Donald Trump was back in court on Tuesday for the federal case against him for trying to overturn the 2020 election. This time, however, Trump tried to make the argument that he cannot be charged at all. Plus, Trump on Monday requested that a Maine judge put a pause on deciding whether he should appear on the state’s ballot for now. The Senate Judiciary Committee holds a hearing today about how artificial intelligence could impact journalism. One of the committee’s members – Sen. Amy Klobuchar –...
Jan 10, 2024•21 min•Transcript available on Metacast The Chair of Florida’s Republican Party of Florida, Christian Ziegler, was removed from his position on Monday after a closed-door meeting of party members in the state. It’s the latest development in the relatively small but very mighty scandal that also includes Ziegler’s wife, Bridget. Pope Francis called for surrogacy to be banned globally on Monday and described the practice as “despicable.” However, the Pope’s position on surrogacy doesn’t necessarily match up with some of his more progres...
Jan 09, 2024•21 min•Transcript available on Metacast The Federal Aviation Administration ordered the inspection of 171 Boeing 737 Max 9 planes after a panel blew out of an Alaska Airlines plane mid-flight on Friday. No serious injuries were immediately reported, but this isn’t the first time a Boeing plane raised passenger safety concerns. At least nine Palestinians including a young child were killed in the West Bank on Sunday. And on Saturday, the Israeli military said that the remaining Hamas fighters in northern Gaza were no longer “under an o...
Jan 08, 2024•17 min•Transcript available on Metacast ISIS claimed responsibility for the bombings in Iran that killed at least 84 people and injured 284 others on Wednesday. Plus, the United States launched a drone strike in Iraq’s capital of Baghdad on Thursday, killing a senior commander of an Iran-linked militia group and several others. New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced Thursday that he filed a lawsuit against 17 charter bus companies used by Texas Governor Greg Abbott to bus people seeking asylum at the border to New York. Adams is ask...
Jan 05, 2024•19 min•Transcript available on Metacast An appeals court ruled on Tuesday that doctors in Texas are not required to perform emergency abortion care as a necessary, stabilizing treatment to protect the health of the mother or pregnant person. In the opinion, Judge Kurt Engelhardt wrote the federal statute “does not mandate any specific type of medical treatment, let alone abortion.” A pair of bombs exploded in Iran on Wednesday and killed at least 95 people and injured over 200 others. The attack happened near the burial site of Iran’s...
Jan 04, 2024•17 min•Transcript available on Metacast Former President Donald Trump on Tuesday appealed the decision by Maine’s Secretary of State that bars him from the ballot due to his role in the January 6th insurrection. That comes after the Colorado Supreme Court last month removed Trump from the state’s ballot, which he is also likely to appeal soon. The deputy head of Hamas along with two other leaders of its armed wing were killed on Tuesday in Beirut, Lebanon by an Israeli strike. Meanwhile, the UN reports that half of Gaza’s 2.2 million ...
Jan 03, 2024•21 min•Transcript available on Metacast The Biden administration is pressuring Israel to scale back its war by the end of the year. And earlier this week, President Joe Biden warned that Israel’s “indiscriminate bombing” of Gaza was whittling away international support. But it seems like the language shift hasn’t yet caused a meaningful development in the area. European Union leaders decided on Thursday to open EU membership negotiations with Ukraine. This has been a longtime goal of Ukrainian President Volodmyr Zelensky and is a boos...
Dec 15, 2023•25 min•Transcript available on Metacast The Supreme Court on Wednesday announced that it will hear a case challenging the Food and Drug Administration’s approval of the commonly used abortion medication mifepristone. The justices also agreed to review the scope of an obstruction law that has been applied to hundreds of felony prosecutions of insurrectionists who stormed the Capitol on January 6th. Last week, the House passed a resolution that equated anti-Zionism with antisemitism. And on Wednesday, the House voted to pass a resolutio...
Dec 14, 2023•21 min•Transcript available on Metacast A group of ten current and formerly incarcerated people in Alabama filed a federal lawsuit on Tuesday to allege inhumane conditions in the state’s prison system, and called it a “modern day form of slavery.” The lawsuit claims about 575 private companies and more than 100 public agencies have benefitted from incarcerated labor in Alabama in the past five years, and those benefits have amounted to an estimated $450 million annually. The latest Consumer Price Index showed that prices rose 3.1% in ...
Dec 13, 2023•26 min•Transcript available on Metacast The UN Climate Change Conference – known as COP28 – hit a major roadblock on Monday. There’s disagreement between countries because a potential deal stops short of a promise to phase out the use of fossil fuels. The Golden Globes nominees were announced on Monday, but this is the first time the award ceremony will be run without the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. The Association was dissolved, and a for-profit venture bought control over the awards. This year’s ceremony will be a case stud...
