Welcome to REN’s roundup, a blast featuring some of the most important stories I’ve been reporting on this weekend.
Each Sunday, I’ll give you five full stories covering everything from the latest developments in MAHA-world to events in the Middle East. The roundup is free to read, but if you like it and you like the rest of the content on In the Raw, please consider subscribing. For the cost of a couple of boxes of eggs a month, you’ll get access to exclusive essays, fitness guides and nutritional advice, podcast episodes and much more. You’ll also have my eternal gratitude, and who knows when and how that might come in handy…
“Maybe a Few Changes”: Trump Teases More High-profile Changes
President Trump has given a clear indication that Susie Wiles will not be the only high-profile official to be given marching orders.
In an interview with Ross Douthat of 60 Minutes, President Trump confirmed he intends to terminate more members of his team after this week’s disastrous midterm elections, which saw the Republicans lose both the House and the Senate.
“I love my Cabinet,” the President said in a clip released on Friday.
“I think they’re good, but I’ll be doing maybe a few changes.
“I don’t want to mention who.”
The interview, recorded on Friday just hours before Trump replaced his chief of staff with Stephen Miller, will air on Sunday.
The President announced the replacement on Truth Social.
“Susie Wiles, who has done an outstanding job, will be moving over to the Trump Political Operation. I want to thank her for her service as Chief of Staff — She has done a great job!” he wrote.
In the interview with 60 Minutes, President Trump was asked if he still has faith in Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, who is potentially facing an impeachment vote when the House gathers again next week.
“I do,” the president responded.
“Look, we’ve won two wars. We’ve won Venezuela and taken out billions and billions and billions of dollars already, and we will be taking out many billions of dollars… we won that war in less than one hour.”
Hegseth has refused to stand down, despite mounting pressure as a result of the Iran war and its effects on the midterms.
“Just like the president. We don’t back down. And that especially applies now,” Hegseth said in a video message posted to X on Thursday.
Trump: US Launched “Minor Strikes” on Iran
The US carried out “minor strikes” this week on Iran, President Trump revealed on Friday.
The strikes apparently targeted an “anti-aircraft device” and were reported by Iranian state media.
“We do minor strikes, but they knocked out. They built a little bit of an anti-aircraft device, and we knocked it out in about 15 minutes, maybe five,” Trump told reporters.
According to state news agency IRNA, two missiles hit Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz.
Today, the agency said a US MQ-9 drone was shot down over the island.
Qeshm Island has been a repeat target of US strikes, because of its strategic position in the Strait of Hormuz and its use as a staging post for drone and missile attacks.
In his remarks to reporters on Friday, President Trump said his administration was in talks with Iran.
“We’re dealing with them now. They want to make a deal very badly,” he said.
“We’ve made a lot of progress with Iran.”
Qatar’s Prime Minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, said this morning that mediation between the US and Iran is ongoing.
“We cannot wait to reach a perfect agreement; we hope to reach a good agreement,” he said.
The latest strikes were apparently the first since this week’s disastrous midterms result, which saw the House and Senate pass into Democrat control.
President Trump has acknowledge that the war played a part in the result, but defended his decision to attack Iran, saying it was necessary to prevent the Islamic regime from acquiring nuclear weapons.
“I did the right thing,” he said, the day after the elections.
“I would have done it again.”
In related news, US Central Command is now offering up to $20 million for information about Iran’s nuclear program.
It has now posted a reward form online.
Gunman Kills Six in Poland
The main market square in Krakow, Poland remains closed today after a gun rampage left six people dead on Saturday afternoon.
The killer, a 25-year-old Polish man named as “Michal O.”, opened fire in the crowded square, killing six, including three Poles and a British person. The two remaining victims have yet to be identified.
At least 15 people, including an American, were injured. Among the injured are police officers who neutralized the shooter.
Police shot the attacker, seriously wounding him before he was taken into custody.
Footage from the scene of the massacre shows gunfire as people flee the square. Another clip shows a black car being pursued by police, and police shooting the killer.
The Polish interior minister has said the attack was motivated by “far-right ideologies,” and that the shooter held “ultra-nationalist views.”
The killer’s Facebook account, however, appears to show anti-Catholic and pro-communist posts.
Three more bodies were later found at the suspect’s home. They are believed to be his parents and sister. All appear to have died by gunshot wounds.
New Congress: Democrats Plan “Flood” of AI Bills
The Democrats are planning to unleash a “flood” of legislation targeting artificial intelligence and data centers when they take control of Congress in January.
According to insiders who spoke to Reuters, “Democrats plan on introducing bills aimed at shielding consumers from rising electricity costs tied to data centers, requiring independent testing of advanced AI systems and clarifying when AI companies can be held liable for harm caused by their products.”
Democrats also plan to compel testimony from industry leaders and “build support for action if AI systems cause real-world harm.”
