5️⃣ Miami Delivers Democrats Their First Win Since 1997
Eileen Higgins didn’t just win Miami’s mayoral race—she crushed Trump’s handpicked candidate with nearly 60% of the vote in a county Trump carried by 12 points last year. The Republican Party’s three-decade stranglehold on Miami just ended, and the message is clear: Hispanic voters who delivered the red wave are already pulling back. When Trump and DeSantis both go all-in on your candidate and you still lose by 20 points, that’s not a fluke—that’s a referendum. Congresswoman María Elvira Salazar saw it coming: “Hispanics married President Trump, but they are only dating the GOP.” The dehumanizing immigration rhetoric that plays well in rallies doesn’t work when it targets your neighbors. Democrats just found their midterm blueprint.
4️⃣ The Federal Reserve Signals the Easy Money is Over
The Fed cut rates for the third straight time Wednesday, but Chair Jerome Powell’s real message was in what comes next: almost nothing. One cut projected for all of 2026. This was the most divided Fed vote in six years, with three officials dissenting—including Trump’s own appointee Stephen Miran, who wanted deeper cuts. The central bank is trapped between persistent 2.8% inflation and a job market that’s shed 1.1 million positions this year. Trump keeps demanding aggressive rate cuts, but Powell knows he’s out of ammunition. The next Fed chair Trump appoints in May will inherit an economy balanced on a knife’s edge, flying blind on data delayed by government shutdowns.
3️⃣ Trump’s Digital Dragnet Targets America’s Closest Allies
The administration wants five years of social media history from every tourist visiting from 42 allied countries—the UK, France, Germany, Japan, Australia, and more. What’s currently optional on visa waiver applications would become mandatory, along with email addresses from the past decade, phone numbers, and family members’ personal details. This isn’t security theater—it’s a surveillance state demanding digital submission from business travelers and tourists alike. Civil liberties groups are warning this will chill free speech and trigger reciprocal requirements from Europe. The travel industry spent years streamlining entry processes. Trump’s DHS just turned America’s welcome mat into a digital strip search.
2️⃣ House Republicans Shut Down War Crimes Investigation
Mike Rogers announced Tuesday he’s ending the House Armed Services Committee investigation into Caribbean boat strikes that killed 87 people—just as evidence emerged that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth forced out Admiral Alvin Holsey for questioning the operations’ legality. The admiral raised concerns about the “murky” legal authority for strikes that included a September “double tap” attack deliberately killing survivors clinging to wreckage. Legal experts are calling it a potential war crime. The Senate is demanding unedited videos. But Rogers decided he’s “seen enough” and shut it down. The U.S. military despises Hegseth for these operations, and no House investigation closure will change that. This is interference running at its most transparent—protecting a defense secretary under military tribunal scrutiny by declaring the war crimes probe over before it barely started.
1️⃣ Trump Calls Press Coverage “Treasonous” and Demands NYT Cease Publication
The 79-year-old president who spent his entire campaign questioning Biden’s cognitive fitness just declared it “seditious, perhaps even treasonous” for The New York Times to report on his declining stamina. In a 488-word Truth Social meltdown, Trump suggested “we should do something about it” and called for the paper to “cease publication” after it documented his reduced schedule, later start times, and multiple instances of falling asleep during White House events. The data backs the Times: Trump’s public appearances are down 39% from his first term, and he now starts events at 12:08 PM instead of 10:30 AM. This is the rhetoric of autocrats who need the illusion of invincibility to maintain control. The Times isn’t backing down, and Trump’s tantrum only confirms their reporting hit the target.
BONUS:
Before He Died, Jeffrey Epstein Left Behind an Algorithm Detailing His Work. We Are Revealing It Now for the First Time.
It reads like the operating code for a large scale espionage operation designed to acquire power through deception.
The FiveStack is available as an audio podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Advertising inquiries email next@narativ.org. The FiveStack is a co-production of deanblundell.substack.com and narativ.org.
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