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Almanac for Sept. 2, 2026

Today is Wednesday, Sept. 2, the 245th day of 2026. There are 120 days left in the year. Today in history: On Sept. 2, 1945, Japan formally surrendered in ceremonies aboard the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay, ending World War II. Also on this date: In 1666, the Great Fire of London began, which would destroy more than 13,000 homes and hundreds of additional structures, including St. Paul's Cathedral, over the ensuing three days. In 1789, the United States Treasury Department was established. In 1864, during the Civil War, Union Gen. William T. Sherman's forces occupied ...

They Will Try to Steal the 2026 Elections

The Supreme Court gave us a start yesterday, with what looked, at first glance, like a win for Trump's efforts to suppress mail-in ballots. But, as Andrew Egger explained, that isn't quite what happened. In broad outline, the Court stayed a lower court injunction while the legality of Trump's ...

Almanac for Sept. 1, 2026

Today is Tuesday, Sept. 1, the 244th day of 2026. There are 121 days left in the year. Today in history: On Sept. 1, 1985, a U.S.-French expedition located the wreckage of the Titanic on the floor of the Atlantic Ocean roughly 400 miles off the coast of Newfoundland. Also on this date: In 1715, following a reign of 72 years, King Louis XIV of France died four days before his 77th birthday; he was succeeded by his five-year-old great-grandson, Louis XV. In 1807, a federal jury in Virginia acquitted former Vice President Aaron Burr of treason for plotting to seize lands belonging ...

Almanac for Aug. 31, 2026

Today is Monday, Aug. 31, the 243rd day of 2026. There are 122 days left in the year. Today in history: On Aug. 31, 1997, Diana, Princess of Wales, was killed after the car she was riding in crashed in Paris; her partner Dodi Fayed and driver Henri Paul (who was found to have been intoxicated at the time of the accident) also died. Also on this date: In 1881, the first U.S. tennis championships (for men only) began in Newport, Rhode Island. In 1886, an earthquake with an estimated magnitude of up to 7.3 devastated Charleston, South Carolina, killing at least 60 people. In 1962, the ...

Twilight’s last gleaming

There is a point in the decline of republics when the problem is no longer that government breaks its own laws. Governments will always behave unlawfully. The deeper problem comes when the constitutional machinery designed to prevent those acts stops functioning — when spending becomes ...

Almanac for Aug. 29, 2026

Today is Saturday, Aug. 29, the 241st day of 2026. There are 124 days left in the year. Today in history: On Aug. 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina struck the U.S. Gulf Coast in southeast Louisiana, breaching levees and spurring floods that devastated New Orleans. Katrina caused nearly 1,400 deaths and an estimated $200 billion in damage. Also on this date: In 1814, during the War of 1812, Alexandria, Virginia, formally surrendered to British military forces, which occupied the city until Sept. 3. In 1825, the Treaty of Rio de Janeiro was signed by Portugal and Brazil, officially ending ...