On the menu today: The late and beloved Rush Limbaugh used to complain about what he called the “drive by media” — media coverage that is short-lived, intense, and usually misleading, with no follow-through or subsequent reports to clarify or provide a fuller and clearer perspective. Since Rush left us, the news cycle has only accelerated, and in the Trump era, what is big news at the start of the week can disappear from news coverage by the end of the week. By the following month, it can feel like ancient history.
Today, this newsletter will catch up on some stories that have disappeared almost entirely from the U.S. news cycle, from the Houthis and the Red Sea, to the U.S. Treasury Department’s Argentine currency swap, to the health of former President Joe Biden, the Indian government playing footsie with Vladimir Putin, to the glacial pace of permitting in the reconstruction of the Los Angeles wildfires to . . . yes, the Department of Justice’s Epstein files. Read on.
The Follow-Ups
Checking in on . . . the Houthis:
The Suez Canal and the Red Sea now seem . . . relatively safe from Houthi attacks, at least for now. Back on November 11, Houthi military leader Yusuf Hassan al-Madani wrote a letter to Hamas, shared by Hamas leaders online, declaring the group is pausing its attacks on the Red Sea transit route in light of the cease-fire between Israel and Hamas.
From Seafood Source, November 19:
Now that Houthi rebels have pledged to halt their attacks on the Red Sea shipping route, the Suez Canal Authority is working hard to encourage container traffic.
In a bid to demonstrate the passage’s safety, Canal Authority Chairman Ossama Rabiee has personally visited container ships passing through the route and spoken with crew members about conditions.
“The Suez Canal is ready to receive mega container ships,” Rabiee said as he witnessed the navigation of French shipping line CMA CGM’s vessel Jules Verne pass through the canal on its way to Lebanon on 15 November. The ship traveled from Singapore and made a safe crossing through the Red Sea.
Two more vessels owned by the same shipping line then passed safely through the canal on 16 November.
I’m sure the Canal Authority chairman means well, but you’ll have to forgive Americans if they’re a little reticent to feel entirely confident about a security assessment coming from a guy whose first name is “Ossama.”
But Americans can feel a sense of pride that Benjamin Franklin is on the scene and is traveling safely. The ship Benjamin Franklin, that is. “CMA CGM Benjamin Franklin became the first ultra-large ship to pass through the Red Sea safely in almost two years.”
Checking in on . . . Argentina:
Back in mid October, this newsletter explained why the Trump administration traded $20 billion in U.S. dollars for the equivalent amount in Argentinian pesos. By the end of October, Milei’s Freedom Advances party won almost 41 percent of the national vote, more than doubling its representation in Congress.
The good news for the American taxpayer is that on November 11, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent appeared on MSNOW (formerly MSNBC) and said:
In most bailouts, you don’t make money. The U.S. government made money. We used our financial — we used our financial balance sheet to stabilize the government. Our, one of our great allies in Latin America, during an election. The president there won in a landslide. The government’s going to make money.
The bad news is that Bessent did not elaborate on how or when the U.S. government had sold its Argentinian pesos or give any specifics.
According to the Buenos Aires Herald:
Analysts have told the Herald that the U.S. appears to have either sold the pesos or converted them into part of the swap money, thereby activating it. Either option would result in a profit for the U.S.
In such operations, it is understood that the U.S. Treasury is not buying cash pesos but rather short-term government debt.
The weekly balance sheet published on Wednesday showed that, by October 31, AR$2.75 trillion of peso-denominated securities had disappeared since the previous week. Analysts believe those were the securities the Central Bank issued when it sold pesos to the U.S. during the currency run. Neither the U.S. Treasury nor Argentina’s Central Bank has provided official information on the matter.
If this deal worked out as well for the U.S. government and its taxpayers as the numbers suggest, you would figure the Trump administration would be singing it from the rooftops, with details and specific figures and charts, not being so tight-lipped about it. This is not exactly a modest and shy crowd, you know?
Also, according to Bloomberg News, not everything is looking so cheery when it comes to the Argentine economy:
Private banks posted losses during the third quarter as the nation’s loan delinquency rate surged to its worst level in at least 15 years, a result of high interest rates that Milei’s central bank imposed in the run up to the Oct. 26 vote. The squeeze has forced bankers’ hands, triggering a sharp pullback in lending that could continue well into 2026, just as Milei needs credit to play a major role in boosting economic growth in the coming years.
