The Morning Sixpack - October 27, 2025
Trump’s tariffs, media crackdowns, Navy crashes, hurricane chaos, and food aid cuts—America’s storm is political, not just weather.
Homecoming Horror: One Dead, Six Injured at Lincoln University
A celebration meant to unite the Lincoln University community ended in bloodshed Saturday night. One person was killed and six others injured when gunfire erupted during homecoming festivities on campus in Pennsylvania, turning a night of pride and reunion into chaos.
Authorities identified the victim as 25-year-old J’wan Jeffers of Wilmington, Delaware, who died from a gunshot wound to the head. Six others, aged 20 to 25, were wounded but are expected to survive, according to Chester County District Attorney Christopher de Barrena-Sarobe. One victim was a current student, another an alumnus, and the remaining four were not connected to the university.
The shooting broke out around 9:30 p.m. outside the International Cultural Center following a football game. De Barrena-Sarobe described the scene as “chaotic,” with crowds scattering as shots rang out. Some of the injured were hurt while fleeing. One person, Zecqueous Morgan-Thompson, was arrested and charged with carrying a concealed weapon without a license, though authorities have not confirmed whether his gun was used in the attack. He’s being held on $25,000 cash bail.
Officials believe there were multiple shooters and that the violence was not premeditated but rather erupted amid the celebration. Classes at Lincoln University have been suspended for Monday. “Gun violence happens far too often in our country, and we are heartbroken that Lincoln University and its students are among the latest victims,” said university President Brenda Allen.
This marks yet another tragic entry in the growing list of campus shootings. A week ago, three were injured at Oklahoma State University; earlier this year, Elizabeth City State University saw one dead and six hurt. According to the Gun Violence Archive, there have been 354 mass shootings involving four or more victims so far in 2025—a grim statistic that’s become part of America’s background noise.
Source: UPI
Editor: Another homecoming turned into a crime scene. Politicians will tweet “thoughts and prayers,” universities will hold vigils, and the cycle will roll on. Until the country treats gun violence like the national emergency it is, these “isolated incidents” will keep piling up.
U.S. Detains British Journalist Critical of Israel, Revokes Visa Amid Growing Crackdown
A British journalist has been detained by U.S. immigration officials for criticizing Israel’s war in Gaza. Sami Hamdi, a political commentator and frequent critic of Western foreign policy, was taken into custody by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) while on a U.S. speaking tour, his visa revoked on orders from the Trump administration.
Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin confirmed Hamdi’s detention, saying he would remain in custody pending removal. “Under President Trump, those who support terrorism and undermine American national security will not be allowed to work or visit this country,” she said. “It’s common sense.” The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), which organized Hamdi’s tour, blasted the move, calling it “an abduction” for political speech.
CAIR said Hamdi was detained Sunday morning at San Francisco International Airport, shortly after speaking at its Sacramento gala. “Our attorneys and partners are working to address this injustice. We call on ICE to immediately account for and release Mr. Hamdi, whose only ‘crime’ is criticizing a foreign government that has committed genocide,” the organization said.
Meanwhile, far-right agitator Laura Loomer claimed credit for tipping off federal authorities, boasting on X that she “reported Sami Hamdi to immigration authorities” over “his documented support for Islamic terrorism”—a claim for which she offered no evidence. Hamdi’s detention comes as the Trump administration escalates actions against pro-Palestinian voices, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirming that hundreds of visas have been revoked for people allegedly tied to pro-Palestinian protests.
The Muslim Council of Britain urged the U.K. government to intervene, warning that “press freedom cannot be selective.” But the State Department doubled down: “The United States has no obligation to host foreigners who support terrorism and actively undermine the safety of Americans,” it said. So far, officials have provided no evidence against Hamdi—just political theater dressed up as national security.
Source: UPI
Editor: When a journalist is detained for his opinions, it stops being about ‘national security’ and starts being about silencing dissent. The Trump team isn’t fighting terrorism here—they’re fighting criticism. Freedom of speech apparently expires at customs—and soon… just because.
Hurricane Melissa Roars Toward Jamaica as a Record-Breaking Category 5
Hurricane Melissa has exploded into a monstrous Category 5 storm and is barreling toward Jamaica with winds topping 160 mph. The National Hurricane Center warns the island could face “catastrophic and life-threatening” flooding, landslides, and destruction unseen since Hurricane Gilbert in 1988.
As of Monday morning, Melissa was just 100 miles south of Jamaica, crawling west at 3 mph—a worst-case scenario for an island about to take a direct hit. Meteorologists say it could be Jamaica’s strongest storm on record, with as much as 40 inches of rain, 13 feet of storm surge, and winds powerful enough to flatten infrastructure and cut off entire communities. “Do not venture out of your safe shelter,” warned the NHC, emphasizing that destructive winds “will begin by this evening.”
Satellite data shows Melissa’s power off the charts, with provisional wind readings up to 190 mph—the kind of numbers that make forecasters question their instruments. “We’re witnessing satellite history in the Atlantic tonight,” meteorologist Michael Lowry wrote. It’s the third Category 5 storm this season—an alarming benchmark that places 2025 among the most active Atlantic hurricane years ever recorded.
The storm is expected to hit Jamaica’s southern coast Monday night before tearing across the island for up to nine brutal hours. Cornwall and Middlesex Counties are likely to see the worst of it. Flooding, landslides, and storm surge will swamp coastal parishes from Westmoreland to Clarendon, while Kingston and Portmore remain at risk from rising waters. Jamaica’s geography—wide, mountainous, and densely populated—means nowhere is truly safe from Melissa’s reach.
