It’s Friday, October 9. We made it to the end of the week! Now let’s catch up on the latest news, shall we?
Here are today’s top headlines:
Navi Pillay wins the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize, and Trump and Netanyahu melt down
The Trump regime sanctions the ICC hours later, and 8 U.S. allies push back
Trump’s rambling Columbus Day remarks
Trump’s latest attempt to go after Fed Governor Lisa Cook
Senate debate night and new midterm polling
Iran expands attacks on Gulf shipping
Hegseth’s plans to livestream a military execution
Katie Miller’s MAGA party house
Russia, Ukraine, and the Miami pressure campaign
ICE, Markwayne Mullin, and another shooting in New York
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Navi Pillay Wins the Nobel, Trump Loses It
Just days after Trump claimed it would be a “great discredit” if he didn’t win, the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize went to Navanethem “Navi” Pillay “for her efforts to promote peace and international law.” What?? You’re telling me the guy who massacred dozens of little girls at a school in Minab and has threatened just about all our allies didn’t win? Cue my shocked face!
Pillay is a South African anti-apartheid lawyer who served as an appeals judge at the International Criminal Court from 2003-2008, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights from 2008-2014, and from 2021-2025, chair of the UN Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, which concluded that Israel committed genocide in Gaza. Pillay was both gracious and funny about it. After the announcement, she remarked that her last major work was the Gaza report, and asked why anyone would need “courage” to speak the truth when you simply interpret the law and look at the facts. After the room applauded, she joked that a little more clapping might convince her to share the award with Donald Trump. There Trump is again, a punchline, getting mocked on the international stage. Amnesty International’s Agnes Callamard called it an “amazing moment.”
Christiane Amanpour recalled asking Pillay in 2014 what apartheid taught her, and Pillay said that she learned to “be persistent and be totally positive that you will win one day.” That’s a lesson worth holding onto in these tough times.
“Be persistent & be totally positive that you will win one day.” - Navi Pillay, South African jurist and former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights reflecting on what her decades-long struggle against apartheid taught her
Trump Then Sanctions the ICC
Then came the retaliation. The U.S. imposted sweeping sanctions on the ICC that could cut off the court’s banking, insurance, and software services. This came after weeks of threats and just hours after Pillay’s win. The U.S. government is furious that the ICC has an arrest warrant out for Benjamin Netanyahu and there have been reports that U.S. officials are terrified of their own future prosecutions.
Although the United States is not a party to the Rome Statute and does not accept the International Criminal Court’s jurisdiction, a U.S. official could still be arrested and surrendered by an ICC member state if the Court issues a warrant—most commonly where the alleged crime occurred on the territory of a state party, or following a UN Security Council referral—and the official is present in that state’s territory. The ICC has no police force of its own; enforcement depends on cooperation by states parties.
Treasury’s OFAC issued a General License No. 13, giving the court until April 7, 2027 to wind down operations, including staff salaries, health insurance, rent, and utilities.
Marco Rubio’s statement was gross. Pure mob boss talk. “Either the ICC will end its threats, or we will end the ICC.” He demanded that allies “rein in this rogue court” or the U.S. would dismantle it “piece by piece.”
Our allies, or at least former allies, swiftly responded. The foreign ministers of Canada, Denmark, Germany, France, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands and the UK issued a joint statement, published by the German Foreign Office, saying they “regret and strongly disagree” with the sanctions and reaffirming their “unwavering support” for the court. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said she spoke with ICC President Tomoko Akane, called the court “the cornerstone of the international criminal justice system,” and said the EU has options to keep it working.
Benjamin Netanyahu on the other hand: “I commend President @realDonaldTrump and @SecRubio for taking this critical decision to sanction the ICC. The ICC is not a court. It is a political body that poses a mortal threat to law abiding democracies worldwide and to the very idea of national sovereignty.”
Meltdown in the East Room
At what was apparently supposed to be a Columbus Day event, surrounded by Italian-American MAGA Republicans, Trump delivered a series of deranged statements.
He claimed missiles would probably hit “San Diego, Los Angeles, first” because the route is “more convenient” for Iran. This confirmed a theory I expressed on today’s MeidasTouch Podcast: that Trump is so dumb (with a “b”) that he thinks Los Angeles is closer to Iran than say New York, or DC…or Mar-a-Lago.
Trump said about Abdul El-Sayed: “You know this guy Muhammad El-Fayed. People call him Abdul. I call him Mohammed. Somebody said, Why? I said, I don't know. I feel like it.” I just want to note that Mohamed al-Fayed is a late billionaire accused of serial rape and human trafficking. Why does Trump have him on the top of his mind?
Trump was back to asking if anyone knows Kamala Harris’s last name
He again brought up his phony Reflecting Pool vandalism claims
He oddly and falsely claimed that they used to not allow people to use Italian names like Alphonse Capone in mob movies. Anyone who has visited relatives who are under care for dementia is used to bizarre and nonsensical statements like this.
