Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker is dodging questions about his past donations to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), a lobbying group that has come under heavy criticism from many liberal Democrats.
Why it matters: Pritzker is among several likely Democratic presidential candidates who've distanced themselves from AIPAC as the group has become a U.S. political surrogate for support of Israel's actions in Gaza.
Some potential 2028 Democratic presidential candidates are introducing themselves to voters in a striking way: by documenting their childhood resentments, family chaos and fights with their parents.
Why it matters: Many presidential hopefuls carry painful memories from complicated childhoods. But few have discussed them as openly as Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker.
President Trump said Sunday he will send ICE agents to U.S. airports starting Monday to assist TSA officers who have been working without pay for more than five weeks during a partial Homeland Security shutdown.
Why it matters: The move thrusts the very agency that sparked the shutdown with its conduct in Minnesota into the nation's airports to deal with the consequences.
The United States faces a dire and unsustainable fiscal outlook. You'd never know it from the action in Washington.
Across parties and policy areas, you'd never guess that the U.S. faces fiscal constraints created by its high-and-rising public debt, ballooning deficits without precedent in times of prosperity, and a looming entitlement spending crisis when the Social Security trust fund runs out.
President Trump on Saturday night gave Iran a 48-hour deadline to reopen the Strait of Hormuz or else the U.S. will start destroying Iranian power plants.
Why it matters: The threat marks a dramatic reversal from just a day earlier when Trump floated ending the war without reopening the strait, signaling the Hormuz crisis has become the issue he can't walk away from, even as he looks for an exit.
Robert Mueller, the former FBI director who as special counsel probed President Trump and Russian interference in the 2016 election, has died at age 81, per multiplereports Saturday.
The big picture: Mueller's probe resulted in a series of criminal cases against people in Trump's orbit, and earned him the president's lasting ire.
After three weeks of war, the Trump administration has begun initial discussions on the next phase and what peace talks with Iran might look like, according to a U.S. official and a source with knowledge.
Why it matters: President Trump said Friday that he was considering "winding down" the war, though U.S. officials said the expectation was there would still be two to three additional weeks of fighting. In the meantime, Trump's advisers want to start laying groundwork for diplomacy.
Elon Musk said Saturday he'd be willing to pay the salaries of TSA agents during the Homeland Security shutdown, as President Trump suggested the possibility of using ICE agents to keep airports moving instead.
Why it matters: The shutdown is causing chaos for travelers and gridlock in Congress, with few solutions on the horizon.
Why it matters: Any swift ceasefire or arrangement allowing safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz won't undo supply shocks that could linger for months — and in some cases, years.
Efforts to strike or rename events honoring United Farm Workers leader César Chávez are accelerating days after allegations surfaced that he sexually abused girls and young women.
Why it matters: The repercussions are coming quick, forcing a reckoning within the union and reshaping the legacy of one of the nation's best-known farm labor leaders.
