Chris Rufo — Known For ‘DEI’ and ‘CRT’ Panics — Tries to Make ‘the Indian Question’ a Thing  —  Rufo often gets treated as a “respectable” conservative.  His latest podcast episode — framing Indian-Americans as a problem in need of solving — is more evidence that he shouldn't be.

Top GOP group pauses Senate spending in N.C., goes up in Kansas  —  Senate Republicans' top super PAC is making a tactical change, pausing its ad campaign in North Carolina's Senate race and launching a new one in Kansas.  —  Senate Leadership Fund is plowing seven figures into Kansas …

US adds disappointing 29,000 jobs and unemployment ticks up to 4.2% in September  —  U.S. employers added a disappointing 29,000 jobs and the unemployment rate ticked up last month, the government reported Friday, a month before voters go to the polls in pivotal midterm elections …

White House Officials Told the DOJ to Delay Action on Abortion Ahead of the Midterms  —  The White House has instructed the Justice Department to move slowly on any abortion-related actions ahead of the midterm elections, The Washington Sun has learned.  —  In a series of discussions …

The GOP's Culture-War Hail Mary  —  Last week, as the war with Iran dragged into its seventh month, gas prices shot up to an average of $4.50 a gallon, and polling showed President Trump about twice as far underwater with American voters as he was at this point in 2018, Republican senators determined …

MAGA podcaster Benny Johnson sued for defamation over ICE ride-along videos calling protesters ‘terrorists’  —  Johnson accompanied top DHS officials last year to an ICE protest, where he pointed out “left-wing terrorists” for his millions of followers across social media.

This Mistake Doomed Biden.  Trump Is Falling Into the Same Trap.  —  When I served in President Joe Biden's White House, we had good economic news to report: robust job creation, rising wages, low unemployment and a manufacturing jobs revival.  Yes, inflation spiked early in his term …

Who was behind a $250K mystery donation to super PAC backing Ken Paxton?  —  Last year, a super PAC supporting Texas Senate hopeful Ken Paxton received a $250,000 donation from a man calling himself “Paul McLaren,” a supposed “entrepreneur” living in Plano, Texas.

Trump Tourism Effects  —  In the past day or two on social media I kept seeing this graph from a Semafor story on the declining volume of international visitors to the United States.  —  It seems to show, and was being remarked on as showing, that the second Trump administration …

Not To Alarm You, But Trump's Brain Is Melted  —  Just how bad has Donald Trump's leadership been for the Kennedy Center's financial health?  CNN reports that, after Trump slapped his name on the building late last year, donation pledges plunged more than 100 percent compared to the previous three-month period.

Trump administration is paying $1.6 million a week to keep Voice of America staff on leave  —  Hundreds of VOA staffers have been on paid leave since the agency sidelined them in March 2025.  —  SummaryLoading...  More than a year after the Trump administration attempted to dismantle Voice of America …

Democrats put $3.4M behind Susan Collins allegations  —  The Democrats' main Senate super PAC is turning an explosive ProPublica investigation into Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) into a 30-second, $3.4 million attack campaign in one of the closest Senate races of the midterms.

Bill Pulte Guts the IG Office That Investigated Him  —  Cuts Would Put IG Office Out of Business  —  In a move that smacks of retaliation, Federal Housing Finance Agency director Bill Pulte is moving to slash next year's budget for the agency's inspector general's office by more than 60% …

Trump Turned His Beloved Golf Hub Into a Ghost Town  —  In Doral, there are empty tables, shuttered businesses, and families struggling to survive after their loved ones have been thrown in detention.  —  Doral, Florida  —  THE ICONIC EL AREPAZO RESTAURANT IN DORAL is so central …

Georgia board asks Trump administration to investigate voting machines … The State Election Board's Executive Director James Mills has asked the Trump administration to examine Georgia's voting machines that are deployed statewide and prohibit QR-code vote counting, according to letters obtained by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Voters can stop MAGA from running elections in more than a dozen states  —  Our complete guide every race for secretary of state (and more!) this year  —  As Donald Trump once again seeks to subvert America's elections, voters in three dozen states will have the opportunity next month …

The Postal Service is slowing delivery.  Will your mail ballot be affected?  —  The Postal Service is implementing broad cost-saving measures that will slow pick-up and delivery times that now cover more than 42% of the continental United States.  —  That puts tens of thousands …

Amid rising diesel prices, Republicans turn against Trump for first time on handling inflation  —  It's election season.  Here's my pitch to you to support this work with a paid subscription.  —  The next four weeks are like an extended Super Bowl for election analysts.

Time magazine's big interview with Trump was a huge missed opportunity  —  If you're a journalist about to interview President Donald Trump and ask the kind of questions you'd ask a normal president, you ought to know what you're going to get.  You're going to get lies, nonsense, fantasies and insults.

Russia Is Planning Its Most Powerful Blow Yet to Try to Freeze Ukraine  —  Ukraine showed European partners what it said were intercepted Russian plans to cut off major cities from power, heat and water this winter.  —  For months, Ukrainian officials have warned people to brace for what could be their hardest winter at war.

Is There Anything Kash Patel Won't Do for Trump Before the Midterms?  —  This article was featured in the One Story to Read Today newsletter.  Sign up for it here.  —  Earlier this year, FBI Director Kash Patel vowed before God, Fox Nation, and Donald Trump that he would punish the …

JD Vance Says Black, Socialist Candidate for Senate Doesn't ‘Belong in America’  —  A New Chapter in Vance's Effort to Police Who's American  —  JD Vance visited Florida yesterday, stumping for candidates in races that for a few cycles have been safely red.

Kennedy Center moves to sell all of its Steinway pianos  —  This story has been updated to include comments from Democracy Defenders, Mr. Lewis.  —  Photos show piano movers rolling massive Steinway grand pianos through the red-carpeted halls of the Kennedy Center this week …

Here's Who Democrats Want to Impeach Next  —  As Democrats have grown more hopeful that they might win control of the U.S. Senate, congressional investigators have gathered regularly in a conference room in the office of Senator Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire, who is on track to lead the body's key oversight committee if they do.

The reverend's run  —  With help from Eli Okun, Ali Bianco and Irie Sentner  —  Good Friday morning.  We're kicking off today with some nastygrams you won't want to miss.  Read on, and get in touch.  —  FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) lashed out in private texts …

Trump accuses fellow Republican of denying Americans extra hour of daylight: ‘Have to get moving’  —  WASHINGTON — President Trump said Friday that a lone Senate Republican is blocking Americans from gaining an extra hour of daylight on winter evenings — as he ratcheted up pressure on senators …

Hegseth Orders One-Day ‘Stand-Down’ to Encourage Service Members to Vote  —  The defense secretary has campaigned for Trump-aligned Republicans on the midterm trail in a personal capacity.  — Copy  —  Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered commanders to set aside a day this month …

Justice Department finds UCLA law school illegally used race in admissions  —  The Justice Department found Thursday that the law school at the University of California, Los Angeles, illegally considered race in admissions.  —  The announcement follows a similar finding …

The mendaciousness of the latest DOJ attack on judges  —  Ahead of PN's 5th anniversary next week, we're offering paid subscriptions at the special yearly rate of $40 (or about 16¢ per edition).  This newsletter is only possible thanks to the support of paid subscribers.

Trump expected to tap DNI Jay Clayton for AI czar  —  President Trump is expected to tap Jay Clayton, his director of national intelligence, for a new role as the White House's artificial intelligence — or in Trump's words, “super intelligence” — czar.