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Morning Announcements

Morning
Announcements
Morning Announcements is a daily show brought to you by the Betches Sup, here to help you make sense of the world in the wake of 2020’s chaos. Every morning, Betches co-founder and host Sami Sage gives you quick daily updates with the most important info you need to know about politics and current events.
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Latest Episodes

Where to Start

Friday, December 5th, 2025 - J6 pipe bomb arrest; Trump imagines a peace deal; TX gets to gerrymander; My Pillow Guy is back; New NFL standards

Today’s Headlines: Federal investigators finally arrested a suspect in the January 6th pipe bomb case — 30-year-old Brian Cole Jr. — though AG Pam Bondi says they still don’t know the motive and didn’t get any new tips. Meanwhile, pardoned J6 defendant Taylor Taranto popped up near Rep. Jamie Raskin’s house, prompting another bump in security during what’s starting to feel like a never-ending wave of threats. The DOJ is also trying to re-indict Letitia James and James Comey after their earlier cases collapsed thanks to the administration forgetting you actually need legitimate prosecutors. A new grand jury declined to indict James on mortgage fraud, and the GAO has now opened an investigation into FHFA director Bill Pulte — the guy reportedly cooking up the bogus mortgage probes against Trump enemies. Trump declared he’s solved war again, announcing “peace” between Rwanda and militant forces in the DRC… despite fighting still happening. Over in the real war he can’t magically fix, Putin rejected the latest Ukraine peace draft after chats with Kushner & Witkoff. And according to a leaked call, European leaders warned Zelensky that the U.S. might screw Ukraine over in negotiations. At home, the Supreme Court ruled 6–3 that Texas can use its aggressively gerrymandered congressional map for 2026 — a huge boost to Republicans. In”people who won’t go away” news, Mike Lindell is now running for governor of Minnesota. And finally, the NFL announced new uniform field-safety standards for all stadiums by 2028, presumably so players stop shredding their knees to enhance player safety. Resources/Articles mentioned in this episode: NBC News: Officials say a fresh review of evidence led to arrest in D.C. pipe bomb case Axios: Scoop: Security upped for Rep. Jamie Raskin after alleged incident Axios: Grand jury declines second attempt to indict Letitia James Axios: Trump ally Pulte under investigation by congressional watchdog Axios: Trump's peace deal without the peace between DRC and Rwanda AP News: Putin says there are points he can't agree to in the US proposal to end Russia's war in Ukraine Spiegel: Confidential Conference on Ukraine Peace: "We Must Not Leave Ukraine and Volodymyr Alone with These Guys" - DER SPIEGEL WSJ: Supreme Court to Allow Texas to Use New Congressional Map in Win for Republicans MS Now: MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell wants to run for Minnesota governor AP News: NFL mandates playing surfaces for all stadiums meet new standards by 2028 to enhance player safety Morning Announcements is produced by Sami Sage and edited by Grace Hernandez-Johnson

December 4th, 2025 - Epstein files update;, Hegseth drama; Trump’s surprise pardon; Immigration pause; ICE needs warrants; Cheese recall

Today’s Headlines: The House Oversight Committee dropped another batch of photos and videos from Jeffrey Epstein’s island, but honestly, this is not a “paint me a picture” situation — Google is your friend. Meanwhile, Pete Hegseth’s Signalgate drama is heating up: an inspector general report says he put troops at risk, and Rep. Shri Thanedar is already drafting impeachment articles over both that and the whole “blow up random boats” era. Trump surprised literally everyone — including GOP leadership — by pardoning Democratic Rep. Henry Cuellar, who was awaiting trial for allegedly taking $600k in foreign bribes. And the administration announced a pause on immigration applications from 19 “high-risk” countries, with no timeline for resuming them, while a judge ruled that ICE actually does need warrants to arrest people in DC. Trump also claimed Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff had a “very good” meeting with Putin on a Ukraine peace plan (sure), as European leaders slammed Putin for wasting everyone’s time. And in a peak bit of irony, the former U.S. Institute of Peace has now been renamed the Donald J. Trump Institute of Peace.Finally, the FDA recalled more than 250,000 cases of shredded cheese sold nationwide due to possible metal contamination — a divine sign to stop buying store-brand cheese before it saws your intestines in half. Resources/Articles mentioned in this episode: CNN: New images and videos from Epstein’s island released CNN: Watchdog finds Hegseth risked endangering troops by sharing of sensitive war plans on Signal, sources say Axios: Democrat announces articles of impeachment against Hegseth Axios: Scoop: Johnson blindsided by Trump's Cuellar pardon MS Now: Trump administration pauses immigration from 19 countries Axios: Federal judge restricts warrantless immigration arrests in D.C. Axios: Trump says Witkoff and Kushner had "a very good" meeting with Putin AP News: Europeans accuse Putin of feigning interest in peace after talks with US envoys Axios: Trump's name added to US Institute of Peace AP News: Shredded cheese sold in dozens of states recalled due to potential for metal fragment contamination Morning Announcements is produced by Sami Sage and edited by Grace Hernandez-Johnson

