A Senate hearing on political violence highlights radical Left ideology, a brewing power struggle within DHS shakes up ICE leadership, and NYC mayoral frontrunner Zohran Mamdani’s lead slips amid criticism for his polarizing policies and past comments. It’s Wednesday, October 29, 2025, and this is the news you need to know to start your day. Today’s edition of the Morning Wire podcast can be heard below, and the video version can be seen on The Daily Wire: Senate Addresses Left-Wing Violence Topline: Daily Wire host Michael Knowles testified in front of members of the Senate on Tuesday about the growing trend of ideologically motivated violence and its threat to the First Amendment. Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-MO) and his Republican colleagues believe the threat of violence coming from radical leftists, including “Antifa,” is on the rise and will only continue to be an issue unless political leaders and the media are forced to face that fact. The purpose of Tuesday’s Senate hearing was to present extensive evidence to shine a spotlight on the problem. The assassination of Charlie Kirk prompted this hearing, and it has made this issue of political violence impossible to ignore. But even with legacy media outlets being forced to cover Kirk’s assassination, critics say they’ve worked hard to bury evidence pointing to the ideological motives of the suspect in the case. The suspect was a leftist who called Kirk’s conservative views “hateful” – and who was in a romantic relationship with a male who identifies as a female. Join us now during our exclusive Deal of the Decade. Get everything for $7 a month. Not as fans. As fighters. Go to DailyWire.com/Subscribe to join now. As Schmitt said, there is still a strong need to ensure the efforts to bury that reality aren’t successful. Inviting a high-profile figure like The Daily Wire’s Knowles to speak was part of the strategy, as he has a large platform and firsthand experience with the kinds of threats coming from the Left. Knowles specifically spoke to how past administrations refused to list things like the Black Lives Matter riots and massacres by transgender individuals as leftwing violence in official government records. “Consider the Covenant School massacre in Nashville, for instance, in which a trans-identifying shooter murdered Christian children at school after leaving a manifesto outlining ideological motivations, such as gender ideology. That incident, according to authorities, lacked an ideological motive,” said Knowles.  “The Black Lives Matter riots — overtly leftist demonstrations that left dozens of people dead and over a billion dollars’ worth of property damage — likewise fail to show up on registers of left-wing political violence,” he continued. “Even an attack by Antifa operatives that targeted me personally for my conservative political views appeared in official records and data sets as nothing more than ‘obstructing law enforcement.’” Knowles said that the tide has somewhat begun to turn with things like the assassination of Kirk and the multiple attempts on Trump, forcing “honest” liberals to acknowledge the truth about where most of the violence is coming from. “On September 23, no less an emblem of American liberalism than The Atlantic magazine admitted that fact in an article, based on a recent study, under the headline, ‘Left-Wing Terrorism Is On The Rise,’” said Knowles. “Less honest liberals, including members of Congress, have nevertheless persisted in denying this fact. Democrat Congressman Seth Moulton reacted to a leftist’s assassination of the most prominent proponent of civil debate on the American Right by blaming the Right.” A YouGov poll just last month found that 26% of young liberals say it is “sometimes justified” to resort to violence to achieve political goals. Only 7% of young conservatives said the same. An Administration Divided On Deportation Topline: A major leadership shakeup at ICE is exposing internal divides over the Trump administration’s mass deportation effort. ICE leadership is being moved out of multiple offices across the country. They’re being replaced with Border Patrol leadership. The swaps have happened in Los Angeles, Phoenix, Philadelphia, Denver, El Paso, San Diego, Seattle, Portland, and New Orleans. The Trump administration has already shifted when it comes to who is in charge of the mass deportation campaign. U.S. Customs and Border Patrol commander-at-large Greg Bovino has been put in charge of operations in places such as Los Angeles and Chicago, where Border Patrol agents are making arrests alongside ICE. Quality versus quantity: There have been significant internal divisions within the Department of