Everybody's tabbing for the weekend ...
Despite all the news of the economy "softening", the percentage of Americans who the nation's top problem is economic is falling!
— (((Harry Enten))) (@ForecasterEnten) October 24, 2025
Just 24% say America's top problem is economic per Gallup vs. 43% in Oct. 2024.
That 24% is also well below the historical midterm average (35%). pic.twitter.com/EDmkvmQIPB
Okay, so you know, let’s talk about, we’ll go through history, right? Let’s take a look, the top problem facing the United States is economic. In the average midterm election, it’s 35%. It’s 35%, look at where we are now: Again, it’s 24%. It is lower. Fewer Americans right now are saying the top problem is economic than historically have said that the top problem is economic.
So it’s not only that the top problem being economic is lower than we were at this time last year. It is lower than we have historically been, despite all the news about how the economy is supposedly softening. So you just look at these numbers, and you just go to yourself, wait a minute, there’s something going on here with the American public, whereby you’re getting all this economic news, but yet the percentage of Americans who say the top problem is economic has actually been falling, and is lower than it normally is.
Ed: Partial transcript via Mediaite. This is good news for Trump and the GOP, but it could also be a double-edged sword. It explains why Democrats aren’t gaining any ground in the generic ballot despite less-than-stellar economic indicators. However, if voters remain satisfied with the economy, they may start prioritizing other issues, perhaps including those which favors Dems. It’s worth watching, but I’d still rather be in this posiition than its opposite.
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Free Beacon: European security services are investigating a former Politico reporter for working as a Chinese spy.
The unnamed reporter, who is based in Brussels, Belgium, "is suspected of using their position as a journalist to cultivate potential targets working in Brussels-based international organisations, including by making sexual overtures towards officials in these institutions," European news site Euractiv reported, citing officials from three intelligence agencies.
It is unclear whether the reporter's departure from Politico stemmed from the espionage investigation. A Politico spokesman said European authorities have not contacted the company and that it "does not comment on personnel departures as these are confidential personnel matters," according to Euractiv.
Ed: I imagine Eric Swalwell was unavailable for comment.
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BREAKING: Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that UNRWA will have no role in aid distribution in Gaza, naming other groups that will.
— Hen Mazzig (@HenMazzig) October 24, 2025
“Not UNRWA, UNRWA became a subsidiary of Hamas.”
Source: Israeli Channel 11 pic.twitter.com/tlWsNFbWXr
Ed: Time to get the UN out of Gaza. And, for that matter, to get them out of southern Lebanon, too. UNIFIL has done nothing but act as Hezbollah's human shields. The UN is the single worst entity to deal with "peacekeeping" missions.
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Daily Caller: “Trump did a better job. I don’t like Trump, but we should have a secure border and it ain’t that hard to do. Biden didn’t do it, those before him did not do it. We should have a secure border, period,” said Independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders on an Oct. 22 episode of the Tim Dillon Show.
Far-left commentator and former MSNBC host Mehdi Hasan rebuked Sanders for the remarks, writing on X on Oct. 23: “This may be the single worst thing Bernie Sanders has ever said, and I say this as a long-time Bernie admirer. Praising Trump for his *border policies*? Endorsing lazy rightwing talking points about Biden and border security, and nations not existing without borders? Sheesh.”
Ed: Having an MSNBC host talking about “lazy talking points” is akin to Dollar Bill Jefferson or Gold Bar Bob Menendez decry corruption in American government. The lazy talking point in question was the claim that Trump prevented the securing of the border by opposing the Biden-Harris bill that would have thrown the gates open permanently. It took only weeks to secure the border after Trump took office without any additional legislation.
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Illinois Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi doubles down on Democrat Whip Katherine Clark's gross remarks, calling the Democrat Shutdown "leverage."
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) October 24, 2025
KRISHNAMOORTHI: “Our leverage right now are our votes." pic.twitter.com/D6hcGSvM8r
Ed: You'd think Democrat messaging on the Schumer Shutdown would improve with time. To quote the famous philosopher Mad Dog Tannen, though ... "You thought wrong, dude."
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Off the Press: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered an aircraft carrier strike group currently stationed in Europe to the Caribbean region amid a massive buildup of US military forces in the region.
The Gerald R. Ford strike group and its associated air wing are being sent to “dismantle Transnational Criminal Organizations and counter narco-terrorism,” Pentagon Press Secretary Sean Parnell said in a statement posted on X.
The buildup of US forces has raised questions about the Trump administration’s intent in the region. The administration has said repeatedly that the military presence is part of a counter-drug trafficking campaign, but President Donald Trump has also been weighing strikes inside Venezuela itself as part of a broader strategy aimed at weakening leader Nicolas Maduro, CNN has reported.
