Political Wire
• Taegan Goddard
Ask Us Anything
We’re planning a summer mailbag episode of Trial Balloon, so send us your questions. They can be about the latest political developments, the 2026 midterms, the Democratic Party’s future, what’s happening behind the scenes at Political Wire — or anything else you think Chris and I should tackle. We’ll answer as many as we can […]
Political Wire
• Taegan Goddard
White House Directed Patel to Run Leak Probe
“The White House directed Kash Patel, the FBI director, to oversee a leak investigation into reporting by The New York Times about security issues with the new Air Force One, leading to a flurry of subpoenas to several Times reporters Friday night,” the New York Times reports. “Mr. Patel scuttled a planned trip to Chicago […]
Watched the rest of Star City season 1. I liked it a lot. Has a science fiction-y feel even though it’s in the past. Also finished For All Mankind season 5, though I sort of lost interest in the characters. 📺
Latest articles from Crooks and Liars
• Conover Kennard
Trump's CDC Stopped Monitoring A Parasite. Guess What's Spreading Now.
A nationwide outbreak of explosive diarrhea is currently underway, and it's tied to a parasite the CDC quietly dropped from federal surveillance back in July 2025. That timing lines up almost exactly with the Trump administration's broader gutting of health and science agen...
Political Wire
• Taegan Goddard
Trump Relents On U.S.-Canada Bridge Project
“Donald Trump has cleared the way for the opening of a $4.5bn bridge between Canada and Michigan 13 years after the project’s inception, claiming he had secured a better deal from the other side,” the Financial Times reports. “The Gordie Howe International Bridge is now expected to open on July 27 after the U.S. president […]
Boston firm tapped to turn Confederate statue into monument to racial diversity (wapo.st)
Opinion | Looksmaxxers Actually Don’t Care What Women Think (Gift Article) (nytimes.com)
White House Directed Patel to Oversee Investigation Involving Times Reporting (Gift Article) (nytimes.com)
Phillies' Zack Wheeler declines All-Star Game invite: 'They disrespected me' (nytimes.com)
ICE officer fatally shoots Mexican man in Houston during traffic stop (wapo.st)
「推し」の検索やめられない 癒やしだった彼が、苦しみに変わるまで：朝日新聞 (digital.asahi.com)
digital.asahi.com/articles/ASV7133F0V71ULLI007M.html?ptoken=01KX9F7B7KPP31A1839R94W98N
Trump suggests a standing order to attack Iran if it assassinates him. But Vance would make the call (wapo.st)
Fashion Store, 1914 #macke #orphism
Political Wire
• Taegan Goddard
Judge Reluctantly Dismisses Proud Boys Case
“A federal judge has reluctantly granted a request by the Justice Department to formally dismiss a criminal case accusing five members of the Proud Boys, the far-right group, of seditious conspiracy in connection with the attack on the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021,” the New York Times reports. “In an order filed on Friday night, […]
Electrek
• Fred Lambert
Tesla claims Cybercab driving employees at Giga Texas — in a parking lot
Tesla says “Cybercab employee rides at Giga Texas” are “starting soon” — its first stated step toward putting people inside the wheel-less, pedal-less robotaxi.
But the announcement, spread across two Tesla accounts and roughly 2.9 million combined views, is thinner than it sounds. It’s not clear whether Tesla means Cybercabs running a real ride service in Austin or simply driving employees around a factory parking lot.