Systemic Error Podcast

What happened AlterNet reports that Judge Ana Reyes temporarily barred the Trump administration from taking further action at East Potomac Park and its golf course after more than 400 trees were removed. According to the report, administration lawyers disclosed the planned work at 4:55 p.m. on the Friday before a holiday weekend; within 24 hours, the trees were gone. The outlet says Reyes told gov...

What happened AlterNet reports that Katie Zacharia, President Trump’s new press secretary, repeatedly called herself a lawyer despite searches finding no record that she was licensed to practice law in any state or Washington, D.C. Pepperdine University confirmed that she earned a J.D. in 2011, but a law degree does not by itself make someone a licensed attorney. Popular Information searched natio...

What happened AlterNet, citing MS NOW, reports that newly appointed White House press secretary Katie Zacharia struggled during her first briefing on Tuesday. In a 14-minute appearance, she reportedly relied heavily on a binder and answered only three questions, all from conservative-leaning outlets. Anonymous White House officials described the performance as poor and questioned whether she could...

What happened AlterNet reports that President Donald Trump used an Ohio appearance on Monday night to praise Republican Sen. John Husted’s body, saying he examined Husted “up and down” and commenting on his rear end, hands and jawline. On Tuesday, MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” panel mocked the remarks. Joe Scarborough described Trump as increasingly preoccupied with muscular men, while Mika Brzezinski sai...

What happened AlterNet reports that Nobel Prize-winning computer scientist Geoffrey Hinton called President Donald Trump a “corrupt, senile felon” and said Trump understands “almost nothing” about artificial intelligence. In a Guardian interview published Tuesday, Hinton specifically criticized Trump’s demand that AI be called “superintelligence,” a term that already refers to systems exceeding hu...

What happened AlterNet reports that several Republican officials marked the U.S. Navy’s 251st birthday on Tuesday with images of foreign warships. Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp and Rep. Tim Moore used pictures of Indian vessels; Ohio state Rep. Mike Dovilla, a longtime naval intelligence officer, used Russian ships; and Border Patrol official Jeffrey J. Dinise featured a Russian Kirov-class battlecruise...

What happened AlterNet reports that U.S. District Judge Jennifer Rochon ordered the Trump administration to stop a $20 million Department of Homeland Security advertising campaign praising President Donald Trump, including an ad titled “God Made Trump.” On Sunday, October 11, 2026, she halted the vendor purchase order, stayed the Office of Management and Budget’s apportionment, and barred DHS from...

What happened AlterNet reports that Fox Business host Stuart Varney warned that energy prices were politically damaging President Donald Trump three weeks before the midterm elections. Diesel was about $6.50 a gallon, gasoline about $4, and oil above $90 a barrel, according to Varney, who said farmers, truckers, and voters were “exasperated.” Varney said Trump’s proposed purchase of millions of ga...

What happened AlterNet reports that conservative commentator Jonathan V. Last argued Donald Trump may be the “worst president” because his administration’s economic and foreign-policy choices are producing losses for both homeowners and prospective buyers. Last cited a 4 percent drop in pending home sales from August to September—the lowest level since 2014 outside the pandemic—and said average 30...

What happened AlterNet does not establish that $50 million went to Mar-a-Lago. It reports that federal events connected to the United States’ 250th anniversary cost $128 million, with at least $114 million supplied by taxpayers, while The Wall Street Journal reported that corporate donors contributed at least another $50 million. The article does not provide records showing where those private con...

What happened AlterNet reports that Megyn Kelly continued pressing claims about James Talarico after the Lindner Center of Hope said he had never been a patient there. Talarico reposted the facility’s statement and said he had never been to Ohio. Kelly nevertheless asked whether he had visited within the previous nine days and whether an operator who allegedly said otherwise had been mistaken. The...

What happened AlterNet, citing The Hill’s review of internal Justice Department metrics, reports that the Trump administration’s immigration policies have sharply increased the department’s legal workload while staffing has fallen. The Civil Division’s Office of Immigration Litigation lost nearly 80 attorneys as its workload rose 63 percent. The office reportedly shrank from about 320 attorneys at...

