The owner decided she wanted to try to bring in more people in order to make more money, so she announced that one night a week on Saturday, they would make masks optional. As a result, her patrons started accusing her of trying to kill people.
The story was instantly everywhere.
Now, it turns out that the bar is closing its doors permanently. Oh well.
Viral Massachusetts lesbian bar announces it will be ‘soft closing’ after easing mask rules
Last Ditch Bar and Arts Venue, a Massachusetts lesbian bar that went viral for its masking policy last month, announced Monday that it would be closing and seeking a buyer for the business.
“WE ARE CLOSING. We have put our lives on hold to foster networks of care, resources, and a home base for organizing. It’s time we pass it on. We’ve been fighting since the beginning to fill out the team, and we still don’t have a board/leadership to manage workers owned Co-op transfer. We are SOFT CLOSING effective immediately, all BOOKED events will CONTINUE, otherwise we are CLOSED,” the bar wrote on Instagram.
“We need new owners ASAP, we close this winter,” the bar also wrote…
Last Ditch Bar and Arts Venue went viral last month after The Boston Globe reported that it would be lifting its mask mandate for one night a week.
Some critics accused the Massachusetts bar’s owners of putting disabled people at risk and compared the policy change to a “mass disabling event” and a “eugenicist” attack while also making threats against the establishment.
What a shame. Mandatory masking in 2026 seemed like such a solid business plan.
Last Ditch, also known as the “COVID-conscious Western Massachusetts lesbian bar,” is closing effective immediately. pic.twitter.com/R8a4ciUnzO
First, it went viral for continuing to require masks. Now, it’s shutting down.
Last Ditch, a self-described “COVID-conscious” lesbian bar in Western Massachusetts, announced that it is closing effective immediately after drawing backlash over its mask policy.
University of Chicago student files ethics complaint against Sen. Slotkin
A University of Chicago student has filed an ethics complaint against Sen. Elissa Slotkin for her recent suggestion that college graduates who work for the Trump administration might be prosecuted.
“Senator Slotkin, if you thought this was over, you’re wrong,” said student Michael Bicksel in a video he posted on X on Oct. 22 as he held up a copy of an ethics complaint he filed with the U.S. Senate.
“The complaint was submitted to the Senate Select Committee on Ethics and argues that Slotkin proposed using congressional investigations and potential prosecutions to frighten young people away from serving in a Republican administration,” Fox News reported.
“The complaint asks the committee to determine whether Slotkin’s comments amounted to ‘improper conduct which may reflect upon the Senate,’ a standard described in the Senate Ethics Manual as applying to conduct that may be unethical even if it does not violate a specific law or Senate rule,” the outlet reported.
Speaking Oct. 13 at the University of Chicago’s Institute of Politics, the Michigan Democrat said potential legal problems should be a deterrent against working for Trump…
The comments drew widespread criticism as a threat to young conservative graduates looking to work in government, as well as complaints the sentiments were akin to “Bolshevik tactics.”
Multiple counties in the state of Illinois are now looking to break away from the state because they are tired of being ruled over by the corrupt Democrat city of Chicago. Who can blame them?
This is the exact same thing that has been brewing in the state of Oregon for a few years now. Voters there are tired of the insane, left wing politics of Portland ruling the state.
In this case, a group called Illinois Separation is driving the idea.
Frustrated Illinois residents seek to redraw state map in bid to break free from Chicago
Frustrated Illinois residents are pushing to break away from Chicago and form a new state, driven by what the movement’s leader calls growing resentment over the city’s influence on the rest of Illinois.
Loret Newlin, director of Illinois Separation, which is leading the push to let voters weigh in on breaking away from Cook County and forming a new state, told Fox News Digital that residents outside the Chicago area are being ignored by state government and want to change that.
“Our area is not taken into consideration when laws are being made,” Newlin said. “There’s definitely more focus on them, and the laws are centered to benefit Chicago and Cook [County].”
