We bring you the news recap for the month of October, covering moments in politics, entertainment, tech and more. Remember, if it gets overwhelming, take a breath, step away, and come back when you are ready.. 

• On Oct. one, 2025, the federal government of the United States began a shutdown at 12:01 a.m. EDT as a result of Congress’ failure to pass the appropriate legislation for the 2026 fiscal year, which began that day. <See Page Abby NEWS article for more information> 

• President Donald Trump posted an AI generated video of him and Russell Vought, the Director of the Office Management and Budget, dressed as the Grim Reaper over a parody of the Blue Oyster Cult Song “Don’t Fear the Reaper” with altered lyrics. 

• President Trump said he has instructed the Department of Defense to start testing nuclear weapons, but the U.S. hasn’t conducted any nuclear explosive tests since 1992. 

• In daytime, on Oct. 19, four masked thieves stole eight pieces of royal jewelry from the Louvre in France that is said to be valued at $102 million. The heist was said to last 7 minutes, and they dropped the crown of Empress Eugénie as they fled on motorcycles, which was recovered but damaged. 

• President Trump announced an additional 100% tariff on imports from China, effective November 1, 2025 in addition to the 30% base tariff. 

• 500+ National Guard Troops were deployed to Chicago. 200 from Texas, 14 from California and 300 from the Illinois National Guard. But an appeal court temporarily blocked the deployment into Illinois restricting the troop’s activities to only those on federal property. 

• President Trump demolished the East Wing of the White house in order to build a Ballroom. 

• A leaked Young Republican group chat revealed over 28,000 private messages with racist, antisemitic, misogynistic and violent language. <See page Kailyn’s NEWS article ??? for more information> 

• Due to users being required to upload government-issued ID and passing facial recognition to access adult websites, Pornhub says the UK visitors have gone down by 77% since these verification process came in. 23+ states in the United States still require this verifications and access is still blocked unless verification is completed. 

• Hurricane Mellisa struck Jamaica as a Category 5 storm with winds of 185 mph, causing massive flooding, power outages and displacing of thousands of residents. 

• Recent conflicts in Sudan, particularly in El Fasher, North Darfur, resulted in thousands of deaths, with reports of mass executions, attacks on hospitals, and widespread killings of civilians by the accused Rapid Support Forces, RSF.  

• Prince Andrew has officially been stripped of his royal title and will now be formally known as Andrew Mountbatten Windsor. 

• Production of the new Victorious spinoff called “Hollywood Arts” have started with a planned Netflix release in 2026. 

• Due to the ongoing government shutdown, SNAP benefits are currently suspended or at risk for millions of Americans beginning November 1, 2025. 

• President Trump urged the Senate to employ the “nuclear option” to eliminate the filibuster, which is the 60-vote threshold in the Senate that is needed to pass legislation. Eliminating this would allow the Republicans to bypass the Democrats and end the government shutdown quickly. <See page Abby’s article NEWS for more information>  

• Amazon Web Services (AWS) experienced a widespread outage that disrupted services and platforms like Snapchat, Netflix, Amazon, Canvas and more. This outage lasted less than a day and incurred loss was between $38 million and $581 million. 

• Sora AI went viral for letting users create high-quality, fully AI-generated vertical videos from text prompts, in a TikTok-style format. One of the widely circulated post showed a AI-generated clip of Jake Paul converting to Islam and coming out as gay. 

• Sean “Diddy” Combs has been sentenced to 50 months in federal prison, five years of supervised release and a $500,000 fine for convictions related to transportation for prostitution and is scheduled for release in 2028. 

• 25 states plus Washington, D.C. sued the Trump administration for withholding food aid funding during the 2025 government shutdown, and the aim to force the continuation of SNAP benefits. 

• Kash Patel, the FBI Director, was reported to have used a government-funded FBI jet, valued at $60 million, to travel for a personal date night to see his 26-year-old girlfriend, Alexis Wilkins, perform at a wrestling event at Pennsylvania State University. 

• Billie Eilish donated $11.5 million from her “Hit Me Hard and Soft” tour to critical social and environmental causes and urged billionaires to help and benefit people in need during her 2025 WSJ Innovator Awards speech. 

• Mexican drug cartels established a tiered bounty system offering up to $50,000 for violent acts against ICE and CBP agents, with increased payments based on the rank and severity of the attack. 

• On Oct. 18, 2025, millions across the U.S. participated in over 2,700 “No Kings” protests criticizing President Trump’s leadership style and use of executive power. The events spanned all 50 states. 

• As a reply to the “No Kings” protest, President Trump posted an AI-generated video depicting himself as “King Trump” flying a fighter jet over New York City and dumping sewage on protesters below. 

• Aldi announced a full Thanksgiving meal for just $40. The meal includes 21 items, including a 14-pound turkey and ingredients for nine traditional side dishes, available in-store and online through Christmas eve. 

• An altered American flag featuring a swastika was displayed in Republican Congressman Dave Taylor’s office, and he is currently under active investigation as an act of vandalism and targeted disruption against Republican offices. 

We bring you these news roundups every month to help you stay informed, engaged and updated on what’s going on. Thanks for reading, and we will see you next month!