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What Happened Today – January 1, 2026

People keep believing him and getting burned.

Karen Atchison gave 41 years to the IRS. Tracy Hinnant gave 37. They took the government’s early retirement offer and haven’t seen a paycheck since September. They’re borrowing from their kids. 29,000 other retirees are starting month 4 with zero income. Meanwhile, Trump’s dabbing makeup on his bruises and admitting the MRI he bragged about wasn’t actually an MRI.

Customers paid $100 deposits in August for Trump’s gold phone. Multiple delays later, his family business blames the shutdown for missing another deadline. Most importantly, twenty million Americans woke up today paying double for health insurance because Congress couldn’t extend the subsidies.

America knew he was a serial liar and elected him anyway.

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🟢 GovBrief Intensity Score 76
Quiet day. Below-average activity.
Volume: Low (9)
Severity: Moderate (2.11)
Defining Moments: 0
Previous 5 Days
🚨156|🟠128|🟡91|🟢36|🟢42
100 = normal day. Volume is headline count. Stories weighted by significance. Defining Moments are the ones history remembers.
Today's Quote
I’ll just close. It’s very relaxing to me. Sometimes they’ll take a picture of me blinking, blinking, and they’ll catch me with the blink.
Donald Trump to the Wall Street Journal on January 1, 2026, explaining many pictures of him sleeping in public.
Yesterday's Most Read

NASA closes its largest research library Friday, with 100,000 volumes including irreplaceable Soviet-era space documents to be warehoused or thrown out as Goddard campus shrinks from 10,000 to 6,600 employees.

Today’s GovBrief News


Foreign Relations 1 of 9

Russia asks White House to end Coast Guard pursuit of oil tanker whose crew painted Russian flag on hull after U.S. military tried to board it in Caribbean.

Two tankers already seized by U.S.

Source: NewsNation

January 1, 2026

Health 2 of 9

Enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies expire overnight, with 20 million subsidized enrollees facing average 114% premium increases in 2026.

Source: The Associated Press

January 1, 2026

Health 3 of 9

Trump attributes hand bruises to 25-year daily aspirin regimen and minor cuts he covers with makeup, months after physician diagnosed chronic venous insufficiency.

Venous insufficiency diagnosed July

Source: Newsweek

January 1, 2026

Health 4 of 9

Trump now says he did not receive an MRI in October as he claimed, telling Wall Street Journal "it was less than that" after physician confirms it was a CT scan.

"I gave you the full results"

Source: Mediaite

January 1, 2026

Economy 5 of 9

SBA suspends 6,900 Minnesota borrowers over suspected COVID-era loan fraud totaling $400 million, a week after HHS froze child care payments citing YouTuber's video.

7,900 PPP & EIDL loans flagged

Source: The Hill

January 1, 2026

Federal Personnel 6 of 9

IRS retirees who took government's Deferred Resignation Program have received no income since September 30, with 29,000 retirement applications still pending at OPM.

112,000 federal employees retired FY2025

Source: WUSA Washington

January 1, 2026

Arts 7 of 9

Trump moves to reconstitute Commission of Fine Arts with loyalists months after firing all six Biden holdovers, as panel faces reviews of his ballroom and triumphal arch.

90,000 square foot ballroom proposed

Source: The Washington Post

January 1, 2026

Grift 8 of 9

Trump family business blames government shutdown for delayed delivery of $499 gold smartphone customers pre-ordered with $100 deposits in August.

$47.45 monthly plan references 47th president

Source: The Guardian

January 1, 2026

Fighting Back 9 of 9

Federal employees file class action complaint against Trump policy eliminating gender-affirming care coverage from federal health insurance as ban takes effect New Year's Day.

Policy announced August

Source: Reuters

January 1, 2026