Top Items:
CNN:
More than half of CDC staffers recently fired by Trump administration have been reinstated — Hundreds of staff fired from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention late Friday have been reinstated, according to the American Federation of Government Employees.
Discussion:
The Hill
RELATED:
Brandy Zadrozny / MSNBC:
‘CDC is over’: RFK Jr. lays off over 1,000 employees in Friday night massacre
Discussion:
Time, Raw Story, The Hill, Mediaite and New York Times
Jeremy Faust / Inside Medicine:
Breaking News: RIFs in reverse. Some CDC workers have been brought back, in latest whiplash.
Brenda Goodman / CNN:
‘The damage is beyond repair’: The CDC is facing another round of deep staff cuts
‘The damage is beyond repair’: The CDC is facing another round of deep staff cuts
Discussion:
New York Sun, The Daily Caller, OutsideTheBeltway and Washington Examiner
Megan Lebowitz / NBC News:
Vance says Trump is ‘looking at all his options’ as the president threatens to invoke the Insurrection Act — The Insurrection Act would allow the president to deploy the U.S. military domestically for law enforcement purposes. — WASHINGTON — Vice President JD Vance indicated in an interview …
Discussion:
The Independent, Newsweek and NewsMax.com
RELATED:
Isabella Murray / ABC News:
‘Come and get me,’ Pritzker says of Trump threat; Vance says governor ‘should suffer some consequences’ — Illinois' Democratic governor spoke on ABC's “This Week” after VP Vance. — Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker speaks with ABC News while appearing on This Week, Oct. 12, 2025.
Discussion:
RedState, The Gateway Pundit and Crooks and Liars
David Cohen / Politico:
Vance, Stephanopoulos bicker over Homan questions … On Sunday, Stephanopoulos queried: “The White House border czar Tom Homan was recorded on an FBI surveillance tape in September 2024 accepting $50,000 in cash. Did he keep that money or give it back?” — After Vance responded that Homan …
Discussion:
Mediaite
Antonio María Delgado / Miami Herald:
He was wrongfully imprisoned for 43 years. Moments after being released, ICE took him — On the morning of Oct. 3, 2025, Subramanyam “Subu” Vedam walked out of Huntingdon State Correctional Institution, the Pennsylvania prison that had confined him for more than four decades.
Discussion:
Raw Story
Don Moynihan / Can We Still Govern?:
Purge, Merge, and Surge — As Trump deploys a combination of ICE, National Guard troops and other paramilitary forces to multiple American cities, he is implementing a three-step plan. The plan involves different parts of the national security state, immigration enforcement, and the military:
Ted Hesson / Reuters:
Four dead, at least 20 injured in South Carolina island shooting — Four people were killed and at least 20 injured in a shooting at a restaurant in a South Carolina island town on Sunday, the Beaufort County Sheriff's Office said. — Deputies were called to Willie's Bar and Grill …
Discussion:
Associated Press, Washington Examiner, CBS News, The Hill, The Independent, WAGA-TV, New York Times, WXIA-TV, The Gateway Pundit and WTOP News
Jason Wilson / The Guardian:
Maga figures back Bukele's call for Trump to crack down on US judges — Experts say El Salvador president's intervention comes as Trump is employing tactics used by autocrats abroad — Donald Trump is not known for taking advice, especially from foreign leaders who often seek to flatter and compliment the US president.
RELATED:
Financial Times:
Ukraine hit Russian energy sites with US help — Trump administration has supported Kyiv's operations since summer in co-ordinated push to weaken Moscow — Christopher Miller in Kyiv, Amy Mackinnon in Washington and Max Seddon in Riga — The US has for months been helping Ukraine mount …
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, Politico, BBC and WTOP News
Maanvi Singh / The Guardian:
‘Cavalier and aggressive’: why are border agents flooding into US cities? — Border agents have become a key force in Trump's migrant crackdown - operating far from their traditional rural range — Border patrol officers have become ubiquitous footsoldiers in Donald Trump's mass deportation plan …
G. Elliott Morris / Strength In Numbers:
Is Trump “doing what he promised”? | Weekly roundup for October 12, 2025 — I don't normally devote the lead slot in this weekly roundup just to disagreeing with someone's analysis, but I'm going to make an exception this week. U.S. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt recently shared …
Faith Wardwell / Politico:
Johnson says he had ‘thoughtful’ conversation with MTG about bucking Republicans on healthcare … “Marjorie does not serve on those committees so I offered to have her come in the room and be a part of that discussion if indeed she wants to do that,” he said.
Discussion:
Newsbusters
Raquel Coronell Uribe / NBC News:
Smithsonian museums and National Zoo close temporarily as government shutdown drags on — The Smithsonian Institution drew on funds from the prior year to stay open for 11 days after the shutdown began on Oct. 1. — WASHINGTON — The pandas at the National Zoo will find themselves without …
Discussion:
WTOP News, NewsNation, Washington Times and NPR
Jennifer Rankin / The Guardian:
European far right follows Trump in calling for antifa to be declared terrorists — Netherlands and Hungary move towards designation as draft resolution reportedly backed by 79 MEPs in 20 countries — Where Donald Trump leads, Europe's nationalists and far right follow.
Jason Wilson / The Guardian:
Meta AI adviser spreads disinformation about shootings, vaccines and trans people — Critics condemn Robby Starbuck, appointed in lawsuit settlement, for ‘peddling lies and pushing extremism’ — A prominent anti-DEI campaigner appointed by Meta in August as an adviser on AI bias has spent …
Lydia DePillis / New York Times:
Black Unemployment Is Surging Again. This Time Is Different. — Federal layoffs and an end to diversity initiatives have weakened a historically strong labor market for Black workers. — Joblessness for Black workers is rising again, two years after reaching a record low.
Discussion:
Politico
Abbie VanSickle / New York Times:
Who Are the Louisiana Voters Behind a Major Supreme Court Challenge? — There is little information in court filings about the dozen plaintiffs who challenged the state's voting map as an illegal racial gerrymander. — One woman made national news when she protested the Covid-19 vaccine at her local City Council.
Discussion:
NBC News and New York Sun
Michael Sainato / The Guardian:
‘Using us as political pawns’: federal workers reel over threats of firings and withheld back pay — Employees express growing anxiety over their pay - and the future of their jobs - amid the US government shutdown — With no end of the federal government shutdown in sight, an estimated 750,000 workers remain furloughed.
Discussion:
Newsweek and Boston.com
Zachary Schermele / USA Today:
Education Department wipes out special ed office in shutdown layoffs, union says — The agency cut nearly everyone who works to administer federal funding for the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, one staffer said. — WASHINGTON - The U.S. Department of Education fired nearly everyone …
Discussion:
Washington Examiner and The Daily Caller
Naftali Bendavid / Washington Post:
Trump escalates his use of federal power to target Democratic states — Democrats see a pattern of inflicting pain on places that are politically unfriendly, while Trump has declared his intent to hurt liberal areas and policies. — Just now — President Donald Trump's move to cancel projects …
