News – National News Roundup

Year 9, Weeks 46-47 (November 23–December 6)

December 11, 2025 Kara HurvitzLeave a comment

I’m going to be honest, I found this cycle particularly nightmarish. Granted, I’m a public health professional, and our health system took a real beating this week–but the other stories aren’t a whole lot better. Caveat emptor, and I’m sorry in advance.

Several nouveau and some classic reminders still apply: we may be well into my ninth year of journalism, but I focus on national news within my areas of expertise–which, at this point, includes (1) health news, (2) queer news, (3) news about law and government, (4) news about descent into authoritarianism, and (5) connections between news stories. NNR summaries may still occasionally contain some detailed analysis that’s outside my expertise–I’m a lawyer, not a healthcare subsidy!–but we are moving away from this model in general, as we pioneer a more focused and sustainable format. And, of course, for the law things you read here, I’m offering context that shouldn’t be considered legal advice. Okay, I think that’s about it for the disclaimers. Onward to the news!

Spills in Aisle 47

_{‘Toddler Supermarket Tantrum,’ taken with permission from Stockcake.com}

Subdued Subsidies. The Senate is ostensibly gearing up to vote on healthcare subsidies, but nobody is particularly optimistic that this will save ACA subsidies as we knew them. The White House quietly circulated a plan behind closed doors that would have accomplished this, with some concessions. But after Republicans balked, they backed down from announcing it pretty quickly, preferring instead to let the GOP duke it out. Now, several different Dem bills are in play, but literally none of them are expected to get the numbers they need to pass. Meanwhile, the things that Republicans are floating are less “health plans” and more “medical debt in flimsy trench coats”–some Republican plans involve $7K deductibles, while others are based on Health Savings Accounts and/or limited to catastrophic coverage. Needless to say, this is not great for Americans, and frankly it’s not great for the GOP either, since Dem narratives about the GOP wrecking affordability are gaining increasing traction with voters. That said, “this is good for nobody and yet here we are” has more-or-less become the MAGA calling card, and so, well…here we are.
Kangaroo Courtside. This was a real banner cycle for court cases. The Supreme Court agreed to hear a case about whether people born here have U.S. citizenship, despite the fact that, you know, the Constitution literally says that all persons born here have U.S. citizenship. For an encore, they heard oral arguments on a case about whether Trump should be able to fire the head of the FTC on account of it’s Tuesday–and shock of shocks, the six conservative justices appeared persuaded even though we have 90 years of precedent otherwise. But in slightly more positive judicial news, at least a court ordered the release of another cache of Epstein documents.

From the Department of Health and Human Sacrifice

_{Image unnamed and in the public domain}

Not Evidence Based (Again, Still). After the last news cycle, I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised that we’re already seeing vaccines on the chopping block–but somehow, I still am. The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices decided a few days ago to nix a thirty-year recommendation of giving infants Hep B vaccination at birth, apparently persuaded by RFK’s pet anti-vax lawyer. Needless to say, people who practice actual medicine are not best pleased, with the American Association of Immunologists urging the CDC head to ignore the recommendations and Senate Health Committee chair Bill Cassidy calling the entire committee “totally discredited.” In response, Trump ordered RFK and acting CDC director Jim O’Neill to axe more childhood vaccinations. Meanwhile, a leaked FDA memo used the very small risk of COVID vaccine-induced myocarditis to argue for stricter regulation of vaccine approvals, despite the fact that, you know, myocarditis is way more common as a long COVID symptom. The memo comes as yet another FDA official walks after only three weeks on the job, citing the new FDA head’s mismanagement of policy as his reason. So all of that is… not great.

Chinga La Migra

_{Image unnamed and licensed to the public under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License}

Immigration Rundown. Immigration, ho boy, where do I start… We really saved the worst for last on this one. Here are the lowlights from this cycle:

Hegseth Horrorshow – News came out this cycle that the order given by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth regarding the strike on a Venezuelan vessel was “kill everybody,” and a second strike was fired at two survivors to comply with that order. This is, unsurprisingly, pretty illegal, and officials are giving garbled explanations while Democrats are calling for a hearing. Trump initially agreed to release a video of the strike, and then walked that back within a week, saying “Whatever Hegseth wants to do is OK with me.”
Grave National Guard Gestalt – Two National Guard members in West Virginia were shot, one of them fatally, at the top of this news cycle. After the shooter turned out to be an Afghan refugee, the Trump administration announced that it would no longer process asylum, citizenship, or green card applications from nineteen different countries. They also dramatically shortened work permit windows for asylum holders and are reportedly considering a travel ban for 30 different countries. Several ideas floated by various MAGA sociopaths are even more extreme, ranging from mass denaturalization to a permanent end of all asylum applications to ending TPS as a concept.
Deportation Pipeline Press – There was, unsurprisingly, also a lot of news about various abuses of the deportation process. Democrats are trying to get standards imposed for who can serve as an immigration judge, since Trump keeps firing judges who actually judge. Federal immigration raids–excuse me, “operations”–are also beginning in New Orleans and Minneapolis, the latter being part of a weird hate-on that Trump has for Somali people. This news comes at the same time as reports that nearly 1,000 migrants arrested in DC–making up about 80% of total arrests during the “crackdown”–had no criminal record whatsoever. The ACLU is alleging that detained Cuban migrants were beaten for refusing removal to Mexico. Finally, there was a baffling story this cycle about this administration bringing a woman to the U.S. to face charges after years of extradition efforts, and then starting deportation proceedings against her on the theory that she was present in the U.S. illegally. It’s like the plot of Brazil, except instead we’re trying to deport people there.

Ways to Weather This

_{Image unnamed and licensed to the public under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License}

Chop Wood, Carry Water. I was recently pointed towards Jess Craven’s Chop Wood, Carry Water by the inimitable Tegan Kehoe, who featured the substack in a recent Links and Things from Tegan (alongside the NNR, which I greatly appreciated!). As Kehoe notes, Craven sends a brief newsletter every weekday with some information about recent national news. That said, I’m featuring Chop Wood, Carry Water here because she also includes tools for taking action about those stories, such as scripts for calling your reps and information about upcoming events. Like me, Craven is a full-time activist and advocate, and so far I have really appreciated her work.

_{‘Discord That’s All Folks’ licensed to the public under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 License}

So that’s what I have for you this cycle, a day late but only $0.25 short. For making it through, you deserve this raccoon’s self-care regimen and a less corrupt government. I’m still figuring out sustainability, and I would love feedback in the National News Roundup ask box, which is there for your constructive comments. Send me questions! Send me feedback! Send me responses to Out: The Community Survey!

