Donald Trump's forceful and brutish handling of his foreign and domestic policies saw him likened to a "pagan king" in a new analysis in The New York Times, with documentary filmmaker Leighton Woodhouse arguing that he has abandoned the true ideals at the heart of "Christian values." In a piece for the Times published Wednesday, Woodhouse took inspiration from Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney's comments about Trump's leadership style, which he summed up as, "the strong do what they can, and the weak suffer what they must." Woodhouse delved extensively into the philosophies of ancient, pre-Christian societies, which he argued more closely resemble the operating philosophy of Trump's second presidency. Trump, Woodhouse wrote, operates as is if "the weak and the vanquished" have no "inherent moral value at all," meaning that the U.S. can do whatever it likes, so long as it has the power to do so. He also cited comments last month from Trump's controversial adviser, Stephen Miller, in which he justified the president's desire to take Greenland by arguing that the world is "governed by strength, that is governed by force, that is governed by power," and that the U.S. can not be bound by "international niceties" if it has the power to do something it wants. All of that flies in the face of the core principles of Christianity, which Trump and many others in his administration have claimed to fight for. The true values of the religion, Woodhouse explained, are based on the notion that even the weak have inherent worth, and that assaults on them are an affront to God. In this way, he concluded, Trump's conduct puts him more in line with Ancient Greek or pre-Christian Roman rulers. "By brazenly jacking Venezuela for its oil and threatening to acquire Greenland against its will, the U.S. is acting as the ancient Greeks, the ancient Persians and the Germanic tribes conducted themselves: brutishly, without shame or apology," Woodhouse wrote. He continued: "And the abdication of Christian values is already shaping the conduct of our government toward its citizens, as in Minneapolis, where immigration agents have killed two protesters. The Trump administration appears unconstrained not only by the limits imposed by the Constitution but by the standards of an average American’s conscience. Federal agents’ treatment of both immigrants and U.S. citizens in Minneapolis is the reflection of a government that has abandoned the moral instinct that it is wrong for the powerful to abuse the weak." Similar analysis also recently came from The Bulwark's Andrew Egger, who wrote that Trump seems to view himself "as Christianity’s Punisher," someone willing to do the "dirty work" of committing violence to protect the faith. This, Egger argued, runs directly against the religion's core values. "This is part of what makes Trump-brand Christianity as a cultural and political force so dangerous," Egger concluded. "Trump’s political project is seen by the MAGA faithful as utterly righteous, the work of God on earth against the forces of Satan. But he has broad license to transgress all moral boundaries as he does that work... None of this, it should probably go without saying, is compatible in the slightest with the teachings of actual Christianity. Sin is sin, the faith teaches, no matter whom it’s directed against..."

The vice president’s historic trip illustrates Trump’s transactional diplomacy and willingness to use economic muscle to elbow out rivals such as Russia and Iran.

Donald Trump's threats against a bridge connecting the U.S. and Canada flummoxed some of the leaders involved with its creation, but according to a New York Times report, the president's turn may be connected to the influence of a wealthy donor. On Monday, Trump took to Truth Social with a threat to block the opening of the Gordie Howe International Bridge, a $4.7 billion project connecting Windsor, Ontario, and Detroit, which had been set to open soon. Trump claimed, falsely, that Canada would control both ends of the bridge and that it had been constructed using no American materials. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney told reporters on Tuesday that he has called Trump and is working to resolve the matter. “I explained that Canada paid for the construction of the bridge," Carney said. "That the ownership is shared between the state of Michigan and the government of Canada, and that in the construction of the bridge, obviously there’s Canadian steel and Canadian workers, but also US steel, US workers that were involved. This is a great example of cooperation between our countries.” On Wednesday, the New York Times cited two anonymous administration sources who said that Trump's bridge outburst came only hours after Matthew Moroun, a Michigan-based billionaire and transportation magnate whose family owns the Ambassador Bridge, which also connects Windsor and Detroit. Moroun, the sources claimed, met with Trump's Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick at the White House, with Lutnick later taking a call with the president shortly before his Truth Social post. Moroun has been a prolific donor to Trump's political campaigns, and his business has long opposed the construction of the Gordie Howe International Bridge. Once opened, it will serve as a competitor to his family's own bridge and divert toll revenue away from it. The new bridge, named for a late Detroit Red Wings hockey legend, was first proposed in the early 2000s and received approvals in the early 2010s, with construction finally commencing in the summer of 2018, during Trump's first term. As opposed to the Ambassador Bridge, the Gordie Howe is publicly owned. All throughout that time, the Moroun family, led by Matthew's father, Manuel Moroun, vigorously fought against it, alleging at one point that it violated the exclusive rights of his own bridge. "The Moroun family has for decades mounted legal challenges to block or delay the competing project," the Times explained. "One of the challenges reached the Canadian Supreme Court, while the family has also lobbied extensively against it."