What happened AlterNet reports that former White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney defended President Donald Trump’s claim that Russia and Ukraine had agreed to pause attacks on energy infrastructure, even though Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russia of striking a Ukrainian power plant hours later. On Times Radio, Mulvaney described Trump’s conduct as an attempt to “visualize his...

What happened AlterNet reports that the Trump administration said it would stop airing a $20 million taxpayer-funded advertising campaign after the Democratic National Committee and Common Cause sued and a judge demanded answers about its legality. A Homeland Security official told the court that the ads would air for the last time on Sunday, but the Justice Department did not answer the lawsuits’...

What happened AlterNet reports that the Trump administration said it would stop airing a $20 million taxpayer-funded advertising campaign after the Democratic National Committee and Common Cause sued and a judge demanded answers about its legality. A Homeland Security official told the court that the ads would air for the last time on Sunday, but the Justice Department did not answer the lawsuits’...

What happened AlterNet reports that Donald Trump has urged Republican voters to “pretend I’m on the ballot” during the midterm campaign, while some Republican candidates are trying to make their campaigns look less connected to him. The outlet says a dozen candidates removed references to Trump from campaign websites and cites Susan Collins and John Sununu as declining to campaign with him, while...

What happened AlterNet reports that Donald Trump has urged Republican voters to “pretend I’m on the ballot” during the midterm campaign, while some Republican candidates are trying to make their campaigns look less connected to him. The outlet says a dozen candidates removed references to Trump from campaign websites and cites Susan Collins and John Sununu as declining to campaign with him, while...

What happened AlterNet, citing The Hill’s review of internal Justice Department metrics, reports that the Trump administration’s immigration policies have sharply increased the department’s legal workload while staffing has fallen. The Civil Division’s Office of Immigration Litigation lost nearly 80 attorneys as its workload rose 63 percent. The office reportedly shrank from about 320 attorneys at...

What happened AlterNet does not establish that $50 million went to Mar-a-Lago. It reports that federal events connected to the United States’ 250th anniversary cost $128 million, with at least $114 million supplied by taxpayers, while The Wall Street Journal reported that corporate donors contributed at least another $50 million. The article does not provide records showing where those private con...

What happened AlterNet reports that psychologist John Paul Garrison identified Trump’s repeated lateral jaw movement as a possible sign of stimulant use—but he also said it could reflect medication, impaired motor function, or a neurological condition. The footage does not establish that Trump took stimulants, and Garrison did not claim proof. Analyzing a Tennessee rally for Sen. Marsha Blackburn,...

What happened AlterNet reports that President Donald Trump’s effort to punish unfavorable coverage disrupted the extensive television exposure he seeks. Citing a Sunday column by Simon Marks in The i Paper , the outlet says Trump barred three news organizations from the White House, prompting five major television networks—ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN and Fox News—to suspend press-pool coverage in solidarit...

What happened AlterNet reports that the Justice Department opened an antitrust investigation into ABC, CBS, CNN, Fox News and NBC after the networks temporarily stopped sharing pooled White House video coverage. The networks acted after the White House barred CNN, Politico and MS NOW from the grounds and revoked journalists’ press passes. The administration characterizes that coordinated response...

What happened AlterNet reports that President Donald Trump’s rallies have shrunk, while Republican candidates in competitive races increasingly treat his presence as a liability. A person described as familiar with Trump’s behavior told The Washington Post that he was in a “foul mood,” although an adviser disputed that account and said Trump enjoyed campaigning and believed it was going well. The...

What happened AlterNet reports that retired Lt. Gen. Mark Hertling and Sen. Angus King argue President Donald Trump’s military decisions have weakened U.S. deterrence and increased the risk of a larger war. Their central warning is that reduced support for Ukraine, troop cuts in Europe and an inconclusive war with Iran may persuade Russia or China that the United States lacks either the capacity o...

What happened AlterNet reports that U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes ordered a 72-hour pause on work at a Washington, D.C., golf course after federal officials removed more than 500 trees, including historic cherry trees, despite the court’s repeated expectation that the government would provide meaningful notice. Government lawyers filed notice at 4:55 p.m. on the Friday before a holiday weekend; fe...