“There is a lot of area outside of Cook that should have been taken into consideration,” she said.
Newlin said that 11 counties and several townships in Illinois will vote on a non-binding referendum in November that asks residents if they’d be interested in separating from Cook County to form a new state.
The referendums are intended to gauge whether voters want to pursue forming a separate state made up of Illinois counties outside Cook County. The effort draws on a process outlined in Article IV, Section 3 of the U.S. Constitution, the same provision invoked when West Virginia became a state in 1863.
See the video report below:
Growing Illinois Separation Movement Seeks Creation of New State Without Chicago
A grassroots political initiative aiming to split Illinois into two separate states is continuing to build momentum as more local jurisdictions prepare to vote on the measure. Organized by the group… pic.twitter.com/n3UdsbNJ36
Chris Cuomo, formerly of CNN and now with NewsNation, recently ran into a black man in Detroit who is voting for Republican Mike Rogers and when he explained why it made perfect sense.
At this point, it’s probably safe to say that Abdul El-Sayed’s black voter problem in Michigan is real.
It seems like every week, there is another media interview with a black voter from Michigan saying that they are voting for Mike Rogers. And the thing is, Rogers does not even have to win all of the black vote. If he takes merely 30 percent of it, that is probably going to be enough to win the race.
Chris Cuomo gets a stunning reality check after asking a Black voter in Detroit who he’s voting for in the Senate race.
The expression on Cuomo’s face was PRICELESS as Anton Daniels revealed he was voting for Republican Mike Rogers.
To add insult to injury, Daniels then dropped a brutal truth bomb about the Democrat Party and the Black voters running away from it.
CUOMO: “Do you believe people may be wrong if they assume that all Black voters will vote for El-Sayed because he’s considered another brown guy?”
DANIELS: “I think that they are. And the reason that I think that it is because it’s a lot of Black people that are waking up and realizing that voting Democrat does not necessarily mean that it aligns with your values.”
Watch the video below:
Chris Cuomo gets a stunning reality check after asking a Black voter in Detroit who he’s voting for in the Senate race.
The expression on Cuomo’s face was PRICELESS as Anton Daniels revealed he was voting for Republican Mike Rogers.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Holocaust museum.
Elections are taking place in Israel today and results are starting to come in.
This is the first national election since the October 7, 2023 Hamas attacks.
The exit polls show no clear winner.
Benjamin Netanyahu’s bloc is projected to win 65 seats in the Knesset, leading all other candidates. 61 seats are needed for a majority in the 120 seat legislative body.
Benjamin Netanyahu’s bloc is now projected to cross the majority mark, according to the latest vote count projections
With 11.1% of votes counted, the twist could change Israel’s political equation.
@grok explain how Netanyahu’s bloc could secure a majority while the opposition struggles to form a government
French soccer superstar Kylian Mbappé has issued a groveling apology to China after apparently communist dictator Mao Zedong as a “dictator.”
The Real Madrid forward is widely regarded as among the best footballers in the world and remains one of the world’s highest-paid athletes.
However, he found himself at the center of a furious backlash after footage circulated online showing him discussing an internet meme depicting his face superimposed onto Mao’s body.
Asked about the funniest meme he had seen of himself, Mbappé referred to an image of “some guy… I think he’s a Chinese dictator.”
The remark provoked outrage in communist China, where criticism and mockery of Mao is essentially illegal.
The apology followed an immediate commercial backlash.
Three major Chinese companies, beverage manufacturer Dongpeng, dairy giant Mengniu and food producer Shanghai Milkground, announced they were terminating their partnerships with the French captain.
Two major Chinese brands have dropped Kylian Mbappé after a video appeared to show him calling Mao Zedong a “Chinese dictator.”
Drinks giant Dongpeng and dairy producer Mengniu terminated their sponsorship deals, accusing the French football star of offending Chinese national… pic.twitter.com/nqfqZWc23r
China’s state television also suspended broadcasts involving Mbappé and Spain’s La Liga.
