July 7, 2026
Meanwhile. . .
The Supreme Court yesterday permitted a Texas law restricting minors from downloading most apps without parental consent to take effect.
Hegseth features far right preacher
NPR - Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth invited Pastor
Doug Wilson to deliver a sermon at the Pentagon earlier this year as part of
his monthly Christian worship service. Wilson self-identifies as a Christian
nationalist, and his appearance at the Pentagon was controversial. He has
advocated for the repeal of women's right to vote, defended slavery and
believes that homosexuality should be criminalized. His extreme views were once
considered fringe, but religious scholars say his teachings are now making their
way into the mainstream. In an episode of NPR's Newsmakers, Morning
Edition's Leila Fadel sat down with Wilson at his home church in Idaho to
discuss why he wants the U.S. to become a Christian theocracy and the
implications it would hold for women and non-Christians across the nation. Watch or listen to the
interview or read the article about their
discussion.
Heat weather
NPR - The dangerous heat wave that swept across much
of the eastern U.S. over the July Fourth weekend could be the nation's new
normal this time of year, according to experts. Scientists say climate
change is driving more extreme temperatures and heavier rainfall. Both can
contribute to significant, costly damage to roads. These extreme weather
changes can cause pavement to expand, crack and warp, rendering some roads
unusable until they are repaired. Engineers suggest that using a more durable —
and more expensive — asphalt blend could be a solution for some roads that are
subject to extreme temperatures. The way the U.S. has traditionally approached
infrastructure, such as roads, is no longer sufficient for the future, says
Mikhail Chester, a professor of engineering at Arizona State University. Here’s
what else experts say can be done
to help.
Most and least sports loving states
With the FIFA World
Cup in full swing and the final less than two weeks away, the non-profit
organization SmileHub today released new reports on the Best
Charities for Sports & Recreation and the Best States for Sports Lovers in 2026.
To highlight the most sports-loving states, SmileHub compared each of the 50
states based on 20 key metrics. The data set ranges from the number of sports
charities per capita to the number of sports-related jobs per capita to the
number of sports scholarships per capita.
|
Most Sports-Loving States |
Least Sports-Loving States |
|
1. Ohio |
41. Oklahoma |
|
2. New York |
42. Arkansas |
|
3. Pennsylvania |
43. Wyoming |
|
4. California |
44. Maine |
|
5. Illinois |
45. West Virginia |
|
6. Massachusetts |
46. Alabama |
|
7. Indiana |
47. New Mexico |
|
8. Colorado |
48. Idaho |
|
9. North Carolina |
49. Alaska |
|
10. Iowa |
50. Hawaii |
Key Stats
·
Ohio has the most sports bars per capita – 24.5
times more than Alaska, which has the fewest sports bars.
·
Florida has the most sports clubs per
capita – 19.3 times more than Arkansas, which has the
fewest sports clubs.
·
California has the most sporting goods
stores per capita – 6 times more than North Dakota, which
has the fewest stores.
Todd Blanche
The
Hill - More than 1,200 former
Department of Justice (DOJ) employees encouraged the Senate to reject acting
Attorney General Todd Blanche’s nomination to take on the role permanently,
writing in a Tuesday letter that he has been “demonizing career employees.”
“In the coming weeks, many will rightly underscore the
corruption and abuses that have defined the Justice Department under Todd
Blanche’s leadership: the vindictive prosecutions and investigations of the
President’s foes; the deals designed to reward lawbreakers with taxpayer
dollars; the erasure of accountability for January 6; the mishandling of the
Epstein files; and the denigration of judges and repeated violations of their
orders,” the former employees wrote in a letter organized by Justice Connection,
a DOJ alumni group.
“But we want to focus on an area that deserves just as much
attention: Todd Blanche’s degradation of DOJ’s apolitical career workforce.”
While such letters are common while a nominee is pending,
it’s unusual for them to gain such a large number of signatures. The effort
comes as Blanche is set to appear for his confirmation hearing next
week.
Polls
The
Guardian - Ninety-five per cent of Americans believe the
US is suffering an affordability crisis, as many report trouble with the rising
cost of groceries and gas, according to an exclusive new poll conducted for the
Guardian.
The survey, conducted by Harris Poll, paints a bleak picture
of how people feel about the US economy amid the war in Iran and ahead of the
key midterm elections this fall.
Despite stable employment and record-high stock markets,
more Americans believe the overall economy is getting worse (57%) than in
February (46%), when the poll was last conducted and before the war in the
Middle East sent gas prices soaring. Fewer people today also believe the
economy is getting better (16%, compared with 28% in February) and more say
their financial security has gotten worse.
