The news cycle is impossible to fully track these days. That’s where we come in. The Badlands News Brief is a uniquely curated selection of the stories dominating the info war — with context and commentary from Badlands hosts.
SUBJECT: Use of Available Department of War Funds for Military Pay and Allowances during the Lapse in Annual Appropriations
The current appropriations lapse, which includes a lapse in the annual appropriations that the Congress provides for the pay and allowances of military personnel, is now in its fifteenth day. Further, congressional leaders have indicated that political negotiations have stalemated and that the passage of the necessary bipartisan legislation to end the lapse is unlikely to occur before our active duty military personnel are scheduled to receive their next paychecks on October 15th. This potential outcome presents a serious and unacceptable threat to military readiness and the ability of our Armed Forces to protect and defend our Nation.
Accordingly, as the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces of the United States under Article 2 of the United States Constitution, I direct the Secretary of War, in coordination with the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, to use for the purpose of pay and allowances any funds appropriated by the Congress that remain available for expenditure in Fiscal Year 2026 to accomplish the scheduled disbursement of military pay and allowances for active duty military personnel, as well as for Reserve component military personnel who have performed active service during the relevant pay period. Funds used for military pay and allowances during the current lapse should be those that the Secretary of War determines are provided for purposes that have a reasonable, logical relationship to the pay and allowances of military personnel, consistent with applicable law, including 31 U.S.C. 1301(a).
At the conclusion of the current lapse in appropriations, every effort should be made, as authorized by law, to adjust applicable funding accounts within the Department of War to ensure the continuation of Department of War operations and activities consistent with planned expenditures prior to the lapse. – DONALD J. TRUMP
Our Take: NSPM 8 has been issued to provide “military pay and allowances for active duty military personnel, as well as for Reserve component military personnel who have performed active service during the relevant pay period.”
NativePath Collagen is a single-ingredient formula with no fillers, additives, or artificial sweeteners. Made with only type 1 and 3 collagen fibers, it’s third-party tested for heavy metals, ensuring purity and safety.
JOHN BOLTON once likened the Trump administration to “Hotel California”, that place in the classic song by the Eagles where “you can check out any time you like, but you can never leave.” Mr Bolton was not speaking of his own tenure as national security adviser during Donald Trump’s first term, but he might as well have been… On October 16th came the bill, in the form of a lengthy criminal indictment handed down by a federal grand jury.
Prosecutors charged Mr Bolton with mishandling classified information. They allege that, while working in the White House between 2018 and 2019, he shared contemporaneous notes containing classified material with his wife and daughter over his personal email and over messaging apps. After he left the government, an Iranian allegedly hacked his email, accessed this trove and sent him a series of messages that read like blackmail. Then last August the FBI raided his home. Prosecutors say they found classified documents there, in violation of his prior commitment to return all such material to the government. [...]
It is no surprise to learn that Mr Bolton took minute-by-minute notes with an eye to writing his memoir. At roughly 500 pages, the manuscript was ready within two months of his exit… Nor is it surprising that Mr Trump’s justice department pursued this case. [...]
It will not help Mr Bolton’s defence that he styles himself as someone who understands the ways of Washington inside out. It follows that he ought to know the rules and know that they apply to him too. Sure enough the indictment cites past comments by Mr Bolton in which he called other people criminal and reckless for engaging in similar conduct… Mr Bolton took a big risk back in 2020; he may have assumed, with reason, that Mr Trump—then facing his first impeachment—would not long be in a position to act on his vendetta. Things turned out rather differently. – The Economist
Our Take: You can read the 26-page indictment here.
“Iran” allegedly “hacked” Bolton’s email — which held national security secrets that he was holding so he could write his book. Then Bolton told the government about the “hack” – but NOT about the secrets. When “Iran” began blackmailing him, he told the FBI.
Individual 1 and Individual 2 are alleged to be Bolton’s wife and daughter, and neither of them have a security clearance.
The source of Iran being the alleged (likely fictional) hacker is Bolton. So, it’s definitely not Iran, lol. I wonder who Bolton would be sharing secrets with that would want to make any trails point to Iran? What does it mean to “pull a Khashoggi”?
