Wednesday, September 16, 2026
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TODAY'S TOP MADDOWBLOG POSTS
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“I can think of no administration in the last 50 years that is quite as communist as the Trump administration,” one congressional Democrat said.
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The more the GOP tries to overwhelm voters’ memories, the more we’re reminded just how spectacularly the party has failed over the past two years.
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The more the GOP tries to overwhelm voters’ memories, the more we’re reminded just how spectacularly the party has failed over the past two years.
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The president said of the memorial, “I am only there to help.” He did not say who exactly he’s eager to “help.”
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The president said of the memorial, “I am only there to help.” He did not say who exactly he’s eager to “help.”
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The bad news is the conflict’s $38 billion cost. The worse news is that this figure is a minimum that doesn’t include all kinds of things.
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The bad news is the conflict’s $38 billion cost. The worse news is that this figure is a minimum that doesn’t include all kinds of things.
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OTHER STORIES ON OUR RADAR
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- "we've reached a new milestone- the U.S. average diesel price has hit $6.301/gal while gasoline is up to $4.355/gal. I expect both of these to jump noticably over the next 48 hours. diesel could hit $6.60/gal in a few days, surpassing the inflation-adjusted peak seen in 2022."
(Patrick De Haan)
- Americans Have Spent $100 Billion More on Fuel During the Iran War — Higher gasoline and diesel prices have led many families to save less and curb spending elsewhere
(Wall Street Journal)
- "$9.5 billion not to work…"
Federal Employees Were Paid $9.5 Billion Not to Work in 2025 Under DOGE Effort — As part of the Department of Government Efficiency’s program to shrink the federal work force, paid administrative leave costs rose by 435 percent.
(Lora Kolodny shares New York Times)
- "OOF -- Enten details how Trump went from +2 on Russia-Ukraine in 2024 to -33 (!) now, and how Zelenskyy polls among Americans at +13 compared to Trump's -18 (in other words, Zelenskyy is 31 points more popular in America than Trump!)"
(Aaron Rupar shares CNN video)
- Quite a recent pattern:
- GOP candidate in Fla. marched alongside neo-Nazis
- Husted fires aide over Nazi photo
- Collins fires aide over swastika images
- State Dept hires speechwriter whom DeSantis fired over video with Nazi imagery
- Trump rewards Paul Ingrassia, who said he has a “Nazi streak”
(MaddowBlog)
- Family of Texas pregnant woman who died sues Texas AG Ken Paxton, alleges denied abortion led to death
(ABC News)
- Revealed: ICE lost count of miscarriages, while detaining a record number of pregnant women
(The Guardian)
- "About three-quarters of U.S. adults said press freedom is “extremely” or “very” important to society's well-being, according to a newly released Pew Research Center study."
(Scripps News)
- Bari Weiss has plunged CBS News into ratings calamity.
—"Evening News" has posted worst ratings of 21st century
—"CBS Mornings" has posted worst ratings of 21st century
—And now "60 Minutes" has posted worst ratings of 21st century
More in @status.news:
(Oliver Darcy shares his report in status)
- "Instead of saying "the Kennedy Center board decided to close" we should note that "a group of Trump appointees including Laura Ingraham and Dan Scavino decided to shut it down""
- "The Justice Department has brought charges against five suspected Russian intelligence operatives for allegedly plotting attacks against the Kremlin's perceived enemies around the world, including the murder-for-hire of at least one prominent dissident in the U.S."
(NPR)
- "Fourteen Russian spy satellites moved over a US military base in Saudi Arabia two days before a devastating attack by Iran. The timing and sequencing of the spacecraft gave them access to a large spectrum of data which, US officials and international intelligence sources say, helped Tehran conduct some of its most precise attacks against American assets."
(CNN)
- "Members of Congress and governors are under increasing pressure to regulate AI, but more than two dozen of them who spoke with Axios said they don't use the technology or have rarely done so."
(Axios)
- Judge blocks DHS from acting against a man over a harsh email to an ICE official
(Georgia Public Broadcasting)
- ""This is major damage to our bases that hasn't been communicated to the American public," one deployed service member told CBS News. "We're standing there with our eyes closed getting punched in the face.""
New photos show widespread damage at U.S. positions caused by Iranian missile, drone attacks
(CBS News)
- Pennsylvania’s Measles Outbreak Is Enormous — The two latest deaths suggest that the true number of infections is much larger than reported.
(The Atlantic)
Follow Rachel Maddow on Bluesky here.
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This week's Q&A with Rachel! |
This week's noon Q&A with Rachel was the first time we've included live video with viewers together with text questions, and it worked GREAT!
Members can watch the recorded version here.
If you are interested in asking Rachel a question directly over video, please let us know. These questions can be about politics, news of day or anything else that’s on your mind!
Participants will need to complete a short pre-interview and be available from 11:30a-12:30p ET on Monday to take part. If interested, please fill out this form by Thursday, September 17th.
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Rachel and the gang are getting out of the studio heading to Arlington, Texas on Saturday, September 26th to hang out with the MS NOW audience.
This forthcoming Membership experience will bring MS NOW fans closer to our hosts and to each other, with real-time connections and exclusive content you can't get on-air.
Each ticket, with prices starting as low as $30, includes a special offer for one year of free access to MS NOW's new membership experience.
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"Department of Fate: The Promise, the Power, and the Collapse of America’s Most Consequential Institution"
comes out November 10 but you can pre-order now.
See MS.NOW/DepartmentOfFate for links and options to pre-order.
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