Year 9, Weeks 44-45 (November 9-22)

November 25, 2025November 25, 2025 Kara HurvitzLeave a comment

This cycle was a weird one, y’all–even setting aside the weird Epstein file about-face and MTG’s mud-slinging resignation, there’s a lot to unpack here. The news felt a bit like living in 2017, if 2017 involved more overt death threats. Ah, memories.

Several nouveau and some classic reminders still apply: we may be well into my ninth year of journalism, but I focus on national news within my areas of expertise–which, at this point, includes (1) health news, (2) queer news, (3) news about law and government, (4) news about descent into authoritarianism, and (5) connections between news stories. NNR summaries may still occasionally contain some detailed analysis that’s outside my expertise–I’m a lawyer, not an indictment!–but we are moving away from this model in general, as we pioneer a more focused and sustainable format. And, of course, for the law things you read here, I’m offering context that shouldn’t be considered legal advice. Okay, I think that’s about it for the disclaimers. Onward to the news!

Spills in Aisle 47

_{‘Toddler Supermarket Tantrum,’ taken with permission from Stockcake.com}

The Prosecution Rests (on Nothing). James Comey had a good time this week, and honestly, I love that for him. First on Wednesday, the Justice Department admitted that the grand jury never saw the final version of the indictment they allegedly approved. That’s a prosecutorial no-no and probably grounds for dismissal all by itself (though the judge on the case didn’t agree). But then just today, a different federal judge dismissed the criminal charges against both Comey and Leticia James on the incredible grounds that the lead prosecutor Lindsey Halligan was not a valid U.S. attorney in the first place. It was a dismissal without prejudice, so I’m sure we haven’t heard the end of this, but let’s enjoy dunking on Lindsey Halligan while we can.
Death Threats and Deployments. This story, ye gods. Okay, so, several sitting Democrats with military and intelligence experience made a video last week and posted it on Facebook. The video reminded current military and intelligence personnel that they can, and should, refuse illegal orders. Trump, meanwhile, immediately illustrated why they needed to make said video, by going on Truth social and yelling that making the video was–and I quote here–“punishable by death.” Now several of said reps are requesting a police investigation into our current President, on account of he made unhinged posts threatening to hang them. Meanwhile, the Pentagon is going after another of the six, Senator Mark Kelly, who is the only one still subject to potential court martial as a retired officer. As if underlining the point, while all of this was going on, a D.C judge granted an injunction to make Trump stop deploying the National Guard there because–shock of shocks–it’s probably illegal. And the Coast Guard was in the news for deciding that swastikas and nooses were not hate symbols anymore (though in fairness, the Coast Guard did walk that one back pretty quick after everybody rightfully got in their face about it).

From the Department of Health and Human Sacrifice

_{Image unnamed and in the public domain}

Not Evidence Based. The CDC was back in the news this week for suggesting in its official publications that vaccines can cause autism, despite the giant pile of evidence that says otherwise. Just today, RFK announced that this was done on his direct order, and I know personally I am shocked–just shocked!–by this unforeseeable information. Needless to say, this dramatically undermines what credibility the CDC still had left, and could potentially forecast less access to vaccines in the future. I recommend you hug the public health professionals in your life, friends, because despite being a predictable turn of events, it’s still a deeply disturbing thing to watch unfold.

Chinga La Migra

_{Image unnamed and licensed to the public under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License}

Swept Up in Violence. It was a real banner time for immigration news this cycle. The likely illegal strikes on alleged drug vessels are still ongoing, with 82 people killed in 21 strikes at the time that I type this–and increasing evidence that at least some of those casualties were civilians. The administration also announced that they want to expand penalties faced by immigrants for using life-saving benefits like Medicaid and SNAP. And to cap everything off, raids in Charlotte swept up 370 people over a 5-day period, which naturally included U.S. citizens, because of course it did.

Ways to Weather This

_{Image unnamed and licensed to the public under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License}

OUT: The Community Survey. Some of you have heard me talk about this effort before, but I’m really excited to say more about it here–I’m leading international volunteer work right now that I really believe will help LGBTQIA+ lives long-term. A week and change ago, my organization officially launched a study to get more info on how queer people’s lives have changed since the U.S. Inauguration, and what the current levels of oppression are doing to our health and safety. Right now, and for ten more weeks, we’re hosting an anonymous community survey to measure that.

It’s open to everyone fifteen and older who identifies as LGBTQIA+ or loves someone who does, throughout the entire world. There is no payment or personal benefit of any kind connected to this survey, and we plan to make the results publicly available. It’s rooted in the simple idea that if we know what people need, we know how to advocate and how to meet this moment for our communities. I mention this under the ‘Ways to Weather This’ section because I truly believe that it’s a form of resilience to share what you are going through and to connect with others about your health and emotional safety. But also, we want it to reach as many people as possible, and we’re relying on volunteer partners and word-of-mouth to get the word out.

If you’re reading this, I urge you to share how this moment is affecting you by taking the survey; we’re also still looking to partner with people and groups who have interest in spreading the word. Please feel empowered to forward the link and these materials, and if you have any interest in partnering, give me a quick ping and we’ll make that happen.

So that’s what I have for you this cycle, and boo on this cycle for making me kind of miss 2017. For making it through, you deserve this pupper’s learning journey and a less corrupt government. I’m still figuring out sustainability, and I would love feedback in the National News Roundup ask box, which is there for your constructive comments. Send me questions! Send me feedback! Send me more hours in the day!

Year 9, Weeks 42-43 (October 26–November 9)

November 13, 2025 Kara HurvitzLeave a comment

I won’t lie, this news cycle made me want to throw things out my window. I didn’t, mind you, but if the past several days made you want to throw things also, just know that you’re not alone. Defenestration solidarity!

Several nouveau and some classic reminders still apply: we may be well into my ninth year of journalism, but I focus on national news within my areas of expertise–which, at this point, includes (1) health news, (2) queer news, (3) news about law and government, (4) news about descent into authoritarianism, and (5) connections between news stories. NNR summaries may still occasionally contain some detailed analysis that’s outside my expertise–I’m a lawyer, not a government shutdown!–but we are moving away from this model in general, as we pioneer a more focused and sustainable format. And, of course, for the law things you read here, I’m offering context that shouldn’t be considered legal advice. Okay, I think that’s about it for the disclaimers. Onward to the news!

