The release of the Epstein files left many of his victims disappointed with how the Justice Department handled it, Sarah Fitzpatrick reports. “America is getting a look tonight into how we have all felt for years,” one survivor said.

“As individuals who received their vaccines up to six decades ago reach old age, they’re becoming the unwitting subjects of a natural experiment: Researchers are nervously watching to see just how long their immunity might last. “

NEW: Donald Trump is considering announcing onetime bonus checks of $1,776 for many military members, @ashleyrparker.bsky.social and @nancyayoussef.bsky.social report.

“Inside the agency, officials describe Bhattacharya as a largely ineffectual figurehead, often absent from leadership meetings, unresponsive to colleagues, and fixated more on cultivating his media image than on engaging with the turmoil at his own agency.”

We've lost Ely and Todd Snider in under a month.

@dgraham.bsky.social: “The simplest reason Trump posted this is the same reason he posts anything: The man cannot resist making everything about himself, even if it’s the heartbreaking murder of a beloved artist in an alleged domestic dispute.”

@yair-rosenberg.bsky.social: American anti-Semitism is not primarily a partisan phenomenon, “but a generational one.” “Jews constitute just 2 percent of the American population, but they’ve assumed much larger and more sinister proportions in the imagination of the country’s youth.”

NEW: A right-wing influencer claims USAID is a secret spy organization. He’s been brought into the agency to prove his theory, @isaacstanleybecker.bsky.social reports.

serious question: what is impressionism as a musical genre

Last night’s Tennessee special-election results gave both Democrats and Republicans something to worry about, Marc Novicoff argues:

Breaking: Hegseth Risked Endangering Troops With Signal Messages

NEW: The U.S. strikes off of South America may be compromising its larger efforts against drug cartels, experts tell Missy Ryan and Marie-Rose Sheinerman.

@jonlemire.bsky.social: “Lack of regular voter contact has contributed to a growing fear among Republicans and White House allies: that Trump is too isolated, and has become out of touch with what the public wants from its president.”

100% serious question: why do toaster/toaster ovens have such short cords, rendering them unusable in all but the most absurd kitchen configurations? Is there a voltage thing specific to toasters? Did the toaster guild rule on this 80 years ago and you mess with them at your peril?

Exclusive: Surrendering land to Russia to end the war is off-limits, Zelensky’s chief negotiator tells Simon Shuster. “As long as Zelensky is president, no one should count on us giving up territory.”

EXCLUSIVE: Ukraine’s chief negotiator, in an exclusive interview, says conceding sovereign territory is off-limits in peace talks. Via Simon Shuster:

“In focusing too much on what was popular, critics began to write about culture like sports, concentrating most on the major leagues.”

“Sending $2,000 checks to most American households would demand more than what the government has collected in tariff revenues so far.”

“The shutdown showcased the fragility of the social safety net ... The shutdown may have provided a glimpse of what millions of Americans will face when the government opts for a reduced role in society.”

Extensive profile of RFK Jr., including many fascinating interviews, from @michaelscherer.bsky.social:

Annual reminder that the reporters covering Lee Harvey Oswald's funeral ended up burying him because they were the only ones besides his family to show up. Even the minister skipped it.

“Through a representative, Rollins ‘declined with great enthusiasm’ to an interview request for this article.”

NEW from @isaacstanleybecker.bsky.social: “The emails offer a portrait of Maxwell’s relatively comfortable life as the scandal that put her behind bars has gripped Trump in a political vise.”

Infighting. Bad polls. Party divisions. Midterm fears. It’s all back, @jonlemire.bsky.social reports:

between me and @ibogost.com, your holiday shopping list is complete! theatln.tc/3IFzMBWA

This will always be one of the great short stories of the English language. This should have won the O. Henry Prize: open.spotify.com/track/3LCWOW...

“Squarespace for scams.”

A year-long pasta investigation! Long-simmering pasta tensions! This story has everything:

I've never been more serious: you gotta reach this ostrich story.

@russellberman.bsky.social: “Even if the GOP’s gerrymandering advantage nets the party a few additional seats, Democrats will have a narrower gap to overcome next year than they did eight years ago.”

New! Show! From @cwarzel.bsky.social! Go get it:

“Get used to these kinds of subscriptions, regardless of what kind of car you drive.”

@radiofreetom.bsky.social: “Of course, another possibility is that Trump’s announcement means nothing.”

@ashleyrparker.bsky.social on Rahm Emanuel? Click:

@gcaw.bsky.social: “Right now the 20-point plan is in effect halted while Trump’s deputies make efforts to determine which of its deficiencies are remediable. It’s not clear when the plan will be implemented, who will implement it, or how.”

“A centaur goes in circles if the human half doesn’t know what it’s doing.”

When the president of the United States decides to demolish the East Wing of the White House to construct a ballroom, all that stucco and molding and wood has to go somewhere. So Nancy Walecki tried to find it.

@qjurecic.bsky.social: “The extravagance of Trump’s attempted theft may itself be part of the point. The goal is not just dictatorial power, but the ostentatious performance of dictatorial power.”

great read from @kait.bsky.social trying to solve the conundrum of why America's most exciting train keeps hitting people:

NEW: More than a third of the recruits at ICE's training academy are failing the personal-fitness test, @nickmiroff.bsky.social reports. “It’s pathetic,” one career ICE official told Miroff.

@anneapplebaum.bsky.social: “Protests can only create enthusiasm, spread goodwill, and inspire people to dedicate time and energy to real political change. And the people who created the sewage video knew that too.”

@shaneharris.bsky.social: “Donald Trump has derided NATO as an obsolete bunch of freeloaders for so long, it can be easy to forget that the transatlantic alliance remains the most powerful combined military force on Earth. And right now, it’s really acting like it.”

Phenomenal Riyadh dispatch from @helenlewis.bsky.social: “By the end of the night, I was, somewhat unexpectedly, annoyed on behalf of the kingdom. You drop six or seven figures to fly in Louis C.K., and he won’t even write some new material? Disrespectful.”

@nickmiroff.bsky.social from Chicago: “I realized that no one from the federal government had gone to the building after the raid to check on the elderly Americans who lived there, to see if any of them needed help, or to apologize for handcuffing them in the middle of the night.”

Robert Worth: “It is impossible to spend more than a few minutes near the front line without being confronted by Ukraine’s greatest vulnerability: lack of soldiers. Yet I came away from a recent trip to Ukraine believing that the country may actually be able to achieve its military goals.”

Take a wild ride with @matteowong.bsky.social as he tours the NYC subways looking at the defaced Friend posters with the Friend founder who says he loves it all:

@yair-rosenberg.bsky.social: “Trump successfully bullied Netanyahu—and if this latest round of talks is going to get results, he’ll need to do more of it.”

Despite a huge boost in funds, ICE’s buildup stalled over the summer. Good new reporting from @nickmiroff.bsky.social:

@annielowrey.bsky.social: “The shutdown won’t cause a nationwide recession, provided it is over soon. But it could certainly worsen some smaller ones already gathering force.”

@isaacstanleybecker.bsky.social went to Portland: “What I’ve found is an atmosphere that is more like a carnival than combat.”