Tangle

Over the weekend, Russia's President Vladimir Putin accused a mercenary group he has employed in the war in Ukraine of treason, all while news reports broke out about infighting turning to mutiny and perhaps an attempted coup. Plus, a reader question about human-caused climate change. You can read today's podcast here , today’s “Under the Radar” story here , and today’s “Have A Nice Day” s...

On June 15, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. appeared on Joe Rogan's podcast to describe his outlook on vaccine safety and promote his 2024 presidential campaign. For the first hour of the three-hour interview, Kennedy spoke largely uninterrupted about the theory that the ethylmercury and aluminum present in many vaccines cause autism, auto-immune disease, neurological disease, and other chronic diseases...

On Tuesday, a court filing revealed that Hunter Biden's lawyers and the Justice Department have struck a deal for him to plead guilty on two misdemeanor tax charges while avoiding further prosecution on a more serious gun charge, meaning he will likely avoid any prison time after a five year Justice Department investigation. You can read today's podcast here , today’s “Under the Radar” sto...

Today, we are talking with Michael Dorf and Neil Buchanan. Michael is a Law Professor and Scholar of U.S. Constitutional Law who currently serves as the Robert S. Stevens Professor of Law at Cornell Law School. Neil is an Economist, Legal Scholar, and Professor currently working as a Professor of Law at University of Florida - Levin College of Law. Both are considered leading experts on the U.S. d...

Inflation. On Tuesday, the Department of Labor reported that inflation has risen at 4% year-over-year in May, meaning it was at its lowest annual rate in more than two years.  We have covered inflation and interest rate hikes 15 times before. You can find our previous coverage here . Tickets are officially live (and public!) for our event in Philadelphia on Thursday, August 3rd. Thanks to all the...

Republicans, the House Freedom Caucus, and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. On Monday, Speaker McCarthy struck a deal with a group of conservative Republicans that will allow legislation to begin moving on the House floor again after the chamber was ground to a halt for a week. Tickets are officially live (and public!) for our event in Philadelphia on Thursday, August 3rd. Thanks to all the folks who...

The Supreme Court voting rights ruling. On Thursday, the Supreme Court ordered Alabama to create a second majority-black district, throwing out its gerrymandered congressional map and upholding Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act (VRA). The 5-4 ruling in Allen v. Milligan was a surprise to many court watchers who expected the court to rule in favor of the Republican mapmakers in the state. At quest...

The Trump indictment. On Friday afternoon, former President Donald Trump's indictment was unsealed. The Department of Justice has charged Trump with 37 counts of seven different charges, including willfully retaining national defense information, withholding classified records, making false statements to investigators, and conspiracy to obstruct. Walt Nauta, a military veteran and aide to Trum...

Mike Pence and Chris Christie. This week, former Vice President Mike Pence (R) and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) each announced their plans to run for president. Both candidates will join a Republican primary race that now includes former President Donald Trump, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, a...

The Ukraine war. Yesterday, as Ukraine's counteroffensive appeared to be underway, news broke that  a major dam and hydroelectric power plant in southern Ukraine were severely damaged. The attack on the dam caused flooding near the front lines, with communities downstream of the dam — many currently under Russian control — having to evacuate while Russia continued shelling the region overhead....

Pride month. June in the United States is Pride Month, when members of the LGBTQ community celebrate lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer pride. Pride month is often commemorated in major cities with pride parades. Many companies and workplaces have taken part in pride festivities for several years, offering specialty products or encouraging employees to participate in certain educationa...

California home insurers. Last week, State Farm said it would stop selling new insurance policies to homeowners in California as of May 27, citing "historic increases in construction costs outpacing inflation, rapidly growing catastrophe exposure, and a challenging reinsurance market." The decision leaves Californians without one of the largest insurers in the country and the leading pro...

RFK Jr. In April, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. filed paperwork to run for president in 2024 as a Democrat. The 69-year-old is a longtime environmental lawyer and activist, who has sparked controversy for questioning the efficacy of Covid-19 vaccines and the safety of other vaccinations. Politically, he has spent much of his career fighting pollution and pushing to rein in the power of corporations. Ticke...

