Last week, the 8th Circuit court dealt a potentially fatal blow to the (already weakened) Voting Rights Act. The court refused to reconsider a decision by Trump-appointed Judge David Stras that would basically gut the last functioning section of the VRA. As Mark Joseph Stern puts it: “If Stras is right, then the Voting Rights Act is dead.” In conversation with Dahlia Lithwick on the latest episode of Amicus, Stern breaks down why exactly Stras is wrong, and why we should all be concerned that the Supreme Court is now going to have a chance to potentially agree with him.
Now what? 👀
Fani Willis admitted to having a relationship with a special prosecutor who works for her—but she still denies there’s any kind of conflict of interest that would prevent her from prosecuting Trump. Shirin Ali takes a look at what’s next for Willis, and all the other developments in the Trump trials last week that you might have missed.
In defense of fact-checking Trump 🤓
Since 2011, one publication has diligently assessed what the Donald has been saying—and it has no intention of stopping. Molly Olmstead spoke to a senior correspondent at PolitiFact about why they’re still committed to fact-checking Trump’s bogus claims, one by one.
Plus: What Next takes a look at how the news media and its consumers are aligned on at least this: This presidential rematch sucks.
Consider the sardine 🐟
They’re tiny. They’re more important to the ocean than anyone ever knew. And they need our help. We’re talking about sardines, the wee li’l fish that may be more important to entire undersea ecosystems than anyone had previously realized. Russell Jacobs explains why anyone who cares about the ocean needs to care about these little guys, too.
A hilarious Senate bid 😅
A retired Major League Baseball player is technically running for Senate in California—and he’s really phoning it in. Steve Garvey is “in the midst of a historically substanceless campaign—a run so lazy, so devoid of meaning or purpose, that it’s inherently newsworthy no matter how it ends,” Alex Shultz writes. He explains how Garvey’s run could have dire consequences for Democrats.
It’s brutal out here 💸
Amid all the media layoffs happening recently, is it even possible to make it as a freelance journalist anymore? In another installment of Emotional Investment, Slate’s new column about our feelings around money, Joel Anderson spoke to one freelancer about the extremes they went to to stay afloat—including taking out some zero-interest credit cards and a personal loan.
Plus, in case you missed it: Alex Kirshner wrote about the lessons we can—and can’t—learn from the Messenger’s sudden implosion, and Hillary Frey shared what it was like to survive a similar media disaster.
It’s me, hi 🎵
Taylor Swift made Grammys history—and one big mistake, Carl Wilson argues: She couldn’t help making the awards ceremony all about herself.
Today, Slate … ＊ CAN PROBABLY BE UNDERSTOOD ON A DEEP LEVEL
… unlike the push to impeach Alejandro Mayorkas. But Ben Mathis-Lilley tried to explain it anyway!
Thanks so much for reading! We’ll see you back here tomorrow.
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