https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZVWaFxUG7A
Monday, April 6, 2026
Death, displacement and military duties: children plunged into crisis by Middle East war
Unicef's representative to Lebanon, Marcoluigi Corsi, warned last month that displacement would have lasting effects on the children. "This relentless cycle of bombardment and displacement is severely compounding their psychological scars, embedding deep-seated fear and threatening profound, long-term emotional harm," said Corsi...
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/apr/04/children-us-israel-iran-war-middle-east
#MilitaryTok reactions to Iran war stray from White House messaging: ‘Now I’m regretting everything’
After it failed to meet recruitment goals in 2022, experts worried about the future of the US armed forces. But by 2025 the military had exceeded its recruiting goals. Trump and Hegseth take credit but it started during Biden's presidency – and women, not men, led the surge. (In 2024, women's recruitment increased 18%, while men saw an 8% bump.) Experts credit an advertisement blitz and the creation of a course that helps aspiring service members get test scores up and body weight down.
Still, gen Z has a less-than-favorable view of the military; a Department of Defense poll found that positive attitudes toward the armed forces among the cohort dropped from 46% in 2016 to 35% in 2021. A more recent poll from March conducted by SocialSphere's Gen Z Tracker, an opinion research consultancy, found that 34% of gen Z recipients strongly opposed war in Iran; only 9% strongly supported it.
Today's 18-year-olds were born in 2008. It's not difficult to see why a younger generation of service members that has known nearly endless American war might indulge in unfiltered posting. As one army member, shown throwing her patrol cap down in anger, posted to TikTok: "POV: you believed ur recruiter, now u regretting everything."…
Sunday, April 5, 2026
Weekly Roundup: No Catholics at the Pentagon, Trump as Jesus + the Conversion Therapy Court Case (Bradley Onishi and Daniel Miller; Straight White American Jesus podcast)
In this episode of Straight White American Jesus, hosts Brad Onishi and Dan Miller unpack a chaotic and revealing week at the intersection of politics, religion, and power. As Donald Trump once again compares himself to Jesus during the lead-up to Easter, the hosts explore what they see as a deepening pattern of religious distortion within MAGA Christianity—where theological consistency gives way to political loyalty. The conversation situates Trump’s rhetoric alongside broader trends, including a controversial decision tied to U.S. Supreme Court on conversion therapy laws and mounting concerns over religious favoritism within the Pentagon under Pete Hegseth. Together, these developments paint a picture of a movement increasingly defined by power, hierarchy, and ideological purity rather than coherent moral or theological principles.
The episode also dives into the implications of an 8–1 Supreme Court ruling that weakens state-level bans on conversion therapy, raising urgent questions about free speech, medical ethics, and the vulnerability of LGBTQ+ individuals. Onishi and Miller highlight the emotional and political weight of the decision, especially amid rising hostility toward queer and trans communities.
The episode also dives into the implications of an 8–1 Supreme Court ruling that weakens state-level bans on conversion therapy, raising urgent questions about free speech, medical ethics, and the vulnerability of LGBTQ+ individuals. Onishi and Miller highlight the emotional and political weight of the decision, especially amid rising hostility toward queer and trans communities.
They close with a discussion of the scandal surrounding Kristi Noem and her husband, using it as a lens to push hypocrisy, gender norms, and the authoritarian logic of “order” that underpins Christian nationalism. Despite the heaviness of the topics, the hosts end with cautious optimism, pointing to signs of political pushback and everyday acts of resistance as reasons for hope.
Interview:
Interview:
Matthew Boedy on The Seven Mountains Mandate (Hemant Mehta, The Friendly Atheist podast #629)
Matthew Boedy is the author of multiple books and has written for many major publications. He’s a leader in faculty organizing as president of the Georgia conference of the American Association of University Professors. He’s formerly a high school teacher and currently a professor of rhetoric at the University of North Georgia.
His latest book, the one I spoke with him about, is called The Seven Mountains Mandate: Exposing the Dangerous Plan to Christianize America and Destroy Democracy.
