Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., earned praise from Republicans for calling out his own party as food stamp assistance is on the line amid a partial government shutdown.

‘As a committed Democrat, I’m dismayed my party is playing chicken with the food security of 42M Americans. I reject a political gamble that exposes a vulnerable constituency to widespread deprivation and chaos,’ Fetterman declared in a Tuesday post on X.

A statement posted on the U.S. Department of Agriculture website warns that ‘the well has run dry’ for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and ‘there will be no benefits issued November 01.’

‘We are approaching an inflection point for Senate Democrats. They can continue to hold out for healthcare for illegal aliens and gender mutilation procedures or reopen the government so mothers, babies, and the most vulnerable among us can receive critical nutrition assistance,’ the statement asserts.

Fetterman has repeatedly voted to advance a stopgap funding measure to end the shutdown, but the votes have fallen short of the threshold required to move the measure forward in the Senate.

Some GOP lawmakers responded to Fetterman’s post on X.

‘Thank you @SenFettermanPA for being a voice of reason, compassion and putting Americans first,’ Rep. Kat Cammack, R-Fla., said in a post on Wednesday.

Rep. Eli Crane, R-Ariz., wrote on Tuesday, ‘A rare voice of reason in the Democrat party. Sadly, Senators Kelly and Gallego are siding with party loyalty.’ 

‘Well said @SenFettermanPA,’ Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., noted on Tuesday.

In a post on Wednesday, Fetterman stated, ‘Our workers are forced to get a loan just to get by. As a Democrat, this stalemate doesn’t feel like support for working families to me. End the shutdown or own the fallout.’

Halloween is only days away, and parents and children are flooding stores in search of the best costumes and the scariest monster, vampire and ghoul decorations.

But the author of new children’s book ‘All Hallows’ Eve’ is calling on families to search for something else: the true spiritual meaning of Halloween.

‘By writing this story, I wanted to try to do my little part to reclaim Halloween for what it truly is: a deeply spiritual holiday centered on prayer, penance, remembrance of the dead,’ said Anthony DeStefano, an author known for his Christian-themed books for adults and children.

‘I wanted to give children and their parents an engaging way to celebrate Halloween in line with their faith without losing the fun, the mystery, and even the scary excitement that kids naturally love about that season.’

DeStefano said he wants his faith-based book to put ‘the ‘hallow’ back in Halloween’ as celebrations and spending hit record highs. In 2025, Americans are expected to spend a record $13.1 billion on celebrating Halloween, according to the National Retail Federation.  

DeStefano says his message is especially relevant today, pointing to the death of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk and the shooting at a school Mass at Minneapolis’ Annunciation Catholic Church, as reminders of the reality of evil and risks that can come with openly expressing one’s faith.

‘I do not think these are isolated events,’ he said. ‘I think they’re symptoms of a deeper hostility toward faith that’s been very apparent in the way Hollywood, the legacy media, the academic world, and the left have been mocking religion for decades.’ 

‘Halloween isn’t about glorifying darkness,’ DeStefano said. ‘It’s about shining a light on the reality of death, the fact that eternal life has triumphed, and that’s what makes it so powerful if we understand it correctly.’ 

DeStefano warned that modern culture has distanced itself from those roots. He said Halloween has become a ‘festival of evil,’ and embracing the dark side of the holiday can be ‘fundamentally unhealthy.’ 

Halloween has long been marked by ghost stories, cursed dolls and evil spirits. Films and tales often center on exorcisms, haunted houses and witches casting spells from bubbling cauldrons to curse others. 

He said that there has been a growing fascination within the media that ‘glorifies’ evil and that this kind of entertainment can ‘dull our moral senses.’

‘All Hallows’ Eve’ tells the story of a group of friends who stumble upon a mysterious old woman who sweeps graves in a cemetery every night, according to the book description. She prays for the souls of the dead buried below, who are stuck in purgatory, and teaches the children the true meaning of the holiday. 

Purgatory is understood as a temporary and intermediate afterlife state that provides spiritual cleansing to souls before entering heaven, per Catholic doctrine. 

In the Catholic tradition, All Hallows’ Eve, or Halloween, All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day take place over three consecutive days known collectively as Allhallowtide, a time to honor the saints and pray for the souls of the dead.

DeStefano said he’s not discouraging families from enjoying the usual Halloween traditions but urged parents to teach their children about the holiday’s origins and the importance of honoring the dead.

He said Halloween can also carry a message of hope. He said dressing up as a mummy, ghost, or skeleton can be a good reminder that Halloween is also a time to pray for loved ones who have passed away.

‘If someone we love has died, if our grandmother or grandfather has died, someday we’re going to get to see them again in heaven, and we’re going to be able to run up to them again, kiss them, hug them, and feel the warmth of their skin and hear their voices again,’ he said. ‘That’s what this holiday is about.’

Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, released on Wednesday 197 subpoenas that the Biden administration’s FBI used to seek testimony and documents related to hundreds of Republicans and GOP entities as part of the bureau’s Arctic Frost probe, the precursor to former special counsel Jack Smith’s election investigation.

‘Arctic Frost was the vehicle by which partisan FBI agents and DOJ prosecutors could improperly investigate the entire Republican political apparatus,’ Grassley said at a press conference. ‘Contrary to what Smith has said publicly, this was clearly a fishing expedition.’

Standing alongside Grassley, Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., called the subpoenas ‘nothing short of a Biden administration enemies list.’

The subpoenas included nonpublic, confidential grand jury material that Grassley said he obtained through whistleblower disclosures.

They sought certain communications with media companies, including Fox News, CBS, Sinclair and Newsmax and with ‘any’ members and aides in Congress. They also sought sweeping financial information from conservative entities.

Grassley has been releasing troves of documents related to Arctic Frost, a probe he says was politicized and lacked basis. Smith used the probe to bring criminal charges against Trump related to the 2020 election.

Lenny Breuer, a lawyer for Smith, said in a statement provided to Fox News Digital that Smith stands by his offer to appear publicly before the Senate and House to testify about his special counsel work.

‘As we informed congressional leaders last week, Jack is happy to discuss his work as Special Counsel and answer any questions at a public hearing just like every other Special Counsel investigating a president has done,’ Breuer said, adding that Smith wants a public hearing ‘so the American people can hear directly from him.’

House lawmakers have called on Smith to interview with them behind closed-doors, while Grassley has said he is still seeking more information from Smith and not ready for a public hearing.

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, also raised at the press conference the controversial subpoenas for eight Republican senators’ phone records, which did not include the contents of phone calls but rather details about when calls were place and to whom. Cruz said he was also among the targeted senators, but he said his phone company, AT&T, resisted complying with the request and that AT&T was ordered by a federal judge not to inform Cruz about the request for a year.

‘We are going to get the answers of every person who signed off on this abuse of power, and mark my words, there will be accountability,’ Cruz said, signaling that the senators’ inquiry into Arctic Frost was far from over.

Smith brought four charges against Trump in 2023 alleging he illegally attempted to overturn the election, but the former special counsel encountered numerous hurdles during the federal court proceedings in D.C. and eventually was forced to dismiss the case after Trump won the 2024 election, citing a DOJ policy that discourages prosecuting sitting presidents.

As President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping prepare to meet Thursday, one soft-spoken U.S. export star will take center stage: soybeans. The humble crop, a $30 billion pillar of U.S. agriculture exports, has become a powerful symbol of the economic interdependence and political tension between Washington and Beijing. 

In short, soybeans have come to embody the volatility of the U.S.–China trade war. Beijing halted purchases of American soybeans on the heels of retaliatory tariffs on the crop, responding to Trump’s earlier duties on Chinese goods. 

China pivoted to suppliers in Brazil and Argentina, a move that underscored how quickly global trade patterns can shift and how vulnerable U.S. farmers are to diplomatic rifts between Washington and Beijing.

What began as tit-for-tat posturing between the world’s two largest economies has turned into a symbolic and economic gut punch for Trump’s rural base, whose livelihoods depend on the very trade ties now caught in the crossfire.

According to the American Soybean Association, the U.S. has traditionally served as China’s leading soybean source. Prior to the 2018 trade conflict, roughly 28% of U.S. soybean production was exported to China. Those crop exports fell sharply to 11% in 2018 and 2019, recovered to 31% by 2021 amid pandemic-era demand and eased back to 22% in 2024.

But some policy experts argue that China’s shift away from U.S. soybeans was already underway.

‘China was always going to reduce its reliance on the United States for food security,’ Bryan Burack, a senior policy advisor for China and the Indo-Pacific at the Heritage Foundation told Fox News Digital. ‘China started signing purchase agreements with other countries for soybeans well before President Trump took office,’ he said, adding that Beijing has ‘been decoupling from the U.S. for a long time.’

‘Unfortunately, the only way for us to respond is to do the same and that process is painful and excruciating,’ Burack said.

But for farmers thousands of miles from Washington and Beijing, those policy shifts translate into shrinking markets and tighter margins.

‘We rely on trade with other countries, specifically China, to buy our soybeans,’ Brad Arnold, a multigenerational soybean farmer in southwestern Missouri, told FOX Business. He said that China’s decision to boycott U.S. soybean purchases ‘has huge impacts on our business and our bottom line.’

‘There are domestic uses for soybeans, looking at renewable diesel, biodiesel specifically produced from soybeans,’ Arnold said. ‘In the grand scheme of things, that’s such a small percentage currently, you know it’s going to take a customer like China to buy beans to make a noticeable impact. You can’t take our number one customer, shut them off and just overnight find a replacement.’

