Trump stumps in Kansas, Vance rallies in North Carolina
This version of Trump Rally Kansas Vance Congress 2026 Midterm Live Updates Rcna604283 - Politics and Government | NBC News Clone was adapted by NBC News Clone to help readers digest key facts more efficiently.
A new NBC News poll found that 71% of U.S. adults think the country is on the “wrong track,” illustrating a grim national mood as the midterm elections approach.
What to know today
- TRUMP CAMPAIGNS IN KANSAS: President Donald Trump held a rally in Kansas tonight for Republican Sen. Roger Marshall, who is locked in a tight race with Democrat Adam Hamilton. Vice President JD Vance, meanwhile, traveled to North Carolina to campaign for Republican Jennifer Balkcom in her competitive House race against Democrat Jamie Ager.
- U.S.-UKRAINE TALKS: Officials from the U.S. and Ukraine are expected to meet in Norway this week for another round of negotiations, sources familiar with the matter told NBC News. The development comes as a series of recent actions by Trump in favor of Russia leave both Congress and U.S. allies questioning the administration's mediation efforts to end the war.
- SCOTUS CASES: The Supreme Court this morning rejected an appeal from alleged 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed seeking to hold the government to a plea deal it later withdrew. In another case, the court said it will consider whether to strike down a federal ban on distilling spirits at home.
- NBC NEWS POLL: Seventy-one percent of U.S. adults think the country is on the “wrong track,” illustrating the grim national mood the Republican Party faces in the midterm elections, according to a new NBC News Decision Desk Poll powered by SurveyMonkey.
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A blue-collar bellwether weighs ousting longtime GOP Sen. Susan Collins in Maine
For the first time in 30 years, Claire Breton is not voting for Republican Sen. Susan Collins.
Breton, an 86-year-old independent, last supported Collins in 2020 even as she backed Democrat Joe Biden for president. Voters like Breton propelled Collins to victory that year, helping Collins outrun Trump in Lewiston and across Maine. In 2020, Collins won Lewiston by 2 points even as Trump lost it by 14 points.
But this year, Breton voted for Democrat Troy Jackson, the former state Senate president.
“Not happy with Susan supporting our current president,” Breton, a retired federal worker, said after she cast an early ballot at Lewiston City Hall on a brisk fall afternoon.
Argentine President Javier Milei endorses U.S. Rep. María Elvira Salazar for re-election
Rep. María Elvira Salazar, R-Fla., has picked up the endorsement of yet another Latin American leader on the right as she seeks another term in a heavily Hispanic district where she faces a closer-than-expected challenge from Democrat Eliott Rodriguez.
Argentine President Javier Milei endorsed Salazar in a video she posted on X.
“We need leaders in Washington who understand Latin America, to confront leftist socialists and to denounce without fear the horrors and deaths that socialism has left in its wake. That leader is María Elvira Salazar,” Milei said in Spanish.
Salazar, whose relationship with Trump has cooled after she broke with him over some of his immigration policies, has highlighted support from right-wing leaders overseas in making her case to voters in a district where more than 74% of the population is Hispanic.
Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella and Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado endorsed Salazar this month.
In a previous statement to NBC News, Rodriguez said, “As much as my opponent would like to make this election about politics in Latin America, it’s really about the people of Florida’s 27th District.”
National Democrats are throwing their weight behind Rodriguez, a former local news anchor. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., campaigned for him in the district Friday.
Trump uses antisemitic slur in defending Sen. Roger Marshall at rally in Kansas
Trump used an antisemitic slur tonight in defending Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., after an article said he sued hundreds of patients over unpaid debts when he was a practicing physician.
Speaking at a campaign rally in Kansas, Trump said the reporting made Marshall, who is not Jewish, out to be “some kind of a shylock-type guy,” using a term widely recognized as offensive toward Jewish people.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Trump’s remarks.
Trump used the same slur last year in a speech to describe exploitative bankers as he was promoting his sweeping domestic policy bill. Some Jewish groups denounced his use of the term.
Trump says he wants to 'get to the bottom' of Kansas youth soccer game car crash
Speaking in Park City, Kansas, Trump brought up the lethal crash in Wichita on Saturday that killed a 6-year-old boy and a 35-year-old man when a car plowed through a youth soccer game.
“I also want to express our profound sympathy for the victims of the horrific car crash at the Stryker Sports Complex last weekend, and we grieve for the beautiful lives that were lost and pray for those who were tragically injured,” Trump said.