The vote opens the door to consideration of measures that would end the national emergency Trump declared to justify sweeping tariffs on other countries’ imports.

New footage was released on Wednesday that seems to show the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein in the company of both underage girls and his incarcerated longtime accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell. In the grainy clip obtained by Channel 4 News, Epstein is seen casually working and relaxing in his Palm Beach office while a number of unidentified women — some of whom at first glance appear underage — gather closely around him. The footage also shows Maxwell, Epstein’s closest associate, who is currently serving a 20-year sentence and refuses to cooperate with the House’s Epstein investigation unless she receives clemency. The Epstein footage is a glimpse into the deceased financier’s world of underage sex trafficking and associating with the rich and powerful. President Donald Trump, despite frequently downplaying his connections to Epstein, is confirmed to have disclosed to police as far back as 2005 an awareness of Epstein’s and Maxwell’s involvement with minors. Epstein and Trump were longtime friends and business partners, and members of Congress who have seen some of the unredacted Epstein files claim Trump’s name appears at least 38,000 times. From the United Kingdom and Scandinavia to South Asia, the outraged public is compelling powerful politicians to step down because of their links to Epstein. Everyone from the United Kingdom's Prince Andrew to Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway are being punished for their Epstein links. Yet in the United States, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick remains in office despite his testimony on Tuesday in which he admitted to having previously misrepresented his connections to Epstein. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt recently shut down a question about Lutnick’s future by saying, “Secretary Lutnick remains a very important member of President Trump’s team, and the President fully supports the Secretary.” She then chastised the reporters for not discussing the White House’s recent “wins.” House Oversight Committee Member Rep. Melanie Stansbury (D-N.M.), who is helping investigate the Epstein scandal, argued earlier this week that there are too many high-ranking Trump officials — including Trump himself — with connections to Epstein for it to be logical to dismiss the pattern as coincidental. "Multiple administration officials including Howard Lutnick, Elon Musk, who served as the appointee for DOGE efforts in the White House. We know that the secretary of the Navy [flew on Epstein's jet.] We know that Steve Bannon [is in the files]," Stansbury said. "We know that there are more than three dozen associates, family members and individuals directly associated with Donald Trump in those files."

