Podcast · ms.now
Deadline: White House
Nicolle Wallace, MS NOW
Drawing on years of experience as communications chief for President George W. Bush and senior advisor for the McCain-Palin campaign, Nicolle Wallace provides political insight and clarity on where the decision-makers stand on complex issues. Join her for analysis and discussion with the key newsmakers every weekday.
172 claims
True72% confidence7 sourcesOct 20, 2026Elon Musk ordered the slowdown of a military-grade version of Starlink relied on by Ukraine.Said by 2BThe WSJ reported, citing US officials, that Musk ordered the slowdown, and Reuters, AP, The Hill, and Bloomberg all carried that report. Musk initially denied issuing the directive, but on Oct. 24 he acknowledged on X that SpaceX throttled the service, which supports the claim.Reported in the post, not stated as its own.True85% confidence6 sourcesOct 20, 2026Elon Musk is the single largest donor to the Republicans in the 2026 midterm cycle.Said by 2BAs of 2026-10-20, multiple tier1 and tier2 sources (AP, Reuters, Politico) reported Musk had become the biggest known donor to Republican groups in the 2026 midterm cycle, with at least $276 million given since July, versus the next-largest donors in later FEC-based tallies. The claim matches the post's wording; later October 30 coverage reaffirms the status, and no source contradicts it.True90% confidence5 sourcesOct 20, 2026Elon Musk threatened legal action over the documentary film Musk directed by Alex Gibney.Said by 2BMultiple reliable sources (Reuters, AP, Yahoo, France24, SF Chronicle) report that Elon Musk's attorney Alex Spiro sent Gibney's production company a formal legal notice threatening legal action over the documentary "Musk" directed by Alex Gibney. The claim's wording matches the post's passage, which refers to the film directly, and the sources' description of the film as Gibney's documentary about Musk is consistent with the claim's framing.Reported in the post, not stated as its own.True75% confidence5 sourcesOct 20, 2026Elon Musk was facing civil investigations by 11 different agencies.Said by 3DMultiple sources, including a New York Times review cited by Congress and NPR and a Senate minority staff memo, report that at least 11 federal agencies had over 32 open investigations, complaints, or enforcement actions against Musk's companies, which supports the claim. The extraction faithfully reflects the passage, and the sources describe mostly civil and regulatory matters, though some actions could be criminal, so the 'civil' label is only loosely precise.True80% confidence6 sourcesOct 20, 2026Elon Musk was facing investigations by 11 different agencies and a criminal investigation into fraud at Tesla.Said by 3DThe Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations minority memo states that as of January 20, 2025, Musk and his companies faced at least 65 actions from 11 federal agencies, and multiple outlets report the same count. Reporting from AP and Reuters confirms a Justice Department criminal investigation into Tesla, including whether its self-driving claims constituted fraud. The extraction dropped the post's '32 investigations' figure, which does not change the claim graded here.True60% confidence3 sourcesOct 20, 2026Elon Musk is attempting to buy a state park in South Texas.Said by 3DAs of 2026-10-20, reporting supports the claim that Musk (through SpaceX) was trying to acquire a South Texas state park, Boca Chica State Park, though the sale was not officially confirmed and state officials disputed that a vote would come in November. The extraction is faithful to the post, which refers to Musk as "he".True90% confidence7 sourcesOct 20, 2026Elon Musk is the largest known contributor to the 2026 midterm elections.Said by AAs of October 12, 2026, AP and Reuters reported that Musk had become the biggest known donor in the midterms, ahead of the October 20 posting date. Later NYT, Al Jazeera and FEC-based coverage through November 1 keeps him at the top of the donor rankings. The claim's wording matches the post, and no source contradicts it.True93% confidence7 sourcesOct 20, 2026Elon Musk stated that he spent the weekend feeding USAID into the wood chipper.Said by 3DMusk's February 3, 2025 X post, which the sources quote directly, says "We spent the weekend feeding USAID into the wood chipper," so the claim that he stated it is supported. The post wording is "We" rather than "I", a minor difference that does not change the substance.Reported in the post, not stated as its own.True80% confidence5 sourcesSep 7, 2026The Department of Homeland Security is investigating non-citizens on voter rolls across nine states.Said by AMultiple sources confirm that DHS ran an election-related noncitizen investigation covering nine states (California, Connecticut, Georgia, Missouri, Nevada, New York, Pennsylvania, Washington, Wisconsin), and PBS says it had been underway since August, before the September 7 post. The claim does not depend on the later October court order, which restricted but did not end the operation; the extraction faithfully reflects the post's 'nine states' wording.Reported in the post, not stated as its own.True90% confidence5 sourcesSep 7, 2026North Carolina started sending out absentee ballots on September 4, 2026.Said by ANorth Carolina's county boards of elections began mailing absentee ballots on Friday, September 4, 2026, as shown by the state elections board and county election pages. The post's 'today' refers to that Friday, which the post's own '60 days until the midterms' framing corroborates, so the extraction matches the passage.True85% confidence5 sourcesSep 7, 2026Alabama will start mailing out absentee ballots on September 9, 2026.Said by AThe claim that Alabama would start mailing absentee ballots on September 9, 2026 is supported. The AP reported that Alabama would kick off its mail ballot process on Sept. 9, and the Alabama Secretary of State announced that absentee voting began that day. The extraction faithfully reflects the post, and the date follows from 'next Wednesday' given the post date of Sept. 7. The one nuance is that the state frames the start as 'absentee voting' rather than 'mailing,' but Alabama is an application-based absentee state, so this is a minor wording difference.True68% confidence5 sourcesSep 7, 2026North Carolina election officials sent the first batch of absentee ballots to more than 46,000 voters.Said by ANorth Carolina began mailing its first absentee ballots on September 4, 2026, and the more-than-46,000 figure comes from the state officials' announcement reported by The New York Times and repeated by The Hill and Raw Story. The figure traces back to that one announcement, and The Hill describes it as initially promised, so the sending is confirmed but the exact count is not independently audited.Reported in the post, not stated as its own.