Good afternoon, everyone. We have a packed news day. President Donald Trump is demanding $230 million from the Justice Department personally, a move raising extraordinary ethical questions inside the agency. Meanwhile, ICE’s recruitment drive is collapsing as a wave of “athletically allergic” recruits fail the agency’s basic fitness test. And in the East Wing, Trump is doubling down on new construction plans despite mounting controversy.
On a personal note, I want to speak directly to you. The White House and its online allies have ramped up attacks against me and this platform following my exclusive report that Trump planned to conduct live-fire drills over Interstate 5. That reporting was accurate, and it clearly struck a nerve.
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With that, here’s what you missed:
President Trump is demanding about $230 million from the Justice Department for what he claims were violations of his rights during past federal investigations — including the Russia probe and the Mar-a-Lago classified documents case — creating unprecedented ethical conflicts since top DOJ officials now in charge of reviewing or approving the payout (Attorney General Pam Bondi, Deputy AG Todd Blanche, and Civil Division chief Stanley Woodward Jr.) previously served as Trump’s own defense lawyers or represented his aides.
Ethics experts have called the situation “bizarre” and “outlandish,” as it effectively means Trump’s former attorneys could decide whether to pay him taxpayer money, while the president himself joked he was “suing himself.”
Trump’s effort to double ICE’s workforce is faltering because more than a third of new recruits are failing the agency’s basic fitness test—15 push-ups, 32 sit-ups, and a 1.5-mile run in 14 minutes—with officials blaming an influx of “athletically allergic” candidates who exaggerated their fitness on applications, prompting concerns that rushed hiring to meet Trump’s goals is compromising officer quality.
The White House defended demolishing part of the East Wing to build a $250 million privately funded ballroom, dismissing backlash as “manufactured outrage” and framing the project as a historic, visionary renovation in line with past presidential expansions.
President Trump said funding for major projects in Democratic-led states paused during the ongoing government shutdown will not be restored, praising budget director Russ Vought for implementing the cuts and blaming Democrats for prolonging the shutdown by rejecting a short-term spending bill.
Plans for a Trump-Putin summit in Budapest have been suspended after diplomatic efforts to end the Ukraine war stalled, with the White House saying there are no immediate plans for talks as Ukraine and European allies push for a ceasefire along current frontlines without territorial concessions.
Donald Trump’s nominee for special counsel, Paul Ingrassia, is losing Republican support after reports revealed racist text messages in which he described himself as having “a Nazi streak,” prompting key GOP senators to signal opposition and the party’s leader to suggest the White House withdraw his nomination.
A Marine Corps artillery demonstration over Interstate 5 in California for the service’s 250th anniversary went wrong when a 155mm shell exploded prematurely over the highway, scattering fragments onto a police vehicle; the incident — attended by Vice President JD Vance and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth — has sparked a safety dispute between Gov. Gavin Newsom and the White House and prompted a military investigation into the faulty round.
The Trump administration is reportedly considering eliminating NASA, a move that would dismantle the nation’s premier space agency and transfer its responsibilities to the private sector and military programs, marking a dramatic shift in U.S. space policy.
As the U.S. government shutdown enters its 21st day, food banks and community groups nationwide are preparing for a surge in demand as federal workers go unpaid and major food assistance programs like SNAP and WIC near funding exhaustion, threatening millions of vulnerable families and essential services such as child care.
A Trump-pardoned Capitol rioter, Christopher Moynihan, was arrested for allegedly threatening to kill House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, with prosecutors citing texts saying “he must be eliminated”; Moynihan, previously jailed for the January 6 attack, now faces a terroristic threat charge as officials warn of rising political violence.
House Speaker Mike Johnson deflected questions about a pardoned Jan. 6 rioter’s threat against Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, declining to criticize Trump’s blanket pardons while condemning political violence and falsely claiming left-wing violence is more prevalent despite data showing right-wing attacks dominate.
Two people, a suspect and a U.S. marshal, were injured in Los Angeles during an ICE-led immigration enforcement stop when an ICE agent’s weapon accidentally discharged after the suspect rammed a law enforcement vehicle; both are hospitalized and stable.
Vice President JD Vance expressed optimism that the U.S.-brokered Israel-Hamas ceasefire will hold despite recent violence, urging patience and rejecting media pessimism, while affirming that Hamas will face destruction if it violates the truce but without setting a deadline for disarmament.
The White House denied reports that President Trump is considering commuting Sean “Diddy” Combs’ 50-month prison sentence, calling the TMZ story “fake news,” while Combs’ lawyers continue to pursue a pardon and appeal his conviction for prostitution-related charges.
An American Airlines flight from Omaha to Los Angeles made an emergency return after pilots mistakenly thought the cockpit was under attack when static from an accidentally active intercom was misinterpreted as an intrusion attempt; no security threat was found.
French authorities estimate nearly €90m in losses after a gang of four thieves stole Napoleonic crown jewels from the Louvre in a seven-minute daylight heist, prompting a parliamentary inquiry into museum security and a nationwide hunt for the perpetrators.
Warner Bros. Discovery announced it is putting itself up for sale, citing “unsolicited interest” from multiple potential buyers as it reviews strategic options while continuing plans to split its cable networks from its studio and streaming divisions; the move sent shares up over 10% and adds to a wave of major media consolidations reshaping the industry.
See you in the morning.
— Aaron
