Claim: LGBT Unit Created to Fight ISIS in Syria

LGBT supporters are fighting back against the Islamic State militant group on the Syrian battlefield after three years of persecution in which their community suffered stonings, executions from rooftops and a deadly shooting at an LGBT nightclub in Orlando, Florida. A group of international volunteers fighting with Kurdish forces against ISIS in northern Syria have declared the first LGBT military unit created to battle the jihadi group.

Mixed Blessings

What's quite astonishing, because I thought that even the stupidest of people in the world had a clue about this, is that most of these people seem to have no idea that being president of this little country - or working for him - is actually, you know, important.

Black versus white household income over the past 50 years

I outline here what ought to be the astounding fact that, more than a half century after the March on Washington, the Civil Rights Act, the Voting Rights Act, the creation of affirmative action, etc., America has achieved exactly zero progress in improving the economic status of African Americans relative to that of whites: In 2015 - the most recent year for which data are available - black households at the 20th and 40th percentiles of household income earned an average of 55 percent as much as white households at those same percentiles. This is exactly the same figure as in 1967.

Slot Machine Algorithm Could Find HIV Hotspots

An algorithm for picking a casino slot machine may be a way for AIDS programs to better locate people living with undiagnosed HIV infection. "When you walk into a casino and see a row of slot machines how do you decide which one to play and when it's time to switch to another? What's the best strategy to maximize your winnings?" asks Gregg Gonsalves, assistant professor of epidemiology at Yale University.

How’s Voting for Republicans Working Out for Red States?

Since disasters only happen in blue states, what could go wrong with electing ideologues who see everything government does, outside of killing people and engaging in ethnic cleansing, as a problem? When forecasters from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced the start of hurricane season in June, more than a few state and local officials were worried by predictions of as many as five major hurricanes. But the primary concern, officials said, was not just the storms.

Maize Hirono

For anyone who missed it, this speech before 48 Republicans voted for what would have been one of the most abominable bills ever passed by the United States Congress is very much worth watching: To my GOP colleagues, after I was diagnosed with cancer, you showed me your care. You showed me your compassion.

We Will Not Let You Go

A few years back we would have all been spending our time shouting obscenities at Joe Manchin and some group of preening "moderates" on the Dem side who would be parading around garnering attention for the profoundly difficult decision they were going to make... any day... For whatever reason, that wasn't the dynamic this time. So that's good.

6 Must-Ask Questions of All Nominees for the Federal Reserve System

This week, the Trump administration's first Federal Reserve nominee, Randal Quarles, is being vetted by the U.S. Congress . Since the Great Recession, the Fed has been one of the most important institutions in helping the economy recover and getting Americans back to work.

Today in the peanut gallery

This revised iteration of BCRA - which included an amendment by Sen. Ted Cruz to allow non-Obamacare plans back on the market paired with $100 billion in funding to partially offset the Medicaid cuts - was subject, because of the Senate budget rules, to a 60-vote threshold for a procedural vote. It failed handily, 43 to 57, with nine Republicans and all of the Democrats opposing it.