A Legal Standoff in the Lone Star State  —  Can Gov. Abbott compel their return or remove them from office?  And what the heck is a “quo warranto” action, anyway?  —  annabower.bsky.social  —  Meet The Authors … A bitter political and legal battle is unfolding in Texas.

Trump Directs Military to Target Foreign Drug Cartels … President Trump ordered the State Department to label drug cartels as terrorist organizations after taking office in January.Haiyun Jiang/The New York Times  —  President Trump has secretly signed a directive to the Pentagon …

US and Russia Plan Truce Deal to Cement Putin's Gains in Ukraine  —  Washington and Moscow are aiming to reach a deal to halt the war in Ukraine that would lock in Russia's occupation of territory seized during its military invasion, according to people familiar with the matter.

Crypto group claims responsibility for hurling sex toys at WNBA games … Cryptocurrency meme coin creators say they are responsible for the sex toys being thrown at multiple WNBA games, and they are planning more “pranks.”  —  From Atlanta to Los Angeles, no arena has been safe …

Trump doubles reward to $50 million for arrest of Venezuela's president to face US drug charges  —  The Trump administration is doubling to $50 million a reward for the arrest of Venezuela's President Nicolás Maduro, accusing him of being one of the world's largest narco-traffickers …

Federal court says Alabama must use map that creates 2nd Black majority district … Two of the judges, Anna Manasco and Terry Moorer, were appoint to their seats by President Donald Trump.  The third, Stanley Marcus, was appointed by President Bill Clinton.

ICE Barbie Lashes Out at ‘South Park’ After It Tore Her Apart  —  MELTDOWN  —  Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem made her criticism despite saying that she hasn't watched the show.  —  Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem lashed out at South Park's “lazy” and “petty” …

White House Did Have Secret Talks on Epstein Crisis  —  FLIP-FLOP-FLIP  —  Trump had forced JD Vance to deny that a meeting was taking place.  —  Turns out the Trump administration really did huddle behind closed doors to talk about the Jeffrey Epstein files, despite JD Vance's public denial.

American Nazis: The Aryan Freedom Network is riding high in Trump era  —  With Donald Trump's return to power, a neo-Nazi group buoyed by his rhetoric is expanding its reach and changing the face of white extremism in America.  Its leaders: a Texas couple, both born to Ku Klux Klan leaders.

The White House has a preferred alternative to PBS.  It may already be in countless classrooms.  —  The Corporation for Public Broadcasting announced last week that it would shut down after Congress voted to claw back over $500 million of federal funding from the organization.

Veterans' Care at Risk Under Trump as Hundreds of Doctors and Nurses Reject Working at VA Hospitals  —  ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power.  Sign up to receive our biggest stories as soon as they're published.  —  Veterans hospitals are struggling …

Improving Oversight of Federal Grantmaking  —  By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, and to improve the process of Federal grantmaking while ending offensive waste of tax dollars, it is hereby ordered:  —  Section 1.  Purpose.

‘He is completely upset’: Why Trump scrapped an India trade deal … Instead, Indian goods now face a 50 percent tariff after Trump hit the country with a 25 percent levy on its goods and then followed up with an additional 25 percent to dissuade it from buying Russian oil that was set to kick …

BREAKING: Air Force rescinds early retirement approvals for transgender service members kicked out by Trump  —  The U.S. Air Force has abruptly rescinded previously approved early retirements for transgender service members with 15 to 18 years of service, a change advocates …

Trump's Confederacy rises again  —  🗣️ Paid subscribers keep Public Notice free.  If you appreciate our fiercely independent coverage of American politics, please sign up and support us.  👇  —  🎯 Subscribe to PN 🎯  —  Last Friday, Donald Trump responded …

Kash Patel Is Cleaning House at the FBI, and It's Glorious  —  FBI Director Kash Patel is making the bold moves that the bureau desperately needed, cleaning house and rooting out the lingering partisan bad actors who have long compromised the agency's integrity.

