Dan Lamothe

In an Iowa town hit hard by tariffs, war and rising costs, I pulled up a chair at a mahjong table. The group of women taught me how to play, then offered a window into the challenges for both Dems and the GOP as the midterms heat up. I hope you'll read: washingtonpost.com/politics/2026/…

Pope Leo XIV responded to President Trump’s social media post saying: “I do not look at my role as being political, a politician. I don’t want to get into a debate with him. I don’t think that the message of the Gospel is meant to be abused in the way that some people are doing.”

In response to a personal attack by President Donald Trump the night before, Pope Leo told journalists on the papal plane to Algeria: “I have no fear of the Trump administration or speaking out loudly of the message of the Gospel, which is what I believe I am here to do, what the Church is here to do. We are not politicians. We don’t deal with foreign policy with the same perspective he might understand it, but I do believe in the message of the Gospel, as a peacemaker.” (Video: @OSVNews)

President Trump posts a lengthy attack on *checks notes* the Pope

“This is the last warning. This is the last warning,” the Iranian forces radioed to one of the destroyers. “Passage in accordance with international law. No challenge is intended to you, and I intend to abide by rules of our government’s cease-fire,” the U.S. ship responded A Naval Standoff in Hormuz Shows the High Stakes in U.S.-Iran Talks wsj.com/world/middle-e… @shelbyholliday @benoitfaucon @laurnorman @RebeccaYFeng

New: Trump officials formally unveil designs for president's planned 250-foot triumphal arch It would bear golden inscription — "One Nation Under God" — and be flanked by four golden lions

@Jonas_Ceika @_cingraham "It feels more like an atmosphere piece than a traditional song" Ain't that the truth

I sent ChatGPT an audio file of a series of FART sound effects and asked what it thinks of "my music" and this is what it said

Pentagon violated court order to restore press access, judge rules washingtonpost.com/business/2026/…

All the President’s Men turns 50 today. This famous “six‑minute shot” is a masterclass in phone acting and pure technical nerve. Director Alan J. Pakula and cinematographer Gordon Willis pull off a single, unbroken slow zoom: from a wide, humming newsroom to a tight close-up on Redford. No cuts. No safety net. Tension builds in real time. Redford carries it with typical quiet confidence. Six minutes of note-taking and talking into a phone, no flashy “Oscar clip.” He even flubs a name (“McGregor” for “Dahlberg”), corrects himself naturally, and Pakula keeps it because it feels authentic. The background is part of the story. As Woodward hones in on his phone call, everyone behind him huddles around a TV watching Senator Tom Eagleton resign. The contrast is deliberate: they chase the “obvious” headline, while the camera drifts past them to Woodward, and the real story. To hold Redford and the busy background in focus early on, they used a split‑diopter lens, then had to ease it out as the camera moves in. A technical tightrope. The timing of both actor and cinematographer is spot on. As Woodward closes in on the truth, the world literally falls away: the newsroom blurs, the noise fades, and we lock into his obsession. It’s one of cinema’s great moments: Redford doing almost nothing—and somehow everything at the same time. What makes this shot brilliant is the contrast it carves between Redford and the newsroom around him. The visual language does the talking: he’s locked in, disciplined, driven, all focus and fire. He stands apart because the work matters more than anything else.

This week's episode of "Interesting Times" is a conversation with Ben Sasse, who is dying in public: nytimes.com/2026/04/09/opi…

For Immediate Release READOUT April 9, 2026 Deputy Secretary Landau’s Meeting with Iraqi Ambassador Khirullah The below is attributable to Principal Deputy Spokesperson Tommy Pigott: Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau today summoned Iraqi Ambassador Nizar Khirullah to express the U.S. government’s strong condemnation of the egregious terrorist attacks by Iran-aligned militia groups launched from Iraqi territory against U.S. diplomatic personnel and facilities, including the April 8 ambush of U.S. diplomats in Baghdad. Read the full statement here: state.gov/releases/offic….

Breaking News: A federal judge rejected an attempt by the Pentagon to impose a new set of restrictions on journalists. nyti.ms/4sAjA6s

White House aides got an email last month telling them not to place bets on prediction markets, multiple sources told @CBSNews. Press reports had raised concerns about govt officials using nonpublic info to place wagers on Kalshi and Polymarket, said the email, from White House Management Office. The warning reminded staff that's a criminal offense, and is also prohibited by govt ethics regulations. "All White House employees are reminded that the misuse of nonpublic information by government employees for financial benefit is a very serious offense and will not be tolerated."

Defense Department spokesperson said they intend to appeal today’s ruling. A footnote in today’s ruling, the Pentagon has not filed an appeal to the ruling from March 20 as of today despite the previous statement from the DoD of “[we] are pursuing an immediate appeal.”

Judge says Pentagon is in violation of his court order “In light of all this, the Court has no choice but to conclude that the Department’s abrupt closure of the Correspondents’ Corridor and its ban on credentialed journalists traveling unescorted through the Pentagon are not security measures or efforts to make good on prior commitments but rather transparent attempts to negate the impact of this Court’s Order… “The Court cannot conclude this Opinion without noting once again what this case is really about: the attempt by the Secretary of Defense to dictate the information received by the American people, to control the message so that the public hears and sees only what the Secretary and the Trump Administration want them to hear and see. The Constitution demands better. The American public demands better, too.” courtlistener.com/docket/7199201…

Federal judge rejects government’s request to search Washington Post reporter’s devices politi.co/4aOxieL via @politico

@Ami_Marisol Perhaps. From here, it does look like modeling normal public affairs. It is true that Hegseth often has avoided that, though.

@DanLamothe Maybe. But Driscoll is not Trump, and starting out that way probably wasn’t helpful to his cause.

New line of attack on Army Secretary Dan Driscoll: A single anonymous Pentagon official tells The Hill here that "Hegseth’s team believes they’ve uncovered proof that Driscoll has become a resistance figure within the Pentagon not only against Hegseth, but against President Trump as well.' ” So, what's the proof?

@Ami_Marisol That would be one spin on things. My understanding is the Army sought to do interviews with a broad range of media outlets during that milestone event, not unlike Trump himself regularly does.

Honestly, looking at this objectively, bc I don’t have skin in this particular game - Driscoll didn’t help himself by doing PT w Eugene Vindman as one of his first public engagements. Loomer put Driscoll in her sights and Hegseth defended him. Then Driscoll did some interviews during the 250th Army celebration with some known anti-Trump publications.

New at @CBSNews via @JonahPKaplan & @mkaplantv - Army survivors of deadly attack in Kuwait dispute Pentagon's account, say unit "was unprepared" to defend itself — this is a photograph of the tactical operations center struck by an Iranian drone on March 1 cbsnews.com/news/iran-war-…