News From Around the Web
#1 Brazil’s Lula Wins Electoral Court Challenge Against Meta for Alleged Pro-Bolsonaro Algorithm Bias - Associated Press/NBC News, Ben Norton, BrianMier, BRASILWIRE, Miguel de Icaza ᯅ, and CTV News on X
A judge of Brazil’s top electoral court ruled Thursday that Meta must adopt measures to immediately secure equal treatment of the two presidential candidates ahead of an Oct. 25 runoff. The ruling comes shortly after President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who is running against Flávio Bolsonaro, filed a complaint that accused the tech company that owns Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp of using biased algorithms and AI restrictions to favor opposition candidate Bolsonaro ahead of the election.
#2 Trump Says Ukraine Resuming Strikes on Russian Oil Sites Is a ‘Disgrace’ - Yuliya Talmazan for NBC News, Hey Jo, WPEC CBS12 News, Lori Furstenberg, Scott, and Jared Malsin on X
President Donald Trump has labeled Ukraine’s resumption of strikes on Russian oil refineries a “disgrace,” the latest salvo in his campaign to pressure the U.S. ally over rising gas prices that could cost Republicans in next month’s Midterm elections. Kyiv said Thursday that it would no longer abide by Trump’s “energy ceasefire,” citing Russia’s refusal to halt its own attacks on Ukraine’s power grid. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy angrily accused the U.S. of costing civilian lives by striking deals with Moscow and withdrawing support that is crucial to Kyiv’s defense against the Kremlin’s invasion...
#3 White House Prepares Plans to Use Weapon Dubbed “Mother of All Bombs” on Iran, Sources Say - Jennifer Jacobs and Eleanor Watson for CBS News, Jerusalem Dateline, RebornOne/𝔇𝔬𝔫𝔫𝔦𝔢 ℭ𝔞𝔪𝔭𝔟𝔢𝔩𝔩, NewsX World, NYNanc, AlphaBriefing, and News 9 on X
The White House and Pentagon have prepared plans to use a Massive Ordnance Air Blast bomb to hit military sites in Iran if ordered by President Trump, sources familiar with the matter told CBS News. A Pentagon official told CBS News: "The Department of War plans for a wide range of operational scenarios to execute Presidential and Secretary-level direction and to ensure mission success in any operational environment." A White House spokesperson said, "We do not comment on sensitive military plans that may or may not exist. President Trump keeps all options on the table to ensure that Iran can never have a nuclear weapon."
#4 UK Bookstores Scramble as Sally Rooney Novels Withdrawn Over Palestine Group Support - Jill Lawless for Associated Press/ABC News, Variety, BBC News (World), Pop Base, Rolling Stone, and John Wilkin on X
British booksellers are caught up in a battle over terrorism and free speech after Irish novelist Sally Rooney said her books can no longer be sold in the U.K. because she financially supports the banned group Palestine Action. The announcement by Rooney’s British publisher that it will no longer distribute her books has reignited debate over the U.K. government’s decision last year to outlaw the direct-action protest group as a terrorist organization. The ban makes membership in or support for Palestine Action a crime punishable by up to 14 years in prison. Rooney, 35, is the critically praised author of four novels: “Conversations with Friends,” “Normal People,” “Beautiful World, Where Are You?” and “Intermezzo.” Her books have sold millions of copies, and both “Conversations with Friends” and “Normal People” were adapted for television by the BBC...
#5 Vance Says “Selling Access to the White House” Is “Disgusting and Despicable” - Joe Walsh for CBS News, CBS News Texas, RedWavePress, Mario Nawfal, Patriot Virtus, and Washington Examiner on X
Vice President JD Vance told CBS News on Thursday that anybody who is "selling access to the White House" should "suffer consequences." Vance spoke with "CBS Evening News" anchor Tony Dokoupil during a one-hour town hall in Michigan that is set to air on Saturday evening, less than three weeks before the midterm elections. Dokoupil pointed to a string of recent reports, including Mr. Trump's staggering cryptocurrency earnings, and the ousting of U.S. Ambassador to Greece Kimberly Guilfoyle over allegations she asked a man who was seeking help from the Trump administration to wire her $100,000...
