Isolated-Incident Watch

1/29/2025

early and often

Did Backlash Really Kill the Trump Funding Freeze?

By Ed Kilgore

Democrats are taking credit for ginning up a public reaction to a funding “pause.” But this is just the first of many battles.

1/29/2025

early and often

A Weird Confirmation Hearing Even for RFK Jr.

By Ben Jacobs

Botched answers and baby onesies.

1/29/2025

politics

Menendez Tells Judge He’s Lost Everything, Gets 11 Years

By Nia Prater

The former New Jersey senator was finally sentenced after a federal jury convicted him on bribery charges last July.

1/29/2025

early and often

Trump Cabinet Confirmation Hearings: Schedule & How to Watch

By Margaret Hartmann and Chas Danner

Will the Senate GOP confirm controversial picks like Tulsi Gabbard and RFK Jr.? Here’s the hearings schedule and list of who’s been confirmed.

1/29/2025

scandals

Trump’s Friendship With Jeffrey Epstein: Everything We Know

By Margaret Hartmann

Several GOP senators called on President Trump to release the Epstein files, even if he’s in them. Here’s what we know about their friendship.

1/29/2025

early and often

Federal-Worker Buyouts May Make Government As Broken As X

By Ed Kilgore

Musk tried a similar scheme after his takeover of Twitter. What could go wrong with applying it to millions of federal workers?

1/29/2025

we'll do it live

Dems Grill RFK Jr. on Vaccines, Abortion in Testy Hearing

By Intelligencer Staff

President Trump’s pick for Health and Human Services secretary was confronted with his history of vaccine skepticism and other views.

1/29/2025

timelines

How Kendrick Lamar Went From BLM Symbol to Super Bowl Star

By Zak Cheney-Rice

The enthusiastic response to his music has been driven in part by the perception that he’s a political vessel. But what exactly are his politics?

1/29/2025

early and often

Trump Thinks He Has a Mandate to Break the Law

By Ed Kilgore

Trump is using false claims about the size and meaning of his 2024 victory to justify his power grab.

1/29/2025

the right

Trump and MAGA Embrace Their Own Form of Wokeness

By Ross Barkan

Ironically, the anti-woke right often seems focused on speech policing and group grievances.

1/28/2025

early and often

Trump’s Blatantly Illegal Funding Freeze Causes Nationwide Chaos

By Ed Kilgore

But a judge put a temporary halt to the freeze until constitutional questions about its legality can be resolved.

1/28/2025

tremendous content

Why Does Trump Want Greenland? His Imperialistic Threats, Explained.

By Margaret Hartmann

Some of Trumps threats to take over Greenland, Canada, and the Panama Canal are based on actual U.S. strategic goals. Others are just idiotic.

1/28/2025

politics

Caroline Kennedy Calls RFK Jr. a ‘Predator’ Ahead of Hearing

By Nia Prater

In a letter and video, the former ambassador urged lawmakers to oppose her cousin’s nomination, warning that he is “addicted to attention and power.”

1/28/2025

pivot

DeepSeek May Be the Walmart of AI

By Intelligencer Staff

In the most recent episode of Pivot, Kara Swisher and Scott Galloway discuss the Chinese AI firm and its cost-effective new model.

1/28/2025

early and often

Why a Divided America Needs a ‘Deep State’

By Ed Kilgore

An electorate that can’t make up its mind on which party to entrust with power makes those faceless, despised bureaucrats our only hope for stability.

1/28/2025

conspiracy theories

Barack and Michelle Obama Quash Divorce Rumors via Subtweet

By Margaret Hartmann

The former First Couple made it clear they are still very much in love … or very committed to needlessly lying about their relationship status!

1/28/2025

roundup

7 Ways to Think About the DeepSeek AI Freak-out

By Chas Danner

The Chinese AI firm’s new model is rattling the tech industry and the stock market. Here’s some of the smart commentary on why.

1/28/2025

early and often

For MAGA, the Line Between God and Trump Has Blurred

By Sarah Jones

Conversion stories and moments of revelation were once reserved for a higher power. Now they’re political.

1/28/2025

los angeles wildfires

‘My Community Is Gone. It’s Just a Curse That My House Is There.’

By Abe Streep

City workers and celebrities, teachers and tycoons talk about what they lost in the Los Angeles fires — and how they’ll rebuild.

1/28/2025

los angeles wildfires

Pictures of a Ruined City

Photographs by Devin Oktar Yalkin

Los Angeles after the fires.

1/27/2025

conspiracy

When Will the Declassified JFK Files Be Released Publicly?

By Matt Stieb

The president has ordered their disclosure with a timeline that suggests it might actually happen this time.

1/27/2025

politics

Will Tulsi Gabbard Be Confirmed to Top Intelligence Role?

By Nia Prater

Trump’s nominee for director of national intelligence, who faces confirmation hearings this week, may be his most at-risk Cabinet pick.

1/27/2025

early and often

J.D. Vance Goes After His Own Church on Immigration

By Ed Kilgore

In a harsh attack on Catholic bishops for criticizing mass deportation, the veep is intensifying his administration’s feud with Christian clergy.

1/27/2025

politics

Adams Vague About Health Problems Keeping Him Out All Week

By Nia Prater

The mayor will have a limited public schedule this week as he undergoes medical tests and attends doctors’ appointments after feeling unwell.

1/27/2025

just asking questions

Could the Supreme Court Back Trump on Birthright Citizenship?

By Nia Prater

Law professor Gerard Magliocca on the multiple reasons Trump’s executive order will likely fail.

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