Interview:
His latest book, the one I spoke with him about, is called The Seven Mountains Mandate: Exposing the Dangerous Plan to Christianize America and Destroy Democracy.
Interview:
Evangelical Christianity Is Literally a PSYOP (Drew McCoy/Genetically Modified Skeptic on YouTube)
US intelligence agencies have conducted a long-term psychological operation promoting Evangelical Protestantism.
Interview:
Does an empty tomb prove a resurrection? (Paulogia on YouTube)
Does an empty tomb prove a resurrection? Do any of the Gospel stories prove a resurrection?
(The YouTube title is "How to Destroy Christianity With One Easy Step... (Impact response)" because Paulogia is responding to a Christian video of that name, the point of which was to prove the resurrection of Jesus occurred as reported in the Gospels, lest Christianity be "destroyed". Paulogia is examining the claims made in that video.)
Interview:
Forget euphemism, Trump is using unabashed viciousness in his language against Iran
The following week, Trump posted on Truth Social: "Watch what happens to these deranged scumbags [ie, Iranians] today. They've been killing innocent people all over the world for 47 years, and now I, as the 47th President of the United States of America, am killing them. What a great honor it is to do so!" The crudity, here, is the point. Sociolinguists say that the use of dysphemism violates social norms and taboos, and Trump is nothing if not the taboo-buster-in-chief...
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/apr/04/trump-using-dysphemism-language-against-iran
As Team Trump wage unceasing war on Iran, evangelical nationalists are destroying any moral world order we once had
Despite Trump's apocalyptic rhetoric, and sensational online talk about "end times" and Armageddon, this immensely damaging, unjustified and shaming war may be forcing Americans to reassess their moral relationship with the world. Is Trump solely to blame? wondered the US columnist Lydia Polgreen. Or is he "the fulfilment of what America has always been – a self-satisfied nation, granted license by its myths about providence and exceptionalism to do whatever it wants". Trump's presidency, she argued, "has revealed a much older malady: America's unshakable faith in its ability to shape the world to its liking, indifferent to what others might want and supremely confident that its plan is the right one. Beyond Trump, it's this disfiguring mentality we Americans must face."…
Senator decries new shoes-on security policy at US airports as ‘reckless’
Nine months after US airports allowed passengers to pass through scanners without taking off their shoes, rescinding the stringent policy after almost two decades, a top senator claimed the "reckless" move could put passengers in danger.
The policy amounts to a "potentially catastrophic security deficiency", according to Tammy Duckworth, Democrat for Illinois, and ranking member of the Senate commerce, science and transportation (CST) aviation subcommittee...
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/apr/03/tsa-shoes-off-on-policy-airport-security
US defense spending would rise $445bn under Trump budget plan, with steep cuts elsewhere
"President Trump wants to slash medical research to fund costly foreign wars. It doesn't get more backward than that, and the only responsible thing to do with a budget this morally bankrupt is to toss it in the trash," Murray said in a statement...
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/apr/03/defense-spending-trump-budget-proposal
The Disinformation Dozen: Wuhan Drift (Conspirituality podcast #302)
Early in this podcast we covered the Disinformation Dozen, 12 wellness influencers and contrarian health figures responsible for spreading the lion’s share of vaccine misinformation on major social media platforms.
On a recent MAHA Action weekly call, Tony Lyons got the group back together for a victory lap after a court settlement seemed to justify their actions. Or did it?
We break down the court case, then hear from the influencers who continue to inflate their own sense of self-importance while rewriting a history that only exists in their minds.
Interview:
On a recent MAHA Action weekly call, Tony Lyons got the group back together for a victory lap after a court settlement seemed to justify their actions. Or did it?
We break down the court case, then hear from the influencers who continue to inflate their own sense of self-importance while rewriting a history that only exists in their minds.
Interview:
Conversion Therapy (Dan Barker and Annie Laurie Gaylor, Freethought Radio podcast)
Attorney Sam Grover describes FFRF’s court victory demanding the removal of the Ten Commandments from the Arkansas capitol. Then, activist Lucas F. W. Wilson, a survivor of “conversion therapy,” discusses his book Shame-Sex Attraction: Survivors’ Stories of Conversion Therapy.
