A federal judge in Washington takes up the White House’s press ban today, President Trump marks 70 million children enrolled in his signature savings accounts, and protesters repeatedly interrupt his Texas rally. Overnight, rescuers in Ukraine pulled more bodies from the rubble of a Russian missile strike, Britain’s East Jerusalem consulate came down, testimony began in the Naresh Bhatt murder trial in Virginia, and Nepal called off its search for thousands of flood victims.
In This Roundup
- Judge to Weigh Longer-Term Block on White House Press Ban
- Trump Celebrates 70 Million Children Enrolled in “Trump Accounts”
- Protesters Repeatedly Interrupt Trump’s San Antonio Rally for Ken Paxton
- Death Toll in Russian Missile Strike on Ukrainian Town Rises to 22
- Britain Removes East Jerusalem Consulate Signs as Israeli Closure Order Expires
- Testimony Begins in Naresh Bhatt Murder Trial in Manassas Park
- Nepal Ends Search for 5,285 Missing After Floods, Turns to Rebuilding
1 Judge to Weigh Longer-Term Block on White House Press Ban
Lawyers for President Donald Trump and the three news outlets he tried to bar from the White House return to federal court in Washington today, where a judge will decide whether to extend protection for CNN, MS NOW and Politico beyond the temporary order keeping them inside the complex. Trump announced on September 18 that the outlets, which he called “fake news,” would be banned from the White House grounds. They sued within days, arguing the move violated their rights to free speech and to fair treatment before losing access.
U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly, a Trump appointee, granted a two-week restraining order on September 24 that forced the administration to restore their press passes, and he was openly skeptical of the government’s claim that the outlets posed a national security risk. Since the outlets were readmitted, Trump has barred CNN and Politico from traveling aboard Air Force One. The Justice Department has pointed to the outlets’ reporting on matters including construction of Trump’s White House ballroom as the supposed security concern. Today’s hearing will determine whether the ban stays frozen until Kelly issues a final ruling.
Source: Reuters
2 Trump Celebrates 70 Million Children Enrolled in “Trump Accounts”
President Trump marked what he called a historic milestone in the Oval Office on Wednesday, announcing that automatic enrollment is complete and nearly 70 million American children now hold a Trump Account, the tax-advantaged investment accounts created under last year’s budget law. Every eligible child under 18 with a Social Security number has had an account opened in their name, though parents still need to claim the account through the Trump Accounts app to manage it, accept contributions, and receive the government’s one-time $1,000 seed deposit for eligible newborns.
Trump was joined by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and philanthropists Michael and Susan Dell, whose $6.25 billion pledge will put $250 into the accounts of 25 million children, with the money landing this week. More than $4.5 billion has flowed into the accounts since the program launched in July, and the White House says over 70 companies, including Uber, Intel and Nvidia, have committed to contribute. “This money is your child’s future,” Trump said, urging parents to claim the accounts waiting for their children.
Source: Fox Business
3 Protesters Repeatedly Interrupt Trump’s San Antonio Rally for Ken Paxton
President Trump’s Wednesday night rally for Republican Senate candidate Ken Paxton at San Antonio’s Freeman Coliseum was interrupted at least half a dozen times by protesters, some of whom were led out by police as the crowd booed. Trump blamed the disruptions on “paid protesters” and “enemies of our nation,” at one point telling the hall, “If there are any more paid protesters, please raise your hand and get the hell out of here.” Video afterward showed a man in a MAGA hat grabbing a demonstrator by the hair as he was escorted out.
The rally marked Trump’s third trip to Texas in under a month as Republicans fight to hold the seat in a race that has tightened sharply, with a recent New York Times/Siena poll showing Democrat James Talarico leading Paxton 51 to 45 percent. Trump also used the evening to pledge the Presidential Medal of Freedom to retired baseball star Roger Clemens and to restate his support for the death penalty for drug dealers. Paxton, whom Trump has called “perhaps the greatest attorney general in the United States of America,” thanked him from the stage and predicted victory.
