President Donald Trump awards Charlie Kirk the Presidential Medal of Freedom, New York Attorney General Letitia James&#8217; grandniece may be a fugitive from the law, and the U.K.&#8217;s Labour Party turns to digital ID to curb illegal immigration.
It’s Wednesday, October 15, 2025, and this is the news you need to know to start your day.
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<h2 style="text-align: center;">Trump Awards Charlie Kirk The Highest Civilian Honor</h2>
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Topline: President Trump posthumously honored Charlie Kirk on Tuesday, on what would have been Kirk’s 32nd birthday, with the country’s highest civilian award: the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
In front of a large audience in the Rose Garden, the president presented the award to Kirk’s widow, Erika Kirk. The event was attended by many family members, friends, and acquaintances of Kirk from within the administration, Kirk’s conservative youth organization Turning Point USA, and elsewhere.
“Five weeks ago, our nation was robbed of this extraordinary champion. He was a champion in every way — I got to know him so well,” said Trump. “It was a horrible, heinous, demonic act of murder. He was assassinated in the prime of his life for boldly speaking the truth, for living his faith, and relentlessly fighting for a better and stronger America. He loved this country, and that’s why this afternoon, it’s my privilege to posthumously award Charles James Kirk our nation’s highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom.”
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Erika Kirk also spoke at the event.
“Today, we’re gathered not only to celebrate Charlie’s birthday, but to honor a truth that he gave his entire life to defend, and that’s freedom. The very existence of the Presidential Medal of Freedom reminds us that the national interest of the United States has always been freedom,” she said.
“Our founders etched it into the preamble of our Constitution, and those words are not relics on parchment; they are a living covenant. The blessings of liberty are not man’s invention, they are God’s endowment. Charlie lived for those blessings, not as abstract words, but as sacred promises,” she added.
<h2 style="text-align: center;">Letitia James’s Fugitive Family Member</h2>
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Topline: New York Attorney General Letitia James may have sheltered a fugitive in her Virginia home for the past five years. 
James was charged with bank fraud last week for allegedly lying on mortgage papers to get a lower interest rate on a house in Virginia. While James owns the home, the current tenant is her grandniece, Nakia Thompson, and her three children, who have lived in the house since 2020. 
Thompson is officially listed as an “absconder” in the database of North Carolina’s Department of Adult Correction, according to the <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-15187603/letitia-james-niece-virginia-home-fugitive.html">Daily Mail</a>. She’s wanted by authorities in Forsyth County for skipping out on her probation.
A spokesman for the North Carolina Department of Corrections said Thompson was “sentenced to probation for misdemeanor convictions for assault and battery and trespassing.” He confirmed that she is considered a fugitive from the state, but he added that because her crimes are considered low-level, she is “non-extraditable.”
Won’t stay silent: In opposition to the standard legal advice to keep quiet after being charged with a crime, James is loudly speaking out against the Department of Justice, claiming to be a victim of a political prosecution.
“We see powerful voices trying to silence truth and punish dissent and, yes, weaponize justice for political gain. We are witnessing the fraying of our democracy, the erosion of our system of government,” said James at a rally for New York City mayoral hopeful Zohran Mamdani on Monday evening.
Limiting her ability to attract supporters to her cause, James is perceived widely on the right to be guilty of pushing the same kind of political prosecutions she is now denouncing. James campaigned for New York attorney general on a platform of investigating President Trump.
After winning her election, James eventually pursued Trump on a civil charge related to defrauding banks, though no banks claimed to have ever been defrauded by Trump. James won the case in a bench trial, and Trump was hit with a civil penalty of nearly half a billion dollars. That penalty was later thrown out by an appeals court in a major victory for the president.
<h2 style="text-align: center;">U.K.’s Labour Turns To Digital ID To Curb Illegal Immigration</h2>
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-986111" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Britain-Tries-Digital-ID-300x169.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="169" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Britain-Tries-Digital-ID-300x169.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Britain-Tries-Digital-ID-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Britain-Tries-Digital-ID-768x432.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Britain-Tries-Digital-ID-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Britain-Tries-Digital-ID.jpg 1920w" sizes=" (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />
Topline: The U.K. recently approved a controversial new law that mandates a digital ID as a way to curb illegal immigration. Morning Wire spoke with Guy Dampier, senior researcher on nationhood at the Prosperity Institute, about the new law. (The following transcript has been lightly edited for clarity.)
Morning Wire: So, Guy, a lot of frustration boiling over in the U.K. right now over immigration, and now we have this heated debate over digital ID. Let’s start with Prime Minister Starmer – he’s defending his party’s immigration policies and accusing the conservative Reform party of pushing supposedly “racist” policies. Catch us up, what’s the story here?
Dampier: The issue is Reform’s policy on residency for immigrants. &#8220;Indefinite Leave to Remain&#8221; means that an immigrant can, after five years, get access to the same welfare benefits as a British citizen. The vast majority of people who get ILR will stay forever. That matters because in the last few years, there was an immigration wave of around 4 million people. Most of those were low-skilled and will be a drain on the taxpayer. One estimate said that it would cost around £80 billion, another said over £200 billion. Whatever the true figure is, it will be a huge cost at a time when the British economy is doing very badly. Reform have announced that they will abolish ILR, forcing those who have come to apply for new visas, which will include new checks on their qualifications and language skills. That also matters because the current rules are incredibly lax. The language test only requires that you have B1 English, which is enough to struggle through a book for small children, but nowhere near enough what you need just to read a newspaper. As most of these 4 million migrants come from Africa and the Indian subcontinent, Labour have branded it “racist.” 
Morning Wire: Now, the Labour Party has actually also admitted that this &#8220;Indefinite Leave to Remain&#8221; law needs to be reformed. What are they suggesting?
Dampier: This is why it is so incoherent. They were calling Nigel Farage racist. On Monday, they announced policies that were not a million miles away. The Home Secretary, Shababa Mahmood, has said that immigrants who want residency will now need better English skills, no criminal record, and evidence that they have volunteered in the community to show that they are integrating. The problem for Labour is that while they want to win over voters who are upset about immigration, they don’t really believe in reducing immigration. So they end up promising things they won’t deliver, and then when they get called out, they lash out. The problem for Britain is very simple: the country has become rapidly more foreign, with over 16% of people born overseas. Most of those came in the last few decades or even the last few years. This is changing the face of the country: around 38% of school children are now from an ethnic minority group. At the same time the economy has ground to a halt. And there is increasing evidence that migrants are overrepresented when it comes to accessing welfare and committing crime. So people are asking a simple question: if we want fewer immigrants, and if immigration isn’t good for the economy, then why are politicians refusing to seriously reduce the numbers?
Morning Wire: As we mentioned at the top, we also have this new digital ID that’s supposed to help crack down on illegal workers. But that has been very controversial. How would that work?
Dampier: This is the so-called Brit card. Labour have long been advocates for digital ID. In fact, the last Labour government, over a decade ago actually introduced ID cards. But they were immediately scrapped by the conservative government which followed them. Labour are now arguing that it would stop illegal immigrants from being able to work and rent. But there is already a digital Visa verification system which is supposed to do this. It just isn’t adhered to. There’s no reason to think that this would be any different. In fact, there are many European countries which already have ID cards and still have a major problem with illegal immigration. In Germany, for example, you are supposed to carry your ID card with you everywhere. But the country has one of the highest numbers of illegal immigrants in all of Europe. This won’t really fix the problem. What it will do is add on another layer of bureaucracy and further reduce the freedom of native British people. There is also another potential danger. Paul Mason, a well-known Labour activist who is close to the senior leadership of the party, suggested that digital ID could be used to help regularise the illegal immigrants who are already here. That is somewhere between 3/4 of 1 million and 2 million people. Instead of discouraging illegal immigration, it could end up being used to reward it.

