on Truth Social a "complete and total" phased ceasefire between Israel and Iran — Iran to halt first, Israel 12 hours later, with an "official end to the 12 Day War" at the 24-hour mark; by June 24, after both sides were accused of violations, Trump insisted: "the Ceasefire is in effect!"

Sourdough kicked off its comeback in spring 2020 as pandemic lockdowns persisted: Google searches for "sourdough starter" hit record highs, yeast and flour sold out on supermarket shelves, and starter jars became "one of the period's most recognizable domestic trophies" — a cultural symbol of resilience that endured after lockdowns ended.

In 1971, economist Herbert Simon wrote that in an information-rich world, "a wealth of information creates a poverty of attention" — information consumes the attention of its recipients, so attention must be allocated efficiently among competing sources.

DataReportal's 2025 figures put the average user's daily social media time at 2 hours 21 minutes, with 5.66 billion social media user identities worldwide as of October 2025, spread across an average of 6.83 platforms per month.

Marseille banned all demonstrations for Saturday, October 24, and extended its city-centre curfew for minors to adults.

In Lyon, Nice and Montpellier, a protest previously declared to the authorities was banned; in Paris the curfew remained in place every night until Monday morning around Place de la Republique and Les Halles.

The measures followed rioting and looting on the sidelines of major protests on October 17 and 18.

The Justice Department announced charges against 15 defendants, including six medical professionals, for health care fraud schemes that collectively resulted in over $1.8 billion in fraudulent claims.

The takedown includes over $1.6 billion billed in a sham substance-abuse treatment scheme, $134 million billed to Medicare for unnecessary atherectomy procedures, and over $138 million billed to Medicare in three hospice fraud schemes where the patients were not terminally ill.

Kamala Harris has returned to campaigning for Democrats in some of the tightest midterm races, putting the party's unsuccessful 2024 standard-bearer back before voters as she weighs whether to make another run for the presidency; she has not decided yet.

Joe Biden has been largely absent from the campaign trail and has made few political appearances this year.

FCC Chair Brendan Carr warned broadcasters that airing fabricated election polls could violate their license obligations under the FCC's rules against news distortion and broadcast hoaxes.

The warning followed Wedgewood Polls admitting its polling data was entirely fabricated; the New York Times removed 15 Wedgewood surveys from its polling tracker after the admission.

AAA said in an Oct. 22 news release that October is poised to set a record as the most expensive October ever for gas prices, following similar records in August and September.

As of Oct. 23, the national average for regular gasoline stood at $4.29, according to AAA.

DHS told Fox News that ICE has launched a nationwide operation targeting people accused of fraudulently obtaining SNAP benefits, with several arrests announced.

DHS called those arrests the opening salvo in a sustained, large-scale ICE operation targeting alleged fraudulent access to SNAP benefits; the accused remain accused, not convicted.

Virginia state Sen. L. Louise Lucas was indicted in an eight-count racketeering conspiracy prosecutors call the 'Lucas Enterprise,' a five-year scheme the FBI estimates was worth $4.5 million. An indictment is merely an allegation; defendants are presumed innocent.

Kissimmee Mayor Jackie Espinosa was arrested Oct. 21, 2026 on charges of grand theft and scheme to defraud over COVID-19 grant funds; the Florida CFO says she took $50,000 from the Business Boost 2.0 program for her family's businesses after being warned it was prohibited, and that seven businesses at family-owned or managed properties received $90,000 combined. Charges are allegations.

The Los Angeles health-care takedown charged 15 defendants in schemes that collectively resulted in over $1.8 billion in fraudulent claims: over $1.6 billion billed in a sham substance-abuse treatment scheme, $134 million billed to Medicare for unnecessary atherectomy procedures, and over $138 million billed in three hospice schemes where patients were not terminally ill. The $1.8 billion is the whole-takedown total, not the hospice amount.

Six people were charged in a large-scale Massachusetts marriage fraud ring that allegedly averaged 18 to 20 sham marriages a year, typically charging $38,000 to $40,000 per sham marriage. The details in the charging document are allegations; defendants are presumed innocent.

The DOJ's first National USDA Benefits and Program Fraud Enforcement Surge uncovered nearly $42 million in alleged fraud against SNAP benefits across more than 40 defendants (Sept. 1-Oct. 21, 2026); Atlanta rapper Mercedes Reshard New, a/k/a 'Shawty Dred,' was indicted Oct. 7, 2026, and the DOJ says his Instagram posts depict him flying on private jets and handling stacks of cash. The indictment only contains charges; he is presumed innocent.