In the wee hours of Monday, January 19, US President Donald Trump sent a now-infamous text message to the prime minister of Denmark:Considering your Country decided not to give me the Nobel Peace Prize for having stopped 8 Wars PLUS, I no longer feel an obligation to think purely of Peace, although it will always be predominant, but can now think about what is good and proper for the United States of America... The World is not secure unless we have Complete and Total Control of Greenland. Thank you! Trump’s brief, belligerent message (full text and analysis here) underscores a stark reality: One man is causing an acceleration of civilizational collapse. Only hours later, at the annual gathering of world political and financial leaders at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, a general sense of fear and dread enveloped the proceedings. Even Trump’s half-hearted announcement that he wouldn’t use force to acquire Greenland couldn’t lift the gloom. The most memorable speech was that of Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, who began by saying: Today, I’ll talk about the rupture in the world order, the end of a nice story, and the beginning of a brutal reality where geopolitics among the great powers is not subject to any constraints... But let’s be clear-eyed about where this leads. A world of fortresses will be poorer, more fragile, and less sustainable... Systems scientists have been warning for decades that the current growth-based world economic order is unsustainable, and that it will inevitably become smaller and more simplified during the remainder of the 21st century. This downsizing is likely to be messy and sometimes violent. Meanwhile, observers who focus on geopolitics have argued that the US, which built a global empire during the 20th century, is already showing signs of decline in several respects, and that China is poised to become the next global superpower, if only briefly (that is, until the viability of global superpowers is itself outworn). What is surprising is that this unraveling of the old order is accelerating so suddenly—and doing so largely thanks to just one man. During the last couple of decades, experts on societal collapse discussed whether the “Great Unraveling” would be a slow erosion over decades or a fast disintegration over mere years. The latest evidence (including Trump’s Greenland text) tips the scales toward a faster collapse scenario. Since this shift is being driven largely by Donald Trump, it’s natural to wonder whether international calm could be restored simply by shunting him aside. There is, after all, growing concern over Trump’s health. (His sleepiness during daytime, his slurred speech, and his frequent frustrated fumbling for the correct word—in his Davos speech he called Greenland “Iceland” four times—have raised questions about his fitness for the job). The US Constitution provides two methods for removing an unfit president: impeachment, and the invocation of the 25th Amendment. Few informed observers of the American political scene expect either of these remedies to be implemented soon. Even if they were, Trump’s actions in the past year have irrevocably undermined stability in the US and globally. If his second presidency were to end tomorrow, Trump likely will have had as decisive an influence on history as pivotal world leaders like Winston Churchill, FDR, Vladimir Lenin, Adolf Hitler, or Joseph Stalin. In this article we’ll explore how and why the march toward collapse is hastening, and what this trend has to do with Trump’s failure to understand social power. We’ll also explore what individuals can do in response to increasing signs of societal instability. Three Elements—and Three Tools—of Social Power The conclusions about Trump and accelerating societal unraveling stated above are rooted in my studies of the nature of power (see my book Power: Limits and Prospects for Human Survival and its related limited-run podcast). Every large society, from ancient kingdoms to modern industrial empires, has had to master three elements of social power—i.e., the ability to get other people to do things. The essential problem for would-be leaders of large societies is to enlist the populace to fight wars, build pyramids (or other significant structures and institutions), and increase economic activity. But what motivates people? Typically, they respond to coercion, enticements, and persuasion. If these are the three elements of social power, then it follows that the three main tools of social power are weapons, money, and communication technologies. In the book I trace the development of these tools, and the social consequences of their progressive development and use. In Power I also point out that there are two basic types of social power—vertical and horizontal. Vertical power is top-down, exercised through threats and punishments: “You must do this, or else,” or “If you do this, I’ll give you that.” Horizontal power is mutual and cooperative: “We can do this together”; it arises through inspiration and negotiation. Democracies tend to rely more on horizontal social power, and autocracies more on vertical power; but durable large societies seem to demand both. When we see the military of Canada (CANADA??!!) modeling war plans for inflicting maximum casualties on US troops in the event of an invasion, it’s fair to conclude that old alliances are coming unglued fast. Trump seems reflexively to rely solely on vertical social power—the use of threats and bribes. With such means, he has taken control of the Republican Party, won the presidency twice, and dominated Congress to the point that it has become virtually inert. He has been successful largely because horizontal power relationships in the US have been under increasing strain during the last few decades for several reasons, notably fast-rising economic inequality. From one perspective, his achievements are remarkable. Trump seems to understand power better than any other leader on the national stage. But his understanding of power is one-dimensional. Trump seems profoundly ignorant of, or indifferent to, horizontal power. He has squandered the goodwill of allies and needlessly created international enemies. Again, Carney at Davos: The multilateral institutions on which the middle powers have relied—the WTO, the UN, the COP—the architecture, the very architecture of collective problem solving are under threat. And as a result, many countries are drawing the same conclusions: that they must develop greater strategic autonomy, in energy, food, critical minerals, in finance and supply chains... Call it what it is—a system of intensifying great power rivalry, where the most powerful pursue their interests, using economic integration as coercion. Even authoritarian nations, if they’re to outlive their leader, need buy-in from citizens and allies. Chinese citizens, for example, expect stability and predictability while rapid economic growth improves their economic prospects. They also know that they will face severe penalties if they speak out against the regime, and they (mostly) willingly comply. Americans, however, thanks to Trump’s poor understanding of power, can now expect much less stability and predictability amid economic stagnation or even reversal. And many will be increasingly unwilling to comply. Vertical Power Alone Is Fragile Trump’s Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller recently told CNN’s Jake Tapper, ...