Just published: Nothing Left: Confessions of a Democratic Operative by Evan Barker. “In August 2024, standing on the floor of the Democratic National Convention, Barker hit her breaking point. In that moment, she saw what no one inside the party dared admit: the Democrats had lost their way, and there was no path back.”

“President Trump said Wednesday that he believes Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei is alive but badly wounded from a February airstrike — dismissing speculation that he is secretly dead despite being unseen throughout the U.S.-Israeli war with his country,” the New York Post reports. Said Trump: “He was very seriously wounded, but I don’t think […]

A new Texas Southern University poll of the Texas Senate race finds James Talarico (D) with a solid lead over Ken Paxton (R) in three congressional districts that President Donald Trump carried by double digits. And don’t miss the new Polling Dashboard for the latest.

“Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner said Tuesday he was going to keep a piece of President Donald Trump’s White House ballroom as a paperweight ‘after we all blow it up,'” Fox News reports. Said Krasner: “In about 10 to 15 years, we are all going to be sitting here with smiles on our faces. And […]

“Maine gubernatorial candidate Bobby Charles said he plans to ask White House border czar Tom Homan to send U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to Maine polling stations this election season,” NOTUS reports. “If Charles succeeds, the move could validate long-held fears by many in the Democratic Party that President Donald Trump could use immigration […]

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins was interviewed on Spectrum News: REPORTER: Which countries are we importing the beef from? ROLLINS: I will be very transparent, I am actually not part of those conversations. I am not sure.

“A federal appeals court is allowing two federal assault charges against Rep. LaMonica McIver (D-NJ) stemming from an oversight visit to Delaney Hall Detention Facility to move forward, finding she does not have legislative immunity from the charges,” MS NOW reports.

“When President Trump stormed into American politics, he sought to tear down the hawkish Republican establishment represented by the likes of Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina. His project was a smashing success,” the New York Times reports. “Ten years later, in a quick effort that culminated last night, he pulled out all the stops […]

Just published: Poetic Justice for Donald Trump: The Only Kind We’re Going to Get by Buck Banks. A compilation of satirical limericks ripped from the headlines during the Trump era.

“Three pro-Israel Democrats have been given key roles on a powerful congressional body overseeing U.S. foreign policy in a move rounding sharply counter to popular sentiment within the party and likely to anger leftwing activists,” The Guardian reports.

“House GOP leaders are aiming to put a Senate-passed stopgap spending bill on the floor early next week, in the first days back in session after a five-week recess,” Politico reports. “The quick vote, coming almost a full month before the government funding deadline, underscores how Republican leaders are intent on avoiding a government shutdown […]

“State and cities nationwide are rebelling against the White House’s push to withhold millions of dollars in police and anti-terrorism funding unless they impose new voting rules,” Axios reports. “President Trump’s effort to impose election policies that he hasn’t been able to get through Congress has now drawn two lawsuits from state and local governments […]

President Donald Trump said he has “no time schedule” for when he expects Iran to return to the negotiating table to end the conflict the U.S. began months ago, Al Jazeera reports. Said Trump: “I have no time schedule, none. I’m not in a hurry. I have no time schedule at all.” He added: “We […]

“A federal judge in Texas struck down a 2023 state law Tuesday that sought to restrict drag shows, ruling it was unconstitutional,” NBC News reports. Wrote U.S. District Judge David Hittner, a Reagan appointee, had advice for those opposed: “The solution is relatively simple… just don’t go.”

New York Times: “Dean Roy is not eligible to vote, not even close. He cannot legally drink alcohol, and on looks alone, is at risk of being booted from an R-rated movie theater. He must drive with an adult in the passenger seat.” “He is, however, running for governor in his home state of Vermont […]

“Democratic-controlled states on Wednesday filed another lawsuit challenging President Donald Trump’s executive order seeking to limit mail voting in this year’s midterm elections,” the Associated Press reports. “The action, filed by about two dozen states against the U.S. Postal Service, marked a new phase in the high-stakes litigation just two days after the Supreme Court […]

“President Trump said that country music star Dolly Parton ‘really liked me,’ but stayed out of politics to avoid losing fans,” the New York Post reports.

