The Bulletin

• Another earthquake strikes California: A 3.7 magnitude earthquake struck the Malibu area late Friday at approximately 11:44 p.m, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Know more.

• Social Security update: Republicans are discussing the prospect of making cuts to mandatory spending programs, which could include programs like Social Security and Medicare. Here's what we know.

• States hardest hit by Trump's tariffs: After President Donald Trump signed a memorandum initiating a new reciprocal tariff system, some states are slated to feel the effects more than others. See the map of states impacted.

• California health care plan: Since the expiration of COVID-19 related health care guarantees, public insurance coverage in California has dropped by over 850,000. Here's why.

• xAI vs OpenAI: The battle between Sam Altman and Elon Musk, two tech billionaires at the forefront of the AI race, took a personal turn in a recent interview. Newsweek asked experts for their thoughts.

• Layoffs at federal agencies: Mass layoffs targeting probationary employees across various federal agencies have started. Find out more.

• Trump backtracks on Energy Department layoffs: Trump administration has laid off between 1,200 and 2,000 employees at the Department of Energy, but appeared to partly backtrack amid safety concerns.

The rundown: President Donald Trump is less than a month into his second term and he has started with some of the best poll numbers he has ever seen during his time in politics. But within them is a curious contradiction. Newsweek asked experts for their views. Find out what they said.

Why it matters: Trump's favorability trend shows a sharp convergence since he won the election, as more Americans view him favorably and fewer unfavorably. However, since the beginning of his presidency, his unfavorable rating has crept back up. "Trump has consistently garnered poor favorability ratings. Americans object to many aspects of Trump's character: His disdain for the law, his grifting, his dishonesty, and his sexual harassment of women," said Allan Lichtman, professor of history, American University.

Read more in-depth coverage:
Trump's Early Immigration Crackdown Gets Mixed Reviews: Poll

TL/DR: Americans view Trump unfavorably while approving of the job he is doing.

What happens now? I expect to see presidents do well in their first month. Especially the ones who appear vigorous, said Jeffrey A. Engel, David Gergen director of the Center for Presidential History at Southern Methodist University.

Deeper reading Donald Trump's Contradictory Poll Numbers

The rundown: Many unlicensed pharmacies purporting to sell pharmaceutical drugs to unwitting customers are still thriving despite the efforts by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to stop them. These include nine websites that appear to be linked to one of the nine that federal authorities previously identified and seized. Here's how the illicit drug market continues to thrive.

Why it matters: The issue of drug safety has come to the fore as more Americans than ever turn to online pharmacies. Despite increasing federal action, Newsweek has found at least 14 online pharmacies that say they supply drugs to U.S. customers and appear to be illegitimate while computer forensic researchers have found hundreds more. "To protect patients, DEA and FDA try to identify fake pharmacy sites and shut them down, but it's like playing Whac-A-Mole—as soon as they take one site down, another one pops up," Marya Lieberman, an analytical chemist at the University of Notre Dame, told Newsweek.

Read more in-depth coverage:
Judge Orders Health Agencies to Restore Webpages That Trump Team Removed

TL/DR: Increasing demand for online pharmaceuticals has in turn raised concerns about the reputability of those who dispense them.

What happens now? Shabbir Safdar, the executive director of The Partnership for Safe Medicines, a coalition of 45 nonprofit groups working against the counterfeit drug trade, said that international cooperation is needed to combat these websites including by locking domain names based in other countries.

Deeper reading Revealed: Fake Online Pharmacies Thriving Despite DEA Crackdown

The rundown: The Hostages and Missing Families Forum, which has lobbied for the return of those captured by Hamas, described the latest release of three hostages as "a moment of light in the darkness," in a media statement shared with Newsweek.

Why it matters: Hamas has released three hostages captured during its rampage on southern Israel on October 7, 2023 in exchange for more than 300 Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails. The swap took place following days of uncertainty over a ceasefire in Gaza brokered after Israel's bombardment of Gaza that was triggered after the Hamas attack on October 7 which killed some 1,200 people and saw over 250 hostages taken. The Israeli campaign killed over 48,000 people, according to The Associated Press. Saturday's exchange is a signal that the fragile peace deal could remain intact.

Read more in-depth coverage:
Hamas Faces Last Stand in Gaza

TL/DR: Israeli authorities confirmed Hamas had handed over three hostages on Saturday,—Iair Horn, 46, Sagui Dekel Chen, 36, and Alexander (Sasha) Troufanov, 29. An estimated 73 hostages remain in captivity.

What happens now? The fate of the ceasefire has been unclear all week and Hamas said in a statement that the prisoner release showed no hostages could be released except through negotiations and adhering to the ceasefire agreement. However, fighting could start again if there is no deal reached on the truce's second phase, which calls for the return of all remaining hostages captured by Hamas and an indefinite extension of said truce.

Deeper reading Hamas Hostage Release: Families Speak Out Ahead of Emotional Reunion

The rundown: A slew of resignations sent tremors through Washington, D.C., this week, when more than half a dozen federal prosecutors quit over the department's directive to drop federal bribery charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams. Take a look at the rebellion brewing inside DOJ.

Why it matters: The sudden exodus has put the Manhattan U.S. attorney's office—long known as the "Sovereign District of New York" because of its fierce independence—at the forefront of a brewing battle between President Donald Trump's political appointees at the Department of Justice (DOJ) and career federal prosecutors. At least seven prosecutors, including the acting U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, resigned rather than obey the DOJ's order, which was issued by acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove. The resignations were all the more noteworthy given that they came from people with conservative credentials, some of whom were handpicked for the job by the Trump himself.

Read more in-depth coverage:
Eric Adams' Office Threatens to Sue Trump WH Over $80M in Migrant Funds

TL/DR: Danielle Sassoon, former acting head of the Southern District of New York (SDNY), submitted her resignation in a two-line letter Thursday.

What happens now? Some officials within the department fear the worst has yet to come and the Adams case being dropped is just the tip of the iceberg.

Deeper reading Eric Adams Pits the 'Sovereign District of New York' against Trump DOJ

The rundown: For generations, it's been taken as something of a political truism in America: young people start out on the left, then slowly move right as they grow older, settle down, have children and pax taxes. All of that convention wisdom came undone in November. Find out how.

Why it matters: In contrast, the 2024 Presidential election saw Gen Z, defined roughly as those between 18 and 29, moving in significant margins toward Donald Trump four years after young voters outright rejected him. With his decisive victory, Trump stunned political observers by making substantial gains among voters under 30. A majority of young voters, 55 percent, approve of the job Trump is doing as president, according to a CBS News/YouGov poll released ahead of the Super Bowl. A profound shift in the American electorate appears, at least so far, to be holding up in the first hectic weeks of the Trump administration.

Read more in-depth coverage:
Donald Trump's Gen Z Popularity Plunges

TL/DR: For the first time since 2008, the Democratic presidential candidate did not receive at least 60 percent support among young voters.

What happens now? Gen Z's embrace of Trump is part of a broader national trend showing the president enjoying some of the highest marks of his political career.

Deeper reading Inside the Political Divide Roiling Gen Z