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Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., pictured at the White House earlier this month, promised he would set up the Administration for a Healthy America back in March 2025. It doesn’t exist yet. Alex Wong/Getty Images hide caption toggle caption Alex Wong/Getty Images Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was just a few weeks into his new job as health secretary in March 2025 when he unveiled a dramatic plan to remake the Department of Health and Human Services. Kennedy quickly determined that the size and structure of his agency — which includes the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Food…

January 16, 2026 Don’t blame the housing crisis on local NIMBYism and too many regulations. Ad Policy Construction workers work the exterior of a housing development in Los Angeles, California, on August 28, 2025. (Frederic J. BROWN / AFP via Getty Images) The Abundance and Stuck crowd are off the mark. The two books with those names would blame the country’s housing crisis on local NIMBYism (“not in my backyard!”) and too many government regulations. Enough new housing, they argue, is not getting built because local residents have gained too much power to obstruct and too many layers of regulations…

Federal immigration officers outside Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building, Thursday in Minneapolis. John Locher/AP hide caption toggle caption John Locher/AP With tensions already high in Minnesota after an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer killed Renee Macklin Good, the Trump administration is ramping up the pressure on cities and states to cooperate with its immigration crackdown. The administration had already surged federal agents — sometimes accompanied by military troops — to Los Angeles, Portland, Chicago, Charlotte, Memphis, Washington D.C. and New Orleans. Now the White House is threatening to cut funding for sanctuary cities. Here’s a brief explanation of how local…

Society / January 16, 2026 Musk’s attack on the new FDNY commissioner proves he knows nothing about how modern fire departments work. Ad Policy New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Lillian Bonsignore, commissioner of the Fire Department of New York (FDNY), during a swearing-in ceremony at the FDNY headquarters on January 6, 2026.(Adam Gray / Bloomberg via Getty Images) Late last year, Elon Musk—a non–New Yorker with no experience in protecting the public—loudly declared that “people are going to die” because Lillian Bonsignore, a career emergency medical services leader and the newly appointed New York City Fire Department commissioner,…

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz speaks during a press conference at the State Capitol on Jan. 5, 2026 in St. Paul, Minn., where he announced he was abandoning his re-election campaign. Stephen Maturen/Getty Images hide caption toggle caption Stephen Maturen/Getty Images The Justice Department is investigating Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, a U.S. official said. The official sought anonymity because were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly. Frey said in a post on X: “This is an obvious attempt to intimidate me for standing up for Minneapolis, local law enforcement, and residents against the chaos and…

Politics / January 16, 2026 In this week’s “Elie v. U.S.,” our justice correspondent explores the fecklessness of the Democratic Party, MAGA racism, and fighting despite unwinnable odds. Ad Policy Demonstrators protest Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity outside the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building in St. Paul, Minnesota,(Victor J. Blue / Bloomberg via Getty Images) This is a preview of Nation Justice Correspondent Elie Mystal’s new weekly newsletter. Click here to receive this newsletter in your inbox each Friday. It’s a problem that whenever I listen to Democratic leaders like Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries, I become frustrated, instead of inspired. It’s a problem…

Gov.-elect Abigail Spanberger poses for a portrait during an interview in Richmond, Va., on Tuesday, Jan 13, 2026. Spanberger will break decades of tradition during her inauguration on Saturday by not wearing a morning suit worn by male governors before her. Tyrone Turner/WAMU hide caption toggle caption Tyrone Turner/WAMU RICHMOND, Va. — Virginia inaugurates its governors in traditional style, complete with a swearing-in ceremony outside the Capitol building presided over by men in three-piece morning suits with coattails and an occasional top hat. “At the conclusion of the oaths, there is a 19-gun salute by the National Guard and a…

Politics / Authoritarian Watch / January 16, 2026 The news was a firehose of stories of authoritarian behavior. We can’t let ourselves drown. Ad Policy President Donald Trump pumps his fist as he walks to board Marine One at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on January 11, 2026.(Andrew Cabellero-Reynolds / AFP via Getty Images) Afew months ago, when my editors asked me to try my hand at a new “Authoritarian Watch” column in the new year, part of me worried that some weeks I would struggle to find material. After all, surely even the Trump administration would slow down; surely,…

Good morning. You’re reading the Up First newsletter. Subscribe here to get it delivered to your inbox, and listen to the Up First podcast for all the news you need to start your day. Today’s top stories President Trump has threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act in Minnesota to stop protests in Minneapolis. On Wednesday, immigration officers shot an immigrant man in the leg, sparking unrest on the city’s north side. There are as many as 3,000 federal immigration officers on the ground or expected to arrive soon in the Twin Cities, NPR’s Meg Anderson tells Up First. Protesters (R) are confronted by an…

Activism / January 16, 2026 Formed to oppose the Iraq War, Madres Contra La Guerra have now spent decades trying to end Puerto Rico’s role at the center of the US war machine in Latin America. Ad Policy A protester is detained as demonstrators rally against US military intervention in Venezuela in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on January 3, 2026.(Miguel J. Rodriguez Carrillo / AFP via Getty Images) In a blurry black-and-white Polaroid from 1971, Sonia Santiago Hernández reenacts an image of the Madonna and Child. Only 21 years old, she wears a miniskirt and sandals, and oversize sunglasses sit…