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Trump went after big-name conservative media figures today over their criticism of his handling of the war in Iran, calling some of his former allies “low IQ,” “losers” and “nut jobs.”

Trump criticized Tucker Carlson, Megyn Kelly, Candace Owens and Alex Jones, who have all broken with him over the Iran war.

“They’re losers, just trying to latch on to MAGA,” he wrote on Truth Social before dishing out personal insults.

“They’re stupid people, they know it, their families know it, and everyone else knows it, too!” Trump wrote.

Read the full story here.

The Trump administration is finalizing a report that casts the Biden Justice Department as anti-Christian over its enforcement of laws protecting abortion clinics and enforcement of Covid regulations, among other issues, according to details of the report viewed by NBC News.

The report stems from a Justice Department-led task force that aims to “eradicate anti-Christian bias” formed after Trump signed an executive order in February 2025. A final version is expected to be released in the coming weeks, a Justice Department spokesperson said.

Read the full story here.

Some Democratic voters may be down on their party, but they’re still heavily engaged in the 2026 elections and are prioritizing electability in thinking about upcoming primaries, according to focus group conversations with Democrats in Maine and Michigan.

Both states will be central in this year’s battle for the Senate, and the Democratic primaries there have exposed ideological and generational divides within the party. But above all else, these voters want to win.

All 13 focus group participants, seven from Maine and six from Michigan, said they are likely to vote in upcoming primaries and said they preferred a Democratic candidate who could beat a Republican in November over a candidate who would vehemently fight Trump.

“I think the only way we’re going to get Trump under control is through the midterm elections,” said Jennifer R., 61, who is reluctantly backing oyster farmer Graham Platner over Democratic Gov. Janet Mills in the Maine Senate primary, because she believes Platner can defeat longtime GOP Sen. Susan Collins.

Read the full story here.

A federal judge today dismissed a lawsuit by the Justice Department that sought to grant the federal government access to sensitive information surrounding Massachusetts voter data.

U.S. District Judge Leo Sorokin wrote in the 13-page order that former Attorney General Pam Bondi provided "no basis whatsoever for her demand for Massachusetts's records," making the request for voter data "facially inadequate."

Attorneys from the Elias Law Group filed the motion to dismiss the Justice Department's case on behalf of the New England Area Conference of the NAACP and the Massachusetts Alliance for Retired Americans.

Sorokin is at least the fourth judge to toss out a lawsuit from the Justice Department demanding voter information. A federal judge in Michigan ruled in February to dismiss a similar lawsuit, and judges in Oregon and California both issued rulings to dismiss Justice Department lawsuits demanding voter rolls in January.

Democrats in California may have caught a break when Trump waded into the state’s crowded race for governor, which eased concerns that their party would be squeezed out of the general election after the top-two, all-party primary.

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Rep. Gregory Meeks of New York said today that his fellow House Democrats don't "have the votes" to impeach Trump after dozens of congressional Democrats called for his removal from office over his threats against Iran.

Asked on CNN whether he believes it's worth Democrats' efforts to try to impeach or press to invoke the 25th Amendment, Meeks said that to do those things, "you have to have the votes," noting that Republicans control both chambers of Congress.

"Realistically, I don’t have the time," said Meeks, who is not calling for Trump's removal. "I’m worried about the country, the country’s economy, the American people, and that’s where my efforts are going to be moving forward.”

More than 70 of Meeks' Democratic colleagues said this week that impeachment or invoking the 25th Amendment against Trump should be considered after he threatened to wipe out "a whole civilization" in Iran.

The White House is urging a federal appeals court to allow construction on Trump’s $400 million ballroom to continue, arguing it would help provide protection both for the president’s family and the country as a whole.

Completion of the project as a whole is “necessary to ensure the safety and security of the White House and its grounds, including the ballroom construction site, and provide for the personal safety of the President and his staff,” the administration argued in a filing today with the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for Washington, D.C.

