Exclusive: White House uses USAID funds for budget director Vought's security, documents show  —  The White House budget office is using millions of dollars from the former U.S. foreign aid agency to pay for the security detail of Russell Vought, President Donald Trump's budget chief …

A Pilot Fired Over Kristi Noem's Missing Blanket and the Constant Chaos Inside DHS  —  Secretary, with close adviser Corey Lewandowski, faces fire for confrontational immigration crackdown and self-promotional style; White House to wind down Minnesota operations  —  Kristi Noem knew she needed a reset.

NY Fed report says Americans pay for almost all of Trump's tariffs  —  Americans are shouldering almost all of President Donald Trump's import tax surge, a report from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York said on Thursday.  —  The bank said 90% of the tariffs imposed by the president …

Congress Jets Off as D.H.S. Shuts Down  —  Despite a deadlock over funding for the agency, lawmakers left town and left Democratic and White House negotiators to try to work out a deal in their absence.  —  When a disruptive government shutdown nears, the Capitol is usually occupied …

What Meetings Among Trump Lawyers Reveal About the FBI's Seizure of Election Records in Georgia  —  The Missouri prosecutor overseeing an investigation into the 2020 vote in Fulton County, Georgia, has taken part in meetings since last fall with lawyers tasked by President Donald Trump to reinvestigate his loss to Joe Biden.

Meta Plans to Add Facial Recognition Technology to Its Smart Glasses  —  In an internal memo last year, Meta said the political tumult in the United States would distract critics from the feature's release.  —  Five years ago, Facebook shut down the facial recognition system for tagging people …

Behind the Curtain: Resistance rising  —  Little by little, week after week, a subtle but significant shift is unfolding in American politics: Institutions and even a small but growing number of Republicans are standing up to President Trump. … But the law of political gravity is starting to apply to Trump.

Trump pardons 5 former NFL players for crimes ranging from perjury to drug trafficking  —  President Donald Trump on Thursday pardoned five former professional football players — one posthumously — for various crimes ranging from perjury to drug trafficking.

The MAGA Bubble Is Imploding  —  Americans aren't buying Trumpist gaslighting about the economy … Attorney General Pam Bondi's meltdown on Wednesday while being questioned the House Judiciary Committee was exceptional, even by this administration's rock-bottom standards.

Slotkin looks to make sure DOJ has ended investigation into military video … The letter, addressed to Pirro and Attorney General Pam Bondi, wants the DOJ to confirm by the end of the day Friday that its probe is over.  —  Slotkin's lawyers are using Trump's behavior in the aftermath …

“Not Ready for Prime Time.”  A Federal Tool to Check Voter Citizenship Keeps Making Mistakes.  —  When county clerk Brianna Lennon got an email in November saying a newly expanded federal system had flagged 74 people on the county's voter roll as potential noncitizens, she was taken aback.

Exclusive: Arizona sheriff blocks FBI access to evidence in Nancy Guthrie abduction, source says  —  An Arizona sheriff is blocking FBI access to key evidence in the investigation into the abduction of U.S. television journalist Savannah Guthrie's mother, impairing its ability to assist in the probe …

Goldman Sachs General Counsel Kathryn Ruemmler Resigns Over Epstein Ties  —  Kathryn Ruemmler, a former top Obama administration lawyer, is out at Goldman Sachs after emails showed a friendship with the sex offender Jeffrey Epstein spanning many years.  —  Goldman Sachs's top lawyer …

HHS shaking up top personnel to push Trump, MAHA priorities ahead of midterms  —  Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Thursday announced a reshuffling of top staffers in his department as the Trump administration looks to shore up health wins that can boost GOP success in the upcoming midterms.

Morning Digest: For the first time ever, New Mexico Republicans won't field a Senate candidate  —  Leading Off  —  For the first time since New Mexico became a state in 1912, Republicans won't field a candidate in a U.S. Senate race.  —  The GOP learned of its grim fate on Tuesday …

Ring cancels its partnership with Flock Safety after surveillance backlash  —  Following mounting pressure and a questionable Super Bowl ad, the Amazon-owned company walked back its plan to integrate with the controversial law-enforcement technology company.

Logistics giant DP World replaces chairman named in Jeffrey Epstein documents  —  Dubai has announced a new chairman for DP World, one of the world's largest logistics companies, replacing the outgoing head who was named in the Jeffrey Epstein documents.  The announcement by the government's …

Jesse Watters: “Epstein got his money from two Jewish billionaires” and “the Jewish banking dynasty, the Rothschilds”

The Woman Alex Pretti Was Killed Trying to Defend Is an EMT.  Federal Agents Stopped Her From Giving First Aid.  —  MINNEAPOLIS — The struggle that killed Alex Pretti began with a shove.  It ended with gunshots.  —  In the final moments before he was shot and killed by federal authorities in Minneapolis …

‘A massive burden on American eligible voters’: State election chiefs oppose GOP voter suppression bills  —  The Democratic chief election officials of six states are denouncing two new voter suppression bills making their way through Congress — underscoring how the legislation would place …

The Infrastructure of Jeffrey Epstein's Power  —  This is an edited transcript of “The Ezra Klein Show.”  You can listen to the episode wherever you get your podcasts.  —  At the end of January, Trump's Justice Department released what it said was the last tranche of the Epstein files …

Newsom to world leaders: ‘Donald Trump is temporary’  —  In Munich, the likely presidential contender continued to position California — and himself — as an alternative to Trumpism … While it's not unusual for California governors to wield the state's economic clout to shape global climate policy …

Trump Wants Smithsonian to Create a Different Official Portrait  —  The painted portrait from President Trump's first term was completed more than four years ago, but never unveiled.  Now he wants the National Portrait Gallery to commission a new one.  —  The unveiling of an official …

ICE plans to spend $38.3 billion turning warehouses into detention centers  —  Documents released Thursday offer the most complete picture to date of the Trump administration's controversial and costly plan to overhaul immigrant detention using industrial buildings.