Good evening, everyone. Today was an extraordinarily busy news day—and tomorrow will be even more consequential. I am working through the night, speaking directly with sources and continuing to gather critical information related to the Epstein files.
I want to be absolutely clear: the moment these files are released, you will hear it from me first.
We are standing on the edge of something significant. Every American deserves to know the truth, and transparency in this moment matters. This is not happening by accident—we have been working toward this day for months, together, and we have done so by keeping survivors at the center of this fight.
CNN has confirmed that frustration is growing inside the U.S. Department of Justice as lawyers scramble to redact thousands of pages of Jeffrey Epstein–related records before a congressionally mandated deadline, with limited guidance, heavy workloads shifted to the National Security Division, and fears that the rushed process will still result in extensive redactions, errors, and continued public backlash over transparency despite pressure from Congress and earlier efforts by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
The board of trustees of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts voted to rename the institution the “Trump Kennedy Center,” a move backed by Donald Trump and his handpicked board but challenged by Democrats, Kennedy family members, and legal experts who argue the decision likely violates federal law governing the memorial.
Prominent members of the Kennedy family strongly condemned the board’s decision—backed by Donald Trump—to rename the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts as the Trump-Kennedy Center, arguing it is likely illegal under federal law and an affront to John F. Kennedy’s legacy and the center’s mission of artistic freedom.
While Leavitt claimed that the renaming was “unanimous” the truth is different. One member of Congress, Congresswoman Joyce Beatty, said that she would have voted against the renaming, but was prohibited from doing so:
Donald Trump announced plans for 2026 “Patriot Games,” a four-day national high school athletic competition (one male and one female athlete from each state/territory) as part of the U.S. 250th anniversary celebrations, alongside other large-scale events, while emphasizing a ban on transgender participation in women’s sports.
Commentators and social media users mocked Trump’s planned 2026 “Patriot Games,” noting that its format—two elite high school athletes from each state competing over several days—resembles the dystopian premise of The Hunger Games.
According to Defense One, Donald Trump announced $1,776 “warrior dividend” checks for more than a million service members, repurposing congressionally approved funds originally meant to boost housing allowances, a move praised by some lawmakers but criticized by others as diverting money from its intended use despite being framed as improving troops’ quality of life.
The Hill has confirmed that Kristi Noem said the U.S. Coast Guard will remove outdated policy language that labeled swastikas and nooses as merely “potentially divisive,” after bipartisan backlash and a Senate hold on Kevin Lunday’s nomination, with lawmakers insisting the symbols be explicitly defined as hate symbols in workplace harassment rules.
Donald Trump signed an executive order directing the U.S. Department of Justice to expedite rescheduling marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III to expand medical cannabis and CBD research, while stressing the move does not legalize recreational use or change criminal penalties.
NBC News has confirmed that former NASCAR champion Greg Biffle is believed to have died alongside his wife and two children after a privately owned Cessna C550 crashed while landing around 10:20 a.m. at Statesville Regional Airport, prompting an investigation led by the National Transportation Safety Board with support from the Federal Aviation Administration, as officials await medical examiner confirmation and say the cause remains unknown.
Former special counsel Jack Smith testified for eight hours behind closed doors before the House Judiciary Committee without invoking the Fifth Amendment, defending his prosecutions of Donald Trump as nonpartisan, even as Chairman Jim Jordan said the panel still views the cases as politically motivated and may pursue further hearings or action.
CBS News has confirmed that law enforcement has identified a new person of interest in the mass shooting at Brown University and is still investigating whether the attack is connected to the separate shooting of an Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor, according to senior officials briefed on the case.
Police are investigating whether the fatal shooting of Nuno Loureiro, a renowned plasma physicist and director of the MIT Plasma Science and Fusion Center, is connected to the mass shooting at Brown University, though the Federal Bureau of Investigation has said there is currently no confirmed link as authorities continue to pursue additional leads.
The Trump administration moved to effectively ban transgender medical care for minors by proposing rules that would cut off Medicare and Medicaid funding to hospitals and doctors providing such care, a policy announced by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and sharply criticized by major medical groups and civil rights advocates as harmful and unconstitutional.
A passenger on an Alaska Airlines flight was federally charged after allegedly trying to open a door mid-flight on a Boeing 737-790, with authorities saying Kassian William Fredericks had to be restrained by fellow passengers before the plane landed at Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport, after which he was hospitalized and later banned from the airline.
The New York Times has confirmed that the Democratic National Committee will not publicly release its internal “autopsy” of the 2024 election loss to Donald Trump, with chair Ken Martin saying the review of Kamala Harris’s defeat is complete but keeping it private avoids distraction as Democrats claim they are already applying lessons learned to future elections.
