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.

Trump ‘Determined’ the U.S. Is Now in a War With Drug Cartels, Congress Is Told  —  A notice calls the people the U.S. military recently killed on suspicion of drug smuggling in the Caribbean Sea “unlawful combatants.”  —  President Trump has decided that the United States is engaged in a formal …

Education Department employees surprised to find their email automatically changed to blame Democrats for shutdown  —  Five furloughed employees told NBC News they had put up nonpartisan out-of-office messages, only to see they were changed — without their permission — to partisan ones.

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.

Trump administration cuts nearly $8B in clean energy projects in blue states  —  The Trump administration is cancelling $7.6 billion in grants that supported hundreds of clean energy projects in 16 states, all of which voted for Democrat Kamala Harris in last year's presidential election.

‘A Crazy Moment’: Shock and Terror Spreads in Manchester Synagogue's Community  —  Many Orthodox Jews who live in the area reacted with horror to an attack that killed two people and seriously injured three on Yom Kippur, Judaism's holiest day.  —  Observant Jews generally do not use …

Bari Weiss to lead CBS News as part of major Paramount Skydance shakeup: sources  —  Paramount Skydance is poised to name Bari Weiss as editor in chief of CBS News in the coming days — giving the hard-charging journalist unusual clout to revamp the struggling network as it also acquires …

Trump making plans to send billions in cash bailouts to farmers with taxpayer money … Trump officials are still working on estimates of how big the first tranche of aid will be, according to the three people, who were granted anonymity to share private details.

Trump embraces Project 2025 after disavowing it during 2024 campaign  —  President Trump referenced Project 2025 Thursday despite distancing himself from it during his 2024 campaign. … - Project 2025, never an official Trump platform, was built by some Trump allies and echoes moves from the early days of Trump's second presidency.

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 …

Your Cheat Sheet to the 2025 General Elections  —  Four contests have come to largely define the 2025 elections: the elections to lead New Jersey, Virginia, and New York City, plus California's redistricting measure.  But there's so much else on the ballot.

Mike Johnson's Response to Being Told Trump is ‘Unhinged’ Takes Off Online  —  A clip has gone viral of Democratic Representative Madeleine Dean telling House Speaker Mike Johnson that President Donald Trump's address to military top brass showed the U.S. president was “unhinged.”

Robert Morris, Texas megachurch pastor, pleads guilty to sexually abusing a child  —  Under a plea agreement, Morris was given a 10-year sentence, but he will serve only six months in an Oklahoma jail.  —  PAWHUSKA, Okla.— Robert Morris, the Texas megachurch pastor who built Gateway Church …

Americans increasingly see legal sports betting as a bad thing for society and sports  —  Public awareness of legal sports betting has grown in recent years - and so has the perception that it is a bad thing for society and sports, according to a new Pew Research Center survey.

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 …

Man pleads guilty to throwing Molotov cocktail at deputies during LA immigration protest  —  A 23-year-old man has pleaded guilty to throwing a Molotov cocktail at Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies during protests against immigration raids across the region last spring.

CBS News poll finds negativity on economy, job market and concerns about AI's impact  —  Pessimism about the U.S. economy and its direction continues this month — negative ratings have persisted for years — along with net-negative ratings for the U.S. job market, specifically.

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 …

The Other Martyr  —  MAGA has found its George Floyd.  —  During the summer of 2020, when protests convulsed cities around the world, one of the most striking scenes took place outside a library in a wealthy Maryland suburb.  Eight days after George Floyd was killed, hundreds of white people …

Newsom threatens to cut state funding to universities that sign Trump's political compact  — The White House asks nine elite universities to adopt Trump's political priorities in exchange for priority access to federal grants.  — Gov. Gavin Newsom swings back and threatens to cut state funding if any California campus agrees.

Elon Musk Leads Campaign To Force Netflix To Remove Shows With Trans Characters  —  Erin In The Morning is a reader-supported publication.  To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a subscriber.  —  On Monday, Libs of TikTok—the far-right account notorious …