April 3, 2026
Polls
Newsweek - The new poll from CNN/SSRS released this week revealed that 28 percent of voters view the Democratic Party favorably, while 32 percent hold a favorable view of the Republican Party. CNN noted that is in part because “Republicans take a more positive view of their own party than do Democrats.” Sixty-three percent of Democrats view their own party favorably, compared to 76 percent of Republicans.
2028 Presidential Primaries Poll
Democratic Primary
Kamala Harris 41% (+15)
Gavin Newsom 26%
Josh Shapiro 10%
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez 8%
JB Pritzker 7%
Republican Primary
JD Vance 46% (+26)
Donald Trump Jr 20%
Marco Rubio 17%
Ron DeSantis 10%
Tucker Carlson 5%
Election Time
The Trump budget
THe Hill - Some highlights of the budget proposal include:
- The elimination of LIHEAP, a program that helps low-income people heat and cool their homes
- Terminating $4 billion for electric vehicle chargers from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law
- Repurposing billions in Bipartisan Infrastructure Law green funding at the Department of Energy to support energy sources favored by the administration as well as AI
- Canceling $15 billion from the bipartisan infrastructure law for technologies including renewables and carbon capture
- Canceling funds for environmental research at various agencies
- Reducing funds for FEMA non-disaster grant programs
The budget reflects the administration's priorities, but is ultimately unlikely to be adopted by Congress, where funding typically requires bipartisan agreement.
Donald Trump
Alternet - As Congress continues to press the White House for greater transparency on the Epstein files, previously unreleased, handwritten notes from FBI agents are shedding new light on the relationship between notorious sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein and President Donald Trump.
The 30 notes were derived from a series of 2019 interviews with a woman who claimed to have traveled with Epstein when she was a teen, alleging that during one trip, she was sexually assaulted by Trump. The White House has denied the allegations.
While much of the content of the handwritten notes was later transcribed into official summaries called 302s, the Post and Courier compared them and found that many details had not made it into the formal documents.
The woman, for example, provided the names of four young teenage girls who were at a pool party attended by Epstein. Their names are not included in or were redacted from the Epstein files that were released, and at least one says that she was never contacted by the FBI, even though she may be a corroborating witness to Epstein’s activities. MORE
People - Donald Trump jokingly suggested that any "bad publicity" he gets is White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt's fault as he spoke to reporters on Tuesday..."You're doing a terrible job," the president, 79, told Leavitt to her face. “Shall we keep her? I think we'll keep her,” Trump then said
Trump does not have to turn over his presidential records to the National Archives at the end of his administration, the DOJ said.
The Tennessee Holler - CAMPAIGN TRUMP: “Child care is child care. You have to have it. We’re going to make this into an incredible country that can afford to take care of its people. America first.”.... PRESIDENT TRUMP: “We can’t take care of daycare. Just military.”
Mail-in Ballots
Headline USA - Democratic officials from 23 states and the District of Columbia announced Friday they’re suing to block President Donald Trump’s recent executive order regulating mail-in and absentee ballots. The suit was slated to be filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts....
Trump doesn’t have the constitutional authority to control elections, California Attorney General Rob Bonta told reporters during a news conference Friday morning. Bonta, a Democrat who’s co-leading the coalition of plaintiffs, noted the authority rests with states and Congress, not the federal executive branch.
NATO
NBC News - NATO’s secretary general Mark Rutte is heading to the White House next week — a visit that both parties said was planned long in advance but comes as President Trump lashes out over European allies’ refusal to join the war with Iran.
Rutte has often sought to tamp down Trump’s long-simmering ire toward the trans-Atlantic alliance, and his practice of refusing to criticize the U.S. has angered some of his European counterparts. Trump’s main issue right now is NATO members’ refusal to show “courage” and lead the fight in clearing the Strait of Hormuz so oil-bearing ships can once again safely pass.
Trump has long had it out for NATO, having declared it obsolete during his first term as he pushed “America First” policies. During his second term, he has gone much further, like saying he might use military force to take Greenland (though he later walked back those comments). While Trump can’t unilaterally withdraw the U.S. from NATO, he could take steps to diminish the alliance and weaken it as a deterrence, particularly against potential threats from Russia.
