Bill Gates accuses Elon Musk of ‘killing’ children with USAID cuts  —  Billionaire reopens feud with Tesla chief as he unveils plan to spend $200bn on philanthropy and close foundation in 2045  —  Unlock the White House Watch newsletter for free  —  Your guide to what Trump's second term means for Washington, business and the world

Will Trump Pretend to Fix What He Broke?  —  The Trump administration is planning to announce its first trade deal today, with Britain.  Except it won't be a deal; more of a “deal.”  Reportedly it will mainly be a “framework” for an actual deal that may or may not happen sometime in the future.

Trump administration eyes release of Hur interview blocked by Biden  —  Biden had asserted executive privilege to block House committees from obtaining the recordings.  —  The Trump administration is making plans to release the audio of former President Joe Biden's interview with Robert Hur …

Trump Taps a ‘MAHA’ Movement Leader for Surgeon General  —  Casey Means will work closely with RFK Jr. on health policy, president says  —  WASHINGTON—President Trump said he would nominate Dr. Casey Means, a California doctor and wellness influencer, to be the next surgeon general.

Democrats Cave, Prepare to Rubber-Stamp Trump Crypto Corruption  —  Pro-crypto senators are poised to pass a stablecoin bill, while failing to crack down on the Trump organization issuing one to collect payments from foreign governments.  —  Despite the twists and turns and drama-creation …

What Ed Martin told the Senate about Jan. 6 — and what he said before  —  Martin's responses to Senate committee are at odds with previous public comments.  His views on the Capitol breach may derail his nomination.

Sen. John Fetterman raises alarms with outburst at meeting with union officials, AP sources say  —  Democratic Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania was meeting last week with representatives from a teachers union in his home state when things quickly devolved.

West Point Is Supposed to Educate, Not Indoctrinate  —  It turned out to be easy to undermine West Point.  All it took was an executive order from President Trump and a memo from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth dictating what could and couldn't be taught in the military and its educational institutions.

From traffic stop to ICE custody: Dalton student now in limbo, family wants answers  —  DALTON, Ga. — After a traffic stop for turning right on a red light in Dalton on Monday, a 19-year-old Dalton State student is now facing possible deportation.  —  Friends say Ximena Arias-Cristobal …

No One Has Ever Defeated Autocracy From the Sidelines  —  How will Americans know when we have lost our democracy?  —  Authoritarianism is harder to recognize than it used to be.  Most 21st-century autocrats are elected.  Rather than violently suppress opposition like Castro or Pinochet …

Small-time Trump coin buyers have seen their investments collapse  —  Nearly 67,000 crypto novices have pulled out their debit cards to bet on Trump's meme coin venture, a Post analysis found.  So far it's been a monumental bust.  —  Rebecca Davis bought President Donald Trump's meme coin …

Chief Justice John Roberts defends independent judiciary as Trump officials criticize courts  —  Speaking in Buffalo, the Supreme Court justice said judges sometimes have to “check the excesses” of the president and Congress.  —  Chief Justice John Roberts on Wednesday stressed the importance …

Trump's Border Czar Secretly Deported Two U.S. Citizen Children  —  WITHOUT A TRACE  —  Two citizens, 5 and 4, simply vanished when their mother was lured to an immigration appointment, advocates say.  —  EXCLUSIVE  —  Denisse Parra Vargas and her husband, Omar, had just dropped their three children …

NOAA ends extreme weather database that has tracked cost of disasters since 1980  —  The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced Thursday its well-known “billion-dollar weather and climate disasters” database “will be retired,” a move that will make it next to impossible …

Toyota Says Tariffs Will Erase $1.3 Billion in Profits in Just 2 Months  —  The automaker's somber forecast for the fiscal year underscored how quickly fortunes have turned for many companies reckoning with President Trump's tariffs.  —  A year ago, the world's biggest automaker was on a tear.

