{"_":"If you’re looking for hype, fake outrage, and groupthink, kindly keep moving. Our mission at What a Day is simple: to be your guide to what truly matters each morning (and the fun stuff you might have missed) in just 20 minutes. Host Jane Coaston brings you in-depth reporting and substantive analysis on the big stories shaping today and the creeping trends shaping tomorrow—and when she doesn’t know the answers, she asks someone even smarter to fill us all in. Radical, right? New episodes at 5:00 a.m. EST, Monday–Friday in your favorite podcast app and on YouTube. Being informed was never this easy.","$":{"audioboom:html":"1"}}
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Week two of the government shutdown isn't proving to be any more successful than week one. In fact, on Monday, House Speaker Mike Johnson said this shutdown could end up being the country's longest. Why? Probably because Johnson won't negotiate with Democrats on extending Affordable Care Act tax credits that will expire at the end of the year. And without help from Democrats, the government is staying closed. So what does this mean not just for the millions of people who benefit from government ...
Things have been moving fast since President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social last month QUOTE: "Pam: I have reviewed over 30 statements and posts saying that, essentially, “same old story as last time, all talk, no action. Nothing is being done. What about Comey, Adam “Shifty” Schiff, Leticia??? They’re all guilty as hell, but nothing is going to be done.” Since then, two of the three people Trump mentioned – former FBI director James Comey and New York Attorney General James – have been cha...
This week has been… a lot. On Thursday, Israel’s cabinet approved the first phase of a peace agreement between Hamas and Israel, which would end the fighting in Gaza and return all Israeli hostages, living and dead. But the news didn’t stop there – with President Donald Trump threatening National Guard deployments in both Chicago and Portland, and both cities responding by heading to court. And don’t forget, we’re in the second week of a government shutdown with no end in sight. To unpack it all...
In September, after the murder of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, President Donald Trump signed a presidential memorandum you may not have heard very much about – an action that could put your right to hold your political perspectives at risk. National Security Presidential Memorandum 7 , or N-S-P-M 7, is a memorandum that redirects the full force of the country’s national security establishment to pursue what White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller said was “leftwing terrorism.” So...
The new Supreme Court term started on Monday, and the justices have a lot on their plates. They’ll be deciding a host of big issues in the coming months – including if Trump can fire board members of the Federal Reserve and whether his tariff policy is overstepping presidential authority . But first, on Tuesday, the court heard arguments in Chiles v. Salazar, a case focused on whether conversion talk-therapy for minors is protected by the First Amendment . So, for more on this Supreme Court term...
For the past four months, President Donald Trump has been sending the National Guard into cities that protest his policies. First, it was Los Angeles. Then, it was Washington D.C. And now, it’s Portland, Oregon and Chicago. An Oregon federal judge blocked Trump’s deployment of the state’s National Guard on Saturday — and then also stopped the Trump administration from sending California’s National Guard troops to Portland on Sunday night. But not all of these cities are getting help from the cou...
Even if you don’t know what “AI slop” is, there’s a good chance you’ve encountered it basically everywhere you spend time online. Maybe it was those Facebook photos of an LA firefighter rescuing a baby and a bear cub during the wildfires earlier this year. Or it’s in emails from your MAGA aunt with an inspirational story she found online about a group of bikers with a suspicious number of fingers visiting a World War Two veteran in the hospital . Or it’s the President of the United States sharin...
Because of the government shutdown , the Bureau of Labor Statistics will not release its monthly unemployment and jobs survey today. But that’s probably not a big deal to President Donald Trump, who has apparently decided that the best statistics are the ones that either say what he wants to hear , or are simply never heard at all. The most expensive extreme weather events, which facilities are creating the most pollution , quarterly reports , incidents of domestic terrorism , the number of peop...
It's Day 2 of the government shutdown. And we'd like to note that despite the government closing shop, House Republicans have been on vacation since last week, while House Democrats have been showing up to work. Vice President JD Vance told members of the press Wednesday that the real bad guys in the shutdown fight are Democrats, specifically Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer. Because, according to Vance, it's Schumer standing in the way of low-income Americans getting much-needed health care...