December 3rd, 2025 - TN’s close election; Trump’s 150-post spiral & cabinet meeting chaos; Patel’s FBI jacket tantrum; Ukraine-Russia talks

Today’s Headlines: Republican Matt Van Epps narrowly won Tennessee’s special election, which is… not exactly a flex for the GOP given the district. Meanwhile, Trump went on a full midnight Truth Social bender — 150 posts of pure nonsense — including a retweet of Kristi Noem calling for a “full travel ban” on basically whoever she feels like. He kept the chaos going at a two-hour Cabinet meeting where he bragged about his cognitive test, nodded off, and let Noem announce immigration crackdowns in Minnesota’s Somali community. Pete Hegseth used his time to deny ordering the killing of survivors of U.S. boat strikes and promised more strikes off Venezuela, as a Signalgate review is set to be released. Kash Patel didn’t fare much better in the news cycle, a leaked 115-page report from FBI veterans called the bureau under him a fear-soaked disaster run by a guy who once refused to leave a plane until someone found him a properly patched FBI jacket. In more anit-immigration adjacent news, Brooke Rollins is threatening to pause SNAP funds for states refusing to share immigrant data. Sabrina Carpenter, however, wants zero association with ICE after they used her music in a raid montage. And like we all knew would happen, Senate Republicans appear to have abandoned the plan to extend Obamacare subsidies before premiums spike in January (shocking). Finally, billionaire Michael Dell and his wife are tossing $6.25 billion into “Trump accounts” for kids, while Treasury kicks in $1,000 for children born during Trump’s term, and Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff spent four hours in the Kremlin with Putin discussing their ever-mutating “peace plan.”  Resources/Articles mentioned in this episode: NBC News: Tennessee House Special Election 2025 Live Results: Matt Van Epps Wins, NBC News Projects The Independent: Trump goes on late-night social media rant demanding Democrats who spoke out on military justice be jailed NYT: Kristi Noem Recommends New Travel Ban After National Guard Shooting Axios: ICE coming for Minneapolis after Trump targets Somalis CNN: Fact check: Trump delivers long list of false claims at Cabinet meeting Axios: Scoop: Pentagon's internal "Signalgate" review sent to Congress Yahoo: Kash Patel Justifies Jacket Meltdown by Saying He Wanted a Kid’s Size Axios: SNAP benefits at risk as states resist Trump immigration data demands AP News: Sabrina Carpenter and Franklin the Turtle publisher condemn Trump administration's use of their work AP News: Chances dwindling for renewal of health care subsidies, risking premium spikes for millions WaPo: Dell CEO pledges $6 billion to ‘Trump accounts’ for American children Axios: Witkoff and Kushner met Putin for five hours on Ukraine plan Telegraph: Putin: We’re ready for war with Europe Morning Announcements is produced by Sami Sage and edited by Grace Hernandez-Johnson

The Host

Sami Sage
Sami Sage is the co-founder and Chief Creative Officer of Betches. She’s the host of @Betches, and Morning Announcements and in her spare time likes to scroll on her phone and stare at her dogs, Bruce Bader Ginsburg and Larry David.

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