President Donald Trump’s administration is set to freeze federal family-planning grants amounting to approximately $120 million this year, as reported by The Wall Street Journal on Tuesday, citing sources familiar with the matter.

The Journal indicated that the funding for the groups, including Planned Parenthood affiliates, would be paused while the administration reviews whether any of the money has been allocated for diversity initiatives, noting that this pause could be announced as early as this week.

Oliver O’Connell25 March 2025 16:50

Oliver O’Connell25 March 2025 16:40

Judge James Boasberg is giving the ACLU and plaintiffs in the case against President Donald Trump’s use of the Alien Enemies Act until March 31 to respond to the administration’s “state secrets” claim, which officials are raising to avoid answering the judge’s questions about the El Salvador flights.

Oliver O’Connell25 March 2025 16:30

Oliver O’Connell25 March 2025 16:20

Jeffrey Goldberg, editor of The Atlantic, accidentally included in a war planning group text on Signal by National Security Adviser Mike Waltz, is now being asked whether he will release more of the messages he was party to.

In his article on Monday, he avoided revealing any of the details of plans to strike the Houthis in Yemen, given they included targets, military equipment used, etc. that he says were shared among Trump administration officials earlier this month.

However, those officials are now saying that the information discussed in the group chat was not classified — as Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard has repeated several times in today’s Senate hearing.

Speaking to Tim Miller at The Bulwark, Goldberg said: “My colleagues and I and the people who are giving us advice on this have some interesting conversations to have about this. But just because they’re irresponsible with material, doesn’t mean that I’m going to be irresponsible.”

There has been some back and forth today between Trump officials and senators who are perplexed as to how details of a strike on enemy targets could possibly not be classified.

Oliver O’Connell25 March 2025 16:14

Oliver O’Connell25 March 2025 16:00

U.S. consumer confidence fell for the fourth straight month as Americans’ anxiety about their financial futures declined to a 12-year low amid rising concern over tariffs and inflation.

The Conference Board reported Tuesday that its consumer confidence index fell 7.2 points in March to 92.9. Analysts were expecting a decline to a reading of 94.5, according to a survey by FactSet.

The Conference Board’s report Tuesday said that the measure of Americans’ short-term expectations for income, business and the job market fell 9.6 points to 65.2. That’s the lowest reading in 12 years. The Conference Board says a reading under 80 can signal a potential recession in the near future.

The proportion of consumers anticipating a recession in the next year held steady at a nine-month high, the board reported.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio did not respond to a question today about his inclusion in the Signal group chat.

Oliver O’Connell25 March 2025 15:38

Judge James Boasberg had ordered government attorneys to answer a series of questions — including when those planes left the United States and entered El Salvador — to determine whether administration officials intentionally defied his court orders, which were delivered in court and in filings hours before the planes landed March 15.

For more than a week, the judge has pushed the administration for answers and extended deadlines for a response.

Alex Woodward has been following the case.

Oliver O’Connell25 March 2025 15:30

Senator Angus King of Maine asks Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard how it’s possible war plans wouldn’t be deemed classified information.

Gabbard doesn’t go into detail and repeats that it wasn’t classified.

Oliver O’Connell25 March 2025 15:26