Trump Administration Live Updates: White House Changes Course and Will Demolish Entire East Wing  —  Where Things Stand  — White House demolition: President Trump's plan to add an expansive ballroom to the White House will mean the demolition of the entire East Wing …

Pentagon announces a new right-wing press corps after mass walkout  —  A new crop of conservative media and influencers — including the Gateway Pundit, the Post Millennial, Human Events and the National Pulse — signed an agreement with the Defense Department.

University of Virginia Makes Deal With White House to Halt Investigations  —  The Justice Department had been scrutinizing one of the nation's premier public universities over accusations of civil rights violations.  —  The University of Virginia, facing immense pressure from the White House …

Exclusive: Major federal immigration operation headed to San Francisco Bay Area  —  The Trump administration has dispatched more than 100 federal agents, including from U.S. Customs and Border Protection, to Coast Guard Base Alameda and they will begin to arrive Thursday, according to a source familiar with the operation.

U.S. strikes 8th alleged drug vessel, this time on the Pacific side  —  The U.S. struck another alleged drug vessel Tuesday night, this time on the Pacific side of South America, according to two U.S. officials.  —  In what is the eighth known U.S. attack on a boat since Sept. 2, two to three individuals aboard the vessel were killed.

U.S. Lifts Key Restriction on Ukraine's Use of Western Long-Range Missiles  —  The move coincides with a Trump push to pressure Moscow into talks on ending the war and to withhold U.S. Tomahawk missiles from Kyiv  —  WASHINGTON—The Trump administration has lifted a key restriction …

Trump's Vile New $230 Million Shakedown of DOJ Just Got Even Worse  —  Donald Trump is rapidly transforming the presidency into a massive Bribe Delivery System.  For convenience's sake, let's refer to this going forward as Trump's presidential “BDS.”  —  This is underscored by the jarring news …

Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner admits using ‘indefensible’ antigay slurs in unearthed Reddit posts  —  Your support makes The Advocate's original LGBTQ+ reporting possible.  Become a member today to help us continue this work.  —  Join the fight  —  A progressive U.S. Senate candidate …

Exclusive: Congress needs to hear more about Venezuela operation, GOP senator says  —  Congress has been left in the dark about the U.S. military strikes off the coast of Venezuela, Sen. Todd Young (R-Ind.) said on Wednesday at Axios' Future of Defense Summit.

Some new ICE recruits have showed up to training without full vetting  —  The recruits have had criminal backgrounds, failed drug tests or were unable to meet physical or academic standards, raising concerns about the agency's rush to hire immigration officers, sources told NBC News.

ICE Stockpiling Warheads and Chemical Weapons as Lawmaker Fears Trump Planning Strike  —  HOW MUCH?  —  Spending went from almost $9 million under Biden in 2024 to $71 million in Trump's first nine months.  —  The number of weapons bought by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement …

Give me candidacy or give me death: GOP nominee holds firm in NYC mayoral race … “If all of a sudden the executioner would have stopped, and I was on that gurney, and [he] said, ‘Hey, you can work for Mayor Andrew Cuomo,’ I would say: ‘Finish the job.  Impale me.’ That will never happen …

Exclusive: Hegseth's military speech a “waste of time,” Panetta says  —  Calling top military leaders to Quantico for a political speech was a “waste of time,” former Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta said Wednesday at Axios' Future of Defense Summit.

Abandoned NASA nominee may find new life … The NASA job has taken on new urgency under Trump, who has made an expansion of human spaceflight a key element of his agenda — including a return trip to the moon by the end of Trump's term.  The agency also controls billions of dollars …

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Trump Administration in Talks to Take Equity Stakes in Quantum-Computing Firms  —  Discussions signal Washington's wider involvement in key parts of the economy  —  WASHINGTON—Several quantum-computing companies are in talks to give the Commerce Department equity stakes in exchange for federal funding …

Trump Revives Foreign Aid, Helping Needy Billionaires  —  Reporting on the world can be heartbreaking.  We journalists cover wars, earthquakes and massacres, and for all the emotional armor of our professionalism we are haunted by memories of children's corpses.

Trump Administration's Arrival on Bluesky Highlights Growing Pains for Open Networks  —  Last week, the United States Department of Homeland Security—last seen brutalizing journalists, children, and clergy in the streets of Chicago—joined the Bluesky social internet platform and began …

As Johnson Delays, Grijalva Sues to Be Seated in the House  —  Representative-elect Adelita Grijalva, Democrat of Arizona, along with the state's attorney general, argued that the speaker had no authority to delay swearing her into office.  —  Representative-elect Adelita Grijalva …

This was Russia today Wednesday, October 22, 2025  —  Howdy, folks.  Don't miss today's news digest.  In the missive below, we look at how America's new immigration crackdown is affecting Russian dissidents.  Let us know if you're enjoying the newsletter's new format, why don't you.

Jeff Merkley wraps up marathon speech warning of ‘authoritarian’ rule  —  Sen. Jeff Merkley yielded the Senate floor after more than 22 hours Wednesday, capping off an overnight protest against the Trump administration.  The Oregon Democrat began speaking at 6:21 p.m. Tuesday …

The only check-and-balance that actually matters … The destruction this week of the East Wing of the White House has been uniquely shocking, a physical manifestation of what Donald Trump is doing to our presidency and our country — the excavators and heavy equipment demolishing …

Head Start programs flash red lights ahead of November funding cliff  —  More than 130 programs, serving nearly 59,000 preschoolers around the nation, will be without federal funds if the government doesn't reopen by Nov. 1  —  Head Start locations across the country are warning that their programs …