In a Sept. 30 address to military leaders and an Oct. 9 Cabinet meeting, President Donald Trump made false claims about military pay raises and recruitment.
Trump’s False Claims About Military Pay Raises and Recruitment
Trump’s White House Ballroom Sparks Questions About Funding and Ethics
Q: Is President Donald Trump paying in full for the new ballroom at the White House, and what is the cost?
A: The White House said Trump and “other patriot donors” would pay for the ballroom, which the president estimated would cost $300 million. So far, $200 million has been pledged, according to the White House, which did not say how much the president would donate. Democratic leaders and ethics experts have questioned the project and what influence donors would have on federal policies.
RFK Jr.’s Inaccurate Claims About Tylenol, Circumcision and Autism
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. further added to the Trump administration’s problematic claims about Tylenol and autism on Oct. 9, alleging during a Cabinet meeting that circumcision-related studies provide evidence that the drug causes the condition when given to children. The studies, however, do no such thing.
What’s in the Bolton Indictment?
A federal grand jury in Maryland on Oct. 16 returned an indictment against former National Security Adviser John Bolton for mishandling classified national defense information obtained during his tenure in the first Trump administration. Here, we’ll provide information about what’s in the indictment and Bolton’s response.
Q&A on Trump’s Attempt to Deploy National Guard to Portland and Chicago
While President Donald Trump’s rhetoric regarding Portland and Chicago has largely focused on overall crime, National Guard deployments are specifically targeted at protecting federal immigration operations and facilities. Here, we’ll unravel some of the rhetoric about what’s happening in those cities, what the Trump administration is doing and under what authority, and what the courts have had to say about it so far.
WIC Becomes a Political Football in Shutdown
The Trump administration has said while the federal government is shut down, tariff revenue will be used to fund a key federal program that provides food aid and other services to nearly 7 million low-income women and young children. But as the shutdown entered its second week last week, Republicans and Democrats blamed each other for that program being in a financial bind.
Appraising the Federal Indictment of Letitia James
The legal clashes between New York Attorney General Letitia James and President Donald Trump took a U-turn with a federal indictment on Oct. 9 charging James with mortgage fraud. We’ll look at the allegations and facts surrounding the case, the history of animosity between Trump and James, and what experts say about the weight of the charges.
RFK Jr. Misleads About Antidepressants and School Shootings
A day after a shooting at a school in Minnesota, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. claimed, as he has before, that certain antidepressant drugs, known as SSRIs, “might be contributing to violence” in such cases. Experts say there is no direct evidence linking SSRIs to mass shootings. He also falsely claimed SSRIs have black box warnings for homicidal ideation.
Q&A on the 2025-2026 COVID-19 Vaccines
Amid confusion over this year’s updated COVID-19 vaccines, we explain what’s different this year and who experts say should get vaccinated.
Biden’s Final Numbers
Statistical indicators of President Biden’s four years in office.