11/18/25
Good morning! It’s Tuesday, November 18th.
Apple Cider Day
Omg… and it’s raining here in LA! Sign me up! Apple cider in the rain – perfection.
And now, the news.
US Approves Trump’s Plan for Gaza
-via AP News
Starting in Gaza, where on Monday the United Nations signed off on Trump’s blueprint for the future of Gaza, moving towards possible peace in the region… in a plan where Donald J Trump is the chair of peace.
Russia and China abstained from the vote.
It follows the basic tenets of the peace plan put forward earlier, but does not include a guarantee or any kind of timeline for an independent state for Palestine.
Just like… hey, maybe. After. We’ll see.
So this is a big step, but it doesn’t really move much. It’s just the vote. The vote was a yes, but nothing is going to happen right away.
As for the Board of Peace, which Trump will chair… he says members will be named in the coming weeks, along with “many more exciting announcements.”
So good to now he’s treating this with the gravity he should.
Trump’s Epstein Problem
-via CNN
As I mentioned in yesterday’s episode, on Sunday Trump announced that he now wants the House to sign the bill that would compel the DOJ to release the Epstein files.
On Monday, he took that a step further and said that if the bill crosses his desk, he would sign the bill.
This is an incredible reversal from a man who, just Saturday, was like – Epstein? I hardly even know-stein (I will keep making that joke until you laugh at it so learn to love it).
Now, are we actually supposed to believe he wants these files to come out? No! Of course not!
Why, then, is this happening?
A couple things… first, he knows this will pass through the House. He has no moves left there, so he might as well pretend to get on board.
But in the Senate, he might have some room there. Majority Leader John Thune was noncommittal about whether this would pass through the Senate on Monday.
So it’s possible that he’s talking a big game to be able to point to the Senate and said, “see! I wanted to release the files but the Senate is the hold up.”
However, this reversal is significant because it is the first time, perhaps ever, that Trump has given in to his base, rather than the other way around.
He gave up.
Not unlike their emotions because they’ve never once gone to therapy… The MAGA party is genuinely fractured and fragile.
The vote is expected to happen in the House today – we’ll see what the numbers look like.
DOJ Mishandled Comey Case
In a little bit of – yeah, duh – news…
On Monday a federal judge blocked the Department of Justice from handing over full grand jury defense materials to former FBI director James Comey’s attorneys, but only temporarily, noting "a disturbing pattern of profound investigative missteps" which he believes may have irreversibly tainted (hate that word, so sorry about its use!) the Comey case.
"The Court recognizes that the relief sought by the defense is rarely granted. However, the record points to a disturbing pattern of profound investigative missteps, missteps that led an FBI agent and a prosecutor to potentially undermine the integrity of the grand jury proceeding."
So because of that, the government has until 5pm eastern on Wednesday for the government to provide a response to this ruling, with Comey’s lawyers then having until 5pm eastern on Friday to respond to that response.
Which means that, on Wednesday, we’re going to see oral arguments in what will eventually become a shadow case of political persecution as Comey tries to get his actual case tossed.
Fascinating.
Uh oh! Now I’m back on the wanting to go to law school train!
Also on Monday, in perhaps a coincidence of timing or perhaps a classic case of “hey, can I get some of that”… New York Attorney General Letitia James' lawyers accused the Trump administration of "outrageous government conduct,” calling the fraud charges against her “patently unconstitutional.”
She is asking to have her case tossed out, without prejudice. Which means if it goes it, it goes out forever!
Two classic legal cases of, when we know more, we’ll know more.
And that’s it. That’s the news.
There’s some other stuff, but there’s been a lot of Epstein in the news and it’s just so gross and a lot… I think we can take a short episode here and there.
The other stuff will keep.
This is the stuff you needed to know about – we’ll cover the other stuff tomorrow or Wednesday.
I’m proud of hot apple cider. Hot apple cider and a book, when you’re in sweats and on your couch and it’s raining outside?
But more than that… which seems impossible because that’s like… that’s the greatest thing ever. Because you are also the greatest thing ever… I’m proud of you.