Good morning. I’m Corinne Straight, and this is AlterNet America. Please take a moment to click the ❤️ and restack this post. The oligarchs’ platforms are trying to keep stories like the ones below from hitting your feeds, and this helps us break through.
Donald Trump Jr. went on a hunting trip in Mongolia with the Russian oligarch who bankrolled his wedding. The Pentagon missed nearly half of all domestic abuse killings committed by military service members. A Republican candidate for the Georgia state House was arrested for allegedly exposing himself to a child. And Dallas is still waiting for the Republican National Committee to pay back the $800,000 the city spent hosting Trump’s midterm convention.
Before we get started, the billionaires are squeezing independent media and we need your help. Our stories are being suppressed on Facebook, where many of you first discovered us, after we called out Mark Zuckerberg for being a Trump lackey. Elon Musk, the GOP’s top donor, is also censoring AlterNet America’s stories on his social media platform. We’re clearly getting under their skin, but we can’t keep this work going without you.
By subscribing, you ensure these stories go directly to your inbox, where they can’t reach, and your voice becomes one more the billionaires can’t silence. You’re also keeping this publication free for the people who can’t afford a subscription. Become a paying member today.
Don Jr. Went Hunting With the Putin Ally Who Bankrolled His Wedding
All it takes to get close to the president’s family is one rental and a dead sheep.
Donald Trump Jr. was in Mongolia in August on a two-day hunting trip with Umar Kremlev, a Russian oligarch close to Vladimir Putin, the Financial Times reports. During the trip, Trump Jr. killed an Altai argali, an endangered species of sheep valued for its large horns.
Kremlev rented a private island and paid for fireworks as part of a three-day wedding celebration for Trump Jr. and Palm Beach socialite Bettina Anderson in the Bahamas in May. The island cost about $100,000 a night and the fireworks alone cost $70,000, according to ProPublica.
Kremlev heads the International Boxing Association, which is funded by the Russian state energy company Gazprom. Putin has made Kremlev one of the central figures in Russian industry, giving him control of the national lottery and ownership of Russia’s largest car dealership after it was nationalized in 2023.
Following the trip, Trump Jr. had dinner with Mongolia’s president. A government spokesperson posted that the two discussed business opportunities between the United States and Mongolia, before the post was quietly removed. Trump Jr.’s spokesperson later claimed it was an informal meeting about the outdoors.
Pentagon Missed Nearly Half of Troops’ Domestic Abuse Killings
The military tracks every round of ammunition it fires overseas but can’t count the women being killed at home.
The Pentagon reported 41 domestic abuse homicides committed by service members over a six-year period, but a first-of-its-kind investigation by The Intercept uncovered at least 73 cases involving 79 victims during the same time frame. Almost all the victims were women.
The Pentagon only counts cases reported to its Family Advocacy Program, so any killing handled by civilian police or military law enforcement doesn’t show up in the data sent to Congress. The Intercept searched news articles, court records, and obituaries obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request to identify the missing cases.
Since the start of the second Trump administration, at least 10 women who served in the military or worked for the Defense Department have died from intimate partner violence, and another 10 civilian women have been killed by male military personnel. Of 79 total victims, nearly one-third were killed in murder-suicides, and two-thirds were killed by guns.
The investigation was triggered by the case of 21-year-old sailor Angelina Resendiz, who was strangled by a fellow sailor at Naval Station Norfolk in May 2025. Her killer, Jermiah Copeland, had been charged with two counts of domestic violence, three counts of sexual assault, and other crimes, but was still allowed to serve.
The National Domestic Violence Hotline is available 24 hours a day at 1-800-799-7233, or by texting START to 88788. Military members and families can also contact the Department of Defense Safe Helpline at 1-877-995-5247.
GOP House Candidate Arrested for Allegedly Exposing Himself to a Child
The party of family values found another candidate who shouldn’t be near children.
The Republican candidate for Georgia House District 42, Andre Lamar Stafford, was arrested on a felony child molestation charge after police say he exposed himself to a girl walking to her bus stop in Smyrna on October 15. A judge denied him bail, finding he posed a danger to the community.
According to a Cobb County arrest warrant, a driver pulled up to the girl between 8:22 and 8:27 a.m., told her she was pretty and exposed himself before driving off. Crime analysts used a Flock license plate reader camera located at a nearby apartment complex to identify a gray 2024 Kia Forte that entered the area at 8:11 a.m.
Investigators ran the plate through the registration database and traced the car back to Stafford. They made a photo lineup using his license picture, and the victim identified him as the driver.
