State of The Nation

Trump says Senate should scrap the filibuster to end the shutdown Historic impasse over healthcare subsidies leaves millions without pay as SNAP benefits face November cutoff October 31, 2025 WASHINGTON — The United States federal government shutdown, now in its 31st day, has become the second-longest in American history, with no end in sight as partisan gridlock over healthcare subsidies and spending levels continues to paralyze Congress. The funding lapse, which began at 12:01 a.m. EDT on October 1, 2025, has resulted in the furlough of approximately 900,000 federal employees while another 2 million continue working without pay. The shutdown occurred after the Senate repeatedly failed to pass a House-approved continuing resolution that would have funded the government through November 21. The Healthcare Deadlock At the heart of the impasse is a fundamental disagreement over healthcare policy. Republicans passed a "clean" continuing resolution in the House on September...

Profit, Politics, and “Wellness”: The Associated Press Takes Aim at MAHA Money, MAHA and Big Pharma undermine Science  As measles surges and MAHA leaders profit from wellness products, a deeper question emerges: Can Americans trust any health advice when money flows through every recommendation? The Associated Press's October 24 investigative report exposing financial conflicts within the Make America Healthy Again movement has triggered a fierce national debate—but not the one its authors likely intended. Instead of simply discrediting health reform advocates, the investigation has exposed a more troubling reality: Americans face a health information ecosystem where financial incentives compromise credibility across the entire spectrum, from Big Pharma to Big Wellness, leaving patients with no clear path to trustworthy guidance. The stakes couldn't be higher. As of October 21, 2025, the United States has reported 1,618 confirmed measles cases, with 87% outbreak-associated—a...

The Financial Black Hole of the Middle East - YouTube Pentagon bypassed traditional oversight for two decades using emergency appropriations that masked true costs from taxpayers The United States has spent more than $8 trillion on military operations since the September 11 attacks, with total costs projected to reach $13.5 trillion through 2060 when interest payments are included—making these the most expensive conflicts in American history, according to Brown University's Costs of War Project. The figure represents spending through fiscal year 2022, including approximately $5.8 trillion in direct appropriations plus an estimated $2.2 trillion to $2.5 trillion in committed future obligations for veterans' care through 2050. Interest payments on war-related borrowing have already exceeded $925 billion, with projections showing interest costs could reach $6.5 trillion through 2050. Unlike previous American wars, these conflicts were financed almost entirely through borrowing r...