Abdul El-Sayed was outspent 9-to-1 by AIPAC and corporate Super PACs in the most expensive Senate Democratic primary of all time. Last night, he proved that organized people can beat organized money.
Empowering Main St. Before Wall St.
@rchady.bsky.social
Advocate for Empowering Main St. Over Wall St. Lifelong learner, traveler, advocate dedicated to making a country that works for all.
The #CDC has linked Arkansas, Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska, NH and NC to the outbreak of #cyclosporiasis associated with iceberg lettuce. Compared to finding 2,800 cases per year, the CDC has confirmed about 10,400 cases and is investigating 11,500 more. www.nytimes.com/2026/08/04/w...
C.D.C. Expands Cyclospora Outbreak to More States
Arkansas, Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire and North Carolina are now among the states linked to the outbreak associated with iceberg lettuce.
nytimes.com
Paul Krugman: Trump's Ballroom is costing at least $600 million. That is the equivalent of #foodstamps for 300,000 people for a year. And enrollment on the #ACA exchanges that were set up to buy health insurance has dropped by about three million so far.
An Explosion of Misery
Making American hungry and uninsured again
paulkrugman.substack.com
Robert Reich: The Biggest Cost of Trump: Inaction on the #climatecrisis, #AI and widening inequality. Billionaires use their wealth to cut their tax rates (which are already lower than most) and to stop lawmakers from regulating fossil fuels or AI.
The Biggest Cost of Trump
It goes far beyond guns vs. butter
robertreich.substack.com
Appalachia's #blacklung rates highest in nearly 50 years as miners' protections stall. #NIOSH researchers found that working underground coal miners in #Appalachia are suffering from the incurable and fatal disease at the highest rates in 50 years.
Appalachia's black lung rates highest in nearly 50 years as miners' protections stall
Rates are now as bad as the 1970s, with thousands of miners sick and dying. Mining experts blame toxic silica dust, now more common in mines.
npr.org
The court ssid the #EPA could not terminate $20 billion in climate grants. If the E.P.A. does not appeal to SCOTUS in the next seven days, the judgment will reinstate much of the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund for #renewable energy projects.
Appeals Court Says E.P.A. Cannot Block Billions in Climate Grants
The funds have been frozen since early in President Trump’s second term.
nytimes.com
An estimated four million children in the US care for an adult family member who is sick, disabled or old. Hospitals are shortening stays, and forcing care onto those at home. Federal cuts to #Medicaid will reduce #homecare for others.
The U.S. Relies on Family Caregivers. Millions of Them Are Kids.
The modern health care system requires the work of caregiving to fall to whoever else lives in a household — even if they’re kids.
nytimes.com
After starting, #RFK had dismissed every member of the #CDC’s #vaccine advisory board and replaced them with new appointees, some of them prominent vaccine skeptics. #Pediatrician: “It turned into a completely unreputable source of information." kffhealthnews.org/public-healt...
Pediatricians and Health Departments Sidestep Trump’s CDC on Vaccine Guidance - KFF Health News
When the Trump administration upended years of vaccine advice, it left pediatricians in a quandary. Many say they can no longer direct families to the CDC as a trusted source of information. So some…
kffhealthnews.org
Edwards faced a formidable opponent in Democrat Jamie Ager. His brother Eric Ager serves in the N.C. House. Forecaster Sabato had already changed his assessment of the WNC district from “Leans Republican” to “Toss-up.” @asheville.bsky.social ncnewsline.com/2026/08/04/e...
NC Rep. Edwards drops reelection campaign following ethics probe, urging of Republican colleagues • NC Newsline
North Carolina Congressman Chuck Edwards has dropped his reelection campaign after a U.S. House ethics investigation recommended censure for inappropriate behavior toward female staffers.
ncnewsline.com
Chuck Edwards of WNC ends his reelection bid after censure recommendation. "I’ve decided to withdraw from my re-election campaign. I will complete my current term." Monday is the deadline for Republicans to replace him on the ballot. www.politico.com/news/2026/08...
Chuck Edwards says he will end reelection bid after censure recommendation
The Ethics Committee this week said Edwards engaged in “persistent unprofessional and inappropriate conduct towards two young female staffers.”
politico.com
Brown University has a widget that tracks the cost of the Iran war to American consumers (as contrasted to whatever the Pentagon is spending). Per-household cost now exceeds $600. iranwarcost.watson.brown.edu
Frances Perkins was the patron saint of American workers and an inspiration for me during my time as labor secretary. She was the guiding light behind the creation of Social Security, the 40-hour workweek, the National Labor Relations Act, and much more.
