Recent polling suggests that concerns about government corruption are top of mind for voters heading into the midterm elections — and that the Republican Party’s standard-bearer, Donald Trump, has effectively become the face of repulsive self-enrichment to many Americans.

It’s in that environment that Florida Republicans are threatening criminal prosecution over a campaign advertisement spotlighting damning corruption allegations involving top state officials.

We’ve seen various Republicans using the Trumpian tactic of threatening to arrest people who are merely exercising their First Amendment rights. Trump, a chief enemy of those constitutional rights, has called for journalists to be arrested for accurately reporting on crowd sizes at his rallies. And Rep. Andy Harris, R-Md., faced mockery and condemnation last week for threatening to have a journalist prosecuted after she asked a question about his support for Trump’s deadly war with Iran.

Now Florida Republicans are threatening to prosecute television stations that air a Democratic ad spotlighting the Hope Florida charity scandal, which involves public money being directed to political allies by Gov. Ron DeSantis’ GOP administration.

As the Miami Herald reported:

The Republican Party of Florida is threatening television stations with criminal prosecution if they run or report on a scathing campaign ad addressing the Hope Florida scandal and a grand jury’s finding. The GOP is seeking a temporary injunction to prohibit the airing of the ads.

The Republicans had some daylight when Judge Lance E. Neff of the Florida First District Court of Appeal wrote an opinion ordering the expungement of a grand jury report, saying the panel exceeded its authority. The lawsuit once again brings it front and center during the stretch run to the Nov. 3 election.

Basically, a Florida grand jury concluded that the DeSantis administration — including Attorney General James Uthmeier and his predecessor, Sen. Ashley Moody — “misappropriated” taxpayer money as part of a “sophisticated scheme to fund political activities” with money from a Medicaid settlement. DeSantis, Uthmeier and Moody have all denied accusations of wrongdoing.

The leaked grand jury report said indictments weren’t feasible because nobody would “take responsibility for deciding the $10 million of taxpayer money would go to Hope Florida,” adding: “This decision was the original misappropriation, and no witness would take responsibility for making the decision or had any memory of who made it.”

A couple of weeks back, Florida’s 1st District Court of Appeals ordered the report to be expunged, with one DeSantis-appointed judge arguing that it wrongfully “impugned” private individuals. But the issue remains under review by at least one state attorney and has continued to dog Moody’s Senate campaign. Moody has stumbled while answering questions about it, and the topic has become a major talking point for her Democratic opponent, Angie Nixon.

Republicans more or less have two pathways to address their PR problems: become more likable as a party, or seek to silence people who expose its warts. And it seems clear which route the party is taking.

The post Florida Republicans want to kill this campaign ad, so they’re threatening to prosecute TV stations appeared first on MS NOW.

UPDATE (Tuesday Oct. 20, 2026 10:10 p.m. ET): On Tuesday night the Ramaswamy campaign confirmed it was behind the attack ad targeting Amy Acton.

Two weeks before Election Day, Ohio gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy is facing fresh criticism for yet another controversial attack ad against his opponent, Democrat Amy Acton. The Ramaswamy campaign did not initially say if it was responsible for the unaired ad that features Acton’s estranged mother, who defended her husband after he was accused of sexually abusing Acton when she was a child. It put out a statement saying the candidate’s mother “is clearly warning Ohioans not to vote for her.” (Ramaswamy previously faced backlash for an earlier ad that showed a man later identified as a sex offender; the man was later removed from some versions of the ad.) Later on Tuesday, however, the campaign confirmed it had in fact produced the spot and, despite bipartisan backlash, would be spending millions of dollars pushing it to voters throughout the state.

Incredibly, Ramaswamy’s campaign may still be facing bigger problems; a Marist poll published on Tuesday showed Acton leading him by 7 points. MS NOW’s polling data with partner FiftyPlusOne shows Acton with a 5-point edge. And a major source of his campaign woes centers not on questionable attack ads, but on Ramaswamy’s pedigree as a billionaire entrepreneur — and the corporate interests that seem to be alienating more and more everyday Ohio voters.

For the Republicans who ran for office in 2024, cozying up to America’s most powerful corporations was one of the best ways to ensure victory at the polls.

