Former Sen. Ban Sasse (R-Neb.) shares that he has stage 4 pancreatic cancer and is "gonna die." www.huffpost.com/entry/doj-ep...

!! Here’s a link to full video of the 60 Minutes segment that Bari Weiss killed last minute, via @jasonparis.bsky.social: is.gd/paU8Ko (It was uploaded to the Global TV app in Canada, seemingly by accident, and has now been taken down)

Congrats to Rep. Glenn Thompson (R-Pa.), who blabbed the most on the House floor in 2025, per C-SPAN. He talked on 91 days out of the 164 days the House was in session. Nine members of Congress said nada on the floor all year. www.huffpost.com/entry/doj-ep...

one of four in a week www.nytimes.com/2025/12/19/n...

The name "Popular Science" doesn't mean we shift our coverage depending on public opinion. It means we cover relevant subjects that are rigorously researched, reliable, and grounded in reality. And trans lives are grounded in reality. We see y'all. No matter what. www.popsci.com/science/tran...

The Justice Department has begun making *some* of its Epstein files publicly available -- not all, despite being required by law to do so today -- and its searchable database is a bust:

! Elise Stefanik is bowing out of the NY governor's race and not seeking re-election to Congress -- after Trump previously yanked her UN ambassador nomination and said to stay in the House. She went from moderate to full MAGA for nothing.

A federal women's prison - recently shuttered over sexual abuse of immigrants - could reopen as an ICE detention center as part of Trump’s mass deportation agenda. "Imagine, if I get sent back to Dublin but now for immigration?" one immigrant survivor of sexual abuse at FCI Dublin told me.

The absurdity continues, folks. Pics via Getty.

Who is surprised Trump's DOJ isn't releasing all of its Epstein files, despite Congress overwhelmingly passing a bill (+ Trump signing it) requiring this by today? Dems: “We are now examining all legal options in the face of this violation of federal law." www.huffpost.com/entry/brown-...

We have money for everything except healthcare.

One of the few of the bajillion fundraising emails I get that actually made me laugh, via @aoc.bsky.social This is the entire email:

Democratic votes to ban Medicaid coverage for gender-affirmirng care for transgender minors: -Marie Gluesenkamp Perez #WA03 -Cuellar #TX28 -Don Davis #NC01 -Vicente Gonzalez #TX34 Not voting: Casar Courtney Dean Doggett Fields McBath Swalwell Williams

NYT columnist David Brooks wrote an op-ed a few weeks ago titled, "The Epstein Story? Count Me Out,” lamenting people are too focused on the Epstein scandal + saying "the QAnon mentality has taken over." Today he appeared in 4 photos from the Epstein dump. Welp! www.huffpost.com/entry/david-...

House Dems have released more photos provided to the oversight committee from Jeffrey Epstein's estate. More images of Woody Allen, Noam Chomsky, Steve Bannon, Bill Gates in this batch. New to this batch: David Brooks and David Blaine.

"We're done with junk science driven by ideological pursuits," declares RFK Jr -- the guy who has fueled junk science and conspiracies for years about vaccine safety/efficacy and is now driving a resurgence in measles -- at event he holds to announce plans to punch down some more on trans youth.

Talked to a Lumbee tribal member who was in the Senate today for a vote granting the tribe federal recognition, bringing an end to a bitter, decadeslong fight. I also asked Sen. Schatz what he'd say to tribes mad about this + claiming Lumbee will take away their $. www.huffpost.com/entry/brown-...

I was in the Speaker's Lobby when this happened and it generated a storm of protest. Rep. Riley Moore R-WV gaveled a procedural vote to a close while one Democrat was ready to vote. That vote would have defeated the measure on a 204-204 tie - but Moore opted for a very fast gavel.

! Just saw members of the Lumbee Tribe of N.C. filing into the Senate gallery to watch the Senate pass the NDAA, which grants them federal recognition. Some tribes have questioned Lumbee's legitimacy + are furious. Lumbee went for Trump in '24. He pushed this thru. www.huffpost.com/entry/lumbee...

SCHATZ: You think you have jurisdiction over political satire? FCC CHAIR BRENDAN CARR: My positio--- SCHATZ: It's a yes or no BRENDAN CARR: We have jurisdiction with respect the broadcast airwaves to ensure their operations are int he public interest (That's a yes!)

Sen. Chris Murphy said Hegseth + Rubio admitted to senators yesterday that no fentanyl is coming out of Venezuela -- despite Trump’s misleading efforts to tie the country to the deadly drug so he can justify bombing boats. The boats have cocaine, bound for Europe. www.huffpost.com/entry/chris-...

