
Background Briefing (5am)
5:00 AM PACIFIC TIME: TUESDAYS - FRIDAYS
Bruce Fein / Bill Scher / Scott Kennedy
The Looming Constitutional Crisis, as Trump Continues to Defy the Supreme Court and Federal District Courts With “The Dog Ate My Homework” Excuses
A Little-Noticed FEC Ruling Opens the Door for the Next Frontier of Plutocracy
The Tariff War Trump has Launched Against China That He Will Surely Lose
Edward McCaffery / Nancy Altman / Craig Unger
Trump Appoints Another Unqualified Hack, as the Deliberate Destruction of the IRS Continues
The Deliberate Destruction of Social Security, With Biden the Wrong Person to Lead the Effort to Save It
An Assessment of Rumors about Witkoff’s Ties To Russian Money-launderers
Ryan Enos / Aram Shabanian / Nader Hashemi
Harvard Stands up to Trump; Then He Hits Them For $2.2 Billion and Threatens Their Tax-exempt Status
Trump’s Escalating War on the Press, as he Threatens CBS Over an Accurate 60 Minutes Report on Ukraine
A Professor Who Just visited His Postdoctoral Student in an ICE Detention Camp
Ben Wizner / Ana María Méndez-Dardón / Steven Simon
Is Trump Using El Salvador’s Techno-Autocrat Bukele as an Excuse to Defy the Supreme Court?
Trump and Erik Prince’s Plans to Render 100,000 Prisoners from American Jails to El Salvador
The New Hegemon in the Middle East: Israel
Joseph Stiglitz / Barry Eichengreen / Christopher Meissner
Trump’s MAGA Economy Driven by Greed, Stupidity, and Cowardice
Will Trump’s Weakening of the Dollar Lead to a New Global Reserve Currency?
The Hollow Nature of Trump’s Promise of Gain After the Pain
Robert Hockett / Matt Gold / Gregory Brew
Trump’s Amateurism on Display, or is He Shorting the Market for His Family and Cronies?
An Assessment of the Amount of Damage Ahead From Trump’s Trade War
Given Today’s Drop in Oil To $56 From $72 a Barrel Last Week, What Kind of a Deal Could Emerge Between the U.S. and Iran on Saturday?
Barry Naughton / Trita Parsi / Alexander Sammon
Chinese Response to 104% Tariffs and Insults From Vance
Trump Announces Talks Between Iran and the U.S. in Oman on Saturday
Trump’s DOJ Will No Longer Stop Crypto Scams, and Cyber Command Will No Longer Stop Ransomware Attacks
William Cohan / Mike Lofgren / Michael Kazin
Trump Urges Americans Not to Be “Weak or Stupid,” as the Meltdown on Wall Street Continues
Who Benefits From Trump and Musk’s Deliberate Destruction of the American Economy?
Saturday’s 1,200 “Hands Off” Demonstrations Around the World
Jeremi Suri / Sarang Shidore / Jonathan Cohn
The Growing Grassroots Revolt Against the Slash and Burn of the American Government, Our Institutions, and Our Democracy by Trump and Musk
Trump’s Broadside of Tariffs, Amid a Blizzard of Lies From the Rose Garden
After Trump, Musk, and RFK Jr. Have Purged Scientists, Researchers, Innovators, and Experts, Who Will Make America Great Again?
Richard Parker / Jonathan Guyer / Simon Billenness
Hope on the Horizon for Democrats
Trump’s Erratic Middle East Policy, as He Threatens to Bomb Iran While Israel Annexes Gaza
Will the Earthquake in Myanmar Spell the End of the Military Junta?