Morning Minute: 'Cause This Is Thriller, Thriller Night (Almost)

Friday, October 30, 2026 🎃

Good morning, and welcome to RedState's "Morning Minute" — a brief glimpse at which stories are trending at the moment and a look ahead at what the day may bring. Consider this your one-stop shop for news to kickstart your day.

TOP O' THE MORNIN'

Red-Hot at RedState

Bari Weiss Reportedly Runs Into the Resistance at CBS Over Explosive Alaska 'Decoy Dan' Scandal

It’s hard to teach old dogs new tricks, however, and the leftists over at “60 Minutes” and “Face the Nation” have continuously had their knickers in a twist over being held to actual journalistic standards.

The Ilhan Omar Marriage Scandal Just Took an Even More Bizarre Turn

My, what a tangled web they weave. Or have woven. I don't know. It's tangled, whatever it is.

You Might Not Believe What Mary Peltola Just Had the Nerve to Tweet

So Peltola can deflect and spin, but this could be big trouble for her and her team, and it's likely to hurt them in the election, as it should.

Trending Across Townhall Media

Bearing Arms — Smith & Wesson Resurrects Two Offerings to Fill Revolver Void

Now, if I can get them to roll out a new Model 13 like this, I could replace Dad's old revolver that was sold decades ago with something that has a little more punch and versatility. Between that and a good .22, I'll be a happy camper when it comes to revolvers for a little while.

HotAir — Hegseth Fires a Three-Star for Leaking to the Press

The last thing Democrats and the media want is to have the leaks turned off, particularly if they were really good ones.
They might be running low on people who hate Hegseth enough to compromise the mission, and then where would they be?

PJ Media — Trying to Ignore France's Muslim Problem, WaPo Stumbles Onto Truth About Socialism

Things will only get worse if leftists in government, media, and voting booths keep deluding themselves about the Islamic agenda. Don't look for that to stop anytime soon. As the WaPo board showed here, the only terror that lefties fear is being called Islamophobic.

Townhall — Ilhan Omar's Alleged Sham Marriage Just Got More Bizarre

And now, another twist: Omar’s ex-husband/brother/alleged immigration fraudster might be gay.

Twitchy — A Judge Is Facing Discipline for Her Behavior at a Hearing, and the Transcript Is WILD

While we used the term ‘crazytown’ to describe this hearing, we will note that on the face of the text, the judge doesn’t seem any crazier than your average campus leftist.

WHAT'S ON TAP?

Today on Capitol Hill...

Are we there yet? It's weird to acknowledge, but I do miss the days of just regular old hearings on the Hill. For now, we've got:

El-Sayed's Last-Ditch Effort to Rally Democrats Comes With an Awkward Twist

The Plot Thickens: Have the Democrats 'Disappeared' Decoy Dan J. Sullivan?

White House What's Up

President Trump’s schedule for Friday includes:

7:00 AM — THE PRESIDENT participates in Executive Time — The White House
7:30 AM — THE PRESIDENT participates in a Radio Interview with Pete Mundo, KCMO — The White House
12:30 PM — THE PRESIDENT participates in a Policy Meeting — Oval Office
1:30 PM — THE PRESIDENT participates in a Pre-Tape Interview — The White House
— THE PRESIDENT departs the White House en route to Daytona Beach, Florida — The White House
5:00 PM — THE PRESIDENT participates in a Tele-Rally — Air Force One
— THE PRESIDENT arrives in Daytona Beach, Florida — Daytona Beach, Florida
7:00 PM — THE PRESIDENT delivers Remarks — Ocean Center
— THE PRESIDENT departs Daytona Beach, Florida en route to Palm Beach, Florida — Daytona Beach, Florida
— THE PRESIDENT arrives Palm Beach, Florida — Palm Beach, Florida

President Trump had been scheduled to hold rallies in Kansas and Iowa over the weekend, but that got changed up Thursday afternoon.

President Trump Cancels Rally in Kansas at Last Moment, Then Makes Big Announcement

It also looks as though Vice President Vance is no longer headed to Minnesota for a major fraud announcement today, though the event itself is still going to happen.

The event is still on with Scott Bessent, Kash Patel, and Dr. Mehmet Oz traveling to Minnesota. As I was saying. It’s not canceled. JD Vance was unable to attend so they sent the entire team for this significant fraud announcement. https://t.co/raadigMRP8
— Dustin Grage (@GrageDustin) October 30, 2026

Keeping Up With the Cabinet

Sec. Transportation - Sean Duffy — Duffy recently highlighted the fact that advanced radars are once again being made in America.

For the first time in 30 years, RADARS are being MADE IN AMERICA again to help modernize our skies Thanks to President Trump’s America First agenda, @RTX_News in Largo, Florida is producing advanced radars right here at home and creating NEW JOBS in the process This is what a MANUFACTURING RENAISSANCE looks like 🇺🇸
— Secretary Sean Duffy (@SecDuffy) October 27, 2026

Full Court Press...

A couple of recent court decisions to note:

✅ In Red Eagle Law, L.C. v. Rubio (Diversity Visa lottery), the 9th Circuit GRANTS the administration's emergency stay of a preliminary injunction.
❌ In California Nurses Association v. Mullin (DHS election-related field operations), Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín (Northern District of California) DENIES admin's request to stay a preliminary injunction.

COMING ATTRACTIONS

As noted above, President Trump heads to Daytona, Florida, later today, then will head to Palm Beach/Mar-a-Lago for the weekend. He is set to travel to the Philippines and China in mid-November, and in December, he'll head to Miami, Florida, for the G20 Leaders' Summit.

The next round of oral arguments at the Supreme Court starts the week of November 2. 👻

MORNING MUSING

Listen, I'm a product of my time. I am Gen-X through and through, so the chances of anyone convincing me that there truly was a better decade than the '80s are somewhere between slim and none.

And I'm not sure there's a song/music video that better encapsulates that than Michael Jackson's "Thriller." (Although I'm sure plenty of folks would champion other contenders.)

It's Halloween Eve and, if you look around the world right now, it sure does feel a bit frightful. Like...

It's close to midnight
And something evil's lurking in the dark

So, anyway, this one just seemed fitting to share today. Stay safe out there. 💀

LIGHTER FARE

Fetch is for everyone!

When a seal sees a dog playing fetch and decides it wants in too. Nature never stops surprising us. 🦭🐕 https://t.co/9QY0MKLnRa
— DAPPER DON DHARSHI • K A M I L • (@SoloFlow786) October 29, 2026

Bonus pic of my sweet Daisy girl doing her favorite thing.

Daisy girl. https://t.co/3i3nvsOh4i
— Susie Moore ⚾️🌻🐶 (@SmoosieQ) October 30, 2026

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