Thune warns Democrats about Russ Vought: 'We don't control what he's going to do'  —  Senate Majority Leader John Thune isn't endorsing the slash-and-burn campaign White House budget director Russ Vought has planned for the federal government during the pending shutdown.

Massive immigration raid on Chicago apartment building leaves residents reeling: ‘I feel defeated’  —  Dan Jones was jolted awake around 1 a.m. Tuesday to the sound of federal agents trying to break through his apartment door.  They couldn't get past his double lock, so he went back to bed.

White House Asks Colleges to Sign Sweeping Agreement to Get Funding Advantage  —  An initial round of nine schools is being asked to sign a wide-ranging accord  —  The Trump administration is laying out a set of operating principles that it wants universities to agree to in exchange for preferential access to federal funds.

Trump Quietly Grants Defense Guarantee To Autocracy That Gave Him A Luxury Jet  —  Maybe Ukraine should have just given him a gold-plated 747.  —  WASHINGTON - Just months after soliciting and receiving a $400 million luxury airliner for himself from Qatar, President Donald Trump …

EXCLUSIVE: NARA Ousts Eisenhower Library Director Over Proposed Trump Gift to King Charles  —  James Byron, Special Assistant to Acting Archivist Marco Rubio at the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration, this week forced Dr. Todd Arrington, director of the federal Dwight D. Eisenhower …

Jane Fonda relaunches McCarthy-era committee to defend free speech  —  The actor said the Committee for the First Amendment — first backed by her father in 1947 — would fight the Trump administration's attempts to silence critics.  —  Actor and activist Jane Fonda has relaunched the Committee …

Judge denies Kilmar Ábrego García's bid for asylum in the US  —  Ábrego, who was deported to El Salvador in March before being returned to the US, has 30 days to appeal ruling  —  An immigration judge in Baltimore has denied Kilmar Ábrego García's bid …

Israel Intercepts Boats Headed to Gaza With Humanitarian Aid  —  The boats were part of a flotilla, carrying Greta Thunberg and other activists, that was organized to break Israel's blockade and protest the war.  —  Israel intercepted more than a dozen boats with activists from around …

Trust in Media at New Low of 28% in U.S.  —  Republicans' confidence in mass media to report news “fully, accurately and fairly” now at 8%  —  WASHINGTON, D.C. — Americans' confidence in the mass media has edged down to a new low, with just 28% expressing a “great deal” or “fair amount” …

Kash Patel cuts FBI ties with Anti-Defamation League  —  FBI Director Kash Patel ended the bureau's long-standing partnership with the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), the prominent civil rights group that has worked with law enforcement to combat antisemitism and extremism.

Axios Vibes: Grocery price pain rises, in warning sign for Trump and GOP  —  Americans say it's harder to afford their groceries now than it was a year ago, a warning sign for President Trump and Republicans, in the latest Axios Vibes survey by The Harris Poll.

Bonus 180: “Domestic Terrorism” and NSPM-7  —  The Trump administration is hoping no one notices that, although federal law *defines* “domestic terrorism,” it provides no special authorities against anyone whose behavior *meets* that definition.  —  ∙ Paid  —  Welcome back to the weekly bonus content for “One First.”

Two dead in Manchester synagogue attack, with suspect also believed to have been killed - police  —  Summary  — Two people have died after a car and stabbing attack at a synagogue in Manchester - here's a timeline of how the attack unfolded  — A third person - thought to be the suspect …

Political Triumphalism Is Contrary to the Spirit of Yom Kippur  —  I can only imagine the scene that day in March of 1863 when Peter wandered into a Union army camp in Mississippi.  Ten days earlier, he had escaped from slavery, along with three others, still bloodied from a recent brutal whipping.

Pope Leo condemns climate change critics  —  Pope Leo XIV has hit out at those who minimise the “increasingly evident” impact of rising temperatures in his first major statement on climate change.  —  Reiterating the words of his predecessor Pope Francis, the new pontiff lambasted critics who …

‘NATO for nonprofits’: Groups organize to band together if targeted by Trump  —  Nonprofit organizations took lessons away from law firms and universities that largely decided to act in isolation after finding themselves in the administration's crosshairs.  —  WASHINGTON — Nonprofit groups …

Google joins presidential bribe club  —  PN is supported by paid subscribers.  Become one ⬇️  —  🧠 Subscribe to PN 🧠  —  On Monday, Google paid a $24.5 million bribe to President Trump.  —  The bag of cash was euphemistically described as a “legal settlement …

Corey Lewandowski Drops Menacing ICE Threat Over Bad Bunny's Super Bowl Show  —  The Department of Homeland Security adviser also joined in with MAGA outrage over the Puerto Rican superstar's halftime gig.  —  Department of Homeland Security adviser Corey Lewandowski on Wednesday fumed …

Elon Musk's SpaceX Took Money Directly From Chinese Investors, Company Insider Testifies  —  The newly unsealed testimony marks the first time direct Chinese investment in the company has been disclosed, raising new questions about foreign ownership interests in one of America's most important military contractors.

Judge William Young's ruling against Rubio and Noem is a lesson for all in the Trump era  —  U.S. District Judge William Young ruled on Tuesday that Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, and their respective departments had violated the First Amendment and federal law by …

Europe's Emerging Plan: Give Ukraine $200 Billion in Russian Money  —  The loan—which likely wouldn't be paid back—represents a creative way to tap Moscow's frozen assets without legally confiscating them  —  COPENHAGEN—The European Union struggles to make quick decisions and wield its political weight.

An Autocracy of Dunces  —  How stone-faced generals, Wall Street pushback, and a government shutdown may save America's quickly declining democracy  —  If America still had a fully functioning democracy, Donald Trump's speech Tuesday to the assembled generals would have ended his presidency.