Senate Dems Block GOP Shutdown Rescue—11th Vote Fails as Rallies Bolster Resistance

October 21, 2025

US Senate, Congress — MIKE STOLL/Unsplash

The United States Senate failed for the 11th time to pass the Republican‑backed plan to reopen the federal government, after weekend rallies appeared to strengthen Democratic opposition.

Senate Republicans, led by John Thune (R‑S.D.), brought forward yet another continuing resolution meant to fund the government, but the Democratic caucus, under Chuck Schumer (D‑N.Y.), blocked the effort again. Democrats are demanding an extension of expiring Affordable Care Act subsidies before agreeing to reopen funding.

Over the weekend, nationwide “No Kings” rallies were held, giving visible momentum to Democratic activists and lawmakers. Republicans argue demographic and voting energy from the streets emboldened Senate Democrats to dig in rather than compromise.

The impasse highlights the deepening divide in Congress over budget priorities and negotiation tactics. While Republicans push to reopen the government without additional policy conditions, Democrats remain firm on leveraging the shutdown to secure healthcare funding. The ongoing stalemate leaves federal workers, military families, and essential services in limbo. As partisan pressures mount, both sides face growing scrutiny over their willingness to compromise for the sake of national stability.

Harvard Medical School Blocks Pro‑Palestinian Vigil Over Policy Violations

October 21, 2025

Harvard Medical School canceled a planned pro‑Palestinian vigil just hours before it was scheduled to begin, citing repeated violations of campus rules by the student organizers. The decision followed concerns over unauthorized co-sponsorship and failure to follow event promotion protocols.

The vigil, organized by the Student Alliance for Health Equity in Palestine (SAHEP) and the Student Human Rights Collaborative (HSHRC), was intended to take place on the medical school’s campus. Both groups are officially recognized by the university. However, Harvard administrators stated that the students disregarded multiple university guidelines regarding event hosting, including proper approval procedures and limitations on collaborating with unrecognized organizations.

Flyers promoting the vigil named Harvard Out of Occupied Palestine (HOOP), a group not recognized by the university, as a co-sponsor. They also contained conflicting language regarding attendance, claiming the event was both open to the public and restricted to Harvard affiliates. Harvard officials confirmed that these issues, along with improper advertising and failure to meet school deadlines, were central to the event’s cancellation.

SAHEP released a statement condemning the decision, claiming it suppressed their expression and misrepresented the purpose of the vigil. The group accused Harvard of contributing to a culture of censorship, though school officials stressed that the issue was procedural, not political.

The school’s action reflects a broader commitment to maintaining order and consistency on campus. Academic institutions are right to enforce clear policies that ensure events are conducted safely and in accordance with campus guidelines. When student groups disregard established rules—particularly when co-sponsoring with unauthorized organizations—the administration has a duty to act.

Court Upholds School Ban on ‘Let’s Go Brandon’—Free Speech Takes a Hit

October 21, 2025

judge — Gavel (Zolnierek/Getty Images via Canva Pro)

A federal appeals court has ruled that public schools may ban students from wearing clothing with the political slogan “Let’s Go Brandon,” siding with school administrators who claim the phrase is equivalent to profanity. The Sixth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued the 2–1 decision, asserting that the phrase falls outside First Amendment protection within school settings.

The case arose from a Michigan school district where two middle school students were told to remove sweatshirts bearing the “Let’s Go Brandon” slogan in 2022. School officials claimed the clothing violated dress code policies that prohibit vulgar or disruptive messages. While the slogan itself does not contain profanity, the court concluded it is widely understood to mean “F*** Joe Biden,” and could therefore be restricted in schools.

Judge John Nalbandian, writing for the majority, stated that school administrators are not bound to allow euphemistic profanity, even when presented as political speech. The court compared the phrase to other expressions schools have long had authority to regulate. The ruling emphasized that students’ rights to free expression are limited in public schools, especially when school officials determine that certain speech may cause disruption or violate standards of decorum.

