Polls show Zohran Mamdani's lead shrinking as former Gov. Andrew Cuomo gains momentum with the race tightening ahead of New York City's mayoral election. ... Read full Story
Vice President Vance on Friday defended comments he made two days prior about his wife Usha Vance and their relationship dynamic as it relates to religion during a Turning Point USA stop at the University of Mississippi. The vice president told college students Wednesday that deep down, he hopes the second lady is “somehow moved... ... Read full Story
A federal judge on Friday blocked the Trump administration from cutting off the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) beginning this weekend because of the government shutdown, ordering officials to first spend an emergency fund. The roughly $5.25 billion fund is not enough to fully cover November benefits for the food assistance program, which will cost the government... ... Read full Story
EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin reduces construction timelines for Tijuana River sewage projects affecting San Diego by roughly 12 years through U.S.-Mexico collaboration. ... Read full Story
President Trump on Friday said he was not considering strikes within Venezuela following reports his administration had identified potential military targets within the country. Trump was asked aboard Air Force One while en route to Florida about those reports and whether he had made up his mind about potential strikes. “No. It’s not true,” Trump... ... Read full Story
President Trump showed off his renovations of the White House's Lincoln Bathroom on Friday, calling out the room’s previous art deco style as "inappropriate." “I renovated the Lincoln Bathroom in the White House. It was renovated in the 1940s in an art deco green tile style, which was totally inappropriate for the Lincoln Era,” Trump... ... Read full Story
The House of Representatives is being shut for another week as Speaker Mike Johnson keeps pressure on Senate Democrats to end the government shutdown. ... Read full Story
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The White House cast doubt on media reports suggesting President Donald Trump's administration is poised to strike military targets in Venezuela imminently. ... Read full Story
U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols, who was appointed by President Trump, praised two prosecutors removed from the case of a Jan. 6, 2021, rioter, saying they had “upheld the highest standards of professionalism.” “In my view, both Mr. Valdivia and Mr. White did a truly excellent job in this case,” Nichols said during a Thursday... ... Read full Story
The White House said Friday it is resuming public tours of the building in December with an "updated route" after they were paused over the summer ahead of construction of President Trump's ballroom. First lady Melania Trump's office said public tours would restart Dec. 2 with "an updated route offering guests the opportunity to experience... ... Read full Story
Nearly 590,000 bottles of blood pressure drugs have been recalled over concerns that they may contain a potentially carcinogenic chemical that exceeds the “acceptable intake limit.” ... Read full Story
Former Vice President Kamala Harris said the voting age should be decreased to 16, but Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis pushed back against the notion. ... Read full Story
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Ticket sales for the Kennedy Center have continued to plummet in the months since President Trump took over its operations. Tens of thousands of seats have been left empty at the three main performance venues, according to The Washington Post. About 43 percent of tickets remain unsold according to the Post’s daily analysis of the... ... Read full Story
House Speaker Mike Johnson distanced himself from demands to get rid of the filibuster, warning it could backfire if Democrats took back Senate control. ... Read full Story
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg distances himself from Trump conviction on 34 felony counts while campaigning for re-election as Manhattan's top prosecutor. ... Read full Story
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 2, 2025 is:
arbitrary \AHR-buh-trair-ee\ adjective
Arbitrary describes something that is not planned or chosen for a particular reason, is not based on reason or evidence, or is done without concern for what is fair or right.
// Because the committee wasn’t transparent about the selection process, the results of the process appeared to be wholly arbitrary.
// An arbitrary number will be assigned to each participant.
“The authority of the crown, contemporaries believed, was instituted by God to rule the kingdom and its people. England’s sovereign was required to be both a warrior and a judge, to protect the realm from external attack and internal anarchy. To depose the king, therefore, was to risk everything—worldly security and immortal soul—by challenging the order of God’s creation. Such devastatingly radical action could never be justified unless kingship became tyranny: rule by arbitrary will rather than law, threatening the interests of kingdom and people instead of defending them.” — Helen Castor, The Eagle and the Hart: The Tragedy of Richard II and Henry IV, 2024
Did you know?
Donning black robes and a powdered wig to learn about arbitrary might seem to be an arbitrary—that is, random or capricious—choice, but it would in fact jibe with the word’s etymology. Arbitrary comes from the Latin noun arbiter, which means “judge” and is the source of the English word arbiter, also meaning “judge.” In English, arbitrary first meant “depending upon choice or discretion” and was specifically used to indicate the sort of decision (as for punishment) left up to the expert determination of a judge rather than defined by law. Today, it can also be used for anything determined by or as if by chance or whim.