• Schumer Shutdown ties a record: After midnight tonight, the current government shutdown will reach 36 days, the longest on record. Negotiations to pass the legislation needed to reopen the government still seem nonexistent, though that may change after today’s elections in Virginia and New Jersey. Senate Majority Leader John Thune says that the body is considering new legislation to fund the government, as the bill that has now failed to pass the Senate 13 times would only renew funding through the 21st of this month. The president has lost patience and is now calling for Senate Republicans to terminate their filibuster rules that require a 60-vote threshold for legislation. Judicial activists have secured SNAP funding via emergency funds; recipients will get 50% of their regular payments. Taxpayers may be left baffled that welfare is being paid while air traffic controllers are not.

• Obama equivocates with Mamdani: As voters go to the polls today to choose New York City’s next mayor, polling suggests that Democrat Socialist Zohran Mamdani will defeat former governor Andrew Cuomo. Barack Obama, who has stumped for and endorsed Democrats in the New Jersey and Virginia gubernatorial races, has not done the same for Mamdani. While Obama recently called Mamdani to offer his private support, he has conspicuously avoided any public endorsement. Mamdani’s campaign manager, Patrick Gaspard, erroneously claimed that Obama “doesn’t endorse in local races,” when, for example, Obama endorsed former NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio. It appears that Obama is strategically avoiding endorsing Mamdani publicly as he aims to help Democrats in tough midterm contests across the country next year. As Republican strategist Rob Ryan observed, “Obama is trying to protect other Democrats from the stain of supporting a communist for mayor in America’s greatest city.”

• CA Prop 50 will severely impact midterms: Will California voters give Democrats even more power in their state and potentially the nation? That is the question voters in the Golden State are weighing with Proposition 50. The special election issue was raised by Gov. Gavin Newsom in response to Republicans in Texas redrawing redistricting maps in their favor. Prop. 50 would give Democrats the authority to redraw the state’s redistricting map and, in doing so, flip five Republican congressional seats. Under California’s current system, a bipartisan commission, not the Democrat-controlled legislature, is responsible for creating district maps. Prop. 50 would give the state legislature authority to redraw the maps for the 2026, 2028, and 2030 elections. If the measure passes, it would have a significant impact on next year’s midterms, making it much more difficult for Republicans to retain control of the House.

• Pelosi expected to announce retirement: Nancy Pelosi, the former speaker of the House and one of the staples of the American political landscape, is expected to announce her retirement following elections today. California voters will vote today on Proposition 50, a redistricting effort aimed at eliminating as much Republican representation as possible. That would provide Pelosi a high note on which to announce her retirement. Scott Weiner, a radical leftist, is expected to make a play for Pelosi’s House seat, possibly providing an incentive for her retirement. Pelosi entered office on June 2, 1987, so her retirement would end her career just shy of 40 years.

• Heritage president’s chief of staff resigns: In the continuing wake of Tucker Carlson’s softball and apparent supportive interview of the white-nationalist, anti-Semitic social media influencer Nick Fuentes, conservatives have struggled to find a cogent response. This includes Kevin Roberts, the president of the Heritage Foundation, who last Thursday offered a defense of Carlson and blasted a “venomous coalition” for condemning him. That clearly didn’t sit well among Heritage Foundation’s staff, and it resulted in Roberts’s chief of staff, Ryan Neuhaus, resigning over the weekend. According to a Heritage Foundation spokesman, “[Neuhaus] was not fired. He offered his resignation, which was accepted.” The spokesman added, “Ryan is a good man, we appreciate his service, and we have no doubt he will serve the movement in another capacity.”

• American troops in Mexico? The Trump administration is reportedly drawing up plans for sending U.S. troops and intelligence officers into Mexico to help combat drug cartels. This is part of a broader Trump administration effort that includes strikes against drug-smuggling boats in the Caribbean and the sending of the USS Gerald R. Ford carrier strike force toward Venezuela. Back in August, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum rejected U.S. military intervention in Mexico: “We cooperate, we collaborate, but there is not going to be an invasion.” Meanwhile, Sheinbaum has been increasing efforts to stem the flow of illicit drugs across the border. War Secretary Pete Hegseth warned last week that “the Western Hemisphere is no longer a safe haven for narco-terrorists bringing drugs to our shores to poison Americans. The Department of War will continue to hunt them down and eliminate them wherever they operate.”

• Economy defies tariff alarmism: Cautious optimism may be the order of the day, with Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs failing to drive increasing costs and inflation while seeming to achieve the underlying goal of reorienting global trade. Annual inflation was still 3% in September, which is well above the Federal Reserves 2% goal, but tariffs haven’t driven an increase. Prices on some items have increased, with companies passing on 50%-70% of tariff prices to consumers, but loopholes and lower-than-expected tariffs mean this affects less of the market than expected. Many companies have avoided tariffs by building up inventories ahead of their implementation or relocating production from high-tariff nations like China to lower-tariff nations like Vietnam, Mexico, and Turkey — likely Trump’s goal all along. Many companies have seen profit margins increase enough since COVID that they can take the tariff hit and still see 2010-era profits.

• Harrison Ford bashes Trump: Hollywood stars really should stick to their day jobs. Harrison Ford is one of the most famous actors in history. His character in “Air Force One” won in a poll of fictional presidents for the 2024 election, serving as a reminder that fiction is not reality. The actor is less impressive than his roles, however, buying into the climate change hoax that even Bill Gates is dropping. Ford says Donald Trump’s disdain for wind turbines stems from having “not seen a gold one.” Ford berated Trump over his “drill, baby drill” policies and bafflingly suggested, “I don’t know of a greater criminal in history.” When Americans turn to Hollywood, they want Han Solo or Indiana Jones; Harrison Ford is best kept to the credit reel.

• Stonehenge ecofascists acquitted: The UK is upside down. The courts there have decided that destructive actions are “free speech.” In 2024, three Just Stop Oil activists sprayed Stonehenge with orange powder, causing £620 in damage. According to a UK judge, however, they have the “right to peaceful protest” and have been acquitted. So, in the backward world of the UK, you can get jailed for a joke, but desecrating a timeless historical site is not only acceptable but justified. As the judge falsely reasons, “There are times when protecting the right to freedom of speech and freedom to protest can mean that activity that would otherwise be unlawful would be regarded as lawful by the court to protect those rights.” In other words, it’s lawful if we agree with it, but it’s unlawful if we disagree with it. The real crime in the UK is speaking uncomfortable truths.

Headlines

• Texas governor warns any New Yorkers trying to flee south after Mamdani’s win will be slapped with 100% tariff (Daily Mail)

• Trump says no tomahawks for Ukraine, for now (Reuters)

• Michigan terror suspects plotted Paris-style attack on bars, nightclubs (NY Post)

• New Mexico becomes first state to offer free universal child care (Just the News)

• Transgender athletes still welcome at junior colleges despite NCAA, NAIA restrictions (Washington Times)

• Supreme Court of Canada overturns mandatory one-year jail terms for possession of child porn (Not the Bee)

• Indonesia, Azerbaijan chosen to lead post-Hamas Gaza peacekeepers (Washington Stand)

• Satire: Mamdani promises rent-free gulags (Babylon Bee)

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