Even La Liga president Javier Tebas joined the apologies, expressing regret over the controversy and promising to work with Chinese partners to repair relations.
The extraordinary response is especially despicable given Mao’s historical record.
Mao ruled China from 1949 until his death in 1976, overseeing the disastrous Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution.
His policies killed tens of millions of people through famine, persecution and political violence, making him one of the deadliest rulers of the 20th century.
Yet describing him as a dictator was enough to threaten Mbappé’s lucrative commercial relationships in the Chinese market.
Despite his willingness to apologize for Mao, Mbappe is known for his left-wing activism and previously urged French people to vote against right-wing presidential candidate Marine Le Pen.
The federal judge overseeing the DOJ’s case against California and the effort to force the state to remove 20,000 ballots given to non-citizens, issued DOJ attorneys a warning on Tuesday during a hearing.
The Justice Department recently sued California and Los Angeles County over 20,000 suspected non-citizens registered to vote who have already been mailed ballots.
On Monday, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed the Justice Department’s emergency appeal to remove 20,000 ballots given to non-citizens in California.
A three-judge panel ruled 2-1 that they lacked jurisdiction over the appeal because the lower court did not have adequate opportunity to consider the DOJ’s application for a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO).
The three judges included: Majority: Mark Bennett (Trump) Gabriel Sanchez (Biden) – Dissent: Patrick Bumatay (Trump).
On Monday, the Ninth Circuit Court denied the government’s appeal because the DOJ improperly skipped over the district court judge so the DOJ was forced to attend a hearing on Tuesday with Judge David Carter.
On Tuesday evening, US District Judge David Carter, a Clinton appointee, warned First Assistant US Attorney Bill Essayli and told that it would be wise that “any threats” to California elected employees “cease immediately.”
Bill Essayli previously threatened California elections officials with legal consequences if they unlawfully tabulated ballots.
“Under 18 U.S.C. §§ 611 and 2, officials who knowingly tabulate unlawful ballots risk aiding and abetting a federal offense. The Justice Department urges the County and the Secretary of State to temporarily segregate the flagged ballots pending citizenship verification or face legal consequences,” Bill Essayli said.
Judge Carter said he will issue a ruling on Wednesday.
UPDATE: Judge Carter ends his hearing with a warning to DOJ:
“This court believes it would be wise that any threats to state and county elected employees cease immediately. Good night.”
He will issue a formal ruling tomorrow but appears to be rejecting DOJ’s emergency efforts.
RINO Lisa Murkowski showed her true colors and endorsed the Democratic candidate in the 2026 race for Alaska Governor.
Three Republicans are running against the Democrat in Alaska’s rigged ranked-choice voting system.
Trump has endorsed Republican Bernadette Wilson to replace Governor Mike Dunleavy:
So, Never-Trump RINO Lisa Murkowski came out with an endorsement for the only Democrat in the race, Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins.
“Alaskans do not believe that we are on the right track, and they have expressed that dissatisfaction, and it is on issues across the board, and I think it is clear that Alaskans are seeking change,” Murkowski told Rebecca Palsha of Alaska’s News Source on Tuesday.
“I am announcing my endorsement of Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins. JKT is a young Alaskan with a view and a perspective that I think Alaska needs right now, a freshness of energy a common sense guy who has a known ability to be working together.”
“And if anybody has followed my politics, they know that I commit to working together in a very bipartisan way. I want to be building things, shaping direction, but building things rather than than halting or putting barriers in the way, and I think JKT brings that vision of cooperation and collaboration and a willingness to listen to the views of others,” she continued.
“I like the fact that he has advertised that he’s going to be drawing in individuals from the Republican Party, from the Democrats, to the Independents, to be part of his cabinet, that he’s going to be soliciting those views, and I think we need that at this point in time. We need a governor who’s going to work with the legislature. That has got to happen in order for the delegation to be successful back in Washington, D.C.”