Immigration
New Republic - A federal judge in Ohio ruled
against the Trump administration Monday, citing bigoted comments President
Trump and Vice President JD Vance made about immigrants.
U.S. District Judge Algenon
Marbley ordered the White House to unfreeze immigrants’
benefit applications, citing Trump and Vance’s “outright hostility towards
immigrants, both before and after the 2024 presidential election.” These
applications include filings for work authorization and green cards from people
in the U.S. from countries including Burma, Canada, Iran, Nigeria, Syria,
Tanzania, and Venezuela.
“Their ire appears focused on
immigrants from countries in the Caribbean, South America, Africa, and Asia,”
Marbley, nominated to the federal bench by President Bill Clinton in 1997,
wrote.
The judge quoted many of Trump’s
comments against immigrants of color, including the time he railed against
people coming to the U.S. from “shithole countries” or when he claimed Haitians are “poisoning the blood” of our country. In his second term as
president, Trump attacked Somali Americans and accused them of adding “nothing” to the country, and oversaw violent immigration
crackdowns across the country, particularly in Minnesota.
Marbley also highlighted Trump
and Vance’s made-up accusation that Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio,
were eating people’s pet cats and dogs.
Word
Greg Gerritt - I
work with lots of young people and Democratic Socialists and no one I have ever
met except rich folks wants things for free. We know real good public
services require money and we want taxes that reflect ability to pay. We want
an end to tax breaks for the rich. We want an economy that works for everyone.
We want an end to subsidies for oil companies and downtown real estate and
luxury buildings. We want mass transit that works, parks in every neighborhood,
clean air and water. What kind of compromise is there on clean water or air?
Trump's war on the Smithsonian Institution
MS
Now - A
new report from the White House Domestic Policy Council has a dire warning
about the Smithsonian Institution. According to the White House, the National
Museum of American History has become home to “a radical, activist cohort
dedicated to reframing the American story to serve its ideological ends.”
Accordingly, its authors write, President Donald Trump “has a duty and
obligation to seek reforms of the Smithsonian” and restore the museum to its
aims of being a beacon of patriotism.
This
overwrought declaration spells out just how impossible Trump’s cohort finds it
to imagine a world in which thoughtful criticism of America’s past could foster
love of this country. But it’s only through examination of the unvarnished
truth of where we’ve come from that we can truly appreciate where we are — and
develop a vision of what we want America to become.
…The council’s
conclusions in the 162-page report, titled “Saving America’s Story,” are as
unnerving as they are dramatic: “As it stands today, it would benefit most
Americans, especially parents bringing their children for a tour, if the
Smithsonian’s flagship history museum had a label at every entrance that reads:
‘Warning: the exhibits in this museum were prepared by people who don’t want
you to love your country.’
Donald Trump
Alternet
- A quarter millennia after its
founding, the United States faces a stark choice that will define its future. In the years ahead, the country can continue
to follow the path blazed by President Donald Trump, who is attempting to bring
states under the authority of a more powerful federal government led by him. Or
it can move in a different direction, one where states become a heavier
counterweight to an aggressive White House and rebalance the relationship
between the states and the federal government.
The United States’ foundations
are undergoing a significant stress test, experts say, raising questions about
whether a radical reconception of the nation lies ahead. The federalism that
has helped bind the states — and therefore, the nation — together is fraying,
pulled apart by a president who demonstrates little regard for many of the
nation’s core principles.
….While a long line of modern
presidents have expanded the powers of their office, Trump has wielded the
executive branch as a weapon to punish states and those state leaders he views
as enemies. Federal dollars and resources have become a form of leverage he has
tried to use to pursue his political aims and deliver the retribution he
promised to, if reelected. He is trying to assert an unprecedented level of
White House control over state-run elections.
How states — and the people — respond will forever shape the nation.
Newsworthy News - During his Mount Rushmore address kicking off America's 250th birthday, President Donald Trump again painted the United States as "the most just and exceptional nation ever to exist on Earth." He said people do not have to be born here, but "do have to love what we have built" and "must love our country." He tied American survival not only to the Constitution but to the "culture and character of the people," suggesting shared values matter as much as written laws….
In the same speech, Trump described communism as a "mortal threat to American liberty" and blamed it for roughly "100 million" deaths in the last century. He warned that modern movements on the left are trying to tear down American history, weaken pride, and "beat the American spirit out of us." For many conservatives, this fits long-running fears about socialism, globalism, and "woke" agendas that they feel attack faith, family, and national identity.
