U.S. President Donald Trump is in Japan and preparing to meet with the country’s newly elected, ultraconservative leader.
It's one of the , which will include speaking to U.S. troops aboard an aircraft carrier and mingling with business leaders.
Just days after taking office, Japanese Prime Minister may look to build a personal connection with Trump to ease trade tensions. One key to this strategy might be an idea floated by Japan’s government to buy .
Trump spent as part of his ongoing trip through Asia to discuss mostly trade with world leaders, aiming to highlight America’s influence on the global economy.
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Senators seek probe over the costs of National Guard deployments
, the top Democrat on the Senate Budget Committee, said Trump’s deployment of the National Guard into American cities for security “marks a significant departure from long-standing practice” and “carries substantial cost implications that have not been publicly disclosed or formally justified to Congress.”
Merkley and other Democrats on the panel are asking the nonpartisan to provide an accounting of the deployments and operations.
“Congress must have a clear understanding of both the immediate and long-term budgetary consequences of this policy,” the senators wrote.
Senators ask Trump administration to let Americans preview next year’s Affordable Care Act options
In Monday’s to the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the largely Democratic group of 28 lawmakers noted that this “window shopping” period has opened on Oct. 25 or 26 over the past eight years.
On Monday, appeared to show 2025 health insurance plans and estimated prices, instead of next year’s options. A banner on the website instructs enrollees to “come back November 1 for a more accurate estimate” of their 2026 health costs.
CMS on Monday was expected to temporarily furloughed during the shutdown, in part to manage the ACA open enrollment period that starts Saturday.
Many states that operate their own health insurance marketplaces have already given enrollees a peek into 2026 prices. Premiums are expected to skyrocket next year in anticipation of rising health costs and that have made the plans more affordable.
Trump administration won’t tap contingency fund to keep food aid flowing, memo says
The Trump administration is rejecting the idea of using roughly $5 billion in contingency funds to amid the , according to a Department of Agriculture memo that surfaced Friday. States temporarily covering the cost of benefits next month will not be reimbursed, the memo says.
Democratic lawmakers and various advocacy groups have been calling on the administration to use the contingency fund to provide partial benefits into November though the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, commonly referred to as SNAP.
The prospect of SNAP benefits running out as a result of the shutdown has become a major concern. Lawmakers from both political parties are blaming the other for the hardship that would ensue. The program helps about 1 in 8 Americans buy groceries.
The document states that the contingency fund is reserved for such things as helping individuals in disaster areas.
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National Guard deployment in Portland, Oregon, remains in limbo
A federal appeals court has paused a decision from a three-judge panel that could have allowed Trump to deploy 200 Oregon National Guard troops, ostensibly to protect federal property in the city. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said it needs until Tuesday to decide whether to reconsider the panel’s decision.
U.S. District Judge Karin Immergut, a Trump appointee, earlier this month issued two temporary restraining orders prohibiting Trump from deploying troops to Portland. The first order — which was appealed by the administration — barred the deployment of 200 Oregon National Guard members. The second barred the deployment of any troops at all, after the Trump administration sought to deploy troops from California and Texas.
A 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel put the first order on hold on Monday, but the second order remained in effect, blocking him from actually deploying them.
Noem says violence against law enforcement could revive plan to send federal agents to San Francisco
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem says the department won’t tolerate violence like the truck that station in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Trump had said he’s easing off of a planned surge of federal agents to San Francisco, but Noem suggested that might change if more violence occurs.
Speaking at a Minneapolis news conference, Noem said that in a discussion Friday morning the president called the incident “their one chance” and suggested that if state and local leaders “don’t figure out how to protect our law enforcement officers and protect our Coast Guard members, that we would be forced to come in and protect those individuals.”
Trump urges his supporters in New Jersey to back Ciattarelli
Trump is urging his supporters in New Jersey to back Republican Jack Ciattarelli during a nine-day early voting period in the race for governor.
Trump spoke for about 10 minutes at a telephone rally backing Ciattarelli Friday evening before the president was scheduled to leave for a trip to Asia.