Read the full story here.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., said today that Democrats need only "an additional handful" of Republican colleagues to join them in voting to pass a war powers resolution to end U.S. military action in Iran.

Jeffries told reporters at a news conference in New York today that House Democrats plan to force another vote on a war powers resolution after Republicans blocked an attempt to pass a resolution this morning.

"Active conversations with Republicans to secure an additional handful of our Republican colleagues, which is all we will need to join House Democrats in stopping this reckless war of choice," are ongoing, Jeffries said.

Jeffries named a few of his Republican colleagues, including fellow New Yorkers Mike Lawler and Nicole Malliotakis, whom he hopes to win over.

"It’s unfortunate to me that for far too long, under this Trump presidency, Republicans in the House of Representatives continue to function like they’re nothing more than a wholly owned subsidiary of the Trump cartel, as opposed to standing up for the American people that we’re all privileged to represent," he said.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., the chairman of the Budget Committee, warned today that the upcoming party-line Republican bill must be narrow and focused on funding ICE and CBP.

In a brief interview, Graham said Senate Republican leader John Thune’s end-of-April timeline for a floor vote is “a very good goal.”

“It means that we got to have a very tailored, focused package,” Graham said.

In a rare public statement, first lady Melania Trump said this afternoon she “never had a relationship” with the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein or his accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell.

In her remarks from the White House, Melania Trump said numerous “fake images and statements about Epstein and me” have circulated on social media.

Her statement was brief, but it was notable. She is cautious in her public remarks and with her public image. A number of her aides gathered to watch her statement in the Grand Foyer of the White House, but several of them did not know what she was going to say beforehand.

It was the first time she had spoken about the Epstein controversy on camera. It’s unclear what prompted her to make the remarks now, but staff members have been aggressive about knocking down what they call “defamatory” Epstein rumors.

Read the full story here.

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker said today he will “be more involved than ever before” in the 2028 presidential race.

Speaking with the Rev. Al Sharpton at the National Action Network conference in New York City, Pritzker was asked whether he will seek the Democratic presidential nomination in 2028. An attendee at the Manhattan ballroom the conference is being held in shouted out “be bold!”

“First of all, I’m running for re-election as governor right now,” Pritzker said, adding: “So let me tell you, it’s vitally important to me. I’ve been involved every presidential election, one fashion or another, probably since, in fact I know since I was an adult and able to vote. I’ve been involved in some fashion or another, and I’m going to be more involved than ever before in 2028, because we can’t lose.”

“We have a pretty good bench,” he added. “In fact, you’ve invited so many of them to come right here, and they’ve been on this stage or they’re going to be. So that’s my answer. My answer is I don’t know what I’ll be doing after, I hope, I win re-election ... but I can tell you this, I’m going to fight like hell to elect a Democrat.”

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore today criticized Trump for the “lack of conversation” he’s having with the American people about the objectives and rationalization for war with Iran.

Trump and administration officials have laid out various goals for the conflict, ranging from the destruction of Iran’s nuclear program to initiating regime change.

“Saying that the United States military can win a battle is, like, that’s the easy part,” Moore, a former Army captain who served in Afghanistan, said in a discussion with the Rev. Al Sharpton at the National Action Network conference in New York City. “Because, yes, the United States military is the best military in the history of the world. There is nothing that the United States military monetarily cannot do. The question is, should we be doing it.”

“And I do not think that the president of the United States has answered that question,” Moore said.

Trump told NBC News today that he is “very optimistic” a peace deal with Iran was within reach as a diplomatic delegation led by Vice President JD Vance prepared to head to Pakistan for high-stakes talks aimed at ending the nearly six-week conflict.

Iran’s leaders “talk much differently when you’re at a meeting than they do to the press. They’re much more reasonable,” Trump said. “They’re agreeing to all the things that they have to agree to. Remember, they’ve been conquered. They have no military.”

Read the full story here.

