“We’re left with no aid, just a little food trickling in.” Trump’s cuts to USAID have deepened the humanitarian crisis in Syria where more than 16 million people depend on aid to survive. From Santiago Montag: trib.al/Asi5HtS

Americans are paying 93 percent more for health care so Trump can give billionaires tax breaks. Health insurance is getting worse, and Republicans are getting exactly what they wanted. From @ddayen.bsky.social: trib.al/eFOESIW

RFK Jr. and Dr. Oz want to withhold funding from any hospital that provides trans health care to kids, laying bare Republicans’ “seething, obsessive hatred of trans people.” From @ryanlcooper.com: trib.al/ECwR2KM

The House is close to passing a congressional stock-trading ban, but now Hakeem Jeffries is pitching his own version of the bill. “It’s an attempt to undermine and kill off the only legislative vehicle that is gaining momentum.” From @ddayen.bsky.social: trib.al/M81vMAD

On the Prospect’s final Weekly Roundup, Prospect staff break down the biggest news of the year from the Trump regime’s rise and fall to America’s massive bet on AI. Listen here: trib.al/PGCv0bB

School districts rely on funding from the federal government through IDEA to provide the necessary support and education for students with disabilities, but the Trump administration is threatening that funding and the offices that oversee it. From Natalie Note: trib.al/xlXvGyt

Displaced Syrians are struggling to heat their homes and provide food and water to their families without the humanitarian aid they used to receive from USAID. Reporting from Syria, Santiago Montag writes about the unstable situation in the country. trib.al/aR9LgJw

Republicans passed a bill on Wednesday night making providing any transition care for children a federal felony. For @ryanlcooper.com, this is an end to Republicans mincing words when it comes to trans rights. trib.al/pradtXe

Republicans have backed themselves into a corner when it comes to health care, and they continue to make the same mistakes, all but guaranteeing health care subsidies as a point of weakness for Republican candidates going into the midterms. From @ddayen.bsky.social: trib.al/A3tt5Ir

A discharge petition to advance a policy ending congressional stock trading was finally moving forward when Hakeem Jeffries sucked the air out of it. By proposing his own bill that no Republican would sign, Jeffries effectively made consensus impossible. From @ddayen.bsky.social:

President Trump loves two things: bashing Joe Biden and praising himself. Americans saw both Tuesday night as the president tried and failed to convince voters that the economy has never been better. From Harold Meyerson: trib.al/VC4m5V7

The Trump administration cut 121 of 135 staff at the Office of Special Education, putting services eight million students rely on at risk. Natalie Note covers how education cuts hurt kids with disabilities: trib.al/gVQfUbf

A year after Assad fled Syria, many Syrians still lack food and clean water. President Trump’s cuts to USAID have deepened the crisis just as the work of rebuilding began. From Santiago Montag: trib.al/ov3Xhnh

Nearly 25 million Americans will start paying 93 percent more for their health insurance in less than two weeks. Republicans’ plan to fix health care is a return to unaffordable junk insurance. From @ddayen.bsky.social: trib.al/QRNBWfW

Republicans can’t outrun the healthcare conundrum they’re created. @ddayen.bsky.social writes “They are reduced to replaying the “repeal and replace Obamacare” debate forever, as voters seethe with anger.” trib.al/lfPSPrt

President Trump is banning gender-affirming care for children, and a total ban on trans health care is next as Republicans trample the rights of children and their parents. From @ryanlcooper.com: trib.al/ybm19M5

For years, Republicans have hidden behind an air of concern when it comes to trans rights. They said they were worried about trans women harming other women in the bathroom. But now, for @ryanlcooper.com, the lies have stopped and the transphobia is out in the open. trib.al/vwKR3ty

With USAID dismantled, the flow of humanitarian aid into Syria has slowed to a trickle. Syrians are now forced to live without the medical supplies, water, and food that they once relied on. From Santiago Montag reporting from Syria: trib.al/1xuMk68

The Individuals with Disabilities Act turned 50 this year, and Trump celebrated the groundbreaking special education legislation by gutting offices responsible for overseeing the IDEA funding. From Natalie Note: trib.al/IZJoCFF

Amazon Business promises schools an all-in-one competitive bidding platform while conning them. @naomibethune.bsky.social reveals how local schools have been tricked by the tech giant: trib.al/3qHsYnl

“Congress’s failure to assert itself is pathetic.” Democrats haven’t learned from the shutdown as Trump withholds funds and Hegseth begins a war without any threat of punishment. From @ddayen.skt.social: trib.al/v2WQKKU

A Biden-era bank regulator joined a venture capital firm backing companies his own office accused of breaking the law — another example of former officials trying to cash in on the crypto bubble. From @dylangyauchl.bsky.social and toni-v-aguilar.bsky.social: trib.al/74powuy

Today the California Public Utilities Commission will decide whether the state’s utility companies can hike bills by $340 a year. @ddayen and James Baratta uncover what California gubernatorial candidate Tom Steyer calls “a sweetheart deal for corporate utilities.” trib.al/dpi2iRg

Trump is cutting up to 67,000 positions at the VA, stretching overworked doctors and nurses even further. Experts warn it’s “a perfect patient safety storm.” From Suzanne Gordon and Russel Lemle: trib.al/9y9y7TF

The former comptroller of the currency joined a venture capital firm whose “portfolio is littered with companies that have faced enforcement actions from regulators, including the one Hsu himself only recently departed.” trib.al/QwAE8eX

