daily newsletter 10/20/25

Hi there,

📚 Out former White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre got candid about her break with the Democratic Party in an interview with The Advocate's Christopher Wiggins about her new book, Independent. She also slammed the Trump administration for its continued attacks on marginalized people. “They are literally ticking off everything on [Project 2025’s] list,” she said. “They’re not hiding it. Every vulnerable community, everyone, all of us, are under attack right now by this administration.”

🏛️ A federal judge in Alexandria, Virginia, has ordered the Pentagon to restore nearly 600 books and reinstate lessons on race, gender, and identity in schools serving military families, ruling that the Trump administration’s restrictions on classroom content likely violated students’ First Amendment rights.

👀 Disgraced ex-U.S. Rep. George Santos is out of prison. But why? Here's the lowdown on why Trump commuted Santos's prison sentence.

Onward and upward,

Alex Cooper

Editor-in-Chief, The Advocate

P.S. Support The Advocate's journalism. Become a member today.

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Karine Jean-Pierre explains why her new memoir, Independent, is a manifesto for a fractured democracy

Why did Donald Trump commute George Santos' prison sentence? The proof is in the party

Federal judge orders Pentagon to restore LGBTQ+ books, gender & diversity lessons in military schools

DOJ hedges on Trump's anti-trans views while defending military ban in federal appeals court

Ohio pastor who called being gay a 'health risk' charged with child rape, sexual battery

Customs and Border Patrol says airlines may only use male and female gender markers for travelers

Overnight standoff over Houston’s rainbow crosswalks ends with arrests

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