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore did not rule out a bid for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2028 in remarks at the National Action Network conference here today, but said he is focused on the upcoming midterm elections.

In an interview with NBC News in September, Moore told NBC News, "Yeah, I’m not running for president."

Speaking with Rev. Al Sharpton at the event, which has been attended by numerous high-profile Democrats, Moore said “any of these people who are thinking about 2028, I need to see that you’re taking 2026 seriously.”

“And so, I’m very clear and I’m locked in,” he said. “I’m not just trying to win in November, but I’m telling you, in Maryland, we’re going to send a message.”

Top Trump economic adviser Kevin Hassett said this morning that the president could rely on the same emergency law he used for wide-ranging tariffs that the Supreme Court struck down in February to impose Iran-related duties.

In an interview on Fox Business, Hassett, the director of the National Economic Council, was asked about Trump's threat yesterday to impose 50% tariffs on countries that supply weapons to Iran.

“This is clearly within the president’s tariff power," Hassett said, referring to the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. "If we’re in a state of conflict, then you know, the IEEPA policy is exactly designed for that. And so countries really should be careful.”

Hassett didn't answer directly when asked if the tariffs would include China or Russia.

The Supreme Court ruled in February that Trump exceeded his authority to use the law to impose tariffs on numerous countries.

The Justice Department has opened an investigation into whether the NFL is forcing football fans to pay too much in subscription fees, according to a person familiar with the investigation.

In years past, football fans watched NFL games over broadcast TV, delivered free into their homes. The 1961 Sports Broadcasting Act allowed for sports leagues to get around some antitrust concerns and negotiate media rights. But now, games are spread across many different platforms and channels, and some require paid subscriptions to access.

The Justice Department investigation is into antitrust and anticompetitive tactics, the person said. It comes after Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, the chairman of the Senate Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights, wrote a letter last month requesting a review of the NFL’s streaming platform exemptions and wanted to know whether the streaming package fees violated the Sports Broadcasting act.

Read the full story here.

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte defended the alliance and the United States’ European allies in a speech in D.C., but said that “some allies were a bit slow, to say the least,” in providing support to the U.S. for the war on Iran.

He said that some allies were “a bit surprised” by the war, noting that President Donald Trump did not inform them before the strikes.

“But what I see when I look across Europe today is allies providing a massive amount of support, basing, logistics and other measures to ensure the powerful U.S. military succeeds in denying Iran a nuclear weapon and degrading its capacity to export chaos,” he said. “Nearly without exception, allies are doing everything the United States is asking.”

He noted that the United Kingdom is aligning military, political and economic tools “that will be required to ensure free passage through the Strait of Hormuz.”

House Democrats unsuccessfully attempted to pass a resolution today to halt Donald Trump’s war with Iran — a response to the president’s shocking threat two days earlier to annihilate “a whole civilization.”

House and Senate lawmakers are at the tail end of a two-week spring recess, but Rep. Glenn Ivey, D-Md., and other Democrats returned to Washington for a routine “pro forma” session to try to pass the resolution by unanimous consent.

However, the Republican lawmaker presiding over the session, Chris Smith of New Jersey, gaveled out of the brief session without calling on Ivey. Democrats howled in protest, with some shouting “Shame!”

Read the full story here.

The price of oil rebounded today, as doubts began to set in about the state of the Iran ceasefire announced just two days earlier by Trump.

Chief among them was that fewer than a half-dozen ships had been observed transiting the Strait of Hormuz yesterday.

Read the full story here.

This article is part of “Unaffordable America,” a series examining rising economic inequality in the U.S. and the policies that drive it.

It’s a tough time to be serving drinks on the Las Vegas strip. Visits are down and those who are coming are tipping less, if at all. That’s according to Sherie Cummings, who would know: She’s worked as a casino cocktail waitress for more than 20 years.

