In short, 24 headlines from JUST the LAST 24 HOURS… [yeah, take a DEEP BREATH for this…]1. 1st time in its history yesterday, SNAP benefits cut off (Day 32) of shutdown; thousands form lines at food pantries across the country
2. Stephen Miller’s wife, Katie Miller, threatens Young Turks Host, Cenk Uygur, with deportation during heated debate on Piers Morgan
3. ‘I did warn you all’: Obama tells voters to ‘run the tape’ in passionate anti-DJT speech ahead of NY/NJ/VA/CA elections Tues
4. FBI Dir Kash Patel used $60M govt jet for travel to see his GF perform at a wrestling event last week; fires 27y vet overseeing the FBI’s aviation units
5. Heritage Found. Pres. Kevin Roberts backs Tucker Carlson’s interview with Holocaust-denying white nationalist Nick Fuentes, sparking conservative civil war
6. MI defense lawyer says alleged Halloween terror plot described by FBI Dir Patel never existed; disputes claim 16–20yr-old gamers planned attack
7. DJT tells Sen GOP in Truth Social post; end the filibuster or “Rue the Day,” bc Dems will abolish it, expand SCOTUS, and steal electoral seats
8. Sen GOP Leader Thune OPPOSES nuking senate filibuster amid DJT claims that “survival” of country at stake: “Don’t be WEAK AND STUPID. FIGHT,FIGHT, FIGHT!”
9. Intentional explosion at Harvard Medical School’s Goldenson building ~3a Sat; 2 people seen fleeing, no injuries reported
10. DJT tells DoW on Truth Social to go into Nigeria ‘guns-a-blazing’ if the W. African nation ‘continues to allow the killing of Christians’
11. US strikes another alleged drug boat in Caribbean, 3 killed; 15th strike total (10 Caribbean, 5 E. Pacific); total extrajudicial killings: 64; land targets likely
12. DJT allows some Ballroom donors to remain anonymous; including BlackRock, healthcare firms, and TikTok investors — most have biz w/ WH
13. Mass stabbing on train in UK leaves 10 hospitalized; 9 with life-threatening injuries; police arrest 2
14. RI federal judge thanks DJT for rapid request for guidance; orders USDA to send full SNAP payments by today, or partial by Wed
15. D.C. mayor enforces citywide youth curfew after Navy Yard Halloween arrests; 10 teens taken into custody; punishable by $300 fine or 10 days jail
16. NY judge says county clerk doesn’t have to enforce Tx abortion-pill ruling bc of state law protecting abortion providers; blocks $113K judgment
17. ACA Healthcare Marketplace open enrollment started yesterday; premiums more than double
18. 2 more suspects (37yo man & 38yo woman) charged in Louvre Crown Jewels heist; 4 total charged; 3 of 5 arrested on 10/29 released
19. DJT targets NBC late-night host Seth Meyers on Truth Social; says he has “no talent,” and his coverage of him is “probably illegal”
20. DHS wants to combine state driver’s license records with citizenship data, creating system for bulk voter and immigration checks
21. New Poll: 2/3 Americans say country is on the wrong track—blame DJT for inflation: 6 in 10 say DJT and GOP are out of touch; even more say that about Dems
22. DJT DOJ says Vietnam-era 1973 War Powers Resolution (req congressional approval for military use > 60 days) doesn’t apply to lethal Caribbean strikes
23. Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) curses, berates Charleston airport police after escort delayed 7 min: ‘You would never treat Tim Scott like this’
24. Will Smith’s 11th-inning homer lifts Dodgers over Blue Jays in World Series as L.A. becomes first repeat champion in 25 years
Yes. That was just 24 hours.
Been doing these ’24 headlines in 24 hours’ a few weeks now, and the struggle isn’t to find headlines; but to choose from hundreds meant to drown us all.
That’s what ‘flooding the zone’ is.
As a historian, it has taken many shapes, and been called many things; ‘yellow journalism,’ ‘bread and circuses,’ etc…anything — to keep us distracted or engaged with emotion over enlightenment.
You don’t get to absorb.
You don’t get to process.
Hell, it feels like you don’t even get to BREATHE!
(Which is why I open/close EACH of these 24 in 24’s with the reminder: to BREATHE!)
Bc there is no time for that;
not when you wake up underwater.
Headlines crashing over you.
One after another.
You’re not floating in it; you’re trying every minute of every day to not sink in it.
And that’s the point.
Chaos so constant you can’t tell which way is up.
THIS… is survival in the age of headlines.
THIS… is also about keeping your mind free, while your own government tries to crush it under a tide of disinformation.
Remember this though: the goal isn’t to drown out the noise—it’s to navigate it.
That’s what this is; that’s what you’re doing here.
Stick with me; and don’t you DARE quit.
Just keep swimming with me daily; and together, we will keep our heads above the headlines.
I’m not going anywhere.
Come hell or high water.
Now… DEEP breath IN… hold… EXHALE… — 2 more times…
One headline at a time;
One DEEP breath after the other.
As always, sources/links in comments.
~Ms. G, J.D. 
