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Indiana News
(quotes from linked articles in italics)
Around the Corn
Randy Novak, former chief of the Michigan City Fire Department and president of the LaPorte County Council, was sworn in on Wednesday as the state representative for Indiana House District 9, filling the seat previously held by retiring Representative Pat Boy.
The state submitted a request to the U.S. Department of Education for a waiver to combine multiple federal K-12 funding streams into a block grant.
Indiana‑Illinois Boundary Adjustment Commission convened for the first time (in Terre Haute) to entertain proposals for Indiana absorbing Illinois counties that have voted to secede from their state.
Meanwhile, in Indianapolis, 23 of 25 city-county councilors sent a letter to the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission criticizing a proposed settlement with AES Indiana (policy/regulation story): the deal could raise residential electric bills by about $10-$21/month, and the council called it “far too generous to the company”.
Redistricting
Indiana Black Legislative Caucus (IBLC) publicly condemned a push by state Republicans to undertake mid-decade redistricting
Former Governor Mitch Daniels urges Hoosier GOP not cave to Trump.
State Senate Republicans “don’t have the votes”
A new report from the Indianapolis Business Journal indicates Governor Mike Braun could call a special session of the state legislature as soon as Monday.
AOC introduces Bernie at Terre Haute Debs Dinner
The largest crowd to gather for a sit-down banquet in Terre Haute Convention Center history crowded into its ballroom to hear U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-VT, speak respectfully about labor visionary Eugene V. Debs on Saturday night. Sanders was honored with the Debs Foundation Award for his lifelong contribution to the struggle for social justice.
The senator was introduced by a surprise guest — Democratic New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who observed, “Bernie carried that light of Debs and class struggle” to Vermont and the rest of the country.
In his 45-minute remarks, Sanders quoted Debs frequently and noted how “relevant” and “right and perceptive” his words are more than a century after he spoke them, adding, “he not only educated people on the nature of American capitalism, but presented an alternative vision to greed and exploitation,” and concluded with, “our job is to take his message forward.”
Monday, Indianapolis Star: How much time has secretary of state candidate Beau Bayh spent in Indiana?
Beau Bayh says he didn’t mean to convey anything in particular with his choice of inviting IndyStar’s James Briggs to his empty condo in Indianapolis for his secretary of state campaign announcement.
“I just sort of took the interview from where I was in my life: I’m moving,” he said in a phone interview more than a week after he announced he was running. “I wasn’t really thinking what could be drawn from that, I guess.”
Much was drawn from it, in fact: Republican critics hopped on the detail as illustrative of the perception that Bayh, a Democrat, has barely lived in Indiana, even while he touts as a part of his campaign pitch that he is a seventh generation Hoosier.
Political science associate professor Greg Shufeldt at the University of Indianapolis is skeptical that lines of attack about residency in particular really matter. It wasn’t, in his view, the deciding factor in Evan Bayh’s loss to U.S. Sen. Todd Young in 2016, the year President Donald Trump first won.
“The fact that Evan Bayh had a D in front of his name mattered a whole lot more than what his address might have said,” Shufeldt said.
In Beau Bayh’s case, based on the numbers he faces in Indiana, if he is the Democratic nominee, he would need to win over Republicans whose partisanship would otherwise lend themselves to vote for Morales. So while announcing from an empty apartment might have been an “unforced error,” there probably is not a large bucket of fence-sitters who would consider voting for Bayh but for whom this would be a deal-breaker, Shufeldt said.
On Tuesday, right-wing pundit Tucker Carlson headlined a Turning Point USA rally at IU’s Bloomington campus, covering for the late Charlie Kirk.
Governor Mike Braun played fluffer for the conspiracy theorist and misinformation superspreader after earlier that day signing a proclamation declaring October 21 Turning Point USA Civic Engagement Day across the state. Wearing his trademark all-blue workingman cosplay outfit, Braun warmed up the Temu Hitler Youth rally “by urging young people to embrace values of faith, family and community — values he said Kirk was never afraid to champion”.
Braun encouraged the student-heavy crowd to go “into the lion’s den” of campus and “be the foot soldiers” for Kirk’s Christian nationalist values and “grow it into the place where this is more common on [sic] universities than the other stuff you often see in universities.” You know, woke liberal values like diversity, curiosity, and empathy - all of which Braun is using state power to stifle at our once-great state institutions of higher learning.
