News briefs

Tribune News Service on Oct 20, 2025

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Charles Koch, anti-tax groups harden GOP’s tough shutdown stance

Influential conservative groups with deep pockets are pushing Republicans to demand steep concessions from Democrats in exchange for extending health care subsidies, a move that risks prolonging a U.S. government shutdown now in its 20th day.

Activists on the right, including the billionaire Koch family’s political arm, are running ads and holding meetings to pressure Republicans to stave off Democrats’ demands.

If they must negotiate, these groups argue, Republicans should at least leverage any health care talks to score political wins on abortion and other priorities resisted by Democrats.

Their push comes as congressional Republicans are divided over how to handle the expiring Obamacare premium subsidies at the center of the shutdown fight. Democrats have insisted they will not reopen the government until Republicans agree to extend those subsidies to head off a spike in insurance premiums for more than 22 million Americans.

—Bloomberg News

Trump draws outrage for AI video of himself dumping waste on protesters

Outrage spread Monday over President Donald Trump’s effort to mock the huge No Kings protests over the weekend by posting an AI video of himself dumping waste on demonstrators.

Supporters of the sprawling rallies that drew millions slammed Trump for posting the 18-second clip depicting him wearing a crown and piloting a KING TRUMP warplane over some of the sprawling crowds that gathered Saturday to protest his hard-line second term in power.

The phony plane was shown dumping foul brown waste on some of the throngs of people who marched through Times Square.

“Anybody who would depict himself as dumping waste on the American people ... doesn’t really warrant (holding) the powers of the presidency,” said Mike Zamore of the American Civil Liberties Union, told CNN on Monday. “It’s another reflection of the lack of regard the president has for the people of this country.”

—New York Daily News

LGBTQ+ youth's mental health struggles are getting worse, according to a new survey

There are many stresses that come with being an LGBTQ+ youth: fear, isolation, bullying, feeling as if the world hates you, loved ones pressuring you to change.

Those realities come into sharper view in the first release of findings from an ongoing study by the Trevor Project to track the mental health of about 1,700 youth across the U.S. over an extended period of time.

Researchers from the West Hollywood, California-based nonprofit saw a sharp increase in mental distress among the participants. Over the course of one year, the proportion of participants who reported anxiety symptoms rose from 57% to 68%.

As political rhetoric in the last couple of years has boiled over on issues such as teaching about LGBTQ+ identity in schools, transgender students playing on sports teams and whether to allow gender-affirming care, the share of youth who said they'd experienced symptoms of depression rose from 48% to 54%. Those reporting having suicidal thoughts went from 41% to 47%.

—Los Angeles Times

Gaza truce resumes after deadly Israeli clashes with Hamas

Israel said it has resumed a truce with Hamas in Gaza after heavy fighting over the weekend, with the sides accusing each other of breaching a deal brokered by President Donald Trump.

White House mediators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner arrived on Monday and quickly went into meetings with Israeli officials aimed at solidifying the truce. The country’s airport authority said in a statement that Vice President JD Vance was due to arrive on Tuesday.

Around 9:30 p.m. Israel time on Sunday, the Israel Defense Forces said it had “begun renewed enforcement of the ceasefire” and warned it would “respond firmly to any violation.”

Israel launched strikes against Hamas in Gaza and suspended aid shipments on Sunday after blaming the Iran-backed militant group for an ambush that killed two soldiers in the southern part of the strip. The IDF said it responded by hitting weapons-storage facilities and other sites. It also said it dismantled several kilometers of underground tunnels.

—Bloomberg News