Friday, November 14, 2025

November 14, 2025

Good morning,

Welcome to the news for independent thinkers

Leading the News . . .

Emails Tie DOJ Officials to Blocking 2016 Clinton Inquiry as New Probe Expands . . . Newly released emails indicate that Justice Department officials now linked to special counsel Jack Smith's team were involved in halting a potential FBI investigation into whether Hillary Clinton's 2016 campaign improperly funded the Steele dossier through intermediaries. The disclosures come as the Trump Justice Department builds a broad conspiracy case focused on alleged political weaponization within federal agencies. Investigators say recent document releases from Congress may bolster the probe's scope and timeline. Just the News

Politics

Trump to Ramp Up Domestic Travel to Pitch Affordability Ahead of Midterms . . . President Donald Trump is preparing an aggressive round of domestic travel to promote his administration's affordability agenda before the midterm elections, a White House official told The Daily Signal. After recent visits to the U.K., Asia, and the Middle East, President Trump is steering his travel schedule back to domestic stops. The change follows criticism that the administration was spending too much time abroad. Vice President JD Vance signaled the pivot on X, saying the White House needs to concentrate "on the homefront." Daily Signal

Democratic AGs Say Trump Pardons Won't Halt 2020 Elector Prosecutions . . . Democratic attorneys general in several battleground states say they will continue pursuing criminal cases against 2020 contingent Trump electors despite President Donald Trump's recent pardons. AGs in Arizona, Michigan, Nevada, and Wisconsin argue their state charges remain unaffected. Nevada's Aaron Ford, who refiled forgery charges against six alternate electors after an earlier dismissal, said Trump's actions have "no bearing" on state law. The electors served as backups in case the 2020 results were overturned. Daily Signal

Newsom Revokes 17,000 Commercial Licenses Issued to Illegal Migrants . . . California Gov. Gavin Newsom is rescinding 17,000 commercial driver's licenses previously granted to illegal migrants after mounting pressure from Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy. The reversal follows several incidents tied to licensed migrants, including an October crash that killed three people. State officials have notified affected drivers their licenses will expire in 60 days. Duffy called the move overdue and said his team will continue pressing California to remove unauthorized immigrants from operating commercial vehicles. Daily Mail

Trump official refers Rep. Eric Swalwell for a federal criminal probe over alleged mortgage fraud . . . A senior housing official in the Trump administration has referred Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) to the Justice Department for a possible criminal investigation tied to alleged mortgage and tax fraud involving his Washington, D.C., home. According to the referral, FHFA Director Bill Pulte believes Swalwell may have provided false or misleading information on loan documents. Swalwell is the fourth Democrat in recent months to face similar mortgage-related allegations. The Justice Department has not commented. NBC News

Conservatives Rally Around Fetterman After Fall, Lefties Can't Get The Knives Out Fast Enough . . . Sen. John Fetterman is expected to recover after a fall at his home in Braddock, Pennsylvania, caused by what his team called a ventricular fibrillation flare-up that left him briefly light-headed. He sustained minor facial injuries but joked about the incident afterward. News of the fall sparked sharply divided responses online, with conservatives offering well wishes while some users on BlueSky mocked the senator. Screenshots shared by commentators showed posts ranging from derision to harsher remarks. Daily Wire

If Republicans are not offering him the chairmanship of this or that committee to switch parties, they are committing political malpractice.

Survey Shows Stefanik Leading Hochul Among Independents in 2026 Test . . . A new J.L. Partners survey finds Rep. Elise Stefanik outperforming New York Gov. Kathy Hochul among independent voters in a hypothetical 2026 gubernatorial matchup. Stefanik draws 41% of independents to Hochul's share, edging the governor by three points. Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, also weighing a possible run, trails Stefanik's numbers with 29% support from independents. The early snapshot highlights Stefanik's stronger appeal among unaffiliated voters as Republicans size up potential contenders. Daily Wire

Virginia Police Leaders Warn Jones' Election Could Spur Departures . . . Some Virginia law-enforcement leaders say Jay Jones' election could drive officers to leave the profession or the state, citing his past comments—reported by the Washington Free Beacon—including a remark about putting "two bullets" in a GOP lawmaker's head and speculation about whether more police killings would change officer behavior. Sean Kennedy of Virginians for Safe Communities said the outcome could deflate police morale and shrink applicant pools, though he expressed hope future elections could shift direction. Washington Free Beacon

