TURN OF THE SCREW: Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky said his military will resume attacks against Russian oil and gas facilities in defiance of President Trump’s demand that he stop. He told interviewer Piers Morgan that, “It’s a pity we are losing a partner.”

  Zelensky had paused the attacks for three days … even though Russia did not … and then the  Pentagon without notice shut down the military version of the Starlink satellite system, giving Russia the window for a ballistic  missile attack that cut power to 600,000 Ukrainians in and around Kyiv.

  Ukrainian leaders surmised that shutting the Starshield system was part of President Trump’s pressure campaign on Ukraine. Trump is blaming Ukraine for higher fuel prices … not his own war against Iran.

  Although it is Ukraine under invasion, Trump said Zelensky “wants to make problems for the world. He wants to make problems for our farmers, our ranchers, with diesel fuel.”

  Starlink also slowed its data feed for Ukraine, hampering the speed and accuracy of the drones Ukraine uses along the battle front and in attacking into Russia. Tesla billionaire Elon Musk has criticized Ukraine’s attacks on Russian energy and said in a post that, “Zelensky has gone too far.” 

ECON 101: The Consumer Price Index ticked up to 3.7 percent last month for the last inflation report before the mid-term elections, dealing a blow to Republican candidates and President Trump.

  It’s only a slight upward change from 3.4 percent in August and considerably lower from the 4.2 percent of May. But still, it’s up.

  The Bureau of Labor Statistics says it’s a dead heat between inflation and higher wages. They say that between January 2025 and September 2026, both prices and average hourly pay have risen by about 5.4 percent.

IT’S POLITICAL: Texas Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico last night delivered a master class in positive campaigning appearing in a town hall on CNN that his opponent Ken Paxton declined to attend.

  Talarico fielded difficult questions on everything from the war in Ukraine to faith, abortion, and conspiracy theories. He did not mention Paxton until the final moments when he called out his opponent for making millions while being the Texas attorney general. 

INFINITE SCROLL:

— President Trump has been busy touting how great he is for economic development before the mid-terms, announcing “a MASSIVE 21 BILLION INVESTMENT to build 2 giant new Semiconductor Manufacturing Facilities in Malta, New York,” and “the largest Energy Infrastructure Project in Alaska History— The Alaska LNG Project.” 

  On Tuesday Trump’s new Press Secretary announced what the President calls a “massive submarine repair facility” in Ohio.

  The White House investment tracker claims $11.3 trillion in foreign and domestic investment in the US during Trump’s current term, crediting the President.. Some of that figure is real, some imagined, and some of it planned before he took office. And it will not make a difference, if any, to employment and the affordability of living before next month.

MINDHUNTERS: Five homeless men have been found murdered along a walking trail through Lansing, Michigan, leading the police to believe they may have a serial killer at large.

  Four of the five were found lying face down, dead of head injuries. A fifth was stabbed and police say they have a suspect in that case.

  The trail passes public squares, playgrounds, art installations, and apartment buildings near woods with homeless encampments. Bridges over the path have been popular places to sleep.

  It was the Lansing State Journal Newspaper that brought attention to similarities in four of the killings. 

  “Do we have a serial killer in Lansing?” Police Chief Robert Backus said during a news conference. “We are looking at the idea — or the possibility — that these may be related cases.”

ANCIENT HISTORY: Archaeologists working off the coast of Turkey found a shipwreck that may be 4,700 years old, making it the oldest ever discovered. The wreck was found at a depth of around 100 feet near Kekova Island off the coast of southern Turkey.

  The big tell in the find is a number of ancient storage vessels known as amphorae,  tall ceramic jars used for shipping wine, olive oil, and other liquids. Researchers said the amphorae on the wreck were of a type used 4,400-4,700 years ago.

  The ship’s anchor and other artifacts were also indicators of its age.

THE OBIT PAGE: Former child evangelist Marjoe Gortner, who went on to become a midlist Hollywood actor, died in Santa Fe at age 82.

  Gortner was an ordained minister by the age of four and had packed his pockets with $3 million in cash donations by the time he was 14 and his father left their home, running off with the money.

  Gortner later said he never believed in God or Hell. But he returned to the circuit in his 20s because he needed the money and commissioned what became an Oscar-winning documentary about himself, “Marjoe.”

  “You go into it like a business, and you work it like a business,” he said. “I enjoy getting it off onstage, but I wish I was getting it off as a rock star. I like to think that I’m bad, but not evil. I’m a hype, but I don’t feel I’m a bad hype.”

THE SPIN RACK: Attacks on shipping, presumably by Iran, have increased in the Strait of Hormuz. Two cargo ships have been sunk. — An Open AI engineer was arrested and charged with planting a listening device in a company meeting room, an indication of the spy game in development of artificial intelligence.

BELOW THE FOLD: Joni Mitchell, the folk singer who came to prominence in the 1960s but missed appearing at Woodstock has just became a US citizen after living in the country for 60 years. 

  The Canadian born Mitchell just barely dodged ICE … by decades. “I’m a Canadian,” she told an interviewer two years ago. “I’m one of those lousy immigrants.”

-30-