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Kristi Noem's leadership of the Department of Homeland Security has been marked by chaos (Michael Gonzalez/Getty Images)

Noem’s law-and-order pitch is collapsing

Amanda Marcotte

Noem’s law-and-order pitch is collapsing

Amanda Marcotte

The DHS secretary and her semi-official aide Corey Lewandowski are to blame for the shutdown

FEATURED

Reverend Jesse Jackson speaks to a Democratic gathering at the Cheyenne Civic Center on April 20, 1989 in Cheyenne, Wyoming. An African American Baptist minister and political activist, Jackson was a candidate for the U.S. presidency in 1984 and 1988. In 2000 President Clinton awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest honor bestowed on civilians. ( Mark Junge / Getty Images)

Civil rights icon Jesse Jackson dead

Jelinda Montes

Jackson led a rainbow coalition of Americans through decades of protest and progress
Elon Musk envisioned a future with optional work and irrelevant money thanks to the domination of artificial intelligence. (BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI / AFP via Getty Images)

MAGA loves bad dads

Amanda Marcotte

Raising kids should be about quality, not quantity
Residents of Lemont, Illinois, pay tribute to Charlie Kirk during a vigil on September 11, 2025. (Jacek Boczarski/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Why GOP wants a Charlie Kirk holiday

Russell Payne

State-level Charlie Kirk celebrations stand in for an actual GOP agenda, critics say — and no one gets the day off
(Illustration by Salon / Penguin Random House / Grand Central Publishing / Simon & Schuster / Little, Brown Books for Young Readers / )

9 spring memoirs not to skip

Andi Zeisler

Lena Dunham, Fab 5 Freddy and Liza with a Z are among the culture-makers leaving it all on the page

MOST POPULAR

Pam Bondi is leaving her Democratic successor a mess

Next Dem attorney general faces a mess

Heather Digby Parton

The Justice Department was reformed in the wake of Watergate. A similar process will be needed after Bondi's abuses

Trump's Washington has become unrecognizable

Trump's Washington is unrecognizable

Brian Karem

The nation's capital and America's democracy have become shells of their former selves

"Unprecedented": Trump administration losing credibility with judges and grand juries

Trump admin losing credibility in court

John E. Jones III - The Conversation

"I don’t recall a single instance... when a grand jury refused to return a true bill, an indictment," ex-judge says

Trump's "Mission Accomplished" moment gives Democrats an opening

Trump's "Mission Accomplished" moment

Heather Digby Parton

The president falsely claimed he "fixed" the affordability crisis. He and the GOP will pay in the November midterms

Right-wing media turns on Kash Patel over Nancy Guthrie case

Right-wing media turns on Kash Patel

Sophia Tesfaye

The FBI director is also facing criticism over his handling of the Epstein files

MAGA loves bad dads

MAGA loves bad dads

Amanda Marcotte

Raising kids should be about quality, not quantity

NEWS & POLITICS

Demonstrators march during the nationwide "Stop ICE Terror" rally through downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota, on January 20, 2026 in protest against US President Donald Trump's policies. (Photo by ROBERTO SCHMIDT / AFP / Getty Images)

Minnesotans delay abortions to avoid ICE

Shefali Luthra - The 19th

Planned Parenthood’s no-show rate has gone up almost 10 percent since the Minnesota operation began
Attorney General Pam Bondi and U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro. (Alex WROBLEWSKI / AFP via Getty Images)

Trump admin losing credibility in court

John E. Jones III - The Conversation

"I don’t recall a single instance... when a grand jury refused to return a true bill, an indictment," ex-judge says
Attorney General Pam Bondi testifies before the House Judiciary Committee on Feb. 11, 2026. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)

Next Dem attorney general faces a mess

Heather Digby Parton

The Justice Department was reformed in the wake of Watergate. A similar process will be needed after Bondi's abuses
Embattled British Prime Minister Keir Starmer outside 10 Downing Street, Feb. 11, 2026. (Carl Court/Getty Images)

Epstein files rock Britain — but why?

Andrew O'Hehir

The contrast with Trump's America is both obvious and shocking — but it’s not the whole story
Former Trump attorney Ty Cobb (Jerry Cleveland/The Denver Post via Getty Images)

Cobb calls for Bondi, Noem impeachment

CK Smith

Cobb calls for Bondi, Noem impeachment

CK Smith

After chaotic hearings and Trump’s praise for controversial figures, former insider says accountability is overdue
Trump is demanding his portrait from his first administration (seen above) be replaced with one to cover both terms. This continues his editing of the Smithsonian's displays on history including his own biography and major events like slavery. (Kevin Carter / Getty Images)

Trump's legacy war on a portrait

CK Smith

A battle over brushstrokes and biography puts Trump’s legacy and national museums back in the spotlight

How US blockade is suffocating Cuba

Medea Benjamin

Plenty of Cubans dislike their own government — but still see Trump and Marco Rubio as "demons"

Swarms of AI bots threaten democracy

Filippo Menczer - The Conversation

The level of coordination among inauthentic online agents is unprecedented
MORE NEWS & POLITICS

CULTURE

Acting icon, Robert Duvall, during the press run of "The Portrait of Billy Joe." (M. Caulfield/WireImage for CineVegas)

Acting legend Robert Duvall dead at 95

CK Smith

Acting legend Robert Duvall dead at 95

CK Smith

Robert Duvall’s seven decades of iconic and varied performances made him one of America’s most respected actors
James Van Der Beek (Ray Tamarra/GC Images/Getty Images)

James Van Der Beek kept us guessing

Coleman Spilde

In "The Rules of Attraction," the "Dawson's Creek" dreamboat paved the way for a career that played against type