More on the strained U.S.-NATO relationship.
Rutte has often sought to tamp down Trump’s long-simmering ire toward the trans-Atlantic alliance, and his practice of refusing to criticize the U.S. has angered some of his European counterparts. Trump’s main issue right now is NATO members’ refusal to show “courage” and lead the fight in clearing the Strait of Hormuz so oil-bearing ships can once again safely pass.
Trump has long had it out for NATO, having declared it obsolete during his first term as he pushed “America First” policies. During his second term, he has gone much further, like saying he might use military force to take Greenland (though he later walked back those comments). While Trump can’t unilaterally withdraw the U.S. from NATO, he could take steps to diminish the alliance and weaken it as a deterrence, particularly against potential threats from Russia.
More on the strained U.S.-NATO relationship.
Study find national debt much larger than declared
Headline USA - The U.S. Treasury says the national debt is roughly $39 trillion, but a nonpartisan accounting group estimates that the true number is $170.3 trillion.
Unlike the Treasury’s calculations, Truth in Accounting included all of the federal government’s unfunded obligations in its debt assessment, including unfunded promises like Social Security and Medicare benefits.
As of Sept. 30, 2025, the U.S. government had only $6.1 trillion on hand to pay for $176.3 trillion worth of incurred and promised liabilities, Truth in Accounting reports.
Within that number, projected Social Security benefits for all Americans who have entered the workforce amount to $54 trillion, total Medicare benefits will cost $74.5 trillion, and military and civilian retirement benefits will be $15.5 trillion.
Trump vs. public lands
Western Priorities - The Center for Western Priorities released the following statement from Deputy Director Aaron Weiss:
“The White House budget is missing key details, but even in broad strokes it paints a bleak picture for America's parks, wildlife, and everyone who hunts, fishes, hikes, or simply enjoys the outdoors. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum has already fired or forced out 13,000 employees. How many more does he plan to push out the door? This document doesn’t say. National parks are already short-staffed heading into summer. 2026 is shaping up to be one of the driest and most dangerous years for Western communities. This budget tells the people who do that work and live in the West that things are only going to get worse.
“Days after convening the ‘God Squad’ to greenlight the extinction of an entire species of whale, the White House is now proposing to strip NOAA of its role protecting ocean wildlife and hand that authority entirely to an Interior department that has shown it’s in the business of ending species, not saving them. Meanwhile, the administration is targeting programs it clearly does not understand. Covering up irrigation canals with solar panels is not ‘woke.’ It’s one of the best tools to limit evaporation, delivering more water and power to Western farmers. Cutting them does not save money. It wastes water, even as Lake Powell heads toward deadpool.”
Key concerns:
- Kneecapping the Land and Water Conservation Fund. Restricting LWCF to easements and blocking new public land acquisition ignores Congress and the American people. Voters in red and blue states alike have consistently backed LWCF because it is the single best tool for increasing access to public lands, especially for hunters and anglers.
- Presidential slush fund. President Trump wants a $10 billion “beautification” fund to build his vanity projects around Washington, DC, presumably including projects he previously claimed would be paid for with private donations, including the White House ballroom, Trump Arch, and statue garden.
- Eliminating science. Zeroing out the USGS Ecosystems Mission Area and climate research across every Interior bureau removes the scientific foundation these agencies need to manage land, water, and wildlife. You cannot manage what you refuse to measure.
- Killing renewable energy on public lands. Eliminating $45 million in renewable energy programs, including all offshore wind work, while fast-tracking oil and gas permitting makes it clear this administration sees public lands as an extraction zone, not a resource to steward for future generations. At a moment when oil prices are spiking and American families are watching their utility bills climb, pulling the plug on every source of electricity that doesn’t come from burning fossil fuels is a blueprint for higher energy costs.
- Dismantling the Forest Service. Trying to build a new unified wildfire service while also reorganizing the Forest Service is like trying to give your car a tire rotation at highway speeds. It’s a disaster waiting to happen. It mirrors the BLM headquarters relocation from the first Trump term: use “reorganizations” to break agencies from the inside.
