🎧 Intro Good morning. It’s Thursday, September 25th, and this is The Record🗞️.Today’s show is about power, pressure, and the stakes of resistance—inside the White House, across Congress, on social media, and even on international waters.From Congress pushing for the Epstein files, to federal agencies threatened with mass firings, to Trump moving TikTok under U.S. control, and European ships headed toward Gaza—this isn’t chaos. This is the news.And I’m tired of it being filtered through corporate neutrality.So here we go.
đź“° Headline Rundown
🗞️ 1: White House Pushes Back on Epstein Files Vote What’s happening:Congress is moving closer to forcing a vote on releasing Jeffrey Epstein case files. Representatives Thomas Massie and Ro Khanna are leading the effort to gather the 218 signatures needed for a discharge petition. Inside the GOP, leadership is quietly working against it, and the White House is leaning on allies to discourage members from signing. Speaker Mike Johnson frames the resistance as a matter of protecting victim privacy.
What to know:This is a high-stakes transparency fight. The Epstein files carry implications not only for past crimes but for networks that could still influence policy today. If the petition succeeds, it could reveal how far corruption and influence reach inside Washington.
My take:Victim privacy is critical, but it’s being used here as a political shield. Democracy isn’t served by burying evidence. The question is: will Congress protect power, or will it protect the public’s right to know?
🗞️ 2: White House Orders Agencies to Prepare for Mass Firings What’s happening:The Office of Management and Budget has instructed federal agencies to prepare for sweeping layoffs if a government shutdown occurs. Unlike past shutdowns, these plans don’t just cover furloughs—they specifically target programs the administration views as inconsistent with its priorities.
What to know:This approach is unprecedented. Unions and Democrats are calling it intimidation, accusing the administration of using the threat of job loss as leverage in a political standoff. The people caught in the middle are civil servants who keep the government running—workers who have nothing to do with partisan fights.
My take:A shutdown is already a manufactured crisis. Adding targeted firings turns it into a purge. This isn’t fiscal responsibility; it’s punishment—and it weaponizes insecurity against people whose only job is public service.
🗞️ 3: Trump to Sign Order Shifting TikTok into U.S. ControlWhat’s happening:Trump is preparing to sign an executive order that would place TikTok’s American operations under U.S. ownership. The plan involves transferring control of the platform’s U.S. business, sharing a version of its algorithm, and giving oversight of data and privacy to American companies, with Oracle taking a lead role. The order also extends the enforcement pause on a potential ban.
What to know:This move isn’t just about national security—it’s about influence. TikTok isn’t simply an app; it’s a cultural powerhouse and a major data platform. By putting it under U.S. control, the administration is trying to secure both technological leverage and political capital. The timing is crucial: this comes just before Trump’s first face-to-face meeting with Xi Jinping since returning to office.
My take:Whoever controls the algorithm controls culture. This isn’t protectionism; it’s a power play at the intersection of tech, politics, and diplomacy. It raises serious questions: what happens to free expression when platforms become pawns in geopolitical games? And who ultimately benefits—the public, or the politicians claiming to protect us?
🗞️ 4: European Ships Join Gaza Aid Flotilla What’s happening:Italy and Spain have deployed military ships to assist the Global Sumud Flotilla, which is trying to break Israel’s naval blockade on Gaza. The flotilla, made up of around 50 civilian boats, came under drone attack earlier this week—hit with stun grenades and itching powder. Activists, lawyers, parliamentarians, and climate campaigner Greta Thunberg are among those on board.
What to know:Italy proposed a compromise: unloading the aid in Cyprus and sending it through the Catholic Church’s Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem. Israel supported the plan, but the flotilla rejected it, insisting that its mission is about breaking the blockade, not rerouting. Now, European governments are directly intervening at sea, a move Israel has called unacceptable.
My take:This is no longer just a grassroots activist story. The moment Italy and Spain sent warships, it became a geopolitical test of wills. Is this humanitarian aid or political theater? Either way, the risks are enormous. One misstep, and a standoff over aid could spiral into an international crisis.
🧠Gut CheckHere’s the truth: every story today is about control—who gets it, who keeps it, and who wields it to shape outcomes. In Washington, in tech, on the high seas, the same patterns are showing: secrecy, pressure, and the weaponization of systems designed to serve the public.
If we lose track of transparency, accountability, and the human stakes behind each headline, we normalize the power grab. From Epstein files to federal workers to TikTok and Gaza aid, the underlying question is the same: do systems serve people, or do people serve the systems?
Pay attention. Ask questions. Resist the pressure to look away. This is how democracy—or at least the idea of it—stays alive.
đź’ˇ Funding & Community Notes
* Support The Record via one-time donations on Venmo (@MarlenaGeller), Buy Me a Coffee, or “Fund the Record” for brand support.
* Subscription model coming soon to Substack and Instagram to expand news access and commentary.
🎧 Closing
* Off the Record: weekly cultural commentary podcast (Fridays)
* The Record: daily news and analysis (current episode)
* Voices for Change: bi-monthly feature on leaders running for officeThanks for listening. Stay alert, stay informed. Talk soon, see you tomorrow.
Substack | Podcast | Daily News📲 IG: @marlenabeautydotcom | @redefiningtherecord✍️ Substack: Redefining the Record
Fueling independent media that refuses to look away.✨ Tip Jar ✨Venmo: marlenageller | Buy Me a Coffee
🎙 Hosted by Marlena📍 Recorded in California—with one dog, zero filters, and no coffee (yet)
⛓️‍💥 Untangling broken systems, social media, and tech stacks.→ Now taking a few social media + strategy clients.