Carlson, at the top of the bill, covered a broad range of topics including abortion, Israel, and illegal aliens - both earthly and extra-terrestrial - and made claims sounding an awful lot like the white nationalist “Great Replacement” theory.
In typical, contrarian Carlson fashion, the mound of bullshit was accompanied by glimmers of truth and moments of almost getting it.
In response to a question about what “woke” means, Carlson agreed on the importance of having a definition, before describing “wokeness” as “an attempt by the powerful to make the less powerful shut up.”
The attendee then moved to the topic of how billionaires can influence elections, which Carlson also agreed with. He didn’t align himself with a specific political party, either.
“I kind of hate the Republican Party,” he said, adding that Democrats, however, are “evil.”
The final question posed to Carlson was about how media operate, which the attendee described as chasing each new “outrage.”
“Do you ever feel trapped in this system?” the attendee asked.
Carlson replied that he did sometimes feel “captive” by the channels he worked at.
“It’s totally possible that I’m working toward evil and don’t know it,” Carlson said. “But I don’t believe that. I actually think I’m doing the right thing.”
On Wednesday, we learned the organizers of the Irvington Halloween Festival had voted the previous evening to conjure their best Kamala Harris impression and tell Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett, “don’t come.”
The Irvington Community Council voted at an Oct. 21 meeting to send a letter to Hogsett asking him not to come to the highly attended festival in light of recent critical media coverage of his administration.
“In response to a formal request from neighbors — and out of respect for survivors of sexual assault and others affected — the Historic Irvington Community Council has voted to formally ask that you refrain from attending any event associated with the 79th Historic Irvington Halloween Festival,” the letter reads in part.
This comes as the steady drip of reporting on the toxic culture of sexual harassment, abuse of power, and self-dealing in the Hogsett administration continues unrelentingly. Recall…
Last year, several women came forward to describe accusations of sexual harassment and abuse of power against Thomas Cook, who was Mayor Joe Hogsett’s Chief of Staff from his first term in office to around 2015, until the end of 2020 when he left city government. That was the first time that those allegations were out in the public.
And in the course of that reporting, we learned about Thomas Cook’s actions after he left city government and began working for this law firm in the private sector, and that’s when we began to hear from sources about this relationship Cook had had that had led to him being asked to resign from city government.
It was a prohibited relationship with a subordinate. Her name was Scarlett Andrews, and after Cook left city government and became a partner at this law firm, he starts signing up big name developers who are seeking taxpayer incentives for development projects, and meanwhile, the person that Cook had a relationship with, that led to him resigning was Scarlett Andrews. She, at the time, was working in the Department of Metropolitan Development, which is the agency charged with awarding those incentives.
And after he leaves the city government, she gets promoted to lead that department. So pretty quickly, starting in 2021 and going through till the end of 2023 you have a situation where Thomas Cook is on one side of the negotiating table, representing developers. You have Scarlet Andrews representing the city, and you quickly have an appearance of a conflict of interest.
Months after an initial investigative report left lingering questions about Mayor Joe Hogsett’s response to sexual harassment complaints, the Indianapolis City-County Council received a follow-up document from the law firm handling the probe.
The document, emailed to councilors on [Wednesday], sheds light into why the investigators didn’t subpoena Thomas Cook, the mayor’s former chief of staff at the center of the allegations of misconduct. The document answers a series of 34 questions councilors asked after the initial report’s May release.
Fisher Phillips’ $450,000 investigation found that the city didn’t break any laws while handling allegations of harassment lodged against Cook.
It showed, however, that Hogsett allowed Cook to stay on staff for another 68 days after the city’s own internal investigation showed that he’d again violated city policy by having a consensual sexual relationship with a subordinate, despite the fact that the city’s human resources director at the time recommended firing Cook.
The initial report also revealed city staffers told investigators there was a perception that Cook used the two months that Hogsett allowed him to continue working for the city before resigning to set himself up for personal gain by negotiating contracts for his own benefit.
In a response to a question about whether there was any evidence that Cook’s activities during the 68 days were being monitored by anyone, the law firm stated in its follow-up report that “we do not have evidence one way or another whether (Cook’s) activities were monitored within or outside the administration.”
