Tangle

On Tuesday, following a marathon all-night voting session, the Republicans’ taxation and spending bill passed the Senate 51–50 on a tie-breaking vote from Vice President JD Vance. Republican Senators Rand Paul (KY), Thom Tillis (NC), and Susan Collins (ME) joined every Democratic senator in voting no; all other Republican senators voted yes. The bill — known as the One Big, Beautiful Bill (or OBBB) — or...

On Friday June 27th, Tangle's newest member, Editor-at-large Kmele Foster released his first written piece. Kmele’s essay tackles America’s 2020 racial reckoning and describes his philosophy about the country’s racial movements. It's a thought provoking, vulnerable, and engaging piece that has invited a lot of comments, questions, and feedback. Many people asked us to make a podcast version of his piece and Kmele was graciously wil...

On Friday, the Supreme Court voted 6–3 in favor of a group of Maryland parents who had wanted to opt their elementary-aged children out of instruction that included LGBTQ+ themes. The majority agreed to grant the parents a preliminary injunction while their lawsuit proceeds in lower courts, allowing them to withhold their children from such curriculum. The court’s three liberal justices dissented.

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On Friday, the Supreme Court voted 6–3 to partially pause rulings by federal judges blocking President Donald Trump’s executive order ending birthright citizenship. The decision did not weigh the constitutionality of the executive order but dealt solely with federal courts issuing universal injunctions, which prohibit the government from enforcing a law or policy anywhere in the country. The court’s majority repudi...

Isaac, Ari, and Kmele discuss the general response and personal opinions to Zohran Mamdani's mayoral primary win and what the Democratic Party should learn from it. They also talk about the Iran strikes and then Kmele addresses some criticism we received from last week's Sunday podcast. And, as always, the Airing of Grievances and our mutual frustration with ticks!

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Following a meeting of the Senate Finance Committee on Sunday, Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough advised that several measures in the “Big Beautiful Bill” fail the Byrd Rule and cannot be included in Republicans’ omnibus spending and taxation bill under budget reconciliation. Among the measures MacDonough identified are provisions barring certain noncitizens from receiving benefits under the Supple...

On Tuesday, results from New York City’s Democratic mayoral primary showed state Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani in a commanding lead over the field, setting the stage for him to become the party’s nominee in the general election on November 4. As of 11:45am ET on Wednesday morning, Mamdani, a democratic socialist, leads former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo 43.5%–36.4% with 93% of votes in; Cuomo conce...

On Wednesday, the Supreme Court voted 6–3 along ideological lines to uphold Tennessee’s ban on certain treatments for transgender minors. The ruling rejected an argument brought by three transgender teens, their parents and a Memphis doctor that the law violates the Constitution’s Equal Protection and discriminates on the basis of sex, which requires stricter scrutiny than the standard applied by a federal appeals ...

On Saturday, President Donald Trump announced that the United States had carried out airstrikes on three nuclear sites in Iran: Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan. Trump called the mission a “very successful attack” and said the aircraft involved in the strikes were all “safely on their way home.” The extent of the damage to the sites is currently unknown, though the Pentagon says its initial assessment f...

Happy Juneteenth from the Tangle crew! Isaac, Ari, and Kmele talk about the MAGA fight over Iran. They also discuss the controversial interview of Ted Cruz by Tucker Carlson followed by a conversation about the potential federal land sell outs. And, as always, the Airing of Grievances, which is a particularly uplifting one today.

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For the last few years, one of my favorite parts of Tangle has been hiring young writers and giving them an opportunity to work with us. Over the years we’ve had a number of “interns” (nobody really does intern work here) who have made major contributions to our newsletter, gone on to work for awesome publications, or left and returned years later to work for us.

Last year, our managing editor Ari Weitzman decided to formalize t...

On Saturday morning, Minnesota House Representative Melissa Hortman (D) and her husband were shot and killed in their home in Brooklyn Park, MN. Earlier that morning, state Senator John Hoffman (D) and his wife were also shot in their home in Champlin, MN, but both survived. Authorities identified a 57-year-old male suspect and, after a two-day manhunt, apprehended him on Monday. Hortman, 55, served as Speaker of t...

On Thursday, the Trump administration began directing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to pause immigration investigations and enforcement actions in the agricultural, hotel, and restaurant industries. Before ICE issued the new guidance to its field agents, President Donald Trump publicly acknowledged his immigration agenda had negatively impacted these industries and promised changes. However, on Monday, ...

The military parade and “No Kings” protests. On Saturday, the U.S. Army held a festival and parade in Washington, D.C., to commemorate its 250th anniversary, an event spearheaded by President Donald Trump. The same day, protesters gathered in over 2,000 cities across 50 states to demonstrate against the Trump administration. 

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After dealing with some technical difficulties, Isaac, Ari, and Kmele discuss an interview between Kmele and The Fifth Column podcasters and Senator Rand Paul, the dynamics within the Republican Party, and the challenges faced by Democrats in responding to protests and immigration issues. The conversation also touches on the role of the National Guard in civil unrest, the impact of public perception on political messaging, and the ...

Today, we originally planned to publish a piece from Tangle’s newest team member, Editor-at-Large Kmele Foster, about his view on the racial reckoning in the United States since the summer of 2020. However, late last night Israel launched a large-scale coordinated attack on Iran, so we decided to release a special edition to all Tangle subscribers covering the news.

We’re still very excited to share Kmele’s piece with everyone i...

In the past week, the latest metrics for several key economic indicators have been released amid global uncertainty over the impact of President Donald Trump’s tariffs. In May, the Bureau of Labor Statistics’s (BLS) inflation report showed prices rising at a lower rate than many economists expected, while the bureau’s jobs report showed hiring slowed slightly from the month prior but also came in h...

On Monday, Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. removed all 17 members of the independent Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices (ACIP) for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The panel is responsible for developing recommendations for safe vaccine use and the U.S. adult and childhood immunization schedules, and the HHS secretary app...

On Friday, the United States returned Kilmar Abrego Garcia from El Salvador to face charges in Tennessee for alleged trafficking of unauthorized migrants and conspiracy. In March, Abrego Garcia was mistakenly sent to the Terrorism Confinement Center, a mega-prison in El Salvador. Then in April, the Supreme Court uphelda ruling by U.S. District Court Judge Paula Xinis requiring the gover...