‘Government shouldn’t subsidize poor journalism’: Politico axes key news brand after losing millions in federal subscriptions



Just over a year after President Donald Trump’s administration instructed the federal government to cancel several media outlet subscriptions, Politico announced that it is sunsetting one of its news brands.

The federal government spent over $8 million in 2024 on Politico-related subscriptions.

‘The government shouldn’t subsidize poor journalism.’

In Feb. 2025, the White House directed the General Services Administration to “pull all contracts” for Politico and its stand-alone energy and environment brand, E&E News. Other government agencies, including the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Department of Veterans Affairs, also canceled their subscriptions to Politico’s services.

Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin announced last year that he had terminated over $1 million in annual media subscriptions, including nearly $460,000 for the EPA’s membership to Politico and E&E News.

“Best $458,919 we ever saved on behalf of taxpayers,” an EPA spokesperson told Blaze News. “The government shouldn’t subsidize poor journalism, and it’s a stinging indictment of the previous administration that they wasted so many hard-earned American tax dollars keeping this outlet afloat.”

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Politico pushed back against criticism that the federal government was subsidizing the media through subscriptions. The outlet released a statement in 2025 insisting that it has “never received any government funding” in the form of subsidies, grants, or “handouts.” It noted that “most” of Politico Pro and E&E News subscribers are in the private sector.

Despite insisting that Politico has “no financial dependence on the government,” the outlet laid off 3% of its staff, including E&E News journalists, in Jan. 2026, according to Semafor.

Politico acquired E&E News in Dec. 2020, aiming to “reach a large new audience of subscribers.” Yet, approximately 16 months after the Trump administration began canceling media subscriptions, Politico announced it is closing the stand-alone brand.

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Politico framed the sunsetting of E&E News as a strategic restructuring move that consolidated its U.S. Politico Energy and E&E teams “into a single powerhouse.” The announcement did not mention any revenue pressure, but framed the changes as a “new chapter.”

“Beginning in September, we are modernizing how we deliver our energy and environmental policy journalism and launching a more focused, high-impact portfolio of daily news and intelligence products,” Politico wrote.

“As part of this shift, E&E News will no longer operate as a separate brand. Its journalism and expertise will be fully integrated into POLITICO’s energy and environment portfolio of stories, briefs, analysis, and newsletters,” it continued.

Politico did not respond to a request for comment.

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Flesh-eating parasite found in Texas cattle has USDA on high alert



A threat to livestock has re-emerged in South Texas and has prompted a significant response from state officials and food safety authorities in the Trump administration.

On Wednesday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture flagged a potential South Texas case of New World screwworm, a flesh-eating parasite that is considered a real threat to livestock.

'These eggs hatch into dangerous parasitic larvae, or maggots, which burrow or "screw" into flesh with sharp mouth hooks.'

The USDA confirmed that a sample has been taken to the USDA's National Veterinary Services Laboratories in Ames, lowa, for "confirmatory testing."

The agency confirmed that it is monitoring the situation on the ground in coordination with local partners.

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The New World screwworm fly is a "devastating pest" whose larvae feed on the living tissue of warm-blooded animals, according to a USDA fact sheet available on a website page dedicated to screwworm information. A screwworm is roughly the size of a common house fly.

New World screwworm "flies lay eggs in open wounds or orifices of live tissue. These eggs hatch into dangerous parasitic larvae, or maggots, which burrow or 'screw' into flesh with sharp mouth hooks. NWS primarily infest livestock, but can also affect any warm-blooded animal, including wildlife, pets, humans, and birds," according to a Texas Animal Health Commission document.

The screwworm fly thrives in warm, humid environments, making the national spread of screwworm unlikely.

On Wednesday night, Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins announced that the tests at the laboratory in Iowa confirmed the detection of New World screwworm. She added that it was found in a "3 week old bovine in Zavala County, Texas."

In another post, Rollins assured the public that "our food supply is 100% safe. This potential New World Screwworm detection is being fully contained and is not a harm to the American food supply or consumer safety."

She added that a return of the parasite was expected last year, according to available predictions: "All models showed NWS coming to the U.S. last summer/early fall — so a big thank you to our partners across the industry and local, state and the entire Trump administration for unprecedented action that gave us almost an extra year to prepare for this moment."

