Trump Friend Asked ICE to Detain the Mother of His Child  —  Last year, Paolo Zampolli, the former modeling agent who famously introduced Donald and Melania Trump, asked the administration for a favor.  —  Megan Twohey  —  Zampolli was in a custody battle with his Brazilian ex-girlfriend over their son.

Transcript: Trump War Takes Dark Turn as Leaks Unnerve Dems: “Madness”  —  The following is a lightly edited transcript of the March 20 episode of the Daily Blast podcast.  Listen to it here.  —  Greg Sargent: This is The Daily Blast from The New Republic, produced and presented by the DSR Network.

Ol' Donny Trump Has Really Stepped in It This Time  —  If there is a core feature of the phenomenon of Donald Trump, it's impunity.  This has less to do with Trump's personal intelligence or ability than with luck—in the early 2000s, his largely fake business empire was on the verge of collapse …

Trump mulls risky Kharg Island takeover to force Iran to open strait  —  The Trump administration is considering plans to occupy or blockade Iran's Kharg Island to pressure Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, four sources with knowledge of the issue tell Axios. … In the meantime, global energy prices are surging.

A top FEMA official has history of violent rhetoric and said he once teleported to Waffle House  —  Federal agencies Fighting disinformation Election security Media  —  As millions of Americans braced for a series of brutal storms this winter, the senior official in charge …

U.S. Prosecutors Investigate Colombia's President, a Onetime Trump Foe  —  The Justice Department is examining whether President Gustavo Petro of Colombia has ties to drug traffickers.  —  President Gustavo Petro of Colombia, who has had a volatile relationship with President Trump …

Google Search is now using AI to replace headlines  —  We're seeing Verge headlines rewritten by Google AI. … Since roughly the turn of the millennium, Google Search has been the bedrock of the web.  People loved Google's trustworthy “10 blue links” search experience and its unspoken promise …

Trump brags he's in better health than the Navy football team — and even got a doctor's opinion  —  President Trump on Friday argued he's healthier than the Navy championship football team and got his former White House doctor to agree.  —  The president welcomed Navy midshipmen …

U.S. War Planes and Helicopters Kick Off Battle to Reopen Hormuz  —  Effort takes on new urgency nearly three weeks into the war with Iran as oil prices soar

US to deploy thousands of additional troops to the Middle East, officials say  —  The United States military is deploying thousands of additional Marines and sailors to the Middle East, three U.S. officials told Reuters on Friday.  —  The deployments of the USS Boxer, along …

Scenes from the Death of the Pax Americana  —  No real post today.  I don't have it in me.  Just a few scenes from the accelerating collapse in America's reputation and influence.  —  Item: The Danish Broadcasting Corporation, roughly speaking Denmark's equivalent of the BBC …

March 19, 2026  —  After yesterday's revelation that the Department of Justice (DOJ) is blocking the release of a memo related to a Drug Enforcement Agency investigation into sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein and 14 co-conspirators, Attorney General Pam Bondi added more evidence to the idea …

CBS News will end radio service as Weiss struggles to right ship  —  The troubled network is eliminating its century-old CBS News Radio division and laying off more staff.  —  CBS News will end its nearly century-old radio service, CBS News Radio, and cut more jobs amid a rocky turnaround effort under …

“He needs to go”: Dems rage over Fetterman's DHS vote  —  Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) is under heavy fire from fellow Democrats for casting the deciding vote to advance Sen. Markwayne Mullin's (R-Okla.) nomination for DHS Secretary, with some openly calling for his ouster.

Putin offers to stop sharing intel with Iran if US cuts off Ukraine  —  Moscow proposed a quid pro quo to the U.S. under which the Kremlin would stop sharing intelligence information with Iran, such as the precise coordinates of U.S. military assets in the Middle East, if Washington ceased supplying Ukraine with intel about Russia.

The Trump Administration Is Turning the U.S. Census on Its Head  —  The changes could cloud the government's understanding of what the United States population looks like and the resources it needs.  — Copy  —  The 2030 U.S. census is poised to look very different than the one released in 2020.

Father of service member killed in Iran war said he never told Pete Hegseth to ‘finish’ the job  —  Hegseth said “family after family” of service members killed urged the administration to “not stop until the job is done.”  President Donald Trump made a similar claim earlier this month.

Thousands have swooned over this MAGA dream girl.  She's made with AI. … The beautiful Army blonde Jessica Foster has posed with an F-22 Raptor fighter jet, donned camouflage in the desert and walked a tarmac with President Donald Trump on the first day of the strikes on Iran.

An immigration court few have heard of is quietly shaping policy behind the scenes  —  The Trump administration has reshaped a lesser-known corner of the Justice Department to set immigration policy and escalate mass detentions and deportations.  —  An administrative court known as the Board …

Saudi Arabia Sees a Spike to $180 Oil if Energy Shock Persists Past April  —  Prices at such a level could trigger a recession or consumer changes that crush demand  —  Saudi Arabia's oil officials are working frantically to project how high oil prices might go if the Iran war and its disruption …

House Republicans are heading for the exits  —  PN is supported by paid subscribers.  Become one ⬇️  —  📜 Subscribe to PN 📜  —  Earlier this month, four more Republicans announced their pending retirements from the House of Representatives: Darrell Issa …

Optimism In An Age Of Superstition And Decline  —  Democracy, living standards, and relative global peace are all imperiled.  And if you attempt to get a handle on developments along any of these fronts, the most readily available sources of information are literally designed to confound you, if not convince you of lies.

As Trump Demands Voter Data, This Fiercely Independent Red State Says No  —  States were on notice from the U.S. Department of Justice that if they didn't fall in line, the federal government would force them into compliance.  —  It wasn't President Donald Trump's administration applying pressure.

Chuck Norris Hospitalized After Medical Emergency  —  EXCLUSIVE  —  Chuck Norris has been hospitalized in Hawaii ... TMZ has learned.  —  Sources with direct knowledge tell us ... some medical emergency occurred in the last 24 hours on the island of Kauai that landed Chuck in the hospital.

Judge warns revival of suit against Black Lives Matter organizer ‘imperils’ First Amendment  —  An officer officer injured during a protest sued DeRay Mckesson for organizing a 2016 protest in Baton Rouge following the police killing of Alton Sterling.  —  A federal appeals court judge …

Bluesky announces $100M Series B after CEO transition  —  Social network Bluesky is gearing up for big changes with today's news that the company raised $100 million in Series B funding.  The round, led by Bain Capital Crypto, was closed in April 2025 but had not been disclosed until now.

Massachusetts Lost $4 Billion of Income After Millionaire Tax  —  Residents exiting Massachusetts took a net of $4.2 billion in adjusted gross income with them in 2023, one of the largest totals in the country, after a tax on millionaires took effect.  —  The amount was an 8% year-over-year increase …

The Number of Families Being Held at Dilley Detention Center Has Plummeted  —  The number of parents and children booked into the country's only immigrant family detention center, in Dilley, Texas, plummeted in February by more than 75% compared with a month earlier, according to Immigration …

How Trump Is Trying To Suppress Voting On College Campuses Ahead Of November  —  His administration is going after a nonpartisan group that more than 1,000 universities and colleges rely on to boost student voter engagement.  —  WASHINGTON ― President Donald Trump has been brazen …

State Legislature Pursues Accountability for Convicted Jan 6 Rioters  —  Legislation Would Ban Convicted Rioters from State Positions  —  In a cavernous hearing room, Cheryl Kagan sat in the leather chair at the witness table and put on her glasses to read a statement that - five years ago - would seem unthinkable.