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US/World News - HooCares?
Special Comment re: Project Next Departure
Mutual Decision
Didn’t appreciate how it was handled on their recent show
Already planning my exit
Was never a great fit
Their goal is to present information without the “fear, hate, and division.”
That is a worthy goal - it is important to have these conversations with your neighbors
BUT, it is important to distinguish between Republican voters and MAGA Republican apparatchiks
The GOP is actively participating in a fascistic, nationalist project
These words have meaning.
It is not “bullying” to say so.
I love Sarah and Tim, and appreciate our time working together, but I told them as we parted ways that I was afraid their network was falling into a pattern of both-sidesism, false equivalency. THERE IS NO FAR-LEFT COUNTERPART TO THE FAR-RIGHT in America.
Immigration
Religious Fundamentalism
Economy
Strongman Rule vs Democracy
I end every show with “Love each other, Indiana.” I am a peaceful, tolerant person. But I fucking hate nazis.
I HATE that the Republican project has used amplified lies, obfuscation and yes, FEAR to DIVIDE Americans for decades, keeping us fighting amongst each other while they sell our country for parts.
And you SHOULD BE AFRAID - they are actively speed-running fascism in front of our eyes. I’m afraid. But courage is holding that fear and going forward anyway.
I’ve seen A Christmas Story hundreds of times - I know the only way to handle a bully is to punch them back.
HooCares Headlines
Tuesday is Election Day ‘25, and though it is an off-year election, it will be the first major opportunity to check the electoral temperature of the country in the second Trump administration. Four things to look at:
In Virginia (where polls close at 7pm ET) governors are limited to a single four-year term and - remember when Glenn Youngkin was the future of the Republican party. Vying to replace him are Republican LG Winsome Earle-Sears and former Democratic congresswoman Abigail Spanberger. Spanberger, also a former CIA agent, is leading in the polls by double digits.
In New Jersey, we should begin to see results shortly after polls close at 8pm. There, Mikie Sherrill - former naval officer federal prosecutor- and current US representative faces Republican former state assemblyman Jack Ciattarelli. Again, the Democrat is expected to win, though polling there is significantly closer.
Across the Hudson, in New York City, a high profile mayoral race will come to an end, with Democratic Socialist Zohran Mamdani facing fascist paramilitary goon Curtis Sliwa and sleazebag Andrew Cuomo. Mamdani, the 34 state assemblyman is expected to cruise, though polling has tightened somewhat recently. Polls close at 9pm Tuesday.
Finally, on the other side of the country, California Governor Gavin Newsom is leading the push to persuade voters there to redraw the state’s congressional maps created by an independent redistricting commission. This is in response to Republican efforts in several states to steal congressional seats via unprecedented mid-decade redistricting. Polls there close at 11pm ET, but last fall, final tallies weren’t available until nearly two weeks later.
Redistricting efforts underway in multiple states
Texas*, Missouri*, Kansas, Utah, Louisiana, North Carolina*, Virginia, Maryland
Indiana’s governor called a special session to redraw congressional maps
Virginia’s legislature passed a resolution in the House (51-42) giving itself power to redraw congressional districts mid-cycle.
The Virginia Senate followed up with a 21-16 vote approving the proposed constitutional amendment.
Ohio’s redistricting commission unanimously approved a new U.S. House map that increases GOP odds of flipping two Democratic-held seats.
A federal three-judge panel allowed plaintiffs (including North Carolina NAACP and Common Cause) to amend their lawsuit to include the newly drawn 1st Congressional District.
Voting-rights groups raised alarm that the newly approved map “dismantles” the Black Belt region’s influence in the 1st District and moves counties with significant Black populations out of that district.
DNC moves forward with new 2028 calendar
The Democratic National Committee is requiring states to apply by Jan. 16, which would establish the new lineup of states to be set sometime next year. The committee is using similar criteria for an early calendar slot as 2022, calling for a regionally diverse set of states. The window could include up to five states that would vote before Super Tuesday, the DNC said.
ICY Chicago
Noem rejects Pritzker’s request to suspend immigration operations on Halloween
Pritzker made the request in a letter Wednesday to Noem, Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons and Border Patrol Commissioner Matthew Scott. In the letter, he referenced the operation earlier this week on the northwest side of Chicago in which agents deployed tear gas as children were gathering for a costume parade.
“No, we’re absolutely not willing to put on pause any work that we will do to keep communities safe,” Noem said in a news conference Thursday, calling Pritzker’s request “shameful.”
