Hegseth says he would have ordered second strike on Caribbean vessel  —  U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Saturday that he backs a September 2 decision to launch a second strike on a suspected drug boat in the Caribbean.  —  “I fully support that strike,” Hegseth …

Joe Lonsdale Calls For Public Hangings  —  Joe Lonsdale, a billionaire member of the “PayPal Mafia” who is also a co-founder of Palantir, wants a return to draconian punishment and public executions in the United States.  —  Wrote Lonsdale on X yesterday:

The Supreme Court weighs another step in favor of broad presidential power sought by Trump  —  Chief Justice John Roberts has led the Supreme Court 's conservative majority on a steady march of increasing the power of the presidency, starting well before Donald Trump's time in the White House.

Exclusive: Woman detained by feds in Keys says she was following agents' orders  —  The woman in medical scrubs who was forcibly yanked from her car while on her way to work in Key Largo, screaming she was a U.S. citizen, said Friday she had obeyed the federal agents' commands to roll …

President Trump wins inaugural Fifa Peace Prize  —  United States President Donald Trump received the inaugural Fifa Peace Prize before the draw for the 2026 Fifa World Cup.  —  The award has been introduced this year by Fifa president Gianni Infantino, designated for a person who has …

A Record 65,735 People in ICE Custody as of November 30  —  New ICE detention data came out yesterday, taking us through the last day of November.  The total number of people detained on a single day increased to 65,735, up from 65,135 on November 16.  Although single-day numbers might exceed …

National parks cut free entry for MLK Day, add Trump's birthday  —  In 2026, Americans will get free admission to national parks on President Donald Trump's birthday but no longer on Juneteenth and Martin Luther King Jr. Day, according to the National Park Service website.

Top US official says EU regulation ‘undermines’ NATO ties  —  U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau said Europe's policy agenda was hurting its credibility in Washington.  —  The EU's pursuit of its green agenda and enforcement of tech rules against U.S. firms is undermining …

How Trump flipped America's race conversation  —  President Trump's Cabinet applauded him this week after he described Somali immigrants as “garbage” who “contribute nothing.  He unapologetically condemned an entire community, with no fear of political backlash.

Trump Weighs Moving on From Noem  —  The DHS secretary has overseen the president's most controversial domestic initiative.  But her future is increasingly in doubt.  —  ∙ Paid  —  HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY KRISTI NOEM has been at the center of the Trump administration's marquee domestic policy …

Giving the gift of independent journalism: a guide  —  The Handbasket has subscription suggestions for almost everyone on your list. … This year was one of enormous growth for independent media, and The Handbasket has been fortunate enough to be part of it.

Trump wants to recreate a white America that never existed  —  The persecution of brown people and mass deportations will not create the white country of far-right fantasy  —  As Donald Trump deteriorates and his grasp on power fades, he has been lashing out furiously at female journalists …

Trump won't quit the filibuster fight.  Thune can't give him what he wants. … Last month, Senate Republicans and Majority Leader John Thune swiftly rejected Trump's demands to repeal the filibuster to end the record-long government shutdown.  But Trump's continuing crusade promises …

Trump follows through on an especially ugly campaign promise  —  This special Saturday edition of PN is free thanks to paid subscribers.  Become one ⬇️  —  🛥️ Subscribe to PN 🛥️  —  For years, Donald Trump has fantasized about lawlessly executing drug dealers.

Anger is a defining character trait for both parties, new study shows  —  Updated Pew research shows Democrats are now at record levels of anger toward government, surpassing previous GOP records.  —  Just now … For almost 20 years, Americans have grown considerably more angry toward the federal government.

The sorry history of US policy in the Middle East  —  This administration's transactionalism marks a departure in America's approach to Israel, Palestine and the rest of the region  —  For decades, US policy in the Middle East has consistently failed to bring regional peace or accomplish …

How the Supreme Court emboldened Democrats in California and elsewhere redrawing US House maps  —  Supreme Court Congressional news  —  The Supreme Court's endorsement of how Texas Republicans redrew the state's congressional map is offering hope to California Democrats as they prepare …

Congress struggles to unite behind a plan for Obamacare … “Some of our folks who are working on this issue are trying to come up with something that unites Senate Republicans,” Thune told POLITICO this week, adding that there are “consultations going on all the time with the White House.”

Have Trump's Tariffs Gone as High as They Can Go?  Businesses Hope So … Before President Trump's tariffs took effect this year, the Chicken of the Sea factory in Lyons, Ga., was running its production lines full speed, canning enough imported tuna to build up four to six months of inventory in warehouses around the United States.

Trump awards medals to the Kennedy Center honorees in an Oval Office ceremony  —  President Donald Trump on Saturday presented medals to the 2025 Kennedy Center honorees during an event in the Oval Office, hailing the slate of artists he had a hand in choosing as “perhaps the most accomplished and renowned class” ever assembled.

How Chihuahua-walking, ‘autistic-like’ pipe-bomb suspect Brian Cole Jr. stumped Biden's FBI for years  —  The confessed Jan. 6 pipe bomber flummoxed former President Joe Biden's FBI before he was arrested and charged this week with planting the explosives outside the headquarters …

Hey, Does Anyone Want to Talk About Donald Trump's Infirmities?  —  In case you missed it, President Donald Trump fell asleep on television this week.  There he was, in the middle of a meeting with the members of his Cabinet, completely set adrift on memory bliss as the pool cameras rolled, locked on his dozy face.

Immigration hawks push for new restrictions in wake of National Guard shooting … An administration official said to “expect a full overhaul of all adjudications,” adding: “We are at a critical moment of vetting foreign nationals, not just those from typical countries of concern.”