“The U.S. is taking steps to indict Raúl Castro, the 94-year-old former president of Cuba and brother of Fidel, in connection with the downing of planes 30 years ago,” CBS News reports.
“The potential indictment — which would need to be approved by a grand jury — is expected to focus on Cuba’s deadly 1996 shootdown of planes operated by humanitarian group Brothers to the Rescue.”
“When Kash Patel visited Hawaii last summer, the FBI took pains to note the director was not on vacation, highlighting his walking tour of the bureau’s Honolulu field office and meetings with local law enforcement,” the Associated Press reports.
“Left out of the FBI’s news releases was an exclusive excursion that Patel took days later when he participated in what government officials described as a “VIP snorkel” around the USS Arizona in an outing coordinated by the military. The sunken battleship entombs more than 900 sailors and Marines at Pearl Harbor.”
The House Ethics Committee officially announced it is investigating allegations of sexual misconduct against Rep. Chuck Edwards (R-NC), Politico reports.
CBS News: “The Supreme Court on Thursday maintained mail access to the abortion pill mifepristone, setting aside for now a lower court order that blocked abortion providers from prescribing the widely used drug through telehealth and shipping it to patients.”
“The high court’s unsigned decision ensures that patients nationwide will continue to have broad access to mifepristone while litigation in a challenge to the Food and Drug Administration’s relaxed policy for obtaining the drug brought by the state of Louisiana moves forward.”
Washington Post: Supreme Court temporarily clears way for mail distribution of widely used abortion pill.
“John Ratcliffe, the C.I.A. director, traveled to Cuba on Thursday, the Cuban government announced,” the New York Times reports.
“Mr. Ratcliffe is the highest-ranking official to visit Cuba and the first since the administration began intensifying its pressure campaign against the Communist government.”
New York Times: “The senior U.S. officer overseeing combat operations in Iran told the Senate on Thursday that the military had identified only one potential incident in which Iranian civilians were mistakenly killed out of about 13,600 U.S. airstrikes, a statement that human rights groups and some lawmakers said was not remotely credible.”
New York Times: “In a year when House control could hinge on a handful of races, Republicans and Democrats alike have embraced a win-at-all-costs mentality. An all-out war to redraw House maps has consumed statehouses in recent weeks. But open primaries can impede such partisan gains, because they allow voters across the political spectrum to choose candidates, often resulting in centrist choices.”
“Open primaries, the thinking goes, allow non-party faithful to vote — and run — which increasingly polarized party leaders see as a potential forfeit of power. They also claim that open primaries, and more complicated systems that let voters rank candidates, are confusing and unfairly reduce the influence of loyal party voters.”
“Former New Britain mayor Erin Stewart (R) suspended her campaign for governor Thursday, moments after new documentation surfaced of tens of thousands of dollars of apparent personal purchases charged to her city credit card, including photographs of her wearing clothing identical to items she billed to the city as office supplies,” the Hartford Courant reports.
New York Times: “For President Trump, the first day of his visit to Beijing was all about the personal relationship between him and Xi Jinping, the Chinese leader.”
Said Trump: “You’re a great leader. I say it to everybody.”
“Mr. Xi, unsurprisingly, spent little time on flattery. Once the 21-gun salute and precision-marching by units of the People’s Liberation Army were finished, the disciplined Chinese leader plunged right away into setting boundaries for the two country’s relations.”
Wall Street Journal: “A bill that would create a pathway for crypto to further upend the world of traditional finance moved one step closer to law Thursday, the latest testament to the sector’s influence in Washington.”
“The Trump phone may finally be here: Trump Mobile claims that the phone will begin shipping to buyers this week,” The Verge reports.
“The announcement comes as reports have gone viral this week alleging that preorders for the phone have been canceled.”
“The head of the federal agency that patrols the borders of the United States says he is resigning,” the AP reports.
“A federal appeals court on Thursday appeared skeptical of the constitutionality of the Trump administration’s efforts to punish major law firms, showing little appetite to depart from findings by lower-court judges last year that penalties targeting the firms were unlawful,” the New York Times reports.
President Trump and several top administration officials are joining with conservative Christian clergy this Sunday on the National Mall in Washington for a prayer gathering billed as a “rededication of our country as One Nation Under God,” the AP reports.
The manager for Rep. Andy Ogles’ (R-TN) legal defense fund continues to oversee the fund despite facing federal charges that he embezzled money from a Maryland politician’s campaign account and a community organization to refinance a yacht, NOTUS reports.
Larry Sabato’s Crystal Ball: “Although several states are still in flux, we may be nearing the end of 2026’s redistricting saga.”
“As tempting as it may be to do so, it won’t be possible to do a precise accounting of redistricting’s effects until after the November election.”
“Assuming Republicans successfully add an extra seat apiece in Alabama, Louisiana, and South Carolina, and that all of the current redraws remain in place, our best guess is a Republican gain in the high single digits from redistricting, with the potential for that to grow or shrink based on the actual results in several key races.”
Maryland state Senate President Bill Ferguson (D), who blocked a push last year to redraw the state’s congressional map and eliminate the sole Republican seat, is “talking to allies about a path forward on possible redistricting,” NOTUS reports.
Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.
Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.
Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.
Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.
Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.