DHS describes ICE's 'worst of the worst' arrests as targeting criminal illegal aliens, including those convicted of rape, assault with a firearm, and drug possession with intent to distribute.

DHS's stated position is that no one unlawfully present is exempt from enforcement ('No one is off the table... Anyone in our country illegally will be arrested and deported') while its sanctuary-city surge targets criminal illegal aliens including murderers, rapists, child predators, and gang members.

The post's 'man' is a hypothetical person with no deportation ground (here legally, no crimes); the item makes no factual claim about any real person and no claim that unlawfully present people are exempt from enforcement. The Babylon Bee headline is a satire peg, not a news source; no Bee article URL is cited because it could not be verified this run.

During the Oct. 20 season opener at Madison Square Garden, LeBron James, debuting for the Philadelphia 76ers, practiced his golf swing and went through his shooting motion while the national anthem played.

President Trump demanded an apology on Truth Social on Oct. 22, calling James a 'TOTAL DISGRACE,' and mocked the swing again at a Sioux City, Iowa rally that night, calling it 'a big scandal kind of a story.'

James answered after the 76ers' win over the Cavaliers: 'slow news day at the office.' No evidence shows he meant the routine as a protest.

In a court-ordered Oct. 7 filing in Louisiana's lawsuit over the mail-order rule, the FDA said its mifepristone safety review will run into 2027: safety-study results expected in December 2026, a final report no later than March 2027.

The review was ordered by HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and uses a statistical data-mining method on a sample of 100,000 mifepristone users vs a surgical-abortion comparator to detect 'unknown safety concerns.'

The review is ongoing, not a finding: no determination that the pill is unsafe follows from the filing; the agency will decide on restrictions only after the report.

On the Oct. 21 episode of Call Her Daddy, host Alex Cooper asked whether a woman should leave a marriage if she worries she won't find someone better; guest Sophia Bush answered: 'Yes! The answer is always yes.'

Bush added that the idea it's too late, or you're too old, or who are you to want more, is 'a product of the patriarchy.'

The pushback cited is Riley Gaines' Oct. 22 Fox News op-ed calling the advice 'a dangerous recipe for lifelong regret'; the op-ed is opinion, not FO's editorial, and no Will Cain response was found or is claimed.

Federal prosecutors charged former FBI Director James Comey with transmission of national defense information and conspiracy to transmit it — the third federal case against him — alleging he directed a disclosure to a reporter on Oct. 5, 2016; the case had played out under seal since Oct. 5 and his defense filed a motion to dismiss last week.

This case is a charge (criminal information), not an indictment — NBC News explicitly notes Comey has not been indicted in this case — and all charges are allegations only; Comey said in an Instagram video ‘they’re back again’ and ‘I’m still innocent.’

The two prior federal cases are separate matters: a false-statements case dismissed in Nov. 2025, and a second case charging a threat over the May 2025 ‘86 47’ seashell post, awaiting trial in Jan. 2027; the reporter/publication identity in the new case is not canonically confirmed and is not named.

The FBI searched Stephen Cloobeck's Beverly Hills home on Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2026, as part of the ongoing criminal investigation into sexual-misconduct allegations against former Rep. Eric Swalwell; Cloobeck was not home at the time and nobody was arrested.

Cloobeck donated $1 million on March 13 to an independent-expenditure group supporting Swalwell's gubernatorial campaign; Swalwell stayed at Cloobeck's Beverly Hills mansion during the campaign; in April, after the allegations surfaced, Cloobeck said he was no longer associated with a man that takes advantage of women.

Swalwell has not been charged in this investigation; he denies the allegations; the FBI's statement confirmed only an operation in the Los Angeles region related to an ongoing criminal investigation; in August the FBI searched Swalwell's Washington home and seized his electronic devices at San Francisco airport.

Moody and Nixon are running in Florida's Nov. 3, 2026 Senate special election; Moody was appointed Jan. 21, 2025 after Rubio resigned to become secretary of state.

Kalshi priced Moody about 89-90% and Nixon about 11% (prediction market, not a poll), consistent with the ~89%/11% shown in the Oct. 25 reel.

May 2026 settlement, fully executed Aug. 5, requires Texas Children's Hospital to pay $10 million and open a detransition clinic by end of Oct. 2026; Paxton calls it the country's first-ever detransition clinic.

Clinic opened Oct. 26, 2026; hospital must fully fund care for five years, patients pay nothing; care through age 21 plus detransition-related OB/GYN care for older patients; hospital admits no wrongdoing.

Cheung's Oct. 25 Air Force One video caption suggested Minaj as press secretary; no official sign she has been offered the role; Action Network implied chance about 4%.

Kalshi Politics posted Oct. 25 that Minaj's odds of becoming Trump's next press secretary had skyrocketed to 23% (momentary spike, not current odds).

Obama rallied with Michigan Democrats in Detroit on Oct. 24; speech largely mirrored one given hours earlier in Ohio; blamed Trump's Iran war for prices and debt; rally on first day of statewide in-person early voting; El-Sayed is the Senate nominee, Benson the gubernatorial nominee.

Virginia Senate President Pro Tempore Louise Lucas was indicted Oct. 22, 2026 with six co-defendants on federal racketeering, marijuana-distribution, money-laundering and honest-services-fraud counts; she denies the charges.

Lucas says she is not guilty and is not resigning; Kalshi resignation odds very low (Kalshi is a prediction market, not a poll).

In an Oct. 25 reel, Blaze host Sara Gonzales argued Islam is 'a political ideology, NOT a religion' and intercut France protest footage as a preview; the claim is her opinion and no legal status has changed.

In Oct. 26 posts, Chris Elston said he walked into the White House for a meeting and that his mission to end child transition worldwide 'has the backing of the most powerful government on earth,' after a six-year solo fight from a Canadian street; no independent readout, attendee list, or policy outcome verified.

The Babylon Bee's Oct. 26 headline satirizes selective appeals to settled science (climate vs. gender, unborn babies, economics); satire about a pattern, not a report about a real person.

The Babylon Bee's Oct. 25 headline satirizes slogan theology: a man who never read the Bible as chief authority on what Jesus would do today; satire about a pattern, not a report about a real person.

About a third of Democrats and Democratic-leaning adults identify as democratic socialists, according to a CNN poll conducted by SSRS.

The Babylon Bee's Oct. 27 satire headline has Newsom touting California as the only state where you can see a homeless man defecating on a beach and on a mountain in the same day. This is satire, not a real Newsom quote.

A Franklin County grand jury indicted Jeffery Woodard, 62, of Shepherdsville, on five counts of wrongful registration, three counts of convicted-felon voting, and one count of being a persistent felony offender; he was arrested Oct. 21. Charges are allegations.

The indictment alleges Woodard unlawfully registered to vote five times between 2023 and 2026 and illegally voted in the November 2023 and 2024 general elections and the May 2026 primary.

President Donald Trump said the US would give $1 million to anyone who reported voter fraud that leads to an arrest and conviction, covering past elections and the upcoming 2026 midterm election.

The Justice Department asked a federal judge to block California from counting mail ballots from more than 20,000 registered voters the Trump administration alleges are likely noncitizens.

At the Oct. 27 Los Angeles hearing, U.S. District Judge David Carter called sequestration a 'monumental change' while voting was underway, said he would rule Wednesday, and told the DOJ lawyer the traditional remedy was a criminal indictment: 'You've got a remedy, for goodness sake. Go out and indict.' Quotes per bylined Reuters copy (Luc Cohen and Jan Wolfe) as syndicated; reuters.com crawl truncated.

The Paris Police Prefecture ordered a curfew in the Place de la Republique and Chatelet-Les Halles sectors from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. on the nights of Saturday to Sunday and Sunday to Monday (Oct. 31-Nov. 2), ahead of the Oct. 31 protests.

The measure is prefectural order No. 2026-01485 of October 30, 2026, covering the Republique and Les Halles zones on the nights of Oct. 31-Nov. 1 and Nov. 1-Nov. 2, applying to adults and minors.

A separate curfew for unaccompanied minors runs 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. for three nights, Oct. 30-Nov. 2, in several Paris districts.

The curfew follows the Oct. 17 protest weekend, when rioting and looting on the sidelines of the demonstrations damaged businesses across France.

The Metropolitan Police warned anyone planning to attend a demonstration in support of Palestine Action in central London on Saturday, Oct. 31, that they face arrest as part of a robust policing operation, with officers deployed near the US Embassy.

