It's Been Reported

Ryan Routh Tries To Stab Himself After Guilty Verdict In Trump Assassination Attempt Trial FORT PIERCE, Fla. (Epoch Times) — Ryan Routh attempted to stab himself with a pen in a Florida courtroom after a jury on Sept. 23 found him guilty of attempting to assassinate then-presidential nominee Donald Trump in September 2024. After Routh attempted to stab himself, officers quickly jumped to restrain him. His daughter, Sara Routh, responded by yelling and saying, “This is all rigged.” Officers eventually brought Routh back to the courtroom in shackles. Prior to the end of deliberations, the jury briefly came back into the courtroom to inspect a few pieces of evidence, including the gun, the magazine, the ammunition, and several pieces of large round ammunition. The jury then resumed deliberations but quickly returned with the verdict. Routh appeared stoic while the verdict was being read, but was shaking slightly with his body moving back and forth slowly. See full story	U.S. Manufacturing Continues To Expand As Business Confidence Rises, Price Pressures Ease (Epoch Times) — U.S. manufacturing activity expanded in September for a fourth straight month, even as growth slowed from recent highs, with business confidence improving and price pressures cooling, according to an S&P Global report. S&P Global’s flash Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI), released on Sept. 23, showed that the manufacturing activity index came in at 52.0 in September, down slightly from 53.0 in August, signaling continued growth in factory conditions. Readings above 50 indicate expansion. The broader U.S. composite output index, which includes services activity, eased to 53.6 from 54.6, marking a three-month low but still pointing to expansion. The report described business activity growth as “robust,” though it also showed that firms faced somewhat softer demand and limited ability to raise prices despite elevated tariff-driven input costs. See full story
Former FBI Agent Peter Strzok Loses First Amendment Case In Which He Claimed He Was Illegally Fired (Just the News) — A federal judge on Tuesday dismissed disgraced former FBI agent Peter Strzok's long-running lawsuit in which he claimed he was illegally fired and that the Justice Department and FBI violated his free speech and privacy rights. The FBI terminated Strzok's employment in 2018 after a review of thousands of his texts with bureau lawyer Lisa Page, with whom he was having an affair, showed a bias against then-GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump. U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson ruled that Strzok and his team failed to prove how his rights were violated in his dismissal, but emphasized that she was not ruling on whether the firing was the right course of action. "The sole question to be determined here, then, is whether the FBI’s imposition of the sanction of termination comported with the Constitution," Jackson, an Obama appointee, wrote in her ruling. See full story	Teacher Union Sues Feds For Delaying Loan Forgiveness (Center Square) — The American Federation of Teachers sued the Trump administration this past week over delaying student loan forgiveness, arguing it is unlawful. The AFT filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Education because it restricted access to all income-driven repayment plans for student loan borrowers. “This unwarranted and unlawful withholding of borrowers’ rights has real and significant consequences if not immediately rectified,” the lawsuit claimed. Through this injunction, the AFT wants to force the Education Department to cancel the debt of borrowers on repayment plans like Income-Based Repayment plan and the Income-Contingent Repayment plan, among other plans, when they have met the requirements for loan forgiveness. The Department of Education confirmed in its updated guidance earlier in July that student loan forgiveness, like the Saving on a Valuable Education plan and other loan forgiveness plans, has been blocked. See full story
South Dakota State Democratic Lawmaker Switches Party Affiliation To Republican (Just the News) — A formerly Democratic state lawmaker in South Dakota on Monday announced she has officially changed her party affiliation to Republican, claiming that core GOP tenets better lined up with tribal sovereignty. State Rep. Peri Pourier, who is Oglala Lakota, said change was imperative in the current political landscape and that she believes the Republican Party's priorities better align with her views. The move means that there are just five Democratic lawmakers left in the state House, compared to 65 Republicans. "I represent communities where hardship is not theoretical, it is lived daily, passed down through generations," Pourier wrote in