[Y]ou can talk all you want about international niceties and everything else, but we live in a world, in the real world... that is governed by strength, that is governed by force, that is governed by power. These are the iron laws of the world. Trump is not the first world leader to rely almost exclusively on vertical social power. History is replete with authoritarian regimes and tyrants. Here’s an excerpt from a 3,000-year-old cuneiform text from the Assyrian Empire: I am Tiglath Pileser the powerful king, the supreme King of Lashanan; King of the four regions, King of all Kings, Lord of Lords, the supreme Monarch of all Monarchs, the illustrious chief who under the auspices of the Sun god, being armed with the scepter and girt with the girdle of power over mankind, rules over all the people of Bel; the mighty Prince whose praise is blazoned forth among the Kings... Pileser sounds positively Trumpian. But vertical social power, on its own, often tends to lead to revolution, coup d-état, assassination, or war. Some historical authoritarian dynasties lasted centuries (China offers several examples). However, the lifetime of many modern authoritarian regimes has been brief (for example, Pol Pot ruled Cambodia for only four years). Concentrating the power of the state in one man often makes the glue that holds the nation together more brittle. What does the future hold for Russia after Putin? Why is the post-Gaddafi regime in Libya so frail? Strongmen tend to leave power vacuums in their wake, along with weakened social institutions. The fall of a strongman doesn’t always make way for a vibrant democracy; more often, it leads to chaos and a string of other short-term strongmen. In the case of Trump, the strongman is already old and (in many observers’ opinions) infirm. He’s not overwhelmingly popular, and his likely successors are even less so. The inevitable end of Trump’s rule, whether it occurs in days or years, will leave the US far more polarized and unruly than it was in 2016 when he was first elected. Internationally, the US system of alliances that was patiently built over seven decades has not adapted well to Trump’s style of threats and bullying. When we see the military of Canada (CANADA??!!) modeling war plans for inflicting maximum casualties on US troops in the event of an invasion, it’s fair to conclude that old alliances are coming unglued fast. And that means global peril for both peace and trade. Trump is not a solely American problem. Power Tools as Engines of Destruction In Donald Trump’s hands, the perennial tools of power are becoming engines of destruction. * Weapons and coercion: From the earliest kingdoms to today’s modern states, it is men with weapons who have conquered or defended territory and countered domestic unrest. Trump’s use of the military, and threats of its use, are not just turning away allies, but also presenting his officers with intractable moral and strategic problems. Meanwhile, he is deploying troops to US cities against the wishes of governors and mayors. The possible results are explored in an article by Claire Finkelstein ominously titled “We Ran High-Level US Civil War Simulations. Minnesota Is Exactly How They Start.” Finkelstein writes, “The core danger we identified is now emerging: a violent confrontation between state and federal military forces in a major American city.” * Money and enticements: All organized societies gather and exert social power through their control of currencies and trade. Early in his second term, Trump announced hefty tariffs on imports from nearly all nations. While he has waffled on the percentage amount of those tariffs, they are still in effect and having a chilling effect on global commerce. In April, in response to tariffs, Canadian prime minister Carney announced that the 80-year period of American economic leadership was over. The US dollar, which has been the world’s reserve currency since 1946, is now increasingly perceived as toxic. A stampede to ditch the dollar would impoverish all who are invested in it; instead, countries seem to be quietly exiting dollar-denominated holdings. The inevitable result will be a decline in the value of the dollar and in US living standards. * Communication technologies and persuasion: From the invention of writing in ancient kingdoms to the spread of social media and AI deepfakes in the present, communications tools have been used to induce large numbers of people to think and behave in ways leaders (or “influencers”) want them to. Inspiration, threats, promises, and warnings motivate voting, fighting, and buying. Democracies typically value science and unfettered fact-based journalism. Autocracies usually spew propaganda. The Trump administration has been labeled a tabloid presidency by Timothy L. O’Brien, who worked with Trump for the 2006 biography, TrumpNation, and who compares the president’s leadership style to tabloid magazines like the Weekly World News, with its focus on “dubious,” “trashy,” and “lunatic” stories designed to “knock readers back on their heels.” The administration has attacked mainstream news outlets that have been critical of it, sometimes employing the government’s regulatory powers as a cudgel. Trump’s false claims are so frequent that professional fact-checkers are employed by mainstream print and broadcast news organizations solely to spot, count, and refute them. Meanwhile, through a combination of verbal threats and funding cuts, the Trump administration is assaulting science, medicine, culture, and education. For example, the administration no longer gathers or publishes information about climate change, including both raw data and scientific research. What to Do? As I explained at some length in a recent article (which includes lots of resources and advice), local action to build community resilience is the antidote to national and global unraveling. Notice the persistent bonds of horizontal power holding your community together and engage in activities that build social ties. Strengthen local institutions, from credit unions to food co-ops. Identify and participate in international networks of trust and mutual aid, such as the Global Democracy Coalition. And learn from people in other parts of the world who have lived through authoritarian takeovers or successfully opposed them. Build community resilience wherever you are. My organization, Post Carbon Institute, has produced books, articles, reports, and podcasts—as well as webinars and an online course—to help, and there are other organizations working along complementary lines. Our friends at Shareable have developed a fantastic set of guides (Mutual Aid 101) for anyone interested in starting a mutual aid initiative in their own community. Collapse is accelerating. So must our efforts to build personal and community resilience. Don’t cower in front of your screen. Get out and join with others in projects to make your town stronger and more socially and environmentally sustainable.

