Trump maintains funding freeze at NIH, defying court order  —  The Trump administration is still prohibiting National Institutes of Health (NIH) staff from issuing virtually all grant funding, an NIH official tells Popular Information.  The ongoing funding freeze is also reflected …

Justice officials tell prosecutors to drop charges against N.Y. Mayor Eric Adams  —  A top Justice official said New York Mayor Eric Adams should not have to face trial given his reelection campaign and the fight against crime and illegal immigration.  —  NEW YORK — The Justice Department …

The Truth About Trump's Steel Tariffs  —  His first-term levies hurt consumers and U.S. manufacturers.  —  President Trump gave the economy another jolt of uncertainty on Monday when he signed executive orders imposing 25% tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports.

LETTER OF THE HOLY FATHER FRANCIS TO THE BISHOPS OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA  —  I am writing today to address a few words to you in these delicate moments that you are living as Pastors of the People of God who walk together in the United States of America.

Defense Secretary Hegseth booed and heckled by military families protesting against DEI push  —  Last week, Hegseth wrote a memo in which he banned transgender people from joining the military and restricted the use of some learning materials in Defense Department schools.

1 dead, 4 hospitalized after two planes crash on runway at Scottsdale Airport  —  The incident happened around 2:30 p.m. Monday  —  SCOTTSDALE, AZ — Officials confirm at least one person has died after an aircraft crash on the runway Monday at the Scottsdale Airport.

Senator Accuses F.B.I. Nominee of Covertly Directing Dismissals  —  A top Democrat demanded an investigation and suggested that the nominee, Kash Patel, may have lied under oath, citing what he described as multiple sources.  —  The top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee …

2/11/25 ☀️ AM:  —  Rough days for Democrats in GOP-run Washington  —  The Vault: A stress test for Powell's Capitol Hill ties  —  While spending cuts are in vogue, House chairs seek budget boosts  —  Johnson to brief Republicans on budget progress today

Pope rebukes Trump administration over migrant deportations, and appears to take direct aim at Vance  —  Pope Francis issued a major rebuke Tuesday to the Trump administration's mass deportation of migrants, warning that the forceful removal of people purely because of their illegal status deprives …

Steve Bannon pleads guilty in New York ‘We Build the Wall’ case  —  Under the terms of the plea agreement, the former Trump White House adviser will not be sentenced to any jail time.  —  Steve Bannon, a longtime ally of President Donald Trump, pleaded guilty Tuesday on a fraud charge …

House leaders bullish on budget markup  —  GOP leaders struck an optimistic note Tuesday morning about their latest budget plan following a series of delays amid internal fighting — indicating it could get taken up in committee as soon as Thursday.  Speaker Mike Johnson said in a brief interview …

27 religious groups sue Trump administration to protect houses of worship from immigration arrests  —  More than two-dozen Christian and Jewish groups representing millions of Americans — ranging from the Episcopal Church and the Union for Reform Judaism to the Mennonites and Unitarian Universalists …

Deb Haaland announces run for New Mexico governor … - Haaland, who served in the Biden administration, was the first Native American to lead a Cabinet agency.  — She has been taking steps for some time to consolidate support in the state and assemble a team of political operatives …

Trump Threatens Gaza Ceasefire With U.S. Takeover Rhetoric  —  Trump's incendiary words are edging the middle east back into war  —  Donald Trump on Monday called on the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas to be cancelled if all remaining 76 hostages are not released by noon on Saturday …

Pausing Foreign Corrupt Practices Act Enforcement to Further American Economic and National Security  —  By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered:  —  Section 1.  Purpose and Policy.

EU vows countermeasures to US tariffs; bourbon, jeans, peanut butter, motorcycles easy targets  —  U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum “will not go unanswered,” European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen vowed on Tuesday, adding that they will trigger tough countermeasures from the 27-nation bloc.

Zelenskyy: Europe cannot guarantee Ukraine's security without America  —  Exclusive: In extended interview with the Guardian, Ukraine's president says he will offer US firms lucrative reconstruction contracts to try to get Trump onside  —  If Donald Trump withdraws US support for Ukraine …

Mace Takes to House Floor With Charges of Rape and Sexual Predation  —  The South Carolina Republican used her floor privileges to lodge shocking accusations against her former fiancé and three other men.  —  Representative Nancy Mace, the South Carolina Republican who in recent weeks …

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth Renames Fort Liberty to Fort Roland L. Bragg  —  While flying aboard a C-17 from Joint Base Andrews to Stuttgart on February 10, 2025, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth signed a memorandum renaming Fort Liberty in North Carolina to Fort Roland L. Bragg.

