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Rachel Maddow kicked off her MS NOW segment on Monday with a deep dive into one of the most bizarre and sketchy side sagas of the Trump administration's second term: his refusal to allow the Gordie Howe Bridge between Canada and the United States to open.

"The big, beautiful new bridge that Trump is not allowing us to use is that bridge that crosses the Detroit River ... to Windsor, Ontario, Canada," said Maddow, showing pictures of the completed but empty bridge and noting it is "fully financed and paid for" and will be "the biggest U.S. border crossing [with] Canada" and "one of the most important routes for trade in the entire world."

A foreign policy expert argued on Monday that President Donald Trump's "sham" deal with the Iranian regime reveals the president is really looking to "turn the page" on a war he started without resolving all of the hard problems he's left behind.

Over the weekend, Trump and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced that the U.S. and Iran had reached an "agreement" that could end their 106-day conflict. The agreement stipulated that the two sides would sign it on Friday, and that tougher discussion about Iran's nuclear weapons program and the Strait of Hormuz would be put off for another day.

President Donald Trump was flattered by Middle East leaders into agreeing to a framework to end the war with Iran in a simple and very egotistical way, MS NOW's Chris Hayes agreed in a conversation with Iranian political analyst Trita Parsi.

Specifically, Trump was persuaded into believing that he had persuaded Iran to take a deal better than the former Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) — the multilateral nuclear deal brokered by former President Barack Obama — even though many aspects of the deal are considerably more conciliatory to Iran.

A legal expert was taken aback on Monday by reporting that revealed how Trump administration insiders pushed back on an extreme attempt to suspend habeas corpus.

Joyce Vance, a former federal prosecutor, argued in a new Substack essay that new reporting from Jonathan Swan and Maggie Haberman of The New York Times about an administration lawyer named Will Scharf who drafted a confidential memo outlining reasons why suspending habeas corpus would be problematic provides "detailed support for understanding this administration as a threat to democratic ideals."

Political analysts and observers swiftly fact-checked President Donald Trump on Monday after he made a false claim about the recent deal he struck with the Iranian regime that could lead to a future peace agreement.

Trump posted on Truth Social that reports of the U.S. "paying Iran 300 million Dollars is Fake News, put out by the Dumocrats!!!" That statement seemed to conflict with what Trump's vice president, JD Vance, said during an interview with Ed O’Keefe of CBS News on Monday morning that Iran "could have access" to a $300 billion reconstruction fund, if it meets the obligations of the Memorandum of Understanding that the two countries announced over the weekend.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom claimed Monday that the Trump administration has opened a criminal investigation into him and his wife, characterizing it as politically motivated retaliation.

According to The New York Times, multiple federal investigations are underway. These are said to be examining the governor and his wife's finances, initiated by California-based federal law enforcement officials rather than Trump appointees in Washington.

One of the Trump administration officials who went all-in on President Donald Trump's far-fetched scheme of taking over Greenland pitched it as a bizarre way to rescue the Red Lobster restaurants, the New Yorker reported on Monday.

Trump has been obsessed with the idea of the United States buying or possibly annexing Greenland, a territory of the Kingdom of Denmark, ever since his first term. It's an idea that dates back to the 19th century, as Greenland is rich in resources and strategically important for military operations — but neither Greenlanders nor Danes have ever supported handing over the territory.

One of President Donald Trump's former spokespersons said during a CNN interview on Monday that the president's silence after former first lady Michelle Obama was verbally attacked during the "UFC Freedom 250" event on Sunday raises several red flags.

MMA fighter Josh Hokit spoke during a post-fight interview with Joe Rogan and shouted the false claim that "Michelle Obama is a man" to the crowd. The comment elicited mixed reactions, according to reports, and was widely condemned by Republicans and some of the president's allies, like Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy.

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. sparked outrage on Monday after he announced his department was investigating why a peer-reviewed medical journal pulled a study about vaccines leading to sudden infant deaths.

Kennedy posted a letter on his professional X account, arguing that the study was "of great interest to me." Kennedy cited the study in his policy to reduce the federal vaccine schedule for infants from 17 shots to 11. That policy has since been blocked by a federal judge, according to reports.

Georgetown Law professor and former senior Department of Justice official Marty Lederman argued Chief Judge James Boasberg has sufficient evidence to order a criminal contempt trial against Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche without further investigation.

"The evidence the judge has already elicited is more than sufficient," Lederman wrote.

FBI Director Kash Patel's alleged personal use of government aircraft is now even starting to enrage some prominent Republican influencers.

In particular, it has fueled new conspiracy theories from far-right personality Candace Owens, who is now suggesting, without any basis, the FBI might have had something to do with the murder of Turning Point USA co-founder Charlie Kirk.

Former Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO) had nothing but contempt for the new reports of President Donald Trump's memorandum of understanding to end the Iran war he started — noting on MS NOW's "Deadline: White House" Monday that he is leaving the United States and its allies in a considerably worse position than they were before, and even Republicans aren't rushing to celebrate it.

"So we're not even going to have a conversation about the nuclear program until we've removed all of our leverage points," noted anchor Nicolle Wallace. "What, if anything, is America getting?"

An economist flagged a gobsmacking detail about the recent deal President Donald Trump's administration struck with the Iranian regime over the weekend that had largely been overlooked.

Henrietta Treyz, director of economic policy at Veda Partners, told CNN's Jake Tapper on "The Lead" that the Trump administration seemed to be hurrying toward a deal with Iran to end the 106-day conflict. On Sunday, the two sides agreed to a deal that would allow the Strait of Hormuz to reopen, which some experts say could provide temporary relief from high energy prices.