The Excerpt

USA TODAY Congress Reporter Riley Beggin takes a closer look at President Donald Trump's withdrawal of Rep. Elise Stefanik's nomination as UN ambassador, and what it tells us about growing concerns from Republicans about holding onto their narrow majority in the House.

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. says he will cut about 10,000 full-time jobs.

Federal officials say they've arrested an alleged MS-13 gang leader.

USA TODAY World Affairs Correspondent Kim Hjelmgaard explains why Usha Vance's Greenland trip this week changed. Plus, Kim dives into Trump's obsession with the island.

There's a new record for the longest cat tail!

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We eat for a variety of reasons, most importantly to sustain life. Unsurprisingly, the decisions we make about what we consume can have a huge impact on our health. Equally important is how our bodies eliminate the waste created by what we ingest. After all, what goes in must come out. Are there hard and fast rules about what constitutes a healthy …let’s just say it, poo? Sean Gibbons, a microbiologist at the Institute for Systems Biology in Seattle, joins The Excerpt to discuss what bowel movements, or a lack of them, reveal about our health.

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President Donald Trump has announced new tariffs - this time on automobiles.

USA TODAY Supreme Court Correspondent Maureen Groppe breaks down a busy week for the high court.

The Trump administration was again on the defensive Wednesday as the fallout continues over officials using the encrypted chat app Signal to discuss war plans.

USA TODAY MLB Reporter Gabe Lacques takes a look ahead to the 2025 baseball season on Opening Day. Check out a special Deep Dive episode on the future of robot umpires.

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Are schools providing the best education possible for all their students? This episode's guest argues that the U.S. school system is where children are first introduced to racial hierarchies and that these normalized beliefs solidify in many institutions like healthcare, employment, policing and more. Sociologist and author Eve L. Ewing joins The Excerpt to discuss her new book “Original Sins: The (Mis)education of Black and Native Children and the Construction of American Racism.” It is out on bookshelves now.

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USA TODAY Congress Reporter Savannah Kuchar discusses the reaction on Capitol Hill following a report that secret plans for U.S. airstrikes were discussed in a group chat on the encrypted messaging platform Signal.

Russia and Ukraine agree to a sea and energy truce.

President Donald Trump signs an executive order requiring proof of citizenship to vote in federal elections.

USA TODAY Senior Reporter Jessica Guynn explains how some federal workers have had a rocky return to the office.

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USA TODAY Domestic Security Correspondent Josh Meyer breaks down what happened when officials shared detailed secret plans for a U.S. strike on Iran-backed militants in Yemen with a group chat of top Trump administration officials that accidentally included a magazine editor.

President Donald Trump says countries that buy oil and gas from Venezuela must pay a 25% tariff to the U.S.

Postal workers rally nationwide over Trump's plan to dismantle USPS.

USA TODAY Personal Finance Reporter Daniel de Visé explains how Democrats and Republicans seem to occupy separate realities when it comes to inflation. Hear more about what your fellow Americans think about the economy on this week’s edition of Forum, a new initiative from the USA TODAY Opinion team.

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Trump and Republicans campaigned aggressively in 2024 on the economy. So now that he’s in office, we asked: do you think that President Trump is doing enough to fix the economy? Do you think grocery prices will rise or go down? Forum is a new series from USA TODAY's Opinion team, dedicated to showcasing views from across the political spectrum on issues that Americans are starkly divided on. Today you’ll hear from a few folks detailing their opinions on the economy. If you'd like to weigh in on a different topic, you can find more questions at usatoday.com/forum. And if your submission is selected for print, we might invite you to add your voice to a future special bonus episode like this one. Let us know what you think of this episode by sending an email to [email protected].

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U.S. officials are meeting with Russian officials Monday for talks in Saudi Arabia.

USA TODAY National Correspondent Trevor Hughes explains that experts warn federal spending cuts will make the country sicker and poorer as healthcare costs rise without new treatments.

An independent government watchdog agency will review the health and safety effects of President Donald Trump's mass firings.

USA TODAY Investigative Reporter Kenny Jacoby discusses how an NHL team's executives milked youth hockey families for profit.

Here's what readers told us about the economy.

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After suffering a devastating loss in last November’s elections, the Democratic party is at an inflection point. Having lost the backing and trust of the working class, how does it move on from the political desert it finds itself in and re-energize its base? Amanda Litman, Co-Founder & Co-Executive Director of Run For Something joins The Excerpt to share her take.

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USA TODAY National Correspondent Trevor Hughes takes a closer look at the Trump administration's claims that recent Venezuelan deportees are tied to the prison gang Tren de Aragua.

President Donald Trump demands that Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts and the high court rein in federal judges who have issued injunctions that have impeded his policies. Plus, how secrecy sits at the center of Trump's clash with courts.

Federal employees who work at a tiny agency that funds the nation's libraries and museums expect to be put on administrative leave.

USA TODAY Congress Reporter Riley Beggin talks about angry constituents who met lawmakers at recent local town hall meetings.

George Foreman has died at 76.

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