This is the Tangle Sunday Edition, a brief roundup of our independent politics coverage plus some extra features for your Sunday morning reading.
Correction: In the “What just happened” portion of our last Sunday newsletter, we said that the police pulled a driver out of his car and shot him after he ran his car through an East Hollywood crowd, injuring 30. In fact, members of the crowd pulled the driver from his car and shot him. Unfortunately, we also misreported that Medicare-enrollee data was shared with ICE instead of Medicaid-enrollee data.
We misread the stories and missed the errors in review; since last week, we have added more editorial oversight to the review process for the Sunday newsletter to prevent similar mistakes from occurring in the future.
These are our 4th and 5th corrections in The Sunday's 83-week history and our first since June 23, 2024. We track corrections and place them at the top of the newsletter in an effort to maximize transparency with readers.
What the left is doodling.
What the right is doodling.
Monday, July 21.
New developments in the Jeffrey Epstein saga. On Thursday, July 17, The Wall Street Journal published a report claiming that President Donald Trump signed a letter containing a lewd drawing and sexually suggestive text as part of a birthday album for Jeffrey Epstein in 2003. The Journal says it reviewed the contents of the previously unreported album and letters but has not released any of the documents. President Trump strongly denied writing the letter and, on July 18, filed a defamation lawsuit against The Journal and its owners. Separately, the Department of Justice asked a federal judge to unseal grand jury testimony from Epstein’s sex-trafficking prosecution as part of an effort to address ongoing public interest in the case.
Our take: “For several reasons, I strongly believe this letter is real. Trump may want to protect his reputation in keeping the Epstein files sealed, but I highly doubt they criminally implicate him. We should remember to continue to follow facts over speculation as this story progresses.”
Reader Survey:
Tuesday, July 22.
The crypto bills. On Friday, July 18, President Donald Trump signed the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act, the United States’s first major cryptocurrency legislation. The new law establishes a legal category and regulatory framework for stablecoins, a type of cryptocurrency whose value is tied to a reference asset, like the price of gold or the U.S. dollar. As a result, banks, nonbanks, and credit unions will be able to participate in the stablecoin market and issue their own digital currencies. In addition to the GENIUS Act, the House voted on July 17 to pass the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, to further regulate digital assets, and the Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act, to prevent the Federal Reserve from issuing its own central bank digital currency. The Senate is now considering both bills.
Our take: “As someone who has benefited from crypto, I’ll say that I’m glad Congress is starting to regulate the industry. However, the law’s protections pale in comparison to its vulnerabilities. I don’t want the industry to be defined by a few highly visible fraudsters, but we need stronger regulation to protect investors.”
Reader Survey:
Wednesday, July 23.
The DNI report. On Friday, July 18, Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Tulsi Gabbard announced the release of files that allegedly show President Barack Obama and his national security cabinet members concocted a false narrative of Russian interference in the 2016 election. DNI Gabbard claimed the documents showed a “treasonous conspiracy” to overturn Donald Trump’s electoral victory, posting on X that the Office of the Director of National Intelligence will be turning the documents over to the Department of Justice for criminal referral. In her announcement, DNI Gabbard alleged that President Obama and members of the intelligence community ignored benign intelligence reports to create a narrative of Russia–Trump collusion and election interference.
Our take: “Partisans on both sides have plenty to get upset about today, but many are also overplaying their hands. Comparing our knowledge before and after Gabbard’s release can tell us a lot. I don’t know Gabbard’s motives, but however shoddy the Russia investigation was, this report reflects very poorly on her.”
Reader Survey:
Thursday, July 24.
The global aid and public broadcasting clawbacks. On Thursday, July 17, the Senate voted 51–48 to pass a rescissions package clawing back $9 billion in federal funding that had previously been approved for international aid and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which funds National Public Radio and the Public Broadcasting Service. The next day, the House approved the package 216–213, sending it to President Donald Trump, who has yet to sign the bill.
Our take: “Republicans granting Trump’s rescission request is legal and above board, but also unusual. I’m glad to see Congress act to cut spending, but I don’t agree with the funding they targeted. To have a real effect on the deficit, Congress is going to have to get serious with either meaningful cuts or new taxes.”
Reader Survey:
Friday, July 25.
Two weeks ago, Executive Editor Isaac Saul wrote about five things he got wrong about Trump’s second term. After writing that piece, he realized he has spent a lot of time thinking about what he’d gotten wrong, and maybe not enough thinking about what he’d gotten right. This Friday, he wrote about five things he’d gotten right about Trump’s second term. You can read the piece here.
What just happened.
Here are a few stories that have broken since our last newsletter on Thursday.
