Hard Wire

There is a long tradition in Christianity of using the Nativity to stir reflection — but this year, a Catholic church in Massachusetts may have pushed that tradition into pure provocation. St. Susanna Parish in Dedham, a Boston suburb, unveiled a jarring twist on its annual Nativity display: an empty manger and a sign declaring, …

After nearly five years of unanswered questions and nationwide speculation, the man allegedly responsible for planting two pipe bombs near the U.S. Capitol on January 5, 2021, has been identified: Brian Cole Jr., 30, of Woodbridge, Virginia. According to multiple sources familiar with the arrest, Cole is now in FBI custody and faces serious federal …

In a moment of unapologetic bluntness and bureaucratic resolve, Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins made clear during Tuesday’s Cabinet meeting that the Trump administration is done playing nice when it comes to waste, fraud, and abuse in the nation’s sprawling Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. The numbers she revealed were staggering. According to Rollins, over 800,000 …

In politics, few rules are more unforgiving than the standards you set for others eventually being applied to yourself. President Donald Trump, in his second term and at 79 years old, now finds himself face-to-face with the very expectations he once weaponized—most notably in his relentless portrayal of Joe Biden as “Sleepy Joe.” But what …

Senator Rand Paul has never been known to hold back when confronting contradictions in U.S. foreign policy, and his remarks this week during an appearance on Bloomberg’s Balance of Power were a striking example of that signature candor. Responding to the controversial pardon of former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández, Paul delivered a searing critique …

In a striking example of how quickly a headline-grabbing narrative can unravel under the weight of facts, the story surrounding the alleged “second strike” ordered by Secretary of War Pete Hegseth is rapidly losing steam. What began as an explosive accusation—painted in stark, emotional strokes by The Washington Post—is now being recontextualized, and quite thoroughly, …

Once again, Portland finds itself at the center of a cultural flashpoint — this time over something as seemingly benign, even beloved, as a Christmas tree. But in a city where tradition increasingly collides with ideology, the 41st annual tree lighting ceremony became less a celebration of unity and more a case study in quiet …

In the latest episode of The View’s foray into military ethics and battlefield law — a realm notably distant from its usual terrain of celebrity gossip and pop culture debates — Whoopi Goldberg and her cohosts took aim at War Secretary Pete Hegseth, claiming he “set up” American service members to take the fall for …

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz is now facing the one thing no politician can spin away forever: accountability. The state’s eye-popping $1 billion fraud scandal — now national news thanks to The New York Times — has finally landed on his doorstep, and it couldn’t come at a worse time. Federal prosecutors have already convicted 59 …

If this week’s breathless “breaking news” about Pete Hegseth feels a little too convenient, a little too on cue, that’s because it is. Once again, we’re witnessing the same tired, recycled formula: a politically timed hit job, sourced anonymously, promoted hysterically, and crafted to distract—this time from a tragedy that struck the National Guard and …