MSN

The Justice Department told reporters it yanked a photo of Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick from its Epstein database as part of a routine nudity review. However, former Attorney General Pam Bondi was revealed to have offered Congress a different explanation entirely: that then-Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche's staff believed the image was AI-generated rather than real.

"I do believe that Deputy Attorney General Blanche or his staff believed that this was AI for some reason and not real," Bondi said in a May 29 closed-door interview with the House Oversight Committee, according to a transcript released Thursday. "It was taken down, but it was put back up … because it was confirmed that it was Howard Lutnick and his family."

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins faced sharp questioning from Rep. Angie Craig (D-MN) during a tense House Agriculture Committee hearing.

Rollins was repeatedly unable to answer basic questions about the farm economy.

The MAGA universe is preparing for a future without President Donald Trump at the helm, but that preparation is threatening to erupt into a free-for-all over control of the movement, according to a new analysis.

MS NOW's Lily Becker argued in a new op-ed that the president "has thrown a monkey wrench into the traditionally staid right-of-center world of policymaking, transforming or pushing aside established institutions and boosting startups such as the America First Policy Institute, American Compass and Advancing American Freedom that are hoping to rebuild a new conservative order."

Leaked emails and messages revealed King Charles harbored private concerns about hosting President Donald Trump for a U.K. state visit, primarily due to Trump and Vice President JD Vance's February 2025 ridiculing of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy over perceived ingratitude for American support.

"Multiple senior Whitehall sources have told this newspaper that the King was reticent about hosting Trump at this time because of his treatment of Zelensky," The i Paper reported.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent snapped "Don't be absurd!" at a Democratic lawmaker Thursday after getting cornered on the administration's rosy claims about the Iran conflict — a tense exchange that exposed the widening gap between White House spin and reality on the ground.

During a House Ways and Means Committee hearing on the Treasury Department's budget priorities, Rep. Brad Schneider (D-IL) pressed Bessent on an offhand remark the secretary had made suggesting the conflict with Iran was over.

The Kennedy Center is moving to comply with a federal court order to strip President Donald Trump's name from the iconic Washington arts venue, according to a memo obtained by CBS News.

The center's general counsel sent the memo to staff Thursday, instructing them to "immediately change email signatures, letterhead, and other documents" to reflect the original name — the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Interior and exterior signage must be switched back by June 12.

Georgetown University law professor Steve Vladeck analyzed a little-noticed Supreme Court occurrence in Margolin v. National Association of Immigration Judges that may reveal how Justice Amy Coney Barrett will rule on consequential Trump-era legal battles.

Justice Clarence Thomas, joined by Barrett, advocated going further than the narrow procedural ruling to restrict federal employees' ability to challenge politically controlled administrative tribunals. The case centers on "channeling" — the doctrine requiring plaintiffs to exhaust designated administrative forums before reaching federal court.