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12:15 PM ET, December 2, 2025

memeorandum

 Top Items: 
Wall Street Journal:
White House Says Second Strike on Alleged Drug Boat Was Legal  —  Press secretary says admiral who ordered strike, which is reported to have killed survivors of initial attack, was acting under Hegseth's authority  —  WASHINGTON—The White House attempted to defuse a growing controversy …
RELATED:
Washington Post:
Hegseth, with White House help, tries to distance himself from boat strike fallout  —  As Congress vows accountability, the Trump administration emphasized it was a top military commander — not the defense secretary — who directed the engagement. … Officials in Congress and the Pentagon …
Andrew Solender / Axios:
Jeffries says not to expect Dems to pursue Hegseth impeachment  —  House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) signaled Monday that Democrats are unlikely to pursue impeachment against Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth over alleged follow-up strikes against boats in the Caribbean.
New York Times:
Hegseth Ordered a Lethal Attack but Not the Killing of Survivors, Officials Say  —  Amid talk of war crimes, the details and precise sequence of a Sept. 2 attack on a boat in the Caribbean are facing intensifying scrutiny.  —  The Trump administration on Monday defended the legality …
Heather Cox Richardson / Letters from an American:
December 1, 2025  —  President Donald J. Trump's behavior over the holiday weekend has increased concern about his mental acuity.  A rant on his social media account at midnight on Thanksgiving itself threatened to strip citizenship from naturalized immigrants, called Minnesota governor Tim Walz …
Discussion: Forbes, MS NOW, Mercury News, Fox News and Axios
Seb Starcevic / Politico:
Franklin the Turtle publisher slams Hegseth for ‘violent’ boat strike post
Raquel Coronell Uribe / NBC News:
Publisher condemns ‘violent’ use of Franklin the Turtle after Pete Hegseth's boat strike post
Politico:
The weirdest show in Washington
Discussion: Semafor
RELATED:
Associated Press:
Former Honduras President Hernández freed after Trump pardon
New York Times:
Trump Administration Live Updates: Honduran Ex-President Is Freed From Prison After Pardon
Discussion: New Republic
Dan Merica / Washington Post:
Why Republicans are sweating Tuesday's special election in Trump country  —  The surprisingly competitive race in Tennessee's ruby-red 7th Congressional District is a high-profile test of voters' attitudes about the president's agenda.  —  just now … Republicans are looking to hang …
RELATED:
Meredith Lee Hill / Politico:
House Republicans sweat Tennessee election, despite Hudson's assurances
Discussion: CBS News and ABC News
Ben Blanchet / HuffPost:
Trump Launches Into Massive, Unhinged Late Night Posting Spree  —  The president made over 160 posts and reshares in just a matter of hours including one “WILD” claim from far-right conspiracy theorist Alex Jones.  —  President Donald Trump on Monday launched into a late night meltdown …
Discussion: Joe.My.God. and Raw Story
RELATED:
Ben Meiselas / Meidas+:   Trump Attacks MeidasTouch in Midnight Mental Breakdown
Michelle Goldberg / New York Times:
Olivia Nuzzi Isn't Telling All  —  One thing I almost respect about “American Canto,” Olivia Nuzzi's chaotic and elliptical new book about the simultaneous implosions of her life and of America, is that she doesn't pander.  The former Washington correspondent for New York magazine …
RELATED:
Rebecca Falconer / Axios:
Noem reveals sweeping travel ban plan after meeting with Trump  —  Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said after meeting with President Trump on Monday that she's recommending a travel ban on multiple countries in connection with criminal activity in the U.S.
RELATED:
Priscilla Alvarez / CNN:
DHS recommends travel ban list include at least 10 more countries
Joey Garrison / USA Today:
Michael Dell to pump $6 billion into ‘Trump accounts’ for newborns  —  WASHINGTON ‒ Michael Dell, founder and CEO of Dell Technologies, is contributing more than $6 billion to President Donald Trump's new accounts for newborn babies ‒ and the president wants others in the business world …
RELATED:
Wired:
DOGE Isn't Dead.  Here's What Its Operatives Are Doing Now  —  Contrary to popular reports, DOGE has “burrowed into the agencies like ticks,” government sources tell WIRED.  —  To one member of Elon Musk's so-called Department of Government Efficiency, the last few months have been “crazy.”
Kelly Rissman / The Independent:
Trump's wild midnight Truth Social posting binge features over 150 messages ranging from treason to beautiful Melania  —  Despite his hour-long posting spree that ended around midnight, the president was back at it just before 6 a.m. Tuesday morning … President Donald Trump went …
RELATED:
Ana Ley / New York Times:
Trump Administration Fires 8 Immigration Judges in New York  —  The firings, part of a nationwide effort, felt “like a Monday afternoon massacre,” said one judge who lost her job last month.  —  The Trump administration fired eight immigration judges in New York City on Monday, according to two people with knowledge of the matter.
Irena Hwang / New York Times:
The U.S. Is Funding Fewer Grants in Every Area of Science and Medicine  —  A quiet policy change means the government is making fewer bets on long-term science. … Includes new grants and competitive grant renewals.  In 2025 dollars.  —  To spend its budget, the N.I.H. made an unusual number …
Brad Heath / Reuters:
Trump promised a San Francisco crime crackdown.  His administration did the opposite.  —  U.S. President Donald Trump vowed this year to flood San Francisco with federal agents - and even soldiers - to crack down on crime.  Instead, his administration has quietly taken law enforcement away …
Jason Wilson / The Guardian:
Pete Hegseth told US soldiers in Iraq to ignore legal advice on rules of engagement  —  Defense secretary shares anecdote in The War on Warriors and rails against ‘rules and regulations’ governing war  —  Pete Hegseth, the US defense secretary, told soldiers under his command in Iraq …
Mark Gongloff / Bloomberg:
Erasing a Home's Risks on Zillow Doesn't Make Them Go Away  —  We live in a golden age of magical thinking, and I'm not just talking about the trillions of dollars being burned on artificial intelligence.  When it comes to our rapidly heating planet and its effects on our future …
David Roth / Defector:
The Conservative Grievance Business Is Always Hiring  —  Given his age when he first came to the world's attention and assuming continued good health in the intervening decade and change, Marine Todd would be in his late 30s today.  That would be if he was a real person, though …
Lena H. Sun / Washington Post:
RFK Jr.'s vaccine advisers plan biggest change yet to childhood schedule  —  The new chair of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices said the panel plans to vote to end universal hepatitis B vaccination at birth and to scrutinize if childhood shots cause allergies.
Jonathan Slotkin / New York Times:
Don't Fear Self-Driving Cars.  They Save Lives.  —  I recently got called to see a teenager ejected in a rollover car crash.  The trauma team rushed him into surgery to stop major abdominal bleeding, but we all knew.  When that much energy enters a skull, no operation can turn it back.
Discussion: The Register
Politico:
Stefanik accuses Johnson of lying, ‘blocking’ her defense bill provision  —  Rep. Elise Stefanik is taking aim directly at Speaker Mike Johnson over signals a provision she has championed won't be included in the annual defense policy bill the House wants to pass next week …
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 …
 
