US has seized survivors after strike on suspected drug-carrying vessel in Caribbean, AP sources say  —  Add AP News to Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google.  Share  —  The U.S. has seized survivors after a strike Thursday on a suspected drug-carrying vessel …

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 …

Three Reasons I Still Have Hope for America  —  This weekend's “No Kings” rallies stand as an important corrective amid a dark moment … Saturday's national “No Kings” protests seem likely to be huge, and the Trump administration appears especially concerned and worried about the public backlash it's facing this weekend.

Jury Acquittal Hands Jeanine Pirro a Big L  —  Three-Time Loser  —  In a closely watched case, a federal jury acquitted a woman Thursday on charges of assaulting a federal law enforcement officer over the summer during a transfer of detainees to ICE outside of the D.C. jail.

The John Bolton Indictment  —  Prosecutors fulfill Trump's call to punish his former national security adviser and frequent critic.  —  Click for Sound  —  Opposing Donald Trump is a perilous business, but working for him can be equally as dangerous.  That's one lesson from Thursday's indictment …

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 Threatens Democrats As Government Shutdown Enters Third Week: Live Updates  —  The Trump administration said it has dismissed over 4,100 federal workers since the shutdown began but a judge has since ordered it to pause the firings.  —  President Donald Trump had a fresh warning …

Trump Pushes Indiana Lawmakers to Redraw State Maps  —  A call Friday morning by the president to Republican state senators is part of an escalating pressure campaign by the White House.  —  President Trump called Indiana Senate Republicans on Friday morning to encourage them to redraw …

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.

Trump Boat Bombings Take Darker Turn as Top Official Suddenly Resigns  —  The other day, President Trump announced that he has bombed yet another boat allegedly carrying drugs in the Caribbean sea.  He has now struck six boats, with 27 people dead, and the bombings have been widely denounced as illegal.

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 …

Young Republican Kids Say the Darndest Things  —  “Thousands of private messages reveal young GOP leaders joking about gas chambers, slavery, and rape.... Vice President JD Vance downplayed [the] bigoted messages, suggesting they were nothing more than ‘edgy, offensive jokes.’” — Politico

FBI arrests alleged pro-Hamas Oct. 7 attacker living in Louisiana  —  Mahmoud Amin Ya'qub Al-Muhtadi is a resident of Lafeyette, Louisiana, prosecutors say  —  The FBI has arrested a suspect in Louisiana who allegedly took part in Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel.

Penn, USC join growing list of universities declining Trump's federal funding deal … Although Jameson did not outline his specific concerns, the Faculty Senate passed a resolution urging the university's leaders to decline the administration's offer, first reported by The Daily Pennsylvanian.

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 …

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 …

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.

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.

Republican Frustration With Kristi Noem Has Reached a Boiling Point  —  Both publicly and privately, GOP lawmakers are frustrated with Noem's lack of communication and new rules that are delaying critical FEMA funds.  — Copy  —  Members of Congress are growing incensed with Secretary …

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 …

Top nuclear weapons agency to furlough most staff amid shutdown … The agency doesn't directly operate U.S. nuclear weapons, which falls to the Pentagon.  But it is a key component of America's nuclear capabilities by maintaining and modernizing warheads, overseeing Navy nuclear propulsion and managing nonproliferation programs.

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:

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.

Salesforce Offers Its Services to Boost Trump's Immigration Force  —  The San Francisco-based firm has told ICE that it could use A.I. to help the agency nearly triple its staff.  The company's C.E.O., once a progressive tech titan, has embraced President Trump.