It will be the sixth visit by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel to the United States to meet with President Trump since the president began his second term.

At a House Judiciary Committee hearing on Wednesday, Attorney General Pam Bondi could face bipartisan skepticism over her handling of the documents.

A recent meeting of President Donald Trump's Religious Liberty Commission rapidly devolved into a shouting match between commission members over the issue of antisemitism. That's according to a Tuesday article by MS NOW's Ja'han Jones, who wrote that several conservative Christian members of the commission got into a "fit of infighting" when discussing antisemitism on college campuses. Commission members Carrie Prejean Boller (who was Miss California U.S.A. in 2009) and Seth Dillon — who is the CEO of conservative satire site The Babylon Bee — battled over far-right commentator Tucker Carlson and whether MAGA influencer Candace Owens is antisemitic. "I have not heard one thing out of her mouth that I would say is antisemitic," Boller said of Owens, despite Owens being named "Antisemite of the Year" in 2024 by advocacy group StopAntisemitism. Boller also argued loudly with several Jewish commission members over the difference between antisemitism and anti-Zionism, the latter of which is typically defined by support for the modern state of Israel (though it is also seen as a coded attack on Jewish people). Boller, who is Catholic, proclaimed "Catholics do not embrace Zionism," and garnered boos from the crowd when condemning Islamophobia. Now, Boller is facing calls from within the MAGA world to either resign for the commission, or for her to be removed if she refused to step down. This includes far-right commentator Laura Loomer (known as Trump's informal "loyalty enforcer") who called Boller's comments "disgraceful." "The Trump administration should not reward individuals who openly spread anti-Jewish propaganda," Loomer tweeted. Trump convened the Religious Liberty Commission last year, whose members include Texas Lieutenant Gov. Dan Patrick (R) and Dr. Phil McGraw, as well as former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson, Rev. Franklin Graham, Pastor Paula White and Cardinal Timothy Dolan, among others. Their commission itself is set to disband on July 4 of this year, unless Trump chooses to extend it. Jones wrote that given the outburst at its latest meeting, the commission may likely sunset this summer. "That MAGA world is engaged in this kind of circular firing squad over antisemitism is no surprise and, one might argue, the natural outcome for a political movement fueled by bigotry of varying sorts," Jones wrote.