He called the event “horrible,” promising that investigators “want to get to the bottom of what happened.”
“You have great law enforcement, but we’re going to give them whatever help they need. We want to find out what happened,” Trump said.
The car was driven by a 34-year-old woman from Kansas, who was taken into custody and subsequently released. She has not been identified or charged with a crime. What caused the driver to go through the field is still under investigation, and police have said results for examinations on the vehicle and toxicology testing on the driver are pending.
Police said that the driver was cooperating with officers and that she had a child who had a soccer game on a different field at the complex.
U.S. and Ukrainian officials expected to meet in Norway this week
Officials from the U.S. and Ukraine are expected to meet in Norway this week for another round of negotiations, sources familiar with the matter told NBC News, as a series of recent actions by Trump in favor of Russia leave both Congress and U.S. allies questioning U.S. mediation efforts.
Reuters first reported the expected meeting.
Kyiv came under attack by Russian ballistic missiles yesterday, and Ukraine said it once again received no early warning from the U.S. and its partners — for the third time in recent days. In addition to the withholding of intelligence, Ukraine says it still faces speed restrictions on Starlink and Starshield, the military version of the SpaceX service, with no explanation from the Trump administration.
“All of this suggests that some political decision has been made to slow down support for us,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said today in a virtual address to a bipartisan delegation from the House and the Senate. “This is in sharp contrast to what we are achieving on the battlefield. Of course, I discussed this with President Trump’s representatives this Sunday.”
Zelenskyy added that Ukraine is in “constant contact” with Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and special envoy Steve Witkoff and confirmed that Ukrainian officials hope to meet with them “maybe in Norway in the coming days.”
The Norwegian Embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Protesters interrupt Trump at start of Kansas rally
Trump was interrupted at least two times less than five minutes into rally remarks tonight in Park City, Kansas.
Some protesters were removed from the venue. Trump called them “paid protesters.”
Sen. Roger Marshall focuses more on Democratic opponent than Kansas in rally remarks
Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., used his speaking slot at tonight's campaign rally in Park City to talk more about his opponent and events overseas than his home state of Kansas.
Marshall, who is in an unexpectedly tight race for re-election, talked about “radical Islam” and the rioting in France while claiming his opponent, Adam Hamilton, and Democrats would open the border, weaken the military and charge higher taxes.
Marshall said Republicans will “give you secure borders, a strong military and lower taxes,” but he did not talk about what he would do for Kansas if he is re-elected.
The nonpartisan Cook Political Report has shifted the race toward Democrat and characterized it as a “toss-up.” NBC News characterizes it as competitive but leaning toward the GOP.
Hamilton has picked up several endorsements from past GOP and Democratic governors.
Trump again suggests renaming New Mexico as ‘New America’
Trump has once again suggested giving New Mexico a new moniker.
He urged the state on Truth Social this afternoon to “immediately change its name to New America.”
Trump said the name change would "add great value and prestige" to New Mexico, adding without evidence that home values and people's incomes would increase as a result.
“Maybe even the Crooked Elections, that New Mexico is known for, would become honest again!” he wrote.
New Mexico Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver responded to Trump's suggestion of voter fraud, calling it "tired and patently false."
"He must stop insulting the intelligence of this state's voters. New Mexicans know that we have repeatedly received high national rankings for administering some of the most secure and accessible elections in the country," Toulouse Oliver wrote in a statement on X.
This isn’t the first time Trump has called for renaming New Mexico.
Trump wrote on Truth Social last month that many people have suggested the name change, saying “New America” would be “much more prestigious and beautiful for the people of that potentially incredible State.” In another September Truth Social post, he posted an image of a map of the state with “New Mexico” crossed out with a red X and the words “New America” written below.
Trump signed an executive order in January 2025 to rename the Gulf of Mexico as the “Gulf of America” and another executive order in August to rename Lake Ontario as “Lake America” during the trade war with Canada.
The “Gulf of America” and “Lake America” name changes apply to the U.S. government and its agencies; American businesses and other countries aren’t required to follow the executive orders.
Indiana Democrat who went viral for candidate interview says she had 3 beers before forum
An Indiana Democrat running for local office who went viral last week for a televised rant during a candidate forum in which she called for “firing all Republicans” and reminded voters that “we have guns, too,” said in an interview today that she may have had a drink or two or three before the event.
