Good morning, everyone! No Kings Day 2.0 is officially underway, and the energy is electric. I’m gearing up to head to the massive protest here in Washington, D.C., where organizers now expect well over 100,000 people to take to the streets. Across the Atlantic, demonstrations have already kicked off in London, and momentum is surging worldwide. In just the past few days, RSVPs have more than doubled, fueled in part by Republican backlash that’s only amplifying the movement’s message: no kings in America.
Throughout the day, I’ll be bringing you live coverage, on-the-ground updates, and sharp analysis of everything happening across the country and beyond. Expect a few extra posts today; there’s going to be a lot to cover, and you won’t want to miss a thing.
If you’re in D.C., come say hi! I’d love to hear your stories and see how this historic day unfolds through your eyes.
And if you value this kind of independent, real-time reporting, please subscribe to my Substack to help sustain this work. It’s going to be a long, intense day, but together we’ll make sure the world sees the truth about what’s happening on the ground.
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With that, here’s the news:
Millions of Americans are expected to join “No Kings” protests across all 50 states on Saturday, with events in more than 2,700 locations denouncing President Trump’s authoritarianism and militarization of cities, as organizers and political leaders call for peaceful demonstrations defending democracy and rejecting Trump’s bid for expanded power.
No Kings Day organizers tell me that the protests doubled in size following attacks on the protests from Republicans on Capitol Hill.
No Kings Day has begun this morning in London, as one poster noted a crowd of about 400 people protested outside of the United States embassy in London. Protests are expected in Ireland as well.
The U.S. Marines plan to fire 155mm artillery shells over Interstate 5 at Camp Pendleton on Saturday for the Marine Corps’ 250th anniversary, sparking backlash from Gov. Gavin Newsom, who called it a dangerous “show of force,” while federal officials, including Vice President JD Vance, defended the event as safe and routine military training. The New York Times has confirmed my exclusive reporting from earlier this week, but it did not credit my original article.
President Trump commuted former Rep. George Santos’ seven-year prison sentence on Friday, ordering his immediate release after citing alleged mistreatment, drawing praise from allies like Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene but sharp criticism from lawmakers and victims who called the move unjust given Santos’ fraud and theft convictions.
About 42 million Americans risk losing food stamp benefits in November due to the ongoing federal government shutdown, as the USDA warns its funding will run out within two weeks; Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins blamed Democrats for the impasse, while critics urged the Trump administration to act urgently to prevent hunger among vulnerable families.
Mahin Shahriar, a 28-year-old Bangladeshi asylum seeker in Canada, has been detained in a U.S. ICE facility after accidentally crossing the border, and his lawyer says Canadian authorities have failed to act on their legal obligation under the Safe Third Country Agreement to bring him back, leaving him in months-long limbo despite recognized risks if deported to Bangladesh.
The U.S. Senate is set to confirm Douglas Troutman, a longtime chemical industry lobbyist, to lead the EPA’s chemical safety office—meaning all four top toxics posts would be held by former industry lobbyists—prompting fears among environmental advocates that the Trump administration will further weaken chemical safety regulations and undo recent public health protections.
Trump administration officials are privately exploring the possibility of arranging a meeting between President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during Trump’s Asia trip next month, though no formal planning or communication with Pyongyang has occurred yet, and skepticism remains high given stalled diplomacy since their last 2019 encounter.
The National Republican Senatorial Committee released a deepfake video of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer repeating a real quote about the government shutdown, marking the GOP’s latest use of AI-generated political content and drawing criticism for blurring ethical lines in campaign messaging.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said President Trump neither approved nor rejected Ukraine’s request for Tomahawk missiles during their White House meeting, expressing hope for future support even as Trump plans further talks with Putin amid ongoing Russian attacks on Ukraine’s infrastructure.
A federal judge ruled that Pedro Hernandez, whose 2017 conviction for the 1979 kidnapping and murder of 6-year-old Etan Patz was overturned in July, must be retried by June 1, 2026, or released, citing flawed jury instructions in his original trial and challenges in reassembling witnesses for a potential third trial.
Meta will introduce new parental controls allowing parents to block or limit their children’s chats with AI characters on Facebook, Instagram, and the Meta AI app, following reports of inappropriate chatbot conversations with minors; the safeguards will restrict under-18s to age-appropriate topics and roll out in 2026 across the U.S., UK, Canada, and Australia.
U.S. podcaster Johnathan Walton, who helped expose and locate serial con artist Marianne “Mair” Smyth, expressed disappointment after her four-year prison sentence in Northern Ireland for defrauding clients of over $155,000, calling it too lenient given her long history of scams spanning both sides of the Atlantic.
See you soon!
— Aaron
