President Donald Trump says his super PAC will now pay for ads promoting his administration after bipartisan criticism over taxpayers footing the bill.
Plus, U.S. officials are watching a mysterious death at a Russian plague lab, though Russia says no dangerous pathogen has been found.
And Trump approves the execution of Fort Hood shooter Nidal Hasan by firing squad, though federal appeals could delay the first military execution since 1961.
These stories and more highlight your Unbiased Updates for Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2026.
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Trump shifts ad costs to super PAC after bipartisan backlash
Trump has changed course on who pays for a series of ads promoting his administration. After days of bipartisan pushback, Trump said taxpayers won’t foot the bill going forward.
He said his super PAC, MAGA Inc., will now pay for the campaign-style ads instead.
At least $1.5 million in federal money has already been spent on them, and Trump continues to defend that spending.
In a Truth Social post, he called using taxpayer money for the ads “a rather standard thing to do” and described them as a “positive promotion for our great U.S.A.” He blamed the “radical left” for the criticism, though some Republicans have also objected to taxpayers picking up the tab.
Earlier Monday, Vice President JD Vance defended the ads as public service announcements.
“I don’t think there’s anything unusual or unorthodox about it,” Vance said. “I’m sure that some people probably don’t like it. But if you look at the message of those advertisements, they’re not partisan; they’re not, you know, it’s not like we’re advocating for a particular candidate. We’re trying to tell a story, I think, about how great the United States of America is.”
The Department of Homeland Security set aside $20 million for the ad campaign.
The White House has not said whether MAGA Inc. will reimburse taxpayers for money that’s already been spent.
US monitors Russian plague lab case as WHO says public risk is low
Officials have launched an investigation into a mysterious death at a Russian plague research lab to determine exactly what happened.
A 28-year-old lab worker at the Irkutsk anti-plague institute in Siberia died last week after developing severe pneumonia. Russian authorities said the cause remains unknown and that testing hasn’t found evidence that any of the pathogens she worked with caused her illness.
However, local reports have raised the possibility that she contracted pneumonic plague.
One Russian outlet reported that the worker, identified as Darya Shipilova, may have broken a test tube containing the bacteria before she became sick.
That has not been confirmed.
The Kremlin has pushed back against what it calls rumors and speculation, urging people to rely on information from Russia’s public health agency. Russian authorities have quarantined the hospital where Shipilova was treated and are monitoring people who had contact with her.
Russia said nearly 200 people have been tested, and so far, no dangerous pathogens have been found.
Trump said Monday that the U.S. would help if needed, and U.S. officials said they’re trying to get more information from Russia.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the U.S. is watching closely:
“There is very limited travel between the U.S. and Russia, obviously, but like anything else, something like that gets out, it could quickly spread. So we’re watching and monitoring it closely. I don’t think it’s cause for alarm, but it is cause for focus and just keep an eye on it, and we’re doing that.”
Pneumonic plague can spread from person to person through respiratory particles, but it’s treatable with antibiotics when caught early.
Cornell faculty rebukes university leaders as students demand president resign
Cornell’s faculty senate is preparing a rare vote of no confidence in the university’s leadership amid mounting anger over its handling of an alleged 2024 gang rape.
The largely symbolic resolution would put further pressure on university leaders, who are already facing calls for change in how the school handled the sexual assault allegations.
The vote is expected on Oct. 14. It follows hundreds of students, faculty and community members who protested on campus late Monday. Cornell’s main administrative building was also found covered in graffiti and damaged.
Protesters accused the university’s president and trustees of prioritizing Cornell’s reputation over student safety. Some are now calling for President Michael Kotlikoff to resign and for the university to ban fraternities.
Trump approves Hasan’s execution by military firing squad
Trump has approved the execution of former U.S. Army major Nidal Hasan, who killed 13 people in the 2009 mass shooting at Fort Hood, Texas. Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell announced Monday night that Trump approved Hasan’s execution by firing squad.
Hasan opened fire at Fort Hood on Nov. 5, 2009, killing 13 people and wounding more than 30 others. He later said he carried out the attack to prevent U.S. soldiers from going to Afghanistan to kill Muslims.
Hasan was shot during the attack and left paralyzed from the waist down.
At his court-martial, he acknowledged he was the shooter and made almost no attempt to defend himself. He was convicted in 2013 and sentenced to death.
