They’re burning food meant for starving children.

And somehow that’s not even the most horrifying thing happening.

Last night didn’t feel like sleep. It felt like surveillance. My body was still, but my mind didn’t rest. And I know I’m not the only one.

It's not unusual for me to wake up at three in the morning. That’s just what my body does. I don’t even set an alarm. But last night, I woke up at one. Tossed and turned until four. It reminded me of those long nights during the 2008 crash. And how I felt in 2001, after the towers fell. Two completely different events, but the same dread, the same weight. Like something massive just broke, and no one knew how to put it back together.

In 2001, I remember thinking: Will we ever feel safe again? I was a new mom. And for the first time in my life, I didn’t feel safe. I was grief-stricken for the world my daughter was going to grow up in. It was all too much, and the world felt fragile. And what happened afterward stuck with me, too. The country came together. Even gangs in L.A. called a truce. That moment told me everything I needed to know. When even those at odds could see how serious something is, they found unity. They showed up for peace. It mattered.

Then, in 2008, the economy collapsed. I remember driving past restaurants that were always packed, and now empty. Friends asking to borrow $20 for diapers. Everyone I knew went through something. No one escaped the ripple effects.

And I feel it again. That same weight. That same restlessness.

This week, the housing market dropped by 10 percent. Inflation crept back up to 2.7 percent, the same level we were at in February. These are early warning signs. I am not an economist. I’m not pretending to be one. But I am good at patterns. I know how to read the signs. And I’m telling you: we are headed into something that feels too familiar.

The solar industry is collapsing. Jobs are vanishing across government sectors. Workers in fields like clean energy, people who committed their lives to building a better future, are being cast aside. Why? Because Trump doesn’t like them. It’s not policy. It’s not reasoned economics. It’s personal vendettas dressed up as government action.

And here’s where it gets even more telling. Over the weekend, a major announcement dropped, ten massive nuclear power plants are being planned across the country. And suddenly, it all clicks.

This wasn’t about energy. This was about clearing the competition.

Solar and wind were slashed. Entire industries gutted. And then, just like that, nuclear steps in. I think this was the plan all along. And I think Trump was manipulated into doing it. Because let’s be honest, he’s easily influenced. Someone probably told him, "You’ll look strong," or "You’ll go down in history," or maybe they promised him some cushy payout or praise. And he said yes.

Meanwhile, people are losing their jobs. Losing healthcare. Losing food access. Losing school resources. And this is just the beginning.

We are staring down a possible second Great Recession. And too many people are too numb to feel it yet. Or they see it, but they think Trump will fix it. That he has a plan. That everything will be better once he "drains the swamp" again.

But what if the swamp is him?

That brings me to the Epstein files.

Pam Bondi says those files, the ones she was hired to review, that were just sitting on her desk, but now they are gone, or never existed, or were created by Trump's favorite made-up scapegoats, the Democrats, or who knows what. Well, he thought he could make it disappear. He quickly learned that it's not that simple. Over the weekend, Trump posted on Truth Social defending her. Telling people to move on. To stop talking about it.

He wrote: "They’re all going after Attorney General Pam Bondi, who is doing a FANTASTIC JOB… We’re on one Team, MAGA, and I don’t like what’s happening… (let's) not waste Time and Energy on Jeffrey Epstein, somebody that nobody cares about. This was an excerpt from one of his long, rambling posts.

That post was ratioed to hell.

And now Mike Johnson, Speaker of the House, Trump’s most loyal ally, is saying Bondi needs to explain more. He said, and I quote, "She needs to come forward and explain that to everybody. I’m for transparency. We should put everything out there and let the people decide."

That is not nothing.

Why would he break ranks? Why would MAGA’s most obedient soldier suddenly challenge Trump?

Because he’s feeling pressure. Internally. Externally. Somewhere, something cracked.

This is why we don’t let up. This is why we keep going.

Now, to be clear: I don’t think the Epstein files are going to be the breaking point for everyone. I don’t think even if Trump’s name is all over them, even if he’s the biggest client, that it will matter to his base.

They will say he was doing research. Or that he repented. Or that every man deserves forgiveness. They will find a way to spin it. They always do.

This is the same man who bragged about inspecting Miss America contestants. Who said he walked into teen pageant dressing rooms as children who were 14-16 years old were changing, and inspected them. Who called women names on stage. Who was found liable for sexual abuse. Who paid hush money. Who boasted about grabbing women in inappropriate ways. Who has been married three times, and allegedly cheated on all of them.

So no, none of this would be shocking. Not to me. Not to anyone paying attention.

But Johnson breaking with Trump? That means something.

Because if this is the hill they’re willing to die on, and it’s making them squirm, then that means they know this might actually resonate. This might be the one place their base draws a line.

And if that’s the crack, then we push.

And while all of that is happening, something else powerful is happening too. Today, farm workers across the country went on strike. The strike is slated to last until the 18th, and they are calling for supporters to avoid grocery shopping during this time.

They’re demanding fair wages, basic protections, and dignity. They make sure we have the food we enjoy by picking it in 100-degree heat. These are the people who never got their "essential worker" bonus, who never got healthcare, who are often invisible until there’s a shortage in the grocery store. And today, they said: enough.

And I stand with them. Because when workers rise up, it’s not chaos, it’s democracy.

And in the middle of all of it, something unforgivable is unfolding: U.S. aid meant to feed children abroad is being incinerated.

Five months into Trump’s dismantling of foreign aid, nearly 500 metric tons of emergency food, enough to feed 1.5 million children for a week, are set to expire. Instead of distributing it to children in places like Afghanistan and Pakistan, the administration has reportedly given the order to burn it.

According to sources inside USAID, this isn’t just neglect. It’s a directive. Rations marked for crisis zones will soon be ash. The very food that could have kept children alive through hunger and instability is being destroyed for optics, for politics, for cruelty disguised as control.

It’s not incompetence. It’s intention.

Because cruelty is now part of the strategy.

But I need to be honest about something else.

This is my full-time job now. All day, every day, I’m researching, reading, writing, and choosing which stories to tell. And I have to pick. Because there are too many. Too many atrocities. Too many lies. Too many dangerous decisions.

And it wears on me. At the end of the day, I have to sit with all the pain and suffering that I learned about that day. I’m saying it because I know I’m not alone. I know so many of you feel it too. The weight. The fatigue. The anger.

And I know that there are many carrying burdens beyond the administration's atrocities. That you have hardships in your own lives. It must feel insurmountable. And yet, you're still here, because you know what is on the line. You know we have to keep going. And I want to acknowledge how brave and strong you are.

We don’t have the luxury of checking out. Not right now. We don’t get to take a day off from this just because we’re tired. But what we can do is protect our humanity.

I have guardrails. I don’t call for violence. Not because I don’t understand the rage. But because once I lose that piece of myself, I don’t know what’s left. We are up against cruelty, propaganda, and authoritarianism. But I will not become what I’m fighting. And I don’t think you will either.

Because this movement is about something better.

This is about making sure our kids have schools. That our neighbors have jobs. That people can go to the doctor. That decency means something again.

This is about standing up to power and saying: No more.

If you’ve found these posts helpful, please share this with someone who needs to know they’re not alone in this. That they’re not imagining it. That there is still a space for people who care.

I’m not stopping until we take back our country.

And I will do everything I can to make sure we don’t fall.

So if you’re feeling like I am, tired, angry, but still here, just know this:

You’re not alone.

You are part of something.

You are the resistance.

We are not powerless. We are paying attention. And we are louder than they want us to be.

We might live in the Divided States of Trump.

But we fight for the United States of Decency.

I’ll see you tomorrow,

Heather

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