November 6, 2025

⭐Heather Knight of the New York Times: “Representative Nancy Pelosi announced on Thursday that she will retire when her term concludes in early 2027, ending a remarkable career in which she rose to become one of the most powerful women in American history. Ms. Pelosi, 85, was the nation’s first and only female House speaker, and she will have represented San Francisco in Congress for 39 years when she leaves office. She has served during an era of seismic change for American society and her own city, from the throes of the AIDS crisis to the legalization of gay marriage, and through the meteoric rise of the tech sector and the nation’s extreme polarization. She entered political office later in life and became a hero to Democrats for the way she wielded immense power to push Obamacare, climate change legislation and infrastructure programs through Congress.”

Judge Lambastes the Great Fatsby. Tony Romm of the New York Times: “A federal judge ordered the Trump administration on Thursday to fund food stamps in full for roughly 42 million low-income Americans, after admonishing the government for delaying aid under the nation’s largest anti-hunger program during the shutdown. The order, issued by Judge John J. McConnell Jr. of the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island, marked his second legal rebuke of the administration for actions that threatened to leave millions of Americans at risk of financial hardship. Reading his directive from the bench after a short but tense hearing, Judge McConnell sharply criticized the administration for ignoring his original order last week to quickly restart payments for SNAP, or food stamps. He attributed the delay, in part, to an attempt by ... [Donald] Trump and his aides to disrupt the program 'for political reasons.' 

“At one point, Judge McConnell pointed to comments by Mr. Trump, who had threatened this week to halt all food stamp payments until the end of the shutdown. While the White House later tried to walk back those remarks, the judge still saw the president’s ultimatum as evidence he had failed to comply with court instructions.... By its own admission, the Agriculture Department had ample funds to continue the program. But it took the intervention of two federal courts, including an order by Judge McConnell, before Mr. Trump’s deputies moved to restart food stamp payments.” Politico's report is here.

Ryan Reilly of NBC News: “Jurors showed no appetite for the Justice Department's case against 'sandwich guy,' the D.C. resident who chucked a Subway sandwich at the chest of a federal officer, finding him not guilty Thursday after several hours of deliberations. The jury — which feasted on sandwiches for lunch Thursday ... — deliberated the charges for several hours Wednesday and Thursday before delivering the verdict. The resident, Sean Dunn, a former Justice Department paralegal, faced a single misdemeanor count after a federal grand jury rejected more serious charges over the encounter, which took place in the nightlife area of U Street in August. Border Patrol Officer Greg Lairmore ... had testified that the sandwich 'exploded all over' his chest and claimed he could smell mustard and onions. But a photo showed that the sandwich was still in its wrapper on the ground after it hit Lairmore in his bulletproof vest.” Thanks very much to RAS for the link. 

     ~~~ Marie: RAS seems to think that Reilly's reporting is a bit flip. As for me, I'm sure I have suffered more personal injury from sandwiches I ate than Greggers there did from the flying footlong. 

Rebecca Elliott, et al., of the New York Times: “Tesla shareholders on Thursday approved a plan that could make Elon Musk the world’s first trillionaire, two days after New Yorkers elected a tax-the-rich candidate as their next mayor. These discrete moments offered strikingly different lessons about America and who deserves how much of its wealth. At Tesla, based in the Austin, Texas, area, shareholders have largely bought into a winner-takes-all version of capitalism, agreeing by a wide margin to give Mr. Musk shares worth almost a trillion dollars if the company under his management achieves ambitious financial and operational goals over the next decade. But halfway across the country, in the home to Wall Street, Zohran Mamdani’s victory served as a reminder of the frustrations many Americans have with an economic system that has left them struggling to afford basics like food, housing and child care.” ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Good for the New York Times for openly suggesting an alternative (or mitigation) to Musk's obscene compensation package. 