Culture

Gorsuch Warns Civic Ignorance Is America's Biggest Threat . . . Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch said in a Fox News interview that widespread gaps in civic knowledge pose a major threat to the country. Citing surveys showing few Americans can pass the citizenship test or identify the number of Supreme Court justices, he argued the nation can't preserve its history without understanding it. Gorsuch made the comments while promoting his upcoming children's book on the American Revolution, stressing that younger generations aren't consistently taught key historical stories. Daily Signal

Ken Burns decides to attack America's founding . . . As directed by Mr. Burns "The American Revolution" is less a celebration of a revolution than a redress of grievances. It is an origin story, but also a systematic demolishing of creation myths, if any still survive. Nothing put forth by the series is untrue. That the fathers of their country were fathers of enslaved children is no revelation. But Burns and Co. didn't discover all this. And their sanctimonious approach to history becomes very tiresome very quickly. Wall Street Journal

We need our Founders for the cohesion of our nation. And we need to judge them in the context of the times. Ken Burns has concocted hours of hate-America propaganda designed to disassemble the bedrock of our nation. To those who remember dials - turn the dial.

Senator Targets Chinese Citizens' Use of U.S. Surrogacy . . . Sen. Rick Scott has introduced the SAFE KIDS Act, a proposal aimed at blocking citizens of adversarial nations—especially China—from using U.S.-based surrogacy to secure American birthright citizenship for their children. The bill would criminalize participation in surrogacy arrangements intended for foreign nationals from designated adversary countries. Scott argues the measure is needed to prevent exploitation of American women and to curb what he says is a growing national-security concern tied to foreign-driven surrogacy practices. Daily Signal

National Security

Report Says Chinese Hackers Used AI Tool for First Autonomous Cyberattack . . . A new Anthropic report says suspected Chinese state-sponsored hackers used the company's Claude system to carry out what it calls the first large-scale cyberattack driven almost entirely by artificial intelligence. The actors allegedly posed as a legitimate cybersecurity firm to bypass safeguards and launch rapid, automated operations against about 30 U.S. companies, financial institutions, chemical manufacturers, and government agencies. Anthropic says AI handled most of the intrusion activity at speeds human operators couldn't match. Daily Wire

Trump administration targets Charlotte for next immigration crackdown, local sheriff says

Hegseth announces operation 'Southern Spear' to quash 'narco-terrorists' . . . Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced on Thursday evening a new operation dubbed "Southern Spear" to quash "narco-terrorists" in the Western Hemisphere. Hegseth said the mission is being led by Joint Task Force Southern Spear and U.S. Southern Command to defend the "Homeland, removes narco-terrorists from our Hemisphere, and secures our Homeland from the drugs that are killing our people." The Hill

International

Soros-Funded Grant Backs Middle East Desk at Anti-Israel News Startup . . . Open Society Foundations awarded a $250,000 grant to Drop Site News to launch a Middle East desk, describing it as support for expanding independent reporting in the region. The startup, created in 2024 by journalists Ryan Grim and Jeremy Scahill, has since produced extensive critical coverage of Israel's war with Hamas. Its early work included interviews with Hamas leaders meant to shed light on the group's decisions ahead of the Oct. 7 attacks, underscoring Drop Site's sharply adversarial stance toward Israel. Washington Free Beacon

China Registers Worst Investment Decline in Years as Slowdown Continues

Good.

Money

U.S. to Roll Back Tariffs on Key Imports From Four Latin Nations . . . The U.S. will remove tariffs on bananas, coffee, beef, and select apparel and textile products from Ecuador, Argentina, El Salvador and Guatemala, according to a senior administration official. The shift marks a softening of the Trump administration's reciprocal tariff strategy amid consumer price pressures and legal uncertainty following a recent Supreme Court hearing. The step follows a September executive order signaling potential tariff relief on goods not produced domestically when partner nations strike trade agreements with Washington. Wall Street Journal

Guilty Pleasures

Pajama revolt: DNC staffers ruthlessly mocked for fuming over remote work reversal: 'Get yourselves together' . . .

Democratic National Committee employees were mercilessly mocked after news came out that staffers were very unhappy with a recent directive from DNC Chairman Ken Martin to end remote work for employees, who will now be required to show up to the office five days a week. Leadership of the union representing DNC employees put out a statement following news of the new directive, describing it as "callous." Reports from those on the staff-wide call also described an immediate flurry of thumbs-down emojis. Fox News

What's next, no 3 pm milk and cookies?

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