‘States that set ambitious climate targets are already feeling the tension’

‘Natural gas, renewables can help Democrats on energy affordability’

Mary Landrieu and Terry McAuliffe at The Hill

Americans are “facing a new energy reality: electric bills are rising and the risk of blackouts is growing as our power grid faces unprecedented demand,” say Mary Landrieu and Terry McAuliffe. This “moment presents an opportunity for Democratic leaders to reset the national energy conversation.” An “all-of-the-above energy approach that pairs renewable energy with dependable sources available 24/7 like natural gas is the most practical path forward to help decarbonize and cut costs, without sacrificing reliability.”

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‘Europe’s Israel policy faces a democratic test’

Majed al-Zeer at Al Jazeera

The “demand to suspend the EU-Israel Association Agreement is no longer confined to street demonstrations or activist circles,” says Majed al-Zeer. Over “more than two years of genocidal war, ethnic cleansing and the systematic destruction of civilian life in Gaza, solidarity across Europe has not dissipated.” It has “moved from protest slogans and street mobilization into a formal democratic instrument that demands institutional response.” The “call for suspension is rooted in broad and measurable public support.”

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‘What a 1921 Ford Model T can teach us about today’s tech’

Aaron Brown at The Minnesota Star Tribune

When the “Model T came on the scene in 1908, it famously changed everything,” says Aaron Brown. But “once underway, the driver must manipulate levers constantly as the vehicle sputters and spurts along the road,” and this “experience became the knowledge that developed today’s cars, which increasingly drive themselves.” It “helps explain why everything, and everyone, seems off these days. We’re unbound from our understanding of how the world works or how ‘progress’ benefits us.”

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‘People are leaving Congress because the job sucks’

Ed Kilgore at Intelligencer

There has been a “lot of buzz in Washington lately about the ‘exodus’ of members of Congress in the 2026 midterm-election cycle,” says Ed Kilgore. Anyone “familiar with the daily grind of congressional service, especially in the House, can tell you that in some cases members hang it up because the job sucks.” It “should not be surprising when anyone decides against making Congress a graveyard, particularly right now, when the institution’s power is at a historically low ebb.”

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