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Today, a bit of a treat: I spoke with the New York Times’ Maggie Haberman, coauthor with Jonathan Swan of the new book Regime Change, which takes readers inside Trump’s second White House.
The Trump White House is, among other things, a court, and courts have favorites, enforcers, exiles, and people who somehow wind up on the wrong airplane. Haberman knows the cast better than almost anyone. So I asked: Why did Natalie Harp make Trump’s escape plane while Marco Rubio did not? Who can tell Stephen Miller no? What happens to the Epstein matter now that Todd Blanche is attorney general? And more.
Watch our discussion at the top of this newsletter.
Also in today’s newsletter: Big Bend gets a reprieve. The White House and DOJ get a little closer. Trump threatens Oman while Jared meets with Hamas. Tupac’s murder, finally in court.
We also tackle two very different stories about women in devastating postpartum crises. It’s a reminder that someone can be surrounded by people and still feel profoundly alone. It’s left me thinking about something we don’t talk about enough: How can we do a better job of showing up for loved ones when they’re clearly struggling?
My friend, psychiatrist Dr. Samantha Boardman, often says that taking action for others can lift us, too.
And at the end, an update from the world of Bruno.
Here Are Your Headlines
Protest Works? The Trump administration is pausing, at least for now, border-security construction inside Big Bend National Park. Crews had already begun clearing land for roads, surveillance tech, and vehicle barriers when the project ran into bipartisan opposition over fears it could cause irreversible damage to the park. The head of Customs and Border Protection announced he’s personally visiting the location to do an “on the ground evaluation” and listen to local leaders. Construction could resume when he leaves. We’ll keep you posted.
No Means No: The Supreme Court rejected, for the second time, Trump’s request to reconsider the jury verdict that found him liable for sexually abusing and defaming E. Jean Carroll. Carroll’s lawyer said this rejection means the verdict “is now final and cannot be challenged in any court.” Carroll responded by posting the article along with one word: “Again!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”
Meta’s Tobacco Moment: A landmark trial over how young people use Meta’s social media platforms is set to begin tomorrow. Multiple states sued Meta, alleging it prioritized engagement and revenue over the safety of its young users. Prosecutors are seeking more than $1 trillion and fundamental changes to the way Meta’s platforms operate. California Attorney General Rob Bonta told me this is Meta’s “tobacco moment.” You can watch my discussion with him here.
On Strike: Liz Wills-O’Gilvie, a 63-year-old anti-hunger activist, has entered the second week of an indefinite hunger strike to protest food insecurity and pressure Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey to boost funding for the state’s food stamp program. Since Trump slashed funding to SNAP last year, more than 5.3 million people across the country, including an estimated 1.5 million children, have lost access to food stamp benefits. Wills-O’Gilvie says she plans to keep fasting until leaders act.
Gone Too Soon: Hayden Panettiere, the prolific actress who starred in “Heroes,” “Nashville,” and Scream 4, died at 36. Authorities reportedly found her in cardiac arrest after an apparent overdose and say there is no evidence of trauma or foul play. They have not released a cause of death. Panettiere had just released her memoir, in which she discussed her struggles with mental health and addiction. She said she had been “groomed” as a child star, pushed into sexual situations, and developed postpartum depression after the birth of her daughter in 2014. Panettiere alleged that Neutrogena cancelled a longstanding contract she’d had with them after she spoke publicly about her postpartum depression. “There’s a lot of people out there who think that it’s not real,” she said at the time. “It’s really painful and it’s really scary and women need a lot of support.”
If this is upsetting to read, maybe take a moment to consider who in your life could use a call or message of support. If you or anyone you know is struggling with mental health issues, there’s a number you can call to get help: 988. It’s the U.S. Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, which has saved thousands of lives.
Nightmare: The prosecution rested its case in what some are calling “America’s saddest murder trial.” Lindsay Clancy, 36, admitted to killing her three young children in 2023, then attempting to end her own life. What’s in dispute is whether she was experiencing postpartum psychosis, a severe mental health condition that can cause someone to lose touch with reality. Clancy’s defense argues she knew something was wrong and tried to seek help in the months leading up to the killings, but failed to receive the necessary care. “She was crying out for help,” one expert in postpartum mental health said, “and all she was met with was medication and redirection. That’s not how we solve problems in maternal healthcare.” Clancy was prescribed more than a dozen psychiatric medications, which her lawyers say worsened her condition. While postpartum mood disorders are quite common, affecting up to 85% of women, postpartum psychosis is much rarer, affecting 1 or 2 women in every 1,000 who give birth. It’s reversible, but without proper treatment, it can be deadly. “We see it escalate to unfortunate outcomes,” the expert explained, “because of a lack of education and awareness for moms, their partners, and for members of the community that could potentially intervene before it gets to the state it got to with Lindsay Clancy.”
Who Shot Ya: After three decades, one of hip hop’s biggest mysteries may be finally put to rest. Duane Kieth “Keffe D” Davis is on trial for orchestrating the murder of Tupac Shakur in 1996. Prosecutors aren’t relying on some newly discovered smoking gun. Instead, their case rests heavily on Davis’ public statements about his role in the killing, and his memoir, in which he discussed his alleged involvement. They say Davis, a former leader of the South Compton Crips gang, was the “shot caller” who orchestrated the killing and supplied the gun, even though they don’t accuse him of pulling the trigger. Davis’ defense says his stories about that day are “bullshit” — his lawyer used that word — and that Davis exaggerated his role to make money.
