Monday, August 31, 2026
The US Capitol at dusk. Photo: Sven A Rajala / CC BY-SA 4.0

The second worst MAGA Trump calamity – more than equal to its Constitutional concussion

Robert S. Becker on the deeper, still-unfolding costs of Trumpism beyond its constitutional violations.
The Pentagon. Photo: DoD photo by Master Sgt. Ken Hammond, U.S. Air Force (public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)

House Democrat presses Trump Jr.’s venture firm on Pentagon-linked deals

A blocked March subpoena over a rare earth company's Pentagon loan set the stage for a new letter demanding records by September 9.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's Washington headquarters. Photo: G. Edward Johnson / CC BY 4.0

The Trump Administration’s Plan for Protecting Consumers? Politely Ask Companies to Behave.

Rather than investigate a buzzy fintech startup for throwing users’ accounts into chaos, the Russell Vought-led Consumer Financial Protection Bureau trusted that the company was “back on track.” Customers soon learned the hard way that this wasn’t true.
A gas station price sign in New York, May 2026. Photo: Tdorante10 / CC BY-SA 4.0

Highest Gasoline Prices ever in Aug., as US-Iran Tit for Tat Strikes Continue

Americans paid nearly $60 billion more at the pump this spring than a year earlier, and the Gulf shipping crisis shows no sign of easing before the price hits again.
The US Senate chamber. Photo: United States Senate, public domain

This 80-year-old senator isn’t backing off his support for trans rights

Some Democrats have retreated from their party’s once-broad support for transgender rights. Not Massachusetts Sen. Ed Markey. “The demonization of the trans community requires political leaders to stand up and to protect them against the unconscionable attacks,” Markey told The 19th ahead of Tuesday’s Democratic Senate primary, where he faces a challenge from U.S.

POPULAR

The US Capitol at dusk. Photo: Sven A Rajala / CC BY-SA 4.0

The second worst MAGA Trump calamity – more than equal to its Constitutional concussion

Robert S. Becker on the deeper, still-unfolding costs of Trumpism beyond its constitutional violations.
A hospital emergency room entrance. Photo: Bbfd / CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Breaking up hospital and drug monopolies could save families $6,000 a year, report finds

A 26-group coalition of pharmacists, physicians and patients says consolidation, not coverage gaps, is driving the crisis.
The Pentagon. Photo: DoD photo by Master Sgt. Ken Hammond, U.S. Air Force (public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)

House Democrat presses Trump Jr.’s venture firm on Pentagon-linked deals

A blocked March subpoena over a rare earth company's Pentagon loan set the stage for a new letter demanding records by September 9.
The US Department of Justice headquarters in Washington. Photo: Tony Webster / CC BY 2.0

How Do We Stop a Coup? We Organize

With a thousand DOJ monitors ordered to polling places this November and troops not ruled out, a People's Action coalition of 500 groups is organizing a Labor Day mobilization to defend the vote.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's Washington headquarters. Photo: G. Edward Johnson / CC BY 4.0

The Trump Administration’s Plan for Protecting Consumers? Politely Ask Companies to Behave.

Rather than investigate a buzzy fintech startup for throwing users’ accounts into chaos, the Russell Vought-led Consumer Financial Protection Bureau trusted that the company was “back on track.” Customers soon learned the hard way that this wasn’t true.

ACTIVISM

Biden's approval plummets as key demographic support wavers: staffers voice concern over Gaza policy.
The US Capitol at dusk. Photo: Sven A Rajala / CC BY-SA 4.0
Robert S. Becker on the deeper, still-unfolding costs of Trumpism beyond its constitutional violations.
The Salem and Hope Creek nuclear plants in New Jersey, among the US reactors subject to NRC radiation exposure rules. Photo: Peretz Partensky / CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
The rule NRC officials are preparing to eliminate has required the nuclear industry to keep exposure below legal limits, not just under them.