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A Senate Democrat bashed the Trump administration's classified briefing on its strikes against alleged drug boats during an interview on CNN.

On Tuesday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio gave a classified briefing to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, where they contradicted several key parts of the administration's narrative about the strikes. For instance, they said the boats were likely traveling to Europe, not the United States, as the administration claimed. They also admitted that the ships were likely carrying cocaine and not fentanyl, which President Donald Trump recently declared a "weapon of mass destruction."

A Vanity Fair editor offered a revealing behind-the-scenes account of a tense White House photo shoot tied to the magazine’s bombshell reporting on Donald Trump’s chief of staff, describing sharp elbows, dark humor, and flashes of entitlement from top officials. Global editorial director Mark Guiducci recounted Vice President JD Vance’s crude jokes, self-aware jabs about his own image, and a moment when an aide to Susie Wiles abruptly shut down access to parts of the White House by declaring them “the president’s spaces.”

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Republicans' lawsuit trying to overturn California's mid-decade redistricting map ran into a brick wall this week, as a three-judge panel grilled them intensively, with a clear indication they weren't moved by the arguments.

Voters approved Proposition 50 in November, a redraw of the congressional lines that seeks to give Democrats five currently Republican-held seats. Gov. Gavin Newsom championed the measure in response to a similar redraw by Republican lawmakers in Texas seeking to make five Democratic seats more friendly to the GOP.

Deputy FBI Director and former MAGA podcaster Dan Bongino announced on Wednesday that he plans to leave the administration in January, which came moments after President Donald Trump praised him for his work.

"I will be leaving my position with the FBI in January," Bongino said in a post on X. "I want to thank President Trump, AG Bondi, and Director Patel for the opportunity to serve with purpose. Most importantly, I want to thank you, my fellow Americans, for the privilege to serve you."

A columnist revealed on Wednesday that President Donald Trump has used one of his social media accounts to break a core promise to his base.

David Rothkopf, a columnist for The Daily Beast, argued in a new column that Trump is backtracking on his promise to MAGA that he would not start any new wars. Rothkopf mentioned the administration's strikes against alleged drug boats in international waters and his threatening Truth Social post against Nicolas Maduro's regime in Venezuela as evidence of Trump's escalating steps toward war.

Federal immigration agents sparked chaos outside a Minneapolis mall after witnesses accused ICE officers of forcing a pregnant woman face down on the ground during her arrest, prompting an angry crowd to intervene. According to local reporting, bystanders shouted that the woman couldn’t breathe as agents restrained her, before dragging her away in handcuffs while people hurled snowballs and screamed for her release.

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A recent renovation at the White House caused quite a stir on Wednesday.

President Donald Trump recently installed a "Walk of Fame" featuring photographs of former presidents, which lines the walkway from the West Wing to the White House. On Wednesday, the administration installed plaques with information about each president, some of which were personally written by Trump, CNN's Kit Maher reported.

President Donald Trump will announce "a war is coming" between the U.S. and Venezuela in his Wednesday night speech, according to right-wing broadcaster Tucker Carlson.

Carlson made the remarks on Wednesday during an interview with former Judge Andrew Napolitano. Both men are former Fox News employees.

President Donald Trump suffered a setback as North Carolina Republican Senators Ted Budd and Thom Tillis signaled opposition to his nominee for Ambassador for International Religious Freedom, former Rep. Mark Walker. Under Senate tradition, both home-state senators must approve a nominee via the “blue slip” process, effectively halting Walker’s confirmation. Walker urged support on social media, while Trump blasted the procedure as a barrier to approving Republican nominees for key positions.

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