The Trump administration continues exploiting the death of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk to wage war against freedom of expression. The State Department announced Tuesday that it has revoked visas from six people for making comments on social media about Kirk and the hate he spewed.  A photo of Charlie Kirk is seen on a large screen during a memorial on Sept. 21. “The United States has no obligation to host foreigners who wish death on Americans,” the department wrote on X. “The State Department continues to identify visa holders who celebrated the heinous assassination of Charlie Kirk.” The action fulfilled threats from President Donald Trump and members of his administration to use the power of the government to silence dissent in the days following Kirk’s killing. In one X post, the State Department reshared one of the messages that it found to be offensive.  The person wrote, “I do not give a fuck about the death of a person who devoted his entire life spreading racist, xenophobic, misogynistic rhetoric.” And in another post, a person described the event where Kirk was lionized by the right as a “racist rally,” adding that Kirk was “white nationalist trailer trash.” Kirk was in fact a racist and misogynist who spent his time as a political commentator and activist promoting bigoted causes and leaders. He also promoted right-wing conspiracy theories and regularly denigrated people based on their gender, sexual orientation, and race. Conservatives have tried to sanitize Kirk’s image since his death, but his comments are well documented and easy to find. Being a bigot was central to his fame and influence. Erika Kirk wipes her eyes as President Donald Trump posthumously awards the Presidential Medal of Freedom to her late husband Charlie Kirk on Oct. 14. The State Department’s announcement came on the same day that Trump posthumously awarded Kirk the Presidential Medal of Freedom, America’s highest civilian honor.  During the ceremony, Trump falsely claimed that Kirk was “boldly speaking the truth” at the time of his death. The decision to bestow the honor on a bigot echoes Trump’s decision in 2020 to give the medal to conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh, who spent decades spewing hate on the radio. Limbaugh died a few months later in February 2021. Revoking visas over dissenting speech is in line with Trump’s attempts to squelch voices that he doesn’t agree with. Most notably, the Federal Communications Commission tried to squeeze late-night host Jimmy Kimmel off the airwaves after he made comments about the right’s response to Kirk’s death. Following public outcry, Kimmel returned to massive ratings. Unfortunately for those whose visas have been revoked, they will not have such luck.

President Trump said Wednesday he authorized the CIA to secretly conduct operations in Venezuela, including possible strikes against drug cartels. Why it matters: The announcement follows rising tensions with Venezuela's authoritarian leader, Nicolás Maduro, as the U.S. military targets boats allegedly carrying drugs. --- The latest: While the Trump administration has said its goal in sending warships to Venezuela was to stop drug trafficking, it's made clear that it wants to see Maduro removed from power one way or another and has offered a $50 million reward for his arrest. * In the latest installment of attacks against Venezuelan boats, Trump said Tuesday on Truth Social that he ordered a lethal strike on a vessel "trafficking narcotics," which killed all six "narcoterrorists" on board. What he's saying: "We're not going to let our country be ruined because other people want to drop ... their worst" people into the U.S., Trump told reporters at the White House Wednesday. * Trump said trafficking attempts by sea are "very well under control," but the military will now look to land. "Every boat that we knock out, we save 25,000 American lives," he said. * When asked if the CIA has the authority to "take out" Maduro, Trump said: "That's a ridiculous question. Not really a ridiculous question, but wouldn't it be a ridiculous question for me to answer?" * The White House and CIA did not immediately respond to Axios' Wednesday evening request for comment. Flashback: Regime change in Venezuela was the position of Trump's administration-in-waiting before he even took office, Axios first reported in January. Go deeper: Trump's team wants Maduro to leave Venezuela

JD Vance has come to the defense of young Republican leaders who are under scrutiny after Politico published “hundreds of racist and hateful messages” from what the news outlet reported was their private group chat.

Vice President JD Vance would like you to do anything but pay attention to those abhorrent leaked texts from young Republicans that Politico covered on Tuesday. And if you do read them, he wants you to think they’re just “kids” saying “edgy, offensive” things. Except that they appear to be full-grown adults, according to Mother […]

Netanyahu discussed the Gaza peace plan and defended Israel's actions in the region.

Brown joins MIT in refusing offer, saying that proposal would ‘restrict academic freedom’ Brown University has become the second higher education institution to turn down an invitation from Donald Trump to sign onto his administration’s controversial 10-page college compact that would overhaul university policies in return for preferential access to federal funding. The “Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education” is a proposed agreement that would impose restrictions on diversity, equity and inclusion programs and limits on international student enrollment. Continue reading...

