With so much happening (and so much of it bad) we know it can be hard to keep track. Here is a rundown of some recent events to keep you informed.
We try to include both the bad actions of the Trump Administration and the Republican Party that enables him, and beneficial actions from the Democrats. We also try to focus on stories that have a direct impact on the lives of Americans.
You can help by sharing this information with people you know. The Republicans have a very effective propaganda machine in Fox News and the Right Wing Media, but people still trust their friends more than they trust the news.
ONGOING: The price of eggs hit another record high this week, as avian flu (H5N1) continues to spread in America’s poultry farms and the danger of a human pandemic increases. This week, the Trump Administration blocked publication of a CDC study into how many veterinarians have caught avian flu, and another on the risk of humans passing the disease to pet cats. Scientific American published an op-ed that put it succinctly: “The US is not ready for bird flu in humans.“
Jan 23: Since taking office, the Trump Administration has redefined discrimination, branding Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion programs–aimed at reducing the harms of racism and discrimination–as discriminatory against white people and illegal. As part of his executive orders, Trump has ordered all government agencies to halt DEI programs, and instructed the federal government to sue private employers over DEI policies. The loss of these programs will harm not just members of racial minorities and LGBTQ+ people, but also women, veterans, seniors, and people of all ages with disabilities.
Feb 4: Trump is leading government-endorsed attacks on LGBTQ people, especially transgender people. Federal web sites including the State Department have stopped using acronyms like LGBTQI+ and LGBT, and now use a three-letter acronym, LGB. This reflects the White House’s aggressive and discriminatory policies attacking transgender people. At a hearing of the House Oversight Committee, Republican Nancy Mace shouted “tranny, tranny, tranny” after being told that word is a hateful slur, and Republican Mary Miller intentionally misgendered Democrat Sarah McBride on the House floor, referring to her as “the gentleman from Delaware, Mr. McBride.”
Feb 6: In a radical act of censorship, the White House ordered government employees to stop using pronouns in their email signatures, and forced government web sites to remove terms like “Indigenous people” from their web sites, along with any content aimed specifically at women, like “women in leadership.”
Feb 7: Elon Musk’s “Department of Government Efficiency,” which is not a legal federal department, shut down the US Department of Education in defiance of a judge’s order. More than a dozen Democratic members of Congress went to the Department of Education and were denied entry by civilian “security guards” who refused to identify themselves.
Feb 8: In an executive order cutting assistance to South Africa, President Trump advanced a long-standing and grossly false narrative about “white genocide” following the end of apartheid. Trump’s order referred to Afrikaners (white descendants of European colonizers) as “victims of unjust racial discrimination” and ordered that Afrikaners be welcomed to the United States as persecuted refugees. This order parallels statements made by Elon Musk, himself an Afrikaner whose family got rich exploiting Black workers under the apartheid system.
Feb 10: Contradicting claims that ending DEI is about meritocracy, the US military announced they will stop recruiting at Black Engineering Awards events, where the Pentagon has historically recruited many top candidates. Officials told reporters that recruiting at other Black and minority events will likely also end. This follows the announcement on January 31 from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth that “Black History Month is officially dead.”
Feb 10: Democratic Attorneys General–including New York State’s Leticia James–sued to stop Trump’s cuts to medical research. Trump’s order would strip billions in funding from research into cures and treatments for cancers, Alzheimer’s disease, ALS, diabetes, and many other diseases. A judge has temporarily stopped the cuts, with a hearing set for late February
Feb 10: Donald Trump raised tariffs on aluminum and steel imports from all countries to 25%. These new tariffs will significantly increase what Americans pay for groceries, motor vehicles, tires, home construction, electronics and appliances, and many other products.
Feb 10: The Department of Justice ordered prosecutors to drop all charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams, shortly after Adams ordered city employees to stop criticizing Donald Trump and comply with ICE raids in the city. Adams had been scheduled to go to trial in April after investigations showed he accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes from foreign governments.
Feb 11: Donald Trump ordered the Department of Justice to stop enforcing laws against bribery of foreign officials. Notably, in September of 2024 the House Oversight committee began an investigation into allegations that Donald Trump accepted a $10 million bribe from the Egyptian government.