🗞️Pentagon accepts $130 million donation

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October 24th, 2025

What happened today 🇺🇸,

• The Pentagon has accepted a $130 million donation from an anonymous wealthy supporter of President Trump to help pay military personnel during the ongoing government shutdown…the donation was accepted under the Pentagon's general gift acceptance authority but has raised legal questions

• President Trump has canceled all trade negotiations with Canada after Ontario ran a TV ad criticizing U.S. tariffs and featuring Ronald Reagan’s anti-tariff remarks, which Trump called “fraudulent” and aimed at swaying a Supreme Court decision on tariffs…in response Ontario’s premier announced the ad would be paused and Canada expressed willingness to resume talks when the U.S. is ready

• The U.S. military carried out its tenth strike since September against a suspected drug-running boat in the Caribbean, killing six alleged members of Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua gang

• New York Attorney General, Letitia James, pleaded not guilty to federal charges of bank fraud and making false statements related to her misrepresenting a Virginia property as a secondary home when it was used as a rental investment, allegedly securing her favorable mortgage terms…her trial is scheduled for January 26th, 2026

• The U.S. has imposed sanctions on Colombian President Gustavo Petro, his wife, son, and a close associate, accusing Petro of allowing drug cartels to flourish and cocaine production to reach record levels since he took office…read more here

• The U.S. government shutdown has reached its 24th day, making it the second-longest in history, with no deal in sight as Congress remains out of session and the latest Senate votes to reopen the government have failed

• House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) has officially endorsed Zohran Mamdani for New York City mayor

• Social Security monthly benefits will increase by 2.8% in 2026, providing nearly 71 million beneficiaries with an average increase of about $56 per month starting in January 2026…this cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) is designed to help benefits keep pace with inflation and reflects a slightly higher increase than the 2.5% COLA in 2025

• The U.S. Labor Department released the Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation report for September despite the ongoing government shutdown and the report showed CPI inflation came in at 3.0% year over year, below the expected 3.1% and Core CPI inflation came in at 3.0% year over year, below the expected 3.1%

• DOW up 1.01% / S&P up .79%

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Plus: A post by Gallup on Americans’ views of government activity from 1992-2025

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