The extra time bought by those monitoring the situation may prove crucial in an already precarious moment for the beef industry.

According to an analysis of the USDA's annual report on U.S. cattle inventory released on January 30, 2026, the cattle herd stands at 86.2 million head, its lowest point in 75 years. Beef prices have already been on the rise month over month for the past year with little relief in sight, and any drop in supply could drive them even higher.

Rollins encouraged all farmers to follow movement restrictions and treatment guidance provided by the Texas Animal Health Commission.

The Texas Animal Health Commission published a press release on Wednesday, stating that the agency has been preparing for a resurgence of NWS cases for "over two years" since "northward progression from Central America was observed in 2023."

The U.S. government has historically had success eradicating the parasite and continuously pushing cases farther southward. The USDA, in fact, "declared the United States free of indigenous screwworms as early as 1966," despite a severe outbreak with 90,000 cases in Texas alone by 1972.

The best method of stopping the spread of NWS is the mass release of sterile flies into the region in which cases are found. Flies are sterilized by being irradiated with gamma rays before being released into the area.

In April, the USDA and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers broke ground on an $8.5 million sterile fly production facility at Moore Air Base in Edinburg, Texas. The initial facility is expected to be operational late 2027 with the production of 100 million sterile flies per week. The project will be scaled further to increase the production to 300 million flies per week in an effort to bolster the United States' domestic strategy against the screwworm.

Rollins reportedly called the response an "all of Trump administration effort," according to CNN.

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Exclusive: CBP stops 300+ hatching eggs at the border — possibly preventing bird flu outbreak



Customs and Border Protection agriculture specialists have discovered hundreds of hatching eggs that could be carrying infectious diseases packed in layers of foam, according to a press release obtained exclusively by Blaze News.

The 337 eggs, incorrectly manifested as “winter jackets,” were shipped from Germany and headed to Alaska. CBP revealed that the items, seized on May 27, lacked proper documentation.

‘These interceptions highlight the vigilance and dedication our CBP agriculture specialists demonstrate daily.’

“Hatching eggs include all avian species, including poultry, game birds, racing pigeons, and other birds,” the CBP reported.

“These live eggs are shipped to the United States for hatching or reproductive purposes. Upon arrival, the eggs would be incubated, hatched, and raised,” the CBP continued. “For agricultural purposes, hatching eggs fall under regulations for live animals and are highly regulated because they can carry Newcastle disease and avian influenza.”

The eggs were seized and turned over to the local U.S. Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. The CBP noted that the USDA does not allow the importation of hatching eggs from countries that have highly pathogenic avian influenza.

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The department warned that such unauthorized shipments risk spreading diseases that could impact the U.S. food supply.

Since the start of an avian influenza outbreak in Feb. 2022, nearly 207 million birds in the U.S. have been affected, according to the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. Outbreaks have occurred in over 2,000 flocks in all 50 states and one territory.

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Image source: Customs and Border Protection

“Our nation’s food supply is constantly at risk from diseases not known to occur in the United States,” stated Eric Zizelman, the port director for the Port of Cincinnati. “These interceptions highlight the vigilance and dedication our CBP agriculture specialists demonstrate daily. Our specialists mitigate the threat of non-native pests, diseases, and contaminants entering the United States. They ensure the United States is safe from harmful diseases that could affect our food supply.”

CBP encouraged international travelers to declare all items acquired abroad and advised those who wish to bring plant and animal materials or other agricultural items to first consult the CBP Information Center section on the agency’s website.

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Make America cook again: RFK Jr. unveils plan to empower Americans in the kitchen



The Department of Health and Human Services under Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has endeavored to radically improve American nutrition and address those elements of the food system that are contributing to the chronic disease epidemic.

The department has, for instance, flipped the "corrupt food pyramid," worked to remove petroleum-based synthetic dyes from America's food supply, raised awareness about the health risks of eating ultra-processed foods, and expanded research into nutrition and metabolic health.

On Wednesday, Kennedy announced a new Make America Healthy Again initiative aimed at curbing chronic disease and improving nutrition: teaching Americans to cook.

'Eating together as a family is a sacred ritual.'

Kennedy joined Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins and USDA national nutrition adviser Dr. Ben Carson in announcing the commencement of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans Strategic Partnerships, which the USDA characterized as an effort to encourage "the private sector to participate in educating the American people about the importance of the Guidelines and how they serve as the foundation to better eating."

