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 …

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” …

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 …

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 …

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.

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.

Musk Humiliated as Trump's Own Advisers Brutally Expose DOGE Fiasco  —  The rift between Elon Musk and Republicans is about to get worse.  The New York Times reports that in an extraordinary Oval Office meeting, President Trump's senior agency heads fought bitterly with Musk.

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 …

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.

Supreme Court to Hear Challenge to Law Banning Conversion Therapy  —  Colorado, like more than 20 other states, bars licensed therapists from trying to change the sexual orientation or gender identity of minors in their care.  —  The Supreme Court said on Monday that it will hear …

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 …

Wall Street stocks drop as investors fret over US economic slowdown  —  Tech shares hit as Tesla gives up all its post-election gains  —  Wall Street stocks fell on Monday, deepening the recent sell-off triggered by investor concerns over the impact of President Donald Trump's policies on the US economy.

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 …

32 people brought ashore after oil tanker and cargo ship collide in North Sea  —  Summary  — Thirty-two people have been brought ashore after a cargo vessel collided with an oil tanker in the North Sea, a port boss says  — All crew on the tanker Stena Immaculate are safe and accounted for, the shipping company tells the BBC

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

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

Be Prepared  —  Trump is sabotaging the economy, but we shouldn't assume public opinion will follow automatically.  —  ∙ Paid  —  Donald Trump has done rapid, serious damage to the U.S. economy, and the MAGA elite knows it.  —  Saturated as the Trump movement is in fantasies …

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 …

Witty hired as White House photographer  —  The White House has hired Patrick Witty, an accomplished Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer who left his role at National Geographic in 2017 after allegations of misconduct, Semafor has learned.  Witty, who had also worked with The New York Times …

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 …

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 …

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

Democratic media leader dating US senator  —  The News  —  One of the Democratic Party's most notable digital media leaders is dating one of the party's most media-friendly lawmakers, according to a Washington Democrat and a pointed Instagram post.  —  Tara McGowan, the CEO of the network …

DOGE lawmakers look to defund Biden's anemic-paced $3B EV postal truck ‘boondoggle’  —  Rep Michael Cloud lamented the project as another failure of former President Joe Biden's ‘so-called’ inflation fix  —  EXCLUSIVE: Two top DOGE lawmakers are introducing a bill to claw …

‘Shut Up About Egg Prices’: Trump Shares Brazen Message About High Costs  —  The president posted a column from conservative activist Charlie Kirk telling people to stop complaining about egg prices.  —  President Donald Trump, who promised to cut the cost of groceries on his first day in office …

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 …

‘Leave now’: Trump admin repurposes controversial CBP One app to encourage self-deportations  —  The Trump administration ended the parole function of the CBP One app  —  EXCLUSIVE: The Trump administration is rolling out a new app to replace the controversial CBP One app with the new replacement designed …

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.

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 …

The Road from ‘Citizens United’ to Trump, Musk, and Corruption  —  WHAT HAPPENS WHEN a greedy geezer with the most powerful job in the world cements himself to a greedy grabber who is the richest man in the world?  You get Donald Trump, Elon Musk, and a superpower emeritus about ready to be stripped for parts.