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As we approach the 50th anniversaries of Alex Haley's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel Roots (1976) and its landmark television adaptation (1977), journalist and storyteller Lucas L. Johnson II reflects on the enduring legacy of Haley's work through the voices of those it continues to move, including scholars, artists, genealogists, students, and original cast members like LeVar Burton and Ben Vereen. With vivid personal anecdotes, emotional tributes, and probing reflections, Remembering Roots: How an American Classic Transformed the World (Broadleaf Books, 2026)shows how Haley's vision gave birth to a genealogy movement, inspired generations to reclaim their identities, and challenged America to confront its past. From a sixth-grader who became the first lawyer in her family, to a blind musician empowered by his father's retelling of Roots' most iconic scene, Johnson traces the ripple effects of Haley's griot storytelling across time and culture. As debates rage over which histories get told, Remembering Roots boldly asserts the necessity to remember and retell our stories. A call to action, this book reaffirms that storytelling is not just an art — it's a path to healing. A companion reading and viewing guide to the book and film is available here. Lucas L. Johnson II is a former reporter for the Associated Press, where he worked for more than twenty years mainly covering politics, education, and religion. He is the author of Finding the Good and coauthor of Youth Change Agent. Lucas works in higher education and has taught high school and college students. A freelance writer and communications strategist, Lucas lives in Nashville, Tennessee. You can find him at his website. Subscribe, like, follow, and rate Additions to the Archive with Sullivan Summer on Instagram, Substack, and wherever you get your podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network
The Cheat Sheet is The Murder Sheet's segment breaking down weekly news and updates in some of the murder cases we cover. Today, we will cover stories out of Massachusetts, New York, Indiana, and Pennsylvania. Check out excellent coverage of the Lindsay Clancy trial on the deaths of Cora, Dawson, and Callan from The Prosecutors Podcast: https://prosecutorspodcast.com/Pix 11 News's report on the shooting of Glenwood Pysher IV by Sean Farrell: https://pix11.com/news/national-news/ap-national/ap-father-says-college-student-was-killed-by-police-in-pennsylvania-after-he-went-to-wrong-house/The Associated Press's report on the shooting of Glenwood Pysher IV by Sean Farrell: https://apnews.com/article/pennsylvania-wrong-house-officer-charged-f60abeceb17a9572a457615b3549bd6dPix 11 News's report on the Times Square stabbing of Erin Piacenti by Pamela Cisneros: https://pix11.com/news/local-news/times-square-stabbing-victim-identified-as-nj-woman/Reuters's report on the Times Square stabbing of Erin Piacenti by Pamela Cisneros: https://www.reuters.com/world/bank-america-vice-president-killed-times-square-stabbing-bloomberg-news-reports-2026-09-01/FOX 5 New York's interview with the family of Times Square killer Pamela Cisneros: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LfyLQ23vipkOur past coverage of Sharon Myers: https://art19.com/shows/murder-sheet/episodes/d83e1587-f199-4089-bd02-8cecc30e82fbMore of our coverage on the murder of Sharon Myers: https://art19.com/shows/murder-sheet/episodes/a149866f-eac2-4c45-9f81-7ac3df611863Check out our upcoming book events and get links to buy tickets here: https://murdersheetpodcast.com/eventsPre-order our book on Delphi here: https://bookshop.org/p/books/shadow-of-the-bridge-the-delphi-murders-and-the-dark-side-of-the-american-heartland-aine-cain/21866881?ean=9781639369232Or here: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Shadow-of-the-Bridge/Aine-Cain/9781639369232Or here: https://www.amazon.com/Shadow-Bridge-Murders-American-Heartland/dp/1639369236Join our Patreon here! https://www.patreon.com/c/murdersheetSupport The Murder Sheet by buying a t-shirt here: https://www.murdersheetshop.com/Check out more inclusive sizing and t-shirt and merchandising options here: https://themurdersheet.dashery.com/Send tips to murdersheet@gmail.com.The Murder Sheet is a production of Mystery Sheet LLC.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
This episode contains discussion about suicide, death and the killing of children. Please take care.The fate of a 36 year-old, former nurse from Massachusetts is in the hands of a 9-women 3-men jury in a Plymouth courthouse who's been deliberating since last Friday.Lindsay Clancy admitted to killing her three children in January of 2023, but claims she was in a state of postpartum psychosis when she did it. Her defence argues she was misdiagnosed by the healthcare system and was not in her right mind, while the prosecution argues Clancy knew what she was doing. Host Maria Kestane is speaking to Michael Casey from the Associated Press, who's been covering the trial. They discuss the mood in and outside of the courthouse, the possibility for a mistrial, and how the case has expanded the conversation of maternal mental health. If you or someone you know is struggling, call 988 for Canada's suicide hotline, or visit Postpartum Support International to be connected to resources for mothers. We love feedback at The Big Story, as well as suggestions for future episodes. You can find us:Through email at hello@thebigstorypodcast.ca Or @thebigstory.bsky.social on Bluesky Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
A big sell-off in the global bond market has pushed borrowing costs to their highest point in years. The Wall Street Journal's Chelsey Dulaney explains what it means for your money. Iran and the U.S. are trading military blows again after a lull in fighting. The Associated Press reports on how Tehran has accused the U.S. of striking a wedding party. People in the U.S. are dying from heat much more often than official counts show, according to an investigation by NPR. The broadcaster’s Alejandra Borunda joins to discuss the story. Plus, jurors in the Lindsay Clancy trial said they are still deadlocked, the USS Abraham Lincoln arrived at a Thai resort after a record deployment, and the NBA delivered its biggest-ever punishment to the Los Angeles Clippers. Today’s episode was hosted by Gideon Resnick.
Ben Garrett and Brad Logan are LIVE for an all-new edition of Talk of Champions. Teresa Walker of the Associated Press joins.Our Sponsors:* Check out BetterHelp: https://www.betterhelp.com* Check out MyBookie and use my code TOC for a great deal: https://www.mybookie.ag* Check out Quince and use my code quince.com/TOC for a great deal: https://www.quince.comAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
In this episode of the Camp Counselors Podcast, we spiral into wedding planning panic mode after a major curveball changes everything! We get real about the highs and lows of planning our big day. Then, we share a heartfelt tribute to the late, great Dolly Parton, discussing her incredible legacy of philanthropy and the sparkle she brought to the world. Plus so much more. Episode 196 of Camp Counselors Podcast was mixed and edited by Kevin Betts.Want BONUS CONTENT? Join our PATREON! Explore everything Camp Shady Birch has to offer at CampShadyBirch.com!Sponsors:➜ Go to Progressive.com to see if you could save on insurance.➜ Go to REVOLVE.com/CAMP to shop and use code CAMP for 15% off your entire order.Works Cited:➜ Cain, Sian. “‘I Just Give from My Heart': How Dolly Parton's Philanthropy Focused Most on Helping Children.” The Guardian, 26 Aug. 2026.➜ Kruesi, Kimberlee. “How This Massachusetts Sanctuary Takes in Hundreds of Guinea Pigs from across the US.” Associated Press, 18 Aug. 2026.Camp Songs:Spotify Playlist | YouTube Playlist | Sammich's Secret MixtapeSocial Media:Camp Counselors TikTokCamp Counselors InstagramCamp Counselors FacebookCamp Counselors TwitterSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
A coalition of roughly 20 news organizations banded together in the spring of 2023 and asked to formally intervene in the Bryan Kohberger case so they could challenge the sweeping nondissemination order restricting what attorneys, law enforcement officers, investigators and others connected to the prosecution could say publicly. The coalition included the Associated Press, The New York Times, The Washington Post, ABC, the Seattle Times, the Spokesman-Review, the Idaho Press Club, EastIdahoNews.com and numerous television and journalism organizations. Their argument was straightforward: the gag order directly affected the media's ability to gather and report information about one of the most closely watched criminal cases in the country, yet the press had not been given an opportunity to object when prosecutors and Kohberger's defense agreed to the restrictions. The media initially took the dispute to the Idaho Supreme Court, which declined to immediately invalidate the order on procedural grounds but recognized that an overbroad or insufficiently tailored gag order could unconstitutionally interfere with news gathering. The coalition then returned to the trial court and formally moved to intervene so it could challenge the order there.Judge John Judge ultimately granted the media coalition permission to intervene, but only for the limited purpose of litigating the nondissemination order rather than becoming a full-fledged party to Kohberger's criminal prosecution. That distinction mattered: the news organizations were not being allowed to litigate guilt, evidence or other substantive issues between the State and Kohberger, but they were given standing to argue that court restrictions affecting public access and press freedom were unconstitutional or unnecessarily broad. The intervention became part of a much larger struggle over transparency in the case, eventually extending into disputes over cameras, courtroom photography and access to court records. In practical terms, the media organizations recognized that their interests were not always going to be represented by either prosecutors or the defense, so competitors that normally fought each other for stories joined forces to defend a common principle: if a court order restricted the public's ability to learn about the prosecution, the press wanted a seat at the table when that restriction was challenged.to contact me:bobbycapucci@protonmail.com
As Tarrant County's Republican-dominated Commissioners Court slashes polling locations for Election Day, that bellwether county becomes the epicenter of the midterm paritisan struggle across Texas. Yet another death happens in the Tarrant County Jail, even as Sheriff Bill Waybourne is lauded with a plaque. And a Tarrant GOP nominee for the State House is being pressure to resign from leading a charter school board over her own racist social media posts.Associated Press: https://abcnews.com/Politics/wireStory/plan-cut-number-polling-sites-major-texas-county-136078582Democracy Docket: https://www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/a-deliberate-barrier-texas-battleground-county-cuts-30-of-midterm-voting-locations/KERA Dallas: https://www.keranews.org/news/2026-09-01/tarrant-county-residents-rally-to-protest-jail-deaths-days-after-woman-dies-in-custodyFort Worth Star-Telegram: https://www.star-telegram.com/news/local/education/article317080564.htmlThe election approaches! Confirm your registration and make your voting plan NOW at GoVoteTexas.org. And see a handy ballot customizable to your home address from the Texas Tribune at https://apps.texastribune.org/features/2026/texas-general-election-ballot-november-2026/.Check out the Substack version of the Daily Dispatch, which delivers each pod to your inbox and frequently includes extra video goodies: https://substack.com/@progresstexasProgress Texas is now part of the lineups at KPFT-FM in Houston, Empower House Radio in San Antonio, and KZSM True Community Radio in San Marcos! Make a tax-deductible contribution to our radio initiative HERE.Find our web store and other ways to support our important work at https://progresstexas.org.
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that the latest U.S. attack on Iran was justified and warned of bigger strikes if Tehran retaliated. President Trump, in a Truth Social post, said the U.S. military was striking Iranian targets near the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday in retaliation for Iran's failed attempt at adding sea mines to the Strait and for shooting eight missiles at a U.S. military base in Jordan.Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) easily fended off a primary challenge from Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.), who made the 80-year-old progressive senator's age a top issue. The Associated Press called the race for Markey at 8:31 pm on Tuesday night. With just three percent of the vote counted, Markey led with 74.2 percent to Moulton's 25.8 percent. The race was an outlier from the norms seen in Democratic races this cycle.U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright said on Tuesday that he expects Venezuela's oil production to more than double under new agreements with foreign oil companies. Wright posted on X that he had arrived in Caracas on a state visit for “advancing new energy deals” and “strengthening energy security” across the hemisphere.
On this episode of the South Carolina Lede for September 1, 2026: the Associated Press reports that on Congress' to-do list is likely a stopgap funding bill to keep things funded through early December; we may see the Senate-approved, expanded Russian sanctions bill, named after Sen. Lindsey Graham; we'll also be watching to see how Congress handles the pending deadline for the recriminalization of hemp-derived THC products; and more!