For the Republicans who ran for office in 2024, cozying up to America’s most powerful corporations was one of the best ways to ensure victory at the polls. It wasn’t just that large companies showered the GOP with more than $270 million in contributions that year. Big-business cash also proved prescient: According to data compiled by the Federal Election Commission and The Associated Press, a whopping 77% of the candidates who received hefty corporate donations went on to win their elections.

But in 2026, the mood is very different. Voters facing sky-high prices at the pump and the grocery store have focused their anger on the corporations reaping record profits and a government they perceive as serving the interests of the nation’s executives over everyday people. A survey conducted over the summer found that a quarter of Americans wanted CEOs to “stop being greedy,” while a record 89% of Americans viewed their government as hopelessly corrupt.

The numbers get even worse when voters think about the Republicans who run that government. Over half of Americans — and a 62% supermajority of independent voters — view President Donald Trump as “corrupt,” while also describing the broader Republican Party as “working for big corporations instead of the people” by a nearly 2-to-1 margin. GOP candidates in Alaska, Ohio, Iowa and elsewhere in the country are suddenly realizing that the corporate connections that once bolstered their campaigns have become their biggest political liabilities.

In Ohio, Ramaswamy has been one of the state’s loudest voices for corporate interests, especially in encouraging the building of more artificial intelligence data centers. At an April 2025 Lincoln Day dinner in Geauga County, he declared himself “strongly in favor” of the “AI data center boom in the state of Ohio.” Two weeks later, he urged Ohio lawmakers to weaken the regulatory “red tape” slowing construction of new data centers.

Ramaswamy failed to mention his own multimillion-dollar investments in data center companies, or the campaign donations he accepted from a super PAC connected to Vistra Corp., an energy company powering one of Meta’s Ohio-based data center projects. Those revelations didn’t sit well with the 78% of Ohioans who support a temporary ban on new data center construction, and Ramaswamy abruptly switched to a more skeptical posture over the summer.

Ramaswamy’s close ties to big business have worked against him in an election cycle where most voters view excessive corporate power as a major problem. Despite recent efforts to pivot his campaign to a message of quick tax cuts, Ramaswamy stumbled into a new headache last month when it was revealed that a group of out-of-state billionaires, including data center investors Ross Stevens and Ratmir Timashev, transferred $37 million to a super PAC backing his candidacy.

In a headache for Republicans who expected the state’s conservative slant to carry Ramaswamy to victory, he in fact spent most of September trailing his Democratic opponent, Acton. Ramaswamy’s consistently bad numbers were enough to trigger alarm bells in Washington, with both Vice President JD Vance and Trump racing to Ohio earlier this month in an effort to avert the GOP’s looming political wipeout.

Ramaswamy isn’t the only candidate getting hurt by corporate ties. In Alaska, Sen. Dan Sullivan’s close relationship to wealthy industrial fisheries has made him a public enemy among Alaska’s struggling small fishermen in a state where commercial fishing generates just over 7% of the state’s wealth. Local fishermen warn that Sullivan’s recent bill to reduce bycatch — the accidental capture of unwanted fish — is actually packed with government handouts that only apply to the corporate fisheries that contributed nearly $400,000 in contributions to his campaigns throughout his career.

Backed by a flurry of powerful TV ads featuring fishermen threatened by Sullivan’s bill, his Democratic opponent, Mary Peltola, now boasts a 7-point lead in the latest New York Times polling. Here, Trump proved unable to control his temper, blasting the Alaska GOP as “stupid” and adding a campaign visit to boost Sullivan. Democrats were quick to frame Trump’s emergency stop as validation of Peltola’s strength.

Embattled Republicans like Ramaswamy, Sullivan and Hinson may be hoping for a last-minute campaign reset, but polls suggest that their constituents aren’t buying the rebrand.

“It doesn’t matter who flies in to try and save Dan Sullivan from his abhorrent record, Alaskans will still hold him accountable for his price hiking agenda this November,” a spokesperson for Peltola’s campaign told Newsweek.

Back in the Lower 48, Iowa GOP Senate candidate Ashley Hinson is facing accusations of corruption following allegations that her husband, Matt Arenholz, quietly brokered meetings between insurance industry lobbyists and the state’s Republican congressional delegation. Rep. Hinson, who has framed herself as a warrior against special interests, never publicly disclosed her husband’s position as a government affairs employee for the lobbying group Independent Insurance Agents of Iowa, despite attending meetings he arranged.