He said Ciattarelli will focus relentlessly on reducing energy costs, repeating the cost-of-living message he emphasized in a Truth Social post earlier this week.
“He knows energy better than anybody I know outside of the energy business,” Trump said. He noted his own ties to New Jersey, where he owns a golf club and spends many of his weekends in the summer.
Trump urged voters with mail ballots to send them in, then returned to his longstanding criticism of mail ballots and cast doubt on the integrity of the election.
“Sometimes I think you’re better off in person, but you do it the way you want to do it,” Trump said. “You got to make sure the votes are counted, because New Jersey has a little bit of a rough reputation, I must be honest.”
The CEO of the Alamo’s historic site has resigned after a top Texas Republican criticized her
Kate Rogers says she resigned Thursday, after Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick wrote a letter to the Alamo Trust’s Board of Directors suggesting she either resign or be removed, questioning her “judgement” over an academic paper she wrote in 2023.
“It was with mixed emotions that I resigned my post as President and CEO at the Alamo Trust yesterday,” Rogers said in a statement texted to The Associated Press. “It became evident through recent events that it was time for me to move on.”
In an excerpt from her paper she posted online, Rogers noted the Texas Legislature’s “conservative agenda” in 2023, including bills to limit what could be taught about race and slavery. Her paper also mentioned the book “Forget the Alamo,” which challenges traditional historical narratives surrounding the site’s 13-day siege.
“She has a totally different view of how the history of the Alamo should be told,” Patrick wrote to the board.
Patrick’s call for Rogers’ ouster follows Trump’s pressure to get Smithsonian museums in Washington to and other dishonorable parts of American history.
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San Francisco Bay Area immigration operation called off, official says
Alameda County Sheriff Yesenia Sanchez says she’s been told by federal immigration officials that an operation has been called off for the entire region.
Trump said Thursday he was calling off a surge of federal forces to San Francisco after conversations with the mayor and tech leaders. Those comments came as U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents began arriving at a U.S. Coast Guard base in nearby Alameda. Trump had previously said he would send the National Guard to San Francisco.
Local officials wondered if Trump would send federal agents into other parts of the Bay Area, a nine-county region of about 8 million people.
Alameda County Sheriff Sgt. Roberto Morales, a spokesperson for Sanchez, said Friday that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials informed the sheriff Thursday afternoon that the operation had been called off for the whole region.
The Department of Homeland Security, which oversees immigration enforcement, didn’t immediately comment.
US also is slashing assistance to Colombia
The State Department Friday after the Treasury Department imposed sanctions on Colombian President Gustavo Petro over accusations of involvement in the global drug trade.
U.S. assistance to the country is expected to fall by at least 20%, or roughly $18 million, according to a U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity to offer details that have not been made public. The amount was an estimate and could change.
A State Department statement Friday didn’t specify the dollar amount affected.
It comes after the Trump administration last month added Colombia, the top recipient of American assistance in the region, to a list of nations failing to cooperate in the drug war for the first time in almost 30 years.
Trump has vowed to pull all payments to Colombia.
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— By Matthew Lee
Homeland Security defends purchase of Coast Guard planes
The Department of Homeland Security says the replace planes that were 20 years old and experiencing maintenance problems.
The department has come under criticism for buying two Coast Guard planes while the government is shut down.
Homeland Security said in a statement Friday that the aircraft are required for official travel for the secretary, the deputy secretary and four top command positions in the Coast Guard.
The department said those aircraft have to have certain capabilities such as communications system that can handle top secret information that allow senior officials to manage a situation wherever they are.
Sean Plankey, a senior adviser to the secretary for the Coast Guard, accused critics of “playing politics with the funding of the Coast Guard” and said the planes were important for “safety and mission readiness.”
Pentagon accepts $130M gift to help pay service members during the shutdown
The announcement Friday raises ethical questions after Trump had said a friend offered the gift to defray any shortfalls.