Homeland Security over how the administration should conduct its operations and mass deportation arrests. The division centers on differing priorities: Corey Lewandowski, a senior advisor in a temporary position in the administration, wants to maximize the number of arrests and deportations. ICE Director Todd Lyons and border czar Tom Homan advocate for focusing on arresting hardened criminals. Quality camp: Lyons and Homan’s camp is very concerned about public perception. Border Patrol and ICE are under a lot of scrutiny. They want to show the public that they’re getting hardened criminals off the streets and keeping Americans safe. It’s also about making sure ICE officers feel good about the work they’re doing and that they’re making targeted arrests. Quantity camp: Bovino was involved in some of the more controversial raids, including Home Depot parking lots and car washes. Those raids drew big protests in places like Southern California and Chicago. Bovino has faced significant scrutiny for this. He was testifying in court on Tuesday about his alleged use of tear gas during an operation in Chicago. ICE is also facing backlash, but it wants to minimize that and get officers back to quality work. Who is winning? The internal announcement of the Border Patrol takeover of operations came from Lewandowski. He notified Homeland Security officials about the leadership changes at ICE. His being the source of the announcement suggests that his camp is winning the fight. Lewandowski has, in some ways, more power than Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, sources tell The Daily Wire. His control at DHS has become a point of contention for many in the administration. Mamdani Slips In Final Days Topline: Socialist candidate for New York City mayor, Zohran Mamdani, continues to hold a commanding lead, but Andrew Cuomo’s attacks and other controversies are beginning to chip away at it. Mamdani is up by ten points. Andrew Cuomo, the former New York Democratic governor now running as an independent, was polling 20 points behind Mamdani, but Cuomo recently cut that lead in half. A Suffolk University Poll released Monday shows Mamdani leading Cuomo 44% to 34%. Current NYC Mayor Eric Adams dropped out of the race and endorsed Cuomo on Thursday, giving Cuomo a boost. Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa, the founder and CEO of the Guardian Angels, is in third place with 11% of the vote. Opponents of Mamdani, some of whom view him as a communist, have pressured Sliwa to drop out to improve Cuomo’s chances. President Trump is among those who have leaned on Sliwa. But none of the pressure appears to have moved him. The odds are still in Mamdani’s favor, but it’s a much closer race than it once was. In-person early voting started on Saturday, and Election Day is on November 4. Mamdani’s controversies: Mamdani raised eyebrows when he tearfully spoke about his aunt, saying she was victimized in the wake of 9/11 because she is a Muslim and wears a hijab. “My aunt stopped taking the subway after 9/11 because she did not feel safe in her hijab,” said the Democratic candidate. When Mamdani was pressed about the claim, he admitted the story wasn’t about his aunt but a different relative. He also suggested questioning his story is Islamophobic. “I was speaking about my aunt, I was speaking about Zehra Fuhi, my father’s cousin – sadly passed away a few years ago,” said Mamdani later when pressed to clarify. “For the takeaway for my more than ten-minute address about Islamophobia in this race and in this city to be the question of my aunt tells you everything about Andrew Cuomo.” Mamdani has also been accused of being antisemitic. Recently, a 2023 video resurfaced of Mamdani attacking the NYPD: “We have to make clear that when the boot of the NYPD is on your neck, it’s been laced by the IDF,” said Mamdani. “Especially in New York City, you have so many opportunities to make clear the ways in which that struggle over there is tied to capitalist interests over here.” A segment of New York City is not happy about Mamdani likely becoming mayor. The city is liberal, but Mamdani is seen as radical and outside the mainstream. His proposals include massive tax hikes, a “freeze the rent” policy, replacing cops with social workers in some cases, government-run grocery stores, decriminalizing “sex work,” etc. As for the frontrunner’s successes in his campaign, Mamdani is doing well with residents under age 40, and he has made genuine efforts to reach out to immigrant communities in the city. The latest numbers show that nearly 40% of all NYC residents are foreign-born. The city’s changing demographics are definitely a significant factor in this election.

