Salem News Channel

Trump says private donor gave $130 million to cover military pay during shutdown

President Donald Trump said on Thursday that a wealthy private donor has provided $130 million to the U.S. government to cover potential shortfalls in military salaries caused by the ongoing government shutdown. Speaking at a White House event, Trump praised the wealthy donor as a patriot and a “friend of mine," but declined to name him. “He called us the other day and said, 'I'd like to contribute any shortfall you have because of the Democrat shutdown… because I love the military and I love the country,'” Trump said. The administration faces mounting pressure to ensure active-duty service members receive their paychecks despite the budget impasse. Trump previously signed an executive order directing the Pentagon to repurpose unused research funds to cover salaries. House Speaker Mike Johnson has called the military funding shift a temporary fix and warned that troops could soon miss their paychecks if Congress fails to pass a budget resolution. The U.S. federal government has been partially shut down since October 1 as lawmakers in Congress remain deadlocked over a new budget, with disputes over healthcare subsidies at the center of the impasse.

Hegseth Deploys Aircraft Carrier To U.S. Southern Command

The U.S. military is sending an aircraft carrier to the waters off South America, in the latest escalation and buildup of military forces in the region. The Pentagon spokesman said in a social media post Friday that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered the USS Gerald R. Ford and its strike group to deploy to U.S. Southern Command to “bolster U.S. capacity to detect, monitor, and disrupt illicit actors and activities that compromise the safety and prosperity of the United States." The USS Ford is currently deployed to the Mediterranean Sea along with three destroyers. It would likely take several days for the ships to make the journey to South America.

Retirees get average increase of $56 a month in 2026

More than 75 million Americans receiving Social Security and Supplemental Security Income benefits will see their monthly payments rise 2.8% in 2026, accelerating from the prior year's increase for the first time in three years. The Social Security Administration announced the annual cost-of-living adjustment to benefits on Friday, less than an hour after the Bureau of Labor Statistics published the Consumer Price Index for September, which had been delayed by more than a week by the ongoing federal government shutdown. The agency bases the annual increase, closely watched by retirees and others on benefits, on the average of the annual increase in the CPI for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, also known as the CPI-W index. That index rose 2.9% in September and for the three months of July, August and September averaged about 2.7%. The increase takes effect in January for 71 million Social Security recipients and on December 31, 2025 for nearly 7.5 million SSI beneficiaries. Some recipients receive both Social Security and SSI benefits. It was the first time the annual increase was larger than the prior year since 2023, when recipients received an 8.7% increase - the largest since 1981 - after a 5.9% increase in the prior year. For 2025, the increase was 2.5%. Inflation, which surged to the highest level in four decades as the economy emerged from the COVID-19 pandemic, moderated over 2023 and 2024, resulting in a deceleration in benefits growth. Inflation, though, has edged up over the course of this year. The more widely watched main CPI index rose 3.0% in September, up from 2.9% in August, BLS said on Friday. The Trump administration called back some furloughed BLS workers earlier this month to prepare the CPI report for September so that the Social Security increases could be announced. Publication of all other economic data releases by BLS and other statistical agencies has ceased during the shutdown.

10th U.S. Strike In Caribbean Targets Alleged Drug-Running Boat

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth says another U.S. strike in the Caribbean targeted an alleged drug-running boat operated by the Venezuelan Tren de Aragua gang, killing six people. It's the 10th strike on a vessel suspected of carrying drugs. The death toll of the Trump administration's campaign against drug cartels is up to at least 46 people. Hegseth warns the drug smugglers the U.S. will hunt them down and kill them. The pace of the strikes has quickened in recent days from one every few weeks in September when they began to three this week. Two of the strikes this week were carried out in the eastern Pacific Ocean.

New York Attorney General Letitia James Pleads Not Guilty

New York Attorney General Letitia James has pleaded not guilty to federal charges accusing her of lying on mortgage papers to secure favorable loan terms in a case pushed by President Donald Trump. James left the courthouse Friday smiling to cheers from supporters, who chanted, “We stand with Tish!” James says the case is about “a justice system which has been used as a tool of revenge." James faces bank fraud and false-statements charges in connection with a 2020 home purchase in Norfolk, Virginia. The Democrat has been a frequent target of the Republican president, especially after she won a massive civil fraud case against him.

Is There An Off Ramp To End The Government Shutdown?

Is There An Off Ramp To End The Government Shutdown? With Elizabeth Mitchell, White House correspondent for The Daily Signal.

US National Debt & Government Shutdown

Fmr. US Ambassador to Denmark Carla Sands on the Trump Administration Foreign Policy, Russia, and more

The Truth About The Left's Hate For ICE

Democrats are using all their time and energy to oppose ICE and Trump's deportations. But why do they truly hate immigration law?

Marc Farzetta Interview on the Mob, the NBA Hall of Famer, and the Downfall of Prop Betting

Making Sense of the NBA Mafia Indictments

Erdogan says U.S., others must press Israel to abide by Gaza ceasefire

Mamdani's Latest Scandal

Mike and Mark react to Mamdani's latest scandal involving connections to an alleged terrorist.

