Welcome to Monday, December 23, wanderers and homesteaders...

The White House ordered the Pentagon to withhold military aid to Ukraine 91 minutes after President Donald Trump spoke with his Ukrainian counterpart.

A newly-released email - obtained by the Center for Public Integrity - shows that senior White House official Mike Duffey contacted the Pentagon about withholding Ukraine's aid about an hour-and-a-half after Trump ended his now-infamous phone call with Vladomyr Zelensky.

Trump withholding military aid to Ukraine in order to pressure Kiev into investigating his political rivals is a central focus of the impeachment proceedings.

From the email:

"Based on guidance I have received and in light of the Administration's plan to review assistance to Ukraine, including the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, please hold off on any additional DoD obligations of these funds, pending direction from that process. ... Given the sensitive nature of the request, I appreciate your keeping that information closely held to those who need to know to execute direction."

Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) tweeted that the documents show "1. Ukraine aid was held just hours after the Trump/Zelensky 'do us a favor' call 2. Internal notes show Trump’s direct involvement 3. Staff knew it was wrong, kept it secret."

Is your mind made up on whether or not to impeach?

On the Radar

Overdoses Contributing to the Decline in Life Expectancy

In contrast to those living in other wealthy nations, the life expectancy of Americans is on the decline. This is according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

One of the primary factors for the decline in life expectancy: drug overdoses.

This USAFacts chart shows that among Americans between the ages of 25 & 44, the overdose death rate increased from 25.1 deaths per 100,000 people in 2014 to 40.2 deaths per 100,000 people in 2017:

PIC-O

Take a look at all the charts, then tell your reps:

Should Congress do more to combat drug overdoses?

Under the Radar

Rocket Man Remix

Earlier this month, North Korea warned the U.S. of a possible "Christmas gift," saying it was up to Washington to decide what present it received from Pyongyang.

Now, it appears the gift is a hard-line policy from the rogue nation that involves taking denuclearization off the table.

At the same time, North Korea has begun work at a factory linked to long-range missiles.

Jeffrey Lewis, director of the East Asia Nonproliferation Program at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies, told Axios that "the site makes trucks to transport and launch ICBMs, so this is a long-term development. But what it shows is that North Korea is broadly expanding its missile capabilities."

Are you concerned about North Korea?