Despite pleas from her attorneys to have her sentence commuted to life without parole following the botched execution, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee said Pike remains incarcerated and her sentence is unlikely to change, Fox News reported. 

"I suspect her sentence will be the same as it was before unless determined otherwise by the courts," Lee said.

Lee has halted future execution attempts and has ordered a "comprehensive, third-party review to determine exactly what occurred." The next attempt to carry out any death sentences in the state will not take place this year.

Pike was convicted of killing former classmate Colleen Slemmer in 1995 when she was just 18-years-old. Court records note that Pike and Slemmer were students at the Job Corps Center in Knoxville when Pike tortured and killed Slemmer slowly, which was allegedly over comments the 19-year-old Slemmer had made about her relationship. 

Pike's then-boyfriend and another friend helped carry out the attack and murder, but the boyfriend was sentenced to life in prison because he was just 17-years-old at the time. The friend was given probation because she testified against Pike during the trial.

Court records from Pike's trial also showed that Slemmer was repeatedly beaten and cut with a meat cleaver and a box cutter over the course of 30 minutes to an hour, in a secluded section of the University of Tennessee's campus. 

© Just The News

Lt. Gen. Brett Sylvia failed three polygraph examinations related to the allegations, and the investigation has been referred to the Justice Department, Fox News reported, citing an unnamed Department of War official. 

Sylvia is alleged to have met with journalists outside the Pentagon with the intention of leaking classified materials. The alleged meeting followed Hegseth's policy requiring reporters to be escorted inside the building. 

Sylvia was not a central planner of the Iran war, the official said. That falls under U.S. Central Command and its commander, Adm. Brad Cooper.

© Just The News.

The department said profits from the schemes go to North Korea's unlawful weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs. 

The North Korean government uses fraudulent documents, stolen identities and fake personas to conceal its IT workers and secure employment with real companies. It then uses most of the wages from the workers to fund its programs. 

“The North Korean regime continues targeting and exploiting American companies through fraudulent activities conducted by its overseas IT operatives, who weaponize sensitive data and extort businesses for substantial payments,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement. “Under President Trump’s leadership, Treasury will continue to use all available tools to protect U.S. businesses from these malicious activities and hold those responsible accountable.”

The department said the new actions target key facilitators and financial networks that help sustain the schemes and move illegal proceeds on behalf of the North Korean government. 

The fraudulent workers also leveraged sophisticated cryptocurrency transactions, money laundering techniques and emerging technologies to transfer millions of dollars to the foreign government.

The actions expand on the Treasury Department's previous designation of a separate North Korean IT worker network, which allegedly generated nearly $800 million for North Korea in 2024.

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.

© Just The News

State Rep. Gina Hinojosa sued the governor earlier this month, requesting that a Travis County district court require him to provide details for a public information request she submitted in late September. Under Texas Government Code, a government body is required to provide information to a member of the state Legislature, including confidential information, if the public information request states the information is needed for legislative purposes. The Legislature does not convene until next January.

Hinojosa was seeking access to communications exchanged between the governor and trillionaire Elon Musk, who has donated millions of dollars to Republican campaigns in Texas. Musk is listed as the top donor to Abbott's campaign, with contributions totaling $5.5 million, according to transparencyusa.org.

The communications “bear directly on many matters within the legislature’s responsibility, including state incentives, state grants, broadband deployment, public health access, environmental impact, AI and data center development,” the lawsuit argues.

During the COVID-19 lockdown era, Musk relocated much of his business operations to Texas from California. The trillionaire has since expanded them and established headquarters in Texas including for SpaceX, Starlink, Tesla, X, the Boring Company, Neuralink and xAI.

Hinojosa argues that Musk and his companies are receiving political favors in exchange for campaign donations. Her campaign has largely alleged that Abbott “does the bidding of his billionaire donors while leaving Texans to fend for themselves.”

Billionaire Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker donated $1.2 million to Hinojosa’s campaign, making the Democratic governor the biggest contributor.

Abbott’s campaign has prioritized meeting with everyday Texans, including in their homes across the state. His platform includes plans to lower energy and housing costs, continued job creation and expansion and reduced costs for students, The Center Square reported. The state has also awarded contracts and grants to a range of billion- and trillion-dollar companies to expand operations in Texas, The Center Square reported.