“I had three beers, OK?” Jaime West, who is running for the Fayette County Council, said in an interview with Piers Morgan when she was asked exactly how many drinks she had had after she admitting drinking a Coors Light before the Oct. 9 forum.
“I was nervous,” West, who appeared to slur her words during the forum, told Morgan today.
West added that she was “not that intoxicated” during the interview, and “I do know what I’m talking about.”
She raised eyebrows this month after she was asked at the forum for an unpopular policy position she held.
“Firing all Republicans. I wouldn’t let them, I mean, I don’t even talk to them. I don’t like them. There, there are good Republicans out there, but then there’s these MAGAs who are just racist and aren’t very intelligent at all,” West said in response.
Asked for “a few last words to the voters,” West said, “We have guns, too.”
West said today she would not take her inflammatory remarks about Republicans back.
“No, I say it all the time. I’m not friends with them. I don’t like them,” West said, blasting the Trump administration for the Iran war and what she called a “constitutional crisis.”
“I have every right to be angry, and so does every American,” she said.
West, who said she owns a cleaning service, is running to represent the 4th District on the Fayette County Council, the local government for the largely rural Indiana district. The Indianapolis Star reported that it was unclear whether she had sought public office before.
First to NBC News: Sen. Elissa Slotkin to campaign with Democrats in South Carolina, the first 2028 primary state
Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., will campaign for Democratic candidates Wednesday in South Carolina, her team confirmed with details shared first with NBC News.
The trip is sure to intensify speculation about Slotkin’s White House ambitions. Though red South Carolina isn’t traditionally home to swing races, the state is scheduled to hold the first Democratic presidential primary in 2028.
On Wednesday, Slotkin will join Nancy Lacore, who is running for the open seat in the state’s 1st Congressional District, as well as three downballot hopefuls: state House contender Sonja Ogletree Satani, lieutenant governor candidate Sam Skardon and DeShawn Blanding, who is running for state agriculture commissioner.
From there, Slotkin will head to Georgia, where she is scheduled to campaign with Sen. Jon Ossoff in Savannah on Thursday. Ossoff, who is locked in a re-election bid against Republican Rep. Mike Collins, is also seen as a 2028 presidential prospect. Slotkin will participate in other events with the Georgia Democratic Party and thank volunteers at Democratic field offices.
Slotkin, who was elected to a six-year term in 2024, has been traveling the country for months to drum up support for Democrats and lay the groundwork for a possible 2028 campaign.
“I’m literally not arrogant enough to think that I’m the only person who can do this,” Slotkin told NBC News in April during a trip to Iowa. “If there was someone who I really felt had what it takes to win, I’d get behind that person. I’m a new senator. I’m new to this level of elected office. But if we get through the midterms and I don’t see it emerging from other leaders as they start to announce and people decide and don’t decide, you know, I wouldn’t rule it out.”
Texas Democratic candidate for governor sues to review emails between Elon Musk and Greg Abbott
Texas state Rep. Gina Hinojosa, the Democratic nominee for governor, announced a lawsuit today against Gov. Greg Abbott over emails between his office and Republican ally Elon Musk.
Hinojosa — who is challenging Abbott in a tight contest — said at a news conference that she filed the suit to obtain redacted documents that “Abbott refused to release,” claiming they were being withheld because they are “intimate and embarrassing.”
A spokesperson for Abbott called the lawsuit “baseless” and “nothing more than an act of desperation.”
“Even worse, State Representative Gina Hinojosa is abusing her official capacity as an outgoing lawmaker to generate headlines for political purposes,” Abbott’s press secretary, Andrew Mahaleris, said in a statement. “Texans see this for what it is: a political stunt.”
Musk, who is CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Miami bakery condemns socialism after critics turn up the heat over Hakeem Jeffries campaign stop
A small bakery in Miami has found itself on the defensive after it hosted House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., last week for a surprise campaign stop as national Democrats pour resources into the tightening congressional race between Democrat Eliott Rodriguez and Republican Rep. María Elvira Salazar.
CAO Bakery, which stands for Cuban American Original, partner and chief marketing officer Yvette Cao said in a statement last night that she understood “why Friday hurts.”
“Let me start off by saying opening our doors was not an endorsement of any candidate, party or platform,” Cao wrote, adding that the bakery “stands with our Cuban American community for a free Cuba and condemns Socialism. That will never change.”
