Elon Musk says he's “disappointed” by Trump's “big, beautiful bill” and what it means for DOGE  —  Elon Musk says he is “disappointed” by the price tag on the domestic policy bill passed by Republicans in the House last week and heavily backed by President Trump, the billionaire who recently stepped …

Putin Has Retooled Russia's Economy to Focus Only on War  —  Moscow expands military recruitment and boosts weapons production, and peace could jeopardize economic gains  —  Russia's successes on the front lines in Ukraine are a big reason why Vladimir Putin isn't yet ready to sign up to President Trump's peace efforts.

Trump's Fury at Harvard Gets More Deranged—and Exposes a Big MAGA Scam  —  President Donald Trump has mostly justified his lawless attempt to restrict international students from attending Harvard University by pretending it's designed to root out the antisemites, woke radicals …

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 …

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.

RFK Jr.'s War on Vaccines Is Here  —  Always another thing with these guys: … The administration may already be abusing the customs process to block entry to the country for conduct as innocuous as criticism of the president.  But we're sure this power won't be one they'll abuse.  Happy Wednesday.

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

Secret Service Officers Suspended After Fight Outside Obama Home  —  DISPUTE IN D.C.  —  One officer requested a supervisor before “I whoop this girl's a**.”  —  Two Secret Service officers have been suspended after being filmed fighting outside former President Barack Obama's home last week.

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 Makes Wild Claim Canada Is ‘Considering’ Becoming U.S. State  —  FOR A PRICE  —  The president said Canada had two options to join his proposed “Golden Dome” program.  —  President Donald Trump on Tuesday dropped a bombshell claim that Canada's government is “considering” …

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.

America Turns Its Back on the World  —  Blocking foreign students is an act of self-destruction — and self-betrayal  —  My wife and I are co-authors of a widely used textbook on the principles of economics, which is revised on a three-year cycle.  When a new edition comes out …

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 …

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 …

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.

Adoption is Good  —  Essayists are pack animals; journalists move in herds.  There's a reason that, for example, the mid-2000s saw the publication of a truly exhausting number of pieces that took the thesis “Selling out is good,” all of which were written as if to imply that their authors …

Trump's pardons highlight Justice Department's pullback from public corruption cases  —  Former Virginia sheriff Scott Jenkins claimed he was being targeted because of his support for Donald Trump.  —  WASHINGTON — The government's evidence against Scott Jenkins was compelling …

Reflections on travels  —  Our final, glorious days in London included a magnificent special exhibit at the Courtauld Gallery (which has its own stunning impressionist and post-impressionist collection); an enchanting day at the London Zoo (where we could walk into enclosures and stand within arms' reach …

4-year-old Bakersfield girl facing deportation could die within days of losing medical care  — In 2023, a Mexican girl with a life-threatening medical condition was allowed to enter the U.S. legally on humanitarian grounds.  — The Trump administration has now ordered the girl and her parents to leave the country.