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Almanac for July 30, 2026

Today is Thursday, July 30, the 211th day of 2026. There are 154 days left in the year. Today in history: In 1976, Bruce Jenner, now known as Caitlyn Jenner, set a world record of 8,618 points and won the gold medal in the Olympic decathlon at the Montreal Summer Games. Also on this date: In 1619, the first representative assembly in colonial America convened in Jamestown in the Virginia Colony. In 1864, during the Civil War, Union forces tried to take Petersburg, Virginia, by exploding a gunpowder-laden mine shaft beneath Confederate defense lines; the attack failed. In 1916, ...

Bring back ‘nattering nabobs’

President Trump’s performance at last Friday’s retooled White House Correspondents’ Dinner made me nostalgic for the days of Vice President Spiro Agnew, President Richard Nixon’s media attack dog. In a speech, Agnew called politicians critical of Nixon administration policies ...

Kentucky governor demands McConnell prove he’s able to serve or resign

WASHINGTON (AP) — Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, a rising national figure in the Democratic Party, is calling on the state’s Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell to either prove that he is fit to continue serving after his lengthy hospital stay or resign from office. Beshear made the demand in a ...

Almanac for July 29, 2026

Today is Wednesday, July 29, the 210th day of 2026. There are 155 days left in the year. Today in history: In 1967, an accidental rocket launch on the deck of the supercarrier USS Forrestal in the Gulf of Tonkin resulted in a fire and explosions that killed 134 service members. Also on this date: In 1836, the newly completed Arc de Triomphe was inaugurated in Paris. In 1858, the United States and Japan signed the Harris Treaty, formalizing diplomatic relations and trading rights between the two countries. In 1890, artist Vincent van Gogh, 37, died of an apparent self-inflicted ...

The DSA is a gift to MAGA

Should those of us who want to defeat the proto-fascists in charge of the Republican Party be worried about a few blue districts that have recently indulged their ids and voted for members of the Democratic Socialists of America? Yes. If their victories become a trend, it could sabotage the ...

Trump DOJ asks Supreme Court to allow targeting of mail-in voting

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court on Monday to clear the way for an executive order from President Donald Trump that could dramatically change mail-in voting ahead of November’s midterm elections. The Justice Department asked the justices to halt for now ...