Well, the Government has shut down and, as of Tuesday afternoon, President Donald Trump didn’t sound to worried about it. “A lot of good can come down from shutdowns," he said. "We can get rid of a lot of things that we didn't want, and they'd be Democrat things, but they want open borders. They want men playing in women's sports. They want transgender for everybody.” That statement is a lot of nonsense, as always. But the way Trump views forcing the government to close up shop is telling. Since...
Is the government about to shut down? Congressional leaders and the White House appear to be at an impasse, even after President Donald Trump gave in and scheduled a meeting for Monday to try and get a deal done (though that meeting did not go well). The core of the issue is subsidies connected with the Affordable Care Act, financial assistance that is due to expire at the end of the year. Without it, millions of Americans could see their healthcare premiums skyrocket, with costs rising by hundr...
Following the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, a wave of everyday people have been punished, getting doxxed and even losing their jobs because of statements they made online regarding Kirk and his death. Even the Vice President of the United States, JD Vance, encouraged Americans to call the employers of anyone they feel is “celebrating Charlie’s murder.” Free speech matters now, more than ever. But what can we say without fear of retribution? To find out what the rules aroun...
We’ve been on quite the journey with our First Amendment-guaranteed right to free speech, haven’t we? This week, we had the reinstatement of ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” after Kimmel was suspended – thanks to the FCC threatening to take action against networks that chose to carry his show. And President Trump is still threatening to sue ABC in response to Kimmel’s return. You know, the President of the United States sure does have a lot of time on his hands to threaten talk-show hosts, get his pol...
The machinery of mass deportations has been operating both in plain sight and out of view since President Donald Trump took office back in January. As millions of people are being deported, thousands more are stuck in detention facilities across the country. In fact, the exact number of people in Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention right now is 58,766 , according to ICE data. The vast majority have no criminal record, but the Trump administration is denying them bond at an astounding r...
Since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, the brutal war has cost millions of lives. But President Donald Trump has consistently said that he could easily end the war. We think by that he probably meant charm Russian President Vladimir Putin into making a deal. Weirdly enough, efforts to cozy up to Russia have not actually stopped Putin from doing anything. Not only has Russia continued to bomb Ukraine, but it is now sending drones into Poland. But maybe, just maybe, Vladimir Putin has reached the e...
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., noted anti-vaxxer and, apparently, part-time detective, announced back in April that he was on the hunt for the real cause of autism. A hunt that would take no prisoners, ask big questions, and find the one true answer to a medical question that's been researched for decades... by September. Well, on Monday, the Trump administration announced that the hunt was over. Sort of. In an upcoming report that already has raised way, way, way mor...
On Friday we learned that according to President Donald Trump , when coverage is negative, "It's no longer free speech." And it seems he's not alone. There's a growing sentiment within the Republican Party, which currently controls the White House and both Chambers of Congress, that actually, free speech doesn’t apply if you say mean things about Republicans. This is all in regards to ABC pulling “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” from its usual spot in the nightly lineup, after FCC Chairman Brendan Carr said...
Democrats on the Hill are hitting back after ABC suspended "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" indefinitely. They’ve introduced the No Political Enemies (or NOPE) Act , a bill that would protect people targeted for political speech, and called for the resignation of Federal Communications Commission chair Brendan Carr, whose comments targeting Kimmel came just hours before ABC pulled the show. To learn more about what Democrats are doing to protect free speech amid President Trump's crackdown — while working t...
The investigation into the assassination of Charlie Kirk has raised a lot of questions – not just about the alleged shooter, but about the investigation itself. And especially about the person at the head of the bureau tasked with helping to find and capture suspects in acts of violence not just in the Kirk case, but across the country: FBI Director Kash Patel. His performance thus far has been, well, questionable. And he's tussling with Democrats who call him on it. To learn more about the FBI,...
FBI Director Kash Patel spoke on Tuesday about a massive rise in the number of investigations into so-called NVEs, which stands for “nihilistic violent extremists.” He defined them as people who “engage in violent acts motivated by a deep hatred of society.” Some experts would use that term to describe the suspect in the Charlie Kirk shooting. Utah prosecutors said Tuesday that the suspect allegedly wrote video game references and online jokes on the bullet casings. We’ve chosen not to reference...
