The Justice Department Takes Actions to Strengthen the Federal Death Penalty  —  For Immediate Release  —  President Trump's Day-One Executive Order Directed the Department to Prioritize Seeking and Implementing Death Sentences to Protect Public Safety  —  Today, the Department of Justice acted …

Kash Patel Got Arrested for Public Urination After a Night of Drinking  —  FBI Director Kash Patel was twice arrested in incidents involving alcohol, once for public intoxication and once for public urination after leaving a bar, he admitted in a 2005 letter about disclosures on his Florida Bar application.

Trump Hit by Brutal Fox Poll as Aides Scramble: “He's in a Bad Mood”  —  A new Fox News poll contains crushing findings for Donald Trump.  His approval on the economy is at 34 percent with 66 percent disapproving.  On inflation, those numbers are even worse, at 28-72.

DeSantis plots end run of Florida law to create more GOP House seats  —  Florida bans lawmakers from intentionally creating congressional seats to give their party an advantage.  But Gov. Ron DeSantis quietly has launched a three-tiered power play to evade the ban — and create more GOP-friendly seats — in November.

Trump Isn't Thinking Strait  —  Another day, another Pentagon press conference in which Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth fruitlessly demands Europe get more involved with reopening the Strait of Hormuz: “This should not be America's fight alone,” Hegseth seethed.  “We barely use the Strait of Hormuz. . . .

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 …

The Incredible Shrinking MAGA  —  If you follow politics on social media, you've probably encountered a claim about Donald Trump that goes like this: “LOL Trump's support is rock-solid LOL, his base will never leave him LOL.”  And it's true: The white-hot core of MAGA does remain with him.

The Conspiracy Theory Behind Tucker Carlson's Apology  —  Tucker Carlson, you might have heard, is sorry.  Early this week he posted a long conversation with his brother, Buckley, a former Trump speechwriter, in which they tried to make sense of the wreckage of the second Donald Trump presidency.

Elon Musk's near-daily online posts about race are turning off some fans  —  The billionaire posted 850 times on the topic in recent months, almost triple the rate for the previous two years.  —  Summary  —  Elon Musk, the world's richest person, is on the cusp of a record-setting initial public offering …

Justice Department drops criminal probe of Fed chair Powell, likely clearing way for Warsh  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Deparment has ended its probe into Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell, clearing a major roadblock to the confirmation of his successor, Kevin Warsh.

The SPLC Targeted Me.  Now Its Reckoning Has Come.  —  The group that called me an ‘extremist’ has been accused of funding hate groups.  And it's provoked racial conflict for decades.  —  Upgrade to Listen  —  A federal grand jury in Montgomery, Alabama, on Tuesday issued an 11-count indictment …

US imposes sanctions on a China-based oil refinery and 40 shippers over Iranian oil  —  The Trump administration is placing economic sanctions on a major China-based oil refinery and roughly 40 shipping companies and tankers involved in transporting Iranian oil.

Trump Bizarrely Ties Politically-Motivated Prosecution of the Southern Poverty Law Center to Having the Results of the 2020 Election Be “wiped from the books and be of no further force or effect”  —  Hard for me to see the logic in any of this, even given Trump's usual unclear statements:

A Private Investigator Working for Eric Swalwell's Lawyers Is Calling His Former Staff  —  A woman working for Beau Dietl & Associates told a person who received a call she was looking into the allegations against Swalwell.  — Copy  —  A private investigator who is working for former …

Trump Says He Dislikes Prediction Markets.  His Family Invests in Them.  —  The White House has warned staff not to wager on government decisions, but his family's involvement with these firms undermines the president's message.  —  When a U.S. soldier was indicted on Thursday on charges …

Unfounded Health Concerns Are Powering a Solar Backlash Unfounded Health Concerns Are Powering a Solar Backlash  —  Reporting Highlights  — Health Fears: Some critics say large solar farms are a public health threat.  While there is little reputable evidence for this, their claims have helped power a backlash.

Matt Gertz on the Fox News presidency  —  This week's Nir & Rupar features a very special guest — Matt Gertz, senior fellow at Media Matters and one of the foremost experts on right-wing media.  —  Gertz and I discussed the ways in which Fox News is even worse now than it was during Trump's first term …

Iran talks to resume this weekend without Vance  —  White House will send Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to Pakistan as Tehran decides not to send its top negotiator.  —  Summary  —  A U.S. delegation will resume talks with Iran in Islamabad, Pakistan, this weekend …

It's prom weekend in Washington  —  With help from Eli Okun, Ali Bianco, Irie Sentner and Makayla Gray  —  Happy Friday.  It's Adam Wren.  My lineup of pre-WHCD parties tonight includes Crooked Media, YouTube's event and the British ambassador's residence.  If you're around, let's sidebar.

FOIA Documents ‘Scrubbed’ From Intelligence Agency Website  —  Last year, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence removed all documents from its FOIA reading room.  Emails say a Biden-era FOIA release caused a “fuss.” … At first glance, the disappearance of documents …

Palantir Is Helping Trump's IRS Conduct “Massive-Scale” Data Mining  —  military contractor Palantir is helping the IRS analyze dozens of different data sets on Americans to investigate a broad range of financial crimes, according to records shared with The Intercept.

A Mayor With No Pants Has Become the Talk of This North Carolina Town  —  A fight over footage of a 2024 incident is drawing unwanted attention to Mooresville—and locals are angry, bewildered and a little amused  —  MOORESVILLE, N.C.—Dave Homick loves this fast-growing town's nickname, Race City USA, a nod to its deep Nascar ties.

Forget ‘Abolish ICE.’ Tom Steyer Wants to Jail ICE Agents.  —  THE SMOKE FROM ERIC SWALWELL'S POLITICAL IMPLOSION has not yet cleared from the California gubernatorial race, but one figure is deploying a giant political box fan to give himself some visibility.

Blue state residents ‘fleeing in droves’ after ‘insane’ progressive takeover, says top state attorney  —  A top state attorney in Democrat-controlled Maryland says he has had enough and is throwing in the towel after saying the Old Line State has suffered an “insane” “ultra-progressive” takeover.

White House directs post-Virginia ire at Youngkin … “Look, there's plenty of blame to go around.  But if Youngkin hadn't left the special session open, Louise Lucas would never have had the chance to ram through those maps,” the person said, referring to the Democratic state senator who helped lead the charge.