How Minority Districts Fueled the G.O.P.'s Southern Ascendancy in Congress  —  The “majority-minority” House districts struck down by the Supreme Court last week sent a surge of Black and Hispanic lawmakers to Congress.  They also opened opportunities for the G.O.P.

How Virginia Democrats can overturn the redistricting ruling: Retire the Supreme Court  —  Virginia Democrats are looking for a way to overturn the state Supreme Court's Friday decision invalidating the constitutional amendment temporarily adopting new congressional districts that a majority of voters ratified last month.

US strikes Iranian oil tankers while awaiting Tehran response on peace plan  —  The attacks on the ships near the Strait of Hormuz cast more doubt on a tenuous ceasefire that the Trump administration insists is still holding.  —  The U.S. military on Friday said its forces struck and …

Trump throws his base a UFO bone, but critics say it's Iran ‘smoke and mirrors’  —  President Donald Trump's release of declassified UFO files on Friday drew excitement from longtime transparency advocates — and immediate skepticism from critics on both the Left and Right who argued the timing …

The No-Bid Contract That Is Turning Washington's Reflecting Pool Blue … For a century, the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool has captured Washington's history, a vast mirror for moments great and small.  —  Then, this spring, President Trump said he decided to paint it blue …

Trump's ruthless midterm power play  —  President Trump is flexing his dominance over the Republican Party to stamp out primaries that would bleed party coffers and fracture the GOP ahead of a treacherous midterm election. … - He endorsed 95 percent of the 217-member House GOP Conference …

Wiles cracks down on leaks  —  Welcome to POLITICO's West Wing Playbook: Remaking Government, your guide to Donald Trump's unprecedented overhaul of the federal government — the key decisions, the critical characters and the power dynamics that are upending Washington and beyond.

Hantavirus misinformation runs rampant as the US is unequipped to respond to infectious disease health scare  —  The US's withdrawal from the WHO - and cuts to the country's health system - stymie officials' response  —  The outbreak of hantavirus on the Dutch cruise ship MV Hondius illuminates major gaps …

Russia Has Lost More Than 350,000 Soldiers, New Estimate Finds  —  The number raises the prospect that about half a million soldiers in total have died on the Russian and Ukrainian sides.  —  About 352,000 Russian soldiers had died in the war against Ukraine through the end of 2025 …

Trump Ballroom Suddenly Faces GOP Opposition in Surprise Blow to MAGA  —  After a gunman allegedly attempted to assassinate President Donald Trump at the White House Correspondents' Dinner last month, Senator John Fetterman seized on the moment to accuse his fellow Democrats of Trump Derangement Syndrome.

Justice Department moves to strip 12 Americans of their citizenship  —  The Department of Justice (DOJ) announced Friday it is seeking to denaturalize a dozen people from various parts of the country who are accused of fraudulently obtaining U.S. citizenship.

How China's Leader Lost Faith in His Generals  —  Xi Jinping spent 13 years building a military to rival that of the United States.  But the stronger the Chinese forces grew, the less he trusted the generals he had handpicked to run them.  —  The purge China's leader, Xi Jinping …

Trump Planning to Fire FDA Commissioner Marty Makary  —  The doctor, a MAHA advocate, has had a tumultuous tenure that has included clashes over vaping, abortion and vaccine policy.

DOJ sees fallout after push to prosecute former FBI director James Comey  —  Several prosecutors have left the Justice Department, others are considering doing so, and at least one major case has been disrupted.  —  Summary  —  More than a half-dozen prosecutors have been demoted or pushed …

The progressive plan to reclaim the working class  —  For years, one of the bedrock adages of electoral politics was “it's the economy, stupid.”  The quip, coined by former Bill Clinton strategist James Carville, warned party leaders that economic concerns will always outrank other issues in the mind of voters

US imposes sanctions on Chinese companies for allegedly helping Iran  —  State department says groups provided satellite imagery that enabled Tehran to strike American forces in Middle East  —  The US has imposed sanctions on three Chinese commercial satellite companies for allegedly providing support …

Is Marco Rubio the Happiest Cabinet Member?  —  It's a low bar, perhaps, but no one in the Trump administration seems to be having more fun at the moment than Marco Rubio.  Last weekend, he was acting as a DJ at a family wedding, headphones to his ear with head and hand pumping to the beat.