Kamala Harris Didn't Lose to the Couch  —  Why did Kamala Harris lose last November?  Three answers have been prominently offered:  — Too many 2020 Biden voters stayed home,  — Too many 2020 Biden voters changed their minds, or  — New 2024-only voters broke heavily for Donald Trump.

Kennedy Announces New Database for Research Into ‘Root Causes’ of Autism  —  The director of the National Institutes of Health previously floated — then walked back — the idea of an autism registry, alarming researchers and parents.  —  After weeks of confusion about his plans for autism research …

‘Disturbing’: Trump admin tapping right-wing MAGA outlet OAN for taxpayer-funded news network  —  Voice of America will start airing content from the right wing-outlet One America News.  It marks a dire shift for the broadcaster, which was founded during the Cold War to counter Communist propaganda.

Trump's NIH Axed Research Grants Even After a Judge Blocked the Cuts, Internal Records Show  —  ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power.  Sign up to receive our biggest stories as soon as they're published.  —  For more than two months, the Trump administration …

Meet Trump's memecoin dinner guests  —  Citation Needed is an independent publication, entirely supported by readers like you.  Consider signing up for a pay-what-you-can subscription to support this kind of deep analysis and reporting.  —  Foreign investors have spent millions scrambling …

Judge Boasberg grills DOJ on Trump's comments about El Salvador deportations  —  “Was the president telling the truth?” the judge asked.  —  Public comments from President Donald Trump and his aides are once again scrambling the Justice Department's efforts to defend his administration's deportation policies in court.

Locals Fight Back After Naval Academy Removes Books in DEI Cull  —  After the pulling of 381 titles to comply with a Trump administration directive, many in Annapolis are rallying around the slogan 'Don't give up the book'  —  ANNAPOLIS, Md.— The U.S. Naval Academy's culling of hundreds …

Bernie Sanders partners with Run for Something to train candidates  —  The Vermont senator is adding organizational heft to his appeal for progressives to run for office.  —  Bernie Sanders, who has been calling for progressives to run for office on his “Fighting Oligarchy” tour …

Thousands of layoffs to hit Interior, National Parks imminently  —  The Interior Department is finalizing reduction-in-force plans expected to target thousands of employees, including 1,500 at the National Park Service, with notices going out to employees within 10 days.

House Republicans eye adding $60B farm bill package in Trump megabill  —  House Republicans are aiming to add $60 billion in farm bill programs to the agriculture portion of the GOP's megabill.  But they'll have to convince several centrist holdouts to vote for a controversial proposal …

Trump's Worst Idea Since Tariffs  —  The President is pitching a plan to outdo Democrats on drug price controls.  —  Loading...  President Trump and Republicans appear to be shrinking from reforming Medicaid, but that's not the worst of it.  To replace the spending slowdown they won't get in Medicaid …

Exclusive: Some ‘Les Mis’ cast members plan to boycott Trump's attendance at Kennedy Center performance next month  —  When President Donald Trump descends on the Kennedy Performing Arts Center next month for a high-dollar fundraiser and a performance of “Les Misérables,” …

West Virginia coal miners lose black lung screenings after Trump slashes worker safety agency NIOSH  —  Morgantown, West Virginia — In West Virginia's coal country, Marion Tennant says he was destined to work in the mines.  —  “That was the only thing in this area when I graduated high school,” Tennant said.

A ‘Trump Card Visa’ Is Already Showing Up in Immigration Forms  —  Donald Trump has proposed launching a “gold card” program offering US residency for $5 million.  Elon Musk's DOGE has begun rolling out the technology to enable it.  —  Elon Musk's so-called Department of Government Efficiency …

ICE efforts in DC thwarted by solidarity  —  The Handbasket is subscriber-funded.  If you want to support independent media during these dark times for democracy, become a paid subscriber today. … As soon as parents of students at Mundo Verde in Washington, DC heard the news that ICE planned …

Joseph Nye, celebrated US political scientist who coined ‘soft power,’ dies  —  The News  —  Joseph Nye, the US political scientist who coined the term “soft power,” died aged 88.  —  Nye served under former US President Bill Clinton as an assistant secretary of defense …