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Nidal Hasan circa 2015 (Bell County Sheriff’s Department via AP, File) -
Nidal Hasan circa 2010 (Bell County Sheriff’s Office via Getty Images)
If the execution proceeds, Hasan would be the first person executed under the military justice system since 1961. He’s one of four men currently on military death row at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.
Trump’s approval starts the process, but an execution may still be a long way off. Hasan can challenge his sentence in federal court, which could delay it for years.
Caleb Flynn gets life without parole for wife’s murder
A former “American Idol” contestant will spend the rest of his life in prison after a jury convicted him of murdering his wife, but Caleb Flynn still maintains he didn’t do it.
Flynn broke down in an Ohio courtroom Monday as he apologized to his family, starting with his two daughters. But when it came to the murder of their mother, Ashley Flynn, he insisted he didn’t do it.
“But as I stand here before God, who is my ultimate judge, I am not lying when I say I did not kill my wife.”
Caleb Flynn
The judge sentenced Flynn to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
A jury convicted him last week of murdering his 37-year-old wife at their home in Tipp City, Ohio. Prosecutors said Flynn shot Ashley twice in the back of the head while she was asleep, then staged the house to make it look like a break-in. Flynn told investigators he was in another room when the victim was killed.
Prosecutors said data from his devices showed him moving around the house when he claimed he was asleep.
The jury also heard from Alleigha Botner, who testified that she had been having an affair with Flynn. Prosecutors showed jurors a text Flynn sent Botner the night before the murder, reading, “Actions will come tomorrow.”
Judge Jeannine Pratt addressed Flynn directly before sentencing him to prison, saying: “The layers of deceit, manipulation and cruelty that you have shown are quite honestly impossible to fathom, and frankly, sir, you used your faith to manipulate the lives of others.”
Televangelist Jim Bakker dies at 86
Televangelist Jim Bakker, once one of the biggest names in Christian television, has died. A scandal brought down his empire. He was 86.
Bakker and his then-wife, Tammy Faye, became TV stars in the 1970s and 1980s with “The PTL Club.” At its peak, their ministry generated more than $128 million annually, and they built Heritage USA, a Christian theme park that drew millions of visitors.
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Tammy Faye Bakker (L) and Jim Bakker (R) (AP Photo/Lou Krasky, File) -
AP Photo/Lou Krasky, File
Then it all fell apart.
Bakker resigned in 1987 amid a sex and financial scandal. Two years later, he was convicted of fraud and sentenced to 45 years in prison, but he served just under five years.
Bakker eventually returned to television with a new ministry and a new program.
His wife, Lori, announced his death Monday night, saying he had spent 66 years preaching the gospel.
No cause of death was given.
Scientists win Nobel Prize for research that controls nerve cells with light
This week, the Nobel Committee awarded the first prize to three scientists who found a way to use light to help us understand how the brain works. Karl Deisseroth, Peter Hegemann and Georg Nagel won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their work on optogenetics.
It’s a technique that allows scientists to use light to turn specific nerve cells on or off and then observe what happens. That’s given researchers a new way to study the brain and better understand conditions, including blindness and neurological diseases.
The Nobel Committee said their work has “laid the foundation for a new era in neuroscience.” The three scientists will split 12 million Swedish kronor, about $1.2 million.
On Tuesday, the Nobel Committee announced the Nobel Prize in Physics winner, awarding it to Francis Halzen. Halzen received the award for his work on the IceCube Neutrino Observatory and for discovering high-energy neutrinos from astrophysical sources.
Chemistry will follow on Wednesday, with literature, peace and economics still to come.
More from Straight Arrow:
Grandparents are fighting for access to their grandchildren. Here’s what the law says
For some grandparents, losing contact with a grandchild can mean losing a relationship they once considered a given.
Across social media, well, mostly Facebook, grandparents have created communities to share stories about a growing trend of estrangement from their kids, which can lead to estrangement from their grandchildren. Some include stories from grandparents who lose contact after a family dispute, while others feature grandparents asking what they can do to restore a relationship.
The answer depends heavily on the state where the grandparents live. But generally, grandparents have sought and gained more legal avenues to obtain visitation with their grandchildren.
That, however, is not stopping grandparents from asking for more. Just last month, a woman in Florida asked a candidate for governor, Bryon Donalds, if he would sign a law to legally force their estranged children to give them access to their grandchildren.
As it stands, even with legal avenues, grandparents are not on equal footing with parents — the Supreme Court saw to that.
