Poolgate is a textbook example of how the Trump administration operates. It's a way that one can explore the anatomy of Trump debacles, which tend to unfold in a (roughly) 13-step process. The Reflecting Pool drama is not all the way through this process yet, but I'd bet good money we'll get there. It goes as follows ...
Nearly four million people who signed up for Affordable Care Act (AKA Obamacare) plans this year have already dropped their coverage after the loss of subsidies resulted in sharply higher costs, for some the premiums were more expensive than their mortgages. Meanwhile, the US has wasted over $113bn fighting an illegal and reckless war against Iran on behalf of Israel, a wealthy and nuclear-armed country that offers world class universal healthcare to all her residents.
Why are Americans paying for another country's excellent universal healthcare system?
The viscerally disliked Acting DNI Bill Pulte installed 2020 election denier Christina Norton as his Chief of Staff whose previous experience for the GOP centered on election issues, including efforts to monitor voting sites during the 2024 presidential election.
Unserious person for serious role. Non only is USIC in jeopardy, but so is US mid-term election integrity
The USDA confirmed new cases of screwworm in Texas, bring the total to 25.
Texas Govt Response
Wide open music thread this weekend. What ever floats yer float. Post it and comment on it if you want to.
It's been a busy few days for a formerly obscure Russian blogger and veteran of Moscow's war on Ukraine who calls himself Aleksandr Lunin.
On June 25, he posted a video in Instagram in which he described what he called widespread torture of soldiers in the war zone by their own officers and demanded a live, on-air meeting with President Vladimir Putin and warned that if it did not take place soon, "the army will turn its weapons against the Kremlin."
The US response to the hantavirus cruise ship outbreak has concluded with no cases among American passengers but plenty of questions on the responses from Trump administration officials.
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) on Thursday released a tranche of Health and Human Services (HHS) emails that appear to show HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. pressuring the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) over its vaccine messaging.
Members of the House Oversight Committee have discussed issuing subpoenas to people who could testify about secret settlements between some of Jeffrey Epstein's friends and his accusers.
Biblical Proof that Trump Will Save America
Donald Trump's family business is breaking ground on an accelerated project in Vietnam as the country's government seeks an updated trade agreement with the United States.
A mistrial was declared Friday in the federal trial of a 30-year-old former Uber driver accused of setting what would become the destructive wildfire in Los Angeles history. Jonathan Rinderknecht was on trial for destruction of property by means of fire, arson affecting property used in interstate commerce and timber set afire. But on Friday, the 13th day of trial, U.S. District Judge Anne Hwang declared a mistrial after the jurors said they were unable to reach a verdict on any of the felony charges, with a final vote of 10 to 2 for acquittal. "The court finds there's a manifest necessity to declare a mistrial in this case due to a jury deadlock," Hwang said. Read more
Several months before blue strips started floating to the surface of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, a company involved in its last renovation more than 15 years ago was approached with an opportunity to do this remodel as well. But the company said no. Read more
The 2026 FIFA World Cup has officially become the most-attended tournament in the competition's history with weeks of matches still to play. FIFA announced Thursday that attendance surpassed the previous record of 3,587,538 fans set during the 1994 World Cup in the United States. By the end of Thursday's matches, total attendance had reached 3,605,357 spectators. Read more
Iran's head coach Amir Ghalenoei says he will not address "things that do not exist" as his team prepares to play Egypt in the Pride Match in Seattle. Local organisers have designated the game as a Pride Match because it falls on the Friday before Pride Weekend, which celebrates diversity and the LGBTQ+ community. Read more
A federal judge on Thursday ordered Tesla CEO Elon Musk to testify under oath in two cases where he is accused of defrauding voters in swing states before the 2024 general election. U.S. Magistrate Judge Susan Hightower of the Western District of Texas ordered Musk to sit for a deposition as part of a fraud lawsuit brought by two Arizona women. They accuse Musk's political action committee, America PAC, of tricking voters into giving personal information as part of giving away $1 million every day leading up to Election Day. Musk made the pledge during a town hall in Pennsylvania in October 2024, saying he would give the money if they signed America PAC's petition. "The only thing we ask for the million dollars is that you be a spokesperson for the petition," Musk told a recipient he handpicked from the audience at the time.
