Eight Republican presidential candidates went head to head for the first GOP primary debate in Milwaukee Wednesday night. Notably absent from the lineup was Donald Trump — the former president instead appeared in a pre-recorded interview with Tucker Carlson that debuted on X at the exact same time as the nationally televised event. We’re joined by Crooked’s Editor-in-Chief Brian Beutler and Alyssa Mastromonaco of Crooked’s Hysteria podcast for their takes on who stood out on the debate stage. An...
Aug 24, 2023•26 min
Students across the country head back to school this month, but tens of thousands of teacher positions remain vacant and more than 160,000 positions are filled by under-qualified teachers. We’re joined by Becky Pringle, president of the National Education Association, to learn more about the nationwide teacher shortage. And in headlines: Donald Trump’s co-defendants in the Georgia election interference case officially started to turn themselves in, members of the Teamsters union ratified their n...
Aug 23, 2023•22 min
Tennessee lawmakers gathered yesterday for the start of a week-long special session on public safety and mental health. But as of Monday evening, the Senate adjourned without passing any meaningful legislation and the House adopted rules that bar lawmakers they deem as "unruly" from participating in discussion. President Biden arrived in Maui yesterday afternoon where he met with survivors and emergency workers following the deadly wildfires that devastated the island earlier this month. Accordi...
Aug 22, 2023•18 min
Tropical Storm Hilary made landfall in Mexico’s Baja California region yesterday and the center of the storm officially moved into Southern California Sunday evening. It’s expected to have a major effect on the region, where it could drop more than a year's worth of rain in parts of California, Nevada, and Arizona. Twenty states have enacted bans or restrictions on gender-affirming care for minors so far, and at least five states have now permanently or temporarily blocked those measures from ta...
Aug 21, 2023•23 min
Hundreds of documents containing detailed debate advice seemingly intended for Gov. Ron DeSantis were posted online this week, according to reporting by The New York Times. The documents – which were later taken down – were posted by Axiom Strategies, the company owned by the chief strategist for DeSantis's Super PAC. Earlier this month, a Texas woman was arrested and charged with threatening to kill U.S. District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan — the judge currently overseeing Trump’s election interf...
Aug 18, 2023•24 min
A federal appeals court ruled yesterday that it would impose restrictions on the abortion pill mifepristone, including preventing it from being prescribed via telehealth or sent through the mail. But those restrictions won’t go into effect immediately due to a previous stay by the Supreme Court. Republican state leaders like Texas Governor Greg Abbott continue the inhumane practice of busing and flying migrants to Democratic-led states and cities. We’re joined by Jacob Love, a staff attorney wit...
Aug 17, 2023•20 min
Donald Trump was indicted for a fourth time Monday night. Trump now faces a total of 91 criminal counts across four separate cases. A Texas lawsuit against Planned Parenthood seeks more than $1.8 billion in reimbursement, penalties and fees after the state moved to cut the organization as a Medicaid provider. Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk, the same judge who halted federal approval of mifepristone back in April, heard arguments on Tuesday. On Monday, Chuck Hoskin Jr. was sworn into his second term as ...
Aug 16, 2023•25 min
Donald Trump was charged with 13 felonies in Georgia yesterday, including forgery, filing false documents and racketeering. Eighteen others in his circle were indicted as well, all tied to the alleged attempt to overturn the outcome in Georgia’s 2020 Presidential Election. To break down the charges, we’re joined by Morgan Cloud, professor of law at Emory University who specializes in Georgia’s RICO statute. And in headlines: the official death toll from the deadly Maui wildfires has climbed to 9...
Aug 15, 2023•18 min
More than 90 people have been killed in Maui since wildfires erupted last week, making it the deadliest wildfire in the U.S. in over a century. The Hawai’i Tourism Authority is urging travelers to not visit the island at this time as organizers work to provide shelter to thousands of displaced residents. Former president Donald Trump could face his fourth criminal indictment as soon as this week. Fulton County Georgia prosecutor Fani Willis appears close to charging Trump with more crimes regard...
Aug 14, 2023•17 min
Rescue efforts continue in Maui after fast-moving wildfires caused catastrophic damage across the island this week. The death toll from the wildfires has risen to at least 53 with several others wounded. Thousands of Maui residents have been displaced by the catastrophe, as well. The Writers Guild of America and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers will return to the negotiating table today. The meeting comes as the writers' strike just crossed the 100-day mark, a milestone th...
