iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Hi, I’m Your New Press Secretary, and It’s My First Time Reading Words Out Loud

Is anybody taking bets on how long this one will last? Is there a pool going on someplace? (I'm just hoping she is still on the job by the time this gets posted.)

theatlantic.com

A very uncomfortable 14 minutes

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Katie Zacharia bombs first day as White House press secretary

Katie Zacharia, a former TV political commentator, seemed to have trouble reading her script. Anthony Scaramucci, the former press secretary during Trump’s first administration, even joked she is on track to have a shorter tenure than his own.

motherjones.com

She appeared physically strained, even sighing heavily, while reading prepared remarks.

There’s no evidence the new White House press secretary was admitted to practice law in the United States. Somebody please tell her not to be embarrassed: she will be surrounded by highly unqualified people.

Katie Zacharia calls herself a lawyer. Legal experts aren’t sure.

There’s no evidence the new White House press secretary was admitted to practice law in the United States.

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Russia Is Planning Its Most Powerful Blow Yet to Try to Freeze Ukraine (Gift Article)

Ukrainians expect the worst winter of the war. Putin has signaled that he plans to cut off major cities from power, heat and water this winter. Meanwhile, Trump is doing his best to help Russia.

nytimes.com

Ukraine showed European partners what it said were intercepted Russian plans to cut off major cities from power, heat and water this winter.

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In Trump’s pardons for public officials, Republicans win most of the mercy

Trump has pardoned scores of US public officials charged with or convicted of crimes of corruption. But his clemency skews right. It's OK now to do crimes - with impunity- like fraud, bribery, conspiracy, racketeering, obstruction of justice & more.

reuters.com

Trump has pardoned scores of US public officials charged with or convicted of crimes related to corruption. But his clemency skews right. A Reuters analysis shows the vast majority of recipients were ...

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They said he doesn't get much done: lowering beef prices didn't work. Gutting fuel efficiency standards didn't make transportation cheaper. He did accomplish this: ejecting more than 750,000 enrollees from the Affordable Care Act. He CAN do stuff!

Is punishing the poor Trump’s last hand to play?

The pre-midterm defenestration of ACA enrollees looks like political madness – but the president appears to believe hitting poor people might work for him

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Republican members of congress are suddenly remembering that the House and Senate pass laws. Laws that even a POTUS must obey. Gee- I wonder why the sudden recall?

Tillis says Trump's Russian diesel deal may be illegal

Sen. Thom Tillis denounced the president’s latest oil deal with Russia as “tarnishing” Sen. Lindsey Graham’s legacy.

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“Plaintiff chose to file this lawsuit and, in doing so, he accepted the obligations of civil litigation,” Tobin added. But the felon is too BUSY! Who will nap during all those State meetings if you pull him away to finish the process HE started?

Trump cancels deposition in BBC case, lawyers say

The president was set to be questioned under oath in his defamation lawsuit over the British broadcaster’s 2020 election documentary.

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Ukraine took out massive Russian datacenters, one which hosted software called Yandex - home to hundreds of bots. However, different bots do different things, which I guess we all need to learn now.

Did Ukrainian strikes on Russian datacentres reduce online disinformation?

While some viral online graphs suggest less bot activity, Zelenskyy’s claims of improved social media discourse do not entirely pass muster

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Both those historic actions happened as part of the Biden administration’s focus on anti-money laundering and efforts to promote compliance with the then-emerging virtual currency industry. I thought it was out of character for this administration!

US hits Bank of America with $1.2 billion fine, saying it violated money laundering, sanctions laws

The U.S. Treasury Department says it’s imposing $1.2 billion in fines on Bank of America for allegedly violating anti-money laundering and sanctions laws.

Trump’s Message to Ukraine Is Now Crystal Clear

The president’s actions over the past 72 hours look like an effort to force Kyiv to surrender. What else to expect from a Russian asset?

theatlantic.com

The president’s actions over the past 72 hours look like an effort to force Kyiv to surrender.

