Susan Collins announcing she'll vote against a controversial nominee is basically the moment it becomes clear that nominee will be confirmed. It means Thune has enough votes to confirm, and thus, Collins gets a pass to look independent.

⚠️ Democrats in array: Schumer, Gillibrand, and Whitmer coalesce behind El-Sayed

The Seattle library levy is on track to pass with 80% voting yes. The Seattle Times came out against it and was resoundingly ignored. Seattle voters want nice things and are willing to pay for them.

So far, voters overwhelmingly approve Seattle library levy

A property tax levy to fund the city's public library system over the next seven years is solidly ahead after the first release of vote totals Tuesday evening.

seattletimes.com

Fantastic message. Stay focused, Abdul!

Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · 7h ago

El-Sayed: "If all Mike Rogers got is that 'his name is Abdul, and my name is Mike,' you're gonna be surprised how many people are like, 'Yeah, but that's the Abdul who wants to bring down the price of my groceries and make sure I got healthcare. So yeah, I like Abdul over your Mike from Florida.'"

Notice DOJ doesn't talk about its efforts to obtain state voter files anymore. They are 0-20 in those cases and today is the beginning of the quiet period -- states can no longer do systematic removals of names from the voter rolls. TLDR: We won!🥳

[CLAPS SEPSIS ON THE BACK] “Okay, slugger, you ready? It’s your time to shine at a population level!”

Ben Collins@bencollins.bsky.social · yesterday

Oh my god the dietician who is telling everyone in the White House to only eat steak and sauerkraut doesn't wipe his ass.

Ah, the unironic chuckle while listening to an audiobook which sports a reader for the first third of the novel who mis-pronounces several common words, followed by a new reader who gets to perform a section about homophones and …mispronunciation. Audiobooks deserve tough editors, too. #booksky

Two wins for abortion rights: Voters in Kansas and Missouri easily defeated ballot measures that could have threatened abortion access in their states

String of pearls here. As always, from the brilliant synthesizer, Rebecca Solnit.

Rebecca Solnit@rebeccasolnit.bsky.social · 19h ago

It's demoralizing living in a nonstop Abuse-a-thon: we've had to learn the sordid details of so many men's abhorrent behavior; I mean this summer has been Graham Platner, Andrew Tate, Jared Leto, Max Miller, plus the horrific L.A. rape-murder of the child by the rapper, to name a few lowlights.

Maddow asked #JamesTalarico about attacks on #trans people and those who think that to win, Dems must "moderate" on trans rights. Talarico answered, "I don't believe we win by selling people out." #Texas

Like documentaries? Then you probably don’t want the two largest privately held news archives — the lifeblood of documentary film — under the same ownership. Especially when that ownership kisses up to politicians by censoring their critics.

Film producers warn Paramount-Warner merger could restrict access to news archives

By Dawn Chmielewski and Paul Sandle LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, July 30 (Reuters) - A group of film producers has urged the British culture minister to intervene in the proposed merger of Paramount Skyda...

whbl.com

I’d love to jump onto this conversation but she turned off comments, so my response is here: I said this yesterday myself — not because I don’t believe in public health systems, but to reassure a person whose anxiety was spiraling. In this case, the risk of lettuce was lower than elevated BP.

Melody Schreiber@melodyschreiber.com · 2d ago

A LOT of people I talk to say "I just had lettuce for lunch and I'm fine," and it's like the only evidence they will accept

Sadly, it's time to re-up this Q&A by @mikeschmitt.bsky.social, me & @rgoodlaw.bsky.social on targeting & the #Iran war. To be clear it is never lawful to: - target civilians or civilian infrastructure as such - target "dual use" infrastructure to "send a message," punish, or coerce the other side

Expert Q&A: A Targeting Primer on the Iran War

Leading legal experts Q&A analyzes how the law of armed conflict applies to United States, Israeli, Iranian strikes - focusing on targeting rules and civilian protections.

justsecurity.org

Trump allies at Heritage celebrating the Cornyn cave on Blanche because you actually need both parties to sign off on changing the “settlement.”

I’m old enough to remember working for an administration that worried about avoiding even perceptions of hints of inadvertent news getting out that might possibly affect the markets. In 2023.

TPM@talkingpointsmemo.com · 2d ago

Truth Social's new effort to make money off of Trump's thoughts has gone live, selling banks early access to the president's posts.

