Some medical marijuana to be reclassified: Will that make cannabis legal nationwide?

It's a major policy shift for marijuana – but what happens now?

Watch live: Melania Trump, Usha Vance headline First Lady's lunch

First lady Melania Trump will host the 113th annual First Lady's Luncheon on Thursday afternoon, where she is expected to speak on the Trump administration's push for foster care reform. Trump will also likely tout her "Fostering the Future" initiative, which is focused on

Ocasio-Cortez on Republicans complaining about Virginia redistricting loss: 'Wah, wah, wah'

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) on Wednesday mocked Republicans complaining about the Virginia redistricting loss and said she looks forward to picking up additional House seats in midterm elections. Journalist Matt Laslo, founder of the Laslo Congressional Bureau

Senate Republican predicts Democrats will shut down government ‘right before the midterms’

Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) predicted on the Senate floor that his Democratic colleagues will find a reason to block funding legislation and trigger another government shutdown “right before the midterms” to sow chaos in Washington before Election Day. “I think my Democratic

In the fog of war, America needs news it can trust

It is little wonder the nation’s news consumers are struggling to make sense of the various narratives masquerading as journalism. War time is not the time for either liberal or conservative slants.

Latest spy powers proposal doesn't have warrant requirement demanded by critics

An overview of a new draft proposal to extend the nation’s spy powers includes new reforms but stops short of adding the warrant requirement demanded by privacy hawks on the left and right. A section-by-section outline obtained by The Hill comes amid fluid negotiations among

Trump Allies Get More Power as Paramount Takes Over Warner Bros.

Warner Bros. shareholders on Thursday approved the company’s $81 billion sale to Paramount, in a massive merger that will seriously alter the media landscape and give Trump-backed billionaire David Ellison even more control over multiple large outlets. The deal will give

Warner Bros. Discovery board approves sale to Paramount

The board of Warner Bros. Discovery voted Thursday to sell the sprawling media company to Paramount, a key move that paves the way for the creation of a new company that would serve as one of the largest providers of entertainment, live sports and news in the world. The vote

GOP, Democratic super PACs announce over $400M in ad reservations

Two super PACs associated with Republican and Democratic House leadership announced their midterm ad reservations, totaling more than $400 million altogether as both parties eye the House majority this fall. House Majority PAC, which is associated with House Democratic

Eric Trump Openly Brags About His Federal Corruption on Live TV

The Trump family is not ashamed to bilk taxpayers in order to line their pockets. Eric Trump appeared on Fox Business Thursday morning, openly celebrating a $24 million defense contract his company won—through business with his father’s administration. The 42-year-old financier

Minorities in Congress flex muscles with mixed results

Congress experienced a chaotic week as surprise resolutions and petitions disrupted the legislative schedule, leading to a flurry of votes on war powers, immigration, and surveillance laws.

Americans grow more negative about economy: Gallup

Americans are growing more pessimistic about the state of the U.S. economy, according to a new survey. The Gallup poll, released Thursday, found that nearly half of the respondents, 47 percent, rated the economic conditions in the country as "poor." This marks a 10-point

Democrats Are Pissed Another One of Their Own Has Died in Congress

Democrats are once again having hard conversations about their party’s gerontocracy, in the wake of Representative David Scott’s death on Wednesday. Scott was up for reelection, seeking his thirteenth term in Congress at 80 years old. His health issues on the job were first

Watch live: Jeffries gives remarks amid DHS, redistricting battles

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries will speak with reporters Thursday morning as the battle over Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funding persists and days after Virginia voters approved a Democratic-friendly redistricting measure. Jeffries has been at the forefront of

Cruz on possible Spirit Airlines bailout: 'Terrible idea'

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) on Wednesday ripped the Trump administration’s potential bailout of Spirit Airlines. “This is an absolutely TERRIBLE idea,” Cruz wrote on the social platform X of the deal. Bloomberg reported that under the deal, the administration could own as much as

Watch live: Lutnick testifies before House on fiscal 2027 budget request

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick will testify before the House Appropriations Committee on Thursday morning on President Trump’s fiscal 2027 budget request. The White House is requesting $9.2 billion in discretionary budget authority for the Commerce Department — a $1.3

Change in Hungary offers Trump and the U.S. new opportunities

Orbán’s Hungary was not aligned with American interests.