Iran
NPR - Iran is formalizing a system that will require
ships to pay transit fees to pass through the Strait of Hormuz. This
move is part of a broader action by Iran to assert its control over the vital
waterway, through which about a fifth of the world’s oil and gas passes.
Shipping analysts and crisis management groups that NPR's
Jackie Northam spoke with say that the process begins with
government-to-government negotiations. A senior Iranian lawmaker suggested that
fees could reach $2 million per vessel. Some ships, including those from India,
Pakistan and China, have negotiated diplomatic deals. Iran will not allow any
ship with links to the U.S. or Israel to pass through the waterway. Analysts
tell Northam that they expect to see some movement in the energy crisis, but it
will be slow, and the situation remains precarious.
U.K. Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper hosted a virtual call with
international leaders from more than 40 countries to explore ways to reopen the
Strait. The meeting followed Trump’s recent remarks urging other
countries to take more action to unblock the vital shipping route. The U.S. and
Israel were not involved. Officials discussed both diplomatic and economic
measures their countries could implement now and after the fighting ceases
to help secure the shipping route,
according to NPR’s Fatima Al-Kassab. The meeting focused on strategies like
applying more United Nations pressure on Iran and rejecting Iran’s attempts to
impose tolls on passing ships.
As Trump's focus remains on the war, his approval
rating has dipped on the issue voters say they care about most: the economy.
These are the takeaways from the
president's last seven days.
Food warnings
Health - A public health alert has been issued for chicken nuggets sold at Walmart stores nationwide. The frozen, dino-shaped nuggets may contain unsafe levels of lead. Check your freezer for the recalled product, and toss or return it.
Health - Nearly half of Americans don’t realize processed meat is linked to a higher risk of colorectal cancer. Processed meats contain compounds formed during preservation and cooking that can damage DNA. The absolute risk increase is small—but experts still recommend limiting intake.
Trump wants big increase in defense budget at expense of good domestic programs
NY Times - With the United States at war with Iran and embroiled in conflicts around the world, the White House said on Friday that it would ask Congress to approve about $1.5 trillion for defense in the 2027 fiscal year. If enacted, that amount would set military spending at its highest level in modern history.
The request, which arrived on Friday as part of President Trump’s new budget, would amount to a roughly 40 percent bump from what the United States spent on the Pentagon this fiscal year. The administration said it would couple the proposed increase with a call for $73 billion in cuts across domestic agencies, including the elimination of some climate, housing and education programs.
Wealthy Donors Are Hiding Political Money
NY Times - The 10 largest individual donations so far in the midterm elections? They total almost $300 million — and none of them came from a human being. Some of the origins can be deduced, but other checks came from a series of little-known nonprofits whose original donors will most likely never be known.
This is the new normal in American elections. Increasingly, individuals do not cut the big checks to political campaigns, donations in which their names would have to be disclosed to the Federal Election Commission or state regulators. They come more and more from an alphabet soup of patriotic-sounding philanthropic organizations that send hundreds of millions of dollars to political action committees but do not have to disclose where the money came from.
Reagan speechwriter takes on Trump
Alternet - Peggy Noonan, who served as primary speechwriter to a widely-admired Republican president, is now warning President Donald Trump that his own administration is taking the “republic” out of “Republicanism.”
“It was strange that Mr. Trump didn’t prepare the country for any possible repercussions,” Noonan wrote for The Wall Street Journal in a Thursday op-ed. “A somber admission that U.S. actions in Iran might be followed by serious counteraggression was needed, and is part of the president’s responsibility.”
The adviser-turned-commentator argued that, even though republics require popular consent for all major policy decisions, American policy under Trump is instead dictated by the president’s moods.
Childcare
MS NOW - President Donald Trump may be a self-proclaimed “student of history,” but he probably should have paid closer attention in class.
At a lunch on Wednesday at the White House, Trump argued that “The United States can’t take care of day care” because “we have to take care of one thing: military protection — we have to guard the country.” Essentially, Trump thinks the federal government can’t afford to invest in child care because we’ve got a war to fight. Yet history shows that the one time the U.S. government did “take care of day care,” we did it because of a war, and we used the defense budget to pay the bill.
