Most Americans oppose East Wing demolition for Trump ballroom, poll finds  —  Fifty-six percent say they oppose President Donald Trump's decision to tear down part of the White House to build a 90,000-square-foot ballroom building.  —  Just now  —  Americans oppose President Donald Trump's demolition …

How Xi Walked Away From Trump Trade Talks Looking Stronger  —  By withholding soybean purchases and rare-earth exports, China extracted relief from U.S. tariffs and delayed export controls, without conceding much in return.  —  When Xi Jinping walked out of his meeting with President Trump on Thursday …

Republicans' refusal to fund SNAP will hurt their own voters most.  They don't care.  —  Do Republicans not care enough about the people who voted them into office to feed them next month?  —  We're 30 days into the government shutdown, and congressional Republicans don't seem to care enough …

Top Trump Officials Are Moving Onto Military Bases  —  Stephen Miller, Marco Rubio, Kristi Noem, and others have taken over homes that until recently housed senior officers.  —  The former white house adviser Katie Miller—mother of three young children, and wife of the presidential right-hand man Stephen …

ICE Wants to Build a Shadow Deportation Network in Texas  —  A new ICE proposal outlines a 24/7 transport operation run by armed contractors—turning Texas into the logistical backbone of an industrialized deportation machine.  —  US Immigration and Customs Enforcement is exploring plans …

SCOOP: Trump Swaps Decorated Admiral With 33-Year-Old DOGEr  —  The highly unorthodox personnel change affects a critical government research role.  —  ∙ Paid  —  THE EXPERIENCED HEAD OF A CRITICAL OFFICE that helps organize important technical research and disburse billions of dollars …

British newspaper spoke to the wrong de Blasio, not an ‘imposter’  —  The Scoop  —  The man at the heart of a high-stakes mix-up that rippled through global political journalism in the final days of the New York mayoral campaign was neither “falsely claiming” to be former Mayor Bill de Blasio …

Trump Is Very Confused About Nuclear Weapons  —  The president says he wants to resume nuclear testing but doesn't seem to know why.  —  Just before heading to his meetings with the leader of China, the president of the United States issued some comments about nuclear weapons, or “nuclear,” as he tends to call them.

“Biblical Justice, Equal Justice, for All”: How North Carolina's Chief Justice Transformed His State and America  —  In early 2023, Paul Newby, the Republican chief justice of North Carolina's Supreme Court, gave the state and the nation a demonstration of the stunning and overlooked power of his office.

Ohio Republicans cut redistricting deal with Dems … Editorial photos provided by Getty Images.  Political ads courtesy of AdImpact.  —  PUNCHBOWL NEWS PRESENTS  —  Our new weekly show, Fly Out Day, brings you inside the most consequential decisions shaping Congress with the people at the center of the story.

It Sure Looks Like Kash Patel Used the FBI's Jet to Go on a Date … FBI Director Kash Patel met his girlfriend at Penn State this past weekend to watch a wrestling match—but his travel to the university stadium appears to have been on the American public's dime.

Farm-state Republicans finally reach their breaking point … So far, the burst of objections has not generated a U-turn from the administration, which is going ahead with a beef import plan that Trump officials argue will both lower steak and hamburger prices for American consumers …

How a Former Trump Golf Club Worker Was Mistakenly Deported to Mexico … Alejandro Juarez stepped off a plane in Texas and stood on a bridge over the Rio Grande, staring at the same border that he had crossed illegally from Mexico 22 years earlier.  —  As U.S. immigration officials unshackled …

Pentagon readying thousands of Guard ‘reaction forces’ as U.S. mission widens  —  Up to 23,500 service members are being readied and trained for civil unrest missions in U.S. cities.  —  The Pentagon has ordered thousands of specialized National Guard personnel to complete civil unrest mission training …

Florida Universities to Stop Hiring Foreign H-1B Workers Under DeSantis Plan  —  The governor's announcement follows a Trump administration plan to charge institutions $100,000 to bring in workers from other countries using the visas.  —  Gov. Ron DeSantis directed Florida education officials to …

Exclusive: Three-star general pushed out amid tensions with Hegseth  —  A three-star general serving on the Pentagon's Joint Staff has been pushed out of his position following months of sustained tensions with Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, according to people familiar with the matter.

This Man Is the Face of the Future  —  Greg Bovino is next.  —  ∙ Paid  —  1. Il Bovino  —  Please watch this short clip.  It's under two minutes.  And then lets talk about what you see.  —  First: You see Chicago police officers at the scene outside the Chicago courthouse.

FBI slams House proposal to grant Tulsi Gabbard leading role on counterintelligence  —  The CIA and other intelligence officials share many of the FBI's misgivings about the House proposal, according to two people with knowledge of the matter.  —  The FBI says a proposal by House lawmakers …

Trump pushes an end to medical care for transgender youth nationally  —  Access to gender-affirming care for transgender youth will be dramatically restricted by the Trump administration under new proposals by the Department of Health and Human Services.  —  NPR has obtained the draft text …

Confirmation hearing delayed for Trump's surgeon general nominee as she goes into labor with her first child  —  The Senate hearing for President Donald Trump's nominee for surgeon general, Dr. Casey Means, is postponed as the nominee goes into labor with her first child, according to a Senate Health …

As right-wing media and Republicans attack Biden's use of autopen for pardons, January 6 participants say some Trump pardons were not signed at all  —  January 6 participant: “Trump brings up a lot of ‘Well, Biden autopenned his pardons.’ Well, you didn't even autopen my pardon, bro. ...

Shutdown-ending stopgap will have to move first in any deal, Thune says  —  Senate Majority Leader John Thune struck a cautionary note Thursday as bipartisan talks that could end the 30-day government shutdown kick into a higher gear, warning that a deal to advance full-year spending bills …

JD Vance says only ‘really terrible’ people mistreat dogs - apparently forgetting his cabinet colleague shot hers dead  —  Vice President overlooks Homeland Security Secretary Krisi Noem's notorious execution of her puppy, Cricket in a discussion on animal cruelty and personal morality

Federal Workers Are Barely Making It Through the Government Shutdown  —  The US government shut down 30 days ago.  WIRED spoke with more than a dozen federal workers who have struggled to pay bills, worked side gigs, and relied on free food programs to get by.