- On Thursday, French President Emmanuel Macron announced that France would recognize the state of Palestine, becoming the first of the Group of 7 major industrialized nations to do so. (The announcement)
- On Thursday, the United States and Israel recalled their negotiators from Qatar, where they had been attempting to negotiate a hostage-ceasefire deal with Hamas to end the war in Gaza. US Mideast Envoy Steve Witkoff accused Hamas of refusing to negotiate in good faith. (The recall)
- On Thursday, the Federal Communications Commission approved Skydance Media’s merger with Paramount Global following several concessions made by CBS to the Trump administration and assurances that Paramount would not establish any diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. (The approval)
- On Friday, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said she had a good call with President Donald Trump. Von der Leyen and Trump are scheduled to meet in Scotland to discuss trans-Atlantic trade relations. (The talks)
- On Friday, the White House said it would release $5.5 billion in frozen education funds that had been withheld since the day before the July 1 deadline for disbursement. (The release)
- On Saturday, at least 11 people were injured in a stabbing attack inside a Walmart in Traverse City, Michigan. According to officials, the suspect was taken into custody. (The attack)
Reader essay.
In Tangle’s coverage of the Texas floods, Isaac argued that Texas’s Hill Country should have an early-warning system, like the ones many tornado-prone areas have. Tangle reader Doug has spent a lot of time in Hill Country, and he disagreed. Since part of what we do at Tangle is highlight and share conflicting viewpoints, we thought it would be a great viewpoint to share with everyone. You can read the full piece here.
Have a personal story or local issue you want to write about? Pitch us! Fill out this form or reply to this email, and we’ll get back to you if we’re hooked.
Reader review.
In this section, we like to highlight reader comments that respond to our coverage from different angles. In our edition on Trump’s alleged birthday note to Jeffrey Epstein, two readers disagreed over how much they expected the Epstein Files to criminally implicate the president.
Frank Bruno agreed that President Trump is probably not criminally implicated:
I doubt that Trump will be implicated criminally and so the only real import of this case is whether the MAGA base will desert him over this. I don't think so and Trump doesn't think so either. He believes he can dump every single right-wing influencer and ally, and his base will always stick with him. He's probably right. These people are emotionally attached to him. That's why you can never get them to criticize him or even have a reasonable conversation involving him.
Andrew disagreed.
The Epstein Files are not just about Trump, they are about the rich and powerful across the political spectrum. Democratic big hitters, business executives, and politicians from across the world are also probably in those files. Dems were not willing to go scorched earth because it would impact Dem allies just as much as Trump and Rep allies.
Trump ran on releasing the files. He broke his promise, and is now getting buried under the truth of his relationship with Epstein. If Trump was not criminally implicated, he would 100% release the files to defend himself, solidify himself as a protector of children, and take down some enemies at the same time.
Recommended reading.
In a sport where horses are more important than their riders, anyone who can indefinitely clone the best steed in the world has the ultimate edge.
Shady deals on superyachts. The struggle to continue a bloodline. Betrayal and courtroom drama. Hundreds of thousands of dollars — and perhaps more importantly, fame and glory — on the line. It’s not the latest HBO drama, it’s Matt Reynolds’s captivating retelling of how genetic cloning shook the polo world. You can read the piece here.
On the channels.
INSTAGRAM: With Ozzy Osbourne’s passing this week, we showed the moment he stood on a table and blew kisses during President Bush’s speech at the 2002 White House Correspondents’ Dinner in an Instagram reel here.
PODCAST: Isaac, Ari, and Kmele wound back the clock to play some greatest hits you may have remembered from 2019: Jeffrey Epstein, Russiagate, and cancel culture. Plus, what happened to Kmele’s finger!? You can listen to the full episode here.
BONUS: The Wall Street Journal wrote an article that claims Attorney General Pam Bondi told President Trump in May that his name appeared in the Epstein files multiple times. We broke down the article in an Instagram post here.
Post of the week.
Black Pearl is a “Mini Therapy Horse” who visits patients in the hospital to treat them to some original music. The whole page is worth checking out, but we loved this post in particular.
Tangle’s favorites.
Infotainment.
On Saturday, the U.S. Postal Service celebrated its 250th anniversary, having been established on July 26, 1775 by the Second Continental Congress. The service famous for braving any and all weather conditions to deliver the mail to millions of Americans has loads of fascinating figures capturing the scope of their work — here are a few of our favorites:
- 75. The number of Postal Service offices in the United States in 1789, covering roughly 2,400 miles of post roads.
- 156 million. The number of residential addresses the Postal Service delivered to in 2024.
- 44%. The percentage of the world's mail volume that is processed and delivered by the Postal Service.
- 33,780. The number of retail and contract Postal Service offices in the United States.
Ask the readers.
Last week, John asked readers if they realized their participation counts.
Since we chose his answer, we gave Kevin the opportunity to ask our readers a question in today’s newsletter:
You can let us know your thoughts by replying through this form.
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