Deleted tweets show top State Department official spread false rumor about Rubio's sexuality, called him ‘low IQ’  —  A top acting State Department official deleted at least half a dozen tweets that ridiculed his now boss, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, including ones calling him “low IQ” …

Immigration agents arrest Palestinian activist who helped lead Columbia University protests  —  Federal immigration authorities arrested a Palestinian activist Saturday who played a prominent role in Columbia University's protests against Israel, a significant escalation in the Trump administration's pledge …

Capitol agenda: Johnson's shutdown dare for Schumer  —  Mike Johnson to Chuck Schumer on government funding: Your move.  House Republicans are pushing a not-so-clean spending patch through September that would add billions of dollars for deportations, veterans' health care and the military …

US added to international watchlist for rapid decline in civic freedoms  —  Civicus, an international non-profit, puts country alongside Democratic Republic of Congo, Italy, Pakistan and Serbia  —  The United States has been added to the Civicus Monitor Watchlist, which identifies countries …

DOGE hunts for ‘wins’ amid tensions with Trump administration, backlash  —  As turmoil spills into public view, Elon Musk's DOGE is racing to finish slashing federal bureaucracy and move on to the more constructive work of building digital tools for the government.

Trump's secret power protection plan  —  Anyone who thinks President Trump's mesmerizing hold over the GOP will slip if his poll numbers slide is missing one of his biggest innovations in American politics:  — The creation of a cash-flush political operation that has raked in around …

Supreme Court will take up state bans on conversion therapy for LGBTQ+ children, in a Colorado case  —  The Supreme Court agreed Monday in a case from Colorado to decide whether state and local governments can enforce laws banning conversion therapy for LGBTQ+ children.

Former Social Security official describes hostile takeover by Musk team  —  DOGE officials also put millions of taxpayers' private data at risk and refused to say why they needed access to it, the official says.  —  Just now  —  They came in aggressively, a former official …

Utah to Become First State to Ban Fluoride in Public Water  —  Most public-health experts say the mineral additive is crucial protector against tooth decay  —  Utah Gov. Spencer Cox said he would sign a bill that bans the use of fluoride in public water systems, rejecting the practice …

Banker Mark Carney Wins Race to Lead Liberal Party, and Canada  —  The prominent central banker and investor was chosen in a crucial leadership race amid threats from President Trump.  He is expected to quickly call a federal election.  —  阅读.体中文.閱讀.體中文.

MAGA's Big Lie budget  —  🗣️ 🔥 🤯 With corporate outlets obeying in advance, supporting independent political media is more important right now than ever.  Public Notice is possible thanks to paid subscribers.  If you aren't one already, please click the button below and become one to support our work.

Stalled Audits and a Skeleton Staff: Inside Trump's War on the I.R.S. … The Trump administration is preparing budget cuts and further layoffs that could ultimately force the Internal Revenue Service to shed as much as 50 percent of its work force.Haiyun Jiang for The New York Times

Some Democrats Endorse Bill Allowing Elon Musk to Create His Own Currency  —  The GENIUS Act is the first pro-crypto bill Republicans want to rush through this Congress.  Thanks to industry money, several Democrats are ignoring the bill's major problems.  —  Elon Musk, who is a trader …

Massive turnout at Democratic lawmakers' town halls as Republicans hide from voters  —  As Republican lawmakers dodge in-person town halls, avoiding direct engagement with voters furious over the Trump administration's devastating policies, LGBTQ+ Democrats like Washington Rep. Emily Randall …

Ukrainian journalist Victoria Roshchyna died after savage torture and extreme emaciation in Russian captivity  —  The 27-year-old journalist, who lived for her work, had travelled to occupied Zaporizhzhia oblast in order to find out about Russia's torture prisons on occupied territory

Elon Musk seeks Italian presidential meeting to salvage Starlink deal  —  Domestic political opposition to $1.5bn deal for secure communications has mounted amid transatlantic diplomatic tensions  —  Elon Musk has asked to meet Italy's President Sergio Mattarella, amid growing doubts in Rome …

The Democratic Party won't save us.  We must save democracy.  Here's the plan.  —  How to support democracy's comeback without just giving to Democratic candidates. … It's 2015.  Donald Trump is on stage, braying and whining and being as terrible as he can be.

The Birthright Citizenship Clause Means Exactly What It Says: The Textual and Historical Implausibility of Alternative Interpretations Offered by the Trump Administration and Conservative Commentators such as Randy Barnett, Ilan Wurman, Chuck Cooper and Pete Patterson

In Rural Texas, a Measles Outbreak Hasn't Swayed Vaccine Skeptics  —  Despite a child's death, residents say personal choice—not public-health policy—should guide their decisions  —  SEMINOLE, Texas—The dusty plains of Gaines County stretch endlessly, peanut fields fading into cotton farms …

Meet the federal worker who went rogue: ‘I hope that it lights a fire under people’  —  To billionaire Elon Musk and his cost-cutting team at the Department of Government Efficiency, Karen Ortiz may just be one of many faceless bureaucrats.  But to some of her colleagues, she is giving a voice to those who feel they can't speak out.

The Fascist Tech Bro Takeover Is Here  —  The future of the United States is no longer decided in Washington.  That ship has sailed.  It's now dictated in the bunkers, private jets, and compounds of an ideological Silicon Valley, by billionaires and wealth extremists intent on treating democracy …

Trumpcession  —  An unprecedented recovery, a jobs boom, a renaissance in domestic manufacturing, and historic gains for Black workers may soon be a distant memory.  President Joe Biden's success in improving real incomes while fostering 21st century industries and revitalizing American infrastructure …

GOP spending bill would lead to $1 billion in D.C. cuts, city officials say  —  The bill aimed at preventing a government shutdown would make D.C. revert to its 2024 spending.  City officials fear cuts to police, schools and other services.  —  A federal spending bill introduced Saturday …

Is there a floor to Donald Trump's support?  —  Some past presidencies were hobbled when popular support collapsed.  Trump might avoid that fate.  —  Many Americans — perhaps 75 million of them? — view the initial, conflagratory weeks of President Donald Trump's second term in office with astonishment and anger.

Kleptocrats to benefit from Trump DoJ's anti-corruption pause, experts warn  —  Former prosecutors criticize Pam Bondi's decision to halt enforcement of bribery laws as short-sighted and dangerous  —  A radical makeover at the US department of justice has seen key drives to fight corruption hamstrung …

Supreme Court turns away red states' bid to block blue states' climate change lawsuits  —  Washington — The Supreme Court on Monday turned away a bid by Republican-led states to block lawsuits brought by a group of Democratic-led states that seek to hold oil and gas companies accountable …

Lately, political writers have called attention to the tendency of billionaire Elon Musk to refer to his political opponents as “NPCs.”  This term comes from the gaming world and refers to a nonplayer character, a character that follows a scripted path and cannot think or act on its own …

Rubio and Musk turn on Polish foreign minister in spat over Starlink use in Ukraine: ‘Be quiet small man’  —  Secretary of State presses on with Trump administration's efforts to make European nations profess gratitude … Your support helps us to tell the story