Longtime Epstein assistant says she set up phone calls between Epstein and Trump  —  Jeffrey Epstein's longtime assistant Lesley Groff said in a closed-door interview Tuesday that she arranged phone calls between the late, disgraced financier and President Donald Trump, two Democrats …

Trump Admits Chopper Was Downed by Military He ‘Obliterated’  —  WHAT NOW?  —  The threat of another escalation came hours after Trump insisted a peace deal was only days away.  —  Donald Trump raised the prospect of escalating his war after blaming Iran for shooting down a U.S. Apache helicopter …

Disqualify Spencer Pratt  —  It's time for blue states to take on election lying for real, and they should start by making Pratt an avatar for a Big Truth movement.  —  ∙ Paid  —  I want to revise and extend an argument I made in Monday's newsletter.

Under the Trump crypto playbook, the family always wins.  Investors don't  —  Risking little of their own money, the US president and his sons have added at least $2.3 billion to the family fortune from their main crypto ventures, while the investors they've wooed have taken a $2.3 billion hit, a Reuters examination found.

House advances ICE and Border Patrol reconciliation bill  —  The House on Tuesday advanced a nearly $70 billion budget reconciliation package that would fund Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Border Patrol.  —  The lower chamber approved a rule 213-211 that tees up debate and a final vote on the GOP measure.

The Fading Fun of Trump 2.0  —  From empty concert stages to fractured group chats, the president's cultural movement is hitting an establishment wall  —  New York Knicks fans in Madison Square Garden received President Trump, a longtime fan and once one of their own, the same way they welcomed …

Hegseth Loses His Holy War  —  New York Knicks fans are accustomed to disappointment, having waited 53 years since their last NBA title.  So it wasn't just annoyance they felt when Donald Trump said he'd attend game three of the finals last night; it was dread, too.

US naval drone rescued two pilots after helicopter crash near Strait of Hormuz  —  The U.S. military utilized a naval sea drone to rescue two Army pilots after their helicopter went down near the Strait of Hormuz on Monday night.  It's the first operation of its kind for the U.S. military.

Judge Learns Lawyers on Both Sides of Case Used AI, Cancels Trial, Kicks Everyone Off the Case  —  When two AIs argue against each other, the legal system loses. … The lawyers on both sides of a federal court case in Mississippi were caught using artificial intelligence, a situation where …

He Profits Off Raw Milk That's Making People Sick.  The Government Isn't Stopping Him.  — Raw Milk on the Rise: Driven by political shifts and wellness trends, unpasteurized milk has moved from a fringe obsession to a widespread movement rooted in institutional distrust.

Social Security shortfall expected to accelerate, with funds at critical low in 2032  —  The shortfall will be driven in part by a drop in immigration and Trump's tax cuts, trustees say, resulting in trimmed benefits.  —  Summary  —  Social Security's trust fund is now due to run low on money beginning in 2032.

Push for Labor nominee is latest threat to House GOP majority … Moore declined to comment.  Taylor Rogers, a White House spokesperson, said “when there is an announcement on a permanent nomination, it will be made by the President directly.”  —  Some Republicans expressed doubt that Trump …

How many times has Trump claimed an Iran deal is around the corner?  —  It's been more than two months since President Donald Trump announced a ceasefire with Iran, saying at the time that the two sides were close to a deal.  —  Trump said on social media on April 7 that they were …

Moral Acceptability Falls for Several Behaviors  —  Moral acceptability of birth control, having a baby outside of marriage, gambling, teenage sex and cloning animals down significantly  —  WASHINGTON, D.C. — Americans' views of the moral acceptability of five of the 20 behaviors Gallup tracks annually …

Why That Next Hamburger Is Going to Cost You  —  The primary driver of inflation in the U.S. economy—the forever war in Iran—has not yet taken full effect.  Now we've found an entirely new driver.  —  Last week, the flesh-eating parasite known as the New World screwworm was found in a calf in Texas …

Being Black in Pete Hegseth's Military … daniel “chappie” james jr. became commander of the Wheelus Air Base, near Tripoli, just after rebels under Muammar Qaddafi took control of Libya in a coup in 1969.  In the midst of the insurgency, Qaddafi led an effort to break into the U.S. air base …

Somali Referee Says His World Cup Dream Is Dashed After U.S. Denies Entry  —  “I had the right papers and everything,” Omar Abdulkadir Artan said in his first interview since he was turned back.  He would have been the first Somali to referee a game in the tournament.

Trump not expected to act on Pulte after Johnson meeting  —  A key U.S. spy law remains on track to expire at the end of the week after Speaker Mike Johnson met Tuesday with President Donald Trump about the future of a key section of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.

ICE has detained over 500 babies and toddlers under Trump  —  In the first years after birth, the human brain develops at a remarkable pace.  Every second, more than a million new neural connections spring into being, shaping a person's physical and emotional health for the rest of their life.

An Indian Billionaire Was Targeted by Trump.  Then He Poured Money Into a Startup Secretly Backed by Donald Trump Jr.  —  In late November in Jamnagar, India, the scions of two of the most powerful families in the world stood face-to-face.  On one side was 30-year-old Anant Ambani, son of one the richest men in Asia.

U.S. and Iran Zero In on Four Nuclear Issues in Talks  —  With the cease-fire proving tenuous, negotiations between the two nations are in flux, but have advanced to outline potential paths forward on difficult questions about Iran's nuclear program.  —  In the days before the latest flare-ups …

Pro-Israel Group Pushes for Haley Stevens in Michigan Senate Race  —  The main super PAC tied to the influential American Israel Public Affairs Committee released its first ads backing Ms. Stevens, a moderate congresswoman locked in a tight three-way primary.

Red State Democrats Need a New Approach to Abortion  —  Is this the year a U.S. Senate seat in Texas turns blue?  It's possible: Republicans have nominated the polarizing state attorney general Ken Paxton, and in their corner, the Democrats have the state lawmaker James Talarico …