In a move that has startled climate scientists and energy economists alike, the Trump administration recently unveiled a sweeping new initiative aimed at reviving America’s coalindustry—a sector long regarded as both an economic relic and a climate catastrophe. The plan, a mix of subsidies, deregulation, and export promotion, represents a dramatic reversal of the Biden-era shift toward renewable energy and the most significant policy intervention in favor of coal since the early 2000s.

Most economic and energy analysts define coal as having an impending obsolescence, regardless of government intervention. Forcing more years out of coal plants that are aging past their end of life will end up passing unnecessary  costs onto consumers. A study by independent consulting firm Grid Strategies has found that the real cost of mining defunct coal facilities will end up costing end consumers up to $6 billion a year USD.

Leading up to the 2024 election, Donald Trump promised to dismantle the Department of Education, a sentiment that was supported in an executive order from the White House following Trump’s inauguration and also outlined in Project 2025. In a press release for the DOE published in March, U.S. Secretary of Education, Linda McMahon, reiterated this plan, stating that her “vision is aligned with the President’s: to send education back to the states and empower all parents to choose an excellent education for their children.” In recent weeks, McMahon reaffirmed that the Trump administration is committed to fulfilling this promise by 2029.

At the center of all affective communities is an element of trust. There needs to be trust that you can say and write and do things without fear of a violent reprisal.  Of course criticism and non-violent blowback are fair game. But murder or even messages instilling hatred and violence towards one’s opponent cannot be tolerated. These acts are the destroyers of trust as well as lives.

During a small outing by President Trump and a small group of officials at a public restaurant in Washington, D.C., the President was met by a small group of protesters. The protesters chanted “Free DC” and “Free Palestine” and also  “Trump is the Hitler of our time!” The protesters were ultimately  removed. However, the President later suggested the protesters should be charged under a racketeering statute since he said one of the protesters was a “paid agitator.” It is unclear where the President receivedthis bit of info or if it is even true. After this incident, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche gave an interview where he defended the idea of prosecuting protesters.

Complaints about META’s failure to protect children from the ills of social media continue to plague the company.  Most recently, unauthorized images of children were used in ads for Meta’s Threads app, and a significant study of the company’s improvements in response to previous concerns criticized its efforts as largely ineffective.

For the 2026 federal budget year, beginning October 1st, the White House has proposed a $1.2 billion – or 36% – cut to the National Park Service (NPS). Prior to this proposed budget cut, around 2,800 NPS employees had either been fired or resigned their positions under an early retirement buyout. Under the Biden administration, the NPS employed around 20,000 staff. The NPS manages 63 national parks and 370 other sites that include lesser-known historic sites, monuments, and national seashores.

Trump’s crackdown on political opposition, announced in the wake of the assassination of Charlie Kirk, is aimed at a range of Democratic and resistance groups. The first of these under examination is Antifa, a key target of the administration’s rhetoric and investigations. Yet Antifa is a far more diffuse and abstract entity than the White House suggests.