Republicans Decide to Focus on Biden Autopen as Shutdown Stretches On

House Republicans have turned their focus back to former President Joe Biden’s “autopen” while regular Americans—particuarly federal workers and SNAP recipients—suffer the consequences of the ongoing government shutdown. 

The House Oversight Committee issued a 93-page report Tuesday on Biden’s use of the autopen, a fairly standard practice among U.S. presidents, and called on the Department of Justice to begin an investigation. The report urges Attorney General Pam Bondi to consider whether the pardons or clemency Biden granted to individuals  are still valid, as well as any “executive actions that were signed using the Autopen.”

The Republican report alleges a “cover-up of the president’s cognitive decline” on the part of Dr. Kevin O’Connor and Biden aides Anthony Bernal and Annie Tomasini. 

“The cost of the scheme to hide the fallout of President Biden’s diminished physical and mental acuity was great but will likely never be fully calculated,” the report reads. “Barring evidence of executive actions taken during the Biden presidency showing that [he] indeed took a particular executive action, the committee deems those actions taken through use of the autopen as void.”

Of course, the GOP’s  probe did not include any evidence that anyone other than Biden made the decisions that his staff later carried out. Rather, it seems like another Trump vendetta, this time during the longest full shutdown in U.S. history.

“Other than the Rigged Presidential Election of 2020, the Biggest Scandal in American History is the ‘AUTOPEN!’ Whoever used it was usurping the power of the Presidency, and it should be very easy to find out who that person (or persons) is,” Trump posted back in May. “They did things that a Joe Biden, of sound mind, would have never done, like, Open Borders, Transgender for everyone, men in women’s sports, and far more. Fear not, however, we will bring America BACK, BIGGER, BETTER, AND STRONGER THAN EVER BEFORE!”

Biden has repeatedly said that he made every final decision in the White House. 

President Donald Trump’s feeble attempts to kiss up to yet another authoritarian leader don’t appear to be working.

Ahead of Trump’s visit to Asia this week, the U.S. president made efforts to meet with Kim Jong Un, suggesting that he could use discussions about sanctions to bring North Korea’s reclusive leader to the table. It seems to have failed.

North Korea released a statement Tuesday that appeared to express support for China in ongoing trade disputes with the United States, according to journalist John Delury. The statement described a spokesperson for the Chinese government’s response to Trump’s recent threat to impose 100 percent tariffs on China starting on November 1.

“It is not a proper way of interacting with China to threaten China with high tariffs rather than reflecting upon themselves, the spokesperson added and urged the U.S. to correct its wrong approach,” the statement said.

Meanwhile, North Korea’s top diplomat Choe Son Hui met with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday, and expressed “invariable sympathy” and support for Russia’s efforts in its military campaign against Ukraine, Delury reported.

“Everything is going according to plan. Please convey my best wishes to him (Kim),” Putin told Choe, according to Reuters. North Korea has deployed an estimated 10,000 troops in Russia’s war in Ukraine, in return for military and economic aid from Russia.

On Monday, Trump met with the families of Japanese citizens abducted by the North Korean government, which Delury suggested meant he may have given up on the hope of meeting with the notorious dictator. It appears that Trump’s disastrous foreign economic policy has only pushed Russia, North Korea, and China closer together.

Zohran Mamdani has been forced to explain what the word “aunt” means in South Asian culture.

On Friday, the Democratic nominee for New York City mayor made a speech about Islamophobia outside of a Bronx mosque. The speech highlighted how Muslims in New York City deal with discrimination and prejudice, especially after the 9/11 attacks. Mamdani spoke of a personal experience where one of his loved ones was fearful of experiencing prejudice in the city.

“I want to speak to the memory of my aunt who stopped taking the subway after September 11 because she did not feel safe in her hijab,” Mamdani said, while getting emotional. “I want to speak to the Muslim who works for our city, whether they teach in our schools or walk the beat for the NYPD.”

But, rather than actually listening to his story or perhaps engaging in some introspection about prejudice others face in America, right-wing media seized upon Mamdani’s mention of his “aunt” to try to claim some kind of gotcha. The Murdoch-owned New York Post and Fox News both claimed to find Mamdani’s actual aunt, who doesn’t wear a head covering.

On Tuesday morning, Mamdani had to clarify what the word “aunt” means in South Asian culture, explaining that he was speaking about his father’s cousin Zehra fuhi, who passed away a few years ago. An “aunt” can refer not just to a sister of a parent but to any elder female relative or even a friend or acquaintance.

