- Former GOP Congressional candidate and full-time conspiracy theorist DeAnna Lorraine suggesting that Hurricane Ian was created by Democrats through “weather manipulation technology.”

The Kremlin, and specifically the autocrat at its core, reached new levels of egomania and aggression today as Russia moves into a new phase of its war on Ukraine. 
 

• Today, Russia’s angriest, tiniest little man President Vladimir Putin proclaimed the annexation of four partially-occupied Ukrainian territories in flagrant violation of international law. This move will undoubtedly escalate the war and cause the Kremlin to further recede into global isolation. At a ceremony held at the Grand Kremlin Palace, Putin signed “accession treaties'' to absorb Luhansk, Donetsk, Khershon, and Zaporizhzhia, after which those attending began chanting “Russia! Russia! Russia!” I know Americans have no legs to stand on in criticizing gratuitous displays of nationalism, but chanting your country’s name after illegally annexing territory? Embarrassing! Gauche! 
   

• Such a brazen land grab is virtually unheard of in the modern era, and the seized territories in question aren’t even under full Russian occupation. Nevertheless, Russia warned that it would respond to any “attacks” on the newly-annexed provinces as if they were part of Russia proper. He has not been shy about threatening nuclear war. This is all slightly disorienting because even as Russia announced it would annex four Ukrainian provinces it had occupied, its military faced continued pressure and setbacks on the ground. Ukrainian forces are close to encircling the city of Lyman, a major rail hub, in a continuation of their eastern counteroffensive that has reclaimed thousands of square miles of territory this month. 
   

• For its part, Ukraine says it will not be swayed by nuclear threats from Moscow or the sham annexation votes. It’s evident that Putin’s nuclear threats are meant to deter the West from continuing their support of Ukraine. Putin is sticking to his stock line: that any Russian military land grab is simply a “response” to “aggression” from the West. In his speech today at the annexation ceremony, he decried the “Satanism” of the United States and positioned Russia as the country leading a revolt against “the enemy” of Western elites. This is the same song and dance he did with the annexation of Crimea back in 2014. The dramatics with this guy!

Response from the international community has been swift and unflinching.
 

• The United States and allied countries announced new sanctions on over 1,000 Russian people and companies, including arms supply networks. President Joe Biden said in a statement that Putin won’t “get away” with this illegal seizure of land. American and European allies are rushing to complete agreement on a cap on Russia’s maritime oil exports, hitting Putin where it hurts. Secretary of State Antony Blinken echoed Biden’s sentiment, saying, “The entire process around these sham referenda was a complete farce. This territory is and will remain Ukraine, and Ukraine has every right to defend its land…and to take back the territory that Russia has seized…”
   

• President Voloymyr Zelenskyy announced today that Ukraine is applying for “accelerated ascension” into NATO as a response to Russia’s move to illegally annex four of the country’s partially-occupied regions. But these remarks were more symbolic than practical: admission of Ukraine into NATO would require member nations to immediately send troops to fight Russia under their collective defense obligations. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg affirmed that any democracy in Europe is free to apply to join, but did not signal that Ukraine would be accepted while actively at war. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization could already expand by the end of the year, as Sweden and Finland requested to join back in May.

November's World Cup forces fans to grapple with the complexities of a tournament awarded via bribery and that has infrastructure built with migrant labor practices that have left a reported 6,500 dead. Crooked has an exciting new podcast called World Corrupt hosted by Tommy Vietor from Pod Save the World and Pod Save America, and Roger Bennett from Men in Blazers. Together they’re breaking down all of the controversy surrounding the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. 

The Trailer for World Corrupt is out now and new episodes drop every Saturday in the Pod Save The World feed. Listen on Amazon music or wherever you get your podcasts.