President Trump has not recognized the Armenian genocide. The vice president’s office called the post an error.

Federal prosecutors launched an investigation into the lawmakers after they released a short video advising current military members to reject “illegal orders.”

The New York Times reports a Washington D.C. grand jury has again refused to acquiesce to President Donald Trump’s quest to prosecute his political foes, with the paper calling the rejection “a remarkable rebuke” from ordinary citizens. The Times reports: “Federal prosecutors in Washington sought and failed on Tuesday to secure an indictment against six Democratic lawmakers who posted a video last fall that enraged President Trump by reminding active-duty members of the military and intelligence community that they were obligated to refuse illegal orders, four people familiar with the matter said.” The Times additionally reports it was already remarkable that the U.S. attorney’s office in Washington — led by Trump ally Jeanine Pirro — even authorized prosecutors to approach a grand jury with an indictment of the six members of Congress, all of whom had served in the military or the nation’s spy agencies. It is rare for grand jurors to snub prosecutors’ indictment requests, considering prosecutors get to dominate the jury with one-sided arguments leading up to their decision. However, the Times reports it has happened with increased frequency with Trump’s Justice Department “as his appointees push ahead with questionable cases.” It is doubly surprising considering the president of the United States accused Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) and the other legislators of seditious conspiracy and said they could potentially be put to death. The U.S. Department of Defense later announced that it was launching an investigation into Kelly for participating in the video warning active-duty troops to not follow illegal orders from Trump and also threatened to court martial the NASA astronaut. But the jury apparently disagreed on all counts and refused to indict any of the legislators incriminated by Trump. Trump’s targets also Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) and four colleagues in the House: Jason Crow (D-Colo.) Maggie Goodlander, (D-N.H.), Chrissy Houlahan (D-Pa.) and Chris Deluzio (D-Pa). Kelly is already suing the Pentagon over its attempts to punish him.

President Donald Trump will now have more difficulty withholding money for federal programs appropriated by Congress, thanks to lawmakers from both parties. The New York Times reported Tuesday that in the government funding package Congress passed last week (which Trump later signed into law) includes language meant to hamstring Trump's attempts to carry out "pocket rescissions," in which he freezes money meant to be disbursed. Language restricting Trump's use of pocket rescissions made its way into all 11 spending bills the president signed, which will last through September 30 of this year. According to the Times, Republicans in the Senate were more open to restricting executive action withholding spending than their House counterparts. And some more stringent provisions attempting to rein in Trump didn't get enough votes to make it into the final legislation. Still, the outlet reported that the language "reflects bipartisan frustration with how the White House has attempted to wrest away Congress’s spending powers." And lawmakers aim to use those bills as ammunition in potential legal battles with the Trump administration should the president attempt to withhold Congressionally appropriated money in the future. "This marks an important milestone and shows that Congress can work together in a bipartisan manner to carry out our Article I responsibilities and deliver results for the people we are honored to represent," said Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), who is the chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee. The Trump administration maintains that despite the language in the bills, the White House never agreed to sign anything that would limit its power over spending in any way. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) communications director Rachel Cauley told the Times: "None of our executive authorities to control spending were compromised by these appropriations bills, which was a red line in our discussions with the Hill." The Trump administration's pattern of routinely withholding money already appropriated by Congress is a violation of the Impoundment Control Act of 1974, which Congress passed to assert its authority (under Article 1, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution) during former President Richard Nixon's administration. OMB Director Russ Vought insists that law is illegal.