Some right-wing commentators then tried to claim “Zehra Fuhi” isn’t a real person, believing fuhi is a surname, rather than a term for paternal aunt in Urdu, Hindi, and Gujarati.

The whole saga is another bigoted attempt to smear Mamdani based on his religion. Mamdani’s opponent Andrew Cuomo, along with right-wing media, has made multiple Islamophobic attacks in a desperate attempt to gain ground on the surging Democratic candidate. Cuomo and the media have tried to claim that Mamdani is pro-Hamas, wants a global intifada, and is close to Siraj Wahaj, an imam in the city baselessly accused of supporting the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. These efforts have only demonstrated how pervasive Islamophobia is in New York and American politics, proving the points Mamdani made in his Bronx speech.

Senator Elizabeth Warren has called for an investigation into former Barclays CEO Jes Staley and “all current and former U.S. banking executives who may have facilitated Jeffrey Epstein’s illicit conduct,” according to a letter seen by The Guardian.

Staley, who, like the Democratic senator, is from Massachusetts, was known as one of the chief financial enablers of Epstein, allowing the late sexual predator to continue his account with JPMorgan in the midst of his crimes coming to light. The New York Times described Staley as Epstein’s “chief defender” at JPMorgan, which processed more than a billion dollars for him even as Epstein’s abuse and trafficking crimes were public.

Warren also noted that Staley is already banned for life in the U.K. banking industry for his connections to Epstein, and referred to court documents suggesting that Staley told Epstein about the bank’s apprehension toward him (and his large cash withdrawals), allowing him to alter his approach so that his account wouldn’t raise further suspicion.

JPMorgan has paid $290 million in settlements to Epstein’s victims, but according to Warren, “Staley has so far avoided accountability in the United States.”

Warren has urged the Federal Reserve Board, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, or OCC, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, or FDIC, to announce plans for an investigation by November 7.

“It is critical to send a message to the public and current bank employees that this type of egregious misconduct has no place in the American banking system,” Warren wrote.

“Staley is not the only bank executive with concerning ties to Epstein. For example, according to Staley’s sworn deposition, he discussed Epstein with [JPMorgan] CEO Jamie Dimon on at least two occasions,” she continued. “The Fed, OCC, and FDIC should investigate any other current or former banking executives who engaged in similar conduct to determine whether their conduct satisfies the legal standards for a ban on working in the banking industry and civil monetary penalties.… Any banking executives who facilitated the crimes of one of the world’s most notorious sex criminals should be held to account.”

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth won’t even look at any soldiers with beards during his upcoming South Korean engagement.

An email from the 51st Fighter Wing at Osan Air Base in South Korea formally restricts any “members with shaving waivers” from attending the military chief’s speaking engagement at Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, according to a screenshot shared to an unofficial Air Force Facebook page. The post was made on Sunday, ahead of Hegseth’s visit to South Korea alongside Donald Trump.

The memo underscored that unshaven members are “NOT authorized” to attend the event.

“No Beardos allowed at Osan,” the post captioned the image.

An Air Force official confirmed the memo’s authenticity to Task & Purpose.

Last month, Hegseth ordered hundreds of America’s top military commanders to leave their international posts to attend a mandatory in-person assembly in Quantico, Virginia. The meeting unveiled the hairphobic ex–Fox News host’s latest efforts to de-woke the country’s armed forces—part of which included snipping shaving waivers away entirely.

That policy is expected to disproportionately affect Black service members due to the potentially injurious effects of frequently shaving their faces, given the curl pattern of their hair.

“No more beardos,” Hegseth said, during his September address. “Calling someone to shave, or work hard, is exactly the kind of work force we want.”

“The era of rampant and ridiculous shaving profiles is done,” Hegseth continued, adding that anyone unwilling to comply should look for a “new position or a new profession.”

Hegseth is far from the first commander to redefine the military’s relationship with facial hair. The armed forces have a long and strange history with beards, changing hygiene requirements and regulations every few decades.

But that’s far from Hegseth’s only hyperfixation on physical appearance. In the same address, Hegseth also announced that he would be changing physical standards for combat roles to the “highest male standard only,” a revision that could eject women from their positions.

Hegseth has openly said before that he does not believe women should serve in combat roles. During a November interview on The Shawn Ryan Show, Hegseth said, “I’m straight-up just saying we should not have women in combat roles. It hasn’t made us more effective. Hasn’t made us more lethal. Has made fighting more complicated.”

Immigration and Customs Enforcement leadership is reportedly being replaced in favor of the more aggressive leadership tactics of U.S. Border Patrol—who don’t care about only detaining immigrants with criminal records—as friction grows in the Department of Homeland Security over unsatisfactory deportation rates.