In dissent, Judge John Bush argued that the phrase constitutes political expression—not obscene speech—and that banning it sets a dangerous precedent. Bush warned that restricting euphemistic political speech could open the door for selective enforcement against students expressing disfavored viewpoints.

This ruling highlights growing concerns over viewpoint discrimination and political suppression in schools.

Virulent Monkeypox Strain Hits L.A.—Officials Fear Local Spread

October 21, 2025

Monkeypox (1) — Monkeypox (National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases/Unsplash)

Los Angeles County health officials are investigating the potential local spread of a dangerous new strain of monkeypox, now referred to as Mpox. The strain, known as Clade I, is more severe than previously circulating types and was previously confined to regions in Africa. Three individuals in L.A. County have tested positive without any international travel history, raising serious concern that the virus is spreading locally for the first time.

Clade I mpox is known to cause more severe illness and has a higher transmission rate than the Clade II strain that circulated during the 2022 U.S. outbreak. According to the L.A. County Department of Public Health, all three patients have been hospitalized and are recovering. County Health Officer Dr. Muntu Davis said the confirmation of a third local case with no travel history raises the possibility of community transmission.

Health officials stress that the general public’s risk remains low. However, they are urging increased awareness and rapid testing, particularly among individuals showing symptoms such as rashes, fever, or swollen lymph nodes. The JYNNEOS vaccine, previously used during the 2022 outbreak, remains available and is being encouraged for at-risk individuals.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed that this marks the first time the Clade I strain has been detected in the United States without a link to international travel. Unlike the earlier outbreak tied largely to intimate contact, Clade I is believed to be transmissible through broader close contact, including within households.

University Indoctrination Turned Deadly—Why the Crisis Is Worsening

October 21, 2025

A leading scholar warns that ideological indoctrination on American college campuses is not only undermining academic freedom but also driving deadly cultural consequences. Dr. Corey Miller, president and CEO of the Christian campus ministry Ratio Christi, argues that universities have become breeding grounds for radical ideology and violence.

In a recent interview, Miller linked the assassination of conservative speaker Charlie Kirk during a campus event and the mass shooting at Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis to what he calls an “assassination culture” created by higher education institutions. He said, “Politics is downstream from culture, culture is downstream from education,” emphasizing that modern academia is shaping values that translate directly into political and social behavior.

Miller believes universities have largely adopted a post-modern, cultural-Marxist worldview that focuses on power, group identity, and grievance, rather than universal truths, reason, or moral formation. He said this ideology drives resentment, suppresses dissent, and ultimately devalues human life. According to Miller, “Any kind of inequality whatsoever is viewed as injustice, and it really ignites a firestorm under students to feel like they’ve got the ability to service in the cause of justice.”

The data appears to support his concerns. Surveys show that 87 percent of professors report difficulty discussing politics on campus, and over 90 percent believe academic freedom is threatened. Students and faculty who hold traditional, religious, or conservative views often face social or institutional pressure to conform.

This cultural shift has serious implications. When universities abandon truth-seeking for ideological training, students may lose the ability to think critically or engage with opposing viewpoints. When identity politics replaces moral education, the foundation of shared national values erodes. And when free speech is suppressed, the potential for extremism grows.

Miller calls for a return to open dialogue, intellectual diversity, and education rooted in objective truth. Without reform, he warns, the academy will continue to produce not scholars and citizens, but activists shaped more by grievance than grace.

University of Nebraska Spending Explodes—More on Admin Than Professors

October 21, 2025

The University of Nebraska system reported that in 2024 its spending on administrators, managers, and professional staff surpassed the amount spent on faculty for the first time this century. This shift comes amid budget cuts and declining inflation-adjusted pay for teachers.

Administrative and professional staff wages grew from about $155 million in 2000 to $484 million in 2024. Meanwhile, faculty salaries increased modestly in nominal terms but fell in real terms when adjusted for inflation. Faculty leaders warn that the imbalance threatens the university’s academic mission.

John Shrader, president of the faculty senate at the Lincoln campus, stated, “If we keep devaluing the academic side of what we do at the university, then you’re going to get less performance.”

Budget constraints have driven tough decisions. The university system is implementing $20 million in cuts. At one campus, students and faculty have already faced $75 million in reductions over five years, with an additional $27.5 million expected. Measures include program eliminations, faculty position cuts, buyouts, and $17.25 million in administrative reductions.

University officials justify the administrative expansion by citing new institutional needs, such as student services, housing, compliance, commercialization, and athletics-related programming like name-image-likeness (NIL) initiatives.

This shift raises serious concerns. Public universities are entrusted with delivering education—not expanding bureaucracy. When administrators outnumber or out-earn faculty, the university’s priorities come into question. The result is fewer resources for teaching and mentoring, which undermines both academic and moral formation. The balance between governance and instruction appears skewed in favor of institutional bloat.

UC Davis Declares War on ‘Fatphobia’—Free Speech the Next Casualty

October 21, 2025

weight-loss — Scale (Samuel Ramos/Unsplash)

A new guide issued by University of California, Davis (UC Davis) aims to combat “weight stigma” on campus by defining terms such as “fatphobia” and recommending practices intended to foster inclusive spaces. This move raises concerns about academic freedom, definitions of discrimination, and the balance between respect and responsibility in higher education.

The guide published by UC Davis’ Student Health & Counseling Services defines “weight stigma” as discrimination against those “perceived to carry excess weight.” It frames the issue as pervasive—in employment, education, housing, public transportation and more. Among its suggestions: for those in “smaller” bodies to refrain from giving unsolicited diet or fitness advice, use “non‑polarizing language about bodies and food,” and correct others displaying weight bias.

For those in “larger” bodies, the guide advises seeking spaces where “larger folks can be seen and feel acknowledged” and alerting healthcare providers about weight bias. On a societal level, it recommends shopping at size‑inclusive clothing stores, including diverse body‑types in marketing, and petitioning for “weight‑inclusive training and care for healthcare professionals.”

One notable portion critiques the use of Body Mass Index (BMI), claiming its “effectiveness for people of color has been debated, because it was developed based on a sample of white, European men.” The guide also defines “fat” as an adjective that “can be used by someone to describe their own body in a liberating way,” and “fatphobia” as “the fear and/or hatred of fat bodies.”

In a broader cultural sense, the case at UC Davis signals how universities are expanding definitions of discrimination and deploying “safe space” tactics beyond race and gender, into body size and shape. This shift may reflect a growing tendency to view personal traits as protected statuses—raising questions about where institutional support should reinforce personal accountability and where it should protect individuals from genuine bias.

Lia Thomas Defiant as UPenn Erases Her Records

October 20, 2025

Transgender athlete (Photo by Kathryn Riley/Getty Images)

Transgender swimmer Lia Thomas says he has no regrets about competing in women’s college swimming, despite widespread backlash, UPenn erasing his records, and public apologies to female athletes who lost titles to him.

In an interview with WHYY, Thomas said he would “do it all over again in a heartbeat,” even after being scrubbed from official record books following President Donald Trump’s 2025 order banning biological males from women’s sports. Thomas became the center of a national controversy in 2021 after dominating NCAA women’s swimming events following his transition from UPenn’s men’s team.

The former college swimmer told the outlet that he still struggles emotionally with the fallout. “With everything that happened my senior year and has happened since, it’s very easy to slip into almost like a negative perception of swimming,” Thomas said. “It takes a lot of effort to try to focus on the joy that swimming still brings me.”

