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Ezra Levin: What now after Senate Democrats surrender on the shutdown vote?

Ezra Levin: What now after Senate Democrats surrender on the shutdown vote?

  Ezra Levin, co-founder of Indivisible, summarizes Sunday’s shocking vote to re-open the government, without the Democrats winning anything tangible with perfect clarity: “there is something deeply broken within the Democrat system.” After a stellar performance at the polling booths on November 4th, eight Senate Democrats made the decision to abandon their party’s core shutdown demands and squander their winning momentum. In response, Indivisible is launching its largest primary program ever in 2026, with more details to follow. Keep up…

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‘I’m not a foreign agent,’ says Laura Loomer. But is she just a hired gun?

‘I’m not a foreign agent,’ says Laura Loomer. But is she just a hired gun?

Antonia Hitchens writes: One night at Ned’s Club, a members-only lounge with views of the White House, Nigel Farage, the British politician who heads the populist Reform Party, was hosting a bash for the right-wing television channel GB News, which was opening a bureau in D.C. Several members of Trump’s Cabinet were there; Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, gave a toast. Loomer was at home in Florida, but longtime lobbyists and consultants were discussing her activities on two…

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British suspend some intelligence sharing, concerned that U.S. strikes on boats are illegal

British suspend some intelligence sharing, concerned that U.S. strikes on boats are illegal

CNN reports: The United Kingdom is no longer sharing intelligence with the US about suspected drug trafficking vessels in the Caribbean because it does not want to be complicit in US military strikes and believes the attacks are illegal, sources familiar with the matter told CNN. The UK’s decision marks a significant break from its closest ally and intelligence sharing partner and underscores the growing skepticism over the legality of the US military’s campaign around Latin America. For years, the…

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Bovino’s ‘American Gestapo’ expected to leave Chicago this week

Bovino’s ‘American Gestapo’ expected to leave Chicago this week

Chicago Tribune reports: Federal immigration agents part of the Trump administration’s “Operation Midway Blitz” may soon leave Chicago, according to multiple sources who said the controversial mission was rapidly winding down after a contentious two months of enforcement raids that have set the city and suburbs on edge. Cmdr. Gregory Bovino, the top official on the ground leading the Trump administration’s efforts, was expected to depart Chicago for another assignment within days, and most of the Border Patrol agents under…

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DOJ has lost over 5,000 career employees since AG Pam Bondi took control

DOJ has lost over 5,000 career employees since AG Pam Bondi took control

The Independent reports: The Department of Justice has been hemorrhaging staff under President Donald Trump, with thousands of attorneys leaving and few being hired to replace them, according to a new report. Since January, nearly 5,500 DOJ career employees have quit, taken a buyout, or been fired, according to Justice Connection, an advocacy group composed of department alumni. A Justice Connection spokesperson told The Independent that its estimates are based on both public reporting and non-public information the group has…

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Documents cast doubt on the viability of Trump’s Gaza peace initiative

Documents cast doubt on the viability of Trump’s Gaza peace initiative

Politico reports: Some Trump administration officials are deeply concerned that the Gaza peace deal between Israel and Hamas could break down because of the difficulty implementing many of its core provisions, as private documents obtained by POLITICO and circulating among U.S. officials underscore the lack of a clear path forward. The compendium of documents was presented last month during a two-day symposium of a few hundred people for U.S. Central Command and members of the newly created Civil-Military Coordination Center,…

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Governments and billionaires are still failing to meet the challenge of climate change

Governments and billionaires are still failing to meet the challenge of climate change

Elizabeth Kolbert writes: In the lead-up to this year’s COP, every country was supposed to announce an emissions target for itself, extending through 2035. The U.S.submitted such a target in the last month of the Biden Administration; it is now considered largely meaningless. Last week, China submitted its target, which was widely described as inadequate. Brazil’s target, too, has been criticized as insufficient. And, just a few weeks ago, the Brazilian government decided, for the first time, to allow oil…