MRN_251015_V1

Morning Brief: Trump Honors Kirk, Letitia James Accused Of Housing Fugitive, UK Advances Digital ID

Morning Brief: Trump Honors Charlie Kirk, Letitia James’ Crime Family, And UK Digital ID

Charlie Kirk

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An Update On The Shocking Crime That Democrats Don’t Want You To Know About

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WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump honored his late friend, Charlie Kirk, with the nation&#8217;s highest civilian honor: the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Friends of Kirk gathered Tuesday at the White House in the Rose Garden, newly renovated by the president, to honor Kirk&#8217;s memory and to recognize him for his patriotic contributions to the United States of America. Erika Kirk, Charlie Kirk&#8217;s widow, was present and emotional at the event, as were many members of the Turning Point USA organization.
The event was purposefully held on Tuesday, October 14, the day that should have been Kirk&#8217;s thirty-second birthday.
The president spoke first as Erika Kirk stood by.
&#8220;Five weeks ago, our nation was robbed of this extraordinary champion. He was a champion in every way — I got to know him so well,&#8221; President Trump said. &#8220;It was a horrible, heinous, demonic act of murder. He was assassinated in the prime of his life for boldly speaking the truth, for living his faith, and relentlessly fighting for a better and stronger America. He loved this country, and that&#8217;s why this afternoon, it&#8217;s my privilege to posthumously award Charles James Kirk our nation&#8217;s highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom.&#8221;
<a href="https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/R47639">Created</a> by President Harry Truman in 1945 as the &#8220;Medal of Freedom,&#8221; the medal was renamed by President John F. Kennedy in 1963 as the &#8220;Presidential Medal of Freedom,&#8221; and under Executive Order 11085, it can be presented to &#8220;any person who has made an especially meritorious contribution to (1) the security or national interests of the United States, or (2) world peace, or (3) cultural or other significant public or private endeavors.&#8221;
The medal features a white star over a red pentagon that is surrounded by five gold eagles, and in the center of the star, there is a blue circle with 13 more gold stars.
Following the president, Erika Kirk spoke about her husband.
&#8220;Today, we&#8217;re gathered not only to celebrate Charlie&#8217;s birthday, but to honor a truth that he gave his entire life to defend, and that&#8217;s freedom. The very existence of the Presidential Medal of Freedom reminds us that the national interest of the United States has always been freedom,&#8221; Kirk said.
&#8220;Our founders etched it into the preamble of our Constitution, and those words are not relics on parchment; they are a living covenant. The blessings of liberty are not man&#8217;s invention, they are God&#8217;s endowment. Charlie lived for those blessings, not as abstract words, but as sacred promises,&#8221; she continued.
&#8220;He used to love to journal about this topic all the time, and with such a heart postured of gratitude, and he believed that liberty was both a right and a responsibility. And he used to say freedom is the ability to do what is right without fear, and that&#8217;s how he lived. He was free from fear.&#8221;
Kirk founded Turning Point USA, the national student movement focused on empowering young people to &#8220;promote the principles of free markets and limited government.&#8221; By the time of his death, TPUSA had reached more than 3,000 high school and college campuses nationwide and had accumulated 650,000 lifetime student members, earning the organization the title of &#8220;the largest and fastest-growing conservative youth activist organization in America.&#8221;
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Kirk himself spent his time organizing TPUSA, gathering talented young people and promoting them, writing books, doing thousands of media appearances, garnering support for President Donald Trump, and perhaps most notably, engaging in respectful debate and dialogue on college campuses. Clips of his debates with liberal college students accumulated millions of views on social media, his social media platforms reached over 100 million people per month, and he was named one of the &#8220;top 10 most engaged accounts&#8221; in the world.
He is considered the driving force behind the president&#8217;s selection of JD Vance as his vice president: Vance himself said “if it weren’t for Charlie Kirk, I would not be vice president of the United States.&#8221;
An ideological assassin killed Kirk as he spoke on September 10 at Utah Valley University, and the investigation into the assassination is ongoing. Authorities have identified Tyler Robinson as the killer, a young man who lived with his &#8220;transgender partner,&#8221; a male attempting to transition to a transgender female. That individual, identified as 22-year-old Lance Twiggs, is reported to be fully cooperating with federal authorities.
In the last moments before he was murdered, Charlie Kirk was answering questions from a student about transgender violence.
“Do you know how many transgender Americans have been mass shooters over the last 10 years?” asked Hunter Kozak, a Utah Valley University mathematics student.
<div id="attachment_985767" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/donald-trump-honors-his-friend-charlie-kirk-with-the-presidential-medal-of-freedom/political-activist-charlie-kirk-shot-dead-at-utah-valley-university-18" rel="attachment wp-att-985767"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-985767" class="wp-image-985767 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/GettyImages-2234173687-1-864x576.jpg" alt="" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/GettyImages-2234173687-1-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/GettyImages-2234173687-1-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/GettyImages-2234173687-1-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/GettyImages-2234173687-1.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" /></a>Charlie Kirk throws hats to the crowd after arriving at Utah Valley University on September 10, 2025 in Orem, Utah.  (Photo by Trent Nelson/The Salt Lake Tribune/Getty Images)</div>
&#8220;Too many,&#8221; responded the 31-year-old TPUSA founder, who was seated under a small tent in the midst of a large crowd of bystanders. It was only two weeks after the Annunciation school shooting, in which a trans-identifying killer had killed two children and injured many others when he opened fire on a Catholic mass.
The crowd applauded at Kirk&#8217;s response, but Kozak pressed on, saying that there had been five trans-identifying mass shooters in recent history.
&#8220;Now five is a lot,&#8221; Kozak conceded, &#8220;I&#8217;m gonna give you some credit. Do you know how many mass shooters there have been in America over the last 10 years?”
“Counting or not counting gang violence?” Kirk asked.
At that moment a shot rang out. Kirk&#8217;s shooter had fired, fatally hitting the TPUSA founder where he sat.
Kozak, who did not immediately respond to The Daily Wire&#8217;s request for comment, has condemned Kirk&#8217;s murder in interviews since the tragic event occurred. Simultaneously, he has called Kirk &#8220;a bigot&#8221; for believing that it is dangerous for trans-identifying people to own guns and said that &#8220;Charlie also made the world a worse off place.&#8221;
<div id="attachment_985761" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/donald-trump-honors-his-friend-charlie-kirk-with-the-presidential-medal-of-freedom/memorial-service-held-for-slain-conservative-activist-charlie-kirk-at-state-farm-stadium-6" rel="attachment wp-att-985761"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-985761" class="wp-image-985761 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/GettyImages-2236636833-864x576.jpg" alt="" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/GettyImages-2236636833-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/GettyImages-2236636833-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/GettyImages-2236636833-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/GettyImages-2236636833.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" /></a>Mrs. Erika Kirk joins U.S. President Donald Trump onstage during the memorial service for her husband at State Farm Stadium on September 21, 2025 in Glendale, Arizona.  (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)</div>
In the weeks since Kirk&#8217;s assassination, social media has been flooded with stories of Americans growing closer to their faith, spurred on by Kirk&#8217;s witness as a Christian.
&#8220;Charlie’s passing marked a turning point for the movement he sparked,&#8221; Turning Point&#8217;s website shares. &#8220;In the weeks that followed, more than 120,000 students reached out seeking to launch new high school and college chapters, determined to carry forward what he built. His passing also sparked a wave of Christian revival that spread far beyond the United States, igniting prayer gatherings, worship events, and renewed faith commitments. In cities across America and in countries around the world, hundreds of vigils and memorials were held in his honor—spontaneous expressions of gratitude for a life that emboldened young people, challenged cultural norms, and called a generation to courage. His influence did not end with his life; it accelerated.&#8221;
Additionally, over 200,000 people registered for Turning Point&#8217;s memorial honoring Kirk at a massive event held in Phoenix, Arizona, in late September.
That memorial was attended by the top administration officials in Donald Trump&#8217;s White House, including the president himself. Vice President JD Vance, Donald Trump Jr., Stephen Miller, Marco Rubio, Pete Hegseth, Susie Wiles, and many other friends of Kirk spoke from the stage to the thousands gathered in person, and online, eulogizing their friend and urging Americans to pick up where Kirk left off.
&#8220;My husband, Charlie, he wanted to save young men just like the one who took his life,&#8221; an emotional Erika Kirk told the thousands gathered at State Farm Stadium that day.
In a stunning moment, Kirk&#8217;s widow tearfully gathered herself before forgiving her husband&#8217;s killer, saying: &#8220;On the cross, our Savior said, &#8216;Father, forgive them for they not know what they do.&#8217; That man, that young man, I forgive him. I forgive him, because it was what Christ did, and is what Charlie would do.&#8221;
Her words resonated throughout the country, drawing compassion and admiration from many. And at the very end of the memorial, she joined Trump on stage, where the two shared an emotional, vulnerable moment before the crowd, before Erika Kirk signed &#8220;I love you,&#8221; to the massive image of her husband hanging across the stadium.
&#8220;Charlie&#8217;s life was a turning point for this country,&#8221; she said that day. &#8220;It was a miracle. Let that miracle that was Charlie&#8217;s life be your turning point as well. Choose prayer, choose courage, choose beauty, choose adventure, choose family. Choose a life of faith. Most importantly, choose Christ.&#8221;

