Featured
Trump Learning that Bad Bunny is doing the Super Bowl. By jlcauvin / Instagram
In these disturbing times, we need some humor. Watch here
Political / Social
Who Is Donald Trump Responsible To? By Jamelle Bouie / NYT
To be an elected official is to be responsible to two publics.
The first is the one that put you in power, the staffers, donors, volunteers and voters that helped to pave the path from mere candidate to winner, and wielder, of state power. But this partisan public is no more than a subset of the broad public you are obligated to lead and represent. You owe your voters, yes, but you also owe the whole people of your county, or city or district or state. You have to consider their interests — not just those of your fellow partisans. The government works for the whole people and so you, too, must work for the whole people. Read more
Related: Donald Trump’s Sick, Cynical Racial Con—and How to Fight It. By Perry Bacon / TNR
Related: Donald Trump believes he has a license to kill. By Heather Digby Parton / Salon
Related: Trump’s war on cities is part of his ugly vision for America. By Charles R. Davis / Salon
Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson is trying to warn us about something. Are we listening? By Ed Pilkington / The Guardian
Her sharpest words were not in the body of her opinion. They were tucked away in a footnote.
That subtle placement speaks volumes about Ketanji Brown Jackson, the supreme court’s newest member and already its fiercest liberal voice. The footnote in question can be found in Trump v Casa, the June ruling that gave a big boost to Donald Trump by clipping the wings of federal judges and limiting their use of nationwide injunctions to block the president’s worst excesses. Read more
Related: Clarence Thomas Admits That He’s Coming for Our Rights. By Elie Mystal / The Nation
Trump Seizes On Shutdown to Punish Political Foes. By Tony Romm / NYT
President Trump has embarked on a legally dubious campaign to weaponize the federal budget during a contentious government shutdown, halting more than $27 billion in approved funding in a bid to punish Democratic-led cities and states.
Rather than broker a legislative truce or seek to ameliorate the fallout of a costly fiscal stalemate, the president has leveraged the crisis to exact revenge on rivals, slash federal spending and pressure Democrats into accepting his political demands. Read more
Related: JD Vance’s shutdown bet: MAGA loves racism more than health care. By Amanda Marcotte / Salon
Most Voters Think America’s Divisions Cannot Be Overcome, Poll Says. Jeremy W. Peters and Ruth Igielnik / NYT
A new Times/Siena survey shows a significant shift among voters, as their concerns about the health of the political system overtake other issues.
Americans have markedly less faith in the ability of the country’s political system to solve problems than they had five years ago, with a large majority now believing that the country is incapable of overcoming its deep divisions, according to a poll by The New York Times and Siena University. Read more
Incompetence Isn’t an Upgrade Over D.E.I. By David French / NYT
On Tuesday morning, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth summoned hundreds of American generals and admirals from across the world to a military base in Virginia for a blistering, mandatory briefing. He railed against poor physical fitness standards, he called for more lethality and aggression in the military, and he — of course — decried diversity, equity and inclusion.
“No more identity months,” he said, “D.E.I. offices, dudes in dresses. No more climate change worship. No more division, distraction or gender delusions. No more debris.” “As I’ve said before and will say again,” he continued, “we are done with that shit.” Read more
Related: Trump, Hegseth Meeting Was Loyalty Test For White Man’s Army. By Stacey Patton / Newsone
Video of Jasmine Crockett calling out Byron Donalds for bill revoking juvenile crime reform he benefited from goes viral. By Gerren Keith Gaynor / The Grio
A video of an exchange between U.S. Reps. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, and Byron Donalds, R-Fla., has gone viral, highlighting the ongoing political divide over public safety in the nation’s capital.
Republicans championed the legislation for codifying President Donald Trump‘s “agenda to make Washington, D.C., safe again” following the White House deployment of military troops in the nation’s capital. Watch here
Is ICE In Chicago Targeting Black Americans For …Deportation? This Is What We Know. By Wayne Washington / The Root
Has it begun? Is this when the federal government – this federal government – comes for Black Americans?
