Trump's State of the Union Reminds Us the Republican Party Is Truly Lost  —  Donald Trump's State of the Union speech offered little in the way of new talking points.  He railed against illegal immigrants, falsely touted a booming economy, praised his precious tariffs, and repeatedly castigated his Democratic opponents.

Kansas Sends Letters To Trans People Demanding The Immediate Surrender Of Drivers Licenses  —  Erin In The Morning is a reader-supported publication.  To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a subscriber.  —  Today, transgender people across Kansas are reporting receiving letters …

Republicans are freaking out over Texas Senate race  —  Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is the man to beat ahead of Tuesday's primary — and could put Senate Republicans' majority at risk … If Cornyn loses the primary, Senate Republicans worry they could be forced to spend hundreds …

Patel Ousts F.B.I. Personnel Tied to Inquiry Into Trump's Retained Classified Records  —  The firings are part of a rolling barrage of retribution aimed at those who worked on the two federal prosecutions of President Trump.  —  About 10 F.B.I. employees, some veteran agents …

White House officials believe ‘the politics are a lot better’ if Israel strikes Iran first … “There's thinking in and around the administration that the politics are a lot better if the Israelis go first and alone and the Iranians retaliate against us, and give us more reason to take action …

Americans Are Leaving the U.S. in Record Numbers  —  More citizens are replanting overseas, drawn by a quality of life made easily affordable by the U.S.'s enviable salaries.  “I wasn't expecting to be surrounded by this many Americans.”  —  In its 250th year, is America, land of immigration, becoming a country of emigration?

Seized Art, Eavesdropping Guards: Parents Describe a Clampdown at Dilley Detention Center as Kids Shared Their Stories  —  Detainees told ProPublica that art supplies have been removed in room searches, immigrants have lost access to Gmail and staff hover within earshot during video calls.

Breaking: Trans inmate's lawyers claim “egregious retaliation” in violation of court order  —  An alarming emergency motion filed on Wednesday night alleged “flagrant violations” by the Trump administration of a federal court order that it not retaliate against witnesses who are providing information …

Putin's Top Officials Laugh About How Dumb Trump Is Behind His Back  —  IT'S MAGA, STUPID  —  They're in hysterics over just how easily the MAGA leader buys into the Russian tyrant's lies.  —  Vladimir Putin's top aides are snickering behind Donald Trump's back because they think the Russian tyrant …

Judge: IRS broke law ‘approximately 42,695 times’ in giving DHS data  —  A court on Thursday issued an opinion on a data-sharing agreement between the taxpayer agency and federal immigration authorities.  —  A federal judge has found that the Internal Revenue Service violated federal law …

Two-thirds of Americans want term limits for Supreme Court justices  —  Our new poll finds majority support for structural reforms to the Supreme Court, Puerto Rico statehood, and limits on the pardon power … Many Americans support structural reforms that would limit presidential power …

Exclusive: ICE struggles to vet recruits amid US immigration enforcement push, internal email shows  —  U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is struggling to keep pace with vetting new hires during its historic recruitment push and is laying out a process to deal with allegations …

Tensions simmer over Howard Lutnick, Trump's favorite dealmaker … Plus, some Cabinet secretaries and senior officials in the administration are increasingly wary of what they describe as his brash and controlling style - and whether he can deliver on the $18 trillion in pledged investments …

Trump calls for ‘mentally deranged’ Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib to ‘be institutionalized’ for SOTU antics  —  President Trump lambasted “Squad” Reps. Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib for their rowdy behavior during his State of the Union address Tuesday evening, calling for them to “be institutionalized.”

Trump's next tariff fight: Keeping the money … Supreme Court justices left the question of how the refunds for the rest of companies should be handled to a lower court, something even Trump himself appeared baffled over during a press conference with reporters on Friday.

How Jeffrey Epstein sought to infiltrate the justice system  —  Jeffrey Epstein didn't beat the justice system by accident.  —  For decades, the New York financier curated a network of influential people — politicians, business titans, media figures and academics — whom he leveraged …

Columbia student detained by DHS agents who made “misrepresentations” to enter building, university president says  —  Add CBS News on Google  —  Columbia University's president says a student was detained by federal agents Thursday morning at one of its residential buildings.

New A.C.A. Plans Could Increase Family Deductibles to $31,000  —  The Trump administration is proposing Obamacare plans that it says will lower health insurance premiums.  But critics warn they would make care unaffordable.  —  The Trump administration's proposed new rules for Obamacare plans next year …

Iran to offer ‘commercial bonanza’ to US companies  —  Tehran is seeking to tempt Donald Trump with investments in its oil and gas reserves as it seeks to stave off an attack  —  Iran is aiming to tempt Donald Trump with financial incentives, including investments in its vast oil and gas reserves …

Canadian man in ICE custody says he thought agents were only focusing on ‘criminals and murderers’  —  N.S. cuts funding from mental health programs tied to 2020 mass shooting  —  Over one quarter of Saskatchewan kids live in poverty: report  —  Sarnia teacher charged with sexual offences …

AI Death Machines.  No Human Oversight.  What Could Go Wrong?  —  Another day, another round of insane, racist Truth Social attacks against minority congresswomen from the president of the United States: … Happy Thursday.  —  Hegseth's AI Ultimatum  —  by Andrew Egger