Donald Trump & Erika Kirk

Donald Trump Honors His Friend Charlie Kirk With The Presidential Medal Of Freedom

After a scheduled follow-up evaluation on Friday, President Donald Trump&#8217;s physician said Trump &#8220;remains in exceptional health&#8221; and is showing &#8220;strong cardiovascular, pulmonary, neurological and physical performance.&#8221;
Trump, 79, was at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for about three hours and underwent lab tests and preventive health assessments. Trump&#8217;s doctor, Navy Capt. Sean Barbabella, said in a one-page memo that the president received a yearly flu shot and a COVID booster vaccine.
Barbabella noted that Trump&#8217;s cardiac age is 14 years younger than his actual age, adding that the president &#8220;continues to demonstrate excellent overall health.&#8221;
&#8220;His cardiac age &#8212; a validated measure of cardiovascular vitality via ECG &#8212; was found to be approximately 14 years younger than his chronological age,&#8221; the memo said. &#8220;He continues to maintain a demanding daily schedule without restriction.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
&#8220;President Donald J. Trump continues to demonstrate excellent overall health.&#8221;
&#8211; Captain Sean P. Barbabella, D.O. 
Physician to the President <a href="https://t.co/BfBsJTUOGh">pic.twitter.com/BfBsJTUOGh</a>
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) <a href="https://twitter.com/WhiteHouse/status/1977034436761075946?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 11, 2025</a></blockquote>
Back in July, Trump underwent medical testing and received a diagnosis of “chronic venous insufficiency” in his legs, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/white-house-reveals-medical-condition-causing-swelling-in-trumps-legs">The Daily Wire</a> reported.
“I know that many in the media have been speculating about bruising on the president’s hand and also swelling in the president’s legs,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said at the time. “So in the effort of transparency, the president wanted me to share a note from his physician with all of you today.&#8221;
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A memo from Barbabella said there was &#8220;mild swelling&#8221; in Trump&#8217;s lower legs and that the president&#8217;s concern was “thoroughly evaluated by the White House medical unit,” out of an “abundance of caution.”
Ultrasounds to assess blood flow in both of his legs found “chronic venous insufficiency,” Leavitt relayed. Barbabella called this a “benign, common condition, particularly in individuals over the age of 70.”
Trump&#8217;s health update comes as his predecessor, former President Joe Biden, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-team-provides-update-on-cancer-battle-radiation-therapy?author=Amanda+Prestigiacomo&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=0&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Biden+Team+Provides+Update+On+Cancer+Battle%2C+Radiation+Therapy">released</a> an update on his cancer battle. Biden is receiving radiation treatment for about five weeks for his advanced prostate cancer, according to a spokesperson.
“As part of a treatment plan for prostate cancer, President Biden is currently undergoing radiation therapy and hormone treatment,” the spokesperson said.
Biden has been taking the pill form of a hormone medication, <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/joe-biden/former-president-joe-biden-radiation-therapy-prostate-cancer-rcna237019?cid=sm_npd_nn_tw_ma&amp;taid=68ea5740399eb60001a9aacb&amp;utm_campaign=trueanthem&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_source=twitter" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to NBC News, and the former president&#8217;s team <a href="https://nypost.com/2025/10/11/us-news/joe-biden-undergoing-radiation-in-new-phase-of-prostate-cancer-treatment-spokesperson-says/?utm_source=twitter&amp;utm_campaign=nypost&amp;utm_medium=social" target="_blank" rel="noopener">says</a> Biden is “doing well.”
The 82-year-old first disclosed his aggressive cancer diagnosis back in May, mere months after he left office. At the time, it was reported that Biden had metastatic prostate cancer that had moved from the prostate all the way to his bones.
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-team-provides-update-on-cancer-battle-radiation-therapy?author=Amanda+Prestigiacomo&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=0&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Biden+Team+Provides+Update+On+Cancer+Battle%2C+Radiation+Therapy">Biden Team Provides Update On Cancer Battle, Radiation Therapy</a>