Ken Dilanian of MSNBC: "The Department of Justice is preparing to issue a series of grand jury subpoenas as part of a South Florida-based investigation into former CIA Director John Brennan and the probes by the CIA and FBI into Russian interference in the 2016 election.... The Florida-based inquiry comes two years after a special counsel appointed by then-Attorney General Bill Barr concluded a lengthy and exhaustive investigation that found no criminal wrongdoing by Brennan or any other major figure connected with the Russian election interference matter."

Alex Griffing of Mediaite: “A Thursday Oval Office event, where ... Donald Trump announced price reductions for weight-loss drugs, was interrupted by a health emergency. One of the attendees, Novo Nordisk executive Gordon Findlay, appeared to faint live on air during the event. Fox News quickly cut away from the event as White House staff ushered the press out of the room.” ~~~

     ~~~ As you can see from the video here, Dr. Oz, who was in the Oval for the announcement, runs over to help Findlay. Trump himself looks on for a moment. But then. But then. Trump finds the whole thing boring. Then -- as this photo by Andrew Harnik of Getty suggests -- annoying: ~~~

Jenna Amatulli of the Guardian: “Donald Trump appeared to be sharing everything on his mind all at once on Wednesday as he posted more than 30 Truth Social posts in less than three hours. The president’s posts, of which there were 33 between 4.17pm and 6.40pm ET, came a day after Democrats won in a series of elections across the United States in New York, California, Virginia and New Jersey. Trump’s posts ranged in subject matter. In a handful of missives, Trump made recommendations to his followers to buy books written by former FBI special agent Nicole Parker, Fox News political analyst Gianno Caldwell, Georgia congressman Barry Loudermilk, senior counselor for trade and manufacturing Peter Navarro, and his own former lawyer, Christina Bobb.... Trump penned the foreword for Bobb’s book. Other posts included videos of Trump appearing to read nearly verbatim from his own previously posted Truth Social text posts. They appeared to be artificially generated, but the Guardian could not independently confirm. Users on social media platform X asked Grok about their authenticity and Grok noted they were indeed AI.” MB: I'd guess a staffer created these short, AI-generated videos to make Trump sound coherent, which the "real Donald Trump" does not.

See Donald, If a Person Buys Fewer Groceries, Her Bill Might Be Lower. Allan Smith of NBC News: “'Walmart just announced that Prices for a Thanksgiving Dinner is now down 25% since under Sleepy/Crooked Joe Biden, in 2024,' Trump wrote.  'AFFORDABILITY is a Republican Stronghold. Hopefully, Republicans will use this irrefutable fact!'... As tangible proof [of his superior stewardship of the U.S. economy], he has pointed to the cost of Walmart’s Thanksgiving meal bundle, which is roughly 25% less expensive this year than it was last year.... But the 2025 Thanksgiving bundle is also smaller than the 2024 package. This year’s package, at less than $40, contains 23 items; last year, there were 29.... Food costs — particularly on household staples like coffee and beef — have risen even as food cost-growth has slowed from the decades-high inflation of 2022.” 

Ed Mazza of the Huffington Post: “... Donald Trump on Wednesday tried to explain the Republican Party’s steep election losses this week in part on a failure of language ― specifically, a failure to use a 'new word.'... 'They have this new word called “affordability,’” Trump explained during a Fox News interview. 'And they [Republicans?] don’t talk about it enough.' The word 'affordability' isn’t new; the Oxford English Dictionary traces it to 1910, making it more than a century old, with its use increasing sharply starting in the 1950s-60s.” 

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Marie: BTW, I hope you're zooming up the size of this page while you're reading it. I forgot I was reading a "zoomed-up" page until I accidentally clicked on it at 100-percent size. It's a lot easier to read at 120 percent or more. 