Melissa’s rampage won’t end there. It’s forecast to strike Cuba, the Bahamas, and the Turks and Caicos next, before turning north and dumping torrential rain across the U.S. East Coast from D.C. to Boston. By week’s end, the storm will weaken over the North Atlantic—but not before etching its name into the record books and testing the limits of human preparedness in a warming world.
Source: The Washington Post
Editor: Nature’s message is loud and clear: it’s rewriting the rulebook while we’re still arguing about whether the rulebook exists. A storm like this doesn’t happen in isolation—it’s climate change with a megaphone. Politicians talk about “resilience,” but you can’t rebuild what’s underwater.
Trump Slaps Canada With New 10% Tariff Over Reagan-Themed Ad Flap
Donald Trump just slapped a 10% tariff on Canada because of an ad that quoted Ronald Reagan. Yes, an ad. The Canadian province of Ontario aired a spot using a 1987 Reagan speech about tariffs, and Trump—never one to take perceived disrespect lightly—called it a “hostile act” and promised retaliation.
The ad used Reagan’s voice warning that “such trade barriers hurt every American worker and consumer” and lead to “fierce trade wars.” That message apparently struck a nerve. Trump blasted the ad as a “serious misrepresentation of the facts,” claiming Reagan “LOVED Tariffs for purposes of National Security and the Economy.” Ontario Premier Doug Ford said he’d pause the campaign, but it still aired during the World Series, setting Trump off again.
U.S. tariffs on Canada are already at 35%, with energy products at 10%, though most trade is exempt under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). The White House hasn’t clarified when the new tariffs take effect—or whether USMCA goods will be exempt. Meanwhile, Canadian officials called for “constructive discussions,” but the damage was done.
Trump’s move comes amid renewed trade tension just ahead of next month’s Supreme Court hearing on his tariff policies. Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney is still expected to meet Trump at an upcoming Asia-Pacific summit, though one can imagine how awkward that dinner might be.
While the Reagan Foundation confirmed the ad used the audio without permission, it didn’t actually dispute the content—meaning Trump’s fury may be more about optics than economics. After all, Reagan’s original point was that broad tariffs hurt everyone. If irony could be taxed, we’d be running a budget surplus.
Source: The Wall Street Journal
Editor: A 10% tariff over a TV commercial? This is what happens when ego replaces economics. Reagan warned against trade wars; Trump turned that warning into a business model. At this point, diplomacy feels like it’s being run out of the comments section of Truth Social.
Fighter Jet and Helicopter Crash Near USS Nimitz in South China Sea — All Crew Survive
Two U.S. Navy aircraft crashed within 30 minutes of each other off the USS Nimitz — and somehow, everyone made it out alive. A fighter jet and a helicopter went down in the South China Sea on Sunday, marking yet another string of accidents involving American carriers deployed in tense global hotspots.
The Navy’s Pacific Fleet said an F/A-18F Super Hornet and an MH-60R Sea Hawk both crashed during operations. All five crew members — two aviators and three helicopter crew — were rescued and are “safe and in stable condition.” The cause of the back-to-back crashes remains under investigation.
Speaking aboard Air Force One, President Donald Trump told reporters the incidents might have been caused by “bad fuel,” adding there was “nothing to hide” and ruling out foul play. The USS Nimitz, currently heading back to its home port in Washington state, had just wrapped up its final deployment before decommissioning after spending the summer supporting U.S. operations in response to Houthi rebel attacks on shipping in the Middle East.
The Navy has had a rough year. The USS Harry S. Truman suffered a string of mishaps in recent months — one jet shot down accidentally by a friendly ship, another sliding off the deck into the Red Sea, and a third going overboard after a landing cable failure. Miraculously, no lives were lost in those incidents either.
The back-to-back crashes aboard the Nimitz underscore the growing wear and tear on America’s aging carrier fleet — and the risks of nonstop deployments amid global conflicts. Investigators are now scrambling to determine whether mechanical failures, maintenance lapses, or just plain bad luck are to blame.
Source: Associated Press
Editor: Two multimillion-dollar aircraft down in one afternoon? That’s not “bad fuel,” that’s bad management.
Millions Face Food Aid Cutoff as Shutdown Threatens SNAP Benefits
The USDA just announced that federal food aid will stop on November 1—leaving millions of Americans without help to buy groceries. The agency says it will not use $5 billion in contingency funds to extend the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which serves about one in eight Americans, as the government shutdown drags into its second month.
In a stark notice on its website, the USDA wrote, “Bottom line, the well has run dry. At this time, there will be no benefits issued November 01. We are approaching an inflection point for Senate Democrats.” That’s bureaucrat-speak for: Washington’s political standoff is about to hit kitchen tables across the country.
The Trump administration blames Democrats for refusing to reopen the government without guarantees on Affordable Care Act subsidies, while Democrats accuse Republicans of holding working families hostage. Lawmakers have urged Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins to use emergency funds to keep benefits flowing, but the USDA claims those funds are “not legally available” for regular aid—reserving them for disaster response instead. Ironically, the memo points to Hurricane Melissa as an example of why those funds must be saved.
States are scrambling. Some have pledged to cover food benefits temporarily, while others—like Arkansas and Oklahoma—are warning recipients to prepare for the cutoff by seeking out food pantries. But with the USDA saying states won’t be reimbursed, even that stopgap may be out of reach.
Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) called for immediate negotiations, saying on CNN that “if they sat down to try to negotiate, we could probably come up with something pretty quickly.” Meanwhile, millions of Americans are about to find out what political brinkmanship looks like when it empties the fridge.
Source: Associated Press
Editor: Cutting off food aid during a political stare-down isn’t governing—it’s cruelty dressed up as strategy. The USDA’s “inflection point” isn’t for Democrats. It’s for single parents, seniors, and kids who just lost their safety net. The politicians won’t miss a meal—but millions of Americans will.