David Dayen@ddayen.bsky.social · yesterdayToday's Prospect Patriot is Frances Perkins. She saw the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory go ablaze in 1911 and her life changed. "The New Deal was born that day," she said. 22 years later she'd be America's first female cabinet member. prospect.org/2026/08/04/a...
Happy birthday to an actual President, Barack Obama. 💙
Polymarket has millions of dollars in wildfire-related bets & more than $1M in beds were placed on the 2025 Los Angeles wildfires! DESPICABLE! THE PREDICTION MARKET PROMOTES THE OBSTRUCTION FIREFIGHTERS OR FOLKS TO GO OUT AND COMMIT ARSON! It's absolutely nuts!
Jacob Gellman@jacobgellman.com · yesterdayThere is no way that betting on wildfires should be legal. www.oregonlive.com/wildfires/20...
This Thursday, SpaceX insiders will be released from their first post-IPO stock lockup and can cash out early. As I've been saying, this has all the hallmarks of a Ponzi scheme.
ICYMI: In a win for voters, a federal judge blocked Trump’s recent ban on nonpartisan groups helping newly naturalized citizens register to vote. The court found the ban was likely driven by intentional discrimination against new citizens. https://demdock.com/4xeEjiG
Microsoft: $101 BILLION in profits. $12.5 BILLION in tax breaks. $176 BILLION in stock buybacks. 4,800 workers fired this week. 9,000 workers fired last year. Please don't tell me trickle-down economics works. It never did. Nothing trickles down.
Did you see how Apple, Amazon Walmart and other big companies are refunding the billions of dollars they got back from the federal tariff settlement to their customers, who ultimately bore the cost of higher prices? Yea, me neither.
LA Times: Trump finds a new way to screw Medicare members — hiking their drug bills. Mehmet Oz is canceling the Part D Premium Stabilization Demonstration, potentially doubling monthly drug costs for 11 million seniors. I'm now one of those seniors! 😠 #ProudBlue #Pinks #SheShed
Sen. Ted Budd encouraged Rep. #ChuckEdwards to drop out of the race in western NC, a Capitol Hill source told McClatchy on Tuesday. Budd reportedly told Edwards his race is not winnable. @asheville.bsky.social @blueridgepublic.bsky.social www.newsobserver.com/news/politic...
NC Republican Sen. Ted Budd calls on Rep. Chuck Edwards to drop campaign
The Republican senator from North Carolina is urging Rep. Chuck Edwards to drop his campaign after an ethics committee report found evidence he had sexually harassed young employees.
newsobserver.com
Neither the document Blanche signed nor another unsigned press release alters the other part of the supposed “Settlement Agreement” between Trump and the IRS. That bars the IRS from carrying out audits of Trump and sons Donald Jr. and Eric www.ms.now/opinion/todd...
Opinion | Todd Blanche lost the slush fund, but won Trump's war on the IRS
The IRS is still banned from auditing Trump and his eldest sons’ most recent taxes. That alone should be disqualifying for Todd Blanche.
ms.now
Coldplay, Olivia Rodrigo and other artists roll out affordable $30 tickets after price complaints - but where you sit is a mystery
Coldplay, Olivia Rodrigo and others roll out $30 tickets after price complaints
A Live Nation executive admitted the program covers ‘not a ton’ of tickets
trib.al
The Old Trails Fire burned through the city’s northwest corner — an area considered outside the highest risk zone.
The Spokane burns show not even surburbia is immune to wildfire - High Country News
The Old Trails Fire burned through the city’s northwest corner — an area considered outside the highest risk zone.
hcn.org
In addition to dropping to the felony case of Olympian Thomas Hearn, prosecutors have rescinded misdemeanor cases against three individuals at the Reflecting Pool without explanation.
Ripple effects: Three people have Reflecting Pool charges dropped after Hearn request
Federal prosecutors moved to drop their case against David Hearn, blaming Reflecting Pool damage on a "botched installation" rather than vandalism. That has implications for others who were charged.
npr.org
The need to rebuild gasoline inventories means that even if the Strait of Hormuz were soon reopened (which is a big if), oil prices would take a while to fall back to where they were before the war began.
Get Used to High Gas Prices
Even if the Iran war ends tomorrow, don’t expect relief at the pump any time soon.
theatlantic.com
Happy 65th birthday to Barack Obama, 44th president, who was born in Honolulu on Aug. 4, 1961.
Parents, patients and disability advocates say Indiana’s Medicaid renewal process has left many eligible families struggling to navigate paperwork requests, meet deadlines and maintain essential health coverage. via @indianacapitalchronicle.com www.newsfromthestates.com/article/powe...
‘Powerless’: Indiana families describe the toll of losing Medicaid access
The notice arrived after Taylor Holliday-Smith thought she’d already done everything the state asked.
newsfromthestates.com