Smash The Bubble

News and opinion from both the left and the right, mixed together so you can break out of your filter bubble.

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Today's Headlines

The fine print of the Respect for Marriage Act

Let's start with the positive: Republicans and Democrats are coming together to protect same-sex marriage from the Supreme Court.

What Mamdani Doesn’t Know About Tenants

Fixing New York’s affordable housing isn’t as simple as going after bad landlords.

Colbert Changes Story, Fails To Make Himself a Martyr

What outgoing Late Show host Stephen Colbert said about CBS on Tuesday contradicts what he said on Monday. Entertainment

The Disappointment of Young Trump Voters

Americans under 30 swung to the right in 2024, but they’re not getting what they voted for.

Texas Opie and Stephen Colbert: Caught in Rope-A-Dopes MORE

Rubio announces designation for Nicaraguan prison official tied to alleged human rights violations

U.S. designates Nicaragua prison director Roberto Clemente Guevara Gómez as Secretary of State Marco Rubio demands release of political prisoners.

Behold, the Story of Fed Balance Sheet in a Single Chart

In the four years since Fed assets and liabilities have shrunk by 14 per cent of GDP - the fastest pace of balance sheet contraction in the history of the Fed.

GOP congressman who says he supports dogs over Muslims faces calls to resign

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-New York) said Tuesday that Rep. Randy Fine (R-Florida) is “an Islamophobic, disgusting and unrepentant bigot.”

Beshear is latest 2028 contender to write a book, focused on faith

The Democratic governor of deep-red Kentucky will rebuke “how faith has been hijacked” by Donald Trump and other figures, his publisher says.

Hassett Slams N.Y. Fed Tariff Study as 'Worst I've Ever Seen'

White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett criticized a New York Federal Reserve paper that said U.S. companies and consumers bear a heavy burden from President Donald Trump's tariffs.

Politics of the Day

Politics of the Day

Duffy gives Illinois 30-day ultimatum after audit finds 1 in 5 noncitizen truck licenses issued illegally

Illinois faces losing $128M in federal highway funding after USDOT finds one-in-five CDL licenses issued to noncitizens were allegedly illegal under federal law.

The Price of the Epstein Frenzy

Press-led hysteria and institutional cowardice are inflicting needless damage on higher education.

NIH Director Bhattacharya to Temporarily Run CDC

National Institutes of Health Director Jay Bhattacharya will take over as acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a Trump administration official said on Wednesday.

U.S. offers more details on claim China conducted secret nuclear weapons test

Remarks by a top administration official appeared to be aimed at dispelling skepticism of its assertions, as President Donald Trump vows to restart U.S. tests.

Jesse Jackson, a leading voice for civil rights, dies at 84

A former aide to Martin Luther King Jr., he launched two historic presidential campaigns while spreading a message of hope and resilience: “I am — somebody.”

The notable legal clouds that continue to hang over Donald Trump

All eyes are on former President Donald Trump, who has launched another White House bid.

A Case Against 6 Democrats Lacked Urgency. Then Came a Swift Bid for an Indictment.

Prosecutors have been repeatedly caught between the president’s insistence that they undertake weak or baseless cases and the necessity of having to go to court.

FDA's Makary: All Drugs Should Be OTC, Unless Unsafe, Addictive

Most medications should be available over the counter (OTC) unless they are unsafe, addictive, or require medical monitoring, Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Marty Makary said on Wednesday.

Put Up or Put a Sock in It, Europe

Continental leaders talk big about autonomy and independence

The Murder of The Washington Post

Today’s layoffs are the latest attempt to kill what makes the paper special.

Mamdani Reinstates NYC Homeless Encampment Sweeps

Facing mounting backlash after 19 people died during a winter cold snap, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is reversing a major campaign promise and reinstating homeless encampment sweeps across the five boroughs.

After decade of GOP control, Democrats recruit challenger in key swing state

Democrat Cinde Warmington launches gubernatorial campaign against Gov. Kelly Ayotte in New Hampshire, targeting affordability and Trump policies.

ICE After Minneapolis

Trump’s team wants a reset on its mass-deportation goals, not a retreat.

‘Not American Enough’

Trump’s immigration crackdown has Latinos wondering if they belong in his America.

Do Wes Moore's Lies Mean Anything?

Mamdani proposes cutting NYPD budget, canceling 5K new officer hires

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is eyeing the NYPD's funding and a proposed personnel increase as he looks to tackle the city's "budget crisis."

