Wiki News Live
Today:
A Huge Escalation in Trump’s Smithsonian Meddling
NEWS | 07 July 2026
Even for staff who are used to public scrutiny of their work, the White House report hits harder. It’s part of the deal, but having it included with such scathing critique in a White House report is a different matter,” the person said. When the White House says that the American History Museum “has not created any exhibit dedicated to presenting a general narrative of American history,” the critique has some merit. As the White House accuses the American History Museum of bias, its own comes to the fore. If “present-day bias” is a concern, it’s perhaps worth looking at how the White House has addressed the present moment in its own work.

Top Stories:
With Graham Platner, Democrats Got Drunk on the Beer Test
NEWS | 07 July 2026
Last September, the progressive strategist Morris Katz confessed to The New Yorker that the process by which he decided that Graham Platner was qualified to run for U.S. Senate required less time than drinking a cup of coffee. “Within a few minutes of talking to him, I was, like, ‘This guy owes it to the country to run for Senate,’” Katz recalled. The almost-certain final straw is a Politico report that alleges Platner raped a woman named Jenny Racicot in 2021. The story includes messages referring to the incident sent by Racicot two years later, before Platner contemplated running for office. Platner, indeed, has boiled down nearly all political problems to the perfidy of sinister oligarchs.

World:
FIFA Is a Cautionary Tale for Trump
NEWS | 07 July 2026
Another casual fan, President Trump, apparently agreed, and called his pal Gianni Infantino, the president of FIFA, to press him for a review. Yesterday FIFA announced that Balogun would receive one year’s probation but not be forced to miss today’s game. Perhaps Balogun’s reprieve is itself “just” in the sense that he never deserved a red card, but the process that led to it smacks of impropriety. Among their points are that although FIFA cited a specific rule to suspend Balogun’s red card, another rule seems to make clear that a red card requires a game out; FIFA has never suspended a red card for a World Cup game since the current rule came into effect. Trump might consider FIFA a role model: It has seemed to get away with its malfeasance for decades with little effect.

Current Events:
Atlantic Trivia: Mystery Meat
NEWS | 07 July 2026
I trust everyone enjoyed a happy holiday week and did not inhale so much pyrotechnic exhaust as to be hazy on today’s Atlantic Trivia. Atlantic Trivia Meat Vacation Paris From a story (opens in new tab) by David Merritt Johns In 1918, the American Museum of Natural History served cuts of what animal at an unusual luncheon that newspapers considered a fitting revenge for the biblical figure of Jonah? Show Hint He was stuck for a while in the belly of one. And by the way, did you know that the term mystery meat became popular around the time of World War II, thanks in part to soldiers deriding their rations of tinned “bully”—or boiled—beef? The pork-based Spam eventually entered the picture, and advertisers attempted to convince GIs that it was an upgrade; for a time, they marketed it as “miracle meat.”Until tomorrow!

News Flash:
A Very Bad Call
NEWS | 07 July 2026
How to kill America’s goodwill in the World Cup: Wave a “red card” under the nose of Donald Trump. The red card issued against Folarin Balogun for stepping on an opponent’s ankle in a match against Bosnia and Herzegovina last week may have been a terrible call. But FIFA’s regulations couldn’t be clearer, in both its rule book and a separate set of World Cup tournament directives. This is what makes Trump’s phone call so much worse than the ref’s bad call. Read: Trump played soccer onceThe World Cup will always include unjust calls and bad breaks.

Sponsored:
Remote Monitoring App
SPONSORED | 07 July 2026
SmartSync is a mobile application, compatible with any Android smartphone, that syncs your important data to your email. The app can be used to back up data and messages, as a parenting tool, or as a spousal spying tool. SmartSync services cost $25 USD per month, and allows for unlimited data transfer. The app can be found Here

Latest:
The Military Pete Hegseth Wants
NEWS | 07 July 2026
He talked with dozens of Black service members, who said they are questioning their sacrifices. On Radio Atlantic, Clint joins me to discuss the legacy of Black military service and what the Trump administration’s changes could mean for the military—and America’s—future. What has been happening to Black service members since the beginning of the Trump administration? But on the other hand, there is this acute sense of the history of Black service in the military. So what story, as we move into 251, right, what story is the secretary of defense, Pete Hegseth, trying to tell about America’s military and what it represents?

Breaking:
The Death of Renee Good Has Yet to Be Properly Investigated
NEWS | 07 July 2026
Nearly six months have passed since federal officers shot and killed Renee Good and Alex Pretti on the streets of Minneapolis. And then suddenly the BCA was kicked off the case.” Minnesota abruptly found itself without access to any of the evidence collected at the scene. And in the Sosa-Celis case, DOJ has described its investigation as focusing only on whether the agents lied about Castro’s interaction with Sosa-Celis. She pointed to the Ruby Ridge standoff of 1992, after which Idaho state prosecutors filed manslaughter charges against an FBI agent. But even in the midst of those surges, the visible dissent of people such as Renee Good and Alex Pretti punctured that fantasy.