Critics argue that Trump's language goes beyond normal debate and turns politics into a test of loyalty. They point out that his claims about communists being made up of "illegal immigrants, criminals, and everybody that doesn't want to work" have no evidence behind them and smear whole groups of people. They also challenge boasts like "We beat Venezuela in one day" or that Iran was "dying to settle," calling them more campaign talk than proven fact. Yet they often do not offer detailed government records to prove him wrong.
The word “communist” is not the bogeyman it was during the 20th century or even the first decade of the 21st century. The Cold War has long been over. Millennials and Gen Z Americans either were not alive or were not politically conscious at a time when communism was seen in popular culture as a serious national security and economic threat. To them, communism is a historical term, not a haunting specter. The Communist Party U.S.A. exists, but it is a tiny and politically irrelevant organization. Trump, perpetually stuck in the 1980s, likely overestimates the power of “communist” as a slur.
Trump’s “communist” agenda is also inaccurate in a way that a good chunk of the public is likely to understand. He falsely claims that democratic socialists are no different from communists. The most prominent communist projects of the 20th century in the Soviet Union and China involved authoritarian political organizations and centrally planned economies, and were known for massive human rights abuses and dysfunction in distributing resources. By contrast, democratic socialists believe in democratic political organization and reject central planning.
Health
Health - Check your shower—a popular shampoo has been recalled in the U.S. and Canada over bacterial contamination.vCertain bottles of Oribe shampoo were pulled from shelves after Pluralibacter gergoviae bacteria were detected, the Food and Drug Administration announced July 1. The bacteria pose little risk to healthy people, but if you are immunocompromised, you may be more susceptible to infection.
JD Vance
NY
Times - JD Vance seems stressed. Not just because he must publicly support a
war that he privately opposed, or because his political fortunes are tied to a
president whose approval rating is circling the drain. Those conditions are bad
enough for the vice president. But Vance appears most agitated because he
believes America is engaged in a civilizational struggle — and it is losing.
July 6, 2026
Most and least stressed cities
WalletHub released its report on 2026's
Most & Least Stressed Cities in America, as well as expert commentary,
to show where people are struggling and may need assistance. WalletHub
compared more than 180 cities across 39 key metrics. The data set ranges from
average weekly work hours to the unemployment rate to divorce and suicide
rates.
|
Most
Stressed Cities |
Least
Stressed Cities |
|
1.
Detroit, MI |
173.
Burlington, VT |
Best vs. Worst
- Rapid
City, South Dakota and Honolulu, Hawaii, have the lowest unemployment
rate, which is five times lower than in Detroit, Michigan the city
with the highest.
- Fremont,
California, has the lowest divorce rate, which is 4.4 times
lower than in Cleveland, Ohio, the city with the highest.
- Cheyenne,
Wyoming, has the lowest share of adults in fair or poor
health, which is 3.1 times lower than in San Antonio, Texas, the city
with the highest.
- Columbia,
Maryland, has the highest median annual household income (adjusted
by cost of living), which is 3.3 times higher than in Detroit, the
city with the lowest.
To view
the full report and your city’s rank
Trump's war on public media
|
European leaders deal with Trump
Alternet
- A new report about French
President Emmanuel Macron described an unusual moment while he was visiting the
United States and the American president had a complete meltdown. A Wall Street
Journal report revealed the scrambling that unfolded as it appeared the U.S.
was breaking up with Europe.
Some Republicans say it’s time Trump changed course on the SAVE America Act
MS
Now - For months, President Donald Trump has relentlessly pressed
Congress to pass the SAVE America Act. An increasing number of Republicans say
it’s time for him to change course. “He
wants to go it alone, his way to the highway, and it don’t work,” Rep. Don
Bacon, R-Neb., who’s retiring at the end of the year, told MS NOW. “He’s trying
to pound the square peg through the circle, and it doesn’t work.”
Florida Republican says deporting Haitians would be ‘huge mistake’
The
Guardian - Carlos Giménez, a Republican congressman from Florida, broke
with the Trump administration on Sunday, calling on the White House to
reconsider its push to eliminate temporary protected status (TPS) for Haitian
migrants.
Returning about 350,000 Haitians to their chaotic, dangerous homeland would be a grave error, Giménez said, after the US supreme court’s ruling that the Trump administration could cut off temporary legal protections.
