Opinion | New Hungarian PM says government was funding CPAC but won’t anymore “I believe the state should never have financed them in the first place,” Péter Magyar said this week. “It was a crime.”

Not enough people are talking about this.

Hungary’s incoming PM has said that Viktor Orbán used Hungarian government funds to help finance CPAC, the flagship networking event for GOP candidates, members of Congress, and conservative media in this country.

Federal judge unloads on ‘unserious’ RFK Jr., says anti-trans policy showed his ‘cruelty’ Judge Mustafa T. Kasubhai vacated the “Kennedy Declaration,” finding it unlawfully attempted to override medical standards and restrict care for transgender youth.

Breaking: HHS’s ban on gender-affirming care is struck down. Rarely have I read a ruling this sharply worded.

“This case is one of a long list of examples of how a leader’s wanton disregard for the rule of law causes very real harm to very real people.”

www.advocate.com/politics/nat...

Texas Medical Board Sanctions Three Doctors for Delayed Care That Led to the Deaths of Two Pregnant Women The two women died during miscarriages. The state’s medical board has ruled that substandard care led to their deaths.

www.propublica.org/article/tmb-...

And there it is....

Update in Trump's $10 billion lawsuit against his own I.R.S., in which he seeks taxpayer-funded damages for the prior release of his tax records

Trump legal filing says he's in "discussions" with his own I.R.S. to "avoid protracted litigation"

He’s so gone.

Under international law, transit through waterways like the Strait of Hormuz must remain open and free of charge. This is what leaders made clear in their call on reopening the Strait today. (1/3)

Bluesky confirms DDoS attack is cause of continued app outages | TechCrunch Bluesky has been experiencing ongoing service disruptions since just before 3 a.m. ET. on April 15.

Bluesky under attack. (Maybe you noticed that Thursday.)

"Bluesky’s website and app are still struggling on Friday after experiencing service interruptions that chief operating officer Rose Wang attributed to an ongoing cyberattack." techcrunch.com/2026/04/17/i...

The number of Trump's posts today, and the high level of hysteria in them, are in direct correlation to how bad "the deal" is and how hard it is going to be for him to sell it.

bsky.app/profile/did:...

Nice (and infuriating) FOIA win from @annabower.bsky.social and @lawfaremedia.org!

Rümeysa Öztürk. Text on the card reads: “Rümeysa Öztürk, Tufts grad arrested by ICE agents last year, returns to Turkey”

Breaking news: Tufts University graduate Rümeysa Öztürk, who was arrested by masked immigration agents last year, has returned to her home country of Turkey, citing the "state-imposed violence and hostility" she said she experienced in the United States. trib.al/7GKyEiz

Trump’s Awful Week The U.S. president is picking fights in every direction, alienating key supporters and allies.

Facing mounting pressure to end the war in Iran, the president’s behavior has become increasingly erratic as his administration struggles to find an off-ramp—and he’s alienating supporters at home and allies abroad in the process.

Today the Archbishop of Canterbury and HH the Dalai Lama have announced their solidarity with Pope Leo.

US House votes to defy Trump, extend Haitians' temporary protections The U.S. House ​of Representatives offered a rare rebuke of ‌President Donald Trump's immigration enforcement agenda on Thursday as a handful of Republicans joined Democrats to vote to ​extend tempora...

CORRECTION: The House offered a rare rebuke of President Trump's hardline immigration agenda as a handful of Republicans joined with Democrats to vote to extend temporary protections for some 350,000 Haitians living in the US. We are deleting a previous post with the wrong link reut.rs/4sOPgoM

The omission of Hegseth from the list of those Trump directs to work on the ceasefire (and his replacement, as it were, by Caine), along with Driscoll’s embrace of Gen. George earlier today, makes me think Hegseth’s days are numbered.

The White House doesn’t have a Ballroom (No Taxpayer Money!), which Presidents have desperately wanted and desired for over 150 years, but a Trump Hating, Washington, D.C. District Court Judge, a man who has gone out of his way to undermine National Security, and to make sure that this Great Gift to America gets delayed, or doesn’t get built, is attempting to prevent future Presidents and World Leaders from having a safe and secure large scale Meeting Place, or Ballroom, one with Bomb Shelters, a State of the Art Hospital and Medical Facilities, Protective Partitioning, Top Secret Military Installations, Structures, and Equipment, Protective Missile Resistant Steel, Columns, Roofs, and Beams, Drone Proof Ceilings and Roofs, Military Grade Venting, and Bullet, Ballistic, and Blast Proof Glass —which all means that no future President, living in the White House without this Ballroom, can ever be Safe and Secure at Events, Future Inaugurations, or Global Summits. This Magnificent Space will allow them to carry out their vital duties as the Leader of our Nation. Furthermore, the Ballroom, which is being constructed on budget and ahead of schedule, is needed now. Almost all material necessary for its construction is being built and/or on its way to the site, ready for installation and erection. Much of it has already been paid for, costing Hundreds of Millions of Dollars. If somebody, especially one with no standing, had a complaint — Why wasn’t it filed many months earlier, long before Construction was started? The Public Record was open for all to see. Everybody knew that it was planned, and going to be built. This highly political Judge, and his illegal overreach, is out of control, and costing our Nation greatly. This is a mockery to our Court System! The Ballroom is deeply important to our National Security, and no Judge can be allowed to stop this Historic and Militarily Imperative Project. Thank you for your attention to this matter! President DONALD J. TRUMP

Trump rants his ballroom will feature "Bomb Shelters, a State of the Art Hospital & Medical Facilities,Top Secret Military Installations, Protective Missile Resistant Steel, Drone Proof Ceilings, Military Grade Venting, & Bullet, Ballistic, & Blast Proof Glass"

Dafuq kind of ballroom is this?