Cao went on to say “a congressional campaign” asked it last week whether its candidate could stop by for “a cafecito and to greet the community,” adding that she “didn’t know it would turn into a press conference.” A local political influencer criticized the bakery over the weekend for hosting Rodriguez and Jeffries, blasting it for opening "its doors and platform this week to leadership of a political party that works with democratic socialists."
Meanwhile, a Cuban American bakery started by Cao’s grandparents distanced itself from CAO Bakery and voiced its opposition to socialism in a separate statement. Salazar stopped by that business, Vicky Bakery, over the weekend.
Rodriguez, a Cuban American former news anchor, is running to unseat Salazar, who has found herself on the outs with Trump over her criticism of his immigration enforcement tactics. The candidates are running in a congressional district where 74% of the population is Hispanic, the vast majority of which has ties to Cuba.
Salazar weighed in on the political bake-off tonight, calling Jeffries "the man who wants to lead the socialists in Congress."
"[Rodriguez] and his socialist friends turned a Cuban small business into a political prop and left the business dealing with the fallout," Salazar wrote on X.
Republicans in Miami-Dade County have sought to tie Democrats to socialism and the Democratic Socialists of America movement in an effort to sway voters whose families once fled authoritarian regimes.
Salazar told reporters Friday that Jeffries and Rodriguez would be “dragged” by “the socialist radical forces that are infiltrating the Democratic Party.” Jeffries has said he does not support the DSA’s agenda, and Rodriguez has rejected the label.
The district has taken dramatic swings in recent presidential elections, going for former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton by 20 percentage points in 2016 and then for Trump by 15 points in 2024. Salazar has represented the district since 2021.
Texas' Harris County breaks its record for first-day early voting turnout
Harris County, Texas, today said it broke its record for first-day early voting turnout in a midterm election.
“As of 3:30 p.m., 70K+ voters have been processed, surpassing the previous record of 63,188 set in 2018, with 3.5 hours remaining,” the county’s election department wrote on X.
Harris County, home to Houston, is the state’s most populous county. In-person early voting in the state kicked off today, as its Senate race between Democrat James Talarico and Republican Ken Paxton is in the national spotlight.
Trump and Republicans battle to protect the midterms’ most surprising battleground
No other state has shut out one party in U.S. Senate races for as long as Kansas. But with days to go in the 2026 midterm elections, Trump is headlining a rally near Wichita today in a bid to head off the biggest threat in years to the GOP’s local winning streak.
Megachurch pastor Adam Hamilton hopes to make history as the first Democrat elected to the Senate in ruby-red Kansas in nearly a century. And Republican Sen. Roger Marshall is fighting for his political life in a state he won by over 11 points in 2020, with polls showing a toss-up.
NBC News chief data analyst Steve Kornacki provides a closer look at where things stand with just 15 days to go until the midterm elections.
Trump says Zelenskyy shouldn't negotiate on behalf of Ukraine
Trump told reporters today that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy should step aside from negotiating for his country.
“To be honest, I think it’s time for somebody else to negotiate on behalf of Ukraine,” Trump said. “Maybe it’s time for Zelenskyy to get somebody else to negotiate.”
A reporter had asked Trump for his reaction to Zelenskyy’s saying Trump was on the wrong side of history. Zelenskyy told NBC News’ “Meet the Press” yesterday that if Trump sided with Russia, it would be a “historic mistake.”
On Friday, Trump waived sweeping sanctions against Russia that Congress passed with bipartisan support — and he had signed into law last month. Trump defended his move on Truth Social yesterday, saying he did not want to drive Russia away from the bargaining table.
Trump reiterated that defense today, saying he did not want to “break up negotiations right in the middle.”
He said he would be open to a trilateral meeting with Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin. He also did not discount the possibility of cutting Zelenskyy out of a negotiation when he was asked whether he would be open to meeting with Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping, even if Zelenskyy were not there.
“Well, I would meet in order anything I can do to end the war, whether somebody’s there or not, whatever I can do to end the war, and they do want to have a meeting at my suggestion, because I’m going to be over in China in November on the denuclearization, and if we can do denuclearization, I will have done the world a big, big favor,” Trump said.
Man charged with threatening Trump in Kansas, where he is set to rally tonight
A man today was charged with threatening Trump in Kansas, where he is set to hold a rally tonight to campaign for GOP Sen. Roger Marshall in a tightening re-election race.