If you take the time to read the indictment, let me know if you think his wife and daughter are his editors…
US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke on the phone for two hours today, two months after their summit in Anchorage, Alaska. We don’t know everything they discussed, but the two decided they will meet in person again. Here’s what we found out:
The two leaders plan to meet in Budapest, Hungary
A date is unknown, but Trump said the meeting will take place “within two weeks or so, pretty quick”
“High-level” advisers from both sides will meet next week, he said
The aim of the meeting is to “bring this ‘inglorious’ War, between Russia and Ukraine, to an end”, Trump wrote on Truth Social
Hungary’s Prime Minister says preparations for the summit are already in the works
The call came on the eve of Trump’s White House meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, and Trump says the two will discuss his conversation with Putin
Putin’s special envoy says the call was “positive and productive.” – BBC
Our Take: In his call with Putin today, Trump referred to the war with Ukraine as “inglorious.”
The film ‘Inglourious Basterds’ is about the hunting of Nazis. Putin refers to the Ukraine War as a De-Nazification effort. All alongside Putin and Melania discussing the plight of children. –
US President Donald Trump threatened action on Thursday against Hamas over public executions carried out by the terrorist group after Israel withdrew from portions of the Gaza Strip under a US-backed ceasefire deal.
“If Hamas continues to kill people in Gaza, which was not the deal, we will have no choice but to go in and kill them,” he warned in a Truth Social message.
The post seemed to mark a reversal from his initial stance two days earlier on Hamas’s summary execution of Palestinians from rival gangs and Gazans it has accused of collaborating with Israel.
It also came as an Israeli-backed militia in southern Gaza appealed to the international community in a video obtained by The Times of Israel, urging the American president to protect residents of the Strip from Hamas.
Trump claimed on Tuesday that he had given Hamas “approval for a period of time” to carry out the killings, asserting that the terror organization was targeting some “very bad gangs.” – The Times of Israel
Our Take: What isn’t being disclosed to the public is that there are ISIS-affiliated gangs (rivals of Hamas) who are funded and armed by Netanyahu.
Those are the people Hamas is going after, not innocent Palestinians – which wouldn’t make much sense, logically, unless you believe that Hamas are deranged animals as the public has been conditioned to believe. –
Ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo launched a barrage of assaults on Zohran Mamdani over his stance on Israel and Gaza, slamming the Democratic nominee for refusing to denounce the terror group Hamas and the phrase “Globalize the intifada.”
“The Assemblyman will not denounce Hamas,” Cuomo, who is running as an independent, said during the first general mayoral election debate Thursday night. “The assemblyman will not denounce Hasan Piker, who said America deserved 9/11,” he continued.
“The assemblyman just said in his response, ‘Well, it depends on occupation,’” Cuomo said, referring to Mamdani’s response to the cease-fire deal brokered by the Trump administration.
The vicious attacks came as Mamdani, a socialist state assemblyman from Queens and the front-runner in the race, took blows over his belated response to the landmark peace deal announced this week. The anti-Israel critic called for an end to “occupation and apartheid” in his statement while the living Israeli hostages were returned after two years in Hamas captivity.
He also refused to say that the terrorist group should lay down its weapons during a Fox News interview Wednesday. – New York Post
Our Take: Based’n’redpilled influencers have now been reduced to calling people antisemitic in hopes of beating “the left” in fake elections. When will these people just admit they’re Statists and collectivists and globalists and therefore on the left? [...]
Why was Cuomo speaking to Trump at the some of the Assassination Event? [Clip Link] –
Tina Peters was back in court Thursday for arguments on several pending motions. U.S. Magistrate Judge Scott Varholak is considering Peters’ First Amendment claims on her Habeas Corpus motion filed earlier this year.
Peters is arguing that her detention is unconstitutional, as she was denied bond pending appeal. Her federal petition cites the trial court’s inflammatory statements about her incarceration, including, “Prison is for those folks where we send people who are a danger to all of us, whether it be by the pen or the sword or the word of the mouth.”
Judge Barrett’s sentencing monologue was egregious, and Peters has a strong appeal for bias and over-sentencing, matters which remain in the Colorado Courts. The matter before U.S. Magistrate Judge Scott Varholak is whether Barrett locking Peters up due to what she might say is a violation of her First Amendment rights.
During the short hearing, Judge Varholak ruled immediately on several motions, granting admission of an amicus brief from Peters’ supporters, deeming it novel but useful. He also granted motions to strike foreign whistleblower testimony about US election systems, deeming them irrelevant to the matter before the court. The testimony would have supported Peters’ argument that what she *might* say is true – strengthening her First Amendment-based habeas claims. The court also denied Peters’ motion to take notice of the Dominion Voting Systems sale, deeming it irrelevant to the matter before the court.
Tina Peters remains incarcerated, but the judge indicated an expedited ruling on the full petition, possibly by early November.