While large and unusual, the gift amounts to a small contribution toward the billions needed to cover service member paychecks. The Trump administration told Congress last week that it used $6.5 billion to make payroll. The next payday is coming within the week, and it’s unclear if the administration will again move money around to ensure the military does not go without compensation.
“The donation was made on the condition that it be used to offset the cost of Service members’ salaries and benefits,” said Sean Parnell, a Pentagon spokesman.
Military pay is a key concern among lawmakers of both parties as well as a point of political leverage.
Feds pressed for information on potential illegal warrantless arrests in Chicago area
District Judge Jeffrey Cummings pressed attorneys representing the federal government over missing the deadline for a report regarding over 1,000 potential warrantless arrests since June.
Earlier this month, Cummings ruled that federal immigration agents illegally arrested 26 people in the Midwest during the early days of Trump’s second term, in violation of a 2022 consent decree that bans ICE from arresting people without warrants or probable cause.
Cummings ordered ICE to make monthly disclosures of how many warrantless arrests agents make and produce the report. Cummings emphasized the importance of getting information about these arrests quickly so that the people impacted could seek justice.
Attorneys also dodged Cummings’ repeated questions about the conditions people arrested without warrants may be facing while detained and if they have access to advice from lawyers.
“We’ve got to speed this process up,” he said. ”...I want that information to be made available to the plaintiffs as quickly as possible.”
Brazilian president responds to Trump’s comments on drug cartels
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said Friday that countries cannot violate another nation’s sovereignty or constitution in the name of fighting drug trafficking.
Speaking to reporters in Jakarta, Indonesia, Lula was responding to recent comments by Trump, who recently said Latin American drug cartels were the ISIS of Western hemisphere.
“It would be much better if the U.S. were willing to talk with the police of other countries, with the justice ministries of other countries, to do something jointly,” Lula said. “If this becomes a trend. if each one thinks they can invade another’s territory to do whatever they want , where is the respect for the sovereignty of nations?”
Lula added that he intends to raise the issue with Trump during their in-person meeting Sunday in Malaysia, “if he brings it to the table.”
Federal judge to decide if Trump can deploy troops in Portland
U.S. District Judge Karin Immergut, a Trump appointee, says she’ll rule by Monday.
She issued earlier this month — one prohibiting Trump from calling up Oregon troops to Portland, and another blocking him from sending any Guard members to Oregon at all after he tried to evade the first order by deploying California troops instead.
A federal appeals court panel on Monday put the first ruling on hold. Now Immergut must decide whether to dissolve her second order, which the administration has not appealed.
The DOJ has insisted Immergut is required to immediately dissolve the second order because its reasoning was the same as the first. Attorneys for Oregon disagree, saying the second order is distinct and that she should wait to see if the 9th Circuit will reconsider the panel’s ruling.
Meanwhile Immergut has set a trial to begin next Wednesday on the merits of the case.
Trump administration imposes sanctions on Colombia president and his family
The Treasury Department leveled the penalties against President Gustavo Petro; his wife, Veronica del Socorro Alcocer Garcia; his son, Nicolas Fernando Petro Burgos; and Colombian Interior Minister Armando Alberto Benedetti.
The administration is accusing Petro’s government of involvement in the global drug trade, sharply escalating of one of the closest U.S. allies in South America.
Petro “has allowed drug cartels to flourish and refused to stop this activity,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement. “President Trump is taking strong action to protect our nation and make clear that we will not tolerate the trafficking of drugs into our nation.”
Ontario to take down ad that prompted Trump to end trade talks
Ontario Premier Doug Ford, whose province had sponsored the ad, made the announcement Friday afternoon.
Ford said after talking with Prime Minister Mark Carney he’s decided to pause the advertising campaign effective Monday so that trade talks can resume. Ford said they’ve achieved their goal, having reached U.S. audiences at the highest levels.
“Our intention was always to initiate a conversation about the kind of economy that Americans want to build and the impact of tariffs on workers and businesses,” Ford said. “We’ve achieved our goal, having reached U.S. audiences at the highest levels.”