“Texas Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico is looking for more dirty laundry from his opponent, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton,” the Washington Post reports. “Talarico filed a motion Wednesday to make public two depositions in which Paxton testified for a case involving an energy firm where he worked… The petition says Paxton’s testimony raises ‘substantial […]

“House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries’ long-standing tensions with his party’s left flank resurfaced this week after news broke of his meeting with President Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner,” Axios reports. “Jeffries will have to make nice with the left next year if Democrats win back the House with only a narrow majority. Blowups like this are […]

“President Trump insisted Wednesday that CIA Director John Ratcliffe’s surprise trip to Moscow wasn’t to warn President Vladimir Putin not to ‘test NATO resolve’ or ‘strike England’ after the Cabinet official’s unannounced four-hour visit on Tuesday launched rampant speculation,” the New York Post reports. Said Trump: “Well, none of the above. He’s there, you know, […]

“Swiss voters will decide in a referendum next month whether to approve a more restrictive form of neutrality that would block their ​country from imposing economic sanctions or cooperating with NATO,” Reuters reports. “Posters featuring doves of peace and asking voters to reject war have ‌appeared across the Alpine nation in a campaign that has […]

“President Trump hasn’t settled on a replacement for White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, whose last day is Friday,” CBS News reports. “Responsibilities for holding White House press briefings will rotate for now, with top administration officials heading to the podium, not members of the White House press and communications staff.”

“Meta Platforms agreed to an $18 billion settlement with 48 state attorneys general, bringing an end to a massive federal trial over social media’s harm to teenagers and ushering in a new era of tech companies having legal responsibility for their platforms,” the Wall Street Journal reports. “As part of the settlement agreement, Meta will […]

“About a year ago, cuts to the nation’s largest food assistance program went into effect as part of the Republicans’ One Big Beautiful Bill, affecting about 4.5 million Americans. Nearly all House Republicans voted for reductions to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, despite pleas from food banks and anti-hunger organizations,” the Washington Post reports. “On […]

Time: “The backlash is stealthily turning midterm elections across the country into referendums on anxieties about an economy overrun by A.I., and specifically the role of those data centers that appear to be sending both electricity bills and NIMBY-ism spiking. The shift also sets in motion a messy collision between the GOP candidates adjusting to […]

“The U.S. economy expanded at an unrevised 1.5% pace in the second quarter, though underlying details showed stronger consumer spending and business investment than initially reported,” Bloomberg reports. “The annualized gain in inflation-adjusted gross domestic product compares with a 2.1% advance in the first quarter.”

“Last year, Republicans set American health care on a new path: They slashed $1 trillion from expected Medicaid funding over the next decade and allowed tens of billions of dollars in annual insurance subsidies to expire,” Stat reports. “The full impacts of those changes won’t be felt for years, but many parts of the health […]

“The boss of a defense manufacturing start-up backed by Donald Trump Jr’s investment firm donated almost $450,000 to Republican causes just months after winning a $900mn contract from the U.S. government,” the Financial Times reports.

“President Donald Trump often dismisses ‘affordability’ as a political attack line from Democrats. He’s still worried about it,” Politico reports. “The president’s latest bid to lower beef prices is a last-ditch effort to ease consumer strain at the grocery store, a key driver of negative sentiment. The move, which angered farm-state Republicans and agriculture industry […]

G. Elliot Morris: “In our new Strength In Numbers/Verasight poll, fielded Aug. 14–19, President Donald Trump’s net approval on border security — his best issue in this tracker for most of the past year and a half — fell to −5, the worst mark we’ve recorded on it and now squarely net-negative. Every one of […]