Interview:
Red State Supreme Court STUNS GOP with MAJOR Ruling
The beginning of the end for Citizens United and unlimited corporate cash in politics?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4zIjRjkgZxw
Saturday, April 4, 2026
The News Roundup – Domestic and International (The 1A) 2026-04-03
Domestic
President Donald Trump told the nation during a presidential address that he expected the war in Iran to come to a close soon, saying that it was “nearly complete.” Meanwhile, the Pentagon is preparing for a weeks of ground operations in the Middle East.The House rejected a Senate-approved bill to fund the Department of Homeland Security this week. Now, the Senate is scrambling to get another version of its plan back to the House before the week is over.
And a federal judge struck down a Trump executive order that pulled funding from National Public Radio and the Public Broadcasting Service, citing free speech violations.
Interview:
https://the1a.org/segments/npr-pbs-trump-funding/
Meanwhile, Israel passed a law legalizing the death penalty for any Palestinian caught perpetrating a terrorist attack.
Now, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that he and his forces are planning on widening their invasion of southern Lebanon.
Interview:
International
President Donald Trump told aides this week that he would consider ending the war in Iran without securing the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. It’s a strategy that’s left some American allies a little nervous about their energy supplies, leading the president to tell them to “go get your own oil.”Meanwhile, Israel passed a law legalizing the death penalty for any Palestinian caught perpetrating a terrorist attack.
Now, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that he and his forces are planning on widening their invasion of southern Lebanon.
Interview:
Trump warns Tehran ‘more to follow’ after strike destroys Iran’s largest bridge
Eight people reported killed in attack on newly completed suspension bridge after strike splits structure in half…
CDC temporarily halts testing for several infectious diseases amid staffing shortages
Federal agency, which normally supports state and local public health labs, has been hobbled by staff departures…
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/apr/02/cdc-infectious-diseases-testing
Firm backed by Trump sons tries to sell drone interceptors to Gulf states being attacked by Iran
"These countries are under enormous pressure to buy from the sons of the president so he will do what they want," said Richard Painter, a former chief White House ethics lawyer under George W Bush. "This is going to be the first family of a president to make a lot of money off war – a war he didn't get the consent of Congress for."…
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/apr/02/eric-trump-drones-gulf-states-iran
AOC vows to block future US military aid to Israel, including for defensive systems
Ocasio-Cortez says Israel can fund its own defense and she will oppose any new US aid amid human rights concerns
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/apr/02/aoc-blocks-israel-military-aid
LIVE DEBATE [God is Dead] 1-12-2026 (Justin, Deconstruction Zone on YouTube)
There is no magic man in the sky.
A lengthy segment features a Mormon caller whose statements are challenged by a Mormon expert co-host.
Interview:
Friday, April 3, 2026
Rationale for Iran war questioned after Trump says ‘I don’t care’ about regime’s uranium stockpiles
US president's apparent decision to leave highly enriched uranium in hands of regime creates a more risky scenario than before the war began, experts say…
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/apr/02/trump-iran-war-rationale-uranium-stockpiles
‘If he’d stayed on the golf course, we’d be in a better place’: experts on Trump’s tariffs, one year on
Investors quickly understood that chaos was an essential tool in Trump's armoury. Almost as soon as he was inaugurated, there was a steady decline in the value of the dollar against other currencies. Investors sold assets denominated in dollars and bought assets elsewhere: Europe, Asia, South America.
"If you think that discouraging investors from buying assets in the US is a victory, then you don't believe in a growing economy," said Dario Perkins, the head of global research at the consultancy TS Lombard. "If it was possible for Trump to have spent the last 14 months on the golf course, we would be in a better place."…
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2026/apr/02/trump-liberation-day-us-tariffs-trade
Detroit man freed 27 years to the day after wrongful conviction
A Detroit man is now free after spending exactly 27 years in prison for a murder he didn't commit.