The rejection was a remarkable rebuke, suggesting that ordinary citizens did not believe that the lawmakers had committed any crimes.

Panicking Nebraska lawmakers are facing the consequences of President Donald Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill this legislative session. “Lawmakers are currently working to fill a projected $471 million budget deficit before the end of the 60-day legislative session,” reports the Omaha World-Herald. “Under [Republican Gov. Jim] Pillen’s plan, DHHS [Department of Health and Human Services] would shoulder the largest portion of state funding reductions, losing $22 million this fiscal year and another $130.4 million the next year.” Republican tax cuts were reportedly a chief contributor to the state’s capsizing budget. Speaker John Arch (the top official in Nebraska's unicameral legislature) blamed the state’s lower revenues on the legislature’s decision in 2023 to cut individual and corporate income tax rates, which subsequently gutted the state’s annual revenues. But the Nebraska Examiner reports another contributor to the deficit to be Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” that Congress passed this summer. Nebraska’s Department of Revenue, overseen by Republican appointee James Kamm, released a report last September estimating that the bill would cost Nebraska’s state government about $216 million over the next two fiscal years, which was factored into budget forecasts. Once news got out of the severity of the cuts this week, opponents and family advocates lined up to lob outrage during a public hearing at the Capitol, furious at how much the governor’s cuts would raise health care costs and limit access to Nebraskan health treatment. Groups opposed to Pillen’s DHHS cuts included the Nebraska Medical Association, the Nebraska Hospital Association, Children’s Nebraska, the American Cancer Society and the Nebraska Health Care Association, among others. “Over the course of a nearly five-hour hearing, testifiers expressed concerns about a range of specific cuts, including the biomedical research cut, a $2.7 million cut to pediatric cancer research and a $4.7 million cut from the state’s Health Information Exchange,” reported the Omaha World-Herald. “The most common concern, however, was a proposed $18 million cut for the elimination of retroactive Medicaid eligibility. Federal law offers Medicaid coverage for medical expenses incurred up to 90 days before an application is submitted, but it allows states to reduce this period to 30 days through a waiver.” Several critics said the change would make it harder to treat infants and children. Megan Connelly, vice president of Community Health and Advocacy at Children’s Nebraska, said nearly half of Children’s Nebraska’s patients were covered by Medicaid last year, but healthcare providers were only reimbursed for roughly 20 percent of the retroactive costs. “Behind these numbers are very sick Nebraska babies and children and families navigating a medical crisis,” Connelly told lawmakers, adding that Medicaid applications for newborns cannot be submitted during a pregnancy, so the 30-day deadline would be even more challenging in the event of complications during birth. The Omaha World-Herald reported the cuts forced a representative of Complete Children’s Health to question if his organization can even continue accepting Medicaid patients.

The troops will help train Nigerians to fight militants, but will not be involved in combat. U.S. forces have been assisting local soldiers with identifying potential terrorist targets.

Ford Motor reported a big loss for 2025 because of its troubled electric vehicle division, which it has significantly scaled back.

