Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons is leaving the Department of Homeland Security  —  DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin announced the move Thursday evening and wished Lyons well.  —  Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons is leaving the Department of Homeland Security, the new head of the DHS said Thursday.

Scoop: Democrats eye new strategy after Iran war powers fail  —  A group of House Democrats is discussing plans to force a vote on an Iran war powers every day until one finally passes or U.S. operations in the region end, Axios has learned. … - It's not clear if House Democratic leadership …

Gabbard raised issues with spy law Trump is pushing to renew … In a statement, the White House said Trump's “entire exceptional national security team is in lockstep with the president in advancing his efforts to achieve a clean reauthorization of FISA 702.”

Trump wants less spending.  RFK Jr.'s ‘not happy’ about it.  —  Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. sounded less enthusiastic about cutting his department's budget during the first of several hearings Thursday than he did a year ago.  Then, Kennedy told lawmakers a proposed 25 percent cut …

Progressive Analilia Mejia coasts to victory in New Jersey special House election … “We must stop them,” she said.  “These radicals will watch Rome burn with all of us within, and they are simply cowards — cowards unwilling to stand up to this madness.  But we stand up, we resist, we will not allow it to continue.”

Justin Fairfax increasingly erratic weeks before murder-suicide, court records show  —  Fairfax was once a favorite to become Virginia governor before sexual assault allegations arose.  The couple's teenage son called 911, officials said.  —  Summary  —  Former Virginia lieutenant governor …

Judge Again Halts Aboveground Construction on Trump's Ballroom  —  A federal judge wrote that an exception he made for work on security features did not cover most of the construction on the larger ballroom project Trump has proposed.  —  Aboveground construction on President Trump's White …

Cookies, deodorant, socks.  Iran war puts military packages in limbo  —  Thousands of boxes sent to service members in Middle East are stuck in limbo.  The Postal Service has indefinitely suspended delivery amid Iran war.  —  Dan F. was alarmed when his daughter, a Marine aboard the USS Tripoli …

AP Exclusive: Europe has ‘maybe 6 weeks of jet fuel left,’ energy agency head warns  —  Europe has “maybe six weeks or so” of remaining jet fuel supplies, the head of the International Energy Agency said Thursday in a wide-ranging interview, warning of possible flight cancellations “soon” if oil supplies remain blocked by the Iran war.

Pay Z: NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani is still earning rap music royalties, tax filings show  —  New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is still making money from his short-lived career as a multilingual rapper, tax filings show.  But the 34-year-old Democrat's meteoric rise as a celebrity politician …

Mandelson Became Britain's Ambassador to U.S. Despite Failing Security Vetting  —  Britain's foreign office overruled vetting officials in granting Peter Mandelson, a friend of Jeffrey Epstein, the highest level of security clearance, the government said.  —  British vetting officials recommended …

Trump ditches deportation showmanship  —  The Trump administration is discarding its shock-and-awe publicity tactics on immigration after mass deportations were met with mass backlash. … - A former DHS official said “cooler heads have prevailed” in the White House and are re-calibrating the messaging …

What I Saw Inside the Kennedy Center  —  I spent 10 months working at the institution because I thought I could help protect it.  What I observed there is far worse than the public knows.  —  On the day I was laid off from the Kennedy Center, I felt a little like Dolley Madison saving …

Hegseth attacks ‘unpatriotic’ media and compares reporters to Jewish biblical group  —  The defense secretary has frequently attacked the media over Iran war coverage. … Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth escalated his attacks on the media Thursday, comparing reporters covering the Iran war to the Pharisees …

America's Orange Jesus  —  Reflections on a week in which Donald Trump decided to feud with the Pope while comparing himself to the Saviour.  —  In her 2023 memoir, “Oath and Honor,” published the year before Donald Trump's remarkable return from political oblivion, the Republican apostate …

Pentagon Pete Goon Offers Wild Explanation for ‘Pulp Fiction’ Prayer  —  FACT OR FICTION  —  The spokesman's excuse did not offer much clarity.  —  Pete Hegseth's top spin doctor tried to defend his boss's bizarre interpretation of a Pulp Fiction monologue during a Pentagon worship event on Wednesday.

ICE Has Detained Marie-Thérèse Ross-Mahé, an 85-Year-Old Widow  —  Marie-Thérèse Ross-Mahé moved to Alabama to wed a long-lost friend.  But after her new husband died, an inheritance battle exploded and his son used his influence to have her arrested, a probate judge said.

Former FEMA leader set to return after being ousted  —  Cameron Hamilton had publicly disagreed with previous efforts to dismantle FEMA.  While those plans have shifted, the agency's future is still unclear.  —  Summary  —  President Donald Trump plans to nominate Cameron Hamilton …

Trump administration embraces quest to stamp out the events of Jan. 6  —  In his second term, the president has doubled down on efforts to reframe public perception of the 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol, in court and beyond.  —  Summary  —  Since President Donald Trump returned …

4/17/26☀️ AM: … House Republicans saved face — kind of — with a unanimous consent passage of a two-week extension of FISA authorities.  But that wasn't before the Johnson-authored compromise was rejected by a dozen Republicans. … A group of Republicans rebelled on the floor …

Embassy cables detail how Iran war is hurting the US abroad … In Azerbaijan, what had been a significantly improving relationship has hit a plateau at best, and appears to be faltering.  Bahrain's government is facing questions about whether the U.S. abandoned it to fend for itself against Iranian drones and missiles.

Democrats Make Final Push to Delay Confirmation Hearing of Trump's Fed Pick  —  Kevin M. Warsh is scheduled to testify on Tuesday despite an ongoing criminal investigation into the chair of the Federal Reserve that stands in the way of a smooth transition.  —  All 11 Democrats …

The electoral beatings will continue until morale improves  —  We have some very exciting news: Next week, G. Elliott Morris and David Nir will record the Strength In Numbers podcast live and in-person in Washington, DC—and we'd love it if you'd join us!  —  Our session will take place on Thursday …

GOP, Democrats blast Vought for holding back cash: 'You don't have the authority to impound'  —  Senators from both parties chided the Trump administration Thursday for continuing to withhold funding Congress has approved, more than a year after the White House first froze billions of dollars for temporary “review.”

Utah Becomes the New Center of U.S. Measles Cases  —  Nearly 600 people have been sickened across the state, which has seen an increase in vaccine exemptions among children in recent years.  —  Utah has become a hotbed of measles cases in the United States, as a long-simmering outbreak continues to spread.

Orbán's Ouster Doesn't Prove His Critics Wrong  —  Many dictatorships have ended peacefully, so the end of Orbán's rule in Hungary isn't proof he was never really taking the country in an authoritarian direction.  —  No description available.  —  Upgrade to Listen