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As the Iran War drags on, Trump has repeatedly belittled the economic impact of the conflict on Americans. On Tuesday, T...
05/21/2026

As the Iran War drags on, Trump has repeatedly belittled the economic impact of the conflict on Americans. On Tuesday, Trump said that high gas prices amounted to “peanuts.”

But according to The Iran War Energy Cost Tracker at Brown University, the Iran War has caused Americans to spend an additional $43.6 billion on fuel costs so far.

The tracker, which compares actual prices to an estimate of prices without the war, estimates that each U.S. household has paid an extra $331 across both gasoline and diesel.

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As the Iran War drags on, President Trump has repeatedly belittled the economic impact of the conflict on Americans.

On Monday, Popular Information broke the news that President Trump publicly praised two companies, Thermo Fisher Scienti...
05/20/2026

On Monday, Popular Information broke the news that President Trump publicly praised two companies, Thermo Fisher Scientific and Apple, the same day he bought their stock.

Other major media outlets have not only failed to report on the damning timing of Trump’s stock trades, but have failed to mention Trump’s May 14 financial disclosure at all. Media outlets who have ignored the story completely as of Tuesday evening include Business Insider, CBS, CNN, Fox News, NPR, PBS, Politico, and Semafor.

Even among media outlets that covered Trump’s stock transactions, the coverage lacked critical context.

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Vance attacks reporter, offers sarcastic and contradictory response.

During the second Trump administration, the population detained by ICE has ballooned. But little is known about what act...
05/19/2026

During the second Trump administration, the population detained by ICE has ballooned. But little is known about what actually goes on inside ICE detention facilities.

The California DOJ, however, just released a detailed accounting of conditions at ICE facilities in the state. The report reveals a human rights crisis, including grossly inadequate access to medical care.

The Cal DOJ review team, citing Popular Information’s reporting, investigated the impact of the Trump administration’s October decision to stop processing payments for third parties who provide medical care for ICE detainees.

Cal DOJ concluded that decision “has caused widespread disruption in the provision of appropriate medical care at facilities in California.”

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During the second Trump administration, the population detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has ballooned.

On March 11, President Trump took a tour of a manufacturing facility owned by Thermo Fisher Scientific, a medical supply...
05/18/2026

On March 11, President Trump took a tour of a manufacturing facility owned by Thermo Fisher Scientific, a medical supply company. During the tour, Trump lavished praise on Thermo Fisher.

Trump did not mention that, the same day of the tour, March 11, he purchased between $15,000 and $50,000 of Thermo Fisher stock. Trump did not publicly disclose the purchase until May 14.

At the time of Trump’s effusive remarks about Thermo Fisher, he had purchased as much as $215,000 worth of the company’s stock over the previous month.

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Trump publicly praised companies the same day he bought their stock.

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and Acting Undersecretary Jules Hurst answered questions about the cost of the Iran War wh...
05/14/2026

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and Acting Undersecretary Jules Hurst answered questions about the cost of the Iran War while testifying before House and Senate Committees.

“Now we think it’s closer to 29 [billion],” Hurst said. There was no explanation of how this figure was calculated or documentation of any kind.

Writing for Popular Information, analyst Stephen Semler estimated the Iran War cost $72 billion in the first 60 days. Other independent estimates are even higher.

Nevertheless, most major media outlets simply repeated the $29 billion estimate as if it was credible.

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This week, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and Acting Undersecretary Jules Hurst, the Pentagon’s Chief Financial Officer, answered questions about the cost of the Iran War while testifying before House and Senate Committees.

A large network of prominent regional newspapers has posted thousands of low-quality articles promoting gambling and pre...
05/14/2026

A large network of prominent regional newspapers has posted thousands of low-quality articles promoting gambling and prediction markets — and is pretending it's journalism.

A Popular Information investigation found that Advance Local, which owns several award-winning newspapers, has quietly published more than 17,000 online articles since 2022 pushing promo codes for sports books, online casinos and, more recently, prediction markets.

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A large network of prominent regional newspapers has posted thousands of low-quality articles promoting gambling and prediction markets — and is pretending it's journalism.

Since his return to the White House, Trump has repeatedly claimed that major cities across the U.S. are overrun with cri...
05/12/2026

Since his return to the White House, Trump has repeatedly claimed that major cities across the U.S. are overrun with crime. Trump has specifically targeted cities run by Democrats, calling them “unsafe” and “crime-ridden.”

But according to a report by the Major Cities Chiefs Association (MCCA), in 2026, violent crime has decreased further in cities across the country, including many of the Democratic cities Trump has targeted.

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Since his return to the White House, President Trump has repeatedly claimed that major cities across the United States are overrun with crime.

On June 16, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump announced the launch of Trump Mobile. The new venture’s flagship product was...
05/11/2026

On June 16, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump announced the launch of Trump Mobile. The new venture’s flagship product was “a sleek, gold smartphone engineered for performance“ called the T1 Phone.

The Trump Mobile website, which launched the same day, encouraged customers to deposit $100 to “pre-order” the “MADE IN THE USA ‘T1 Phone.” According to the website, the T1 would be available in September 2025.

As of May 2026, no T1 phones have been sent to customers and the Trump Mobile website currently provides no estimate of when the T1 will be available.

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For 11 months, Trump Mobile has been collecting $100 deposits for a Trump phone. No phones have shipped to customers.

State Farm spent an astounding $1.139 billion on advertising in 2025 promoting the message that it is a relatable and et...
05/08/2026

State Farm spent an astounding $1.139 billion on advertising in 2025 promoting the message that it is a relatable and ethical company that will be there to assist you when you need them.

According to an enforcement action filed by the California Department of Insurance (CDI) this week, the experience of being a State Farm customer has little in common with the advertising copy.

CDI “announced a major enforcement action against State Farm General Insurance Company after an expedited investigation uncovered significant mishandling of insurance claims filed by survivors of the 2025 Los Angeles wildfires.”

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"So forget what we told you. It ain’t worth squat."

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and Acting Comptroller Jules Hurst told Congress last week that the Iran War had cost $25 ...
05/07/2026

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and Acting Comptroller Jules Hurst told Congress last week that the Iran War had cost $25 billion through the first 60 days.

The next day, CBS reported that officials familiar with the Pentagon’s internal assessments estimated the cost was actually closer to $50 billion. However, even the figure reported as the war’s “true cost” is at least $22 billion too low.

Popular Information conducted a cost estimate of the Iran War based on officials’ statements, military procurement and operations data, and reporting on deployments and armament use. Through 60 days, the US spent an estimated $71.8 billion on the Iran War, or $1.2 billion per day on average.

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Popular Information crunches the numbers. The official accounting is at least $47 billion too low.

On October 3, the Trump administration abruptly stopped paying third-parties for medical care provided to detainees in t...
05/05/2026

On October 3, the Trump administration abruptly stopped paying third-parties for medical care provided to detainees in the custody of ICE.

According to the ICE Health Service Corps (IHSC), payments to third parties were supposed to resume on April 30. But when April 30 arrived, payments to third party medical providers did not resume.

For more than seven months, third parties have not been able to be reimbursed for medical services provided to ICE. This has coincided with a massive spike in detainee deaths and medical crises.

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The termination of payments to providers has coincided with a massive spike in detainee deaths and medical crises.

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