Good morning! No, this isn’t a low-budget Winnie the Pooh horror flick. Japan really did deploy its military on Wednesday to help contain a surge in bear attacks in the country’s mountainous north. Bears have attacked more than 100 people since April and have killed at least 12.

SHUTDOWN

🔒️ Is the shutdown finally about to end?

Speaking of insane stories that don’t sound real, welcome to Day #37 of the government shutdown. This is now the longest in history (we did it, gang!), but the end could be near.

Option A: Some centrist Senate Democrats are considering cutting a deal to reopen the government. They’ll agree to pass a Republican-backed short-term budget. That funding will allow the government to get back on its feet. In exchange, Senate Republicans will agree to hold a vote on extending expiring healthcare (Obamacare) subsidies.

• When this started a month ago, the Republican plan was to pass a short-term budget that would carry us into mid-December.

• That would give them enough time to finalize the full budget that would last through next September.

• A month later, that two-month reprieve is less appealing. House Speaker Mike Johnson said he may not have the votes for that and suggested the date will have to change.

Option B: President Trump also wants to get this show on the road, albeit via a different method. He thinks Senate Republicans — they control the chamber with 53/100 seats — should just change Senate rules to get rid of the filibuster and move forward without Democrats’ support.

• The filibuster rule means most things need 60 votes to pass (rather than 51).

• Democrats tried unsuccessfully to dump it during the Biden years, but two moderate Dems refused.

• This strategy would allow Republicans to enact massive changes with no Democratic support.

That sounds like a blast. But it won’t be so fun for them when Democrats eventually take power again. Most Senate Republicans recognize that and oppose the idea. Others, however, think Democrats will get rid of it anyway next time around (those two moderates retired) and would prefer to beat ‘em to the punch.

GOVERNMENT

🌏️ Ahmed al-Sharaa was once considered a terrorist by the U.S. government. On Monday, he’s swinging by the White House for a meeting with President Trump as part of his new-ish job as president of Syria. Apparently, leading the rebel group that wins a 13-year civil war changes things. Syria was kicked out of the global trade and financial system during the brutal reign of its now-ousted dictator. Now, Trump wants to bring it back into the fold and encourage American investment in the country. With that in mind, the administration is asking Congress to repeal its 2019 sanctions on Syria that ban most trade between Syrian and American companies. As an FYI, sanctions like this are typically enforced by the Department of the Treasury.

🔎 The Department of Justice (DOJ) is investigating Black Lives Matter. No, not the movement itself. The organizations that arose out of it. The DOJ is looking into alleged fraud by leaders of BLM-aligned groups, including the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation, Inc. The group raked in more than $90 million in donations post-2020. It later admitted to using some of that cash to buy millions in real estate, including a mansion in Los Angeles. The arm of the DOJ doing the investigating here is the U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California, which covers Los Angeles.

☢️ President Trump wants the U.S. to start testing nuclear weapons again for the first time since 1992. He says it’s in response to secret, underground tests by other countries, including Russia, China, and North Korea. But Secretary of Energy Chris Wright disputed Trump’s plan. He said the tests will be normal, "non-nuclear explosions” that ensure nuclear components and systems still function. Managing the U.S. nuclear arsenal is a key function of the Department of Energy. Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that if the U.S. restarts tests, Russia could, too.

POLITICS

🗳️ Democrats run the table of big races on Tuesday

The first major election of Trump’s second presidency did not go well for the president and Republicans. Democrats overperformed the polls and won big victories in every major race.

• Ex-Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D), a native New Jerseyan, was elected governor of Virginia.

• Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D), a native Virginian, was elected governor of New Jersey.

• State Rep. Zohran Mamdani (D) was elected mayor of New York City.

Democrats also cleaned up further down the ballot. Ghazala Hashmi is the next lieutenant governor. And Jay Jones pulled off a miracle and won the race for state attorney general despite his your-kids-should-die texting scandal.

• Democrats hung on to their majority on the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.

• And they picked up two seats on Georgia’s Public Service Commission, their first state-level wins there since 2006.

Why the big loss for Team R? As Bill Clinton’s campaign once quipped, “It’s the economy, stupid.”

Republicans responded by pointing out that New Jersey and Virginia are blue (Democratic) states and noting that the party in the White House traditionally loses off-year races like these.

• One potential bright spot for Team R? They’re already running ads tying national Democrats to Mamdani, a democratic socialist.

Redistricting: Democrats on Tuesday notched their first win in the Great Gerrymandering War of 2025. California voters approved a Democrat-backed measure (Proposition 50) to redraw the boundaries of their state’s congressional districts. The goal here? Make five Republican-held districts basically unwinnable for Republicans by loading them up with areas that usually vote for Democrats.

• If all goes according to plan, Democrats will net five U.S. House seats in next year’s elections.

• That'll neutralize the five seats Republicans will likely gain from Texas doing the same thing (in reverse) a few months ago.

• Republicans have already filed a lawsuit trying to stop the plan, alleging the new districts illegally take race into account.

The focus of redistricting now moves to Florida. Republicans there are considering a redraw of their own that could see Team R pick up, you guessed it, five seats.

Elsewhere in politics, rumors are swirling that former Speaker and current Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) will retire next year after 40 years in Congress.

TRIVIA

The political world received some sad news on Monday when Barack Obama’s ninth cousin passed away at his home in Northern Virginia. Former Vice President Dick Cheney (R) was 84.

Before spending eight years as Dubya’s VP from 2001 to 2009, Cheney served in Congress and as secretary of Defense. Back in the early 70s, he became the youngest White House chief of staff in history at the age of 33. Cheney served as the Republican Party’s VP nominee in both the 2000 and 2004 elections. His death brings us to today’s question: What is the most distant presidential election in which all four major-party presidential and vice presidential nominees are still living?

Hint: All four 1984 nominees have passed away, so it’s after that.

BRIEFS

● During case arguments on Wednesday, the Supreme Court did not appear convinced by the administration’s view that Trump’s tariffs are a legal use of his emergency powers. If they rule against him on this, his entire trade agenda could be overturned.

● Five months after pulling his name during a fight with Musk, Trump has again nominated CEO and private astronaut Jared Isaacman to lead NASA. According to Isaacman, "These are the most exciting times since the dawn of the space age."

● Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, the first woman to serve, was groped by some creep while greeting people during a walk in Mexico City. She filed a complaint against the man and blasted a newspaper for publishing “illegal” photos of the incident.

● Australia banned Reddit for kids under 16. The growing list of social media platforms banned for children also includes Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, and Snapchat. Beginning December 10, affected sites will have to deactivate all underage accounts.

QUOTE

ANSWER

The year we’re looking for is 2012. All four nominees — Barack Obama and Joe Biden for Democrats and Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan for Republicans — are still kicking.

If you picked another year, here’s a quick look at why you got it wrong (presumably for the first time):

• 2008: McCain/Palin (R) vs. Obama/Biden (D) — McCain died in 2018.

• 2004: Bush/Cheney (R) vs. Kerry/Edwards (D) — Cheney just passed away.

• 2000: Bush/Cheney (R) vs. Gore/Lieberman (D) — Lieberman died last year (plus Cheney)

• 1996: Dole/Kemp (R) vs. Clinton/Gore (D) — Dole died in 2021, Kemp in 2009.

• 1992: Bush/Quayle (R) vs. Clinton/Gore (D) — Bush died in 2018.

• 1988: Bush/Quayle (R) vs. Dukakis/Bentsen (D) — Bentsen died in 2006.