Short Takes - 10-7-25

FAA reports staffing issues at airports as government shutdown continues. NBCNews.com article. Pull quote: “Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey and Denver International Airport also experienced issues with air traffic control staffing Monday, according to the FAA’s website.”

Exclusive: Classified Justice Department opinion authorizes strikes on secret list of cartels, sources say. CNN.com article. Pull quote: “The expansion of CIA’s authorities to include lethal targeting against cartel actors, however, is also fraught with risk. In Latin America, there are, comparatively, far more US-born citizens and green card holders — people who might have the standing to sue the US government if they are harmed. And that is a novel problem for the CIA, CNN has reported.”

Johnson gives ‘assurance’ to top Senate Dem he’ll move government funding bills. Politico.com article. Pull quote: “Johnson relayed to reporters he believed that Murray “wanted an assurance” from him that he would allow a House floor vote on appropriations bills agreed to by negotiators. The speaker said he told Murray he would do that.”

Greene, Straying From Trump, Reflects an Emerging MAGA Split. NYTimes.com article (free). Pull quote: “She added: “If I can move President Trump out of there, I think he’s on the right page. I think it’s a matter of who is talking in his ear.””

‘No Trump, no vote’ — where will MAGA purists go in 2028? TheHill.com commentary. Pull quote: “But folded within that reality is a potentially huge problem for the Republicans come 2028. A large percentage of those voters either had not voted in years or had never voted at all. They came out to vote for one reason and one reason only: their passion for, and belief in, Trump. Knowing that, the very serious question for the Republican Party to contemplate is: How many of those millions of “Trump-only voters” will stay home once Trump is no longer a candidate?”

Exclusive: Trump targets deals in pharma, AI, energy, mining before midterm elections. Reuters.com article. Pull quote: “While no two deals will look exactly the same, the agreement with MP Materials is a loose template for deals to come, four of the people said. In that deal, the Pentagon took a 15% stake through the Cold War-era Defense Production Act, established a floor price for future U.S. purchases of critical minerals, and got Apple to commit to a $500 million long-term purchase agreement for its recycled magnets.”

EO 14353 – Assuring the Security of the State of Qatar – Federal Register.

EO 14354 – Continuance of Certain Federal Advisory Committees – Federal Register.

EO 14355 – Unlocking Cures for Pediatric Cancer With Artificial Intelligence – Federal Register.