According to a recent study, reading for pleasure has fallen by 40% in the last 20 years, continuing a long-running downward trend. https://to.pbs.org/3NfW4fX

CPI Report Shows Food Prices Rose Sharply in December www.nytimes.com/2026/01/13/b...

Rodgers had (by far) the weekend's lowest adjusted EPA in a matchup he was never going to overcome. Just an impossible spot for a QB whose offense is predicated on him not taking hits.

The YoY change in new homes for sale under construction is an interesting way to think about builder confidence. Adding this to my list of indicators that if it inflects higher I need to reassess my view:

Steelers in the playoffs since 2017: 0-6 with a minus-87 point differential. Five of the six losses have been by 10+ points.

B of A DESK: ".. we continue to waver between a realization that one has NOT, thus far, been incentivized to fight the Administration in the markets, and a growing knowledge that we are living amidst unprecedented amounts of policy risks, most of which are underpriced." (1/2)

Our new episode — with @trueanon.bsky.social's Brace Belden — explains the gallery of scammers powering Trump's unprecedented pardon economy. youtu.be/7Bf1YQbfgiY?...

The NFL’s version of the Elite Eight is set. Which teams have the best chances to win their divisions and the Super Bowl?

GenAI companies keep claiming the books and copyrighted works their programed were "trained" on without permission didn't retain complete copies in their systems. This was a lie. These companies may now face for even more liability for violating copyrights. 1/ www.theatlantic.com/technology/2...

On Friday, a third federal court ruled against President Trump’s anti-voting executive order, reiterating that “the Constitution assigns no authority to the President over federal election administration.” (1/4)

NEW >> Congressional appropriators agreed to provide $653 million to fund Voice of America’s parent agency, rejecting President Donald Trump's demand to defund the international broadcaster and shut it down. My latest for @washingtonpost.com: www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...

Department of Justice officials resign because leadership refused to investigate the murder of Renee Good www.ms.now/news/doj-civ...

Trump repeated his claim Renee Good was a “professional agitator” and vowed to continue immigration operations in Minnesota.

DOJ staff resign over the department’s disinterest in Good killing.

The 1st Trump admin swore they'd put an American on the Moon ... by 2024. "Everyone knew," one NASA source says, "it was pretty much bullshit.” Now the 2nd Trump admin is swearing it'll happen by 2028. Small problem: Musk got the sole-source contract to build the lunar lander, and hasn't delivered.

Being right about trump was boring, tedious, partisan, ideological. Being wrong about trump? Heterodox, contrarian, free thinking.

Grocery prices were up 0.7 percent in December, the largest one-month gain since October 2022. They were up 2.4 percent from a year ago.

The deal hasn’t officially been announced yet, but Alex Bregman is at the Blackhawks game tonight, shown on the scoreboard as “Go Cubs Go” played:

Wild reporting from Bloomberg. Jeanine Pirro apparently freelanced the subpoenas and criminal investigation of Jerome Powell.

When officials refuse to do Trump’s bidding, retaliation follows That’s why standing up for Chair Powell matters Trump’s effort against him will fail—just like it did with James & Comey I’ll discuss tonight @CNN with @thelauracoates at 11pm ET 👇 open.substack.com/pub/contrari...

Honestly I think it's more than feasible to recreate your old Twitter/X sports timeline here. No more excuses.

It is really good to see @apsa.bsky.social doing this.

More and more analysts are concluding Trump is a fascist www.nytimes.com/2026/01/12/o...

What to know about how NATO works as Trump threatens to take over Greenland www.pbs.org/newshour/wor...

7-6 at half is perfect Monday night watching.

They can’t keep getting away with this (yes they will)

that was the definition of a "should be leading by more" half for the Texans. which describes most of the Tomlin era in Pittsburgh

Playbook alternate broadcast tonight! ESPN App! Live now! @mikemonaco.bsky.social, @chasedaniel.bsky.social, Luke Kuechly and me! And an all-22 view!