The man, Jaden John Read, is charged with threatening to take the life of the president of the United States.
The complaint, signed by a Secret Service special agent, alleges Reade published posts on Facebook on or about Thursday calling to “shoot Trump” in Kansas, where he said he “already mapped out roofs around.”
How Flock’s cameras spread through government deals that bypassed public scrutiny
In less than a decade, Flock Safety’s license plate-reading cameras have spread across the U.S. In dozens of communities, residents and their elected representatives never voted on whether to install them.
An NBC News review of local government contracts and public records found that police departments and other officials regularly purchased Flock surveillance technology through deals that avoided competitive bidding or fell just below spending thresholds that require approval by elected representatives.
A Flock camera at an intersection in Sedona, Ariz. Matt Martian for NBC News
BBC seeks to depose Jack Smith to push back on Trump's Jan. 6 claims
Attorneys for the BBC have subpoenaed former special counsel Jack Smith to testify about Trump's state of mind on Jan. 6, 2021.
"It is difficult to imagine a more authoritative source on these issues than Mr. Smith, who spent years gathering evidence on those topics with the force of the Justice Department and the power of the grand jury behind him," the BBC said in a court filing.
Trump filed a $10 billion suit against the British news organization last year, alleging it aired a "false, defamatory, deceptive, disparaging, inflammatory, and malicious depiction of President Trump" in a documentary that spliced together comments from his speech at the Ellipse on Jan. 6. He argues the network falsely implied he incited violence in the speech.
The judge has said that to defend itself, the BBC "is entitled to discover the contours of the message and impression” behind Trump's speech that day.
Trump's attorneys want the judge to quash the subpoena, contending "Smith does not have any personal knowledge regarding President Trump’s state of mind at the time the Speech was given. Any evidence that Smith gathered during his investigation consists of secondhand knowledge based on materials that he and other third parties collected from various sources."
The BBC is separately asking the judge for help getting Trump to sit for his deposition in the case. He agreed to sit for a deposition last Friday but canceled in late September because of “matters of national importance.” The BBC lawyers note that he wound up going to a campaign rally in Georgia and then a fundraiser in Florida.
‘Astounded’: DOJ vets shocked by timing of Ilhan Omar search
It was early Columbus Day morning when a group of armed officers showed up on a quiet residential street in Northeast Washington, D.C., to seize the phone and boxes of belongings from one of Trump’s biggest critics and political targets: Rep. Ilhan Omar.
The move and the timing were highly unusual. Search warrants aren’t normally executed on federal holidays, since that could trigger overtime pay, three former officials said. Even more shocking to longtime Justice Department observers: Election Day was three weeks away.
Homeland Security Investigations police search Rep. Ilhan Omar's home in Washington. Andrew Leyden / Getty
Massachusetts GOP lieutenant governor candidate suspends campaign after OUI arrest
A candidate for lieutenant governor of Massachusetts, Republican Shawn Oliver, was arrested on drunken driving charges after a crash late Saturday that left several parked vehicles damaged and his own overturned, police said.
Yesterday, Oliver, a New Bedford City Council member, announced he was suspending his campaign, as his running mate, Mike Minogue, had called for him to do.
Republican Shawn Oliver. WJAR
Trump signs executive order to establish new women's health division at the National Institutes of Health
Thrump signed an executive order this morning to direct the Department of Health and Human Services to create a women's health division at the National Institutes of Health and a task force to address women's health.
First lady Melania Trump spoke before Trump signed the order.
"Beginning today, we will change the reality of women’s health," she said. "Previous generations fought for women’s rights. Our generation will fight to discover the cures that will ensure a woman can live her life in health and to the fullest."
Trump and the first lady in the Rose Garden today. Chip Somodevilla / Getty
The first lady said the executive order "establishes a new standard for women's health in America." She pointed to the country's ability to draw upon artificial intelligence, biotechnology and "groundbreaking therapies."
The first task force meeting will take place today, she said. The president said later that White House chief of staff Susie Wiles and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. would lead the task force.
In remarks after his wife, the president said the initiative would "promote new research and really go after the understudied diseases affecting women and promote innovative technologies to diagnose conditions sooner and improve treatment using the best available science."
The text of the executive order has not yet been posted to the White House's website. The National Institutes of Health has an existing Office of Research on Women's Health. USA Today reported that the new division would have a mandate that extends beyond research and will not replace the existing office.