There's no question that fentanyl is killing New Mexicans. But how is it getting onto our streets, and what can law enforcement do to stop it? Chris and Gabby talk with Albuquerque Public Safety Director and former FBI Special Agent in Charge, Raul Bujanda, about the city's fight against fentanyl and the role of the border in drug trafficking. Bujanda shares his perspective on what law enforcement is doing to combat a crisis that continues to devastate communities. We also dig into a recent Associated Press investigation that raised troubling questions about DEA agents allowing massive fentanyl shipments to continue moving through New Mexico as part of investigations into larger trafficking networks. The reporting has sparked public outrage and calls for investigations and accountability from state leaders. When does a law-enforcement strategy designed to catch major traffickers put the public at risk? And who's responsible for protecting New Mexicans from deadly fentanyl? Thanks for listening. If you've got an idea, send it to us at chris.mckee@krqe.com or gabrielle.burkhart@krqe.com. Give us a follow on social media at @ChrisMcKeeTV and @gburkNM. Watch or listen to our prior podcasts online at KRQE.com/insiders and our KRQE YouTube channel, or on broadcast TV every Wednesday at 10:35 p.m. MST on Fox.
On this Sept. 1, 2026 episode of Under the Dome, The News & Observer's North Carolina politics podcast, host and Capitol bureau chief Dawn Vaughan talks with longtime reporter Gary Robertson, who covered the General Assembly for 25 years for the Associated Press and is the most recent Press Corps president. Major changes in power over the decades, and what the major names today were like before they made it big. Plus Dawn and Gary's sports-themed picks for Headliner of the Week. Host: Dawn Vaughan Guest: Gary Robertson Producer: Kevin Keister Want even more North Carolina politics news? Our Under the Dome newsletter dives deep into all things #ncpol and legislative happenings. It's sent to your inbox Sunday to Friday. Sign up here. Please consider supporting local journalism with a subscription to The N&O. If you're already a subscriber, thank you! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
An agreement was officially announced between United Arab List leader MK Mansour Abbas and former Yesh Atid MK Yoav Segalovitz to run together in the upcoming Knesset election. What impact will the deal have on Israel's standing in the world? KAN's David Ze'ev discussed that with former longtime Associated Press journalist, and a past Foreign Press Association head in Israel, Dan Perry. (Photo: Mansour Abbas, right, and Yoav Segalovitz. Michael Giladi/Flash90)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Was it just a matter of time before circumstances caused the flooding disaster in Nepal? Alton Byers is a mountain geographer and a faculty research scientist at the Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research at the University of Colorado in Boulder. He specializes in applied research, high altitude ecosystems, glacier hazards, and implementation of integrated conservation and development programs in the Himalayas, Andes, and East African Highlands. He's told the Associated Press that climate change is affecting the structure of mountain geology around the world.
During the late 1960s and early 1970s, Stamford, Connecticut was terrorized by a killer who was strangling women and leaving their bodies by the side of the parkway. After four years and five confirmed victims, police arrested a local self-proclaimed preacher named Benjamin Miller, bringing the murders to an end and closing the case on what the press had dubbed the Bra Murders—or so they thought. From the moment Miller was arrested, there were some in the community who questioned whether the police had arrested the right man or if they'd simply chosen Miller as a scapegoat. Among other things, Miller had a long history of mental illness and, although he had initially confessed to the murders, he eventually recanted his confession and claimed that detectives had manipulated him into confessing. To this day, many Connecticut residents still wonder whether Benjamin Miller was really responsible for the Bra Murders, or if the real killer was allowed to walk free. References Arnold, Martin. 1972. "A 'minister' is seized in 5 Connecticut stranglings." New York Times, March 18: 64. Associated Press. 1973. "Miller ordered to mental institution." Stamford Advocate, March 31: 3. —. 1972. "Black citizens prodded investigation." The Journal (Meriden, CT), March 18: 5. Buffa, Denise. 1989. "Ex-postal worker freed in 'Bra Murders'." Stamford Advocate, May 9: 1. —. 1989. "Maintaining his innocence." Stamford Advocate, May 21: 1. —. 1989. "State may not try suspect in '73 deaths." Stamford Advocate, April 4: 1. Connecticut Post. 1972. "Mental patient accused of slaying five women." Connecticut Post, March 17: 1. —. 1971. "Stamford eyes slaying's link to 'Bra Murders'." Connecticut Post, July 13: 2. —. 1971. "Strangler's 5th victim found in parkway woods." Connecticut Post, August 23: 1. —. 1969. "Troopers set skull identity." Connecticut Post, April 11: 1. —. 1969. "Woman's skeleton found in 3rd parkway mystery." Connecticut Post, April 5: 1. Gold, Julie Anne. 1982. "Figure in murders seeking his release." Stamford Advocate, December 17: 1. Gombossy, George. 1989. "Doubt clouds 'solved'Stamford slayings." Hartfort Courant, May 28: 333. Greenhouse, Linda. 1971. "Police seek clue to Stamford murders." New York Times, August 29: 38. Neenan, Julia McNamee. 1983. "Defense: 'parkway bra murders' case to be appealed." Stamfor Advocate, November 5: 7. —. 1983. "New trial denied in parkway slayings." Stamford Advocate, October 20: 1. Peterson, Lisa Marie. 1988. "Ex-postal clerk may go free in 'Bra Murders' case." Stamford Advocate, May 25: 1. Ressler, Marcy, and Frank Fedeli. 1981. "Police say body found near Merritt Parkway may be missing woman." Stamford Advocate, August 21: 1. Ross, Don. 1973. "Bra killer insane, sent to instiution." Stamford Advocate, January 31: 1. Seminoff, Nick. 1972. "Norwalk man charged on 5 counts in Merritt Parkway 'Bra' Murders." Stamford Advocate, March 17: 1. Stamford Advocate. 1972. "Attempted murder charge follows parkway assault." Stamford Advocate, July 29: 1. —. 1972. "Bra suspect is competent." Stamford Advocate, May 12: 1. —. 1971. "'Concerned Black Citizens' urge intense murder probe." Stamford Advocate, August 27: 1. —. 1971. "Mayor says police push murder probe." Stamford Advocate, August 30: 1. —. 1972. "Murder suspect back in hospital." Stamford Advocate, March 20: 12. —. 1971. "'Parkway Bra Murders' probe continues." Stamford Advocate, December 29: 17. —. 1968. "Slaying victim was scheduled in court today." Stamford Advocate, May 6: 1. —. 1971. "Stamford woman strangled." Stamford Advocate, August 23: 1. Thompson, M. Cordell. 1972. "Police arrest white preacher in bizarre Conn. murder cases." Jet, April 6: 52. Cowritten by Alaina Urquhart, Ash Kelley & Dave White (Since 10/2022)Produced & Edited by Mikie Sirois (Since 2023)Research by Dave White (Since 10/2022), Alaina Urquhart & Ash KelleyListener Correspondence & Collaboration by Debra LallyListener Tale Video Edited by Aidan McElman (Since 6/2025) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
The Washington Post’s Evan Halper unpacks what’s known about an unusual deal by the Trump administration to take more direct control of Venezuelan oil reserves. Rescue teams are still searching for thousands of missing people in Nepal after last week’s catastrophic flooding. Ishaan Tharoor with the New Yorker talks about how Nepalese people are paying the price for climate change despite having barely contributed to global warming. Ahead of preparing to deploy gloves that deliver electric shocks to control detainees and protesters, ICE has broken monthly arrest records during the second Trump term. Ryan Foley with the Associated Press discusses its plans. Plus, the U.S. engaged in its first military action in Iran in weeks, NASA launched a new telescope, and the Grand Ole Opry celebrated Dolly Parton. Today’s episode was hosted by Yasmeen Khan.
The head of Seattle Public Schools is calling out the teachers' union for voting to strike. Seattle Times lies about initiative to restore parental rights. Associated Press introduces a new awards category for trans propaganda. Seattle mayor survives recall effort.
Rural Health News is a weekly segment of Rural Health Today, a podcast by Hillsdale Hospital. News sources for this episode: Twilight Greenaway Et al., “Hurricane Lala Passes Big Island: Hawaiʻi Spared From Direct Hit,” August 15, 2026, https://www.civilbeat.org/2026/08/hurricane-lala-brings-rain-and-strong-winds-thousands-on-hawaii-island-lose-power/, Honolulu Civil Beat. Joseph S. Pete, “2 Methodist Hospitals campuses have power again, offering public food and services,” August 18, 2026, https://nwitimes.com/news/local/lake/article_58a16c9f-b147-427c-bed9-9007ad31f581.html?utm_campaign=snd-autopilot&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook_The_Times_of_Northwest_Indiana&fbclid=IwY2xjawT9erNwZG9mAWV4dG4DYWVtAjEwAHNydGMGYXBwX2lkEDIyMjAzOTE3ODgyMDA4OTIAAR4BcplBpGKi72APyCMIiTHemUnNCkZM9vFSlXN-Wzg6GYqmTX86J6DqJ35WCA_aem_knYqaiBHKDJx0OGlMzTrlQ, NWI Times. Aaron Dorman, “Power Down,” August 26, 2026, https://chicagohealthonline.com/northwest-indiana-storms-power-outage-health/, Chicago Health. The Associated Press, “'Survival mode': Indiana residents endure a ninth day without power,” August 21, 2026, https://www.wunc.org/2026-08-21/survival-mode-indiana-residents-endure-a-ninth-day-without-power, WUNC News. Kristiane Huber, “How States Are Navigating the Intersection of Disasters and Public Health,” May 5, 2026, https://www.pew.org/en/research-and-analysis/articles/2026/05/05/how-states-are-navigating-the-intersection-of-disasters-and-public-health, The Pew Charitable Trust. American Hospital Association, “Fact Sheet: Facility Fees,” February 2025, https://www.aha.org/fact-sheets/2025-02-20-fact-sheet-facility-fees. Stephen Abresch, “Michigan Introduces Facility Fee Restriction Legislation,” April 10, 2026, https://archive.ascfocus.org/content2/articles-content/articles/2026/digital-debut/michigan-introduces-facility-fee-restriction-legislation, ASC Focus. Jayme Lozano Carver, “Lack of broadband service, funding gives rise to telehealth services in rural clinics,” August 6, 2026, https://www.texastribune.org/2026/08/06/rural-texas-telehealth-services-broadband-access/, The Texas Tribune. Rural Health Today is a production of Hillsdale Hospital in Hillsdale, Michigan and a member of the Health Podcast Network. Our host is JJ Hodshire, our producer is Kyrsten Newlon, and our audio engineer is Kenji Ulmer. Special thanks to our special guests for sharing their expertise on the show, and also to the Hillsdale Hospital marketing team. If you want to submit a question for us to answer on the podcast or learn more about Rural Health Today, visit ruralhealthtoday.com.
