Oil and Gas Experts in State Department Fired in DOGE Efforts Prior to Iran War

The Trump administration purged the State Department of its oil and gas experts last year, prior to launching its war on Iran, including people who would be responsible for examining scenarios related to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a new report says as the gas prices spike. NOTUS reports that the administration laid off a wide swath of oil and gas analysts in the State Department’s…
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DOGE Cuts Have Left Grieving Families Struggling to Access Survivor Benefits

Kathy Quitno-Bolt was still numb when she started calling Social Security days after her husband’s sudden death in July. Steve, her partner of 25 years and husband of 13, died four days after being diagnosed with lung cancer — just enough time for their daughter to arrive and say goodbye. When she finally got through to someone, they told her they wouldn’t have an appointment to begin her…
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Global Health Workers Describe Impact a Year After Trump Admin Shut Down USAID

“Heartbreaking.” “Devastating.” “Difficult and challenging.” Such are the words used by health care workers, government officials and former U.S. Agency for International Development employees to describe the impact of the agency’s dissolution last year. Since the Trump administration shut down USAID, which had delivered humanitarian aid and medical supplies to countries around the world…
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Trump’s Economy Is Hurting Americans — and Setting Us Up for Long-Term Collapse

President Donald Trump is boasting about the economy one year into his term. He claims that inflation has been defeated, growth is unprecedented, incomes are rising, and his tariffs are generating hundreds of billions for the U.S. economy. This is all hogwash, according to progressive economist Gerald Epstein, a leading global authority on macroeconomic policy and finance.
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A Year After LA Fires, Don’t Forget How Trump and Musk’s Lies Hurt Recovery

We speak with journalist Jacob Soboroff about his new book and ongoing reporting about the Los Angeles fires one year ago, when destructive infernos razed entire neighborhoods, killing 30 people and displacing over 100,000 more. The book Firestorm: The Great Los Angeles Fires and America’s New Age of Disaster provides a detailed look at how the fires unfolded, the emergency efforts and the…
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Social Security Changes Under Trump Led to Backlogs, Wait Times, and More Issues

A new report details multiple issues within the Social Security Administration (SSA) over the past year, including long delays for service to millions of beneficiaries, due primarily to changes and “reforms” imposed by the Trump administration in 2025. Social Security beneficiaries have faced backlogs and delays for years as the result of underfunding and other political obstacles.
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