She added, “I would just ask as-as an ending that wherever your views are, make sure that you are voting. That-that is where we fail one another, not in the choice that we make, but we fail one another when we don’t participate in this important process, so get out and vote.”
WATCH:
Likewise, Murkowski recently attacked Trump after the Department of Justice sued to block certification of Alaska’s Senate race if the Democrats’ decoy, Daniel J. Sullivan, causes incumbent Senator Dan S. Sullivan to lose.
“The State of Alaska has already handled this by clearly distinguishing the candidates on this year’s ballot,” she said. “The Department of Justice should never have filed this lawsuit.”
She apparently wants Democrat Mary Peltola, whom she previously endorsed for the US House against current Rep. Nick Begich in 2024, to win.
DHS Provides 22,000 Illegal Voters on California’s Voter Roll and LA Samples 200
Over the weekend, the DOJ and California traded statements on the 22,000 names the DOJ provided to California that the DOJ claimed were non-residents on the voter rolls.
In their rebuttal to the DOJ, the Registrar’s Office in LA inadvertently claimed that in their “sample” of 200 names from the 22,000 illegals ion California’s voter rolls, almost 30 percent had voted before.
JUST IN: President Trump confirms there could be up to ONE MILLION NONCITIZEN VOTES that must be sequestered
“In Los Angeles, they have 20,000 votes, and it could be as high as a million votes. The 20,000 is just a little bit, and that had to do with the past election, not this current election.”
This is insane.
1 vote, 20,000 votes, 1 million votes, EVERY VOTE from a noncitizen cancels out American citizens
DHS Shows that All Individuals on LA’s “sample” list of 200 Were Born Outside the US, Contrary to LA’s Reporting
Today there was a hearing from the original case regarding the request to set aside these ballots.
In the hearing the DHS nuked LA and confirmed that based on evidence, all of the individuals that LA claimed were born in America in its sample (38 percent of LA’s 200 record sample) were born abroad.
WOW. Trump DHS in court just NUKED Los Angeles County’s claim that “38.9%” of 200 sampled names on the 20,930 noncitizen voter list were born in the US
**ZERO were born in the United States** as declared under penalty of PERJURY by USCIS Fraud Detection Chief Nicolas Bartell, after checking the actual federal immigration files of LA County’s 200-voter sample
“After a thorough review of the immigration records of all the individuals on the County’s Sample List, it was determined that none of the individuals USCIS matched to the County’s Sample List were born in the United States according to USCIS records.”
And so THERE IT IS. LA is wrong because they DO NOT ACTUALLY CHECK, they just take fraudsters’ word for it!
51 of those foreign-born individuals simply LIED on California’s honor-system voter rolls by claiming they were born in America — and LA County took their word for it to smear the DOJ’s investigation!
Out of the 200 names, USCIS found only 4 who might even have a derivative citizenship claim and 1 who is dead.
California’s narrative just collapsed in federal court!
In Tuesday’s hearing, the DOJ also listed its steps in deriving the list of 22,000 illegal voters in California’s voter rolls.
NEW: In a new filing, a DHS official under penalty of perjury goes into much more detail about how the Trump admin arrived at its suspected list of 20k non-citizen voters in CA. Some of the steps in order:
-DOJ got CA voter rolls with name, address, DOB or age, phone number, voter history, etc.
-Feds “enhanced” that data using Lexis Nexis Accurint
-Enhanced data is compared to USCIS Alien number
-Matches of possible non citizens then screened against SS data to remove people who can be citizens or deceased
-USCIS then reviews possible matches of non citizens and assigns a confidence level based on “multifield” evidence
-Then, FNDS investigators separately manually review matches to determine which are believed to be aliens
The Oromo Liberation Army is an Oromo nationalist insurgent group fighting Ethiopia’s federal government. Photo: OLA.