Aug 11, 2023•21 min
Raging wildfires on the Hawaiian island of Maui have killed six people and displaced thousands more. Hundreds of homes and businesses have been destroyed as well, including within the historic town of Lahaina. Leaders of eight South American countries that share the Amazon rainforest wrapped up a two-day summit in Belem, Brazil yesterday. By the end of the gathering, the group – known as the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization, or ACTO – adopted a “new and ambitious shared agenda” to protect ...
Aug 10, 2023•21 min
Ohio overwhelmingly voted against Issue 1 in a statewide special election on Tuesday. It’s a major relief because the ballot measure would have made it harder to change the state’s constitution and protect abortion rights in an upcoming vote this November. The Supreme Court sided with President Biden in a 5-4 ruling Tuesday and allowed his regulations related to ghost guns to move forward. That means the administration can continue to regulate ghost gun kits and require that they be treated like...
Aug 09, 2023•18 min
Donald Trump’s lawyers argued on Monday that prosecutors are infringing on Trump's First Amendment rights by asking him not to discuss the case over his alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election. That comes after special counsel Jack Smith on Friday asked for a protective order that limits disclosure of discovery material in the case, and referenced Trump's incendiary social media post. Ohioans head to the polls today to vote on a ballot measure that could make it harder to amend the state’s...
Aug 08, 2023•24 min
The United States is officially out of the Women’s World Cup after a heartbreaking and dramatic loss to Sweden on Sunday. The loss marks the earliest tournament exit in the history of the team. Today, England faces Nigeria and Australia takes on Denmark. On July 29th, O'Shae Sibley, a gay man and professional dancer, was fatally stabbed at a Brooklyn gas station while listening to Beyoncé and dancing with friends. A 17-year-old has now been charged with murder and a hate crime in the killing of ...
Aug 07, 2023•21 min
Former President Trump pleaded not guilty to the four criminal charges against him tied to his actions leading up to January 6th. The next hearing will be on August 28th. Suspended Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s long-delayed criminal trial is expected to begin early 2024. But before that, he has an upcoming impeachment trial on September 5th. Also in Texas: A federal lawsuit was filed on Wednesday to stop the state’s ban intended to target drag performances. The suit argues that the law is ...
Aug 04, 2023•23 min
Last July was so hot that 81 percent of the world's population endured sweltering heat, according to a new report by the science non-profit Climate Central. The temps broke records across the globe. Next week President Biden visits the nation's Southwest to talk more about his plans to combat climate change. Negotiations in Hollywood may soon resume nearly 100 days since the strike began. The president of the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers reached out to Writers Guild of Ame...
Aug 03, 2023•21 min
Former President Donald Trump was indicted for the third time on Tuesday for the alleged role he played to overturn the 2020 election. He was charged with four criminal counts including conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding and more. We talk with Leah Litman, professor of law at the University of Michigan and co-host of Crooked’s Strict Scrutiny podcast, to break it down. And in headlines: the family of Henrietta Lacks reached a historic settlemen...
Aug 02, 2023•20 min
A Georgia judge on Monday rejected former president Donald Trump’s effort to stop an investigation into whether he interfered in the 2020 election results in that state. It comes as Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis says her office is “ready to go” to announce her decision on whether to charge Trump in that case. And in headlines: a federal judge in Arkansas temporarily blocked a state law that would have made it a crime for librarians and booksellers to provide “harmful” reading mater...
Aug 01, 2023•23 min
The latest battle over abortion rights is set to begin in Ohio. On August 8th, voters in the Buckeye State will decide on Issue 1, a ballot initiative about ballot initiatives (yes, you read that right). The outcome will determine whether or not Ohioans can decide in November whether to enshrine abortion access into the state's constitution. And in headlines: Russia's military says it brought down three Ukrainian drones over Moscow, a property manager at Mar-a-Lago charged in the Trump classifie...
Jul 31, 2023•15 min
Former President Donald Trump is facing additional charges in the case over his handling of classified documents. The superseding indictment accuses Trump, along with two of his aides, of trying to delete security video from Mar-a-Lago to keep federal investigators from viewing it. The new charges came down hours after Trump's legal team met with special counsel Jack Smith in Washington, D.C., indicating that Trump will soon face another indictment over his bid to interfere with the 2020 electio...
