The opening of Barack Obama’s presidential library in Chicago this Friday has inspired a new round of conversations around his remarkable rise and presidency. And there’s so much to celebrate. The election of a Black president was a landmark event in American history. From the Affordable Care Act to the legalization of gay marriage, Obama and his team helped advance a wide swath of policies that…
As some of the lowest-paid museum staff in LA, AFSCME members are pushing for hourly wage increases and other demands.
The Pakistan Army team has clinched first position at an international military drill competition held in Britain, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said on Friday.
“In a remarkable display of excellence, the Pakistan Army team, represented by the Pakistan Military Academy (PMA), has clinched 1st Position at the prestigious International Pace Sticking Competition 2026 held at the Royal…
We learned this week that the Democratic-aligned group American Bridge plans to spend $50 million to help the party’s congressional candidates in this fall’s elections. It’s a whopping sum and a big gamble. The group’s announcement of its targeted seats turned heads in Democratic circles: They include House districts in some pretty pro-Trump areas in rural North Carolina, central Pennsylvania,…
_You can watch this episode of_ Right Now With Perry Bacon _above or by following this show on YouTube or Substack._
Graham Platner won Maine’s Senate primary as expected. But the various controversies around him have Democrats deeply concerned about his general election prospects. In the latest edition of _Right Now,_ Billy Kobin, a political reporter at the _Portland Press Herald,_ says that…
US President Donald Trump’s legal team has refused to hand over financial information sought by _BBC_ lawyers in his $10 billion defamation case against the broadcaster, the Financial Times _(FT)_ said on Friday, citing court filings.
Trump has accused the publicly funded broadcaster of defaming him by splicing together parts of a January 6, 2021, speech to make it appear that he directed…
A memorial of sorts for the founder of Cocktail Games
*Far-right candidateAbelardo de la Espriella* won the first round of Colombia’s presidential election yesterday with 43.7%, besting left-wing Senator Ivan Cepeda , who finished with 40.9%. Because neither cleared the 50% threshold, the two will lock horns in a head-to-head runoff on June 21 to decide…
Plus, does disagreement cause tension between Tangle staff?
_You can watch this episode of Right Now With Perry Bacon above or by following this show on YouTube or Substack._
Former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms overwhelmingly won the gubernatorial Democratic primary in Georgia on Tuesday, avoiding a runoff. If she wins in November, Bottoms will be the first Black woman ever elected governor of a state. In the latest edition of _Right Now_ ,…
On surviving the next pandemic.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer defied calls to resign on Tuesday, telling ministers he would “get on with governing” despite a “destabilising” 48 hours of growing calls to set out a timetable for his departure after a drubbing in local elections.
At a meeting of his cabinet, Starmer, in the top job for less than two years, repeated that, while he took responsibility for one of his Labour Party’s…
Gunmen on motorbikes in India’s West Bengal ambushed and killed a political aide from the ruling Hindu-nationalist party days after it swept state elections, police said Thursday.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won a resounding victory on Monday in the eastern state of more than 100 million people, taking 207 of the 294 assembly seats, for its first-ever state…
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced on Thursday that the Australia men’s cricket team will tour the country for a three-match one-day international (ODI) series.
In a press release, the cricket board said that the visitors would arrive in Islamabad on May 23 and take on the Green Shirts in the first ODI scheduled at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on May 30.
The second and third ODIs of…
As a _New Republic_ reader, you’re well aware that 2026 is a midterm year. But unless you’re a political junkie—or a voter in a handful of states—you might be unaware that primary season has already begun. Five states have held primaries already, while the rest are taking place this spring and summer. On the Democratic side, there’s no shortage of ideological disputes, age gaps, and longtime…
Turns out the Hungarian government has been bankrolling the Conservative Political Action Conference for years.
Péter Magyar, who unseated Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán Sunday in a landslide, told reporters Monday that the outbound leader had diverted Hungarian taxpayer funds toward financing the American Republican conference.
Magyar noted that his government will be investigating…
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Up north, Wisconsin Democrats increased their state Supreme Court majority to 5–2 and won a mayoral race in the typically Republican city of Waukesha.
Down south, a Georgia Democrat narrowly lost a house district Donald Trump carried by 34 points in 2024.
In all, Tuesday was an election night that bodes well for Democrats come midterm season.
In Wisconsin—a swing state that Trump won by less…
In Lower Manhattan, bartenders and other staff at New York City’s cocktail bar Attaboy gathered to announce that they are forming a union. (Courtesy of Alex N. Press)
In Seward Park in Lower Manhattan on April 4, workers from renowned cocktail bar Attaboy…
The Trump administration officially sent Congress its 2027 budget proposal on Friday, and while the largest story that emerged from the mammoth document was that the president is looking to increase defense spending over 40 percent to a staggering $1.5 trillion, there are plenty more budget adjustments to laugh/shudder/weep over.
Among the social and health programs Trump is looking to cut in…
Charles Bennett and Gilles Brassard have won the 2026 Turing Award for inventing quantum cryptography.
I am incredibly pleased to see them get this recognition. I have always thought the technology to be fantastic, even though I think it’s largely unnecessary. I wrote up my thoughts back in 2008, in an essay titled “Quantum Cryptography: As Awesome As It Is Pointless.”
Back then, I wrote:
…
Democrats pulled off another upset in Florida, winning a normally very Republican state Senate district in West Tampa.
Navy veteran and electrical workers union leader Brian Nathan was declared the winner Monday of a special election in Senate district 14 by the Associated Press. Nathan defeated former state Representative Josie Tomkow despite the Republican rancher outspending him by a factor…
Congestion pricing inspires a lot of hatred. The concept is simple: charge drivers a toll to enter an area—usually downtown—in order to raise money for public transit, while reducing traffic and pollution. And it has worked now in several cities, reducing pollution and commute times, with numerous side benefits. Yet as Washington D.C.’s mayoral race heats up, the departing mayor Muriel Bowser has…
More primaries, more gains for progressives candidates.
In North Carolina—a contentious swing state that Donald Trump won with 51 percent of the vote in 2024—a Democrat who has represented the state’s 106th district for over a decade was trounced by her progressive challenger on Tuesday.
State Representative Carla Cunningham saw her support base wither away after she was the only Democrat to…
Do Democrats have a real chance of winning a Senate seat in Texas this year? Probably not. But Tuesday night’s election results were the best possible outcome for the party, and they create the conditions for an upset.
In the Democratic primary, state Representative James Talarico got over 50 percent of the vote, thereby defeating Representative Jasmine Crockett without a runoff. The _Associated…
Australia head coach Andrew McDonald put the blame for the team’s humiliating T20 World Cup exit squarely on the players, rejecting criticism of their preparations and a “false narrative” that the nation is not taking the format seriously.
Australia crashed out of the group stage following losses to Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka, triggering acrimony on the home front.
Former players and pundits have…
Photo by Glen Carrie on Unsplash.
This essay promises two things: crankiness and an absurd story. The first I cannot avoid, and the second I could, but I am drawn to this narrative arc. The story goes like this: Terence O. Ranger, the historian of all things…
The Pakistan Super League (PSL) is getting a fresh face in its 11th edition, and it comes in the form of a new Rawalpindi franchise. But, behind this change lies an unnoticed company that now owns the team, and its name is Walee Technology.
On Feb 09 2026, Walee Technologies won the rights to the Multan Sultans franchise at the PSL auction, with a top bid reported around Rs2.45 billion. This…