The Aporia · Alex Woodward

2026-09-04 · The Independent

Judge blocks Trump’s new USPS rules for mail-in ballots with just weeks before midterm elections

🔮 A federal judge has blocked new mail-in ballot rules from the U.S. Postal Service that were ordered by Donald Trump after states and election officials warned that it would be “virtually impossible” to comply with changes that could spark chaos for voters in the middle of midterm elections. assertive

2026-09-04 · The Independent

Ex-Olympian says Reflecting Pool case is about ‘defending democracy’ as judge likely to block Trump from going after him again

🔮 Hearn asked a judge to dismiss the case with prejudice, which would prevent prosecutors from reviving felony charges against him for the same alleged crime. mixed

2026-09-04 · The Independent

Trump admits he is putting his name on everything because nobody will after he’s ‘gone’

🔮 Donald Trump is hoping a massive ballroom and military installation on the White House grounds will one day bear his name as he speedruns through several multi-million dollar construction projects across the nation’s capital to secure his presidential legacy. assertive

2026-09-14 · The Independent

Don Jr’s Bahamas wedding that Trump skipped was bankrolled by Putin-tied Russian oligarch

🔮 “We are fortunate to have wonderful friends from all over the world, and we will never be embarrassed or apologetic about being grateful for them.” assertive

2026-09-14 · The Independent

Alligator Alcatraz held immigrants in phonebooth-sized cages to ‘manage their emotions,’ watchdog finds

🔮 Detainees were given one plastic cup that they couldn’t clean throughout their stay, they said. mixed

2026-09-14 · The Independent

Kennedy Center comes up with 10 different ways to put Trump’s name on the building for his ‘generosity’ and ‘unwavering support’

🔮 The Trump-controlled board of trustees for the Washington, D.C., institution is set to vote on a new name for the memorial to the assassinated former president. mixed

2026-09-15 · The Independent

Trump erupts at Supreme Court for being ‘bullied by the Radical Left’ after mail-in ballot ruling

🔮 The U.S. Postal Service would then be allowed to refuse delivery of mail-in ballots from any state that failed to comply with these rules. mixed

2026-09-15 · The Independent

Trump insists Kennedy Center ‘collapse’ left guard ‘60 seconds from death’ in rant after losing name change

🔮 If the Building were open, innocent people would have been killed. assertive

2026-09-16 · The Independent

‘Unhinged’ Trump threw a ‘tantrum’ during Kennedy Center board meeting, congresswoman says

🔮 Trump, who appointed himself the board chair last year, then announced on Truth Social that the building will close “immediately,” and he won’t begin his much-touted, multi-million dollar renovation project unless courts agree to let him put his name on it. assertive

2026-09-16 · The Independent

Tucker Carlson claims Trump gave direct order for Epstein files ‘cover up’

🔮 “My position from the beginning with Trump, I said it to Trump, was, ‘I don’t understand why you would ever keep any of this stuff secret.’ assertive

2026-09-17 · The Independent

Trump failed to block mail-in ballots ahead of the midterms. What happens next?

🔮 And this week, the Supreme Court blocked the president’s last-ditch effort to overhaul the rules for mail-in ballots, an unprecedented takeover that election officials feared would wrongly disenfranchise tens of thousands of people while giving mail carriers unprecedented authority to decide who gets to cast a vote. mixed

2026-09-17 · The Independent

Kennedy Center claims it’s only closing for seven days after Trump says it could be ‘ripped down’

🔮 The Department of Justice insists that the Kennedy Center is only “temporarily” closing for seven days to address “advanced deterioration” after the institution’s Donald Trump-dominated board voted to shutter the building for repairs, fueling speculation that the president could try to demolish it altogether. mixed

2026-09-18 · The Independent

Republicans held more than 30 hearings on Benghazi. They haven’t held any specifically on Trump’s Iran war

🔮 The United Nations, however, has determined that two U.S. airstrikes on Iran in February that killed at least 178 civilians, including dozens of children, may have amounted to war crimes. assertive

2026-09-21 · The Independent

Trump-charmer Mamdani turns raging president into docile guest at Gracie Mansion

🔮 Donald Trump once again heaped praise on Zohran Mamdani during an appearance at Gracie Mansion on Monday following an hourlong closed-door meeting between the president and New York City’s mayor. assertive

2026-09-22 · The Independent

Trump-charmer Mamdani turns raging president into docile guest at Gracie Mansion

🔮 Donald Trump once again heaped praise on Zohran Mamdani during an appearance at Gracie Mansion on Monday following an hour-long closed-door meeting between the president and New York City’s mayor. assertive

2026-09-22 · The Independent

Immigrant shot by ICE says he was hauled off to detention center with a bullet still in his back

🔮 And I will not stop fighting until he’s safe at home.” assertive

2026-09-22 · The Independent

Trump is off American TV — can the world learn to live without him as the star?

