Salon.com - News, Politics, Culture, Science & Food

Summer sale: Save 58%

Reese Witherspoon in "Legally Blonde." (Tracy Bennett/MGM Pictures)

The golden ambition of "Legally Blonde"

Melanie McFarland

The golden ambition of "Legally Blonde"

Melanie McFarland

Regardless of what “Elle” is doing, the 2001 movie still proves a woman’s limitless potential

USS Frank E. Petersen Jr. fires a Tomahawk Land Attack Missile during operations in support of Operation Epic Fury, Feb. 28, 2026. (U.S. Navy Photo via Getty Images)

Trump’s weekend war could go on forever

Trump’s weekend war could go on forever

Last weekend's burst of violence might be a preview of a long-term low-boil war with Iran

Supreme Court Justices Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas and Brett Kavanaugh (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Supreme Court's selective originalism

The reasoning cited by Justices Alito and Kavanaugh in Dobbs didn't work with birthright citizenship

President Donald Trump (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

Let’s fix America with grammar

Kirk Swearingen

In the MAGAsphere, sloppy language leads to foolish thoughts, and much worse

FEATURED

Folarin Balogun #20 of the United States celebrates scoring his team's first goal during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Round of 32 match between USA and Bosnia and Herzegovina at San Francisco Bay Area Stadium on July 01, 2026 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)

Sorry, Belgium. Balogun gets to play

FIFA overturned a one-game suspension on USMNT striker after Donald Trump made some phone calls

Food TV loves disguises (Deagreez / Getty Images)

Why food TV keeps going undercover

Ashlie D. Stevens

From Ruth Reichl’s wigs to Gordon Ramsay’s prosthetics, TV keeps returning to the fantasy of the disguised diner

Lorne Michaels (Michael Loccisano/Getty Images)

Lorne Michaels' genius is judgment

Susan Morrison's biography offers the fullest portrait yet of the elusive creator of "Saturday Night Live"

Olivia Wilde, Seth Rogen, PenÃ©lope Cruz and Edward Norton in "The Invite" (A24)

"The Invite" debunks heteronormativity

Olivia Wilde's third film is her best yet, a mature comedy that asserts no one is exempt from romantic hang-ups.

Texas Republicans may regret mandating Bible in classes

Texas Bible mandate could backfire

Amanda Marcotte

Debating Christianity in class will likely create more non-believers

"Last Week Tonight" host John Oliver checks in to "General Hospital"

John Oliver to visit "General Hospital"

Melanie McFarland

The late-night host and ardent soap opera fan makes his first appearance Thursday on the iconic daytime drama

A Fourth of July in Kamala Harris’ USA

Imagining the 250th in Kamala’s America

A celebration of what could have been if the 2024 election had gone differently

How private equity destroyed an American pastime

How private equity destroyed bowling

A class-action suit against Lucky Strike Entertainment is a sad coda to the end of bowling

Trump wrecked America's 250th in DC, but other blue cities will save it

Blue cities save the 250th from Trump

Amanda Marcotte

Christina Aguilera, Chris Stapleton and Jelly Roll — real stars — headline July Fourth parties in liberal towns

Trump didn't learn the biggest lesson from his first term

Trump didn't learn a first-term lesson

Heather Digby Parton

Under pressure and facing historically low approval ratings, the president is behaving as erratically as ever

NEWS & POLITICS

In a new study, one GOP voter called Democrats the âparty of Satanâ â a sign faith trumps economics (Jon Cherry/Getty Images)

Faith beats economy for GOP

A new study finds conservative voters value religious identity over economic policy

Illinois Rep. Mary Miller introduced a Clean Water for All Life Act in March. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

No, abortion pills aren't in the water

Jenae Barnes - The 19th

Republican lawmakers and state officials want the EPA to review mifepristone as a water contaminant

LGBTQ+ rights advocates rally outside the US Supreme Court as justices hear arguments in challenges to state bans on transgender athletes in women's sports on January 13, 2026, in Washington, DC. (Photo by Oliver Contreras / AFP via Getty Images)

Trans families reel after SCOTUS ruling

Tatyana Tandanpolie

An ex-student athlete and parents grapple with the harm the SCOTUS decision will have on trans youth

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) speaks at a weekly press conference at the Capitol in Washington, DC, on July 11, 2024. (Allison Robbert/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