 

     ~~~ Andrew Feinberg of the Independent: Donald Trump's “latest addition to the White House complex could indicate that the oldest person ever to serve as president is having a bit of trouble navigating the corridors of power. As Trump prepared to depart the White House en route to a speech in Miami, Florida, reporters waiting for him noticed an addition to the exterior of the building — a sign in gilded script indicating the entrance to the Oval Office as seen from the White House Rose Garden. The sign, which appeared to be a temporary placeholder to show where to add the planned lettering, used a cursive font that strongly resembles the typeface used in the logo of his Mar-a-Lago club.... The addition of a sign denoting the location of the Oval Office, perhaps the most famous single workspace in the world, drew some mockery for the 79-year-old ex-real estate developer, with some commentators suggesting it is an indicator of some sort of memory problem on the president’s part.” ~~~

~~~ Marie: RAS made a similar joke about the sign, which appears to be printed on three pieces of typing paper. I agree that this appears to be dementia-friendly signage, but I think it's just as likely to be one of Donald's ways of marking his territory -- as cats do. Who can forget the "golden shower" alleged in the Steele dossier's reference to a "pee tape"? Feinberg mentions the signage at Mar-a-Lardo, and it seems Trump has used this same font to identify a number of his properties. The name of the property usually appears under a golden image of his fake coat-of-arms. Perhaps the phony coat-of-arms won't go up outside the Oval, but he has defaced the exterior of the building with more of those gold-painted Home Depot appliques. So close enough. What a pathetic old putz.

Cleve Wootson of the Washington Post: “... Donald Trump on Wednesday blamed his party’s bruising election night losses on the government shutdown and urged Republicans to end the funding gridlock, displaying fresh urgency as sweeping Democratic victories portended midterm trouble for the GOP. 'We have to get the country open. And the way we’re going to do it this afternoon is to terminate the filibuster,' Trump said during a meeting with Republican senators at the White House. 'We will pass legislation that you’ve never seen before, and it’ll be impossible to beat us.'” MB: He's a simple man-child, and he thinks simple ideas coupled with fantasies will make his boo-boos all better. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Update. Marie: You wouldn't know it from this report (two others reporters have added to the story, but you still wouldn't know it) -- but Trump's little filibuster plan is way worse than it appears here. It is, in fact, a plan to end democratic representation in the U.S. That's what he means when he says, "it'll be impossible to beat us." I know this because I read the rough transcript of Trump's remarks on C-SPAN. He rambled on and on, often unintelligibly, often bordering on gibberish. But in those ramblings -- and shortly after the remark that "it'll be impossible to beat us" -- he says, "... Now if we do what I'm saying, they'll never, they'll most likely never attain power because we will have passed every single thing that you can imagine...." By "what I'm saying," he means "eliminate the filibuster," and by "they" he means Democrats. The planned legislation "that you've never seen before" will indeed make it "impossible to beat us." When, by eliminating the filibuster, Republicans "pass every single thing you can imagine," that imagined legislation will prevent Democrats from "ever attaining power" again. That's the plan. It's a plan -- albeit an ill-defined one -- to rig the laws so that no party except the Republican party can control the three branches of government. ~~~

     ~~~ An AP story on the shutdown & Trump's meeting with Republicans also does not mention his proposed legislation to ensure Republican dominance forever. However, I know I'm not entirely nuts because last night Chris Hayes did mention -- in passing -- my observation that Trump advocated for Republicans to pass legislation that would give them permanent control of the government. ~~~

