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- Gaetz Drops Out, Trump Pivots
Good Friday morning. Maybe think twice about deep frying the turkey. Have a great weekend!
In Today’s Brief
FBI: Plot foiled
ICC: Arrest warrants
State legislatures: Record representation
SEC: Gensler exit
Jussie Smollett: Conviction tossed
... and more
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Top Tips
1) Sunshine swap
Former Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz is now a former Attorney General nominee.
The news: Gaetz pulled out of consideration yesterday after President-elect Donald Trump told him the Senate would not approve him. Gaetz, who resigned his House seat when he was nominated, said he was "unfairly becoming a distraction." Gaetz was the subject of a House Ethics Committee probe into alleged sexual misconduct and drug abuse when he stepped down.
Next up: Trump quickly nominated former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi for AG. She is a longtime ally of the president-elect and worked on his legal team during his first impeachment trial during his first term. She most recently led the legal arm of the America First Policy Institute, a Trump-aligned think tank, and has made false claims about the 2020 election. She also worked as a lobbyist for Qatar after leaving office in Florida.
Next steps: Gaetz could conceivably return to the House. His resignation letter likely gave him enough wiggle room to reverse course and be sworn in next year after winning re-election. And if not, he would be a heavy favorite to win the special election to fill the seat. But either path could revive the Ethics case against him. There has also been speculation Gaetz could run for governor in Florida in 2026, among other possibilities.
2) Heating up
Vladimir Putin has no interest in de-escalation.
The news: Russia fired a hypersonic ballistic missile at Ukraine yesterday after President Joe Biden gave Kyiv permission to use long-range U.S. missiles inside Russian territory. The missile hit a military factory in Dnipro. Initial reports suggested it was an intercontinental ballistic missile, but Putin clarified it was a new mid-range ballistic missile in a television address.
Key context: This may be the first time such a weapon was used in an active conflict; it reportedly carried multiple warheads.
Tough talk: Putin claimed American defenses cannot stop the Kremlin's new missile and said Russia will produce more. He also said his country has the right to attack military facilities of countries that allow their weapons to be used by Ukraine against Russia -- a thinly-veiled threat against the U.S. and United Kingdom, which has given Ukraine more flexibility with its long-range missiles. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky condemned the attack and said it shows how terrified [Russia is]."
Big picture: Putin claims the almost three-year war is escalating toward a global conflict due to the new U.S. and UK weapons policies. But those shifts happened after Russia began importing North Korean soldiers as reinforcements. It remains unlikely Russia would initiate a direct confrontation with NATO. But the war is in a period of uncertainty with Biden on the way out and Trump -- who has said he wants to quickly broker peace -- coming in.
3) Holding out
Wisconsin police have made contact with a man who faked his own death, but he refuses to come home.
Catch up: Ryan Borgwardt, 45, was presumed dead after his kayak was found capsized in a deep rural lake. But cops then learned the married father of three interacted with Canadian border patrol a day after he went missing, triggering a series of discoveries that led them to go public with their belief Borgwardt was alive and somewhere in Eastern Europe.
The update: Green Lake County Sheriff Mark Podoll said his agency made contact with Borgwardt earlier this month. Cops do not believe he is in danger or being held against his will. But he will not tell him where he is and has not spoken to his family.
The scheme: Podoll said Borgwardt explained his actions in detail. He used an inflatable boat to return to land after capsizing the kayak and dropping his phone underwater. He then took a stashed electric bicycle and traveled about 70 miles to Madison, where he caught a bus to Detroit and then crossed into Canada before boarding another bus, followed by a flight overseas.
Big picture: Borgwardt could face criminal obstruction charges and the county is seeking up to $40K in restitution for the bogus search. But cops said their main concern is convincing him to return to his family.