A federal judge in Oregon has extended temporary restraining orders that block the Trump administration from deploying National Guard troops to Portland. Meanwhile, federal agents in Chicago used tear gas to disperse a crowd after a car chase ended in a crash. CBS News homeland security correspondent Nicole Sganga has more.

The Ministry of Economy, Environment and Agriculture of Ukraine has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with U.S. aerospace company Bell Textron Inc to develop industrial cooperation in aviation technologies.

Russia has effectively acknowledged that the reconstruction of occupied Avdiivka has been halted.

California gubernatorial candidate Katie Porter responded to a question on Tuesday about her behavior in recent viral videos. Sabrina Rodriguez, national politics reporter for The Washington Post, and Eleanor Mueller, Congress reporter for Semafor, join with analysis.

The path for Democrats to win back the Senate in 2026 runs right through Maine. But that means defeating the five-term Republican incumbent, Susan Collins.

Flanked by Kash Patel and Pam Bondi, president claimed it was ‘most peaceful summer in the last two decades’ Donald Trump held a press conference Wednesday to take credit for decreases in violent crime that were already happening without his intervention. “I campaigned on crime, but I never thought we would go into every city and take a really safe city that we’ve all been living with for years and make it safe,” he said. “And now it’s a passion for me. I did get elected for crime, but I didn’t get elected for what we’re doing.” Continue reading...

The Department of Justice has been targeting groups intended to protect people against Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents’ violent attacks, and now another tech giant has joined in.  Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta removed a Facebook group intended to locate ICE agents in Chicago amid massive immigration raids.  Attorney General Pam Bondi celebrated the coordinated effort, claiming that the Facebook group was being used to “dox and target” ICE agents.  A cartoon by Clay Jones. “The wave of violence against ICE has been driven by online apps and social media campaigns designed to put ICE officers at risk just for doing their jobs,” Bondi wrote on X. “The Department of Justice will continue engaging tech companies to eliminate platforms where radicals can incite imminent violence against federal law enforcement.” In a statement provided to Daily Kos, a Meta spokesperson defended the company’s cooperation. “This Group was removed for violating our policies against coordinated harm,” they said. When asked to provide specific examples of “coordinated harm” in the group, Meta did not respond.  Daily Kos also contacted the DOJ but did not receive a response before publication.  Meanwhile, President Donald Trump’s close relationship with tech billionaires has helped ICE keep its agents as unidentifiable as possible. Earlier this month, Apple quietly removed apps from its digital store that tracked ICE activity. And Google has similarly caved to Trump.  In sanctuary cities like Chicago and Los Angeles, Trump has sent in swaths of ICE agents to carry out raids. In some cases, people have been pulled from their workplaces, and pregnant women have been manhandled while taken into custody. And out of fear, families are hiding in their homes, missing work to avoid being kidnapped by ICE.  On Wednesday, Los Angeles County declared a state of emergency as a result of Trump’s immigration raids.  Still, the digital means of protecting immigrants are becoming too far out of reach as tech companies eagerly get on board to help Trump’s secret police.

Trump has once again called for anyone who ever investigated him to be politically attacked, referencing his power as “chief law enforcement officer.” “I’m the one that had to suffer through [investigations] and ultimately win. But what they did was criminal. Deranged Jack Smith, in my opinion, is a criminal. And I noticed his interviewer, I think that was [former federal prosecutor Andrew] Weissman. And I hope they’re gonna look into Weissman too, Weissman’s a bad guy, and he had somebody in [former Deputy Attorney General] Lisa [Monaco] who was his puppet, worked in the office really as the top person,” Trump said during a press conference Wednesday with FBI Director Kash Patel and Attorney General Pam Bondi. “I think that she should be looked at very strongly. It was tremendous criminal activity.”   He then went on to ramble about how fair elections, fair press, and borders are the most important issues in America right now, before moving back to his political enemies.  “They have committed massive political crime. I hope they’re looking at Shifty [Adam] Schiff, I hope they’re looking at all these people. And I’m allowed to find out, I’m allowed, in theory, the ‘chief law enforcement officer.’… I hope they’re looking at political crime, because there’s never been so much political crime against a political opponent as what I had to go through.”  President Trump calls on Andrew Weissmann, Lisa Monaco, Adam Schiff to be “looked into” for political crime: I hope they will look at all of these people. And I am allowed to find out I'm allowed, you know, I’m in theory chief law enforcement officer. pic.twitter.com/6y6yHdu0ZF— Acyn (@Acyn) October 15, 2025 These so-called “criminals” Trump is referring to—Jack Smith, Lisa Monaco, Andrew Weissman, and Adam Schiff—are all people who rightfully and legally investigated a variety of alleged crimes, including Trump’s mishandling of classified documents, Trump’s role in instigating January 6 insurrection, and Russian interference in the 2016 election.  And for what it’s worth, Trump is very much not the chief law enforcement officer of the United States—the attorney general is (although Bondi has proven willing to agree with the president). Not only is Trump continuing to attack people on baseless accusations of crime, he is misrepresenting the power he has to do so.  

