Also in the news

In Hungary, Orban's media empire is crumbling after election defeat

AP live: U.S.-China summit ends with Xi and Trump claiming progress

CIA Director John Ratcliffe met with Raul Castro's grandson in Cuba on security and economic stability, officials say

U.S. Border Patrol chief Michael Banks is resigning, in latest Homeland Security Department leadership change

House rejects limits on Iran war on 212-212 tie vote, as 3 Republicans side with Democrats

NYTimes: Inside JFK grandson Jack Schlossberg’s ‘chaotic’ congressional campaign

Senate parliamentarian deals blows to GOP’s immigration enforcement package

Lawyers for Democrats, civil rights groups urge judge to block Trump order that would create eligible voter list, limit mail ballots

South Carolina governor calls lawmakers to return for redistricting special session

Heather Cox Richardson on Trump administration accusations of fraud in public services as a distraction from its own corruption

Supreme Court allows abortion pill mifepristone to remain available by mail nationwide as litigation continues

You can call the Capitol switchboard, (202) 224-3121, and be connected to the offices of your representative and senators. To email your House member and your two senators, you can connect to their websites at Congress.gov. Most lawmakers seem to only accept emails from their constituents, but these leaders accept emails from Americans nationwide, at:

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer

Senate Majority Leader John Thune

No wonder: Newsrooms and newsroom jobs have disappeared by the thousands across the country. In Washington, a more complicated dynamic is at work, with media enterprises rising and falling with dizzying speed.

Brian Stelter documents some of the roiling and the chatter surrounding it in his Reliable Sources newsletter this week, quoting, among others, Deborah Turness, formerly of BBC News and NBC News:

“Established media hasn’t confronted the hard truth — that this revolution isn’t just about consumers moving to different platforms. It’s that they are choosing more direct forms of journalism,” she said, in a speech in London.

Meanwhile, the news startup Notus — soon to be expanded and rebranded as the Star — queried 16 former Washington Post journalists, some of whom are presumably suffering from … wait for it … Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, on “what they would change about D.C. journalism.” Veteran journalist and media critic Margaret Sullivan contributed, and added some thoughts in a separate piece on Substack.

Two threads dominate these conversations: how to improve the news, and how to make money providing the news. They are observations by journalists who know a thing or two because they’ve seen a thing or two, if I may quote a piece of cultural ephemera. And their suggestions would, without a doubt, improve news.

These conversations also are steeped in the assuredness of the importance of journalism, and the unarticulated yearning to see newsrooms restored to the secure place of authority where they once resided. Some studies have supported the belief that, as local journalism has disappeared or been hollowed out, local governance has suffered, has become less democratic.

But is that what the news is for?

Newsrooms don’t have metrics for democratic success. They don’t organize themselves around community goals. News organizations broadly depend on business models using the traditional metrics of commerce: attracting an audience they can sell to advertisers and getting some members of that audience to subscribe.

I wrote in 2021:

In the face of that onslaught from market forces, journalists and their advocates beseech readers to subscribe to the publications of their choice, pointing out, reasonably enough, that quality journalism requires quality journalists. Which is to say, paid.

And we need quality journalism, they say, to play the critical role of keeping citizens informed. They’re not wrong about that, but it’s a little disingenuous. It doesn’t take much more than a cursory glance at most newspapers to recognize they are not primarily democracy-support services. They are businesses producing narratives intended to capture our attention during our leisure time.

Yes, some of that content is fuel for a functioning democracy. But by tomorrow, that critical-to-democracy story will have moved from the top of the home page to the bottom, then to the section index, then to a netherworld known only to the search box. In its place will be something new — if we’re lucky, another critical-to-democracy story. But it’s equally likely to be an attention-grabbing story whose only virtue is its novelty, distracting us, and, perhaps, leaving us with a slightly more distorted view of our world.

If the metrics to measure newsroom success are commercial, then journalists can claim only whatever value the market assigns in the competition with every other attention-claiming activity.

If we want more from the news, then we have to more explicitly design information and business models to accomplish that.

Also in the news

Ukraine anti-corruption court orders arrest of Andriy Yermak, ex-head of Zelensky administration, on money-laundering charges

Alberta petition to break away from Canada is dealt a blow in court; an appeal is expected

AP live: Xi warns Trump that differences over Taiwan could bring U.S. and China to conflict

Politico analysis: The courts’ overwhelming rebuke of Trump ICE detention policies

Three Republicans side with Democrats in war powers vote on Iran, the most since the war started

Senate confirms Kevin Warsh to be chairman of Federal Reserve for 4-year term, on 54-45 vote

Senate Republicans block Democrat-backed measures to undo Trump dismantling of CFPB

Senate unanimously votes to advance a resolution to suspend senators’ pay during a government shutdown

House passes bill to codify year-round sales of E15 ethanol fuel, a win for corn-producing states

Justice Department officials consider settling Trump lawsuit against IRS

Trump sued over hotel plan for high-value presidential library land in Miami

Denise Powell wins Democratic primary in Nebraska ‘blue dot’ 2nd Congressional District

Georgia to draw new congressional maps for 2028 election

The backlash as Utah approves datacenter twice the size of Manhattan

Robert Reich: The most important thing you should know about the CEOs traveling to China with Trump

Heather Cox Richardson on effects of Supreme Court’s ruling on Voting Rights Act

Dozens of Polymarket bets show signs of insider trading, NYTimes examination finds

Wavy Gravy, hippie icon who emceed Woodstock, was Bob Dylan’s roommate, saved the eyesight of millions, turns 90

KFF: Some states use their public health agencies in immigration enforcement, with impacts on migrants’ citizen children

PCOS, a hormonal condition affecting 1 in 8 women around the world, is being renamed; what that means for care

You can call the Capitol switchboard, (202) 224-3121, and be connected to the offices of your representative and senators. To email your House member and your two senators, you can connect to their websites at Congress.gov. Most lawmakers seem to only accept emails from their constituents, but these leaders accept emails from Americans nationwide, at:

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer

Senate Majority Leader John Thune

President Trump has set a June 1 deadline for lawmakers to deliver legislation to his desk to fund immigration enforcement, which Republican leaders plan to accomplish through the budget reconciliation process, avoiding a Democratic filibuster.

And privacy advocates from both parties are pushing again to add a warrant requirement as lawmakers try again to renew Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.

The National Immigration Law Center is urging Americans to contact their lawmakers asking them to halt funding for ICE and for Customs and Border Protection “until the violence, abuses, and deaths in American communities and in immigration detention centers stop.”

Here is more information.

And the American Civil Liberties Union is asking Americans to urge lawmakers to reform Section 702, requiring warrants before the government can search communications of an American, as well as barring the government from buying data it would otherwise need a warrant to obtain.

Here is more information.

