Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese wins a second 3-year term  —  Anthony Albanese claimed victory as the first Australian prime minister to clinch a second consecutive three-year term in 21 years on Saturday and suggested his government had increased its majority in the next Parliament …

Inside Waltz's ouster: Before Signalgate, talks with Israel angered Trump  —  The fired national security adviser engaged in intense coordination with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about military options against Iran ahead of an Oval Office meeting between the Israeli leader and Trump, two people said.

Maine settles lawsuit against USDA over $3 million in school funds  —  The Department of Agriculture agreed it will not interfere with Maine school funding based on alleged Title IX violations without following the proper procedure, according to a settlement announced Friday.

Former Weather Service Leaders Warn Staffing Cuts Could Lead to ‘Loss of Life’  —  The former agency directors say current employees will face an “impossible task” to maintain service just as hurricane season begins.  —  Five former National Weather Service directors have taken the unusual step …

Trump plans major downsizing at U.S. spy agencies  —  The CIA plans to cut 1,200 positions, along with thousands more from other parts of the U.S. intelligence community.  —  The Trump administration is planning significant personnel cuts at the Central Intelligence Agency and other major U.S. spy units …

Harvard President Says Any Move to Revoke Tax-Exempt Status Would Be ‘Highly Illegal’  —  Alan Garber was responding to Trump's latest threat to remove the university's tax-exempt status  —  Harvard University President Alan Garber fought back against President Trump's renewed threat to revoke …

Airliners abort landings as Army helicopter makes ‘scenic’ loop around Pentagon  —  The incident occurred a week after the Army unit involved in the deadly Jan. 29 crash said it was resuming flights.  —  Two airliners abandoned landing attempts at Washington's Reagan National Airport …

How Trump Accidentally Sabotaged His Own Case Against Abrego Garcia  —  He has now said it right out in the open—not once but twice.  In two major interviews, President Donald Trump openly declared that he has the power to bring the wrongfully deported Kilmar Abrego Garcia back to the United States.

I Teach Computer Science, and That Is All  —  On Oct. 8, 2023, I was on the steps of Harvard's Widener Library, taking part in a vigil for the victims of Hamas's terrorist attack.  I'm an Israeli American tenured professor, and I felt it was my duty to stand up for Jewish and Israeli students.

Judge strikes down Trump executive order punishing prominent law firm  —  The judge said Trump's executive order sanctioning Perkins Coie was “motivated by retaliation” and is unconstitutional.  —  President Donald Trump's executive order that sought to punish the law firm Perkins Coie …

Kennedy Orders Search for New Measles Treatments Instead of Urging Vaccination  —  Decades of research have turned up no miracle treatment for measles, but studies show the M.M.R. shot is 97 percent effective in preventing the disease.  —  With the United States facing its largest single measles outbreak …

‘Do I Look Like I Care?’:  AOC Shreds Trump's Border Czar In Blunt Free Speech Reminder  —  The congresswoman slammed Tom Homan after he claimed she could be in “trouble” over her “know your rights” advice.  —  Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) tore apart White House border czar Tom Homan …

Texas goes after toothpaste in escalating fight over fluoride … Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is investigating two leading toothpaste makers over their use of fluoride, suggesting that they are “illegally marketing” the teeth cleaners to parents and kids “in ways that are misleading, deceptive, and dangerous.”

Car Prices Expected to Rise as Tariffs on Parts Kick In  —  Tariffs on imported parts will have a broad impact because all vehicles use components made abroad.  —  The United States imposed 25 percent tariffs on imported auto parts on Saturday that could sharply raise prices for new and used vehicles …

Budgets as Propaganda  —  If you are wonky enough to be reading this blog, you have probably heard the expression, “a budget is a moral document”.  Budgets are not just pages of numbers, they are also statements of values.  It is one of those insights, once learned, that seems indisputable and never to be forgotten.

Universities Deserve Special Standing … the nation's leading universities are locked in an unprecedented battle with a president and an administration that have chosen to withhold billions of dollars in vital federal research funding in order to take control of institutions for which freedom …

‘The truckers are scrambling’: Trump's tariffs hit drivers, L.A. port workers hard  —  Amid a wave of unprecedented tariffs, anxiety is running high for truck drivers like Helen, who makes her living delivering cargo containers from the Los Angeles and Long Beach harbors to warehouses and other customers around Southern California.

Voice of America staff can resume reporting next week, DOJ says  —  An email from the Justice Department said VOA staff can begin a “phased return” to the office and programming.  The broadcaster has been shut down since March.

White House posts AI image of Trump as pope  —  The White House on Saturday posted an AI-generated image of U.S. President Donald Trump depicted as the leader of the Catholic Church, a couple of days after he jokingly said “I'd like to be pope.”  —  The picture, which was first posted …

Trump administration asks Supreme Court to let DOGE access Social Security systems  —  The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court on Friday to clear the way for Elon Musk 's Department of Government Efficiency to access Social Security systems containing personal data on millions of Americans.

May 2, 2025  —  Yesterday I identified incorrectly the messaging app newly fired national security advisor Michael Waltz was using at a Cabinet meeting on Wednesday as the unsecure Signal app.  Joseph Cox of 404 Media identified the app as “an obscure and unofficial version of Signal” from …

Trump Seeks to Eliminate the National Endowment for the Arts  —  The president's budget proposal also called for getting rid of the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Institute of Museum and Library Sciences.  —  President Trump proposed eliminating the National Endowment …

I Never Lost Hope in the Principles of Democracy  —  On April 14, 2025, I was detained during what should have been my citizenship naturalization interview.  After more than two weeks of unjust imprisonment, a federal judge ruled in favor of releasing me.  In a major victory for democracy …

Federal Employees Are Now Less Likely to Work from Home Than Private Sector Workers  —  So far, we haven't seen much tangible impact from the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) in the hard economic data.  Their claimed savings haven't materialized in federal spending figures …

United Airlines Cancels Newark Flights After FAA Staff Walks Out  —  The decision came after 20% of the FAA controllers at Newark walked off the job, CEO Scott Kirby said  —  United Airlines is cancelling 35 daily round trip flights from Newark, N.J., starting this weekend after a group of air-traffic controllers walked off the job.

Trump downplays recession fears, saying the U.S. would be ‘OK’ in the long term  —  Speaking to NBC News' “Meet the Press,” Trump said the U.S. is in a “transition period” but will “do fantastically” in the long run.  —  President Donald Trump on Friday downplayed concerns about potential economic trouble …

Trump family's net worth has increased by $2.9 billion thanks to crypto investments, new report says  —  President Trump's venture into crypto products has increased his family's wealth by billions in the last six months, according to a new report, as his administration continues to loosen …

Starmer Plots Harder Line on Migration to Counter Farage Threat  —  Prime Minister Keir Starmer is preparing tougher measures on immigration to stem a record flow of arrivals across the English Channel and stave off the threat posed by Nigel Farage's Reform UK party after it made sweeping gains in this week's local elections.

A massive tariff on millions of Americans' purchases just went into effect — cue the chaos  —  New York CNN —  Many Americans might not have felt major effects from President Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs — until now.  —  That's because a major shipping loophole expired at one minute past midnight on Friday.