Shutdown Politics Has G.O.P. Singing Government’s Praises As Republicans try to pin blame for shutdown damage on Democrats, they are hailing a federal bureaucracy they normally bash as wasteful and overreaching. Via Carl Hulse of NYT Politics: www.nytimes.com/2025/10/06/u...

Air travel to rural areas will be hurt the most in the short run unless the shutdown ends. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/06/u...

And now with more context (and data): Which members of Congress write to constituents about "evil"? And what are they talking about? dcinboxinsights.substack.com/p/which-memb...

Normally, “Democrats’ fierce internal disagreements, clumsiness with messaging and lack of any megaphone that matches President Trump’s would convince me that they can’t win the government shutdown. But under circumstances as abnormal as these? They have a shot,” writes Frank Bruni.

Trump Aimed Shutdown Cuts at Democrats, but G.O.P. Districts Are Hit, Too Via NYT Politics: www.nytimes.com/2025/10/06/u...

From NYT Business: Trump’s tariffs on timber, wood, furniture and kitchen cabinets could raise the cost of building and buying a home. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/02/b...

Rising use “is not a signal of satisfaction,” an author of a new report says. Rather, heavy users of the apps are under “financial strain.” www.nytimes.com/2025/10/03/y...

From NYT Business: The budget bill signed by Trump suspended an effort to enroll more low-income older Americans in programs that assist them with rising health care costs. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/04/b...

At Stake in the Shutdown Fight: Obamacare Prices That Could Rise by Thousands of Dollars www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

Before the election, the NYT Magazine surveyed the legal establishment about what a second Trump term could mean for the rule of law. The magazine recently returned to the group with a new survey and follow-up interviews. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/06/m...

The number of international students arriving in the U.S. in August fell by 19 percent this year compared with last year — the largest decline on record outside of the pandemic.

Things changed in January. One week before Trump took office, Kalshi named his son Donald Trump Jr. as a strategic adviser. Three days after Mr. Trump started his term, Kalshi listed its first sports contracts on two N.F.L. playoff games. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/05/u...

From NYT Metro: www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

The decline is occurring as the Trump administration has delayed visa processing, instituted travel bans or restrictions for 19 countries, threatened to deport international students for pro-Palestinian speech, and heightened the vetting of student visa applicants. www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

This monthly series is about focus, but it's also fun to learn about the artists and the stories behind the paintings. www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

My Sunday political data roundup for this week: A look at all the polling about the government shutdown www.gelliottmorris.com/p/all-the-po...

Who Still Has Temporary Protected Status in the U.S.? Conflicting court rulings have plunged hundreds of thousands of people with temporary protection from deportation into uncertainty. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/04/u...

Gov. JB Pritzker of Illinois blasted recent federal immigration enforcement efforts in Chicago on Sunday, and dismissed Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s assertions that the city was a “war zone” while blaming federal agents for escalating conflict.

“The male tendency to view debates as adversarial contests that must be won at all costs is what may help to create a more alarming antiscience dynamic in the manosphere,” writes Adam Frank, a professor of astrophysics.

“In our increasingly digital world, online classes are here to stay, but there’s no substitute for being on campus,” Daniel Seddiqui writes.

“The decision to lock an entire generation out of affordable coverage will have health and economic implications for decades to come,” Natalie Foster writes.

So far at least, Americans are lukewarm about AI summaries in search results. Relatively few who have seen them think they're extremely or very useful (20%) or have a lot of trust in the information they get from them (6%). New data from @pewresearch.org: www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/...

About 1 in 4 U.S. adults worry they or someone close to them could be deported, according to a June @pewresearch.org survey.

Is Sports Betting Illegal in Your State? Not if You Call It a ‘Prediction Market.’ In August, Donald Trump Jr.’s venture capital firm invested in Polymarket, despite his position with its rival Kalshi. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/05/u...