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Why are they not able to move on? What, exactly, do they hope to accomplish if somehow all the investigations that proved Trump lost suddenly were reversed? Then what?

Arizona Republicans Refuse to Move Past 2020 — And It’s Hurting Them in 2026

The long shadow of 2020 still hangs over this swing state.

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Trump Gives Putin a Hand in Russia’s Economic War With Ukraine (Gift Article)

Russia's oil refineries are a lifeblood in their war against Ukraine. So Trump wants Ukraine to stop targeting them. At the same time, he has infused Russia's economy with some $4 billion of American money. He is shameless.

nytimes.com

President Trump is moving to buy Russian diesel while also pressuring Ukraine to halt attacks on refineries, a lifeblood of Moscow’s war machine.

Given a deadline to stop, Trump will not. Even if the order is issued by a court. Even if it was illegal in the first place. He really does believe he is a king. At least, he believes the law does not apply to him.

Trump blew past deadline to halt running taxpayer-funded campaign-style ads

A coalition of nonprofits had sued, calling the ads “propaganda.” The president has said campaign funds would be used to pay for the commercials going forward.

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From restaurants to farms to healthcare, the US president’s hardline policies have reshaped Americans’ daily lives. Voters live uneasily with the consequences of Trump's immigration policies.

How immigration is molding the US midterms: ‘Trump has gone too far’

From restaurants to farms to healthcare, the US president’s hardline policies have reshaped Americans’ daily lives

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The Trump administration has dedicated enormous resources to what election experts and administrators characterize as a comparatively small issue. But it keeps everyone from thinking about HIS crimes, I suppose.

Trump's campaign against noncitizen voting demonstrates it's rare and not enough to swing elections

The Trump administration's push to shine a spotlight on noncitizen voting is highlighting how rare it is.

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After Russian Diesel Deal, Trump Faces New Crisis Over Ukraine (Gift Article)

Trump’s surprise decision to suspend sanctions on Russian diesel fuel stunned Ukrainian and European officials, who were meeting with U.S. envoys at the time. He looks weaker and more ineffective with each passing day.

nytimes.com

President Trump’s surprise decision to suspend sanctions on Russian diesel fuel stunned Ukrainian and European officials, who were meeting with U.S. envoys at an exclusive golf club near Miami.

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The amount of fuel that will come to our shores via this deal is just a drop in the bucket. Plus a law bans Russian energy imports “to prevent American dollars from financing Putin’s brutal war against Ukraine." What are laws to a felon?

Trump faces stiff bipartisan pushback to Russian diesel import deal

Moderate Republicans joined Democrats in criticizing President Donald Trump's agreement with Russian President Vladimir Putin to release diesel to the global market amid a fuel price spike.

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U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes berated the Trump administration for failing to notify the court despite ongoing litigation over the preservation of the course. People are getting bolder when it comes to standing up to him.

‘Furious’ judge halts Trump admin’s tree demolition at DC’s East Potomac golf course

U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes berated the Trump administration for failing to notify the court despite ongoing litigation over the preservation of the course.

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DOJ protocol is to avoid legal action against politicians in the final weeks before their election. Now we see how it plays. Plus, Trump said that Rep. Omar comes from a country of “crime and squalor” proof to him that she is as much a felon as he.

What to know about the search of Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar's home

President Donald Trump's administration has taken the unusual step of searching Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar's home in Washington, just three weeks before the midterm election.

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Reposted by Grandma

Colleen @collburns.bsky.social · 12/10/2026

Happy Thanksgiving Canada. We are truly blessed to live in the best country in the world. Let’s all work together to keep us Strong and Free! 🇨🇦🦃🍁🍂🍗🍻

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Undoing Citizens United and Reining In Super PACs

Elon Musk, the richest person in the world, is by far the largest known donor in the midterms. He donates a staggering amount of money to GOP elections, trying to buy one seat after another. That's why many groups are organizing to end Citizen's United.

americanprogress.org

By resetting corporate powers and treating super PACs like every other PAC, Congress and the states can begin to undo the damage caused by Citizens United.

