It's Monday — here's what you need to know before the week gets away from you.
The Platner story has taken a serious turn. The Wall Street Journal is reporting on illicit texts, and the Daily Wire has new reporting tied to an app called Kik. The candidate who had "nothing to worry about" just two weeks ago now has Cory Booker dodging questions, Andy Kim going silent, and his own campaign canceling scheduled MSNBC interviews. We track exactly who is still standing with Graham Platner, who has quietly walked away, and what the new reporting actually reveals about the man Democrats built into a national figure.
In New Jersey, the protests outside Delaney Hall have crossed into riots. Rep. Mikie Sherrill — who showed up in person to rally demonstrators outside the ICE facility — is now asking everyone to "lower the temperature." We connect the dots: Democratic politicians helped light this fire, and the position underneath the protest is straightforward — they don't want immigration enforcement. They want to defund ICE.
On Iran: President Trump is pushing back hard on reports that the U.S. would release money to Iran before the Strait of Hormuz is open and nuclear provisions are ironclad. The "No Dust, No Dollars" framework is holding. We update where negotiations actually stand heading into the week.
And Jamie Dimon went on national television last week and attacked a crypto bill he clearly hadn't read. It's part of a pattern — Dimon waged the same war against Open Banking and consumer access to fee-free financial apps. The big banks have made their position clear: they're not against crypto specifically, they're against any innovation that competes with them. We call it what it is.
Today's episode covers:
• Platner's illicit texts and the Democratic exodus
• Mikie Sherrill's riot problem in New Jersey
• Iran: Trump pushes for tougher terms
• Jamie Dimon embarrasses himself on crypto
⏱️ TIMESTAMPS
00:00 – Intro
00:41 –Platner's Illicit Texts & Democrats Go Silent
03:17 –NJ Riots: Sherrill Foments Then Runs
05:21 – Iran: Trump Toughens the Terms
07:27 – Jamie Dimon's Crypto Embarrassment
09:47 – The week ahead
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