What We Learned From a Secret Deposition of Ken Paxton A previously hidden document sheds new light on ethical questions surrounding the GOP Senate candidate and Texas attorney general.

Exclusive: A previously hidden document sheds new light on ethical questions surrounding GOP Senate candidate and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.

Two Southwest Airlines planes came dangerously close in Nashville and had to take evasive action Location data from these two planes show their flight paths converging after one pilot decided to abort landing and circle around to try again.

Two Southwest Airlines planes took evasive action to avoid colliding in Nashville, Tennessee, after an air traffic controller directed one pilot to turn into the path of the other plane.

4/21/26☀️ AM: PRESENTED BY IN THIS EDITION Thune’s multi-front pile upCould this be Cherfilus-McCormick’s last week in Congress?Senate wades apprehensively into FISA

@punchbowlnews.bsky.social AM today
- Thune’s multi-front pile-up. GOP leader struggles w/FISA, reconciliation, SAVE America Act, an unpopular Trump & Iran
- Is this Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick’s last week in House?
- Senate wades into FISA slog
- What we’re watching

punchbowl.news/archive/4212...

Lawsuit over National Guard deployment in Illinois runs out of steam, judge dismisses it

Lawsuit over National Guard deployment in Illinois runs out of steam, judge dismisses it

4/20/26☀️ AM: PRESENTED BY IN THIS EDITION Republicans face the legislative gauntletIt’s reconciliation week for Senate GOPNo love for Fetterman among Pennsylvania

@punchbowlnews.bsky.social AM today
- GOP faces a legislative gauntlet on FISA & DHS. Trump’s DHS executive order may end soon
- It’s Senate reconciliation week
- No love for Fetterman among Pennsylvania Dems
- What we’re watching
- New Dem House member gets sworn in
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Pancreatic cancer mRNA vaccine shows lasting results in an early trial Scientists caution that more research is needed, but nearly all of the patients who responded to the personalized vaccine are still alive six years later.

"Pancreatic cancer mRNA vaccine shows lasting results in an early trial: Scientists caution that more research is needed, but nearly all of the patients who responded to the personalized vaccine are still alive six years later."

PORTLAND, Maine — A crowd greets Senate Democratic candidate Graham Platner and Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., as they co-host a rally.

Exclusive | U.S. Military Prepares to Board Iran-Linked Ships in Coming Days, Officials Say The preparations mark an expansion of the U.S. naval crackdown beyond the Middle East, as the Iranian military tightens its grip on the Strait of Hormuz.

The U.S. military is preparing to board Iran-linked oil tankers and seize commercial ships in international waters in coming days, officials say on.wsj.com/4vKGT07

🇫🇷 🇬🇧 French President Emmanuel Macron and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Friday chair a meeting of allies to consider sending a multinational force to ensure security and free-flowing trade in the Strait of Hormuz once the current conflict between Iran and the US and Israel ends.
➡️ u.afp.com/SEBa

Myanmar cuts ex-leader Aung San Suu Kyi's sentence, frees former president Myanmar has reduced the sentence of imprisoned ex-leader Aung San Suu Kyi, her lawyer told Reuters on Friday, as part ​of an amnesty by a new president who ousted her government ‌in a coup five years ago.

Myanmar cuts ex-leader Aung San Suu Kyi's sentence, frees former president reut.rs/4touBZM

On Monday we reported on the 8 most insane fascist and antisemitic accounts JD Vance follows on X. @kylebazgo.bsky.social identified the worst of them, HowlingMutant, as Alexander Norden of NYC. He's very edgy, like posting about his sexually attraction to a pile of shoes at the Holocaust Museum.

4/17/26☀️ AM: PRESENTED BY IN THIS EDITION The FISA flop, plus Republicans can’t stop fighting each other Cherfilus-McCormick puts CBC in a bind Which House incumbents

@punchbowlnews.bsky.social AM today
- Johnson’s late-night FISA flop
- Republicans can’t stop fighting with Republicans
- Cherfilus-McCormick case puts CBC in a bind
- Vault: Warren thinks SEC chair misled Congress
- Garcia demands details on Bondi’s deposition

punchbowl.news/archive/4172...

Embassy cables detail how Iran war is hurting the US abroad The documents show the fallout for the US in Bahrain, Indonesia and Azerbaijan as it struggles to catch up with pro-Iran messaging.

Embassy cables detail how Iran war is hurting the US abroad

Analilia Mejia, a Progressive Democrat, Wins Mikie Sherrill’s House Seat Ms. Mejia, who helped to run Sen. Bernie Sanders’s presidential campaign, beat her Republican opponent, Joe Hathaway, to win a seat Ms. Sherrill vacated after she was elected governor of New Jersey.

Breaking News: Analilia Mejia, a progressive Democrat, was elected to a New Jersey House seat vacated by Gov. Mikie Sherrill.

Late-night disaster for Speaker Mike Johnson & House Republicans on FISA (and pretty much everything else.)

@punchbowlnews.bsky.social AM will be out soon, worth a read

Cuba Tried to Deliver Secret Letter Directly to Trump Via Businessman Analysts saw the missive as an attempt to go around Marco Rubio, though it is unclear whether the message reached the president.

