“The US military carried out a follow-up strike on a suspected drug vessel operating in the Caribbean on September 2 after an initial attack did not kill everyone on board,” CNN reports.
Troy Nehls Won’t Run Again
Rep. Troy Nehls (R-TX) “announced Saturday that he will not seek reelection in next year’s midterm elections but instead focus on his family,” The Hill reports.
Axios: “Nehls joins a rapidly growing group of House members in both parties who have decided to call it quits, either to run for higher office or simply leave politics entirely.”
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How Far Can Democrats Ride the Affordability Argument?
“Aftyn Behn, the Democratic nominee for next week’s special election in a heavily Republican Tennessee congressional district, has made affordability concerns a centerpiece of her campaign messaging – mirroring the playbook of the party’s victorious candidates for governor in Virginia and New Jersey earlier this month,” CNN reports.
“Tuesday’s contest is poised to test just how far Democrats can ride that argument in a district that President Donald Trump carried by 22 points last November.”
Nations Apart
Just published: Nations Apart: How Clashing Regional Cultures Shattered America by Colin Woodard.
Our democracy has been purposefully dismantled, first in the states and now at the federal level.
Nations Apart: How Clashing Regional Cultures Shattered America
- Amazon Kindle Edition
- Woodard, Colin (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
- 364 Pages - 11/04/2025 (Publication Date) - Viking (Publisher)
A Wisconsin Race That Has Tortured Republicans
“Republicans looking to recover after bruising electoral losses in November are sharply divided over one of the next big electoral tests: a statewide judicial race in battleground Wisconsin,” Politico reports.
“Wisconsin voters will head to the polls in April to pick the state’s next Supreme Court justice for the fourth time since 2020. In the last three contests, liberal candidates have demolished the GOP-backed ones, sending conservatives — who in as recently as 2023 enjoyed a majority on the court — deep into the wilderness.”
RFK Jr. Overhauls Vaccine Access Program
“Drug companies and lawyers for patients have thought for years that the federal program for people injured by vaccines is understaffed and too slow to offer compensation. They’ve been urging Congress to overhaul it,” Politico reports.
“Now, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is considering much more dramatic changes that industry insiders and public health experts worry could threaten the availability of vaccines for the public by prompting drug companies to flee the U.S. market.”
MAGA Hunts for Unity Amid Widening Civil War
“MAGA entered the year at the apex of its power, but has become mired in its most bitter infighting since its founding by President Trump in 2015,” Axios reports.
“If the base can unite during the holidays against its perceived enemies — Democratic lawmakers branded ‘the seditious six,’ former FBI Director James Comey, the media — it might help the right turn a painful page.”
“If not, the turmoil could become a systemic problem that plagues MAGA through the midterms.”
Politico: How Trump’s base could break.
Cory Mills Used Campaign Funds to Party at Resorts
“Rep. Cory Mills (R-FL) has blown through tens of thousands of dollars given to him by donors to fund stays at beachfront resorts, casino trips, limousines, and flights on private jets,” the Washington Examiner reports.
“The reelection campaign for Mills, who faces myriad allegations ranging from domestic abuse to soliciting prostitutes, spent nearly $80,000 on fine dining, luxury lodging, private jets, and limos between February 2023 and December 2024.”
Trump Cancels Biden Orders Signed With Autopen
“President Trump said Friday he was revoking all executive orders former President Joe Biden signed with an autopen, escalating his battle with his predecessor over the use of the signature proxy device,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
Said Trump: “I am hereby canceling all Executive Orders, and anything else that was not directly signed by Crooked Joe Biden, because the people who operated the Autopen did so illegally.”
He added: “Joe Biden was not involved in the Autopen process and, if he says he was, he will be brought up on charges of perjury.”
Bets on Trump’s Brand Have Soured
“Stocks and cryptocurrencies linked to President Trump are in a deep slump, leaving some of the president’s biggest fans with steep losses,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“Shares of Trump Media & Technology Group, which operates the president’s Truth Social platform, have tumbled 75% since Trump’s inauguration. Digital “meme coins” named for Trump and first lady Melania Trump are down 86% and 99% since inauguration day, respectively. And one of the Trump family’s crypto ventures, a token called World Liberty Financial, has dropped roughly 40% since its September launch.”
Inside Trump’s Push to Make His Ballroom Bigger
New York Times: “In offering up his initial design, Mr. McCrery could not have known that Mr. Trump’s vision for the project was growing. What started as a 500-seat ballroom connected to the East Wing grew to 650 seats. Next, he wanted a 999-seat ballroom, then room for 1,350. Even as Mr. Trump assured the public in July that the ballroom would not touch the existing structure, he already had approved plans to demolish the East Wing to make way for something that could hold several thousand people.”
“The latest plan, which officials said was still preliminary, calls for a ballroom much larger than the West Wing and the Executive Mansion. Mr. Trump has said publicly that he would like a ballroom big enough to hold a crowd for a presidential inauguration.”
Trump Declares Venezuelan Airspace Closed
“President Trump warned airlines and pilots on Saturday that the airspace near Venezuela was closed, ratcheting up what his administration has characterized as a war against drug cartels,” the New York Times reports.
“As president of the United States, Mr. Trump has no authority over Venezuelan airspace. But his social media post could deter airlines from flying into and out of Venezuela and is bound to cause havoc with air travelers, further disrupting Venezuelan commerce and economic traffic.”
Washington Post: Trump says he has ordered closure of Venezuelan airspace.
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Trump’s Real Plan for Peace in Ukraine
“Three powerful businessmen—two Americans and a Russian—hunched over a laptop in Miami Beach last month, ostensibly to draw up a plan to end Russia’s long and deadly war with Ukraine,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“But the full scope of their project went much further, according to people familiar with the talks. They were privately charting a path to bring Russia’s $2 trillion economy in from the cold—with American businesses first in line to beat European competitors to the dividends.”
Lawmaker Opposes Redistricting After Trump Uses Slur
Indiana state Sen. Mike Bohacek (R) said he would oppose President Trump’s overtures to redraw the state’s congressional district lines after the president used a slur often made against people with disabilities, the Indianapolis Star reports.
Trump referred to Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) as “seriously retarded” in a Thanksgiving social media post.
Trump Pardons Honduran Ex-President
President Trump announced on Friday afternoon his intention to grant “a Full and Complete Pardon” to a former president of Honduras, Juan Orlando Hernández, who was found guilty by an American jury last year of conspiring to import cocaine into the United States in a sweeping drug case, the New York Times reports.
Trump’s Approval Rating Drops to 36%
A new Gallup poll finds President Trump’s job approval rating has fallen five percentage points to 36%, the lowest of his second term, while disapproval has risen to 60%.
His prior second-term low point in approval was a statistically similar 37% in July, and his all-time low was 34% in 2021, at the end of his first term after the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.
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