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 …

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 …

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 …

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.

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 …

NPR and Colorado public radio stations sue Trump White House  —  NPR and three Colorado public radio stations filed suit Tuesday morning in federal court against the Trump White House over the president's executive order purportedly barring the use of Congressionally appropriated funds for NPR and PBS.

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 …

GOP declares war on GAO  —  Republicans are undermining the Government Accountability Office, the century-old agency that roots out waste, fraud and abuse.  —  The independent Government Accountability Office has served Congress as the nation's chief investigator of wrongdoing at federal agencies for more than a century.

Kennedy says COVID vaccines no longer recommended for healthy children and pregnant women  —  U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Tuesday announced that COVID-19 vaccines are no longer recommended for healthy children and pregnant women.  In a 58-second video posted on the social media site X …

A Letter to Europe  —  On Friday Donald Trump, claiming that he was unhappy with European negotiating tactics, announced his intention to impose 50 percent tariffs on goods imported from the European Union.  A rate that high would virtually shut down trans-Atlantic trade.

Another Indefensible Trump Pardon  —  Not even Donald Trump's own White House staff can keep track of what his tariff policies are.  After weeks of White House messaging that a 10 percent global tariff would remain the floor for all countries going forward, Trump's economic adviser Kevin Hassett told CNBC …

ICE Taps into Nationwide AI-Enabled Camera Network, Data Shows  —  Data from a license plate-scanning tool that is primarily marketed as a surveillance solution for small towns to combat crimes like car jackings or finding missing people is being used by ICE, according to data reviewed by 404 Media.

Trump is ‘remarkably like’ 1930s far-right regimes, billionaire investor warns  —  Ray Dalio writes in book president wants to ‘dictate’ Maga policies and calls his skirting of democratic norms more ‘aggressive’ than Andrew Jackson and FDR  —  Donald Trump wants to “dictate” …

Obama world loses its shine in a changing, hurting Democratic Party  —  Obama White House and campaign alumni have been setting the course of the Democratic Party for years.  After 2024, more Democrats want to see that change.  —  After Kamala Harris entered the presidential race last year …

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.

Supreme Court rejects student's challenge to ‘two genders’ T-shirt ban  —  A middle school student in Massachusetts was told he could not wear the T-shirt based on the school's dress code, which forbids hate speech.  —  WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Tuesday declined to hear …

The New Dark Age … The warlords who sacked rome did not intend to doom Western Europe to centuries of ignorance.  It was not a foreseeable consequence of their actions.  The same cannot be said of the sweeping attack on human knowledge and progress that the Trump administration is now undertaking …

A Vermont Startup Was Close to Becoming Profitable.  Then the Tariffs Hit.  —  A small Vermont business that sells water bottles used by cyclists and others is struggling to adapt to President Trump's tariffs even after they were temporarily lowered.  —  When President Trump temporarily reduced tariffs …

JD Vance and the Honky Tonk Man  —  Heads up: This week I'm traveling for our Bulwark live shows in Chicago and Nashville, so the newsletter may be irregular, both in content and scheduling.  —  Today we're going to talk about why JD Vance is going to fail in his quest to inherit MAGA from Donald Trump.

Texas Lawmakers Require the Ten Commandments in Every Classroom  —  Texas lawmakers voted to require public schools to display the Ten Commandments in every classroom, advancing a conservative priority before the end of the state legislature's session next week.

MAGA Erupts Over ‘60 Minutes’ Correspondent's Viral Warnings About Trump  —  SOMETHING HE SAID?  —  Scott Pelley decried how journalism and freedom of speech are now “under attack” in the U.S.  —  The MAGA faithful lashed out at Scott Pelley after the veteran CBS reporter delivered …