Not one of the 16 people whose arrests were touted by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security in a press release is Black. But there’s plenty of Black trauma, plenty of Black terror from ICE’s “Operation Midway Blitz.” Black Americans were detained during the operation for several hours. At least one South Shore resident told a Chicago radio station she and others, including children, ducked for cover when agents stormed into the building where they live. Read more
Education
Trump Offered Universities an Invitation for a Deal. Some See a Trap. Anemona Hartocollis, Michael C. Bender and Alan Blinder / NYT
Trump officials want universities to sign on to conservative priorities to get special treatment. Some in higher education say agreeing would end academic freedom.
The Trump administration promised a select set of universities what the government said would be a great deal. In exchange for agreeing to a list of demands, like limiting international students and protecting conservative voices, universities would get a leg up on grants, potentially beating out the competition for billions in federal funds. Read more
Related: Trump’s ‘Compact’ With Universities Is Just Extortion.
Related: Duke Was Paring Back Diversity Programs. Trump Targeted It Anyway. Vimal Patel / NYT
Mamdani Says He Would Phase Out N.Y.C. Gifted Program for Early Grades. Emma G. Fitzsimmons and Troy Closson / NYT
Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic front-runner in the mayor’s race, plans if elected to replace the selective program, which became a symbol of segregation in public schools.
Mr. Mamdani’s plan would reshape education for some of the youngest children in the nation’s largest school system and could reignite a fraught citywide debate over how — and whether — New York should address inequality in the enrollment of its selective academic programs. Read more
Alpha Kappa Alpha Donates $1.9M To Howard While Unveiling On-Campus Monument. By Kyra Alessandrini / Blavity
Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. marked a significant milestone last Wednesday as it unveiled a monument on Howard University’s campus alongside a $1.9 million donation. Members gathered for the event, which cemented the legacy of the sorority’s 117-year history.
The celebration took place on Sept. 24 and honored AKA’s history with Howard University. The monument features the sorority’s letters, founding year in 1908 and portraits of some of its members. Located in “The Valley” on Howard’s campus, it was first conceived in 2023. The monument was funded through members’ donations. Read more
World
Trump and Netanyahu’s 20-Point Gaza Ultimatum. By Phillip Bennis
The plan for Gaza does not promise an end to Israel‘s genocide—but does promise indefinite occupation.
In a long and rambling speech, President Trump called his proposed Gaza peace plan “the whole deal, everything getting solved…. peace in the Middle East.” Standing next to a grinning Israeli prime minister, he said it was a “historic day for peace.” In fact, he said, it would be “one of the great days ever in civilization.” Lots of smiles, lots of commercials for Trump’s incessant “I deserve the Nobel Peace Prize” campaign. Read more
Related: Hamas agrees to release all Israeli hostages, pending conditions. By
Related: Trump tells Israel to stop Gaza bombing after Hamas accepts peace plan. By Francesca Chambers , Kim Hjelmgaard and Joey Garrison / USA Today
Related: Many American Jews sharply critical of Israel on Gaza, Post poll finds. By Naftali Bendavid, Scott Clement and Emily Guskin / Wash Post
Trump wanted to extend a key U.S.-Africa trade agreement. It expired anyway. By Tobi Raji / Wash Post
With Capitol Hill mired in the government shutdown or on recess, a 25-year-old trade legislation was allowed to lapse despite 11th-hour White House backing.
Decades-old U.S. trade legislation granting duty-free access to the U.S. market for countries in sub-Saharan Africa, which is credited with creating thousands of jobs and bolstering economic growth, expired this week despite long-awaited signals from the White House that President Donald Trump was open to an extension of the program for at least another year. Read more
U.N. approves militarized force to take on Haiti’s gangs. By Amanda Coletta / Wash Post
The Security Council vote was an acknowledgment that the police mission it once backed had failed to wrest back control of the beleaguered Caribbean nation.
The U.N. Security Council agreed Tuesday to replace the international police mission in Haiti with a larger, more aggressive, militarized force to take on armed gangs and clear the way for the country’s first presidential and legislative elections in nearly a decade. The vote was an acknowledgment that the Kenya-led police mission the United Nations once championed has failed to wrest back control of the crisis-racked Caribbean nation. Read more
Ethics / Morality / Religion
The Archbishop of New York Should Know Charlie Kirk Was No Saint. By Doninic Preziosi / The Nation
Cardinal Dolan’s recent remarks on Fox News were playing to the Catholic Church’s most reactionary elements.
