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

Firing Fauci

Trump had enormous discretion over Fauci’s role. There was nothing inevitable about Fauci’s becoming the face of the federal government’s Covid-19 response.

El-Sayed Lost in 2018. It Set Him Up for 2026

I covered Abdul El-Sayed when he ran for governor and lost. Here's how he and the landscape have changed.

Why Democrats Won’t Stop Forcing Votes On Trump’s Iran War Powers

Even after winning approval of a measure calling on President Trump to end the war, they continue to call votes to force Republicans to answer for it.

The Dam Begins to Crack on Interest Rates

At the next Federal Reserve meeting, it may break.

Fauci’s Treatment at Republican Hands Retraumatizes Politico

The incivility that Fauci experienced from Congress pales before the Covid era’s many affronts to liberty.

Lies Al Gore Told Me

It was just another day in school in the sweltering heat of suburban South Florida. Upon our return from afternoon recess, our fifth-grade teacher treated us to a documentary written and presented by former Vice President Al Gore.

It's Official: Shame Has Died in Politics, and the Media Killed It

Erica Schwartz, Trump’s Nominee for C.D.C. Director, Advances to Full Senate Vote

A vote to confirm Dr. Erica Schwartz, who has publicly supported childhood vaccines, will take place in the full Senate.

Trump’s Effort to Gut Education Dept. Rebuked by Senate Committee

The bipartisan bill is a long way from becoming law, but it represents the strongest opposition yet from Congress to the administration’s agenda.

Trump pushes F-35 sale to Turkey, but his own State Department says Erdoğan hasn't met legal requirements

A State Department letter to Congress confirms Turkey has not met legal conditions for the F-35, despite Trump's promise to lift sanctions on Ankara.

Wednesday's Final Word

Winter May Be Coming, Again

Europe’s LNG storage tanks are only about 50 percent full, a very low level at a time when it needs to be preparing for winter.

Former Officials Protest U.S. Plan to Defund Pan American Health Organization

The group of former health and national security officials warned that Americans will be more vulnerable to infectious disease threats.

The ‘Sex Recession’ is Real

Quillette podcast host Jonathan Kay talks to Debra Soh, author of ‘Sextinction: The Decline of Sex and the Future of Intimacy,’ about neuroscience, hypergamy, elephant seals, politicised sex research, the perils of polyamory, and the sex-repellent…

Adults are Responsible for How They Use AI

Conservatives are accustomed to arguing that the instruments of harm are not responsible for harm. This principle extends to AI tools as well.

The Rise of Sainte-Marie Among the Hurons

In the 30th instalment of ‘Nations of Canada,’ Greg Koabel describes the expanding Jesuit presence of the late 1630s—and the increasingly bitter opposition it provoked among France’s local Indigenous allies.

CNN Political Briefing

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

The 82% Winner Sitting on the Senate Floor

Senate Republicans must cancel recess and pass SAVE America Act proof of citizenship requirements supported by 82% of all voters.

Does Congress Have the Power to Stop the Iran War?

In theory, the War Powers Act gives Congress the power to end a war. But our chief White House correspondent, Peter Baker, describes how President Trump is the latest president to find ways to engage in war without congressional approval.

Spain Is Being Invaded Right Now; UPDATE: Georgia Meloni Responds, Threatens to Cut Off Spain

House panel demands classified briefings on noncitizen voting, alleged Chinese election interference

Rep. Bryan Steil demands classified DHS briefings on noncitizen voting and cyber vulnerabilities in voting systems ahead of November midterms.

Trump’s Nominee to Oversee VOA, Sarah B. Rogers, Suggests Return of Journalists on Leave

The statement by the nominee, Sarah B. Rogers, signaled a stark reversal of the president’s earlier efforts to shutter Voice of America and other federally funded news groups.

Are Democrats Worried About Their Antisemitism Problem?

Talarico: Everything I Needed to Know About Christianity I Learned From ...

Men Without Meaning

Men are quietly leaving the workforce—not for lack of jobs, but for lack of purpose.

Pleading the Fifth Doesn't Spare Fauci

He claims his Senate hearing was a witch hunt designed to entrap him. But his record convicts him on its own.

Federal judge blocks DOJ access to NJ voter rolls amid statewide controversy

District Judge Zahid Quraishi blocked the Justice Department from accessing New Jersey's unredacted voter registration list, citing privacy concerns.

