Happy Thanksgiving! I hope you all got past any awkward political discussions and had a wonderful holiday with family. How did Trump spend his Thanksgiving? At Mar-a-Lago confounding our troops and journalists. To journalists, he denies the CIA’s findings on Khashoggi; threatens Mexico, attacks Hillary’s use of her personal email while defending Ivanka’s use of her personal email; says the GDP was going down to “like minus 4” when he took office (which is untrue); and suggests he’ll shut down the government if he doesn’t get his border wall. When asked about what he’s most thankful for, Trump pretty much just says he’s thankful for himself (and his family).

To troops he talks about barbed wire and troop deployment at the border; says we have no good trade deals (which a commander on the other end contradicts); criticizes the Navy for using electromagnetic catapults instead of steam (because EM is too hard to figure out, and which again an officer contradicts); and asks if the troops in Afghanistan are enjoying themselves. And then he goes golfing while former president Obama dishes food at a soup kitchen.

Here’s what else happened this week in politics…

Russia:

1. New emails show that Steve Bannon and Cambridge Analytica were involved in disinformation campaigns for Brexit. We already knew they were both involved in fostering nationalist populist movements in the U.S. elections in 2016. But now we know that Bannon, who then worked at Cambridge Analytica, was included on emails with Arron Banks, the leader of the Leave.EU campaign. The emails suggest that all three were involved in fundraising and media campaigns for both Brexit and the U.S. elections.
2. Trump gives Robert Mueller his handwritten answers to the questions from the special counsel in the Russia investigation. He did not answer questions about his actions as president, including about obstruction of justice.
3. The House Judiciary Committee subpoenas James Comey and Loretta Lynch for closed door hearings about how they handled the investigations into Hillary Clinton’s email server and the investigations into the Trump campaign and Russia.
4. And speaking of emails, Ivanka used a personal email account to send government documents. Trump says it’s nothing like Hillary because at least she didn’t delete 30,000 of them. Fact of the matter is, we don’t know how many emails Ivanka’s deleted from that account.
5. And speaking of James Comey and Hillary Clinton, Trump told White House counsel earlier this year that he wanted the DOJ to prosecute both of them. It’s not clear on what charges.

• • White House counsel told Trump he didn’t have the authority to order such a prosecution. He could request an investigation, but that, too, could be impeachable.
  • Trump is considering the appointment of a second special counsel to investigate the Comey and Clinton.
  • Trump thinks FBI Director Christopher Wray is weak for not investigating Clinton more thoroughly.

6. A judge orders George Papadopoulos to start serving his two-week prison sentence on the Monday after Thanksgiving. Papadopoulos was trying to get his sentence stayed while a court decides whether Mueller has overreached in his investigation.
7. Russia opened fire on three Ukrainian ships in the Kerch Strait, a strategic waterway for both countries. Ukrainian military says Russia also seized the three vessels.

• • Ukraine will vote on whether to declare martial law.
  • The UN Security Council calls an emergency meeting to discuss it.

Courts/Justice:

1. Trump blasts a federal judge for blocking his restrictions on asylum seekers and calls the judge an “Obama judge.” Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts hits back, saying there are no “Obama judges or Trump judges, Bush judges or Clinton judges.” Roberts also says we should all be grateful to have independent judiciary.
2. Trump responds, picking a fight with our Supreme Court Chief Justice. He specifically calls out the Ninth Circuit for their decisions around immigration.
3. And then Chuck Schumer blows his retort by saying that he doesn’t always agree with Roberts‘ partisan decisions, but he agrees with Roberts that judges aren’t partisan. Whoops.

Healthcare:

1. Trump’s administration approves Kentucky’s work requirements for Medicaid for a second time. The requirements were modified slightly because they were already struck down in court once.
2. Ohio considers legislation to criminalize abortion and to redefine personhood to include any unborn human.
3. A federal judge permanently blocks Mississippi’s ban on abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy.

International:

1. As you read the following, remember this quote from Trump during a 2015 campaign rally:
   “Saudi Arabia, I like the Saudis. I make a lot of money with them. They buy all sorts of my stuff. All kinds of toys from Trump. They pay me millions and hundreds of millions.”

