The Trump administration has introduced a new interpretation of the Endangered Species Act, a bedrock of successful U.S. wildlife conservation for more than 50 years, dramatically weakening its power to protect natural habitats and opening vulnerable lands to real estate development, oil drilling and other extractive industries. A coalition of conservation groups is suing the Trump administration over the rule change.

Has the United States launched a forever war on Iran? As the Trump administration renews its attacks on Iran, killing at least 35 civilians over the course of five days, political analyst Ali Vaez warns that the U.S. is inciting potentially never-ending “cycles of violence” with its manipulations of the diplomatic process. The U.S.’s unilateral renunciation of the “memorandum of understanding” as a “pretext for another round of war” has further eroded trust between the countries, says Vaez.

After ICE agents shot and killed Lorenzo Salgado Araujo in Houston, Texas, last week, they quickly arrested three witnesses: the other men that the 52-year-old father of three was driving to work. The three men, including Salgado Araujo’s younger brother Victor, are now being detained by ICE and threatened with deportation.
“There is a Trump militia roaming our streets, our towns, our cities, killing people regardless of immigration status with absolutely no accountability.

As we continue our conversation with Congressmember Pramila Jayapal, we turn to recent developments involving the United States military. On Wednesday, Jayapal was one of over half of all House Democrats to vote in favor eliminating over $3 billion in military aid to Israel. Although the proposed amendment was ultimately shot down, the final tally with over 100 members voting yes is still a “sea change” in U.S. political support for Israel, says Jayapal.

Confirmation hearings are underway for President Donald Trump’s nominee for attorney general, his personal attorney Todd Blanche. Blanche is mired in a number of controversies, most notably his mishandling of the administration’s release of the Epstein files while serving as deputy attorney general under Pam Bondi.

We get an update on elections and voting rights in the United States from Mother Jones’s national voting rights correspondent, Ari Berman, who warns of President Donald Trump’s escalating attempts to “try to claim dictatorial power” and commit an “unprecedented intervention” into the 2026 midterm elections.

Twelve Democratic-led states led by California sued this week to block Paramount Skydance’s $111 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery. Paramount is run by David Ellison, whose father, Larry Ellison, is the billionaire founder of Oracle and a prominent ally and financial backer of President Donald Trump.

Israeli settlers armed with clubs, rocks and a knife attacked a convoy of journalists in the West Bank on Saturday, the latest targeting of foreign journalists documenting the Israeli occupation. Four settlers have reportedly been detained over the attack. The convoy, which included CNN’s Jeremy Diamond, were accompanying the father of Palestinian American Saif Musallet to the site where he was beaten to death by Israeli settlers one year ago.

We speak with Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil about his lawsuit against top Trump administration officials, two pro-Israel groups and a conservative think tank for conspiring to suppress his constitutional right to free speech.
Khalil, who helped lead protests at Columbia University against the U.S.-backed Israeli genocide in Gaza, was one of several international students targeted for deportation by the Trump administration last year over pro-Palestine advocacy.