Plus: The Latest On The Investigation Into The National Guard DC Shooting

Happy Cyber Monday to all who celebrate,

Americans spent big this weekend — at least most generations. 💰 Black Friday online sales were up more than a 9% from last year, an estimated $11.8 billion, according to Adobe Analytics.

Americans spent $12.5 million every minute during peak hours. The spending helped soothe economists’ fears that tariffs and a soft labor market might lower demand.
Generational Divide: Gen Z is spending less than other age groups, with the group expecting to dial back holiday spending by an average of around 34%, according to a recent Deloitte survey. It comes as 20-somethings grapple with higher costs for housing, student loans, restaurant meals, and groceries.
Cyber Monday is still going strong (as of writing this newsletter). Adobe predicts more than $14 billion in sales — another record.

One word of advice: keep your digital receipts just in case of Buyer’s Remorse Tuesday.

Mo News Team

PS. You only have a few hours left to get the best deal on Mo News Premium of the year. Use code: THANKS to get 30% off your annual membership. (For new members and those upgrading from monthly to annual packages.)

🚨 ONE IMPORTANT THING WE’RE FOLLOWING

Trump Admin To Re-Examine Afghan Asylum Seekers After D.C. National Guard Ambush

The Trump administration says it is actively re-examining tens of thousands of Afghan asylum seekers, following last week’s shooting of two National Guard members by an Afghan immigrant.

Following the shooting, Trump said he would “permanently pause” migration from “third world countries.” The administration also announced it will reexamine all green cards issued to nationals from 19 “countries of concern.” On Friday, the State Department paused all visas for individuals applying with Afghan passports.

Suspected shooter Rahmanullah Lakanwal came to the U.S. in 2021 after the American withdrawal from Afghanistan. The 29-year-old was granted asylum in April under the Trump administration.

REWIND
Lakanwal served in one of the elite “Zero Units,“ where Afghans fought alongside the CIA and other U.S. forces during the two-decade war. He and his family were evacuated to the U.S. under the Biden administration’s Operation Allies Welcome, along with roughly 76,000 Afghans. He resettled in Washington state with his wife and five young sons.

A Politico investigation paints a picture of a man who suffered severe depression, was unable to hold a job, and retreated for weeks at a time into “dark isolation.”
- A January 2024 email from a community member to a refugee nonprofit said he had “not been functional as a person, father and provider” since March 2023. The community member did not think he would commit violence against another person, but was worried about possible self-harm.

THE ATTACK
Prosecutors say Lakanwal drove across the country to D.C. to carry out an “ambush-style” shooting using a revolver just blocks from the White House on Wednesday afternoon, killing 20-year-old Spec. Sarah Beckstrom and critically injuring 24-year-old Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe.

Officials say Wolfe showed signs of response — including wiggling his toes. Wolfe’s mother asked West Virginia’s Governor: “Would you please get the word out that my son Andrew needs prayer?”
- The two West Virginia National Guardsmen were in D.C. as part of Trump’s crime crackdown.

Lakanwal’s motive remains unclear. He now faces first-degree murder charges.

.🚨 ONE THING WE’RE WATCHING

White House Confirms Follow-Up Strike On Drug Boat As Lawmakers Look Into War Crimes

The White House confirmed reporting that a second, lethal strike was ordered on a suspected drug-trafficking boat during a September operation targeting alleged narco-terrorists in the Caribbean. But, it disputed Washington Post reporting that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth specifically instructed SEAL Team Six to “kill everybody” on board after the first strike left some survivors.

Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Admiral Mitch Bradley, head of U.S. Special Operations Command ordered the follow-up strike after two survivors — out of 11 people on board — were reportedly seen following the initial blast.
- “Secretary Hegseth authorized Admiral Bradley to conduct these kinetic strikes,” Leavitt said. ”Admiral Bradley worked well within his authority and the law, directing the engagement to ensure the boat was destroyed and the threat to the United States of America was completely eliminated.”

REPORT BLOWBACK
Hegseth called the Washington Post report “fake news” on X Friday, going on to say, “Our current operations in the Caribbean are lawful under both U.S. and international law,” without disputing that he gave the orders for a second strike on that first U.S. attack in September. Under the laws of war, it is illegal not to spare the life of someone who is surrendering or otherwise unable to fight — known as the prohibition of denying quarter. Legal experts note the two survivors did not pose an imminent threat to the U.S.

