Trump Administration Ends Federal Funding for Gender-Affirming Care for Youth
The Trump administration has finalized a major healthcare rule that would end federal Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) funding for gender-affirming medical care for minors, intensifying the national debate over transgender healthcare and the federal government’s role in determining which treatments public insurance programs can cover. The rule is scheduled to take effect […]
America Turns to Arkansas Lithium in Push to Break China’s Grip on Critical Minerals
Arkansas is emerging as a potentially important player in America’s effort to build a domestic lithium industry and reduce its dependence on China for one of the most strategically important minerals of the energy and technology economy. Beneath southern Arkansas lies the Smackover Formation, a geological formation containing lithium-rich underground brines that companies and state […]
Trump Orders Major Changes to Childhood Vaccine Schedule, Challenging Medical Consensus
President Donald Trump signed an executive order directing federal health officials to overhaul recommendations for childhood vaccinations, including encouraging parents to space certain vaccines across separate medical visits. The move represents a significant shift in federal vaccine policy and puts the administration at odds with major medical organizations, which say the existing childhood immunization schedule […]
U.S. Halts Exports of Recycled Critical Minerals to Strengthen Domestic Supply Chains
The United States has imposed a one-year ban on the export of selected used critical minerals, marking another major step in the Trump administration’s effort to strengthen domestic supply chains and reduce the nation’s dependence on China for strategically important materials. The new restrictions apply primarily to “black mass”—the shredded material recovered from used lithium-ion […]
Trump’s Science Funding Cuts Trigger Growing U.S. Brain Drain
The Trump administration’s sweeping reductions in federal scientific research funding are prompting a growing number of American researchers to leave the United States or reconsider their careers, raising concerns that the country could lose its long-standing position as the global leader in scientific innovation. Universities, research hospitals and laboratories across the nation are reporting canceled […]
U.S. Boat Strikes Fail to Reduce Cocaine Supply as Traffickers Change Routes
The Trump administration’s military campaign against suspected drug-smuggling vessels has failed to meaningfully reduce the supply of cocaine entering the United States, according to assessments from the Drug Enforcement Administration, Pentagon briefings and interviews with American and Latin American officials. Although President Donald Trump has repeatedly claimed that Operation Southern Spear nearly eliminated maritime drug […]
Small Businesses Return to Court to Challenge Trump’s New Tariff Strategy
A coalition of small American businesses has filed new lawsuits challenging President Donald Trump’s latest tariff policy, arguing that the administration has once again exceeded its legal authority by imposing broad import duties on dozens of countries. The legal actions represent the newest chapter in a prolonged court battle over presidential trade powers and could […]
Canadian Travel Boycott Costs U.S. Tourism Billions as Cross-Border Visits Plunge
The United States is experiencing a sharp decline in Canadian tourism as growing political tensions between the two countries continue to reshape travel patterns. A new report from Statistics Canada estimates that Canadians spent approximately $3.3 billion less on travel to the United States, reflecting one of the steepest and most sustained declines in cross-border […]
Trump Administration Ends Medicare Drug Subsidy Program, Raising Questions About Future Costs
The Trump administration has announced that it will end a temporary federal subsidy program that helped keep Medicare Part D prescription drug premiums lower for millions of older Americans. The program, introduced during the Biden administration to stabilize premiums while major changes from the Inflation Reduction Act were implemented, will expire at the end of […]
U.S. Oil Giants Struggle to Secure Venezuela’s Most Valuable Energy Assets
Major American oil companies have encountered significant obstacles in their attempts to expand into Venezuela, frustrating the Trump administration’s expectations that U.S. investment would quickly revive the country’s enormous but badly damaged petroleum industry. Seven months after the removal of Nicolás Maduro, negotiations involving Exxon Mobil, Chevron and ConocoPhillips have produced limited results as companies […]
