John Kennedy

Conan O'Brien is set to receive the Mark Twain Prize on Sunday night at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, where the backstage drama of the host institution may hang over the celebration.

In the two-plus months since returning to the White House, Trump has attended the Super Bowl in New Orleans and the Daytona 500 in Florida.

That weird blizzard that blew through Lincoln the day before the official start of first spring, dropping dirty, wet, heavy snow everywhere, did a number on the traffic signals.

Over the last six decades after President John F. Kennedy was assassinated, speculation and conspiracy theories have left people wondering if there was more to what happened. After President Donald Trump signed an executive order declassifying around 63,000 additional pages, some wonder if what has been uncovered really changes what we already know? NBC’s Ken Dilanian shares the Sunday Focus.

While Heathrow Airport said it was now “fully operational,” thousands of passengers remained stuck,.

President Trump has embarked on a systematic effort to unravel Lyndon B. Johnson's civil rights legacy, rolling back protections that have shaped American life for nearly six decades.Why it matters: Backlash to the racial justice movement of 2020 has overshadowed a more fundamental, long-standing conservative goal: Turning back the clock on the sweeping societal changes of 1965.The Trump administration's aggressive push to reverse LBJ's signature achievements could radically alter how communities of color confront discrimination in a diversifying America."This is not as much about dismantling the policies of Bill Clinton or Barack Obama or Joe Biden," Mark K. Updegrove, the LBJ Foundation's president and CEO, tells Axios. "It's dismantling the Great Society."The big picture: Two months into his term, Trump already has overturned, weakened or targeted LBJ policies on voting rights, desegregation, the environment, immigration, education, affirmative action and health care.Within hours of taking office, Trump revoked LBJ's 1965 executive order mandating "equal opportunity" for people of color and women in the recruitment, hiring and training of federal contractors.Trump's new order triggered sweeping changes to anti-discrimination rules — including a little-noticed memo stating that the federal government no longer would unequivocally prohibit contractors from operating "segregated facilities."Flashback: The Texas-born LBJ won the 1964 election in one of the biggest landslides in U.S. history, with comfortable Democratic majorities in the House and Senate less than a year after President John F. Kennedy's assassination.1965 marked "the high tide of the Great Society," Updegrove told Axios, referring to Johnson's vast domestic agenda aimed at eliminating poverty and racial injustice."If you look at just the laws in that year alone, it's breathtaking."1965: Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act after the attack on unarmed peaceful demonstrators in Selma, Ala. He had encouraged the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. to march for voting rights to sway the public.2025: Republicans in Congress have blocked attempts to reauthorize elements of the Voting Rights Act, while Trump has pushed for national voting restrictions as part of his false claims of rampant election fraud.1965: Johnson signed the Higher Education Act, creating scholarships and low-interest loans for Black, Latino, Native American and low-income white students.2025: Trump is seeking to eliminate the Department of Education and has waged war on universities, slashing federal funding and launching investigations into 45 colleges over their diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) practices. The crackdown has endangered Black and Latino student groups founded during LBJ's era.1965: LBJ signed legislation creating Medicare and Medicaid, two pillars of the U.S. social safety net.2025: Trump has promised not to cut either program, but House Republicans are eyeing major changes to Medicaid to pay for roughly $4.5 trillion in tax cuts.1965: LBJ signed a bill abolishing the racist national origins quota system for immigration.2025: Trump is considering a travel ban on as many as 43 countries, expanding restrictions he imposed in his first term as he cracks down on both legal and illegal immigration.Zoom out: Johnson's Great Society has always been opposed by small-government conservatives, who argued that its programs went too far in expanding the federal bureaucracy and executive authority.Some conservatives argued that racial integration was anti-Christian and claimed it infringed on religious freedom.Others have rejected the argument that scrapping DEI policies amounts to a reversal of anti-segregation laws, or that "election integrity laws" suppress the voting rights of communities of color.Between the lines: Guiding the Trump Justice Department's policies is a broad reinterpretation of Civil Rights-era laws to focus on "anti-white racism" rather than discrimination against people of color. The Heritage Foundation's "Project 2025" outlined how Trump could reverse some of LBJ's initiatives, including his order ensuring equal opportunity in federal contracting.The administration also has flagged hundreds of words about race and discrimination that agencies should limit or avoid using as part of its DEI purge, according to The New York Times.Among the purged words: racism, segregation, discrimination, Black, Native American, discrimination and women.What they're saying White House spokesman Kush Desai tells Axios that Trump is fulfilling the promises he made during the campaign.The president's mandate was "to streamline our bloated government, implement commonsense policies, enforce our immigration laws, and restore the primacy of merit over racist DEI policies so that every American can live up to his or her potential."

