A Russia-Ukraine Peace Deal Push & Trump's Sedition Accusations

Hi readers, happy Tuesday! Today, we’ll be covering the Ukraine-Russia peace negotiations, sedition “punishable by DEATH,” Trump and Xi’s phone call, social media bans for kids, the Justice Department’s fumble, health insurance markets, and the effects of stopping GLP-1 usage.

We’ll be off for the rest of the week and will return next Tuesday, December 2. Enjoy Thanksgiving!

“I like to compare the holiday season with the way a child listens to a favorite story. The pleasure is in the familiar way the story begins, the anticipation of familiar turns it takes, the familiar moments of suspense, and the familiar climax and ending.”– Mister Rogers

A Ukraine-Russia Deal On The Menu?

Last week, we wrote about the U.S. and Russia coming together to work out a framework for a peace deal behind Ukraine’s back. It’s now become clear why: the Donald wants a peace deal served alongside his turkey and stuffing. Even if the deal smells distinctly like the Kremlin.

Over the weekend, U.S. diplomats met with negotiators from Ukraine in an attempt to quickly work out a peace deal that will see Kyiv lay down its arms this week. The talks didn’t start out too well – Secretary of State Marco Rubio had to assure Kyiv’s representatives that the deal hadn’t come directly from the Kremlin – but by Sunday night both the U.S. and Ukraine had agreed on an “updated and revised framework document.” 

According to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, the new peace plan contains “fewer points than 28, and many proper considerations have been taken into account in this framework.” The Ukraine-approved framework has just 19 points compared to the Russia backed 28-point peace deal initially offered up by the U.S., and likely gives Ukraine a little bit more control over its future. Russia’s deal limited Ukraine’s armed forces to just 600,000 personnel, blocked Ukraine from ever joining NATO, and handed Moscow control over Ukraine’s Crimea, Luhansk, and Donetsk regions. Now we’ll have to wait and see Russia’s response to the new deal as U.S. diplomats meet with negotiators from the Kremlin in Abu Dhabi. Something tells us that Russia won’t accept given its upper hand on the battlefield, Kyiv’s ongoing corruption scandal, and Ukraine’s slowly dwindling manpower. Always happy to be wrong, though.

A Video Punishable By Death?

Last Tuesday, a group of six Democratic lawmakers posted a short video calling on U.S. military members to “stand up for our laws and our Constitution” by defying “illegal orders.” In response, President Trump accused them of sedition “punishable by DEATH” and reposted multiple online comments, including one calling on the government to “HANG THEM GEORGE WASHINGTON WOULD !!”

Despite that aggressive online posturing, the Trump White House didn’t really do anything about the video. At least, until yesterday. To kick off Thanksgiving week, the Pentagon announced that it would be going after Democratic Senator Mark Kelly of Arizona – one of the lawmakers in the video – by investigating him over breaches of military law. Kelly, a former Navy pilot, could be called back to active duty “for court-martial proceedings or administrative measures,” wrote the Pentagon in a statement, adding that the video might have violated a law prohibiting military members from damaging the “loyalty, morale, or good order and discipline of the armed forces.”

While the Pentagon wants to prosecute Kelly for telling troops, “You can refuse illegal orders,” the letter of the law should back him up. Members of the military are legally obligated to reject unlawful orders, and decades of legal precedence support the idea that troops cannot hide behind the “Nuremberg defense” by claiming that they were “just following orders” when doing something illegal.

Stay Salty — It’s Good For You

Good Vibes Across The Globe (For Now)

• U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping talked on a call yesterday, extending a period of warm(er) U.S.-China trade negotiations. In a post on TruthSocial, Trump wrote, “We discussed many topics including Ukraine/Russia, Fentanyl, Soybeans and other Farm Products, etc. We have done a good, and very important, deal for our Great Farmers — and it will only get better. Our relationship with China is extremely strong!”

• China’s state news agency also reported on the call’s good vibes, stating that both countries should “keep up the momentum, keep moving forward in the right direction on the basis of equality, respect and mutual benefit.” Currently, U.S.-China trade is in a decent spot, with U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods hovering around 50% – a significant improvement compared to the 150% tariff rate that Trump had threatened earlier this year. After the call, Trump announced that Xi had invited him to visit Beijing next April, and the Chinese leader is expected to visit the U.S. sometime after that.