And despite Hinson’s launch of her senate campaign with an ad in which she defiantly declares that “health insurance companies are ripping you off,” her financial disclosures reveal a politician with deep financial interests in insurance companies. Hinson reported that she and Arenholz hold an interest of up to $5 million in High Street Insurance Partners, while The Washington Sun reported that in 2021 Arenholz sold stock in a private insurance company for more than $1 million. When health insurance companies “rip off Iowans,” Hinson reaps the benefits — and voters are noticing.

Hinson’s attempt to line her pockets while selling herself as a fighter against insurance company abuses has fallen flat with the Iowans facing an increase of up to 16% in the cost of their health carecoverage. So far, Hinson hasn’t been able to change a narrative that is moving in Democrats’ direction: A Suffolk University poll published Oct. 4 found Hinson trailing her Democratic opponent, Josh Turek, by 4 points. A month ago, she led Turek by 1.

Embattled Republicans like Ramaswamy, Sullivan and Hinson may be hoping for a last-minute campaign reset, but polls suggest that their constituents aren’t buying the rebrand. With just two weeks left until voters flock to the polls, Republicans are discovering that they aren’t so quick to forget the candidates’ legacy of putting big business first. If the polls are any indication, even the most salacious attack ads are unlikely to change that.

The post Ramaswamy once boasted about his corporate prowess. Ohio voters aren’t buying it. appeared first on MS NOW.

Years ago I was flipping through the ads of a ‘Black Friday’ sale from a large US retailer, while visiting a relative in North Carolina. Amid the pens and pencils was a child’s school bag with a large neon printed unicorn surrounded by lollipops and or hearts.

It was bullet proof.

I can’t recall what caliber of bullet it promised to stop. But the same paper had a semi-automatic Bushmaster rifle for sale at only $549.99 [€490], which normally retails at almost $1,000. I snapped a photo of it.

A few years earlier, a Bushmaster had been used to gun down 20 small children at Sandy Hook Elementary. Most of them were only six-years old.

A Benenlli 12-gauge tactical shotgun was also on sale. Last week, five-year-old Rhoam Summer and two others, aged 8 and 11 were shot dead at a school in Oregon by a 16-year old with a shotgun.

I mention this as someone who grew up in the United States and went to school there but can’t identify with a normalisation of violence splashed out as one-off specials and deals ahead of Christmas, a holiday that is cynically meant to celebrate peace and kindness.

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Iran’s new defence minister has made a sensational announcement. Iran has a heavy fighter of its own design, and it is due to take to the skies next year. Ground testing is already under way, and preparations are being made to establish a production base for serial manufacturing. The West has traditionally doubted Iran’s capabilities, but events have shown that the Iranians know how to surprise the world. It is true that Iran has made definite strides in missile technology and light aircraft production, particularly drones. But developing a fully fledged industry for manufacturing crewed aircraft is a much higher-level undertaking. If Western countries struggle to establish partnerships to develop new aircraft, despite years of effort, and often fail to achieve their goals, what can one expect from Iran? Iran’s aviation dilemma Given the circumstances Iran faces, it is difficult to believe that Tehran will be able to deliver a heavy-fighter development programme. Tehran says it is moving all critical production facilities deep underground, a point also raised by the defence minister. Even so, the aircraft it produces will need somewhere to take off from. If the confrontation with Israel and the United States continues, the viability of Iran’s aviation industry will remain in serious doubt.

U.S. Army Chief Financial Officer Marc E. Andersen argues that the nation must implement a National Security Capital Strategy to leverage private investment and super intelligence to modernize the military and rebuild the defense industrial base.

Trump has ordered an investigation into Grenell. That’s a good start. But the standard should be the same for everyone, including the president himself: Follow the money, check the evidence and get rid of anyone grifting. 

The end to the war will be on Russia’s terms, and Ukraine’s terms, and our terms — but until Russia is ready to play ball, there’s no reason to let up.  

At the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, while in my hometown of Kyiv, I wrote an essay in German for a German website titled "Russia Dehumanizes the World."

