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6:25 PM ET, December 1, 2025

memeorandum

 Top Items: 
Greg Sargent / New Republic:
Trump Boat Bombings Suddenly on Shakier Ground as Damning Info Emerges  —  Are Republicans really about to exercise real oversight on President Trump's reprehensible bombings of alleged drug smugglers in the Caribbean Sea?  They're talking a good transparency game in response to the jarring news …
RELATED:
Julia Manchester / The Hill:
White House confirms Hegseth authorized second strike on drug boat  —  White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed on Monday that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth authorized the second, follow-up strike on an alleged drug boat in the Caribbean in September following …
Ben Finley / Associated Press:
Experts explain what the law says about killing survivors of a boat strike  —  Leveling a second strike on the survivors of an initial attack on an alleged drug boat would have been a crime, legal experts say.  It doesn't matter whether the U.S. is in “armed conflict” with drug cartels as the Trump administration asserts.
Just Security:
Unlawful Orders and Killing Shipwrecked Boat Strike Survivors: An Expert Backgrounder  —  This is part of Just Security's Collection: U.S. Lethal Strikes on Suspected Drug Traffickers.  —  The question of when it is lawful for U.S. military personnel to refuse an unlawful order has become a point of discussion in the political arena.
Jennifer Rubin / The Contrarian:
War Crime...or Murder?  —  Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who makes up in false bravado what he lacks in judgment and expertise, appears to have committed an inexcusable, unjustified violation of black-letter international and domestic law, according to a stunning Washington Post story released last Friday.
Discussion: NextDraft and Just Security
Tom Nichols / The Atlantic:
Pete Hegseth Needs to Go—Now
Washington Post:
Trump says Hegseth denied issuing order to kill boat crew
Paul McLeary / Politico:
White House says admiral approved second deadly boat strike
CNN:
Trump to hold Venezuela Oval Office meeting, sources say
Max Boot / Washington Post:
No wonder Trump is outraged by warnings about illegal orders
Herb Scribner / Axios:
Here are all of Hegseth's boat strikes near Venezuela that we know about
New York Times:
Appeals Court Says Alina Habba Is Unlawful U.S. Attorney  —  The judges wrote that the Trump Administration appeared to have become frustrated by legal and political barriers that have prevented its preferred U.S. attorneys from leading federal prosecutors' offices.
RELATED:
Mike Catalini / Associated Press:
Former Trump lawyer Alina Habba disqualified as New Jersey prosecutor, US appeals court rules  —  The Trump administration's maneuvers to keep the president's former lawyer Alina Habba in place as New Jersey's top federal prosecutor were illegal and she is disqualified, a federal appeals court said Monday.
Politico:   Trump's courts crunch
William Kristol / The Bulwark:
Sex Crimes.  State Crimes.  War Crimes.  —  You really just can't take breaks around here, huh?  While we were all busy digesting dinner Thanksgiving night, Donald Trump was tapping away at his phone doing a little supervillain brainstorming on Truth Social.
RELATED:
Paul Krugman:
Trump: Pro-crypto or Pro-crime?  —  Or are they the same thing?  —  On one side, the Trump administration is sinking small boats that it claims, without evidence, are smuggling drugs — and according to the Washington Post, Pete Hegseth, the self-styled Secretary of War …
Miranda Devine / New York Post:
Damning report labels FBI ‘rudderless ship’ under Kash Patel — with him and Dan Bongino more concerned with building ‘personal résumés’  —  FBI Director Kash Patel is facing withering criticism from an alliance of active-duty and retired agents and analysts …
RELATED:
Brittany Chain / Daily Mail:
Kash Patel humiliated as explosive 115-page dossier reveals what FBI agents really think... and his tantrum after being issued a women's raid jacket  —  A scathing 115-page report into the state of the FBI under Kash Patel has exposed turmoil and friction as agents turn on him and even Trump …
Discussion: Mediaite and Wonkette
Andrew Solender / Axios:
House Democrats investigate Kash Patel's use of FBI jet
Discussion: NewsMax.com
RELATED:
Emily Cochrane / New York Times:
Johnson and Trump Try to Avoid an Upset House Loss in Tennessee  —  Speaker Mike Johnson put the president on speakerphone during a Monday stop in the state, underscoring the unusual amount of national attention on a House special election.  —  The crowd milling around the sleek multimillion-dollar barn full …
RELATED:
Mia McCarthy / Politico:
Jeffries says Johnson ‘tanked’ Trump's health care proposal
Discussion: Axios and Breitbart
Jonathan Lemire / The Atlantic:
The Bubble-Wrapped President  —  For a decade, Donald Trump's rallies were intertwined with his political identity.  His big crowds were how he first got the media and the Republican Party to take him seriously, and they provided real-time feedback.  Those who followed him closely could watch …
Jordain Carney / Politico:
Schumer says his NY offices received ‘MAGA’ bomb threats  —  Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Monday his offices in three New York cities received bomb threats via an e-mail titled “MAGA.”  Schumer in a statement said the threats were made against offices in Rochester, Binghamton and Long Island.
RELATED:
Sahil Kapur / NBC News:
Chuck Schumer says there have been ‘multiple bomb threats’ to his New York offices
Discussion: IJR and Mediaite
NBC News:
Costco sues the Trump administration, seeking a refund of tariffs  —  The wholesaler is the latest company to file a lawsuit against a federal agency over the president's signature economic policy.  —  Costco Wholesale has filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration …
Richard Eberwein / Heartland Signal:
Republican mayor in Kansas facing deportation over voter fraud  —  Joe Ceballos, a longtime Republican and small-town mayor in Kansas, is facing felony voter fraud charges and possible deportation from the presidential administration he voted for.  —  Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach …
Discussion: Raw Story
Erin Reed / Erin In The Morning:
Dem.  Senator Gallego's Leaked Texts Echo Far-Right Gender Panic And Misogyny  —  Erin In The Morning is a reader-supported publication.  To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a subscriber.  —  In recent months, a handful of Democrats have tried to court a strain …
Discussion: LGBTQ Nation
Politico:
Record-setting personnel issues are marring Trump's second term … The pace of withdrawals, the highest since at least the Ronald Reagan presidency, has flown below the radar in the day-to-day churn on Capitol Hill, with many Republican senators expressing surprise at the data in interviews.
Discussion: The Independent and Raw Story
Zach Everson / Forbes:
Trump Crypto Partner Alt5 Sigma May Have Violated SEC Rules After Another Filing Discrepancy  —  Topline  —  Alt5 Sigma told regulators it learned in November its accountant had resigned, but the accountant says he stepped down three months earlier — a fresh discrepancy that marks …
Charlie Sykes / To the Contrary:
The Silence of the Canaries  —  We hear a lot about the canaries in the coal mine these days.  But we were reminded last week that dead canaries are littered all around us.  We never imagined that death could undo so many.1  —  Happy Monday.  —  This.  Is.  Not.  A. Drill.
New Republic:
Trump's Fury at NYT Explodes Amid Fresh Concerns About Mental Decline … President Trump dreads being seen as weak.  He exploded in a long, crazed rant about a harsh new piece in The New York Times about his ongoing decline.  Though the piece documented his deterioration in careful detail …
Discussion: Raw Story
Joseph Choi / The Hill:
RFK Jr. replaces chair of controversial vaccine advisory panel  —  The chair of a federal vaccine advisory committee, himself a well-known vaccine critic, will be moving to an official role within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the agency announced Monday.
Discussion: NewsMax.com and Bloomberg
Noah Berlatsky / Public Notice:
Trump's ugly Thanksgiving meltdown  —  💥 🚀 PN CYBER MONDAY SPECIAL 💥 🚀 Click the button below to sign up for an annual paid subscription for the special price of $40 ⬇️  —  ⚡️⚡️ PN Cyber Monday Special ⚡️⚡️
Politico:
Top Jewish donors take stock of GOP infighting over Israel and antisemitism … “There's no black-and-white here, but I do think that I do see forces lining up to push back against this agenda,” said Eytan Laor, a Republican bundler and founder of the American Principles PAC of elected officials and pro-Israel donors.
Mark Hertling / The Bulwark:
Pete Hegseth, Moral Failure, and the Erosion of Military Legitimacy  —  IN EARLY 2008, WHILE COMMANDING a divisional task force in northern Iraq, I stood on a dusty outpost in Nineveh Province waiting for an old friend and one of my “bosses”—then-Lieutenant Gen. Marty Dempsey—to step off a helicopter.
 