That reliance on China adds new weight to the diplomatic stage this week, as Trump and Xi prepare to meet in South Korea. The two leaders will meet on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit in Busan, South Korea, marking their first in-person talks since Trump’s return to office. 

Ahead of the meeting, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said he expected China to delay rare earth restrictions and resume U.S. soybean purchases, calling it part of a ‘substantial framework’ both sides aim to maintain. Bessent also said that trade negotiations were moving toward averting a fresh 100% U.S. tariff on Chinese goods.

And in a possible gesture of easing tensions, Reuters reported that China bought around 180,000 metric tons of U.S. soybeans in the run-up to Trump and Xi’s meeting.

Whether it marks a true thaw in U.S.–China trade relations or just a temporary reprieve, the purchase underscores how deeply intertwined diplomacy and agriculture remain.

Fox Business’ Eric Revell contributed to this report.

: The campaign for ‘Squad’ Rep. Ilhan Omar recently sent over a thousand dollars to a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit that partnered with a Palestinian university with alleged terrorist ties, according to new Federal Election Commission filings reviewed by Fox News Digital.

The Palestine House of Freedom, also known by its Arabic name, ‘Dar Alhurriya,’ is a nonprofit headquartered just blocks from the U.S. Capitol building. 

According to a video on the group’s website, it is ‘dedicated to the liberation of Palestine’ and ‘the dismantling of apartheid in Palestine and the establishment of a free, democratic state from the river to the sea.’

The group’s website emphasizes that Israel is ‘operating as an apartheid state.’ The website further states that its mission is to ’embark on an aggressive educational campaign targeting everyone from lawmakers, staffers, the media, to the general public’ to ‘show how dismantling apartheid and establishing a free democratic Palestine from the River to the Sea with equal rights, is the path to peace and will benefit all parties involved.’

The filings show that Omar’s campaign, Ilhan for Congress, sent $1,559.25 to the anti-Israel Palestine House of Freedom for ‘event tickets’ in September. However, it is unclear which event the payments were for.

The Palestine House of Freedom made headlines earlier this year for hosting a fundraiser in June for the Palestinian Birzeit University, a school that has alleged terrorist ties and has seen its student council elections favor the pro-Hamas wing of student council members, according to The Washington Reporter.

The university’s student council has long been dominated by the Hamas-affiliated Al-Wafaa bloc and has been previously dubbed, ‘Terrorist University.’ Student campus parades have also reportedly included people marching with mock suicide bomb vests and rockets, as reported by Memri TV.

A Fox News Digital review found that the Hamas-affiliated Al-Wafaa bloc has won several student council elections at Birzeit dating back to the 1990’s, including victories in 2022 and 2023. After the 2023 victory, a top Hamas operative reportedly told the Middle East Monitor the victory represents an ‘extension’ of the movement.

‘The second message is that the bloc has proven its ability to adapt to changes, overcome complexities, and fill the void created by arrests, martyrdom, or deportation,’ Ismail Haniyeh, who was head of Hamas’ Political Bureau until he was assassinated by Israel Defense Forces last year in Tehran, told the Middle East Monitor.

He added that Hamas is ‘unbreakable’ in its homeland and that it will confront the ‘occupier, oppression and terrorism.’ This wasn’t the first time a top Hamas operative praised the Al-Wafaa bloc’s victory at Birzeit. In 2017, a top Hamas spokesperson reportedly congratulated the student body on the election results.

Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., and Education and Workforce Committee Chairman Tim Walberg, R-Mich., sent a letter Sept. 29 to Harvard University, expressing concern about the university’s failure to issue a public decision on its prior partnership with Birzeit. In the letter, the lawmakers called Birzeit ‘an institution whose student body overwhelmingly supports Hamas’ and a school that ‘explicitly endorses a U.S. designated terrorist organization.’

Harvard announced this spring it would not renew its cooperation agreement with Birzeit and would issue a permanent decision about the partnership after an internal review, according to The Harvard Crimson.

According to the June event’s flyer, all the proceeds from the Palestine House of Freedom fundraiser, ‘From Birzeit and Beyond: How academia shapes resistance and resilience,’ went to Birzeit.

Omar was one of the first Muslim women elected to Congress in 2018. She has taken heavy criticism for making anti-American and antisemitic comments over the years, including saying that ‘some people did something’ in reference to the 9/11 attacks and saying that ‘Israel has hypnotized the world.’ She later apologized for the comment about Israel.

In September, a vote to censure Omar over comments she made about the assassination of Charlie Kirk narrowly failed to pass the House of Representatives.

Fox News Digital reached out to Harvard, the Palestinian House of Freedom, Omar’s office and Ilhan for Congress for comment but did not receive a response by press time.