Republicans are quiet quitting on Trump  —  The White House chief of staff says the president has “an alcoholic's personality”  —  Donald Trump is worried that Republicans aren't as afraid of him as they used to be.  Despite his self-billing as a dealmaker, the president has only ever had one tool to control his party: fear.

Republicans defy Speaker Johnson to force House vote on extending ACA subsidies  —  Four centrist Republicans broke with Speaker Mike Johnson on Wednesday and signed onto a Democratic-led petition that will force a House vole on extending for three years an enhanced pandemic-era subsidy …

Jack Smith makes his case against Trump in closed-door deposition … He maintained that this team found evidence to prove “beyond a reasonable doubt that President Trump engaged in a criminal scheme to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election and to prevent the lawful transfer of power.”

Trump moves to dismantle major US climate research center in Colorado  —  WASHINGTON ‒ The Trump administration is moving to dismantle the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Colorado, according to a senior White House official, taking aim at one of the world's leading climate research labs.

Senator Reaches Damning Conclusions After Classified Briefing With Hegseth, Rubio  —  Sen. Chris Murphy trashed a meeting with the Cabinet duo about the Trump administration's boat bombings.  —  Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) said a classified meeting with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth …

They prosecuted the Capitol rioters.  Now the rioters and the DOJ are after them.  —  After Trump's mass pardons of the U.S. Capitol rioters, some have gained influence inside the Justice Department, meeting with officials to push for prosecutions of the federal lawyers who once helped convict them, Reuters found.

Inside the Trump Administration's Man-Made Hunger Crisis  —  On July 18, a mild, overcast night in Nairobi, Kenya, a team of President Donald Trump's top foreign aid advisers ducked into a meeting room at the Tribe Hotel, their luxury accommodations in the city's diplomatic quarter, for a private dinner.

What Is an American?  —  There are two competing visions now emerging on the American right, and they are incompatible.  One vision of American identity is based on lineage, blood and soil: Inherited attributes matter most.  The purest form of an American is a so-called heritage American …

2026 Economic Outlook, December 2025  —  More Than Six in Ten Say Economy is Not Working for Them Personally.... Economic Pessimism for 2026 Widespread  —  Americans have serious concerns about the economy and how these larger economic forces will influence their personal finances in 2026.

An A+++++  Economy, My A++  —  Trump made big boasts but he isn't delivering  —  When Politico recently asked Donald Trump to grade the current U.S. economy, he replied “A-plus-plus-plus-plus-plus.”  He made this boast at a time when actual economic data were still scarce …

Appeals court clears way for Trump to keep National Guard on DC streets … In particular, the judges said it would be “constitutionally troubling” for the president to borrow National Guard troops from one state to conduct law enforcement missions in another “non-consenting” state.

Norman Podhoretz, 1930-2025  —  My father died tonight, December 16, a month shy of his 96th birthday.  Norman Podhoretz passed peacefully and without pain, with a new translation of The Odyssey on his desk that had been sent to him by his friend Roger Hertog.

Putin calls European leaders ‘little pigs’ and says Russia will achieve Ukraine goals by diplomacy or force - Europe live  —  Russian leader says aims of its ‘special military operation’ will be met ‘unconditionally’  —  UK's move to rejoin Erasmus+ ‘significant step’ for EU, UK universities, groups say

DHS fast-tracked $1 billion contract to pro-Trump donor's company  —  A DHS official leading the process previously worked at the America First Policy Institute, a pro-Trump nonprofit where the contractor's CEO was a donor.  —  Just now … The Department of Homeland Security fast-tracked …

Minneapolis police chief critical of ICE agents' conduct after woman dragged through street  —  New video appears to show who agents with Immigration and Customs Enforcement were targeting during a chaotic traffic stop Monday in south Minneapolis.  —  ICE officials say they were conducting a …

This is Europe's secret weapon against Trump: it could burst his AI bubble  —  Growth in the US economy - and the president's political survival - rest on AI.  The EU must use its leverage and stand up to him  —  The unthinkable has happened.  The US is Europe's adversary.

Trump: Cost of new ballroom may reach $400M  —  President Trump on Tuesday indicated the cost of his planned ballroom project at the White House could reach $400 million, double the originally announced cost of $200 million.  —  Trump spoke at length about the project during a Hanukkah reception …