MOTHER JONES DAILY: Supreme Court Upholds Tennessee Ban on Gender-Affirming Care for Minors, The Trump administration is shutting down the national suicide hotline's program for LGBTQ youth, PBS funding cuts: A blow to children who need it most, "Madness": A retired brigadier general slams Trump’s military power grab, Miccosukee Tribe champions conservation effort to secure Florida’s wild lands, Inside the scrappy network of volunteers protecting their neighbors from ICE 18JUN25

 

June 18, 2025 Hi. It’s Al Letson, host of More To The Story. The news coming out of Los Angeles over the last couple of weeks has been troubling, to say the least. The National Guard is patrolling the streets. The Marines have been deployed. And protesters—the vast majority of whom have peacefully exercised their First Amendment rights opposing the Trump administration’s immigration raids—have been detained and intimidated. These last few weeks have felt like an inflection point—not just for those who oppose the administration’s policies and came out for the “No Kings” marches across the country, but also for the way the military is being wielded in the United States. That’s why I wanted to talk to someone like Greg Smith, a retired Army National Guard brigadier general. In his 35-year career, he’s seen riots and mass protests and even led the military’s response to the Boston Marathon bombing. Smith is worried about the direction of his beloved National Guard. He’s seeing the armed forces being asked to enforce a political agenda rather than defend the Constitution. And he’s not afraid to speak up about it. “I'm watching the military becoming co-opted by politicians, and where that leads is some really troubling places,” Smith says. “If that happens, the roots of our democracy are in extreme danger.”  I spoke with Smith about that and much, much more on this week’s More To The Story. I hope you give it a listen. —Al Letson

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Supreme Court Upholds Tennessee Ban on Gender-Affirming Care for Minors "[The court] authorizes, without second thought, untold harm to transgender children," Justice Sotomayor wrote in a dissent. BY MADISON PAULY

SPONSORED CONTENT BY ACLU Dissent is Not Grounds for Deportation - Protect Free Speech Today Tell Congress to defend our right to free speech and vote NO on any bill that would punish noncitizens for exercising their First Amendment rights. Send a message.

The Trump administration is shutting down the national suicide hotline's program for LGBTQ youth BY JULIA LURIE PBS funding cuts: A blow to children who need it most BY LAUREN COFFEY "Madness": A retired brigadier general slams Trump’s military power grab BY REVEAL Miccosukee Tribe champions conservation effort to secure Florida’s wild lands BY RICHARD LUSCOMBE

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Inside the scrappy network of volunteers protecting their neighbors from ICE On the ground with the Fuerza rapid response team in Waltham, Massachusetts. BY JULIA LURIE

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