Homeland Security Money Financed Pro-Trump Television Ads  —  White House calls the spots public-service ads, but critics argue using taxpayer money for campaign-like messaging may violate federal law  —  WASHINGTON—The Trump administration used federal funds from the Department …

“Brace for losing everything”: Farm crisis fears grip GOP in Iowa  —  Iowa is on the verge of a farm crisis that threatens to wreck the agricultural heart of the state and hurt the fortunes of Republicans at the top of the midterm ticket, GOP strategists acknowledge.

Sen. Eric Schmitt pins down Jack Smith — as a Caitlin Clark fan  —  Sen. Eric Schmitt thought he caught Jack Smith in a lie.  Instead, he outed him as a fan of former Iowa Hawkeyes star Caitlin Clark.  In a quest to frame former special counsel Jack Smith as a liar during his testimony …

The Beclowning of Scott Bessent  —  One iron law of current politics is that nobody who associates themselves with Donald Trump emerges with a shred of credibility.  For some, that's not a big loss — it's not as if anyone respected Pete Hegseth even before he decided that the key …

Hegseth to cut 20 percent of admirals, generals in major Pentagon overhaul  —  Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is set to announce a 20 percent cut to slots slated for admirals and generals at the Pentagon as part of his push to overhaul the outlook of the department, a Pentagon official confirmed to The Hill on Tuesday.

It Was the Essential Home of Supreme Court News.  Now It's a Joke.  What Happened?  —  Earlier this month, SCOTUSblog hosted its annual Supreme Court “summit” in Washington.  For nearly a quarter century, SCOTUSblog has been the go-to outlet for information about the court and its docket …

Lone Republican Senator Derails a Bill to Prevent Demolition of the Kennedy Center  —  Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) blocked a bipartisan bill that would have prohibited the destruction of any national memorial honoring a U.S. president — a measure meant to protect the Kennedy Center from a full demolition — without congressional approval.

A Pentagon Influencer Called Liberal Women a ‘Pestilence’ Who Will End Western Civilization  —  Kurt Schlichter was part of a task force rooting out so-called woke ideologies at the military's war colleges.  He has called to bar childless adults from voting.

New AI-powered government website uses Gemini, Grok, Trump official Gebbia says … The Trump administration's new chatbot aimed at helping Americans navigate official government websites is powered by artificial intelligence from Google's Gemini and Elon Musk's Grok, U.S. Chief Design Officer Joe Gebbia said Tuesday.

Anthropic's IPO prospectus shows sweeping AI vision, surging costs  —  Anthropic is making a massive bet that AI will transform the global economy more profoundly than industrialization, electricity and the internet, according to its IPO prospectus seen by Reuters.  —  But the cost to get there will be staggering.

Watch: Kennedy questions Jack Smith about his wife's views on Trump, Obamas  —  GOP Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana questioned former special counsel Jack Smith about his wife's political views.  Smith told Kennedy he wasn't at the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing to talk about his family.

Sen. Eric Schmitt is drawing buzz as a possible Vance VP in 2028  —  First-term Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.) — who was a tough-on-crime state attorney general, and now is vice chair of the Joint Economic Committee — has grown close to Vice President Vance and is seen as a top prospect to become a potential 2028 running mate.

Tennessee to execute a woman for first time in over 200 years  —  Christa Pike was convicted in a brutal 1995 killing committed when she was 18.  Advocates pushing for her life to be spared point to abuse she suffered as a child.  —  SummaryLoading...  A Tennessee woman scheduled …

Federal prosecutors charge Venezuelan man shot by ICE agent in Texas with assaulting an officer  —  Federal prosecutors in Texas announced on Tuesday assault charges against a Venezuelan delivery driver who was shot in the back by immigration enforcement agents on Sept. 20.

Treasury Will Auto-Enroll 60 Million Children in Trump Accounts  —  New rules also ease path for wealthy donors to contribute stock  —  The Treasury Department will automatically enroll tens of millions of children in the government's new Trump Accounts as soon as this week …

Trump touts America.gov, but its government-sourced AI answers undercut many of his statements  —  The Trump administration has lauded its revamped website America.gov as a way to simplify Americans' access to information and services scattered across a plethora of agency sites …

Mamdani Unveils First-of-Its-Kind Plan to Fight Antisemitism in NYC  —  The mayor is pouring millions into hate-crime prevention, synagogue security and Jewish institutions.  —  Co-Founder of MeidasTouch  —  Add MeidasTouch as a preferred Google sourceUse your Google account to add this to your settings

UPDATED: White House looking to Europe to release diesel from strategic reserves  —  President Donald Trump appears set on banning diesel exports.  His cabinet, oil industry executives and some GOP lawmakers are hoping he doesn't.  —  Instead, they are pitching the administration several other ideas …

Trump official central to deportation deals tapped for ambassadorship  —  Christian Ehrhardt, who negotiated the administration's controversial “third country” agreements, is the White House pick for ambassador to Cameroon.  —  SummaryLoading...  A senior State Department official …

Surprise!  Republicans Found a Migrant Caravan Just in Time for the Midterms  —  Marjorie Taylor Greene called out the party for trying to “scare voters” because “nothing else is working”  —  ADD US AS A GOOGLE PREFERRED SOURCE  —  It's almost the midterm elections, and you know what that means …

Federal watchdog says Trump's $810M funding cancellation is unconstitutional  —  The federal government's internal watchdog told Congress Tuesday that it has concluded President Donald Trump acted unlawfully in unilaterally canceling $810 million in federal funding.

I Went Home to Miami to See How Hispanic Voters Feel About Trump and Immigration  —  Watch as a WSJ reporter visits Miami-Dade County—which Trump flipped red in 2024.  Now, many voters are frustrated with some of his policies.  —  Click for Sound  —  This is an episode of Rooted In …

How Trump's sweeping changes are remaking Washington  —  June 3, 2025. Sept. 1, 2026.  —  President Donald Trump has focused on remaking Washington in his second term, from blades of grass on the White House lawn to new monuments around the city.  —  He regularly directs the presidential helicopter …

How Ted Cruz, once a Republican gadfly, became a bipartisan dealmaker  —  The Texas senator was the driving force behind a bill to overhaul regulation of college athletics that passed the chamber Monday night.  —  SummaryLoading...  When Ted Cruz first arrived in the Senate in 2013 …

Trump administration ban on $1B in Canadian imports goes into effect  —  President Trump's ban on nearly $1 billion worth of Canadian goods went into effect Tuesday, marking the latest salvo in a trade war between the U.S. and its longtime ally to the north.

Eric Cantor, former House leader, named PhRMA president and CEO  —  Eric Cantor, a former House Republican leader who is among the most seasoned navigators of official Washington, on Tuesday was named president and CEO of PhRMA, the voice of the pharmaceutical industry, effective Nov. 9.

Unsurprisingly, Meta's new Muse AI agent blatantly ignores users permissions  —  In a completely unsurprising turn of events, Meta's Muse AI is stealing Apple Messages, past and present, and uploading the contents to its cloud, even if explicitly told not to.

What's Gone Wrong For the GOP  —  And some speculation about why.  —  A two-part item today: I'm looking again at the state of the election, focused this time mainly on the Senate, and then shifting to some first thoughts about why things have gone so badly so far for Republicans.