White House Tells Republicans To Stop Talking About ‘Mass Deportation’
Plus: Pentagon’s Year-End Spending Spree Raises Eyebrows
For all the times you’ve let negative comments slide — whether from a nagging in-law or a frustrating co-worker — new research suggests those encounters may actually make you age faster.
STUDY: Funded by the National Institute on Aging and published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the study focuses on the physical health effects of “hasslers,” or people in your life who generally make life more difficult.
FINDINGS: Hasslers increased participants’ chronic stress. Each additional hassler in someone’s life increased their pace of aging by about 1.5%.
Translation: Instead of aging one biological year per calendar year, someone with an extra hassler might age about 1.015 years in that same time. And that effect increases with each hassler in their life.
THE GOOD NEWS: Positive relationships can do the opposite. Researchers note that strong social networks are linked to lower risks of cognitive decline and even help slow aging.
Before you cut all the hasslers out of your life, remember the adage: “every cloud has a silver lining.”
Mo News Team
P.S. Some Mo News advice: don’t share this story with your significant other 😉
🚨 ONE IMPORTANT THING
White House Tells House Republicans To Stop Talking About ‘Mass Deportation’
White House officials are urging House Republicans to avoid talking about “mass deportations” ahead of the midterm elections, and instead focus on deporting violent criminals.
It’s a stark change from President Trump’s 2024 campaign message, where signs at the Republican National Convention read “Mass Deportation Now.” Trump had campaigned on launching the largest deportation program in U.S. history.
BEHIND THE CHANGE
Last week, as Republican members of Congress gathered for a retreat in Florida, White House Deputy Chief of Staff James Blair and Rep. Lisa McClain (R-MI) urged lawmakers to change their messaging on immigration, Axios reported.
The shift follows the killing of two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis and accusations that agents are prioritizing arrest quotas instead of targeting serious criminals. There’s also pushback from the courts about a lack of oversight and potential constitutional violations. Polling suggests public frustration is growing.
A Washington Post–ABC News–Ipsos poll from last month found 58% of Americans say the Trump administration’s deportation strategy has gone too far — eight points higher than last fall.
Politico polling from January found that 1 in 5 Trump voters called his mass deportation campaign too aggressive.
The same Washington Post poll found that 62% opposed the aggressive tactics of ICE after immigration officials fatally shot two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis earlier this year.
While Democrats were much more likely to say they oppose ICE tactics than Republicans, so did about a quarter of Republicans.
At the same time, the poll found that two-thirds of self-described MAGA supporters were satisfied with immigration enforcement policies, and 21% said they think the Trump administration has not been aggressive enough.
There are complaints among some MAGA supporters on social media that the White House's walk-back on mass deportation is an abandonment of Trump’s campaign promise. Translation: Republicans have the challenge of appealing to their base GOP voters while also trying to tone down their language to win back independents.
Asked last month about deporting otherwise law-abiding undocumented immigrants, Trump told The Washington Post he wants “everybody” deported, “but we’re focusing on the criminals. We’re focusing on killers.”
STATE OF DEPORTATIONS
The Department of Homeland Security said nearly 3 million undocumented migrants left the U.S. in Trump’s first year back in office, including about 2.2 million self-deportations and more than 675,000 deportations.
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🚨 ONE THING GETTING ATTENTION
Lobster Tails, Crab, Steinway Piano: Pentagon’s Year-End Spending Spree Raises Eyebrows
The Pentagon is facing fresh scrutiny after a watchdog analysis found the Defense Department spent millions of dollars on high-end food purchases at the end of the 2025 fiscal year — though analysts say the spending surge follows a long-standing pattern across administrations.
BIG SPENDERSThe nonprofit watchdog group Open the Books reviewed Pentagon contracting data for September 2025, the final month of the federal fiscal year, when agencies often accelerate spending to avoid losing unused funds under "use it or lose it" rules.
According to the report, the Defense Department spent $93.4 billion on contracts and grants in September alone, the largest monthly total tracked by the group since at least 2008.
SURF AND TURF: The Pentagon spent about $15 million on ribeye steak and nearly $7 million on lobster tail in September, along with $2 million on Alaskan king crab, $1 million on salmon, and nearly $140,000 on doughnuts.
The department bought $124,000 worth of ice cream machines and $26,000 in sushi prep tables
LUXURIES AND OTHER EXPENSES: The DoD also spent $1.8 million on musical instruments, including a $98,329 Steinway piano for the Air Force chief of staff’s home, $5.9 billion on IT and telecommunications — including $2.4 billion on laptops and software — and $225.6 million on furniture.
MORE CONTEXT: The Pentagon's spending on some items, like furniture, is actually lower than what it was during the Obama administration, in which the military spent $300 to $400 million every September.
In the final five working days of the month, the department spent $50.1 billion — more than the entire annual defense budgets of some U.S. allies, like Israel.
Last year’s spending is drawing renewed scrutiny after the Trump administration pushed federal spending cuts through its Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) initiative.
COMMUNITY NOTES
Mo News community members shared their reactions to the Pentagon’s purchases and the “use it or lose it” budget policy. ⬇️
⏳ THE SPEED READ
🚨NATION
Harris, Fuller to face off in Georgia special election for MTG seat (AXIOS)
Tornadoes hit Illinois, Indiana and Texas as severe storms sweep US (GUARDIAN)
Homeland Security reactivates major Global Entry program for travelers amid shutdown (FOX)
Kansas revoked 1,700 transgender drivers’ licenses. Some are leaving the state. (NBC)
🇮🇷 IRAN WAR
Iran’s new supreme leader was injured in legs on 1st day of war – report (TIMES OF ISRAEL)
Hezbollah, Iran unleash coordinated cluster bomb strikes on Israel in major escalation (FOX)
One Iranian football team member changes mind after Australia grants asylum (AL JAZEERA)
Humanitarian crisis looms in Lebanon where nearly 750,000 people have been displaced by war (NBC)
🌎 AROUND THE WORLD
British PM was warned of ‘reputational risk’ over Mandelson’s ties to Epstein, files show (CNN)
World War II bomb weighing 550 pounds defused in Germany after thousands of people evacuated (CBS)
Bus fire in western Switzerland leaves at least 6 dead, 4 injured (AP)
📱BUSINESS, SCIENCE & TECH
Boycott over Target’s DEI rollback ends, activists say (MO NEWS)
Americans are losing $119 billion every year to scams (MO NEWS)
IEA agrees to release record 400 million barrels of oil to address Iran war supply disruption (CNBC)
Meta acquires Moltbook, the AI agent social network that went viral because of fake posts (TECH CRUNCH)
Male fertility rates crash as doctors reveal health threats, but unsure why (FOX)
🎬 SPORTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Prosecutor says Rihanna, A$AP Rocky, 3 kids were home when woman charged with attempted murder fired (AP)
Katie Perry v Katy Perry: Sydney fashion designer wins 16-year trademark dispute with US pop star (GUARDIAN)
Miami Heat star Bam Adebayo makes NBA history with 83-point game (FOX)
Quentin Tarantino’s sets 2027 West End debut for his first play (VARIETY)
ICYMI FROM THE 📲
In case you missed it… The 90s DMed, and they want their style back.
Celebrities like Drew Barrymore, Mario Lopez, and Reese Witherspoon are posting photos of themselves from the 1990s, set to “Iris” by the Goo Goo Dolls. Fashion choices from the decade included baggy jeans, flannel shirts, and grungy haircuts. 🤘