Trump's attack on Harvard hampered by his inability to STFU  —  🧑‍🎓 📖 👩‍🏫 With corporate outlets obeying in advance, supporting independent political media is more important right now than ever.  PN is possible thanks to paid subscribers.

Back at SpaceX, Musk says in interview DOGE became D.C.'s ‘whipping boy’  —  Musk made his comments at an inflection point for SpaceX amid a string of failures of its Starship spacecraft in recent test flights.  —  STARBASE, Tex. — Elon Musk, returning to SpaceX on Tuesday for a test flight …

RFK Jr. says he may bar scientists from publishing in top medical journals  —  Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. took aim at reputed journals such as the Lancet and said the agency will create “in-house” publications instead.  —  Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr …

Exclusive: Putin, for Ukraine peace, wants a pledge to halt NATO enlargement, sources say  —  President Vladimir Putin's conditions for ending the war in Ukraine include a demand that Western leaders pledge in writing to stop enlarging NATO eastwards and lift a chunk of sanctions on Russia …

Wall Street Investors Mock Trump With A Brutal 4-Letter Code Word  —  Some investors are betting against Trump — and they've developed a tasty term for the move.  —  Wall Street investors have cooked up a new term for betting against President Donald Trump ― and some have used …

SpaceX Starship Loses Control on Test Flight 9 as Rocket Re-enters Earth  —  Much was riding on Flight 9 for Elon Musk's giant moon and Mars rocket after debris from January and March flights fell into the Atlantic Ocean, disrupting air travel.  —  The latest flight of SpaceX's Starship …

GOP rejects ‘millionaire tax’ pitch, advancing breaks for rich Americans  —  Legislation moving through Congress includes breaks for the upper and middle classes as the House rebuffs President Donald Trump's suggestions.  —  Grover Norquist had about 15 minutes before boarding his flight to Poland this month when his phone rang.

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.

Judge Strikes Down Trump Order Targeting WilmerHale Law Firm  —  A judge struck down an executive order targeting WilmerHale, in the latest victory for the handful of firms that have fought back against a Trump administration crackdown.  —  President Trump's campaign of retribution …

Trump to pardon reality stars Todd and Julie Chrisley  —  The former stars of USA Network's “Chrisley Knows Best” were sentenced to 12 and seven years, respectively, in 2022 for fraud and tax evasion.  —  President Donald Trump will soon pardon a reality television couple found guilty …

Marshals' Data Shows Spike in Threats Against Federal Judges  —  Data gathered by the law enforcement agency responsible for judicial security showed 162 judges faced threats between March 1 and April 14.  —  Threats against federal judges have risen drastically since President Trump took office …

Scoop: Stephen Miller, Noem tell ICE to supercharge immigrant arrests  —  In a tense meeting last week, top Trump aide Stephen Miller and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem demanded that immigration agents seek to arrest 3,000 people a day, according to two sources familiar with the meeting.

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.

Trump Pledged to “Make America Healthy Again,” Then Cut a Program Many Tribes Rely on for Healthy Food  —  As he has promoted the Trump administration's “Make America Healthy Again” agenda, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the U.S. Health and Human Services secretary, has lamented the toll that processed foods …

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 …

North Korea Infiltrates U.S. Remote Jobs—With the Help of Everyday Americans  —  A LinkedIn message drew a former waitress in Minnesota into a type of intricate scam involving illegal paychecks and stolen data  —  Christina Chapman looked the part of an everyday American trying to make a name for herself in hustle culture.

Trump oversight picks include scandal-hit ex-lawmaker, antiabortion lawyer  —  Several nominees have clearly partisan backgrounds, including two with controversial histories and two with ties to the agency they would be investigating.  —  President Donald Trump's pick to investigate waste …

Reflections on travels  —  On the millions of people striving to (and succeeding at) keeping the achievements of Western Civilization from the clutches of fascism, xenophobia, know-nothingism, and conspiracy-mongering  —  Our final, glorious days in London included a magnificent special exhibit …

The two strongest points in NPR's lawsuit against the Trump administration  —  Does a president have the power to hobble media outlets based on his disagreement with their content?  Not according to the Constitution.  —  Donald Trump, as a private citizen, brought legal actions against traditional …

Playbook: The sound of silence  —  Presented by With help from Eli Okun and Bethany Irvine  —  Good Wednesday morning.  This is Jack Blanchard.  —  MARK YOUR CALENDARS: The Conversation with Dasha Burns arrives on Sunday, June 1 — and we're dropping a first look.