👀 Marriage “bootcamp,” huge tax breaks for couples with kids, capping alimony, discouraging online dating… A WaPo exclusive, we got the final draft of the Heritage Foundation’s “Manhattan Project” for more babies. Plus a previous draft with scrapped ideas, which you’ll want to see. 🎁 link:

With Steny Hoyer's retirement, the old Maryland machine is really turning over. Recent MD retirements in Congress: - Ben Cardin - Dutch Ruppersberger - John Sarbanes Elijah Cummings died not so long ago. David Trone is out of office. This is a small state -- only 8 seats in the delegation.

NATO has invoked Article 5, the common defense tenet of the alliance, one time: When the United States was attacked on Sept. 11, 2001.

The plaque is several feet wide, several feet high. It was last seen in a basement workshop of a House office bldg next to a mini-frig, a scooter & set of small lockers. Now that plague’s hidden status symbolizes everything about 5 years ago. My column. www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

Call the sheriff.

On CBS just now, Kevin Harlan — up there as the best pxp man with Ian Eagle — called two games at once. First, Washington in Philly as the Eagles tried to drive for the win. Second, the Lions knocking odd division champs Chicago as Jake Bates hits a game-winning field goal. Incredible stuff.

Director of the CIA is in the room but you have OSINTdefender's twitter page up on the screen

They’ve got Twitter up on the big screens in Trump’s Mar-a-Lago makeshift “situation room.” Photos from Trump’s Truth Social account.

New: We got an internal ICE document revealing its $100 million ad plan to bring in 14,000 new hires: deals with "tactical" influencers; ads to gun & military buffs; and geo-targeting phones around NASCAR races and gun shows. A "wartime recruitment" mode with paramilitary branding: wapo.st/44QrP5j

See this is the fundamental misconception. The only tax money USPS draws is to fund free mail for the blind and other very limited programs. The overwhelming majority of U.S. Postal Service operations are not funded through tax dollars.

My annual "year in the news" review -- a little different this time around. Here's the biggest stories I covered in 2025 and why they'll matter in 2026.

I reported all of this and more in @washingtonpost.com some 20 days ago.

USPS has many remits! - connecting the nation via the mails - running a self-sufficient funding model - paying prevailing wages - serving as part of a homeland security framework And there's more! That's what makes me an econ policy reporter -- for that kind of expertise most folks don't track.

👀 There's more drama at the Heritage Foundation, the group behind Project 2025. More than a dozen senior staffers quit over the weekend -- and took new jobs at Mike Pence's group, Advancing American Freedom. The Tucker Carlson/Nick Fuentes antisemitism fallout is still going at Heritage.

Those "warrior dividend" Christmastime bonuses that Trump promised in his speech last night? Hegseth is just repurposing housing assistance for troops to make them happen.

Trump is expected to announce today that Medicare will begin reimbursing some older Americans for CBD treatments The pilot program is part of Trump’s bigger announcement on easing restrictions around marijuana w @davidovalle.bsky.social @jacobbogage.bsky.social

My summation of Trump’s speech, wrapping WaPo’s live coverage: Trump tried his campaign speech again, and tried to throw stones at Biden He’s been president for nearly a full year. Hard to make that argument when you’ve been the guy for that long. www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

Bumping this. Trump has conditioned voters to expect instant results on the economy. And now he can't deliver -- because the economy doesn't turn on a dime. And, he refuses to acknowledge that voters hold him responsible for some of their concerns. Guess what? The Fed chair does, too.

📦 USPS announces it is moving forward with a reverse auction for access to its package delivery network, confirming a key aspect of my scoop.

“Sometimes I am a conspiracy theorist, but I only believe the conspiracy theories that are true,” JD Vance told me. I followed the VP to Pa., to cover the economy. I asked about this story, too — news that Trump’s chief of staff called Vance a “conspiracy theorist” and cast doubt on his MAGA-ness.

For months, I've been stewing on this idea of the current American voter operating almost exclusively as a consumer. It's not just "it's the economy stupid." It's the instant gratification of modern consumerism in our political arena. I finally wrote about it — from a Pennsylvania warehouse. 🧵...

🍃 SCOOP 🍃 President Trump is preparing to order his administration to dramatically loosen restrictions on MARIJUANA. The order would reclassify cannabis from Schedule I — the same level as heroin — to Schedule III — the same level as Tylenol and codeine and some steroids.

