131. Five Questions About the Khalil Case  —  The government's arrest and detention of a pro-Palestinian Columbia student (and green card holder) raises difficult questions about both technical immigration statutes and the First Amendment.  —  Welcome back to “One First,” an (increasingly frequent) …

Billionaires at Trump's Swearing-In Have Since Lost $210 Billion … As Donald Trump took the oath of office on Jan. 20, he was flanked by some of the world's wealthiest people.  The billionaires present that day — including Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg — had never been richer …

Justice Dept. Official Says She Was Fired After Opposing Restoring Mel Gibson's Gun Rights  —  Elizabeth G. Oyer, the former pardon attorney, said that she was not told why she was dismissed, but that as events unfolded she feared they might lead to her firing.

Musk Melts Down as Tesla Stock Price Plunges  —  The electric vehicle company has become a toxic brand as its CEO wreaks havoc in Washington … But mixed in were a number of posts about Tesla, the electric vehicle manufacturer that still counts him as CEO despite his seemingly full …

Former President Rodrigo Duterte arrested in the Philippines on an ICC warrant over drug killings  —  Former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte was arrested Tuesday on a warrant from the International Criminal Court accusing him of crimes against humanity over deadly anti-drugs crackdowns …

USDA cancels $1B in local food purchasing for schools, food banks  —  States have been notified that they will not receive 2025 funding for schools to buy food from nearby farms.  —  The Agriculture Department has axed two programs that gave schools and food banks money to buy food …

Live updates House plans vote to avert government shutdown early in Trump's term  —  The Republican-led House plans to vote Tuesday on a stopgap measure to keep the federal government funded beyond Friday.  President Donald Trump has been intensely lobbying members of his party to pass the measure …

Musk eyes Social Security and benefit programs for cuts while claiming widespread fraud  —  Elon Musk pushed debunked theories about Social Security on Monday while describing federal benefit programs as rife with fraud, suggesting they will be a primary target in his crusade to reduce government spending.

Ukraine Targets Moscow With Large-Scale Drone Attack  —  The mayor of the Russian capital called the attack the war's largest against the city.  It appeared to be a reminder of Ukraine's power to strike as its president proposes an air truce.  —  Russian officials said Ukraine attacked Moscow …

Kennedy Links Measles Outbreak to Poor Diet and Health, Citing Fringe Theories  —  In a recent interview, the health secretary also suggested that the measles vaccine had harmed children in West Texas, center of an outbreak.  —  In a sweeping interview, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. …

Health Update  —  With a heavy heart, I have to tell you that after a long battle with cancer my husband Kevin Drum passed away on Friday, March 7, 2025.  —  No public memorial services are planned.  —  In lieu of flowers, please donate to the charity or political cause of your choice.

At SXSW, Bluesky CEO Jay Graber pokes fun at Mark Zuckerberg with Latin phrase T-shirt  —  When Bluesky CEO Jay Graber walked on stage at SXSW 2025 for her keynote discussion, she wore a large black T-shirt with her hair pulled back into a bun.  At first glance, it might appear …

Judge orders urgent release of DOGE records, citing ‘unprecedented’ power and ‘unusual secrecy’  —  It's the first significant ruling in a growing legal push to pierce DOGE's secretive veil, a decision that undercuts Musk's repeated insistence about the operation's transparency.

Pentagon abruptly ends all funding for social science research  —  More than 90 studies on threats such as climate change, extremism, and disinformation are halted  —  The U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) is ending all of its funding for social science research, stopping 91 ongoing studies related …

The Economic Excuse Industry is Booming  —  No, we don't need an economic “detox”  —  First, we got big promises.  Now we're getting lame excuses.  However, one thing has been consistent about Donald Trump's economic rhetoric: rank dishonesty.  —  Trump made a lot of extravagant economic …

How Eric Adams Has Backed a Secretive NYPD Unit Ridden With Abuses  —  After NYPD officials warned about a unit's aggressive policing, the mayor boosted the team led by his allies.  “The unit effectively reported directly to City Hall,” a former police official said.

Gottheimer, Who Pushed TikTok Ban, Invests in Microsoft as It Bids to Buy the App  —  Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.) helped to push a bill into law last year that forces TikTok's owner, the Chinese company ByteDance, to sell the app or be banned in the United States.

Pleas on X, Biden dirt, and attacks on the FBI: As Trump flexes his pardon powers, defendants angle for their get-out-of-jail free card  —  White-collars defendants are responding in droves as the president opens the door to more clemency.  —  President Donald Trump's moves to expand the use …

How Trump is reshaping reality by hiding data  —  Gather your data. Disappear the data you don't like. Replace with something else!  —  The Trump administration is deleting taxpayer-funded data — information that Americans use to make sense of the world.  In its absence, the president can paint the world as he pleases.

Firm Targeted by Trump Over Clinton Campaign Work Hires Top Litigators  —  President Trump stripped Perkins Coie of access to federal buildings and personnel, citing its work for Hillary Clinton's 2016 campaign.  The firm hired Williams & Connolly, which is skilled in fighting the government, to represent it.

Trump Goes on Truth Social Spree as Stock Market Freefalls  —  While investors watched in horror as the stock market plunged on Monday as a result of President Donald Trump's sprawling trade wars, he was busy reposting praise for his administration on Truth Social.The president posted …

Texas bill would make identifying as transgender a felony punishable by jail  —  The bill, while unlikely to pass, highlights the increasing extremism of legislation targeting trans people, especially in Texas, in recent years.  —  A Texas state bill could charge transgender people with …

Trump is running from his biggest health care success  —  Five years later, the Covid-19 pandemic has turned people against a cutting-edge medical technology. … Exactly five years ago today, after more than 118,000 cases and more than 4,200 deaths across 114 countries had been recorded …