Vought sounds layoff siren: ‘The RIFs have begun’ … It's unclear how many people were laid off and Vought provided no further details.  —  But an administration official granted anonymity to discuss the layoffs said they hit agencies including: Interior, Homeland Security, Treasury, EPA, Commerce, Education, Energy, HHS and HUD.

Criminal charges against Bolton expected as early as next week  —  Federal prosecutors could charge Trump's former national security adviser as early as next week, sources told MSNBC exclusively.  —  The acting U.S. Attorney in Maryland is moving forward quickly to seek criminal charges …

Democrats fume as Mike Johnson cancels third week of votes … - Johnson said earlier this week that there would be no standalone vote on paying the troops, saying the House has already done its work by passing a stopgap spending bill last month that includes troop pay.

Trump to Hit China With Additional 100% Tariff, Citing Restrictions on Rare-Earth Elements  —  President also says he will impose new export controls on critical software in response to Beijing's moves  —  President Trump said Friday he would hit China with a 100% additional tariff and impose …

ICE Pins Chicago TV News Producer to the Ground, Hauls Her Off in Unmarked Van  —  A longtime TV news produced at Chicago-based station WGN on Friday was forcefully pinned to the ground and then hauled off in an unmarked van by masked federal agents.  —  As reported by the Chicago Tribune …

Neighbor shielded 7-year-old during South Shore federal raid: 'I didn't want them to take her'  —  During the Sept. 30 raid, one tenant protected a terrified girl and her mom.  Remnants at the complex, including a detailed map of all the units, offer clues to what authorities may have known before that night.

M.I.T. Rejects a White House Offer for Special Funding Treatment  —  The Trump administration offered nine universities benefits in exchange for signing an agreement to protect conservative voices, among other things.  M.I.T. was the first to refuse.  —  M.I.T. became the first university …

Memo to Future Historians: This Is Fascism, and Millions of Us See It … David Axelrod is far better known these days for occasionally wagging his finger at his fellow Democrats than for breathing partisan fire, so it caught my eye when he posted this on X Wednesday: “So far …

Marc Benioff Says Trump Should Send Guard Troops to San Francisco  —  Mr. Benioff, the Salesforce C.E.O. and owner of Time magazine, once supported Hillary Clinton and a business tax for homeless services.  Now he's fully behind Donald Trump.  —  For years, San Franciscans considered him their benevolent, big-hearted billionaire.

Venezuelan opposition leader dedicates Nobel Prize to Trump for ‘decisive support’ … Machado's win is underscored by a sweeping conflict in Venezuela, where the country has been entangled in a political and humanitarian crisis for years, only worsening under the presidency of Nicolás Maduro.

ICE Stranded a 17-Year-Old on I-20 After Arresting His Father.  The Mississippi Dad Now Faces Deportation.  —  ➡️ Read more stories from the Capital City Bureau here.  —  For Hector Smith and his son David, June 3, 2025, was shaping up to be an average day.

Another Unhinged Leftist Arrested: He Threatened to Murder Benny Johnson  —  The threat happened just a few days after the murder of Charlie Kirk last month but it's coming to light now because the person responsible was just arrested. … Here's Pam Bondi announcing the arrest.

Stephen Miller Accidentally Says “I” When Discussing Trump's Powers  —  Stephen Miller may have just accidentally confirmed that he, not President Donald Trump, is the one calling the shots in regard to deportation raids and National Guard deployments.  —  “Illinois governor …

Hegseth announces Qatar will build air force facility at U.S. base in Idaho  —  Washington — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Friday announced a finalized agreement that will allow the Qatari Emiri Air Force to build a facility at the Mountain Home Air Force Base in Idaho.

Maine Gov. Janet Mills to run for Senate, seeking to dislodge Susan Collins  —  Mills, a two-term governor, will join an already crowded field of Democratic candidates hoping to challenge the Republican who has held the seat for nearly three decades.  —  Maine Gov. Janet Mills …

Nobel-winning economists Duflo and Banerjee will leave US for Switzerland  —  The University of Zurich said that Nobel laureates Esther Duflo and Abhijit Banerjee, known for their work in development economics, will move from the US to Switzerland, amid Donald Trump's attacks on universities.

This Family Made Billions on Trump-Branded Condos.  Now Their Private Jet Is Taking Shackled Migrants to a Far-Flung African Prison  —  Israeli-American billionaires Michael and Gil Dezer's Gulfstream IV plane flew 10 migrants to the tiny African kingdom of Eswatini, flight data shows.  —  ∙ Paid

Melania Has Been Secretly Working With Putin for Months  —  KREMLIN WHISPERER  —  The first lady has been engaged in talks with the Russia leader over the war in Ukraine.  —  First Lady Melania Trump made a rare formal announcement from the White House on Friday where she revealed …

DHS top lawyer says ‘no legal barrier’ to actions officers can take to defend federal property  —  In a memo obtained exclusively by The Handbasket, Federal Protective Service (FPS) officers were given free rein. … Staffers at a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) law enforcement agency received …

Trump administration has failed to deport Kilmar Abrego Garcia to Africa … Abrego is originally from El Salvador.  He entered the U.S. illegally and lived in Maryland for more than a decade before he was arrested in March and deported to a notorious Salvadoran prison.

Americans Are Falling Behind on Their Car Payments  —  Delinquency rates on subprime auto loans are at records  —  One of the cylinders in the U.S. economic engine is causing some sputtering.  —  Since the pandemic, buyers on auto-dealer lots have encountered surging sticker prices …

Trump eyes a triumphal arch to mark America's 250th anniversary  —  The new structure would be President Donald Trump's biggest architectural mark on the nation's capital.  —  Across from the Lincoln Memorial, barely inside the boundaries of Washington, sits a traffic roundabout known as Memorial Circle …