White House Releases Trump’s ‘Excellent’ Health Exam Summary

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President Donald Trump unveiled a deal with U.K.-based drugmaker AstraZeneca on Friday under which the company will sell some medicines at a discount to the government&#8217;s Medicaid health plan in exchange for tariff relief, similar to a drug pricing pact reached last week with Pfizer.
The deals set a framework the White House will use to try to reach its goal of lowering U.S. prescription medicine prices. The president sent letters to 17 leading drugmakers in July telling them to slash prices. Pfizer and Astra are the first two companies to reach a deal with the administration.
AstraZeneca will also offer some of its drugs at up to 80% off their list price through the TrumpRx website planned for next year, CEO Pascal Soriot said at an event in the Oval Office.
He said the company will receive a three-year tariff exemption &#8220;to localize the remainder of our products.&#8221;
U.S. patients currently pay by far the most for prescription medicines, often nearly three times more than in other developed nations, and Trump has been pressuring drugmakers to lower their prices to what patients pay elsewhere or face stiff tariffs.
Last month, Trump threatened 100% tariffs, ratcheting up pressure on the pharmaceutical industry to agree to price cuts and shift manufacturing to the U.S., after negotiations broke down earlier this year, lobbyists and executives told Reuters following the Pfizer deal.
More than 70 million people are covered by Medicaid, the state and federal government program for low-income people. Drug spending in that program is dwarfed by that of Medicare, which covers people aged 65 and older or those with disabilities and is not included in Friday&#8217;s announcement.
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Medicare&#8217;s drug spending reached $216 billion in 2021, while Medicaid&#8217;s gross spending was around $80 billion.
The Medicaid program already receives the lowest drug prices in the U.S., so the additional savings may be modest, said Craig Garthwaite, a professor at Northwestern University&#8217;s Kellogg School of Management.
&#8220;If you look at AstraZeneca&#8217;s portfolio, I don&#8217;t think there are a bunch of drugs that exist where that&#8217;s going to involve them giving a very big discount to Medicaid,&#8221; Garthwaite said.
AstraZeneca&#8217;s Pfizer‑like deal may spare it tariffs, but will not move the needle on U.S. rising health insurance premiums and out‑of‑pocket drug costs, said Rena Conti, an associate professor at Boston University.
&#8220;It&#8217;s good for the companies, and has very uncertain if any benefit for Americans struggling with the affordability of prescription drugs,&#8221; Conti said.
Soriot has worked to keep his company close to Washington while pursuing its growth strategy.
AstraZeneca in July announced it will invest $50 billion in U.S. manufacturing and research and development by 2030. It will build its biggest site worldwide in Virginia, and expand facilities in five other U.S. states.
In September, the company announced it will sell its diabetes and asthma drugs direct to cash-paying U.S. patients at a discount of up to 70% off list prices, another move in response to Trump&#8217;s pressure campaign.
Soriot this year has played up the company&#8217;s U.S. credentials. He described the Anglo-Swedish firm as a &#8220;very American company,&#8221; highlighting its identity shift toward its largest market. AstraZeneca will list its shares in the United States as well as its current markets in the UK and Europe.
(Reporting by Steve Holland in Washington and Michael Erman in New Jersey; Additional reporting by Jarrett Renshaw and Ahmed Aboulenein in Washington, Maggie Fick in London, Patrick Wingrove in New York and Mariam E Sunny in Bengaluru; Editing by Caroline Humer and Bill Berkrot)

Trump Announces U.S. Drug Pricing Deal With AstraZeneca

Economy

Health Care

Pfizer

Prescription Drugs

U.K.

President Donald Trump signed a <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/10/columbus-day-2025/">proclamation</a> on Thursday declaring October 13 Columbus Day and vowing &#8220;to reclaim his extraordinary legacy of faith, courage, perseverance, and virtue from the left-wing arsonists who have sought to destroy his name and dishonor his memory.&#8221;
While Columbus Day has been officially recognized in the United States for decades, the Italian explorer has been attacked by Left-wing activists in recent years. Last year, then-President Joe Biden <a href="https://bidenwhitehouse.archives.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2024/10/11/a-proclamation-on-columbus-day-2024/">acknowledged</a> Columbus Day, but made little mention of the explorer&#8217;s accomplishments and focused on the &#8220;history and heritage of Italian Americans.&#8221; In Biden&#8217;s first year in office, he <a href="https://bidenwhitehouse.archives.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2021/10/08/a-proclamation-indigenous-peoples-day-2021/">issued</a> the first-ever presidential proclamation of Indigenous Peoples Day, which was recognized on the same day as Columbus Day.
Trump&#8217;s proclamation was a stark contrast with Biden&#8217;s words on Columbus.
&#8220;Today our Nation honors the legendary Christopher Columbus — the original American hero, a giant of Western civilization, and one of the most gallant and visionary men to ever walk the face of the earth,&#8221; the proclamation states.
&#8220;Outrageously, in recent years, Christopher Columbus has been a prime target of a vicious and merciless campaign to erase our history, slander our heroes, and attack our heritage,&#8221; Trump&#8217;s proclamation adds. &#8220;Before our very eyes, left-wing radicals toppled his statues, vandalized his monuments, tarnished his character, and sought to exile him from our public spaces. Under my leadership, those days are finally over — and our Nation will now abide by a simple truth: Christopher Columbus was a true American hero, and every citizen is eternally indebted to his relentless determination.&#8221;
In the past decade, controversy has surrounded Columbus Day, as leftists in academia and on the street argue that the day celebrates racism and colonialism. During the George Floyd riots in 2020, dozens of Columbus statues around the country were <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/christopher-columbus-statue-removed-cities/">torn down</a> by radical protesters or officially removed to satisfy their demands.
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Some states and the District of Columbia have replaced Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples Day while other states recognize Indigenous Peoples Day on the same day as Columbus Day.
The president signed the proclamation during a Cabinet meeting at the White House. After signing the document, Trump showed it to the cameras in the room and said, &#8220;We&#8217;re calling it Columbus Day.&#8221;
&#8220;We&#8217;re back, Italians,&#8221; he added.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
President Trump: &#8220;Columbus Day! We&#8217;re back, Italians.&#8221; <a href="https://t.co/EZdNS2dVpj">pic.twitter.com/EZdNS2dVpj</a>
— Mary Margaret Olohan (@MaryMargOlohan) <a href="https://twitter.com/MaryMargOlohan/status/1976321278287216661?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 9, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Trump also signed a proclamation declaring October 9 Leif Erikson Day and recognizing the Viking&#8217;s &#8220;triumphant spirit of exploration.&#8221;
&#8220;This Leif Erikson Day, we summon his courage, we honor his enduring legacy of adventure and exploration, and we renew our resolve to advance the limits of human achievement,&#8221; the <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/10/leif-erikson-day-2025/#:~:text=NOW%2C%20THEREFORE%2C%20I%2C%20DONALD,2025%2C%20as%20Leif%20Erikson%20Day.">proclamation</a> states.

