Michael Kruse

“There are some that seem eager to create a wedge between the hierarchy and their flock.”

The wedge between the White House and the Vatican

“Historically, Democratic and Republican presidents have sought to deepen ties with the Holy See. There’s almost a sense with this administration that that’s not much of a priority.”

Minn. AG calls Trump administration version of shooting ‘flat-out insane’ Alex Pretti’s death came two weeks after the killing of Renée Good, who was shot by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer in Minneapolis on Jan. 7.

“We’re going to tell the court that this has been a dramatic and historic escalation. There’s never been a deployment of ICE agents quite like this. And yet, Minnesota doesn’t have the most immigrants. What would justify this?” @keithellison.bsky.social tells @ktumulty.bsky.social.

Trump tries — again — to deliver a winning message on affordability The push comes after weeks of freewheeling speeches and international controversy that reflected Trump’s tendency to derail his own message.

“People’s sense that he was good on the economy is what propped him up even when they disliked 100 other things about him,” says @geoffgarin.bsky.social. “But now to have him so deeply underwater on the economy means there’s really nothing propping him up among the 100 other things.”

‘The Superhuman President’ A good-faith attempt to ascertain the truth about Donald Trump’s health.

“To retire is to expire.”

Video: Our Photographer Describes the Scene After the Pretti Shooting David Guttenfelder, a Times photographer based in Minneapolis, describes what he saw at the scene where Alex Jeffrey Pretti had been killed by federal agents.

Our Photographer Describes the Scene After the Pretti Shooting.

Voters See a Middle-Class Lifestyle as Drifting Out of Reach, Poll Finds

Thirty-one percent said Mr. Trump was responsible for the biggest challenges facing the U.S. economy, while 35 percent said it was former President Joseph R. Biden Jr., and 33 percent said neither president was responsible.

Alex Pretti’s Friends and Family Denounce ‘Sickening Lies’ About His Life

“If we cannot all agree that the smearing of an American citizen and besmirching everything they stood for and asking us not to believe what we saw,” says @governorwalz.mn.gov, “I don’t know what else to tell you.”

Axelrod jabs Newsom: "Haven't we seen enough self-puffery?" Axelrod has a hard-earned reputation for saying out loud what many Democrats are saying privately.

"Authenticity is an essential quality in any presidential candidate. And after Trump, I believe humility will be, too."

Independents think it’s their year (again) Two more independents — Alaska’s Bill Hill and Wisconsin’s Mike Thurow — launched campaigns last week.

“I think an independent has the opportunity to really speak to what Alaskans really want.”

National PAC plays in Massachusetts

Massachusetts Playbook: The Patriots are AFC champs again, which means no burpees for @sethmoulton.bsky.social.

A man is under arrest for allegedly assaulting US Rep. Maxwell Frost at the Sundance Film Festival A man has been arrested for allegedly assaulting Florida Congressman Maxwell Frost at a party during the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah.

“He was heard screaming racist remarks as he drunkenly ran off.”

Shutdown odds spike after Minnesota killing The killing of Alex Pretti at the hands of federal agents is hitting hard on Capitol Hill, ratcheting up the odds of a partial government shutdown and spurring Republican lawmakers to make another bre...

“Many of us wonder if the administration has any clue as to how much this will hurt us legislatively and electorally this year.”

Morris Katz Is 26 and Ready to Fix the Democrats’ Strategy Part casting director, part media guru, Morris Katz is behind the biggest Democratic campaigns this cycle.

When Morris Katz, a 26-year-old media strategist, helped Zohran Mamdani win the New York City mayoral, he said his approach was to “let Zohran cook.” But as he tries to elect a new slate of Democrats, he may have his work cut out for him.

Watching America Unravel in Minneapolis

Gotta read this by @chashomans.bsky.social.

For Trump, the Truth in Minneapolis Is What He Says It Is

This sentence here from @peterbakernyt.bsky.social: The challenge for Mr. Trump at this point is the modern cellphone.

Kílian Jornet on What We Can Learn From Pushing Our Bodies to Extremes

"My dream was an uphill that never ended."

Any anything that does that ...

John Sayles Has Come Around on ‘The Sun Also Rises’

"Any book that introduces you to people you aren't like and may never meet and delivers their human complexity has a moral function."

Betting on Prediction Markets Is Their Job. They Make Millions.

“We’re setting ourselves up for a generation where financial prudence goes out the window, an influx of personal bankruptcies is inevitable, and the mental health crisis gets even worse than it is today.”

Not so sure about that.

Sports-Betting Scandals Are Ubiquitous. Whether Fans Will Care Is an Open Question.

“If they can’t trust it, they won’t watch it.”

Mamdani’s Aspiration for Gracie Mansion: Bidets

“When we started Tushy, bidets in the U.S. were either seen as an inaccessible luxury or, honestly, just kind of weird.” But “once you use one, it’s hard to forget how much cleaner it feels.”

Amy Klobuchar Files Papers for Run to Succeed Tim Walz as Minnesota Governor

“With her at the top of the ticket, we could have an even better election than we expected,” says @epmurphymn.bsky.social.

“Politicians on the right — and not just those who belong to the populist, radical right but to a supposedly mainstream party like the Conservatives — are prepared to propose policies and use language that hitherto would have been seen as beyond the pale,” says @timbale.bsky.social.

How a Year of Trump Changed Britain

“There’s no doubt that Trump has shifted the center of gravity in British politics,” says @timbale.bsky.social.

Nazis, Soviets and Trump: America’s Fixation With Greenland

“Trump could have achieved this without all the drama.”

"You're going to lose the House, you're going to lose the Senate, you're going to spend the next two years being impeached every single week."

Exclusive: In secret recordings, Cruz trashes Trump tariffs, Vance The comments to donors last year are some of the harshest criticisms of Trump and Vance by a fellow Republican.

"Mr. President, if we get to November of [2026] and people's 401(k)s are down 30% and prices are up 10–20% at the supermarket, we're going to go into Election Day, face a bloodbath."

“Democrats’ and environmental groups’ climate messaging for years has been crap, and so if you go back to that crap messaging, obviously it’s not going to succeed,” says @whitehouse.senate.gov. “But that doesn’t mean that the alternative is to throw in the towel.”