NY Attorney General Letitia James, a Trump adversary, to plead not guilty to mortgage charge

First ... 120 121 122 123 124 ... Last

Salem News Channel Today

Sponsored Links

September 26 - Phoenix, AZ
Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts

November 2 - Detroit, MI
Zion Christian Church in Troy

October 6 - Los Angeles, CA
Pasadena Convention Center

November 5 - San Antonio, TX
Norris Centers – The Grand Red Oak Ballroom

October 8 - Sacramento, CA
William Jessup University

November 7 - Tampa, FL
The Palladium at St. Pete College

October 22 - Minneapolis, MN
Crowne Plaza AiRE

November 15 - San Francisco, CA
Fremont Marriott Silicon Valley

October 23 - Philadelphia, PA
Green Valley Country Club

November 16 - Denver, CO
CU South Denver - Formerly Wildlife Experience

November 2 - Chicago, IL
Chicago Westin Northwest in Itasca

November 21 - Cleveland, OH
Holiday Inn Rockside in Independence

Salem Radio Network Speakers

Larry Elder is an American lawyer, writer, and radio and television personality who calls himself the "Sage of South Central" a district of Los Angeles, Larry says his philosophy is to entertain, inform, provoke and to hopefully uplift. His calling card is "we have a country to save" and to him this means returning to the bedrock Constitutional principles of limited government and maximum personal responsibility. Elder's iconoclastic wit and intellectual agility makes him a particularly attractive voice in a nation that seems weary of traditional racial dialogue.” – Los Angeles Times.

Mike Gallagher Mike Gallagher began his broadcasting career in 1978 in Dayton, Ohio. Today, he is one of the most listened-to talk radio show hosts in America, recently having been ranked in the Talkers Magazine “Heavy Hundred” list – the 100 most important talk radio hosts in America. Prior to being launched into national syndication in 1998, Mike hosted the morning show on WABC-AM in New York City. Today, Talkers Magazine reports that his show is heard by over 3.75 million weekly listeners. Besides his radio work, Mike is seen on Fox News Channel as an on-air contributor, frequently appearing on the cable news giant.

Hugh Hewitt is one of the nation’s leading bloggers and a genuine media revolutionary. He brings that expertise, his wit and what The New Yorker magazine calls his “amiable but relentless manner” to his nationally syndicated show each day.

When Dr. Sebastian Gorka was growing up, he listened to talk radio under his pillow with a transistor radio, dreaming that one day he would be behind the microphone. Beginning New Year’s Day 2019, he got his wish. Gorka now hosts America First every weekday afternoon 3 to 6pm ET. Gorka’s unique story works well on the radio. He is national security analyst for the Fox News Channel and author of two books: "Why We Fight" and "Defeating Jihad." His latest book releasing this fall is “War For America’s Soul.” He is uniquely qualified to fight the culture war and stand up for what is great about America, his adopted home country.

Broadcasting from his home station of KRLA in Los Angeles, the Dennis Prager Show is heard across the country. Everything in life – from politics to religion to relationships – is grist for Dennis’ mill. If it’s interesting, if it affects your life, then Dennis will be talking about it – with passion, humor, insight and wisdom.

Sean Hannity is a conservative radio and television host, and one of the original primetime hosts on the Fox News Channel, where he has appeared since 1996. Sean Hannity began his radio career at a college station in California, before moving on to markets in the Southeast and New York. Today, he’s one of the most listened to on-air voices. Hannity’s radio program went into national syndication on September 10, 2001, and airs on more than 500 stations. Talkers Magazine estimates Hannity’s weekly radio audience at 13.5 million. In 1996 he was hired as one of the original hosts on Fox News Channel. As host of several popular Fox programs, Hannity has become the highest-paid news anchor on television.

Michelle Malkin is a mother, wife, blogger, conservative syndicated columnist, longtime cable TV news commentator, and best-selling author of six books. She started her newspaper journalism career at the Los Angeles Daily News in 1992, moved to the Seattle Times in 1995, and has been penning nationally syndicated newspaper columns for Creators Syndicate since 1999. She is founder of conservative Internet start-ups Hot Air and Twitchy.com. Malkin has received numerous awards for her investigative journalism, including the Council on Governmental Ethics Laws (COGEL) national award for outstanding service for the cause of governmental ethics and leadership (1998), the Reed Irvine Accuracy in Media Award for Investigative Journalism (2006), the Heritage Foundation and Franklin Center for Government & Public Integrity's Breitbart Award for Excellence in Journalism (2013), the Center for Immigration Studies' Eugene Katz Award for Excellence in the Coverage of Immigration Award (2016), and the Manhattan Film Festival's Film Heals Award (2018). Married for 26 years and the mother of two teenage children, she lives with her family in Colorado. Follow her at michellemalkin.com. (Photo reprinted with kind permission from Peter Duke Photography.)

Sponsored by: