Friday October 17, 2025
- "It Is Not A Question of Who Is Right Or Wrong But What Is Right Or Wrong That Counts."
- --Geoff Metcalf
- Providing an on line Triage of the news since 1998
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World & Nation
Trump: 100% Tariffs on China Not Sustainable
President Donald Trump said his proposed 100% tariff on goods from
China would not be sustainable, but blamed China for the latest impasse
in trade talks that began with Beijing tightening control over its rare
earth exports.
Asked whether such a high tariff was sustainable and what that might do
to the economy, Trump replied, "It's not sustainable, but that's what
the number is."
"They forced me to do that," he said in the interview with Fox Business Network that aired Friday morning.
Trump unveiled additional levies of 100% on China's U.S.-bound exports
a week ago, along with new export controls on "any and all critical
software" by November 1, nine days before existing tariff relief was
set to expire.
Hamas Committed to Gaza Truce, Returning Hostage Remains
Hamas said it was committed to the U.S.-brokered agreement that halted
its war with Israel, and to returning all the bodies of hostages still
unaccounted for under the ruins of Gaza.
Responding to a call from the terrorist group for assistance with
locating the bodies of the 19 hostages, buried under the rubble
alongside an untold number of Palestinians, Turkey sent specialists to
help in the search.
Under a ceasefire agreement spearheaded by U.S. President Donald Trump,
Hamas returned 20 surviving hostages and the remains of nine of 28
known deceased hostages — along with another body, which Israel said
was not that of a former hostage.
John Thune offers Schumer vote deal to end government shutdown
Senate Majority Leader John Thune said he has offered the Democratic
leadership a vote on extending the Obamacare tax credits that are about
to expire—if they get behind reopening the federal government from its
more than two-week shutdown.
“We can guarantee you get a vote by a date certain,” Thune, a South
Dakota Republican, told MSNBC in an interview published Thursday
morning. “At some point, Democrats have to take ‘yes’ for an answer.”
Thune called it a “path forward,” though he could not guarantee the outcome of a vote to extend the health care subsidies.
“I can’t guarantee it’s going to pass,” Thune told MSNBC. “I can
guarantee you that there will be a process and you will get a vote.”
Battleground Republicans hold the line as Johnson pressures Dems on shutdown
House Republicans in battleground districts appear to be closing ranks
as GOP leaders dig in on their government shutdown strategy, while the
fiscal standoff shows no signs of slowing.
Eight House GOP lawmakers whose seats are being targeted by Democrats
in 2026 spoke with Fox News Digital this week. And while some shared
individual concerns, they were largely united in agreeing with Speaker
Mike Johnson, R-La., that Republicans should not renegotiate their
federal funding proposal — and were confident that Americans are behind
them.
"The more people understand the math inside of the Senate, the more I
would say Republicans are winning," said Rep. Rob Bresnahan, R-Pa., who
defeated a moderate Democrat for his seat last year.
Rep. Jen Kiggans, R-Va., who also flipped her seat from blue to red,
argued the results of the 2024 election show Americans "can see through
a lot of the games that the Democrats have been playing."
India Signals Shift From Russia to US Oil After Trump Criticism
India on Thursday hinted that it was looking to increase its purchases
of crude oil and natural gas from the U.S. as it diversifies its energy
supplies following criticism from President Donald Trump over its
imports of discounted Russian oil.
"I was not happy that India was buying oil and [Prime Minister Narendra
Modi] assured me today that they will not be buying oil from Russia,"
President Donald Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Wednesday.
"That's a big step. Now we're going to get China to do the same thing,"
he said, adding that pressuring Beijing would be "relatively easy
compared to what we just did over the last week in the Middle East."
India's foreign ministry said it was not aware of talks between Trump and Modi.
John Bolton surrenders to authorities after indictment over mishandling classified information
Former national security adviser John Bolton, a fixture of the GOP
foreign policy establishment in DC for decades, surrendered to
authorities on Friday after being indicted by a federal grand jury for
allegedly mishandling classified information.
The ex-Trump official made his initial appearance at a federal
courthouse in Greenbelt, Md., after jurors handed up the 18-count
indictment Thursday charging him with unlawfully hoarding or
transmitting sensitive national security files.
The indictment stated that Bolton, 76, allegedly sent some of the
classified documents on a personal AOL email account and to
unidentified parties outside the government while serving under
President Trump during his first administration.
More than 1,000 pages apparently were shared with his wife and daughter, neither of whom had security clearances.
US carries out another strike on suspected drug vessel in Caribbean, leaving some survivors
The US Military carried out another strike on a suspected drug vessel
in the Caribbean on Thursday, leaving survivors among the boat’s crew,
according to authorities.
It is not yet clear whether the US military offered aid to the survivors or whether they are in military custody.
A US official who informed Reuters of the strike did not provide any additional information on the attack.
It would be the first known account of survivors in the Trump
administration’s strikes to counter narcoterrorist groups allegedly led
by Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro.
Letitia James’ criminal kin have been charged 11 times in 5 years — but keep getting off easy
New York Attorney General Letitia James’ troubled grandnieces have been
charged with a combined eight felonies and three misdemeanors in the
past five years — but had their charges downgraded or dropped every
time.
The women live in James’ Norfolk, Va., homes, which have been the
subject of intense federal scrutiny in recent months over mortgage
documents James signed — including a federal criminal indictment that
has New York’s top law enforcer facing 60 years in federal prison.
Cayla Thompson-Hairston, 21, an OnlyFans model with an X-rated social
media presence, was hit with felony charges in April 2024 for allegedly
lying about having a felony criminal record when she tried to buy a gun
in Suffolk, Va., according to court documents.
Prosecutors File First Antifa Terror Charges in Texas
Federal prosecutors in Texas have for the first time filed terrorism
charges targeting antifa, FBI Director Kash Patel said Thursday, citing
President Donald Trump's recent designation of the far-left anarchist
movement as a terrorist organization.
Cameron Arnold of Dallas and Zachary Evetts of Waxahachie, Texas, were
charged on Wednesday with providing support to terrorists for their
alleged role in the non-fatal shooting of a police officer at an
immigration detention facility. Both were arrested in July with eight
others and charged with attempted murder and weapons offenses.
None of the defendants has entered a plea in the case, court records
show, but Arnold and Evetts are set to do so at an Oct. 22 court
hearing.
"First time ever: the FBI arrested Antifa-aligned anarchist violent
extremists and terrorism charges have been brought for the July 4
Prairieland ICE attack in Texas," Patel said on social media.
The deafening silence of the ‘Free Palestine’ movement after the Gaza ceasefire
When the moment comes to celebrate
what they demanded, many supporters fall quiet — revealing that for
some, the goal was never resolution, but righteousness
In theory, this should be a moment of vindication for the Free
Palestine movement. A ceasefire holds. Israel has pulled back troops.
International headlines finally reflect what activists have shouted for
months: that Gaza’s suffering matters.
And yet, the plazas are still. The hashtags have gone dormant. The
chants that once shook campuses have faded into uneasy silence.
Why?
Many activists can’t celebrate, because celebration feels like surrender.
After the Gaza cease-fire, what will these faux revolutionaries protest? Some ideas
Now that President Trump has managed to get a cease-fire in Gaza, I
have a big concern. What are all those wannabe revolutionaries here at
home going to do now?
For two years they have been able to fill up all their spare time by
congregating on our streets and university campuses hollering about a
far-off conflict. For two years they have perfected their chants of
violence and revolution.
So what will they do now that peace has broken out?
People who used to have a purpose will now need to seek a new purpose.
They’ll need a reason not to just lie in bed all of Saturday.
