The Sunday — July 6

This is the Tangle Sunday Edition, a brief roundup of our independent politics coverage plus some extra features for your Sunday morning reading. 

What the right is doodling.

What the left is doodling.

Monday, June 30.

Trump v. CASA. On Friday, June 27, the Supreme Court voted 6–3 to partially pause rulings by federal judges blocking President Donald Trump’s executive order ending birthright citizenship. The decision did not weigh the constitutionality of the executive order but dealt solely with federal courts issuing universal injunctions, which prohibit the government from enforcing a law or policy anywhere in the country. The court’s majority repudiated such orders but left open the possibility that lawsuits brought by states could challenge Trump’s executive order.

Our take: “The court didn’t do any of the extreme things partisans say it did. This ruling on universal injunctions was narrow, and I think the court got it right. Trump’s strategy of avoiding the birthright citizenship question is frustrating, but it may not work for much longer.”

Reader Survey:

Tuesday, July 1.

Mahmoud v. Taylor. On Friday, June 27, the Supreme Court voted 6–3 in favor of a group of Maryland parents who had wanted to opt their elementary-aged children out of instruction that included LGBTQ+ themes. The majority agreed to grant the parents a preliminary injunction while their lawsuit proceeds in lower courts, allowing them to withhold their children from such curriculum. The court’s three liberal justices dissented. Friday’s decision reversed lower courts’ rulings, finding that the district’s policy unduly burdens parents’ religious exercise. The court ruled that the parents had shown both that they were likely to succeed on the merits of their case and likely to suffer irreparable harm if not granted a preliminary injunction.

Our take: “I initially sided with the parents who brought this challenge to the court. After reading more, I’m unconvinced by the court’s arguments and worry about the ruling’s implications. Other parents could want to protect their kids from ideas they don’t like, which would seriously disrupt education.”

Reader Survey:

Wednesday, July 2.

The “Big, Beautiful Bill” passing the Senate. On Tuesday, July 1, following a marathon all-night voting session, the Republicans’ taxation and spending bill passed the Senate 51–50 on a tie-breaking vote from Vice President JD Vance. Republican Senators Rand Paul (KY), Thom Tillis (NC), and Susan Collins (ME) joined every Democratic senator in voting no; all other Republican senators voted yes. The bill — known as the One Big, Beautiful Bill (or OBBB) — originally passed the House 215–214 on May 22, but due to changes in the Senate, it now requires another majority vote in the lower chamber before it can be sent to President Donald Trump for approval.

Our take: “The bill could be disastrous for energy policy and Medicaid. Some of the provisions are genuinely good, none more than the investment in immigration judges. At the end of the day, this is a big tax cut that adds to the deficit and strips benefits, and I worry it will pass.”

Reader Survey:

Thursday, July 3.

Since we were off on Friday, we released our Friday edition a day early. In an introspective personal essay, Isaac reflected on the question of whether he loves America. You can read the piece here.

Friday, July 4.

We were off on Friday, July 4, in observance of Independence Day.

What just happened.

Here are a few stories that have broken since our last newsletter on Wednesday.

• On Wednesday, President Trump announced a trade deal with Vietnam that includes a 20% import tariff on Vietnamese goods and a 40% tariff on goods deemed to be transshipped through the country. (The deal)
• On Thursday, the Department of Labor announced that the unemployment rate fell to 4.1% and the economy added 147,000 jobs in the month of June, beating economists’ expectations. (The report)
• On Friday, during a Fourth of July celebration, President Donald Trump signed the One Big Beautiful Bill into law after it passed the House on Thursday. (The signing)
• On Saturday, flash flooding caused the Guadalupe River in central Texas to rise by over 20 feet, killing 51 people. 27 children are missing from a summer camp for girls in Kerr County, which was hardest hit by the flooding. (The disaster)
• BREAKING: On Sunday morning, the National Hurricane Center announced that it expects Tropical Storm Chantal to make landfall in South Carolina early on Sunday before working its way into North Carolina by Monday. (The forecast) The South Carolina Emergency Management Division recommends locals to avoid beaches. (The advisement)

Reader essay.

