SCROLL NEWS / DISCOVERY

Search headlines

Find the stories shaping the conversation.

Search mode
Refine results
Active filters Keyword All time

Results for " commit " 2,993 found 🔀 AI-powered Shuffle

Watchdogs press House panel over decades of missing spending investigations

A coalition of groups is asking the Appropriations Committee to account for more than 80 years of work.

washingtonpost.com logo
Aug 7 • 2:09 PM EDT • Politics • washingtonpost.com
Shatema Threadcraft Receives the 2026 Victoria Schuck Award for "The Labors of Resurrection: Black Women, Necromancy, and Morrisonian" -

The Victoria Schuck Award is presented annually by the American Political Science Association (APSA) to honor the best book published on women and politics. Citation from the Award Committee: The committee found Shatema Threadcraft’s The Labors of Resurrection: [...]

politicalsciencenow.com logo
Aug 7 • 12:00 PM EDT • Politics • politicalsciencenow.com
Science Wins A Skirmish

Thank heaven for small favors: Senators on the Appropriations Committee on Sunday released a stopgap funding bill to avert a government shutdown by Oct. 1 and temporarily block a White House proposal that would fundamentally change how the federal government awards and manages grants. In late May, the Office of Management and Budget released … Continue reading "Science Wins A Skirmish"

legal-planet.org logo
Aug 7 • 10:55 AM EDT • Science • legal-planet.org
Senate Hears Small Business Owners as SBA Cuts Loom

Senate committee examines Trump administration's plan to cut SBA budget by 67% and restrict green card holders from federal loans. Hear from entrepreneurs.

legis1.com logo
Aug 7 • 9:41 AM EDT • Business • legis1.com
ACT Entertainment Honored with Neutrik Group Americas’ Partner of the Year Award

The Award Recognizes ACT’s Outstanding Sales Performance, Marketing Collaboration and Long-standing Commitment to the NEUTRIK® Brand

mixonline.com logo
Aug 7 • 9:07 AM EDT • Entertainment • mixonline.com
Lofgren, Whitesides Demand Transparency on OSTP Initiative Funded with NSF Money

The House Committee on Science, Space and Technology

democrats-science.house.gov logo
Aug 7 • 8:00 AM EDT • Science • democrats-science.house.gov
Is Misbehavior by Politicians Finally Having a Reckoning? | WSJ Politics Newsletter for Aug. 7

Plus, a Senate committee votes to hold Fauci in contempt of Congress and U.S. intelligence assesses Putin could launch incursion into a NATO member state

wsj.com logo
Aug 7 • 7:16 AM EDT • Politics • wsj.com
Tennessee commit David Gabriel Georges headlines top 15 running backs entering 2026 season

USA TODAY Sports takes a look at the top running backs going into the 2026 high school football season.

usatoday.com logo
Aug 7 • 7:00 AM EDT • Sports • usatoday.com
Deep dive
😐 Neutral (26%)
love
43%
wow
29%
angry
28%
Some House Republicans Are Backing a Challenger in Cory Mills’s Re-election Bid

Two Republican lawmakers have endorsed a primary opponent of Representative Cory Mills, who has been accused of assault and is under investigation by the House Ethics Committee.

nytimes.com logo
Aug 6 • 5:39 PM EDT • Politics • nytimes.com
Pensacola Bay Center entertainment campus plans hit snag over city-county agreement

PENSACOLA, Fla. -- The future of the Pensacola Bay Center was the center of attention on Thursday at the county's committee of the whole meeting.

weartv.com logo
Aug 6 • 5:24 PM EDT • Entertainment • weartv.com
Penn State Health Life Lion adds new helicopter

Penn State Health Life Lion Critical Care Transport has welcomed a new helicopter to its life-saving fleet, reinforcing the program’s commitment to providing safe, rapid critical care transport across…

pennstatehealthnews.org logo
Aug 6 • 1:59 PM EDT • Health • pennstatehealthnews.org
Republican-led Senate panel will ask Justice Department to charge Dr. Anthony Fauci with contempt of Congress

A Senate committee voted Thursday to hold Dr. Anthony Fauci in contempt of Congress, advancing an audacious effort by Republicans to prosecute the well-known scientist over his role in the US government response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

cnn.com logo
Aug 6 • 1:27 PM EDT • Politics • cnn.com
Twin Rivers Little League in North Carolina Receives $25,000 Sports Matter Grant from The DICK’S Sporting Goods Foundation

Committed to creating more opportunities for youth athletes, The DICK’S Sporting Goods Foundation’s Sports Matter Program has awarded Twin Rivers Little League out of New Bern, North Carolina, with a $25,000 Sports Matter grant.

littleleague.org logo
Aug 6 • 12:28 PM EDT • Sports • littleleague.org
The Latest: Senate committee votes to hold Fauci in contempt over refusal to answer questions

A Senate committee has voted to hold Dr. Anthony Fauci in contempt of Congress and refer him to the Justice Department for potential prosecution over his refusal to answer questions at a hearing last week on his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic

washingtonpost.com logo
Aug 6 • 8:21 AM EDT • Politics • washingtonpost.com
Amanda Paschoal: “Politics is built through dialogue, even with people who think differently.”

Amanda Paschoal is an activist and City Councillor in Sao Paulo, Brazil. She represents a new generation of feminist and LGBTQIA+ leaders, committed to social and climate justice. During her term, Amanda championed legislation on climate adaptation, gender equality, and environmental racism. Through her activism and legislative work, she has become a leading voice for intersectional approaches to sustainability, social justice, and the protection of marginalized communities in Brazil’s urban and political landscape.

lac.unwomen.org logo
Aug 6 • 8:00 AM EDT • Politics • lac.unwomen.org
CAAP Senegal: Strengthening Coalition to Advance Women's, Children's and Adolescents' Health

Since 2024, Amref Health West Africa has coordinated Senegal’s PMNCH-supported CAAP through an existing national committee, strengthening a sustainable platform for SRMNCAH advocacy. In April 2026, expanded membership and a new working group marked a major step toward a single national platform to align advocacy, improve budget tracking, counter misinformation and advance domestic financing for women, children and adolescents.

pmnch.who.int logo
Aug 6 • 8:00 AM EDT • Health • pmnch.who.int
#LegsFirst: Servier committed to make leg health a daily priority

#LegsFirst Every Day: know the signs of venous disease, act early, and take steps to protect your leg health.

servier.com logo
Aug 6 • 7:30 AM EDT • Health • servier.com
😐 Neutral (10%)
ahah
60%
love
40%
Business Briefs: Aug. 7, 2026

UMassFive welcomes new associate director HADLEY — UMassFive College Federal Credit Union welcomes Timothy (Tim) Webster to its board of directors as an associate director. Webster brings extensive experience in law, governance, higher education and international affairs, along with a longstanding commitment to service and community engagement. Webster is a professor of law at Western […]

recorder.com logo
Aug 6 • 7:30 AM EDT • Business • recorder.com
Deep dive
😐 Neutral (15%)
love
59%
wow
41%
Alabama commit Elijah Haven headlines top 15 quarterbacks entering 2026 season

USA TODAY Sports takes a look at the top quarterbacks going into the 2026 high school football season.

usatoday.com logo
Aug 6 • 7:01 AM EDT • Sports • usatoday.com
Senate committee set to vote on holding Anthony Fauci in contempt of Congress

Hearing called after the former chief medical advisor invoked the fifth and refused to answer questions at a hearing on Covid-19

theguardian.com logo
Aug 6 • 6:44 AM EDT • Politics • theguardian.com
The House Ethics Committee steps into the spotlight

Obscure for years, what woke up the House Ethics Committee?

bostonglobe.com logo
Aug 6 • 5:33 AM EDT • Politics • bostonglobe.com
Senate Finance Committee wrestles with how to sustain Social Security benefits

The Senate Finance Committee held a hearing yesterday on how to prevent deep cuts to Social Security benefits in a few years. The math is simple but the politics are not.

npr.org logo
Aug 6 • 4:40 AM EDT • Politics • npr.org
High-Signal Publisher
😐 Neutral (4%)
wow
100%
Senate subcommittee obtains Fauci’s phone ahead of contempt vote

A Senate subcommittee investigating Dr. Anthony Fauci has obtained a copy of his iPhone, a spokesperson for the panel’s chair, GOP Sen. Ron Johnson, told CNN on Wednesday.

cnn.com logo
Aug 5 • 11:47 PM EDT • Politics • cnn.com
Deep dive
😐 Neutral (12%)
ahah
55%
wow
45%
Man who ran Oregon health care facilities admits to fraudulent sleep study, over $2 million in fake billing