Quick Tips
U.S. News
A Florida man allegedly planned to bomb the New York Stock Exchange. The FBI found bomb-making materials in the man's Coral Springs storage unit; he also discussed his plot with undercover agents and said he previously considered joining ISIS (More)
Over 167K pounds of ground beef has been recalled for potential E. coli contamination. The meat is tied to a Michigan facility; at least 15 illnesses in Minnesota were linked to the plant and officials believe the product could already be at restaurants nationwide (More)
An elderly couple died after their car crashed into a West Virginia tool booth plaza building. The vehicle left the roadway and hopped a curb in Ghent, located in the southern part of the state; no employees were injured (More)
World News
The International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, accusing him of war crimes. Former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and Hamas' military chief also face warrants; the U.S. and Israel are not members of the court and criticized the decision (More)
Ex-Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro was formally accused of involvement in a 2022 attempted coup. Three dozen other people were indicted, including some members of Bolsonaro's administration; current Prosecutor General Paulo Gonet will decide if the charges are tossed or go to trial (More)
Police officers in the Dominican Republic are accused of weapons trafficking into neighboring Haiti. The men are accused of stealing guns and ammunition from an armory and selling them to Haitian criminals and others; the United Nations previously said most weapons in Haiti come from the DR or Jamaica (More)
Political News
Women will hold a record number of state legislative seats nationwide in 2025. Female politicians are projected to hold just over 33% of the available seats; a majority of California's state senate will be female for the first time (More)
Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene will chair a House subcommittee tied to the so-called Department of Government Efficiency. The outside-government group, helmed by Tesla CEO Elon Musk and former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, claims it will slash federal spending and investigate waste (More)
Florida Rep. Anna Paulina Luna accused Speaker of the House Mike Johnson of being "anti-family." The speakerwill not support her effort to allow congresswomen to vote by proxy after giving birth and will not allow Luna to bring the bill to the House floor (More)
Business & Markets
Major indexes closed higher yesterday. The Dow Jones jumped over 450 points (Dow +1.06%, Nasdaq +0.03%, S&P 500 +0.53%).
SEC Chairman Gary Gensler will resign on Jan. 20, ending his term two years early. Gensler's tenure was marked by a controversial and restrictive approach to cryptocurrency regulation; President-elect Trump's replacement pick will require Senate approval (More)
Amazon is expected to face a European Union antitrust investigation next year. The probe will examine whether the tech giant favors its brand products in its digital marketplaces; it could possibly face a fine of over $50B if found in violation of the bloc's Digital Markets Act (More)
Entertainment & Sports
Jussie Smollett's hate crime hoax conviction was overturned by the Illinois Supreme Court. The ruling found a special prosecutor's decision to retry the Empire actor after charges were originally dropped as part of a plea deal violated his constitutional rights (More)
The NBA All-Star Game is expected to adopt a "pickup" format this season. The event will be held Feb. 16 in San Francisco; the proposal calls for four teams to play abbreviated games in a mini-tournament (More)
Fox Entertainment and Disney-owned Hulu extended a content partnership. The $1.5B multi-year deal reportedly runs through 2029 and gives the streaming service in-season rights to Fox's programming; there is also a marketing component (More)
Quick Hitters
Feel Good: When a blind man tripped getting on a London Underground train, he was quickly helped. But one of his shoes fell onto the track, leading a fellow passenger to give up his footwear and ensure the man would be comfortable.
Take Note: A new study found that sitting for over 10 hours a day is significantly linked to future cardiovascular issues, even if you get the recommended 150 minutes of exercise each week.
Go Deep: Army and Notre Dame will meet at Yankee Stadium tomorrow in a showdown with significant College Football Playoff implications. The game comes 100 years after a previous encounter became part of American literary history.
History Lesson: North America used to have almost 150 different time zones based on the placement of the sun in a given area. And then the railroad industry changed everything.
Life Hack: This may not be the most ethical travel tip, but it could make you much more comfortable flying on a budget airline and no one is getting harmed by it.
Watch This
A stolen pizza sauce recipe sparked a mob war in New York.
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Looking Ahead …
A Georgia city will usher in the new year with a literal bang. Macon will implode a vacant 16-story hotel at midnight on Jan. 1, 2025. The building has quite the history -- Elvis Presley once stayed there and it was allegedly tied to a money laundering scheme by a bank accused of funding late Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein -- but officials say it is structurally unsound and cannot be renovated.