Jack Schlossberg outlined how little President Donald Trump and his cronies have in common with his grandfather, President John F. Kennedy.“President Trump is obsessed with my grandfather — but not in his life or what he achieved in it. No, just like [Robert F. Kennedy Jr.], [Trump] is only interested in JFK’s carcass,” Schlossberg wrote on X.Schlossberg then pointed out some glaring differences between the two presidents, from their foreign policies to Trump’s pitiful takeover of the Kennedy Center.While Kennedy helped get the Civil Rights Act off the ground, Trump spent the first two months of his second term—along with multibillionaire Elon Musk—dismantling civil rights protections in an effort to destroy government agencies. Similarly, Kennedy famously stood firm during the Cuban Missile Crisis as the United States faced off against the Soviet Union in what nearly became a nuclear conflict. And on the other hand, Trump has embarrassed Americans by cozying up to Russian dictator Vladimir Putin at the expense of longstanding U.S. allies.In 1961, Kennedy encouraged the country to put a man in space and ultimately on the moon. Trump has handed over our vaunted space program to the private billionaire class, enriching Musk over the country.Kennedy created one of the cornerstones of our soft power foreign policy initiatives in the United States Agency for International Development. Conversely, a federal judge recently ruled that Trump and Musk have “likely violated the United States Constitution in multiple ways” in their attacks on USAID, including kicking out federal workers, freezing funds, and refusing to honor existing contracts. Cartoon by Pedro MolinaSchlossberg’s takedown of Trump follows the roughly 63,000 pages of declassified documents on Kennedy’s assassination that were recently released by the Trump administration. Critics have dismissed the release as a “distraction” and a “nothing burger.” The move has also drawn comparisons to the White House’s controversial release of documents on deceased pedophile and former Trump associate, Jeffrey Epstein. Other members of the Kennedy family have been openly critical of Trump and his administration. Schlossberg’s mother, Caroline Kennedy, has even warned about the dangers of her cousin, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Schlossberg remains an active critic of the Trump administration, and—considering the major differences between the two presidents—perhaps his grandfather would have been, too.Campaign Action

Several foreign embassies housed more Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) agents posing as genuine State Department officials between 1950 to 1960 , according to a document found in the more than 63,000 pages relating to former President John F. Kennedy Jr.'s assassination, released to the public by the Trump administration Tuesday evening.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt on Wednesday launched a blistering attack on a federal judge who issued an order that the Trump administration halt the deportation of 200 migrants

The Senate now has 40 days to vote on Julia Lipez's nomination to the Maine Supreme Judicial Court and Darcie McElwee's to the Superior Court.

As we settle into the second Trump era, we’re also seeing the return of the strangest things becoming a controversy thanks to a presidential post on Truth Social.

The latest survey, released March 19 by NBC, found 47% approve of Trump and 51% disapprove.

A stop sign outside the U.S. Institute of Peace in Washington.

President Trump made good on a promise to release thousands of files related to John F. Kennedy's assassination, which pleased lawmakers, despite little new information.

Senate Democrats were grim Friday as they left Washington after a brutal 10-week stretch that consistently showed the limits of their new minority and culminated with a deeply personal rupture over how to best counter President Donald Trump. Internal dissension...

Two of the judges acknowledged the anti-DEI orders could raise concerns about First Amendment rights.

Leavitt said she does not have a timeline for the release of the files

More than two dozen Senate and House Republicans demand the International Olympics Committee to align with President Donald Trump's executive order banning trans athletes from women's sports.

Thanks to the work of Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), Americans are getting a quick education on the "soft" corruption corroding our government.

The Louisiana senator has been tapped to consult with the president on a strategy for avoiding a federal default.

Daily Caller News Foundation co-founder Tucker Carlson told NewsNation’s Chris Cuomo on his podcast Monday that he believes Republican Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton allegedly attempted to block the hiring of a particular person on the Intelligence Committee.

The madman theory has much to recommend it when dealing with Hamas or the Houthis — but no one heretofore has thought it has similar benefits when handling our once-friendly northern neighbor.

