Washington Today

In this weekend's episode, three segments from this past week's Washington Journal. First: Gas prices around the country continue to rise as the conflict with Iran drags on. We speak with Patrick De Haan -- head of petroleum analysis for GasBuddy – about what's behind the rise in gas prices – the impact on consumers - and who been profiting. Then: The looming crisis in Social Security is forcing many Republicans to re-think the party's long-standing position against raising taxes. We'll dig into the debate with anti-tax advocate Grover Norquist - president and founder of Americans for Tax Reform - and Chuck Blahous who served as a Republican trustee of the Social Security program. Finally: A conversation with longtime consumer advocate & former Presidential candidate Ralph Nader – on his monthly publication "Capitol Hill Citizen" – and how HE'S viewing the midterm elections. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jobs report for September comes in far lower than expected. Labor Department says 29,000 jobs were added and the unemployment rate increased from 4.1 to 4.2 percent; With diesel fuel at record high prices, President Donald Trump posts, 'Europe has just agreed to release a massive amount of their heavily stocked Diesel. The process will begin immediately'; President Trump heads out again to campaign for Republican candidates, this time in Alabama, after yesterday's stops in Texas & Oklahoma. We will hear from him and Democratic Pollster John Anzalone about how things look a month out from election day; Gov. Kathy Hochul (D-NY) appoints New York Attorney General Letitia James (D) as special prosecutor in the Cornell University fraternity sexual assault case,  saying, 'In what world would the police learn from the victim that she had been literally been gang raped' and that she believed '100%' she had been raped and not elevate those allegations; New Supreme Court term starts Monday. We get a preview of two high profile cases: whether cities and states can sue energy companies for damage caused by climate change and whether laws banning AR-15 style assault weapons violates the Second Amendment; fired publisher from the military newspaper Stars & Stripes discusses the importance of a free press; a new online way to track the rebuilding of the Key Bridge in Baltimore. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

President Donald Trump heads out on the campaign trail with just over a month until election day, and is asked why he is filling the itinerary with red states where his Republican party is already strong; Senate adjourns until after the midterm elections, but not before Democrats try and fail to reverse President Trump's over $800 million in spending cuts; Veterans and lawmakers rally at Memorial Circle near Arlington National Cemetery against the building of President Trump's proposed 250-foot triumphal arch; Gov. Bill Lee (R-TN) orders a suspension of executions for the rest of the year and calls for an investigation after a failed attempt to execute a death row inmate Wednesday night by lethal injection; New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani (D) celebrates the groundbreaking of a community park project in Brooklyn, twenty years after construction was promised; NASA successfully launches SpaceX Crew 13 to the International Space Station; Sebastian Gorka, a senior White House counterterrorism adviser, speaks about Trump Administration foreign policy goals at the Nixon Foundation's 'Grand Strategy Summit'. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Senate Democrats block a Republican-drafted bill on making tech companies pay for additional electricity costs from data centers, saying it does not have enforcement provisions; Bipartisan group of Senators unveil a bill to reform energy project permitting, but by agreement it will not be debated or voted on until after the midterm elections in November; President Donald Trump announces $200 billion in South Korean investments in U.S. energy projects, including more than $50 billion in Alaska, which has a very competitive U.S. Senate race this year; Candidates in the U.S. Senate contest in Texas – Democrat James Talarico & Republican Ken Paxton – discuss immigration policy with the US Hispanic Business Council; Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth gives a 'State of the Force' address, announcing a 20% reduction in generals and admirals; Last U.S. troops leave Iraq; Louisiana, Alabama & Arkansas sue California, Massachusetts and New York over abortion medication flowing across state lines; Massachusetts Attorney General releases a report finding 'more than 270 Catholic clerics abused nearly 1,000 children across three dioceses' and 'behind every one of those numbers is a child whose safety was violated, a family that was changed forever.' Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Former Special Counsel Jack Smith tells the Senate Judiciary Committee his investigation proved 'beyond reasonable doubt' that President Donald Trump engaged in 'serious crimes,' but some Republicans on the committee accuse him of weaponizing the Justice Department when he sought records of their phone calls with the President after the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol Building; President Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson meet with the CEOs of technology companies at the White House to discuss the future, and any government or voluntary limitations, of AI (Artificial Intelligence), while the President says he will officially rename it SI (Super Intelligence) by Executive Order; Trump Administration unveils an AI-powered website, America.gov,  designed to be a one-stop-shop for dealing with the federal government and a replacement for the current tens of thousands of government websites; Trump Administration's ban on $1 billion worth of Canadian goods goes into effect, covering dairy products, alcoholic beverages and motor vehicles; Second annual Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) Summit is held in Washington, DC; New British Prime Minister Andy Burnham speaks to his first Labour Party Conference about getting the government more involved in delivering vital services to the British people. He says it's a rollback of the privatization movement of former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in the 1980's. We will talk about that, and the recent apparent foiled terror attack on a base in Great Britain used by the U.S. military, with Peter Knowles, C-SPAN's Westminster Correspondent. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices