Zack Stanton
@zackstanton.bsky.social
Deputy managing editor for news @MS.now. Former editor of @politico.com's Playbook. Macomb County native. Reach me on Signal: zstanton.01
One of the most insightful El-Sayed profiles I’ve read Traces his evolution from the 2018 candidate who lost a Dem primary to the one who could win in 2026 By @danielstrauss.bsky.social prospect.org/2026/07/30/a...
Abdul El-Sayed Lost in 2018. It Set Him Up for 2026. - The American Prospect
I covered Abdul El-Sayed when he ran for governor and lost. Here’s how he and the landscape have changed.
prospect.org
“They only gave interview availability for before 9 A.M. or after 7 P.M. on weekdays, or the weekends,” said one person interviewed for the autopsy. It suggested to them the schedule of a volunteer side project, not a professional undertaking.
‘The report is a disaster’: Democrats pan DNC’s 2024 ‘autopsy’
After months of delays, DNC Chair Ken Martin released the party’s after-action report on the 2024 election. Democrats say it omitted key voices, dodged central questions and may have lifted from news ...
ms.now
"In the masculinist paradigm, every woman does HR for cats and every man is a plumber or merchant seaman."
The Men Who Want Women to Be Quiet
A virulent form of misogyny has become the single most important force holding together the American right.
theatlantic.com
It's an interesting dynamic here: Trump is generally quite unpopular with voters, but if you gerrymander everything, primaries matter even more — so his grip over GOP voters becomes, in many ways, one of the most important things in politics
MS NOW@ms.now · 3mo agoBREAKING: VA Supreme Court strikes down voter-approved house map. MS NOW Legal Affairs Reporter Fallon Gallagher has the latest.
"Practically overnight, we took an ancient vice — long regarded as soul-rotting and civilizationally ruinous — put it on everyone’s phone, and made it as normal and frictionless as checking the weather. What could possibly go wrong?"
My Year as a Degenerate Sports Gambler
Practically overnight, America made wagering on a game as frictionless as checking the weather. I was determined to understand the consequences—for my country, and for myself.
theatlantic.com
The Trump administration sent negotiators without nuclear expertise to lead talks on Iran’s enrichment program. Now, its public case for war with Iran centers on a nuclear facility that experts say cannot do what officials claim.
Nuclear experts undercut White House claims about Iran reactor at heart of case for war
The Trump administration sent negotiators without nuclear expertise to lead talks on Iran’s enrichment program. Now, its public case for war centers on a facility that experts say cannot do what offic...
ms.now
"Anthropic is prepared to loosen its current terms of use, but wants to ensure its tools aren't used to spy on Americans en masse, or to develop weapons that fire with no human involvement. "The Pentagon claims that's unduly restrictive…"
Exclusive: Pentagon warns Anthropic will "pay a price" as feud escalates
The Pentagon may label Anthropic a "supply chain risk," forcing all its vendors to sever ties.
axios.com
“Who is going to make that commitment on the basis of a promise from Donald Trump?” As Trump pressures U.S. oil firms, analysts and former diplomats say Venezuela cannot produce the outcome he wants. www.ms.now/news/trump-o... @ms.now
Trump pitches execs on a Venezuela oil plan that experts say won’t work
As Trump pressures U.S. oil firms, analysts and former diplomats say Venezuela cannot produce the outcome he wants.
ms.now
As Trump tries to blame Biden for the economy, he has a problem: For a year, the WH has worked to show how POWERFUL Trump is — bending things to his will, etc. It’s hard, then, to make the case that on this one issue, he's actually not in control and hasn’t yet made an impact.
Trump's reaction to the killing of Rob and Michele Reiner crystallized a defining feature of his leadership, writes Vaughn Hillyard: "a willingness to withhold empathy from those Americans he views as adversaries and, at times, to seemingly mock their suffering."
Trump’s empathy gap: A defining feature of his leadership
The president’s response to the Reiner killings crystallizes a pattern: Trump withholds empathy from Americans he views as adversaries, abandoning a traditional duty of the office.
ms.now
A program for deafblind children helped 3-year-old Annie Garner, born with poor vision and no ears, learn to communicate. The Trump administration cut the program’s funding over diversity goals.
Born Deaf and Blind, She’s Caught in Trump’s Anti-Diversity Crusade
nytimes.com
I joined @michiganpublic.bsky.social's Zoe Clark and Rick Pluta (and @freep.com's Nancy Kaffer) to talk all things Gretchen Whitmer. Give it a listen!
What’s next for Gretchen Whitmer? Inside the uncertain future of MI’s governor
Governor Gretchen Whitmer was unanimously selected this weekend to be the Vice Chair of the Democratic Governors Association. What does this tell us about her political future and ambitions for higher...
michiganpublic.org
"If my professors are unable to teach me, and I’m not able to have candid conversations to get a proper education, what am I here for?” www.nytimes.com/2025/12/10/u...
The Conservative Overhaul of the University of Texas Is Underway
nytimes.com
One potential difficulty that I see with this is that I think voters tend to think that when wages go up, it's because of their own hard work and effort, while when prices go up, it's because of politicians www.wsj.com/politics/pol...
NEW: "FBI Director Kash Patel has — on more than one occasion — ordered that the security detail protecting his girlfriend escort one of her allegedly inebriated friends home after a night of partying in Nashville, according to three people with knowledge of the incidents."
In a stunning break in one of the FBI’s most high-profile unsolved cases, agents arrested a suspect Thursday morning who investigators believe placed pipe bombs outside Republican and Democratic headquarters in the hours before the Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol riot.
FBI arrests suspect in Jan. 2021 pipe-bombing case
Authorities say the suspect placed viable explosive devices outside RNC and DNC offices the night before the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot.
ms.now
"the president worked roughly 50-hour weeks"
Exclusive | Trump working up to 12-hour days, Oval Office logs show — refuting NY Times report on ‘fatigue’ limiting events
WASHINGTON — President Trump has been working up to 12-hour days this month, according to non-public official logs the White House provided to The Post after the New York Times claimed there were &…
nypost.com
"They often sit in the dark with only strings of LED lights on to save on electric costs. She is considering painting rocks to send to friends as Christmas gifts."
The Middle Class Is Buckling Under Almost Five Years of Persistent Inflation
Workers are growing tired of an economy in which everything seems to get more expensive.
wsj.com
The U.S. Coast Guard will no longer classify the swastika as a hate symbol, according to a new policy that takes effect next month. Instead, the Coast Guard will classify the Nazi-era insignia as “potentially divisive” under its new guidelines.
U.S. Coast Guard will no longer classify swastikas, nooses as hate symbols
The military service, which falls under the Department of Homeland Security, has drafted a new policy that classifies such items “potentially divisive.”
washingtonpost.com
This morning, President Trump reposted a social media post calling for the hanging of members of Congress who urged troops to refuse illegal orders
Fox News Poll: 76% of voters view the economy negatively. That’s worse than the 70% who said the same at the end of Biden’s term. www.foxnews.com/politics/fox...
Fox News Poll: Voters say White House is doing more harm than good on economy
Trump's approval hits new lows as 76% view economy negatively in the latest Fox News poll. Rising costs for groceries, utilities spark voter dissatisfaction nationwide.
foxnews.com
Trump's promise to send checks to Americans is a political bind: If they aren't sent, voters could resent it. If they *are* sent, it could ramp up inflation. BUT if they argue the checks won't contribute to inflation, it's a sign the economy isn't as strong as they claim.
Trump promises of direct checks test his economic message
President Donald Trump vows to send Americans checks in the mail. There's a huge risk if he can’t deliver — and another if he does.
msnbc.com
"Drugs are sold once and gone forever, but girls can be resold indefinitely." What a piece.
Can Anyone Rescue the Trafficked Girls of L.A.’s Figueroa Street?
nytimes.com
“The Democratic midterm campaign ads write themselves: Millions in secretive crypto profits for the Trump family, but Mr. Trump’s famous ‘two dolls’ and ‘five pencils’ for everyone else.” www.wsj.com/opinion/the-...
Opinion | The Trump Family Crypto Business
The Administration will regulate the tokens the Trumps are selling.
wsj.com
“It’s not like Marc Andreessen and David Sacks and Elon and JD and Trump are all sitting at the dinner table at Mar-a-Lago planning DOGE and in a lightbulb moment, they were like, ‘Let’s just instantiate the ideas of Curtis Yarvin,’” one person added. “It’s more like, Yarvin is the brain.”
Curtis Yarvin helped inspire DOGE. Now he scorns it.
The neo-monarchist muse of Silicon Valley helped inspire Elon Musk’s DOGE. Now he compares it to an orchestra of chimpanzees.
washingtonpost.com
SCOOP: President Donald Trump plans to announce details of a major trade agreement with the United Kingdom Thursday morning
Trump poised to announce trade agreement with UK
Specifics of the agreement were not immediately available.
politico.com
NEWS: @aoc.bsky.social won’t seek top Oversight Committee post, @nicholaswu12.bsky.social reports. ”It’s actually clear to me that the underlying dynamics in the caucus have not shifted with respect to seniority as much as I think would be necessary.” www.politico.com/news/2025/05...
AOC won't seek top Oversight Committee post
She cited the caucus' preference for seniority.
politico.com
I just feel like the only example in this article being this is kind of symptomatic of the problem with financial journalism in general www.thestreet.com/retirement/s...
"The vehicle, which Francis used during a 2014 visit to the West Bank, will be turned into a health clinic on wheels designed to treat Palestinian children."
Pope Francis’s final gift to the children of Gaza: His popemobile
The vehicle, which Francis used during a 2014 visit to the West Bank, will be turned into a health clinic on wheels designed to treat Palestinian children.
washingtonpost.com