House money exchanges shape who wins

Mayank Kejriwal - The Conversation

Some of the most revealing money moves happen inside Congress itself

Vice President Kamala Harris celebrates the Fourth of July in 2024 at the White House with Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff (Samuel Corum/Getty Images)

Imagining the 250th in Kamala’s America

Imagining the 250th in Kamala’s America

A celebration of what could have been if the 2024 election had gone differently

An 1801 illustration of the USS Enterprise capturing Tripolitan Corsair, layered behind ships anchored in the Gulf of Oman on June 21, 2026, as U.S.-Iran tensions eased and the Strait of Hormuz prepared to reopen. (Illustration by Salon / Shady Alassar / Anadolu via Getty Images / National Archives)

The war that defined America

The Barbary War was an early indicator of American imperialism that we're still dealing with today

Netanyahu: US is not our only ally

The prime minister blamed anti-Israel sentiment on "bot farms" and malicious actors

Happy fractured birthday, America!

America’s 250th unfolds through competing visions of patriotism, extreme heat and weather and large-scale events

MORE NEWS & POLITICS

John Travolta in "Blow Out" (Filmways Pctures/Sunset Boulevard/Corbis via Getty Images)

"Blow Out" exposes the real American way

"Blow Out" exposes the real American way

The 45th anniversary of Brian De Palma's film meets America's 250th, proving corruption is as American as apple pie

A sign outside Madison Square Garden announces the wedding of Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce. Some swifities braved the heat and heavy rain to see their favorite A-listers join the party, while locals experienced the hassle of the public spectacle the private event caused to their neighborhood. (CHARLY TRIBALLEAU / Getty Images)

Swift-Kelce: A wedding that stopped NYC

Swifties got their desired season finale of Taylor Swift's romance, a private wedding amid a citywide spectacle

Louis C.K.'s "redemption" is complete

Melanie McFarland

The supposedly disgraced comic's mainstream return proves that expecting true accountability is the real joke

How private equity destroyed bowling

A class-action suit against Lucky Strike Entertainment is a sad coda to the end of bowling

Kylie Jenner (Dia Dipasupil/FilmMagic/Getty Images)

Kylie Jenner can't redeem AI glasses

Meta recruited a celebrity to make smart glasses feel safe for women. They aren't

A poster featuring an image and quote from Taylor Swift is displayed outside Madison Square Garden in New York. (kena betancur / AFP via Getty Images)

The Swift wedding stakeout

Forklifts, food deliveries and covered crates have become must-see celebrity news.

Scott MacArthur and Bobby Lee in "It's Florida, Man" (Photograph by James Clark/HBO)

A people's view of America as seen on TV

Melanie McFarland

From "Atlanta" to "This Fool," these 13 comedies highlight the real America in all its glory

Armie Hammer in "Citizen Vigilante" (Courtesy of Axel Stock)

Of course, Elon Musk adores Armie Hammer

Hammer's comeback film, "Citizen Vigilante," is a bigoted pile of garbage, perfect for a hungry fly like Musk

New Yorkers gathered outside the LaGuardia Community College in Long Island City, New York City, U.S., on May 7, 2026, to demand a rent freeze on rent-stabilized apartments. (Photo by Selcuk Acar/Anadolu via Getty Images)

How “freeze the rent” really works

Even with Mamdani in the mayor's office, tenants aren’t taking a rent freeze for granted

Elon Musk, founder and CEO of SpaceX, speaks via video before the ringing of opening bell at the launch of the company's initial public offering on June 12, 2026 in New York City. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

Elon Musk's big payday from SpaceX IPO

Brad Badertscher - The Conversation

Investors who bought the shares are unlikely to see the explosive growth that past IPOs had

Gas prices are just one of the rising travel costs for summer vacationers, despite a lower-than-average hurricane prediction. Americans are still planning their summer holidays. (Scott Olson / Getty Images)

Summer's mixed forecasts, rising costs

Memorial Day travel demand remains strong as NOAA predicts below-normal hurricane season and rising vacation costs

The conflict in the Middle East has hit the global fuel and fertilizer markets that, in turn, have increased farmers' costs right as planting season begins. (Mark Mirko/Connecticut Public via Getty Images)

Farm aid can't outrun Trump's war

With rising costs of fuel and fertilizer, and tariffs still in place, the outlook for 2026 is bleak

Pistachios (Getty Images/Laura Rosina)