~~~ Politico reporters saw Trump's meeting with Republican senators in an entirely different way: ~~~

~~~ “Donald Trump Enters His Lame Duck Era.”  Meredith Hill & Jennifer Scholtes of Politico: “It was classic Trump dominance theater.... But ... the senators made it very clear: They planned to blow Trump off. One GOP senator, Mike Rounds of South Dakota, laughed out loud when asked about the anti-filibuster push.... The danger for the president is that if Trump can’t run roughshod over the thin GOP congressional majorities, it would leave him few legislative options given his scant interest in compromising with Democrats.... Retiring Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) called Democrats’ victory margins Tuesday 'a red flag to the GOP.'... 'He has zero ability to work across the aisle,' he added. 'He needs to face reality and learn how to talk to Democrats he can reason with.'... Many are privately signaling they’re prepared to break with Trump if he doesn’t allow Republicans to negotiate on an extension of the Obamacare insurance subsidies Democrats are demanding.” ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Besides, it would have been impossible to sit through Trump's performance at the meeting and not conclude that the old fart had lost the plot. If it's any consolation to the senators, Trump did get even stupider later in the day: ~~~

     ~~~ Independent: “... Donald Trump confused South America with South Africa during a speech to a business forum in Miami.... [He] told the crowd ... that 'for generations Miami has been a haven for those fleeing communist tyranny in South Africa.' Trump then pivoted to attacking African nation, who he accuses of committing genocide against white farmers, and said he will boycott the G20 meeting in Johannesburg later this month. He then 'weaved' his way back to discussing his problems with various South American governments.”

Karoun Demirjian of the New York Times: “The Trump administration announced on Wednesday that it would cut 10 percent of air traffic at 40 of the nation’s busiest airports, in a move that analysts said would force airlines to cancel thousands of flights while the administration tries to push Democrats to end the government shutdown. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the reductions were an attempt to 'alleviate the pressure' on air traffic controllers, who have been working without compensation since the start of the shutdown and have not received a paycheck since mid-October. He said the administration would announce the affected markets on Thursday, as the year’s busiest travel season approaches. The cuts would start taking effect on Friday, potentially forcing hundreds of thousands of travelers to change plans on short notice, as airlines are pressured to slash capacity across their routes.” The AP's report is here. ~~~

     ~~~ ABC News reports the full list of airports where the number of flights will be reduced. ~~~ 

     ~~~ Marie: For once, we find a problem that is not entirely Trump's fault. According to this Brookings report (Nov. 4, 2025), air-traffic-control facilities have been understaffed for a long time. "From 2013 to 2023, the FAA hired only about two-thirds of the controllers called for by its staffing model, and limited training capacity slows onboarding of new staff."  

Uh, Lost in Translation??? Matthew Burke of Stars & Stripes: “A listing of German food aid services included on a U.S. Army garrison page of resources available during the government shutdown was intended for local national employees rather than American troops, U.S. Army Europe and Africa said Wednesday. The list of five German support organizations appeared on the 'shutdown guidance' web page of U.S. Army Garrison Bavaria but was removed sometime Wednesday. Before it was taken down, an image of the listings was posted on a handful of Reddit pages. The social media posting prompted questions about why the listing of services was removed from the website. 'The list of local food support was created weeks ago, when the U.S. Army was concerned that its German employees might not be getting paid during the lapse in appropriations, which could have caused them to need temporary assistance,' the USAREUR-AF statement said.” ~~~

     ~~~ Yesterday RAS posted a link to a story about this on 404 Media. MB: I'm pretty sure I've accessed 404 Media stories in the past, but the site won't accept me now & says my email address is invalid. That's kind of appropriate since of course 404 is the code for "Not Found" pages. Anyway, it appears the 404 Media story is now out-of-date, so from several vantage points, we're looking at a big "never mind." BTW, here is the Army's "Shutdown Guidance" memo for Bavaria, and here is one of the links. It sure looks like the intended audience includes American troops: "The Feeding America network connects members with food, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) application assistance and meal programs.  Services are available to federal employees, contractors, and active-duty military via phone at 800-771-2303 and online at https://www.feedingamerica.org/ ." Just sayin'. 

Read more at: https://www.stripes.com/branches/army/2025-11-05/government-shutdown-food-assistance-19663106.html
Source - Stars and Stripes

Jordain Carney, et al., of Politico: “The sweeping Democratic gains in this week’s elections bolstered the faction in the party insisting that senators dig in and force Republicans to accede to their demand for an extension of key health insurance subsidies used by more than 20 million Americans. While a group of Democratic senators continued to negotiate with Republicans, the pressure that mounted on and off Capitol Hill Wednesday threatened to push the 36-day shutdown even further into record-setting territory. Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut said ending the shutdown without a commitment from President Donald Trump and Speaker Mike Johnson would 'be a betrayal of all we’ve been fighting to uphold.'”

Arelis Hernandez of the Washington Post: “Immigration officers arrested a teacher early Wednesday in Chicago after chasing her into the grounds of a private preschool and grabbing her as parents and students looked on, according to a local official, witnesses and video footage of the incident. Several parents ... at Rayito de Sol, a Spanish immersion day care and school..., [said] they saw armed officers in black vests with the words 'POLICE ICE' run behind the woman and into the lobby of the building. Witnesses and school employees told The Washington Post that they thought the school was under attack and scrambled into rooms and vehicles outside in search of safety. The agents dragged the woman outside as she yelled, 'Tengo papeles!' or 'I have papers.'... 

