Still no deal in Washington, but the Louvre opens doors after heist
Three weeks in, the government remains shut down, and President Donald Trump tells GOP senators not to “be extorted” by Democrats. Meanwhile, Democrats warn that millions could face higher premiums if a deal isn’t reached soon.
Plus, The New York Times reported Trump has demanded $230 million from the Justice Department for past investigations, but he insists he’ll donate the money to charity.
And the Louvre reopened this morning after a $102 million jewel heist, but the hunt for the stolen crown jewels continues.
These stories and more highlight your Unbiased Updates for Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2025.
Trump says he ‘will not be extorted’ on health care as shutdown enters third week
The government shutdown still has no end in sight.
Top Republican leaders met with President Donald Trump over lunch at the White House on Tuesday and came out united in their decision to stand firm.
Trump told GOP senators not to back down, insisting Republicans “will not be extorted” by Democrats who want health care concessions before reopening the government.
The Senate has now failed eleven times to pass a short-term bill that would keep the government open through Nov. 1.
“We will not be extorted on this crazy plot of theirs. They’ve never done this before. Nobody has. You always vote for an extension,” Trump said.
Democrats have pushed back, urging the president to get personally involved as a critical deadline approaches.
“If Congress doesn’t act by Oct. 31, millions of Americans will see higher premiums when open enrollment begins Nov. 1,” said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.. “The decisions made or not in the next 10 days will determine whether working families can afford their health care next year. And Americans are desperately looking to Republicans, the party in the majority, to do something about it.”
Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., say they’ve asked to meet with Trump. However, the president told a reporter he wouldn’t sit down with Democrats until the government reopens.
Vance says Gaza ceasefire going ‘better than expected’ as Hamas returns more hostage remains
Israel’s military said Hamas returned the remains of two more hostages late Tuesday. It’s another step toward honoring the fragile ceasefire deal in Gaza, which requires Hamas to return all remaining hostages, both living and dead.
And while that process has been fraught, Vice President JD Vance said the truce is actually going better than he expected.
Vance is in Israel this week alongside special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law and the architects of his peace plan.
The trip aims to keep the deal on track and prepare for phase two, which centers on reconstruction and security in Gaza.
“Look, I think that we are one week into President Trump’s historic peace plan in the Middle East, and things are going frankly better than I expected that they would,” Vance said. “This is a very, very tough situation. You have two peoples, two enemies who have fought a very tough conflict against each other. You have a terrorist organization on one hand that murdered a lot of innocent people. You’ve got an Israeli army that was defending itself on the other … and then of course you have an innocent civilian population in Gaza that’s caught in the middle.”
Vance also announced the opening of a new civil-military coordination center in southern Israel. Run by U.S. Central Command, it’s designed to be the main hub for Gaza stabilization and aid.
The vice president is expected to remain in Israel through Thursday.
Trump seeks $230 million DOJ payout over past investigation
The president is demanding approximately $230 million in compensation from the Justice Department, according to The New York Times. It’s money Trump claims he’s owed for what he calls years of unfair investigations into him.
The claims — filed before he returned to the White House — cover both the Russia investigation and the Mar-a-Lago documents case.
Now, however, the same department that once investigated him is run by his own appointees.
The department includes Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, Trump’s former defense lawyer, who is one of the officials who may have to sign off on any settlement.
Legal experts told The Times the ethical conflict was “bizarre and almost too outlandish to believe.”
“I don’t know what the numbers are. I don’t even talk to them about it. All I know is that they would owe me a lot of money, but I’m not looking for money; I’d give it to charity,” Trump said. “With the country, it’s interesting because I’m the one that makes the decision, right? And that decision would have to go across my desk, and it’s awfully strange to make a decision where I’m paying myself. You ever have one of those cases where you have to decide how much you’re paying yourself in damages? But I was damaged very greatly and any money that I would get, I would give to charity.”
The Times reported that $230 million in taxpayer money could be at stake if the president’s own Justice Department agrees that he deserves it.
Trump nominee withdraws following report of racist texts
A Trump nominee pulled his name from consideration after a damaging Politico report on racist texts.
