USA TODAY White House Correspondent Bart Jansen discusses President Donald Trump's sendoff for Elon Musk . Plus, Bart tells us about an obscure provision in the House bill that threatens enforcement of court rulings on Trump . President Trump will double tariffs on foreign steel to 50% . The Supreme Court lets Trump revoke a safe-haven program for Cubans, Haitians, Venezuelans and Nicaraguans. The CDC still recommends childhood COVID vaccines , despite an RFK announcement earlier in the week. Fo...
May 31, 2025•15 min
USA TODAY White House Reporter Zac Anderson has the latest on the trade whiplash around President Donald Trump's tariffs. A group of Deaf Americans is suing over a lack of sign language interpreters for White House events. USA TODAY Senior Congress & Campaigns Reporter Riley Beggin takes a look at some provisions lurking in the GOP tax bill Americans should know about. Heavy smoke is expected to hit the U.S. as Canadian wildfires force evacuations . Faizan Zaki pulls off a dramatic win at th...
May 30, 2025•13 min
Parkinson’s is a disease that afflicts an estimated 90,000 Americans every year. Current treatment focuses on managing its many symptoms as there is no cure. But a new stem cell-based therapy that creates nerve cells is showing early promise. What’s behind this incredible discovery and just how hopeful should patients be? Two of the doctors leading this development, Dr. Lorenz Studer and Dr. Viviane Tabar of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, join The Excerpt to share the journey behind thi...
May 29, 2025•14 min
A federal court has ruled President Donald Trump can't use an emergency-powers law to impose tariffs on foreign countries . Elon Musk leaves the Trump administration . USA TODAY White House Correspondent Bart Jansen takes a look at the Trump-Vance approach to crypto . Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the United States will be "aggressively" revoking visas of Chinese students . USA TODAY Government Accountability Reporter Erin Mansfield discusses exclusive findings that chapter leaders al...
May 29, 2025•15 min
Most electronic devices you use – your phone, laptop, earbuds – require certain materials called rare earth minerals to function. These minerals also power a wide range of other things critical to our lives like cars, aircraft engines, medical equipment. The U.S. imports most of its supply of rare earth elements from China, which given the current climate of global trade, has led experts to wonder: any way we get more of these minerals here at home? Scott McWhorter, a distinguished fellow in the...
May 28, 2025•11 min
President Donald Trump on Tuesday asked the Supreme Court to intervene in its effort to rapidly deport migrants to "third countries ." USA TODAY Supreme Court Correspondent Maureen Groppe discusses the high court's move to take another look at whether a police officer who partially blinded a teenager during the 2020 George Floyd protests can be sued. USA TODAY Education Reporter Zach Schermele has the latest on President Trump's feud with Harvard . The Trump administration halts scheduling of ne...
May 28, 2025•12 min
USA TODAY White House Reporter Zac Anderson takes a look at President Donald Trump's clash with judges . Horse-drawn caisson funerals will soon resume at Arlington National Cemetery. USA TODAY Data Reporter Ignacio Calderon discusses how President Trump delayed pollution limits on the nation’s dirtiest coal plants. The coasts face a crisis as land sinks and seas rise. Penguin poop may help fight climate change. Let us know what you think of this episode by sending an email to podcasts@usatoday.c...
May 27, 2025•14 min
President Donald Trump said Russian President Vladimir Putin has gone 'absolutely crazy' after the latest Russian attack on Ukraine. Trump also blamed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for the ongoing war. USA TODAY National Immigration Reporter Lauren Villagran takes a look at a major drop in illegal crossings at the southern border and the impact of Trump administration policies. Today is Memorial Day , honoring those who died as a result of battle while serving in the U.S. Armed Forces....
May 26, 2025•13 min
Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Dave Barry has made a career out of being a jokester, writing a nationally syndicated humor column for two decades. He is also a best-selling author. Dave joins The Excerpt to share his journey from small-town Pennsylvania journalist to national humorist and how it was his readers who paved the way. His latest book, “Class Clown: The Memoirs of a Professional Wiseass" is on bookshelves now. Let us know what you think of this episode by sending an email to podcasts@u...
May 25, 2025•9 min
USA TODAY National Correspondent Trevor Hughes discusses a new tactic from ICE - arresting people as they leave mandatory court hearings. President Donald Trump Friday threatened steep tariffs on European Union goods and targeted iPhones . A judge has halted a Trump administration action barring Harvard from enrolling foreign students . Trump also ordered changes to nuclear power regulations . Listen to our special episode on nuclear power here . Sunday marks five years since the murder of Georg...
