Plus: Top Trump Officials Move To Military Bases As Political Violence Rises

Here’s a career path I didn’t know someone could pursue: a pumpkin stylist. 🎃💅

Customers in the U.S. are paying hundreds, and sometimes more than a thousand dollars, to have people come to their homes and arrange the pumpkins on their stoops in a festive, feng shui way.

Entire businesses are emerging to help arrange people’s porches. Heather Torres, CEO of Porch Pumpkins, told The Washington Post she will decorate 1,300 homes this season in the Texas area (“Everything is bigger here,” Torres said.)
- What started as an at-home side hustle for Torres now makes six figures, she told Business Insider.
- Texas is also home to Floydada, a town that produces so many pumpkins that it has become a tourist attraction.
Other pumpkin-preneurs are popping up across the country, including in New Jersey, New York State, and even Southern California (probably the most orange that area is going to get).
Speaking of America’s pumpkin obsession, a man in Park Slope, Brooklyn, used a forklift to adorn the entrance of his Brooklyn brownstone with a 1,000-pound pumpkin — something I once got the chance to see IRL.

I don’t have a porch right now (#apartmentlife), but I am envious of Mo News’ Jill Wagner’s impressive display in the photo above. 😍

Sam
Associate Producer

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🚨 ONE IMPORTANT THING

🇺🇸🇨🇳 U.S. & China Strike Short Term Deal On Trade, Rare Earth Minerals

The world’s two largest economies appear to be cooling trade tensions — for now.

President Trump called his face-to-face meeting Thursday with Chinese President Xi Jinping a huge success, saying the U.S. will lower tariffs on China from 57% to 47%.
- Earlier this year, Trump raised tariffs as punishment for China’s role in the fentanyl supply chain.
- “I guess on the scale from 0 to 10, with ten being the best, I would say the meeting was a 12,” Trump said speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One.

While the trade war may be cooling, talk of nuclear weapons is heating up. More ⬇️

U.S.-CHINA BREAKTHROUGH
Trump said that the U.S. would lower certain tariffs on Chinese goods from 20% to 10%. Those were implemented earlier this year as punishment on China for selling chemicals used to make fentanyl. With that 10% relief, the total combined tariff rate on China would go from 57% to 47%.

When Trump took office, the the average of all U.S. tariffs on China was at about 20%. Analysts say companies may still feel compelled to move operations out of China, given that tariffs are still up more than 2x from early 2025.
🇨🇳 China agreed to suspend export controls on rare earth minerals (used in tech products like electric vehicles and smartphones). Trump also says China agreed to purchase “massive” amounts of soybeans, which was a major concern for U.S. farmers after China stopped buying them earlier this spring as part of the trade war.
- Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told the Fox Business Network that China agreed to buy 12 million metric tons of soybeans before the end of this year and 25 million tons per year for the following three. “So you know, our great soybean farmers, who the Chinese used as political pawns, that’s off the table, and they should prosper in the years to come,” he said.
🇺🇸 The U.S. will allow some chip and semiconductor exports to China. Notably absent from the talks: TikTok’s future, China purchasing Russian oil, and maintaining Taiwan’s independence.

What this means: The one-year truce announced is expected to stabilize — not solve — U.S.-China tensions. It allows both sides to buy time to reduce dependence on each other in key sectors. It also underscored how much stronger China has grown since Trump’s first term, Bloomberg analysts note.

“China gave some ground, but the clear dynamic is how Chinese threats have gotten the U.S. to back off a series of proposed restrictions,” said Scott Kennedy, senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. “Xi has created more safe space for China’s economic system and its efforts to achieve greater global leadership.”

GOING NUCLEAR
Just minutes before sitting down with Xi, Trump wrote on Truth Social that due to recent actions by Russia and China, he had ordered the Department of War to “start testing our Nuclear Weapons on an equal basis.”

Three decades in the making: China has expanded its nuclear arsenal in recent years, faster than any nation on earth, though it has not conducted a nuclear test since 1996. The U.S. has observed a similar moratorium on tests since 1992, despite never formally ratifying the global ban on tests. Russia has not conducted a confirmed nuclear weapon test since 1990, when it was the Soviet Union.

The twist: Russia and China, however, have recently stepped up displays and tests of some weapons capabilities that could carry nuclear warheads. In recent days, President Vladimir Putin announced Russia had successfully tested a nuclear-powered, nuclear-capable cruise missile and separately, the Poseidon nuclear torpedo — a drone designed to travel thousands of miles underwater to strike coastal targets. Neither test involved an actual nuclear bomb.