Heavy fighting erupted between Ethiopian government forces and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) in Chila, in Tigray’s Central Zone, on October 25 and 26. Residents reported artillery fire and drone strikes, while the TPLF said a drone strike killed seven young people working as traditional gold miners.
The pro-government Tigray Peace Force said senior TPLF commander Maj. Gen. Yohannes Woldegiyorgis, known as John Medid, was in government custody but did not explain when or how he was taken.
The clashes came three weeks after federal forces recaptured Mekelle, Tigray’s capital, and days after a TPLF commander ordered his fighters to keep resisting government-backed forces. Separately, the Oromia regional administration accused the TPLF and Eritrea of responsibility for attacks that killed at least 60 Orthodox Christians in Arsi Zone on October 20 and 24.
Ethiopia’s conflicts have roots in the end of nearly three decades of TPLF dominance. From 1991 to 2018, the group controlled the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), the ruling coalition that replaced the Marxist Derg regime. Protests in Oromia and Amhara brought Abiy Ahmed to power as prime minister in April 2018. That year, he ended the two-decade stalemate with Eritrea following the 1998–2000 border war, earning the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize.
On December 1, 2019, Abiy replaced the EPRDF with the Prosperity Party. The TPLF refused to join, retreated to Tigray, and held regional elections on September 9, 2020, defying a federal postponement. Addis Ababa declared the vote invalid.
On November 4, 2020, Abiy ordered a military campaign against the TPLF after accusing its forces of attacking a federal military base. Eritrean troops and Amhara militias, including Fano, fought alongside government forces. The two-year war ended with the November 2, 2022, Pretoria Agreement, which required Tigrayan forces to disarm and provided for an interim administration.
Other conflicts persisted or emerged. The Oromo Liberation Army had been fighting the government in Oromia since 2018. Fano, sidelined by the peace deal, launched a rebellion in Amhara in April 2023. The TPLF later split into rival factions and clashed with federal forces in early 2026.
On September 20, 2026, seven armed and opposition groups announced the Ethiopian Peoples’ Forces Alliance for Survival, seeking to replace Abiy’s government with an inclusive transitional administration. Its founding declaration, translated by Martin Plaut, accuses the government of seeking to destroy Ethiopia’s peoples and urges other political and civic organizations to join. The alliance says a transitional government would end the wars, protect rights and open a national dialogue.
The alliance’s seven announced founding members are the Amhara Fano National Movement, TPLF, Oromo Liberation Army (OLA), Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF), Afar Revolutionary Democratic Unity Front, also known as Ugugumo, Benishangul Peoples’ Liberation Movement and Gumuz Peoples’ Democratic Movement. The Sidama National Liberation Front announced on September 25 that it would join.
Some groups’ participation is disputed. According to conflict monitor ACLED, the Gumuz group denied joining and said it had no armed wing. ACLED reported that, as of September 26, only the TPLF, Fano and Ugugumo were actively fighting federal forces.
The ONLF, an ethnic Somali movement in the Ogaden, is divided over the alliance. Its Jigjiga-based leadership denied joining, saying a rival faction led by Abdirahman Mohamed Sheik Mahdi used its name without authorization.
The coalition brings together former enemies, including Fano and the TPLF. As Al Jazeera noted, it unites groups excluded from Pretoria with one of the agreement’s signatories.
The TPLF says the Pretoria Agreement was never implemented and demands that Amhara forces and Eritrean soldiers withdraw from Tigray before it disarms. The cancellation of its registration in May 2025 barred the party from the June 2026 elections. In April 2026, the TPLF moved to restore pre-war governing structures, sidelining the interim administration established under Pretoria. Led by Debretsion Gebremichael, the party describes the current fighting as a defensive war.