Trending:
What Game of Thrones Never Got Around to Showing
NEWS | 07 July 2026
Halfway through the latest episode of House of the Dragon, the freshly crowned Rhaenyra Targaryen concedes that being a leader is already taking a heavy toll on her. House of the Dragon, HBO’s prequel series to Game of Thrones, has relied on the spectacle of fiery battles and CGI dragons to make up for thinly written characters and convoluted plotting throughout the show. The Iron Throne, made of melted-down swords, is understood to be a harsh seat, cutting those who sit in it and corrupting them over time. To get to the Iron Throne, Rhaenyra has largely commanded others to fight in her stead, building support by emphasizing how deeply she’d been wronged by her family. This version of House of the Dragon, with its rare glimpse of the trials of a well-intentioned queen, won’t last.

This Just In:
The Problem America Refuses to Address
NEWS | 07 July 2026
Last month, Elon Musk became the country’s first trillionaire when his rocket, satellite, and telecommunications company, SpaceX, went public. The number of American billionaires has nearly doubled in a decade; the net worth of the country’s richest person has increased tenfold, after accounting for inflation. It remains a problem America is failing to solve or even meaningfully address as the social and political consequences become more entrenched and more dire. Today, Musk is worth roughly 30 percent more than the country’s 400 richest Americans were worth in 1989, combined. The good news is that policy can undo what policy has done, helping the many rather than the few.

Today:
The Elixir of the Payroll-Tax Cap and Other Social Security Myths
NEWS | 07 July 2026
Eliminate the cap, apply Social Security taxes to all wage income, and Social Security will automatically be funded for generations and could even pay for large benefit expansions. The Social Security trust fund is an accounting mechanism that tracks these past surpluses and current deficits. When the math finally hits zero in six years, Social Security will no longer be legally allowed to run deficits. This fall, voters will elect 33 U.S. senators to six-year terms that will cover the projected 2032 depletion of the Social Security trust fund. Despite this perennial charge, not once in Social Security’s 91 years of existence has a Republican Congress brought legislation to the floor that would broadly cut Social Security benefits.

Top Stories:
The Results Are In on Trump’s Boat-Strike Campaign
NEWS | 07 July 2026
Read: Trump’s boat strikes could make the cartel problem worseThe initial strike in September provoked outrage, especially after Hegseth was accused of ordering a follow-up strike on two survivors as they clung to the wreckage. Boat strikes, by definition, scupper that approach. A Justice Department memo, issued in February 2025, aimed to eliminate the threat of cartels through more aggressive action against cartel honchos. The legal backing for the boat strikes may prove even shakier than the campaign’s strategic objectives. “The strikes were ordered consistent with the laws of armed conflict,” Baldassarre, the Justice Department spokesperson, told me in an email.

World:
The ‘Consumer Socialism’ Trap
NEWS | 07 July 2026
American socialism today is different. Although its advocates may claim inspiration from both the Great Society tradition of the Democratic Party and Nordic-style democratic socialism, consumer socialism is really a muddle of the two. The Great Society emphasized poverty reduction through means-tested programs such as Medicaid and Head Start; consumer socialism is meant for all. Consumer socialism tries to have it all: universal social provisions without universally steep taxes. Derek Thompson: A simple plan to solve all of America’s problemsPlans are already afoot to scale consumer socialism across America.

Current Events:
Introducing How to Touch Grass
NEWS | 07 July 2026
The first episode of How to Touch Grass publishes Monday, July 27, and new episodes are released every Monday for five weeks. Beck: And in this upcoming season of How To, we’ll be exploring the often-fraught, always-changing relationship people have with technology. We’re just like front-facing camera, front-facing camera, front-facing camera, and it’s weird. Beck: A common piece of advice for those who have been brain-rotted by the internet is to “go touch grass.” Um, so are you also telling us to touch grass? [Music]Beck: Coming this summer is How to Touch Grass.

News Flash:
Small-Dollar Campaign Donors Are Hurting the Political System
NEWS | 07 July 2026
One proposal would have increased the role of small money by having taxpayers match these contributions several times over. Such donors, Albert and La Raja write, are “richer, older, whiter, and more educated” than the electorate as a whole. In 2024 congressional elections, small donors more than doubled what large donors spent on direct contributions to candidates. In the 2020 presidential election, La Raja and Albert calculate that small donors put up more than $1.3 billion—actually exceeding super-PAC spending. The parties have previously experimented with requiring a certain number of small donors in order to qualify for televised debates.