• • Trump tries to cast doubt on the CIA conclusion that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was behind the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. This isn’t the first time he’s done this; Trump has also publicly doubted U.S. intelligence findings that Russia, and specifically Putin, meddled in our 2016 elections.
  • Trump says he won’t punish Saudi Arabia for the killing, because the country is a critical ally and that our strategic and economic relationships are too important to derail over a journalist. At issue is primarily oil, military equipment sales, and their partnership with us against Iran.
  • Trump justifies this by bringing up economic deals with Saudi Arabia that either don’t exist or that are inflated.
  • Meanwhile, German Chancellor Angela Merkel announces that Germany will end arm sales to Saudi Arabia. Finland and Denmark follow suit.
  • Congress issues a request to Trump’s administration to investigate the crown prince’s role in Khashoggi’s death.

2. The U.S. has dropped more bombs in Afghanistan so far in 2018 than it has in any other year of this war. Even though it’s the longest war we’ve fought, the Taliban has retaken half of Afghanistan.
3. On top of that, a suicide bomber kills at least 50 at a religious gathering in Afghanistan celebrating the birth of the prophet Muhammad.
4. Syrian officials say that terrorist rebels launched a chemical attack near Aleppo, so they respond with an airstrike. The rebels deny carrying out the chemical attacks. The airstrikes violate the truce brokered by Russia and Turkey.
5. Demonstrators rally across France all week to protest the gas tax.
6. European Union leaders formally agree on a deal with the UK for Brexit. It still needs to be approved by Theresa May’s government.
7. Reports are that talks with North Korea have stalled, and they’ve made no progress on reducing their nuclear arsenal or production.

Legislation/Congress:

1. House Republicans elect Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) to minority leader.

Family Separation:

1. The number of migrant children in U.S. custody is at an all-time high of 14,030. Largely to blame is the new rule of fingerprinting people who are willing to be sponsors (and who might be family to the minor in question). At least 40 sponsors who don’t have legal status were arrested after the rule took effect. The number of detained children is almost triple what it was last year.
2. As part of a settlement of three separate lawsuits over the family separation policy, the DOJ agrees to give some parents a second chance to apply for asylum. This includes some parents who were already deported. The lawsuits say that the asylum interview process was skewed by the parents’ distress at being separated from their children.

Travel Ban/Immigration/Discrimination:

1. Now that factions of the migrant caravan are starting to arrive at our southern border, Trump decides to start pulling troops out and letting them go home.
2. A judge blocks Trump’s effort to make it illegal for immigrants to apply for asylum if they don’t enter the country at a point of entry. Our asylum law only says you have to present yourself for asylum within a year of being physically in the country, which is how Cubans arriving in boats were able to request asylum in Florida.
3. The Trump administration and Mexico come to an agreement that would allow migrants in the caravans to stay in Mexico while their asylum applications are processed. He then threatens to close the southern border if we have to. Mexico says this isn’t a permanent solution.
4. Migrants in the caravans who didn’t apply for asylum in Mexico and who make it to Tijuana are staying in makeshift shelters as they are not allowed to enter the U.S. to apply for asylum.
5. In one presser, Trump says he shut down the border, then says he will shut down the border if he has to, and then says he already did. Turns out, certain entries were shut down along the border for short periods over Thanksgiving week.
6. Trump authorizes troops to use lethal force against migrants at the border. What could possibly go wrong?
7. Border Patrol closes the San Ysidro entry point on Sunday (the day vacationers are trying to get back to the U.S.). They also use tear gas on a group of migrants who broke away from a peaceful march to rush the entry point. They say it was because people were throwing rocks, and Mexico says they’ll deport any migrants who did. San Ysidro is one of the world’s busiest international border crossings.
8. A member of Trump’s administration defends the use of tear gas saying it’s natural; just pepper, water, and alcohol. You can spray it on your nachos. Wow. To that I say, try spraying it on yourself.
9. Officials in Mexico put immigrants waiting to apply for asylum on wait lists. Some officials demand money in return for letting migrants pass.
10. Trump revokes Obama’s guidance that protected transgender people in prison from rape and violence. Under Trump’s rules, prisons must use a person’s biological sex to determine where they’re housed.
11. Trump asks the Supreme Court to hear cases against his transgender ban in the military. This would bypass the legal process, so it’s doubtful they’ll hear it now. He seems to be putting in quite a bit of effort against the transgender community. I’m curious why.
12. The Mashpee Indian tribe could lose their land’s status as a reservation based on a new court decision involving a casino developer and a group of right-wing activists. This would be the first time in 60 years that reservation land would be removed from trust in the U.S.