[One parent said,] 'I walked into a room of crying kids, crying parents and crying teachers.... It was traumatizing.'... During the Biden and Obama administrations, schools were considered 'sensitive locations,' and agents were barred from entering with few exceptions. But the Trump administration eliminated those policies in January, allowing agents to make arrests at schools, hospitals and churches.” Here's the Block Club Chicago report.

Megan Mineiro, et al., of the New York Times: “Top administration officials sought during a briefing on Capitol Hill on Wednesday to ease bipartisan concern about an expanding military campaign against suspected drug trafficking in the Caribbean and the Pacific, but Democrats said they still had no clear answers about the legal basis, scope or objective of the mission. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth delivered the briefing on the eve of a Senate vote on Thursday on a measure that would curtail the president’s ability to take direct military action against Venezuela. It came as Democrats and Republicans have expressed mounting concern about the escalating military offensive, carried out without congressional authorization or consultation.... 'There’s nothing that was said that changed my mind that they are making illegal strikes,' Representative Gregory W. Meeks of New York, the top Democrat on the Foreign Affairs Committee, said in an interview after the closed-door meeting.”

Karoun Demirjian of the New York Times: “The Republican chairmen of the Senate and House Judiciary Committees appealed to Chief Justice John G. Roberts  Jr. on Wednesday to look into whether federal judges who responded to a New York Times questionnaire with criticism of the Supreme Court had violated their ethics obligations.... Senator Charles E. Grassley of Iowa and Representative Jim Jordan of Ohio wrote in a letter to Mr. Roberts[,] 'When judges call into question the legitimacy of their own branch of government, they erode faith in the institution itself.' The letter comes weeks after The Times published an article in which dozens of federal judges accused the Supreme Court of mishandling its emergency docket, complaining that its orders were too brief, opaque and vague for the lower courts to follow — particularly in the many cases where the justices issued emergency orders, but offered no reasoning for their decision.” ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Hah! Every day Ole Chuck & Jungle Gym come to work, they "erode faith in the (Congressional) institution itself."  

Justin Jouvenal of the Washington Post: “The Supreme Court appeared skeptical of arguments Wednesday that ... Donald Trump has legal authority to impose tariffs on a vast range of goods from nearly all countries, signaling the justices could strike down or limit the administration’s signature economic policy. The justices sharply questioned Solicitor General D. John Sauer and attorneys for states and small businesses that challenged the tariffs during more than two and a half hours of arguments.... Many of the justices were skeptical that Trump had the power to impose sweeping tariffs with few bounds, since the Constitution squarely gives that power to Congress.... Neal Katyal, an attorney who represented the small businesses, pointed out that no previous president understood the economic emergency law to grant the authority Trump claims. Trade deficits, which have existed for decades, do not meet the definition of an emergency necessary to invoke the law’s powers, he argued. He also said Congress had been clear when it granted the president the power to impose tariffs in other statutes and always included strict limits.” (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Doug Palmer, et al., of Politico: “Both conservative and liberal Supreme Court justices on Wednesday sharply questioned ... Donald Trump’s use of emergency power to impose sweeping tariffs on countries around the world, casting doubt on the future of one of his signature economic policies. One of the core issues before the high court in a pair of consolidated cases — brought by a dozen Democratic-run states and two sets of private companies — is whether Trump has grabbed power that constitutionally belongs to Congress in imposing the duties.” (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Don't worry, the confederates will find a way to give King Donald what he wants, and they probably won't even have to rely on medieval theories of the case. ~~~ 

     ~~~ Ann Marimow of the New York Times: “D. John Sauer, the U.S. solicitor general, told the justices that ... the case ... is not about the 'power to tax,' which the Constitution reserves for Congress, but the ability to regulate foreign commerce, where he said the president has wider latitude. The fact that tariffs raise revenue, he said, is 'only incidental.'...  Hours after the argument concluded, Mr. Trump bragged at an event in Florida about the revenue that tariffs have raised, saying they have helped bring the government 'hundreds of billions of dollars.'... Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. ... sounded most emphatic when questioning the Trump administration’s lawyer. He ... said the president has the authority to conduct foreign affairs and tariffs are a 'foreign-facing tax.' The chief justice noted that the tariffs had been 'quite effective in achieving particular objectives.'” ~~~

     ~~~ David Frum pointed out on MSNBC yesterday that it's been a long time since even the English kings have tried to levy taxes without the approval of Parliament. The last king to try it, he said, was Charles I, and he was beheaded for it. Marie: I double-checked Frum's assertion. Google's Art Intel sez, "Charles I's taxation policies, particularly his use of unpopular measures like ship money and forced loans without parliamentary consent, led to widespread opposition and fueled the tensions that contributed to the English Civil War. He also continued to collect customs duties ... by royal prerogative, despite Parliament voting to limit the tax. These actions were seen as a violation of the principle of 'no taxation without parliamentary consent,' as established in the Petition of Right. According to Charles' Wikipage, "On 27 January 1649 the parliamentarian High Court of Justice had declared Charles guilty of attempting to 'uphold in himself an unlimited and tyrannical power to rule according to his will, and to overthrow the rights and liberties of the people' and sentenced him to death by beheading." I must say the High Court's characterization of Charles sounds a lot like someone we know. Unfortunately, I oppose the death penalty. ~~~

