Donald Trump has pardoned Binance founder Changpeng Zhao. Binance has been a major supporter of Trump's crypto projects, and Trump has already made millions after Binance accepted a $2 billion investment from an Emirati fund denominated in the Trump family's USD1 stablecoin.

The AWS outage bricked people's $2,700 smartbeds, leaving them in a reclining position or with the heat up. People were unable to use them, basically. A GitHub repo exists that lets people operate their beds without reliance on the normal infrastructure www.404media.co/the-aws-outa...

“the real culprits are huge profits for health care investors, a gigantic bureaucracy deployed to extract those profits, and health services skewed to what’s profitable rather than what’s needed.”

Nothing to see here. Nothing at all. www.politico.com/news/2025/10...

My @pogo.org colleagues Mark Thompson, a longtime journalist who won a Pulitzer for his Pentagon coverage, and @virginiajburger.bsky.social, a former Marine Corps public affairs officer, weigh in on Hegseth's attempt to clamp down on defense reporting www.pogo.org/analysis/pen...

There is no evidence that the man who murdered Kirk had any ties to any progressive nonprofits.

Also a reminder these weren’t “Kids”! Some of these “Young Republicans,” which includes ages up to 40, were elected officials or government appointees.

Old enough to remember when kids being anti-semitic was the basis for a federal government assault on higher education

Big news! @ziembavision.bsky.social won a @milreporters.bsky.social Award for Investigative Reporting, for her incredible series on oversight failures in military housing. Read this essential investigation:

"in each of these three cases the district court judges came close to accusing the Trump administration of making up facts to suit its political purposes" wapo.st/4qcW8vN

my latest investigation for @consumerreports.org is based on months of reporting and 60+ lab tests of leading protein supplements we found that most protein powders and shakes have more lead in one serving than our experts say is safe to have in a day (🧵) www.consumerreports.org/lead/protein...

Great to see news outlets almost uniformly reject Hegseth’s ridiculous Pentagon prior restraint policy. Hopefully they’ll show the same unity next time the administration targets one of them as they’re showing now that it’s targeting all of them.

Our new book Master Plan releases today — the same day that Citizens United author Anthony Kennedy is releasing his memoir defending that decision legalizing corruption. Our book exposes the untold story of Kennedy’s time as a corporate lobbyist handing out cash to politicians. LeverNews.com/book

ICYMI: @dfriedman.bsky.social & I explored a big DHS deal being challenged in court: “the contract adds to a growing number of deals that have prompted questions about the integrity of DHS contracting."

ICE needs to rein in its anti-press abuses against journalists. “You can’t report the news while you’re taking pepper bullets to the face,” FPF's @seth-stern.bsky.social told @rezaian.bsky.social and @liamjscott.bsky.social. s2.washingtonpost.com/camp-rw/?tra...

Earlier this year, the DHS handed a massive aviation contract to a relatively new company. The “rushed” deal worth up to $915 million was handed to a firm with “no track record” as a federal contractor, a rival’s lawsuit alleges.

A tiny firm with no experience, but lots of Trumpworld ties, got a massive contract from DHS. A rival says the award was rushed and "unlawful."

THE LATEST FROM POGO'S INVESTIGATIONS DESK: Earlier this year, DHS handed a massive contract to a relatively new company with no federal contracting experience. Records obtained by @motherjones.com reveal the involvement of a senior DHS official who once worked with the company’s CEO. Learn more:

NEW: A DHS "self-deportation" contract worth up to ~$1 billion was "unlawful, rushed, and noncompetitive," per a lawsuit. It went to a firm w/ no prior fed contracts whose CEO earlier worked w/ a top DHS official involved in the award www.pogo.org/investigatio...

The judge notes that noncitizens detained after 9/11 weren't held nearly as long without notice for the legal basis. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

A WILD ONE: A man broke his leg during an arrest by ICE at a car wash south of L.A. ICE has held him under 24/7 guard at a hospital, registering him under a pseudonym, for *37 days* without telling him why. A judge has ordered his immediate release. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

New story coming...

The Oregon Republican Party tried to help Donald Trump make the case for military intervention in Portland with an image of a fiery protest — but since Portland is calm, they had to fabricate one by merging old photos of police in Ecuador and protesters in Brazil www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

Body-camera video appears to contradict the government’s claim that Marimar Martinez, 30, drove toward officers before one of them opened fire at her late Saturday morning in Brighton Park, her attorney claimed. trib.al/9Sxu9IN

"...every single one of the 50 respondents believe that Trump and his attorney general, Pam Bondi, have used the Justice Department to go after the president’s political and personal enemies and provide favors to his allies." www.nytimes.com/2025/10/06/m...

