The Brief | Kamala Relaunches as "Headquarters_67"—Immediately Regrets It After Getting Roasted
Plus: Man who admired Luigi Mangione shows up armed at Trump official's home, TrumpRx offers Ozempic for $199, and the FBI thinks Savannah Guthrie's mom may have been taken to Mexico
It’s Friday!
Yesterday, I exposed myself as a stationary nerd on my IG stories. I shared these flag stickies, this highlighter, this pen, and these book darts. *affiliate links
Whenever I start reading a book I know is going to be full of goodies and quotes I want to revisit, these are my must-haves for highlighting and annotating my book. Also, if you are a reader and want to follow what I am reading, check out the homepage of It’s Meseidy on desktop, or visit my Goodreads page, which I just updated, for my running list.
We are heading to camp this weekend, so I have to pack.
In today’s Brief:
Kamala’s cringe comeback—Her relaunched social media operation picked the handle @headquarters_67 (a dead Gen Z meme), got mocked by CNN, and changed it within 24 hours
Armed man at OMB director’s home—Maryland resident who “feared fascist takeover” showed up at Russell Vought’s house with a gun, admired Luigi Mangione, and had “Body Disposal Guide” notes on his phone
Trump launches prescription drug website—TrumpRx.gov offers steep discounts on Ozempic and Wegovy, but you’re paying cash and it mainly helps the uninsured
Don Lemon’s helper turns himself in—Temple University senior Jerome Richardson charged for assisting with Minnesota church protest logistics
Nancy Guthrie kidnapping enters day five—Savannah Guthrie’s 84-year-old mother still missing, ransom note demands millions in Bitcoin, ex-FBI agent says she may have been taken to Mexico
DHS funding fight gets messy—Congress racing to fund Homeland Security before next week’s deadline while Democrats demand body cameras for ICE
Let’s get into the news!
Headquarters_67: When Your Rebrand Is DOA
Kamala Harris tried to relaunch her campaign social media machine this week, and it went about as well as you’d expect from someone who lost to Donald Trump by running a campaign that spent $1 billion dollars and ended $20 million in debt.
The former veep partnered with People For the American Way to rebrand her dormant KamalaHQ accounts—which still have millions of followers from her failed presidential run—into something called “Headquarters.” The goal? To “funnel young people into both online and offline action for progressive values.” Because if there’s one thing Gen Z is desperate for, it’s another lecture from the party that can’t figure out why men are buying Jordan Peterson books.
But here’s where it gets good.
The initial rollout featured the X handle Headquarters_67—a reference to the now-passé Gen Alpha and Gen Z trend of saying “6-7” for cool things. Yes, really. They named their progressive activism hub after a fleeting internet joke that was already stale six months ago. Even CNN called it “probably cringe” during a segment about the launch. When you’ve lost CNN on the cringe meter, you’re in serious trouble.
The mockery was so swift and brutal that by Friday morning, the account had quietly changed its handle to @headquarters68_, because nothing says “we’re with it” like frantically rebranding after 24 hours of getting roasted online.
Harris herself announced the project on Substack, describing the past year as difficult and promising that Headquarters would share “both the latest information” and “good news” from progressive leaders. The site features exactly one post and an accent color of—you guessed it—neon green. Because when you’re trying to rebuild credibility after a historic loss, what you really need is aggressive BRAT energy.
The operation will be run by the same team that handled Harris’s 2024 digital strategy, which... well, we saw how that turned out. Parker Butler, who led digital rapid response for the campaign, told MSNBC it “makes no sense for those accounts to just sit dormant.” That’s true. It makes far more sense to resurrect them as a perfect case study in how Democrats still haven’t figured out that chronically online activism and real-world political persuasion are not the same thing.
Harris will serve as “honorary chair emerita” but won’t have editorial control. Translation: she gets the association without the liability when this thing inevitably crashes and burns.
Here’s the thing—conservatives have been eating Democrats’ lunch online for years, not because they’re better at memes, but because they’re willing to meet people where they actually are instead of where they think they should be. Trump’s War Room account stayed active after the election. It didn’t rebrand. It didn’t try to chase trends. It just kept doing what worked.
Meanwhile, Headquarters launched with a handle that referenced outdated slang, was mocked by its own allies, and had to rebrand within a day. That’s not a political movement. That’s a focus group that never left the conference room.