Halloween Clashes Erupt as Immigration Agents Hit Chicago-Area
Progressive House candidate Kat Abughazaleh indicted for allegedly conspiring to injure officers during anti-ICE protests
The indictment alleges Abughazaleh conspired with others to impede a law enforcement officer from carrying out his duties on Sept. 26 by surrounding his vehicle and banging “aggressively” to prevent it from moving outside of the Broadview facility’s staging area.”
Vance fills in for slain Kirk in more ways than one?
After Turning Point USA’s college tour visited IU last week - and right-wing conspiracy theorist Tucker Carlson headlined the show filling in for late founder Charlie Kirk, they were at the University of Mississippi this week, with Vice President JD Vance playing the Kirk role. But, more than any statement Vance made, or the fact that the sitting veep has nothing better to do than cosplay as a podcaster, the story coming out of the event was the hug he shared with Kirk’s widow. With his wife Usha in the audience, the “Hillbilly Elegy” author and tech douche embraced Erika Kirk in a manner that looked more than “just friendly”.
Trump in Asia
The president, meanwhile, spent much of the week in Asia, landing in Kuala Lumpur last Sunday for this year’s ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) summit and immediately overseeing a truce signing between Thailand and Cambodia, related to a brief five-day skirmish in July. The two sides blame each other for the short conflict, in which at least 48 people were killed and about 300,000 displaced. Inevitably Trump will brag about having ended another war.
While in the area, on Monday a US Navy helicopter and fighter jet crashed in South China Sea in separate incidents. The Navy has launched an investigation into the cause of both incidents. Meanwhile called the crashes “very unusual” and raised the possibility of a fuel problem. “They think it might be bad fuel. We’re gonna find out.” Some analysts are suggesting sabotage or electronic warfare from China, but Pete Hegseth’s “Department of War” has seen a rash of lost craft in varied locations acros the globe.
Tuesday, the president met new prime minister Sanae Takaichi in Japan, where “the two leaders signed a deal on rare earth minerals, as well as a document heralding a new “golden age” of US-Japan relations.”
Wednesday, South Korea showered Trump with the royal treatment, where the two nations advanced trade talks, addressing details of $350bn that would be invested in the US economy, after negotiations and ceremonies that included the presentation of a gold medal and crown to US President Donald Trump. Although both sides said progress has been made — Trump said things were “pretty much finalised” — no agreement has been signed yet. The framework includes gradual investments, cooperation on shipbuilding and the lowering of Trump’s tariffs on South Korea’s automobile exports.
Finally on Thursday, Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping announced they have reached a trade deal, potentially easing tensions in the volatile US-China relationship. The heads of state sealed a one-year trade truce on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in South Korea, where the two leaders met face-to-face for the first time since 2019. While the agreement offered a reprieve to businesses unsettled by months of back-and-forth trade salvoes, it did little to roll back existing trade barriers and left numerous points of contention between the sides unresolved. Under the deal, China agreed to defer its planned export controls on rare earths, while the US will drop a threatened 100 percent tariff on Chinese goods. Trump said he would also lower a 20 percent fentanyl-related tariff to 10 percent after Xi agreed to “work very hard” to stem flows of the synthetic opiate.
Trump tells Pentagon to resume testing US nuclear weapons
“Because of other countries testing programs, I have instructed the Department of War to start testing our Nuclear Weapons on an equal basis,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social late Wednesday. “That process will begin immediately.”
It was not immediately clear what type of testing programs Trump was referring to in the announcement, which was made shortly before meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Busan, South Korea.
Nations with nuclear stockpiles, including the U.S., regularly conduct tests of their nuclear weapons delivery systems, but nearly all stopped testing nuclear weapons 30 years ago.
Russian President Vladimir Putin announced this week that the country had conducted successful tests of the new nuclear-powered Burevestnik cruise missile and an atomic-powered and nuclear-capable underwater Poseidon drone. But according to the AP, Russia has not conducted a test of a nuclear warhead since 1990.
While speaking to reporters on Air Force One on his way back to Washington, D.C., on Thursday, Trump seemed to conflate the tests of nuclear delivery systems with the tests of nuclear weapons themselves.
Fascism Watch - Pentagon Orders National Guard to Establish Quick-Reaction Forces for Civil Unrest, Riots
The Pentagon has ordered the National Guard to create “quick reaction” forces in every state and territory by January that are trained and equipped to respond to riots and civil unrest within the U.S., according to internal Defense Department memos.
The riot control units are a major shift for the Pentagon, underscoring the Trump administration’s push to directly involve the military in responding to protests and other domestic missions that have been off-limits except in emergencies.
