The debt ceiling deal. Days before a potential default, President Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy announced an agreement to suspend the debt limit for two years. The Fiscal Responsibility Act will cut spending, speed up permitting for some energy projects, enact new work requirements for food stamps and TANF, recover $28 billion in unspent Covid money, and redirect roughly $20 billion of IRS funds to other agencies. While party leaders have agreed to the deal, it still faces an uncertain path in the House and Senate, where some opposition has popped up on both sides of the aisle. You ca ..read more

Ron DeSantis. Florida's Republican governor officially announced his 2024 presidential campaign on Wednesday; first by releasing a campaign launch video, then appearing in a live audio space on Twitter, and finally going on Fox News to be interviewed by Trey Gowdy. DeSantis has been widely expected to enter the race for the Republican nomination and is polling better than any of the other challengers to former President Donald Trump, the frontrunner. Tickets are officially live (and public!) for our event in Philadelphia on Thursday, August 3rd. Thanks to all the folks who bought tickets — we ..read more

Twitter v. Taamneh and Gonzalez v. Google LLC. On Thursday, the Supreme Court ruled against the family of a 2017 ISIS attack victim who had sued Twitter, Facebook, and Google in an effort to hold them liable for allowing ISIS to use their platforms. The court ruled unanimously that the lawsuit could not move forward. Along with that ruling, the justices sent Gonzalez v. Google LLC, a similar case, back to the lower courts. That decision sidestepped any major changes to the scope of Section 230 of the 1996 Communications Decency Act, which shields tech companies from liability for content publi ..read more

The debt ceiling. Negotiations over the debt ceiling appear to be coming to a head. President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy reiterated on Wednesday that they are determined to reach a deal to raise the $31.4 trillion debt ceiling and avoid a potential default, with McCarthy indicating a deal could be struck as soon as this weekend. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has reiterated that a deal must be struck by June 1 or the federal government will be unable to pay its bills. August 3rd, 2023, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The event will be held at Brooklyn Bowl Philadelphia. Passw ..read more

The Durham report. On Monday, special counsel John Durham released his long-awaited report examining how the FBI handled its investigation of Donald Trump's alleged ties to Russia. Durham's report came after four years investigating the FBI’s investigation, and after losing both of the criminal cases he took to trial. You can find our previous coverage of the Durham probe here. You can read today's podcast here, the Blindspot report on the left here and on the right here, today’s “Under the Radar” story ⁠here⁠, and today’s “Have a nice day” story here. Our latest YouTube video premieres toni ..read more

The Daniel Penny charges. Daniel Penny, who was seen putting Jordan Neely in a chokehold on a New York subway on May 1, was charged with second degree manslaughter on Thursday, the Manhattan District Attorney's Office said. Penny could face as many as 15 years in prison. Shortly after turning himself in, he was released on a $100,000 bond. Penny did not enter a plea, as the charges will go before a grand jury who will decide whether or not to indict him. You can find our initial coverage of this story here. You can read today's podcast ⁠here⁠, today’s “Under the Radar” story ⁠here⁠, and toda ..read more

The Biden investigation. Last week, the House Oversight Committee released an interim report saying it had unearthed evidence that Biden's family members, associates, and their related companies received more than $10 million from foreign entities. The alleged payments were made between 2015 and 2017, during and after President Biden's term as vice president. You can read today's podcast ⁠here⁠, today’s “Under the Radar” story ⁠here⁠, and today’s “Have a nice day” story ⁠here⁠. You can also view last Friday’s newsletter breaking down some of our editorial policy decisions and annou ..read more

Today's topic contains descriptions of sexual assault and language that may be inappropriate for some readers. Donald Trump and E. Jean Carroll. On Tuesday, a federal jury in Manhattan found former President Donald Trump civilly liable for sexually abusing and defaming E. Jean Carroll and ordered him to pay $5 million in damages. The jury ruling was the result of a civil trial in which the writer alleged Trump raped her in a Manhattan department store in the 1990s, then defamed her by publicly mocking her allegations. You can read today's podcast here, the Blindspot report on the left here an ..read more

North Carolina's Supreme Court. Earlier this month, the North Carolina Supreme Court sided with Republicans in three major rulings: upholding the state's voter ID law, throwing out a previous ruling against gerrymandered voting maps, and overruling lower court decisions that felons have the right to vote. The ruling on the gerrymandered legislative maps will likely have a national impact, boosting Republicans' odds of growing their majority in the next House election. You can read today's podcast ⁠here⁠, today’s “Under the Radar” story ⁠here⁠, and today’s “Have a nice day” story ⁠here⁠. Toda ..read more

Jordan Neely's death. On Monday afternoon, Neely was aboard a subway train in New York City when he began shouting at other passengers and "acting erratically," according to witnesses. Another passenger on the train, identified as 24-year-old Marine veteran Daniel Penny, came up behind Neely and put him in a chokehold, while two other passengers helped Penny restrain Neely. After several minutes of holding Neely on the ground, he stopped moving, at which point medics arrived and failed to revive him. New York City's medical examiner determined he had died from compression of the neck. You can ..read more