Scoop: Platner privately told staff he'll formally exit Senate race Monday  —  Graham Platner privately told staff that he is planning to officially file paperwork to end his Senate campaign on Monday — the drop-dead deadline for him to exit the race.

Texas ICE Killing Darkens: Rep Says Witnesses Pressured to Self-Deport  —  After a federal agent killed an undocumented Mexican man in his van during a traffic stop in Houston on Tuesday, the government rushed to follow a familiar template.  Just as it has after other shootings …

ICE killed Lorenzo Salgado Araujo.  They want you to be apathetic.  Don't be.  —  Lorenzo Salgado Araujo woke up at 5 a.m. Tuesday and started his day like almost every other one for the last 35 years since he came to Houston from Mexico and built his own American Dream brick by brick …

The Downballot releases presidential results for every new House district, sponsored by Grassroots Analytics  —  The Downballot is pleased to present our calculations of the results of the 2024 presidential election for every congressional district that will be used in the 2026 midterms …

A New Poll Shows a Tight Fight for Platner Replacements  —  A poll of potential replacements for Graham Platner, who dropped out of the Maine Senate race on Wednesday, found a trio of former gubernatorial candidates in tight head-to-head battles against Republican Sen. Susan Collins.

Dem lawmakers want Kash Patel to answer for his spending — but this time they're not alone  —  A powerful Republican who has publicly defended the FBI director is now demanding answers on his BMW purchases and his use of the bureau jet.  —  FBI Director Kash Patel has been demanding special perks …

Rubio tries to enlist other nations in antifa fight, but some allies recoil  —  The secretary of state plans to convene foreign ministers in Washington next week.  The event has unsettled some U.S. and European officials.  —  Summary  —  Secretary of State Marco Rubio has invited senior ministers …

In ruling against Florida's Stop WOKE Act, this Trump judge took DeSantis to school  —  The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals' 2-1 decision Tuesday upholding a lower court decision against Florida's so-called Stop WOKE Act is a necessary rebuke of state lawmakers and Gov. Ron DeSantis …

Jeb Bush hails President Trump for decimating Iran, but warns of growing threat from Cuba  —  WASHINGTON — Iran has reportedly armed Cuba with a fleet of 300 kamikaze drones, putting the US mainland at risk of suffering a devastating attack, Jeb Bush warned Wednesday.

Trump's proposed triumphal arch clears another key hurdle  —  The National Capital Planning Commission, led by the president's allies, voted to advance the project near Arlington Cemetery, tabling a height question for later.  —  Summary  —  A federal commission Thursday advanced President …

BREAKING: “Trump fires all Election Assistance Commission members, leaving agency unable to act” (This is going to be a BFD if Trump Tries to Assert the EAC's Powers over the Federal Voter Registration Form)  —  Jessica Huseman for Votebeat: … To me, the bigger question is what Trump might try …

An American Life Cut Short  —  Whoever said “brevity is the soul of wit” never ran for Senate in Maine.  Days after he was accused of sexual assault—and weeks after the first reports of his suspect behavior towards women raised worries that more serious allegations could emerge …

Trump denies disaster aid to four blue states, after approving aid to six red states  —  A White House spokesperson said there is “no politicization to the president's decisions on disaster relief.”  There's compelling evidence to the contrary.  —  The White House was already facing credible allegations …

Former Olympian pleads not guilty in Reflecting Pool damage case after Trump alleged vandalism  —  A former Olympic canoe racer pleaded not guilty on Thursday to deliberately damaging the recently renovated Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, a politically charged case that his defense attorneys …

White House says Trump's Air Force One switch was a ‘misdirection’  —  The White House on Thursday defended the new retrofitted Air Force One as safe and secure after reports emerged indicating President Trump switched to the older model to leave Turkey out of an abundance of caution.

The Fight Over Hormuz Boils Down to One Poorly Worded Clause in Trump's Deal  —  Paragraph 5 hands Iran a leading role in opening the waterway, but one the U.S. and its allies aren't comfortable with  —  President Trump's memorandum of understanding with Iran was supposed to open the Strait …

‘They got their rear end kicked,’ DeSantis says of U.S. team  —  Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (former captain of the Yale University baseball team) said he's not “a soccer fan.”  But he did take some time to talk about the World Cup and U.S. national team while guest hosting Sean Hannity's radio …

Data Centers Are Quietly Taking Over Texas.  The Pollution Could Be Catastrophic  —  A regulatory loophole has let in thousands of new fossil-fuel-burning power sources across the state.  The AI business is booming—but residents feel blindsided.  —  Omaira Garcia didn't realize life …

Bill Pulte Keeps Firing Career Intel Staff.  Wait Until You See Some Of His Past Hires.  —  Trump's intelligence chief previously hired a once-convicted sex offender and a former JD Vance aide who got caught chronicling his drug abuse on Reddit.  —  WASHINGTON ― Bill Pulte …

Shooting Starlink: The “no limits” partnership between Russia and China is taking aim at Elon Musk  —  A joint investigation by The Insider, Der Spiegel, and Le Monde.  —  By the fall of 2023, Starlink, SpaceX's satellite internet network, had become a primary means of communication on the Ukrainian battlefield.

Ukraine has ‘two months before Putin escalates war’  —  Czech president warns Russian leader could order general mobilisation after parliamentary elections  —  Ukraine has two months to restart peace talks or risk Russia escalating the war, the Czech president has said.

He Earns $33 an Hour as a Costco Cashier.  Now He's a Millionaire.  —  Long-tenured workers like cashier Tony Barzar are reliable, experienced and able to speed shoppers through a checkout line.  Costco is willing to pay to keep them around.  —  TUCSON, Ariz.—Costco cashier Tony Barzar unloaded …

The hidden costs of low-tax states  —  America's state governments now run on two very different tax engines: income in many coastal and professional-class states, and consumption in much of the Sun Belt and low-tax-growth belt.  —  Why it matters: States are not just competing over tax rates.

The administration has a new climate change office.  It's headed by a climate critic.  —  The Trump administration has reconstituted a governmentwide program that tracks how climate change is transforming the country, after having gutted it last year as part of a purge of programs that didn't line up with its worldview.

Fetterman, McCormick launch rare bipartisan joint fundraising committee  —  Pennsylvania's two senators, despite being from opposite parties, are banding together in a joint fundraising effort in advance of the 2026 midterms and 2028 election cycle.  —  A new political action committee …