Helping poor people got harder this year amid the Trump administration's cutbacks and funding chaos. www.npr.org/2025/12/19/n...

SNAP, the country's largest anti-hunger program, dates back to the Great Depression and has never been disrupted this way. Most recipients are seniors, families with kids, and those with disabilities. n.pr/48PNNIt

Chronic homelessness is at a record high, but there's a shortage of housing, rehab and mental health treatment. This ambitious program in Utah is finding a way to provide all that. @npr.org www.npr.org/2025/10/06/n...

This could be the first safety net program hit by the federal shutdown. www.npr.org/2025/10/02/n...

In one of the country's priciest housing markets, Utah's leaders worry young people are shut out from building wealth. But despite new incentives, few developers are signing on to build smaller homes.

Latino residents in DC told me they welcome a crackdown on crime, but are upset at seeing people snatched off the streets. www.npr.org/2025/08/22/n...

The Trump administration wants to allow time limits on rental aid. A few places can do that already and the track record is mixed. www.npr.org/2025/06/07/n...

My story on big changes for rental aid on the works.

The Democratic members of an independent agency dedicated to protecting Americans from dangerous products and issuing recalls and safety warnings were fired by President Trump via an overnight email.

The Trump administration has tightened its control over the independent agency responsible for overseeing America's nuclear reactors, and it is considering an executive order that could further erode its autonomy. @gbrumfiel.bsky.social scoops: www.npr.org/2025/05/09/n...

Trump's administration said they want tariffs to boost U.S. manufacturing, and most Americans want more factory jobs here. But what makes us nostalgic for factory work?

big scoop from @jjoffeblock.bsky.social + @stphnfwlr.com: USDA is demanding states hand over personal data of SNAP recipients — including SSNs, addresses & citizenship status. Advocates worry the data could be used to enable deportation & mass surveillance. www.npr.org/2025/05/09/n...

A federal judge in San Francisco appeared ready to temporarily block the Trump administration's sweeping overhaul of the federal government.

Among the many whose lives have been disrupted by Trump administration cuts, young adults who’d chosen community service. www.npr.org/2025/05/09/n...

Congress will decide. But housing aid takes a major hit in the White House budget request. www.npr.org/2025/05/02/n...

My latest @npr.org story with Marisa Peñaloza, Kyna Uwaeme and Brent Jones: For generations of Black workers, federal government jobs have provided a path into the middle class. The Trump administration’s workforce cuts are now throwing that sense of stability up in the air

A survey of more than 500 political scientists finds that the vast majority think the United States is moving swiftly from liberal democracy toward some form of authoritarianism. "We've slid into some form of authoritarianism," -- Steven Levitsky, Harvard. www.npr.org/2025/04/22/n...

Workers who track data on car crashes, drownings, traumatic brain injury, falls in the elderly, and other perils lost their jobs. Advocates worry life-saving work will stop.

Need Earth Day optimism? Here are some environmental do-gooders in your backyard

NEW: In agency after agency, the U.S. government is losing its capacity to measure how American society is functioning, making it much harder to gauge the nature and scale of the problems we are facing and the effectiveness of policies. By @alecmac.bsky.social

HUD is looking for a smaller, cheaper headquarters building, part of a wider push to shrink federal real estate. www.npr.org/2025/04/17/n...

Trump targeted this homeless agency last month, and this week all its staff were put on leave. www.npr.org/2025/04/16/n...

HUD had a similarly empty booth at the American Planning Association conference in Denver last weekend.

DOGE froze money to upgrade hundreds of aging affordable housing properties around the country. Here’s what that means for people at one of them. www.npr.org/2025/04/06/n...

NPR talked to the families of four men believed to be in El Salvador. None of them had a serious criminal record in the U.S. Only some had been charged with illegal entry. Three

Already, lower courts have found President Trump's removal of Democratic members of independent agencies to be unlawful. The Trump administration has appealed.

President Trump says he's thinking of getting rid of the country's disaster response agency, FEMA. States say they can't replicate what FEMA does on their own.

several employees there I spoke to. These self described "data nerds" tell me they're fairly confident the essential dollars will reach school districts for next school year, but they're VERY concerned about the 2026-27 school year. More here: www.npr.org/2025/03/21/n...

Six Voice of America journalists and a director at its parent agency have sued the Trump administration, alleging its moves to shut down the U.S.-funded network are unconstitutional. By @davidfolkenflik.bsky.social

The Trump administration has announced a flurry of changes at the agency that oversees Social Security. Advocates warn these moves could lead to people having a harder time getting help with benefits.

The advisories come after some citizens from European countries and Canada have been detained and deported by immigration officials while traveling to the United States.

An NPR investigation uncovered 40,000 vets facing foreclosure due to a VA mistake. A rescue program is helping many of them, but others fear being left out if Congress cuts this new lifeline.

The Trump administration's efforts to end DEI programs is hitting some unexpected targets, including a nationwide effort planting shade trees in neighborhoods to reduce extreme heat.

HUD and Interior Departments aim to use federal land boost the supply of affordable housing. www.wsj.com/opinion/fede...

NPR Music's "Tiny Desk Radio" show debuts on radio stations nationwide April 17

The latest on a new phase in the dramatic restructuring of how the government operates. www.npr.org/2025/03/15/n...

Trump signed an order this morning seeking to vastly reduce the scope of the CDFI Fund (among several other agencies). The CDFI Fund plays an essential role in US community development, particularly through the distribution of New Markets tax credits.

My latest on DOGE driven moves at HUD. www.npr.org/2025/03/15/n...

NEW: The Department of Housing and Urban Development, which oversees billions in aid and insures more than a trillion dollars in mortgages, is pondering using the blockchain and a stablecoin. One HUD official derided it as “monopoly money.” By @jessecoburn.bsky.social

A federal funding freeze left thousands of newly arrived refugees feeling abandoned and alone as they tried to settle into the U.S. www.npr.org/2025/03/06/n...

A tribute to an NPR legend and gem of a colleague. Our 'google before there was google,' but so much better. ❤️ www.npr.org/2025/03/04/n...

Canadian and Chinese officials say they were already helping reduce fentanyl smuggling. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said fentanyl crossing the northern border is "near zero." By @brianmannadk.bsky.social

U.S. stock markets plummeted on Tuesday morning as a new global trade war began.

Housing advocates question Elon Musk’s power, and warn that deep cuts at HUD would have ripple effects in the private market, too. www.npr.org/2025/03/04/n...

Poll finds most think Trump is rushing change ahead of joint address www.npr.org/2025/03/03/n...

Coming of age in the 80s when the Cold War and Soviet Union loomed large, it's utterly baffling to try and wrap my brain around a realignment toward Russia. @npr.org tackled it with excellent conversations this week. Here are some I found illuminating: www.npr.org/2025/03/01/n...

Elon Musk, who has said the beneficiaries of federal spending are a "parasite class," runs businesses that have pocketed $38 billion in taxpayer-funded subsidies, loans and contracts www.washingtonpost.com/technology/i...

Saw an internal HUD email sent Wednesday on canceling eight more contracts. It cited the Ending DEI executive order, but it wasn't about what's in the contracts. The HUD email says the decision was made "based on a DOGE review of their websites and LinkedIn Profiles."