Donald Trump, Christopher Columbus

Trump Signs Columbus Day Proclamation, Pledges To ‘Reclaim His Extraordinary Legacy’

Christopher Columbus

Columbus Day

Leftists

U.S.

WASHINGTON — The White House and its allies are circling Chuck Schumer&#8217;s wagon, and he&#8217;s not making it that hard for them.
&#8220;Every day gets better for us,&#8221; Schumer <a href="https://punchbowl.news/article/senate/schumer-dems-momentum/">said in an interview with Punchbowl News</a>. “It’s because we’ve thought about this long in advance, and we knew that health care would be the focal point on Sept. 30, and we prepared for it&#8230;Their whole theory was — threaten us, bamboozle us, and we would submit in a day or two.”
That first line was yet another messaging gem for Republicans who have argued that Democrats do not care about whether the shutdown is hurting Americans, and he drew criticism from not only Vice President JD Vance and a slew of other angry Republicans, but also the president himself.
&#8220;Better for Schumer. Worse for Americans,&#8221; posted Vance on Thursday morning. &#8220;What a vile sentiment from an alleged leader in our country.&#8221;
&#8220;Chuck Schumer proclaimed this morning that every day gets better for them,&#8221; Trump said during today&#8217;s cabinet meeting. &#8220;No, it&#8217;s actually getting worse for them. &#8230; This is a confession that he&#8217;s acting not to serve the people, but to serve the partisan interests of his party.&#8221;
The White House put out messaging promptly on Thursday morning arguing that the &#8220;disgusting claim&#8221; is a &#8220;sickening display of elitist indifference&#8221; as the shutdown &#8220;plunges hardworking Americans into anxiety, despair, and financial ruin.&#8221;
&#8220;His arrogance lays bare the Democrats’ sick betrayal of service members missing paychecks, families turning to food pantries to survive, small businesses teetering on the brink, and travelers facing excruciating delays,&#8221; the White House argued.
<div id="attachment_983773" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/white-house-republicans-circle-chuck-schumer-as-shutdown-continues/president-trump-holds-cabinet-meeting-at-the-white-house-2" rel="attachment wp-att-983773"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-983773" class="wp-image-983773 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/GettyImages-2240149696-864x576.jpg" alt="" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/GettyImages-2240149696-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/GettyImages-2240149696-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/GettyImages-2240149696-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/GettyImages-2240149696.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" /></a>WASHINGTON, DC &#8211; OCTOBER 09: U.S. President Donald Trump holds a Cabinet meeting at the White House on October 09, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)</div>
“Definitely terrifying thinking in my head, ‘Oh God, how are we going to pay for our bills? How are we going to afford our rent? How are we going to pay for her formula, her diapers, everything?’&#8221; said an unnamed military spouse, cited by the White House, whose family is reportedly in crisis as service members go without pay. &#8220;Our military, they’re the ones that sign the government contract to go fight for our country. But our lawmakers who are supposed to be in charge of our country, they aren’t really doing what’s best for the American people.”
The White House messaging also quoted an air traffic controller who must continue fulfilling his job responsibilities without knowing whether he will get his next paycheck: “The financial anxiety doesn’t just hurt morale; it directly affects safety. When someone responsible for thousands of lives a day is worrying about whether they can pay rent or feed their kids, focus suffers. Sometimes that small moment where your mind is elsewhere can have serious impacts. Controllers were already underwater with pay and staffing before the shutdown. Now, we’re drowning.”
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The bottom line, the White House argues, is that Americans want the &#8220;Democrat shutdown to end,&#8221; and they &#8220;know Democrats are to blame.&#8221;
&#8220;While federal workers stress over missed paychecks, military families turn to food pantries, and airports around the country face delays — Chuck Schumer and the Democrats are bragging that &#8216;every day gets better&#8217; for them,&#8221; wrote Karoline Leavitt in a scathing post on X. &#8220;What a disgusting and revealing statement.  Democrats are gleeful about inflicting pain on the American people.&#8221;
Schumer did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The president also argued during his cabinet meeting that Schumer knows he is in deep political trouble, potentially facing an ouster from Rep. Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez, who continues to assert herself as a leader in the shutdown fight.
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<div id="id__xxh9kvp1k3s" class="css-146c3p1 r-bcqeeo r-1ttztb7 r-qvutc0 r-37j5jr r-1inkyih r-16dba41 r-bnwqim r-135wba7" dir="auto" lang="en" data-testid="tweetText"> &#8220;AOC said that they can come to her office and negotiate, the Republicans,&#8221; Trump said in his cabinet meeting. &#8220;And we&#8217;re saying, oh, I didn&#8217;t know she was in leadership! She&#8217;s taking Hakeem Jeffries&#8217; place and Schumer&#8217;s afraid that she&#8217;s gonna run against him &#8230; right now, I don&#8217;t think he can beat anybody. He&#8217;ll lose in a primary. I would say he&#8217;ll retire before he loses in a primary. I think Schumer&#8217;s gonna retire, because he can&#8217;t beat anybody, his polls are so bad.&#8221;</div>
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Senators Meet For Their Weekly Policy Luncheons