As many as 500 soldiers in each state or territory National Guard organization will be assigned to deploy in the U.S. on short notice and receive nonlethal training in crowd control, handling of detainees and use of batons, stun guns and body shields, according to the Pentagon directives.
Most state National Guard organizations have existing quick reaction forces that have historically been used for domestic disaster relief, where their mission would include area security and re-establishing essential services, not on domestic law enforcement or crowd control.
Shutdown Continues
The US is set to lose between $7bn and $14bn as a result of the ongoing federal government shutdown, according to the congressional budget office.
On Wednesday, the nonpartisan federal agency released its estimates in a new report to the House budget committee as the government shutdown reaches four weeks.
According to the report, the shutdown will also reduce the US’s GDP by one to two percentage points in the fourth quarter of 2025.
Republicans quickly push back on Trump’s call to nix filibuster
GOP leaders believed Thursday they were on track to reopen agencies as soon as next week. Then Trump threw a fresh complication into their laps overnight when he revived calls for Republicans to invoke the “nuclear option” and eliminate the 60-vote threshold for passing most legislation. Without it, Republican senators could reopen the government on their own.
But many GOP senators have vocally defended the filibuster, including Majority Leader John Thune, calling the 60-vote rule a fundamental feature of the Senate and one that works to conservatives’ benefit in the long run.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture planned to freeze payments to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program starting Nov. 1 because it said it could no longer keep funding it due to the shutdown. The program serves about 1 in 8 Americans and is a major piece of the nation’s social safety net. It costs about $8 billion per month nationally
States, food banks and SNAP recipients have been bracing for an abrupt shift in how low-income people can get groceries. Several states scrambled to help, but despite the best efforts of states, local governments and food charities, it won’t be enough to cover what the federal government does under SNAP. Even states with fat budget surpluses couldn’t cover the SNAP tab much beyond November. That tab nationwide totaled about $100 billion in 2024.
Democratic state attorneys general or governors from 25 states and the District of Columbia challenged the plan to pause the program, contending that the administration has a legal obligation to keep it running in their jurisdictions.
The administration said it wasn’t allowed to use a contingency fund of about $5 billion for the program, which reversed a USDA plan from before the shutdown that said money would be tapped to keep SNAP running. The Democratic officials said not only could that money be used, but that it must be. They also said a separate fund with around $23 billion is available for the cause.
Two federal judges ruled nearly simultaneously on Friday that President Donald Trump’s administration must continue to pay for SNAP, the nation’s biggest food aid program, using emergency reserve funds during the government shutdown.
The judges in Massachusetts and Rhode Island gave the administration leeway on whether to fund the program partially or in full for November. That also brings uncertainty about how things will unfold and will delay payments for many beneficiaries whose cards would normally be recharged early in the month.
ACA Open Enrollment -
Millions across the country are discovering just how much their plans will cost as open enrollment for Affordable Care Act insurance plans began on Nov. 1. Enrollment lasts through Jan. 15, 2026.
A recent analysis from KFF found that if the enhanced premium tax credits expire, as they are currently set to do on Dec. 31, ACA enrollees will see their monthly premiums more than double – rising by roughly 114% on average. An estimated 22 million out of 24 million ACA marketplace enrollees are currently receiving a tax credit to lower their monthly premiums. Even if those credits are extended, KFF found that the amount insurers charge for ACA premiums will rise by an average 26% in 2026.
Hoo Cares? The Indiana angle
On Nov. 1, Michelle Higgs plans to check the Affordable Care Act health insurance marketplace portal and see how much more she will pay next year if Congress fails to extend enhanced subsidies. She estimates that her current plan, which also covers her husband and two young children, would increase by more than $2,000 per month without subsidies. But that’s before factoring in insurance companies’ annual premium hike, which is the steepest nationally since 2018.
Marketplace enrollees are not the only group who stand to suffer from expired subsidies. Rural hospitals already operating on thin margins would likely have to provide more free emergency care as thousands of Hoosiers lose health insurance.
Indiana News
Around the Corn
The Indiana Department of Health on Monday announced the state’s first flu-related death of the 2025-26 season.
Circle City Broadcasting, the parent company of WISH-TV and MyINDY-TV 23, announced Tuesday that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire WRTV-ABC from The E.W. Scripps Company for $83 million.
In Indianapolis, the owner of TRUTH Treatment Centers, a mental health and addiction recovery provider, has been arrested and charged with 43 counts of Medicaid fraud and one count of theft.
The Indiana Court of Appeals heard arguments Tuesday in a wrongful death case that could shape how far the Indiana-headquartered NCAA’s responsibility extends to former college athletes who later develop degenerative brain disease.
Earlier this year, the Indiana BMV proposed new rules that would prohibit transgender and gender expansive people from obtaining ID that reflects who they are. Hoosiers spoke out clearly with thousands of emails and hours of public testimony. In response to this clear opposition, the BMV quietly withdrew the rule without providing any public record of that testimony. Not satisfied with a loud and clear “NO” from Hoosiers, they’ve reintroduced the exact same harmful language for yet another round of public comment.
Make your opposition known at bit.ly/bmvtestimony until November 14.
The Indiana Attorney General’s office is appealing a judge’s decision to dismiss the office’s lawsuit alleging the St. Joseph County sheriff has refused to honor immigration detainer requests.
The St. Joseph Superior Court dismissed Attorney General Todd Rokita’s lawsuit earlier this month after concluding that the attorney general had not provided “any real factual basis” to support his arguments that St. Joseph County Sheriff Bill Redman and the St. Joseph County Sheriff’s Department were not cooperating with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE.
Republican Air Force veteran Jennifer-Ruth Green announced Monday she will run again for Indiana’s 1st Congressional District despite pending state ethics charges.
She first challenged Democratic U.S. Rep. Frank Mrvan in 2022. He defeated her 53% to 47%. It was the northwest Indiana district’s closest margin in decades.
Green resigned as public safety secretary for Gov. Mike Braun’s administration in September. The Indiana Office of Inspector General filed a formal ethics complaint accusing her of ghost employment and misuse of state property. It came after Green signed a remediation agreement while an investigation ran its course.
The National FFA Convention & Expo will remain in Indianapolis through at least 2040, as announced Tuesday ahead of Wednesday’s start to its 98th National FFA Convention & Expo.
FFA stands for the organization’s former name, Future Farmers of America. FFA is a youth organization dedicated to preparing the next generation for leadership and careers in agriculture.The decision to extend the convention’s stay in Indianapolis was revealed at a Tuesday kickoff event. The 2025 convention was expected to draw over 71,000 FFA members, advisers, alumni, and supporters from across the nation.
Indiana University has backtracked on its decision to cut future Indiana Daily Student print editions for the rest of the school year. The university has also abandoned its initial illegal directive prohibiting the IDS from printing news.
Indiana Gov. Mike Braun on Tuesday filled a high-profile vacancy at the state’s economic development agency — months after lawmakers mandated its top leadership role be split in two — and announced Indiana will reassume its “Crossroads of America” branding.
His predecessor, Gov. Eric Holcomb, unveiled a new tourism marketing campaign — “IN Indiana” — in 2022. As part of that effort, in 2023, he put up “More to discover IN Indiana” roadway welcome signs that replaced the old crossroads signage. Also that year, IEDC got a new motto — “Indiana for the bold” — in place of the agency’s previous “A state that works” slogan.
World premiere of Netflix show Stranger Things season 5 (set in imaginary Hawkins, Indiana) is set to premiere November 26 (sorry, I said 6th on the show)
Michelle Higgs for House District 60 2024 campaign ad was themed around Stranger Things and was nominated for a 2025 Reed Award.
Braun calls special session
Gov. Mike Braun on Monday called a special session to take up congressional redistricting, a politically charged move that follows months of mounting pressure from national Republicans to redraw Indiana’s map ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
Braun’s order sets the session for Monday, Nov. 3 and said it will focus primarily on revising the state’s congressional boundaries — lines that were last redrawn in 2021 following the U.S. Census.
Now, Indiana lawmakers will not convene on Monday for an upcoming special session, House Speaker Todd Huston said Wednesday, instead signaling that the Republican-led General Assembly plans to meet later within the 40-day window allowed by state law.
Why? They still don’t have the votes.
The Indiana Capital Chronicle has tracked public statements from lawmakers on the proposal. So far, five Senate Republicans have come out in favor of a mid-cycle redistricting plan, while three have said they oppose it. The remaining members of the 40-strong caucus are either undecided or have not made definitive statements.
Beyond redistricting: Indiana’s special session to tackle tax update
Indiana lawmakers could use the upcoming special session not only to draw new legislative maps but also to head off what tax experts call impending “chaos” for taxpayers and businesses.
Gov. Mike Braun has asked legislators to bring the state’s tax code in line with recent, major federal changes — warning of “discrepancies” between Indiana and federal law that could complicate 2025 tax filings.