a post on Facebook. "Our elders and our children endure conditions that defy the promises of the Constitution. Basic rights and protections that many Americans take for granted remain out of reach in Indian Country." See full story	Top WH Aide Halligan Sworn In As Interim U.S. Attorney In District Handling James Mortgage Fraud Case (Just the News) — Senior White House aide Lindsey Halligan was sworn in as the interim U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. Halligan, who was previously President Trump's defense lawyer, started her new position on Monday, CBS News reported. Trump appointed her to the position after U.S. Attorney Erik Siebert said he resigned on Friday for fear of being forced out over failing to prosecute New York Attorney General Letitia James for alleged mortgage fraud. Trump said that he had fired Siebert. Per federal law, Halligan can only serve as interim U.S. attorney for 120 days, unless federal judges for that district court extend her appointment or she is confirmed by the Senate. The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia quickly moves cases from filing to trial, handling significant national security cases, partly due to its proximity to Washington, D.C. See full story
Trump Says TikTok Will Be ‘American-Operated All The Way’ Under New Deal (Daily Wire) — President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday aimed at ensuring TikTok becomes “American-operated all the way,” he said. After months of delaying the enforcement of a law banning TikTok, Trump announced a new framework facilitated by his executive order, which would transfer ownership of the social media platform from China to a group of American investors. Congress passed a law in 2024 to either ban the Chinese-owned TikTok or force its sale due to national security and privacy concerns. “This is going to be American-operated all the way,” Trump said as he signed the executive order. “I have great respect for President Xi, and I very much appreciate that he approved the deal, because to get it done properly, we really needed the support of China and the approval of China.” See full story	Italian Film Beauty Claudia Cardinale Dies At The Age Of 87 (Just the News) — Italian actress Claudia Cardinale, who is known for her work in European films in the 1960s and '70s, died near Paris on Tuesday at the age of 87, her agent told Agence France Presse (AFP). The famous actress appeared in more than 100 films and made-for-television productions and was most noted for her role in Federico Fellini’s “8½." She also starred in films like Luchino Visconti’s “The Leopard,” and Sergio Leone’s 1968 spaghetti western, “Once Upon a Time in the West." Cardinale's agent Laurent Savry said the Italian woman, who was born in Tunisia, was surrounded by her children when she died. "She leaves us the legacy of a free and inspired woman both as a woman and as an artiste," Savry told the outlet. See full story
U.S. intercepts Russian Warplanes Flying Near Alaska (Wash Times) — The U.S. scrambled fighter jets Wednesday to intercept four Russian military aircraft flying near Alaska, the North American Aerospace Defense Command, or NORAD, said in a statement. The Russian aircraft stayed in international airspace but did enter the Alaskan Air Defense Identification Zone, which NORAD described as a “defined stretch of international airspace that requires the ready identification of all aircraft in the interest of national security.” Russian aircraft regularly breach that zone. NORAD officials stressed that the presence of Russian warplanes there is not seen as a threat to the U.S. or Canada. But the incident off the coast of Alaska comes on the heels of multiple instances recently in which Russian aircraft and drones are accused of violating sovereign NATO airspace over Europe. The most recent instance came late last week when Russian aircraft allegedly violated Estonian airspace. See full story	Supreme Court Allows Trump To Withhold Roughly $4 Billion In Foreign Funding Approved By Congress (Just the News) — The Supreme Court on Friday extended President Donald Trump's freeze on roughly $4 billion in foreign aid payments. The 6-3 ruling is being considered a significant victory for the White House in its months-long effort to claw back spending approved last year on Capitol Hill because it could effectively give Trump a roadmap toward canceling more congressionally-approved money, according to CNN. The money includes funding for global health and HIV programs that Trump deemed wasteful. The ruling comes after the high court stayed the order earlier this month – following a lower court determining that Trump lacked the authority to withhold funding that Congress allocated. The court's three liberal justices dissented. See full story