🙏“Thoughts and Prayers” Edition

Just days before a deadly mass shooting rocked Midtown Manhattan, the Trump administration helpfully slashed over half of all federal funding for gun violence prevention—because being “tough on crime” apparently means firing the people trying to stop it.

In April, Team Trump quietly canceled 69 Justice Department grants aimed at stopping shootings before they start, yanking $158 million from programs that worked with community groups, hospitals, and universities. The official explanation? These grants “no longer effectuate the program’s goals”—translation: not enough police tanks or campaign donors.

The Department of Justice declared these programs—designed to mediate conflict, support victims, and interrupt cycles of violence—no longer aligned with the agency’s “priorities,” which now seem to involve funneling cash back to law enforcement and hoping for the best.