What's Happening

US News

Violence Hits Trump's Immigration Agenda

What's going on: For the second time this year, an ICE facility in Texas came under fire. The Department of Homeland Security said a gunman killed one detainee and critically injured two others in Dallas on Wednesday morning. Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons identified the shooter as 29-year-old Joshua Jahn. Officials say he fired from a nearby roof, aiming “indiscriminately” at a transport van carrying detainees before turning the gun on himself. Jahn’s motive remains unclear. The FBI classified the shooting as “targeted violence,” and investigators said they found ammunition with anti-ICE messages scrawled on it. Mexico’s foreign ministry said one of the critically injured detainees is a Mexican national. 

What it means: The attack quickly became political fodder. President Donald Trump and top admin officials, including Vice President JD Vance, blamed anti-ICE and anti-law enforcement narratives. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said the killings “must serve as a wake-up call to the far-left that their rhetoric about ICE has consequences.” Others countered that the administration’s hardline immigration stance — and its increased deportation efforts — fueled tensions. Immigrant rights groups say dehumanizing language from the top is actively putting communities in danger. Analysts said the rush to assign blame mirrored the fallout after Charlie Kirk’s killing, adding to the growing concern over how quickly violence can be used to advance political agendas.

Related: The Trump Admin’s Mangione-Kirk Rhetoric Is Raising Red Flags (NBC)

Health

An Experimental Treatment Offers New Hope for Huntington's

What's going on: For the first time, a gene therapy trial successfully treated Huntington’s disease. The inherited genetic illness destroys brain cells over time, which can lead to paralysis and death. If a parent has Huntington’s, their child faces a 50% chance of inheriting it. Now, researchers believe they can help. They’ve developed a one-time gene therapy delivered during brain surgery that lasts 12 to 20 hours. The results: It slowed the disease’s progression by 75% after three years. 

What it means: This isn’t a cure, but it’s a major step forward. The lead researcher said this treatment could help people with Huntington’s stay independent longer and encourage earlier testing. Early therapy — often in a patient’s 30s or 40s — might even prevent symptoms from emerging at all. Still, the study only included 29 participants. It also remains unclear who will gain access, when it will be available, and at what cost. Other gene therapies for different conditions have carried multimillion-dollar price tags.

Related: New White House Cuts Spark Heated Animal Testing Debate (CBS)

Money

RushTok Is the New Side Hustle

What's going on: Years ago, making money in college meant side gigs at the campus café and internships (if you were lucky enough to get a paid one). Today, the real money is in influencing — and the perfect launchpad is sorority recruitment. Since RushTok first went viral in 2021, both brands and students have treated it like a Super Bowl of self-promotion. Much like college athletes chasing endorsement deals, sororities now partner with companies eager to reach a younger audience — from prebiotic soda brand Poppi to Skims. Sorority sisters treat rush week dances as auditions, aiming to go viral. If they do, it can ultimately lead to free concert tickets, trips, mascara, and, rarest of all, a debt-free education. 

What it means: Partnerships now come with serious budgets, and some chapters even employ brand coordinators to manage deals. The sorority-to-influencer pipeline makes sense for this generation — sororities have always emphasized branding (the dress code is just the beginning…), and one poll found that more than half of Gen Zers want to be influencers. But critics say this trend is essentially capitalism with a ring light, amplified by sororities’ long history of exclusion. They point out that the students benefiting most from these promotions are often rich, conventionally attractive, and mostly white — rewarded not for originality, but for fitting the algorithm’s preferred aesthetic.

Related: The So-Called Queen of RushTok Is Making Six Figures (AL.com)

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Game Time

Brick Breaker meets word search in Spelltower, your new favorite game. For every word you find, letter tiles disappear. The fewer tiles left when you run out of words, the better your score. Try it.