Contributing Writers

The White House said Thursday that it was not feasible to save the East Wing due to severe structural problems, as officials defended its demolition while unveiling details of President Donald Trump’s planned $400 million ballroom.Josh Fisher, the director of the White House Office of Administration, cited an unstable colonnade, water leakage and mold contamination, saying it was more economical to tear down the historic East Wing rather than renovate it.

President Donald Trump said on Thursday that he plans to meet with Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado in Washington next week.During an appearance on Fox News’ “Hannity,” Trump was asked if he intends to meet with Machado after the U.S. struck Venezuela and captured its president, Nicolás Maduro.”Well, I understand she’s coming in next week sometime, and I look forward to saying hello to her,” Trump said.

Former first lady Jill Biden went to Minnesota in 2022 to highlight the billions of dollars in investments for childcare that were part of Democrats’ American Rescue Plan Act, where she stood next to Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and praised him for his leadership helping families.

As Google co-founder Larry Page and Oracle founder Larry Ellison become some of the latest high-profile Californians to flee, an insider is warning that the “mass migration” of billionaire business leaders out of the state is only going to speed up in 2026.

It was 1991. The Chicago Cubs were in Chavez Ravine for a three-game series against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Legendary Dodgers broadcaster Vin Scully was at the mic.Cubs outfielder and former National League MVP Andre Dawson was out of the lineup.”Andre Dawson has a bruised knee,” the golden-throated Scully declared to his radio congregation, tuning in from Pasadena to the San Fernando Valley. “He is listed as day-to-day.”Then Scully paused for a moment.

Sen. Lindsey Graham announced Wednesday that President Donald Trump has approved a Russian sanctions bill designed to pressure Moscow to end its war with Ukraine.Graham revealed the development in a post on X, describing it as a pivotal shift in the U.S. approach to the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

President Donald Trump on Wednesday signed a presidential memorandum directing the U.S. to withdraw from 66 international organizations, ordering executive departments and agencies to cease participation in and funding of entities the administration says no longer serve U.S. interests.

Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner was mocked Wednesday after declaring that “dismantling ICE” is a “moderate” position after federal immigration authorities shot and killed a Minneapolis woman who allegedly presented a threat to them as they attempted to conduct enforcement operations.

President Donald Trump on Wednesday said arrangements are being made for representatives of the United States and Colombia to meet at the White House.Trump wrote on Truth Social that Colombian President Gustavo Petro “called to explain the situation of drugs and other disagreements” between the two countries, adding the two leaders are expected to meet in the near future.

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, on Wednesday called on Congress during a Senate hearing to impeach two federal judges, making his most elaborate case yet for imposing the extraordinary sanction on a pair of closely scrutinized jurists.Cruz acknowledged that impeaching federal judges is exceedingly rare — 15 have been impeached in history, typically for straightforward crimes like bribery — but the Texas Republican argued it was warranted for judges James Boasberg and Deborah Boardman.

The Wyoming Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday that a pair of laws restricting abortion access violate the state constitution, including the country’s first explicit ban on abortion pills.The court, in a 4-1 ruling, sided with the state’s only abortion clinic and others who had sued over the abortion bans passed since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, which returned the power to make laws on abortion back to the states.

The Trump administration is dramatically expanding a policy requiring some foreign travelers to post bonds of up to $15,000 before entering the United States.The State Department on Tuesday added 25 countries to its visa bond list, nearly tripling the total shortly after adding seven more as part of the Trump administration’s moves to tighten immigration enforcement.

Vice President JD Vance shared a meme of congressional Democrats attending a candlelight vigil Tuesday marking the fifth anniversary of Jan. 6, reposting content that added sombreros to images of House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., as they held candles on the steps of the U.S. Capitol.

Socialist Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced Tuesday that one of the Qurans he used to be sworn in as the city’s first Muslim leader will be kept on display at the main branch of the New York Public Library.In an X post, Mamdani wrote the Quran belonged to an 18th-century Black scholar and revolutionary activist named Arturo Schomburg.

President Donald Trump announced Tuesday that the interim authorities in Venezuela will be turning over between 30 million and 50 million barrels of “high-quality,” sanctioned oil to the U.S.The move comes after U.S. forces on Saturday captured Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro and his wife, hauling them to New York City to face criminal drug charges.

The U.S. has reached an agreement with the Commonwealth of Dominica that could allow some asylum seekers arriving at the U.S. border to be transferred to the Caribbean nation, per reporting by The Associated Press.Dominica’s Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit described the agreement as “one of the primary areas of collaboration” between the two governments following recent U.S. entry restrictions imposed on Dominican nationals.

The Trump administration is moving to freeze more than $10 billion in federal child care and social services funding to five Democrat-led states amid concerns taxpayer dollars were improperly diverted to non-citizens, according to a report.

A select group of lawmakers received their first closed-door briefing on Capitol Hill on Monday following the Trump administration’s weekend military strikes in Venezuela and the capture of President Nicolás Maduro — a meeting that quickly divided along political lines.

Minnesota Lt. Gov. and progressive Democratic Senate candidate Peggy Flanagan is taking criticism, including from inside her own party, for her leadership during what has been described as the nation’s largest COVID-era fraud scheme.Along with Democrat Gov. Tim Walz, Flanagan, who has helped lead the state as lieutenant governor since 2019, has come under fire for allowing the fraud scheme to grow during her watch.

Gov. Greg Abbott sent a letter Monday directing Texas state agencies to investigate potential child care funding fraud, following a major Minnesota social services scandal that cost taxpayers millions.”Recently, the Trump Administration and independent journalists have uncovered potential systematic fraud in subsidized child care systems in states like Minnesota,” Abbott said in a statement. “Such fraud will never be tolerated in Texas.

President Donald Trump said the U.S. is now in control of Venezuela following the arrest of longtime leader Nicolás Maduro, outlining a plan to run the country, rebuild its economy and delay elections until what he described as a recovery is underway.Trump made the remarks during a gaggle with reporters as questions mounted about who is governing Venezuela after a U.S. military operation led to Maduro’s arrest early Saturday.

President Donald Trump and Elon Musk appear to have repaired their once-strained relationship, according to a post shared by the billionaire Tesla founder on X.In a post shared Sunday, Musk wrote, “Had a lovely dinner last night with @POTUS and @FLOTUS,” before adding, “2026 is going to be amazing!”The photo, taken from a Saturday evening event at Mar-a-Lago in Florida, sparked speculation that the pair’s bromance may be back on after months of tension.

President Donald Trump issued a pointed warning to Venezuela’s new leader on Sunday, suggesting severe consequences if she continues to resist U.S. demands following the American-led operation that resulted in the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.

As President Donald Trump  vows to return U.S. energy investment to Venezuela, the Latin American country remains on the hook for billions of dollars owed to American energy companies following years-old legal battles over oil contracts.Once a key supplier to global oil markets, Venezuela reshaped its relationship with international energy companies in the mid-2000s, as then-President Hugo Chávez tightened state control over the oil industry.

Dan Bongino returned to private life on Sunday after serving as deputy director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for less than a year.Bongino said on X that Saturday was his last day on the job before he would return to “civilian life.””It’s been an incredible year thanks to the leadership and decisiveness of President Trump. It was the honor of a lifetime to work with Director Patel, and to serve you, the American people.

Former Vice President Kamala Harris on Saturday evening condemned the Trump administration’s capture of Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro and his wife, calling the operation both “unlawful” and “unwise.”In a lengthy post on X, Harris acknowledged that Maduro is a “brutal” and “illegitimate” dictator but said that President Donald Trump’s actions in Venezuela “do not make America safer, stronger, or more affordable.