Playbook: The King and I  —  With help from Eli Okun, Bethany Irvine and Ali Bianco  —  Good Wednesday morning.  This is Jack Blanchard.  Get in touch.  —  In today's Playbook ...  — Trump hangs with the royals; but America is still absorbed by the death of Charlie Kirk.

Pam Bondi's ‘hate speech’ comments lead even some conservatives to cry foul  —  Within hours of Charlie Kirk's assassination last week, President Donald Trump signaled a rather curious crackdown.  —  “My administration will find each and every one of those who contributed to this atrocity …

Bessent, Like Fed Governor, Made Contradictory Mortgage Pledges  —  US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent once agreed to occupy two different houses as his “principal residence” at the same time, mortgage documents show — the same kind of contradictory pledges that President Donald Trump …

Stephen Miller's Quota Likely Drove Korean Arrests In Immigration Raid  —  When ICE agents decided to arrest over 300 Korean workers at a Georgia battery plant, a White House-imposed daily immigrant arrest quota was likely on their minds.  The Immigration and Customs Enforcement raid …

Election to fill assassinated Minnesota House member's seat will decide control of the chamber  —  Democrat Xp Lee won a special election Tuesday to fill the Minnesota House seat of a top Democratic leader who was assassinated, restoring a 67-67 tie and preserving a power-sharing deal that has forced both parties to work together.

DOJ Deletes Study Showing Domestic Terrorists Are Most Often Right Wing  —  The Department of Justice has removed a study showing that white supremacist and far-right violence “continues to outpace all other types of terrorism and domestic violent extremism” in the United States.

Former GOP officials fear US strikes on alleged drug smugglers aren't legal … Yoo, now a professor at the University of California Berkeley, authored the Bush administration's legal justification for enhanced interrogation techniques against suspected al Qaeda terrorists in the early years of Bush's war on terror.

Business Insider and the Bots … On Thursday afternoon, Business Insider staffers received a long-awaited memo from editor in chief Jamie Heller, outlining the Axel Springer-owned outlet's rules for using artificial intelligence.  The guidelines had been eagerly anticipated since earlier this summer …

Prosecutors to seek death penalty for Charlie Kirk's accused assassin  — Suspect Tyler Robinson appears in court by video from jail  — Prosecutors allege Robinson privately confessed in text messages  — Killing raises fears of further political violence

G.O.P. Again Cedes Power on Tariffs to Avoid Crossing Trump  —  House Republicans extended a maneuver they engineered earlier in the year that effectively strips Congress of the power to disapprove of President Trump's tariffs.  —  The Republican-led House moved anew on Tuesday …

U.S. Investors, Trump Close In on TikTok Deal With China  —  Oracle, Silver Lake and Andreessen Horowitz are part of consortium that would control 80% stake  —  TikTok's U.S. business would be controlled by an investor consortium including Oracle , Silver Lake and Andreessen Horowitz under …

Foreign disinformation about Charlie Kirk's killing seeks to widen US divisions  —  Russia moved to amplify online conspiracy theories about Charlie Kirk's killing just hours after it happened, seeding social media with the frightening claim that America is slipping into civil war.

'We're shutting this thing down': Minneapolis starts clearing homeless encampment hosted by landlord after 7 shot  —  Minneapolis starts clearing homeless encampment hosted by landlord after 7 shot  —  City officials have started clearing a south Minneapolis homeless encampment the morning …

Charlie Kirk, Redeemed: A Political Class Finds Its Lost Cause  —  By ignoring the rhetoric and actions of the Turning Point USA founder, pundits and politicians are sanitizing his legacy.  —  Before he was killed last week, Charlie Kirk left a helpful compendium of words …

RFK Jr.'s Crusade Against Vaccines Hits Its Action Phase  —  His anti-vax-stacked advisory committee is expected to revise rules for life-saving hepatitis B vax.  —  ∙ Paid  —  HEPATITIS B IS A HIGHLY TRANSMISSIBLE, blood-borne disease that's been called a “silent killer” …

After Kirk's Death, Some Conservatives Blame Higher Ed for Political Violence  —  The president and his allies are accusing the “radical left” of “terrorism,” blaming unnamed organizations.  Some conservatives are condemning universities.  —  In a Sunday interview on Meet the Press …

Barnard President: Now Is the Time for Colleges to Host Difficult Speakers  —  Charlie Kirk was assassinated while speaking on a college campus.  This is a grim moment for higher education, for our country and for freedom of speech.  Violence is never a legitimate means of disagreeing with a speaker on a college campus.

Lucky Loser: How Donald Trump Squandered His Father's Fortune and Created the Illusion of Success  —  An Instant New York Times Bestseller  • A Washington Post Notable Book  • A Financial Times Best Business Book of the Year  —  “A first-rate financial thriller …

Exclusive: Leaked Messages from Charlie Kirk Assassin  —  “Hey guys, I have bad news for you all ... it was me at UVU yesterday.”  Thus Tyler Robinson messaged his friends on Discord, seemingly apologizing for murdering Charlie Kirk.  “I'm sorry for all of this.”

Fired BLS Chief Breaks Silence, Calls Her Dismissal a ‘Dangerous Step’  —  In first public remarks since Trump removed her, Erika McEntarfer says she wanted to modernize federal statistics but the agency got caught in DOGE's crosshairs  —  ANNANDALE-ON-HUDSON, N.Y.—In her first public …

Andrew Cuomo's pivot on Israel marks a victory for Zohran Mamdani  —  Mamdani has turned the conventional wisdom on Israel policy on its head.  —  In the liberal press, the long-running conventional wisdom about state Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani's bid for mayor of New York has been that his refusal …

Fani Willis Loses Bid to Continue Prosecuting Georgia Trump Case  —  The 4-3 ruling means that the criminal case against President Trump, related to his efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss, will not move forward anytime soon, if ever.  —  The Georgia Supreme Court on Tuesday dealt another blow …

Joel Willett says having his security clearance revoked gave added incentive for run for the Senate  —  Joel Willett, a military veteran and former CIA officer, launched his Democratic campaign for the U.S. Senate from Kentucky on Wednesday, saying the recent fallout from having …

Musk's X can sue watchdog Media Matters in Texas, US judge rules  —  Billionaire Elon Musk's social media company X can keep its lawsuit against nonprofit advocacy group Media Matters in federal court in Texas, a U.S. judge ruled on Tuesday, rejecting arguments that the venue was improper and the case should be moved to California.

House Republicans threaten to cancel anyone who disparages Charlie Kirk  —  Two Republicans introduced resolutions seeking to punish Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minnesota) for commenting on Kirk's death and resharing a social media post that harshly criticized him.  —  Republicans in Congress …

Trump's stalled U.N. ambassador nominee may not be confirmed in time for key summit  —  Former national security adviser Mike Waltz has expressed concern about how long the process is taking, according to a person familiar with his thinking.  —  President Donald Trump still does …

Justice Department says it's suing Oregon and Maine as it seeks voter data in multiple states  —  The Justice Department said Tuesday that it has sued Oregon and Maine for failing to turn over their voter registration lists, marking the first lawsuits the department has brought against states …