A spokesperson for Ford had said earlier Friday that the ad will run during a Game 1 of the World Series between the Toronto Blue Jays and Los Angeles Dodgers.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries endorses Zohran Mamdani for New York City mayor
The Brooklyn lawmaker said Democrats have a “clear obligation to push back against” Republican extremism, even as he acknowledged he had “areas of principled disagreement” with his party’s nominee for mayor.
Mamdani, in a statement, said he looked forward to “fighting Trump’s authoritarianism” alongside Jeffries.
Jeffries has for months declined to officially throw his support behind Mamdani, a Democratic socialist state lawmaker who upended the New York political establishment when he handed former Democratic New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo a resounding and stunning defeat in the June primary.
Cuomo is still running in the November general election, but as an independent. Republican Curtis Sliwa is also on the ballot, as is Mayor Eric Adams, though the embattled Democrat dropped out of the race last month and has endorsed Cuomo.
Warner, Himes seek information about Caribbean strikes
The top Democrats on congressional intelligence committees are demanding information about the Trump administration’s escalating strikes on , which have killed at least 43 people.
U.S. Rep. Jim Himes of Connecticut and Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia wrote to Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard Friday asking about the intelligence service’s role in the strikes.
In the letter to Gabbard the lawmakers wrote that the administration is withholding important information about the strikes and their effects, including the evidence that prompted the strikes and the justification for lethal force.
“Please tell us in writing whether IC (intelligence community) attorneys have independently analyzed the legality of these strikes and the potential for legal repercussions for IC personnel who support them,” the lawmakers wrote.
Gabbard’s office did not immediately respond to the letter.
Congress warily watches US military build up in Caribbean
The drumbeat of deadly strikes on the alleged drug boats and the tough talk from Trump about a possible land incursion into Venezuela are widely viewed in Congress, on both sides of the political aisle, as a potential escalation of military involvement in the region.
Ahead of Friday’s announcement that the to the waters off South America, Rep. Adam Smith of Washington, the top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, said there is a growing concern on both sides of the political aisle over the Pentagon’s lack of transparency to Congress.
“Who are these people, what’s the plan?” Smith told AP in an interview late Thursday. “They’re basically saying: Drug dealers, we killed them, trust us, end of story.”
Smith said, “It has the whiff of extrajudicial killings.”
In the Senate, a bipartisan war powers resolution led by Virginia Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine that would block military action in Venezuela is heading toward a vote in coming weeks.
US begins investigating China over previous trade deal with Trump
Trade Representative Jamieson Greer says his office launched an investigation of China’s implementation of the trade deal struck about six years ago during the first Trump administration, when Beijing agreed to buy more U.S. farm goods and other products.
The deal, often called the Phase One Agreement, stalled when the COVID-19 pandemic started. The announcement by Greer came on the same day Trump is scheduled to embark on a trip to Asia, where he said he will meet Chinese President Xi Jinping about trade issues.
Beijing says Xi will travel to South Korea but has yet to confirm a meeting with Trump. Wendy Cutler, a former U.S. trade official, said Washington, by taking this move, might be seeking new leverage over Beijing in trade negotiations.
The Trumps to host Halloween at the White House
The president, along with first lady Melania Trump, will host a trick-or-treat on the South Lawn of the White House next week.
The event will be held Oct. 30, once Trump returns from a three-country visit to Asia.
The first lady’s office says thousands of children and their parents will attend, including military families, law enforcement families, foster and adoptive families, and administration officials with children.
The Trumps will hand out “commemorative candies,” the first lady’s office said, as Halloween tunes play in the background and the U.S Postal Service hosts a “BE BEST” postcard station for children.
NJ, California leaders blast DOJ’s plans to send election monitors to their states
The Associated Press first reported Friday that the Department of Justice is planning to monitor polling sites in Passaic County, New Jersey, and five counties in southern and central California: Los Angeles, Orange, Kern, Riverside and Fresno in next month’s off-year elections. The goal, according to the DOJ, is “to ensure transparency, ballot security, and compliance with federal law.”