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — A Coos Bay man pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit health care fraud on Wednesday, officials from the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced. Mehrdad Gerami, 67, fa…

koin.com logo
Aug 5 • 11:07 PM EDT • Health • koin.com
Federal Reserve’s Lisa Cook tells Anchorage business crowd she’s ‘firmly committed’ to bringing down inflation

High inflation for five years has contributed to negative views of the economy, even as it’s largely stable, Lisa Cook said.

adn.com logo
Aug 5 • 9:39 PM EDT • Business • adn.com
Fauci's HHS iPhone turned over to Senate investigators as contempt vote looms

Sen. Ron Johnson's subcommittee obtained a copy of Anthony Fauci's pandemic-era iPhone as Rand Paul's panel weighs holding him in contempt of Congress.

foxnews.com logo
Aug 5 • 9:08 PM EDT • Politics • foxnews.com
House Ethics Committee has investigated nine Congressmembers so far this year

North Carolina Republican Cpngressman Chuck Edwards ended his reelection campaign on Wednesday

spectrumlocalnews.com logo
Aug 5 • 4:59 PM EDT • Politics • spectrumlocalnews.com
North Carolina Rep. Edwards quits reelection bid after committee finds inappropriate conduct

The House Ethics Committee recommended he be censured for unprofessional and inappropriate conduct toward two young female aides in his office.

pbs.org logo
Aug 5 • 1:33 PM EDT • Politics • pbs.org
House Democrats just added 12 'safe' Trump districts to their midterm election target list

The move brings the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee's list of targets to 58, an ambitious list that reflects President Donald Trump's diminished standing with the electorate and Democrats' belief that they can capitalize on voters' frustrations.

pbs.org logo
Aug 5 • 1:02 PM EDT • Politics • pbs.org
Speaker Johnson says Ethics Committee should carry out Max Miller investigation

The Ohio Republican congressman has faced calls to drop his reelection bid over domestic abuse allegations.

washingtonpost.com logo
Aug 5 • 11:00 AM EDT • Politics • washingtonpost.com
Convention Center Launches WIN Phase 2 Series With Construction Services Small Business Workshop

The New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center (NOENMCC) is continuing its commitment to small and emerging businesses throughout the year with the next installment in its WIN Series. The next phase of workshops, The Procurement Playbook, focuses on construction and vendor service businesses throughout Greater New Orleans. The WIN Series is a part of

mccno.com logo
Aug 5 • 9:00 AM EDT • Business • mccno.com
GOP Rep Chuck Edwards drops re-election bid after House ethics report recommends censure

Republican Rep. Chuck Edwards of North Carolina dropped his re-election bid in the wake of the release of a House Ethics Committee report.

foxnews.com logo
Aug 5 • 8:45 AM EDT • Politics • foxnews.com
Rep. Chuck Edwards drops reelection bid after censure recommendation for sexual harassment claims

The House Ethics Committee said there is "substantial reason to believe" Rep. Chuck Edwards violated House rules related to sexual harassment and hostile workplaces. Edwards denied any wrongdoing.

cbsnews.com logo
Aug 5 • 8:36 AM EDT • Politics • cbsnews.com
High-Signal Publisher
IAB

Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) offers leading standards and best practices for digital advertising. Developed by expert-led committees, our guidelines help members implement compliance frameworks and drive growth.

iab.com logo
Aug 5 • 8:30 AM EDT • Business • iab.com
Hospitals nationwide recognized for commitment to advancing high-quality cardiovascular health care

DALLAS, August 5, 2026 — Cardiovascular disease remains the leading cause of death in the United States, according to the American Heart Association’s 2026 Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics, and improving survival depends on health care teams...

newsroom.heart.org logo
Aug 5 • 8:00 AM EDT • Health • newsroom.heart.org
Rep. Chuck Edwards Drops Re-election Bid in North Carolina After Ethics Rebuke

Chuck Edwards made the announcement after the House Ethics Committee recommended he be censured for “persistent unprofessional and inappropriate conduct” toward two female staff members.

nytimes.com logo
Aug 5 • 7:07 AM EDT • Politics • nytimes.com
Small Business Owners Testify on U.S. Economic Growth

The Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee holds a hearing on tax policy, artificial intelligence, and other issues impacting small businesses.

c-span.org logo
Aug 5 • 12:00 AM EDT • Business • c-span.org
GOP Leadership pushing Edwards to drop re-election bid over ethics report

The bipartisan House Ethics Committee on Monday released a 20-page report on the investigation, recommending that the chamber censure Edwards.

spectrumlocalnews.com logo
Aug 4 • 6:00 PM EDT • Politics • spectrumlocalnews.com
Two more House Democrats face primary danger: From the Politics Desk

Plus, the House Ethics Committee is investigating Ohio GOP Rep. Max Miller.

nbcnews.com logo
Aug 4 • 5:29 PM EDT • Politics • nbcnews.com
High-Signal Publisher
RWJBarnabas Health Board Chair Honored by NJBIZ for Outstanding Board Leadership

Susan C. Reinhard, PhD, RN, FAAN, Chair of the Board of Trustees for RWJBarnabas Health, has been honored with an inaugural Board Leadership Award from NJBIZ, which recognizes outstanding board members whose governance, expertise and commitment have made a meaningful impact on their organizations and communities.

rwjbh.org logo
Aug 4 • 4:49 PM EDT • Health • rwjbh.org
Senate Panel Will Examine Small Business Pressures

Senate committee investigates tariffs and lending challenges facing small businesses. Hear how rising costs impact Main Street entrepreneurs this week.

legis1.com logo
Aug 4 • 4:09 PM EDT • Business • legis1.com
😐 Neutral (0%)
House Ethics Committee announces investigation into GOP Rep. Max Miller
cnn.com logo
Aug 4 • 3:28 PM EDT • Politics • cnn.com
FDA's Draft MDUFA VI Commitment Letter: What It Means for AI and Digital Health

On July 7, FDA posted its draft commitment letter for the sixth MDUFA reauthorization (MDUFA VI). The letter outlines how the FDA will fund and operate its device review program for fiscal years 2028 through 2032. Under MDUFA, industry actors pay user fees and, in return, FDA commits to measurable review performance goals, such as … Continued

bipartisanpolicy.org logo
Aug 4 • 2:43 PM EDT • Health • bipartisanpolicy.org
Senators Markey, Merkley Reintroduce Legislation to Protect Healthcare for Americans Who Cannot Afford Bail

Bill Text (PDF) Washington, D.C. – Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), a member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, and Senator Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) today reintroduced the Equity in Pretrial Health Coverage Act, legislation that would protect the continuity of federal health benefits under Medicaid, Medicare, Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), and Veterans Affairs for Americans who […]

merkley.senate.gov logo
Aug 4 • 2:35 PM EDT • Health • merkley.senate.gov
Todd Blanche's nomination for attorney general clears critical hurdle

The Senate Judiciary Committee voted 12-10 along party lines in support of the nomination of President Donald Trump's former personal attorney

spectrumlocalnews.com logo
Aug 4 • 2:20 PM EDT • Politics • spectrumlocalnews.com
Rady Children’s Health Named Official Pediatric Healthcare Partner of San Diego FC and San Diego FC’s Right to Dream Academy

San Diego FC announced today a deeply integrated, multi-year partnership with Rady Children’s Health. Rooted in a shared commitment to youth wellness, the partnership brings together two trusted and local organizations focused on supporting the health, mental well-being, and joy of children across the San Diego region. “A club is

sandiegofc.com logo
Aug 4 • 1:03 PM EDT • Health • sandiegofc.com
MrBeast Sales Slow, Angel Stock Falls, MUBI and Neon Look for Hits, and Will an NBA Franchise Set a Sales Record?

