President Donald Trump on Thursday night sued his own Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service for $10 billion, alleging they failed to prevent a former IRS contractor from leaking his tax returns, and those of his sons and his company, to news outlets.

On Wednesday, President Trump announced alongside rapper Nicki Minaj the creation of "Trump Accounts" of $1,000 each for any American child born between last year on January 1, 2025 and December 31, 2028 to grow until they're 18 years old. With the ability for parents and businesses to contribute, it could reach upwards of $300,000. Between Wednesday night and Thursday morning, NBC didn't see as reason to cover it on NBC Nightly News and Today. Worse yet, ABC skipped it on World News Tonight only to bring it up on Good Morning America in order to scoff at its potential and imply it's not particularly worthwhile unless you're extremely wealthy. Co-host Michael Strahan teased it twice and, on both occasions, kept it vague by promising to share "what we know about how it will work" and then "the latest on what the President is urging new parents to opt into for their babies and what he's promising."

Following the January 24 killing of Alex Pretti by Border Patrol agents in Minneapolis, many right-wing media figures jumped to blame Pretti for his own death and spread false information about his actions. "Shame on that individual for creating the very consequences that ultimately cost him his life," said one Newsmax guest. Former Fox host Megyn Kelly remarked, "Do you know why I wasn't shot by Border Patrol this weekend? Because I kept my ass inside and out of their operations." Echoing false claims by the Department of Homeland Security, right-wing media figures also baselessly stated that Pretti was a "domestic terrorist" who tried to "confront ICE" with a gun or "commit a mass murder" of federal agents.

A church in Washington, D.C., is reporting 2,000% growth over the last seven years, attributing the explosive expansion in membership to Generation Z and Millennials — young American cohorts increasingly turning to faith amid a chaotic culture. Ben Palka, one of the preachers at the King's Church DC, told The Christian Post about the growth inside his church, which has swelled to more than 600 attendees. He said the church grew during COVID-19, a time of true chaos and consternation, and that has only continued. And, in fact, it's expanding fast.

Parenting literature these days is full of encouragement to let kids be bored. In an over-scheduled world, kids need downtime. Their brains benefit from white space, which ultimately results in greater creativity and motivation. As a mom of three young children, I can attest to the benefits of boredom (although I can also attest to the messiness of its ensuing blanket forts and slime recipes). My own best memories of childhood are from a season when my siblings and I learned to entertain each other without a home television. Adults aren't given the same permission to be bored. Instead, we are encouraged to be productive. We evaluate our worth and usefulness in terms of busyness and efficiency. In our achievement-driven society, any kind of lull is perceived as evidence of poor planning or low ambition. The quiet rage I feel when I am held up in the grocery checkout line—without any more emails to respond to on my smartphone—exposes my pathological aversion to white space.

A deal was reached Thursday to advance a major package of federal spending bills that would avert a government shutdown for most agencies beginning Saturday, according to a Senate Democrat leadership aide cited by Reuters. The agreement would split the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funding bill from the broader package and fund DHS at current levels for roughly two weeks while negotiations continue. President Donald Trump said Thursday afternoon that he was working hard with Democrats to reach a deal and warned that a shutdown could slow the U.S. economy.

The Senate's race to avert a shutdown hit the skids late Thursday night as Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) placed a hold on the government funding package, forcing leaders to punt the vote. Senators had been hoping to vote on the so-called minibus after leaders struck a deal earlier in the day and President Trump endorsed it. Under the agreement, the Senate was set to vote on a package of five full-year funding bills and a stopgap measure funding the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for two weeks. But as lawmakers awaited word on the vote late Thursday, a fired-up Graham emerged from Senate Majority Leader John Thune's (R-S.D.) office and declared, "We're not voting tonight."

Activists are calling for a nationwide shutdown on Friday, advocating "no work, no school, no shopping" in a protest against the Trump administration's sweeping immigration crackdowns. Organizers say Friday's "blackout" – or general strike, as some are calling it – is part of a growing non-violent movement to combat ICE's aggressive enforcement tactics, which have come under renewed scrutiny following a series of fatal shootings involving federal agents. Those deaths include Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis, Keith Porter in Los Angeles, and Silverio Villegas González in Illinois. Friday's national protest leaders, many of them students at the University of Minnesota, are calling for ICE to leave the city after its nearly month-long operation. They say economic pressure through work stoppages and consumer boycotts is just one way to demand accountability and reform.

President Trump sued the IRS on Thursday, saying his own tax agency should pay him $10 billion for having allowed his private tax information to be leaked during his first term in office. Mr. Trump and sons Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr. said the IRS gave access to Charles Littlejohn, a contractor who used his access to the IRS databases to hone in on Mr. Trump's tax information. He managed to exfiltrate it and deliver it to The New York Times, which published intimate details of the president's finances. Littlejohn would eventually be discovered, charged and convicted of the breach. He is serving a federal prison sentence.

Kevin Warsh's nomination to lead the Federal Reserve marks a triumphant return to the central bank for a former Fed official who has long angled for the Fed's top job. Here's what to know about Warsh, his background and his views on the Fed's policy portfolio. Early rise to power and wealth Warsh, 55 years old, grew up in upstate New York, where he attended a public high school before studying for a bachelor's degree in public policy at Stanford and graduating in 1992. Like the Fed's current chair, Jerome Powell, he also earned a law degree. Warsh's is from Harvard University.