Kansas Sends Letters To Trans People Demanding The Immediate Surrender Of Drivers Licenses  —  Erin In The Morning is a reader-supported publication.  To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a subscriber.  —  Today, transgender people across Kansas are reporting receiving letters …

Trump's State of the Union Reminds Us the Republican Party Is Truly Lost  —  Donald Trump's State of the Union speech offered little in the way of new talking points.  He railed against illegal immigrants, falsely touted a booming economy, praised his precious tariffs, and repeatedly castigated his Democratic opponents.

Patel Ousts F.B.I. Personnel Tied to Inquiry Into Trump's Retained Classified Records  —  The firings are part of a rolling barrage of retribution aimed at those who worked on the two federal prosecutions of President Trump.  —  About 10 F.B.I. employees, some veteran agents …

White House officials believe ‘the politics are a lot better’ if Israel strikes Iran first … “There's thinking in and around the administration that the politics are a lot better if the Israelis go first and alone and the Iranians retaliate against us, and give us more reason to take action …

Republicans are freaking out over Texas Senate race  —  Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is the man to beat ahead of Tuesday's primary — and could put Senate Republicans' majority at risk … If Cornyn loses the primary, Senate Republicans worry they could be forced to spend hundreds …

AI Death Machines.  No Human Oversight.  What Could Go Wrong?  —  Pete Hegseth is trying to bully Anthropic out of objecting to “lethal autonomous weapons systems” and mass surveillance.  —  Another day, another round of insane, racist Truth Social attacks against minority congresswomen from the president of the United States:

Breaking: Trans inmate's lawyers claim “egregious retaliation” in violation of court order  —  An alarming emergency motion filed on Wednesday night alleged “flagrant violations” by the Trump administration of a federal court order that it not retaliate against witnesses who are providing information …

Two-thirds of Americans want term limits for Supreme Court justices  —  Our new poll finds majority support for structural reforms to the Supreme Court, Puerto Rico statehood, and limits on the pardon power … Many Americans support structural reforms that would limit presidential power …

Vance says administration is pausing some Medicaid funding to Minnesota because of fraud concerns  —  Vice President JD Vance announced Wednesday that the Trump administration would “temporarily halt” some Medicaid funding to the state of Minnesota over fraud concerns, as part of what he described …

Americans Are Leaving the U.S. in Record Numbers  —  More citizens are replanting overseas, drawn by a quality of life made easily affordable by the U.S.'s enviable salaries.  “I wasn't expecting to be surrounded by this many Americans.”  —  In its 250th year, is America, land of immigration, becoming a country of emigration?

The Rip-roaring Response to Trump's Lies  —  Tuesday night was unlike any other State of the Union — and not solely because a decomposing president lied for hours, smeared entire groups of citizens (e.g., Somali Americans) and crabbed that Democrats would not applaud.

Exclusive: ICE struggles to vet recruits amid US immigration enforcement push, internal email shows  —  U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is struggling to keep pace with vetting new hires during its historic recruitment push and is laying out a process to deal with allegations …

Blind refugee abandoned by Border Patrol is dead  —  Nurul Amin Shah Alam.  Photo via his missing persons poster.  —  This is a developing story.  It was last updated at 7:20 p.m.  —  Nurul Amin Shah Alam, a nearly blind refugee from Burma who Border Patrol agents dropped off …

Putin's Top Officials Laugh About How Dumb Trump Is Behind His Back  —  IT'S MAGA, STUPID  —  They're in hysterics over just how easily the MAGA leader buys into the Russian tyrant's lies.  —  Vladimir Putin's top aides are snickering behind Donald Trump's back because they think the Russian tyrant …

How Jeffrey Epstein sought to infiltrate the justice system  —  Jeffrey Epstein didn't beat the justice system by accident.  —  For decades, the New York financier curated a network of influential people — politicians, business titans, media figures and academics — whom he leveraged …

A Vaccine Skeptic for Surgeon General  —  Casey Means won't restore confidence in public-health advice.  —  Click for Sound  —  The menagerie at the Department of Health and Human Services keeps getting stranger.  President Trump's nominee for Surgeon General, Casey Means …

Canadian man in ICE custody says he thought agents were only focusing on ‘criminals and murderers’  —  N.S. cuts funding from mental health programs tied to 2020 mass shooting  —  Over one quarter of Saskatchewan kids live in poverty: report  —  Sarnia teacher charged with sexual offences …

New A.C.A. Plans Could Increase Family Deductibles to $31,000  —  The Trump administration is proposing Obamacare plans that it says will lower health insurance premiums.  But critics warn they would make care unaffordable.  —  The Trump administration's proposed new rules for Obamacare plans next year …