Source: The Washington Examiner
4 Death Toll in Russian Missile Strike on Ukrainian Town Rises to 22
Rescuers worked through the night in the northern Ukrainian town of Pryluky, pulling bodies from the wreckage of a five-story residential building struck directly by a Russian cruise missile on Wednesday. Ukraine’s State Emergency Service said the death toll had reached 22, including five children, with 54 people injured, seven of them children. Fifteen survivors, among them a child, were pulled from the rubble in the immediate aftermath, and officials warned the count could still climb as the search continued.
The strike on the Chernihiv region town, about 150 kilometers east of Kyiv, came as part of a massive Russian missile and drone barrage across Kyiv and a dozen other regions on Wednesday, coinciding with Russian President Vladimir Putin’s 74th birthday. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned that Russia is likely to escalate its aerial attacks as winter approaches and renewed his plea for more air defense systems from allies. Late Wednesday, Russian drones also struck Kyiv’s Obolonskyi and Desnianskyi districts, and the national grid operator ordered emergency power outages in the capital.
“This is the kind of ‘gift’ Putin gave himself for his birthday. The killing of children, the killing of people.”
Source: The Associated Press
5 Britain Removes East Jerusalem Consulate Signs as Israeli Closure Order Expires
Workers removed the plaques and signs from the British consulate in East Jerusalem overnight as Israel’s order shutting the mission took effect on Thursday, a further rupture in relations between the two allies. Reuters journalists watched crews take down the plaque reading “British Consulate General” and the consular section sign, though the British flag was still flying over the building in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood. Israel said the consulate had “ceased to function” and that 20 diplomats would leave the country.
Israel ordered the closure last month, giving Britain 30 days, after London announced sanctions targeting Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, including a trade ban on settlement goods. Britain, whose presence in the city stretches back nearly 200 years, had sent its top national security adviser to Israel last week in a failed bid to keep the mission open. The order affects around 30 British diplomats and their families but does not touch Britain’s embassy in Tel Aviv, which handles relations with Israel’s government.
Source: Reuters
6 Testimony Begins in Naresh Bhatt Murder Trial in Manassas Park
A jury has been seated and testimony is beginning in the murder trial of Naresh Bhatt, the Manassas Park man accused of killing his wife, Mamta Kafle Bhatt, and dismembering her body. The 28-year-old pediatric nurse and mother disappeared in late July 2024, and her body has never been found. Bhatt faces charges of first-degree murder as well as concealing and defiling a dead body, and he has pleaded not guilty. The trial in Prince William County Circuit Court is expected to run about seven weeks.
With no body recovered, prosecutors are leaning heavily on forensic and digital evidence, including blood evidence found in the couple’s home, a power saw seized from the residence, and video they say shows Bhatt dumping heavy trash bags in dumpsters across Northern Virginia. The defense has argued the state has little direct evidence. Earlier in the proceedings, the judge blocked the results of a polygraph test Bhatt took from being used at trial and ruled on what the jury may hear about Mamta’s past statements regarding alleged domestic abuse.
Source: WTOP
7 Nepal Ends Search for 5,285 Missing After Floods, Turns to Rebuilding
Nepal’s government has formally ended the search for the thousands of people still missing after the catastrophic August 26 floods, shifting the country’s focus to rehabilitation and reconstruction. The office of Prime Minister Balendra Shah decided on Monday that search and rescue operations would cease, even though 5,285 people remain unaccounted for, including hundreds of foreign nationals. Rescuers have recovered the bodies of at least 1,455 people. Families of the missing have held protests and vigils, and the decision has drawn anguished reactions across the country.
Authorities will now concentrate on restoring roads and bridges cut off by the floods, particularly in remote areas where damaged infrastructure has made aid deliveries difficult. The government estimates reconstruction and recovery will cost $4.77 billion. Nearly 33,000 people were affected and about 7,500 homes were damaged or destroyed. Hopes of finding survivors had briefly revived in September when two Nepalese workers were rescued from an underground tunnel at the Trishuli hydropower project, but officials say the chances of further rescues have faded.
Source: The Weather Company
Editor’s Note: This roundup was prepared with the assistance of AI tools. Virginia Times gathered the source material from multiple sources and thoroughly reviewed the information before publication.
