US politics

US politics

On Saturday, Democrats streamed through the Moscone Center convention complex, sporting lanyards emblazoned with Gavin Newsom's name and tote bags adorned with one of Nancy Pelosi's favorite aphorisms: We don't Agonize, we organize symbols of a party in transition as the former speaker approaches retirement and the term-limited governor eyes a presidential campaign.

He then looked at Beshear and proposed his bet. I will bet you the Andy Beshear for President' announcement comes in January 2027, Doocy said. That drew a hearty chuckle from the governor, who declared it's a dollar! It then looked like he was leaning in to shake Doocy's hand, but the anchor ended up giving him the dollar up front.

Most critics of President Donald Trump view him as the ultimate threat to American democracy. But to Nobel prize-winning economist Daron Acemoglu, Trump's merely a fever, the result of an infection that's been brewing for years before he rode down the golden escalator to announce his presidency. The MIT economist has spent decades studying the origins of economic and political decay, specializing in how institutions foster inclusive growth-or succumb to extractive systems.

Catch up quick: President Trump created the White House Faith Office by executive order on Feb. 7, 2025, placing it within the Domestic Policy Council and moving it into the White House complex. The move was designed to signal a "direct line" between people of faith and the executive branch. Unlike the versions under prior administrations, which were often situated in agencies or outside the immediate West Wing orbit, this office is central to Trump's "religious freedom" agenda.

A Guardian analysis of government records has found that the vast majority 77% of people who entered deportation proceedings for the first time in 2025 had no criminal conviction, exposing a stark gap between the Trump administration's rhetoric and reality. Within days of Donald Trump's inauguration, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) trotted out a phrase that his surrogates would come to use over and over again: the worst of the worst. The term has become a shorthand justification for the administration's unprecedented overhaul of immigration enforcement a relentless campaign the administration claims is focused on arresting and deporting violent criminals.

What are the ramifications of that? Well, there might be some if you're an air traveler who pays for a service like PreCheck or Global Entry. On the other hand, there might not. Within the span of around 12 hours this weekend, the TSA provided conflicting information on the matter, presumably frustrating travelers - some of whom are already navigating the effects of an oncoming blizzard.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent condemned Democrats on Sunday and said their rhetoric is putting President Donald Trump's life in danger, shortly after an armed man breached the security perimeter at Mar-a-Lago before he was shot and killed by law enforcement. They are normalizing this violence. It's gotta stop, Bessent said during an appearance on Sunday Morning Futures on Fox News. He told anchor Maria Bartiromo a moment later, This venom from the left really has to stop. They normalize this violence.

On Feb. 19, 2026, President Donald Trump directed the Pentagon and other federal agencies to begin identifying and releasing government files related to UFOs-now formally referred to as unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAPs)-including materials connected to "alien and extraterrestrial life" [1]. The directive follows several years of increasing institutional attention to UAPs. Congress has held formal hearings with sworn testimony from military personnel and a former intelligence official [2]. Lawmakers introduced bipartisan legislation aimed at increasing transparency and establishing a formal UAP records collection process [3].

"That will be 'no thanks' from us," Jens-Frederik Nielsen, the Greenlandic prime minister, wrote on his Facebook page on Sunday. "President Trump's idea to send a US hospital ship here to Greenland has been duly noted. But we have a public health system where care is free for citizens," he said. Frederiksen said she was "happy to live in a country where there is free and equal access to health for all. Where it's not insurances and wealth that determine whether you get proper treatment."

Initially, New York City public schools intended to have remote learning on Monday. However, Mamdani reversed course on Sunday afternoon, giving New York City students their first true snow day in several years. The city previously attempted to end weather-related off days under former Mayor Eric Adams. As has often been the case during Mamdani's two months as mayor, many social media users took issue with the playful tone he adopted in the X videos.

Gov. Kathy Hochul said she wants all New Yorkers to be able to get together to cheer on Team USA in the men's hockey final at the Olympics, so she's allowed bars and restaurants to open early just for the occasion. Just not for New York City. Or anywhere under the state of emergency she declared on Saturday ahead of the storm. The governor said in a statement that she is suspending alcohol service hours enforcement on Sunday between the hours of 6 a.m.-10 a.m.