curated news excerpts & citations
Dean Blundell: The White House Was Never Meant To Be A Palace For A King—Until Now
The founders built a modest president’s residence for a republic. Bulldozing the East Wing to make room for a donor‑funded ballroom flips that choice
Yesterday, demolition crews began tearing into the East Wing of the White House. The stated aim: clear space for a new, privately financed ballroom—a project touted at $200–$250 million, roughly 90,000 square feet, with a capacity up to 999 guests. A new monument to America’s King, seeking a palace fit for a king. The images are jarring: water trucks suppressing dust as excavators bite into a wing that, for generations, handled the unglamorous work of the People’s House.
Mary Geddry: The Ballrooms of Babylon
Independent: Viral images of White House demolition spark edict to Treasury staffers next door after critics shred Trump ballroom work as ‘grotesque’
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“As construction proceeds on the White House grounds, employees should refrain from taking and sharing photographs of the grounds, to include the East Wing, without prior approval from the Office of Public Affairs,” an email sent Tuesday by Treasury officials, and viewed by The Wall Street Journal, read.
NY Times: Trump Said to Demand Justice Dept. Pay Him $230 Million for Past Cases
Senior department officials who were defense lawyers for the president and those in his orbit are now in jobs that typically must approve any such payout, underscoring potential ethical conflicts.
Michele Hornish: Small Towns, Red States, No Kings
Heather Cox Richardson: Letters from an American – October 21, 2025
On this, the twenty-first day of the government shutdown, President Donald J. Trump invited all but one Republican senator to lunch today at what he calls the “Rose Garden Club,” a patio where the White House Rose Garden used to be. The missing senator was Rand Paul (R-KY), whose determination to cut the national debt has led him to vote consistently against measures that will increase it, including the Republican continuing resolution to fund the government.
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This afternoon, Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR) took the floor of the Senate to hold it through the night “to protest Trump’s grave threats to democracy.” He said: “We cannot pretend this is normal.”
(Heather Cox Richardson more…)
Atlanta Black Star News: ‘Lock Him Up!’: Trump’s Lie Backfires After Video Surfaces of Promise He’s Now Calling ‘Manufactured Outrage’ — and Photos Instantly Call His Bluff
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A viral clip posted to X shows Trump boasting in July that construction of the 90,000-square-foot, $250 million ballroom “won’t interfere with the current building.” But in a split-screen cut, demolition crews can be seen ripping through the East Wing — sending clouds of dust into the air and Trump’s credibility with it.
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NY Times: Pardoned Jan. 6 Rioter Charged With Threatening Hakeem Jeffries
The New York man, Christopher Moynihan, appears to be the only rioter so far who has been charged again with committing an offense against an elected official.
An upstate New York man pardoned by President Trump after taking part in the attack on the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, was charged last week with a new crime: threatening to assassinate Representative Hakeem Jeffries, the House Democratic leader, at an event in New York City.
(NY Times more…)Jason Easley: Mike Johnson Accused Of 1/6 Cover-Up
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AP: Ecuador says it has no evidence that survivor of a US strike in the Caribbean committed any crime
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Terrence Goggin: Ominous cracks emerge in Trump world: a planned invasion of Venezuela is scrapped; narco killings are “questionable” and the Senate reacts to Trump nominating a Nazi
It is inaccurately assumed by many that the President of the United States can order the U.S. Military into action without the “buy in” of the professional military leadership nor the authorization of Congress. As a practical matter the President could order a land invasion of Venezuela, as he has threatened to do so to topple Venezuela’s President Nicholas Maduro. But if the Military views such a mission as unwise, tactically irresponsible, unnecessarily weakening key strategic assets and interests, it can vehemently oppose the idea. If the President insists as Commander in Chief, the Military will slow walk the Intelligence and tactical planing; then create leaks to Congress and the public that undermine the reasoning for such an operation. It then structures a brick wall within the Pentagon of silent derision and procrastination.
(Terrence Goggin more…)Washington Times: ‘He lost us’: Generals, senior officers say trust in Hegseth has evaporated
Secretary’s critics worry Pentagon at risk of enduring damage amid firings, resignations and early retirements of high-ranking staff
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Times: Trump-Putin summit off after Russia rejects ceasefire proposal
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However, the plans for a summit have collapsed after a call between Marco Rubio, the US secretary of state, and Sergei Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, on Monday, during which the Kremlin refused to budge from its “maximalist” demands.
(Times more…)
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NY Times: Donald Trump’s New World Disorder
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It is a stunning act of superpower suicide: Never before has the world’s reigning superpower intentionally dismantled a system designed to sustain its own leadership, particularly while those trappings were returning enormous benefits.
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KUT: UT Austin is one of two universities that haven’t rejected Trump administration’s funding compact
(KUT more…)
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TNR: Trump’s Secret Police Shot a Citizen. Then Damning New Info Emerged.
WGME: ICE agent who shot woman in Chicago drove Border Patrol vehicle back to Maine
CNN: Federal vehicle in Chicago ramming case may have had repairs before defense looked at it. Can the court do anything about it?
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Marisa Kabas: I’m suing DC Metro Police for body cam footage of US Institute of Peace raid
The Handbasket is represented pro bono by lawyers from the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press.
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James Eagle: The AI ecosystem is becoming tightly interwoven
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This concentration of compute, capital and strategic deals creates immense power but also fragility. A disruption to any key node could ripple through the entire network.
(James Eagle more…)
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Decoding Fox News: Who Cares About Peace There are Drug Boats to Destroy!
A condensed overview of 17 hours of Fox News for the week ending 10/19/25
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Borowitz: Mike Johnson Opts for Medically Induced Coma to Avoid Swearing in New Democratic Congresswoman
Timeline: Tracking the Trump Justice Department’s Anti-Voting Shift
Tracking the Lawsuits Against Trump’s Agenda
Trump Pardons Database
Project 2025 Tracker
DOGE Tracker
ProPublica: Elon Musk’s Demolition Crew
Wired: 6 Tools for Tracking the Trump Administration’s Attacks on Civil Liberties
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