AXIOS (April Rubin) - Trump opens the alien files: Why Americans lean into conspiracies
President Trump vowed this week to release the government's files on aliens and UFOs, the latest instance of declassifying records that have fueled Americans' fascination with conspiracies for decades. Why it matters: Beliefs about extraterrestrials and suspicion of government secrecy run deep for some, and researchers tell Axios that conspiracy theories often signal entrenched political or social notions. Driving the news: Last year, Trump declassified files related to the killings of John F. Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr. Interest in all three assassinations has long been fueled by conspiracy theories. - These selective releases of government files are priming Americans to "demand to see receipts about…