Sunday January 4th

We had this whole email lined up. Neat. Organized. Predictable.
Then bang — 2026 decided it wasn’t interested in easing in.

Capturing another country’s leader is always world news. But the part the media didn’t expect? The celebration. The relief. The tears of actual joy from people who’ve lived under Venezuela’s mess for years.

You can argue legality. You can argue international law.
Cable news will argue both for the next six months.

But here’s the part that’s not debatable:

America is back.

Cue the inevitable left-wing meltdown.
The outrage. The moral lectures. The sudden concern for “process” and “norms.”

Which is especially strange, considering almost anyone with real ties to Venezuela seems to be celebrating.

And just to jog some selective memories — it wasn’t that long ago that the holier-than-thou Biden administration happily raised the bounty on Maduro’s head to $25 million, demanded his capture, and called it “justice.”

Apparently it was fine then. It’s only a problem now that it worked.
Funny how that goes.

And somehow, this is already only the second-biggest story — and we’re four days into January. Maybe 2026 could consider easing off the gas. Just a little.

Apparently, the real controversy in Minnesota isn’t tens of billions in potential fraud — it’s that someone had the audacity to notice.

Instead of asking whether billions in potential fraud actually happened in Minnesota, the left panicked and went after the messenger — a 23-year-old independent YouTuber whose crime was noticing the math didn’t add up.

No investigation. No curiosity. No journalism. Just coordinated outrage, because nothing scares ‘the political left’ more than someone without credentials asking obvious questions.

Then it somehow got more absurd. One daycare was supposed to be permanently “closed” — until kids suddenly arrived by bus once cameras showed up. Totally normal. Nothing to see here.

Even better, another center involved in the investigation was burglarized, and in a shocking coincidence, the only items taken were enrollment forms and financial records. Not electronics. Not cash. Just the paperwork investigators would want.

This is the modern democrat: hostile to questions or debate, allergic to scrutiny, and stunned anyone is still paying attention.

If this is all true, people should be going to jail for this. But don’t hold your breath.

Politics & Policy

California is once again testing how much damage it can do to itself before anyone hits the brakes. Silicon Valley’s wealthiest residents are threatening to leave — again — this time over a proposed one-time 5% wealth tax on anyone worth more than $1 billion. Tech founders are warning it could permanently change where innovation — and capital — decide to live. Shocking development: money doesn’t enjoy being punished. History tells us how this ends. Capital doesn’t hold signs. It doesn’t tweet. It just quietly moves to a state that doesn’t hate it.

Tim Walz is officially feeling the heat. Facing questions around potentially billions in alleged fraud, his response has been right on script — label anyone asking questions a “white supremacist” and hope the conversation ends there. When answers are inconvenient, accusations are apparently much easier.

Markets & Money

Minimum wage hikes are here. Since January 1, workers in 22 states saw pay bumps, some as high as $1.50 more per hour. On paper, that’s an extra $3,128 a year before taxes. In real life, groceries, rent, insurance, and utilities did not get the memo — and certainly didn’t freeze prices out of courtesy.

And for anyone who thinks businesses are swimming in cash, here’s a reality check. An upscale Chicago steakhouse recently admitted it clears about $25 in profit on a $500 dinner tab. Same city. Same economy. Same inflation. If that’s the margin at the high end, you can imagine how the rest of Main Street is doing.

Business & Culture

Luxury retail isn’t exactly thriving either. The parent company of Saks Fifth Avenue is reportedly flirting with a bankruptcy filing while scrambling for emergency financing, with Neiman Marcus close behind. Turns out even wealthy shoppers notice when prices drift from “premium” into pure fantasy.

The store-closing wave also shows no signs of slowing. Coresight Research estimates roughly 15,000 brick-and-mortar closures in 2025, more than double in 2024. Joann shut around 790 locations. Macy’s closed 66. Starbucks about 500. Wendy’s roughly 150. Denny’s near 100. Jack in the Box closed 86, with more on the way. Toss in another 340 bank branches for good measure. “This is fine,” said no one who’s looked outside lately.

Florida shoppers also hit peak sticker shock after Publix caught heat for meat priced at $49.99 per pound — or $61.49 per package. As one customer pointed out, you can get a full ribeye dinner, sides, bread, and drinks at a sit-down steakhouse for nearly half that. The free market calls this a clue.

