The Associated Press reports: An advocacy group sued the Justice Department and the FBI on Friday for records detailing their handling of the sex trafficking investigation into Jeffrey Epstein. The legal organization Democracy Forward is seeking records related to senior administration officials’ communication about Epstein documents and any regarding correspondence between Epstein and Trump. The lawsuit, filed in federal court …

The New York Times reports: President Trump has secretly signed a directive to the Pentagon to begin using military force against certain Latin American drug cartels that his administration has deemed terrorist organizations, according to people familiar with the matter. The decision to bring the American military into the fight is the most aggressive step so far in the administration’s …

“Last year, after an assassin tried to take my life in Butler, Pennsylvania, Thomas generously mailed me one of his Purple Hearts. Many of the other veterans showed me the same unbelievable gesture of kindness, including three-time Purple Heart recipient John Ford and Gerald Enter Jr., who also came along with us and did us a great, great favor. Gerald, …

Vox reports: The Corporation for Public Broadcasting announced last week that it would shut down after Congress voted to claw back over $500 million of federal funding from the organization. Amid the stripping of these federal funds, last month, the White House debuted a new educational partner at its launch event for its new Founders Museum exhibit: PragerU, a nonprofit organization …

The Texas Tribune reports: Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and House Speaker Dustin Burrows are asking an Illinois court to enforce arrest warrants against Democratic lawmakers who have left the state to delay passage of a GOP-backed congressional map. Burrows issued civil arrest warrants on Monday, ordering the sergeant-at-arms and state troopers to track down and arrest the dozens of …

NBC News reports: Texas Gov. Greg Abbott vowed to call “special session after special session after special session” in response to Democratic lawmakers who have fled the state to block redistricting legislation, saying they’ll have to stay out of Texas for years to prevent it becoming law. “We are in the process as we speak right now of searching for, …

The Hill reports: The Lone Star Liberty PAC, a group supporting Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s (R) Senate run, rolled out an ad touting Paxton’s role in the state’s redistricting battle on Friday. The digital spot, titled “Ken Paxton puts Democrats on notice in Texas redistricting fight,” is a compilation of mainstream media coverage of the state’s redistricting saga and …

“The president has been very clear that he’s gonna take the action necessary to secure the city of Washington for the people who live here, for all the American people, and all who visit here. It’s our capital city, it is more violent than Baghdad, it is more violent than parts of Ethiopia and parts of many of the most …

The Associated Press reports: The White House said Thursday night that there will be increased presence of federal law enforcement in the nation’s capital to combat crime for at least the next week, amid President Donald Trump ‘s suggestions that his administration could fully take over running the city. “Washington, DC is an amazing city, but it has been plagued …

Axios reports: Israel’s security cabinet approved Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s proposal for the occupation of Gaza City, a senior Israeli official said. The decision, which came after more than 10 hours of consultations in the security cabinet, is the first phase in an offensive that could include the occupation of the entire Gaza Strip by the Israel Defense Forces. President …

Yahoo News reports: Donald Trump has returned to promoting his own golf prowess, despite the growing debate over how much “help” he has had to achieve his victories. On Thursday, Trump posted a photo on his Truth Social account holding two trophies, writing, “Winning the Senior Club Championship, and the Super Senior Club Championship, last weekend at Bedminster.” Bedminster is …

The Daily Express reports: Fox News host Jesse Watters stirred up controversy on Thursday after floating the idea of a “mostly peaceful invasion” of Canada, which Trump slammed with tariffs earlier this year, prompting online backlash. During Tuesday’s broadcast of The Five, Watters addressed the ongoing debate over gerrymandering, suggesting that if Democrats were going to “rip up the rules,” …

The Daily Beast reports: Donald Trump Jr. is keeping up his streak as purveyor of unusual memes involving his father with a new Instagram post featuring Donald Sr. on the roof of the White House. The image, taken from a meme account on X called “Grand Old Memes” and which is at least partially AI-generated, shows Donald Trump on the …

The Associated Press reports: The Trump administration is doubling to $50 million a reward for the arrest of Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro, accusing him of being one of the world’s largest narco-traffickers and working with cartels to flood the U.S. with fentanyl-laced cocaine. “Under President Trump’s leadership, Maduro will not escape justice and he will be held accountable for his …

REPORTER: “I noticed that one of the accomplishments, the things you were touting, was the I-5/I-26 interchange. But that funding came from the Inflation Reduction Act, which you voted against.” MACE: “Right.” REPORTER: “Is that an accomplishment then? That’s something you can tout?” MACE: “Absolutely I can tout that because I will often argue over how much money is spent, …

“When it comes to these local election of the New York City mayor, I mean, this is most important city in the world and its on the verge of electing an open communist who believes in blowing up buses and cafes as a sign of resistance called intifada and redefining that so that people don’t really know what it means.” …

Collider reports: Star Trek: Starfleet Academy takes place in the 32nd century, and features the first Academy class in over a century following a galaxy-spanning disaster, The Burn. It stars Holly Hunter as Nahla Ake, the Chancellor of Starfleet Academy and captain of the Athena; faculty members include engineer Jet Reno (Tig Notaro) and Admiral Charles Vance (Oded Fehr), both …

GLENN BECK: “Well, I don’t know about you, I would imagine you’re far more busy than I ever have been, but when South Park did an episode — and Cartman played me the whole time —” KRISTI NOEM: “Oh, really?” GLENN BECK:  “Yeah, oh yeah. It took me about a year before I even — I didn’t even know it …

Politico reports: The Justice Department is asking the Supreme Court to lift a judge’s order that limits immigration raids in the Los Angeles area based on broad criteria such as speaking Spanish or gathering at locations day laborers often congregate. Last month’s order by U.S. District Judge Maame Ewusi-Mensah Frimpong had effectively blocked what critics called “roving” immigration raids that …

The Washington Post reports: President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday making it easier for everyday savers to invest their retirement funds in alternative assets, including private-market assets like private equity and real estate as well as cryptocurrencies. The order directs the Labor Department to work with the Treasury Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission to see which …