After Texas Republicans tried to redraw the state’s congressional districts to give their party an advantage, dozens of Democratic lawmakers fled the state to protest the move. Now, Texas’ governor wants to arrest them.
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The government is paying 154,000 people not to work
This spring, the Trump administration and Elon Musk’s U.S. DOGE Service drastically reduced the federal workforce, all in the name of cost-cutting. This included making a “deferred resignation” offer to government workers, offering to pay them through at least the end of September if they resigned their positions. Post reporter Meryl Kornfield and colleagues have been trying for months to find out exactly how many federal employees took these buyouts. Last week, they reported for the first time that the government is now paying more than 154,000 people not to work. Colby Itkowitz speaks with Meryl about how she and her colleagues uncovered this number, how the Trump administration defends its claims of cost-cutting, and how former federal workers are feeling as they continue to earn a paycheck for work they are not doing. Today’s show was produced by Peter Bresnan. It was edited by Maggie Penman and mixed by Sean Carter. Subscribe to The Washington Post here.
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Deep Reads: Cracks in the dream
The Vitals had settled in Springfield from Haiti during President Donald Trump’s first term and saved money through the Biden administration. Business leaders in their reliably red county praised immigrants for reviving the local economy. Americans struggled to pass drug tests, one factory boss told a TV news crew. Not Haitians.Fernande Vital earned $21 an hour at a Japanese automotive plant, monitoring robots forging car parts, while her husband, Rocher, led a strip-mall church. Even as the GOP and some of their neighbors called for mass deportations, the Vitals were sure nobody meant them, immigrants here legally.So inJuly of last year, they made a down payment of $8,000, their entire nest egg. In August, they moved in, installed lace curtains and hung a family portrait in the dining room. One month later came the cracks.This story follows the Vitals after they dealt with the structural woes in their home and their feeling of belonging in this country.Danielle Paquette reported, wrote and narrated the piece. Bishop Sand composed music and produced audio.Subscribe to The Washington Post here.
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What Trump wants: More tariffs, less Epstein
After months of threats, the Trump administration announced this week a slew of heavy tariffs, taxes on imported goods, for major trading partners such as India and Canada. The news came on the heels of the recent announcement of a new trade agreement with the European Union that was widely seen as a lopsided deal in favor of the United States. Despite angst over President Donald Trump’s tariffs and aggressive approach to trade policy, major trading partners do appear to be ceding some ground to Trump. But how will these policies risk damaging alliances that are already frayed? And how could Trump’s latest trade moves affect U.S. consumers?Today on “Post Reports’s” weekly politics roundtable, host Colby Itkowitz is joined by Washington Post White House reporter Cat Zakrewski and global economics correspondent David Lynch to discuss the consequences of Trump’s tariffs.
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Sydney Sweeney's jeans and an American (Eagle) controversy
Last week, clothing brand American Eagle released a series of short clips and images featuring “Euphoria” and “White Lotus” star Sydney Sweeney. They’re part of a new jeans marketing campaign – where proceeds from the sale of “The Sydney Jeans” are donated to a domestic abuse crisis hotline. But the provocative nature of the campaign and the messaging of the ads have come under scrutiny. Some critics call Sweeney’s collaboration with clothing retailer American Eagle an anti-feminist, pro-eugenics campaign, while others celebrate a seeming shift from DEI-focused marketing. Colby Itkowitz speaks with The Washington Post’s fashion critic, Rachel Tashjian, and Style Memo newsletter writer Shane O’Neill about the controversy, the long history of selling fashion through provocative imagery, and why we can’t stop talking about Sydney Sweeney’s jeans.Today’s show was produced by Thomas Lu. It was edited by Reena Flores and mixed by Sean Carter. Subscribe to The Washington Post here.
Post Reports is the daily podcast from The Washington Post. Unparalleled reporting. Expert insight. Clear analysis. Everything you’ve come to expect from the newsroom of The Post, for your ears. Martine Powers and Elahe Izadi are your hosts, asking the questions you didn’t know you wanted answered. Published weekdays around 5 p.m. Eastern time.
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