White House, Republicans Circle Chuck Schumer As Shutdown Continues

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

Chuck Schumer

Congress

Democrat

Government Shutdown

President Donald Trump hosted a roundtable discussion at the White House with journalists impacted by violence from Antifa, a far-left group recently designated as a domestic terrorist organization by the president.
The decentralized group is most known for instigating violence and chaos at major protests, including anti-ICE protests in Portland, Oregon, which led the Trump administration to deploy the National Guard to the city. Currently, that order is <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/judge-blocks-trump-from-sending-out-of-state-national-guard-troops-to-oregon">blocked</a> by United States District Judge Karin J. Immergut at the time of this writing.
“The epidemic of left-wing violence and Antifa-inspired terror has been escalating for nearly a decade,” Trump said on Wednesday. “These are agitators, anarchists, and they’re paid,” he later added.
Conservative journalists and personalities, including Andy Ngo, Nick Sortor, Katie Daviscourt, Julio Rosas, Brandi Kruse, Savanah Hernandez, and Jack Posobiec, joined the roundtable with Trump administration officials.
“The Biden administration let them commit these crimes with total impunity for years,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said, adding that “weak Democrats have turned a blind eye to their actions.”
Bondi vowed to “destroy the entire organization from top to bottom,” saying they will use a similar approach to how they crack down on drug cartels.
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FBI Director Kash Patel said that “they are harming everyday citizens in every single one of our communities.”
“We will arrest every single one of them,” Patel insisted, adding that “the American people deserve law and order.”
Kruse, a Seattle-based reporter, said that one of the most significant issues the president addressed was “acknowledging that Antifa is a real thing.”
“Once you take the mask off, they’re nothing,” Kruse said, later asking for a “full court press to dismantle Antifa once and for all.” She added that the investigators should look into the movement of potential criminals between Portland and Seattle.
Ngo described numerous times where he was attacked by Antifa activists, including when he was severely choked, noting how the group is “decentralized, autonomous, and they operate on deception.”
“I think the DOJ could look at federal conspiracy charges,” he added.
Rosas said that “the American people deserve to know what’s happening in these situations.”
“It’s a long time coming,” Daviscourt said regarding the terrorist group designation, saying that Antifa “believes that violence is justified by any means necessary.” Daviscourt recently suffered a black eye as a result of an assault while covering the group.
On Tuesday, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said there are “undercover” efforts underway in the Lone Star State to take down “leftist terror cells.”
“Leftist political terrorism is a clear and present danger. Corrupted ideologies like transgenderism and Antifa are a cancer on our culture and have unleashed their deranged and drugged-up foot soldiers on the American people,” Paxton said in a news release.
“The martyrdom of Charlie Kirk marks a turning point in America. There can be no compromise with those who want us dead. To that end, I have directed my office to continue its efforts to identify, investigate, and infiltrate these leftist terror cells. To those demented souls who seek to kill, steal, and destroy our country, know this: you cannot hide, you cannot escape, and justice is coming,” the attorney general concluded.

Alt Right Group Holds Rally In Portland, Oregon

‘Agitators, Anarchists’: White House Zeroes In On Antifa After Clashes In Portland

Antifa becomes key focus of White House after clashes in Pacific Northwest: 'Agitators, anarchists'

Antifa

Portland

Seattle

The White House plans deep cuts to “Democrat agencies” as the government shutdown continues, a terrorist attacks an Orthodox synagogue killing two and wounding more, and Leonardo DiCaprio stars in a new political blockbuster.
It’s Friday, October 3, 2025, and this is the news you need to know to start your day.
Morning Wire is available on video! You can watch today’s episode here:
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If you would rather listen to your news, today’s edition of the Morning Wire podcast can be heard below:
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<h2 style="text-align: center;">Shutdown Day 3</h2>
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-980289" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Shutdown-Cuts-Inbound-300x169.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="169" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Shutdown-Cuts-Inbound-300x169.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Shutdown-Cuts-Inbound-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Shutdown-Cuts-Inbound-768x432.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Shutdown-Cuts-Inbound-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Shutdown-Cuts-Inbound.jpg 1920w" sizes=" (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />
Topline: The government shutdown enters its third day, as the blame game continues and President Donald Trump threatens mass firings of federal employees. 
The GOP strategy: The White House wants to make the shutdown about healthcare funding for illegal immigrants. It says the Democrat proposal would result in $200 billion in subsidies going to non-citizens over the next decade, primarily through Medicaid and mandatory emergency care. The White House argues that the American people elected President Trump to cut those exact policies, and by blocking him from doing so, Democrats are denying the will of the people.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt <a href="https://x.com/RapidResponse47/status/1973753810154889282">said</a>: “Trump ran on the promise to end taxpayer-funded benefits going to illegal aliens, and tens of millions of Americans voted him back to this beautiful White House to implement that promise … and now Democrats want to undo it — and they&#8217;re holding our country hostage.”
The White House says the United States will lose $15 billion in GDP revenue each week the shutdown drags on, and it wants to ensure Democrats bear the blame, posting news clips on social media describing national guardsmen going unpaid, food assistance for low-income single mothers drying up, etc.
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A number of federal websites had new banners on Thursday — the official Justice Department homepage, for example, read “Democrats have shut down the government … websites are not currently updated.” 
Trump’s austerity: The president is targeting “non-essential” federal employees for termination as part of his broader government efficiency efforts. He posted on social media that he “had a meeting today with Russ Vought, he of PROJECT 2025 Fame, to determine which of the many Democrat Agencies, most of which are a political SCAM, he recommends to be cut … I can’t believe the Radical Left Democrats gave me this unprecedented opportunity.”
<h2 style="text-align: center;">Yom Kippur Synagogue Attack</h2>
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-980287" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Manchester-Synagogue-Attacked-300x169.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="169" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Manchester-Synagogue-Attacked-300x169.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Manchester-Synagogue-Attacked-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Manchester-Synagogue-Attacked-768x432.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Manchester-Synagogue-Attacked-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Manchester-Synagogue-Attacked.jpg 1920w" sizes=" (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />
Topline: A knife-wielding man targeted a synagogue in Manchester, England, on Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar.
The U.K.’s counterterrorism police have deemed the attack a “<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/live/2025/10/02/world/manchester-synagogue-stabbing-uk">terrorist incident</a>.”
Timeline: Authorities first received calls at around 9:30 a.m. local time about a man driving his vehicle into pedestrians outside the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation synagogue. The suspect, identified as Jihad al-Shamie, a 35-year-old British citizen who is of Syrian descent, then got out of his vehicle and began stabbing people around him. Authorities have confirmed that two people have been killed and four others were injured.
The suspect was shot and killed by police about 7-8 minutes after authorities were first called. 
The attack: The terrorist was not able to enter the actual synagogue because the entrance was locked and barricaded. When he exited the vehicle, he immediately encountered synagogue security and other members who stopped him.
Step back: About 30,000 Jewish people reside in Manchester – outside of London, it’s home to the largest Jewish community in the country. Antisemitic incidents in the U.K. have hit record levels after the October 7th attack by Hamas in Israel. In the first half of this year alone, there have been more than 1,500 reported incidents.
<h2 style="text-align: center;">“One Battle After Another”</h2>
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-980285" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Silver-Screen-Politics-300x169.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="169" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Silver-Screen-Politics-300x169.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Silver-Screen-Politics-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Silver-Screen-Politics-768x432.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Silver-Screen-Politics-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Silver-Screen-Politics.jpg 1920w" sizes=" (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />
Topline: A new film by celebrated director Paul Thomas Anderson starring Leonardo DiCaprio is earning high praise from critics and solid numbers at the box office – but it’s also stirring up debate about its potentially polarizing political themes.
National Review contributor Giancarlo Sopo joined Morning Wire to discuss the film, “One Battle After Another.”
What is the film about? “I think to understand ‘One Battle After Another,’ you have to understand the book that it&#8217;s based on, and it&#8217;s Thomas Pynchon’s ‘Vineland.’ Essentially, it&#8217;s a story about a bunch of radicals who have gotten burned out, have attempted to attack government installations and institutions using violence. Now they are being hunted. So, it&#8217;s a satire, right? You’ve got radicals on one side, and then on the right, you&#8217;re going to have a bunch of racist, autocratic thugs, essentially, coming after them who are part of this paramilitary organization that is also tied, by the way, to a secret society of races called the Christmas Adventurers Club.”
Is it a political movie? “I think the film&#8217;s political sympathies are obviously with the progressive left. At the same time, though, I wouldn&#8217;t necessarily call it a political movie. I would look at it more as Antifa Star Wars, as a friend told me, where the politics and the radicalism is kind of used as a vehicle to tell a father-daughter story. You have this burned-out dad who spends all day smoking weed and watching ‘The Battle Of Algiers,’ bringing up a young daughter, who&#8217;s a teenager now, entirely by himself. And he&#8217;s having a hard time communicating with her. There are very funny, generational conflicts as tends to happen to those who have kids now are starting to figure that out.”
Is there any sympathy for people considered to be on the right in the film? “The thing with the movie is that no one&#8217;s really in the center, right? Or really the center left or much less the middle. It follows a set of extremists on both sides. And what the story is telling you on the political side is that these ideologies are pulling people away from what matters most to them in life, which should be their own children. There are very clear passages in the film that communicate that. I don&#8217;t think anyone is portrayed here sympathetically in the film, to be candid with you, with the exception of the teenage girl.”
&nbsp;

