Keely Bastow

I am a journalist currently based in Washington, D.C. I've previously lived in Toronto, Miami, Singapore and Atlanta. 

Washington Examiner •

Who has been killed so far during the Iran war?

There have been numerous casualties on all sides since the joint U.S.-Israel strikes against Iran commenced in late February. Over one month later, a two-week ceasefire was struck.Leadership in Tehran and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps bore the brunt of losses for the past five weeks, but Hezbollah and other Iranian proxies had also taken some damage. Additionally, civilians were caught in the crossfire.HEGSETH TOUTS ‘OVERWHELMING VICTORY’ IN IRAN AS MILITARY TAKES BACKSEAT DURING CEASEFI...
Washington Examiner •

James Talarico bests Jasmine Crockett in Texas Senate primary

State Rep. James Talarico (D-TX) has won the Democratic primary against Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX) in Texas’s Senate race.With 90% of the vote counted, Talarico got 53% of the vote, compared to Crockett’s 45.7%, as of 5 a.m. Wednesday.Talarico, a former public school teacher and Presbyterian seminarian, led throughout election night. During a speech to supporters ahead of the official call, he demanded every vote be counted, after reports of some voters being turned away from precincts. “Tonig...
Washington Examiner •

Qatar shot down two Iranian bomber jets

Qatar shot down two Iranian aircraft on Monday as Iran continued its retaliation mission against the Gulf States.

The Qatar Air Force shot down two Iranian SU-24 bomber jets, seven ballistic missiles, and five drones, according to a statement from the Qatari Foreign Ministry.

“The threat was addressed immediately upon detection, in accordance with the operational plan, as all missiles were shot down before reaching their targets,” the statement said.

The ministry urged its citizens to remain...
Washington Examiner •

Mike Huckabee issues warning to Jerusalem embassy staff to leave

U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee warned personnel at the American embassy in Israel on Friday to leave the country immediately if they wish to exit.

“Those wishing to take AD should do so TODAY,” Huckabee wrote in an email to employees at Washington’s embassy in Jerusalem, using an acronym for “authorized departure.”

The move comes as the Trump administration weighs strikes on Iran, which could usher in regional unrest, spreading to Israel. The ambassador said the decision to allow emba...
Washington Examiner •

Israeli military announces final hostage remains recovered from Gaza

The Israeli military announced that the remains of the final Israeli hostage have been recovered from Gaza.

Master Sgt. Ran Gvili, 24, was killed on Oct. 7, 2023, and taken to Gaza by Hamas. Over 250 people were taken during the terrorist attack, and the recovery of all of their remains has been a key hurdle in peace negotiations.

The Israel Defense Forces announced on Sunday afternoon that it “began a targeted operation” to retrieve Gvili’s remains in northern Gaza. Less than 24 hours later,...
Washington Examiner •

DOJ drops thousands more Epstein files, some including Trump's name

The Department of Justice said it released over 30,000 more files related to Jeffrey Epstein on Tuesday, but warned that some included “sensationalist claims” about President Donald Trump and his relationship to the late disgraced financier.“Some of these documents contain untrue and sensationalist claims made against President Trump that were submitted to the FBI right before the 2020 election,” the DOJ wrote in the announcement Tuesday morning. “To be clear: the claims are unfounded and false,...
Washington Examiner •

GOP sees warning signs, Ossoff sees hope after 2025 elections

Georgia Democrats are touting their wins on Tuesday as a sign of what’s to come in the 2026 Senate election as Republicans face concerns about their messaging. On Tuesday, Georgia voters ousted two Republican public service commissioners in favor of Democrats Peter Hubbard and Alicia Johnson. Both Democrats received over 60% of the vote. The election, which saw 1.5 million voters turn out, was the first time Democrats have won a statewide constitutional office in 20 years.BALLOT MEASURES: WHAT P...
Washington Examiner •

John Sununu announces bid for New Hampshire Senate seat

Former GOP Sen. John Sununu has entered the race to reclaim New Hampshire‘s Senate seat after he was ousted by Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) in 2008.