(Welcome to the Entertainment Strategy Guy, a newsletter on the entertainment industry and business strategy. I write a weekly Streaming Ratings Report and a bi-weekly strategy column, along with occasional deep dives into other topics, like today’s article. Please subscribe.) You probably remember egg prices spiking a few years ago. This led to a lot of debate between the pro-market/pro-competition/antitrust/Neo-Brandesian crowd and the center/center-right/center-left/abundance/libertarian crowd over the cause, whether it was the avian flu outbreak or whether industry consolidation led to price fixing, using avian flu as a convenient cover. Basel Musharbash wrote a whole investigation at BIG looking at it. Well, two years later, we have our answer: it was price fixing. The Justice Department found proof, via emails, of price fixing. Indeed, just the threat of an investigation brought prices down two years ago: I bring this up because at least half a dozen of my favorite political writers and pundits, who were skeptical about price fixing at the time, haven’t written any mea culpas on this issue. It’s really dispiriting and makes it much, much harder to trust their work on other issues. If you take a hard stand on an issue, then you get it wrong, you need to explain how and why you got it wrong. Or update your priors. This is how epistemological bubbles are formed! All of which is to say, it’s time for another installment of “What I Got Right, What I Got Wrong”. Last issue, I mostly focused on the “wrong” side of the equation, so today’s is a bit more balanced, but with one big mea culpa (though I still stand by my original concerns). Let’s dive right in! Subscribe CORRECTION: UFC Didn’t Release Subscriber Data (But Seems to Have Bragged About It Internally) In my analysis of the viewership of UFC Freedom 250, I wrote... “Paramount has also released datecdotes bragging about their subscriber numbers. Earlier this year, they claimed that the first UFC fight on Paramount+ brought in 1 million subscribers.” Well, that datecdote did not come from a PR rep, but from great reporting from James Faris at Business Insider. The actual quote was this: “Paramount’s flagship streaming service generated about a million new subscribers on the day of its first-ever UFC event, Paramount product chief Dane Glasgow told employees in a town hall on Tuesday morning, three staffers who attended the meeting told Business Insider.“ This wasn’t the biggest goof in the world; even Faris emphasized to me that this is more a “clarification” than a correction. Still, it sounds like, internally, the folks at Paramount were very happy about this result—and I’m guessing they were happy with this news getting out—even though the gains didn’t last through the quarter, dropping to 700K adds. RIGHT: MrBeast’s Struggles Continue... I’m very skeptical about MrBeast’s burgeoning media “empire” and, in particular, its $5 billion valuation, as I wrote earlier this year and last year. Sure enough, according to Business Insider, regarding its “booming” consumer products division_:_ “US sales volume grew 13% year-over-year in 2025, following a 33% leap the previous year, according to a presentation deck dated May 2026....A February 2025 investor deck viewed by Business Insider showed Feastables’ net revenue more than doubled in 2024 from 2023, to $215 million, and was forecast to grow 74% in 2025, to $375 million.” [Emphasis mine.] If you told investors that you projected 74% growth but delivered 13%,1 that’s not ideal. But it’s not just MrBeast. Logan Paul and KSI’s Prime had sales drop in half for their energy drinks. It’s one thing to build a successful entertainment company and an entirely different thing to succeed in the heavily-consolidated-but-also-very-competitive consumer packaged goods space! CPGs are dominated by a few firms with very wide moats compared to YouTube, which has few barriers to entry. These businesses require different skill sets and have completely different business environments. WRONG: Does the NBA Have an $8 Billion Bidder? Almost as soon as I published my article about the NBA’s finances, casting skepticism on NBA expansion, I saw this Front Office Sports headline: One group “claims to have already raised $8 billion” for the Vegas expansion team. I mean, wow. That’s just $2 billion less than what the Los Angeles Lakers were valued at when they were sold just last year. And they’re arguably the most popular team in the NBA. (Side note: the new owner is now under an investigation for fraud in how he went about financing the Lakers and the Dodgers purchases.) So much for the “dried up” language I used in that article. (This is why I usually stick to my “Entertainment Nuance Guy” tone in articles...) I went off old information—from April, when I read/heard about the NBA downplaying expansion efforts—instead of doing a quick double-check for new news. That said...if you read the article, the market for Seattle is “slow”, with just one reported bidder. So I wasn’t entirely off. This goof has annoyed me since I first published it, mainly because it undercut that article’s real point, which I stand by: NBA franchises are really overvalued right now. Now, I get why NBA teams are overvalued. When it comes to owning sports teams, it’s basically never wrong to assume that some rich person somewhere will care more about owning a team (or just being part of a group since they’re so expensive) than the actual financials. There are only so many teams to own, and opportunities to buy in preferred markets don’t come along very often. This explains why the teams sell for such high multiples (usually above a 10 to 12.5 revenue multiple, which is very high). You only need one person to overpay! Beyond the ultra-wealthy luxury good explanation, I worry NBA teams are becoming speculative assets. More and more private equity investors are buying into NBA teams. But the value, in owning a team, comes from selling it later, not any meaningful relationship to revenue or profit growth. In other words, the newer NBA owners are increasingly expecting someone later to buy their inflated asset. That’s not sound economics; that’s the “greater fool” theory at work.2 At some point, actually making money has to matter. Especially since revenue growth is now below the growth of the stock market. (And this matters because the NBA doesn’t have easy levers to pull to drastically lower their costs—half of their revenue has to go to players and then you actually have to run a team, including coaching, training, travel, media expenses, and more—or raise revenues aside from one-off expansions in America and overseas.) I just don’t see how investors make their money back buying NBA teams, except for selling at a higher price later on down the line. But if revenue/profit growth continues to slow, at some point, someone will be left holding the bag. RIGHT: Baseball and Basketball are about equally popular. Related to the above, I wanted to cite two quick pieces of evidence for one of my other theories: that the NBA and MLB are about as popular as each other, but the NBA gets much, much better media coverage. One YouGov survey has that fans prefer basketball to baseball by 52% to 48%, which I’m guessing is within the margin of error for that poll. That’s virtually even, meaning they’re about the same popularity. Over on NBC, a recent Red Sox-Yankees game averaged 4 million viewers, higher than Sunday Night Basketball’s average of 3.4 million on the same network. A Yankees-Dodgers game averaged 3.9 million two weeks ago. Not every game averages this much, but it shows you that baseball isn’t far off from basketball, depending on the matchup. Altogether, the NBA is just slightly more popular than baseball, but NBC is paying MLB a fraction of what they pay the NBA, a point I’ve made before. RIGHT: Angel, MUBI and Neon Updates... I’ve long been skeptical about many of Hollywood’s buzziest startups/smaller indie studios. It’s not that they don’t make great movies—films like Anora and Everything Everywhere All at Once are amazing—or that they’re not (rightfully) pushing the majors to make better films, but...they get a ton of hype, and that hype often doesn’t live up to the reality or difficulty in scaling up. Starting with MUBI, well, The Wall Street Journal wrote a feature on MUBI’s struggles last April, best summarized by the subheader “After Sequoia valued Mubi at $1 billion, a left-wing revolt sent the indie film company into a tailspin”. MUBI lost $7.3 million on $200 million in revenue in Q4 2025, but reportedly hit a record 1.7 million subscribers at the end of Q1. As for Neon, Department M purchased a “significant stake” in the company earlier this year. How much is that “stake” worth? According to Deadline, “No financial figures for the Neon-Department M deal were disclosed.” So...that’s not great! If it was a big valuation, we’d hear about. Also, I found this curious: “Both Neon and Department M already have separate partnerships with Qatar. The Qatar Film Committee has a slate deal in place with the former, and a biopic production pact with the latter.” Color me skeptical about much Middle Eastern investment dollars. See: LIV Golf. Finally, as for Angel (formerly Angel Studios), their stock very, very slightly popped last month after Young Washington ($20 million budget) which made $45 million in the US, but their stock is still way down from its opening. Smaller Updates RIGHT: The WGA should focus on antitrust concerns! I’ve been on this for years. Post-WGA/AMTPT deal in 2023, I wrote an article for the Ankler calling on the WGA to focus and organize against industry consolidation. Sure enough, the WGA filed a lawsuit against the Paramount-WBD merger, and people are organizing around this issue now. I wish this energy had coalesced earlier (specifically to lobby Washington much earlier), but better late than never! WRONG: Actually, the chip shortage might be due to market manipulation. In my last “Long Reads for the Long Summer” article, I shared an article about how LLMs are causing memory chip prices to spike, which will make all electronics more expensive. Well, turns out, three RAM manufacturers control 90% of the market, and now a private lawsuit accuses them of price-fixing. So yeah. WRONG/UPDATE: The Odyssey will hold! Two weeks ago, I wrote, “As of this moment, we haven’t had a super-blockbuster, though The Odyssey, Spider-Man: Brand New Day and Avengers: Doomsday could all cross the $500 million mark. (At this point, The Odyssey would need a very strong hold to get there.)” Well, it’s safe to say it’s going to have that hold! It only dropped 30% in weekend two and IMAX screenings are sold out all month. Spider-Man: Brand New Day is also off to a great start. RIGHT: People are rushing to get shows out yearly. I’ve long been bullish on yearly, weekly-released shows, and Leslie Goldberg at The Ankler wrote about how many people in town are now listening. WRONG: Mark Carney reverses Canada’s stance on homegrown production. After writing about Canada installing domestic production quotas, Canada has backed off. WRONG: I don’t trust Spider-Man: Brand New Day’s online “views”. When I originally wrote about the latest Spider-Man film’s record-breaking trailer, I thought this was just YouTube views, but after watching this Corridor Crew video and doing more research, well, it’s all social views of the trailer globally. Really? That stat includes TikTok, Reels and YouTube Shorts views. Basically, I don’t trust it anymore. (This film will probably set record, but I trust the pre-sales data more.) RIGHT: Celebrity Production companies are still struggling. I’ve written about this for years, but the company that I didn’t track was Kevin Hart’s HartBeat, which was valued at $650 million but is struggling now and might just end soon, especially after Kevin Hart pulled his endorsement deals. And Bad Robot is moving to NYC. CORRECTION: SpongeBob is a “second run” title. In my 2025 recap article, I had _SpongeBob SquarePants_labelled as a “library” title, when it is still a “second run” show, with new episodes still coming out on Nickelodeon. CORRECTION: In my last “What I Got Right, What I Got Wrong” update, I offered a correction from Doug Creutz and misspelled TD Cowen. Thanks, Grammarly! 1 Though he could have increased prices to make up for the gap, he couldn’t have increased them that much. 2 There’s a theory, which I think that Daryl Morey created and Bill Simmons popularized, that, to be successful building your team, you only need a handful of bad GMs in the league to take advantage of. To be clear, Daryl Morey’s theory was also for signing bad contracts, that you could always get out of bad contracts. Basically, there’s always someone who will make a bad trade. It’s not the same exact thing, but similar enough to the Greater Fool Theory that I really like it.