Spills in Aisle 47

_{‘Toddler Supermarket Tantrum,’ taken with permission from Stockcake.com}

Shutdown Shanda. Ho boy, where do we even start on this one. After a forty-three day shutdown, which was in fact the longest in U.S. history, seven Democrats and one Independent Senator voted to reopen the government on Monday in exchange for… ::checks notes:: ..a promise that the Senate would vote on whether to extend ACA tax credits in December. Not a promise that both bodies would vote, mind you, and not a promise to extend at a later date. Just a promise that the Senate would hold some kind of vote on this at some point. And if that sounds meaningless to you, that’s because it is, which Rep Brownley (D-CA) just went ahead and said point-blank. It was made at an impressively bad time as well–which we’ll talk more about below. But the House passed their version this evening, so the shutdown will be over once Trump signs the bill into law. I guarantee we haven’t seen the last of this issue or the shutdown pain, but at least people will ostensibly get their SNAP benefits again.
Illegal Targeting of ‘Enemies’ (Who Then Target Trump Back). This was a wild cycle for political punishment, especially in the court arena. The malignant pumpkin extended National Guard deployment in DC through February, and is planning to send them to more places as ‘reaction forces.’ He’s also appealing his felony convictions on the legal basis of, I dunno, vibes. In a somewhat ironic twist, his administration simultaneously attempted to indict a guy with felony assault because the man threw a sandwich. (Spoiler: It didn’t work, because a hoagie isn’t a felony, it’s a hoagie.) And in non-court but certainly politically targeted news, the House reconvening also means that Rep. Adelita Grijalva was finally sworn in, which in turn means that the vote to release the Epstein files happened, and they were in fact released. I bet you will be shocked–just shocked!–to learn that Trump is in fact implicated by said files. More specifically, Epstein noted that Trump “knew about the girls” and “spent hours at [his] house” with a specific alleged victim. I think it’s safe to conclude that this will remain messy, at least in the near future.

From the Department of Health and Human Sacrifice

_{Image unnamed and in the public domain}

Shutdown Spillover. As alluded to above, the SNAP situation during the shutdown was getting extremely ugly. After benefits expired on November 1, the administration went out of its way to make sure this caused a pain point, even going so far as to sue to stop states from giving relief while Democrats caused to be allowed to disburse funds. A federal court ordered the administration to release funds, which resulted in a Supreme Court stay on that order and the Trump administration telling states to “undo” any disbursements already made under the first order, because they were now “unauthorized.” That SCOTUS stay on disbursement, and the resulting chaos, very likely played a role in the Senate capitulation.

Queer By(lines) For the Straight Guy

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A Mixed QUILTBAG. Queer news was kind of all over the place this cycle. On the one hand, the Supreme Court removed a protective stay that allowed Americans to change the sex markers on their passports again (booooo). But on the other hand, that same Supreme Court also declined to hear the Kim Davis case challenging same-sex marriage, which hopefully means we’re finally done hearing from Kim Davis (yaaaay). All told, not the worst cycle we’ve had under this regime, but it isn’t the best one, either.

Ways to Weather This

_{Image unnamed and licensed to the public under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License}

(Legal) Election Rejection. The Senate deal timing was frustrating for a lot of reasons, but a big one was the Election Day of last Tuesday. Overwhelmingly, election results skewed in favor of Democrat leadership, with Dems overperforming even in states as red as Mississippi. The election results as well as related polls show a country that is very frustrated with the Trump agenda and with Trump personally, even among voters who supported both in the 2024 election. While it’s aggravating to watch the Leopard Face Eating Party lose membership only after a massive spree of leopard snacking, it’s nonetheless important to note that these trends are occurring; they create the potential for activation efforts to gain more traction.

So that’s what I have for you this cycle, a day late but only $0.25 short. For making it through, you deserve this enthusiastic but confused doggo and a less corrupt government. I’m still figuring out sustainability, and I would love feedback in the National News Roundup ask box, which is there for your constructive comments. Send me questions! Send me feedback! Send me congratulations on getting my biologic again!

Year 9, Weeks 40-41 (October 12-25)

October 28, 2025 Kara HurvitzLeave a comment

This cycle felt like the second half of a two-part episode, though I can’t claim the second verse was better than the first. We’re seeing a lot of continuations and recurrent themes; many things are stalled out or still careening off-course. I am hoping we’ll see at least some changes in the next cycle, but I’ll keep folks posted either way.

Several nouveau and some classic reminders still apply: we may be well into my ninth year of journalism, but I focus on national news within my areas of expertise–which, at this point, includes (1) health news, (2) queer news, (3) news about law and government, (4) news about descent into authoritarianism, and (5) connections between news stories. NNR summaries may still occasionally contain some detailed analysis that’s outside my expertise–I’m a lawyer, not an emolument!–but we are moving away from this model in general, as we pioneer a more focused and sustainable format. And, of course, for the law things you read here, I’m offering context that shouldn’t be considered legal advice. Okay, I think that’s about it for the disclaimers. Onward to the news!

Spills in Aisle 47

_{‘Toddler Supermarket Tantrum,’ taken with permission from Stockcake.com}

Shutdown Takedown. By now, it’s pretty apparent that this is not an ordinary shutdown. We’re on the 27th day as I type this–and fun fact, 45 broke a Presidential record in overall shutdown days during this news cycle. The administration has continued to use the cover of the shutdown to shutter programs through myriad reductions in force, despite a federal judge issuing a court order to prevent them. Meanwhile, the Senate has voted twelve times on resolutions with no, well, resolution; they also failed to pass a bill that would pay federal workers. The House isn’t even in session, which also means that Rep-elect Adelita Grijalva still has not been sworn in. Cheeto Hitler has made it clear that he will not meet with Congress until the shutdown is over. Federal workers largely have missed a full pay period at this point, with about 1.4 million people stuck trying to make ends meet (though the military is still getting paid). But this shutdown is starting to have real and lasting impacts on the whole country–more about that below.
Illegal Targeting of ‘Enemies’ (Again, Still). It is maddening that I can summarize this cycle’s political targeting news as “more of the same,” but here we are. Our fast food Fuhrer has appealed to SCOTUS to pretty please let him invade Illinois, despite appeals courts saying he can’t. A 9th circuit panel initially gave him the green light to invade Portland, but that decision was promptly walked back by the full court. Separately, an Illinois judge ruled that ICE has to wear body cameras, which I’m sure they’ll follow scrupulously. Finally, prior Trump affiliate John Bolton became the next guy thrown on the indictment train, while Leticia James pled not guilty.
Presidential Engriftment. We also learned this cycle that Trump’s tacky gilded ballroom plans have caused the full demolition of the East Wing of the White House. This feels like a metaphor for this administration on several levels–not least because he lied about it not happening, because it’s probably illegal, and because the East Wing is where the First Lady’s office traditionally sits. But the brazen act does legitimately have a lot of totalitarian implications, as Paul Krugman rightfully notes. It’s not made better by the fact that Trump publicly demanded that the Department of Justice pay $230M to him personally in the same week. It doesn’t take a very stable genius to know that this type of demand is patently illegal, especially when the “slight” in question was him being indicted 43 times–in fact, it is blatantly unconstitutional.