Checking in on . . . Joe Biden:
Intermittently throughout the year, I’ve asked how former President Joe Biden is doing, because his public appearances are so few and far between. No doubt, a big part of the 83-year-old Biden’s absence from the public eye is because of his treatment for prostate cancer, which we all hope is going well. (The memoirs of Kamala Harris and Karine Jean-Pierre separately insist that Biden was healthy enough to serve another four years as president.)
As far as I can tell, Biden’s last public appearance was in Omaha on November 7, for the Nebraska Democratic Party’s annual Ben Nelson fundraising event. You can watch Biden’s remarks here; he’s looking down at his remarks despite the presence of teleprompters, and mumbles his words more than we’re used to, but credit Biden, he’s hanging in there.
Interestingly, this was the first time Biden had visited Nebraska since 2019, before his presidency began.
Checking in on . . . India’s relationship with Russia:
In the most recent issue of the magazine, I write about my reporting trip to India, and make the point that the Indian government’s geopolitical perspective includes an enormous blind spot for Vladimir Putin’s atrocities in Ukraine and elsewhere.
The Indian government’s warm-and-fuzzy approach to Moscow is continuing this week, according to the Wall Street Journal:
Russian President Vladimir Putin is embarking on a high-profile visit to India, aiming to protect a partnership that is a crucial economic and diplomatic lifeline for Moscow but one that has drawn the ire of the Trump administration.
Putin is set to arrive in New Delhi Thursday evening for a two-day summit with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during which the Russian president is expected to offer cheap oil and Russia’s latest arms in an effort to bolster the longstanding relationship between the two powers.
Eh, Prime Minister Modi, you’re going to want to kick the tires and check the odometer on any Russian arms that Putin tries to sell you. Those big and expensive Russian weapons keep getting taken out by cheap Ukrainian drones on both sides of the front. And if we can see this, then it’s a certainty that the Pakistani military knows this, too.
Checking in on . . . the Los Angeles wildfire reconstruction:
All seven California fires were fully contained as of February 3. That is ten months and one day ago.
The Los Angeles County permitting dashboard has split up its categories into three: unincorporated areas, Eaton, and the Palisades. Cumulatively, 14,834 units were damaged or destroyed across all three categories. Cumulatively, 1,874 building permits have been issued, a total that includes just 30 in the Palisades.
Construction is completed on six units, with no unit in the Palisades reconstructed yet.
Within the city of Los Angeles, as of this morning, 1,089 permit applications are still in review, with 1,161 permits issued, for 582 unique addresses.
As the Pacific Research Institute notes, “Politicians, from Sacramento to the neighborhood level, vowed they would oversee a rapid recovery. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass promised in early March that a ‘One-Stop Rebuilding Center’ would be ‘another way we are cutting red tape & keeping our commitment to doing everything we can to rebuild the Palisades as fast as possible.’ Gov. Gavin Newsom also pledged to accelerate the rebuild.”
When California Democratic politicians boast that the permitting process is going to be “as fast as possible,” they still mean really, really slow.
Checking in on . . . the U.S. Department of Justice’s Epstein files.
And finally, because I know one reader will demand it, an update on the Epstein files. On November 19, President Trump signed the legislation ordering the Department of Justice to release its files on sex offender Jeffrey Epstein within 30 days.
It has been 16 days, and so far, nothing has been released.
Yesterday, five members of Congress, including Republicans Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Thomas Massie of Kentucky, have written to Attorney General Pam Bondi, requesting “a briefing either in a classified or unclassified setting, to discuss the full contents of this new information in your possession at your convenience, but not later than Friday, December 5, 2025.”
ADDENDUM: Our Noah Rothman notices that Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro is calling former Vice President Kamala Harris a shameless liar.
“She wrote that in her book?” he said in response to the claim concerning the residence’s art. “That’s complete and utter bulls***. . . .”
“I mean, she’s trying to sell books and cover her ass,” Shapiro snapped. The governor stared past me now, shaking his head. As I began to ask a different question, he held up a hand. He looked disgusted. With me? With Harris? No, I began to realize: He was disgusted with himself.
“I shouldn’t say ‘cover her ass.’ I think that’s not appropriate,” Shapiro said. His tone was suddenly collected. “She’s trying to sell books. Period.”
Earlier this week, in that other publication and at NR, I pointed out that Minnesota Governor Tim Walz is experiencing a hard and long-overdue correction in his reputation, even in Democratic circles that were once inclined to give him the benefit of the doubt. Harris is likely experiencing the same.