ICE agent charged with assault in Minnesota for allegedly pointing gun at motorists Prosecutors say this is first criminal case against a federal agent involved in Trump’s immigration crackdown

"There is no such thing as absolute immunity for federal agents who violate the law in the state of Minnesota," Hennepin county attorney Mary Moriarty said. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

This beloved Utah company was founded before statehood. It’s closing in a few weeks. After six generations and more than 160 years, Daynes Music — Utah’s longtime Steinway dealer and a hub for pianists across the state — is closing its doors. The family business helped shape Utah’s music scene.

After six generations and more than 160 years, Daynes Music — Utah’s longtime Steinway dealer and a hub for pianists across the state — is closing its doors. The family business helped shape Utah’s music scene.

Bonus 220: Verify, Don't Trust Those who are starting to think about how to rebuild institutions that the current administration has undermined need to be clear-eyed about the prospect that their control of events will be fleeting.

Bonus 220: Verify, Don't Trust
open.substack.com/pub/stevevla...

And so it begins.

Federal judge sets new limits on Trump ballroom construction U.S. District Judge Richard Leon clarified that some national security work can continue while the overall project is halted.

A federal judge set new limits on Trump's ballroom project today, reiterating that White House was effectively limited to underground work.

Trump had claimed he could keep building for "national security" reasons.

Judge Leon rejected "incredible, if not disingenuous" interpretation.

Federal judge sets new limits on Trump ballroom construction U.S. District Judge Richard Leon clarified that some national security work can continue while the overall project is halted.

Leon gave the White House seven days to wrap up its work on the ballroom before his pause takes effect.

An appeals court is weighing the case, and Trump officials say they may appeal to the Supreme Court for immediate relief.

with @jonathanreports.bsky.social

10,000 Chicago Concert Recordings Are Being Uploaded to the Internet Archive: Nirvana, Phish, Sonic Youth, They Might Be Giants & More Perhaps you've had the experience of moving to a new city and immediately being told that you've missed its golden age of live music. To an extent, this has happened in more or less every period of th...

10,000 Chicago Concert Recordings Are Being Uploaded to the Internet Archive: Nirvana, Phish, Sonic Youth, They Might Be Giants & More www.openculture.com/2026/04/1000...

‘They want to keep denying us our rights’: workers in Vermont’s $5.4bn dairy industry fight for basic labor protections

Migrant labor fuels much of Vermont’s dairy industry, but workers are exempt from minimum wage rules, overtime protections and the right to unionize

Longtime Immigration Court Interpreter Arrested by ICE at South Texas Airport The state’s only licensed Hindi, Punjabi, and Urdu legal interpreter is now languishing in a Raymondville detention center. She’s lived in America for 35 years.

Texas' only licensed Hindi, Punjabi, and Urdu legal interpreter is now languishing in a Raymondville detention center. She’s lived in America for 35 years: www.texasobserver.org/immigration-...

Dear Member of Congress: The Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) and HIV Medicine Association (HIVMA) are deeply grateful for the longstanding bipartisan support from Congress for the National Institutes of Health (NIH). We want to inform you of current and likely impacts of delays and changes in funding policies and procedures for NIH grants. Our concerns relate to the following areas within NIH: • Massive reduction in notice of funding opportunities • Delays in funding processes and inadequate capacity to administer grants • Increase in forward funding of multiyear awards in year one • Delays and potential lapses in funding for large clinical trial networks and clinical trial units Lack of transparency around permitted international collaborative partners for research projects • Disproportionate impact of grant terminations on vulnerable populations, especially women and people of color

U.S. infectious disease research is on the brink. Without immediate action from Congress, much of it will cease to exist within a year.

For example👇

1️⃣ No collaborative RFAs posted for >1 year (normal: many / year).
2️⃣ No foreign collaborators allowed on grants.

🧪🪦 www.idsociety.org/globalassets...

"The rise of extreme wealth is one of the clearest signs of this imbalance. In 1987, billionaires held wealth equal to 3% of global GDP. Today this tiny elite, just 0.0001% of the world population, owns the equivalent of *16%* of world GDP in wealth."

Reagan's GOP liked to call their coalition a "three-legged stool" made up of the Religious Right, libertarians and anticommunists.

Trump's GOP has its own coalition, but it's made up of white supremacists, pedophiles and traitors. And its leaders are often all three!

Wow. No one showed up for JD Vance

Mexico's President Sheinbaum pushes back on Trump over migrant deaths and Cuba The Mexican government on Tuesday protested the deaths of its citizens in U.S. immigration custody as President Claudia Sheinbaum pushes back against U.S. President Donald Trump's policies on multiple...

The Mexican government on Tuesday protested the deaths of its citizens in U.S. immigration custody as President Claudia Sheinbaum pushes back against U.S. President Donald Trump's policies on multiple fronts. https://to.pbs.org/4vscCCY