Democrats in both states criticized the action.
New Jersey Attorney General Matt Platkin called the move “highly inappropriate” and said the DOJ “has not even attempted to identify a legitimate basis for its actions.”
And Rusty Hicks, chair of the California Democratic Party, said in a statement that “No amount of election interference by the California Republican Party is going to silence the voices of California voters.”
Beijing announces Xi to visit South Korea
The Chinese Foreign Ministry announced that Chinese President Xi Jinping will attend the leaders meeting of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation grouping in Gyeongju, South Korea, next week.
The announcement, however, didn’t confirm a meeting with Trump, who is leaving Washington on Friday for his Asia trip, where he says he will meet the Chinese leader over trade issues.
Beijing said Xi also would pay a state visit to South Korea.
Canada anti-tariff ad denounced by Trump to run during World Series
A spokesperson for Ontario’s premier says the ad that prompted to announce he’s ending all trade negotiations with Canada will run during Game 1 of the Toronto Blue Jays and Los Angeles Dodgers series on Friday night.
The Ontario government has said it would pay about $75 million Canadian ($54 million U.S.) for the ads to air across multiple American television stations. They use audio and video of former President Ronald Reagan speaking about tariffs in 1987.
US is sending an aircraft carrier to Latin America in major escalation of military buildup
The Pentagon’s announcement came after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the U.S. military has conducted its .
He blamed the for operating the vessel and leaving six people dead in the Caribbean Sea.
In a social media post, Hegseth said the strike occurred overnight, and it marks the second time the Trump administration has that originated in a Venezuelan prison.
The pace of the strikes has quickened in recent days from one every few weeks when they first began to three this week, killing a total of at least 43 people since September.
Trump names Republican to head energy panel that oversees data center development
Republican Laura Swett is the new chair of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which oversees interstate transmission of electricity, natural gas and other energy infrastructure.
Swett, a lawyer, replaces Democrat David Rosner, who led the panel the past two months. Rosner remains on the five-member commission, which now includes three Republicans and two Democrats.
The Senate confirmed Swett and fellow Republican David LaCerte to the energy panel earlier this month. LaCerte has served as White House liaison and senior adviser in the Office of Personnel Management, prompting concerns from Democrats about his independence.
Swett’s appointment comes as the Trump administration seeks to boost fossil fuels and data center development. She said in a statement that she looks forward to continuing the commission’s “crucial mission of ensuring reliable and affordable energy for all consumers.”
Democratic senator calls for investigation into DHS plane purchase
Gary Peters of Michigan is calling for an investigation of the Department of Homeland Security’s purchase of two Coast Guard planes.
The department purchased the fixed-wing aircraft on Oct. 17, according to a listing in the Federal Procurement Data System which details federal contracts. The two aircraft were purchased by the Coast Guard, which falls under Homeland Security.
The listing didn’t give a specific reason for the purchase, but historically the department has used Coast Guard planes to transport the secretary and other senior Homeland Security officials.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem defended the purchases during a news conference this week, saying they were to replace 25-year old Coast Guard planes and that Congress had appropriated the money.
Peters is the ranking member of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.
Letitia James talks to supporters after court appearance
The New York attorney general addressed a crowd of supporters after appearing in court in Virginia and pleading not guilty.
James thanked the people who had gathered outside the courthouse and who chanted “we stand with Tish!”
She said the justice system had been weaponized. It “has been used as a tool of revenge, and a weapon against those individuals who simply did their job and who stood up for the rule of law,” she told the crowd.
Jeffries says food assistance should continue in November
The House Democratic leader is urging the Trump administration to deploy a $5 billion emergency contingency fund to ensure that food assistance for millions of Americans continues on Nov. 1
The fate of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, is becoming a deep concern as it gets closer to Nov. 1, when the benefits could dry up without either a resolution of the federal government shutdown or other action.