Roy Blackmon was released from a state correctional facility in Ionia on Tuesday, after a judge agreed to vacate his convictions from a 1998 murder. His lawyers with the University of Michigan Law School's Innocence Clinic say his convictions rested solely on the testimony of witnesses who were coerced into implicating him by Detroit police officers at the time...
The anti-Maga talkshow: after 70 years, PBS’s The Open Mind still has it
For decades, the TV programme has made a quiet case for depth, civility and political conversation that doesn't insult your intelligence…
https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2026/apr/02/the-open-mind-pbs
EPA flags microplastics, pharmaceuticals as contaminants in drinking water : NPR
Their inclusion on the list gives local regulators a tool to evaluate risks in their water supply, the EPA says, and it can set the stage for more research and regulatory action — but doesn't actually guarantee that will happen...
https://www.npr.org/2026/04/02/nx-s1-5771155/epa-microplastics-pharmaceuticals-drinking-water
Have Trump's tariffs worked? Here are where things stand : NPR
A year ago, President Trump ordered double-digit tariffs on virtually everything the U.S. imports.
In a ceremony at the White House, he promised that jobs and factories would come "roaring back" to the country as a result, that consumer prices would fall and that April 2 would go down in history as "the day we began to make America wealthy again."
One year later, many of Trump's import taxes have been struck down by the Supreme Court. But the president remains committed to tariffs.
Here's where things stand on the first anniversary of "Liberation Day."…
Trump’s VA killed a home loan program. Vets are now losing their homes : NPR
More than 10,000 veterans lost their homes to foreclosure since May of last year, when the Trump administration shut down a key safety net in the VA home loan program, according to the latest industry data. That is the highest pace of foreclosures for VA loans in a decade.
Another 90,000 vets are heading toward foreclosure. This comes after a years-long debacle inside the Department of Veterans Affairs has whiplashed thousands of vets between various enacted and canceled programs and left many of them on the brink of losing their homes — often through no fault of their own…
Democrats sue to block Trump's executive order targeting mail ballots | PBS News
Democrats sued Wednesday to block President Donald Trump's latest executive order restricting mail voting, arguing that the U.S. Constitution empowers states and Congress, not the president, to determine who is eligible to vote by mail...
Trump claims Iran war ‘nearing completion’ and seeks to justify conflict in prime time address
Oil prices rose and Asian stocks traded lower immediately after Trump's address, which did little to soothe investor concerns over the closure of the strait of Hormuz. The US president reiterated his call for other nations to help secure the global oil chokepoint: "Grab it and cherish it."…
"We're going to bring them back to the stone ages, where they belong," he said, even as he said "discussions were ongoing".
Democrats criticised Trump's address as "incoherent" and doing little to answer "the most basic questions the American people".
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/apr/01/trump-iran-war-address-white-house
Global super-rich may have hidden $3.55tn from tax officials, says Oxfam
Charity calls for a levy on the very richest and the closing of tax loopholes in its report on offshore wealth…
Oil price jumps and markets slide after Trump warning to Iran
Brent crude rises 8% as US president vows to hit Iran 'extremely hard' over coming weeks…
Volatility hits Wall Street and U.S. oil tops $110 a barrel | PBS News
Wall Street is worried that higher energy prices are adding to already stubbornly high inflation. Rising fuel prices take a bigger chunk out of consumers' wallets in several ways. Directly, gasoline prices in the U.S. have surged 36 percent from a month ago to average $4.08 per gallon, according to the auto club AAA.
Indirectly, rising fuel prices tend to make a wide range of services and goods more expensive. Flights become more expensive as airlines raise ticket prices to offset rising fuel costs. Consumer goods become more expensive as shipping and transportation costs rise.
Inflation has been stubbornly above the Federal Reserve's 2% target. The war and its corresponding surge in energy prices effectively pushes inflation higher and that has dashed hopes for the Fed to cut interest rates. Wall Street had hoped for the central bank to cut rates in order to help offset a weakening job market. Lower interest rates could help stimulate the economy by lowering borrowing costs, but they also risk worsening inflation...
