Chuck Schumer says Senate Democrats won't provide votes to pass GOP funding bill as shutdown draws near  —  After meeting with his conference, the Senate minority leader said “Republicans do not have the votes” to advance the House-approved measure, which requires 60 to pass.

Social Security, facing pressure from DOGE, weighs big cuts to phone service  —  Agency considers ending phone program that helps with claims processing and is used by millions of elderly and disabled Americans.  —  Just now  —  Under pressure from the U.S. DOGE Service team to root out alleged fraud …

Trump's FBI Moves to Criminally Charge Major Climate Groups  —  The FBI is moving to criminalize groups like Habitat for Humanity for receiving grants from the Environmental Protection Agency under the Biden administration.  —  Citibank revealed in a court filing Wednesday that it was told …

Effort to deport Columbia student rests solely on Rubio determination  —  A government document that details the civil charges against Mahmoud Khalil does not include written evidence from immigration officers.  —  NEW YORK — A determination by Secretary of State Marco Rubio is so far …

New CNN poll: Americans are negative on Trump's handling of economy  —  Americans are not impressed with President Donald Trump's stewardship of the economy, according to a new CNN poll conducted by SSRS, putting him underwater on the nation's top issue even as he sees ratings among the best …

Why I Left the Washington Post  —  Owner Jeff Bezos wants to transform the Opinions section of the paper, where I worked for forty years.  After the publisher killed my column disagreeing with that move—it appears here in full—I decided to quit.  —  I walked into the Washington Post building …

In reversal, NPR permits anchor to attend Pride event  —  The Scoop  —  National Public Radio dissuaded one of its most visible gay employees from attending a corporate LGBTQ Pride event, as the Trump administration and congressional Republicans put pressure on the public broadcaster.

EU retaliates against Trump's trade moves and hits beef, whiskey, motorcycles with targeted tariffs  —  The European Union on Wednesday announced retaliatory trade action with new duties on U.S. industrial and farm products, responding within hours to the Trump administration's increase …

RFK Jr.: It Would Be Better if ‘Everybody Got Measles’  —  Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. appeared to suggest getting measles is the best defense against the disease, as a Texas outbreak spreads across the U.S. More than 220 people in the state have been diagnosed …

District Court Rules Trump Violated Constitution by Usurping Congress's Spending Power  —  On Monday, US District Judge Amir Ali ruled against the Trump Administration in an important case involving control over the spending power.  The court held the administration could not withhold payment …

‘I feel utter anger’: From Canada to Europe, a movement to boycott US goods is spreading  —  Tesla sales are falling and apps and online groups are springing up to help consumers choose non-US items  —  The renowned German classical violinist Christian Tetzlaff was blunt in explaining …

Donald Trump Bought a $90,000 Tesla With 37 Recall Notices Against It  —  Here's hoping Elon Musk won't have to personally fix President Trump's new EV anytime soon.  —  In remarkable scenes outside the White House, the President of the United States has just gone and paid the better part …

Is Trump Taking a ‘Liquidationist’ Approach to the Economy?  —  The administration's view that damaging the economy now could help it later comes with little upside for investors  —  During President Trump's first term, stocks rode high on the belief that he would always pull back on policies that led to a selloff.

Rahm Emanuel Is Gearing Up to Run for President  —  The former Chicago mayor is already on the hustings, finding new ways to attack Trumpism from the center.  —  Rahm Wants to Run.  —  Yes, that Rahm.  And, yes, for that office — the presidency.  —  “I've only been back two months …

White House reporter asks Irish PM why he ‘let’ Rosie O'Donnell move to his country  —  A reporter covering the Wednesday White House meeting between President Trump and Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin asked the prime minister why he allowed American comedian Rosie O'Donnell to move to the country.

Yale Suspends Scholar After A.I.-Powered News Site Accuses Her of Terrorist Link  —  The deputy director of a liberal project at Yale Law School was put on leave over allegations that she is linked to Samidoun, a group the U.S. government has said funds terrorists.

Judge says Trump penalties on law firm send ‘chills down my spine’  —  The Trump administration was ordered to halt, at least temporarily, parts of its executive order punishing the law firm Perkins Coie.  —  A D.C. federal judge on Wednesday ordered the Trump administration …

Bannon refuses to rule out presidential run in 2028  —  Bannon was floated as a potential candidate by activists at CPAC.  —  Steve Bannon isn't taking 2028 off the table.  —  In an profanity-laced interview on Wednesday with POLITICO, the MAGA firebrand repeatedly refused to rule out a presidential bid …

EPA Launches Biggest Deregulatory Action in U.S. History  —  Administrator Zeldin Announces 31 Historic Actions to Power the Great American Comeback  —  WASHINGTON - U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin announced the agency will undertake 31 historic actions …

The 200+ Sites an ICE Surveillance Contractor is Monitoring  —  A contractor for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and many other U.S. government agencies has developed a tool that lets analysts more easily pull a target individual's publicly available data from a wide array of sites …

Greenlanders say no to Trump as rare earths loom over coalition talks  —  Election throws up surprise result as independence from Denmark remains tough to define.  —  Greenland had a message for Donald Trump as islanders went to the polls this week: thanks, but no thanks.

A Mind is a Terrible Thing to Lose  —  Especially when you're running a country  —  A note to subscribers: I've taken my weekend primer on Social Security out from behind the paywall, partly in response to popular demand but also because it's relevant to today's post.  —  This will, I hope, be a fairly short post.

Turns out DOGE can't beat FOIA by shouting NOT AN AGENCY  —  🚘 💨 🛣️ With corporate outlets obeying in advance, supporting independent political media is more important right now than ever.  Public Notice is possible thanks to paid subscribers.