Trump Threatens Suit Over Report He Doesn't Like, Aiming to Intimidate a Critic  —  It was the latest example of President Trump's bid to use the legal system against those who voice unflattering facts and opinions generally protected by the First Amendment.

Scott Bessent Fails to Gaslight the Market  —  What doth it profit a man if he sell his soul and can't even manipulate the 30-year?  —  Scott Bessent, the Treasury Secretary, isn't the worst member of Trump's cabinet.  I mean, he has to compete with the likes of Pete Hegseth.

Trump Administration Attacks Bar Association's Power to Accredit Law Schools  —  The move escalates a feud with the nation's premier legal organization  —  The Trump administration is opening a new front in its campaign to remake higher education: threatening the American Bar Association's power to accredit law schools.

“Travel with Natalie”  —  PN is supported by paid subscribers.  Become one ⬇️  —  👱‍♀️ Subscribe to PN 👱‍♀️  —  Donald Trump is easily triggered.  That's hardly news.  —  He's temperamental and emotional …

Trump Can Keep Building Ballroom While Supreme Court Weighs Appeal  —  Temporary order from high court gives justices more time to deliberate  —  WASHINGTON—The Supreme Court on Friday said President Trump can keep building his White House ballroom for now, as the justices continue weighing …

Buttigieg heads to South Carolina as Trump tries to patch up Graham Nordone's debate gaffe  —  Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg is headed to South Carolina to shore up the Democrats' chances in the Senate special election, as the party sees an opening following Darline Graham Nordone's debate gaffe.

Your New Senator Is a Total Lightweight.  She's Perfect.  —  There's been lots of reporting lately about the breathlessly fawning personal letters Natalie Harp habitually writes to her boss.  Last night, the Daily Beast released two of them in full—and they're so, so much creepier than advertised.

EXCLUSIVE: Committee Review Finds Trump Pardons Have Cost Crime Victims $1.7 Billion and Enriched Trump Allies  —  President Trump's “get out of jail free” cards for convicted crooks are actually costing crime victims a fortune.  —  A scathing new investigation by Democrats …

Court slashes $50M judgment against Infowars' Alex Jones over falsely calling school shooting a hoax  —  A Texas court has slashed the $50 million judgment to $1.5 million against Infowars founder Alex Jones over falsely calling 2012 school shooting a hoax.  The ruling does not affect …

Bessent Must Envy When the Grownups Were in Charge  —  Even if they ultimately couldn't tame the deficit, bipartisanship beats an ‘insanity premium.’  —  There are many reasons why the bond market makes a difficult topic for conversation.  It's extremely complicated and based around counterintuitive mathematics that many find opaque.

This Is How Democrats Talk Themselves Out Of Wielding Power  —  Every party wants to win as many elections as possible.  But a supermajority can not be a prerequisite for democratic renewal in America.  —  Let's peer into a future where Democrats come to power in 2029 with a governing trifecta.

Colorado GOP Gov Nominee Claims to Have Battled ‘Demons’ With ‘Reptilian’ Eyes  —  Victor Marx was deep in the jungle and crippled by a fever when he was attacked.  —  The self-described “high-risk missionary” and Republican gubernatorial nominee in Colorado claims he traveled to Myanmar to train …

How Harvard's Epic Fight With Trump Is Costing the University  —  The federal government has slowed Harvard's funding, despite the university's legal victories.  The conflict is forcing hard choices on campus.  —  One of Harvard University's biggest federal funding streams is down sharply …

First Draft: ⬇️ Trump Advisers Worry He Could ‘Sink to the High 20s’  —  The president's favorability has somehow stayed above 30% in the polls but economic pain and policy paralysis mean allies fear worse.  Still, Trump would rather focus on setting the DOJ on his enemies.

Charter plane crash kills 8 near remote radar site in western Alaska, military says  —  A statement from the Pacific Air Forces Regional Support Center did not provide details on the specific work the individuals were doing.  —  A charter aircraft carrying eight people crashed at a remote radar site …

Friday Afternoon News Updates: All Hat, Foreign Cattle - 8/21/26  —  It's Friday, August 21.  Here's your midday update.  —  Before I get into the news, a quick reminder that today's episode of the MeidasTouch Podcast with me and my brothers is out now!  Some folks have said they've …

New York Times Loses Defamation Lawsuit in Alabama  —  A 2023 article incorrectly reported that a University of Alabama basketball player was at the scene of a deadly shooting.  A jury awarded $9.25 million in damages.  —  An Alabama jury determined on Thursday that The New York Times defamed …

Log Cabin Republicans Officially Drop the ‘T’ From LGBT  —  Log Cabin Republicans, the nation's largest group representing gay conservatives and their allies, will no longer advocate for transgender rights, a senior leader for the organization announced in a column Thursday.

