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

Trump-linked MAGA Inc pours $10M into Ken Paxton's Texas Senate race against James Talarico

MAGA Inc. drops $10 million in ads backing Ken Paxton against James Talarico in a neck and neck Texas Senate race that could reshape the midterms.

Is Work Starting for Trump’s Arch? It Depends Who’s Asking.

The Justice Department told a court the government would only conduct archaeological excavation, a day after a Trump official announced the project was in motion.

Veterans make emergency request to block construction of Trump’s arch

The administration is seeking to render the project a “fait accompli” by moving quickly, the veterans’ lawyers argued Friday.

Exposed: Illegal Alien Employment Workaround

Federal law prohibits employers from knowingly hiring an unauthorized immigrant and from employing someone without work authorization. Yet a growing network of nonprofits and universities is teaching the illegal alien community exactly how to get …

MAGA: What Happens Next?

By enraging, warping, and thereby emasculating the Democratic Party, Trump made it possible for Trumpism to outlast himself.

Covering the Culture Wars

Quillette podcast host Jonathan Kay speaks with Benjamin Ryan about his journalistic adventures reporting on AIDS, monkeypox, gender activism, and the Jason Arday saga.

Missouri Asks Supreme Court to Allow Voting Map Benefiting Republicans

Missouri’s Supreme Court said a map redrawn to help Republicans could not be used in November and said voters should decide on the new boundaries.

On the Suppression of KSM’s Coerced Confessions in the 9/11 Case

Again the gnawing question: what to do about terrorists who should be executed when it may be impossible to try them?

Looking Back on the Summer of High MAGA in Trump’s Washington

Racecars, crypto, billionaires, troops, sequins and a bloody cage fight.

Friday's Final Word

Red Reign

A thrash-metal classic turns forty.

Arthurdale's New Deal Experiment, and the Debate Over Socialism

Livestreaming Trials Emboldens Lawyers To Act Out for PR

The dramatic outbursts of Lindsay Clancy's defense attorney show how livestreaming trials makes a circus of the justice process.

Melania Trump will not attend the Republican midterm convention

Scheduled for the middle of next week in Dallas, the event designed to project party unity will be missing a well-known figure.

Trump weighs in on Lindsay Clancy murder trial dubbed 'kangaroo court' by GOP leaders

Trump says Lindsay Clancy will pay "the price" after a mistrial was declared when the jury deadlocked 11-1 in the Massachusetts murder case.

Ossoff and Talarico to Share Fund-Raising Event in Hollywood

The event with the Georgia and Texas Democrats will be hosted by Shonda Rhimes.

Squatter nightmare turns DC apartment building into 'drug haven' as legal battle drags on: 'There's no help'

A D.C. property owner says squatters turned her basement apartment into a drug haven, and police treated it as a landlord-tenant dispute only.

NJ mayor demands sanctuary policy rollback after baby killed in crash allegedly involving illegal immigrant

Jackson Township's mayor says New Jersey's Immigrant Trust Directive must be rolled back after an unlicensed illegal immigrant allegedly killed a baby.

Trump Isn't Just Trolling Canada. He's Pushing It Apart

The political pancake breakfast is one of the longstanding traditions of the Calgary Stampede, Alberta's annual rodeo and fair. Members of the province's governing United Conservative Party hosted one on July 2, the day after Canada Day. The far-r…

Democrats' Empty Pledges on Energy Affordability

Until New York puts a halt to virtue-signaling climate policies, the state's costs will keep going up.

ChatGPT bans campaigns from using AI to make ads. They’re doing it anyway.

A Washington Post review found 39 campaigns that disclosed payments to AI companies, but consultants say many more do it and don’t disclose it.

The $64 Question, Again

Anna D. Shapiro’s recent revival of Eric Bentley’s 1972 play about the HUAC hearings offered entertainment along with the pleasures of moral certainty and ideological reinforcement.

One Day After Tesla Announces Cybercab, NHTSA Opens an Investigation

Gallup Polls Show Democrats Outnumber Republicans Ahead of 2026 Midterm Elections

Data from Gallup shows that Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents have their largest advantage over Republicans since 2008.

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…

Trump begins major midterm spending with $10 million ad buy in Texas

Republicans, nervous about the tight Senate race in the Lone Star state, hope Trump’s political war chest can boost GOP nominee Ken Paxton.

An Abject Policy Failure

An unorthodox survey suggests it’s time for the Australian government to concede defeat in the tobacco wars. Will it have the guts to do so?

CNN Political Briefing

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

Big Money to Be Made Assisting Suicides

Do we really want to financially incentivize access to suicide and let doctors get rich providing it?

