Loyal to the look: why Zohran Mamdani wears a suit in all seasons; The Guardian, July 26, 2026

Adam Gabbatt, The Guardian; Loyal to the look: why Zohran Mamdani wears a suit in all seasons

"Playing football. Playing in the sand. Dancing on a stage with Alicia Keys and the entire New York Knicks roster. Swimming in a swimming pool. Swimming in the ocean.

Traditionally, a suit and tie would be considered inappropriate attire for each of these activities. Yet over the past year Zohran Mamdani has seemingly been on a one-man crusade to prove otherwise: to convince people that a formal suit is, actually, suitable for all activities.

That’s because the New York mayor hardly ever wears anything but a suit: frequently purchased from Suit Supply, almost always in a dark colour and worn with a formal tie, mostly paired with smart black boots. He’s hardly the first male politician to embrace the suit – it’s the de facto uniform, after all, of those seeking to project seriousness and solemnity – but few, if any, have been quite as wedded to the formal blazer and matching trousers...

“I think Mamdani wants to double down on appearing as a working mayor, as someone who is always on the job and on the clock,” said Ella Devi, a fashion commentator and, like Mamdani, Democratic Socialists of America member whose (typically negative) assessments of Republicans’ style have made her a target for conservatives.

“I think that he kind of wants to convey that he is committed to the job, through his sartorial choices. I think that is reflected in his attachment to the suiting.”...

“If there’s a visual language that connotes credibility and authority, why not take advantage of it?” Nathan Robinson, the editor of the leftwing Current Affairs magazine wrote this month.

“You might see someone in a suit as serious, professional, ready to do business. You might think they belong in the Senate or a boardroom. That’s certainly what Mamdani is trying to convey with his suits. He understands that socialists face a challenge: we’re considered fringe. People think we don’t belong among those making important decisions. The suits are a subtle way of asserting the legitimacy and authority of socialist ideas.”"

Ethics Panel Recommends Censure for Rep. Spillane for ‘Demeaning’ Comments; InDepthNH.org, July 17, 2026

 Nancy West , InDepthNH.org; Ethics Panel Recommends Censure for Rep. Spillane for ‘Demeaning’ Comments

"The Committee charged Spillane with violations of the Ethics Guidelines, Section 1, Principles of Public Service, Paragraph III, Principle of Accountability, which provides that legislators “shall ensure that government is conducted openly, equitably and honorably in a manner that permits the citizenry to make informed judgments, have confidence in the integrity of the legislature, and hold government officials accountable” and Paragraph IV, Principle of Conduct, which provides that legislators “shall treat each other, legislative employees, and the public with dignity and respect.”

It will be up to the House to vote on the committee’s recommendation. The next time the House is expected to be in session will be Veto Day in September or October.

The report said Spillane admitted to making the postings identifying him as a state Representative at a hearing on the matter, but said they weren’t made in the performance of his official duties so his conduct didn’t fall within the jurisdiction of the Committee. Spillane also argued that his comments in the social media posts are protected speech under the federal and New Hampshire constitutions.

“While the right of freedom of speech is fundamental, it is not absolute. Certain categories of speech such as defamation and harassment can be restricted. In this case Rep. Horrigan testified that the offensive statements made in the posts were not true and. Rep. Harvey testified that she had legitimate concerns about her safety,” the report said.

In 2020, the civil rights unit of the Attorney General’s Office investigated a social media post by Spillane that stated “Public Service Announcement: If you see a (Black Lives Matter) sign on a lawn it’s the same as  having the porch light on for Halloween. You’re free to loot and burn that house.” Spillane said at the time he meant that post as “tongue-in-cheek” political commentary and the investigation was suspended with no action taken."