~~~ Lazaro Gamio, et al., of the New York Times: “Just under half of all goods that enter the United States are now subject to tariffs, a New York Times analysis of Census Bureau trade data shows, a stark sign of how ... [Donald] Trump has reshaped American trade since returning to office in January. Throughout the year, Mr. Trump has issued wave after wave of new duties, targeting almost every country in the world at levels not seen in roughly a century.... Before Mr. Trump’s second term, almost all imports entered under long-established trade rules that were agreed upon within the World Trade Organization.... By July of this year, when many of Mr. Trump’s tariffs began taking effect, that trend had been inverted. Now, more than 90 percent of imports are subject to some aspect of Mr. Trump’s trade policy — a tariff he announced this year or during his first term, or a sweeping exemption granted to some products, at least temporarily.” (Also linked yesterday.)

He Is Not Amused. Glenn Thrush & Alan Feuer of the New York Times: “A federal judge in the Trump administration’s prosecution of James B. Comey, the former F.B.I. director, on Wednesday blasted ... [Donald] Trump’s handpicked prosecutor, Lindsey Halligan, for taking an 'indict first, investigate second' approach to the case. The magistrate judge, William Fitzpatrick, repeatedly expressed his frustration — and at times his barely restrained annoyance — with Ms. Halligan during an otherwise procedural hearing in which he ordered the Justice Department to produce records from its investigation.... The flashpoint was the Justice Department’s failure to turn over communications it had seized from a confidant of Mr. Comey’s, Daniel C. Richman.... The government claims he served as a conduit between the director and the news media for passing along information about the Trump campaign’s connections to Russia in 2016.” The NBC News report is here.

