Exclusive: Watchdog finds Hegseth risked endangering troops by sharing sensitive war plans on Signal, sources say  —  Pete Hegseth Federal agencies US military  —  Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth risked compromising sensitive military information, which could have endangered American troops …

GOP frets ‘dangerous’ result in Tennessee … Democrat Aftyn Behn's overperformance in the Tennessee special election — which attracted millions of dollars in spending and national attention in its final days — continues a trend of concerning electoral results for the GOP.

Lawmakers ask AG Pam Bondi for a status update on releasing the Epstein files  —  Five members of Congress spanning both parties and both chambers want a briefing by Friday on the Trump administration's progress in releasing the Epstein files.  —  WASHINGTON — Five members of Congress …

Donald Trump to pardon Texas Democrat Henry Cuellar  —  Cuellar had faced a dozen charges of bribery, money laundering and conspiracy.  On Wednesday, he filed for reelection as a Democrat, quieting speculation that he migh switch parties.  —  TAKE OUR CONTENT — PLEASE!

The Operator  —  It is a rare thing to see Josh Shapiro sweat.  For all the grief the Pennsylvania governor gets for imitating Barack Obama—the staggered cadence, the side-of-the-mouth delivery for effect—their essential shared trait is self-possession.  If Pennsylvania's governor has a superpower …

Trump administration moves to roll back fuel economy standards set under Biden  —  The Trump administration is proposing new fuel economy standards for vehicles that would roll back efficiency rules implemented under former President Biden.  —  Under the Transportation Department proposal …

Pete Hegseth Should Be Charged With Murder  —  No matter how you look at the strikes on alleged “drug boats”—as acts of war or attacks on civilians—Hegseth has committed a crime and should be prosecuted.  —  Pocket  —  Pete Hegseth is a murderer.  He meets all of the legal qualifications to be a murderer.

Leaked memo exposes flimsy legal basis for Trump boat strikes  —  DOJ's classified, “legal authorization” for the missile attacks is beginning to collapse.  —  Today the administration's drug-boat scandal blew wide open — not because of a new strike, but because a leaked Justice Department memo shows …

Jack Smith subpoenaed for closed-door House Judiciary interview  —  The House Judiciary Committee issued a subpoena to former special counsel Jack Smith, who led investigations into President Donald Trump, ordering him to appear at a closed-door session later this month.

“A sickening moral slum of an administration”  —  There is a temptation to describe what happened yesterday as somehow a “new low.”  Our somnolent, gibbering, incoherent, deeply corrupt President, surrounded by his fawning toadies, unleashed a torrent of dehumanizing racist bile, disinformation, and threats.

Pentagon knew boat attack left survivors but still launched a follow-on strike, AP sources say  —  The Pentagon knew there were survivors after a September attack on an alleged drug boat in the Caribbean Sea and the U.S. military still carried out a follow-up strike, according to two people familiar with the matter.

November private payrolls unexpectedly fell by 32,000, led by steep small business job cuts, ADP reports … The U.S. labor market slowdown intensified in November as private companies cut 32,000 workers, with small businesses hit the hardest, payrolls processing firm ADP reported Wednesday.

Federal agents begin immigration operations in New Orleans and Minneapolis  —  The operations were launched a day after President Donald Trump said he'd be sending National Guard troops to New Orleans and disparaged Somali immigrants in Minneapolis.  —  The Trump administration launched …

Liberals: Stop the Masochism  —  Why liberalism romanticizes the Forgotten Man and is reluctant to take its own side in the fight against authoritarianism.  —  ∙ Paid  —  Tim had an interesting conversation with George Packer last week.  You should listen to it in its entirety.

What the Left Could Learn From Trump's Brutal Efficiency  —  Those of us opposed to MAGA complain plenty about what the Trump administration has done or is doing to the government — drawing on vast administrative resources for deportations, taking stakes in private companies, destabilizing the Federal Reserve.

New York Methodist Pastor Declares Himself Transgender: No More ‘Pretending to Be a Man’  —  A 51-year-old Methodist pastor in New York declared himself transgender before his congregation last week, saying he will give up “pretending to be a man.”  —  The viral video showed Rev. Phillip Phaneuf …

Scott Galloway on the masculinity crisis: ‘I worry we are evolving a new breed of asexual, asocial males’  —  When his book Notes on Being a Man was released last month, it raced to the top of the bestseller lists.  The US author, tech entrepreneur and podcaster explains his theories on dating, crying - and the rise of Donald Trump

'I'm a U.S. citizen.' Agents pull woman from car in Keys.  Feds said she wouldn't show ID  —  A woman in medical scrubs who was driving on U.S. 1 in the Florida Keys Wednesday morning was stopped by federal immigration agents and forcibly removed from her car, despite screaming she was an American citizen.

Israel receives remains of possible hostage and plans to reopen Gaza crossing into Egypt  —  Israel received remains of what could be one of the last hostages in Gaza on Wednesday and said it will begin allowing Palestinians to leave the war-torn territory through a border crossing with Egypt.

How the dollar-store industry overcharges cash-strapped customers while promising low prices  —  A Guardian investigation reveals Dollar General and Family Dollar stores often fail to honor their shelf prices - charging more at checkout for everything from frying pans to Frosted Flakes

The Potemkin Pentagon Press  —  Presidents—they're just like the rest of us.  Yesterday, Donald Trump had a deeply human experience: repeatedly dozing off throughout a meeting after burning the candle at both ends on an epic all-night social media binge.  Unfortunately, that meeting …

Kushner's Moscow mission wasn't just corrupt.  It was unconstitutional.  —  Jared Kushner, President Trump's son-in-law, has been traveling the world to participate in high-stakes foreign policy negotiations on behalf of the president.  On Tuesday, Kushner traveled to Moscow and sat across …