Head of the U.S. Military's Southern Command Is Stepping Down, Officials Say  —  Adm. Alvin Holsey is leaving less than a year into his tenure, and as the Pentagon escalates attacks against boats in the Caribbean Sea.  —  The military commander overseeing the Pentagon's escalating attacks …

Exclusive: MTG slams parts of Trump's second-term agenda as “America Last”  —  One of President Trump's most visible MAGA allies in Congress is accusing Republicans of losing their “America First” identity. … But she told Axios that parts of his second-term agenda are “America Last.”

Republicans' attacks on ‘No Kings’ protests reek of desperation  —  The GOP's fictional portrait is part of a strategy to stop the resistance before it flexes its growing power  —  By Jill Lawrence, author of “The Art of the Political Deal: How Congress Beat the Odds and Broke Through Gridlock”

John Bolton surrenders to authorities after federal indictment  —  The former Trump national security adviser is making his initial court appearance on federal charges that allege he mishandled classified information.  —  WASHINGTON — John Bolton, who served as President Donald Trump's …

The Shadow President  —  ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power.  Sign up to receive our biggest stories as soon as they're published.  —  This story is exempt from ProPublica's Creative Commons license until Dec. 19, 2025.  —  On the afternoon of Feb. 12 …

Trump To Hold Putin Summit In Budapest - Where Russia Promised Not To Invade Ukraine  —  Asked who chose Budapest given that history, top White House aides told HuffPost: “Your mom.”  —  WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump is touting another meeting with Russian dictator Vladimir Putin …

NEW: Pope Leo Set To Break Up Opus Dei  —  Prefer A One-Time Gift?  Donate Here  —  A report from InfoVaticana — a Spanish outlet with close Opus Dei ties — claims that Pope Leo XIV is on the verge of approving new statutes that would effectively dismantle Opus Dei as it exists today.

Hackers Dox Hundreds of DHS, ICE, FBI, and DOJ Officials  —  A group of hackers from the Com, a loose-knit community behind some of the most significant data breaches in recent years, have posted the names and personal information of hundreds of government officials, including people working …

Who won the NYC mayoral debate?  What the candidates, and an expert, are saying  —  Andrew Cuomo, Zohran Mamdani and Curtis Sliwa were on the attack Thursday night in their first mayoral debate.  —  The took one another on across a host of issues including their plans to improve the cost …

Universities Are Standing Up to Trump  —  A White House proposal for special funding treatment crossed a line for several schools.  Some say it feels like a turning point in the federal government's battle with higher education.  —  The White House is confronting academia's most forceful pushback …

Donald Trump's Dream Palace of Puffery  —  The Pentagon's ban on real journalism looks to be a preview of where the White House is headed.  —  Two weeks into a federal-government shutdown, with no end in sight and President Donald Trump threatening to fire thousands of government employees …

Thune to force Democrats to vote on paying the troops during the shutdown  —  Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) plans to force Democrats to vote next week on legislation to pay more than 1 million military service members during the government shutdown, doubling down on his strategy …

Trump unveils IVF policies, but no new funding or coverage requirements … The cost of EMD Serono's Gonal-F, a follicle-stimulating hormone injection commonly taken during a standard IVF cycle, will drop by anywhere between 42 and 79 percent in the cash-pay market, depending on the patient's income …

Small businesses are being crushed by Trump's tariffs and economists say it's a warning for the economy … Viresh Varma can't sleep.  —  The CEO of AV Universal Corp., a small footwear company that sells through retailers like Macy's, Nordstrom and DSW, said he needed to take out a $250,000 loan …

GOP representative blames swastika flag in his office on a ‘ruse’ … In February, similar flags were delivered via the United States Postal Service “to multiple congressional offices,” a GOP Hill staffer, not from Taylor's office, told POLITICO.  An image obtained by POLITICO …

New York's Richest Ask ‘How Dare He?’ as Mamdani Closes In on City Hall  —  The city's 1% realize their influence is waning: 'It's hard to be chill and relaxed'  —  It was just after finishing a set of pelvic floor exercises that a Pilates instructor on the Upper East Side recently brought …

Democrats eye Maryland and Illinois as Republicans press forward with redistricting push  —  House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries has held discussions with Maryland and Illinois Democrats about new maps as he vows to further respond to GOP efforts.  —  As Republicans across the country pursue …

Exclusive: Trump immigration plan may wipe out 15M jobs by 2035, study claims  —  The Trump administration's immigration crackdown is projected to reduce the U.S. workforce by 6.8 million people by 2028 and by 15.7 million by 2035, per a study first shared with Axios.

America First?  No, Billionaire Buddies First  —  Argentina: A very Trumpy debacle  —  The Trump administration is doing so many corrupt, destructive and simply stupid things that the failing attempt to rescue Javier Milei, Argentina's MAGAesque president, with billions of U.S. taxpayer dollars isn't even in the top 10.

What the DNC chair told us about 2025  —  With help from Eli Okun, Bethany Irvine, Ali Bianco and Rachel Umansky-Castro  —  Happy Friday.  I'm Adam Wren.  Get in touch.  —  ABOUT LAST NIGHT: In the New York City mayoral debate last night, which was (expertly) co-moderated …

Democrats up 6, 10 points in new averages of New Jersey and Virginia governor polls  —  Aggregators take note: We found that many polls in these contests are sponsored by or affiliated with GOP campaigns, increasing the potential bias of (unadjusted) polling averages  —  Two announcements before we get started:

ICE amps up its surveillance powers, targeting immigrants and antifa  —  Iris scanners, facial-recognition apps, phone-hacking software and cellphone location data are among the agency's recent technological purchases.  —  Just now  —  The Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency …

Voting Machine Company Charged in Philippine Bribery and Money Laundering Scheme  —  For Immediate Release  —  U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of Florida  —  MIAMI - A federal grand jury in Miami returned a superseding indictment today charging a multinational company …

Trump Says Threatened High Tariffs on China ‘Not Sustainable’  —  President Donald Trump said high threatened tariffs with China were not viable as tensions between the world's two largest economies intensify ahead of an expected face-to-face meeting with Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping.

Fox News Poll: Mamdani maintains significant lead in NYC mayoral race  —  Voters see Mamdani, Cuomo as strong leaders but more say Mamdani will bring needed change  —  Ahead of Thursday's debate, a new Fox News survey finds the Democratic nominee, Zohran Mamdani, maintaining a substantial lead …

It's a Bird!  It's a Plane!  It's a Chemtrail?  New Conspiracy Theory Takes Wing at Kennedy's HHS  —  While plowing a wheat field in rural Washington state in the 1990s, William Wallace spotted a gray plane overhead that he believed was releasing chemicals to make him sick.

Trump preparing to reopen Alaska wildlife refuge for oil drilling … Re-opening ANWR for drilling would almost certainly invite environmental groups and tribes opposed to the action to file legal complaints trying to stop it.  It will also test oil companies' desire to send rigs to a remote area …