Democrats are ready to campaign on expired Obamacare subsidies … “The public now gets that the subsidies are what's keeping health care costs down,” said Rep. Ami Bera (D-Calif.).  “I think the public's angry.  So I think they will blame the party in charge.”  —  The strategy has been months in the making.

Mamdani's First Orders Focus on Housing and Undoing Adams's Decisions  —  Mayor Zohran Mamdani signed a flurry of executive orders on his first day as mayor of New York City.  They were aimed at protecting tenants and revoking some of ex-Mayor Eric Adams's past orders.

House Republicans Buried the Jack Smith Transcript on New Year's Eve.  I Read It So You Don't Have To.  —  12 takeaways from Smith's closed-door testimony  —  House Republicans released the 255-page transcript of Jack Smith's closed-door deposition on New Year's Eve.

With few Epstein files released, conspiracy theories flourish and questions remain  —  During the 2024 election, President Trump promised to release the Epstein files as part of a campaign message arguing the government was run by powerful people hiding the truth from Americans.

Ocasio-Cortez Urges New Yorkers to Celebrate Mamdani's Inauguration as Their Own  —  Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, speaking at Zohran Mamdani's inauguration, said that his election represented New Yorkers' choosing “prosperity for the many over spoils for the few.”

After Watergate, the Presidency Was Tamed.  Trump Is Unleashing It.  —  In the 1970s, Congress passed a raft of laws to hold the White House accountable.  President Trump has decided they don't apply to him.  —  A power-hungry president had twisted the government into a tool for his personal political benefit.

Trump's wealth grew in 2025, but his investors took lumps  —  Retail investors had the chance in 2025 to put their money directly on Donald Trump, in a way unlike any American presidency in history.  — A couple of those bets didn't work out so well.

Zohran Mamdani fans disappointed by disastrous ‘block party’ with no food, bathrooms  —  This “block party” was a bust.  —  Scores of Zohran Mamdani fans who braved freezing temperatures to celebrate the new mayor as he was publicly sworn into office Thursday were left disappointed by the bash the socialist pol had promised.

Trump Says US Ready to ‘Rescue’ Iran Protesters If Attacked  —  President Donald Trump pledged that the US will come to the rescue of Iranian protesters if they are attacked by Islamic Republic authorities.  —  “If Iran shots and violently kills peaceful protesters, which is their custom …

Another Trump Tariff Retreat  —  This time it's a delay for a year on higher taxes on upholstered furniture and kitchen cabinets.  —  One of the striking contradictions of President Trump's tariffs is the way his chorus claims their rousing success even as he carves out hundreds of exceptions.

‘A Directive From Above’: Former NYT Editor Lays Out How The Paper Pushes Anti-Trans Bigotry  —  Follow the Trans News Network Bluesky starter pack here, and find our other socials here.  —  The New York Times headquarters, taken from Wikimedia Commons.  —  Subscribe to TNN  —  Support us!

Medicaid, ICE and a ticking clock for undocumented Californians … “We live in a new reality,” said Velez, the director of policy at the Latino Coalition For A Healthy California, a group that advocates for health policy in Sacramento and funds community health workers on the ground.

Q&A: Curtis Sliwa  —  He lost the race become New York's mayor to Zohran Mamdani, but the Guardian Angels founder tips his red beret to the ‘Z Man.’  —  Curtis Sliwa was the Republican candidate in the 2025 New York mayoral election, his second consecutive losing run for mayor.