CNN anchor Karoline Leavitt corrected the congresswoman

'Starve American children'

'Entirely false and fabricated'

Hurricane Melissa made its second landfall early Wednesday morning

'They daily call him a racist and a Nazi'

English news headlines are no stranger to buried treasure. Thousands of silver coins have been found by citizens up and down the country over the last 50 years. Gold ones, however, are substantially rarer, and that makes this haul of 69 gold coins from the Tudor dynasties of 15th and 16th-century England one of the […] The post Family Finds Trove of Rare Tudor Coins Buried in Backyard–Now They Can Sell at Auction appeared first on Good News Network.

Books cover reveals Revealing The Castle and the Cloister by Laura Weymouth A new political fantasy launching summer 2026 By Reactor | Published on October 29, 2025 Photo courtesy of Laura Weymouth Comment 1 Share New Share Photo courtesy of Laura Weymouth A refugee, a heretic queen, and a priest attempt to shape the fortunes of a continent shattered by war... We’re thrilled to share the cover of Laura Weymouth’s The Castle and the Cloister, the first book in a political fantasy duology—available August 4, 2026 from Simon and Schuster/Saga Press Two hundred years ago, the warmongering Inver clan conquered the nation of Honoria, suppressing its pacifist goddesses, and ushering in an era of blood and battles. Now, after a brief but fraught peace, a king’s whims threaten to reignite the engines of war.At the sun goddess Raea’s cloister, the last stronghold of Honoria’s matriarchal religion, Fia and her infant daughter are in search of a safe haven. Fia aims to offer her child more than the poverty and abuse she was raised with, but the price of the cloister’s protection will tear her from what she loves most and thrust her into a game more complex than she could imagine.Within the Invers’ mountain stronghold, Ariana is known as the apostate queen. Once a follower of the goddess of stars, she left her faith for the sake of a king. But old loyalties are not easily severed. Ariana treads a dangerous path, striving for peace in a court made for conquest.Deep in the heart of the mountain, the Inver Priest bides his time, presiding over his people’s brutal religion. Blinded in the fight for the throne, he harbors a bitter grudge—one that could lead to Honoria’s ruin or renewal.Amid a treacherous landscape of enemies, allies, and intrigue, three lives will intertwine. Each will have to risk the wrath of gods and kings alike to alter the course of nations. Cover illustration by Christin Engelberth (IG @c.e.illo) Cover design by Ella Laytham (IG @ellaytham) Buy the Book The Castle & the Cloister Laura E. Weymouth The first book in the Daughters of Light duology Buy Book The Castle & the Cloister Laura E. Weymouth The first book in the Daughters of Light duology The first book in the Daughters of Light duology Buy this book from: AmazonBarnes and NobleiBooksIndieBoundTarget Laura E. Weymouth is the author of several novels, including the critically acclaimed The Light Between Worlds, A Treason of Thorns, A Rush of Wings, A Consuming Fire, and The Voice Upstairs. Born and raised in the Niagara region of Ontario, Laura now lives at the edge of the woods in western New York with her husband, three wild-hearted daughters, and an ever-expanding menagerie of animal friends. Learn more at LauraEWeymouth.com. The post Revealing <i>The Castle and the Cloister</i> by Laura Weymouth appeared first on Reactor.

