SCARBOROUGH, Maine (AP) — Maine Democratic Party says it will hold a convention to replace Graham Platner if he drops out of the US Senate race.

It has been criminally underreported but Kelsey Pfendler has just rowed solo across the Pacific Ocean from the US coast to Hawaii in record time. A 2,400-mile unsupported journey in 43 days, 17 hours, and 55 minutes. Notably beating the Men’s record by 9 whole days.

All three meet the first prerequisite for a candidacy under least-best circumstance: statewide name recognition. prospect.org?p=140693

More thought on this story here: open.substack.com/pub/danieldr...

Trump has argued he doesn’t need Congress to approve his planned 250-ft arch … … because Congress a century ago authorized a pair of columns that were never built there But the arch Trump wants to build — see the drawing — would be much larger in scale and visual impact (Graphic by Júlia Ledur)

'Rusland kan de oorlog ook buiten Oekraïne uitbreiden als succes op het slagveld uitblijft. Dat zegt de Oekraïense president Volodymyr Zelensky tegen zakenkrant Financial Times. Hij stelt zijn westerse partners daar al voor te hebben gewaarschuwd.' nieuws.nl/buitenland/z...

Democraten in paniek: veelbelovende Senaatskandidaat uit Maine moet wijken

Seems like a good time to remind people the USWNT has won 4 World Cups! ⚽️

We’ve entered the period of the evening when I can’t tell whether the “it’s all over now” vagueposts are about Platner, the USMNT or McConnell.

Great story from @bobjherman.bsky.social on the quiet erosion of employer-sponsored insurance, especially among small businesses www.statnews.com/2026/07/07/s...

whoopsie

Americans are now so used to their president cheating and breaking rules that many of them seem genuinely not to understand why the world was rooting for Belgium.

Vandaag begint de NAVO-top in Ankara. @blogaap.bsky.social en ik keken vorige week vooruit naar deze top in onze podcast 'De Toestand in de Wereld'. Kijk en of beluister hier: bit.ly/4eZQ19p (apple) bit.ly/4aB1yL5 (spotify) bit.ly/4vPuBmy (YouTube)

Get in, loser, we’re doing normal politics with extensive vetting and candidates who only post to socials through their communications staff.

Have you read the online, NatCon and postlib right ???

Trump is preparing to fire the leadership of the Smithsonian Institution, one of America's most prestigious scientific and historical research and education organizations. He wants in particular to censor the Smithonian's American History exhibits:

Wisconsin residents sue Microsoft over noise caused by new data center

New in PN with @juddlegum.bsky.social: How Kalshi infects the news "Since last December, both CNBC & CNN have promoted Kalshi to viewers extensively, frequently vouching for its accuracy. The existence of financial ties between the networks & Kalshi, however, is disclosed to viewers inconsistently"

De polarisering rondom deze FIFA/VS/België fittie is uitermate deprimerend. Zoals het gezegde gaat inmiddels 'Everything Trump Touches Dies'.

USMNT captain Tim Ream said the squad, which includes members from 12 different states, 13 dual-nationals, and is coached by an Argentine, is "a true representation of what America is." ❤️🤍💙

ICYMI: mijn spontane reflectie op de 250e verjaardag, mede in het licht vd politieke ontwikkelingen van de afgelopen week:

thehill.com/homenews/med... 😎

Top: Fascists march in DC in 1926 Bottom: Fascists march in DC in 2026 100 years later American fascism thrives. The difference between KKK fascists then & MAGA fascists now is back then they showed their faces & now they hide them. They’ve become even bigger feckless cowards than they already were

we have, empirically, discovered that there is such a thing as Too Many Fireworks

Just another day of Elon Musk fully promoting white extinction in the U.S. www.reddit.com/r/EnoughMusk...

Fox at Mount Rushmore: They just said there is severe weather on the way. In fact, they said hail could be coming and they are urging everybody to get inside. We're going to get to shelter.

