Tangle

On Tuesday, Ohio voters rejected a ballot measure, dubbed Issue 1, that would have made it harder to amend the state constitution. Official results show the measure has been defeated by a 57% to 43% vote. Plus, a reader question about legacy admissions. You can read today's podcast here , today’s “Under the Radar” story here , and today’s “Have A Nice Day” story here . An interesting stance fr...

Last week, the Fitch Ratings agency downgraded the U.S. government's top credit rating from AAA to AA+, a decision that drew an angry response from the White House and surprised investors. In the initial reaction to the announcement, investors moved money from stocks into government bonds and the dollar. Plus, why does Tangle have slightly more liberal readers than conservative? You can read t...

The latest Trump indictment. On Tuesday, Donald Trump was indicted in a criminal case accusing him of illegal acts during an attempt to change the outcome of the 2020 election. The indictment was filed by special counsel Jack Smith, the same prosecutor who is heading the Mar-a-Lago classified documents case . You can read today's podcast here , today’s Under the Radar story here , and today’s...

Four years ago, we picked a fight with partisan media in the United States. Nearly every weekday since, we've published news with an eye toward elevating debate, broadening people's perspectives, and bringing balance back to the media landscape. Tonight, for the first time ever, the Tangle community will be gathering in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In an effort to bring the experience of th...

Legacy admissions. This week, the United States Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona suggested that the Supreme's Court's decision to strike down affirmative action could lead to axing legacy admissions, the practice of giving priority to the children of alumni. Separately, a civil rights group called Lawyers for Civil Rights is challenging legacy admissions at Harvard University , saying...

The new Trump charges. On Thursday, special counsel Jack Smith filed additional charges against former President Trump tied to his alleged mishandling of classified documents. Most significantly, the new indictment accuses Trump and his aides of attempting to delete surveillance footage from his Mar-a-Lago club so it couldn't be turned over to a grand jury. The Tangle team has assembled in Phi...

On Thursday, the Commerce Department reported that the U.S. economy grew by a 2.4% annualized rate in the second quarter, beating the 2% estimate by economists and showing the latest sign that a U.S. recession is unlikely. At the same time, the personal consumption expenditures price index increased just 2.6%, a sign that inflation is continuing to cool. Plus, a reader question about wind turbines...

Florida's African American studies curriculum. Last week, the Florida Board of Education approved a controversial new curriculum to teach African American history. The 216-page document is part of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis's Stop Wrongs to Our Kids and Employees Act (commonly called the Stop W.O.K.E. Act ), which was passed in 2022 and regulates the way race and gender can be taught in...

International affairs. Since we are a daily newsletter focused on U.S. issues and can't go deep on every single topic out there, we sometimes miss important things happening in the rest of the world. So today, we thought it'd be a good idea to mix it up: We're going to use this edition to do a brief round-up of a few of the biggest stories from across the globe that we haven't had...

The Hollywood strike. Last week, Hollywood actors joined the screenwriters’ strike, marking the first dual-union strike the industry has seen in over 60 years. Many scripted late night shows have already been paralyzed, airing only reruns since the writer's strike began in May, but the addition of the actors’ union has the potential to further upend the television, film, and streaming industri...

The IRS whistleblowers. On Wednesday, two whistleblowers from the Internal Revenue Service testified in front of Congress about the investigations into President Biden's son, Hunter. The whistleblowers, IRS special agent Joseph Ziegler and his supervisor Gary Shapley, alleged that the U.S. Attorney for Delaware David Weiss and other prosecutors slow-walked the case and showed preferential trea...

Republicans’ NDAA bill. On Friday, House Republicans passed a sweeping defense bill called the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). NDAAs are annual bills whose primary function is to fund national defense programs, and they typically pass with bipartisan support.  However, controversy over the bill increased after it was heavily amended by conservatives in the House to include a few hot-but...