May 24, 2025•14 min
USA TODAY Senior Congress Reporter Riley Beggin takes a closer look at President Donald Trump's House-approved tax bill . The Trump administration says Harvard can no longer enroll international students . Oklahoma will require schools to teach President Trump's 2020 election conspiracy theories . USA TODAY Supreme Court Correspondent Maureen Groppe breaks down a divided court decision to block the creation of the nation's first religious charter school . Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. b...
May 23, 2025•13 min
In 2018, the U.S. Air Force awarded a $3.9 billion contract to Boeing for two new Air Force One planes. For a variety of reasons, including delays tied to the need for workers with proper security clearances, Boeing may or may not be able to complete the order before the end of President Donald Trump’s second term. Meanwhile, the Qatari Prime Minister offered to gift the president a luxury 747 jet valued at $400 million. And the Department of Defense has just accepted it. There are questions abo...
May 22, 2025•11 min
Two Israeli embassy staff members were fatally shot Thursday night in Washington. Republican holdouts appear to have a deal with House GOP leadership to advance President Donald Trump's tax policy bill . USA TODAY White House Correspondent Bart Jansen breaks down the news that the Department of Justice has abandoned police reform settlements over the deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor. The Pentagon has accepted a $400 million jet from Qatar for President Donald Trump. USA TODAY National C...
May 22, 2025•15 min
For generations of Americans, the Johnson & Johnson brand has been a beloved one, as quintessentially American as baseball and apple pie. Its baby shampoo “no more tears” has been a fixture in bathrooms for decades, as has its iconic band aids and talcum power. But it’s this last item, the talcum powder, that may prove to be a tipping point in destroying its hard-won 139-year-old reputation with consumers. Author and freelance investigative journalist Gardiner Harris joins us on The Excerpt ...
May 21, 2025•14 min
President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth unveiled a new missile defense system plan . USA TODAY National News Reporter Eduardo Cuevas discusses findings that dozens of men sent to an El Salvador prison by the Trump administration entered the country legally . A fifth inmate has been captured after last week's New Orleans jail break on the same day a maintenance worker was arrested in connection with the case. USA TODAY Senior National Political Correspondent Sarah D. Wire tells ...
May 21, 2025•13 min
What's next for Russia-Ukraine peace negotiations ? USA TODAY Washington Bureau Chief Susan Page discusses how former President Joe Biden's cancer diagnosis is landing in Washington. President Donald Trump signs a 'revenge porn' ban alongside First Lady Melania Trump. USA TODAY Supreme Court Correspondent Maureen Groppe explains what a Supreme Court decision stripping more than 300,000 Venezuelan migrants of temporary protected status will functionally mean. The family of Ashli Babbitt , a Janua...
May 20, 2025•12 min
Do you think DOGE has helped to shrink the federal government or was it all for show? We asked and you answered on Forum. The series from USA TODAY's Opinion team is dedicated to showcasing views from across the political spectrum on issues that Americans are starkly divided on. If you'd like to weigh in on a different topic, you can find more questions at usatoday.com/forum . And if your submission is selected for print, we might invite you to add your voice to a future special bonus episode li...
May 19, 2025•9 min
Former President Joe Biden has been diagnosed with prostate cancer . President Donald Trump's tax bill passed in a key House committee vote. USA TODAY White House Reporter Davis Winkie talks about an understaffed nuclear agency hit by DOGE and safety worries. Russia Sunday launched its largest drone attack on Ukraine since the start of the war, before President Donald Trump is set to discuss a proposed ceasefire with Russian President Vladimir Putin Monday. Officials are investigating what cause...
May 19, 2025•15 min
It’s well known that childcare has become extraordinarily expensive, costing many families nearly a quarter of their income. The fertility rate, as we've covered previously on The Excerpt , remains at a historic low. The Trump administration, meanwhile, is floating a range of ideas to encourage people to have more children while encouraging women to stay home to care for them. Have these trends paved the way for the pronatalism movement to gain traction? Karen Guzzo, a professor of sociology at ...
May 18, 2025•15 min
The Supreme Court dealt a blow to the Trump administration Friday. USA TODAY Reporter Michael Collins discusses how a federal judge scolded the Trump administration for refusing to provide details about what it has done to return a Maryland man wrongly deported to El Salvador . Moody's downgrades the U.S. credit rating . Vice President JD Vance will attend Pope Leo XIV's inaugural mass. The trip could set the tone for the Trump administration's relationship with the new pope . Some workers are j...