🚨 SCOOP: DHS is buying its own fleet of passenger jets to conduct deportation operations without a contractor. ICE is spending $140 million to buy six planes. The money comes from Trump and GOP’s “One Big Beautiful Bill,” which supersized DHS’s budget by $170 billion.

The Handbasket's independent journalism holiday gift guide is LIVE! If you want to support indie media *and* give someone a unique gift, consider a paid subscription from this [by no means exhaustive] list of awesome outlets doing the work and doing it right:

I will die shouting this into the void: The Postal Service **by law** largely acts as a business and is required **by law** to attempt to break even through the sale of postage products. This is not an issue of framing. It's an issue of policy. If you don't like it, take it up with Congress.

🚨SCOOP: Amazon is preparing to sever ties with USPS and expand its shipping network as a true coast-to-coast rival. It could cost USPS more than *$6 billion* a year in lost revenue, and lead Amazon to dominate yet another facet of the economy. USPS posted a *$9 billion* loss in 2025.

Want the news -- the really important news -- but don't want a WaPo subscription? That's fair. We're trying something new: $4 for a full day of WaPo access. Or if you just want this story, $2. Try it with this story, loaded with scoopy bits from me, @ddiamond.bsky.social & @rbeggin.bsky.social.

Another week, another series of big questions about soon-to-expire ACA subsidies. Trump and his allies still haven't agreed on a plan for what to do. The stakes: About 24 million Americans rely on the ACA marketplaces to buy insurance. with @rbeggin.bsky.social @jacobbogage.bsky.social

For the ones who had a notion A notion deep inside That it ain’t no sin to be glad you’re alive I wanna find one face that ain’t looking through me I wanna find one place I want to spit in the face of these BADLANDSSSSS

America needs more Phil Williamses.

🚨 NEWS: A federal judge has blocked the IRS from sharing confidential taxpayer data w/ immigration enforcement officials “If this risk were to materialize, then Plaintiffs’ members would be subject to grave harm, including, but not limited to, illegal removal from the United States,” judge writes.

👀 Inside the sharp rise and steep fall of Larry Summers, who dominated economic thought in Washington for the better part of 40 years.

👀 NEWS: Larry Summers resigns from the Center for American progress as part of withdrawal from public life after Epstein disclosures.

👋🏼 Say goodbye to the penny. The Mint stopped making one-cent coins yesterday. Fear not — prices probably are not going to go up, even though you may never again get exact change. One (1) cheesesteak was harmed in the making of this video. Learn more: www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...

🚨 SCOOP: Congressional Budget Office believed to be hacked for foreign actor

🚨 WaPo SCOOP: Inside the crisis at the Heritage Foundation The group behind Project 2025 is facing a rebellion — and has been for months. The Tucker Carlson/Nick Fuentes/antisemitism saga is just what caused it to break into the open. 🎁 Gift link:

Story tomorrow morning, folks.

Just finished listening to the Heritage Foundation’s all-staff meeting to address Tucker Carlson, Nick Fuentes and anti-Semitism. There were some fireworks. Much more to come + months of inside reporting on internal crises at Heritage.

We’ve set the record for the longest government shutdown in U.S. history: 3️⃣5️⃣ days. It’s cut off SNAP, caused major airport delays and furloughed 650,000 workers. We could finally be closing in on some sort of resolution to end it. 🎁 Learn more, gift link: wapo.st/47VeGJU

👀 Scoop: IRS Direct File, the free government-backed program that let you file your taxes for free, is dead. IRS wrote to state tax agencies saying it would not be operational this coming tax season, per records I've obtained. IRS Direct File: 2023-2025. (Story from when the pilot launched.)

👀 New reporting today on this:

When do we have to start talking about Dave Roberts as one of the best managers in big league history?

The greatest World Series of my life.

If this holds, Will Smith MUST be the MVP. He has caught every inning of the World Series and he just hit the go-ahead home run.

Catchers forever!!!!!

You gotta be kidding me.

Move over, Kirk Gibson!

Story here: www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

🚨 BREAKING: A federal judge in Rhode Island rules from the bench that the Trump admin **must** pay SNAP benefits. "The court is orally ordering that USDA must distribute the contingency money timely or as soon as possible for the November 1 payments to be made." Story to come.

This directly puts the ball in the Trump administration's court. There's no longer a question of "can they issue SNAP benefits." They now **must** issue the payments. So will they? And if so, how much? These are now policy (and political) questions solely for the Trump administration.