Iran War Live Updates: Drone Hits Kuwaiti Oil Refinery in New Attack on Gulf Energy Sites  —  The fate of the plane's crew was unclear, as American officials scrambled to mount a search and rescue operation before Iran could get to any survivors, officials said.  Iranian state media also said a jet had been downed.

White House Seeks $1.5 Trillion for Defense in New Budget Request  —  The massive, proposed increase would be offset in part by steep cuts to domestic programs, some of which the administration describes as wasteful.  —  With the United States at war with Iran and embroiled in conflicts around the world …

Blanche: I never heard Trump say Bondi exit ‘had anything to do with the Epstein files’  —  Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said Thursday that Pam Bondi's ouster from the Justice Department was not related to the Trump administration's release of files related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Trump Has Lost Control of Events in Iran  —  When presidents go on television in wartime, they do not merely describe events.  They try to impose meaning on them.  On Wednesday night, President Trump presented the war with Iran as a stern but necessary undertaking that is nearing a favorable conclusion.

Exclusive: Justice Samuel Alito was taken to a hospital last month in previously undisclosed incident  —  Supreme Court justices Supreme Court Donald Trump  —  Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito was taken to a hospital after becoming ill last month at a Federalist Society dinner in Philadelphia …

Pam Bondi's portrait already taken down at Justice Department  —  It did not take long for the pictures to come off the wall.  —  Within hours of the news that President Donald Trump had fired Pam Bondi as attorney general, images began circulating of her framed portrait …

Hegseth's ‘paranoia’ of being replaced explains purge of top general — as ally emerges for Army secretary's role  —  WASHINGTON — Secretary of War Pete Hegseth's “paranoia” about Army Secretary Dan Driscoll taking his job fueled the firing of the Army's top general, current …

Hegseth Says U.S. Troops Are Fighting for Jesus.  The Pope Disagrees.  —  In sharp contrast to the Trump administration's calls for Christian prayers for the war effort, Pope Leo XIV says military domination is “entirely foreign to the way of Jesus Christ.”

Trump seeks $152 million to reopen Alcatraz as active prison  —  The White House on Friday sought $152 million to return the former Alcatraz prison island to active duty, following up on President Donald Trump's call last year to transform the popular San Francisco Bay tourist destination.

The White House App Is Riddled With Cybersecurity Vulnerabilities  —  Cybersecurity experts' reviews of the app have turned up concerns about the undisclosed data it collects.  — Copy  —  Cybersecurity researchers warn that the White House's new app regularly shares users' IP addresses …

Trump's anti-voting order may backfire, damaging DOJ's voter roll campaign  —  President Donald Trump's executive order on mail voting is highly likely to be declared unconstitutional and blocked by courts.  But it might also screw up the Department of Justice's (DOJ) 30 ongoing lawsuits for state voter rolls.

Three Hundred Habeas Cases in Which the Government Has Defied Court Orders  —  A database of non-compliance with court orders around the country.  —  katherinepomps  —  katherinepomps.bsky.social  —  benjaminwittes.lawfaremedia.org  —  Meet The Authors

No One at Waffle House Remembers FEMA Official Who Says He Teleported In  —  Gregg Phillips, who is in charge of responding to fires and floods, says the hand of God suddenly and mysteriously moved him to a 24-hour breakfast spot in Rome, Ga.  —  Shastoni Burge has worked for a decade …

Grandmother Faces Trial in Alabama for Wearing Penis Costume to No Kings Protest  —  In the body camera footage, a police officer parks his black SUV on the grass, a rosary swinging from the rearview mirror.  He exits his car, moves briskly past a pair of protesters, and points an accusatory finger …

Judge bats down DOJ bid to revive subpoenas to Fed … “No matter whom the subpoenas were addressed to, then, it was clear whom they sought dirt on: Powell,” Boasberg wrote.  —  U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro, who is overseeing the investigation, has already promised to appeal to the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals.

Trump announces ‘fraud’ crackdown in Democratic states as arrests begin in California  —  US president makes baseless claims about fraud in blue states and says JD Vance will lead clampdown as ‘fraud czar’  —  Donald Trump announced a fresh crackdown on “fraud” in Democratic states and tapped JD Vance to lead the charge.

Fact Sheet: President Donald J. Trump Takes Urgent National Action to Save College Sports  —  PROTECTING THE FUTURE OF COLLEGE SPORTS BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE: Today, President Donald J. Trump signed an Executive Order to preserve the unique American institution of college athletics by restoring order, fairness, and stability.

Trump admin moves Title X family planning program away from contraception, towards conception … The guidance instead promotes “natural family planning methods,” such as period tracking apps and other forms of fertility awareness that have higher failure rates than hormonal birth control.

Relationship with Trump may be beyond repair, Keir Starmer told  —  PM gets widespread backing after president's mocking impersonation takes US-UK relationship to new low  —  Keir Starmer has been warned his relationship with Donald Trump may be beyond repair after the US president derided …

The six big events that have dragged down Donald Trump's approval rating  —  Note: This article is free to read, but it was not free to produce.  To help grow this newsletter business (doing so incurs costs like paying for polling data and modeling infrastructure, experimenting on biz dev …