Contributing Writers

On Friday, Democratic Senator Bob Menendez and his wife were accused by federal prosecutors of accepting bribes in exchange for using his position to increase U.S. assistance to Egypt and to do favors for three New Jersey businessmen, including Wael Hana, an Egyptian American who ran a lucrative business certifying halal meat exports.

A new damning investigation from ProPublica reveals Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas attended multiple fundraisers in connection with the billionaire Koch brothers, who have spent millions on conservative causes and funneled vast donations into Republican campaigns. “None of this was disclosed as it should have been on his annual financial disclosures,” says Justin Elliott, reporter for ProPublica covering Supreme Court corruption and ethics.

The Writers Guild of America has announced that a tentative deal has been reached between striking writers and Hollywood studios, four months after the strikes shut down production of scripted movies and television. The WGA leadership will meet Tuesday to vote on the deal, which includes many of the demands of the striking writers, including higher pay and residual payments for streaming content and new rules about the use of artificial intelligence.

Fears are growing of another U.S. government shutdown as soon as October 1, with Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy unable to overcome opposition from far-right lawmakers in his own party to pass spending measures to keep the government funded. For more on what’s happening on Capitol Hill, we speak with Democratic Congressmember Ro Khanna of California, who says the chaos of a shutdown will hurt many ordinary people as federal workers go unpaid and public services suffer.

President Biden has invited Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the White House later this year after the two leaders met on the sidelines of the United Nations this week. The invitation is a major victory for Netanyahu and comes as his far-right government guts the power of the judiciary and moves closer to full annexation of the West Bank, with Israeli forces killing hundreds of Palestinians so far this year.

As billionaire Rupert Murdoch announces he will resign as head of his media empire, we speak with Angelo Carusone, president and CEO of the watchdog group Media Matters for America, about the right-wing mogul’s influence on journalism and politics over the last seven decades.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro says the U.S.-backed coup in Chile 50 years ago, when General Augusto Pinochet deposed socialist President Salvador Allende, left a lasting scar across Latin America. Many progressives took up arms against corrupt governments, often led by “Nazis,” Petro says, fueling decades of conflict that is only now beginning to fade.

Fears are growing of another U.S. government shutdown as soon as October 1, with Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy unable to overcome opposition from far-right lawmakers in his own party to pass spending measures to keep the government funded. For more on what’s happening on Capitol Hill, we speak with Democratic Congressmember Ro Khanna of California, who says the chaos of a shutdown will hurt many ordinary people as federal workers go unpaid and public services suffer.

President Biden has invited Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the White House later this year after the two leaders met on the sidelines of the United Nations this week. The invitation is a major victory for Netanyahu and comes as his far-right government guts the power of the judiciary and moves closer to full annexation of the West Bank, with Israeli forces killing hundreds of Palestinians so far this year.

As billionaire Rupert Murdoch announces he will resign as head of his media empire, we speak with Angelo Carusone, president and CEO of the watchdog group Media Matters for America, about the right-wing mogul’s influence on journalism and politics over the last seven decades.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro says the U.S.-backed coup in Chile 50 years ago, when General Augusto Pinochet deposed socialist President Salvador Allende, left a lasting scar across Latin America. Many progressives took up arms against corrupt governments, often led by “Nazis,” Petro says, fueling decades of conflict that is only now beginning to fade.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro says the U.S.-backed coup in Chile 50 years ago, when General Augusto Pinochet deposed socialist President Salvador Allende, left a lasting scar across Latin America. Many progressives took up arms against corrupt governments, often led by “Nazis,” Petro says, fueling decades of conflict that is only now beginning to fade.