MRN_251003-Thumbnail-V1

Morning Brief: Shutdown Day 3, Deadly Synagogue Attack, And Leonardo DiCaprio’s New Political Movie

Karoline Leavitt

Leonardo DiCaprio

Movies

Terrorism

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump suggested the U.S. could lift sanctions on Turkey and allow it to buy U.S. F-35 jets as he kicked off talks with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday, but said he wanted Ankara to stop purchases of Russian oil.
Erdogan&#8217;s first visit to the White House in about six years started off with a warm welcome from Trump. Seated side by side in the Oval Office, Trump called Erdogan a &#8220;very tough man&#8221; and said they remained &#8220;friends&#8221; while his predecessor Joe Biden was in office.
Ankara is keen to leverage the friendly personal relationship to further national interests and benefit from a U.S. administration eager to make deals in return for big-ticket arms and trade agreements.
Still, Trump pressed Erdogan to cut off oil purchases from Russia, as he tries to put pressure on Russia&#8217;s sources for funding its war in Ukraine. Turkey, Hungary, and Slovakia are the main European purchasers of Russian oil.
&#8220;I&#8217;d like to have him stop buying any oil from Russia while Russia continues this rampage against Ukraine,&#8221; Trump said of Erdogan.
Asked whether he was willing to make a deal to sell F-35s to Turkey, Trump told reporters, &#8220;I think he&#8217;ll be successful in buying the things that he wants to buy. &#8220;Trump also said he could lift sanctions against Turkey &#8220;very soon,&#8221; and that &#8220;if we have a good meeting, almost immediately.&#8221;
The Biden administration had kept Turkey at arm&#8217;s length partly over what it saw as the fellow NATO member&#8217;s close ties with Russia. Under Trump, who has closer personal ties with Erdogan, Ankara is hoping for a better relationship.
Trump and Erdogan had a checkered relationship during the Republican president&#8217;s first term. But since his return to the White House, their interests have aligned on Syria &#8211; source of the biggest bilateral strain in the past &#8211; where the U.S. and Turkey now both strongly back the central government.
The mood shift has renewed Turkish hopes that Trump and Erdogan, who have exchanged mutual praise, can find a way around U.S. sanctions imposed by Trump himself in 2020 over Turkey&#8217;s acquisition of Russian S-400 missile defenses.
That, in turn, could pave the way for Ankara to buy Lockheed Martin&#8217;s advanced F-35 fighter jets, for which it was both a buyer and manufacturer until it was barred over the S-400s.
Erdogan has said the defense industry, including the topic of F-35s and ongoing negotiations over 40 F-16 jets Ankara also wants, would be a focus of the meeting, along with regional wars, energy, and trade.
Turkey, NATO&#8217;s second-largest army, wants to ramp up air power to counter what it sees as growing threats in the Middle East, Eastern Mediterranean, and the Black Sea, where it neighbours Russia and Ukraine.
Erdogan also told reporters that he was &#8220;ready to do whatever is needed from us&#8221; to reopen an Orthodox Christian seminary that was shut by the Turkish state in 1971 and has remained a source of contention with Greece and the European Union ever since.
Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, the spiritual head of Orthodox Christians worldwide based in Istanbul, also met with Trump in Washington this month and was quoted as saying he hopes the theological school on Heybeliada Island can accept students next year.
Turkey, which is overwhelmingly Muslim, has in the past resisted reopening the seminary near Istanbul despite years of pressure from the European Union, which it aspires to join.
Erdogan said he would discuss the issue with Bartholomew when he returns to Turkey.
(Reporting by Jeff Mason, Tuvan Gumrukcu in Ankara, Jonathan Spicer and Daren Butler in Istanbul, and Mike Stone in Washington; Writing by Steve Holland; Editing by Humeyra Pamuk and Deepa Babington)