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.

Online fury erupts as conservatives recall ’insane’ COVID-19 lockdown policies after Fauci takes the Fifth

Anthony Fauci pleaded the Fifth 111 times at a Senate hearing as conservatives resurfaced viral videos of COVID lockdown arrests and mask mandates.

The European Forest Fires

Deportation Helps Make Affordability Possible

Mass deportation is not just border policy. It is affordability policy - and more fundamentally, it is a restoration of the basic bargain between the American government and American families.

Conservatives tout Biden tapes as proof of his decline. The audio is more nuanced.

Audio of Joe Biden's interviews with a ghostwriter in 2016 and 2017 show him referencing classified materials and occasionally struggling to recall details.

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…

Kamala Harris' new $8M mansion is in a neighborhood with virtually no Black residents

Kamala Harris' $8 million Malibu mansion sits in a census tract that is 94% White and 0.2% Black, despite her career fighting racial bias in housing.

A Beautiful Odyssey, Made Dreary By Remorse

Christopher Nolan’s creation is a big movie in every technical sense. But inside, it is diminished and faded: heroes who aren’t allowed to be heroes and gods who aren’t allowed to be gods.

Politics of the Day

Politics of the Day

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.

What Graham's Funeral Revealed About the World

It was Lindsey Graham's last political act: bringing leaders of two of his great causes, Israel and Ukraine, back before President Donald Trump.

Fairfax Schools Spend How Much on Lawyers?

In just seven years, Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) has spent nearly $60 million on lawyers.

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…

Blood, Progress, and Amnesia

There is real value in Noah Rothman's century-spanning chronicle of left-wing terror, but it falls short in analysis.

What to know about Republican lame ducks defying Trump over Blanche nomination

GOP Sens. John Cornyn (Texas) and Thom Tillis (North Carolina) are leaving the Senate after this year.

Our Iran Policy Is Completely Adrift at This Point

We have a war that our people and our allies don’t want to support.

Deborah Birx Was Never Pardoned; UPDATE: Birx Admits Election Influenced COVID Response

We Can't Fix Schools Without Data

At a time when both US parties paint the other as a threat to the country's future, both are ignoring one of the gravest threats of all: student achievement levels that are abysmally low.

'Heavy Wave' of Strikes: Will This (Finally) Be Infrastructure Week?

What's Next in Iran?

Iran's rulers are not playing to win the war today-they are playing to survive long enough to fight another one tomorrow.

Trump asks Supreme Court to overturn $83 million verdict in E. Jean Carroll case

Trump’s attorneys asserted a 2024 high court decision granting presidents sweeping immunity for actions taken in office shields him from liability in the case.

Trump promotes Freedom Haulers Initiative to fast-track military veterans into trucking jobs

President Trump's Freedom Haulers Initiative streamlines CDL licensing for military veterans while removing over 24,000 non-English-speaking commercial drivers.

Too Much Foreign Influence in American Higher Education

We should be concerned.

Judiciary Committee Vote on Blanche AG Nomination Postponed

Senators Cornyn and Tillis continue to hold out for a formal rescission of the ‘Anti-Weaponization Fund,’ intensifying the DOJ’s dilemma.

Elon Musk Plans at Least $100 Million in Midterm Spending to Help Republicans

Elon Musk, a year after a huge blowup with President Trump and the Republican Party, is said to be planning to spend in at least eight states to help them in November.

'Worst of the Worst' judges are sabotaging Trump's immigration agenda, top DHS official says

DHS General Counsel James Percival names federal judges he says are engaging in judicial activism to block Trump's immigration and deportation agenda.

The WNBA Is Run by Numbskulls

The Oldest Tradition in Art

Christopher Nolan's Odyssey, shot entirely on IMAX cameras, is the newest chapter in an old story: technological innovation creating new forms of art.

Why JD Vance Generates So Much Heat

Vance occupies an indispensable position for the future of his faction in ways that nobody else does for other factions of the party.

Mamdani says New York doesn’t have authority to arrest Netanyahu, urges feds to act

The mayor had said the city might enforce a warrant against the Israeli leader, drawing Democratic criticism. On Tuesday, he urged the U.S. government to do so.