When tourists found an abandoned bicycle on a remote track in Australia's Great Sandy Desert, it triggered one of the strangest missing person searches in outback history — police, aircraft, and Aboriginal trackers combing the Kimberley for a man who had vanished without telling anyone where he was going. Twelve days in, the search was called off and his family was told he was almost certainly dead, so they hired a private American wilderness rescue team led by a man who insisted on being called Gunslinger. What none of them knew was that he had walked into the desert deliberately, on a spiritual quest, and had no idea anyone was searching for him at all. Forty-three days of starvation, dehydration and roughly 250 miles on foot later, a helicopter found him alive — and set off a fight that reached the Premier of Western Australia, while the man who led the rescue turned out to have invented his entire past. Twenty-five years on, one of the trackers who searched for him asked him for a single word, and what he said instead is still an uncomfortable part of this story.Timestamps: 00:00 Podcast Intro Setup00:30 Mud Water In The Desert02:22 Abandoned Bike Mystery03:18 No One Knew The Plan06:36 Spiritual Quest Revealed07:34 Search Begins With Trackers09:27 Media Frenzy And Survival Math10:28 Search Called Off Parents React11:57 Gunslinger Arrives Private Team15:06 Fresh Tracks And Desert Ordeal18:52 Help Sign And Found Alive21:49 News Crew Rescue Controversy25:10 Hospital Risks Refeeding27:22 Costs Rumors And Apology30:04 Gunslinger Exposed As Fraud33:27 The Tracker Story And Apology35:26 Final Reflections And OutroREFERENCESParke, Erin. Expanse: Nowhere Man. ABC listen, 2025.Parke, Erin. "Finding Robert Bogucki, the man who disappeared on purpose." ABC News, 6 July 2025. Sweeney, Lucy, and Erin Parke. "The strange story of Garrison 'Gunslinger' St Clair, the American sent to find Robert Bogucki." ABC News, 23 August 2025. Lowth, Adrienne. "Channel Nine under fire over Bogucki actions." ABC Radio PM, 24 August 1999.Media Watch. ABC Television, 30 August 1999."American found after outback odyssey." BBC News, 23 August 1999. Associated Press. "Wanderer May Have To Foot Bill." CBS News, 26 August 1999. Morgan, Curtis. "Daring rescuer dogged by a questionable past." Miami Herald, 21 May 2000.Orr, Stephen. The Fierce Country. Wakefield Press, 2018.Adshead, Gary. "Finding Bogucki: The fallout, the stuff-ups and a tinderbox of tension." The Age, 3 September 2023."Calvert Scientific Exploring Expedition (1896)." Encyclopedia of Australian Science and Innovation.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-crux-true-survival-stories--7265181/support.Listen AD FREE: Support our podcast at patreon: http://patreon.com/TheCruxTrueSurvivalPodcastEmail us! thecruxsurvival@gmail.comInstagram https://www.instagram.com/thecruxpodcast/Get schooled by Julie in wilderness medicine! https://www.headwatersfieldmedicine.com/This episode includes AI-generated content.
In this episode of DISINFORMATION WARS, host Ilan Berman speaks with AFPC Senior Fellow Thomas Kent about his new book, The Propaganda Manual of the Ukraine War, and about how the Kremlin is weaponizing information in the context of Ukraine... and beyond. MATERIALS REFERENCED IN THIS EPISODE:Thomas Kent, The Propaganda Manual of the Ukraine War: Information Warfare by Russia, Ukraine, and Western Nations - Lessons Learned for Future Conflicts (AFPC Press, 2026), https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-propaganda-manual-of-the-ukraine-war-information-warfare-by-russia-ukraine-and-western-nations-lessons-learned-for-future-conflicts-thomas-kent/b6406493de2e6bda?ean=9781968919498BIO: Thomas Kent joined the American Foreign Policy Council in February 2024 as Senior Fellow for Strategic Communication. He is a specialist in Russian propaganda, the world information war, international journalism, and media ethics. He teaches at Columbia University about disinformation, and consults for governments, NGOs, news organizations and corporations.Until 2018, Kent was president and CEO of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, a congressionally-financed company providing independent news in 27 languages to 23 countries. Before that, he was a correspondent and executive at the Associated Press, serving as standards (ethics) editor, deputy managing editor, head of international news, Moscow bureau chief, chief of operations in Iran during the Islamic Revolution, and NATO and European Union correspondent.
Ralph Russo, formerly of the Associated Press and now at The Athletic, researched how many teams from the preseason AP Top 25 would have made the College Football Playoff in each of the 10 years before the playoff expanded in 2024. Here's what he found. On average, the CFP field would have consisted of: 4 of the top-5 teams in the preseason AP Poll2 of the teams ranked from 6-10 in the preseason AP Poll2 of the teams ranked from 11-20 in the preseason AP Poll1 of the teams ranked from 21-25 in the preseason AP Poll3 teams not ranked at all in the preseason AP PollTony Gerdeman of BuckeyeInsiders.com joins host Tom Orr to use these guidelines to pick the 2026 College Football Playoff field, and they come up with some very different answers. Want to try your hand at it? The categories are listed below.AP Preseason Top 5 (Pick 4 of these): Ohio State, Georgia, Oregon, Notre Dame, Texas AP Preseason 6-10 (Pick 2 of these): Indiana, Miami, Texas A&M, Ole Miss, Oklahoma AP Preseason 11-20 (Pick 2 of these): LSU, Texas Tech, Alabama, BYU, USC, Michigan, Washington, Penn State, SMU, Tennessee AP Preseason 21-25 (Pick 1 of these): Utah, Iowa, Houston, Louisville, Missouri Unranked in the preseason AP Poll (pick 3 teams not listed above)
It's Friday, August 28th, A.D. 2026. This is The Worldview in 5 Minutes heard on 140 radio stations and at www.TheWorldview.com. I'm Adam McManus. (Adam@TheWorldview.com) By Adam McManus Nigerian Christian farmers are being targeted by Fulani Muslims For many Christian farmers in the Plateau State of Nigeria, traveling to their own farms has become dangerous, reports International Christian Concern. Some have stopped going altogether. Others now move in groups, hoping that numbers will offer some protection. But for families who depend on agriculture for survival, abandoning their land is not an easy choice. The fear has grown following a series of attacks by armed men suspected to be Fulani Muslim militias which have targeted farmers traveling to and from their fields. On July 30, according to Christian leader Joseph Yonkpa, 60-year-old Christian farmer Bulus Turu was “attacked and macheted while returning from his farm.” At least 27 people have been killed in ambushes, many of whom were Christian farmers traveling to their farms. Yohana Boh, a community leader, said, “We received early warning, but the Nigerian Army ignored it. We can't sleep. We can't farm. We're calling for help.” Send a polite, 4-sentence note to Lateef Kayode, the Nigerian Ambassador to America, asking him to urge his government to protect the Christian farmers there. Address your letter to the Nigerian Embassy, 3519 International Court, NW, Washington, DC 20008. You can find that address, and the spelling of the Nigerian Ambassador's name, in our transcript today at www.TheWorldview.com. Flash flood in Nepal killed 360 The deadly flash flood in Nepal on August 26th has killed 360 people and left 1,400 missing including 90 Americans, reports Weather.com. The flood was likely caused by a huge chunk of a glacier that broke off and temporarily dammed a river. That may have led to the backed-up water surging downstream with enormous force a few hours later. In fact, water levels in rivers across the flood-affected region rose by as much as 29.5 feet in 30 minutes. The U.S. State Department said it is not aware of any U.S. deaths, but three Americans have been rescued. Hundreds have lost their homes across the Himalayan region, and officials reported large-scale damage to critical infrastructure, including hydropower dams, roads, buildings and bridges in the region. US Patriot missile stocks in Europe are ‘beyond critical' due to Iran war An unnamed U.S. defense official in Europe and an unnamed NATO official told the Associated Press that the U.S. military is experiencing a “beyond critical” shortage of advanced missile interceptors in Europe largely driven by President Donald Trump's war with Iran. This raises concerns about vulnerabilities in NATO countries to a potential Russian attack. The U.S. defense official said the most concerning shortfall involves Patriot missile interceptors, which can shoot down Russia's high-speed ballistic missiles. The NATO official confirmed the low inventories of Patriots among American and NATO forces in Europe. President Trump renames Lake Ontario to Lake America On August 27th, President Donald Trump said he is renaming Lake Ontario to be known as “Lake America” in the United States as he escalates his trade war with Canada, reports the Associated Press. The president signed an executive order directing the Interior Department to update the lake's name in the U.S. geographic naming service. Girl Scouts promotes Islam The Girl Scouts organization in America already has plunged neck-deep into transgenderism and abortion, with ideologies that support such leftist agendas. Now, the group is jumping into Islam, reports WorldNetDaily.com. An online report confirmed the Girls Scouts are offering "badges" that are earned by little girls when they visit mosques and learn the "Pillars of Islam." Not surprisingly, social media commenters were outraged. Turning Point USA, founded by Charlie Kirk, tweeted, “Nothing says Girl Scouts of AMERICA like learning the pillars of Islam.” And another wrote, “Never buy Girl Scout cookies again.” According to a new investigation by Natalie Winters, the White House correspondent for Steve Bannon's War Room, she documented that, "Girl Scout troops across the U.S. are incorporating Islamic religious instruction, prayer and activities, [like wearing the hijab head covering and participating in the Ramadan fast] into scouting programs.” Winters reported, "Girl Scouts Heart of Central California knew about the Sacramento Area League of Associated Muslims' religious integration years earlier. The council's 2009 annual report said that four troops with 30 girls began … [incorporating] Girl Scouting into the mosque's youth programming. It highlighted a Ramadan sleepover involving fasting and girls 'praying through the night.'" The examples appear to involve individual troops and local councils rather than a nationwide requirement imposed on all Girl Scouts. However, there is a "nationwide pattern of Girl Scout troops based at mosques incorporating Islamic prayer, Quranic instruction, and lessons on hijab into activities conducted under the Girl Scouts banner." In Exodus 20:3, God said, “You shall have no other gods before Me.” And, to be sure, Allah, the Islamic god, is not the one true God. Mom banned from school after protesting push of sexual perversion And finally, an Oregon mother is suing Portland Public Schools for banning her from her children's elementary school for protesting its promotion of homosexual transgender “pride,” reports LifeSiteNews.com. The Oregonian reports that Allison Roberts, who has two children at Meriwether Lewis Elementary School, took issue with benches painted with “Intersex-Inclusive Progress Pride” rainbow designs. She also objected to an assignment in which one of her kids was tasked with filling out an “identity flower” exercise including gender. After a meeting with school officials to discuss her concerns, she began distributing letters about the situation outside the school, leading to a “heated exchange” with one parent. That led to a one-year trespass order keeping her off the grounds ostensibly for “threatening and intimidating members of the school community” with “harmful, unlawful and/or disruptive behavior.” As a result, Roberts was forced to miss one of her children's graduations from elementary school. Now, she is suing to reverse the trespass order and secure her rights to engage in free speech about her children's education. Mrs. Roberts should prayerfully consider pulling her children out of the pro-perversion government schools and homeschool them instead. Proverbs 22:6 says, “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it." Close And that's The Worldview on this Friday, August 28th, in the year of our Lord 2026. Subscribe for free by Spotify, Amazon Music, or by iTunes or email to our unique Christian newscast at www.TheWorldview.com. Plus, you can get the Generations app through Google Play or The App Store. I'm Adam McManus (Adam@TheWorldview.com). Seize the day for Jesus Christ