The grandson of Cuban leader Raúl Castro tapped a wealthy Havana entrepreneur to try to personally deliver a letter to the White House last week on.wsj.com/4tT14qT

Hopes rise for renewed talks as US military says Iran blockade is in force Hopes rose for renewed talks between the United States and Iran as the U.S. military said its blockade of Iranian ports was in full effect and Tehran threatened to retaliate by strike targets across the war-weary region.

Hopes rose for renewed talks between the United States and Iran on Wednesday, as the U.S. military said its blockade of Iranian ports was in full effect and Tehran threatened to retaliate by strike targets across the war-weary region.

Around 14% of Enrollees in ACA Plans Failed to Make Payments, Data Shows The decline in January payments has been driven by a loss of federal Affordable Care Act subsidies.

Exclusive: One in seven people who signed up for Affordable Care Act plans failed to pay their premiums in January, indicating millions of people might lose insurance in coming months.

Maine Lawmakers Pass Ban on Large Data Centers The bill, which blocks centers that draw over 20 megawatts of power until late 2027, is headed to the desk of Democratic Gov. Janet Mills.

Maine lawmakers passed a ban on large data-center construction, making it the first state to enact such a measure as communities around the U.S. deal with fallout from the AI boom.

4/15/26☀️ AM: PRESENTED BY IN THIS EDITION FISA and reconciliation trip up RepublicansUtah House Dem hopeful mocked sexual assault, MormonsVault: Treasury quietly asks

@punchbowlnews.bsky.social AM today
- GOP leaders’ big problems. Johnson faces FISA vote, Thune has reconciliation woes
- Scoop: Utah House Dem hopeful mocked sexual assault, Mormons
- Vault: Treasury quietly asks private credit firms for data
- What we’re watching

punchbowl.news/archive/4152...

Pakistan PM Sharif to visit Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey this week Pakistan Prime ‌Minister ​Shehbaz ​Sharif will ⁠visit ​Saudi ​Arabia, Qatar ​and ​Turkey from April ‌15 ⁠to 18, ​Islamabad ​said ⁠on ​Wednesday.

Pakistan PM Sharif to visit Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey this week reut.rs/4mzaPrN

Another pardoned Jan. 6 rioter to admit guilt in child sexual abuse case David Daniel has reached a plea agreement with federal prosecutors after a judge ruled that President Donald Trump's pardons in the Capitol attack didn’t apply to child exploitation.

Yet another pardoned Jan. 6 rioter to admit guilt in child sexual abuse case:

China's March crude oil imports unscathed by Iran war, gas imports hit a multi-year low China's March crude oil imports fell 2.8% from ‌a year earlier due to a high base, official data showed on Tuesday, while the Iran war curbed refinery runs with Middle East supply disruptions expected to weigh on April imports.

China's March crude oil imports unscathed by Iran war, gas imports hit a multi-year low reut.rs/483ptSa

Why Congress is fighting over a central tool of American surveillance Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act is responsible for a huge share of intel collected by the U.S. Lawmakers and civil liberties advocates are worried it enables warrantless spying on U.S. citizens.

Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act is responsible for a huge share of intel collected by the U.S. Lawmakers and civil liberties advocates are worried it enables warrantless spying on U.S. citizens. n.pr/41wU5YA

4/14/26☀️ AM: PRESENTED BY IN THIS EDITION How Johnson and Jeffries handled their ethics problemsGOP clamors for Iran exit strategySenate GOP’s big day for DHS’

@punchbowlnews.bsky.social AM today
- How Johnson & Jeffries handled the Swalwell & Gonzales’ scandals & what we learned
- GOP clamors for Iran exit strategy
- Senate GOP’s big day on DHS’ future
- What we’re watching
- Q1 numbers from Johnson, SMP & Majority Forward

punchbowl.news/archive/4142...

Saudi Arabia Is Pressing U.S. to Drop Its Hormuz Blockade Gulf energy exporters worry Iran could escalate and close the Bab al-Mandeb, the main exit route for bottlenecked Persian Gulf oil.

Saudi Arabia is pressing the U.S. to drop its blockade of Hormuz, fearing President Trump’s move to close it off could lead Iran to escalate and disrupt other important shipping routes.

U.S. asked Iran to freeze uranium enrichment for 20 years, sources say The talks are not dead.

NEW: The U.S. proposed that Iran accept a 20-year moratorium on uranium enrichment during negotiations in Islamabad over the weekend

Swalwell exits California governor's race after assault allegations as rivals seek his supporters Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell’s abrupt exit from the race for California governor left his rivals scrambling to lock down his former supporters in a crowded contest with no clear leader.

Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell’s abrupt exit from the race for California governor left his rivals scrambling to lock down his former supporters in a crowded contest with no clear leader, injecting more turmoil into the campaign to lead the nation’s most populous state.

"On Monday, Pope Leo XIV's is setting off on a long Africa trip, the first of his papacy to bear a clear personal stamp," writes Christopher Lamb | Analysis https://cnn.it/4cl2cMS

UK'S STARMER: WE ARE NOT SUPPORTING THE BLOCKAGE