Four senior sources in President Donald Trump’s administration and DHS told Fox News’s national correspondent Bill Melugin Monday night that nationwide staffing shakeups were underway. ICE field office directors are reportedly being removed in Denver, El Paso, New Orleans, Philadelphia, Phoenix, San Diego, as well as Portland and Los Angeles, where massive ICE operations have been ongoing.

Corey Lewandowski, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem’s rather disruptive special government employee, compiled the list of ICE officials to be reassigned.

Despite Trump’s sweeping deportation efforts, his administration is still falling short of White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller’s goal of 3,000 immigration arrests per day. As of late September, ICE was detaining an average of only 1,178 people per day.

This has led to “significant friction” at the DHS, Melugin reported. ICE’s style of more targeted operations, helmed by Tom Homan and Todd Lyons, is now considered too mild for the sweeping ethnic cleansing the Trump administration has planned. Instead, Lewandowski and Noem hope the roaming hordes of Border Patrol officers will weed out scores of noncitizens to deport.

“What did everyone think mass deportations meant? Only the worst? Tom Homan has said it himself, anyone in the U.S. illegally is on the table,” one Border Patrol officer told Melugin.

Not only does Border Patrol care less about pursuing the “worst” undocumented immigrants with criminal rap sheets, but it has an aggressive style that lends itself to Trump’s vision of made-for-television deportation raids.

“President Donald Trump’s top aides have welcomed Border Patrol’s more aggressive tactics to secure arrests, such as rappelling into apartment buildings from Black Hawk helicopters and jumping out of rental trucks in Home Depot parking lots, as they’ve become disappointed with ICE,” one DHS official told NBC News.

“The mentality is CBP does what they’re told, and the administration thinks ICE isn’t getting the job done,” another DHS official told NBC News. “So CBP will do it.”

As has become the standard for her, DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin offered a statement that did not reflect reality at all. “While we have no personnel changes to announce at this time, the Trump administration remains laser-focused on delivering results and removing violent criminal illegal aliens from this country,” she told Fox News.

The Trump administration’s war on Tylenol is having real legal ramifications in Texas.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued the acetaminophen brand’s parent company Tuesday, regurgitating Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s talking points about the drug’s alleged ties to autism rates.  

Last month, Kennedy and Donald Trump told Americans that the number one drug prescribed to pregnant patients for pain relief and fever reduction was actually not safe to take, despite an overwhelming lack of evidence to support their claim.

But their comments have now morphed into a serious legal challenge that could have huge ramifications for one of America’s biggest drugmakers. Citing Kennedy’s comments, Paxton argued that Johnson & Johnson failed to adequately warn consumers that Tylenol use during pregnancy posed a “significantly increased risk of autism” and ADHD.

“Big Pharma betrayed America by profiting off of pain and pushing pills regardless of the risks. These corporations lied for decades, knowingly endangering millions to line their pockets,” Paxton said in a statement. “Additionally, seeing that the day of reckoning was coming, Johnson & Johnson attempted to escape responsibility by illegally offloading their liability onto a different company. By holding Big Pharma accountable for poisoning our people, we will help Make America Healthy Again.” 

More than any other over-the-counter drug, doctors have recommended Tylenol for pregnant people due to its wide availability and its well-researched safety. It has been on the market since 1955, and is considered to be the single safest fever reducer and painkiller for pregnant women. Because of this, it’s also one of the few pain medications that expecting parents are allowed to consume, and they do consume it: Studies have found that two-thirds of pregnant women in the U.S. consume Tylenol during their pregnancies. 

The flip side of not taking Tylenol to, say, reduce a fever, is that it puts a developing fetus at risk for serious defects such as spina bifida and anencephaly.

The drug—which is really just acetaminophen—is so safe that governments around the world launched public education campaigns for their own residents in the wake of Kennedy’s announcement, urging pregnant people not to stop consuming the drug over the Trump administration’s unfounded fears.

“The conditions people use acetaminophen to treat during pregnancy are far more dangerous than any theoretical risks and can create severe morbidity and mortality for the pregnant person and the fetus,” Dr. Steven J. Fleischman, president of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, said in a statement in September following the announcement.

Combating autism is the cornerstone of Kennedy’s public health policy. Kennedy is a part of a growing movement of anti-vax parents who refuse to provide their children with the same public health advantages that they received in their youth, mostly in fear of thoroughly debunked conspiracy theories that, at one point, linked autism to the jab. 