Thomas’ rise in women’s swimming drew criticism from athletes, parents, and women’s sports advocates who said his biological advantage violated the integrity of competition. Despite the outcry, UPenn nominated Thomas for the NCAA “Woman of the Year” award in 2022. That nomination became even more controversial after the university, in 2025, apologized to female swimmers and deleted Thomas’ records in compliance with new federal guidance.

When asked whether he would change anything, Thomas stood firm: “No,” he said. He also shared that his relationship with his parents, initially strained after his transition, has improved. “They parroted a lot of really transphobic talking points… but now, they’re my biggest supporters.”

Thomas also offered advice to other transgender youth: “It’s easier to fight the whole world than to fight yourself every day,” and encouraged them to live as their “authentic self.”

ICE Raid in Oklahoma Exposes Shocking Illegal Trucker Scheme

October 20, 2025

ICE — (Photo by Andrew Leyden/Getty Images)

A sweeping Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operation in Oklahoma led to the arrest of dozens of illegal aliens posing as truck drivers, many of whom carried licenses reading “no name given” and were unable to speak English, according to Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK).

Speaking on Breitbart News Daily, Mullin revealed that the joint operation—coordinated with Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, and state Highway Patrol—was prompted by tips from legitimate trucking companies about suspicious activity at a truck stop along I-40, near the New Mexico border.

“In the first three hours, 17 semis were pulled over,” Mullin said. “The drivers couldn’t speak English, and their commercial driver’s licenses (CDLs) were issued out of New York or California, all listing the name as ‘no name given.’”

Seventy illegal aliens were arrested the first day alone. The scope of the operation was so large that law enforcement had to halt temporarily due to a lack of impound space and available wreckers to remove the trucks. By Thursday, officials were better prepared and doubled the number of arrests. On Friday, truckers reportedly rerouted to avoid Oklahoma altogether.

Mullin raised serious concerns about national security and public safety. “These individuals don’t have medical records, they aren’t using electronic log devices, and they’re completely illegal—driving coast to coast with no background checks.”

He warned that such truckers pose a dangerous threat on American highways. “They can’t read road signs. They can’t communicate. They have no traceable identity. How are they even allowed on the roads?”

The senator called on other states to follow Oklahoma’s lead and crack down on illegal alien truckers operating under falsified or unverifiable credentials.

ISS Slams Elon Musk’s $1 Trillion Tesla Deal

October 20, 2025

Proxy advisory giant Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) is recommending Tesla shareholders vote against CEO Elon Musk’s proposed $1 trillion pay package and the company’s potential investment in Musk’s AI startup, xAI.

In a report released Friday, ISS labeled Musk’s performance-based stock award as “astronomical,” raising concerns over its size and structure—even though Musk would only receive the payout if Tesla’s market value surges to $8.5 trillion from its current $1.1 trillion. The firm also advised a “no” vote on a nonbinding proposal for Tesla to invest in xAI, which merged with Musk’s X (formerly Twitter) earlier this year.

The proposed 10-year compensation plan would grant Musk additional Tesla shares if he meets aggressive milestones, including scaling Tesla’s robotaxi business and expanding into robotics and AI. If successful, the package would raise Musk’s ownership stake in Tesla to at least 25%, a threshold he says is necessary to guard Tesla’s AI tech from activist interference.

Tesla’s board argues the deal is essential to maintain Musk’s focus on the company amid his involvement in other ventures. But ISS remains unconvinced and has previously advised against Musk’s compensation packages, including the 2018 plan that was overturned by a Delaware judge. That case is still under appeal.

ISS’s influence could impact large institutional shareholders, as it shapes voting patterns among index funds. It also advised against re-electing longtime Tesla board member Ira Ehrenpreis but supported directors Joe Gebbia and Kathleen Wilson-Thompson.

Tesla fired back on X, accusing ISS of “completely” missing key governance and investment principles and called the opposition to Ehrenpreis “unfounded and nonsensical.”

The shareholder vote on Musk’s pay package and related proposals is scheduled for Tesla’s upcoming annual meeting.