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 …

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.

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.

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 …

Energy Department Announces Termination of 223 Projects, Saving Over $7.5 Billion  —  The U.S. Department of Energy today announced the termination of 321 financial awards supporting 223 projects, resulting in a savings of approximately $7.56 billion dollars for American taxpayers.  —  Energy.gov

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 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 …

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.”

Manchester synagogue latest: Suspect in killing identified, say police - as video shows moment officers confronted him  —  Two Jewish people have been killed in a terror attack on a synagogue in Manchester.  The suspect has been shot dead by police, who also say two arrests have been made.

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.

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.

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 …

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.

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 …

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” …