Army Veteran Went Into ‘Combat Mode’ to Disarm the Club Q Gunman  —  Richard M. Fierro, who served for 15 years in the military, was at the nightclub in Colorado Springs with his family when the gunman opened fire.  “I just knew I had to take him down,” he said.

Exclusive: Bankman-Fried's FTX, parents bought Bahamas property worth $121 million  —  Sam Bankman-Fried's FTX, his parents and senior executives of the failed cryptocurrency exchange bought at least 19 properties worth nearly $121 million in the Bahamas over the past two years, official property records show.

AP Fires Reporter Behind Retracted ‘Russian Missiles’ Story … This reporting appears as one of several scoops featured in this week's edition of Confider, the newsletter pulling back the curtain on the media.  Subscribe here and send your questions, tips, and complaints here.

Mike Pompeo: “The most dangerous person in the world is Randi Weingarten”  —  David is a Political Reporter for Semafor, joining us from the Washington Post.  Sign up for Americana to get his coverage of the national political scene in your inbox twice a week.

Ukraine Launches Assault to Oust Russia From Key Black Sea Peninsula  —  Kinburn Spit, occupied by Russia for months, lies at maritime choke point and is coveted prize for Kyiv  —  Ukraine's military said it launched an operation to push Russian forces from a strategic peninsula …

From Europe, Trump special counsel takes over Mar-a-Lago, Jan. 6 probes  —  Prosecutor Jack Smith must assemble a team, find office space and catch up on the long-running cases involving Donald Trump  —  Newly appointed special counsel Jack Smith continues to work remotely from Europe …

A Georgia Senate runoff poll points to challenges for Walker, Warnock  —  A new poll focusing on the Dec. 6 runoff between U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock and Republican Herschel Walker shows a close race with challenges for both rivals as they rush to rebuild their coalitions.

The Massacre at Club Q Was Only a Matter of Time  —  The massacre this past weekend at Club Q, an L.G.B.T.Q. club in Colorado Springs, was at once shocking and entirely predictable, like terrorist attacks on synagogues and abortion clinics.  —  The police are still investigating the motive behind …

Copy of what's believed to be Hunter Biden's laptop data turned over by repair shop to FBI showed no tampering, analysis says  —  Data from a laptop that the lawyer for a Delaware computer repair shop owner says was left by Hunter Biden in 2019 - and which the shop owner later provided …

From Twitter to Mastodon: What Happens When Journalists Flock Platforms  —  Journa.host promises to be a new “reliable home for journalists.”  What happens when they move in?  —  It's one thing to hope for a better community online, and another, very different one, to build it.

Ian was one of the most lethal hurricanes in decades.  Many of the deaths were preventable.  —  Hurricane Ian killed at least 148 people in Florida, most of them in coastal communities where the danger of storm surge is well documented but not widely understood.

Beware, DeSantis is as much a threat to America as Trump  —  If you believe Florida's Republic Gov. Ron DeSantis would be a less dangerous presidential candidate than former president Donald Trump, take a moment to consider the recent ruling striking down DeSantis's “Stop WOKE Act.”

Court Docs Rip Into DOJ for ‘Fiddling Away’ on Matt Gaetz Case  —  More than two years after the DOJ opened an investigation into the congressman, there are no charges against him.  The lawyer for an alleged co-conspirator can't believe that.  —  The Florida lawyer who gave the feds …

Graham scheduled to appear before Ga. grand jury probing 2020 election aftermath … Today, after a drawn-out legal fight, Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.) is scheduled to appear before an Atlanta-area grand jury investigating whether attempts by Donald Trump and his associates to overturn …

High-Paid NYPD Official Had Deep Ties to Eric Adams — Including Shared Residence  —  Lisa White earns more than $241,000 annually, nearly five times her previous city salary as a 911 operator.  From 2013 to 2017, Adams lived in her apartment, and she worked with him for years more.

Anti-Woke Bank GloriFi to Shut Down  —  Texas startup has laid off most employees after failing to secure more funding  —  The Texas startup that sought to build a conservative banking alternative is shutting down.  —  GloriFi has laid off most of its employees and told them that it is closing up shop …

Beyond Meat Plant's Dirty Conditions Revealed in Photos, Documents  —  Photos and internal documents from a Beyond Meat Inc. plant in Pennsylvania show apparent mold, Listeria and other food-safety issues, compounding problems at a factory the company had expected to play a major role in its future.

How Not to Stop Trump  —  If Republican leaders make the foolhardy decision to run the 2016 strategy again, it will play right into the former president's hands.  —  The conventional wisdom about the November 8 midterm elections is still taking shape.  In conservative circles …

Christian Petition Against Donald Trump's 2024 Run Signed by Thousands  —  Thousands of people have signed a petition launched by a Christian organization condemning Donald Trump's 2024 bid for the White House.  —  Trump, at his Mar-a-Lago club on Tuesday night, became the first candidate …

Jan. 6 Troll ‘Baked Alaska’ Is Going to Jail in 2023 for Attacking Security Guard  —  The notorious troll and former Buzzfeed employee, whose real name is Anthime Gionet, will start his sentence in January.  —  Notorious racist internet troll and Jan. 6 riot participant “Baked Alaska” …