Tax experts say that differences stem from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, or OBBBA, which made significant revisions to the federal Internal Revenue Code.
Indiana currently conforms to the federal tax code as it existed on Jan. 1, 2023, meaning recent federal changes aren’t automatically reflected in state law.
The Indiana Department of Revenue said it has identified 42 provisions in the OBBBA that could affect state tax filings, including five with direct implications for 2025 returns filed in 2026.
Grand jury investigating Beckwith’s office
A grand jury in Marion County is investigating allegations of ghost employment and other wrongdoing in Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith’s office.
A report filed by the Marion County Grand Jury on Oct. 3 said it met on Aug. 18 and Sept. 30 for an “investigation into the distribution of an intimate image(s) and ghost employment in the office of the Indiana Lieutenant Governor.” It’s unclear what the investigation into ghost employment pertains to.
Meanwhile, Beckwith campaigning against Avon public schools
Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith walked residential streets in Avon on Saturday to campaign against the local school district’s operating referendum. He knocked on doors and urged residents to vote it down ahead of the Nov. 4 election.
Avon Schools is asking voters to renew its operating levy at 33 cents per $100 of assessed value — down from 35.36 cents approved in 2018 — to raise about $14.3 million a year for eight years for smaller classes, instructional supports and competitive teacher pay.
DHS, Noem descend on Northwest Indiana
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem held a joint press conference Thursday at Gary/Chicago International Airport with Indiana Gov. Mike Braun to deliver updates on “Operation Midway Blitz” — an immigration enforcement initiative that has expanded beyond Chicago into Northwest Indiana.
Noem said the sweep has resulted in 223 arrests, of which 146 were truck drivers, since its start in September.
Noem detailed the 287(g) agreement, which authorizes state police to enforce certain federal immigration laws as part of a broader partnership with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE.
In Indiana, efforts have largely focused on commercial vehicle enforcement along highways and at weigh stations. That includes identifying and removing people in the country illegally who hold commercial driver’s licenses.
Dozens of demonstrators gathered outside Gary/Chicago International Airport in opposition to Noem and immigration enforcement operations. The agencies never publicly announced the event’s location, but protesters gathered at the airport, which has been a frequent site of deportation flights in recent years.
Protesters carried signs reading “Stop Kidnapping Our Neighbors,” “Resist,” and “No ICE,” while chanting along Airport Road. Protesters initially gravitated near the Gary Jet Center, across from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection office located on airport grounds, before being escorted by Indiana State Police troopers to the general parking lot. From there, they lined the fence facing the road, hoisting their signs toward passing motorists.
Indiana won’t give new child care vouchers until 2027
Indiana officials expect the freeze on vouchers to help low-income, working parents pay for child care to continue through the end of 2026, according to a fiscal update Wednesday from the Family and Social Services Administration.
The state stopped issuing new vouchers last December, and nearly 31,000 children were on the waitlist as of September. Child Care and Development Fund, or CCDF, vouchers are largely paid for by the federal government. They help cover the cost of day care, preschool and before- and after-school care for eligible families.
The office “simply does not have the funding available to prudently begin enrollment before that date,” said Adam Alson, director of the Office of Early Childhood and Out-of-School Learning.
“The most vulnerable children will be deprived of early learning opportunities, and parents will have to drop out of the workforce or forgo opportunities to further their education, or job training, which will have an impact not only on families but on the broader economic vitality in Indiana,” a statement from Early Learning Indiana said.
Water crisis in Lapel, Indiana.
Status Coup reporter Jordan Chariton interviewed Brianna Davis, a Lapel, Indiana resident about the growing water crisis in Lapel and surrounding counties in which residents’ drinking and bathing water has been coming out brown, orange, and yellow—while also carrying a foul smell. Despite this, local officials have done nothing and told residents just to flush their water until it is not discolored (even though the water being clear does not mean it is safe from contaminants). This story has received virtually no national media attention.
The story did receive coverage from IndyStar a couple weeks ago
Town officials say the water is fine to drink. In a post on Facebook, the town of Lapel wrote that local water is “safe and potable per all Indiana state drinking water standards. The discoloration is caused by naturally occurring minerals, specifically iron and manganese.”
A few factors could be contributing to the brown water, Cutshaw said, including the 60-to-80-year-old cast iron piping throughout the town. Mineral buildup called scale can flake off, creating discoloration. Addressing that would require replacing the water main, a project that would cost more than $30 million and possibly quadruple water utility rates.