Key Democrat seeks inspector general probe into FAA chief’s airline stock divestment

Sen. Maria Cantwell and other lawmakers want an investigation into whether the agency’s administrator “profited from deliberately violating his ethics agreement.”

Trump orders Navy to 'shoot and kill' any boat laying mines in Strait of Hormuz

President Trump on Thursday said he ordered the U.S. military to “shoot and kill” any boat caught putting mines in the Strait of Hormuz, as his administration ramps up mine-clearing efforts in the critical waterway. “I have ordered the United States Navy to shoot and kill any

New York Times alleges FBI investigated journalist after report about Patel girlfriend

The New York Times is alleging the FBI investigated one of its journalists after a reporter for the paper wrote an article questioning the security protections of director Kash Patel's girlfriend, which the bureau and Patel have denied. FBI agents interviewed Patel's girlfriend

When the House Ethics Committee tried to cover the crimes of a Democratic Speaker

The House Ethics Committee is facing a crisis of its own, as it is being used as a political weapon to protect certain members of Congress from more serious allegations, rather than functioning as a neutral arbiter.

Live updates: Senate gets DHS funding rolling; Trump orders Navy to sink mine-laying vessels in Strait

Senate Republicans adopted a budget resolution in the wee hours of Thursday morning that sets up a path to fund the Department of Homeland Security, which has been shut down since mid-February. It puts in motion a process for Congress to vote next month on a budget

Primary fights heat up, DHS going broke, Trump takes U-turn on Iran: Join the live discussion

Primary battles are intensifying across the country in California and Michigan. Meanwhile in Washington, funding fights loom as the Department of Homeland Security faces a cash crunch and President Trump signals a sharp shift on Iran policy. Plus, the growing turbulence inside

How SAVE America could affect your ability to vote

When natural disasters strike, they destroy everything in their wake — including the records that prove who we are.

Condom costs could rise as Iran war disrupts supply chains

Since the war began in late February, Karex has faced rising prices for materials used to produce and package condoms.

Senate Republicans Ram Through Plan to Bankroll ICE in Dead of Night

Senate Republicans held a budget reconciliation “vote-a-rama” in the wee hours of the night to kickstart their Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol funding process. The controversial move, which wrapped up just after 3:30 a.m. on Thursday, resulted in a 50–48

Incomes outpacing rent hikes for first time in years: Zillow

Rent growth was 1.8% in March, the slowest annual pace since 2020, Zillow says.

Trump administration reclassifies state-licensed medical marijuana as less dangerous drug

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche signed an order Thursday to reclassify state-licensed medical marijuana as a less dangerous drug. The order shifts the designation of licensed medical marijuana from a high level of regulation to a much looser level. It also provides a tax

Republican Member of Congress Has Gone Missing for Weeks

A Republican representative in New Jersey facing a tough reelection fight is nowhere to be found. Representative Tom Kean Jr. represents the Garden State’s 7th district, its most divided. President Trump carried it by one point in 2024, and Democratic Governor Mikie Sherrill

We’re drowning in numbers we don’t understand

We struggle because human intuition was never built for numbers this large.

Capitol agenda: Senate GOP braces for Cabinet shakeup

“He’s in a bad mood,” one GOP senator said about President Donald Trump.

State spending has skyrocketed — but where has the money gone?

Interestingly, Americans aren't moving to the states that spend the most — they're leaving them.

DeSantis on Jeffries 'F around and find out' remark: 'I will pay for you to come down to Florida'

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) challenged House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) on Wednesday to campaign in his state after the Democrat issued a warning to Florida over redistricting. “I will pay for you to come down to Florida and campaign,” DeSantis said during a

A well-meaning law has opened a child smuggling loophole at our border

The William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008 continues to lure unaccompanied children into the hands of criminal cartels — and then to funnel them into the U.S. for supposed legal protection.

