Ohio Senator and Republican vice-presidential nominee JD Vance claimed that some teenagers become transgender to enhance their chances of being admitted into Ivy league universities. In an interview on podcast “The Joe Rogan Experience”, Vance also suggested that testosterone levels in young men are linked with conservative politics and that some women “celebrate” their abortions. He commented that he and former President Donald Trump could likely win the “normal gay guy vote”. There is no data to support Vance’s assertion that being transgender increases the likelihood of Ivy league admission. Rogan countered several of Vance’s claims, including the idea that any significant number of people celebrate abortions.
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The UCHealth Greeley Hospital in Colorado went into lockdown following a shooting in its parking lot on Thursday. A 35-year-old woman with gunshot wounds walked into the hospital’s emergency department, and is expected to survive. The suspect, a 38-year-old male, fled the scene and barricaded himself in a house around five miles away. The vehicle caught fire and spread to the house, the suspect was then found dead inside. Police believe the shooting was a result of domestic violence and the perpetrator knew the victim.
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Russia’s torture of Ukrainian civilians and captives of war is a crime against humanity, according to the UN. The ongoing investigations are examining the use of violent practices and sexual violence as a form of torture at Ukrainian detention centres controlled by Russians. Detainees reported “routinely harsh practices” as well as violent treatment during interrogations, with surveillance cameras used to observe them. The investigators say the authorities took no action to stop the torture or ill-treatment, and evidence suggests that the Russian authorities acted intentionally to torture civilians and prisoners of war, constituting a coordinated state policy.
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Former Representative Liz Cheney has criticized Donald Trump after he suggested she should have “guns trained on her face,” referring to him as a “cruel, unstable man.” The comments were made by Trump at an Arizona event, where he described critics of his administration as “war hawks.” Cheney, who openly endorses Vice President Kamala Harris, has accused the former president of being a threat to democracy and has often criticized his handling of the Capitol riot in January 2021. Cheney’s father, former Republican Vice President Dick Cheney, has also publicly cast his vote for Harris. Liz Cheney lost the Republican primary in 2022 to a pro-Trump candidate.
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Edward Jay Epstein, an American investigative journalist, has criticised President Donald Trump’s management style. He claimed that Trump promotes in-fighting among his aides, and discredits them with his outside allies. His criticisms have been heightened following leaks of internal dissent within the White House and plummeting approval ratings. References were made to Trump directives such as calling former strategist Steve Bannon a “scumbag”, and accusing counsellor Kellyanne Conway of being a “wildcard”.
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The personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index, a key indicator of US inflation, rose by 2.1% in September, down from 2.2% in August. This is the lowest level since 2021 and is seen as a success for the Federal Reserve, which was aiming to reduce inflation to 2%. In a move from its previous stance that price growth would be “transitory”, the Federal Reserve raised interest rates to a 20-year high before beginning to cut them again in September. Despite this positive development, the high cost of living continues to be a hot topic ahead of the US presidential election. Furthermore, almost half of US citizens surveyed in a recent poll wrongly believe that the country is in recession.
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Mark Longo, a resident of rural Pine City, New York, is pleading for the return of his pet squirrel, Peanut, who was seized by the state Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC). The DEC officers raided his home following complaints that he was keeping wildlife as pets, which is against state laws. Peanut had gained hundreds of thousands of followers on social media with his playful and amusing antics documented by Longo. A raccoon named Fred was also taken during the raid. Longo fears that Peanut, who he had kept for seven years, may have been euthanized.
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has criticised the inadequate reaction of western allies to the involvement of North Korean troops in Russia’s conflict with Ukraine. The US and South Korea have called on China to use its influence over Russia and North Korea to prevent escalation. Anton Blinken, the US Secretary of State, said around 8,000 North Korean troops are currently stationed in Russia on the border with Ukraine, with the belief that Russia is preparing to deploy them. China has so far remained silent on the situation. Meanwhile, Russian forces have reportedly captured another village in eastern Ukraine.
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Donald Trump has asserted he will “protect” women, but a majority of women appear unimpressed. The latest ABC News/Ipsos national poll shows the Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris enjoys a 14% lead among women over Trump, rising to 23% among women with a college degree and 34% among women under 40. The Brookings Institution suggests this owes to anger among women about the 2022 Dobbs decision. The same poll showed a 10-point swing to Harris among voters over 65 compared to 2020, some suggesting this is due to the “revenge of Boomer feminists”. Early voting tallies show women accounting for 55% of all ballots cast in battleground states such as Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania.
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Author Michael Wolff has claimed that Jeffrey Epstein had photographs of Donald Trump with topless young women from the late 1990s at his Palm Beach home. Wolff speculates that these photos may have been among evidence seized by the FBI from Epstein’s home in 2019. In response, a spokesperson for the Trump campaign accused Wolff of fabricating lies to sell his books. Trump and Epstein were known to be friends in the 1990s, but sources say Trump severed ties with Epstein after learning of sex trafficking allegations against him. Wolff states that Epstein was a key source for him while writing his book Fire & Fury, and felt that Epstein was living in fear of Trump.
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John Q. Hosedrinker