On the one hand, as someone familiar with how USIP worked, this is nauseating and depressing. On the other hand, I LOLed at some of the conflicts included in the ”Ending Wars and Fostering Peace” list:

David Kaye@davidakaye.bsky.social · 2h ago

in case you were wondering whatever became of the us institute of peace, the once-venerable congressionally chartered think tank is now a propaganda site www.usip.org

The Cubs are now 18-9 against the NL West this season.

Meghan Montemurro@mmontemurro.bsky.social · 2h ago

The Cubs beat the Dodgers, 7-6, to sweep the series and take the season series against LA.

This view of things is supported by a new analysis from @leahstokes.bsky.social. Where IRA moved fast enough to put benefits on the ground, it *did* shift things, including vote shares! It measurably improved Harris's vote totals in those areas. Just not enough for her to win!

Bidenomics Was More Successful Than People Think

Conventional wisdom holds that Joe Biden’s bet on climate investment was a bust. The data suggest otherwise.

theatlantic.com

Trump in Nevada: "Vote for Michael Whatley, by the way" (Whatley is running in North Carolina)

Trump tells his Nevada audience "Michael Whatley should be your governor" (Michael Whatley is running for U.S. Senate in North Carolina)

Some public transportation systems that federal officials have criticized as unsafe, such as in New York and D.C., are among the least dangerous in the country, according to a new federal data tool.

These transit systems, blasted by Trump officials, are actually among the safest

A new federal tool undercuts criticism targeting rail and bus in several major cities.

washingtonpost.com

NEW: President Trump suffered a pair of embarrassments when he got bad headlines over the botched Reflecting Pool and new Air Force One And in both cases, an angry Trump lashed out - and his government took extraordinary steps to punish those he blamed www.theatlantic.com/politics/202...

The Once-Shameless President Is Deeply Embarrassed

As Donald Trump faces one humiliation after another, he is attacking those he blames.

theatlantic.com

NEW in TX: Galveston County is quietly planning to change its district maps between the primary & November election. It's a dangerous test that, if not stopped, could be repeated elsewhere in TX to undermine the will of voters, a new legal filing warns. www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/...

A Texas county is quietly planning to swap voting maps between its primary and November election

If allowed to proceed, it would likely be the first time Texas voting maps are changed between the primary and general elections.

democracydocket.com

Why does the United States keep losing wars? I have some thoughts. Latest FP column here: foreignpolicy.com/2026/08/05/i...

Why the United States Keeps Losing Wars

Washington has a long record of fighting the wrong war for the wrong objective.

foreignpolicy.com

Crow-Armstrong has raked against LHP this year. In left-on-left matchups entering today, PCA owned a .287 average, .409 OBP, 13.4% walk rate and 146 wRC+. He's added a HR and 2B to that production today against Dodgers lefty Eric Lauer.

Meghan Montemurro@mmontemurro.bsky.social · 5h ago

RBI doubles by Dansby Swanson and Pete Crow-Armstrong off Dodgers' Lauer put the Cubs up 3-1 in the 2nd. PCA just missed his second homer of the day.

Republican Party veterans are concerned that the pipeline of young GOP talent is veering off course — and into terminally online extremism. “We have a generation of rabid, incompetent idiots,” one senior GOP congressional staffer said.

GOP Staffers Say the Party Has a Groyper Problem

Party veterans are concerned that the pipeline of young Republican talent is veering off course — and into terminally online extremism.

politico.com

GOV. ABBOTT: ".. Our top priority is to protect Texans’ safety and quality of life. .. Any project that fails to comply .. must be denied connection to the Texas grid. Simply put, Texans must come first.” #Texas www.texastribune.org/2026/08/03/t...

New Texas data center projects frozen until state audits them

On Monday, the governor ordered the Public Utility Commission of Texas and the Electric Reliability Council of Texas to audit all data centers wanting to connect to the state’s power grid.

texastribune.org

ESPN has made several changes their 2026 college football announcers following the departure of Dave Flemming and Mark Jones. awfulannouncing.com/espn/2026-co...

ESPN unveils 2026 College Football announcer lineup

ESPN has made several changes their 2026 college football announcers following the departure of Dave Flemming and Mark Jones.

awfulannouncing.com

Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, an opponent of Donald Trump’s anti-voting agenda, won the Democratic nomination Tuesday to be the state’s next governor. She’ll face off against a Republican who opposes virtually everything she stands for. www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/...

Michigan election chief Jocelyn Benson to face prominent election denier in governor’s race

Benson has been a frequent target of election deniers and anti-voting activists, who falsely accused her of perpetuating voter fraud during subsequent elections in the Great Lakes State.

democracydocket.com

Reflecting Pool defendant David Hearn, responding to Jeanine Pirro’s motion to dismiss, seeks dismissal *with prejudice.* Trump’s & Burghum’s conduct after dismissal show case’s political motivation & danger of harassment & re-prosecution. 1/2 www.documentcloud.org/documents/28...

Excellent voting by Missouri residents to block the local Republican effort to make ballot initiatives harder to pass.

Missouri voters block GOP-led effort to raise bar to pass constitutional amendments

The push came after progressives in the solidly Republican state found success with ballot measures related to abortion, health care and the minimum wage.

nbcnews.com

Not sure if everyone appreciates the difference. Rooftop solar hardwires into your main panel via a dedicated breaker, so it requires a permit, an installer, an electrician, and a utility agreement. Balcony solar just plugs into a wall outlet, sharing an existing circuit with no permits or rewiring.

A new deal on balcony solar just dropped in the US

Plug-in panels can lower your bills. To boost the American market for the tech, nonprofit Bright Saver is selling kits with no markup, starting at around…

canarymedia.com

Fun fact: I just published the full story on this topic mere minutes ago. By my count, at least 12 pastors, seminarians & former clergy have launched campaigns for federal office this year, and 5 are already nominees. In response, the GOP is attacking their faith. religionnews.com/2026/08/04/p...

'They're not real pastors': As clergy run as Democrats, Republicans question their faith

(RNS) — 'It's a sign that they are really scared they're gonna lose this seat,' the Rev. Sarah Trone Garriott, a Lutheran pastor running for Congress in Iowa, said. She is part of a wave of religious ...

religionnews.com

Teddy Wilson@reportbywilson.bsky.social · yesterday

Highly recommend listening to @jackjenkins.me in conversation with Dr. Amanda Henderson:

I can't believe that Biden closed the Strait of Hormuz. Thank God for Donald Trump.

Moreno on Max Miller: "My daughter lives in constant fear of this man ... you can't fathom what that makes me feel like when the dad's number one job is to protect your kids... if there's any minimum standard for being an elected official, he feels to meet it. I don't care about the politics at all"

Davey Hearn was facing up to 10 years over a pool that looks identical in the govt's own before & after pictures We put those pictures in front of the court the day after his arraignment The Interior Dept's explanation does not hold water The full sequence, on @cnn.com👇 -TN

NEW: The U.S. military has tried to develop laser weapons for decades. Nothing quite worked out...until now. The US Army is about to make a working laser weapon, called an Enduring High Energy Laser, an official part of its arsenal. Scoop from Danger Room Dad @noahshachtman.bsky.social

Landmark Deal Would Officially Add Laser Weapons to US Army Arsenal

Facing a growing drone threat, the Pentagon is poised to sign a first-of-its-kind contract for “Enduring High Energy Lasers”—and make directed energy weapons an official part of the Army’s kit.

wired.com

He serves in the branch that the Constitution specifically charges with the duty of removing the President for criming.

Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · yesterday

Cornyn: "There's nothing we could do to rein in the president"

"The Army has used up 'virtually all' of its stockpile of highly accurate long-range missiles during its five-month war with Iran, raising concerns about the military's readiness for future conflicts"

EXCLUSIVE: US has used 'virtually all' of its long-range precision missiles during Iran war, sources say

The U.S. Army has used up much of its stockpile of highly accurate long-range missiles during its five-month war with Iran, according to three people familiar with the data, ​raising concerns about th...

reuters.com

Trump’s Top Lawyer We look into the issues surrounding Todd Blanche’s confirmation. www.nytimes.com/2026/08/04/b...

Trump’s Top Lawyer

We look into the issues surrounding Todd Blanche’s confirmation.

nytimes.com

If there's one thing I've learned from publishing this story is that there is a very, very, very wide chasm between what the law says about all this... and what people *think* the law says and/or *should* say.

Zack Whittaker@zackwhittaker.com · 2d ago

After Anthropic and OpenAI both admitted to their AI models hacking other companies, @lorenzofb.bsky.social and I wanted to find out: Who is legally to blame when an autonomous AI agent hacks something? Lawyers say it's really complicated! Bypass for ad-blockers: web.archive.org/web/20260803...

The House Ethics Committee recommends chamber censure GOP Rep. Chuck Edwards of North Carolina after finding "substantial reason to believe" he "violated House Rules related to sexual harassment and hostile workplaces." Edwards already faced a tough reelection contest against Democrat Jamie Ager.

Morning Digest: Ethics Committee recommends censure for GOP congressman over sexual harassment findings

North Carolina's Chuck Edwards was already facing a difficult path to reelection

the-downballot.com

Missouri reports more than 1,000 cyclosporiasis cases | STLPR www.stlpr.org/news-briefs/...

Cyclosporiasis cases double in Missouri as health officials report more than 1,000 illnesses

State health officials say increased testing and reporting have contributed to the case count as investigators continue searching for the outbreak's source.

stlpr.org

July marks the first consecutive twelve month period where wind generated more electricity than gas in the UK...in every single month. In the last decade, wind generation in the UK has more than doubled, pushing first coal and now gas out of the mix.

How ICE Is Weaponizing Social Media Against its Critics

How ICE Is Weaponizing Social Media Against its Critics

Agency says its surveillance program searches for threats to agents, but critics see free-speech infringements.

wsj.com