The Ukrainian translation of this text, published under the title "The Dehumanization of

The author argues that Congress must amend the Department of Education's 'Do No Harm' test before 2028 to prevent the closure of essential vocational and service-oriented certificate programs that promote entrepreneurship and work-life balance.

It is time to think big, think boldly and start reimagining elections that work for the people, not the politicians.

On January 5, 2025, Saudi Arabia’s then ambassador to Bangladesh, Essa Youssef Essa Al Duhailan, delivered a stark reminder of a lost opportunity. Saudi Aramco, the Kingdom’s state-owned oil giant, had sent high-level delegations to Bangladesh three times between 2016 and 2018 to explore investment opportunities, including an oil refinery. Yet, according to the ambassador, […]

The post Houthi hits on infrastructure helping lure Aramco to Bangladesh? appeared first on Asia Times.

Protests rarely remain confined to the grievances that first bring people into the streets. When the citizens believe their concerns are being ignored, a grievance over a particular policy or administrative decision can evolve into a broader challenge to the political authority. Consequently, what begins as a demand for correction becomes a question of accountability. […]

The post In Delhi or Paris, restoring order cannot replace public trust appeared first on Asia Times.

Donald Trump often warns his supporters that he’ll be investigated if Democrats win in November.

“If we don’t win, they’ll end up impeaching me,” he told supporters at an Oklahoma rally this month. House Speaker Mike Johnson made the threat more explicitly in June, telling a room of conservative activists that Democrats would turn every committee into an investigative body and go after Trump’s family, Cabinet, donors and friends. “Half of you in this room will be targeted,” he warned.

There’s some irony in that warning.

Since Trump returned to office, investigations or prosecutions have involved several people who have been critical of him, including former FBI Director James Comey, former CIA Director John Brennan, New York Attorney General Letitia James, Sen. Adam Schiff and Rep. Ilhan Omar, among others. Some cases have been dismissed or dropped; others remain active. Now Trump and Johnson are telling his supporters to worry that Democrats might target him.

But the warning also reveals Trump’s view of politics: It’s hardball, and he assumes his opponents will play the same way.

That makes some of his other warnings revealing, too. Trump has argued that Democrats might change the political system by making Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico states, expanding the Supreme Court and eliminating the Senate filibuster. All of these ideas are much less likely than Trump makes them out to be, though they have been proposed by reform-minded members of Congress.

But the fact that Trump is saying Democrats would do them suggests that’s what he would do in their place.

Here’s a closer look:

Statehood for D.C.

Do Democrats support it? Yes. The House passed bills to admit D.C. as a state in 2020 and 2021. The 2024 Democratic Party platform also says Democrats “unequivocally support” D.C. statehood.

What do polls show? Statehood is popular with D.C. residents, but national opinion is less settled. In a 2025 Economist/YouGov poll, 39% supported making D.C. a state and 33% opposed it.

What are the arguments for it? D.C. residents pay federal taxes but have no voting representatives in Congress. Congress also has broad authority over the district, including the power to review or block some local laws. Supporters say statehood would give residents full representation in Congress and more control over local affairs, as residents of states have.

Why does Trump think Democrats would do it? Statehood would likely add two Democratic-leaning seats to the Senate.

What are the obstacles? Congress would have to pass a statehood bill. Under current rules, supporters would need 60 votes to overcome a filibuster, and Trump could still veto it. There are also constitutional questions, including how to address the 23rd Amendment, which gives the district three Electoral College votes.

Statehood for Puerto Rico

Do Democrats support it? Only if Puerto Rico wants it. In 2022, the House passed the Puerto Rico Status Act, which would have set up a federally sponsored, binding vote with three options: statehood, independence or sovereignty in free association with the U.S. The 2024 Democratic platform also endorsed the bill.

What do polls show? In a nonbinding referendum in Puerto Rico in 2024, 58.6% of votes cast for one of the three listed options favored statehood. (The current territorial status was not on the ballot, and opponents urged voters to leave the question blank.) In a 2025 national poll, 45% of U.S. adults supported statehood for Puerto Rico and 28% opposed it.

What are the arguments for it? Supporters say statehood would give Puerto Rico’s U.S. citizens voting representation in Congress and a vote in presidential elections. They also argue that statehood would end the unequal treatment Puerto Rico faces in some federal programs.