Politics

Elon Musk donates $5 million to Abbott in final stretch of midterms amid battle over data centers in Texas

Carlos Dominguez

In response to the public information request, the governor’s office provided 1,374 pages, the majority of which were redacted, according to Hinojosa’s lawsuit. She then requested unredacted documents, which the governor’s office didn’t provide. She sued to gain access to them, saying Abbott “refuses to comply with his clear legal duty” and is “breaking the law” by not providing them, her lawsuit alleges.

District Judge Catherine Mauzy ruled in her favor and ordered the governor’s office to provide the unredacted documents, saying Hinojosa “has an immediate legal right to access the requested documents.”

Mauzy did not recuse herself from the case after having donated $500 to Hinojosa’s campaign in June, Bloomberg News first reported. In 2016, she contributed more than $700 to Hinojosa’s first campaign for the Texas House, Bloomberg reported, citing campaign finance records.

According to the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure, judges must recuse themselves from any proceeding where their “impartiality might reasonably be questioned.” And the Texas Code of Judicial Conduct says judges “should act at all times in a manner that promotes public confidence in the integrity and impartiality of the judiciary” and not “advance their private interests” among other prohibitions.

Mauzy, who is running for reelection, didn’t respond to requests for comment.

After her ruling, the governor’s office filed a petition with the 15th Court of Appeals to intervene, which it did. It issued a stay on the lower court ruling and gave Hinojosa two weeks to respond to Abbott’s interlocutory appeal.

The new appellate court hears cases related to the state government. All three of its inaugural justices are running for reelection, The Center Square reported.

Abbott’s campaign has argued that Hinojosa could have requested the documents more than a year ago when the Legislature was in session but chose to do so roughly one month before Election Day and sued when early voting was underway.

“Hinojosa’s desperate attempt to use her official office to benefit her own campaign is just the tip of the iceberg. She’s conspiring with the unethical judge who ruled in her favor,” his campaign said.

On the same day as the appellate court ruling, Hinojosa said in a social media post, “Elon Musk just gave Greg Abbott $5 million. Sounds like the Elon emails Abbott has been hiding must be more damning than we even knew.”

After the ruling, Abbott’s Press Secretary Andrew Mahaleris issued a statement saying, "This was a sham lawsuit in a rigged district court. The trial court judge refused to follow the law and rubber-stamped an illegal fishing expedition into the Governor's Office. The appeals court rightly froze this abuse of process.”

Throughout the litigation process, Mahaleris commented on social media that Hinojosa was “abusing her official capacity as an outgoing lawmaker for political purposes.”

Early voting is ongoing through Friday. Abbott has a slight lead in a race that, according to some polls, is statistically tied, The Center Square reported.

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In the filing, Young alleges that his 1989 hit was played just before President Donald Trump took the stage at a Youngstown, Ohio, rally on Oct. 12, The Hill reported. 

According to the lawsuit, the song is a “blistering anthem that contrasts the hollow promises of American political rhetoric with the harsh realities faced by the poor, homeless and forgotten.” 

The song, according to the filing, aims to capture the irony of "celebrating freedom that clearly isn't shared by all," which is “the opposite of everything that Donald J. Trump stands for.”

Young has previously filed copyright infringement claims when the Trump campaign has used his songs. 

Just the News

The new report from HHS's Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation examined the United States' record-low overall age-adjusted death rate in 2025 and progress in reducing prescription opioid exposure and expanding treatment.

The report considered the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's provisional finding that the overall age-adjusted death rate declined to 689.2 deaths per 100,000 people in 2025. 

“President Trump has attacked the opioid crisis from every direction — rightsizing opioid prescribing, disrupting the fentanyl supply chain, and expanding treatment and recovery,” HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., said in a statement. “Those actions are saving lives and driving opioid deaths to the lowest in nearly a decade. We will keep pressing forward until every American struggling with addiction has a real path to recovery and a chance to rebuild a healthy life.”

A second analysis examined pharmacy dispensing from March 2015 through March 2026, which found opioid prescriptions dispensed fell to 45.3% of their 2015 level and the number of patients receiving prescription opioids through retail pharmacies fell to 49.6% of the baseline.

The reports come as the Trump administration looks to end the opioid epidemic, including by disrupting the global fentanyl supply chain and closing the southern border, which makes it more difficult to smuggle drugs into the United States.

