So Much For "America First"
Zelenskyy suits up for another round of Trump flattery. America foots Argentina's bill. Bolton indicted. Prince Andrew dethroned. Plus News That Doesn't Suck for people tired of walking forward.
For daily news updates and analysis, be sure to follow us on Instagram.
Today I’ve been meeting with folks about news, algorithms, the public interest, and other topics close to my heart. So I’ll forgo a long intro and get you straight to the news.
Today we cover Trump’s Zelenskyy meeting (what a difference a suit makes), John Bolton’s arrest, the latest on ICE in Chicago, Trump’s TIME Magazine cover, which royal is now less royal, and who benefits from Trump’s Argentina bailout. Your reward? A News That Doesn’t Suck surprise, in reverse.
Here Are Your Headlines
Breaking: The House Oversight Committee today released a transcript of last month’s testimony by former South Florida US Attorney Alex Acosta. In the interview, Acosta recalls how a DOJ investigation into Epstein in the mid-2000s failed, in part because a lack of evidence and “distasteful” conduct from Epstein’s defense team made the trial a “crapshoot.”
Latest Target: Trump’s former National Security Adviser John Bolton pleaded not guilty to 18 counts of saving and sharing classified information today. Bolton, a prominent Trump critic since he was fired in 2019, insisted he is an innocent victim of Trump’s “weaponizing the Justice Department to charge those he deems to be his enemies.” When asked about Bolton’s indictment, Trump claimed he “didn’t know” anything about the case but said “he’s a bad guy. Too bad, but that’s the way it goes.”
Context: Bolton is the third Trump critic to be indicted in recent weeks. But unlike James Comey or Letitia James, the FBI has been investigating Bolton since 2022, after Iran hacked his email. According to prosecutors, that investigation revealed that Bolton “used his personal non-governmental email accounts” to save sensitive information as a diary and to share it with multiple family members. Bolton’s lawyer argued the information was “unclassified, shared only with his immediate family, and known to the FBI as far back as 2021.”
Enemy of the State: Bolton was separately investigated during Trump’s first term. The administration accused him of including classified information in a book that criticized Trump’s foreign policy skills (or lack thereof). Bolton’s lawyers argued everything had been cleared by national security officials and the DOJ dropped that lawsuit in 2021. The normally conservative Wall Street Journal condemned the current charges against Bolton as “retribution,” writing, “If Mr Bolton had praised Mr Trump in his book, it’s safe to say he wouldn’t have been indicted.”
Loose Lips: Trump told reporters and the public that he authorized the CIA to carry out covert lethal action in Venezuela. It’s no secret that the administration wants to oust the country’s dictator, Nicolas Maduro, from power. But, presumably, covert ops are secret. At least they were. “We are certainly looking at land now,” Trump said on Wednesday, “because we’ve got the sea very well under control.” The next day, US forces struck yet another boat in international waters, alleged to belong to a Venezuelan cartel. For the first time, this strike left survivors whom the US has taken into custody. At time of publication we don’t know where the US is holding them or the charges. Today, speaking from the White House, Trump said Maduro has offered the US “everything,” including natural resources, “because he doesn’t want to fuck around with the United States.”
Curious Timing: The senior military official overseeing US Southern Command — i.e., US forces in the Caribbean — announced he is resigning at the end of the year. He’s leaving the military just one year into his tenure. Adm. Alvin Holsey had reportedly been clashing with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth for weeks, in part over military action against drug traffickers, which SOUTHCOM reportedly worried was unlawful.
Wishy Washy: Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with Trump today. He wore a suit, was full of flattery, and coaxed Trump to build on the momentum of the ceasefire in the Middle East to create conditions for a peace deal with Russia. Zelenskyy asked Trump for long-range Tomahawk missiles that can strike deep into Russia on the theory that increasing his bombardment could create leverage needed to force Putin to the negotiating table. After weeks of seeming open to providing Ukraine Tomahawk missiles and suggesting Ukraine could win all its territory back, Trump now sounds unsure — perhaps because Putin called him yesterday to convince him not to do that. At the White House today Zelenskyy offered to swap Ukrainian drones for the missiles, which Trump sounded open to (he acknowledged “they make a very good drone” in Ukraine). But he also fretted that providing Tomahawks would be “an escalation” and repeated his worry that “we don’t want to be giving away things that we need to protect our country.” Trump seems to once again think Putin is open to a deal, though he acknowledged Russia’s leader may once again be stalling for time. “I’ve been played all my life by the best of them,” Trump said, “and I came out really well.… Yeah, a little time, it’s all right. But I think he wants to make a deal.” Trump and Putin are reportedly planning to meet in person in the near future in Budapest, Hungary.
