WHAT WE'RE WATCHING
🔨 Hammer-wielding man attacks Vance's home. A transgender-identifying man was arrested for trying to break into Vice President JD Vance's Cincinnati home by shattering windows with a hammer. The suspect has a criminal history of trespassing and vandalism and was previously found not competent to stand trial.
👋 Tim Walz drops out of the Minnesota governor’s race. Minnesota Governor Tim Walz (D) has abruptly ended his campaign for a third term amid the massive welfare fraud scandal. Insiders believe that Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) will take his place as the Democratic nominee.
💉 CDC cuts childhood vaccine schedule. The CDC has overhauled its childhood immunization schedule, reducing the number of recommended diseases from 18 to 11, more closely aligning with Denmark’s vaccine guidelines. The change follows a review ordered by President Trump that found the US was a "global outlier.”
⚖️ Maduro pleads not guilty in New York. After his capture by US forces, Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro pleaded not guilty to federal narco-terrorism and drug trafficking charges. The indictment alleges Maduro abused his position for over 25 years, corrupting institutions to help import tons of cocaine into the United States.
INSIDER RADAR
Elon Musk believes that the amount of fraud committed each year is “roughly 10 percent of the Federal budget,” or “about $700 billion.”
Trump adviser Stephen Miller asked, “By what right does Denmark assert control over Greenland? What is the basis of their territorial claim?”
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth censured Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) over a video calling on troops to defy unlawful orders.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) announced 10,000 illegal migrants have been arrested under the state's "Operation Tidal Wave."
HOAX TRACKER
NPR dismisses liberal bias as “imaginary”
NPR anchor Steve Inskeep argued that claims of liberal bias are “imaginary,” blaming audience losses on listeners’ commuting habits and news fatigue. However, NPR’s overwhelmingly liberal newsroom and softball interviews with Democratic officials suggest the problem isn’t imaginary at all.
🔓 You have {{days_left_free}} full-access editions left in your trial.
QUICK AND IMPORTANT
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting officially dissolved following President Trump’s funding cuts.
ICE announced hiring more than 12,000 new officers and agents, a 120 percent workforce increase.
Germany’s antisemitism czar had his home torched in an arson attack, with a Hamas symbol found painted nearby.
A Paris court convicted 10 people of cyberbullying France’s First Lady Brigitte Macron over claims that she was born a man.
The most clicked link in our last newsletter was Deputy FBI Director Dan Bongino officially leaving the bureau.
EXCLUSIVE ANALYSIS
Trump’s Art of War and Global Power in Venezuela
We’re making yesterday’s main story open to all readers — our must-read breakdown of President Trump’s historic military operation in Venezuela.
ASK THE EDITORS
A revolution in Iran
Q: The uprising in Iran seems to be more than just a protest. They are calling for the “death of the supreme leader” and chanting “long live King Reza” (i.e., the crown prince) in a bid to overthrow the Islamic regime.
Is this the beginning of an actual revolution? Or will the people be suppressed yet again by the Islamic Republican Guard and imported proxy (Hezbollah and Hamas) violence? — Gideon
A: If these protests were occurring in isolation, they might be easy to dismiss. Iran has faced mass demonstrations before — larger ones — and the regime endured.
What sets this moment apart is Washington’s response. President Trump has openly backed the protesters, pledging to “come to their rescue” if the regime cracks down. Coming after the successful Maduro operation, that signal carries credibility. It could draw more Iranians into the streets and make the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps hesitate before using force.
The regional context also raises the stakes. Israeli officials fear Tehran could strike Israel to rally support, while Israel may see Iran’s internal strain as a chance to act.
Anything can happen: collapse, war, or nothing. But what is clear is that the Iranian regime is highly fragile at a moment when its most powerful adversary, the United States, is its most assertive under President Trump.
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THE MAIN STORY
Venezuelans celebrate Trump’s Maduro ousting
_WHAT’S HAPPENING_
On Saturday, US forces captured socialist Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro in a military operation and flew him to New York to face federal narcotrafficking charges. In response, Venezuelans across the globe erupted in celebration, while many inside the country face fear and uncertainty as the regime remains in power under Vice President Delcy Rodríguez.