As a measles case hits the Washington, D.C., area, public health agencies led by anti-vaccine activist Robert F Kennedy Jr. are ignoring it and instead wasting resources on testing vaccines for a false and long-debunked association with autism.A measles outbreak in West Texas began in January, but on Sunday, a case was confirmed in Maryland, with the possibility of further exposure to people at Dulles International Airport and the Johns Hopkins Howard County Medical Center. (The two outbreaks are not believed to be connected.) And officials are still trying to identify who has been exposed, according to The Washington Post.However, it’s clear we’re not in the safest of hands, at least federally. During President Donald Trump’s Cabinet meeting on Feb. 26, Kennedy claimed the outbreak in Texas and New Mexico was “not unusual”—despite that it has led to the first two deaths from the preventable disease in a decade. Additionally, there have been more than 200 reported cases and 23 hospitalizations due to largely unvaccinated populations, as of March 7.“There’ve been four measles outbreaks this year. In this country last year, there were 16,” Kennedy said, pushing a false narrative of public health normalcy. “So it’s not unusual. We have measles outbreaks every year.”xDatawrapper ContentInstead of focusing on the growing outbreak, Kennedy, a rabid anti-vaxxer and conspiracy theorist, is using taxpayer dollars to direct the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to conduct needless trials on a disproven link between vaccines and autism. To the chagrin of “crunchy” pseudoscience advocates, numerous studies found no link between vaccines leading to autism.That hasn’t stopped Trump’s public health goons from continuing to parrot junk-science talking points.“As President Trump said in his Joint Address to Congress, the rate of autism in American children has skyrocketed. CDC will leave no stone unturned in its mission to figure out what exactly is happening,” a spokesperson for the Department of Health and Human Services said in a statement to ABC News. It’s unclear how the study would be conducted, who would take part in it, and how it would be different from numerous previous studies of the same topic.Public health experts are denouncing the decision. Others are afraid of the impact Kennedy is already having on waning public health trust. A sign is seen outside of Seminole Hospital District offering measles testing on Feb. 21, 2025, in Seminole, Texas.“The announcement that CDC will look at potential links between vaccines and autism means that significant federal resources will be diverted from crucial areas of study, including research into the unknown causes of autism, at a time when research funding is already facing deep cuts,” said Tina Tan, president of the Infectious Disease Society of America.“[Kennedy’s] misleading and often conspiratorial claims have already weakened confidence in public health, a legacy that could have far-reaching and deadly consequences both domestically and globally,” Y. Tony Yang, an associate dean of health policy at George Washington University School of Nursing, wrote in The Lancet. “It is not just the poorest and most vulnerable who will suffer; unvaccinated infants, immunocompromised individuals, and entire communities are at risk.”Kennedy has already axed the multimillion-dollar effort to study an oral COVID-19 vaccine, and had the Food and Drug Administration cancel a meeting to plan for next season's flu shot. When he isn’t gutting public health agencies or offering workers $25,000 to resign, he’s having the department whiplash his employees by begging them to come back.As measles spreads, the Trump administration is wasting resources on debunked conspiracies instead of protecting public health—a dangerous gamble with real consequences.Campaign Action

If we do not believe in accordance with the truth, then we are not in a position to make the best decisions for ourselves or our country.

Republicans are using terms such as “money laundering” and “discrimination” to make their case.

President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Food and Drug Administration was grilled Thursday over whether he would reverse course on several actions the administration has taken in recent weeks that have alarmed Democrats and public health experts - and...

It was a week that saw not only more twists in the tariffs saga but also Trump's big Hill address, the suspension of aid to Ukraine, more firings at agencies, and more. NPR keeps track, day by day.

Lawmakers from both sides of the aisle peppered the nominee with questions about flu vaccines, mifepristone, and other issues.

The Bay State’s ongoing fight against the second Trump Administration went another round on Thursday, when the U.S. District Judge overseeing a lawsuit filed by the Attorneys General of several states ordered a halt to the president’s widespread plan to freeze federal funding.

Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy is attempting to place himself at the center of Democratic resistance to President Donald Trump.

Sen. Markwayne Mullin cast doubt on suggestions from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that Russian President Vladimir Putin could invade NATO allies

The Georgia Senate passed tort reform bill SB 68 to reduce litigation costs, as advocated by Senate President Pro Tempore John F. Kennedy. Critics are concerned about access to justice.

After successfully confirming his most controversial picks for top Cabinet roles, the Senate is on track to push them all past the finish line—and in record time.

