January 1, 2026 at 6:00 PM EST
GOP redistricting could backfire as urban, immigrant areas turn back to Democrats

Voters in Florida, New Jersey and Virginia cities shifted away from Republicans this year. By Tim Henderson for Stateline

 

January 1, 2026 at 5:55 PM EST
Cartoon: The tagger

A cartoon by David Horsey. Related | Trump crony has embarrassing meltdown after more Kennedy Center performers quit

 

January 1, 2026 at 5:00 PM EST
Criminally ill: Systemic failures turn state mental hospitals into prisons

By Sarah Jane Tribble and Doug Livingston, The Marshall Project - Cleveland, for KFF  Tyeesha Ferguson fears her 28-year-old son will kill or be killed.

 

January 1, 2026 at 5:00 PM EST
Criminally ill: Systemic failures turn state mental hospitals into prisons

By Sarah Jane Tribble and Doug Livingston, The Marshall Project - Cleveland, for KFF  Tyeesha Ferguson fears her 28-year-old son will kill or be killed.

 

January 1, 2026 at 5:00 PM EST
Criminally ill: Systemic failures turn state mental hospitals into prisons

By Sarah Jane Tribble and Doug Livingston, The Marshall Project - Cleveland, for KFF  Tyeesha Ferguson fears her 28-year-old son will kill or be killed.

 

January 1, 2026 at 4:55 PM EST
Cartoon: New year, same mess

A cartoon by Drew Sheneman. Related | Trump gives masterclass with Epstein files on how to appear very guilty

 

January 1, 2026 at 4:00 PM EST
A rough year for journalists in 2025, with a little hope for things to turn around

By nearly any measure, 2025 has been a rough year for anyone concerned about freedom of the press. It's likely to be the deadliest year on record for journalists and media workers. The number of assaults on reporters in the U.S. nearly equals the last three years combined. The president of the United States berates many who ask him questions, calling one woman "piggy." And the ranks of those doing the job continues to thin.

 

January 1, 2026 at 11:00 AM EST
Self-care tips to stay in the fight against Trump's reign of terror

The past year took a real toll. Donald Trump's return to power in 2025 didn't just reshape politics""it reshaped the emotional weather we all live in. The cruelty, the chaos, and the constant uncertainty seeped into everything. For many people, 2025 felt like one long shock-and-awe campaign, and just getting through it required more endurance than anyone should have to summon. That kind of pressure isn't accidental. The nonstop churn of outrage, the flood of bad news, and the sense that everything is always on fire are part of how people get worn down. Burnout is a political strategy. If people are exhausted, anxious, and overwhelmed, they disengage. They stop showing up. They give up""not because they stopped caring, but because their nervous systems never get a break.

 

January 1, 2026 at 10:00 AM EST
Look back and laugh""and weep""with these classic Happy New Year cartoons

Enjoy these extra Happy New Year cartoons""and please feel free to share more of your favorites in the comments.

Here comes the future | Clay Bennett

Originally published Dec. 31, 2023

 

January 1, 2026 at 9:00 AM EST
Trump made lots of tariff threats in 2025. Here are some that never materialized.

President Donald Trump made a lot of tariff threats and trade promises this year. Many materialized into a barrage of new import taxes that overturned decades of U.S. economic policy -- but others have yet to be fulfilled as 2025 comes to a close.

Some of Trump's unrealized threats reflect a broader approach from a president with a track record of using sky-high levies to pressure other countries into new trade deals, one-up retaliatory measures or even punish political critics. At the same time, they arrived as growing list of tariffs did go into effect -- from Trump's punishing new taxes on imported metals, to tit-for-tat levies with top U.S. trading partners like China -- plunging consumers and businesses worldwide into uncertainty.

 

January 1, 2026 at 8:30 AM EST
Cartoon: Tom the Dancing Bug presents The Great Meritocracy Race

Please join the team that makes it possible for your friendly neighborhood comic strip Tom the Dancing Bug to exist in this world! And be the first on your block to get each week's Tom the Dancing Bug comic! JOIN US FOR 2026 IN THE INNER HIVE! Sign up for the free weekly Tom the Dancing Bug Review! Not nearly as good as joining the Inner Hive, but it's free!

 

December 31, 2025 at 7:00 PM EST
A look back at 9 reasons 2025 didn't completely suck

2025 has been a long, strange trip.  The year provided plenty of reasons to yell, "What the fuck?!" into the void, but this trip around the sun also featured a handful of opportunities to celebrate as well.