From the Department of Health and Human Sacrifice

_{Image unnamed and in the public domain}

Shutdown Spillover. As mentioned above, the shutdown is very tied to Americans’ health. First of all, the official Democrat reason for the shutdown in the first place is to force a vote to extend COVID-era protections, which in turn will allow the 24 million people on ACA marketplace insurance to avoid their insurance premiums skyrocketing. But that strategy hinges in part on getting a deal brokered before before open enrollment starts on November 1, and Republicans are refusing to negotiate at all until the government reopens. As a result, insurance costs are already rising. (Weirdly, Marjorie Taylor Greene remains pissed about that, presumably because it impacts her family.) We hit another extremely concerning benchmark on November 1 as well, because at least half the country will lose access to food benefits on that date–at a time when food prices are constantly rising. This is both particularly dangerous and particularly galling, because the White House could authorize emergency funding but instead they are just illegally blaming Democrats on government websites.

Chinga La Migra

_{Image unnamed and licensed to the public under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License}

Cold as ICE. ICE was in the news a lot this cycle for being several different flavors of horrifying. In Chicago, they tear-gassed a school while CBP raided a children’s Halloween parade. In Florida, an overtly racist ICE agent threatened a police officer with a targeted immigration check because said officer was arresting him for DUI and child endangerment. In general, ICE has killed 20 people in custody so far this year, which is its highest mortality rate in twenty years. And just to cap it off, the administration made it very clear that they’re going to keep killing Venezuelans on both land and sea.

Ways to Weather This

_{Image unnamed and licensed to the public under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License}

No Kings Debrief. This is admittedly a continuation from the previous roundup, but I believe it’s important to recognize the mark that No Kings made. The best estimate is that nearly seven million people attended, making it unquestionably one of the largest single-day protests in U.S. history. There were over 2,700 distinct events around the U.S. and in several other countries. At least here in Boston, I can also confirm that Operation Inflation was out in full force–in my time on the Commons, I saw four chickens, a pig, two cows, a unicorn, a T-rex, and two Lobsters Against Mobsters. It was a joyful rallying point, which I think many of us sorely needed–in times like these, joy itself is a radical act.

So that’s what I have for you this cycle, and though the format is improved, the news is not. F
or making it through, you deserve candied Cheez-its and a less corrupt government. I’m still figuring out sustainability, and I would love feedback in the National News Roundup ask box, which is there for your constructive comments. Send me questions! Send me feedback! Send me my biologic because not having it sucks!

Year 9, Weeks 38-39 (September 28 – October 11)

October 13, 2025 Kara HurvitzLeave a comment

Good evening, and welcome to another episode of Why Is Our Country Like This? I wouldn’t say the news is worse than it was two weeks ago, but it certainly isn’t better. I think it’s fair to say that there’s still a need for the NNR, so, hello again from Fash News land.

Several nouveau and some classic reminders still apply: we may be well into my ninth year of journalism, but I focus on national news within my areas of expertise–which, at this point, includes (1) health news, (2) queer news, (3) news about law and government, (4) news about descent into authoritarianism, and (5) connections between news stories. NNR summaries may still occasionally contain some detailed analysis that’s outside my expertise–I’m a lawyer, not a government shutdown!–but we are moving away from this model in general, as we pioneer a more focused and sustainable format. And, of course, for the law things you read here, I’m offering context that shouldn’t be considered legal advice. Okay, I think that’s about it for the disclaimers. Onward to the news!

Spills in Aisle 47

_{‘Toddler Supermarket Tantrum,’ taken with permission from Stockcake.com}

Shutdown Takedown. As I’m sure most of the folks reading this are aware, we did indeed go into a shutdown on October 1, and we’re on the thirteenth day of it as I type this. And shocking no one, the administration has jumped at the chance to break things, so there’s a lot of mess to sort through. Right out of the gate, official government websites started blaming ‘Democrats’ and ‘the radical left’ for disrupted government functioning, which is a blatant violation of the Hatch Act but I guess we’re not doing that anymore. (Fun fact: My research on an unrelated matter yesterday took me to the Department of Health and Human Services page, which sure does still reference the ‘Democrat-led shutdown’ as soon as you open it.) It didn’t get better from there, as the administration left ICE functions in place but took the opportunity to close the agency’s oversight office. We also started immediately seeing airport delays because traffic controllers were so thin on the ground–traffic controllers are essential workers, but many already-overwhelmed workers have been calling in sick. And I honestly can’t blame them, because the administration has signaled that it isn’t going to pay government workers for their essential work performed once the shutdown ends–which is also blatantly illegal under a 2019 law, despite these ghouls claiming otherwise. As foretold by prophecy, they took the opportunity to lay off a ton of people, also likely illegally, which I’ll talk more about below. Needless to say, these developments didn’t make Democrats less inclined to filibuster, and the House bill has now failed to advance in the Senate at least seven times.
Terrifying Terrorism Designations. I’m sure everyone reading this is aware of the death of Charlie Kirk, and much of the resulting First Amendment horrorshow—Jimmy Kimmel‘s suspension saga and subsequent return to most stations was particularly well-covered. What might be less obvious, however, is how much of a turning point the immediate aftermath of Kirk’s death turned out to be for how the administration engages with political enemies. Almost immediately, we started to see the administration issue statements implicating trans people and ‘trans ideology,’ without specifying what that even meant. That eventually broadened to speaking about ‘leftist ideology‘ when it became apparent that the shooting had no direct ties to transgender anything beyond the alleged shooter having a transgender roommate. These messages continued to iterate and deepen, as did anti-trans rhetoric, until reports began emerging that the FBI plans to designate trans people as ‘violent extremists’. In apparent response to the FBI’s plan, the Oversight Project at the Heritage Foundation (you know, the people responsible for making Project 2025 become real policy) issued a frightening directive pushing for a new form of domestic terrorism designation called ‘Trans Ideology-Inspired Violent Extremism,’ which they proposed include things like speech in defense of trans people. Almost immediately, we saw the administration take this ball and start to run with it, first by issuing an executive order that designated Antifa as a domestic terrorism organization. A few days after that, the administration released a memo which stated they would “disband and uproot” nonprofits and institutions that “engage in activities that support domestic terrorism,” including “conspiracies against rights” in that definition. The same day, the administration announced a criminal investigation of George Soros’s human rights foundation Open Society. Dovetail this with Bondi’s recent statements, also in the wake of Kirk’s death, that the DOJ will “go after you. . . if you are targeting anyone with hate speech, anything,” and you start to see a pretty scary picture.

