Trump White House reverses course, rescinds freeze on federal grants  —  The budget office came under immense pressure over the impacts on a sudden pause in key government spending  —  The White House budget office on Wednesday rescinded an order freezing federal grants …

Trump Signs Agreement Calling for Meta to Pay $25 Million to Settle Suit  —  The president had sued the social-media company after his accounts were suspended  —  President Trump has signed settlement papers that are expected to require Meta Platforms to pay roughly $25 million to resolve …

Trump to build mass detention camp for deportees at Guantánamo Bay  —  The president said he will issue an executive order to construct a detention camp with room for 30,000 migrants on the U.S. naval base in Cuba.  —  President Donald Trump said he will order the construction …

USDA inspector general escorted out of her office after defying White House  —  Security agents escorted the inspector general of the U.S. Department of Agriculture out of her office on Monday after she refused to comply with her firing by the Trump administration, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.

Trump's First Big Fiasco Triggers Stephen Miller's Rage—Take Note Dems  —  Admitting failure is anathema to the authoritarian leader, who is perpetually in danger of being diminished by those who are resentful of his glory—which is why White House adviser Stephen Miller is frantically searching …

Justice Dept. Is Said to Discuss Dropping Case Against Eric Adams  —  Senior officials under President Trump have talked with prosecutors in Manhattan about the possibility of abandoning the corruption case against Mr. Adams, the mayor of New York City.  —  Senior Justice Department officials …

Federal-Worker Buyouts May Make Government As Broken As X  —  In the latest episode of what MAGA nihilist Steve Bannon joyfully predicted would be “Days of Thunder” from the new Trump administration, on Tuesday the United States Office of Personnel Management offered all federal employees a buyout offer wrapped in menacing threats.

Former Sen. Bob Menendez sentenced to 11 years corruption and bribery case  —  Menendez resigned from the Senate after his conviction last year  —  Former U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez was sentenced Wednesday to 11 years in prison for selling his once-considerable clout in Washington for gold bars …

RFK Jr. Completely Fumbles Basic Medicaid Facts at Hearing  —  That is not quite how Medicaid works, Mr. Kennedy.Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said Wednesday “most Americans are not happy” with Medicaid because “the premiums are too high,” suggesting he may be oblivious to the fact that Medicaid overwhelmingly does …

DOJ moves to drop charges against former GOP lawmaker in case criticized by Trump  —  The step likely ends a legal saga that drove ex-Rep. Jeff Fortenberry from Congress over foreign donations.  —  The Justice Department has moved to drop its criminal prosecution of former Rep. Jeff Fortenberry …

Your support helps us to tell the story  —  From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing.  Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, ‘The A Word’ …

Trump administration to cancel student visas of pro-Palestinian protesters  —  U.S. President Donald Trump will sign an executive order on Wednesday to combat antisemitism and pledge to deport non-citizen college students and others who took part in pro-Palestinian protests, a White House official said.

Governor Leaves Indiana's Predominantly Black University Out of Budget  —  Martin University had a short-lived burst of state funding.  But those funds disappeared in Governor Mike Braun's budget proposal, unveiled on the heels of an anti-DEI executive order.  One lawmaker calls it racist.

‘Written by children’: Critics slam New York Times' glowing coverage of Trump official  —  White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt received glowing coverage from the New York Times for her press briefing debut despite delivering a performance that other observers have described as an “embarrassment.”

Trump accuses Fed, Powell of creating inflation on heels of rate decision … President Donald Trump on Wednesday slammed Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and the U.S. central bank, saying they “failed to stop the problem they created with Inflation” and have done a “terrible job on Bank Regulation.”

Senate Democrats rip into RFK Jr.  —  Democrats on the Senate Finance Committee went on offense against Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s past statements about vaccines, infectious disease and other health-related conspiracy theories.  In a heated exchange, Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) …