Holding On: The ceasefire between Israel and Hamas remains in place, if only barely. Israel has threatened to resume fighting if Hamas doesn’t return the 19 bodies of deceased hostages thought to remain in Gaza. Hamas (and officials from the US, UN, and Red Cross) argues the remaining bodies are difficult to recover. Israel has returned fewer Palestinian bodies than stipulated in the agreement; it argues the deal only applies to Israeli bodies, and one of the bodies returned was a Nepalese hostage. Authorities in Gaza say none of the returned Palestinian bodies have any identification and some bear signs of torture.
Louisiana Connection: Today the Department of Justice says they’ve arrested Mahmoud Amin Ya’qub Al-Muhtadi, a 33-year-old Gazan man living in Louisiana, who they say was part of a Gaza-based paramilitary group and participated in the October 7 attack on Israel. The AP reports that the FBI found that Al-Muhtadi contacted associates saying, “get ready,” “bring the rifles,” and “there is kidnapping, and it’s a game, which will be a good one.” According to the DOJ, during the attack cell phone locations show him near Kfar Aza, a village in which residents were butchered or kidnapped. The US is charging him with crimes related to participating in the October 7 attack and visa fraud.
Rule of Law: A Chicago area judge has banned ICE from detaining people at or around courthouses. Federal agents have increasingly targeted people at court, a practice condemned by judicial officials, legal organizations, domestic violence advocates, and other experts. Illinois House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch this week said, “We won’t sit back and let our democracy be taken from us. If we can do something similar statewide, I’d love to get that done.” Imagine what happens if ICE ignores this ruling, as they appear to have ignored a previous ruling banning them from using tear gas and other weapons on peaceful protestors — and local police arrest a federal agent. Could this be the kindling that ignites a state versus federal power conflict?
Photo Sensitive: TIME Magazine published a very positive cover story of Trump’s “triumph” in the Middle East. Given his (in)famous obsession with the magazine — including hanging fake covers with his face on in his golf clubs and insisting he is “a better-looking person than Kamala” Harris after the then-Vice President featured on TIME’s cover in 2024 — you’d think Trump would be pleased. Unfortunately for him, TIME opted to use a rather unflattering photo. The photo, shot from below in a style usually reserved for heroic figures, does him no favors — highlighting his thinning hair, age, and a surprisingly pristine ear despite surviving an assassin’s bullet. “The picture may be the Worst of All Time,” Trump complained on Truth Social. “Really weird!” See for yourself here.
Big Money: The Trump administration is working on doubling its bailout of Argentina, increasing the $20 billion to $40 billion with a mix of public and private funds. For context, $40 billion is about the size of USAID’s entire budget in 2023. Whereas USAID benefited tens of millions of people around the world, the Argentina bailout stands to financially benefit major hedge funds, including those led by friends of US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent — and prop up the right-wing government of libertarian Trump ally Javier Milei, who faces an election on October 26. Reminder: a peer-reviewed academic study found that 14 million people, including more than 4.5 million children under the age of five, could die as a result of the USAID cuts. “We’re helping a great philosophy take over a great country,” Trump said this week. “If he doesn’t win, we’re gone.”
In The Open: Eric Trump laughed off Monday’s hot mic moment, in which President Trump was caught agreeing to arrange a meeting between Indonesia’s president and Eric. “When I heard that, I started laughing,” the younger Trump said. He said Indonesia’s president must have heard about “our great success” — the Trump Organization’s two projects in Indonesia.
Prince Andrew, Less Royal: Prince Andrew has agreed to give up his “Duke of York” title following new revelations from the grave. Virginia Giuffre — who accused Andrew and Jeffrey Epstein of sexual assault — details in her posthumous memoir that Andrew knew she was underage at the time of their alleged encounter. In a statement the Prince (yes, he’s still Prince) continues to “vigorously deny the accusations against me”. The book, released after Giuffre’s death by suicide, has renewed public outrage and reignited scrutiny of Andrew’s past. Her voice, it seems, is louder than ever.
Remembering Some Greats: They say celebrity deaths come in threes and this week, sadly, that’s true. I still can’t believe legendary actress Diane Keaton has died at 79, reportedly of pneumonia. There’s an online rumor that she left $5 million to her dog Reggie in a trust. I don’t usually report unverified stories but I love that energy. (Bruno would get the same if I could.) On a more serious note, Susan Stamberg, one of NPR’s “founding mothers,” has died. She coined the term for herself, Nina Totenberg, Linda Wertheimer, and Cokie Robertson. Stamberg was the first woman to host a national newscast; she helmed All Things Considered for 14 years, then Weekend Edition Sunday. She earned a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and a spot in the Radio Hall of Fame for her “conversational style, intelligence, and knack for finding an interesting story.” My favorite detail? NPR says she retired last month. Finally, Ace Frehley, original KISS guitarist and the Spaceman himself, died Thursday. It is the end of a very colorful era, but his influence on Halloween costume choices will no doubt live on.
News That Doesn’t Suck
The following content, which includes a deep dive into “retro-walking” — a centuries-old trend that you’ve probably tried without knowing at least once in your life — is for paid subscribers. Thank you for your support. You make our work possible.
 | A guest post by
|