Blog Verité

On Friday, Sean Combs’ defense lawyers questioned Cassie Ventura about how much of the former couple’s activities she willingly participated in. “I had to fight my way out,” she said. (Image credit: Neilson Barnard)

Administration officials had said the post — a picture of seashells forming the numbers “86 47” — amounted to an assassination threat by the former F.B.I. director.

How many times in the past few years have you heard, or used, the expression “The pandemic broke our brains”? Particularly in less densely populated parts of America, plenty of government officials and citizens still hold a grudge over the

Trump’s ‘big, beautiful’ tax bill: Four sticking points for Republican rebels  BBC Handful of Republicans sink Trump’s ‘big, beautiful bill’ in key House committee  Fox News Conservatives block Trump agenda bill from advancing in major setback for GOP leaders  NBC News Republican Revolt

Supreme Court maintains block on some Trump deportations of migrants  The Washington Post Supreme Court blocks Trump from restarting Alien Enemies Act deportations  CNN Supreme Court rules administration must give Venezuelans more time to challenge deportation under Alien Enemies Act  NBC News Supreme

Moody’s is the last of the three major rating agencies to lower the federal government’s credit. Standard & Poor’s downgraded federal debt in 2011 and Fitch Ratings followed in 2023.

The high court action is the latest in a string of judicial setbacks for the Trump administration’s effort to speed deportations of people in the country illegally.

Whether the ultraconservatives dig in and force big changes to the megabill carrying President Trump’s agenda or capitulate, as they have in the past, will determine the fate of their party’s signature legislation.

In highly anticipated peace talks, Russian and Ukrainian officials agreed to exchange 1,000 prisoners, the war’s largest swap. While they agreed to keep talking, there was no breakthrough for peace and the two sides seemed even further apart. Nick Schifrin

In our news wrap Friday, Israeli Defense Forces struck two Houthi-controlled ports in Yemen and launched dozens of airstrikes across Gaza, a transit strike in New Jersey forced 350,000 people to make alternative plans, group of GOP lawmakers blocked President