PopInfo Weekly: Praise, payoffs, and peanuts
A new financial disclosure from President Trump reveals that he has made thousands of stock trades in 2026. A Popular Information investigation found that several stock purchases were made on the same day Trump publicly praised the companies, or shortly thereafter. For example, Trump purchased between $15,000 and $50,000 in Thermo Fisher stock on the same day that he visited one of the company’s facilities.
When confronted by a reporter with Popular Information’s reporting about Trump’s stock trades, Vice President JD Vance offered a sarcastic and contradictory response. Vance accused the reporter of not being “objective,” before adding that he and Trump favored banning members of Congress from trading stocks. While Popular Information’s reporting picked up steam, several major outlets ignored Trump’s stock trades altogether or published pieces lacking critical context.
Trump has repeatedly belittled the economic impact of the Iran War on Americans. On Tuesday, Trump compared high gas prices to “peanuts.” But according to the Iran War Energy Cost Tracker from Brown University, Americans have spent an extra $43.6 billion on fuel costs because of the Iran War. Each U.S. household has paid over $330 in additional costs across both gasoline and diesel.
A new report by the California Department of Justice reveals a human rights crisis in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facilities across the state. The report cited Popular Information’s reporting about the Trump administration’s October decision to stop paying third parties for medical care for detainees. The Cal DOJ concluded that the move “has caused widespread disruption in the provision of appropriate medical care at facilities in California.”
The best of the rest
Memphis community members sue Trump administration officials over immigration operation. Over 2,700 officers are stationed in Memphis, Tennessee, as part of an immigration operation that’s been happening since September. Community members are now suing, arguing that “agents are engaged in a pattern of intimidation and retaliation that hampers their First Amendment rights to record the police.” (Mother Jones)
Election officials are preparing for the possibility of ICE at polling locations. The Trump administration has refused to rule out sending ICE agents to polling locations in the upcoming midterm elections. Election officials told WIRED that they have “major concerns” about the possibility. One said he had “actively planned for a scenario in which he’s arrested.” (WIRED)
The future of nuclear waste clean up is uncertain at some of the country’s most contaminated sites. According to a NOTUS report from this week, the Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management has lost over 50% of its staff that manages nuclear waste — with most of the losses coming after the Trump administration encouraged federal employees to quit. (NOTUS)
What happens when your lawyer tells a judge to rule against you? ProPublica and the Philadelphia Inquirer identified 50 cases since 2018 in which court-appointed lawyers for people seeking to overturn their convictions in Philadelphia told judges that their clients’ cases had no merit — only for their clients to be granted new trials or sentences later on. While these lawyers say they were working with the facts available to them, the clients — whose appeals were sometimes set back years — wonder how closely the lawyers actually looked at their cases. (ProPublica)
Numerical information
$1.776 billion: This week, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that it was creating a $1.776 billion “Anti-Weaponization Fund” to compensate Trump’s allies as part of a settlement agreement in Trump’s lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
$5 million: The amount that big tobacco company Reynolds American donated to Trump’s super PAC just a week before the Trump administration introduced a new policy that would allow Reynolds American and other companies to cash in on selling flavored vapes.
$4.56: The average price of a gallon of gas nationwide as of Thursday, according to AAA.
Quote of the week
“You know who never, ever gets an ounce of sympathy when it comes to disproportionate sentencing? [It] is people who voted for Donald Trump and participated in the January 6 protest.” — J.D. Vance
Photo of the week
graft and grift are part of tRumps DNA.
Judd, you are so remarkable - brave, intelligent, committed - I am so grateful for you and I learned about you from Nicholas Kristol, another journalist/human being I so admire!! I receive 2 "Paid Subsccriber" emails from you daily, plus one "Unpaid" - I would like to just send a donation if I could, and continue - ALL OF US who read of your incredible work are so lucky to be a part of your community. THANK YOU.