Tangle

Joe Biden. On Sunday, President Joe Biden  announced  he is dropping his reelection campaign and endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris to replace him on the ticket. Biden, until now the presumptive Democratic nominee, leaves the race  later in the election cycle  than any sitting president in U.S. history. His exit sets the stage for an intense rush to unite the Democratic Par...

In today's episode, Isaac and Ari discuss the assassination attempt on Donald Trump, the use of conspiracy theories, and the justification of political violence. They also talk about the ongoing calls for Joe Biden to drop out of the presidential race. And, as always, the Airing of Grievances. Imagine this: There are over 100,000 people on this mailing list. If every person got one friend to sign...

In the wake of the assassination attempt on former president Donald Trump. There've been a lot of questions, namely questions about the security and the Secret Service at this Butler, Pennsylvania event. How could something like this happen? How could a 20 year old kid get onto a roof just a few hundred feet away from the former president and get several clean shots, several clean attempts, at his...

Bob Menendez’s bribery verdict. On Tuesday, Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) was  convicted  on all counts of bribery, acting as a foreign agent for Egypt, obstruction of justice, extortion, and conspiring to commit those crimes. The verdict makes Menendez  the first sitting U.S. senator  to be found guilty of being an agent of a foreign government. You can read today's podcast ⁠ ⁠⁠her...

On Thursday June 27th, 2024, President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump took the stage in the first of two planned televised debates. The debate, which took place in Atlanta and was hosted by CNN, was unique in a few ways. The Commission on Presidential Debates, which has organized debates for nearly 40 years, was excluded after both Trump and Biden expressed their dissatisfaction over...

The dismissal of Trump’s classified documents case. On Monday, Judge Aileen Cannon  dismissed  the Department of Justice’s case against former President Donald Trump for illegal retention of classified documents.  You can read today's podcast ⁠ ⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠ , our “Under the Radar” story ⁠here and today’s “Have a nice day” story ⁠here⁠ . Imagine this: There are over 100,000 people on th...

J.D. Vance. On Monday, former President Donald Trump announced freshman Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH) as his running mate for the 2024 election. Before his election to the Senate, Vance was best known as the author of “Hillbilly Elegy,” which describes his experience growing up in a poverty-stricken home in Ohio. Vance, 39, is the first millennial nominated to either party's major ticket. If elected, he...

The Trump assassination attempt. On Saturday, former President Donald Trump  survived an assassination attempt  during a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. Around six minutes into his remarks, gunshots rang out and Trump grabbed his right ear, dropping to the ground as Secret Service agents swarmed him. Moments later, Trump stood up surrounded by Secret Service with blood covering h...

Isaac got to talk with Alon Gat. He recounts his harrowing experience on October 7th, what happened to him and his family, the current situation, and his hope for the future of Israelis and Palestinians. You can subscribe to Tangle by clicking here or drop something in our tip jar by clicking here. Our podcast is written by Isaac Saul and edited and engineered by Jon Lall. Music for the podcast wa...

A few months ago I flew to Vancouver to give a talk at TED2024 in Vancouver. I'd call something like this a "bucket list" item, except I never actually imagined it was something I'd get to do. The invitation was more like a monster surprise, a major career achievement, and a really fun way to spread the word about what we're doing here at Tangle. Anyway, when I made the trip, we announced it in th...

The Republican Party’s platform. Over the weekend, the Republican party released its  2024 campaign platform , the first time it has released a party platform since 2016.  The document  — titled “2024 GOP Platform Make America Great Again!” — includes 20 promises and 10 chapters outlining the governing priorities for a Republican president. Typically, the Republican and Democrat par...

The French elections. Over the weekend, a leftist coalition called the New Popular Front (NFP)  won a plurality of seats  in the 2024 French legislative election in a surprise upset over a right-wing movement that was expected to dominate the election. However, the New Popular Front failed to win a majority, leaving open the possibility of a hung parliament, which would be an  unpre...

Joe Biden’s reelection campaign. In the eleven days since President Joe Biden’s widely criticized performance in the first presidential debate, a growing number of donors, allies, and Democratic lawmakers have called on the president to drop out of the race.  Several   polls  released in the last week show former President Donald Trump’s lead over Biden  increasing , adding to...

