Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said Tuesday that the government is pulling $500 million in funding to develop new mRNA vaccines in order to focus on "safer, broader vaccine platforms."
Why it matters: Among the 22 contracts the Trump administration said it is winding down is a Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority award to Moderna to develop a new line of defense against H5N1 bird flu.
The Trump administration promises to spell out its vision for America's agriculture, but in the meantime, the president indicated on Tuesday that land should be owned by some Americans and farmed by migrant workers.
Why it matters: The debate over who can farm America's land has been historically linked to racism, xenophobia and, oftentimes, exploitation of farmers of color.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer was in upstate New York on Tuesday to kick off a critical August recess that will have implications for whether he wins back his majority.
Why it matters: Schumer forced the GOP to leave town for the summer empty-handed last week. Now he'll try to build on that momentum.
A growing number of blue-state House Republicans — at risk of being drawn out of their own seats — are speaking out against their party's mid-decade redistricting efforts.
Why it matters: Their comments represent a sharp break with President Trump, who has endorsed efforts in Texas and other states to carve out more Republican House seats.
Sen. John Cornyn urged the FBI Tuesday to help "locate or arrest" the Texas Democrats who fled the state over a redistricting vote.
Why it matters: The request escalates the standoff as Texas Republicans try to compel Democrats back to the Capitol to advance their plan to draw an election map more favorable to the GOP.
Hate crimes in the United States last year hit their second-largest total since the FBI started keeping data, in a sign that bias-motivated crimes aren't subsiding, according to new numbers.
The big picture: Although overall hate crimes decreased by 1.5% in 2024 from the year prior, advocates say the high numbers show Jewish Americans, Muslim Americans and LGBTQ+ residents are still targets for bias attacks.
President Trump is planning an executive order that would punish banks if they are believed to be discriminating against political conservatives.
Why it matters: The president has previously targeted law firms and media companies, but with banks — one of the most heavily regulated industries — the administration has a number of levers it can pull to apply pressure.
Homicides declined in major U.S. cities — by more than 50% in some communities — during the first six months of the year, according to new data from an organization of law enforcement executives.
Why it matters: The stats are the latest signs that violent crime in America is falling from the COVID crime wave, and that drop appears to be accelerating during President Trump's first months in office.
Why it matters: As a federal prosecutor in 2008, Acosta approved a highly controversial non-prosecution agreement that allowed Epstein to serve minimal time in prison and shut down the federal investigation into his alleged sex trafficking ring.
Two anonymous victims of Jeffrey Epstein wrote letters to a federal judge on Monday raising flags about the Trump administration's request to unseal grand jury testimony.
The big picture: Neither victim requested to keep the files under seal, but bothurged the court to make sure any identifying information was thoroughly scrubbed to protect them.
House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer subpoenaed multiple former government officials, including Bill and Hillary Clinton, and former FBI director James Comey — and is demanding the Justice Department release all documents related to its Jeffrey Epstein probe.
Why it matters: Despite President Trump's efforts to shut down questions surrounding Epstein, Democratic lawmakers have time and again forced their Republican colleagues to confront the issue.
President Trump spoke on Tuesday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and discussed the ceasefire ultimatum Trump set for Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to Ukrainian officials.
Why it matters: Trump's deadline to Putin will expire on Friday. If the Russian president doesn't agree to a ceasefire by then, the U.S. will impose new sanctions on Russia for the first time since Trump returned to office.
President Trump on Tuesday doubled down on his push for Texas to redraw its congressional district map ahead of the midterms, claiming that the GOP is "entitled to five more seats."
The big picture: The Trump-endorsed Texas effort has exploded into an all-out "war" between red and blue states, opening the door for a high-stakes redistricting race.
President Trump on Tuesday said he was "happy to hear" Attorney General Pam Bondi directed federal prosecutors to launch a grand jury probe into the Obama administration's handling of the investigation into Russia's involvement in the 2016 election.
The big picture: The development, which was first reported by Fox News and confirmed by multipleoutlets, marks an escalation in the president's push to rehash the thoroughly investigated conclusion that Moscow interfered in the election.
Why it matters: There had been heavy speculation that Bessent was a leading candidate to succeed Jerome Powell next May when his term as Fed chair ends.
President Trump on Tuesday repeated his claims that government jobs data was rigged, insisting — without evidence — the statistics were manipulated to make him look bad.
Why it matters: The more the president says the economy's most crucial data point isn't believable, the more investors might question their investments.
Jeanine Pirro got Senate confirmation to be U.S. Attorney for D.C., and she's zeroing in on criminal defendants' immigration status and illegal firearms.
Why it matters: A longtime Trump ally is stepping into one of the highest-profile prosecutor roles — the two go back decades in Republican New York circles, per the Washington Post.
Top Democrats are speaking — and acting — in increasingly existential terms over the audacious Trump-backed push to redraw Texas' congressional map ahead of the 2026 midterms.
Why it matters: The proposed Texas map is designed to net the GOP up to five House seats — potentially enough to decide the majority for President Trump's Republicansin his final two years in office.
Arrests by U.S. immigration agents dropped by nearly 20% in July, amid the backlash to President Trump's push to dramatically boost the number of detentions, according to new data that the Trump administration disputes.
Why it matters: The decline followed protests over the waves of raids by masked immigration agents in June — particularly in Southern California — that led to court orders that have hindered some Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations, at least for now.
An Illinois Holocaust museum that uses AI technology to create "interactives" with Holocaust survivors is expanding its offering and including a project with a Tutsi survivor of the Rwandan genocide.
Why it matters: It's the first-ever non-Holocaust interactive interview for the Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center in Skokie, Ill., and signals that Holocaust museums are using the technology to bring attention to more recent genocides.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said Monday he had ordered state police to find and arrest Democratic lawmakers after the state House issued civil arrest warrants — though state law enforcement is restricted to making arrests in Texas.
Why it matters: It's the latest attempt by Abbott to compel Democrats back to the Capitol, escalating a standoff that began when over 50 Democrats fled the state to delay votes on a redistricting map that will give Republicans five more congressional seats.
President Trump and Rupert Murdoch reached a deal Monday to postpone the media mogul's deposition in a libel lawsuit related to the Wall Street Journal publishing a report on an Epstein birthday book, per court filings.
Why it matters: Trump's lawyers had raised concerns about Murdoch's age and health when they asked a federal court in Florida last week to expedite the 94-year-old's deposition, but the deal postpones this until after the outlet's upcoming motion to dismiss the case.
The Trump administration appears to have changed a policy that previously stated that states and cities that boycott Israeli companies could be ineligible for disaster relief funds, it emerged on Monday.
The big picture: An April Department of Homeland Security notice stated that recipients were prohibited from "limiting commercial relations specifically with Israeli companies" in order to qualify for assistance, but this wording was not included in a later August version outlining the terms and conditions for FEMA applicants.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) is urging the Trump administration to pardon former Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.), who is serving a seven-year prison sentence after pleading guilty to wire fraud and aggravated identity theft.
Why it matters: President Trump recently weighed in on a potential Santos pardon by noting that the former congressman is a staunch supporter of his — a factor that has proved decisive in other Trump clemency decisions.
