Plus: Fox's Bret Baier On Trump-Media Phone Calls & Louvre Reopens After Jewel Heist

Good evening,

Grab a blanket and look up at the sky tonight as the Orionid meteor shower will be peaking 🌠 NASA calls it “one of the most beautiful showers of the year.”

Stargazers could see 10–20 shooting stars an hour, all debris of Halley’s Comet.
The show runs through Nov. 7, but tonight’s the best viewing window if you did not make it out last night.

If you want to go all in, the best time to catch the ✨ is from midnight until dawn in dark, rural areas. I’ll still be looking up from my very urban apartment — even if it’s just for a few minutes before an early bedtime 🛌

Lauren
Producer

🚨 ONE IMPORTANT THING

ICE Conducts Raids On NYC’s Canal Street

A federal raid in New York City’s Chinatown neighborhood Tuesday led to the arrests of four protesters and nine migrants from West Africa who were in the U.S. illegally, according to the Department of Homeland Security. And, the head of the federal ICE agency is warning New Yorkers to expect more of these types of crackdowns as President Trump expands his mass deportation push to NYC.

More than 50 federal agents swept through the busy Canal Street area where African vendors illegally sell bootleg goods like sunglasses and purses.
Military-style trucks were escorted by armed federal agents in the area.

It’s one of the most high-profile federal immigration raids New York City has seen since President Trump took office. The city has drawn less federal attention than Chicago or Los Angeles in Trump’s second term. The Department of Homeland Security claimed afterward that “NEW YORK’S CANAL STREET IS SAFER,” and posted an image of the arrested migrants’ faces in gems.

NEW YORKERS REACT
Reports of the raid spread quickly on social media, drawing dozens of protesters trying to block federal vehicles and shouting at ICE agents to leave NYC. A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security said the agents were carrying out an enforcement operation against sellers of “counterfeit goods” when protesters “were shouting obscenities, became violent and obstructed law enforcement duties including blocking vehicles and assaulting law enforcement.”

The New York Police Department said it was not involved.
- Mayor Eric Adams said while the city does assist with the deportation of criminals, it “does not cooperate with federal law enforcement on civil deportations.”
More to come? “You will see an increase in ICE arrests,” Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons said in an interview on Fox News. “There are so many criminal illegal aliens that have been released in New York specifically.”
Mayoral candidates Zohran Mamdani (D) called the raid “aggressive and reckless,” accusing the Trump administration of choosing “authoritarian theatrics that create fear, not safety.” Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo (I) called the raid “an abuse of federal power” and said that they were “more about fear than justice, more about politics than safety.”

Bigger picture: New York’s “sanctuary city” policies restrict cooperation with the federal government on immigration enforcement. Back in March, Adams — who has aligned himself with some of Trump’s immigration stances — testified that fears of deportation and ICE raids would lead residents to avoid seeking treatment for medical emergencies or calling law enforcement when a crime occurs.

MIGRANT TOLL: During the Biden administration, Adams said the migrant surge “will destroy New York City,” noting that, under local law, he is required to provide housing and services for migrants. Officials estimated migrants could cost the city $12 billion over three years.
- About a quarter of a million migrants came to NYC between 2022-24 under a historical wave of migration from the US-Mexico border under President Biden.

What we’ll be watching: Tonight is the second New York City mayoral debate, where Mamdani, Cuomo, and Curtis Sliwa (R) will likely face questions about federal immigration raids in the city. It’s at 7 pm ET and you can watch here.

🚨 ONE THING WE’RE TALKING ABOUT

Mo News Talks With Fox’s Bret Baier On Trump’s Media Strategy & Similarities To Teddy Roosevelt

Mo News sat down with Fox News Anchor Bret Baier on Wednesday to talk about his new book about Teddy Roosevelt. We also asked him about the current presidential administration. Baier says President Trump is talking to reporters on the phone much more than expected.

Despite Trump’s combative relationship with the mainstream media — including suing major media outlets for billions of dollars and calling the media the “enemy of the state” — he still takes many off-the-record calls from those same outlets.

”He knows the power of informing where his head is,” Baier said. “Those reporters...understand the power of those off-the-record conversations.”

Baier, who has closely covered Trump for a decade and interviewed him multiple times, also says the president sees provocative messaging as a PR win.

“I know President Trump is of the mindset that when he makes the left’s heads explode, he has a PR win,” Baier told Mo News. “There’s a ton of reaction to it, almost overreaction, and then the wheel comes back and people say, ‘Yeah, what’s the deal with that?’”

TRUMP & ROOSEVELT
During our interview, we discussed Baier’s new presidential biography, “To Rescue the American Spirit: Teddy Roosevelt and the Birth of a Superpower,” and the similarities between Roosevelt and Trump.

Both understood the power of the press and the political value of fighting the media.
- Roosevelt, who coined the term “muckraker” for journalists, knew how to use the media to his advantage — much like Trump does with his “fake news” label.

ON PENTAGON PLEDGE
Baier told Mo News that he was “happy” that Fox News did not sign the Pentagon’s new restrictive press policy to not obtain or use any unapproved/unauthorized material.

“You were covering stories and talking to people, but you were not in search of trying to get classified information,” he said, recounting his time as the Fox News Pentagon correspondent for six years. “You’re talking about finding out from different services how they see different things and piecing stories together. That’s called journalism.”
He said the he does not think the Pentagon, led by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, is going to compromise and is instead welcoming other more politically friendly outlets to sign the pledge. As for what happens to Pentagon coverage now: “We’re obviously gonna cover it, but it won’t be from the inside and maybe a little different,” Baier said.

🎧 The full conversation will be available first to the Mo News premium community. Join today.

MO NEWS: WHITE HOUSE HISTORY 101
This is the most significant White House expansion since the addition of the West Wing in 1902. It is set to double the size of the complex.

White House historians note that renovations and expansions have long marked different eras: Theodore Roosevelt built the West Wing, Franklin Roosevelt moved the Oval Office and added an indoor swimming pool, Harry Truman oversaw a major gutting of the White house, and Richard Nixon added a bowling alley and a press room.
The East Wing, which traditionally houses the first lady’s offices, is being partially demolished to make space for the new space.

This is the second major project on White House grounds this year, following the paving over of part of the Rose Garden to add a patio. The ballroom is planned to be completed before the end of his term.

⏳ THE SPEED READ

🚨NATION

Dem senator delivers overnight filibuster speech to protest Trump, at 20 hours and counting (MO NEWS)
Trump’s nominee for whistleblower office withdraws after reports of racist texts (CNN)
Immigrant rights group calls for removing pregnant women from detention (AP)
Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner says he’s covered up a tattoo that was recognized as a Nazi symbol (AXIOS)
Mother of baby abandoned at Penn Station found and arrested in Queens (ABC)

🌎 AROUND THE WORLD

Russia launches deadly strikes on Ukrainian civilians, nuclear tests hours after Trump-Putin summit is cancelled (MO NEWS)
Israeli settlers beat Palestinian farmers on video as attacks mount during West Bank olive harvest (AP)
Dublin protesters clash with police, burn vehicle after migrant accused of sexually assaulting Irish girl (FOX)
Meth, cocaine worth nearly $1 billion seized from 2 sailboats in the Arabian Sea, U.S. confirms (CBS)

📱BUSINESS, SCIENCE & TECH

Trump prods American cattle ranchers to ‘get their prices down’ amid tariff battle (ABC)
Trump administration pledges to speed some student loan forgiveness after lawsuit (AP)
Beyond Meat shares slash gains, briefly dipping into the red as meme rally falters (CNBC)
Samsung takes on Apple’s Vision Pro with new Galaxy XR headset (TECH CRUNCH)

🎬 SPORTS & ENTERTAINMENT

NFL boss stands by Bad Bunny and won’t change Super Bowl halftime show amid MAGA outrage (VARIETY)
Misty Copeland will take to the ballet stage one last time, before hanging up her pointe shoes (AP)
Charli XCX, Jessica Alba to star in Dakota Johnson’s directorial debut ‘A Tree Is Blue’ (THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER)
‘Group 7’? viral trend has many feeling excluded and confused (NEW YORK POST)

ICYMI FROM THE 📲

In case you missed it… The Louvre museum in Paris reopened today after the roughly $102 million jewel heist over the weekend, but The Apollo Room where the crown jewels were taken remained closed. Investigators are still on the hunt for the four thieves.

Part of the problem: The museum’s outdated security system did not capture the criminals arriving nor climbing up to and breaking into the second-floor.

In the meantime, we’re loving the commentary coming out about it.