AL.com: “U.S. Rep. Mo Brooks said he was not involved in the planning of the Jan. 6 ‘Save America’ rally at the Capitol where he made a speech shortly before rioters breached the building. In a phone interview Monday, the Huntsville congressman and 2022 U.S. Senate candidate denied a Rolling Stone report that he or his top staffers were in contact with two people involved in organizing both the Jan. 6 rally and similar protests after the 2020 election. ‘I had no intentions of going to that rally until Jan. 5, when the White House asked me to speak,’ Brooks said, adding that the date marked the ‘beginning’ of his involvement in the rally. The congressman said he could not say whether his staff interacted with two anonymous Rolling Stone sources – only identified as an organizer and a planner of the Jan. 6 rally and other protests – because he had not spoken to them about it.”

“‘Quite frankly, I’d be proud of them if they did help organize a First Amendment rally to protest voter fraud and election theft,’ Brooks said of his staff. The congressman said he could not recall if he participated in any similar ‘Save America’ or ‘Stop the Steal’ rallies between the day after the election and Jan. 6, although he said he ‘certainly’ did not attend any with President Trump. Brooks spoke at the Jan. 6 rally, while wearing body armor, and has been sued for allegedly helping inflame tensions on the day. Brooks has previously said he did not do anything wrong by speaking at the event and has maintained that ‘massive voter fraud’ occurred during the election. No voter fraud has been uncovered, despite multiple lawsuits. Heading into Jan. 6, both sources say, according to Rolling Stone, a plan was discussed with other organizers, Trump allies, and members of Congress, to coordinate the Washington rally and events in states around the country.”

“Foreign assistance to Northern Triangle countries (El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras) is meant to promote prosperity, good governance, and security in the region. In March 2019, the Trump administration withheld that assistance until those countries took steps to reduce the number of migrants coming to the U.S. border – suspending new funds and reallocating prior year funds. This adversely affected 65 of the State Department’s 168 projects, and 92 of the U.S. Agency for International Development’s 114 projects. Funding resumed in June 2020, but both agencies reported delays and fewer services to beneficiaries during the 14-month suspension” – GAO.

Billionaires Blast Wealth Tax: ‘One-Way Ticket to Venezuela’ https://t.co/vZMwF5Zlr9 via @thedailybeast @77WABCradio @AJ_Cats_

— John Catsimatidis (@JCats2013) October 26, 2021

“Japanese Princess Mako quietly married a commoner without traditional wedding celebrations Tuesday and said their marriage – delayed three years and called unfit by some – ‘was a necessary choice to live while cherishing our hearts.’ The marriage to Kei Komuro cost Mako her royal status and she has taken her husband’s surname – the first time she has had a family name.”

“Most Japanese women must abandon their own family names upon marriage due to a law requiring only one surname per married couple. The couple’s marriage document was submitted by a palace official Tuesday morning and made official, the Imperial Household Agency said. There was no wedding banquet or other marriage rituals for the couple. Their marriage is not celebrated by many people, the agency has said. ‘For me, Kei-san is a priceless person. For us, our marriage was a necessary choice to live while cherishing our hearts,’ Mako told a televised news conference, using an honorific in speaking of her husband” – AP.

According to MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell, Democratic West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin had dinner in Washington, DC with a number of reporters and he said, on the record, about the infrastructure bill, “I think we’ll get something.  I really do.  The infrastructure bill, it’s a good bill that we need.”

New York Times:  “Lawyers for the drug kingpin known as El Chapo argued Monday for a new trial, insisting ‘breathtaking jury misconduct’ and an ‘unparalleled set of stifling defense restrictions’ marred his conviction.  Joaquin Guzman, 64, was sentenced to life in prison after he was found guilty in February 2019 of running an industrial-sized drug trafficking operation, the Sinaloa cartel, one of the world’s largest, most profitable and most ruthless drug smuggling organizations.

“Guzman’s attorney, Marc Fernich, argued El Chapo did not get a fair trial because his solitary confinement in what the lawyer called a ‘modern dungeon’ impaired his ‘cognitive, emotional and mental’ faculties.  ‘The combination of unprecedented restrictions made it impossible to meaningfully prepare a defense,’ Fernich said in court Monday.

“Under questioning from a three-judge panel of the 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals, Fernich conceded the defense made no specific objections during trial. Prosecutors said the strict conditions of El Chapo’s confinement were deemed necessary.  ‘This judge was presented with a defendant who had already escaped from prison twice in Mexico in dramatic fashion, who had a history of intimidating and killing perceived rivals and who had previously run his criminal enterprise while incarcerated,’ the Justice Department’s Brett Reynolds said in court Monday.”

