France Ready to Bypass Parliament to Push Through €43 Billion in Cuts

Finance minister says constitutional powers remain an option to pass €43 billion in cuts, with a 5% deficit ceiling in mind, as borrowing costs rise and protests spread.

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An ABC News analysis found that defense and technology companies backed by Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump have received or been promised more than $6 billion in U.S. government contracts since the brothers invested in them.

The latest is Anduril, in which Donald Trump Jr.’s 1789 Capital holds a major stake. The Trump administration announced $2.9 billion in Navy support for a new Anduril submarine manufacturing facility in Maryland.

Other Trump-linked companies receiving Pentagon contracts include Powerus, Vulcan Elements, Firehawk Aerospace, PsiQuantum, Hadrian and Foundation Future Industries.

Congressional Democrats have asked the Pentagon inspector general to investigate potential conflicts of interest.

A spokesperson for the Trump brothers denied wrongdoing, saying they do not participate in government procurement decisions.

Source: ABC News

Pete Hegseth joined troops for morning physical training in San Diego.

Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi and other INDIA bloc leaders were detained in New Delhi for a second straight day while protesting alleged “vote theft” in voter rolls and demanding Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation.

The opposition accuses the Election Commission of manipulating voter rolls after more than 130 million names were removed.

The commission and Prime Minister Modi’s BJP deny the allegations.

Source: NDTV

The FCC is considering a request from the conservative Club for Growth to loosen restrictions on political robocalls before November’s midterms, including calls using AI-generated voices.

The proposal would allow political groups to make unsolicited automated calls to cellphones without prior consent.

Source: ABC News

Tanker captains sailing through the Strait of Hormuz are reportedly earning $100,000 a month plus a $50,000 bonus per transit as Iranian attacks make the route increasingly dangerous.

Regular sailors can earn four to six times their normal pay during crossings.

Since February 28, at least 93 ships have been hit and 24 sailors killed.

Source: FT

Marco Rubio:

We believe that Europe can awaken from its long slumber and rekindle the fire that was lit here millennia ago.

There are already signs. Across this continent, we are witnessing what we hope will be the beginning of a generational shift.

Marco Rubio:

Though passions may at times have strained the bonds of affection between the U.S. and Europe, it must not be allowed to break them.

Marco Rubio on Iran:

Cult of death of the radical mullahs of Iran hails child suicide bombers as national heroes.

Our heroes don't worship death.

The Trump administration is resisting deeper involvement in Saudi Arabia’s offensive against the Houthis, as Trump sees no clear path to success after Operation Rough Rider failed to meet its objectives.

The U.S. is still providing intelligence, targeting and refueling support but has stopped short of offensive strikes and urged Riyadh to avoid a wider war in Yemen.

Source: Bloomberg

Attacks on tankers in and around the Strait of Hormuz hit their highest weekly level since the U.S.-Iran war began on February 28.

At least 12 attacks on oil, LNG and LPG tankers were recorded between September 28 and October 5.

Source: Reuters

Bulgaria halted the search for the missing crew of the Türkiye-operated, Togo-flagged cargo ship Alfa Watan, which sank after a drone attack in its Black Sea search-and-rescue zone.

Authorities found life rafts and wreckage but no trace of the missing sailors.

Russia denied targeting the merchant ship, while Zelensky said a joint investigation with Bulgaria’s navy found Russia was behind the attack.

Source: Reuters

📸 A Russian jet-powered Geran-4 drone flew over Kyiv today with a portrait of Vladimir Putin painted on its underside.

Taliban official Abdullah Sarhadi:

Women are mindless. They are deficient in intellect.

They don't know a thing.

Trump reposts a clip of Marco Rubio receiving applause at the Munich Security Conference earlier this year.

Ted Cruz:

You own part of McDonald’s. Next time you go order a Big Mac, you should walk in and say, “Look, I own the place.”

Q: Is the plague in Russia a bioweapon?

Trump: We don’t think so. We’re going to find out soon enough, but we don’t think so.

The Russians are saying that it’s very much under control.

Q: Are you getting the same vibe right now from Russia that you got from China at the start of COVID?

Trump: China didn’t say much, and Russia is not saying much either. But they do say they have it very much under control.

Trump:

These young children—I guess I can use that term. You have to be careful. Sometimes you call somebody a child who’s about six months too old, and you suffer the wrath of the press.

Q: Could what’s happening in France happen here too, in the U.S.?

Trump: We stopped it.