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/economy/volatility-hits-wall-street-and-u-s-oil-tops-110-a-barrel
Stevens seeks to restore Social Security Administration staffing
Michigan Congresswoman Haley Stevens (D, MI-11) is introducing new legislation to bring back thousands of jobs at the Social Security Administration.
The Trump Administration cut those roles last year as part of mass federal layoffs.
Stevens said the result has been worse customer service at the agency, and Michiganders not getting value for their tax dollars...
Benson promises “swift action” against Trump's mail-in voting executive order
Not only was the order a response to a nonexistent problem, said Benson in a statement, but it's also "illegal on its face. States run elections, not the president," Benson said.
According to the U.S. Constitution, states are able to set the "Times, Place, and Manner" of federal elections, and Congress is able to enact changes...
'What the hell did he just say?' GOP Iran worries build after Trump speech. - POLITICO
"A quick recap and a path forward would've been helpful. Instead, it was nonsense left for Sean Hannity to articulate."…
Trump fires Bondi as attorney general | PBS News
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump says Pam Bondi is out as his attorney general, ending the contentious tenure of a loyalist who upended the Justice Department's culture of independence from the White House, oversaw large-scale firings of career employees and moved aggressively to investigate the Republican president's perceived enemies.
The announcement follows months of scrutiny over the Justice Department's handling of files related to Jeffrey Epstein's sex trafficking investigation that made Bondi the target of angry conservatives even with her close relationship with Trump. She also struggled to satisfy Trump's demands to prosecute his political rivals, with multiple investigations rejected by judges or grand juries...
Also:
Bypassing Congress, Trump says he'll sign order to resume pay for Homeland Security | PBS News
Democrats in both chambers were aligned last week with the Senate funding plan passed with bipartisan support. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York on Wednesday blamed Republicans for not acting more quickly.
"Republican divisions derailed a bipartisan agreement, making American families pay the price for their dysfunction," Schumer said...
Trump warns Tehran ‘more to follow’ after strike destroys Iran’s largest bridge
Eight people reported killed in attack on newly completed suspension bridge after strike splits structure in half…
How The Republican Party Played Christians Like A Fiddle
How did the Republican Party become the "Christian" party? In this video, I break down the real history behind how the GOP turned the Christian community into its most loyal voter base, not through shared faith, but through calculated political strategy.
This isn't opinion. Everything in this video is historically documented.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wLw840fuSdw
Trump polled advisers about replacing Tulsi Gabbard as intelligence chief
Exclusive: Pressure intensifies for Gabbard after president's displeasure with Iran war testimony…
A year later, here's where things stand on Trump's manufacturing revival - POLITICO
Manufacturing payrolls actually declined slightly over the past year, with 98,000 fewer jobs year-over-year based on the most recent data from the Labor Department. There are 29,900 fewer auto manufacturing jobs and 18,000 fewer wood manufacturing jobs — both sectors the president has tried to protect with trade barriers. New, higher tariffs on steel and aluminum, moreover, have hindered the construction of factories. The industry's hiring rate — often a reflection of confidence in the economic outlook — is lower now than it was at the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic...
https://www.politico.com/news/2026/04/02/manufacturers-still-waiting-trump-tariff-promises-00854987
Fact check: Perry Johnson’s $4,747 plan overstates Michigan tax cut savings
Johnson's proposal, in particular, has sparked several reader inquiries as part of Bridge Listens, our non-scientific survey of election year issues.
Among them: Johnson says he will eliminate income tax, my question is, what revenues will be used to fund the state's operations? — Arlon from Sault Ste. Marie
Can cutting 2 cents from every state dollar spent actually replace state income tax? — Bean from Brimley…
‘On a whole other level’: rapid snow melt-off in American west stuns scientists
Experts say brutal March heat has left critical snowpack at record-low levels – and key basins in uncharted territory…
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/apr/01/snowmelt-american-west
LIVE DEBATE [God is NOT a good father!] 1-5-2026 (Justin at DZ Debates on YouTube)
TIMESTAMPS
- 29:40 Roro [Atheist Philbro] - Starts on the Contingency Argument and modal collapse (“there are no contingent truths”); Caller leaves
- 34:20 Jen - No religion is totally right or wrong; Brings up the Eurantia Book
- 43:35 Chevelle - Thanks Justin for the help deconstructing
- 57:20 Jacob [LDS] - Why does God allow children to starve and does that make Him good? Call turns combative quick
- 1:29:00 Jimmy Snow cameo
- 1:34:40 Demi - Why do we go to Hell? Small crashout and runs
- 1:44:48 Basic Information - Caller “would LOVE to level some dangerous cities”; Caller justifies unaliving innocents when destroying cities like Nineveh; Is Hell just and would a good father send his children there?