#6 Eric Deters Files Defamation Lawsuit Against Kimberly Guilfoyle - Kathryn Watson and Weijia Jiang for CBS News, ThePatrioticBlonde™, The Bulwark, YAME Digital News, Real Truth Media, and Cheesecake on X
Eric Deters, the Republican donor who accused Kimberly Guilfoyle of asking him to wire her $100,000 to pay her American Express bill in exchange for her help with the Trump administration ahead of her Senate confirmation hearing, has filed a defamation lawsuit against Guilfoyle and her legal team. Guilfoyle was pushed out of her ambassadorship to Greece earlier this week, announcing her resignation Tuesday. Guilfoyle's team publicly disputed the authenticity of text messages Deters shared with multiple news outlets, including CBS News. Deters filed the lawsuit in Kentucky state court on Thursday. Deters said Guilfoyle's legal team issued a statement to the Wall Street Journal claiming Deters owed Guilfoyle money and did not fulfill his obligations. The Journal published part of her attorney's statement, that Guilfoyle "was owed a balance for traveling to and supporting these patriotic events," which Deters denies...
#7 Trump Is Reportedly Looking to Replace Susie Wiles: ‘She’s Burned a Lot of People’ - Andrew Feinberg for Independent, DKelly/Polymarket, Dasha Burns, Will Steakin, Mario Nawfal, Politics & Poll Tracker, and Jason Miller on X
He once praised her as the “ice maiden” who shepherded him to a second term in the White House, but now their relationship is getting frosty. According to Politico, President Donald Trump has been calling up friends and allies to inquire whether it’s time for him to sack his longest-serving chief of staff, Susie Wiles, and replace her with a fresh face atop the White House totem pole. Citing four sources with direct knowledge of the president’s
conversations, the outlet reported that Trump has been floating several names for a successor to Wiles, the veteran Florida political operative who is the first woman to serve in the chief of staff position...
#8 Katie Zacharia Addresses Brevity of First Press Briefing, Defends Legal Credentials After Criticism - Nora Moriarty for Fox News, Sam Behan, Denise blasor, Nick Sortor/speedy jerry, David Last, Showme, and LawNewsIndex.com
New White House press secretary Katie Zacharia said that she did her "very best" during her first briefing as she defended herself against criticism surrounding her legal credentials on "Hannity" Thursday. The Pepperdine Law graduate made her White House briefing room debut on Tuesday, just days after President Donald Trump announced her appointment on Friday, leaving her with what she said was little time to prepare for the high-profile role. "What I feel is I really stepped up to the plate to do the press conference," she told host Sean Hannity. "With very little prep time, I received briefing materials in the morning of Tuesday."
#9 Follow the Money: The People Who Bought Your Feed - Leah for Substack, theleahfiles, Sleuthy Opossum, The Speaker, Cinema Shogun/replyguy/crackingthecode2spiritualrealm, and ZygVolgs on X
In January, a man who gets paid to post political videos shared a screenshot of his pay. It showed 705 digital dollars landing in his account, and he captioned it, "Political Payout of December...Thanks @SERVIUOS." The campaign his employer labeled "Political" in its own records ran from December 14 to 21, the same week Turning Point held its first AmericaFest without Charlie Kirk, and the conservative movement fought in public over Israel and over who gets to speak for Kirk. SERVIUOS is the handle behind ClipIt, a company that pays tens of thousands of people around the world by the view to cut short clips and post them to their own accounts, so that what looks like a crowd of ordinary viewers is often a paid workforce. Records point to a 23-year-old in a small Latvian town who formed ClipIt's American company in Wyoming with a one-dollar stake. His clippers were told never to tell viewers how to vote, and that one rule keeps the whole operation outside American election law...#10 Elon Musk Is the Donor Behind Senate Republicans’ Massive Rescue Mission for Ken Paxton - Gabby Birenbaum and Alejandro Serrano for The Texas Tribune, Linda Hill, Gunther Eagleman™/@lets_be_real, Moe Davis (U.S. Air Force, Retired), Ron Norfolk, and EThompson on X
After months of being outspent by Democrat James Talarico on the airwaves, Republicans launched a massive rescue mission for Ken Paxton in September, dropping over $200 million to boost their U.S. Senate candidate in Texas. New campaign finance filings revealed that much of the advertising flurry was funded by one highly motivated donor: Elon Musk, the world’s wealthiest man. Musk, who lives near the SpaceX Starbase facility in South Texas, appears to have poured nearly $190 million into the U.S. Senate race in his adopted home state. His role in financing Paxton’s air support was disclosed in reports filed Thursday to the Federal Election Commission by Senate Leadership Fund, the Senate GOP’s main super PAC and the biggest spender in Texas’ Senate contest...