How did Venezuela get to this point? It began last century, when, inspired by the 19th-century independence leader Simón Bolívar, Hugo Chávez formed the leftist Revolutionary Bolivarian Movement-200 within Venezuela’s military, gaining prominence through a failed 1992 coup attempt aimed at overthrowing the government.
The socialist revolutionary then ran for president on an anti-establishment platform in 1998, launching a "Bolivarian Revolution" that promised to end corruption and transform the oil-rich nation into a socialist state.
After Chávez died in 2013, his handpicked successor — Nicolás Maduro — presided over an economic collapse that drove around 8 million Venezuelans from their homeland.
_THE FACTS_
Jubilant scenes broke out around the globe following Maduro’s capture, with Venezuelan expatriates celebrating in Spain, Colombia, Argentina, and across Central and South America.
Venezuelans in Doral, Florida, home to the largest Venezuelan community in the US, poured into the streets to celebrate Maduro’s capture.
Inside Venezuela, streets in the capital of Caracas remained largely empty, with residents stockpiling food and fearing the remaining regime.
President Trump confirmed the US would help manage a transition until the country could be stabilized, leaving Maduro’s vice president, Delcy Rodríguez, in charge.
Nearly all of Maduro’s closest allies are still holding their positions within Venezuela’s government.
Opposition leader and 2025 Nobel Peace Prize Winner María Corina Machado is not going to be installed as the new leader, as the CIA concluded that Maduro loyalists were better positioned to run the country.
_OUR INSIGHTS _
As Venezuelans across the world celebrate the fall of Maduro, Democrats in the US have reacted with anger, floating impeachment threats over Trump’s failure to seek congressional approval before the operation.
Yet modern presidents have rarely secured Congress’ approval for comparable actions — from Obama’s drone strikes and the bin Laden raid to Bush’s wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. And with Trump hitting a three-month high in approval ratings, there is little sign the public shares Democrats’ outrage.
_JOIN THE DISCUSSION_
Is it a good idea to let Maduro loyalists remain in power?
BIAS SPOTTER
The biggest stories underreported on the left and right
_WHAT THE LEFT MISSED_
Zohran Mamdani’s new tenant advocate called to “seize private property”: “Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s newly appointed tenant advocate called to ‘seize private property’ and blasted homeownership as a ‘weapon of white supremacy’ in a series of pro-Communist social media posts. (New York Post)
ICE slams Hilton over the hotel's refusal to house agents: “A Hilton-branded hotel in Minneapolis is facing scrutiny after allegedly canceling reservations made by federal immigration agents…” (Fox News)
_WHAT THE RIGHT MISSED_
UK leader backs Denmark amid US threats over Greenland: “[British Prime Minister] Keir Starmer has publicly backed the Danish prime minister over Donald Trump after she demanded that the US stop its threats to forcibly take over Greenland.” (The Guardian)
Violent crime continues to drop in New Orleans. “Violent crime in New Orleans declined for a third consecutive year in 2025 … as National Guard troops begin patrolling the city on President Donald Trump’s orders.” (The AP)
_THE DAILY DEBATE_
📊 Who do you think should lead Venezuela?
POLLS RESULTS FROM YESTERDAY
Do you approve of Trump’s operation in Venezuela?
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 ✅ Approve (1,732)
⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ ❌ Disapprove (68)
⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ 🤔 Unsure (123)
✅ Approve: “A bold statement that may be the first falling domino triggering greater freedoms in the Western Hemisphere.” — Jim
🤔 Unsure: ”I’m not sure this was the proper way to make it happen … what if Russia decided to do this with Zelensky, or what if China decided to do this with Taiwan?” — Donald
_POP QUIZ_
Who is expected to take Tim Walz's place in the Minnesota governor's race?
Today’s newsletter was written by Brandon Goldman, Anthony Constantini, and Ariel David. We scoured 100s of sources to bring you stories and insights you won’t find in the mainstream media.
See you tomorrow.
