Trump’s NOAA Killed the Billion-Dollar Disaster Database. A Nonprofit Brought It Back.
The Trump administration quietly retired a federal database that tracked billion-dollar weather disasters back in May. The database, maintained by NOAA, documented the most expensive storms, floods, wildfires, and other climate-related events in U.S. history. It was a key tool for researchers, policymakers, and insurance companies trying to understand the growing costs of extreme weather.…
Hegseth’s New Pentagon Press Corps Is Mostly Right-Wing Government Stenographers
The Pentagon just announced its shiny new press corps - and surprise - it’s mostly right-wing outlets that signed up for what amounts to a government-approved stenography program. Last week, dozens of credentialed Pentagon journalists turned in their badges after refusing to sign Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s restrictive new press policy. The policy requires reporters…
Harvard Has $57 Billion and Is Slashing PhD Admissions. Pick a Lane.
The news that Harvard, of all institutions, is slashing PhD admissions due to budget issues is pure absurdity. This is a university sitting on an endowment that just ballooned to nearly 57 billion dollars as of this fiscal year - yes, billion with a b - racking up its best investment returns since 2021 and…
Trump Is Updating Nixon’s Playbook
Trump is pulling a Nixon - but somehow making it worse. The administration is getting ready to overhaul the IRS Criminal Investigation division and install loyalists - and the Wall Street Journal reports a senior IRS official has already drawn up a list of potential targets that includes major Democratic donors.
The Young Republicans Scandal Was Not a College Group Chat
JD Vance wants you to believe the Young Republicans telegram scandal is just harmless banter from a college group chat. That would be a neat trick if these people were actually in college. Peter Giun...
Trump’s Deportation Contractor of 20 Years Is Suing DHS Over a $915 Million Deal
I’ve written about the corruption behind Trump’s deportation scheme before - but there’s some new tea that is piping hot. When one of Trump’s own deportation contractors takes his administration to court, you know the rot’s gone deep. CSI Aviation has been flying deportation flights for ICE for twenty years - over $1.6 billion worth…
Netanyahu Was Accused of Blocking a Hostage Deal in 2024 - Then Took a Bow
You’ve probably seen the footage by now of Trump and Netanyahu standing in front of cameras acting like they just pulled off the diplomatic miracle of the century. Trump got a standing ovation in the ...
Trade Policy Ruled By Tantrum
If you’re waiting on a package from another country - there’s now a chance it might just get thrown away before it makes it to you. Trump’s war on the de minimis exemption is exactly what it looks li...
Trump Asked Influencers to Snitch on Antifa Like It’s a McCarthy-Era Blacklist
So, Trump spent an hour and a half yesterday asking conservative influencers to snitch on Antifa’s funders like he’s crowdsourcing a McCarthy-era blacklist. One guy brought him a burned flag and Trump acted like he’d just been handed the Ark of the Covenant. The whole spectacle would be funny if it wasn’t so transparently stupid.…
Trump’s Fossil Fuel Agenda Is a Debt Payment to Oil Executives
Trump’s fossil fuel agenda isn’t about energy security or economic prosperity or any of the bullshit he spouts from the Oval Office. It’s about paying back the oil executives who bought him the presidency. They made an investment and they expect returns. Simple as that. I’d say that there ought to be a law against…
Trump’s Aid Cuts Are Killing Children
In May, a two-year-old kid died in a Rohingya internment camp after his family’s food rations stopped coming. His name was Hashim and his father Mohammed Taher held his lifeless body while the other 145,000 people trapped in those prison camps wondered if their kids would be next.
When Faith Becomes a License to Harm
The Supreme Court is hearing arguments this morning about whether a Colorado therapist should be allowed to practice conversion therapy on minors - packaged like it’s some high-minded free speech deba...