Southern Poverty Law Center says it faces a criminal investigation by the Justice Department The Southern Poverty Law Center says it’s the subject of a Justice Department criminal investigation and faces possible charges over its use of paid informants to infiltrate extremist groups.

BREAKING: The Southern Poverty Law Center says it faces investigation by Justice Department over past use of paid informants to infiltrate extremist groups.

Co-sign. @talkingpointsmemo.com is a must-read.

Why are Republican lawmakers suddenly so fired up about Sharia law again?

A GOP consultant gave Josh a pretty candid answer to that question.

talkingpointsmemo.com/news/texas-r...

This lead from @joshkovensky.bsky.social is so good

talkingpointsmemo.com/news/texas-r...

Texas Matters: Sharia law rhetoric, abortion care fallout, and a contested death row case This week on Texas Matters: Why “Sharia law” has become a flashpoint in Texas politics. How the state’s abortion ban is tied to new scrutiny after three doctors were disciplined. And why a Texas death...

"Many of the state's biggest names in Republican politics" are claiming that Sharia law will be imposed in Texas "if they lose the coming election. This is their strategy to win."

@texaspublicradio.bsky.social on @joshkovensky.bsky.social's reporting

www.tpr.org/podcast/texa...

Texas Matters: Sharia law rhetoric, abortion care fallout, and a contested death row case This week on Texas Matters: Why “Sharia law” has become a flashpoint in Texas politics. How the state’s abortion ban is tied to new scrutiny after three doctors were disciplined. And why a Texas death...

The Texas GOP is taking it back to the 2010s, going full hysteria mode over the imposition of Sharia law

As @joshkovensky.bsky.social reported, the party is trying to leverage Islamophobia to boost their midterms chances

Check out Josh's intvw with Texas Public Radio

www.tpr.org/podcast/texa...

Become a TPM Member Talking Points Memo (TPM) is an independent news organization that publishes reporting and analysis about American politics, public policy and political culture.

I've been a reader and member of @talkingpointsmemo.com for literally decades and it's one of the most impressive independent media operations in the country. Amazing how long it's been going, producing great reporting and analysis. Indispensable.

talkingpointsmemo.com/memberships

handout photo of Carlos Ivan Mendoza Hernandez, wearing a white button down, with flowers behind him.

ICE pulled over a man in Patterson, CA + shot him 6 times, hitting his face. ICE now says he is part of a gang in LA – a city he has no connection to.

Carlos Mendoza Hernandez, 36, now in ICU, says he's "never ever been in a gang" + was shot without justification www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

The Feuding Little Christian Fiefdoms of the Trump Administration In Church, Merch, and State, Sarah Posner writes about the intersection of religion and...

Sarah Posner: "The Trump regime has a preferred religion — a bellicose, nationalist Christianity — but its expression, as we saw this week, can be very erratic and often theologically incomprehensible."

Inside Texas Republicans’ Effort to Make the Midterms About Islamophobia GRAPEVINE, TX – On a cold spring morning in this tony Dallas suburb,...

Some in the GOP eye a Muslim panic as strategy to win Texas.

Inside Texas Republicans’ Effort to Make the Midterms About Islamophobia GRAPEVINE, TX – On a cold spring morning in this tony Dallas suburb,...

“If you are a Republican candidate, you would like to not be talking about the economy right now. So this gives you an opportunity to control the debate and move it from economy to problems with Islam."

First, Streamers Set the GOP Agenda. Now They’re Taking Over the Party Itself. This article is part of TPM Cafe, TPM’s home for opinion and news analysis....

Some aspiring GOP politicians, like longshot Florida gubernatorial candidate James Fishback, are hitching their campaigns to far-right streamers and their audiences.

Become a TPM Member Talking Points Memo (TPM) is an independent news organization that publishes reporting and analysis about American politics, public policy and political culture.

He spoke with dozens of people, from town mayors to right-wing influencers to regular people targeted by hate campaigns. We’ll have a few more stories from his reporting trip later this month.

TPM’s drive is ongoing as we push toward 1,000 new members this year. I wanted to highlight this story as the kind of thing we put your money toward. Josh spent five days in TX, getting up some days before dawn and working late into the night, to tell this story.

talkingpointsmemo.com/memberships

How a Texas City Became the Far Right’s Next Example of the Great Replacement Theory FRISCO, TEXAS – Far-right activists are seizing on a new example of...