Trump’s core supporters are thrilled with what they see. Those who don't like him watch in horror.

President Trump ratcheted up his attacks on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday, deepening the first real schism of his second term within the GOP. Appearing on the "Brian Kilmeade Show” on Fox News Radio, Trump said of Zelensky, “I've been watching for years, and I've been watching him negotiate with no cards. He has [...]

Elon Musk's so-called Department of Government Efficiency created yet another major disaster, after the mass firing of federal workers led to the ouster of critical federal employees who were working on the government's response to the bird flu outbreak that threatens the nation's health and economy.According to NBC News, President Donald Trump’s Department of Agriculture is now trying to rehire those workers, saying those employees were fired by accident."Although several positions supporting [bird flu efforts] were notified of their terminations over the weekend, we are working to swiftly rectify the situation and rescind those letters," a USDA spokesperson told NBC News in a statement. "USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service frontline positions are considered public safety positions, and we are continuing to hire the workforce necessary to ensure the safety and adequate supply of food to fulfill our statutory mission."A worker carries a chicken inside a New York poultry store on Feb. 7, 2025.The bird flu outbreak, which is impacting both chicken and dairy cow populations, has forced farmers to cull their populations of egg-laying chickens, leading to egg shortages and skyrocketing egg prices. In fact, egg prices hit a record high last month, with the cost of eggs rising an eye-popping 15.2% in January, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.The firings of USDA staffers is the latest significant error Musk and his unqualified DOGE bros have made.CNN reported that over 300 staffers working to secure the country's nuclear weapons arsenal were also accidentally fired. The Trump administration was trying to hire those workers back. Thankfully, as of Tuesday, most have been reinstated, according to CNN.On Tuesday, Boston’s John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum was also abruptly closed after staffers tasked with keeping the museum open were abruptly fired, CBS News reported. "Due to an Executive Order concerning a 'reduction in force (RIF),' the JFK Library and Museum will be closed to the public until further notice," read a sign on the door of the library.Democratic Rep. Jim McGovern of Massachusetts slammed Trump and Musk for forcing the library’s closure.“The JFK Library is a really special place. Every day, people from around the country & world visit to find inspiration from our 35th President. Trump let DOGE shut it down,” McGovern wrote in a post on X. “Meanwhile egg prices are through the roof and he's wasting money on publicity stunts at the Daytona 500.”The recent firings could even impact Americans' ability to visit national parks as the layoffs have decimated the National Park Service.“Yosemite National Park is delaying the sale of camping nights for five campgrounds (Upper Pines, Lower Pines, North Pines, Wawona, and Hodgdon Meadow),” Yosemite National Park wrote on its official Instagram page. “This delay affects reservations from June 15 - July 14. We understand the impact this has on visitors who are planning camping trips to the park. We are grateful for your patience. Our goal is to release these campground nights as soon as possible and we will provide at least a seven-day advance notice before reservations go on sale. The notice will be posted to the park's website and social media feeds.”Visitors pose in front of Half Dome at Yosemite National Park, in California, on Oct. 17, 2013.DOGE's disastrous layoff policy has been so destructive that it’s starting to piss off Republican lawmakers.Sen. Susan Collins of Maine said DOGE needs to slow down because they are making mistakes.“This latest example of individuals who were studying bird flu being fired from the Department of Agriculture is a perfect example," Collins told HuffPost's Igor Bobic. "Another is that they mistakenly put in charge of the FBI, a person that they didn't intend to be in charge temporarily of the FBI, that's what happens when you move too fast and you don't take the time to do a careful evaluation.”Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, who has acquiesced to all of Trump’s demands despite reservations, also criticized DOGE’s cuts.“I am all for efficiency and ultimately downsizing the federal government, but firing large numbers of new FBI agents is not the way to achieve this. Louisiana specifically benefits from newly hired FBI agents. We need to add to our law enforcement, not take away,” Cassidy wrote in a post on X.But these same Republican lawmakers are doing nothing to stop DOGE’s destruction.In fact, Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa said there is nothing Congress can do, even though Congress makes the laws that the executive has to abide by.“Congress can’t do anything except complain about it," Grassley said, according to a report from RadioIowa, “but I think we have to have sympathy and understanding for people that are laid off.”Cowards.Correction: A previous version of this story misstated the number of fired nuclear-stockpile staff who returned after being fired. To date, most have returned, according to CNN; approximately, 25 have not.Thank you to the Daily Kos community who continues to fight so hard with Daily Kos. Your reader support means everything. We will continue to have you covered and keep you informed, so please donate just $3 to help support the work we do.

