John Bolton reacts to DOJ indictment; Trump plans to lower IVF costs
John Bolton, a former Trump national security adviser and now a vocal critic of Trump, has been indicted on 18 counts related to violations of the Espionage Act. Here’s what Bolton is accused of doing with government documents and how the president reacted.
Plus, President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin are scheduled to meet for a second time. Learn where the meeting will take place and what Trump commented about a long phone call with the Russian leader.
And Trump announced plans to lower the cost of in vitro fertilization. How the government is partnering with the largest manufacturer to reduce fertility drug prices.
These stories and more highlight your Unbiased Updates for Friday, October 17, 2025.
Former Trump national security adviser John Bolton indicted on federal charges
The Department of Justice indicted former White House national security adviser John Bolton on Thursday. He is accused of unlawfully transmitting and retaining classified documents from Trump’s first term in office.
The DOJ charged Bolton with 18 counts in total, including eight counts of transferring national defense information and 10 counts of retaining national defense information. Bolton is the third critic of President Donald Trump the DOJ has sought to prosecute.
The indictment by a federal grand jury in Maryland accuses Bolton of sharing diary-like notes that contained classified information with relatives and using a non-governmental email account to do it.
That account was hacked in 2021. The indictment suggests classified information was exposed to operatives linked to the Iranian regime.
Bolton is charged with eight counts of unlawful transmission and ten counts of unlawful retention of national defense information.
Bolton served as Trump’s national security adviser from 2018 to 2019, until he was ousted by the president because he “disagreed strongly” with many of Bolton’s suggestions.
Trump reacted to the news of Bolton’s indictment while speaking with reporters at the White House on Thursday.
“I didn’t know that, you tell me for the first time, but I think he’s, you know, a bad person. I think he’s a bad guy, yeah. He’s a bad guy. It’s too bad, but it’s the way it goes — that’s the way it goes, right? That’s the way it goes,” Trump said.
Bolton is the third Trump adversary to be indicted in recent weeks.
Former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James are also facing federal charges, brought by the Trump administration.
In a statement, Bolton said the move against him is just the latest in the president’s “retribution” against him.
He said, “I have become the latest target in weaponizing the Justice Department to charge those he deems to be his enemies, with charges that were declined before or distort the facts.”
He is expected to surrender to authorities as early as Friday.
US strikes another boat; top commander retires abruptly
“Expect them to continue,” that’s the word from the White House when it comes to blowing up boats in the Caribbean that it deems are drug vessels run by cartels, mainly from Venezuela.
It happened for the sixth time in recent weeks on Thursday. The U.S. military conducted an air strike on a boat, but this time, there are reports of survivors.
In what appears to be a related story, the commander of the Southern Command overseeing U.S. policy in the Caribbean and the waters off South America — Admiral Alvin Holsey — is abruptly retiring at the end of the year.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth posted on X, saying Holsey demonstrated “unwavering commitment to the mission, people and nation.”
However, some are questioning why an admiral with 37 years of service would suddenly quit a job he started just last November, when these posts typically last three to four years.
The Pentagon did not elaborate on Holsey’s impending retirement, instructing media outlets to refer to Hegseth’s statement on X.
Trump announces plans to meet with Putin again ahead of meeting with Zelenskyy
Trump is now shifting his international attention to the war between Russia and Ukraine. He took to Truth Social on Thursday morning with a surprise post that said, “I am speaking to President Putin now. The conversation is a lengthy one.”
About two hours later, Trump followed up with a second post that said he and the Russian leader have agreed to meet in Budapest, Hungary, to see if “We can bring this inglorious war between Russia and Ukraine, to an end.”
No specific time or date was revealed, but Trump also said that a U.S. delegation, led by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, will be meeting with high-level Russian officials next week at a location that’s to be determined.
Trump said he made great progress in his call with Putin, who congratulated him on accomplishing peace in the Middle East.
Putin’s envoy, Kirill Dmitriev, also posted on X that it was a productive phone call between Putin and Trump, saying the U.S.-Russian cooperation will prevail, while calling the U.K. and E.U. warmongers.
UK and EU warmongers try very very hard to derail peace prospects. But dialogue and peace and the US-Russia cooperation will prevail.
— Kirill Dmitriev (@kadmitriev) October 16, 2025
Trump and Putin previously met in Alaska in August for nearly three hours, but those talks did not result in peace between Russia and Ukraine.
On Friday, Trump will host Ukrainian President Zelenskyy at the White House for more discussions about Putin and ending the war.
Trump announces plan to lower cost of IVF drugs, expand access
Trump announced plans to make in vitro fertilization (IVF) drugs more affordable, expanding Americans’ access. The president said the world’s largest fertility drug manufacturer, EMD Serono, could cut its prices by more than 70% on Trump Rx.
The drugs typically cost about $5,000 per IVF cycle, according to the president.
Nonprofit research group KFF said most IVF patients in the U.S. pay out of pocket for treatment.
Trump also announced his administration is expanding access to fertility care.
“Today we’re also taking historic steps to vastly expand access to insurance coverage for fertility care, including IVF, something that, as you know, was not covered. Effective immediately, for the first time ever, we will make it legal for companies to offer supplemental insurance plans specifically for fertility,” Trump said.
The announcement follows an executive order the president signed in February directing federal agencies to find ways to lower the cost of IVF.
New York City mayoral candidates spar in first debate
New York City’s three mayoral candidates debated for the first time on television Thursday night as voters get ready to head to the polls in the upcoming general election in just a few weeks.
Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani, former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo — who is running as an independent after losing the Democratic primary in June — and Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa were all on stage.
They butted heads on everything from local issues — including crime, policing, housing, and the largest public school system in the nation — to national issues like how they would handle the Trump administration and their stances on the Gaza ceasefire deal.
Polls show Mamdani, who won the Democratic primary, is the frontrunner in the race.
A second and final debate is scheduled for next week. Election day is Nov. 4.
More from Straight Arrow News:
Highway robbery: ‘Skyrocketing’ cargo theft costs $35 billion a year
Ever since goods were first hauled on wheels, someone has been trying to steal them. Once grudgingly accepted as an unavoidable cost of doing business, cargo theft has exploded into a serious threat to the security of the supply chain. More goods are being taken in more ways, driving up shipping costs that raise prices for consumers.
Truckers are still victims of brazen cargo crimes, like armed hijackings. But increasingly, cargo thieves are clever cybercriminals adept at stealing before the loss is recorded, let alone reported. The threat dynamic that now bedevils shippers and truckers: While “simple” thefts of entire loaded trailers or pilferage from trailers continue as always, a new wave of fraud is steeply driving up “non-delivery thefts.”
“Cargo theft is costing the supply chain up to $35 billion annually, and the prevalence of this crime is skyrocketing,” Bob Costello, chief economist, American Trucking Associations (ATA), told SAN.
He said that “strategic theft,” defined as involving deception or fraud, has risen 1,500% since the first quarter of 2021 — and the average value of the goods stolen per theft is now over $200,000. Read the full story now >
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Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
