Booker's Historic Stand

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In Today’s Brief

• Alabama: Abortion ruling

• Malaysia: Massive blast

• Wisconsin: Liberal wins

• Tariffs: Rollout day

• Beatles: Casting calls

... and more

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Top Tips

1) Marathon man

New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker delivered the longest floor speech in the chamber's history as an act of protest against President Donald Trump's agenda.

• The news: Booker started speaking on Monday night and finished Tuesday after 8 p.m. ET, clocking in at 25 hours and five minutes. Fellow Democrats gave him periodic breaks from speaking by asking questions from the floor. Booker's speech broke a 68-year-old record set by segregationist Democrat and late South Carolina Sen. Strom Thurmond with his infamous 1957 filibuster against the Civil Rights Act.

• The words: Booker started his speech by saying he rose "with the intention of getting in some good trouble," an homage to late Georgia Rep. and civil rights leader John Lewis. Booker railed against the actions of Trump and billionaire advisor Elon Musk. He also read letters from constituents who say they have been harmed by the White House's policies.

• Big picture: The question now is whether Booker's stand will be a breakthrough moment for Democrats. The party has struggled to find a message and footing since last November's sweeping election losses, but this could be a turning point to rally from. Booker, 55, could also begin to emerge as a 2028 presidential contender; he ended his 2020 bid before the Iowa Caucuses.

2) War games

China is saber-rattling in a big way.

• The news: Beijing launched surprise and large-scale military exercises around Taiwan yesterday. China's various armed forces participated in drills the Chinese said served as a "stern warning and forceful deterrence" against President Lai Ching-te's "separatist" government. Chinese state media called the island nation's leaders "parasites" for seeking independence.

• The timing: China's provocative war games came after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth pledged to counter Beijing's aggression in the region during visits to Japan and the Phillippines, promising to "re-establish deterrence." While the U.S. is officially strategically ambiguous about whether it would defend Taiwan against a Chinese invasion, Taipei is reportedly confident the Trump Administration would intervene.

• Big picture: The White House brushed back the Chinese for the war games as the nations barrel toward a trade war. Experts said the drills should be considered a pre-invasion dry run. Taiwan recently conducted whole-of-society defense drills and Lai has called the mainland a "foreign hostile force."

3) 'Administrative error'

The Trump Administration admitted it mistakingly deported a Maryland man to El Salvador, but claimed it cannot undo the flub.

• The news: Immigration officials conceded Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, the husband of a U.S. citizen, was sent to an infamous Salvadoran prison on a deportation flight that violated a federal judge's order. But Justice Department lawyers said Garcia is now in El Salvador's custody and the U.S. has no mechanism to compel his return.

• The backstory: Garcia, a Salvadoran national, was taken into custody in 2019 on allegations he was a member of the MS-13 gang based on intelligence provided by a confidential informant. But he was never charged with a crime and his attorneys deny any ties to the group. An immigration judge found him removable from the U.S., but he was granted legal protection from being sent to El Salvador -- an order the Trump Administration violated. Garcia was also reportedly denied the court appearance he was told he would get before deportation.

• Double down: Vice President J.D. Vance inaccurately claimed Garcia is a "convicted member of MS-13." White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt also defended his deportation, citing supposed evidence of gang activities the federal government has not made public. But the incident has been widely condemned and generated more concerns about whether some deportees are being unlawfully or wrongfully booted from the country.

Quick Tips

U.S. News

• A federal judge said Alabama cannot prosecute people who help women get out-of-state abortions. U.S. District Judge Myron Thompson said the state's threat to leverage criminal conspiracy charges would violate the First Amendment and the right to travel (More)

• The Justice Department will seek the federal death penalty against Luigi Mangione. The Hawaii resident is accused of a "premeditated, cold-blooded assassination" of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in New York last December (More)

• A box truck crashed off a Boston street yesterday, injuring six people. Four were hospitalized with one victim in critical condition; officials believe the driver had a medical emergency that led to the incident (More)