“For families living with addiction, saving a life means another birthday, another holiday together, another chance to come home — that is what President Trump’s commitment to this fight is about,” HHS Senior Advisor and co-chair of the Great American Recovery Kathryn Burgum said. “Through the President’s Great American Recovery, we will keep our focus on the people behind the numbers and the families counting on the Trump Administration to save more American lives.”

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.

© Just The News

In a statement, Shuford said she was leaving to spend more time with her family.

"I am so thankful to President Trump and Secretary Kennedy for giving me the opportunity to help lead CDC. It has been an amazing experience, and I will be forever grateful for it," she said.

Shuford objected to the administration's approach to vaccine policy, and it was a factor in her decision to leave, the Washington Post reported, citing unnamed sources.

The infectious-disease physician was hired in April as part of a new four-person leadership team the CDC recruited to restore confidence in the agency, Trump officials said at the time.

Shuford's last day at the agency will be Nov. 12.

© Just The News

The consumer confidence index increased 7.5 points to 91.7 in October. September's figure, 84.2, was the lowest in the board's survey since April 2014. Last month's figure was also lower than the lowest level the index reached during the pandemic, the Associated Press reported.

The survey's respondents also expressed improving outlooks on their present situation, which rose 6.9 points to 72.6. Their short-term outlook increased 8.6 points to 120.4.

Economy

Consumer confidence revised slightly upward

Williams Perdomo

Fergus McCormick, a senior economist for The Conference Board, told the AP that the improving figures in October were associated with improving gasoline prices.

“Yet, despite the increase in October, consumer confidence remained on the long-term downward trend that’s persisted over the past few years," McCormick said.

The average US price of gasoline was $4.27 per gallon on Tuesday, down from $4.28 per gallon a week ago, according to AAA. Gas prices were still well above the $3.05 per gallon they were at this week last year.

© Just The News

President Donald Trump has particularly focused his political attacks on Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota and Democrat Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan.

Last week, the president called on Omar to resign amid allegations that the lawmaker previously lied about her identity in a way that may compromise her naturalization as a US citizen.

“It was just revealed that Ilhan Omar’s name is not Ilhan Omar, the one she used to get elected and sworn into Congress, but rather, it’s an entirely different name, Ilhan Nur Said Elmi, and that her last name is, incredibly, also the exact name of her brother, Ahmed Nur Said Elmi, the person they said she married and had children with,” Trump posted to Truth Social.

Ilhan Omar's odyssey: fact, fiction, or just fuzzy?

Omar is currently under criminal investigation by the Trump Department of Justice, though she has not been charged. Federal agents searched her Washington home Oct. 12 and seized her phone, and a Minnesota grand jury has issued more than a dozen subpoenas, including to relatives, the Associated Press reported.

The probe reportedly centers on whether she or her late father lied on decades-old immigration paperwork. Allegations that Omar misrepresented her birthdate in order to secure US citizenship were first raised by one of the lawmaker’s political opponents in 2019.

Omar said in 2018 that she received citizenship through her father’s naturalization process, through what is known as derivative citizenship. “I became a citizen actually before I turned 18. My father became a citizen, and so I got my citizenship through that process,” Omar told The Intercept during that year’s election. Opponents allege that Omar may have misrepresented her birthdate, and may have been too old to receive derivative citizenship.

Central to the question of legitimate citizenship, the Minnesota Legislative Reference Library (MLRL) had at one point listed Omar’s birthdate as Oct. 4, 1981, which would have made Omar 18 or 19 when she claimed that she received US citizenship from her father in 2000. Only minors can claim citizenship from naturalized parents, yet Omar has long claimed that she was 17 years old when she became a citizen, Just the News previously reported. Her birth year was changed at the MLRL at Omar's staffers' request several months after she was elected.

Omar has called the probe an attempt to “weaponize federal law enforcement.”

Old posts, old ties come back to haunt El-Sayed

In Michigan, Democrat Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed faces questions about the Muslim Brotherhood. The Washington Free Beacon reported that he signed a 2012 open letter urging the group to “purge the media and police.” The outlet also reported that his donors include a former spokesman for the Brotherhood’s Egyptian political party.

Recently unearthed X posts from El-Sayed’s half-sister, Eman Abdelhadi, also reveal family connections to the organization, particularly its Egyptian chapter, which is a US-designated specially designated global terrorist organization by the US Treasury Department for material support to Hamas, another terrorist organization, Just the News previously reported.

In June 2012, Abdelhadi wrote on X: “Had an amazing talk with my mom about her activism in the Muslim Brotherhood during the early 70s while she was in college #respect.”

