WHOA! This is actually huge. Warren endorsed Platner. #MESen. So far he's been endorsed by Bernie Sanders, Gallego and Martin Heinrich

DOJ to Allow Hiring of US Prosecutors Straight Out of Law School The Justice Department has waived a policy requiring newly hired federal prosecutors to possess at least one year of experience practicing law, as US attorney’s offices struggle to find qualified repl...

SCOOP: DOJ has waived policy requiring newly hired prosecutors to have least a year (more often 3 years) experience practicing law. As DOJ struggles to replace mass departures w/ qualified applicants, this move allows hiring straight out of law school. news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/...

Can this former paralympian and tariffs flip a Senate seat in deep-red Iowa? Josh Turek, a Democrat running for Senate in Iowa, talks to The Independent about why Democrats might finally have a shot at winning in Iowa.

Our Inside Washington newsletter is closely watching seats like Iowa as the Senate map continues to worsen for Republicans. @ericmgarcia.bsky.social sat down with @joshturek4iowa.bsky.social, one of the two Democrats in the winnowing primary field:

www.independent.co.uk/news/world/a...

Bari's Nod to Norah With Anderson Cooper opting to walk away from an expanded role at “60 Minutes,” Bari Weiss is now eyeing a different anchor for a bigger presence on the storied broadcast.

Some news: Anderson Cooper decided to walk away from “60 Minutes” after Bari Weiss offered an expanded role at CBS News and “a crazy amount” of money. Now, Weiss is taking a hard look at Norah O’Donnell.

The details in @status.news:
www.status.news/p/norah-o-do...

Stephen Colbert and CBS just upended Jasmine Crockett’s Senate race in Texas The congresswoman’s high-profile supporters are seething, writes John Bowden, as her opponent basks in the national limelight — and rakes in donations after Colbert takes their interview to YouTube

The race between Crockett and Talarico is growing toxic, something that Democrats in the state is being fueled by the pundit-influencer class.

One Democratic operative in the state told me that they "cannot over-emphasize how stupid" the discourse has become.

www.independent.co.uk/news/world/a...

My dispatch from the @uaw.org candidate forum yesterday:

Michigan Senate candidates tell Washington Democrats: Show some spine Three Senate candidates in Michigan are unified around demand for Democrats to stand their ground on shutdown fight

All three Democratic candidates for Michigan's Senate seat–Abdul El-Sayed, Mallory McMorrow and Haley Stevens–agree that Democrats should dig their heels in on DHS funding. But as, @jbowden.bsky.social reports, they're split on what comes next.
www.independent.co.uk/news/world/a...

I think it's best for everyone to understand that the unified class project of billionaires right now is to do to white collar workers what globalization and neoliberalism did to blue collar workers.

i know that this is an unpopular take, but everyone starting their own newsletter as a revenue stream is not a sustainable model for writing and reporting or for people who love and want to pay for media.

Washington Post undergoing significant layoffs as part of ‘strategic reset’ Employees were told Wednesday that the paper’s sports desk would close among other cuts and restructurings

".. Bezos has remained silent, and did not respond to a series of letters sent by staffers .. On Monday, though, he was there in person to warmly greet Pete Hegseth .."

@theguardian.com
www.theguardian.com/media/2026/f...

Is JD Vance ready to take over the MAGA mantle from Donald Trump? MAGA is leaning towards the vice president to take over Trump’s leadership of the right in 2028. But, asks John Bowden, does he have the juice?

Inevitably, given the fact Trump is pushing 80 years old and his love of cheeseburgers, along with the fact this is his second term, attention will turn to whether JD Vance can carry the MAGA torch. @jbowden.bsky.social breaks down his pros and cons.
www.independent.co.uk/news/world/a...

Doomsday scenarios of Texas and California going nuclear over redistricting A mid-decade redrawing of congressional maps would have implications far beyond the 2026 midterm elections, write John Bowden and Eric Garcia. The Independent illustrates, with interactive maps by Ali...

Really cool project that @jbowden.bsky.social ,
@alicjahagopian.bsky.social and I worked on for the last month:

Trump set off a nuclear war on redistricting, with Democrats pledging to fight fire with fire. So how would the map look if both sides go nuclear?
www.independent.co.uk/news/world/a...

Doomsday scenarios of Texas and California going nuclear over redistricting A mid-decade redrawing of congressional maps would have implications far beyond the 2026 midterm elections, write John Bowden and Eric Garcia. The Independent’s interactive maps illustrate the Cold Wa...

As Texas House Republicans passed their map, Democrats in California plan to counterstrike. Here's what the congressional map might look like, and what actions Democratic governors can (and can't take). via me and @jbowden.bsky.social
www.independent.co.uk/news/world/a...

Here's Karoline Leavitt truly not knowing what she is talking about:

uhhhhhhhhh

epic re-frame here

Kamala Harris ‘ran away’ from voters says Michigan Democrat vying for Senate ‘These people made a calculated decision about who they needed and who they didn't,’ says Democrat Abdul El-Sayed, who is running to win back those voters his party lost in 2024

Link: www.independent.co.uk/news/world/a...

A recent poll from the NRSC put El-Sayed 2 points behind
@RepHaleyStevens
. We also talked:
- Reaching younger voters, and why they abandoned the party in 2024
- Gaza, and Biden's decline

I talked to
@abdulelsayed.bsky.social
about the Senate race in Michigan and the lessons 2024 should teach the Democratic Party:

"These people made a calculated decision about who they needed and who they didn't. And it turns out that that decision was way off.”

Let’s just take a moment to thank Donald Jr for his clear eyed, and steadfast determination to get answers with Epstein. He says to ask ourselves DAILY what SCUM would be against disclosure and truth? Hmmm….

Any Democrat who can answer a question without 50 words of focus group-speak stands out rn

Shane Gillis, hosting the ESPYS: “Actually, there was supposed to be an Epstein joke here but I guess it got deleted. Must have probably deleted itself right? Probably never existed, actually. Let’s move on as a country and ignore that.”

Trump to the President of Liberia: "Such good English. Where did you learn to speak so beautifully?"

English is the official language of Liberia...

Riley Gaines spinning coming 5th in a college swim meet into a career as a political commentator says a lot about the dynamics of right-wing punditry.

somehow I don't think the cheap romance novelist who is currently spinning out in this comment section is going to get the message and suddenly become grounded in reality

and these are the voices the party keeps listening to: hyper-loyal, uninformed superfans who think leadership can do no wrong

Trump clings to friendly Fox News as Tucker Carlson and ‘manosphere’ sour on Iran war New media figures like Joe Rogan and Theo Von are increasingly backing away from Trump as he plots war with Iran. They’re driving him back into the arms of Fox News, writes John Bowden

Trump's dig at Tucker over audience size was very telling. He's leaning back into pro-war Fox News as the "manosphere" and paleoconservatives react with horror to the prospect of another war in the Middle East: www.independent.co.uk/news/world/a...

For our next very expensive study we'll be asking those monkeys with the typewriters if they really understood the theme of Macbeth or not

Does this qualify as waste, fraud, abuse, or all three?