4 – Breaking News & Latest Updates 2026
Skip to main content

Politics Archive

Archives for July 2026

Lauren Feiner
Lauren Feiner
Foreign officials can’t be denied US visas for supporting content moderation.

Judge James Boasberg temporarily blocked a State Department policy restricting visas to foreign officials who “demand that American tech platforms adopt global content moderation policies.” Boasberg wrote that a group representing tech researchers could likely prove it violates the First Amendment by categorizing research as “foreign censorship” based on viewpoint.

Terrence O'Brien
Terrence O'Brien
Trump’s Justice Department is trying to bully New York Times reporters for doing their job.

Earlier this week, the president flew on the old Air Force One, according to the Times, because it lacked some security features, including anti-missile defenses. Now, the DOJ has issued subpoenas to the reporters involved in the story. The Times quickly denounced the intimidation tactics:

“The appearance of federal law enforcement agents on the doorstep of news reporters should shock the conscience of any American who believes in the Constitution and the press freedom it protects.” - David McCraw, Lawyer for the New York Times

Dominic Preston
Dominic Preston
That’s all folks.

My Trump phone review is here. And with that, it’s time to wrap up the weekly coverage. I’m not entirely done with the T1 yet — I’m still trying to find out how many buyers have one, and how and where it’s made — but I’ll give the execs at Trump Mobile a break for a bit.

I spent a week using the Trump phone — it sucks

3

Verge Score

The T1 is a marketing stunt, not a serious phone.

Dominic Preston
If you criticize ICE online, agents might just show up at your house

DHS is accusing people of ‘doxing’ federal agents — and, a new lawsuit claims, trying to chill dissenting speech.

Gaby Del Valle
Terrence O'Brien
Terrence O'Brien
Judge says it’s “for our citizenry to decide at the ballot box” if Musk’s SEC settlement is fair.

Judge Sparkle Sooknanan approved the $1.5 million pocket-change settlement with the Fed over his violation of disclosure rules in connection with the purchase of Twitter. She said she had limited authority:

“Whether the Executive Branch (through the SEC) has done enough to hold Mr. Musk ⁠to account for his alleged violation is, like many other issues, for our citizenry to decide at the ballot box.”

Thomas Ricker
Thomas Ricker
Who’s a good boy?

Apple added a bit more insight into that Broadcom deal announced a few days ago. It’s expected to “exceed $30 billion” and “lead to the production of more than 15 billion US-made chips” and “hundreds of American jobs.” The announcement comes with a line of obligatory flattery from CEO Tim Cook:

“We’re grateful to the president and his administration for supporting important projects like this one.”

Emma Roth
Emma Roth
The FCC will vote to water down broadband “nutrition labels” later this month.

Instead of breaking down passthrough fees — which include costs related to government programs and third-party infrastructure owners — the FCC’s proposed rule change could allow broadband providers to lump them together into an “up to” amount. The FCC will vote on the change on July 22nd.

Terrence O'Brien
Terrence O'Brien
Now Trump is reportedly meddling in the World Cup, too.

Trump has injected himself into Netflix’s business dealings, intervened in the antitrust case against Ticketmaster, and turned the FCC into his attack dog. Now he’s reportedly sullied the beautiful game by pressuring FIFA president Gianni Infantino to review the suspension of the United States’ top scorer, Folarin Balogun.