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 …

Iran declares Strait of Hormuz open to shipping but Trump says U.S. blockade still active … Iran on Friday declared the Strait of Hormuz is open to commercial ships during the ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon, but confusion quickly emerged about whether the sea lane was really open without conditions.

Supreme Court Sides With Oil Companies in Louisiana Coastal Lawsuits  —  The companies had asked the justices to clear the way to move environmental lawsuits out of state courts, to friendlier federal venues.  —  The Supreme Court agreed on Friday that energy companies facing lawsuits …

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.

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.

Who's Erica Schwartz, the Md. alum Trump nominated to run the CDC?  —  President Donald Trump on Thursday nominated University of Maryland Law School alumni Erica Schwartz to serve as director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.  —  Schwartz has a medical degree from Brown University …

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 …

Mike Johnson Has a FISA Fiasco on His Hands  —  The House Speaker's surprise five-year extension and bogus warrant provision backfired, but it was enough to get a gaggle of Democrats to break ranks.  — Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email

The 27-Year-Old Diplomat Waging Trump's Cultural War With Europe  —  Five years out of college, Samuel Samson has driven the Trump administration's push to upend America's postwar relationship with Europe.  —  When Samuel Samson, a senior adviser at the State Department …

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 …

Rümeysa Öztürk, Tufts University grad arrested by ICE agents last year, returns to Turkey  —  Tufts University graduate Rümeysa Öztürk, who was arrested by masked immigration agents in Somerville last March and held in a Louisiana detention center for six weeks, has returned to her home country of Turkey.

Exclusive: Justice Department removes lead prosecutor from probe of Trump critic John Brennan  —  The Justice Department has removed the career Miami federal prosecutor leading the investigation into John Brennan, after she resisted pressure to quickly bring charges against the former CIA director …

Utah leaders to probe relationship between Supreme Court justice, redistricting lawyer  —  Justice Diana Hagen speaks at the Supreme Court of Utah in Salt Lake City on Sept. 25, 2024.  Utah's governor and legislative leaders are launching an investigation into Hagen and allegations …

An unabashed progressive dominates in New Jersey, another midterm warning sign for Republicans … “I think it's a clear sign that the MAGA movement is fading, diminishing and that democracy is at the forefront of voters' agendas,” New Jersey Democratic State Committee Chair LeRoy Jones said in a phone interview.

Obama Urges Virginians to Vote ‘Yes’ on Redistricting Referendum  —  Democrats may win a vote to give their party more House seats, but they are growing anxious — in part because of dueling TV ads that might confuse voters about where the former president stands.

Transcript: George Conway on Why Trump Will Be Removed from Office … Greg Sargent: This is The Daily Blast from The New Republic, produced and presented by the DSR Network.  I'm your host, Greg Sargent.  —  Donald Trump's own allies and many other Republicans have quietly started to fear the worst about the midterms.

Diplomatic cables show Iran war is damaging US on multiple fronts across the world … 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 …

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 …

Why Should JD Vance Worry?  —  Despite his growing collection of obvious failures on the global stage, he's reveling in his imaginary, near-divine status within the power elite  —  Things have been going badly for JD Vance the last few weeks.  He failed in high-level negotiations with Iran.

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”

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 …

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.