During the press conference Wednesday, Kennedy noted, "Every American can feed themselves cheaper than fast food."

A YouGov survey taken last month found that 36% of Americans said they cook food daily; 40% said they cook a few times a week; 10% said they cook once a week; and 2% said they never cook.

A study published last year in the journal Current Developments in Nutrition noted:

Poor dietary quality, including high intakes of ultraprocessed food and food-away-from-home, is associated with an array of adverse health outcomes, including increased BMI, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. Home food preparation, “cooking,” offers an affordable strategy for reducing ultraprocessed food intake and away-from-home intake.

The same study said that "the percentage of United States adults cooking has increased since 2003; however, the overall mean time spent cooking among cookers has remained relatively stable."

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"One of the challenges that we're facing and that we're working on all kinds of innovative devices to solve is that Americans have forgotten how to cook," said Kennedy. "The convenience of fast food is one of the things that attracts them, and many of them don't have the cutlery, they don't have the pots and pans, they don't have the cutting boards, and they don't know how to shop."

The health secretary said that he and his team have been discussing possibly deploying the Commissioned Corps of the U.S. Public Health Service and/or other organizations within HHS "to go out and actually teach people to cook."

Kennedy underscored that making and eating meals together is about far more than just bodily health.

"President Trump has talked about the spiritual malaise in our country. That spiritual malaise comes from the breakdown of families; it comes from the fragmentation, the atomization, the isolation — particularly in our children. They don't feel connections any more," said Kennedy.

"Cooking ... and eating together as a family is a sacred ritual," continued Kennedy, "and it's something that brings families together for an hour or two hours a day, where they talk, where they interact, where they work together on an act of creation, and they eat together in this wonderful ritual that brings families together.

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'White supremacy dog-whistling': Democrat goes on unhinged rant — about milk



Oregon Rep. Maxine Dexter (D), a woke physician who downplayed the risks associated with COVID vaccines and has since championed so-called "gender-affirming care," recently raised eyebrows by characterizing an innocent Make America Healthy Again initiative as racist.

After repeatedly calling for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to be "dismantled" during a town hall on Saturday, Dexter launched into an unhinged attack on the Department of Health and Human Services and Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

"RFK Jr. is one of the biggest threats to our community and to the health of this country," said Dexter.

"When you don't follow the science, and you just follow your vibes or your whatever it is that he's doing, it is absolutely the truth that you lose trust," continued the congresswoman. "I have every reason to believe that we'll be able to get that man at least delegitimized, hopefully fired."

'Drinking whole white milk has played a big role in racist and far-right thinking.'

Dexter characterized the government as a "fascist regime," advised doctors not to "do what they are telling us to do," and suggested that patients should "ask for the science-based regimens, not whatever RFK Jr. is getting kickbacks on or whatever whole milk, white supremacy dog-whistling that's happening."

The Republican National Committee's RNC Research account noted in response to Dexter's assertion, "Democrats' unhinged hatred for President Trump has broken their brains."

The Make America Healthy Again Commission released the Make Our Children Healthy Again Strategy in September, identifying hundreds of initiatives that could help reverse "the failed policies that fueled America's childhood chronic disease epidemic."

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The strategy noted that the HHS and other agencies would "remove restrictions on whole milk sales in schools, allowing districts to offer full-fat dairy options alongside reduced-fat alternatives."

The National School Lunch Program of the Department of Agriculture long required participating schools to provide milk that was consistent with the latest Dietary Guidelines for Americans, which meant the milk offerings either had to be fat-free or low-fat.

Trump, helping the MAHA strategy along, ratified the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act last month, thereby modifying the NSLP requirements such that whole and reduced-fat milk would be added to the offerings at schools across the country.

The USDA and Kennedy have since shared a number of videos and pictures promoting whole milk, touting it as a "protein, strength, and a class choice that never goes out of style."

While whole milk and the government's campaign promoting it appear to be innocuous, Dexter presumed the worst — but she's apparently not alone.

For instance, Arthur Caplan, a professor of bioethics at New York University Grossman School of Medicine, recently suggested that the consumption of the universally appreciated liquid food "is political. Drinking whole white milk has played a big role in racist and far-right thinking."

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