‘They hold the cards now’: Trump allies fear Iran is slipping beyond the president's control … “We clearly just kicked [Iran's] ass in the field, but, to a large extent, they hold the cards now,” said one person close to the White House, who like others in this story was granted anonymity to speak candidly about the war.

Top counterterrorism official Kent resigns over Trump's Iran war, says Iran posed no imminent threat  —  Joe Kent, the director of the National Counterterrorism Center, announced his resignation on Tuesday, saying he “cannot in good conscience” back the Trump administration's war in Iran.

Trump said he spoke to a former president about bombing Iran.  Four denials suggest otherwise.  —  Trump said twice Monday that he spoke to one of his predecessors about the Iran war and that the former president said he wished he had taken the action Trump did.

Judge Ejects Federal Prosecutor From Court and Orders Bosses to Testify  —  Judge Zahid Quraishi ordered a hearing on who had the authority to lead New Jersey's top federal law enforcement office.  —  A federal judge threw a top prosecutor from the New Jersey U.S. attorney's office …

Trump Officials Weigh New $1 Billion Deal to Stop Offshore Wind Farms  —  Proposed settlements would block wind farms off New York State and North Carolina, according to documents reviewed by The New York Times.  —  The Trump administration is considering a new strategy for throttling …

Cuba's latest blackout underscores its deepening economic crisis as Rubio calls for new leadership  —  (AP video shot by Ariel Fernández and Milexsy Durán)  —  Large parts of Cuba were without power on Tuesday after its third blackout in four months underscored …

Comer subpoenas Attorney General Pam Bondi over Epstein files  —  House Oversight Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) issued a subpoena to Attorney General Pam Bondi on Tuesday, demanding she testify before lawmakers over her handling of the Epstein files.  The move came after five Republicans …

Families search for loved ones after deadly Pakistan strike on Kabul rehab  —  Families have gathered outside a drug treatment centre in the Afghan capital, Kabul, looking for their loved ones after it was hit in a Pakistani air strike, which Taliban authorities said killed 408 people.

‘Trump is aiming for dictatorship’.  That's the verdict of the world's most credible democracy watchdog  —  Sweden's V-Dem Institute warns that the US is no longer a liberal democracy.  And autocracy is creeping across Europe too  —  The US is no longer a democracy.

CNN Data Guru Reports War in Iran ‘Tremendously Popular’ With Trump's MAGA Base: ‘Tucker Carlson Be Darned’  —  Some right-wing media figures have bashed President Donald Trump's war against Iran, but CNN data guru Harry Enten said don't let them fool you into believing that's how most Make America Great Again voters feel.

It's great that the NYT is thriving.  But I have a worry.  —  A New York Times journalist posted on social media over the weekend that she was happy to be covering the Academy Awards for the sixth time.  She noted that she was part of a 60-person Times team assigned to that coverage.  —  Sixty.

Apocalypse (Any Day) Now  —  Who is the Antichrist, anyway?  And why is Peter Thiel so obsessed with him?  —  I. Revelations  —  In Italy on Sunday, the sweaty billionaire Peter Thiel gave a private lecture—the first in a series—"exploring the concept of the Antichrist," per Reuters, which broke the story.

Peter Thiel Fears the Antichrist Is Coming.  In Rome, Some Call His View Heresy.  —  The right-wing tech investor is giving lectures near the Catholic church's administrative heart.  Commentators there are rejecting his apocalyptic vision.  —  4 MIN READ  —  The Grand Canyon I Never Got to See

Capitol Police's post-Jan. 6 recruitment blitz runs into retention problems  —  U.S. Capitol Police Chief Michael Sullivan is warning that retention issues pose a serious threat to the force's ability to maintain the safety and security of lawmakers amid mounting threats of political violence.

What's in the Voter ID Bill Trump and Republicans Are Pushing?  —  The legislation would require voters to prove their citizenship in person upon registration, ban IDs without a photo at polling places and criminalize failures to enforce such requirements.  —  The Senate will take up a …

Planning to fail  —  Shortly after the start of the war in Iran on February 28, Iran declared that the Strait of Hormuz — which is used to transport about 20% of the world's oil — was closed.  Since then, vessels near the strait have been struck by drones and other projectiles.

Federal judge in D.C. issues new grand jury policy after failed indictment of Democrats  —  Jeanine Pirro's office has recently clashed with Chief Judge James Boasberg over its attempts to prosecute individuals targeted by Trump.  —  The chief federal judge for the District of Columbia …

Is MAGA in its cringe era?  —  Trump 2.0 was supposed to be younger and cooler than what came before.  The vibes have shifted.  —  A little over a year ago, a new class of Trump supporters arrived in Washington to celebrate the dawn of the president's second term.

Slavery, Tariffs and the Dire Strait  —  Or, why America is on its own  —  Donald Trump is now pleading with other countries to rescue his war on Iran by helping to open the Strait of Hormuz — although Trump being Trump, his pleas for assistance take the form of threats.  Regardless, help is not on the way.

Finland's Stubb: Brexit was like sawing off your leg for no reason  —  The Finnish president predicts the U.K. will rejoin the EU, and wants closer integration on defense and trade as Donald Trump rips up the world order.  —  LONDON — Brexit was “a colossal mistake” and the U.K. should rejoin …

College Republicans group disbanded after students allegedly give Nazi salute  —  The University of Florida's chapter accused the Florida Federation of College Republicans of lying “to silence christian conservative groups on campus.”  —  The University of Florida's College Republicans chapter …

The fight over transgender rights in America has entered a new phase  —  The policy fight is moving well beyond sports and youth medicine.  The political response hasn't caught up. … For much of the past eight years, the political fight over transgender rights in America has centered …

Jonathan Greenblatt calls out Chris Van Hollen, Ro Khanna at ADL's national conference  —  The ADL's annual summit comes amid high-profile antisemitic attacks during the Iran war  —  Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of the Anti-Defamation League, called out two Democratic lawmakers from the main stage …