Going nuclear: America’s war-fighting machine is getting a much-needed tune-up. Heritage Senior Policy Advisor Wilson Beaver explains the historic steps the Trump administration is taking to modernize America’s defenses. 

• The priorities are “lethality, warfighting, getting back to basics, and focusing on the things that the troops need to succeed in combat,” said Beaver. 
• Significantly, the administration is upgrading America’s nuclear capabilities to ensure that the country doesn’t fall further behind China. 

Learn more here on this episode of Heritage Explains. 

Population bust: Climate anxiety is fueling the demographic collapse of the West, but it won’t save the planet, writes Diana Furchtgott-Roth, director of the Center for Energy, Climate, and Environment.

• “Rather than constraining economic growth to preserve pre-industrial temperatures, sound policy would accelerate the development that has made the world more livable,” she concludes.

Read her piece in The Telegraph here.

Our story: In an interview with former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who contributed to Heritage’s Guide to Historic Sites, Brenda Hafera—associate director of the Simon Center—explained why celebrating America’s 250th is so important for the American people.

• “America 250 is a unique opportunity to rediscover the American story, to rediscover our history, to revisit the principles that we’re dedicated to,” Hafera said.

Listen to the podcast episode on X.

Charlotte’s districts: The Democrats’ hope of squeezing more votes out by gerrymandering districts faces a problem, notes election law expert Hans von Spakovsky—geography.

• “Their voters are concentrated in big urban cities,” he said on the Signal Sitdown Podcast. “So, the only way they can increase the number of districts they have is to draw up these twisted, bizarre districts” that, he says, look like spiderwebs. 

Watch the entire podcast here.

False: We keep being told how divided we are as a nation. But is it true? When it comes to hot-button issues like gender ideology and DEI, Americans are not as split as it would seem, Jonathan Butcher, acting director of the Center for Education Policy, says in his forthcoming book, “The Polarization Myth.”

• Butcher argues that a renewed focus on character, virtue, and our shared national identity can unite us in pursuit of the American Dream.

Pre-order Butcher’s book on Amazon here.

Take the hint: For many Americans, their wallets determine their vote. With recent polls showing that a whopping 41% of Americans say their finances are getting worse, President Trump needs to buckle down on economic policy that will relieve the pressure, writes Rob Bluey, president of The Daily Signal.

• “The economy remains the unmistakable kingmaker in American politics—and right now, it’s sending a warning the GOP cannot ignore,” Bluey writes.

Read more here.

Justice for all: The Left unjustly waged lawfare against those who fought for election integrity in the 2020 election, and Visiting Fellow Mike Howell says President Trump may still be able to pardon many of them. 

• “We need our election integrity warriors back out there, and they can’t get back out there with these criminal charges,” said Howell. 

Listen to the full discussion on the Swamp Justice podcast on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. 

America’s Founding Fathers are endlessly fascinating figures, and we all have a duty to learn about them.

• That’s why we published American Founders: Leaders at the Creation of the Republic.
• In this free eBook, you’ll learn how the Founders created the greatest nation in the world, and delve deep into the lives of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and others.

Click here to get your free copy today!

A big win: Last year, Heritage hosted a conference in Phoenix, Ariz., to explore a conservative vision for education. It resulted in the Phoenix Declaration: An American Vision for Education.

• Last week, Florida’s Board of Education unanimously voted to adopt the Phoenix Declaration as “the guiding principles for education in Florida.” It is the first state to do so.

Read the announcement here and the declaration here.

More than 30 years ago, Congress created the H-1B visa to bring a limited number of skilled, specialty workers to fill a need in the U.S. economy. Over time, like many other immigration programs, H-1B has expanded far beyond its original conception in both numbers and what occupations it covers. Join experts for a discussion of the current state of the H-1B visa and the reforms needed to put American workers first. 

 

Nov. 19, 10:30 a.m. Register here. 

• Report: Practical Steps to Break the Ice at the Poles: Realizing the Promise of the ICE Pact—Jordan Embree and Anna Gustafson
• How the Marines Are Working to Solve Their Logistics Problem—Mike Jernigan
• The Government Gives Too Much Authority to Leftist Academics, and That Needs to Stop—Eugene Kontorovich
• Transitioning from Coal Through ‘Creative Destruction’—Austin Gae
• Regions Bank’s Future Depends on Renewed Fiduciary Focus—Allen Mendenhall, Ph.D.
• Trump Has Made the Border Secure Again—But Now the Hard Part Begins—Simon Hankinson
• Mamdani Is a Warning for Western Civilization—Mike Gonzalez
• Hallowed Ground: 5 Military Sites That Shaped America’s Freedom—Gillian Richards Augros and Julia Dasaro
• Trump Moves Onward and Forward with the ‘Club of Strength’ —Anthony B. Kim

Steve Yates, senior research fellow for China, appeared on Fox News to discuss America’s dependence on China for rare earth minerals. He said that under President Trump, the U.S. is on the right trajectory to regain independence, but “we still have a long way to go.”  Watch the clip on X.