Yesterday, we heard from former USAID administrator Dr. Atul Gawande about the lives lost because of the gutting of the United States Agency for International Development. On today's show, we focus on people in Nepal and their experiences before and after the cuts to foreign assistance. In Nepal, USAID helped fund organizations whose efforts centered on fighting the spread of HIV/AIDS. And some of those organizations employed transgender aid workers, who are living in a country where existing outside the gender binary is generally forbidden. But after the cuts to USAID, many of these trans women have resorted to sex work – putting themselves at risk for the same disease they worked so hard to stop. To learn more about their stories, we spoke with Kristen Gelineau, a global investigative reporter for the Associated Press who visited Nepal in the spring.And in headlines, hundreds of people have been killed in flash floods that swept through the Nepal-China border, President Donald Trump announced Lake Ontario will now be known as Lake America, and Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt gets ready to leave the White House.Show Notes: Check out Kristen's work – tinyurl.com/ybc78uka Call Congress – 202-224-3121 Subscribe to the What A Day Newsletter – https://tinyurl.com/y4y2e9jy What A Day – YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcast Follow us on Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/crookedmedia/ For a transcript of this episode, please email transcripts@crooked.com
It's Thursday, August 27th, A.D. 2026. This is The Worldview in 5 Minutes heard on 140 radio stations and at www.TheWorldview.com. I'm Adam McManus. (Adam@TheWorldview.com) By Jonathan Clark and Adam McManus Haitian gang members killed 50 people in church Gang members attacked a church in Haiti on Sunday, killing nearly 50 people. Displaced people were sheltering in the building of Church of the Ark of the New Covenant. The evangelical church is located near Haiti's capital, Port-au-Prince. Up to 90 percent of the area is controlled by gangs. The gang members killed 47 people and injured another 22 people. Please pray for Christians in Haiti who face much of the widespread gang violence in the country. In John 10:10, Jesus said, “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” Germany first country to display Muslim prayer times on official signs Evangelical Focus reports a German town became the first in the country to display Muslim prayer times on its official signs. The municipality of Penzberg previously listed Sunday service times for the Catholic and Lutheran parishes in town. Signage now includes prayer times for the local mosque established in 1990. Muslims with a migrant background make up about eight percent of Germany's population, up from five percent in 2016. New U.S. economic sanctions against Iran The Trump administration announced aggressive economic sanctions against Iran on Monday. Operation Economic Outcast aims to cut Iran's financial connections with the rest of the world. The sanctions will also affect any country doing business with the regime. Listen to comments from Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. BESSENT: “We want to make clear here today that no one is above the reach of U.S. sanctions. That if they facilitate transactions and are part of the ecosystem that turns Iranian oil into money, into repression, they will be targeted.” Facebook/Instagram pay $18 billion over addictive algorithms for kids Meta Platforms agreed to pay up to $18 billion over the next decade in a settlement announced yesterday. Nearly every U.S. state accused the social media company of designing its platforms to be addictive to children. The tech giant is being held accountable for the role its platforms played in undermining children's mental health. These platforms include Facebook and Instagram. California will get the largest sum of $1.5 billion, but several other states will still collect hundreds of millions of dollars each over the decade. The money will be used to pay for legal fees, mental health care for children, after-school programs, and education about the risks of social media use. According to the Associated Press, Meta will eliminate push notifications during weekday school hours and bring in “robust” age-assurance measures and “age-appropriate” content controls to prevent bullying and harmful material about eating disorders and self-harm. The case also argued that Meta violated federal laws by routinely collecting data on children under 13 without their parents' consent. As part of the settlement, Meta agreed to limit teenagers' use of Instagram and Facebook to a couple of hours a day. 1,235 assisted suicide deaths in California last year The state of California reported 1,235 assisted suicide deaths last year. The death toll is up nearly 150 percent over the past five years. The California End of Life Option Act allows adults, expected to live six months or less, to obtain life-ending drugs. The state has authorized the deaths of at least 6,758 people since the law went into effect in 2016. 3 California homeschoolers sue over prohibition from participation Three homeschool families petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court last week after California excluded them from a state program. Some of California's tuition-free charter schools allow homeschool academy programs. However, families cannot use state funds from these charter schools for religious curriculum. In one case, the state rejected a grammar exercise simply because it used the sentence: “God sends the rain to help plants grow.” Acts 14:17 says God “did not leave Himself without witness, in that He did good, gave us rain from Heaven and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness.” Protestant churches are multigenerational Most Protestant churches report being multigenerational. A survey from Lifeway Research found 91 percent of churchgoers agree their church has a good number of active members from all generations. Seventy-eight percent of pastors also agree. Being multigenerational was more frequently reported by pastors of larger churches, younger pastors, and evangelical pastors. Dolly Parton, who died at 80, championed a false gospel And finally, PARTON: “Workin' 9 to 5, what a way to make a livin' Barely gettin' by, it's all takin' and no givin'” Dolly Parton, the country singer, actress, and businesswoman, died peacefully at her home in Nashville, Tennessee on Tuesday. She was 80 years old. Known as the Queen of Country, the singer-songwriter is among one of the best-selling music artists of all time. She wrote and sang this song in 1974 which Whitney Houston would later famously cover. PARTON: “And I will always love you I will always love you.” Parton grew up in a Pentecostal church and described herself as a person of faith. PARTON: “My grandpa was a preacher. So, my grandpa pastored this little church called the House of Prayer. He was a very positive, uplifting person. And I learned to love Jesus, and learned that Jesus loved me when I was a little bitty kid. “And all those things that Mama used to say, you know, that through God all things are possible. I kept all those things kind of tucked away into my subconscious mind and in my heart. And those are the things that have helped me through the years. I never do anything that I don't pray about it, and I always ask God to lead me and to show me and direct me into what I'm doing.” She was married to her husband Carl Thomas Dean for nearly 60 years until his death in 2025. As a philanthropist, Parton supported children's literacy and medical research. Sadly, she was also known as an advocate for unbiblical causes like homosexual behavior and faux homosexual marriage. Appearing with Larry King, she defended homosexuality. KING: “Didn't you recently, though, throw support to the [Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender] community?” PARTON: “Oh, I've always encouraged, not encouraged. They've made me the poster child I think only because I'm so outspoken as far as just being accepting of people in general. “I do not believe that we should criticize and judge other people. I think we should be accepting and loving. We are all God's children. We are who we are, and we should allow, be allowed to be who we are.” Kate Newman, a Christian YouTuber, objected to Parton's bad theology, referencing John 1:12. NEWMAN: “We are not all children of God, contrary to popular belief. We receive the Spirit of adoption from God when we receive Jesus as our Lord and Savior, and we are led by His Holy Spirit. But until then, we're actually all children of the devil.” Larry King asked Dolly Parton this follow-up question. KING: “Did any of the faith-based communities that deeply believe the other way take umbrage with you?” PARTON: “Oh, absolutely. KING: “They did?” PARTON: “Oh, yes. I get it all the time. I keep saying, ‘Well, if you're the fine Christian that you think you are, why are you judging people? That's God's job. We're not God. We're not judges.' You know, we're supposed to love one another. We're supposed to not judge. “If you're gay, you're gay. If you're straight, you're straight. And you should be allowed to be, you know, how how you are and who you are.” In 2024, Ericka Andersen wrote a column for The Federalist entitled “There's nothing loving about Dolly Parton's false gospel.” She argued that, “Parton's version of love, which includes condoning immoral sexual behavior is unaligned with God's vision for humanity. Like so many secularized spiritual leaders, Parton equates love with agreement, but the two are not reciprocal. Love doesn't mean we must accept sinfulness as good to avoid hurting someone's feelings. “To be sure, the culture is on a constant witch hunt for those who would call homosexuality sinful. I understand wanting to avoid the avalanche of criticism, but calling sin out by name isn't judgment. It's adhering to Scripture. “She's right that all should be treated with love and kindness, but when we refuse to label sin a sin, we're doing more harm than good. The gospel of Dolly Parton is popular with the masses, but don't bank your eternity on it.” Leviticus 18:22 says, “Do not have sexual relations with a man as one does with a woman; that is detestable.” Close And that's The Worldview on this Thursday, August 27th, in the year of our Lord 2026. Subscribe for free by Spotify, Amazon Music, or by iTunes or email to our unique Christian newscast at www.TheWorldview.com. Plus, you can get the Generations app through Google Play or The App Store. I'm Adam McManus (Adam@TheWorldview.com). Seize the day for Jesus Christ.
Christian Castro, the ICE agent wanted on violent felony charges in Minnesota, is likely to be released from the Cameron County Jail today as the 90-day limit on his detention expires, and Governor Greg Abbott continues to refuse to extradite him. Houston law enforcement officials failed to show at a Houston City Council inquiry into ICE cooperation by their officers. Polling shows a continued souring on Trump and the GOP among Latino communities, especially in South Texas. And the Trump DHS has said Big Bend National Park border infrastructure construction is paused at least through August - which ends on Monday.Associated Press: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/judge-denies-minnesota-bid-to-extradite-ice-officer-from-texas-paving-way-for-his-release-from-custordyThe Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/aug/26/ice-agent-shooting-texas-minnesota-extraditionNew York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/26/us/ice-christian-castro-extradite-texas-minnesota.html?smid=nytcore-android-sharePolitics Done Right: https://substack.com/home/post/p-212977206Newsweek: https://www.newsweek.com/democrats-lead-the-gop-in-three-texas-districts-trump-won-by-double-digits-12372616Marfa Public Radio: https://www.marfapublicradio.org/news/2026-08-25/big-bend-border-construction-pause-will-last-at-least-through-august-cbp-saysThis election year, you can support the real free press by investing in pro-democracy, pro-justice, pro-gressive storytelling. Become a monthly donor or increase your giving TODAY for our Summer Sustaining Donor Drive today, and we'll thank you with "perks for progress" - plus you'll get a shoutout on the Daily Dispatch! Join the Progress Texas family now at https://act.progresstexas.org/a/summersustainers26.Check out the Substack version of the Daily Dispatch, which delivers each pod to your inbox and frequently includes extra video goodies: https://substack.com/@progresstexasProgress Texas is now part of the lineups at KPFT-FM in Houston, Empower House Radio in San Antonio, and KZSM True Community Radio in San Marcos! Make a tax-deductible contribution to our radio initiative HERE.Find our web store and other ways to support our important work at https://progresstexas.org.
Meta Platforms agreed to pay a maximum of $16.68 billion and make major changes to Facebook and Instagram to resolve claims by states across the United States that the company designed those platforms to addict children, misled consumers about their safety, and improperly collected children's personal data.The settlement resolves claims brought by 29 U.S. states, and will end a federal trial that had been one of the highest-profile tests yet of allegations that social media companies harmed young users.Sen. Darline Graham (R-S.C.) on Tuesday defeated Rep. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.) in the South Carolina Republican Senate runoff for the seat held by the late Sen. Lindsay Graham.The candidate, backed by President Donald Trump, won with around 52.4 percent of the vote to Norman's 47.6 percent, with 91 percent of the votes counted, when The Associated Press called the race at 9:01 p.m.