In another post from that same day, Abdelhadi, an assistant professor at the University of Chicago, wrote: "Although I lean towards the Leftists; conversations with my #MB family in Egypt revealed respect for individual liberties & secular state.”

“My family has long been MB, but I've always felt that it has navigated the political sphere poorly/destructively,” she said in a third post that day.

El-Sayed and Abdelhadi have the same mother, Fatten Elkomy, who attended Alexandria University in Egypt, which was the site of Muslim Brotherhood activity in the 1970s.

El-Sayed has denied any connection to the Muslim Brotherhood, telling NBC’s Meet the Press that his family was not tied to the terrorist organization. When NBC Nightly News anchor Tom Llamas pressed him on the issue, El-Sayed said: “I have no ties. We have no ties,” according to the New York Post.

Graham Platner and Eric Swalwell, out of their races

Two Democrats once viewed as liabilities are also off the ballot after the public — and to some degree legacy media — paid attention to issues described by some as "character issues."

Graham Platner withdrew from Maine’s Senate race in July after a sexual assault allegation he denies. Eric Swalwell resigned from Congress and left California’s governor’s race amid allegations of sexual misconduct. In a post on X, he apologized to his family, staff and constituents for “mistakes in judgment I’ve made in my past." While he does admit “mistakes,” he continues to call the allegations false.

Republicans also carry their own baggage as well

Among Republican baggage, Senate nominee Ken Paxton has a trail of allegations that have dogged his campaign. The Texas attorney general was indicted in 2015 on felony securities fraud charges. Those charges were dismissed after he paid restitution and completed community service under a pretrial agreement.

The Texas House impeached Paxton in 2023 over benefits he allegedly provided to a developer and an alleged extramarital affair. The state Senate later acquitted him. His wife, state Sen. Angela Paxton, filed for divorce that year alleging infidelity, which he denied in a court filing. The Dallas Morning News reported that the estranged couple said they were nearing an amicable resolution in private mediation.

In Ohio, Rep. Max Miller, also a Republican, is holding fast and refusing to back out of his reelection bid despite being now in a dead-heat because of his nasty and widely publicized divorce and custody battle with his ex-wife, Emily Moreno. She is the daughter of Ohio’s senior senator, Bernie Moreno, who has called Miller "a danger to my daughter" and demanded that Miller step down.

In a year that has seen its fair share of predictions of the coming blue wave in the midterms, the Ohio race is particularly important. President Trump carried Miller's district, which stretches from parts of the Cleveland suburbs to more rural counties, by 11 points in 2024, and the GOP has relied upon Ohio's solidly red status to cling to a legislative majority.

© Just The News

Koenig was best known for her role as Pavel Chekov in the original "Star Trek" series and in the first seven movies of the franchise. His character was often the subject of jokes related to his fictional Russian heritage.

Koenig himself, was of Lithuanian heritage.

He remained active in the "Star Trek" world for decades, and appeared at conventions to engage with fans. He provided the voice for his character in "Star Trek" video games as late as 2010.

© Just The News

The Center Square’s Voters’ Voice Poll found 29% of Americans say the cost of living is the leading reason for the rise in popularity of some Democratic Socialist candidates in some cities and elections, followed by 15% who are frustrated with traditional Democratic politicians.

Not far behind, 13% of voters say it is because of younger Americans, and 12% say social media and online political organizing play a role in the rise of Democratic Socialists.

Nine percent of voters believe support from public-sector unions or activist organizations impacts the rise, while 8% think the popularity stems from college campuses and academia.

The latest poll comes ahead of the midterm elections as more Democratic Socialist candidates have become the focus of scrutiny from Republicans as well as some moderate Democrats.

The Democratic Socialists of America noted 241 DSA candidate “season stats,” showing 171 candidates running, with 59 losses and 11 wins to date.

The high cost of living being blamed as the top reason behind the rise in popularity of socialist candidates point to a deeper problem for Republicans in the midterm elections.

In a separate poll from The Center Square Voters’ Voice Poll, 15% of American voters say their income has decreased in the past year, with 41% saying it has held steady, while their expenses have increased.

Despite the rise of Democratic Socialist influence in modern politics, Americans remain apprehensive of DSA candidates and their growing popularity and reluctant to live in a community where DSA influences local policies.

The Center Square Voters’ Voice poll also found that 55% of American voters are concerned about Democratic Socialist candidates running for and winning elected office in the U.S., while 37% aren’t concerned.