Our Take: On the last two episodes of Why We Vote, @canncon and I did a dramatic reading of the Venezuelan whistleblower’s deposition transcript. Unfortunately, Judge Varholak granted the motion to dismiss that testimony based on relevance to the First Amendment matter before the court. I can see it both ways.
On the one hand, the government argues that this case is about the actions Tina Peters took in securing the forensic images of the machines. They claim the matter is about the misrepresentation of credentials (one misrepresentation to multiple government employees) when the images were taken; therefore, the validation of her intent by what she found is irrelevant. That’s bullshit, of course; if Peters is correct about what she claims, the people persecuting her are likely guilty of treason. But the government did a good job of boxing in the legal arguments in the trial court, and the current court of review – the US District of Colorado – is limited to the First Amendment claims in Peters’ habeas petition. (That is also bullshit, for the record. The court has broad discretion to remedy manifest injustice – and literal traitors continuing to persecute the person that caught them after they’ve been caught is manifestly unjust – but Varholak ruled on the expanded claims in July and he won’t revisit them.)
On the other hand, since Varholak narrowed Peters’ habeas petition to the First Amendment claim, the substance of the “danger” of her speech should be in play. The whistleblower has first hand knowledge of the inception of the source code AND first hand knowledge of how it relates to – and confirms – the images from Mesa County. The findings in the whistleblower’s analysis are confirmation of the Mesa Forensic Image reports that Peters commissioned on the images. The wireless connections, duplicate databases, deleted logfiles, and all the rest – these are the things that Tina Peters will talk about when she is out… The truth of them should matter, especially if she’s locked up to prevent her from saying them. Then again, in a true First Amendment examination, the truth of them should be irrelevant unless the speech would incite violence.
“Prison is for those folks where we send people who are a danger to all of us, whether it be by the pen or the sword or the word of the mouth.” – Judge Matthew Barrett in sentencing Tina Peters.
Two of Barrett’s three list items are speech. This is the same court system releasing pedophiles and rapists for “criminal justice reform,” but saying true things about elections is a bridge too far… Does that mean elections in Colorado are so bad that telling the truth about them is considered an incitement to violence?
Who will be committing the violence? Free Tina Peters. –
When Dominic Cummings claimed this week that China had hacked into Britain’s most secret systems, the government rushed to deny it – understandably, given the political heat over the collapsed Chinese spy trial. But even if Cummings’ story proves false, the underlying truth remains: China has been systematically targeting Western networks for years, and extracting vast quantities of sensitive information. What is striking is not the allegation, but the reaction by a government so anxious not to call China a threat that it pretends not to see one. It is a surreal position, because the danger has been obvious for years.
The truth is that China poses a greater strategic threat to Britain than any state since the Second World War. It is not just a rival economy; it is an adversarial system seeking to rewire global power to its own advantage. And Britain, almost uniquely among the major democracies, still pretends that it can manage the danger with a few polite euphemisms.
China’s first weapon is economic. For two decades, Beijing has practised what might be called mercantilist innovation – the deliberate fusion of industrial espionage, state subsidy and global dumping. The formula is simple: acquire (sometimes, but not always, through theft) Western technology, turbocharge it with massive subsidies and cheap credit, and flood the world with exports that undercuts, and eventually destroys the opposition. A particularly relevant example when it comes to this government’s net zero aspirations is the solar-panel industry, where Western intellectual property was copied, production shifted to China, and foreign manufacturers wiped out.
This is not the natural rhythm of globalisation; it is a form of economic warfare. – The Spectator
Our Take: What if I told you Donald Trump, Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin’s real war isn’t against each other, but against Globalism itself?
What if they’ve already won?
What is a Multipolar Margin Call?
And how do we ALL win on the back of it? [Read More] –
US envoy Steve Witkoff has denied a story published by Middle East Eye that he plans to step back from the Trump administration following his successful mediation of a Gaza peace deal.
“This story is 100 percent Fake News and should be immediately retracted. I often wonder where these so-called ‘reporters’ come up with such laughable nonsense,” Witkoff wrote in X. “I am more engaged on the peace process than ever, and I am continuing to proudly serve the President of the United States!”
MEE reported on Tuesday that two sources familiar with the matter said Witkoff planned to step back from the administration after “gruelling” diplomacy that achieved a Gaza ceasefire to refocus on his business.
Witkoff was designated a special envoy by US President Donald Trump, although he formally served as a State Department employee for the first half of this year. – Middle East Eye
Our Take:
I don’t understand why anybody would be suspicious of this. He did his job – he forced Netanyahu into signing a deal he didn’t want to sign. It was never in Witkoff’s job description to enforce the deal, once the peace was established.
