3/23/26☀️ AM: … The House and Senate are in session this week.  The House returns Tuesday.  The Senate, which has been in all weekend, is scheduled to confirm Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) as Department of Homeland Security secretary tonight.

Trump threats, U.S. troop build-up raise specter of battle for Hormuz  —  Israelis said securing the strait for energy shipments could become the war's main goal now that regime change and ending Iran's ability to obtain a nuclear weapon seem out of reach.  —  TEL AVIV — A surge …

How Epstein Helped Solve a Billionaire's Problems With Women … In October 2017, a yoga instructor emailed Jeffrey Epstein with a delicate question: When might she receive the tens of thousands of dollars she'd been promised by the billionaire Leon Black?  —  She and Mr. Black …

Voice of America staffers sue, alleging Kari Lake put on propaganda  —  In the latest battle over the future of Voice of America, a fresh group of veteran Voice of America journalists are suing Trump administration official Kari Lake, alleging that she is promoting pro-Trump propaganda on air.

Supreme Court Likely to Divide Closely in Watson over Whether States May Count Ballots Received after Election Day in Federal Elections; Key Justices Don't Tip Hands  —  This morning the Supreme Court heard oral argument in Watson v. RNC.  The case concerns whether federal statutes setting Election …

Italy's Meloni seen narrowly losing justice referendum, exit polls say  —  Exit polls on Monday suggested Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni had narrowly lost a referendum on her flagship reform of the judicial system, dealing a potential blow to the ruling coalition ahead of next year's general election.

‘When will it end?’  The ‘elevator pitch’ oil executives and diplomats are making to the White House in Houston … If there's one message the industry wants to deliver to the administration, according to interviews with half a dozen energy industry executives and foreign diplomats planning …

Trump Has Detained the Parents of More Than 11,000 U.S. Citizen Kids  —  The baby needed somewhere to go.  So in the frantic hours before officers took her parents away to immigration detention, her mom turned to their pastor and his wife.  As squad cars waited outside the family's Lakeland …

Adventures in Fantasy Diplomacy  —  Trump says he's negotiating with Iran.  Iran says he isn't.  Who are you gonna believe?  —  Another day in America's self-immolation as a Great Power.  —  More like this on my YouTube channel  —  Transcript  —  It's Monday morning.

Federal government employees are not ok  —  A new survey shows collapsing morale amidst ineffective leadership  —  Imagine you inherited a large, complex business.  You don't have time to run it yourself, but you recognize its importance.  So you hire a management team.

It's three times harder for blue states to get disaster funding under Trump … The denials have blocked Democratic-led states from getting a total of $250 million in disaster aid that would have been approved by every previous president including Trump in his first term, E&E News found.

Trump Poised to Skip CPAC For First Time in a Decade  —  President Donald Trump is poised to skip the Conservative Political Action Conference this week, breaking with an annual tradition that has helped define his political rise and cement his hold over the modern conservative movement.

Volume in stock and oil futures surged minutes before Trump's market-turning post … S&P 500 futures and oil futures flashed an unusual burst of activity early Monday minutes before a market-moving social media post from President Donald Trump.  —  At around 6:50 a.m. in New York …

The SAVE America Act could backfire bigly on MAGA  —  Public Notice is supported by paid subscribers.  Become one ⬇️  —  💬 Subscribe to PN 💬  —  This weekend, the Republicans thrashed about in the Senate like rotting, mildly electrocuted trout as they attempted …

Pete Hegseth is promoting a nihilist cult of death  —  The Trump administration is embracing violence for the sake of violence  —  It appears that members of Trump's cabinet get chosen not despite their endorsements of violence, but because of them.  Pete Hegseth was primarily known as a dapper TV host willing to defend war crimes.

Republicans privately fear this swing state Democrat  —  Behind closed doors, Republicans have tamped down their hopes of unseating Jon Ossoff, a 39-year-old powerhouse fundraiser, as he seeks another term.  —  Rep. Buddy Carter warned a crowd of Republicans in Roberta, Georgia …

Control tower at Newark airport outside NYC evacuated over burning smell  —  A burning smell prompted the control tower at Newark airport outside of New York City to be evacuated, and a ground stop was ordered, the Federal Aviation Administration said.  —  Air traffic was paused around 7:30 …

Trump administration, energy developer announce end of U.S. offshore wind projects … As part of the agreement, the Interior Department would terminate the leases for TotalEnergies' Attentive Energy and Carolina Long Bay projects, worth $928 million, the department said.

The Trump-inspired realignment of the conservative think tank world … The three new groups are working to drive policy in the future by building on Trump's brand, expanding on what Trump has built, or looking to counter the direction the GOP is moving in.  —  “The modern American conservative …

Is This Uncharismatic Leader Exactly What the Democrats Need?  —  DNC Chair Ken Martin has a plan to return Democrats to power, but he needs to keep the party from tearing itself apart first  —  “There are politicians who have the ‘it factor,’ and are highly charismatic,” Ken Martin …

March 22, 2026  —  President Donald J. Trump's behavior is increasingly erratic as he lashes out at those he perceives to be enemies.  On Thursday he defended his failure to inform allies and partners about his February 28 attack on Iran by telling a Japanese reporter he wanted the element of surprise.