Where It All Starts

The House of Representatives on Tuesday passed Speaker Mike Johnson’s bill to avoid a government shutdown. The measure passed with bipartisan support, and it now heads to the Senate for approval ahead of Saturday’s deadline to avert a shutdown. Republicans also spent Tuesday fighting mostly among themselves: GOP Senator Markwayne Mullin challenged the president of the Teamsters Union to a fight du...

The Supreme Court announced its first-ever ethics code on Monday after pressure from Congress and the public. But it’s unclear how the code – signed by all nine justices – will be enforced. We’re joined by Leah Litman, co-host of Crooked’s Strict Scrutiny podcast, to make sense of it all. And in headlines: thousands of people fled Gaza’s largest hospital as fighting continues outside the facility,...

Local organizers in Atlanta are set to hold a mass nonviolent community action today against Cop City — the 90-million-dollar police training complex slated to be built in the city’s South River Forest. We’re joined by Kamau Franklin, founder of the Community Movement Builders, to discuss what’s at stake if Cop City gets built and what folks on the ground are doing to keep that from happening. And...

Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia announced Thursday that he will not seek re-election in 2024. Manchin’s decision to step down leaves Democrats in a bind and jeopardizes their narrow 51-49 Senate majority. The White House said on Thursday that Israel agreed to daily, four-hour-long pauses in its military operation in Gaza to allow civilians to evacuate. These pauses will also make it e...

The third GOP presidential debate took place in Miami last night with five hopefuls on stage. Meanwhile, Donald Trump skipped out and held a rally nearby in Hialeah, Florida. We’re joined by Leah Greenberg, co-founder and co-Executive Director of Indivisible, to discuss the biggest takeaways of the night and look ahead to the 2024 presidential election. And in headlines: an estimated 40,000 people...

Tuesday was Election Day in key battleground states. In Ohio, voters codified reproductive rights into the state’s constitution. And over in Kentucky, incumbent Democratic Governor Andy Beshear won reelection over Republican challenger Daniel Cameron. Heather Williams, interim president of the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee, breaks down the results and gives insight on what might happen...

Israeli forces said they were closing in on Gaza City as of Monday night. Meanwhile, Palestinian health officials said more than 10,000 people have been killed in Gaza since the war began. Israel said it will not agree to a ceasefire, although White House officials said there might be “tactical pauses” on the table to allow for humanitarian efforts. Former President Donald Trump took the stand on...

Israeli troops said they closed in on Gaza City, and Gaza appeared to be under yet another communications blackout on Sunday – the third in 10 days. Meanwhile, the conflict at the Israel-Lebanon border has gotten more deadly after an Israeli strike killed four people Sunday evening. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken was in the Middle East over the last few days meeting with a host of leaders...

As Israeli troops enter Gaza City and the Palestinian death toll crosses 9,000 lives, the U.S. is pushing for a humanitarian pause in the war between Israel and Hamas. The GOP-led House of Representatives passed a bill on Thursday that would provide $14.3 billion dollars in military aid to Israel, but not to Ukraine. The bill is expected to be dead on arrival in the Senate, and President Biden has...

The Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt opened on Wednesday for the first time since the Israel-Hamas war began. The move comes after a deal was reached this week to allow foreign nationals, aid workers, and some injured Palestinians to leave the embattled enclave. Representative George Santos of New York survived a House vote that would have removed him from Congress. But he isn’t off th...

Israel confirmed that an airstrike targeting a top Hamas commander hit a densely populated refugee camp in northern Gaza, killing at least 50 people and wounding hundreds more. The attack raises fears that Israel’s continued push into the enclave will put even more Palestinian civilians in harm’s way. On Capitol Hill, anti-war protesters interrupted a U.S. Senate hearing over the White House’s eme...

As Israel continues its air and ground offensive into Gaza, its military says it has freed an IDF soldier who was captured by Hamas on October 7th. Meanwhile, Hamas released a video of three other Israeli hostages – Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called it “cruel psychological propaganda,” and rejected calls for a ceasefire. A trial to determine whether Donald Trump can appear on the 2024 presi...