 
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 More Items: 
Washington Litigation Group:
Former DOJ Employee Sues To Defend Title VII
Discussion: New Republic, NPR, MS NOW and Raw Story
Josh Funk / Associated Press:
Federal review finds 44% of US trucking schools don't comply with government rules
Discussion: Los Angeles Times, NPR and IJR
Cassandra Vinograd / New York Times:
Zelensky Turns to Europe After Talks With U.S. Officials
Discussion: France 24, Reuters, Semafor and The Hill
Pedro Rodriguez / Washington Examiner:
GOP leadership questions if Walz is ‘criminally complicit’ in Minnesota fraud
Dan Diamond / Washington Post:
White House says Trump got MRI for ‘preventive’ cardiovascular check-up
Scott MacFarlane / CBS News:
Democrats begin congressional probe of Kash Patel's use of FBI Gulfstream jet
Discussion: Washington Times and New Republic
 Earlier Items: 
Amanda Marcotte / Salon:
MAGA's war on empathy was started by a woman
Discussion: Raw Story, Blaze Media and Axios
U.S. Department of Homeland Security …:
TSA Introduces New $45 Fee Option for Travelers Without REAL ID Starting February 1
Robert Kuttner / American Prospect:
Sources of America's Hidden Inflation
Discussion: Washington Times
Joe Heim / Washington Post:
A Maryland mayor removes rainbow crosswalks, citing neutrality concerns
Discussion: Advocate
David M. Halbfinger / New York Times:
Netanyahu's Pardon Request Borrows From Trump's Playbook
Kevin Maurer / Rolling Stone:
Fellow Unit Member Says Alleged D.C. Shooter Felt Abandoned by CIA
Discussion: BBC and New Republic
Natalie Armour / Oklahoma Daily:
OU puts graduate instructor on leave after student claims discrimination on Bible-based essay grade
 

 
From Techmeme:

Kurt Wagner / Bloomberg:
Sources: Meta is considering deep budget cuts to its metaverse efforts in 2026, potentially as high as 30% and most likely including layoffs as early as January

Kif Leswing / CNBC:
Apple says general counsel Kate Adams and policy chief Lisa Jackson will retire, and Jennifer Newstead, Meta's former chief legal officer, will replace Adams

Will Oremus / Washington Post:
Two studies suggest AI chatbots can shift political views more effectively than TV campaign ads, especially by presenting many claims, regardless of accuracy
 
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