Letters to the Editor

Letters to the Editor: Friday 6 February – Friday 13 February

Kristi Noem’s Audience of One

The DHS secretary is suddenly talking about more than just mass deportations.

Podcast #324: Guests of the Nation

Managing Editor Iona Italia talks to writer Lionel Shriver about her new novel, A Better Life, which tackles the theme of immigration.

Justice Department fights back after federal judge blocks Trump’s wind energy freeze

The Trump administration appealed a federal judge's ruling that blocked his offshore wind pause order, setting up a legal battle over renewable energy policy.

Stop Pretending the Tumbler Ridge Killer Was Female

The sight of Canadian police and journalists extending fraudulent courtesies to a trans-identified mass-murderer may prove to be a clarifying moment.

Trump Admin Is Serious About Western Civilization

Marco Rubio's Munich speech reiterated and elaborated a new paradigm of U.S.-Europe relations.

In the wake of the Republican National Convention earlier this month, Fareed speaks with historian Niall Ferguson about how and why the modern-day GOP has changed since the Reagan era of the 1980s.

The Truth About Free Will

Neuroscience’s challenge to free will misses the point: consciousness and choice emerge from complex systems, not individual neurons.

'Protecting Democracy,' European Style

Fareed explains why AI's massive energy demands are straining the power grid, but also why AI could enable big breakthroughs in sustainability and clean energy.

An Architect of Virginia’s Redistricting Will Run for a New Seat Himself

Dan Helmer, a Democratic state lawmaker, played a key role in putting redrawn congressional maps before state voters.

Ex-C.E.O. Says Epstein ‘Conned’ Him, but Democrats Are Skeptical

House Republicans skipped a deposition with Leslie Wexner, the retail billionaire, and Democrats said his answers were not credible.

ATF seizes 36K guns as Trump administration shifts focus from Biden priorities to cartels, street crime

ATF agents seized over 36,000 illegal firearms under Trump administration, including 4,359 guns bound for Mexico's violent cartels and criminal gangs.

GOP warns Democrats using DHS shutdown to stall Senate voter ID push

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., guaranteed that the SAVE America Act would get a vote, but the current funding fight in the Senate could derail a swift vote.

Stellantis Bringing Back Diesels

The Housing Crisis Is Destroying Homeownership—and Undermining Democracy

Escalating house prices and density rules trap young people in renting, eroding homeownership—a key to democracy.

Administration Increases Scrutiny of Noncitizen Voting, Pursuing a Trump Claim

The move is part of an extraordinary all-fronts effort to insert federal law enforcement into the machinery of American elections ahead of the midterms.

F.D.A. Reverses Decision and Agrees to Review Moderna’s Flu Vaccine

Moderna held further discussions with regulators and announced that the agency would accept the company’s application for approval of its flu vaccine that uses mRNA technology.

Sen. Graham: Iran Poses Risk to Abraham Accords

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., warned that the survival of Iran's ruling regime poses a fatal threat to the Abraham Accords and broader Middle East peace efforts, arguing that a historic opportunity for change is at hand.

Rep. Hunt to Newsmax: Dems 'Playing Political Football' With Americans' Safety

Democrats are "playing political football" with the American people as the government shutdown continues, Rep. Wesley Hunt, R-Texas, said on Newsmax Wednesday, warning that federal operations — such as TSA, the Coast Guard, FEMA, and the Secret Se…

Meta Begins $65 Million Election Push to Advance A.I. Agenda

Meta’s biggest election investment aims to prevent state legislation that it fears could inhibit artificial intelligence development. Its spending starts this week in Texas and Illinois.

‘The Trust Has Been Absolutely Destroyed’

Some state election officials say they no longer trust their federal partners.

White House taps Jay Bhattacharya, CDC critic, to lead agency for now

The co-author of the Great Barrington Declaration, which rebuked CDC’s response to the coronavirus pandemic, will oversee the nation’s leading public health agency.

Tracking who Trump is appointing to fill key administration roles

Follow President Trump’s progress filling over 800 positions, among about 1,300 that require Senate confirmation, in this tracker from The Washington Post and the Partnership for Public Service.

AOC's Munich Stumble a Warning to the Left

It was supposed to be a triumphant foreign visit for Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who is, on the national level, the best current hope for the American left.

Was Climate Change Biggest Financial Scam in History?

Environmental scholar Bjorn Lomborg recently calculated that across the globe, governments have spent at least $16 trillion feeding the climate change industrial complex.