The latest poll comes on the heels of an August The Center Square Voters’ Voice Poll, which found that 63% of Americans are concerned with the growth of socialism or communism in American politics, while 29% were not concerned.

The Center Square’s Voters’ Voice Poll, conducted by Noble Predictive Insights, surveyed 2,527 registered voters from Oct. 5-7 via an opt-in online panel and text-to-web cell phone messages. The sample included 1,136 Republicans, 1,171 Democrats, and 220 True Independents, who did not lean toward either major party when asked. Forty-four percent of American voters surveyed in The Center Square’s Voters’ Voice Poll say they would prefer to live in a city or community where Democratic Socialists have not gained influence.

In contrast, 33% say they would like to see their city or community move more in the direction of places where Democratic Socialist candidates have gained influence, while 23% are unsure.

The poll's margin of error is +/- 2.0%.

© Just The News.

French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez announced more than 1,000 rioters had been arrested as became the epicenter of the unrest and transformed one of Europe's most iconic capitals into an armed fortress.

"Violent individuals have no place in the marches"

"Violent individuals have no place in the marches," the Paris Police Department said in a social media post. "The objective is clear: to prevent troublemakers from joining the procession, and to ensure the safety of the demonstrators."

Nunez said security forces faced an “extremely high level of violence ... with projectiles constantly being thrown and mortar fireworks fired.”

Violent clashes in Rome and Tiranë

The unrest spread elsewhere as violent clashes broke out in Rome and Albania's capital of Tiranë, where government buildings were set ablaze.

More than 70,000 police were deployed in France as cities prepare for a weekend of more protesting and marches. About 110,000 demonstrators marched in Paris.

More than 500,000 protested in the streets last weekend, the Associated Press reported.

© Just The News

The ex-agents are Nikki Floris and Bradley Benavides, who each specialized in foreign election interference, according to the Associated Press.

According to the Justice Department's Oct. 20 affidavit, Floris and Benavides made "materially false statements" as part of the House Judiciary Committee's 2023 probe about their involvement in a specialized FBI foreign-influence task force that was investigating Biden, the son of former President Joe Biden, and their knowledge of his laptop.

The laptop included information about Hunter Biden's questionable, overseas business dealings while his father was vice president.

Redacted_Statement_of_Facted_zmcg_Main_Document_1_r.pdf

Society

Hunter Biden says he is '48.6% gay' during an interview

Williams Perdomo

FBI Director Kash Patel said in a statement that Floris led the FBI's since-dissolved Foreign Influence Task Force as deputy assistant director from mid-2019 through mid-2022 and that Benavides was the section chief from mid-2019 through the 2020 election.

"Both testified that the FITF was not involved in the Hunter Biden investigations," Patel said. "Documentary evidence, contemporaneous communications, and witness accounts contradict their testimony."

Patel also alleged that Floris was recorded privately claiming to be “running a shadow government” during the 2020 election in her role on the task force.

Floris's attorney said the ex-agent "served our nation as a dedicated FBI intelligence officer for nearly 20 years. Yet today, the DOJ has accused her falsely of a crime on the say-so of politicians, not on the facts."

Patel said: "Lying to Congress by senior FBI officials strikes at the heart of our system, ... Floris's attorney denied the allegations and described her as a patriot and suggested the timing – right before the midterms – is suspicious."

© Just The News

The shares dropped by nearly 18% at the close of the day, according to the Wall Street Journal, as apparently positive results still fell short of expectations.

The company had claimed in August that its vaccine, when taken with Merck's cancer therapy Keytruda, had prevented melanoma, which is a serious form of skin cancer, from returning or spreading.

Health

Melania Trump promotes new women's health initiatives on World Breast Cancer Day

Diane Hernández

The study found that the vaccine reduced the risk of the cancer spreading by 38% in patients with high-risk melanoma when compared against a standard immunotherapy treatment, the Wall Street Journal reported, and the vaccine reduced the risk of a recurrence or death from melanoma by 42%.

The drop comes after the study's results were scheduled to be released on Saturday at the European Society for Medical Oncology conference, but were leaked by the cancer-focused website OncologyCentral early. The article containing the leak has since been deleted.

Shares of Merck dropped 1.7% on Thursday.

© Just The News

The executive order directs Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte to create a pilot program that would cancel a borrower's mortgage insurance premium proactively once they satisfied their equity requirements based on the current market value.