🔮 Americans, who can’t imagine a day over the last decade without hearing or seeing him, could be getting an early glimpse into a post-Trump media landscape the longer he stays out of it. assertive

2026-09-23 · The Independent

Feds launch investigation into officials in charge of running Epstein’s estate and paying victims: report

🔮 Asked whether he considered leaving Epstein after learning that he pleaded guilty in 2008 to soliciting a minor, Khan said he ultimately decided to continue working for him to support his family, and that he believed Epstein when he told Khan “this would never happen again.” mixed

2026-09-24 · The Independent

White House reveals stories that got outlets banned — and JD Vance was one of the sources

🔮 The letter to Politico claims its story detailing a May 2026 Senate briefing from Secret Service officials about the ballroom project “expressed a willingness to publish sensitive undisclosed information relating to the security of the White House and the physical security of the President,” according to the White House Press Office. assertive

2026-09-24 · The Independent

A review found that Trump’s arch will harm DC. His appointee just ended the process

🔮 Donald Trump’s administration is abruptly ending a federally required review to determine how badly the president’s plans for a massive arch will harm the nation’s capital, already facing a flood of construction projects remaking Washington, D.C., in his image. assertive

2026-09-25 · The Independent

A review found that Trump’s arch will harm DC. His appointee just ended the process

2026-09-25 · The Independent

Trump once promised to feed Xi McDonald’s. He gave him a lavish state dinner and hearty serving of praise instead

🔮 “I would give him a double, probably a double-size Big Mac,” he said. assertive

2026-09-25 · The Independent

Pete Hegseth promotes mail-in voting for troops — as the Trump administration tries to restrict it

🔮 “Every warrior deserves an opportunity to cast his or her ballot, and be confident that it will be counted,” he said. assertive

2026-09-25 · The Independent

Supreme Court opens the door for Trump’s mass voter purges — but not before midterms, experts say

🔮 The Supreme Court will let Donald Trump’s administration implement an expansive government database that collects citizenship data, Social Security numbers and other sensitive information for millions of Americans, a powerful tool that federal agencies and state officials could use to hunt for ineligible voters. mixed

2026-09-28 · The Independent

Trump wants to ban gender-affirming care for trans inmates — for ‘security’ reasons

🔮 “We will continue to defend the rights of our clients and all incarcerated people.” mixed

2026-09-29 · The Independent

Republican fumbles Jack Smith conspiracy theory and calls Trump prosecutor ‘dirtbag’ in testy hearing

🔮 In the middle of Tuesday’s Senate Judiciary Committee, Schmitt held up a poster board containing what he claimed were text messages from Smith’s staff stating that the special counsel was attending an Atlanta Hawks NBA game — and suggested that he colluded with Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis to prosecute the president and his allies. assertive

2026-09-29 · The Independent

Trump’s DOJ says ‘sick and poorly’ Kennedy Center is already running out of money to pay its bills

🔮 On Monday night, Republican Sen. Mike Lee blocked bipartisan legislation to prevent the Trump administration from demolishing the venue after lawmakers drafted a bill in response to apparent threats that the building could be knocked down if the president isn’t allowed to add his name to it. mixed

2026-09-30 · The Independent

Trump’s FTC is investigating OpenAI and Anthropic one day after bringing them to the White House

🔮 The investigation could be used to bolster the administration’s dubious position that existing laws can sufficiently protect against threats from rapidly developing AI products — despite growing, apocalyptic warnings from developers and routine news of autonomous AI agents gaining unauthorized access to sensitive systems. mixed

2026-10-02 · The Independent

Cornell gang rape accuser: ‘I had so much ketamine, my eyes were crossed, and you still had sex with me’

🔮 I felt like lions around me,” she said during a May 2025 disciplinary hearing. assertive

2026-10-02 · The Independent

Trump-booster Benny Johnson hit with defamation suit for calling ICE protesters terrorists

🔮 “We will NOT allow violent activist [sic] to lay hands on our law enforcement,” the post said. mixed

2026-10-04 · The Independent

Damned if they Trump; damned if they don’t ... That’s the Republican quandary in midterms homestretch