Families in the U.S. pay, on average, more than $1,000 a month per child.
During World War II, the U.S. could not find enough women to fill factory jobs. Therefore, Congress used funds allocated for defense infrastructure under the Lanham Act to build child care centers in more than 600 communities across the U.S. Those investments led to a dramatic increase in maternal employment because they offered moms access to full-time, high-quality care for young children, as well as summer and after-school care for older kids, all for less than the equivalent today of $10 per day.
After that war, we could have expanded federal child care centers across the U.S. That is what moms wanted — and what our European allies did. Instead, fiscal conservatives and allied religious leaders convinced U.S. policymakers that child care programs were not worth the investment if families — and especially mothers — could be forced to provide or pay for that care themselves.
Pam Bondi
NY Times Last month, Ms. Bondi told a friend that Mr. Trump’s willingness to fire Kristi Noem from her post as homeland security secretary meant she might be in jeopardy too.
But Ms. Bondi had not expected Mr. Trump, the man responsible for elevating her to one of the most powerful positions in the country, to drop the curtain quite so soon, according to four people familiar with the situation.
On Wednesday, the 60-year-old Ms. Bondi, downcast but determined, joined Mr. Trump for a glum crosstown drive to the Supreme Court, where they watched arguments in the birthright citizenship case. In the car, Mr. Trump told her it was time for a change at the top of the Justice Department.
Ms. Bondi hoped to save her job or, at the very least, buy a little more time — until the summer — to give herself a graceful exit.
She ended up with neither, and grew emotional Wednesday in conversations with friends and colleagues after she realized she was out. The next morning, Mr. Trump made it official, and fired her via social media post.
Ms. Bondi’s precipitous fall laid bare a cornerstone truth of Mr. Trump’s second term: Loyalty, flattery and obeisance are prerequisites for power, but they don’t provide durable protection from a president intent on carrying out his maximalist personal and political goals.
NPR - Last year, Bondi said in an interview that a list of Epstein’s clients was on her desk. The Justice Department later said no such list existed, sparking conspiracy theories. Eventually, the department made some files public, but lawmakers say a lot of information remains hidden. Trump also wanted Bondi to be more aggressive in prosecuting people he dislikes. Even though she tried to advance those criminal cases, judges and grand juries didn’t appear to support them. Johnson says there may have been a lack of evidence to execute some of these cases. During Bondi’s time as attorney general, there was a massive exodus at the DOJ. Hundreds of prosecutors and FBI agents are now gone, reshaping the institution.
NPR - White House believes Bondi mishandled law enforcement files related to Epstein, NPR’s Carrie Johnson tells Up First. Last year, Bondi said in an interview that a list of Epstein’s clients was on her desk. The Justice Department later said no such list existed, sparking conspiracy theories. Eventually, the department made some files public, but lawmakers say a lot of information remains hidden. Trump also wanted Bondi to be more aggressive in prosecuting people he dislikes. Even though she tried to advance those criminal cases, judges and grand juries didn’t appear to support them. Johnson says there may have been a lack of evidence to execute some of these cases. During Bondi’s time as attorney general, there was a massive exodus at the DOJ. Hundreds of prosecutors and FBI agents are now gone, reshaping the institution.
EVs cost less to drive
Thom Hartmann - As war sends oil prices soaring, fossil fuel giants rake in billions while Americans get stuck with the bill, even though EVs already offer a cheaper way out…
Trump’s and Netanyahu’s insane war against Iran has caused gasoline prices to skyrocket here in the United States. The Financial Times yesterday published an article titled, “‘Pump anxiety’ from soaring fuel prices prompts surge in EV interest.” Even The New York Times has noticed, with Michael Grunwald writing in an article titled Now is the Perfect Time to Buy an Electric Vehicle:
“Even before prices at the pump started soaring above $4 a gallon, Consumer Reports found that the typical E.V. owner saves $6,000 to $12,000 on maintenance and fuel over the car’s lifetime.”
Don’t tell that to the grifters in the White House, though.
April 2, 2026
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth forces out Army's top officer
NBC News - Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ousted Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George, four U.S. military officials said. Chief Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell confirmed George’s departure in a statement Thursday, saying on X that the Army's top officer would be “retiring from his position as the 41st Chief of Staff of the Army effective immediately.”
Hegseth has long eyed removing George, who took the chief post in September 2023. The defense secretary has removed other senior officials he believes are associated with previous administrations. George served as senior military assistant to former Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin during the Biden administration.
George was expected to remain in the job for longer, at least until next summer, according to four officials. April 2, 2026, 5:48 PM EDT
By Courtney Kube, Mosheh Gains and Gordon Lubold
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ousted Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George, four U.S. military officials said.
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Chief Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell confirmed George’s departure in a statement Thursday, saying on X that the Army's top officer would be “retiring from his position as the 41st Chief of Staff of the Army effective immediately.”
“The Department of War is grateful for General George’s decades of service to our nation. We wish him well in his retirement,” Parnell added.
Image: FILE: U.S. Army Chief of Staff Asked To Step Down President Trump Awards Medal Of Honor To Three Military Veterans
Chief of Staff of the Army General Randy George attends a Medal of Honor Ceremony in the East Room of the White House on March 2.Win McNamee / Getty Images file
Hegseth has long eyed removing George, who took the chief post in September 2023. The defense secretary has removed other senior officials he believes are associated with previous administrations. George served as senior military assistant to former Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin during the Biden administration.
George was expected to remain in the job for longer, at least until next summer, according to four officials. Hegseth asked George to retire effective immediately. It is unclear who will serve as Army chief, but Hegseth had recently pushed for the installation of Gen. Christopher LaNeve as the vice-chief of the Army, and two officials have said Hegseth made the move to prepare LaNeve to ultimately take over as chief.
Donald Trump
Trump said yesterday, "The Russian Consitution is much better than the American one. Putin told me he never has any problems with his constitution. Russia has much better constitution writers than we do. “I talked to Putin, and he said their constitution never gives him problems.”
Independent, UK - President Donald Trump said on Tuesday (31 March) that he “doesn’t believe in libraries or museums” two days after announcing plans to build a skyscraper for his presidential library. Taking questions in the Oval Office, Trump said, “ It's a library. It's a museum.”
“It's a presidential… but I wouldn't start it till I'm out of the office. I don't believe in building libraries or museums.”
On Monday, Trump shared a video on his Truth Social, with an AI-generated video of his plans of building the “Donald Trump Presidential Library” with a gold statue and gold staircase. Initially announced as a library, Trump now said “ you know, this concept could be office, but it's most likely gonna be a hotel with it."
Judge Amit Mehta of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, in an opinion found that a range of actions Trump took leading up to the attack did not qualify for the legal immunity presidents have for official acts.
Trump’s Jan. 6, 2021, speech before a crowd of supporters on the Ellipse was not an official act, the judge said. Neither were certain social media posts from the campaign, certain remarks Trump made at other political events and comments Trump made a day after the 2020 contest claiming the election results were a fraud on the American public, the judge ruled.
The official act immunity shield was first outlined by the Supreme Court in a 2024 decision stemming from federal criminal charges against Trump. That decision found presidents have “absolute immunity” from federal charges for acts taken at the “core” of their constitutional duties, and the possibility of a lesser immunity for official acts outside of that undefined core.
“President Trump has not shown that the Speech reasonably can be understood as falling within the outer perimeter of his Presidential duties,” Mehta wrote, weighing in on the Ellipse speech. “The content of the Ellipse Speech confirms that it is not covered by official-acts immunity.”
Trump fires Bondi as Attorney General
Headlines USA - President Donald Trump said Thursday that Pam Bondi is out as his attorney general.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.
Occupy Democrats - O Pam Bondi's humiliation grows as it's revealed that she begged Trump not to fire her as Attorney General — but he did it anyway and threw her under the bus… According to new reporting from The Daily Mail, Bondi "begged" for Trump to let her keep her job during an "explosive showdown" at the White House. He informed her of her firing shortly before his Iran War speech yesterday. Upon hearing the news, she began "pleading" for mercy but Trump "remained firm."