Housing didn’t escape reality either. Lennar, the second-largest homebuilder in the country, cut prices by 10% in the final months of 2025 as buyers quietly vanished. Turns out “higher for longer” works great for interest rates — not so much for buyer enthusiasm.

2025 Winners:

US Investors — Had a pretty solid year, all things considered. Stocks hit new all-time highs. Gold and silver reached record levels. Crypto… did what crypto does. Two out of three isn’t bad.

President Trump — Also belongs on the winner list. Not perfect. Definitely human. But if this résumé belonged to a foreign leader, it would be called historic. Dictator captured. Border secured. Major tax cuts. Deportations resumed. Tariffs pulling in record revenue. Drug cartels hit at sea and warned on land. Terrorist designations issued. Most-favored-nation pricing on prescription drugs. Investigations into food-supply price fixing. And actual movement on Russia–Ukraine. Love him or not, things are getting done.

2025 Losers:

The Democrats — Didn’t have a great year, at all. The border crisis now looks 100% self-inflicted. Crime rates drop the moment law and order shows up. Fraud keeps surfacing — oddly concentrated in blue states. The autopen presidency didn’t help. Neither did the collapse of woke credibility or the rise of socialism. Add deficits, scandals, shutdown theatrics, and a platform that still boils down to “we hate Trump,” and there’s not much left to sell.

The ‘Mainstream’ Media — Also had a rough one. Trust is somewhere below zero. CBS cut a $16 million check to Trump over deceptive editing. The BBC got caught splicing speeches together, leadership resigned, lawsuits are piling up, and viewership is sinking faster than the Titanic. Turns out people trust a YouTuber more than a corporate newsroom now. Let that sink in.

America Decides:

Trump didn’t ask permission. He took action.
Was he right — or did this cross a line?

What if the most radical idea in America right now is keeping your own money?
Let’s talk about it.

Just days before Christmas, San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie quietly signed a reparations ordinance creating a framework that could eventually grant each eligible Black resident $5 million. The bill establishes a reparations fund recommended by the city’s African American Reparations Advisory Committee, though it currently contains no actual money, no clear funding source, and no defined eligibility rules. Roughly 50,000 Black residents live in the city, which — if funded as proposed — would make this one of the most expensive policy ideas in modern U.S. history.

Translation: No money. No rules. Just a $250 billion idea sneaked in while everyone was distracted by Christmas cookies.

An American Airlines pilot sent social media into a collective spiral after sharing a pay stub showing nearly $458,000 in year-to-date earnings — and experts say they weren’t even maximizing their potential. The breakdown included a $361 hourly base rate, premium pay for late-night flights, profit sharing, and even compensation for random drug and alcohol testing. One bi-weekly paycheck alone came in just under $36,000.

Translation: Turns out high responsibility, long hours, and real skills still pay — 100% deserved.

A Florida man is suing Outback Steakhouse for $50,000 after a handicapped toilet allegedly shattered and collapsed beneath him at a location in Ocala. The lawsuit claims the toilet was not properly secured, creating what the complaint describes as an “unreasonably dangerous condition,” resulting in serious bodily injury and a loss of enjoyment of life. Outback is accused of negligence for failing to ensure the fixture was safely installed.

Translation: Even the bathroom needs a safety inspection now — welcome to modern liability culture.

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A new HUD report revealed billions in taxpayer-funded rental assistance went to “questionable” recipients under the Biden administration — including roughly 30,000 deceased tenants and thousands of potential non-citizens. According to HUD’s own financial report, payments to dead recipients occurred in all 50 states, with a heavy concentration in New York, California, and Washington, D.C.

Translation: The government can’t balance a budget, but it can apparently run a nationwide ghost payroll.

Economists say renting remains cheaper than buying in 49 of the 50 largest U.S. metro areas, with Pittsburgh as the lone exception. According to Realtor.com data, renters are still saving over $900 a month compared to buying a starter home. That said, the gap is slowly narrowing — and this simple math ignores the one thing renters never get: equity.

Translation: Renting saves cash today. Buying builds wealth tomorrow. Pick your poison.