In response to a question about how the firm sought access to information they were unable to obtain, its authors wrote that they chose not to subpoena Cook because it “would have resulted in unnecessary costs and expenses.”
Thursday: Indiana Cattlemen have beef with Trump
Farmers are uneasy over President Donald Trump’s comments to import beef from Argentina.
Trump said he’s concerned about consumer beef prices, and Argentinian beef could help.
But Indiana Beef Cattle Association members are pushing back. They says more imports of Argentenian beef could make it harder for American farmers to make a living.
Brian Shuter, executive vice president of the Indiana Beef Cattle Association, called it supply and demand. Add more meat to the supply, and cattle farmers can’t sell at competitive rates. It will undercut them.
He said Trump’s comment has caused futures prices for cattle to fluctuate. “That just shows (Trump’s) comments like this may have an undo effect on our industry.”
Instead of relying on Argentinian beef, Shuter prefers to have the market work itself out. “Some of these comments tend to have negative effects on the business. Today’s Indiana cattleman supports free and fair trade. Let the market work the way it should.”
Only 2% of U.S. beef comes from Argentina. A new deal could quadruple their import. Shuter says there’s already a trade imbalance. He says the U.S. already imports $801 million worth of beef from Argentina, but Argentina only buys $7 million of American beef. “We import more Argentinian beef than what we export to Argentina.”
Friday: Beckwith ally’s son arrested with child porn
Jonathan Wesley Peternel, 24, of Pendleton, was arrested Thursday following an investigation by the Hamilton County Metro Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. Investigators said they received a CyberTip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children indicating that Peternel had uploaded child sexual abuse material to Snapchat.
Detectives seized multiple laptops, iPads, tablets, cellphones, and storage devices from the home for forensic processing. In reviewing the data, investigators reported finding more than 200 files of suspected child sexual abuse material, including what they described as “sadomasochistic child abuse” and “photorealistic AI-generated photos of nude pregnant toddlers.” The affidavit also states that more than 50 photos and videos were located on Peternel’s phone that appeared to show his parents nude or engaged in sex acts.
According to court documents and a police release, investigators also discovered chat logs suggesting Peternel was distributing explicit material in a Snapchat group called “Diddy Disciples.”
That’s messed up, but why are WE talking about it?
Peternel is the son of Nathan Peternel, the lead pastor for all Life Church campuses who hired [Lt.Governor Micah] Beckwith years ago to lead the church’s Noblesville campus, where Beckwith continues to serve as pastor while holding elected office. The elder Peternel also regularly attends special events held at Life Church’s Noblesville campus, where Beckwith leads the congregation, and could be seen during a screening of a conservative Christian documentary on “Title IX.” Nathan Peternel also co-hosts the conservative Christian podcast “Jesus, Sex & Politics” with Beckwith. The two have long described their work as an intersection of faith and governance, often using the podcast to discuss religion’s role in public policy and elections.
US/World News - HooCares
(quotes from linked articles in italics)
HooCares Headlines
For the first time in his presidency, Donald Trump this week imposed new sanctions on Russia, targeting two of Russia’s largest oil companies and their subsidiaries. This comes days after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited Washington to make the case for increased military aid and Trump announced - then immediately canceled - another summit with Putin.
U.S. Vice President JD Vance criticized Thursday Israel’s parliament vote on West Bank annexation, saying it amounted to an “insult.” Vance’s scathing remark came as his visit wrapped up Thursday and after U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he would now be traveling to Israel. Vance is among several high-profile U.S. officials in Israel to bolster the Israel-Hamas ceasefire. Vance’s words and the intense diplomacy indicate that U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration was intent on keeping up the momentum on the U.S.-brokered ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. Speaking on the tarmac of Tel Aviv’s international airport before departing Israel, Vance said that if the Knesset vote was a “political stunt, then it is a very stupid political stunt.”
Japan elects conservative Sanae Takaichi first female PM
Though her election is a milestone in a country where women are severely underrepresented in government, Takaichi enters office with a fragile coalition and facing a number of pressing challenges, including a visit next week by President Donald Trump.
Takaichi, who says her hero is former British conservative leader Margaret Thatcher, has appointed two other women to her Cabinet, the same as the previous government. They include Satsuki Katayama, Japan’s first female finance minister.
