Good morning, everyone. We are witnessing a profound shift in the White House, on Capitol Hill, and across the world. Last night’s elections delivered another unmistakable warning shot to the administration, as voters once again moved the country to the left. Inside the West Wing and the Capitol, alarms are blaring. And instead of projecting stability, Trump rattled allies by veering wildly off-script during a speech meant to focus on affordability, choosing instead to rant about “sh*thole countries.” It was a moment that underscored exactly why his grip on the narrative is slipping.
On a personal note: this morning, Politico referred to me as a journalist for the first time. I don’t do this for validation, but it is a meaningful proof point that the work we are doing is being seen, is making an impact, and is breaking through. And for that, I am profoundly grateful.
I am not stopping—no matter who wants me to, no matter who attempts to intimidate or discredit me. We are building something larger, more honest, and more powerful than the forces trying to silence us. And we are building it together.
Republicans on Capitol Hill are once again growing increasingly nervous this morning after Democrats had another historic night in key elections in Florida, Georgia, and Iowa last night, with Democrats substantially over-performing expectations in every single race:Democrat Eileen Higgins defeated Trump-backed Republican Emilio González in Miami’s mayoral runoff, ending a 30-year Democratic losing streak in the city and signaling renewed Democratic momentum driven by affordability messaging and shifting Hispanic/Latino voter sentiment. During the last mayor’s race, the Republican incumbent won by nearly 70 points. Last night, Higgins won by 19 points, representing an 89 point swing to the left.Democrat Eric Gisler flipped a historically Republican northeast Georgia House seat in a special election, while a separate metro Atlanta race advanced to a Jan. 6 runoff between Republican Bill Fincher and Democrat Scott Sanders after neither cleared 50%. Gisler previously lost the House seat in 2024 by a 21 point margin. Last night, he won the seat by 2 points, representing a 23 point shift to the left.Republican Wendy Larson won Iowa House District 7 with 70.3% of the vote, but Democrats outperformed the district’s Trump +51 baseline by roughly 11 points as Rachel Burns secured 29.7%.In Florida’s Trump +40 State Senate District 11, Republican Ralph Massullo leads 59%–41% with 94% reporting, reflecting a roughly 22-point leftward swing compared to the district’s usual GOP margin.Democrat Rob Long won Florida House District 90 with 63.2% of the vote, defeating Maria Zack and delivering a roughly 17-point leftward swing in Palm Beach County, Trump’s home base.
Democrat Eileen Higgins defeated Trump-backed Republican Emilio González in Miami’s mayoral runoff, ending a 30-year Democratic losing streak in the city and signaling renewed Democratic momentum driven by affordability messaging and shifting Hispanic/Latino voter sentiment. During the last mayor’s race, the Republican incumbent won by nearly 70 points. Last night, Higgins won by 19 points, representing an 89 point swing to the left.
Democrat Eric Gisler flipped a historically Republican northeast Georgia House seat in a special election, while a separate metro Atlanta race advanced to a Jan. 6 runoff between Republican Bill Fincher and Democrat Scott Sanders after neither cleared 50%. Gisler previously lost the House seat in 2024 by a 21 point margin. Last night, he won the seat by 2 points, representing a 23 point shift to the left.
Republican Wendy Larson won Iowa House District 7 with 70.3% of the vote, but Democrats outperformed the district’s Trump +51 baseline by roughly 11 points as Rachel Burns secured 29.7%.
In Florida’s Trump +40 State Senate District 11, Republican Ralph Massullo leads 59%–41% with 94% reporting, reflecting a roughly 22-point leftward swing compared to the district’s usual GOP margin.
Democrat Rob Long won Florida House District 90 with 63.2% of the vote, defeating Maria Zack and delivering a roughly 17-point leftward swing in Palm Beach County, Trump’s home base.
Trump attacked The New York Times as “seditious” and “treasonous” after an op-ed questioned his health, even though the piece cited observable issues such as reduced public appearances, visible bruising, and moments where he appeared to doze off, highlighting his pattern of casting routine journalism as disloyalty while offering exaggerated claims about his workload, fitness, and accomplishments. This is an excerpt from a lengthy Truth Social post:
The Atlantic reports that President Trump is showing mounting signs of diminished stamina and cognitive lapses, including dozing off in Cabinet meetings, contradicting his own statements about the deadly September 2 boat strike video, and offering vague explanations for an October MRI, raising renewed concerns about his fitness for office given his shrinking schedule, reduced public appearances, and growing difficulty sustaining attention.
Donald Trump spent his evening in Pennsylvania at a rally in Pennsylvania’s 7th Congressional district on his first stop of an affordability tour. During the speech, Trump made many misleading and false statements, and publicly called for the removal of people from “sh*t hole countries,” despite for years denying that he ever used such language:
Trump claimed “prices are way down,” but federal data shows prices have risen during his second term, with consumer prices up 1.7% since January and 3% year over year. His assertions about dramatically cheaper Thanksgiving meals are also unsupported, as market surveys found overall holiday food costs increased.