The Clean Water Act. On Thursday, the Supreme Court established a more stringent test to determine whether the Clean Water Act (CWA) applies to certain wetlands, limiting the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) authority over them. The decision will have broad implications for agriculture, energy, and mining. Tickets are officially live (and public!) for our event in Philadelphia on Thursd...

The debt ceiling deal. Days before a potential default, President Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy announced an agreement to suspend the debt limit for two years. The Fiscal Responsibility Act will cut spending, speed up permitting for some energy projects, enact new work requirements for food stamps and TANF, recover $28 billion in unspent Covid money, and redirect roughly $20 billion of IR...

Ron DeSantis. Florida's Republican governor officially announced his 2024 presidential campaign on Wednesday; first by releasing a campaign launch video , then appearing in a live audio space on Twitter, and finally going on Fox News to be interviewed by Trey Gowdy. DeSantis has been widely expected to enter the race for the Republican nomination and is polling better than any of the other cha...

Twitter v. Taamneh and Gonzalez v. Google LLC . On Thursday, the Supreme Court ruled against the family of a 2017 ISIS attack victim who had sued Twitter, Facebook, and Google in an effort to hold them liable for allowing ISIS to use their platforms. The court ruled unanimously that the lawsuit could not move forward. Along with that ruling, the justices sent Gonzalez v. Google LLC, a similar case...

Tim Scott. On Monday, South Carolina Republican Tim Scott officially announced his bid for president in 2024. Scott, a 57-year-old who joined the Senate in 2013, was first sworn into Congress as a member of the House in 2011. Scott is one of the most prominent Republicans in the Senate, and quickly earned an endorsement from Sen. John Thune (R-SD), the No. 2 ranking Senate Republican. Scott is the...

F-16s for Ukraine. The United States and its allies are planning to provide F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine as part of a long-term effort to strengthen its military. The decision was announced by the Biden administration on Friday at the G-7 Summit, and comes after months of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky pleading with the U.S. and other allies to provide the jets. Until now, Biden had refuse...

The debt ceiling. Negotiations over the debt ceiling appear to be coming to a head. President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy reiterated on Wednesday that they are determined to reach a deal to raise the $31.4 trillion debt ceiling and avoid a potential default, with McCarthy indicating a deal could be struck as soon as this weekend. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has reiterated that a...

The Durham report. On Monday, special counsel John Durham released his long-awaited report examining how the FBI handled its investigation of Donald Trump's alleged ties to Russia. Durham's report came after four years investigating the FBI’s investigation, and after losing both of the criminal cases he took to trial. You can find our previous coverage of the Durham probe here . You can re...

The Daniel Penny charges. Daniel Penny, who was seen putting Jordan Neely in a chokehold on a New York subway on May 1, was charged with second degree manslaughter on Thursday, the Manhattan District Attorney's Office said. Penny could face as many as 15 years in prison. Shortly after turning himself in, he was released on a $100,000 bond. Penny did not enter a plea, as the charges will go bef...

The Biden investigation. Last week, the House Oversight Committee released an  interim report  saying it had unearthed evidence that Biden's family members, associates, and their related companies received more than $10 million from foreign entities. The alleged payments were made between 2015 and 2017, during and after President Biden's term as vice president. You can read today's pod...

Title 42. On Thursday, May 11, the controversial Trump-era public health restriction will come to an end at midnight.  Title 42 was a public health order  issued during the pandemic that was used to promptly turn away migrants who arrived at the U.S.-Mexico border as a way to prevent the spread of Covid-19. The order allowed border officials to deport migrants who are typically allowed to seek asy...

Today's topic contains descriptions of sexual assault and language that may be inappropriate for some readers. Donald Trump and E. Jean Carroll. On Tuesday, a federal jury in Manhattan found former President Donald Trump civilly liable for sexually abusing and defaming E. Jean Carroll and ordered him to pay $5 million in damages. The jury ruling was the result of a civil trial in which the wri...