Hello, readers – happy Thursday! Today, we’ll be covering destruction at the White House, new sanctions on Russia, buying Argentina’s midterms, another boat strike, the new Pentagon press corps, the ongoing government shutdown, and Tesla’s rough quarter.

“Heaven knows we need never be ashamed of our tears, for they are rain upon the blinding dust of earth, overlying our hard hearts. I was better after I had cried, than before--more sorry, more aware of my own ingratitude, more gentle.” ― Charles Dickens

Trump’s Ballroom Bloodbath

Last month, the Trump administration began construction of a new ballroom extension to the White House. Yesterday, pictures of the construction – or rather, demolition – made their rounds on social media. While Trump had initially promised that his ballroom plans wouldn’t involve any demolition, two Trump officials told the press yesterday that the demolition of part of the White House’s East Wing would be fully completed within just two days.

“It won’t interfere with the current building,” Trump said when discussing the ballroom project in July. “It’ll be near it, but not touching it, and pays total respect to the existing building, which I’m the biggest fan of.” Despite that statement, photos and videos of the White House show a large chunk of the East Wing’s facade being torn down by heavy machinery. 

Normally, major renovations to the White House are submitted for approval by the National Capital Planning Commission before they take place, but the Trump administration has decided to ignore those norms. Instead, Trump officials argue that the president doesn’t need to submit any plans yet because construction of the ballroom hasn’t yet begun – crews have only been demolishing the building, which technically isn’t construction. It’s unclear what the ballroom will look like or when it’ll be finished, but Trump has said that the new extension will hold at least 900 people. The budget has ballooned from $250 million to $300 million, and given Trump’s involvement, you probably bet that the new construction will involve a lot of gilded finishes.

The Flip-Flopper In Chief

Six days ago, Trump spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin over the phone. After that call, Trump told the media that he had plans to hold a “pretty quick” in-person meeting with the Russian leader in the near future, with the aim of ending the war in Ukraine. Yesterday, Trump reversed course (his second-favorite hobby after golfing), telling the press that he no longer planned to meet with Putin in “the immediate future.” 

“I don’t want to have a wasted meeting,” Mr. Trump said on Tuesday when asked why the meeting was put off. “I don’t want to have a wasted time [sic], so I’ll see what happens.” This is just Trump’s latest flip-flop in U.S.-Ukraine-Russia negotiations, with the president seemingly choosing to side with whichever country he’s spoken to last. “The question is, will Trump, and when will Trump, understand that to get results he wants, he has to put pressure on Putin?” said a former U.S. ambassador to Poland and longtime U.S. diplomat. “Putin keeps playing him.”

After flip-flopping away from Putin, the Trump White House announced a new raft of sanctions on Russian oil companies. The new sanctions will prevent Rosneft and Lukoil – Russia’s two largest oil companies – from interacting with the Western economy. Combined the two firms export 3.1 million barrels of oil per day, and Rosneft alone exports 3% of global oil output. “I just felt it was time. We waited a long time,” Trump said after the sanctions were announced.

Buying An Election? $40 Billion, Please

• Over the past few weeks, the Trump White House has promised over $40 billion in bailout money to Argentina. The problem is that the much-needed funds – which are to keep President Javier Milei’s struggling neoliberal reforms on track – will only be paid out to the South American nation if Milei’s party wins midterm elections scheduled for this weekend. 

• While the Trump administration calculated that the promise of a massive bailout would keep Argentina’s economy afloat heading into the elections, White House diplomats have also handed Argentina’s opposition parties a rallying cry at a critical junction. #PatriaOColonia, meaning “motherland or colony,” has been trending on Argentine social media platforms after Trump clarified last week that the bailout funds would only be paid out if Milei won the midterms. 

• “The Argentine economy is being managed with a remote control by the Treasury of the United States,” said opposition leader and former President Cristina Kirchner, who’s currently under house arrest for corruption. “The suspicion is that they're selling a part of the country,” said one voter, referring to Milei’s party. “What I don't know is if we're giving them the Iguazu waterfalls, the Islas Malvinas, oil. We don't know what we're giving in exchange for this.”

Another Week, Another Boat Blowup

• If you thought the U.S.’s  South American meddling stopped there, you’re about to be disappointed. Yesterday, the U.S. Navy launched yet another strike on a boat off the shores of South America, this time in the Pacific Ocean near the shores of Colombia. The strike killed two people, and a short video published by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth appeared to show a small boat filled with packages being blown up by an American missile. 

• “Just as al-Qaida waged war on our homeland, these cartels are waging war on our border and our people,” Hegseth wrote as a caption to the video of two humans being blown up, “there will be no refuge or forgiveness – only justice.” In total, the U.S. military has now killed at least 32 people by blowing up boats off the coast of South America. 

• On Tuesday, the Guardian reported that the attacks are being informed by CIA intelligence, though it’s not clear that the agency’s intel is actually any good. On Monday, Ecuador released a survivor of a U.S. missile strike on an alleged drug-trafficking submarine after the U.S. had sent him back to his home country – Ecuadorian officials said they’d found no evidence that the man was linked to drug trafficking, and therefore “he could not be detained.” Spelling it out: your tax dollars are paying for the U.S. Navy to blow up civilian boats willy-nilly in international waters.

