One of the weird things about this second Trump term is, during moments of crisis, it's unclear if the president is getting real information and spinning that real information, or if he is getting the same disinformation from his advisors that they are giving to the public.

NYC's immigration courthouses have loomed large in our reporting on ICE. Routine hearings now inspire terror for immigrants, who might be aggressively detained in the halls. However, I didn’t realize, until TPM spoke to him, that Mamdani’s father was there this spring for a citizenship interview.

One wild thing that's probably not gotten enough attention this year is the administration refusing to let members of Congress inspect immigration detention facilities, a violation of the law. This story has some details on how that's played out. talkingpointsmemo.com/feature/how-...

TPM's Golden Duke Awards: coming soon.

talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/its-t...

Jack Posobiec, one of the primary influencers behind the Trump administration's claims that its enemies are all "antifa," notes that "antifa" was founded during the Weimar Republic. (His point is that it makes sense for the Trump admin to target German antifa groups.)

lol

One of those where the subhed undercuts the hed. www.nytimes.com/2025/11/03/u...

Much of the coverage of this White House "compact" remains really very bad, including today's headlines about MIT. Read @fishkin.bsky.social on what's actually going on here.

talkingpointsmemo.com/cafe/the-tru...

Texas AG Ken Paxton, who is running for U.S. Senate, is headlining an event with this guy, whose claim to fame is that he stormed the Capitol and was caught on camera toting Nancy Pelosi's lectern. talkingpointsmemo.com/news/texas-a...

Could be better. (Could be worse.)

Generative AI models love to cite Reuters and Axios, study finds
www.niemanlab.org/2025/07/gene...

JD Vance imagines someone who

- has ancestors that fought in the Civil War
- has been labeled by the ADL as an extremist

“I think the people whose ancestors fought in the Civil War have a hell of a lot more claim over America than the people who say they don’t belong."

A lot going on there.

TPM is doing a membership drive right now, and we're almost to our goal. If you've been enjoying our work, consider joining. Our (very small but very skilled) team has been going all out in recent weeks, producing some great coverage of the new administration. talkingpointsmemo.com/memberships?...

Really quality project by @niemanreports.org.

Among the takeaways is this, on the importance of member-supported news, from an editor in Orbán's Hungary.

niemanreports.org/dear-america/

Very weird end to this story. talkingpointsmemo.com/news/hegseth...

someone who thinks he would like dill pickles looking at someone who knows he would not

Hilarious "clarification." Thank you @nicolelafond.bsky.social for noticing. https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/4029350-rand-paul-to-force-senate-vote-on-potential-cuts-to-social-security-medicare/