RFK Jr and wife had a soiree at their Hollywood mansion during COVID and required proof of COVID vaccination with RSVP. Watch what they do, not what they say. –Rachel Maddow

WNBA (the org) courted this. They could have nipped this in the bud, but instead they placated anti-trans activists, so now bigots have glomed onto them. If you don't tell them their opinions are vile and are unwelcome, they will destroy you or leech on you forever. just ask amnesty international

taylr@taylordahlin.com · 3d ago

riley gaines is at the minnesota lynx vs indiana fever game posing with people courtside as they line up for photos

It’s too late for me and thousands of my colleagues, but there are still hundreds of thousands of hardworking civil servants who don’t deserve this shit, and who throw themselves in front of the Trump/Vought/Miller/Hegseth/et al bus as needed. Please submit a comment on their behalf.

I-270, Exit 1@i270exit1.bsky.social · 3d ago

🚨🚨 FEDS and everyone else 🚨🚨 🧵Tomorrow is the last day to comment on the Office of Personnel Management rule, “Promoting Employee Accountability" at www.regulations.gov/commenton/OP... This rule eliminates employee protections and rights, and hastens the firing process. Specifically, it... 1/4

OH FFS. Facts are real. Words have meanings. I hate this guy with the fire of a thousand suns.

Bill Grueskin@bgrueskin.bsky.social · 3d ago

RFK told Dana Bash that Lyme disease “almost certainly” came from gain of function research. Which is utterly false. www.medpagetoday.com/infectiousdi...

I've been joking with journalist friends that I went to a rural diner in Trump country and all I found were secret Democrats and a non-voter. It's true! How Schuylkill County, PA, rose up against an ICE warehouse—and decades of being treated as a "dumping ground" www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

How the threat of an ICE detention center galvanized a Trump-country coal town

“We do deserve better than a plethora of data centers, detention centers, warehouses, biosolids processing plants, massive landfills.”

motherjones.com

Reminder: Bernie Moreno dismissed women as "single-issue voters" on abortion during his 2024 run and said it was "crazy" that women over 50 think about it at all. It's sweet that he has opportunistically discovered empathy for his daughter and granddaughter. He should ask them what gender they are.

Mark Harris@markharris.bsky.social · 3d ago

A better moment to say this would have been any time during the last two years of "pure hell."

BREAKING: Capital One bank closed Trump’s accounts in 2021 over money laundering, per a new court filing. www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

Capital One Cites Money Laundering Review in Trump-Related Suit

Capital One Financial Corp. said in a court filing late Friday that it closed accounts belonging to President Donald Trump’s sprawling real estate company in 2021 for legitimate reasons after an inter...

bloomberg.com

If you’ve ever heard a high school marching band, you’ve heard an instrument made by Conn Selmer. Big Trump donors. Now to be made in China. wapo.st/4yR8j5X

The last day of a factory in Trump country, as its work moves to China

For generations, this Ohio factory was a way of life. Then came the final shift.

wapo.st

FANTASTIC NEWS! The saddest thing in LA has been driving by the shuttered dome. (Too bad it wasn’t in time for the Odyssey.) www.npr.org/2026/07/30/n...

LA's legendary Cinerama Dome will reopen, bouncing back from pandemic bankruptcy

"People think of this as the ultimate Hollywood experience," says Escott Norton, former executive director of the Los Angeles Historic Theatre Foundation.

npr.org

The Fauci hearing was a disgrace. Here are some reminders of how it really went down in 2020. Never forget.

Rand Paul’s obsession with Tony Fauci predates the covid pandemic *by a lot*. It’s obscene that these little shits are feeling so cocky.

Who was the head of the unitary executive in 2020 during the Covid epidemic? A true mystery.

This is a 1938-level story from Nazi Germany

Gabe Ortíz@tusk81.bsky.social · last wk.

“‘Should I keep paying my mortgage?’ Haitian families confront impossible choices around #TPS. As Haitian TPS nears an end, families are asking who will care for their children, whether to sell their homes and whether they can survive what comes next.” haitiantimes.com/2026/07/27/h...

1/ This is Nick Adams. He’s a big deal in MAGA world. He’s got 638K followers on X and 2.1M on Facebook. President Trump even appointed him to a role at the State Dept. But when I started digging into Adams' nonprofit for "civics" education, something didn't look right ... 🧵

If you enjoyed the newest Greek myth movie, I highly recommend, yet again, Circe by Madeline Miller. The audiobook is PHENOMENAL.