About 80% of D.C. residents oppose Trump’s use of military
President Trump declared a crime emergency in Washington, D.C., federalized the city’s police force and ordered the National Guard and federal agents to deploy in the city. Trump’s action came even though statistics show that crime in the city is down. So, how do the city’s residents feel? According to a new Washington Post-Schar School poll, 61% said they feel less safe now. Roughly 8 in 10 residents oppose Trump’s crime crackdown as well as his deployment of the National Guard and FBI to patrol the city. About half of the residents said D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser should be doing more to oppose Trump, and 71% said D.C. police should not help the federal government much or at all to deport undocumented immigrants.
HHS personnel blast RFK Jr.
More than 750 current and former staffers of the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), National Institutes of Health (NIH), and Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) have signed a letter to demand work environments that are safe from violence and public health leaders who tell the American people the truth. The letter, which was addressed to HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and the U.S. Congress, said the deadly attack on the CDC’s global headquarters in Atlanta earlier this month was not random. “The attack came amid growing mistrust in public institutions, driven by politicized rhetoric that has turned public health professionals from trusted experts into targets of villainization — and now, violence,” the letter said. The staffers claim Kennedy was “complicit in dismantling America’s public health infrastructure and endangering the nation’s health by repeatedly spreading inaccurate health information.”
Trump Administration to cut intelligence agency almost in half
The Trump Administration’s Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard plans to cut the staff at the nation’s top intelligence agency by nearly 50%. Although it was not immediately clear how much of that reorganization is underway or has already taken place, Gabbard said it will “save taxpayers at least $700 million per year.” According to a fact sheet released on Wednesday, she has already reduced the size of her office’s workforce by more than 500 staffers — or roughly 30%. This new effort appears to largely target several subagencies and offices. This includes the Foreign Malign Influence Center, which monitors efforts by foreign entities to influence the American public, and the National Counterproliferation and Biosecurity Center, which monitors the spread of chemical, biological and nuclear weapons.
Texas House Republicans approve redistricting
Republicans in the Texas House of Representatives have voted to adopt a new map of congressional districts that has been gerrymandered to allow the Republicans to pick up five extra seats in the 2026 elections. House Democrats unsuccessfully tried to block the Republicans from voting to adopt the gerrymandered map. The Texas Senate was due to vote Thursday night. The Texas House vote came last night and was praised by President Trump as a great victory for the Republicans. Meantime, Former President Barack Obama has praised the plan by California Gov. Gavin Newsom to redistrict in that state in the hope of picking up five Democratic seats in order to nullify what the Republicans have been doing in Texas.
Effects of Hurricane Erin being felt
The massive size of Hurricane Erin and days of powerful winds over the open ocean have caused water levels along the East Coast to rise. Tidal gauges from South Florida to New York are all running about a foot higher than normal, prompting authorities to close or restrict swimming at many beaches. Despite not making landfall, the Category 2 storm is still producing heavy rain, strong winds, powerful rip currents and dangerous storm surge. According to the National Hurricane Center, tropical-storm-force winds now extend up to 320 miles from the hurricane’s eye, up from 265 miles as of late Wednesday. North Carolina is under a state of emergency and evacuations have been ordered in parts of the Outer Banks, which may see waves of 20 feet or higher.
Barr says Bondi can release Epstein files whenever she wants
Former Attorney General William Barr, who served as Donald Trump’s attorney general during his first term, testified on Capitol Hill that current Attorney General Pam Bondi has the power to release the Epstein files whenever she wants. Barr testified behind closed doors before the House Oversight Committee. The committee has subpoenaed the Epstein files from the Department of Justice (DOJ) and had given a deadline of yesterday for the files to be handed over to it. The DOJ missed the deadline and said it would start releasing some of the files tomorrow. Donald Trump campaigned on releasing all of the files on pedophile Jeffrey Epstein but once in office refused to release them. It’s been reported that Trump’s name appears in the files numerous times.
