Northeast
Obama says it’s ‘like every day is Halloween’ as he blames Republicans for government shutdown
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
Former President Barack Obama on Saturday slammed Republicans for the ongoing federal government shutdown.
“The government is shut down and the Republicans who currently are in charge of Congress, they’re not even pretending to solve the problem,” the 64-year-old told a rally crowd while campaigning for former Rep. Abigail Spanberger, D-Va., turned Democratic gubernatorial candidate in Norfolk, Virginia. “They have not even been showing up to work, not in session. Where are you? What are you doing?”
The government shutdown began a month ago on Oct. 1, after lawmakers failed to pass a spending bill to fund the government, with Democrats concerned expiring Affordable Care Act tax cuts could raise premiums and that Medicaid cuts could leave people without coverage.
Republicans have blamed the shutdown on Democrats, with Trump recently calling them “crazed lunatics.”
JOHNSON WARNS US ‘BARRELING TOWARD ONE OF THE LONGEST SHUTDOWNS’ IN HISTORY
Former President Barack Obama speaks during a campaign event for Democratic gubernatorial candidate Abigail Spanberger, Saturday, in Norfolk, Virginia. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)
“The shutdown proceeds because the Democrats just don’t know what they’re doing,” President Donald Trump told reporters this week. I don’t know what’s wrong with them. They’ve never done a thing like this. They’ve become crazed lunatics. All they have to do is say, ‘Let’s go, let’s go. Let’s open up our country.’ And everything snaps back into shape. So there’s something wrong with them.”
Trump has also suggested getting rid of the filibuster.
“Remember, Republicans, regardless of the Schumer Shutdown, the Democrats will terminate the Filibuster the first chance they get,” he wrote on Truth Socila on Saturday. “They will Pack the Supreme Court, pick up two States, and add at least 8 Electoral Votes. Their two objectors are gone!!! Don’t be WEAK AND STUPID. FIGHT,FIGHT, FIGHT! WIN, WIN, WIN! We will immediately END the Extortionist Shutdown, get ALL of our agenda passed, and make life so good for Americans that these DERANGED DEMOCRAT politicians will never again have the chance to DESTROY AMERICA!”
He added, “Republicans, you will rue the day that you didn’t TERMINATE THE FILIBUSTER!!! BE TOUGH, BE SMART, AND WIN!!! This is much bigger than the Shutdown, this is the survival of our Country!”
Obama didn’t mention Democrats’ part in the shutdown when talking about it on Saturday. He did, however, have choice words for Trump and his administration.
“Our country and our politics are in a pretty dark place right now. It’s hard to know where to start, because every day this white House offers up a fresh batch of lawlessness and recklessness and mean-spiritedness and just plain craziness,” he charged.
SHUTDOWN IGNITES STRATEGIST DEBATE: WILL TRUMP AND GOP PAY THE POLITICAL PRICE IN 2026?
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Abigail Spanberger joins former President Barack Obama, during a campaign event Saturday, in Norfolk. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)
The former president joked: “It’s like every day is Halloween. Except it’s all tricks and no treats. And and here’s the thing, it’s not as if we didn’t see some of this coming. I will admit, it’s worse than even I expected. But I did warn y’all.”
He claimed that while the economy has been good for Trump’s “billionaire pals,” costs haven’t gotten any better for average people.
Obama said “there is absolutely no evidence Republican policies have made life better for you” while claiming that Republicans are more focused on “scapegoat[ing] minorities and DEI for every problem under the sun. You got a flat tire? DEI. Wife mad at you? DEI.”
Former President Barack Obama with New Jersey gubernatorial candidate Mikie Sherill, Saturday, in Newark, New Jersey. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
“What they have not devoted energy to is helping you,” he told the crowd. “They have not put forward serious proposals to lower housing costs or make groceries more affordable.”
He urged the crowd to vote for Spanberger, who is facing Virginia’s Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears for an open seat in the state.
