Speaker
Ryan Lucas
Appearances over time
2 episodes
Episodes
2
Podcasts
Quotes & moments
Republicans hold a very slim Senate majority, and with Mitch McConnell absent due to health issues, only a couple of GOP defections could kill Blanche's nomination.
The DOJ agreed to set up a $1.8 billion anti-weaponization fund as part of a settlement with Trump to end his IRS lawsuit, but the fund has since been scrapped.
Trump's IRS lawsuit ended in a settlement that created a nearly $1.8 billion anti-weaponization fund, which has since been scrapped.
US district judge Kathleen Williams issued a 56-page order blasting Trump's lawsuit against the IRS over his leaked tax returns as bad faith.
A federal judge this week called Trump's IRS lawsuit 'bad faith' and said it was brought to manipulate the judicial process and use the court to legitimize the eventual settlement.
Iran attacked two tankers in the Strait of Hormuz, killing one person and wounding eight others, according to the UAE. The attacks underscore the growing danger to commercial shipping in one of the world's most critical oil chokepoints.
ICE officers fatally shot a Maine motorist who was not the target of the warrant they were serving. Maine senator Angus King confirmed this after speaking with Homeland Security secretary Mark Wayne Mullen — making it the second ICE-related fatal shooting in a week.
US district judge Kathleen Williams tore into Trump's IRS lawsuit in a 56-page ruling, finding it was filed in bad faith to manipulate the judicial process. The suit resulted in a nearly $1.8 billion anti-weaponization fund that has since been scrapped, and one Trump lawyer has been referred for disciplinary action.
CENTCOM is enforcing a full maritime blockade on all Iranian port traffic under Trump's orders, after three straight nights of US strikes on Iran. The US will also charge a 20% fee on cargo it protects passing through the Strait of Hormuz — a waterway that once carried 20% of the world's oil freely.
South Carolina governor Henry McMaster appointed Darlene Graham, Lindsey Graham's sister, to fill the late senator's seat. She'll serve through January, with a Republican primary scheduled for August 11 to determine the next nominee.
US strikes on Iran and Iranian retaliatory attacks on US Gulf allies are escalating. Trump has simultaneously declared the ceasefire dead and said peace negotiations are ongoing — leaving allies and markets in limbo.
Nearly a year after Congress eliminated federal funding for public media, NPR is relying on listener support to keep operating. The broadcaster frames the appeal as a matter of press freedom, not just budget.
Iran is not just targeting commercial ships — it's also striking US bases in Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, and Bahrain. Those countries say their defenses have knocked out the missiles so far, but the scale of the confrontation is far wider than a simple maritime blockade.
ICE has suspended most vehicle stops after agents fatally shot two men in a single week. The pause was confirmed by Senator Angus King, but within hours Trump posted on Truth Social calling vehicle stops 'one of ICE's most important and effective crime fighting tools' — leaving the policy's future uncertain.
Full US control of the Strait of Hormuz would require eliminating Iran's ability to fire drones and missiles at commercial ships. Analysts say that means tripling or quadrupling current US strike rates for weeks — and even then, ship owners and insurers would have to decide if the risk was low enough.
The US is currently steering ships along a safer southern path near Oman, but Iran is targeting that route too, demanding ships use its own approved corridor near the Iranian shoreline. Analysts say the US may ultimately have to physically escort commercial ships, just as it did during the Iran-Iraq tanker war of the 1980s.
Under previous administrations, ICE agents would typically ignore undocumented people who weren't the target of an operation. Under Trump, agents are being pressured to arrest anyone undocumented they encounter — and that policy shift is directly linked to the deaths of two men who weren't even the intended targets.
The $1.8 billion anti-weaponization fund is dead, but the clause shielding Trump and his family from IRS audits of past tax returns is still very much alive. A federal judge called the original lawsuit 'bad faith' designed to manipulate the courts.
Todd Blanche walks into the Senate judiciary committee today with Democrats unanimously opposed and a razor-thin Republican majority offering almost no margin for error. NPR's Ryan Lucas lays out why this is one of the most consequential confirmation hearings of the Trump era.
After ICE agents fatally shot US citizens Renee Goode and Alex Freddy in Minneapolis, DHS promised rapid body camera deployment across the country. That hasn't happened. Only half of field officers have them, and DHS is now blaming Democrats and government shutdowns for the failure.
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