entertainment.substack.com logo
Aug 4 • 11:55 AM EDT • Entertainment • entertainment.substack.com
Senate Judiciary Committee Advances Todd Blanche to Be Attorney General

Two GOP senator holdouts ultimately supported the nomination after getting written assurances that a controversial fund was dead.

wsj.com logo
Aug 4 • 11:22 AM EDT • Politics • wsj.com
Stakeholders Testify on Medicaid & Health Care Costs

Stakeholders testify on Medicaid, the cost of care, and program funding needs bedore the Senate Budget Committee.

c-span.org logo
Aug 4 • 10:01 AM EDT • Health • c-span.org
WATCH LIVE: Senate Judiciary Committee votes on Blanche nomination for attorney general
pbs.org logo
Aug 4 • 9:00 AM EDT • Politics • pbs.org
T-Mobile Is Stretching Its Device Commitment to 3 Years with New Installment and “2.0” Phone Plans

The carrier is incrementing its plans to “2.0” versions and giving customers the option of paying off devices over 36 months.

cnet.com logo
Aug 4 • 9:00 AM EDT • Technology • cnet.com
Commitment to Privacy

Commitment to Privacy

vcuhealth.org logo
Aug 4 • 8:56 AM EDT • Health • vcuhealth.org
Watch live: Senate convenes Medicaid hearing as work requirements face scrutiny

Health experts on Tuesday morning will testify before the Senate Budget Committee on Medicaid, just months after the Trump administration issued a new rule requiring states to implement work requir…

thehill.com logo
Aug 4 • 8:56 AM EDT • Health • thehill.com
Holstein reelected state GOP chairman; party disavows Pritt

The West Virginia Republican Executive Committee reelected Delegate Josh Holstein, R-Boone, as chairman of the state Republican Party during a meeting in Charleston, West Virginia on Aug. 1, 2026. Also during the meeting, the GOP diavowed former Delegate Elliott Pritt, R-Fayette, who has been arrested and faces charges related to enticement of a minor.

wvgazettemail.com logo
Aug 4 • 5:15 AM EDT • Politics • wvgazettemail.com
Stakeholders Testify on Medicaid & Health Care Costs

Stakeholders testify on Medicaid, the cost of care, and program funding needs bedore the Senate Budget Committee.

c-span.org logo
Aug 4 • 12:00 AM EDT • Health • c-span.org
Consultant says Public School Employee health insurance will be depleted in three years without changes

The health insurance fund for public school employees is projected to be in the red by 2029 unless changes are made, a consultant told state legislators Monday.

arkansasonline.com logo
Aug 3 • 9:43 PM EDT • Health • arkansasonline.com
Ernst Names Small Business of the Week, Present Company

Read the release on Sen. Ernst's website here. Throughout this Congress, Chair Ernst plans to recognize a small business in every one of Iowa’s 99 counties. RED OAK, Iowa – U.S. Senator Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Chair of the Senate Small Business Committee, today announced her Small Business of the Week: Present Company of Audubon County. Throughout the 119th Congress, Chair Ernst plans to recognize a small business in each of Iowa's 99 counties. "Present Company has been the gift that keeps on giving to Audubon for more than three decades," said Chair Ernst. "From helping revitalize Main Street to supporting countless local events and charities, Telia Carter and her team continue to present the very best of Iowa's entrepreneurial spirit. Their commitment to exceptional service, unique products, and hometown values proves that investing in your community always comes back around." Founded in 1990 by Nancy Oleson, Present Company opened its doors in downtown Audubon as a home décor boutique. After more than three decades of serving southwest Iowa, ownership transitioned in 2022 to Telia Carter. Under her leadership, Present Company has continued its tradition of personalized customer service while adapting its inventory to meet the needs of customers from Audubon and the surrounding communities. Today, Present Company remains a downtown Audubon staple, offering a carefully curated selection of gifts, home décor, apparel, jewelry, and specialty items. The boutique has earned a reputation for unique merchandise, friendly service, and a welcoming atmosphere that reflects the character of small-town Iowa. Stay tuned as Chair Ernst continues to recognize outstanding Iowa small businesses with her Small Business of the Week award. ###

sbc.senate.gov logo
Aug 3 • 5:56 PM EDT • Business • sbc.senate.gov
Michigan’s primary reflects a Democratic base transforming in Trump 2.0: From the Politics Desk

Plus, Todd Blanche’s AG nomination is back on track ahead of a key committee vote.

nbcnews.com logo
Aug 3 • 5:06 PM EDT • Politics • nbcnews.com
High-Signal Publisher
House Ethics Panel Finds Rep. Chuck Edwards Likely Violated Sexual Harassment Rules

The Ethics Committee called for the censure of Representative Chuck Edwards, Republican of North Carolina, who showered two female staffers with lavish gifts and affection.

nytimes.com logo
Aug 3 • 4:58 PM EDT • Politics • nytimes.com
Senate Banking Committee Examine Small Business Capital Access

Senate Banking Committee hearing on Aug 6 explores unlocking capital access for Main Street businesses. Learn how new regulations could impact small...

legis1.com logo
Aug 3 • 4:37 PM EDT • Business • legis1.com
Ethics panel finds GOP Rep. Chuck Edwards violated House sexual harassment rules and recommends censure

The bipartisan House Ethics Committee said Monday it has found “substantial evidence” that GOP Rep. Chuck Edwards repeatedly made unwanted advances toward two of his female staffers and is recommending that the full House vote to punish him on the floor.

cnn.com logo
Aug 3 • 4:13 PM EDT • Politics • cnn.com
Rep. Edwards’ behavior with staffers violated House code of conduct, panel finds

The House Ethics Committee released a report Monday in its investigation into the western North Carolina lawmaker's treatment of two female staffers.

spectrumlocalnews.com logo
Aug 3 • 3:52 PM EDT • Politics • spectrumlocalnews.com
GOP lawmaker's gifts, 'effusive affection' toward young staffers detailed in explosive ethics report

The House Ethics Committee recommends censure after an ethics probe found Chuck Edwards violated the code of conduct with two young female staffers.

foxnews.com logo
Aug 3 • 2:32 PM EDT • Politics • foxnews.com
http://democrats-energycommerce.house.gov/media/press-releases/republican-health-care-cuts-continue-devastate-american-families

Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and House Energy and Commerce Committee Ranking Member Frank Pallone Jr., D-N.J., today released their latest report spotlighting the consequences of the Republican Big Ugly Betrayal, which slashed over $1 trillion from Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act in July 2025.

democrats-energycommerce.house.gov logo
Aug 3 • 2:30 PM EDT • Health • democrats-energycommerce.house.gov
If Not AOC, Then Who?

