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Cornered by Big Bend backlash, Texas Republicans tread carefully around Trump

For over a generation, Texas Republicans have owned the politics of the southern border. Now the Trump administration’s latest border project has them cornered, stuck between constituents outraged over federal plans to carve roads and barriers through Big Bend and…

August 24, 2026 · by Friedrich Arndt · 0

“They’re my people”: Trump shrugs off concerns of MAGA ranchers’ beef

President Donald Trump has some beef with the price of beef. American ranchers — many of them among his most reliable supporters — have some beef with his solution. Trump announced Friday that the United States would temporarily allow up…

August 23, 2026 · by LuLu Porter · 0

Are kids “guinea pigs for chatbots”? McMahon backs classroom AI use

Education Secretary Linda McMahon praised the growing use of artificial intelligence in classrooms Sunday, even as she acknowledged there is little evidence yet showing how the technology affects student learning. During an interview with CNN’s Dana Bash, McMahon pointed to…

August 23, 2026 · by Friedrich Arndt · 0

Sean Duffy’s Great American Road Grift

At least once while watching “The Great American Road Trip,” I found myself wondering what the Founding Fathers would make of all this. It happened in the Philadelphia episode, after Transportation Secretary and “Real World: Boston” alumnus Sean Duffy herded…

August 23, 2026 · by Friedrich Arndt · 0

Even in loud movies, the power of silence is undeniable

It is bizarre to watch someone like Alan Ritchson follow in the footsteps of Charlie Chaplin. That’s less of a stretch than it seems, I promise. Stick with me. In case you’re unfamiliar with Ritchson, he’s a muscles-on-muscles behemoth whose…

August 22, 2026 · by Friedrich Arndt · 0

The best band you’re probably not listening to yet

If you’ve never heard of the band Black Marble, that should change, and today’s as good a day as any for that to happen, because their new album, “Life in Small Spaces,” was just released on Sacred Bones.  Since I…

August 21, 2026 · by Friedrich Arndt · 0

Columbia House closure sparks nostalgia for a bygone music scam

Even if you aren’t old enough to remember the heyday of Columbia House, you’re probably familiar with the scam at its center. The mail-order club would offer customers eight to 12 CDs, tapes, records — and, in later years, DVDs…

August 21, 2026 · by Friedrich Arndt · 0

Harry and Meghan’s UK return tests a press under fire

There can be many reasonable reactions to the surprising news that Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan, along with their children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, are returning to Britain. But when it comes to the Duke and Duchess of…

August 20, 2026 · by Friedrich Arndt · 0

“The End of Oak Street” does pastiche right

In 2015’s “Jurassic World” — the first of the “Jurassic Park” franchise’s largely interminable bastard step-children — there’s a moment of action that briefly suggests the film might exist for reasons other than to extend its source material and make…

August 20, 2026 · by Friedrich Arndt · 0

I don’t want another restaurant app

The other afternoon, I was trying to take a nap. I had worked late the night before, and dinner was still several hours away, and I had achieved that particular state of adult exhaustion in which closing your eyes for…

August 20, 2026 · by Jamie Cook · 0