Later Saturday, Obama headed to New Jersey for a rally with Democratic gubernatorial candidate Rep. Mikie Sherrill, who is in a close race against Republican Jack Ciattarelli.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
“I don’t know many people who started their careers as a Navy helicopter pilot, then went to law school, then became a federal prosecutor, keeping communities safe,” Obama said in front of a crowd in Newark. “And she’s doing this while raising four kids. And then, because apparently that was a little bit too easy, she decided to run for Congress. I get tired just thinking about it. But I do know that it makes her the kind of leader who understands the mission, who knows who she is supposed to serve, who doesn’t have a lot of time for excuses. And that is exactly what New Jersey needs right now.”
Read the full article from Here
NEW HAVEN, Conn. (WTNH) — With Republican Erin Stewart suspending her campaign for Connecticut governor on the eve of the party convention, state Sen. Ryan Fazio is now the favorite to win the Republican endorsement.
Up until Thursday morning, Fazio was locked in a head-to-head match-up with Stewart, who had long been considered the favorite to win the Republican endorsement at Saturday’s convention.
With Stewart’s exit, the 36-year-old now stands as one of two remaining Republican candidates. Stewart has thrown her support behind Fazio, perhaps best known for his crusades against Connecticut’s high energy costs, a move that could help consolidate support among party delegates.
Fazio first spoke with News 8’s Chief Political Correspondent Mike Cerulli on Thursday.
“Listen, I expect to fight on this campaign all the way through,” Fazio said. “I don’t expect anything; I’m entitled to nothing. I need to earn everything as a candidate, and our campaign has that exact attitude. So, we’re gonna work extraordinarily hard every single day to win the support, to earn the support of every single Republican delegate, every single Republican primary voter, and every single voter irrespective of their background or their party affiliation in November. This is too important not to.”
The other remaining Republican candidate is 77-year-old Betsy McCaughey, the cable TV host and former New York lieutenant governor. Can she secure 15% of the delegates this Saturday and automatically trigger a primary?
“I’ve been calling Erin Stewart’s delegates all day, and in fact, I want to call Erin Stewart, expressing my concern and saying I wish her and her family well,” McCaughey told News 8’s Chief Political Anchor Dennis House. “This is a difficult time. And then I’ve called many of Erin Stewart’s delegates, and I’m sure I’ll reach all of them and meet with them tomorrow. And I’m asking, please join me in launching the Connecticut comeback.”
Stay with News 8 on air and online all day Saturday as we bring the vote count and let you know if we are heading for a primary showdown in August.
The Collapse of a Campaign
Download the News 8 app to get breaking news and weather alerts.
Watch News 8 on WTNH.com or the free WTNH News 8 streaming app on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV and select Samsung Smart TVs.
SEARSPORT, Maine (WABI) – A new Searsport business sees other people’s trash as an opportunity.
Maine Trash Kings got its start at the beginning of April, and with spring cleaning underway, the founders say the business is booming.
“It’s been really good, we started at the beginning of this month, and we just started posting around on Facebook ads and word of mouth. It’s gone really good, just kind of blown up from there,” Alex Dakin, co-founder of Maine Trash Kings, said.
Maine Trash Kings is run by two Searsport High School students. They both say they’ve had to learn how to balance time quickly.
“When we don’t have jobs or something like that, after schools, I get an hour, two hours to myself, but then, I got to post ads. I got to, look at finances, go over that, fix the trailer, work on the trailer and stuff like that,” Isaac Traves, co-founder of Maine Trash Kings, said.
“It can be stressful at times, but you just got to look at the bigger picture and know that all the work you’re putting in now is just going to pay off in the future,” Dakin said.
Traves said he wants to go to college for business in the future. The junior in high school said the business has given him a head start on finances.
“Sometimes there are instances where we have to spend money to make money, and it is scary at first. Some people think oh, I’m going to spend money, that means that I’m going to lose all of that. I’m not going to make that money back. No, it’s not really how it works. You have to spend money to make money, to be honest,” Traves said.
Traves and Dakin’s work hasn’t gone unnoticed. Derek Ginn is a teacher at Searsport Middle School. Ginn said the boys came to him and asked if he could help them get the business started.
