Pete Hegseth Is Seriously Testing Trump's ‘No Scalps’ Rule  —  Lawmakers are finally waking up to the problems the defense secretary has created.  —  The suspected drug traffickers, the lone survivors of a U.S. airstrike, were sprawled on a table-size piece of floating wreckage in the Caribbean for more than 40 minutes.

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:

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 …

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.

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.”

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 …

Musk threatens ‘response’ against individuals who imposed €120M X penalty  —  The tech billionaire blasted “EU woke Stasi commissars” in posts on his social media platform, X.  —  Elon Musk slammed the EU after it slapped a fine on his social media platform X for violating transparency rules …

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 administration alters national parks' free-entry days, cutting MLK Day and Juneteenth  —  The change is part of a broader shift in the National Park Service's free-entry day schedule, which includes adding President Donald Trump's birthday.  —  The Trump administration has changed …

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.

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 …

December 5, 2025  —  Late last night, the Trump administration released the 2025 National Security Strategy (NSS) of the United States of America.  It did so quietly, although as foreign affairs journalist at Politico Nahal Toosi noted, the release of the NSS is usually accompanied by fanfare …

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 …

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 …

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 courts thrown into chaos as Trump administration purges dozens of judges … So far this year, the Trump administration has dismissed at least 98 of the approximately 700 immigration judges who were on the bench, according to the National Association of Immigration Judges …

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.

How Chiropractors Became the Backbone of MAHA … Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has the crowd in thrall when he declares, “Chiropractors are my kind of people.”  —  It's September 2023, and Kennedy is a long-shot presidential contender at the moment, not yet the most powerful health official in the United States.

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.”

Trump's Top 10 Worst Criminal Prosecutions  —  Publisher's Roundup 46  —  The Contrarian, Norman Eisen, and Gabriel Lezra  —  This is the time of year when we are regaled with lists of the best books, movies, music, and much more.  Because here at The Contrarian, we track the doings …

Exodus From State Department Legal Office Could Heighten Risk Of Trump Admin Breaking The Law  —  The office tackles global issues such as the administration's deadly strikes in the Caribbean, which lawmakers and experts say could involve war crimes.  Dozens of officials have left this year.

Turning Point tests its potency in Indiana  —  With help from Eli Okun, Bethany Irvine, Ali Bianco and Rachel Umansky-Castro  —  Happy Saturday morning — and college football conference championship weekend.  This is Adam Wren, writing from Indianapolis, where the top two teams in the country …