What do we do if Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez decides not to run for president in 2028? It makes sense that many leftists are currently focused on calling on her to take the plunge. But the absence of a Plan B, or even much discussion about one, is worrisome. The US Left can’t afford to sit out the 2028 Democratic primary. Doing so in 2024 was a disaster: our abstention self-marginalized anti-billionaire politics from the national conversation and thereby gave space for Harris to pivot to the “center” (i.e. the policy preferences of corporate donors, establishment hacks, and AIPAC). Abstaining again in 2028 would be especially counterproductive since democratic socialists now have so much wind in our sails after our big electoral wins in NYC and across the country. It’s time to deepen our momentum, organization, and profile — not to retreat to the margins during America’s single most important political battle. Even more urgently, keeping Trump’s heir out of the White House may depend on whether leftists and the party’s unprecedentedly disenchanted base can force the Democrats in 2028 to take meaningful steps towards a very angry electorate and away from the corporate-consultant blob that has helped get us into this mess. If AOC (or Abdul El-Sayed) decides to run, we should enthusiastically go all in — DSA, fighting unions, progressive organizations, anybody who wants to see a better country and world. But, as far as I can tell from the outside, there’s a real chance that she doesn’t run. And we can’t just wait and see where she lands before discussing alternatives, since AOC’s decision might not come for quite a while, giving us little time to scramble at the last minute for an alternative. So we should start working now on getting a Plan B into motion, and recruiting a good candidate for the role. Here’s one idea. A Worker Candidate — Healthcare Not Warfare 2028 Run a union worker Leftists don’t need to always run experienced, well-known socialist politicians for high-profile contests. Lula, the current president of Brazil, began his political career as a metalworker militant who ran for governor of São Paulo in 1982. Especially in an era of institutional distrust, it’s possible to lean hard into making a virtue out of a working-class comrade’s distance from traditional politics. Experience abroad shows this clearly. Rachel Kéké — an immigrant hotel housekeeper — ran as the candidate of the leftist La France Insoumise for the National Assembly in 2022, defeating a former minister in the Macron government. The Belgian Workers’ Party in 2024 won its first Flemish seat in the European Parliament by running Rudi Kennes, a three-decade veteran of the Opel Antwerp auto factory. And the South Korean left in 2024 elected auto factory militant Yoon Jong-oh to the National Assembly. If a tiny French Trotskyist organization could make such a big splash in 2002 and 2007 by running a well-spoken postal worker cadre for office — the LCR’s Olivier Besancenot received about 1.5 million first-round votes — it’s not far-fetched to expect that a much larger organization like DSA, together with a broader coalition of the willing, could run this playbook to much greater effect. This is especially the case now that almost everything DSA does immediately becomes a national news story. We don’t need someone famous. We just need a charismatic, well-vetted comrade who works in a relatable working-class occupation — e.g. a nurse, or a worker in auto or construction, or at Amazon. Ideally, they have a compelling personal story or have been part of a significant strike or organizing campaign, but even those criteria don’t necessarily have to be deal-breakers. The main lesson of the Graham Platner fiasco isn’t that we should never run outsiders for office (the momentum he generated proves the exact opposite), but that they need proper vetting and roots in democratic membership organizations like DSA or a union. In any case, there are plenty of ways to signal working-class authenticity without resorting to Platner’s or Fetterman’s performative macho white dude affect. Better to have someone of any gender or race who is actually working class, with firm socialist politics, who can speak from experience about the day-to-day realities of trying to make it in America. There are surely at least a dozen such worker leaders in our movement nationwide; we just need to sit down and convince one that their personal sacrifice for the greater good (i.e. running for president) will be worth it. If we don’t have a frontrunner with a clear path to victory like AOC (or El-Sayed, were he to win Michigan), it’s better to embrace someone whose decision to run in itself tells an important story about US politics: workers have been iced out of our political system and are now fighting hard to break back in. The novelty factor, in itself, would generate press. And it would help democratic socialists signal to the American public that our movement’s defining characteristic is that we represent workers vs. bosses, not that we’re “the furthest left” force in American politics — a framework that suggests we’re extremists and that helps our opponents isolate us from non-college-educated voters by highlighting extremely minoritarian (and misguided) stances included in DSA’s platform like prison abolition. We don’t get many opportunities to speak to tens of millions of Americans; we need to use these opportunities to broaden our appeal beyond those already in our orbit. Run to polarize the 2028 primary and general election around “Medicare for All” and “End All Aid to Israel” Why should democratic socialists use our scarce time and volunteer energy to run in a race we’re unlikely to win? Running in the 2028 primary will not only recruit us scores of members (imagine having a DSA member intervening in eleven nationally televised primary debates!), but — more importantly — it has the potential to be a decisive leap forward towards an America that finally starts meeting the needs of working people instead of HMO and AIPAC billionaire donors. Polarizing litmus tests are good, actually — as long as they’re fought for around popular demands in a thoughtful and strategic way. Democratic socialists have an opportunity and responsibility to make the 2028 primary about two of the most widely and deeply felt issues of our moment: domestically, America’s unaffordable, family-breaking private healthcare system; internationally, America’s bankrolling of the genocidal Israeli government. A candidacy relentlessly demanding Medicare for All and No Aid to Israel would pose a sharp question to the American public, the Democratic Party, and other 2028 contenders: Why can’t working-class Americans afford their healthcare bills at the same time that our government is spending at least $3.8 billion yearly to fund an Israeli regime eager to keep dragging us and the world into more forever wars? Our candidate can agitate around a clear message: I’m running to give voice to all those working-class Americans who are struggling to get by. No matter what state you live in, who you voted for in 2024, or your background, it’s just plain common sense that we should make healthcare more affordable instead of spending billions to enable the Israeli government’s crimes against humanity. Every American who agrees with me when I say ‘Medicare for All — Not a Dime for Israel’ should make their voice heard through our campaign. Racking up a high number of votes for this agenda is a crucial way to show the Democratic Party and the country as a whole that we can’t keep supporting a life-destroying status quo in our healthcare system and in the Middle East. If we want to defeat Trump’s handpicked crony this coming November, we need to speak to ordinary people’s frustrations with the status quo — we can’t keep running the same tired establishment playbook and expecting a different result. For those highly engaged voters (or skeptical media pundits) who raise concerns about wasting votes, the candidate can take the time to explain why this isn’t the case: It's true I'm a long shot. But Zohran showed anything can happen — and voting for me is a pragmatic decision, not a wasted vote. In a heavily divided primary with a large number of candidates and a very discredited establishment, my campaign and the democratic socialist movement I’m part of are positioned to be the balance of power if we can get a large enough number of voters to loudly demand Healthcare Not Warfare. Since there’s a high chance no candidate will get to 50% in the 2028 primaries, the Democrats could very well be heading towards a brokered convention, where a disciplined, principled current committed to breaking from corporate donors can play an outsized role in making sure whoever ends up with the nomination raises the banner of single-payer healthcare and cutting aid to Israel. How exactly could running this sort of primary campaign be translated into actual leverage? The candidate replies: I’m aiming to win the nomination, but if I don’t achieve that goal, my delegates and I will pledge our support in the primary only for a candidate who agrees in the general election to call for ending US aid to Israel and establishing Medicare for All at home. These are both winning planks for November against the Republicans, and the only reason I can see that other candidates haven’t yet raised these is that they’re still more scared of the donor class than they are of the people. That needs to change. If Democratic leaders want young people, workers, and those sick of the status quo to show up in big numbers this November, they need to meet us halfway. In this way, whether or not we win the nomination, democratic socialists could still play a decisive role in 2028. The approach outlined here is similar to what radical left parties periodically do in parliamentary democracies like Denmark or Sweden when they find themselves as a junior partner electorally: they dictate to center-left allies what their terms would be for enabling, from the outside, the formation of a new government. Running a Healthcare Not Warfare candidate will make it significantly more likely that the 2028 Democratic candidate stands with ordinary people instead of donors on these two pivotal planks — a shift that will, in turn, make it easier to achieve the existentially important task of defeating MAGA’s heir in November. Look at how much popular traction the Uncommitted movement got with a similar strategy in 2024 with so little on-the-ground organization — surely we can go much further with a working-class candidate, a much bigger DSA, and a Democratic Party base that has turned against Israel, billionaires, and