Tech shares slid dramatically on Thursday and Friday over industry fears the Democrat-led Congress will limit AI development and that massive investment will not be profitable.
Reuters reports, “Senator Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat who is expected to become majority leader, said on Thursday at an event in Washington that protecting consumers from higher energy costs linked to the rapid expansion of data centers would be among his priorities next year.
“Representative Lori Trahan of Massachusetts, one of the Democratic Party’s leading voices on AI policy, plans to push legislation requiring independent experts to evaluate leading AI models against safety standards, said Francis Grubar, her deputy chief of staff. Trahan will also pursue legislation clarifying that companies can be held responsible when AI systems act in harmful ways, he said.
“Representative Zoe Lofgren, a Democrat from California who is seeking to chair the House Science Committee, said Democrats would focus on developing ‘responsible regulations for AI while also fostering innovation.’”
Public distrust of AI is at an all-time high, and some believe a safety crisis could “build enough support” to overcome President Trump’s vocal opposition to regulation.
Towards the end of September, President Trump announced the creation of an “AI Force” and AI czar to guide the development of new technology.
The announcement came in the wake of high-profile warnings about the speed of AI development from industry leaders and prominent figures. President Trump has largely dismissed the claims as scaremongering.
In a post on Truth Social, President Trump slammed those who would try to prevent the US from developing new AI systems, and said he would “not stand by and let this happen.”
He said the US, which is currently leading China in the AI race, would continue to do so.
Major AI companies including OpenAI and Anthropic have all called for brakes to be applied to development of new technology, after a series of apparently malicious breaches by AI agents were discovered and disclosed.
“The world should trust that we are going to do the right thing because it’s the right thing and we feel the magnitude of this,” OpenAI founder Sam Altman told a conference in San Francisco.
Lawmakers have proposed legislation to restrict development, but AI leaders like Altman criticized them for failing to keep up with the pace of innovation.
MAHA: Former Top Aide Blasts White House Corruption on Rogan
A former top aide to Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has blasted the White House for allowing corruption to stall the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) agenda.
Speaking to Joe Rogan, Calley Means took aim at now-departed chief of staff Susie Wiles and several other advisors.
In the episode, which aired on Friday, Means blamed Wiles, deputy chief of staff Richard Walters, assistant to the president for policy Walker Barrett, top political strategist James Blair and Trump pollster Tony Fabrizio for stifling MAHA.
“These people just, and I don’t mean this like in a really dismissive way, these aren’t the best and brightest, these staffers. They have tremendous power, though,” Means told Rogan.
“But they’re just like D.C., you know, they play the game, and yeah, it’s crazy.”
Means said Trump must “clear his house,” adding “I think he’s getting there.”
The interview is the first Means has given since resigning from the Trump administration last month.
He said the disappointment of many MAHA supporters is part of a broader disappointment about the Trump administration’s failure to deliver on its promises.
“I mean, it’s why we lost the midterms. We have been discordant from what was run on two years ago,” Means said.
Politico reports, “Means resigned at the end of October following repeated unsuccessful attempts to push through federal policy on ultraprocessed foods. MAHA advocates hoped the effort would prompt new government regulations and spur healthier eating. But establishing a definition was opposed by the food industry, which warned the move would lead to higher food prices at a time when voters were focused on the cost of living.
“The ultraprocessed food fight was only one among several incidents over the past two years where MAHA advocates felt disregarded by the Trump’s White House.
“A White House MAHA report that named glyphosate, a widely used herbicide, as a potential driver of Americans’ high rates of chronic disease perhaps most epitomized this dynamic. Means described the fallout as “an almost violent reaction from industry.” A second MAHA report didn’t mention glyphosate at all, which Means alleged was a result of industry pressuring Wiles.
“Glyphosate is the key ingredient in the popular weedkiller Roundup. Lobbyists for Bayer, which manufactures the product, pushed for White House support in their bid to block lawsuits alleging their products cause cancer. The White House ultimately sided with Bayer in an amicus brief in the Supreme Court’s Monsanto v. Durnell case, prompting widespread frustration among MAHA advocates.”
In his interview with Rogan, Means said Secretary Kennedy was not consulted on the glyphosate Executive Order.
“Both of these things were completely done without Bobby Kennedy throughout any policy process,” Means said.
“What they frequently did is they tried to take Bobby out of the discussion.”
Means said Heidi Overton, a Trump aide who is now nominated to lead the Food and Drug Administration, helped Wiles to provide immunity for glyphosate makers and has undermined Secretary Kennedy repeatedly.
Means said President Trump has been largely unaware of these machinations and movements behind the scenes.
“Americans need to understand that if they are getting whipped up and excited about policy promises through our existing structure, they are being duped and gaslighted and lied to,” Means said.
“We need to have systemic reform.”