Good afternoon, everyone. I have devastating news to share. In the past 24 hours alone, Americans have endured three mass shootings, the latest unfolding at a Mormon Church in Michigan. We continue to face a grim reality: more mass shootings than days in the year.
At the same time, Donald Trump is preparing to meet with senior generals and admirals in Quantico, Virginia this week,a gathering some are already describing as a loyalty test to the Commander-in-Chief.
We are standing at a historic inflection point for our nation. This is not just another moment in the news cycle. This is the fight that will determine whether the First Amendment and a free press endure — or whether they are silenced under pressure.
I cannot do this alone. I need your support to continue reporting the truth without fear or favor. Subscribe today to stand with me, to defend the truth, and to protect the foundations of our democracy. Together, we can — and we must — safeguard the First Amendment.
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With that, here’s what you missed:
At a packed Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Grand Blanc Township on Sunday morning, a 40-year-old Burton man rammed a truck into the building, opened fire, and allegedly set a blaze before being shot dead by responding officers; at least 2 people are dead (including the gunman), 9 are hospitalized (several critical), and officials fear additional victims may be inside the burned church.
A gunman identified as 40-year-old Nigel Edge opened fire with an assault rifle at the American Fish Company bar in Southport, N.C., on Saturday night, killing 3 people and wounding at least 5 others in what police called a “highly premeditated” and “targeted” attack, before fleeing by boat and being captured shortly after by the Coast Guard.
A 33-year-old woman visiting from Chicago was killed and three others injured in a Bourbon Street shooting early Sunday in New Orleans; police said the woman was an innocent bystander, no suspect has been identified, and officials are reviewing surveillance footage while urging visitors not to carry firearms in the French Quarter.
President Donald Trump confirmed he will attend Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s unusual gathering of hundreds of senior military leaders at Quantico on Tuesday, describing it as a show of “esprit de corps” and military strength, while the event comes amid Hegseth’s Pentagon rebranding efforts and a looming government shutdown.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced Sunday that he is dropping his third-party re-election bid after falling to fourth place in polls and losing key campaign funds, though his name will still appear on ballots; his exit could boost Andrew Cuomo’s chances against Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani and Republican Curtis Sliwa in the November mayoral race.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Sunday that he has “no faith in Trump’s judicial system,” accusing the president of weaponizing justice against political opponents after former FBI Director James Comey was indicted on obstruction and false statement charges, a move Schumer called one of Trump’s worst assaults on democracy.
President Donald Trump will meet Monday at the White House with congressional leaders Schumer, Jeffries, Johnson, and Thune as a possible government shutdown nears, with Democrats pressing to tie health care provisions to a short-term funding bill and Republicans refusing concessions while agencies prepare mass firing plans.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune said Republicans will not negotiate on their seven-week funding bill, accusing Democrats of “holding the government hostage” with demands like extending Obamacare subsidies, and warning that avoiding a shutdown is “totally up to the Democrats.”
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Republicans must engage in a “serious negotiation” to avoid a government shutdown, warning that Democrats won’t accept a partisan GOP bill and stressing health care funding as a key concern while noting Trump’s agreement to meet shows Republicans “feel the heat.”
More than 100,000 federal workers are set to resign under the Trump administration’s deferred resignation program, creating the largest mass exodus in U.S. history amid sweeping workforce cuts, intimidation, and looming shutdown threats, with unions warning of chaos and lawsuits challenging the program’s legality.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro accused the U.S. of violating international law after Washington revoked his visa for joining a pro-Palestinian protest in New York and urging U.S. soldiers to disobey Trump’s orders, with Colombia’s foreign ministry denouncing the move as a diplomatic weapon and Petro insisting he doesn’t need a U.S. visa.
Watchdog groups allege “prolonged” and inhumane conditions for families detained at ICE’s South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley, Texas — including lack of clean water, sleep deprivation, inadequate medical care, poor education, and emotional abuse — prompting legal monitors to warn they may seek court enforcement of child protection standards under the Flores settlement.
Pfizer faces a U.S. class action lawsuit from more than 1,300 women alleging its contraceptive injection Depo-Provera caused brain tumors, with plaintiffs arguing the company failed to adequately warn of risks despite studies linking prolonged use to higher rates of meningioma, while Pfizer maintains the FDA blocked stronger warnings and is invoking a pre-emption defense.
See you this evening.
— Aaron