But Takaichi’s victory is not necessarily a victory for women in general, critics say, especially after she secured it by forming an alliance with an Osaka-based party that will pull her coalition even further to the right.
New York Attorney General Letitia James pleaded not guilty to Trumped-up mortgage fraud charges brought by President Donald Trump’s weaponized DOJ
President Donald Trump said Saturday that he plans to hike tariffs on imports of Canadian goods by an extra 10% because of a TV ad aired by the province of Ontario, which uses the words of former President Ronald Reagan to criticize U.S. tariffs, angering Trump, who said he would end trade talks with Canada over the stunt.
Candidate for mayor of NYC debated for the final time this week
Jeffries FINALLY endorses Mamdani
The Department of Justice announced on Friday that it will monitor polls in six heavily Latino counties in New Jersey and California during elections held on Nov. 4.
Shutdown
Mon, Oct 20
Shutdown hits Day 20. Senate fails again (11th attempt) to advance the House GOP CR; still short of 60.
Judiciary runs out of cash and begins furloughs; limited operations continue. First broad judiciary furloughs in ~30 years.
White House spin: economic adviser Kevin Hassett says the shutdown likely ends “this week.” (It didn’t.)
Tue, Oct 21
Trump hosts Senate Republicans for a Rose Garden “unity” lunch; House remains sidelined.
Talks? Not really. Trump signals he won’t meet Democrats until the government reopens; standoff over ACA subsidy extensions continues.
Wed, Oct 22
Labor pushback: federal employee unions expand a lawsuit challenging shutdown firings; seek injunction.
Thu, Oct 23
12th Senate try fails to advance continuing resolution following marathon Merkley speech
Dueling “pay the workers” bills both tank; essential workers still unpaid.
Fri, Oct 24
Public strain mounts as first full missed pay cycles hit more workers; live updates underscore stalemate.
Sat, Oct 25
Human impact spikes: food banks brace for a surge as safety-net benefits face disruptions.
Reporting identifies billionaire Timothy Mellon as the donor behind private funds to pay troops during the shutdown.
White House Demolition
Demolition began this week of the East Wing of the White House to make way for a massive ballroom addition planned by Donald Trump.
The project is originally announced as ~90,000 sq ft, privately funded ballroom (initially ~$200–250 million, now cited at ~$300 million) to be built where the East Wing stood.
Debris is being hauled away, with visible routing through DC streets and to recycling/scrap yards.
Trump had previously claimed the ballroom addition “wouldn’t interfere” with the existing building — and yet the full East Wing is now being demolished. Sharp contrast.
Regulatory/oversight concerns: Historic preservation groups and watchdogs say the project is bypassing regular reviews (e.g., by the National Capital Planning Commission and the Commission of Fine Arts) and that the scale of the new structure may “overwhelm” the historic house.
Funding/backing raises questions: Corporations and donors contributing large sums — a donor‐funded “private” addition to the people’s house raises ethical queries.
The symbolic loss: The East Wing housed the first lady’s offices, a lot of social and cultural work; its removal is being seen by some as eroding part of the institutional heritage.
Graham Platner Tattoo Controversy
During an appearance on Monday’s episode of liberal podcast Pod Save America, the Maine Senate hopeful sought to get out ahead of opposition research showing him dancing shirtless with a skull and crossbones tattoo on his chest that resembles a symbol used by the Nazi SS.
The 41-year old military veteran and oyster farmer expressed regret over the tattoo and announced plans to have it removed, this coming after a week of damning headlines over resurfaced social media posts.
Platner apologized last week for a series of offensive Reddit posts, which he said came during a period in his life when he was disillusioned and disconnected from his community following his military service. Those include a 2013 post downplaying sexual assault in the military and a since-deleted 2018 post suggesting violence is necessary to enact social change. In a video last week, Platner said he regretted the comments and said they did not reflect the life he has now built.
“It was not until I started hearing from reporters and DC insiders that I realized this tattoo resembled a Nazi symbol,” Platner said in a statement to POLITICO on Tuesday. “I absolutely would not have gone through life having this on my chest if I knew that — and to insinuate that I did is disgusting. I am already planning to get this removed.”
WaPo: Platner said he was made aware several weeks ago that his opponents were saying he had a white supremacist tattoo, but did not know the tattoo’s connotations until a few days ago when one of his staffers showed him the image of the Nazi symbol. “I’ve seen symbols very like this throughout the years, but always in the [U.S.] military context,” he said. “That’s essentially how I always thought about it.”
