President Donald Trump has been clashing with Pope Leo XIV for weeks now in a rare and increasingly public dispute between a U.S. president and the head of the Catholic Church. The pope has warned against the escalating violence around the world and called for peace and diplomacy. But Trump has pushed back hard, going so far as to call the pope “weak on crime” and falsely suggesting that he supports Iran having nuclear weapons. USA TODAY World Affairs Correspondent Kim Hjelmgaard joins The Excerpt to share his insights.

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The Trump administration's mass deportation effort has played out on numerous fronts since he took office in 2024. There’s been dramatic ICE sweeps of major American cities and a significant expansion of immigration detention. But the administration has also been working to reshape the nation's immigration courts and dozens of immigration judges across the country have been fired. What impact is this having on immigrants’ right to due process? USA TODAY National Reporter Lauren Villagran joins The Excerpt to share her reporting.

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Wildfire season is already off to an early and dangerous start across the U.S., with more than 1.6 million acres burned — far above the 10-year average. Experts warn the months ahead could bring more large, destructive fires. At the same time, the Trump administration is planning a major overhaul of the U.S. Forest Service, including closing research facilities and regional offices. So what does that mean as wildfire risk grows? USA TODAY’s Dana Taylor speaks with Clark University Geology Professor John Rogan about what’s fueling this year’s fires, how scientists track wildfire behavior, and why cutting research could make it harder to predict and respond to future disasters.

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You can sip it. Zip it. Drive it. American brands do more than fill our lives, they shape who we are. As the nation marks its 250th anniversary, we decided to look at brands that capture America’s ingenuity and drive. From Motown to Harley-Davidson, these names tell a uniquely American story. Narrowing it down to the 50 most iconic? That was the tough part. Business Editor Jim Nelson and Business Reporter Ricardo Torres of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, part of the USA TODAY Network, join The Excerpt to look at some of the standouts from USA TODAY’s Iconic Brands series.

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Last December, President Donald Trump convened a meeting of pharmaceutical executives with the goal of getting them to lower the cost of prescription drugs. A few weeks later, one patient battling lung cancer checked into a California clinic for an infusion of Merck & Co.'s blockbuster cancer drug, Keytruda. When the bill arrived, the clinic's charge for a 400 mg dose dominated the page: It was just over $162,000. While Brown only owed about $2,000 herself, the six-figure charges show how quickly prices for cutting-edge medical treatments can balloon in the U.S. health care system. USA TODAY joined the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists in their year-long, reporting effort looking into rising healthcare costs around the world. USA TODAY Health Reporter Ken Alltucker joined The Excerpt to share his insights.

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President Donald Trump had his first and only state visit with Queen Elizabeth on June 3rd, 2019. It was a meeting he had long anticipated, the ultimate sign that he had made it in life. But what did the Queen think of Trump? Of 113 state visits during her long reign, President Trump had been the last. The impression he’d made, though, may have been overshadowed by the one made by Marine One, which flattened the Queen’s garden. Could Trump charm her into giving him the honor of being her favorite American president? USA TODAY Washington Bureau Chief Susan Page joins The Excerpt to discuss her latest book, "The Queen and Her Presidents," on bookshelves now.

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The Department of Justice is in turmoil. The previous controversial attorney general Pam Bondi is out, and thousands of employees have either been fired, put on leave or quit. So what’s on the DOJ’s agenda and what can it hope to accomplish in the back half of President Donald Trump’s term? USA TODAY Justice Correspondent Aysha Bagchi joins The Excerpt to share her insights.

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After reading the Epstein files, Claire Wilmot, a visiting fellow at the London School of Economics and Political Science, uncovered a chilling pattern: systematic efforts to discredit survivors of sexual abuse while protecting the rich and powerful.

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