When Donald Trump’s deportation agenda came into focus several months ago, reader Aldo Gonzalez reached out to us with a very Tangle message: He disagreed with the policy, but thought both sides were talking past each other and actually agree on more than they think. Drawing stories from people he personally knows in his communities in the United States and Mexico, Aldo makes a compelling case that most people are right on immigration in some way — and that compassion for immigrants shouldn’t be so hard to find. It seemed fitting for Independence Day weekend, and you can read his 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. Two readers responded to Tuesday’s piece on Mahmoud v. Taylor with two different points of view.

Joe offered a moderated disagreement:

I think the problem is that these books aren’t just showing gay or lesbian couples living happy lives, most people would be fine with that. It’s that they show that the contemporary ideologically informed notion of “gender” that overrides sex and is based on an internal feeling is true, and the only people that question that are bigots. So it does teach some children that their parents are wrong on a “moral” level. So it’d be more like if a picture book with some religious holiday said something along the lines of, “and anyone who doesn’t celebrate is wrong/bad.” That’s the problem.

Omar Acevedo agreed with Isaac’s conclusions:

I actually agree with Isaac—at least with his conclusion. I'm not a parent, but I am a queer person. Shielding kids from the fact that we exist — happily and visibly — doesn’t prepare them for the real, pluralistic society we live in. Kids, as future citizens, should be taught to navigate that complexity, not avoid it.

And some of those kids will grow up to be queer themselves. They deserve to see that a joyful, accepted future is possible — not just tolerated, but celebrated. Representation isn't about pushing an ideology; it's about making sure every child sees a life worth living reflected back at them.

Recommended reading.

Now I’m nearly 40, he’s almost 60, and we don’t see much of each other. The nature of things. We share maybe two dozen words in a month, split by 400 miles and the bright mire of our days. The tangle of wives and kids and jobs. The endless labor of one hour after the next, one year after another. These days, we only spend time together if there’s work to be done. Hands to be lent. Fair. I needed help getting that old Ford home.

Zach Bowman bought an old Chevy pickup, fixed it up, then drove it across the country with his dad. Lucky for us he also wrote about it, describing how the experience provided with a window to a more mechanical past. To quote his bear-fighting father, “This is a good one.” You can read Zach's piece here. 

On the channels.

INSTAGRAM: On Friday, we couldn’t think of a more appropriate way to commemorate the Fourth than by releasing the full text of the Declaration of Independence. You can read it in our Instagram post here. 

PODCAST: We did not release a new episode of our weekly podcast with Isaac, Kmele and Ari this week, but you can check out any of our daily newsletters as podcasts here.

BONUS: Isaac got Kmele to sit down to answer some reader questions about his piece on the 2020 racial reckoning in a Wednesday night livestream. It was another successful gathering of the Tangle community, and you can check out video of the discussion here.

Post of the week.

Beachgoers in Portugal were recently treated to a rare weather phenomenon when a “roll cloud” descended on the northern and central coasts. Check out the stunning video:

Tangle’s favorites.

Infotainment.

The 4th of July may have been a couple days ago, but we’re still in the patriotic mood. Being the news junkies/history buffs/shameless nerds that we are, we’ve been spending the past week asking each other trivia questions from Reader’s Digest’s list of 60 trivia questions for the holiday. Here are a few of our favorites:

• 2.5 million. The estimated number of people living in the Colonies when they gained independence. 
• 1801. The year of the first 4th of July celebration at the White House (during the Jefferson administration). 
• 1870. The year the 4th of July was declared a national holiday in the United States.
• $2.3 billion. The approximate amount that Americans spent on 4th of July fireworks in 2023, according to the American Pyrotechnics Association.

Ask the readers.

Last week, Julie asked older readers how they’re preparing for old age.

Since we chose her answer, we gave Stacy 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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