Daily Briefing: 'We're just getting started'
👋🏾 Good morning! I'm Jane, Daily Briefing author. Passersby nabbed $300,000 after a security truck accidentally spilled cash in Illinois.
Quick look at Wednesday's news:
President Donald Trump said his agenda is going according to plan.
Employees at the FDA and NIH have been banned from using chosen names.
Harvard University has found evidence of Islamophobia and antisemitism on its campus.
Trump claims success at Michigan rally
President Donald Trump's first 100 days in office have turned the federal government upside-down, denting his poll numbers. On April 29 during a rally in Michigan, Trump claimed it's all going according to plan.
"We're just getting started," he said. His second administration has opened with a furious blitz of conservative policy focused around deportations, deep cuts to federal agencies and tariffs. Polls show most Americans think he has gone too far on all of those issues.
Key stock market indexes are down significantly, and economic forecasters say the likelihood of a recession has increased amid looming trade wars sparked by tariffs.
significantly, and economic forecasters say the likelihood of a recession has increased amid looming trade wars sparked by tariffs. Elon Musk's DOGE has fired tens of thousands of federal workers and dismantled whole agencies in a quest to reduce spending and improve efficiency.
tens of thousands of federal workers and dismantled whole agencies in a quest to reduce spending and improve efficiency. Trump promised mass deportations during the campaign and is following through. But his tactics have sparked outrage.
Federal health agencies banned chosen names under new gender policy
Employees of the Food and Drug Administration and the National Institutes of Health are being told to use their legal names in official systems, a move the agencies say is in response to President Trump's executive order that reversed protections for transgender people. The policies affect transgender employees who use a name that aligns with their gender identity rather than the sex they were assigned at birth. These policies can also affect married women who choose to go by their maiden name at work, and people who go by middle names, initials or shorten their first names. Read more
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Supreme Court to weigh nation's first religious charter school
The Supreme Court on Wednesday will consider whether the Catholic Church in Oklahoma can run the nation's first religious charter school. The court's decision is expected to turn on whether charter schools – which are publicly funded but have private operators – are public schools under the law. If they are, religious charter schools could violate the Constitution's prohibition on the government backing a religion. If they're not, prohibiting the church from participating in the state's charter school program could be discrimination under the Constitution's promise that Americans can practice religion freely. Read more
T.D. Jakes' retirement marks end of era for presidential counselor
After roughly three decades as one of most prominent faces of American faith, Bishop T.D. Jakes is leaving his leadership position months after a health scare and amid larger legal battles. The 67-year-old megachurch pastor announced Sunday he was retiring as senior pastor of Potter's House, a non-denominational Pentecostal megachurch in Dallas, Texas. Jakes has advised many high-profile individuals and has had close relationships with presidents. When Bill Clinton admitted to having "sinned" with former White House intern Monica Lewinsky, Jakes was among the clergy the then-president called upon when seeking the nation's forgiveness. Read more
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Harvard finds evidence of antisemitism, Islamophobia on campus
As the federal government's scrutiny of Harvard University intensifies, internal reviews released April 29 by the Ivy League school found evidence of Islamophobia and antisemitism on its campus. One report revealed that nearly half of Muslim students and staff have felt unsafe on campus since the Israel-Hamas war broke out. The other described instances of Jewish students hiding their identities or taking leaves of absence to avoid harassment. Both reviews offered comprehensive, sometimes contradictory, recommendations, which Harvard's president, Alan Garber, who is Jewish, said he was committed to taking seriously. "Harvard cannot – and will not – abide bigotry," Garber said. Read more
Photo of the day: Blue Ivy did not come to play during Beyoncé's concert
Beyoncé wasn't the only superstar to own the stage on opening night of her "Cowboy Carter" tour; her 13-year-old daughter Blue Ivy Carter blew fans away with her fierce performances and stellar moves throughout the show at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles on April 28. The next day, fans were still talking on social media about Blue Ivy's jaw-dropping performances.
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DOD to offer new medal for personnel deployed to Southern Border
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President Trump Makes 'Promise' About His Future Golf Rounds
President Trump Makes 'Promise' About His Future Golf Rounds originally appeared on The Spun. President Trump invited Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to the White House today to discuss ways to end the ongoing war with Russia. But as President Trump enjoys receiving gifts, President Zelenskyy decided to bring him one that he probably enjoyed quite a lot. At the meeting, President Zelenskyy presented Trump with a special golf club belonging to Ukrainian soldier Kostiantyn Kartavtsev, who lost a leg while saving his fellow soldiers in 2022. Kartavtsev has been using the sport of golf while recovering from his injury. In gratitude for the heartfelt gift, President Trump shared a video message for the wounded soldier. He complimented Kartavtsev on his swing and called him "an amazing person" before pledging to think about him whenever he uses it and to do what he can to help Ukraine. 'I just watched your swing. I know a lot about golf and your swing is great,' the President said. 'It looks beautiful and you're gonna be a very good golfer, very soon. But I also wanna thank you for this putter. It's beautiful and it's made with real love, and it's given to me with real love from you... You're an amazing person, and you just keep playing golf and doing all of the other things. Your country is a great country. We're trying to bring it back to health and your president is working very, very hard to make it that way... Every time I sink a putt, I'll be thinking about you. Thank you Kostiantyn." The most avid golfer We've had plenty of Presidents that were passionate about sports through the years. The late Gerald Ford was even a championship-winning football player at Michigan. But you'll be hard-pressed to find a U.S. President who was as passionate about any one sport as Trump is about golf. Golf has been a part of Trump's world for decades. His Trump National golf courses dot the world and there are very few vacations he's ever taken where golf isn't a part of it. Suffice it to say, he'll get plenty of chances to make use of the golf club that Zelenskyy gave him. The peace talks Trump has been trying to get Ukraine and Russia to reach some kind of an accord on a peace agreement or even a mere ceasefire since his presidency began six months ago. The war consumed almost the entirety of former President Joe Biden's term in office with no resolution even coming close. Last week Trump met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska and it's not entirely clear what, if anything, was agreed to behind closed doors. While progress can be made with each individually, true "peace talks" don't seem viable until both of them are sitting down at the proverbial table together. It's going to take more than a couple of token gifts to the President of the United States for lasting peace to be achieved between them. President Trump Makes 'Promise' About His Future Golf Rounds first appeared on The Spun on Aug 19, 2025 This story was originally reported by The Spun on Aug 19, 2025, where it first appeared.
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White House aims to fast-track key Federal Reserve pick
The White House is working over the August recess to build momentum for a key Federal Reserve nominee the administration wants in place next month. Stephen Miran, whom President Donald Trump tapped to temporarily serve on the Federal Reserve's board, has been meeting with members of the Senate Banking Committee, which will need to green-light his nomination before the full Senate can vote on confirmation. Miran met Tuesday with Sen. Jim Banks (R-Ind.), a member of the panel, and had a call last week with Banking Committee Chair Tim Scott (R-S.C.). Miran is scheduled to have additional meetings with senators in the coming days, with invitations for one-on-ones extended to Republican members of the Banking panel. 'The White House has been aggressively pushing Dr. Miran's nomination to the Federal Reserve Board, setting the stage for his quick confirmation when the Senate returns in September,' said a White House official Tuesday. 'With the President's strong backing, there's clear momentum to get this done.' Underscoring how big of a priority it has become for the Trump administration to seat Miran quickly, Banks said in a statement he returned to Washington Tuesday to meet with him, instead of waiting until after the Senate's current weekslong break. 'It's so important that he is confirmed before the Federal Reserve's September meeting,' said Banks. Installing Miran by this time would represent a lightning-fast confirmation process for the Senate, which is in recess until Sept. 2. Banks added that Miran has 'done a great job as chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers to advance President Trump's pro-working class agenda and I look forward to voting for his confirmation ASAP.' Miran, who currently serves as Trump's chief economist, was tapped to temporarily fill the vacancy created on the bank's rate-setting committee by the resignation of Gov. Adriana Kugler. If confirmed, he would hold the seat until Kugler's term expires on Jan. 31, 2026. He'll be coming up for consideration at a time when multiple Senate Republicans have publicly tried to sway Trump against firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell, warning that any perception of meddling in the agency's independence would have severe consequences for the market. Trump, who has relentlessly criticized Powell and surveyed a group of Republicans last month on whether he should remove him, has nevertheless said repeatedly that he doesn't intend to fire the Fed chief, whose leadership term ends in May. Still, Miran's confirmation would give Trump a close political ally at the central bank, which is designed to be insulated from short-term political pressure — and questions about Miran's links to Trump are all but guaranteed to come up as the Senate debates the nomination. Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, the top Democrat on the Banking Committee, vowed to have 'tough questions' for Miran 'about whether he'd serve the American people as an independent voice at the Fed or merely serve Donald Trump.' Yet as long as Republicans on the panel stick together, they would be able to advance Miran's nomination over opposition from Democrats. Republicans can lose three of their own members on the floor and still let Vice President JD Vance break a tie. Miran is likely preparing for the line of inquiry. Though he haspreviously called for overhauling the structure of the Federal Reserve, he told CNBC in an interview earlier this month that "I've always been clear that the independence of the Fed is of paramount importance.' Victoria Guida contributed to this report.