He said: “[TPS] is meant to safeguard those who are either fleeing countries that are failed states and are at risk of going back to them or countries that really can’t handle them right now, as is the case with Venezuela that has suffered a natural disaster.”
The ruling gave the green light to plans to end TPS for more than 350,000 Haitians and 6,000 Syrians. TPS allows people to live and work in the US if the Department of Homeland Security deems their home countries unsafe due to war or natural disasters.
Middle East
NPR - Netanyahu has been
seeking a face-to-face meeting with Trump for some time but has been
repeatedly turned down, a source familiar with the matter who was not
authorized to speak publicly tells NPR. The prime minister wants to discuss
U.S. approval for potentially taking military action against Iran if necessary.
Netanyahu is currently on the defensive regarding the interim
deal between the U.S. and Iran, NPR's Carrie Kahn says. It has been
unpopular and perceived as too lenient toward Iran. Netanyahu, who faces
elections this fall, has had to defend his relationship with Trump, Kahn adds.
It's unclear when Netanyahu will meet with Trump at the White House. The 60-day
deadline to finalize the details of the preliminary peace plan is about a month
away.
Washington experience may not help a state run
Roll
Call - While
Republicans and Democrats battle for control of Washington this year,
Washington has become a scarlet letter for members of both parties vying to be
their state’s next governor. Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet was just the latest
member of Congress to fail in a gubernatorial attempt when he lost the
Democratic primary Tuesday to state Attorney General Phil Weiser, 55 percent to
45 percent.
This cycle’s
bipartisan club of gubernatorial losers from D.C. already included Republican
Reps. Dusty Johnson of South Dakota, Randy Feenstra of Iowa and Nancy Mace and
Ralph Norman of South Carolina. While there were unique dynamics in each race,
including varying levels of involvement by President Donald Trump, House
members falling short in their bids for governor is an emerging trend.
…Of course,
there are some places where a House member will be successful, such as Arizona,
where Rep. Andy Biggs appears poised to secure the GOP nomination later this
month. But that would come at the expense of fellow Republican Rep. David
Schweikert, a primary opponent.
Immigration
MS
Now - The plan wasn’t working. Less than a
year into President Donald Trump’s second term, his administration’s signature
initiative — facilitating the mass deportation of “millions
and millions” of immigrants, as he once put it — had become
a political liability. A surge
of federal agents to Minnesota proved to be the apex of a flashy,
combative strategy that tried to steamroll any opposition — and failed.
But now,
according to The
New York Times, the seeming lull in arrests that followed the winter’s
chaos has given way to a renewed effort to round up as many immigrants for
deportation as possible — without drawing the same level of attention. The
shift shows both the limits that the administration has faced in its
deportation spree and its determination to continue apace despite the
president’s approval ratings on immigration tanking. Without the same amount of
spotlight-seeking from immigration officials, however, the White House hopes to
deny opponents the clear targets to organize against that last year’s
deportation campaigns provided….
Unlike previous
demands from White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller, it seems
that ICE has been on track to hit those numbers. Over the course of last week,
according to the Times, federal officials detained more than 10,000 people
— and intends to keep that pressure going….
The new surge
also comes after yet another influx of cash from Congress for ICE and the
Border Patrol. The Times reported that “top ICE officials were told to make
sure that as many officers as possible were working seven days a week, and to
put 80 percent of their officers on arrest operations.”
July 5, 2026
The media is not the best source of support for major improvements
Sam Smith – I got involved in progressive journalism
in the 1960s not just because of the wrong doings of the political right but
because of an appealing assortment of reforms the good folks were pushing. What
I find strange about our current state of affairs is that, while Donald Trump
is properly criticized, the advocacy of new approaches is nowhere near as
powerful as it was, say in the 1960s.
We need to create a vision of the good as well as condemnation
of the evil. One reason this hasn’t happened well so far is that the conventional
media is far more accepting of the right
than it should be. It even sometimes condemns the sensible as “socialism”
in a country that already has Social Security, Medicare and other reforms that
haven’t hurt conventional businesses in the slightest.
Because large media largely defines journalism there has
been a little noted drift towards institutions controlled by large media corporations
telling how we think about political issues. This post is a rare exception:
Major media can be very useful in uncovering the evils of politicians
like Trump but don’t count on big support for the best reforms.
10 ways to improve things
Robert
Reich - 1. Subject Supreme Court
justices to term limits. Limit the terms of justices to 18 years, after
which time they must move to courts of appeals or district courts. Justices
already on the high court can remain only until they’ve been there for 18
years. Those who are beyond this limit must immediately move to other courts.
