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Hegseth orders makeup studio installed at Pentagon — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth recently ordered modifications to a room next to the Pentagon press briefing room to retrofit it with a makeup studio that can be used to prepare for television appearances, multiple sources told CBS News.
Discussion:
The Hill, Rolling Stone, Raw Story, RedState, Mother Jones and The Independent
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Laura Ingraham's Angry Rants at Dem on Fox Reveal MAGA's Dark Endgame — Democrats have long intensely debated whether to appear on Fox News. Going on Fox risks providing a sheen of legitimacy to a propaganda outlet. But not going on risks leaving Republican news consumers …
Discussion:
Daily Mail, Daily Caller News Foundation, The Hill, Fox News, Raw Story and Mediaite
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Trump Wants You to Think Resistance Is Futile. It Is Not. — The American constitutional system is built on the theory that the self-interest of lawmakers can be as much of a defense against tyranny as any given law or institution. — As James Madison wrote in Federalist 51 …
Discussion:
New Republic


Trump Says Undocumented Immigrants Shouldn't Get Trials Before Deportation

Trump Is Vulnerable on Immigration
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, Raw Story, Townhall, The Colorado Sun and Silver Bulletin


3 ways Trump's immigration crackdown could hit U.S. citizens — Trump administration officials are suggesting their immigration crackdown could expand to include deporting convicted U.S. citizens and charging anyone — not just immigrants — who criticizes Trump's policies.


U.S. citizen wrongly detained by Border Patrol says government account is false — On April 8, Jose Hermosillo, a 19-year-old U.S. citizen, was wrongfully incarcerated by immigration authorities in Arizona, who claimed he was an undocumented immigrant. He was held for 10 days …
Discussion:
MSNBC, Truthout, Arizona Republic, Raw Story and Townhall
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Detained U.S. Citizen Says Immigration Agents Lied About Everything
Discussion:
CBS News


Trump softens tariff tone amid empty shelves warning, market slump — President Trump got a scare from CEOs and markets on Monday. On Tuesday, he blunted some of his sharpest threats — signaling a softer stance on China and retreating from fiery rhetoric targeting the Fed.
Discussion:
Washington Post, Bloomberg, CBS News, Mediaite, The Guardian, Associated Press, CNN, Alternet.org, So What, Daily Kos and The Japan Times
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Mega-investor Ken Griffin: Trump's trade war ‘has devolved into a nonsensical place’

White House Considers Slashing China Tariffs to De-Escalate Trade War
Discussion:
CBS News, Newsmax, Fox Business, RedState, Ars Technica, USA Today, Forbes, Fortune, New York Post, The National Interest, HotAir, Reuters, CNBC, Townhall, Washington Examiner, Al Jazeera, The Japan Times, Eschaton, Asia Times, Foreign Policy and The Hill

Ken Griffin Says Trump's Trade War Has Devolved Into a ‘Nonsensical Place’
Discussion:
Business Insider, Semafor, Fortune, The Hollywood Reporter and CBS News


Jan Schakowsky planning May 5 retirement announcement — The veteran House Democrat is facing a longshot primary challenge. — Rep. Jan Schakowsky is planning to announce next month she won't seek reelection after 14 terms in the House and has started informing allies of her retirement decision …
Discussion:
New Republic, Washington Examiner and Axios
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Longtime U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin decides 'it's time,' won't seek reelection — The 80-year-old Democrat told WBEZ in an Illinois exclusive that age was a factor in his not seeking a sixth term in Congress. — Democratic U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin will not seek a sixth term next year …
Discussion:
The Hill, NBC News, Associated Press, Washington Post, HotAir, Washington Times, WBEZ Chicago, CBS News, The Daily Signal, The National Pulse, The Daily Wire, Wall Street Journal, NPR, Tennessee Star, Axios, Breitbart, RedState, One America News Network, Baltimore Sun, UPI, Sun-Sentinel, The Guardian, Roll Call, Daily Mail, Twitchy, WBAL Baltimore News, Scripps News, Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion, Politico, Fox News, NOTUS, USA Today, New York Times, Bloomberg, Washington Examiner, The Post Millennial, The Gateway Pundit and WTOP News


Tracking the Trump administration's nosedive — A lot of lines on a lot of charts are pointing down and to the right. — Perhaps the best analogy for the first three months of Donald Trump's second presidential term comes not from American history but from Looney Tunes.
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Majorities disapprove of some key Trump administration actions — Post Infographics — More disapprove than approve of the administration's government cuts, but views largely split along partisan lines — Among Republicans, support for ending DEI policies in federal government varies across demographic groups


Rubio and Witkoff bail on crucial Ukraine talks amid Crimea split — Donald Trump's peace proposal involves a potential lifting of sanctions and informal U.S. recognition of Russia's control over Crimea. That's a nonstarter for Kyiv. — LONDON — British plans to host a summit Wednesday …
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Vance Outlines U.S. Plan for Ukraine That Sharply Favors Russia
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal, Fox News, Politico, Global News, New Republic, The Hill, Telegraph, Deseret News, The Gateway Pundit, Bloomberg, The Kyiv Independent, RedState, The Independent, Brookings, CBS News, Raw Story, Euromaidan Press, Semafor, Alternet.org, New York Daily News and The American Conservative

Trump's Plan to Sell Out Ukraine to Russia
Discussion:
Human Events, The Kyiv Independent and HuffPost


