This story appeared in The Logoff, a daily newsletter that helps you stay informed about the Trump administration without letting political news take over your life. Subscribe here. Welcome to The Logoff: We’re coming to you a little later than normal after the conclusion of a summit between Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Anchorage, […]

Erin was upgraded Friday morning from a tropical storm to a hurricane, a storm with sustained winds above 74 miles per hour, making it the first hurricane of the 2025 season. Despite a relatively calm storm season until now, forecasters are still anticipating higher-than-normal levels of activity, and the peak of the hurricane season lies […]

Depending on who you listen to, President Donald Trump’s decision to seize control over law enforcement in Washington, DC, is either an authoritarian menace or a farce. The authoritarian menace case is straightforward: Trump is (again) asserting the power to deploy the National Guard to a major US city, while adding the new wrinkle of […]

Just a few years ago, the movement for Washington, DC, statehood was gaining steam. In 2020 and 2021, Democrats in the House passed bills to make DC the 51st state, re-energizing the fight to grant residents of the nation’s capital representation in Congress.  Those bills were ultimately doomed because of strong Republican opposition. But now, […]

Whatever else can be said about the second Trump administration, it is always teaching me about parts of the Constitution I had forgotten were even in there. Case in point: Article I, Section 9, Clause 5 states that “No Tax or Duty shall be laid on Articles exported from any State.” This is known as […]