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We're nine days into 2026 and I've already stress-eaten my way through my cheese budget. (Good news: that might prevent dementia. More below.)
Today, I’m bringing you a conversation with House Minority Whip Katherine Clark of Massachusetts.
She’s the one who counts votes and keeps Democrats in line — and yesterday she got ACA subsidies extended, with 17 Republicans voting yes. That’s a rare bipartisan win. The Senate still needs to act, and so far Majority Leader Thune appears ready to let the measure die. We discuss this.
We also talked about Congressional oversight of ICE (she says not a single Republican colleague has broken with the White House), US military action in Venezuela, and how Democrats aim to win back the House in the midterms.
**Watch that here: **
At the end of the newsletter we have lots of News That Doesn’t Suck— because sometimes the world still works. We bring you positive news about cheese, plastic, power, eyeballs, and fingertips. I’ll explain. First your headlines.
New Angle, More Spin:New videofrom an ICE agent’s cell phone offers another damning perspective on the fatal shooting of Renee Good. In it, Good is seen saying in a calm voice “That’s fine, dude I’m not mad at you.” Her wife, standing outside the SUV, taunts the ICE agents before they shoot Good three times. After the shooting a man can be heard saying “fucking bitch.” TheWhite House reposted the videoand so did Vice President JD Vance, insisting it shows the officer’s “life was in𝕏endangered.” Here’smy take on that.**As Raids Spread, So Do Protests:**ICE raids continue in Minneapolis as protestsgrow in the cityand across the country.Feds In, Locals OutThe FBI hastaken control of the investigation, cutting out local law enforcement. I spoke with a former ICE Acting Director and DHS General Counsel about the legality of this choice and the legal realities of this case. You canwatch that conversation here. (Paywall.)Two Shot in PortlandBorder Patrol agents shot two people in Portland yesterday. Both are hospitalized. DHS says𝕏both are Venezuelanand in the country without papers.
**Trump on Greenland, Ozempic, and Colonnade Expansion:**President Trump gave a two hourinterview to the New York Times.In it, he said of Renee Good “She didn’t try to run him over. She ran him over” (they pressed him on this). He said he“probably should” take obesity drugsbut has not. He lowered expectations for the midterms saying “the president…always loses.” He discussed plans to make the new ballroom even bigger,add a second story to the White House colonnade,redo Lafayette Park and even renovate Dulles Airport. Because when you're remaking democracy, you might as well upgrade the departure lounge too. They also discussed Venezuela, NATO and sat in on a call with the President of Colombia. You canread more here.**Big Oil Says No Thanks:**When Trump hosted oil executives at the White House today, he declared that he’ll decide which oil companies areallowed to “cut a deal” for Venezuelan oil. But the CEOs were decidedly unenthusiastic about the possibility of operating there. Darren Woods, the CEO of ExxonMobil called the country “uninvestable.”**Greenland on His Mind:**At the same meeting, Trump made clear hehasn’t taken his sights off Greenland, insisting “we are going to do something on Greenland whether they like it or not” otherwise “Russia or China will take over Greenland,” adding “if we don’t do it the easy way we are going to do it the hard way.” Diplomacy.**Iran's Crackdown Intensifies:**Protesters arebraving prison and death in Iran, as the latest anti-government demonstrations stretch into nearly two weeks. According to the AP, the regime haskilled at least 62 protesters, and hasshut down the internet and telephone lines in Tehran— raising the prospect of a more lethal crackdown. Supreme Leader Ayatollah AliKhamenei, accused the protesters of trying to“please the president of the United States.”Speaking from the White House, Trump warned Iran’s leaders“better not start shooting, because we’ll start shooting too.”Khamenei told Trump to, “pay attention to the state of his own country instead.”**Weak Jobs Report:**The latest numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics show the US economy added50,000 jobs in December, lower than expected. Still, unemployment fell to 4.4%, down from 4.5% in November. Overall the US added just 584,000 jobs in 2025, compared to2 million in 2024.The BLS says that’s the weakest annual job growth since 2003.And Now for Something Completely Frivolous:This weekend is the Golden Globe Awards, the show where winners get tipsy and freelance their acceptance speeches. Nominees includeTimothée Chalamet,Ariana Grande,Cynthia ErivoandEmma Stone. Presenters include NNNrs Kyra Sedgwick, Jennifer Garner, Orlando Bloom, and Jason Bateman. And more good news, the silver tongued Nikki Glazer is hosting. Prepare for chaos. 8pm ET Sunday night on CBS.
*In the rest of the newsletter: Science has good news for cheese lovers, a possible fix for plastic pollution, clean energy had a surprisingly strong year — and medicine just delivered two quiet breakthroughs worth paying attention to. This is for our paying subscribers. If you’re not already a paid subscriber, you could become one today! *
