Kristi Noem Says Immigrants Aren’t Skilled Enough to Drive Semi Trucks

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem made the inane claim while bragging about arresting immigrant truck drivers.

The New Republic

Red State Workers Could Lose Out on Disability Benefits as Trump Administration Rewrites Eligibility Rules

These changes would fall disproportionately on some of Trump’s most loyal supporters in red states. Most affected would be 50- to 60-year-olds without a high school or college education who have, for decades, toiled in physically grueling jobs, including coal mining, logging, and factory and construction work. The five states where the highest proportions of people rely on these benefits are West Virginia, Arkansas, Kentucky, Mississippi and Alabama. Unlike New York, California and a few others, these states do not have their own disability insurance programs for workers to turn to amid federal cuts.

ProPublica

A priest is walking from Illinois to New York for immigrants’ rights

The Rev. Gary Graf, 67, sees his 800-mile journey to Ellis Island as a modern-day pilgrimage. He hopes to finish the trip this month.

The Washington Post

Trump Targets Another Late Night Comedian, Saying It’s ‘Probably Illegal’ to Make Fun of Him

Trump did not take kindly to Meyers’ barbs: “On and on he went, a truly deranged lunatic. Why does NBC waste its time and money on a guy like this??? – NO TALENT, NO RATINGS, 100% ANTI TRUMP, WHICH IS PROBABLY ILLEGAL!!!”

Common Dreams

2025 Is ICE’s Deadliest Year In 20 Years

“The families of some of the deceased have denounced the fact that the victims had no prior condition that would have predicted a tragic end,” EL PAÍS reports.

Combating Nativist Narratives

Democrats Are Getting a Brutal Lesson in How Much the Politics on Israel Have Changed

From Pete Buttigieg to Gavin Newsom, party bigwigs are finding out the hard way that the old platitudes don’t work anymore.

The Nation

Federal judge orders Trump administration to submit SNAP funding plan by Monday

“There is no question that the congressionally approved contingency funds must be used now because of the shutdown,” McConnell wrote in his order.

The Baltimore Banner

Donald Trump Hosts Great Gatsby-Themed Halloween Party as 42 Million Americans Brace for SNAP Benefits to Expire

The official theme of the lavish event was The Great Gatsby, the Roaring ’20s and “a little party never killed nobody,” according to reports from White House correspondents Danny Kemp and Kellie Meyer of AFP News Agency and NewsNation, respectively. 

People

Hegseth bars military officials from discussing drug boat strikes with Congress without prior approval

The Office of Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has disseminated a broad list of topics that Defense Department personnel are now required to seek prior approval on before engaging with Congress, which includes any and all “sensitive military operations” and US military strikes on suspected drug boats around Latin America, according to people familiar with the latest guidance.

CNN

Border Patrol’s strong-arm tactics are the new norm in Chicago as Trump moves to sideline ICE leadership

Historically, ICE handles the government’s deportation efforts within the country’s interior while Border Patrol works along the border and ports of entry. While ICE has its own legacy of alleged human rights abuses and constitutional violations, its operations tend to be more targeted and focused, experts told the Tribune.

Border Patrol by contrast is known for aggressive pursuits of immigrants far from the big-city spotlight, along the rural Mexican border, where drug cartels and harsh desert conditions generate danger — conditions that are in stark contrast to Chicago’s neighborhoods, where homes are adorned with Halloween decorations and schools hosting fall festivals.

Chicago Tribune

Repression of Palestine Solidarity on Campus Enabled Anti-Migrant Escalation

Faculty are forming support networks to connect with each other to protect students and end the genocide in Palestine.

Truthout

Senators Propose Sweeping Changes to Generic Drug Oversight

Citing a ProPublica investigation, lawmakers are calling on the FDA to conduct more drug testing and to alert hospitals and other purchasers when foreign manufacturers with safety failures are given a special pass to send their products to the U.S.

ProPublica

Faith Leaders Again Denied Entry To Broadview ICE Facility, Hold Mass Outside Anyway

Immigration authorities again denied faith leaders entry to the Broadview processing center Saturday and police used pepper balls to clear the street during an afternoon costume party and protest.