The former Florida attorney general came into office last year pledging that she would not play politics with the Justice Department.
Bondi rejected accusations that she politicized the Justice Department and said her mission was to restore the institution’s credibility after overreach by President Joe Biden’s Democratic administration with two federal criminal cases against Trump. Bondi’s defenders have said she worked to refocus the department to better tackle illegal immigration and violent crime and brought much-needed change to an agency they believe unfairly targeted conservatives.
Bondi’s public embrace of the president, however, marked a sharp departure from her predecessors, who generally took pains to maintain an arm’s-length distance from the White House to protect the impartiality of investigations and prosecutions. Bondi postured herself as Trump’s chief supporter and protector, praising and defending him in congressional hearings and placing a banner with his face on the exterior of Justice Department headquarters.
Occupy Democrats - O Pam Bondi's humiliation grows as it's revealed that she begged Trump not to fire her as Attorney General — but he did it anyway and threw her under the bus… According to new reporting from The Daily Mail, Bondi "begged" for Trump to let her keep her job during an "explosive showdown" at the White House. He informed her of her firing shortly before his Iran War speech yesterday. Upon hearing the news, she began "pleading" for mercy but Trump "remained firm."
White House ballroom
The Hill - The National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC) on Thursday voted to approve President Trump’s plans for a ballroom located where the East Wing once stood next to the White House. Most of the commission’s members, including Trump-appointed chair William Scharfe, voted to approval the plans. Phil Mendelson, chair of the Council of the District of Columbia, cast the only “no” vote, though there were several “present” votes.
NY Times - Judge Leon this week ruled in a lawsuit brought by historic preservationists that Mr. Trump must get approval from Congress before moving ahead with his planned ballroom. “Unless and until Congress blesses this project through statutory authorization, construction has to stop!” the judge wrote in his ruling, which was punctuated by 19 exclamation points.
The Justice Department has filed a notice of appeal, and Mr. Trump has shown a reluctance to bring the project to Congress, where it would face an uncertain fate.
Meanwhile. . .
NPR - The Food and Drug Administration has approved Foundayo, a new GLP-1 pill to treat obesity, from drugmaker Eli Lilly.
Gavin Newsom announced that California will be the first state to join the World Health Organization. This is in direct defiance of Donald Trump, who just pulled the United States out of the organization.- People - A missing teen has been located after vanishing without a trace from her Arizona home over three decades ago. Christina Maria Plante was 13 years old when she was last seen on May 15, 1994. The Gila County Sheriff's Office did not release more information on the case out of respect for Plante's privacy
Birthright citizenship
Independent, UK - If the Supreme Court were to uphold President Donald Trump’s birthright citizenship executive order, it could render thousands of children stateless and force any parent to prove their citizenship to ensure their child has access to healthcare, social services, education and other basic social services....
Legal experts and advocates alike have warned of the far-reaching implications if the Supreme Court backs Trump that would first impact immigrants and their children, increasing the population of undocumented immigrants and revoking essential healthcare from pregnant women and babies.
“It would mean, essentially, the creation of second-class residents of the United States, people who can never become fully part of the American community – something that was promised as part of the 14th Amendment,” Noah Baron, the assistant director of litigation at Asian Americans Advancing Justice, told The Independent.
But it would extend to those who are already U.S. citizens, forcing people to prove their legitimacy with copies of their parents' birth certificates or risk losing access to key services.
At the Supreme Court, Justice Gorsuch asked the government's lawyer point blank: are Native Americans born today birthright citizens? The Solicitor General's answer: "I have to think that through."
But the true danger of the Trump regime’s attack on the birthright citizenship clause is not financial, but moral. It would change what it means to be an American, and in so doing it would change what America means. Ending birthright citizenship would effectively end the United States’ experiment in striving to be a creedal nation that delivers democracy to a vast and diverse population of equals. It would make us instead something more vulgar, more common, and less special: a nation defined by ethnicity and heredity, those banal accidents that carry no righteous vision or moral aspiration, but only meaningless inheritance; a nation defined not by the hopes for its people’s future but by the unchangeable facts of their past.
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