As a leading contender for Republican presidential nomination next year, Ron DeSantis has the ability to force the rest of his party to quickly take sides on political fights. That’s what happened this week, after the Florida governor described the Russian invasion of Ukraine as a “territorial dispute” in which the United States does not […]
Author: Pema Levy
Manhattan Prosecutor Promises Security After Trump Calls for Protests
History has shown that when Donald Trump calls for protests, violence may be around the corner. So when the former president lashed out at the Manhattan prosecutor’s office on Saturday, District Attorney Alvin Bragg had to prepare for the worst. “Our law enforcement partners will ensure that any specific or credible threats against the office […]
The Supreme Court’s Big Algorithm Fail
Last Tuesday, as the Supreme Court began hearing oral arguments in key cases that could shape the future of the internet, it quickly became clear that some important information was missing. No one seemed able to explain how the algorithms that underlie the Internet actually function. “I was ripping my hair out.” “These are not […]
Republicans Have Manufactured a Controversy Over the Chinese Spy Balloon
A US military fighter jet shot down the Chinese spy balloon off the coast of South Carolina on Saturday, but the Biden administration has a different kind of foe that has yet to be neutralized: attacks coming from Republicans trying to score political points over the floating white orb that appeared in America’s skies. The […]
A New Poll Finds That Democrats Really Don’t Want Biden to Run Again
As President Joe Biden prepares to launch his re-election campaign in the coming months, a new Washington Post-ABC News poll on Sunday showed that Biden must overcome a lack of enthusiasm for his candidacy and a feeling that voters’ financial situation has worsened since he took office. Biden has not officially announced his campaign, though he is […]
The Billionaire Koch Network Wants to Defeat Trump in 2024
Koch world is over Donald Trump. Americans for Prosperity Action, the group that spends millions on conservative candidates in American elections, backed by the billionaire Charles Koch, announced Sunday that it would take sides in the GOP presidential primary after sitting out the last few cycles—vowing to support a candidate who is not Trump. “The […]
The Real Reason House Republicans Kicked Ilhan Omar off the Foreign Affairs Committee
House Republicans removed Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) from the Foreign Affairs Committee on Thursday because she is a Black, Muslim woman. Officially, that’s not the reason. But the facts speak for themselves: The removal is the culmination of years of targeting Omar by Donald Trump, the rightwing media, and Republican lawmakers who attacked her religion, […]
The College Board Just Watered Down its New AP African American History Course
The College Board released the curriculum for its new AP African American Studies course Wednesday, revealing that the group had stripped the course of the topics that prompted Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to ban the course. It will no longer contain certain material that DeSantis, who seeks to erase LGBTQ and Black experiences from school […]
Was the Anti-Abortion Influence Campaign an Open Secret at the Supreme Court?
On Thursday, Rev. Robert Schenck testified before Congress about the anti-abortion influence campaign he ran targeting the Supreme Court, recounting the bombshell revelations that have clouded the highest court in scandal first reported in November by the New York Times. While speaking to the lawmakers, Schenck shared a new detail: That at least one justice […]
From Wedding Websites to ‘Whites Only’: Will the Supreme Court OK Economic Discrimination?
On Monday, the Supreme Court heard 303 Creative v. Elenis, a case brought by a Colorado designer who only will create wedding websites for opposite-sex couples—not same-sex ones—and wants to advertise that fact, just like brick-and-mortar businesses once hung signs announcing whom they would refuse to serve. After arguments, it appeared clear that the 6-3 conservative […]