The researcher who sparked that myth with a fraudulent paper lost his medical license and eventually rescinded his opinion. Since then, dozens of studies have proven there’s no correlation between autism and vaccines, including one study that surveyed more than 660,000 children over the course of 11 years.

But confusion persists regarding the basic figures. A study published by the Autism Society of Texas found that one in 31 people are estimated to have autism—a disturbingly sharp uptick from figures released in 2006 that found about one in every 110 children were diagnosed with autism by age eight. 

But behind those numbers is a different story, since the definition of autism was broadened in that same time span. Increased research, social destigmatization, and improved mental health screening have also contributed to the inflated numbers.

President Trump took some time to ramble about how much he despises attractive people while he spoke to troops aboard the USS George Washington at the Yokosuka Naval Base in Yokosuka, Japan. 

“It comes from you people, incredible people, good-looking people—too many good-looking people,” Trump said during his speech. “I don’t like good-looking people. I never liked good people, I’ll be honest with you. I’ve never admitted that before.” 

He then appeared to reference the Supreme Court’s ruling overturning affirmative action, claiming that he reinstalled merit in the United States. 

“You know, we won in the Supreme Court, a thing based on merit. You know about that right? Merit. Everything now in our country is based on merit. And that’s why I look at you and I see nothing but merit. It’s great to have a country back where we can go by merit now, we don’t go by anything else, except for talent and work and hard work.” 

These bizarre tangents are all too common for the president. He claims to be doing his famous “weave,” but watching clips like these remind us that this is a 79-year old-former reality TV host who brags about acing dementia and Alzheimer’s exams. 

His disdain for hot people wasn’t the only strange moment of Trump’s address to U.S. troops. He lied that energy and grocery prices are “way down.” They are not. He also told the sailors to “go out and buy a Toyota” and said that former President Joe Biden claimed to be a pilot, which seems to be completely made up. Is it the aviators?  

During a welcoming ceremony in Tokyo Tuesday, Donald Trump appeared to forget where he was going as he walked through a room filled with dignitaries and a military band, at one point even leaving Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi behind.

It’s another example of the president’s ongoing cognitive decline and health issues, which are becoming more apparent with each of his public appearances. On Monday, the president revealed on Air Force One that a visit to Walter Reed Medical Center earlier this month was to get an MRI as part of what he described as a “routine yearly checkup,” despite the fact that his yearly physical exam was six months ago.

Neither the president nor White House officials have revealed why he got the MRI, and Trump also talked at length about a very hard “aptitude test” he received at the military hospital, claiming that members of Congress such as Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Jasmine Crockett wouldn’t have performed well.

Trump said the tests at the time included questions about “tigers, an elephant, a giraffe,” which sounds like he took a test to check for Alzheimer’s, dementia, or other cognitive issues. Such tests being conducted only six months after his yearly physical are a worrying sign, especially considering that Trump has also been spotted with discoloration on his hands and mysterious bruises.

Trump is visiting Japan hoping to shore up Japanese investment in the United States, just after the country elected the right-wing Takaichi as its first female prime minister. But aside from the U.S. economy’s health, the president’s health appears to be cause for concern.

Donald Trump has let thousands of criminals off the hook, so why not himself?

The president is pushing to appeal his criminal conviction in New York in an effort to undo his status as a convicted felon, reported Politico.

In a 96-page legal brief filed to the New York Supreme Court Monday, Trump once again argued that the outcome of the trial should be completely disregarded since the Supreme Court expanded the scope of presidential immunity.

“This case should never have seen the inside of a courtroom, let alone resulted in a conviction,” his attorneys wrote.

Trump was convicted in May 2024 after a high-profile trial found him guilty of issuing hush money payments to porn star Stormy Daniels, but he never faced consequences. He wasn’t scheduled to be sentenced until after the presidential election, the outcome of which effectively undid any chance of holding him accountable.

Instead, Justice Juan Merchan let Trump off in January with “unconditional discharge,” which he wrote at the time had become “the most viable solution” for Trump. As a result, Trump received a future in which he would not be hampered down with fines, court-appointed supervision, or incarceration for breaking the law.

Trump has tried several times to unravel his conviction. He was found guilty on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records. He will remain a felon until an appellate court overturns his case, an act that he and his attorneys have already tried a handful of times to achieve without success.

In the legal brief, Trump’s team argued that the Supreme Court’s decision should have precluded prosecutors from utilizing evidence tied to Trump’s “official acts,” such as testimony about communications between Trump and Hope Hicks, the former White House communications director.