Good morning. I followed your advice and went to urgent care for my ear pain—turns out, I might have two infections in the same ear. I didn’t even know that was possible, but here we are. Even my body is tired of me hearing the news.
I’d love to take a break, but right now the Senate is preparing to vote on a bill that could reshape life for millions of Americans. So I’ll stay online and cover it until the vote is done—then I’ll rest.
If my updates have helped you feel more informed, more grounded, or a little less alone in all this chaos, I hope you’ll consider becoming a paid subscriber. Your support isn’t just appreciated—it’s what makes this work possible. It keeps me showing up, even on days like this. Thank you.
With that, here’s what you missed:
Over the weekend, Senate Republicans narrowly advanced Trump’s massive tax cut and spending bill, despite a nonpartisan estimate it would add $3.3 trillion to the national debt—$800 billion more than the House version.
GOP Senator Thom Tillis voted against the bill, citing concerns over Medicaid cuts and later announced he won't seek re-election after Trump threatened to back a challenger; Trump celebrated his exit and warned others to fall in line.
Tillis, who just yesterday announced that he would not be running for re-election next year, completely torched the Senate Republican Budget bill. Tillis said: “What do I tell 663,000 people in two years, three years, when President Trump breaks his promise by pushing them off of medicaid because the funding's not there anymore, guys? The people in the White House advising the president, they're not telling him that the effect of this bill is to break a promise.”
Louisiana’s major health systems warned Speaker Mike Johnson and other lawmakers that the Senate GOP’s Medicaid cuts would be “historic in their devastation,” slashing over $4 billion in state funding.
They said the Senate plan is worse than the House version and would cripple care for residents, strain the state budget, and harm patients regardless of insurance status.
Authorities say a man who set a brush fire on Idaho’s Canfield Mountain and fatally ambushed two firefighters in a sniper-style attack was found dead Sunday, ending a massive law enforcement response involving 300 officers.
The shooter, tracked via cell phone, exchanged gunfire with police before being located with a weapon nearby; the motive remains unclear and more weapons may still be on the mountain.
The fire, now named the Nettleton Gulch Fire, has burned 15–20 acres in steep terrain; firefighting efforts were delayed while the armed suspect was at large.
Trump threatened to cut off federal funding to New York City if mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani, a democratic socialist, “doesn’t behave himself” if elected.
Mamdani denied being a communist but stood by his plans to raise taxes on the wealthy, saying, “I don’t think that we should have billionaires.”
Trump said he’s considering forcing journalists who reported leaked U.S. intelligence on Iran strikes to reveal their sources. He also suggested his administration may prosecute both the reporters and their sources if they refuse.
Trump’s administration allegedly threatened the University of Virginia with cuts to jobs, funding, student aid, and visas unless its president, Jim Ryan, resigned, according to a U.S. senator.
Trump is expected to attend the opening of a new migrant detention center in southern Florida on Tuesday, nicknamed “Alligator Alcatraz,” according to a source.
A Sudanese doctor said a 3-year-old boy likely would’ve survived a chest infection with basic antibiotics, but the medicine never arrived after the new U.S. administration froze foreign aid in February.
The Trump administration agreed to delay deportation for Jose Ramon Hernandez Reyes, a convicted migrant smuggler and felon, in exchange for his cooperation in a federal case against Kilmar Abrego Garcia.
Hernandez Reyes, linked to the SUV used in the alleged smuggling operation, has been released early from prison and allowed to stay in the U.S. for at least a year as a key witness.
According to the Washington Post, U.S. intelligence intercepted communications between senior Iranian officials who said recent U.S. military strikes on Iran’s nuclear program were less damaging than they had anticipated.
See you this evening.
— Aaron
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