City of Grants Pass v. Johnson . On Friday, the Supreme Court  voted 6-3  along ideological lines to uphold ordinances in the city of Grants Pass, Oregon, that outlaw sleeping and camping in public places while using materials like blankets, pillows, or cardboard boxes for warmth or shelter. The decision overturns a lower court’s determination that such laws are unconstitutional and&nbsp...

Trump v. United States . On Monday, the Supreme Court  ruled 6-3  that former President Donald Trump is entitled to immunity from federal prosecution for his official actions while in office. The decision is the first Supreme Court ruling to assert that former presidents are shielded from criminal charges for actions deemed to be within their constitutional authority, though it also clar...

The end of  Chevron  deference. On Friday, the Supreme Court  overruled  the court’s 1984 decision in  Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council , which deferred to the judgment of federal agencies in interpreting statutory text to create regulations based on ambiguous laws. The 6-3 ruling fell along ideological lines, with the court’s six Republican-appointed justices...

Last night, Tangle editors Ari Weitzman and Will Kaback were tuned into the debate along with Isaac. We thought it’d be extra informative, even fun, to supplement today's newsletter with some additional commentary and thoughts from our editors. You can read today's podcast ⁠ ⁠⁠here and today’s “Have a nice day” story ⁠here⁠ . You can catch our latest YouTube video on Juneteenth here . Check out Ep...

The NY-16 primary. On Tuesday, Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY)  lost to  Democratic challenger George Latimer in the primary election for New York’s 16th Congressional District. The race was one of the most closely watched primaries in the country and the  most expensive  House primary ever, with around  $24 million  spent on advertising alone. Latimer led Bowman  58%-...

Julian Assange’s plea deal. On Tuesday, WikiLeaks founder  Julian Assange was released  from a British prison to plead guilty to a conspiracy charge with the U.S. Justice Department. After his release, Assange traveled to the island of Saipan in the U.S. territory of the Marianas Islands in the Pacific, where he stood trial at 9 a.m. local time on Wednesday morning (Tuesday at 7 p.m. Eas...

The Ten Commandments law in Louisiana . Last week, Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry (R)  signed a bill  requiring the Ten Commandments to be displayed in every public school classroom in the state — from elementary school up to public colleges. You can read today's podcast ⁠ ⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠ , our “Under the Radar” story ⁠here and today’s “Have a nice day” story ⁠here⁠ . You can catch our latest YouT...

United States v. Rahimi . On Friday, the Supreme Court  upheld a federal law  barring anyone subject to a restraining order for domestic violence from possessing firearms. The ruling reversed a judgment by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that the law violated the Second Amendment’s guarantee of a right to keep and bear arms.  You can read today's podcast ⁠ ⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠ , our “Und...

On today's episode, Isaac and Ari talk about recent Supreme Court rulings and the potential impact of upcoming cases, the controversial law in Louisiana that requires the display of the Ten Commandments in public school classrooms, Will Kaback's Friday piece on RFK Jr. and his potential impact in the 2024 presidential election, and one Airing of Grievances, as well as one computer dying. You can c...

Biden’s new immigration executive order. On Tuesday, President Biden announced a  large-scale immigration program  offering unauthorized immigrants married to American citizens legal status and an expedited pathway to citizenship for them and their children. The executive order will allow applicants to live and work in the United States legally under an existing policy called “Parole in...

The bump-stock ban. On Friday, a divided Supreme Court struck down a Trump-era ban on bump stocks, the gun attachment used to make semi-automatic weapons fire at a rate similar to fully automatic firearms. The court  broke 6-3 along ideological lines , with all three liberal justices in dissent. In the majority opinion, Justice Clarence Thomas emphasized that Congress has not enacted a law to...

The Supreme Court’s abortion pill ruling . On Thursday, the court  unanimously rejected  a lawsuit brought by pro-life medical groups and doctors that aimed to restrict access to mifepristone, a drug commonly used in medication abortions. The justices did not rule on the merits of the arguments, instead dismissing the case because the plaintiffs lacked standing, or a legal right to sue....