Against The World: Shakur was gunned down in a drive-by shooting while riding in a car in Las Vegas in September 1996. He died six days later at 25, at the height of his career as a street poet and pioneering figure in gangster rap. His murder, and the mystery around it, immortalized him; Shakur released more platinum albums posthumously than while he was alive. His killing also became inseparable from a yearslong, bloody feud that defined hip hop in the 1990s. Shakur and his label, LA-based Death Row Records, represented the West Coast, and were aligned with the Bloods street gang. Their main rivals were Sean “Diddy” Combs’ New York-based Bad Boy Records, which signed Christopher Wallace, “The Notorious B.I.G,” and used the Crips gang for protection on the West Coast. Years of retaliatory violence and rhetoric culminated in Las Vegas, when Shakur and his gang-affiliated bodyguards assaulted Davis’ nephew, a Crips member; prosecutors say Davis and fellow Crips members killed Shakur in revenge. Combs has long been linked to Shakur’s death, and Davis claimed Combs offered to pay him to kill Shakur, something Combs denied. Wallace, aka Biggie, was killed in a similar drive-by shooting just months later, and his murder also remains unsolved.
Until the End of Time: The killings of Tupac and Biggie shook hip hop just as it was becoming a dominant force in American culture. Tupac, in particular, helped push rap beyond gangster stories, combining street life with politics, vulnerability, and poetry. His influence shaped hip hop and a generation of artists who followed.
In Dependence: Attorney General Todd Blanche refused to pledge to “act independently of the White House.” Trump’s former personal lawyer argued that “no attorney general should ever pledge that,” and said Trump will “never” ask him to do “something unethical.” Someone is conveniently ignoring history. Ever since Watergate, the DOJ has maintained formal barriers between the White House and its law-enforcement decisions to guard against political interference. The attorney general is meant to be the top cop for the American people, not the president’s protector. According to Washington lore, Jimmy Carter’s Attorney General Griffin Bell, when told the White House is on the phone, once said, “I don’t take calls from buildings.” “The only reason Blanche is AG,” Sen. Andy Kim (D-NJ) countered, “is because he will cross any ethical/legal line to defend Trump.”
Better Late Than Never? The FDA has begun onsite inspections at Taylor Farm’s operations in Mexico. Some experts and former FDA officials told the Washington Post the agency should have gone to the facility much sooner. At least 3.1 million pounds of lettuce linked to the farm have been recalled, the largest cyclospora-related recall in the U.S. by an order of magnitude. More cases are being linked to other ongoing cyclospora outbreaks with no identified source. Many experts are calling on Congress to enforce a food traceability rule, which has been delayed for 15 years (and counting) thanks in part to intense lobbying from food industry groups and retailers. Recall that Taylor Farms’ parent company donated $1 million to the MAGA, Inc. super PAC just days after the FDA announced in 2025 it would delay enforcing this rule for another 30 months.
Still Burning: Rain is helping firefighters, farmers, and the Belgium army battle to contain the country’s largest wildfire on record. The blaze is already more than twice as large as the previous record. “We would never have imagined that Belgium would be affected by a fire of this scale,” a fire captain said. “I think we will have more and more of them, so it is up to us to prepare ourselves as best as possible.” In Greece, an elderly couple died and hundreds were evacuated as wildfires swept into residential areas. Fires across Europe have killed more than 20 people this year. Scientists say climate change is making conditions for fire more intense and more dangerous.
This Again: Trump directed the Pentagon to scale back joint military exercises with South Korea, a key U.S. ally, just hours before the annual drills were set to begin. He cited his “very good” relationship with North Korea’s dictator, Kim Jong Un, and South Korea’s refusal to join the war with Iran. Trump suspended military exercises outright in 2018, but the U.S. and South Korea quietly restarted them after diplomacy over North Korea’s ongoing nuclear weapons program broke down. South Korea’s president recently called for talks to formally end the war between the two nations, which is technically ongoing. Sen. Jack Reed criticized Trump’s move as “another inane, haphazard decision.” Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) said it “does nothing more than free up thousands of North Korea’s troops to support Putin’s” war in Ukraine.
That’s Not Nice: Trump threatened to “bomb the shit out of” Oman, a key U.S. ally in the Middle East, if it “gets in the way” of his negotiations with Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Oman has been conducting its own negotiations with Iran to reopen the crucial waterway. “We’d handle them very easily,” Trump said, “just like we do other things.” National gas prices remain above $4 a gallon, the highest they’ve ever been this late in the year.
More Talks: Jared Kushner met with Hamas leaders and regional mediators, then held an hourslong meeting with Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in an attempt to break the deadlock over the future of Gaza. So far, no breakthrough. Both sides reportedly refused to retreat from their positions: Hamas wants Israel to withdraw and stop attacks before it begins disarming; Israel refuses to withdraw until Hamas disarms. Trump said publicly that Israel “should not be striking Gaza.”
Destructive: A Category 1 hurricane brushed past Hawaii’s Big Island, dumping more than 3.5 feet of rain in some areas and triggering destructive landslides and flash flooding. The storm washed away roads, damaged more than 100 houses, and left hundreds of thousands without power. One person was found dead, but officials said it’s unclear whether their death was related to the storm.
There was a lot of difficult material in this newsletter. Thank you for reading this far. Please be sure to check in with your friends and spend time with loved ones, including pets.
Here’s Bruno’s first encounter with a car wash.
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