Schumer urges FCC to reject bid to ease AI robocall rules before midterms
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., called on the Federal Communications Commission to turn down a petition from the conservative group Club for Growth that would allow robocalls to voters' cellphones without consent, including messages with AI-generated voices.
"Not only is it bothersome to receive these calls — it can have major, misleading implications on elections. Under this change, campaigns could use their opponents’ voice to send out a message that is, at best, disingenuous and, at worst, a blatant lie," Schumer said in a comment on the FCC's public docket Monday.
An FCC spokesperson said in response to Schumer that the regulatory agency did not plan to advance any such proposal.
“There is no one at the FCC that has expressed any interest in moving to an order on this or any of the petitions and there are zero plans to do so," the spokesperson said in a statement. "The FCC seeks comment on petitions that come in as a matter of normal procedure.”
The agency's public comment period on the topic expires today.
Club for Growth last month formally asked the FCC for an expedited waiver from federal rules that would allow it to to send out robocalls "using an artificial or prerecorded voice — including an AI-generated voice — without obtaining prior express consent" from the recipient.
"There is absolutely no excuse to relax these standards and allow special interests to flood our cellphone lines with deepfakes or dark-money-funded AI voices. I am going to fight to make sure the FCC doesn’t change this rule this October or ever," Schumer said in a statement.
High spirits: Supreme Court to decide fate of federal ban on home distilling
In a boost for those who want to make whiskey in their bathtubs or gin in their kitchens, the Supreme Court today announced it will consider whether to strike down a long-standing federal ban on distilling spirits at home.
Although interest in the home distilling of hooch has continued despite the 150-year old ban, advocates hope the court will remove the threat of criminal sanctions, which can include a fine of up to $10,000 and a maximum sentence of five years in prison.
GOP Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick says he will speak with Zelenskyy this week
Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., co-chair of the Ukraine Caucus, said today that he will speak with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy this week about the country's use of Starshield, the military version of the Starlink service.
Zelenskyy has warned that Ukraine is dealing with a speed restriction with Starshield. Fitzpatrick said in a post on X that “anyone who attempts to limit the use of Starshield for Ukraine will be fully investigated and will be held fully accountable.”
Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa. Tom Williams / Getty
The Republican lawmaker, who also serves as co-chair of the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus, said that the U.S. “must provide any and all defensive equipment that Ukraine needs to defend itself” and that America “must not import a single drop of Russian oil.”
"Congress will unequivocally reaffirm that Ukraine is an indispensable ally to the United States, that Russia is a self-declared enemy of the United States, and that the United States will 100% support and defend the people of Ukraine in their fight for their own freedom against this brutal, illegal, and unprovoked Russian invasion," he said.
Trump has lashed out at Zelenskyy in recent days after the Ukrainian president accused the U.S. of betraying his country with recent policy shifts, which have included allowing imports of Russian diesel and pressuring Ukraine to cease attacks on Russia's energy infrastructure. Last Friday, Trump also waived sanctions against Russia that Congress passed in September.
Fitzpatrick's race for re-election against Democrat Bob Harvie is considered a toss-up by NBC News.
Supreme Court to hear a new case on race and school admissions, this time in Maryland
The Supreme Court today agreed to hear a new challenge to school admissions policies aimed at fostering diversity, taking up a case targeting a lottery-based process for magnet programs in a Maryland county.
The court agreed to take up an appeal brought by the Association for Education Fairness seeking to revive a lawsuit it filed against the Montgomery County Board of Education. Montgomery County is a large and diverse county in the suburbs of Washington, D.C
Obama calls Trump officials’ investigation of Ilhan Omar ‘appalling’
Former President Barack Obama yesterday condemned federal agents’ raid on the Washington, D.C., home of Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., calling it a “transparent” effort by the Trump administration to “intimidate” her.
“The full weight of the federal government is being brought down on a law-abiding elected official because she has dared to criticize the president,” Obama wrote on X.
Supreme Court rejects alleged 9/11 mastermind’s attempt to revive plea deal
The Supreme Court today rejected an appeal brought by Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and two other alleged 9/11 plotters seeking to hold the government to a plea deal it later withdrew.
The court action removes one barrier to Mohammed standing trial before a military commission in 2028, where the death penalty is a possible punishment. He has been held at the U.S. base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, since 2006.
Trump to sign an executive order on women's health
Trump will sign an executive order today to establish a new division at the National Institutes of Health and a task force on women's health.