Block Club Chicago

ICE has powerful facial recognition app Illinois cops are barred from using — with little apparent oversight

The Trump administration has contracts with Clearview AI, a firm banned from doing business with Illinois police agencies. “This is what dystopian nightmares are made of, this kind of continual expansion of surveillance without any real oversight or restrictions,” says Jeramie Scott of the Electronic Privacy Information Center.

WBEZ Chicago

Shinzo Abe Killer’s Trial Is Exposing the Christian Cult Entrenched in Japanese Politics

Last week’s historic election of Takaichi Sanae, an Abe protégé, as the country’s first female prime minister has done little to stop the rot. If anything, Sanae immediately made her allegiances clear: In a provocative early move, the politician likened to Margaret Thatcher appointed Hiroyuki Nakamura, a man with deep ties to the Unification Church, as vice minister of education. This effectively puts a Church sympathizer in charge of the very ministry that initially pushed for its dissolution.

The Intercept

The Chinese migrant workers powering the deadly EV nickel boom

30,000 Chinese workers travel thousands of miles to remote islands in Eastern Indonesia to process nickel — and put their lives at risk on the frontier of the green energy transition.

Rest of World

Trump’s of Venezuela goes beyond ‘Monroe doctrine’ – in ideology, intent and scale, it’s unprecedented

In the most obvious way, deploying a flotilla of warships to the southern Caribbean evokes dark echoes of “gunboat diplomacy” – the unilateral dispatch of marines or soldiers to strong-arm foreign governments that was especially prevalent in Latin America. One reliable account tallies 41 of these in the region from 1898 to 1994.

The Conversation

How civil society groups and activists are planning to reclaim civic space in Vietnam

The civic space restrictions in Vietnam have made it more difficult for human rights groups and activists to fulfill their work without being targeted by authorities. Despite the risks, several initiatives and campaigns aim to empower more people to exercise their rights and promote positive change in their communities. Among those actively advocating for reforms are members of the Vietnamese diaspora who are concerned about their homeland and are eager to study their heritage.

Global Voices

Lib Dem members criticise ‘trans-exclusionary’ rule change for party elections

Rules on quotas to ensure fair representation of women changed on legal advice in light of supreme court ruling

The Guardian

In visit to Hindu temple, King Charles demonstrates power of presence in a divided world

“The King’s coming was more than just a special moment for us,” said Karina Patel, a British diplomat, referring to the United Kingdom’s million Hindus. “It was a powerful message from the Crown that we belong. It signals that he and the country we call home respect our faith and value our contributions to British life.”

Religion New Service

The Long Tail of Hurricane Death Will Be Even Longer in Jamaica

A growing body of research has demonstrated that hits from tropical cyclones leave more than just damaged rooftops in their wake, in fact raising mortality rates through a likely wide variety of mechanisms for years.

Gravity is Gone

Police rule out terrorism in mass stabbing attack on UK train after 2 suspects arrested

Police also said that two men born in the United Kingdom remain in custody at separate police stations on suspicion of attempted murder. The suspects were arrested eight minutes after the first emergency calls were made at 7:42 p.m. from aboard the train, where passengers had reported scenes of panic and chaos with many running through the carriages and some seeking safety in the toilets.

PBS

Venice revives a quarter-mile floating bridge to island cemetery for All Souls’ Day mourners

Venice’s San Michele island is the final resting place of American poet Ezra Pound, Russian composer Igor Stravinsky and many Venetians known only to their loved ones.

AP News

Israeli military’s top lawyer resigns over leak of video allegedly showing abuse of Palestinian detainee

The Israeli military’s top lawyer has resigned after saying that she was responsible for the leaking of a video that purportedly shows soldiers sexually abusing a Palestinian detainee last year.

BBC

Uruguay becomes the first Latin American country to allow euthanasia through legislation

Uruguay was the first Latin American country to grant women the right to vote, and a pioneer in approving a divorce law, while also allowing women to obtain a divorce independently. In the early 2010s, the country made history and headlines for decriminalizing marijuana, allowing women’s right to abortion, and same-sex marriage, subjects that remained taboo for most of its neighbors. This October 15, the South American nation with a population of almost 3.5 million, reached another historic milestone: it became the first Latin American country to pass a law allowing euthanasia.

Global Voices