NSF is about to dismantle NCAR at Russell Vought's direction to protect the fossil fuel industry. It's hard to communicate just how much NCAR does, so let's take a look: I've never worked at NCAR, and I've worked with NCAR researchers once ever. What scientific discoveries has NCAR made possible? 👇

😢 www.nytimes.com/2025/12/16/o...

A dozen senators pressed Kristi Noem for answers today re: reports of ICE agents harassing Native Americans, suspicious that they may be... undocumented immigrants. “The disrespect and harassment of U.S.-born Tribal citizens by ICE is outrageous and inexcusable." www.huffpost.com/entry/brown-...

Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.) on GOPers letting ACA tax credits expire: "We live in the richest country in the history of the world. We have a trillionaire.... And yet we're being told millions of people need to lose their health care because we can't afford it? That's obscene."

Sen. Markwayne Mullen (R-Okla.), after a briefing on the Sept. 2 boat strikes in the Caribbean, says DOD shouldn't let all members of Congress see unedited video b/c some will leak details of it -- and names Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.)? “Do you think Omar needs to have all this info? I will say no.”

Susie Wiles told NYT she didn't call Elon Musk "an avowed ketamine" in one of her ELEVEN interviews with Vanity Fair. "That’s ridiculous. I wouldn’t have said it and I wouldn’t know." Vanity Fair: Cool here's a recording of you saying that. www.huffpost.com/entry/brown-...

You can tell how big a deal this Vanity Fair interview with Susie Wiles is based on the White House reaction to it.

Oh well! Mike Johnson says Republicans won't vote this week to prevent Affordable Care Act subsidies from expiring after all. www.huffpost.com/entry/brown-...

LOL Susie Wiles, who did *eleven* interviews with Vanity Fair and was stunningly candid in her takes on various controversial issues, now says Vanity Fair's story is fake news. www.huffpost.com/entry/brown-...

Susie Wiles is a canny political operator who knows exactly what she’s doing and bears a ton of responsibility for the way Trump has been normalized by the press that she sees the writing on the wall is maybe the clearest sign of where this ends and the coming knife fight to inherit MAGA

Meanwhile, Mike Johnson just told reporters that the House will *not* be voting this week on an amendment to extend soon-to-expire ACA subsidies. Many House Republicans in swing districts "did want to vote on this Obamacare Covid-era subsidy" but "it just was not to be."

Wiles must be leaving. This story is insane. www.nytimes.com/2025/12/16/u...

HuffPost splash right now: (I might have gone with White House Blabber In Chief) www.huffpost.com/entry/brown-...

good morning holy shit www.nytimes.com/2025/12/16/u...

"[T]he hundreds of billions of dollars being poured into data center construction have created a bubble that could take down the entire American economy if it pops. Should that happen, Silicon Valley could become the target of a degree of anger they haven’t seen before." Very good read today:

President currently feuding with a beloved American comedy icon who was murdered 24 hours ago.

New: Trump has never been an ally to Native tribes. But there's one he's been praising all year: the Lumbee Tribe of N.C. Why? They backed him in 2024. Now they're about to get full federal recognition -- infuriating other tribes who question their legitimacy. www.huffpost.com/entry/lumbee...

Chris Minns Premier New South Wales: ‘Ahmed is a real-life hero. Last night, his incredible bravery no doubt saved countless lives when he disarmed a terrorist at enormous personal risk. It was an honour to spend time with him just now and to pass on the thanks of people across NSW.’

Rob Reiner: “Silence in the face of authoritarianism is complicity. Speaking out is a patriotic act. Democracy doesn’t defend itself. It requires participation, vigilance, and courage from ordinary people."

ABC reporting that the deaths in Rob Reiner’s home are being investigated as murders. The NY Post reported that the bodies had been stabbed. abc7.com/post/2-found...

Another irreplaceable independent media outlet -- consider supporting!

New: Trump has never been an ally to Native tribes. But there's one he's been praising all year: the Lumbee Tribe of N.C. Why? They backed him in 2024. Now they're about to get full federal recognition -- infuriating other tribes who question their legitimacy. www.huffpost.com/entry/lumbee...

This is a textbook case of political asylum.

A WSJ interview with Trump on the economy was interrupted multiple times by phone calls, including one from Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, “who joined by speakerphone to discuss the administration’s plans for Washington, D.C., golf courses.” www.wsj.com/politics/ele...

Well, there's a photo I never expected to see in my life. Noam Chomsky palling around with Steve Bannon.

Congratulations to our majority owner Michele Kang on making the Financial Times’ inaugural list of the World’s 25 Most Influential People! 👏 Read the Full Story written by Chelsea Clinton here ➡️ url.usb.m.mimecastprotect.com/s/qa_OC7Dq0o...

News I'm here for: Members of Congress raise "significant" concerns with the NWSL commissioner for rejecting Trinity Rodman's proposed contract agreement with Washington Spirit www.huffpost.com/entry/scotus...

What???