It’s a modest stroll from the residence of New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan, near St. Patrick’s Cathedral, to the studio of Fox & Friends in midtown Manhattan. For Dolan, the distance seems to have grown shorter over time. In his most recent appearance on the popular right-wing morning talk show, he drew attention for calling Charlie Kirk, the slain founder of Turning Point USA, “a modern-day St. Paul. Read more
Largest US Lutheran denomination installs first Black presiding bishop. By AP and NPR
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America installed the Rev. Yehiel Curry as its first Black presiding bishop Saturday, a landmark moment for the predominantly white denomination.
“It hasn’t really hit me yet,” Curry told The Associated Press a week before his installation. “The fact that you’re a first.” Curry succeeds the Rev. Elizabeth Eaton, who served for 12 years and was the first woman to lead the ELCA. Read more
Cornel West: Justice, Not Revenge. By Benjamin Watson / Christianity Today Podcast
Exploring how love grounds justice, courage resists fear, and faith shapes public action.
In this episode of The Just Life with Benjamin Watson, Dr. Cornel West, philosopher, public intellectual, and prophetic voice for justice, joins Benjamin for a wide-ranging conversation on love, truth, and the moral demands of our time. Listen here
Photographer Gordon Parks’ religious images displayed in DC exhibition. By Adelle M. Banks / RNS
A new exhibition of the work of Gordon Parks, a photographer renowned for documenting African American life, turns its focus on Parks’ exploration of Black religion and spirituality.
“Although Gordon Parks’s personal religious beliefs vacillated across his lifetime, he applied a working knowledge of Black religious culture with a commitment to humanism as an approach to documentary photography and photojournalism,” reads the introductory wall text for “Temples of Hope, Rituals of Survival: Gordon Parks and Black Religious Life” at Howard University in Washington. Read more
Historical / Cultural
Diddy on Trial: Sean Combs learns his fate. By Daniel Arkin / NBC News
Sean “Diddy” Combs learned his fate today. The fallen hip-hop mogul was sentenced to more than four years in prison, followed by five years of supervised release, bringing an end to one of the most dramatic celebrity legal sagas in recent memory.
Today’s emotionally charged hearing spanned more than five hours and featured tearful pleas for leniency. Here’s how the proceedings unfolded: Read more
How Lionel Richie Mastered the Love Song. Hanif Abdurraqib / The New Yorker
The artist discusses touring with Tina Turner, what he learned from Marvin Gaye, and the “most important note” to hit—in music and in life.
Lionel Richie’s memoir, “Truly,” captivated me. Unlike most entries in the genre, it is genuinely vulnerable, heartbreaking, and often very funny. Its primary focus is, of course, his expansive music career, which began in 1968, when he joined the Commodores as a singer and a saxophonist, lending his writing, vocal, and onstage performance talents to danceable hits like “Brick House” and ballads such as “Easy Like Sunday Morning.” Read more
5 Minutes That Will Make You Love Nina Simone.
Sports
‘Wow…Beautiful’: Jackie Robinson’s Widow Rachel Goes Viral After Rare Photos Highlight Her Timeless Beauty at 103. By J. Jones / Atlanta Black Star
Rachel Robinson, widow of the legendary Major League Baseball player Jackie Robinson, is going viral simply for her timeless beauty.
The renewed attention comes as ESPN releases a new documentary celebrating Jackie’s trailblazing legacy and the powerful role Rachel played behind the scenes, reminding audiences that her grace and influence have never faded. Read more
Gaël Monfils, tennis’s great showman, prepares for his final bow. By Andrew Lawrence / The Guardian
The Flying Frenchman thrilled crowds for two decades with acrobatics, charisma and pure joy. As he heads for retirement in 2026, the sport loses a rare entertainer
DeSean Jackson, following Coach Prime’s path, is ready to prove everyone wrong. By Michael Lee / Wash Post
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