Paul Ingrassia, the president’s pick to lead the government’s Office of Special Counsel, which fights corruption, has withdrawn his nomination.
In a post on X, Ingrassia wrote that he doesn’t have enough Republican votes at this time, saying he’ll continue to work to make America great again.
Four Republican senators, including Majority Leader John Thune, publicly opposed his nomination, which was enough to sink it if all Democrats voted no.
Politico reports the messages included racial slurs about Black holidays and remarks about having a “Nazi streak.”
Ingrassia’s lawyer told Politico the texts may have been altered or taken out of context.
Potential Warner Bros. Discovery sale puts CNN’s future in question
Warner Bros. Discovery — the parent company of CNN and HBO — announced Tuesday that it’s open to a sale, potentially with Paramount Skydance.
The move comes after the company announced its split into two parts — one for entertainment and streaming and the other for news and sports.
Since the announcement, bidders have already lined up to offer deals, according to The New York Times.
Among the bidders is Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison. He recently took control of Paramount, spent $150 million to buy Bari Weiss’s Free Press, and made her editor-in-chief of CBS News.
If that deal goes through, it will bring CNN and CBS under the same umbrella — two of America’s legacy news brands in one empire.
Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav said the company was exploring options after receiving unsolicited offers. CNBC reported that other potential suitors include Netflix and Comcast.
For CNN, it’s the latest chapter in a long series of ownership changes. And it raises an uncertain question: Who owns the future of that news organization?
Louvre reopens doors as police claim stolen jewels worth more than $102M
The Louvre is open again this morning, but some of its most prized treasures are still missing.
Police reported the jewels stolen in that Hollywood-style heist are valued at over $102 million. This does not include their historical significance to France.
Investigators said the thieves used a basket to scale the museum’s facade, cut through a window and smashed their way into the Apollo gallery in under eight minutes. Eight imperial pieces were stolen, including a sapphire diadem, an emerald necklace and a corsage brooch belonging to Empress Eugenie, the wife of Napoleon III.
France’s culture minister called it a “wound for the nation,” saying the Louvre is more than a museum — it’s the soul of French culture.
Still, the museum reopened Wednesday morning, and crowds gathered once again beneath the Louvre’s glass pyramid.
Elephant pumpkin smash: Baby Tula-Tu steals the show at Oregon Zoo
It’s the Oregon Zoo’s annual “Squishing of the Squash,” where elephants become pumpkin-smashing machines.
They receive giant gourds, some weighing hundreds of pounds, donated by local growers who specialize in monster vegetables.
But the crowd favorite? Baby Tula-Tu.
At just eight months old, Tula-Tu weighs about as much as one of the pumpkins. She might have been too small to smash it, but not too tiny to steal the show.
Instead of stomping, she began dribbling her mini pumpkin like a soccer star — showing that Halloween fun comes in all sizes.
More from Straight Arrow News:
Gunmaker Glock discontinuing models amid ‘switch’ lawsuits nationwide
Austrian gunmaker Glock is discontinuing many of its widely owned models amid lawsuits seeking millions of dollars and legislation limiting the availability of the popular firearms. The gunmaker confirmed it would unveil a new model that doesn’t accept “switches,” an aftermarket component that allows for fully automatic fire.
A spokesperson for the gunmaker confirmed earlier reports to firearms website Pew Pew Tactical on Tuesday. While the company told the outlet that the changes were to “establish a baseline of products while simplifying our processes,” the new “V” models replacing the discontinued guns will notably remove a source of controversy.
An auto sear, commonly referred to as a switch, can be purchased or 3D-printed and quickly installed to the rear of a Glock handgun as well as other lesser-known guns that have a cruciform trigger bar. The switch allows a shooter to toggle the gun between semiautomatic and fully automatic fire, meaning continuous discharge of a magazine’s rounds with one trigger pull.
Glock’s website listed the nearly two dozen models and their variants that it would discontinue.
“In order to focus on the products that will drive future innovation and growth, we are making a strategic decision to reduce our current commercial portfolio,” reads a Q&A on the discontinuations. “This streamlined approach allows us to concentrate on continuing to deliver the highest-quality and most relevant solutions for the market.” Read the full story now >
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Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