May 17, 2025•13 min
Arwa Damon, former CNN Senior International Correspondent and president and founder of INARA, joins The Excerpt to discuss the latest concerns about starvation in Gaza. Arwa wrote an essay earlier this week for the Atlantic Council detailing Gazans' famine fears . USA TODAY White House Correspondent Bart Jansen breaks down Supreme Court arguments over President Donald Trump's efforts to limit birthright citizenship . What can we expect from this summer's Trump birthday military parade ? Staffing...
May 16, 2025•13 min
For over 40 years, the conservative Washington think tank Heritage Foundation has issued a “Mandate for Leadership” to guide incoming Republican administrations. The centerpiece of its latest version is Project 2025, a roughly 900-page blueprint created with input from more than 100 conservative groups. It outlines how President Donald Trump’s second administration could reshape the federal government. What are the goals of Project 2025 and what roadmap does it lay out for deconstructing the adm...
May 15, 2025•12 min
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was grilled Wednesday on Capitol Hill , where he talked about measles, vaccines, fluoride and more. USA TODAY Education Reporter Zach Schermele discusses why the Trump administration's policies could jeopardize the tens of billions of dollars foreign students bring to colleges and cities. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem accused a House Democrat of defending a terrorist after he suggested she was ignoring a court order to return Kilmar ...
May 15, 2025•15 min
There’s something to cold hard cash. You can hold it; you can smell it; it feels a certain way in your pocket. Earlier this year, President Donald Trump directed the Treasury Department to stop minting pennies. What happens as the world of currency goes increasingly digital? Will traditional currencies soon become a thing of the past? And who stands to benefit, and who might this rapid shift be hurting? Neha Narula, Director of the Digital Currency Initiative at the MIT Media Lab, joins The Exce...
May 14, 2025•15 min
Lawmakers spent hours debating legislation that would enact sweeping tax cuts, raise the debt ceiling and add restrictions to benefit programs. President Trump pledges to end sanctions against Syria to "give them a chance of greatness.” Cassandra “Cassie” Ventura Fine testified against ex-boyfriend Sean “Diddy” Combs. Plus, USA TODAY Domestic Security Correspondent Josh Meyer breaks down what is at stake for the Hip-Hop mogul. Eric and Lyle Menendez are eligible for parole after a Los Angeles ju...
May 14, 2025•14 min
U.S. Stocks surged Monday after this week's US-China tariff deal . But a rally in Asian stocks overnight fell off and the dollar also wobbled. USA TODAY White House Correspondent Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy talks through President Donald Trump's drug price executive order . Hamas has freed US-Israeli hostage Edan Alexander , as Israel says no to a ceasefire. Meanwhile, Gaza's population faces critical risk of famine. The Trump administration welcomed 49 white South Africans to the U.S., after gra...
May 13, 2025•14 min
We're putting the spotlight on moms today, asking readers to share about why it's so important to honor moms or maternal figures in our lives. Forum is a series from USA TODAY's Opinion team, dedicated to showcasing views from across the political spectrum on issues that Americans are starkly divided on. If you'd like to weigh in on a different topic, you can find more questions at usatoday.com/forum. And if your submission is selected for print, we might invite you to add your voice to a future...
May 12, 2025•7 min
The U.S. and China have reached an agreement to reduce tariffs. The Trump administration floats suspending habeas corpus . What does that mean? USA TODAY National Correspondent Trevor Hughes discusses what deporting people facing criminal charges can mean for justice. President Trump says he will sign an order aimed at cutting drug prices to match other countries . USA TODAY Justice Department Correspondent Aysha Bagchi explains how Diddy's lawyer defended a 'sex cult' leader in an eerily simila...
May 12, 2025•13 min
Tina was a sweet golden retriever, named after the legendary Tina Turner. Her passing led owner Niall Harbison down the path of a new personal mission: to rescue and rehabilitate abused street dogs in Thailand, his adopted country. Niall captures the story of Tina and his dog rescue journey in his new book "Tina: The Dog who Changed the World." Niall joins The Excerpt to discuss Tina’s legacy and what’s next in the fight to save even more dogs while bringing about a fix to this persistent global...
May 11, 2025•12 min
Pope Leo XIV celebrated his first mass as leader of the Roman Catholic Church Friday. USA TODAY Senior Congress Reporter Riley Beggin discusses how some Republican lawmakers are at odds as they work on a bill dealing with President Donald Trump's priorities . The National Science Foundation eliminates its equity division and cancels dozens more grants. India and Pakistan step up military strikes. USA TODAY Investigative Reporter Gina Barton gives us a peak of Untested . Listen to the exclusive s...
May 10, 2025•14 min