Turkey’s President Erdogan visits White House, in Washington

Trump Presses Erdogan To Stop Buying Russian Oil, May Lift Sanctions On Turkey

F-35

Recep Tayyip Erdogan

Russia

Turkey

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt denied Monday that President Donald Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan, took a $50,000 cash bribe from FBI agents posing as businessmen.
Undercover agents attempted to sway Homan into agreeing to accept the money in exchange for help securing government contracts once President Donald Trump returned to office during a meeting in Texas on September 20, 2024, according to <a href="https://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/news/tom-homan-cash-contracts-trump-doj-investigation-rcna232568" target="_blank" rel="noopener">MSNBC</a>.
The FBI and Department of Justice then waited to see if Homan would help secure the contracts once he entered the White House, according to the news outlet. The Trump administration closed the investigation after FBI Director Kash Patel requested an update on the probe.
During Monday’s White House press briefing, Leavitt hit back at a reporter who asked if the former Immigration and Customs Enforcement chief has “to return the $50,000.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
&#8220;You should get your facts straight, number one.&#8221;
Karoline Leavitt fires back at a reporter over her question on Tom Homan allegedly taking a $50,000 bribe. <a href="https://t.co/OpVMVVfypw">pic.twitter.com/OpVMVVfypw</a>
— Fox News (@FoxNews) <a href="https://twitter.com/FoxNews/status/1970182644261409138?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 22, 2025</a></blockquote>
“Mr. Homan never took the $50,000 that you’re referring to, so you should get your facts straight, number one. Number two, this was another example of the weaponization of the Biden Department of Justice against one of President Trump’s strongest and most vocal supporters in the midst of a presidential campaign,” Leavitt said.
Leavitt also asserted that the FBI agents attempted to “entrap &#8230; someone who they knew very well could be taking a government position months later.”
“Mr. Homan did absolutely nothing wrong, and even the president’s Department of Justice, even Kash Patel’s FBI looked into this just to make sure they had a number of different prosecutors and FBI agents who looked into this, they found zero evidence of illegal activity or criminal wrongdoing and the White House and the president stand by Tom Homan 100% because he did absolutely nothing wrong and he is a brave public servant who has done a phenomenal job in helping the president shut down the border,” she said.
In a statement to MSNBC, FBI Director Kash Patel and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said the probe “was subjected to a full review by FBI agents and Justice Department prosecutors” who “found no credible evidence of any criminal wrongdoing.”
“The Department’s resources must remain focused on real threats to the American people, not baseless investigations. As a result, the investigation has been closed,” they said.
The Biden administration launched its investigation in the summer of 2024 after the subject of a separate probe alleged that Homan was offering contracts in exchange for payments if Trump were to win the election, according to MSNBC.
A colleague introduced the undercover FBI agents to Homan, who indicated he would help them once he entered the White House, according to the report.

Screenshot 2025-09-22 at 1.12.48 PM

Karoline Leavitt Says Tom Homan Never Took $50,000 From FBI Agents

kash patel

Tom Homan

President Donald Trump is heading to the United Nations next week for a monumental foreign policy speech to world leaders, and unless the Republican-led U.S. Senate goes into hyperdrive, he&#8217;ll do it with a Biden administration official as his UN ambassador.
Trump nominated former congressman Mike Waltz to represent the United States at the United Nations nearly four months ago, and his nomination passed out of committee — for the second time — on Wednesday morning, leaving only a full Senate vote between Waltz and confirmation. But with a packed legislative schedule and a wall of obstruction from Senate Democrats, many doubt the vote will take place in time to have him ready to go.
If Waltz isn&#8217;t confirmed, Trump&#8217;s speech will be carried out with <a href="https://usun.usmission.gov/ambassador-dorothy-camille-shea/">Dorothy Shea</a>, who was nominated by President Joe Biden and confirmed last summer, as the acting ambassador. Jason Miller, one of Trump&#8217;s closest advisors outside of the White House, says that should be unacceptable, and Republicans should make his confirmation a top priority.
&#8220;Schumer and the Democrats have intentionally obstructed Senate action on the president’s nominees, the majority leader has the power to keep the Senate in session to assure that Mike Waltz and the president’s team are seated at the United Nations ahead of next week’s meeting of the General Assembly — and he should do so,” Miller told The Daily Wire.
Asked about the Waltz nomination, the White House reiterated the urgency to have his team in place.
“President Trump has been clear that he wants all of his nominees confirmed as quickly as possible,” a White House official told The Daily Wire.
Republican Majority Leader John Thune&#8217;s office wouldn&#8217;t comment specifically on efforts to confirm Waltz by Monday, but said it shares Trump&#8217;s urgency.
“Not only do we share the White House’s goal of confirming the president’s team as quickly as possible, we’ve demonstrated it — confirming the Cabinet at the fastest pace in 20 years and recently breaking the Democrats’ historic nominations blockade, which will allow us to begin clearing the mounting backlog,” a spokeswoman for Thune said.
Thune has <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/senate-republicans-implement-plan-to-push-through-federal-nominees-as-shutdown-looms">implemented plans</a> to break the Democrat blockade. His procedural change allows for an unlimited number of federal nominations to be approved “en bloc” — simultaneously — so long as they were not judicial or cabinet-level positions.
READ MORE: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/senate-republicans-implement-plan-to-push-through-federal-nominees-as-shutdown-looms">Senate Republicans Implement Plan To Push Through Federal Nominees As Shutdown Looms</a>
But this doesn&#8217;t apply to the United Nations post, the most prominent unfilled cabinet post in the Trump administration. It was originally slated to be filled by New York congresswoman Elise Stefanik, who stepped aside during the confirmation process to return to Congress and bolster the Republican majority. Waltz was tapped by Trump in May after a stint as the president&#8217;s top foreign policy advisor in the White House.
Trump&#8217;s appearance comes as he works to negotiate a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine, as well as an end to Israel&#8217;s war on Hamas in Gaza. Trump has been a juggernaut on the world stage, and has been nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize for his work to negotiate the end of conflicts around the world.
READ MORE: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/pax-trumpana-trumps-resume-for-winning-the-nobel-peace-prize">Pax Trumpana: Trump’s Nobel Peace Prize Resume</a>
Secretary of State Marco Rubio has taken the lead on the United Nations ahead of the general assembly. Rubio <a href="http://dailywire.com/news/rubio-bars-mahmoud-abbas-from-entering-u-s-ahead-of-palestinian-statehood-push-at-un">blocked Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas</a> from entering the country, in anticipation of a push for Palestinian statehood at the gathering of world leaders.
Republicans almost certainly have the votes to confirm Waltz when the vote takes place. His nomination was delayed by Democrats, who managed to get Waltz and a handful of other nominees sent back to committee. He was approved by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee despite a &#8220;no&#8221; vote from Republican senator Rand Paul.
Waltz has <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/make-the-un-great-again-waltz-challenges-antisemitism-china-favoritism-at-united-nations">pledged</a> to &#8220;Make the UN Great Again,&#8221; if confirmed.

President Trump Meets With NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte In The Oval Office Of The White House

Trump Heads To The UN Next Week. Will He Have His UN Ambassador?

John Thune

Mike Waltz

U.S. Senate

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