Dec 12, 2023•22 min•Transcript available on Metacast The Texas Supreme Court temporarily halted the abortion procedure for Kate Cox, a 31-year-old pregnant woman who was granted the country’s first court-ordered abortion last week since the fall of Roe. The justices said Cox's procedure is on pause while they review her restraining order, which is meant to protect her and her doctors from the state’s anti-abortion measures. Sickle cell disease is a painful condition that occurs more frequently in Black people, and last Friday the FDA approved two ...
Dec 11, 2023•20 min•Transcript available on Metacast A Texas judge ruled Thursday that a woman can terminate her pregnancy because of a lethal abnormality in the fetus. It’s the first attempt in the country to use the courts to obtain an abortion since the end of Roe v Wade, and Thursday’s ruling is meant to shield the woman and her doctor from Texas’s strict anti-abortion measures. But state Attorney General Ken Paxton warned that it’s still possible his office might prosecute those involved. Then, over 17,000 people are dead in Gaza as the war i...
Dec 08, 2023•28 min•Transcript available on Metacast Senate Republicans blocked meaningful gun control once again Wednesday by stopping a Democratic measure that would have banned assault-style weapons. Unfortunately, the failed Congressional effort came on the same day as a mass shooting on the campus of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, where three people were killed and a fourth wounded. The Biden Administration approved another $4.8 billion in debt relief for over 80,000 student loan borrowers. So far, the administration canceled $132 billi...
Dec 07, 2023•17 min•Transcript available on Metacast GOP Senator Tommy Tuberville of Alabama finally backed down on Tuesday after single-handedly blocking nearly every single military promotion for almost a year. He released the vast majority of his holds, and shortly afterwards the Senate confirmed the promotions of 440 service members. Georgia’s Republican-controlled state senate passed a redrawn Congressional map that preserves the GOP majority among the state’s delegation to the House of Representatives. The map also splits Democratic Represen...
Dec 06, 2023•22 min•Transcript available on Metacast The Biden administration is sounding the alarm to Congress about the need to pass a funding bill to support Ukraine in their war with Russia. White House budget official Shalanda Young sent a letter to party leaders in the House and Senate on Monday warning that “we are out of money — and nearly out of time.” The Supreme Court on Monday heard yet another case with significant implications – this time about the opioid crisis. The question in front of the court will determine whether or not the we...
Dec 05, 2023•20 min•Transcript available on Metacast Hundreds of Palestinians were killed since fighting resumed after a weeklong truce between Israel and Hamas ended Friday morning. Israeli officials are also preparing for a ground invasion of the south of Gaza, and they ordered more residents to evacuate the area on Sunday. Meanwhile, it appears too soon to tell if negotiations for another truce will resume. And in headlines: the Supreme Court will hear arguments over the legality of a $6 billion Purdue Pharma bankruptcy plan, oil companies at t...
Dec 04, 2023•20 min•Transcript available on Metacast The weeklong truce between Israel and Hamas expired early Friday morning local time and combat operations resumed. Prior to that, Hamas released eight more hostages on Thursday for a total of more than 100. Israel that same day released another 30 Palestinians from Israeli prisons for a total of 240. Governors Ron DeSantis and Gavin Newsom took to the stage on Thursday for a primetime debate on Fox News. Under Sean Hannity’s moderation, the two debated everything from taxes to the economy to abo...
Dec 01, 2023•24 min•Transcript available on Metacast The UN’s 28th Conference of the Parties, also called COP28, kicks off today in Dubai. The annual climate change conference is set to take place through December 12th with an estimated 70,000 people in attendance. We’re joined by Naveena Sadasivam, senior staff writer from the climate outlet Grist, for what to watch at this year’s event. And in headlines: Israel and Hamas agreed to extend their truce one more day to Friday, former U.S Secretary of State Henry Kissinger died at 100, and Taylor Swi...
Nov 30, 2023•23 min•Transcript available on Metacast Donald Trump threatened to replace the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, if he wins the 2024 presidential election. Trump took to social media over the weekend to post that he is “seriously looking at alternatives” to it, and on Monday, President Biden said in a statement: “My predecessor once again called for cuts that could rip away health insurance for tens of millions of Americans…They just don’t give up.” Hunter Biden told lawmakers on Tuesday that he is willing to publicly testify before ...
Nov 29, 2023•20 min•Transcript available on Metacast Israel and Hamas both agreed on Monday to extend the current pause in fighting for another two days. Hamas released another 11 hostages as part of the deal, and in exchange Israel released 33 more Palestinians being held in prison. The long-awaited trial of rap artist Young Thug started on Monday in Atlanta. The trial has implications far beyond the music industry because Young Thug and his co-defendants are being prosecuted by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis and have been charged un...