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Do other nations have a problem such as this? Because it seems to me that the role of a national health agency is to tamp down public hysteria over health scares. We have poor leadership to help deal with fear of vaccinations and fear-driven hysteria.

Anti-vaxxers target Texas measles doctors to cast doubt on deaths amid outbreak

Children’s Health Defense and RFK Jr publicly dispute recent measles deaths to ‘distract’ from damage caused and question vaccines, experts say

Republicans have raised questions about Omar’s past since before she was even elected, including asserting that she had married her brother and committed immigration fraud. Now Vance says the DOJ is 'investigating'. Investigating, or harassing?

Federal agents search Rep. Ilhan Omar's home as part of a criminal investigation, AP sources say

Federal agents have searched Democratic U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar’s home as part of a criminal investigation. That’s according to people familiar with the matter.

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No Emergency Exception: The Ban on Troops at the Polls Was Built for Crises

Section 592 of Title 18 of the United States Code criminalizes deploying federal troops or armed federal law enforcement agents to any polling place, and multiple other federal criminal and civil laws bar military interference in an election. ICE? Maybe-

justsecurity.org

Section 592 unmistakably conveys Congress’s intent to bar any kind of military interference in American elections.

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No Emergency Exception: The Ban on Troops at the Polls Was Built for Crises

justsecurity.org

Section 592 unmistakably conveys Congress’s intent to bar any kind of military interference in American elections.

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Spanish unions call general strike for November 11, weeks before snap election

In Spain, the average rent nearly equals young Spaniards' monthly salary. When an elderly woman was evicted om Madrid, nationwide protests began. Remember: we are stronger, together.

reuters.com

The protest will take place a few weeks before a snap election in which rising rents and evictions have become campaign topics.

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Republicans and Democrats Find a Unifying Target: Pharmacy Benefit Managers - KFF Health News

PBMs (pharmacy benefit managers,) were supposed to manage prescriptions & hold down costs. But these middlemen have become bipartisan punching bags, accused of sucking up profits at the expense of employers, governments, & patients. Everybody hates them.

kffhealthnews.org

Some states have considered barring companies that own a PBM from also owning brick-and-mortar pharmacies, as CVS does. Two states have followed through. A similar proposal at the federal level has ga...

The women who fought back when their jailers assaulted them : The Sunday Story

This is a series about the stunning ripple effects that threaten to upend the system of power and control at one of the largest women’s prisons on earth. It follows thirteen women and their fight for justice against the jailers who sexually assaulted them.

npr.org

Aliksandria Prout had only been at the Central California Women’s Facility for a few days when a male officer stopped her at a checkpoint. “You have beautiful lips and beautiful eyes,” he said. That w...

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Senate Republicans are staring down the prospect of losing control of the chamber in the November midterm elections — and are sounding the alarm that it could be a disaster for Trump’s final two years. If this sounds like a return to normalcy, VOTE!

Trump could face a new threat in January: A Democratic Senate

Republicans predict that Democrats will not confirm Supreme Court and Cabinet nominees if they retake the Senate in the midterm elections.

US judge orders halt to taxpayer-funded ads featuring Trump

A US judge ‌has ordered an immediate halt to ⁠taxpayer-funded ads that feature President Donald Trump in the run-up ‌to ⁠the midterm elections, according to ⁠a filing posted yesterday. He cannot spend our money as he sees fit.

reuters.com

A US judge ‌has ordered an immediate halt to ⁠taxpayer-funded ads that feature President Donald Trump in the run-up ‌to ⁠the midterm elections, according to ⁠a filing posted on ⁠Sunday.

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Most Americans see no clear way for the GOP to regain lost ground. Even Republican voters are skeptical that Trump could pull off a last-minute move that would make a difference at this late stage. Don't get complacent. VOTE!