Between the Lines is where I unpack how coverage gets framed, what’s skipped, and why certain details surface only after opinions are locked in.
Between the Lines | The “Secret Weapon” That Isn’t: How A Washington Post "Exclusive" Turned Routine Process Into Authoritarian Theater
Let me be clear from the jump: administrative subpoena authority has a troubled history. It deserves scrutiny. It deserves oversight. It also deserves serious journalism.
Maryland Man Arrested After Showing Up Armed at OMB Director’s Home
While we’re on the subject of political violence—because apparently that’s where we are now, a Maryland man is facing attempted murder charges after allegedly showing up at White House Budget Director Russell Vought’s home armed with a gun, wearing a surgical mask and rubber gloves.
Colin Demarco, 26, was charged last month in connection with an August 10 incident. A witness reported seeing him on Vought’s Northern Virginia porch “concealing a firearm under his shirt” before approaching and asking about “the victim.” Surveillance footage captured the whole thing.
When U.S. Marshals questioned Demarco, he admitted to admiring Luigi Mangione—the accused killer of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson—and said Trump’s 2024 election victory was “the lowest point in his life.” He claimed he feared “impending war and a fascist takeover” and wanted to confront Vought about Project 2025, the conservative policy blueprint Vought co-authored at the Heritage Foundation.
Demarco denied carrying a gun or intending harm. But investigators found disturbing writings on his iCloud and Discord accounts, including messages like: “The more Trump does s–t like this, the more I wanna grab a gun and try to shoot him” and “I want to get a gun, head to DC and kill him.”
About Vought specifically, Demarco allegedly wrote: “I found this guy’s address … are you willing to put your livelihood on the line and seek out the guy’s home to Luigi him?”
His notes app contained memos titled “Dad’s Gun Stash” and “Body Disposal Guide.”
After Trump’s election, Demarco suffered a mental breakdown and was taken into custody after asking a police officer to run him over or shoot him. He told officers he “wanted to die due to Trump being elected as president” and had “created a manifesto” that would precede him killing people.
Let’s be clear: The left is radicalized. This isn’t happening in a basement watching ISIS videos, but once regular people marinating in apocalyptic political rhetoric decide to take matters into their own hands. When you tell someone repeatedly that democracy is ending, that fascism is here, that elected officials are existential threats, some percentage of people will believe you and act accordingly.
Demarco is being held without bond. His next court date is February 23. Meanwhile, Vought and his family are safe, thanks to home surveillance and quick-thinking neighbors.
This is the second high-profile threat against a Trump administration official this year. The rhetoric isn’t just overheated, it’s dangerous. And the people amplifying it need to ask themselves what they think is going to happen when you convince millions of Americans that their political opponents are literal Nazis.
IKYMI
Trump Launches TrumpRx.Gov—Here’s What It Actually Does
In less terrifying policy news, President Trump announced the launch of TrumpRx.gov this week, a direct-to-consumer drug website designed to help Americans access discounted prescription medications.
The site doesn’t sell drugs directly. Instead, it acts as a central hub pointing consumers to drugmakers offering discounts on their own platforms or providing coupons for pharmacy use. At launch, medications from five companies are featured: AstraZeneca, Eli Lilly, EMD Serono, Novo Nordisk, and Pfizer, all of which struck pricing deals with the Trump administration under his “most favored nation” policy linking U.S. drug prices to lower international rates.
Here’s what’s available right now:
Ozempic (diabetes): Starting at $199/month, down from ~$1,000
Wegovy (obesity injection): Starting at $199/month, down from ~$1,350
Wegovy pill: $149/month for starting doses
Zepbound (obesity injection): Starting at $299/month, down from $1,086
These are steep discounts from list prices. But there’s a catch: many of these drugs are already discounted through insurance, rebates, and pharmacy benefit managers. Experts say insured patients might not see significant additional savings compared to using their coverage, since the discounts are framed against retail list prices that almost nobody actually pays.
Juliette Cubanski of KFF noted that if patients can get a drug covered by insurance at an affordable copay, “there’s not a great upside to using the TrumpRx website.” Plus, cash-pay purchases don’t count toward deductibles or out-of-pocket maximums.
The real beneficiaries? People without insurance, or those whose plans don’t cover certain medications, particularly weight-loss drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy, which Medicare only recently agreed to cover, and many employers still won’t touch.