“Washington’s never been perfect. It’s not meant to be,” Sununu said in his campaign launch video. “When I was there, people with different opinions could get together, work things out, and come to solutions that made a real difference. But now, Congress just seems loud, dysfunctional, even angry. But Granite Staters still talk. We don’t always agree...
Washington Examiner •

Eric Adams drops out of New York City mayoral race

New York City Mayor Eric Adams has abandoned his reelection bid in an announcement on Sunday.“And yet, despite all we’ve achieved, I cannot continue my re election campaign. The constant media speculation about my future and the campaign finance board’s decision to withhold millions of dollars have undermined my ability to raise the funds needed for a serious campaign,” Adams said.He cited the federal case against him as the reason voters aren’t supporting him.“I also know some remain unsure of...
Washington Examiner •

Democrats take inspiration from Republicans' 2010 playbook to counter redistricting efforts

President Donald Trump asked Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX) to call the state legislature in for a special session where they could approve new congressional maps that would redraw district lines in favor of Republicans. That began a partisan back-and-forth, with Democratic states such as California and New York threatening to redraw their maps in favor of Democrats. The process of redistricting is complicated and time-consuming, and not every state that has floated mid-decade redistricting is legally...
Washington Examiner •

Democrats on intelligence committees not briefed before Trump ordered Iran strikes

Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA), who serves as the ranking member on the Senate Intelligence Committee, was not briefed about the plans to strike Iran’s nuclear facility, a source familiar with the matter confirmed to the Washington Examiner.

Other top congressional Democrats serving on intelligence committees were also not informed of the strikes ordered on Iranian nuclear facilities Saturday night, according to CNN.

President Donald Trump announced Saturday that he had ordered strikes against Iran’s...
Washington Examiner •

US has 'completed' bombing of Iranian nuclear sites, Trump says

President Donald Trump said the United States has “completed” its attack on three Iranian nuclear sites on Saturday and will address the nation at 10 p.m. from the White House.

Six 30,000-pound bunker-buster bombs were dropped on the Fordow fuel enrichment plant, according to Fox News’s Sean Hannity, who spoke with Trump after the strike, and 30 Tomahawk cruise missiles were fired at the Natanz and Isfahan nuclear facilities by U.S. submarines. All three sites were reported to be destroyed.

“I...
Washington Examiner •

House GOP releases SNAP cost-sharing plan with states in Trump's megabill

House Republicans on the Agriculture Committee released their portion of the “big, beautiful bill” on Monday, which outlined a change in how SNAP benefits are funded.

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program is completely paid for by the federal government. The bill text released Monday night from Chairman G.T. Thompson (R-PA) proposes that the states take on some financial responsibility for the program. The size of the costs they take on would be tied to the error rate of processing the...
Washington Examiner •

House GOP rolls out Medicaid plan compromise with stricter requirements

The House GOP has released its plan to cut Medicaid spending, with the most significant changes affecting eligibility requirements and how states can finance Medicaid. However, some of the biggest sticking points were left out of the bill, including changes to per-capita caps on federal Medicaid payments to states.

“Undoubtedly, Democrats will use this as an opportunity to engage in fear-mongering and misrepresent our bill as an attack on Medicaid,” House and Energy Commerce Committee Chairman...
Washington Examiner •

Wes Moore fuels 2028 speculation as headliner for high-profile South Carolina political event

Gov. Wes Moore (D-MD) will headline the South Carolina Democratic Party’s “Blue Palmetto” dinner later this month as he pushes 2028 presidential rumors aside.

The 46-year-old has drawn speculation about a presidential bid since his rapid rise to becoming Maryland’s governor in 2023 after never holding political office, though he has brushed off suggestions.

The Blue Palmetto dinner is a fundraising event held by the South Carolina Democratic Party, at which presidential candidates have been fe...
Washington Examiner •

Florida State shooting: Two killed and five injured as suspect named

Two people were killed and five were wounded in a mass shooting on the campus of Florida State University.

At 11:50 a.m., a gunman opened fire on FSU’s campus. Two people, who were not students, were killed, and five more people were hospitalized, according to police. The suspect was apprehended and also hospitalized.