(Another reform is to expand the number of justices, but FDR tried this and it
proved so politically unpopular that he had to abandon it.)
2. Prevent conflicts of interest. End the exemption
of the president and vice president from conflicts of interest laws. Require
all federally elected officials to put their investments into blind trusts.
Prohibit all trading of specific shares of stock.
3. Stop a president from using the Justice Department.
Prohibit a president from having any involvement in decisions about whom to
prosecute. Require congressional review of any pardons or commutations.
4. End gerrymanders. Require states to create
independent commissions to draw congressional district lines.
5. Revive voting rights. Reenact Section 2 of the
Voting Rights Act (which barred voting practices or procedures that
discriminate on the basis of race, color, or ethnicity) and Section 5 (which
required jurisdictions with a history of racial discrimination in voting to
obtain federal approval before changing any voting laws or procedures).
6. Protect press freedom and independence. Amend the
Sherman and Clayton antitrust acts to bar large corporations, or any person
already owning major media, from purchasing major media networks or platforms.
7. Protect the freedom of inquiry. Bar the executive
branch from conditioning research or other educational grants to universities
on any ideological litmus test. Researchers should be free to pursue truth.
8. Get big money out of politics. Establish public
matching funds for small-dollar donations for all federal elected offices.
Encourage states to grant corporate charters only on condition that
corporations refrain from political activity (as Hawaii has done and Montana is
considering, and hopefully California will do). Pursue a constitutional
amendment to reverse Citizens United and establish Congress’s authority to
limit big money in politics.
9. Tax large aggregations of personal wealth. Enact a
wealth tax. Eliminate the “stepped-up basis at death” rule that allows large
fortunes to be transferred from one generation to the next without paying taxes
on capital gains.
10. Eliminate the Electoral College. Pursue a constitutional amendment to eliminate the Electoral College and base the selection of president and vice president on whichever ticket wins the overall popular vote. In the meantime, seek a compact among states (and the District of Columbia) to award all their electoral votes to whichever presidential ticket wins the overall popular vote.
The decline of socializing
Axios - Americans are spending less time socializing than they did 20 years ago — and the trend cuts across every generation, Axios' Erica Pandey writes from the new American Time Use Survey.
- Our growing isolation is a fundamental shift in the way we live with implications for everything from what we believe to how long we live.
🚨 Average time spent socializing per day has fallen from 45 to 35 minutes over the last 20 years.
- The decline is steepest among young people: 15- to 24-year-olds went from spending an hour a day hanging out with others to 35 minutes.
Sociologists and psychologists point to several trends driving this phenomenon in what Substack writer Derek Thompson dubbed "The Anti-Social Century."
- We're all on our smartphones, often interacting through screens instead of face-to-face. Teens spend an average of 4.8 hours a day on apps like TikTok, Instagram and Snapchat, according to Gallup.
- The shift to remote work — and life — during the pandemic has persisted.
- Longer-term trends are reshaping daily life in ways that make retreat easier. Homes are bigger and more comfortable, with larger TVs. Most restaurants are on food delivery apps, making it easier than ever to stay in.
☕ Also contributing to the trend is the decline of gathering spaces, Axios' Avery Lotz writes.
- In a 2025 report, University of Colorado Boulder researchers uncovered widespread closures of all kinds of hangout spots — from libraries to coffee shops to museums — in the last decade or so.
- Churches are also shuttering at unprecedented rates, Axios' Russell Contreras reports. Share this story.
Science
NPR - After Trump's reelection, an increasing number
of U.S. scientists are seeking job opportunities abroad. An analysis by
the journal Nature revealed that in the first quarter of 2025, U.S. scientists
submitted nearly a third more international job applications than in the same
period in 2024. In March 2025, a survey of more than 1,600 scientists in the
U.S. found that 75% were considering leaving the country. These departures are
partly a response to changes the Trump administration made to federal funding
for scientific research in the U.S.
Even potato chips are a problem
The
Guardian - The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
has upgraded a recall of several popular brands of potato chips to its most
serious level because of the risk of salmonella contamination. Manufacturer Utz
issued a voluntary recall in May for varieties of its Zapp’s and Dirty potato
chips products, citing the possible presence of salmonella in dry milk powder
sourced from a third party used to make a seasoning ingredient. An estimated
650,000 bags of chips with best by dates ranging from 27 July to 31 August were
believed to be affected.
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