As we head into midterm elections, all eyes are on Nevada and Georgia. Democratic and Republican campaign strategists alike know that the two states will have very close, deeply impactful races. Dems will lose control of their current razor-thin majority in the Senate if they don’t bring back Sens. Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Raphael Warnock (D-GA), Mark Kelly (D-AZ) and Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV). Cortez Masto and Warnock are in extremely tight races, which is somewhat surprising considering what is publicly known about Warnock’s GOP opponent Herschel Walker, and all of the insane shit he has said on the campaign trail. But Republican lawmakers in Georgia have been successful in suppressing voters at every turn, and that will be extremely consequential in races where turnout will likely be the determining factor. Despite Democrats having won the state’s last two Senate races and the last four presidential elections, Cortez Masto contends that Nevada is a swing state, and nothing is guaranteed. And unlike in Georgia and many other state primaries, Republicans got exactly the candidate they wanted going into this race: former state attorney general Adam Laxalt, who comes from a powerful Nevada political dynasty (although Dem strategist and Best Friend of the Pod David Plouffe called him a “shit candidate” on this week’s Pod Save America). The consensus among strategists from both parties is that Georgia and Nevada represent the strongest opportunities for Republicans to flip seats. If you live in any battleground state, it’s not too late to get involved.

Hurricane Ian made landfall again in coastal South Carolina today, with much weaker winds than when it crossed Florida’s Gulf Coast on Wednesday.

An Associated Press investigation found that Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R-TX) and his staff have routinely, actively sought to shape legal and criminal cases to their political advantage or push a broader political agenda, including staff screenings of a debunked film questioning the results of the 2020 election. 

A Naval judge ruled today that a sailor was not guilty of setting a fire that destroyed the USS Bonhomme Richard in San Diego in 2020. There was a boat named..."Good guy Richard"?

Elon Musk intends to introduce the invention of a robot that will be “friendly” and “not overpower humans.” Oh good!

The European Commission reported today that consumer prices in countries that use the euro as currency rose at an annual rate of 10 percent in September, reaching the highest level since the creation of the euro twenty years ago.

Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-VA) called for new House leadership today because of Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-CA) handling of legislation that would ban members of Congress and their spouses from trading stocks, and publicly rebuked Pelosi, whose husband is a famous and prolific stock-trader. Gotta side with Representative CIA on this one. 

The Biden administration announced yesterday that a change will be made to the student debt forgiveness plan in order to thwart legal challenges that could jeopardize the program, but 770,000 Americans with private loans will be excluded from eligibility as a result. 

More excerpts from New York Times White House reporter Maggie Haberman’s new book have been released detailing incidents in which disgraced former president Trump assumed congressional staffers of color were waiters(!), and wanted to fire Jared and Ivanka. The latter of those we really wish we could have seen play out.

Protests broke out on Thursday across Cuba, where desperate citizens took to the streets demanding the government restore electricity and provide aid to regions ravaged by Hurricane Ian. Demonstrations erupted in the nation’s capital, Havana, and several other cities and towns, after which state security forces were deployed to quell the unrest. The government appeared to cut off the internet and telephone networks across the country, likely to prevent news of demonstrations from spreading and inspiring others to join. That the protests took place at all was notable, as last year more than 1,000 individuals protesting lack of food, electricity, and declining healthcare services were detained and then prosecuted by the government in mass trials that lasted for months. The choice to demonstrate anyways in the face of such potential prosecution shows just how dire conditions have become. Many who took to the streets expressed anger that the lack of electricity had spoiled what little food they had in their refrigerators, and some brought bags of their rotting groceries out to prove it. Food insecurity continues to be an issue across Cuba, and has only worsened with the pandemic and now the devastation of the hurricane.

Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson was officially sworn in to the Supreme Court today during the traditional investiture ceremony. 

A variety of new construction technologies are emerging that could make homes more resistant to hurricanes. 
 

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) signed a bill into law yesterday safeguarding transgender minors and their families from out-of-state legal action if they travel to California to receive gender-affirming care. 

On something of a roll, Newsom also signed a bill today that will increase the amount of money workers receive under California’s paid family and medical leave program in the hopes of ensuring lower wage workers are not locked out of a benefit for which they already pay. Crazy to see a governor using his office for good instead of actively targeting marginalized communities?