- 2:30:55 Josh [Atheist] - Was slavery transactional in Exodus 31?
- 2:52:57 Breezy - Caller doesn’t know if it would be fair to light someone on fire for lying; If God did, would that make him a good father? What made Justin leave the faith? Some on science and evolution
- 3:35:12 Clark [Agnostic] - What are the flaws of the contingency argument?
- 3:41:10 anon123 - The definition and the privation of God; Phone issues so caller gets dropped
- 3:50:20 Rob gets rejected
- 4:04:28 Emir [Atheist] - Why was Noah upset with his sons for uncovering his nakedness in Genesis?
- 4:13:20 Superchats and wrap-up
Interview:
LIVE DEBATE [God is Fiction] 1-9-2026
TIMESTAMPS
- 12:32 Besog (I think?) - Bad faith caller; Wants to defend a deistic God; Caller intuits God
- 40:40 Cole - Caller is a Christian but doesn’t believe in the Christian God as the Bible presents him; The Bible isn’t divinely inspired and is not necessarily true
- 1:01:00 Mikeyaces - If God is all good, why does the Sun give us cancer? Reply: because it is necessary suffering; Call goes in circles and caller backtracks a lot; Gets a little into moral argument
- 1:41:40 Belteshazzar - God’s laws are always right but slavery isn’t good because God didn’t tell the Americans to do it; Claims the Bible is false and gets dropped
- 2:06:35 Dirk - The Sun is good and cancer is a result of disrespecting the Sun; Humanity has turned away from the Sun
- 2:25:05 Sudharsan [Atheist] - Wants to know how to refute the Kalam cosmological argument for God
- 2:37:10 Justin and Thinker discuss Thinker’s deconstruction and chat a little
- 2:47:40 David [Jewish Atheist] - Wants to talk about Paul’s poor writing style
- 3:01:45 Kyle [Atheist] - If he was crucified as a criminal, why would Jesus have a special tomb?
- 3:06:00 The Elf Chronicles - Starts off topic then leaves
- 3:13:50 Bolocrime - Is it just to punish future generations for crimes committed by their ancestors? Was it good to slaughter the Amalekites for what their forefathers did? How about if people have to eat their young?
- 3:48:43 (Bolocrime) - Other unjust punishments from God (Malachi 2:3); Caller reps for YaJew and call goes sideways discussing Israel
- 4:21:00 Are You Aware (Friendly) - Have evangelicals colonized Judaism? If Peter wrote Peter, would he be a first-hand witness?
- 4:28:32 Lerian [Catholic] - People have an innate sense of good; Caller: it is good that God condones slavery and caller keeps comparing slavery to working a job; Caller claims war brides can consent
- 4:57:27 (Lerian) - Slavery can be okay when it is a “natural consequence; Caller defends the death penalty; Slavery vs the penal system; Popes and slavery
- 5:36:00 (Lerian) - Caller would burn down the orphanage but stops at baby paste because “it isn’t in God’s nature”
- 5:55:23 Superchats and wrap-up
Interview:
Thursday, April 2, 2026
Spain hits back at Trump in escalating row over euthanasia – POLITICO
García also blasted Washington for taking such interest in the death of a single Spaniard, when "thousands of uninsured people die in the United States each year and Trump supports and carries out human rights violations between Gaza and Iran."