You can call the Capitol switchboard, (202) 224-3121, and be connected to the offices of your representative and senators. To email your House member and your two senators, you can connect to their websites at Congress.gov. Most lawmakers seem to only accept emails from their constituents, but these leaders accept emails from Americans nationwide, at:

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer

Senate Majority Leader John Thune

Also in the news

Reuters: Saudi Arabia launched covert attacks on Iran in late March as regional war widened

Reuters: Iraq, Pakistan strike energy deals with Iran as Tehran flexes control of Strait of Hormuz

Trump administration elevates former ICE official and private prison company executive David Venturella to lead ICE

The Guardian: Trump administration is deleting government data; here are 5 ways that’s hurting Americans

Trump urges House to pass Senate housing bill, which includes crackdown on Wall Street’s ability to buy up single-family homes

House Oversight Democrats hear from Epstein victims at Palm Beach shadow hearing

Maryland Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin alleges Todd Blanche oversaw payouts to FBI agents accused of misconduct

Kevin Warsh confirmed for Fed board on 51-45 vote, advanced for chairman post

Senate Democrats confront FBI Director Kash Patel over reports of his alcohol consumption

Appeals court spares Trump from paying $83 million defamation award to E. Jean Carroll for now

Results of Nebraska midterm state and congressional primaries

Results of West Virginia midterm state and congressional primaries

Trump redistricting push fizzles in South Carolina Senate but wins in Missouri’s top court

California governor appointing Rohit Chopra, CFPB head who was ousted by Trump, to lead the state’s consumer agency

What to know about states’ efforts to limit corporate donations in politics

Robert Reich: 'What does Trump do NEXT to get out of the quagmire of Iran?’

Heather Cox Richardson: 'The biggest story in the country, today and always, is that the president of the United States is mentally unwell’

Iran war is hitting home as gasoline prices fuel inflation surge of 3.8 percent in U.S., the biggest jump in 3 years

Marty Makary’s time as FDA commissioner is over, Kyle Diamantas named acting commissioner

KFF: Trump and Kennedy seeking to relax safeguards for AI healthcare tools

Also in the news

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer facing increasing calls to resign

More than a dozen CEOS invited to be part of Trump’s delegation to China this week, including Elon Musk, Tim Cook

AP Live: Trump says Iran ceasefire is on ‘life support’ after rejecting Iran’s latest proposal

Trump complaints about Iran war leaks prompt DOJ probes; WSJ says it’s received subpoenas for reporters’ records

Trump says he’ll move to suspend federal gasoline tax, but Congress would need to approve it

Trump nominates Cameron Hamilton — who was fired from FEMA after defending its existence — to lead the agency

Trump nominates David Cummins to head TSA after rocky period for the agency

Trump nominates failed gubernatorial candidates Kari Lake and Doug Mastriano to ambassadorships

Nonprofit sues to halt Trump’s ‘American flag blue’ repaint of Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool

AP: Voter confusion, headaches for election officials follow hasty GOP push to redraw U.S. House seats

Supreme Court halts order for Alabama to use U.S. House map with 2 mostly Black districts

Democrats ask Supreme Court to halt Virginia ruling that blocked new congressional districts

Missouri’s new U.S. House map goes to court, as Louisiana and South Carolina consider redistricting

Robert Reich: ‘How to respond to the rebirth of the Jim Crow South’

Heather Cox Richardson: 'The story of the Trump Mobile phone seems a microcosm of the Trump administration’

Release of UFO files sheds light on sightings but leaves interpretation to the public

NYTimes: Scientists think they’ve come across a third circulatory system in human body — an interconnected ‘interstitium’

KFF: Decades of research show that meeting basic needs, like stable housing and food, is correlated with lower suicide rates

Supreme Court temporarily extends full access to abortion pill while it considers legal challenge

NYTimes: RFK Jr. has toned down vaccine criticism under orders from White House, but he’s driving a ‘vast inquiry’ of vaccines in his agency

You can call the Capitol switchboard, (202) 224-3121, and be connected to the offices of your representative and senators. To email your House member and your two senators, you can connect to their websites at Congress.gov. Most lawmakers seem to only accept emails from their constituents, but these leaders accept emails from Americans nationwide, at:

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer

Senate Majority Leader John Thune

— Associated Press: Virginia Supreme Court strikes down Democrats’ redrawn US House maps, giving Republicans a win

— Washington Post: Virginia’s high court strikes down voter-passed House map favoring Democrats

— Fox News: Virginia Supreme Court tosses Dem-backed redistricting map, upending expected 10–1 edge

— New York Times: In huge blow to Democrats, Virginia court strikes down House map

You know where I’m going with this. Another alarmist headline from the Times. And the body of the article has only one reference to the development as “huge”:

“’Huge win for the Republican Party, and America, in Virginia,’” the president posted on his social media site.”

Another Times headline, on Sunday: “10 days that shook the House map and Democratic confidence.” (The 10 days refer to the Supreme Court’s April 29 ruling on the Voting Rights Act and the Virginia Supreme Court’s ruling on Friday.)

Yet the body of the article says, “Democrats are still widely seen as favored to win the House this fall. Republicans face a daunting political climate, saddled with President Trump’s sagging approval ratings, high gas prices and an unpopular war with Iran. In special elections and last year’s races for governor, Democratic enthusiasm has swamped Republican turnout.”

The article quotes Rep. Brendan Boyle, D-Pa., who says, “I was anticipating about a 15-to-20-seat pickup before the last week and a half. Now I would be anticipating a 10-to-15-seat pickup.”

Margaret Sullivan has suggested that Times headlines, especially what she calls the “sane-washing” of Trump — may be an intentional business strategy — “everybody invited in to the big tent.”

If so, I don’t appreciate the Times manipulating your nervous system and mine to bolster its bottom line.

Also in the news

Hungary’s Péter Magyar is sworn in as prime minister, ending Viktor Orbán’s 16-year rule

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is giving major speech to try to keep his job after his Labor Party's election losses

Four people convicted of conspiracy in U.S. trial tied to 2021 assassination of Haiti president

Trump rejects Iran response to latest U.S. proposal to end the war

Trump travels to China this week for talks with President Xi on Iran, Taiwan, nuclear weapons, trade, AI

Appeals court blocks 7-day notice of lawmaker visits to immigration detention facilities that Trump administration had sought

Rejecting church and state separation is on the wish list for Trump religious liberty commission

NYTimes investigation: The no-bid contract that’s turning Washington’s Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool blue

What to know about the latest wave of changes to Southern States’ congressional districts

South Carolina Democratic Rep. Jim Clyburn remains confident about reelection bid, despite GOP redistricting efforts

Robert Reich on 'the real problem’ of the U.S. national debt now exceeding 100 percent of the country's gross domestic product

Heather Cox Richardson on Putin’s World War II victory commemoration, Magyar’s swearing in as president of Hungary

Experts ask ‘Where is the CDC?’ as hantavirus outbreak on cruise ship unfolds

Trump administration proposes rule to make it easier for employers to offer in vitro fertilization services

You can call the Capitol switchboard, (202) 224-3121, and be connected to the offices of your representative and senators. To email your House member and your two senators, you can connect to their websites at Congress.gov. Most lawmakers seem to only accept emails from their constituents, but these leaders accept emails from Americans nationwide, at:

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer

Senate Majority Leader John Thune

Among the items in the FTN section requiring a subscription:

— In 2025, every country in the 38-nation Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development operated below its peak fossil output for the first time. “Fossil power’s global decline has begun,” reads the headline from Ember, an energy think tank.

— Virginia has become the third state — after Utah and Mane — to make plug and play solar, aka “balcony solar,” legal, says CleanTechnica.

Here is more from Virginia Public Media.

— AI-designed drugs by Isomorphic Labs, a British biotech spinoff of Google DeepMind, are headed to human trials, Wired reports.

