Top 5 US news stories
October 2 2025
Trump Budget Chief Wields Shutdown Ax, Halts Billions for Democratic Priorities
With Government Report Delayed, ADP Data Points to Weakening Labor Market
Trump Administration Proposes 'Compact' for Universities, Tying Federal Funds to Conservative Principles
Federal Agents and National Guard Deployed to Chicago
In Major Policy Shift, U.S. to Provide Ukraine With Intelligence for Long-Range Strikes on Russian Energy Infrastructure
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BREAKING...Two people were killed and others injured in a ramming and stabbing attack outside a synagogue in the British city of Manchester, in what officials believe was a targeted incident on Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the Jewish calendar....
1. Trump Budget Chief Wields Shutdown Ax, Halts Billions for Democratic Priorities
WASHINGTON—Russell Vought has been planning for this moment for years. President Trump’s budget chief—one of the main players in the government shutdown that has ground Washington to a halt—might also be one of its biggest beneficiaries, as the freeze gives him the opportunity to implement funding cuts he has long advocated. Vought, director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, was quick Wednesday to target Democratic priorities and projects. In a move that affected Democratic congressional leaders from New York, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Vought posted on X that a hold had been put on $18 billion in federal funds for New York City infrastructure work: a Hudson River tunnel project and a subway extension. The Transportation Department pinned the blame on the shutdown, saying a review of the projects’ contracting policies and their relationship to diversity, equity and inclusion requirements couldn’t move forward. “Without a budget, the department has been forced to furlough the civil rights staff responsible for conducting this review,” the agency said in a statement. Vought also posted that $8 billion in Energy Department funds for climate projects would be canceled in more than a dozen Democratic-leaning states. He didn’t specify which projects would be affected.
WSJ
2. With Government Report Delayed, ADP Data Points to Weakening Labor Market
The U.S. shed 32,000 private-sector jobs in September, payroll-processing giant ADP said on Wednesday. That is down from a revised loss of 3,000 in August. Economists polled by The Wall Street Journal had expected an increase of 45,000. ADP’s report doesn’t include government workers, but economists are giving it a closer look this month. That is because the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ monthly jobs report, which was scheduled to come out this Friday, will be delayed if the government is still shut down. The surprise job loss in September is the latest sign that the labor market is weakening. Job growth has slowed to a trickle this year even as the unemployment rate has held mostly steady. The Federal Reserve last month lowered short-term interest rates by a quarter percentage point and signaled more cuts are likely, citing weak hiring. The labor market “is a little bit tenuous right now,” said Aditya Bhave, an economist at Bank of America. The leisure and hospitality sector shed 19,000 jobs last month, the largest decline among major sectors, according to ADP. Education and health services were bright spots, with a collective gain of 33,000 jobs.
WSJ
3. Trump Administration Proposes 'Compact' for Universities, Tying Federal Funds to Conservative Principles
The Trump administration is laying out a set of operating principles that it wants universities to agree to in exchange for preferential access to federal funds. The expansive 10-point memo, dubbed the “Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education,” puts forth a wide-ranging set of terms the administration says are intended to elevate university standards and performance. Universities that sign on will get “multiple positive benefits,” including “substantial and meaningful federal grants,” according to a letter addressed to university leaders. The memo demands that schools ban the use of race or sex in hiring and admissions; freeze tuition for five years; cap international undergrad enrollment at 15%; require that applicants take the SAT or a similar test; and quell grade inflation. Much of the document focuses on the campus political climate. The compact asks universities to ensure a “vibrant marketplace of ideas on campus” and to bar employees from expressing political views on behalf of their employer, unless the matter affects the school. It seeks to create a more welcoming environment for conservatives, asking colleges to make governance changes and abolish departments that “purposefully punish, belittle, and even spark violence against conservative ideas.” Ted Mitchell, president of the American Council on Education, which represents more than 1,500 presidents of colleges and universities, said he found the idea of a compact troubling, particularly its points regarding political expression and views. “Who decides if the intellectual environment is vigorous and open-ended? This is not something the federal government should be involved in and adjudicating,” he said. “The implications for free speech are horrifying.”
WSJ
4. Federal Agents and National Guard Deployed to Chicago
The Trump administration has vowed for more than a month to bring a show of federal force to Chicago, the nation’s third-largest city, to crack down on illegal immigration. This week, the administration has visibly followed through. On Sunday, federal officers in camouflage patrolled tourist-heavy areas of downtown Chicago in a conspicuous pack, attracting stares and taunts, including from a bicyclist the agents tried to chase. On Monday, U.S. military officials said that 100 National Guard troops would be deployed to Illinois to protect federal facilities, a mobilization that is expected in the coming days. And early on Tuesday, federal agents, using drones, helicopters, trucks and dozens of vehicles, conducted a middle-of-the-night raid on a rundown apartment building on the South Side of Chicago, leaving the building mostly empty of residents by morning and neighbors stunned.
NYT
5. In Major Policy Shift, U.S. to Provide Ukraine With Intelligence for Long-Range Strikes on Russian Energy Infrastructure
The U.S. will provide Ukraine with intelligence for long-range missile strikes on Russia’s energy infrastructure, American officials said, as the Trump administration weighs sending Kyiv powerful weapons that could put in range more targets within Russia. President Trump recently signed off on allowing intelligence agencies and the Pentagon to aid Kyiv with the strikes. U.S. officials are asking North Atlantic Treaty Organization allies to provide similar support, these people said. The expanded intelligence-sharing with Kyiv is the latest sign that Trump is deepening support for Ukraine as his efforts to advance peace talks have stalled. It is the first time, officials say, that the Trump administration will aid Ukrainian strikes with long-range missiles against energy targets deep inside Russian territory. While the U.S. has long assisted Kyiv’s drone and missile attacks, the intelligence sharing means Ukraine will be better able to hit refineries, pipelines, power stations and other infrastructure far from its borders, with the goal of depriving the Kremlin of revenue and oil to sustain its invasion.
WSJ
October 2 1965: Gatorade first tested in a college football game
On October 2, 1965, during a football game between the University of Florida Gators and the Louisiana State University Tigers, UF players test a newly concocted sports drink to help them regain the essential chemicals their bodies lose from profuse sweating. Developed in their own school's science labs, the drink is designed to fight dehydration, rebalance their bodies' electrolytes and restore blood sugar, potassium and body salts so they can continue to perform at a high level through their games. The Gators go on to win the match, after the heavily favored Tigers wilt in Florida's muggy, 102-degree heat.
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Sources
- https://www.wsj.com/politics/policy/russell-vought-omb-director-government-shutdown-6dd92725?mod=hp_lead_pos8
- https://www.wsj.com/economy/jobs/u-s-lost-32-000-jobs-in-september-says-payroll-processor-06528340?st=TQTguy&reflink=article_copyURL_share
- https://www.wsj.com/us-news/education/trump-universities-compact-federal-funds-agreement-df158493?st=x9CRtL&reflink=article_copyURL_share
- https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/01/us/trump-chicago-immigration-national-guard.html
- https://www.wsj.com/world/u-s-to-provide-ukraine-with-intelligence-for-missile-strikes-deep-inside-russia-ca7b2276?st=yjLGfE&reflink=article_copyURL_share
