How the US economy went from booming to a recession scare in only 20 days  —  New York CNN —  Just 20 days ago, the US stock market was sitting at all-time highs.  The US economy appeared to be growing at a solid pace.  And a recession was nowhere in sight.  —  Now, the R-word is seemingly everywhere.

Johnson's spending holdouts  —  Presented by IN TODAY'S EDITION:  — Johnson, White House hammer holdouts  — Thune taps a debt-limit whisperer  — More tax complications on GOP agenda  —  EAT LIKE A LAWMAKER — POLITICO Magazine is out this morning with a rundown of where Republicans …

What Really Happened With the DDoS Attacks That Took Down X  —  Elon Musk said a “massive cyberattack” disrupted X on Monday and pointed to “IP addresses originating in the Ukraine area” as the source of the attack.  Security experts say that's not how it works.

Trump raises Canadian steel, aluminum tariffs to 50% in retaliation for Ontario energy duties … President Donald Trump said Tuesday he has ordered his administration to raise tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum imports by an additional 25%, bringing the total duties to 50%.

The Abduction of Mahmoud Khalil  —  “..the first arrest of many to come.”  —  I believe it's appropriate now to refer to the present government of the United States not as an “administration” but as a “regime,” with all of that word's dark and ugly connotations.

Elon Musk's self-destruction  —  The cost for Donald Trump of keeping the world's richest man by his side is growing  —  When Elon Musk said he loved Donald Trump “as much as a straight man can love another”, the emetic effect was widespread.  Trump is one of the few people left in Washington DC who likes having Musk around.

Vance gives hard sell for spending patch to House Republicans  —  Vice President JD Vance told House Republicans hours ahead of an expected vote on a seven-month funding patch on Tuesday that Republicans will take the blame for a government shutdown if they don't pass the legislation …

White House says Trump won't cut Social Security, Medicare after Musk remarks  —  The White House on Tuesday asserted President Trump would not cut Social Security or Medicare after tech billionaire Elon Musk's comments about the need to examine entitlement spending gained traction.

His Daughter Was America's First Measles Death in a Decade  —  A visit with a family in mourning  —  Peter greeted me in the mostly empty gravel parking lot of a Mennonite church on the outskirts of Seminole, a small city in West Texas surrounded by cotton and peanut fields.

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) …

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 …

Elon Musk calls Sen. Mark Kelly a ‘traitor’ over his social media posts in support of Ukraine  —  Kelly, a former Navy combat pilot, responded to the tech billionaire's remark by saying “he's not a serious guy” and should “go back to building rockets.”  —  Elon Musk and Sen. Mark Kelly sparred …

Dems' own polling shows massive brand problem ahead of 2026  —  The poll's findings will be presented at the House Democratic Caucus Issues Conference on Wednesday.  —  The Democratic Party's brand is in rough shape in the congressional battlegrounds.  —  Nearly two months into the second Donald …

Washington Post Columnist Resigns After Paper Spiked Criticism of Jeff Bezos  —  Ruth Marcus, a longtime columnist at The Post, said its publisher refused to run her critique of the new focus for the paper's opinion section.  —  Ruth Marcus, a columnist and editor for The Washington Post's opinion section …

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 …

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.

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.

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 …

Luna uses rare maneuver to try to force vote on allowing proxy voting for new parents  —  Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) introduced a rare motion Monday seeking to force a vote on proxy voting after she struggled to balance the responsibilities of being a lawmaker and a new parent in the last legislative cycle.

A Tale of Two Bigots  —  The stories of Marko Elez, Mahmoud Khalil, and the Camp Auschwitz guy show what the right means when it talks about “free speech.”  —  Before we start: I'll be live on Substack with Noah Smith at 1:00 p.m. EDT to talk about tariffs, economic meltdown, and the future of Taiwan.

‘Unlawful’ suspension of USAID funding probably violated Constitution, judge says  —  The Trump administration probably violated separation of powers by withholding nearly $2 billion in Congress-approved foreign aid funds, a U.S. district judge ruled.  —  A U.S. district judge ruled Monday …