“The exciting thing about the molecules that we’re designing is because we have so much more of an understanding about how these molecules work, we’ve engineered them to be very, very potent,” says Isomorphic Labs President Max Jaderberg. “You can take them at a much lower dose, and they’ll have lower side effects.”

Also in the news

Iran war’s shaky ceasefire further strained as United Arab Emirates responds to missile and drone attack

WPost: U.S. intelligence says Iran can survive Trump naval blockade for at least 3 months before severe economic hardship

Federal court rules against 10 percent global tariffs Trump imposed after loss at Supreme Court

Trump administration lifts hold on immigration applications for doctors but leaves others waiting

AP: State Department to start revoking the U.S. passports of parents who owe child support

As U.S. debt surpasses the nation’s total economic output, Washington barely notices

Trump administration's cancellation of humanities grants was unconstitutional, federal judge rules

ProPublica: Trump exempted some of U.S.’ biggest polluters from air quality rules; all they had to do was send an email request

Trump administration to propose weakening some Biden-era PFAS limits, EPA official says

Takeaways from investigation showing Georgia officials knew carpet mills polluted local water supplies with PFAS

Tennessee enacts new congressional map carving up majority-Black district in Memphis

WPost columnist: ‘Trump demands gratitude in D.C. So he put up banners thanking himself.’

Trump drives across D.C.’s Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool to inspect new blue coating he’s putting on it

Robert Reich: ‘What we can do to stop and reverse Trump's takeover of the media’

World Health Organization assesses the public health risk of hantavirus as low

You can call the Capitol switchboard, (202) 224-3121, and be connected to the offices of your representative and senators. To email your House member and your two senators, you can connect to their websites at Congress.gov. Most lawmakers seem to only accept emails from their constituents, but these leaders accept emails from Americans nationwide, at:

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer

Senate Majority Leader John Thune

The Pulitzer Prizes were announced this week, a celebration of excellence in journalism and other fields. But the announcement came just days after the release of a study detailing the public’s fatigue with news and its mistrust of the sources that deliver that news.

The Pulitzers highlighted the exemplary journalism produced by a beleaguered industry, a good deal of that work chronicling Donald Trump and friends. Reuters was honored for documenting Trump’s expansion of executive power to target his political foes. Similarly, the New York Times was awarded a prize for exposing Trump’s exploiting his position as president to enrich his family and allies. The Associated Press won for its investigation of state-of-the-art tools for mass surveillance, used in China — and the U.S. Border Patrol.

Meanwhile, the Media Insight Project — a collaboration by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research; the American Press Institute; Northwestern University Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications; and the Local News Network at the University of Maryland’s Philip Merrill College of Journalism — released a study focused on the difference in media habits between teens and adults.

Some of the differences are unremarkable and predictable, such as legacy vs. social media. But the similarity in viewpoints across all age groups was striking. According to the report:

While most feel capable of finding relevant content and identifying trustworthy information, the emotional toll they feel in doing so is considerable. Very few Americans say news gives them a hopeful view of the world; and a substantial portion report feeling overwhelmed or finding news too stressful.

On top of fatigue is the matter of trust:

Confidence in news sources is low across the board, with fewer than half of teens and adults expressing a great deal of confidence in any source type, though local news ranks highest. Local news is viewed as most trustworthy, followed by national news, independent creators, and AI chatbots. Each source type has distinct perceived strengths: local news ranks highest for providing useful information (41%), while independent creators are seen by roughly one in four as best at treating all sides fairly.

Surveys can be useful, but they tend to lack granularity and nuance. I’ve sat in too many meetings in which people assigned meaning to data where there was none to be found.

So I didn’t find in this study a convincing explanation for why people give local media more credence than national news. Which gives me an opportunity to assign meaning to the data. Ahem.

People are free to disbelieve accurate news from national sources because that skepticism comes at no cost. National news is a story told by others about events at a distance. Tangible evidence is a long way off.

The Washington Post won a Pulitzer for its coverage of Trump’s assault on federal agencies and the human impacts of massive budget cuts. But millions didn’t see that story, and millions more probably wouldn’t have believed it.

In contrast, the Seattle Times was awarded for its coverage of catastrophic flooding following a major storm — coverage that its local readers certainly believed and for which they were no doubt grateful.

National news is offered with no irrefutable context. Its first job is to get me to watch or read; securing my belief is a nice-to-have. Local news, in contrast, has community baked into it. You may believe the national news that some distant city is aflame, but if you live in that city, you know a small dumpster fire when you see it.

The study points out that respondents value local news for its usefulness. Whether it’s property taxes, a new development two blocks over, or a cultural event, people can connect local news to their lives in meaningful ways.

The internet and the web gave billions of people the ability to communicate. But those interconnections created new, online communities, some indifferent, some hostile to our traditional communities. Until journalists can craft news in a way that serves the communities in which we live, the erosion of trust is likely to continue.

Also in the news

Trump administration sows confusion as it tries to reopen the Strait of Hormuz

WPost: Iran has hit far more U.S. military assets than reported, satellite imagery shows

Another federal appeals court rejects ICE mandatory detention policy

Justice Department targeting slow immigration judges as Trump pushes faster deportations

WSJ: Trump’s reach for government stakes in private companies has business leaders scrambling

Trump’s success at purging GOP dissenters may not help in midterm elections

Tennessee unveils proposed map that would give GOP a clean sweep of the state’s 9 congressional districts

FBI searches office of Virginia Senate leader Louise Lucas as part of corruption probe, AP sources say

Federal government can keep 2020 election ballots that FBI seized from Georgia’s Fulton County, judge rules

Chief Justice John Roberts says Supreme Court isn't political

Howard Lutnick testimony about Epstein draws praise from House GOP committee chairman, derision from Democrats

Judge releases note that was purportedly left in cell by Jeffrey Epstein

Heather Cox Richardson: ‘It has not been a banner day for members of the Trump administration’

AP: The IRS may owe you a refund for coronavirus-era fines; most people need to file their claim by July 10

ProPublica: Babies are bleeding to death as parents reject a Vitamin K shot given at birth

KFF: Trump promised cheaper medications; some prices dropped while many others shot up

You can call the Capitol switchboard, (202) 224-3121, and be connected to the offices of your representative and senators. To email your House member and your two senators, you can connect to their websites at Congress.gov. Most lawmakers seem to only accept emails from their constituents, but these leaders accept emails from Americans nationwide, at:

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer

Senate Majority Leader John Thune

You can call the Capitol switchboard, (202) 224-3121, and be connected to the offices of your representative and senators. To email your House member and your two senators, you can connect to their websites at Congress.gov. Most lawmakers seem to only accept emails from their constituents, but these leaders accept emails from Americans nationwide, at:

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer

Senate Majority Leader John Thune

Also in the news

Romania prime minister ousted in no-confidence vote, over austerity measures

Trump says U.S. is pausing operation to guide ships through Strait of Hormuz, to see if peace deal with Iran can be finalized

State Department moves forward with foreign service officer layoffs

Department of Homeland Security closes office serving as a watchdog for those in immigration detention

Politico: Trump administration abandoning fast-track training for new ICE recruits

Trump administration sues NYTimes over claim the newspaper discriminated against white man

Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee reports fundraising surge after Supreme Court’s ruling on Voting Rights Act