'The irony': Ketanji Brown Jackson roasted after stressing impartiality on Michelle Obama's podcast

Ketanji Brown Jackson told Michelle Obama's "IMO" podcast she is "very, very mindful" of impartiality, sparking swift mockery over the perceived irony.

The Axe Files with David Axelrod

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

Florida AG threatens Fauci investigation after Senate hearing

James Uthmeier says his office is launching a Florida investigation into Anthony Fauci after the former NIAID director invoked the Fifth Amendment.

Obama Fathered Today's Marxist Democrats

There is no war between radicals and moderates; it's simply a battle over which radicals will rule the party Obama created.

Unforgivable Means Just That

Devine on Fauci

The initial populist calls to ‘Fire Fauci’ came as early as April 2020

Political Theater at Its Most Satisfying

I’m not above enjoying this.

On the Brink Again

A collapsed ceasefire has pushed America and Iran back towards full-scale war over the Strait of Hormuz. Now Trump must decide whether to finish the job or give Tehran one more chance.

Trump’s claims of election interference in doubt after release of declassified intelligence

Declassified evidence points to Beijing seeking personal data for espionage, not election interference.

Dem senator swipes credit for bill he opposed amid heated re-election bid: 'Disturbing pattern'

Jon Ossoff touted Georgia military construction wins at Fort Benning and Fort Stewart despite voting against the bill that funded those improvements.

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.

Trump Threatens to Withdraw Blanche as Attorney General, Dealing Blow to Nomination

President Trump’s threat followed a day of fruitless negotiations with two Republican holdouts, Senators John Cornyn and Thom Tillis.

COVID Origins Coverup Was Fauci's First and Highest Priority

Did Florida's AG Just Let Fauci's Fifth Off the Hook?

Iran Is Winning? Don't Be So Sure

President Trump has not only ended, by his own count, eight wars in his second term. After the current pause in the latest series of American military strikes against Iran, Mr. Trump can also claim to have ended one war at least three times. There…

After Claiming ‘Bias’ at Smithsonian, Trump Officials Stage Patriotic Exhibition

Trump officials have promised to “make visual arts great,” with a museum exhibition that includes artwork by several people with personal connections to the planners.

War powers resolution fails as Senate Republicans stand by Trump on Iran

Senate Republicans blocked another war powers resolution as munitions dwindle and Sen. Bill Cassidy draws a hard line on ground troops in Iran.

Trump Suggests Thune's Future as Senate Leader Is in Doubt

The majority leader offered a rather pointed reminder that the president doesn't get to choose the party's Senate leader - Senate Republicans do.

Claire's Weekly Letter: Hormuz and Homer

Ireland's Antisemitism Crisis with Rachel Moiselle | Quillette Cetera Episode 68

Activist Rachel Moiselle on why a country with 3,000 Jews obsesses over Israel, how antizionism became a faith, and the cost of speaking out.

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.

Petition to Ban Hunting and Fishing in Oregon Fails to Make the Ballot

Self-defense and veterinary care would have been the only remaining exceptions to animal-cruelty restrictions.

A ‘Zombie Court’ for Terror Cases Awakens

Dormant for 30 years, a little-known tribunal is hearing its first case.

U.S. Government Mislabels Map of African Countries at AIDS Conference

Nigeria, a coastal country in western Africa, was landlocked in the Sahara, among other errors. The department said it had been “hastily altered.”

Sen Darline Graham drops campaign video on heels of brother's funeral services amid tight primary timeline

Sen. Darline Graham, the sister of the late Sen. Lindsey Graham, dropped a campaign video in her run for U.S. Senate with President Donald Trump's endorsement.

Is the Pro-Palestine Movement Israel’s Unlikely Ally?

By framing terrorism and armed struggle as legitimate resistance, the pro-Palestine movement has unwittingly strengthened Israel’s case that withdrawal and concessions carry unacceptable risks.

They See Dead People

Following on false claims that 215 child corpses were discovered in western Canada, a First Nations chief claims that Indigenous people can communicate with departed spirits.

For Museum Boss Who Became a Trump Target, It’s Déjà Vu All Over Again

Kim Sajet left as director of the National Portrait Gallery when she found herself in the White House cross hairs. Now she’s watching another Smithsonian chief go through it.

The Grift at the Gate

The Grift Industrial Complex targeted Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey—and got buried.