Jeffries was asked Friday at a Capitol press conference if he was confident that SNAP recipients would be able to continue to access their benefits. He said the administration has the resources to ensure than not a single American goes hungry on Nov. 1.
He accused Republicans of “trying to weaponize hunger” and called it unconscionable.
White House: Shutdown may mean no inflation report next month
It would be the first time on record that the government did not issue the monthly inflation report, which provides crucial pricing data that is closely watched by financial markets and the Federal Reserve.
“Because surveyors cannot deploy to the field, the White House has learned there will likely NOT be an inflation release next month for the first time in history,” the Trump administration said in an email.
The announcement follows Friday’s release of September inflation data, which showed but not by as much as many economists expected. The Fed is likely to cut its key interest rate next month as it grows more concerned about sluggish hiring than inflation.
Will Hakeem Jeffries endorse Zohran Mamdani for NYC mayor?
“Stay tuned,” the House minority leader and Brooklyn native says.
Jeffries had said he would announce his position before early voting begins, and New Yorkers head to the polls starting Saturday. “I have not refused to endorse. I have refused to articulate my position, and I will momentarily at some point in advance of early voting,” Jeffries reiterated to reporters.
Mamdani, a democratic socialist, has become a lightning rod in national politics. But Jeffries resisted claims that his abstention from endorsing Mamdani is dividing his party. Democrats are “as unified as I’ve seen us throughout the entirety of this year” ahead of elections in Virginia, New Jersey and California, Jeffries said.
Letitia James pleads not guilty in fraud case
The pleaded not guilty on Friday to federal charges accusing her of lying on mortgage papers to secure favorable loan terms in .
Her lawyers have already signaled they will challenge the appointment of the U.S. attorney who brought the indictment after the resignation of , longtime prosecutor who resisted Trump administration pressure to bring charges. Siebert was replaced with , a White House aide and former Trump lawyer who had never previously served as a federal prosecutor and presented James’ case to the grand jury herself.
James’ lawyers asked the judge to prohibit prosecutors from disclosing information from the case outside court, citing the revelation that Halligan used an encrypted messaging platform to contact a reporter from Lawfare, who then published her texts about the case. “The exchange was a stunning disclosure of internal government information,” lawyers for James wrote.
New York Attorney General to appear in court as a defendant
is set to make her first court appearance on Friday. She’s the third Trump adversary to face a judge on federal charges in recent weeks.
James was indicted on charges of bank fraud and making false statements to a financial institution in connection with the 2020 purchase in Norfolk, Virginia, of a home where her relatives have lived. The charges came shortly after the Trump publicly called on the Justice Department to take action against James and other political foes.
James, and his administration dozens of times, has denied wrongdoing and decried the indictment as “nothing more than a continuation of the president’s desperate weaponization of our justice system.”
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DOJ will send election monitors to Democratic California and New Jersey
“Transparency at the polls translates into faith in the electoral process, and this Department of Justice is committed to upholding the highest standards of election integrity,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a statement to The Associated Press.
The federal election observers will monitor the states’ off-year elections following requests from state Republican parties, at sites in Passaic County, New Jersey, and five counties in southern and central California: Los Angeles, Orange, Kern, Riverside and Fresno.
Election monitoring is a routine function of the Justice Department, but California and New Jersey are holding elections with national consequences on Nov. 4. New Jersey’s has attracted major spending by both parties, and California’s special election enables voters to approve or reject a to counter Republican gerrymandering efforts elsewhere ahead of the 2026 midterms.
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Wall Street heads for records following encouraging inflation update
U.S. stocks are heading for records on Friday after came in a bit less painful than feared.
The S&P 500 rose 0.9% and was on track to top , which was set earlier this month. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 411 points, or 0.9%, as of 10:15 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 1.2% higher. Both were also rising toward records.
The inflation data could mean less pain for lower- and middle-income households struggling with every month. Even more importantly for Wall Street, it could also clear the way for the Federal Reserve to keep cutting interest rates in hopes of giving a boost to .
