Trump team pauses new student visa interviews as it weighs expanding social media vetting  —  It's the latest salvo against universities, many of whom rely heavily on foreign students for funds.  —  The Trump administration is weighing requiring all foreign students applying to study …

Trump Pardoned Tax Cheat After Mother Attended $1 Million Dinner  —  Paul Walczak's pardon application cited his mother's support for the president, including raising millions of dollars and a connection to a plot to publicize a Biden family diary.  —  As Paul Walczak awaited sentencing early this year …

White House stunned as Hegseth inquiry brings up illegal wiretap claims  —  Exclusive: Trump advisers lose confidence in Pentagon leak investigation Hegseth used to justify firing three top aides  —  The White House has lost confidence in a Pentagon leak investigation that Pete Hegseth used …

After struggling in the Senate, Alabama's Tommy Tuberville launches campaign for governor  —  If the senator makes it to the governor's office next year, it'll be a classic example of a politician failing up.  —  Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville's interest in Alabama's gubernatorial campaign has been anything but subtle.

Trade Crime Is Soaring, U.S. Firms Say, as Trump's Tariffs Incentivize Fraud  —  President Trump's steep global tariffs have supercharged efforts to evade them.  Some U.S. companies say the government is ill-equipped to keep up.  —  President Trump's steep global tariffs have supercharged efforts to evade them.

U.S. Will No Longer Recommend Covid Shots for Children and Pregnant Women  —  Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. upended decades of standard protocol in announcing that the vaccine would be dropped from the immunization schedule for healthy children.  —  The Covid vaccine will no longer …

There's a Very Simple Pattern to Elon Musk's Broken Promises  —  The entrepreneur's habit of overpromising on deadlines may be frustrating for investors—but for those looking to see whether a Musk pledge will come good, there's a key phrase to watch out for.

Judge Strikes Down Trump Order Targeting WilmerHale  —  The judge concluded that the firm was targeted over its association with Robert S. Mueller III, and that the order “must be struck down in its entirety.”  —  A federal judge on Tuesday ruled that President Trump's attempt to punish …

RFK Jr. threatens to bar government scientists from publishing in leading medical journals  —  The health secretary said the New England Journal of Medicine, the Journal of the American Medical Association, and The Lancet are in bed with pharma.  —  HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. threatened …

FEMA at ‘high risk’ of disrupting ‘life-saving’ disaster relief, per internal memo  —  If you want to support The Handbasket's 100% independent journalism, become a paid subscriber!  —  Video  —  Hurricane season in the United States kicks off this Sunday, June 1st, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is not prepared.

Hegseth's Safe Space  —  As backlash brewed over new restrictions on press access, the Pentagon made a second, quieter move—one that sent another troubling signal about how far it's willing to go to create a safe space for Pete Hegseth.  —  On Friday afternoon, just before the holiday weekend …

NPR and Katherine Maher, CEO of NPR Statement  —  This morning, NPR and Aspen Public Radio, Colorado Public Radio, and KSUT Public Radio filed a lawsuit challenging President Donald Trump's May 1, 2025, Executive Order seeking to cease all federal funding to NPR and PBS.

Putin is playing with fire, Trump says  —  U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that Russian President Vladimir Putin was “playing with fire.”  —  Trump's latest comments follow some of the biggest drone and missile attacks on Ukraine since Russia's full-scale war began in early 2022.

Trump Border Czar's Cash-In With Key ICE Contractor Unmasked  —  DETENTION DOLLARS  —  Tom Homan's ethics filing has fueled concerns that his private sector ties are influencing the administration's immigration crackdown.  —  President Donald Trump's border czar Tom Homan was cashing checks …

Trump Court Pick Once Called For Bringing Back Literacy Tests In Elections  —  Literacy tests were banned in the 1960s for being racially discriminatory, but such tests “are not a bad thing,” Josh Divine argued in a 2010 college opinion piece.  —  WASHINGTON — One of President Donald Trump's nominees …

Trump's 5-step push to keep GOP control of the House in '26  —  President Trump's team has launched an early and aggressive behind-the-scenes effort to maintain the GOP's tenuous grip on the House in 2026 — and avoid his third impeachment.  —  Why it matters: Trump allies believe …

ACOG Statement on HHS Recommendations Regarding the COVID Vaccine During Pregnancy  —  The following is a statement from Steven J. Fleischman, MD, FACOG, president of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG):  —  “ACOG is concerned about and extremely disappointed …

The ugly truth behind ICE agents' masks  —  Victoria Brownworth was one of those forces of nature you tend to find here in Philadelphia.  She was a pioneering LGBTQ journalist whose work in recent years appeared in the Philadelphia Gay News, the Inquirer Opinion section (here and here), and too many other outlets to count.

US government to have control in Nippon Steel-U.S. Steel deal, Trump and Sen. McCormick say  —  U.S. Sen. David McCormick said Tuesday that an arrangement that will allow Japan-based Nippon Steel to invest in U.S. Steel will guarantee an American CEO, a majority of board members from the United States …

Newsom backs rule change after Trump threatens to pull funding over transgender athlete  —  The decision to allow more athletes to compete in the state track and field championships came amid controversy over a transgender student's participation.  —  SACRAMENTO, California …

Tesla's Europe sales plunge 49% on brand damage, rising competition … European sales of Tesla vehicles plunged in April, as the U.S. electric car maker continues to face reputational damage regionally and rising competition.  —  Tesla sold 7,261 cars in Europe in April, down 49% year on year …

US, Argentina launching new ‘alternative’ to WHO  —  The top health authorities of the U.S. and Argentina are launching what they call an “alternative international health system” separate from the World Health Organization (WHO).  —  On the first day of his second term …

Read Elias Rodriguez's Leaked Chats  —  Accused killer of two Israeli Embassy aides ranted against many things — but not Jews  —  We do stories others won't touch; please make that work possible by becoming a paid subscriber (or gifting one)  —  Within minutes of the brutal gunning …

Military Parade Concerns Dissolve With a More Acquiescent Pentagon  —  There will be 28 Abrams tanks, 6,700 soldiers, 50 helicopters, 34 horses, two mules and a dog, according to the Army's plans for the June 14 event.  —  In President Trump's first term, the Pentagon opposed his desire …

11 injured after boat explodes near Fort Lauderdale: ‘Tossed people into the water’  —  (WFLA) - Eleven people were injured after a boat exploded in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., on Memorial Day, the US Coast Guard Southeast announced.  —  The incident occurred around 5:45 p.m. on Monday near the New River Triangle in Fort Lauderdale.

Judge approves Treasury DOGE team's access to sensitive data systems  —  The ruling found that the Trump administration had shown it set up a process to appropriately vet and train the employees.  —  A federal judge in New York on Tuesday cleared the way for the Treasury Department's entire DOGE team …

Ronnie Dugger, Crusading Texas Journalist, Dies at 95  —  As founding editor of The Texas Observer, he fought bigotry and exposed corporate greed, political chicanery and government corruption.  —  Ronnie Dugger, the crusading editor of a small but influential Texas journal who challenged presidents …