Author: nick

[ad_1] What affordability discourse gets wrong: “Nearly half of U.S. families couldn’t afford basic necessities in 2024, report finds,” reads an NPR headline from last week. “Half of Americans can’t afford to dine out or vacation in a cost of living crisis,” reads a Fortune headline from a few months ago. Meanwhile, Axios reports that “sewer socialism” is catching on across the country, describing it as an approach that “focuses on expanding government programs for the public good, like affordable housing, child care and public transportation.” Technically, “sewer socialism” is a very old term that’s just being co-opted now to refer more vaguely…

[ad_1] An ad by Georgia Sen. Jon Ossoff says his Republican opponent, U.S. Rep. Mike Collins, revealed information about President Donald Trump and the Epstein files. The ad said Collins covered for Trump and other powerful men when he voted against releasing the Epstein files, a cache of documents and recordings released by the federal government beginning in December 2025 from investigations of financier and deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Collins “even admitted Trump was in the files,” the June 17 ad said. Ossoff’s ad includes a clip of Collins saying: “Yeah, I’m sure he’s in there.”  The Collins audio…

[ad_1] A new Colorado law has raised the hackles of a coalition of gun owners in the state, leading them to challenge its constitutionality in federal court. Signed into law on June 2 by Colorado Democratic Gov. Jared Polis, the Requirements for Firearms Dealers Act requires all gun sellers in the state to allow any “duly authorized peace officer” to inspect their sales records “at all times.” The bill follows in the footsteps of 11 other states and Washington, D.C., by extending the state’s record-keeping requirements for firearms dealers to all retail transactions, including transfers. Dealers will be required to…

[ad_1] The World Health Organization (WHO) Chief has said he swears that the Ebola outbreak “can be stopped.” Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has arrived in the Democratic Republic of Congo, proclaiming that the spread of this disease can be stopped, so long as warring faction lay down their weapons and commit to a ceasefire. Ghebreyesus added that no conflict is worth condemning people to death over a preventable disease, accoridng to a report by The Guardian. That means humanitarian efforts should be a first step toward containment.  He solidified his stance when writing on X on Wednesday, saying, “Stopping this Ebola transmission depends entirely…

[ad_1] From Judge Kyle Dudek (M.D. Fla.) today in Reilly v. U.S. Att’y Gen.: This case presents a conflict between individual rights and executive sovereignty. On one side are liberties guaranteed by the First and Fifth Amendments—specifically, the right of a public employee to be free from political viewpoint discrimination and the foundational promise of due process. On the other side sits an equally formidable principle of structural governance: the Executive Branch’s exclusive Article II authority to control access to national security secrets. The friction between these two forces becomes acute when, as here, a plaintiff alleges that the Executive…

[ad_1] Juan Cole for Informed Comment Here is the interview I gave to Asieh Namdar of CGTN on the Iran deal. U.S. Officials Say Lebanon Is Not A Part Of Iran Deal Here is the YouTube computer-generated transcript, slightly cleaned up via Claude. Asieh Namdar: For more, let’s turn to Juan Cole. He’s a Middle East expert and professor of history at the University of Michigan. Professor, welcome to the program. How unusual is it that we still have not seen the terms and conditions of this memorandum of understanding and what we’re getting right now is what the Iranians say and…

[ad_1] ‘I’M the boss, President Trump joked when he arrived a bit late to a meeting with G7 leaders in France Wednesday. [ad_2] Source link

[ad_1] On Wednesday afternoon, senior U.S. administration officials finally read the text of a memorandum of understanding with Iran, days after it was digitally signed. The 14-point plan gives the United States and Iran a 60-day runway to figure out a long-term deal to end the ongoing military conflict. On a call with reporters, officials described the MOU as an important step but not a bailout. “It commits us to quite literally nothing,” one official said. “But of course, if the Iranians do a lot of good, then we want to reward that good behavior and transform their relationship with…

[ad_1] Iran Peace Deal Fuels Debate Over U.S. Concessions [ad_2] Source link

[ad_1] This evening, I will be speaking to students with The Fund for American Studies. As is my usual custom with June trips to DC, I went to the Court for opinion hand downs. And, as per my usual custom, I rolled up to First Street around 9:20 a.m. Usually, the bar section is completely empty in June, but today was different. The officer at the front gate said there were more than 200 people seeking bar admissions today, and that I might not even get a seat. That was something I hadn’t experienced before. I was asked to wait…