KCAL CBS-9 Los Angeles:  “The Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach made a joint-announcement on Monday – both ports will begin fining companies whose containers linger at marine terminals for too long.  Containers that are set up for truck transport will have nine days before the fines incur. After those nine days, a $100 fine per container will be assessed, with an additional $100 every day that each container remains at the port. Rail containers, transported by train, will have three days before the same set of fines incur.

“This is just another step in a series of moves made over recent weeks to ease the backlog of ships trying to deliver merchandise. Last week the ports announced that they will temporarily relax their container stacking limit, while President Joe Biden announced a plan for the ports to operate 24 hours a day, just two weeks ago. Port Hueneme has also become a relief valve for the overflowing ports in L.A. and Long Beach.

“Port of Los Angeles Executive Director Gene Seroka released a statement today in regards to the announcement. He said, ‘We must expedite the movement of cargo through the ports to work down the number of ships at anchor… Approximately 40% of the containers on our terminals today fall into the two categories. If we can clear this idling cargo, we’ll have much more space on our terminals to accept empties, handle exports, and improve fluidity for the wide range of cargo owners who utilize our ports.’”

President Joe Biden is expected to name Kim Wyman, the  Republican secretary of state for the state of Washington, to head the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), the Homeland Security agency responsible for making sure the nation’s infrastructure for elections is secure, CNN reports.

In her role overseeing elections throughout the state of Washington, Wyman was a vocal opponent of Donald Trump’s claims that elections were compromised and that he was the actual winner of the November 2020 presidential election, a conspiracy theory that has come to be known as The Big Lie.

She would take over the role once held by Christopher Krebs, who had been appointed–and later fired–by Donald Trump.  Trump objected to Krebs’ defense of election security and Krebs’ vehement assertions that there was no foul play in the election.

In another one of these “Didn’t we already go through this this before?” another federal judge rejected a request for a temporary restraining order on the state of Washington’s coronavirus vaccine mandate, the Associated Press reports.

Firefighters, state police officers and other state workers filed the lawsuit against Democratic Governor Jay Inslee, Spokane Fire Chief Brian Schaeffer, Washington State Patrol Chief John Batiste and others, claiming the vaccine mandate violated their civil rights.  The deadline to provide proof of vaccination was October 18th.

“The Supreme Court has long endorsed state and local government authority to impose compulsory vaccines… Federal courts have routinely analyzed such cases using rational basis and regularly reject cases similar to this one that challenge vaccine mandates based on free exercise of religion,” U.S. District Court Judge Thomas Rice wrote in his decision.

Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene (Q-GA) has been assessed a $2,500 fine for failing to wear a face mask during the House proceeding for showing up at a hearing of the House committee investigating the January 6th domestic terrorist attack on the Capitol and refusing to put a mask on, NBC News reports.

The complaint was filed by committee chair Jerry Nadler (D-NY), who from the panel, called out both Greene and Florida Republican Congressman Matt Gaetz, who were sitting in the gallery, reminding them that it was House rules that members wear masks during House proceedings.  In television coverage, after Nadler mentioned the pair by name, Gaetz can be seen searching his pockets for a mask while Greene doesn’t move.

This is Greene’s third such fine.  The House fines $500 for the first offense and $2,500 for subsequent offenses.  The financial impact of the fines will be minimal for the Congresswoman, whose husband runs a Georgia construction company her father founded and for which her husband was named president four years after marrying Madge.

Franklin, Tennessee unveiled “March to Freedom,” a bronze statue of a Black Union soldier from the Civil War, at a place of honor in front of the town’s courthouse and facing the town’s statue honoring Confederate soldiers, CNN reports.

The courthouse in Franklin, a town of 83,000 located about 20 miles north of Nashville, is the site where freed slaves enlisted in the Union Army after Franklin was liberated from the Confederates in 1862.  The Union held the city throughout the war, and freed Blacks traveled to Franklin to join the fight.

The planning and fundraising efforts for “March to Freedom” were started by a number of local pastors after the white supremacist riot in Charlottesville, Virginia that left one dead.  Sculptor Joe Howard was commissioned for the work.

The Confederate-theme Stone Mountain Park, owned by the state of Georgia, received only one bid to manage the theme park and the large monument to military and political leaders of the Confederacy, the Associated Press reports.

The one company to bid on the management contract is a brand new business founded by the person who ran park operations for the previous vendor, Herschend Family Entertainment, which opted to not compete for the business.

The 3,200 acre park includes the mountain into which bas relief sculpture of CSA president Jefferson Davis and Confederate generals Robert E. Lee and Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson.  The sculpture has been subject to many protests against its heroic depiction of people who advocated for slavery as well as the reproduction of a Southern plantation at the foot of the monument.

