WIRED reported that a medical student from Northern India, Sam, who aimed to ease his financial difficulties and pay off his education bills, created Emily using Gemini AI. He created her to cater to the patriotic and conservative ideology, with the content based on topics, including anti-abortion and anti-immigration. Read more
When does shoplifting become an act of political protest? The Opinion culture editor Nadja Spiegelman is calling this microlooting, and it describes the phenomenon of people stealing small things from big corporations like Whole Foods. The New Yorker writer Jia Tolentino and the political commentator Hasan Piker join Spiegelman for a lively discussion on what's behind this trend and where it might lead. Read more
Administration officials on Wednesday softened their predictions of an end to the Iran war and its turbulent effects on energy prices.
President Donald Trump's border czar Tom Homan has invited Pope Leo XIV on an ICE ride-along amid the religious leader's criticism of the administration's deportation efforts.
D/FBI Kashyap Pramod Vinod Patel Closed Down This Investigation
Here's to another year around the sun for everyone's favorite "I'm just asking questions," Jeff "Askhole" J.
The Justice Department's internal watchdog is launching an investigation into the DOJ's production of files and documents related to Jeffrey Epstein as controversy continues over the handling of the case of the convicted sex offender. Read more
The Trump family's World Liberty Financial crypto venture is being sued by one of its billionaire backers over allegations of extortion. Justin Sun has accused World Liberty of an "illegal scheme" to seize his WLFI tokens, a cryptocurrency issued by the company. Sun alleges the firm, co-founded by US President Donald Trump and his son Eric Trump, has "frozen" all of his tokens and stripped him of his right to vote on governance issues.
Link
This week, the Carney government trumpeted its "historic" plan to develop a "sovereign space launch" capability that would allow Canada to launch satellites without relying on American help. Read more
Trump's portrayal of himself as Jesus, or anointed by Jesus, is typical of cult leaders.
Chris Hedges Apr 20, 2026
Clock ticking on president's ability to wage war without congressional approval, limited to 60 days by 1973 legislation
Rep. Tom Kean Jr. represents New Jersey's most competitive district this November " but nobody, even his GOP colleagues, can say where he's been for the past month. A scion of one of the state's most storied political dynasties, Kean's team says the two-term congressmember is facing unspecified health issues. The New Jersey Republican hasn't voted since March 5 and has missed almost 50 roll call votes. The other two Republicans in the New Jersey delegation, Reps. Chris Smith and Jeff Van Drew, said they have called and texted Kean out of concern for his health. But so far, neither said they have heard from him. Van Drew said it's been "radio silence."
Election law attorney Marc Elias dubbed Turley "Mike Lindell with tenure," which is funny, but always seemed a tad unfair. Turley's takes oscillate between ragebait cynicism and comical dullardry. Even his most conspiratorial takes " like swallowing hook, line, and sinker the wingnut theories about Hunter Biden's laptop " carried a faux intellectual energy, that separated him from the frothing conspiracy theory vibe that the MyPillow guy brings to everything. But that tenuous grip on reality seems to be slipping, as the professor delivers his contrarian love letter to the recently deposed Viktor Orban. Sure, Orban had ties to Putin and a reputation for "authoritarianism and corruption," Turley concedes, but the Hungarian prime minister formed the last firewall against "global governance," a term Turley invokes with all the tin foil, black helicopter baggage you'd expect from Alex Jones, not a GW Law professor.
Hospitals in Mississippi " already strained under the costs of caring for a high rate of patients without health insurance and with low-reimbursement plans, such as Medicaid " are expected to lose $1 billion over the course of the next decade as a result of President Donald Trump's sweeping tax and spending bill signed into law in July. To complicate matters further, federal enhanced premium tax credits for Affordable Care Act Marketplace insurance expired late last year. That happened after Congress did not extend them, making health care less affordable for hundreds of thousands of Mississippians.
Close to half of the children in the United States"more than 33 million kids"live in counties with dangerously high levels of toxic air pollution, according to the American Lung Association's annual air quality report out Wednesday. Harold Wimmer, president and CEO of the ALA, said at a time when the federal government should be strengthening air quality standards, President Donald Trump's Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) "is doing the opposite," despite Trump's campaign promise to deliver "the cleanest air." "In the last year, EPA has weakened enforcement and rolled back rules that would have protected kids from power plant and vehicle pollution," said Wimmer. "Children need clean air to grow and play, and communities need clean air to thrive. Leaders at every level must act to improve and protect America's air quality."
A Virginia circuit court judge on Wednesday issued an order blocking the results of a congressional redistricting referendum that could net Democrats four extra seats in the U.S. House of Representatives in 2026. Virginia Attorney General Jay Jones, in a statement, vowed to fight the order issued by Tazewell County Circuit Court Judge Jack Hurley, a Republican appointee, a day after Tuesday's referendum approved the newly drawn districts. Read more
The company behind President Donald Trump's social media network is changing leaders amid mounting financial losses, a sagging stock price and lingering uncertainty about the long-term viability of its flagship product, Truth Social. Devin Nunes, a former California member of Congress and longtime Trump loyalist, is exiting his position as chief executive officer of Trump Media & Technology Group Corp. Read more