Congress refuses to use its power of the purse effectively, allowing Trump to continue his abuses of power. From @ddayen.bsky.social: trib.al/gKESpix

The VA could lose up to 37,000 unfilled positions this year as the Trump administration pushes veterans to private care providers. From Suzanne Gordon and Russell Lemle: trib.al/SjV6d2P

Nearly 25 million California residents served by four electric and gas companies may pay up to $340 per year on utilities, unless the CPUC moves on reducing guaranteed returns for these companies. From @ddayen.bsky.social and James Baratta: trib.al/gt1MGGU

The former comptroller of the currency joined a venture capital firm whose “portfolio is littered with companies that have faced enforcement actions from regulators, including the one Hsu himself only recently departed.” trib.al/vDErWfM

Republicans have successfully ended a student loan repayment program that provided a lifeline to Americans drowning in debt. “If you were totally screwed before now, you’re super screwed after.” From @whitneycwimbish.bsky.social: trib.al/2rpUhC5

Rob Reiner had a rare talent for both comedy and politics. He’ll rightly be remembered more for the former, “but his generosity of spirit and anger at injustice suffused both.” From Harold Meyerson: trib.al/Y3gGUFV

If Democrats want to win, they need to focus on the economy. Stanley Greenberg analyzes what the data says about the party’s path forward: trib.al/X92bz3Z

Before the tragic shooting at Bondi Beach, Australia went 29 years without a major mass shooting. Australia’s weapons restrictions prevented the shooting from being even worse, and could provide a model for the U.S. From @ryanlcooper.com: trib.al/bN1Lzop

Amazon sold a case of Kleenex to Denver Schools for $36.91, while Pittsburgh Schools paid $57.99. @naomibethune.bsky.social reports on the ways that Amazon gouges prices and cons schools: trib.al/3lIkIbI

Trump’s decision to end a student loan repayment program has left 8 million Americans facing changing loan terms. “This is a policy choice by the Trump administration to make it worse for everybody.” From @whitneycwimbish.bsky.social: trib.al/dNgvD4M

Rob Reiner was a tireless fighter for liberal causes, from universal child care to same-sex marriage. Harold Meyerson writes that Reiner “personified the liberal establishment at its best.” trib.al/QXgGwYf

Democrats “cannot win this electoral battle for the middle class if so many voters view your party as out of touch on crime, immigration, gender, and America being exceptional.” Stanley Greenberg argues Dems need to focus on kitchen-table issues trib.al/TaK14jb

Australia’s strict restrictions on semiautomatic weapons prevented the Bondi Beach shooting from becoming even deadlier. The government is overhauling regulations to stop it from happening again. From @ryanlcooper.com: trib.al/xVPVUC4

Amazon has conned school districts out of tens of millions of dollars with AI-fueled pricing and bunk claims of competitive bidding. @naomibethune.bsky.social argues that it’s time for school districts to end their contracts: trib.al/fWPnG3J

I remember writing years ago about a then-new initiative by Amazon to disrupt local government procurement of things like office and school supplies. Turns out Amazon's become very popular with school districts, and it's using dynamic pricing to rip those schools off. prospect.org/2025/12/17/a...

Biden’s SAVE act expedited student loan forgiveness and facilitated lower monthly payments for low-income borrowers. Now, Trump has announced he’s killing that program even sooner than expected. From @whitneycwimbish.bsky.social: trib.al/OCJrLMu

The ICBM replacement program is wildly expensive and fails to properly address post-Cold War nuclear war concerns. From Robert Rudney on the obsolescence of approved Sentinel ICBMs: trib.al/ZoFKVUq

A newly unsealed lawsuit reveals that Pepsi has been monitoring the market on Walmart’s behalf, lowering prices at the big box store while intentionally gouging the prices of Walmart’s competitors. @ddayen.bsky.social reports on the monopolization machine: trib.al/oq6kcme

Small business owners power local economies—and are three times more likely to rely on the ACA for health care, which Republicans just made more expensive. Elizabeth Aguilera reports on rising health care costs: trib.al/4fbMTFV

Biden’s SAVE act expedited student loan forgiveness and facilitated lower monthly payments for low-income borrowers. Now, Trump has announced he’s killing that program even sooner than expected. From @whitneycwimbish.bsky.social: trib.al/q8X3lJe

The ICBM replacement program is wildly expensive and fails to properly address post-Cold War nuclear war concerns. From Robert Rudney on the obsolescence of approved Sentinel ICBMs: trib.al/gCBYj3i

13 kids have died of whooping cough this year, in the midst of the worst measles outbreak since 2000. RFK Jr. and his anti-vax cronies are making it worse. From @ryanlcooper.com: trib.al/c6eAhTo

Pepsi and Walmart colluded to drive up competitor’s soda prices, unsealed court documents show. Former FTC Chair Lina Khan was working to stop them but Trump’s replacement dropped the suit. From @ddayen.bsky.social: trib.al/rV0h7Sx

Millions of Americans are going to lose their health insurance over the next decade as ACA subsidies expire. “We can’t afford it and can’t afford not to have it.” From Elizabeth Aguilera and Capital and Main: trib.al/3SJZSHm

The Air Force is spending $34 billion to replace America’s aging ICBM arsenal. Even Trump agrees that instead of wasting billions on an obsolete deterrent, it should be spent on things that are “hopefully, much more productive.” From Robert Rudney: trib.al/ARTKMbQ