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Democrat Mikie Sherrill and Republican Jack Ciattarelli will go head-to-head on Wednesday in their final debate for New Jersey governor, as the federal government shutdown, Sherrill’s military records and the high cost of living have become major issues in the closely watched race.
New Jersey is one of two states, along with Virginia, electing governors this fall — contests that are being viewed as a measure of how voters feel about president Donald Trump’s second term and how Democrats are responding.
The hour-long debate gives the candidates a chance to cement their pitches to voters, who have already begun mailing in ballots ahead of the 4 November election.
The nominee to be the Pentagon’s senior official for the Indo-Pacific region said on Tuesday he strongly supported president Donald Trump in saying that Taiwan should spend up to 10% of its GDP on defense.
Taiwan’s proposed defense budget for next year will reach 3.32% of GDP, and President Lai Ching-te said in August the goal was to hit 5% by 2030, as the democratically-governed island seeks to bolster its deterrence against giant neighbor China, Reuters reports.
John Noh told his confirmation hearing at the Senate Armed Services Committee that Taiwan’s current moves to increase its defense spending were “all promising.”
“It was president Trump who said that Taiwan, which is an island that faces an existential threat from the People’s Liberation Army, from the Chinese military, that Taiwan should spend upwards to 10% of its GDP on defense. I strongly support that,” he added.
Pushed by the United States, Taiwan has been working to transform its armed forces to be able to wage “asymmetric warfare”, developing more mobile and lethal weapons including missiles, as well as cheaper systems like drones that can be used for surveillance as well as on attack missions.
Pope Leo tells US bishops to address Trump's immigration crackdown
Pope Leo told US bishops visiting him at the Vatican on Wednesday that they should firmly address how immigrants are being treated by President Donald Trump’s hardline policies, attendees said, in the latest push by the pontiff on the issue.
Leo, the first US pope, was handed dozens of letters from immigrants describing their fears of deportation under the Trump administration’s policies during the meeting, which included bishops and social workers from the US-Mexico border.
“It means a lot to all of us to know of his personal desire that we continue to speak out,” El Paso Bishop Mark Seitz, who took part in the meeting, told Reuters.
The Vatican did not immediately comment on the pope’s meeting.
The case against former FBI director James Comey comes as attorney general Pam Bondi was questioned in the Senate yesterday over claims that the justice department is being weaponised to pursue Trump’s enemies.
Throughout the five-hour hearing, Bondi declined to talk about many of the administration’s controversial decisions, despite persistent questioning from the Democrats. When pressed, she personally attacked several senators from the minority or invoked the ongoing government shutdown to depict them as negligent.
“You voted to shut down the government, and you’re sitting here. Our law enforcement officers aren’t being paid,” Bondi replied when the committee’s top Democratic senator, Dick Durbin of Illinois, questioned the Trump administration’s rationale for sending the national guard into Chicago.
“I wish you love Chicago as much as you hate President Trump,” she continued, adding: “If you’re not going to protect your citizens, President Trump will.”
In his opening statement, Durbin described Bondi as doing lasting damage to the department tasked with enforcing federal law.
“What has taken place since January 20, 2025, would make even President Nixon recoil,” he said.. “This is your legacy, Attorney General Bondi. In eight short months, you have fundamentally transformed the justice department and left an enormous stain in American history. It will take decades to recover.”
Of particular concern to Democrats were the charges against Comey, which came after Trump publicly called on Bondi to indict his enemies and fired a veteran prosecutor who refused to bring the case.
The attorney general avoided talking about the indictment, saying it was a “pending case”, but argued it was approved by “one of the most liberal grand juries in the country”.
Ex-FBI director James Comey to appear in court on lying to Congress charge
Good morning and welcome to our coverage of US politics with former FBI Director James Comey set to make his first court appearance in a Justice Department criminal case accusing him of having lied to Congress five years ago.
The arraignment is expected to be brief, according to Associated Press, but the moment is nonetheless loaded with historical significance given that the case has amplified concerns that the Justice Department is being weaponized in pursuit of Donald Trump’s political enemies.
Comey is expected to plead not guilty at the federal courthouse in Alexandria, Virginia, and defense lawyers will almost certainly move to get the indictment dismissed before trial, possibly by arguing that the case amounts to a selective or vindictive prosecution.
The two-count indictment alleges that Comey made a false statement to the Senate Judiciary Committee on 30 September 2020, by denying he had authorized an associate to serve as an anonymous source to the news media, and that he obstructed a congressional proceeding.
Comey has denied any wrongdoing and has said he was looking forward to a trial. The indictment does not identify the associate or say what information may have been discussed with the media.
Though an indictment is typically just the start of a protracted court process, the Justice Department has trumpeted the development itself as something of a win.
Trump administration officials are likely to point to any conviction as proof the case was well-justified, but an acquittal or even dismissal may also be held up as further support for their long-running contention that the criminal justice system is stacked against them.
The judge randomly assigned to the case, Michael Nachmanoff, is a Biden administration appointee. Known for methodical preparation and a cool temperament, the judge and his background have already drawn the president’s attention, with Trump deriding him as a “Crooked Joe Biden appointed Judge.”
You can read our report here and stay with us to see how it plays out:
We’ll also be covering all the developments amid the national guard arriving in Chicago and the ongoing government shutdown.
In the White House, Trump is due to receive an intelligence briefing at 11am EST and taking part in a round table on Antifa at 3pm.
And in Egypt, a US delegation has joined the indirect talks taking place between Hamas and Israel on Trump’s Gaza plan with the latest news that hostage and prisoner lists have been exchanged.
In other developments:
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Donald Trump met the Canadian prime minister, Mark Carney, and jokingly pushed him to agree to “a merger” of their two countries. He also declined to rule out invoking the insurrection act to put troops on the streets of the US, which might have made the prospect of joining the union even less appealing.
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Trump suggested that he might not follow a law mandating that furloughed government workers will get backpay after the government shutdown ends.
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In a tense hearing before the Senate judiciary committee on Tuesday, the US attorney general, Pam Bondi, stood accused by Democrats of weaponizing the US Department of Justice, “fundamentally transforming” the department, and leaving “an enormous stain on American history” that it will take “decades to recover [from]”. Bondi criticized Democratic lawmakers in personal terms as she faced questions over the department’s enforcement efforts in Democratic-led cities.
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House speaker Mike Johnson said that his decision to stave off swearing in representative-elect Adelita Grijalva of Arizona has “nothing to do” with the fact that she would be the 218th signature on the bipartisan discharge petition – to compel a House vote on the full release of the Epstein files.
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Kristi Noem, the homeland security secretary, visited the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) facility in Portland, Oregon accompanied by conservative influencers. Portland police cleared the street outside ahead of Noem’s arrival, keeping a handful of protesters, one dressed as a chicken and another as a baby shark, at distance.