🔮 But his record unpopularity and the chaos of his second term are an albatross that could sink both his remaining years in office and the party’s future in Congress. assertive

2026-10-06 · The Independent

Trump won’t reimburse taxpayers for money already spent on campaign ads, White House says

🔮 President Donald Trump will not reimburse the federal government for money already spent on a series of campaign-like ads using taxpayer dollars. assertive

2026-10-07 · The Independent

‘Judgment day’? Why Trump’s death penalty crusade is bringing back firing squads

🔮 Donald Trump’s approval of the execution of Nidal Hasan will mark the military’s first execution by firing squad since Slovik’s killing in 1945, part of a renewed push by the president to restart federal executions — and turn to methods such as firing squads as well as nitrogen gas and electrocution to carry out sentences quicker. assertive

2026-10-07 · The Independent

Trump distances himself from close allies who advised pro-Russian government in Europe

🔮 “I do not have any idea who else they work for but will, on reflection, ask them and, if there’s a conflict, I will terminate them, immediately!” the president wrote Wednesday. assertive

2026-10-08 · The Independent

Trump put CNN ‘on notice’ years ago when he called it ‘fake news,’ DOJ tells judge

🔮 The outlets are seeking a preliminary injunction that would prevent the White House from threatening access while the legal challenge plays out. assertive

2026-10-08 · The Independent

Hegseth says firing squad execution of Fort Hood shooter will be livestreamed

🔮 Donald Trump’s administration has announced that the execution of Nidal Malik Hasan by firing squad will be livestreamed. assertive

2026-10-09 · The Independent

Firing squad execution of Fort Hood shooter will be livestreamed, Pentagon says

🔮 Donald Trump’s administration has announced that the execution of Nidal Malik Hasan by firing squad will be livestreamed, an unprecedented broadcast for a state-sanctioned killing by one of the world’s most powerful democracies. assertive

2026-10-09 · The Independent

Trump accused of trying to start a ‘race war’ with threats to Somali communities in Minnesota

🔮 He told Minnesotans that the federal government was prepared to “come to your rescue” and pushed Governor Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey to “immediately ask for Federal help — and leave the rest to us!” assertive

2026-10-13 · The Independent

DOJ ‘apologizes’ for running Trump’s taxpayer ads hundreds of times despite court order yanking them from airwaves

🔮 The ad also says “America will never be a communist country” and the UFC’s Dana White calls Trump the “toughest, most resilient person” he has ever met. mixed

2026-10-14 · The Independent

Furious judge cites Dr. Seuss’s The Lorax as she stops Trump from tearing down trees at DC golf course

🔮 Without her intervention, the “the ground, landscape and vistas will be irrevocably altered” because “destroyed trees cannot be replaced,” preservationists warned in a lawsuit against the administration. assertive

2026-10-14 · The Independent

Trump press secretary Katie Zacharia may have violated California law by calling herself an attorney, group says

🔮 “In any event, admission in a foreign jurisdiction would not authorize Ms. Zacharia to practice law in California or to hold herself out as entitled to do so here,” the complaint states. assertive

2026-10-20 · The Independent

Ad for Trump-backed Ramaswamy features opponent’s ‘abusive’ mom. The internet is furious

🔮 “This desperate, disgusting attack reveals exactly who Vivek Ramaswamy is at his core – a pathetic excuse for a man who is willing to hurt anyone as long as it gets him what he wants,” Stearns said. assertive

2026-10-22 · The Independent

Trump’s attorney general won’t rule out DOJ action to stop states from certifying midterms results

🔮 Log in Attorney General Todd Blanche said won’t rule out having the Department of Justice take action that could block states from certifying election results. mixed

2026-10-28 · The Independent

Trump has robbed victims of $119M in court-ordered restitution with his pardons of allies

🔮 Those fines also don’t include $661 million in restitution owed by the former tech CEO who was convicted of defrauding investors, nor the potentially tens of thousands of dollars that would have likely been owed to the government by the more than 1,500 people charged in connection with the January 6 attack. assertive

2026-10-28 · The Independent

Trump barred from airing White House ‘propaganda’ ads, judge rules

🔮 After the administration was ordered in a separate case to stop running the ads, the president said he would finance the broadcasts himself, or direct his connected PAC to do so. assertive

2026-10-28 · The Independent

Trump’s team ratchets up ‘voter fraud’ arrests as president sows election doubts

🔮 Augustin, who is homeless, later said he wanted to get the attention of law enforcement so he could be arrested and sent back to Haiti. assertive

2026-10-29 · The Independent

Hegseth and DHS tell court Trump’s 250-foot arch would be a DC military base against enemy drones

🔮 “It will be utilized as a dual-purpose structure: a major national monument that also incorporates military utility to support Homeland defense.” assertive

2026-10-29 · The Independent

Trump cancels his appearance at weekend rally in Kansas days before midterm vote

🔮 The president will instead participate in a series of virtual rallies. assertive

2026-10-30 · The Independent

Trump golf course judge erupts at his DOJ lawyers over last-minute U-turn: ‘Are you kidding me?’

