Good evening, everyone. Tonight marks an extraordinary moment in American history. Catholic Bishops have issued a sweeping public condemnation of the President of the United States, the first in nearly twelve years, directly rebuking Donald Trump for his aggressive immigration policies. And as the Church speaks out, senior Trump administration officials are lashing back, escalating a clash with one of the most powerful moral institutions on the planet.
Meanwhile, I have obtained an exclusive statement from an Epstein survivor, a Jane Doe, who insists the President and every American finally listen to her voice. Her words cut through the political chaos with a clarity this country can no longer ignore.
On a personal note: thank you. This week has been heavy, for me and for many of you. But it has only sharpened my resolve. The fire in my belly to uncover the truth, to fight for survivors, to hold power to account, has never burned hotter. If that means reporting the stories this White House desperately wishes I would bury, I will not hesitate.
Here’s what you missed:
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops issued a rare, nearly unanimous statement condemning Trump’s nationwide immigration crackdown as a violation of “God-given human dignity,” launching a new national campaign to support migrants and calling for comprehensive reform of U.S. immigration laws.
Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan, criticized the Catholic Church’s stance on immigration, arguing that secure borders save lives and saying that as a lifelong Catholic he believes Church leaders should focus on addressing internal problems rather than condemning border enforcement.
Trump directed the Justice Department to investigate Jeffrey Epstein’s connections with major political and financial figures, focusing on Democrats even though newly released emails from the House Oversight Committee referenced individuals from both parties including Trump himself, and Attorney General Pam Bondi quickly assigned the inquiry to U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton while those named denied wrongdoing and reiterated past regrets about any association with Epstein.
In normal times, it would be a major scandal for the President of the United States to instruct the Attorney General to launch a criminal investigation into his political opponents in order to distract from questions about his own connection to a major controversy, and for the Attorney General to immediately announce that she is complying with that request. The Epstein scandal and the concerns about a possible cover up have now grown even more significant.
This evening, minutes ago, I received the following statement from an Epstein survivor who remains a Jane Doe. I encourage you to read it and share it:
Trump again refused to answer questions about Jeffrey Epstein on his way to Palm Beach today. This video is from Selina Wang:
Trump issued an executive order eliminating tariffs on numerous grocery imports such as coffee, tea, tropical fruits, bananas, oranges, cocoa, tomatoes, fruit juices and beef, a move the White House framed as a targeted effort to lower food costs after weeks of criticism over high grocery prices, recent Democratic election wins, and polling showing that most voters believe he has failed to curb inflation or improve the economy.
A ProPublica investigation found that a politically connected firm long tied to DHS Secretary Kristi Noem secretly benefited from $220 million in taxpayer funded Homeland Security advertising contracts awarded without competitive bidding under a border emergency declaration, raising concerns about conflicts of interest, hidden subcontractors, and potential violations of federal contracting ethics due to the firm’s deep personal and political links to Noem and her top aides.
Democrats are already floating plans for Trump’s newly built 90,000 square foot White House ballroom, suggesting everything from tearing it down to converting it into a museum on corruption, arguing it symbolizes Trump’s rule breaking and excess, while polls show broad Democratic and independent opposition and party figures say a future Democratic president would face strong pressure to repurpose or remove the structure. The White House currently looks like this:
Marjorie Taylor Greene, once one of Trump’s strongest allies, is increasingly criticizing his foreign travel and global focus, arguing he has drifted from the “America First” agenda by prioritizing meetings with foreign leaders over domestic economic struggles, creating a public rift as Trump defends his international outreach as necessary for global stability and dismisses her concerns, while Republicans debate whether the movement should shift back toward a more isolationist, economy centered message.
Indiana Senate Republicans abruptly refused President Trump’s push for a December special session to redraw congressional maps to favor the GOP, making Indiana the first Republican-led state to reject his mid-decade redistricting effort; the decision, opposed by Gov. Braun and Trump allies, followed insufficient Senate votes, intense pressure campaigns, public polling showing majority opposition, and fears of political fallout, while supporters warn of “severe consequences” and opponents hail the move as a stand against partisan power grabs.
A new tell-all memoir by journalist Olivia Nuzzi claims that RFK Jr., now serving as HHS secretary, admitted to using the psychedelic DMT during their past sexting relationship, despite his long public sobriety and prominent role in promoting psychedelics as therapeutic tools, while the book also alleges he told her he loved her, wrote her poems and wanted her to have his child.
ProPublica reports that FBI Director Kash Patel granted rare polygraph waivers to Deputy Director Dan Bongino and two other senior aides, allowing them to obtain top secret and sensitive compartmented information clearances despite not clearing standard security screening, a move former FBI officials call unprecedented and which has triggered internal complaints.
The White House announced a new trade deal with Switzerland and Liechtenstein that caps U.S. reciprocal tariffs on their goods at 15 percent, prompting Switzerland to lower its own import duties on a broad range of U.S. industrial, agricultural, fish and seafood products, while U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer highlighted that the agreement is expected to shift manufacturing such as pharmaceuticals, gold smelting and railway equipment to the United States, coming just one day after similar trade agreements were unveiled with Argentina, Guatemala, El Salvador and Ecuador.
Nineteen migrants deported by the U.S. to Ghana under the Trump administration’s secretive third country deportation agreements have been moved from a hotel to undisclosed locations, according to a lawyer who says families cannot reach them, highlighting human rights concerns over deals made with at least five African nations to accept migrants who cannot be safely returned to their home countries and prompting legal challenges in Ghana over the agreements’ legality and potential violations of protections for asylum seekers.
A federal bankruptcy judge said he will approve Purdue Pharma’s new opioid settlement, which requires the Sackler family to contribute up to $7 billion and surrender ownership, replaces the Supreme Court rejected deal by allowing non participants to still sue the family, provides about $850 million for individual victims including funds for children born with opioid withdrawal, and restructures the company under a new name with future profits directed toward combating the opioid crisis, marking one of the largest and most complex resolutions in the decades long litigation over an epidemic tied to roughly 900,000 U.S. deaths.
Good news:
A two week old southern sea otter pup named Caterpillar was successfully rescued and reunited with its mother in Morro Bay, California after Marine Mammal Center staff and harbor patrol spent hours tracking her down by broadcasting recordings of the pup’s distress cries, a high stakes mission given that orphaned pups rarely survive and the threatened local otter population numbers only about 3,000, making each individual critical to the species’ long term recovery.
The Netherlands will return a 3,500 year old granodiorite bust of Pharaoh Thutmose III to Egypt after identifying it as a looted artifact stolen during the Arab Spring, handing it over as a good faith gesture timed with the opening of Egypt’s massive new Grand Egyptian Museum and signaling renewed cooperation on repatriating antiquities.
Delta Air Lines ran its 25th annual Dream Flight, flying 100 Black teens from Atlanta to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center to inspire careers in aviation and aerospace, featuring an all-Black flight crew and mentorship from Black pilots through the Organization of Black Aerospace Professionals.
See you in the morning.
— Aaron