Former acting U.S. attorney found dead in San Diego federal office building  —  Former twice acting U.S. attorney for the Southern District of California Andrew Haden was found dead this week in the downtown San Diego federal building that houses the prosecutors' office, officials confirmed Friday.

White, liberal female Lindsay Clancy supporters are proving why men are right to want to remain single  —  Last summer, I went out on a date with a woman, a dame, if you would, to a Philadelphia Phillies baseball game.  We had amazing seats, saw an amazing game, and the Phillies won.

Trump to transform spaceflight from spectacle to status quo targeting 3 launches per day  —  New White House policy directs agencies to expand launch pads, airspace corridors and reentry infrastructure for satellites  —  The Trump administration's new space policy aims to ramp up U.S. space traffic …

The U.S. Is Learning the Wrong Lessons in Iran  —  Tactical excellence can never salvage strategic incompetence.  —  Although the conflict in Iran and the Strait of Hormuz is far from over, analysts are already rushing to declare what lessons should be learned from it.

Exclusive: Trump DOJ appears to have hired lawyer convicted of hacking election sites to check ‘integrity’  —  A Florida lawyer who pleaded guilty after illegally accessing government election websites appears to have joined President Donald Trump's Department of Justice (DOJ) …

US plans $725 million payment towards its large UN debt  —  The Trump administration has started the process to transfer $725 million to the United Nations, a congressional notification seen by Reuters showed, a move aid experts said was a welcome step towards paying billions in dues owed.

Sanford backs Norman over Graham in South Carolina Senate runoff: ‘Stakes are simply too high’  —  Former South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford (R) announced Friday he is backing GOP Rep. Ralph Norman (S.C.) in the race to serve a full term in the late Sen. Lindsey Graham's (R-S.C.) seat.

The Message Behind Trump's Threats of ‘Economic Warfare’ Against Iran  —  President Trump's threats of an “economic D-Day” carry a clear signal to Iran that he does not want to go back to war.  —  Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent tried to reassure investors worried about the pressure campaign …

Vance says Bessent has ‘discreet’ plan to address $40 trillion national debt  —  Vice President JD Vance said Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has a plan to address the nation's roughly $40 trillion debt, arguing the administration can grow the economy faster than the debt accumulates.

Alex Vindman says he'll give away his multimillion-dollar war chest  —  The Senate candidate had leveraged his national fame to raise more than $16 million before losing Florida's Democratic primary.  —  Retired Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, who lost Tuesday's Democratic primary for U.S. Senate in Florida …

Progressive Aisha Wahab wins Eric Swalwell's former House seat  —  SAN FRANCISCO — Aisha Wahab, a progressive California state lawmaker, has won the special election for an East Bay congressional seat previously held by former Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell, who resigned over allegations of sexual assault.

N.Y. State Senator's Former Aides Say She Double-Billed for Travel  —  For years, Jessica Ramos used campaign money to pay for hotels and Amtrak tickets while also receiving state payments for travel, records and interviews show.  —  A prominent New York state senator, Jessica Ramos …

U.S. to Boost Beef Imports to Address High Prices, Trump Says  —  President says he will temporarily allow up to 300,000 metric tons of ground beef to be imported into the U.S. without paying higher tariffs  —  President Trump announced a plan to temporarily allow more foreign beef imports …

Natalie Harp Should Concern Everyone—I Should Know, I Once Had Her Job  —  Handling a U.S. president's social media voice is a magisterial job.  The work involved ranges far and wide—from figuring out how to handle the president's receipt of a Nobel Peace Prize to huddling with colleagues to pull just the right clip from a speech.

Navy discusses renaming aircraft carrier after Trump instead of heroic Black sailor  —  The USS Doris Miller would be the first aircraft carrier named after a Black and an enlisted sailor.  The decision to name the carrier after Miller was made during Trump's first term.

What to know about this weekend's IndyCar race on the National Mall  —  The Freedom 250 Grand Prix is poised to bring dozens of race cars and tens of thousands of spectators to the heart of Washington, D.C.'s National Mall this weekend.  —  The two-day motorsports event …

Mike Rogers' Pitch to Jewish Democrats May Be Falling Flat  —  Mike Rogers lost his Senate race in 2024 by fewer than 20,000 votes.  Now, the Republican is ramping up efforts to pick off portions of historically Democratic coalitions in Michigan — including Jewish voters who draw a hard line on support for Israel.