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.

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.

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

Dem.  Senator Gallego's Leaked Texts Echo Far-Right Gender Panic And Misogyny  —  Last week, Democratic Senator Ruben Gallego's texts leaked, where he lamented that Democratic “women look like men and men look like women.” … In recent months, a handful of Democrats have tried to court …

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.

Top Mace adviser leaves her campaign, citing loyalty to Trump … That conversation, he said, was the catalyzing moment behind his decision to leave the campaign.  POLITICO has not independently verified the claim.  —  “My name has been used publicly, while going back on her word to pay me …

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.

Trump says he'll release MRI results; he doesn't know what part of his body was scanned  —  President Donald Trump said Sunday that he would release the results of his MRI test that he received in October.  “If you want to have it released, I'll release it,” the president said during an exchange …

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 …

OU puts graduate instructor on leave after student claims discrimination on Bible-based essay grade  —  OU placed a graduate student instructor on leave after a student publicly contested a grade and filed an illegal discrimination claim after she received a failing grade on an essay that cited the Bible.

Fellow Unit Member Says Alleged D.C. Shooter Felt Abandoned by CIA  —  The Afghan who served in a U.S.-backed Zero Unit struggled with apparent mental health issues after migrating to America in 2021  —  The alleged shooter of two National Guard members, Rahmanullah Lakanwal …

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 ⚡️⚡️

Indiana House releases draft congressional map that could net Republicans 2 seats … State House Speaker Todd Huston has consistently said his caucus could pass the new map, and Speaker Mike Johnson huddled with lawmakers this weekend in what was described by one person briefed on the call as very “rah rah” ahead of them convening.

Trump's Venezuela “No-Fly Zone” Is a Dangerous Joke  —  Plus: War crimes and TACO time.  —  1. Airspace  —  It hasn't gotten as much attention as the war crimes (more on those in a minute), but last Friday Trump tweeted out the following on Truth Social:  —  What the f#$! does this mean?

WW1 toxic compound sprayed on Georgian protesters, BBC evidence suggests  —  Georgia's authorities used a World War One-era chemical weapon to quell anti-government protesters last year, evidence gathered by the BBC suggests.  —  “You could feel [the water] burning,” one of the protesters …