Memphis, Tennessee, is the latest city in President Donald Trump's Crime Takeover-A-Go-Go. On Monday, Trump signed a presidential memorandum establishing a "Memphis Safe Task Force" and announced that he would send the National Guard to the city. During a press conference detailing the decision, Trump said that he wanted to accomplish in Memphis – and everywhere else – what federal authorities did in Washington, D.C. But the question is…what exactly did the administration accomplish in D.C.? We ...
The clock is ticking until the federal government runs out of money and potentially shuts down—again. Now you might be thinking, "Didn't we do this? Like, a few months ago?" And yeah, we did. In March, the Senate approved a short-term spending bill with the support of 10 Democrats , including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer. And if Republicans want to keep the government open, they'll need a lifeline from Democrats. But Democrats want something in return: an extension of Affordable Care Act...
The search for a suspect in Charlie Kirk's death continues. The FBI released some grainy photos of a person of interest wearing sunglasses and a baseball cap — all in black — in the hope it might trigger tips or other information from the public. The FBI also said it recovered a bolt-action rifle that may have been used in the shooting. With no suspect in custody, no motive has been established either. And let's be incredibly clear: as of this moment, we still do not know why someone shot and ki...
The episode details the fatal shooting of conservative activist Charlie Kirk in Utah, discussing the rise of political violence and Kirk's significant role in galvanizing young conservatives and bringing Trumpism to college campuses. It examines his evolving rhetoric, the influence of far-right factions, and how his death is being framed within the movement. Additionally, headlines cover Kamala Harris's critical memoir excerpts regarding President Biden, Trump's attempt to remove a Federal Reserve official, and suspected Russian drones entering Polish airspace.
Millions of kids have started school over the past few weeks – that includes students in Los Angeles, Washington, D.C, and now Chicago, all cities targeted by the Trump administration for immigration enforcement and, of course, crime. It's worth saying that, like in other cities that Trump has mentioned as evil dens of criminal miscreants, violent crime has gone down in the city of Chicago over the last year . But the president, who posted an "Apocalypse Now" inspired meme over the weekend, impl...
Say what you will about President Donald Trump’s first administration, but at least some of the people given top jobs had a morsel of experience doing those jobs. Now, the Trump administration is chock full of the weirdest people the MAGA world has to offer, united by their personal allegiance to one man – Donald J. Trump. From Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, whose qualifications are “co-hosted the weekend edition of Fox and Friends ” to Paul Ingrassia, the former podcaster nominated to run t...
A crucial race for Georgia's Public Service Commission is coming up in November. And though the name sounds boring, it's a race that really matters. That's because the commission is in charge of regulating public utilities in the state, including electric, gas, and telecommunications. Right now, all five commissioners are Republicans…but two of them are up for election this fall. And the Democratic challengers are strong. To learn more about the importance of this race, we spoke with John Taylor...
President Donald Trump really, really, really hates wind and solar power. He made sure to make that point very clear during a Cabinet meeting last week, where he ranted about windmills for…way too long. At the end of August, the Trump team ordered construction be stopped on a 4-billion-dollar wind farm project off the coast of Rhode Island that was nearly finished. The administration alluded vaguely to national security threats , suggesting, among other things, that wind farms could be used to l...
Congress is back. It’s back and it has a lot of work to do. If Congress doesn’t fund the government by the end of September, the government will close up shop . And while Democrats have demanded meetings with President Donald Trump and his loyal GOP to drum up a bipartisan spending bill, Republicans don’t seem too inclined to work with their colleagues across the aisle. But preventing a shutdown is just one bullet point on Congress’ agenda. On Wednesday, survivors of convicted sexual abuser Jeff...
Russian President Vladimir Putin met with Chinese leader Xi Jinping and held hands with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Beijing this weekend. Their talks came during the annual Shanghai Cooperation Organization meeting, an event that marked the first time in seven years that Presidents Modi and Xi met in person. It also comes as the US navigates a rocky relationship with China, combats India’s frustration over President Donald Trump’s tariffs, and tries to broker peace between Russia and ...
