Trump Admits Chopper Was Downed by Military He ‘Obliterated’  —  WHAT NOW?  —  The threat of another escalation came hours after Trump insisted a peace deal was only days away.  —  Donald Trump raised the prospect of escalating his war after blaming Iran for shooting down a U.S. Apache helicopter …

Disqualify Spencer Pratt  —  It's time for blue states to take on election lying for real, and they should start by making Pratt an avatar for a Big Truth movement.  —  ∙ Paid  —  I want to revise and extend an argument I made in Monday's newsletter.

Under the Trump crypto playbook, the family always wins.  Investors don't  —  Risking little of their own money, the US president and his sons have added at least $2.3 billion to the family fortune from their main crypto ventures, while the investors they've wooed have taken a $2.3 billion hit, a Reuters examination found.

The Fading Fun of Trump 2.0  —  From empty concert stages to fractured group chats, the president's cultural movement is hitting an establishment wall  —  New York Knicks fans in Madison Square Garden received President Trump, a longtime fan and once one of their own, the same way they welcomed …

Push for Labor nominee is latest threat to House GOP majority … Moore declined to comment.  Taylor Rogers, a White House spokesperson, said “when there is an announcement on a permanent nomination, it will be made by the President directly.”  —  Some Republicans expressed doubt that Trump …

He Profits Off Raw Milk That's Making People Sick.  The Government Isn't Stopping Him.  — Raw Milk on the Rise: Driven by political shifts and wellness trends, unpasteurized milk has moved from a fringe obsession to a widespread movement rooted in institutional distrust.

Longtime Epstein assistant says she set up phone calls between Epstein and Trump  —  Jeffrey Epstein's longtime assistant Lesley Groff said in a closed-door interview Tuesday that she arranged phone calls between the late, disgraced financier and President Donald Trump, two Democrats …

Judge Learns Lawyers on Both Sides of Case Used AI, Cancels Trial, Kicks Everyone Off the Case  —  When two AIs argue against each other, the legal system loses. … The lawyers on both sides of a federal court case in Mississippi were caught using artificial intelligence, a situation where …

How many times has Trump claimed an Iran deal is around the corner?  —  It's been more than two months since President Donald Trump announced a ceasefire with Iran, saying at the time that the two sides were close to a deal.  —  Trump said on social media on April 7 that they were …

Social Security shortfall expected to accelerate, with funds at critical low in 2032  —  The shortfall will be driven in part by a drop in immigration and Trump's tax cuts, trustees say, resulting in trimmed benefits.  —  Summary  —  Social Security's trust fund is now due to run low on money beginning in 2032.

Moral Acceptability Falls for Several Behaviors  —  Moral acceptability of birth control, having a baby outside of marriage, gambling, teenage sex and cloning animals down significantly  —  WASHINGTON, D.C. — Americans' views of the moral acceptability of five of the 20 behaviors Gallup tracks annually …

An Indian Billionaire Was Targeted by Trump.  Then He Poured Money Into a Startup Secretly Backed by Donald Trump Jr.  —  In late November in Jamnagar, India, the scions of two of the most powerful families in the world stood face-to-face.  On one side was 30-year-old Anant Ambani, son of one the richest men in Asia.

Somali Referee Says His World Cup Dream Is Dashed After U.S. Denies Entry  —  “I had the right papers and everything,” Omar Abdulkadir Artan said in his first interview since he was turned back.  He would have been the first Somali to referee a game in the tournament.

Hegseth Loses His Holy War  —  New York Knicks fans are accustomed to disappointment, having waited 53 years since their last NBA title.  So it wasn't just annoyance they felt when Donald Trump said he'd attend game three of the finals last night; it was dread, too.

Being Black in Pete Hegseth's Military … daniel “chappie” james jr. became commander of the Wheelus Air Base, near Tripoli, just after rebels under Muammar Qaddafi took control of Libya in a coup in 1969.  In the midst of the insurgency, Qaddafi led an effort to break into the U.S. air base …

House advances ICE and Border Patrol reconciliation bill  —  The House on Tuesday advanced a nearly $70 billion budget reconciliation package that would fund Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Border Patrol.  —  The lower chamber approved a rule 213-211 that tees up debate and a final vote on the GOP measure.

U.S. and Iran Zero In on Four Nuclear Issues in Talks  —  With the cease-fire proving tenuous, negotiations between the two nations are in flux, but have advanced to outline potential paths forward on difficult questions about Iran's nuclear program.  —  In the days before the latest flare-ups …

Why That Next Hamburger Is Going to Cost You  —  The primary driver of inflation in the U.S. economy—the forever war in Iran—has not yet taken full effect.  Now we've found an entirely new driver.  —  Last week, the flesh-eating parasite known as the New World screwworm was found in a calf in Texas …

The Historian Who Explained the True Meaning of the Revolution to Americans  —  The famed historian Gordon S. Wood died on Sunday, struck by a car in a parking lot at the age of 92.  —  He was his generation's foremost scholar of the American Revolution and the early Republic …

Red State Democrats Need a New Approach to Abortion  —  Is this the year a U.S. Senate seat in Texas turns blue?  It's possible: Republicans have nominated the polarizing state attorney general Ken Paxton, and in their corner, the Democrats have the state lawmaker James Talarico …

What Congress would look like without gerrymandering  —  Last year, Donald Trump started a race to the bottom in redistricting that Republicans are currently winning.  Coming out of 2024, it looked like the maps for the 2026 election would lead to the winner of the House popular vote gaining control of the chamber.

Our Stock Market Is Broken  —  Steven Spielberg has an alien movie opening this month, but that may not be the biggest science fiction blockbuster of the summer.  That could be the SpaceX initial public offering.  —  As part of its pitch to sell shares on the stock market …

Alcohol study discarded by Trump officials is published in scientific journal  —  The report, meant to inform dietary guidelines, found risks from light drinking  —  WASHINGTON — A report on alcohol's health effects, commissioned by the federal government but unreleased under President Trump …

Ways and Means chair warns he 'won't support' next reconciliation bill without tax provisions  —  House Ways and Means Chair Jason Smith says he won't get behind the GOP's next budget reconciliation bill if tax provisions aren't included.  “I won't support it unless tax is in it,” …

Nazis, Real and Imagined  —  Graham Platner isn't a Nazi.  Guess who is.  —  ∙ Paid  —  TNL Alert: Tim, Sarah, and I will be LIVE at 3 p.m. (ish) today.  Tim will be racing to get there, straight off a plane and you know how wheels-off these live editions are from the jump.  Come hang out.