Is TrumpRx a revolutionary fix for America’s prescription drug pricing disaster? No. U.S. drug prices are still two to ten times higher than those in other developed nations, and this doesn’t change the underlying structural problems with pharmacy benefit managers, insurance middlemen, and the entire Byzantine system.
But is it a step toward transparency and direct access for cash-paying patients? Yeah. And for people priced out of the medications they need because insurance won’t cover them, having a government-backed platform that points them to manufacturer discounts is better than the status quo.
The question is whether this model scales beyond GLP-1 blockbusters and fertility drugs. Right now, dozens of medications from companies like Amgen, Merck, and Gilead are expected to be added “in the coming months.” We’ll see if it actually happens.
Nancy Guthrie Kidnapping Enters Day Five—No Suspects, Ransom Note Sent to Media
The search for Nancy Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of “Today” show co-host Savannah Guthrie, entered its fifth day Thursday with no suspects identified and a chilling ransom note demanding millions in bitcoin.
Nancy disappeared from her Tucson home in the early hours of February 1. Authorities believe she was abducted against her will. The ransom note, sent to TMZ and two local TV stations, included insider details about the crime and specific demands, but no proof of life has been provided.
Former FBI Special Agent Tracy Walder told the Post she believes this was a targeted kidnapping, not a crime of opportunity. “Her house is set pretty far back … on almost an acre of land. This isn’t a place where the houses are really close together and people are looking for whatever’s an easy opportunity,” Walder said. “I think this is someone who probably established a pattern of life for Nancy.”
Walder also suggested authorities may be expanding the search toward the Mexican border, about an hour’s drive from Tucson. “The kidnapper had at least nine hours until she was reported missing. You can get really far in nine hours,” she noted.
Savannah Guthrie and her two siblings appeared in a video on Wednesday, pleading for proof that their mother is alive. So far, the ransom note writer has not responded or provided verification.
Local law enforcement has faced criticism for briefly releasing the crime scene earlier this week before returning on Wednesday, a move Walder called “incredibly frustrating.” However, former FBI agent Michael Harrigan believes the return indicates new information came to light, possibly from forensics or witness testimony, that required another search.
“I think law enforcement has a pretty good grasp on what happened at this point,” Harrigan said. “They’re just grinding through a lot of information here.”
The priority remains getting Nancy home safely. Until then, Savannah and her family are living every worst-case scenario while the investigation continues.
Quick Rundown
DHS funding battle intensifies: Congress is racing to fund the Department of Homeland Security before current funding expires next week, with Democrats demanding reforms to ICE enforcement including body cameras before they’ll vote for a bill.
U.S.-Russia nuclear arms treaty expires: The expiration of a major nuclear weapons treaty between the U.S. and Russia raises concerns about a new arms race, with the world’s two largest nuclear arsenals now operating without formal limits.
Measles spreads in South Carolina: One of the biggest measles outbreaks in decades is spreading further through South Carolina, prompting renewed vaccination pushes.
Ukraine-Russia peace talks held in UAE: Two days of peace talks in Abu Dhabi between Ukraine and Russia concluded with both sides calling the discussions “positive and constructive,” though no breakthroughs were reported. More talks are planned in the United States.
Job openings hit lowest point since 2020: U.S. job openings dropped to about 6.5 million in December, the fewest since late 2020, as hiring stays weak despite overall economic growth holding steady.
Let’s Talk
So here’s what I want to know: At what point do Democrats realize that chasing internet trends and slapping neon green on everything isn’t a political strategy? And when does the media acknowledge that apocalyptic political rhetoric has real-world consequences, like armed men showing up at officials’ homes?
I want to hear from you! Drop your thoughts in the comments.
The Brief publishes Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. No corporate overlords—just independent journalism you can actually trust. Share it with someone who needs the real story.
Ok I'm gonna put on my conspiracy theorist hat for a few minutes here... and please don't get me wrong, it's terrible about Savannah Guthrie's mother but we have missing people all the time. Has anyone read the connections to her husband and the Clintons? Apparently what I'm seeing says that was in the past, that he worked on their campaigns but weird in light that now with Epstein. Their MO is to get rid of people if you buy into the conspiracy, not kidnap, but maybe Savannah and her husband are too high profile? Now I'll remove my CT hat and return to my piles of laundry 😉