Commander Adam Slonecki, leading the policing operation, said those intending to attend know supporting a proscribed organisation is unlawful and that they are essentially meeting to purposefully commit a crime.

Expressing support for Palestine Action is an offence under the Terrorism Act following its proscription in June 2025, a decision upheld by the Court of Appeal in June 2026.

Defend Our Juries announced a mass action on Saturday, Oct. 31, from 1 p.m. outside the US Embassy in London, with over 400 people expected to gather holding signs reading 'I OPPOSE GENOCIDE. I SUPPORT PALESTINE ACTION', ahead of the Nov. 4-5 Supreme Court hearing on the proscription. The 400 figure is the organiser's expectation, not the Met's.

The Babylon Bee's Oct. 28 headline satirizes Americans agreeing to vote for whichever candidate stops sending them campaign donation text messages. It is satire, not a poll and not a report of unanimous agreement.

Troy Jackson, the Democrat leading Maine's Senate race, supports Medicare for All and abolishing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Polymarket traders priced Jackson at 69% against Susan Collins at 32% on Oct. 31, 2026, on about $3.1M volume. Polymarket prices are a betting market, not a poll, and they move with money, not voters.

CNN's Poll of Polls showed Democrats leading the generic ballot by 9 points (CNN, Oct. 28, 2026).

The New York Times/Siena national survey (Oct. 12-19 fieldwork, published Oct. 21, 2026) put Democrats ahead 52% to 41% on the generic ballot among likely voters.

At an Oct. 27, 2026 rally in Lubbock, Texas, Trump joked he would pick Ted Cruz for the next Supreme Court vacancy, predicting unanimous confirmation because senators of both parties would want Cruz out of the Senate; Cruz laughed from the front row. There is no vacancy, and Cruz has repeatedly said he does not want to be a judge.

Salim Said, who ran Minneapolis's Safari Restaurant, was sentenced Oct. 28, 2026 to 30 years in federal prison for his $44 million share of the Feeding Our Future child-nutrition fraud.

Prosecutors told the court Said's sites claimed a 'ridiculous daily distribution of 6,000 meals' while FBI cameras showed about 40 people a day collecting food.

State auditors found Minnesota's Department of Education received complaints about Feeding Our Future but often told the group to police itself.

The Babylon Bee's Oct. 28 headline imagines a San Francisco shopper who actually tries to pay for merchandise, baffling the clerk. It is satire, not a report about a real store or clerk; no standalone canonical Bee article page was located this run, so the headline is cited from the Bee's Oct. 28 post as banked.

Between April and September 2026, SFPD officers made 874 arrests for retail theft, an increase of 22% compared to the previous six months; in the past year officers recovered over $418,000 in stolen merchandise.

The Babylon Bee's Oct. 29 headline satirizes a Chicago judge letting a man off after his 23rd arrest in hopes of rehabilitation. It is satire, not a report about a real court, judge, or defendant; invented character names from the piece are deliberately not repeated here.

The Bureau of Economic Analysis reported Oct. 29, 2026 that real GDP grew at an annual rate of 3.4% in the third quarter of 2026, up from 2.2% in the second quarter, driven by investment, consumer spending, and government spending.

The Federal Reserve held its target range at 3.75% to 4% on Oct. 28, 2026.

Cliff Maloney's ground-game operation counts more than 9 million doors knocked through its nationwide programs; its mantra is 'doors win wars'. The bank's four-state expansion figure was not verified and is not carried here.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth fired Lt. Gen. Brett Sylvia, the Joint Staff's J5 director, on Oct. 29, 2026 over alleged leaks; the dismissal was first reported by The Atlantic.

A Defense Department spokesperson said Sylvia 'was not a central planner for the Iran War' and that the responsibility belongs to CENTCOM and its commander, Adm. Brad Cooper.

The Atlantic billed Sylvia as the Pentagon's chief planner of the Iran war (characterization via Center Square's report on the Atlantic piece; the Atlantic article itself was not opened in full this run).

The UK government announced June 15, 2026 that social media companies will no longer be able to offer their services to under-16s, with first regulations before Parliament by the end of the year and in force in spring 2027.

NewsThump's Oct. 30 satire imagines the result: platforms populated exclusively by people old enough to know better, still threatening strangers over the correct way to cook a jacket potato. The characters are fictional.