The Democrats Aren’t Built for This

They say they want to save democracy. First they’ll need to get out of their own way.

Is the DSA the Future of the Democratic Party?

The Axe Files with David Axelrod

Go beyond the soundbites and get to know some of the most interesting players in politics.

Supreme Court to use software to identify justices’ conflict of interests

The Supreme Court will begin using software to scan litigants’ filings to identify justices’ potential conflicts of interest.

Former Rep MTG asserts that Americans don't want US war against Iran

Former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, who left office earlier this year, said in a post on X that Americans do not want the U.S. to go to war against Iran.

England’s Founding Father

How a 10th-century warrior-statesman forged a unified England and why his legacy still matters in our identity-obsessed day.   

Populism’s Self-Defeating Trap

Populist rhetoric is exceptionally effective for pursuing and gaining power, but it provides no program for the complexities of actual governance.

Rep. Knott to Newsmax: Democrats' Goal is Disruption

Rep. Brad Knott, R-N.C., told Newsmax on Wednesday that the goal of congressional Democrats with their partial block of Homeland Security funding is to "disrupt" America.

Meet the woman steering Biden's bipartisan winning streak on Capitol Hill

The Biden administration managed to rack up a long list of major legislative wins in its first two years despite facing one of the most closely-divided Congresses in history. From bipartisan action on infrastructure, gun safety and same-sex marria…

How Jeff Bezos Broke The Washington Post

The paper of record for the nation’s capital cut a third of its staff this week. It didn’t have to be like this.

Fight Over the California Wealth Tax Shapes Up

AOC Took Her Populism Global, Will It Take Her to Oval Office?

Speculation is - once again - stirring about a potential Oval Office bid after the progressive star made her first visit to the Munich Security Conference.

House Plans to Vote on Air Safety Bill After Report on Deadly D.C. Crash

Lawmakers could vote as early as next week on legislation aimed at avoiding another collision like the one that killed 67 people near Reagan National Airport last year.

Capitalism’s Paradox

Why prosperity breeds guilt, how status incentives reward critique, and what happens when function is replaced by moral performance.

Keep Calm and Adapt

Matt Shumer’s viral essay about AI is part of a long history of fear produced by technological change.

Judge Rejects Trump Effort to Deport Palestinian Activist

A U.S. immigration judge has rejected efforts by President Donald Trump's administration to deport Columbia University student and activist Mohsen Mahdawi, who was arrested last year following his participation in anti-Israel protests. Lawyers for…

N.I.H. Director Will Temporarily Run C.D.C. in Leadership Shake-Up

Dr. Jay Bhattacharya will serve as the acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention until President Trump appoints a permanent director.

Netanyahu Plays Trump & American Jews for Fools - Again

Let's stop beating around the bush: Israel's far-right government, led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, is spitting in America's face and telling us it's raining. It's not raining. Bibi is playing President Donald Trump and American Jews for …

Vice President Kamala Harris, a former US senator from California who previously served as the state's attorney general, could be the first Black woman and Asian American to lead a major party ticket after receiving President Joe Biden's support t…

Colorado Democrats Push to Rip Up 2028 House Map for an Extra Edge

A proposed ballot measure to give Democrats more seats for the 2028 and 2030 elections signals that the nation’s gerrymandering fight is likely to persist for years.

This Is How Bad Public Schools Are

With No SAT Required, How Do You Know When the Kids Can't Do the Math

Trump picks his White House assistant for panel reviewing ballroom

Chamberlain Harris, a 26-year-old White House aide and the president’s longtime executive assistant, is set to be sworn in Thursday.

Mamdani plan pours millions into ‘racial equity’ offices and six-figure diversity jobs, cuts 5,000 NYPD jobs

NYC Mayor Mamdani's $127 billion budget allocates $10.2 million to racial equity offices while proposing significant property tax hikes and NYPD cuts.

Everything you need to know about Biden's student loan forgiveness program

President Joe Biden's federal student loan forgiveness program, which promises to deliver up to $20,000 of debt relief for millions of borrowers, is on hold indefinitely as legal challenges work their way through the courts.

Democrats' DHS shutdown halts ICE oversight they demanded

The government shutdown forced a pause of ICE investigations as Democrats withhold support on DHS funding, halting critical oversight operations nationwide.

Why We Still Love the Bomb

Stanley Kubrick’s comic masterpiece ‘Dr Strangelove’ remains a potent allegory for our times.   

