DOJ arrests soldier who made $400,000 betting on Maduro's removal: Sources  —  The bet was allegedly placed by a commando involved in Nicolas Maduro's capture.  —  Katherine Faulders, Aaron Katersky, Peter Charalambous, and Alexander Mallin  —  Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores …

White House exasperated with GOP over Virginia election faceplant  —  Democrats' win in Virginia reignited GOP frustrations over the mid-decade redistricting war … The exasperation emanating from the West Wing underscores a long-simmering frustration that Republicans are too quick …

Pentagon fires ombudsman overseeing military newspaper after calling it ‘woke’  —  Stars and Stripes ombudsman Jacqueline Smith said the Defense Department dismissed her without giving a reason, according to an email reviewed by The Post.  —  Summary  —  Three months after the Pentagon decried …

Trump Administration Aims to Strip Citizenship From Hundreds of Naturalized Americans  —  The Trump administration is assigning denaturalization cases to regular prosecutors, which could lead to a surge of people stripped of U.S. citizenship.  —  The Justice Department has identified 384 …

Trump's Dreams for a Battleship Led to His Navy Secretary's Ouster  —  The Navy secretary, John Phelan, was supposed to deliver the first of the president's ships by 2028.  The timeline was nearly impossible.  —  President Trump wanted one thing, more than anything else, from his secretary of the Navy …

A Dispiriting Airline Bailout  —  There's no economic justification for the government to save Spirit Airlines.  —  Click for Sound  —  Who could have imagined that the U.S. government would deem a budget airline too big to fail?  Yet here we are, as President Trump is flying to the rescue of the beleaguered Spirit Airlines.

Trump Says He's Renovating ‘Filthy’ Reflecting Pool on the National Mall  —  The pool, which is more than 2,000 feet long, was the site of Martin Luther King Jr.'s “I Have a Dream” speech and other events.  —  Next up on President Trump's renovation tour of Washington, D.C. …

Erika Kirk, Turning Point USA, CEO, helped arrange White House talks amid MAHA backlash … “Charlie was a coalition builder, right?  Like, he tried to bring these groups together,” said one of the people involved in setting up the White House meeting.  “Erika, kind of taking the reins …

Iran War Has Drained U.S. Supplies of Critical, Costly Weapons  —  The Pentagon's rush to rearm its Mideast forces makes it less ready to confront potential adversaries like Russia and China, administration and congressional officials say.  —  Since the Iran war began in late February …

Mamdani Has Mightily Pissed Off One of NYC's Richest People  —  Last week, Mayor Zohran Mamdani highlighted a new proposal, introduced by Governor Kathy Hochul, that would charge a yearly surcharge on pricey second residences in the city that remain largely unoccupied by their wealthy, out-of-town owners.

Disapproval of Trump Hits Highest Level of His Second Term  —  The president's weakening poll numbers come as the war in Iran has driven up gas prices, and more Americans are expressing concerns about the economy.  —  Disapproval of President Trump has climbed to the highest level of his second term …

Texas Tech Issues Ban On Students Writing On LGBTQ+ Topics  —  The ban applies to theses and dissertations, and is expected to begin going into effect on a rolling basis. … A new memo at Texas Tech University establishes a sweeping and draconian censorship policy toward LGBTQ+ people …

A New Worry for Republicans: Latino Catholics Offended by Trump  —  In 2024, the president made significant inroads with Hispanics.  But in a competitive Arizona congressional district, voters now express dismay at his feud with the pope.  —  When Stuart Sepulvida arrives …

New York Republicans dig in against Trump's preferred Stefanik successor … Though Trump's endorsement is often decisive in a GOP primary, Smullen's supporters are digging in, deepening the split in the fight to replace Stefanik and raising the stakes as Democrats watch closely for a pickup opportunity.

ICE detention center expansion sparks national protest  —  The push to block ICE's plans to expand detention centers is fueling a coordinated national day of protests on Saturday. … - Organizers tell Axios that one of the most mentioned reasons demonstrators attended the No Kings protests …

White House eases mandatory requirements for preserving presidential records  —  After the Justice Department said a post-Watergate records law is unconstitutional, White House lawyers established a new policy that experts say weakens safeguards.  —  Summary

Todd Blanche Targets Trump's Enemies Amid Jockeying to Lead Justice Dept.  —  Mr. Blanche's salvo of actions are meant to demonstrate progress on the president's priorities, chief among them payback.  —  Todd Blanche, the acting attorney general, is doing what he can, as quickly as he can, to shed the “acting” label.

RFK Jr.'s rejection of germ theory debunked in Senate hearing … In a Congressional hearing on Wednesday, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) directly confronted anti-vaccine Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on his rejection of germ theory—the unquestionable scientific idea that specific pathogenic microbes cause specific diseases.

Lesbian sex secrets of Kristi Noem's ICE leader: Ex lover claims jealous rages over men, screaming through hotel walls... and vile tight bodysuit demand  —  Boozy house parties are a rite of passage for young political staffers grinding through the final stretch of a campaign.

Exclusive: Pentagon email floats suspending Spain from NATO, other steps over Iran rift, source says  —  An internal Pentagon email outlines options for the United States to punish NATO allies it believes failed to support U.S. operations in the war with Iran, including suspending Spain …

World's Top Producer of Condoms Raises Prices as Iran War Rattles Supply Chains  —  The Malaysian company Karex, which produces about five billion condoms a year, said it was raising prices by 30 percent because of higher raw material prices and global shipping disruptions.

The Surprising Reason Thom Tillis Is Ready to Block Trump A.G. Nominee  —  Outbound Republican Senator Thom Tillis has warned that acting Attorney General Todd Blanche is in “dangerous waters.”  —  The retiring North Carolina lawmaker promised early Thursday to stand in the way of Blanche's confirmation …

Trump intends to invite Putin to G-20 summit in Miami, officials say  —  The Russian leader has not yet committed to attend the annual gathering of world leaders, which is scheduled for December at the president's Doral golf resort.  —  Summary  —  The United States intends …

Trump's redistricting revenge tour in Indiana isn't going so well … “Good question, um. … What's it about?” she said, searching for an answer.  “Well, what I say, what it's about is, that we need real, true conservatives out there.  We need someone who's going to stand with the GOP party …