Iran declares Strait of Hormuz open to shipping; Trump says U.S. blockade still active … Iran on Friday declared the Strait of Hormuz completely open to commercial traffic during the ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon.  —  “In line with the ceasefire in Lebanon, the passage …

Scoop: U.S. considers $20 billion cash-for-uranium deal with Iran  —  The U.S. and Iran are negotiating over a three-page plan to end the war, with one element under discussion being that the U.S. would release $20 billion in frozen Iranian funds in return for Iran giving up its stockpile of enriched uranium …

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.

French Widow Detained by ICE in Alabama Is Released After 16 Days  —  Marie-Thérèse Ross-Mahé, 85, who was arrested amid an inheritance dispute, has returned to France, its foreign affairs minister said.  She came to America last year after reconnecting with and marrying a former G.I.

MAGA Is Increasingly Convinced the Trump Assassination Attempt Was Staged  —  Conspiracy theories about the Butler, Pennsylvania, shooting have ramped up in recent weeks as once steadfast Trump supporters turn on the president.  —  In recent weeks, as criticism of President Donald Trump …

U.S. Government Agrees to $1.25 Million Settlement in Michael Flynn Suit  —  Lawfare obtained the settlement document through a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit filed in federal court earlier this year.  —  annabower.bsky.social  —  Meet The Authors  —  The United States government agreed …

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 …

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 …

The Supreme Court hands a win to oil and gas companies fighting environmental lawsuits in Louisiana  —  The Supreme Court handed a win Friday to oil and gas companies fighting lawsuits over coastal land loss and environmental degradation in Louisiana.  The 8- procedural decision gives …

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.”

The regime's attacks on Pope Leo backfire spectacularly  —  This special Saturday edition of PN is made possible by paid subscribers.  Become one👇  —  🧠 Subscribe to PN 🧠  —  President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance have picked a fight with the pope, and things are getting really weird.

Donald Trump is losing his mind  —  Imagine it was someone other than President Donald Trump.  Suppose a different leader were posting deranged rants in the small hours, insulting the spiritual leader of 1.3 billion Catholics, threatening entire civilizations with annihilation, and comparing himself to God.

The Shocking Secrets of Madison Square Garden's Surveillance Machine  —  Famously vengeful Knicks owner Jim Dolan has long spied on people at his iconic arenas.  WIRED goes deep inside the operation that allegedly tracked a trans woman, lawyers, protesters, and more.  —  I. “EXECUTIVE ONE”

ICE went on a hiring spree.  Sterling credentials were not required, AP investigation finds  —  Their backgrounds stand out.  And not in a good way.  —  Two bankruptcies and six law enforcement jobs in three years.  An allegation of lying in a police report to justify a felony charge …

The Feuding Little Christian Fiefdoms of the Trump Administration  —  In Church, Merch, and State, Sarah Posner writes about the intersection of religion and politics in the United States.  This column is part of TPM Cafe, TPM's home for opinion and news analysis.

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 …

House Votes to Extend Expiring Law on Warrantless Surveillance for 10 Days  —  The Senate would need to also approve the stopgap measure that passed the House early Friday.  Libertarian-leaning House Republicans had balked at a long-term extension.  —  The House of Representatives voted early Friday …

Two Magicians Warn the Supreme Court About Junk Science  —  Penn & Teller filed a Supreme Court brief questioning the use of “investigative hypnosis” in a death-penalty case in Texas.  —  Penn Jillette, the talkative member of the magic act Penn & Teller, knows that people will find the duo's new project a little surprising.

Ellison's Hill Hide and Seek  —  Cory Booker has renewed his invitation for David Ellison to appear before Congress, the senator told Status—this time asking the Paramount boss to appear when he is in town “honoring” the Trump White House.  —  Next Thursday, at the United States Institute of Peace …

Three Questions for Kevin Warsh  —  Kevin Warsh looks great on paper.  President Trump's pick to serve as the next chair of the Federal Reserve is a former Fed governor with extensive experience in the financial industry.  He has many admirers both on Wall Street and in Washington.

The Scapegoat Scam  —  Hungarians stopped falling for an authoritarian's trick.  —  The Hungarian strongman Viktor Orbán, who lost his election in a landslide on Sunday after 16 years in power, presented himself as a defender of Western civilization.

Trump DOJ loses again, now 0 for 5 on voter roll cases, as court rejects Rhode Island lawsuit  —  The Department of Justice (DOJ) lost again Friday, as a federal judge dismissed its lawsuit to force Rhode Island to provide unfettered access to its voter registration rolls …

Trump Fumes Over Ballroom Pause as Aides Try to Shift Focus to Midterms  —  President fires off several social-media posts decrying a judge's decision to block construction  —  President Trump and his senior aides had planned to shift focus on Thursday to the kind of domestic policy plans …

Trump turns totally toxic for Europe's far right  —  “Proximity with the United States in the current context did not go down well with Hungarian voters,” said a senior official from France's National Rally party.  —  PARIS — Donald Trump has become so politically toxic in Europe …

Texas Medical Board Sanctions Three Doctors for Delayed Care That Led to the Deaths of Two Pregnant Women  —  Porsha Ngumezi and Nevaeh Crain died during miscarriages in Texas.  The state's medical board ruled that the doctors' substandard care led to the deaths and ordered them to complete extra training.

Here's a model of consumer sentiment that doesn't suck  —  On the question of why Americans are so glum, the answer is still (mostly) the prices, stupid.  But you have to know where to look … A gallon of milk costs about a dollar more today than it did in 2019.

Auguries from Hungary  —  Orbán's election defeat is a blow to Trump and Maga  —  With characteristic poor timing, I took a break last week from the Washington fray (though in the Trump era, any week off is badly timed).  On one of our somewhat frenetic holiday stops …

Will Trump Pardon Ghislaine Maxwell?  Her Lawyer Thinks So. … He counts Ghislaine Maxwell, the accomplice of the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and Markus' client, among them.  —  “I think she's a scapegoat,” he said in an extended interview last month.

Boston Loves Illegal Immigrants So Much, It Uses Our Tax Dollars to Pay for Their Spa Days  —  The only thing Democrats like more than spending American taxpayer money is using that money to remind American taxpayers just how much they despise them.  Imagine you live in Boston, and you work 40-plus hours a week to make ends meet.