AP takeaways from Indiana, Ohio, Michigan primaries: While Trump still dominates GOP, Democrats seem to have momentum

Ohio primary sets up Senate race that will help determine control of the chamber and governor’s race with Democrats’ best chance in decades

Chedrick Greene wins Michigan special election, ensuring Democrats retain control of state Senate

Trump-backed candidates win majority of GOP primary races for Indiana Senate

South Carolina joins Southern redistricting push after Supreme Court’s Voting Rights Act ruling

Hannah Natanson’s reporting anchored WPost articles that won a Pulitzer, 4 months after agents seized her devices

Paul Krugman tells us a ’silly story’

Margaret Sullivan: ‘The media's double standard for Trump needs to stop’

Gasoline costs 50 percent more in U.S. than it did before Iran war

FDA announces its first authorization of fruit-flavored e-cigarettes for adults, in major shift under Trump

FDA blocked publication of research finding covid, shingles vaccines were safe

KFF: Trump drug strategy aims to bolster addiction services, despite gutting government support

The White House Counsel’s Office is giving private briefings to the political appointees that include a PowerPoint presentation about how congressional oversight works and best practices for handling it, The Washington Post reports.

Appointees are being encouraged to be careful about what they put in writing and are being guided on how to respond to congressional inquiries in a timely manner, the Post says.

“It’s obvious to everyone that it’s very likely,” says an official who attended a private briefing and spoke to the Post, referring to the possibility of Republicans losing the majority of at least one congressional chamber in November. “It was a sober-eyed conversation.”

President Trump has acknowledged Republicans’ electoral vulnerability, repeatedly saying in public appearances that the incumbent party rarely wins the midterms. He’s also stressed the stakes:

“You got to win the midterms, because if we don’t win the midterms, they’ll find a reason to impeach me,” he said in January. “I’ll get impeached.”

Also in the news

Alberta separatist group says it has enough signatures to try to trigger referendum vote on leaving Canada

OPEC+ countries agree on modest rise in production as Iran retains chokehold on Strait of Hormuz

U.S. tries to force open Strait of Hormuz as UAE comes under attack in test of Iran truce

Optimistic House Democratic campaign arm adds 8 candidates to its list of those eligible for additional resources

What to watch in Tuesday elections in Indiana, Ohio, Michigan

Supreme Court Justices Jackson and Alito spar over decision to expedite Louisiana redistricting ruling

Status of states' redistricting arms race following the Supreme Court's Voting Rights Act ruling

DeSantis signs new Florida congressional map into law; lawsuit filed

Robert Reich on what Democrats should pledge to do about the ‘AI job apocalypse’

List of winners of the 2026 Pulitzer Prizes

Supreme Court restores access to abortion pill mifepristone through telehealth, mail, pharmacies

States eyeing aid to prop up distressed hospitals amid federal Medicaid cuts

You can call the Capitol switchboard, (202) 224-3121, and be connected to the offices of your representative and senators. To email your House member and your two senators, you can connect to their websites at Congress.gov. Most lawmakers seem to only accept emails from their constituents, but these leaders accept emails from Americans nationwide, at:

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer

Senate Majority Leader John Thune

Reuters says it’s uncovered a “broader‑than‑previously known” Trump administration effort to gain federal control over elections, in at least eight states: Arizona, Ohio, Colorado, Missouri, Connecticut, Nevada, Georgia and Michigan.

Even though elections are run by states and local governments, “Trump administration officials and investigators have fanned out across the country, seeking confidential records, pressing for access to voting equipment and re-examining voter-fraud cases that courts and bipartisan reviews have already rejected,” Reuters says.

Meanwhile, ProPublica reports that at least 75 career officials who once had roles at federal agencies related to election integrity and safety now are gone. Two dozen appointees — including many who either worked to reverse the 2020 election or are associates of those people — have been hired to replace them.

As the midterm elections approach, current and former government officials and election security experts have expressed concerns that Trump appointees who’ve espoused debunked conspiracy theories about balloting are now in positions to control the narrative around the vote, ProPublica says.

Also in the news

Mexico City is sinking nearly 10 inches a year, according to new NASA satellite imagery

U.S. kicks off effort to ‘guide’ stranded ships from Strait of Hormuz

U.S. to withdraw 5,000 troops from Germany in next 6-12 months, Pentagon says, fulfilling Trump threat

Pentagon says it’s reached deals with 7 tech companies to use their AI on classified computer networks

NYTimes Magazine: Jared Kushner, Steve Witkoff and the ‘profitable business of peace’

Trump signs executive order to help more people get retirement savings plans in time for a new federal match

Senate bans its members and staff from betting in prediction markets

WSJ: Why almost everyone — except a few sharks — loses on prediction markets

Alabama, Tennessee moving to draw new congressional districts in wake of Supreme Court ruling

Louisiana voters, voting rights groups file state suit challenging governor's executive order to postpone House primaries

Louisiana Republicans eliminate elected position days before exoneree Calvin Duncan was to take office

Maryland is first state to ban ‘surveillance pricing’ on some food products

Former Florida GOP Rep. David Rivera convicted of secretly lobbying U.S. officials on behalf of Venezuela

Robert Reich on the Supreme Court’s voting rights ruling and the meaning of injustice

Thousands in U.S. join ‘no school, no work, no shopping’ May Day events

Spirit Airlines shuts down as the company says it can’t keep up with higher oil prices

The whistleblower who uncovered the National Security Agency's ‘Big Brother Machine’

Scott Bessent wants Americans to avoid easy-money traps, invest in financial literacy

After waiting years for justice, many Purdue opioid victims are defeated — by paperwork requirements

Why nearly 4.3 million people no longer are receiving food stamps

Delays in visa program threaten placement of hundreds of doctors in underserved areas of U.S.

Appeals court issues nationwide order blocking telehealth distribution of abortion pill mifepristone

You can call the Capitol switchboard, (202) 224-3121, and be connected to the offices of your representative and senators. To email your House member and your two senators, you can connect to their websites at Congress.gov. Most lawmakers seem to only accept emails from their constituents, but these leaders accept emails from Americans nationwide, at:

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer

Senate Majority Leader John Thune

You can read the full opinions of the justices here.

Derrick Johnson, president of the NAACP, says, “The Supreme Court betrayed Black voters, they betrayed America, and they betrayed our democracy. This ruling is a major setback for our nation and threatens to erode the hard-won victories we’ve fought, bled and died for.”

Richard Hasen, a law professor at the University of California, Los Angeles, writes in Slate that the decision is “the culmination of the life’s work of Chief Justice John Roberts and Samuel Alito, who have shown persistent resistance to the idea of the United States as a multiracial democracy.”

In 2015, Politico Magazine published this article, titled "Inside John Roberts’ decades-long crusade against the Voting Rights Act.”

This Washington Monthly article explores Roberts’ background, referring to the 2019 biography "The Chief: The Life and Turbulent Times of Chief Justice John Roberts,” by longtime reporter on the court Joan Biskupic.

"Biskupic is unfailingly evenhanded, but what she describes is a calculated, sustained assault on the nation’s civil rights laws by the most powerful judge in the country, one who stubbornly refuses to see the devastating impact of his decisions on the people most affected by them,” says the Washington Monthly.