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Newsom and Mamdani are showing Democrats how to fight again

Newsom and Mamdani are showing Democrats how to fight again

Politico reports: Gavin Newsom said he hadn’t heard of Zohran Mamdani until a few months ago. They communicated for the first time on Election Day. But that night’s results have suddenly bound the California governor and the New York City mayor-elect together as two of the most prominent figures on the left — two geographic and ideological poles in a party that for months has had no clear national leader. “Voters are looking for people who represent the exact opposite…

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We need courage and clarity from our leaders. Schumer doesn’t have the backbone for the job

We need courage and clarity from our leaders. Schumer doesn’t have the backbone for the job

David Rothkopf writes: It would be a mistake to overreact to the decision by eight Senate Democrats to vote to end the government shutdown without real guarantees that Americans will be able to afford health care and maintain health insurance coverage. Do not, for example, make plans to immediately move to Canada or any other country with a sane, stable healthcare system just because those Democrats were spineless, visionless, out of touch with the rank and file of the Democratic…

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Scott Galloway warns of ‘nowhere to hide’ in markets if the OpenAI story unravels

Scott Galloway warns of ‘nowhere to hide’ in markets if the OpenAI story unravels

  Fortune reports: Tech analyst and professor Scott Galloway has issued a stark warning regarding the highly inflated valuations of the Magnificent 10 mega-cap companies, asserting a financial collapse at generative AI leader OpenAI would trigger a systemic shock leaving “nowhere to hide” for investors across the global markets. Galloway, speaking on his Prof G Markets podcast, characterized the current market reliance on AI as precarious, noting AI has been responsible for 80% of the stock market returns since the…

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Trump takes on BBC with $1bn lawsuit threat after bosses quit

Trump takes on BBC with $1bn lawsuit threat after bosses quit

  The Guardian reports: A BBC board member with links to the Conservative party “led the charge” in pressuring the corporation’s leadership over claims of systemic bias in coverage of Donald Trump, Gaza and transgender rights, the Guardian has been told. Sources said Robbie Gibb, Theresa May’s former communications chief who was appointed to the BBC’s board during Boris Johnson’s time as prime minister, amplified the criticisms in key board meetings that preceded the shock resignation of the director general,…

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Ahmed al-Sharaa becomes first Syrian leader to visit the White House

Ahmed al-Sharaa becomes first Syrian leader to visit the White House

Middle East Eye reports: Ahmed al-Sharaa, a former member of al-Qaeda, on Monday became the first-ever Syrian president to visit the White House, in a reflection of Damascus’s stunning shift from a US-designated sponsor of terror to partner. Sharaa, whose Islamist rebel forces ousted longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad late last year, is the first Syrian leader to visit the White House since the country’s 1946 independence from France. The Assad family had courted Russia and Iran as partners. “We have…

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Israeli soldiers speak out on killings of Gaza civilians

Israeli soldiers speak out on killings of Gaza civilians

The Guardian reports: Israeli soldiers have described a free-for-all in Gaza and a breakdown in norms and legal constraints, with civilians killed at the whim of individual officers, according to testimony in a TV documentary. “If you want to shoot without restraint, you can,” Daniel, the commander of an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) tank unit, says in Breaking Ranks: Inside Israel’s War, due to be broadcast in the UK on ITV on Monday evening. Some of the IDF soldiers who…

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James Watson: Titan of science with tragic flaws

James Watson: Titan of science with tragic flaws

Jon Cohen writes: “It has not escaped our notice that the specific pairing we have postulated immediately suggests a possible copying mechanism for the genetic material.” That famous understatement concludes the 1953 Nature article in which James Watson, then just 25, and Francis Crick announced their discovery of the double helical structure of DNA. In his later life, Watson, who died on 6 November at 97, was anything but understated. The son of a Chicago bill collector, Watson shared a…

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