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A Hitler-praising group chat. A government official with a self-proclaimed “Nazi-streak.” A swastika flag in a sitting U.S. representative’s office.

Those are a few of the racist, antisemitic forms of speech and expression tied to notable Republicans in recent weeks. Vice President JD Vance downplayed outrage over some of these incidents as “pearl clutching.”

Meanwhile, President Donald Trump signed a memo designating groups like “Antifa” and Black Lives Matter as terrorist organizations. It’s part of the administration’s larger effort to crack down on what it calls a widespread left-wing conspiracy to carry out acts of political violence.

In this installment of “If You Can Keep It,” our weekly series on the state of our democracy, we talk about the Trump administration and the fine lines between hate speech, violence, and political dissent.

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The government shutdown is now the second longest in the nation’s history, and federal workers missed their first full paycheck this week. Negotiations between Republicans and Democrats seem to be going nowhere.

Following a federal court’s approval, the Trump administration is one legal hurdle away from getting the green light to send National Guard troops into Portland, Oregon. And Trump reversed his decision to send troops to San Francisco after a conversation with the city’s mayor.

Plus, Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson continues to refuse to swear in newly-elected Arizona congresswoman Adelita Grijalva.

And, in global news, Israel returned the bodies of several hundred Palestinian prisoners this week. And the fragile ceasefire holds between Israel and Hamas holds; despite Israel killing more than 100 Palestinians and injuring at least 230 over the last two weeks.

Donald Trump says a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss an end to the war in Ukraine has been called off.

And, days before President Trump is set to visit the country, Japan swears in its first-ever female prime minister, Sanae Takaichi.

We cover the most important stories from around the world on the News Roundup.

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A stroll down the supplement aisle is a walk filled with hope.

One pill offers stronger hair and nails. Another promises better memory (which will help when you have to remember to take all these pills). And if you added just one more, you might be able to finally recapture the energy of your teenage years.

But how true are these claims? Currently, the Food and Drug Administration does not approve the contents or the labeling dietary supplements before they hit the shelves.

Around 75 percent of Americans take a supplement, including Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. He once said he took so many vitamins he couldn’t remember them all. But RFK Jr., who champions supplements and other alternative medicines, is now pushing the FDA for stronger regulations.

What could that mean for the supplement industry? And why are so many Americans turning to health alternatives today?

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The ISS has been in low orbit above the earth for almost 25 years.

It’s played host to astronauts from around the world. But that’s about to come to an end.

NASA is gearing up to deorbit the ISS in 2030 and it’s working with private companies to begin development of commercial space stations to take its place.

What will that transition look like? And what does the commercialization of space hold for humanity in the near and far futures?

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Last year, Americans spent more than 300 billion minutes on navigation apps, like Waze or Google Maps.

The GPS systems in our pockets have come a long way from the first known map, carved into a mammoth tusk 30,000 years ago.

But even with satellites tracking us and the ever-changing Earth from the skies – digital maps aren’t fact. Errors can show up and are sometimes as old as maps themselves. The phantom island of Sandy Island appeared on Google Maps until 2012, when Australian scientists sailed to its supposed location and found only open ocean.

Mistakes on maps were sometimes intentional, sometimes not – but every single one tells a bigger story.

How and why did it get there? What does it reveal about the creator of the map and the world around them?

We sit down with Jay Foreman and Mark Cooper-Jones, better known as the Map Men on YouTube, to talk through these questions and more.

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The Trump administration has cut federal funding to colleges and universities it says don’t align with conservative priorities. And now, the White House says it will reward schools that follow in its ideological footsteps.

Earlier this month, the administration sent a list of demands to nine schools. Officials are calling it the “Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education.” Its stipulations include ending considerations of race and sex in admissions and hiring, capping international student enrollment, and limiting what faculty can say about certain issues.

Five institutions — Brown University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the University of Southern California, the University of Pennsylvania, and the University of Virginia — have rejected the proposal. The others have yet to comment.

Trump’s compact is the latest chapter in the story of how his administration is trying to exert influence over higher education. In March, the White House canceled $400 million in federal grants and contracts to Columbia University over allegations of antisemitism.

In this edition of “If You Can Keep It,” our weekly series on the state of democracy, we talk about higher education and what’s at stake if academic freedom is compromised.


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John Bolton, President Donald Trump’s former national security advisor, was indicted by a federal grand jury in Maryland this week.

Also, a federal judge in San Francisco halted the mass layoffs of federal workers by the Trump administration.

The ceasefire between Israel and Hamas is now in its second week, as both sides hand over hostages and return the bodies of those captured during the conflict.

The United States continues to destroy boats off the coast of Venezuela as part of a supposed campaign against drug cartels.

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The Trump administration has decimated the Department of Education with staffing cuts.

Now, the latest round of layoffs all but wipes out the Office of Special Education Programs. So, what does that mean for the millions of kids who rely on these services?

We sit down to talk about how Education Department cuts will affect children with disabilities.

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Last month, the Trump administration started blowing up boats off the coast of Venezuela, calling it part of an “armed conflict” with drug cartels. The White House’s so-called “war on cartels” is increasingly centered on Venezuela, not Mexico or Haiti, where most of these organizations actually operate.

The president is linking these cartels to the Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. The South American strong man has indicated he’s ready to declare a state of emergency in his country if things progress much further.

So, are these actions about drugs, or are they really about regime change?

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As part of a special issue this November, The Atlantic tasked writers and historians with looking at the country’s founding era to find out what America’s political thinkers valued at its beginning.

The goal is to remind people in the U.S. about the abstract ideas enshrined in the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and other important revolutionary documents. And, how reconnecting with those ideals might help us as we struggle to keep American democracy together 250 years later.

We discuss this edition of The Atlantic with two of its contributing writers, hear about why the founding of the country is relevant today, and where we might be going next.

And we want to hear from you. How would you fill in the blanks for these four statements?

1. “At the founding of the United States, some of the country’s most important political values were BLANK.”

2. “After 250 years of U.S. history, I would describe the country’s *track record* of following through on those values and ideals as BLANK.”

3. “Right now, an outside observer would likely look at our politics and say we value BLANK.”

4. “When it comes to the United States as a country over the next decade or the next century, I want to see BLANK.”

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