NewsGuard identified 22 partisan sites launched in 2026 masquerading as independent local news, raising the total to 1,181.

The piece does not break the 1,181 count down by partisan lean, and no direction is assigned to it here; the punch is the masquerade itself.

Binance suffered a security breach on Oct. 29, 2026 with an estimated $6.3 billion impact, the biggest crypto heist on record; about $3 billion was frozen and the company said it would cover customer hacking losses.

NewsThump's Oct. 30 satire pairs the real breach with fictional characters: a crypto investor who spent years calling regulators obsolete and now demands to know where they were, and a man whose sock under the rhubarb repelled every cyberattack. Neither man is real.

Hooded rioters looted stores in Frankfurt late on Saturday, Oct. 31, 2026, smashing windows and throwing petrol bombs at emergency services, after tens of thousands of demonstrators marched in dozens of German cities during the day under the 'Gen Z regelt' banner demanding better education and lower living costs.

Frankfurt police put more than 30 individuals under temporary arrest, local broadcaster HR said.

Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt said the rioters and looters 'will be identified and held accountable' and that the breach of the peace 'must be followed by tough penalties.'

Spanish police cleared the remaining 334 occupants of the five-week Puerta del Sol housing-protest camp in a pre-dawn operation on Nov 3, 2026, with some 400 police involved and 2 arrests for disobedience/resisting.

On Oct 30, 2026, the camp's main representatives dissolved their organising committees, saying their original demand had been met after the government passed several housing measures.

NewsThump (Nov 2, 2026) published a satire piece, 'Patriot undergoes successful surgery to become 99% poppy,' about a fictional patriot waking after surgery to become a human-poppy hybrid just in time for Remembrance Sunday.

Remembrance Sunday falls on Nov 8, 2026 (a Sunday) — the real peg; the surgery and character are fictional satire, not a real operation.

Reps. Jamie Raskin and Robert Garcia wrote to the White House on Oct 28, 2026, demanding that prompts submitted to Grok, ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Perplexity, plus AI outputs, be preserved as presidential records, with a closed-door briefing requested by Nov 11.

The letter was first obtained by Politico (Oct 29, 2026) and followed reporting that Grok was asked how Venezuelans would react to Nicolas Maduro's capture.

The Justice Department's Fraud Whistleblower Incentive Program (WHIP), announced Oct. 20, 2026, pays $10,000 to $30,000 for information leading to criminal charges, at or around the filing of charges, in DOJ's sole discretion, with the Treasury committing $25 million.

At the Oct. 20 launch, Trump pitched a 1% commission with no limit, while the written WHIP terms cap awards at $30,000 per tip.

The launch event's first $10,000 check went to Nick Shirley, whose videos flagged Minnesota daycare centers; daycare fraud is a named WHIP priority.

On Nov. 2, 2026, the Supreme Court declined the Justice Department's emergency request to force California to segregate mail ballots tied to about 20,000 registered voters the administration alleges may not be citizens, in a one-line unsigned order with no noted dissents, decided hours after filing without asking California to respond.

U.S. District Judge David Carter rejected the Justice Department's request to keep the ballots from being counted on Oct. 28, 2026.

In October 2020, 51 former intelligence officials signed a public statement saying the Hunter Biden laptop story had 'all the classic earmarks of a Russian information operation'; Politico ran it under the headline calling the story Russian disinfo.

The Wesleyan Media Project identified more than $187 million in spending on at least 289 unique AI-generated or AI-assisted ads in 2026 as of Oct. 29, up from barely $50,000 in 2024.

When facing complaints about lack of compliance with state laws mandating disclosure of AI use, some candidates, including Blakeman, have argued the spots are exempt because they are satire.

1930s newspaper accounts describe trick-or-treat youngsters offering 'protection against window soaping' in return for treats, and a 1939 account describes pranksters who 'successfully extracted candy and fruit' from residents under the trick-or-treat slogan.

Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger's handpicked parole board released six murderers and 11 sex offenders, including seven rapists and two child predators, in its first six months, granting 38 paroles against 32 in all of the prior year, at a 13.89% release rate versus 1.23% under the prior board.

Repeat rapist Clarence Eugene Billups was granted geriatric release after serving three years for the rape of a child under the age of 13 while out on parole for two prior rape convictions.