“An FBI agent was relieved of duty for declining to arrange a ‘perp walk’ of the bureau's former director, James Comey, in front of news media cameras.” Via Reuters

America enters a new, dark chapter: "Kavanaugh Raids" on entire buildings and neighborhoods, a chapter surely to be remembered as infamously as we now view the "Palmer Raids" of the first Red Scare. www.doomsdayscenario.co/p/welcome-to...

Sensing a pattern yet?

“Recognize that you are going to be targeted. Recognize that the game has changed.” @attackerman.bsky.social’s interview w/ @terryalbury.bsky.social www.forever-wars.com/an-fbi-count...

My count of now unaccessible watchdog websites is now up to 16 after OMB witheld funds from a central watchdog council that operates many OIG websites. This means the reports housed on these websites aren't accessible, nor are links for whistleblowers.

Reporters from across newsrooms in Chicago are collaborating to collect visual evidence of federal agents detaining people & using force in Chicago. Send videos to tinyurl.com/chicagojournalists, or get in touch via email [email protected].

NEW: Now that Tom Homan is border czar, his former business associate is continuing to work with companies actively seeking to land a chunk of the $45 billion Congress approved to spend on Trump's mass detention and deportation plans.

So unexpected that letting people keep their freedom, safety, and not be arbitrarily deported to foreign torture gulags might resonate with voters….

"With this new deployment, the administration is sending a clear signal that it intends to treat Trump’s June memo as a standing authorization." www.pogo.org/analysis/por...

The Dept of Transportation IG has issued many flight safety reports over the years. I can’t begin to tell you how significant they are. I cited one in an an article on FAA staffing & aircraft certification delays/safety that is running this week at @leehamnews.com.

It's interesting that Trump's OMB is attacking IGs and the Council of IGs, saying some IGs have "lied to the public" in a comment to the Wash Post. Yet Trump appointed & left in place an IG that repeatedly misled Congress, according to a federal investigation: www.pogo.org/investigatio...

The council of inspectors general says in a letter to Congress about being defunded that it hosts websites for 28 watchdog offices - incl. for the VA, DOJ, and IRS inspectors general. Those websites' #whistleblower hotlines could go dark www.documentcloud.org/documents/26...

"Sources tell me that NSPM-7 will likely cause the domestic terrorism watchlist, currently at about 5,000 U.S. citizens, to double in the coming months" - @kenklippenstein.bsky.social open.substack.com/pub/kenklipp...

Important article citing my @pogo.org colleague Greg Williams on how the shrinking role of the Pentagon weapons testing office could put troops at risk www.yahoo.com/news/article...

"A defendant is entitled to notice of the charges against them so they can prepare a defense. It’s likely Comey’s lawyers will ask for a bill of particulars, which will force the government to specify the precise statements he is charged with making and the factual basis for the charges"

Important thing to know: Grand juries only hear one side of the story. The defense doesn’t cross examine witnesses or present a case. Good prosecutors are committed to the truth & doing justice. They don’t indict cases when the defendant can contradict their case.

🙄

• Iris-scanning system that would give agents the “capability to quickly and accurately identify individuals encountered during ICE operations” • Lobbying by Ballard Partners, one of the most Trump-connected K Street firms • No-bid contract awarded in August

Ballard Partners, a lobbying shop with deep ties to Trumpworld, is helping surveillance tech firms land lucrative, no-bid contracts in the administration’s immigration crackdown. Investigation by @schwellenbach.bsky.social and @russchoma.bsky.social www.pogo.org/investigatio...

"How BI² landed an ICE contract worth as much as $10 million is in part a tale of the Trump administration’s increasing reliance on controversial surveillance and biometric technology in its immigration crackdown" It's also about a lobbying shop that has tight ties to Trump

Clients of a Trump-connected lobbying firm keep landing no-bid ICE contracts

Check out our latest investigation, by @schwellenbach.bsky.social in collaboration with @russchoma.bsky.social at @motherjones.com: Clients of a Trump-Connected Lobbying Firm Keep Landing No-Bid ICE Contracts