The Frontier spoke with pollster Pat McFerron about Mike Mazzei's slim win over Gentner Drummond to secure the Republican nomination for governor. McFerron is president of the Oklahoma-based polling firm Cole Hargrave Snodgrass & Associates. For the full interview, listen to our podcast.Dylan Goforth: Let's talk about what we saw last night. It's funny: There were a lot of eyes on the election, but not so many votes. Once again, turnout in an Oklahoma runoff wasn't great, but everyone was paying attention to what happened. When you look at the runoff results, what do you think Oklahoma voters told us?Pat McFerron: I think the key takeaway is a little bit of a repudiation of the Freedom Caucus. Obviously, everyone wants to talk about the governor's race, which was very, very close. I believe it's the closest Republican runoff election we've had in the state for governor.But I think the continuation last night of support for Senate Pro Tem Lonnie Paxton — and voters increasingly siding with him over the Freedom Caucus — is probably the biggest takeaway.That, and I think you hit on it a little bit, is how few people are participating. I do think the Republican runoff election exceeded some people's expectations, but you're still talking about less than 10% of Oklahoma residents participating. It's a larger percentage of voters, but we're talking about a state of 4 million people. Less than 10% decided who is likely to be the next governor of the state.Dylan: Looking at the governor's election, Mazzei won by essentially half a percentage point. Does that look like basically a coin flip, or did you see something in the results that explains why Mazzei was able to hold off Drummond, even by the slim margin that he did?Pat: If you compare the margins — if you took out the other candidates in June and looked at the margins Drummond and Mazzei had vis-à-vis each other, then looked at what happened last night — the southeastern part of the state turned out pretty solidly and really moved toward Mazzei.In McCurtain County alone, Mazzei won by a little over 2,000 votes. He picked up 779 net votes there. So he picked up more than a third of his statewide margin in McCurtain County alone.Dylan: Do you think that's the Trump endorsement? I know southeastern Oklahoma, and I don't think of Mazzei as your typical southeastern Oklahoma candidate.Pat: It is the most Trumpian. I think the Brecheen endorsement there mattered. You also had the late Markwayne Mullin endorsement. Those are the last two congressmen there.Especially in McCurtain County, which is in the Shreveport media market, they're not seeing quite as much television advertising as some of the others are. I think they rely a little more on endorsements. So, yes, I do think that's a key part of it there.Dylan: Let's talk about the money, because I think that's an interesting part of the results. There was a lot of spending. I think Mazzei took out almost $12 million in loans. The Associated Press reported more than $14 million in television and digital advertising during the runoff, with many more millions spent before that.What did Mazzei actually buy with that money?Pat: When a race is this close, any decision on financing probably makes a difference. So, yes, I would argue that he needed it all to get there.That being said, you may recall I released numbers three weeks out that had it at 44-44. I did two other surveys that I did not release that had it at 45-45, and the last survey I did, which I finished last Thursday, had it at 45-45.That makes you wonder whether the money was wasted. But if it hadn't been there, you don't know what would have happened on the other side. It looks to me like he needed all of it—or almost all of it—to be successful.Dylan: Taking out $12 million in loans is enough to give you stress. But I guess when you win by 2,000 votes, you don't look back and regret taking out those loans.Pat: The worst feeling — and I've been on campaigns that have done this before—is to say, “I should have done something else. I should have put in another $100,000, or I should have done X, Y or Z. If I'd bought broadcast television in Shreveport, maybe I would have done better in McCurtain County.” Those are the things that drive you crazy.Very seldom do I have someone say, “We paid for a landslide, and I'm upset about it.”Dylan: I love a close race because it gives you so much to think about and dwell on. When you're talking about 2,000 votes, anywhere you're picking up votes is relevant, important and probably meaningful.One thing I was thinking about last night was the polling you released before the runoff. These guys had essentially been tied for a long time. I remember seeing numbers in June, and the June election results were close.What do last night's results — and the way the last six months played out — tell you about where the supporters of the other candidates went?Pat: Obviously, it means they split rather evenly.I haven't gone down to this level yet, but looking at the maps, it appeared Drummond ended up winning out west, where (Jake) Merrick and (Chip) Keating had done well. Mazzei did well on the eastern side of the state, where McCall had more support.For example, in Atoka County, it wasn't a huge difference, but compared with June, Mazzei picked up a net 294 votes. In a county where only about 1,600 people voted, that's a pretty big margin.Dylan: For people looking through the numbers today and trying to sort this out, are there any obvious mistakes you would caution them against making when interpreting the numbers?Pat: One thing that's interesting in a race this close is looking at local elections. That's something I always advise people to do.Look at the turnout in Ottawa County, for example. We actually had 58% more people vote in the August Republican runoff than voted in the June primary. They had a much larger turnout because there was a local sales-tax issue on the ballot that got 94% of the vote, I think.Their sheriff had been sued, and everybody was going to pay this big settlement through property taxes. They decided to pay it off with a sales tax instead. That meant a lot more people voted in Ottawa County.We saw the same thing in Adair County and Tahlequah, where there were some very important school bond issues on the ballot. Those were also places where more people voted in August than in June. Looking at some of those things matters when you get into a race that's this close.That's all short-term. Long term, I think one of the keys will be the involvement of the metro areas in nominating Republicans in the future.We'll see what happens with Cyndi Munson, and all due respect there, but if you look at the residents of Oklahoma, Tulsa, Cleveland and Canadian counties, they account for about 48% or 49% of all the residents in the state. They accounted for only 42% of the Republican primary voters. If you change that—and given that Drummond won those counties—he might be the nominee.Oklahoma County did turn out quite a bit more in the runoff than it did in the primary. Tulsa County did a little more, percentage-wise. But to me, that's a big question: Are we going to continue to be a state with rural dominance even though the metro areas are becoming more populated?Dylan: I want to look ahead to November. If you're advising Cyndi Munson, what does such a close split in the Republican runoff tell you about Mazzei's strengths and possible vulnerabilities? Is there anything in the results that gives a Democrat an opening or hope?Last night, I went back to look at the split between Drew Edmondson and Kevin Stitt in the 2018 governor's election. Obviously, the Munson campaign isn't going to say, “Our goal is to lose by less than Edmondson lost by.” But is that a good starting point for them to look at those results? What would you tell her to do over the next few months?Pat: I will tell you, 2018 is a lot different from 2026. With the teacher walkout and everything else, our generic-ballot test in 2018 had only about an eight-point Republican advantage. I'm at a 20-point Republican advantage in 2026.I think you have to create your own hope. But I don't think the opportunity for the Munson folks is necessarily the Gentner Drummond voters. I think it's the Republicans who stayed home, and they're a tougher group to reach as well.They're a little less engaged. They will vote Republican, but I think it'll take a little while to happen. I think we'll see the Republicans come back together.
Dolly Parton leaves us with a prime example of real Southern character - one that embraces the vulnerable and seeks to widen our circles - and she's cited by a judge who has found Texas' drag ban unconstitutional. Greg Abbott has left the residents of CD 23 without a voice in the U.S. Congress for over 130 days - and is now one day away from releasing a fugitive wanted in Minnesota onto the streets of Brownsville. And, Dan Patrick has included a revered Holocaust memoir in his list of "filthy, dirty, vulgar" books. Associated Press: https://www.ksat.com/news/2026/08/26/ice-agent-charged-with-shooting-in-minnesota-could-be-released-from-texas-jail/Houston Chronicle on the incarcerated ICE agent: https://www.houstonchronicle.com/politics/texas/article/banned-books-schools-dan-patrick-22402659.phpHouston Chronicle on CD 23: https://www.houstonchronicle.com/politics/texas-take/article/abbott-texans-congress-tony-gonzales-22403054.phpNBC News: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/judge-strikes-texas-ban-drag-shows-tells-people-offended-just-dont-go-rcna594448This election year, you can support the real free press by investing in pro-democracy, pro-justice, pro-gressive storytelling. Become a monthly donor or increase your giving TODAY for our Summer Sustaining Donor Drive today, and we'll thank you with "perks for progress" - plus you'll get a shoutout on the Daily Dispatch! Join the Progress Texas family now at https://act.progresstexas.org/a/summersustainers26.Check out the Substack version of the Daily Dispatch, which delivers each pod to your inbox and frequently includes extra video goodies: https://substack.com/@progresstexasProgress Texas is now part of the lineups at KPFT-FM in Houston, Empower House Radio in San Antonio, and KZSM True Community Radio in San Marcos! Make a tax-deductible contribution to our radio initiative HERE.Find our web store and other ways to support our important work at https://progresstexas.org.
The Trump administration is preparing to launch a mass visa revocation impacting business and tourism visas owned by up to 200,000 foreigners, the Associated Press reported, a move that would mark the largest revocation in U.S. history. Read the full story on Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/antoniopequenoiv/2026/08/24/trump-administration-preparing-for-largest-visa-revocation-in-us-history-report-says/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
In this episode, Chris Cochrane guest-hosts for his brother Ray and devotes the whole show to one event: Disney’s D23 2026 fan convention in Anaheim. Friday night delivered Marvel’s new X-Men cast, Adam Driver as Mister Sinister, a fresh Avengers: Doomsday trailer, and a release date for Frozen 3. Saturday turned to the parks, with Villains Land, an Indiana Jones dark ride, the long-awaited Expedition Everest yeti repair, and a Monsters Inc land opening in 2027. – Want to start a podcast? It’s easy to get started! Sign up at Blubrry – Thinking of buying a Starlink? Use my link to support the show. Subscribe to the Newsletter. Email Chris if you want to get in touch! Like and Follow Geek News Central’s Facebook Page. Support my Show Sponsor: Best Godaddy Promo Codes Get 1Password Full Summary Chris Cochrane opens the show and explains why this episode breaks the usual format. Instead of six or eight unrelated stories, the entire episode covers Disney’s D23 convention, which he compares to Apple’s WWDC. For newcomers, he notes that D23 is Disney’s official fan club, named for the company’s founding year of 1923. This year’s event ran two nights at the Honda Center: Friday for movies and television, Saturday for the theme parks. Marvel Finally Casts the X-Men Friday’s headline was the X-Men. The Associated Press put the crowd near 12,000, and Marvel Studios used that stage to name its rebooted team. Christopher Abbott plays Professor Charles Xavier, Inde Navarrette plays Rogue, and Maya Boyd plays Storm. Adam Driver rounds out the group as the villain Mister Sinister. Meanwhile, Samara Weaving, Kit Connor, and Sadie Sink were already known as Emma Frost, Cyclops, and Jean Grey. Jake Schreier directs, and the film arrives May 5, 2028. Chris calls the lineup spot-on casting. He singles out Weaving as a perfect match for the comics, and he points out that Sink already appeared as Jean Grey in Spider-Man: Brand New Day. Navarrette is the least established name, coming off a breakout role in an indie horror film. Boyd, meanwhile, was the name he knew least, with what he believes is a Broadway background. Above all, Chris hopes Marvel does the team justice, and he recommends the animated revival X-Men ’97 on Disney+ as the best place to start. Frozen 3 Gets a Date and a Chaotic Reveal Frozen 3 lands November 24, 2027. That is the Wednesday of Thanksgiving week, the same slot the first two films used. The story centers on Anna and Kristoff’s wedding, which a new villain, an evil Ice Queen, disrupts. Jennifer Lee returns to direct with Trent Correy, and the full voice cast is back. However, the reveal itself fell apart. Kristen Bell and Idina Menzel performed a darker arrangement of “Frozen Heart.” Meanwhile, the audio failed, the video failed, and a set of doors never opened. Menzel asked the crowd whether they should try it again, and Bell simply narrated everything that was supposed to happen. Afterward, Josh Gad sang “Oooh, Samantha,” a new love song for Olaf. Chris is here for it, since Olaf is one of the franchise’s best comic characters. Pixar, Disney Animation, and the Rest of Friday Night Pixar chief Pete Docter laid out a packed slate. Incredibles 3 hits summer 2028 and follows Violet and Dash sneaking out at night to fight crime. Chris hopes that finally shows a grown-up Jack-Jack. Coco 2 follows in November 2029 with Benjamin Bratt returning as Ernesto de la Cruz. That has fans puzzling over how a villain already in the Land of the Dead comes back. Additionally, Pixar showed an original called Ghost Market and a Venice-set cat film called Gatto. On the Disney Animation side, Zootopia 3 is confirmed. The live-action Tangled arrives March 31, 2028 with Kathryn Hahn as Mother Gothel. Chris considers that casting perfect after her turn in Agatha All Along. A live-action Lilo & Stitch sequel, a new Simpsons movie, a Bluey movie, and a Kingdom Hearts anime series round out the list. For Star Wars fans, Ahsoka returns January 20, 2027. Chris also offers a hot take: he prefers Rogue One to the entire sequel trilogy. Consequently, he welcomes original stories like Ryan Gosling’s upcoming Starfighter. Adam Driver Is Mister Sinister Driver appeared by video rather than in person. He told the crowd that he and Kevin Feige had talked for years about joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Then he announced he would play Magneto. After a long pause, he corrected himself to Nathaniel Milbury, which is Mister Sinister’s human alias. The gag landed because fans had floated Driver for Magneto for years. For anyone new to the comics, Chris explains that Mister Sinister is a geneticist obsessed with mutant DNA, a manipulator rather than a brawler. The cast met backstage only minutes earlier, so Chris is curious how their chemistry develops. Notably, Christopher Abbott previously worked with Driver on HBO’s Girls. The script comes from Beef creator Lee Sung Jin and The Bear co-showrunner Joanna Calo, two prestige-television names that have Chris excited. Why the X-Men Took Thirty Years to Reach the MCU A business story underlies the casting. In the 1990s, a financially struggling Marvel sold film rights to raise cash. Fox ended up with the X-Men and the Fantastic Four, and Sony took Spider-Man. As a result, Marvel Studios built its connected universe from 2008 onward without some of its most famous characters. The Hugh Jackman era of X-Men films belonged to Fox, with a separate continuity and no crossovers. That changed in 2019, when Disney closed its $71 billion purchase of 21st Century Fox’s film and television studio. Most coverage framed the deal as a streaming play, but it also brought the X-Men home. Chris sums it up neatly: Disney signed the paperwork in 2019, cast the film in 2026, and audiences see it in 2028. Ryan Gosling’s Starfighter, Ghost Rider, and VisionQuest Lucasfilm dated Star Wars: Starfighter for May 28, 2027. Gosling plays Kade Auberon, a pilot from the wrong side of the galaxy tied to the fastest starfighter ever built. Before he walked out, Disney played clips of him as a kid on The Mickey Mouse Club. Gosling said the company changed his life then and is changing it again now. He is also playing Ghost Rider in the Marvel universe. That thrills Chris, since Nicolas Cage last carried the character on the big screen. Meanwhile, the Disney+ series VisionQuest arrives October 14. Paul Bettany returns as Vision and James Spader as Ultron, and the trailer drops the two androids into oddly mundane human situations. Bettany joked that Vision has “rather inconveniently died several times.” Chris agrees the character has been through the wringer since WandaVision. The Avengers: Doomsday Trailer Avengers: Doomsday opens December 18, with Joe and Anthony Russo directing. Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, and Hayley Atwell introduced the new footage. It offers the clearest look yet at Downey as Doctor Doom, who fights off Thor and takes his hammer. Evans appears as Captain America holding a baby, and Ian McKellen shows up as a haggard, long-haired Magneto. One quieter shot has Doom staring at a portrait of a lost wife and child. That frames him as a grieving avenger rather than a world-ender. He also commands an army of comic-accurate Sentinels. The cast pulls from the Avengers, the Fantastic Four, and the legacy Fox X-Men, including Patrick Stewart. Hugh Jackman also appeared on screen to say he is willing to return as Wolverine, though that was not a confirmation. Chris, a self-described Marvel nerd, closes with a theory. He suspects the MCU’s Tony Stark was actually Victor von Doom, adopted by the Starks, which would explain the Downey casting. He also predicts the Fox-era X-Men die off in this film and that Thor may be the major casualty. If it happens, he wants credit for calling it. Sponsor: GoDaddy Economy hosting $6.99/month, WordPress hosting $12.99/month, domains $11.99. Website builder trial available. Use codes at geeknewscentral.com/godaddy to support the show. Disney Parks Around the World Saturday’s Disney Experiences showcase covered parks, resorts, and cruise ships, with Neil Patrick Harris hosting. Hong Kong Disneyland gets an Avengers pavilion that reshapes its Stark Expo skyline. Shanghai Disneyland is building the first land devoted entirely to Spider-Man, complete with a new coaster. Since Spider-Man is his favorite hero, Chris hopes to visit once it opens. Closer to home, Avengers Campus at Disney California Adventure is doubling in size with two rides opening in 2028. Avengers: Infinity Defense brings back Jeremy Renner, Anthony Mackie, Chris Hemsworth, and Downey, while Stark Flight Lab adds Brie Larson. A Coco boat ride into the Land of the Dead is also coming, with no height requirement. Chris admits he prefers California Adventure to Disneyland because the rides are better. Overseas, Disneyland Paris will retire its Star Wars Hyperspace Mountain overlay at the end of 2027 and restore the original Jules Verne theme. Paris also gets the first ride ever based on The Lion King. Tokyo Disneyland adds Sugar Rush: Sweet Rescue, the first Wreck-It Ralph ride, plus a Space Mountain launch sequence designed with YouTuber Mark Rober. Finally, Disney Cruise Line announced three more ships, including the Disney Believe in 2027 and an entirely new class in 2029. Back in Anaheim, Tomorrowland is getting reimagined, which Chris welcomes because the land badly needs an update. The Magic Happens parade and the Remember Dreams Come True fireworks are both returning. For the tech crowd, Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run now has a Fortnite crossover, where in-game missions unlock content on the real ride. Every New Walt Disney World Ride and Land Chris ranks the Florida parks Hollywood Studios first, then Epcot, Animal Kingdom, and Magic Kingdom. Magic Kingdom leads the announcements with Villains Land, now the official name. It features a Maleficent coaster through an enchanted briar and a boat ride through the Evil Queen’s catacombs. Reporting puts its scale near Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, and Glenn Close appeared in character as Cruella to announce it. Piston Peak, the Cars area replacing Tom Sawyer Island, adds two more rides, though their exact names remain unsettled. Additionally, the Carousel of Progress gets new scenes and a recast. Jamie Lee Curtis and Bryan Cranston will voice Mom and Dad starting late spring 2027. Chris, invoking Heisenberg, calls Cranston the GOAT. At Animal Kingdom, the Indiana Jones ride now has a name: Indiana Jones and the Myth of the Jade Serpent. It tells an original 1950 story inside a Maya temple, and Harrison Ford personally served as the physical model for the animatronic. Nearby, the Tropical Americas land brings Antonio’s Fiesta de Encanto, with more than fifty animal animatronics and no height requirement. Then comes the fix park regulars have wanted for years. The Expedition Everest yeti broke soon after the ride opened. Rather than fix it, Disney lit it with a strobe for over a decade, earning the nickname disco yeti. Now it is being repaired and returned to full motion. Chris rates Everest among his top five rides anywhere, and he suggests riding it before the fix so you can compare. Over at Epcot, Spaceship Earth gets its first major story rewrite in nearly twenty years, shifting from communication history to human connection. Dreamfinder also returns to Journey Into Imagination, and Disney Experiences chairman Thomas Mazloum introduced that news with two words: “we heard you.” Mazloum added that Disney has more projects underway than at any point in its history. After this rundown, Chris believes him. Monsters Inc Land Opens in 2027 Monstropolis begins opening at Hollywood Studios in early 2027, but in stages. The headline door coaster will not be ready on day one. It is the first suspended coaster in any Disney park. It also uses Disney’s first vertical lift, hauling riders about forty feet straight up before launching them into the door vault. Instead, the land opens with the Glob Theater’s “Welcome to Monstropolis” show and Harryhausen’s, a working sushi restaurant lifted from the first film. The stage show features an original song by Randy Newman, his first ever written for a theme park attraction. Chris also notes that the restaurant name honors stop-motion legend Ray Harryhausen. Wrapping up, Chris names the X-Men casting and the Doomsday trailer as his favorite moments of the weekend. He hopes to cover more movie news on future shows, and he plugs Dune: Part Three, which also opens December 18. Chris signs off with the usual mentions: GNC Insider at geeknewscentral.com/insider, email at geeknews@gmail.com, the newsletter, and modern podcast apps at podcastapps.com. He also thanks GoDaddy for over twenty years of support. The post Huge Announcements From D23!! #1873 appeared first on Geek News Central.
We've launched Minimum Competence CLE, and our first course is now available completely free. Researching Federal Tax Issues After Loper Brightlooks at how the Supreme Court's decision ending Chevron deference changes the way lawyers should research and evaluate Treasury regulations, IRS guidance, and other federal tax authorities.Take the course and earn CLE credit at cle.minimumcomp.com.This Day in Legal History: The National Park Service Is CreatedOn August 25, 1916, President Woodrow Wilson signed the National Park Service Organic Act, creating a new federal bureau inside the Department of the Interior to manage the country's national parks and monuments. Before this, the roughly 35 parks and monuments the government had accumulated were administered in a haphazard, piecemeal way—some by the Army, some by scattered Interior officials—with no unified mission and no consistent protection.The genius of the Organic Act is compressed into a single, oft-quoted sentence that has generated a century of law and litigation. It directed the new Park Service to “conserve the scenery and the natural and historic objects and the wild life therein” and to “leave them unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations.” That phrasing contains a built-in tension that lawyers and the courts have wrestled with ever since: the Park Service is told both to provide for the public's enjoyment of the parks and to leave them unimpaired—two goals that can pull hard against each other when you're deciding whether to build a road, permit a concession, or limit the number of visitors. That “dual mandate” is the central puzzle of public-lands law.The significance of August 25, 1916 is that it enshrined in law a genuinely radical idea: that some places belong to the whole public, in perpetuity, held in trust by the government for people who haven't been born yet. Today the Park Service manages more than 400 sites across all fifty states and welcomes hundreds of millions of visitors a year. The writer Wallace Stegner, who gave us today's opening line, called the national parks “the best idea we ever had”—absolutely American, absolutely democratic. On a day whose news is heavy with contested executive power, it's a nice reminder that the law is also the instrument through which a society decides to preserve something for the common good.The Supreme Court has handed the Trump administration an interim victory on mail-in voting—but it's important to be precise about what the Court did and didn't do. In a 6-3 decision along ideological lines, the justices lifted an injunction that a Massachusetts federal judge imposed in June, which had blocked key parts of Trump's executive order restricting mail-in voting in California and 22 other states that sued. That order aims to create a federal list of eligible voters and, controversially, to have the Postal Service deliver ballots only to people on that list. Here's the crucial nuance. This is a stay, not a ruling on the merits—the Court did not decide whether the president actually has the authority to reshape how states run their elections. It merely paused the lower court's block while the litigation continues. And it's partial: the Postal Service's role in the scheme remains blocked nationwide. Justice Sotomayor, in dissent, made the point sharply—she wrote that the decision doesn't suggest the executive branch has any constitutional or statutory authority to do this, it just postpones the day of reckoning. This is the shadow docket in action, a theme we keep returning to: the Court altering the rules for a national election months before that election, through an emergency order, without a full merits decision or a written explanation of its reasoning. The significance is that, for now, parts of Trump's order can take effect for the November midterms—a real-world consequence—even as the fundamental question of whether any of it is lawful remains formally undecided. The status quo the courts had maintained all summer just shifted, at least temporarily, and it shifted on the emergency docket.US Supreme Court lifts judicial hurdle to Trump's mail-in ballot curbs | Reuters Washington Post · NPRThe administration is preparing what would be the largest mass visa revocation in U.S. history: according to the Associated Press, the State Department plans to revoke the tourist and business visas of up to 200,000 foreigners who have applied for or are seeking asylum. The targets are holders of so-called B1 and B2 visas—the standard business and tourism visas—issued between 2016 and 2026, whose holders later sought asylum, with the action coordinated between the State Department and the Department of Homeland Security. The legal logic is worth understanding. A visitor visa rests on a premise: that you intend to come temporarily and then go home. When someone on a tourist visa applies for asylum, the government's position is that they've revealed an intent inconsistent with that temporary-visitor status—so it's moving to strip the visitor visa. Importantly, officials say this wouldn't necessarily mean immediate deportation; most people with pending asylum cases would be recategorized, losing their visitor status but not instantly removed. Still, the scale is staggering and unprecedented, and it raises hard questions. Seeking asylum is a legal right, protected by statute and international obligation, and there's a real tension in penalizing people's immigration status precisely because they used the lawful asylum process. There are also due-process concerns lurking in any mass action that recategorizes 200,000 people, and a potential chilling effect on those weighing whether to come forward and claim protection. The significance is that this fits the aggressive immigration-enforcement pattern we've tracked all summer—but at a scale that's genuinely new, using visa revocation as a lever against the asylum system itself.US plans to revoke up to 200,000 tourism, business visas, AP reports | ReutersWTOP · Houston Public Media / NPRAnd a story close to home for everyone in this profession: Google has launched a version of its Gemini AI built specifically for lawyers. Google Cloud unveiled “Gemini Enterprise for Legal,” an agentic AI platform purpose-built for legal workflows—with specialized skills, connectors to legal research and document systems, and an ecosystem of partner tools. And its launch customers are not fringe experimenters; they're elite firms: Cleary Gottlieb, Freshfields, Weil, and Williams & Connolly. When firms of that caliber sign on as launch partners, it's a signal that AI in legal practice has moved from novelty to infrastructure. Here's the significance, and the tension. On one hand, this is the mainstreaming of AI in law—the same shift that, as we discussed a few weeks ago, is thinning out entry-level hiring at big firms as software absorbs the document review and first-draft work once done by junior associates. Google is now competing directly with the specialized legal-AI companies for that market, and its entry accelerates everything. On the other hand, this collides with a problem we've covered again and again: the fake, hallucinated citations, the AI-generated errors, even the litigant hiding prompt injections in his filings. A more powerful, more deeply integrated AI tool doesn't dissolve a lawyer's duties of competence, confidentiality, and candor—it raises the stakes on them. The significance is that the profession is being reshaped in real time. The tools are getting better and more embedded, the biggest firms are adopting them, and the hard questions—about verification, about who's accountable when the machine is wrong, about what happens to the training pipeline for young lawyers—are all arriving at once.Google expands Gemini AI platform for law firms, lawyers | ReutersArtificial Lawyer · Google CloudAnd finally, in my column for Bloomberg Tax this week, I dig into a big loss for Maryland—and a valuable lesson for every other state eyeing the digital economy for revenue. Maryland's first-in-the-nation digital advertising tax just took a potentially fatal blow, with the state tax court siding with Google, Apple, and Peacock in their challenges. My argument is that this doesn't prove you can't tax digital advertising—it proves Maryland went about it the wrong way, by designing a tax around the companies it wanted to pay rather than the activity it wanted to tax.Two design choices doomed it. First, Maryland taxed digital advertising while leaving comparable non-digital advertising—billboards, print, radio, television—completely alone. Second, the tax only kicks in for companies above a huge global revenue threshold, and the rate actually climbs, from 2.5% up to 10%, based on a company's worldwide revenue, not its Maryland activity. The court saw that for what it was: a structure that, in practice, hits big out-of-state tech companies while sparing basically every in-state business, which runs into both the dormant Commerce Clause and the federal Internet Tax Freedom Act. As I put it, using worldwide corporate revenue to set the rate on identical in-state transactions is just a backward way of making big companies pay more—two companies doing the exact same amount of business in Maryland can end up with wildly different bills.There's also a cautionary detail I love, because it says everything: Maryland passed this tax in 2021, but by 2025 the state comptroller had to hire an outside expert just to figure out what “digital advertising services” even means—introducing terms like “programmatic” and “visual” that weren't in the statute at all. If you need to hire an expert four years after enactment to ascertain what your own tax taxes, maybe the problem isn't that taxpayers are being difficult. And the fiscal stakes are real: the tax pulled in about $535 million earmarked for education, but now the challengers may be owed refunds with interest, right as Maryland stares down a multibillion-dollar budget gap. A tax that collects hundreds of millions for a few years and then has to hand it all back, with interest, is quantifiably worse than no tax at all. So my takeaway for states is that the durable path is the boring one—broad tax bases, treat economically similar transactions the same, scale liability to in-state activity. A neutral tax on all advertising would have reached less convenient targets too, including local businesses, and that's exactly the point: a tax principle that only applies when it lands on the politically preferred target isn't much of a principle.Maryland's Digital Ad Tax Defeat Is Teachable Moment for States | Bloomberg Tax This is a public episode. 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A tariff deal with Canada that President Trump said was done collapsed over the weekend after Prime Minister Mark Carney called the terms unfair. The Washington Post’s David Lynch breaks down what happens next. The U.S. is preparing tougher sanctions against Iran, with Trump talking of an “economic D-Day” for Tehran. The Associated Press’s Farnoush Amiri explains how Iran has weathered sanctions for decades. Construction crews are racing to finish Trump’s 90,000-square-foot ballroom before the Supreme Court rules on its legality. The Wall Street Journal’s James Romoser explains the administration’s strategy. Plus, a fire forces thousands in Reno, Nevada, to evacuate, a meeting between Hakeem Jeffries and Jared Kushner, and the IndyCar race through the streets of Washington, D.C. Today’s episode was hosted by Cecilia Lei.
