This is the Tangle Sunday Edition, a brief roundup of our independent politics coverage plus some extra features for your Sunday morning reading.
Reminder: Tangle is currently on winter break. We will send a regular newsletter tomorrow and then will be on break again until January 5. Our next Sunday edition will be sent on January 11, 2026. Have a happy new year!
What the right is doodling.
Gary Varvel | Creators Syndicate
What the left is doodling.
John Deering | Creators Syndicate
Monday, December 22.
The new Epstein files. On Friday, December 19, the Justice Department (DOJ) released a trove of files related to the government’s investigation into convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, including photographs, handwritten notes on his stationery, and evidence seized at his properties. The latest release is the most substantive disclosure of documents related to Epstein yet; however, lawmakers from both parties immediately raised concerns about significant redactions and omissions from this batch. Over the weekend, the DOJ released additional documents and removed others from the government website.
Our take:“After so many years, we’re finally starting to get answers to some questions about Epstein. These releases also raise more questions, like how Steve Bannon and Alex Acosta fit into the story. I doubt we’ll ever get a trajectory-shifting smoking gun, but the drip of new information is likely to continue for some time.”
Reader Survey:
Tuesday, December 23.
Some closing thoughts on the year. As we prepared for our holiday break, we sent out a closing message on 2025 to all our readers. It was a big year for Tangle, where our newsletter subscribership increased from 290,000 to 460,000, our podcast averaged 500,000 downloads a month, our YouTube subscribers passed 25,000, and our full-time team increased to 12 staff members. We’re looking forward to a happy and healthy 2026, and thank you all for reading, watching, listening, and subscribing!
Reminder: Tangle is currently on winter break. We will be in your inbox with sporadic editions during that time, and will resume our regular coverage on Monday, January 5.
Wednesday, December 24.
We did not release a newsletter on Wednesday in observance of Christmas Eve and our winter break.
Thursday, December 25.
We did not release a newsletter on Thursday in observance of Christmas Day and our winter break.
Friday, December 26.
We did not release a newsletter on Friday in observance of our winter break.
What just happened.
Our last regular feature was on Monday, so here is an expansive list of the major stories that have broken since then.
On Monday, President Donald Trump announced a plan for a new U.S. Navy battleship that will be armed with hypersonic missiles, nuclear cruise missiles, rail guns, and high-powered lasers. The warship will be part of what Trump called a “Golden Fleet” of Navy battleships. (The announcement)
On Monday, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said the Trump administration had suspended the authority of five major offshore wind farms to build in federal waters, citing national security concerns. (The suspension)
On Tuesday, the Commerce Department announced that U.S. gross domestic product rose at a seasonal- and inflation-adjusted 4.3% annual rate in Q3 2025, increasing from 3.8% growth in Q2. The growth was concentrated in the healthcare, international travel, and legal services sectors. (The numbers)
On Tuesday, former Sen. Ben Sasse (R-NE) announced he had been diagnosed with stage-four pancreatic cancer, which he said was terminal. (The announcement)
On Tuesday, the Supreme Court rejected the Trump administration’s request to lift a federal judge’s ruling barring it from deploying National Guard troops in Illinois while a legal challenge proceeds through the courts. Justices Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas, and Neil Gorsuch dissented. (The ruling)
On Tuesday, the Department of Education said that it will begin garnishing the wages of student loan borrowers in default in early January, restarting a practice that had been paused since the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic. (The restart)
On Wednesday, election officials in Honduras announced conservative Nasry Asfura won the country’s presidential election after weeks of counting votes. (The election)
On Wednesday, the Department of Justice said that it received over one million new documents potentially related to Jeffrey Epstein from the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The department said it “may take a few more weeks” to review the new files. (The documents)
On Thursday, President Trump announced the United States carried out airstrikes in Nigeria targeting ISIS militants that he said were targeting and killing Christians in the country. (The strikes)
On Friday, a winter storm struck the Northeast United States, with New York and New Jersey declaring states of emergency. (The latest) Separately, California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) declared a state of emergency in several Southern California counties after significant rainfall. (The storms)
On Friday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that he will meet with President Trump in Florida on Sunday to discuss the latest peace plan to end the Russia–Ukraine war. Earlier in the week, Zelensky released a 20-point peace plan that he described as 90% complete. (The meeting) Separately, on Saturday, Russia launched a missile and drone attack on Kyiv, killing at least one person and wounding 27.
On Saturday, Cambodia and Thailand signed a ceasefire ending three weeks of fighting along their shared border. At least 22 civilians — 21 in Cambodia and one in Thailand — had been killed since an earlier ceasefire broke on December 8. (The ceasefire)
Reader essay.
Cover image for ontherecord2030.org | Image by Jacob Sargent
This past week, Isaac put some predictions down on paper for the next few years. We tend to shy away from prognostication at Tangle, but if done periodically then committing to predictions can be helpful. Beliefs about the future are makers of our worldviews, and if those beliefs prove incorrect then they provide hard, empirical data points prompting us to reflect on where our worldviews may be off. Reader Jacob Sargent couldn’t agree more. Several months ago, Jacob sent us a link to ontherecord2030.org, a website he was developing to allow anybody (whether they run a media company or not) to put down their predictions and test their worldviews. Jacob describes his thought process and motivations — and gives a link to his predictions site — in this week’s reader essay.
This post is for paying subscribers only
Sign up now and upgrade your account to read the post and get access to the full library of posts for paying subscribers only.