the hacks in the party who prop them up. Objections and Responses There are quite a few objections to this proposal, many of which are very reasonable. Let me briefly address each here. Socialists shouldn’t waste their scarce time and resources on a candidate unlikely to win. This is a good rule in general, but there are important exceptions, and presidential elections are the main one. There’s no other political contest that gets anything like this level of attention and engagement in the US, so if you want to be a serious force in nationwide politics, you basically can’t afford not to have a candidate. Far from being an overall drain on our resources, running a dynamic 2028 campaign would likely result in a major net increase in members and capacity. In that spirit, the very pragmatic Milwaukee sewer socialists — who mostly ran to win at home in Wisconsin — supported Eugene Debs’s propagandistic presidential campaigns, which they correctly saw as a crucial means of recruiting to the Socialist Party. And now that the (post-1972) Democratic Party gives more weight to voters than party operatives in determining its presidential nomination, it’s become feasible to run as a socialist in primaries without risking a split in the vote against the Republicans in November. We should just support Ro Khanna, who also supports M4A and ending aid to Israel. I like Ro Khanna and would enthusiastically vote and canvass for him for president were he to get the nomination. But there’s a real chance that Khanna’s bid for office doesn’t catch on; he lacks the grassroots organizational apparatus of DSA, and, because he’s not really of the Left or labor (despite his current very good positions), he’s unlikely to generate the type of buy-in and enthusiasm that a DSA candidate would. Moreover, Khanna would be running as an individual, not as someone emerging from and building an organized movement — his campaign would not likely focus on building sustained power from below, nor would it likely polarize the 2028 primary around M4A and Israel aid. Also, and not inconsequentially, the poor electoral results for Tom Steyer and Saikat Chakrabarti this spring suggest that there’s perhaps not much of a popular appetite in the Democrats’ base to support multi-millionaire class traitors. Much better, then, to run a democratic socialist worker. If by Super Tuesday it’s clear that our campaign has captured the main left lane in the primary, Khanna should drop out and endorse us; conversely, if he’s managed to capture this lane, DSA could at that point transform its Healthcare Not Warfare campaign into an independent campaign to elect Ro Khanna focused on winning (and holding him accountable to) those two critical planks. An openness to consolidating an anti-corporate candidate by Super Tuesday is a necessary component of the strategy I’m proposing, because otherwise we risk splitting the primary votes (per DNC rules, you need at least 15% to get any delegates to convention). We should convince Shawn Fain or Sara Nelson to run for president instead. I agree it’d be great if either ran for president, but my impression is that there’s basically no chance that will happen in 2028, because both are firmly focused on their union leadership duties (and, in the case of Fain, beating back a federal witch-hunt). This plan could have DSA end up endorsing a non-socialist, non-DSAer for president. That’s against our principles. It’s a myth, and bad politics, that socialists can’t ever support candidates who aren’t members of their organization and/or who don’t call themselves socialists. Bernie, after all, was not a DSAer. And socialists abroad regularly make tactical decisions about if and when supporting a non-socialist candidate makes sense from the standpoint of promoting working-class interests, defending democracy, and building a socialist current in the process. If your “principles” prevent you and DSA from helping achieve the momentous stride forward of having a Democratic candidate in 2028 run on Medicare for All and ending aid to Israel, those “principles” are not very good. In fact, they actively undermine the causes they’re aiming to support. We shouldn’t confuse principles (working-class independence) with tactics (the best way to advance this in a given context). In my recent article in Catalyst on Milwaukee sewer socialism (I’ve uploaded the full text here), I have a section showing how similarly rigid rules about endorsements had to be eventually discarded in the old Socialist Party nationwide after WWI because they tended to lead socialists towards a sectarian abstention from broader anti-corporate electoral insurgencies beyond their party’s control. For what it’s worth, Lenin’s current under Tsarism frequently backed bourgeois candidates in the second round of elections and Lenin himself advocated that British Communists support Labour Party candidates; for his part, Kautsky in 1912 defended the German Social Democracy’s electoral pact with the Progressives in the runoffs. If our predecessors could be that tactically flexible in an era before the limits of their underlying strategic assumptions about intransigent class politics in capitalist democracies were made clear, then there’s no need to insist on being more tactically rigid today, after a century’s worth of accumulated experience. As long as you maintain your own political profile and organization while engaging in broader coalitional efforts, there’s zero inherent contradiction with the principle of political independence. More specifically: DSA and allied organizations should enthusiastically back Michigan’s Abdul El-Sayed if AOC declines to run and he throws his hat in the presidential ring. (I have no idea whether he’s even considering this path, but there’ll surely be chatter about it if he wins his Senate race this November.) Though he doesn’t call himself a socialist, El-Sayed is a principled Berniecrat, a consistent fighter for Palestine, and would have a clear path to victory. Using the “s” word is far less important than whether a campaign fights for the interests of working people at home and abroad — and whether actively participating in it can grow the organized working class and the Left. And the same holds true if a less anti-corporate candidate were, under pressure, to adopt our two Healthcare Not Warfare planks. Why focus only on M4A and ending US aid to Israel? There are so many other important issues to fight for! Obviously there are many pivotal issues beyond healthcare and Israel, and our candidate — and especially our organizations involved in the campaign — should be prepared to speak on all of these. But one of the crucial lessons of the Zohran campaign is that you have to relentlessly stay on message if you want to cut through the noise. CNN and Fox News will want to talk about DSA’s views on Venezuela and abolishing the police; we need to polarize the debate on the widely and deeply felt issues that are most favorable for growing the Left, isolating our opponents, and winning urgently needed changes. One recent poll found 63% of Americans support M4A, even after respondents were told it would raise taxes and eliminate most private insurance. Another found that 74% of Democrats opposed “providing additional economic and military support to Israel.” And focusing on two demands sets the campaign up to be able to leverage its mandate to make clear demands upon other candidates (which we can’t do if we run with a laundry list of demands). Talking about a Plan B is a distraction from the more urgent work of building a groundswell of calls on AOC to run. It’s good for DSAers, fightback unionists, and progressive organizations to try to convince AOC to run. This proposal is meant as an addendum to pushes to get AOC to run and to line DSA up for that eventuality, not as a substitute for those efforts. But I’m worried that, like in 2024, we might eventually find ourselves with no time to find a viable alternative unless we start now. DSA, with its abundant deliberative processes, moves slowly. The approach you’re suggesting seems risky. If a DSA candidate runs but doesn’t receive a lot of votes, it’ll undercut our current national momentum. This is a reasonable worry. All big initiatives always carry risks, and the path I’m advocating is certainly not free of these. That said, if a Healthcare Not Warfare campaign doesn’t catch on like we envisioned, it’s a pretty simple pivot in March 2028 to explain that in the future we really need our standard-bearers like AOC, or our growing bench of national electeds, to step up in presidential primaries. Moreover, it’s worth noting that the risk of my Plan B proposal is on the whole significantly less than the risk entailed by an AOC run. We should all back her if she runs, since she’d fire up the base, provide huge openings for organizing, have a real shot at defeating a Republican (especially given MAGA’s unpopularity), be a great standard-bearer for our issues, particularly M4A and ending aid to Israel, and be less willing than mainstream candidates to capitulate to any anti-democratic machinations from Trump and co. But it’s also true that AOC could lose, which would be a devastating setback to the country and the Left. Or she could win and find herself unable to pass much, if any, of her (and our) program, a demoralizing prospect. So if we’re willing to take these risks with AOC (and we should), it follows that we should be able to take lower-level risks if she doesn’t throw her hat in the ring. What’s Your Plan B? The US Left is facing its biggest opening for growth and influence since the 1930s. Initiatives that would have been impossible a few months ago are now potentially feasible. A President AOC is now easier to imagine, but if she ultimately assesses that the risks aren’t worth the potential reward in 2028, we can’t be left flat-footed. So even if you’re not convinced by the specifics of my Plan B, I hope you can at least agree that it’d be a disaster for us not to have one — and not to start getting a Plan B into motion. Hopefully other organizers and political currents will put forward their responses and alternative ideas ASAP. The stakes are too high to just wait and see. More As always, please share this article widely. This newsletter depends on all you lovely people to get the word out. Thank you! I uploaded the full text of my Catalyst article on Milwaukee sewer socialism here (it’s updated and 3x as long as the version published earlier on this substack). If you haven’t yet, please make sure to subscribe to Catalyst here; I read every issue front to back, highly recommend. 🌹🎵 Ivan Lins (arranged by Arthur Verocai) — “General da Banda” 🌹🎵

