Belarus releases political prisoners including Nobel winner  —  Minsk has released jailed Nobel laureate Ales Bialiatski along with another 122 political prisoners.  The move comes as Belarus seeks to mend ties with Washington and the US lifts some sanctions.

Cuba denounces US seizure of oil tanker off Venezuela's coast as ‘piracy’  —  Cuban foreign ministry called US military action ‘maritime terrorism’ under a policy of ‘economic suffocation’  —  Cuban officials have denounced the US seizure of the Skipper oil tanker off Venezuela's coast on Wednesday …

VA plans to abruptly eliminate tens of thousands of health care jobs  —  Strains on the system could grow with the elimination of as many as 35,000 mostly unfilled health care positions, including doctors, nurses and support staff.  —  Just now … Government reporters Meryl Kornfield …

Higher cost, worse coverage: Affordable Care Act enrollees say expiring subsidies will hit them hard  —  For one Wisconsin couple, the loss of government-sponsored health subsidies next year means choosing a lower-quality insurance plan with a higher deductible.  For a Michigan family, it means going without insurance altogether.

U.S. Forces Attacked in Syria, Syria State Media Says  —  Two soldiers and a civilian interpreter were killed while supporting counterterror operations, the Pentagon said.  They are the first U.S. casualties in Syria since the fall of the dictator Bashar al-Assad

Biden Has Raised Little of What He Needs to Build a Presidential Library  —  His library foundation has told the I.R.S. that by the end of 2027 it expects to bring in just $11.3 million — not nearly enough for a traditional presidential library.  —  Former President Joseph R. Biden Jr …

Trump's Next Renovation Target: D.C.'s Golf Courses  —  The president wants to play a central role in redeveloping Washington's public courses, including one that sits on a prime stretch of real estate  —  WASHINGTON—President Trump needed a place to dump all the dirt from his demolition of the White House's East Wing.

ICE Holding Chinese Man Who Documented Uyghur Camps  —  Congressman and activists warn of risks to citizen-journalist if returned to China  —  A Chinese citizen who fled the country after gathering evidence of alleged human-rights violations against the nation's Uyghur population is at risk …

Colorado Officials Reject Trump's ‘Pardon’ of a Convicted Election Denier  —  The president's stated intention to pardon Tina Peters, jailed for tampering with election machines in 2020, has set off a legal fight over the extent of Mr. Trump's pardon powers.

Trump leans into isolation as challenges mount at home  —  As the administration enters choppy political waters, it has redoubled its pushback against foreign people, products and cultures. … The Trump administration, amid a series of foreign and domestic challenges …

If He Builds It, Tear It Down  —  The foremost task occupying the attention of United States President Donald J. Trump is the construction of an enormous ballroom.  Like Trump himself, the project is tacky, grandiose to the point of stupidity, and can exist only by destroying a treasured part of America's history.

Cincinnati ICE Leader Accused of Strangling Woman Held on $400k Bond  —  Prosecutors say the award-winning ICE agent has a history of domestic violence reports as DHS places him on suspension.  — Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email  —  Audio By Carbonatix

Trump seems to wave the white flag on his US attorneys gambit … The administration's tactics with U.S. attorneys — bypassing the Senate or sidestepping federal judges to keep unvetted prosecutors in place — are a crucial component of Trump's effort to deploy the Justice Department against his perceived enemies.

Trump Is Losing the Reasonable Majority  —  Believing in democracy does not require faith that majorities are always right.  It does mean having confidence that most of your fellow citizens will, over time, approach public questions with a basic reasonableness.

Kevin Kruse on Trump making Nixon look like a choir boy  —  “Trump is engaged in a constant war with the media like we've never seen from a president before.”  —  ∙ Paid  —  PN is supported by paid subscribers.  Become one ⬇️  —  ✌️ Subscribe to PN ✌️

Trump attacks on political opponents spur a surge of threats, NBC News review finds  —  In recent weeks, nearly two dozen elected officials on both sides of the aisle said they were targeted after getting caught in the president's crosshairs.  —  President Donald Trump's heated rhetoric …

Trump called her ‘garbage.’ Rep. Ilhan Omar says she remains unfazed.  —  “There's this creepy obsession that he seems to have on me that just feels pretty obnoxious,” the Minnesota Democrat said of the president.  —  Just now … Over the past two weeks, the leader of the free world …