Nearly every Pentagon reporter from almost every major media outlet in America turned in their press badges Thursday, after refusing to endorse the Defense Department's new rules that they say would make it impossible to do their jobs independently. Why it matters: Press groups say the unprecedented restrictions contravene the First Amendment and echo a concerning trend of press freedoms under attack by the Trump administration. --- What they're saying: "Today, the Defense Department confiscated the badges of the Pentagon reporters from virtually every major media organization in America," the Pentagon Press Association said in a statement on Thursday. * "The Pentagon Press Association's members are still committed to reporting on the U.S. military," they wrote. * "But make no mistake, today, Oct. 15, 2025 is a dark day for press freedom that raises concerns about a weakening U.S. commitment to transparency in governance, to public accountability at the Pentagon and to free speech for all." * The Defense Department did not immediately respond to Axios' Thursday evening request for comment. Driving the news: The Pentagon announced the new restrictions last month, and gave newsrooms until Tuesday to commit to adhering to them. * Media companies broadly rejected the pledge, claiming it would criminalize national security reporting and expose those who sign the contract to potential prosecution. * Outlets including Axios, Fox News, NBC, ABC, CNN, NPR, AP, the Washington Post and the New York Times said they would not sign the pledge, while the conservative cable network One America News (OAN), indicated that it would sign it. Of note: A collection of defense-oriented trade newspapers issued a joint statement condemning the rules on Wednesday, including the Military Times, Defense News, Aviation Week, Breaking Defense, Defense Daily, Defense One, Inside Defense and USNI News. The other side: "We stand by our policy because it's what's best for our troops and the national security of this country," said Chief Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell in an emailed statement Thursday evening. Go deeper: News outlets broadly reject Pentagon's new press rules

The Trump administration moved to give the CIA authority to conduct lethal operations in Venezuela. This comes amid repeated boat attacks by the U.S. in Venezuela. CBS News White House reporter Olivia Rinaldi has more.

Chris Hayes says the kind of virulent hatred, racism and bigotry seen in Young Republicans' leaked group chat message has become all too familiar in Trump’s GOP.

CBS News senior White House correspondent Ed O'Keefe asked President Trump Wednesday why he had authorized the CIA to go into Venezuela.

US President Donald Trump said Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has assured him that India will stop buying Russian oil after the United States announced a doubling of tariffs on Indian goods over the purchases.

The Supreme Court is on the verge of further limiting voting rights, thanks in part to Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s unfounded insistence that considering race can only be legal for a certain amount of time into the future — regardless of what the law and the Constitution say

A federal judge on Wednesday temporarily ordered the Trump administration to halt the firing of workers during the government shutdown. CBS News congressional correspondent Nikole Killion has more from Capitol Hill.

Move by US marks sharp escalation in efforts to pressure Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro’s regime Donald Trump confirmed reports on Wednesday that he authorized the CIA to conduct covert operations in Venezuela, marking a sharp escalation in US efforts to pressure President Nicolás Maduro’s regime. The New York Times first reported the classified directive, citing US officials familiar with the decision. Continue reading...

The Central Intelligence Agency’s operations abroad are usually shrouded in secrecy, but President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he had authorized the spy agency to take unspecified action in Venezuela, an extraordinary and unprecedented acknowledgement from a commander in chief.“Why did you authorize the CIA to go into Venezuela?” a reporter asked Trump at the White House.

A federal judge granted a temporary restraining order blocking the Trump administration from laying off federal workers during the government shutdown. 

The Central Intelligence Agency’s operations abroad are usually shrouded in secrecy, but President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he had authorized the spy agency to take unspecified action in Venezuela, an extraordinary and unprecedented acknowledgement from a commander in chief.“Why did you authorize the CIA to go into Venezuela?” a reporter asked Trump at the White House.