Kelly’s Fundraising Surge, ICE Rulings and Grid Strain

Kelly Emerges as Fundraising Force After ‘Illegal Orders’ Clash

Sen. Mark Kelly’s campaign raised more than $12.5 million in the final quarter of 2025, a haul that may represent a record for a senator not facing reelection in an off‑year. The surge followed a controversy over a video in which Kelly and five other Democrats told military personnel they must refuse illegal orders, putting the Arizona Democrat at the center of opposition to President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.

Kelly’s campaign ended the quarter with $14.9 million in cash on hand and routed $1 million of that to other Democratic candidates in Arizona and nationwide. His operation raised more in the last three months of 2025 than in the first nine, with just $1 million coming in between Oct. 1 and Nov. 17, the day before the video was released, underscoring the impact of the ensuing uproar on grassroots donations.

Kelly’s spokesperson Jacob Peters framed the fundraising as support for the senator’s efforts to lower costs, keep Arizonans safe and defend constitutional rights. Peters highlighted small‑dollar donations of “five, ten, twenty bucks at a time” and said contributors were backing Kelly’s bid to help elect Democrats and hold the administration to account. The inflows have added to speculation that Kelly, whose term runs through the 2028 elections, could pursue a presidential bid that year, though he has only said he is considering the option.

Minnesota Fails to Pause Federal ‘Metro Surge’ Immigration Operation

In Minnesota, a federal court setback has complicated the state’s efforts to curb a large‑scale immigration enforcement drive. US District Judge Katherine Menendez on Saturday denied Minnesota’s motion for a temporary restraining order that would have forced Immigration and Customs Enforcement to suspend its ‘Metro Surge’ detention and deportation operation.

Menendez wrote that “the balance of harms does not decisively favor an injunction,” while stressing she was not yet ruling on the merits of the state’s broader challenge or on whether the operation is lawful. Minnesota argues the month‑long federal campaign, which has seen thousands detained, violates state sovereignty. The sweeps have drawn intense criticism after masked, heavily armed agents shot dead two US citizens, Renee Good and Alex Pretti.

Those killings triggered nationwide outrage and led Trump to remove Customs and Border Protection commander Gregory Bovino, replacing him with Tom Homan, who pledged to draw down the operation under conditions. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said he was “disappointed” by the ruling, arguing it did not change the “fear, disruption, and harm” residents had experienced. Minnesota officials have also cited a letter from Attorney General Pam Bondi linking any pause in ICE activity to state concessions, which one legal scholar described as reading “like a threat.” Bondi, in contrast, called the court’s decision a “huge” legal win for the Justice Department.

Ukraine Power Grid Hit by Cross‑Border Line Failures

Ukraine confronted a major test of its electricity system on Saturday when a “technical malfunction” triggered simultaneous shutdowns of key high‑voltage lines linking Ukraine, Moldova and Romania. Energy Minister Denys Shmygal said a 400‑kilovolt line between Romania and Moldova and a 750‑kilovolt line between western and central Ukraine went offline, causing mass outages that halted Kyiv’s metro and stranded nearly 500 passengers underground.

Power was restored to all regions of Kyiv by evening, and metro services resumed after several hours. President Volodymyr Zelensky initially called the incident an “emergency” and said causes were under investigation, later noting there was no evidence of external interference or cyberattacks. He said most data pointed to weather conditions freezing the lines and triggering automatic shutdowns.

The disruption rippled into neighboring Moldova, leaving much of the capital Chisinau temporarily without electricity before service was largely restored by mid‑afternoon, according to the Moldovan energy ministry. The International Atomic Energy Agency reported a brief outage at the Chernobyl nuclear site, but said there was “no direct impact on nuclear safety,” while warning the overall situation remained precarious after weeks of intense Russian strikes on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure. The Kremlin has said it was refraining from additional attacks on Kyiv until Sunday after an appeal from Trump.

Brookdale Targets Earnings Growth as Senior Housing Occupancy Rebounds

Brookdale Senior Living used its 2026 Investor Day to outline a multi‑year growth plan tied to recovering occupancy, tighter cost control and a sharpened operating model. The operator of senior communities guided 2026 adjusted EBITDA to between $502 million and $516 million, up from preliminary 2025 EBITDA of $458 million on “just over $3 billion” in revenue, and projected mid‑teen annualized EBITDA growth for its ongoing portfolio.

Chief Financial Officer Dawn Kussow said 2025 adjusted EBITDA rose 19% year over year and that Brookdale generated positive adjusted free cash flow for the first time since the pandemic, with both owned and leased portfolios contributing. RevPAR increased 5.7% in 2025 on a 230‑basis‑point gain in occupancy and a 2.7% rise in pricing. Same‑community occupancy ended 2025 at 83.5% for the fourth quarter, with spot occupancy at 84.5%, a level management expects to surpass in 2026.

Chief Executive Nick Stengle emphasized a “stabilized, consolidated” footprint of 517 communities targeted by mid‑2026 after lease exits and asset sales, and said Brookdale aims to cut balance‑sheet net leverage below 6x by end‑2028. He highlighted demographic tailwinds as the first wave of Baby Boomers turns 80, citing data that the US 80‑plus population is set to grow about 4% annually for 15 years while senior housing supply has expanded at only around 0.6%. Brookdale is reorganizing into six regions and investing in staffing, care programs and more comprehensive capital upgrades as it targets a return to historical occupancy highs of about 89% over time.