Earlier this week in San Francisco, the Trump administration's aggressive new immigration enforcement tactics reached a violent new low.

It demonstrates what may be lying ahead—and why the midterms are so vitally important.

WHAT HAPPENED: On Tuesday morning in San Francisco’s financial district, around two dozen protesters gathered outside the federal immigration court to prevent ICE agents from detaining a young immigrant man.

ICE agents responded by using batons to clear protesters and—in the most shocking moment—one agent brandished an assault rifle at the unarmed civilians.

SOME CONTEXT: This represents a new tactic under Trump: ICE agents are now regularly showing up at immigration courts to detain people whose asylum cases are being dismissed or who have received deportation orders—a practice that was largely avoided during previous administrations.

WHY IT'S IMPORTANT: With Trump's mega spending bill becoming law, ICE is poised to become the nation's largest law enforcement agency.

According to CNN, that will make ICE larger than the entire FBI, ATF, DEA, US Marshals Service and Bureau of Prisons combined.

BUT BUT BUT: That doesn't mean they can't be stopped. At this point, the best and most effective way to dismantle ICE is through Congress.

Given the unpopularity of Trump's bill, with its trillion dollars in cuts to Medicaid and other parts of the social safety net—not to mention violence like this—Democrats could pick up 40 seats, according to Democratic strategist James Carville.

BOTTOM LINE: Scenes of federal agents pointing weapons at protesters defending their neighbors could be exactly the kind of footage that mobilizes voters to say enough is enough.

Because this is unacceptable behavior for a government whose job is to protect and serve the people.

Given all this we want to know… do you think Democrats will take back the House in 2026? Tell us why or why not after you vote!

After a 9-day walkout, the strike we reported on yesterday has come to an end. Philadelphia’s 9,000-strong city workers union secured a deal with 3% annual raises, a $1,500 bonus, and added pay scale increases for many. It’s not the 5% they wanted — but it’s proof that when workers walk out, things move. Full story from ABC Philadelphia.

Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” slashes nearly $1 trillion from Medicaid and the ACA — threatening over 300 rural hospitals with closure. With 17 million people projected to lose coverage, some hospitals are already cutting services for kids, cancer patients, and the elderly to stay afloat. Full story from NBC News.

The CEO of Elon Musk’s X resigned just one day after the site’s AI bot Grok launched into a wildly antisemitic rant praising Hitler. The meltdown is just the latest in a long list of crises on Musk’s watch — and the CEO’s exit suggests even the cleanup crew is done. Full story from HuffPost.

On the anniversary of civil rights icon John Lewis’s death, more than 400 “Good Trouble Lives On” rallies are planned across all 50 states. Organizers say it’s a response to Trump’s attacks on civil rights, immigrants, and public services — and a call to keep fighting back. Full story from Newsweek.

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Stooping to a stunning new low, the Trump administration has issued sanctions against a U.N. human rights investigator—all because she dared to scrutinize Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza.

THE DETAILS: On Wednesday, the Trump administration announced sanctions against Francesca Albanese, the U.N. Special Rapporteur investigating human rights abuses in the Palestinian territories.

In reality, she’s one of the few international officials openly calling the war in Gaza what it is: a genocide.

SOME BACKGROUND: Albanese has been a vocal critic of Israel’s 21-month bombardment of Gaza — a campaign that’s killed over 57,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, per Gaza health officials.

She supports ICC arrest warrants for Israeli leaders, including Netanyahu, over alleged war crimes—a stance that’s enraged the pro-Israel uniparty that dominates Washington, D.C.

WHAT DOES IT MEAN? The sanctions could block her from entering the U.S., freeze any assets under U.S. jurisdiction, and criminalize working with her.

BOTTOM LINE: It’s a shameful day when our country is sanctioning a U.N. expert for documenting genocide—not the regime actually committing it.

Yesterday we asked, will the establishment be able to stop Zohran Mamdani? Overwhelmingly, you said no!

Macourt voted no and said: “I think the people have decided enough, is enough and they will vote for him. Hopefully he is the start of a much needed change in the country.”

Decosis added: “I certainly hope this does NOT happen. I used to think the New York Times as a go to publication for unbiased reporting. NOW, they seem to be becoming a puppet for extremely narrow minded individuals. This makes me really really sad." Us too!

Still others had their doubts. One reader wrote: “I think they will pay Trump to cancel his citizenship and deport him. Trump says he can do that and I'm guessing the SCOTUS will let him. I put nothing past the rich elite to do whatever it takes to protect their massive profits.”

Here are some stories the algorithms may be keeping out of your feed.