Lisa Lerer & Reid Epstein of the New York Times: Republicans have blamed everything and everyone except Donald Trump for GOP losses in Tuesday's elections despite the fact that “Democratic voters, as they have done in nearly every election since Mr. Trump first took office, surged to the polls to express their discontent with his handling of the presidency.... There was clear evidence on Tuesday that Mr. Trump’s actions were acutely damaging to Republican candidates. His approval rating hit a second-term low of 37 percent in a recent CNN poll, and more than six in 10 voters disapproved of how he was handling the shutdown.” ~~~

~~~ Matthew Chapman of the Raw Story: "... Donald Trump lost no time in deflecting blame for the GOP's shellacking at the ballot box around the country this week, claiming Republicans lost because of the shutdown and it wasn't his fault because he 'wasn't on the ballot.' But that's really not true, the Wall Street Journal editorial board argued on Wednesday — and if Trump truly believes this, Republicans are 'heading for bigger problems in 2026.... Mr. Trump was on the ballot — not literally, but nonetheless as the main motivating force behind a dominating Democratic turnout,' wrote the board, which, despite its strong conservative leanings, has come down hard on Trump for months....  'Winning Democratic candidates for Governor in New Jersey and Virginia linked their opponents to Mr. Trump, driving Democratic voters to the polls and erasing the GOP gains in 2024 among Hispanics, black men and independents.'" ~~~