More Mixed Nuts

• New Zealand ‘mega strike’: 100,000 public sector workers demand better conditions (Guardian)

• Firing Squads and Forced Death Leaps: A Tipping Point in Syria (NYT, $)

• Myanmar civil war: The junta is taking back territory with relentless air strikes and China's help  (BBC)

• Military and police patrol streets of Peru’s capital as state of emergency begins (AP)

• London police to deploy drones for faster emergency response (Reuters)

• Japan's exports and imports grow in September despite Trump's tariffs (AP)

Defending The Pentagon From Reporters

• Earlier this month, Defense Secretary Pete Hegeth announced a new reporting policy, which would require any journalists publishing information about the military to have their stories approved by the Pentagon before release. Under those rules, publishing non-Pentagon-approved stories could see journalists have their Pentagon press passes revoked, removing their access to the heart of the American military. 

• Last Wednesday, in response to Hegseth’s new rules, dozens of Pentagon press corps reporters turned in their access badges and walked off the job. The new rules, they said, would turn America’s media into a mouthpiece for the military. 

• Yesterday, the Pentagon welcomed a new batch of reporters to replace the ones that walked off the job last week. The “next generation of the Pentagon press corps” includes publications like the Gateway Pundit, which spread conspiracy theories about Trump’s 2020 election loss; Tim Pool’s Timcast, whose founder received money from Moscow to spread Russian propaganda; and Lindell TV, which was started by Mike Lindell, another 2020 election conspiracy theorist. Notably missing from the new press corps are Fox News and Newsmax, two right-wing outlets which also stated that the new reporting rules are out of hand.

No Stopping The Shutdown

• The government shutdown shows no signs of shutting down. Today marks the 23rd day of the current shutdown, making it the second longest in American history. The longest-ever federal funding crisis (which spanned 35 days) took place during Trump’s first term, when Democrats refused to pass spending bills that would fund the president’s plans to build a U.S.-Mexico border wall.

• Currently, Congress is deadlocked over Obamacare tax credits, which are set to expire this year. Democrats refuse to pass any temporary spending bill that doesn’t extend those tax credits, as millions of Americans will see their health insurance premiums spike in 2026 without them. Republicans have pushed multiple spending bills through the House, but require a handful of Democratic votes in order to reach the 60-vote minimum needed for the spending measures to make it through the Senate. Democrats have repeatedly requested a meeting with Trump in order to work out the disagreement, but Republicans say the president will only meet with top Democrats after a temporary spending bill is passed.

More Nuts In America

• Nancy Pelosi Hasn’t Announced Her 2026 Plans. Scott Wiener Is Running Anyway. (NYT, $) 

• Maine Senate candidate apologises for tattoo that resembles Nazi symbol (BBC) 

• LA TikTok creator streaming ICE raids charged with assault after being shot (Guardian)

• Trump nominee Ingrassia withdraws after offensive texts allegedly emerge (BBC) 

• US hits $38 trillion in debt, after the fastest accumulation of $1 trillion outside of the pandemic (AP) 

• 9 Things You Missed at the Final New York Mayoral Debate (NYMag, $) 

A Figurative Car Crash At Tesla

• Next month, Tesla shareholders are set to vote on an executive pay package which could make the world’s richest person the world’s first trillionaire. Following yesterday’s news, though, shareholders might not be so enthusiastic about that deal. After markets closed on Wednesday, Tesla reported its July-September revenues, and the numbers were not pretty.

• While revenue was up $28 billion (12%) compared to the same period last year, Tesla saw its profits drop by 37% compared to the third quarter of 2024. The electric carmaker has struggled over the past year, and while its sales were boosted by customers looking to snag their cars before the end of the federal $7,500 EV tax credit in September, research- and tariff-related costs ate away at the company’s margins.

• At this point, competing automakers have caught up with Tesla’s current EV lineup. Both Ford and Hyundai posted stronger U.S. sales numbers as customers also rushed to buy their cars before the EV tax credit ended, and Chinese rival BYD is gobbling up market share overseas. Most of Tesla’s value is now pinned on its plans to shift into the AI and robotics industries, though success in those markets is far from guaranteed. 

More Loose Nuts

• Peter Thiel’s off-the-record antichrist lectures reveal more about him than Armageddon (Guardian)

• Amazon Plans to Replace More Than Half a Million Jobs With Robots (NYT, $)

• Why Beyond Meat shares have surged 1,000% in four days (BBC) 

• Ring’s CEO says his cameras can almost ‘zero out crime’ within the next 12 months (Verge)

• OpenAI’s AI-powered browser, ChatGPT Atlas, is here (Verge)

• Scientists create pigs resistant to classical swine fever (Guardian)

• A ‘Death Train’ Is Haunting South Florida (Atlantic, $)

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