The Senate and House Armed Services Committees have vowed a bipartisan investigation into the matter, with lawmakers raising alarm that targeting the survivors could be a war crime. The Pentagon’s top general reportedly spoke with lawmakers this weekend.
- Rep. Mike Turner (R-OH) said Sunday that Congress does not yet have evidence that the orders occurred. If it did, he said, “that would be very serious, and I agree that would be an illegal act.”
- Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE) said that “if it was as if the article said, that is a violation of the law of war.”
- Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA), who sits on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, also said it would rise to the level of war crimes and called on the White House to provide more information.
Leavitt said President Trump and Secretary Hegseth have designated narco-terror groups as foreign terrorist organizations, allowing lethal targeting under the laws of war. Scholars have raised questions about the legality of the strikes.
- The Trump administration has notified Congress that the U.S. is engaged in a “non-international armed conflict” with “designated terrorist organizations.”

The broader campaign has included strikes on more than 20 additional boats and killed more than 80 people.

POSSIBLE ESCALATION?
Trump confirmed Sunday that he recently spoke with Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, after announcing the closure of Venezuelan airspace on Truth Social. While he didn’t discuss it publicly, Trump reportedly gave Maduro an ultimatum to step down from power — to which Maduro refused.

While the U.S. president can’t legally close another country’s airspace, flight radars showed international planes diverting around Venezuela.
- The Maduro government responded, calling Trump’s move “a new extravagant, illegal, and unjustified aggression against the people of Venezuela.”
Airspace closures usually precede airstrikes, though Trump insisted Sunday that his comment should not be read as a signal of imminent military action.

Bottom line: The latest reports are not easing criticism from either party about the Trump administration’s campaign against Venezuela’s leadership — and its growing military presence in the Caribbean.

⏳ THE SPEED READ

🚨NATION

Trump MRI results drop as White House confronts mounting questions over president’s health (FOX)
Luigi Mangione fights to exclude evidence from his trial in the killing of UnitedHealthcare’s CEO (AP)
Appeals court upholds ruling that disqualified Alina Habba from serving as New Jersey’s top prosecutor (NBC)
Indiana House releases draft congressional map that could net Republicans 2 seats (POLITICO)

🌎 AROUND THE WORLD

Pope Leo visits a wounded Lebanon in his first trip to the Middle East (NPR)
Netanyahu aides say he won’t admit guilt after request for pardon in corruption trial (TIMES OF ISRAEL)
Hong Kong arrests 13 on suspicion of manslaughter over apartment fires (GUARDIAN)
Thousands in the Philippines protest corruption and demand return of stolen funds from flood projects (AP)

📱BUSINESS, SCIENCE & TECH

Shopify outage disrupts some merchants on Cyber Monday (CBS)
Eli Lilly cuts Zepbound prices in competitive weight loss drug market battle (FOX)
Starbucks settlement with New York City will give backpay to more than 15,000 workers (ABC7)
Supreme Court leans toward internet service providers in copyright battle with nation’s music industry (CNN)

🎬 SPORTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Disney’s “Zootopia 2” becomes the highest-grossing animated foreign film ever in China while also topping domestic Thanksgiving weekend box office(NBC/HOLLYWOOD REPORTER)
Super Bowl 2026: Pregame performers will include Charlie Puth, Brandi Carlile, and Coco Jones (AP)
Ariana Grande gives ‘loving reminder’ about body-shaming amid ‘Wicked: For Good’ press tour scrutiny (E! NEWS)
King Charles leads tributes to Sir Tom Stoppard, the late British playwright who won an Oscar for ‘Shakespeare In Love’ (BBC)

ICYMI FROM THE 📲

In case you missed it… A heavy snowstorm known as a Nor’easter is expected to cover much of the Northeast U.S. starting Monday night.

Parts of Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, and Vermont are expected to experience more than six inches of snow by Tuesday, according to the National Weather Service.
Areas from the Poconos to southeast Maine could see 5 to 10 inches of snow in the next two days, according to forecasters.

It follows some big snow storms in the Midwest over the holiday weekend.