July 28, 2026, 2026 - Magnitude 7.1 Quake Strikes Japan

I spent the weekend at the Greenbrier in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, at Joe Manchin’s invitation. I was there to address a gathering he convened with his daughter Heather, and to interview them both for CNN. Monday, he returned the favor, coming to Philadelphia for a project I’ll launch in early fall. More on that soon.

The setting fit: beneath it sits a Cold War bunker built to shelter Congress in a catastrophe. The Manchins see a slower-moving threat (a duopoly that has weaponized politics); their answer, unveiled to some 40 donors, reformers and candidates, is the Independent Leadership Council. A movement, they insist, not a party.

A record 45 percent of Americans identify as independents, per Gallup; pure independents in Congress: zero. Recall what one independent-minded senator meant in a 50-50 Senate; imagine two or three in another closely divided Congress. Eight candidates signed a “Declaration of Independents,” pledging to caucus with neither party. Among them: Seth Bodnar, West Point’s top graduate, Rhodes Scholar, Green Beret, former University of Montana president, running for Senate in Montana.

What struck me most was Manchin himself. I admire his intellect and independence, commodities in short supply in Washington. I marvel at his energy: at 78 (79 next month), he’s recruiting a bench of successors to his role as the Senate’s deciding vote.

That bunker was built to save Congress from the worst. The Manchins are betting it can still be saved from itself. If a few like Seth Bodner can pick up the Manchin mantle, the country will be in a better place.##

A powerful 7.1-magnitude earthquake struck southern Japan on Tuesday, prompting a tsunami advisory, disrupting flights, knocking out power to thousands of homes, and raising concerns about aftershocks and landslides.

ABC News

Personal diary entries from Anthony S. Fauci, released this weekend by Sen. Rand Paul, show the former NIH scientist privately griping about President Donald Trump's "rambling" and relishing media coverage of his role leading the U.S. coronavirus response.

The Washington Post

As Benjamin Netanyahu heads to the White House for his eighth meeting with President Trump since his return to office, the Israeli leader arrives with waning influence as growing policy differences over Iran and regional diplomacy strain their once closely aligned partnership.

Axios

Bryan Kohberger, serving four life sentences for the 2022 murders of four University of Idaho students, filed a petition in Ada County District Court seeking to withdraw his 2025 guilty plea, claiming ineffective counsel and that he was "convinced to falsely confess."

NBC News

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A propaganda video out of Iran titled "How to Kill Melania Trump" urges regime supporters to assassinate the first lady, mapping her New York shopping stops and suggesting a nerve agent, while also threatening 20-year-old Barron Trump.

New York Post

Former Sen. Joe Manchin has launched a new effort to recruit, fund and elect independent candidates to Congress, aiming to challenge the two-party system and give centrist voices greater influence on Capitol Hill.

NPR

Republicans are using a newly unveiled Democratic Socialists of America platform calling for sweeping changes to the U.S. government to paint Democrats as extremists, exposing growing ideological divisions within the party ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.

Associated Press

Audio clips released Monday by the conservative Oversight Project capture former President Joe Biden cavalierly discussing classified notes with his ghostwriter Mark Lewis Zwonitzer, struggling to recall dates, and revealing tensions with Barack Obama over the 2008 financial crisis response and a possible 2016 run.

CNN

A study in Perspectives on Psychological Science found that daily spoken words dropped roughly 28 percent between 2005 and 2019, as digital communication and app-based ordering replace the small conversations that once filled everyday life, weakening social connection, mental well-being, and even cognitive skills.

The Atlantic

"TODAY" co-anchor Savannah Guthrie posted an emotional Instagram video directly appealing to her mother Nancy Guthrie's abductor to "tell us where to look for her," nearly six months after Nancy was taken from her home near Tucson, Arizona, on Feb. 1.

NBC News