Trump said Rep. Ilhan Omar is in the U.S. “illegally” and repeated the debunked claim that she “married her brother,” despite her documented refugee status and U.S. citizenship since 2000. He also made racist statements about Somalis and echoed old falsehoods about immigrants taking “100% of new jobs,” a claim contradicted by labor data.
Trump argued that each U.S. boat strike “saves 25,000 American lives,” but his administration has offered no evidence that the targeted vessels posed such a threat. He also repeated unfounded assertions about inflation, transgender people, Black voter support, and election fraud, none of which are supported by available data or official records.
The Pope says Donald Trump is trying to break apart the alliance between the United States and Europe.
New reporting from the New York Times shows the Trump administration’s Pentagon repeatedly sought to keep survivors of U.S. boat strikes out of the American legal system, at one point even proposing sending them to a notorious El Salvador prison, as officials scrambled internally over how to handle survivors, avoided providing evidence that targeted boats posed imminent threats, and faced growing legal scrutiny over whether the lethal anti-cartel campaign violates U.S. and international law.
CNN reports that U.S. strikes on alleged drug boats have produced survivors in three separate incidents, but the military has handled each case inconsistently, repatriating two men in October, leaving another survivor to drift until presumed dead, and killing two survivors in a controversial follow-up strike on September 2, prompting legal concerns, congressional scrutiny, and questions about whether the actions comply with the laws of armed conflict.
The Federal Reserve is expected to issue a third 0.25% rate cut this year despite a major data blackout from the prolonged government shutdown, leaving policymakers to navigate slowing labor indicators, delayed jobs and inflation reports, and added economic pressures from Trump-era tariffs.
Rep. Haley Stevens filed impeachment articles against HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., accusing him of endangering public health by halting research programs and spreading conspiracy theories, but the effort is expected to go nowhere in the GOP-controlled House and is unfolding alongside other symbolic Democratic impeachment attempts during competitive Michigan primary races.
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Rep. Shri Thanedar introduced articles of impeachment against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth over deadly U.S. strikes on alleged drug boats that Democrats say lack legal authorization or adequate justification, though the effort is viewed as symbolic given current political realities and Trump’s continued defense of Hegseth.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio ordered U.S. diplomats to abandon Calibri and return to Times New Roman, calling the previous switch a “wasteful” DEI initiative despite accessibility arguments for sans-serif fonts and continuing the administration’s broader rollback of diversity programs.
A Guardian investigation revealed that Venture Global co-chairs and major Trump donors Robert Pender and Michael Sabel purchased nearly $12 million in company stock each just days after meeting with senior Trump officials, prompting Sen. Jeff Merkley to call for an insider-trading and conflict-of-interest inquiry, especially since Energy Secretary Chris Wright approved a crucial LNG export license soon afterward.
A Reuters investigation found that federal tax prosecutions have plunged to their lowest level in decades—down more than 27 percent—as the Trump administration dismantled the Justice Department’s Tax Division, cut IRS criminal-enforcement staff by over 10 percent, reassigned remaining agents to immigration and street-patrol duties, and oversaw the departure of more than 1,000 federal prosecutors.
A nationally representative UCLA survey of more than 600 high school principals found that ICE raids and anti-immigrant rhetoric have created widespread fear, bullying, absenteeism, and family displacement among immigrant students across the United States, with majorities of principals reporting declines in learning, parents leaving communities, students fearing separation from their families, increased harassment such as “show me your papers” comments, and schools scrambling to create plans for federal agent visits or guardians’ deportations.
According to the New York Times, special counsel Jack Smith is launching a new investigations- and litigation-focused law firm with Thomas Windom, David Harbach, and Tim Heaphy, emphasizing pro bono work, per a person familiar.
Venezuelan opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner María Corina Machado could not attend the Oslo ceremony due to danger and a government travel ban, so her daughter accepted the award while Machado remained in hiding, with the event highlighting both her fight for democracy and ongoing criticism of her support for Trump’s military actions and U.S. strikes of disputed legality in the Caribbean.
WFAA reports that an 18-year-old Pasadena Memorial High School student has been charged with conspiracy to commit capital murder after police uncovered Instagram gun photos and message exchanges showing he and a 10th-grade accomplice were planning a mass shooting, with investigators tracing the threat through a witness who received alarming texts and tying the juvenile to prior online threats.
Good news:
A phase 3 trial of 126 children and teens with spinal muscular atrophy found that a single intrathecal dose of the gene therapy onasemnogene abeparvovec enabled major motor gains like standing, walking, and climbing stairs in patients previously considered untreatable, suggesting the U.S.- and EU-approved therapy could be expanded beyond infants if longer-term safety is confirmed.
A critically endangered North Atlantic right whale first sighted off Ireland in 2024 has now been identified in Boston Harbor, marking an unprecedented trans-Atlantic movement for the species and adding to a series of rare long-distance journeys that scientists say may reflect whales searching for new suitable habitat as the population slowly recovers.
Scientists have documented more than 16,000 theropod dinosaur footprints at Bolivia’s Carreras Pampas, the largest single tracksite ever recorded, offering rare insight into dinosaur movement, migration, gait, and behavior thanks to densely layered trackways preserved from the late Cretaceous.
