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:

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 …

Three-year-old child forced to serve as her own attorney in Tucson immigration court  —  More than a dozen undocumented minors were forced to serve as their own attorneys in front of an immigration judge as the Trump administration ramps up removal proceedings.

Judge blocks prosecutors' access to James Comey's lawyer's emails and data … Kollar-Kotelly, a Clinton appointee based in Washington, issued the restraining order before getting a formal response from prosecutors to a petition Richman filed last week seeking return of his data.

Inside Trump's transformation of the Kennedy Center  —  Donald Trump  —  President Donald Trump doesn't have his name on the Kennedy Center yet, but he's already shaped it to his tastes.  —  Just days after participating in the FIFA World Cup draw onstage — and accepting …

FBI Making List of American “Extremists,” Leaked Memo Reveals  —  Are you on Trump's naughty list? … Attorney General Pam Bondi is ordering the FBI to “compile a list of groups or entities engaging in acts that may constitute domestic terrorism,” according to a Justice Department memo published here exclusively.

Admiral told lawmakers everyone on alleged drug boat was on a list of military targets  —  Adm. Frank Bradley said U.S. intelligence had identified the 11 people on the boat and determined the military was authorized to kill them as part of Trump's campaign against alleged drug-smuggling vessels.

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 …

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.

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 …

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 …

Trump's Top Advisers Wage Campaign to Shift His Focus to High Prices  —  During closed-door meetings in recent weeks, the president's aides have pressed him to calibrate his message on affordability  —  WASHINGTON—Just before President Trump left the White House for Thanksgiving …

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's Security Doctrine Leaves Europe at a Strategic Crossroads  —  A new White House policy document formalizes President Trump's long-held contempt for Europe's leaders.  It made clear that the continent now stands at a strategic crossroads.  —  The Trump administration has not exactly kept its low regard for Europe secret.

A land fight pits a sacred Apache tradition against a copper mine  —  Reporters Dana Hedgpeth and Erin Patrick O'Connor were invited to observe the Sunrise Dance.  They spent four days camping in heavy rain and flood waters to document a ceremony that is rarely seen by people who are not members of the Apache tribes.

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

ICE agents under scrutiny after man's legs allegedly crushed in Vancouver arrest  —  Note: This story contains disturbing details.  —  The Vancouver Police Department is investigating after a man appeared to have his legs run over by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement truck while being detained Thursday.

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.

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.”

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.

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 …