Trump Administration Live Updates: Senate at a Standstill Over President's $1.8 Billion Payout Fund  —  What We're Covering Today  — Payout Fund: Republicans were deadlocked Thursday over a Democratic effort to permanently block President Trump from creating a $1.8 billion fund …

Exclusive: John Bolton reaches plea deal over mishandling of sensitive national security documents  —  John Bolton, President Donald Trump's former national security adviser-turned-adversary, is expected to plead guilty over mishandling classified documents, according to three sources familiar with the matter.

Oil industry warns Trump administration of price spikes within weeks … Iran has effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz since the U.S. and Israel launched military strikes three months ago, kicking off what has become the biggest disruption in crude oil flows ever.

The Jan. 6 Pardons: How Many Clemency Recipients Have Faced Other Charges?  —  The real count is much higher than the public knew.  —  katherinepomps  —  katherinepomps.bsky.social  —  Meet The Authors  —  At least 97 of the more than 1,500 individuals granted clemency by President Trump …

Kennedy Center orders staff to begin removing Trump's name after ruling  —  The Kennedy Center's general counsel instructed staff members in a memo to strip all uses of President Donald Trump's name from signs, brochures, the website and other materials.  —  Summary

Pentagon likely to cancel missile deal with Germany over fears of Russia … Europe “can step up now and in the near term,” Gen. Alexus Grynkewich, NATO's top commander and the head of U.S. forces in Europe, told military leaders this week.  America, he said, will “refocus” equipment and forces elsewhere.

Ballroom donors won $50B in contracts after giving to Trump project, watchdog group finds  —  President Donald Trump has repeatedly touted the gifts as a boon to taxpayers, but critics of the project say the administration's refusal to release a full list of donors creates the potential for corruption.

Arizona AG to seek new indictment in Trump 2020 election case … The brief, unexplained decision closed the book on a two-year-old case that threatened some of Trump's closest allies, including former chief of staff Mark Meadows, attorneys Rudy Giuliani and John Eastman and nearly …

Several Women Who Dated Graham Platner Recall ‘Unsettling’ Behavior  —  The Democratic candidate for Senate in Maine could be charming, women said in interviews, but some found his actions intimidating and disturbing.  —  TIMES EXCLUSIVE  —  The Democratic candidate for Senate in Maine could be charming …

Justice Department Eyes Alternative ‘Weaponization’ Payouts After Fund Pushback  —  Some Trump supporters aim to secure government settlements by suing under 80-year-old law  —  WASHINGTON—While the Trump administration has reluctantly retreated from its $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization fund …

The real Nick Bilton revealed — from political beliefs of new ‘60 Minutes’ boss to the rivals he beat to top job  —  It turns out Nick Bilton wasn't the only candidate that Bari Weiss considered for the top job at “60 Minutes.”  —  Multiple sources with knowledge of CBS News' hiring practices …

The hair-loss drug Trump took for years is now absent from his medical records  —  White House officials say they are not obligated to disclose all of Trump's medications, including whether he still uses finasteride.  —  Summary  —  President Donald Trump's medical reports no longer include …

Why Stone-Faced Fascists Keep Getting Antiquity Wrong  —  HOMER IS BACK in the discourse on account of Christopher Nolan's upcoming film, The Odyssey.  The latest controversy began with Elon Musk, among others, protesting the supposed inaccuracy of casting Lupita Nyong'o as Helen …

Flesh-eating screwworm returns to U.S. after 60 years, threatening cattle herd  —  The case of New World screwworm was confirmed in a 3-week-old calf in La Pryor, Texas, near the U.S.-Mexico border, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said late Wednesday.

Trump administration has separated dozens of children from their parents for a second time, AP finds  —  Eleven-year-old Ederson Galicia Alva had just stepped off the plane and into the Miami airport's dim hallways when federal agents pulled his mother aside for questioning.  Again.  —  Panic welled up.

Goon Squad Victims Sue Supervisor Over Remark About ‘People That Raped and Doped Your Daughters’  — Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email  —  When Rankin County, Mississippi, announced the $2.5 million settlement in the “Goon Squad” police brutality case on May 1, 2025 …

Why does the media ignore Trump's madness?  —  This edition of PN is made possible by paid subscribers.  Become one 👇  —  🧠 Subscribe to PN 🧠  —  Donald Trump frequently demonstrates a level of malignancy that still manages to shock.

Bret Baier said over a year ago that the press had a duty to scrutinize Trump family corruption.  He's since given that topic 5 minutes of airtime.  —  RESEARCH CONTRIBUTIONS FROM ROB SAVILLO & HARRISON RAY … The 5-minute sum of Special Report's coverage of the conflicts of interest created …

House panel adopts measure on fired senior officers, putting pressure on Hegseth, Pentagon  —  The House Armed Services Committee adopted a provision for the annual National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that would demand the Pentagon inform Congress why senior military officers were fired or dismissed within five days.

RFK Jr. seeks to peek at Americans' medical records for clues on autism and vaccines  —  Disability issues Vaccines Chronic diseases Federal agencies  —  U.S. health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is pursuing federal government access to most Americans' medical records …

Last night, in an unsigned opinion, the U.S. Supreme Court expanded its finding in the recent Louisiana v. Callais decision.  That decision overturned decades of law to declare that states could not construct majority-minority voting districts, as they had done under Section 2 of the 1965 Voting Rights Act …

How to fight back against Gen-Z socialism  —  The me-first doctrine is a threat to prosperity  —  Something new is stirring on the left.  A fresh crop of socialists want to remake the economy with price controls, hefty wealth taxes and a spree of nationalisations.

Sherrill Says Immigration Officials Won't Let Her Visit Detention Center  —  The governor said the Department of Homeland Security's actions at Delaney Hall raise “serious questions.”  —  Gov. Mikie Sherrill of New Jersey said Wednesday that federal immigration officials were continuing …

Video shows Pentagon counterterrorism hire clambering into Capitol on Jan. 6  —  Elias Irizarry was filmed moving through restricted grounds and climbing through a broken window, according to a Washington Post analysis.  —  Summary  —  A recent appointee to a sensitive counterterrorism job …

Greg Bovino's Retirement Plan?  Go Full Fascist  —  Greg Bovino was welcomed like a celebrity at one of the world's pre-eminent fascist confabs this past weekend.  The former U.S. Border Patrol Commander-At-Large — whose MAGA star turn came when President Donald Trump cast him as the lead …

In This Church, Child Sexual Abuse Has Gone Unchecked for So Long That It Spans Generations  —  Co-published with Minnesota Star Tribune  —  Reporting Highlights  — A National Problem: Old Apostolic Lutheran Church congregations around the U.S. have been forced to deal with child sex abuse.

Trump's arch not subject to law limiting D.C. building height, planning chief says  —  The federal requirement caps most construction in Washington to a maximum height of 130 feet, about half that of the president's 250-foot project.  —  Summary  —  The head of a federal commission reviewing …

National Guard has done little to reduce violent crime in D.C., a new study finds  —  President Trump's deployment of the National Guard in Washington, D.C. has reduced petty property crimes, but has had little to no effect on violent crime, despite the high cost to taxpayers …

Russia's Elite Is Souring on the War.  Putin Doesn't Seem to Care.  —  Some prominent hawks argue the war is bringing diminishing returns and outright victory is beyond reach  —  Russia's inability to break through the stalemate in Ukraine is becoming so evident that significant voices …

The $9 billion liability across the street from the Capitol … “As these facilities age and kind of reach this tipping point, we start having an increasing number of failures as all these systems age out and we start having series of failures on top of each other,” he told the House Administration Committee at a hearing Wednesday.