Books reading recommendations Eight Strange Cities Where You’ll Need More Than a Map to Survive Weird fiction loves its sprawling cities — the stranger, the better. By Sam Reader | Published on October 29, 2025 Photo by Leann K [via Unsplash] Comment 0 Share New Share Photo by Leann K [via Unsplash] Weird fiction loves a cityscape. It’s a seemingly safe place to let the imagination run wild, drawing the unfamiliar from the familiar and expected—most people have been in at least one city, with its winding streets, massive buildings, odd landmarks, and bustling thoroughfares. Within the sprawling confines of an imagined city, the imagination flourishes, giving rise to everything from a history of colonialism enacted through urban planning to the inside of a madman’s head organized into buildings and districts. With modern weird fiction’s tastes once again turning towards the urban, let’s take a quick tour of eight exceedingly strange metropolises… Luriat — The Saint of Bright Doors by Vajra Chandrasekera Between its “bright doors” that allow spirits to pass in and out of the city (used memorably in a segment of Chandrasekera’s Rakesfall, which just won the Ursula K. Le Guin Award), its unusual factions (there’s a support group for fantasy protagonists who never achieved their destinies), and its vibrant (and often contradictory) history told through the constantly shifting landscape, it’s clear there’s much more going on to Luriat than annual plague quarantines and festivals. While it might not be the most stable of places (the constant power shifts mirrored in the geography make it hell to navigate), it’s a city where there’s always something interesting going on, provided there’s not another crackdown or a flying religious zealot flinging people into the upper atmosphere… The Budayeen — When Gravity Fails by George Alec Effinger Cyberpunk is a genre defined by its cities, and no city in cyberpunk is as lively as the Budayeen. A Middle Eastern riff on the French Quarter located next to a cemetery (filled with all the tourists and would-be tough guys who couldn’t hang), it’s the kind of place where you can get a drink, a completely new body, cybernetic software enhancements, or a shank in the kidney, all on the same block. While dangerous, it’s also one of the tightest-knit communities in cyberpunk, willing to go to war if somebody messes with one of their own. It’s a place that’s both hazardous and sinister, and bold and vibrant, sometimes within the same locale. Bellona — Dhalgren by Samuel R. Delany Where to even begin? Delany’s hyper-literary surrealist novel takes place within a post-apocalyptic city called Bellona, a place where the geography shifts constantly, something is affecting the celestial bodies as seen from the city (there are two moons, and the sun appears massive), and the inhabitants might be stuck in a time loop, since the entire novel ends with a line that seems to feed back (almost) directly into its famous opening sequence in which the narrator comes “to wound the autumnal city.” Despite the chaos, nonlinearity, gang warfare, and an apparent apocalypse causing reality to warp around it, the inhabitants of Bellona do tend to stay in the city, though whether this is because they like it there or they’re unable to leave due to the aforementioned time loop and surrounding apocalypse is anyone’s guess. Malarkoi — Malarkoi by Alex Pheby Situated in the middle of the Cities of the Weft cycle is Malarkoi, the city of the Mistress. A gigantic pyramid that contains a different universe on every floor and is powered in part by infanticide, Malarkoi even out-weirds the other cities in the cycle with its tiers of mythical creatures and whole biomes within its shining confines. It’s a place so in tune with its own universal rules and its Mistress that life and death, time and space, have zero meaning save for what’s imbued in it by those with enough power. It also represents such a major escalation in Pheby’s work that the surrounding region is the staging ground for the climax of Waterblack, a book that takes place after the protagonists have supposedly moved on from it. In a world full of strange cities, that stands as even more of an achievement. Ashamoil — The Etched City by K.J. Bishop From a city so weird it eclipses a trilogy of weird cities to a city so weird that people still debate about it, trying to figure it out over two decades on. Ashamoil is a port city located on a river, a decadent fin de siecle refuge for a variety of artists and ne’er do wells, a hub for gunrunning and worse crimes among its ruins and nightclubs. It’s also a place where street performers encourage passersby to pull parasitic flowers out of their bodies, a local priest can perform miracles, and crocodile-headed humans crawl out of the river only to die on the banks. Weirdly, it’s also one of the safest places to live on this list, provided you don’t get involved in the numerous interesting things going on around you. But who would ever want that? More fun to get mixed up in in the tragic romances, miraculous resurrections, hidden artists’ ateliers, and free-flowing hallucinogens. Popolac and Poduvejo — “In The Hills, The Cities” by Clive Barker Two towering giants, made up of the citizens of competing cities lashed to massive wooden skeletons, the ritualistic combatants of Clive Barker’s short story are actually Yogoslavian cities, their 80,000 combined citizens acting in concert to carry out a battle on the plains outside their city limits. The cities themselves are fairly normal (one of them is even based on a real place, apparently), but it’s difficult to categorize this behavior as anything but “strange,” especially given the human-powered kaiju spreading death and madness in their wake as witnesses try to process these giants made out of so many human bodies. By the end of Barker’s story, they even act as singular creatures, with one mourning the other’s death, wandering into the Yugoslavian hills mad with grief, the families of their formerly human inhabitants desperate to stop them. Tiliard — The Works of Vermin by Hiron Ennes Ennes made a name for themselves with the astonishingly weird and dystopian Leech, and delivers even harder with The Works of Vermin, set inside a mesa-sized tree stump atop a river gorge. With the opening sentence, Tiliard is established as a strange and unnervingly gorgeous city, powered by hydroelectric barrages set into the river beneath the stump and spiraling around into a mass of verdant urban sprawl. Stranger still is the city’s “pest control” department, who regularly have to exterminate massive bug infestations that run the gamut from simple roaches to hallucinogen-spitting centipedes. It’s a twisted mix of real-life arboreal ecosystems and human ingenuity; a groaning, secretive mass of pathways, moss, fungi, roots, and ionized sap inhabited by people who are perfectly suited to live among its spiraling confines. The Well-Built City — The Physiognomy by Jeffrey Ford The title location of Ford’s classic Well-Built City Trilogy, the actual city itself is mainly in the spotlight in the first book and part of the second (before it’s fully destroyed), when Cley is forced to journey back there. It’s a memory palace of a megalopolis drawing on Eastern European dystopias and Russian literature, ruled by a mad scientist who designed the entire place as a mnemonic device for his research. It’s also a place where dissidents are executed in show trials by having their heads exploded using air bellows, where the government sponsors pseudoscientists in criminal investigations, and where at any moment the city’s master might decide to change procedure on a whim in the service of some strange experiment. Few places deserve the term “nightmarish” as much as the Well-Built City does—it’s is a surrealist painting come to life, with all the beauty and terror that entails. While these eight examples are personal favorites, this list isn’t exhaustive by any means—please feel free to recommend (or warn your fellow fans about the perils of) other strange, surreal, or uncanny cities you’ve come across in your literary travels…[end-mark] The post Eight Strange Cities Where You’ll Need More Than a Map to Survive appeared first on Reactor.