The executive order was spearheaded by first lady Melania Trump, who will join the president at the signing this morning. She's expected to deliver remarks at the event, which will take place in the Rose Garden.
The White House task force will be led by the president's chief of staff, Susie Wiles, and hold its first meeting today. Wiles announced in March that she was diagnosed with breast cancer. Last month, she said she was cancer free.
The text of the executive order has not yet been released. The NIH currently operates the Office of Research on Women's Health, but USA Today reported that the new division would not replace the existing office and would have a mandate that extends beyond research.
Former President Joe Biden also signed an executive order in the last year of his administration to advance women's health initiatives in several areas and called on Congress to establish a $12 billion fund at NIH for related research.
Judge denies Trump administration's request to remove herself from the D.C. golf course case
U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes denied the administration's request to recuse herself from the case surrounding Trump's push to redo a D.C. golf course.
The administration had argued that Reyes' "histrionics in prior hearings have clearly demonstrated she is no longer impartial."
In a filing last night, Reyes countered several of the administration's arguments, saying her being "furious" over the administration removing hundreds of trees from the course was not "sudden onset bias." Rather, it was the result of the administration's decision to wait until nearly 5 p.m. on the Friday ahead of the Columbus Day weekend to provide notice that it would start removing the trees within 15 hours, she said.
A golfer at East Potomac Golf Links yesterday. Aaron Schwartz / Bloomberg via Getty
Reyes also pointed out several instances of her praising the government's lawyers, including her siding with the administration against plaintiffs who requested a temporary restraining order. She wrote that "no reasonable person could believe" after she denied plaintiffs' requests that "the Court exercised favoritism in a manner supporting disqualification."
In the conclusion of her filing, Reyes said, "It is easy to weaponize selective quotations to bring a baseless recusal motion. But it is much harder to meet the demanding legal standard against a full record. By any objective measure, the Government fails to meet the standard for recusal."
Trump called Reyes "a crazed lunatic" on Truth Social this morning and argued that the administration did not "need an approval" for renovations.
"Work is scheduled to begin IMMEDIATELY!" he wrote. "The finished product will be World Class, and bring income and great prestige back to D.C."
Trump said yesterday in a Truth Social post that he would renovating the public East Potomac Golf Links into a championship-level course.
Treasury secretary refuses to say if the U.S. sees Ukraine as an ally
Amid escalating tensions between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent yesterday dodged three times when asked whether Ukraine is an ally of the United States.
“We provide the three different things ... to Ukraine, so that’s what you do for an ally. We’re not providing those to Russia,” Bessent told NBC News’ “Meet the Press” the second time he was asked whether the U.S. considers Ukraine an ally.
NBC News
Poll: Americans are anxious, pessimistic and deeply unhappy with Trump ahead of the midterms
Weeks ahead of Election Day, 71% of U.S. adults think the country is on the “wrong track.” It’s the highest share yet in Trump’s second term, illustrating the grim national mood his party faces in the midterm elections, according to a new NBC News Decision Desk Poll powered by SurveyMonkey.
Poll respondents expressed deep unhappiness over economic conditions and widespread distrust toward both major political parties, but Trump and Republicans bore the brunt. For the first time in Trump’s second term, the poll has found the “right track” sinking into the 20s.
A majority of Americans view the president’s administration as uniquely corrupt, even as they look skeptically at corruption in both parties. And they say Trump is failing to improve their material financial conditions.
Trump to travel to Kansas to boost GOP candidates in the final midterm stretch
Trump will hold a rally tonight in Kansas to campaign for Republican Sen. Roger Marshall, the latest of his midterm campaign stops.
Trump secured Kansas, a solidly red state, by more than 16 points in the 2024 presidential election. But Marshall and Democrat Adam Hamilton are locked in a close race this year.
In the governor's race, Republican Ty Masterson and Democrat Cindy Holscher are vying to replace Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly, who is term-limited.
Vice President JD Vance, meanwhile, will travel to North Carolina today for a midterm rally to support Jennifer Balkcom, a Republican running in the 11th Congressional District against Democrat Jamie Ager, one of the most competitive House races.
Rep. Chuck Edwards, R-N.C., ended his re-election campaign in the district after he was accused of sexual harassment, which he has denied.
North Carolina also has a battleground Senate race, with Democrat Roy Cooper facing Republican Michael Whatley.