Jul 28, 2023•17 min
A federal judge has delayed approval for Hunter Biden’s plea deal with the Justice Department over tax and gun charges. The agreement the president’s son reached with prosecutors unexpectedly fell apart Wednesday, after the judge raised concerns about some of its conditions. Former Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani admitted in court documents that he made ‘false’ and defamatory statements about two former Georgia election workers. The pair have sued him for defamation, after he claimed they tampered wi...
Jul 27, 2023•20 min
UPS and the Teamsters union — which represents about 340,000 UPS workers nationwide — reached a tentative labor deal on Tuesday, averting what would have been the largest strike involving a single employer in the history of the United States. Workers still need to ratify the agreement, which includes wage increases and new worker protections. Though the Supreme Court ended affirmative action in higher education this summer, the Department of Education has opened a civil rights investigation into...
Jul 26, 2023•17 min
Black lung disease, a debilitating and incurable condition that affects coal miners, is now on the rise for younger mine workers in Central Appalachia – which labor advocates say is due to unsafe working conditions that have gone unchecked. Journalist Kim Kelly joins us to discuss her investigative reporting on the issue, and what’s being done to protect miners from the dangers they face on the job. And in headlines: Israeli lawmakers approved a key piece of legislation to overhaul the country’s...
Jul 25, 2023•20 min
Israel’s parliament is set to vote today on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plan to reform the country’s judicial system. Thousands of demonstrators have taken to the streets across Israel to protest the proposal, saying that it threatens the country’s democratic foundation. Voters in Spain cast their ballots in what was arguably one of the most important elections in that country in years. Though no single party captured an outright majority, the results defied expectations that Spain’s far...
Jul 24, 2023•18 min
A federal grand jury investigating Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election results met on Thursday in Washington, D.C. and heard testimony from former Trump aide William Russell. The meeting comes after Trump this week revealed that he received a target letter from Special Counsel Jack Smith, informing him that he is the subject of the federal investigation. The 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup officially kicked off in Auckland, New Zealand on Thursday. This year’s tournament – the large...
Jul 21, 2023•19 min
The Senate Judiciary Committee is set to vote on a bill today that would impose a code of ethics on the Supreme Court. While Democrats say the move is necessary in light of recent reports about Justice Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito's relationship with GOP mega donors, the legislation is unlikely to become law due to strong opposition from Republicans. Private health insurance companies have denied millions of requests for care from Medicaid recipients with little to no oversight, according to...
Jul 20, 2023•18 min
Former President Donald Trump said Tuesday he received another "target letter" from the Justice Department, this time, saying he could face a federal indictment over his bid to overturn the results of the 2020 election. While the exact charges were not immediately clear, it indicates that Trump could soon face his third criminal indictment this year. Alabama Republicans on Monday proposed a redrawn Congressional map that ignores a Supreme Court mandate to create a second majority-Black district....
Jul 19, 2023•19 min
On Monday, explosives damaged a key bridge connecting the Russian mainland and Crimean Peninsula. Russia blamed Ukrainian forces for the deadly attack on the Kerch Bridge, and Russia soon after said it would halt its participation in the Black Sea grain deal. Donald Trump’s legal team is heading back to court today for a pre-trial hearing in the former president’s classified documents case. The hearing could shine a light on how Judge Aileen Cannon plans to handle the case, and whether the trial...
Jul 18, 2023•20 min
More than 100 million people across the United States were under excessive heat warnings and advisories over the weekend, and more than 55 million people are expected to experience high temperatures reaching or exceeding 100 degrees this week. And another, separate heat wave is expected to broil southern Europe in the coming days. On Saturday, the crowd of 2024 presidential candidates were required to file campaign finance reports with federal regulators. Former President Donald Trump, who leads...
Jul 17, 2023•18 min
The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday approved the first over-the-counter birth control pill in the United States. The landmark move could help make contraception more accessible across the country at a time when access to birth control and abortion is being restricted. The Federal Trade Commission has opened an investigation into OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT. In a 20-page demand letter sent to the company this week, the FTC said it was investigating if OpenAI “engaged in unfair or ...
Jul 14, 2023•18 min