Military Drops Recruiting Efforts at Prestigious Black Engineering Awards Event  —  The Army and other service branches are abandoning recruiting efforts at a prestigious Black engineering event this week, turning down access to a key pool of highly qualified potential applicants amid President …

Obama Best Liked Among Living Presidents; Biden, Least  —  Obama, Bush, Clinton are viewed more positively than negatively  —  WASHINGTON, D.C. — Of the five living men who have served as U.S. president, Barack Obama receives the highest favorable rating (59%) and Joe Biden the lowest (39%).

Trump is assaulting his own legitimacy  —  ⚔️ 👑 🏰 With corporate outlets obeying in advance, supporting independent political media is more important than ever right now.  Public Notice is possible thanks to paid subscribers.  If you aren't one already …

Far-right populists much more likely than the left to spread fake news - study  —  Amplifying misinformation is now part of radical right strategy, says Dutch study of tweets by MPs in 26 countries  —  Far-right populists are significantly more likely to spread fake news on social media …

The big question looming over Trump's executive orders  —  Donald Trump and Elon Musk's efforts to transform federal spending and the federal workforce are crashing up against judges who've temporarily blocked several of their policies.  —  Judges have frozen Trump's “spending freeze” …

US cyber agency puts election security staffers who worked with the states on leave  —  Staffers at the nation's cybersecurity agency whose job is to ensure the security of U.S. elections have been placed on administrative leave, jeopardizing critical support provided to state and local election offices across the country.

Everything Elon Musk Touches Is a Conflict of Interest  —  It's no longer clear where his business ends and the government's begins.  —  In early February, President Donald Trump threatened to cut off “all future funding” to South Africa, alleging that the government was …

What Republicans really mean when they blame ‘DEI’  —  Referencing DEI is the new rightwing abstraction deployed by Republicans to conceal their anti-Black racism  —  In 1981, Lee Atwater, the most influential Republican party strategist of the late 20th century, sat down for an off …

Wikipedia Prepares for ‘Increase in Threats’ to US Editors From Musk and His Allies  —  The Wikimedia Foundation says it will likely roll out features previously used to protect editors in authoritarian countries more widely.  —  The Wikimedia Foundation is building new tools that it hopes …

U.S. records most whooping cough deaths since 2017  —  The U.S. confirmed at least a dozen deaths from whooping cough last year, according to preliminary figures released this week by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.  That marks the most fatalities from the bacterial infection since …

Ossoff calls on Trump admin to ‘publicly refuse’ El Salvador's offer to jail Americans  —  “Federal law does not allow the deportation of U.S. citizens, and El Salvador's prisons are internationally notorious for life-threatening and abusive conditions,” the Georgia Democrat wrote.

Court formally dismisses case against Trump's co-defendants in Mar-a-Lago documents probe  —  Washington — A federal appeals court formally granted the Justice Department's request to drop the case against two of President Trump's co-defendants in the prosecution over his handling of classified documents …

America Desperately Needs a National Anti-SLAPP Law to Stop Censorship by Bad Political Actors  —  It'll help prevent the weaponization of frivolous lawsuits against critics and opponents … In modern America, defamation cases—like war—are the continuation of politics by other means.

Tracking Trump's executive actions by category … - Trump's executive actions — many of which have direct links to Project 2025 — have already had far-reaching impacts, triggering a rapid shakeup of the federal bureaucracy.  — Last week, his administration froze humanitarian programs across …

The Right to be Woke  —  Two programming notes for today: At 1 p.m. ET today, JVL will go live on the site with Jim Acosta in the first chat for our pop-up series, WTF 2.0.  Jim recently left CNN and has joined the ranks of independent media here on Substack.

Pentagon changes Fort Liberty's name back to Fort Bragg  —  The Pentagon will change the name of the North Carolina military base Fort Liberty back to Fort Bragg, fulfilling a campaign pledge by President Trump while honoring a different namesake.  —  Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth …