US trade deficit surges to record high in March  —  The U.S. trade deficit widened to a record high in March as businesses boosted imports of goods ahead of tariffs, which dragged gross domestic product into negative terrain in the first quarter for the first time in three years.

Exclusive: Order by Hegseth to cancel Ukraine weapons caught White House off guard  —  NEW YORK/WASHINGTON - Roughly a week after Donald Trump started his second term as president, the U.S. military issued an order to three freight airlines operating out of Dover Air Force Base in Delaware …

Hegseth Orders 20 Percent Cut in Four-Star Officers  —  Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has already fired a raft of military leaders, many of them women and people of color, including the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.  —  Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered a 20-percent reduction …

Declassified Spy Memo Contradicts Trump on Venezuela Gang Ties  —  The release of the memo further undercuts the Trump administration's rationale for using the Alien Enemies Act to deport scores of Venezuelans to a prison in El Salvador.  —  A newly declassified memo released on Monday confirms …

Scoop: Senate Democrats to host Ezra Klein as retreat special guest  —  Senate Democrats have invited New York Times columnist Ezra Klein and Democratic data guru David Shor to talk to senators at their annual one-day issues retreat on Wednesday, sources tell Axios.

'It's been a tough period': NIH's new director speaks with Science  —  Jay Bhattacharya discusses staff morale, grant cuts, and “rumors”  —  When Jayanta “Jay” Bhattacharya took the helm of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) on 1 April, the agency was in turmoil.

Hegseth Used Multiple Signal Chats for Official Pentagon Business  —  In at least one message, he asked aides to tell foreign countries about a military operation  —  Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth used Signal more extensively for official Pentagon business than previously disclosed …

Judge Orders Elections Board to Certify Democrat's Victory in Contested N.C. Race  —  The federal ruling on Monday was the most significant legal victory yet for Justice Allison Riggs, the Democratic incumbent in a State Supreme Court race.  —  A federal judge on Monday ordered …

TeleMessage suspends services after hackers claim to have stolen files  —  The app was seemingly used by Mike Waltz in last week's Cabinet meeting, according to a photograph published by Reuters.  —  TeleMessage, the app that President Donald Trump's former national security adviser …

Merz fails to be elected chancellor by German parliament  —  Germany's parliament will hold a second vote on Tuesday on backing Friedrich Merz as chancellor after the veteran conservative failed to secure enough support in a first round, throwing politics in Europe's largest economy into disarray.

Ed Martin confirmation in doubt even after Trump weighs in … Late Monday night, Senate Judiciary Committee Republicans noticed an executive business meeting for Thursday that didn't include Martin's nomination.  Time is running out for Martin, who can only serve 120 days as the interim U.S. attorney …

Internal VA Emails Reveal How Trump Cuts Jeopardize Veterans' Care, Including To “Life-Saving Cancer Trials”  —  Earlier this year, doctors at Veterans Affairs hospitals in Pennsylvania sounded an alarm.  Sweeping cuts imposed by the Trump administration, they told higher-ups in an email …

Linda McMahon blasts Harvard in scathing letter telling elite university it will no longer get federal grants  —  McMahon says Harvard has ‘made a mockery’ of higher education in America  —  Secretary of Education Linda McMahon sent a scathing letter to Harvard University President Alan Garber on Monday …

Elon Musk's painful departure  —  The Tesla founder's much-heralded war on government waste has had uncertain results  —  Unlock the White House Watch newsletter for free  —  Your guide to what Trump's second term means for Washington, business and the world  —  What began with a chainsaw is ending in a whimper.

What do disengaged voters think about Trump now?  —  Trump's job approval rating is down 33 points among people who read or watch little to no news  —  In the 2024 election, Donald Trump gained a surprising edge from an unlikely group: Americans who typically don't vote.

Trump's Tariffs Are Threatening America's Apple Juice Supply Chain  —  Most of the apple juice Americans drink is imported, with a large share coming from China.  Experts say families should expect to start paying higher prices for the beloved beverage.  —  Few foods are more American than apple pie …

Justice Department investigating 2022 Abrego Garcia traffic stop: Sources  —  A federal inmate was questioned about possible connections, sources said.  —  Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran migrant in this handout image obtained by Reuters on April 9, 2025.  —  Abrego Garcia Family via Reuters

Trump announced Alcatraz reopening just hours after ‘Escape from Alcatraz’ aired on a South Florida PBS station  —  The 1979 film starring Clint Eastwood about the daring 1962 escape attempt aired on the local PBS channel just six hours before the president made his demand that the prison be reopened

RFK Jr.'s Measles Strategy Is Leading the US Down a Dark Path  —  The secretary of Health and Human Services is peddling misinformation and fake cures and steering public health off course.  —  Amid one of the most significant measles outbreaks in over 30 years, America's top public health official …

Trump's Justice Department Just Sided With Biden On Abortion Pill Case  —  The Trump administration essentially kicked the can down the road in the ongoing lawsuit over mifepristone.  —  President Donald Trump's Department of Justice sided with the Biden administration's defense of mifepristone …

Israel plans to occupy and flatten all of Gaza if no deal by Trump's trip  —  Israel has set President Trump's visit to the Middle East next week as a deadline for a new hostage and ceasefire deal, with a massive ground operation to commence if no deal is reached, Israeli officials say.

Millions of People Depend on the Great Lakes' Water Supply.  Trump Decimated the Lab Protecting It.  —  The Trump administration's slashing of budgets and staff have Great Lakes scientists concerned that they have lost the ability to protect the public from toxic algal blooms, which can kill animals and sicken people.

Canadian Prime Minister Carney arrives in Washington for a high-stakes meeting with President Trump  —  Canada's new prime minister, Mark Carney, won the job with a promise to confront the increased aggression shown by President Donald Trump — and he'll have the opportunity to do that in a face-to-face Oval Office meeting on Tuesday.

Trump critics launch new group to highlight rising costs  —  A bipartisan group of President Donald Trump's critics is launching a new organization, dubbed the Cost Coalition, to highlight Trump's struggle to control rising costs in the early months of his new presidency.

Trump's new nationalism  —  President Trump's grand economic vision relies on a simple tradeoff: that Americans will accept short-term personal sacrifice — higher prices, fewer options, slimmer profits — in service of long-term national strength.  —  Why it matters: Trump is breaking sharply …

Traders made $100mn from buying Melania Trump memecoin before launch  —  Small group of digital wallets bought up coins in the minutes before it was announced, FT analysis shows  —  Unlock the White House Watch newsletter for free  —  Your guide to what Trump's second term means for Washington, business and the world

Far-Right Thinker Curtis Yarvin Argues for Remaking of Harvard at Faculty Club Debate  —  The far-right thinker Curtis Yarvin joined University Professor Danielle Allen for a debate Monday evening, where Yarvin in turn derided Harvard as “an essentially oligarchic institution” …