ICE plans $100 million ‘wartime recruitment’ push targeting gun shows, military fans for hires … U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials are planning to spend $100 million over a one-year period to recruit gun-rights supporters and military enthusiasts through online influencers …

The Incident That Prompted Trump to Ban Epstein From Mar-a-Lago's Spa  —  Mar-a-Lago sent an 18-year-old spa worker on a house call to Jeffrey Epstein in 2003.  She complained to her bosses that Epstein pressured her for sex.  —  Jeffrey Epstein wasn't just a frequent visitor to Donald Trump's Mar …

HHS freezes all child care funding for Minnesota … Deputy HHS Secretary Jim O'Neill alleged in a video posted to the department's YouTube channel Tuesday afternoon that “the state of Minnesota has allowed scammers and fake day cares to siphon millions of taxpayer dollars over the last decade.”

Unsealed: Abrego Garcia  —  The sealed order in the Abrego Garcia case that I wrote about in Sunday night's “The Week Ahead” column was unsealed today.  This is in the government's hastily manufactured criminal case against him, which seemed, at the time, to be some sort of face-saving gesture …

Trump vetoes bill to fund Arkansas Valley Conduit in Colorado  —  President Trump vetoed a bill to fund a pipeline project to bring clean drinking water to communities on the Eastern Plains between Pueblo and Lamar. … DENVER — President Donald Trump is using his first veto of his current term …

U.S. measles cases reach highest level in over 30 years: CDC  —  The number of recorded measles cases in the U.S. during 2025 has exceeded 2,000 for the first time in more than 30 years, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Netanyahu raised possible “round 2” strikes on Iran with Trump  —  Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu discussed the possibility of attacking Iran again in 2026 during his meeting with President Trump on Monday, according to a U.S. official and two additional U.S. sources familiar with the details of the meeting.

Kennedy Center changed board rules months before vote to add Trump's name  —  The new rules say only trustees appointed by the president can vote, barring other members, including Democrats who hold seats, from decisions.  The center said the change reflects “longstanding precedent.”

Tatiana Schlossberg, a granddaughter of the late President John F. Kennedy, has died at 35  —  Environmental journalist Tatiana Schlossberg, one of three grandchildren of the late President John F. Kennedy, has died.  She was 35.  —  Schlossberg, daughter of Kennedy's daughter, Caroline Kennedy …

Trump Mobile delays plan to launch gold-coloured smartphone this year  —  Move marks latest setback for project that originally promised to sell a US-made device  —  Trump Mobile, the phone company launched by the Trump Organization, has delayed plans to ship its gold-coloured smartphone by the end of this year.

US fines for dirty money drop 61% as Trump retreats from enforcement  —  Total penalties imposed by financial watchdogs fell to $1.7bn in the year to December 19  —  US regulators collected 61 per cent less in fines for money laundering and sanctions breaches in 2025, after watchdogs took …

Former GOP Sen Jon Kyl announces dementia diagnosis, steps away from public life  —  Former Republican Sen. Jon Kyl announced on Tuesday he is withdrawing from public life after being diagnosed with dementia.  —  Kyl, 83, became one of Arizona's most prominent Republicans during a career …

Dr. Oz calls flu vaccine ‘controversial of late’  —  Mehmet Oz, administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, on Tuesday called the seasonal flu vaccine “controversial of late” and advised various “MAHA initiatives” as ways to “overcome” the virus.

Immigrant Derangement Syndrome  —  Blaming brown-skinned people for everything bad  —  Americans suffered a litany of horrors thanks to the Trump administration during 2025 - refusal to disburse emergency aid, soaring measles cases, collapsing small businesses, vindictive prosecutions …

Israel says it will halt operations of several humanitarian organizations in Gaza  —  The Ministry of Diaspora Affairs said the organizations that will be banned Thursday didn't meet new requirements for sharing staff members, funding and operations information.

The Separation: Inside the Unraveling U.S.-Ukraine Partnership  —  As President Trump sought a peace deal and Vladimir V. Putin sought victory, factions in the White House and Pentagon bled the Ukrainian war effort.

Tilting at windmills: Trump laments death of bald eagle in the US ... which was really a falcon in Israel  —  A pity that Trump, or one of the 18 intelligence agencies reporting to him, did not trace the image back to its source  —  Even while on holiday at his Florida resort …

Trump Spent the Past Year Trying to Crush Dissent  —  “We took the freedom of speech away.”  —  That was part of President Trump's explanation in October of his executive order that purports to criminalize burning the American flag.  Though his words fail as a constitutional rationale …

Watching Bari Weiss Murder Investigative Journalism at CBS  —  I'M NOTICING A PATTERN among certain people within my profession who've jumped to the defense of Bari Weiss, the oligarch functionary installed at CBS by new owner David Ellison to enforce ideological discipline upon its journalists.

Inside Trump's “no data, just vibes” approach to science  —  One of the biggest changes so far during President Donald Trump's second term has been the steady degradation of basic data collection.  —  In some cases, moves have been driven by his ideological resistance to the numbers themselves …

From battleships to buildings: Trump's name is everywhere  —  As a New York businessman, President Donald Trump put his name on real estate, golf courses, vodka, steaks, bottled water and his own university.  —  As president in his second term, he is merging his personal brand …

Justice Dept. Now Said to Be Reviewing 5.2 Million Pages of Epstein Files  —  The number represents a more precise, and potentially much larger, figure than earlier estimates.  The department is seeking to enlist about 400 lawyers to help in the review.  —  The Justice Department is seeking …

The plot to redraw America … Donald Trump was confused.  —  His top political aide, James Blair, arrived in the Oval Office one afternoon this April to pitch a novel gambit: Republicans could begin padding their narrow U.S. House majority well before voters went to the polls in November 2026.

McLean man charged with sending threatening messages and lying to investigators  —  For Immediate Release  —  U.S. Attorney's Office, Eastern District of Virginia  —  ALEXANDRIA, Va. - A McLean man was charged by criminal complaint with transmitting threats in interstate commerce and making false statements.

OpenAI Reportedly Planning to Make ChatGPT “Prioritize” Advertisers in Conversation  —  Beneath ChatGPT's flattering persona lies a goldmine for advertisers: an AI chatbot that never gets tired of hawking clients' wares.  —  New reporting by The Information has revealed some recent topics …

Democrat wins Iowa state Senate race, blocking GOP from regaining supermajority  —  Democrat Renee Hardman won a special election for state Senate in Iowa on Tuesday, preventing Republicans from regaining a supermajority in the chamber, Decision Desk HQ projects.

Trump's total control of the border is the success story of 2025  —  Two years ago this month, more than 300,000 illegal immigrants were stopped by Customs and Border Protection officers along the southwest border of the United States, and almost all of them were quickly released into the country.