Ed: This doesn’t raise any serious questions about Trump’s intent. His intent is to send a message to transational drug cartels that he takes the war on drugs literally, and that he’s imposing a “don’t f*** with us” policy. Someone (I can’t recall who) called it the Donroe Doctrine, which is both amusing and accurate.
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🚨 BREAKING: Federal agents recovered $88,000 in cash from the home of brothers Anwar and Asad Adow.
— Dustin Grage (@GrageDustin) October 24, 2025
They are accused of defrauding more than $1.2M in Medicaid payments through fraudulent Minnesota HSS businesses.
They were literally stuffing your tax dollars under a mattress. pic.twitter.com/BK9qoRor8z
Ed: What should we call this state? Minnesofraud? Maxi-frauda? Fraudasota? At least they have a new state flag that pairs up well with the new era of fraud in the ex-pat community there, and in Democrat circles. (I'm leaning toward Maxi-frauda, but YMMV.)
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Outkick: While an NBA gambling mess is swirling, the U.S. has even bigger issues than Terry Rozier possibly/allegedly cooking the casinos.
According to an EXPLOSIVE report from The Times, Chinese and Russian spies are using "sex warfare" to infiltrate the U.S. tech world with a mission to spy and steal our secrets.
How far are these women willing to go?
All the way.
Ed: Again, Eric Swalwall is likely unavailable for comment. I’m not sure how seriously to take this as a new threat or even much of a real threat, since China in particular has more effective means to steal tech. If they’re using Sparrows (IYKYK), maybe the US has finally put up more effective defenses to those methods. It sounds like a pitch to get young male nerds even more enthusiastic about the tech industry.
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Perhaps the @nytimes should try doing some real journalism. They have @TishJames dead to rights on the charges. https://t.co/2iqKuFkDyn
— Jason Sesler (@jmsesler) October 24, 2025
Ed: This is a fairly comprehensive overview of the DoJ's case against Tish. Prosecutors still have to prove it beyond a reasonable doubt in court, of course.
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Don Surber: The wing was gone by Thursday. Nevertheless, Politico reported, “A Virginia couple has gone to court to try to block President Donald Trump from proceeding with demolition of the White House’s East Wing to make way for a new ballroom.”
I expect Judge Boasberg to get the case and demand Trump build a time machine to get the East Wing back.
The East Wing was not part of the original White House. Teddy Roosevelt added it in 1902. I cannot find public outcry against that.
A republic that survived the Obama basketball court will withstand a ballroom nearly twice the size of the rest of the White House.
Ed: This space will entertain more than just the president and a few NBA players. The White House cannot host state dinners with its existing structures, forcing the use of tents, which are fine for weddings but hardly fit for significant diplomatic events. But don’t take my word for it….
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I actually think it's a great idea to build a big ballroom on the White House grounds.
— Shaun King (@shaunking) October 23, 2025
It's virtually impossible to hold events of any size there and they are always wasting millions on tents and heaters and chairs and lights and everything else.
Stop acting like you have…
Ed: The amount of garment rending over an office-space annex is impressive … in all the wrong ways. Kudos to King for being honest about it.
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Jonathan Turley: Despite calls for many Democratic politicians and pundits to temper their inflammatory rhetoric, this week has proven a further escalation in this dangerous form of rage rhetoric. DNC Chair Ken Martin just told MSNBC’s “The Beat” that “we may be nearing” the moment when “elections don’t matter and then the resistance looks completely different.” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called on people to “forcefully rise up.” With political violence on the rise, these leaders are clearly fueling the mob in hopes that they and their party can ride the wave of rage back into power. History suggests that it is a foolish delusion. Today’s revolutionaries quickly become tomorrow’s reactionaries.
Ed: Worth reading in its entirety, as is usual with Professor Turley. As you might imagine, Robespierre makes an appearance in his argument, largely because of the symbol used in these No Kings protests.
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I for one am shocked that NBA employees are gambling. How did they get sucked into that kind of activity?
— Joey- Cade Smith enjoyer (@GuardsJoey) October 23, 2025
I really hope they address this on the FanDuel Pregame show sponsored by bet365, right before the big game at DraftKings arena
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NBA Commissioner Adam Silver:
— JC - Former World Champion LLC (@JoshOnAir) October 23, 2025
“We take these charges extremely seriously. There is no place for gambling in our game. Any players or coaches involved will be banned for life.
Also, new DraftKings customers can use promocode “FBI” to get $150 in free bets by placing a $5…
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