Pete Buttigieg’s Ordeal Is a Frightening New Form of Political Harassment; The Atlantic, July 2, 2026

 Quinta Jurecic, The Atlantic; Pete Buttigieg’s Ordeal Is a Frightening New Form of Political Harassment

"The news that former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg was investigated by Child Protective Services for a false allegation of child abuse was surprising. Not that an accuser would attempt such a cruel form of harassment—this, unfortunately, is not shocking at all—but because nobody seems to have aimed this particular tactic at a prominent politician before. Even in these unimaginative days, Americans are still capable of new innovations in cruelty.

“Someone decided to hurt our family this week,” Buttigieg wrote in a Substack post last week. Buttigieg, the first openly gay Cabinet member and a likely Democratic presidential contender, wrote that state police and a CPS worker arrived at his home in the last week of June to investigate an anonymous report that Buttigieg may have harmed his 4-year-old twins. The matter was quickly resolved, but only after Buttigieg was separated from his children for 24 hours and CPS had interviewed them. State investigators in Michigan, where Buttigieg lives, determined that the tip had been false.

Life as a public servant in America requires an escalating tolerance for danger. Politicians, judges, election workers, school-board members, and librarians face online abuse, threats, true risk of physical violence, and bullying—persistent, creative torment that emerges from unexpected corners and darts back and forth across the line of physical and psychological peril. Now people considering a role in public life have a new nightmare to consider: the possibility that a malicious hoax will lead the state to take away their children."

Pete Buttigieg and his kids subject to CPS, police investigation after false report; NPR, June 26, 2026

 Elena Moore, NPR; Pete Buttigieg and his kids subject to CPS, police investigation after false report

"Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says he and his children were the subject of an investigation by Child Protective Services following an anonymous report that was later determined to be false.

Buttigieg, who lives with his husband and their twin four-year-old children in Traverse City, Michigan detailed the experience in a Substack post on Friday, saying that a police officer and CPS worker had come to his home and notified him of an anonymous report that alleged his children were at risk...

When asked for comment, the Michigan State Police told NPR they had received an anonymous report this week that state police and CPS responded to and "determined the report was false."...

The Michigan State Police have not shared any additional information on a potential motive for the false report against Buttigieg and his family. But in his statement Friday, Buttigieg noted the incident had taken place during Pride Month, meant to celebrate LGBTQ+ people.

"It's not lost on me that this happened soon after we shared photos of our family on social media for Father's Day," Buttigieg said in his statement. "Or that this occurred during a month meant to make families like ours feel welcome and safe."

News of the incident prompted bipartisan support for Buttigieg, including from Rep. Derrick Van Orden, R-Wisc., who replied to the Michigan Democrat's post on X saying, "this has happened to our family and I agree, this is horrible."

Poll: The midterms' new big players are pushing agendas that voters don’t fully support; Politico, May 3, 2026

ERIN DOHERTY,  JASPER GOODMAN, JESSICA PIPER,  DANIEL BARNES and BRENDAN BORDELON, Politico ; Poll: The midterms' new big players are pushing agendas that voters don’t fully support

"Deep-pocketed political groups tied to artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency are rapidly reshaping the midterm money landscape — but many Americans are uneasy with the industries behind the spending.

New results from The POLITICO Poll find broad public skepticism about crypto and AI, creating a possible conflict for candidates benefitting from an influx of contributions from the two industries. These groups are pouring millions of dollars into competitive 2026 races to elevate politicians who they believe will support their agendas in Washington.

Meanwhile, Americans have been slow to embrace either technology.

A 45 percent plurality of Americans say investing in cryptocurrency is not worth the risk, even if it can yield high returns, and a 44 percent plurality say AI is developing too quickly, according to the April survey conducted by independent firm Public First.

Nearly half of Americans say they trust a traditional bank with their money more than a cryptocurrency platform, while just 17 percent say the opposite. And two-thirds support lawmakers either imposing strict regulations or setting broad principles for the AI industry."

Fiery House hearing ends in guilty ruling for Cherfilus-McCormick; Axios, March 27, 2026

 Andrew Solender , Axios; Fiery House hearing ends in guilty ruling for Cherfilus-McCormick

"A bipartisan panel of House Ethics Committee members found Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick(D-Fla.) guilty of financial misconduct and other charges on summary judgment following a testy, hourslong hearing.

