Good afternoon. I’m Ryan Rose, and this is AlterNet America. Please take a moment to click the ❤️ and restack this post. The oligarchs’ platforms are trying to keep stories like the ones below from hitting your feeds, and this helps us break through.
A viral aerial photo shows Trump’s under-construction White House ballroom is now larger than the main residence itself. New White House Chief of Staff Stephen Miller once ran a racially targeted voter mobilization campaign called “White Boy November.” A judge denied Mary Peltola’s campaign access to rejected absentee ballot data in Alaska’s contested Senate race. And Ohio Republicans are blocking a vote on a bill to ban child marriage.
Before we get started, the billionaires are squeezing independent media and we need your help. Our stories are being suppressed on Facebook, where many of you first discovered us, after we called out Mark Zuckerberg for being a Trump lackey. Elon Musk, the GOP’s top donor, is also censoring AlterNet America’s stories on his social media platform. We’re clearly getting under their skin, but we can’t keep this work going without you.
By subscribing, you ensure these stories go directly to your inbox, where they can’t reach, and your voice becomes one more the billionaires can’t silence. You’re also keeping this publication free for the people who can’t afford a subscription. Become a paying member today.
Trump’s Ballroom Is Now Bigger Than the White House Itself
You do not build something that large unless you are trying to distract from something small.
An image of Trump’s White House ballroom went viral Wednesday after viewers noticed how the building now dwarfs the main residence. Rep. James Clyburn posted the photo with the caption: “the contrast says everything you need to know about this President and his priorities.”
Trump demolished the East Wing last year to make way for the project, which he originally said would cost $200 million and be entirely funded by private donors. The price has since ballooned to $600 million, and taxpayers are now on the hook for half of it.
Trump has been clinically obsessed with the ballroom, mentioning it unprompted in conversations, speeches, rallies, and interviews. During a meeting with oil executives in January, he jumped up suddenly to look out the window at the construction site, exclaiming, “Wow, what a view.”
Trump has spent much of his second term on vanity projects around Washington, including golden embellishments throughout the White House and the botched Reflecting Pool renovation. Other projects include a 250-foot arch near the Lincoln Memorial, a takeover of the public East Potomac Golf Course, and a stone patio where the Rose Garden once stood.
Stephen Miller Ran “White Boy November” Campaign
At least Movember had a good cause behind the bad mustaches.
Ashley St. Clair, a former MAGA influencer and Elon Musk’s ex-girlfriend, released screenshots Tuesday of what she says are Signal messages from Stephen Miller. The messages urged conservative women on X to call ten white men they knew and ask them to vote, under the slogan “White Boy November.”
The messages included the slogan “The Kens strike back” and asked conservative women to record videos urging white men to vote. Another message asked recipients to “call 10 white guys you know tonight and report back.”
The disclosures came about 24 hours after Trump elevated Miller to White House chief of staff after Republican losses in the congressional midterms. Miller will replace Susie Wiles, who is leaving to join the Trump Political Operation.
St. Clair made a name for herself as a pro-Trump commentator and dated Elon Musk before publicly parting ways with the movement. She has since called MAGA “a cult” and compared it to an abusive relationship, telling The Daily Beast she watched right-wing media figures profit off “outrage and fear porn.”
Alaska Judge Denies Democrat’s Senate Campaign Access to Rejected Ballots
Two Dan Sullivans and they are both losing.
An Alaska judge ruled Democrat Mary Peltola’s Senate campaign can’t have access to a list of rejected absentee ballots while the state finishes counting votes. In the last uncalled Senate race, Peltola leads Republican incumbent Sen. Dan Sullivan by less than two points.
Superior Court Judge Thomas Matthews ruled that Alaska’s Division of Elections is too busy processing ballots from the general election to generate the report. He wrote that the request was “simply not reasonable nor required” during peak election season.
Sullivan’s campaign sued to block the request and accused Peltola of “attempting to rig the system in her favor.” Rejected absentee ballot lists are public records in many states, and campaigns routinely request them so they can contact voters whose ballots were flagged to fix the problem.