Columnist David Marcus writes that President Trump's takeover of the Kennedy Center could make it more culturally relevant to ordinary Americans.

Prolonged government secrecy has eroded public trust, fueling demands for greater transparency, said Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.)

A flurry of mass firings at agencies across the federal government ushered in by President Donald Trump and his Department of Government Efficiency triggered the abrupt closure Tuesday of the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library.The Boston-based library began its first round of firings Thursday when leadership received an order from the National Archives informing them to terminate probationary employees, former Rep. Joe Kennedy III told Politico Tuesday. Firings led to the closure on Tuesday afternoon. “The library cannot function with that type of reduction,” a source with knowledge of the situation told Politico in a statement. A sign posted outside the institute and circulating throughout social media reads: “Due to the executive order, the JFK Library will be closed until further notice."“The sudden dismissal of federal employees at the JFK Library forced the museum to close today,” the JFK Library Foundation said in a statement. “As the Foundation that supports the JFK Library, we are devastated by this news and will continue to support our colleagues and the Library."The National Archives said the library “will be open tomorrow, and the National Archives staff looks forward to welcoming guests, visitors, and researchers,” according to Politico.ALSO READ: 'Gotta be kidding': Jim Jordan scrambles as he's confronted over Musk 'double standard'Jack Schlossberg, the grandson of JFK, quickly used the shuttering of the library’s doors to pounce on the Trump administration.“DOGE and the White House shut down the JFK Library,” Schlossberg said in a social media post Tuesday. “Hey, it’s Jack – I’m okay but our country is not. It’s under attack from its own government. They are using propaganda to steal the past away from the American people.”He went on to say the goal of the mass firings and axing of government funds is not about “government efficiency, the workers who were fired today actually bring in revenue for the government.”Schlossberg then pointed to a picture above him that he says was given to him by an astronaut.“JFK sent a man to the moon, but you’d never know it if the JFK library wasn’t open and nobody was allowed to talk...it’s time to speak out and resist what’s happening,” he said. “If you’re not doing that you’re not helping the darkest places in hell are reserved for those who in times of great moral crisis maintain their neutrality.”The news came after last week's unprecedented MAGA overhaul of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

Senate Republicans on Tuesday said they are open to the idea of Elon Musk’s “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE) accessing the IRS’s sensitive taxpayer information, as long as there are guardrails in place. Reports emerged over the weekend that a member of Musk’s team at DOGE was attempting to access that information — which includes [...]

Senate Republicans on Tuesday said they are open to the idea of Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) accessing the IRS’s sensitive taxpayer information, as long as there are guardrails in place. Reports emerged over the weekend that a member of Musk’s team at DOGE was attempting to access that information — which includes [...]

NY Post readers discuss John F. Kennedy's grandson mouthing off online, Trump taking over the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and more.

We’re taking away this incredibly valuable arrow in our quiver.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Richard Grenell, a Trump administration official with close ties to the president, told reporters Friday that he would consider running for governor of California in 2026 if former Vice President Kamala Harris enters the race. Grenell, the special presidential envoy for special missions, told reporters while attending the Munich Security Conference in Germany that he ...

Michelle Wu is maneuvering to take away major issues from mayoral rival Josh Kraft as the son of Patriots owner Robert Kraft struggles to break through in the early days of his campaign.

RFK Jr.‘s confirmation is disappointing, but I’m not surprised.

BEREKELY, Calif., Feb. 14, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- In what could be the most consequential U.S. government decision in decades, President Donald Trump has signed an executive order to release all classified files relating to the assassinations of John F. Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy, and Martin Luther King Jr.Those of us who have been fighting for more than two decades to expose the truth about what happened on September 11, 2001, wish to express our deep appreciation to the president for this incredibly courageous act. He has given the world hope that the truth about these devastating assassinations may finally come to light.And in this spirit of transparency and healing we in the 9/11 Truth Movement ask President Trump to continue along this bold path by creating a presidential task force to reinvestigate all aspects of 9/11, including the scientific evidence concerning the destruction of the three World Trade Center towers ...Full story available on Benzinga.com

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) says he expects former Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) to vote with Senate Republicans on the “big stuff ahead of us,” after McConnell voted against three of President Trump’s most controversial Cabinet nominees. "He's got views on some of these nominees that maybe don't track exactly with where [...]