Transcript: Trump Rages at Epic Virginia Backfire—and Reveals Weakness

The following is a lightly edited transcript of the April 23 episode of the Daily Blast podcast. Listen to it here . After we recorded, a court blocked the new Virginia map, but that is likely temporary as it will be quickly appealed . Greg Sargent: This is The Daily Blast from

5 key moments from California gubernatorial debate

In today’s issue: The top six remaining candidates running for governor of California faced off Wednesday as the primary rapidly approaches and no candidate has emerged as a clear front-runner. The debate, hosted by NewsNation and The Hill’s parent company Nexstar, came less

On Iran, Trump blinks first

Less than 24 hours after President Trump accepted the off-ramp proposed by Pakistan’s leaders, granting an “indefinite ceasefire” so Iran’s leaders could "come up with a unified proposal,” the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps attacked three ships in the Strait of Hormuz. Iran

Trump’s Rogan-inspired psychedelics order stokes cautious optimism

President Trump's executive order loosening research restrictions on psychedelic medicine, which was kick-started by a text to Trump from podcaster Joe Rogan, could help legitimize an industry that's long operated in the shadows. Advocates and researchers said they are

Republicans divided on whether to check Trump's Iran war power as 60-day mark looms

Senate Republicans are divided over how to handle the 60-day mark of the military conflict against Iran, with some arguing that Congress would need to vote to continue military action beyond the window set by the 1973 War Powers Act. A group of Republican senators, including

RFK Jr.’s Anti-Trans Policy Has Been Toppled for All the Right Reasons

On Saturday, a U.S. district judge, Mustafa T. Kasubhai, blocked a federal policy that forced health care providers to follow the government’s agenda and halt gender-affirming care for young people. The ruling began with a short, emphatic declaration: “Unserious leaders are

Iran’s Hard-Liners Have Trump’s Number

If you were, for some reason, to only get your news about the war in Iran from the president’s Truth Social feed, you might be under the impression that the United States was on the brink of a historic military victory, perhaps its most significant since World War II. “Iran is

House lawmakers clamoring for ethics reforms after wave of resignations

The surge of House resignations this month has triggered calls from both parties for a broader overhaul of the ethics process and how the chamber polices its own. While many lawmakers have welcomed the hasty departures of former Reps. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.), Tony Gonzales

Greenville, Illinois

After the metal detector, there was no pat down. A guard marked my wrist with ultraviolet ink that shone in blacklight. Since I had cleared the background check, my books were my identification. The inmates sat in bleachers of the big gymnasium where the sultry air smelled of

GOP tries to ease growing fears of midterm shellacking

Republicans and the White House are seeking to ease growing anxiety around potentially widespread midterm losses following Democrats’ redistricting win in Virginia on Tuesday. Virginia’s referendum could give Democrats as many as four more House seats by this fall. That will

Claude Is Guilt-Ridden About the War, but Not Enough to Tell the Truth

Claude, Anthropic’s large language model, has a lot to answer for. Let’s start with this. Given that Anthropic took such a seemingly principled stand against the use of its AI in lethal autonomous weapons, why did the U.S. military use Claude to attack Iran with … lethal

Book ban battles pivot as challenges to more titles come from outside groups

Book challenges neared a record high in 2025, showing an increase in pressure from political groups and officials as opposed to parents, as well as new targets in the challenged titles. The American Library Association (ALA) found 4,235 unique titles were challenged in 2025,

Author Photo

And you have long since outlived the scene where he buried his Swiss Army knife in the planting box outside the courthouse to avoid setting off alarms—as if you two hadn’t already created alarms enough, hadn’t sufficiently frightened and injured each other, which is why you

Aubade

Anti-data center measures gain traction at state, local level

Measures seeking to block or rein in data center construction are gaining momentum at the state and local level, as Americans increasingly sour on the massive buildout of AI infrastructure in their communities. The Maine legislature became the first in the nation to pass a bill

Anthropic becomes impossible for White House to ignore

Anthropic’s new Mythos model is keeping the company’s foot in the White House’s door despite the Trump administration blacklisting the firm’s products from military and government work earlier this year. Mythos, Anthropic’s most advanced model to date, has drawn interest from