Politics

Support for democrats soars among young voters, who were already firmly blue

Williams Perdomo

The order also establishes the Task Force on Manufactured Housing Innovation, which is expected to come up with ways to increase the quality and lower the cost of building a home by facilitating the use of modern manufacturing methods.

It additionally directs Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins and Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins to lower interest rates on single-family home loans issued by their respective departments.

Trump is suing the BBC for $10 billion in connection with its documentary of him.

US Magistrate Judge Enjoliqué Lett issued the order after Trump previously canceled a planned deposition for Oct. 16, the Associated Press reported.

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Diane Hernández

Trump campaigned in Georgia that day, but cited a "matter of national importance" when explaining the canceled deposition.

The BBC accused Trump of prioritizing political concerns and highlighted that only two months remained in discovery period.

© Just The News.

SEIU Local 1000, which represents approximately 100,000 workers, has been in labor talks with the administration since its latest contract expired in late June, CalMatters reported.

Its members are demanding better pay than Newsom has offered, as well as more flexibility to work from home.

Last year, Newsom demanded wage cuts from the union to address a state budget crisis, and state workers have accepted cuts in pay in three of the eight years of Newsom's administration.

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Local 1000 President Anica Walls told CalMatters that the budget is being balanced "on state employees' backs."

Angela Musallam, a spokesperson for the California Department of Human Resources, said the department “remains focused on achieving a fair and responsible agreement and continues to be available at the bargaining table.”

Negotiations between both parties are scheduled to resume on Oct. 30.

© Just The News.

"This is the first time SSA has undertaken an effort of this scale, and I am proud of the work we have done to strengthen the foundation of identity data relied upon throughout government and the economy," SSA Commissioner and IRS CEO Frank Bisignano said in a statement.

Just the News

Social Security recipients to get cost-of-living adjustment equal to $75 per month

Just The News

The cleanup includes the addition of death dates to 17 million SSNs, adding citizenship information to 25 million files, and correcting a further 8.5 million. SSA also announced the creation of additional internal control mechanisms to fix and prevent inaccuracies in its records.

“The Social Security Number database is our country’s books and records. The database’s accuracy is essential to maintaining integrity of government services for citizens," Bisignano added. "Accurate SSN records prevent fraud across federal programs and support the proper administration of benefits."

© Just The News.

The threat, as they see it, comes from the burgeoning Red-Green Alliance, a partnership between the far-left and Islamists. A powerful visual of the purported alliance was on display in France this past weekend as crowds waving Palestinian flags protested and rioted alongside French communists and other far-left groups.

At the center of the international promotion of France's unrest sits the network funded by left-wing donor Neville Roy Singham, whose groups were central boosters of the wave of anti-Israel demonstrations in the United States after Hamas' deadly Oct. 7, 2023, attack.

Singham, who was born in the United States, now lives in Shanghai, China. The New York Times reported in 2023 on his ties to the ruling Chinese Communist Party.

The French protests began in late September over teacher shortages, overcrowded classrooms and crumbling school buildings. They have since spread, taking on a broader character centered on dissatisfaction with the French government.

A Fox News Digital investigation earlier this month identified 50 organizations participating in or promoting the movement. Only 15 were student or youth groups. The other 35 included a dozen labor unions, eight communist or socialist organizations, four political parties including La France Insoumise (LFI) and the French Communist Party, and one Palestinian advocacy group.

The movement is also being amplified by the Singham-tied network that was previously at the center of anti-Israel and pro-Palestine campus protests that swept across America during Israel's war in Gaza against Hamas, a Palestinian militant group.

The New York-based BreakThrough News, which is funded by Singham, has been among the movement's loudest international amplifiers. It sent "BREAKING" alerts as students massed at the Bastille and framed the protests as a “historic strike against austerity."

World

La France Insoumise: The far-left party, linked to the DSA and the Latin American left, which the French government accuses of being behind the violent protests

Carlos Dominguez

One BreakThrough Instagram video showed far-left Saint-Denis Mayor Bally Bagayoko sliding in front of students during a confrontation with police. It drew roughly 346,000 likes in a single day.

BreakThrough later posted a collage of youth protest clips from Brazil, Belgium, Chile, France, Germany, India, Spain and the U.S. under the banner “YOUTH RISE UP AROUND THE WORLD.”

The threads connecting France's unrest to the groups behind America's anti-Israel protests run through shared organizations and shared messaging.

