Good morning, everyone. I hope your day is starting better than mine. I am sick this morning and swimming in brain fog, so forgive any typos, but the news does not slow down for anyone.

Today is a major day for health care: the Senate will hold votes on extending ACA subsidies, yet both measures are widely expected to fail. The reason is simple. Republicans are locked in a bitter internal battle over which proposal to support, Trump refuses to endorse any plan, and Americans are just days away from massive premium spikes. At the same time, Senate Democrats are demanding an independent third-party audit of the Epstein files, and Trump is reportedly furious that Senate Republicans still cannot confirm his nominees. Just another day in Washington.

On my end, I want to highlight something even more alarming. Censorship is reaching an all-time high. TikTok removed one of my videos overnight, the one where I explained DHS’s plan to require foreign tourists to disclose their social media history. And today we learned that Meta is restricting abortion access information and LGBTQ+ content across its platforms. This is real, it is accelerating, and it is exactly why I am here on Substack. This space is my primary platform because it is one of the few places where our work cannot be quietly throttled or erased.

If you value this reporting and want to help me keep doing it, make sure to subscribe. I cannot fight this alone, and your support truly makes all the difference.

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Here’s what you missed:

  • There is currently deep GOP infighting over competing health-care plans as the Senate prepares to vote on dueling, almost certainly doomed proposals—Democrats united behind a three-year extension of enhanced Obamacare subsidies, while Republicans remain split over a rival HSA-focused plan from Sens. Cassidy and Crapo—prompting discharge petitions in the House, mixed signals from the White House on using reconciliation, and mounting pressure on leadership amid rising premiums and growing bipartisan frustration over stalled action.
  • The Senate will vote Thursday at 11:30 a.m. ET on two competing health-care proposals: a GOP plan centered on expanding health savings accounts and a Democratic plan to extend Obamacare subsidies for three years, each requiring 60 votes to advance but both expected to fail in their initial test votes.
  • Donald Trump is furious this morning as hundreds of Trump nominees remain stuck pending a vote in the United States Senate. He has now called on the United States Senate to get rid of the “blue slip process.” A “blue slip” is a long-standing Senate tradition in which home-state senators signal support or opposition to a federal judicial or U.S. Attorney nominee by returning a blue form, and while a positive slip helps a nomination advance, withholding or objecting can effectively block it, making the practice a powerful—and often controversial—tool of senatorial courtesy that varies in enforcement depending on the Judiciary Committee chair.
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  • Survivors of Jeffrey Epstein’s abuse and Senate Democrats are pushing for an independent audit of Epstein case files before their mandated public release next week, citing fears the records may have been “tampered with,” altered, or selectively scrubbed—concerns heightened by allegations that Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel ordered a massive review to flag references to Donald Trump and other high-profile figures, prompting lawmakers to demand verification of the files’ chain of custody and a full public accounting from the Justice Department inspector general.
  • Lawmakers and Venezuelan officials criticized the US seizure of an oil tanker off Venezuela, warning it could spark a dangerous escalation. Senators Rand Paul and Chris Coons said the action resembled steps toward war. Venezuela called it “international piracy” and claimed the US is targeting its natural resources.
  • A report from the New York Times claims Barron Trump privately admires and has spoken with influencer Andrew Tate—who faces rape and trafficking charges—and that their connection stems from a mutual associate, raising questions as several Tate allies have appeared around Trump’s new administration, though all involved deny wrongdoing and the Tates deny all charges.
  • A growing effort to force Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem out of her position is reportedly being fueled by supporters of Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan, who insiders say is unhappy he doesn’t have the prominence he expected under the new administration. Noem’s allies claim Homan’s camp is orchestrating pressure against her, framing the conflict as a clash of egos and influence within Trump’s immigration team.
  • The Department of Homeland Security has signed a nearly $140 million contract to buy six Boeing 737s for deportation flights—funded through the $170 billion Congress approved for Trump’s border agenda—with officials saying the new fleet will cut costs and accelerate Trump’s promise of mass removals; the move follows earlier, abandoned attempts to acquire additional planes and comes amid soaring deportation operations, disputed DHS claims of mass “self-deportations,” and criticism that many immigrants detained or removed have no criminal record.
  • A CNN investigation found that the Pentagon never carried out a standard damage assessment after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth shared classified strike plans in a Signal group chat, in part because Hegseth did not authorize the review; instead, he focused on hunting suspected leakers within his staff, even threatening polygraphs, while multiple current and former officials say the disclosure should have triggered an immediate assessment to determine national security risks, especially given an inspector general report concluding his actions violated DoD rules and involved material marked SECRET//NOFORN.
  • Donald Trump launched a program allowing wealthy foreign individuals to buy US residency for $1m, with a $5m “platinum” path. He described it as a fast track to citizenship for qualified applicants. Trump said it would help US companies retain valuable international talent.
  • The Guardian has confirmed that Meta has removed or restricted more than 50 global accounts belonging to abortion-access organizations, queer groups, and reproductive-health nonprofits since October—actions campaigners describe as an unprecedented wave of censorship—despite Meta denying any policy shift; affected groups report bans on abortion hotlines, shadow-banning of sexual-health content, and takedowns of even non-explicit educational posts.
  • The Federal Reserve cut interest rates by a quarter point for the third time this year. The move exposed divisions within the central bank over the best approach to managing the US economy. Some officials favored more easing, while others urged restraint.
  • The US House passed a $900 billion defense policy bill with wide bipartisan support. The measure funds major military programs, increases troop pay, and reforms how the Pentagon purchases weapons. It stands as one of the largest annual defense authorizations in US history.
  • Washington’s governor declared a statewide emergency after an atmospheric river unleashed heavy rain. The storm caused mudslides, road washouts, and widespread flooding. Emergency crews responded to significant damage across the region.
  • A Democratic senator called for an investigation into possible insider trading by LNG billionaires connected to the Trump administration. Their large share purchases came days after meeting senior Trump officials. The timing prompted concerns about access to privileged information.
  • A national survey from the Guardianca found that ICE crackdowns have increased fear and bullying among immigrant students in US schools. Principals reported more absenteeism and emotional distress linked to deportation raids. Many schools said they lack resources to support affected students.
  • Former University of Michigan head football coach Sherrone Moore was arrested and jailed hours after being fired for engaging in an inappropriate relationship with a staff member, with police confirming they are investigating an alleged assault tied to the incident; details of the charges have not been released.