“President Joe Biden has once again refused to assert executive privilege over more documents that former President Donald Trump has sought to keep out of the hands of the committee investigating the January 6 attack on the US Capitol. According to letter obtained by CNN, White House counsel Dana Remus informed National Archivist David Ferriero on Monday that Biden would not assert privilege over additional materials that Trump requested remain secret as a matter of executive privilege. The former President has filed a lawsuit to block a separate tranche of documents being released to the committee and may add these documents to that lawsuit.”

“‘President Biden has considered the former President’s assertion, and I have engaged in consultations with the Office of Legal Counsel at the Department of Justice,’ Remus wrote. ‘President Biden has determined that an assertion of executive privilege is not in the best interests of the United States, and therefore is not justified, as to the documents provided to the White House on September 16, 2021, and September 23, 2021. Accordingly, President Biden does not uphold the former President’s assertion of privilege'” – CNN.

Fox News: “A Colorado hiker who had wandered off the trail and got lost ignored repeated phone calls from rescuers because the hiker didn’t recognize the number, officials said. The person started hiking Mount Elbert from the South Trailhead on October 18 around 9 a.m., Lake County Search and Rescue said. The hiker did not return by evening. Five LCSAR members searched for the hiker until early the next morning but were unsuccessful.”

“The missing hiker finally showed up at their place of lodging around 9:30 a.m. and the search was called off, LCSAR said. The hiker told rescue officials they had wandered off the trail around nightfall and could not find their way back. They said they spent the night searching for the trail, and once located, bounced around onto different trails trying to locate the proper trailhead – all while not realizing that a rescue team was out looking for them. LCSAR said the subject ignored ‘repeated phone calls’ because they simply didn’t recognize the number.”

CBS News:  “Six people were injured and one person is in custody following reports of a shooting at a mall in Boise, the city’s police department said Monday. The department said one of the injured people is a police officer.

“Just after 3 p.m. local time, police said they were ‘responding to reports of shots fired at the mall on N. Milwaukee’ and asked residents to avoid the area. CBS affiliate KBOI-TV identified the scene as the Boise Towne Square mall.

“Police said they are now in the process of securing the scene, searching the mall store-by-store to clear the shopping center. Police officials are expected to provide an update at 4:30 p.m. local time.”

Cutting the number of years in the “Build Back Socialist” plan is a gimmick that reduces the initial price tag

But it doesn’t reduce the socialism

— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) October 25, 2021

“The Biden administration has released additional details on its plan to require international travelers to prove that they have been vaccinated against COVID-19, issuing a presidential proclamation on Monday that outlines the process. According to senior administration officials, almost all non-citizen visitors traveling to the United States by air after November 8 will be required to provide proof of vaccination status to airline officials prior to boarding a flight – although some vaccines, including Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine and others that have not been approved for emergency use by the World Health Organization, won’t qualify” – Daily Beast.

The Daily Beast:  “A federal judge has dealt conservative figure James O’Keefe a legal blow, ruling that his group’s undercover operations against a Democratic consulting firm can fairly be described at an upcoming million-dollar trial as ‘political spying.’  Making matters worse for the right-wing star, the judge cited O’Keefe’s own book as evidence against him.

“In 2016, Allison Maass, an operative for O’Keefe’s Project Veritas group, took an internship at Democratic firm Democracy Partners under a fake name. While staffers at the firm thought Maass was working to elect Democrats in the 2016 campaign, she was secretly recording them and relaying undercover video and notes on the group to Project Veritas. Project Veritas eventually released the video, prompting Democracy Partners founder Robert Creamer to ‘step back’ from the Hillary Clinton campaign.

“Creamer and Democracy Partners sued Project Veritas in 2017 over the sting. Now, with the trial set for December, O’Keefe’s lawyers wanted to preemptively prevent the plaintiffs’ lawyers from describing Project Veritas’s work in court as ‘political spying.’ In an Oct. 14 court opinion, though, U.S. District Court Judge Paul L. Friedman ruled that it’s reasonable to describe O’Keefe’s group’s actions in that way.  ‘”Political spying” is a fair characterization of the undisputed facts of this case,’ Friedman, a Bill Clinton appointee, wrote.”

Authorities using new DNA technology identified one of the unknown victims of serial killer John Wayne Gacy as a North Carolina man who had recently moved to Chicago prior to disappearing, WBBM CBS-2 in Chicago reports.

One of the most prolific serial killers in US history, Gacy hid the remains of more than two dozen of his 33 known victims in and around his house, putting some in the crawlspace under his house or burying them in his backyard.  He disposed of at least four bodies in a local river.

A North Carolina native, Francis Wayne Alexander moved with his wife to Chicago in 1975, but got divorced soon after and cut connection to his family.  He was last known to be alive in early 1976 and early 1977, when he would have been 21 or 22 years old.  Dart’s family assumed that the man wanted to be left alone and didn’t file a missing person report for months.