Americans sour on Trump's handling of the economy, Reuters/Ipsos poll finds — Americans elected President Donald Trump in hopes that he would fight inflation and boost the U.S. economy, but as he approaches his 100th day in office they are giving the Republican poor marks for his handling of both, a new Reuters/Ipsos poll shows.
Discussion:
The Hill, The Independent, The Daily Caller and New Republic
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Americans souring on Trump's economic strategy, polls say
Discussion:
The Bulwark, The Hill, Gallup and Raw Story

Trump has lost his advantage on inflation and immigration
Discussion:
New York Magazine and New York Daily News


Abrego Garcia's Wife Forced to Go Into Hiding Thanks to DHS Slip-Up — The wife of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was mistakenly deported to El Salvador by the Trump administration, was forced to move to a safe house with her children, after the government posted their home address to social media.
Discussion:
Washington Post, Notes From The Circus, The Independent and Mediaite


They Criticized Musk on X. Then Their Reach Collapsed. — Note: Five-day moving average. Views are only shown up to 400,000. Source: X — When Mr. Musk purchased X in 2022, he promised to create a free speech haven and named himself a “free speech absolutist.”
Discussion:
The Information, New Republic, The Independent and Daily Mail, more at Mediagazer »


The courage to be decent — One of the more pernicious effects of authoritarianism is to make the everyday participation in civic life we take for granted feel subversive. The goal isn't to police all behavior at all times. It's to make us fearful to the point that we police our own behavior.


Trump to Host Dinner With Top Holders of His Memecoin — President Donald Trump will have dinner with the top 220 holders of the Trump memecoin, the issuers of the cryptocurrency announced on Wednesday. — At the “intimate private dinner” on May 22 at his private club in Washington …
Discussion:
The Hill, Axios, Fortune and Sherwood News, more at Techmeme »
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Trump to Sign Executive Order Targeting University Accreditors — Move is latest in effort to remake higher education after the president and other Republicans have long criticized the accreditation process — President Trump is expected to sign an executive order Wednesday to shake …
Discussion:
Bloomberg, The Hill, The James G. Martin Center …, The Daily Signal and National Review


Trump Administration Texted College Professors' Personal Phones to Ask If They're Jewish — Most professors at Barnard College received text messages on Monday notifying them that a federal agency was reviewing the college's employment practices, according to copies of the messages reviewed by The Intercept.
Discussion:
New York Times


Trump's Job Rating Drops, Key Policies Draw Majority Disapproval as He Nears 100 Days — Majorities in both parties say Trump administration must stop an action if a federal court rules it is illegal — Table of Contents Table of Contents — Majorities in both parties …
Discussion:
USA Today


Scoop: Musk vs. Bessent dispute erupted into West Wing shouting match — Elon Musk and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent got into a heated shouting match in earshot of President Trump and other officials in the White House last week during a dispute about the IRS, two witnesses and three sources briefed on the matter tell Axios.
Discussion:
Politico, Advocate, Raw Story, The Independent and HuffPost


Harvard Youth Poll — Introduction — A new national poll from the Institute of Politics at Harvard Kennedy School reveals a generation navigating financial hardship, frayed social bonds, and declining trust in institutions. As the nation confronts generational turnover and a volatile political climate …
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, Politico, The Hill, New York Post, Washington Post, The Post Millennial, IJR and Bloomberg


US birth rates near record low as Trump, Musk talk baby boom — Women in the United States are having fewer children, with the country's birth rate falling to an almost record low last year, preliminary data show. — Roughly 3.6 million babies were born in the U.S. in 2024 …

Cronyism, Capitulation and Utter Chaos — Hitting the road today, but I have time for a note on the news that moved markets yesterday. Bloomberg reports: … Investors liked this report, but it was, if you think about it, deeply disturbing on two levels.
Discussion:
Bloomberg, Mock Paper Scissors, The Hill, The Japan Times, Fortune, Politico and Mediaite


Trump ‘Alarmists’ Were Right. We Should Say So. — Throughout the Trump era I've been firmly in the camp unaffectionately dismissed as ‘alarmist’ by most commentators. Put simply: It is that bad. Liberal democracy is in danger. Fascism is a reasonable term for what we're fighting.
Discussion:
Frontpage Mag


Democratic Governor Moves To Boycott El Salvador For Aiding Trump — Illinois Gov. J.B. Prtizker is ordering the state's pension funds and procurement agencies to review any investments in the Latin American country. — Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D) is asking his state's pension funds …
Discussion:
Alternet.org


DOGE is shutting down foreign aid agency Millennium Challenge Corporation — The agency is offering voluntary early retirement or deferred resignations to its 320 employees and planning to terminate grants to developing countries around the world. — The Millennium Challenge Corporation …
Discussion:
The Hill


The Dispatch buying SCOTUSblog — The Dispatch is buying the digital media website SCOTUSblog, the outlets announced Wednesday. — SCOTUSblog covers all things Supreme Court and has been a go-to resource for journalists, lawyers and court watchers for more than two decades.
Discussion:
New York Times, Above the Law and The Dispatch, more at Mediagazer »


After a month of searching, man learns from NBC News that DHS sent his brother to El Salvador — A Venezuelan man says he and his family back home have been anguished about the “forced disappearance” from the U.S. of Neiyerver Adrián Leon Rengel. — It was March 13 when Nedizon …
Discussion:
New York Times