Google says it's working on a fix for Gemini's self-loathing ‘I am a failure’ comments  — Google Gemini users said it's sharing some disturbing messages.  — One screenshot showed the chatbot saying, “I'm am a failure.”  — Google DeepMind's Logan Kilpatrick blamed an “annoying infinite looping bug.”

MAGA world swallows a difficult truth: Arresting Trump's opponents is easier said than done … It's a familiar refrain for Trump's second term: The far right lusts to see prominent Democrats or Trump adversaries hauled off in handcuffs, only to be let down when their revenge fantasies run into reality.

Satellite images show Israel building up forces for a possible ground invasion of Gaza, sources say  —  The buildup comes during a tense time for the U.S. and Israel after Trump and Netanyahu's last private phone conversation devolved into shouting over humanitarian aid.

Donald Trump hosts historic peace summit between Armenia and Azerbaijan  —  After almost four decades of bitter conflict, Baku and Yerevan might finally settle for peace in the region.  —  Donald Trump is hosting the leaders of Azerbaijan and Armenia in the White House on Friday …

DEMOCRACY FORWARD FOUNDATION v. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE (1:25-cv-02597)  —  District Court, District of Columbia  —  Add Note Get Alerts View on PACER  —  Citation: DEMOCRACY FORWARD FOUNDATION v. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, 1:25-cv-02597, (D.D.C.)  —  Cause: 05:552 Freedom of Information Act

How the Right Shaped the Debate Over the Sydney Sweeney Ads  —  Right-wing commentators suggested there was widespread criticism of Ms. Sweeney over her new ad campaign.  There wasn't, at least at first.  —  To hear Vice President JD Vance tell it, the Democratic Party has a serious Sydney Sweeney problem.

On Vaccines, Kennedy Has Broken Sharply With the Mainstream  —  While many officials and scientists embrace other parts of the secretary's agenda, his stance on vaccines is alienating allies who fear a public health crisis.  —  Even before Robert F. Kennedy Jr. took office in February …

Alan Dershowitz once again denied pierogi as Martha's Vineyard residents chant ‘time to go’  —  'I am very surprised that you're here because of the things that you've been saying about us and the business online,' the pierogi vendor told Alan Dershowitz on Wednesday.

Trump's attempts to distance himself from the Epstein files are failing  —  The president has tried to distract from the Epstein story - but his ill-conceived Mar-a-Lago tale has undermined him  —  One of Trump's preternatural abilities is his apparent animal instinct to lie on the spot whenever he senses he might be cornered.

E.P.A. to Stop Updating Popular Database After Lead Scientist Criticized Trump  —  The database, which helps companies calculate their greenhouse gas emissions, will continue under a consortium that includes Stanford University.  —  The Environmental Protection Agency said it would stop updating research …

US gold futures hit record high after Trump tariff blindsides global market  —  Unexpected levy from Trump administration could redraw trade in the metal, analysts and investors warn  —  US gold futures hit a record high on Friday after Donald Trump's administration blindsided …

Trump administration faces first lawsuit to force release of Epstein files  —  A democracy-focused legal nonprofit sued the Trump administration on Friday for not releasing Jeffrey Epstein-related documents and requested them in an expedited manner. … - Democracy Forward asked the court …

Gina Carano, Disney Settle Legal Dispute Over ‘Mandalorian’ Firing: ‘We Look Forward to Identifying Opportunities to Work Together in the Future’  —  Lucasfilm and the Walt Disney Company have reached a mutual agreement in their legal dispute with Gina Carano following her firing from “The Mandalorian.”

Trump is underwater on trade in 40 states  —  According to analysis of issue approval data in Strength In Numbers/Verasight polls  —  This week, Donald Trump put in place a fresh set of tariffs on imports from nearly 70 countries.  The new taxes range from 10 to 41%, and add to the tariffs …