Platner suggested Washington Democrats are attempting to tarnish his run, which has energized some liberals in the state who see his Democratic opponent, Gov. Janet Mills, as the insider pick. Mills, a two-term governor who announced her candidacy last week, was a top recruit of Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-New York).
Continued Latin America Escalation
Colombia has condemned US airstrikes on vessels allegedly involved in drug-smuggling off the coast of South America, urging Washington to immediately halt further attacks in the Pacific and Caribbean.
The plea came after Pete Hegseth, the US secretary of defense, announced two new strikes on Wednesday, which were the first to hit the Pacific and left at least five people dead. According to US figures, at least nine attacks have now been carried out since early September, killing 37 people. A broad range of experts have said the campaign is illegal.
“Colombia calls on the US government to cease these attacks and urges it to respect the norms dictated by international law,” the foreign ministry said in a statement on Wednesday evening.
Gustavo Petro, the president, was more blunt, writing on social media: “It is murder. Whether in the Caribbean or Pacific, the US government strategy breaks the norms of international law.”
Washington initially said the campaign, launched on 2 September, was aimed at destroying cartels operating out of Venezuela. Donald Trump justified the attacks by claiming the US was in an “armed conflict” with narcotraffickers, while Nicolás Maduro accused him of seeking regime change. The attacks have been accompanied by a major US military buildup in the Caribbean, involving guided missile destroyers, F-35 fighter jets, a nuclear submarine and about 6,500 troops.
The decision to extend operations into the Pacific – and the targeting of Colombian vessels – has further deepened tensions in the region and raised fears over what the US administration might do next.
The attacks have further embittered relations between the US and Colombia, which have traditionally been close allies. The two countries have long shared intelligence to intercept cocaine shipments at sea and dismantle the criminal networks behind them. According to a government website, the US provided over $740m (£551m) in aid to Colombia in 2023.
Trump responded to Petro’s comments by describing his Colombian counterpart as a “thug”, “a bad guy” and an “illegal drug trafficker”.
Hoosier angle: Indiana Senator Young: Congress needs to hear more about Venezuela operation
What he’s saying: “Congress isn’t hearing enough — in any form, including a public forum,” Young told Axios’ Stef Kight in Washington, D.C.
Young said the legal ramifications of military actions need to be discussed with lawmakers.
“If there’s been any takeaway from me from the last roughly 25 years of congressional action and inaction — it’s not that Congress needs to be more hands-off, that Congress needs to get out of the way.”
“I think Congress needs to go further. Rather than just asserting our ability to authorize military force — which we certainly need to do — we also need to officially bring to close these conflicts and make clear that we have constitutional prerogatives that need to be consistently asserted.”
Federal authorities announced indictments against some 30+ individuals linked to two major schemes: illegal sports betting using insider info and high-stakes rigged poker games run by organized crime. High profile names include
Terry Rozier (guard for the Miami Heat) — charged in the sports‐betting scheme, accused of providing non-public information about games/injuries, which was used to place bets.
Chauncey Billups (head coach of the Portland Trail Blazers) — charged in the poker ring tied to Mafia families and money-laundering/wire fraud.
Former player and assistant coach Damon Jones - charged in both schemes
The schemes include allegations that players/co-contributors shared private injury info, sat out games, or otherwise manipulated prop bets. The poker ring allegedly used high-tech cheating methods (X-ray tables, marked cards, rigged shufflers) to defraud participants.
The league responded: The NBA placed Billups and Rozier on leave, Commissioner Adam Silver said he was “deeply disturbed” and stressed the integrity of the game is paramount.
Ripples: Legal and reputational risks for the league are massive—experts warn about billions in potential litigation and broad fallout for sports betting regulation.
We’re not talking about a single rogue player or clandestine bet. This is systemic—organized crime + NBA elements + inside info = threat to the integrity of professional basketball.
Since the legalization of sports betting in many states, this scandal highlights how vulnerable the system is when players, props, injuries and insider information mix.
For the NBA (and for sports in general), credibility is on the line. If fans and bettors believe games can be manipulated, the foundation of the sport is shaken.
It opens the door for major regulatory questions and likely federal oversight or reform of how sports betting is governed.