World News

• A gas pipe explosion caused a massive fire in Malaysia. Over 100 people were injured and at least 50 buildings were damaged in the blaze outside of Kuala Lumpur; the fire started at a gas station with flames standing 20 stories high at one point (More)

• A French appeal court said it will hear far-right politician Marine Le Pen's case next year, giving her a chance to reverse a ban on entering the nation's 2027 presidential race. The National Rally leader will challenge her conviction for embezzling European Union funds; she has led recent polls (More)

• A fourth missing U.S. soldier was found dead in Lithuania. The service members' bodies were recovered in a peat bog after their vehicle collapsed into it during a training exercise last week (More)

Political News

• Democratic-backed Dane County Judge Susan Crawford won a seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court, cementing a liberal majority in the swing state for at least three years. Both parties spent millions on the high-profile race, the first statewide contest of President Trump's second term (More)

• Republicans swept a pair of House special elections in Florida. The GOP majority in the lower chamber is now 220-213 with two vacancies; the empty seats represent reliably Democratic districts in Arizona and Texas (More | More)

• Former NFL kicker Jay Feely is reportedly considering a run for office. The CBS Sports analyst could run as a Republican in Arizona's 5th Congressional District; incumbent Rep. Andy Biggs has announced a gubernatorial bid (More)

Business & Markets

• Major indexes closed mixed yesterday as Wall Street awaits President Trump's "Liberation Day" tariff rollout. The president will reveal his plan today; the White House said all tariffs will begin immediately (Dow -0.03%, Nasdaq+0.87%, S&P 500 +0.38% | More)

• Andreessen Horowitz is in talks to help buy TikTok's Chinese parent company out. The venture capital firm would add investment funds to a bid led by tech giant Oracle to carve the social media platform out of ByteDance (More)

• OpenAI said it raised $40B in its latest funding round, the largest private tech deal ever. The artificial intelligence firm conducted the raise at a $300B post-money valuation; SoftBank led the investors (More)

Entertainment & Sports

• Director Sam Mendes has finalized the starring cast of his upcoming films about The Beatles. Actors Harris Dickinson (John Lennon), Barry Keoghan (Ringo Starr), Paul Mescal (Paul McCartney) and Joseph Quinn (George Harrison) will play the band members; the entire series will hit theaters in April 2028 (More)  

• NFL players may compete at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, league commissioner Roger Goodell suggested. Men's and women's flag football will be first-time Summer Games events; injury protections and scheduling are potential hurdles (More)

• John Wick: Chapter 5 is in the works. Actor Keanu Reeves will reprise his role as the titular assassin; the action film series has grossed over $1B worldwide and spawned several spinoffs (More)

Quick Hitters

• Feel Good: A seven-year-old Philadelphia-area boy born without a left arm recently received his first prosthetic. He is a big baseball fan, so it is plastered with the Phillies' logo.

• Old School: Great Britain is known for its museums. A 1980s video shop-style one has become a popular tourist attraction with almost 1K VHS movies on display.

• Go Deep: Everyday life is surprisingly reliant on helium, which has far more uses than filling up balloons. But supplies are remarkably fragile, sparking the need to conserve and recycle the gas,

• Cold Find: Researchers made an unexpected discovery when an iceberg the size of Chicago broke off an Antarctic ice shelf. They located a vibrant ecosystem under the ice, likely sustained by nutrients carried by ocean currents.

• Life Hack: Bed bug infestations have risen dramatically over the last 30-plus years. But avoiding them -- and getting rid of them when necessary -- can be pretty simple.

Watch This

A strange reason why healthcare is so expensive.

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Looking Ahead …

Former Israeli Prime Minister Neftali Bennett has established a new political party, fueling speculation he will stand in next year's scheduled elections. Bennett is to the right of current PM Benjamin Netanyahu; polls suggest he would stand a strong chance to return to power.

Question of the Day

Yesterday’s results:

Who will win the women's hoops national title?

• UConn (36%)

• South Carolina (32%)

• UCLA (17%)

• Texas (15%)