 Good morning everyone. Another day and another news update. Today’s briefing focuses on several major developments, including Donald Trump continuing to face fallout from the Epstein files, the Trump administration expressing anger as musical acts cancel performances at the Kennedy Center, and a large-scale Russian attack on Ukraine that struck residential areas just one day before Volodymyr Zelensky is set to meet Trump in Palm Beach. As we head into the new year, I am excited to hopefully share some big plans with you very soon. We are approaching one full year of me doing this work full time, and I could not be prouder of what we have built together. We are breaking through echo chambers, reaching people around the world, and doing it collectively. We are also closing in on our year-end subscription goal to ensure we can continue this work into 2026. Some want me to stop. I will not. Please subscribe today or consider gifting a subscription to a friend or loved one. Let’s keep building together.
Here’s what you missed: Donald Trump accused the Justice Department of wasting time on a “Democrat-inspired hoax” after it revealed the discovery of more than 1 million additional documents linked to Jeffrey Epstein, urging officials to stop further review despite a new law requiring release of unclassified records, as lawmakers criticized delays, redactions, and the inclusion of references to Trump and Bill Clinton. Behind the scenes, Trump is reportedly furious that the Epstein files continue to plague the White House, even during the holidays.
According to CNN, residents of Jabo village in northwestern Nigeria described fear and confusion after debris from a U.S. missile strike landed near their only health clinic, despite locals and officials saying the area has no history of ISIS activity, even as Donald Trump hailed the attack as a “powerful and deadly strike” against militants targeting Christians. Nigerian authorities later acknowledged the intended targets were ISIS hideouts elsewhere in Sokoto state and said falling debris caused panic but no casualties, highlighting tensions between U.S. counterterrorism claims and local accounts of a peaceful community. According to the Associated Press, The Kennedy Center’s president, Richard Grenell, demanded $1m in damages from longtime jazz drummer and vibraphonist Chuck Redd after Redd canceled his annual Christmas Eve Jazz Jam—a tradition since 2006—in protest of Donald Trump’s name being added to the building, with Grenell calling the cancellation a costly “political stunt,” while critics argue the renaming violates federal law that bars the center from honoring anyone other than John F Kennedy without congressional approval.
OMG! ANOTHER GARISH & OFFENSIVE TRUMP EYE-SORE! Donald Trump signaled plans for a lavish redesign of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, floating a gold-and-marble interior refit inspired by Mar-a-Lago and previewing “potential marble armrests” for theater seats, after renaming the building and reshaping its leadership and programming.
TRUMP GRIFT! Donald Trump has been caught duping his own supporters with a predatory fundraising email in which individuals are asked to click a box if they support the President, and if they do, they are then charged $1,000 in the new year:
According to Florida’s Voice, nonprofits Defiance.org and WhistleblowerAid.org launched a $50,000 billboard and ad campaign near Florida military bases, including MacDill Air Force Base, urging service members to “Obey Only Lawful Orders” and seek legal advice if faced with “manifestly unlawful orders,” an effort organizers say is a constitutional safeguard but critics argue risks undermining military discipline and targets actions ordered by Donald Trump’s administration following disputed overseas strikes.
According to the Washington Post, internal documents show the Immigration and Customs Enforcement under the Trump administration plans to detain up to 80,000 immigrants by converting industrial warehouses into seven large-scale holding centers, a major expansion of the detention system intended to accelerate deportations and drawing concern over conditions and scale.
Joe Rogan criticized Donald Trump for installing mocking plaques about former presidents along the White House colonnade, calling the description of Joe Biden “so crazy” and saying “you shouldn’t be allowed to do this.” Rogan argued that presidents should not write their own historical verdicts and objected to plaques using Trump’s personal nicknames, quoting the line “Nicknamed both ‘Sleepy’ and ‘Crooked,’ by you,” and warned that it sets a precedent that could turn the White House into “whoever is in its house” rather than a neutral national institution. The Federal Bureau of Investigation will permanently vacate the aging J Edgar Hoover Building in Washington, DC, with director Kash Patel announcing staff will relocate to existing offices including the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center, citing safety, cost savings, and modernization after decades of failed relocation plans. Donald Trump told POLITICO he expects the 2026 midterm elections to hinge on “pricing,” arguing voters will reward Republicans because “they gave us high pricing, and we’re bringing it down,” citing lower energy and gasoline costs and pointing to recent data showing GDP growth of 4.3 percent and cooling inflation. While acknowledging persistent affordability pressures in polls, Trump said eliminating the Senate filibuster would prevent a government shutdown and unlock GOP priorities, insisting, “If you get rid of the filibuster, you’re not going to have a shutdown,” even as some Republicans resist scrapping the rule. A massive Russian overnight barrage on Kyiv left about a third of the city without heating in freezing conditions, killing one person and wounding dozens, as Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Moscow launched nearly 500 drones and 40 missiles targeting energy and civilian infrastructure, just days before his planned talks with Donald Trump in Florida on a proposed peace plan.
 In a New Year message, Kim Jong-un said North Korea and Russia had forged an alliance by “sharing blood, life and death” in the Ukraine war, praising ties with Vladimir Putin as Pyongyang confirmed it had deployed troops—some killed in combat—and mine-clearing units to support Russia’s campaign against Ukraine. Mark Rutte rejected calls for Europe to break away militarily from the United States, saying he is “absolutely convinced that the United States stands fully behind NATO” and arguing that higher European defense spending should strengthen, not replace, the transatlantic alliance. According to Reuters, a 72-hour ceasefire between Thailand and Cambodia took effect after weeks of fighting that killed dozens and displaced thousands, requiring Thailand to return 18 Cambodian soldiers and clear border land mines, with Thai defense minister Nattaphon Narkphanit saying the truce would be monitored “to confirm that it is real and continuous” and serve as a test of the other side’s “sincerity.” Karoline Leavitt announced she is pregnant with her second child, becoming the first expectant White House press secretary in U.S. history; she said she and her husband, Nicholas Riccio, are expecting a baby girl in May, calling it “the greatest Christmas gift.”
See you this afternoon. — Aaron |
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