DeSantis signs Florida's version of SAVE America Act, draws immediate lawsuit - POLITICO
But opponents — who are now calling it the "show your papers" law — maintain the new requirements will ultimately lead to eligible voters being pushed off the voter rolls, including married women who have changed their names and older minority voters who were born in the South and may not have a birth certificate. The lawsuit filed Wednesday also questions whether it would affect Puerto Ricans born before 2010 who came to Florida following natural disasters such as Hurricane Maria...
Trump’s MAGA allies have a new plan for mass deportations. It could splinter the coalition. - POLITICO
That strategy almost certainly promises to alienate some of the Trump administration's allies in the agriculture, construction and hospitality industries, which all rely heavily on undocumented labor. Farm groups in particular hold significant sway in Trump's Washington and have already shown prowess in steering the administration away from worksite enforcementwhen those efforts disrupted the industry.
Worksite raids could also prove deeply unpopular with voters, whose views have turned increasingly negative toward Trump on immigration and seemingly forced the administration to ramp down its deportation push...
https://www.politico.com/news/2026/04/01/trump-maga-immigration-raids-worksites-00853334
FBI declares suspected Chinese hack of US surveillance system a ‘major cyber incident’ - POLITICO
The notice also said the "affected" system contained "returns from legal process, such as pen register and trap and trace surveillance returns, and personally identifiable information pertaining to subjects of FBI investigations."
Pen register and trap and trace devices allow law enforcement to monitor calls made to or from a specific phone, or websites visited by an internet-connected device. While these tools do not record the content of those communications, the information captured is valuable to foreign intelligence services or organized criminal groups because it could reveal the targets of FBI surveillance or criminal probes...
https://www.politico.com/news/2026/04/01/fbi-hack-surveillance-system-major-incident-00854237
DHS pauses new immigrant warehouse purchases as all Noem-era contracts are reviewed | PBS News
The Department of Homeland Security is pausing the purchase of new warehouses intended to house immigrants as it scrutinizes all contracts signed under former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, according to a senior Homeland Security official…
Supreme Court appears skeptical of Trump’s bid to end birthright citizenship - POLITICO
Chief Justice John Roberts suggested it was strange for the administration to seize on some narrow exceptions to the birthright citizenship rule, such as an exclusion for American Indians and for children of diplomats, in order to justify denying citizenship to millions of children of undocumented immigrants and visitors...
https://www.politico.com/news/2026/04/01/supreme-court-trump-birthright-citizenship-00853992
EPA’s Aaron Szabo Once Helped Write Oil Industry Argument Against Methane Rules — ProPublica
Before becoming a top official at the Environmental Protection Agency, Aaron Szabo was a lobbyist for the oil and gas industry. Metadata shows he helped draft a trade group's 2022 letter to the EPA objecting to controls on methane emissions...
https://www.propublica.org/article/trump-epa-methane-deregulation-aaron-szabo-oil-gas-axpc
‘Fossil-fuel imperialism’: Trump’s hankering for Iranian oil runs deep
Experts say the US believes it is entitled to resources it desires – a perspective president has supported for decades…
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/apr/01/trump-iran-oil-fossil-fuel-imperialism
Sheffield, in first State of the City, says Detroit will spread resurgence "block by block"
They include a department devoted to addressing violence without police involvement…
The mayor also announced that starting Wednesday, all students at Detroit's public and charter K-12 schools can ride city buses for free with a student ID. And she issued a challenge to Detroit's corporate leaders and employers: "If Detroit can pay its workers a living wage, you can too." (Sheffield recently signed an executive order meant to jumpstart the process of ensuring every city worker meets a minimum income threshold).
And she says that Detroit is now the largest city in the country participating in the Rx Kids program. So far, the program has approved over 1,200 applications, and distributed $1.6 million in cash assistance to Detroit mothers and infants, or people who are expecting a new baby.
Trump isn't immune from civil claims that his Jan. 6 rally speech incited riot, judge rules | PBS News
"The court rightly recognizes that President Trump's actions leading to the January 6 insurrection fell outside the scope of presidential duties," Hewitt said in a statement. "This ruling is an important step toward accountability for the violent attack on the Capitol and our democracy."…
