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August 27, 2025
FDA ends broad Covid vaccine authorization as RFK Jr. limits access to immunizations
(CNBC) The Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday ended its broader authorization of Covid vaccines in the U.S., only clearing shots for people at higher risk of severe illness. “The emergency use authorizations for Covid vaccines, once used to justify broad mandates on the general public during the Biden administration, are now rescinded,” Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said in a post on X. It follows several efforts by Kennedy, a prominent vaccine skeptic, to change and undermine immunizations in the U.S.
Go to discussionPolice say gunman is 'contained' after mass shooting at south Minneapolis church
(KARE) The Minneapolis Police Department confirmed an active shooter allegedly opened fire at a church on the city's south side Wednesday morning. An army of police and paramedics arrived at Annunciation Church, 509 W. 54th Street around 8:30 a.m., where Richfield police reported a man dressed in black and armed with a rifle was spotted on the scene. Police confirm there are approximately 20 victims, but did not share details of their status.
Go to discussionDemocrat Catelin Drey wins Iowa Senate special election, breaking Republican supermajority
(Des Moines Register) Democrat Catelin Drey has pulled off a victory in a special election for the Iowa Senate, flipping a Republican-held seat and breaking the GOP's supermajority in the chamber for the first time in three years. Drey won with 55% of the vote to Republican Christopher Prosch's 44%, according to unofficial results from the Woodbury County Auditor's Office. Gov. Kim Reynolds called the election to fill a vacancy in Iowa Senate District 1 after Republican Sen. Rocky De Witt died of pancreatic cancer in June.
Go to discussionCandidates head for a runoff in north metro state Senate race
(Atlanta Journal-Constitution) A Democrat will move into a runoff election to represent a stretch of Fulton and Cherokee counties that has been a Republican stronghold for decades and overwhelmingly voted for President Donald Trump last November. Debra Shigley, an Alpharetta resident and former attorney, was the top finisher in a special election to replace state Sen. Brandon Beach, whom Trump tapped earlier this year to serve as U.S. treasurer. Shigley, the lone Democrat in the race, finished with 39.5% of the vote, benefiting from Republican votes splitting among six GOP candidates.
Go to discussionDeploy National Guard to Chicago? Trump Says He Has 'The Right to Do Anything I Want to Do.'
(New York Times) President Trump declared on Tuesday that he had unlimited power as president to deploy the National Guard in any state, after musing whether people would call him a dictator for doing so. In a televised cabinet meeting that lasted more than three hours, Mr. Trump attacked Gov. JB Pritzker of Illinois, a Democrat who has pushed back against a threat by the president to deploy troops in Chicago in an expansion of the crackdown on crime he is conducting in Washington.
Trump Administration Plans To Take Control Of D.C.'s Union Station
(Huff Post) In March, the White House forced the CEO of U.S. passenger railroad company Amtrak, Stephen Gardner, to step down following orders by President Donald Trump. The plan to reclaim Union Station follows Trump’s move this month to deploy hundreds of National Guard troops to Washington after he took control of the local police department over the objections of local leaders.
Go to discussionDonald Trump Reveals New 'Comprehensive Crime Bill'
(Newsweek) President Donald Trump has announced that he is working with House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune on a "Comprehensive Crime Bill." Trump, in a post on his Truth Social platform, said he was working with Republicans on comprehensive new legislation on crime. "Speaker Mike Johnson, and Leader John Thune, are working with me, and other Republicans, on a Comprehensive Crime Bill. It's what our Country need, and NOW! More to follow," Trump wrote. He did not elaborate.
Go to discussionTown Hall Attendee Bursts Out Laughing After GOP Congressman Warns About 'The Ottoman Empire'
(Mediaite) A town hall attendee burst into laughter on Tuesday after Rep. Josh Brecheen (R-OK) warned about the second coming of the Ottoman Empire and the implementation of Sharia Law in the United States. During the chaotic town hall – which saw Brecheen be booed, heckled, and confronted throughout – the congressman claimed: "We’ve got Sharia Law trying to be set up in America today. Guys, we cannot go turning into chaos. We’ve been really good to each other today. Turkey has a president who has made statements relative to re-establishing the Ottoman Empire."
Go to discussionDenmark summons top US diplomat over alleged Greenland influence operation
(BBC) Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen has summoned the top US diplomat in Copenhagen, following a report that American citizens have been conducting "covert influence operations" in Greenland. Denmark's public broadcaster DR quoted sources as saying the aim was to infiltrate Greenland's society and promote its secession from Denmark to the US, although it was unable to clarify whether the men were working on their own.
Go to discussionGhislaine Maxwell serves Trump like she served Jeffrey Epstein
(Salon) Between his effective takeover of Washington, D.C., and empty gestures like faux-banning flag-burning, Donald Trump has successfully bounced his Jeffrey Epstein scandal from mainstream news headlines. But there are still signs that the larger American public — including the conspiracist portion of Trump’s MAGA base — is not yet ready to move on. It remains true that the child sex predator once described Trump as his “closest friend” and that the White House has reneged on promises the president made during the 2024 campaign to release the voluminous FBI files collected over the course of two federal investigations into Epstein for sex crimes against minors.
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