For example, Indian Alliance Paris, a small group of Indian students and professionals, co-sponsored a January 2023 anti-NATO teach-in at the People's Forum in Manhattan, a group backed by Singham. He launched the People's Forum in 2017 with more than $20 million, and its leaders have coordinated hundreds of U.S. street protests.

Other members of the Singham network such as CodePink, the Party for Socialism and Liberation and the Democratic Socialists of America co-sponsored the event. Indian Alliance Paris has since cheered on the French students and linked the demonstrations there to youth protests in India.

Fox also reported that Vijay Prashad, executive director of the Singham-funded Tricontinental, celebrated the unrest and tied it to other protests on three continents.

Separately, in an interview with BreakThrough, Jodie Evans, Singham's wife and a CodePink co-founder, used the French, Indian and Spanish youth protests to promote a CodePink campaign against U.S. military spending planned for Washington, D.C., in November.

“I want people to look at France, Spain and India,” she said.

Politics

House Ways and Means Committee cites BreakThrough News regarding Neville Roy Singham's pro-China funding network

Carlos Dominguez

The Palestinian cause has also featured prominently in the latest round of French protests.

Members of Urgence Palestine marched in the student protests carrying Palestinian flags, and left-wing lawmaker Louis Boyard waved one at a campus blockade, Fox reported. The French government has sought since 2025 to dissolve Urgence Palestine, which describes itself as a voice for Palestinians in France.

Singham, a tech entrepreneur, sold his software firm ThoughtWorks in 2017 and now lives in Shanghai. A Just the News investigation found that he and his network collaborated inside China with Chinese propaganda outlets, state-run universities and other groups committed to advancing the Chinese Communist Party.

The U.S. Congress has raised concerns about Singham’s network and its influence in the United States. House Ways and Means Chairman Jason Smith, a Missouri Republican, has pressed Singham-linked nonprofits over their China ties, and the House Oversight Committee voted this year to subpoena Singham.

World

The hidden axis: Investigation traces links between Cuba, extremist organizations and US activists

Diane Hernández

Conservatives have pointed to the latest round of protests in France as a preview of what the same coalition could do in the United States.

Mike Gonzalez, a Heritage Foundation senior fellow, told Fox that the French unrest reflects the same ecosystem that is also present in the United States.

“What we're seeing here is the same Red-Green ecosystem that disrupts infrastructure chokeholds in our country such as the Brooklyn Bridge, college campuses and congressional hearings,” Gonzalez told the outlet. “And in the case of BreakThrough News, the same sugardaddy – Neville Roy Singham.”

Radio host Glenn Beck described a "red-green alliance" using teenagers as a battering ram and warned that "what's happening there is coming to America," according to the Dallas Express.

President Trump and U.N. Ambassador Mike Waltz have blamed mass migration.

“This isn't about schools, this is about Islam wanting to take over,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

Texas GOP Sen. Ted Cruz denounced a "red-green alliance" between communists and Islamists at a GOP conference in Dallas last month and urged the Trump administration to designate the Council on American-Islamic Relations a terrorist organization, Just the News reported.

© Just The News.

Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) has referred the findings to federal investigators for further review, Fox News reported.

In July, FinCEN issued alerts to financial institutions warning about possible fraud schemes involving federal student aid refunds. Schools and payment contractors regularly issue student aid refunds electronically. Criminals may move stolen aid through money mules, shell companies and fraudulent bank accounts, the alert explained.

Society

One in four teachers is considering leaving their job in the coming year, according to a survey

Diane Hernández

Many of the schemes involve fraudulent enrollments — called "ghost student" schemes — in which criminals use stolen personal information, including names and Social Security numbers, to enroll fake students using the stolen identities.

The financial institutions filed nearly 100 suspicious activity reports following the alert, according to the Treasury Department. A review by FinCEN identified more than 20,000 potentially suspicious transactions, totaling $270 million.

© Just The News.

According to a report published Oct. 16 by The Daily Signal, 236 people who self-reported as noncitizens were summoned for jury duty in Macomb County during the third quarter of 2026.

Of those, nine were registered to vote, and one had a voting history.

Macomb County Clerk Anthony Forlini said the issue should not be viewed along partisan lines. “It shouldn’t matter if it’s Democrats or Republicans,” he told the publication, adding that he had forwarded the information to Michigan’s secretary of state.

