Good morning everyone. I want to begin today’s newsletter with a sincere and deeply personal thank you. You have given me the privilege of doing the best job in the world. Even on Thanksgiving, you have allowed me to show up for you, to bring clarity and coverage of the day’s events, and to share work that now reaches millions. That is an extraordinary gift, and I do not take a single moment of it for granted.
So let me say this plainly and without hesitation: thank you, from the bottom of my heart.
Donald Trump used the shooting to justify a sweeping immigration crackdown, vowing to re-examine every immigrant who entered under Biden, freezing all Afghan immigration processing (including Special Immigrant Visas), and renewing efforts to strip protections from Afghan and Somali refugees while tying the attack to what he called the nation’s “greatest national security threat.”
After two National Guard members were critically wounded in a shooting near the White House, Donald Trump labeled the attack an “act of terror,” blamed Biden-era vetting of Afghan evacuees after the suspect—29-year-old Afghan asylum recipient Rahmanullah Lakanwal—was identified, ordered reviews of all Afghan arrivals under Biden, and prompted USCIS to freeze Afghan immigration processing, while deploying additional Guard troops to DC amid legal challenges to his broader Guard mobilization.
The suspect came into the United States in 2021, applied for asylum in 2024, and was granted asylum by the Trump Administration earlier this year:
The deployment of the additional National Guard troops is in question as just last week a federal judge found the deployment of the National Guard to Washington, D.C. to be illegal as a matter of law. The federal judge delayed her ruling until mid-December, but the order has yet to be overturned.
According to the CIA, which confirmed it exclusively to Fox News, the accused DC shooter Lakanwal previously worked with multiple U.S. government entities including the CIA as part of a partner force in Kandahar; intelligence sources and CIA Director John Ratcliffe say he should never have been admitted, while the FBI investigates the attack on two West Virginia National Guardsmen near the White House as a potential act of international terrorism.
The U.S. ambassador to Canada notes that many Canadians express anger about the idea of becoming the “51st state,” and he admits he doesn’t fully understand their frustration.
Politiken reports that Denmark created a “night watch” in its foreign ministry to track Trump’s statements and actions in real time after a major diplomatic clash over Greenland, reflecting how Copenhagen has been forced to adapt to the unpredictability of Trump’s second term and prompting Danish officials to question the strength and shared values of the US–Denmark alliance.
The Guardian reports that public health advocates accuse the US Navy of withholding for nearly a year test results showing airborne plutonium above federal action thresholds at San Francisco’s contaminated Hunters Point Naval Shipyard, raising fears of a cover-up amid long-running cleanup failures, skepticism from residents and experts, and ongoing litigation over the Navy’s refusal to fully investigate or remediate widespread radioactive hazards at the site.
NBC News reports that President Emmanuel Macron launched a new voluntary national military service for 18- and 19-year-olds as part of France’s broader push to strengthen its defenses in response to rising fears about Russia, expanding military spending, boosting reservist numbers, and joining other European nations in ramping up military preparedness while stressing volunteers will not be sent to Ukraine.
21 states and D.C. are suing the Trump administration over new USDA guidance they say unlawfully blocks many lawful immigrants, including refugees and asylees, from SNAP benefits despite federal law allowing eligibility after five years, warning the policy could financially strain states and cut millions off food assistance.
Colorado officials say they will not transfer former Mesa County clerk Tina Peters to federal custody despite a request from the Trump administration, leaving her to continue serving her nine-year state sentence for orchestrating a breach of voting machine data, as the case becomes a rallying point for election conspiracy activists and sparks concerns among state clerks about federal interference.
Politico reports that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has been largely absent from high-stakes Ukraine diplomacy while instead focusing on culture-war messaging, loyalty signaling, and politicized actions that please Trump, leaving Army Secretary Dan Driscoll to lead surprise peace negotiations; despite internal concerns about Hegseth’s competence, the White House values his role in pushing Trump’s agenda, though he still faces potential fallout from an inspector general probe into a classified-information leak.
Good news:
Zach Zarembinski and Isabelle Richards, two Minnesotans who met as teenagers in adjacent hospital rooms while both were in comas from unrelated accidents, reconnected years later, fell in love, and returned to the same hospital where they first lay side by side so Zach could propose during a special recording of their podcast.
The Tule River Indian Tribe has reclaimed 17,000 acres of ancestral Sierra Nevada land and released native Tule elk to roam again, establishing a conservation corridor that supports wildlife restoration, cultural land stewardship, and environmental protection.
John Oliver auctioned off his own original Bob Ross painting along with dozens of quirky show memorabilia, raising a record 1.5 million dollars for public media, including over 1 million dollars for the Ross artwork alone.
A 10th grader in Lancaster used CPR he had learned at school to save his stepfather’s life after finding him in cardiac arrest, performing chest compressions for eight minutes until he began breathing again and earning praise from doctors who said his quick action prevented brain damage.