The pistachio trend has some history

The pistachio trend has some history

Benefiting off viral trends, like Dubai chocolate, has been actually decades in the making

Minnesota takes on Polymarket, Kalshi

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission is suing multiple states for trying to rein in Polymarket and Kalshi

The Trump phone is here. It's junk

Tech experts and reviewers say the long-delayed $500 phone has high costs, middling specs and murky origins

The American workforce is a matriarchy

As moms are driving the growth in America's labor market, it's time for major investments in early childcare

SCIENCE & HEALTH

Half of Americans in extreme heat zone

Dangerous heat dome disrupts American celebrations in Midwest and East Coast with travel delays and health problems

The price of Trump's anti-science agenda

From measles to screwworm, Americans keep paying the cost of the admin's war on science

Trump: Cognitive tests prove he's smart

Doctors say MoCA is screening tool for cognitive impairment, not intelligence test, despite Trump’s intellect claim

How to pop the AI bubble

Cory Doctorow argues AI dominance is not inevitable. How we fight back matters

Trump cuts to global health hit home

Politicized public health agencies also make it harder to hold officials accountable

In light of many female reproductive health restrictions, there is good news for the 15% of women diagnosed with PCOS (now PMOS). The name change will help with this often underdiagnosed health issue and hopefully lead to better and earlier treatment. (Mohamad Faizal Bin Ramli / Getty Images)

PCOS becomes PMOS

PCOS becomes PMOS

This change to this common reproductive health issue could lead to better and earlier treatment for 15% of women.

(Photo illustration by Salon/Getty Images)

Can we ever get rid of nuclear weapons?

Editor of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists says the doomsday threat is real — but human goodness will win out

Insurers frequently deny or delay cancer care to patients, including breakthrough immunotherapies like Keytruda (Shivansh Gupta/PA Images via Getty Images)

Lower drug prices won't fix cancer care

Kenneth E. Thorpe

As breakthrough drugs offer critical hope to patients, lawmakers should focus on shoring up the social safety net

MORE SCIENCE & HEALTH

Frozen chicken and vegetable dumplings (Evgeniia Gordeeva / Getty Images)

Super easy summer corn and dumplings

Ashlie D. Stevens

Super easy summer corn and dumplings

Ashlie D. Stevens

Frozen dumplings, sweet corn, coconut milk and miso turn into the kind of shortcut dinner worth bragging about

"Struggle Meals" grows up

Francesca Giangiulio

Frankie Celenza returns with a season about wasting less, improvising more and redefining what it means to struggle

The beauty of TV's saddest picnic

Ashlie D. Stevens

How a blue tarp, a hoagie and a clown became one of television's most profound meals

Don't waste your rotisserie chicken

Here are a few ways to turn a hot bag of poultry into creative, satisfying weeknight meals

Dino nuggets, made better

Because we all should be feeding our inner child — even into adulthood

Hemingway's Madrid, one bite at a time

Howie Southworth

The city's literary quarter still serves up churros, sherry and oxtail — and just enough ghosts for lunch

M&Ms candy (NurPhoto / Getty Images)

Say goodbye to two iconic M&M's colors

Feeling sad about the candy-coated chocolate's pared-down palette? Blame MAHA

Time for a bread party (Ashlie Stevens )

An unnecessary amount of bread

Ashlie D. Stevens

Or: How to make a budget meal feel abundant

An illustration of a solo traveler in front of a cruise ship with images of older passengers (Photo illustration by Salon / Getty Images / Lisa-Blue / Horsche / SOPA Images / RgStudio)

My awkward adventure on a seniors cruise

On my solo research trip I ended up isolated, injured and curious about the men paid to charm older women at sea

Woman holding a bisexual pride flag (Getty Images/Wirestock)

What I wish I'd known about bisexuality

I'm not straight, but I appear that way to the world. Visibility and belonging can be a struggle

The Wizard of Oz | Tornado (Photo illustration by Salon/Getty Images/Silver Screen Collection)

My lifelong fascination with tornadoes

Gabriella Ferrigine

Am I a bad person for being so enamored with these destructive windstorms? It's complicated

Author hiking the Camino de Santiago (Photo provided by Ginny Bartolone)

My (unexpectedly) feminist pilgrimage

Ginny Bartolone

I hadn't planned on walking 500 miles in Spain just to escape sexist assumptions, but it turned out to be a bonus

MORE LIFE STORIES