The next Springfield, Ohio: How the far-right has turned its sights on South Asians in this Texas city talkingpointsmemo.com/news/frisco-...

How a Texas City Became the Far Right’s Next Example of the Great Replacement Theory FRISCO, TEXAS – Far-right activists are seizing on a new example of...

How right wing influencers cast a Texas city as their latest example of the “Great Replacement” theory

Staff At Minnesota Deportation Hub Received ‘Obscene’ Trump-Themed Challenge Coins Adorned With Skulls Federal employees involved in the massive operation that led to a surge...

At the mass deportation hub in Minneapolis, where Good and Pretti were murdered, they're handing out these "challenge coins" to commemorate their work. talkingpointsmemo.com/news/staff-a...

there is no politician so irreplaceable that we must overlook sexual misconduct because nobody else could possibly fill their shoes

Exclusive: Four women describe sexual misconduct by Rep. Eric Swalwell, including a former staffer who says he raped her | CNN A former staffer of Rep. Eric Swalwell, a leading Democratic candidate for California governor, says that the congressman raped her when she was heavily intoxicated, an allegation Swalwell strongly de...

BREAKING: three *more* women have come forward to @cnn.com and accuse Rep. Eric Swalwell of sexual misconduct, including Swalwell sending them unsolicited explicit messages or nude photos:

www.cnn.com/2026/04/10/u...

Former staffer says Rep. Eric Swalwell, candidate for California governor, sexually assaulted her “These allegations are false and come on the eve of an election against the frontrunner for governor,” Swalwell said in a statement.

A woman who worked for nearly two years for Rep. Eric Swalwell, a leading candidate for California governor, said she had sexual encounters with him while he was her boss and alleged he twice sexually assaulted her when she was too intoxicated to consent.

I'm back on tooth watch for @talkingpointsmemo.com 🦷 This story a case-in-point for how policy and internet conspiracy theories converge to change health behavior — like how people interact with basic preventative dental care.

Eaton Fire #18: Zero Containment An update on the future of my writing about the Eaton Fire

Eaton Fire #18: Zero Containment

An update on the future of my writing about the Eaton Fire

Yes, Farrell talks about this in the piece too!

"Many adult Medicaid and private insurance plans do not cover topical fluoride treatments. Chi has encountered adult patients who refuse fluoride varnish not because they distrust it, but because they cannot afford it."

Again: a collapse like this doesn’t happen if it’s just because of anti-Semitism. This is because of the Israeli government & military’s actions, policies, and constant hectoring and mindnumbingly annoying public relations conduct, and how all of that scans to normal people bsky.app/profile/sahi...

Huge shift in American views of Israel

2022: 55% view Israel favorably, 42% unfavorably
2026: 37% view Israel favorably, 60% unfavorable

Generational divide hits both parties: 57% of *Republicans under 50* are negative on Israel

via Pew Research Center poll: www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/u...

How RFK’s War on Fluoride Is Taking Over the Dentist’s Office Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy has maintained that the...

“Kids are going to have increased tooth decay, they’re going to have increased cavities, they would need additional fillings, they would need additional tooth extractions. You’re going to see more kids showing up in emergency rooms for care needs."

talkingpointsmemo.com/news/how-rfk...

How RFK’s War on Fluoride Is Taking Over the Dentist’s Office Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy has maintained that the...

20 years ago, Donald Chi first encountered a family that did not want a topical fluoride treatment for their child. At the time, these patients were rare, but not unheard of.

Today, his practice in Seattle sees up to 6 families a day who say no to fluoride.

talkingpointsmemo.com/news/how-rfk...

How RFK’s War on Fluoride Is Taking Over the Dentist’s Office Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy has maintained that the...

MAHA's fearmongering about water fluoridation is prompting people to reject topical fluoride at the dentist + fluoridated toothpaste, too.

This is pushing us towards “an impending oral health crisis," healthcare professionals tell @farrellbrenner.bsky.social

talkingpointsmemo.com/news/how-rfk...

How RFK’s War on Fluoride Is Taking Over the Dentist’s Office Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy has maintained that the...

Skepticism about fluoride used to be relegated to dark corners of the internet; now, it is promoted by federal and state leaders and hawked alongside natural alternatives by internet doctors.

One thing that made me happy years ago was that when the staff at @talkingpointsmemo.com emailed @joshtpm.bsky.social and were all "we're gonna start a union," his reaction was "well, yeah you are" and recognized it immediately. So, subscribe, maybe.

talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/tpm-e...