ICE Agent Wanted in Minneapolis Shooting Is Captured in Texas  —  Christian Castro, who had been charged with assault in the shooting of a Venezuelan man during the immigration crackdown in Minnesota, was taken into custody Friday morning.  —  Law enforcement officials from Minnesota and Texas …

Frederica Wilson is leaving Congress.  She explains why in an exclusive interview  —  Congresswoman Frederica Wilson will not seek a ninth term in Congress, she confirmed to the Miami Herald Thursday in a wide-ranging interview explaining why she obfuscated her plan to give up her seat …

Inside Bari's ‘60’ Bloodbath … “They're killing ‘60 Minutes.’”  —  That's how the iconic newsmagazine's former executive producer Bill Owens, who quit last summer citing corporate interference, put it to me by phone on Thursday as news broke about the firings ordered by the widely disliked …

Judge temporarily blocks payouts from Trump's $1.8B ‘anti-weaponization’ settlement fund  —  A federal judge has temporarily blocked President Donald Trump's administration from paying any claims through a new $1.776 billion settlement fund for the Republican president's allies who believe they were victims of a weaponized government.

Stephen Miller's Wife Doxed This Young Dem.  Then the MAGA Rage Hit.  —  Katie Miller, who is married to Stephen Miller, lashed out at a young Democratic operative on Thursday, after the Democratic Party's official account called Miller's husband an “ugly f-k.”

Summary of Key Changes in OMB's Proposed Federal Financial Assistance Rule  —  https://www.federalregister.gov/ public-inspection/2026-10817/regulation - for-federal-financial-assistance  —  Thanks for reading!  Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

Pam Bondi tells lawmakers ‘redaction errors’ were made in Epstein files release  —  The former attorney general is facing questions behind closed doors from lawmakers on the House Oversight Committee.  —  Former Attorney General Pam Bondi told lawmakers on the House Oversight Committee …

Boat Strikes Have Failed to Curb Flow of Cocaine to U.S., Experts Say … With deadly precision, the Trump administration has launched dozens of attacks on small boats in the waters off South America, killing nearly 200 people in a campaign U.S. officials say is meant to curb the flow of illicit drugs to the United States.

Why so much election analysis is basically useless  —  Last Friday, I (reluctantly) wrote a long piece about the Democratic National Committee's finally published “autopsy” of the party's 2024 campaign.  In that post I argued that the single biggest cause of Trump's win was the economy/inflation …

Trump lays out Iran deal demands, says he's about to make ‘final determination’  —  President Donald Trump on Friday morning said he is meeting in the Situation Room “to make a final determination” after listing everything that Iran must do for him to approve a deal to end the war.

GOP pleads with WH on reconciliation … Welcome to Punchbowl News AM!  We're glad to have you here.  —  Want to get more of what you need?  Share a bit more about yourself to help us tailor your reader experience.

The Trump Administration's Incredibly Slow Learning Curve  —  These are not very bright people and things got out of hand.  —  There's a scene from All the President's Men that has become an oft-deployed meme during both terms of the Trump administration.  It's the one where Deep Throat explains …

There's No Escaping the Rot in This Justice Department  —  The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Illinois used to be considered one of the best federal prosecutors' offices in the country, but the last week has shown that Donald Trump's administration is driving it off the rails.

Trump's Semiquincentennial Faceplant  —  Our long national nightmare may be coming to an end: The White House and Iran are reportedly closing in on a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, with Iran seemingly willing to forgo tolls or controls on the waterway in exchange for various U.S. concessions …

Trump's Violent Threats Can't Hide the Truth: He's a Humiliated Bully  —  Under Trump, the United States is looking for weaker and weaker victims in order to mask its own fragility.  —  Pocket  —  Donald Trump is a rotten peacemaker for many reasons—but one of them is that he can't even remember which enemy he's fighting.

Becerra leads governor's race, with Hilton and Steyer in tight contest for second spot, poll finds  — 9 min Click here to listen to this article  — On the cusp of California's gubernatorial primary, former Biden Cabinet member Xavier Becerra narrowly leads a volatile race …

Who's Deranged, Exactly?  —  Of partisanship and economic sentiment  —  Donald Trump's chief economist said something interesting the other day.  Yes, the remarks by Kevin Hassett, director of the National Economic Council, were stupid, but that goes without saying.

New York Wants to Restrict ICE Enforcement.  ICE Has Other Ideas.  —  New York leaders changed state immigration laws to hold federal agents accountable for their deportation tactics, but their efforts will face opposition from the Trump administration.  —  Roughly a week after Gov. Kathy Hochul …

‘Why are we talking about this?’:  Democrats are furious that the Bidens won't go away … Leading Democrats say it's an unnecessary distraction as they push to keep their party focused on a critical midterm — and what voters truly care about.  —  “We don't need to be distracted by what the DNC says about the autopsy.

Habeas Flight Watch: New tool helps track ICE flights to your city  —  Activists have been quietly piloting a live map of ICE flights to help immigration attorneys with habeas filings.  Now they say it's ready for everyone to use.  —  A group of activists have built a new online tool …

How Donald Trump Became Jimmy Carter  —  An Iran crisis.  Inflation.  Someone should get the president a cardigan sweater … Carter's presidency was overtaken by a hostage crisis in Iran, where in 1979 followers of the Ayatollah Khomeini seized 66 Americans and held them (or most of them, anyway) for more than a year.

He hasn't been seen in Congress for months.  Now Republicans are worried.  —  Rep. Tom Kean Jr.'s New Jersey district is among the country's most competitive, and his absence from the House since March has sparked increasing alarm in his party.  —  Summary

A court in Kenya blocks U.S. plan to keep American Ebola patients in Africa  —  A facility built by the U.S. military on a Kenyan air base was intended to isolate Americans exposed to Ebola during the growing outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo.  —  Summary

The Record Divide Between Corporate Profits and Worker Pay  —  Labor's share of economic output just hit an all-time low, while the profit share hit a near record.  It helps explain why consumers feel so glum.  —  To understand why people are so miserable about the economy …

China is building launch pads near its nuclear missile silos  —  In a remote Chinese desert, a vast military complex is taking shape that some security scholars say appears built to ensure no American first strike on China's nuclear arsenal could reliably knock out Beijing's ability to hit back.

Cornyn shares fable of frog and scorpion after Trump sinks reelection  —  Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) cryptically shared the fable of the frog and the scorpion on social media after President Trump torpedoed his reelection campaign by endorsing state Attorney General Ken Paxton …

A Draft U.S.-Iran Plan Is Said to Be on the Table.  Here's What to Know.  —  U.S. and Iranian officials say they are closing in on the terms of a preliminary agreement.  Yet sticking points, particularly over the Strait of Hormuz, remain.  —  For weeks, mediators between Iran and the United States …