Israel and Rep. Pramila Jayapal. On Sunday, Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), the Chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, apologized for calling Israel a "racist state." Jayapal's comments came during a conference for progressive activist organization Netroots Nation over the weekend. For weeks, we've been hyping the first-ever live Tangle event in Philadelphia on August 3rd ....

Our podcast editor, Jon, is traveling today. So, we wanted to use this time to release an interview we’ve had for a little bit. This is a discussion between two people on different sides of the immigration issue.  Alejandra Oliva is an essayist, translator, and immigrant justice advocate. Her writing has been included in Best American Travel Writing 2020, nominated for a Pushcart prize, and was ho...

Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL). Tuberville has been blocking all nominations for senior military positions over his disagreement with a Defense Department policy to pay for service members’ out-of-state travel for abortions or other reproductive care. As part of a protest against the policy, Tuberville has used the unique power held by individual senators known as "unanimous consent" to st...

No Labels. Next week, Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) is set to headline an event in New Hampshire sponsored by the bipartisan group No Labels, stoking speculation that he could be the group's pick for a third-party presidential bid in 2024. For weeks, we've been hyping the first-ever live Tangle event in Philadelphia on August 3rd . Today, I am thrilled to announce our three guests and...

The Ninth Circuit's homelessness ruling. On Thursday, the most powerful federal appeals court in the western United States reaffirmed that cities and towns are not allowed to force homeless people off the streets unless those communities provide adequate shelter for them. Tickets are officially live (and public!) for our event in Philadelphia on Thursday, August 3rd. Thanks to all the folks wh...

Cluster munitions to Ukraine. U.S. officials confirmed this weekend that they plan to provide Ukrainian troops with "cluster munitions," controversial explosive weapons that have been banned by 123 states and criticized by human rights groups for their tendency to indiscriminately kill civilians, even long after hostilities have ended. Tickets are officially live (and public!) for our ev...

Heat records. For four straight days last week, Earth’s temperature tied or broke the record for hottest days since record keeping began in 1979. Data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration show the average global temperature on Thursday climbed to 63.03 degrees Fahrenheit , 1.8 degrees Fahrenheit above the historic average for that date and an increase from the 62.9 degree Fahre...

On Friday, the Supreme Court ruled in a 6-3 decision that the Biden administration acted unconstitutionally when it announced the cancellation of $400 billion in student loans last year. All six Republican-appointed justices were in the majority while all three Democratic-appointed justices joined the dissent. You can read today's podcast here , today’s “Under the Radar” story here , and today...

303 Creative LLC v. Elenis. On Friday, the Supreme Court sided with a Colorado web designer who argued that the First Amendment entitles her to refuse to build wedding websites for same-sex couples. The 6-3 decision, with all Republican-appointed justices in the majority, was widely described as a win for religious conservatives and a defeat for LGTBQ rights. You can read our previous edition, whe...

Affirmative action. On Thursday, the Supreme Court determined in a 6-3 decision that considering race in university admissions is unconstitutional. The ruling will reshape how the nation's most elite universities attempt to diversify their campuses, and also has the potential to impact the make-up of the nation's workforce. Tickets are officially live (and public!) for our event in Philade...

Impeaching Joe Biden. Last week, Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) introduced a resolution to impeach President Joe Biden, citing "high crimes and misdemeanors" for his handling of the U.S. border with Mexico. Tickets are officially live (and public!) for our event in Philadelphia on Thursday, August 3rd. Thanks to all the folks who bought tickets — we're on track to sell this baby out! Rem...

In a 6-3 decision on Tuesday, the Supreme Court rejected independent state legislature theory (ISL), the legal theory that embraces the idea that the Constitution gives state legislatures unfettered authority to regulate federal elections, with little to no interference from state courts. Chief Justice John Roberts wrote the majority opinion, while Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, and Neil...

On Wednesday, Special Counsel John Durham testified for over five hours before Congress. Durham spent four years scrutinizing the origins of the FBI's investigation into possible links between Russia and former President Donald Trump's 2016 campaign. During his testimony, he detailed the "sobering" findings of that investigation outlined in the controversial report he released in...