After a deadly "derecho" storm and flash floods slammed the midwest in early August, downing trees and power lines, tens of thousands of residents in and around Gary, Indiana have been surviving without power for 12 days and counting. According to the Associated Press, "Northern Indiana Public Service Co. said 68,000 customers were still without power as of Thursday morning, the majority of them in Lake County beside the Illinois border. The utility said it has restored power to 306,500 others since Aug. 11. But power is not expected to be fully restored until Tuesday [Aug. 25] in some places, including Gary." In this urgent episode of Working People, we speak with a panel of residents and community leaders about the ongoing blackout in Gary and the conditions that led to this avoidable national tragedy. Panelists include: GlenEva Dunham, president of the Gary Teachers Union, AFT Local 4; Freida Graves, Project Director at the faith-based nonprofit Families Anchored in Total Harmony (FAITH) CDC; and Reverend John Jackson, Pastor of Trinity United Church of Christ. Additional links/info: FAITH CDC website and Facebook page Gary Advocates for Responsible Development (GARD) Facebook page Tilly Robinson, Indianapolis Star, "Braun tells NIPSCO to move faster in Gary, while clergy says state must do more" Javonte Anderson, Capital B Gary, "I grew up in Gary. I've never seen a power outage like this" Belly of the Beast, "US policy causes Cuba's blackouts. US citizens bring solar panels for pregnant women" Featured Music: Jules Taylor, Working People Theme Song Credits: Audio Post-Production: Jules Taylor
After a deadly “derecho” storm and flash floods slammed the midwest in early August, downing trees and power lines, tens of thousands of residents in and around Gary, Indiana have been surviving without power for 12 days and counting. According to the Associated Press, “Northern Indiana Public Service Co. said 68,000 customers were still without power as of Thursday morning, the majority of them in Lake County beside the Illinois border. The utility said it has restored power to 306,500 others since Aug. 11. But power is not expected to be fully restored until Tuesday [Aug. 25] in some places, including Gary.” In this urgent episode of Working People, we speak with a panel of residents and community leaders about the ongoing blackout in Gary and the conditions that led to this avoidable national tragedy. Panelists include: GlenEva Dunham, president of the Gary Teachers Union, AFT Local 4; Freida Graves, Project Director at the faith-based nonprofit Families Anchored in Total Harmony (FAITH) CDC; and Reverend John Jackson, Pastor of Trinity United Church of Christ.Additional links/info: FAITH CDC website and Facebook pageGary Advocates for Responsible Development (GARD) Facebook pageTilly Robinson, Indianapolis Star, “Braun tells NIPSCO to move faster in Gary, while clergy says state must do more”Javonte Anderson, Capital B Gary, “I grew up in Gary. I've never seen a power outage like this”Belly of the Beast, “US policy causes Cuba's blackouts. US citizens bring solar panels for pregnant women”Featured Music: Jules Taylor, Working People Theme SongCredits: Audio Post-Production: Jules TaylorBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-real-news-podcast--2952221/support.Help us continue producing radically independent news and in-depth analysis by following us and becoming a monthly sustainer.Follow us on:Bluesky: @therealnews.comFacebook: The Real News NetworkTwitter: @TheRealNewsYouTube: @therealnewsInstagram: @therealnewsnetworkBecome a member and join the Supporters Club for The Real News Podcast today!
In this episode before the verdict happens in the Lindsay Clancy trial I hope to provide a balanced and sober view of this tragedy.First, I admonish men to understand what women experience and endure with pregnancy, labor, and postpartum depression and to help them lovingly through this challenging time.Second, we walk through the timeline of this case to get a clear view of what the prosecution and the defense present and argue.Third, we see how hundreds of women came out with young children to show support for Clancy but may have overlooked the morbid message men may infer from that publicity stunt.Finally, we reason a bit about what justice may look like even with the high probability that Lindsay Clancy was suffering severe psychosis when she killed her three children.Sources Cited:Michael Casey, "Lindsay Clancy chronicled her desperation and 'brain fog' in her diary before the killings," Associated Press, August 4, 2026.Peter Yankowski, "Lindsay Clancy's mental health treatment before killings: Timeline of medications, symptoms and care," CT Insider, August 14, 2026.Nicki Brown, "Woman on trial for the murders of her 3 children. Her defense argues she may not be 'criminally responsible'," WBALTV, July 30, 2026.Eren Orbey, "A Husband in the Aftermath of His Wife's Unfathomable Act," The New Yorker, October 14, 2024."Lindsay Clancy Greeted By Crowd Of Supporters Wearing Pink" [YouTube video], Inside Edition, August 20, 2026.We value your feedback!Have questions for Truthspresso? Contact us!
It's Friday, August 21st, A.D. 2026. This is The Worldview in 5 Minutes heard on 140 radio stations and at www.TheWorldview.com. I'm Adam McManus. (Adam@TheWorldview.com) By Adam McManus Nigerian policed arrested 22-year-old for converting to Christianity Nigerian police arrested a 22-year-old woman for converting to Christianity from Islam, reports International Christian Concern. Though the Federal High Court ruled in her favor, the Christian family that helped her is facing false charges of kidnapping. In 2025, “Sarah” fled from her home in Kano State after her elder siblings tried forcing her into an arranged marriage with a Muslim. While she was on the run, a Christian family took her in and shared the Gospel with her. Through the Abaras family's witness, she gave her life to Jesus Christ. When her siblings learned of her conversion, they began working with the local Hisbah, the Islamic police force, to track her down and arrest her. Police discovered her and detained her for four days, during which they beat her and pressured her to return home and accept the Muslim-arranged marriage. When she was released, the Abaras family helped her escape to a neighboring state with less Muslim influence. Please pray for Sarah's safety and that her Christian faith would grow stronger. According to Open Doors, Nigeria, Africa is the seventh most dangerous country worldwide for Christians. Ex-Fauci adviser pleads guilty to concealing COVID-19 origins On August 18th, Dr. Anthony Fauci's former senior adviser pleaded guilty to plotting to conceal federal records related to research on the origins of the deadly COVID-19 pandemic, reports the Associated Press. Dr. David Morens is scheduled to be sentenced on November 12 by U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis in Greenbelt, Maryland. Morens pleaded guilty to conspiring to defraud the U.S. government, a felony punishable by a maximum prison sentence of five years. Morens is accused of using his private email account to intentionally circumvent public records laws while employed at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. The Justice Department alleges that he concealed or destroyed records of discussions related to COVID-19 research grants, including an effort to revive a controversial coronavirus grant. The indictment follows a probe by House Republicans into the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic that scrutinized Morens' email communications and accused him of intentionally concealing records. In congressional testimony, Morens denied attempting to evade federal transparency laws by using his personal email. Proverbs 12:22 says, “The Lord detests lying lips, but He delights in people who are trustworthy.” Senator Darline Graham performed poorly in Senatorial run-off debate On August 19th, NewsMaxTV hosted the South Carolina GOP Senatorial run-off debate between Senator Darline Graham, who was appointed by South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster in the wake of the death of her brother Lindsey Graham, and Congressman Ralph Norman. When Greta Van Susteren asked a foreign policy question, it was clear that Senator Darline was out of her depth. Listen. VAN SUSTEREN: “Senator [Graham], are Taiwan and the South China Sea national security issues for the United States? If so, why?” GRAHAM: “Um. I'm sorry. Could you repeat the question?” VAN SUSTEREN: “Are Taiwan and the South China Sea national security issues for the United States. And if so, why or how?” GRAHAM: “I'm just going to be honest here. I'm not on national security. I'm not that informed on national security. (audience boos and laughs) So, but I do support the military. My brother was in the Air Force for 33 years, so I will do everything I can to support the military. My dad was in the Army. “I'm not a polished politician up here. I'm … National security is not my thing, not my area of expertise. But I do support the military.” By contrast, Congressman Ralph Norman, her opponent in the South Carolina GOP Senatorial run-off, said this. NORMAN: “Taiwan's a definite ally. We have a trading relationship with them that is beneficial to the United States – [computer] chips being one of them, and others. “So, what the, what the president is doing right is he's enabling Taiwan to defend themselves against China. But it's peace through strength that he's showing with Iran that China, Russia, others are looking at it. They don't want to deal with America, and that's why they haven't attacked Taiwan. “If they had some weak Democrat in office, like Biden or another Obama, yeah, they'd take it over. But we can't let that happen. Peace through strength is working.” J.D. Vance believes Christian lifestyle suffices over verbal evangelism And finally, in a July 15th appearance on The Joe Rogan Experience podcast, Vice President J.D. Vance, who converted to Catholicism from Protestantism, explained that he does not evangelize by word. VANCE: “You know, I don't preach to people. I don't, like, walk into the White House, tell my employees, ‘You know, you need to be, you need to follow Jesus as your Lord and Savior.' I just try to live my life in a way that hopefully makes people a little curious about what, you know, what motivates me and what inspires me.” Todd Friel, a reformed pastor in Atlanta, is the host of the Wretched Network which produces radio shows, TV shows, and books. He says the notion of wretched is at the very core of the Gospel because God saves wretches like us. Friel had this response to Vice President Vance. FRIEL: “According to 1 Peter 3, that is true: We should live in such a way that it causes unbelievers, who are persecuting us, to ask about the reason for the hope that lies within us. That is most certainly true. “However, that is not the end of our responsibility. We are also called to make the most of every opportunity, to go and make disciples. It is our lifestyle that undergirds our confession, testimony, and evangelism. But a lifestyle is not evangelism itself.” Joe Rogan agreed with Vice President Vance. ROGAN: “I think living by example is probably the best promotion of any good way to live your life …” VANCE: “I agree.” ROGAN: “… whether it's Christianity or any other religion. I think that's definitely the way to do it.” Friel replied with this analysis. FRIEL: “It is a part of it. It does undergird our testimony, but how will they hear unless somebody preaches to them? In other words, evangelism requires words! Nobody can actually find a credible source of Saint Francis of Assisi, who said, ‘Share the Gospel, and if necessary, use words.' Well, it is necessary! Otherwise, you're just being a nice person.” Indeed, in Romans 10:14-15, the Apostle Paul asks, “How then will they call on Him in Whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in Him of Whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the Good News!'” Close And that's The Worldview on this Friday, August 21st, in the year of our Lord 2026. Subscribe for free by Spotify, Amazon Music, or by iTunes or email to our unique Christian newscast at www.TheWorldview.com. Plus, you can get the Generations app through Google Play or The App Store. I'm Adam McManus (Adam@TheWorldview.com). Seize the day for Jesus Christ.