That will be left to Trump and the Arabs, if/when Netanyahu betrays them. –
Federal prosecutors have indicted voting technology company Smartmatic on money laundering and bribery charges, alleging the firm and its executives paid over $1 million in illicit payments to Philippine election officials to secure government contracts.
According to a superseding indictment filed Thursday in Miami federal court, the payments took place between 2015 and 2018 as Smartmatic sought a deal to assist in administering the Philippines’ 2016 presidential election and to ensure prompt payment for its services. Roger Alejandro Piñate Martinez and Jorge Miguel Vasquez allegedly orchestrated over $1 million in bribes to Juan Andres Donato Bautista, former Chairman of the Philippines’ COMELEC. The payments were intended to secure and maintain contracts for SGO Corporation Limited, including favorable VAT reimbursements and other government payments.
According to the indictment, the scheme was funded by inflating the cost of voting machines for the 2016 Philippine elections. The conspirators reportedly concealed the bribes using coded language, fake contracts and loan agreements, and by routing funds through bank accounts in Asia, Europe, and the Southern District of Florida.
Three former Smartmatic executives, including co-founder Roger Piñate, were charged in 2024 in connection with the same scheme, though the company itself was not previously named as a defendant.
The case comes as Smartmatic continues to pursue a $2.7 billion defamation lawsuit against Fox News, alleging the network broadcast “false” claims that it helped manipulate the outcome of the 2020 U.S. presidential election. – Badlands Media
California Democrat Governor Gavin Newsom has once again denied parole to Patricia Krenwinkel, a former follower of cult leader Charles Manson and one of the perpetrators of the infamous 1969 Tate-LaBianca murders. This is the second time that Newsom (D-Calif.) has overruled a parole board’s recommendation for her release, the first being in 2022. They recommended her release for a second time nearly five months ago.
Krenwinkel, now 77, was convicted of seven counts of first-degree murder for her role in the killings, which included the murder of pregnant actress Sharon Tate. She has been incarcerated since 1971 and is currently the longest-serving female inmate in California — having spent over 54 years behind bars.
Over the decades, Krenwinkel has pursued degrees, maintained a clean prison record, and expressed remorse for her crimes, according to the parole board. Her legal team has also highlighted her personal transformation, labeling her a low risk to society, while emphasizing “the abuse she suffered” under Manson’s control. A 2017 investigation acknowledged her history of victimization, supporting her rehabilitation efforts.
Despite these factors, Governor Newsom concluded that Krenwinkel still poses an “unreasonable danger to society.” In his decision, he cited her limited insight into her past actions and a tendency to externalize blame, arguing that her rehabilitation is outweighed by lingering psychological deficits. He also acknowledged her age and the circumstances surrounding the original crimes — but still asserted that public safety must remain the priority. – One America News Network
Washington, D.C. Superior Court judge, Kendra Biggs, sentenced two 15-year-olds to probation for their roles in an attack on Edward Coristine, a 19-year-old former Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) staffer known as “Big Balls.” The Joe Biden appointee stated that her role is to “rehabilitate,” not punish, sparking backlash over leniency.
The male defendant pleaded guilty to attempted robbery and simple assault, while the female attacker admitted to one count of simple assault for attacking another person at a gas station with pepper spray. Prosecutors dropped other charges related to the attack on Coristine as part of a plea agreement. Both teens were part of a group allegedly causing chaos along U Street in the early hours of August 3, about one mile from the White House.
President Donald J. Trump blasted the lenient decision late Wednesday, saying, “That’s terrible. The judge should be ashamed.” U.S. Attorney for D.C. Jeanine Pirro called the sentencing “shocking.” – The National Pulse
Thank you for reading today’s Badlands News Brief. If you like the Substack, you should check out our shows — streaming now on Badlands Media!
As always, please share the brief far and wide, and drop your comments below to discuss with your fellow Badlanders. The opinions expressed in the Badlands News Brief are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the attitudes or positions of Badlands Media.
The Badlands News Brief is free, but you can support us by becoming a paid subscriber to this newsletter. Help our collective of citizen journalists take back the narrative. We are the news now.
“Prison is for those folks where we send people WHO ARE A DANGER TO all of US, whether it be by the pen or the sword or the word of the mouth.” – Judge Matthew
That's some full on Mao, Stalin and Pol Pot.....speak right there.
Tina is a treasure. I pray she is released soon.
“Prison is for those folks where we send people WHO ARE A DANGER TO all of US, whether it be by the pen or the sword or the word of the mouth.” – Judge Matthew
That's some full on Mao, Stalin and Pol Pot.....speak right there.