From the Department of Health and Human Sacrifice

_{Image unnamed and in the public domain}

HHS Layoffs. As mentioned above, the administration has taken its current shutdown as an opportunity to start laying off nearly 4,000 more government workers. Of that number, over 1,000 people receiving RIFs work in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, from offices that handle outbreak prevention, immunization, chronic disease, and other very critical areas of health. This is made even more confusing, however, by the fact that some of those RIFs were rescinded, as they were apparently sent in error. All of this just happened at the top of this weekend, so reports are still pretty muddled, but I’ll try to circle back with more specifics once I have them.

Queer By(lines) For the Straight Guy

_{Image unnamed and licensed to the public under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License}

Just Say Yes to Torture. SCOTUS is back in session, and heard arguments this past week on a case called Chiles v. Salazar, which alleges that a Colorado law banning conversion therapy is unconstitutional because it infringes on the plaintiff’s freedom of speech and religion. Folks, I am literally not exaggerating in the slightest when I note that conversion therapy, though it can be a “talk therapy” in the strictest sense of the term, has been classified as torture under United Nations metrics which measure such things by UN experts. There is overwhelming evidence that the practice increases suicidality of LGBTQI+ people. So the fact that the current Supreme Court appeared to buy the plaintiff’s arguments this week is, frankly, terrifying. This is like the court agreeing that a Stephen-King-worshipping woman has shown how laws prohibiting chaining people to beds and breaking their legs violates her Constitutional right to reenact Misery.

Ways to Weather This

_{Image unnamed and licensed to the public under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License}

No Kings on October 18. I believe it has become increasingly important for people to have tools to get through these difficult times. As a result, I’m trying out a new section to cover forms of activism, resilience, and health best practices. This cycle, I’m spotlighting No Kings, an internationally-coordinated protest effort happening this upcoming Saturday in cities around the world. (While I included that organizing link because it has information about individual city events, incidentally, I encourage you to avoid ‘RSVP’ing to a protest in the current climate.) Protests are both an important form of resistance and a strong form of solidarity, which is vital for navigating our current moment. This particular protest is a reiteration of a June protest that drew over 5 million people, and it likely will draw even more this time. That said, it’s important to understand that this one might not feel the same, because conditions are much worse now than they were four months ago. There is psychological weight to that, as Paul Shattuck notes in his excellent ‘No Kings Field Kit’, which I strongly recommend people read. I particularly agree with his observation that Saturday is “mile 7 of a marathon most of us didn’t train for.” We’re all in this together, and it will not be fixed overnight, but actions like Saturday are still worth it. And, as I mentioned last time, these protests are one part of a much richer ecosystem of social change.

So that’s what I have for you this cycle, and I’m sorry, there are still no news refunds. For making it through, you deserve a toke from this shofar and a less corrupt government. I’m still figuring out formatting and sustainability, and I would find feedback in the National News Roundup ask box particularly helpful this week (though it is always there for your constructive comments). Send me questions! Send me feedback! Send me Tylenol because this headache sucks!

Year 9, September-ish (September 14-27)

September 30, 2025 Kara HurvitzLeave a comment

Okay, y’all. I know the NNR has been paused for some time, and for good reason, but if there were ever a time to kick off the rust and run a lightning roundup, it would be now. We are careening towards a full authoritarian state, and have seen a lot of movement especially over the past couple of weeks. I think it’s important that people know that, and know how and why that is the case, because we can’t hope to respond otherwise.

But first, let’s take a moment and acknowledge the elephant in the room. Doing the NNR has become extremely difficult, in part because many major news outlets have become very compromised in the last season or so. I no longer consider it journalistic due diligence to simply multi-source stories with my previously-trusted outlets. Journalism has become the work of the individual pretty much soup-to-nuts–an effort which I cannot do full time for about a million reasons, and I have been a bit paralyzed for the last few months as a result. I don’t know if the NNR is back-back, or if this is a one-off. Long-term, I would like to find a format that works for all of us, including me, because I really believe in the importance of this work.

But what I do know, especially in this moment, is that I would never forgive myself if I didn’t put something out right now while we all stare at the oncoming train. So here I am, and hopefully, here you are. And we’ll see where that takes us, at least for now.

Spills in Aisle 47:

As this is a lightning roundup, we are going to focus exclusively on Authoritarian Actions. Here are the main lowlights from the last few weeks to know:

Indictment Rag. Perhaps the most glaring banana in this republic at the moment is the indictment of James Comey, which on paper was for lying and obstruction. It’s kind of hard to buy that this was the real reason, however, when Trump straight-up said the quiet part out loud and publicly pushed Bondi to prosecute a whole host of people, telling the press that “there’ll be others.” And he clearly wasn’t lying about that last part, because Trump fired a U.S. prosecutor for refusing to bring this case and refusing to similarly charge Letiticia James; he placed an obvious target on Christopher Wray this weekend as well. All told, it’s obvious that Comey is the start of a much larger hit list. But as much as I hate to say it, I don’t think the story here is that Trump abused his power to go after people he feels wronged him, which is as predictable as the sun rising. In my opinion, the story is that an indictment was actually handed down–that means that he got prosecutors to put together a grand jury, and a grand jury approved two of the three charges, despite several credible prosecutors refusing to touch the case with a ten-foot pole. A sizable chunk of the country has been primed to want this kind of kangaroo court, which is as relevant as it is terrifying–but more about that below.
General Concerns. Against that backdrop, Pete Hegseth calling in all starred generals so that they can attend the world’s weirdest pep rally tomorrow is a less obvious big deal, but it is a big deal nonetheless. First of all, we don’t usually put 800 generals in one room, because it’s a massive security risk–and the idea that this might be a feature to our current Secretary of Defense has kept me up at night. Second, Trump made it clear today that he plans to attend, which ironically would not be weird if he were a normal President because the President is the Commander-in-Chief, but given that ole’ Bone Spurs has open contempt for our military, it’s kind of strange. Add in the many times this year that this administration has already dunked military morale in the toilet, and the whole thing becomes even stranger. We’ll hopefully know more after the meeting happens tomorrow, but I think we can expect that something is going on here.
Terrifying Terrorism Designations. I’m sure everyone reading this is aware of the death of Charlie Kirk, and much of the resulting First Amendment horrorshow—Jimmy Kimmel‘s suspension saga and subsequent return to most stations was particularly well-covered. What might be less obvious, however, is how much of a turning point the immediate aftermath of Kirk’s death turned out to be for how the administration engages with political enemies. Almost immediately, we started to see the administration issue statements implicating trans people and ‘trans ideology,’ without specifying what that even meant. That eventually broadened to speaking about ‘leftist ideology‘ when it became apparent that the shooting had no direct ties to transgender anything beyond the alleged shooter having a transgender roommate. These messages continued to iterate and deepen, as did anti-trans rhetoric, until reports began emerging that the FBI plans to designate trans people as ‘violent extremists’. In apparent response to the FBI’s plan, the Oversight Project at the Heritage Foundation (you know, the people responsible for making Project 2025 become real policy) issued a frightening directive pushing for a new form of domestic terrorism designation called ‘Trans Ideology-Inspired Violent Extremism,’ which they proposed include things like speech in defense of trans people. Almost immediately, we saw the administration take this ball and start to run with it, first by issuing an executive order that designated Antifa as a domestic terrorism organization. A few days after that, the administration released a memo which stated they would “disband and uproot” nonprofits and institutions that “engage in activities that support domestic terrorism,” including “conspiracies against rights” in that definition. The same day, the administration announced a criminal investigation of George Soros’s human rights foundation Open Society. Dovetail this with Bondi’s recent statements, also in the wake of Kirk’s death, that the DOJ will “go after you. . . if you are targeting anyone with hate speech, anything,” and you start to see a pretty scary picture.
Shutting Down Ahead of Shutdown. In other extremely normal administration news, Trump canceled his own meeting with Democrats about the looming threat of shutdown last Thursday, saying that there was “no meeting” with them “could possibly be productive.” (He did meet with them today, but that meeting ended in Vance announcing that “I think we’re heading into a shutdown.”) As Minority Leader Jeffries has noted, since the GOP controls all three branches of government at the moment, a shutdown would imply that the GOP either is not capable of reaching an accord with itself, or wants a shutdown to happen. I personally think it’s the latter, because the administration also directed agencies to start firing people if the shutdown happens, rather than furloughing them. That said, this might be an intimidation tactic rather than a plan, because this administration was going to RIF people already.

