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Today, a Republican group accidentally spent $25,000 on ads for Maine Republican Senator Susan Collins ads in the wrong Portland, on the complete other side of the country. Donald Trump is apparently planning to fire Kimberly Guilfoyle as ambassador to Greece amid an embarrassing corruption scandal. A Republican senator from Ohio wants Trump’s FCC to investigate a news outlet for reporting on Trump’s sons winning Pentagon contracts. And Christian leaders across the country are condemning the Trump administration’s plan to livestream a firing squad execution.
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Republican Group Accidentally Buys Susan Collins Ads for the Wrong Portland
Republican Senator Susan Collins of Maine is in one of the tightest races of her 30-year career, and the people trying to keep her in office just mistakenly reserved $25,000 worth of ads on the wrong side of the country.
Republican super PAC Defending Main Street, had its media vendor place digital ads for Collins in the Portland, Oregon, market, rather than in Portland, Maine.
NBC News initially reported on the error after a Portland, Oregon, resident posted on social media that she’d seen five different ads attacking Collins’ Democratic challenger, Troy Jackson, in one day. According to Google’s Ads Transparency Center, the ads ran for four days across several Oregon ZIP codes and were seen more than a 1,000,000 times before anyone noticed.
Sarah Chamberlain, who is president and CEO of the Republican Main Street Partnership, told NBC she was “absolutely furious” over the error and would never run an ad for Collins in Portland, Oregon, “for Christ’s sake.” The vendor that bought the ads, Cross Screen Media, said the ad buy was “100 percent our mistake” and refunded Defending Main Street to the tune of $25,909.61.
The timing couldn’t be worse for Collins, who’s seeking a sixth term in the U.S. Senate. She debated last week with Jackson, the former president of the Maine Senate, and one moment in which Jackson pointed out how Trump’s tariffs on Canada are hurting Mainers went viral. Decision Desk HQ estimates Jackson has a 54 percent chance of ousting Collins.
Trump Reportedly Scrambling to Replace Scandal-Plagued Ambassador
Former Fox News host Kimberly Guilfoyle’s days as U.S. ambassador to Greece appear to be numbered.
Guilfoyle, who was once engaged to the president’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., is now facing multiple allegations of corruption and of using her ambassadorship to fund her luxurious European lifestyle.
Sources told the New York Post she’s on “very thin ice” with the president. One source told the Post that top White House officials are “p—d off” and looking to replace her. The Associated Press reported that botj Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio have contemplated firing her, and the State Department has reportedly opened an official inquiry into the allegations.
According to a report last week in the Wall Street Journal, Guilfoyle asked Kentucky businessman Eric Deters for $100,000 to pay off her American Express bill ahead of her confirmation hearing in the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee. Deters was apparently trying to resolve various tax-related and legal problems at the time. However, he said he really wanted Guilfoyle’s help bringing back a doctor who had fled to Pakistan so he could file a medical malpractice suit against him.
Deters ultimately never paid Guilfoyle’s bill, saying it would end his marriage. He’s since called the former fiancee to Donald Trump Jr. a “wicked, evil person” who operates on a “quid pro quo” basis. Additionally, embassy staff in Athens have accused Guilfoyle of fostering a hostile work environment and of using her “Trump card” to intimidate anyone who tries to question her.
GOP Senator Wants ABC Investigated Over Report on Trump’s Sons Getting Pentagon Contracts
Republican Senator Bernie Moreno of Ohio is now asking the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to investigate ABC News over a report about Trump’s sons winning a lucrative Pentagon contract.
ABC’s initial report on October 7 found that companies backed by Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump had won more than $6 billion in Defense Department contracts, and that the venture firm tied to Trump Jr., 1789 Capital, held a major stake in the firm Anduril Industries.
ABC pulled the story and republished a revised version on October 9 with a new headline and an editor’s note noting that there were errors in the prior version pertaining to certain investments, contracts and timelines. The new piece says 1789 Capital put $50 million into Anduril as part of a $2.5 billion funding round, making Trump Jr.’s investment fairly small when taking into account that the company in question was valued at more than $60 billion.
In a letter this weekend to FCC Chairman Brendan Carr, Moreno said the story was personal to Ohio because Anduril is currently building a factory worth more than $900 million in Pickaway County, just south of Columbus. He compared ABC’s correction to a “comically botched cover-up” akin to something from Soviet Russia and complained that the editor’s note was “buried,” even though it was placed above the first paragraph of the article.
The FCC admits on its own website that its authority over news accuracy is narrow, that federal law bars it from carrying out direct acts of censorship, and that online outlets fall outside the jurisdiction of its news distortion policy. Additionally, honest mistakes are beyond the agency’s purview. Still, Carr’s FCC has a pattern of hounding broadcasters dating back to 2025, and ABC’s parent company Disney is currently in the midst of a lawsuit suing the agency over what it alleges is an unconstitutional review of its broadcast licenses.
Christian Leaders Condemn Trump Administration’s Plan to Livestream Execution
Finally, faith leaders are loudly condemning Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s plan to livestream the firing squad execution of Nidal Hasan, who was sentenced to death for killing 13 people and wounding 32 others in an attack at Fort Hood in 2009. Trump is reportedly asking his faith advisors whether he should go along with the broadcast.
Rev. Robert Jeffress of First Baptist Church Dallas, who is one of the president’s closest informal spiritual advisors, voiced his support for the public execution and argued that the death penalty is “God’s command.” He told The Dallas Morning News that the more people who watch, the better. Trump went on to repost Jeffress’ comments on his Truth Social platform. Franklin Graham refused to outright condemn the idea, and instead pivoted to attacking what he called Hollywood’s “culture of death.”
However, numerous other religious leaders loudly disagreed with the entire plan. Archbishop Paul Coakley, who is president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, called the plan a “barbaric promotion of a culture of death.” Walter Kim of the National Association of Evangelicals warned it risks turning a solemn state duty into a public spectacle. Krisanne Vaillancourt Murphy of the Catholic Mobilizing Network compared it to the horrors of lynching in the Deep South and to public executions in authoritarian countries.
Hasan’s execution is scheduled for December 3, which would make it the military’s first execution by firing squad since 1945. Mikey Weinstein of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation says six soldiers are already seeking religious exemptions to keep them off the firing squad, and he expects as many as 180 could file. Vice President JD Vance said he wouldn’t watch a livestream, while Trump told reporters he doesn’t care how Hasan dies “as long as he goes.”
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I’m John Byrne, in for British Chris. Thank you again for reading and for supporting independent media. If you haven’t already, please hit the ❤️ and click restack so we can break through and reach the people who really need these stories.
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"I don't care how he dies, as long as he goes." Just how I feel about Trump and all his toadies.