A global café giant most Americans have never heard of is quietly moving into the U.S. — and it’s doing something radical: selling food people can actually afford. Mixue Ice Cream & Tea, already larger than McDonald’s and Starbucks by store count, opened its first U.S. locations in Los Angeles and New York with a menu capped at $5. Think $1.19 soft-serve, $1.99 lemonade, and milk teas under $4.99 — prices that feel illegal in LA and NYC.

Translation: When a $9 latte meets a $1 ice cream cone, the math gets uncomfortable fast.

Google’s Year in Search for 2025 shows what drove the biggest spikes in curiosity — and it’s a mix of tragedy, tech, pop culture, and politics. Charlie Kirk topped the list following his killing at a campus event, triggering nationwide search activity. The rest of the top five included a Netflix hit, a viral plush toy, Apple’s iPhone 17, and the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Other major spikes came from AI platform DeepSeek, tariffs, a government shutdown, and global sports.

Translation: Americans searched for culture, tech, and chaos — sometimes all at once.

A new survey from Comerica Bank finds small business owners heading into 2026 feeling cautiously optimistic, despite higher costs, labor headaches, and economic uncertainty. About 79% expect revenue growth in the year ahead, with those projecting growth expecting an average increase of 7.9%. Confidence remains high, even as margins stay under pressure.

Translation: Small business owners don’t wait for perfect conditions — they adapt and keep moving.

Former special counsel Jack Smith told Congress that key claims made by Jan. 6 Committee witness Cassidy Hutchinson suffered from a major problem: she didn’t have firsthand knowledge. In a recent deposition, Smith acknowledged that much of Hutchinson’s testimony was based on hearsay — to the point that, as he put it, a competent defense attorney would have tried to block parts of it outright. This is the same testimony that once drove wall-to-wall headlines and breathless coverage.

Translation: Turns out “bombshell testimony” hits differently when it’s mostly someone else’s story.

A wealthy New York couple learned the hard way that moving to Florida doesn’t count if New York decides you didn’t mean it. State tax officials ruled the couple never truly left the Empire State — partly because they kept memberships at multiple New York country clubs — and ordered them to pay nearly $60,000 in back taxes. Their Florida “retirement” apparently didn’t outweigh tee times back home.

Translation: You can move your body to Florida, but New York still wants your wallet.

Not ideology.
Not talking points.
Real life.

If 2026 is going to feel like a win, this is the checklist.

1️⃣ Cost of Living vs. Wages
Groceries, rent, insurance — all up.
Paychecks? Not keeping up.
This isn’t complicated. Fix purchasing power.

2️⃣ Healthcare That Isn’t a Scam
Prices that make sense before treatment.
Insurance that actually covers something.
Less paperwork. More care.

3️⃣ Housing That Feels Attainable Again
A basic home shouldn’t cost $1 million.
Build starter homes — not just luxury boxes.
Families shouldn’t need a miracle to buy a house.

4️⃣ Interest Rates That Don’t Punish Normal Life
Mortgages shouldn’t require divine intervention.
Credit cards shouldn’t feel like payday loans.
Stability beats shock therapy.

5️⃣ Jobs, Work & AI
Innovation without mass “quiet layoffs.”
Efficiency shouldn’t mean disposable people.
Paychecks still matter.

6️⃣ Public Safety & Crime
Laws enforced evenly.
Victims prioritized over slogans.
Order isn’t controversial — it’s necessary.

7️⃣ Education Without the Circus
Less ideology. More reading, math, and accountability.
Parents deserve transparency, not surprises.

8️⃣ Retirement & the Stock Market
Growth without a hype-driven implosion.
Real innovation — not an AI bubble obituary.
Retirement shouldn’t depend on buzzwords.

9️⃣ Border Control & Legal Immigration
Enforce the law.
Fix legal immigration.
Stop pretending this is complicated.

🔟 Freedom of Speech
Protect it. Period.
No speech panels. No opinion policing.
Lose this, and the rest doesn’t matter.

A successful 2026 wouldn’t be flashy.
It would be livable.

Less chaos.
More common sense.

That alone would feel like progress.

But what do you think?

We know this isn’t the full list — it never is. If something’s been on your mind, hit reply and tell us what you’re seeing or dealing with. What feels off? What worries you heading into 2026? What do you want us digging into more?

We read every note — and this newsletter is shaped around what real people actually care about.