So that’s what I have for you after a few months’ sabbatical, and I’m sorry, there are still no news refunds. I am, however, giving you optional homework–in these uncertain times, I urge you to start thinking about your role in the social change ecosystem, because we desperately need solidarity if we’re going to get through this. (No pressure, but I think it is helpful to know how you’re most suited and positioned to help.) And either way, for making it through, you deserve a glass bowl hat and a less corrupt government. I’m still figuring out the most sustainable way to keep doing this, but I’ll be back in some capacity sometime soon, and I hope you will be back as well–but in the meantime, feel free to ping the National News Roundup ask box, which is there for your constructive comments. Send me questions! Send me feedback! Send me your opinions about social change ecosystems!

Some brief thoughts about our current moment, society, and celebrity deaths

September 11, 2025 Kara HurvitzLeave a comment

Hi, folks. I intend to write a much longer post in the near future about what is happening with this site, why I have been paused on the NNR for so long, and where we go from here. But in the meantime, because I truly believe we are living through a pivotal moment right now, I want to talk about Charlie Kirk’s shooting yesterday.

He was literally in the middle of advocating hateful policies to punish people for being trans while he was shot. Policies, I might add, that contradict his stated goal of freedom to bear arms, because his desire to hate trumped his desire for policy consistency. (Though the latter goal about owning guns is unquestionably more related to his death than the former.)

This man laid all the seeds of his own destruction. He was hateful and prejudiced until the very moment he died. He has been quoted as saying that mass shootings were “worth” it “so that we can have the Second Amendment to protect our other God-given rights” – a statement he obviously didn’t even believe, since he was in the middle of advocating for a gun ban for trans people when he died. He has also been quoted as saying that empathy “does a lot of damage.” This man was actively harmful to the fabric of our society. We are learning a lot, I think, by seeing Vance skip NYC today to go to Salt Lake City; by seeing 47 propose he be posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. For being shot in the middle of spewing hate.

9/11 means less because of these actions. The Presidential Medal of Freedom certainly means less because of these actions. We’re watching a degradation of our understanding of civil society in real time, both because these things matter less and because who dies matters more. Regardless of how you are personally feeling right now, these things matter.

Do I want people shot at rallies routinely? No. But Charlie Kirk did. Charlie Kirk died in the world he wanted. And the rest of us all have to live in it.

Year 9, Weeks 15-17 (April 27–May 17)

May 19, 2025 Kara HurvitzLeave a comment

Between free Qatari planes, self-deportation, and RFK’s medical advice (or lack thereof), it has been quite a chaotic news cycle. Hold onto your hats, y’all, because we’re going for a ride.

Standard and new reminders apply: we may be starting my ninth year of journalism, but I summarize news within my areas of expertise. NNR summaries often contain some detailed analysis that’s outside my expertise–I’m a lawyer, not a tariff!–but all offroad adventures are marked with an asterisk. We’re still playing around with formatting and frequency as I navigate two healing ribs and all of the everything. And, of course, for the law things that are within my lane, I’m offering context that shouldn’t be considered legal advice. Okay, I think that’s about it for the disclaimers. Onward to the news!

Spills in Aisle 47:

To Hell in a ‘Waste’ Basket (cont). Yet more vital services were cut this cycle, as the administration particularly gutted the arts and the military (two great tastes that taste great together). On the military side, Secretary Hegseth moved to cut 20% of four-star military officials as well as 10% of officials more across the board. Prior NSA head Mike Walz, who you may remember from messaging app fame, has been moved to the UN while current Secretary of State Marco Rubio was given the position as his literal third job. Additionally, several more military personnel were forced out when the Supreme Court permitted Trump’s ban of trans military service members to go forward. On the arts side of things, the National Endowment of the Arts withdrew millions in grants shortly before Trump proposed eliminating the endowment entirely. The administration has also removed the head of FEMA as well as several Democrats on the Consumer Product Safety Commission, And, of course, we’re still cutting things in the health sphere, as the National Cancer Institute starts to face cuts and a new report estimates that NIH grant cancelations total more than $1.8B.
Tariff Tug-of-War and Qatari ‘Gifts’.* In economic news, Trump announced that he wants to put tariffs on foreign films while the Senate rejected a bipartisan attempt to say Enough with the Tariffs Already. Then, in a fit of Opposite Day, he announced he wants to tax the rich more (yes, really). He was also in the news over the past cycle for planning to accept a personal Qatari luxury jet, on the stated grounds that only “stupid people” refuse gifts. This flagrant corruption appears to be a step too far even for the GOP, who I’m sure will spend at least five seconds considering a strongly-worded speech in the mirror.

