A federal judge in Hawaii has blocked President Trump's third attempt at implementing a travel ban, which was set to go into effect Wednesday.
What's next: The administration is almost certain to appeal, meaning the revised ban could again reach the U.S. Supreme Court. But for now, the block means the administration cannot deny travelers from six of the eight countries officials said were either unable or unwilling to provide the information the U.S. requested for entry.
President Trump's net worth has fallen by $600 million over the past year from $3.7 billion to $3.1 billion, according to Forbes' 400 list ranking the richest people in America. Trump, who last year was ranked as the 156th wealthiest person in the country, now falls to No. 248, tied with Snapchat founder Evan Spiegel and others.
"Most notable loser:" Forbes, which has tracked Trump's wealth since the list first debuted in 1982, called Trump this year's "most notable loser," and blamed his losses on "a tough New York real estate market...a costly lawsuit and an expensive presidential campaign."
After President Trump essentially goaded reporters into asking the question, a senior White House official told Axios that Chief of Staff John Kelly "did not receive a call" from Barack Obama after his son was killed in Afghanistan.
Be smart: Trump is doubling down on a claim that is well outside the bounds of normal political attacks, and now he's bringing his chief of staff into it. Even after all his previous attacks on Obama, this is new territory for Trump.
House Speaker Paul Ryan predicted to a Milwaukee radio station yesterday that the House will pass a tax rewrite by next month, and the Senate will approve it and send it to Trump's desk by December, The Hill reports.
Reality check: Republicans haven't introduced an actual bill yet, and Congress has a fairly full plate right now, from immigration to Iran to government funding for the rest of the year. There are 28 legislative days left in 2017.
The portion of Americans who think things are going well in the U.S. dropped from 53% in August to 46% in mid-October, according to a CNN poll conducted by SSRS between October 12-15.
Trump's approval rating is 37% now, the same as it was in late September (Gallup reports it was 37% between September 25-October 1). His disapproval rating is 57% now. 32% approve of the way Trump is dealing with Republicans in Congress.
The assertion Trump made in the Rose Garden yesterday claiming that "President Obama and other presidents, most of them didn't make calls" to the families of fallen soldiers was quickly refuted. Challenged in real time by NBC's Peter Alexander on how he could say Obama never called the families of fallen soldiers, Trump backtracked.
ABC's Jon Karl, on "World News Tonight," had rebuttals from aides to the last three presidents, shooting down Trump's false claims: "A spokesperson... said that President Obama engaged the families of the fallen and wounded warriors throughout his presidency through calls, letters, visits to Section 60 at Arlington, visits to Walter Reed, visits to Dover, and regular meetings with Gold Star families at the White House and across the country."
President Trump, asked today about clashes between Iraqi and Kurdish forces in Iraq said: "We don't like the fact that they are clashing. We're not taking sides, but we don't like the fact that they are clashing."
Why it matters: The Kurdish military accused Iranian-backed forces of ramping up the pressure on the Kurds in the region in the first place, per Newsweek. After Trump's decision to de-certify the Iran deal without fully pulling out, Tehran is likely watching the U.S. stance in the region closely. Eurasia Group President Ian Bremmer said Trump's failure to take sides in the dispute could be a "[b]ig green light" for the Iranian government to increase its influence in Iraq.
President Trump and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell held a surprise press conference following their lunch meeting at the White House Monday. Trump opened by stating, "McConnell and I have been friends for a long time. We're probably now, despite what you read, closer than ever before."
Why it matters: Trump has repeatedly attacked McConnell, both publicly and in private, for his failure to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. This press conference is an effort to show a united front heading into key legislative fights.
Sen. Thad Cochran's office announced this morning that a urinary tract infection would postpone his planned returned to Washington after a period of illness at home in Mississippi. Cochran's office said he'd be back in the Senate "when his health permits."
Why it matters: The Senate GOP wants to pass a budget resolution this week that would allow its tax plan to pass the chamber with a simple majority. However, not all Senate Republicans are publicly on board with the budget resolution yet, so Cochran's absence will make the expected vote even tighter given the GOP's slim 52-vote majority.
Austria's conservative People's Party, which is center-right but has shifted further right on immigration recently, is set to win the country's general election (at about 31% of the vote) and launch 31-year old Sebastian Kurz as the world's youngest national leader, the BBC reports.
Why it matters: This continues the global tide that produced Brexit and President Trump, and was seen just last month in Germany, with an electoral breakthrough by the far right that stunned Merkel. It also would set Austria to the right after years of centrist leaders in power.
Spending reports that were filed with the FEC Sunday reveal this sharp uptick, which accounted for more than 25% of the campaign's total spending that period, the NYT reports. The campaign and its two joint committees have spent $2.1 million on legal fees this year.
Why it matters: That coincides with the Russian interference probes' escalation, and is nearly twice as much as the campaign spent the three months before.
Apple CEO Tim Cook, Leon Panetta, Madeleine Albright, Univision CEO Randy Falco, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, New York Mayor Bill de Blasio, and Harvard President Drew Faust are among the founders of the Dream Coalition, urging Congress to protect immigrants who came here as children.
Why it matters:
Speaker Ryan has said he wants to protect "Dreamers," who face uncertainty under the Trump administration. But Congress tends to spin its wheels, and this formidable roster could help prod action.