In response to Trump’s announcement, the Kremlin on Thursday said the recent test “certainly cannot be viewed as nuclear testing at all,” but it would do so if the U.S. does. Trump did not clarify whether that meant new detonations or demonstrations of unarmed nuclear-capable missiles or undersea systems, which the U.S. already conducts regularly.

🚨 ONE THING WE’RE WATCHING

Top Trump Officials Move To Military Bases Amid Rising Political Violence

High-profile officials in President Trump’s administration are relocating to live on U.S. military bases — seeking increased security after cases of harassment and amid fears of rising political violence.

At least six Trump Cabinet members now live in military housing, according to The Atlantic. Presidential Cabinet members have lived in military housing before, including former Defense Secretary Robert Gates, but the current number is unprecedented.

WHO THEY ARE
White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller moved to military housing after he and his family reported being harassed in their north Arlington, Virginia, neighborhood. The antagonization reportedly worsened following the assassination of Charlie Kirk last month.

Miller’s wife, Katie, posted a viral video of her washing away chalk messages outside their home in September. The chalk read: “STEPHEN MILLER IS DESTROYING DEMOCRACY!” Other graffiti read, “MILLER IS PREYING ON FAMILIES.”

Arlington Neighbors United for Humanity, a self-described anti-extremism group, took credit for the chalk graffiti. The group has also organized protests near the homes of Miller and Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought. They’ve also posted messages on Instagram comparing Miller to a Nazi.

The Millers shortly afterwards put their house up for sale, listed on realtor.com for $3.75 million.

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem also moved out of her D.C. apartment in August and into a building designated for the Coast Guard, where she does not pay rent, according to the Washington Post.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Army Secretary Dan Driscoll, and another unnamed official live on Army bases.

During the Biden administration, protesters also targeted some officials’ homes.

BIGGER PICTURE
The move to military bases come as political violence in the U.S. has reached levels not seen in decades. The line between protest and political violence, in recent years, appears to be getting crossed.

The firebombing of Democratic Governor Josh Shapiro’s home in Pennsylvania in April, the shooting of two Democratic state lawmakers in Minnesota in June, the 2022 assault on former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband inside their San Francisco home, and the attempted attack on Justice Brett Kavanaugh at his house in 2022 all underscore the escalation — and have revealed that senior officials’ homes have not been that secure.

⏳ THE SPEED READ

🚨NATION

Trump administration slashes number of refugees, prioritizes white South Africans (POLITICO)
Sean Grayson, former Illinois sheriff, found guilty of murder in the death of Sonya Massey (NBC)
Abby Zwerner, teacher shot by 6-year-old student at school, testifies about shooting (CBS)
DHS Secretary Noem rejects Gov. Pritzker’s calls for pause in immigration operations over Halloween (ABC)

🌎 AROUND THE WORLD

Fate of thousands feared in Darfur after reported rampage by Sudanese paramilitary force (AP)
Hamas hands over remains of 2 more Israeli hostages, Israel says ceasefire back on (CBS)
Centrists hail huge gains in knife-edge Dutch election (GUARDIAN)
Russia fires 705 missiles, drones into Ukraine in ‘complex’ attack, Zelensky says (ABC)

📱BUSINESS, SCIENCE & TECH

Mortgage rates jump 20 basis points following Fed cut (CNBC)
Banks and retailers run short on pennies as the US Mint stops making them (AP)
Chipotle stock craters as company says young people without jobs can’t afford their food anymore (YAHOO FINANCE)
Teens who use cannabis before age 15 have more trouble later, a study finds (NPR)

🎬 SPORTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Toronto Blue Jays take a 3-2 lead over Los Angeles Dodgers in World Series (AP)
‘Stranger Things’ season 5 official trailer released (HOLLYWOOD REPORTER)
U.S. retailers lowering prices on Hershey’s candy ahead of Halloween (FOX)
Country star Morgan Wallen announces 2026 ‘Still The Problem Tour.’ (NY POST)

ICYMI FROM THE 📲

In case you missed it… Elon Musk launched “Grokipedia” on Monday, an AI-powered encyclopedia designed to compete with Wikipedia and counter what Musk has described as its left-wing bias.

While Wikipedia is powered by a team of volunteer writers and editors, Grokipedia uses Musk’s AI platform, xAI, to write and fact-check most entries.

We did some searching, and Grokipedia entries seem to be more ideologically-aligned with Musk’s own views.

Take the entry for “Transgender”...

The first few paragraphs include a theory that transgenderism may be a social contagion; that theory doesn’t exist on the Wiki entry.
The word “transphobia,” which appears multiple times in the Wiki entry, does not appear at all on the Grokipedia entry.