As of Wednesday night, Peltola had 48.63 percent of the vote, Sullivan had 46.90 percent, and Dan J. Sullivan had 1.65 percent, according to Decision Desk HQ. Trump has said all the votes cast for Dan J. Sullivan should be awarded to the sitting senator, but the combined total still would not make up Peltola’s lead.
Ohio Republicans Block Vote on Child Marriage Ban
Ohio will let you marry a child but God forbid you show one a book with two dads.
Ohio Senate leadership is refusing to bring a bill to a floor vote that would ban child marriage in the state, despite it being passed out of committee without a single objection. Senate Bill 341, sponsored by Republican Sen. Bill Blessing and Democratic Sen. Bill DeMora, would allow only legal adults to marry, with no exceptions.
Under current Ohio law, 17-year-olds still can marry someone up to four years older with court approval. Ohio had no minimum marriage age until 2019.
Stephanie Lowry, a former child bride, has spent the past year lobbying lawmakers at the Statehouse to get the ban passed. She was married at 16 to a 19-year-old who she says abused her, and by 17 was homeless with a baby because Ohio wouldn’t let her file for divorce as a minor.
Some religious activists want exceptions for teen pregnancies or certain cultural groups, and several Republican senators have privately said they do not want to interfere in family matters. Senate President Rob McColley has the ability to bring the bill to a floor vote and says he would vote yes, but he won’t schedule one without full caucus support.
POSITIVE STORIES YOU MAY HAVE MISSED:
Nonprofits File Landmark Lawsuit to Freeze Advanced AI Development. On November 12, a coalition of Public Citizen, the Irreplaceable Education Fund, Heat Initiative, and the Alliance for Secure AI sued Anthropic, Google, Meta, OpenAI, and SpaceXSI in San Francisco Superior Court. Filed by former New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin, the complaint cites California’s Unfair Competition Law and alleges the companies are creating a public nuisance by developing AI systems that pose catastrophic risks. The plaintiffs are seeking an injunction freezing development of increasingly advanced AI models until the technology is under human control.
Courts Are Striking Down Warrantless Use of Flock License Plate Cameras. More than 80 cities have ditched Flock automated license plate readers after courts ruled that warrantless use of the cameras violates the Fourth Amendment. The cameras record every license plate that passes, which officers have used to stalk women, monitor protesters, and conduct race-based surveillance. A federal judge in Oklahoma ruled in October that police need a warrant to access the data, and an appellate court in Virginia in 2024 likened Norfolk’s 172-camera network to a government tracking device.
New York Forces T-Mobile to Remove Data Cap on Low-Income Internet Plans. Gov. Kathy Hochul and Attorney General Letitia James announced Monday that T-Mobile will remove a 50GB monthly data cap from its $15 home internet plan for low-income households after state investigators found it violated the Affordable Broadband Act. The cap slowed download speeds by 97.6 percent after roughly four days of typical usage, and investigators also discovered T-Mobile had coded its plan information page so it wouldn’t show up in search engine results. T-Mobile has 120 days to stop throttling eligible subscribers and roll the plans out across its entire home internet footprint.
Hawaii Offers More Than 800 Residential Leases to Native Hawaiian Families on Kauai. The Department of Hawaiian Home Lands for the state of Hawaii granted more than 800 residential leases to Native Hawaiian families on Kauai in its largest single round on the island this year. The department was created in 1921 to return homestead land to Native Hawaiians, but demand has far outstripped supply for decades, leaving thousands of families on a waitlist that some have waited their entire lives to clear. The state passed the Waitlist Reduction Act in 2022, committing $600 million to speed up the process. The department has offered more than 3,400 leases statewide in 2026, a record pace, and is targeting nearly 5,000 next year.
From that angle the ballroom looks like a common warehouse. The Supreme Court is costing the taxpayers money by letting this abominable project go forward. The more that goes up the more it's going to cost to tear it down. Maybe we should send the invoices to Trump and his, ass-kissing billionaires.
Almost as big as Trump's ego.