Good morning everyone. I am heading to Capitol Hill today to meet with senators for background conversations on the ongoing investigation into Pete Hegseth and Admiral Bradley. I will also be speaking this evening with the leading Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, so stay tuned for that.
On the news front, I am tracking two major developments. First, after last night’s election results, senior Republicans are openly worried about 2026 because the returns showed significant leftward movement across the country. Second, the US economy took a major hit with the loss of 40,000 private sector jobs in November. I went on a bit of a rant at the end of today’s video about the economy. Hope you liked it.
As I told Forbes yesterday: “The biggest myth about young people is that we don’t care. Nothing could be further from the truth—we’re organizing, mobilizing, and driving the next wave of change in this country.”
Republicans narrowly held a deep red Tennessee House seat with Matt Van Epps winning by about nine points, a dramatic shift from Trump’s twenty two point margin in 2024 that alarmed GOP lawmakers and strategists who see it as further evidence of Democratic overperformance heading into the 2026 midterms.
Senior Republicans warned that the result reflects a turnout imbalance created by voters motivated by opposition to Trump, persistent struggles to energize GOP voters for non Trump candidates, and a political environment that has already produced Democratic gains in Virginia, New Jersey, and earlier special elections.
Although national Republicans deployed significant resources including a Trump tele rally and a district visit from Speaker Mike Johnson, many in the party described the near single digit margin as a dangerous sign that their House majority is at serious risk in 2026 unless they improve their message and appeal to swing voters.
The Trump administration is threatening to withhold SNAP food-assistance funds from 21 Democratic-led states after they refused to share recipients’ names and immigration status with the Agriculture Department—despite a federal court injunction barring the administration from cutting off funding over this data demand.
Private-sector hiring contracted in November, with ADP estimating a loss of 32,000 jobs—far below economists’ expectations for a 40,000 gain and a sharp reversal from October’s revised 47,000 increase—highlighting weakening labor momentum at a time when the prolonged federal shutdown has disrupted government data collection and forced a delay of the official November jobs report until December 16.
According to the Guardian, a leaked internal memo shows the US Department of Veterans Affairs rapidly compiling a nationwide database of all non-citizen workers—including employees, contractors, trainees, researchers, and volunteers—to be shared with “appropriate agencies” for potential immigration-enforcement action, sparking alarm that the Trump administration is preparing a targeted crackdown inside the VA that could intimidate thousands of lawful immigrants, destabilize the healthcare workforce, and chill services for veterans.
Trump administration officials are defending a deadly follow-up strike on a drug boat by claiming the target was the vessel itself—an argument aligned with a secret Justice Department memo that deems such boats lawful military targets even if people on board are killed. According to NPR, we are now learning that there were four strikes on the boat, not two. The Administration has yet to release the video showing the three additional strikes.
Democrats secured a victory in a lesser-known election overnight. In Roswell Georgia, Democrat Mary Robichaux won the Roswell mayoral runoff with about 58% of the vote, defeating Republican incumbent Kurt Wilson, after campaigning on community-focused change, transparency, and attracting light manufacturing and healthcare jobs, while voters also weighed issues like intentional growth and affordable housing.
If applied nationally, the swing Democrats achieved in last night’s Tennessee House special election would translate to roughly 250 Democratic seats in the US House. This is what the map would look like:
Despite publicly pledging to phase out cat and dog testing, the NIH has approved over $1.7m in new and extended cat-experiment grants—drawing watchdog criticism that the agency is contradicting its own statements and slowing the broader federal shift away from animal research.
NBC News reports that CDC advisers—newly reshaped by political appointees—may vote this week to end or delay the long-standing recommendation that every newborn receive a hepatitis B vaccine within 24 hours, despite decades of evidence showing the shot prevents severe lifelong infections.
The Trump administration has halted all immigration, green card, and citizenship applications from people in 19 non-European countries—many already under a travel ban—citing national security concerns after a recent attack, marking an expanded crackdown that now targets legal immigration as well as enforcement.
The Daily Beast reports that MAGA influencers erupted in calls to boycott Costco after the retailer sued the Trump administration to recover tariff payments and refused earlier demands to scrap its DEI programs, prompting Trump loyalists to denounce the company online, recycle old boycott claims, and frame Costco’s legal challenge as an attack on Trump’s economic agenda even as the retailer says tariffs have raised its costs and forced it to adjust supply chains.
Good news:
Pile of Puppies, a small Portland nonprofit founded by Jennifer Trepanier, brings entire litters of puppies to chronically or terminally ill children for joy-filled “puppy pile” sessions, delivering more than 2,000 visits so far and creating uplifting moments for kids like 16-year-old Julia Stults while operating on about $55,000 a year through donations and volunteer support.
A Canadian man who suffered a stroke and major neurological setbacks recovered far more movement and speech in six months using the PoNS tongue-stimulating neuro-modulation device, which boosts the effectiveness of traditional rehab, than he did in four years of standard therapy alone.
A Syrian refugee in Ohio, Hazaa Alabdullah, has gone viral for bringing homemade food every week to his volunteer-run English class, sharing the hospitality he grew up with and uplifting fellow students from around the world with his generosity and warmth.
A large Korean study found that people with restless legs syndrome have roughly double the risk of developing Parkinson’s disease, but those treated with dopamine-based therapy show sharply lower and delayed Parkinson’s incidence, highlighting RLS as both a potential early marker and a promising target for early intervention.