Viral posts upend school picture day

CK Smith

Social media posts linked Lifetouch’s ownership to figures in the Epstein files, schools canceled picture days

"Wuthering Heights" is a reader's dream

Coleman Spilde

By focusing on feeling over faithfully adapting, the provocative filmmaker's new take sparks the imagination
Prince performs on stage during the 1986 Parade Tour on June 7, 1986 at the Cobo Arena in Detroit, Michigan (Bill Marino/Sygma via Getty Images)

We still swoon for Prince's "Kiss"

Melanie McFarland

Known for songs dripping with sensuality, Prince achieved PG success with this innocent crowd-pleaser 40 years ago
Doorbell cameras are everywhere. An Amazon proposed partnership and Super Bowl ad reveals fears about personal privacy. (Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images)

Ring's Super Bowl ad freaked people out

CK Smith

A sweet story about finding lost dogs exposed growing fears about AI and monitoring, door bell cameras and policing
Savannah Guthrie poses alongside her mother Nancy Guthrie during a production break whilst hosting NBC's "Today Show" live from Australia at Sydney Opera House on May 4, 2015. (Photo by Don Arnold/WireImage)

Watching a true crime story in real time

Melanie McFarland

As the search for the "Today" host’s mother Nancy continues, the audience shares in her raw and public anguish
Sarah Pidgeon as Carolyn Bessette Kennedy and Paul Kelly as John F. Kennedy Jr. in "Love Story" (FX)

The shrunken ambition of "Love Story"

Melanie McFarland

A decade after "The People v. O. J. Simpson" comes an empty romance whose existence hangs on the Kennedy name
MORE CULTURE

MONEY

(Photo illustration by Salon / Getty Images / Patrick T. Fallon / Samuel Corum / Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

Private prisons cash in on ICE crackdown

Nicholas Liu

Over 90 percent of detained immigrants languish in prisons that aren't actually run by the government
Cropped image of a businessman putting money in his pocket (Getty Images)

Is it wrong to have too much money?

Jackson Trager - The Conversation

Your answer may depend on deep-seated values – and your country’s economy
A man counts his coins on a tabletop. (Getty Images/MichaelDeLeon)

Why personal budgets don't work

Dana Miranda

You can keep tabs on your financial situation without planning for every dollar or restricting spending
Doctor advising cancer patient while examining x-ray (Getty Images/Maskot)

They beat cancer. Then came the bills

Zina Kumok

Treatment takes more than a physical toll on patients — it often empties their wallets
The author with his grandmother, Gertrude Sheft. (Photo courtesy Bob Brody)

Nana bailed me out and I'm still ashamed

Bob Brody

Nana bailed me out and I'm still ashamed

Bob Brody

Years later, I realize that being spared the disgrace of bankruptcy was a blessing and a curse
Female friends taking selfie with smart phone while sitting at bar (Getty Images/Thomas Barwick)

FOMO is putting Gen Zers in debt

Cara Michelle Smith

The pressure to document the most interesting parts of their lives comes with a price tag

When the tourists go, hunger moves in

Francesca Giangiulio

As summer crowds disappear, the workers who kept them fed face rising costs, scarce housing and bare pantries

Welcome to the club. That'll be $200K

Esther Luz

Fees can cost six figures, and the waitlists stretch for months. But the exclusivity keeps them humming
MORE MONEY

SCIENCE & HEALTH

Is ChatGPT Health the new WebMD?

Nicole Karlis

OpenAI’s new chatbot aims to bolster users' health decisions — but risks fueling confusion and anxiety

Trump’s new foreign aid ban

Nicole Karlis

Experts say the Trump administration is using foreign aid to impose anti-human rights ideology globally

Reinventing public health under Trump

Nicole Karlis

California, New York and others are forming health alliances, marking an uncharted chapter in public health

S.C. measles outbreak breaks record

Jelinda Montes

This is largest measles outbreak since the United States declared measles eliminated in 2000.

RFK Jr. encourages “moderate drinking”

CK Smith

Again, health experts warn new guidance may blur science with personal choice, fueling confusion and debate
MORE SCIENCE & HEALTH

FOOD

Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie in "Heated Rivalry" (Sabrina Lantos/HBO Max)

In "Heated Rivalry," food is vulnerable

Francesca Giangiulio

In "Heated Rivalry," food is vulnerable

Francesca Giangiulio

In a genre that treats food as foreplay, the year’s hottest romance makes a tuna melt a symbol of deeper intimacy
MORE FOOD

LIFE STORIES

Author Alice Bingham Gorman and her partner together for Christmas (Photo courtesy of author)

A love affair in life's last act

Alice Bingham Gorman

The odds are stacked against women in their 80s finding true love. Was it possible for me, I wondered?
Studio 111 (Photo illustration by Salon/Photo courtesy of Radical Reversal)

The song that left me speechless

Randall Horton

The student who said she "didn't know no beautiful" created a track that became our flagship of creative excellence
My Mother Was A Communist (Photo illustration by Salon/Photos courtesy of author/Getty Images/Clever Pictures)

My mother, the debutante Communist

Andrew O'Hehir

Her life was like a slowly unfolding, densely plotted thriller whose unfinished story we’re all still inside
Taylor Swift performs onstage during the Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour at Lincoln Financial Field on May 12, 2023 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Lisa Lake/TAS23/Getty Images for TAS Rights Management)

Taylor Swift, grief therapist?

Molly Saint-James

My husband bonded with our daughters over her music. Now that he's gone, I've found solace in her work, too
MORE LIFE STORIES
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