Friday, August 14, 2026

As Americans ration care, health insurers rake in record $71.3 billion in profits

Despite rising out-of-pocket costs and millions losing coverage, U.S. health insurance giants posted record profits in 2024 while their CEOs took home a combined $146 million.

Jim Acosta, Julian Assange and the real US war on the free press

That a perfect opportunity to show a real, if still only potential, attack by the Trump Administration’s Justice Department on the freedom of the press was almost entirely ignored says a lot about the mainstream press’ actual priorities, not only in the U.S. but in most Western countries with less objectionable leaders.

Tlaib, ACLU, and advocates warn H.R. 9495 could empower Trump to silence nonprofits and...

Progressives and civil rights groups sound the alarm over legislation that could allow President-elect Trump to strip nonprofits of their tax-exempt status without evidence, threatening free speech and democracy.

Trump and GOP face new scrutiny over Social Security retirement age threat

Democratic senators are pressing the president to say whether he would veto benefit cuts, as the program’s 2032 funding deadline becomes a flashpoint in the fight over retirement security.
The headquarters of CalSTRS, the California teachers' pension fund at the center of The Lever's reporting. Photo: Coolcaesar / CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Watchdog reporting examines a pension officer’s fossil fuel trades and a fire truck monopoly

The Lever's latest investigations trace a California retirement chief's oil and gas stock trading and a spreading set of antitrust suits over who builds America's fire engines.

White makes ‘far’ right!!

Hey, Captain Ron, did you forget your ancestral roots? Shame on you!!!

New union disclosure rule takes effect after AFL-CIO loses first court bid

A federal judge declined to pause expanded Labor Department reporting requirements that unions say will bury them in paperwork and divert money from organizing and bargaining.

Addicted to war?

War Fever, Trump-Style.
A view across Kryvyi Rih, the central Ukrainian city where six people were killed in a suburb during the overnight assault. Photo: Tiia Monto / CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Russia escalates bombing campaign on Ukrainian cities amid missile defense shortages

Rescuers pulled a 93-year-old woman from a damaged Lviv apartment block as Kyiv pressed allies to speed delivery of anti-ballistic interceptors.

Sanders proposes 50% public stake in leading AI companies

New legislation would create a sovereign wealth fund funded through equity transfers from major artificial intelligence firms, aiming to distribute AI-generated wealth beyond Silicon Valley investors.