What You Should Know About Russ Vought, Trump’s Shadow President

Vought is the architect of President Trump’s broader plan to fire civil servants, freeze government programs and dismantle entire agencies. Here are some key things to know about the D.C. insider who wants to take a hatchet to the federal government.

Unfettered and Unaccountable: How Trump is Building a Violent, Shadowy Federal Police Force

Trump’s DHS appointees have dismantled civil rights guardrails, protected agents’ anonymity and encouraged them to wear masks, threatened groups that stood in their way, and overwhelmed legal challenges to their arrests and tactics.

House Rep Demands Answers About Delayed EPA Report on PFNA, a Toxic Forever Chemical

In a letter to EPA Chief Lee Zeldin, Rep. Chellie Pingree, D-Maine, cited a recent ProPublica story that quoted government scientists saying a yet-to-be-released report on the toxicity of PFNA was ready to publish in April.

The Shadow President

From the wholesale gutting of federal agencies to the ongoing government shutdown, Russell Vought has drawn the road map for Trump’s second term. Vought has consolidated power to an extent that insiders say they feel like “he is the commander in chief.”

Who Is Russell Vought? How a Little-Known D.C. Insider Became Trump’s Dismantler-in-Chief

Reporter Andy Kroll explains Vought’s rise from a congressional staffer to the man piloting everything from Trump's layoffs and agency closings to his shutdown strategy, controlling the fate of trillions of dollars and millions of federal workers.

ProPublica Joins Covering Climate Now

More Than 170 U.S. Citizens Have Been Held by Immigration Agents. They’ve Been Kicked, Dragged and Detained for Days.

The government does not track how often immigration agents grab citizens. So ProPublica did. Our tally — almost certainly incomplete — includes people who were held for days without a lawyer. And nearly 20 children, two of whom have cancer.

State of Disrepair

Disabled Idaho Students Lack Access to Playgrounds and Lunchrooms. Historic $2 Billion Funding Will Do Little to Help.

Despite federal law, disabled students can’t access playgrounds, lunchrooms, classes and bathrooms. With added funding, school districts are still unable to make necessary fixes.

Local Reporting Network

A Year Before Trump’s Crime Rhetoric, Dallas Voted to Increase Police. The City Is Wrestling With the Consequences.

Leaders at Dallas HERO argued the city was descending into anarchy despite falling violent crime rates. Residents, including some law enforcement officials and at least one prominent Trump supporter, fear the push could be used as a playbook.

ProPublica Names Kenneth Morales as David Burnham-TRAC Data Fellow

Students With Hearing and Vision Loss Get Funding Back Despite Trump’s Anti-DEI Campaign

Following public outcry, the Department of Education has reversed its decision to cut funding for students who have both hearing and vision loss, opting instead to reroute grants to an organization that will provide funding to these students.

On the Front Line of the Fluoride Wars, Debate Over Drinking Water Treatment Turns Raucous

After decades of fluoridating drinking water to improve public health, some communities are wavering on the practice. In one Michigan county, the medical director is mirroring Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s efforts against fluoridation.

“I Don’t Want to Be Here Anymore”: They Tried to Self-Deport, Then Got Stranded in Trump’s America

Venezuelan immigrants signed up for a Trump-promoted app called CBP Home, which promised a safe and easy way to leave the country, and prepared to leave on their given departure dates. Those dates have come and gone. They’re still stuck here.

“No quiero estar más acá”: intentaron autodeportarse y quedaron atrapados en la América de Trump

Inmigrantes venezolanos se registraron en una aplicación promovida por Trump llamada CBP Home, que prometía una forma segura y fácil de salir del país. Se prepararon para partir en las fechas asignadas. Esas fechas pasaron y siguen atrapados aquí.

Elon Musk’s Boring Co. Accused of Nearly 800 Environmental Violations on Las Vegas Project

Nevada could’ve fined the company more than $3 million, but regulators are seeking a reduced penalty of $242,800, citing an “extraordinary number of violations.”

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