Trump’s empty arena in Alabama
Good morning — this is Notice News. It’s Sunday, October 4. Samuel Alito says he’s thinking about retiring, which would hand Trump a fourth Supreme Court justice. Democrats need to stop it. We’ll get into that, plus:
Trump couldn’t fill an arena in Alabama, a state he won by 30 points
Annie Andrews is within one point in South Carolina
Abdul El-Sayed wants to ban toxic pesticides in US food
Jared Kushner’s business pals stand to cash in on a Russian oil deal he’s negotiating
Trump is mailing more checks to seniors a month before the midterms
September added just 29,000 jobs, and the White House answer is more ads about Trump
And: Kimmel says Natalie Harp clings to Trump “like a baby koala”
Alito is thinking about retiring. Democrats must use the McConnell rule: no more justices for Trump.
Justice Samuel Alito, 76, told CBS News he thought about retiring at the end of last term, and that he’ll think about it again every year.
“It’s something that I think that somebody at my age has to think about every term.”
He decided to stay for at least one more term. The full interview airs tomorrow.
If he goes, Trump gets a fourth justice. He already put Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett on the court, the same three he told Time on Thursday he regrets because they didn’t show enough “loyalty.”
If Trump gets another pick, expect the most unhinged loyalist he can find.
Luckily, Republicans already wrote the rulebook for us. In 2016, Mitch McConnell refused to give Merrick Garland, Obama’s pick, so much as a hearing, because “the American people should have a voice in the selection of their next Supreme Court Justice.”
Garland waited 293 days and never got a vote.
Four years later, McConnell rushed Barrett through eight days before the election.
Democrats should take McConnell at his word. If they win the Senate in November, Trump does not get another Supreme Court justice. Not in 2027. Not in 2028. Not one.
Chuck Schumer should promise it before November 3, so every voter knows exactly what’s on the ballot. No more Supreme Court picks for Trump.
Trump couldn’t fill an arena in Alabama, then picked a fight with Kaitlan Collins in Ohio
Trump flew to Mobile, Alabama, on Friday for a rally at the Mitchell Center. The arena holds 10,041 people. Photos showed rows of empty seats behind him.
He told the crowd he won Alabama by 55 points. He won it by 30.
“I’m here to say hello. I love you, and I’m coming really as a sign of respect.”
Back in 2015, Trump moved a Mobile rally out of a 14,000-seat arena and into a 50,000-seat football stadium because too many people wanted in. Those days are over.
Saturday night he was at a high school near Dayton, Ohio. CNN’s Kaitlan Collins was in the room, so Trump got the crowd to boo her. He said she “never smiles” and called her “such an unhappy person.”
Meanwhile, in nearby Springfield, nearly 1,400 workers at the old Navistar truck plant were just laid off. That wiped out about a year of job growth in greater Dayton.
Annie Andrews is one point away in South Carolina, and she’s winning every voter under 50
Two new polls have the South Carolina Senate race within a single point. InsiderAdvantage has Darline Graham up 46% to 45%. Trafalgar has her up 43% to 42%.
South Carolina voted for Trump by 18 points in 2024.
The split is generational. In the Trafalgar poll, Andrews leads every age group under 50, including voters 18 to 29 by 60% to 18%. Graham wins voters 50 and older.
Graham was appointed in July to finish her late brother Lindsey’s term. The Andrews campaign says voters “don’t know who Darline Graham is,” and that her plan is to “avoid reporters.”
One warning from 2020: the final polls had Lindsey Graham up 2 or 3 points over Jaime Harrison. Graham won by 10.
A one-point race comes down to who shows up, and that takes money.
Abdul El-Sayed wants to ban the toxic pesticides Europe already banned
Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed rolled out a plan to get toxins out of America’s food and water.
Item one: ban pesticides that are already illegal in Europe, and make the companies that sell them liable for the damage.
The rest of the list: restore federal limits on PFAS “forever chemicals,” replace lead pipes, go after microplastics, rehire USDA staff, and fight the liability shields chemical companies want.
He’s pitching it straight at the MAHA voters who backed Trump and RFK Jr. “I think they’ve been completely let down and lied to.”
On food safety, he says Trump and RFK Jr. “have failed that test in droves.” On vaccines, he says he stays “evidence-driven.”
Cook Political Report rates the race a toss-up. A Fox News poll last week had El-Sayed up 50% to 49% over Republican Mike Rogers.
Putin’s envoy rushes to defend Jared Kushner as his Russian oil deal gets exposed
Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff are supposed to be negotiating an end to Putin’s war in Ukraine. The New York Times reports the talks now include a multibillion-dollar sale of Lukoil assets, the sanctioned Russian oil giant.
Putin pitched the deal to both men at the Kremlin on September 5.
Then there’s the list of bidders. Trump donor Todd Boehly. Firms run by the Al-Khayyat brothers, who are building a luxury resort in Albania with Jared and Ivanka. A fund tied to Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, one of Kushner’s biggest investors.
Other players have ties to World Liberty, the Trump family crypto company run partly by Witkoff’s son.
Hui Chen, a former Justice Department ethics adviser: “This is an alarming and very concerning set of entanglements.”
Kushner called the coverage “misleading.” Then help arrived from Moscow. Kirill Dmitriev, Putin’s special envoy, jumped to his defense on Twitter: “Jared is a Peacemaker. Peacemakers get attacked for peacemaking.”
The man negotiating with Putin now has Putin’s envoy vouching for him.
Trump is mailing seniors $90 checks one month before the midterms
Late Friday night, Trump announced on social media that more than 20 million seniors on Medicare Part B will get a one-time $90 payment this month, by direct deposit or check.
The money comes from the Medicare Improvement Fund, which Congress created in 2008. KFF’s Larry Levitt says the fund’s language “is quite broad and gives substantial discretion to the administration.”
Seniors on Medicare Advantage plans don’t qualify. That’s more than half of everyone who would otherwise be eligible.
It’s the latest check in the mail. Last month Trump announced $500 “refunds” for about a million Obamacare customers in 30 states. On Friday in Mobile, he promised a “$5,000 Trump dividend,” as long as Republicans keep Congress.
Only 17% of Americans approve of how he’s handled inflation.
The checks go out in October. The election is November 3.
September added just 29,000 jobs. The White House answer: “God made Trump.”
The September jobs report landed Friday: 29,000 jobs added, against expectations of 90,000. Unemployment rose to 4.2%.
Become a NOTICE News Member to read the rest.
The rest of this Sunday edition is exclusively for NOTICE News members. They’re the supporters who keep the rest of our reporting free.
Become a Member