Trump's Dangerous Escalation in a Losing War  —  There are certain moments in sports when, right after the game ends, you instantly know it has a place in history.  Last night was one of those moments.  The Knicks came back from 29 points down to defeat the Spurs in the final seconds and take a 3-1 series lead.

Trump picks former SEC Chairman Jay Clayton as national intelligence director … President Donald Trump on Thursday said that he is nominating Jay Clayton to become the next permanent director of national intelligence.  —  Clayton is currently the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District …

Trump Isn't Giving Up on His Slush Fund  —  When Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche appeared before Congress last Tuesday, senior administration officials hoped that his testimony would be enough to quell the uproar over a $1.776 billion payout scheme for Trump loyalists, including January 6 rioters.

At Least Six States Have RSVP'd ‘No’ to Trump's State Fair  —  Some states say the Freedom 250 birthday bash is too expensive, too rushed and too politicized.  — Copy  —  President Donald Trump's big birthday bash for America is hitting more speedbumps, as at least six states plan to sit out the Great American State Fair.

The Senate: The Race for the Majority is Not a Toss-up, But the Races That Will Decide It Are  —  KEY POINTS FROM THIS ARTICLE  — We are making three Senate rating changes this week, all in favor of Democrats.  North Carolina moves to Leans Democratic, and Alaska and Ohio are now Toss-ups.

Trump says ‘I love the inflation’ as annual rate jumps to a 3-year high  —  The president suggested the recent numbers mean there will be a bigger decline in inflation once the war in Iran is over. … President Donald Trump embraced an unlikely foe Wednesday: inflation.

Senate panel approves Department of War name change  —  The Senate Armed Services Committee voted this week to formally change the Pentagon's name to the Department of War, moving a significant step closer to solidifying President Donald Trump's rebrand of the Defense Department as permanent.

Women Who Fled Iran Are to Be Deported to Central African Republic, Lawyers Say  —  The women are among nearly two dozen people slated to be sent to a country where the U.S. government has advised “Do not travel for any reason.”  —  The Trump administration is preparing to deport nearly …

Meth Scandal Rocks Nascent Greg Bovino 2028 Campaign  —  The Meth-Tied GOP Operative Behind Bovino 2028  —  Just five months after being fired from his leadership role in Donald Trump's mass-deportation campaign, former U.S. Border Patrol Commander-at-Large Greg Bovino is eyeing a run for president.

Oil executives warn White House that gas prices will get worse  —  Grim predictions add to the problems of a president already facing a sharp rise in inflation.  —  Summary  —  Oil and gas executives have warned the White House that gasoline prices could surge in coming months …

Social Security is Facing a Political Crisis  —  America can afford to keep paying full benefits.  But will we?  —  On Tuesday the Social Security Trustees released their latest report on the system's finances.  The numbers didn't change much: Unless something is done …

Vance's chief of staff to leave Trump administration  —  Jacob Reses, who has been with Vance since his successful 2022 Senate campaign in Ohio, is expected to remain close to the vice president's team.  —  Jacob Reses, the chief of staff to Vice President JD Vance, will leave the administration …

Can't Pay Medical Bills?  Trump Officials Suggest Getting a Loan. … Kathleen Capetta's family of five is paying an additional $750 a month this year for its Obamacare plan premium.  She was already paying off debt from cancer treatment.Cig Harvey for The New York Times

House Republicans huddle with Hegseth after Trump's reconciliation demands  —  A group of senior House Republicans gathered at the Pentagon Thursday morning to discuss the military funding portion of another party-line reconciliation bill with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth …

Brad Lander found not guilty of charges in NYC immigration detention center incident  —  The one-day bench trial took place in New York City in connection with the September 2025 incident.  —  A New York judge ruled Thursday that congressional hopeful Brad Lander is not guilty of misdemeanor charges …

Hawley pushes Blanche to settle abortion pill case  —  Todd Blanche's path to becoming the next attorney general was already going to be rocky, with at least two Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee noncommittal on supporting him.  Now, a third Senate Judiciary Republican …

Dems See a Major Black Voter Backlash to SCOTUS  —  DEMOCRATS MAY HAVE BEEN rightly apoplectic with the Supreme Court's ruling gutting Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act—and the rush to carve up the electoral power of black voters in the South that followed.  But in the short term, they have begun to see political opportunity.

Former ‘60 Minutes’ Staffers Unload on Bari Weiss: 'Everything She's Touched Has Turned to S—'  —  As Bari Weiss lays waste to “60 Minutes,” six former staffers sound off on the damage she's inflicted upon the crown jewel of CBS News.  —  Staffers have taken to calling it “Black Thursday.”

Why Is Trump Tanking in MAGA Country?  These Dems Found a Good Answer.  —  We learned this week that the Democratic-aligned group American Bridge plans to spend $50 million to help the party's congressional candidates in this fall's elections.  It's a whopping sum and a big gamble.

Pentagon lockdown and evacuation was due a false alarm, sources say  —  The Pentagon lockdown and evacuation was due to a false alarm, two sources familiar told CNN.  —  Multiple floors and corridors inside the building had been locked down and others are were evacuated due to a …

The murder of expertise  —  This edition of PN is made possible by paid subscribers.  Become one ⬇️  —  🧬 Subscribe to PN 🧬  —  The Trump administration has spent the last 18 months gutting funding for scientific research, forcing out nonpartisan experts …

The Curious Disappearance of Daniel Dale … In late February, Daniel Dale appeared on CNN to dismantle the more than 20 false or misleading claims that he identified during Donald Trump's State of the Union address.  “There was just a lot of lying tonight,” Dale, the network's fact-checker …

Trump's Voter Fraud Claims Are Running Out of Gas; The administration is “throwing everything against the wall that they can find, and nothing is sticking”  —  June 11, 2026, 8:36 am chicanery, election subversion risk, fraudulent fraud squad  —  By RICK HASEN

The War in Ukraine Has Now Gone On Longer Than World War I  —  Parallels between the two wars abound, from the grinding nature of the fighting to the way new technologies reshaped warfare.  —  A Ukrainian soldier in Kostiantynivka, a city ravaged by drone warfare, in January.Tyler Hicks/The New York Times