Why it matters: The Ethics Committee will meet in mid-April to decide on appropriate punitive action, which could include fines, censure or even expulsion.

• Rep. Greg Steube (R-Fla.) has said he plans to force a vote on expelling Cherfilus-McCormickas so on as the Ethics Committee process wraps up.
• 
  
• House Democratic leadership has argued such a step should not be taken until Cherfilus-McCormick's criminal trial is resolved — though their members are growing increasingly uncomfortable with the situation.
• 
  
• Cherfilus-McCormick, for her part, has maintained her innocence and pleaded not guilty to the charges against her in her criminal campaign finance case."

James Talarico Is a Christian X-Ray; The New York Times, March 8, 2026

 DAVID FRENCH , The New York Times; James Talarico Is a Christian X-Ray

"If you were to crack open Scripture today and start reading, one of the first things you should notice is that the Bible contains remarkably few political mandates. You can read it from cover to cover and not know the definitive biblical tax rate, welfare program or foreign policy.

But the next thing you’ll notice is that there is an immense amount of guidance describing how Christians should behave. Indeed, in the book of Galatians, the Apostle Paul says that the fruit of the spirit is a set of virtues — “love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.”..

But what if the coming thermostatic reaction isn’t about ideology as much as about character and temperament? What if we’re seeing a 21st-century version of the American public’s movement away from the cruelty and corruption of Richard Nixon toward the ethics and integrity of Jimmy Carter — a man who won for all the right reasons in 1976, even if his presidency didn’t live up to his promise?

It’s too soon to be that optimistic, but that’s what I see in people’s attitudes toward Talarico. That’s what I see in Cornyn’s surprising plurality over Paxton. This miserable political moment won’t end when the left takes back the government from the right or if the right continues to beat the left. It will end when our politicians — especially Christian politicians — forsake cruelty for compassion and realize that we shall know Christians in politics not by their stridency and ideology, but by their integrity and love, including their love for, as Talarico put it, “all of our neighbors.”

That’s the significance of the Talarico moment: not the old news that a Christian can be progressive but, rather, that Christian politicians can actually act like Christians. Kindness still has a place in the public square, even if it doesn’t always seem that way."

Politicians Are Trying to Control the News; The New York Times, March 5, 2026

 The Editorial Board, The New York Times ; Politicians Are Trying to Control the News

"The shadow of press repression is spreading around the world. In the past decade, the number of journalists detained and imprisoned has soared as governments seek tighter control over the media. What started as a crackdown first by dictatorships and then by illiberal democracies is expanding to onetime bastions of civil liberties.

A recent high-profile case is Jimmy Lai, whom authorities in Hong Kong sentenced to 20 years in prison last month. He had campaigned against China’s choking of the territory’s freedoms. Mr. Lai, 78, has already spent five years in a dark cell and is ailing. The sentence effectively condemns him to dying in prison. Mr. Lai has denied all the charges against him.

His plight is increasingly common. At least 330 journalists worldwide were in prison at the end of 2025, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists, up from fewer than 200 a decade ago. More than a third of them were serving sentences of five years or more. Nearly half remained behind bars despite never having been formally sentenced. One-fifth say they were tortured or beaten. An additional 129 members of the press died while doing their jobs or because of them, the highest number since records began in 1992. Among the worst offenders against press freedom have been China, Russia, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Israel, Myanmar, Sudan and Turkey.

These courageous journalists have sought to shine a light on the world around them. They ask questions that political leaders do not want to answer and publish information that leaders do not want the public to know. For their efforts, they have been falsely accused of being enemies of the state, terrorists, foreign agents or spies."

Joe Rogan urges progressive Texas Democrat to run for president, calling him a 'good person'; Fox News, July 20, 2025

  Lindsay Kornick, Fox News; Joe Rogan urges progressive Texas Democrat to run for president, calling him a 'good person'

"Podcast giant Joe Rogan suggested on his show Friday that his latest guest, Texas Democratic State Rep. James Talarico, D-Austin, run for president as Democrats scramble for a new leader.

"You need to run for president," Rogan told Talarico near the end of the nearly 3-hour conversation. "We need someone who's actually a good person.""

Kristi Noem Secretly Took a Cut of Political Donations; ProPublica, June 30, 2025

 Justin Elliott, Joshua Kaplan and Alex Mierjeski , ProPublica; Kristi Noem Secretly Took a Cut of Political Donations

"There is nothing remarkable about a politician raising money for nonprofits and other groups that promote their campaigns or agendas. What’s unusual, experts said, is for a politician to keep some of the money for themselves.

“If donors to these nonprofits are not just holding the keys to an elected official’s political future but also literally providing them with their income, that’s new and disturbing,” said Daniel Weiner, a former Federal Election Commission attorney who now leads the Brennan Center’s work on campaign finance."

Meet the Boston City Councilor With Visions of Becoming the Next Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez; The Daily Beast, July 23, 2018

Gideon Resnick, The Daily Beast; Meet the Boston City Councilor With Visions of Becoming the Next Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

[Kip Currier: Massachusetts candidate Ayanna Pressley's "Treadmill story" is a great communication example of using the power of storytelling to persuade and make a lasting impression.  

Another excellent example of highly effective storytelling that I've highlighted in my Management and Leadership course is this one from a 2011 New York Times interview, A Blueprint for Leadership: Show, Don’t Tell, with Amy Schulman, executive vice president and general counsel at Pfizer:

Q. [Adam Bryant] Can you give me an example of one of those stories?
 

“A. [Amy Schulman] A story I often tell is about the first time I took a deposition. I got there early, and I thought that the most important thing was to control the witness. I didn’t realize the first time around that the way you control somebody is not by intimidating them. But I adjusted the chair that I was sitting on so that I’d be really tall, and could look down imposingly on the witness. But I raised it so high that as soon as I sat down, I toppled over and fell backward. I tell that story for a few reasons. I want people to know I’m not afraid to laugh at myself. And the best way to show people that you’re not afraid to laugh at yourself is to actually laugh at yourself and tell a story of a time that you’ve been embarrassed.”]

"Most politicians running for higher office don’t publicize embarrassing tales of personal physical harm.

But on scorching mid-July morning, Ayanna Pressley, a 44-year-old Boston city councilor seeking to become the next progressive candidate to knock off a well-known white male Democratic incumbent, regaled a group of kids about that time she fell off her treadmill.

“A girl got on the treadmill next to me,” she told a group of young, mostly African-American girls at a summer basketball clinic at Wainwright Park in the neighborhood of Dorchester. “And she had a cuter outfit on and she was running even harder and her form was even better. And I was so busy watching her that I fell and cracked my tooth on the treadmill.”

Pressley’s tale was an altogether human one: a former high school track runner trying to find her way back into shape. But it was a political metaphor too—one that she was applying to her own candidacy.

“Now that is a lesson for life,” she said, peering down at the girls underneath a sun hat. “I was so busy looking at her race that I wasn’t focused on my own. You have to run your own race.”"

The Bad Parent Caucus; New York Times, February 15, 2018

Timothy Egan, New York Times; The Bad Parent Caucus

"Let me try another take for you bad parents in office. Pretend you live in a pleasant, well-protected community of like-minded people, and you’re in charge. O.K., you don’t have to pretend. And let’s say there was a natural gas leak every three days in one of the homes in that community, a leak that killed entire families.

Your response would be to pray and do nothing. Or to pray and talk about everything except the gas leak. Or to pray and say you’re powerless to act because the gas company owns you. The response of those suffering would be to take control and kick you out. That’s what we have to do, and will, next November."