Offering asides, recommended links, blogworthy quotations, and more, In Brief is the Northwest Progressive Institute's microblog of world, national, and local politics.
Welcome to In Brief, the Northwest Progressive Institute's microblog. In Brief provides a continuously curated collection of asides, recommended links, quotations, audio and video clips, still images, and transcribed dialogue. Click on a thumbnail to open an item.
“While court proceedings are likely to delay implementation of the ruling, the political impact was immediate, moving the abortion issue to the fore in a key battleground state, reminding voters of Trump’s role in overturning Roe vs. Wade and handing a gift to President Biden and fellow Democrats,” columnist Mark Z. Barabak writes.
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Watch highlights from the seventeenth episode of SNL’s forty-ninth season, hosted by Ryan Gosling, with Chris Stapleton as the musical guest, including the Close Encounter cold open.
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The Los Angeles Times’ David Lauter reports: “Many of the nation’s richest people said after the January 6th, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol that they would never again back former President Trump. Now, they’re changing their minds.”
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“Sales of the company’s electric cars dropped in the first three months of the year, even as other automakers sold more battery-powered vehicles,” The New York Times reports.
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Watch highlights from the fourteenth episode of SNL’s forty-ninth season, hosted by Josh Brolin, with Ariana Grande as the musical guest, including the State of the Union cold open.
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Republican strategist Sarah Longwell reacts to President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address, saying Biden “nailed it,” and explains the mistake some in the GOP made about the president.
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“For better and worse, he is a more solemn figure now. His voice is thin and clotted, and his gestures have slowed, but, in our conversation, his mind seemed unchanged. He never bungled a name or a date.”
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Watch highlights from the twelfth episode of SNL’s forty-ninth season, hosted by Shane Gillis, with 21 Savage as the musical guest, including the Trump Victory Party Cold Open cold open.
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Jon Stewart is once again hosting The Daily Show, but only on Mondays, in an arrangement similar to Rachel Maddow on MSNBC. Here’s the first monologue of his new residency, looking at the 2024 presidential election and commenting on the ages of the expected major party nominees.
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Sojourner Truth, a former slave, spoke at the Women’s Rights Convention, held in Akron, Ohio, in 1851 – a decade before the first shots of the Confederate insurrection were fired.
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“If we really want to end the overdose and homelessness crises — in Oregon and around the country — we have to understand and follow the evidence, not the fearmongering,” writes Maia Szalavitz.
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Watch highlights from the eleventh episode of SNL’s forty-ninth season, hosted by Ayo Edebiri, with Jennifer Lopez as the musical guest, including the CNN Town Hall South Carolina cold open.
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“Trains are still rolling through East Palestine, Ohio, at 50 mph — the same speed allowed last February when an accident spilled toxic chemicals in the rural town. Bipartisan safety legislation proposed a month after the crash is bogged down in the Senate. And derailments are happening at roughly the same pace,” writes Thomas Black for Bloomberg News.
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“There’s a productive, illuminating debate to be had between disagreeing sides — and it won’t be solved by appeals to common sense.”
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Watch highlights from the ninth episode of SNL’s forty-ninth season, hosted by Jacob Elordi, with Reneé Rapp as the musical guest, including the Trump courthouse cold open.
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“Hospital ratings dive and medical errors rise when private equity firms are in charge,” Ars Technica’s Beth Mole reports.
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“More than three-quarters of child labor violations in the first nine months of 2023 were in food service, with most of those at franchised brands,” Lauren Kaori Gurley and Emmanuel Martinez report.
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“Evidence shows that shoving data in peoples’ faces doesn’t work to change minds,” Paul Sutter writes.
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The Massachusetts Democrat pointed out that the chamber has “become a place where trivial issues get debated passionately and important ones not at all.”
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Watch highlights from the sixth episode of SNL’s forty-ninth season, hosted by Emma Stone, with Noah Kahan as the musical guest, including the George Santos expelled cold open.
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“Money always helps, but for the very poor, one lump sum can last a long time,” Dylan Matthews reports.
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