Stafford is running against Democratic incumbent Gabriel Sanchez in a district that covers parts of Cobb County, including Smyrna. When reached by FOX 5 Atlanta, he confirmed that he was arrested, but said he has no reason to drop out.
Dallas Is Still Waiting for the RNC to Pay It Back for Trump’s Convention
Add Dallas to the list of people waiting on a check from Republicans.
The Texas city spent $800,000 to host the Republican midterm convention at the American Airlines Center in September. The Republican National Committee has not paid the city back, and no one has said if it ever will.
The Dallas 2026 Host Committee, the convention’s private fundraising arm, raised at least $45 million in donations and promised to reduce government costs. City officials said there is no formal agreement requiring it to pay Dallas back.
Council members challenged city officials on the cost during a Monday finance committee meeting, with council member Maxie Johnson calling it “absolutely ridiculous.” Kevin Oden, the city’s emergency management director, told Johnson that Dallas will seek reimbursement from the U.S. Capitol Police before billing the RNC or the host committee for the remaining amount.
The city picked up the tab amid a $30 million budget shortfall, and after the Dallas Police Department had already overspent its overtime budget by $2.7 million. About $661,000 of the convention’s $800,000 budget went to police overtime.
Support the Fight Against MAGA-Controlled Media
If this morning’s piece told you something the billionaire-owned outlets would rather keep quiet, that’s exactly the point. Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg are burying independent reporting on their platforms while sucking up to the president, and a paid subscription is the most direct way you can help fight back.
It costs about 22 cents a day, six days out from the election. So if you haven’t upgraded to a paid subscription yet, today is the day. With billionaires deciding what you get to see, every paid subscriber is one more voice they can’t silence. Please subscribe or upgrade now.
Thank you again for reading and for supporting independent media. And if you haven’t yet, click the ❤️ and restack this post so we can reach more feeds.
POSITIVE STORIES YOU MAY HAVE MISSED:
Trump Supporter Tells Him to Shove His Ballroom Up His “Fat Ass” at Mississippi Rally. Trump visited Corinth, Mississippi on Monday night to support Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith, who is in a tight reelection race against Democratic nominee Scott Colom. Hecklers interrupted him at least three times, including one man who shouted “Shove that ballroom up your fat ass!” as Trump was rambling about the condition of the White House. Trump laughed and told the man to go home, then claimed the protester was paid $250 by George Soros. Trump knocked down the historic White House East Wing last year without congressional approval to make room for the $600 million ballroom. A Washington Post analysis found he has mentioned it in roughly a third of his public comments.
Grand Jury Refuses to Indict Cassidy Hutchinson Over Jan. 6 Testimony. Former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson was not indicted by a federal grand jury in Washington, D.C., for allegedly lying to Congress about Trump’s actions on January 6. In 2022, Hutchinson testified that Trump knew his supporters were armed, urged them to march on the Capitol and lunged at a Secret Service agent inside his presidential SUV when told he could not join them. Hutchinson was referred for prosecution earlier this year by Republican Representatives Jim Jordan and Barry Loudermilk, and the case was presented to the grand jury by the DOJ’s civil rights division. D.C. grand juries have repeatedly refused to go along with the Trump DOJ’s attempts to prosecute the president’s perceived enemies. In February, another grand jury declined to indict six Democratic lawmakers over their comments to military service members.
New York Early Voting Nearly Doubles 2022 Pace in First Three Days. More than 703,000 New Yorkers voted during the first three days of early voting in the Nov. 3 general election, nearly doubling the pace of the 2022 gubernatorial race, the State Board of Elections said. Every one of New York’s 62 counties bested its three-day 2022 turnout, with voters outside New York City leading the way with a 97.7% increase compared to 76% in the five boroughs. Two upstate counties have already passed their full nine-day early voting totals in 2022 in only three days: Herkimer and Essex. New York Attorney General Letitia James said no eligible New Yorker should stay home out of fear, and reminded voters that state and federal law prohibits armed troops and federal agents from polling places.
Lisa Murkowski Endorses Democrat in Alaska Governor’s Race Over Republican. Senator Lisa Murkowski endorsed Democratic candidate Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins for governor of Alaska on Tuesday, snubbing the three Republican candidates on the ballot, including Bernadette Wilson, who has Trump’s endorsement. Murkowski told NBC affiliate KTUU that Kreiss-Tomkins has the energy and common sense Alaska needs, and that the Republican candidates are too partisan to work with the Legislature. Wilson brushed off the endorsement, calling Murkowski someone who “abandoned Alaska values a long time ago.” In a state that Trump won in 2016, 2020 and 2024, NBC News Decision Desk rates the Alaska governor’s race as leaning Democratic.