Fano’s grievances include exclusion from the Pretoria talks, Abiy’s plan to dismantle regional special forces, and decades of what Amhara activists describe as marginalization. The Amhara nationalist militia movement also claims Wolkait, Tegede, Humera and Raya, districts it says the TPLF annexed to Tigray. Its principal factions merged in January 2026 into the Amhara Fano National Movement under Zemene Kassie, who read the alliance’s founding statement on Tigrai television and serves as the alliance’s first chair.
The OLA split from the Oromo Liberation Front, a political party, in 2018 after refusing to disarm. Ethiopia’s parliament designated it a terrorist organization in May 2021 under the name “Shene.” Led by Kumsa Diriba, known as Jaal Marroo, the insurgency seeks greater autonomy and recognition of Oromo identity.
Ugugumo has advanced into Afar alongside Tigrayan forces, with fighting reported along the Tigray-Afar border and around Erebti and Abala.
Fighting between the TPLF and federal forces resumed on September 23, three days after the alliance was announced. Alliance forces attacked government positions across Tigray, Amhara and Afar. The government deployed the Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF), federal police and air power, including drones.
Federal forces are also backed by the Tigray Peace Force. The Rift Valley Institute describes the pro-government militia as formed in 2025 by fighters dissatisfied with TPLF rule, with tacit federal backing. It is aligned with Getachew Reda, the TPLF’s former chief negotiator at Pretoria, who now advises Abiy. Amhara militias holding Western Tigray, including the Tekeze Guard, also fought alongside the federal army near Humera in August 2026.
Federal forces and the Tigray Peace Force retook Mekelle on October 4 after the TPLF withdrew. They subsequently took Adwa and Adigrat without a fight and entered Aksum. On October 16, the federal government suspended Tigray’s interim administration and appointed a caretaker government after declaring the TPLF’s defeat.
The war has also reshaped regional alliances. Eritrea fought alongside Abiy’s forces in 2020–2022 but now faces Ethiopian accusations of supporting the TPLF. On October 8, Ethiopian Foreign Minister Gedion Timothewos accused Eritrea of sending troops 60 kilometers (37 miles) into Tigray and appealed to the U.N. Security Council. ACLED later reported Eritrean troops withdrawing through Zalambessa. Eritrea denies backing the TPLF and severed diplomatic ties after Ethiopia closed its embassy in Asmara and expelled 10 Eritrean diplomats.
ENDF Chief of Staff Field Marshal Birhanu Jula has accused Eritrea, Sudan and Egypt of backing the alliance. All three deny the allegation. Sudan’s army-led government, in turn, accuses Ethiopia of supporting the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in Sudan’s civil war.
Regional tensions also center on Abiy’s pursuit of sovereign sea access, including through Eritrea’s port of Assab, for which he has not ruled out force. Egypt’s dispute with Ethiopia over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) on the Blue Nile adds to the friction. On October 4, Egypt, Eritrea, Somalia and Sudan issued a joint declaration at El Alamein asserting that Red Sea governance is the exclusive responsibility of coastal states.
The United States warned the TPLF against continuing its offensive on September 23. In an October 14 call, Secretary of State Marco Rubio told Abiy that Horn of Africa countries must respect their neighbors’ sovereignty and territorial integrity and avoid cross-border incursions. Six Democratic senators criticized the administration for allowing Tigray-related human rights sanctions under Executive Order 14046 to expire and urged the State Department to press all parties to resume mediation.
The Massachusetts COVID-conscious lesbian bar is closing. RIP Last Ditch, you gave us the best story of the year
pic.twitter.com/Aqwc0tdACR
Benjamin Netanyahu’s bloc is now projected to cross the majority mark, according to the latest vote count projections
@grok explain how Netanyahu’s bloc could secure a majority while the opposition struggles to form a government
**ZERO were born in the United States** as declared under penalty of PERJURY by USCIS Fraud Detection Chief Nicolas Bartell, after checking the actual federal immigration files of LA County’s 200-voter sample