A Minnesota state representative said two Richfield Target employees detained by U.S. Border Patrol on Jan. 8 were U.S. citizens and were both injured in the incident.

Six-byline alert: 🚨 “.. laws of armed conflict forbid combatants from feigning civilian status to fool adversaries into dropping their guard, then attacking and killing them. That is a war crime called ‘perfidy.’” @nytimes.com www.nytimes.com/2026/01/12/u...

Former Iowa/NFL kicking ace Nate Kaeding -- now a businessman/entrepreneur in Iowa City/C.R. -- turned the tables and had me as the guest on his podcast. Here's the text and some video clips: corridorbusiness.com/real-success...

The federal government did not offer any details about the people arrested, including how many people were released after being arrested, charged with a crime or who face deportation. www.mprnews.org/story/2026/0...

I get the point Justin is trying to make, but I do not believe it is helpful to sow fear about things like hyperinflation that are not going to come from this. Again, the authoritarianism at home can be No Good And Very Bad w/o the category error doomcasting about non-comps bsky.app/profile/mcop...

While Congress debates bringing back Affordable Care Act subsidies, many Americans have already made life-altering decisions to afford health care.

Today, we were officially notified by USG that Pres Trump's memo that revoked my security clearance w/o due process is no longer in effect over me. My access eligibility to classified info has been restored. On Dec 23, 2025, a federal court ruled his action was unconstitutional. Rule of Law wins!

The Roadless Rule has been an amazing success story—protecting 45 million acres of national lands nationwide, including 400,000 acres in Virginia. I will keep pushing for legislation to codify the rule and safeguard other wilderness areas in the Commonwealth.

The Justice Department division that regularly handles investigations into police shootings has not been brought into the probe of an immigration officer’s fatal shooting of a woman in Minneapolis, according to people familiar with the matter.

Trump, fearing that a Democratic Congress could investigate him, impeach him and stymie his agenda, is using every tool he can find to try to influence the 2026 elections and, if his party loses, sow doubt in their validity. www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

I wrote all of this up (including how we got to this point doctrinally) in a recent issue of my newsletter. Here's the non-paywalled version: www.stevevladeck.com/p/bonus-182-...

“We fought a war on wjnd. I guess that wind won.” Judge Strikes Down Trump’s Latest Effort to Stop Offshore Wind www.nytimes.com/2026/01/12/c...

NEW: State of MN, Minneapolis & St. Paul have filed a federal lawsuit to halt a federal government "invasion" by ICE agents, arguing the deployment amounts to a constitutional violation and a direct threat to public safety.

It would take a two-word amendment to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 to subject ICE agents and other federal law enforcement officers to the same liability for constitutional violations that local and state officers currently face. If Congress actually cared about what it's seeing, it could pass that overnight.

Atlantis? The Northwest Passage? The moon? @petridishes.bsky.social imagines what else might be on Donald Trump’s shopping list in addition to Greenland:

OUT: “Golden age.” IN: “Desperate times.” 🇺🇸

Breaking News: The EPA will stop considering lives saved when setting pollution limits and instead calculate only the cost to businesses.

The US can keep forces in the Caribbean — but at a high cost. These deployments burn readiness, limit presence elsewhere, and leave the US less prepared for future crises. Back to shouting about readiness to anyone who will listen (and even those who won't): www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

White House spokesperson says that they welcome transparency and investigations. Will note for future use.

He also said he doubted whether the Guard was “sophisticated enough” to carry out the order effectively. www.nytimes.com/2026/01/11/u...

The Supreme Court sets aside lower court decisions upholding convictions for bribery related to the FIFA scandal because the Trump administration decided to dismiss those criminal cases "in the interests of justice." The FIFA prosecution ends in a whimper. www.supremecourt.gov/orders/court...

JUST IN: Senate Finance Committee member Thom Tillis (R-SC) threatens to block Fed nominations over DOJ's Powell probe. DOJ says US Attorneys have been told to "prioritize investigating any abuse of taxpayer dollars." w/@vtg2 @meredithllee @samjsutton www.politico.com/news/2026/01...