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 …

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” …

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 …

Bannon Pleads Guilty to Fraud in Border Wall Case but Will Serve No Time  —  President Trump had already pardoned his adviser in a similar federal case, which accused him of skimming money from donations to build a southern border barrier.  —  Stephen K. Bannon, a longtime adviser to President Trump …

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 …

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.

Donald Trump and Elon Musk are not tiptoeing toward autocracy  —  We cannot afford to wait any longer.  The immediate clear and present danger to the fabric of our democracy, the headlong rush to a police state, cannot be ignored.  And unprecedented times demand unprecedented approaches …

Justice Dept. Tells Prosecutors to Drop Federal Corruption Case Against Eric Adams  —  The request to dismiss the charges against Mayor Eric Adams of New York raised questions about the independence of federal prosecutors under President Trump.  —  Here's the latest.

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 …

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.

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 …

Elon Musk built his wealth from taxpayer-funded research — now he's trying to destroy future science  —  The billionaire should be writing a thank you note to Al Gore, not wrecking burgeoning developments  —  Donald Trump, his shadow president Elon Musk, and the so-called Department …

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.

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.

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.

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 …

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%).

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 …

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 …

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.

‘Everything is more expensive’: Trump promised to lower grocery prices on Day One.  What happened?  —  Grocery prices continue to rise under Donald Trump, as egg prices skyrocket.  Trump promised to lower grocery prices on Day One.  What happened?

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.

DOGE Teen Ran Image-Sharing Site Linked to URLs Referencing Pedophilia and the KKK  —  The site launched by Edward Coristine in 2021 promised to protect the privacy of its users, stating, “All your images are encrypted.  We do not log IP addresses, device agents or anything else.”

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 …

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 …

Top CFPB officials resign, in latest upheaval at the agency  —  Assistant Director for the Office of Enforcement Eric Halperin and Assistant Director for Supervision Policy Lorelei Salas each sent emails to their teams notifying them of their resignations.  —  Two top officials …

Trump and Musk's Illegal and Undemocratic Attack on the Power of the Purse  —  It is difficult to truly grasp the extent of the rampage that Elon Musk and his gang of toddler toadies have unleashed.  In less than two weeks, they have seized control of critical system after critical system …

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 …

Step One: Acknowledge the constitutional crisis.  What's Step Two?  —  There will come a time, maybe even in the next few days, when at least some of our top newsroom leaders will acknowledge the growing mountain of evidence before them and reach the obvious conclusion that Donald Trump's actions …

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.