Gaza’s Health Ministry says that over 8,000 Palestinians have been killed since the beginning of the war between Israel and Hamas. Israel has since announced it has entered the “next stage” of its operations into Gaza, after sending in more ground troops to the enclave over the weekend. Meanwhile, calls for an immediate ceasefire have grown, with protesters taking to the streets in cities around t...

A manhunt is underway in Maine for the gunman behind two shootings in Maine. Eighteen people were killed and thirteen others were injured Wednesday evening, in what has become the deadliest mass killing in the U.S. this year. As the likelihood of an escalation in the war between Israel and Hamas looms, activists in the U.S. are revving up their demands for an immediate ceasefire. Eva Borgwardt wit...

Rep. Mike Johnson of Louisiana is the new Speaker of the House of Representatives, ending a 22-days of GOP in-fighting since Rep. Kevin McCarthy’s ouster. While he managed to earn the support of both “moderate” and far-right Republicans, Johnson has a history of voting against abortion access and LGBTQ rights. The war between Israel and Hamas rages on, and people living on both sides of the Israel...

The whirlwind saga to choose the next House speaker continues. After three rounds of secret votes late Tuesday night, House Republicans nominated Rep. Mike Johnson as their latest contender. The move came after Rep. Tom Emmer dropped out of the race just hours after he was selected as the GOP’s speaker designee. One of the two Israeli hostages recently released by Hamas told reporters she “went th...

Two more hostages held captive by Hamas were released on Monday, though Israel says more than 200 others are still being held by the militant group. Meanwhile, officials in Gaza say Israeli airstrikes have now killed over 5,000 people in the territory. Clashes along the Lebanon-Israel border are also stoking fears that the war could spill over. George Bisharat, a Middle East policy expert and prof...

Over the weekend, the first trucks containing much-needed humanitarian aid crossed into Gaza; hours later, Hamas, through the Qatari government, released two American hostages who were captured while visiting Israel. Meanwhile, fighting has intensified between Israeli troops and Hezbollah at the Lebanese border, fueling fears that the conflict may spread. There are now nine Republicans running to...

Republicans have failed, again, to select a new House speaker. Representative Jim Jordan of Ohio – the far-right Republican who’s already lost two full floor votes – said he will continue his bid for the role, despite failing to convince the holdouts from his own party. About 20 trucks carrying vital humanitarian aid for Gaza are waiting on the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing, though it...

President Joe Biden touched down in Israel on Wednesday in a show of support for a nation in mourning – but also warned against the human cost of being swept up by wartime rage. He also confirmed that Israel agreed to allow the beginning of humanitarian aid into Gaza from Egypt. Representative Jim Jordan once again lost his bid to become the next House speaker, with more of his Republican colleagu...

As President Biden prepared to visit Israel, a hospital in Gaza City was hit by a devastating blast Tuesday, killing at least 500 people. Hamas blamed it on an Israeli airstrike, though Israel denied any involvement. Hours later, the White House confirmed that a planned summit in Jordan with Arab leaders was called off. Crooked’s Tommy Vietor joins us to explain how these new developments will com...

President Biden will travel to Israel tomorrow. The high-stakes visit is meant to be a show of solidarity with Israel – while also sending a message to other countries in the region to keep the conflict with Hamas from escalating. The announcement also comes amid a continued push to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza. The federal government has reached a deal with the ACLU over the Trump administrat...

As Israel continues to gear up for its anticipated ground invasion of Gaza, diplomats with the United States, Egypt, and other countries are scrambling to avert a larger humanitarian crisis. Israel has given repeated orders for Gazans to evacuate south ahead of that, but basic services in that region are already incredibly strained due to years of an international blockade. And in headlines: Ohio...

Secretary of State Antony Blinken was in Israel on Thursday to show support for the country, following Hamas’ attack over the weekend. He also called on Israel to exercise restraint as it continues its airstrikes on Gaza. Meanwhile, the United States and Qatar have agreed to stop Iran, which has helped Hamas in the past, from accessing $6 billion in recently unfrozen aid. And as the war continues,...

As Israel sends thousands of troops to the border with Gaza, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has agreed to form an emergency war cabinet with members of the country’s political opposition. It comes as Israel continues to pound the Palestinian territory with airstrikes, intensifying fears that the assault will create a humanitarian crisis. Meanwhile, Israel is on edge over the fate of ove...