“[W]hite Christians, who played a key role in returning Donald Trump to the White House, are losing confidence in President Trump’s policies,” reports Religion News Service, citing recent Pew Research numbers. Support from white evangelicals fell nearly 10 points from 66 percent to 58 percent during the first year of Trump's second term. That drop echoed similar declines among white Catholics, whose support fell from 51 percent last year to 46 percent this year. White Protestants who are not evangelical represented the deepest drop, falling from 46 percent to 33 percent, according to the Monday survey. Confidence that Trump acts ethically dropped even more, with only 40 percent of white evangelicals believing the president behaves morally — down from 55 percent in 2025. Despite that drop, white Christian support for Trump still remained his strongest among racial denominations, with other races pulling a devastating amount of support. Only 18 percent of Hispanic Catholics, had any support for the president and only 6 percent of Black Protestants showed any approval of Trump. Only 13 percent of religiously unaffiliated were likely to support Trump’s policies. And all three groups were the least likely to have confidence in the president’s ethics. Religion News Service reports this could be a problem for Trump and his Republican Party in the midterms and in the next national election. “Because of their presence in swing states, white Catholics and white non-evangelical Protestants played a key role in the 2024 presidential election. More than half of white non-evangelical Protestants voted for Trump, as did 62 percent of white Catholics and 81 percent of white evangelicals,” Religion News Service said. It also does not help Trump or his party that faith groups opposing Trump “are more likely to side with Democrats.”

The newly released warrant application behind the FBI raid of 2020 election ballots from Fulton County, Georgia is under new scrutiny. A new report reveals the FBI's criminal investigation originated from a referral sent by a “stop the steal” campaign attorney known for “spreading baseless allegations of election fraud.” The supporting affidavit for the warrant to search Fulton County election records was unsealed Tuesday, publicly revealing the mechanics behind the invasive search and seizure conducted by President Donald Trump’s politicized FBI. “The FBI criminal investigation originated from a referral sent by Kurt Olsen, presidentially appointed Director of Election Security and Integrity,” stated an attachment to the application for the warrant approved by U.S. District Court magistrate judge Catherine M. Salinas. Politico revealed that Olsen is also being furnished with "highly classified material" with few limitations, despite Olsen having no intelligence background or experience. Some of the documents he has received from American spy agencies reportedly includes "sensitive compartmented intelligence programs," which are among the most secretive materials held by intelligence agencies. He also reportedly has a direct line to Trump, and exploits those ties whenever agencies push back against his demands for material. “Every time he hits a roadblock, he just calls POTUS," An anonymous source told Politico. Social media slammed the news that the same lawyer receiving highly sensitive voter data is also the source of the warrant that delivered the info. “A beleaguered election denier — who had already been debunked many times — somehow convinced Trump and Bondi and Patel and Gabbard that there was cheating in Georgia when, in fact, it was disproven many times over,” posted one commenter on X. "Poorest Loser Ever." “So this is basically a rehash of every single conspiracy about the G.A. elections, filed as an affidavit by an FBI agent,” said another critic on X. “They're even bringing back the ‘folded ballots’ thing. Incredible.” “Kurt Olsen was one of Kari Lake's attorneys when she kept suing to be the Governor of Az. He was charged with making FALSE STATEMENTS TO THE COURT,” posted yet another commenter. “Basically, the person who issued the warrant has a big f—— red hat on their head right now,” said another.

For the third time this Congress, G.O.P. leaders are seeking to effectively nullify a law that requires a quick House vote on a measure demanding an end to President Trump’s tariffs.

The FBI told a federal judge that it is investigating whether any “deficiencies” in Georgia officials’ handling of the 2020 presidential election were intentional.

After Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick told senators on Capitol Hill that he took his family for lunch to the private island owned by convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein in 2012, the White House insisted that he remains an important part of the administration. There is bipartisan support for Lutnick to resign from the administration. A reporter, mentioning Lutnick’s congressional testimony, reminded Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt that the family lunch occurred “after he said that he had cut ties with Epstein,” and that a DOJ document “showed that he was in contact with Epstein through 2018 over messages.” Leavitt replied, “Secretary Lutnick remains a very important member of President Trump’s team, and the President fully supports the Secretary.” Epstein was first convicted in 2008. Leavitt then chastised reporters for not asking questions about the White House’s recent “wins” — and then cut the press briefing short after about 20 minutes. As The Independent reported, “rather than face follow-up questions about Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick’s relationship with deceased sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein after documents released by the Justice Department — and Lutnick’s own sworn testimony to Congress — revealed how he lied about the extent of his ties to the late pedophile,” Leavitt “abruptly cut short a briefing with reporters.”