The government is partially shutting down. The 2026 midterms are here. And to top it all off, more Epstein files are being released. The U.S. has so much going on right now, and with that comes information that is tossed around constantly. Trying to narrow it down to the facts and what matters is difficult. The first thing to be addressed is the partial government shutdown.

Government shutdown 

On February 14th, the government partially shut down; specifically, the DHS was hit by the partial shutdown because Congress could not agree on funding for the agency. According to a CNN article, this is mainly because people are urging the Senate Democrats to negotiate reforms after the fatal shootings of two US citizens in Minneapolis. This will not directly affect any of us, and if people were worried about the government having to shut down air travel because of this, they can be relieved of that worry, because air travel has already received funding for this year. As for the agencies under the DHS, like ICE and CBP, employees could be left with limited paychecks or none at all, but they will continue to function normally.

2026 midterms

There will be a major change in Michigan as Governor Whitmer has served here full-time as governor. Three primary candidates are looking to take over as governor of Michigan that everyone should know about, according to CBS News and Bridge Michigan. The first is Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan. He is a controversial candidate because he left the democratic party and became an independent, leaving both democrats and republicans outraged. The clear frontrunner for the democrats according to Bridge Michigan, is Jocelyn Benso, and for the 

Epstein Files

Lastly, we have the hottest topic in the U.S.: the Epstein files. The Justice Department released another 3 million pages of documents, 2,000 images, and 180,000 videos. Half of which are blacked out (this is not an accurate fact; it is meant to be a joke). This has caused many people to step down or be fired from their jobs. According to the NYT, Thomas Pritzak stepped down from his executive chairman role at Hyatt Hotels. Columbia University punished two people for allowing Epstein’s girlfriend into its dental college. The power of being in these files is clear, and they are causing major consequences for lots of people. Along with this, Pam Bondi, U.S. attorney general, is being questioned on the handling of the Epstein files. Democrats are questioning the redactions of names in the files and her alignment with President Trump’s agenda.