Good morning, everyone! I hope you all had a great night and are gearing up for an even better day. Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays—mostly because of the food—so I’ll be spending the day in the kitchen with my wife getting everything ready. But fear not: the news never sleeps, and neither do I. On today’s menu: a major fracture shaking the House Republican caucus.
Over the next several weeks, I’ll be easing into a slower holiday pace so I can dig deeper into the chaos unfolding across the country. I’m seeing patterns—big ones—and far more of this is interconnected than most people realize. So stay tuned for a series of investigative deep dives that will connect the dots.
Let’s keep pushing, keep uncovering, and keep making history together.
Mike Johnson is at risk of losing his caucus in the House of Representatives. Under Speaker Johnson’s slim GOP majority, discharge petitions have surged, with bipartisan coalitions and especially frustrated Republicans using them five times in two years to bypass his control and force votes on widely supported bills, including releasing Epstein records, expanding Social Security payments, securing voting accommodations for new parents, sanctioning Russia, and extending health care subsidies.
The rise reflects deep dissatisfaction with Johnson’s leadership, his alignment with Trump, and a growing determination among rank-and-file members to override House leaders, aided by Democrats’ strategic use of procedural groundwork and a political environment where even majority-party lawmakers are willing to defy their own speaker to advance legislation that would otherwise be stalled.
A bloc of liberal Senate Democrats—dubbed the “Fight Club”—is openly challenging Chuck Schumer’s 2026 election strategy, accusing him and party leadership of favoring establishment candidates, resisting progressive energy, and mishandling key races, signaling unusually deep internal dissent and frustration within the Democratic caucus.
Pete Hegseth is putting out partisan tweets attacking Democratic Senator Mark Kelly suggesting that he will be court martialed:
Sen. Ruben Gallego warned that the military would face consequences if it pursued disciplinary action against Sen. Mark Kelly over a video urging troops to refuse unlawful orders, accusing Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth of cowardice, criticizing the Pentagon’s investigation as political, and insisting that service members simply follow the Constitution while politicians fight out the dispute.
Leavitt said “Not a single order this president or administration has given to our military has ever been illegal, nor will it ever be. This administration respects and abides by the law.”
CBS is reporting that after a court ruled that Lindsey Halligan was unlawfully appointed U.S. Attorney in Virginia, prosecutors were told to replace her name on case filings with that of an assistant U.S. attorney, but the instruction was abruptly reversed two hours later and they were told to keep using Halligan’s name.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy urged Americans to improve “civility” in air travel by dressing more respectfully and avoiding pajamas and slippers on flights, saying better attire encourages better behavior amid a sharp rise in in-flight disturbances since 2019.
According to CNN, a U.S. official claims Ukraine has essentially agreed to a U.S.–brokered peace deal with Russia, saying only minor details remain, while Zelensky and Ukrainian officials strike a more cautious tone—acknowledging major progress in recent Geneva and Abu Dhabi talks but stressing that further work, European support, and a future Zelensky visit to the U.S. are still needed to finalize any agreement.
NATO Ambassador Matthew Whitaker acknowledged that “there’s some truth” to criticisms that Vladimir Putin has not made any concessions in the ongoing negotiations.
Sen. Jim Justice of West Virginia agreed to pay over $5 million in back taxes shortly after the Justice Department sued him and his wife for failing to settle long-overdue federal tax debts dating back to 2009, with the settlement awaiting a judge’s approval.
Axios reports that President Trump plans to speak directly with Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro even as his administration labels Maduro a terrorist leader, signaling a shift toward diplomacy after lethal U.S. strikes on alleged drug-smuggling boats and reflecting a strategy that mixes pressure, covert operations and the threat of force with an openness to talks aimed at curbing narcotrafficking and pressuring Maduro’s regime.
Rep. Salazar said the United States would be helping itself, including its children, economy and oil industry, as well as Venezuelans seeking freedom by supporting efforts to “liberate” Venezuela.
U.S. Treasury yields edged higher as investors anticipated new inflation figures expected to show producer prices rising again, ending a short rally in government bonds and raising concerns that renewed inflation pressures could undermine expectations for future Federal Reserve interest rate cuts.
According to the Guardian, experts say the anti-fascist groups newly labeled by the U.S. as foreign terrorist organizations barely exist, pose no threat to Americans, and were designated for political reasons aimed at intimidating the left and diverting attention from rising far-right violence.
President Trump initiated calls with China’s Xi Jinping and Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi amid escalating China-Japan tensions over Taiwan, signaling stable U.S.-China relations while avoiding public commentary on Taiwan even as China condemned Japan’s recent actions and rhetoric; both Beijing and Tokyo emphasized continued communication with Washington as China ramps up military pressure and diplomatic retaliation over Taiwan.
According to NBC, a popemobile once used by the late Pope Francis has been converted into a mobile clinic intended to treat children in Gaza, with Christian leaders unveiling the vehicle in Bethlehem and expressing hope it can enter the enclave soon despite ongoing Israeli strikes and delays in aid access.
President Trump signed an executive order launching the “Genesis Mission,” a major federal initiative to accelerate U.S. artificial intelligence research by expanding computing power, opening access to vast federal datasets, and strengthening public-private partnerships, with officials comparing its scale and urgency to the Manhattan Project.
According to the Guardian, the U.S. State Department is preparing to suspend 38 universities including Harvard, Yale, Stanford and Duke from its Diplomacy Lab program because of alleged DEI-related hiring practices, reflecting a broader Trump administration effort to limit participation by institutions that do not align with its anti-DEI agenda.
The UN says at least 127 Lebanese civilians have been killed by Israeli strikes since the November ceasefire, prompting calls for impartial investigations into potential violations of international law as both Israel and Hezbollah accuse each other of undermining the agreement and tens of thousands remain displaced.
We live in a crazy world, and especially over the past few weeks, many of you have asked me how I protect myself from threats. I am working with a company called DeleteMe (yes this is sponsored but only because I literally use this service). The company has wiped my personal information off of the internet. They wanted to make sure that you too could be protected and use my code AARON at this link to scrub your information. I don’t work with many companies (honestly very few), but I’ve used DeleteMe, I can vouch for them, and I encourage you to check them out.
Good news:
A Bay Area program called Little Pardners Rodeo gives children with developmental challenges a joyful day of inclusive cowboy activities, allowing them to ride ponies, try lassoing and build confidence in a supportive environment created by a father whose own son has Down syndrome.
Scientists studying a mysterious whale call off Baja California finally spotted and sampled two living gingko-toothed beaked whales, a species never previously seen alive, confirming their identity and linking them to a distinctive echolocation signal that will help map and protect this elusive deep-diving species.
Colombia announced it will ban all new oil and mining projects across its Amazon region, an area about the size of Sweden, committing to protect forests, rivers and biodiversity and urging other South American countries to join in safeguarding the broader Amazon biome.
A major study in France found early signs of bird recovery, with insect-eating species increasing after the EU banned neonicotinoid pesticides in 2018, suggesting the ban is helping wildlife rebound even though researchers caution that other environmental factors may also play a role.
