While the government entered the second day of its shutdown, the President sat in the Oval Office ranting about the Grammys and Trevor Noah. But when the topic turned to Jeffrey Epstein, he slipped. Called him "Jeffrey" before catching himself.

Over 38,000 references to Trump were found in the latest document release.

But there is hope. In Minneapolis, two Chicago teenagers are watching ICE. They wear gas masks, film detentions, and upload footage so nobody disappears without a witness. ICE calls them "The Brothers."

Trump announced the closure of the Kennedy Center for two years, framing it as a revitalization project on the 250th anniversary of the United States. JFK's grandson, Jack Schlossberg, responded with a powerful statement about preserving democracy and holding power accountable. Meanwhile, Trump gave a bizarre phone interview to Politico where he repeatedly referred to himself in the third person and made a rare admission about his own mortality.

The United Nations is warning it may shut down its New York headquarters because the United States owes roughly $2.2 billion. ICE agents have been leaving behind "death cards" on the vehicles of people they detain, echoing tactics used historically by white supremacist groups. Five-year-old Liam Ramos and his father were finally released from ICE custody after 11 days, following a federal judge's ruling that their detention violated constitutional protections.

In a major political shift, two Democratic victories in Texas stunned the political world. Taylor Rehmet, a machinist union leader and Air Force veteran, flipped a reliably Republican state Senate seat that Trump had carried by 17 points. And Christian Menefee won a U.S. House seat in a runoff, narrowing the Republican majority in Congress to just 218-214. These races signal growing momentum heading into the 2026 midterms.

Even in the heart of MAGA country, the tide is beginning to turn. If the pressure keeps building and the line holds, there is a real opportunity to take back Congress later this year.

Donald Trump's alarming behavior in the Oval Office has raised serious questions about his cognitive fitness. European leaders, including Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, one of Trump's closest EU allies, are now openly describing his "psychological state" as "dangerous" after meeting with him in person at Mar-a-Lago. During a recent Oval Office event, Trump appeared dazed and detached, drifting in and out of awareness while his team rushed to clear the press at unprecedented speed.

Meanwhile, the latest release of Epstein files reveals a network that extends deep into the current administration. Names appearing in the documents include Peter Thiel, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Steve Bannon, Larry Ellison, Kevin Warsh, and others with direct ties to the Trump inner circle. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, who oversaw the release, admitted that images showing "death, physical abuse, or injury" were deliberately excluded, with no descriptions or summaries provided to the public.

Trump's response to the Epstein file release was telling. Speaking on Air Force One, he called it a "vindication" while admitting he had not read the files himself, repeating only what he had been "told by some very important people." The question is no longer just about who went to the island. It is about who is still benefiting from the cover-up, and how much of our government is compromised.

As cracks begin to form in the MAGA base, with even prominent influencers starting to walk back their support, the path forward becomes clearer: defund ICE and DHS, take back Congress at the midterms, and welcome anyone willing to stand against this. There are millions of Americans who see what is happening, and more are waking up every day.

In 1933, a Nazi propaganda magazine printed "Not yet hanged" beneath Albert Einstein's photo, a direct and public death wish against one of the greatest minds in human history. Einstein saw what was coming and fled Germany before it was too late, eventually finding refuge in America, the one country that still welcomed brilliant minds. But nearly a hundred years later, the parallels between that era and our own are impossible to ignore.

America is in the grip of a growing war on intellectualism. Scientists are mocked, doctors are called frauds, teachers are branded as dangerous, and expertise itself has become a dirty word. This isn't accidental. Anti-intellectualism is a necessary tool of authoritarian power, because fascist regimes cannot function in societies full of critical thinkers. When you discredit every outside source of knowledge, you leave yourself as the only source of truth.

Meanwhile, Trump bragged this week that wealthy immigrants are lining up to buy American citizenship with gold cards, making it clear that loyalty and money matter more than knowledge or merit. And yet, cracks are showing: new polling reveals that even his MAGA base is beginning to thin, with strong approval dropping from 78 to 70 percent among his most loyal supporters.

In the midst of it all, a story of extraordinary courage emerged from the horrific attack at Bondi Beach in Australia, where a Muslim man named Ahmed al Ahmed tackled an armed shooter to protect members of the Jewish community, reminding us that the violent extremists are the few, not the many.

Trump announced he’s shutting down the Kennedy Center for two years starting July 4th, calling it a “complete rebuilding” into a “new and spectacular Entertainment Complex.” Jack Schlossberg, JFK’s grandson, responded, saying Trump can “shut the doors and demolish the building” but “JFK is kept alive by us now rising up.”

In a phone call with Politico, Trump referred to himself in the third person multiple times and said “when I’m no longer around to settle wars, the U.N. can.” The UN is warning of imminent financial collapse, with the U.S. owing about $2.2 billion, roughly 95 percent of the organization’s outstanding debt.

Senator Hickenlooper revealed that ICE agents left “death cards” on vehicles of people they detained in Colorado, cards with a history of use by white supremacist groups. Five-year-old Liam Ramos and his father were released from ICE detention after a federal judge ordered it.

And in Texas, Democrat Taylor Rehmet flipped a state Senate seat Trump won by 17 points, while Democrat Christian Menefee won a House seat, narrowing the Republican majority to 218-214. The tide continues to turn.