Politics

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Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel’s office announced charges against five noncitizens accused of voting in the 2024 election. Meanwhile, Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson’s office previously reviewed a separate list of individuals identified by Forlini, confirming that some were noncitizens while others were citizens.

The findings come as Michigan prepares for a closely watched U.S. Senate race between Republican Mike Rogers and Democrat Abdul El-Sayed. The state’s election officials had not responded to The Daily Signal’s latest inquiries by the time of publication.

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The report titled, “The Real Cost of Socialism in America," examines the policy touted by the Democratic Socialists of America, and details the costs for American taxpayers associated with the far-left platform.

By contrast, under Trump, the nation has seen measurable fiscal and public-safety dividends already accruing from sustained zero-release months and large-scale removals, set against the specific new spending the CEA projects if amnesty and expanded benefits proceed.

More than 3 million illegal immigrants have left the United States since 2025

Southwest border apprehensions in August were 94 percent below the monthly average under the prior administration, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection has recorded 16 consecutive months with zero illegal immigrants allowed into the country.

More than 3 million illegal immigrants have left the United States since President Trump returned to office; the Department of Homeland Security earlier estimated that 2.5 million departures would, if the pace held through 2029, reduce the federal spending burden by $26.7 billion to $33.7 billion a year.

That reduction sits against the CEA’s baseline finding that the lifetime net cost of each illegal immigrant is $166,716, or $1.4 trillion to $1.9 trillion in total under current conditions.

The same analysis states that Democratic Socialists of America-aligned proposals for free healthcare and broader program access would drive sharp new annual costs: SNAP benefits rising $3.6 billion to $4.7 billion, HUD housing assistance $2.3 billion to $3 billion, and Medicaid $30 billion to $40 billion.

Together those three programs would add $36 billion to $47 billion in federal spending each year, or $361 billion to $475 billion over ten years. The full suite of such policies, the CEA calculates, would reach $49 trillion—more than $350,000 per household—over the decade.

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House GOP crafts nuclear option for sanctuary cities, letting victims sue local officials

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Enforcement in the homeland

Interior enforcement has moved in parallel. ICE has arrested more than 10,000 gang members and more than 2,100 known or suspected terrorists during the second term while roughly doubling its officers and agents from 10,000 to 22,000. Seven of the ten safest U.S. cities now cooperate with ICE. The Laken Riley Act, signed by President Trump, requires detention of illegal immigrants charged with specified violent crimes.

Temporary Protected Status has been returned to its original temporary character, and the State Department has paused immigrant visa processing for 75 countries whose nationals draw welfare at high rates. More than 157,000 migrant children previously unaccounted for under the Biden administration have been located. DHS conducted more than 206 million benefits-eligibility checks in 2025 to keep programs reserved for citizens.

Cartel and gang-related crime takes a hit

The same operational tempo produced the largest federal campaign against transnational crime in U.S. history. Homeland Security Task Forces launched in 2025 by the White House, DHS, and the Department of Justice targeted embedded networks, particularly Tren de Aragua gang members who entered during earlier high-crossing periods.

Between Jan. 20, 2025, and Oct. 8, 2026, authorities arrested 1,296 Tren de Aragua members and charged nearly 350 with federal crimes, according to previously unreleased task-force data reported by the Washington Examiner.

Administration officials link the nationwide decline in violent crime rates in part to the removal of these foreign gang members. CBP has seized 73 percent more drugs this fiscal year through August than in the same period of fiscal 2024, coinciding with fewer Americans dying from fentanyl overdoses.

Additionally, the Working Families Tax Cuts package supplied the largest-ever investment in border security, and the subsequent Secure America Act provided multi-year funding for agents, limiting later attempts to reduce enforcement.

Officials describe the present border as the most secure in history and argue that continued removals of criminal aliens, sustained zero-release months, and the dismantling of networks such as Tren de Aragua protect both public safety and the fiscal position of taxpayers.

Potential effects, costs of Democratic Party proposals

Democrats have called for ending large-scale deportations, reopening border processing, and granting broad legal status, effectively returning it to it’s condition under Biden. The CEA analysis indicates those steps would reverse recent spending reductions and expand eligibility for major benefit programs.

The resulting choice, administration officials proffer, is whether to continue the combination of interdiction, interior enforcement, and benefit safeguards that is already shrinking both crime and projected costs, or to adopt measures projected to add trillions in net burdens while increasing the population eligible for federal services.

© Just The News.