Climate/EPA:

1. The U.S. government tells Taylor Energy Co. that they have to stop an oil spill that’s leaked thousands of gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico each day for over 14 years. But it makes sense to open all our waters to more drilling, right?
2. A new report from Trump’s administration finds that climate change could reduce our GDP by 10% by the end of the century. This is the second part of their findings. The first part, released last fall, found that there’s no other explanation for climate change than humankind. Here are some of the findings:

• • Climate change will have a huge effect on farming, reducing some crops by as much as 75% and reducing the number of hours a day that farm workers can work.
  • It will also hurt the fishing and seafood industry with acidification of our oceans.
  • There will be an increase in insect-spread diseases, like Ebola and Zika virus. Asthma and allergies will also worsen.
  • Food-borne and waterborne diseases will increase.
  • Wildfires could increase by six times, and flooding will also have a dramatic increase.

3. Another study finds that better landscape management could store enough carbon to offset our output by 21% (this is a huge amount). The top actions include reforestation (and not culling trees in the first place) and planting cover crops for off-years on farms.
4. Officials recall romaine lettuce across the country and in Canada due to an E. Coli outbreak.
5. On a related note, after E. Coli outbreaks in 2011, Congress ordered the FDA to create safety rules requiring produce growers to test their water supplies regularly. That would’ve gone into effect this year, but Trump put those regulations on hold for at least four more years. Most California and Arizona growers had volunteered to follow those rules.
6. Spain announces an energy plan that would require them to reduce carbon emissions by 90% by 2050 (compared to 1990 emissions).

Budget/Economy:

1. The stock market had another shaky week, with the Dow Jones dropping 551 points in one day, erasing all the gains made in 2018. The five major tech stocks have lost over $1 trillion in two months.
2. Gas and oil drilling applications in Wyoming are up more than 400% in the past five years, partly due to higher oil prices, better technology, and Trump’s push for U.S. energy dominance.
3. Some farmers are not only unable to sell their crops to China because of the trade wars, they also can’t find places to store their harvest until it can be used. Most elevators that usually buy and store the crops are full; some are taking advantage of the need and are charging farmers additional fees. Some farmers with damaged crops are just plowing this year’s crops under.
4. Soybean exports to the EU have risen slightly this year, while exports to China have tanked, as you can see below.

Elections:

1. At least six major companies request that Mississippi Senate candidate Cindy Hyde-Smith return their campaign contribution because of her recent seemingly racist comments. Tip to politicians: If you apologize right away, these things would be non-issues.
2. California Republicans work to regroup after losing every House seat in Orange County, a traditionally Republican stronghold.
3. Democrats won the popular vote in the House by almost 9 million votes, increasing their seats by 39 (with one race yet to be decided, but leaning toward the Democrat). That 8% margin is the largest for either party in a midterm election.
4. Conversely, Republicans won seats in the Senate. There’s one runoff election yet to go, so they’ll increase their seats by 1 or 3, depending on the outcome of the runoff.

Miscellaneous:

1. Since a judge ordered Trump to reinstate Jim Acosta’s press pass, the White House says they’ll come up with a code of conduct. If Acosta breaks any of the new rules, he’ll be kicked out again.
2. A shooter at Chicago Mercy hospital kills three, including a police officer, a doctor, and a recent grad. The gunman himself is also dead.
3. A shooter in a Kentucky mall opens fire, injuring two. Police kill the gunman. Except that he wasn’t really the gunman; he was just black and licensed to carry. It takes the police a few days to correct the record. Not surprisingly, protests erupt.
4. A review by Trump’s administration of his regulation rollbacks finds that these rollbacks will result in increased costs in multiple ways: there will be an increase in deaths from pollution, an increase in medical bills, and an increase in student debt.

Polls:

1. 59% of Americans disapprove of how Trump is handling race relations, with Democrats and African Americans having the highest rates of disapproval. I think African American gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gillum summed it up when he said:

“I have not called the president a racist, but there are racists in his sympathizers who believe he may be, which is why they go to his aid, which is why he has provided them cover. I believe his cover has led to much of the degradation in our political discourse.”