The American Civil Liberties Union and others have an online event from 8-9 p.m. on Thursday, April 30, where legal experts and civil rights community leaders from the No Kings Coalition will discuss the ruling.

You can sign up here.

May Day ‘no work, no school, no shopping’ events

I won’t be publishing on Friday in order to participate in May Day events.

Here are some links to May Day activities:

May Day Strong

Indivisible

National Education Association

Free DC

Also in the news

South Korea court sentences ex-President Yoon to 7 years in prison

Pete Hegseth clashes for second day with Democrats in Congress over Iran war

ProPublica: Immigration scams surged as Trump’s sweeps caused desperate people to be susceptible to defrauders

House votes to fund much of DHS — but GOP plans to fund immigration enforcement though filibuster-proof reconciliation

Senate to seek short-term punt for Section 702 surveillance extension

Federal Reserve keeps key interest rate unchanged even as 4 officials dissent, most in almost 34 years

Jerome Powell plans to stay on Fed board after his term ends, cites legal actions by Trump administration

Florida legislature approves new congressional map intended to boost GOP in midterms

Maine Gov. Janet Mills drops out of Senate race; Graham Platner set to be Democratic nominee to oppose Sen. Susan Collins

In Missouri, voters will decide whether to eliminate the income tax. Will other states do so?

Full federal appeals court says it won’t rehear $83 million defamation verdict against Trump

Heather Cox Richardson on how King Charles, Trump speeches show 'very clear picture’ of what’s at stake in U.S.

One of America’s oldest weather observatories shows the science behind our climate

Uber moving to become an ‘everything app’ with hotel bookings powered by Expedia

Elon Musk gets apology from California regulators as a SpaceX lawsuit is settled

Trump drops Casey Means and picks Nicole Saphier, radiologist and Fox News contributor, to be surgeon general

Takeaways from AP report on the push to make raw milk easier to obtain, even as new disease outbreak sickens U.S. children

You can call the Capitol switchboard, (202) 224-3121, and be connected to the offices of your representative and senators. To email your House member and your two senators, you can connect to their websites at Congress.gov. Most lawmakers seem to only accept emails from their constituents, but these leaders accept emails from Americans nationwide, at:

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer

Senate Majority Leader John Thune

Charles “is very astute and he knows how to use his platform to push for things he thinks he can get away with,” says John Fraser, founding president of the Institute for the Study of the Crown, in Canada.

And in the king’s address on Tuesday, he used his platform “to maximum effect,” Fraser says.

“Charles used that grand Washington stage to gently correct the record on NATO’s past support for the U.S., stand up for the Royal Navy after Trump’s insults about that service, call for greater protection for nature amid American indifference on climate change and praise checks and balances on executive power at a time when the American president is thumbing his nose at Congress and the courts,” says the Canadian Broadcasting Corp.

And “he did it elegantly,” says Frasier.

Charles has more leeway than other world leaders to chide the president when he thinks he’s stepped wrong, Ed Wang, a royal commentator, tells the CBC.

“I think he’s willing to get right up to the line to convey a very subtle message from a position of authority, a position of power, emphasizing what the King believes is the right thing to do,” Wang says. “Other leaders would be afraid of antagonizing Trump.”

But Charles surely knows that Trump is in awe of actual monarchs.

Later, while greeting Charles during his arrival at the state dinner in his honor, Trump called the king’s speech “great.”

“I was very jealous,” Trump said.

Also in the news

United Arab Emirates says it will leave OPEC, further weakening the oil cartel's leverage over global oil supplies, prices

Senate GOP rejects attempt to end Trump blockade of Cuba

Wired: DOGE affiliate now is in charge of U.S. government’s ID platform

First Amendment advocates blast FCC's early review of ABC broadcast licenses

James Comey indicted again, this time over ‘8647’ seashell photo that Trump allies portrayed as a threat against the president

Former Fauci aide David Morens charged with conspiring to evade Covid-related records requests

Justice Department legal argument for White House ballroom reads like a Trump social media post

White House withdraws hospitality executive Scott Socha as nominee to lead National Park Service

Federal job applicants can’t skip ‘loyalty question’ that OPM says is optional, court filings say

U.S. to issue ‘America250’ passports featuring Trump’s image

Judge dismisses Justice Department lawsuit against Arizona seeking voter data

Margaret Sullivan: 'A radical reimagining of the White House correspondents’ dinner’

Heather Cox Richardson on the ballroom, Iran war, Comey, more

Former Massachusetts Democratic Rep. Barney Frank, entering hospice, is taking on his party’s left flank in a last act

‘It’s not okay to steal a charity,’ Elon Musk testifies in trial over future of AI

Appalachian region of eastern U.S. holds enough lithium to curb American reliance on imports for centuries, new research says

AP investigation: The for-profit ‘troubled teen industry’

ProPublica: Trump administration aims to penalize disabled adults who live with their families

KFF: Trump Medicaid work mandate ‘debuting in Nebraska to much dismay’

You can call the Capitol switchboard, (202) 224-3121, and be connected to the offices of your representative and senators. To email your House member and your two senators, you can connect to their websites at Congress.gov. Most lawmakers seem to only accept emails from their constituents, but these leaders accept emails from Americans nationwide, at:

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer

Senate Majority Leader John Thune

“Prior administrations have tried to speed the development of sectors like semiconductors and clean energy with grants, loans, tariffs and other policies. But taking equity stakes in companies is incredibly rare,” says The New York Times.

Since Trump returned to office in January 2025, the U.S. government has invested $20.9 billion across sixteen deals involving direct ownership, according to a tracker by the Council on Foreign Relations.

The Defense Department has led the way with seven deals, says the CFR.

At the Pentagon, officials “aiming to transform the military with a private investor’s tool kit and a mindset shaped by Silicon Valley’s critiques,” are Under Secretary for Research and Engineering Emil Michael, a former number 2 at Uber; Deputy Secretary Stephen Feinberg, who used to run one of the country’s biggest private equity firms, Cerberus Capital Management; and Secretary of the Army Dan Driscoll, who’s worked in private equity and venture capital, says The Washington Post.

The new approach is causing concern among some former Defense Department officials, lawmakers and experts, who worry that Trump appointees may be ushering in their chosen firms and taking on risks with taxpayer dollars — while placing fewer guardrails on new technology, the Post says.

“The big problem is the lack of transparency in how they choose to work with private firms,” says Darrell West, a senior fellow in the Brookings Center for Technology Innovation. “It’s not clear where they choose to invest or for what reason.”

One of the companies on the CFR tracking list is Vulcan Elements, a start-up manufacturer of rare earth magnets. Vulcan has received funding from 1789 Capital; Donald Trump Jr. is a partner of that firm.

Here is more from the Cato Institute.