    • Good news:

  • Once declared Extinct in the Wild, the scimitar-horned oryx is now thriving again in the Sahara thanks to decades of captive breeding by zoos, private ranchers, and conservation programs, with reintroduced herds in Chad, Tunisia, and Morocco growing from zero to roughly 600 genetically diverse animals; this remarkable recovery was made possible by early rescue efforts in Texas, the meticulous global studbook maintained at Marwell in the UK, and coordinated international releases beginning in 2016 that have transformed the species from a conservation loss into an “Endangered” success story.
  • Danish scientists discovered a tiny genetic switch that allows plants to accept nitrogen-fixing bacteria instead of fighting them, a breakthrough that could one day let major cereal crops like wheat, barley, and maize fertilize themselves; by altering just two amino acids in a root receptor protein, researchers turned an immune-response signal into a symbiotic one, successfully enabling nitrogen fixation in laboratory barley—a development that could dramatically cut global fertilizer use, energy consumption, and emissions if extended to other staple crops.
  • A British engineer repurposed the lithium-ion batteries from 500 discarded disposable vapes to build a 2.5 kWh home battery pack capable of powering his entire house for eight hours, showcasing the wastefulness of single-use vapes and the value of reused components; after months of collecting, testing, and wiring the cells into a safe, fused, 3D-printed system, he documented the process in a viral video and now plans to integrate solar charging—demonstrating how e-waste can be transformed into practical clean-energy solutions.

    • See you soon.

    — Aaron