The suspected shooter was identified as 20-year-old Phoenix Ikner, an FSU student and the son of a Leon County sheriff’s deputy. He obtained access to one of her weapons and used...
Washington Examiner •

Chris Murphy announces $8 million haul as speculation builds about 2028 ambitions

Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) has raised a significant amount of money so far this year, having emerged as a leading voice in the Democratic Party‘s opposition to President Donald Trump‘s second term.

The Connecticut senator raised $8 million in the first quarter of 2025, according to Axios, despite not being up for reelection until 2030. The fundraising figures have further fueled speculation about a 2028 presidential run for Murphy.

“It’s an amount of trust in me and responsibility that I do not...
Washington Examiner •

All the challenges Trump faces in creating an American sovereign wealth fund

Sovereign wealth funds have been around for generations, and President Donald Trump wants the federal government to join in on the trend. But there are a few problems — namely, it’s never been done in a democracy as complex as the United States. Perhaps the most well-known sovereign wealth fund, an investment fund created by a government, is Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, which manages about $925 billion in assets. The funds can invest in anything, including real estate, infrastructure,...
Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservat •

What will antitrust enforcement look like under Trump 2.0? - Washington Examiner

The Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice’s antitrust unit have enjoyed four years of robust regulatory power, supported fully by the Biden administration. The FTC has been led for nearly four years by Chairwoman Lina Khan, an outspoken critic of budding business monopolies. The FTC, under Khan’s leadership, has stepped up antitrust regulation and enforcement, part of a higher level of scrutiny on businesses.With President-elect Donald Trump’s administration about to begin — for...
Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservat •

DC leaders split on whether to fight with Trump or find common ground - Washington Examiner

Officials in Washington, D.C., are eyeing the looming Republican trifecta with uncertainty, debating whether returning to a “resistance” mindset will be more effective than finding ways to work with President-elect Donald Trump. Republicans, led by Trump, made criticism of the district a familiar talking point on the campaign trail. They criticized soaring crime rates in the years following the pandemic, including incidents that some members of Congress and their staff have experienced firsthand...
Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservat •

Kitchen-table issues helped Democrats avoid 2024 wipeout - Washington Examiner

It’s been a grim near-month for Democrats since the election results poured in. President-elect Donald Trump won both the Electoral College and the popular vote, and Republicans are set to have full control of Congress for the next two years. Democrats will need multiple election cycles to repair their political brand, many pundits argue.But Democrats have a chance at bouncing back reasonably quickly — if they learn their lessons on the importance of promoting economic populism and centrist appr...
Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservat •

Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr announces bid for governor in 2026 - Washington Examiner

Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr, a Republican, has announced he is running in the race for governor in 2026, becoming the first member of either major party to announce his candidacy.“Today, I filed paperwork to run for Governor in 2026. As a proven conservative, building on the legacy of Brian Kemp, Nathan Deal and Sonny Perdue, I’m running to create jobs for hardworking Georgians, keep our families and our neighborhoods safe, and vigorously defend our constitution and our freedoms,” he sai...
Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservat •

Pelosi professes positive outlook for Democrats despite election blow and low morale - Washington Examiner

Speaker Emirata Nancy Pelosi offered a glass-half-full view of the Democratic Party after election results dealt a substantial blow to party morale.In her first long-form interview since the election on Nov. 5, Pelosi spoke with the New York Times about the many causes of President-elect Donald Trump’s triumph over Vice President Kamala Harris, and the down-ballot outcomes as well. She repeatedly refuted evidence that the Democratic party has lost support among working-class voters, and insisted...
Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservat •

Kamala Harris and the Lina Khan-shaped elephant in the room - Washington Examiner

Vice President Kamala Harris has won over many business leaders during her abbreviated presidential campaign. However, if Harris gets elected, her choice of giving Federal Trade Commission Chairwoman Lina Khan the boot or allowing her to stay put could put those fragile relationships at risk. Khan hasn’t been shy during her tenure, since winning Senate confirmation in June 2021, about trying to regulate corporate America, particularly large tech companies, aggressively. She’s turned a lot of peo...
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