Is Americanness an idea teachable to nearly anyone? Or is it a collection of bloodlines, without which we can't be great? It's become the most important question in our politics. Pity those who favor bloodlines; they live surrounded by counterexamples. Sometimes, they're married to them.

Natuurlijk vandaag de TJ sokken aan de voeten en de vlag op het hoofd! 🇺🇸🇺🇸

Mijn verjaardagsnieuwsbrief: open.substack.com/pub/amerikaa...

MSNOW put together collection of clips of Fox anchors talking in front of the Great American State Fair.

🚨BREAKING: In the latest blow to President Donald Trump’s anti-voting agenda, a federal court on Wednesday granted the NAACP’s request to halt the U.S. Postal Service’s (USPS) implementation of his executive order against mail voting. www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/...

NEW: Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold has won the Democratic nomination for state attorney general. Griswold has vocally opposed and fought back against the Trump administration's unprecedented assault on elections, including its attempts to access Colorado voters' private data.

Why most Black Americans say they never fly the American flag, according to a new AP-NORC poll

Rare kop in het FD. Het gaat om het hele concept van onafhankelijke, zelfstandige bestuursorganen dat hiermee op de schop gaat. Het opheffen van ntslagbescherming van ambtenaren kan ook een secundair gevolg zijn, maar niet het eerste, primaire gevolg.

Nog een democratic socialist overwinning...

NPR bericht dat rechter Alito uit het Hof stapt, maar trekt het snel weer in. Zou een fout zijn. Maar het hangt een beetje in de lucht.

Deze uitspraak betekent ook dat dit recht slechts kan worden veranderd dmv een grondwetswijziging.

"Het probleem is niet dat de politiek ingrijpt, maar wel de manier waarop”, stelt HCSS expert Paul Verhagen in De Morgen. "Het AI-beleid in de VS lijkt te worden gevoerd op basis van ongekozen techbro’s die met de president bellen."

About Trump v. Barbara: Do not give the Court and the CJ credit for reading and upholding the Constitution. It's a travesty that this is not a unanimous decision... it's also a travesty that the Court let this question percolate for a year, giving credence to a crank theory of citizenship.

Het automatisch recht op staatsburgerschap bij geboorte - 'birthright citizenship - zoals opgenomen in het 14e Amendement, blijft overeind. Zoals verwacht. www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/25p...

Beperkingen op bijdragen aan politieke partijen die coordineren met kandidaten zijn ongrondwettelijk, een schending van de vrijheid van meningsuiting volgens het Hooggerechtshof. De kraan met geld in verkiezingscampagnes wordt nog verder opengedraaid. www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/25p...

West Virginia en Idaho mogen transgender atleten weerhouden van deelname aan schoolsport obv hun biologische sekse. De progressieve rechters gaan er deels in mee. www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/25p...

Stel uw vragen!

VOLUNTEER: Senator Collins, I just really wanted to thank you for standing with Trump when it really counts. SUSAN COLLINS: Thank you. CROWD MEMBER: Stay strong

OK, the enrolled bill was signed by the speaker and (presumably) the presiding officer of the Senate last Thursday ⬇️. It was apparently presented to the president today.

Classic rhetorical tricks used here. And it is working for a lot of people. So much, people go overboard and call him the new Obama. People at The Bulwark are enamoured.

Sophie Cunningham is now a meme, and I am here for it.

Waar zal deze week de nieuwsbrief over gaan?? Abonneer je nu, dan krijg je 'm het snelst.... amerikaansetoestanden.substack.com

There's no sugar-coating Slaughter. It's an enormously important ruling (far more important than the other three decisions #SCOTUS handed down today). It's a huge win for Trump/the executive. And it's going to have massive ramifications for the functioning of the government long after Trump is gone.

to repeat a point, the underlying political theory of the unitary executive is the president as tribune — an instantiation of the sovereign will of the people. it is a Bonapartist vision of the executive and it cashes out in the idea that the executive branch must follow the president's will.