The Latest Spring Fashy:

Inhumane Immigration Actions (cont). I know I keep saying “this is an awful time for immigration,” but it just keeps being true. This cycle’s deportation horror shows included 1) offering to pay people to self-deport; 2) trying to deport Asian immigrants to Libya for God-only-knows what reason; 3) prepping to end deportation protections for folks from Afghanistan; and 4) yet more illegally moving detainees so that they can be deported more easily. Speaking of illegally moving detainees, an appeals court also ordered the transfer of Rumeysa Ozturk back to Vermont, where she was ordered released. They also ordered that dozens of Afrikaners be treated as refugees, at a time when almost no one is being treated as refugees, Most concerningly, the administration also made noises this cycle about suspending writs of habeas corpus, which would allow them to skip the due process part before deporting people, because they are blocked from using the Alien Enemies Act — but more on that below.
From the Department of Health and Human Sacrifices (cont). If you’re like me, you spent a lot of this cycle carefully tracking the reconciliation budget saga, because the proposed bill would make pretty catastrophic cuts to Medicaid (even by our 2025 standards) if passed. Thankfully, the past week ended in a fit of gleeful schadenfreude, as five GOP members of the House Budget Committee tanked their own resolution after the House leader watered down the Medicaid cuts. I doubt this is the last we will hear about it, but the more extreme the final version coming out of the House is, the more likely that the more moderate Senate will balk at it–and both houses need to agree on the same resolution for it to pass. In other crappy health news, our illustrious Health Secretary stated that Americans shouldn’t take his health advice this week (well, at least he knows it). He said this shortly after announcing he is reinstating placebo tests for vaccine adjustment trials–a wildly unethical order when testing existing vaccines. And, of course, that announcement was shortly after he announced (and then partially walked back) that he wants to create an autism registry.

Silver Linings:

Recent Judicial Resilience. As is becoming the norm, we had several favorable court cases this cycle as well. As mentioned above, one of Trump’s own District Court appointees held that he can’t use the Alien Enemies Act to deport people without due process. A different District Court judge, meanwhile, granted a temporary restraining order saying the administration needed to pause its firing seven zillion more government workers. (It will expire in a few weeks, but the Trump administration is appealing anyway.)

So that’s what I have for you, and I’m sorry, there are no news refunds. For making it through, you deserve this legal weasel and a less corrupt government. I’ll be back next time with more and improved news, and I hope you will be back as well–but in the meantime, feel free to ping the National News Roundup ask box, which is there for your constructive comments. Send me questions! Send me feedback! Send me new types of herbal tea!

Year 9, Weeks 12-14 (April 6-26)

April 29, 2025April 29, 2025 Kara HurvitzLeave a comment

The theme of this cycle was “second verse, worse than the first”–a lot of themes in the previous cycle were repeated, but ramped up. Needless to say, this doesn’t lend itself to awesome news, although we do have some bright spots. Hang in there, y’all.

Spills in Aisle 47:

As we speed down the Descent to Fascism Highway, I think it’s important to draw a distinction between authoritarianism and Inept Governance. We’re going to start with the latter, as it’s a bit less scary to contemplate (though only a bit):

To Hell in a ‘Waste’ Basket (cont). We continue to see absurd cuts to various governmental departments and funds, as well as all kinds of disorganized chaos. This time, there were cuts to the Environmental Protection Agency, particularly among their environmental justice staff. We also saw the Secretary of State announce sweeping cuts to the Department of State literally one day after he claimed a document outlining said cuts was “fake news.” Conversely, we were told the Women’s Health Initiative was being scrapped, only for the administration to walk that one back a few days later. About the only good news on this front is that Musk said he plans to leave DOGE, on account of Tesla has been freefalling and nobody likes him.
Mr. Trump’s Wild Tariff Ride (cont).* As foretold by prophecy, the market started to calm down after Trump walked back reciprocal tariffs and expressed willingness to lower the ridiculous tariffs he has imposed on China. But things are still very volatile, because Trump went right back to playing hopscotch with the economy by coming for head of the Federal Reserve Jerome Powell. And although he eventually cooled it with the Powell thing, he immediately turned around and threatened to reinstate the reciprocal tariffs. Unsurprisingly, the country is not impressed, and most of us are expecting our savings to go the way of the dodo bird in the coming months.
Hegseth’s Mixed Signal. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was in the news again this cycle for again sharing classified information on Signal. This time, it was apparently on purpose, as it was sent to his wife and brother. In the resulting hubbub, it also came out that he has Signal installed on his computer at the Pentagon. Hegseth is responding by criticizing “leakers” on Fox News, because of course he is, and the DNC is calling for his removal.

The Latest Spring Fashy:

Inhumane Immigration Actions. This has been an awful cycle for America’s descent into fascism, and nowhere is that more clear that in the immigration arena. There were a lot more stories about unconstitutional (and frankly scary) deportation, including: 1) Trump floating the idea of deporting U.S. birthright citizens convicted of crimes to his gulag in El Salvador; 2) Trump straight-up deporting young citizen children with complex medical needs despite an injunction prohibiting him from doing that; 3) the arrest of a lawful permanent resident at his citizenship interview because of his protest of the war in Palestine; and 4) the DOJ claiming that Trump doesn’t have to listen to the SCOTUS order to facilitate returning Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the man ‘mistakenly’ deported to the aforementioned El Salvadoran gulag because… I don’t know, reasons. (Several House Democrats and one Senator traveled to El Salvador this week, incidentally, to attempt to aid with Garcia’s release.) According to a Washington Post article this week, these illegal deportations keep happening in part because the administration set a goal of deporting 1 million people this year. That figure, however, does not account for the FBI arresting a Wisconsin judge on claims that she was “obstructing” ICE from her bench, nor the FBI director posting her arrest on social media (which is against DOJ policy). The White House also falsely marked 6,000 immigrants as dead in federal databases so that they didn’t have to pay them benefits.
From the Department of Health and Human Sacrifices (cont). The fascism news on health is pretty bad this cycle as well. RFK announced a plan to “study” autism by reviewing thousands of private health records and creating a registry, which sounds an awful lot like laying groundwork for eugenics. (He also falsely claimed yet again that autism is caused by environmental exposure, which it definitely isn’t, but that sure does twist the knife about this administration canceling grants on environmental toxins.) Meanwhile, a leaked HHS document outlining a proposed budget for FY2026 featured even more aggressive cuts than we saw last cycle, with a further 40% reduction of funding for NIH and the removal of four more departments. And since DOGE now controls federal grant systems, many more grant payments have been (probably illegally) frozen or delayed.
White House Fascism Potpourri. In addition to the immigration and health issues outlined above, the White House had a grab bag of other acts of fascism this cycle: 1) The administration issued an executive order that walks back the part of the Civil Rights Act that deals with disparate impact liability, rolling back important equal rights protections; 2) the White House removed their wired press slot from the press pool, effectively re-barring the Associated Press from access immediately after an injunction said they can’t do that under the First Amendment; and 3) Trump issued a memo ordering the investigation of ActBlue, the fundraising arm of the Democratic Party, which is a pretty blatant (and as far as I can tell unfounded) attack on political opposition.