Trump Warns UK: Don't Give Away Diego Garcia

President Donald Trump urged British Prime Minister Keir Starmer not to "give away" the strategically vital island of Diego Garcia, warning that a proposed 100-year lease agreement could weaken Western security at a critical time.

The Moral Collapse of Empire

Southeast Asia in World War II, Part One: Japanese Conquests and British Disgrace

Margins of Error

Look closely at almost anything and you'll find data—lots of it. But what are those numbers really saying about who we are and what we believe? Harry Enten is on a mission to find out.

CNN Political Briefing

The political news you need to know, in 10 minutes or less. Hosted by David Chalian.

HUD opens discrimination investigation into a Muslim development in Texas.

A project, including homes and a mosque, has drawn attacks from Republican Texas officials. The Justice Department closed a similar inquiry into the development last year.

Trump DOT Targets Transit Aid for Illegal Migrants

The Trump administration is pushing a legal change that could block states, cities, and towns from offering free transportation to illegal migrants, according to a proposal. The draft language, prepared by the Department of Transportation...

Georgia Man Runs Toward US Capitol with Loaded Shotgun

Marco Rubio's Sugar-Coated MAGA

As soon as US Secretary of State Marco Rubio rose to address this year's Munich Security Conference, it was evident that the Trump administration intended to change its rhetoric toward America's longstanding European allies.

EU Doubles Down on Censorship

Ocasio-Cortez Crashes and Burns in Munich

And Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton have never looked so out of touch.

Keeping Illegal Immigrants From Distorting Census

The Census Bureau recently announced its plan to administer a survey that includes the query Is this person a citizen of the United States?

Trump worries Potomac ‘will still stink’ during America250 celebration after massive sewage spill

President Donald Trump blames Maryland Governor Wes Moore for Potomac River sewage disaster, claims incompetence led to the millions of gallons to spill into river.

AIPAC accused of covert campaigning as Democratic support falters

Democrats in Illinois have accused the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, the powerful pro-Israel organization, of meddling in competitive primary races.

The Second Death of Charlie Kirk

The activist’s assassination unleashed anti-Semitism that is pulling the Trump coalition apart.

The Epstein Emails Show How the Powerful Talk About Race

The files reveal the disgraced financier’s interest in “race science.”

Tuesday’s Final Word

As Israel takes steps to claim land in West Bank, U.S. stands by

Despite Trump’s opposition to annexation, Israel has taken steps to expand control over the West Bank that experts say may lead to seizure of territory.

Steve Hilton to Newsmax: Encouraged by Emerson Poll Results

California Republican gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton told Newsmax on Wednesday he is encouraged by a new Emerson College poll showing him leading the primary field, saying voters are ready to move on from Democratic leadership under Gov. Gav…

How Kyrsten Sinema's decision makes Democrats' 2024 Senate map tighter

Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema decided to shake up the political world on Friday by becoming an independent. The former Democrat is still caucusing with the party in the Senate, so the Democratic caucus still has 51 members. Now, instead of 49 Democr…

Democrats Plan to Counter Trump’s State of the Union Speech With Rally

The House Democratic leader has asked rank-and-file members to sit quietly at the speech or skip it altogether, wary of creating a distraction.

How Not To Build Infrastructure Projects

The Hudson Tunnel Project between New York and New Jersey is officially a political nightmare en route to the midterms.

Democrats' positivity about the party still in the dumps since Trump victory, poll finds

A recent poll by The Associated Press-NORC indicated that only around 7 out of 10 Democrats hold a favorable view of their political party.

Being So Evil Is a Democratic Party Superpower

Conservative Women Find a New Way to Talk About ICE

When can an influencer opt out of the news cycle?

Hegseth forces ouster of senior Army spokesman in latest internal clash

Col. David Butler, who had been selected by senior Army leaders for promotion to brigadier general, will instead retire, officials said.

Billionaire Les Wexner Says He Was 'Duped' by 'World-Class Con Man' Epstein

The billionaire behind the retail empire that once blanketed shopping malls with names such as Victoria's Secret and Abercrombie & Fitch is telling members of Congress that he was "duped by a world-class con man" - close financial adviser Jeff…

Judge orders slavery exhibit to be restored after Trump administration removal

A GOP-appointed federal judge in Pennsylvania has ordered the Trump administration to restore displays about slavery to a George Washington site in Philadelphia.

Uber Taking Steps to Expand Number of EV Chargers Near Its Drivers

The company said it would encourage companies that operated chargers to install them in neighborhoods where its drivers lived and work.