Monday, December 8th, 2025 - Kremlin hearts Trump’s plan; Hegseth kills vibe; Zelensky strong-armed; SCOTUS eyes birthright; RFK Jr. nixes Hep B; Netflix deal

Today’s Headlines: The Trump administration released its 33-page National Security Strategy — immediately praised by the Kremlin — outlining U.S. “dominance” in the Americas, embracing Middle East leaders “as they are,” warning Europe of “civilizational erasure,” and boosting far-right movements there. It also shifts U.S. policy in Africa toward extracting “latent economic potential,” and says avoiding conflict with China is suddenly a “priority.” At the Reagan Defense Forum, Pete Hegseth declared the end of America’s “utopian idealism,” saying the military should ditch democracy-building and climate concerns for “practical interests.” Sure, Pete. Israel, Qatar, and the U.S. met to build relations after Israel’s strike in Doha it was, of course, hosted by Steve Witkoff — who, along with Jared Kushner, also had a long call with Zelensky about territory and “security guarantees.” Meanwhile, the Supreme Court will hear Trump’s effort to end birthright citizenship, despite the Constitution spelling it out pretty clearly and Trump threw a fit after pardoned Democrat Henry Cuellar didn’t switch parties, accusing him of “disloyalty” and claiming “God was very happy” with his pardon. In other news, the Jan. 5 pipe-bomb suspect is cooperating with the FBI and says he planted them to support Trump, RFK Jr.’s HHS and anti-vax panel voted to end universal Hep B shots at birth, disregarding the risks to infants, and the Netflix–Warner Bros. merger is in trouble, with the Trump administration favoring a sale to Trump-ally-owned Paramount instead. Resources/Articles mentioned in this episode: The Guardian: Kremlin hails Trump’s national security strategy as aligned with Russia’s vision Whitehouse: National Security Strategy | The White House Politico: Hegseth declares end of US 'utopian idealism' with new military strategy Axios: Scoop: Israel and Qatar hold secret meeting in New York to rebuild ties Axios: Zelensky, Trump advisers discuss Ukraine peace terms in 2-hour call Axios: Trump blasts pardoned Democrat as lacking "LOYALTY" NBC News: Pipe bomb suspect told FBI he believed 2020 election conspiracy theories PBS: Fact-checking the CDC panel’s reasons for dropping universal newborn hepatitis B vaccine recommendation Fox Business: Trump administration reportedly skeptical about Netflix and Warner Bros.' $72B deal WSJ: Paramount Raises Concerns About Netflix’s Bid for Warner Bros. Discovery Morning Announcements is produced by Sami Sage and edited by Grace Hernandez-Johnson Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices