Source: Washington Post
by Marc Short
“When one party controls the White House and both chambers of Congress, the midterm elections are a referendum on the party in power. With President Donald Trump’s approval ratings falling into the 30s and affordability remaining a top issue for voters, it is rational for Republicans to direct attention to how much worse the economic pain will be under Democrats. Fortunately for congressional Republicans, the Democratic base is obliging them by nominating candidates aligned with the Democratic Socialists of America, whose platform includes defunding the police and abolishing the U.S. Senate. Unfortunately, the socialist attack would be more potent if the GOP offered a clear contrast. Instead, the last two years of Republican rule have ushered more government intrusion into the marketplace than a socialist congressional caucus could ever deliver.” (09/15/26)
https://archive.is/yDyR6
Source: New York Post
“Nick Reiner will not be given the death penalty if he is found guilty of murder — and has his slain parents to thank. Prosecutors have taken the steep punishment off the table for the alleged killing in part because of the views of Rob and Michele Reiner, both were against capital punishment, according to LA County District Attorney Nathan Hochman, who held a press conference before Reiner’s hearing Tuesday. His siblings, Jake and Romy Reiner, also would have had a difficult time coping with potentially playing a role in executing their brother, TMZ reports. Hochman also revealed he discussed the decision to take the death penalty off the table with Reiner’s siblings before making the announcement. Reiner was indicted on August 12 for the murder of his parents, with a special circumstance of lying in wait added.” (09/15/26)
https://nypost.com/2026/09/15/us-news/nick-reiner-wont-get-death-penalty-if-hes-convicted-of-killing-parents-rob-and-michele/
Source: New York Times
“The Bond Market Is Flipping Out. Here’s Why You Should Care.” (09/15/26)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_lg1MZt6Q-I
Source: The Hill
by Merrill Matthews
“If you were a conspiracy theorist, you might think President Trump is trying his best to get Republican candidates defeated in the November midterm elections. That’s because the tariffs he recently imposed on Canadian imports, and Canada’s response by imposing tariffs on U.S. imports, hit several red states very hard, which is fueling voters’ anger.” (09/15/26)
https://thehill.com/opinion/international/6089429-canada-us-trade-war-red-states/
Source: Common Dreams
by Jeff Cohen & Norman Solomon
“Fifteen years ago, during President Obama’s first term, we co-founded RootsAction as an online progressive group challenging not only Republicans but also the corporatism and militarism of the Democratic Party. RootsAction supported Bernie Sanders for president in 2016 and 2020. Two years before the 2024 election disaster that returned Donald Trump to the White House, RootsAction launched the Don’t Run Joe campaign, with the warning that the renomination of Joe Biden by Democrats ‘would be a tragic mistake’. Despite polls showing as early as 2022 that strong majorities of Democrats wanted a 2024 nominee other than Biden, the ‘Don’t Run Joe’ message went unheeded until Biden’s debate debacle in June 2024. By then, it was too late for the open primary process needed to produce a ticket that could inspire activists—and defeat the fascistic faux-populism of Trump.” (09/15/26)
https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/aoc-ro-khanna-2028-presidential-election
Source: ABC News
“Thailand and Cambodia ’s foreign ministers exchanged opening statements in Singapore on Tuesday at the first meeting to settle a sea border dispute under a U.N. agreement on maritime law for compulsory conciliation. At issue is territory claimed by both that is believed to contain large, exploitable amounts of natural gas and other hydrocarbons. The decision to take the matter to the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea, or UNCLOS, was triggered by Cambodia in June after Thailand terminated a 25-year-old memorandum of understanding meant to resolve overlapping maritime claims.” (09/15/26)
https://abcnews.com/International/wireStory/thailand-cambodia-begin-conciliation-process-disputed-maritime-claims-136453110
Source: The Dispatch
“Barely Averting a Constitutional Crisis.” (09/15/26)
https://thedispatch.com/podcast/advisoryopinions/barely-averting-a-constitutional-crisis/
Source: Cobden Centre
by Karl-Friedrich Israel
“When central banks make decisions about inflation, interest rates, or financial stability, they rely heavily on economic research. But where does that research come from? And whose ideas end up shaping the global conversation? A new IREF Working Paper by Tom Bugdalle and Moritz Pfeifer takes a fascinating look at these questions by analyzing more than 330,000 economics articles and millions of citations between them. The results reveal a striking hierarchy in the world of economic research.” (09/15/26)
https://www.cobdencentre.org/2026/09/why-do-central-bank-economists-listen-to-some-countries-more-than-others/
Source: The Daily Economy
by Jeffery L Degner
“Stephanie Coontz’s new book succeeds as a thoughtful history of modern marriage but misdiagnoses the economic forces reshaping it.” (09/15/26)
https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/the-better-and-worse-of-stephanie-coontzs-marriage-history/
Source: BBC News [UK state media]
“Prosecutors in Colombia have accused former foreign minister Laura Sarabia of abusing her power after she made her nanny take a lie detector test. The scandal erupted in 2023, when Colombian news weekly Semana reported that a woman Sarabia had employed to look after her son had been hooked up to a polygraph and questioned over the alleged disappearance of a case full of cash from Sarabia’s flat.
Sarabia, who was the chief of staff for President Gustavo Petro at the time, resigned in June 2023 but was later appointed as foreign minister and, following her resignation from that post, as Colombia’s ambassador to the United Kingdom. She has denied any wrongdoing. … Prosecutors said Sarabia abused her position as his chief of staff by ordering police to question her nanny, Marelbys Meza, over the alleged disappearance of the cash, which was said to amount to several thousands of dollars.” (09/15/26)
https://archive.is/D2yRm