~~~ It's the Economy, Stupid. Erum Salam of MSNBC: "In the first major election cycle since ... Donald Trump retook office, Democratic candidates who put affordability at the heart of their campaigns won big Tuesday. A new NBC News exit poll found the economy and cost of living were the issues voters across the country said were among their top priorities." ~~~

~~~ Heather Cox Richardson highlights New York City Mayor-Elect Zohran Mamdani's victory speech. She leads where he did: "with a nod to Eugene V. Debs." MB: I must say I enjoyed the few minutes of CNN I watched last night where Kaitlan Collins, formerly of the Daily Caller, interviewed Sen. Bernie Sanders. Collins, too, referred to Mamdani's invocation of Debs: "Well, he did open his speech with Eugene Debs," she said, with a disapproving raised eyebrow. Sanders shot her down: "Debs was a great American hero," he said. (These are all slight paraphrases.) Collins was clearly taken aback.

Will McCarthy of Politico: “After their campaign against Proposition 50 suffered an embarrassing defeat at the polls, California Republicans are insisting the fight is not over, promising a variety of strategies to mitigate the damage of the Democratic gerrymander and pursue both vengeance and accountability in its wake.... The state party went after the maps themselves, filing a suit in federal court that challenges the constitutionality of using data on voters’ race to draw the newly gerrymandered districts. James Lacy, a conservative attorney and author, meanwhile, is making an effort to return to the ballot box, hiring staff and filing an initiative that would ask voters to effectively repeal Prop 50 after one election cycle.... Soon after the race was called on Tuesday night, Republican megadonor Charles Munger Jr. announced that he would pursue national districting reform while calling for resources and independent legal counsel for California’s independent commission after Prop 50 sunsets.” ~~~

     ~~~ Laurel Rosenhall of the New York Times on the state Republican party's lawsuit: “It is not clear how successful the latest challenge will be. California Republicans were unsuccessful earlier this year at preventing the ballot measure through litigation, and Democrats have expressed confidence that their new maps will withstand legal scrutiny.... The California lawsuit is being funded by the National Republican Congressional Committee. It was filed by the law firm founded by Harmeet K. Dhillon, a longtime Republican activist who was appointed by Mr. Trump to run the Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department. Ms. Dhillon left the Dhillon Law Group when she was confirmed in April, according to the firm’s website.... 'We haven’t reviewed the lawsuit, but if it’s from the California Republican Party and Harmeet Dhillon’s law firm, it’s going to fail,' [Gov. Gavin] Newsom’s press office said on Wednesday on X.” ~~~

     ~~~ Melanie Mason & Jeremy White of Politico on how Proposition 50 came to pass: “The outlook was anything but certain when California Democrats jumped into the precarious and costly redistricting arms race.... [In the first internal poll, j]ust 38 percent of voters supported having the Legislature redraw the state’s congressional maps.... Forty-five percent were opposed.... At the same time, Paul Mitchell, a data expert who was busily fashioning new district maps for the congressional delegation, had put his own poll in the field.... Nearly 80 percent of respondents supported independent redistricting [-- that is, no change to the current maps --] and, two questions later, roughly the same number backed new, politically-motivated maps.... Ultimately, Prop 50’s win hinged very little on how voters felt about redistricting. Instead, the measure became a vehicle for Democrats’ primal scream against Trump and a manifestation of their thirst to notch a win, any win, against the sitting president.”

Isaac Arnsdorf & Jacob Bogage of the Washington Post: “The Heritage Foundation is erupting in open revolt against its president, Kevin Roberts, as the right-wing think tank struggles to deal with internal and external anger over his defense of former Fox News host Tucker Carlson. The furor began after Carlson invited [Nick] Fuentes, a white nationalist who routinely espouses antisemitic views, onto his popular podcast. Roberts then posted a video that castigated a 'venomous coalition' and 'the globalist class' for attacking Carlson, whom Roberts called 'a close friend of the Heritage Foundation.'... At least five members of Heritage’s antisemitism task force have now resigned in protest, and distinguished fellow Chris DeMuth left the organization.” ~~~

     ~~~ Eliana Johnson of the (right-wing) Washington Free Beacon: "'I made a mistake and I let you down and I let down this institution. Period. Full Stop,' Heritage Foundation president Kevin Roberts told the staff of the conservative think tank on Wednesday, a week after he posted a video decrying a 'venomous' coalition attacking the right-wing podcast host Tucker Carlson — and declaring the Heritage Foundation would always defend him against 'the slander of bad actors who serve someone else’s agenda.' Roberts said he was willing to resign but felt a 'moral obligation'  to repair the situation and had told the organization’s board of directors: 'I made the mess, let me clean it up.'"

Jacey Fortin & Kevin Williams of the New York Times: “An engine on the UPS cargo jet that crashed in Louisville, Ky., this week fell off moments before the plane took flight, the National Transportation Safety Board said on Wednesday. The jet, with a crew of three, plunged to the ground seconds later and erupted into flames as it careened through industrial buildings at the edge of the Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport Tuesday evening. At least 12 people died, officials said on Wednesday. A coroner was at the crash site on Wednesday, and the condition of some of the bodies could make it difficult to confirm their identities,  Gov. Andy Beshear of Kentucky said. The identities of the victims have not been released.” 

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Maine Congressional Seat. Mariana Alfaro & Marianna Sotomayor of the Washington Post: “Rep. Jared Golden (D-Maine), said Wednesday that he would not run for reelection in 2026, citing the nastiness of politics and the rise in political violence and threats against politicians and their families. The moderate congressman, first elected to Congress in 2018, represents Maine’s 2nd District — a district that ... Donald Trump won in 2024 by nearly 10 points, making it the most pro-Trump district in the country represented by a Democrat. Trump also won there in 2016 and 2020.... Golden, who has long eyed possibly returning to Maine to run for governor, will not be running for higher office, according to a person familiar with the congressman’s decision....” The CBS News report is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Here's Golden's op-ed in the Bangor Daily News, announcing his decision not to run for re-election -- and why. 

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Israel/Palestine, et al. Ephrat Livni of the New York Times: “The body of the last and youngest of the American hostages held in Gaza was returned to Israel on Tuesday. 'The remains of Itay Chen, a young American taken hostage by Hamas at just 19 years old, have finally returned home,' Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Tuesday. 'We honor his life, mourn his loss and stand with his family.' Mr. Chen, a dual citizen who was born and raised in Israel and was serving in the military on Oct. 7, 2023, was initially presumed to have been taken alive to Gaza. Last year, the Israeli military told his parents that its intelligence indicated he had apparently been killed that day while defending civilians near the Gaza border, during the Hamas-led attack that set off the devastating war in the enclave.”