laborpolitics.com logo
Aug 3 • 12:50 PM EDT • Politics • laborpolitics.com
THE WEEK OF AUG 3, 2026

- Senate stopgap bill counters OMB grantmaking rule - State Dept proposes changes to J visa cancellations - FCC bans foreign robots

aip.org logo
Aug 3 • 12:18 PM EDT • Science • aip.org
Proposed west Cheyenne business park addition gets final committee look Monday

CHEYENNE, Wyo. — The City of Cheyenne's Public Services Committee meets today to make one final read-through of two ordinances enveloping more business

capcity.news logo
Aug 3 • 12:03 PM EDT • Business • capcity.news
Augusta Health Announces Internal Medicine Residents Class of 2029

New Psychiatry Residency Program Approved to Help Meet Growing Behavioral Health Needs FISHERSVILLE, VIRGINIA — Augusta Health is proud to welcome its third class of Internal Medicine residents. On July 1, fifteen new resident physicians began their training, continuing Augusta Health’s commitment to developing the next generation of healthcare providers for our community. The new […]

augustahealth.com logo
Aug 3 • 10:58 AM EDT • Health • augustahealth.com
Dr. Crystal Miller Named Public Health Hall of Fame Distinguished Leader

The Lexington-Fayette County Health Department is proud to announce that our Commissioner of Health, Dr. Crystal Miller has been selected as this year’s Public Health Hall of Fame Distinguished Leader by the University of Kentucky College of Public Health. This honor recognizes Dr. Miller’s exceptional leadership, unwavering commitment to public health, and the lasting impact

lfchd.org logo
Aug 3 • 8:51 AM EDT • Health • lfchd.org
Debt Digest | Federal Debt is a Health Care Problem

Welcome David Ditch to the Debt Dispatch! We are pleased to announce a new regular contributor: David Ditch will be joining the Cato Institute as a Policy Analyst for Budget and Entitlement Policy later this week. David has more than a decade of experience in fiscal policy issues, with a particular focus on federal spending. He previously worked at the Senate Budget Committee, the Heritage Foundation, and the Economic Policy Innovation Center. David’s areas of expertise include appropriations, transportation, agriculture, federalism, grantmaking, and policy options for deficit reduction. Originally from the Rochester, N.Y. area, David has a BA in Economics and Political Science from the University of Rochester and a MA in Political Management from George Washington University. David currently lives in Arlington, VA. You may have enjoyed his earlier guest posts: CBO: New Highway Bill Has More Spending, Taxes, and Deficits Trump Administration’s Proposed Changes to Federal Grants Highlight Problems of Big Government Here are this week’s reading links and fiscal facts: The federal debt is largely a health care problem. In a new report, the Congressional Budget Office and Joint Committee on Taxation find that “In 2026, federal subsidies for health insurance, net of related payments to the government, are projected to equal $2.4 trillion, or 7.4 percent of gross domestic product (GDP). In CBO and JCT’s projections, those subsidies grow by 65 percent, reaching $3.9 trillion, or 8.4 percent of GDP, in 2036. Subsidies for Medicare contribute most to that overall growth, increasing by $900 billion. Over the entire 2026–2036 period, federal subsidies for health insurance total $33.6 trillion.” Cato’s Michael Cannon emphasizes, “The long-term federal debt problem is a health care problem. […] Only two categories of federal outlays will grow faster than gross domestic product (GDP): health care subsidies and interest payments on the debt. The former is, therefore, the primary driver of the latter.” The bond market fears deficits, not the loss of tariff revenue. Responding to a New York Times essay claiming tariff revenue has grown too important for a future administration to unwind, Cato’s Kyle Handley argues: “Bond investors are not attached to customs duties as a line item revenue source. They care about the government’s overall fiscal position.” He continues, “tariff revenue is a side hustle. And the Trump administration has already promised to dole out the funds through schemes like tariff dividend rebates, farm subsidies, and pay-fors on tax cuts or other spending.” Furthermore, “tariff revenue is simply not large enough to transform the government’s fiscal trajectory.” Take net interest for example: it “reached $970 billion in fiscal year 2025, absorbing 18.5 percent of federal receipts. Customs duties accounted for only 3.7 percent of receipts—and that was before refunds (see Figure 2).” Handley concludes, “The real bond-market concern is a large and growing interest bill, persistent budget deficits, and a political system unwilling to bring spending and revenue into alignment.” Medicare’s spending growth is driven by more volume and utilization. A Congressional Research Service report finds that Medicare spending “grew at an average annual rate of 7.3%” from 1985 through 2025, and the trustees project health care expenditures will keep rising “faster than gross domestic product (GDP) in most future years.” Citing CBO, the report attributes Medicare’s projected 2026–2036 spending growth to “23% from higher enrollment, 31% from inflation, and 47% from the growth of inflation-adjusted spending per beneficiary. In other words**, the largest single driver of Medicare spending growth during the next decade is expected to be higher volume and intensity of health care services.”** Boccia and Thakur explain: “as the economy grows, Medicare spending tends to grow at least as fast—and often faster—because the program automatically pays the bill for more and more healthcare consumption by seniors, even as prices rise.” The Fed has little control over market interest rates. Cato’s Jai Kedia documents that the Fed has held its rate target steady since December, yet “nearly every rate Americans actually borrow at has climbed over the same stretch.” Kedia continues, “The Fed did nothing, and the cost of credit went up anyway. […] Markets spent these months repricing macroeconomic events such as sticky core inflation, a volatile energy market driven by the conflict in the Middle East, and global trade disrupted by tariffs, among others. None of that required a policy change to show up in borrowing costs because markets, not the FOMC, set prices.” He concludes, “Accurately priced borrowing rates will come from credible disinflation and disciplined budgets and from a Fed content to follow the economy rather than pretend it leads it.” Nearly half of US farm income comes from taxpayers. Former Reagan OMB director David Stockman notes that “in the most recently completed full year (FY 2025) farmer incomes in the US totaled $97.8 billion, but fully 42.7% or $41.8 billion of that amount came from taxpayers, not the marketplace. Nor is this some kind of one-year aberration. If we look at the most recent decade as a whole, total farm income posted at nearly $708 billion, but, as indicated, fully $322 billion or 45% of this came compliments of US taxpayers.” Cato’s Chris Edwards explains why so little of that income is market-earned: “Farmers are businesspeople, but the government shields them from just about every type of weather and market risk. Furthermore, just about every part of the agricultural industry is subsidized, including insurance, loans, marketing, research, export sales, and land improvements.” The Debt Dispatch is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Subscribe

debtdispatch.substack.com logo
Aug 3 • 8:33 AM EDT • Health • debtdispatch.substack.com
Deep dive
😐 Neutral (13%)
wow
56%
love
44%
Blanche rescinds fund for Trump allies after senators threaten to block AG bid

The Senate Judiciary Committee vote on Blanche is scheduled for Tuesday

spectrumlocalnews.com logo
Aug 3 • 7:50 AM EDT • Politics • spectrumlocalnews.com
Read the key chapter in dispute

Here is the section that the author of the Democratic Party’s 2024 autopsy says was missing when the Democratic National Committee released a draft of the overall document in May. The party denied ever receiving the chapter.

nytimes.com logo
Aug 3 • 6:47 AM EDT • Politics • nytimes.com
3.14 Action raises $25 million to elect candidates with STEM backgrounds in 2026

The Democratic National Committee ended June with $18.5 million in debt and just $16.3 million cash on hand

spectrumnews1.com logo
Aug 3 • 5:00 AM EDT • Politics • spectrumnews1.com
3.14 Action raises $25 million to elect candidates with STEM backgrounds in 2026

The Democratic National Committee ended June with $18.5 million in debt and just $16.3 million cash on hand

spectrumlocalnews.com logo
Aug 3 • 5:00 AM EDT • Politics • spectrumlocalnews.com
Acting AG Todd Blanche reaches deal with holdout senators to end $1.8B ‘anti-weaponization’ fund

The Senate Judiciary Committee is set to hold a vote to advance Blanche’s nomination on Tuesday.

nbcnews.com logo
Aug 2 • 11:48 PM EDT • Politics • nbcnews.com
High-Signal Publisher
Three-Team Mock Trade: Nets Trade Porter Jr., Land Duren

A complex proposal sends Brooklyn’s leading scorer to Houston while bringing an All-Star center to the Nets, testing Sean Marks’ commitment to his current roster rebuild.

sports.yahoo.com logo
Aug 2 • 11:41 PM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com
Ken Martin hunkers down at the Democratic National Committee as a storm gathers around party leader

Desperate to save his job as chair of the Democratic National Committee, he is avoiding media appearances, monitoring his critics' social media posts and refusing — at least so far — to make any substantive changes at his troubled organization.

pbs.org logo
Aug 2 • 6:11 PM EDT • Politics • pbs.org
Texas lands five-star running back Landen Williams-Callis

The Longhorns received a massive commitment from a back who figures to make a huge difference in 2027.

sports.yahoo.com logo
Aug 2 • 1:09 PM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com
Michael Gates explains why he should be California's next Attorney General

Michael Gates, a Republican attorney from Huntington Beach, is running for California attorney general, emphasizing his extensive legal experience and a commitment to addressing crime, corruption, and what he calls compliance with federal laws.

kcra.com logo
Aug 2 • 11:25 AM EDT • Politics • kcra.com
Deep dive
😐 Neutral (0%)
wow
65%
ahah
35%
Senate Panel To Examine Biotech's Role in U.S. Health Resilience

Senate Finance Committee investigates biotech's impact on U.S. health resilience as China gains pharmaceutical advantage. Hear expert testimony August 4.

