3+ min ago (446+ words) A Nobel Prize winner has denounced the DOGE section of Trump's administration as the "damage" from their internal cuts "persists." Economist Paul Krugman believes the Department of Government Efficiency, initially headed up by Tesla CEO Elon Musk, has been more damaging than anything for the country and the president's plans for his second term. It was reported earlier this week that DOGE was dead, with lead staff members reshuffled into different departments, but the official DOGE account on X confirmed the department is still working on government cuts. In post in response to a Reuter's report Sunday claiming the agency was dead, DOGE responded, "President Trump was given a mandate by the American people to modernize the federal government and reduce waste, fraud and abuse. Just last week, DOGE terminated 78 wasteful contracts and saved taxpayers $335M. We'll be back in a…...

9+ min ago (1472+ words) At 8 o'clock on a stormy weeknight in the chilly Chinatown offices of L.A. Taco, Memo Torres finally was worn out. The audio that played from Torres' double-screen computer and smart phone as he reviewed the evidence on the day I visited contained snippets of the Southland's sad soundtrack under what he continually calls the "siege" of ICE. Men pleading to la migra to stop hurting them. Activists cursing out agents. Whistles, screams, honks and sirens. Sobbing family members. "If I wanted to cry, I don't think that I could," Torres said when I asked how he coped with seeing such videos ad nauseum. "It's not healthy, I know. It's not mature. But what I go through is nothing like what the people I'm seeing are going through " Today was hard, though," he continued, pounding his hand with his fist. "They went…...

11+ min ago (307+ words) As Congress readies to tackle a looming deadline to avoid health care cost spikes for tens of millions of Americans, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) is actively warning President Donald Trump against extending Affordable Care Act subsidies " directly contradicting a proposal from the White House, The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday. "Johnson cautioned the White House that most House Republicans don't have an appetite for extending enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies, according to people familiar with the matter, showing how hard it will be politically to stave off sharp increases in healthcare costs next year for many Americans," wrote Journal reporter Olivia Beavers. Johnson's warning to the White House comes shortly after the end of the recent government shutdown, sparked by Republicans' refusal to fund an extension to ACA subsidies slated to expire at the end of this year. If…...

11+ min ago (685+ words) [time-brightcove not-tgx=true] We stand at scenic overlooks and lift our lens to capture a post card view that, of course, looks better on a postcard. It's not about gear, or the 10,000 hours. It's simply that almost any photograph is improved by having people in it'a lesson TIME's Top 100 Photographs of 2025 underscores in [] [Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu Charged With Corruption Amid Wave Of Protests][Secondary image] [Westminster Dog Show][Secondary image] [28th day of U.S. government shutdown][Secondary image] [APTOPIX Venezuela Inauguration Protests][Secondary image] [Tennis 2025: US Open: ATP: Alcaraz Wins Men][Secondary image] [The red carpet is rolled out ahead of the 97th Academy Awards, in Los Angeles][Secondary image] [Palestinians warm themselves by a fire near the rubble of their destroyed house, in Jabalia, northern Gaza Strip, on Feb. 3.] [A waymo caught fire from protestors. Downtown, Los Angeles Copyright @ Ethan Noah…...

14+ min ago (323+ words) LaMalfa can still run for Congress next year, taking his pick of either of those two new districts. This gives him the option of losing to a Democrat by perhaps 30 percentage points, based on last year's results and current polling, or merely by about 15. Either way, he's toast. "It's a real dirty scheme," LaMalfa told me. So what does LaMalfa think Congress should do about gerrymandering? Nothing. "I don't support the federal government trying to dictate to every state individually how they do things," he said. Most Republicans seem to agree'even the ones who, like LaMalfa, are losing their seat as the redistricting wars heat up. In the states where one party controls the redistricting process, the incentives are simple: Draw the districts such that your party has the easiest path to winning the most seats. Give as little power…...

16+ min ago (1373+ words) Even as U.S. and Ukrainian negotiators announced progress over the weekend on modifying the draft of the American-led 28-point peace plan to make it more acceptable to Kyiv, those same changes will probably doom it for Russia, say analysts and Russian observers. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday that Russia was waiting to see a new modified version of the contentious plan for Ukraine, amid reports that Army Secretary Dan Driscoll was meeting Russian officials in Abu Dhabi, UAE, to attempt to drive the peace process forward. The negotiations to come up with a peace plan that would somehow be acceptable to all sides and end nearly four years of war came as dozens of Russian missiles slammed into Kyiv overnight, hitting buildings and power infrastructure. The original plan, which was widely criticized by the Ukrainians and Europeans as being…...

20+ min ago (248+ words) A decision by Pentagon Secretary Pete Hegseth to threaten to court-martial Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ), a Navy pilot and astronaut, while Kelly's GOP colleagues stand by and watch will haunt Republicans forever. That's the thinking of MS NOW's "Morning Joe" co-host Joe Scarborough, who used the Hegseth threat as an example of how GOP lawmakers and the president's inner circle are trapped in a doom-loop of what he called "Trump derangement idiocy" as they cater to his worst impulses. Linking Hegseth's actions to Trump's war on critics by having his people abuse the law in an effort to seek retribution, the MS NOW host lashed out at the president's coddlers. Noting that the charges against Kelly are based on Trump's belief that the famed astronaut was illegally demanding that military members ignore orders, when Kelly and five other Democrats specified…...

21+ min ago (278+ words) Whatever the origins, the plan is a disaster for Ukraine and Europe for several reasons. First, it would force Ukraine to voluntarily hand over to Russia territory it doesn't control. That includes some of the most heavily fortified land in Donetsk region, which would make a new Russian assault on Kyiv an easy walk. Ukraine has always insisted that the conflict should be frozen along the current frontlines, and that a ceasefire must be a pre-condition for any further talks. Fourth, the plan doesn't offer any concrete security guarantees for Ukraine and relies heavily on Russia's goodwill not to invade again. It ignores the fact that Russia has violated numerous international and bilateral commitments since 2014. It rewards and empowers the aggressor by forcing the victim to compromise on issues vital for its survival. Fortunately, the pushback has been strong, and…...

22+ min ago (1045+ words) Twenty-five years into the 21st century, culture is markedly different than it was in the previous millennium. Everyday life has never contained more stuff'an endless reel of words, ideas, games, songs, videos, memes, outrageous statements, celebrity meltdowns, life hacks, extremely talented animals. Yet audiences can sense what's missing. For all the energy society invests in [] Twenty-five years into the 21st century, culture is markedly different than it was in the previous millennium. Everyday life has never contained more stuff'an endless reel of words, ideas, games, songs, videos, memes, outrageous statements, celebrity meltdowns, life hacks, extremely talented animals. Yet audiences can sense what's missing. For all the energy society invests in culture today, little has emerged that feels new, and certainly nothing revolutionary enough to properly outmode the past. Some commentators have argued that cultural progress is at a standstill. In The Crisis…...

26+ min ago (846+ words) DALLAS'When it became clear to Texas high school theater teacher Gigi Cervantes that she couldn't ignore a new state law requiring the Ten Commandments to be posted in her Fort Worth classroom, she felt she had no choice. She resigned from the job she loved. In the small city of Whitesboro, eighth-grade U.S. history teacher Dustin Parsons welcomed the new poster on his classroom wall, saying the display helps him demonstrate the influence of Christianity on the country's founding principles. Across Texas, there are no shortage of strong opinions among teachers, parents and students as the state undertakes the nation's largest attempt to hang the Ten Commandments in public schools. In the rush to navigate the Republican-led mandate that took effect in September, the rollout has forced some administrators, teachers and school boards to confront hard choices. "I just was not…...