 
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 More Items: 
Ben Berkowitz / Axios:
AI bubble a “key downside risk” to U.S. economy, OECD warns
Discussion: Associated Press and Bloomberg
Financial Times:
ECB refuses to provide backstop for €140bn Ukraine loan
Discussion: NewsMax.com and Politico
Greg Olear / PREVAIL:
Infrequently Asked Questions About Jeffrey Epstein, Part One: The Money Thing
Marcie Jones / Wonkette:
Trump's Golden Ballroom Getting Bigger, Bigger, Bigger, Unlike His Approval Rating
Discussion: New Republic
 Earlier Items: 
Vox:
The Case for Growth  —  For the past few years, American politics have been organized around a simple …
Sascha Roslyakov / Politico:
Witkoff arrives in Moscow for crunch Putin talks
CBS News:
Honduras election results a “technical tie” as Trump launches a dramatic intervention, including a threat
Dasha Burns / Politico:
She might be Trump's favorite Democrat
Kelly Hooper / Politico:
Doctors call Ozempic a miracle drug. Medicaid officials aren't so sure.
Jill Lawrence / History Keeps Happening:
The American Revolution I Didn't Know  —  We all heard in school about the Boston Tea Party …
Spencer Ackerman / FOREVER WARS:
Pete Hegseth And Adm. Mitch Bradley Belong In Prison
Discussion: New Yorker and The Guardian
 

 
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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