A Kangaroo Hearing to Fire Lisa Cook
Trump announced a White House “committee of inquiry” into Fed Governor Lisa Cook over his cooked up mortgage fraud claims, with a hearing set for November 5. Four months ago, the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that she hadn’t received due process when Trump tried to remove her in August 2025. Now the White House is building its own “process” to reach its own predetermined conclusion.
Some Debate Notes
In Georgia, Sen. Jon Ossoff tied Rep. Mike Collins to Trump’s tariffs, the Iran war, and his “childlike devotion” to the president. Collins mostly avoided saying Trump’s name. Ossoff also brought up the multiple members of Collins’ staff with neo-Nazi histories.
In Michigan, while Mike Rogers kept trying to call Dr. Abdul El-Sayed a “con man” and tried to link him to Hamas, El-Sayed kept centering the conversation on the voters: can you afford your gas and groceries?
In Maine, Susan Collins said she opposes term limits because “that’s what elections are for.” In 1996, 30 years ago, she pledged to serve only 2 terms because “12 years is long enough.” She’s now running for her 6th.
You know I hate polls, but it’s worth mentioning. The current polling is brutal for Republicans. CNN/SSRS has Sherrod Brown up 49-43 in Ohio and Amy Acton up 50-42 for governor over Vivek Ramaswamy. In Maine, a Washington Post-Schar School poll has Troy Jackson leading Collins 50-46. In Kentucky’s 6th district, a Trump +15 seat, a Change Research poll has Democrat Zach Dembo up 47-38 and a House Majority PAC poll has him up 46-40.
Again, while the polls are good information to know, the only “poll” that matters is the election on the 3rd. Make sure you vote.
Meanwhile, MAGA Mike Johnson claimed Republicans already passed legislation to lower prices and that it’s the Democrats who are to blame. Tom Emmer blamed Biden for $4 gas and $6 diesel. Diesel is hitting record highs and Treasury yields keep climbing, And now, per Axios, the Trump regime is weighing a 3-day bombing campaign against Iran before the midterms. This comes right after Trump insisted on social media there wouldn’t be new strikes before the midterms.
Backlash Over Hegseth’s Livestreamed Execution
Trump and Hegseth announced the Department of Defense will livestream the firing-squad execution of Fort Hood shooter Nidal Hasan, who killed 13 people in 2009 and is now paralyzed. Archbishop Paul Coakley of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops called it “a barbaric promotion of a culture of death.” Bill Kristol noted that fascism turns citizens into “voyeurs” of cruelty and death. Hasan is a terrorist. We can all agree on that I think. Broadcasting his death is not only cruel and unusual, it hands every extremist a propaganda video, which is exactly why Timothy McVeigh wanted his own execution made public.
The MAGA Party Rolls On
Vanity Fair reports that Katie and Stephen Miller’s home on a military base has become MAGA Washington’s hottest party spot, complete with hibachi chefs, petting zoos, and a mechanical bull. Guests joke about needing a “designated survivor.” It’s all one big party to the MAGA grifters in DC!
Another ICE Shooting
After another ICE shooting, this time in New York City in front of the man’s children, protests raged across the city. Markwayne Mullin clutched a stress ball at a press conference and refused to answer a question about deportation planes, calling it “fake news.” We have reporters on the ground in NYC covering the latest. Look out for live streams on the MeidasTouch YouTube channel.
Also worth watching: Hurricane Isaias has strengthened to Category 3 and is expected to bring heavy rain, damaging winds, and life-threatening conditions to the northern Gulf Coast when it makes landfall either later today or early tomorrow.
And one last thing: Three people were killed in an attack at Riyadh’s airport, as Ansarallah strikes on Saudi Arabia continue.
That’s the latest. Ron will be back with the full day’s bulletin later today.
And how cool is this?! We all just received the official first-edition prints of the hardcover version of our book WTF America: The Way Out of This Hell and Back to Democracy. Here’s a photo of Ben holding his daughter, and the book, showing off the back cover for the first time. I can’t wait to see photos of all of you holding the hardcover! I’m hoping to share them live on the air on future episodes of the MeidasTouch Podcast! Pre-order today if you haven’t yet (and yes, it’s also available in e-book and audiobook).
Thanks again and shoutout to the Meidas Mighty!
Just give him the Darwin Award, he’ll never know the difference.
Fascist Cheeto And Republicans: Lying A Way Of Life
Cheeto lied his way to a second term to avoid jail time and was glad to have found the tactic worked. As one observer said, “Republican voters are feeling betrayed.” So how can the American electorate believe current fascist Republicans running for office.
But it’s more than just outright lying like “no more forever wars”, “inflation ends day 1”, but it’s what’s not said as well. No one remembers Cheeto saying in 2024 that he was amped up for giving tax breaks to his billionaire cronies. Republican voters must have thought that such a tax policy was implicit if you voted for Republicans. And no one could have predicted the highest corruption ever in such an immoral presidency dead set on subverting upcoming elections.
Even Republican candidates at the state level have no problem lying or obfuscating their real political agenda, mirroring their party leader. Obviously his cabinet loyalists have the message loud and clear.
Hope the American electorate sends these liars packing.