Nov 28, 2023•22 min•Transcript available on Metacast Seventeen more hostages held by Hamas were released on Sunday under a temporary, four-day ceasefire agreement reached last week between Israel and Hamas. In total, 58 hostages were released over the first three days of the deal, and in return, Israel agreed to release 150 Palestinian women and children from prison. Israel and Hamas have also both expressed openness to extending the pause beyond four days. Meanwhile, people on every side of the war took to the streets across the world over the we...
Nov 27, 2023•24 min•Transcript available on Metacast A federal appeals court on Monday issued a ruling that jeopardizes the Voting Rights Act of 1965. In a 2-1 decision, the Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit ruled that private groups or individuals can’t sue under a key provision of the VRA. We’re joined by Jay Willis, Editor-in-Chief of Balls and Strikes, to discuss what comes next. Over in Wisconsin, the state Supreme Court is set to hear arguments on Tuesday in a case that could toss Republican-drawn legislative maps. The lawsuit was file...
Nov 21, 2023•17 min•Transcript available on Metacast Israel, Hamas and the U.S. are close to an agreement to free some hostages held in Gaza, according to The Washington Post. The tentative deal, which is being brokered by the U.S., would involve a pause in fighting in exchange for the release of at least 50 women and children hostages. Sam Altman, the CEO and co-founder of OpenAI, was ousted from his own company by its board of directors on Friday. In a statement, the company – which is the maker of ChatGPT – said of Altman: “The board no longer ...
Nov 20, 2023•18 min•Transcript available on Metacast Family members of Israeli hostages held by Hamas are currently on a five-day march from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, with plans to end the march in front of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s home. Meanwhile, a protest calling for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war was held outside the Democratic Party headquarters in D.C on Wednesday. And across the country in the Bay Area, dozens of protestors shut down the westbound lanes of the Bay Bridge for roughly four hours on Thursday. Republican Representa...
Nov 17, 2023•22 min•Transcript available on Metacast President Joe Biden and China’s President Xi Jinping met on Wednesday for the first time in a year. Following their private conversations, it was announced that the U.S. and China will resume military-to-military communications, and the leaders also reached an agreement to curb fentanyl production. The Israeli military stormed Al-Shifa hospital on Wednesday and said they found guns, ammunition, protective vests and Hamas military uniforms at the hospital – claims Hamas called “fabricated.” Meanw...
Nov 16, 2023•17 min•Transcript available on Metacast The House of Representatives on Tuesday passed Speaker Mike Johnson’s bill to avoid a government shutdown. The measure passed with bipartisan support, and it now heads to the Senate for approval ahead of Saturday’s deadline to avert a shutdown. Republicans also spent Tuesday fighting mostly among themselves: GOP Senator Markwayne Mullin challenged the president of the Teamsters Union to a fight during a committee hearing, Republican Rep. Tim Burchett said Rep. Kevin McCarthy elbowed him, and Rep...
Nov 15, 2023•23 min•Transcript available on Metacast The Supreme Court announced its first-ever ethics code on Monday after pressure from Congress and the public. But it’s unclear how the code – signed by all nine justices – will be enforced. We’re joined by Leah Litman, co-host of Crooked’s Strict Scrutiny podcast, to make sense of it all. And in headlines: thousands of people fled Gaza’s largest hospital as fighting continues outside the facility, protesters and police clashed at Monday’s Cop City protests, and Chuck E. Cheese is getting rid of ...
Nov 14, 2023•17 min•Transcript available on Metacast Local organizers in Atlanta are set to hold a mass nonviolent community action today against Cop City — the 90-million-dollar police training complex slated to be built in the city’s South River Forest. We’re joined by Kamau Franklin, founder of the Community Movement Builders, to discuss what’s at stake if Cop City gets built and what folks on the ground are doing to keep that from happening. And in headlines: the second largest hospital in Gaza City has run out of fuel, Republican presidential...
Nov 13, 2023•22 min•Transcript available on Metacast Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia announced Thursday that he will not seek re-election in 2024. Manchin’s decision to step down leaves Democrats in a bind and jeopardizes their narrow 51-49 Senate majority. The White House said on Thursday that Israel agreed to daily, four-hour-long pauses in its military operation in Gaza to allow civilians to evacuate. These pauses will also make it easier for deliveries of humanitarian aid to get into Gaza safely, and hopefully facilitate the relea...
Nov 10, 2023•24 min•Transcript available on Metacast The third GOP presidential debate took place in Miami last night with five hopefuls on stage. Meanwhile, Donald Trump skipped out and held a rally nearby in Hialeah, Florida. We’re joined by Leah Greenberg, co-founder and co-Executive Director of Indivisible, to discuss the biggest takeaways of the night and look ahead to the 2024 presidential election. And in headlines: an estimated 40,000 people have fled northern Gaza, the Hollywood actors’ strike is over, and Virginia delegate Danica Roem be...
Nov 09, 2023•26 min•Transcript available on Metacast 
