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.

Trump, seeking executive power over elections, is urged to declare emergency  —  Activists who say they are in coordination with the White House are circulating a draft executive order that would unlock extraordinary presidential power over voting.  —  Pro-Trump activists who say they are in coordination …

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 …

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.

Live updates: Hillary Clinton testifies as part of House investigation into Epstein  —  EDITED BY BRIDGET BROWN, BERNARD MCGHEE AND LUENA RODRIGUEZ-FEO VILEIRA  —  Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is currently testifying before U.S. House lawmakers in New York as part …

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 …

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.

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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.

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 …

Mamdani and Trump Are Set to Meet in Washington  —  Mayor Zohran Mamdani's trip to the White House on Thursday was unannounced.  The topics he planned to discuss with President Trump were not immediately clear.  —  Mayor Zohran Mamdani of New York City made an unannounced trip to Washington …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

Democrats in four states seek to bar ICE employees from future civil service jobs  —  Bills aim to make ICE employees ineligible for jobs in law enforcement, public education and state civil service  —  Supercharged by billions in dollars from Congress, Immigration and Customs Enforcement …

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