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.

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 …

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 …

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 …

Federal judge orders NC to certify Riggs as winner in Supreme Court election  —  In a ruling that could put an end to nearly six months of legal battles over North Carolina's contested Supreme Court election, a federal judge on Monday ruled against the Republican candidate's effort to overturn his narrow loss.

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.

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.

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 …

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 …

Today in Politics, Bulletin 124. 5/5/25  —  ... A big sigh of relief for Sen. Jon Ossoff and Democrats generally as GA Gov. Brian Kemp announces that he will not run for Senate in 2026.  He was the only prospective Republican candidate who has consistently polled with a significant lead over Ossoff.

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.

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'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 …

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” …

Newsom Asks Trump to Work With Him on $7.5 Billion Tax Credit for Hollywood  —  The proposal for a federal program came after the president called for tariffs on movies filmed overseas, causing confusion and concern across the industry.  —  A day after President Trump stunned Hollywood …

Most Americans use federal science information on a weekly basis, a new poll finds  —  Most people in the United States rely on federal science in their daily lives but don't realize it, a new nationwide poll of U.S. adults shows.  —  The poll was conducted in early April by the Association …

House Democrats probe Trump DOJ's funding freeze to crime victim groups  —  Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee have launched a review of the Trump administration's freezing of funding to hundreds of organizations that provide services to crime victims and offer safety programs.

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.

Matt Walsh Defends White People Using The N-Word  —  On Monday, Daily Wire contributor Matt Walsh used his show to defend Shiloh Hendrix, a racist woman accused of calling a Black child the N-word.  After lauding the people who contributed to her online fundraiser, Walsh complained that it's …

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

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 …

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 …