5️⃣ Canada's Nobel
The Swedish Academy gave the Nobel Prize in Literature to Anne Carson, a 76-year-old Toronto-born poet, the first Canadian since Alice Munro in 2013. She emailed The Globe and Mail one word: "YIKES!!" Zev, who lives in her city and had never heard of her, played a minute of her reading. Trump told reporters Wednesday he should get the Peace Prize, announced Friday.
4️⃣ The Epstein record costs a chair
Leon Botstein resigned his remaining Bard College roles a day after Rep. Jamie Raskin asked for a criminal investigation into his dealings with Jeffrey Epstein. Zev: a small step, since Botstein had already retired as president. Raskin takes the Oversight gavel if Democrats win, with a list of untouchables waiting and Howard Lutnick at the top. Why corporate America will fight it is the subject of "The Trigger," Chapter 10 of "The Greatest Heist," publishing today with the document on how the network lit the fuse on 2008.
3️⃣ CNN, back inside and bought
Judge Timothy Kelly kept CNN, Politico and MS NOW in the White House through Tuesday. The bigger story is the owner. David Ellison, whose family now owns CBS and Warner Bros., told Anderson Cooper that CNN's independence would be protected. Dean put CNN's front page beside MS NOW's: no San Antonio rally. Zev: CNN has not been CNN for a long time.
2️⃣ All the grift in one story
Wall Street Journal reporters published texts in which Ambassador Kimberly Guilfoyle asked donor Eric Deters to wire $100,000 to her American Express account days before her confirmation hearing: "It won't show up anywhere if you wire money to American Express." Vice President Vance: "I don't love that," then said he did not know the details. Rubio keeps her in Athens. Trump's midterm chiefs Chris LaCivita and James Blair took money from the Russia-aligned government of Republika Srpska, and Susie Wiles's daughter works at the firm that lobbies for it. Trump's August disclosure shows up to $25 million in Meta stock and up to $5 million in SpaceX debt, bought two days before he signed a commercial space policy. Thursday he pinned a medal on Elon Musk and called him a "national treasure." Zev: "The corruption is hand in hand with the incompetence."
1️⃣ The war gets a date
Trump posted at 12:17 p.m. that the United States "will not be attacking Iran at any time prior to the Midterm Elections," citing "productive discussions," days after the Pentagon told Central Command to finish preparing to resume major combat. Zev's read: he is not attacking because he cannot. A strike before Nov. 3 would start a revolt inside a party losing on the war.
BONUS
The USS Abraham Lincoln docked in San Diego after 321 days, as Trump kept naming San Diego as an Iranian target. And Mark Carney said von der Leyen and Costa will be in Montreal in three weeks to launch a Canada-EU alliance. Dean: "We're divorcing the United States of America."
No show Friday; back Tuesday after Canadian Thanksgiving.
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