“It’s really great to see kids who, 16, 17, starting life not knowing exactly what they want to do, to see, hey, maybe I want to start a business. Let me see if I can fail. Let me see if I can succeed. Let’s see what’s out there,” Ginn said. “These guys did that all on their own. I’m not saying, you guys should go start this business. You guys should go start this business. No, they came to me and are like, hey, how do I do this? And that’s incredible to see for kids their age.”
Ginn said the boys also help him with his students. They serve as mentors to the younger students in the school. Ginn said that’s how he got to know Traves and Dakin.
The young business owners said they are giving the business everything they’ve got. So far, they say they love the work.
“I like working and I actually quit my job to do this full-time now, so I mean, just putting all my effort into this and seeing it grow is just, I love it,” Dakin said.
Maine Trash Kings serves Searsport and surrounding areas.
They give quotes via their Facebook page or by calling 207-323-6984 for junk removal.
Copyright 2026 WABI. All rights reserved.
Massachusetts
Trauma foam developed by Massachusetts company used to stop internal bleeding in first patient
A Waltham, Massachusetts, company began to develop a trauma foam to stop internal bleeding; years later, it saved an Alabama man’s life.
Ronald Farms remembers his car flipping upside down and then a white light in what can only be described as a near-death experience.
“There was this light that was so bright. It was literally a light from heaven. It was white, so bright, but it wasn’t blinding,” Farms said.
But when the 34-year-old regained consciousness, he was on his way to the University of Alabama at Birmingham Hospital (UAB) and suffering from severe abdominal bleeding.
“They told me I had a laceration to my kidney, a laceration to my liver. My spleen was completely ruptured. They had to remove that. Part of my colon was taken out,” Farms said.
When he got to the hospital, Farms says the trauma surgeon, Dr. Preston Hewgley, told his family that he had 20 minutes to live.
Within minutes, Hewgley decided to use a tool that had never before been administered in a patient, a futuristic foam to stop internal bleeding.
“There was a very intense moment of injecting the foam into Ronald’s abdomen that was palpable,” Hewgley told WBZ-TV.
UAB is the site of an FDA-approved clinical trial for ResQFoam, developed by Waltham biotechnology company Arsenal Medical. It is administered by cutting a small incision below the patient’s belly button and inserting what looks like a calking gun into the abdomen, then shooting foam, which expands inside the body cavity.
“It wraps around injured tissues and injured organs and puts pressure on them, which temporarily slows or stops hemorrhage,” said Dr. David King, a trauma surgeon at Massachusetts General Hospital.
ResQFoam is the brainchild of King, who knows how deadly internal bleeding can be. He is a Colonel in the Army Reserve and has performed surgeries in combat.
“Intra-abdominal hemorrhage remains a leading preventable cause of death on the battlefield,” King said, “From the combat surgeon standpoint, it remains a very exciting horizon.”
The successful administration of the foam in Farms is a giant step forward for Arsenal Medical, but President and CEO Upma Sharma is cautiously optimistic with a clinical trial ongoing.
“We have a first safety cohort that we need to get through to demonstrate that the foam isn’t doing anything totally unexpected,” Sharma said.
Ronald Farms credits the foam with saving his life and he believes there is a higher reason why he is now sharing its story.
“I would highly, highly endorse it because it saved my life,” Farms said.
-
Connecticut4 minutes agoRemaining GOP candidates for Connecticut governor vie for Erin Stewart supporters
-
Delaware11 minutes agoU.S. Foreclosure Filings Spike 18%: Delaware, South Carolina, and Florida Top the List
-
Florida17 minutes agoFive Florida Panthers Named to Rosters for 2026 IIHF World Championship | Florida Panthers
-
Georgia23 minutes agoGeorgia woman works through injuries as health insurance costs soar
-
Hawaii29 minutes agoEmails show FBI Director Kash Patel’s Hawaii trip included ‘VIP snorkel’ at a Pearl Harbor memorial
-
Idaho35 minutes agoIdaho Supreme Court says new law could delay adoption, parental termination cases
-
Illinois41 minutes agoIllinois Wesleyan to Launch First-of-its-Kind Interdisciplinary Undergraduate Quantum Science and Engineering Program
-
Indiana47 minutes agoMan shot by security guard in hospital emergency room waiting area in Gary, Indiana