🔮 U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes repeatedly erupted at government attorneys during a heated court hearing on Friday before finding that Justice Department officials “intentionally” timed the abrupt removal of hundreds of trees to evade judicial review — and may have been misleading the court about plans that have long been in the works. “The third highest ranking official at the Department of Justice is telling me, telling a federal court, that he cannot say that when the president posted the ‘course will close on November 15,’ what he meant was, ‘the court will close on November 15’?” Reyes asked. assertive

2026-10-30 · The Independent

Trump plans to deport dozens of Afghans back to the Taliban in first large-scale removal flight

🔮 Donald Trump’s administration is imminently expected to forcibly remove dozens of Afghans from the U.S. to Afghanistan, marking the first large-scale deportation flight of Afghans back into the hands of the Taliban, aid groups and human rights lawyers warn. mixed

2026-10-30 · The Independent

Trump’s bid to toss 20,000 California ballots could ‘jeopardize’ midterm elections, appeals court warns

🔮 A federal appeals court has rejected the Trump administration’s latest attempt to stop counting 20,000 ballots in California, an effort that a panel of appeals court judges said could “jeopardize” midterm elections and disenfranchise thousands of eligible voters. mixed

2026-10-31 · The Independent

Judge blasts Trump team for threatening election workers in latest rebuke to midterm plans

🔮 Friday night’s order arrived hours after a federal appeals court in the state blocked the administration’s efforts to sequester 20,000 ballots, which another judge warned would “wreak havoc” on elections in the state. mixed

2026-10-31 · The Independent

Judge permanently throws out Trump’s Wall Street Journal defamation lawsuit over Epstein letter story

🔮 The letter — allegedly signed by Trump and featuring a sexually suggestive drawing and a birthday wish that says “may every day be another wonderful secret” — was first published by the newspaper and then shared with members of Congress by the Epstein estate last year. mixed

2026-11-02 · The Independent

Trump’s favorite CNN pollster delivers devastating news just before midterm elections

🔮 A fresh round of polling data in the final hours before Election Day shows Democratic candidates leading virtually every battleground state that will likely determine which party controls the Senate. mixed

2026-11-02 · The Independent

Haley Stevens endorsement of Republican has been a financial windfall for Democrat Abdul El-Sayed

🔮 “Haley said what few people are willing to say,” he wrote. assertive

2026-11-02 · The Independent

Newsom warns DOJ will try to seize ballots as Trump takes California battle to Supreme Court

🔮 California Gov. Gavin Newsom is warning federal judges that Donald Trump’s administration could try to seize ballots in the state after the president’s legal battle over alleged alleged noncitizen voters struck out in court. mixed

2026-11-04 · The Independent

2026 Midterms results: Follow the Independent’s live maps

🔮 Millions of voters have cast their ballots in elections that will determine the balance of power in Congress — and with it, the fate of Donald Trump’s final years in the White House. mixed

2026-11-04 · The Independent

Trump is Texas toast as ‘Talafreako’ trounces Paxton in stunning Senate midterms rebuke

🔮 In a historic victory that will rock Texas politics and pave the way for a Democratic majority in the U.S. Senate, Texas voters have elected Democratic candidate James Talarico, becoming the first Democrat in the state to be elected to the upper chamber of Congress in nearly 40 years. assertive

2026-11-04 · The Independent

Trump told Americans to ‘pretend I’m on the ballot.’ They did — and voted against him

🔮 In what will likely be his final blitz of campaign rallies after a decade full of them, Donald Trump repeatedly told voters to “pretend” he’s on the ballot the past few months. assertive

2026-11-04 · The Independent

Midterm election results so far: Live maps and graphs as Democrats seal huge victory

🔮 The fate of Donald Trump’s final years in the White House will be majorly influenced by the midterm results, as his political opponents gain essential power over policymaking. assertive

Forward-looking sentences extracted from their articles, oldest first. Nothing here checks whether any of it turned out to be right.

👤 Alex Woodward

About this journalist

What they cover

Leaning

More from this journalist

What they said would happen