Shutdown may be compounding economic worries: economic impact is what Americans are most concerned about, among list of possible consequences Troops deploying to U.S. cities is divisive, with strong backing from GOP base but little support beyond it More below: www.cbsnews.com/news/cbs-new... 3/3

Fewer call Trump "focused" than did at start of this term Large majority says administration isn't paying enough attention to prices, with most saying it's too focused on tariffs Few say Trump's policies are making them any better off And now, most say Trump's policies are costing U.S. jobs 2/3

Today, just over half say job market is bad — worse than evaluations this spring Most say if they were job hunting, it would be hard to find the kind they want Market is not seen as growing: only 12% see more good jobs where they live than five years ago More: www.cbsnews.com/news/poll-ne... 2/2

NEW Americans remain pessimistic about economy, with most now rating job market negatively, alongside inflation concern Another uptick in share saying economy's getting worse, with prices still big factor in evaluations At 64%, share saying prices have been rising is highest it's been in '25 1/2

Prediction markets like Kalshi, once known for offering wagers on elections, are now in the multibillion-dollar sports betting business and outside the reach of state regulations and taxes. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/05/u...

for the weekend crowd: take a moment today to explore what's on the ballot next month! it's not all about NYC, VA, and NJ: i put together a guide of the 180+ key races you should know about, across 32 states. explore, & find the ones that interest you the most, here: boltsmag.org/whats-on-the...

Two examples (you can find more): opposition to nuclear power and self-driving cars is primarily from women. There is a *massive* gender gap. Why? (this precedes tech’s MAGA turn. best hypothesis is “women are much more risk-averse and that leads to less Dumb Stuff but also more tech skepticism)

Something that was a bit surprising to me this time around: I tested the favorables of Vance, Trump, Gavin Newsom and AOC in our latest survey. Newsom: 36/40 (-4) AOC: 36/41 (-5) Vance: 39/51 (-12) Trump: 42/57 (-15) ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Without them, premiums will increase for more than 20 million people next year, and an estimated two million people are expected to lose coverage. The magnitude of the change depends on where people live, how old they are, and what they earn. www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

“The nuance on boys and gaming is completely overlooked. There’s this social outlet for gaming that much of the research has missed.” www.nytimes.com/2025/10/03/u...

How Video Games Are Shaping a Generation of Boys, for Better and Worse www.nytimes.com/2025/10/03/u...

Have a little cosmic wonder with your spooky season: My first story for @nytimes.com, about a pair of once-in-a-lifetime cosmic visitors gracing the northern skies this month www.nytimes.com/2025/10/03/s...

Our weekly history quiz: www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

Users of Sora, a new app from OpenAI, have deployed artificial intelligence to create strikingly realistic videos of events that never took place. The app, and other tools like it, could become increasingly fertile breeding grounds for disinformation and abuse, experts said.

A statue depicting Donald Trump and Jeffery Epstein titled “Best Friends Forever" has returned to the National Mall, a week after the National Park Service removed it. An anonymous group of artists has taken credit.

They’ve become an important way to spend time with peers. But they’ve also become more addictive. The latest installment in our series on boys and young men: www.nytimes.com/2025/10/03/u...

As always, @boltsmag.org puts out a great guide to all the elections coming up. "We’ve identified more than 180 key elections that will be decided this fall—from mayors and governors to school boards and judges—and explain why they matter." boltsmag.org/whats-on-the...

POLLS: Who do Americans blame for the gov't shutdown?* WASH POST 47% blame Trump/GOP 30% blame Dems MARIST 38% blame GOP 27% blame Dems NYT/SIENA 26% blame Trump/GOP 19% blame Dems MORNING CONSULT 45% blame GOP 32% blame Dems [*all taken b/w late Sept & Oct 1] www.nbcnews.com/politics/con...

NEW from @pewresearch.org: Public awareness of legal sports betting has grown in recent years – and so has the perception that it is a *bad thing* for society and sports. Young men, in particular, have changed their views.

Something of note is that in the west, where SDCs are more prevalent, opposition goes *down*. Suggesting that it's like congestion pricing, perhaps: you hate it till you see it, and then you're more OK with it.

Some statistics about the 16 blue states Russ Vought wants to target: - 39% of the country lives in those states. - They contribute 44% of GDP. - They are also home to almost a third of 2024 Trump voters, some 24 million of them. www.pbump.net/o/sorry-abou...

The concerns about the health of the political system have overtaken other issues. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/02/u...

Via @lazarogamio.bsky.social www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

Via New York Times tech columnist @brianx.bsky.social A new feature for iPhones can screens calls, similar to a technology available for Android users. Here’s how to activate it. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/02/t...

Our Wednesday Washington Post poll finds 47% say Trump and Republicans in Congress are more responsible for the shutdown, 30% say Democrats in Congress bear more responsibility and a sizable 23% are not sure www.washingtonpost.com/politics/int...

The numbers in our analysis come from researchers at the health research group @kff.org At Stake in the Shutdown Fight: Obamacare Prices That Could Rise by Thousands of Dollars www.nytimes.com/interactive/...