Saturday's Final Word

Hard Lessons for Europe From the Ceuta Crisis

By Ana Palacio, Project Syndicate September 1, 2026European Union leaders should have received several messages during the recent surge of migrants into the Spanish exclave of Ceuta. In particular, cohesion without trust is fragile; dependence wit…

Trump moves to allow ranchers and hunters to kill gray wolves

The president ordered his administration to lift Endangered Species Act protections for gray wolves, again wading into a fraught debate between ranchers and conservationists.

In boost to GOP, Supreme Court says parties should get lower TV ad rates

The Supreme Court ruled Friday that political parties should get discounted TV ad rates when they coordinate spending with candidates.

Trump Wants the Midterms To Be All About Him

The president will deliver a keynote speech at the first-ever midterm convention Republicans are putting on next week.

Revolutionary Bloodlust, Ghoulish Satisfaction

Another senseless murder elicits a depraved reaction.

Reasons to Leave China

The Chinese Communist Party cannot and will not accept that its time in the sun has passed. But the public knows.

Trump’s Pentagon shake-up revives a presidential power play with a long history

Dan Driscoll's exit as Army secretary intensifies debate over whether Trump's Pentagon overhaul strengthens or destabilizes military leadership.

Kennedy Center ceiling partially collapses as Trump-led board pushes for 2-year closure

Photos show a partial ceiling collapse in a main Kennedy Center hallway, which officials say underscores the urgent need for Trump-backed renovations.

The Problem With Canada's Economy

The Canadian economy suffers from a lack of dynamism and excessive dependence on American markets.

The Case for Elites with Richard Hanania | Quillette Cetera Episode 71

Political scientist Richard Hanania discusses why populism usually fails, why Western elites matter, immigration, MAGA, H-1B visas, housing and declining fertility.

Lessons From Clinton To Cut Child Poverty

His program-both welfare cuts and new benefits-is a model of how to set aside partisanship to help kids.

Trump’s Mail-In Ballot Rules Return to the Supreme Court — but the Actual Dispute Is Missing

The Court will be presented with a kabuki dispute over a power the USPS isn’t claiming, even after the president ordered it to claim precisely that power.

Trump says he will spend some, not all, super PAC money on midterms

Republicans have fretted over his war chest sitting on the sidelines. The president says he plans to hold onto some of the money for 2028.

The New Show 'Lanterns' Is Woke 1.0.

New Hampshire Democrats Sound an Alarm: ‘We’re Losing’

The state has not elected a Republican to the Senate since 2010. But Chris Pappas, the likely Democratic nominee, anticipates a tough race against a well-known opponent, John E. Sununu.

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.

Naked in America

To be naked is to give up obsessive self-presentation and take off the mask.

New York’s Race to Moderation

In the New York City suburbs, appealing to moderation is a winning bet.

Judge orders DOJ to disclose who conceived of now-defunct payout fund

The Trump administration dropped plans for a fund to compensate people who say they were unfairly prosecuted, but several lawsuits are ongoing.

The Dumb Prince and His Stupid Wife - Making No Friends Anywhere They Go

Power Without Principle

The Trump administration does not know how to use American power to expand American influence, and its officials do not care to learn.

Republicans Get a Win at the Supreme Court

New Science Ph.D. Program Saves Time and Money

A new program offers an alternative to the standard academic Ph.D. in science, and this competition will prove beneficial.

It's Not Easy: John Ondrasik and 'Superman' Return to 9/11 Ground Zero

The mystery behind an audio clip that helped upend a Senate race

Artificial-intelligence tools increasingly allow political actors to fool voters — and help candidates cast doubt on reality.

Women’s Sport or ‘Transformational’ Activism: It Can’t Be Both

A U.S.-based Australian Rules Football league allows trans-identified men to play on women’s teams. When one turned out to be a convicted sex criminal, no one wanted to talk about it.

Republican House candidates tone down Trump on their campaign websites

Several congressional hopefuls have removed or downplayed mentions of the president and his priorities as Trump’s popularity wanes.

The Times on the Latest Trump Leak Investigation

The fact that intelligence leaks may embarrass the president is not a reason to refrain from investigating them.

As Midterms Approach, Republicans Find There Is No Escape From Trump

The president’s strategy, message and spending have left the G.O.P. in a difficult spot as lawmakers try to outrun his sagging approval ratings.

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.

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…

Well-connected Dem operative learns fate after FBI busts him in child sex abuse sting

A former Virginia Democratic Party finance chair and 2024 DNC delegate was sentenced to a decade behind bars for child sexual abuse material and other child sex abuse allegations.

Rubio's 'Ross Perot Moment'

Friday, September 4th on RealClearPolitics - Joined by professor of constitutional law at the South Texas College of Law Houston, Josh Blackman

WSJ: Say, Trump May Actually Win the Hormuz Crisis – by Mooting It

Claire's Weekly Letter: The autism epidemic that wasn't

Trump’s Super PAC Will Spend $10 Million on Texas Senate Race

A financial filing announcing the TV and digital ad buy is the first general election spending by MAGA Inc. The group intends to boost the Republican nominee, Ken Paxton.

Friends and Foes

‘I think there’s something admirable and rare about going to bat for your old pal.’

The Federal Reserve Is Out of Excuses

If Americans want inflation to return to normal levels, the Fed is going to have to do what it knows it has to do.

For Fired DeSantis Campaign Staff Member, a Second Chance at State Dept.

The hiring of Nate Hochman, who lost his job amid an uproar over a video containing a Nazi symbol, underscores the administration’s willingness to overlook past transgressions.

These are the most important House races to watch in November

Democrats are favored to win the House, but Republicans have viable paths to keeping control. These are the key themes and races to keep an eye on.

U.S. Military Sinks Boats Said to Aid Drug Smuggling Near Ecuador

Unlike dozens of similar strikes, no one was killed after people suspected of drug smuggling were removed from what the U.S. military described as a floating refueling station.

Machete-wielding MS-13 gangster wanted for murder walks free after Biden-appointed judge releases him: DHS

A convicted MS-13 killer known as "La Bruja" or "the witch" is free in California after a federal judge ruled ICE held him without a required bond hearing for five months.

Trump Officials Draft Plan to Pay At-Home Parents, Using Funds for Working Ones

The proposed benefit, a top policy priority for Vice President JD Vance, would apply only to married couples and tap a fund intended to provide federal child care subsidies to working parents.

Another Illegal Busted in a Billion Dollar Medicare Fraud, Another Day Ending in 'Y'...or 'Why'

Vance’s Scoreboard

It’s not clear to me that Vance’s statement is especially supportable.

‘The Battle of Algiers’ at Sixty

Watching Gillo Pontecorvo’s film six decades after its release permits a nuanced understanding of the events that it portrays, which was unavailable when it first came out.

Ryan Reynolds and the Awesome 1980s

Arizona voter law fight reaches SCOTUS as election groups warn ‘absurd’ consequence could ensue

Election experts warn the Supreme Court that the 9th Circuit's ruling could make it impossible to ever remove noncitizens from state voter rolls.

Politics of the Day

Politics of the Day

The Battle to Save General Donahue From Hegseth’s Army Purge

Gen. Christopher T. Donahue’s vision for fighting future wars won him powerful supporters around the world. Could they save his career?

Trump Says More Insane Things About the Federal Reserve

He doesn’t understand how any of this works.

Ex-Fetterman staffers promise more damaging details after blistering report: ‘Tip of the iceberg’

Former staff members for John Fetterman launched an X account promising damaging revelations well beyond The Wall Street Journal report.

Stop the Democrats' Scheme to Pack the Supreme Court

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.

Why So Many Young Men Are Giving Up on Work

Sydney psychiatrist Tanveer Ahmed on why men who quit work aren't depressed but demoralised, and how mental health labels became a rival source of status and dignity.

Vance on Tucker

Drawing a bright line here is the right thing to do.

The Axe Files with David Axelrod

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

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.

The Real Economy: Manufacturing Jobs

Today's jobs report was a strong one, and encouraging in its broad-based gains. Manufacturing is now up by more than 50,000 jobs since February. Combine that with the increase in job openings and total manufacturing labor demand over the period is…

Judge allows 'homewrecker' lawsuit against former Sen Kyrsten Sinema to move forward

Former U.S. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema can be sued under North Carolina's alienation of affection law after a judge ruled her messages establish jurisdiction.

Swing-Seat Dem Deletes Posts on 'World Without Police'

William Lawrence, the Democratic nominee in one of the country's most competitive House races in Michigan, deleted hundreds of old social media posts in which he embraced police and prison abolition, called for nationalizing fossil-fuel companies …

North Carolina Dem Senate candidate added former Bloods gang member to criminal justice task force: report

Roy Cooper appointed a convicted Bloods gang member to his criminal justice reform task force in 2020, a Washington Free Beacon report reveals.

Trump removes White House shrouds as he prepares for Xi visit

The president had ordered repairs to the iconic, and Ionic, columns outside the White House entrance.