The Kids Are All Touching Grass

• Next month, Australia is set to implement a world-first social media ban, which will block any Australians under the age of 16 from accessing social media sites or apps. On Sunday, Malaysia announced that it would be following suit by implementing its own social media ban in January of next year.

• Under the new law, platforms like Instagram, X, and TikTok would be required to implement age verification programs in order to weed out Malaysian children under the age of 16. “We expect all platforms to implement this by next year,” said Malaysian Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil, adding that the platforms could use a system known as eKYC, or electronic Know Your Customer, to carry out the verification process.

• Malaysia is a young country, with 8 million children under the age of 16. Social media use has been under intense scrutiny in the country after a 14-year-old boy stabbed a 16-year-old girl 200 times – Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has explicitly blamed the murder on social media use, and the killer has been described as an incel.

Additional World News

• Venezuela accuses US of using ‘narco-terrorism’ allegations to justify ‘regime change’ (Guardian)

• Sudan's RSF paramilitary says it will enter into ceasefire (Reuters)

• What is Cartel de los Soles, which the US is labelling a terrorist organisation? (BBC)

• The dangerous rise of Buddhist extremism: ‘Attaining nirvana can wait’ (Guardian)

• The G20 summit in South Africa ends with the glaring absence of the US after Trump's boycott (AP)

• Images From Vietnam’s Year of Deadly Wet Weather (NYT, $)

The Justice Department Gets Served

• Yesterday, a federal judge dismissed a pair of Justice Department cases against President Trump’s political opponents. The cases, against former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James, were dismissed for the same reason – the acting U.S. attorney who secured the indictments in both cases was appointed to the job unlawfully.

• The attorney in question is Lindsey Halligan, who was serving as the interim U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. Halligan is a former insurance lawyer who once served as Trump's personal attorney, and has zero prosecutorial background. She was appointed as a U.S. Attorney on an interim basis, circumventing the need for her to be confirmed by the Senate – the problem is that she was only supposed to serve in the position for 120 days, at which point a permanent attorney would replace her. 

• “If the position remains vacant at the end of the 120-day period, the exclusive authority to make further interim appointments under the statute shifts to the district court, where it remains until the President's nominee is confirmed by the Senate,” wrote the judge, stating that the indictments “were unlawful exercises of executive power and are hereby set aside.” The Trump White House is expected to appeal the decision, as Comey’s case will be past the statute of limitations if this indictment is tossed out.

The Health Insurance Market Needs A Cure

• According to Reuters, fewer Americans are signing up for Affordable Care Act health insurance plans during this year’s open enrollment period. That’s because insurance rates are expected to jump next year unless Congress passes an extension to an Obamacare tax credit that’s set to expire in January.

• Covered California, California’s marketplace for Obamacare health insurance plans, has seen a 33% decrease in signups this enrollment period, while Pennsylvania’s marketplace has seen a 12% decrease in new signups. Virginia, Maryland, Rhode Island, and Connecticut also reported less extreme enrollment declines.

• While Republicans are feeling the pressure to make healthcare more affordable (they control the entire government but haven’t made anyone’s insurance cheaper), it’s unlikely that they’ll extend the tax cuts. Trump has floated the idea of just giving people money to pay for healthcare, but such large changes would be extremely difficult to implement before next year begins.

Additional USA News

• Inside the room: What happened during Trump and Mamdani’s meeting (CNN)

• Anthem Is Launching A Doctor Blacklist (Lever) 

• ‘That doesn’t exist’: Doge reportedly quietly disbanded ahead of schedule (Guardian)

• What happens next for Marjorie Taylor Greene after exit from Congress? (BBC)

• Schumer Faces Pushback From ‘Fight Club’ Group of Senate Democrats (NYT, $)

• A guide to Thanksgiving travel after the government shutdown (AP) 

Don’t Stop GLP-ing

• Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat.

• Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. (Source)

Additional Reads

• Donald Glover reveals on stage he had a stroke last year (BBC) 

• Do women’s periods actually sync up with each other? (Guardian) 

• ‘Holy shit’: Gemini 3 is winning the AI race — for now (Verge, $)

• How Some Midlife Women Are Quietly Quitting Their Husbands (Cut)

• ‘Wicked: For Good’ Bursts Its Own Bubble (Atlantic, $)

• Does music make animals calmer? (BBC) 

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Peanut For Your Thoughts

Here’s a cool twist on Minesweeper that you can play in your browser while you wait for the clock to hit 5:00 on Wednesday! 

Editor + Writer: Marcus Gee-Lim

Designer: Joe Stella