Good morning, everyone. We have a huge and incredibly important day ahead. This morning, I’m tracking a major development on the world stage: the United States has been officially downgraded in its civic freedom rating due to the increasingly repressive actions of this Administration. This is a serious marker of where our democracy stands right now.
In just a couple of hours, I’ll be speaking with two U.S. citizens who were detained by ICE. Their stories are powerful, heartbreaking, and absolutely essential to understanding what is happening in our country. That interview will be published around 12:30 PM EST, and you will not want to miss it.
Later today, I’ll have an evening update for you, and tonight I’m closely following a pivotal election in Miami, Florida. For the first time in decades, Democrats have a real chance to flip the mayor’s office in one of the nation’s most politically symbolic cities.
Some of you have messaged saying I look exhausted or burnt out. The truth is, days like today fuel me. Sharing the stories of people who are being targeted, silenced, or oppressed by our systems is exactly why I do this work. I will not stop—no matter who wants me to or who tries to intimidate me. We are building something bigger, more honest, and more powerful than the forces trying to suppress us. And we are building it together.
If you believe in this work, subscribe and support it. It matters now more than ever.
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Here’s the news:
Civicus downgraded the United States’ civic space rating from “narrowed” to “obstructed,” citing a sharp erosion of fundamental freedoms under a year of Trump-era actions—including militarized crackdowns on protests, expanded ICE deployments, restrictive laws, surveillance and harassment of civil society, suppression of campus speech, pressure on journalists, threats to revoke broadcast licenses, lawsuits against media outlets, defunding of NPR and PBS, and the launch of a government-run propaganda outlet—warning that these developments reflect a systematic attempt to weaken dissent, undermine independent media, and restrict civic participation across the country.
Trump told Politico that Europe is a “decaying” bloc led by “weak” leaders who mishandle migration, praising Hungary and Poland’s stricter approach while criticizing broader EU policies and saying he’s willing to back hard-line European politicians like Viktor Orbán.
Miami’s long-held Republican mayoralty is up for grabs as Democrat Eileen Higgins faces Republican Emilio González in a nationally watched runoff, with both parties pouring in resources amid shifting Hispanic voting patterns; Higgins highlights affordability and infrastructure reforms while González emphasizes experience and GOP immigration and tax positions, making the race a high-stakes test of political momentum ahead of next year’s midterms.
The New York Times has confirmed that Honduras issued an international arrest warrant for former President Juan Orlando Hernández shortly after his release from U.S. prison under a Trump pardon, accusing him of money laundering and fraud tied to a scheme that siphoned public anti-poverty funds, a move that has intensified political tensions and drawn bipartisan criticism in the U.S. over Trump’s decision to free the convicted drug trafficker.
Paramount CEO David Ellison has launched a hostile takeover bid for Warner Bros. Discovery after his $77.9 billion offer was sidelined in favor of Netflix, and, according to new WSJ reporting, Ellison privately assured Trump administration officials that if he acquired Warner he would overhaul CNN—while Trump has told allies he wants new ownership of the network and changes to its programming.
Trump blamed stalled U.S. attorney nominations on GOP senators who continue to honor the Senate’s “blue slip” tradition after Alina Habba resigned as New Jersey’s top federal prosecutor when a court ruled she had been unlawfully serving, criticizing Republicans like Sen. Chuck Grassley for enabling Democrats to block his nominees, while multiple Trump-aligned U.S. attorneys face similar disqualifications and related cases—including those involving James Comey and Letitia James—hang in legal limbo.
Trump has reversed Biden-era export restrictions and authorized Nvidia to sell its powerful H200 AI chips to “approved” buyers in China—part of a broader plan to let major US chipmakers resume business there while the government takes a financial cut—despite bipartisan concerns that the sales could bolster Chinese surveillance and military capabilities; the move follows intense lobbying from Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and raises legal and national-security questions even as Nvidia and the White House tout it as beneficial for US jobs and industry.
Senior Trump officials including defense secretary Pete Hegseth, secretary of state Marco Rubio and joint chiefs chair Gen Dan Caine are set to brief the bipartisan “Gang of Eight,” according to The Guardian. The meeting comes as tensions with Venezuela rise and Trump threatens land strikes after months of lethal maritime operations. The briefings follow growing scrutiny of US attacks on suspected drug boats that have killed nearly 90 people, including a disputed second strike on unarmed shipwreck survivors, prompting legal concerns and congressional efforts to obtain unedited military footage.
NBC News has confirmed, Japan inspected nuclear sites after a 7.5-magnitude earthquake off Hokkaido, with officials warning of strong aftershocks and even a possible larger quake; while no abnormalities were found at Fukushima, about 120 gallons of water spilled at a nuclear-fuel plant near the epicenter, fires and structural damage were reported, tsunami alerts were lifted, transport services were disrupted, and more than 100,000 people temporarily evacuated as authorities assessed injuries and infrastructure damage.
The Trump administration is quietly drafting “day-after” plans for scenarios in which Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro is ousted, CNN reports, preparing options for stabilizing the country and filling any power vacuum even as Trump escalates military pressure and threatens further strikes; internal divisions persist over regime-change strategies, and the planning reflects both coordination with Venezuelan opposition leaders and uncertainty over how the U.S. would support or recognize a post-Maduro government.
Florida plans to execute Mark Allen Geralds, 58, on Tuesday for the 1989 stabbing death of Tressa Pettibone during a home invasion, marking the state’s record-setting 18th execution of 2025; Geralds, who confessed no further appeals, was linked to the crime through pawned jewelry with the victim’s blood and matching plastic ties, as Florida continues to lead the nation in executions with another scheduled later this month.
Australia has become the first country to impose a national minimum social-media age, requiring the ten largest platforms to block users under 16.
Good news:
A California startup called Swellcycle is producing 3D-printed surfboards made from biodegradable plant-based materials, eliminating most waste and microplastic pollution; surfers testing the boards say they’re fast, durable, and “sensational,” and the company powers its Santa Cruz factory with solar energy while partnering with major board designers to promote a more sustainable future for the sport.
A Chinese-led expedition using the Fendouzhe submersible has become the first to reach and explore the remote eastern side of the Arctic’s Gakkel Ridge—an undersea volcanic mountain chain—completing over 40 deep dives through treacherous sea ice to study geology and mysterious deep-sea life in one of the planet’s least explored environments, with samples now awaiting analysis.
A new camera-trap study in Indonesia’s Leuser ecosystem captured nearly three times more Sumatran tiger encounters than past surveys, identifying 27 individuals and revealing a robust, breeding population—evidence that dedicated protection efforts and intact provincial forests are helping one of the world’s most endangered tiger subspecies persist and thrive.
See you in a few hours.
— Aaron