legis1.com logo
Aug 2 • 8:24 AM EDT • Health • legis1.com
😐 Neutral (0%)
ahah
67%
wow
33%
Big Money In Hawaiʻi Politics — The Carpenters Union Is Crushing Everyone

Other political action committees are spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on candidates, too, but their financial efforts fall far short of the Carpenters Union.

civilbeat.org logo
Aug 2 • 6:01 AM EDT • Politics • civilbeat.org
Kansas State Football Offers Another 2028 Class Offensive Lineman

Kansas State football, still in pursuit of its first 2028 class commit, has offered another offensive lineman to help build the future unit.

sports.yahoo.com logo
Aug 1 • 7:17 PM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com
Deep dive
😐 Neutral (11%)
wow
50%
ahah
25%
love
25%
UNCW Business School Students Travel to Prague for Real-Life Consulting Experience by Robert Burrus

This article was contributed by Kestrel Smoot, International Programs Coordinator for UNCW’s Cameron School of Business. During the most recent spring semester, 33 upper-level finance and marketing students from the UNCW’s Cameron School of Business traveled to Prague, Czechia, to participate in an intensive international consulting project. Unlike traditional study-abroad programs, the Prague consultancy project focuses on real client engagement. Each year’s project is entirely new, designed through collaboration between faculty and industry partners to identify a current business challenge that students will address. This year, students worked with MAMS-Champi, a Czech non-alcoholic beverage company that is seeking to expand into other global markets. Throughout the first half of the semester, students attend class at UNCW and prepare for their time abroad by conducting preliminary research, developing analytical frameworks, and organizing themselves into specialized teams responsible for tasks such as marketing strategy, industry analysis, consumer segmentation, and competitive evaluation. The course emphasizes independence and teamwork, requiring students to take ownership of their work, manage deadlines, and collaborate across functional groups. Additionally, faculty serve as advisors, allowing students to navigate the complexities of the project much as they would in a professional consulting environment. Once in Prague, students met with company leadership, toured facilities, and refined their recommendations based on real-time feedback. The in-person component is widely regarded as the most transformative aspect of the program because students must synthesize weeks of work into a cohesive presentation and deliver it to the client, demonstrating professionalism, strategic thinking, and adaptability. Beyond the consulting work, students participated in cultural and educational activities that broadened their understanding of global business environments. They explored Prague’s historic districts, learned about Czech culture, and engaged with local professionals. These experiences helped students understand how economic, regulatory, and social factors shape market opportunities. The Prague consultancy project stands as a defining example of the Cameron School of Business’s commitment to experiential learning, consistently strengthening students’ confidence, enhancing their resumes, and serving as a focal point in job interviews. Employers recognize the value of the hands-on experience and transferable skills students gain, underscoring the program’s role in preparing industry-ready graduates for today’s fast-moving business landscape.

wilmingtonbiz.com logo
Jul 31 • 8:00 PM EDT • Business • wilmingtonbiz.com
Microsoft wants to make Windows work better with 8GB of RAM.

And that’s a good thing, because its own 8GB Surface Laptop 13 struggles so much that it’s a tough buy. Microsoft’s other new areas of “focus” include making Windows onboarding and family controls easier to set up and making “voice [control] more natural and fluid” across apps. [Link: Windows quality: an update on the commitment we made in March | https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2026/07/31/windows-quality-an-update-on-the-commitment-we-made-in-march/ | Windows Insider Blog]

theverge.com logo
Jul 31 • 5:42 PM EDT • Technology • theverge.com
Federal 'Science of Reading' Bill Advances

A Senate committee also passed a proposal to classify dyslexia separately under federal disability law.

edweek.org logo
Jul 31 • 4:44 PM EDT • Science • edweek.org
$4 Million Commitment Will Help UT Health Sciences Expand Health Hubs to Bring Preventive Care to More Communities Across Tennessee

Community and healthcare leaders, friends and partners of UT Health Sciences gathered to celebrate UnitedHealth Group’s announcement of a $4 million commitment to expand the neighborhood health hub model developed at the university from five to 13 across the state by the end of 2027.

news.uthsc.edu logo
Jul 31 • 1:43 PM EDT • Health • news.uthsc.edu
SGMC Health Earns Full Transparency Badge from The Leapfrog Group

SGMC Health has earned the 2026 Leapfrog Full Transparency Badge, recognizing the health system’s commitment to publicly reporting information about patient safety and quality through the annual Leapfrog Hospital Survey.

sgmc.org logo
Jul 31 • 1:11 PM EDT • Health • sgmc.org
Canada's Enbridge postpones plans for second phase of Mainline oil pipeline expansion

Canadian pipeline operator Enbridge said on Friday it was postponing the 250,000-barrel-per-day second ​phase of its Mainline crude pipeline network, partly due ‌to Canadian oil producers not committing to significant output increases.

reuters.com logo
Jul 31 • 12:07 PM EDT • Business • reuters.com
KY Gov. Andy Beshear & Pete Buttigieg Discuss Politics at Nat'l Urban League Conference

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear (D), former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg (Biden administration), Rev. Al Sharpton, and Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin are among the speakers at the National Urban League Conference in Nashville.

c-span.org logo
Jul 31 • 9:35 AM EDT • Politics • c-span.org
Few signs of talks between US and Iran as Trump hears from different corners on path forward

Despite President Donald Trump’s claims Iran is “begging” for a deal, some US officials fear regime figures appear more committed than ever to wielding leverage over the Strait of Hormuz and firing missiles toward American troops.

cnn.com logo
Jul 31 • 9:07 AM EDT • Politics • cnn.com
Penn State Health expands tuition program to strengthen workforce, support patient care

Penn State Health is expanding its employee tuition program to provide all full-time employees and their eligible dependents with significant tuition discounts at Penn State and Pennsylvania College of Technology, reinforcing its commitment to workforce development, retention and educational advancement.

psu.edu logo
Jul 31 • 8:00 AM EDT • Health • psu.edu
How Elon Musk is working to save Trump's final two years in office

Elon Musk is back to building a Texas-based political action committee to boost Republican turnout in the midterm elections.

houstonchronicle.com logo
Jul 31 • 7:00 AM EDT • Politics • houstonchronicle.com
Mayfield Leaves Door Open For Bucs’ Deal During Season

Despite feeling undervalued by Tampa Bay’s recent offers, the disgruntled quarterback signals a willingness to negotiate mid-season if the front office finally offers a long-term commitment.

sports.yahoo.com logo
Jul 31 • 3:35 AM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com
Middletown linebacker inspired to give back following brother's health battle

Middletown linebacker Mekhi Corbin used his recent commitment to the University of Delaware to returned to Nemours Children's Hospital this month for a much happier reason than in the past.

wdel.com logo
Jul 30 • 11:42 PM EDT • Health • wdel.com
'We're committed to this region' | New hospital expands Margaret Mary Health in rural Indiana

In a time when rural hospitals often struggle to keep doors open, Margaret Mary Health celebrated the opening of a $125 million facility in Batesville Thursday.

wcpo.com logo
Jul 30 • 9:18 PM EDT • Health • wcpo.com
😐 Neutral (10%)
wow
100%
Natural Grocers® Named 2026 Sustainability Retailer of the Year by Produce Business

Industry recognition highlights the company's longstanding commitment to organic agriculture, regenerative practices and sustainable retail operations LAKEWOOD, Colo., July 31, 2026 /PRNewswire/...

investors.naturalgrocers.com logo
Jul 30 • 8:00 PM EDT • Business • investors.naturalgrocers.com
CDC, public health preparedness nominees advance in Senate

The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee on Thursday approved President Donald Trump’s nominees to lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and to serve as a key assistant secretary, two leadership roles that the administration has struggled to fill. The committee voted 12-11 along party lines to advance Sean Kaufman to serve […]

rollcall.com logo
Jul 30 • 7:28 PM EDT • Health • rollcall.com
Elon Musk pledges up to $120 million for midterm elections

At the end of June, Republican fundraising committees already had $277 million

spectrumlocalnews.com logo
Jul 30 • 5:19 PM EDT • Politics • spectrumlocalnews.com
White House Calls for Science Funding Shake-Up

A new OSTP report recommends channeling funding to researchers with big ideas, not elite universities.

aip.org logo
Jul 30 • 2:43 PM EDT • Science • aip.org
Deep dive
😐 Neutral (11%)
wow
48%
ahah
26%
love
26%
Senate Panel Advances Science of Reading, Dyslexia Bills with Bipartisan Support

Two bills passed out of the Senate HELP Committee Thursday, advancing the federal government’s oversight of literacy instruction and intervention.

the74million.org logo
Jul 30 • 2:42 PM EDT • Science • the74million.org