Trump Moves to Settle the Fascism Debate  —  Plus: A supposedly fun thing Chuck Schumer will never do again.  —  President Donald Trump took another step in an openly fascist direction over the weekend when he skirted a federal court order to cancel or turn back deportation flights carrying …

Judge finds Elon Musk and DOGE's shutdown of USAID likely unconstitutional  —  Washington — A federal judge on Tuesday found that Elon Musk and the White House's Department of Government Efficiency likely violated the Constitution when they unilaterally acted to shut down the U.S. Agency for International Development.

This is why Kamala Harris really lost  —  Democrats have spent months debating how and why they lost the 2024 election.  But the full picture of what happened on Election Day is only now coming into view.  —  The most authoritative election analyses draw on a variety of different data sources …

Exclusive: Trump fires both Democratic commissioners at FTC, sources say  —  President Donald Trump fired the two Democratic commissioners at the U.S. Federal Trade Commission on Tuesday, two sources familiar with the situation said, in another major test of the independence of regulatory agencies.

GOP leaders call on Sen. Eichorn to resign after arrest for allegedly soliciting a minor  —  Minnesota state Sen. Justin Eichorn was arrested Monday in Bloomington for allegedly soliciting a minor for prostitution.  —  Bloomington police said Eichorn was arrested near the 8300 block …

Kennedy's Alarming Prescription for Bird Flu on Poultry Farms  —  The health secretary has suggested allowing the virus to spread, so as to identify birds that may be immune.  Such an experiment would be disastrous, scientists say.  —  Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the nation's top health official …

Trump to declare “illicit” fentanyl “Weapon of Mass Destruction,” per draft EO  —  The Handbasket is subscriber-funded.  If you want to support independent media during these dark times for democracy, become a paid subscriber today!  —  Video  —  The heads of the US Departments of Commerce …

Wired is dropping paywalls for FOIA-based reporting.  Others should follow  —  The news business isn't just any business — it serves a vital role in our democracy, recognized by the First Amendment.  But media outlets can't serve that role if they're bankrupt.

Some Americans Have Already Been Caught in Trump's Immigration Dragnet.  More Will Be.  —  ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power.  Sign up to receive our biggest stories as soon as they're published.  —  About a week after President Donald Trump took office …

‘Segregated facilities’ are no longer explicitly banned in federal contracts  —  After a recent change by the Trump administration, the federal government no longer explicitly prohibits contractors from having segregated restaurants, waiting rooms and drinking fountains.

‘Airport Theory’ Will Make You Miss Your Flight  —  This delusional airport trend only appeals to those who have no concept of how time or space work.  Here's how to actually travel like a pro. … If airports weren't already a hellscape, TikTok has found a way to make them worse.

DOGE Rampage May Have ‘Immediate,’ ‘Long-term’ Effects For Courts, Judicial Branch Warns  —  The federal court system warned its employees that DOGE's cuts to building services and to executive branch staff could cause “immediate and long-term effects on court operations,” according to a Monday memo obtained by TPM .

For four Venezuelan friends, Alien Enemies Act cuts short an American dream  —  The men had just begun new lives in Dallas when officers arrived at their home and arrested them.  Their relatives deny that they have any connection to the Tren de Aragua gang.  —  Just now

Pentagon is cutting up to 60,000 civilian jobs.  About a third of those took voluntary resignations  —  Roughly 50,000 to 60,000 civilian jobs will be cut in the Defense Department, but fewer than 21,000 workers who took a voluntary resignation plan are leaving in the coming months, a senior defense official told reporters Tuesday.

‘I am a political prisoner’: Mahmoud Khalil says he's being targeted for political beliefs  —  Exclusive: Palestinian activist and green card holder speaks out from Louisiana immigration detention for first time  — Never miss global breaking news.  Download our free app to keep up with key stories in real time.

German man with green card ‘violently interrogated’ by US border officials  —  Berlin checking if US immigration policy has changed after Fabian Schmidt becomes third German to be detained  —  Berlin is investigating whether US immigration policy has changed, after a German national …

Tesla board members, executive sell off over $100 million of stock in recent weeks  —  Shares of Tesla have plunged nearly 50% since a peak in mid-December.  —  Stickers protesting Tesla CEO Elon Musk are shown on a Tesla Supercharger, on March 12, 2025, in San Anselmo, Calif.

The Faces of Trump's Anti-Immigrant Crusade  —  The government deported a 10-year-old American citizen with brain cancer.  —  ∙ Paid  —  First: I'll be live on Substack today at 1:00 p.m. EDT with epidemiologist Katelyn Jetelina to talk about measles, vaccines …

MAGA Brocasters Grow Suspicious of the Jews  —  Bro podcast antisemitism  —  The bro-comedy podcasts that helped Trump win the election and set off much agonizing about the right's overwhelming podcast advantage have taken up a hot new topic: antisemitism and even, in one case, general Adolf Hitler apologia.

Radio Free Europe sues after Trump administration halts funding  —  Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty sued Kari Lake and the Trump administration Tuesday over efforts to defund the organization.  —  Last week, President Trump signed an executive order aimed at eliminating the U.S. Agency for Global Media …

Jordan demands testimony from prosecutors who went after Trump  —  It's the latest step in the House GOP's efforts to support the president's desires for political retribution.  —  House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan is calling prosecutors who oversaw the criminal investigation into Donald …

'It's a Heist': Real Federal Auditors Are Horrified by DOGE  —  WIRED talked to actual federal auditors about how government auditing works—and how DOGE is doing the opposite.  —  Elon Musk's so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has spent the first six weeks …

Tesla investor calls for Elon Musk to step down as boss  —  Wealth manager Ross Gerber tells Sky News that Musk's time has become too stretched and his work alongside President Donald Trump too divisive.  —  Business and economics reporter @SkyNewsBiz  —  One of Tesla's earliest investors …

The Last Days at Voice of America  —  Covering the press freedom beat at VOA, I got a front-row seat to its demise.  —  On Saturday, about thirteen hundred Voice of America staffers, myself included, were placed on administrative leave.  VOA's final broadcast went out; its website was updated one last time.

DOJ Asserts Trump Hypothetically Has Power To Purge All Female Agency Heads, Or Those Over 40  —  The Trump Department of Justice asserted in court Tuesday that, under their theories, the President's removal power is so all-encompassing that he could fire all female agency heads, as well as those over 40 years old.

Firing federal employees was swift.  Unwinding the terminations is proving complicated  —  Federal agencies continue to unwind the firings of federal employees to comply with court orders, in a labor-intensive process affecting more than 24,000 people nationwide.

Vice President Vance has a new gig: fundraising for the Republican National Committee  —  Vice President JD Vance will assume the role of finance chairman for the Republican National Committee — an unconventional move for a sitting vice president, but one that also places a top ally of President …