Why does Trump think Democrats would do it? Statehood would add two senators and several House members, though it’s much less clear which party would benefit the most.

What are the obstacles? The most likely path is for Congress to pass a bill creating a binding referendum, Puerto Rico to approve statehood and then Congress admitting it. As with D.C., admission would need to overcome a Senate filibuster and get the president’s signature.

Expanding the Supreme Court

Do Democrats support it? Some do. The 2024 platform called for Supreme Court term limits and a code of ethics, but did not endorse adding seats. In 2023, Democrats introduced the Judiciary Act, which would have expanded the court from nine justices to 13. It never came up for a vote.

What do polls show? The public is divided. In a 2024 Emerson College poll, 37% supported expanding the court to 13 justices and 39% opposed it.

What are the arguments for it? Supporters say adding seats could counterbalance a court they see as having been reshaped by partisan confirmation fights, and could help restore public confidence in the institution. Critics warn that expansion could make the court look even more partisan and lead to the next Republican majority simply adding seats of its own.

Why does Trump think Democrats would do it? He has warned that Democrats might expand the court to secure a liberal majority.

What are the obstacles? Congress sets the number of justices by law, so expansion would not require a constitutional amendment. But a bill would need 60 votes to overcome a Senate filibuster and could still be vetoed by Trump.

Ending the filibuster

Do Democrats support it? Some do. Others have proposed changing it in some way. In 2024, then-Vice President Kamala Harris said she would support suspending the filibuster to pass a federal abortion rights law.

What do polls show? It depends on how the question is asked. In a 2024 Navigator Research poll, 60% said eliminating the rule that lets a Senate minority block legislation would have a positive effect on government. But a 2021 poll showed more support for reforming the filibuster than ending it entirely.

What are the arguments for it? Supporters say the filibuster lets a minority of senators block bills even when they have majority support, making it harder for Congress to act on important issues — including the three ideas discussed above. The Senate already ended the filibuster for confirming Supreme Court justices to lifetime positions.

Why does Trump think Democrats would do it? Trump has repeatedly urged Republicans to eliminate the filibuster while they control the Senate, arguing that Democrats would do the same if they regained power in order to pass their agenda.

What are the obstacles? The Senate previously used a simple-majority vote to end the filibuster on Supreme Court justices. Because it’s a rule change, it does not require a presidential signature.

This is a preview of MS NOW’s Project 47 Newsletter. As President Trump continues implementing his ambitious agenda, get expert analysis on the administration’s latest actions and how others are pushing back sent straight to your inbox every Tuesday. Sign up now.

The post Trump’s warnings about a Democratic Congress include some interesting ideas appeared first on MS NOW.

The difference between a blue ripple and a blue wave will be the turnout of young voters.

American consumers will pay dearly for this misguided decision.

Russian tourists staying at the five-star Rixos Premium Magawish Suites & Villas in Egypt’s Hurghada have encountered unexpected conditions during their holiday. Instead of peace and comfort, they have found construction machinery outside their windows, work continuing from early morning until late evening, and power interruptions at night. This raises the question of how well such conditions match the standards and cost of a stay at a premium hotel. Russian tourists Inna and Vadim chose Rixos Premium Magawish Suites & Villas, a five-star resort in Hurghada, for their holiday in Egypt. However, their experience fell far short of the expectations they had of premium hotel service. Construction work is taking place immediately next to their room. According to the guests, machinery operates from early morning until late evening. A photograph taken by the tourists shows a construction site with heavy machinery, including concrete-pumping equipment.

What is needed is a fundamental restructuring of financial crime education in the private sector.

Control of the House and Senate is rapidly slipping out of grasp for the Republican Party in the November midterm elections. With rising fuel costs at the top of voters’ minds, President Trump has committed to a questionable last resort: scapegoating Ukraine. 

A report from the Peterson-Kaiser Family Foundation indicates that ObamaCare premiums are projected to increase significantly through 2027, potentially triggering an insurance death spiral as enrollment declines following the expiration of enhanced subsidies.

For fathers, working from home affects family routines, caregiving, mothers’ careers, mental health, retention and the silent career tax attached to visible care.