Steve and Charlie interviewed Jeff Palermo, the sports director of the Louisiana Radio Network, and Greg Beacham, a Rams reporter for The Associated Press. Palermo reviewed LSU's recent fall camp workouts, highlighting Lane Kiffin's comments about the defense and quarterback Sam Leavitt. Beacham praised the Saints and Rams for holding a clean joint practice. He also evaluated the Rams' quarterbacks, wide receivers, and tight ends.
Steve and Charlie reported on the NFL's punishment for the Saints and Cowboys stemming from the teams' joint practice fights. Saints sideline reporter Jeff Nowak recapped the Saints' workout with the LA Rams. Steve and Charlie interviewed Jeff Palermo, the sports director of the Louisiana Radio Network, and Greg Beacham, a Rams reporter for The Associated Press. The guys also spoke to Mike Hoss, the voice of the Saints, about the team's practice with the Rams.
Alabama is ranked 13th in the Associated Press preseason top 25 rankings. Is that too low, too high, or just right? AL.com's Nick Kelly joins Ben Flanagan to react. Then they list the 10 most important players in the Crimson Tide roster for Bama to compete for a national championship in 2026. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Greg Beacham, a Rams reporter for The Associated Press, joined Sports Talk. Beacham praised the Saints and Rams for holding a clean joint practice. He also evaluated the Rams' quarterbacks, wide receivers, and tight ends.
President Trump ordered the Navy to swap modern electromagnetic catapults for older steam power on its carriers. The Associated Press’s Konstantin Toropin explains why the change would be a huge undertaking. Congress remains gridlocked on regulating AI, even as lawmakers quietly turn to chatbots for everything from speeches to legislation. The Washington Post’s Anna Liss-Roy breaks down the murky rules governing AI use on Capitol Hill. A wave of American tourists is overwhelming cities across Europe. The Wall Street Journal’s Rachel Ensign discusses what’s fueling the wanderlust, and why locals are pushing back. Plus, Jared Kushner is set to meet Netanyahu to salvage the Gaza peace deal, Democrats overhauled their 2028 primary calendar, and MLB pitcher Tommy John, namesake of the elbow surgery, has died. Today’s episode was hosted by Gideon Resnick.
Melissa Sierra's BIO: Melissa Sierra is an executive coach, strategic growth advisor, speaker, and founder of Focal Point Coaching. She helps executives, founders, and leadership teams navigate growth, AI transformation, and organizational change by turning complexity into clarity and strategy into measurable results. Drawing on more than 15 years of executive leadership experience, Melissa works with organizations to strengthen leadership capability, accelerate commercial growth, and build resilient teams prepared for the future of work. She is the creator of the Opportunity Flywheel™, a leadership framework that helps professionals and businesses create sustainable momentum through strategy, visibility, relationships, execution, and results. Melissa is a sought-after speaker on leadership, organizational transformation, and the human side of AI. She has been featured in CEO Weekly and the Associated Press, serves as a member of the Forbes Communications Council, and has contributed thought leadership on executive leadership, business growth, and emerging workplace trends. Her insights have been shared on national stages and podcasts, where she challenges conventional thinking about career growth, leadership identity, and creating lasting impact. Through her podcast, Holding the Room: Leadership, AI, and the Human Edge, Melissa equips leaders with practical frameworks to lead with confidence, make better decisions, and create more opportunity in an increasingly complex world. Her mission is simple: help leaders build businesses, careers, and legacies that create meaningful impact long after the next promotion, product launch, or quarterly result. In this episode, Virginia and Melissa talked about Melissa's work in leadership and growth Clarity as the foundation for referrals Building opportunity through relationships Becoming known for the problem you solve Using your network to create business momentum Takeaways: You do need to build your network in a new light. Being a solopreneur is truly hard We all wanted to be seen and heard. Clarity becomes the opportunity. Being able to use AI as your super strategic framework is your superpower. Connect with Melissa Sierra on her social media accounts to learn more about her work and insights into networking effectively: LinkedIn URL melissasierra.focalpointcoaching.com LinkedIn URL www.linkedin.com/in/melissa-sierra Instagram URL instagram.com/MelissaSierra.Coach Connect with Virginia: https://www.bbrpodcast.com/ Download my Business by Referral Blueprint and create consistent revenue! https://mktg.masterconnectors.com/business-by-referral-blueprint
Wednesday, Russell Westbrook posted a video. Three and a half minutes. Michael B. Jordan narrating. And a caption that I have not been able to put down since I read it: “Sometimes you don’t even know when you’ve already watched the end. You had to be there. And now it’s over. Thoughts on former WNBA coach of the year Stephanie White's comments about defending her players. Monday at noon Eastern, the Associated Press releases its preseason Top Twenty-Five. #2prosSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
In part one of Red Eye Radio with Gary McNamara and Eric Harley, defying the Democratic establishment and an onslaught of outside spending against him, Abdul El-Sayed narrowly won Michigan's fiercely contested US Senate primary and will advance to the general election against Republican Mike Rogers. The Associated Press called the race for El-Sayed Wednesday at 9:56 a.m., declaring him the winner over Democratic rival Haley Stevens. He led by 1% with 99% of all ballots counted. Speaking earlier Wednesday, before the race was called, El-Sayed thanked supporters for joining what he called a movement “built on the foundation of what this government was supposed to be in the first place, government of the people, by the people.” Also inflation was moderate in July, but energy prices remain elevated The Consumer Price Index for July showed prices rose 3.4 percent from a year ago as the war in Iran dragged on / and audio from Chris Matthews on 'Morning Joe' on immigration and borders the DSA would like to abolish. For more talk on the issues that matter to you, listen on radio stations across America Monday-Friday 12am-5am CT (1am-6am ET and 10pm-3am PT), download the RED EYE RADIO SHOW app, asking your smart speaker, or listening at RedEyeRadioShow.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Automated license-plate cameras are drawing bipartisan backlash from residents and lawmakers. Politico’s Liset Cruz explains how privacy concerns are uniting the left and right. A chaotic Wisconsin primary comes to a close today, as Democratic leaders scramble to stop democratic socialist Francesca Hong from winning the nomination for governor. The Associated Press’s Scott Bauer breaks down her rise and the party’s alarm. As wildfires intensify worldwide, countries that once relied on each other for help are finding it harder to share resources. Inside Climate News’s Nick Kusnetz explains why overlapping fire seasons are straining partnerships. Plus, a magnitude-7.4 earthquake left scores dead in Colombia, Trump signed an executive order overhauling the childhood-vaccine schedule, and how divers discovered a Roman shipwreck. Today’s episode was hosted by Gideon Resnick.
What does the emerging religious left look like—and is it becoming a force in Democratic politics? In this Sunday interview, Leah Payne speaks with Associated Press religion and culture reporter Kyrsta Fauria about her reporting on progressive candidates and activists drawing on religious traditions to confront economic inequality, defend workers' rights, and advocate for policies like universal health care. They discuss Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, the interfaith coalition supporting his campaign, and the ways his Muslim faith has been both weaponized against him and intentionally foregrounded in his political identity. Get signed copies of American Caesar at Annie Bloom's: https://annieblooms.com/ Join us September 16 at Annie Bloom's for the American Caesar book launch!
After Sen. Lindsey Graham's passing in July, South Carolina is holding a special Republican primary to replace him as the nominee for U.S. Senate. His sister, Sen. Darline Graham, has President Trump's endorsement. But the polls (and our focus group) suggests that that may not be enough to fend off a cadre of other challengers. Associated Press national politics reporter Meg Kinnard joins Sarah to discuss Lindsey Graham's legacy among South Carolina Republicans, and the state's unexpected (and fast) special election.
Over the course of Donald Trump's second term, Democratic voters have expressed dissatisfaction with their party over what many view as an inability to stand up to the president and his broader movement. That dissatisfaction with the establishment has manifested in primaries in coastal cities across the country, where the progressive movement appears to be ascendant. On Tuesday, that test played out in Midwestern states, Michigan and Missouri.Within roughly two hours of polls closing, The Associated Press called the closely watched rematch between Cori Bush and Rep. Wesley Bell for the incumbent. In 2024, AIPAC and other outside groups spent more than $18 million to oust Bush from her Missouri district, and her defeat, along with New York Rep. Jamaal Bowman's, has served as a warning sign for Democrats not to be too progressive or too pro-Palestine.But by Wednesday morning, Abdul El-Sayed, who ran on Medicare for All and ending military aid to Israel for its continued genocide in Gaza, narrowly defeated Rep. Haley Stevens by less than 20,000 votes. According to AdImpact, the Michigan Democratic Senate primary saw $98 million in ad spending and reservations. At least $60 million was spent boosting Stevens or attacking El-Sayed, with more than $30 million from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee's super PAC, United Democracy Project — its largest spend in a single race ever, nearly double the then-record-breaking amount spent on Bowman's 2024 primary race.This week on The Intercept Briefing, host Jessica Washington and colleagues Akela Lacy and Jonah Valdez discuss what results from Tuesday's primaries signal for progressives and the broader left in the Democratic Party, especially in swing states and outside of coastal cities.Full transcript: https://interc.pt/4wgacXj Keep our investigations free and fearless at theintercept.com/join. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Affording groceries is becoming a struggle for many Americans.Food prices are up 33 percent since 2019. That's according to federal data analyzed by the Associated Press. It's led some people to change their diets or where they shop. Others are taking more drastic measures by dipping into their savings or going into credit card debt.A 2025 survey from the Urban Institute found that one in four people using credit cards to buy food had trouble paying those bills.What's behind the jump in grocery prices? How is it affecting Americans' financial stability? And how is all of this affecting our economy as a whole?Find more of our programs online. Listen to 1A sponsor-free by signing up for 1A+ at plus.npr.org/the1a.See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.NPR Privacy Policy