Also in the news

Canada Prime Minister Carney unveils $18 billion government-owned investment fund

AP live: Iran offers to end its chokehold on Strait of Hormuz if U.S. lifts its blockade on the country

Politico: Sarah Rogers, U.S. undersecretary of State for public diplomacy, is free-speech crusader pushing MAGA on Europe

Trump administration to pay 2 more energy companies to walk away from U.S. offshore wind projects under development

National Trust for Historic Preservation says it won’t drop suit against Trump’s White House ballroom after DOJ request

House Speaker Johnson says Senate-passed Homeland Security funding bill will have to change, creating another delay

Clash over Trump family businesses is entangling Senate cryptocurrency bill

Gov. Ron DeSantis releases new congressional map creating 4 more GOP-leaning seats in Florida

Texas police can arrest people suspected of entering the country illegally, federal court rules

Suspect in correspondents’ dinner shooting charged with attempting to assassinate the president

Musk, Altman face off in trial that will determine OpenAI’s future

NYTimes Magazine: Some scientists hope cell rejuvenation technique may eventually be able to fend off aging entirely

KFF: Health advocates fear that contractors administering $50 billion rural health fund for states will take a big chunk first

You can call the Capitol switchboard, (202) 224-3121, and be connected to the offices of your representative and senators. To email your House member and your two senators, you can connect to their websites at Congress.gov. Most lawmakers seem to only accept emails from their constituents, but these leaders accept emails from Americans nationwide, at:

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer

Senate Majority Leader John Thune

“Each legislative undertaking is deeply complicated and rife with intraparty warfare — from a MAHA revolt over the farm bill to a rebellion from ultraconservatives who blocked Johnson’s last bid to reauthorize Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act and could do so again,” says Politico.

Johnson will need every Republican to advance all three of these items, and none are guaranteed to survive the week, Politico says.

On top of those challenges, lawmakers will lose floor time because of the address to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday by Britain’s King Charles III.

And this week marks 60 days since the start of the Iran war, with some GOP lawmakers warning they could vote with Democrats to limit President Trump’s military authority overseas, according to Politico.

— Surveillance: Earlier this month, efforts to extend Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act broke down as privacy advocates insisted on provisions to require the government to get warrants before gaining access to Americans’ communications. Now privacy advocates are trying again. I wrote about this on April 16; that item includes information on how the public can weigh in.

— Funding the Department of Homeland Security: the new GOP bill wouldn’t contain any of the ICE reforms Democrats sought. Those reforms are here.

— Farm bill: Activists with the Make America Healthy Again movement — a coalition that helped President Trump win the presidency in 2024 — say they’ve been betrayed by Republicans over a provision in the legislation that would shield pesticide makers from lawsuits, according to Politico.

You can call the Capitol switchboard, (202) 224-3121, and be connected to the offices of your representative and senators. To email your House member and your two senators, you can connect to their websites at Congress.gov. Most lawmakers seem to only accept emails from their constituents, but these leaders accept emails from Americans nationwide, at:

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer

Senate Majority Leader John Thune

May Day protests

A one-day nationwide protest this Friday, May 1, is taking its cue from the massive day of action that shut down Minneapolis in January by asking Americans not to shop, work or go to school. Rallies, marches and teach-ins also will take place across the country, says The Guardian.

Also in the news

Palestinians voted in local elections Saturday that for first time in 2 decades included Gaza

Afghanistan foreign ministry says Afghans who helped U.S. in war and now are stuck in Qatar can safely return home

NYTimes: From Kremlin to Silicon Valley, some of world's most powerful people now want to live forever

ICE arrests drop nearly 12 percent after Minneapolis killings and concerns about tactics led to shake-up of top immigration officials

NYTimes investigation: U.S. Mint buys drug cartel gold and sells it as ‘American’

Fareed Zakaria in WPost op-ed: Foreign governments are hedging against unreliable, erratic U.S. power

Appeals court rules Trump asylum ban at border is illegal

GOP Sen. Thom Tillis says he’s ready to confirm Kevin Warsh as Fed chair after DOJ ended Powell investigation

Trump request to eliminate funding for program providing heating, cooling aid to low-income Americans faces bipartisan resistance

All 4 African American GOP Republicans are retiring this year, erasing diversity gains

Justice Department to allow firing squads for executions in move to expedite capital punishment cases

National Science Foundation board members told by Trump administration they’ve been terminated

Man accused of opening fire at White House Correspondents’ Association dinner railed against Trump administration policies

GOP supermajority in Tennessee General Assembly passes immigration bills crafted in close consultation with Stephen Miller

Nation’s first state moratorium on data centers vetoed by Maine governor

Voter ID measure qualifies for California ballot

Here’s an example of local coverage of one of the nationwide protests against ICE facilities on Saturday: San Antonio, Texas

NYTimes: SpaceX provided Elon Musk with loans and aid for his struggling companies

College students wary of job market are changing course in search of ‘AI-proof’ majors

Logging on at a cafe? Here are privacy, security guidelines for remote workers

KFF: Community health workers can provide the help many older Americans need most

KFF: Hospital patients are getting stuck in emergency department for days while waiting for a spot in inpatient ward

Also in the news

EU approves $106 billion loan package to help Ukraine after Hungary lifts its veto

Millions of Americans now also may be considered Canadian under new Canada law

AP live: Israel, Lebanon extend ceasefire, Trump issues ‘shoot and kill’ order in Strait

Amnesty International, dozens of U.S. civil and human rights groups issue World Cup travel advisory for the U.S.

’The Pentagon is trying to silence me,’ says Stars and Stripes ombudsman Jacqueline Smith

NYTimes: Justice Department targets hundreds of citizens in new push for denaturalization

Trump threats against Iran are a boon for prediction markets, including some backed by his oldest son

U.S. soldier charged with using classified intelligence to win $400,000 Polymarket bet on Maduro raid

White House easing mandatory requirements for preserving presidential records

Trump FCC seeks comment on whether to flag shows with trans or non-binary ‘programming’

Senate GOP releases new proposal to extend Section 702 of FISA for 3 years without a warrant requirement

Trump directs Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool to be coated in a swimming pool surface colored 'American flag blue’

Civil rights groups condemn Southern Poverty Law Center indictment and prepare for legal fights

ProPublica: Unfounded health concerns are powering backlash against large solar developments

Heather Cox Richardson on the firings of Navy Secretary Phelan, Stars and Stripes ombudsman Smith, more

Robert Reich: 'The worst neo robber baron of them all’ is Jeff Bezos … 'you might share this post and boycott Amazon’

Trump reclassifies state-licensed medical marijuana as a less-dangerous drug, in historic shift

FDA approves first gene therapy for genetic hearing loss — and drugmaker says it will be free to U.S. patients

You can call the Capitol switchboard, (202) 224-3121, and be connected to the offices of your representative and senators. To email your House member and your two senators, you can connect to their websites at Congress.gov. Most lawmakers seem to only accept emails from their constituents, but these leaders accept emails from Americans nationwide, at:

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer

Senate Majority Leader John Thune

This thought comes to mind because media critic Margaret Sullivan gave us the news last week that the two most conspicuous cases of self-proclaimed “centrist” news — CNN and CBS News under the decidedly not centrist Bari Weiss — are performing poorly in the ratings.

Sullivan wrote:

Many media owners seem to think there’s a huge swath of America that is desperately seeking “middle ground” journalism. My Guardian colleague Jeremy Barr (whom I also worked with at the Washington Post) wrote a good piece about how this theory doesn’t line up with reality. This idea failed at CNN under Chris Licht and seems to be tanking at CBS News, whose evening newscast has sunk deeper into last place among the three major broadcasters under the guidance of the Ellisons and editor Bari Weiss.

But, wait. What’s wrong with “centrist” news?