This year, though, she looked forward to a financial bright spot. She expected a bigger tax refund for her and her husband, a bartender, following Trump’s pledge of no taxes on tips. But despite the couple earning about $60,000 in tips last year, their refund wasn’t as big as she expected. That’s because of a cap, she learned, on how much in tips they could deduct.

“We were disappointed,” Cummings said. “I feel like a lot of the servers, bartenders, waitresses, tip earners were gaslit by the ‘no tax on tips.’”

“It’s a little relief, but it’s not enough relief, not at all,” she added.

Trump has repeatedly touted “no tax on tips, no tax on overtime, no tax on Social Security” as a key success of his second term since his “big, beautiful bill” passed last year. Many Americans are benefiting from the tax changes in the bill: The average refund this tax season was $3,521, about $350 more than last year, according to IRS data as of March 27. The White House has said the extra cash in people’s pockets will help boost the economy.

Read the full story here.

Two Democrats seeking to flip one of Iowa’s Republican-held Senate seats spent this evening at a forum here appealing to progressive activists and voters who could influence the June primary.

But it was a Democrat from 1,100 miles away who emerged as a tension point.

State Sen. Zach Wahls tried to characterize his primary rival, state Rep. Josh Turek, as an extension of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York. While Schumer has not endorsed in the race, there have been signals that he prefers Turek.

Playing to a crowd unhappy with the influence of big money in politics, Wahls linked Turek to Schumer by noting Turek’s support from VoteVets, an outside spending group that has aligned with Senate Democratic leadership in the past.

Read the full story here.

A group of Senate Democrats said in a letter yesterday that they plan to force a vote on a war powers resolution next week to halt military operations in Iran and require Congress’ approval on any future military actions.

“This temporary ceasefire agreement — which is already being violated — starts a very short clock for Congress to finally end this unprecedented chaos,” the letter said.

“Absent immediate steps by Republican leadership to stand up to Trump’s increasingly erratic behavior, we will once again force a vote on a War Powers Resolution to finally end this dangerous war in the Middle East,” the letter continued.

The letter was signed by Sens. Tim Kaine of Virginia, Cory Booker of New Jersey, Chris Murphy of Connecticut, Adam Schiff of California, Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin and Tammy Duckworth of Illinois.

The Justice Department announced yesterday that the FBI had arrested a former Army employee whom federal prosecutors accused of leaking classified information to a journalist.

Courtney Williams, 40, of North Carolina, was arrested Tuesday and charged yesterday with transmitting “classified national defense information to individuals not authorized to receive it, including a journalist.”

Read the full story here.

Trump criticized NATO on social media in his first comments after a closed-door meeting with Secretary General Mark Rutte at the White House.

“NATO WASN’T THERE WHEN WE NEEDED THEM, AND THEY WON’T BE THERE IF WE NEED THEM AGAIN,” Trump said on Truth Social. “REMEMBER GREENLAND, THAT BIG, POORLY RUN, PIECE OF ICE!!!”

Rutte told CNN in an interview that his conversation with Trump was a “very frank, a very open discussion, but also a discussion between two good friends.” He said they talked about Trump’s frustration with NATO.

“Let me be absolutely clear: He is clearly disappointed, and with many NATO allies. And I can see his point,” Rutte said.

House Democrats will try to pass an Iran war powers resolution by unanimous consent during the House’s pro forma session today, according to a letter from Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y.

“A two-week ceasefire is woefully insufficient. Accordingly, we have demanded that the House come back into session immediately in order to vote on our resolution to permanently end the war in the Middle East,” Jeffries wrote.

Congress is in recess, but Jeffries said Rep. Glenn Ivey, D-Md., will lead the effort today.

“All members who are in Washington are invited to join the effort on the House floor,” Jeffries wrote.

It’s unclear whether Ivey and the Democrats will even be able to try today. The Republican member presiding over a pro forma session does not need to call on members seeking recognition on the House floor. The presiding officer can simply adjourn the brief session after the prayer and the Pledge of Allegiance.