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House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., speaks to reporters outside of the U.S. Capitol on Oct.16, 2025. Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images hide caption toggle caption Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images A man who was pardoned by President Trump after storming the U.S. Capitol in 2021 has been arrested on a charge that he threatened to kill House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries. New York State Police say Christopher Moynihan was arrested after they were advised by the FBI that he had made “threats to kill a member of Congress.” Court documents show his arrest came after he allegedly texted that he planned to kill…

Activism / October 21, 2025 The city’s anti-ICE actions and No Kings demonstration have commanded mass attention, but still are no match for the impunity of the MAGA deportation state. Ad Policy Protesters turn out for Portland’s No Kings rally on October 18. (Mathieu Lewis-Rolland / Getty Images) Last week, perennially trendy Portland sandwich shop Lardo posted an image on its Instagram timeline of a man in a frog costume drinking a beer. On the face of it, it was kind of funny, but the caption told an entirely more nuanced story: If you were to show up at the…

Japan’s new prime minister, Sanae Takaichi has worked in politics since 1993 and spent many years in the late Shinzo Abe’s administration. Kim Kyung-Hoon/Pool/Getty Images hide caption toggle caption Kim Kyung-Hoon/Pool/Getty Images Japan’s first-ever female prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, is an ultraconservative with a traditional view of gender roles and a penchant for heavy metal music. Japan’s parliament elected Takaichi on Tuesday, several weeks after she was chosen to lead the conservative Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), which has spent much of the last seven decades in power. The LDP is seen as shifting further to the right: It was only…

October 21, 2025 What drives Trump’s politics is nostalgia for the age of coal, when dirty fuel and no environmental regulations created his version of a great America. Ad Policy Smoke from the Hugh L. Spurlock Generating Station in Maysville, Kentucky, as seen from neighboring Ripley, Ohio. The Trump administration announced plans to repeal limits on greenhouse gas emissions and other airborne pollutants from the nation’s fossil fuel–fired power plants.(Jeff Swensen / Getty Images) Arguably, no technology freed the world from the drudgery and cold of premodern times more than coal. It fueled the Industrial Revolution and rising standards of…

Good morning. You’re reading the Up First newsletter. Subscribe here to get it delivered to your inbox, and listen to the Up First podcast for all the news you need to start your day. Today’s top stories Many federal workers expect not to get paid this Friday, marking the first full paycheck they will miss due to the government shutdown, which began three weeks ago. So far there has been limited economic fallout. But analysts say that the longer the shutdown continues, the bigger the dent it could leave. U.S. Senate Majority Leader Sen. John Thune (R-SD) speaks to members of the press at the…

Activism / Column / October 20, 2025 Millions of Constitution-loving Americans peacefully protested Trump’s authoritarian presidency. The GOP responded with military theatrics, threats, and scatological “jokes.” Ad Policy Protesters rally during the No Kings national day of protest in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on October 18, 2025.(Kerem Yucel / AFP via Getty Images) Across the United States this past Saturday, millions of patriotic, Constitution-loving, First Amendment–protecting, immigrant-defending, diversity-embracing, decent, and kind human beings took to the streets to protest Donald Trump’s increasingly authoritarian presidency. The Trumpies responded the only way they know how: by trolling. Taking their cues from House Speaker Mike…

Work begins on the demolition of a part of the East Wing of the White House on Monday in Washington, D.C., before construction of a new ballroom. Evan Vucci/AP hide caption toggle caption Evan Vucci/AP WASHINGTON — The White House on Monday started tearing down part of the East Wing, the traditional base of operations for the first lady, to build President Trump’s $250 million ballroom despite lacking approval for construction from the federal agency that oversees such projects. Dramatic photos of the demolition work showed construction equipment tearing into the East Wing façade and windows and other building parts…

Activism / October 20, 2025 Brewster’s rally drew more than 4,000 people for a rousing refutation of Donald Trump. Should the district’s GOP House Representative Mike Lawler, up for reelection in November, worry? Ad Policy Protesters at the No Kings rally in Brewster, New York. (Joan Walsh) Brewster, NY—I saw no Antifa. I did see AMPHIFA: a woman dressed as a frog waving a flag and a sign proclaiming “Amphibians Against Fascism.” I saw unicorns and more frogs, an older woman riding a blow-up horse, a bunch of kids fascinated by her horse, and a handsome immigrant Superman (a family-practice…

Federal enforcement officers stand guard near an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Portland, Ore., on Oct. 6. Ethan Swope/AP hide caption toggle caption Ethan Swope/AP A divided federal appeals court for the 9th Circuit on Monday overturned a temporary restraining order put in place by a federal judge in Portland — removing a legal impediment that was preventing the Trump administration from sending National Guard troops to Portland, Oregon. “After considering the record at this preliminary stage, we conclude that it is likely that the President lawfully exercised his statutory authority,'” the majority wrote in its decision. It’s unclear…

On October 18, more than 7 million people flooded the streets of America for the “No Kings!” protests, a follow-up to the actions over the summer decrying the authoritarianism and tyranny of the second Trump administration.The latest protests come at “a time when Trump and his accommodationists have attacked freedom of speech and freedom of the press; when they have sent masked men and armed troops into American cities; when they have threatened to jail political Democratic governors, mayors, and attorneys general; and when scholars of totalitarianism warn that American democracy is in peril,” wrote John Nichols, the executive editor…