Silver Linings:

Recent Judicial Resilience. On the plus side, we did see a lot of judicial resilience this cycle. SCOTUS told Trump not to deport a group of Venezuelan people under the Alien Enemies Act, broadening a prior holding that said people need to have meaningful due process. Federal courts also held that Trump can’t order the withholding of school funds due to DEI initiatives in schools, and that he also can’t require proof of citizenship to vote. It’s an ongoing tug-of-war between the courts and the executive branch, but at least the courts are still tugging.

So that’s what I have for you, and I’m sorry, there are no news refunds. For making it through, you deserve this racer therapy rabbit and a less corrupt government. I’ll be back next time with more and improved news, and I hope you will be back as well–but in the meantime, feel free to ping the National News Roundup ask box, which is there for your constructive comments. Send me questions! Send me feedback! Send me more hours in the day!

Year 9, Weeks 10-11 (March 23–April 5)

April 10, 2025April 10, 2025 Kara HurvitzLeave a comment

This week was off the rails even by our contemporary low, low standards. It also involved a lot of economic nonsense, which I will freely admit is not my area – but I’m going to try to tackle it anyway, just because it has so many implications. Bear (market) with me, y’all, and feel free to use the feedback link to suggest corrections.

Spills in Aisle 47:

I continue to struggle with how to even divide things up into buckets, because it all feels like one fetid mass of Authoritarian Actions. Here are the main lowlights from the last few weeks to know:

To Hell in a ‘Waste’ Basket (DHHS Edition). There were some stories here and there about federal layoffs in a variety of departments that have or will be hit by the DOGE chainsaw – namely, sluggish response to an earthquake in Myanmar without USAID in place; more illegal NSC firings; threats to cut funding to FEMA. Musk also had a soundbite in the news about why he’s dismantling everything–namely, to give everything possible to private businesses instead. But the majority of attention was rightfully on the Department of Health and Human Services, where 10,000 people were let go in a chaotic flood of RIFs set loose by RFK. The changes appear to have been designed to do as much damage to health agencies as possible – they pretty much gutted the CDC and chucked out leadership at the FDA and NIH as well. (Fun fact, they offered some of those leaders opportunities to work in Alaska or with the Indian Health Service instead of leaving, which is honestly more insulting than just firing them.) Though the cuts were ostensibly to “restructure,” in many instances entire offices or divisions were closed instead of moved–and many of those let go served critical public health functions, such as preventing lead poisoning, conducting biomedical research, running tobacco cessation quitlines and mental health hotlines, inspecting food, and updating the public on disease outbreaks. Many shuttered divisions and programs also worked with populations the administration doesn’t like, such as disabled Americans, people with systemic health disparities, and people living with HIV. And unsurprisingly, they eliminated FOIA offices so that nobody can get details on the train wreck that is sure to follow.
Mr. Trump’s Wild Tariff Ride.* This news cycle’s “how am I not making this up” award goes to Trump deciding to tank world trade because he took economic advice from ChatGPT. More specifically, he enacted the highest tariffs in modern history, with a ten percent tariff on every country and reciprocal tariffs on specific countries using a bunch of lies and what staffers have described as the “not giving a fuck” method. Needless to say, the market started to drop, and then it kept dropping for nearly a week. The policy has made Trump a lot of enemies, even in his own party, though notably not Russia, as Trump never imposed tariffs against them. Finally, as we were nearing a bear market earlier today, Trump announced that he’s pausing all ‘reciprocal’ tariffs except those against China. It seems likely that the markets will calm down a bit from here, but I suppose we’ll have to see what happens.

The Latest Spring Fashy:

Inhumane Immigration Actions. This was a truly awful cycle for immigration stories, even against our lowered expectations. The Trump administration kicked things off by stating that they had made an ‘administrative error’ when sending a Salvadoran asylee to a supermax prison in El Salvador, despite his credible claim that he feared for his life if returned. They then followed that up by saying that they couldn’t return him because…I don’t know, reasons? Then they suspended their own lawyer for saying it was a mistake in court, despite the party line from the administration being that it was… a mistake. Then after that, a student on a visa in my town was abducted near her home because of an op-ed she wrote a year ago urging her school administrators to honor a student senate vote regarding Palestine. This kicked off a larger effort to revoke over 300 visas of random students who publicly said things about Palestine, and Rubio ordered social media searches of people who apply for visas. Then just for funsies, the Supreme Court issued an emergency docket opinion that will make it harder to bring cases when ICE abducts people–which really isn’t great when we already know that the administration is detaining and deporting citizens. And to cap all of this off, today the administration announced that the IRS will start giving ICE data gathered when undocumented people file taxes, which I’m sure won’t have a chilling effect on people paying their taxes at all. Several IRS leaders are quitting over the decision to comply.
You’re Not My Real Law Dad (again). This news cycle saw a lot of advancements of what I’m tentatively calling Trump’s war against the law, which is basically anything this administration does to dismantle the rule of law or our civic structures directly. For one thing, he’s talking again about serving a third term as President, which is definitely not constitutional no matter what he says to the contrary. He’s also started to go after law firms that either challenged his illegal actions or represented people he doesn’t like, and put out an executive order which would require proof of citizenship as part of voter registration–another authority, by the way, that he probably doesn’t have. Perhaps unsurprisingly, stories continue to come out about Justice Department attorneys who are quitting en masse.
From the Department of Health and Human Sacrifices (cont). I’ve covered a lot of the massive gutting of HHS above, but there are a number of other awful health stories to track as well. There has been a second child death from measles in Texas, where over 500 cases have been reported since January. So many cases in unvaccinated kids have been reported, in fact, that the U.S. is at risk of losing elimination status regarding the disease. Meanwhile, local doctors are reporting that children are getting Vitamin A toxicity because everybody’s trying to use a fat-soluble vitamin to try to prevent or treat measles. RFK still refuses to directly state that vaccines are good, actually, probably because he’s too busy telling the CDC to stop recommending fluoride in the water. The administration has also ordered NIH to eliminate $2.6B in federal grants, and we’re still likely looking at Medicaid cuts–a possibility made even more likely by confirming talk show doctor and jackass Mehmet Oz as head of CMS.

Silver Linings:

Recent Political Resilience. We did see some political resilience this cycle as well. Cory Booker made history with a 25-hour-long speech about everything that’s wrong with the current administration, overturning Strom Thurmond’s previous record of a full day of racism. In Wisconsin, voters thoroughly rejected a Musk-backed candidate for the state Supreme Court. And across the country and the world, an estimated one million protesters turned out for over 1,400 protests about the current administration.

So that’s what I have for you, and I’m sorry, there are no news refunds. For making it through, you deserve this rainy pool session and a less corrupt government. I’ll be back next time with more and improved news, and I hope you will be back as well–but in the meantime, feel free to ping the National News Roundup ask box, which is there for your constructive comments. Send me questions! Send me feedback! Send me more hours in the day!