Today’s purveyors of “centrist” news are the latest in a long line of partisans who have hammered away at mainstream newscasts as products of the “liberal media.” The goal has been twofold: to undermine the credibility of mainstream journalists and to introduce ideology as a legitimate operational measure of news. 

It’s a good moment to quote comedian Stephen Colbert from his performance at the 2006 White House Correspondents Association dinner: “Reality has a well-known liberal bias.”

As any marginalized community would tell you, mainstream media has been traditionally and resolutely middle of the road. By definition, the goal is economic: content that will draw the largest possible audience. 

Over the decades I‘ve spent in newsrooms and the hundreds of journalists with whom I’ve worked, I probably knew something about the political leanings of no more than a half-dozen. In those newsrooms, almost all of which were focused on Congress, personal politics were off-limits as a topic — because they were irrelevant to our daily news decisions.

News organizations have plenty of biases, but most of them are structural, not ideological. Those structural considerations have a profound impact on what readers and viewers see.

First and foremost, newsrooms have to get you to read or view their content. News needs your attention. And it competes for your attention with, well, everything else in the world. That fact alone drives what news looks like, what we decide is news. It’s why, in local television news, “if it bleeds it leads.”

People are drawn to stories; they absorb information more effectively when it’s presented as a narrative. That means citizens don’t see a great deal of information they might find invaluable because it doesn’t make a compelling story. 

Story-telling is the driving culture of every newsroom: Reporters are sometimes sure they have a great story, a story that everyone will want to read, at great length … when they don’t, and readers wouldn’t. Sometimes the facts cannot be stitched into a compelling enough narrative to justify the reporter’s excitement. 

It’s a routine part of the push and pull between reporters and editors. It’s topic one when reporters and editors are complaining about each other. Which, you know, they do.

And to be sure, culture matters. For years, news in the United States was produced by white men, with few exceptions, for a world with which they were familiar. Even as newsrooms slowly diversified, the mechanics of news decisions didn’t change.

Ultimately, technology and economics changed the shape of news. The front pages of the New York Times in the 1950s and 1960s were dominated by factual accounts of government. As television news emerged and won the speed race, newspapers shifted away from official government announcements and toward human interest to hold readers’ attention.

Every technological and economic wave — in newspapers, radio, television, cable, the web — buffeted the news industry, which changed its product to meet business needs. Partisanship was not a significant factor in those changes … until the “centrists” arrived: first at Fox (“We report. You decide.”), most recently at CBS.

News should be better than it is. It should be better at supporting democracy because it is a vital strand of democracy — not a thing apart. 

But news — and therefore democracy — is still subject to the whims of the market. The drivers are economic — not ideological. 

Also in the news

Photo chronicle of 40 years since world’s worst nuclear disaster at Chernobyl power plant in Ukraine

More confusion over Strait of Hormuz after Iran attacks 3 ships near waterway

Pentagon says Navy Secretary John Phelan is leaving, in the latest departure of a top defense leader

Senate passes budget plan 50-48, over Democratic objections, to fund ICE and Border Patrol, reopen Homeland Security Department

Trump administration in ‘advanced discussions’ on bailout of Spirit Airlines

Trump administration agrees to pay $1.25 million to 2016 Trump adviser Carter Page over surveillance

FBI said to have investigated New York Times reporter after article on Patel’s girlfriend

Supreme Court unanimously rules for Michigan in its effort to shut down an aging energy pipeline

Federal appeals court blocks California law requiring federal immigration agents to wear identification

Virginia judge blocks certification of redistricting referendum; attorney general says appeal is coming

Florida GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis signs law banning local DEI funding, says white men are ‘disfavored’

Heather Cox Richardson on Virginia redistricting — and ways it reflects historical patterns

Inside the Kennedy Center as it prepares for 2-year renovation

Crypto mogul Justin Sun sues Trump family venture over alleged fraud

Kalshi fines and suspends from its platform 3 congressional candidates for wagering on their own elections

Takeaways from Health Secretary RFK Jr.’s testimony at marathon series of congressional hearings

NYTimes: Spending on new medical research by National Institutes of Health has fallen about $1 billion behind years past

U.S. health officials nix publication of study on COVID vaccine effectiveness

Study: Increased calls to 988 hotline are associated with a drop in suicides among young people

KFF: Food stamp work requirements don’t increase employment, researchers say

You can call the Capitol switchboard, (202) 224-3121, and be connected to the offices of your representative and senators. To email your House member and your two senators, you can connect to their websites at Congress.gov. Most lawmakers seem to only accept emails from their constituents, but these leaders accept emails from Americans nationwide, at:

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer

Senate Majority Leader John Thune

In a letter to America on their website, the former astronauts highlight several aspects of their unique perspective:

— “Looking at the Earth from space, we see what unites us more than what divides us.”

— “In spaceflight, ignoring evidence costs scientific advancement, mission success, and even lives.”

— “We view our oath to support and defend the U.S. Constitution as a lifelong commitment.”

So on Tuesday, they launched Astronauts For America, a nonpartisan nonprofit “focused on protecting American constitutional democracy for the long term.”

They say their mission is to “partner with voters and support leaders, regardless of party, who govern in accordance with the Constitution and work out differences to get things done for the good of the nation. We’ll also take officials to task when they ignore the rule of law or distort and disregard the facts.”

You can sign a pledge to join the crew on their website.

Here is more on the group from The Wall Street Journal.

And here, from Scientific American.

Here is an opinion article about the group by two of the former astronauts on Fox News.

Here is a video with two other former astronauts from The Today Show.

Also in the news

Trump is said to be in talks to send Afghans who helped U.S. forces to Congo

AP live: Trump extends ceasefire with Iran as new round of peace talks is on hold

ProPublica: Sebastian Gorka is a counterterrorism czar without a counterterrorism plan

At confirmation hearing, Fed chair nominee Kevin Warsh vows central bank’s independence, Democrats assert his financial conflicts

ProPublica: How Democrats say House Oversight Committee Republicans are trying to quash Epstein investigation

Florida Democratic Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick resigns moments before hearing to consider ethics punishment

Virginia voters approve redistricting plan that could increase Democrats’ seats in Congress

Texas can require public schools to display Ten Commandments in classrooms, 5th Circuit Court of Appeals rules

Southern Poverty Law Center indicted on fraud charges for its use of paid informants to monitor and track racist organizations

AP: What to know about Southern Poverty Law Center

Politico: Experts on what state and local officials can be doing now to ensure November elections seen as legitimate by all

Human Rights Campaign, one of biggest LGBTQ+ advocacy groups, is targeting Republicans in battleground districts

Tucker Carlson apologizes for 'misleading’ people about Trump

Trump media company replaces CEO, ex-congressman Devin Nunes, after stock plunge that wiped out billions

NYTimes: Wall Street said AI would enhance human work, not replace it, but companies’ earnings reports show otherwise

Economist Paul Krugman: ‘Wage inequality fell dramatically during the Biden years’

Ways to make meetings work better for employees on the autism spectrum

Pentagon ends mandatory flu vaccine for service members

Two drugs for pancreatic cancer — one an mRNA vaccine — show promise in early-stage trials

You can call the Capitol switchboard, (202) 224-3121, and be connected to the offices of your representative and senators. To email your House member and your two senators, you can connect to their websites at Congress.gov. Most lawmakers seem to only accept emails from their constituents, but these leaders accept emails from Americans nationwide, at:

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer

Senate Majority Leader John Thune

You can call the Capitol switchboard, (202) 224-3121, and be connected to the offices of your representative and senators. To email your House member and your two senators, you can connect to their websites at Congress.gov. Most lawmakers seem to only accept emails from their constituents, but these leaders accept emails from Americans nationwide, at:

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer

Senate Majority Leader John Thune

Also in the news

Japan loosens arms export rules in break from its post-World War II pacifism

The Economist index: Global democracy has one of biggest increases since 2012, in some countries because of voter reaction to Trump

War in Iran is causing biggest energy crisis in history, says head of International Energy Agency

Congress searches for path on Section 702 surveillance authority renewal

Wildfire survivors who lost their homes could face another blow from taxes on settlement payouts unless Congress acts

NYTimes: A Democratic Senate is a real possibility, with strong candidate recruitment and Trump unpopularity

Environmental groups sue Trump administration over its approval of new ultra deep-water drilling project in Gulf of Mexico

Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer leaving Trump Cabinet after abuse of power allegations

FBI Director Kash Patel sues The Atlantic over article that alleged excessive drinking

Voters say they feel confused, misled on Virginia redistricting referendum on Tuesday ballot

Justice Department demanding 2024 Detroit-area ballots in latest move for local election records

With no end in sight after their deployment 8 months ago, more than 2,500 National Guard troops roam D.C.

Tim Cook to step down as Apple CEO, turn duties over to the iPhone maker’s hardware leader John Ternus

Fired Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden is cheered as she wins Authors Guild honor

KFF: Democrats demanding that Trump administration halt plan to collect federal workers’ health data

ProPublica: Trump pardoned nursing home owner who owed nearly $19 million to a grieving family

KFF: Real estate investors are profiting from long-term care as residents languish

Psychedelic retreats are a booming business with few safety guardrails

But The New York Times has obtained seven confidential memos the justices exchanged in 2016 showing how they “stumbled into a new way of conducting their work in major cases on presidential power, short-circuiting longstanding procedures meant to ensure careful consideration and reasoned opinions.”

In the memos, the justices debated taking an unprecedented step: halting a major climate change initiative from President Obama before any lower court had addressed its lawfulness. Then, on a 5-4 vote along partisan lines, the court took that step, without explaining its reasoning.

Emergency orders based on abbreviated briefing and almost no deliberation now are commonplace — notably in cases arising from challenges to presidential actions, says the Times.

Critics call this process the “shadow docket.”

Since 2016, “the emergency docket has swelled into a major part of the court’s business, as the justices have short-circuited the deliberations of lower courts. The decisions are technically temporary, but are often hugely consequential,” says the Times.

Using the shadow docket, the court has granted President Trump “more than 20 key victories on issues from immigration to agency power,” a separate Times article says.

More on how Americans can protect themselves from surveillance

The Senate passed on Friday and President Trump has signed a bill extending the Section 702 program of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act until April 30, giving lawmakers more time to debate proposed reforms.

I wrote about this last Thursday, with information from the American Civil Liberties Union as it urges Americans to contact their lawmakers about the legislation.

On Friday, The New York Times published a guest essay titled “We disagree on a lot. But we know this law must change,” by Sens. Mike Lee, R-Utah, and Dick Durbin, D-Ill.

Here are excerpts from their article that show why lawmakers of both parties are so concerned about risks to Americans’ privacy:

“Section 702 doesn’t allow the direct targeting of Americans, but their communications are still often gathered during the warrantless surveillance of foreigners abroad. Once the government has this data, agencies then have the ability to search through it. And they do: Transparency reports reveal that thousands of such searches are performed every year. A federal court previously found that some the FBI had conducted had violated the Fourth Amendment.

“Predictably, without a requirement for court approval of these searches, abuses have been rampant. As a recent report from the Brennan Center for Justice highlighted, FBI agents in recent years have searched for the communications of ‘protesters across the political spectrum; members of Congress; a congressional chief of staff; a state court judge; multiple U.S. government officials, journalists and political commentators; and 19,000 donors to a political campaign.’ In a time of extreme partisanship, these abuses have provoked bipartisan outrage.”

Lee and Durbin have proposed a Security and Freedom Enhancement Act, which they say is a compromise that would reauthorize the “valuable core of this tool while enacting reasonable safeguards to protect the Fourth Amendment rights of all Americans.”

“The government would still be able to check its databases to uncover connections between targeted foreigners and Americans,” Lee and Durbin say. “But it would have to get court approval in the small number of cases in which these searches have generated results and the government has a proper basis for gaining access to the contents of the communications. Importantly, our warrant requirement also contains robust exceptions for legitimate emergencies, so that we can balance civil liberties with legitimate security needs.

“Our bill would also cut off another form of warrantless surveillance: the widespread practice of circumventing the Fourth Amendment by purchasing Americans’ sensitive information from data brokers.

“The Department of Justice (including the Drug Enforcement Administration and the FBI), the Department of Homeland Security (including ICE, Customs and Border Protection and the Secret Service) and the Defense Intelligence Agency have purchased cellphone location information for millions of Americans. Such information is highly sensitive and can reveal intimate details of that person’s life. Even more troubling, artificial intelligence could supercharge such surveillance, allowing the government to harvest and analyze mass quantities of highly personal and sensitive information about Americans without court approval. Our legislation would close these loopholes — again with pragmatic exceptions to accommodate legitimate safety and security needs.”

You can call the Capitol switchboard, (202) 224-3121, and be connected to the offices of your representative and senators. To email your House member and your two senators, you can connect to their websites at Congress.gov. Most lawmakers seem to only accept emails from their constituents, but these leaders accept emails from Americans nationwide, at:

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer

Senate Majority Leader John Thune

Also in the news

Trump administration renews Russia oil waiver after pressure from countries dealing with Iran war price shocks

AP live: U.S. attack and seizure of Iran ship near Strait of Hormuz casts doubt on peace talks on Monday in Pakistan

How the Strait of Hormuz, a tiny stretch of water, powers a huge part of the global economy

Rumeysa Ozturk. former Tufts student detained over her pro-Palestinian op-ed, self-deports as part of Trump administration deal

Bipartisan congressional effort to put guardrails on prediction markets is ‘uncommonly swift’

ICE went on a hiring spree, and sterling credentials weren’t required, AP investigation finds

The Atlantic: Kash Patel has alarmed FBI colleagues with episodes of excessive drinking, unexplained absences

Supreme Court unanimously sides with oil and gas companies in suit over damage to Louisiana coast

Trump loyalist Joe diGenova being dispatched to lead controversial DOJ probe in Florida

Bills have been proposed in more than 20 states to promote ideology of Charlie Kirk

Judge sides with Arizona election official in ruling that has implications for midterm voting

ProPublica: Texas medical board sanctions 3 doctors over delayed care that led to deaths of 2 pregnant women

Heather Cox Richardson on anniversary of Paul Revere’s ride, start of American Revolution

Businesses can claim refunds for Trump tariffs ruled unconstitutional starting on Monday

Judge halts local TV giant Nexstar's takeover of rival Tegna until antitrust trial plays out

What consumers can do as Iran war impacts cost, availability of flights

Trump signs executive order to hasten review of psychedelics to treat PTSD, depression, other medical conditions